Delivered: A Young Adult Dystopian Romance (The State Series Book 7)

by M. J. Kaestli

  “Don’t give me this crap,” he said, his tone growing more confrontational. “Anyone who sits guard by the access points knows the rations aren’t equal. We have to eat that mushy freeze dried garbage for three days straight, while everyone else here gets to eat a hot meal every day. I’m not missing out on what’s left of that deer meat, that I shot and dragged back here myself.”

  A burning anger ignited in her core. “Samuel, I’m sure the dried rations are less desirable, but we don’t yet have a way to get hot meals to the people on guard. I know this has been and adjustment for everyone—”

  “An adjustment,” he bellowed. “I don’t see you taking any guard shifts. And I hear you had military experience. Wouldn’t you be better qualified than anyone else here?” He looked around to encourage others to listen. “But no. Because you used to be someone important, you just want to sit on your ass in a fancy office while the rest of us do all the heavy lifting.”

  Her blood boiled. She took a deep breath in and spoke through clenched teeth. “Samuel, you will remove yourself from this line. You will willingly do this right now. From now on, you will take one plate at mealtime, like everyone else.”

  She stepped back and looked around the common room. “And just so everyone else is clear, you only get one plate of food, and all meals are to be eaten here in this common room.”

  Freya snapped her head back to Samuel, arcing a brow with wide eyes. He hesitated, his coloring flushed, before he stepped out of line and stormed out of the common room.

  She could feel the heat flush in her skin. It seemed everyone was looking at her, until she uncomfortably looked away. She rammed her trembling hands into her uniforms pockets—the same linen jumpsuit she wore as a greenhouse worker.

  The room fogged in her mind, as though she saw it through a blurred lens. Before she was conscious of it, she tucked back in at her table with Laura. Freya looked down at her half-eaten plate. Her stomach churned at the sight.

  Because of the anti-waste rules, she had to finish her meal. But she couldn’t eat it. Not now. But she didn’t have a choice. As she had just clearly stated, all plates must be finished in the common room. She couldn’t take it with her to finish later. Plus, everyone received equal portions, which prevented her from offering her plate to Laura or someone else.

  Her eyes scanned over the leathery, now cold, hunk of meat. Normally, she didn’t care for meat, but now, it repulsed her. Her hands still trembled, but she raised her fork and knife to cut into the hard, dry lump.

  “That guy is a jerk,” Laura whispered. “You should have seen him when we went hunting.”

  Freya leaned in. “I know. Aakil told me. He’s worried about Samuel and thinks we need to do something about him.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “I don’t know.” Freya sawed into the hunk of meat. “Can you come and help the kitchen staff at mealtime, to police who gets what plate?”

  Laura’s brows knitted together. “And how would I do that?”

  Freya’s jaw churned the dry meat in her mouth, quickly drowning it with a sip of water. “I’m not sure. Back in my day, people just placed their palm on the scanner, and the system alerted the kitchen staff to what plate they received. I don’t know how to monitor the rations other than for someone to stand at the head of the line, and record everyone’s name on a tablet, double-checking that each person only took one plate.”

  Laura rubbed her chin. “So, wouldn’t turning on the Security system be much easier? Would you need an extra hand then? I mean, I don’t mind helping out with anything you need, as long as that task makes sense. I know that our food needs to be monitored, but I also know we have only one medic and she is worried about what happens if a bunch of babies come at the same time, or there’s an accident, or illness. She needs another set of hands.”

  “We all do.” Freya sighed. “Every department. The kitchen, gardens, cleaning, clinic, and those are just the basics. What about the children? They should have some type of schooling, but who can teach them when we need their mothers to perform other tasks?”

  “I hear a couple of women are helping in the Security area. They’ve got kids in there, playing when these women are supposed to be watching the doors.”

  Freya washed down another repulsive bite. “Aakil went to an access point to see if he could weld it shut. If we can seal them, we’ll need fewer guards.”

  Laura’s eyes brightened. “That’s a great idea! Then we have more people here. If we close off the ones furthest away, the guards can sleep in their own beds at night.”

  “And we would have better control of our rations.” Freya cut into her meat again. “It sounds good. But I also worry about sealing ourselves inside if anything goes wrong.”

  Laura held her gaze, then gave a half shrug. “I don’t think running out of here is an option.”

  “That’s exactly the problem. We don’t have options. There is no failsafe.”

  “We’ll make it through this.”

  Freya only nodded, looking down at her plate. She wanted to believe Laura was right, but doubt clouded her thoughts. If she had to turn on the Security system just to ensure people ate their fair share of rations, what will happen when their rations run out?

  Chapter 33

  Freya

  Each day passed in a blur, yet each hour felt as though it dragged on forever. It was as though she walked through the day in a waking sleep yet couldn’t make herself slow down.

  This was the last greenhouse she intended to seed. Perhaps if they survived for five years or more inside the dome, then she would seed another. But even with the additional burden of growing potatoes in leu of serving rice, she felt they should yield enough of a crop until after the next baby boom.

  Once Freya moved the heavy bucket over to the planters, she scooped out bowls of the sprouted potato eyes for planting. Once she finished this greenhouse, it would all get easier. Each day, they would only need to check the soil’s moisture levels, the room’s temperature and sunlight exposure, and wait for the vegetables to sprout. Tomorrow, Freya could disperse most of her workers to the kitchens to help with monitoring rations.

  “Hey, Freya,” Laura said.

  Freya flinched. “What are you doing here?”

  Laura smiled tensely. “Colin popped by the clinic and asked me to join you this evening.”

  Freya grimaced. “Did he send you in his place?”

  “No, I believe he’s coming, and bringing Aakil with him.”

  Freya’s stomach churned. “Oh.” She attempted a tired smile. “I appreciate the extra help. I’m almost finished planting this greenhouse.”

  “That’s great!” Lara looked around. “What can I do to help?”

  “Help me plant these.” Freya gestured to the soil beds surrounding her.

  Laura nodded and got straight to work. The seeding was so close to completion, Freya could taste it. Then maybe once all the greenhouses were complete, she could spend some time idly sitting around in her former office, as Samuel had accused her of doing.

  In reality, that was exactly what she needed to do, and not just to relieve her aching body. Decisions needed to be made; systems put into place. She needed time with her team to come up with solutions that would be the best for everyone, to ensure their survival and focus their efforts against the State.

  They needed a plan, and they needed it before their rations ran out. There would be a time of hunger, but the severity of their upcoming famine was still unknown. They had all been too busy working long days to assess their rations.

  Laura responded with a shrug as she accepted the tool and instructions. In tandem, they continued planting in a seamless rhythm until Colin and Aakil strolled into the greenhouse.

  “Freya,” Colin said, “How much have you got left to do tonight?”

  “Just six beds.”

  “We’re on it.” Colin quickly got to work, instructing Aakil as they went along. In no time, they met in the m
iddle, the greenhouse seeding complete.

  “Good,” Aakil said, “so should we talk here or go somewhere else?”

  Without waiting for a response, Freya knelt down, and almost immediately flopped onto her side, then sprawled out on the cool tile. The tension in her back eased almost on contact. “I vote we talk here. If I’m going anywhere, it’s straight to bed.”

  Everyone got down on the floor, struggling to find their own comfort.

  “How about I go first,” Aakil began. “I think I’ve figured out a way to seal off the access points. I found a lot of tools and scrap metal, and most importantly, a blowtorch. I’m going to weld the door shut, then install a bolt to ensure that even if they ram the door and manage to snap the fused metal, that the bar will also hinder them from getting inside.”

  Freya rolled her head to look at him. “I don’t feel you’re confident it will hold.”

  Aakil shrugged. “There’s a chance they can get past it with the right tools. But there are two doors they have to get through. We’ll be blind while they work through the first, and once they breach that one we’ll get them on camera.”

  “And then what?”

  Colin leaned forward, resting his elbows on his crossed legs. “Well, I’ll say it since you’re not going to like it.”

  “Thanks!” Aakil said.

  Colin sneered at him, then faced Freya once again. “We need to reactivate the Security system.”

  She exhaled a heavy breath.

  “I’ve located a portable scanner,” Colin continued. “Starting tomorrow, we’ll collect electronic scans of everyone’s palms, and get them entered into the system. That’ll solve a lot of other problems we’re having, as well as slowing the progress of any soldiers from approaching if they breach our sealed surface accesses.”

  She stretched her back, curling it into an arch, then rolled down. “I suppose you’re going to tell me that we have no other options.”

  Aakil and Colin shared a look before Aakil answered. “There are always other options, just not any good ones.”

  She pushed up, squatting on her heels. “Are you saying this is it? That’s our best option to seal off access points and the surrounding areas is with the old Security system.”

  After the group’s hesitation, Aakil cleared his throat. “We need all the help we can get against the State’s military. Our army likes to act tough with their guns, yet most of us have never used one before. How are we going to win in a firefight against the State’s goons who only take a break from target practice to do push-ups?”

  Colin kept his gaze on the ground. “Freya, we need Security for food rations too. You know that. Samuel has been causing problems. He’s getting everyone all riled up. And maybe if we were there to defend ourselves, it would be one thing, but while all our backs have been turned, well, it’s getting ugly.”

  “Yeah,” Aakil added. “Apparently he’s saying that all the people from Hope deserve more rations than the rest of us because they’re our army, and they need to be strong for battle.”

  “Yeah, they need to be strong to sit on their asses,” Laura scoffed.

  “Also,” Colin said, “They’ve been bullying all the dome and colony people, saying it’s their fault we’re in this mess.”

  “Meaning us as well,” Freya said. “I’m just afraid that if we put that level of control in place, people will revolt.”

  “They will anyway,” Aakil said. “Samuel thinks his group is superior to the rest of us—yes, you and Colin included. You have to understand; the people in Idaho were nice to us because they needed us.” He lifted a hand to gesture to Laura. “No offence. And so, we lived with them as equals. But add the rest of us together, and we outnumber the army from Hope. They want to be in charge, and could easily forget who the real enemy is.”

  Freya pinched the bridge of her nose. “I hate this.”

  “I know,” Colin said. “But we’ve got to reel them in before things get worse. And, they’re going to get a hell of a lot worse before they get better.”

  It seemed Colin and Aakil had already sorted all of this out without her. “So then, what’s the plan?”

  “Well,” Laura jumped in. “Gwen has recovered enough to get bored. I’ve volunteered for the two of us to scan everyone’s palms and input their information into the database.”

  Freya’s brows knitted together. “And you know how to do that?”

  “No, do you?”

  Freya smacked her lips together. “Point taken. You want to start this tomorrow? Gwen and Laura collect hand scans, and Aakil, you have a team to seal off access to the surface. I can take some time away from the greenhouses, so what do you need from me?”

  Colin smiled softly. “We need you to be the politician and give an address inside the dome, so everyone hears the news at the same time, even the guards.”

  “And you can redirect the signal to only broadcast inside the mountain?”

  “Already done,” Aakil said. “Tomorrow morning, you need to go to the State House to do a broadcast. You need to talk about our need to tighten rations and start diverting larger portions to pregnant women and guards.”

  Freya sighed. “How bad is it?”

  “Well,” Colin began, “It would be a lot better if it weren’t for Samuel.”

  “He’s still taking a second plate,” Laura said, “and the kitchen staff are afraid of him.”

  “We hope this sends a message,” Colin said, “before it’s too late.”

  Freya nodded, too exhausted to get up. All she wanted to do was fall asleep, right there on the cold tile floor. Despite her exhaustion, she knew her mind wouldn’t settle until she wrote her speech, or at least a first pass.

  Without another word, she forced her aching body off the floor and began the strenuous journey back to her apartment. She had work to do.

  Chapter 34

  One Week Later

  A small sprout. Just a tiny sprig of green bursting through the dark soil filled her heart with hope. Most of the beds in each greenhouse had little tufts of green peppered amongst the soft, dark soil.

  Staring down at the dirt caused her conflicting emotions to collide: crippling doubt and hope for things to come. How long could they go hungry? She didn’t know. No one there had ever seen someone die of starvation.

  Colin said there were times of hunger the first few years at the colony, but no one died. Nothing more dramatic than complaints, lethargy, and flared tempers. But here, now, the possibilities terrified her.

  Aakil had successfully sealed an access, or at least they all hoped it was successful. Each day the State’s guards rotated, returning to the mountain. Each day the fresh set returned with more tools and a new plan to get inside the dome.

  It amazed Freya that the military still believed it was necessary to protect themselves from exposure. She questioned who those soldiers thought was inside the dome. What web had the High Council spun? Or was the State’s military too devoted to ask question regarding hazmat suits?

  With any luck, the access Aakil sealed would hold and soon, he’d have the next access sealed as well. It wasn’t just their general kitchen rations which ran low, but the freeze-dried packs the State had sent from the mountain for the working crews.

  Right now, they needed to reduce the number of guards posted at the access points. Each guard’s rations were already reduced to one freeze-dried pack per day, which wasn’t enough for anyone. Soon, they wouldn’t have any rations left. Hungry, lethargic guards wouldn’t keep them safe for long.

  Reactivating the Security system had received mixed reactions. It seemed Samuel and his crew fell into line as far as rations went, but their bullying behaviors increased. Regardless of her minor victory, Freya suspected their toxic behaviors would escalate as their hunger grew.

  It couldn’t get worse. If it did, their people’s safety, their way of life, and their plans to fight the State would crumble. Fights would erupt, causing injuries they couldn’t afford. She knew they ne
eded to do something about Samuel, but how could they discipline the leader of their army?

  She lifted a spray bottle, misting the small sprouts. If the plants were a little more stable or a little less important, she would switch to a watering can. But not with these precious little buds. A light mist daily mimicking the kiss of a gentle rain would be worth the extra efforts.

  Her daily routine had come together: she visited one greenhouse, performing a few hours of maintenance before she went to the laundry room where she washed and folded for a stint. Afterwards, she went to the main Security hub, where she helped Colin review footage so they could better understand the tactics of the military and keep an eye on Samuel and his gang.