Raining Fire by Rajan Khanna

Author:Rajan Khanna [Khanna, Rajan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781633882744
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Published: 2017-06-20T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

FROM THE JOURNAL OF MIRANDA MEHRA

I know I haven’t written for weeks. For a while there was nothing to write about. I worked on the vaccine and it was slow going. Maya came to me. “You could be doing better,” she said.

“I’m doing the best I can,” I told her. “This is complicated work.”

“It’s all complicated work,” she said. That evening, as she escorted me back to my cell, she took a detour. Back into the hallway that led to their conditioned Feral. She didn’t open the door, but as soon as I saw it, I couldn’t breathe. I felt lightheaded, and my heart pounded in my chest. I almost fell over. Maya had to help me get back to the cell. “We need results,” she said before closing and locking the door.

So I redoubled my efforts. And it must have paid off, because a few weeks later, Maya took me aside to say that the Helix was pleased with my progress. “What would help you move more quickly?” she asked.

I had to think about it for a while. They didn’t often ask my opinion. “More eyes. More hands,” I said. The next day, there was a new face in the lab. He was an older man, gray-white hair on his head, gray-black hair in his beard, a scar on his forehead. He wore a few pens clipped to his shirt pocket. He seemed serious but had kind eyes. “This is Dimitri,” Maya said. “You tell him what to do.”

He said hello and walked with me to my station. I couldn’t help but grasp his hand, hopefully where no one could see.

I’m sure they know we’re friends, that we sleep in the cells next to one another. Still, I had to force myself to hold back. I was afraid that if I showed some enthusiasm, they would take him away from me.

Now I have my extra set of hands and eyes, and it’s hard to not think that I have an ally now, alongside me. Someone whom I’ve shared things with for months now, who has shared with me. We talk about the vaccine in the lab, and at night, we talk about our fears.

My latest is that because of our progress, I’m already looking forward to the next stage. The testing. We can use animal subjects, but, knowing the Helix, that won’t be good enough. What’s to stop them from using as test subjects any of the people that the Valhallans capture? What’s to stop them from using whole settlements as test cases?

“Don’t think about that,” Dimitri tells me. “That day isn’t here yet. For now we just have to focus on getting through today. Tomorrow will be a new day, a new challenge. We just have to focus on what’s right in front of us.”

So that’s what I’m trying to do.

* * *

Our progress also warranted another outing, escorted once again by Maya. This time, they allowed me to bring someone with me. So I chose Dimitri.

Maya took us to one of Valhalla’s bars, a place called Utgard.

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