Lions And Lifelines: Collapse

Chapter One

I increase the voltage on the perimeter fence before closing the wire box.  I shine my flashlight down the suspended corridor, light glinting off of the metallic frame, and begin the walk back.  My bare feet tap lightly against the metal flooring and I can hear the beads of my anklet clacking quietly.  It's ominous, but I enjoy it.  It's the only quiet I get out of my day; the daily check of the electricity distribution. 

Electricity isn't a huge issue; there are solar panels which have energy distributed to both immediate use and batteries for future use, and generators used for the fence.  The generators can run on nearly anything, but, although it may not be the most efficient method, gasoline is the most effective.  The fence runs at almost 90,000 volts; enough to char anything that touches it to an unrecognizable crisp.  I close and lock the door to the maintenance area and put the key back on the lanyard in my pocket. 

One trait that permanently stays with us gifted children is the feline color of our eyes.  Most of us have an amber color, the twins (Katana and Gloria) have a bright green, and I'm the only one who has sky blue.  Fair skin, dark chocolate colored hair, and sky blue eyes don't exactly blend the best in Africa, but with the remainder of the human population abiding here, you can count on some diversity. 

Other than having blood thirsty Lions breathing down our necks for our entire lives, life isn't terrible.  We have buildings and breeding programs for livestock, electricity, medicine, an education system.  There are even a good number of people who have or are learning to use weapons as a form of defense.  We only use primitive weapons; no guns.  Guns are loud, heavy, and run out of ammunition quickly; there are, however, a good number of firearms kept within the fence that are constantly under guard in case of an emergency.

I've been leading this community since I was fourteen- that's seven years.  Before me, the Elders were the primary leaders.  I'm the eldest of the children, so when I came of age, the responsibility of leading and protecting became mine.  Twenty one years of training and observation have prepared me to lead.

But anyone who thinks nobody has ever challenged me is dead wrong.  Mostly men try to take control of the community, which ultimately leads to disaster relatively quickly.  Of course, twenty one years of training have prepared me to resolve such disasters and regain control.  It has been two years since the last time. 

As I've stated before, there were fourteen of us before Alaina was killed; only thirteen remain.  Katana and Gloria, Sasha, Chelsea, Maliyyah, JJ, Trina, Kris, Korie, Lana, Erin, Brett, and me.  As previously mentioned, Katana and Gloria are twins.  Trina, Maliyyah, and Sasha are sisters, Kris and Korie are sisters, and Chelsea and Erin are sisters.  JJ has one older brother, Thomas, and Lana has three brothers, Killian, Estian, and Graham.  None of the brothers have our abilities, giving our research team the idea that the gene most likely is a recessive trait residing in the X chromosome.  As I've said before, all of us are connected in many ways; even we don't know all of them.  One of the ways we are connected is telepathically, but only selectively. 

'Blaire, we have a situation,' JJ thinks to me.  I can clearly see where she is in my mind; the east cafeteria where a fight is beginning to break out between two people.  Two males.  I'm close, so I start running. 

A crowd has gathered around the brawling pair.  "Move!" I yell out, shoving people out of the way.  I try to separate the two once I can reach them, throwing one back.  I turn to the other and get a fist to the face.  I hear gasps and in the millisecond that he can recoil his fist, I've had time to assess the situation and decide on my retaliation.

I spin on my foot and throw the other into the side of his head, knocking him onto the floor.  There's a slight pain in my heal as it crashes into him, but I've definitely had worse.  I pick him up by his shirt and force him to look at me.  He has light brown hair and candy apple green eyes.  His features are strong but gentle and his skin is the color of ivory.  After memorizing his face, I drop him and walk away.  'Bring those two idiots to my office,' I think to JJ and Kris.  They each grab one and drag them along behind them.

They throw them down into the large leather chairs of my office; things I'd found on a scavenging trip and brought back.  I grab a cold pack from a desk drawer, break the inner bag, and toss it to the one I kicked; he already has a massive bruise which is starting to swell.

"What are your names?" I ask.

"Jack," the one with sandy hair and gray eyes replies.

"Daniel," replies the one I kicked.

"Jack.  Daniel.  I hope for your sakes that you know who I am."  They both nod.  "Good.  Why were you two fighting?"  They both shrug.  I roll my eyes slightly and firmly slam my hands down on the desk, capturing and securing their attention.  "You have one more chance to answer my question; if you don't, I'll pry it out of you.  I'm going to ask one more time: why were you two fighting?"

"He took some of my rations," Jack accuses.  Daniel does nothing to defend himself. 

"Is this true, Daniel?" I ask flatly.  There's a heavy pause before he slowly nods.  "Why?"

"My sister.  She's sick and can't get any more than her rations allow her.  She doesn't eat enough to help her recover."

"Have you taken her to the infirmary?"  He shakes his head.  "Why not?" 

"I didn't think it was a big deal.  Until this morning.  She started coughing up blood and getting blisters all over her body."  I look up at him and he meets my eyes.

"Daniel, that's Brimm's Disease.  Stealing food isn't going to heal her.  I'm going to let it slide this time, but if I hear about either of you brawling again there will be severe consequences.  Take me to her," I demand.  Daniel and I exit my office together, leaving Jack with Kris and JJ. 

"Is there any chance of saving my sister?" Daniel finally asks after minutes of walking in silence.  I nod.

"She's nearing the final stages of the disease, but if I can get some Ashwagandha roots, a San poison bulb, and some Wild Ginger soon, a medicine can be made to heal her.  Have you had contact with any of the blood she's produced?"  He shakes his head.  "Has anyone in your family?"

"No."

"Are you absolutely positive."

"Yes." 

"I'm going to go get the ingredients.  You get your sister to the infirmary, tell them Blaire sent you.  Make sure nobody has contact with that blood and, just to be safe, get the rest of your family together and stay in the infirmary.  Do you understand me?"  He nods and I start jogging to the armory.

'We have a situation,' I think.  I immediately get mental responses from everyone.  'It looks like we might have a Brimm's outbreak and I need Maliyyah, Korie, Erin, Lana, and Katana to meet me in the armory immediately.  Everyone else, stay here and stay alive.' I feel individual presences leave until it's just Brett and I in each others' minds.  She's my number two, second in command of the base.

'Have you already set up a quarantine zone?  We can't just keep every infected person in the infirmary,' she thinks to me.

'I haven't.  The infirmary staff knows protocol; they'll handle quarantine themselves.  I'll be gone for a day or two.  In the mean time, maintain order and keep everyone alive.' Her presence leaves my mind and I unlock the door to the armory.