by Eliza Taye
Time flew by so fast that a robot calling for attention interrupted both Samantha and me.
Dylan took the opportunity to stand on the coffee table and shout, “Hey, is everyone ready for the All-Star birthday competition?”
There were lots of hoots and hollers as the twenty people in the room raised their voices in reply.
“All right! Let’s get this started!” Dylan roared rowdily, pumping his fist in the air, and then jumping off the coffee table
I just started noticing the other guests begin to group up when Samantha looped her arm in mine and said, “You’re going to be on my team.”
Dylan tried to join our group, but Samantha pushed him away. “Oh, no you don’t. I don’t want you on my team. How can I beat you if you’re on the same side as me?”
“Oh, ho, ho, sibling rivalry, huh?” Max laughed and nodded his head like a bobble head. “This is going to be fun.”
Dylan simply shook his head with a glare of mock malice and backed up keeping Samantha in his sights as he joined another group.
Within minutes, four different teams comprising of five people had formed. Each of us was handed a simulation helmet and a solid-colored flag with a number on it.
Everyone helped to push the couches to the side of the living room and cleared the area in the center.
“All right, the first one is the motorbike racing event. Each of the contenders, put your helmets on,” instructed the robot in a monotone female voice.
A person from each group was chosen for the first event and were given the simulation helmet. Each of the guys stepped up and placed on their helmets. The rest of us gathered on the couches.
Soon, I understood why they had been moved to the side.
Once each player had secured the helmet upon his head, the entire thing branched out until a motorcycle materialized underneath the player. The whole motorcycle appeared to be a hologram but supported the riders beneath it as if it were solid. My eyes watched in awe as the glowing iridescent blue of the hologram filled the bikes with ever-increasing detail all the way down to the floor.
As each player became perfectly situated on their bike, shadows began to darken the room. My head jerked to the right where only a moment before there was floor to ceiling windows. Now each window had turned into a screen with a projection of a game called Sports All-Star 2275. Numbers at the bottom of the screen scrambled and settled on the corresponding number of the players from each team sitting before it. Each one braced themselves, ready to begin.
“On your marks, get set, go!” instructed the robot.
Everyone began rocking side to side on their bikes as the simulation the riders saw inside their helmets was projected onto the screens in front of them. Each group began rooting for their teammate as he jumped obstacles, and evaded puddles and other objects in his way. Samantha and I rooted for Max—our team member for the event.
All the while, I couldn’t help but be wowed by the technology. My world was definitely high-tech, but the technology displayed in the city of Oceania was astounding. The way that each and every thing could be seamlessly interfaced with one another was unbelievable.
Focusing back on the game, I held my breath as there was one last turn and big obstacle before the riders hit the finish line—a chasm of death. A large expanse breaking up the track appeared so wide that it would be nearly impossible to cross. Each player revved up their engines and maintained a straight line to ensure the maximum speed possible. Every one of their teammates began standing up, yelling loudly, and jumping up and down.
“GO! GO! GO!” everybody shouted.
The jump came and everyone but the guy on team two made it over. The winning team members hollered even louder and gave one another high-fives all around.
Two more events followed. They were events like capture the flag with paintball involved and some skateboarding task. I participated in the capture the flag one where two members from each team were present. For the last event, only two teams were left to go head-to-head—our team four and team one with Dylan. This one, Samantha decided to take on, pitting her and Dylan head to head in a game called Street Fighter 275th Anniversary edition.
“Get ready to lose, birthday boy!” taunted Samantha as she put down the visor to the helmet.
“Ha, you wish, princess!”
The virtual screen from the helmets was once again mirrored on the windows. Samantha’s character was Chun-Li, who wore a light blue outfit with what resembled oversized white cotton balls on her head. Dylan had chosen a character called Ryu, who wore a white gi. The rest of us had a side view of the action, whereas Samantha and Dylan only saw each other in the visors.
“Fight!” came the command and they both started attacking.
It was amazing. Their characters in precisely the same exact motion mimicked every tiny action Samantha or Dylan made. Both stood far enough apart to avoid striking one another, but on the game, the characters were beating the snot out of each other.
Samantha won the first round and Dylan the next, leaving the last one to decide who would win the game. As soon as the fighting commenced, Samantha kicked out at Dylan’s character, but he evaded her and sent a special attack. Both of them fought blow for blow until the very last few seconds when Dylan pulled another special attack and drained Samantha’s character of HP.
All the guys in the room roared in triumph at Dylan’s win as Samantha tore off her helmet in anger and shouted, “Hey, I let you win!”
“Ah, come on, Samantha. Accept some defeat, will you,” replied Max. “I’ve already accepted it. Good job, Dylan!”
“Hey, you’re supposed to be on my team!” chastised Samantha.
“Yeah, but the game’s over now.” Max flashed a white-toothed grin.
“Time for cake and ice cream,” announced the robot.
By the way everyone in the room moved, you would have thought it was a Black Friday sale of one-dollar Immersion TVs. I protected myself from the stampede and waited for everyone else to pass before I left to join in.
. . .
Finally, the festivities ended and everyone went home except for Dr. Wilcox and me.
“Hey, Allie, I’m sorry to have to do this to you again, but I’m probably still being watched just like you said. You’ll have to use the SCUBAPS to go back to the beach.”
“Don’t worry, Allie. I’ve made all the adjustments to the suit and tested it so there should be no more loss of function.”
“Okay, if it’s fixed, I’ll be fine,” I truthfully stated. I kind of liked the SCUBAPS. It was serene and allowed me to see things in the ocean I probably wouldn’t have otherwise, and if it was truly fixed, I would have nothing to worry about. An image of the beast that I had seen flashed in my mind and I quickly dismissed it.
The three of us left Dylan’s apartment and they led me to a small bay I hadn’t been to before.
“What’s this?” I wondered.
“The main docking bay is being watched. This area is used for scuba diving and has direct access to the open ocean through the tunnel past the gate that is normally sealed tight. There’s a room in the corner where you can change. Once your suit is on, I’ll use a code to override it. The door will open and you’ll be able to swim on out.”
“All right. Well, thank you for having me. I had a lot of fun, Dylan, and I learned a lot. Happy Birthday.” I hugged my friend.
“Thanks, Allie. Be safe on your way to the surface.”
I turned and stepped in through the open door into the wet bay. Facing Dr. Wilcox and Dylan, I began to reach for the SCUBAPS, but before I’d hardly moved, the door slammed shut. Through the small vertical window in the door, I could see the shocked expressions on both Dr. Wilcox and Dylan’s faces. I, too, gazed back at them, confused as much as they were.
A grinding sound became barely audible just behind me. I turned my head around and in horror noticed the gate to the tunnel opening.
Instantly, I was pounded against the door with such f
orce that all the air in my lungs was forced out. The water poured in faster and faster with increasing strength. Within seconds, the entire place flooded and there was nowhere for me to find air in which to breathe.
I tried my best not to panic and to stay near the window so Dylan and Dr. Wilcox wouldn’t lose sight of me. I saw both of them trying their hardest to find a way to open the door. Dylan began kicking it to no avail and jabbing the open button over and over. Dr. Wilcox disappeared from view and I struggled not to panic again.
I started convulsing as my body used up the rest of the oxygen it had and screamed for more. I fought my involuntary impulse to open my mouth to gasp for air. Soon, I lost and my mouth opened. Everything around me became blurry. My body thrashed as it demanded the oxygen it needed in which to survive. My vision blurred more and more until it faded to black and I lost all of my senses, falling into a deep unconsciousness.
Chapter 22
Water spewed out of my mouth like a waterfall as I was turned on my side by whom I presumed was Dylan. He firmly patted my back until all of the water in my lungs was expelled. When I could finally breathe again, I coughed and coughed so much that my body could hardly take it.
Finally, I sucked in a deep breath of air, surveying the area with my watery eyes still blurry from my ordeal. Dylan’s face, clouded with worry, filled my line of view.
“Allie…Allie, are you okay?” Dylan supported my back with his arm, lifting me into a sitting position.
My throat still scratchy and hoarse, I simply nodded instead of speaking.
“Dylan, did it work?” Dr. Wilcox ran up breathlessly, sweat on his brow.
“Yes, the water receded and the doors opened.” Dylan turned back to me, still nestled under his arm. “Oh, Allie, I’m sorry. I have no idea how this happened.”
I smoothed some wet strands of my hair off my forehead, opening my mouth to speak, but someone beat me to the punch.
“I do, and it is unfortunate that you thwarted my plan, Mr. Dylan Baker.”
Both Dylan and my gaze drifted up to a woman standing in front of us surrounded by four guards. The woman had brownish-red hair that fell in curls slightly past her shoulders. Her cinnamon eyes bore into me in a way that made me feel as if my soul was bare for all to see. On her person, she wore a red suit jacket and matching skirt, with a white blouse underneath the jacket. Mary Jane pumps covered her feet with gray stockings that went up her legs and disappeared beneath her skirt.
“Mayor Aldridge?” wondered Dylan, releasing me and standing to his feet.
The mayor stood straighter, her lips spread out into a small smile. “Yes, it is I.”
“You did this to Allie?” Dylan’s mouth dropped and he took a step forward, but was quickly halted by a guard. “You tried to kill her?”
“Well, Dylan, kill is such a strong, harsh word. I think saying we tried to do away with a problem threatening our entire city is a better way to look at it.” Mayor Aldridge’s smile grew even wider as her eyes veered toward me. She took three deliberate steps until she was only three feet from me. “Hello, Allie, my name is Mayor Kathy Aldridge and you are not welcome in my city.”
I simply stared up at her, slowly turning my surprised gaze into a glare of hatred.
Twisting her head over her shoulder and raising a gloved hand, Mayor Aldridge stated in a commanding voice. “Arrest them all.”
I tried to stand up in protest, but I was still too weak to do anything. Dylan fought against the men trying to bind him with some kind of synthetic material. Dr. Wilcox took off before anyone could catch him. The mayor sent one of her men after him and they both disappeared around the bend and out of sight.
Helplessly, I was dragged by one of the guards all clad in black with so many different pockets in their pants that the contents kept slamming against me, as they tugged me along.
Dylan and I were tossed into the back of a long tube hardly wide enough for sitting areas. It resembled a limousine, except that there wasn’t a place specifically for the driver. The Mayor and her guards climbed inside and then shut the door. Soft lighting illuminated the dark vehicle as the mayor simply said, “Headquarters,” and the tube started to move.
The mayor sat quietly in her seat with her right leg crossed over her left, her hands folded in her lap. A small smile still graced the corners of her lips and she continued to gaze eerily from Dylan to me and back the entire way to her so-called “headquarters,” which I assumed was City Hall.
We rode in silence for quite a while when finally, the vehicle stopped and one of the guards jumped out to hold the door open for the mayor. Once the mayor was out, Dylan and I were each yanked out of the vehicle and swiftly ushered through a back door.
We entered a hallway so dark I could hardly tell it was lined with wood on either side. I could feel the wooden planks on the floor as I was dragged toward the end of the long hallway towards what looked like a lift. A gate covered the front of it, but it appeared like any old rustic elevator on the inside. All of us filed into it, still spacious with several people inside. One of the guards pressed a button and it began to descend.
We seemed to descend forever. Due to my vantage point behind a wall of guards, there was nothing in my line of sight—no level indicator at the top or flashing buttons.
The lift rocked with a jolt when it finally settled on what I assumed to be the bottom floor. The guards parted for a moment and I got a glimpse of the room before us. Tan-colored crates and boxes littered the concrete floors for as far as the eye could see. Piled high upon one another nearly to the ceiling were more boxes and crates. Narrow pathways snaked through the cavernous warehouse, which I assumed were used to get to whatever the crates and boxes held within them.
Before I could read what the crates said, I was once again roughly dragged from the lift and over to a single door on the left side of the room. The mayor took the lead and by using her code was able to open the door, stepping aside to allow the guards to drag us inside.
The room was nothing but a miniature copy of the warehouse outside it. A solitary light fixture hanging from the ceiling dimly lighted gray concrete walls. To the far left directly from the door was a desk with a small lamp, but beyond that, there was nothing but empty space leading towards the shadows on the opposite side of the room.
The mayor gracefully sauntered over to the desk lamp and switched it on. “Welcome, Dylan and Allie, to the interrogation room.”
I glanced over at Dylan, surprise erupting on his face. “What are you talking about, Mayor Aldridge?”
Mayor Aldridge leaned against her desk and folded her arms, never lifting her gaze from us. With a slight puff of laughter, she responded, “Do you think this has never happened before? That a Land Dweller discovered and found their way into Oceania?”
Dylan’s face became puzzled, and I’m sure it mirrored my own.
“Over one hundred years ago, Oceania was common knowledge to the Land Dwelling World. Communication between the above world and us was a commonplace everyday thing. But on our city’s one-hundredth birthday, the current mayor decided that Oceania was too advanced, too pure to allow Land Dweller society to taint it. Or for the Land Dwellers to create any more societies like ours.” Mayor Aldridge unfolded her arms and leaned off her desk. “They found it too risky.”
“Too risky for what?”
“For the Land Dwellers to know about us. The mayor cut off contact with the above world. You see, they were about to announce that Oceania was a success. Governments around the world were making plans to create their own versions of Oceania across the globe. But there was more. They wanted our technology. They wanted to make sure that the brilliant minds they sent down here still made contributions to the above ground world. How was that right? We knew how the brightest scientists were treated. We came up with the ideas to make the world an easier place to live in, but what did we get for it? Did we become rich? No. Did we always get due credit? No. Our mayor wanted to save the citizens of Oceania fro
m that.”
Mayor Aldridge paused and strode closer to Dylan and me. I did my best to stare her down, still clutched by a guard who partially held me up, but also kept me from attempting to rush the mayor.
“Don’t you see, Dylan? Our people are better treated cut off from the rest of the world. We have a utopia here. Our crime rate is nothing like that of the Land Dwellers’ cities. We have the smartest people here—everyone is highly educated. The economic balance is just. People receive good money for what they do. We do not have racism or terrorism—things you only know about from the history books—but they are still alive in the above world. Our ancestors, our grandparents, were chosen from the brightest minds in the world at the time. We are all descendants of very brilliant and exceptional people. Why would you want to ruin that?”
“And how am I ruining that?”
Mayor Aldridge let out a breath and gestured over to me with a manicured finger. “Why, by bringing her here of course. What happens when she goes back and tells everyone about Oceania?”
“She won’t.”
“Oh, but she will. I am sure of it. In due time, she will tell people about this place, whether by unintentional means or through an accidental outburst in a conversation. Or if not by that, perhaps she will be followed here one day.” Mayor Aldridge reached out her ruby-painted fingernail and tapped Dylan’s chin. “You are an Oceanian. You must understand how important it is to keep this place safe.”
Dylan jerked his head away.
“Just think about it. The whole reason for Oceania’s construction was because of the increasing difficulty of life on land. In the threatened and endangered environment crops couldn’t grow, people were without water, and things were only going from bad to worse. Then there was The Great Plague—the final straw authorizing this place to be built. It was then clear to the governments of the world that drastic changes needed to be made. If we allow Allie to leave here alive, all of that will be threatened. Why, we’re lucky if she hasn’t already brought a deadly disease down here that we are not immune to!”
