Vaxxed

By T.C. Grantham

Hannah and Cooper are at opposite ends of the outcome of a worldwide pandemic. Their worlds collide and a forbidden relationship begins, it becomes harder for them to keep their relationship a secret as they get closer and their lives become more intertwined. They find themselves staring at a chance to change the world, but could be risking ever

• Language: English
• Publisher: Yellow Daffodil Books
• Release date: Mar 14, 2024
• ISBN: 9798869254979

Book preview

Vaxxed

T.C. Grantham

Copyright © 2024 T.C. Grantham

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

Yellow Daffodil Books—Nibley, UT

ISBN: 979-8-218-36798-5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2024904795

Title: Vaxxed

Author: T.C. Grantham

Digital distribution | 2024

Paperback | 2024

This is a work of fiction. The characters, names, incidents, places, and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination, and are not to be construed as real.

Dedication

I dedicate this book too all the families who lost someone during the Covid-19 pandemic. May we find the light at the end of the tunnel.

Contents

Vaxxed

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

About the Author

Chapter 1

Hannah

B

oys are weird. Why are they so obsessed with mechanical things, and why do they name their cars. Ian and my dad had their heads firmly planted under the hood of my dad’s cherry red vintage 1970 something Chevrolet. It was so hot today, I laid in the shade on the lawn by the driveway listening to them use words I didn’t understand while they ooed and awed over sounds that to me, were just loud. Ian and I had grown up together as next-door neighbors, his dad died during the Pandemic 5 years ago and my dad took him under his wing as a father figure. Our Mother’s definitely have our wedding planned even if they don’t admit it.

Ian, let’s go to the lake, I am melting over here, I said while fanning myself with my hand.

I have the pleasure of being biracial, my mom Nin, is a beautiful freckled Irish woman with flaming red hair and curls that stick out everywhere. My dad Robert or Bob, is from Haiti. He is tall and slender with dark silky skin. Both of my parents talk with an accent and for some reason very loudly and use their hands a lot. Most people can’t understand a word of their boisterous conversations. I landed somewhere in the middle with medium brown toned skin and freckles, my hair is a strange color of red and a cross between kinky and curly, but I love my green eyes. The unfortunate part is I tend to burn in the sun, despite my father’s heritage. You can’t see it as much as I can feel it, hence my hiding in the shade.

Ian, I want to go so we have time before City Sanitization. I used my best whiny girlfriend voice.

He laughed.

That’s in 6 hours!

Hannah, Hannah! my mom yelled from the porch. Don’t forget your mask just in case.

Mom, seriously it’s been forever, everyone is totally over it.

She was walking toward me with a tote bag in one hand and two towels draped over her arm. My mom is pretty overprotective, I think it comes with infertility territory; they were lucky to get me, and they never let me forget it. I will admit there is a part of me that loves it, and then that part where I feel completely smothered. In the new world I should feel extremely lucky to still have both of my parents.

Mom set the bag down next to me and held the towels out. I glanced up at her standing there with her hand outstretched. I hopped up and took the towels and she slipped some money in my hand, she turned to walk back to the house and winked at me over her shoulder.

Thanks mom! I shouted after her.

Wear sunscreen! she shouted back.

As she walked past Ian by the truck she gave his shoulder a squeeze, it was a small gesture that spoke many words. I loaded up the bag and the towels and stood impatiently by the truck.

Dad, can you release your prisoner, we were going to the lake?

Ian laughed again.

Alright sweetness, I think I can handle it from here Ian, you two go and have some fun on your last day of summer break.

Yes! I said in playful banter.

Ian and I lay at the edge of the water with the ripples lapping at our toes. I had on my halter top bathing suit with a pair of cut off jean shorts. I was lying soaking up the sun when a shadow passed in front of my face causing me to open my eyes. Ian was sitting up looking down at me.

What’s up? I asked.

Do you ever miss them?

Who? I asked although I had a pretty good guess.

Francis and Lena? his tone was so matter of fact.

Of course, I do, I said leaning up onto my elbow and rolling to face him. We aren’t supposed to dwell on it, Ian.

Why not, because they got vaccinated and we didn’t, we were 11 it’s not like either of us had the choice at the time, we just did what our parents wanted.

Ok, I give, what brought this on? I asked.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me. It wasn’t a paper though; it was a photo. He and I with our arms around each other’s shoulder and Francis and Lena on either side. We were here at the lake six years ago almost to the day in the very same spot. I remember then it was so carefree, but not long after this picture was taken, things in our world started to change.

This was just a month before the first man tested Positive here in Benton, I said remembering when the news hit.

Yeah, I remember, he said. He worked in the same building as my dad. His eyes dropped.

Everything seemed so far away for so long, like a dream. Do you remember the parents plastered to the T.V. twenty-four-seven?

Yeah. Was all he said, playing with a small rock on the ground.

It sucks Ian, it really does, but we can’t change anything, this is the new world," I said using quotation marks with my fingers.

What if… he trailed off.

What? I paused for his answer. What if, what Ian?

Well, what if we could communicate with them somehow? Don’t you think they think about us too?

Stop, Ian. You can go to jail, I said sitting up now.

I knew where he was coming from, I felt the same but there were more people out there who hated the vaccinated people, and they hated us too. There was almost a civil war until we decided to just separate everything. After the vaccinated started to change it only seemed practical that we would live in the city by day, and they would take the night. There were a few hours that workers would mask up and sanitize the entire city. The only time the Vaccinated and they unvaccinated worked together. It was illegal to be out at that time for both. We were all on lock down in our homes, they clean from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. then the Vaxxed take over. It was weird at first, but it has worked thus far.

You’re right Hannah, I’m sorry I guess I just got sentimental.

No, don’t be sorry. It is good to remember, maybe if we did it more often it wouldn’t be so hard.

I reached over and put my hand on his leg in comfort he took my hand and squeezed it then he leaned over and kissed my temple. The sun was sitting low in the sky, everyone on the beach was starting to pack up and we knew it was time head home. Tomorrow was the first day of school, Senior year for us, I was pretty sure that our parents got rid of us to set up a back-to-school party while we were gone, I use the word party loosely. It would be his mom and my parents and a whole lot of baby books.

Come on Ian, let’s go get our party on.

How do you know there will be a party? he asked with a weird look on his face.

I laughed and took his hand.

Let’s go.

We held hands and walked home, the air was starting to cool and smell damp, the sun had turned the sky to a beautiful orange color with wispy pink clouds hanging in the distance. As we approached our block, I could smell the Barbecue and see my back yard all lit up with Christmas twinkle lights. Ian squeezed my hand and picked up the pace.

I’ll race you there! Ian yelled, already several feet ahead of me.

Cheater! I yelled back.

I watched him duck into the back yard, I thought of our conversation at the lake and couldn’t help but wonder what Francis and Lena would do before their first day of school.

Chapter 2

Cooper

I

could see a sliver of the sun coming through a small hole I had made in my shades; I put my face close and peered out, the light hurt my eyes a little, but the sun was just dipping down past the horizon. The city was mostly empty now, but I could see in the distance a couple walking holding hands. I couldn’t make out much more than a silhouette, my eyes started tearing up from the brightness of the light, a tear spilled over and I a rubbed my eyes. I try to wake up early so I can people watch, all the unvaccinated returning home from their life in the city. Unlike many down here, I missed life before the virus, I missed the sun.

I could hear my dad clinking around in the kitchen, tonight was the last night before my Senior year. I had no clue what I was going to do with my life after that. The people push for anyone that has two brain cells to rub together to go into genetics or virology, anyone that can try and fix this pickle we have gotten ourselves in to. I had no desire to do either one. According to my dad I was floating through life like a cloud, aimless.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and went into my small bathroom, my house felt more like a bunker than a home to me. I flipped on the light, if you could call it that. My reflection in the mirror is never quite what I want it to be. I am one of the vaccinated, after a few months’ things started changing. Our skin and eyes became sensitive to the light, we lost pigment in our skin until we were something compared to an albino, pale skin and pale blue eyes; the sun burns our skin, and our eyes can’t handle bright light of any kind, but at least we got to keep our hair color, so at least there was that. The majority of people down here feel like we are somehow superior, like this was the way God had intended it to be. I just miss the old me, the old way of life and for that I stuck out down here like a sore thumb.

The virus hit my family hard, I lost an older brother and a younger sister and almost my mother. But it was the vaccination that weakened my mother’s heart. We all must take turns looking after her, my father never wants her left alone just in case. Echoing my thoughts there was a soft knock on the door.

Cooper, mom is ready for you.

I took a book from my shelf and tucked it under my arm and opened the door.

Thanks Raina, will you make me something good for breakfast.

How about cold cereal and milk? she replied.

She said that, but I knew she would whip me up something tasty. She took over most of the cooking since mom wasn’t well, she has gotten pretty good too. Raina is my Irish twin, we are the same age for two weeks, but I am older. I walked into my mother’s room, she was seated in a rocking chair by the window, the curtains were drawn and there was a large picture hanging on the wall of a beach scene, a soft glow came from behind the frame, mother was rocking slowly, looking at the picture. I think she missed the sun like me. I walked over and kissed her on the cheek.

Do you want to read about the beach today mamma? I asked sitting on the bed next to her.

My mother didn’t like me to read her novels, she wanted me to read her travel books, books that described beautiful places and facts about places she could never go.

Mom? Can I ask you a question?

She could talk but she was usually quiet, maybe it took too much energy to speak, maybe she didn’t have much to say, either way she just nodded.

Why do you think the unvaccinated aren’t still dying, you know like before?

She rocked in her chair a few more times and then just looked at me, I thought she wasn’t going to say anything at all but then she spoke softly.

Because they are as they should be.

I thought of a few things to say, but then thought better of all of it. I let the response settle in the room by opening the book.

The island of Turks and Caicos I started, and my mother closed her eyes, as I read about a waterfall that was a short hiking distance from the hotel in question, a small smiled played on her face and I knew she was there in her mind, the sun on her face. Just then Raina popped her head around the corner.

You’re good to go eat, I have her!

Thanks Raina, I have an errand to run before school tomorrow, I replied.

I walked through our tunnels, a strange underground city of sorts, they were dimly lit with black lights that made everyone’s eyes glow in a strange sort of way. I always felt like I was walking through a New York City night club. I am still not used to seeing people this way, I don’t know if I will ever get used to it. I walked past several people toward the stairs to go outside.

Oh, excuse me, I said after bumping shoulders with a girl.

No problem Cooper! she said.

I’m sorry, I’m embarrassed, do I know you?

She smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear.

Yeah, it’s Makayla, we had homeroom together last year…. she paused. And the year before that, along with History I believe.

Oh Makayla, I’m sorry, that’s right, it’s just so dimly lit down here.

She laughed, or more so giggled.

Well, see you around Cooper.

I nodded my head and walked past her keeping with my errand schedule. There was a big analog clock on the wall right by the stairs, it was 08:57 p.m. so I leaned against the wall watching people walk past to pass the three minutes I had until I could leave. I watched people laughing and talking, it should have been a normal scene but to me it was just odd, everyone looked the same, it just wasn’t right, it wasn’t normal.

I am tall with a muscular build, working out was one of the ways I took out my frustrations. My hair is dark, almost black, I used to have brown eyes, now they are pale blue, just like everyone else. I looked around at the different groups of people. My head almost touched the ceiling, everyone around me seemed much shorter, I hadn’t really noticed it before. My people watching was interrupted when the clock struck 9:00 p.m. and I opened the hatch and headed out into the night.

I walked the two miles to the lake kicking rocks here and there as I went. Getting outside the city meant I could get a really good view of the stars that was one bonus of being a night bound person. I could hear shallow waves lapping at the dock and my step quickened. I waded through the knee-high grass until I came to the long wooden dock and walked out to the edge and sat with my legs dangling over. The trees were a silhouette against the night sky, the moon was full and beautiful with its twin dancing in the ripples of the water below. It was so quiet unless you listened, a fish jumping on the other side of the lake, the steady lapping of the water against the sand and the crickets singing to each other in the distance. I closed my eyes and let the sounds consume me.

My sights had focused on the lights across the lake a thousand tiny windows of Westbridge Hospital, it looked like a floating city. My dad told me they built it there after the virus hit to insure they could use the power from the hydroelectric dam. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard rustling in the grass behind me then laughter and friendly banter coming toward me. I stood up on the dock just as two people stepped onto it.

Oh, uh, sorry, the boy said.

I was just leaving, I replied a little too quickly for playing it cool.

The boy had a bottle of wine and two glasses in his hands, their eyes glowed in the moonlight like animals, the sight gave me shivers when I remembered that I looked just like they did, I looked away at the ground in a display of self-consciousness. I didn’t want to leave but I didn’t want to share my dock so I stepped to the side so they could pass.

Have a good night, I called over my shoulder.

Sure dude, he said back and they both laughed.

I made my way down the water’s edge until I could no longer hear anything that was going on with the people on the dock. I sat and took off my shoes and socks and let the water wash over my toes. It was cold and it smelled of moss and wet wood. In twenty-four hours, I will start my Senior year, maybe I will actually make friends to take into the next stage of life with me. Or maybe I would stay just the way I am. I wasn’t always a loner, when I was younger, I had friends, I went out; now I am just the weird kid who reads a lot, gets good grades and isn’t satisfied with his lot in life. I didn’t fit in, and I didn’t want to fit in, and all for a decision that was made for me when I was just a kid.

I knew being a Senior was an invitation to everyone to ask me what I was planning to do with my life, I was going to need to come up with a story, I am not really sure wasn’t going to cut it and I would say just about anything to avoid that look that people give when they think someone is a huge disappointment. Maybe I was a huge disappointment, maybe.

I walked past the school, there were dim lights coming from several windows. I imagined the teachers preparing lesson plans and stressing over school starting the next day. One thing to say about being a loner kid who likes to study, Senior year was going to be a breeze, and boring beyond the levels of sanity. If I just show up, I will graduate. I will admit that high school is a part of my life that I have no reluctance to see come to an end.

Chapter 3

Hannah Goes to School

I

opened my eyes; the sun was coming in through a slit in my curtains. What time was it? Just as I started to form a coherent thought my alarm sounded. Why is it so unnerving to wake up right before your alarm, like you were robbed of those 3 minutes by some unseen entity. Today was my last, first day of school. I was more excited than sad I think; maybe more like nostalgic, is that a thing? Can you be nostalgic on the first day of school?

I put on the outfit I had picked out days ago and admired myself in the mirror, today was a good hair day my curls were boingy instead of crimpy and my face had that fresh sun glow about it. I slapped on some mascara and called it good, well maybe a little shimmer eye shadow, for the first day.

Hannah banana, come and get yer breakfast! mom called.

There’s that accent I know and love. I walked down the hall with a noticeable bounce in my step, my new backpack in hand.

Look at you, a beautiful goddess.

Thanks Dad.

I sat down at the table my mom had made a full Irish breakfast, eggs, baked beans, Irish tea, soda bread, Sausage, bacon, cooked potatoes and cabbage, black pudding, mushrooms, and grilled tomatoes. The Irish know how to do breakfast that’s for sure.

Wow mom, this looks fantastic.

Well, it’s cereal from here on out so eat up, she teased.

Mom?

Yes, my darling.

Do you regret not getting us vaccinated?

Well, that’s a heavy question for breakfast.

It doesn’t have to be heavy, just yes or no.

We were lucky Hannah; we all still have each other. But no, I don’t regret taking that chance, but it is easy to say that when we all made it, you know?

Yeah…. That makes sense, I said letting my eyes drop to the table I guess it isn’t really a yes and no type of question.

Now, chop chop my almost graduate, get to it or you’ll be late.

I had done it, I had made the day heavy, mom was right. I sat on the bus next to Ian, he seemed to be having heavy thoughts as well. The bus was all busy and chatty, but not us; we sat there in silence and neither of us asked why, we just sat there letting our thoughts carry us to school.

I walked through the doors of the school expecting to feel something different, it felt the same. It did, however, leave me wondering if things would change as the year wore on, as we came to the close. I left my backpack and my jacket in my locker and closed it behind me when Ian grabbed my hand.

You look beautiful today by the way, I love your hair like that.

I leaned in, letting his arms around my waist support me.

I like your hair like that too, I said teasing.

He leaned in and kissed me once, pulled my body closer, kissed me again and then pulled away.

See you at lunch, he said, turning on his heel toward his class.

Like you lot’s! I yelled taking a few steps backward toward my class. A couple of people passing by made some whoops and hollers at us filling my cheeks with heat.

I walked into my home room clutching my books to my chest, the class was already mostly full, and I scanned the room. There was a vacant seat in the very back corner, I quickly made my way to it. I don’t care who I sit by, it’s the seat that counts and this one was perfect, chances are it would be my assigned seat for the rest of the year, one could only hope. I made it there just before another girl sat.

Sorry, I said out of breath as I slid into the seat. She rolled her eyes but didn’t argue.

Alright Class! a short man with thick glasses and a comb over said from the front of the class.

I am Mr. Hiddleston, not like the actor there is no relation, he said in a shrill nasally voice pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"I am new this year from Iowa, our