He woke up feeling like his entire body had been hit with a sledgehammer and wondered whether he had come down with the coronavirus everyone was talking about. He���d need to distance himself from Shauna and the kids. Maybe go get tested someplace.

Shauna was still sleeping peacefully beside him. Since it was Saturday, there was no rush to get up. He lay motionless for another twenty minutes and started to feel a little better. He was still sore but the pounding in his head had stopped. He eased himself up with more effort than was usually required. I was fine when I went to bed last night, he thought. But I sure feel like crap now. It was still dark. The clock on the nightstand read 5:48 a.m.

He stood up and grimaced at the pain. His legs were like lead. He stepped slowly to the bathroom and threw some water on his face. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and started. No way! I���ve grown a beard and mustache overnight. How is that even possible?

He headed downstairs and noticed all of the curtains had been drawn. Strange, he thought. I wonder why Shauna covered all the windows. He moved to the kitchen and popped a K-cup into the Keurig machine and turned it on. The aroma of the dripping coffee was comforting. He sat at the counter and relished the first sip.

He heard noises upstairs and realized Shauna was awake. A few minutes later she came down the stairs, looking beautiful as usual, albeit a little worse for wear.

���My God. I feel like I���ve been run over by a truck.���

���I know. I���m in the same condition. Coffee helps a little; I���ll make you a cup.��� He stood up.

���Thanks, Hon. Hey, why did you close all the curtains?���

���I thought you did that.���

���No ��� at least, I don���t think I did. Oh God, Frank, your face!���

Frank smiled. ���I know. I���ll shave it off in a minute.���

���But how can that even happen overnight?���

���Damned if I know, Love. Here, this should help a bit.���

She took a sip. ���Mmm. Yeah. Thanks, it hits the spot.��� She looked at his hands. ���Your fingernails could use a trim also. Mine too. Weird.��� She took another sip. ���Frank, do you think we both have COVID? What are we going to do about the kids?���

���I don���t know. Let���s just take it slow. We should probably get tested for it later today. Did you check on them before you came down?���

���Yeah, they���re both sleeping peacefully. Could you open the curtains, please?���

���Sure.���

Frank pulled the cord and uttered an out-of-character expletive.

���Frank?���

���Come and see this.���

Shauna approached and looked at the window. ���What the hell?��� she said.

Frank was busy opening more curtains. ���It���s the same all over. All the windows are covered with some kind of plastic sheeting on the outside.���

���I don���t understand.���

���I���ll go out and have a look.��� He opened the front door and froze in place. ���No frigging way.���

Shauna stepped behind him. ���What the hell is that, Frank?���

���It���s a large metal container, like an airlock. It covers the whole doorframe. There���s another door on the other end.��� He stepped inside and fiddled with the latch on the outer door. He banged against it with his fists. ���It���s no good, it���s locked. I can���t open it.���

���My God, this is insane. I���m scared. What���s going on?���

���I don���t know. Let���s check the other door.���

The back door, which opened outward, wouldn���t budge. There appeared to be something blocking it. More of that plastic, presumably.

���I���m calling the cops,��� said Frank. He pulled out his cellphone and was surprised to find it turned off. He pushed the power button and it came to life.

���That���s odd,��� he said after a few moments. ���There���s no signal. And no internet.���

���Let me try mine,��� Shauna said. But it was the same result.

Frank placed his phone down on the table. ���I���ll check the kids��� phones in a little while. But I expect it���ll be the same. Something must be blocking the signal. Maybe it���ll clear up later.���

���Do you think it���s got to do with the virus, Frank? Maybe it���s some kind of emergency measure?���

���That���s hard to believe, Hon. They couldn���t have known we were sick. And how could they do this overnight? Why didn���t we hear anything?���

���Let���s check the news, anyway.���

They proceeded to the living room and turned on the flat screen. The picture showed a rotund man with a blue shirt and captain���s hat arguing with a thin man in a red shirt, white pants, and a floppy white hat. They were standing on a beach next to a wrecked pleasure boat.

Shauna pointed the remote control at the screen and changed the channel. It was the same show. She flipped quickly through the options, growing increasingly agitated.

���This is impossible. Every channel is broadcasting the same episode of Gilligan���s Island! Even CNN and Fox news!��� She turned it off.

���No, Hon, leave it on. Just turn the sound down. Maybe they���ll start broadcasting again later this morning.���

Shauna complied. The professor was demonstrating his bicycle-powered washing machine.

���I���m going to check the upstairs windows,��� said Frank.

���Okay, but stay out of the kids��� rooms for now, alright?���

���Sure. If all of the other windows are covered, there���s hardly any reason to check theirs anyway.���

���I���m going to make a few masks for us to wear, just in case.���

���Sounds good. We can���t be too careful in this situation.���

Frank ascended the stairs, noting to himself how unusually strenuous the climb was. A minute or two later he came back down, a frown upon his bearded face.

���It���s the same thing upstairs. All the windows are covered by some sort of shielding. I managed to slide one of the panes open and felt the surface of the stuff. It seems to be a plastic. Very smooth and hard. It seems airtight. It wouldn���t budge when I hit it.���

���Oh my God, Frank. Do you think we���ve been put into a high-tech quarantine?���

Frank scratched his head and realized he needed a haircut. ���I dunno, Hon. I wouldn���t have thought our government would do that, even if they could.���

He kept the rest of his thoughts to himself. ���unless we have a disease that���s too dangerous to let escape, in which case we���re in a world of hurt. But why would they mess with our phone and internet reception?

Frank���s musings were interrupted by a shrill scream from upstairs. ���Mommy! Daddy! Help me! I���m really sick!���

���We���re coming, Juliet!��� shouted his wife as they both heavily climbed the stairs. They entered their seven-year-old daughter���s room. And stopped dead in their tracks at the door. Something was definitely wrong.

Juliet was sitting up in her bed.

She was older.

Not way older. Maybe she had grown about a year���s worth? But she sure didn���t look like this when they had put her to bed last night.

And it wasn���t his imagination, Frank realized. Her clothes were too tight. They no longer fit her body.

Frank looked at his wife. He didn���t need to point it out. She knew and she was trying to come to grips with it, without success.

Because it simply made no sense.

���Mommy, my body doesn���t feel right. It���s all sore and heavy.���

Shauna broke out of her lethargy and rushed to Juliet���s side. ���It���s okay, honey, mommy and daddy have it too. It���s just a little virus. You���re going to be fine. Come on downstairs with us.���

���I need to pee.���

���Right, then, a quick stop at the potty.���

Shauna looked up at Frank. She didn���t need to say a word.

���I���ll check on him right now,��� said Frank. He went out into the hallway and walked toward his son���s room. He opened the door and entered, proceeding to Tyler���s bedside.

Yes, it was the same. Tyler was twelve and the changes were less obvious, but they were there. His face was fuller, slightly more mature. His pajamas seemed to be a size too small. His hair had grown.

While Frank watched, Tyler opened his eyes. He looked confused for a moment. Then he croaked, ���Dad? I don���t feel so good.���

Frank sighed. No need for those masks, then. ���You���re okay, Champ. It���s some kind of virus, we think. The whole family���s got it. But you���ll feel a little better after you���ve been up for a while. Come on downstairs, okay? Your mom���s going to make us breakfast.���

Tyler nodded. Frank ruffled his hair and walked out.

-���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

It was starting to get light out, but the translucent plastic covering on their windows was too cloudy to allow them to see outside. The family ate their breakfast in relative silence, which was an unusual occurrence. Usually, the kids would be teasing one another by this point. But they knew something was wrong today.

���What happened to the windows?��� asked Tyler.

���Why is Gilligan���s Island on all the TV channels?��� asked Juliet.

���What happened to us last night?��� asked Tyler.

���We don���t know,��� said Frank, figuring it was useless to lie about it at this juncture. ���I think we may have been asleep for a long time. Maybe because of this virus we seem to have. But I���m sure we must all be getting better now.���

���How long did we sleep?���

���I ��� I don���t know.���

���C���mon, Dad. I could see the changes to my face in the mirror. And Juliet looks older too. How long?���

Frank looked at Shauna, who stared back at him without any visible signal.

���Um, ah, maybe a few months? I can���t say for sure,��� Frank said.

���If we were asleep for a really long time, who took care of us?��� persisted Tyler. ���Someone had to.���

���That���s a good question, Tyler. No doubt it was the same people who covered up our windows. But I just don���t know, son. For now, we have to stay in the house. At least until this virus goes away.���

���What���s going to happen to us? Are we going to die?��� asked Juliet.

���You���re scaring them, Frank.���

���I don���t mean to, Shauna. But I don���t think lying about our situation is going to help.���

Frank turned to Juliet. ���We���re going to be fine, honey. If we did sleep for that long, then someone took care of us. They know we���re here, and they���re not going to let anything bad happen. So we wait. We���re all here, and we���re fine. Let���s finish our breakfast, and we���ll figure this out. Okay?���

���Okay. But I hope they show something else on TV. I don���t like Gilligan���s Island. I think Ginger is kind of creepy, and Mr. Howell sounds like Mr. Magoo.���

Everyone laughed.

���More powdered eggs, anyone?��� asked Shauna.

���Powdered eggs?��� asked Frank. ���I knew they tasted different. When did we buy those?���

���We didn���t,��� Shauna said, as she fought back tears.

Jesus, shut up, Frank, thought Frank.

-���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

After breakfast, everyone took turns in the shower and Frank tried the kids��� cellphones. As he expected, there was no phone signal or internet connectivity on either one. The television continued to broadcast the Gilligan���s Island marathon. They came one episode after the other, with no commercial messages in between.

Frank decided to see if he could break through one of the plastic coverings. Maybe this was some kind of government biohazard thing and maybe he���d get in trouble for doing it, but goddamn it, no one had asked him if it was okay to cover his house in shielding. He started down to the basement to get his toolbox.

He opened the basement door. Right behind it was a sheet of the plastic crap. It covered the entire entrance and seemed to continue into the floor and wall.

���Shit!��� he shouted. Wait. I���ve still got a few tools upstairs for the shelving I was going to put in Tyler���s room. He went up and retrieved what he had.

Frank started with the hammer and pounded on the plastic for several minutes. He didn���t even scratch the surface. He tried the drill next. Nothing. The tip of the drill bit couldn���t get any purchase on the smooth plastic wall, and it kept slipping off to either side. He tried prying at the sides with a screwdriver and he succeeded in removing some wood, but the plastic just seemed to continue behind it.

What the hell is this stuff?

He thought for a moment. If he couldn���t get through the plastic, he���d just punch a hole someplace that wasn���t covered. The roof. He could patch it up later, but first, he was going to break out of this prison and give those responsible a piece of his mind. If his family had to be quarantined, so be it, but they deserved an explanation at the very least.

He grabbed his tools and started for the attic. He passed by the living room and noted that Gillian���s Island was no longer on the television. Instead, there was a message. He dropped his tools and approached the screen.

It was in white lettering on a black background. It read, ���Stop what you are doing. It won���t work, but it may damage your house.���

So there is someone there, thought Frank. Watching us. Maybe they can hear us, too.

���What the hell do you want?��� Frank shouted. ���Why have you done this?���

���All in good time,��� read the screen. Then Gilligan���s Island resumed.

Frank turned, picked up his tools, and climbed the stairs. He met Shauna coming the other way, drying her hair.

���What were you yelling for?��� she asked.

���I���ll tell you in a little while. I want to try something first.���

He proceeded to the end of the hallway and reached up for the trap door rope. He pulled it and the access ladder swung down. He climbed up and flicked on the lights. It was dusty and warm. Scattered around were several boxes of Christmas decorations, memorabilia, and photo albums. There was also an old bicycle of Shauna���s. He didn���t remember hauling that thing up here and wondered why they hadn���t stored it in the detached garage instead.

Frank thought about where he should make the hole and decided the southwest corner of the roof would be the easiest to climb down from. He proceeded to the spot, plugged in his electric drill, and started to penetrate the wood.

My circular saw would be really useful right now, he thought. But it���s in the basement. I���ll just drill enough holes to weaken the wood. Once I get my hand saw into the gap it���ll go a lot quicker.

The drill went through the board easily but it stopped way too early. He tried another location and the same thing happened.

Oh, no, he thought. It couldn���t be, could it?

He drilled several more holes close to one another until he confirmed that yes, it could be.

The same hard plastic sheet was apparently covering the roof.

It surrounds the entire house, Frank realized. The only way out is through the locked door in front.

Defeated, Frank gathered his tools and descended the ladder. He found Shauna in the living room, standing in front of the TV screen.

���What does this mean?��� she asked.

The screen read, ���I told you.���

Frank yelled, ���Why are you doing this? Are we contagious? Is this virus going to kill us?���

���There is no need to shout. I can hear you,��� read the screen.

The letters disappeared. Then it read,

���The shielding is for your protection, not ours. None of you have a virus.���

Once again, the screen darkened.

���Supplies will be delivered and trash picked up in the front hatchway at 0900 each day. The inner door will be locked from 0830 to 0930. If you require anything in particular, just say so.���

Then they were treated to Gilligan���s Island.

-���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

Three weeks later, Frank and Shauna were still speculating about what was meant by the statement that the shielding was for their own benefit. Had there been a nuclear war? Or some kind of deadly chemical release? Was the atmosphere outside toxic or radioactive? Or was the rest of the population infected with a lethal virus? Were their neighbors similarly trapped in their homes? How far did this problem extend? Was it city-wide? The whole United States? Global? And why did they seemingly age by a year or so at the start of their confinement? Had they been comatose? If so, how did they all manage to come out of it at the same time?

There were many more questions than answers. The person on the other end of the television signal refused to give them any useful information. The response to each of their questions was ���All in good time.���

The children seemed to adapt to the situation much more easily than their parents. Thankfully, they were able to access more than Gilligan���s Island on the television. One only had to request a specific show verbally, and it would be broadcast. But nothing later than the date of their incarceration was available. They could even watch the news, as long as it was a rerun. But all programming after August 16th, 2020 was off-limits. What happened that day? Did TV and cable stations no longer exist? Frank and Shauna had no way of knowing.

They received no mail. They couldn���t check their investments. They didn���t know who was paying their bills, or even if they were still getting any bills.

They had to be somewhat guarded in what they said because it soon became apparent that their keepers could hear even whispered conversations within the house. Frustrated and fearful, the family fought more than usual. Being cooped up in their home, as spacious as it was, grew old fairly quickly. One day, Frank decided he���d had enough. He was determined to find out what was going on, even if it cost him his life. Just after 8:00 am, while Shauna was homeschooling the kids, he wrote her an explanatory note in case things went wrong and left it under a pile of books on the kitchen table. Then he snuck into the front hatchway and hid beneath some trash bags. He heard the inner door lock as usual at 8:30. Then he sat quietly, waiting for the outer door to open at 9:00.

It never did. At 9:30 am, the inner door unlocked again. Frank gave up and went back into the house. The television was displaying a message:

���That was very foolish. You could have died. Deliveries and trash pickup will be withheld for two weeks.���

Shauna was distinctly unhappy when he told her what happened. Frank slept on the couch for the next couple of weeks.

-���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

A month passed. Shauna was finally speaking to Frank again following his failed attempt at leaving the house. Besides the fact that he had apparently put himself in physical danger, the two-week cessation of deliveries had turned out to be a real hardship. Their keepers only delivered a day���s worth of food and supplies at a time, and their refrigerator and cupboard only held about five to seven days��� worth of backup. Even with rationing, they were running out of food by the tenth day. Repeated appeals to their keepers were ignored. It became painfully obvious just how dependent they were on the people outside.

Which is why, when the television screen gave them the following instruction, they decided not to object:

���In preparation for the grand opening, please remove all curtains, shades, and other window coverings and place them in the hatchway. An explanation will follow your compliance.���

They did as instructed, and the kids helped. The plastic sheeting outside was translucent, so the window treatments really didn���t serve much of a purpose anyway.

���What do you think they mean by ���the grand opening���?��� asked Shauna as she removed the living room curtains from their hooks.

���Maybe we���re finally getting out of here,��� said Frank.

���Oh, God, wouldn���t that be nice?���

���Yeah, but don���t mention it to the kids, in case I���m wrong.���

They finished the job and placed everything in the front box. They closed the inner door and heard it lock. There was a tone from the television behind them. The screen read:

���You may now ask three questions.���

���Let���s think about this before responding, Shauna,��� said Frank. Then, for the benefit of their providers, he said, ���We want to speak among ourselves for a few minutes. We will tell you when we are ready to ask our questions.���

���Understood,��� read the screen.

���Should we send the kids to their room?��� asked Shauna.

���No, Mom, please!��� said Tyler.

���This affects them, too,��� said Frank. ���They should stay.���

After a few minutes of discussion, Frank said, ���We are ready. Question 1: How long must we remain locked inside our home?���

���For the remainder of your lives,��� read the screen.

Shauna screamed, then collapsed and fell to the floor, crying. Frank stroked her hair and said, ���Question 2: Why?��� Shauna picked up her head to read the answer.

���The outside atmosphere is toxic to humans.���

Frank sat down heavily on the sofa. ���How is that possible?��� he asked.

���Because you are no longer on Earth. This is the planet you call Proxima B, circling the star you call Proxima Centauri. You are approximately 4.3 light-years from your home planet. We welcome you to your new home.���

���That���s ridiculous! Do you think we���re idiots? How can you expect us to believe such a thing?��� Frank shouted.

The translucent plastic covering around their house suddenly cleared. They could see out. This was not their neighborhood. The ground was reddish, and the structures around them were unlike any buildings men had ever designed. And the stars in the sky were all wrong.

Not to mention the two moons, one of which was either very large or orbiting very close. It dominated the night sky.

���Wow,��� said Juliet.

���Cool,��� exclaimed Tyler.

Frank rushed into the kitchen and threw up into the sink.

The windows clouded over and Gilligan���s Island resumed.

-���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

Three days later, the screen read:

���Are you prepared to ask more questions?���

���Yes,��� said Frank.

���Good. We know our guests need time to adjust, so we try not to overload them with information right away.���

���How did we get here?���

���We brought you. Our ships travel at a maximum velocity of 20 percent of the speed of light, but they need considerable time to accelerate and decelerate. The journey took approximately 200 of your earth-years.���

Shauna put her arms around Frank for support. ���200 years? We���d be dead,��� said Frank.

���No. You were in stasis. Your body functions were slowed down. Physically, you only aged about one year during the trip.���

���I suppose that���s why we felt sluggish and sore when we first got here.���

���Yes. And our planet is about 30 percent more massive than Earth, so you no doubt had to struggle with the extra gravity. But you all seem to have adapted well.���

���There���s no going back, is there?���

���No. We do not intend to return you to Earth. Even if we did, you would not recognize it. It would be another 200-year journey. Also, because of relativistic time dilation effects at near-light speeds, clocks move slower while you���re on the ship. By the time you got back to Earth, it would be approximately the year 3025.���

The screen went blank for a moment, then this message appeared:

���And given the recent history of your species, we are not certain your planet would still be habitable by then.���

The screen blacked out again.

���I am told you may have found that last statement of fact insulting. My apologies.���

���Why did you bring us here?���

���We collect species from all of our nearest celestial neighbors. Do not worry, we will care for you. Just act normally. Our people will observe you in your natural habitat.���

���In other words, you���ve put us on display. In a zoo.���

���Yes, your analogy is accurate. A zoo. The grand opening is tomorrow. Sleep well. And to prepare you, here is a picture of what we look like.���

The picture appeared.

The kids screamed and ran from the room.

Shauna fainted.

Roger ran for the sink.

���There is no need for alarm. We are your friends. Your keepers. We will take excellent care of you, for the duration of your natural lives. Enjoy your stay with us.���

-���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

Pete Simons