lip. Her frequent illness wasn’t normally a cause for alarm – it was always something simple like a cold – but this time there was an unease he couldn’t shake. He would’ve felt better if she could’ve gone that same day.
Wait…!
He recalled Clifford Seager’s pale face. His and Merril’s old physician. It wasn’t like he could summon a dead doctor for a house call, but could Cliff have some antibiotics left over from his human days?
“Mason, you there? I’ve got to go, so –”
“Yeah.” He answered almost too quickly. “Yeah, umm, good luck with work.”
“Hey, I know I told you to worry, but I didn’t mean quite so literally. Just stay with her and make sure she has everything she needs. That’s about all we can do, and besides...” His voice trailed with a chuckle. “Girls love a man who can play nurse. Keep at it for a while and I’m sure you’ll get something out of it.”
The line melted to static when Martin didn’t seem to get the reaction he’d wanted. “Mason?”
“Hmm?” Mason startled.
“Nothing.” Martin sighed. “Just keep an eye on Merril and sink into the couch, like always. I’ll be home before long.”
“Yeah.” Mason repeated dryly and hung up the phone.
According to Sorrel, he was welcome at the prison anytime. He cringed at the thought of going back, but…
At least it was better than staring at the wall.
He stood and shouted at the door a story above him. “Hey , Merril, I’m going for a walk. Give me a call if something comes up.”
****
Sure enough, the prison’s immense gate swung open with nothing more than a simple push. It creaked on its hinges, but put up little fight. Sorrel was as right as always. He couldn’t help but smile slightly at his unexpected strength before the guilt soured his lips. He meandered into cell block #2, head low, and legs hesitant.
He focused on finding familiar faces. Sorrel was absent. What might have been disappointment nipped his chest, but he shrugged it off and looked at the people he did recognize. Elsie Adams was there with a girl named Shanna May. Two former classmates – one who’d died just recently and one who’d gone missing over three years ago. They’d always gossiped together atop the stairs as he left school, and now they chatted casually again, leaning against the second floor railing. The two girls burst into a fit of giggles as Shanna whispered something in Elsie’s ear. He shivered, in spite of himself.
He’d hoped to avoid attracting much attention, and certainly that of the makeshift leader with a gun, but Dale’s loud, gruff voice reached him almost immediately. It echoed off the walls in well-guarded anger.
“No one made you the leader!” A shrill, feminine voice piped up in protest. “You have no authority over me or anyone here.”
“I’m the one who keeps this place safe – I’ve earned the title, and I won’t let your carelessness put the rest of us in danger!”
Mason stopped to watch the argument between the burly man and a much lither woman. Her curly red hair marked her even from behind – it was the girl he’d seen standing with the scout boys when he’d first visited the prison.
She laughed. “Danger? I’m the one thinking about the future here! You’d be content to let us all lie down and wait to die, just like the humans. How safe is that? My people and I claimed two risers in just the last month! We need to keep growing or the plague will get to our potential recruits before we do. There’s a big difference between .2% and 1%, Dale. Once they’re gone, they’re gone!”
“Let Cliff and Mercy worry about all that. It’s not our place to murder for a measly .8%.”
“Hah! And what are they going to do? We’re corpses, Dale! It doesn’t matter how much time they waste looking through a microscope – we’re never going to have children. What’s the alternative? Cloning?” She sneered with a tongue oozing defiance. Her voice was a taunt
Wait…!
He recalled Clifford Seager’s pale face. His and Merril’s old physician. It wasn’t like he could summon a dead doctor for a house call, but could Cliff have some antibiotics left over from his human days?
“Mason, you there? I’ve got to go, so –”
“Yeah.” He answered almost too quickly. “Yeah, umm, good luck with work.”
“Hey, I know I told you to worry, but I didn’t mean quite so literally. Just stay with her and make sure she has everything she needs. That’s about all we can do, and besides...” His voice trailed with a chuckle. “Girls love a man who can play nurse. Keep at it for a while and I’m sure you’ll get something out of it.”
The line melted to static when Martin didn’t seem to get the reaction he’d wanted. “Mason?”
“Hmm?” Mason startled.
“Nothing.” Martin sighed. “Just keep an eye on Merril and sink into the couch, like always. I’ll be home before long.”
“Yeah.” Mason repeated dryly and hung up the phone.
According to Sorrel, he was welcome at the prison anytime. He cringed at the thought of going back, but…
At least it was better than staring at the wall.
He stood and shouted at the door a story above him. “Hey , Merril, I’m going for a walk. Give me a call if something comes up.”
****
Sure enough, the prison’s immense gate swung open with nothing more than a simple push. It creaked on its hinges, but put up little fight. Sorrel was as right as always. He couldn’t help but smile slightly at his unexpected strength before the guilt soured his lips. He meandered into cell block #2, head low, and legs hesitant.
He focused on finding familiar faces. Sorrel was absent. What might have been disappointment nipped his chest, but he shrugged it off and looked at the people he did recognize. Elsie Adams was there with a girl named Shanna May. Two former classmates – one who’d died just recently and one who’d gone missing over three years ago. They’d always gossiped together atop the stairs as he left school, and now they chatted casually again, leaning against the second floor railing. The two girls burst into a fit of giggles as Shanna whispered something in Elsie’s ear. He shivered, in spite of himself.
He’d hoped to avoid attracting much attention, and certainly that of the makeshift leader with a gun, but Dale’s loud, gruff voice reached him almost immediately. It echoed off the walls in well-guarded anger.
“No one made you the leader!” A shrill, feminine voice piped up in protest. “You have no authority over me or anyone here.”
“I’m the one who keeps this place safe – I’ve earned the title, and I won’t let your carelessness put the rest of us in danger!”
Mason stopped to watch the argument between the burly man and a much lither woman. Her curly red hair marked her even from behind – it was the girl he’d seen standing with the scout boys when he’d first visited the prison.
She laughed. “Danger? I’m the one thinking about the future here! You’d be content to let us all lie down and wait to die, just like the humans. How safe is that? My people and I claimed two risers in just the last month! We need to keep growing or the plague will get to our potential recruits before we do. There’s a big difference between .2% and 1%, Dale. Once they’re gone, they’re gone!”
“Let Cliff and Mercy worry about all that. It’s not our place to murder for a measly .8%.”
“Hah! And what are they going to do? We’re corpses, Dale! It doesn’t matter how much time they waste looking through a microscope – we’re never going to have children. What’s the alternative? Cloning?” She sneered with a tongue oozing defiance. Her voice was a taunt
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