Virus

Fourteen

I didn't fully wake at first. The voices came first.

"They'll be awake soon," said a male voice. "Get your weapons ready in case they try to attack."

"We've entered the city gentlemen. The truck in under cleaning. We'll be at the Washington Fortress soon," said a woman's voice.

Then came all the other noises. The sound of a loud engine. Of footsteps echoing through a metal space.

Next the feeling came back into my body. My head throbbed and pulsed with pain. My entire body ached.

And finally my eyes popped open. Around me, people from Topeka laid, unconscious.

We were in the back of a semi truck. I spotted Sara, Amberley, and Dharma. No Kelso or Nita.

Soldiers dressed in U.S camouflage surrounded the mass of bodies. Every single gun barrel was trained on my. I sat up.

"Who are you?" One of the soldiers asked.

"Kelly Movlid," I said, rubbing my throbbing head.

"Your Kelly Movlid? The one who killed over three hundred of Hollers Butterflies?

It didn't seem like I killed over three hundred. The first time was on the highway, and then on the bus, and then when the camp was bombed, the invasion of Topeka. Maybe I had killed a lot of Butterflies.

I nodded slowly.

"Holy shit, Girida is going to want to meet you," the soldier said.

"Girida, like the President of the United States?" I asked.

"Yeah. We are head to his home right now."

"His home? The White House?"

"No, the White House fell to the virus. Now Girida lives underground. His home is called the Washington Fortress."

As if on cue, the truck stopped. A lady opened a slot in the front of the chamber.

"We've arrived boys, are they awake?" She asked. I recognized her voice. It was the one I'd heard earlier.

"Only one. It's the Movlid girl," the soldier said.

"Wow," is all the woman said. She closed the slot and the two doors in the back swung open.

The soldiers in the chamber began yelling at the others to wake up. One of them helped me out of the chamber and into a large garage lined with identical semis.

The others were waking up. I made sure Sara, Dharma, and Amberley were by my side.

We followed the soldiers through the garage and into a lobby-type room.

The circular room was made with rosewood. A Persian rug went from the exit to a staircase on the other side of the room. On either side of the rug, two long hallways continued, lined with doors.

President Girida walked up the stairs and into the lobby.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen of Topeka," he said. His voice was cheerful but etched with danger.

The President was a pale man. He wore a black pinstripe suit with a black undershirt and a red tie. His eyes were deep blue like rigid ice. His icy eyes cut into us all, determining if we were loyal or not. He was dangerous. Far more dangerous than Nita ever was.

"As you know, your sanctuary, Topeka, was found and attacked by the pons on Mick Holler. Well I decided to send the U.S military in and rescue you. You still deserve an ordinary life. Your bunker was attacked because Mick Holler is looking for a new stronghold. The Canadians have marched in. They successfully conquered Hollers original stronghold in Nevada. But it seems that the Canadians do not want to assist our government. They want land. Obviously the rebels are pretty busy down in the west."

He cold eyes scanned each of us one by one. When that landed on my I felt a pang of fear, but they quickly passed.

"Now, I know you all shipped to Topeka to stay out of the war, but now you are in the capital on the country, the capital of the current raging war. Here in Washington Fortress, we only off two occupations. You will either be shipped to rebel training bases in Mexico, or you work here, in the labs, working on a cure to the damned virus. Now, I'll give you a week to decide if you'd like to stay or go. I'd like to speak with some of you personally. Dharma Collin, Amberley Grey, Kelly Movlid, and Sara McEntire. Please follow me."

By now I was used to being called out when meeting people. I followed him down the stairs. Sara stayed close the entire time and Amberley and Dharma not far behind. One of the soldiers in the lobby closed the door behind us.

We emerged in a long hallway. If I had to use one word to describe this hallway, it'd be presidential, or royal.

A plush red rug ran down the length of the hall. Every two foot interval had a column supporting the roof. In between each column was a rosewood door.

At the end of the hallway is a set of beautiful double doors. Abstract designs of flowers and birds and water were carved into the windowless wood.

Girida took us into that room. A large table was set out. It was a dining room.

We walked around the table, dodging maids with foot platters. Girida led us to a set of two glass doors framed with white wood.

Girida handed us a box of doctor masks and opened the doors.

We stepped onto a balcony, except it was encased in glass. The President shut the door.

Far below working in lab coats and masks bustled around a long steel table full of text tubes and microscopes.

"This is where I oversee progress on the cure. So far it's going nowhere. But that's not the point. This is the only quiet place in Washington Fortress."

"Why do you need quiet?" Sara asked accusingly.

"You four are the ones who fought the Butterflies in Topeka. You killed a good hundred of them. Anyway, you guys are good in battle. I heard that the rebels are preparing to use massive bombs and cave in the whole city. I told them to wait. I'm sending three divisions for here, down there to hopefully capture some Butterflies and take back the city. I want you four on the mission."

"I'll go," Dharma and Amberley said in unison.

"Me too," Sara said.

I nodded in agreement.

"Great," Girida said. "After this you'll have officially become U.S soldiers. Your mission leaves tomorrow. I'll drop you at the barracks with General Andersen. He'll equip you for your departure."

We go back into the hallway, to the first door on the left. It's another hallway that goes deeper into the ground. At the very end of the hall is a single door.

On the other side of the door is massive room, lined with bunk beds.

The room only had one inhabitant. A huge man in a T-shirt and sweatpants. His clothes were stretched taut on his wide, muscular frame.

"Afternoon ladies," the general said.

"Goodbye," Girida said and left the barrack.

"So, I here Movlid and McEntire are good with machine guns," Andersen said. He pulled out two golden automatics. "These are NATO, imported all the way from Germany."

The weapon had a beautifully lethal vibe to it. It felt perfectly weighted in my hands.

"And for Amberley." He reached back into the chest and came back with a compound bow equipped with eight arrows. It was a step up from her old recurve.

Amberley beamed. "Wow," she breathed.

"And Dharma, I know your weapon of choice is originally and machete, but I think you'll like this better."

The general pulled out a belt with a sword sheath attached to it. Dharma grabbed the belt and put it on. Next came the sword. The keen edge was thinner than hair.

Dharma smiled from ear to ear and slid the beautiful sword into the sheath.

Andersen smiled. "Are we ready to kick some butterfly ass?"