by RM Hamrick
“You’ve already lost a reader. This one will cost double.”
Audra gave a puzzled look.
“I’ve never lost a reader. Look again.”
“Sorry Audra, it says you lost one last year. Serial number 23.”
“I never had 23. Mine was 9.”
The receptionist showed signs of impatience.
“Well, bring back your reader and we will read the number on it.”
Audra glared at Rosie. They were typically cordial, but Rosie’s trust in her sloppy paperwork annoyed Audra. And she wanted to know what was written in her chart that suddenly made her down two readers. Every step back she encountered with Lysent flashed through her mind. Had everything been perfectly balanced to leave her screwed without her realizing?
Audra sighed.
“What is my account at?”
“With the THIRD reader, the visit today, and the month’s rent since you were last here… 1.8 million credits. 1.2 if you bring back the reader this time.”
How could she be in worse shape than when she walked in with Belinda? She had been working for years. Rosie distracted herself by pushing paperwork around on her desk.
“Fine. Let me see my sister.”
“Sure, give us an hour and we will be ready.”
An hour later, Clyde escorted Audra farther onto the campus, which looked something in between a hospital and a prison. Clyde had aged more than the three years they had known each other. He had lost muscle mass, leaving him as thin as any other Lysent office worker. But Audra knew he was deceptively strong. If a zombie had crossed the front plaza, Clyde had manhandled it. He escorted both claimed and collateral zoms around the property. He wore his white robe which was not commensurate with his job, but with his status. Audra had never questioned it, but now she questioned everything. Why did they have time to be clean and sparkly? Where did they get such nice fabric when she only had the shirt on her back?
A man in a white lab coat was waiting for Clyde and Audra in the front lobby.
“This way,” he said without greeting as he turned down the hall.
Audra waved her goodbye to Clyde as she followed, feeling like a kid in trouble at school. This was “the hotel” where zoms were stored and awakened. The windowed front rooms showed the rich their loved ones’ accommodations. Zoms often occupied the rooms, “in holding” to be awakened. Audra swore she saw repeats though as if they were on rotation. Audra had ignored it, just as she had ignored the fact she had never met a success story from the indentured tagging program. She had overlooked a lot in the process of helping her sister.
Her escort opened the door to the visitation room. Audra looked farther down the hall before entering. She had once asked for a tour but was told it would stress out the “guests.” They reported the scientists were trained to keep the guests perfectly calm and healthy. Audra wondered what it looked like back there. How many zoms? How much space did Belinda have?
“Just come out when you are ready,” he prompted.
Floor to ceiling acrylic glass split the white sterile room in half. Drilled holes at the top and bottom of the glass equalized the air pressure. On her side, a white pine chair sat for her convenience. On the other side, stood an almost stranger in a white jumpsuit with thinning hair and a sallow complexion. She stared at one of the opaque side walls, unmoving. Audra noticed less and less movement from her sister with each visit. Was it because she was left in the dark between visits? Maybe the hour was to help her adjust to the light of the room.
Audra walked forward until her body leaned against the glass. She used her full palm to tap twice on the surface. Belinda’s blond head turned slowly toward the noise. She stood for a moment looking at the frozen image of Audra. Belinda appeared intact but empty.
“Hi, Belinda.”
Belinda’s jaw dropped and her body pivoted. She walked with a small stagger, each step slow and shuffling. Audra remained still with her hand on the glass and watched as her sister came to meet her. She was the same height. They had the same cheekbones, but even in ruin, Belinda’s beauty was undeniable. Belinda’s mouth opened wide to capture Audra’s. On close inspection, Audra noticed Belinda’s skin drooped on her cheekbones.
“I’m sorry you’re still in here.”
Belinda’s bare feet kept tapping the bottom of the wall as she continued her walk. Audra looked down at her feet. They were clean and unbruised. Were the baseboards in her room padded? Did she have a room at all? Audra had handed over Belinda to Lysent, burying herself in debt. She was not sure if they had started the epidemic, but they had started this lie. Audra wished she had never approached them.
Belinda followed Audra as she walked along the room to one corner. Audra knelt down and stuck her knife into one of the holes. Careful to avoid Belinda, she sawed at it to test its durability. It gave way, but slowly. Audra would need another tool to cut enough acrylic to access her sister, but at least it was an option.
Belinda dropped down to her level.
“I promise I’ll make it right,” Audra whispered.
Audra heard the door behind her swing open. Her fingertips guided her knife up her sleeve as she turned on her heels to look. She was shocked to see Larange Greenly standing there, two guards on either side. Had she set off a silent alarm? With no other option, she shot a surprised and annoyed look at the person interrupting family time.
“I am sorry to bother you, Miss Audra. I heard you were here, visiting your sister. How is she?”
Audra’s anger simmered in her chest above her heart and threatened to overflow from her collarbone. In truth, Audra did not know how her sister was doing. They were on opposite sides of acrylic. And on this side, Audra wondered, for the first time, if she should incite change with her knife hidden in her sleeve and the leader at arm’s reach. Audra imagined that was why she was escorted by guards even within her own walls.
“You should know how she’s doing. You’re the one in charge of this shin-dig.”
Why was Greenly bothering her now? They had not met since she’d asked to be a tagger those years ago. Greenly had better things to do than to confront an indentured tagger, didn’t she? The audacity overwhelmed her.
“In fact,” Audra continued, “you’ve been in charge from the start, so I’ve heard, anyway. I was just a child when this virus broke out. Seems odd that such a big biomedical, communications, blah blah blah company dutied to fight the virus as it swept the nation could still land on top at the end.”
Audra stared Greenly down as she spoke and saw her eyes dodge hers almost imperceptibly. Audra searched her face for the truth, but the flinch disappeared as Greenly retorted.
“From your current status, it seems, my dear, that you have no idea how to manage your own personal finances, much less know what big business is all about. I heard you’ve lost another of our readers. Those are very valuable. Something will have to be done if your account continues further in the red.”
Greenly’s eyes moved from Audra to the girl behind the glass, pointedly. Her face withered into disgust at the presence of her charge.
“I think I know exactly what this big business is about.”
* * *
A few blocks away from the corporation campus, Dwyn approached her with two oat bars in his hand. He was anxious to feed her again. They had gotten quite weak during their time out. Audra waved him off as she picked up speed and ran out of the village. Lysent was watching her. And while they already knew Dwyn tagged with her, she didn’t want them to know how close they had gotten. Audra didn’t even like how close they had gotten. But she didn’t have time to think about that. She needed to wrap her mind around meeting Greenly. A drink was tempting, but she had no money to her name. So instead, she went for a run. There was no better place to think than on a run.
The runner stayed on the well-traveled path. The soft pounding of her feet ushered her thoughts. It was clear the indentured path would never work. Greenly would never let her or her sister out of the c
ontract. She was too valuable as a tagger and Belinda was her motivation. In a world of uncontrollable zombies, Greenly settled for power over individuals. Greenly had made that clear by arriving in person to the visitation room. She used Belinda, but Audra could use Belinda, too. Surviving the week to find her sister still alive, gave her a new sense of urgency. She had tagged for three years now. If she wanted their lives back, she was going to have to fight for it. Vesna’s group was a new opportunity and for now, her best bet.
As if her decision dictated the run, she found herself back near the village gate. There, Dwyn waited. He hadn’t waited to eat though.
“How is Belinda?” he asked as he handed Audra a half-eaten bar.
Out of sight of the village, they walked farther away from possible ears.
“She looked OK. You guys are right, though. That place is not what it seems.”
She described her encounter to Dwyn.
“Why is Greenly suddenly interested in you?”
Audra shrugged her shoulders. Greenly had seemed amused when Audra had arrived a rail-thin girl accompanying her infected sister, asking to go on dangerous missions for the chance to wake her up. She had gone through the ranks of taggers, and now, as Audra saw it, often cut down by the corporation when her own failures did not see an end to it. Her stomach boiled with the revelation. She handed back the oat bar and they ran to Vesna’s village. She needed to talk with her.
The open-air market housed many vendors, but Vesna ran a Lysent-sponsored supply shop which carried hard-to-find items. Rather than drag everything in and out of the market, Vesna ran her shop. Dwyn explained Vesna had to do paperwork on any unusual purchases, like laboratory equipment or big weapons, but otherwise, it put her in a great position to supply a rebellion.
They entered the little cottage on the main drag. Equipment for camping, farming, and hunting was stacked along the walls and on the shelves. Vesna was the only occupant.
“How is your sister?” Vesna asked as she popped her head out from under the front counter.
Dwyn’s and Vesna's concern for her sister surprised Audra. Few in the world inquired about her and her sister's life. Audra answered, not mentioning Greenly’s visit. Dwyn noticed but did not interrupt. Audra was not there to share but to gather information. Just because she was not on Lysent’s side, did not mean she should default to Vesna’s.
“Where are you from? What did you do before?” Audra asked.
If Vesna was taken aback by the personal question, she did not show it. Audra was showing interest in their group. It was a good thing. Vesna’s face dimmed as she recalled her prior life.
“I was a mother and an attorney. I lived in what used to be North Carolina with my family. They are all gone now. Lysent recommended we burn all the bodies and the state government complied.”
With every syllable addressing Lysent, her shoulders hunched more in anger.
“I’ve hated them from the start. I think they started all of this. As a lawyer, I was involved in a few suits against them. I know what they are about.”
Audra recognized a strong ally with hatred coursing through her veins. While they had dissimilar goals, they had a common enemy and the same strong thread of motivation. They were both the last of their families. If all of Lysent fell, it would be the last of that “family” as well. She cut the interrogation short.
“I will help if you help retrieve my sister and cure her.”
Vesna nodded, her face almost grim with seriousness. Her anger still intense. But Dwyn broke into a large grin.
“Hand over your reader. Let’s open it up,” commanded Vesna.
Audra jerked back. She had just gone down the hole another 0.6 million credits to get this damn reader. She didn’t even have a backpack to put it in. Now her new leader wanted to break it open?
“I’ll be careful. Readers send out your GPS signal when you submit a find, but we need to make sure they did not doctor this one to track your movements.”
Audra sighed but gave her the device. Vesna pulled out a screwdriver and carefully pried it apart. Vesna looked it over and seemed satisfied.
“It’s clean. It will only transmit your location when you read DNA and submit it.”
“So, I still have to be careful where I submit DNA. They will know where I am and possibly guess where I’m going.”
“Yes, that’s correct, but we also can use that to our advantage. Eat up, and you can sleep here tonight. Dwyn will give you details of your first mission. You’ll get supplies tomorrow.”
“I’d rather sleep in a tent. Do you have a tent I could borrow?”
“If you want to sleep in a tent, you might as well resupply now. Take what you need.” Vesna swept her hand to gesture at the entire store.
Audra looked over at the shelves of equipment. Working with Vesna was a good choice. She picked up the lightest pack she could find and layered it with a small tent, blanket, a light cooking pot, a canteen, and food. Audra had never collected so many things at once. She had worked hard for every piece of equipment in her pack, especially that tent. Audra tested the weight of the pack. Some of the things were heavier than she desired but necessary to have.
As Audra gave her thanks and started to leave, Vesna turned to Dwyn.
“Oh and see that she does not get into trouble.”
Dwyn did not acknowledge the command. Audra let out a “humph” of disapproval but did not pick a fight, since she had an entire pack of gifts. It appeared her recruitment did little to soften Vesna’s directions.
The pair walked out and into the late sunshine. Dwyn tilted his head to look at his partner, whose mind had already wandered to the nearest moonshiner’s hideout, around the corner on a dusty road. The shiner’s specialty was “blue moon corn,” but Audra only cared about the alcohol content. Perhaps she could work for a few drinks?
Dwyn interrupted her thoughts without confronting their contents.
“Want to go for a test run with our new packs?”
CHAPTER SEVEN
It was not quite dawn when Dwyn stuck his head into Audra’s tent.
“They are here.”
“Have them be here later. It’s not even light out.”
“They’re… an enthusiastic bunch.”
Dwyn had spoken the truth. When Audra stumbled out, a hand thrust itself into her personal space as an engineer greeted the sleepy woman.
“It is such a pleasure to meet you! We’ve been waiting weeks to move onto the next phase in the development. I’m Ryder, by the way. We can’t work in the village anymore without risking being detected,” the young woman with spiked brown hair chattered on as Audra mustered the patience.
Ryder’s two partners stood back. One gave a little wave, but neither looked keen to be outside the fences. Ryder introduced them. Ziv had long hair and a full beard that took over much of his thin frame. Satomi looked younger than Ryder if that was possible. Her dark hair shimmered in the sunlight as she brushed it out of her face nervously. Audra noticed Dwyn’s grin was larger and goofier this morning.
Audra sighed when she looked past the trio to their four large wagons of stuff they would take to the laboratory.
“You can’t transport all of this in one trip,” Audra said with an air of impatience.
This trip would be a long one if she was going to pull somebody else’s wagon of unneeded crap. Ryder smiled.
“Yes, I guess we have a lot of equipment, but…” Ryder said, pulling out a remote with joysticks on it, “all the wagons are solar powered and remote controlled. As long as we stay on the road, it shouldn’t be too hard for the wagons to match our pace.”
Audra’s eyebrows rose as one of the carts picked up speed and traveled down the road.
“Impressive,” said Audra.
Here she was with nothing to her name, and this girl was making solar powered motor vehicles.
“…I had some time while we were waiting for you guys,” said Ryder with a shrug.
Audra stepped
back and addressed the group.
“OK, listen up. Dwyn and I will take turns taking point, so we don’t stumble into any herds or corrals. The other will stay close to the group to guard against lateral movements from zoms and to protect our backside. I don’t know how much experience you have with zombies but stay away from the end that bites. They are attracted to loud sounds, bright visual stimuli, and human smells. Please avoid being those things.”
“Yes,” said Satomi, “those are all housed in the lower brain.”
Knowing anatomy was not the same as being able to survive a zom attack, but Audra nodded. At least Satomi and Ryder were engaging in what she was saying. That was a good sign. Ziv just shuffled from foot to foot. Maybe he would get eaten.
Ryder thanked Audra, and they were soon on their way. Months ago, Dwyn had located the laboratory through old paperwork and maps. He had visited, but there were too many zombies for him to clear out on his own. The lab was thirty miles down the highway, and then ten miles off. Dwyn would explain the situation at the lab en route.
Boredom set in for the new explorers. Ziv was the loudest, complaining about blisters after just two hours. Audra was not sure how hard to push them. She did not want to stress them, but she also did not want to spend the rest of her life walking forty miles. Audra could do that in a day and a half, at leisure. This was painfully slower than leisurely pace and occasionally interrupted by a cart flipping and tossing all its contents. She tried to distance everyone from their displeasure, including her own, by learning more about the new team.
Ryder had worked with the antidote at Lysent. Her parents had been Lysent scientists, and she was recruited at a young age. No one at Lysent had been able to tell her how the antidote was developed. It just existed. When she’d learned that she was just replicating limited batches of doses without work to advance their knowledge or better help the country, she had looked for ways to leave.
Ziv had taught biochemistry at a local college but was quick to point out that he had little practical experience. He offered no information on what he had been doing since. Audra gathered it was not much. He was not pleasant to talk to, so Audra did not try.
