Reservation 1

by Krista Street

  As embarrassing as it was, my eyes misted over. I darted a look at Davin. He was watching me. “I’ll be back.”

  “We know.” Sara threw an arm around my shoulders and gave me a half hug. “But we still wanted you to know that we appreciate what you’re doing for us. It means a lot.”

  “Yeah,” Sophie added, “and things were so crazy yesterday with you leaving that we never got to say a proper goodbye.”

  My gaze shifted to Davin again, except instead of watching me, his eyes were on my shirt. It was impossible to decipher his expression.

  While everyone pulled me toward a table up the stairs, he hung back. I could feel him. His presence pulled at me like the moon pulls at the oceans, creating the tides. Even though he was at least two yards away, I was acutely aware of his presence.

  He wore his typical jeans and t-shirt, but outside of his cell, he wore shoes. His dark hair curled at the ends. As always, his face was a reddish tan, like he’d just been out in the sun. And his eyes were the blazing, sapphire blue that were uniquely him.

  My breath grew shallow despite trying to control it.

  “We didn’t have time for a cake, but we do have popcorn and sodas.” Sophie waved excitedly at the display on one of the library tables.

  “No alcohol, though.” Sage winked. “Sara told us about your partying escapades last night.”

  I glowered at Sara. “Sharing my secrets?”

  Sara laughed. “I had to share your giggles and slurred words last night. I’ve never heard you like that before.”

  Everyone chuckled, other than Davin, which only made me blush.

  I peeked at Davin again. He stood with his hands stuffed in his pants. When our gazes met, he smiled, but he seemed different – more stiff, not relaxed like he usually was. Our emotional goodbye yesterday filled my mind.

  Sophie and Garrett dished up bowls of popcorn for everyone before handing out drinks. From there, we all headed to the next tier in the library where the large couches and chairs were located.

  I inched closer to Davin. We brought up the rear.

  “I didn’t think I’d see you again before I left.”

  He nodded but wouldn’t meet my gaze. “Yeah, it sounds like you had a good time last night. I’m glad you were able to do something fun before you leave.”

  My cheeks heated. “It was fun… I guess, but still kind of weird. I don’t usually party.”

  “It’s good that you enjoyed yourself, Meghan. You deserve it. That’s what your life should be like, not like…” He cut himself off, as if knowing that we’d never agree on our future.

  When I glanced up at him, I stumbled on a stair. He caught me when I swayed into his arms, but his brow furrowed when I pressed against his side. “Is that… cologne you’re wearing?”

  “Cologne?” I righted myself and sniffed my shirt. A hint of Mitch’s day-old cologne clung to the fabric. Understanding dawned. “No, I mean yes, but it’s not my cologne. It probably rubbed off from Mitch.”

  Davin stopped, his foot hanging midair over the next step. “Mitch’s cologne rubbed off on you?”

  “Yeah, we went to his house last night. I spent the night there, and he gave me a hug this morning. Some of his cologne must have rubbed off on me.”

  Davin’s eyes flashed as his jaw locked. “You spent the night at Mitch’s?”

  “Yeah, after the bar we went to his house. Sean set us home with a jug of beer, so we…” My words trailed off as a dark expression grew on Davin’s face.

  It was only then I heard how my words sounded. I wanted to smack my forehead. Oh my God! He thinks I slept with Mitch! I shook my head and rushed to explain. “I mean I slept there, but I didn’t–”

  “Meghan! Come on! We know you have to go soon so come sit with us!” Sara waved from her chair. Everyone else was piled around the circle of seats waiting for me.

  I turned to finish explaining to Davin what really happened last night, but he suddenly stood five feet away.

  I reached for him, but he took another step back. His jaw was locked so tight now, the muscle ticked. “I should get going. I promised Sergeant Rose that…”

  My stomach sank. I stepped forward, wanting to explain he had it all wrong, but in a blurred move, he disappeared.

  The air rustled around me as a pit formed in my stomach.

  “Where did Davin go?” Dorothy came down the stairwell. She looked left and right. “He didn’t stay? But he seemed so happy that you were coming back into the Sanctum this morning.”

  I swallowed tightly as my gut churned.

  Of course, he didn’t stay. He thinks I slept with Mitch. He actually thinks I’d do that after everything that’s happened between us!

  But then I replayed in my mind what I’d said to him. “Yeah, after the bar we went to his house.” And I smelled like Mitch. “I spent the night there, and he gave me a hug this morning. Some of his cologne must have rubbed off on me.”

  This time, I did smack my hand to my forehead. Seriously, Meghan! Could you make a bigger mess of things?

  A stone settled in my stomach at how hurt I would be if I were Davin. Taking a deep breath, I followed Dorothy up the stairs. I just need to talk to him. Once I explain to him that he has it wrong, then everything will be fine.

  Despite that rational thought, I wrung my hands.

  17 – THE WHITE HOUSE

  I tried calling Davin twice after I left the Sanctum. Both times, Sergeant Rose answered and said he wasn’t in his cell.

  “Can you tell him I called and ask him to call me?”

  “Will do, Meghan. Have a safe trip.”

  We hung up. I fingered the smooth screen on my phone. I was currently in my apartment, sitting on the couch in my living room with my packed bags at my feet. In an hour, Cate would be picking me up at the airport.

  I’d have to leave soon.

  Everything will be fine. I just need to explain to him that I would never betray him like that.

  Taking a deep breath, I tapped my phone again. There was another call I needed to make before I left.

  I hesitantly tapped in the number for my parents. I didn’t want to, but Davin was probably right. They deserved to know what had happened to me. Besides, sitting on my couch while mulling over what had happened between Davin and me wasn’t helping.

  My dad answered on the first ring. “Hello. Forester residence.”

  He was the only person I knew who answered phones like that. It was so old-fashioned yet still made me smile. “Hi, Dad. It’s me.”

  “Well, hi there, kiddo. How are you?”

  He was also the only person who still referred to me as if I was three years old versus twenty-three years old. “I’m okay, but I thought I should call you and mom and let you know what’s been going on.”

  “Something’s going on?”

  Guilt followed me as I leaned back and pulled my knees up. “You could say that. I spent the last week or so living in the Inner Sanctum at the Compound.”

  “You were living in the Inner Sanctum?”

  “Yes, but I’m fine now.”

  His voice dropped. “Meghan, what happened?”

  Since my dad worked for Cantaleve Steel, the company that had built all of the Compounds, he’d know exactly what the Inner Sanctum was. Guilt bit me harder, like an alligator that clamped onto its prey and refused to let go. Davin was right. I should have called sooner.

  I explained my exposure, subsequent illness, and release from the Sanctum as succinctly as possible. When finished, I was so thankful it was my dad I spoke to. I could only image the icy responses that would be emanating from my mother.

  “Will you let mom know too?”

  “Yes, of course, but… why didn’t you tell us sooner? Why did nobody alert us?”

  Because I don’t have an emergency contact number in my file with the MRI. Funny how when I’d reached that part of my application I’d glossed over it. I would have put Jeremy on there if he’d been alive. It had never occurred to
me to list my parents.

  “Um… I don’t know, but I’m fine now, so it’s okay.”

  “Are you sure? You don’t have any lingering side effects?”

  “Nope. None. Trust me, the MRI ran vigorous tests before they released me.”

  A heavy pause followed. “I wish we’d been told sooner.”

  I swallowed thickly. “Yeah, I should have called. I’m sorry.” I then summed up that I was leaving for Washington D.C. which launched into a dozen more questions.

  I answered each one honestly if haltingly. My dad and I had never spoken so candidly before, but by the time we hung up, with him promising to also fill in my mother, I couldn’t help but wonder if Davin was right.

  My dad really does love me, even if he has a hard time showing it.

  Biting my lip, I sat on my couch for a few minutes, mulling over all that had transpired in the last twenty-four hours.

  SIX HOURS LATER, we landed in Washington D.C. It was only Cate, me, and the pilots on the plane. The team that Cate had put together was busy working behind the scenes. She’d managed to rally teams in every state in the lower forty-eight. They were currently going door-to-door doing their best to educate the public about the vaccine.

  I bit my lip as we taxied to a stop on the runway. My phone sat on my lap. Still no calls from Davin.

  Hot summer air swirled around the tarmac as Dr. Hutchinson and I stepped out of the plane. I expected the airport to be empty, so what we encountered instead was a complete surprise.

  A small crowd gathered just off the runway. Gates blocked them from stepping onto the tarmac. At least half a dozen police officers stood alongside the gate, bordering it.

  Protecting it.

  When the people in the crowd saw us, they started yelling, booing, and screaming at us to leave.

  “What the…” I cleared my throat and clung to the plane’s railing as we descended the stairs. “What’s going on?”

  Bright, late afternoon sunlight streamed overhead as the wind picked up. Cate tucked a strand of short blond hair behind her ear. “Word must have spread of what we’re trying to achieve. My guess is that crowd,” she nodded toward them, “doesn’t want the Kazzies freed.”

  The angry yells and hisses continued. The group had to be at least fifty people. The sight made my stomach roll. They only stood a dozen yards away. One stepped forward. A police officer pushed him back, but it didn’t stop his yell.

  “Hey, Kazzie lovers! What are you trying to do? Get us all killed? Those animals belong exactly where they are, locked up and kept away from the rest of us!”

  The guy had to be middle-aged. Anger lines tightened his face, making him appear ugly and hostile.

  I clutched my laptop bag tightly to my side as a woman threw something at us. It fell a few feet short, but it still exploded upon impact. Red looking sauce splattered the ground. A few splashes reached my pants.

  A police officer reached for her.

  “Damn, Kazzie lovers!” she screamed. “If you love those virus infected scum so much then why don’t you go live with them?”

  I hastily stepped back as something else was thrown. Another police officer tried to intervene, but the object already sailed toward us. It landed a few feet short. More sauce.

  The homemade food bombs didn’t stop the anger that ignited in me.

  “Those Kazzies are the reason we have a vaccine!” The statement bubbled out of me before I could stop it.

  It was a mistake to engage them. It only seemed to rile them more. More jeers and obscenities followed. Another bomb of what I guessed was a mixture of tomato sauce and vinegar from the smell of it was thrown.

  A dark sedan flew around a corner onto the tarmac at the end of the runway.

  Dr. Hutchinson gripped my arm and pulled me back. “Don’t talk to them, Meghan. You’re wasting your breath. They don’t understand that the Kazzies aren’t a threat to them. They’re unaware of the complexities of the virus and efficacy of the vaccine.”

  The sedan pulled to an abrupt stop only yards away, squealing on the pavement. With it came the smell of burnt rubber. The driver stepped out and hurried to our side.

  “I’m so sorry I’m late. Protesters were blocking the highway. It took me the last thirty minutes to get around them.”

  “That’s quite all right.” Dr. Hutchinson pushed her dark rimmed glasses up her nose as yells continued from the crowd. “But I think we best be on our way and in a hurry.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He grabbed our bags.

  Cate and I slid into the open doors just as another food bomb landed on the pavement behind us. Its smell flooded my senses. The vinegar was extremely potent in that one.

  The pilot taxied the plane to the end of the runway as we drove off. The crowd didn’t seem to be targeting the plane, just us.

  I breathed a sigh of relief at that. There were only a few jets that the MRI kept well maintained for air travel. If something happened to our plane, I’d either be stuck in Washington D.C. or South Dakota – whichever city I happened to be in when the incident occurred.

  I leaned back in my seat as the driver sped away from the runway. He pulled onto the road that exited the airport and accelerated. Another crowd of protestors outside of the airport hurled objects at our retreating vehicle. The road whizzed by as the driver expertly navigated the streets.

  Both Dr. Hutchinson and I sat tensed in the back. It seemed the driver was avoiding the interstates and highways. We stuck to the smaller roads in mostly abandoned neighborhoods. However, I did know one thing. We weren’t going to our usual hotel.

  “Where are we going?” Dr. Hutchinson leaned forward. A ring of authority filled her tone.

  “The White House, ma’am.”

  My eyes widened as Cate’s shoulders tensed.

  “The White House?” Cate repeated. “I thought we were staying at the hotel until we were due to see the president?”

  The driver swerved around a large pothole in the road. “The president has changed your plans I’m afraid. We’ve had an influx of border crossers into Maryland ever since the announcement was made to free the Kazzies. Protests have been going on all week.”

  “Border crossers?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Crossing state borders was illegal. Nobody was stupid enough to do it out in the open. “Why haven’t they been arrested?”

  “You can thank Senator Douglas for that. He’s rallied a new temporary law that says those coming to D.C. to practice their freedom of speech rights have the ability to cross borders if they keep their protests peaceful.”

  My eyes bulged. “Does he call that crowd back at the airport peaceful?”

  “Um… I can’t answer for him, ma’am.” His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. It was only then I realized how young he was. He couldn’t be much older than me.

  “Why haven’t those protestors been arrested?” Cate demanded. “They’re hardly peaceful.”

  It seemed Cate had the same thoughts as me.

  “Probably because most of the police force is around the White House right now. The entire grounds have been ringed with angry mobs since the beginning of the week. A lot of the American public is not happy about the Kazzies being freed.”

  A lot of the American public? Or naïve protestors stirred up by Senator Douglas?

  My stomach sank as we crested a hill. It didn’t matter what fueled their fire. They were still voters.

  The White House came into view. The large colonial style mansion stood proud and promising, in ever-present defiance of the battles that had been waged on this soil.

  And just as the driver said, crowds lined the perimeter grounds. It was only as we drove closer and those crowds pressed around our car that fear truly grew in me.

  We’d come to Washington D.C. to rally the public in our support.

  It had never occurred to me that we’d have to fight the public to give the Kazzies a chance at total freedom.

  IT WAS A harrowing few minutes before th
e police force was able to admit us through the tall gates that surrounded the grounds. When they finally did, the crowds fell back but angry yells could still be heard through the windows. Dr. Hutchinson seemed as shaken as me. I didn’t think either of us had known what we were getting into.

  “Are we staying here versus the hotel because of the protestors?” Her voice shook slightly before she cleared her throat.

  “Yes, ma’am.” The driver pulled into a parking spot and shut the motor off. “The police were concerned with the limited security options at the hotel. President Morgan said you were to be escorted here. Rooms have been readied for you.”

  My heart hammered in my chest. I’m staying at the White House? The actual White House? And unruly crowds are running around the city as we speak?

  It felt like history was repeating itself. That chaos was once again ensuing. The same had happened after the First Wave. Everyone was scared. Nobody had any idea what we were dealing with, and people were dying. Mobs and unruly crowds had formed then too.

  I grabbed my laptop bag as I opened my door. “So they know that we’re here to appeal the decision that was made about the reservation?”

  The driver turned to face us. “That’s right. They want to stop any further talks of freeing the Kazzies.”

  Shallow breaths made my chest rise and fall. Anger and fear coursed through me at the same time. How did we not know this was happening?

  “Why hasn’t this been covered on the news?” Dr. Hutchinson demanded.

  “The president is trying to keep the protests hushed. She’s concerned that it could start a movement to stop the progression toward rebuilding our society. There’s a lot of fear out there about the Kazzies. I’m sure you can understand that.”

  No, I couldn’t understand that. As someone who’d been vaccinated and exposed to the virus and lived to tell about it, I knew just how effective the vaccine was. There was truly no reason to be afraid.

  But the public didn’t know that.

  “We need to educate them more.” I gripped Cate’s hand as we stood by the trunk while the driver lifted our bags. “They’re afraid because they don’t know any better. The MRI has done such a good job at keeping the public in the dark about the virus that it’s now working against us. We need to change that.”