by Maira Dawn
They pushed through the door and found three showers with thin, clear shower curtains.
Skye winced. Well, it was better than nothing.
Sydney had trailed them into the room and now pointed out two small piles of green medical scrubs and two pairs of white boat shoes sitting on a bench. “There’s one for each of you. Shampoo and soap in the showers. Good kinds too. We treat our Immune well—there are so few of you. In fact, if you pass the next test, you’ll get a shower every day.”
Surprised, Skye stared at Sydney. “Aren’t all of you immune?”
The woman shook her head. “No. Most have just stayed away from any Infected or Sick.”
When Skye asked another question, the male guard appeared and said, “Get in there. You have limited time.”
Once the male guard turned his back, Skye and Kelsey showered.
Skye threw her smelly clothes on the floor outside, happy to be rid of them, and sighed as the warm water smoothed over her, taking the filth away.
What? Warm? They had enough energy for that?
Skye picked up a shampoo bottle and raised an eyebrow. They certainly did use the best. Though there probably wasn’t a run on this at the local salon anymore.
She hurried but shampooed her hair twice before it seemed clean. Just as she reached for the knob to turn the shower off, the water stopped.
The male guard had told the truth. There was a time limit. Good to know.
Skye wrapped a towel around herself and moved toward the bench.
The male guard still faced the opposite way.
Sydney averted her eyes.
Skye was grateful for what privacy they allowed. She scanned the room and sent a pointed look to Kelsey as she exited the shower.
The girl shrugged.
Neither had found a single solid unattached item they could use as a weapon.
Skye glanced back at the only two items she’d found in the stall—her washcloth and a mini-shampoo bottle.
MacGyver might be able to do something with those—she sure couldn’t.
Skye and Kelsey turned toward the guards and followed them out into the hallway.
Kevin continued to lead them down the same corridor.
This hallway seemed like an assembly line, and they were the product. The further down the line she and Kelsey moved, the safer they were—at least, she hoped that was the case.
The guards ushered them into a normal exam room—though it was larger than she was used to. Besides the regular equipment, there were small medical machines lined up on a long countertop that stretched along one wall.
A man with messy brown hair wearing a white lab coat walked toward them. He held two vials in his hand.
She didn’t have to imagine what they were. Kevin had already told her. Skye shuddered.
Her gaze darted to the door. Two guards stood there, closing off the exit. Two other men and Kevin stood near the exam table, and Sydney waited in the hallway.
Skye turned back to the man in the white lab coat. “Is this—”
Kevin stepped forward. “Don’t talk to him. This is hard enough for him as it is.”
“Hard enough for him! We’re the ones who—”
Kevin gestured, and one guard thrust a taser toward Skye.
She jumped away, and it narrowly missed her.
“One more word,” Kevin said curtly, “and he will use that.”
Skye took another small step away from them and said nothing.
The White Coat waved her to the table.
She climbed up, her jaw clenched.
As he prepped Skye’s arm for the injection, she trembled so hard she wondered how he would find a vein.
But then, maybe he didn’t need a vein.
Kelsey moved to her side and grabbed her hand. “Hey, at least we’ll die clean.”
Skye couldn’t help the small chuckle even as her heart fell. She threw a pleading glance at Kevin, but he stood as if made of stone.
She turned to Kelsey, “If I don’t make it, tell everyone I—I—”
“It’s okay, Skye. I will. But you’ll be fine.” The girl gave her a wobbly smile. “I know it.”
The White Coat laid the hard needle against Skye’s skin.
She instinctively jerked back.
One of the muscular guards moved to stand close behind her.
Skye leaned away as his hot breath washed over her only to have him wrap a beefy arm around her shoulders and yank her back tighter against him.
Another guard took her arm, holding it from the shoulder to wrist and pulling until Skye groaned in protest.
The needle was back. Cool against her skin.
Skye glanced up at the White Coat.
Uncomfortable with his job, he gritted his teeth as he plunged the needle into her. Skye gasped in pain.
It sunk deep—slamming against her—coming to a stop only when the hub hit her arm.
The fluid burned as if a river of fire entered her body. Skye tried to hold back a sob but failed.
The injection felt like the deadly contagion it was.
The white coat jerked the needle from Skye’s arm and sped away to get the second injection ready. Blood trailed down her arm.
Who put someone so bad at injections in this job?
Kevin stepped closer, wiped the blood away, and bandaged her.
Skye hugged her arm to herself when he finished.
“You need to stop fighting, Skye,” he said. “It’s just a waste of energy, and we don’t put up with trouble.”
Skye scrubbed some wayward tears off her face and hopped off the table.
Kelsey’s face paled, but she obediently climbed onto the table when instructed.
Kevin put on latex gloves and took the syringe from the technician. He pulled Kelsey’s unresisting arm forward and gave the girl a look of approval. “Good girl,” he told her.
Kelsey closed her eyes and took the hand Skye offered, squeezing it tight.
Like an expert, Kevin slid the needle into Kelsey’s arm and pushed the plunger. “This will burn for a bit, but it will be over soon.”
Kelsey grunted as tears ran down her cheeks. She hissed as the burn moved through her.
Kevin stood back. “Okay, the worst is over. Now we wait twenty-four to forty-eight hours. I’ll show you to your new room.”
They went out to the hallway and turned left, continuing down the same hallway.
Another few yards, another few rooms.
Nineteen
Fighters
Kevin stopped at a door, opened it, and threw out his arm. “Big upgrade from last night, uh?”
Skye barely controlled her eye roll. Did he want a thank you? Better think again, buddy.
Still, she scanned the room with relief. Two twin beds, a bedside table with a light, a few old magazines, and what seemed to be their own bathroom through a half-closed door.
And no Sick for next-door neighbors.
It was Kelsey who was the polite one. “Thank you, Kevin. It’s so nice and clean.”
Kevin nodded his head, soaking in the praise like it was due him. When he glanced at Skye, she hurried to give him half a smile.
She was labeled a troublemaker, and it only made them more suspicious of her. She needed to become a better actor.
Skye pushed on one of the mattresses. “Seems comfy.”
Satisfied, Kevin turned to the door. “I’m going to bring you ladies something to eat.”
Skye put a hand to her growling stomach. Now that was something she could look forward to.
Kevin and his gang turned and left, shutting the door behind them. It was not a surprise when Skye heard the lock engage.
Skye and Kelsey exchanged a glance as they listened to the guard’s shoes slap against the hallway floor.
When they were gone, Skye spoke but kept her voice quiet in case a guard was still stood near.
“Oh Kelsey, we keep getting deeper into this complex.”
“Yes, well. I’m sure tha
t’s on purpose.”
“If we can get out of this room, I know the way out of this building. But with all the guards, their weapons . . . “
Kelsey shook her head. “There isn’t a way—not yet. We just have to do what they want until they trust us and give us a chance to bolt.”
“I agree.” Skye rubbed a hand over her face. “But I’m not sure how much time we have or what they will do to us next.”
Kelsey grabbed Skye’s other hand. “We have to do what they say. It’s the only way out, Skye. It’s what worked in Fenton.”
Skye gave the girl a sharp glance. “What do you mean?”
Kelsey sat on the twin bed across from Skye. “That group in Fenton—they caught me once, you know that.” The girl’s gaze stayed glued to the floor. This was a subject that the girl always avoided in therapy.
Skye listened as Kelsey continued.
“I fought them at first, but I learned real quick. You take it until they trust you enough that you can get away.”
The girl shuddered. She glanced at Skye from under her lashes, her face red. “At least, they want something different from us here.”
“Oh, Kelsey,” Skye said around the lump in her throat. She moved closer and gently put her arms around her. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
Skye ached to take away all of Kelsey’s trauma—as if it never happened.
Kelsey’s voice was a low murmur. “Me too.”
Skye comforted the girl as well as she could.
Kelsey was brave—a fighter. There was no doubt about that.
A rapid knock on the door startled them.
Kevin threw the door open.
“Here you go, girls. We don’t get fancy anymore, but it is food.”
Skye grit her teeth. She rarely minded being called a girl. Her mother had often referred to her dad and his friends as boys. So it was all the same to her. But the way Kevin drew out the word, he used it to demean them—put them in their place.
She didn’t like that.
Skye’s stomach rumbled, taking her mind off Kevin. She glanced at the tray a guard sat on the bed in front of her. Peanut butter and jelly, a few potato chips, and a little can of juice.
It looked delicious.
Kevin returned to the door. “You have a good night. And don’t worry, overmuch. I have a good feeling about you girls. You’re gonna make it.”
He gave them a wide smile that faded away.
Kelsey tentatively raised her hand. “Can I ask about the man and woman who came in at the same time as us?”
“Oh, yeah. Sadly, they didn’t make it through the night—got sick. We added them to the pit.”
Kelsey ducked her head.
Skye wasn’t sure what the pit was. Perhaps the other side of that jail cell—the side with the Sick?
She put a hand over her mouth.
Kevin shrugged. “Here there is a place for everything and everyone. It’s very ship-shape. If you don’t fit in one area—well, you’ll fit in another.”
Once Kevin left, the food didn’t look as appealing anymore.
The next two days were little more than sleeping and eating—always in that small room. Their recreation comprised taking and retaking magazine quizzes. Their favorite was Which Celebrity are You? They made up pandemic stories for the celebs.
On the third morning—as usual—the morning alarm sounded. A blare, similar to an air horn. It startled Skye and Kelsey from their deep sleep.
Skye rolled over in bed, wishing to leave this room and yet afraid of what would happen when Kevin finally came for them.
She stood and rushed over to Kelsey, feeling her forehead. “Any headaches, sniffles, anything?”
“No. You?”
“No. Only a few hours more to go, according to Kevin. I think we’ve made it, but I still don’t like to think of the Sick’s goo oozing around my system.”
Kelsey shuddered. “Ew, Skye, don’t say that.”
“Sorry, kiddo.” She patted Kelsey on the shoulder. “Well, maybe we’ll get out of here now.”
Kevin trooped in with their breakfast—pancakes, scrambled eggs that looked like they were from a powder, and juice.
Each day they survived, they received better meals, and yesterday, they had even asked Skye and Kelsey what sizes they wore.
Kevin smiled as he laid a tray on the bed in front of Skye. “I have a surprise for you both. I brought some jeans and t-shirts for you. And some socks and shoes! I thought it might be nice for you to dress normally again.”
“Yes, thank you, Kevin, that is considerate of you,” Skye said.
Kevin beamed.
She congratulated herself. Her acting skills were coming along well. To thank him without choking on it was a vast improvement. But it wasn’t easy. She’d spent her career seeking the truth behind her clients’ troubles. Now she had to ignore Kevin’s blatant personality problems just to live through the day.
Kevin waved in Sydney.
“It will be Sydney’s honor to assist you. Anything else you need—you ask her. She will be with you the most from here on out.”
Sydney smiled, laid two piles of clothing on the bed and smoothed the tops of them. “I helped pick them out,” she said, pride in her voice. “I tried to get something comfortable for you both.”
“Thank you. We appreciate it,” Kelsey said.
Skye ran her hand over the clothes. A t-shirt, the super-soft kind, and blue jeans. “Thank you.”
Sydney nodded and stepped back.
Kevin cleared his throat. “So, girls, this is a great day! One more blood test, just to be absolutely sure, and then you can go to your permanent rooms. And you will have the honor of meeting the founder of this place. He doesn’t do this for just anyone—he is busy—working to help all humankind. Well, remaining humankind, that is.”
Skye glanced from Kevin to Sydney.
They were fawning over her and Kelsey, literally fawning. Just how few people made it through these tests?
Twenty
The Meeting
After Skye and Kelsey changed into their new clothing, Kevin ushered them out of their bedroom and down the hallway once again.
This time they marched all the way to the dead end.
Skye gulped, looked left, then right, and shot a glance at Kevin.
He chose left and moved toward a door on the right, opening it with a flourish.
Kelsey sent Skye a fear-filled glance but held her head high.
Skye returned what she hoped was a comforting smile as she ignored her own misgivings. When Kevin urged her to enter the room, she hurried to step in. After giving it a quick scan, she sighed in relief.
Similar to one in a hotel and twice as big as the one assigned them the last two nights, this room held a queen-sized bed with a blue bedspread on one side of the room. A large desk and chair sat on the opposite side near the footboard. A big, over-stuffed lounger was in the far corner.
Bolted to the wall was a large-screen TV. DVDs and books lined the shelving unit below it.
Nothing scary, so far, other than this meant they would be here a while.
Kevin walked to the other side of the room and pulled back long, cream-colored vertical blinds to reveal an entire wall of floor to ceiling windows.
The vast, rolling ocean filled the glass. A decent-sized piece of blond beach was on the right side of the picture window with a parking lot on the other side of the sand.
Fascinated by the amazing view, Skye took a few steps forward and watched a new wave surge toward the beach. When no one stopped her, she waved Kelsey over as she moved to stand closer to the glass.
It seemed like it was just them and the limitless blue water.
The two women watched as the powerful wave slowly built up, only to tumble onto land and thin out as it rode the sand as far as possible. It was the most gorgeous thing Skye had seen since leaving the mountains.
Three stories up, only the glass kept Skye from tasting the salty air f
rom the moody, blue-grey water.
In the distance, a massive red rock wall towered over the blond beach, easily withstanding the waves crashing against its side.
The two side by side seemed out of place—as if someone had picked up the rock formation from Bryce Canyon and dropped it on the Carolina beach.
The oddness rang a bell. She’d heard of this place. Spire Cliff.
She knew exactly where they were.
Skye pulled Kelsey close, hugging her.
“Yes, it is beautiful, isn’t it?” Kevin said.
Skye beamed, letting Kevin think her joy was simply over the view. “It is.”
She reached for the slider door, but it didn’t budge.
Kevin shook his head. “They’re locked for now. We’ll see how you do.” He turned back to the hallway door. “One of you gets this room and one the next room. Don’t worry. It is just as nice.”
Skye’s smile faded. “We’d rather stay together.”
“I understand that. But for this phase, it’s important that you have no contact. We need to know what is working and what is not.”
Skye and Kelsey clenched each other tighter.
“Don’t worry, Mommy,” Kevin said as he took Kelsey’s arm. “She’ll be fine.”
The girl gave Skye a long, sad look but released her.
Skye closed her eyes and sighed.
There was nothing to do about it right now. Their choices were to cooperate or fight—and there was no way to take on the muscle who had trailed them to this room.
Skye stared at the four goons. Kevin expected trouble.
Skye put a hand on each of Kelsey’s shoulders and gave her a long look.
“It’ll be okay,” she whispered and hoped it was true.
Her heart tugged as she leaned in to kiss the top of the girl’s head.
Kelsey’s eyes flooded with tears, but she nodded. “I know.” Her chin wobbled.
As Kevin led Skye out of the room, she said, “I want to see her every day. Even if it is from a distance.”
Kevin scratched his chin. “I’ll have to get permission for that, but he might allow it.”
“Thank you.” It went against Skye’s every grain to show any appreciation to her captor, but she would do anything to stay in touch with Kelsey.