To the left of the main entrance, children funneled to the cafeteria for breakfast. Carefree, many bounced their way through the line to get cereal or pancakes.
“Can I have a ‘nana?” Caleb asked.
“Yes, honey. Mama is going to go do some work. Uncle Jack can take you to get a banana and then go play with friends, alright?” She watched the two walk away as the group of hospital executives approached.
For as many children were excited to meet her, Valerie sensed apprehension among others in the hospital. She noticed a small group of adults in the waiting room glared at August from where they sat. A technician did a complete about-face when she saw them in the hallways leading to the inpatient wards. What did they expect from her? What could she possibly do differently to earn their respect? Were they all sympathetic to the Council? She tried to shake off the hostility, but seeing it firsthand validated her own insecurities of leading. Making a home for homeless children did not cover her inability to save everyone. She was unable to heal the General Population from ailments like cancer and disease. Her alternative was to heal no one so she didn’t feel so guilty for only healing those she could. There was no winning.
The clinical setting gave Valerie a sense of nostalgia. Patient flow slowed with much of the community unable to fall ill, but her vast knowledge of internal hospital workings made her miss the normalcy of life before. Those who did get sick came from outside territories without electricity. Emergency medicine was second nature to her but also felt like a lifetime ago.
Acutely injured and fast-aging Conductors made up the second largest population of patients next to ailing General Population patients. During their visits, August and Valerie joined hands and walked the halls, releasing stored energy and stimulating stem cells of injured Conductors to rebuild their broken bones, muscles, and other tissue. Conductors within the five-hundred-mile radius of the Facility did not get sick.
Hospital management opened up all but one section of the hospital to the orphanage due to minimal medical needs. They consolidated resources to the remaining wing to house the critically ill children of the region. Thanks to her father and brother’s work of managing the logistics on her behalf, the children’s hospital and the adult medical center next to it, were the hub for all medical care in the city. Though their penance for betrayal seemed a position of high esteem, fixing the carnage caused by Lucas Jarrett fit of the offense.
August took the lead on the work of healing the young patients. They both took this duty seriously as a passion they shared in different capacities. However, Valerie was under strict orders to keep her own energy to herself and her child during this visit. Healing Hyka had drained most of her strength. Even with August with her, she agreed to not take any more chances.
A group of attending doctors listened thoughtfully to August as they moved through the inpatient wing of the hospital. Valerie could not help but admire him as he held their attention and respect.
“The research center at the Facility is still searching for a development in how DiaZem can sustain the well-being of the General Population within our power footprint. Conventional medicine remains adequate in caring for those without the Conductor gene.” August spoke with authority the way an attending doctor would lead a team of residents.
Valerie followed behind the group with Hyka and Courtney while August continued.
“We will reinforce the demands of the hospital and staff the best we can. Many imported goods are running low across the region, but by combining supplies from other inoperable medical centers, we can maintain the present patient flow for a few more months.” August’s discussion with the physicians appeared on screens around the hospital and was also transmitted to other hospitals in the region which, Valerie learned the day before, traversed the entire United States west of Louisville, Kentucky. Though much of this area overlapped with the hostile eastern region, they agreed those in support of her rebellion were more of a threat to the Council than their adversary’s awareness of national broadcasts.
As Valerie walked by a patient’s room, a woman’s voice spat, “Evil bitch.”
Valerie stopped. Behind the woman lay a small child in bed, unconscious with a breathing tube and myriad of hanging medications feeding into tubes and pumping into his IV.
“I’m so sorry.” Valerie knew the little one was of the General Population and beyond her abilities to manipulate their energy. Everything she wanted to say to the woman sounded callous, cold, or inappropriate in the ways of offering comfort.
I lost my husband, too. I can’t help you now, but soon we will learn how. I didn’t cause this. I didn’t do anything. Valerie wished she could say these things out loud, but nothing could change the woman’s mind or relieve her early grieving for the loved one she sat with. Many still believed the lie Jarrett told the world that she caused the mass genocide in Denver.
The confrontation ate at her as August walked ahead. Hyka pulled Valerie into a small alcove to a stairwell.
“Ignore it.” Hyka placed a soft hand on her shoulder and ushered her on. “Come on.”
“Does everyone really hate me? Do they really still blame me after all this time?”
“You could be the shiniest apple on the tree. Always some jerk who hates apples and feels the need to let you know.” Hyka reassured her.
“Can you let them know I went to find Caleb?” Valerie called around the corner to Courtney who waited down the hall behind the group of doctors.
Courtney nodded at her request and followed August. Valerie took the stairs down to the first floor and exited out an exterior door to a boisterous child-filled playground. Caleb ran around with a group of four kids weaving in and out of equipment. Valerie saw her son laughing and playing and her anxiety washed away.
“He fits in perfectly,” a woman said, matching Valerie’s smile with one of her own. She was warm. Genuine.
“He loves coming. I just wish he could stay longer. I’ve been pushing around hosting a sleepover for them at the Facility. I know Caleb would love having company.”
“That would be a real treat for all of us! We’re running out of field trip ideas for them.”
“Maybe they can spend Christmas Eve at my house as my family,” Valerie suggested, before she thought better of the idea without consulting anyone else. Wait a minute. She was the Queen DiaZem. August did not take the time to consult her on things. It was time she made her own decisions.
She collected Caleb and caught up with the team just as they finished the tour. The longer she followed August’s lead, the more anxious and frustrated she became. He probably thought the visit was a success. No one would dare attack him. They saw him as a saint and her as a selfish tyrant no better than Lucas Jarrett himself.
When the door of the SUV shut, Valerie’s resentment boiled over.
“What’s wrong?” August asked putting on a pair of dark sunglasses and smirking.
“You’re the sexy doctor, and I’m the slut nurse following you around. I’m even pregnant with someone else’s child. I’m a walking soap opera. They hate me.”
“Val.” He straightened up and removed the sunglasses to show her his true concern. “The people support you. They rally behind you. You could change my name, hell, even replace me, and no one would bat an eye. But you are transforming this society into a matriarchy. You're elegant, like Queen Victoria. Valerie Russell: The mother of a modern nation.”
Valerie laughed at him. “You mock me because you don't realize how miserable the process is to grow a human. I’m fat, ravenous, and emotional.”
He peered over his glasses at her with his dark eyes as he slid them back on. She melted a little inside.
“Mothering, nurturing, and balancing the house and family is far more meaningful than making money. Glorified, even. Working for income is obsolete. Mortality gave the people a wake-up call. The female position in the home has far more significance than the male role of working all the time. You embody society’s modern view of g
raceful leadership. I’m chopped liver without you, Val.”
“Quit trying to butter me up. Your flattery is not working.” She grinned and her blush betrayed her statement. His flattery was absolutely working.
“He’s telling the truth, though,” Hyka chimed in from the front passenger seat. “They see things like how you played with the kids on the playground and glorify stuff like that. Women with kids receive preference in most corporate businesses that have reopened. Children are like a status symbol. Conductors raising Conductor children.”
“Do they discriminate against General Population mothers?”
“Depends,” Hyka answered.
Valerie shot August a disapproving glance. “That attitude belongs with the World Council countries. Should we do another statement and stress inclusion of General Populace immigrants? Immigrants. Listen to me.”
“We’ll decide after the regional meeting. Let’s get a good sense of what's going on outside the city.” He paused for a moment. “Are you ready to face your dad?”
Valerie shrugged and watched out the window. Traffic moved steadily as they made their way to the state capitol building where Mike Burton kept his office and lived. “Do you think Jarrett’s energy can leave the Facility and follow us?”
“Don’t know. But the Facility extends underground well into the city. Traveling along the power grid theoretically would be possible, but they’ve never tracked him outside the Facility.” Jack answered.
“Just depends on the haunting,” Hyka said. “Some spooks haunt houses, others haunt people. As charged as you two are, it wouldn’t take much to just hover around you. My grandma used to tell me all kinds of spirit stories. But I have noticed nothing unusual going on since we left. I think it’s safe to say we’re alone.”
“Your headsets aren’t safe,” August noted. “Lucas might not follow us, but he can still monitor us. He’s a smart man.”
“Yes, but he pays little attention to small details,” Valerie added. She felt safe away from the Facility, from even the memory of Lucas Jarrett. With August nearby, she would be safe with the baby. Maybe they didn’t have to go back to the Facility right away. With Monica accompanying them, they could find a vacant cabin up the mountain, but one that was close enough to get back to the Facility if need be. The idea floated in her head as a musing of normality.
Duke parked the SUV at the north entrance of the capitol building. Mike and Kevin waited at the curb. Her father opened her door and Caleb, who could no longer be contained, clambered over his mother to see his grandpa as soon as she released him from his buckles.
“Pap-pap! Pap-pap!” he squealed in the man’s arms.
Duke and Jack greeted their old friend. Even Hyka gave Mike a side hug before Valerie smiled at him. The wounds he contributed to mended with his absence, but their reunion was about business. The men led the way into the grand building.
This was Caleb’s first visit to the Colorado State Capitol. The high vaulted ceilings only encouraged him to squeal louder as his little voice echoed through the space. This was where her father chose to live, and it was quite grand. Copper plates lined the balconies and banisters and were kept polished. Giant murals and paintings hung from every wall, each with their own description and history. Caleb ran to the grand marble staircase that opened into the heart of the building and looked up into the structure’s dome.
“Wooow.”
“I’ll take you up there if you want to see?” Kevin snuck up behind the boy and lifted him under his arms to rest the tot on his shoulders.
“Maybe after the meeting,” Valerie suggested.
Mike led the way up the staircase to the second level where the House chamber began to fill with the region’s leaders. He directed them to one of the board rooms just off of the main corridor. Caleb bounced on Kevin’s shoulders, telling him and Mike all about life in the Facility. The team's first meeting was a modest one to collaborate intelligence within the city before presenting information to the rest of the allied regions.
“We organized the reconstruction of the traditional power grid to ninety percent of the city and surrounding areas within fifty miles,” Mike said, reading down a list of agenda items. “Teams moved throughout the city and cleared the souls lost in the partial Phase Two. We positively identified ninety-eight percent and cremated all unburied remains. Work on the city memorial has begun. We’ve contracted a well-known resident artist, Kyle Fowler, to design and build the monument that will bear the names of the General Population who lost their lives under Lucas Jarrett. The boy is excellent. He's even done work in the Facility.”
Kevin remained silent next to their father as Mike continued the update. Valerie knew Kevin contributed to the work, but her father was dutiful in his assignment.
“Other resources to the city are restored. Water departments are back in full swing, and waste management volunteers stepped up. The growing amount of eastern immigrants served to fill the demand for workers. While most of the city has followed the Facility’s point system for currency, many still recognize bartering as an acceptable practice. People are living in peace, mostly. Although, we've responded to disputes over property and minor conflicts between Conductors and General Populace.”
Mike slid some papers down the table to where Valerie and August sat. Formatted like articles, they both were by the same author.
Valerie looked over the two single paged fliers calling people to rally against her apparent power. The people were organizing against her.
"I've seen this name before, Sasha Bowman. She's the kid starting riots? Is she in custody? And ‘Reactance’? Is this a group trying to kill us?"
"We sent a team to bully her up,” Mike said, shifting in his seat. “Like you said, she's just a kid, Val. Free speech still exists unless you'd like to repeal the Constitution until matters are under control."
"Things are under control." She hated her father challenging her authority in front of everyone, and a smile formed at the corners of Kevin's mouth at Mike’s stab. "If her statements are harmless and don’t call for violence, then fine. Let her be an activist against us. God knows I'd like this gene to go dormant again. I'd fund the whole damn project."
“Is there further need to stress the seriousness of peace?” August asked. “Is law enforcement overwhelmed? Do you suggest we deport people to the eastern region?”
“Bad people will be bad people, regardless of where they are.” Mike shifted his tone with August to one of authority and patience versus speaking to Valerie as if he were entertaining a child's simple reasoning. “If we send people to the east, their hostility will fuel their hate even more. We can vote today on punishments within our footprint. Most new prisoners are awaiting trial. Severe cases, I tried and punished according to your consents.” Mike referred to the case of murders in the early months of cleanup. Valerie and August agreed to allow Mike to execute in the event of direct threat to life.
“There is talk of this Reactance rebel group within our footprint. Law enforcement broke up a few secret meetings. They claim they are not working on behalf of the Council; however, restricting eastern immigration might be a good idea.”
“That is impossible.” Valerie rubbed her head. “Our power footprint overlaps over half the East Coast region and flexes east or west daily. The whole state of Missouri sits in neutral territory. We can’t deny those people refuge as much as we can’t stop Conductors from following the Eastern DiaZem.”
“Well, we need to strike fear into the heart of this rebellion before the Council gets a foothold right under our noses.” Kevin sneered as he spoke.
Valerie could feel the resentment from her older brother. Though she would have given the burden of being a leader up in a heartbeat, she knew her brother’s temperament combined with any amount of power could prove dangerously unstable. She did her best to just ignore his antagonizing.
“All of this maternal inclusion is great for hippies,” Kevin spat. “Most people possess a primal need
for self-preservation at any cost.” He did not make eye contact with her. “We need to nip it in the bud before the price equates to lives of the innocent. Even if they aren’t claiming sides, a presence of Conductors claiming genetic superiority is going around, giving normal people a hard time.”
“General Population, Kevin. Normal is condescending,” Valerie reminded him.
“Church it up however you want. There is more trouble here on the streets you can’t see from your castle.”
“Enough, Kevin,” Mike said, raising his voice.
Happy to obey her father’s cue, Valerie turned to Dr. Dominguez. “Can you give us an update on medical logistics?”
“Yes. Nothing new. We’re operating University Hospital on the east side of the city due to the consistent prestige its held in the nation. So, it makes the most sense to continue moving and consolidating supplies from surrounding hospitals. As the population grows and we can secure naval trade routes, we can consider opening satellite facilities. Many private practices are still open, but they are running out of prescriptions and other supplies. Even saline for IVs is hard to barter for. Most medical manufacturers are on the East Coast or Puerto Rico. Unless we come up with an alternative soon, the General Population will suffer more than they already have.”
“Which brings us to the main topic of discussion,” Valerie took a breath. “Have we identified or do we have any leads on other DiaZem in the area, aside from the ones we can’t seem to reach?”
Kevin shifted in his seat like a brooding teenager. He was, in fact, thirty-seven years old, a former military intelligence agent and was named commander of the local law enforcement in the city. Valerie had been reluctant to give him any power, but by having him engaged, she hoped his tension with her position would ease.
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