Independent Study

by Joelle Charbonneau

  The path to the left curves in between the broken walls of two buildings. The single-story stone structure on the right still stands, although the way the walls are slanted makes me think it won’t be upright for long. To our left is a cone-shaped roof sitting atop a pile of splintered wood and broken rock. We pass between them, scramble over a fallen tree that is blocking the path, and come to a long suspension bridge that stretches over a river. On the other side is a mostly intact structure surrounded by a tall stone fence. Unlike the rest of the zoo, the bridge is in good repair. Strong metal cables. Thick wooden planks. Rope railings on either side.

  Will looks at the bridge and back at me. “What do you think?”

  I put my hand on the rope railing and push down to test its strength. “Someone went to a lot of trouble to make sure we could get to the other side.”

  “Probably the same people who set the trap in the monkey cage.” Will cautiously places a foot onto the bridge. “Let’s hope I don’t end up dangling from my ankles this time.”

  Will takes several steps and then jumps up and down. When the bridge holds, the rest of us follow. The water below is a murky brown. Contaminated, but probably drinkable if we get desperate. I hope we finish this part of the Induction task and move on before we have to test that out.

  We reach the end of the suspension bridge and hear voices. Several of them. Beyond the stone fence. And though I can’t make out the words, I understand the tone. At least one team is still in the zoo, and whoever they are, they aren’t happy.

  I scale a tree next to the wall and peer over. The area behind the fence is filled with rocks, leafless trees, and gray dirt. The lack of grass and the condition of the trees speak of more severe contamination. The final years must have picked this location for that reason. Knowing we have to finish this task quickly or risk illness adds to the pressure we’ll be working under. Standing near one of the trees are Griffin, Raffe, and their two other team members. Griffin’s eyes are narrowed and his mouth curled in a snarl as he shouts something at the only girl on their team. He stands at least six inches taller, but the girl doesn’t shrink from the confrontation. Instead, she points to a large wooden chest on the ground and shouts back. The chest is marked with a large white 1. Three more dark brown trunks marked with the numbers 2 through 4 sit nearby.

  “This is the place,” I say, and hoist myself up to the top of the wall. Griffin’s team goes silent as my feet hit the ground. They say nothing as, one by one, my teammates jump down. Together, we cross to the chest marked 3. When I nod at Enzo, he flips the lid open. Inside is another, smaller trunk. Sitting on top of that trunk is a gray envelope. Enzo hands me the envelope. I open it, slide out a folded piece of paper, and read. “Complete the puzzle to receive your team’s marker and the clue to the next location.”

  Enzo flips the lid on the next trunk and we peer inside. A small metal box. On the side of the box is a keypad. Next to the box is a piece of paper with instructions that read Input the answers to the questions into the keypad to unlock the box. Answer carefully. A wrong answer will result in a sixty-minute time penalty before your team can attempt to answer again. Try not to be wrong twice.

  I glance at Griffin’s team, who watch us from the little shade they find under a barren tree. They must have answered the question wrong and are now waiting for their chance to try again. And each second they wait, they increase their exposure to the contaminants that twist the trees and turn even the clover a sickly yellow. I wonder if they realize the danger. Growing up in the revitalized city might have made them less aware of the signs of chemical corruption. I consider warning them, but my team has already begun to work on the task: a physics problem in three parts.

  The first part asks the time it takes for a stone thrown horizontally to hit the ground if thrown at a rate of 5 meters per second from a cliff 67.4 meters high. Part two wants to know the distance the stone will land from the base of the cliff. The last question asks us to calculate the stone’s final velocity, both magnitude and direction, when it hits the ground.

  We ignore the four sets of eyes staring sullenly at us, and using sticks for pencils and the ground to write on, we get to work. Immediately, it is clear advanced physics is not Will’s or Damone’s strongest subject. Still, they check and double-check Enzo’s and my answers until all four of us agree. While the answers weren’t easy, the trickiest part is how to type them into the keyboard. Should our answers use abbreviations for meters per second, or should we spell out entire words? The wrong choice will mean keeping Griffin and his team company until we are allowed to try again.

  Since all of our teachers have always used abbreviations in class, we opt to use them now. Enzo quietly reads the answers aloud, and I punch them in on the keyboard. When all three answers have been given, I hold my breath and press Enter.

  There is a click and the box opens. Will and Enzo exchange high-fives. Damone stands off to the side and smiles at Griffin and company as I remove a gray envelope and a red disk marked with the number 3 from the box. Glancing at the other team, I suggest we wait to read the next clue until we are alone. When no one objects, I slide both objects into my University bag and head back to the stone wall.

  Will gives Enzo a boost and then scrambles over the wall. As Damone hoists himself up, I hear the sound of a bell. Griffin and his team are hurrying back to their box. Their time penalty must have come to an end.

  My fingers cling to rock. My feet propel me upward. I am about to swing my leg over the top of the wall when Griffin shouts. I look over my shoulder in time to see a flash of light. Surprise loosens my grip as something explodes.

  Chapter 8

  HITTING THE GROUND knocks the air from my lungs. Struggling to breathe, I roll to my side and peer through a haze of smoke toward the screams coming from behind me. Something is on fire.

  No. Not something. Someone.

  Pushing to my feet, I pull my bags up onto my shoulders and run. My heart pounds with each step. A female shriek for help cuts through the air. As I get closer, I see Raffe batting at flames streaking up his left arm. The girl keeps screaming. Griffin strips off his shirt and uses it to smother the fire as the other boy looks on. Immobile. Frozen by fear.

  When I reach him, Raffe is cradling his injured arm close to his body. His jaw is clenched in pain. Griffin’s eyes narrow as I pull a towel and a bottle of water out of my bags and ask him to help me clean and bandage the wound. Despite his suspicion, he takes Raffe’s uninjured arm and helps ease him to the ground. Using my pocketknife, I cut away the singed fabric of Raffe’s sleeve and examine the patch of angry flesh that stretches from just above his wrist to below the elbow. The wound must be painful, but it’s not as bad as it could have been. The loose fit of the shirt helped keep the flame far enough from his flesh to prevent blisters or worse. Tomas’s brother was once burned when a tractor’s engine caught fire. Those burns took months to heal. This will cause Raffe discomfort, but shouldn’t slow him down too badly. Especially if he keeps the injury clean.

  I rip the towel into several pieces and wet the first with water. Raffe clenches his teeth as I clean the burn. I start to bandage it when I hear, “You should use this first.”

  Enzo holds out a small white tube of anti-infection ointment. He must have packed it in his University bag when they instructed us to be prepared. I’m thankful he did. I spread the cool ointment onto Raffe’s arm and see some of the tension leave his shoulders. When I’m done, I hand the tube back to Enzo, wrap the makeshift bandage around Raffe’s arm, and tie it in place.

  Raffe touches his injured arm with his right hand and looks up at me. “Thanks. You didn’t have to come back and help.”

  “Yes.” I meet Raffe’s eyes and then glance at the others on his team, who are looking at me with various levels of anxiety, anger, and distrust. “Yes, I did.” To do any less would be against everything my parents taught me. Would dishonor the colony I grew up in. “Keep the burn clean, avoid touching the yellow patches of
dirt around here, and you should be fine. We have to get going.”

  Raffe nods, and I follow my teammates back to the wall. As I throw my leg over, I hear him yell, “Just so you know, we’re still going to beat you to the end.”

  I can’t help but laugh and yell back, “You can try,” before dropping to the other side.

  We decide to wait until we reach the exit of the zoo before we open the next clue. When we reach the bridges, we find three small silver skimmers marked with the numbers 1, 2, and 3 waiting for us. Team four must have already left for the next part of this Induction task.

  As Will and Damone check out our skimmer, Enzo and I break the seal on the envelope and read aloud.

  “Go to the place where armed vehicles once left the ground for the sky. Your next clue and task wait there for your team to try.”

  “The old air force base. Right, Damone?” Enzo asks.

  “That’d be my guess,” Damone says, opening the front cab of the skimmer. “Let’s get going.”

  “Wait,” Will says. “We want to be the first team to finish this team challenge. Right?”

  “You just figured that out?” Damone sneers.

  Anger flashes across Will’s face, but his voice is calm when he says, “One team is already gone, but the other two haven’t reached their skimmers yet. How fast do you think they’d get to the end of this challenge if they had to walk?”

  Damone’s mouth spreads into an unpleasant smile. “Maybe you’re smarter than I gave you credit for. We can start with that one.”

  “No.”

  All eyes swing to me. Will’s eyes, which normally sparkle with charm, are now filled with calculation.

  “No. We don’t need to sabotage other teams to succeed.”

  Will frowns. “But if it helps us win—”

  “Anyone who has to cheat to win doesn’t deserve to be here. And they don’t belong on my team either. There’s one team ahead of us. I’d rather spend our time catching them than screwing with teams that are already behind. If you don’t agree, you can stay here and do whatever the hell you want.” With that, I climb into our skimmer.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I can see my teammates looking at me with varying degrees of concern or disbelief. Enzo takes a step toward the skimmer but Damone yells for him to stop. That I’m bluffing and won’t leave them behind. He might be right, since leaving my team here on their own will only encourage them to steal a skimmer that belongs to one of the other teams. I just have to hope my threat to leave them behind will make them abandon their thoughts of sabotage.

  Ignoring the argument taking place outside, I survey the controls. The skimmer is much like the one my father uses in Five Lakes—old, with frayed seats and barely enough room in the cabin to squeeze in four people. I slide behind the controls and hit the Start button. It takes two tries before the engine catches hold. When it does, I pull the hover switch and feel the skimmer vibrate as it lifts off the ground. It isn’t until I pilot the vehicle forward that my teammates race over.

  “Wait.” Will is the first to reach the skimmer.

  I stop the skimmer, pilot it back to the ground, and open the door to let my teammates inside. Will laughs as he climbs into the seat next to me. “You know how to make a point. We’ll do it your way and win without interfering with the other teams, all right? That will make it all the more fun to celebrate when we mop the floor with them. Now, the real question is whether you know how to pilot this thing well enough to race the other team to the next location.”

  While I think I’m capable of piloting the skimmer, I’m glad when Will asks if he can switch positions with me and takes the controls, since I’ve only driven one a handful of times.

  “See? I knew you wouldn’t be able to control this thing,” Damone says, sliding into the back seat. “Will and Enzo should have listened to me. Instead, they give in to a girl who doesn’t understand what it takes to win and overreacts to an idea that’s different than her own. When this is over, I’ll have to talk to my father about the lower admittance standards allowed for colony students.”

  Will’s hands tighten on the steering wheel, but he says nothing to defend or condemn my actions. Enzo too keeps silent as Will pulls the lever and makes the skimmer hover off the ground. While I don’t believe I was wrong to insist we succeed on our own merits, I can’t help wondering if those in charge will judge me as Damone does: weak, histrionic, and unable to lead.

  Damone watches me with a smirk. He is enjoying the doubt he planted in my mind and the minds of my teammates. Determined to prove his words incorrect, I swallow my concern and discuss the location of our next task.

  The instruction sheet from the upper years says site number two involves aircraft. The clue says the vehicles that soared in the sky are armed. The old United States had several military forces that helped defend the country—land, sea, and air. While I have never heard of the air force base Enzo and Damone instruct Will to pilot toward, I have no doubt the destination is the right one.

  “How far do we have to go to get there?” Will asks as the skimmer lurches forward.

  “I’m not sure exactly where we are now, but the base is located outside the southeast border of Tosu City,” Enzo says.

  “I can tell you where we are.” I dig through my bag, pull out the Transit Communicator, and flip the switch. I read off our current coordinates. According to Enzo and Damone, we are just past the boundary of Tosu City on the northeast side. After some discussion, I plug in our best guess for the coordinates of the base. The readout claims the airfield is eleven miles away. Our skimmer is slow but as long as it doesn’t break down and we don’t get lost, we should make it there in less than an hour.

  Hands tight on the control, Will offers none of his unusual banter as he concentrates on steering the skimmer east.

  “Which way?” Will asks when we reach a wide road. We can either follow the road we are currently traveling, which angles to the southwest, or go down the hill to a smaller road that heads southeast. To the southwest, I see grass, shriveled trees, and grayish soil. An area yet to be revitalized. To the southeast are the outlines of buildings and healthier plant life.

  According to the readout of the Transit Communicator, the southeast path is the shortest route, but it might not be the smartest, since it appears to go directly through the city. Navigating the skimmer through streets filled with people and other modes of transportation could take more time than traveling around the outskirts.

  “What do you think, Will?” I ask.

  “Why are you asking him?” Damone crosses his arms across his chest. “Are you scared to make the decision yourself?”

  “Will is the one piloting this thing,” I say. “He should get the final say in the direction we take.”

  Damone looks like he wants to debate the issue, but Will cuts him off. “The controls aren’t responsive. We can go faster if I’m not worried about crashing into buildings when I have to turn.”

  “Okay,” I say before Damone can object. “Let’s go.”

  Using the Transit Communicator as a guide, Will steers the skimmer to the southwest. Through the window across from me, I see a river that runs parallel to the road. The water has a green tint but otherwise runs clear. To the left of us, far in the distance, I can see the revitalized center of the city. Closer to the road, perhaps a half mile away, are collapsed buildings. Broken walls. Empty city streets. I scan the horizon for signs of people but find none.

  “Do people live out here?” I ask. I am surprised to see an area so close to the city uninhabited after a hundred years of revitalization. In Five Lakes, my father’s team is constantly working to push the boundaries of our revitalized community. With so many people living in Tosu City, I’m surprised they haven’t worked harder to repair the land and spread out.

  “Not many,” Enzo says. “Most of the farms and skimmer factories are located to the north, so the Commonwealth encourages those wanting to leave the city to go in that direction. No one
wants to move into unrevitalized areas alone. My parents talked about it once, but there are too many dangers outside the current boundaries of the city. It’s safer to stay where we are.”

  I look toward the city and its buildings. Over a hundred thousand people live in that area. They have power, clean water, and the comfort of being near one another. Few wild animals venture into the streets. No threat from the chemicals that still corrupt the earth beyond the city’s limits. I can understand why people choose that safety for themselves and their families. There are a few citizens in Five Lakes who prefer living near the square, where there is less chance of animal attacks or being isolated during an emergency. But most of us are spread out. If necessary, we can survive on our own. I wonder how many people in Tosu City could say the same.

  It is Enzo who first spots the chain-link fence that announces we have reached our destination. The fence stands at least eight feet high and stretches far into the distance on each side. As we get closer, I can read the dirt-streaked signs posted on it.

  DANGER.

  THIS AREA HAS NOT BEEN REVITALIZED.

  HAZARDOUS MATERIAL INSIDE.

  DO NOT ENTER.

  “How are we supposed to find the next task?” Damone asks. “This fence goes on for miles.”

  “The final years want us to find the task,” I reason. “They must have made the location obvious.” I hope.

  Will steers the skimmer east along the fence line while the rest of us look for signs of the next Induction task. There. In the mid-afternoon sunlight, a red flag flutters from the top of the fence a hundred yards away. When we reach the spot and exit the skimmer, four large steel boxes, about three feet wide and six feet long, are sitting on the ground next to the fence. Each has a keypad embedded into the top. None of the boxes appears to be disturbed. We are the first team to arrive.