There was silence at the table while we ate and digested all we had heard. I took the opportunity to ask something that had been bugging me a little since we had walked into the room.
“Professor, I was wondering why Colonel Randall didn’t join us for dinner? I was hoping to thank him again.”
“I prefer the military contingent eat with their own. That was the protocol before the attack and I want that discipline maintained.”
“They didn’t all seem that disciplined if you don’t mind me saying,” Ben said.
“What do you mean?” asked Professor Leahy, his eyes narrowing.
“There was one, Leroy I believe his name was, who insisted that Sonny be shot on sight. Not exactly the welcome that we were expecting, especially the use of excessive force to subdue Sonny when he hadn’t threatened anyone. And speaking of Sonny, we haven’t seen him since we were brought in…”
Ben’s English accent became very clipped and proper as his cool indignation was made clear. I couldn’t help but think that he must have been an effective debater at school. I was glad to have someone else asking the hard questions too.
“I apologise for that. One of the things we’ve had to do is bolster our security with…recruitment …from within the facility. Leroy was actually one of the janitorial staff before he was drafted into the Homeland Security force, he doesn’t answer to Colonel Randall but you can trust that Mr. Ragg here will make sure that he is disciplined properly. As to your friend Sonny, I hope you’ll understand that I have a responsibility to every man, woman and child under my care to ensure that they are safe. Your friend will be released into the general population after Mr. Ragg and I have had a chance to question him.”
The smaller man had been so quiet and unobtrusive that I had almost forgotten he was there, but at the mention of his name I saw Mr. Ragg’s spoon pause for a millisecond before it found his mouth. What was he, some sort of security adviser? Even while eating, he watched us without expression and his intense regard made me feel a little uneasy. Despite his harmless appearance, there was something vaguely sinister about him and I got the impression he was silently memorizing every word we said.
“Is this all because Sonny is of Chinese descent?” asked Indigo, not letting the Professor off the hook too easily.
“Yes.”
It was a simple and honest reply that I couldn’t really argue with. I remembered my own reaction upon meeting Sonny. I was sure that after Leahy spoke to Sonny, he would see him in the same light we all saw him, a loyal American and an honest good guy.
“Would you mind if one of us was present?” I asked, hoping to be there to support Sonny.
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible Isaac. The security of this facility is paramount, I can assure you that I’m not going to torture your friend or anything like that,” laughed the Professor.
It’s not you I’m worried about, I thought to myself as I stared into the cold, strangely empty grey eyes of Mr. Ragg.
“When will that be sir? We would all like to see Sonny, he’s been locked up for days.” All of my friends nodded enthusiastically.
I saw another flash of annoyance in his eyes but his face was still fixed in a smile. “Well, he’s not locked up exactly. He’s just isolated and I can assure you he’s being well looked after. We were going to do it in a few days, but I can see how much he means to you, so as a gesture of good faith I will conduct the interview tomorrow morning. All right?”
“That’s marvelous,” said Brooke.
“Yes, thank you Professor!” Allie added.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to see Luke tomorrow too, if he’s well enough that is.”
“I’ll have the doctor give you an update and leave it up to him. If he thinks your friend is well enough for visitors, I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”
I’m sure he had already been briefed, but as we finished our meal the Professor began asking us questions. While they seemed harmless, the questions were pointed and he skillfully formed a picture of where we had all come from and how we had ended up coming together as a group. Just in case Randall had missed anything? Maybe. Naturally he seemed most interested in Sonny and his origins and how he and his students had saved me, Luke, Ben and Brooke from the Chinese.
I had no intention of mentioning Huian and her underground group helping us elude the enemy and I was ready to pounce if any of the others looked like they might mention it accidently.
About thirty minutes after we finished the main meal, I was surprised when dessert was brought in by the woman that had served us earlier. It was a huge apple pie with homemade ice-cream. The Professor explained that the facility had a large hydroponic garden and that apples were the one fruit in abundant supply. He also took the opportunity to explain that farming was one of the ways one could contribute to the facility. He called them disciplines. Farming, cleaning, security and mining. He focused on the girls when he was speaking about the farming and cleaning, and Ben and I when he discussed mining and security. I thought it was outrageously sexist but bit my tongue. I was surprised that Indigo didn’t speak up.
Apparently something more important was on Allie’s mind than sexism. “Wait, where did the ice-cream come from? Don’t you need milk or cream?”
“Good question,” said the Professor, clapping his hands together. “Another thing we have in abundance is powdered milk and other staples. This facility was designed to survive in the event of a worst case scenario, that being Nuclear attack. Consequently, we have an almost endless store of such things, and in the days after the virus had dissipated, I sent missions to gather more. I estimate with our current population we have about three years’ worth of food, that’s without our fruit and vegetables, although, for obvious reasons, I consider them a vital part of our dietary needs.”
“What about the meat and chicken?” asked Ben.
“The beef is frozen and we have a small battery of live hens for eggs, and more in frozen stock for eating. Of course those frozen supplies will run out, but our scouting parties should be able to keep us supplied with sufficient stock of fresh meat, and possibly fish. At least until we find a solution to the Chinese problem that is.”
“What do you mean by that?” Ben asked.
“Oh… nothing. Just a figure of speech. I basically mean waiting until they are occupied elsewhere. Your spectacular arrival has them crawling over the surrounding countryside like ants before a storm.”
The rest of the meal passed quickly and the Professor thanked us for joining him. He told us that while he couldn’t guarantee our preferences, someone would be talking to us about which disciplines we would like to volunteer for.
He looked at his watch as he saw us to the door with the peculiar Mr. Ragg by his side. “It’s 7.30pm now, curfew is at 9.30. Reveille is at 6.00am. Williams here will see you to the Square if you like and you can spend some time in the recreation room, or you can head back to your new quarters for rest. Good night.”
“What’s Reveille?” Allie asked me quietly as we stepped through the door.
“It’s a French word for a wakeup call. They do it in the army to wake everyone up at the same time, usually with a trumpet.”
“Okay…well, let’s go to the Rec room, I’m not ready for bed yet.”
Williams was again waiting in the lobby for us when we emerged. I tried to take more notice of the turns and distinguishing features of our route this time. After two turns we emerged into a larger passageway. We were back in the Square. He took us to the open quiet area, where there were a few people lounging about, reading a book or chatting quietly.
“Okay. As you know, this is the Square. You can spend some time here in the quiet area or inside the Rec room before curfew if you want.”
The cafeteria was nearly full and it made me happy to see so many healthy adults enjoying their evening meal. There were a lot of teenagers scattered about and a big table near the back containing smaller children with an elderly woman at the hea
d of the table. They were the first really young children I had seen for a long time and I wondered how long they had been at the facility.
Our interested stares were reciprocated and we returned several enthusiastic waves. The taciturn Williams observed the reception we received.
“You’re the first newcomers in over a month. At the last meeting the Professor said he didn’t expect any more arrivals given how bad the winter was and the fact that the Chinese were overrunning the state.”
“We got lucky,” I said. “We only just made it, and lost a lot of good people along the way.”
“We wouldn’t have made it without Isaac.”
I looked at Ben and he shrugged as if to say, it’s true.
“Well that’s not exactly right,” I said. “We all were a team and helped each other. If I’d been on my own, there is no way I’d be here.”
Williams didn’t seem interested in our story. He gestured that we should go and we all started for the Rec room.
“Wait!” he called, pulling us up. “This is where the girls say goodbye,” he said. “The Rec room is only for males; you girls have your own in the North Wing. Only the cafeteria is mixed.”
My good mood suddenly dissipated.
“You’re separating us?” I asked.
“Those are the rules,” he said. “Male and female sleeping and living quarters are kept separate. Believe me, it avoids a lot of problems.” I saw his eyes linger on Indigo for a second too long and I felt a flash of protectiveness. I stepped between them.
“Well, rules are rules I guess,” I smiled. “Where is the North Wing?”
He looked at me with an unreadable expression and then opened the door to the Rec room for Ben and me.
“It’s in the North,” he said, putting his hand on my shoulder in a mock friendly way. “You’ll be sleeping in the West Wing. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll see them around.”
What did he mean by that?
I shook off his hand and grabbed Ben, who I could see was about to protest.
“See you tomorrow,” I said to the girls and gave Indigo and the others a thumbs up. I saw Brooke mouth it’s okay to Ben and he relaxed as Williams led them off, but not before glancing back once with a smirk.
“I’ll be back for you boys soon.”
I decided right then that I didn’t like him.
25
Ben and I entered the Rec room. It was a large open space with a pool table dominating one section. There was also a small area containing gym equipment and another smaller anteroom with a sofa and some chairs.
It wasn’t terribly crowded, there were a couple of men (soldiers, based on their haircuts) using the exercise equipment and three boys playing pool with another man I took to be a soldier. We gravitated towards that group.
We didn’t play, but we did chat briefly to them, mainly the boys who asked how we had come to arrive at the Facility. The three boys had been the first to arrive about three weeks after the Flu had run its course. The soldier, who introduced himself as Daniel Bowman, didn’t say too much. He was concentrating on the game and didn’t seem to be a part of the group.
While the boys were friendly enough, we had run out of things to talk about by the time Williams returned and Ben and I were both happy to be escorted back to our room. For whatever reason, I hadn’t slept well the night before and thought it would be good to get an early night.
Williams led us out into the corridor and we followed it around into the West Wing, which was basically one long hallway lined with doors on either side. He stopped three doors along and swiped his card before ushering us through the door.
Ben and I found ourselves in a long rectangular room. It was basically a dormitory and, except for the fact that there were no windows, reminded me of the army barracks I had seen in movies. There were four double bunks set against one of the longer walls. Williams had told us we could use the ones closest to the door and pointed out the bathroom at the opposite end of the room before leaving.
Once we were alone, I had a snoop around. Although there was no one in the room at the time, based on the toiletries and other items on the small bedside shelves, it appeared that nearly all of the other bunks were being used. I assumed it would be people like us, refugees from the Flu, rather than soldiers, who I assumed would all be housed on the lower level.
“Dibs the top bunk,” said Ben, shooting up the rungs of the ladder and falling back on his mattress.
I smiled, it was good to see him still so carefree after the hardship of our flight to the safe haven and the strangeness of our new situation.
“Well, that dinner was interesting,” said Ben, looking down at me. “What did you think of the Professor and his strange friend? Do you think they might be bum chums?”
“Huh?” I looked at him dumbly, unfamiliar with the term.
“You know, boyfriends?” he laughed.
The comment surprised me. Given all that had happened, and the fact that about 150 million people had been wiped off the face of the Earth, human traits like intolerance had really been put into perspective for me. I didn’t give the remark any oxygen, Ben was just a teenage kid like me and I knew that he was trying to be funny, not mean, but it just felt a bit pre ‘end of the world’ to me. What did it matter now if you were gay or straight, old or young, black, white or orange with blue polka dots? What did it matter before? The virus didn’t discriminate.
“I don’t think so, but there is something a little off about that Ragg guy. I don’t think it matters if he likes men or women, he looks like the kind of guy who would pull wings off bugs for fun.”
“Yeah, he is a bit strange,” he agreed. “Well it all seems very well run though, don’t you think? Curfews and disciplines and what not.”
“Hmmm, I guess,” I said, unwilling to comment too much.
I was suddenly paranoid that the room might be bugged. It was a military facility after all. I pretty much shut down the conversation, complaining that I was tired. I didn’t want us to risk saying too much in case it could compromise Sonny’s situation.
Of course I didn’t get to sleep for a while, and found myself replaying the conversation with the Professor in my mind. A few things bothered me, niggling little worries that I couldn’t quite pin down. I guess in the end it was a general feeling of uneasiness. I left it alone eventually, but made a mental note to follow up first thing about Sonny—I was not going to let that slide, and of course I wanted to see Luke as well.
It was strange. After our few days of rest and recuperation, I had been glad to relax and let the mantle of leadership slip from my shoulders, to blend into the crowd and try and make a go of this new situation. Now, after our meal with the Professor, I found myself again worrying and feeling responsible for the whole group.
Did I want that? Maybe I should just look after number one. Let things fall as they may and let people look after themselves. After all, we were safe, warm and fed and that was what we had been searching for. I decided right then that I would let it go. Decided to just accept that we were safe, that we were in our new home and that the doubt I was feeling was just a hangover from the harrowing experiences we’d had since the invasion.
Calmed by my decision to let go of the responsibility of leadership and lulled by the soft snoring of Ben coming from above me, I finally fell asleep.
I’m not sure how long I slept. It was a deep, dreamless sleep and I woke slowly to the sound of shuffling feet and whispers. I opened my eyes. There were three strange boys standing at the foot of our bunk bed. They stopped talking when I sat up and looked at them.
“Hey,” said one of them.
The speaker had soft brown hair and a sprinkling of freckles on his face. Behind the thick glasses he wore, his eyes shone with a lively intelligence. He, and the second of the boys, a wiry lad with messy hair and a big nose, looked about thirteen. The third, a big strapping boy with short black hair and pale skin, looked about my age. They were all dressed in the white T-shi
rts and black pants and I wondered briefly if those clothes would start to feel like prison garb after a while.
“Hey,” I said. “I’m Isaac.” I pointed to the bunk above my head. “That’s Ben.”
“I’m Paul, this is Beau and Toby.”
I weighed them up. They all seemed like normal sort of kids and even though the big one, Toby, was as big as a full grown man, he didn’t seem particularly threatening. I climbed off the mattress and shook hands with each of them. I noticed their hands were calloused and tough and I asked Paul what discipline they did.
“We’re miners.”
“I meant to ask the Professor about that, what exactly are you mining?”
“Well it’s not mining exactly, that’s just what they call it. It’s tunneling.
“Tunneling?”
“Yeah, we’re digging a tunnel through Drake Mountain. The Council wants a second way out in case the Chinese discover the lodge and work out we’re in the mountain. Personally I think it’s just a way of keeping us worker bees all busy, because even if they find the lodge, it isn’t likely they’ll work out that the facility is inside the mountain.”
“I think they might know all about the Lodge now…”
I told them the story of our flight from Lincoln with the Chinese hot on our tails and I was surprised at how greedily they listened to every word, guffawing and asking questions about anything that wasn’t quite clear.
“No way!” yelled Beau, when I told him that I had emptied my pistol into the chopper. “That’s ballsy man.”
“Not really,” I said, secretly pleased at his endorsement. “I thought I was as good as dead and was hoping to take a few of them with me. It was probably pretty stupid actually.” I finished the rest of the story and couldn’t fail to notice how they all looked at each other when I told them about the intervention of the facility’s soldiers.
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