Project ELE (2 page)

"Numbers one hundred thirty nine thousand through one hundred forty five thousand please pack your belongings and proceed towards the entry gate." A voice booms from a loud speaker.

"Willow, Sebastian, it’s time to get up." My mom calls cheerfully out to us.

I bolt up out of bed with excitement and immediately start packing my stuff. After waiting for so many days doing nothing, we are finally going to get to go inside! There are only so many games to play with a deck of cards. I pull my passport out of my bag to make sure it's still safe and examine the number that is stamped in red ink. I am number one hundred forty-four thousand and one. The number unsettles me; I don't like odd numbers.

"Sebastian, it's time to get up," I shake him slightly. He whimpers a little and sits up groggily.

"I still sleepy." He says rubbing his eyes.

"I know buddy, but today is the day we get to go inside." My father says to him. "Aren't you excited Sabby?" He ruffles my brothers little curls with his hand. Sebastian gives him a big sleepy smile.

"I bet you are excited Willow," My dad says to me.

"Yeah, well, it's okay I guess." I say trying to act like I could care less when inside I am jumping for joy.

"Yeah, uh huh." My dad jokes around and playfully tries to ruffle my hair; except his hand ends up catching a tangle in my wild mane. He begins pulling at my hair trying to untangle his fingers. "Sorry love." He says with a half-smile while I wince at the sensation.

"No biggie." I reply a little self-consciously.

As a family we all work speedily to pack our belongings. I help get Sebastian ready. In fifteen minutes we are all dressed, have our single bag packed and are out the door of the tent headed towards the food line. The morning air already brings a heavy heat and with the clear skies it looks like the rest of the day will be unrelenting. I decide that I'm not going to allow my heavily perspiring skin to bother me. Nope, today is going to be a good day. Since our number was called, we are granted an express pass to the front of the line to get our breakfast, consisting of some type of cold cream of wheat concoction and a bottle of water. I scarf down the cold cereal as if I haven't eaten for days. My mom gives me a sideways look and shakes her head. Instead of calling me out for my bad table manners she just jokes, "I guess someone is about to have a growth spurt."

"Yeah, I guess so." I smile back, a real smile this time. I can't help it; I'm too ecstatic that we will be out of this smothering heat soon. Plus, my mom seems to be in a much better mood than she has been for days. I can see the worry lines easing from her forehead now that our numbers have been called.

Once we finish our meals we head to the entry gate and get into yet another line. Fans run along the path of the line circulating the already hot air around us. You would think something like this would provide some sort of relief, but with as hot as it is out here, nothing can take our minds off the scorching temperatures. A few mister stations are set up a long the way for the children. Children can't handle the heat as well as adults can. Even though the heat is intense, this set up in line is much better than the one back at camp, because thankfully, this line leads inside.

"I love you all." My dad says while pulling us all into a big bear hug. Normally I would be grossed out at even the idea of enveloping sweaty bodies, but it feels good to have that physical affirmation that we all love each other.

"Wuv you too!" Sebastian calls out.

"I love you all so much," my mom says.

Everyone looks at me expectantly, "You guys know that I love you." I say trying to be nonchalant but meaning every ounce of it. I wouldn't trade my family for the world.

"This is it, we are going to make it." My mom says with relief pouring from her voice.

"Yeah, speak for yourself. Do you see how many people they are turning away? Ageist bastards; almost all of the ones leaving are over fifty." Mr. Leroy spits out venomously.

I turn back startled. I hadn't realized that he was standing behind us. My dad tries to diffuse the situation by saying, "Please watch your language around my children Lee. This is stressful for everyone but I'm sure the F.E.M.A. has their reasons for turning those people away."

"Yeah, their reason is that they don't give a crap about us. We are nothing but a number to them, a statistic." Mr. Leroy huffs.

"I'm sure they will let you in Mr. Leroy." I don't know why I speak up to comfort him, but I do. I can tell that under that grumpy old man exterior he really is just as scared as the rest of us. Perhaps he's a little lonely too. He mentioned that he lost his wife to the virus last year. I give him an awkward pat on his back. I know I'm giving up my tough girl, annoyed attitude but I don't want anything to ruin today. Today is about hope. We are all going to be just fine. His eyes lighten up just a bit and his posture relaxes at my touch.

"Willow's right, we all are going to get to go inside. Just you wait and see." My mom chimes in. I can tell that her face shows a little bit of anxiety but she's doing her best to remain calm for us.

"I don feel so good." Sebastian tugs on my mom's shirt.

My mom's hand immediately goes up to his forehead checking his temperature. Her face shows a look of displeasure. "Willow, I think Sebastian is overheating. Do you mind taking him to one of the mister stations?"

I nod my head and grab Sebastian's little hand, "Let's go Sabby."

He walks beside me lethargically toward the nearest mister station; I end up carrying him most of the way. When we get there, I sit him down in the middle of the tent under the cool mist. "Raise your arms Sabby." He complies and I pull his tank top up over his head. His little skin looks red and overheated. He's had to spend almost every hour since we've been here inside our tent with the cooling unit on. My dad says that little kids can overheat much faster than adults. Plus, they don't always know how to communicate when they are showing signs of heat exhaustion. Waiting in this line for the past hour has probably been the longest time he has spent outside in the elements. To help cool him down quicker I take his little yellow tank top and hold it up close to one of the sprinkler heads. Once it's nice and wet I put it back on him.

"Tank you Wello." He says sweetly. His hair has accumulated enough moisture that his ringlets fall down in long waves over his forehead. Little beads of mist form on his eyelashes. I can tell by his eyes that he is still not feeling well, so I have him lie down and rest his head in my lap. I brush his hair like my mother does for us when we’re feeling under the weather. Sebastian gives a slight smile and closes his eyes to my petting.

"Would you like some water for the boy?" I look up from where I'm sitting to see a tall sturdy boy who looks to be about my age, holding out a cold bottle of water. His hair is shaved so close to his head that I can't tell what color it is. Tiny droplets of water cover his hair making his head look shiny. His skin shows a sun-kissed tan that tells me his parents didn't lather him in the same sunscreen I had to endure. I look down at my white legs and grimace before looking back up at him. He has unusually dark eyes that appear to be black and long thick lashes. I didn't know people could have black eyes, but I guess this boy does. His bushy eyebrows rise in question and I realize that I'm staring. I blush at my apparent lack of social skills.

"Oh, sorry. Yes, thank you." I reach up to grab the bottle. "Hey Sabby," I cringe a bit realizing that my baby name for my little brother probably sounds childish. The boy standing in front of me didn't seem to notice so I continue. "Why don't you drink some water Sebastian?"

I put the bottle to his lips and Sebastian opens his eyes only long enough to take a few small sips then he closes them again.

"Is he okay?" The boy asks me.

I look from Sebastian to the boy. "Yeah, he's just over heated. He should be fine. He's not used to this heat, but we should be allowed to go inside soon."

"Yeah, my little sister Lillie has a hard time with this heat too." He gestures with his head over to a small girl sitting in the corner of the misting area. Her long orangey-red hair is pulled back in a ponytail. She's working on her dolls hair, trying to put it into a similar style. She appears to be around seven or eight years old.

"My name's Connor." He looks at me expectantly.

I just stare at him again. I don't know where my tongue went but I haven't really had a conversation with anyone my age in a long while. I'm a little out of practice. When I finally catch my tongue I say awkwardly, "Oh, sorry, I'm Willow and this is my brother Sebastian."

He stands there above me for a few seconds in silence. I guess he might be out of practice too when it comes to holding a conversation. That or we are both just as lethargic from the heat as our siblings are.

I clear my throat, "So, um, what number are you?"

"One hundred forty-three thousand and sixteen." He says.

"Oh, you are before us then." I reply noting the even number he lucked out with. He nods his head. Still not feeling much in the way of conversation I say, "Thanks for the water."

"Sure, no problem." He smiles a big goofy smile.

"Connor! Lillie!" A robust woman with curly red hair calls from outside the misting area. "It's time to go."

"Okay mom." Connor calls back to her. He turns back to look down at me. "Nice to meet you Willow. Good luck with the tests." I smile and wave goodbye to him as he turns on his heel to gather up Lillie. They both run out of the mister station to catch up to their mother hand in hand.

I look down at Sebastian who is sleeping noiselessly in my lap. Good luck with the tests. I hadn't even thought much about the tests that would be coming up soon. Nor have I thought about the fact that we could be turned away. I guess I just assumed everyone would be granted entrance, but even Mr. Leroy was saying that he's seen people declined. A sick feeling tumbles through my stomach. I take a few sips of water to help squelch the nausea.

"Hey honey, how's he doing?" My mom asks from outside the station. She walks inside and bends down to feel Sebastian's head and seems satisfied with his temperature.

I answer anyhow. "He's good, he crashed out almost immediately. Someone gave me some water so I made him drink it before he went to sleep."

"You are the best big sister ever." She smiles at me. "Hey, have I told you today that you are my favorite daughter?" She leans in to give me a motherly hug.

"Yeah mom; I'm your only daughter." She says the same thing to me nearly every day and I reply in the same way too. I smile up at her and return her hug. "You are my favorite mom." I mean it too.

"Thanks honey." My mom pushes my wet hair back from my forehead. To pass the time, she pulls my tangled hair out of its ponytail and goes to work combing through it nimbly with her fingers. My eyes nearly roll back in my head at the wonderful feeling of her playing with my hair. It's such a comforting gesture that all of my earlier worries about the tests momentarily slip from my mind. We spend the next hour talking and joking around while my mom works all of the knots out of my tangled mess. She fixes my hair up into a beautifully braided bun. The time sped by so fast that when my dad comes to tell us that our numbers have been called we are pleasantly surprised.

"Time to get up Sabby." I gently shake my little brother, who hasn't budged, from my lap. He stirs slowly. My dad comes over and picks him up giving him a zerbert kiss on his cheek. Sebastian squeals with laughter.

My mom helps me stand up because my legs have fallen asleep from sitting in the same position so long. I stomp around trying to get the blood flowing. Once all of us are standing my dad calls out, "Ready family?"

We all say, "yes," simultaneously and head back out into the heat, hand in hand. We walk towards the giant entry gates as a family in silence. The butterflies inside my stomach dance around in summersaults from anxiety and with every step we take I think, ‘This is it.’ I have no idea what our new home for the next three years will look like. I don't know what life will be like inside the shelter, but I do know it will be vastly different than my old life. The closer we get to the testing stations the more of the old me I leave behind.

The fortified steel gates surround us as we near the entry point. An enormous mountain sits before us. There is a straight line of tents that form a tunnel to the entry point leading us deep into the mountain.

"Identification please," asks a faceless official in a white biohazard suit with a F.E.M.A. nametag.

I fumble around my shorts pocket looking for my identification. Thankfully my dad pulls out my passport along with my little brothers and his. He hands them to the official who inspects it carefully. The suction of air that spits from his biohazard suit puts me on edge.

"Mosby family, report to testing station one." He points a stiff finger in the general direction of the first station. I follow behind my family feeling increasingly nervous with all of the white hazard suited officials walking about. I huddle closer to my dad.

Station one is marked with a giant red label that states, ‘first testing station,’ in bold block letters. Its entryway is covered with a large white curtain blocking the inside of the tent station from our view.

"Passports," An overweight official who is guarding the entrance requests. We comply by quickly handing him our passports. "The boy first," the man says blandly after skimming over our identification.