Resistant, no. 1

by Ryan T. Petty

  “Please, come in,” she said, somewhat merrily, surprising me.

  “You must be Jennifer. Well, you’ve been out in the hot box so long, you probably want a shower and a change of clothes.”

  “Hot box?”

  “That’s what they used to call those little rooms out there, the ones we use for quarantining those suspected of being infected. They’re pretty nice, probably since this is a minimum security prison.”

  “So I guess the captain is still alive?” I asked.

  The lady nodded. “He was released and his tests came back negative for the virus. Yours are still—”

  “I know, inconclusive.”

  She nodded again, placing a key and a towel on a pile of clothing.

  “The shower room is down the hall to the left. On the right, you will find the cafeteria. They will be serving breakfast for the next half hour. We also have offices, meeting rooms, and a lounge down here as well. The top two floors are the living quarters. You will be in 317. Right now, you will be there alone, so enjoy the privacy.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t mention it. Rumors spread quickly, anyway. We couldn’t find any volunteers to be the roommate of a girl who is ‘inconclusive,’” she quipped.

  I didn’t really know what to say, but the idea was sinking in I probably was unwelcome here, and it was only the action of the captain that allowed me in. I faked a small smile to the lady at the desk and walked down to the shower room.

  As I walked in, a lady strolled passed me stark naked, causing me to pause.

  “Is something wrong?” she asked, finally wrapping a towel around herself.

  “Uh...”

  “Honey, this is the girl’s dorm. If you can’t get used to a little nudity, then you probably need to find yourself a man and move into the family area.” She laughed, cracking a smile in my direction, causing me do the same.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just been...”

  “Hey, it’s not a big deal,” she said and extended her hand. “My name is Stacey. And you?”

  “Jennifer, nice to meet you.”

  “Ahh, so you’re the one they’ve been talking about. Inconclusive, huh?”

  I nodded sheepishly, not knowing everyone I met would throw the word inconclusive in my face.

  “Well, don’t worry about it. It just makes you interesting,” she said.

  “And hey, after you get cleaned up, why don’t you come find me and I’ll show you around.”

  “Okay, thank you.” We shook hands again before she made her way out, only wearing her towel. I wasn’t about to do the same and was glad they had given me a change of clothing.

  After getting cleaned and dressed, I made the walk up the two flights of stairs to my room, which was actually a cell for the former inmates. There was a small elevator, but I was told it was hardly used to save on electricity. At the cell, I found two rolled up mattresses on bunk beds, a small table on the opposite wall, and a toilet in the back of the room. Extra sheets had been tied to the cell bars to add a little more privacy. Making myself at home, I unrolled the mattress and added the sheets.

  “Knock, knock,” said Stacey, startling me. “Well, are you always this jumpy, or is it just me?”

  “No, no. I’m sorry. I was out there for so long that, you know...”

  “Yeah, you always have to keep your guard up, I understand. And hey, that’s a good thing, means you are someone to count on.” She tapped the rail with her fingers. “Well, come on. You might as well see the place.”

  Before I could protest, Stacey had grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the cell.

  “So you’re not afraid I might be contagious?”

  She looked back with a smile. “Well, if you are, I guess I will be putting a gun to my head,” she said, but with a grin.

  I didn’t try to respond, but just continued along with her. She walked down the same metal walkway I had just come up, tossing her hand out over the side to show the grand view of the prison block.

  “I’m over there in 325, so we are nearly right across from each other.” We continued down the stairs and back to the first floor. She pointed out some of the rooms the lady at the front desk had told me about and then entered the cafeteria. Handing me a tray, she lined up to get the morning breakfast.

  “Running late again are we, Stace?” A lady serving a small fruit tray grinned.

  “As always. Hey, Vicky, this is Jennifer. She’s new here.”

  “I’ve heard,” she answered back coolly.

  We moved down the line quickly, gathering large portions of breakfast, made up of fruit, scrambled eggs, and toast, with a glass of milk at the end. When we moved out into the tables, I could see a number of curious onlookers staring at me.

  “Don’t worry. In a week, they won’t even worry about you being here.”

  I followed Stacey to a table in the distant corner, away from the prying eyes of others, where only one other older lady was sitting.

  “Mind if we sit, Dr. Swanson?”

  “It was a free country. Sit away.” We sat down across from the lady who didn’t seem to care either way about our presence, but continued with her fruit plate.

  “Doctor?” I whispered to Stacey.

  “Ph. D,” Dr. Swanson said, looking at me. “I’m pretty useless if you get sick, unless you want an historical analysis about early American and Constitutional theory.”

  “I—”

  “Quit being a smart-aleck, Gloria,” answered Stacey, to both her and the doctor’s amusement.

  “Sorry, it’s in my nature. So you are Jennifer, I’m guessing?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “No need for the formalities. Just because I’m over twice your age and knowledgeable about the way the world used to be doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy bragging about it from time to time.”

  I could only grin about her use of finite humor, but really didn’t know what else to say.

  “Well, good. I’m glad the captain was able to pull off his stunt to get you in here, and in your case, I’m glad you weren’t contagious, or else his sister the sergeant would have had your head on this tray.”

  I thought back to the chokehold and blunt kick to my side while in confinement, knowing she would’ve killed me there if her brother had died. I was lucky. I had been lucky from the moment I escaped. I could only hope my luck hadn’t run out.

  “Where is the sergeant, anyway?” asked Stacey, taking a hard bite at her toast.

  “I believe the captain called a meeting of officers this morning, probably to discuss Jennifer here, but who knows. So she’s probably down there with the rest of the martial law.”

  “Gloria, you’re such a hippy.” Stacey laughed, which caused Dr. Swanson to look at her amused.

  “It’s good I taught you that term so you can use it against me in front of company.”

  “You know what you always say, ‘Knowledge is power.’”

  “Of course, I taught you that as well.”

  I smiled, but had no idea what either of them were talking about. Martial Law? Hippy? These were terms I’d never heard before or at least didn’t remember. Still, I smiled as I sat there, happy to hear real voices, see real people, and at least be a fly on the wall where there was life, safety, and food.

  “Well, speak of the devil. Sergeant, how are you?” Gloria looked over my shoulder, as I coughed on an apple slice, and turned around to see Clarissa standing over me.

  “We need to see you. You as well, Gloria. The Council wants to meet our new member here,” Clarissa patted me on the shoulder with enough force I could tell it wasn’t a friendly gesture.

  “Very well. Jennifer, won’t you accompany us?” Gloria stood and so did I, confronting the small grin on Clarissa’s face. Clarissa was pretty, with light blonde hair, fair skin, and strong features that were intimidating. But it was her eyes, her blue eyes, which I was most fearful of.

  I followed them both out into the hallway. We passed the lady at the f
ront desk, but this time we walked behind her, down another hall, one with open glass on both sides and overhead. It was a passageway to the center building. I could read BLOCK B on the outside of the building as we entered, taking similar hallways until we ended up in a large conference room.

  The captain was sitting halfway up the table and quickly stood, giving a friendly hug to his sister as she passed by. He then looked at me and smiled.

  “So, are you making yourself at home over there?”

  “Yes, but Dr. Swanson mentioned you stuck your neck out for me.”

  Michael shrugged.

  “Like I told you. I did what I thought was right, but even though you’re in, this Council meeting is being held by the people who voted against you and they still have a few questions. Just answer them honestly and you’ll do fine.”

  “What do they want to know?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ve spent the last thirty minutes being chewed out by them. Now the full Council’s here. Dr. Swanson is an ally of yours. She was one of the votes for you. The other two next to her is Patrick Wellstone, but we call him Doc, and then there is James Allen. To them and me, this is just a political stunt, to show me that democracy still rules over blackmail.”

  “And who are the others?”

  “Those are the ones who didn’t want you here. The one you need to pay special attention to is the bald guy at the head of the table, Jacob Stevenson. He has the title of Viceroy.” I gave him a look to ask for more explanation. “There is a hope that civilization will be established again, you know, an actual governmental institution. Until then, he has been chosen to head the Council. He was some hotshot lawyer of a town not too far from here. A lot of the people here are the ones who came with him.”

  I clenched my teeth as Jacob Stevenson’s eyes caught mine. He seemed to be sizing me up even before I sat down.

  “And what if I refuse to answer his questions?”

  “I had to promise I would escort you from the compound if you didn’t cooperate.”

  I turned away in disgust, but he turned my face back toward his with a finger under my chin. “Hey, you’ve been through worse. Just answer their questions, short and concise.”

  Michael looked into my eyes, coolly, but with a strength that said nothing could faze him. He gave me a small nod as a tap of a gavel prompted everyone to their seats. A soldier in the room pulled out my chair for me, directly opposite of the viceroy who sat on the other end of the long, dark table.

  “Let us come to order,” he grumbled as everyone sat down. “We are here this morning to meet our newest citizen. Jennifer, we know you have been in solitary for the past few days, but we really wanted to make sure you were not contaminated.”

  “I understand,” I answered back.

  “Very good, well thank you again for meeting us in your first couple of hours being here, but can you tell us, in your own words, where you are coming from?”

  “Arkansas.”

  A few people giggled at my answer.

  “Yes, but what happened between Arkansas and when the captain found you?”

  I gulped, not knowing where to start.

  “I was attacked, by people in the city. There were other zombie people on the interstate, and before that, it had been men in plastic suits hunting me in the woods.”

  “Men in plastic suits?” a councilwoman asked.

  “Yes, ma’am. Hazmat suits.”

  “And were they trying to attack you like the others?”

  “They were trying to recapture me and take me back to some place they were holding me.”

  “And why were they holding you?” asked Stevenson.

  “I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t remember anything from that point.”

  “Oh? Well, how convenient,” he mused, again with a few chuckles from others.

  “Viceroy Stevenson,” Dr. Swanson intervened, “what are you wanting to prove this morning?”

  “Nothing at all, Councilwoman, but we do have the right to know what she knows. Many of us here at the compound today, beside a few in the defenses, have not been out so far in a long time. We haven’t seen the city, the interstate; we need to know what’s going on, and I really don’t want to hear she is suffering from actual memory loss when I and others think she might be hiding something. Now, if I may continue—”

  “Excuse me?” I interrupted. “You think I’m hiding something?”

  The viceroy leaned back in his chair, touching his fingertips together, as if he had been waiting for this moment. He cleared his throat like he was about to make a speech.

  “I think you have seen a wonderful opportunity here. You have come up with this lavish story of making it without transportation all the way down the interstate, through a city of killers, all without being infected. Some of it may be true. Certainly, we have all seen the evilness of the SA sevens and eights, we have dealt with the sadness of the threes and fours, and we all know most of the population is dead from the virus. We’ve all lost loved ones here. Now, your story, if true, makes you a superwoman, but I, as well as many council members here, find it very difficult to believe. So, would you like to change any of what we know about your story so far?”

  I looked at Michael.

  “No, I would not.”

  “Very well,” Stevenson said, “so are we are just to accept that you came down with amnesia during a time when the SA8 virus does the exact same thing?”

  “It does?”

  My answer brought a few chuckles from those in the room.

  “So again, your story is you can’t remember anything from your escape from some wooded penitentiary, you never heard of this virus before, and this society was a shock to you once you joined it, and finally, you had no idea about all of these killers, the Déracinés? And on top of that, there is some imaginary group in plastic, hazmat uniforms chasing you in helicopters the entire time? That’s the type of tripe you are trying to feed us this morning?”

  All eyes were on me. Time seemed to stand still.

  “Yes, that’s what happened to me.” Again, my answer brought more laughter, before Mr. Wellstone stepped in.

  “I don’t believe, Viceroy Stevenson, that this matter is important. This girl came here, obviously needing help and not infected. So who are we to turn her away? I believe this matter had been settled when the captain here proved she was no threat.”

  “No, the captain’s actions, while honorable to some, were reckless and could’ve endangered us all. He has been admonished for that. So while this young lady has been invited in, she has been in no way accepted by the community.” He looked directly at me. “You are here by our good graces. A majority of these council members voted against you, you should know that.”

  “I do.”

  “And you should also know I personally don’t believe you, and while you still hide behind these lies, you will continue to be disregarded as someone we accept.”

  “Then why am I here?”

  Stevenson smiled. “Because, at this point, we still need the captain’s leadership.”

  I glanced at Michael. He glared forward at nobody, gritting his teeth. I’m sure he didn’t like to be talked about in such a way, but he said nothing.

  “Do you understand your role here? Stay in line and do what you’re told to do to help out our community, or you will be made to leave. Got it?”

  I nodded.

  “Very well. I adjourn this emergency meeting. The next time we meet shall be under better circumstances and not under the blackmail of some.” He tapped the gavel and people began to stand and leave.

  I sat there as people walked past me out the door, not giving me one glance. Even Dr. Swanson left without a word. It was just me, Michael, and a few of his soldiers left by the time I stood.

  “Well, I practically committed treason and you’re on Stevenson’s most wanted list,” Michael mused. “You did a good job.”

  “Were you in the same room? He practically tore me to shreds.”


  “You did well, compared to the captain,” said one of his men, “who let go a slew of choice profanities at the meeting about you.”

  I looked at Michael.

  “I let my emotions get carried away sometimes.”

  Chapter Nine

  I walked with Michael and the other soldiers as we left the meeting, but the nagging thought of not being wanted continued to fester inside of me. Before, he told me he did this because it was the right thing to do, but it had to be difficult for him to believe, just like my story was difficult for others to accept.

  “Why did you jeopardize everything for me?” I asked, stopping our walk in the middle of the hallway with three other soldiers, waiting for his response.

  He gave a look to his soldiers who continued to walk. Taking me under the arm, he pulled me into an open room and shut the door. “I told you, it was because—”

  “I know. It was the right thing to do. However, whether anyone believes me or not, I went through all of that and I saw no one out there was doing anything for the right reasons. I just need to know the truth from you. Why did you put yourself and everyone else through this for me?”

  “Well, I believe your story, for one thing. We definitely need strong people like you.”

  “And second?”

  “One’s not enough?”

  I glared at him.

  “And second, no one has ever come up as inconclusive before. I didn’t even know there was such a thing until you got here. Neither did our scientists. To let you go would’ve been a huge mistake, so even if I had to put myself in jeopardy, you had to stay.”

  “So that’s it? My strength and my test score? There’s nothing else?”

  Michael sat on the table in the middle of the room, folding his arms. “What do you want me to say?”