H10N1 (21 page)

Carol’s head bobbed up, her face pinched.

“You got a problem with that?” Michael propped his fists on his waist. “Do you think maybe we should check out
her
credentials more thoroughly before we let her get started?”

Carol shot him the bird then went back to weeding. Turning on a heel, Michael stomped to the double doors and went back inside the living quarters.

Judith hesitated for a moment, thinking he was coming right back. He wasn’t.

“Okay.” She gave Carol a tight smile which she ignored. “Why don’t we all head over to the first bed. I’ll tell you what needs to be done, and one of you can do it.”

Brushing the dirt off her knees, Carol grudgingly joined the others.

At the first plot, Judith squatted and grabbed a handful of leaves. “These are beets, but the tops are too thick. The plant is spending too much energy on the leaves, and not on the root, the beet. So, you’re going to nip off some of the older leaves, and then pinch out this cluster of young leaves in the middle. Got it?”

Rick didn’t notice any change in Carol’s expression, but Judith took her deadpan stare as an acknowledgement, because she stood back up.

“Great,” Judith said. “Get a bucket. I want all the greens you cut taken to the kitchen.”

The scowl on Carol’s face got deeper, if that was possible, and her eyebrows flickered at the idea of eating the beet leaves. She must have watched that survivor guy on TV, too. But then she shrugged and went to get one of the buckets stacked at a workbench.

Judith moved down the line barking out orders for the rest of them. Then she grabbed Rick by the front of his tee shirt. “You’re going to pick bugs off these plants. See if you can find something to put them in, because they’re all going to the chickens. Got it?”

He gave her a Nazi salute and snapped his heels together.

The trick was to get the lid off the jar without bugs crawling back out. If Rick banged the jar on the ground, all the bugs fell to the bottom; then he quickly dropped in his latest victims.

He rose up on his knees and stretched his stiff back. Drops of sweat rolled down his cheeks and made rivers that soaked into his shirt. His bug jar wasn’t even half full and he was dying from the heat. Holding the container so Judith couldn’t see that it wasn’t full, he snuck to the animal bay.

It was a lot cooler than out in the sun. Unlatching the coop gate, Rick shuffled to the middle of the pen and sat. With his shirt, he wiped sweat from his face, smelled the orange juice from Sanchez’s face, and smiled for like the hundredth time. How had he lucked into this gig?

He opened his jar and laid it on its side, then lounged back on an elbow. The instant the chickens spotted the grub, they came squawking and gobbled up the treats—way too fast.

With a groan, he hobbled to his feet and brushed the dirt off his butt. Pushing open a side door, he investigated a hallway leading off the animal bay. Ahead, he spotted the hatch they’d come in and the stairway up to the second floor. Slowly plodding up the steps, he fanned his sweat-soaked tee shirt to cool off.

In the kitchen, he opened drawers until he found a paring knife. He pulled out a fistful of fabric in front of his thigh and cut a slit, then with both hands he ripped the pant leg free and let it drop to his ankle. When he had the second leg cut, he kicked off his shoes and shook away the cut ends. The cool air felt great on his legs.

He doubled over to get a closer look at the stitches in his shin. They were healing nicely. Stretching back up, he flexed his wrist. The pain was almost gone. A couple more shots from the Doc and he’d be good as new.

A girl’s voice said, “Who are you?”

Rick swung around to see a nubile young thing leaning in the doorway. She was wearing a pink tube top, and it was working overtime to support some bodacious knockers. A tattoo of a snake slithered around the belly stud in her navel. The Daisy Dukes she had on barely hit the tops of her thighs, and her long legs went all the way down to bare feet—with polished toenails.

People were running for their lives, but this chick had taken time to pack polish? Rick felt a distinct rustling in his nether-region when her full mouth parted in a classic fuck-me smile.

“I’m Rick DeAngelo,” he stammered. “We just came in this morning.”

“We?”

“Yeah, there’s four of us.”

“Wow!” Her whole body wiggled. “Do they all look like you?”

Mayday! Mayday! Rick coughed to catch his breath. “No, actually two of us, of them, are women. And Devin’s got a better tan.”

“Ummm.” She swaggered into the dining room and bent way over the table to grab one of the bananas in the center. Holy mother of God, she had another tattoo on her right cheek.

He gripped the counter for support. “And who are you?”

She sauntered back to the kitchen, peeling the banana. Then she shoved it way into her mouth, wrapped her lips around the fruit, and slowly pulled it back out. Rick felt his heart seize.

“I’m Kat. You probably met my mother, Carol? The scrawny bitch with an attitude?”

All he could do was nod.

“Looks like it’s pretty hot out there.” She bit the end off the banana.

“Yeah, well I’m not used to the heat yet.”

She sauntered over, laid a hand on his chest and dragged her palm down toward his waist.

“Good morning, Katherine,” an annoyed voice said.

Rick reeled back. There stood Michael, his arms crossed, his mouth in a tight pinch.

Kat rolled her eyes, not even bothering to turn around. “Good morning, Michael.” Then she got a wicked smile on her face, and stared right into Rick’s eyes. “I’ve got dibs on this one.”

“Very funny, Katherine. But I don’t think Doctor Sanchez is interested in sharing.”

“Doctor Sanchez!” Her eyes drifted down to Rick’s crotch. “You don’t act gay.”

Michael stepped up behind her. “Doctor Sanchez is a woman. Now why don’t you put some clothes on and go help in the garden.”

Thank God she finally turned away so Rick could take a breath.

“I am dressed.” Kat hugged her fingers around her bare hips. “And in case you haven’t noticed, I just did my hair, duh. Why would I go outside and get all sweaty?”

Time to escape. “Hey, man. I was just cutting off my jeans.” Rick snatched up his shoes. “Judith’s probably wondering what’s taking so long. I better get back.”

He practically scraped his back along the wall getting as far from that little minx as he could, then he bolted down the hall and back out into the kind of heat he knew how to deal with.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“Good news,” Judith said as she sat down to their meager lunch. “We’re done in the garden for today.” Taeya gave a silent cheer. Working out in that greenhouse was like toiling under a giant magnifying glass.

Judith made a point of glaring at John Parker, probably wondering the same thing as Taeya: why hadn’t he worked out there? He seemed duly chagrined. Michael wouldn’t meet Judith’s stare. He’d never come back to help with the work either.

“But we made good headway,” Judith said. “I promise not every day will be this hard.”

Everyone sighed, even Devin.

Halfway through the meal, a Lolita in a tube top pranced into the kitchen, picked up a plate and started for the stairs.

Michael called out to her, “Katherine, why don’t you come in and eat with us? You can meet our new residents.”

Taeya noted the bleached blond hair that was spiked, the skimpy shorts and the excessive makeup. The girl must have been wearing a dozen earrings, and that was just in her ears. Taeya could only guess what else she had pierced.

The young girl took an empty seat between John and Devin. John lifted his arm off the table in a subtle move, as though she may be contagious. Taeya wondered if she was.

“So.” Judith didn’t waste any time. “Do you go by Katherine or Katie?”

“My friends call me Kat.”

Michael snickered, and she hissed at him, clawing the air with her polished nails.

“Well, you missed the introductions this morning, Kitten. I’m Judith. The gentleman next to you is Devin.”

Kat held up a fist. “What up, nigga?”

Rick choked on something, and Mai had to pound his back.

“The gentleman choking is Rick,” Judith said, “and down at the end is Doctor Sanchez. She’s the one to see for STDs.”

Kat ignored the remark and took a bite of food.

Judith continued. “For the time being, I’m organizing the work detail in the garden. We need
everyone
out there tomorrow.”

Kat bobbled her head. “I don’t
think
so.”

“How old are you, Kitten?” Judith asked.

“It’s Kat.”

“Oh, I don’t think you’re old enough to be a cat yet.”

Carol cackled, displaying a mouthful of bad teeth. “She’s sixteen, going on twenty-one.”

Judith reeled back. “This is your daughter?”

“She ain’t my sister,” Carol snapped back.

Nodding slowly, Judith turned back to Kat. “So if you don’t want to garden, do you know how to cook?”

Kat gave her a smirk.

“Any computer skills?”

A roll of the eyes.

“So basically, you’re unskilled labor.”

“Oh,” Kat propped her chin on her hand, “I have
some
talents.”

Rick choked again, more violently this time.

“Well, Kitten,” Judith said. “After we get settled into our quarters, I’ll show you what a vacuum looks like, and how it works.”

* * *

Michael decided to pass the tour of the living quarters on to Mai. As she stood in front of Apartment One, she told the others, “The only thing that’s kind of a drag is that we share bathrooms, like in the old dorm suites.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Rick said. “Open up.”

When Mai swung open the door, Taeya gasped. The far end of the apartment was one big expanse of glass. The view looked out on the greenhouse and the mountain range beyond the Biosphere.

“This is so cool!” Rick said.

“Yeah,” Taeya agreed, as she took a moment to sit on the comfortable sofa. On the opposite wall were shelves with a television and audio equipment. “Much nicer than what I had at the center.” She snorted. “And they insisted our quarters were top notch.”

Rick grunted. “You should have seen where I lived.”

Judith and Devin huddled at the bathroom doorway.

“I told you the bathrooms were tiny,” Mai said.

She was right. A small sink, no cabinets, the toilet, and a mini shower stall. Straight across was another door that led to apartment Two.

“The toilets are a trip,” Mai said. “We don’t use toilet paper, we use water.” She tapped a control panel beside the tank. “Once you’ve done your business, you press a button and your ass gets a blast of warm water. Like a bidet. It even has a blow dryer.”

Devin blurted out a laugh, and Taeya could see that Judith was a little skeptical. “Don’t worry,” Taeya told her. “You get used to it. We had these in New York.”

“I’ll bet it didn’t have heated air,” Mai said.

“It didn’t even have heated water,” Rick grumbled.

After pointing out the spiral stairway that led to a loft bedroom up one level, Mai led them back out and across the hall.

“This is where you’ll find Michael,” she said. “He calls it the command center.”

Taeya stepped into a spacious room with a vaulted dome ceiling. Sure enough, there was Michael, sitting at a desk with several computers. He leaned past one of three monitors to wave at her, but made no move to get up. When she wandered closer, he shut down whatever he was working on and clasped his hands behind his head.

“This is where I work, monitoring all our systems, evaluating air pressure, moisture content, oxygen levels.” He stretched his chest out. “It’s a constant juggling act.”

“I can imagine.” Actually, Taeya couldn’t. The idea of an enclosure providing its own air and water supply, and the power to keep all of this equipment operational was mind-boggling.

“We’ll hold off on sickbay,” Mai told Taeya over her shoulder as they meandered down the grand staircase to the lower level. “I doubt if the guys are interested. But I’ve got something I know they’re going to like.” She stopped next to the hatch where they’d come in. “Now this is where I’ll be able to find you two.” She pointed to Devin and Rick, then turned to her right and ushered them into a lounge.

The large room would have looked like a hotel lobby if not for the red felt pool table right in the middle. Rick and Devin fondled pool cues, caressed the felt, clutched the shiny balls possessively. Taeya drifted around the room with Mai, imagining evenings seated on the plush sofas and chairs arranged for conversation. Maybe a cup of tea and music.

In one corner, a tall cabinet held dozens of board games, playing cards, even jigsaw puzzles. The designers had thought of everything.

“The idea for the Biosphere originated as a possible enclosure for the moon,” Mai said, “or was it Mars? This prototype was built here to see if it could work. But I think this room was mostly for show. Visitors would gawk through the windows, see all this stuff, and think the Biospherians lived a life of leisure.”

“Maybe someday you will,” Taeya said.

* * *

Sickbay was state of the art. A portable X-ray machine. An EKG. A better lab than most clinics Taeya had seen. The curtain behind Mai concealed a motorized hospital bed, for an extended-stay patient.

Mai pulled down the step to the examining table and sat. “So, what do you think of your new digs. Impressive, huh?”

“There’s no way I’m horning in on your position here,” Taeya told her.

“Bullshit.” Mai kicked her short legs out. “I’m a nurse, Taeya. I’ve never tried to convince anyone otherwise.”

“But this is different from anything I’ve ever done.”

“Thank God. I don’t know how you put up with the CDC as long as you did.”

“What a mess.” Taeya pulled out the chair behind a small desk and sat. “Viral shedding was out of control long before we could convince the government to close schools and businesses.”