Project Dandelion

by Heather Carson

  *

  Back in the room, they waited for their lunch packets to arrive in the cabinet. Dreya and Jayden were whispering when Willow asked what was wrong.

  Dreya spoke for Jayden. “His sister is 11. She didn’t meet the criteria.”

  “Oh my gosh Jayden, I am so sorry.” Willow went to hug him. “She might be okay though. Maybe her and your parents got to somewhere else safe.”

  “Yeah man,” Ethan added, “that Nanny bot said that there were other government facilities like this out there. Plus, nuclear fallout shelters are everywhere, right? I think this one is a bit of an overkill. People have them in their basements and stuff.”

  “My sister just turned 22 and she is crazy smart,” Becca smiled. “I’m not even worried because I know she would find a way to survive. Your sister would be with your parents, so I bet they figured something out too.”

  Jayden bit his bottom lip but nodded in agreement. The light turned to green on the cabinet door. The loud buzzing sound began again as Dreya grabbed out the packages and tossed them around the room to each person. She scooped out the last two and slammed the door shut. The buzzing stopped, and the lock clicked. “Gosh that sound is annoying.” She handed one of the packages to Jayden. “Do you want to come with me to the common room to eat lunch?”

  “Nah,” he said. “You go spend some time with your sister. I’ll stay here and eat.” Dreya looked around the room and everyone motioned for her to go as they began to tear into their lunch packets.

  The five of them sat on the floor cross legged as they ate lunch.

  “Your dad is in the military?” Jayden asked Katrina while taking a spoonful of Chili Mac. “How often do you eat this stuff?”

  Katrina chuckled. “Not that often. I’ve had them when we go camping or sometimes at his work. There is usually one or two in the car in case of an emergency.” She looked at the ground. The room felt abnormally uncomfortable. She swallowed another bite. “One time we were camping, and my dad put the pound cakes in our dinner packet aside for breakfast. When I woke up he was screaming mad saying the squirrels had eaten them during the night.”

  “How did they even get through this packaging?” Ethan asked while trying to rip open the crackers and finally resorting to using his teeth.

  “Honestly, I’ve never figured that out.” Katrina smiled. “I think he probably just ate them that night by himself. He kind of has a sweet tooth.”

  “If he is in the military, what did he do that was for the betterment of society?” Becca asked doing a robotic Nanny voice impersonation.

  “I don’t know,” Katrina said. “I’m sure he did a lot. He is well respected, but we don’t talk about his job much.”

  Willow was watching Katrina intently. “Did you know about all of this? Did you know about the shelters and nuclear attack and us being put down here?”

  Katrina looked at Willow and quickly determined how much she should say. “A little. Not beforehand, but he told me as we were driving to the platform.”

  “Platform?” Ethan perked up.

  “The place with the bright lights where he gave me the pill. I am assuming that was the platform to the bus that took us here.”

  “I didn’t realize we had taken a bus,” Willow said still eyeing Katrina skeptically.

  “I’m pretty sure we did.” Katrina stared back at her trying to look a little confused. “I didn’t completely fall asleep until I sat down inside of it.”

  Willow seemed placated by this explanation but continued to probe. “So, what did he tell you?”

  “He told me there was going to be a disaster and that this was the safest place possible. He said to pay attention and that there would be plenty of instruction over the coming days. He said it wouldn’t be forever but that I needed to take it seriously. Also, he told me that the pill was going to knock me out.” Katrina smiled on that thought.

  “That’s pretty much exactly what my parents told me.” Willow shook her head. “Dang, I was hoping you would have some top secret information or something.”

  “What did your parents do?” Becca asked Willow.

  “They are peace activists and humanitarians. They actually just got back from helping to build a new school in Cambodia. That’s like the seventh school they’ve built in impoverished areas too,” Willow said proudly. “What about yours?”

  “My mother was a professor at Cambridge and my father is a research scientist. They did some kind of study determining the effects of genetics in obesity or something. I feel horrible, like I should know more about this.” Becca laughed nervously. “We attend a lot of fundraisers to end childhood obesity.” She put her hands up in the air.

  “Don’t feel bad Becca.” Katrina gave her a sympathetic smile. “You know more than I do.”

  Nanny came back on the loudspeaker. “Afternoon exercise will begin in 15 minutes,” she announced. “Please gather in the common room.”

  They all threw away their trash and headed down the hall.

  Chapter 4

  Dreya and Mia were sitting in the same section of the bleachers as earlier. They waved to the rest of Room 3, calling them over. The teens all came into the room and took the same seats they were in that morning. Katrina noticed that the siblings had somewhat dictated where everyone would sit by accident. Nanny’s explanation of the weight advantage was beginning to make sense. Katrina watched as James climbed to the top row alone again. A few minutes after they all arrived, Nanny made the announcement that everyone was to line up on the green line painted on the floor of the gym. Katrina watched amused as James had to climb all the way back down the bleachers. Why did she care so much about what he did? she thought. I just don’t like something about him.

  Nanny instructed them all to begin running around the room, staying within the taped off borders outlined on the floor.

  “This is ridiculous,” a loud girl with beautiful red hair from Room 5 began to complain. “The freaking world ended, and we are stuck here in gym class.” She crossed her arms and began to slowly walk. A few girls agreed with her and slowed down to walk alongside her. Willow slowed down with them. Lark was just making his first complete lap around the track when he came up behind the loud girl.

  “Hey sweetie, what’s your name?” he asked while putting his arm over her shoulders.

  “Laura,” she answered playfully pushing his arm away.

  “Well Laura,” Lark said as he turned around and started jogging backwards. “I think it is less about being stuck here and more about getting prepared because the freaking world did end.” He winked at her before turning back to his run. Laura blushed and picked up her speed a little bit.

  Katrina stayed at a steady jog for her first couple of laps. She was watching all the other teens as they made their way around the track. A group of boys were surrounding Lark and they seemed to be making this into a friendly race. She noticed Ethan along with a few other kids, most of them younger, getting red in the face. Everyone kept moving though. Becca was fast. She had joined Lark’s group up ahead. Dreya stayed beside Mia, slowing down and speeding up according to her sister’s pace. Neither girl looked to be struggling. James stayed a little ahead of Katrina, but not far enough. She wasn’t able to see his face on the turns. There was no sweat on his T-shirt, but she could see the outline of his shoulders and muscles pulling the grey material tightly against his back.

  She almost crashed into Willow as she rounded the corner but quickly jumped out of the way. Willow had started walking again after trying to run and turned to Katrina just in time to see her jump to the side.

  “How much longer?” Willow asked trying to catch her breath. Katrina shrugged her shoulders, but noticed she was getting winded too. In fact, everyone was beginning to slow down.

  The loudspeaker sounded as Nanny instructed them to line up on the yellow line facing the projector wall. A workout robot anime type figure appeared on the screen. After leading them through some stretches, there was a quick water break wher
e everyone lined up at the water drinking fountains in the room. They spent the rest of the class following the workout robot through a series of callisthenic exercises. Minus a few complaints here and there, everyone tried hard to follow the movements and no one sat out.

  *

  Two hours later, after the cool down routine, Nanny announced it was time for hygiene. The first hour was spent showering and the second hour was spent cleaning the rooms up with the supplies found in the bathroom closet. Katrina noticed that Becca spent most of the time slowly making her own bed and didn’t touch the bathroom at all. Dreya quickly got through the room and then grabbed a broom to take to the gym saying she wanted to help there too. Jayden and Willow joined her.

  At 6pm the dinner announcement was made. Katrina took out the meal packets from the cabinet, quickly shutting the door to avoid the noise. Dreya left again with her food. The rest of them sat on the floor eating together, exhausted but slightly excited to see what the movie would be. At 6:45pm, Nanny announced that the movie would begin in 15 minutes.

  Becca grabbed her pillow off the bed as she was making her way out the door. “I didn’t see any rules against it,” she said as her roommates stared at her.

  “No, that’s a great idea,” Katrina said and they all went back to grab their pillows too.

  *

  Dreya looked wistfully at the pillows her roommates had brought. Jayden offered to share with her.

  “Its okay,” she said looking at Mia.

  The rest of their group laid on the floor with their backs pressed against the bottom step of the bleachers. Most of the other kids were doing the same. Katrina watched as James climbed once again to the top of the bleachers. What is with this guy, she thought, and seriously why do I care this much?

  Many of the kids had begun to spread out into groups. Anna joined Laura’s section and a few of the guys were hanging out with Lark’s group. The siblings still sat together. Katrina envied them a little. Having someone here that you loved and knew and could trust. She tried not to think of her friends back home and what might have happened to them.

  “I miss my phone,” Becca said while staring at a pair of brothers leaning back on the bleachers together. “I just want to call someone or check social media or even read the news to find out what is happening out there.” She turned to Katrina. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  Katrina shook her head no.

  The lights in the room dimmed and the projector lit up the wall. The Star Wars theme music came blasting through the loudspeaker. A mixture of moans and loud cheers resounded through the gym.

  Ethan clapped his hands as a grin spread across his face. “This is a good one guys. It’s the new one. The Last Jedi.”

  “I know. I’ve already seen it.” Willow crossed her arms before leaning back onto her pillow and staring at the wall as the text rolled across the screen.

  Everyone became transfixed on the projection. It was nice to not think about what was happening in the real world for a minute. In a different universe, this could be a movie night at a local high school. Katrina was lost in the show when she felt someone shift on the bleachers behind her causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up. Before she could turn around, she heard him whisper into her ear.

  “Why do you keep staring at me?”

  Her breath caught in her throat and she had to inhale deeply to calm down the beating of her heart. Still staring straight ahead, she whispered back, “You are making a spectacle of yourself by refusing to sit with anyone else. I thought you wanted the attention.” She had no idea how she made herself sound that chill.

  He laughed quietly into her ear. The sound sent tingles down her arms. “I think the point is to show that I don’t want anything from any of you.”

  “Alright there, lone wolf,” Katrina smiled at the movie. “Be a mystery if you want.”

  “Is that what you think I am?” She could hear him smiling through his words. “A mystery?” He leaned in closer, whispering that last word.

  Her skin was on fire with vibrations that started in her right ear and shot all the way down to her toes. She took a steadying breath. “James, isn’t it? I’m not big on mysteries, so don’t flatter yourself.” She could feel the heat leaving her face with each word she spoke.

  He chuckled playfully. “Well that’s no fun. You know my name and I don’t know yours.”

  “Katrina,” she said bluntly.

  “Katrina.” He rolled the word in his mouth. “I like it. It suits you.” James stood up to leave, catching Becca’s attention. She glanced first at him before staring wide eyed at Katrina. Katrina shrugged, and Becca’s face lit up giving her a dramatic wink. Rolling her eyes, Katrina was able to turn her head slightly to watch James as he climbed back up the bleachers. As she turned back to watch the movie she saw Lark watching James too.

  Chapter 5

  After the movie ended, Nanny announced it was time for bed. Everyone was exhausted so there wasn’t much complaining. Other than a few sarcastic yells of “yes nanny.”

  “It’ll be okay Dreya,” Mia said exasperated. “It’s like going to our own rooms at night when we are at home.”

  “It just makes me nervous.” Dreya stood with her arms crossed. “I’m sure they won’t mind if you bunk with us.”

  “It will be fine.” Mia started walking toward Tunnel 6. “I’ll see you in the morning for breakfast. Quit being such a mother hen.” She left Dreya standing there.

  Jayden walked over to guide her back to the room. “Come on.” He put out his arm. “Mia is tough. She will be alright.”

  Dreya shook her head but took his arm and walked with him down Tunnel 3. They all got back to the room just as the lights were beginning to dim. Everyone climbed into their bunks. Katrina laid there in her rack on top of the itchy wool blanket allowing her eyes to adjust to the semi darkness.

  She was waiting to hear the muffled sobs of her roommates breaking down once they were alone for the night but surprisingly she was only greeted with snores from around the room. Relaxing, she allowed her mind to wonder through the day’s events. It was a long freaking day. She visualized the people surrounding her and made a mental note of each person’s strengths or weaknesses. Becca was fast, and she seemed tough. Dreya was strong but her love for her sister would slow her down. Willow was soft, as was Ethan, but maybe they had skills she didn’t know about yet. Jayden seemed more than capable but he was already attached to Dreya. Lark and the guys he was making friends with were obviously the most physical of the whole group. She would have to keep watching to see how that turned out. And James. Let’s not think about James right now.

  Katrina went over the details of the shelter as she knew them. Two exits to the room. One of them she knew nothing about but assumed it went outside and the one that led to the common room. Six tunnels leading to the common room and no other way out from there. A trash receptacle too small for anything but trash and a cabinet that delivered food which was also too small to climb through. Three meals a day with way more calories than she needed. She made a mental note to start saving food. Lockers against the wall that couldn’t be opened. Then the promise of more information in the coming days from Nanny. She just had to sit tight and wait.

  Her dad’s last words to her played in her head as she began to doze off.

  “Listen kiddo.” He was driving their old truck down an abandoned road, following the GPS directions to some pin in the middle of nowhere. “This is going to be a survival situation. You know I would keep you with me if I could, but I don’t know what it is going to look like up here when the bombs go off and I have a job that I have to do. I promise that if I can come get you I will, but you need to be prepared for that to not happen.” Katrina nodded, her eyes welling with tears as she stared harder out the truck window.

  “This is the safest place for you right now,” he kept driving, “and I need you to be safe so that I can focus on what I need to do. Remember, you can’t trust anyone
because you don’t know what they are capable of. Just keep your head down and don’t get attached. Watch out for the bad ones, hell just watch everyone.” She nodded a second time. “Good, tell me again. What are the most important components of survival?”

  “Water, shelter, fire, and food,” Katrina whispered.

  “And you know how to get those right?” A third nod. “Make sure you know your exits, pay attention to your surroundings, and don’t let your guard down.”

  They pulled into a dirt lot off the side of the road. There was a cement platform illuminated by harsh construction lights.

  Her dad pulled a pill out of his pocket and broke it in half. “This pill is going to knock you out. I was supposed to give it to you a while back and wait until you were drowsy to take you over there.”

  Katrina squinted through the blinding lights. There was a white bus parked and waiting. Her dad took her hand and put the pill in it. “I know you won’t panic or do anything stupid, so I won’t tell you to take it now. I want you to watch where you go on the bus and remember how to get back here. From this spot, do you remember how to get back to the main road?”

  She nodded. “Eight miles and two right turns. Easy.”

  “Good girl,” he said pulling her into an awkward hug across the bench seat of the cab. “Take the pill right before you get off the bus and pretend to be asleep until it kicks in. Two weeks should be enough time for the air to clear. I’ll come get you as soon as I can but if its longer than that, be prepared. You might have to come save me.” He winked at her while smiling.

  She half giggled, half choked on unshed tears. “Rendezvous point?” she asked. “Just in case?”

  “The old cabin in the mountains. Take HWY 395 and the 208 to get there unless it’s blocked. Then cut through the back way if you need to. It’s already stocked with supplies.” He ruffled the top of Katrina’s head.