“You have no idea how scary it was seeing you knocked out like that!” Jessie exclaimed, her tone almost accusatory.
“Yeah,” I said dryly, “that wasn’t exactly part of the plan. How did things go with you, Robert?” I took a seat with Bea.
His sandy brown hair was matted, and he had dark circles under his eyes. He looked like he’d been through the mill, but as he shrugged, his expression turned somewhat nonchalant, and I saw a little of the old Robert returning. “Okay, I guess. Managed to help a few people.”
“Ugh, the false humility.” Jessie nudged him in the ribs. “He stayed out even after he’d run out of masks to help people. He was the last into the hall, got twelve people to safety… including Rosalie and her brother,” she added in a lower, gently amused tone.
I caught sight of the siblings sitting on a bunk further along, talking quietly as they sipped water.
“I’m proud of you, man,” I said, truly meaning it. I felt tears coming to my eyes as I looked into his light blue ones, knowing how much courage it must’ve taken to have ventured out alone into that gas, especially when all of those gunshots started going off. It had been terrifying enough with Jessie by my side.
The aircraft suddenly jolted downward. My stomach dropped and I felt a strange popping sensation in my ears. I sealed my lips, willing myself to not throw up my sandwiches. Bea moaned and fidgeted next to me. A few moments later, a dull shudder ran through the base of the ship and all motion stopped.
Apparently, we had touched down.Whereexactly, I didn’t know, since there were no windows within my current view. And Anna had dismissed me before I got a chance to get a glimpse of the “outreach center” which was supposedly hidden behind the mountain.
“Exits are opening up on either end of the ship, so make your way to the nearest one,” Anna’s rich voice crackled downfrom the ceiling again, making me jump. “The injured will be carried out by medical staff separately.”
“Zina and the others are supposed to be at this place, right?” Jessie asked as we clambered to our feet.
“Yes,” I said, trying not to think“assuming she made it.”
I was anxious to return to my parents and accompany them out, but crew members ushered us all along a fixed path, toward the closest exit, and I had no opportunity to make a diversion.
A brisk, salty breeze caught my hair as we stepped out of our exit and descended a metal staircase.
“Whoa,” Bea gasped in my uncle’s arms.
Our eyes fixed on the sparkling ocean, about fifty feet away from the hard gray platform we had landed on. Behindthatwas “Founders’ Isle”, the mountain looming more imperiously than I could’ve ever imagined from the air.
I gaped at it as our people continued disembarking from the ship. It looked like a glittering paradise, with thousands of glass windows catching the sun’s rays, making the whole island shimmer. The sound of some far-off bell tolling drifted down from the heights, along with a symphony of chirping from birds of all sizes flocking among the lush trees. Bursts of color caught my eye every now and then, flower bushes lining the gardens of homes, their delicate fragrance reaching us even here, carried down by a gentle breeze.
I studied the architecture around the mountain’s base, slopes and peaks. The breathtakingly regal structures at the very top were too distant for me to make out details, but I could discern the buildings lower down much better than before; their style striking me as a mix of modern and ancient. Almost all of them were hewn from some kind of white stone, and lowand rectangular in shape—none more than three stories. That was a sure contrast to Founders’ Fortress, which had to be at least thirty stories high, and who knew how many square feet, as it wrapped all the way around the middle mountain peak. Classical columns were a running theme among the lower buildings, spanning the porch to the roof, while the glass windows were dark-tinted and so large, they spanned entire walls.
My family and friends were frozen in awe. This had to be much more of a shock for them. I hadn’t had a chance yet to fill them in on my conversation with Anna. Although describing what I’d seen through the binoculars couldn’t come close to preparing them for seeing it in real life. It had hardly preparedme.
As we stood there, overwhelmed, I did my best to summarize for my companions the conversation I’d had with Anna.
“So, this is Founders’ Isle.” My aunt stared at the main island.
“Yeah,” I breathed.
“What’s that?” Bea asked.
My uncle had set her down on the ground and she pointed in the opposite direction—behind us. I became conscious of our immediate surroundings. The platform we had landed on was a small artificial island, and Bea was pointing at the only building it contained: a tall, rectangular structure which, compared to the sight across the water, looked completely out of place. Its pale beige walls moldered at the edges, the glass windowpanes grimy, the wooden window frames looking like they should have been replaced decades ago. Cracked stairs led up to a double door, whose paint was peeling.
As I gazed beyond the building, I noticed the profile of two, expansive artificial islands across the waterin the distance.
This small island we had landed on was apparently some kind of designated space, for landing, and… for guests?
Anna’s words came back to me. “For more settlers, yes—there isspace. We just don’t have a lot of room forguests...We have a designated area for guests, with a set amount of resources allotted to it.”
“This is where we stay?” Robert asked, coming to stand beside me. A hard frown settled on his face as he looked at the old building.
“I guess so,” I replied.
“Looks a lot less nice than over there,” my six-year-old cousin Heather remarked.
“It does, doesn’t it,” my aunt murmured, eyeing the building uncertainly.
