The Forever Ones (The Iduna Project)

by DeLuca, Marjorie

  We’re touring the city in a solar powered vehicle. Carl and Edelia join us to pile into the quaint looking little yellow bus. As Junius pulls away everyone cheers and though I force a smile I can feel a cold, hard lump in my stomach.

  Once we’re away from the windmills and the President’s house we enter streets thickly lined with lush trees of every kind. Small organic vegetable markets sit on every corner. Even the private homes have wild, natural lawns and vegetable gardens rather than the manicured “bowling greens” I saw in the ARP territory in Tinsel-Town. The air is so clean all the buildings are spotless and everything has a natural freshly-scrubbed look. It reminds me of a cleaner, newer Realtown. Bicycles and scooters skim by and happy, contented people stroll past flower shops, pastry stores and fruit stands. We stop at an open square where a group of limber looking seniors goes through Tai-Chi moves. It seems that age isn’t a factor here and everyone is accepted no matter how they look.

  “This is the closest thing to paradise I’ve ever seen,” says Toby. “How did your mother do it?”

  Junius visibly glows at the praise. “It didn’t happen overnight,” he says. “It was a long process of re-education – beginning with the youngsters and involving all the mass media. Age is just a state of mind. That’s what we tried to impress on society at all levels.”

  My mind starts working overtime again. If that’s the way they feel then they must feel that we forevers are freaks. Worse than that our presence will upset the peace and harmony Marcia’s worked so hard to achieve. Perhaps that’s why she wants to round us all up and once she has us together then what? Get rid of us and avoid a crisis?

  “Paige, quit dreaming,” says Chale, shaking my arm. “We’re passing the Carter City sportsplex.”

  I focus my eyes on a fantastic glass dome that changes colour every ten seconds.

  “While you’re here you can try out some really amazing games,” says Junius. “Your choice of hover boarding, dyno-tennis or zero gravity swimming. We like to keep fit in Fed City no matter what your age.” He flushes with pride as we gaze open-mouthed at the sheer scale of the place and the number of people passing through the doors.

  “You guys really take care of the whole person,” I say trying to sound enthusiastic though truthfully it’s reminding me a little of the carefully engineered prison of the Iduna Compound.

  We spend the entire morning visiting lush vegetable gardens and wind farms. We eat peaches picked straight from the tree, cheeses from the creamery, bread still warm from the oven slathered with butter taken from the churn. So by the time we pull up outside our building we’re totally stuffed and a little tired.

  “Mom’s arranged a party in your honour tonight,” says Junius. “It’s in the Orangery. Just be ready for six and I’ll come and collect you. You’ll find a selection of evening clothes in your closets.”

  As I’m about to say goodbye, Junius pulls me aside from the others. “You’ll be sitting in the place of honour alongside me, Paige,” he says, smiling down at me. “We’ve come so far together I feel like we need to celebrate.”

  I look downwards, unable to meet his gaze. “I guess we have been through a whole lot,” I say, realizing I’ve never really had time to process all I’ve seen in this crazy journey.

  “Hey – remember little Osman and his flying machine?” he asks, grasping my hand in his cool fingers. “He wanted to slice through the roof of the compound with his propeller blades.”

  I can’t prevent the smile that spreads across my face. “I do remember him – and he was so serious all the time.”

  “We’re gonna go back there for him – together,” he says, taking both my hands in his. “And when we set him free who knows what amazing things he’ll do with all that creative energy.”

  With that he turns and leaves and I want to believe him so much. I want to take his word that he cares about us and is only fighting for our freedom and as I ride the elevator up to my room I wish I could get back the same quiet, intense Junius who rescued me from the Psych Centre. He saved me and I repaid him when I stopped the ARP forces from firing on him. We’re even but I still feel there’s unfinished business between us.

  After an amazing soak in water scented by real rose petals I check out the closet and sure enough someone’s placed two or three dresses inside. I’ve never felt fabric like this – so light it’s like butterfly wings. There’s a deep blue one edged with matching crystals, a pale cream one dotted with tiny feathers and one that looks like it’s spun from pink sugar flecked with tiny flakes of silver. My hand automatically reaches for that one. Why? I ask myself. Why am I drawn to that memory of that night at the Beachside Club?

  When I stand in front of the mirror I can’t believe how different I look. I’ve always had boyish hair and never really worn a dress but here I am with a headful of soft blonde hair above the fitted bodice that clings to the curves of my figure then swirls out in a froth of pink just below the hips. I finish off the outfit with a pair of soft, silver slippers and I’m ready to go.

  Outside the window the sky is just beginning to darken and tiny stars are flickering, sending their light from somewhere far beyond us in space. There’s so much I have to learn about the real world but I have an infinite amount of time to discover its secrets. Just then I catch the bluish glow of lights descending from the sky onto the lawn of the President’s House. It’s the same transporter we arrived in. The doors open and I see two men with shaved heads and dark tunics get out. Somehow they remind me of my Crime Lord kidnapper. But before I can even consider what’s going on I see two of Marcia’s assistants leading Chale, Toby and Edelia out of our building. They look like they’re dressed for travelling. Sure enough Marcia comes down the steps of her house and greets the three of them. Junius is by her side. They all shake hands and suddenly I know that Chale’s mission is leaving today. Right now. I have to get down there before they leave.

  In my haste I leave the door swinging open. The elevator takes an age to reach me and I consider the stairs. Soon I’m vaulting down the exit stairs five at a time, my dress billowing out behind me. When I finally make it outside, Toby’s just about to climb up into the transporter. I scream as loudly as I can.

  “Don’t go.”

  Everyone including Marcia turns to see the mad woman racing down the drive.

  “Why are they leaving now?” I sob just as the engines begin to throb.

  Junius catches hold of me by the shoulders. I struggle to break away. “Mom received important information so there’s been a change of plan. We have to move the mission forward and Chale and Toby agreed to leave tonight.”

  “What kind of information?” I sob. “I’m a leader here too – you can’t just leave me out of all the decisions.”

  Junius talks in that calm, maddening voice. “We’ll tell you everything, Paige, but now’s not the time.”

  Marcia appears behind him. “We thought you needed time to recover Paige. After all you went through – probably more than anyone else here,” she says. “Of course you’ll be a vital part of our leadership team.”

  Suddenly my anger drains away – like the air from an inflated balloon. I feel like a complete idiot.

  Toby comes down the steps and hugs me. “Sorry, Paige. We thought you’d be too upset to let us go without a fight,” he says. “Anyway, we’ll see you in Realtown again. You know I’m not going to risk losing you again.”

  I nod, tears clouding my eyes. “Be careful, Toby. I’m counting on you to tell me more about my father”

  By now Chale has come down the steps. He stands so close to me I can feel the warmth of his body. “I feel like a fool but I honestly thought it was better we did it this way.”

  I forget that everyone’s watching and fall against him. “You can’t leave without saying goodbye,” I say.

  “You’ll be coming out there too,” he whispers into my hair. “You have to – we’ve got unfinished business. Remember.”

  “I remember,” I say b
urying my face in the warm crook of his arm and wishing we could just leave right now - run away somewhere into the wilderness but my mind still feels so confused. We have a job to do. Junius has risked his life to bring us here, Marcia is jeopardizing the peace of her city to help us and I’m acting like an ungrateful kid. I step back and try to smile. “Remember – don’t take any stupid risks,” I say, realizing how ridiculous I must look trying to act like a leader when I’m dressed from head to toe in gauzy pink.

  “So speaks Princess Sugar Plum,” says Toby, nudging Chale’s arm. Suddenly everyone looks at me and bursts out laughing and I can’t help myself. I join in too.

  “I guess I’m not exactly equipped to launch an attack on the ARP stronghold,” I say looking down at my sparkly shoes. “Get going guys before I change my mind.”

  My heart feels like a cold, hard lump as I watch them climb on board. They take their seats and look out of the windows, waving as the transporter climbs upwards, hovering for a moment as it gathers power then banking upwards into the night sky. I feel Junius move behind me and lay a hand on my shoulder. “Right from the first time I met you at the school I knew you were different. You had such a curiosity about life – about the world outside the compound,” he says. I turn to look up at him and remember that calm, quiet face materializing from the fog of the Psych Centre. “You were brave, beautiful and you didn’t even realize your power. My Mom told me to seek out a born leader and I found you.”

  “I have so many questions,” I say, wanting to believe in him. “And all this time I thought you were someone else so I need to get to know the real Junius.”

  “Don’t doubt me now, Paige,” he says, holding my shoulders tightly. “We have a dangerous mission to plan.”

  I nod, hoping that puts his mind at rest, but as usual my attention wanders from the tall, fair haired man in front of me to the blinking lights of the transporter plane which is now a blue speck in the sky.

  What dangers are waiting for Toby and Chale? And am I safe here? I hope so, I think as Junius takes my hand and leads me towards the glittering chandeliers of the President’s House.