Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
DEZ
It was my first time being this close to one of them.
I’d seen Chris.
I saw the videos.
But this was different.
One of the infected had entered the development through a section of the unfinished construction area.
They didn’t appear to be sentient enough to have done so willingly. Also, I’d conducted a perimeter check of this particular area the other day, and I couldn’t recall any spots where someone—a term I used loosely—could have incidentally wandered onto the grounds.
A Class Two named Simmons had managed to trap the infected “individual” to a fence post while waiting for me and Cerner to arrive.
From the back, it appeared to be a woman, but it barely looked human.
It sported gray-hued skin, and hair was missing from its head in torn-out-looking patches.
An odor emanated in our direction that made me think of death and decay, and it wasn’t clear exactly what part of its body the odor was coming from.
“Ever seen one this close?” Cerner asked.
I folded my arms and cleared my throat, wishing I’d brought alcohol wipes or menthol rub to block the stench. “Not up close, no.”
“Simmons, is that thing secure?”
“Yes, General Cerner,” Simmons said. “It’s secure. Plus, we have Kowalski in the vicinity.”
Kowalski was a sniper, though I wasn’t sure how accurate he was.
Still, I didn’t want to be down here with Cerner, waiting for an errant twitch from our dead-looking guest. I didn’t want to contend with debriefings, reports, checking in or out weapons—nothing that could lead to a delay in getting back to Larke.
Before I touched her, I’d felt the fever, and the idea that she could be infected with whatever the hell was going around made me sick to my stomach.
It wasn’t until I saw her that I realized I’d resigned myself to thinking she was dead.
The fear had silently lurked, waiting for confirmation that she was gone.
That way, I could finally admit that I was only trying to hold on in this crumbling world because she was part of it.
Yet, knowing she’d gotten stuck with sanitation work while I slept on high thread count sheets and had meals and healthcare on demand felt worse than if I’d learned she was dead.
It felt intentional and punitive.
Sure, we weren’t married, but why did that automatically make it impossible to get married while we were here? Who, in their right minds, could ever believe that I wouldn’t marry Larke tonight if it meant she wouldn’t have to keep suffering the way she was?
On the way from Larke’s place to the train, I’d felt like we were being watched. At the time, I’d attributed it to the general surveillance throughout the city. Now, I was starting to believe someone had placed her in Sanitation for more reasons than the lack of a ring on her fourth finger.
“Let’s go greet our guest, shall we?” Cerner suggested.
But he didn’t move.
Wanting to get this over with, I walked ahead.
I made an arc around the post where the “person” was strapped. They snarled and reached for Simmons as if their arms were long enough to cross the four-foot gap between them.
My initial guess was correct.
It was a woman.
A familiar one.
Only about half of the woman I remembered was recognizable, but enough of Solana’s bone structure remained. Then, Solana had distinct eyes—darker than onyx, focused, and intense.
Cerner, once again right next to me, rubbed a hand down over his mouth and chin. “Oh, wow. I’ve…I’ve never seen one up close like this before. When the stories first broke, I didn’t know what to believe, but this is…this is demonic, Harding.”
“There’s never been a breach before this one?” I asked.
“No, never.”
That fact made this breach even more suspicious.
I would investigate it, but it wasn’t because I cared about the camp’s safety. If more than one of these “beings” made it onto the campus, it could cause chaos. Chaos could make it back to Larke, and she and Mae were the only people I cared about in the entire community.
“Looks like a woman, right?” Cerner asked.
I nodded. “Looks like it.”
The last thing he needed to know was that I knew who this was. I was already uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her like a child with a magnifying glass at an ant hill.
“So,” he looked up at me, “what do you think we should do with her?”
“If there’s no ‘human’ left behind, I say we humanely end her suffering,” I suggested. “This is cruel. The reports said that some of the infected feed on human flesh. Whoever this was, I have a hard time believing she would want to live like this.”
I knew for a fact that Solana wouldn’t.
“I don’t want to kill her,” he added. “Not yet. I think I’ll have them take her to the lab to get some blood samples.”
“Blood samples? For what?”
“Not like Mengele or anything. To see if she’s healthy. You know, you’re very judgmental, Harding.”
“I’m aware.”
He laughed. “Well, in any case, we might be looking at an opportunity. We have a few MDs at Totten. We’ve reached out to see if we can get more.
Maybe, if we study her blood, we can come up with some sort of treatment.
Maybe a prophylactic. We could save the world, and the New World Order could start here, at Totten. Can you envision it?”
“No. Now, do you need me for anything else?”
I felt him eyeing me. “You know, Class Ones don’t have terribly busy days for a reason. There’s no need for you to overwork yourself. I’ve noticed you don’t visit the more communal areas of Totten, like the parks and marketplaces. Take some time off and enjoy being alive. Be thankful for it.”
“No,” I reiterated. “Now, I’ve scouted this area before, and I don’t remember coming across anything that suggests there could be a breach. Then this area also has a ton of blind spots. If this happens again, it could be worse.”
“We don’t have enough solar to put cameras out here.
It’s more important to protect the families.
People have to feel safe, Dez. I mean, the average person can’t handle the truth.
They can’t handle how terrible shit really is.
Right now, only a handful of uniforms are allowed outside the walls.
I’ll do anything I can to keep our people in the dark. ”
“For their safety,” I deadpanned.
“Yes.” He continued to eye me. “Something wrong, Harding? You’re more tense than usual.”
“Just would like to get back to work.”
“What’s the name of the woman you came with, again? Larke or something like that?”
I met his eyes. “Why are you asking about her?”
“Some things have come up with other people we brought in. We’re reconsidering some of our intake protocols. It really is better inside these walls, and we need people to see that.”
“Reconsidering in what way?”
“Reducing or getting rid of forced separation and removing the social barriers regarding fraternization. I mean, I don’t want people thinking that being assigned to Sanitation is a punishment.”
“But it is,” I pointed out. “Their lives are markedly different from ours. They don’t have the same opportunities or rights, and it’s intentionally set up to ensure that things remain that way.”
“Different from,” he motioned to me, then himself, “ours. As in, you and me. However, their lives are not so different from the more commonfolk. You can argue against it all you want, but history has shown that a functional society needs class division.”
“History is inundated with revolutions and rebellions related to having authority figures overstep their boundaries and pin everyday citizens to the ground, boot to the neck.”
“Hence the reconsiderations. I mean, we have unmarried couples who come in. Instead of separating them, why not give them a chance to do right in the eyes of God?”
“And non-couples?”
Solana snarled.
Cerner took a half step backward. “We’re still discussing the changes,” he said.
“Now, there will be limitations. To protect our Class Ones, I don’t see the purpose in allowing them anything more than physical relations with Sanitation, provided the woman is clean.
The last thing we need is venereal disease being spread amongst our elite.
Or, even worse—an unintended pregnancy.”
Solana snarled again, and based on the way he reacted, I knew our conversation had come to an end.
“I want to discuss this more later,” I said.
He nodded. “Yes, yes. Of course. And don’t get me wrong, there are attractive options on the table. Back in the good ol’ days, it wasn’t shunned for a man to keep whores and mistresses. It was the norm.”
These people, who swore they did their research on those who were brought to Fort Totten, obviously didn’t do enough if they didn’t know what Larke meant to me. Suggesting that Larke was only good enough to be my mistress or whore had me folding my arms tighter to avoid reaching for my weapon.
Cerner pointed to Solana. “I wonder if she was pretty before? What do you think, Harding? Can’t make out much. And who knows? She might have been someone’s wife before all of this. Maybe even a mother. Sad, isn’t it?”
As much as I wished I could end Solana’s suffering, I wasn’t sure I would be able to go through with it.
I’d personally worked with her to improve her combat and technical skills.
As a former Marine, she was one of the most trainable recruits I’d ever encountered.
If any of that was still inside this snarling shell of a human being, I didn’t want to take any chances at being judge, jury, or executioner.
“I’m going to do a quick perimeter sweep,” I said, ignoring Cerner’s questions. “Need anything else from me?”
He shook his head and patted me on the back. “No, not at the moment. Good work today.”
I’d done next to nothing.