Chapter 3

7/21/2019: Updated to the published version.

James slowed as he pulled up to the outer perimeter. Leah switched off the radio, leaned forward, and looked around. There were tall guard towers set evenly apart every fifty yards with a tall chain link fence between them. There was a gate over the roadway. A guard opened it for them, clearly recognizing James and Dale.

After they passed through, Leah turned in her seat, trying to gather as much information about their security measures as possible. "Are yall trying to keep people out or in?"

James smiled. "It works for both."

They drove on through open grass fields. Cattle were out on the left and horses on the right. It took another fifteen minutes before the colony itself came into view. It was surrounded by a stone wall, like a medieval village, with more guard towers along its length. Leah said, "Wow, cozy. You really need two walls?"

James said, "There is an inner and an outer perimeter. Between the two are fields of crops like wheat and corn, orchards, and grazing lands for cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. There are a few buildings – dairy, barns, stables, and the like. Inside the inner perimeter are the houses and public buildings, stores, hospital, and that's where the vegetables are grown, some in fields, some in greenhouses."

"Stores? Do yall use money?"

"Sort of, we earn tickets for contributing to the colony in different ways. Then we spend those tickets to get things we want."

"But there are tons of things just lying around outside."

"Some people leave the colony and go pick up things from the outside. That's one way of contributing. Most people don't leave. So, they work a job, and earn tickets to buy what they want."

Leah frowned. "What's my job going to be?"

James smiled. "You don't need one. I'll take care of you. I've already earned more tickets than you could spend."

Resentfully, she asked, "By kidnapping women?"

He grinned. "By finding survivors and bringing them here."

"You're like a slave trader." That wiped the grin from his face.

It was Dale who said, "Most people want to come here, Leah."

She turned to Dale and said sarcastically, "Yeah, like me and Lacy."

Dale said, "Most of the women who come here, come voluntarily. They're set up in a house and courted by a lot of men. They choose which one they want to settle down with in their own time."

Leah looked at James. "Do I get a choice then?"

James smiled. "Sure, you get to choose when you give in."

"What if I don't want you? What if I want someone else?"

"What if hell freezes over?"

Leah let out of a huff and turned to him. "Seriously, why don't I get a choice?"

"Because I'm in love with you already." James smiled at her. "And I caught you myself."

Dale said, "Everyone knows James wants you for himself, Leah. There isn't a man in the colony that would go against him for you."

She asked, "How do they know about me?"

Dale answered with a smile. "It's a small town, with small town gossip. James is kinda famous for bringing people in, so when he was gone for a whole month without the crew, people asked questions. We didn't see any reason to keep it a secret."

Leah frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. They passed through the inner perimeter, and James headed for the hospital. Leah looked around curiously the whole way. When she saw the big hospital building, she began to fidget. She asked in a low voice, "James, is this doctor really necessary?"

"Yes."

"I might be willing to do something you want if we can skip it."

He grinned. "Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"What do you want?"

He pulled up right in front of the hospital. Parking was not an issue. He put the truck in park, turned it off, and looked at her. "I want you to stop fighting me and do everything I say."

Leah frowned. "I was thinking more along the lines of one sexual favor."

James and Dale both laughed. James said, "Nope, it's complete surrender I'm after, sweetheart."

He kept grinning as she thought about it, but she accused, "Even if I agreed to that, you'd just tell me to go in there and do everything the doctor says."

He laughed again. "Yep." He opened the door, got out, and offered her a hand. She sat there with her arms folded across her chest and a belligerent look on her face. He smiled, reached in, and pulled her out with a hand under her knees and the other behind her back. He carried her into the hospital like that. She didn't fight him since she knew it was useless. Dale closed the truck up and followed them in.

They went to an elevator and up to the third floor. It opened onto a wide area with many doors and banks of windows along the walls, most blocked by white blinds. To one side was a nurse's station where two young men in white uniforms stood. They looked like the mental ward guards in movies to Leah.

James brought her over, and one of the men smiled. "James, welcome back. Is this your girl then?"

James nodded and smiled. "George, this is Leah. Leah, George. He's one of the doctors in training here."

George said, "Welcome to the colony, Leah."

She frowned. "I'm here against my will. I've been kidnapped."

George kept smiling. "You're still most welcome here. Hopefully, you'll change your mind soon. It's a nice place, nice people."

James asked, "Can you get Doc Thames, George?"

George said, "He'll be here in just a minute. We got word you were coming in. He's just finishing up with another patient."

"Thanks." James nodded. He continued to hold Leah like he was content to do so forever.

She said, "You can put me down now, James."

He smiled at her. "Nah, I don't mind."

She sighed, sounding put out. A minute later, an older gentleman came out of one of the doors wearing a white lab coat and a stethoscope. He had gray hair, glasses, and a kindly smile, but Leah stiffened in James' arms when she saw him.

The doctor said, "Welcome home, James. Who have we here?" and smiled at Leah.

James said, "Thanks, Doc. This is my girl, Leah."

"Are you hurt, young lady?" Doc's eyes travelled quickly over her body in James' arms.

Leah said, "No, and I don't need a doctor."

"All newcomers have to be checked out thoroughly before they can join the general population."

"I don't want to join the population. I'll be happy to leave."

James frowned and told her, "Behave." He said to Doc, "She's not exactly cooperative. I just caught her today, and she's not happy about it yet."

Doc nodded and smiled. He said to Leah, "Don't worry. I'll make it as painless as possible. Come on. I've a room all ready for you." He turned and led them through one of the doors with a bank of windows next to it.

James sat Leah down on the side of the bed and stayed by her side.

Leah asked, "Could I have a shower? Someone was chasing me all morning, and I got really sweaty. I feel nasty."

Doc smiled. "Sure, just let us take your vitals, draw some blood, and answer a few questions for me. Then I'll let you take a nice, long shower while we process your blood work. Deal?"

"Why do you need my blood?"

"We want to check for antibodies to the plague and see if they match up to other samples. We are worried about mutations. I also want to run routine tests to make sure your body is functioning properly." Doc picked up an electronic tablet from the end of the bed and pulled a stool in front of her. "First, some basic questions. Full name?"

Leah glanced at James. "Are you staying through all this?"

James smiled. "Yep." He leaned against the bed and crossed his arms over his chest.

Leah asked the doctor, "Isn't that a violation of doctor-patient confidentiality?"

Doc said, "No, James is essentially your guardian."

"But I'm not a minor."

Doc smiled. "Things are a bit different post-plague. Full name?" He held his stylus poised over the tablet.

"Leah Grant."

"No middle name?"

Leah thought about it. It had been a long time, but she did remember it. She wasn't sure she wanted to tell them anything but decided to save her lies for later. "Caroline."

Doc wrote it down. "Date of birth?"

"November 19, 2014."

Doc said, "And that makes you twenty-four years old," apparently reading off the tablet. "Social Security number?"

"You're kidding, right?"

Doc smiled. "Most people remember it, so we use it as the unique identifier. It's okay if you don't know it. We can assign you a new one."

"I don't remember."

He went on to ask about medical problems.

"I'm completely healthy as far as I know."

James lifted an eyebrow.

Doc asked her, "Date of last menses?" and James looked at her questioningly.

Confused, Leah asked, "Menses?"

Doc said, "Your period."

"Oh. It hasn't started."

"I mean what was the date of the last day of your last period?"

"No, I mean I've never bled. I haven't started getting my period yet."

Doc's eyes widened. "Never?"

Leah nodded.

"Did you see a doctor about this before the plague?"

"Yes, when I was nineteen. She couldn't find anything wrong and said it wasn't unheard of for a girl not to start until nineteen or twenty, but it still hasn't started. I'm not worried about it, grateful really."

James frowned, but Doc asked, "Why is that?"

"My mom had terrible troubles."

"Such as?"

"Ovarian cysts, endometriosis, very heavy bleeding, terrible cramps. She had to have a Caesarian section after she was in labor with my older brother for a very long time. They did the same with my other brother and me, but those were planned, so easier. After she had me, she had a hysterectomy."

Doc noted all this on his tablet as quickly as possible. "Have you had any pain in your pelvic region?"

"No." After a moment, Leah added, "That exam really hurt, and I won't submit to another."

Doc glanced at James for just a second and looked back at Leah. "We can talk about that later. Besides your mother's problems, is there any history of medical problems in your family?"

Leah thought about it for a moment. It was difficult to remember. "My grandfather, on my mother's side, got Parkinson's disease late in life. My great-grandmother, my father's grandmother, died of lung cancer, but she was one hundred and two. Historically, the women in my family lived very long lives, until the plague of course."

"You were the only survivor?"

She nodded. "That I know of. Some of my family moved away, so I don't know if they are still alive or not. I haven't been able to find them yet."

Doc nodded, tapping on his tablet as she spoke. He called George over. George took Leah's blood pressure and temperature before getting several tubes of her blood. Leah watched the needle puncture her inner elbow and was fascinated by the red liquid squirting into the tubes. James took her other hand in his and held it throughout this process. It didn't hurt that badly; she'd had worse cuts. Initially, she tried to pull her hand away from his, but he wouldn't let go, so she just stopped fighting it.

When George was done with her arm, Doc Thames said, "Okay, Leah. You can have that shower now."

Leah asked, "Can I have my backpack?"

James asked, "Why?"

She answered, "It has my change of clothes in it."

"I need you to put on a hospital gown after." Doc opened the cabinet in the room and handed one to her. "The bathroom is full of toiletries, everything you could need. Take your time." He turned to James. "Come on. I'll check you out next door."

Leah wondered why James needed an exam as they left. She thought about trying to run away while they were gone. Peeking through the blinds, she saw the second man in white, whose name she didn't know, sitting in a chair outside her door.

She cursed and went into the bathroom. She used the toilet first and then checked out all the shampoos, conditioners, body washes, shave gels, razors, combs, brushes, toothbrushes, and toothpastes. They really did have everything, multiple brands of everything, even her favorites. She chose those and proceeded to take a shower for the next two hours.

The hot water felt amazing and was seemingly endless. She washed her hair twice and left the conditioner on for a long time. She scrubbed herself down, shaved, and scrubbed again. She didn't care about her appearance, but it felt good to be really clean. The shelter had warm water, but it never got this hot. She kept the temperature as hot as she could stand it.

After she got out, she combed her hair, brushed her teeth, put on moisturizer and deodorant, and finally put the hospital gown on. The thing was not decent, completely open in the back. She went to the cabinet, grabbed another, and put that one on backwards over the first.

Doc came in with James a few minutes later and smiled. "Feel better?"

Leah nodded. "It'd feel even better to wear real clothes."

"Your blood work came back fine. You look completely healthy from that standpoint. The next step is to get a full body scan. It's going to take several hours, so I'm going to give you a sedative to let you sleep through it." Doc approached her as he pulled a syringe out of his coat pocket.

Leah backed away and shouted, "No! Who knows what you'll do to me if I'm unconscious?"

Doc stopped and looked at James. That was all it took. James went to Leah, catching her easily when she tried to evade him. He picked her up, put her on the bed, and held her down. She said, "I'll never forgive you for this, James! Let me go!" He didn't.

Doc came forward and shot the syringe into her upper arm. She tried to fight it, but whatever it was, it was fast and strong.

James told her, "We aren't going to do anything but the scan, Leah. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Panic sent adrenaline into her blood, which fought the drug. The drug quickly won the battle and pulled her into a thick black fog. She lost consciousness.