Contamination

Write a story 1000 words or less or a poem 40 lines or less with the following words bolded for tomorrow's judge:

castle
maroon
legacy
forest

"COVID-19 will maroon you
It has a legacy for doing so
It is no respecter of persons
It strikes both castle and hovel
The only safe place is in a forest alone."


Sam read these words as he sat in his command chair. "People sure were scared of it weren't they mother/"

"Yes Captain", his wife answered. "They most certainly were. However you must remember that the pandemic of 2020 was over 200 years ago. The technology to eradicate it did not exist then. People were dying from it. Death wasn't eradicated until half a century ago. People back then thought of death as something negative. How would they ever have imagined that not dying would cause so many problems?"

"I know exactly what you mean Lieutenant', he answered using his wife's rank instead of saying "Mother" as he normally did. "If this mission fails the world will be doomed to overwhelming inflation and hunger."

"Yes Mother", he answered while looking at his own emaciated frame in the view screen. "Set time parameters for April 10, 2020. Location: COVID-19 epicenter. Let's hope we can become infected. Engage"