Essentially, he was the perfect nurse, if a little hovering at times.
If anyone thought it weird that a Kazzie was taking care of his researcher, no one commented. It almost seemed that everyone was too concerned to do anything that may disrupt my recovery. Perhaps the brave smiles and worry filled reassurances were more bravado than actual belief that I’d be okay.
At times, I wondered if I would be. Most people only experienced a mild reaction for a day or two before feeling well again. But then I remembered the researcher at Dr. Hutchinson’s facility who’d moved into the second stage of symptoms. It seemed I was another lucky one in that boat.
On the fifth day, my fever broke. Davin was asleep when it happened. I woke in a bed of sweat, but for the first time in days felt healthy. Good, even.
The night guard was in the watch room. The clock read 4:45. Sergeant Rose would arrive any minute.
I stood which got the guard’s attention. I put a finger to my lips so he wouldn’t wake Davin. Padding to the bathroom, I dipped behind the half wall and stripped my sodden, sweaty clothes.
I’d lost weight. I could tell just from glancing down.
My hip bones stuck out, and my abdomen was hollow. I grimaced and looked in the mirror. The sight wasn’t pretty. My hair was a mess of dark snarls that stood six inches off my head. Shadowy smudges lined my tired-looking hazel eyes. My face was thinner than it had been just five days ago.
In other words, I looked amazing.
Starting the shower, I stepped under the spray and sighed in contentment as hot water washed away days’ worth of grime, sweat, and sickness. I shampooed my hair twice and scrubbed every inch of my body.
When finished, I toweled off and dressed. Sergeant Rose grinned when I emerged. Since it was just after five, he must have just come on.
I waved and made a spooning movement to my mouth. He nodded and through the watch room window, I saw him call up to the kitchen.
MORNING CAME AND went. Davin still slept. I wasn’t surprised. He’d barely slept for the past five days since he’d hovered continuously over me.
I ate a mountain of food while I waited for him to rouse. It seemed no matter how much I ate, I wanted more. I blamed it on the last five days where I’d barely eaten anything.
Davin finally stirred mid-afternoon. He groaned when he lifted his head, probably from the uncomfortable angle it rested at on the floor. He seemed groggy at first as he pushed himself up, but when he noticed the bed was empty, he shot to standing.
“I’m over here,” I said before he could panic.
He whirled around, his hair in much the same state as mine this morning.
I smiled. I couldn’t help it. He looked confused, like he was trying to figure out if he was still in a dream or had just woken from one.
“You’re up?” he finally said.
“Yes, and I feel fine, better than I have in days.”
A whiz of movement and he was at my side, his hand to my forehead. “Your fever’s gone.”
“Yes, and I’ve eaten enough to feed a small country.” I waved toward the empty trays on the desk.
“Huh.” He rubbed a hand over his face. I could tell he was still groggy. “So, you’re okay now? You’re back to normal?”
“I think so.”
“What time is it?”
I glanced at the clock by the bed. “Around three in the afternoon.”
Davin shook his head. “What a great job I did, taking care of you. I was out.”
“You needed to be out. You’ve barely slept in the last week.”
“You’re absolutely sure you’re okay?”
I nodded.
He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, murmuring something in Lakota. I caught a few words. He was thanking the Spirits and saying a few other things I couldn’t decipher. When he finished, he gave me a good once over.
“You’ve lost weight.”
“I know. Trust me, I’m trying to make up for it.”
He eyed the empty food trays. “Anything left for me on there?”
“Sorry, no.”
He chuckled and turned to the watch room. Sergeant Rose was watching us with a smile on his face.
“Do you want to order me my usual?” Davin asked.
The guard nodded. “I already did.”
13 – EXPERIMENTAL ROOM
Davin and I spent the afternoon and evening together. It was a little bizarre. I felt amazingly fine while he struggled to keep his eyes open. I knew, despite his twelve-hour slumber, he still felt exhausted. Five days of little to no sleep could do that to a person, even a Kazzie with Davin’s unique abilities.
And since he still hadn’t suffered another strange catatonic state, I tried to feel reassured that his tiredness had nothing to do with that. During my sick time, he hadn’t met with Dr. Fisher, but now that I was well, I’d overheard him quietly set up a time with Sergeant Rose to have the doctor visit again.
When he returned to my side, I asked, “What’s that all about?”
His head tilted. “What’s what all about?”
“You’re meeting with Dr. Fisher again? Is he doing more tests?”
“Oh.” He raked a hand through his hair. “No tests.”
“But you’re seeing him again?”
He turned so I couldn’t see his face. “Yeah, we’re meeting. Say, I’m going to shower. Be back soon.”
I stared at his broad shoulders before he turned into a blur. The sound of a shower starting came from the back corner. Sitting down on his bed, my eyebrows knit together. He doesn’t want to tell me why they’re meeting.
I nibbled my lip and tried not to worry.
A FEW HOURS later, I bid Davin goodnight and returned to my cell. Night had arrived according to the clock, but without the sun, I had no idea what time it was. Regardless, I thought I’d fall into a deep sleep, given all that had transpired, so I was surprised when the exact opposite happened.
I slept fitfully.
Dreams plagued me. Horrific dreams of my friends being held captive on the reservation, wasting away into people I no longer recognized. In one nightmare, I clung to the fence that surrounded the reservation shouting Davin’s name as I searched frantically for him within. But I never found him. He’d been so deeply buried in its interior that we were forever apart. Never to be together again.
Sweat drenched me when I woke. Pushing damp hair from my forehead, it was like a lightbulb went off. Now that the virus had worked its course, I knew what I needed to do.
I have to get out of the Sanctum. I need to call Cate. We need to convince our government that the reservation isn’t needed. It’s the only chance Davin and my friends have to be free.
Biting my lip, I straightened more.
The new law, which required people exposed to Makanza to stay in quarantine for three weeks, was to see if they showed any symptoms. If three weeks passed, and an exposed person remained healthy, it meant their body had effectively detected the virus and fought it off.
However, that hadn’t happened to me. The virus had begun multiplying before my body defeated it, which is why I’d moved into the second stage of symptoms. That meant Makanza had been active at one point inside me. The MRI now needed to make sure no traces of it remained.
The three week quarantine essentially doesn’t apply to me since I exhibited extreme symptoms. We know I’ve gone through the stages already. So if they test me, and my samples are clean, there’s no logical reason to keep me in here.
Bounding out of bed, I raced to the watch room window. The night guard was still on. It had to be early. I banged on the window which made him jump. He’d been reading a book with his back to the glass. Swirling his stool around, his wide eyes met mine.
“Dr. Forester?” His voice sounded surprised through the speaker system.
“How many days have I been in here?”
“Um… about a week. I think.”
One week. That means two more weeks before I’m out of quarantine
unless I can convince them to test me and release me sooner.
“Will you call my lab group? I need them to come in here.”
He checked the clock. “Um… It’s only 4:30 in the morning. I doubt they’re here yet.”
My reflection stared back at me in the watch room glass, and I understood why his tone sounded so wary. My hair stood out on all ends. I wore pajamas. And I stood barefoot in front of him, appearing as if my life depended on his answers.
Only it’s not my life. It’s Davin’s life. Sara’s life. All of the Kazzies who live in here. And the twelve hundred other Kazzies throughout the country.
Running a hand through my hair, I took a step backward so I wasn’t right against the window.
“I’m going to shower and dress. Will you order me breakfast? Coffee, toast, and eggs.”
“I’ll do it right now.” He sat his book down before he called up to the kitchen.
I retreated to the bathroom. My lab group would arrive in a few hours. So that gives me a few hours to work out a plan to convince the MRI that it’s safe to let me out.
“YOU RANG?” MITCH’S voice boomed through the speaker system.
My head snapped up from the research paper I’d been reading on my laptop. A smile spread across my face when Amy, Mitch, and Charlie all peered at me through the watch room window.
Mitch seemed to interpret my smile as something other than what it was. He winked, a knowing look in his eyes.
Crap. I really needed to find a way out of the mess I’d dug myself into with him, but now wasn’t the time to figure that out.
“What’s up?” Amy pulled out a stool.
Private Rodriguez was nowhere to be seen. I guessed he’d excused himself when they all appeared.
“Yeah,” Charlie chimed in. “We all received emails from your nighttime guard saying it was dire that we all race down here.” He cocked his head. “Dire. I can’t remember the last time someone used that word.”
Pushing back from the desk, I joined them at the watch room window. “I need to get out of here.”
“Can’t wait any longer for our drinks, huh?” Mitch grinned wolfishly.
Smiling wanly at him, I addressed Amy. “I’ve been exposed. I reacted. It’s obvious my immune system detected Makanza and effectively fought it. I know the law says three weeks in quarantine, but test me. Take samples from me. I’m sure they’re viron free.”
“Is it really that bad in here?” Amy frowned, looking genuinely concerned.
A flash of Davin filled my mind. “No, it’s not bad, but I can’t do anything in here to fight the reservation.”
Mitch crossed his arms. “How are you going to fight it?”
I shrugged. “Go to Washington D.C. to protest? Start a petition? Raise awareness about the vaccine’s effectiveness? I don’t know. How are laws changed?”
Charlie raised a finger. “Probably all of the above.”
“So that’s what I’m going to do. Hence, why I need to get out of here. And logic deems that if all of my samples are Makanza-free then I safely can leave here.”
Mitch drummed his fingers on his arm. “Makes sense. I wonder what the MRI’s rule is on that.”
“There probably isn’t a rule,” Charlie said dryly. “The three week quarantine law was only made last week. Meghan’s the first scientist to be restricted to the Sanctum.”
Amy nodded. “But she’s right. If she’s viron free, there’s no reason for her to stay in here.” Her green eyes grew bright. “Okay. Let me see what I can do.”
THREE HOURS LATER, I was on my way to the Experimental Room. Amy had met with Dr. Sadowsky and explained my request. After his call to top MRI officials and Compound 26’s attorney, it was agreed that if I was viron-free, there was no need to keep me in the Sanctum.
My situation was unique. Essentially, the law didn’t apply to me since my exposure had happened within a Compound, not on the reservation, and I was held in a facility that was able to test my samples.
When Amy relayed that information, I breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, my colleagues still based decisions on science and facts versus fear and hysteria.
Now if only we can convince our government to be so logical.
When I passed Davin’s cell on my way to the Experimental Room, I was about to knock on his door, but then I remembered he was meeting with Dr. Fisher this morning.
Sergeant Rose’s voice made me jump. “He’s not in, Meghan. He’s with Dr. Fisher right now.”
The camera above had swung my way. Sergeant Rose had obviously seen me standing outside of Davin’s cell.
I peered up at the camera. “When will he be back?”
“Probably not until early afternoon.”
“Thanks. I’ll stop by later.”
Biting my lip, I once again wondered what Davin and Dr. Fisher were up to before hurrying down the hall into the Experimental Room. I donned scrubs and entered the massive enclosure.
Two technicians sat at the Experimental Room’s control panel. Alison and Nate were on duty today. Nate picked up his headpiece so he wouldn’t need to use the microphone.
“Dr. Forester, good morning.”
“Good morning,” I replied.
“Can you please lie down on Bed Two?”
I did as he said, having to hop onto it since it was so tall. The robotic arms stationed around the bed were quiet and still, like dead soldiers waiting to come to life, their bayonets and weapons ready. I took a deep breath as my heart rate picked up. The anxiety that constantly plagued me geared up a notch.
If I want to get out early, this is the only way. Just breathe.
“We’re going to take a few samples.” Alison’s voice sounded through the speakers. “Mostly blood but a muscular biopsy too.”
The robotic arms suddenly spun to life, waving and flapping above me. I just nodded, lay still, and folded my hands over my stomach. It was everything I could do to keep myself calm.
I closed my eyes and practiced my deep breathing exercises as best I could. I could still hear the robots, though. They made a swishing movement as they sliced through the air. I didn’t dare look at them again.
So this is what the Kazzies feel when they’re back here.
“Can you extend your arm?” Alison asked.
I straightened it. The bed shifted, a portion of it mirroring my movement. I could feel it beneath me as the bed elongated so my arm rested perpendicularly on it. I opened my eyes to slits and darted a glance at my arm just as a robot descended, wrapping a rubber band around my bicep so quickly, it was done before I closed my eyes again.
The pressure in my arm increased, the blood pooling in my forearm and fingers.
“You’ll feel a little prick,” Alison said, “when the needle’s inserted.”
Something cool washed across my inner elbow.
“That’s the alcohol,” Alison explained. “Here comes the poke.”
I didn’t have time to ready myself. A sharp sting traveled up my arm when the needle went in.
A moment later, the sting vanished, leaving a dull ache in its place just as the rubber band snapped off. “The blood work’s done.” Nate’s voice sounded through the speakers. “Now, we’ll take some muscle. Do you have a preference for where we take it?”
I opened my eyes when the swishing sound stopped. The robots hung frozen above me. They looked like a gigantic spider ready to descend upon me for lunch.
“Um, wherever,” I mumbled.
“The thigh’s a pretty easy place.” His quick suggestion made me guess he usually dissected from that area.
“Sure.”
The robots sprang to life, and I squeezed my eyes shut again.
MY ARM FELT sore when I left the Experimental Room. My leg however was numb. A stark, white bandage covered the hole where they’d taken the biopsy.
I felt strangely empty when I returned to the cells. Used, almost. Not human anymore. It was a sickening feeling. I told myself that the technicians were just
doing their job. The MRI needed to know that Makanza no longer circulated in my blood and body before they discharged me from the Sanctum.
If they discharge me.
Even though I was now symptom free, I could still pass Makanza to others if I carried it. Which, in theory wouldn’t matter, since the entire public had been vaccinated, but our government seemed hell bent on feeding the public’s irrational fears.
Still, the way Nate and Alison had done their jobs, stoic faced and devoid of emotion, as if on auto-pilot – that was what bothered me. They were my colleagues, people I’d worked with for almost a year, but it no longer felt like I was one of them. I felt like a Kazzie. A body. A sample that needed to be taken.
The twins, Sage, Victor, and Dorothy had lived like this for nine years, ever since the Compounds opened two years after the First Wave. The first two years of the First Wave, they’d spent living in makeshift quarantine facilities. That was before the Compounds had been built. However, since Davin and Garrett had contracted Makanza in the Second Wave, they’d only been in the Compound for seven years, but that was still seven years of being subjected to the Experimental Room. My stomach twisted as bile rose in my throat.
A fuzzy feeling entered my mind. I opened the door that connected me telepathically to Sara.
Hey, she said. Where are you?
Walking back to my cell.
Her voice grew curious. I heard your fever broke. So you’re feeling better?
Much, I feel back to normal.
I’m so happy to hear that. Do you want to come up to the library and join me? I’m by myself up here.
I nodded internally. Sure, I’ll turn around.
I FOUND SARA sitting alone on a couch. She was in the corner of the library on the top, tiered level.
“You’re up early,” I commented. The twins usually slept till nine or ten.
“I felt your anxiety,” she said.
I grimaced and sat beside her. She curled her slim, blue, muscular legs beneath her to make room. Had the First Wave never occurred, I could picture the twins becoming dancers. They naturally had ballerina physiques. Lithe, long, and graceful. Everything about them seemed to flow.
“Sorry. I’ll try to keep it more in check next time.”
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