Project Dandelion

by Heather Carson

  “That is not going to happen,” Dreya said leaning her head back against the wall next to Katrina. Willow’s mouth opened wide.

  Mia jumped down from her bunk. “What happened, Dreya?”

  “We got Katrina out of there and now we are staying in here until we can dig our way out.”

  Willow made a gasping sound. “Seriously?” She started shaking. “You guys are just too much. It was literally just a time out or a time away so that she could think about what she was doing and the rest of you could reevaluate where you are at in this…”

  James cut her off. “They tied her up, Willow. How sane or peaceful is that?”

  “Well maybe it was so she didn’t, you know, run away!” Willow retorted while throwing her hands in the air.

  “I can’t believe you.” Jayden’s eyes widened. “How is that okay? Keeping someone tied up against their will?”

  “That is because you guys only care about yourselves and only choose to see things as they affect you individually.” Willow shouted.

  “You are right,” Dreya sighed. “We care about how something affects us individually because we aren’t some hive of honey bees. We also care when people are out of control and try to control the free will of others. Like when someone gets tied up or forced to be somewhere they don’t want to be. We actually care a lot. What we really care most about is not dealing with Lark or the rest of your community anymore.”

  The banging on the door increased in tempo. It sounded as though more people had joined in.

  “So, are you going to hold me in here against my will?” Willow crossed her arms.

  “Not if you want to go,” Dreya said standing up. “But if you want to leave, you have to go now. Otherwise, you can stay here with us. It is your choice.”

  Willow looked hurt but quickly straightened her shoulders and chin. She grabbed her pillow off the bed. “Fine then, let me out.” She walked toward the door and then turned to ask, “Ethan, are you coming?”

  Ethan jumped up and grabbed his pillow. “Sorry guys,” he said.

  “No worries man,” James said. “It’s your life and your choice.”

  Katrina grabbed the sheets off her bed and twisted them each into long strands. “Here. Tie these to the bars on the door to give us more leverage to pull it closed once they start trying to open it.”

  “On the count of three,” Dreya said grabbing the lever. James and Jayden nodded putting their hands on the cross bar in the middle. Katrina and Mia grabbed the sheets. “One, two, three.”

  They pushed the door open a few inches. Four or five hands, Katrina couldn’t count them fast enough, began pulling the door from the outside. Ethan slid out fast, but Willow took her time going through the door pausing halfway through. Those who were pulling it open began to gain the upper hand and Brett’s face appeared in the opening. He started screaming at James. Mia shoved Willow the rest of the way out. Between the five of them they managed to pull the door closed and latch it.

  Out of breath, they walked to their own beds. The banging on the door grew more insistent. Katrina closed her eyes and fell asleep to the thud, thud, thud sounds echoing through the room.

  *

  “Welcome to day 13,” Nanny’s voice came over the loudspeaker, momentarily drowning out the banging on the door and waking Katrina up.

  “How did you sleep through that?” James said rubbing his eyes as he walked past her bunk to the bathroom. Katrina smiled feeling embarrassed that she had fallen asleep so soundly. Mia had a pillow wrapped around her head. Jayden and Dreya were sitting on the floor talking.

  “Morning sleeping beauty,” Dreya called out to Katrina when she saw her wake up.

  “Have they not stopped at all?” Katrina asked getting out of bed.

  “Nope,” Jayden answered. “I think there is more of them now.” The thudding on the door began to grow more rapid as if on cue. After breakfast, they took turns taking showers. Once they were finished they all sat on their beds.

  “I have a feeling that today is going to be a long one,” James said sitting down on the bunk beneath Katrina.

  “It is kind of like Christmas Eve though,” she said smiling down at him. “Tomorrow could be a great day.”

  “But what if it isn’t?” Mia asked. She looked pale from the lack of sleep. “What if the doors don’t open? Or what if they do and it is a complete disaster out there?”

  Dreya pulled her little sister in for a hug. “Hush now. Let’s just get through today and pray that tomorrow they do open.”

  Chapter 22

  Katrina stood up. “We need to start getting ready for tomorrow’s worst case, okay second worst case, scenario.” Everyone turned to stare at her. “Obviously the worst case scenario is the one were the doors don’t open and we all go mad down here with this banging which is what I am sure their intention is. Second worst case scenario is that it is really, really bad on the surface and no one, or at least no one important to us, survives.” Mia curled up next to Dreya as Katrina continued, “Now, I am willing to bet that the sealed locker contains shovels and hazmat suits at least but we don’t know if there will be any other gear in there. We need to start getting creative and prepping what we should take with us to survive out there.”

  She watched as all her roommates found a job to do or came up with an idea on something that would be useful. They tore the sheets into strips for rope and made makeshift packs for food. They emptied, cleaned, and filled the cleaning solution bottles with water. They ripped up the mattress that was Willow’s and used the plastic to make additional water bags and line their packs with the waterproof material. They shut off one sink and dismantled the pipes to use for weapons. The banging on the door grew louder all morning.

  After lunch, they sat down to tie knots in the ropes and reinforce the packs that they had just made. Mia complained of a headache and took a nap. Jayden and Dreya laid down to rest too.

  James climbed up onto Katrina’s bunk to sit with her. “Do you plan to tell them where we are going or are we splitting from the group?” He sounded nonchalant, but she could tell that this was worrying him.

  “What do you think I should do?” she asked gently.

  “Nah,” he smiled. “This one is on you. Your decision. I’ll support whatever you decide to do.”

  Katrina looked over to Jayden, Dreya, and Mia. “Do you think they will be mad at me?”

  “Since when do you care?” His smile got bigger.

  “I don’t know,” Katrina said sighing. The pounding on the wall was getting louder again. “It must be because we are stuck down here. I am going a little crazy.”

  James laughed. “Come on. You never did not care. That isn’t how you are built. You are just a big ole softy.” Katrina threw her pillow at him. “Oh no.” He put his hands in the air. “A dangerous pillow fight coming from the big bad teddy bear.” They both burst into laughter which woke Dreya up.

  Dreya groaned and put her hands over her ears to block out the banging noise. “Do you think this is ever going to stop?” Katrina shook her head no. “What time is it? And what are you guys laughing about?”

  “I’ll tell you when everyone wakes up,” Katrina said. Nanny came on the loudspeaker to announce dinner. Everyone began to eat their food and Katrina raised her voice to be heard over the clang, clang, clang sound.

  “I have a cabin in the mountains that is stocked for a survival situation, like if the world ends. It’s going to take a long time to walk there if I can’t find a vehicle along the way. That’s where I am heading.” James nudged her. “That is where we are going if our parents aren’t there when the doors open. You guys are welcome to join us if you want.” Katrina looked at her feet anticipating the coming questions.

  Jayden spoke first. “Wait. You knew this would happen? And why aren’t you there instead of here?”

  “I didn’t exactly know that this is what would happen. It’s just that my dad always plans for the worst case scenario. He stocked it in case
we ever needed it. Plus, we vacation there. Except it wasn’t built to withstand the initial radiation blast because it doesn’t have a fall out shelter. The safest place to survive something like that is underground.”

  “Oh, so your dad is like a prepper or whatever they are called,” Mia laughed. “That’s cool. It actually comes in handy right about now.”

  “How do you know how far it is?” Dreya put her food down.

  “I didn’t take the pill.” Katrina looked up to meet Dreya’s stare. “My dad told me what the pill would do and to pay attention to where I was going so that I could find my way back if I needed to.” Dreya smiled at her in understanding.

  Mia gasped. “Why the heck didn’t our parents tell us to do the same thing?”

  “Because they figured that they would be coming back to get you.” Katrina swallowed so that her voice wouldn’t break.

  “Are they not coming?” Dreya looked at her intently again.

  “I don’t know,” Katrina said. “I just know that my dad plans for the worst case scenario.”

  Dreya thought for a moment. She and Jayden exchanged a glance before she turned back to Katrina. “Okay. I believe you. Thanks for telling us and inviting us to come with. Let’s see what happens when the doors open. Worst case, we are coming with you to the mountains.”

  “No.” Mia continued digging into her food with her spoon. “The worst case would be if the doors didn’t open and this banging never stopped.”

  *

  The banging on the door seemed to grow even louder after the lights went out for the night.

  “I wasn’t going to be able to sleep anyways,” Mia groaned as she climbed into bed. “I am too anxious to find out what is going to happen tomorrow. Do you think they will actually be able to break down the door?”

  “No,” Dreya said climbing into her own bunk. “I don’t think they are trying to break it down. They are just messing with us until we go crazy enough to open it. Try and close your eyes.”

  Once everyone had settled in, James peaked over the edge of Katrina’s bed. “You still up?” She could barely hear his whisper over the thumping sound echoing through the room.

  “Of course.” Katrina smiled. They both tiptoed into the bathroom and closed the door behind them.

  “We’ve had some good memories in here,” James joked. “I’ll be sad to leave this place.”

  “You’re not serious right?” Katrina’s mouth hung open.

  James laughed. “Well, I am serious about the good times.”

  “What if the doors don’t open? Then you will never have to leave.”

  “Then we will come up with another plan, but I don’t think that would be the worst thing in the world.” He sat down next to her on the floor.

  “Oh yeah? What could be worse than that?”

  “I don’t know.” James stared at the wall. “It would be pretty bad if I had never met you.” He didn’t turn to meet her eyes, so he didn’t see her blush. His words hung in the air until Katrina coughed.

  “Well no one can say that you don’t see the glass as half full,” she said and saw the smile coming back to his face.

  “Hey. I’m an optimist. One of us has to be you know.” He turned back to face her. “If the doors do open and our parents are there, promise we will stay in touch?” He looked sad again for a second and Katrina had the overwhelming urge to make that feeling go away.

  “Of course!” she blurted out. He turned his face away, and Katrina lost herself in a daydream of digging out to find all their families waiting for them. She could feel the sun shining on her head, blinding her eyes as she ran to get a bear hug from her dad who would be standing there with his big grin plastered across his face. They’d all go their separate ways, but she would get James’ number so that they could text each other. Maybe she would find him on social media and stalk his profiles to find out more about him. They could go on a real date. She knew this was a fantasy, but it felt good to pretend.

  “Where were you just now?” James asked.

  “Nowhere.” Katrina smiled back. She reached her hand up and laid it against the side of his face. His jaw muscles tensed and then relaxed under her fingers. Leaning closer, she whispered, “I’m glad that I met you too.” Then gently she pressed her lips to his, carefully avoiding the fading bruise he had. His lips were strong. He responded tenderly at first and then used more force which took her breath away. In that moment, Katrina no longer heard the banging on the door or felt the cold of the floor. She was lost in the sensation of wanting to kiss him deeper and nothing else in the world mattered.

  Too soon, James pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. While Katrina caught her breath, she looked up to find his blue eyes staring back into hers.

  “Let’s put this off until tomorrow,” he whispered. She nodded her head. They fell asleep lying there on the bathroom floor intertwined in each other’s arms.

  Chapter 23

  Katrina woke before the lights came on and pulled her arm out from under James. It had gone numb and was shooting pins and needles into her shoulder. James grunted before waking up and smiled sweetly when he looked over to see Katrina already awake. They tiptoed back to their beds. Jayden, Dreya, and Mia had their pillows over their heads attempting to block out the pounding sounds. The lights flicked on just as Katrina pulled herself into her bunk. Everyone woke up suddenly and sat up on their beds.

  “What do we do now?” Mia asked her sister.

  “I don’t know sweetie,” Dreya responded. “I guess we just have to wait and see.”

  “Ugh.” Mia covered her ears with her hands. “This is going to be the longest day ever.”

  *

  Nanny’s voice came over the intercom. “Welcome to day 14 in the shelter. Sensors have indicated that radiation has dropped below the extreme danger level.” Katrina held her breath. “Short periods of outdoor exposure have been deemed acceptable as long as proper protective gear is worn. As per protocol, the outside doors will now unlock, and inhabitants may choose to dig out. The lockers in each room contain tools and radiation suits for all individuals in the section. It is advised to limit surface exposure and to decontaminate before reentry. Daily schedule will continue as normal within the shelter.”

  The banging on the wall stopped.

  Mia yelled out, “Oh, thank you baby Jesus.” Everyone in the room jumped up and cheered. Katrina’s smile hurt her face as James spun her in a circle. The latches on the doors and lockers clicked. Dreya ran to throw open the locker door exposing six shovels and six bright yellow plastic hazmat suits.

  Jayden pulled open the door to the surface and was greeted with a solid wall of packed dirt. “Well?” He turned around still smiling.

  “Let’s start digging,” Katrina laughed.

  *

  They dug all morning, moving the dirt off the floor to the trash shoot and alternating turns with the shovel because only three could fit through the doorway at a time.

  “Have we reached six feet yet?” Mia asked wiping dirt off her face and handing the shovel to her sister. James was grading the tunnel out with rough dirt steps to make the climb easier. It was hard to move fast within the tight space. Dreya was pushing the shovel into the dirt just above her shoulders when it started to crumble down above her. Weak rays of natural light came piercing through the hole. She stepped back into the room.

  “Let’s get the suits on,” Katrina said pulling hers down from the wall and sliding it over her legs. “We will finish the last part in these, just in case.” She was the first person to climb up the dirt steps with James helping to steady her from behind. Katrina cleared out the remaining dirt with her gloved hand making a hole big enough to crawl through. The big mask was obstructing her view, but she saw the ground coated with a whitish substance at eye level. She put her arms on the earth surrounding the hole and breathed a sigh of relief feeling the solid ground support her weight as she pulled herself out.

  Katrina stood up on the surf
ace and looked around. The sky was washed grey and the late morning sun burned reddish orange through the haze. The air felt thick coming through the suit. It reminded her of the way things looked after a big forest fire. White ash covered everything on the ground, including the tumbleweeds blowing around in the breeze. The desert looked apocalyptic and she could barely make out the mountains in the distance through the smog. She shuddered as she wondered if the rest of the world looked this way.

  James came out next followed by Dreya, Mia, and then Jayden. They turned in circles taking the scenery in. No one was there. Katrina took a steadying breath as Mia broke down crying while clinging to her sister.

  Dreya stood tall and caught Katrina’s eye. “Let’s go to the mountains,” she mouthed to her. Katrina nodded. She felt James’ gloved hand as it grabbed her own. He was staring off into the distance, but she felt reassured by his grip. To the south, bright yellow hooded figures began to emerge from the ground. Jayden pointed in their direction getting the rest of his group’s attention.

  “Time to run.” Katrina led them north.

  Epilogue

  They ran northwest, following Katrina’s lead, until they could no longer see the yellow forms in the distance. Out of breath and sweating in their suits, they slowed down to a trudging pace.

  “Where are we going now?” Mia asked trying to hold back her tears.

  “To the bus stop where we were first dropped off.” Katrina’s voice was flat. She refused to think about anything other than getting to the cabin. “We have about fifteen more miles to get to the platform. We can camp underneath that structure tonight.”

  She heard the groans and sighs but ignored them. They could rest when they got somewhere safe. It was going to be a long couple of days. They hadn’t seen a single creature on the surface so far. No bugs, no lizards. Katrina hoped it was just this desert and not everywhere that would be this empty. It was almost dark, and they hadn’t stopped for more than a few water breaks since starting. Katrina’s arm ached from shoveling that morning and she knew everyone else was hurting too. They kept up with her though and she was glad that they weren’t complaining very much.