Waterproof (12 page)

TWELVE

Vivienne

Hunter shoved another bite of pancake into his mouth, ignoring the fact it was three times too large. “Mmm, Vee, this is the most amazing thing I’ve ever tasted.”

“Wha
t about the waffle, or the donut, or the banana? You said they were all the most amazing foods ever.”

“Yeah, but I hadn’t tried the chocolate chip pancakes yet.” Hunter shoved another chunk in his mouth before swallowing completely.

“You’re going to choke,” I said with a smile. At least his wounded face didn’t slow him down. He’d been eating for almost an hour straight. After a generous helping of scrambled eggs and crisp bacon, I couldn’t eat another bite. But the ever-growing boy had no problem finding a place to store the food.

I looked around the large cafeteria. The place was full of at least a hundred
deserters, all scarfing down food like it would disappear at any minute. The place smelled like damp concrete, mixed with iron and eggs. Metal picnic tables had been lined up in three rows, each fitting several people even though the crowd tended to stay in small groups. Hunter and I sat alone at the only table where a tiny ray of sunlight penetrated through from a skylight in the ceiling. After being inside for a day, I felt the need for fresh air.

“You
gonna eat that?” he asked, pointing to a half piece of bacon left on my plate.

“Nope.”

He reached across the table and rubbed his prize in the puddle of maple syrup now smothering his plate. Bacon, eggs, real food. I couldn’t shake the feeling this was too good to be true. In two days, we’d been abducted by the government, given fresh clothes, showered in hot water, slept in a real bed, and now ate a breakfast fit for a king. Weren’t we at the factory? Weren’t we supposed to be working as slaves?

As if on cue, the large
double doors at the far end of the room slid open with a heavy, grinding sound. The conversations stopped as everyone waited to see what our next surprise would be. Hunter and I were too far away to see the mercenaries enter, but the gasps and sudden atmosphere of dread confirmed my suspicions.

Time to see what this place was really about.

“Line up along the wall,” one of them commanded.

Every cell in me wanted to rebel against the order and it seemed others had the same thoughts as well. We were all used to defying the government. Why would we want to start obeying now?

“Now!”

Three more mercenaries stepped through the door and raised their guns. People started to move,
slowly at first, until the gun made contact with body parts. Several got shoved in the back while some needed a little extra coaxing by a barrel to the head.

I grabbed Hunter’s shoulder and directed him to the side wall, leaving my sunlight behind and worrying it would be the last time I got to see it. In no time at all, the deserters stood in a line, waiting for their punishment. The gunman had positioned themselves throughout the
room, being sure to divvy up the shots should someone try to make a break for it.

A clicking sound drew my attentio
n back to the door. A small woman, no more than five feet tall, wearing a tight fitting black uniform with perfectly polished boots, walked briskly through the door. The clipboard in her hand and dark framed glasses made her look more like a librarian than the type of official who could fill the room with her presence, as she was doing now.

She made a quick show of checking her papers before strutting over to the line of deserters. She started on the other end, so I couldn’t see what was
happening, but when she began pulling the kids and younger teenagers out of the line, panic shot through me.

As she reached my side, I watched her check off one last box before grabbing Hunter by the shoulder and yanking him forward. He stumbled out of her grip and flashed a fearful look in my direction.

“Where are you taking him?” I asked. Could I get the jump on her or would there be a bullet in my brain before I took the first step?

“Relax,” she said in a way that made her strangely more relatable. “He’s not old enough for the draft.”

One of the guards grabbed Hunter and pushed him to the center of the room where five other kids waited. I saw the look of defiance pass over his face and hoped he’d keep it under control. Thankfully, he said nothing and after yanking his arm of the man’s grasp, he walked freely to join the rest of the group.

“So where are you taking them?” I asked. Didn’t anyone else care? Once again, I seemed to be the one elected to speak for us all. Or maybe that’s just the way I was.

“To school,” she said with a shrug.

“School?”
Hunter asked, yelling loud enough for it to echo throughout the metal room.

“For how long?”
I asked again, but the woman didn’t answer. Instead she turned on her heel and walked out of the room, expecting the kids to follow.

Hunter didn’t move at first so when he looked at me, I mouthed
It’ll be okay
to him. The panic in his eyes did something unexpected to my gut. Not once in my life had I ever called myself maternal, but at this moment, I felt like my child had been ripped from me.

Tears fell on my cheeks and I brushed them away quickly. Smiling at Hunter, I nodded and tried to show him that everything was fine. I saw him swallow then brush his hair back from his eyes and stand with confidence. It reminded me of the day we found him in the forest, alone and
orphaned, he stood above his mother’s body, protecting her even after death. He had a strength not many could retain in our world and Zach and I had helped him harness that energy into survival.

We’d taught him well.

The kids shuffled out behind their new instructor, with Hunter glancing back one last time before they rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. A moment later, my breath caught when I noticed someone new walking into the room. I hated myself for having that reaction, and hoped he hadn’t noticed.

“Good morning. I expect you’ve all been treated well?” Riley asked, taking a moment to look at everyone standing in line. When he got to me, his eyes lingered a little too long for my liking. Yet I refused to look away.

“I imagine you would like to know what’s going to happen now,” he continued, still staring at me. Finally breaking my gaze he said, “Since you all ignored your government mandated draft duties, you’ve been assigned to decontamination.” Riley paced back and forth in the middle of the room like a drill sergeant.

“Sir?” a fragile female voice called out, obviously unsure if speaking was prohibited. “What’s decontamination?”

Riley stopped moving and focused on the woman. The smile that spread across his face was so out of place yet oddly comforting. Stepping forward again he addressed us all.

“Exactly what it sounds like.
The bottles don’t clean themselves,” he chuckled and a few from the crowd joined him. A mercenary joking with the deserters - not something I’d ever expected to see. Especially in a factory.

“Now, I expect you all to follow three basic rules.
One, listen to the soldiers. They are not here to harm you but are expected to be mindful. They will only use force as a last resort.”

I had serious doubts about that after what I saw yesterday. Gunning down a wom
an from a glorified tree stand looked like unnecessary force to me.

“Two,” Riley looked at me, “listen to your shift supervisor. If you have questions, ask.
But be respectful. Attitudes are not tolerated.”

I narrowed my eyes at the insinuation and I swear I saw a slight smirk pull at the corner of his mouth.

“And finally, pace yourself. You each have a minimum of two years to serve so accept it. Do your time, then you can go home.”

The temperature in the room dropped as every single one of us tensed at his words. No one came home after being collected. Did he really expect us to believe him? As if understanding the unspoken questions, he continued.

“Should you like your time here, and prove to be worthy, there will be opportunities for advancement.” A collective groan reverberated throughout the room. Riley stopped moving and spread his hands. “I was standing where you were not so long ago. And here I am with a roof over my head, three meals a day, and a bed to sleep in at night. Do your job and you can choose your future.”

I almost laughed at the reverent tone of his speech, but saw many of those standing close to me had been mesmerized with the possibility his words held. Shaking my head, I pushed down the rebelliousness itching to escape. I, for one, certainly didn’t plan on staying and more importantly…I didn’t believe a word out of this mercenary’s mouth.

“Come,” Riley commanded like we were nothing more than street dogs. I guessed in his eyes, that was probably true.

One by one, we followed him out the door and around the corner in the same direction Hunter had gone. Twisted in dread and crawling with anxiety, my stomach gurgled at the thought of what Hunter would have to face. For once, I really hoped I could trust the woman who seemed honest enough to tell me he would be in school and not some dungeon somewhere cleaning toilets or something worse.

The hallway looked like my old high school, minus the lockers and obnoxious students slamming each other into walls. Terrazzo floors sparkled with a fresh coat of wax and soldiers dressed in all black passed by us every so often.

A high-pitched squeal broke my thoughts as we approached a wall of windows on our left. A group of young kids, no more than five years old, filled the room and I found the culprit. A girl with tight blonde curls and a tiny, tan dress screamed again as the rest of the class tried to catch her in a game of tag.

The smile on my face hadn’t yet dissipated when we passed another room and I spotted Hunter. Sitting at a desk in the back of the class, this group looked serious or uninterested as a teacher scribbled something on the board in front of them. I waved at Hunter, disappointed when he didn’t respond even though I thought he looked right at me.

“Reflective glass.”
Riley’s sudden appearance by my side unnerved me in a way that bothered my psyche. “They can’t see out.”

“Oh,” I said. “Um…thanks.” Why I was thankful, I didn’t know.

He smiled down at me, fully revealing the dimples in his clean-cut cheeks. “It’s not so bad here,” he whispered. “Just don’t fight back.”

“You keep saying that,” I said, risking a look up at him. The guy in front of me tilted his head to the side, obviously trying to listen to our private conversation.

“I know you,” Riley said.

“No you don’t.”

He laughed. “I know your type.”

I raised my eyebrows, daring him to continue. We turned down another hallway that
dead-ended in a set of double doors. The ping of an elevator welcomed our arrival.

“You don’t know anything about me,” I said as we waited in a small group, acutely aware
of how close Riley stood next to me. His cologne wafted over my senses, doing something funny to my chest.

I missed Zach.

The elevator doors opened and the guards in front began to usher us inside. I turned toward Riley when I noticed him staying behind. “You’re not coming?”

His eyes sparkled. “Miss me already?”

Was he flirting with me? I shook my head in confusion. “No…I…never mind.”

He laughed, not loud enough for the others to hear, but a clear indication that he felt we had some kind of thing going on. “You’ll be fine.”

“Famous last words,” I mumbled.

“I’ll check on you later
,” he smiled, nodding to the rest of our guards.

Still confused, I watched as he walked away. Th
e plethora of emotions that had plagued me the last forty eight hours swirled around inside. The government factory almost felt like a welcomed break to my life on the run. But at the same time I missed Zach more than I could handle. I missed his smile, his touch, the comfort he brought…

“Miss?”

The guard’s voice pulled me out of my depressing thoughts. I tore my eyes away from the now empty hallway to see him holding the elevator doors open. He waved me inside.

Wiping the tears out of my eyes, I took a breath and joined my group in the service-sized elevator. The doors
squeaked closed and I suddenly felt claustrophobic in the tight quarters. The smell of grease mixed with strawberry shampoo and a hint of body odor made me nauseous.

The other deserters looked around frantically as our elevator plummeted down a number of stories. My stomach followed as the speed of our decent seemed to increase. I wondered if this was a sign of things to come. My life felt like it was spiraling into an abyss and I had no control.

When our descent finally stopped, the silence spread like an infection. My heart pounded while I waited to see what lay ahead. As the doors opened, I thought of Zach and hoped he was thinking of me too.

I needed his strength.