The Beyond: Dystopian Survival Fiction (The Breeder Files Book 4) by Eliza Green (most popular novels TXT) 📗

‘Why not?’ asked Anya. ‘Quintus is gone. There is no threat.’

‘It’s not locked down because of that. The people there don’t know anything more than you did when you crossed. To open up this side would do more psychological damage.’

‘What was your original exit strategy?’

‘Bring people back in batches and restore their memories. But they were only supposed to be there a few months, not twelve. Two weeks later, and you two are still coming to terms with this side. There are thousands still living there who will be traumatised if we let them out.’

‘Thousands living in fear of a threat that no longer exists,’ said Anya. ‘Worried that Praesidium is still active and will send teams to their towns to remove them by force. That’s what happened before the radiation attack. That’s what they fear will happen again.’

‘Yes, the radiation attack. Our teams have assessed the towns after dark and decontaminated the soil. There’s no issue with growing crops there.’

She lifted her cup to her lips again.

‘But they don’t know that,’ said Dom. ‘We were almost out of food when we left. The tech the city uses to speed up growth is offline. With the current tech in the towns, the food will grow too slowly to keep up with demand.’

The cup clinked against the saucer as Agatha put it down. ‘What are you suggesting? That we open up the two sides and traumatise thousands of people in one go?’

Dom leaned forward. ‘I’m saying we need to give them a choice.’

Agatha sat back, her lips thinned, not looking happy with that outcome. ‘I don’t think—’

‘How is food manufactured on this side?’ Anya interrupted.

Agatha cut her eyes to her. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, what’s the food situation like?’

The Commander shrugged. ‘We have food processing plants...’

‘Like the towns, but on a smaller scale?’ Agatha nodded. ‘Then turn the Region into a live-in food manufacturing base.’

Agatha rubbed her chin, as though she were considering it. ‘How much food did you grow there?’

‘Not enough to feed a city this size, but with the right equipment we could double, triple, times-ten our production.’

Dom squeezed her leg under the table. A sign of his agreement.

‘So what do you say, Agatha?’ he said. ‘Turn the Region into an extension of New San Francisco?’

‘A live-in one?’ said Agatha, eyeing the pair.

‘Yes,’ said Anya. ‘If people want to stay, they should be allowed to.’

She guessed some wouldn’t want to live on this side.

Agatha drained her cup. ‘Let me think about it.’ She stood up. ‘I’ll be in touch.’

Several soldiers Anya hadn’t seen fell into line as she exited the café.

She released a sigh of relief. ‘Do you think she’ll go for it?’

Dom removed a communication device from his back pocket and slotted it into his ear. ‘I hope so.’

‘Who are you calling?’

‘Sheila. She invited us over for dinner tonight. You ready to catch up with the old gang?’

Anya nodded.

36

Dom

The time was hitting 7pm when Dom and Anya arrived at Sheila’s new place. Five doors without numbers filled the corridor on the top floor, but Dom knew exactly which one was Sheila’s.

A low, thumping noise permeated through the wooden door ahead of him. He knocked and Sheila opened the door, releasing a torrent of music into the hall.

‘Dom Juan! Welcome to mi casa!’

She stepped back and gestured for them to enter.

He grinned at her. ‘I just had a flashback moment to our unit in Essention.’

He’d arrived back from his shift in Arcis to discover Sheila blaring music in their apartment.

Sheila looked away. ‘Oh yeah. I was a bit of a brat then, huh?’

Except now, the music didn’t fill him with dread. ‘Still are.’

Sheila stuck her tongue out at him. Beside him, Anya giggled, her hand in his. It was a warm, comforting reminder that they had all the time in the world to explore their new relationship.

He couldn’t wait.

Anya held a container. She thrust it at Sheila, as if she couldn’t wait to be rid of it. ‘I made these. Brownies. Or rather, I tried.’

Sheila plucked the container from her. ‘Perfect. I forgot about dessert.’

Dom led Anya inside the apartment, decorated in warm tones. He heard a collection of hushed voices coming from the other room and a child’s voice.

The corridor opened into a space that was smaller than his and Anya’s open-plan apartment. The walls of Sheila and Imogen’s place had been painted in a mix of red rust and warm-orange colours. He could smell the paint.

‘I like what you’ve done to the place,’ said Anya, looking around.

‘Yeah, the black, white-and-grey scheme wasn’t doing it for me,’ said Sheila.

Dom saw old faces in the room. Charlie and Vanessa. Jacob and Carissa. Thomas. Jerome. June had brought Frahlia with her. The child had not grown any further since the medical facility. She was still a six-year-old, in appearance only. But she had lost that curious, quiet look in her eyes. Now, she acted more her age, hiding behind June’s legs when someone tried to talk to her. But one person she allowed near was Carissa. Dom had heard Rover was helping Agatha’s team with logistics and loving his new role.

Dom didn’t see Alex in the room. Anya had told him about their conversation and his hesitation to become a father. Nobody could blame the former Breeder. The situation they’d all found themselves in was messed up.

Charlie called him over. Dom smiled as he shook the old man’s hand. It warmed him to see Charlie happy—well, as happy as he could be without Max.

‘I heard you moved into your new place yesterday. How is it?’ asked Charlie.

‘Good.’

He lifted a brow at him. ‘Really?’

‘Yeah.’ His eyes flicked