“Here. I did it myself. We had the supplies.”
“That was good work.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“And tell me, are you here willingly?” she asked, training her steady gaze on me.
“Yes, ma’am. Everyone wants to be here. We’re fair and just. We vote on everything.”
I should probably stop talking. Cipher would want me to say as little as possible, but I wanted her to know we weren’t doing anything criminal. And once I got going, it was hard to stop.
“That’s a nice coop you have over there,” she said and motioned to it. The hens were happily hunting for insects in the tall grass while the ducks splashed about in the pond we’d built for them, unaware of the human activities happening around them.
“We’re still looking for a rooster or a drake,” I said.
“We could probably help you out with that.”
I recalled the livestock I’d spotted on their base. What I wouldn’t give to have a few of their herd. Cipher’s warning came back to me then, not to accept their bribes. That was how they lured you in.
“Why would you help us?” I asked her.
“Because it helps us too. We want thriving civilian populations. They help keep the bad guys in check and control the Rabid populations too. The world won’t be like this forever, Joshua. We have to prepare for a future where this disease no longer rules our lives.”
It was hard to imagine a world without Rabbit Fever. Most of my life had been spent dealing with the fallout of the virus. I wanted to believe our lives would improve, but I was skeptical all the same.
“They’re active in the daytime too now,” I told her, in case she didn’t already know.
“Yes, we passed a pack of them on our way here.”
“Did you kill them?” I asked.
“No, we try not to disturb the Rabids unless they attack us first. They were once humans after all, and hopefully someday soon, we’ll be able to rehabilitate them.”
“How would you do that?”
“We’re working on various treatments at the lab. Some of them show real promise.”
“They’ve been working on a cure for the past seven years,” Santiago said bitterly, and I didn’t blame him for his resentment.
“And we’re getting closer to one every day. We have many brilliant minds working to solve this problem. Breakthroughs are happening all the time. Now, Joshua, I have a serious question for you. Where did you get these guns?” She pointed to the rifle Santiago was holding and its twin, mounted to the bannister of the watchtower right next to him.
Stick to the story.
“We came across a camp in the woods, just outside of Birmingham. The man who we think they belonged to was dead, killed by Rabids. He had a lot of weapons.
“What other weapons did he have?”
“I don’t know. You’d have to ask Cipher. He keeps inventory.”
“The man was dead when you arrived?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Did the man have a vehicle with him?”
“No ma’am, not that we saw anyway.”
“Was there any identification on him?”
