by RJ Crayton
With that, Natalie walked out, and a moment later, Elaan heard Natalie shut and lock her own bedroom door.
Elaan was alone, and with way more questions than answers.
Chapter 11 - Lijah
It was odd. When the door opened again, he thought his mother would enter and chat with the three of them, much the same way Elaan had. But it wasn’t the same. Not at all. His mother entered wearing surgical gloves, a mask, and rolling an instrument cart with syringes on it.
“Alex needs a blood sample from you all,” she said. “And since I’ve survived the virus, he thought it best that I get it.”
Survived the virus. His first instinct was to call bullshit on that, but he figured if he did, his mother would end up in this cell with him. So that was not a good option. But he did wonder what was going on outside this room.
“Alright,” Lijah said. He stepped forward, pulled up his sleeve and presented his bare arm.
She told him to take a seat, and he realized that was probably best for a blood draw. She knelt and took his blood, discarding the gloves in a red hazmat bag attached to the rolling cart. She pulled on new gloves, got a new needle from the cart, and repeated the procedure with Josh and Amadu. She didn’t chatter. When anyone tried to speak to her about anything that didn't involve the blood draw, she was terse and monosyllabic. She cut them to the quick with a glance. The room, he realized, way too late, was monitored.
His mother knew, and she didn’t intend to talk to him here. She didn’t intend to tip her hand to whomever was watching them. Presumably Alex Caldwell.
Ruthless, Josh had called him. That seemed an understatement. Though, Shonda had dealt with him before, if what Elaan said was true. She understood him and was trying to play him. Only Elaan had just let go of every secret she had. Well, as he thought about it, Elaan’s tirade hadn’t actually revealed secrets. In it, she’d simply railed against Alex and frankly expressed concern that their mother wasn’t just pretending to be nice, that she actually had feelings for this guy. If Elaan wasn’t convinced that Shonda was faking, that had to bolster Caldwell’s opinion of himself, of his chances at reclaiming the woman he apparently still wanted.
When Shonda had finished the blood draws, disposed of the gloves and removed her mask, she hugged Lijah. “I’m sorry I can’t stay long tonight,” she said, releasing him. Then, she reached out and pulled one of his hands into both of hers. “Know that I love you, and I’m doing everything I can to get you guys moved from quarantine. A look at your labs should help, alright. Wash up and get to bed.”
He nodded at his mother, trying to look appreciative of her words, trying to hide the shock of what she’d just done. His eyes met hers and tried to express knowledge of her act without notice. She pulled her hand away from his slowly, and he managed, he hoped, to hide the folded paper she’d deposited there when she’d clasped his hand. The paper hidden in his fist, he smiled at his mom. “Thanks for coming.”
With that, she grabbed her cart, knocked on the door, and a guard opened it. She wheeled the cart out, and they were alone again.
“Why wouldn’t she talk to us?” Josh asked.
Lijah shrugged. “Stress, maybe.” He wasn’t sure he wanted to say aloud the room was bugged. He thought Josh would have figured it out by his mother’s silence. He’d have to hint to him later about the idea that they were being listened to. Though, Josh had been the one who was adamant that they leave. “She said she’s working on getting us out of here. That’s the important thing. If she says she can get us out of here, we have to sit tight and trust her.”
Amadu chimed in at this point. “She’s a woman of her word,” he said.
Lijah turned and offered a grateful smile. He didn’t want to have to convince two people of that. He was glad Amadu was on his side.
“I’m going to wash up and get ready for bed,” Lijah said, and walked to the bathroom. He closed the door, closed the lid on the toilet, turned on the water at the sink, and sat down. He unfolded the sheet to see she’d printed a short note in tiny letters.
Alex is a difficult person, but I think he’ll help us with the right prodding. I need you to be supportive of him. We can achieve what we came here for and help your father. It will require sacrifice from all of us. No matter what happens, know that I love you and your sister. I have to make some hard choices right now. But I promise you I love you. Both of you.
-Mom (Please destroy this note.)
He wasn’t sure what to make of it. Hard choices. What did that even mean? He read the note once more, then ripped it to pieces and deposited it in the toilet. As he flushed it down, he knew that his mother’s hard choices were going to involve him, and he sighed. Sacrifices always seemed to fall on him.
Chapter 12 - Elaan
Elaan hadn’t slept well. She’d dreamt about a bizarre movie she’d seen on Netflix, Flowers in the Attic. She, Lijah, her mother, and Alex were the movie’s stars. In the real film, the mother locked her children in the attic and tried to kill them with rat poison so she could marry her new lover and inherit her father’s fortune. But in the dream, her mother was with Alex, destroying pictures of her father, saying how awful Jim was. And her mother locked Lijah and her in a room, and kept giving them rat-poisoned cookies that they knew they shouldn’t eat, but they did. Finally, Natalie rescued them, or so they thought. Elaan had thought Natalie released them out of kindness, but then Natalie took them uptop and turned them both over to military officials. Men in uniform said they would take Lijah to Facility One and Elaan to the facility in Charlottesville, Virginia.
She awoke from the dream with a start. Her room was dark, but that was meaningless here. She’d gotten used to the natural light waking her at the house at Maple Leaf Lake. But here, back in an SPU, there was always darkness at night. No natural signs for your body to get out of bed.
Turning to look at the clock, she saw it was nine a.m. She’d slept late. Though, she was tired, after her late-night visit. She got out of bed and walked down the hallway to the living room. There was a table in there, but people weren’t supposed to have food in their rooms. At least, that’s how it had been in her SPU. Perhaps this one was different. Alex had brought food for them into his unit.
The room was empty. She wondered for a moment if Natalie was still there, but asleep. She doubted it, though. Anyone in an SPU would likely have some type of work to perform. Most people, unless they were children, had jobs. She wondered how Natalie had gotten here. She was definitely Lee’s daughter. She’d basically admitted to that. But how would she wind up here? It didn’t make a lot of sense.
Elaan was startled when she heard the key in the lock, but realized it must have been Natalie coming home. She turned to face her, to find out what the plan was for the day. Was Elaan just supposed to sit around this apartment or could she see her mother? At some point, maybe Elaan would just venture out on her own. She wasn’t like Lijah, locked in a room with a guard standing outside.
When the door opened, Elaan was unable to hide her surprise. It was Alex. He was dressed in a lab coat and carried a leather satchel on his shoulder.
“Hey,” he said, closing the door behind them. “You’re up. I’m glad.”
She nodded but didn’t have any words. Why did he have a key to Natalie’s place? And what did he want?
“I was hoping to talk to you. Do you have a minute?”
She had all the time in the world, as she was stuck in this room, per his orders. She smiled at him and felt glad she’d worn drawstring pants and a shirt to bed. “Sure,” Elaan said, grabbing a seat at the table in the room.
Alex walked over and joined her. She tried to look friendly. Her mother had asked her to be nice, and Lijah had told her to listen to her mother. She was outvoted, and perhaps being nice would glean her more information.
“I’m concerned,” Alex said, his hands crossed in front of him on the table. “I feel like you’re not happy here.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Elaan said.
“I think I just was unhappy to be brought here against my will. No one would like that. Not even you, right?”
“Well of course not,” he admitted. “I just thought once I explained things, you’d settle down a bit.”
“I would,” she said. “But you haven’t explained things. I still don’t know why we’re here. You had orders to search a house, but you didn’t have orders to bring us back here and keep us. And you haven’t said what you intend to do with us.”
“I’ve told you, and more specifically, I’ve told your mother, I would protect her,” he said.
“Fine, you’ll protect us,” Elaan said. “Thanks.” She couldn’t hide her irritation. Was he really going to continue to lie to the people in charge about finding nothing? She doubted it. He seemed to have an end game.
“You don’t like me, do you?” he said, bluntly.
Be nice. Be nice. Be nice. She took a moment to think of how to respond. “I just don’t know you,” she said. “I find it hard to warm up to people I don’t know.”
He nodded. “Your mother was the same way when she was young. Guarded. But once she opened up, it was like heaven.”
Elaan knew she’d started to scowl, so she tried to push her mouth into an expression that rang more neutral. Though, she would never pretend to be happy when he spouted that type of crap.
He pulled a manila folder from his bag and set it on the table. “It seems like your time in the SPU and traveling have left you with some gaps in your knowledge about the world. I thought you’d find these printouts useful. There’s a secret group, an underground blog that writes stories. The world is very different now, and I’m here to help you, if you want it. If you don’t want my help, I can respect that, too.”
Respect that. She doubted it. He seemed to have real issues with boundaries. She lifted the manila folder, which wasn’t particularly thick with papers. Probably only a dozen or so sheets. “I’d like to see my mother,” Elaan said. “Where is she? Why didn’t she move with me?”
“She thought it best for you two to have some space.”
Elaan’s eyes widened and she almost let slip, Bullshit. She managed to hold it in, just barely. “Tell her, she was wrong,” Elaan said.
Alex smiled, stood. “I will. In the meantime, I’ll need you to stay put here. I really can’t have you out and about.”
“What if I need something?”
He looked around the room. “If you’ll notice, these are the deluxe suites, meant for command, and they have private bathrooms, unlike the regular suites, which use communal restrooms. Just stay here, and I’ll have Natalie bring you some breakfast, along with some books and a laptop. I believe we have some DVDs you can watch.”
Trapped. “How do I reach my mother?” She looked around the room. There should be a phone in here. “What’s your extension?”
“That’s not necessary,” he said. “The phone has been removed from this unit. I’ll send your mother up in an hour or so. At the moment, I need her assistance in the lab.”
With that, he turned and left.
* * *
Alone with nothing else to do, Elaan had settled on the sofa and opened the manila folder. They appeared to be printouts from the internet. The first was an article on the president’s death and Thoreaux being named his successor. She was never really into politics, so she hadn’t heard much about Jackson Nelson Thoreaux. The bio was interesting. He was said to be so vigilant in his beliefs that he made Ted Cruz look like a sinner. That seemed odd.
She scanned the article, which was kind of biased toward openly religious folks, as if all people of faith were religious nuts. Sure zealotry in any field was bad, but belief didn’t make you a zealot. If you didn’t have faith in anything, you were probably a lost soul. She didn’t like the undertone of the article. She scanned the top of the page for the web address. She’d never heard of the site.
The next page was more interesting. Something called The Slam Report, supposedly by a guy named Harold Slam. It reported rumors that Thoreaux was purposely making people sick. Hoping to spread the disease to cull the earth of the wicked. Now, that sounded pretty nuts. But the article said what Lijah had said, that soldiers had somehow been turned into carriers and made to spread the disease. She knew the how. It was her dad’s vaccine. But this report didn’t offer an explanation.
There were a couple more random conspiracy articles. And then one about something she took a keen interest in.
CLONING OR BUST
The Slam Report has learned that President Thoreaux wants to make America great again through cloning. The president, who says he’s marshalling the best scientific minds to stop the virus, doesn’t seem to be doing anything for people out there affected. In fact, we have learned that he has another agenda.
He plans to leave the poor, the wounded, and those who can get sick behind. Instead, he’d like to rebuild our nation with genetically altered clones who can withstand this virus and others like it. If our sources are correct, Thoreaux has built a commune for clones in the sleepy town of Charlottesville, Virginia. There, they do clone research and breed immunes in order to get this genetic perfection. To what end? Well our sources say his goal is to let the old die out and start anew with these new, pure people.
The small commune is religiously pure, we’re told, and the people there must conform to Thoreaux’s ideals. They say his little Virginia project is a prototype for the America he wants to build. That’s all we have for now. As you know, it’s getting harder for us to post, and harder for the average person to read, given connection issues. But we will continue to function for as long as possible. Thoreaux would like to silence us. We know truth can never be silenced.
The final article, also from Slam and dated a month ago, caused her more alarm.
SPU FALLS
The Slam Report has learned exclusively that the Scientist Protection Unit outside the nation’s capital has fallen victim to the virus. A breach of lab protocols allowed a fast-acting version of the virus to sweep through the unit. It’s believed that most of the scientist and military personnel were infected. The unit was sealed and all those left behind are presumed dead. Prior to the mishap, four of the scientists on the project had been moved to a different location to work on Thoreaux’s pet project: cloning. However, it’s believed the scientific head of that SPU, James Woodson, is among the dead. Woodson had been opposed to Thoreaux’s house of horrors and was left behind. Some say Thoreaux purposely killed off the entire unit because multiple scientists there followed Woodson’s lead and refused to switch to Thoreaux’s pet project of creating a world of genetically modified citizens who are immune to the disease.
She read this sheet again and again. It couldn’t be true. Could it? Her father dead? The door to the apartment opened. Her mother breezed in, smiling. Her face fell when she saw Elaan. “What’s wrong?”
“Is it true?” Elaan asked, holding out the paper. “Is Dad dead?
Chapter 13 - Elaan
Shonda sucked in a breath, closed the door, and walked over to her daughter. Elaan studied her mother’s face, trying to read it. She seemed angry, angry that Elaan seemed to know, but not stunned. Shonda looked at the paper Elaan was holding.
“Where did you get that?” her mother asked.
Still, no confirmation or denial. “Is it true? Is Dad dead?”
Shonda took the paper from Elaan’s hand, then sat down on the sofa. “I don’t think so,” she said, looking at Elaan, who’d remained standing. Shonda patted the cushion next to her.
Elaan sat. “What do you mean, you don’t think so.”
“I,” her mother said, then looked around the room before focusing on her daughter again. “This Slam Report thing, it reports a lot of rumors. I learned a long time ago not to believe everything on the internet.”
“It was right about the soldiers infecting people,” Elaan retorted.
“It was,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s right about everything. Also, there are
so many people who don’t have access to the internet at this point, this blog is only reaching a very few people. Most of them people at facilities like this. I think it’s just a scare tactic Thoreaux is using. One that says to stay in line. He threatens without outright threatening. Your father isn’t dead.”
Shonda’s face was a mix of emotions that Elaan was having trouble reading. She seemed guarded, as if she was keeping something from Elaan. “Why are you so sure, Mom?”
“I just have a feeling,” her mother said. “Like I’d know, if he were gone.”
That was stupid. How would anyone know someone was gone? She thought her mother was dead and she used to have dreams that her mother was speaking to her from heaven. Clearly that had all been imaginary. Feelings were what people wanted to believe, not reality. “Why did he give this to me?” Elaan asked.
Shonda shook her head. “I’m not sure,” she said.
Elaan stared. “Not sure!” It didn’t make any sense. Her mother had been concerned about who had given her the information. She had to have suspected it was Alex. Her mother was mad at him when she’d asked. “You knew about this,” Elaan said. “But you didn’t tell me. He did. Why?”
Shonda swallowed, closed her eyes for a moment. “He just thought you were having trouble adjusting here. He thought it might be easier if you realized this was all you had left. I told him not to tell you this rumor. I know how upset you were when you thought I was dead.”
He thought it would be easier if she knew her father was dead. That she might adjust better. That was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. Losing a parent is the most traumatic thing imaginable happening. And for him to somehow think she’d be better off. Her brain wasn’t comprehending. “He’s cruel,” she said.
