Movement in Adam’s cell caught my attention. I slid to the glass. A woman in a white lab coat removed the tube from his arm, made a note on a clipboard, then left the room through a door that blended into the wall.
Energy surged through me. I searched for the door in my room. Once I knew what to look for, it was easy to spot. I raced to it and banged on it with all my force. “Hey, help me.” Maybe the woman would answer a cry for help.
The door remained shut. Bitch.
A pounding sound thudded behind me. I turned and Adam stopped banging. He gave a small wave with his bound hands. I sprinted to the glass.
“Can you hear me?” I said, louder than normal.
“Yes, can you hear me?”
I nodded. I didn’t know if our better-than-average hearing helped. Nor did I really care. We could hear each other and that’s what mattered. “Where’s Megan? Where are we? Why are we tied up? What’s going on?” I fired the questions at him.
“The last I saw Megan was when they drove her away in the other golf cart. After the dude tased you, we were put in the other cart then moved to an underground train thing. It took us through the mountain. When it stopped, they jabbed something into my neck. Next thing I remember is waking up here.”
“There was a woman in a lab coat just in your cell. She removed a tube from your arm.” I held my palms flat against the glass. The ties bit into my wrists.
Adam brought his hands up to mine and mimicked my gesture. We’d be holding hands if the glass wall dividing us weren’t there.
“Val…” Adam bit his lip. “I’m sorry. I was sure this place was safe.” He leaned his forehead against the glass.
I did too. When I pulled back Adam had already moved, and I thought I caught the glistening of tears in his green eyes, but when I blinked, it was gone. “We need to get out of here. Look in your cabinets. See if there’s scissors or something. I couldn’t find anything sharp.”
He nodded then searched all the drawers and cabinets he could open. He returned to the glass frowning and shaking his head.
A click rang out through my room. I spun around. Three black-clad armed soldiers filed into my cell.
“Come with us.” The tallest guy gestured with his rifle.
I glanced back and caught sight of more soldiers in Adam’s room. I made a quick calculation. Outside of the room was better than locked in, so I followed them.
Two soldiers flanked my sides and the other stayed behind me, his rifle tapping me in the back as I walked down a corridor lit by bare bulbs on a string. It reminded me of Megan’s underground bunker.
I tried to figure out where I was, but they marched me down a cement tunnel with no markers or any identifying features. When we reached a black door, the soldier to my left typed a code into a gray box on the wall. A shield designed to keep prying eyes away dashed my hope of seeing the combination.
The door hissed and slid back into the wall. If I wasn’t ready to pee my pants in fear, I might have found the place cool. We walked down another corridor. The coldness of the ground seeped through my socks. I so wanted my boots.
As we walked, I tried to find anything that could help me, but the walls, floor, and ceiling were rock. My only weapon could be a busted light bulb and that wouldn’t do me much good against gun-toting soldiers trained to kill.
We passed through another door and the décor changed. Rows and rows of equipment covered worktables. People sat in chairs and fiddled with the knobs and dials. Some wore headsets while others didn’t. Three massive screens covered the far wall, currently displaying what looked like weather patterns.
We entered what I would call a conference room. A large black table covered with computers and phones took up most of the space. Twelve high-backed leather chairs surrounded the table. A man dressed in a uniform occupied one. A woman and man, each wearing a white lab coat, filled two other chairs. The woman was the one who had been in Adam’s room.
A large screen sucked up all the open wall space on my left. The screen displayed a map of the North America covered with red and green lights. The soldiers escorted me to the far wall where two metal folding chairs sat empty.
They deposited me in one chair and then took position behind me. I wanted to shout something—anything—but decided it was best to keep my mouth shut. For now. The faint scent of sweat permeated my nostrils.
I stared at the faces of the three people assembled at the table. I didn’t recognize any of them. Not the President or Vice President. I wondered if they were still alive. Were these people in charge of the government—if one even still existed?
The hawk-eyed scrutiny they appraised me with made my skin crawl. I was about to ask what the hell they wanted when the door opened and the soldiers led in Adam.
His face seemed sunken and his skin pasty in the harsh light of the room. When he caught my eye, his green eyes flashed his anger. They shoved him into the chair beside me with much more force than the soldiers had used on me. His trio of guards lined up next to mine. I almost laughed aloud at the ludicrousness of it all. Six armed soldiers guarding Adam and me. What did they think we were going to do? They’d taken all our weapons.
The man wearing the medal-laden uniform stood at the head of the table. “What are your names?”
“Adam and Val.” Adam raised his chin a little higher when he spoke.
“Why are we handcuffed and being treated like prisoners?” I made to stand, but a firm hand pushed me back down. I glared at the soldier. He focused his gaze on the dude with the fancy uniform.
“I am General DeCarlo. I am in charge here. What do you want from us?”
I couldn’t help myself. “Uh, a safe place to stay. What do you think?”
Glances flew between the man and woman seated at the table.
“Look, I was alone for months while others died, the world went to shit, and creatures appeared out of nowhere. We’re just trying to find Site R, the safe place Adam’s father told him about.”
I caught Adam wince out of the corner of my eye. I probably shouldn’t have mentioned his dad.
“You’ve found Site R.” General DeCarlo turned his attention to Adam. “Who is your father?”
“Was.”
“Pardon me?” The general’s eyebrows arched into a unibrow.
“My father was Dr. Solomon. Was. He’s dead.”
“Dr. Solomon?” The general snapped his fingers and the woman leapt to her feet, her lab coat billowing behind her. She pulled a black device that looked like a calculator out of her pocket and walked to Adam.
She grabbed his right wrist and waved the device over the spot he had been rubbing earlier. Her machine beeped and she made no facial expression as she read the tiny screen. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and handed the device to the general.
“You are dead, Adam Solomon.”
“Really? I don’t feel dead. Maybe your little machine is broken,” Adam said just a little too sharply.
The general narrowed his eyes at Adam. “Listen, I don’t need lip from some punk ass kid. You were declared dead months ago along with the rest of your group.”
“I survived the attack.”
“Attack?” General DeCarlo dropped the device on the table.
“You know, from the Raspers.” I made another move to stand. Once again, the soldier’s hand came down on my shoulder.
“What are you calling a Rasper?” This came from the bald man whose red nose betrayed his long-term allergy suffering—or possibly a drinking problem.
“The yellow-skinned, shallow-breathing, night-walkers that are out to kill us.”
“Quite an accurate description. I like it,” the man said.
Great. Someone else liked my name for the damn things, but he’d probably be disappointed in my unimaginative naming of the Bugs.
“That’s not the point right now, Doctor.” General DeCarlo shot the man a look, and the doctor shrank in his seat.
The general seemed more feared than revered
around here. Good to know.
“Young lady, tell me about the specimen you had in your bag.”
“We caught it.”
“Where?”
I wanted the answers to my questions, not to answer this dude. I sat up straighter in the hard chair. “Tell us why you’re treating us like this. And where is Megan?”
“You are not in any position to be demanding answers.” The general folded his arms across his medaled chest. “I expect you to answer me.”
His arrogance fueled my anger. It had started out as a slow smolder. Now it reached inferno proportions. “If you don’t have the human decency to uncuff two kids, we have nothing to say.”
Adam’s fingers lightly brushed my leg. I gave him a small smile as I shook on the inside.
“Do you have any idea who you’re dealing with?” General DeCarlo charged like a bull toward my seat.
My body screamed for me to pull back, but I fought every flight instinct slamming through my brain.
“Enlighten us.”
He stopped right before my chair. If I could have smacked him across his wide cheek, I would have. I sat up straighter. The man and woman in the chairs tightened their posture, but made no move to intervene.
“Let us go!” I shouted and jumped up before the guard could force me down. The soldiers made to grab me. General DeCarlo waved them back.
“There’s no way I’m letting you go.”
I balled my fists and tried to fight the tears welling in my eyes. “Why not?” I hated that the words crackled as I spoke them.
“Because you register as infected.”
24
The word pierced my skull like a dagger. Infected.
We weren’t infected. Just stung. Did their tests mean I was turning into a Rasper? I glanced at Adam, then at my hands. Our skin was still normal.
“They can change at any time. Move them to Corridor XC where we can keep them contained. I need more information, doctors.” General DeCarlo stormed from the room.
I tried to protest, but my heart hammered faster than a scared rabbit and my voice failed. I glanced at Adam, his gaze locked on the now-empty doorway.
When the soldiers started to move, the lady doctor stood and held up her hand. “A minute, gentlemen?” Our armed guard hesitated, then fell back into position.
“You know something.” Adam directed his statement to the woman in the lab coat, who seemed to be in charge in the general’s absence.
Her shoulder length dark hair was perfectly styled and her clothes under the coat screamed designer. She made me feel like a troll.
“I’m not sure what I know anymore. These last four months proved we all still have a lot to learn.” She walked toward us stopping just outside our reach.
Probably in case we jumped her. Smart.
“My name is Dr. Morgenstern and this is Dr. Collins.”
“Can you help us?” Adam gestured to me with his cuffed hands.
Dr. Collins walked forward. “We can’t answer that honestly until we complete more tests.” He took glasses out of his pocket, wiped them on his lab coat, then held them up to the light to inspect them before putting them on.
“What tests have you done already?” I pictured the gauze taped to my arm.
“Standard blood screens. I do apologize for doing that without your consent. I had my orders.” Dr. Morgenstern held her hands out, palms up.
I bet she did—straight from General Asshole.
“We would like to run more advanced tests. We need to find out why you register as infected, yet show none of the normal symptoms.”
“Yes, find out whatever you can,” Adam said automatically.
“Miss?” The doctor turned to me.
While I had no desire to become a human pincushion, I wanted—needed—answers the good general didn’t seem ready to offer. “Okay.”
Dr. Morgenstern rubbed her hands together. “Excellent. I am sorry for your situation. If I get answers, maybe General DeCarlo will allow your restraints to be removed.”
The soldiers took up position on our sides and escorted us from the room. Once in the corridor, we turned right and walked in a different direction. The place was a maze. We went down another cement tunnel and through a series of electronically locked doors.
If I called the first place a cell, this was the slum of cells. A soldier, who had the body type of a professional wrestler, punched a code into the digital display and two doors swung open. Another soldier shoved Adam into one room while the barrel of a rifle guided me into my own private hellhole.
A thin mattress sat in the corner of the room. My feet slipped on the concrete floor. The ceiling and three of the walls were made from cold cement block. I shivered and noticed the barred wall with the door had a small slot at the bottom. It was truly a prison cell. This couldn’t be happening. My head throbbed and I felt like I was going to be sick.
“Hold out your hands,” the wrestler guard said.
I tried to catch his eye, but he avoided making contact. How could he believe locking a kid in a cell like this was right?
“I’ll unbind your wrists. If you try anything, my partner will shoot you.” He nodded to the rifle-jabbing soldier.
I held my arms out while trying not to vomit on his combat boots. He whipped out a pair of cutters and in one swift snip, the plastic cuffs fell from my wrists and into his gloved grip. The soldiers then backed out of the cell and shut the door.
The lock clicked into place, announcing the door was secure. No hope of escape.
“Val, can you hear me?” Adam’s low voice carried on the damp, stale air.
I leaned into the bars and stuck my arms through like I had seen prisoners do on TV. “Yeah.”
“Do you think we’re on camera right now?”
I hadn’t thought about being watched 24/7. “Probably. I mean they have electricity coming out their ears.”
“This really sucks.”
I laughed. “That’s an understatement.”
Another door to our own private Alcatraz hell whooshed open and Dr. Morgenstern walked toward us, accompanied by three soldiers. I might have a chance against one, but three and the doctor weren’t good odds.
“My, this is depressing.” She gave the room a look and wrinkled her nose as if she smelled dog poop. “Okay, let’s see if I can find out anything, shall we?”
She nodded to the first soldier, who unlocked my cell. From this angle, there was no way I could see the code. Dr. Morgenstern entered while one soldier took a position in the door and the other two flanked the barred wall.
She set a plastic container on the floor and gave the room a once over. “Hmm, this would be easier with a chair.”
“I agree. We should go somewhere else,” I said in a calm, authoritative voice.
“No. Unfortunately, I’m just here for some more blood. The general wants a medical guarantee you won’t change. Maybe soon.”
I pushed my sleeve up past the bandage.
“Let’s do the other arm. That way your arm won’t be as sore.” Dr. Morgenstern prepared her syringe and whatever else she needed.
I checked out her container. Besides the needle she held and another one presumably for Adam, I didn’t see anything I could use as a weapon.
“Where’s Megan?” I said it loud enough to make sure Adam heard.
“Who?” Dr. Morgenstern frowned and lines crinkled around her eyes.
“The girl we came here with.”
“I’m sorry, dear. I don’t know anything about another girl. Just you two.”
What the hell? Where was she? Hadn’t they at least tested her blood to make sure she was clean? They wouldn’t have sent her somewhere else. Would they?
“What about the Bug?” I looked away before she inserted the needle.
“Are you referring to the specimen you had in the jar?”
Well, at least she knew something. “Yes. Where is it?”
“I’ve been studying the vile thing.” She switched v
ials and filled another tube.
“What kind of doctor are you?”
She placed the vials filled with my blood in a holder, then put a gauze piece and tape over the spot on my arm. “I specialize in infectious diseases. I work for Zigotgen. The government asked for my help in containing the situation.”
She pulled another thicker needle from her pocket and held my right wrist. She injected me with something.
“What was that?”
“Standard security identification. Everyone here has one.” She capped the needle and slid in back into her pocket.
Now I had one of the things in my wrist. Wonderful.
“Did a disease make people into Raspers?” I tugged my sleeve down. I hoped Adam was paying attention.
Dr. Morgenstern picked up her container. “Not like I’ve ever seen. And it’s not communicable. If it was, there would be no way you wouldn’t be quarantined.”
I felt like I was quarantined. Being isolated and alone might be better than this cell. “Then what is it?”
“That, my dear, is what I intend to find out. Will you cooperate with the general for information?”
I nodded. She signaled the guard and left.
The soldier reengaged the lock and they moved to Adam. He tried to find out more about Megan, but the doctor wouldn’t budge. She insisted she knew nothing about her.
After the group left the corridor, a wave of exhaustion slammed into me. It had been forever since I had been able to truly relax. My head pounded and my vision blurred. I turned to the nasty mattress. It was disgusting with its stains and a scent of stale body odor wafted off it. There was no way I was laying on it.
I sat on the floor, my back to the wall, tucked my knees to my chest, and rested my head on them. Images of the last four months blended together. The voices in my head fell silent.
The corridor whooshed open. My head shot up, my heart pounding into overdrive. I reached for the gun I no longer had.
The Colony Page 24