Free The Death Trilogy (Book 1): The Death: Quarantine by John W. Vance

downtown. Make sure beauty meets function in all the buildings you design. My contribution will be the overall layout of our all new master-planned development. We will give birth to our new home, Arcadia.”
    All were blown away by the grand idea, and Lori specifically felt overwhelmed.
    “How many buildings, what type? I need more guidance. Where do I start?”
    “Glad you asked. You’ll start with the new capital building,” Chance responded and stood up. He walked over to a side table and grabbed a tube and pulled out a rolled-up map and unrolled it on the table in front of them. “This is my first draft of the city. The capital will sit directly in the middle, and everything will emanate from there. Lori, to answer your question, make that your first priority, make it grand and impressive, something that will stand for a millennium.”
    “Okay, I’ll get working on that. Do you have a specific size in mind?” Lori asked.
    “Ever been to Washington, DC?”
    “Yes, long ago.”
    “Make it half the size of the Capitol Building there.”
    “Got it,” Lori said, taking notes.
    “Do we have topographical maps so I can see how the land lays?” Brad asked.
    Chance sat for a second and thought about his question, then answered, “I do, but I have something better for you. How about we take a trip?” He pushed his chair out and stood.
    Again the other three looked at each other, surprised.
    “Grab your stuff. I’ll meet you topside, say in fifteen minutes. We’ll catch a helicopter to the site.”
    “Exciting,” Maggie blurted out.
    “I’ll see you up there,” Chance said and exited the room.
    Lori didn’t know what to think about all of this. What had been pitched to her as an expansion of the mythical Camp Sierra was really the design of an entirely new city. Something like this wouldn’t be considered a big job, not even huge—this was epic. She felt excitement at this opportunity but also felt sad. She knew this would take longer than two months; this could take years. She would not allow that amount of time to go by without seeing her family. But now wasn’t the time to complain, now was the time to work and earn her family a place in this new city. She looked down at the map and bent over to get a closer look; at the bottom corner was the name ‘Arcadia’ . Questions began to pop in her head. Why build a new city? Why go through this trouble?
    Thoughts then came to her of what she had seen yesterday on the screen. Her fears had been proven to be wrong. Here she was working for the government as they embarked on plans to start something new. Nowhere along her travels yesterday did she encounter anyone out of sorts, and everyone at the DIA was nice and helpful. She filed the thought yesterday as nothing more than letting her imagination run wild. Laughing to herself, she thought she must have been getting camp fever . With a sense of purpose and feeling the most hopeful she had felt in months, she left the room and made her way topside. Today was a new day for her and the beginning of something grand.
     
    Lovington, Illinois
    Devin’s clothes were soaked with sweat, and his face, arms and hands now bled from the multitude of tiny cuts and abrasions from the dried dead cornstalks. He had remembered hearing how the Midwest was corn country; now he knew why.
    Each road they came upon provided a much-needed break to catch their breath. Now they were on the outskirts of a small town, and they’d need a more detailed plan than the simple one they had perfected crossing small roads or highways.
    Taking a seat in the moist dirt, he lowered his head and let the sweat drip off his face and onto the ground. He was amazed he had made it as far as he had. He supposed adrenaline had carried him the distance given the fact he hadn’t worked out in months.
    The fatigue Tess was experiencing was greater, as she didn’t just sit, she lay down.
    “Don’t go to sleep over there,” Devin joked.
    “My fiancé