The Variables

The radio crackled and Dean jumped.

A man’s voice came on this time. “Blair, do you copy?”

“I’m here,” the woman said.

“We have activity in a Clearance Level 1 area.”

The girl they called Blair got back on the radio. “Could it be Private Ryley?”

“Could be. I just wanted you to know. Elevator analysis says someone went to Floor B. We set the elevator shut-down sequence after that, so I have no idea where the person could be now.”

“That’s the Kings’ and Salvants’ floor? Which pod door was triggered?”

“Pod 6, Ma’am.”

The radio went quiet. Darla could hear her own labored breathing. She closed her eyes and banged her head three times against the wall behind her: soft, but angry thuds. Dean took his hand and rested it on top of her head.

“Stop,” he whispered. “They don’t know about us.”

“Can you check it out?” Blair asked on the radio.

The guy clicked back on. “Ms. Truman, Ma’am, we’re all set here. All residents of Copia are accounted for in the Center. We’re on time for our operation.”

“But...if it was Ryley,” she said.

“We don’t have an extra person to supply you for checking it out. But if you want to look yourself, Ma’am, we have ten minutes before evacuation.”

There was a pause. Then the girl said, “I’ll go to Pod 6. I’ll take my dad’s direct elevator. Turn back on the power and I’ll let you know when I’m done.”

“Copy that.” The radio broadcast was cut.

Darla exhaled and she rocked forward and stood up quickly. With determination she moved back down the hall. “We have to get to the top...now,” she said and she jogged back the way they came. Their elevator was still waiting for them and they jiggled the override keys; the doors shut, and this time the elevator began to climb. They moved steadily upward. Back to the floor where they first found Ryley, back to the hallway that led to their escape.

Dean put a comforting arm around Darla’s shoulders and embraced her.

She let out a small sob and then she looked to the ceiling, attempting to regain control. “We failed,” she said. “He’s not here. He’s not even here.”

“We didn’t fail,” Dean answered. “Teddy’s alive...” he paused, overcome with emotion. “We know he’s okay. And we’ll find him...that’s not a failure...”

“We’re leaving here without him. That, to me, is a failure.”

“The Islands. We’ll find him...you hear me...we will find him...”

“This was a shitshow. How can we take on an even bigger place with more security...especially after they see what we did?” Darla asked, her eyes wide.

Dean shrugged. “We just will.”

The radio crackled again.

A man said, “We are in place. All guards are ready. Officer Dylan...can you confirm you have eyes on Grant?”

The name caused Darla’s veins to run cold, and she spun and pointed at the radio. Dean held the walkie-talkie out like it had suddenly turned scalding hot and he stared at it. He thrust it out at her and shook it, wordlessly.

“I can confirm,” came a voice. “Grant is visible.”

“Oh my God,” Dean breathed.

Darla smiled and cried and jumped. Her hair flew and she clapped with wild excitement. “It’s him! Dean, oh, Dean!” She wrapped her arms around her friend and hugged him tightly.

“Shhhh,” Dean said and he put the radio to his ear, Darla leaned close, her arms around him.

“Good. Keep an eye on him,” the man on the radio said.

“Where are they?” Darla asked. “Oh, Dean! He’s here...” and she broke into an uninhibited grin.

From somewhere else underground within the giant metal dome, the man on the walkie-talkie said, “With eyes on Grant...and Copia secluded, I believe we are go. All officers...that is a confirmed launch. Launch. Launch.”

“We head to the tu

Darla nodded. She looked at the array of buttons; the only one lit was the one for the top level. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Grant was here. Somewhere in this crazy subterranean city, Dean’s son was alive and well.

After a brief radio silence, they heard Blair’s screams wail at them through the speaker. “Help! Help! Can anyone hear me?” Her voice was shaky, like she was ru

“Sorry, Blair....can’t really discuss now...in the middle...” a rushed voice replied.

“Can you confirm we are all accounted for?” Blair screamed. “Confirm! Confirm!”

“I can confirm,” came the man’s voice. “All Copia. All guards. Grant. And your damn dog. Get up here, Blair. Five minutes.”

“Then we have intruders. I repeat. I repeat. We have intruders. Private Ryley’s been shot. We are not alone down here!”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Grant was lonely without Lucy. The System was practically barren, and he found himself wandering the evacuated halls, drifting in and out of abandoned rooms, and examining the articles left behind as an archeologist would study the artifacts at an excavation site. It was a hobby he adopted in the absence of any other way to while away the hours waiting for the plane to Copia to arrive.

His other option was spending his time with Noah, the pimply hyena-esque parasite who hovered around Grant like they had been friends the entire time. Escaping Noah had become an art form, and Grant had taken to spending time with his roommate Dylan and the other guards left behind to watch over the Copia residents and get the System ready for its final days.

Each of the guards assigned to the System was right out of a clichéd military movie: they congregated in one of the larger apartments, played card games, smoked contraband cigarettes and cigars, and drank up the rest of the Sky Room’s alcohol supply; they laughed and joked, poked fun at each other’s lives before the Release, and engaged each other in good-spirited banter. Ex-girlfriends were maligned and mocked, drinking war wounds were compared. They self-medicated to ignore the loneliness, refusing to face their heartache straight on.

And all the while, the Copia residents were getting restless. When they voiced their concerns, they were easily appeased with news of their new home. That was Blair’s job, and she was excellent at it—spending her days in and among the leftover families, lauding them with praise for their deep contributions to the future, despite their angry and entitled attitudes. Huck had been right to leave her behind; Blair’s presence reassured them.

Some of the Copia families were insufferable, interrupting the guards’ card games to demand a video conference with Huck. When they were denied, they launched into meticulously crafted diatribes. But some of them were quiet, unassuming, and Grant didn’t mind seeking out their company if he found himself in need of a conversation.

But now the departure day had arrived.

The entire System buzzed with expectant anticipation. Entire families would soon be summoned to the Center to hear about departure preparations. Bags were packed, backs were slapped with joyful friendliness. The tension and the angst melted away, and Grant realized that it was living underground that ate at their already frayed edges the most. Copia would be a welcomed change, and he couldn’t wait to breathe fresh air again and watch the sun move through the sky.

“Morning,” Dylan said as he ventured out into their shared space in his boxers. He rubbed his eyes.

“Hey,” Grant replied, putting down the book he had stolen from an empty apartment. Dylan was tall and lanky, with patches of coarse body hair growing in an asymmetrical pattern across his chest. Their other roommate had departed for his own Island the same day Lucy left, but Dylan had been assigned to stay behind in his role as a System guard. “Are you heading to the guards’ room for breakfast?”