The room was tiny, and I was surprised to see it was an exam room. It had a small medical bed with a single chair and cabinet. On the counter under the cabinet were glass jars of cotton balls and swabs. I stepped forward and put my hand on the cabinet door, but a mechanical whir sounded behind me. I spun to see a video camera in the corner, and I dropped my hand. Damn it. Curiosity burned from the inside, but I sat in the chair and let out a huff.
My whole body hurt, and sitting there, I could do nothing but feel every ache. I shivered as my frozen parts slowly, painfully, came back to life.
After a while I got too warm, so I stripped off Rylen’s dirt-crusted sweatpants. My skinny jeans felt stiff and gross. The plastic underneath stuck to my legs, itching from the salty sweat trapped in the folds. Thankfully there was no mirror in the room, because my face felt dry, cracked, and filthy as I untwined the shirt I’d used as a scarf from around my neck. I stared at the bed with its pristine white paper cover over a blue pleather cushion. So much time passed, that I climbed up on it. More time passed, so I laid down. A groan of comfort escaped me as I let my eyes shut for just a minute.
Just a minute . . .
The click of the door opening was like a gunshot in my ears. I woke from a dead sleep with a scream, nearly falling off the bed in my flailing confusion.
“Whoa,” said a man.
I pressed a hand to my chest as I looked up at him. He was in Army BDUs—battle dress uniform—of faded green camo with black boots that could use a shine. But his hair was pristinely cut in a buzz. He looked like he was in his late-thirties. Stern face. Behind him was a much shorter, stockier man, also in BDUs. They threw out some seriously intense vibes.
“What is your name?” the man in front asked.
“Am—” It came out scratchy, so I cleared my throat. “Amber Tate.”
He stood in front of me, feet spread, arms crossed. “I’m sure you’re tired and hungry, Amber Tate.”
“Yes.” Oh, God, food . . .
“First, tell me your story.”
So I did. I told him about my family, where we were from, my parents’ jobs, my job, Tater, Remy, and Rylen. I told him how my grandparents and parents were killed, but I skimmed over the details of our disobedience to the DRI. Just in case. He didn’t miss that fact.
“And why weren’t you on that bus with your parents?”
I cleared my throat and looked at my cracked hands. “We were, um, at our old high school, so we found this room where we used to go, and we were just talking when they took everyone out . . . they missed us.”
Wow, I sounded lame in my half-truth. His stern face said he wasn’t buying it.
“Is that right? Seeing as how they told you they wanted to move everyone for your own protection, seems like you would’ve wanted to be on that bus with your family. To be taken to safety.”
I gave a small shrug. “Yeah . . .” I ran my fingernails down my jeans and stared at the lines they made.
“Look at me, Miss Tate. And answer me.” I looked up and my mouth went dry when he asked, “Why did you directly disobey the DRI? I require the complete truth from you. If your father was Army, he would’ve taught you the value of honesty and bravery, am I right?”
Yes. My eyes filled with moisture at the thought of Dad. Would he trust this guy? Would he be honest with him? I wanted to be a good judge of character. I was scared of the DRI, but if these guys were with them, I was going to die anyway. So I pictured Dad and Mom in my mind and I nodded.
“We didn’t trust the DRI.” My voice shook as the truth tumbled out of me. “We wanted to get our parents away from them too, but we were too late.”
The man’s stern voice did not soften. “Why didn’t you trust them?”
“I don’t know. At first, something just felt off. And then their regulations became so inflexible that they were killing everyone who disobeyed. Good people. They killed my grandfather, an old man, right in our living room because he defied them!”
A hot tear slid down my face and I swiped it away angrily.
“What would you say if I told you I was DRI?”
I gritted my teeth and my stomach soured. Was he for real? Was he one of them? If so, I was so screwed that it didn’t matter what I said next. So I said what I wanted to, trying not to cry. “I would ask you why. Why you killed my family? Why you bombed entire towns of good, hard working people?” I clamped my teeth against the urge to rail.
He watched me carefully. “And what if my response was that those people, your family, were no longer useful to us?”
Not useful? My healthy, upstanding parents? My Abuela who could cook better than anyone I knew? “Then I would say fuck you!” I snarled.
The man didn’t even flinch. After a moment of watching me trying to catch my breath, he let out a deep chuckle that became a laugh and a genuine smile. He stuck out his hand. “Welcome to Dugway Proving Ground, Amber Tate. The U.S. Army is glad to have you.”
What? My skin turned hot then cold with a flush of fear and anger turning to relief. I put my hand in his and shook my head, letting out a breathy laugh. “You scared me.”
“That was the point. For what it’s worth, you didn’t look scared to me. You’re just the kind of person we need around here.” He released my hand and clapped my shoulder. “I’m First Sergeant Grandstone, but everyone calls me Dog Balls. This is Puppy Nuts.” He hitched a thumb at the guy behind him. They kept straight faces, so I forced myself to do the same.
“Hi, thanks. And I was wondering about my friend, Remy. She’s—”
“Sick,” said Dog Balls . . . er, First Sergeant. “She’s being cared for.”
A smile practically broke my face, and I had to press my hands to my cheeks. “Thank you.” Could it be true? We were safe and they had meds for Remy? I couldn’t stop smiling. Then I blurted, “My dad was a First Sergeant. Top.” Top was the nickname, but you sort of had to earn the right to call a First Sergeant that.
He nodded. “I know. Let’s get some food into you and give you a tour of the compound while your quarters are being readied.” Food? Quarters? Freaking yes! “For now, you can wash up at this sink.”
I stared at the sink. My heart pounded. It had been a long time since I used faucet water.
“It’s safe,” he assured me, then he left me alone.
I turned on the water and hissed when I put my hands under. It was warm. I washed my hands, up my forearms, and then my face and neck, cringing at the pink tinge in the water. I wanted to stick my whole head under, but forced myself to hold off. Instead, I grabbed a jar of petroleum jelly on the counter and rubbed some on my lips. The immediate relief was blissful.
In the hall, Remy stood against the wall, looking exhausted. I ran to her, hugging her tight.
She pulled a Z-pack of antibiotics out of her pocket and we both smiled weakly. Two were missing, so she’d already taken her first dose.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” she whispered. For now, a voice in my head said, but I ignored it.
One by one the guys were led out of their rooms, each breaking into grins. We all looked filthy and depleted next to the other soldiers. When Rylen came out and met my eyes, I couldn’t hold back a huge smile, even though it hurt my face. Despite how frightening I must have looked, a light came on behind his dark gray eyes, like a cloud had rolled away from the sun as he soaked in my happiness. Heat spread through me, and I had to look away when Tater approached.
They took us into a sparse meeting room with a long black table and folding chairs. Then they brought in a pitcher of water, glasses, and a tray of sandwiches. We dove at the tray like a pack of wolves on a venison carcass. I’d devoured half of my sandwich before I paused to see what it even was. It looked like a loaf of homemade white bread with tuna salad and spinach. Fresh spinach? Did they grow it here?
My stomach constricted and I pressed a hand to it, feeling dizzy. I had to slow down on the eating and take smaller bites. I sipped my water and met the eyes of the oth
er guys around the table. Exhaustion was clear on everyone’s gaunt faces, despite their smiles. We’d been left alone.
“This is legit, right?” I whispered. The guys all quieted and looked at me, then each other.
“I think so,” Tater said.
“Yeah,” Rylen agreed. The others nodded. Most of them had already finished their sandwiches and waters, and were eyeing the empty tray.
“Now we need to find out what their plan is,” Texas Harry said. “Are they just surviving, or do they plan to take action?”
We all nodded. It wasn’t enough to simply live anymore.
The door opened and Dog Balls stood there looking serious. He saw that we were done eating and motioned toward the hall. “Right this way.”
I guess trust only went so far, because we were flanked by armed soldiers during the tour, and we were told we could get our own weapons back “in a couple days.” We had to prove ourselves, and I couldn’t blame them for being cautious, though I hated feeling vulnerable.
The tour took over an hour. It would have been much faster but we had a million questions and we were dragging ass.
Dugway was a small Army base that specialized in biological warfare. The solar panel field had been up before the war began—that’s what they were calling it: The War—but they were taking full advantage of it for their electricity, which was necessary since the entire compound was underground without nature’s light. The aboveground base was now abandoned after the DRI shut it down, like every other base. But the enemy didn’t know about the underground compound. Not even most of the soldiers who’d worked at Dugway had known about it.
“So, why is it here?” I’d asked as we passed through the kitchen area. “Why the secrets?”
Dog Balls gave me a sly grin. “Perhaps as a precaution.”
Hm. Not exactly an answer. All our guys narrowed their eyes, probably wondering what the full story was there, just like I was. Because judging by the looks of the halls and kitchen decorum, this compound had been around since the nineteen seventies.
I peered around the kitchen area and asked, “Where did you get the spinach?”
He nodded in appreciation at the question. “Aboveground we have a greenhouse. We send people up at night to work it and harvest. Nobody goes aboveground in daylight except a handful of watchmen and scouts.” I nodded.
We came to a commons room sort of area, larger than any other room we’d been in, and sunken further into the ground to make the ceiling higher than the halls and small rooms. This room had long rows of cafeteria-style tables and benches on one side, and on the other side were couches and tables. Three guys and a girl playing cards looked up at us as we passed. First Sergeant gave them a nod and promised to introduce us to everyone in the morning.
They watched us as we passed, and we watched them back. Some of them wore their BDU pants with white T-shirts, but one of the guys was in jeans. The girl was in boots, black pants, and a black tank top. She looked tall and slender with icy light blue eyes that didn’t miss a thing. Her brown hair was short in back and angled down longer around her face in the front, where it turned blond. Her eyes stayed on Rylen for way longer than necessary. He noticed and gave her a nod of greeting before looking away. Weird.
We stopped at the far edge of the room in front of a large, steel door.
“Now, here’s where things got tricky,” First Sergeant said. “We’ve got one hundred twenty-nine people here—one thirty-eight including you all—and there wasn’t enough room in the compound to house everyone. As you can imagine, it was tight quarters in here that first week until we knew we had to do something. Thankfully we have some handy troops who were able to dig a tunnel from here out to the Army hotel, about half a mile from here.”
Every eyebrow in our group went up, and First Sergeant chuckled. “Yep. It took twelve days. They just finished last week. Now we have full access to the Army hotel, which appears stranded from the outside. All windows and doors have been shut and boarded.”
“Wait,” Remy said. “We’re staying in a hotel?” Her cheeks seemed to get color for the first time in days. First Sergeant gave her a nod and a grin. We all smiled, because the idea of it was pure luxury.
“Now then. Each person is allowed five minutes of shower time per day. You’ll find that the lobby of the hotel is where most of the socializing happens. This room is where we eat and break from work. Each person has a daily job. We’ll figure out something tomorrow for each of you. I assume none of you is opposed to work.”
“No, sir,” we chimed. He nodded and turned to the steel door. When he pried it open, an earthy scent blasted us. Inside was a tunnel, literally carved into the dirt, about seven feet high and six feet wide. And it was pitch black.
“Oh, my gosh,” Remy whispered.
“That’s half a mile long?” Devon asked. “Y’all walk that every day?” His voice sounded wary, but it was his face that gave away his fear. His eyes had gotten huge.
“What’s wrong, Big D?” Texas Harry asked. “You don’t like tight spots?”
Several guys chuckled, and Devon grinned, shaking his head. “Not when it’s half a damn mile long.”
First Sergeant handed him a flashlight. “It’s secure, Sergeant. Our engineers are solid. Let’s go, unless you want to sleep in a chair in here.”
Devon looked at the chairs like they might not be a bad option as we began to pile into the dirt hole in the wall. I followed behind Rylen, grasping his shirt. He reached back for my hand and I reached back for Remy’s hand. I wasn’t normally claustrophobic, but this was a daunting tunnel. All was quiet but the echo of our feet, and Devon’s occasional whispers to baby Jesus.
Just when it felt like the tunnel might never end, the flashlight reflected off steel, and First Sergeant was pushing open a door. We spilled out into a basement laundry room that smelled heavenly, like it actually got used on a regular basis.
“Each person gets a day of the week to do laundry, and we recommend combining your clothes with another’s to fill up the washers. We will flog anyone’s ass who wastes water around here.”
Point taken. And I’d never been more happy at the thought of doing laundry in a machine versus a pot.
First Sergeant clicked off his flashlight, and Devon did the same, blanketing us in darkness. “Watch your step. The stairwells use minimum light.”
We continued to follow as he walked up a flight of concrete stairs from the basement to the first floor, until we spilled into a dimly lit hotel hall.
“This floor’s got the lobby, gym, some meeting areas, and rooms.” He stopped in front of a room marked GYM and opened the door. It was medium sized. A man was running on a treadmill while another two lifted weights. My eyes scanned several machines and a space with mats before the door closed again. “For those who work out, you’ll be allowed one half scoop of protein powder with water per day that you work out thirty minutes or more. Everything is heavily rationed here.”
The guys nodded appreciatively.
Next we followed him to the second floor. “We only have three rooms in a row together. I assume you guys wanted to be nearby, not spread out. One is a king, so I’m giving that to the ladies. We’ve only got twenty-four women in the compound, now twenty-six, and I expect all my men to treat them with respect.”
“Yes, sir,” came a chorus from the guys in the rear.
First Sergeant turned, handing Remy two keys. “Get some rest. Breakfast is at eight-hundred.” Eight o’clock AM, military time. “Someone will be ready at oh-nine-hundred to talk with each of you about your jobs. Feel better, Missy.”
“Thank you,” Remy said.
“Sir,” New York Josh said, “Is it okay to use our five minutes of shower time tonight?”
First Sergeant chuckled. “We’re all hoping you do, Sergeant.”
“Hooah,” Josh said with a laugh, rubbing his hands together. A tingle of pure joy shot through my body and I felt light enough to fly. I was going to get this dried blo
od out of my hair!
He gave a key to Tater and New York Josh, and then he left us. The hall was quiet and none of us moved.
“This is weird,” I said. Almost too good to be true.
“How ‘bout for once you don’t worry,” Texas Harry joked. I shot him a bird and he laughed.
I went forward and hugged him, letting him rock me back and forth before releasing me. Remy and I went around to each guy, hugging them, thankfulness all around. I noticed Tater pulled away from her quickly and didn’t look at her. His hug with me was half-hearted as well. I needed to get him alone and talk with him tomorrow.
I ended with Ry, feeling his cheek rest on the top of my head. “You all right?” he asked. I nodded into his chest. After what we’d been through, this was like a dream. This much goodness couldn’t possibly last, but I’d take it and enjoy it for however long we had.
Remy and I were new people the next morning, clean, hydrated, and rested, but my legs. Good God, my legs were so sore. The bed had been heaven, and I could have stayed in it all day if Tater hadn’t knocked on the door to wake us.
Remy had woken with a fever during the night, but it was much lower. My cheekbone was still lightly bruised where I’d been hit, but the swelling was gone, and my lips were mostly healed. All in all, we were a mess, but we’d be fine.
The room was unnaturally dark, making it hard to discern the actual time of day. I went to the thick curtains and pulled them back an inch to see sheet metal with wooden boards nailed along the edges. We couldn’t see out, not even a sliver, therefore nobody could see in. I was really going to miss sunlight.
It was strange going out into the hall and seeing all our guys with clean shaven faces. Except Tex, who wanted to grow his. Ry’s eyes looked extra blue when he ran a hand through his damp hair and gave me a small smile.
“You look good,” he said to me. My face heated and before I could answer, Matt came up whistling.
“Who are these hot girls? Do we need to surround you guys with a wall of protection?”
I rolled my eyes and Remy giggled.