by Laura Martin
I sat up too, nodding as my heart lurched with excitement and goose bumps broke out along my arms. This was it. “I’m his daughter.”
Schwartz’s lip curled in a barely detectable sneer, but Boz looked as though Christmas had just come early.
“I know your father.” He smiled, clasping his hands in delight. “He’s an old friend of mine from when we trained at the university back at East Compound.” I waited for Boz to mention the Colombe, but he did not. He had to be the member of the Colombe my dad was talking about, but I needed to be positive. Pulling my compass out of the neck of my still-damp tunic, I held it up for Boz to see.
“Does this mean anything to you?” I asked. Todd and Shawn leant forward as one, identical expressions of anxious anticipation on their faces. I wondered what my own face looked like. Hopeful? Terrified? Anxious? All of those feelings were racing through me as I held my breath, waiting to see if this was when I’d finally get the answers I so desperately needed.
Boz’s face broke out into a wide grin, and he pulled a nearly identical compass out of the collar of his shirt. “It does,” he said. I let out a huge sigh of relief as something loosened inside of me, and I felt as though I could really breathe for the first time since I had opened that note from my dad a lifetime ago. I grinned at Todd and Shawn. See, I wanted to say, I told you that there was something in the middle of the lake, that everything we went through to get here was worth it, but my smile faded as my eyes flicked over to where Schwartz still sat, glowering at me.
Boz followed my gaze and waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry about Dr Schwartz. He was also a member of the Colombe, but he and your father never really got along. He joined me when I escaped East Compound. The same escape,” he said sadly, “that killed your mother.” I nodded, pushing aside the empty feeling that hearing about my mom always seemed to trigger.
“Then I can tell you everything,” I said. “You are the person my dad sent me to find.”
“Really?” Boz said. “Why did your father send you after all these years?”
“I’m not sure where to even begin,” I said, overwhelmed by everything that had happened in the last few days. Boz just folded his hands and smiled encouragingly.
“Five years ago, my dad disappeared from North Compound, leaving me behind,” I began, quickly describing how I’d found my dad’s note and map, escaped North Compound, met Todd, and survived the takeover at the Oaks. I explained about meeting Ivan and the chaos when the marines tracked us to his house, separating us, and I wrapped up with meeting Chaz and Schwartz on the beach. Shawn chimed in to say that it was a good idea he’d decided to come along because I never would have made it without him, and Todd interjected to tell the story of me taking an impromptu dip in a spinosaur’s pond. Both comments earned them well-placed elbows in the ribs. Boz was an excellent listener, nodding and exclaiming, although he seemed saddened when I described the two dinosaurs that we had killed, and he scowled when we mentioned Ivan. Apparently paleontologists and dinosaur hunters didn’t quite see eye to eye.
“Well,” he exclaimed when I finished. “I’m sorry to hear that Jack went missing. I hope he’s alive somewhere out there, but he certainly never made it here.” Even though I’d known from the way Boz had reacted to my dad’s name that he wasn’t here, it still hurt to hear it said out loud.
“May I see the plug?” Boz asked.
I nodded, slipping off the compass and unhinging the hidden compartment. I handed it to Boz. He studied it before flipping it over, as though it might tell its secrets if he just looked at it long enough.
“Well?” Shawn asked. “Do you know what’s on it?”
“I don’t,” he admitted. “I haven’t talked to Jack Mundy in years. Why he would disappear and then send his daughter to see me is beyond my understanding.”
Todd huffed impatiently. “Well, can’t you plug that whatchama dinger into one of those techy devices so we can find out?” He jiggled his foot nervously as he watched the giant sea monsters cavorting behind Boz’s head.
“I think that sounds like a very good idea.” Boz smiled. “Dr Schwartz, grab me one of those techy devices. The XI 4000 should fit this.” Schwartz nodded stiffly and walked out.
“Now that he’s gone,” Boz said, setting down the plug in front of him, “are you absolutely sure that you weren’t followed here? This General Kennedy and his marines seem to have had no problem tracking you to Todd’s village.” His change of subject startled me, and I glanced over at Todd.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Like I said, we ditched everything from the compound that could have potentially held a tracker. Todd thinks they were tracking us the old-fashioned way, by following our trail. But –” I paused – “If they did, our tracks will just lead them to Lake Michigan and then disappear.” Boz nodded, seeming satisfied.
Schwartz returned with a large port and propped it up on a stand. Boz pressed his entire hand to the screen, and it hummed for a second, then turned on. Handprint entry, I thought, impressive. With practiced fingers, Boz slid the tiny plug into the port. A black screen appeared, followed by the revolving gold symbol of the ark. The screen blinked and there was my dad.
I leant forward hungrily, taking in the tiny image on Boz’s screen. My dad was wearing a stained and dishevelled lab coat, his brown hair sweaty and his face tight and anxious.
“This message is for Dr Bartholomew Boznic or Ivan Ironarm. You need to enter the ten-digit code we used to pass secret messages within the Colombe. If it is not entered in the next thirty seconds, this memory plug will lock down, corrupt itself, and destroy the hard drive of every piece of technology within two hundred feet.”
Boz looked startled at this and frowned.
“Do you know it?” I asked, my throat tight. If Boz didn’t know the code my dad was talking about, the plug would destroy the secrets it contained. If that happened, everything I’d been through, everything I’d dragged my friends through, would be for nothing. But even as my heart raced in terrified anticipation, I couldn’t help but stare at my dad. It had been over five years since I’d seen him, and in that time my memories of him had faded and blurred. Now everything came rushing back: the way his hair waved across his forehead, the crease between his eyebrows that showed he was worried, the way he used his hands when he talked.
“I think so.” Boz nodded. He quickly typed in a ten-digit number, and I held my breath. I wasn’t the only one. When the screen beeped, the room let out a collective sigh of relief. This time my dad sat at his desk, sweat shining on his forehead, and from the way the camera struggled to focus, I could tell that his hand was shaking.
“I found something,” he said, his words rushed and panicked. “It’s what I was worried about all those years ago when I first started the Colombe. I warned everyone that someday the Noah was going to do something drastic. I was right. He’s going to wipe out the dinosaurs, but it’s worse than I ever imagined. If I don’t make it to tell either of you this in person, then hopefully this plug will. We have to stop this.” My dad jumped as a loud banging came from behind him. His face went from frightened to terrified. The screen flickered, and a video icon appeared.
I didn’t realise I had tears running down my cheeks until Shawn used his sleeve to wipe them away. Boz reached up and clicked the icon.
The port buzzed and then a grainy video began, revealing a windowless room with six men sitting around a table. At the head of the table was our current Noah. He had the same gray-tinged hair and serious expression as his counterparts, and his eyes were dark and hooded behind thick-rimmed glasses. I was struck by how old he looked.
“What is this?” Todd asked.
“It’s some kind of meeting,” Schwartz snapped.
The Noah cleared his throat. “Today we have reached a monumental decision that will change our world forever.” He looked up from his papers to his audience. “Today, by a five-to-one vote, we made the decision to reclaim our world, eradicate the dinosaur pestil
ence that plagues us, and sacrifice the few for the many. After over a hundred and fifty years of fear, we will triumph.”
The Noah wasn’t wearing his customary smile, the one that said, trust me, everything will be OK. The one I’d seen him wear countless times in North Compound assemblies, the one designed to help the people of the compounds rest easy that supplies would be delivered and life would go on. Instead, his solemn face was all business and his eyes held a cool resignation. They were the eyes of a man who had set a course and was going to stick to it. Those eyes scared me.
Shawn’s hand was on my shoulder; squeezing it uncomfortably, and I wondered if his own stomach was tied in the same painful knot mine was. I bit my lip as the Noah went on. “The fortifications to our nation’s four underground compounds are progressing well,” the Noah said, “as we prepare to set the second phase of the Ark Plan, code name Flood, into place. We know that future generations will look back on this day and thank us for the decision we have made. Our temporary refuge underground has gone on long enough, and it is time for us to regain what is rightfully ours. Our efforts to eradicate the dinosaurs in the past have failed. But we have found the solution.”
The Noah looked straight at the camera. “We know that the dinosaurs of millions of years ago were destroyed by a meteor strike that made the earth’s surface uninhabitable. Modern technology has at last given us the tools to recreate this phenomenon. We have located enough nuclear weaponry to eradicate the dinosaur population completely.” The two serious men sitting next to him nodded solemnly.
Todd was on his feet, gesturing wildly at the screen, his voice quivering. “What is he talking about? Is that who I think it is? Can they do that?” I grabbed his arm and yanked him into the seat next to me.
“Our weapon specialists have developed strategic drop sites that will spare our compounds from structural damage, allowing the human race to survive underground, away from dangerous radiation. Our top scientists are taking samples and DNA from a large number of species and plants, and we feel confident that, when the dust settles, we will be able to rebuild our great nation from a clean slate. Today marks the beginning of a war. One we will win.”
The port clicked off, and the silence in the room was deafening. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what he had just said. Phase two of the Ark Plan? Code name Flood? Nuclear war? How could it be a war when only one side had weapons?
Boz’s face was white as a sheet as he stared at the blank screen in horror. Then he looked at us, his eyes wide and panicked. “They are going to kill us all.”
“What?!” Todd yelped, jumping to his feet again.
“They are going to blast our continent with bombs. Wipe the world clean, and start all over again,” Boz gasped.
“Why is no one else freaking out right now?” Todd’s voice echoed the disbelief I felt.
“There is no way anyone could be that stupid,” I said, hoping I could make it true.
“We always knew the current Noah was an extremist, but I never thought …” Boz shook his head sadly. “Does he not realise the catastrophic effects of wiping out millions and millions of years of evolution? Every animal will have to be re-created, every plant germinated in a lab, every bacterium grown on a petri dish. It’s impossible. The human race would continue to survive underground for a while, but what would be left of the world when they finally did venture aboveground?”
“These bombs would kill everyone who lives aboveground?” Todd asked in horror. “I know of at least three other villages within a month’s travel from the Oaks. All of those people are just going to be left to die? So the privileged compound moles can survive? That isn’t fair!”
“That might be the understatement of the century,” I said, feeling sick as I sat frozen in my chair, thinking about everything I’d learned about dinosaurs since coming topside. I kept seeing Ivan’s table in a jumbled heap on his floor after he’d demonstrated what would happen to our world without the dinosaurs, the rotten wood crumbled and scattered. Todd seemed convinced that humans could live alongside them. Chaz and these scientists took it one step further, even creating new dinosaurs. Although I wasn’t sure yet if I agreed with them, I knew I didn’t agree with the Noah that all dinosaurs should be destroyed.
Todd wasn’t done raging yet. “That isn’t a solution; that’s … that’s …” He stuttered, flailing his arms hopelessly as he searched for a word bad enough to encompass the Noah’s plan.
“Genocide,” Shawn said quietly. “The word you’re looking for, Todd, is genocide.”
“You are absolutely correct,” Boz agreed. “They are going to kill everything this lab worked so hard to preserve and foster. The years we’ve spent selectively breeding dinosaurs to even out the population numbers and stabilise the ecosystem. For nothing!”
“I wasn’t talking about the dinosaurs!” Todd yelled, slamming his hand down on the table.
“We all just need to relax a moment,” Boz said, sinking weak-kneed into his chair. Chaz slumped down into the chair next to me, and I jumped. I’d forgotten she was in the room.
“Why would the Noah have filmed this?” Todd asked as he paced back and forth in front of the long window like a caged animal. “It seems stupid. If this was supposed to be top secret, why document it?”
“My best guess,” Shawn said, “was that he was eventually going to show this to us.” When everyone gave him a strange look, he jerked his head at me. “To the people in the compounds, I mean. I’m betting that after it was all said and done, after the bombs had been dropped and everything wiped out, he would have sent this to the compounds along with an explanation. It would be considered of historical importance, wouldn’t it? The day the decision was made to wipe the world clean and start over again? Of course, he couldn’t let it get out before it had all happened or people might freak out.”
“So how did my dad get ahold of it?” I asked, thinking out loud. “This had to have been under lock and key.”
Boz ran a hand through his thinning hair and looked at us. “Your father was a brilliant man, Sky. If anyone could have hacked the Noah’s communication system, it was him.” I felt a faint surge of pride for my dad, but it washed away as Boz leant forward, his face concerned. “How long ago did you say your father disappeared?”
“A little over five years ago,” I said. “Why? Do you think maybe the Noah changed his mind since then? That this may be outdated information?”
“No,” Shawn said, shaking his head before Boz could respond. He stared at me. “Think about it, Sky. For the last five years, what have we been putting every spare ounce of manpower towards in North Compound?”
I felt the blood drain from my face as realization hit. “Topside fortifications,” I whispered. “Of course.” I turned to Boz and Todd, feeling numb. “For the last five years, at the Noah’s orders, we’ve been increasing the thickness of the concrete barrier that separated North Compound from the topside world.” I inhaled sharply as something else occurred to me, and I turned to Shawn. “The supplies. Remember at the last assembly we went to?”
Shawn nodded. “They talked about how we were going to have to lay up the key supplies we needed from the other compounds in case the mail plane ever couldn’t make it. This was why! The Noah wasn’t worried about the plane; he was preparing us for this.”
I turned to Boz. “We don’t have much time. When we escaped North Compound, we were about a month away from being done with topside fortifications. And that was almost a week ago.” Everyone fell silent as they took this new information in. The thump thump thump of Todd’s booted feet on the glass floor was the only sound in the room as he paced back and forth in front of the long windows, oblivious to the giant plesiosaur that was gliding across their surface. Chaz bit her fingernails, her eyes flicking nervously from Schwartz’s angry face to Boz’s thoughtful one and back again.
“So what now?” she finally asked, breaking the silence.
“Well,” Boz said, hefting himself to his feet.
“We can’t just let the world end. We have work to do.”
“So, um, this is it,” Chaz said as we walked into the small room I’d be sharing with her for the foreseeable future. It was three levels higher than the conference room, but still too far down for any sunlight to penetrate. It contained two twin beds, two small closets, and a lamp. One whole wall was glass and looked out into the lake. Were there any rooms in this place without a monster-infested view? Next door I could hear Shawn and Todd arguing over who would get which bed.
“It’s not much,” Chaz apologised as she attempted to push a pile of dirty clothes under her bed with a booted foot. “I can get you your own room if you want. I’m sure Boz could arrange it.”
Shaking my head, I walked over to press my hand against the cool glass of the window. “It’s great,” I said, turning to her with what I hoped was an acceptable smile. “Really.”
Chaz nodded, flopping down on her rumpled bed. After the shock had worn off from viewing the video, Boz had got himself together and begun giving orders. The first thing he did was swear us all to secrecy. The information would do nothing but cause chaos and panic if it got out, he said.
Todd had been the hardest one to convince. As soon as he heard that the big plan was to do nothing until further notice, he’d pitched a fit. Not that I could blame him. If I hadn’t been so overwhelmed by the information overload, I would have joined him.
In the end he’d agreed to a compromise. We would let the lab’s head council discuss a course of action before he did anything. Although it wasn’t like we had any choice. Boz was incredibly kind about it, but he’d made it clear that leaving wasn’t an option.
I jumped as someone knocked loudly on our door.
“Come in!” Chaz called, not bothering to get up from her bed, where she was fiddling with a port screen. Todd stormed through the door, followed by a glum-looking Shawn. I shot him a questioning look, but he just shook his head and plopped down on the foot of my bed.
