issues and report to me on all matters occurring inside the medical
wing.” The General shuffled through some papers in a manila folder as he spoke,
his voice and tone saying that this wasn't actually a request but a fact.
Thorn wanted to argue, to say he had
no right to force her to stay in this place and be part of this madness.
However, she didn't say a word, only nodded her head in silent acceptance. Her
brother, Thomas, once said it was the duty of every person to rise to the
occasion when their country and way of life needed them, despite the risk or
challenges ahead. Thorn thought perhaps this was that occasion. She would've
liked to say that this sense of duty was the only reason, but it would've been
false. The idea of not having the opportunity to make things right between her
and John was also a deciding factor. She owed him her life, not her scorn.
“Sergeant Rose will take you down to
Miss William's office to take care of all the paperwork and such. Welcome to
the Nest, Miss Grant.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Sign here, and initial here and here,”
Miss Williams told Thorn as they completed the last of what had to be a tree's
worth of paperwork.
John had brought her here and simply
left. She knew he was upset with her, with her careless statement and she had no
idea how to make it better. It wasn’t as if she could take it back. It came out
of her mouth and upset or not, her words had hurt him.
“You'll be issued seven sets of uniforms
which you're to wear on duty. Here are your ID and clearance cards. We are not
permitted to leave the nest unescorted, so I have an arrangement with the
guards to visit the PX every Wed. in case you wish to join me.”
Was she serious? They expected her to
reside here as though it were a prison.
“There's a common room on level three
with a pool table, large screens and computers. We are each also issued a
laptop but be aware all your action on it is monitored. So I suggest no
cybersex,” Miss Williams continued as she handed Thorn a map and copies of the
paperwork. “Payday is the 15 th and 30 th and it will be
direct deposited into an account which I'll set up for you. The General has
arranged for someone to take you topside so you can collect some personal
affects.”
The woman stopped then and gave Thorn
a soft smile which didn't quiet reach her eyes. “Welcome to the Nest. It will
be nice not to be the only female in this fish bowl. I’m Karen.”
“Thorn,” she said, reaching her hand
out to shake the long, thin hand of the woman who was obviously in charge of
all the clerical aspects of this place.
She was a pretty woman, about thirty
with short, auburn hair cut into a sassy bob and she had deep green eyes. Thorn
hoped they could be friends since the two were seriously outnumbered down here.
A sharp knock on the door stopped any
further conversation as John entered the room and gave Karen a nod in
acknowledgement.
“Are you ready?” He asked. “I want to
get back quickly so I can take the rest of the team out to hunt down Boyd
before he infects anyone.”
Thorn could hear the agitation his voice.
He was still angry with her. Standing, she told Karen she would talk to her
later and followed him out and toward the elevator which would return them to
the surface. The silence between them was numbing even in the short distance.
She didn't know how to fix this, only that she needed to.
“Get only what you can’t live
without. We’ll have the rest packed up and put into storage for you.” John told
her once they were in the jeep and headed toward her street. “Your room is much
smaller than mine so you won’t have much space.”
“ l'll only grab
a small box or two. Not like I’ll need much. They arrange for everything,”
Thorn said, staring out the window, noticing it had snowed more since the
previous night and the world around them looked like a sparkling wonderland.
With only a week until Christmas, she wondered if they would allow
wing.” The General shuffled through some papers in a manila folder as he spoke,
his voice and tone saying that this wasn't actually a request but a fact.
Thorn wanted to argue, to say he had
no right to force her to stay in this place and be part of this madness.
However, she didn't say a word, only nodded her head in silent acceptance. Her
brother, Thomas, once said it was the duty of every person to rise to the
occasion when their country and way of life needed them, despite the risk or
challenges ahead. Thorn thought perhaps this was that occasion. She would've
liked to say that this sense of duty was the only reason, but it would've been
false. The idea of not having the opportunity to make things right between her
and John was also a deciding factor. She owed him her life, not her scorn.
“Sergeant Rose will take you down to
Miss William's office to take care of all the paperwork and such. Welcome to
the Nest, Miss Grant.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Sign here, and initial here and here,”
Miss Williams told Thorn as they completed the last of what had to be a tree's
worth of paperwork.
John had brought her here and simply
left. She knew he was upset with her, with her careless statement and she had no
idea how to make it better. It wasn’t as if she could take it back. It came out
of her mouth and upset or not, her words had hurt him.
“You'll be issued seven sets of uniforms
which you're to wear on duty. Here are your ID and clearance cards. We are not
permitted to leave the nest unescorted, so I have an arrangement with the
guards to visit the PX every Wed. in case you wish to join me.”
Was she serious? They expected her to
reside here as though it were a prison.
“There's a common room on level three
with a pool table, large screens and computers. We are each also issued a
laptop but be aware all your action on it is monitored. So I suggest no
cybersex,” Miss Williams continued as she handed Thorn a map and copies of the
paperwork. “Payday is the 15 th and 30 th and it will be
direct deposited into an account which I'll set up for you. The General has
arranged for someone to take you topside so you can collect some personal
affects.”
The woman stopped then and gave Thorn
a soft smile which didn't quiet reach her eyes. “Welcome to the Nest. It will
be nice not to be the only female in this fish bowl. I’m Karen.”
“Thorn,” she said, reaching her hand
out to shake the long, thin hand of the woman who was obviously in charge of
all the clerical aspects of this place.
She was a pretty woman, about thirty
with short, auburn hair cut into a sassy bob and she had deep green eyes. Thorn
hoped they could be friends since the two were seriously outnumbered down here.
A sharp knock on the door stopped any
further conversation as John entered the room and gave Karen a nod in
acknowledgement.
“Are you ready?” He asked. “I want to
get back quickly so I can take the rest of the team out to hunt down Boyd
before he infects anyone.”
Thorn could hear the agitation his voice.
He was still angry with her. Standing, she told Karen she would talk to her
later and followed him out and toward the elevator which would return them to
the surface. The silence between them was numbing even in the short distance.
She didn't know how to fix this, only that she needed to.
“Get only what you can’t live
without. We’ll have the rest packed up and put into storage for you.” John told
her once they were in the jeep and headed toward her street. “Your room is much
smaller than mine so you won’t have much space.”
“ l'll only grab
a small box or two. Not like I’ll need much. They arrange for everything,”
Thorn said, staring out the window, noticing it had snowed more since the
previous night and the world around them looked like a sparkling wonderland.
With only a week until Christmas, she wondered if they would allow
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