Reservation 1

by Krista Street

  I raised an eyebrow. “Have you read these?”

  “Yeah. All of them.”

  “All of them?”

  He crossed his arms again and leaned against the shelf as I pulled a book out. “When I first arrived here, seven years ago, I wanted to know more about my condition. Unfortunately, modern medicine had never seen a virus like Makanza, as you know. So these textbooks did little to help.” He pushed away from the stack and shrugged. “But it didn’t stop me from wanting to learn about viruses and what can be done to stop them. It helps that I like science.”

  My heart warmed when he said that. Given my background, I obviously had an interest in science too.

  “Now where?” I asked after putting the book back.

  “Wanna see a place Sage and I found?”

  “Sure.”

  He led me to a walkway between the soccer field and weight room. About halfway down the hall, he stopped and glanced up. When he didn’t say or do anything, I cocked my head curiously. “What are you looking at?”

  “The security camera’s still scanning this area. We need to wait… four, three, two…”

  He squatted to the ground. It wasn’t until he started picking at something that I realized a panel of some kind was screwed to the wall. Moving too quickly for me to really see, he unscrewed all eight screws that were holding it in place. With a careful lift of his hands, he removed it, revealing a tunnel within.

  My heart pounded. “Davin, what are you doing?”

  “Don’t worry. Follow me.”

  He crept into the tunnel on all fours. My stomach twisted into knots, but I still squatted down and cautiously followed. I imagined this was definitely against the rules, but while I may have grown somewhat comfortable breaking the rules to help the Kazzies, that didn’t mean I wanted to break all of the rules. Besides, I still worked here. I could possibly get fired for doing something like this.

  “Davin, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

  He carefully lifted the cover back into place. A sliver of light peeked through the side since it wasn’t fully sealed. It didn’t leave much light to see.

  “Do you trust me?” I felt his breath against my neck. It smelled fresh, like him. I shivered.

  “Yes.”

  “Then follow me.”

  “But what if we get caught?”

  “We won’t get caught. I’ve been doing this for years.”

  He didn’t seem the least bit perturbed that we were in some tunnel, in the wall, that couldn’t be taller than three feet.

  Reluctantly, I crawled on all fours after him. I had no idea where we were going. I couldn’t see a thing. Away from the panel with its crack of light, it was absolute darkness.

  I followed Davin’s shuffling sound, bumping into him every now and then. I muttered an embarrassed apology each time it happened.

  A few times, I sneezed. It was dusty and smelled like mildew in here.

  It felt like we’d been crawling forever when the walls of the tunnel turned from pitch black to dull gray. My eyes instantly recognized light coming from somewhere.

  “Almost there,” Davin said.

  The light grew as we carried on. Sounds also emerged, faintly at first but then louder. Knocks, mechanical groans, and hisses. As the sounds and light escalated, I was able to work out the maze of pipes that ran above and to the side of us. A few minutes later, it was bright enough that I was able to sense something ahead.

  Davin stopped, and I saw what appeared to be an opening to the tunnel over his shoulder. He turned his feet around and hopped down into some room.

  Grinning, he peered into the tunnel at me. His hair was disheveled and a bit dusty from grazing against the tunnel’s ceiling.

  I didn’t want to know what I looked like. Holding out his hand, he beckoned me closer.

  I took his hand as I awkwardly sat on my butt and shimmied forward so I was feet first. He helped me inch to the edge and then, putting his hands around my waist, pulled me out, setting me down gently beside him.

  Once again, his hands lingered.

  To cover up my reaction, I glanced around. “Um… where are we?”

  He shrugged and let me go. “I have no idea.”

  It was a mechanical room of some kind. It was huge and loud. The groaning and hissing sounds I’d heard earlier came from large machines. The mechanics knocked and rumbled as they supplied who knew what to various areas in the Sanctum.

  “How big is this room?” I peered around.

  “It runs about twenty yards that way and about ten the other. We’ve tried to find another way out through here, but all of the other tunnels either get too narrow or don’t have any panels, like the one we crawled into. Sometimes, we’ll come back here, just to get away from the ever-present cameras.”

  “And no one’s ever noticed that you’re missing?”

  “Not yet. We never stay gone long, so if we disappear from a room and someone starts looking, we pop up eventually. That seems to have kept the guards happy since they’re always able to find us.”

  “Huh. So this is what you get up to in your spare time.” I guessed if I lived in a confined area, I’d probably explore every inch of it too.

  “It’s not much, I know, but it’s some place different and hidden from the guards.”

  I glanced up at him. Once again, he watched my every move. “I’m glad you showed me.”

  “You’re not going to tell on us, are you?” he teased.

  I plucked my hands on my hips and gave him a stern look.

  He just chuckled. “Come on. I’ll show you some more places.”

  He led me back to the tunnel entry and easily pulled himself into it. Reaching down, he lifted me up since the opening was at my eye level – not exactly easy to hop into. In the process, his hands brushed the sides of my breasts.

  Stiffening, for a moment he didn’t let go. In the dark enclosure, it was impossible to read his facial expression, but once again, I became acutely aware of how close we were.

  His face hovered inches from mine. Each of us stayed that way, looking at each other, assessing each other, as if unsure of what the other would do. In the dark light, it was hard to tell, but it seemed that his gaze dipped lower, settling on my mouth. I licked my lips.

  I swear he stopped breathing.

  Feeling the energy grow more charged around us, I hesitantly leaned forward only to shriek when a loud bang erupted behind me.

  Davin caught me as I lunged against him. A rumble shook his chest again.

  “What was that?” I asked, wide-eyed.

  “One of the mechanics. That one can be particularly loud and never gives a warning.” The rumble against me continued until I realized he was silently laughing… at me!

  I slugged him in the shoulder which only made him laugh harder. It was only then I became aware of his arms. He was holding me, almost like he didn’t know it.

  Shifting in his embrace, before I could think twice about how wise my actions were, I rubbed against him. His laughter died, as if he’d been doused with a fire extinguisher. Stiffening, his gaze dropped when my breasts rubbed on his chest.

  My gaze lowered to his mouth. His beautiful, sexy, perfectly shaped mouth. I licked my lips again.

  He abruptly pulled back, effectively putting a yard of distance between us. Taking a deep breath, he raked a hand through his hair. Even in the dim light, I could see his chest rising and falling rapidly with each breath.

  “We better get back. They’re bound to notice.” In a blurred move, he turned.

  My heart pounded as I crawled behind him on all fours. Davin wasn’t the only one affected by the game I was playing. I wasn’t entirely sure why I was acting how I was. It can never be.

  As always, those words haunted me. Maybe my subconscious had taken over and was making me act so brazen as payback for him throwing away any chance at our future. I knew on some level he wanted me, but I still didn’t know how much he wanted me.

  Regardless of o
ur uncertain future and his stubborn resolve to keep me at a distance, my body ached with need for him.

  The light from the mechanical room quickly faded as the tunnel turned to tar. The complete blackness helped dampen my desire. It was creepily scary in here.

  “How do you not get lost?” My voice echoed in the confinement.

  His breaths were harsh ahead of me. A bit too harsh to only come from crawling. It seemed I wasn’t the only one warring with desire.

  Finally, his response came after he took a few deep breaths. “I’ve memorized the steps, but mostly, I just wait for the light peeking in from the panel. It helps when Garrett’s with us. Since he can see in the dark, he just crawls ahead and lets us know when he sees it.”

  “Oh, of course.” Next to the Kazzies, I was like a kid crawling behind a superhero. Funny how I’d never thought of them that way before, but in a way, they were.

  When we reached the panel, we left the same way we’d come in. Davin peeked out first to check the camera. When it was turned away, he crawled out, pulled me with him and then screwed the panel back in place before the camera swung toward us again.

  “Seems like a handy skill,” I commented as he pushed the screws back in at light-speed. No normal human could move as fast as him.

  “It is quite useful. I won’t pretend it’s not.”

  Standing, he made sure to keep several safe feet between us before nodding in our next direction. He proceeded to show me a dozen other hidden areas in the entertainment rooms. My mental map of the rooms grew and with it came the realization that the Kazzies led a secret life that none of us knew about.

  By the time we returned to the cells, it was late afternoon and my stomach was howling in protest.

  “Didn’t you eat lunch?” Davin asked after it gave a particularly loud rumble.

  “No, I came to your cell instead.”

  “Meghan…” he growled. He promptly returned me to cell seven and told Private Rodriguez to order my supper immediately.

  It only took three wrong buttons and one episode of all of the lights going out before Private Rodriguez finally figured out how to use the phone.

  “I’ll see you later?” Davin asked as the back door panel opened.

  I nodded. Amy would probably be arriving any minute. Luckily, I hadn’t forgotten that she was stopping by before she went home for the day.

  “Do you have more secret places to show me tomorrow?” I whispered.

  He grinned. “Of course.”

  11 – LIFE INSIDE

  Amy arrived shortly after six. I had just finished supper when she stepped into the watch room. We told the night guard, Sergeant Appleton, to grab a coffee while we visited.

  He didn’t seem to mind being asked to leave. His grin and, “Well, okay then!” told us exactly how he felt about an unexpected break. I doubted that ever happened when he was on duty with the Kazzies.

  “I’ll come find you when I leave,” Amy called to his retreating form. She turned back to me. “Let’s hope he comes back.”

  I laughed and settled into the chair I’d pulled up to the watch room window.

  “So what’d you do today?” She propped her elbow onto the control panel and cupped her chin in a hand. Her wild red curls flew around her head.

  I thought about what Davin had shown me. My breath caught. “Um, not much. Just got out into the entertainment rooms for a while.”

  “No work?” She raised an eyebrow.

  I ducked my chin. “I’ll do that tonight.”

  She just grinned. “And you’re still feeling okay? No mild symptoms as your immune system fights the virus?”

  I shook my head. “Nope, nothing.”

  “That’s good.” She fluffed her hair behind her shoulders as a frown covered her face. “I’ve got something else to tell you. Dr. Sadowsky received news from the president this afternoon. There’s a big building crew heading out to Cheyenne River. The reservation construction is officially underway, and they plan to move the Kazzies this fall.”

  My movements stilled as she continued.

  “They need to get a wind station up and running, build stores and stock them with goods, build houses for the Kazzies and the MRRA soldiers who will be stationed there, and build everything else that’s needed to get a town functioning again.”

  It took a second before I could get the words out. “But they’re not building a wall around the reservation, right? It’ll stay as it is? Just open land?”

  Amy cringed. “I wish, but unfortunately no. They’re building a perimeter fence.”

  My cheeks grew hot. “Are you kidding?”

  “I wish I was. It’ll be topped with barbed wire and have watch stations every hundred yards. The whole works.”

  My chest rose and fell so quickly I felt lightheaded. “How is that any different than a prison? Any different than their life in here?”

  “You’re preaching to the choir, sister. I don’t agree with it any more than you do.”

  I slumped back, crossing my arms. My mind grew abuzz with all the ways I could fight this. “We need to return to D.C. And I need to talk to Dr. Hutchinson.” I looked at the bedside table and grumbled. Still no phone.

  Amy followed my gaze. “I’ll have one installed tomorrow. Oh, and they’ve renamed the reservation. It’s no longer Cheyenne River.”

  “It’s not? Then what is it?”

  “Reservation 1.”

  “Reservation 1,” I repeated. “As in, the first reservation with possibly more to come?”

  It was how the government had named the Compounds. The first Compound 1, the second Compound 2, the third Compound 3, and so forth.

  “It’s happening again.” My stomach fell. “It’s happening all over again.”

  “No, it’s not.” Amy leaned forward. “Don’t jump to any conclusions just yet, Meg. There are still only twelve hundred Kazzies in the country. That won’t change, and the reservation is plenty big enough to accommodate that small number of people. They shouldn’t need to build another reservation.”

  I could only hope she was right.

  She pushed to standing from her stool. “I better go. I probably won’t get home till seven.”

  We said our goodbyes before she went in search of Sergeant Appleton. He returned a few minutes later, still chewing whatever food he’d been snacking on.

  I barely noticed. All I could think about was Davin and the Kazzies being transported from one prison to another. Reservation 1 didn’t seem much different than Compound 26.

  AFTER AMY LEFT, I ventured to Davin’s cell even though I knew I needed to work. If I wasn’t so worried at what Amy had told me, I’d probably be fluttering in anticipation of seeing him again. As it was, when his door slid open and Davin stepped out, my shoulders sagged.

  He frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  “I got some news today, and it’s not what I wanted to hear.”

  We started walking toward the entertainment rooms as I told him about the government’s plan. “They’ll be a fenced perimeter, with barbed wire on the top, and watch towers to keep you all in. How is that not a prison?”

  “Will there be guards?” His voice was flat, his expression stone.

  “Yes, MRRA soldiers who will also be your guards.”

  “Hmm.” A muscle ticked repeatedly in his jaw.

  When we reached the movie theater, some of my anxiety lifted when I saw that everyone else was there. Sara bounced up from the couch when she saw me and raced over.

  “Meghan! I was hoping you’d join us.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the sofa.

  For once, I could sit on it while also being able to stand back up.

  “Why do you look so upset?” Her eyes searched mine. “Are you feeling okay?” I opened my mouth to reply, but she added, “I mean, I know symptoms don’t show up until three weeks after exposure, but is it the same way with the vaccine?”

  I shook my head as my thoughts drifted away from Reservation 1. “No, my immune s
ystem already has antibodies to fight Makanza so that’s what it’s doing right now.”

  Davin sat on my other side. I could feel him listening so continued. “If you’re vaccinated, your immune system responds immediately when it detects the virus, as it would with any disease you’ve been vaccinated against. That’s the whole point of a vaccine, to have antibodies already in your system that recognize a foreign attacker and to kill it before it does actual damage. So, right now, as we speak, I’m assuming my immune system is hard at work, even though I can’t really tell, not yet at least.”

  “How have other people reacted?” Dorothy leaned against a pillow, her plump arm resting on the couch’s back.

  Garrett, Sage, Victor, and Sophie all turned to listen since they sat on the couch in front of us.

  “Most of the researchers that have been exposed do get a little sick.” I angled myself against the sofa so I could see everyone better. “All that means is their immune system is working so they may feel tired or have a few symptoms, but nobody’s moved beyond the second stage of the virus. Everyone’s returned to normal after a few days.”

  “Good.” Sophie cupped her chin in her hand. “Then I won’t worry about you.” She smiled shyly.

  “I heard my guards talking about what they’re going to do with us.” Sage’s skin looked silvery in the dim light, the scaly reptilian-look somewhat shiny. “Something about moving us this autumn?”

  I nodded. “You heard right.”

  “So that’s a good thing, right?” Garrett turned more. “We’ll go live on that reservation and be free.”

  “If you mean free, as in we can’t leave that area of land, then yeah, we’re free.” Anger laced Davin’s tone. “It’s exactly what they did to my ancestors.”

  As the last remaining Lakota Sioux, I wasn’t surprised at his response. I almost covered his hand with mine but stopped myself. “It won’t be that bad. You’ll be treated much better.”

  “Is that why they built a fence?” His gaze met mine.

  “A fence?” Sophie’s voice rose. “So we’ll be locked inside?”

  “Are you kidding me?” Victor’s nostrils flared, his red skin stretching with the movement. I could practically see his temper rise. He was known for being rather hot-headed.