The Butterfly Box_A SASS Anthology Read online

  After a few seconds of silence, I repeated the phrase. Finally, I heard my dad’s voice. “I’m here.”

  “Dad?”

  “Jema?”

  “Yes. Listen I don’t have much time. I can’t answer questions. You can’t let Owen know I contacted you. Can you get your HLA-typed as soon as possible?”

  “Like for a bone marrow match?”

  “Yes.”

  “What’s going on?”

  I heard footsteps in the corridor. “I have to go. Just get it.” I clicked off the radio and stowed it in the vent. Reaching above our heads, Troy pulled a wire from the light fixture. Buzzing, the light went out with a pop. The door flew open, and two men rushed into the room. Troy wrapped his arms around my waist as they approached.

  “What’s going on?” Troy asked.

  “That’s what we need to know. Come on. Hands on your heads.”

  “What? This is crazy. We were just—”

  “Yeah, yeah, sneaking away to make out. We picked up a radio signal from this area.”

  “Something happened with the light.” I pointed above our heads. “It buzzed and then blew out.”

  “You guys don’t have a radio or phone?”

  “No, man,” Troy said, lifting his arms above his head.

  They checked our pockets. “Okay, come with us. It’s not even lunch, and you teens are already causing trouble.”

  “We haven’t done anything wrong.” I said.

  “You’re not at your job assignment at the very least.” He motioned to his partner. “Check the area for devices.”

  We followed the man down the hall to the command center. Inside, he led us between the rows of computers. I scanned the walls and desks, trying to make mental notes of everything I saw. At the far side, he stopped in front of Owen. “Sir, we found these two in the store room. They said a light buzzed and blew out above their heads. Their pockets are clean, and John is checking the area for radios.”

  “Thanks.” The corners of Owen’s mouth went down as he looked at me. “Cleo, Mark, shall we?” He motioned to a table, and we followed, taking seats opposite him.

  Troy grabbed my hand. “Is there a problem, sir?”

  “Well, you weren’t at your work stations, and we picked up radio activity in the area you were found.” Owen looked to me. “I told you no communications today. If you have a device, either of you—” he pointed between us “—you need to surrender it.”

  “Like a radio?” I asked.

  He rolled his eyes. “Yes.”

  “I don’t have a radio.”

  He looked at Troy, who dropped my hand and held his palms out. “Me, either. The wiring on the fixture must be bad. I’m pretty handy with stuff like that if you want me to look at it.”

  “Are you two bored with your jobs already?”

  We shook our heads. “No, sir.”

  “Okay, well, get to them.”

  “Yes, sir.” We stood, bowed, and backed away. Troy laced his fingers with mine as we walked from the room. In the middle of the main hall, he stopped and faced me.

  “Guess we have to get to work now.” He inched towards me until my back hit the wall.

  “Guess so.”

  Then his lips were on mine. They were soft and warm, but we were in the middle of the community room. I tried to pull away, but his hand wound around my neck. He released me when the sound of a throat clearing filtered to my ears. Owen approached, arms folded over his chest, and stopped a few feet from us. Troy dropped my hand, turned and walked away.

  “Cleo.” Uncle Owen motioned towards my assigned job area.

  “Yes, sir.” I nodded my head and spun, taking long strides to the lab. With tingling lips and racing heart, I leaned against the wall inside.

  “You’re back,” I heard the woman’s voice. “Were you able to contact your dad?”

  “No communication today.” Lifting a lab coat, I slid it on.

  “Sorry. I heard you’re assigned to me, officially. I’m Dena.” She took off her glove and extended her hand. I took it, finding her hands to be just as callused as Troy’s. “We’ve only got an hour till lunch, but I can show you what we’re doing.”

  The community members were on a monitoring schedule to check for any deficiencies in diet or anomalies. With the return of the flu, they had ten samples every day, which put everyone on a roughly ten-day window.

  “So you have surgeons here who can do a bone marrow procedure?”

  “Yes, the doctor who is caring for Nave would perform the transplant. Are you paying attention to what I’m teaching you?”

  “Yes, sorry.” In truth, I heard her, but the other half of my brain processed all the components needed to make Nave’s transplant reality. If Dad were a match, he’d need to have the marrow extracted, and we’d need to get the marrow to Nave. I doubted Owen would send a team. It would be too dangerous. Dad coming might trigger a search. I had to think of a way to get the sample from Dad and get it back in twelve hours. My mind jumped to the plane I’d seen in the vehicle area and Troy’s piloting skills. Flying would be faster but riskier as there would be no escape if we were seen. We needed a fast vehicle and enough gas to get us there and back. Plus, we could only travel at night, so we’d have to arrive in the morning and have the marrow extracted in the evening, increasing our time near the border. I needed another person because I’d never make the drive myself. Mom wasn’t trained to use weapons. Could I ask Troy to help? It seemed like my only option.

  Dana left me to finish the instructed task, and I added the ingredients to the samples and recorded the results. Scanning the room, I realized someone had to be supplying them. They couldn’t keep up all the stock for very long. A bell sounded and Dena approached. “That’s the signal for lunch time. You have half an hour to eat and then an hour’s rest period.”

  We walked to the meal area, and seeing Troy, I fell in line behind him. “You doing better?”

  “Yeah.” I nodded.

  “How are you?”

  “Bored, but good.” He leaned closer to me. “We should talk. I have a plan.”

  His hot breath raised goosebumps on my skin, but I smiled and squeezed his arm, playing the smitten teen. We ate and made our way to the dorm. It was half-filled, and he plopped down on his mattress. “I’m napping.” He caught my hand before I could get two steps away. “Lie down with me. Tell me about the lab.”

  I scanned the room. The closest person rested on a bed three bunks away. I whispered to Troy, relaying information about the testing, the supplies, and my trial at accessing the computer system. I leaned back so I could look into his eyes. “You don’t have to help me, but I’m going to get the sample from Dad if he’s a match.”

  “I thought you would. If you’re going, I’m going with you. Commander Butler won’t approve a trip like that. It endangers the community to benefit one person.”

  “She’s his family.”

  “It doesn’t matter. He’s the commander. He must think about the group. You can’t leave me here anyway. I’ll end up clobbering someone, and that will be on you.” He took my hand and squeezed it. “We’ll figure out a way. I was thinking of trying to get reassigned to vehicle maintenance. We could get a Jeep. They don’t have surveillance cameras here like at the other facility.”

  “That’s a good idea.”

  “I know.” He smiled and winked. “I need a nap.” He closed his eyes.

  I closed mine, too, trying to relax. He still held my hand, and I shivered as my body temperature cooled. Dropping my hand, he extended his arm over my back.

  FINDING TROY AT the wash station before dinner, I tapped him on the shoulder. He spun to me, and a huge grin spread across his face. “Look.” He displayed his palms for me.

  “And?”

  “Grease.”

  I cut my eyes to see if anyone was nearby. “How did you manage that?”

  “It was hilarious. I acted like I had two left feet, stomping on plants, picking beans that weren’t
ready, over watering the herbs. I didn’t even last an hour. When they asked me to describe my skills, I said I could fix cars. I was in the vehicle bay faster than you could say Lovelock.”

  “Sweet.” We walked towards the dinner line and found seats with his mom.

  “What did you do to get kicked out of your job?” She asked as Troy sat down beside her.

  “Sorry, Mom, plants just aren’t my thing. I’m better with metal.”

  “I know this isn’t ideal, but just please try to stay in line. Okay?”

  “I am, Mom. Don’t worry about me.”

  “That’s sort of what moms do.” She asked about my sister and work assignment and relayed all she’d learned about Lovelock. It was good to hear about their system. Since I’d been so focused on helping Nave, I hadn’t bothered to figure it out.

  After the meal, we were instructed to line up the benches around a screen. All the members gathered as Owen and a team plugged in projection equipment. When they’d finished, he called the group to order.

  “For the benefit of the new members, we’re going to do a brief recap of yesterday’s events, and then we’ll get to the new intel.”

  I took in a deep breath to calm my nerves, thinking whatever he had to say couldn’t be good.

  “We learned yesterday that the Chinese Prime Minister was ousted by a previously unknown group headed by General Zhou. General Zhou seems to have been supported by Russian leadership. The Earth Council met today to discuss the transition. Just a few hours ago, General Zhou gave a speech outside the Chinese parliament.” Owen pointed to the screen. “We just got this feed, so I haven’t viewed it yet.”

  Looking at the monitor, I clutched the bench under me. Beside a tall Asian man dressed in full military uniform stood a woman who could have doubled for Mom. Blinking, I studied the images. Zhou was Mom’s name but very common in China. Mom’s parents had died when their boat capsized, or so I’d been told. That was twenty years ago. General Zhou couldn’t be her father, could he?

  “Jema,” Troy whispered. “It’s freaky that the lady looks just like your mom.”

  “Yeah.” I swallowed hard and tucked my hair behind my ear, refocusing on Owen. He turned from the screen and, wide-eyed, met my gaze. Was he thinking the same thing? Could they be my grandparents?

  “I will speak in English as it is the official language,” General Zhou started. “My name is General Zhou, and as of today, I am the leader of China. My forces have secured our borders. No travel will be allowed in or out. I met today with the other Earth Council members, and they have appointed me Chancellor.” A gasp passed through the group. “Together with the other nations of the Earth Council, we have adopted strategies for containing the virus.” He outlined a plan for separating people per gene lines. These gene lines weren’t defined further, and I realized events were unfolding just as Dad and Admiral Masterson must have predicted, save the coup on the Chinese government and Earth Council.

  When General Zhou finished speaking and the video stopped, the room fell silent as if the cave had been vacuumed of all the sound. Maybe everyone was just as stunned as me. A rogue general was now leader of the EC, and world leaders had agreed on segregation based on some genetic marker?

  As whispers started Owen cleared his throat. “Most of you know nations formed the Earth Council twenty years ago to meet the global environmental crisis. Leaders from each country are represented on the council. The council has been stable until today. Reports are that the other nations formed a block the UNAS could not stand against. It is unclear whether the United North will cooperate with the directives of the EC.”

  “Sir.” A man who’d been working the video stood. “We have a new feed from the President.”

  The UNAS President’s image appeared on the screen. Fear gripped my lungs as I realized the men flanking him wore EC armbands. “Today,” the president started, “the Earth Council has voted to start efforts to contain the virus spreading around the world. After conferring with my scientific council, we have decided the EC’s plan to be a sound one for maintaining the human race. The UNAS will begin to initiate the council’s mandates immediately.”

  “Maintaining the human race? What does that mean?” I whispered to Troy.

  “He means they threatened us with nuclear bombs,” Troy said into my ear.

  Owen rested his hands on the table in front of him and hung his head. His shoulders lifted and sank, and he raised his head to look out at the group. “Unfortunately, our worst fears have come to fruition. As rumors of AALC spread two years ago, we created Lovelock to be a haven from unjust segregation and a place where lifesaving medicines could be created and distributed without bias. It will be hard to see our countrymen suffer. We will do what we can to aid them. That said, Lovelock has reached capacity. We will not accept other members.”

  I thought of Ava and my other friends at the base and wondered what they were feeling. It seemed like Owen was making some assumptions about how the segregated populations would be treated. Would they deny groups of people vaccines or medicines? Didn’t they have an obligation to treat the old and young first?

  I turned to Troy. “Do you have family in the States?”

  “Not much but they’re all military.” He turned to his mom.

  She rubbed his shoulder. “Your dad said they’d be fine.”

  “All of our friends. What will happen to them?” I wondered aloud.

  “This is a lot to take in. I’m sure we’ll get more information soon,” Owen continued.

  Beside me, Lacey wrung her hands. “Everything will be fine. You’ll see.”

  An officer whose tag read David Smith appeared beside me. “Miss Cleo, Commander Butler says he would like to brief you on your sister. You can follow me.”

  My eyes shot to the place Owen had been standing, but he was gone.

  Troy squeezed my arm. “I’ll meet you in the dorm.”

  “Okay.” Unsure of whether to be more worried about Nave, our fathers, or General Zhou and his wife, I followed David into the command room. He led me to a corner sectioned off by metal walls and a door. Opening the door for me, he pulled out a chair. “Commander Butler will be right in.” He closed the door, and all was silent.

  I pressed my hand to the table, letting the cold metal calm my nerves. Realizing the temperature was out of place, I stood up and waved my hand over the vent.

  The door opened. “We had to install air conditioning for the computers. The main frame wouldn’t survive in this heat,” Owen said as he pointed to the room beyond.

  “That must’ve been challenging.” I reclaimed my seat at the table.

  “It was.” He set a laptop on the tabletop and sat down. “So, I planned this meeting before tonight’s briefing. We have more to discuss than I thought.”

  “I guess so.” I looked at my hands and then back to him.

  “I can’t get over how much that woman looked like your mom. I don’t remember her saying much about her parents. Did she ever talk about them?”

  “As far as I know she believes they drowned at sea.”

  “Well, we can question her about that.”

  “Can I talk to her?”

  “Yes, we have a hard line between the facilities.”

  Owen opened a laptop and connected it to a line plugged into a panel in the wall. Opening a video chat program, he started the connection and spun the device to face me. “Wait.” I waved my hands in front of the screen. “Does she know about you being here?”

  “No.”

  I nodded. “Okay.”

  He pushed the start button. Pale as a ghost, Mom’s face appeared on the screen. “Jema?”

  “Mom, are you okay?”

  She blotted the tears on her face with a tissue. “Just a little shaken up.”

  “Did you see the news feed?”

  “I can’t believe they’re alive. All this time I thought they were dead.”

  So, it was true, they were my grandparents, somehow still alive aft
er all these years. I took a deep breath. “Mom, there’s someone else here who wants to talk to you? Just to warn you.” I cut my eyes to Owen. “This may be as shocking as seeing your parents alive. This is Commander Butler.” I turned the laptop to face him.

  “Hello madam.”

  Her hand went to her mouth. She swallowed and raised her chin. “Commander Butler.”

  “I know today’s news must have been a shock. You had no knowledge of your parents other than what you just told Cleo?”

  Eyes wide, she stared into the screen. “No, never.”

  “Thank you. Don’t worry about your daughter. She’s assimilating fairly well, although she and her boyfriend caused a little panic today.”

  Her eyes cut to me, and her tone took on the low authoritarian voice I was used to when I’d done something wrong. “Jema.”

  I hated being a bratty teenager and avoided it whenever possible, but I had to keep up our charade. “It was nothing, Mom. We were just hanging out.”

  “Young lady, you are too young to be getting involved with some boy.”

  “Mom, I’m almost sixteen.”

  Owen turned the screen so she only saw him. “I have the situation under control.”

  “Thank you…” She hesitated. “Sir.”

  Owen turned the screen back to me. “Jema?” Mom squeaked out.

  “Cleo, remember? How’s Nave?”

  “She’s about the same. They say they’re looking for a donor match. Have you heard if they found one?”

  My heart sank.

  “I guess that answers my question.”

  “They’re working on an anti-viral.” I wished I could tell her about Dad.

  Owen cleared his throat. “That’s all the time we have tonight ladies.”

  I looked at Mom’s image. “Goodnight. I love you.”

  Holding a hand to her mouth, she nodded. “I love you, too.”

  “I’ll visit as soon as I can.”

  “Okay.”

  Owen clicked the end button. “Well, that went about as expected. I guess you take after your father.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “She’s a little soft.”