Resistant, no. 1

by Ryan T. Petty

  The third attack was more than I bargained for. The punches were quicker than before and they hit my arms harder. I faltered this time, and when the kick came, it fell hard against my stomach. When I looked back up again, I only saw knuckles coming down at me and then I was on my back.

  Peering up at her, I hoped her anger was over, but I didn’t receive the friendly hand-up like she had offered before.

  “Next,” she said, stepping away.

  Chapter Twelve

  It was Stacey shaking me awake the next morning. “Hey, get up. Something happened and they need you.”

  “What?”

  “Jennifer, now!” she ordered. Still, I wasn’t awake. The clock read four in the morning, but Stacey passed me my clothing and I dressed quickly.

  We tried to stay quiet while we walked down the stairs, but once we got to the first floor, we entered a state of pandemonium. Masked soldiers were running up and down the hallways giving orders, but I couldn’t tell if they were for me, Stacey, or who. A cool hand landed on my shoulder.

  “Follow me.” It was Clarissa, but she didn’t look like her normal, angry self. There was a calm about her as we followed her into a conference room. Another one of the recruits, a tall, lanky, male stood next to the table that was covered with weapons.

  “The captain took a scouting party out last night,” Clarissa told us, swallowing hard, “and they were ambushed.” My mouth dropped open as she continued. “We’ve never seen this happen before, but we lost three men and two came back infected.”

  “Is there an attack coming?” Stacey asked.

  “I’m not sure, but we have posted more guards, and everyone, including the other recruits are on high alert.”

  “Is Mich...is the captain okay?”

  Clarissa looked at me directly.

  “No,” she said coolly, but with a tear in her eye. “That’s why you two are down here. The infected knew their way back here, and will continue to try and get in. We can’t allow that to happen, but they will attract others. So, we need the two of you to get rid of them. Put your masks on, grab those two pistols, and let’s get this over with.” Clarissa and Stacey, along with the others in the room slid on their masks.

  “Why us?” I asked more like a demand. “Why can’t one of you do it?”

  “Because you know them the least and you will prove yourself worthy to be part of the defense of the compound if you do this. Now, come on!”

  I wanted to protest, but I didn’t. The man and I slid on the breathing apparatus and grabbed the weapons, working our way through the racket in the hallway and on to the front exit. We went out four at a time, going through the anti-air lock chamber so the outside air couldn’t get in. A few people turned on flashlights as we walked down the concrete path toward the outer gate. Two men cracked it open as we came forward. This had been the first time I’d been out of the compound since my rescue, and yet I was stepping out so I could kill someone else. Only one hope ran through my mind—please don’t let it be Michael.

  A frightening shriek came from the woods beyond. We all paused for a moment.

  “Come on, the both of you,” Clarissa demanded, waving her flashlight in our faces. “If you can’t do this, then you might as well pack it up now.”

  I tried to swallow the fear in my throat, along with the questions I wanted to ask before I went through with this, but these were orders, and if I didn’t follow them, I knew, without the captain’s help, I might be told to leave the safety of the compound.

  We stepped into the woods, but were still in sight of the outside fence. When the lights swung around, we saw two figures, both tied to trees, not too far apart. I had seen the woman before, but didn’t know her name. She had a glazed-over look in her eyes, but didn’t fight the ropes that held her tight.

  “Have you seen my books?” she asked. “I’m missing my books.”

  “Their masks cracked in the fight. This one is SA3,” Clarissa said, motioning to the other recruit. “She’s yours.” She turned her light quickly to the man fighting his ropes. The breathing mask still covered part of his face, but I could still recognize the eyes, the eyes that used to be calm and crisp. Michael had told me he would be SA7 if he were ever to be infected. Now those green eyes were filled with rage as he fought the restraints holding him in place.

  “Get it over with, I’m tired of watching them suffer,” commanded Clarissa. Still, we both paused and looked at each other. “Recruits! Now!”

  I looked at the man and he nodded at Clarissa. Cocking the weapon, he turned and quickly fired the pistol twice and we watched as the life slowly left the woman’s eyes.

  “Good. Now you,” she said as I looked at her.

  “There has to be another way,” I mumbled.

  “What was that?”

  “There has to be another way!” I yelled at her. I wasn’t expecting it, but she dropped the flashlight and grabbed me by the jacket, forcing me back up against a tree.

  “Look, my brother risked his life for you. He handed you his gun so you would do this for him if ever he was infected. Now, that time has come. Kill him or start walking!”

  “Jennifer,” Stacey said calmly, “it’s the only way. He would do this for us. We would want him to.”

  I looked at Michael through the mask he was still wearing, as he lashed out against the ropes. He had saved my life more than once and now I was ordered to take his. I didn’t know how I could do it, but knew Stacey was right. With no cure for the disease, his mind was gone; everything he was to me was gone. He was no longer human.

  Raising the pistol, I pointed it at his chest, right where he said to fire, remembering his teaching that aiming at the head was a waste since it was such a small target, but the chest was such a big one. A tear rolled down my cheek as I squeezed the trigger. I heard the rope snap and saw him coming after me, when the flash of the gun made me see him fully, but just for just a second. The percussion forced my hands back, and I saw him slump to the ground. He was dead. I had hit him directly in the center of his chest.

  Dropping the gun, I fell to my knees, crying into the mask covering my face. I crawled toward him and laid my hand upon his head.

  “I’m sorry,” I sobbed, “I’m sorry,” but arms grabbed me and pulled me away. I fought them, landing back on the ground and wrapping my arms around myself. I didn’t want to be there anymore. I didn’t want to be anywhere anymore. I wanted nothing but to trade places with Michael. He had so much more to do, so much more to give, and I was nothing.

  I don’t know how long I was there when a cool hand fell upon my shoulder, but I pushed it away with mine.

  “That’s fine,” a male voice said, “if you want us to leave you out in the woods, we can.”

  Looking up, I saw the flashlight fan across Michael’s face and could tell by his risen cheeks that there was a smile behind the mask. Others looked down at me as well.

  “It’s a test,” Stacey said. “If you’re unwilling to do what’s best for everyone, then you don’t need to be part of the defense.”

  “And you passed,” Michael concluded. He reached his hand out and I took it, pulling me up from my fetal position.

  “We usually get less crying though,” he said, getting a few giggles at my expense.

  The happiness I had knowing he wasn’t dead turned into anger, and I balled up my fist and punched him right in the mask. I knew he wasn’t expecting it, because his head came up and he staggered momentarily. Clarissa came forward and I prepared myself to be beaten up, but he grabbed her arm before she got to me.

  I left the crowd, still crying softly, as Clarissa screamed profanities at me.

  * * * *

  Even though it went against orders, I slept in the next day and even skipped breakfast. I didn’t care to see anyone, especially Michael or Clarissa, because of the test I had gone through the night before. It just wasn’t right, to make me think I had to kill him. Maybe they all wanted me gone, including Michael.

  It w
as past noon when I heard a knock on the cell wall, just inside my room.

  “You punch me in the head and now skip out on morning training?” Michael quipped, placing a tray of food on the small table, “My sis is going to kick your—”

  “Why did you make me do that?” I flung the blanket back and stared at him. “Why did you make me kill you? Just to make fun of me? Or to get me to leave? It was horrible.”

  Michael folded his arms in front of himself and leaned against the wall.

  “Is that what you think? That it was just to make you leave?”

  I rolled over and didn’t face him.

  “I don’t know. Maybe you just want me to quit or do something else. I obviously can’t shoot, run an obstacle course, protect myself, or kill people that I...” I shook my head.

  “Are you done?”

  I turned back over and glared at him again.

  “Jennifer, I told all the recruits from the beginning that you had to be not only physically strong, but mentally and emotionally as well. You did the right thing last night, and you’ve been doing all of the challenges well. You ran The Ditch barefoot, you took the best of what Clarissa can dish out on the mat, and you were willing to kill me last night. You’re hanging in there with everyone else. There is one problem though...you.”

  “What do you mean—”

  “If you think you don’t belong here, then you’re right, you don’t. If you think you’re not cut out for the training, then you should quit, but either way, stop wasting my time. However, when you start seeing what I’m seeing, what my staff is seeing, and what all the other recruits are seeing, then you might realize you are doing well. So stop moping around and carry your weight, like I know you can.” He unfolded his arms, tapping the wall again, “Bus your tray when you are done,” he said, leaving the room.

  * * * *

  I walked down the last flight of stairs, down into the Alamo, and crossed the Ditch. Other recruits saw me and one of the females started clapping as I entered the center of the room, and by the time I got to the end of the line, all of the others were as well. The girl smiled at me.

  “There is no way I could’ve shot the captain last night,” she said to me. “They made me shoot some corporal. Said he had SA1 and was dying anyway, so it wasn’t too hard.”

  “You mean everyone had to do it?”

  “Yes, they called us out at different times. You were the last two to go. I actually saw you in the hallway, but they staged it all to be so chaotic, you didn’t notice me.”

  “Oh.” I smiled, thinking how I didn’t even know the girl’s name. She was a little taller than me and had long, red hair, pale skin, and was very pretty.

  “I’m Jennifer.”

  “I’m Samantha,” she shook my hand daintily, “but everyone calls me Sam.”

  “Are you two done down there?” Clarissa yelled at us and we both came to attention quickly. She stepped down the line in our direction. “And you, you skipped out on weight lifting this morning. You think you’re better than everyone here because you passed a difficult test last night?”

  “No, Sergeant.”

  She gave me one of her sinister glares. “Either way, you skipped training, so you face me first. On the mat,” she commanded.

  I walked forward and heard Sam whisper “good luck” to me.

  Clarissa grinned as I stepped forward, cracking her knuckles and swinging her arms, getting loosened up for my challenge.

  “Oh, and if you think you can, feel free to try and fight back.”

  I tried to keep cool and not show my disdain for her. There was no way I could beat her in a real fight. My only chance was to outsmart her, to find her weakness and use it against her.

  When we were both set, she rushed at me, springing into the air. I ducked and rolled underneath her attack. I popped up quickly, but was met with a foot across the side of my face. I staggered, but was ready when she came at me again, blocking her punches as they fell. Before I realized it, I’d thrown a punch, which glanced off her chin and hit her in the throat.

  Everything went quiet as she took a few steps back, stunned. I was too, but I went forward and tried to hit her again. She blocked the punches and jolted me back with a slam to my left cheek.

  I looked straight into her eyes, and for the first time ever, I thought I saw fear. Tears filled my eyes, from the punch, the frustration of dealing with her, from everything, and I screamed and launched into her. We tumbled to the mat and rolled until I was on top of her. I heard her grunts and my own as we battled. She had my wrists, but I forced my arms down with all my might, my hands out like claws, trying to get anywhere on her face.

  The force that jerked me from atop of her surprised me, but I continued to fight, lashing out at whatever had me. I hit the person with my elbow as hard as I could. The assailant grabbed my other arm and forced it roughly behind me, taking me face down to the mat.

  “Let her up!” screeched Clarissa. “Let me go!” I turned in time to see her being drug from the mat, screaming and cursing the entire way.

  * * * *

  “What was that?” Michael yelled at me while holding his hand up to his head where I had accidently hit him. “You are only supposed to be sparring out there, not full-blown contact.”

  “Well, you told me I was doing well earlier,” I said sarcastically, leaning back in my chair to show him I wasn’t going to be intimidated. I could only guess I was in his office, but it was so small. He had walked me out of the Alamo and down the corridor, pushing me into a room with only a couple of chairs, desk, and a bookshelf behind them.

  “What’s your problem?” he barked.

  “Ask her.” I folded my arms. All he could do was shake his head and step in behind the desk.

  “Look, she’s the instructor, but she’s supposed to take it slow with you until you’re built up and have more skills.”

  “Well, she didn’t.”

  He ducked his head and walked around the desk, sitting on the edge in front of me. I stared at him, waiting for him to get angry again, to get in my face and yell, but he used a few seconds to calm down, even bringing back a soft smile to his face before he spoke again.

  “How’s your head?”

  “I’m fine,” I lied, still feeling the sting. “How’s yours?”

  “I’ll survive, and I’ll have Doc give you something if you need it.” He tapped his fingers on the desk. “You’re free to go.”

  “What? That’s it?”

  “Yes. Were you expecting something else?”

  I thought about the question, but shook my head, finally standing and going to the door.

  “I’m sorry I hit you,” I said right before leaving.

  “It won’t be the last time I get hit. Oh, and Jennifer...”

  “What?”

  “I’ll talk to Clarissa. Y’all just stay clear of each other.”

  “And what about my training?”

  “We will figure something else out.”

  * * * *

  Stacey delivered a message to me later in the day saying my training would take place during the evenings and alone by order of the captain. It angered me I was taken out of the group of other recruits, people that I would eventually have to work with if I was going to fit in around here. Still, I guess for the time being, it was the only way Michael thought it would work.

  I was given the rest of the day off, which I wasted in my cell, reading a few old magazines that told me nothing about the world before the SA8 virus struck. The next morning after breakfast, I found Dr. Swanson’s office and knocked on the door.

  “Come in if it’s important.”

  I cracked the door open into the room, seeing Dr. Swanson behind her desk. Her fingers tapped away quickly upon a board and she stared at a large screen on her desk.

  “Well, are you just going to stand there or are you going to take a seat?”

  I walked in slowly and sat down across from her.

  “What are you doing?” I f
inally asked.

  “Telling the new history of the world.” She grinned. When she saw the confused look in my eyes, she continued, “I’m writing a journal about what is going on here—a history of the SA8 virus and what it has brought the world down to. Even though society has been destroyed, I can only hope by writing this down that it will benefit future inhabitants so they can see what we went through.”

  “How would they benefit from knowing about this mess?”

  “Well,” she sat back in her chair and removed her glasses, “hopefully they can see what we are going through and learn from our mistakes. That’s what history really is about after all.” She leaned forward and looked at me. “So what brings you by my nook?”

  “I was wondering...how did we get here?”

  “Well, I walked through the door and you came in sometime later.”

  “No, I mean, what did we do, you know, before all this? Before the virus?”

  Dr. Swanson took a deep breath and slowly powered down the screen on her desk.

  “Well, how much time do you have?”

  I reminded her that I had no knowledge from before my escape.

  “I know, Jennifer, I was just being derisive. So you really don’t remember anything?”

  I shook my head.

  “Well, I’ll tell you this. Life was a lot different from what it is now. Everyone had everything they ever needed and then some. We were really amazing before all of this happened.”

  “Mr. Wellstone, I mean, Doc said this started on the East Coast and it moved rapidly.”

  “Yes, it did. So much in fact that no one was prepared for it. That’s why it killed or infected so many. And the virus came at the worst possible time as well, with the weather and all.”

  “What do you mean? You mean the weather caused this?”

  She nodded. “It was one of many rumors, but yes, some thought the virus moved much faster through warmer climates, but that’s true with most viruses. Anyway, the world warmed up, and things got off track from the society we had before.”