Hvisland: A VR Colony Sim Game

Several days have passed. Seb, Manu, and Sun could only lie in the house while still coughing.

Gwen checked the thermometer she had just used to check Sun. Thirty-nine degrees Celsius. I, who didn't really know much about health, knew that it was terrible. Compared to the others, Sun's condition was the worst. She was already struggling to breathe and was shivering.

"I'll be fine, won't I, Gwen?" Sun asked with trembling lips.

"Surely you will recover, Sun." Gwen gave a warm smile and rubbed that woman's forehead. "I'm going for a while, okay."

However, Sun caught Gwen's hand with tears in her eyes. "Please, don't leave me, Gwen. I'm scared."

Gwen, almost standing straight, froze for a moment, then flashed a big smile again. "Just a moment, Sun. I still have something to do."

The blonde woman gently let go of Sun's hand, then stood on two legs. Just as she turned around, she found Kat already standing a few feet from her, coughing too.

***

Kat's condition was also getting worse every day.

Now, everything is handled by Gwen herself. Starting from cleaning, feeding the animals, watering the plants, and of course taking care of the other colonists.

In the best-case scenario, Sun would recover first, and she would help Gwen. Maybe Sun already has immunity, so she doesn't get infected again.

But still. It's just a possibility.

"You really don't want us to help?" Leva asked in a worried tone to Gwen, who had left the house carrying a wooden bucket.

"No, Leva," Gwen replied as she continued walking. "Don't go near this house."

Just a few meters left the house, I saw that the blonde-haired girl coughed.

"Do you really have to do all this alone?" I grimaced seeing her state. This is a very desperate situation. "Couldn't we just use some alcohol to clean the bucket and ask Leva and Eric to water the plants instead?"

"Did you really think I didn't think about it?" Gwen tied the handle of the bucket with rope and threw it into the well. "Can you really guarantee that Eric and Leva didn't touch anything that Seb had? Droplets from infected people could be anywhere. On the ground, on walls... Anywhere. We have to spray disinfectant. Not to mention the risk that the virus or whatever causes this disease turns out to be airborne."

I'm at a loss for words. Gwen pulled the bucket from the well, then returned to the farm.

Gwen's movements seemed very limp. She was probably exhausted from having to take care of everything herself.

So, I moved to the side of Leva and Eric, giving orders to the two of them.

Gwen, who had started watering the plants, widened her eyes when Leva and Eric came to her. "What are you two doing?"

"Get some rest." Eric took the bucket from Gwen's hand. "Your face is turning pale."

"Poor horse. He needs to eat, and the stable needs to be cleaned." Leva took the sickle that was beside the house, then walked over to get some grass.

Gwen looked at me and spread her arms, looking so disappointed.

***

The blonde woman came up to me as night fell, and the other colonists were already asleep.

"Are you crazy?" She started to scold me and coughed. "With this, all of your people will obviously be infected."

I closed the browser window explaining the strategy for dealing with the pandemic in the colony.

"Leva and Eric are still showing no symptoms, are they?" I answered the woman. "By the time they get sick, it's likely Sun will have recovered, so she can take turns taking care of the others. I don't want you to be too tired, and that will make your situation worse."

Gwen had opened her mouth, looking like she was about to argue. However, I cut her off in an instant. "Please, take my word and don't argue."

The woman froze, clenched her fist that was pointing at me, then took a deep breath.

"So, has Sun shown any signs of recovery?" I asked her insted.

"Yeah, her fever has gone down. Her appetite has improved too." The woman shrugged. "But her shortness of breath, stiffness in the joints, and coughs hasn't gone away."

I pressed the back of my hand to Gwen's forehead, as she did when checking the others. Then, I looked at her body, which was no longer wearing skimpy clothes and was protected by a jacket instead.

"You're starting to have a fever, too," I said slowly. "You better go in and rest."

"Yeah, I'll do it." Gwen sighed again. "But first, I'll tell you something. Maybe we'll talk less and less like this. Maintaining Psychic strength with an unfit body is very difficult."

"No problem, at all." I shrugged again. This is no big deal. When she's healed, I'll be able to chat with her again.

Just as Gwen had turned around, the door to the house burst open. Leva came out with bulging eyes.

"What?" Gwen raised her eyebrows.

"Your friend... Sun...." The red-haired woman gulped.

Gwen's eyes opened wide, then she ran into the house.

No. Please, don't let that happen.

The sick colony members straightened up, looking at Sun. Meanwhile, Eric was already kneeling beside the Asian-looking woman.

Gwen stopped, her eyes widened again when she saw Sun, who was now so pale and his mouth was blue.

"Looks like she died a few minutes ago," Eric said in a low voice.

Gwen fell to her knees and squeezed her head. "It's my fault. If only I had checked her condition before I left the house."

"It's not your fault, Gwen," I whispered into the woman's ear. "You don't know what will happen."

The blonde woman coughed, then looked at the others. Now the one in the worst condition was Seb, who seemed to be starting to have difficulty breathing.

Then, she looked at Sun again, rubbed that woman's forehead, then began to shed tears. "I'm sorry, Sun. We've known each other not too long, but I consider you a friend. Sorry, you died in a place like this, far from the people closest to you. This is all because of my incompetence."

"No, Gwen," Leva replied with trembling lips. "Thoughts like that can kill you."

Silence returned.. All that could be heard was the crackling of the bonfire.