The Phoenix Project

by M. R. Pritchard

  “Sorry,” he says, his arm lingering a little too long in front of me.

  I unbuckle my seatbelt and get out.

  As Adam escorts me into the Atrium, the Volker by the door looks shocked at my sudden appearance outside. Adam salutes the guard and walks towards the elevator with me.

  “Show me how you got out, Andie.”

  I’m reluctant to show him, because I know my secret passage will most likely disappear. Then I will be truly trapped in this giant glass building. Still, I take him to the basement level and show him the tunnel.

  “It’s the secret tunnel everyone always talked about in college. Only a few students got to use it, so not many know where it actually is,” I tell him.

  Adam looks down the long hallway, impressed.

  “Good to know.” He flicks off the hallway light, leaving us with only the soft glow from the elevator light. “Andie.” Adam’s face is by my neck, his nose rubbing against the cartilage of my ear. We haven’t been this close in a long time. We haven’t had any time alone. With my work in the lab, taking care of Lina and him running the Volker faction. “This could work out well for both of us. Have you told anyone else?” he whispers in my ear. The moist heat from his breath sends tingles down the back of my neck.

  “No,” I croak out. I take a moment to clear my throat. “I haven’t told anyone but you.”

  “Good,” he replies. I feel him step closer to me in the darkness, his hands brush my cheek as they move to my hair, his fingers entwining in my hair, tipping my head back. His mouth finds mine. His lips feel warm and firm. My arms move on their own, up his chest and around the back of his neck into his hair. He pushes his body up against mine until my back hits the cold cement wall behind us. “I’ve been waiting to get you alone for so long.” He doesn’t give me any time to respond before his lips are back on mine, kissing me harder, hungrier than the first kiss. He leaves a trail of damp kisses across my jaw line, to my ear, my neck. I can feel the heat flushing to my face, my heart fluttering, my ears ringing, my entire body feeling like it is on fire. He moves his hands down my shoulders, my sides, stopping at my waist, wrapping his long fingers around the sensitive skin just above the waist of my jeans, pulling me closer to him. Then his lips are back on mine. His warm hands stretch around my back, pulling me even closer to him.

  Somehow, he tears his mouth from mine, both of us breathing heavily; he rests his forehead against mine. “Andie…” Listening to Adam say my name sends more tingles throughout my body. “It’s time to go.” Placing his hand on the side of my neck, he kisses me one last time, and I’m sure he can feel my rapid pulse in response to what he just did to me. I don’t want to leave this place, this moment in time, but I know he’s right.

  He takes my hand, pulling me to the elevator. Once we are inside he resumes his professional Volker stance, with his hands behind his back. I know he is doing this because of the cameras monitoring us, but I want him near me, I want his hands back on my waist, and his lips back on mine.

  As Adam escorts me to the lab we stop to see Lina and Ms. Black on our way through the atrium. He pulls a small flower out of his pocket for each of them. Lina squeals with excitement when he places it in her little hand.

  “It’s a little rose, I l-o-v-e roses,” She exclaims, giving Adam a hug.

  I watch them, Adam reaching down to hug her back, smiling widely.

  He leaves me at the front door of the lab, and returns to whatever he was doing before I got myself into trouble. I return to my desk and the data I was working on. The lab workers mill about. I don’t even think they noticed I was gone. I stare at the spreadsheet in front of me and try to clear my head, which is hard to do after what just happened in the dark hallway. I press my fingers to my lips, feeling something, something other than the remnants of Adam’s heated kisses on my lips. It’s not long before I can place it, because I had a similar feeling when I abandoned all those babies at the hospital, guilt and shame.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Something on my desk is ringing, an endless shrill ring. It sounds like a phone. The lab workers stop what they’re doing, looking at me, waiting for me to answer it. But at first I can’t find where it’s coming from, until I finally notice a small black phone tucked into the corner of the desk.

  When I answer it I hear Crane’s voice on the other end. “There will be a Committee meeting in one hour. I will send an escort. I look forward to seeing you soon.” Then I hear the click of the other line hanging up. He didn’t give me a chance to talk, or say goodbye. I wonder if it was a recording.

  We haven’t had a Committee meeting in over a week and I worry if Crane found out about my escape, if he will hand down some punishment in front of the other committee members to humiliate me. I save my work and stand up to find the lab manager, Kira, she’s sitting at a computer in the corner, carefully entering Resident codes into a file, so we can identify their data.

  “Kira,” I touch her shoulder, startling her. “Crane called a Committee meeting. I’ll be back when it’s over.” She smiles and nods her head at me. Sometimes I wonder why I bother telling her I’m leaving; everyone in the lab must know I’ll be back; there’s nowhere else for me to go.

  I walk to the atrium where Ms. Black is working with Lina. Today there is another child with her, a little boy around the same age. He’s been selected from the population as being gifted and from now on he will be schooled with Lina, together they will be prepared as the next generation of District Sovereign. I shudder at the thought of my daughter’s future; it only intensifies my desire to find a way out of here.

  Ms. Black stops what she’s doing and waits for me to speak. “Crane has called a Committee meeting,” I tell her.

  “Lina, Cashel, lets clean up before we go,” she tells the children.

  Lina and the little boy stop writing. I help Blithe take them to the bathroom and collect a bag with snacks and a few toys. “How old is Cashel?” I ask Ms. Black while we are getting ready to go.

  “He’s seven.”

  “But Lina’s only five. Should they really be working together?”

  “Lina excels for her age group. You’ll see. Just watch them.” Ms. Black squeezes my elbow. “Don’t worry, Andie, we won’t let her hang out with the bad boys.”

  I force a smile through the realization that my child is growing up much too fast. Then it hits me. Her birthday is just a few months away, soon she will be six.

  When we return to the atrium Adam is waiting for us. I control the urge to smile at him or touch him or show any hint that our relationship is anything more than professional, not with everyone here, and the cameras, watching.

  “Are you our escort?” I ask when we get close.

  “Of course, Crane only sends his best Volker.” I let a small laugh escape. “Actually, I was nearby so I offered to collect you all, since we are going to the same meeting.” Adam now sits in Baillie’s spot at the Committee meetings, as a voice for the Volker faction. “Would anyone like to walk today?” he asks.

  I’m surprised when he asks. We haven’t been allowed to walk more than a few hundred yards from the chemistry building.

  “Yes! Yes! Let’s walk.” Lina speaks up.

  Ms. Black and I both nod in agreement.

  There’s a sidewalk with a direct path to the now renamed District Headquarters building. We walk as a large group, Lina and the new boy stopping along the way to pick flowers, or to ask Ms. Black a question. I fall into line next to Adam, skipping a few steps to keep up with his long stride. Finally he slows a little.

  “I forgot what it was like trying to walk next to you. Perhaps we should have driven.”

  “It’s not my fault the world is filled with tall people,” I respond. He gives a light chuckle.

  “What do you think this Committee meeting will be about?” He asks.

  “Adam, didn’t Crane tell you? The first rule of The Phoenix District Sovereign Committee meetings is you don’t talk about Committee meetings.”
I wait for his response, but he doesn’t say anything. “And the second rule of The Phoenix District Sovereign Committee meetings is you don’t talk about Committee meetings.” Still nothing. “Well, I thought it was funny,” I reply to myself.

  A thoughtful expression has crept up on Adam’s face. “Andie, did it ever occur to you, if Crane doesn’t want anyone talking about the meetings, it’s because he wants to be there to control the course of the meetings. That he may be keeping something else from you. Sometimes rules are meant to be broken.”

  We complete the rest of the walk in silence, his words igniting an even larger firestorm of suspicion inside of me.

  --

  When we get to the Committee Meeting room it has been completely transformed. There’s new plush carpet and heavy curtains at each end of the vast window, there are thin laptop computers at each of the seats around the large circular table. The room has been partitioned with a glass wall and door. On the other side of the glass the room is filled with toys, games, books, two computers, everything to keep a child entertained during a long Committee meeting.

  Crane, Morris and Alexander are already sitting at the table. They rise, walking over to greet us as we enter the room.

  “Ah, welcome,” Crane begins, with his usual smug expression. “I hope you will enjoy the improvements to the room.” He opens his arms wide, waiting for our response.

  Today’s tie color is red. I am not fond of the color red.

  “It’s very nice, Crane,” I respond.

  Ms. Black escorts the children to the play area. Alexander and Morris walk over and introduce themselves to Adam. They take the time to shake my hand and welcome me back, which I don’t completely understand, since I didn’t go anywhere.

  “Everyone, please take your seats and let us get started,” Crane announces.

  As I walk closer to the table I notice the seats are now assigned with plaques bearing our names. Alexander and Morris sit side by side, Adam is across the table from me, and my place is marked to the right of Crane’s seat. Crane taps his hammer on the copper plate and the meeting begins. He instructs us on how to log into the laptops in front of us. From now on we will be taking notes and signing in agreement electronically. Crane informs us that we are working on a secure closed network, to ensure the safekeeping of our work. “Let’s start with updates on how each faction is progressing,” Crane continues. “Morris, Alexander let’s start with you both.”

  Alexander and Morris nod simultaneously. They take turns talking about the factions that are keeping the District running. The Orderlies have done a spectacular job keeping the district clean, they have removed truckloads of litter and garbage from the town, leaving it the cleanest it’s ever been. The Navigators have produced adequate routes to provide transportation to all of the District residents with minimal fossil fuel consumption. The Currents have the hydroelectric plant on the river running at eighty percent and the nuclear power plant is running at thirty percent, which has been generating more than enough power to run the city. They continue for what seems like an hour or more. I start to lose interest until I hear Morris mention the farms beyond the wall.

  Something I didn’t know but eagerly learn by listening closely to Morris as he speaks. It seems the Cultivators are allowed to live outside the cement wall of the Phoenix District. Each day Residents are transported to the farms to help with the animals, maintain the crops, upkeep roads and disable the former main roads which were used to get into town.

  “While the crops are already producing an excellent yield, it may not be enough to get us through the long winter. We may want to consider greenhouses or getting one of the local food processing plants operational so we don’t have a food crisis come winter,” Alexander says finishing his long discourse.

  Crane is nodding his head in agreement as he responds, “We may need to start running the train again to collect supplies and bring them in. This brings us to our next topic. We need to assign a Runner for the District.” Crane looks to Adam.

  “I have a few recruits that may be viable options,” Adam speaks up.

  I have no idea what they are talking about. “What is a Runner?” I interrupt.

  “Oh, Andromeda, I forgot you were not at our last meeting when we discussed the specifics of the District Runner,” Crane smiles arrogantly at me.

  I am surprised by his revelation, that there was a meeting held without me. “I thought meetings were only to commence if all District Sovereign were present?” I ask.

  “Yes, but you were busy healing. I thought it best to let you mend. Don’t fret. It was a very short meeting. I can fill you in right now.” He clears his throat loudly. “We discussed the necessity for having a District Runner, as you know the rules of the District are that no one enters or exits the gate. Currently the rest of the world thinks this area is a desolate nuclear blast site. The Runner will be the only one allowed out and back in. They will collect supplies, and organize shipments via the heavily guarded train which is located in the most northern area of the District, complete with a guarded entry and exit. The Runner will be heavily trained, a tracking device implanted under their skin so they can be monitored from here, they will also be responsible for transporting information to our Funding Entities.”

  “Okay,” I reply. I feel stupid for not knowing that I missed a meeting. But Crane never said anything to me about. Adam must have been right. Crane has been letting us believe this entire time that the District Sovereign are responsible for making decisions for the Residents, for watching over them. But Crane is the one pulling the strings, organizing and planning. I know he’s using us to manage the Residents, because he can’t do it all on his own.

  “So, Andromeda, how about you fill us in on your progress with your work?” Crane changes the subject, interrupting my thoughts. He can probably tell that I am seething.

  “Every Resident’s DNA sample has been analyzed with the microarray. And they’re currently being assigned codes so their names won’t be visible during analysis, to prevent any bias. Once the codes are fully assigned then I can begin my analysis. Currently, I’m backing up the raw data to a secure hard drive.” I look to Crane when I am done. I know the only thing keeping me here, keeping me and Lina safe, is my ability to analyze that data and give Crane what he wants.

  “Excellent Andromeda.” His pleasure in my response helps me feel a tiny bit safer. “Everyone please sign their summary of today’s meeting and then we can all get back to work, running the District.”

  We leave the room together but Crane stays behind working on his laptop. Breaking another rule, the Committee Meeting Room is to be locked at all times unless there is a meeting in session. Adam escorts us back to the Chemistry building.

  --

  “Mom, can Adam come over and make us spaghetti for dinner?” Lina is looking through the cupboards and the fridge for something to eat.

  “Dinner’s not for a few more hours, Lina,” I call from the couch as I read a journal article on inherited behavior modification.

  “But I’m hungry now.”

  “Lina, Adam has been very busy. I don’t know if he has time to come over.” He’s been so busy I’ve barely seen him for days. But that doesn’t stop me from reliving those few moments we had together in the dark basement of this building, when I showed him the secret tunnel.

  “Please, Mom, please.” Lina scrunches her face into a sad frown.

  I could call him. The operator could connect me to where ever he is right now. But I’ve never tried it before. Finally I give in, “Ok Lina. I’ll try and call him.”

  “Yay!” Lina pumps her little fists in the air and runs in a circle.

  I walk over to the phone on the wall and pick it up. There is a dull tone before it rings twice. “Phoenix District Operator, how may I direct your call?” The woman’s voice on the other end is pleasant and polite.

  “I need to speak with Adam Waters.”

  “I’m sorry that name is not in my directory.
Is there someone else?”

  That’s strange, why would it not be in the directory. I think for a moment. “Do you have Colonel Waters, Volker Sovereign?”

  “Yes, one moment.” The phone rings twice, again, before it’s answered.

  “Hello.” The voice is unmistakable.

  “Adam?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s Andie, I hope I’m not interrupting.” I pause for a moment. “Lina wants you to come over and make spaghetti for dinner. If you can, she’s been begging me.”

  “Sure. I’ll be there later.” He hangs up without saying goodbye. It feels odd, the conversation, his responses were short. He must have been busy with something I tell myself.

  Lina and I busy ourselves with cleaning before Adam gets there. I look in my closet for something nicer to wear, but I am sorely disappointed. All I have are the few clothes from my old closet. I give up after a few moments and stick with the jeans and loose black top that I have on.

  I’m helping Lina rearrange her stuffed animals when I hear the doors open from the elevator and someone shout my name. When I walk out into the living room I see Adam behind the glass door, carrying two bulging bags of groceries. I open the doors and take one of the bags from his hands. He sets the other bag down on the counter and pulls something out of his pocket. I watch him as he walks the perimeter of the rooms, near the power outlets and phone. He makes his way back to where I’m standing. “I was checking for listening devices.” I look at the small, strange box in his hand. “It’s a bug detector.”

  “Where did you get that?”

  “I made it.”

  “How did you manage that?”

  “I am a man of many talents, Andie.” I eye him skeptically. “Anyway, lucky for you, Crane has allowed you some privacy, this place is clean.”