Ringo continued as Brookshire left. “Now, there are people who have a natural immunity to the brain control drug. Quinn is one of those, as is Ana. None of Namaguchi’s other wives have it, though. That is why Ana is here, and they are not. The other girl you met tonight, you heard Romo say Cricket was naturally immune as well.”
“Did I have natural immunity?” asked Davis.
“No, you didn’t. That’s why you had such a rough time detoxing from it, sorry to say.”
At this point, Brookshire walked back in with a tray full of water glasses. Davis almost leaped out of her seat to grab one and gulped it down as Ringo continued. “Duffy and Hernandez, like other doctors and nurses, have access to patient records. Remember, they take your blood a few times a year too. That’s not just to ferret out possible serious illness in the population, but because they want to check for your immunity. They’ll red-flag someone showing immunity. Well, Duffy and Hernandez don’t, but other medical staff does. It can mean death, or depending on your status; they’ll attempt to brainwash you at the Everett Center…”
Here, Davis cut in with a vehement reply, “No, that’s not true. I worked at the Everett Center! There is nothing like that at the Everett Center! There is nothing like that going on there!”
“Well, they don’t advertise it, dear. It’s not on the public tour. They keep it quiet.”
Davis shrunk back and closed her eyes. She was trying to think for a minute. Rack her brain to see if any of this made any sense or rang any bells. Nothing did. Nothing made any sense anymore. And then the flash again. The young boy. Fear plastered on his face. Davis shook the thought out of her head, which Ringo mistook as a sign to continue.
“To be perfectly honest, sometimes we take other people like you because you can help us reach other goals.” Here, Ringo firmed up his voice and looked Davis right in the eye. “It’s still your decision to help us or not. I promise. We don’t force you to work with us. We hope you will, naturally, but we don’t make you. If you tell me after you hear everything I have to say that you want to leave, we’ll make it happen and never bother you again.”
Davis slammed down her hand hard on the table. “Okay, I want to leave then!” she said with firm conviction and anger in her voice.
Quinn got a look of shock on her face. “Oh…Davis, I know that seems easiest. But please, just listen to all Ringo has to say. There is a lot more.” Brookshire gently placed his hand over Davis’s, settling her a bit. But it felt like an uneasy settle. Davis felt as if any minute, the little stability she felt could come tumbling down like a house of cards on her head.
“Okay,” Davis said, drawing out the “k” with a long, tired breath ending in a sigh. “You can continue; I’ll listen, at least.” Her wavering voice and face did not hold the same conviction as her words.
“Look,” Ringo continued. “I know this is a lot. Overwhelming.” He put his fingers to his temple and rubbed. “This next part will be a little easier to believe; we have some proof.” He slid a folder over to Davis. “It’s in here. You don’t have to look at it now. Just when you get back to your room, and you are feeling up to it. The other thing I want you to understand is there is no rush to figure this out or decide.”
Davis put her hand on top of the folder and slid it over to herself. She was trying to feel the weight underneath the cover and tether herself to something that had a physical reality. Even though she fought it, tears started to slide out of her eyes and down her cheeks. Quinn got up from the table and walked to the other side, sitting next to Davis, opposite the side from where Brookshire was, and lightly placed her hand on Davis’s back, between her shoulders. Quinn gave a few light rubs trying to convey hope and warmth in a few soft strokes. Davis was surprised to realize she flinched at this kind gesture.
“If you’re ready to proceed, we’ll go ahead.” Davis barely heard the words Ringo spoke to her but took another sip of water and nodded her head slowly. “This part is more Namaguchi’s doing. If he would like to take over?”
“Yes,” said Namaguchi. “As you know, I’m a close confidant and aide for President Everett. And as it turns out, I was not a Natural Immune to the Marigold Injection but part of a third group that Ringo forgot to mention—I developed immunity over time.”
“Were you and Audrey naturally immune, or did it develop?” Davis interrupted, looking at Ringo.
“Neither,” he replied. “When we saw what was happening to the country, I came down here with my family. We’ve never even had the vaccine. Same with Romo and a few others, like Bhatt and Lyon, who are in another bunker. We’re in the middle bunker section. We were doomsday preppers, prepping for the end of the world, but we didn’t like what the government was doing, so we started slowly transitioning down here, a little bit at a time. When it became clear that we’d have to move to the bunkers permanently, we did so. We were pretty isolated, to begin with; we weren’t living in a crowded city. Therefore, the spotlight from the government wasn’t on us anyhow. Not to digress too much, sorry.”
“No problem,” Namaguchi nodded in silent agreement to what Ringo had said. “It may be hard to believe, but everything you’ve ever learned about the Lombardi Plague is a lie. President Everett was the one to create the Lombardi Plague…”
“Oh, I just can’t believe this!” Davis yelled. She was incensed. “Why do you guys hate President Everett this much? Why? Are you jealous of him? The idea of that is so ridiculous!” Davis got up from the table and started pacing around. “And you say you have proof? I can’t wait to hear this ‘proof you speak of.’” She walked back over to the table and flipped the front cover open, looking at the first document. At the top, it said, “From the Desk of Dr. Jack Everett.” Under it were various handwritten notes. There was nothing too specific, the words “Marburg Disease,” “Lombardi,” and “Plague” with a question mark after it was all there was. “This is your proof? This is nothing!” Davis scoffed with disbelief.
“I know it doesn’t look like much,” Quinn said reassuringly. “But, please, look at the date at the top.”
The date was February 2, 2025. It was almost a full year before the plague began.
August 31, 2056 –
Illumination
Davis woke up in her room; she had walked away from the table, not looking back after seeing the date on top of the document. She just couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Nothing made any sense to her. All night, she lay in her bed, trying to figure out if this was a mistake. She finally realized it must be a fake, a forgery, created to enhance the cause of the people who currently surrounded her. Naturally, Namaguchi would easily be able to get his hand on the letterhead to create the document. She had drifted off to an uneasy sleep, all night dreaming of a young boy screaming and crying as he is dragged off to an unknown doom by unseen hands.
A soft knock came on Davis’s door. “Davis?” It was Quinn. “Are you okay? I just want to check on you. Are you hungry or thirsty? It’s already late afternoon; you missed breakfast and lunch.”
Davis took her time going to the door. She wasn’t sure she even wanted to open it; it felt as if fury boiled beneath her brain. But she couldn’t deny she was hungry and thirsty. Davis got to the door just as Quinn had given up and started to walk away. Quinn turned around and returned. “You okay?” she said as she handed her a tray with some water and crackers on it and a bowl of fruit that Quinn told Davis was strawberries.
“Um, no, Quinn, not really,” Davis said in such a sarcastic way that she surprised even herself. “Let’s see,” she continued, the sarcasm dripping off every word, “I’ve been kidnapped. Forced to miss my vaccines and made ill. It’s also been promised to me many times I could depart, yet I have not been able to leave.” At this, she even stomped her foot like a child who got denied her favorite toy. “I mean, Quinn, you seem to be a smart girl. Do you buy this? What makes what they’re doing any different than what they’re accusing
President Everett of doing?”
Quinn took a deep breath. “I do believe them, yes. Be it my natural immunity or just being here so long, I don’t know. I can tell you that before Namaguchi even took me, I was starting to doubt some things. I had a lot of questions in my mind, things that didn’t seem right. I was having a hard time trusting President Everett. Then, I got here, and what they said made sense, and they were so kind to me by contrast, I almost immediately trusted them. Maybe foolish, but I’ve felt comfortable and happy here, although I miss my family.”
At this, Davis looked genuinely concerned and calmed down a little bit. “Your family? What happened to them?”
“I don’t know. Namaguchi told me they were not naturally immune. And I know from before I came here, they were very staunch supporters of President Everett, just like every other person we knew. I never discussed my feelings about Everett with my family because I didn’t want to disappoint them. So, Ringo and Namaguchi told me they brought me here in secrecy as I was in danger because of my natural immunity, which in turn, could put my family in danger. I’m not sure the danger went away, though, as the government knew I was immune, and now all of a sudden, I was gone? They could have interrogated my family, perhaps even hurt or killed them.” Davis’s eyes got bigger and bigger as Quinn told her story. Davis felt for this young girl, although she didn’t believe what Quinn was saying. Davis felt Quinn had been lied to and manipulated by Ringo and Namaguchi. She felt very deeply for her and reached out for her hand to let her know she could continue.
“When Ringo and Namaguchi told me their side of the story, including the fact my family could be in danger, naturally I was inclined to stay because I wanted to protect them. Namaguchi told me he pulled some strings and had their last name changed and reassigned them to a different area of the country. In a small area that gets overlooked frequently. He said my family didn’t question it because if the government reassigns you and says your name is going to be different, that happens without question.”
“Oh, you poor girl! I think they’ve lied and manipulated you. I will find a way to get us both out of here. And we’ll find someone in President Everett’s cabinet we can trust and tell them your whole story, find your family, and you’ll all be free.” Davis talked so fast and passionately; she hadn’t even noticed Quinn shaking her head no.
“Davis, I understand you don’t want to be here. But I do. Thank you for your concern, though. There is something else. You didn’t look at all the papers last night, and there are more. I brought them. I will leave them with you to look over when and if you want. They’re medical records. They show Ana and me as Natural Immunes. And Namaguchi’s records show him building immunity over time.”
Quinn walked over and placed the papers on Davis’s bed. She gave Davis a kind look and asked her if she could do anything else for her. Davis shook her head no and muttered out a half-hearted thanks as Quinn walked toward the door. “I’ll let you be then. But, please don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything.”
After Quinn left, Davis stood still for a few minutes. She felt numb and less sure of herself than she had before. It made her feel dizzy and crazy. When she felt a little more stable, she walked over and sat on the bed, looking at the folder like it was the Lombardi Plague itself. After mindlessly drinking some water and nibbling on crackers and strawberries, Davis realized she wanted to shower. She wanted the warm water to renew and refresh her. She felt that perhaps a physical transformation could also help her emotional and mental clarity. She could only hope that the water would carry her troubles and pain away with the dirt and sickening sheen of oil she felt on her face.
After Davis cleaned up, she came back into her room ravenous, quickly eating the rest of the food and water, wishing there was more. Well, these people said I am welcome here, she thought, so she decided to go to the kitchen and see what food she could find.
In the kitchen, Davis first got another cup of water, downing it. She filled it up again to take back to the room. She opened the fridge and saw the nuts she had the night before and more strawberries. She took some of both and also what looked like some leftover fish. After she pulled the fish out, it seemed as if a beacon had sent out a signal for Buster because only seconds later, he came running into the kitchen, meowing like crazy. “Oh, you dumb cat, go away.” Davis lightly kicked at him but immediately felt terrible, wishing she hadn’t. She wondered if Buster would take food from her and held out a piece of fish out to him. At first, it seemed Buster didn’t trust her, but his want of the fish overcame him, and he slinked over to Davis, weaving in between her legs before gingerly taking the fish from her. Davis decided to leave the cat in the kitchen before all her lunch would be gone.
When Davis got back to her room, she decided to peek at those documents while she ate. Her confidence had returned somewhat, and she had little doubt examining the papers would prove them to be forgeries. She pulled up the first one and looked at it. Her first glance made her heart stop a beat. It appeared to be a legitimate hospital record; there was an embossed watermark in deep blue indelible ink. Davis quickly skimmed all the documents, seeing the watermark on all of them. It looked just like the ones she’d seen all her life when going into the medical center to get her checkups and immunizations. The process was easy: You walked in, let them scan your ID Card, and then were shown into an exam room, maybe after a short wait. The doctor came in with your medical file, which you confirmed was yours by checking the name, ID number, and class status. Then you initialed the top form with a red pen. Davis spotted all the red marks down each of the papers. Q, A, or N, depending on which one she was reading. And then there was the doctor’s signature, also in red. Davis held up the paper to light and looked at the backside to see if the red ink had seeped through the back or if it was just on the top. It had bled through, increasing the legitimacy. Not that she was ready to roll over quite yet. She would examine each line if it took all night, looking for any inconsistencies.
Davis started with Quinn’s file as it seemed the shortest. Everything on the top information page lined up with what standard checks would be. But she noticed, when she got to the doctor’s notes page that Quinn would not have seen, new notes started appearing when Quinn was twelve: “Possibly immune.” Right down the right side—one after another, like little red soldiers marching down the paper. She wondered why it started at twelve and made a mental note to ask the others about that. The next page brought a surprise and one she hadn’t seen before. It was another note page. It, too, had the embossed watermark and doctor’s signature. The notes went on about how Quinn, now at age fifteen, was confirmed to be a Natural Immune and had shown “slight tendencies of rebellion.” The doctor recommended reeducation at the Everett Center.
Ana’s forms were similar. At age twelve, “Possibly immune” started showing up, and then at fifteen, she had the rebellion note page. Hers was different, though, after the note indicating “slight tendencies of rebellion.” Ana’s doctor had noted that Namaguchi had submitted an Inquiry of Interest, and the doctor advised the match and marriage go forward. Dr. Mazella surmised that perhaps being married to Namaguchi, an official in President Everett’s cabinet, would positively influence Ana. For almost two years, it seemed to work. Then, the notes continued onto another page, showing Ana’s rebellious tendencies had become more vigorous, and she was also showing anger at her appointments. It also included a note that mentioned Namaguchi had started showing immunity in his latest tests. Then, in big red letters at the bottom of the page, the words “Eliminate the pair” were circled.
~
Davis set the files aside and leaned back, her head against the wall. She had no idea what to make of all of this. Her head felt woozy, and fatigue overcame her. Hours later, she awoke with a start. It took her a few moments to realize where she was and what had been going on. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and took a look around; the files had fallen on the floor and were
askew. Davis grabbed the glass of water she had set on the table beside the bed and was happy there was a drink left. She then looked at the clock: 8:07 p.m. She wondered if she had missed dinner. Probably. Not that it mattered to her, she didn’t feel like having company. She did feel hungry, though. Before going out, she decided to look at the last papers in the file, Namaguchi’s medical report. It seemed the same as the others, except his was much longer, him being quite a bit older. As she suspected by this point, at the end of his report, for two consecutive appointments, it had noted that he had potentially developed immunity and that his wife Ana was a known Natural Immune. After the two notes about potential immunity, a third quickly scrawled note in red saying, “Confirmed, eliminate the pair.”
Davis hit her palm against her head in frustrated thought. They gave him three appointments to see if he was immune or not? That was it? How was that even possible? Namaguchi was a high-level official. It didn’t seem to make any sense that they would decide to eliminate him so quickly. Davis wondered how much of this she could believe.
As Davis pondered the dilemma in her mind, she had a hard time believing that President Everett or anyone in the cabinet could do such a thing. She also realized Namaguchi being in the cabinet made it even more unlikely. But there it was in black and red ink, respectively. Davis decided to set these reports aside for a while. She felt what she needed was some food and a break from looking at these things. Before leaving, she steeled herself to be brave, just in case she encountered anyone outside her room.
Davis made her way to the kitchen and opened the fridge. She didn’t know what she wanted and closed the door. She thought about it a second and opened the door to analyze again and see if anything caught her attention. There was nothing that appealed. Davis was not even aware of half of what the items were. She closed the door again and thought for a minute. Davis opened the fridge again and took a quick peek. Nothing. Finally, she walked over to the pantry and found the cracker container. She pulled it out and then got herself some water. She intended to pull out a handful of crackers, go back to her room, and eat there. But, feeling unmotivated, she simply set the container of crackers on the counter, mindlessly eating them. She was halfway through the box, her mind zoned out, and her eyes just focused on the dinner bell in the kitchen. Her spaced-out stare was interrupted by Quinn. “Hey, you okay, Davis?” she asked as she walked in.
Marigold Page 9
