Treatment

"It's really helping us get some positive traction in small towns," Bonder explained to the documentary crew. "Preserve not just the way of life, but life of any kind. The pandemic just went bowling through every kind of resilience we thought we had." Four military guards brought a civilian through, two supporting her on the sides, one out front and one behind to clear a path to the containment pod and protect the vicinity; the woman struggled, swearing a blue streak under her breath. "Unit 6 for this subject," Bonder instructed, looking at his clipboard. "Any chance we could watch on the monitors?" the producer asked. "Sure! Come with me," he replied. They settled in a small makeshift office with eight monitors mounted together to project a 360 degree view of the subjects in treatment. "Mrs. Harrison is a school lunch lady, and we assessed her at Level 4," Bonder explained. "Level 1s get puppies or kitties; Level 2s are ducklings or bunnies; Level 3s are goats and piglets; Level 4s are baby otters." "That the most severe stage? Level 4?" the producer asked. "Oh, yeah," he confirmed. "Also called the 'We Hope the Spengler Trap Holds' phase." They all watched as Mrs. Harrison writhed in agony in Unit 6, her face contorted in a silent scream as tiny otters crawled onto her lap and patted her (restrained) hands with their own. One crawled up to her shoulder and nuzzled her face, which caused Mrs. Harrison to burst into tears. "Here we go," Bonder whispered. A black box dropped from the ceiling and a red light went on as its small doors opened. A blackness began to pour out of Mrs. Harrison, through her eyes, ears, mouth, heart chakra, as well as her hands and feet. The documentary crew gasped and stared. The blackness hovered near the top of her head and then was pulled into the box, its doors slamming shut and self-sealing from the inside with a kind of glow. "Holy mother of ...," the producer begin. "What WAS that?" someone else interjected. "Misery," Bonder sighed, relieved that the containment unit had held. "Loneliness. Anger. Self-destruction. Level 4s have all but given up." "This is going to be the best documentary of all time," the producer whispered. "I cannot WAIT to start filming!" "Well, you can start now if you want," Bonder said gently, turning to the group, "but we'll need you to get assessed first and treated if necessary.”