The Complete Makanza Series: Books 0-4

by Krista Street

  I swallowed thickly. My fingers shook as I hastily stored the rest of the samples.

  Mitch crossed his arms and kicked his heel gently against the lab bench while he waited for me to finish. I stood, put on gloves, and began cleaning up my workspace.

  His gaze followed my movements. “Word on the street is that you and Dr. Hutchinson, or Cate as she insists you call her, are going on another tour of the country.”

  Snapping my gloves off, I nodded. Now that my hands were free, I tucked my long brown hair behind my ears. It hung to my mid-back. I knew I should cut it since it was getting so long, but I hadn’t found the time.

  I tossed my gloves in the trash. “Yeah, that’s right. We’ve recruited hundreds of volunteers. Dr. Hutchinson wants to do a tour of the east coast this time. I’m leaving for Seattle tomorrow to organize it with her.”

  “Flying to Seattle to do a tour on the east coast?” He raised his eyebrows. “Seems a bit counterproductive.”

  “It’s no longer on the MRI plane, since I’m flying commercial, so it doesn’t cost as much.”

  Mitch stopped tapping his foot. At six-four, he towered over me. He often reminded me of a Viking. He had a huge, brawny build, blond hair, and light blue eyes. A scruffy beard covered his face.

  He crossed his arms. “I drove to Montana over the weekend, just because I could. Twelve hours to Bozeman and twelve hours back. I spent the night in a cheap motel. Didn’t do a thing other than look at the scenery. It’s great isn’t it? To be able to travel again?”

  “Yeah. It’s about time.”

  Ten weeks ago, the government had reopened state borders after ten years of enforced quarantine following the First Wave. While we were still isolated from other countries, we could now move freely from state to state. Oil extraction had also increased in the Gulf of Mexico. Jet fuel production had been ramped up. Because of the recent changes, two major airlines had reopened. The first commercial flights had begun only a week ago.

  “So nobody joined you in Montana?” I tried to keep the hopeful catch out of my voice. With how crazy my schedule was, I still hadn’t told Mitch any chance of us dating was foreclosed. Maybe he’d found someone in the time I’d been gone.

  He shook his head and winked. “Nope, just little old me.”

  So much for wishful thinking.

  Despite all of my lab co-workers being in their thirties, a decade older than me, none of them were married. Makanza had done more than kill off most of our population—having a deadly virus run rampant had also put a dent in the dating scene. Not to mention, the MRI used to prohibit all relationships between colleagues.

  That was another policy that had changed. MRI employees were now allowed to date. The ban had lifted at the same time the borders opened. That change had made Amy, my colleague and friend, ecstatic. She no longer had to hide her secret relationship with Ben, a researcher in a separate lab group. But it only made my situation with Mitch trickier.

  There were no barriers now to him asking me out.

  “So what time’s your flight to Seattle?” Mitch watched as I collected my purse and jacket from the end of my lab station.

  “Mid-morning out of Nebraska.”

  His gaze dimmed. “I can’t believe you’re leaving us again. You’ve only been back for three days.”

  I shrugged. “We won’t ever free the Kazzies while staying here.” I waved at our lab with its twenty-foot tall walls, white ceiling, and numerous machines and equipment.

  “Have you ever thought about giving up?” A hopeful tone grew in Mitch’s words.

  It felt like my heart stopped.

  Giving up means I’ll never see Davin again.

  Forcing myself to put my jacket on, I shook my head. “I’ll never give up on them.”

  A memory flashed through my mind. It was of saying goodbye telepathically to Sara twelve weeks ago—the day I permanently cut our telepathic bond. Sara and her twin sister, Sophie, both had strain 30, but only Sara could form telepathic communication with others.

  I was the only person, outside of the Kazzies that had resided within Compound 26, that Sara had ever formed a telepathic link with. She’d done it because she trusted me.

  She’d been like my sister.

  The words I said to her twelve weeks ago still haunted me. I’m sorry, Sara, but it’s time for me to start my life anew. Tell Davin that he’s right. I need to begin my own life.

  My breath caught in my throat. I hurriedly fluffed my hair out of my coat back and slung my purse over my shoulder.

  Sensing that I was heading out, Mitch straightened. “Since you’re leaving tomorrow, we better take advantage of your one night in town. You know . . . since we still haven’t gone out for drinks. What has it been now? Five months since you accepted my invitation? You sure know how to make a guy wait.”

  I cringed inwardly. Five months ago, I’d agreed to a date with Mitch against my better judgment, but then I’d been exposed to Makanza and had been contained within the Inner Sanctum. A whole slew of things had happened after that which resulted in me traveling around the country.

  You really need to tell him, Meg. Now’s the perfect opportunity.

  Icy sweat lined my palms as I faced him. “Um . . .”

  Mitch grinned. “Your stubbornness would drive me crazy if I didn’t admire it so much, but today I’m not taking no for an answer. How about dinner instead of drinks? Your choice. Whatever restaurant you want.”

  A knot twisted in my stomach. “I . . . uh . . .”

  I cleared my throat. My age-old anxiety ticked within. I’d worked so hard at controlling it over the past year, but at times, it still consumed me.

  Forcing myself to take a deep breath, I looked him squarely in the eye.

  “Mitch, I’m sorry, but I’m not going on a date with you. I should have never agreed to drinks during the summer, and I should have told you that then.” I gripped my purse tighter to my shoulder. “I’m sorry I haven’t set things straight between us sooner, because the truth is, I only view you as a friend.”

  His face fell.

  I swallowed my anxiety and persevered. “I’m sorry, but you deserve to know the truth.”

  “Right, yeah. No worries.” His cheeks turned red.

  My heartbeat sped up. I quickly shouldered my laptop bag on top of my purse. “I should get going. I have to leave early tomorrow morning to drive to Omaha, and I need to pack. I’ll see you later, Mitch.”

  He nodded, his voice quiet. “Sure, Megs. Have a safe trip.”

  I hurried from our lab. The metal stairs that I climbed to the platform rattled under my jog. When I reached the exit door on the platform, I stepped out and let out the stifled breath I’d been holding.

  For a moment, I just stood there. White walls in the hallway stared back. As usual, they were blinding.

  Okay, it’s finally done. Mitch knows how I feel. Now, get moving.

  With a start, I resumed walking. As I passed by my office, I wished Amy was here. My co-worker always had a way of lightening the mood. Even though she loved teasing me about Mitch, her banter and sly jokes were exactly what I needed right now.

  I groaned at how the recent changes were directly affecting me. Now that dating was acceptable within the MRI and throughout the country, the border laws no longer in effect, it seemed most single people were eager to hookup, which probably explained Mitch’s persistent texts and messages.

  Dating, for many years, had fallen off the radar.

  The first year Makanza hit, eleven years ago, everyone was stuck inside their homes, quarantined from one another. After that, everyone was so terrified of the virus, nobody wanted to touch or interact. Dating had practically ceased to exist.

  A few years after that, when the virus had been wiped clean from the public, the fear started to recede. Some people began to date, weddings occurred, things looked hopeful, but then the Second Wave hit and the isolation started all over again.

  I wasn’t sure of the birth statist
ics, but I felt fairly certain the birthrate had plummeted in the past eleven years. However, now that things were changing, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a new boom of marriages and births to come.

  The thought of dating anyone beside Davin made me nauseous. But Davin didn’t know that. My words to Sara twelve weeks ago, again came back to haunt me. Tell Davin he’s right. I need to give Mitch a shot . . . Tell him that Mitch and I have decided to start dating. Davin’s been encouraging me for weeks to be with Mitch, so that’s what I’m going to do.

  I closed my eyes at the pain that memory evoked. In order to keep Davin safe, I’d lied to him. I’d told Sara to tell him that Mitch and I were dating when it couldn’t be further from the truth. But he’d actually thought I’d slept with Mitch during the summer, in a moment of miscommunication.

  Miscommunication that had never been set right.

  In a way, that had worked to my advantage. Despite Davin knowing how strongly I felt for him, he probably believed Sara when she told him I was moving on with Mitch. Since he thought I’d already hooked up with my co-worker, dating him wouldn’t be a stretch.

  Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose.

  It’s for the best. Once he’s free, I can tell him the truth. And then everything will be okay.

  Rows of doors passed me in the hallway as I sailed by the MRI employee offices. I barely noticed the dozens of doors.

  It still made my heart ache to know that Davin thought I’d moved on when the truth was, he still consumed my thoughts and dreams.

  Most likely, he always would.

  But he’d made it clear, on several occasions, that he didn’t want me wasting my life and time on trying to free him. Davin felt he’d forever be locked away because he was a viral carrier. He didn’t think we’d ever free him. And sometimes, I feared he may be right.

  Because the reality was, until we freed the Kazzies, any hope of setting things straight with Davin would remain a distant dream always out of reach. Like chasing a rainbow, trying desperately to reach its end on the ground. It didn’t matter how far one traveled, how hard one tried—it would always be beyond one’s grasp.

  Gripping my bags tighter, I passed Carol, our wing’s secretary on my way past the main lobby. She nodded goodnight as she packed her bags to leave. My shoes tapped on the floor as I headed out the exterior door.

  A blast of cold air greeted me when I stepped outside. Private Williams waved goodnight before I strode across the parking lot to my car. He and the older guard beside him were bundled up in bulky coats.

  Late autumn wind bit into my cheeks as I fumbled with my keys. It was dark already since it was the end of November. December was only a week away. As the winter solstice neared, the days grew shorter and subsequently darker and darker. A dusting of snow already sat on the ground. It seemed winter was coming early this year.

  The driver’s seat in my car felt cold and stiff when I slid inside. Setting my bags on the passenger seat, I started the motor and then rubbed my hands together. An image of Davin again flashed through my mind. It was of him taking my hand, steadying me as I walked in my biohazard suit.

  He had warm hands. They were always warm.

  Tears pricked my eyes as another memory surfaced. It was of me placing my hands on his shoulders right before I stood on my tiptoes to press my lips against his. Surprise had shown in his irises before his lips molded to mine.

  I closed my eyes, savoring the memory.

  I miss you, Davin. I miss you so much.

  Ringing from my phone made my eyes snap open as the memory vanished.

  The shrill rings continued as I fished my cell phone out of my bag. When I saw who was calling, my shoulders relaxed as a genuine smile streaked across my face.

  I tapped the answer button. “Hi, Sharon.”

  “Hey, sweetie. How are you doing?”

  The sound of her voice made a warm feeling grow within me. The tears that had started subsided. It was funny. Davin’s mom felt more like a mother to me than mine ever had.

  “I’m fine. I’m just leaving work now.”

  “Are you ready for your trip tomorrow?”

  I pulled out of my parking spot and began driving to the Compound’s exterior gate. “I need to pack, but other than that, I’m ready. It will be my first time flying commercial. I hear it’s quite different than flying on the MRI’s private plane.”

  She laughed softly. “Well, I was never a world traveler, so I can’t say whether that’s true or not, but the few flights I took before the virus struck were definitely different than private planes.”

  Just hearing her tone and easy words kept the despair at bay. I was so engrossed in our conversation that I barely noticed any of the security checks as I left. Granted security wasn’t as tight as it had been a year ago—another change—but I still had to show my ID and let them search my bag.

  After Sharon finished telling me about a new scarf she knit, I cleared my throat. “So . . . how’s Davin? Have you seen him?”

  Not even Sharon knew about the deal I’d made with Dr. Roberts twelve weeks ago. The deal in which I agreed to never visit, talk to, or contact the Kazzies again. That agreement was in exchange for Dr. Roberts’ promise to no longer drug and sedate them.

  Despite Sharon being aware that something had gone wrong between Davin and me, she hadn’t brought it up. I loved that about her. She was a very patient, unassuming person—she knew if I wanted to talk about it, I would.

  “Well . . .” she began and then stopped. “I last saw him two weeks ago. I drove up again last week, but I couldn’t get in.”

  My brow furrowed. Sharon hadn’t been let in?

  I pulled onto I-90. A few snow flurries danced in front of my windshield. Winter was definitely coming early this year. “What do you mean they wouldn’t let you in?”

  “There’s a sickness going around the reservation. They said several guards and Kazzies have come down with influenza. They’re keeping everyone quarantined until it passes.”

  “Influenza?” I frowned heavily as I flipped my wipers on.

  “That’s what they said.”

  “Hmm.” I bit my lip. I hadn’t heard of the flu cropping up anywhere in the country, but I supposed it was plausible. The reservation was isolated. If a bad flu broke out, it would stay contained within that area.

  Thinking of Davin or my friends becoming seriously sick got my pulse racing. I told myself to stay calm. Most of the Kazzies and guards were young and healthy. They’d probably all recover.

  And things on the reservation had apparently improved during the past three months. President Morgan had promised to monitor Dr. Roberts’ rule. Sharon had visited Davin a few times, and she said he was doing all right. No doubt all of the Kazzies would receive good medical care if they needed it.

  I took a deep breath. Things are different now. My initial impression of Reservation 1 twelve weeks ago, right after it had opened, had scared the life out of me.

  Still, to claim an influenza outbreak . . . I exited the interstate toward my neighborhood and gripped my phone tighter. “That’s really strange. So, when are you going back?”

  “I was going to try again this weekend if the weather’s not too bad.” A noise hummed in the back of Sharon’s phone. It sounded as if she was running water in her sink.

  “When . . . ah . . . did you last speak to Davin?” My heart jumped into my throat after I said his name. It always did. I told myself that someday it wouldn’t. But that someday probably wasn’t any time soon.

  “Sometime last week.”

  “Last week?” I pulled into my apartment’s parking lot. Sharon and Davin usually spoke on a daily basis. They had ever since phones had been installed in the Kazzies’ cells in the Compound. And that habit hadn’t changed since Davin and the other Kazzies left Compound 26 to live on Reservation 1.

  “Their phone lines are down too right now. Something about maintenance.”

  The hairs stood up on the back of my neck as
I parked. “Their phones are down and there’s been a bad flu outbreak?”

  “I know what you’re thinking, Meghan, but I’m sure it’s fine. I was a little concerned too, but every time I’ve spoken to Davin, and the times I’ve visited him, things have been all right. Just relax. I’m sure it will all be taken care of soon.”

  Her reassuring words helped relax my death grip around the steering wheel. I turned off the motor and sat quietly in the driver’s seat. A few people walked by on the sidewalk. Despite it being dark, it was something I saw regularly now since curfew had lifted.

  I grabbed my bags and opened my car door. “You’re right. I’m sure everything’s fine. So . . . uh . . . what was Davin up to the last time you spoke with him?”

  More rustling came from the background. It sounded as if she was chopping something on her kitchen counter. “He was still learning his new job. He said he’s enjoying the challenge.”

  “His job in the electrical plant?” Just hearing small details made my heart flutter.

  “That’s the one.”

  “Did he mention anything about the other Kazzies?”

  “He said the twins are both waitressing. Sage and Victor are working on the road construction team, Dorothy’s a manager at the local gym, and Garrett’s teaching art classes.”

  I cocked my head. “It sounds like they’re all doing okay.” Exactly, Meghan, so calm down.

  After all, no drugs had shown up in any of their samples. They all had just started new jobs after finally completing Dr. Roberts’ initiation classes. The president seemed to indeed be monitoring activities within the reservation given how normal it all sounded. And Sharon last spoke to Davin a week ago.

  Everything was obviously fine.

  Yet . . .

  A niggling fear still lingered. I didn’t know why, but my gut told me something was off.

  “Say, Sharon?” I pulled open my building’s outer door. “Will you let me know when you get through to Davin? I want to make sure they’re actually okay.”

  “Of course, I’m sure I will soon, so don’t worry.”

  I checked my mail. Nothing. My mailbox squeaked when I closed it.