Chapter 20
Twenty
A metallic rattling pulls me out of my sleep and into a warm haze. I run my hand along the sheets and disappointment settles in as I discover I'm alone in Ryland's bed. Pulling the fluffy white comforter around my shoulders to make up for his missing body heat, I scan the room. He stands at the foot of the bed tightening his belt around his narrow hips, dressed in a brown undershirt and camouflage cargo pants.
“You got what you wanted, and now you're making your getaway,” I tease with a groggy voice.
He keeps his eyes on his hands as he finishes securing his belt. One side of his mouth tips up on a smirk. “Hardly. And I think you forget that you’re the one who woke me up in the middle of the night to get what you wanted.”
I laugh. He doesn’t need to remind me. I’ll never forget last night. “Twice wasn’t enough for me.”
“I could tell.”
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“I have to go in early. Instead of debriefing us last night, they let us go, so we could attend the festival.”
I look at the bright red numbers displayed on the clock on his nightstand: four in the morning. I’m unsure how any human is expected to be productive this early.
He sits on the edge of the bed and runs his fingers through my unruly hair. “I didn't mean to wake you. How are you feeling?”
“Happy, loved, and a little sore.” I smile up at him.
“Those are all good things.”
“Agreed.”
“Go back to sleep. I set the alarm for you, so you'll have a couple of hours to go home and get ready for your day.” He tucks the blanket around me and kisses me on the lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
He turns off the lamp next and heads toward the door. Before he leaves, a thought pops into my head. He has a new schedule, and I’m excited to take advantage of it. I prop myself up on my elbow, holding his comforter to my chest. “Hey, Ry?”
He stops in the doorway with the light in the hallway silhouetting his body. “Yes, love?”
“Why don't you and the boys come to our place for dinner tonight? It's been a while since the six of us had a meal together.”
“Yeah, I'll talk to them about it.”
“We'd love to come to dinner, Quinn. That is unless you want to take me up on the date you promised me months ago,” Aiden says from down the hall.
Ryland leans out the door and looks in his direction. “Keep pushing it, asshole, and see what happens.”
Loud hysterical laughter fills the apartment followed by a mocking, “My apologies, Sergeant Shaw.”
Ryland rolls his eyes and shakes his head before shutting the door.
Later that morning, I stroll through the corridor of the government building. The music Ryland and I danced to plays inside my head and each step I take is in beat to the song. As I pass by guards and other office personnel, I address them by name, wish them a good morning, and ask if they enjoyed themselves at the Harvest Festival. I’m not the only one who had a good night; everyone seems to be in an exceptional mood.
When I open the frosted-glass doors leading to the lobby of the president's office, my elation comes to a crashing halt. William sits at the edge of my desk with a frown and a livid look in his hazel eyes. I try not to let him bring me down, and with all the cheerfulness inside of me, I say, “Good morning, Mr. President.”
“You're ten minutes late, Quinnten,” he replies, glancing at the gold watch on his wrist.
Ignoring him, I walk around my desk and place my satchel on the floor. “Sorry, I stopped and talked to people about their night. I was doing my civic duty as the president's daughter.”
He rises to his feet. “In my office, now.”
I saunter past him and take a seat on a couch inside his office, crossing my legs and smoothing the skirt of my dress. Instead of keeping his normal composure, he slams the door shut, causing me to jump.
He doesn't join me in the sitting area but paces back and forth. Minutes tick by before he says, “Your actions were a complete disgrace to this family last night. How dare you parade around and publicly humiliate me like that?”
I fold my hands in my lap, trying to control the anger boiling within me. “What exactly did you find so distasteful? Was it when I kissed my boyfriend after not seeing him for two weeks? Maybe it was the way I innocently sat on his lap. Surely it wasn't the single dance we shared. Honestly, none of those things strike me as being out of line.”
He crashes his fists into the couch across from me, leaning over the back of it. “By all means, don't forget how you slipped away from the festival early and went home with him.”
“You had me followed?”
“Yes!”
The nerve of him to feel justified in invading my privacy; it's enough to unravel my composure. I leap to my feet and head for the door. “It's none of your business where I go or who I'm with.”
“You will not see that boy anymore, Quinnten,” he hisses before I reach for the doorknob.
I turn on my heels and square my shoulders. “You don't get to tell me who to date, William. In fact, your input in my life holds little value to me.”
My heart races and perspiration forms in my hairline. I have never had a reason to be defiant of authority. Not like this. Nothing has ever impeded on the things I wanted. Now, I stand at odds with the man who is not only my biological father, but the leader of the community I've adopted as my home. It’s like taking on a giant with nothing but my bare hands.
“You are a na?ve girl and don't have the faintest clue how much I control your life,” he says, his voice raising with every word. “Do you think that boy got the promotion on his own merit? If it were not for me, your cousin would not be living under the same roof as you. Count your blessings that I’ve been tolerant of the garbage you choose to associate with.”
“Don’t you dare talk about her like that,” I say, my mind reeling. It’s such a fucking lame comeback, but I’m flabbergasted. Never has someone blatantly disrespected River to my face. It's like a shot to my heart to hear him demean her.
William grabs my chin, pinching it between his index finger and thumb. His eyes bore into mine, emanating pure supremacy over me. Like the flip of a switch, his tone changes—he's in absolute control. “Consider this a warning, Quinnten. You will cut off all relations with that boy. No daughter of mine will be associated with trash from Giran. Do you understand me?”
Fear courses through me, begging me to comply, but the part of me that loves Ryland rebels. I let the stronger of the two emotions take its hold. The warmth of it spreads from the tips of my ears down to each of my toes. I will not agree.
Before I can voice my defiance, William interjects. “I suggest you take some time to think about your answer. I promise you, if you go against me on this, I will not hesitate to put an end to it myself.”
I don't question the validity of his statement. His truth and hatred are on full display from the tight line of his lips to his burning stare. However he would end things between Ryland and I would be harsh and painful. He has no problem ripping out my heart for his own gain. He did just that to my mother.
William grabs a large, sealed envelope from his desk and presses it into my chest. “Take this to Ridge and use the time to think about the choice you're going to make.”
I close my eyes, trapping the tears threatening to flow down my cheeks. He is cruel. All the things I feared about him are true. But I should have known. The signs were all there. My mother choosing not to stay, his missing daughter, but most importantly, my family choosing to withhold information about him.
How easily I fell into childish dreams and blinded myself to the truth.
I storm out of the building, batting at my eyes with the back of my hand. What did I bring the boys and River into? Everything seemed so perfect; everyone here seems so happy. Maybe that should have been my first clue. Nowhere is paradise. My need to reconcile what happened at the Oscuros land crossing blinded me. I have to wonder if River and the guys saw and felt the signs of trouble this entire time. And I’ve sat blissfully comfortable in the privilege that comes with being the president’s daughter.
I swipe my keycard next to the military facility door, stepping into the dreary gray hallways. My thoughts overwhelm me as I second-guess my decision to find refuge here. It would be better to be a slave to the Affliction than bound by the small-mindedness of men. Ravenous Zs I can defeat, but ignorance is an impossible battle when people aren't open to seeing and accepting what is different. River and the boys deserve better than to ride on the coattails of my status. Their worth has nothing to do with me.
A high-pitched scream penetrates my thoughts, and I come to a standstill. Every muscle in my body tenses at the familiar sound. It still haunts my nightmares. I don’t think I will ever be able to forget it. But I've never heard it within the confines of the Sanctuary.
I turn in a circle, taking in my surroundings. This is a section of the military facility I've never been in before. I was so caught up in sorting through everything going on that I lost track of where I was going. At the end of the hallway is a set of metal doors which require a keycard to enter. I spin to return the way I came when the cry of a Z rings out in the empty hall again. I walk to the locked doors and press my ear to them. It sounds like something moves on the other side. I push at the doors, but they don’t budge.
Curiosity has gotten the better of me, and I'm determined to see what lies beyond. I pull my keycard from my pocket, and with shaking hands, I scan it over the security pad. The latches to the doors click.
I slowly push one of the doors open, looking for any sign of a rogue Z roaming the hall. I berate myself as I step inside. This is a stupid move on my part. I have no gun or knife, nothing to fight off an attack, and still, I continue to investigate. Nothing is out of sorts—only more doors, each with a tiny square window.
The screech of the Z echoes in the narrow walkway, coming from behind one of the doors. I follow the sound and stand on my tiptoes, looking into the room. Strapped to a gurney, one of the Afflicted thrashes back and forth, trying to break free. The thin layer of haze over his irises tells me he hasn't been infected for long. He's well beyond the two-week transformation stage, but his nails and teeth are relatively still human-looking. They've not thinned to the steadily growing razor-sharp weapons which come with time.
The door closes to an industrial-sized refrigerator off in the corner of the room, and a man in a lab coat steps into view. He holds a huge syringe and vial with green liquid inside of it. With little concern for the dangerous creature, he walks to the side of its bed. Sucking the contents of the vial into the syringe, he preps it for injection. When it’s ready, he lifts it above the Z and plunges it into its chest. It screams as if someone has lit it on fire.
I jump back from the door, slamming into a rock-solid form. They grab my shoulders and spin me around.
With a firm shake, Ridge asks, “What are you doing in here?”
“I was—I got lost. I was looking for you.” I hold out the envelope.
He takes it from me and grips my upper arm, guiding me out of the corridor.
“Ridge, what was that? Why are there Afflicted here?”
“You don't belong in this part of the facility. It isn't safe for you here,” he says, keeping his focus ahead.
I look back at the double doors as they close behind us with a loud slam. “Are you trying to find a cure?”
My brother stops and turns me to face him again. “Listen to me. You should not have been in there. Don't do that again. Do you understand me?” His booming voice reverberates off the walls, his words laced with desperation.
I nod with my mouth hanging open. “I won't do it again.”
He pulls me into his arms and tightly hugs me.
I return his affections, circling my arms around his waist and mumbling into his chest that I’m sorry.
When I arrive home after work, I'm on autopilot, moving throughout the house prepping for dinner. I can't think of anything else but the events of my bizarre morning. My father's hatred for my family and the secret lab have riddled me with questions. I try to connect the two and examine them separately, but no matter how I look at it, I can't figure it out.
The day's events are so consuming, and I barely notice when River and the boys come breezing into the house, filling it with laughter. Each person sends me a greeting, and I give them a quick reply.
Ryland steps behind me as I stir seasoned taco meat. His arms slide around my waist, and he presses a kiss into my neck. “Do you need some help?”
I look around the kitchen and take note of the things I've already completed in a total haze. The vegetables are chopped on the counter next to the rest of the toppings, and the dessert is baking. “I'm almost done,” I say.
“It smells delicious,” he says.
“Thanks.”
Ryland tilts his head to the side, so he can see my face. “Are you all right?”
I force a smile. “Yeah, it was just a long day.”
“You know I’m here if you need to talk about anything,” he says, with a soft squeeze to my hips.
“I know.”
The things I learned today are a hard pill to swallow. I want to talk to him and the others about it, but I need to sort through it all first. It feels like if I just jump in, it’s going to be a jumbled mess.
The oven timer goes off, letting me know the brownies are done. I open the door and reach inside.
“Quinn!” Ryland shouts just as my fingers touch the pan inside. He leaps around the counter and charges for me.
I hiss in pain as I'm jolted back to reality, staring at my red fingers. Shit, I just tried to take the pan out with my bare hands.
Ryland gathers both of my hands in his and places my burned fingertips under the cool water flowing from the faucet. “What's going on with you?”
“William doesn't want me to see you anymore,” I say with frustration at both myself and my father.
Everyone goes silent, all eyes on Ryland and me.
He shakes his head as he examines my fingers. “Who gives a fuck what William wants?”
“He threatened you and River.” I look over Ryland's shoulder and find my cousin standing a couple of steps behind us, holding an ice pack. “Has William been rude to you?” I ask her.
“I wouldn’t say rude . Maybe indifferent. I just chalked it up to him not liking your mother’s family,” she answers.
Ryland takes the ice pack from her and places both of my hands around it. “Come sit and talk to me,” he says, leading me to the couch.
We huddle together, and I tell him how William was waiting for me when I arrived at work and how he demanded that I no longer see Ryland. I repeat the comments my father made about them being garbage. The questions that have bothered me all day spill from my mouth. The whole time Ryland rubs comforting lines up and down my spine, stopping only to check on the blisters forming on my fingers. By the end of my story, Aiden has brought Ryland and me a plate of tacos, and everyone has gathered around the coffee table to listen to me as they eat.
“It’s not unheard of for people not to like those from different continents. You shouldn’t let him get to you. He’s just an asshole, Quinn,” Wes says from the floor.
“I know, but there was so much hatred in his words. And it’s not just that. I saw something today I shouldn't have seen,” I say before I take a sip of iced tea.
“And what was that?” Aiden asks, biting into his second taco.
“Have you guys heard anything about any tests being run on Zs here?” One by one, I take in the somber faces around the room. Everyone has stopped eating as they shake their heads. “I think they're looking for a cure,” I add.
River shrugs. “It's only natural that they would if they have the means to do so.”
“True, but Ridge freaked out when he caught me. He wouldn't answer any of my questions and made me swear I'd never go into that part of the military facility again,” I say.
Everyone has fallen into the quiet trance I was in most of the day. It's a lot to take in, and no matter how hard I fight to keep the two discoveries separate, they always have a way of coming back together again. They intermingle with each other, making answers to them incredibly difficult to find.
It's Ryland who comes back into the conversation first, saying, “If all of this has Quinn unsettled, I think we need to look into it. Just get the answers we need to make sure we are where we want to be.”
“Agreed,” Noah says.
“You would think if they're running tests on the Afflicted, they would keep notes of their findings somewhere,” River says.
“Top secret government files,” Wes chimes in.
I lean forward on the couch and ask Noah, “How complicated is their networking system from what you've seen?”
He scratches the back of his head, thinking it over. “I haven’t had the chance to go through it completely, but from what I can tell, it's pretty basic. Firewalls, security scanners, but nothing that can't be hacked.”
I leap up from the couch and run into my room, retrieving my satchel with my laptop. With my hands aching from the burn, I had it to Noah. “I might have clearance into some areas on the server. I guess because I work so closely with William, they've given me high-security access. I didn't even know I had it until today when my keycard worked in the military facility.”
“What are we looking for first?” River asks, moving next to me on the couch.
I give my cousin a tight lip grin. “I need to know you're going to be safe until we figure this all out.” I turn to Noah, “William seemed to have an issue with Ryland being from Giran. Is there anything strange about his file?”
Noah starts up the laptop, and all of us look over his shoulders as he goes through line by line of information, trying to access Ryland’s files. It doesn't take long before he declares, “That was simple.” He pulls the personnel file up on the screen. It's nothing substantial, just basic facts about Ryland, his date of birth, nationality, occupation, and such. However, one line does strike me as odd. Breeding rights declined.
“Breeding rights?” I pout my bottom lip and say, “What the fuck does that mean?”
River leans closer to Noah and says, “Pull up your file.”
Noah types in his name, and his profile flashes on the monitor. Like Ryland, there's no red flag, but he also has been declined his breeding rights.
“Maybe it's because you're not married. They may be old-fashioned about that sort of thing,” Wes says.
We skim through some profiles of people we don't know, finding others who have been denied the right to have children. One similarity stands out—they all live in the northern complex.
I lean back on the couch. “Run River's name.”
Her screen reads like all the rest. It isn't until Noah enters my name that we see a change. My breeding rights have been granted. It's so odd.
“Maybe you get automatic breeding rights when you're related to the president,” Aiden says, pushing his plate away and rubbing his full stomach.
“Try running the name of an unmarried soldier who doesn’t live in the northern complex,” River suggests.
The screen displays the picture of a handsome Black male. Like me, he has been given the right to produce children.
“If marital status is not the determining factor, what is? There has to be a link between everyone in the north apartments,” I muse.
Wes leans back on his hands and looks at me from the floor. “I don't get why you're so bothered by this. It's not like any of us want to raise children locked up in a mountain.”
Ryland pulls on his bottom lip, saying, “It's a fundamental human right they've stripped us of. It's understandable that they would enforce population control, but to decline it before we've even asked… there's something else driving the decision.”
“You said Spencer seemed to have a problem with Ryland being from Giran. So, let's run a search for people who were not born in Stern,” Noah says as he enters the criteria.
It doesn't take long to complete the search and for only four names to appear on the screen—Aiden, Noah, Wes, and Ryland. Out of almost five thousand people, they are the only ones from another continent. It’s wild, especially when the four continents were so close to obtaining complete unity before the Affliction.
An idea strikes me, and I sit straight in my seat. “What is the parental lineage of the northern residents?”
As Noah flips through the screen and reads, “Stern and Oscuros. Stern and Oscuros. Stern and Giran.”
I look at River. “Stern and Bogati. Your parents are not both from Stern. You should be in the northern complex and not living with me.”
“I can't believe that not one immigrant found their way here. How is it that, other than you four, only those born in Stern found the Sanctuary?” River mutters.
We remain quiet as the possibilities of what may have happened to hundreds, if not thousands, of people play out in our minds. It's hard to fathom children and the elderly being turned away and left to fend for themselves against monsters who will eat them alive. A single uncontrollable prerequisite could be the reason the most vulnerable people on our continent are abandoned and forgotten. I'm left with so many questions, but one is the most important to me right now. Why was an exception made for the boys?
I don’t have to think too hard to find the answer.
It's me.
William made an exception for me, so I'd be receptive when he came clean as my father. If the boys never made it in with us, we'd have left. They hold no value to the Sanctuary. If there's no need for them, they're at risk.
“We need to get out of here,” I say.
“Agreed, but it's not that easy, love. We need a plan, and I don't want us wandering through the snow without enough provisions. The last time we tried that we almost lost Aiden,” Ryland reasons.
I run my hands over my face. “That could be three or four months. Who knows what could happen to us if we stay here that long.”
“We'll have to do our best to remain under the radar until then. Besides, we need to figure out how to get past security and to get our hands on some weapons.” He rests his hand on my thigh and says, “I get you're scared, but I won't take the risk of you getting sick or worse. We'll take our time and gather as much information as we can.”
I hate staying here for so long. The more we learn about the Sanctuary, the more it all doesn't settle well with me. I have this gut feeling we're only scratching the surface of this place. Sticking around and unveiling all its secrets is the last thing I want to do.
“I say we use our in with Quinn,” Wes states and turns his attention to me. “You're going to have to keep Spencer occupied while we figure this all out. Make him believe you're willing to do what he wants. Hopefully, you'll be able to get some info straight from him.”
“No,” I say, my body shaking with anger.
Ryland reaches for me and pulls me into his arms. “I know you don't want to do this, but the more you defy him, the more attention he's going to give to us. He must think everything is going the way he wants.”
Why is it that every time Ryland and I take a major step in our relationship, something interferes and we come to a standstill? I'm not asking for the impossible—just a regular love life. I would be ecstatic to have a single week where we have nothing working against us. No Zs, no crazy work schedules, and no insane father to keep us apart—just Ryland and Quinn eating potato chips on the couch and binge-watching old television shows. It shouldn't be so hard.
“He won't let me see you,” I remind him.
“Well, I'll have to come up with a plan to work around that, won't I?” he says with a lopsided grin.
Noah closes my laptop. “It looks like the military files have a stronger encryption on them. It's going to take me some time to see what's happening in the laboratory. I'll set a schedule with River to have her bring me this computer. If they see me here all the time, it might raise suspicions.”
I have no choice but to jump on board with the plan. Ryland's right—if we try to break out of here too quickly, we're going to have to fight off the guards. If we're lucky enough to make it past them, we'll be defenseless against any Zs outside these walls. We need a solid strategy before we can part ways with the Sanctuary.
I cuddle up next to Ryland, already despising this plan. “I'll see what I can get out of William and Ridge, and maybe my computer at work has better access to the military files.”
“That's my girl,” Ryland says.
I whip my head up and point my finger at his chest. “But don't you think for a minute that I'm happy about this, Ry.”
“Of course not, love. But you have to admit that life was getting a little boring.” He leans in and kisses me next to my ear and whispers, “Of course with the exception of last night.”
I roll my eyes and try not to smile.
The truth is that I’m ready for a boring, simple life. I don’t dream about wild adventures or fantastical scenarios. I just want the normal that all of us have dreamed about over the past two years. And the only way for us to find it is to venture back into a life outside of the Sanctuary.