The Preston Six Collection: (Book 1, 2 and 3)

by Ryan, Matt

  Her swollen tongue stuck to the dry sides of her mouth. She hadn’t drunk anything in two days. How long could a body go without water? Getting up on her knees, Poly pulled back the Velcro panel protecting the screen that ran the boat. The arrow still pointed in the same direction, but what did it even mean? She’d lost all sense of direction. She blindly hoped and feared the boat wasn’t traveling in a large sweeping circle, perpetually sending her dying body on a round trip.

  Her mind played through awful scenarios. She’d be found dead, dried up and shriveled, ten years from now. They’d run fingerprints, DNA samples, and dental records, before she’d be declared a mystery person who didn’t have a place on their planet. Her withered body would be dumped into a mass cremation. After spending many hours going through different scenarios, this one seemed the most likely.

  She slapped the flap closed and jerked the zipper, blocking out the sun. Poly was sick of the sun.

  Spending much of the last two nights trying to find a comfortable spot, she’d finally found it—a soft spot near the door. She lay there for the next few hours. It could have been longer, or it could have been ten minutes. Alone, with nothing but thoughts to occupy her, made time impossible to tell. She decided not to get up anymore; laying there until the mass cremators found her and disposed of her shell. The urge to open the craft and feel the salt water hit her face and the sun burn her skin, faded.

  Her chapped lips ached, but she didn’t think about that anymore. Poly wished she could say Joey and her friends consumed most of her thoughts, but she had to be honest with herself, it was water. She would push Joey to the ground to get to an ice cold lemonade with extra sugar. She groaned thinking about it. No. Joey was in the hands of MM, probably being experimented on at that moment. She shouldn’t have such selfish thoughts.

  After Joey, her thoughts went to the plane exploding and if any of her friends were still alive. Were they waiting for her on this supposed island? Even if she lived to see it, she didn’t know what she would do there.

  Forests, grass fields, even school, seemed like a dream. Preston felt like a distant place, somewhere made up by Hollywood. Her mom had to have been an actor, and her dad was still alive, just kept away from her. Why did they take her dad away? Everything Poly loved was gone and she was stuck on some stupid boat, alone. She pulled out a knife and stabbed the tarp above her head. She kept stabbing it, her dry lips splitting as she screamed, watching the slits of light shoot through each new hole.

  Poly dropped the knife onto the floor, exhausted, letting her body fall down next to it. She couldn’t hold back the tears, but there wasn’t anything left to spill forth. She brought her knees close to her chest and hugged herself, her body wracked with tearless sobs.

  She would die here. Her body would float on forever.

  “THEY CAN’T BE DEAD,” SAMANTHA’S voice wavered, averting her eyes.

  Joey assured her, “They shot down the plane. I saw it disappear from the screen.” It took him two days to finally tell her the truth about their friends, but it wasn’t fair, she should know even if it meant dwelling in sadness with him.

  “No.” She paced in front of him, shaking her head, hands balled in fists. “This can’t be happening.”

  He hadn’t wanted to tell Samantha what happened, but it was necessary. It was just the two of them now.

  She glared at him and her mouth moved with no words coming out.

  He held back his own tears and stared at the dock next to him.

  “I won’t accept they’re dead, until I see their bodies for myself.” She breathed heavily through her nose.

  He pursed his lips and felt tears threatening to spill from his eyes. Samantha stopped pacing and looked at him. She moved forward and wrapped her arms around his body, sobbing into his chest. He held her and patted her head. He lost control of his own tears and buried his face into her hair.

  “They are not dead,” she said.

  He knew it to be true. The moment they took the bomb from his neck, the missile struck their plane. He watched Max and his crew celebrate while he was strapped to the medical table. He felt as if he died in the moment as well.

  She sniffled and looked up at him with a bit more acceptance in her eyes. “What are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know.” He felt the bandages on his arms, then adjusted the steel braces on his wrists. Max had laughed as they clamped in place. He told him he’d never be able to go fast again while they were on.

  Joey didn’t care. Even going fast wouldn’t get them out of there . . . Every morning he woke up with fresh bandages and feeling a bit weaker, but Samantha looked better every day. They hadn’t touched her since he came. He would give every drop of his life to keep them from draining hers.

  “I don’t want to be here,” she said, looking at the amusement park before clinging back to him.

  He embraced her and petted her head. “I don’t think there is anywhere else to go.”

  Joey took her to a nearby bench. They said nothing as she only held on to him like a frightened child might a stuffed animal. She would break the silence every once and awhile, to reflect on each of their friends. It felt better to talk about them.

  AFTER A FEW DAYS PASSED, they started to make the amusement park their home. The robot caretakers were the only other semblances of life in the blank park.

  “It could be worse, you know?” Samantha said. She hadn’t cried yet and Joey hoped he could keep it together as well.

  “How?” Joey felt the edges of the metal bench, one of their favorite facing the large Ferris wheel.

  “If we didn’t have each other.” She leaned in, kissing him on the cheek.

  Grabbing his hand, she locked eyes with him. “If we are stuck here for who knows how long, we should at least make the best of it.” Some of the sparkle he knew, and grew to expect, returned to her eyes. The corners of her mouth pulled back a bit in a mischievous smile.

  “What do you have in mind?”

  She faced the amusement park. The Ferris wheel spun over a large lake in the center of the park. On the wheel, was the face of Mindy; some sort of character Mindyland was based on. Her large head stared into the park—two pink ponytails sticking straight out of the top of her head, eyes wide, and an open-mouth grin. Samantha liked it, but it creeped Joey out. She looked like one of the crazy Powerpuff Girls, mixed with Japanamation.

  “Can we go on the boat ride?” Samantha asked.

  “Lead the way.” He knew she loved the rides, and he enjoyed watching her.

  She is right. They needed to make the best of it. Anything to get his mind off of Poly and the plane. He couldn’t stop picturing her face, staring back at him through a window, right before Max struck him.

  Samantha skipped ahead to the lake and he jogged to catch up. She stood at the edge, next to a parked boat.

  “All aboard,” the robot captain said. His metal arm extended from the window of the boat and waved them aboard. Two benches lined the sides of the boat and a small staircase at the back. Joey stepped aboard and extended his hand to help her in.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  He sat facing her as the boat moved forward, turning sharp into the lake. Music started up from the speakers near the captain’s quarters. Classical, he didn’t recognize it, but it mixed in harps and violins and had a fun, soothing sound.

  She got up from her seat and sat next to him, laying her head on his chest. He breathed in the soft scents of her hair and thought of the balcony—it seemed like another lifetime. She stayed pressed against him, as the boat sailed over the large lake.

  A pink fish jumped from the water next to them and landed back into the lake with a small splash. Samantha smiled and covered her mouth. Another jumped, then another, until they formed a pattern, like a pinwheel arching from the lake.

  Joey grinned at the display. He wondered if he could touch one from the boat.

  “How long do you think we have?” Samantha asked.

  He looke
d at her and then to the wooden floorboards of the boat. He wasn’t sure if she meant the field trip, how long Marcus would find them useful, or how much longer his body could handle the procedures. He didn’t know what they did to him, but after each night, he felt his body slipping away.

  “I hope for a while.”

  “Me too,” she answered, looking out over the man-made lake with its concrete bottom.

  The water shuddered near the boat and a school of fish bounced at the surface. The water lifted up, as a large whale emerged with its mouth open, swallowing all the fish. It crashed down on the water and disappeared. Mist draped over the boat.

  Samantha sat upright. “Wow, was that a real whale?”

  “Nah, nothing’s real here.”

  Samantha looked disappointed. “We’re real,” she muttered and settled back in against him.

  The boat slowed down and docked against the shoreline and a large wood fence, blocking the view beyond it.

  “All ashore for mushroom land,” the robot captain blared through the speakers.

  Joey climbed off the boat, and reached his hand out to help Samantha.

  She lightly took his hand and stepped out. “Thanks.”

  The boat puttered away, the music fading with it. They stood on a cobblestone path, next to two large, wooden doors. A red and blue mushroom was engraved on each door.

  Samantha shrugged and walked next to the door. She placed her hand on the door and it opened, revealing the mushroom land behind it.

  Joey stumbled forward and the cobblestone path turned to lush grass. He felt the thick grass under his feet and kept his eyes on the mushroom houses flanking each side of the path. Small robotic people ran into the colorful mushroom houses as they approached. Their faces peeked through the tiny round windows.

  “This place is trippy,” Samantha said.

  “I bet this place gets crazy with everyone on ‘shrooms,” he joked.

  Samantha rolled her eyes and took his hand in hers. She stopped, looking at the grass, as if lost in thought. He gave her time, he knew she was probably thinking of Julie. The grass was an exact match to the grass in front of Julie’s house. Beth wouldn’t allow anyone to even walk on it.

  She called it ‘looking grass.’

  She sniffled and looked at the rides scattered around mushroom land, pointing to a ride with large mushrooms floating high above. “You okay to ride that?” She glanced at the bandages on his arm.

  “Of course,” he said, trying to put the right emphasis on it.

  She pulled on his hand gently and they walked to the entrance of the ride.

  The ride had plastic mushrooms, large enough for both of them. “Be sure to buckle up,” a robot in an all-white suit said as they walked by the entrance. “Keep hands in the mushroom at all times. Have fun.” He waved.

  “Poly would have loved this place,” Samantha said.

  Joey swallowed and turned his face away.

  “You alright?” She studied his profile, like she was trying to figure something out.

  “Yeah.” He smiled, finding his composure. Hearing her name spoken sent a wave of sadness over him. He tried to hide it, but failed most of the time.

  Samantha picked the purple mushroom. She opened the door and sat on the circle bench inside. The sides were open for viewing. She scooted close again, and wrapped her arms around Joey’s waist. He put his arm on the back of the chair they were sharing.

  The ride shimmied and lifted off the ground. He sucked in air. There were no cables or railings; it just floated. He looked over the edge and down at mushroom land. They passed over the grassy path with small mushroom houses. The small robot people moved around their yards. One looked up at him.

  As they elevated high above the park, the wind picked up. He wondered if it was part of the program or did the scene generator they were in have its own mini atmosphere?

  Samantha spoke up from her place against his chest. “If I had to choose one person to be stuck with in this place, it would have been you.”

  Joey took in a soft breath, making sure she didn’t take it for a sigh. He wished he could say the same thing, but his thoughts were consumed by Poly. Was her body scattered across the ocean floor somewhere? He would never know. None of their parents would ever know what happened to any of them.

  “Look, there’s an edge to it.” Samantha pointed to the distance.

  At the end of the park, a cloud surrounded it, a thick haze three hundred and sixty degrees around them. She moved her face close to his and whispered in his ear, “So we’re in some kind of scene generator?”

  Joey took in a deep breath. “Yeah.”

  “Why put us here? Why not just put us in a coma for eternity?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, but we know they take me out every night.” He showed her the fresh bandages on his arms.

  “That means there’s a door somewhere,” she whispered. “I mean, they have to be able to get in and out, right?”

  It made sense . . . a door. He looked below to the park. Where would a door be? There were a thousand doors. Could one of them actually be a way out?

  The ride descended back to the takeoff point, lowering them past the trees and landing on the concrete pad. He got off the ride first and offered a hand to Samantha as she got off the ride.

  They strolled on the grassy path leading through mushroom land, sticking close together. She looked at him and opened her mouth, but then closed it and glanced at the sky. He was becoming familiar with this from Samantha. He wanted to talk openly about everything with her, but they both suspected they were being watched. He always felt eyes on him.

  Striding through mushroom land, they passed rides and a mushroom bounce house. They approached the exit of mushroom land and entered Aviators Alley.

  “There’s a snack shop over here,” Samantha said.

  A wood-paneled building, with a large A on top, displayed a food sign. One window was open in the long line of service windows. Samantha skipped to the window and knocked on the glass. A robot man in a white shirt and white hat rose into the window with its plastic smile.

  “Hello, how may I help you?”

  “Two number threes please.” Samantha said.

  “It will be ready in . . . one minute.”

  “Thanks.”

  Samantha looked back at him. “You think the real Mindyland has robots working in it?”

  “Who knows? Maybe.” He remembered Julie saying MM had banned all robots.

  “I bet they have a robot union and everything,” Samantha said.

  “We will only work for ten days straight before a maintenance break,” Joey said in his best robot voice.

  “Your food is ready,” robot food-man said.

  Samantha pulled the red plastic tray holding their food and drinks. She carried it to a table and sat down. Joey sat across from her.

  “If I had robots like these,” she said, pointing around the park. “I would have epic robot dance-offs every Friday.”

  “What’s left for Saturday?”

  “Robot pit fights,” she said, as if the most obvious thing in the world. She bit into the hamburger. “Oh my God, this is so good.” A genuine smile again. It melted him to see it.

  How long did he have? Once he was gone, she’d be all alone and he doubted they would bother putting on a show like this for just her. He didn’t want to waste the hours or minutes he had left. They were all a gift.

  Feeling in his pocket, he found the velvet box. It appeared in his pocket this morning and he’d been waiting for the right moment to give her the earrings. He was done waiting. “I have a gift for you.”

  Her eyes perked up and she tilted her head in a question. “Well, let’s see it.”

  Joey slid the box across the table.

  “No way. You’ve been carrying those the whole time?” Samantha set down her drink and stood while grabbing the box off the table. She took the earrings out and put them on. “You know, I left these in your pocket so you wo
uld have to talk to me the next day.”

  “I would have never needed a reason.”

  She took his hand and he let her pull him up from the bench seat. She didn’t stop until they were pressed against one another. As they embraced, he felt the pain lift, and the weight lessen. Samantha was the last thing he had. He held her tighter.

  Her cheek brushed against his and he felt her hot breath against his ear. Her lips glided along his jawline until they brushed against his. She stayed there, breathing against his lips.

  They locked eyes and the image of Poly, telling him she’d find him, struck like a bolt of lightning. He closed his eyes and took half a step back.

  “What’s wrong?” Samantha cocked her head, a bit of color formed on her cheeks.

  “Nothing.” He barely managed one of his fake smiles.

  She felt her ear, rubbing it between thumb and finger. He almost forgot about her thing. When she was younger, she would rub them like that every time she got nervous.

  He touched her wrist and pulled it away from her ear. It wasn’t right, not telling her. He took a deep breath and made eye contact, trying to find the words he needed to say.

  She shook her head with a nervous smile. “What?”

  “I need to tell you about me and Poly. We got . . . close out there.”

  “What do you mean, like you had a thing?”

  He closed his eyes for a second, thinking of Poly on the roof. “Yes.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” She pulled her hand back, but Joey wouldn’t let go.

  “Samantha, I know our parents held secrets—”

  “A secret is nothing but a promise of a lie,” she said. “All we were fed growing up was lies; lies about our parents, lies about the worlds out there, lies about our past. I don’t want you to lie to me.”

  “I won’t, it’s just hard to talk about, especially with you.” He took a deep breath and felt the fight in her arm lessening. “It’s only us now and I don’t want to hold in any secrets.” Joey released her hand.

  She moved her hand to her ear and then stopped. “It’s only us now.” She said as if talking to herself. “They’re dead.”