Defiant: Quantic Dreams Book 2 by Elizabeth McLaughlin (reading list txt) 📗

“Then let’s get this show on the road. Are you a religious man?”

“No si-no. I always admired the spirit of the godly folks but never felt like I could buy into it myself.” He shrugged.

“Neither am I, but they raised me to believe in God. Out of respect for folks when they passed…before, when I was the only one to look after them, I used to say a couple of words. You mind if I drag out some of the Bible for these people?” The kid shook his head. I positioned myself between the twin gurneys carrying the first two casualties and lifted my head towards the ceiling. “We commend you, Tarik and Allison, to almighty God, and entrust you to your creator. May you rest in the arms of the Lord who formed you from the dust of the dearth. May you see your Redeemer face to face, and enjoy the vision of God, forever. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.” I opened the door to the furnace and the two of us transferred Allison’s body to the table. I slid the remains inside and pressed the button to ignite the fire that would burn the disease, and her bones, to dust.

The young man and I stood in silence as we waited for the process to finish. It occurred to me I should have asked for his name, but I didn’t want to. It didn’t make it any easier to forget a person if you knew their name. We repeated the same procedure with Tarik’s remains. Once both bodies had burned, I told the man to go back to his duties. There was nothing more for him here. I pressed my fingertips to the thick glass of the cremation furnace window and watched the last of the flames dancing within. More death was coming, but I wasn’t fighting this battle alone. I thought of my family, and all those who had stepped forward and volunteered to risk their lives for me.

I vowed to myself that no matter what happened, we wouldn’t go down without a fight. My time was coming, there was no doubt; but I still had the chance to do something with the time I had left.

Chapter Twelve

The next day there were twenty more who had fallen ill. The medical team and their assistants had instituted a complete quarantine for anyone who had come into close contact with the individuals within the last forty-eight hours. Twenty sick meant that more than a hundred were now confined to quarters. No one doubted that the number would double in the next twenty-four hours. The numbers were staggering. No one imagined that a virus could spread this quickly. We scrambled to keep up with the needs and demands of the population. I programmed the 3D printers to churn out personal protective equipment as quickly as they could. The exploration team had converted themselves over to pitching in. All efforts toward settling the outside world were stopped. I learned that Jason and Nicole were spearheading a campaign to divest everyone of excess materials that could be turned into PPE. We fed every spare piece of plastic and metal to the printers.

What emergency rations hadn’t already been depleted during the mad rush to feed a thousand people coming out of pods at the same time were evenly divided and distributed to everyone in quarantine. Food production went into overdrive; they claimed most plants that we had farmed for use in rudimentary medicine. The little that was left over would supplement the food. The most caloric plant, a large crop of potatoes that would be ready to harvest within the week, was given its own troupe of guards. They worked in shifts. Absolutely no one was allowed without prior authorization. Tolerating any kind of theft was unconscionable; let one person steal their food and the rest would abandon the fragile order we had established. I gave the guards clearance to use lethal force if necessary. Fiona worked herself to the bone to plant as many new seedlings as the hydroponics would allow. So strong was her concentration that I had to send someone to make sure she slept and ate at least twice a day. We could break into supplements and dried ingredients to keep the rest of the shelter healthy. I couldn’t tell you how many hours I spent at my desk trying to work out the math, but it seemed like the solution would hold. For now.

Anyone who could tolerate it was asked—or ordered—to ration their meals for the time being. Until we could get things up to speed, there was going to be a dearth of food and water. I was the first one to sign up. Others came forward as well, some less willingly than others, spurred to surrender their food. As the days passed, I took to guzzling water and tea instead of a full meal. No matter how much liquid I drank in, the growling of my stomach was always there. It was affecting others, too. The reactions to the rationing were varied. Some people simply were a little quick to snap at you. Others slid into full blown aggression. Only the threat of the virus kept them from starting any major conflicts. I’m sure there were a lot of holes punched in a lot of walls.

The infirmary went from nearly empty to overflowing overnight. No one was allowed in or out with the exception of the medical team. I commandeered what had been my room for reading and chess and ripped it apart with Marcus and Eliza’s help. We set up fifteen beds as best we could inside and stocked the place with food and water. The medical team was instructed to work in four hour shifts. Four hours working, eight hours for food, leisure time,