Let Me Speak

MAREN

“Let me speak to her.”

Ronan lowered the radio. “You know her?”

“She was my supervisor.”

He handed it over and showed me the button to hold down.

“Nadia? It’s Maren.”

For a moment, only static came through. I pictured Nadia standing in her office, listening while she decided whether knowing me mattered more than the report beside my name.

“Maren Ellis?”

“Yes.”

“Your scout mentioned you. Is the alert true?”

“No. I wasn’t bitten.”

“It says your husband saw it happen.”

“He lied.”

“What happened?”

I glanced at Ronan. He stayed beside the counter, letting me answer for myself.

“Grant transferred my evacuation pass to Celeste Mercer. When our infected neighbour came towards us, he pushed me into our garden and locked the gate.”

Nadia did not reply immediately.

“I climbed out, but the neighbour grabbed my ankle. I got away before he could bite me.”

“Where is Grant?”

“At the settlement beyond the eastern checkpoint.”

“We supply them. Their registry updates come through here.”

“Then you can check who received my pass.”

“I can check the transfer,” she said carefully. “That won’t tell me whether you were bitten.”

I looked at Tessa, who had been listening beside the doorway.

“Our medic examined me. Please speak to her.”

Tessa took the radio and explained the bruising, the cuts on my palms, and the contact I could not completely rule out.

I wished she would leave that last part out. It was the reason everyone hesitated, even after seeing there were no bites.

Then I remembered the children in the yard and kept quiet.

“We’re observing her separately,” Tessa finished. “I have a written record of the examination.”

“I can’t bring her into the warehouse,” Nadia said. “We have families sleeping inside.”

I reached for the radio again.

“What about the drivers’ rest building?”

“It hasn’t been used.”

“But it has its own washroom, and it’s outside the loading yard. I could stay there.”

Nadia paused.

“Please,” I added. “You can check me yourself.”

“All right. The convoy waits outside until we’ve spoken in person. Nobody conceals symptoms from me.”

Ronan took the radio.

“We understand.”

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Nadia stood beside the loading entrance when we arrived, wearing the heavy work boots I remembered. Seeing someone familiar made me want to get out before the pickup had properly stopped.

Then I moved my ankle and remembered why I needed help.

Ronan came around to my door.

“Ready?”

I nodded and took his arm. Nadia approached, looking from my bandaged palms to my bare foot.

“Where’s your shoe?”

“I lost it climbing.”

Her mouth tightened, but she only checked my identification before leading us towards the rest building.

Ronan waited outside while she reviewed Tessa’s notes and examined my injuries. I answered the same questions again, trying not to rush because I wanted her to believe me.

Finally, Nadia put her pen down.

“The convoy can enter. You stay here until observation is complete.”

“Thank you.”

“That means you don’t wander across the yard because you feel better.”

“I won’t.”

She closed the medical kit.

“I checked the transfer. Your clearance went to Celeste.”

I looked at my hands. Part of me had still wanted there to be another explanation, although Grant had already told me what he did.

“Can you remove the alert?”

“I can submit our records. An authorised intake officer has to review them.”

“What if Grant keeps saying it happened?”

“Then they’ll have to compare his account with what we found.”

I nodded, but she watched me for another moment before standing.

“Do you need anything?”

“Is the inventory terminal working?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I could help you find supplies. Bring me a laptop, and I can search the stock records from here.”

“You should rest.”

“I can sit and work. You know how many duplicate entries are in that system.”

Her expression softened.

“Still too many.”

“Let me help.”

“All right. I’ll bring one later.”

 

 

Ronan returned with soup and water after the vehicles entered the yard. He set them beside me, then carried a chair outside the open doorway.

“Have the others eaten?”

“Yes.”

I took a spoonful, surprised by how hungry I was now that food was in front of me.

“What did Derek say?”

“He’s checking the vehicles. He wants to know if you can help locate engine oil once you have the inventory.”

“I can.”

“I told him that.”

I looked up from the bowl.

He trusted an answer I had not given yet. After spending hours explaining myself, that small assumption almost made me cry.

“Thank you for letting me talk to Nadia.”

“You knew her.”

“You could have spoken over me anyway.”

Ronan rested his forearms on his knees.

“You had the information she needed.”

I tried opening the water bottle, but the cap pressed against my bandage. He held out his hand, and I passed it to him.

He opened it without comment and gave it back.

I watched him return to his chair. He looked tired now that he had stopped moving, with dirt along one sleeve and a crease across his cheek.

“Have you eaten?”

“After this.”

“Your soup will be cold.”

“It usually is.”

I nearly smiled, and he noticed before I looked down. Nadia arrived with a laptop a few minutes later.

“An intake officer at Grant’s settlement wants to confirm your condition directly. This could help correct the alert.”

I set my bowl aside.

“Will Grant be there?”

“I don’t know.”

I wanted to refuse, but I could not keep letting him speak for me.

“Make the call.”

The officer appeared first. Then Grant stepped into view, staring at the screen.

“Maren?”

“I told you I wasn’t bitten.”

His gaze moved past me when Ronan approached the doorway.

“That’s the man who took you?”

“He helped me.”

Grant turned towards the officer.

“She’s confused. He took her against her will.”

“No, he didn’t.”

The officer raised his hand before I could continue.

“We’re sending a patrol to collect you, Mrs. Ellis. We’ll conduct a private interview.”

Beside him, Grant nodded.

I gripped the edge of the table, suddenly wishing I had never agreed to the call.