Free S.W. Tanpepper's GAMELAND, Season One Omnibus by Saul Tanpepper

scouting.”
    We get back into the car. Kelly sits in the front this time, since he’s still damp and nobody wants to sit next to someone who smells swampy. Ashley gets the hump this time in back, between me and Reg. I sit behind Micah, but I study Reggie’s face for any indication he did what Kelly says he did. But there’s nothing there.
    â€œ The cop makes a regular pass,” Ashley says after we’re back on the road. “We watched him. He does a circuit of some kind. It looks like it takes him almost exactly sixty minutes to do it.”
    I give her a questioning look.
    â€œ And what did you guys do?” she asks me, pretending to act all innocent.
    â€œ Not much,” I say, but I steal another glance at Reg. He looks over at me, the same inquiring look on his face as Ash’s. It’s impossible to read him.
    Kelly scratches his head. “Doesn’t it seem strange to you that there’d be a cop patrolling? On foot? I mean, why? Nobody’s going to be wandering around down there. The place is deserted.”
    â€œ We were.”
    Micah’s shoulders lift and fall as he drives, but he keeps his eyes on the road. Kelly frowns. The question remains unanswered, though not forgotten. It’s just that none of us knows if there is an answer.
    After that, the conversation drifts. We pass through the checkpoints and the guards don’t even bother to scan our Links. Going out is a hell of a lot easier than going in. One guard checks the trunk of the car, but that’s the most any of them does. Does he think we’re carrying illegal contraband or something?
    Micah drops me and Kelly off at my house. Nobody’s home, so we take a risk and jump into the shower together while Kelly’s clothes get washed.
    We begin soaping each other down, but as much as I want to mess around, it’s clear Kelly’s mind is anywhere but on sex. We quickly rinse and towel off. I throw the clothes into the dryer while Kelly sits in my room wrapped in a towel and my robe.
    â€œ You look cute,” I tell him. He looks over distractedly and turns back to his Link. I go over and peek over his shoulder. “What are you doing?”
    â€œ Looking up whatever I can find out about LI. You know, history and stuff.”
    â€œ You know nothing that’s on the public Streams is reliable.”
    He nods. “Still, better to be prepared.”
    â€œ I thought…”
    â€œ What?” He looks up expectantly.
    â€œ Nothing.”
    The sanctioned history claims that the wall was first built around the island to stop the spread of infections. But the outbreaks kept on happening anyway. The government says it’s because of sabotage, but that’s not what most people believe. Some of the more recent outbreaks have been as far away as Seattle and Los Angeles. But they don’t get much play on Media. They’ve been small, a few hundred cases at the most, and quite easily contained. In fact, there was nothing like the panics caused by the ones on the East Coast. It’s like we’ve gotten used to them happening. Nobody even bothers to be worried anymore. We’ve all become desensitized.
    There are a ton of theories circulating about how the outbreaks happen. Some people believe they’re caused by mosquito-borne transmission. There’s rumors that the original genes used to make the first Zulus came from a virus called dengue, which was spread by mosquitoes.
    Grandpa says that’s impossible. He says dengue was eradicated after the plague of 2012 by this scientist who blocked the virus’ ability to replicate inside mosquitoes. The scientist’s name was Stephen something—Archangel, maybe—I can’t remember, and there’s nothing about it on the Stream.
    Other people think the infection can be transmitted through the water. That’s why I didn’t like Kelly getting scratched today. I know it’s just being