The Complete Makanza Series: Books 0-4

by Krista Street

  “Did you and Sara really hatch out that plan to get you back in here?” he finally asked, his voice husky.

  I nodded. “We needed to do something to get the Director’s attention. Otherwise, he may have never let me back in.”

  He clasped my hand. Heat seared through my gloves. I looked down, wishing so much that I could feel his skin. Touch him. Love him.

  “I’m going to get you out of here, Davin. If it’s the last thing I do on earth, that will be it.”

  “I know you will.”

  WHEN I FIRST saw Davin, he’d been a blur of a human being. Whizzing, throwing, and fighting too quickly for me to see him. How little I had known when I entered the Compound on my first day. I would have never guessed what was to come, or how much this Kazzie would affect me.

  Davin’s soul was as strong and unyielding as the Makanza strain within him. He had a heart filled with goodness and honesty, but a backbone made of brick and mortar. His touch and laughter sang to my soul, and just a glance from him sent shivers to my toes. I had no idea what was to come when I first laid eyes on him. Not only would he capture my heart, but he’d be the breakthrough for the vaccine to come.

  As he held my hand, I explained my theory to him, a variation of Dr. Hutchinson’s theory on mind-body genomics. I told him that we needed to bring families and spouses of the Kazzies into the Compounds. If we wanted to collect samples that were stable enough to synthesize into a vaccine, we needed to fill the cells with love. The uniqueness of Makanza was that it was tied to a Kazzie’s DNA, similar to the way an unborn child was tied to his mother.

  They were one.

  Breathing, feeding, and growing together. One could not be detached from the other unless the body was ready. Just the way an unborn child, forced from the womb, came into the world with an abundance of complications, so was the way of Makanza. However, when love and acceptance filled the environment, when the virus was coaxed and not forced, when it was caressed and not beaten, it was stable.

  The conference that afternoon opened the door to the next phase of ending Makanza. In a few short months, we’d have our vaccine. We would have the beginnings of the path to recovery, to healing, to making us a global community once again.

  I held Davin’s hands and gazed into his bright blue eyes as I explained what we endeavored to overcome. I felt his awe, fear, and hope. He knew just like I did that a vaccine was only the beginning. It wasn’t a guarantee, but it was a start.

  For with a vaccine, only then would the real work begin.

  RESERVATION 1

  Book 2

  1 – VACCINE

  “We’ll never get out of here,” Sage muttered. He sat on a couch in the Kazzie’s locked and airtight entertainment room, sipping a soda. The Canadian occasionally flicked his fingers, emitting tiny sparks into the air.

  The entertainment room held a movie screen, stadium seating with comfortable couches, and a kitchen and billiards area at the top. It put any entertainment venues in Sioux Falls to shame.

  Sage flicked sparks into the air again. “This could be our home forever. Eh, Meghan?”

  The other Kazzies mumbled similar comments.

  Shifting on a chair beside them, I shook my head in my large biohazard suit. “No, that’s not going to happen. There’s a lot happening in Washington D.C. right now. The MRI is working to release you all back into the public. It’s the politicians causing problems. Some of them are fear mongering, but that won’t stop the Summit from happening next week. I’ll be there along with numerous other Makanza Research Institute employees. We’ll once again educate our senators and congressmen on the efficacy of the vaccine. After the Summit, the representatives will vote.”

  I leaned forward in my chair. On the horseshoe-shaped couches, sat all seven people within Compound 26 that were infected with Makanza, or Kazzies, as the general public called them. The Kazzies sitting closest to me regarded me warily. I knew they didn’t believe they’d ever be free.

  Clasping my hands, I took a deep breath. “Please don’t lose hope. I’m going to do everything I can to set you free, and remember, a huge percentage of the public doesn’t think you should be imprisoned here. Even though a lot of them are afraid, they still want you free.”

  “Even if that means they could become infected with a mutated strain of Makanza?” Victor sat on the opposite couch from Sage, his forearms resting on his thighs. His bright, red skin was very noticeable in his t-shirt and shorts. “Isn’t that what they fear? That the virus will mutate, creating a new strain and it’ll be set free to wreak havoc, creating a Third Wave?”

  “Which means we’ll never get out of here.” Sara sighed.

  I shook my head again. “That won’t happen. No scientific evidence supports that will ever occur.”

  Sara didn’t look convinced. She sat on Victor’s right side, her blue skin appearing strangely normal beside his, like primary colors lined up next to one another. Although Sara’s skin shimmered when she spoke telepathically to her twin sister, Sophie, whereas Victor’s red skin was simply a protection against heat.

  Even though I’d been working with the Kazzies for over nine months, I was still amazed at how their various Makanza strains had Changed them.

  “So most likely we’re stuck here for the foreseeable future,” Sage concluded.

  Davin nodded at Sage. “Most likely.”

  Davin sat beside me, as he usually did when I visited with Compound 26’s entire group of infected survivors. With broad shoulders, dark hair, striking blue eyes, and chiseled features, he always got my heart fluttering.

  “So, are we ever going to watch the movie?” Sophie squirmed in her seat. Whenever our discussions turned to the political turmoil regarding the rare survivors of the Makanza virus, Sophie became visibly nervous.

  Sara, her twin, squeezed her hand.

  I could easily tell the twins apart now, without looking at the tattooed markings on their wrists, but it had taken me a few months to get there.

  “We can wait, if Meghan has more to tell us,” Dorothy replied. The oldest Kazzie in the group lounged on a recliner. Her plump cheeks and round shape gave her a matronly look.

  “I should go anyway.” I checked my watch. “I still have work to do.”

  I stood awkwardly from the hard, stiff desk chair. All seven Kazzies lounged on the deep sinking, comfortable furniture. Not me, though. In my bulky biohazard suit, trying to push up from a plush sofa was rather embarrassing. So I always opted for the desk chair Davin had carried in for me months ago.

  I sighed. The suit was incredibly annoying. Even though I’d received the vaccine, protecting me from all forty-one strains of Makanza two months ago, Dr. Sadowsky still insisted I wear my biohazard suit when I was with the survivors, just in case something happened.

  I tried to tell Dr. Sadowsky, the Director of Compound 26, that requiring all MRI researchers to still be suited up around our Kazzies did not instill much confidence in the vaccine—the vaccine the entire public had now been inoculated with. However, he said we were too valuable to lose. He wasn’t taking any chances in case Makanza mutated.

  His caution frustrated me to no end. I had yet to talk to or touch any of the infected people that I considered my friends without wearing one of these monstrous things. It was annoying.

  Davin joined me. “I’ll walk you out, but let me get the elevator first.”

  In his blurred Kazzie speed, he raced to the elevator, pushed the button, and was back at my side before I could blink. I was used to his speed by now, but sometimes, his sheer power and blindingly fast moves took my breath away.

  Back at my side, he took my hand. Even with my gloves on, I felt his heat. It did funny things to my heart. For months now, I’d been in love with Davin, but I’d never told him that.

  At times, I was convinced he was in love with me too, but we’d never talked about it. Not once.

  Every day it was the same. I visited with him, sometimes briefly if I had a lot of work to do
, other times for hours, if it was a slow day. Regardless, neither of us had ever brought up our feelings for one another. The reason I never had was simple: I was too afraid to make the first move.

  As for why he’d never said anything, I could only speculate. But I did know he felt a relationship with anyone in the Compound was impossible. He’d commented a few times about lack of privacy and the constant surveillance.

  However, his grabbing my hand was nothing new. The biohazard suits were bulky and awkward. Walking could be difficult, but Davin’s hand always steadied me. I’d never looked in a mirror, but I knew I resembled a glutinous marshmallow. In other words, super attractive.

  When we reached the elevator, we descended to the main floor and stepped into the back hallway that connected the Kazzies’ living areas to their cells. The hallway was wide, probably ten feet and curved, following the circular pattern of the Inner Sanctum. Gray concrete floor and walls surrounded us. The lighting was dim, not like the harsh fluorescents in the hallways outside of the Inner Sanctum and entertainment facilities.

  Davin’s cell was number six. Each door leading into a Kazzie’s cell was numbered. We were currently at three, Dorothy’s cell.

  “When are you flying to D.C.?” Davin asked.

  I shrugged, or tried to in the bulky suit. “I’m not sure. I haven’t received the flight schedule yet from Dr. Hutchinson, but the Summit’s on Wednesday, less than a week away, so I have to be there by then.”

  Davin grinned devilishly. “Of course, we couldn’t have a government hearing without the poster child for the vaccine.”

  I grimaced at which he chuckled.

  The attention I received seven months ago, when I helped unlock the secrets to extracting a stable version of the virus for a vaccine, didn’t go unnoticed. I’d been interviewed by several magazines and newspapers. America News Network, or ANN, our only national broadcasting network, interviewed me for their morning show a few months back.

  During each interview, I’d vomited before and after. My anxiety had been through the roof. And Dr. Cate Hutchinson, my idol, who also happened to be the Director of Compounds 10 and 11 in Washington, had taken me under her wing since my discovery.

  I could be wrong, but I had the feeling she was grooming me to take her position one day. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. In the past ten years, South Dakota had become my home. My parents lived here, and even though we weren’t close, it was nice having them nearby. All of the Kazzies I knew were here too, although that could change once they were released.

  Most importantly, though, Davin was here.

  He’d never leave South Dakota. I was sure of that. As the last remaining Sioux Indian, he had a tie to this land. That and his mother lived in Rapid City and had done so for the past thirty years. I was positive she had no intention of moving.

  Just the thought of leaving either of them made my heart ache. But for all I knew, once Davin was out, he would find someone else to spend his life with. After all, despite our close bond unlocking the secrets to the vaccine, he’d never professed his undying love and devotion to me.

  Not like he had years ago to someone else.

  I bit my lip as I often did when I thought about that. Davin had been in love once, before the First Wave. The only reason I knew about it was because Sharon had told me last year. However, whoever that girl was had moved away. Sharon presumed she died in the First Wave.

  I tried to picture Davin with another woman. My stomach dropped at just the thought.

  Perhaps moving wouldn’t be so bad if that happens.

  “You’re kind of quiet.” Davin glanced down at me. We just passed door five, and I hadn’t said a word in the past few minutes.

  “Just thinking.”

  “About what?”

  “Nothing really, just about the vaccine and all the interest Dr. Hutchinson’s giving me. She’s hinted a few times at me moving out to Washington to work directly with her.”

  Davin’s hand tightened over mine for the briefest second. “She must see a lot of potential in you.”

  “She seems to.”

  “She’d be a fool not too. You’ve done more in your short time here than most researchers have done in the last ten years.”

  Davin constantly lavished praise on me. He made it no secret, to anyone, how impressed he was with my accomplishments. It was yet another reason I loved him so much. He didn’t have an ego. My success only made him proud.

  Regardless, I still rolled my eyes as my cheeks flushed, even though I had played a huge roll in the vaccine’s discovery.

  Despite the Compounds opening two years after Makanza struck, it wasn’t until last year, ten years after the First Wave started that any advancement had been made on creating a vaccine. It was Dr. Hutchinson’s discovery regarding mind-body genomics that had begun the progress. And it had been my discovery that love stabilized the virus that ultimately led to the vaccine.

  I peeked up at Davin as best I could in the suit’s viewing shield. “If I did take Dr. Hutchinson’s offer, I’d have to move to Washington state.”

  He was quiet for a few steps. “Is that what you want?”

  “Um . . . not right now. There’s still too much to do. And I believe I made someone a promise last year that if it was the last thing I did, I’d get him out of here.”

  Davin chuckled. “I wonder who that was.”

  “Just this Kazzie I know. He’s pretty good at poker.”

  “Pretty good? Didn’t I beat you in every hand last time we played?”

  “That was only because Sara was distracting me. I’m positive she was cheating. Didn’t you see her skin shimmering during most of the game? She was obviously talking telepathically.”

  “She was doing that to distract everyone, not just you. I’m sure she wasn’t actually talking to anybody other than Sophie, who wasn’t even playing. Sara doesn’t have a poker face. She has poker skin.”

  I laughed. Door six came into view a few steps later.

  “I’ll be fine from here. I’m sure I can manage to walk across your cell without falling.” We often joked that if I ever did fall, I’d be like an upside down beetle on the sidewalk. Legs flailing about with no help of ever getting upright. “Ugh, these suits are getting beyond annoying.”

  “It’s still better than risking your exposure to Makanza,” Davin replied.

  I sighed. Davin on the other hand, had a mindset similar to Dr. Sadowsky. It was better to be safe than sorry. At least, for me. Davin didn’t care if any of the other researchers wore their suits or not.

  “So what’s supposed to happen when you get out of here?” I put a hand on my hip. “Am I never allowed to visit you since I won’t have a suit? Will we just be pen pals?”

  He chuckled at my syrupy tone and batting eyelashes. “We’ll talk about that when the time comes.”

  As always, a stone settled in my stomach when we broached that topic. Davin wanted to get out of the Compound, just like every other Kazzie here, but he also wanted to make sure I was safe. I had a sickening sense of dread that pen pals may, in reality, be all he was okay with.

  “All right, I’ll see you tomorrow.” I typed in my code to the keypad beside Davin’s door. With a hiss, it opened.

  “Are you going to let me know when you find out about D.C.?” Davin lounged against the door frame and crossed his arms.

  “Yes, I’ll let you know.”

  “My mom said she expects a postcard this time.”

  I laughed. They didn’t even make postcards anymore. Not since all of the borders were closed between states as a way to prevent the virus from spreading. “I’m guessing she was joking.”

  “You know her well.”

  I waved goodbye and walked into his cell. Davin waited in the hall. I felt his gaze follow me until the door closed behind me.

  SERGEANT ROSE GLANCED up when I entered Davin’s cell. He was in the watch room, on the opposite wall by the windowed hallway, where he always was. He was Davin’s d
aytime guard Monday through Friday.

  “Davin got a call while you were gone.” Sergeant Rose leaned over the control panel, pushing the microphone button so I could hear him in my earbud.

  “From who?” I asked as I walked to the containment room.

  “His mom.”

  “I’m sure he’ll call her when he returns. It wasn’t important, was it?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “They’re going to watch a movie now.” I stepped into the small containment room. The door closed behind me as the dials turned and switches glowed.

  “Can you give him the message when he returns?” A fine mist that decontaminated my suit and everything it touched descended like a fog around me.

  “Yeah, I just know he doesn’t like missing her.” Sergeant Rose’s voice still sounded in my earbud despite the fact that I couldn’t see him.

  It had only been in the past month that the Kazzies were given personal phones in their cells. Before then, they weren’t allowed contact with the outside world under Dr. Roberts’ rule. Ever.

  That was one thing Amy and I had worked hard to change. It hadn’t been possible while Dr. Roberts worked here. However, once my old boss left, Amy and I wasted no time.

  Dr. Hutchinson’s support had helped tremendously in that department. She’d helped convince Dr. Sadowsky to install them. But when the Kazzies weren’t in their cells and their phones rang, the guards answered. Sergeant Rose joked that he was now a glorified message service. Davin and his mom spoke daily, sometimes several times a day, and Davin often wasn’t in his cell.

  The mist around me evaporated, and the light above flashed green. All clear. Any particles of Makanza that were potentially on my suit or in the room had disintegrated.

  The door to the watch room opened as Sergeant Rose entered. He hustled to help me out of my suit. “Dr. Sadowsky also called while you were in the entertainment rooms. He wants to see you before he leaves and said it was important.”