The Jinn

The supermarket was bustling again. In the midst of all the commotion, the manager was called out of his office. He passed by multiple customers, back to restock their home shelves after the quarantine period had ended. The quarantine had extended for a month longer than they expected, so business had been booming for the past few days. He exited the store and saw a shabby man with an unkempt stubble and unruly hair. He was wearing a hoodie with a tear on the back, trackpants and a black sports shoe. The manager went up to the guy, who was screaming in his loudest voice at incoming customers, “Do not go in there, there was a giant lizard before.”

“Aaron, you have been here for all the three days since quarantine had ended. You cannot shout at random customers.”

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When the hood was taken off, Aaron had to squint and turn his head away from the light hitting his face. Turning back to look ahead, Aaron noticed he was sitting opposite a man in a green and black camouflage uniform, complete with a cap. His name patch read ‘Arian Fifwon.’ Arian was seated comfortably, and when Aaron’s mask was removed, he got up to stand aside the table. He was looking straight into Aaron’s eyes.

“Mr. Aaron, all we want to know is what you saw. Just tell us that and you can leave. Do not think you can lie to us.”

Only after Fifwon finished talking did Aaron realise who the ‘us’ were. Behind the officer were three men in suits. Aaron did not recognise two of them but was able to make out the features of the Prime Minister in the shadow. Aaron then looked up at Fifwon and replied.

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Aaron’s smartwatch read ‘21.48’. He had forgotten his wallet but was sure no one would mind a single packet of milk being taken without paying for it. Darkness would be his cover, his way to avoid the military and get to the supermarket. He was wearing his blue backpack and carried a torch since the streetlights were switched off. Knowing that shining the light high up or having it on high brightness would get him caught, Aaron kept the torch facing down on the dimmest setting. Walking along the pavement, Aaron turned two corners before the supermarket was visible in the distance. He suddenly heard a loud blare from a megaphone in the distance.

“Anyone outside right now is asked to find us right now. We promise not to arrest you and will return you safely to your homes. Once again, come to us immediately and you will not be persecuted,” announced the voice on the megaphone. Aaron feared that if the voice found him, he would definitely be persecuted. With that fear in his mind, he switched off his torch and bolted towards the doors of the supermarket. The sound of a vehicle, possibly a jeep or a truck, became closer as Aaron passed the parking lot. He had to hide behind a column to avoid the headlights of the jeep, in which four army personals were driving and keeping watch. Aaron sighed in relief as the jeep passed him. He waited, keeping his eyes on the road for the next few minutes, before heading forward to the supermarket.

Aaron reached the front doors of the supermarket, which he was a hundred percent sure would be closed. However, the glass was shattered, providing him with a clear entrance. He believed it was just the doing another desperate man like him in search of food, and entered the supermarket, carefully stepping over the glass. He looked around the dark unlit supermarket and knew that the surveillance cameras would not be working. Switching back on the torch, he shone it around, and headed straight for the diary section. Walking through the cleaning isle, he heard a crunch coming from the parallel snacks isle. Aaron stopped for a moment, and the crunch did not repeat. Thinking it was his imagination, Aaron kept walking.

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The television was switched on. No channel except for the government-controlled ones were running. All others did not have staff in the office due to the Jinn virus. Originating from the slums of India, the virus had slowly but steadily spread across the globe. At the same time that Aaron was running out of milk, over fifteen percent of the world population was affected, and there had been three hundred-thousand deaths.

“All citizens are required to stay at home until the quarantine period is over,” said the Prime Minister on the news. Aaron, however, could not. “We are establishing a draconian system. Anyone caught out in the streets will be arrested by army officers on patrol. In the case of resisting arrest, you will be shot. As your Prime Minister, I want no life to be lost to the virus, and we will go to great lengths to prevent that from happening.” The screen went blank, showcasing only the message ‘Days left for quarantine: 12.’ After that, the government news updates started to run.

“How do you who has the virus and who doesn’t?” Aaron asked the Prime Minister. He, of course, could not hear Aaron’s remarks through the television. However, Aaron continued to talk. “What if we run out of food or water? You don’t want anyone to die of the virus, but dying of starvation is fine? Swear to god this is why I did not vote for your party. All this bullshit measures,” Aaron continued to lament.

Aaron tried to get on the internet, but the connection was still down. The draconian government had blocked the internet five days prior and did not have any intention to restore it until the quarantine period was over. He then walked over to his refrigerator, which had five loafs of bread, thirty-six eggs and vegetables. He had been brought down to his last five-hundred millilitres of UHT milk when his two-litre bottle was tipped from the counter, spilling all the contents.

“Just plain stupid,” Aaron murmured, nagging himself for the fiftieth time. “Maybe if I went outside for a quick ten minutes no one will notice. It’s not like there’s anyone else there to spread the virus. Plus, I can access the back entrance of the supermarket. Would be a quick in and out matter.”

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Reaching the milk fridge, he could see lumps on the fresh milk bottles, with some even turning green. Opening the fridge, he could smell the stench, and had to close it before being able to breathe. Holding his breath, he opened the fridge again, and took out a two-litre bottle of UHT milk, closing the door and exhaling. The milk bottle was warm, but he knew it would not be spoilt. Satisfied, he headed back towards the cleaning isle, when he thought to himself, “Why not get some snacks as well? Not like anyone is going to know.” He turned left, walking to the parallel isle, and shone the torch in front of him.

Seeing the light hit its face, the giant lizard, which had been digging into a packet of chips, flinched and moved back. It was standing on two legs, with one leg on the fourth rack of the shelf and the last leg holding down the packet. Aaron was petrified and dropped both the milk bottle and the torch at the same time. The light shone away from the lizard, and Aaron could see its green eyes glow in the dark. The lizard then got on all fours and started to charge towards him.

Aaron turned right back towards the cleaning isle and started running through it. Getting half-way into the isle, he looked back and saw the lizard skid to a stop at the isle, and charge towards him. Aaron noticed a bottle of detergent on the shelf, and whilst running, opened the bottle and poured it on the floor behind him. When he reached the end of the isle, he turned back again to see the lizard struggle to keep its footing while stepping on the detergent. Using the buffer, Aaron kept running, leaving the supermarket. He got about thirty metres away when a bright set of headlights were switched on, shining directly onto his face. Aaron had to hold up a hand to shield his eyes and turned away to face the entrance of the supermarket. He saw the lizard flinch upon seeing the light and move further back into the isles. Turning back Aaron saw two tall figures walk towards him. They both grabbed him by his hands. Aaron’s futile efforts of struggle were matched with ease as they carried him into the jeep and placed a hood over his head.

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“I saw a lizard. A giant one. I saw it eating into a packet of chips. When it saw me it chased me, until I was rescued by some officers.”

Fifwon turned his head to look at the Prime Minister and the other men in the suit. The men consulted amongst themselves in a hushed tone, and then the Prime Minister looked back at Fifwon and nodded. “Aaron, we did not find any phones on you, so I assume you have not told anyone else about this strange giant lizard you claim to have seen.”

“Claim to have seen?” Aaron asked in shock. “I saw it with my own eyes. And I know that your men also saw it. They are the ones who shone the headlight which caused the lizard to run away. They saved me and then kidnapped me…”

Fifwon held up a hand, motioning Aaron to stop talking. He then leaned forward, slamming his hands onto the table. Aaron expected him to shout, but instead, Fifwon talked in the same calm manner with a hint of passive aggressiveness. “I asked if you told anyone else about what you have claimed to see.” Aaron looked him straight into his eyes.

“No, I haven’t,” he replied. Fifwon nodded, contended with the response.

“Now Mr. Aaron, the whole point of the curfew was that no one would catch the Jinn virus. The supermarket was empty because there was a reported case of an infected person visiting there. It is possible you may have contacted the virus. As you know, effects of the virus include hallucinations and paranoia.”

“Are you seriously trying to tell me that I dreamt up the whole thing? What do you think I am, five?” Aaron expressed his anger, but inside he understood his vulnerable position, and that his say did not matter.

“I understand your predicament. However, we have to keep you under government quarantine to prevent further contamination.” As Fifwon finished the sentence, a hood came over Aaron’s head. “I hope you understand that this is for the better of society.”

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Aaron ignored the words of the manager and continued to shout. “The Jinn is not a virus. It’s a bunch of lizard people who come to feed. Remember the bird flu years back. I bet they come to feed at these times, and the government forces us into quarantine so that we do not know about them.” The manager sighed and smiled uncomfortably at customers walking past him. “It’s time we ask the government for the truth. They cannot keep it hidden for much longer.”

The manager levelled with Aaron, putting both his hands on Aaron’s shoulders. “Listen. I know they had to fire you. I know you were kicked out of your house as well. I feel bad but I cannot do anything about it. If you don’t leave right now, I will have to call the police.” Aaron looked at the manager, and stared in silence for a few seconds, before pushing his hands off of his shoulders. He then began to walk away from the entrance of the store. Passing by a surveillance camera, he stopped, looked straight at it, and flipped it off with both hands.

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Elsewhere, Fifwon and his team were still monitoring Aaron and his movements. They saw him flip them off and continued to track his movement.

“Sir, isn’t it too dangerous for us to leave him to roam free like this? He could expose the truth easily,” asked one of the men seated down looking straight at the screen.

“There is no point in killing him…would just raise suspicion. Let him roam. People will keep calling him a lunatic, and soon enough, he will start believing them.