Page 21

“We’re moving you out of this room today,” my mom shouts as she enters the hospital room I have not been imprisoned in for the last two weeks.

She places some folded clothes and sneakers on the nightstand.

“Really? How?” I ask, looking up from the book I was reading, hoping this wasn’t one of those rare happy dreams I have.

“Amos.” How can one word make my skin sizzle with goose bumps?

“He convinced Norman to give you more time.”

“More time? Why?”

My mom scooches me over on the bed so she can slide in.

She wraps an arm over my shoulder and pulls my head to hers.

“I can only imagine the horrors you have been through, honey. We want to help you through all that. The reason Norman is allowing you time is because Amos told him you need counseling to help you manage your PTSD symptoms. He told Norman that if we force testing on you now, you might not be sane enough to finish.”

“So Amos pulled the crazy card for me?” I ask sarcastically.

“Honey, this is important. I mean, what other post-apocalyptic community do you know with a therapist?”

I laugh dryly.

“There definitely wasn’t a therapist at the bunker. Everyone there is crazy. Jonah was…” I stop myself, not wanting to tell my mom what happened to him.

“You know you can tell me anything. But if you can’t right now, that’s okay. I’m here for you, however you need me.”

I throw myself at my mom, hugging her with all my might.

Well, maybe not all of it because I could break her with my super strength.

Do I even have super strength?

Or is it just extra strength?

“I understand why it is important to test my DNA and find out exactly what I’ve become. I also want answers. But the idea of becoming a lab rat again…the pain, the trauma. Yeah, I want help. Where is this therapist?”

My mom places a kiss on my forehead.

“Dr. Alison Jeong. She’s on the other side of the train tracks where the dorms are. You can meet her tomorrow. For today, I want you to focus on getting settled. I’m going to take you around The Valley, show you where everything is.”

“Okay.” The smile on my face hurts.

When’s the last time I actually smiled?

My facial muscles creak at the movement, like I’m made of metal and haven’t oiled my hinges in years.

As my mom hops off the hospital bed, I roll off the other side, placing the book I was reading on top of the pile of books I finished in my confinement.

When I turn back around, my mom holds out the change of clothes she brought for me.

She walks out of the room, giving me some privacy as I get changed.

When I slip on the pair of sneakers, I feel a sense of freedom I haven’t felt in years.

Shoes. Such a simple thing and yet, it means the world to me to have the freedom of shoes.

When I open the door to the hallway, my mom puts her hand out, waiting for mine.

I grab it and let her drag me out of the door.

My suspicions that this place isn’t quite a hospital ring true when we walk down the hallway.

It doesn’t have that same smell or sterilized feeling.

“You have been wondering what this place is, I’m sure. You are in a state-of-the-art building where the health professions students of this college would take their courses. It was well-equipped with medical supplies to begin with. So, naturally, we made it into a make-shift hospital.”

“Is this where you learned how to be a badass nurse?” I ask.

“This building? No. We didn’t have anything like this when I was a student here. This was built decades after I graduated. Would’ve loved to have studied here though. Not just for the equipment available, but the views of the campus. It’s the best spot in The Valley.”

The front doors loom into view, making my hands shake.

When I was allowed outside the bunker, it meant I had to fight for my life.

I know I am safe here.

I know my mom would never force me to do something that would put me in danger or cause me pain.

But being this close to the outside has me frozen.

“Lori, it’s okay. We don’t have to go outside just yet if you aren’t ready,” my mom says, sensing my fear.

“Seeing the outside from a window was one thing. Going outside is another. I forget what freedom feels like.”

“Would you like to try the terrace first?”

I nod my head, unsure if that will be easier, but willing to give it a try.

My mom turns on her heel to head back up the stairs and I follow closely behind.

As we approach a wall of windows, my breathing becomes erratic, so I grab my mom’s hand.

I give her all my trust as she guides us outside.

I feel the brisk fall air on my face before I open my eyes.

It reminds me of the last time I was out in the open.

When I was free.

Summer was moving quickly into the chill of autumn.

I was with Jonah. We lived together in my family’s house.

For months we lived rough.

But we were free. The trees had just begun to turn from their vibrant green color.

I remember thinking how we wouldn’t survive the winter if we couldn’t find enough resources.

Maybe we would have died if we never got captured.

That’s an interesting thought.

And perhaps it’s true.

We had no idea what we were doing.

Surviving one day at a time.

My mom squeezes my hand, bringing my mind back to my body.

I take a deep breath and slowly open my eyes.

It’s as if I transported my memory to the here and now.

I knew it was fall just by looking out of the window in my room.

But breathing it in, feeling the chill of fall air makes it feel like the bunker never happened.

That Doctore was just a distant nightmare.

For a single moment, I thought that Jonah and I made it here together.

I walk to the railing of the terrace and look out at the campus grounds.

A pond filled with ducks surrounds the top of the football field I saw from my room.

A large building sits to the left, likely an athletic center.

Beyond that building is a wall that looks like it’s made from cinder blocks, rocks, and headstones?

The wall extends behind the building I’m currently in and wraps around to the other side.

I’m assuming it continues all around campus, but I can’t see where it ends.

“How big is this place?” I ask my mom.

When I turn to look at her, she is smiling out at the view in front of us.

“We were able to enclose most of the campus and part of the town. It took over a year. An extremely long, terrifying year.”

“I can imagine. And all this,” I say as I spread my arms out, “is safe? There are no zombies?”

“No biters. It’s safe, Lori. I promise.”

Just then, the sound of shouting breaks our peaceful moment on the terrace.

My mom and I look down to see Amos holding up a woman with the help of another.

Two men follow hastily behind.

As if sensing our presence, Amos looks up, locking eyes with me for a moment, then turning to my mom.

She nods and bolts inside, sprinting down the stairs.

I follow at a slower pace, not wanting to hear bad news.

Today is supposed to be a good day.

The two men that were walking behind Amos hold the front doors open for him and the injured woman.

I stay behind, peeking around a corner.

As Amos talks to my mom, she nods, giving him her full attention as she examines the injured woman.

She calls out instructions and the two other men hoist the woman up and bring her into a small room down the hall.

Then my mom looks around until her eyes land on me.

She hurries over to me, saying, “I’m so sorry, Lori. I can’t take you on that tour.”

“It’s okay, mom. I understand. Is everything okay?”

“Dana, a leader from one of our sister communities, fell off a roof, and it looks like she broke her leg in two places. It’s going to be a difficult time setting her bones, so I have to be quick about it. She’s already been like this for a day.”

“Go. I’ll be okay. And what’s another day being cooped up anyway?”

My mom looks at me with such sadness in her eyes.

“Amos!” she shouts. A second later, the man himself is at my side.

“Can you take Lori around campus? She’s moving into the room right across from yours. So after you show her where everything is, you can be the gentleman I know you to be and walk her to her new home.”

Amos salutes my mom as she hurries away, then turns to me with the most beautiful half smile, his golden eyes glinting in the dim light of the hallway.

“Are you ready, Copperhead?”

I roll my eyes at the nickname but can’t help the smile that forms on my face.

The stiffness already loosening the second time.

I hesitate for a second as we reach the front doors.

Just a second. Then I take a step toward freedom and my new life.