Marigold

by Heather Mitchell Manheim

~

  The next few days felt even more like a chaotic whirlwind to Davis. Coming up with all the plans to make sure she could meet her mom, that she snuck the bee pollen in without getting caught, and that everyone believed her story. She was glad she would get quarantined for two weeks before having to go to the Palace. She would have, as Namaguchi put it, “wife lessons.” That would give her a little bit better idea of what to expect. And then, before she knew it, it was the night before departure and the start of yet another new chapter in her life.

  September 24, 2056 –

  Departures

  To say Davis awoke early was an understatement because, once again, she didn’t sleep at all. She closed her eyes now and then, but tossing and turning had haunted her all night. So, when 5 a.m. rolled around, she wasn’t exactly feeling rested but was anxious to get started and move onto the next step in this journey. Davis went down to the restroom and enjoyed one last hot shower. She didn’t have time to make it as leisurely as she would have liked but made sure it was more than nine minutes because she knew it was back to timed showers again after this.

  There wasn’t much for Davis to pack. She pondered taking the copy of The Great Gatsby, but she didn’t want to raise any flags and make it look like she had something she shouldn’t. That made her think, and she checked the hidden pocket cleverly sewn into the seam and lining of her knapsack for the vial of bee venom. It was about the five hundredth time Davis had checked that pocket, and the vial was still there, as it had been the first time and every other time too. The darn thing made her nervous, though, and also, probably for the five hundredth time, she wished there was a different way to deal with all this. Something that didn’t involve her murdering the President of the United State.

  Davis smoothed down her tunic. It was the first time putting on her official clothing since taking it off early on at the bunker. It had been laundered, which was great; otherwise, it would be dirty and smelly. Davis now viewed it as an outfit of lies and not the Everett Center tunic and jodhpurs that once made her prideful. After going back to her room, she put the clothes she borrowed and the sheets from her bed folded up on the end of the mattress. Davis supposed there was no need to fold them if somebody was going to launder them. But, not wanting to be rude and not having time to clean everything herself, she assumed it was the best option. Never having had to deal with something like this before, it seemed to be the right thing.

  After she straightened up the room, she headed to the dining hall to eat breakfast and say her goodbyes. Everything seemed so odd to her, as if she was walking in slow motion. Her stomach felt funny, and she felt light-headed. She stopped momentarily in the hallway before reaching the dining room to lean up against the wall and take a deep breath. Davis kept thinking about what it had said in the letter from her mom, Even if we are not here when you need us, from the Heavens, you will have a whole legion of people you can rely on to help you. You are my Little Marigold. She said a quick prayer, something she was only familiar with on occasion, as she forgot to do it a lot or sometimes didn’t know what to say. But she asked God and her family to support her and give her strength. To look after her and help her get through this. Taking another deep breath and opening her eyes, she then carried on to the dining room.

  Davis walked in, and everyone was there besides Duffy, Hernandez, and Namaguchi. She would see them on the other side as they had already gone into the city to report for their regular work duty and prepare things on their end. But even Cricket had come by to send her off. She felt love and friendship like she never had before. A choke rose in her throat, and she had to fight back the tears. Davis hadn’t realized how difficult it would be to say goodbye.

  As they sat to eat breakfast, there was minimal conversation. Not much eating, either. However, everyone was doing a great job of nibbling and pushing food around with forks. Davis tried hard to eat; she didn’t relish the idea of going back to nutrition biscuits, and she didn’t know if she would ever get a salad, potato, or strawberry again. But, a persistent lump in her throat prevented her from really eating anything.

  After everyone finished, Davis started nervously to clear the table. Ana quickly stopped her and told her not to worry; they would take care of that later. What Ana hadn’t realized was Davis needed to channel the nervous energy and delay the goodbyes. Time was growing short, and she had to repeat her silent prayer to keep her feet going.

  Nothing could stop time, and finally, it was time to say goodbye. Davis hugged all the kids first and realized she hadn’t gotten to know them well, which she now regretted. She supposed there had not been enough time, even though she had been there for quite a while. It all seemed like constant information overload. Olivia shook her hand after the hug and wished her good luck, which touched Davis’s heart even more.

  She then shook Ringo’s hand, thanked him for everything, and gave Audrey a slight side hug and a quick thank you. She realized she hadn’t gotten to know Audrey as well either, and again it saddened her. Davis thought perhaps she could suggest waiting a few more days to get more acquainted with everyone. She barely had time to think about it, though, because Cricket suddenly grabbed her and took her into a big bear hug, even lifting Davis’s feet off the floor a little bit. “We’re gonna miss you!” boomed Cricket.

  Josie came up shyly, which surprised Davis since Josie didn’t seem like the shy type. Davis quickly realized that Josie was another person she didn’t know all that well. Davis assumed the shyness Josie exhibited was merely feeling as Davis did, that they were acquainted but not bonded like some of the others in the bunker.

  Ana gave Davis a slight hug and then surprised her as Ana backed away and put both of her hands on the sides of Davis’s face, then leaned in, lightly resting her forehead against Davis’s. It made Davis feel loved and mothered like never before. Tears again began to spring in Davis’s eyes, and she saw they had in Ana’s too.

  Even Buster came to say goodbye, weaving in and out of Davis’s legs. Davis leaned down to give him a pet and few scratches behind the ear. Buster repaid her courtesy with an energetic bump of his head against her hand and a gentle mew followed by rumbling purrs.

  Last was Quinn. She would be the hardest for Davis to say goodbye to. From the second this adventure had started; Quinn had been there. From day one. And while Davis had not always liked her, especially in the beginning, they had become friends, and Davis felt like she was the closest thing she would ever have to a sister. “Thank you, Quinn…for everything,” she whispered as they hugged tightly and warmly. “I never had a sister, but I imagine if I had one, she would be like you.” With that, Davis had to pull away and pat her eyes dry quickly; luckily, she had the forethought to bring a tissue with her to breakfast. Drying her eyes, she reflected a second on the craziness of it. As far as she could remember, she didn’t think she had cried more than two times in her life before this. During her time in the bunker, it felt like she was always crying.

  Davis stepped back from the group for a second and steadied herself. Knowing she had to speak quickly or she wouldn’t get the words out, she rushed to talk. “I just want to thank you all for the food, conversations, help, information”—here she paused and gave a slight laugh—“and of course, the wine. I appreciate your friendship, and I will not fail you. I also know you pick your names here. It’s moot at this point because I’m leaving, and I know I’ll be known as Davis in the city until Everett gives me my new name. But, as far as I’m concerned, my name is Amelia.”

  ~

  Davis couldn’t believe it when she found herself sitting next to Brookshire in the transport vehicle. She was nervous and sweating like crazy, even though it was cool that day. Brookshire leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Remember when we held hands that one time? I’m going to hold your hand the whole way there, so you know you’re not alone.” And with that, Ringo asked permission to put the black hoods on, and they were underway. Brookshire,
lightly enfolding her hand into his, leaned over to whisper in her ear, “You can trust me.”

  It felt like hours to Davis, riding around in a car with a hood on her head. There were some big bumps in the road; from what Ringo said, they had to take back roads and rarely used passages. But Ringo said the whole ride should only take about forty-five minutes. Davis knew they couldn’t have been in the car more than ten already, but anxiety and worry prevailed. That made the ride feel so drawn out, and she kept expecting something to go wrong, like a Security Patrol stopping them. Davis felt slightly comforted with Brookshire next to her, but she knew he had a hood on his head, too.

  Eventually, they did stop. The first thing Davis saw was how bright the sun was when Ringo leaned back and pulled the hood off. Brookshire was already outside of the van, his hood off, and he was helping Davis out. He leaned into the transport to grab their knapsacks, and as he did, he said quickly, “We have to go, Amelia, now. Ringo can’t get out and repeat his goodbye. He needs to go.”

  ~

  There was terror in Davis’s eyes and urgency in Brookshire’s as they set off. It had also startled her that Brookshire called her Amelia. She realized that even if she couldn’t use that name, she wanted to start thinking of herself as Amelia. Feeling apprehension, nervousness, and anxiety, Amelia tried to focus on Brookshire’s hand around hers and the kindness in his eyes to help her go forward. Just one foot in front of the other, Amelia, she thought to herself. And they set off into the chilly day, albeit the sun still blared brightly in the blue sky above them.

  They were only walking for a few minutes, but Amelia was ready to be back inside. She was worried about the Drone Scanners. Although she could quickly explain any negative thoughts were only because of being kidnapped and the attempted brainwashing, she was terrified about being held motionless in the red beam until a Security Patrol picked her up. It then dawned on Amelia how absurd that was. That she wasn’t even allowed to have a negative thought about the President or the government, she could see now how detrimental that could be to a society’s populace.

  It was hard to keep track of time for Amelia. It didn’t help pass when Brookshire was quiet and just kept a determined look on his face. She guessed it was about fifteen minutes before a Security Patrol approached them. Brookshire quickly jumped into his role, waving his arms wildly and yelling, “Help! Help! I found Davis. The missing lady! She was wandering around out here, confused.”

  The Security Patrol came over and asked Davis about her ID Card. “Um, I gave it to him?” she replied, shrugging and putting her answer in the form of a question in the hopes it would help her seem confused. She added a few squints of the eye and simultaneously hoped it worked and thanked God she didn’t have to act as a career. She felt like she was pretty terrible at it. “I don’t know,” she added inexplicably. Amelia then decided that maybe the less she spoke, the better. She blinked her eyes a few more times for good measure, then realized that she probably looked at worst, guilty, and, at best, like an oddball. Luckily for her, Amelia could look confused and crazy in this interaction because the role she was playing was that of someone muddled and perplexed.

  The Security Patrol nodded and took her by the arm. Amelia was a little surprised, but he was not rough with her, so she decided the best thing to do would be to go with it and not put up any kind of resistance. Brookshire reached into his pocket, and at first, Amelia felt terrified. For a second, in her mind, she saw Brookshire pulling out a gun and getting into a shootout with the Security Patrol Guard. Of course, what actually happened was he pulled out her ID Card, giving it to the guard who looked it over quickly and scanned it; Amelia could see that her name—well, the name Davis—and a picture came up, along with her ID number and that she was missing and overdue for all medical exams. “Let’s take you to the Palace Infirmary, then,” he said. “That’s what President Everett said to do when someone found you.”

  Amelia felt weak in the knees and tired. She was happy when they approached the Security Patrol Guard’s vehicle. The guard set her down in the back and asked Amelia to put her hands out. “Sorry, Davis, I have to put these restraints on you. But, it’s policy.”

  Amelia nodded as she stuck out her hands. After the guard secured them, she looked down at the thick silver cuffs that circled her wrists. They were sturdy and firm, the metal chilly. They had curved plates attached to the outside of each wrist restraint and forced her hands into somewhat of a praying position. They didn’t exactly hurt, but it was odd to be restrained and have such limited movement of her hands and wrists. She definitely preferred Brookshire’s hand around hers over the cold metal. It dawned on her as well that the guard had called her “Davis.” It occurred to her this might get confusing, Davis. Amelia. Amelia. Davis. She also realized that President Everett would give her a new name when they were married too. It would be too confusing to go back and forth and try and remember her new name. With much chagrin, she decided to stick with Davis until everything else got sorted out.

  September 24, 2056 – Infirmary

  The Security Patrol Guard escorted Davis into the infirmary door. He asked Brookshire to wait outside. When they walked in, Davis was somewhat comforted and somewhat unnerved by the presence of the blue light. She had forgotten about the ever-present ultraviolet rays that were everywhere, a never-ending beacon of death to bacteria and germs. Of course, it was also a reminder to the people that the government never stopped in the war against illness. They approached an older lady at a glass desk; she had tired brown eyes and gray hair in the ordinary bob. A thick glass partition entirely enclosed her desk. She had a tag on her mint green scrub tunic with her name, “Flynn.”

  The Security Patrol Guard spoke into the conversation speaker first. “Hello there, Flynn. I located Davis, the lady that has been missing. As you know, she hasn’t received any medication or checkups since she disappeared. She needs to go into quarantine.”

  Davis laughed to herself at how easily the guard quickly took credit for “locating” her. It made her laugh even more when Flynn replied to the guard, “That’s Great! You’ll need to go to quarantine as well since you got exposed to her without protective gear.”

  Davis only had to wait a few minutes; however, Flynn had asked her not to move and stay exactly where she was. It was difficult because she was antsy and nervous. Luckily, it was reasonably quick that several orderlies came out in full hazmat suits. Two placed Davis in a rolling transport cubicle, enclosed in thick glass, a blue light situated on both sides of the door that locked once she was inside. There was a shelf on each side of the glass that held a communication tablet. The orderlies repeated the process with the guard, putting him in his own transportation cubicle. Then as they rolled Davis and the guard away, she noticed that three more orderlies in the hazmat suits locked the infirmary doors and now were cleaning and sanitizing the floor where she had walked in and had stood. They set up air purifiers, and Flynn had exited her cubicle out a back door not connected to the front office. This is a bit much! Davis thought to herself. She had to admit, though, that just about a month ago, all this would have made perfect sense to her. She wouldn’t have even thought about it at all; it would have all been typical and much-needed actions to her.

  The orderlies wheeled Davis into a room completely enclosed with the same thick glass walls. There were blue lights on each side of the door and in the middle of the room. The orderly that wheeled her in went up to the outer shelf and typed something on his keyboard. The message appeared on the screen inside for Davis to read. The statement said, “I’ll unlock the doors, let me leave the room, then you can exit and get into the bed. Someone will be in shortly.” Davis wasn’t sure if she should type a reply, so she just nodded her head yes to acknowledge she had read the note. The orderly then punched some numbers on the door keypad, and Davis heard it unlock. She was tempted to step out early and freak him out but decided it wasn’t worth it and not very nice. He wo
uld probably be terrified if she did.

  After the orderly closed and locked the door to the room that Davis would call home for the next fourteen days, he nodded his head as a sign she could exit the rolling cubicle. Davis stepped out and took a deep breath. It smelled of antiseptic and eucalyptus. Davis had forgotten that they piped eucalyptus oil scent through the air ducts. President Everett had told everybody it was necessary to fight against germs as eucalyptus was a natural antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal. It was also helpful in combating some of the effects of the flu, respiratory infections, sinus problems, and colds. Davis didn’t doubt this might be true. She liked the smell of eucalyptus, and to her, it smelled fresh and clean but also like it could do some damage to a virus. However, she did doubt that simply piping the scent through the air pipes would save someone from getting sick.

  Davis situated herself on the gray bed and looked at the gray floors and the gray walls. She tried to acquaint herself with the fact that she was back in an almost colorless world again. When someone walked in, and Davis spied Duffy’s kind eyes through her hazmat hood, it took all her power not to jump up and hug her. However, they had decided beforehand that they would act as if they didn’t know each other. It was the only way to keep each other safe as well as the secret they now shared.

  Duffy spoke first. “Hello, Davis, we are the people, and the people are we.” It took Davis aback, but she realized she should start trying to say that again if she didn’t want to alert suspicions. After she said it back, Duffy continued, “Nice to meet you. My name is Duffy, and I’ll be your doctor. We’re going to administer a basic physical and see where we are at with your health. Then we’ll make sure we catch you up on all your injections.”

  Davis signed the intake form after verifying her name and ID number, and a strong sense of déjà vu overtook her as she initialed. She’d initialed before, of course; she knew she had, but now there was an odd sense from knowing something she shouldn’t know.