Project Meyburn

11

Amber

"Jack, get over here!" Megan and I rushed over to him and we all embraced for a few moments. His group of friends continued on towards the food tables, leaving the three of us standing in the middle of the room.

"Oh my god I can't believe you're here too!" Megan exclaimed.

"I'm glad you guys are okay," Jack said, nodding at both of us.

We took up our seats on the floor by Morgan's table, and Jack explained to us how he got here. It was very similar to me and Megan's stories. He had been taken from his house by order of the government and sent here to quarantine like the rest of us. His parents were left behind.

"This is all so strange," Megan mumbled.

Then a thought occurred to me. "Hey Jack, have you seen Evie? Have you talked to her?"

He looked down at his hands nervously, as if debating what to tell us. "I talked with her on the phone not too long ago. But at one point she hung up...and I didn't hear from her again." He described their conversation to the best of his ability, emphasizing Evie's acute dislike for online school and being stuck at home. "She didn't seem very worried about the virus, but that's Evie for ya', but if we're all here, then she has to be too. You guys haven't talked to her recently, have you?" He was choosing his words very carefully, I noticed.

"We've tried, trust me," I said, leaning forward. "Did she tell you anything, Jack? She barely talks to us anymore. Did we do something?"

"I—uh, no. I mean, that's just how Evie is." Jack's gaze travels between Megan and I with uncertainty.

There was something he wasn't telling us.

I gave Megan a sidelong glance, but she only reminded us that we would be allowed outside in a few hours. I would've said that I didn't want to, that I'd rather stay in our dormroom and read or unpack more of my things, except for the fact that I wanted to see just how large this facility really was.

Jack got up from his spot on the floor and stretched his back. "Well, it was nice talking to you guys. I should go eat but I will let you guys know if I find Evie." He smiled awkwardly.

I just waved casually. "Bye Jack, stay in touch, okay?"

He gave one last nod before heading to find his friends.

"Well he was useless," Megan drawled.

I jabbed her in the side with my elbow.

⇔

Megan

The crisp afternoon air brushed against my cheeks, gently blowing my locks of dirty blond hair over my shoulders. As Amber and I walked the perimeter of the courtyard, my mind drifted to thoughts of my family. I wondered if I would ever see them again, if any of us would ever see our families again. As I gazed through the barbed wire fence, I sighed and wished that Amber and I could walk outside of this prison cell that somehow qualified as an army base.

"Do you think they miss us as much as we miss them?" Amber asked randomly.

"Who?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, our families. Our friends."

"I'm sure they do, Amber. After all, who wouldn't?"

She gave a quick huff of laughter and we continued on through the browning, spring grass. All around us, children were screeching in joy and running around the yard. Various toys littered the lawn, and boxes of sidewalk chalk were spread out on the cement. It was good to see that they had some time to be kids especially after all they had gone through in the recent weeks.

Amber and I exchanged small talk as we made our way around the edge of the barrier. By our fourth lap we had stopped to chat with Alexa, Kelly, and Ruby—some of our other bunkmates—along with Morgan, of course.

Eventually some guards started bringing out pitchers of water and plastic cups so we wouldn't die of heat stroke out in the blazing sun. Finally. As Amber and I lapsed into a comfortable silence, we began to make our way over to where the guards were distributing the water. The poor souls had already been swarmed by several screaming kids, and were looking less than enthused with their jobs.

Just as we stepped into line, a blaring alarm sounded overhead, nearly stopping my heart in my chest. The guards passing out water immediately looked through the fence, and one of them dropped his pitcher to grab his assault rifle. The sound of shattering glass filled the courtyard and the rest of the guards followed suit. Soon children were screaming as they were led back into the base by more guards who had come rushing out through the doors. My head whipped around as I tried to make out what had caused such a commotion.

"What the hell is happening!" Amber screamed over the chaos that had engulfed the courtyard. Her hands clutched at her ears, which like mine, were in agony as the siren continued to scream.

"I don't know! But we need to get out of here before my eardrums burst, like now!"

And then I saw him.

He was a middle aged man, slowly making his way towards the fence line with staggering steps. He looked to be in his thirties maybe, fairly tall with a rust colored beard and shaggy red hair. He mumbled the same thing repetitively as he clawed at the wired fence in front of him: Help me.

Amber put a hand over her mouth, silently pointing to the fence. Shock and horror painted her face. I looked in confusion at what appeared to be no threat to me. Why are the guards freaking out? He just looks like a normal man, maybe someone's uncle or father. But then I really looked at the man, and I saw why they were so afraid. I saw that he wasn't walking properly, he was limping as if he could barely hold up his own weight. I saw that he looked feral, an animalistic snarl on his face as he growled at something that we could not see. I saw the discoloration of his eyes, as if the color of his irises had leaked into the whites of his eyes.

He had the Meyburn virus. The one that we had been warned about. The virus that Amber and I, and countless other children, had been dragged from our homes to safeguard against.

"Oh dear God in Heaven." I turned to Amber and we locked gazes. All around us rifles clicked and locked into a loaded state. We both spun around to spot a line of guards taking up position, their guns aimed at the fence just a few feet to our left. Aimed at where that man was still stumbling and shaking against the fence.

"No! Hold on, he's sick!" Amber's shriek echoed through the now empty yard. All of the other children had been herded back inside.

I yanked her arm and started to pull her away from the guards. And the guns. "Amber, shut up. We have to go. We can't help him."

Just then one of the guards broke formation and swiftly came towards us. She grabbed our arms and nearly dragged us to the padlocked door. As much as we struggled, she was unrelenting in her mission to get us inside. And fast.

"You two get inside and go back to your rooms right now," she commanded.

Amber pulled out of her grasp. "You have to help him!" Her voice was breaking and I saw tears well up inside her eyes. "Please help him." She was near sobbing, and my heart ached for her. But there was nothing to be done. I remembered that seminar we endured when we first arrived. The military would not risk exposing us by trying to help him. The man would die soon.

The soldier only shoved us through sliding metal doors, and I heard the click of the lock sliding into place. We pressed our ears against the door, desperate for any indication of what was about to happen.

The shattering splinter of a single bullet rang out. Amber crumpled to the floor, moaning the same word over and over again: no, no, no.

"AGAIN!"

A second shot was fired and I knew, right then and there, that the man was dead.