Project ELE (5 page)

A knock on the door startles me. The lady who gave me the scrubs comes in without waiting for me to answer. I have to shove the gown behind my back. "Ouch." I cry out as something pricks my hand.

"You okay?" She asks.

I nod quickly and with wide frightened eyes I say, "Can I help you?" My heart is accelerating and I feel nauseous.

"I was just checking on you since it was taking you a while to change." She studies me like I'm crazy.

"I'm fine, I need another minute." I say and tears start springing to my eyes as a dizzy sensation washes over me.

She hesitates and I can tell she is contemplating asking me more questions. Thankfully she doesn't. She just says, "Please try to hurry. There are more people waiting on the dressing rooms." Then she leaves shutting the door behind her.

"Crap, no, no, no!" I cry to myself as soon as she's gone. Tears are flowing out of my eyes as I pull my hands and the gown back in front of me. I look down at my left wrist and see the faintest sign of a puncture mark. "No." I whisper as my heart pounds like drums in my chest. I'm not ready to die! I pull the gown back up in front of me and work the item out of the hem quickly now. The needle had poked through and as I work it the rest of the way out I notice that most of the red serum is still inside it. Maybe none of it went into me. I tell myself trying to calm my thoughts down. I don't know why I took it from Sebastian's room but I did. I guess I did it because I didn't want him to have it. I recall the explanation from the nurse. It might seem selfish that I took it but I felt like I had to protect him. I know the nurse said how painful the virus could be but I can't imagine Sebastian's life being sucked out of him by a single shot.

I sit down and put my head between my knees while taking deep breaths. I tell myself over and over again that none of it was injected in me.

"Please hurry." The lady calls from outside the door.

"Just one more minute." I say out of breath as I sit back up. Standing I have to steady myself against the wall for a moment to allow the dizzy spell to settle. When the world stops swaying, I move into action. I take the needle to the metal disposal bin and empty the remaining serum into it. Red liquid stains the trashed hospital gowns in the bin making it look like they were used to clean up crime scene. Then I carefully wrap the empty needle up with my old gown and shove it down above the red stained ones.

I throw on my new pair of bright white tennis shoes and look at myself in the floor length mirror. My hair looks wild and crazy and my eyes are filled with worry. I keep telling myself that I will be fine. I grimace and then leave the dressing area.

I meet my dad at the counter and see him clutching his clothes for dear life. His face is crimson red, which just happens to match his new set of scrubs. He mutters something under his breath about being violated. A small smile forces its way onto my face.

“Tablets please,” the man asks while ripping them from our hands. Why he even bothers to ask in the first place is beyond me. He plugs each tablet into a USB port that's connected to a laptop and begins punching away at something. Within a few minutes he disconnects them. “You will each get five pairs of scrubs per season, two sets of pajamas and five sets of undergarments. Obviously there are four seasons per year. We advise you to take care of your clothing; wash on a delicate cycle in cold water, dry on low. If for any reason you are unable to care for them properly and they are damaged, there are sewing kits available for purchase here and in the general store. But I advise you, they are very pricey. In addition to your regular clothing, you will receive one bathing suit per year and one pair of shoes per year. Additional footwear will be allotted for growing children if their sizes should change.” He hands us back our tablets. We grab our new clothes and make our way back into the commons area.

My dad picks a table near the outside and we place our things in the empty chairs. My dad's eyes roam over to a line near the entrance of the meal serving area that currently looks to be closed. "Well, Willow, looks like we should probably get in line. They must be opening for dinner soon."

I give him a half smile and grab my tablet. I'm not sure if we'll need it, but if they said to bring it everywhere, then by golly, I'm going to bring it everywhere.

We wind up in line behind a lady who looks to be by herself. She picks at her nails and shifts her weight back and forth from the balls of her feet. She looks exceedingly nervous and her actions are causing my unease. Suddenly she turns and stares at me. I'm a bit too shocked to turn away.

"We should go. We really should go." She says in a hoarse whisper. My eyes widen a bit in surprise because in all actuality, there is nowhere to go. "Bad things are going to happen--really bad things. We should get out while we still can!" Her breathing becomes more labored as her eyes dart about looking for God only knows what.

I feel my dad's arm wrap around me and give me a slight squeeze. The woman turns back around and begins talking with intensity to a woman in front of her.

That was just bizarre, I think to myself. Her warning did conjure up the accident I just had with the needle. I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that most likely nothing entered my system. The nurse had said the serum would bring immediate death. I think I'm in the clear now that we've past the immediate time frame. I hope that no other 'bad things' will happen though.

A grinding sound has us all turning to stare at the closed, meal serving area. A large metal gate begins to wind itself up revealing a cafeteria like setup. There are serving people behind the counter in hairnets holding giant ladles. Trays are stacked to the right of them along with multi-portion style plates. The line begins to move as we all inch forward. I'm not too hungry myself, but I vow to at least attempt to eat what they serve.

Within a few minutes we finally make it to the front of the line. My dad and I each grab a tray and a plate and set them on the three metal bars. As we move down the line we are served a variety of different scoops of varying colors. I don't pay too much attention until we are at the end of the line. "Tablets," a woman says in a raspy voice. I hand her my tablet and she scans a barcode I hadn't noticed on the back. "Next." She hands me back my tablet and I struggle to carry it with one hand and my tray in the other. Surprisingly, I make it back to our table without breaking or dumping anything. My dad joins me a moment later.

We eat in silence--well, my dad eats and I move things around on my plate, hoping maybe he won’t notice. The colorful mush looks worse than the food they served outside of the shelter. My stomach rolls with nausea and any thoughts of eating quickly fly out of the window.

To pass the time, I take out my tablet and find the calendar on the home-screen. I tap it once and scan down to our current time. It's only seven in the evening although it feels much later. The lack of sun in here makes it impossible to tell time without consulting a clock.

My dad finishes his meal, and then we both carry our trays to the dish wash station to place them in the bins. "Why don't we go back to the room?" My dad suggests. "Unless you want to check out the amenities?"

I look at his tired eyes and say, "Nah, we can check them out tomorrow." I feel relieved that the accident earlier today didn't have any effect on me and that there will be a tomorrow. All of the worrying made me exhausted though. It's taking everything I have not to just curl up in a ball and fade away. Sleep will do me good.

*****

"NO!" I try to grab for my little brother's hand and it slips through my fingers. "Sabby!" I cry out to him as he starts sliding across the floor further and further away from me. Or is he being dragged?

"Wello!" He cries while reaching his little hands towards me, begging me to help him. His blue eyes are wild and filled with tears.

I try to stand up and run to him but a man in a biohazard suit is holding me down. I struggle with all my might to free myself but it's useless. My limbs feel weighed down and when I try to stand it feels like I'm fighting against gravity itself.

"Willow, it's okay." I turn to look at the man in the biohazard suit but he's gone, my dad is standing there reaching out to me. I try to reach out to him but the edges of my vision become blurred and I feel as though I'm on the verge of blacking out.

"Willow, wake up honey."

I hear my dad calling to me but I can't see him anymore, everything went black. An earthquake erupts and the world starts shaking. I'm too tired to open my eyes and take cover under my bed.

"Willow!" My dad calls again, his voice rises with concern.

I finally come to and pry my eyes open to find my dad shaking me. I look around dazed trying to decipher reality from dream.

"It's okay honey, it was just a dream." My dad says soothingly, pulling me into his arms. He's sitting on the edge of the top bunk with me. I take a few deep breaths and when the reminder of Sebastian being torn from my hands floods back into my brain, I break down. I sob into my dad's chest and cling to him as if he is my life force, the only thing keeping me attached to this world.

"Why dad?" I cry and bang my fist against his chest. "Why are we here?" I pull away from him and curl into a ball on my bed crying with all my might.

My dad doesn't answer me right away. He picks me up and cradles me in his arms like he used to do when I was a small child. I feel teardrops fall on my arms and when I look up at my dad I see that they are from him.

He wipes them away and looks at me with all of the love in the world. "Because we are meant to be here honey. That's why we are here."

"But we left them dad." I say barely above a whisper. The guilt of the situation is weighing heavily on my shoulders.

I feel my dad's body shake ever so slightly and he does everything he can to not break down in this second. "I know." He whispers and looks away. He takes several deep, shaky breaths. "We will pray that they make it. That's all that we can do now is hope and hold onto faith."

"If they don't...make it?" I find myself choking on my last two words.

"If they don't then maybe they are being spared from a worse fate. We don't know why things happen in this life but everything is for a purpose. If they...don't make it." My dad chokes on his words too. "Then they will be in a much better place than here."

I stare into my dad's eyes. "Do you really believe that?" I ask.

He nods his head and says, "With all my heart."

With that I wipe away my tears and move back into a sitting position next to my dad on the bed. Hope, I repeat over and over again in my head.

"Willow, I am here for you. I will not leave you. I promise." My dad hugs me and I hug him back as hard as I can.

"I am here for you too dad."

"I know." He pats me on the back and then hops down off the top bunk.

"You need to try and get some sleep now. I love you."

"Love you too." I lie back down and fall into a dreamless sleep.

I wake up to alarms going off in the hallway. I open my eyes and see a sensor of some sort on the ceiling flashing a bright white light over and over again.

"We need to go Willow. Get up and change quickly please." My dad says calmly.

"All persons report to headquarters." A woman's voice calls out calmly.

I look up at the speaker system in the corner of our room. I look back at my dad confused. "What time is it dad?"

"It's around 5:00 am. It's okay Willow, you need to get dressed though. They said in the orientation video that we would have routine drills and assemblies. That's probably what this is."

I nod my head and quickly hop down from my bed. I grab an ugly pair of blue scrubs from my drawer and head into the bathroom to change. I cringe at the sight of my unruly curls and decide to throw them into a quick ponytail. Even when it’s wrapped in a band, curls still manage to pop out on their own as if they can metaphorically do so.

A few minutes later we both leave our room, tablets in hand and join the masses of people flooding in the same direction down the stairwells and into the hallways. I look around and everyone looks just as dazed and confused as I do. This must be the first drill or assembly they've done here. I hold onto my dad's hand as we are herded into the headquarters. We pass by the administration offices and clothing stores until we reach an area that I could of sworn used to be just a wall. Now it's completely open and beyond it is a gigantic assembly hall that has thousands of stadium style seats surrounding an elevated stage. It reminds me of a football stadium and it even comes equipped with a jumbo-tron above the stage so people can still see all the way up in the nosebleed seats. F.E.M.A security guards in blue uniforms direct us towards seats, which are at a first come first serve basis. We follow the crowd up several flights of stairs until my dad finds us two aisle seats near the middle of the stadium.

It feels like hours pass before the entire stadium is fully seated. I fill the time messing with my tablet. I watch several short tour videos that familiarize us with the amenities and different aspects of shelter life. When the lights start to dim, I look up and find myself amazed by the shear magnitude of people that are being housed in this shelter. All of the screens of each person's tablets glow like large blue fireflies in this gigantic cavern. A hushed silence overcomes the crowd when the jumbo-tron flickers on and a man's face appears on the screen. Not just any man though, the President of the United States.

"My fellow Americans, by now you may know that we are facing a global shift in our way of life. We must consider that we are a country who has sacrificed in the past, not only for our way of life but to help those around the world who in dire circumstances needed us by their side. Today I am asking you to find your greatest resolve and sacrifice once more for the greater good of all. As a country, as a planet we must do what is required of us to support the preservation of our species: the human race. Those of you currently isolated in shelters: know that you are not alone. In these uncertain times the greatest comfort we can have is hope, hope in the future we are all helping to save: generations, for our children and our children's children. Thank you for your dedication to our cause as a nation, a world and may God help us all."

The speech ends and the screen turns blue. We all patiently wait in silence. A few seconds pass and a new face appears on the screen. This one I don't recognize.

A middle-aged man wearing a white lab coat and sporting a greying goatee speaks up. "Good morning citizens of F.E.M.A. shelter three. My name is Dr. Jim Hastings. I am in charge of this facility and I'm on the board for Project ELE. By now you all should have received your tablets, rooms and clothing allotment. As we all get situated and schedules get made please remain patient, as wait times will be longer than usual. As you have probably noticed already, we are a city encased within a mountain. As with any city there are rules that govern and keep us safe. If you would all flip your tablet to the blinking icon on the bottom of your screen and follow along. We are going to be going over some different rules and expectations for the next hour or so. If you have any questions please type it in the space below and one of our government officials will respond as quickly as possible."

I watch as a blinking icon appears in the corner of my tablet. I press it and a slide show presentation appears with highlighted bullet points. I try and not nod off during the remainder of the session but figure my dad will fill me in on any necessary details when we're finished. Then, a topic appears on my screen titled, "Work Assignments." This sparks my attention.

"As with any city," Dr. Hastings drones on, "each of us needs to pitch in for the city to properly function. Upon entry we took your measurements and weight to be able to assign a proper job to each of you. Age and ability have also been taken into consideration." A new icon pops up onto my screen. "In a few moments a new icon will become available on each of your screens. These are your temporary job placements. I say temporary because some may need adjusting as time may dictate. In addition, your tablets will hold your daily schedule. Please make sure you are timely to all appointments. With that said, you are all dismissed."

In anxiousness, I press the small blinking icon and am taken to a new screen. In large block letters at the top it reads, RUNNER. Runner? I look over at my dad's screen and his says SANITATION DEPARTMENT. Ewwww, I think to myself.

My dad must agree because he groans. He looks over onto my screen. "Runner? They're making children work? What is a Runner anyway?" He looks up at me confused. I just shrug my shoulders.

"It's okay dad, I don't mind." I really don't. I've never worked before, this may be cool, especially if there's money involved.

"You should be in school." He starts ferociously typing into the question box on the tablet. He hits send and we both sit there waiting for a response. People slowly file by us to exit the auditorium, but we remain seated. There's really no use in joining the masses to wait in yet another line to exit the place.

An answer pops up on the screen. "You will find an app labeled EDUCATION on your tablet screen. This will go over our shelter educational programs. Do you require any additional service?"

My dad types in "no." He looks at his tablet and doesn't see an education app on it. We look at mine and find the app in the lower left hand corner. I press on the icon that looks like an apple. We watch the presentation on F.E.M.A. education opportunities. They call the program, "Learning For A Brighter Future." I'm not sure how bright it will be with only four hours of class per day. Only children under the age of fifteen are eligible for full day classes. At the end of the presentation an online application pulls up. It is there for me to apply for Select classes. This would grant me a full eight hours of classes in substitute of working.

I look to my dad hoping that he will allow me to just close the box. "No honey, you are applying." My dad says.

I let out an exaggerated breath. I don't mind working. Of course I've never had to work before so I don't know what to expect but I do know that I wouldn't mind not having to go to school for eight hours a day. It's not that I don't like school or anything, I just often find myself bored. With a photographic memory, I learn quickly and find the repetitive assignments and lectures annoying. Going to work would be a new adventure. Plus, it would keep me busy. If I'm busy then I won’t have time to think of my mom or my brother. I push back the tears and begin filling in the applicable fields. After I press send we both stand up and head out of the auditorium.

The line to exit is much shorter now and we find ourselves in the hallway a few minutes later. Outside we locate several tables set up with cereal bars and cups of water. We each grab a cereal bar and a cup of water then head back in the direction of our room.

I nearly drop my cup when my tablet vibrates in my hand startling me. I look at it and see a schedule reminder flash across the screen. Report to room 231 for class. Great, another odd number. The time on my tablet says 9:00 am. I look over at my dad who is looking at his tablet as well.

He looks over at mine. "Okay honey, I guess this is where we part ways. Will you be okay finding your room without me?" We both learned during the orientation that we are only allowed three tardies per month. He shakes his head and says, "Never mind, I'm walking you there."

"No dad. I can find it, don't worry. See, this GPS map will lead me there no problem." I show him the flashing map on my screen. The green dot shows us where we are and the red dot shows the room that I'm supposed to report to. It's on a level above us. I don't really need the map since I've already memorized most of the layout, but it's nice to have.

"I don't like this at all. I shouldn't be leaving you alone. Are you going to be okay?" His eyebrows furrow in worry.

"I'll be fine dad. I've got this. I'm fifteen, nearly sixteen, remember? I can certainly find a room on my own." I smile even though I do feel the building anxiety at being separated from my dad so soon.

He looks at me and smiles. "Yeah, fifteen going on thirty! I have to remember how mature and smart you are honey. I know you can get there. Just stay safe. Find a friend in your class and try to stick together. I'd say don't talk to strangers but most everyone here is a stranger. So I'm going to say to go with your gut. You'll know who you can trust and who you can't. If you get any type of uncomfortable vibe from anyone just get as far away from them as you can. Okay?"

"Okay dad. I love you but we both have to go." I give him a hug and then we both take off in opposite directions. I look around and see other kids my age walking alone but the smaller ones are escorted by their guardians.

My stomach twists in knots as I walk along. I feel engulfed by the crowd and I have to work to control my breathing in order to avoid another panic attack. I take the stairs to my right and at the top I'm herded into a hallway filled with mostly children and teens. I look down at the timer on my tablet that says I have only a minute left to get to the room, so I pick up my pace. I reach room 231 with only seconds to spare and find that it looks like any typical school classroom except it's about three times as big. I slide into a seat in the back next to a girl with hair so blonde that it looks white. She looks really uncomfortable and avoids eye contact by pretending to be absorbed in whatever is playing on the screen of her tablet.

The bell rings and I gaze around the room to see that there are more than a hundred students. Even still, the desks are crammed so tightly together that we have very little personal space.

I set my tablet and my cup of water on the desk then open up my cereal bar. I stuff it down as quickly as possible not knowing the rules for eating in the classroom. I have to follow it up with water since the cereal bar was dry like cardboard. Yuck. On the flip side, at least my stomach won't be growling in the middle of class.

"Good morning class." A woman calls out from the front of the room. "My name is Ms. Thomas and I will be your teacher for the semester. We have only a short period of time together, so we will be working hard and fast during our allotted time. This class seems packed to the rim but many of you will be transferred out tomorrow when the Select class assignments are handed out."

A boy runs into the room out of breath, his back is facing us.

"Tablet please." Ms. Thomas holds her hand out stiffly. He hands it to her. "Reason for tardy?"

"I'm sorry ma'am. I had to take my sister to class and it was on the other end of the hall." He says apologetically but his posture remains stiff and straight.

"Your guardian should take her next time." The teacher says sternly to him.

"Yes, ma'am. She only met her guardian yesterday. Our parents are not with us. I promised her that I would take her to her first class. I won't be late again." He answers.

Ms. Thomas's facial expression softens. She presses a few things on the screen then hands his tablet back to him. "I understand. Today's tardy will be excused. Please be timely going forward. You may take a seat now."

The boy turns around and starts heading towards the back of the room. I suddenly realize that it's Connor; the boy I met in the cooling tent outside. My heart hurts for his loss. Both of his parents are gone. I think about his little sister with the orangey red hair. That makes me think of Sebastian and I am barely able to contain the tears that threaten to flood my eyes. I can't imagine what Connor must be going through. He doesn't have his mom or dad anymore. And now he carries the responsibility of his little sister with him as well. The thought pains me.

Connor takes the desk next to mine. He seems surprised at first to see me, then his face softens and he gives me a half smile. I return it then we both turn to listen to Ms. Thomas's lecture.

The lecture drones on for an hour and a half. Most of the kids around me begin to get fidgety after thirty minutes or so. I watch as Connor draws furiously in a notebook completely ignoring Ms. Thomas. His legs shake violently up and down; you can tell he's trying to fight the urge to get out of his chair and run. I simply take my time observing others. The girl with the 'almost white hair' seems lost. Her hair covers her face and whatever it is she is doing with her tablet.

I pick up my tablet, which we are supposed to be taking notes on and turn it up so Ms. Thomas can't see. Let's see if this sucker has any games, I think to myself. But, alas, the screen is completely locked so I am forced to stare at the boring slide show flashing by at a snails pace. Note to self...bring an alternate activity next time.