The QuaranTeens, #1

by Keith B Darrell

  Destine’s eyes widened. “You lived here before the virus? You remember what life was like?”

  “’Course I do. A dozen years ain’t that long ago. ‘Course, it must seem that way to Archer and Robin; they’s only toddlers at the time. The virus took their parents but spared me, Lord knows why. Mysterious ways and all, I reckon. Disease don’t discriminate: white or black, rich or poor. The virus was the great equalizer. Even them rich folks in that there domed city died gasping fer their last breath like the rest of us.”

  Covid looked around the remains of the trailer park. “Is this it? Is this all of humanity that’s left?”

  Granny laughed. “Hell boy, this ain’t nothing but what’s left of one small city in one state in one country on a very big planet. Used to be you could get on an airplane and travel from one end of the country to another, or simply flip on a television set, and see what was happening in other places. Not no more. The plague done changed that. Ain’t no way to know what’s happening elsewhere. No phones, no television, no internet; heck, we ain’t even got no freaking electricity ’less’en you can score a working generator. But I reckon there’s folks what survived out there, same as us. You do what you have to, to survive. I done things I never would’ve dreamed of doing before the plague.”

  Covid ruminated. “I was too young to remember life before the plague. Was it really that different?”

  “Like night and day. Back then, I’d have been ashamed of a lot of what I done. Not now, though. I’m proud of them things ‘cause if I hadn’t done ‘em, Archer and Robin wouldn’t be alive today. In them days, I’d have baked you a cherry pie and tucked you into bed at night; but now, if’n I thought you was a threat to Archer and Robin, I’d kill you without any hesitation.”

  “We’re not a threat to them.”

  Granny nodded. “That’s why you’re still breathing.” She walked over to a large metal bell attached to a pole and rang it. Eight men and women Granny’s age stepped out of their aluminum shelters. “This here's Covid and Destine. They’re friends, so don’t go killing them.”

  Covid and Destine gave a slight wave. Surveying the new arrivals, Destine asked, “Are Archer and Robin the only kids at the Outpost?”

  Granny nodded. “A lot of the other outposts have kids; those who were teenagers when the plague struck are in their late twenties now. A lot of them don’t want to bring children into this world. Can’t say I blame them. This used to be a retirement community. My daughter and her husband came with their kids to stay after they lost their home.”

  “How did that happen?” Destine asked.

  “The economic collapse during the first outbreak of the virus. Folks was told to stay inside. Businesses failed, folks had no income and the banks foreclosed on their homes… fat lot of good that done them money grubbers in the end. Funny thing: it turns out if you take people’s jobs and their homes, they ain’t gonna need no banks. Anyway, they done moved in with me so they was here when the second wave hit. As you can see, a few of us older folk survived but most didn’t.”

  “So Archer and Robin’s parents were killed in the second wave of the virus?” Destine asked. “I didn’t know there had been a second wave.”

  Granny squinted at her. “Everyone knows that, even if it was before they was born. You been living under a rock, girl?”

  Destine thought back to the underground bunker they had been raised in. “You could say something like that.”

  Archer and Robin came running back. “Come on,” Archer said. “I’m gonna teach you how to make a fishing pole and catch fish.”

  Robin reached for Destine’s hand. “And I’m gonna show you how to make bows and arrows and teach you how to shoot.” The four teens ran off. Granny watched, amazed at the rare excitement and enthusiasm Archer and Robin were displaying.

  The music was even louder when Corona entered the drawing room. Kai’s cries distracted her. “Help!”

  She saw Kai strapped to the chair and ran to him. “Kai! What—?”

  “Unplug that machine!” He grunted, his body arching against the leather straps restraining him.

  Corona saw a cable leading from the milker to a portable generator. She tugged on the cord and the milker ceased functioning.

  Kai sighed, his body collapsing into the chair, limp and exhausted. “Untie me,” he gasped.

  Corona unstrapped his wrists. “These people are monsters. We have to get out of here.”

  “Really?” Kai asked, untying his ankle straps. “What was your first clue?”

  “I’ll tell you later. I don’t have my mask; let’s find our masks and leave.”

  Kai jumped up, covering himself with the robe. “Facemasks? I don’t have my pants.” He opened the cabinet he had seen Dr. Carstairs place his clothes in and quickly dressed. “I don’t think we need masks if the virus has been gone for years. The real question is, how we get out of the dome?”

  “We ask for directions.” Corona saw eight feet of plastic tubing coming from the milker and ripped it out. “Follow me.” She led Kai back to her room, where Maga was pleading with Dr. Carstairs.

  “She was terribly ill. I didn’t realize I had left the door open.”

  “You fool! She could be anywhere. I’ll deal with you later. Now I have to sound the alarm and—” Dr. Carstairs felt the plastic tubing slip around her neck from behind her and tighten.

  “Show us the way out,” Corona said, “if you want to keep breathing.” She pulled the tubing tighter. Dr. Carstairs nodded while trying to grasp the tubing around her neck. Corona called out to Maga. “Give my sack to Kai.” Maga nodded and quickly handed Corona's sack to Kai. Corona ushered Dr. Carstairs out the door. “Lock it,” Corona said. “Lock Maga inside and then show us how to exit the dome.”

  Dr. Carstairs did as she was instructed. “You won’t get away. We’re miles from anywhere else and once you’re outside the dome, the patrols will hunt you down.”

  Corona ignored her comment. “Which way?”

  Reluctantly, Dr. Carstairs led them to an exit. “Surrender now and I promise your death will be painless.”

  Corona tightened her grip on the plastic tubing, watching stoically as Dr. Carstairs struggled to rip the tubing from her neck as she gasped and turned blue. Gradually, her struggling ceased and she slumped against the wall into unconsciousness.

  “You killed her!” Kai exclaimed.

  “No, she’s breathing. I cut off her oxygen long enough to make her unconscious. When she wakes up, every Utopian in this dome will be after us.”

  Kai glanced outside the exit. “She was right; we won’t get far on foot.” He gestured out the doorway. “See that huge tree over there?”

  Corona nodded.

  “I’m going to climb up it. Once I’m hidden on a branch, when you see a patrol coming run out to the tree and stand beneath it. Surrender to the patrol but make them come out of their vehicle to capture you.”

  “Getting captured? That’s your plan?”

  “Trust me. It’s the only plan we’ve got.” Kai raced out to the tree.

  Corona started leisurely walking toward the tree. She wondered how long it would take for Dr. Carstairs to regain consciousness and sound the alarm. She didn’t have long to wait. She heard sirens coming from the building behind her. In the distance, Corona saw a Humvee headed toward her. She ran beneath the tree and froze.

  The gunner looked down from the turret. “Put your hands up.” He hopped out of the Humvee and approached her. Corona pretended to faint, dropping to the ground. The gunner called back to the driver, “Come out here and give me a hand.” The driver stepped out of the Humvee and joined the gunner beneath the tree. Kai dropped from the tree limb landing atop the driver, stunning him. The gunner turned at the sound. Kai jumped up and slugged him. He hit him three more times until the gunner collapsed, unconscious. The driver rose to his knees preparing to stand but Corona picked up a heavy rock and smashed it on his head.

  “What now?” Corona aske
d.

  Kai pointed to the Humvee. “We've got a ride out of here.”

  They climbed inside. “You know how to operate this?” Corona asked.

  “If it’s what I think it is. It looks like some kind of car. I’ve read all about sports cars. You turn them on with a key in the ignition.”

  “What’s the ignition?”

  “Um, it’s a guy thing. You wouldn’t understand.”

  “You don’t know either, huh? Doesn’t matter; I don’t see any keys.”

  “There has to be one.”

  Corona glanced at the dashboard. “What about that lever that says ‘Eng Stop,’ ‘Run,’ and ‘Start’?”

  Kai looked up at the lever on the left side of the dashboard. He flipped to the next position, labeled ‘Run’. A button lit up. “Nothing’s happening.” He flipped the lever to the last position, marked ‘Start’. The engine turned over. Kai smiled and pointed to a rod sticking up. “That’s the gearshift: I know how to do this part.” Kai placed the Humvee in Drive and stepped on the accelerator, pressing it to the floor. The vehicle shot forward in a burst of speed, throwing Kai and Corona against the seat. “Whoa!”

  “It’s working!” Corona exclaimed. “We’re leaving Utopia far behind. You can slow down.”

  “I’m not sure how to do that. But I figured out how to steer it so we won’t crash into anything.”

  “Do you know how to stop it?” Corona asked anxiously.

  “I think it’ll stop if I take my foot off the accelerator. At least, that’s how cars are supposed to work.”

  “How far can we go before this thing runs out of power?”

  “I’m sure it was fully powered since it was about to go on patrol.”

  “What does it use as a power source? Look out for that tree!”

  Kai swerved the wheel. “I’ve got it. This is actually fun. Most cars ran on a fluid called gasoline but some ran on batteries. But I’ve never seen a picture of a car that looked like this.”

  Corona felt under her seat. “I think I found the battery.”

  “Good, we can recharge it if we can find a generator. I wonder how far this will take us?”

  “Probably only as far as the Utopia patrols normally go, unless they have a recharging station.”

  “If they do, we don’t know where it is. We could charge it using the bunker’s generators.”

  Corona shook her head. “That would mean going back. I want to see the rest of this world first. When it runs out of power, we’ll make note of where we left it so one day we can come back for it.” She turned to Kai. “What were they doing to you back there?”

  Kai gulped and instinctively covered his crotch. “Um, torture. But I didn’t tell them anything about the bunker.”

  Corona nodded. “It looked quite… painful.”

  Kai winced. “Can we change the subject? And promise me you won’t mention this to anyone. Besides, I’m getting hungry. We should look for something to eat.”

  Corona cringed. “Yeah, about that…”

  Chapter Eight

  Maga was frightened. It had been hours since Corona had forced Dr. Carstairs to lock her inside what had been Corona’s guest bedroom in Utopia and Maga had no idea what had become of either Corona or Dr. Carstairs. All she knew was that she was in trouble. How much trouble remained to be seen.

  Maga thought she had done the right thing. After all, she knew the strangers were valuable and it made sense to rush for Dr. Carstairs when she had observed Corona vomiting in spasms. If only she hadn’t left the door open. She knew Dr. Carstairs to be a cold and vindictive woman and the last time she had seen her, Dr. Carstairs had been bested and humiliated by Corona, roped by the neck and led about like a horse. Maga had no doubt Dr. Carstairs would be angry but she hoped much of that anger might be taken out on Corona and not herself.

  Maga gulped when she heard a key turn in the door. She felt goosebumps on her arms as the door slowly creaked open and Dr. Carstairs entered. Maga immediately noticed her disheveled appearance and the purple welts around her neck. She also noticed Dr. Carstairs had returned alone.

  “D-Dr. Carstairs,” Maga stuttered. “The girl…?”

  “Escaped,” Dr. Carstairs replied in an unusually raspy voice. “Along with the boy and taking one of our Humvees with them.” She stepped forward and Maga backed away. “The loss of a Humvee means one less patrol and a chink in our security.” Dr. Carstairs reached for her sore neck and massaged her throat. “The girl would have provided several much-needed organs and a few meals but the boy – an unusually virile specimen – would have ensured the survival of Utopia’s bloodline. Because of your ineptitude they’ve both escaped and two of our security detail have been injured. I shall deal with you later. Now, I must make myself presentable and report all of this to Proctor who will undoubtedly be displeased.”

  “Please, doctor! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to let her escape. I thought she was dying.”

  “Obviously, she still had quite a bit of life left in her,” Dr. Carstairs said in her hoarse voice. “Which is more than will be said for you. Tomorrow, you’ll be sent to the farm and I look forward to seeing you again on my dinner table.” She turned and left the room.

  The color drained from Maga’s face until her countenance had become as pallid as an albino’s. She glanced at her shaky hands and realized she was trembling. She knew there would be no reprieve. Dr. Carstairs was not only vindictive but resolute in her decisions. Any appeal on Maga’s part would fall on deaf ears. Maga berated herself mercilessly. How could she have failed to lock the door behind her? Such a simple little thing. She looked up. At the door. The unlocked door.

  Maga hurried down the corridor. A few minutes later, she had reached one of the exits from the domed city of Utopia. There were no guards posted at the exits because no Raiders had ever gotten past the roving patrols to come anywhere close to the dome. She slipped out furtively, nervously gazing behind her back constantly. Maga had no idea where she was going; she only knew what awaited her if she stayed. And that spurred her forward.

  Proctor paced about the study, absent-mindedly fondling the devotional medal he wore around his neck, while Dr. Carstairs stood repentantly in place. It was a St. Sebastian medal, honoring the saint known as the protector of potential plague victims. Not that St. Sebastian was one to afford protection to others: he himself had been shot full of arrows and later clubbed to death. Still, Proctor found the cold metal pressing against his chest reassuring in a world gone mad from a deadly pandemic and its aftermath. When his agitation had diminished, he opened a file cabinet and took out a map. He unfurled it and spread the map across his desk. “Which way did the injured patrol you interviewed say the stolen Humvee was headed?”

  Dr. Carstairs pointed on the map. “He said they took off in this direction. Even with a full charge, the Humvee can’t go past the perimeter.”

  Proctor frowned. “Sector Fifteen. That would take them within a few miles of the Outpost.”

  “If it did, they’d still have a long walk and they probably don’t know about the Outpost. It’s just as likely the Humvee ran out of juice within the perimeter.”

  Proctor nodded. He called out and a young man rushed into the study. “Donjay, I want all the patrols to cover the entire perimeter, day and night. We must recover the boy… and the girl, too. Have them search every inch and report back to me.”

  “Yes, sir.” Donjay raced out to gather the patrols.

  “If they’ve escaped the perimeter, then we’ll have to send a patrol outside,” Proctor said.

  “But the perimeter marks the circumference of the distance from the dome that a Humvee battery can maintain its charge. The patrols will have to cover that expanse on foot. The vehicles can’t travel any farther than the radius.”

  “You’re correct, doctor. Not on a single battery. But if we take a second battery out of one of the Humvees and bring it along as a spare, then we’ll double our range.”

  “Ingenious. H
opefully that won’t be necessary. But if the patrols report back that the specimens have indeed escaped beyond the perimeter and are continuing toward the Outpost—”

  “As you say, let’s hope that’s not the case. But should it be, then I’ll lead a patrol to the Outpost myself.”

  Dr. Carstairs gasped. “But that would mean…”

  Proctor grimaced. “That boy is essential to the future survival of Utopia. This is too important to leave to anyone else, even Donjay. I’ll go, even if it means I’m to confront my past… And the one person I swore never to see again.”

  Destine and Covid sat with Granny inside her trailer while Archer and Robin did their daily chores outdoors. “I appreciate you taking the time to tell me all about life before the virus,” Destine said. “I’ve never met anyone as old as you before. I’ve learned more from you than I would have from reading a dozen books.”

  Granny smiled at her. “You’re the inquisitive type, ain’t you? Smart gal. You’ve got some weird names, though.”

  Covid shrugged. “I guess we’re used to them. They don’t seem weird to us. I was told my parents named me and my twin sister Corona after the COVID-25 coronavirus because we were born during the lockdown. I guess they thought the virus would pass and our names would mark a brief, distinct period in which we were born. I doubt they realized four years later we’d be taken from them and quarantined in the bunker.”

  “The bunker?” Granny asked.

  Destine shot Covid an admonishing look. “You talk too much.”

  “That must have been when the second wave – COVID-29 – hit, four years after the first,” Granny said. “So who took you from your folks?”

  Covid glanced nervously at Destine, worried he had revealed too much.