Socially Appropriate Distancing (M/M)

[bigsmile21]

Before we start: To all, thank you to those doing their part to limit the spread of COVID-19. What follows is a short story reminiscent of Twilight Zone, where things are fiction, but eerily close to a realm of possibility: a local police force takes advanced measures to crack down on large gatherings. No one in this story contracts the virus, and I do not describe the symptoms, as that may be upsetting for those who know others exposed to the virus. Please take this as a distraction during these strange times, and remember to stay safe and stay sane.


Also, check my other story, Wrong Side of the Law, for a fun prelude of the riot control tech.


"Everyone down on the ground!" yelled a police officer. In an instant, tension in the room spiked. Music was still pumping, but everyone at the party froze, waiting for someone else to move first. Freddy knew he'd messed up coming here.

Historians will note that during the early months of 2020, state and local governments encouraged "social distancing" to reduce the spread of a new virus. Large gatherings were prohibited and many public areas closed. The theory was to prevent unnecessary spreading of the virus, ensuring available resources for treating those currently sick. Humans are social creatures, however.

"I said to get down on the ground!" the officer yelled again. Freddy and the four people around him dropped to their knees, hands up. Others started to drop down as well, with some people still standing, like deer caught in headlights. The officer focused his attention on those still standing. He wore a black tactical suit covering his arms and legs, with blue gloves covering his fingers. He had a large rifle drawn. Black boots covered his feet. He wore a helmet and face shield, but even under the plastic face shield he wore a black balaclava and yellow-tinted sunglasses. He wasn't taking any risk of exposure. Behind him, Freddy could see at least four more police officers.

The officer repeated his order, intimidating all but two people to drop down. The other four officers from moved in, splitting into pairs. One in each pair had their rifle drawn, the other reaching behind to produce a collection of zip tie handcuffs. At sight of the cuffs, the two standing people tensed, quickly followed by the first officer again shouting at them to get down. The pairs of officers moved from person to person, cuffing their hands behind their back.

"No one here is sick, dude" one of the standing men said. Freddy's attention was split between him and the advancing officers, with the pit in his stomach expanding. "Test us if you want. We just want to blow off steam." The first officer again shouted for him to drop, and the other standing man complied, dropping to his knees and raising his hands. The other officers were in front of Freddy now, gripping his wrists and cinching them tight behind his back. Freddy's elbows bend outward. It wasn't a comfortable set of cuffs. He'd had the metal play kind growing up, but that was it. And he'd certainly never been arrested before.

This was supposed to be a care-free party. The virus hadn't even spread much in this city. But two days ago, the Grandview mayor ordered everyone to limit their person-to-person exposure and remain inside their homes unless "essentially necessary". Freddy got the invite to this party from his usual Saturday hangout friends. Wanting to get one last rouse in before lockdown, he agreed to drive his friends there. Rolling up, he had a pull in his gut that this was way too many people, but his friends teased him to stay. Now here he was.

"I don't wanna tase you, but I will" the officer said to the last man standing. "Get down on the ground, now!". The other officers were still cuffing the last party guests, so the standing man got the bright idea to make a run for it. It all happened so fast. Within blinks, Freddy saw the man rush the officer, the officer fire, and a black mass of rubber drop to the ground where the man was just standing. The mass was vaguely human shaped, with small black tendrils wiggling outward. The rubber constricted inwards, outlining the man like a mummy. The whole room was dead silent. Even the other officers paused to watch. The man squirmed and muffled yells for a few seconds before seizing up, going rigid. He loosened again, moaned quietly, exhausted.

"Anyone else?" the first officer asked. He was taking large breathes, eyeing people intently. Freddy got the impression the guy was looking at dangerous felons. A few people looked down, one started to cry. "You're all under arrest for violating the recent large gathering ordinance. Since there's a lot of you, and we can't pack you into our vehicles, be patient while we transport you in waves to the designated detention facility."

"What about John?" one person asked.

"You're buddy here's fine" the officer replied. "New riot gear to keep idiots like you from running around, infecting the rest of the city. Nice bit of tech. Case, call in that we're gonna need another three cruisers. Media's gonna have a field trip covering this." One of the younger officers reached for their shoulder radio and made a call.

"But we're not infected!" another person shouted. People around Freddy started to get antsy, looking around at each other and moving their hands behind their backs.

"We have a global pandemic, and you all thought it would be fun to throw a party?" the officer retorted. "Since there's not enough tests yet, we're taking you out of the populace and somewhere we can monitor you. If any of you are infected, we'll get you treatment. Otherwise, you can just enjoy during your isolation."

One by one, the officers moved each person from the house party into a police cruiser. There were three news vans outside, each trying to interview the lead officer. Freddy overheard most of the talks while standing in a line of cuffed people, keeping his head down to avoid cameras.

"Officer Hawkins, how many people did you arrest today and why?" one reporter asked.

"25, ma'am, and because we suspect one of them may have intentionally spread the new virus. A noise complaint tipped us off."

"What will happen to those arrested?"

"We can't take them to the city jail. But the mayor has been working with businesses in the nearby office park to utilize those buildings as temporary holding locations. Those businesses have shifted to work-from-home for the duration of this health situation and we appreciate their quick efforts to help."

"But how will you contain and treat them?"

"We're adapting to the situation as it evolves. For now, we have the means to restrain, isolate, and monitor all of the perps, and anyone else thinking of being reckless is welcome to join them." With that, the officer waved the news crews away and moved to the line of former party goers. He grabbed Freddy from the line and made a show of moving him into the back of the cruiser. Freddy's head was pushed down, the door slammed shut, and the officer turned back one last time to wave at the cameras.

Freddy squirmed up in his seat and jumped when he saw the rubberized John sitting next to him. John showed now signs of movement or that he'd heard Freddy. The officer entered the car, shut the door, and looked back in the rear view mirror.

"Picked you out from the lot," the officer said. "You buddy will take some training but I think you'll fall right in line."

"Are you going to wrap me up like him" Freddy asked. His heart was pounding.

"Yes, and other things." the officer replied. "We're going to be in lockdown for a long time, and courts won't open for a while."

"This can't be legal," Freddy said. "Just look at him. You can't do this to someone."

"Buddy, you willfully went to a party, knowing what's going on. You're a danger to the city, and I'm going to put you in quarantine whether you want to or not."

"It's Freddy" Freddy said, his voice cracking in anxiety.

"No, it's Buddy" the officer said. "All of mine are always called buddy."

[sharpliketoday]

Cool idea for a story! Looking forward for more

[bondagefreak]

Awesome start, mate!

Knowing how good and exciting your tales usually are, I'm sure this'll be a blast!
Can't wait to see what's in store for poor Freddy AKA "Buddy"

I'd suggest you create yourself a placeholder in the M/M story Index: https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=4714
As soon as you post your list of stories, I'll be adding your username-link to the top of the page.

[camoprisoner]

Whoa, this is interesting. I like it! Please continue!

[bigsmile21]

**Thank you for the feedback! I've written two more installments, with the final one wrapping this story. Please stay safe during these uncertain times, and enjoy!**

When he'd arrived at the building, Officer Hawkins transferred the cuffed Freddy to another cop, meanwhile lifting the packaged John onto his shoulder. The new officer was shorter than Hawkins, but had his own wrap-rifle slung over his shoulder. He escorted Freddy into the building, swiped a key card to access the elevator, and pressed Floor 2.

A quick elevator ride later, the officer pulled Freddy into a hallway bathroom and told him to strip so he could change into an inmate uniform. Freddy was spun around, felt the handcuffs loosen, and again told to strip. He rubbed his wrists, enjoying the movement again. He slipped off his shoes, socks, and slowly pulled off his shirt and jeans. He paused, then pulled down his underwear. The officer told him to stand feet together, hands by his sides. Freddy complied. He heard a rustling sound, but instead of getting an inmate uniform tossed to him, Freddy heard a metal click and a force shoved him forward. Black rubber tentacles were quickly wrapping around his torso, cinching his feet together and arms locked by his side. The impact of the wrap-rifle shot moved him further down the bathroom, but with his feet tied Freddy tripped and fell, his head clonking on the floor. Freddy was out cold, but the rubber continued to wrap around him.

He woke up some time later with an excruciating headache. His skull throbbed against the rubber wrappings, still encasing him. He couldn't see or hear anything. He tried to move his legs, his arms, his neck, his anything. It was like trying to bend a slab of concrete; it just wouldn't move. He felt heavy and out of breath, so he paused. He took a deep inhale and let out a yell as loud as he could. He couldn't open his mouth, and the strict rubber made it hard to expand his chest much. Continuing would tire him out as much as the struggling did.

Freddy sat in silence and pain for what felt like hours. Every now and then he'd gather enough strength and frustration to try squirming against his bonds, or yelling to get someone's attention. And every time met with the same exhaustion and silence. He was working up a sweat, which he could feel dripping underneath him. He had to be careful in case the rubber didn't leak, or in case he had to pee.

Suddenly, something bumped against him. Freddy jolted, but that amounted to hardly any movement. Then another bump, like a boot tapping against his thigh. He froze, not sure if this was Officer Hawkins or the other one. Someone was saying something, but his hearing was muffled. Outside the rubber, Officers Hawkins and Case were standing over Freddy.

"You say he put up a fight, huh?" Hawkins asked

"Yes, sir." Case replied. "Tried to go for my rifle when transferring out of his clothes."

"Didn't seem like a fighter to me," Hawkins said. "But corner an animal and it'll bite back." Officer Hawkins nudged the rubber outline again. He'd have to put in more effort than expected to train his newest Buddy.

He stepped back, looking at the rows of cubicles. This floor was filling up fast. While that meant more Buddys to choose from, this would turn into a logistical nightmare soon: cops would have to be pulled off the streets to be able to monitor all these culprits. Then there's feeding, hygiene, and he wasn't sure how to even begin with meeting bathroom needs.

There was a lot of pressure from the mayor to make this containment project work. While he was ahead of the media's questions now, all it would take was one snooping reporting to expose any "unethical detainment" practices. He supposed there were still plenty of empty cubicles...

"You'll be in change of securing culprits to cubes." Hawkins said to Case. "I don't want to come in and have a bunch of rubber slugs crawling around the floors. And start coming up with a credible filing system. Map the cubicles to the culprits, or link their names to the people who used to work in each cube, I don't care so long as I can find anyone we bring in." There were limited wrap-rifle casings, and currently he'd have to remove the entire rubber casing to identify anyone.

"Yes, sir." Case said, "I'll have something for your by tomorrow." The two cops began walking towards the elevator. The elevator dinged, and another wave of rubber-wrapped people were being brought in.

Back at Freddy's cubicle, the nudging against his leg had stopped. The muffled speech he'd heard had stopped. Freddy felt alone. Freddy was alone. Well, unless you counted his nearby "cellmates", each in their our rubber casings. Each six feet apart.

[bigsmile21]

It's been two weeks since Freddy's arrest. More of the country has acknowledged the threat of the new virus, leading to city-wide lockdowns. Grandview, for its part, has seen reduced public gatherings after Officer Hawkins' news briefing. People are adjusting to their new work-from-home life, families are spending more time together (for better or worse), and Grandview's main hospital has been able to keep pace with the developing cases.

Freddy has also been adjusting to his new life: the solitude, the restriction, and the humiliation. Officer Hawkins played up the conditions of the converted offices to the media. Or was he intentionally vague? Freddy had trouble remembering, his brain dull from boredom. Though he couldn't see, around his "cell" was someone else's pictures and clutter. Freddy was in one out of a row of cubicles on this floor. Across from him was a desk with files and a computer, turned off. Above him were rows of florescent lights.

He was sitting on the floor, secured to one of the cubicle walls. The walls were four feet high, beige, and there were three walls in total. The fourth wall of the cubicle was open. He was wrapped from the head down in the same type of rubber straps that had ensnared John at the party. He'd gone through various stages of escape attempts but movement and communication were limited.

He'd been hungry at first, but then woke up and wasn't. He couldn't remember going to sleep. Just being tired after his efforts at escape and waking up sometime later refreshed, but cramped. His muscles were sore from head to toe, with his head still slightly throbbing. There was something in his mouth, a plastic taste that he couldn't chew. A tube? Breathing was more difficult now, so he had to focus on breathing slowly through his nose. At times something moved down the tube and he felt mush drop into his stomach. He couldn't back the tube out or block the mush with his tongue. He felt less human with each new pump of mush, spaced what felt like hours apart.

Officer Hawkins was furious at Officer Case. The rookie cop had used notecards for his filing system, then lost the notecards. After two weeks, nearly all the cubicles across three floors of the building were filled with rubber-wrapped culprits. Worse, Officer Case had started moving culprits to sort them by his notecards. His now lost notecards. This was a mess. Hawkins had no idea which cubicle housed which person. Or where his Buddys were.

Fortunately, fewer culprits were being brought in nowadays. And even more fortunately, Hawkins had assistance from the mayor with securing resources to care for his captives. Test kits for the virus were sent, with instructions to transfer any infected individuals to the hospital. Anyone not infected would remain in isolation, firstly as a punishment and secondly to reduce the number of people who could get infected. Representatives from the company that developed the wrap-rifle advised on how to insert the testing kit through the breathing holes of the rubber, as well as how to maneuver feeding tubes safely. The feeding tubes provided a liquid-only diet. Bed pans underneath the culprits solved that problem. Culprits could now be kept for longer term. Officer Case was put on prisoner maintenance duty: culprits were secured to their cubicles, feeding tubes were installed properly, and bed pans were emptied and cleaned regularly.

Finally, with the situation under some semblance control, Hawkins began thinking through how he could break in his Buddys. Because of the shuffle, he was unsure which ones were those he'd originally flagged. He could grill Case, but that might raise suspicion. He had a few spare rounds of wrap-rifle casings, so he weighed the option of randomly picking a few rubber forms he liked and seeing if what was underneath matched his liking. It would be like a surprise present to himself. And if he didn't like what he saw then he'd re-wrap them and move to the next cubicle. He had three sets of headphones which he planned to place them on the unwrapped heads of his selected Buddys, re-wrap them, and set the hypnosis audio tracks to repeat. Given the long-term forecasts of the lockdown, his Buddys would be moldable clay by the time he decided to remove their wrappings for the next stage of training.

That plan could have worked. Except Officer Hawkins never showed up to the detention building the next day, or throughout the week. The public announcement from the police department was that Officer Hawkins had chosen to step down to focus on his personal health. In truth, no one at the mayor's office knew where he was. Hawkins was just gone. Maybe the stress of the new detention duties finally got to him. Or the scale of the national pandemic. Or he got sick and didn't want to risk endangering his fellow cops. Other officers stepped in to fill the void left by him, ensuring the detention facility and its captives were well-attended to. The officer in charge of prisoner care seemed saddened when interviewed by the media, outside the detention building, but happy that people were following the mayor's order to stay indoors and not risk exposure.

After the interview, Officer Case took the elevator to the basement, unlocked a door at the end of the hallway, and shut it behind him. Insider were three rubber outlines, those of John, Freddy, and Officer Hawkins. He hadn't lost his notecards on indexing prisoners, just wanted to secure John and Freddy for himself. And he certainly hadn't appreciated being put on babysitting duty by Hawkins. Each body was laid down on the ground, weighted down by cords and weights. Feeding tubes ran from their mouths to an open trough, where he'd pour down the liquid nutrients when he'd visit twice a day. As an added touch, each rubber-wrapped body had the outline of a pair of headphones. By the end of lockdown, he'd have his own Buddys properly trained.

[bondagefreak]

Man, I feel so bad for Officer Hawkins!
After he "disappeared" I kinda knew someone had put him under wraps.
The guy responsible for that was also my prime suspect right from the get go.

Loving this, mate!
The vibe is a little dark and a bit different from the rest of the stories on here.
Very much in line with what I've come to expect of you.
Your style is very distinctive.

[Mummyboi]

Totally love this story... I wish I could try out containment .... can’t wait to hear next chapter