“You reckon we’ll be able to transfer these coin things between ourselves?” I wondered.
“I’m going to ask,” Nico replied. “But if it’s supposed to be a replica of money, why wouldn’t it be transferable?”
I shrugged. Everything about this place was all so new and foreign, I felt out of my depth guessing either way.
Zina squeezed my hand. “Hopefully it is. Because we want to help you out, too.”
The offer was tempting, but I shook my head, knowing that she and Nico had to begin saving up for their own child, plus she had her younger siblings. None of us knew how much time it was going to take to accumulate an income of a hundred thousand coins, and until we knew, I didn’t want her to make any promises to me. “You need to focus on your more immediate family, Zina. It’s larger than mine.”
Before she could reply, someone approached behind me. I turned to see Robert, his face a mask of seriousness.
“You okay?” I asked, reaching for his arm.
He nodded stoically, coughing to clear his throat. By the sound of his husky voice, he hadn’t spoken in a while. “I was just thinking,” he began, running his tongue over his lower lip, then scratching at the stubble growing along his jawline. “If itispossible for us to freely transfer coins between ourselves, I’ll help you, Tani. I’ll help you and Jessie get your siblings back.”
It felt like my heart expanded three sizes as I gazed up at him. I probably would have grabbed his face and kissed himhad Rosalie not been watching us from a short distance. “Thank you, Robbie,” I said, feeling tears prick my eyes. “You have no idea what that means to me.”
“Rosalie only has one sister within the age bracket, so she might be able to help out, too,” he added. “Once her family’s got Freya back.”
I nodded, glancing at the little blonde-haired girl talking to Bea. I placed a hand on Robert’s shoulder and squeezed it. “I appreciate you thinking of us like this. But before any of us starts making promises to each other, I think we should see what the situation is.”
An increase in murmuring among the crowd behind us made me look around. Everyone was turning to face the strip of ocean separating us from Founders’ Isle.
A monstrous black boat made its way toward us. Its sheer length, and the fact that it had two upper levels, made me estimate that we would all fit on it in one trip. A true beast of a vessel, it appeared to be specifically designed for carrying people, with silvery handrails lining the decks and an expansive rooftop covering.
I grabbed my sister instinctively.
The boat slowed as it neared our platform, and then came to a halt, leaving a distance of about six feet. Three ramps extended from hatches along the side of the ship, clamping noisily onto our platform.
A man and two women dressed in blue uniforms emerged from the three hatches and crossed the ramps. More of Anna’s colleagues. When they reached the platform, one of the men pulled out a loudspeaker. He was a stout, older, balding man with a silver ring.
“Thank you for being punctual,” he began, his eyes sweeping around.
I suddenly remembered Jessie and turned to see if herfamily had joined us yet. They had, along with my uncle and aunt, and the rest of my cousins. All stood frozen at the back of the crowd, gazing at the large ship.
“I take it that you have filled in and signed the papers, as instructed last night,” the man continued. “Please form three lines in front of the ramps. We will collect your papers as you board.”
The journey was a short one, gliding parallel to Founders’ Isle, until we reached the nearest flat, artificial island, where we disembarked.
It looked like a ghost town. Clean and sparkly and neat but starved of life. The bare roads were paved with light gray cobblestones, and the small, one- and two-story, square white buildings gleamed beneath the sunlight with an airy emptiness. There were no trees, no bushes, no flowers, and no animals. It had no sounds of its own. It had no scents—save for the smell of saltwater from the ocean and a sour, plasticky tang. It was like a face with vacant eyes.
“Welcome settlers!” the bald man’s voice boomed through a loudspeaker. “I’m pleased to say everyone is now off the ship. We’ve arrived five minutes ahead of schedule, so thank you all for being so organized and cooperative. Assuming the rest of my colleagues are on task this morning, we should be expecting the arrival of…”
He trailed off as a rattling noise sounded in the distance. I looked toward the bridge which connected this island to Founders’ Isle.
“Aha,” the man said, his eyes glinting. “It seems they’re a little early, too.”
A long metal box trundled across the bridge toward us,rolling on thin black wheels. Its exterior was silver and almost blinding to look at in the daylight.
“What’s that?!” Bea gasped.
“Some sort of shuttle,” my uncle murmured, picking up Jack.
It covered the distance quickly, and barely four minutes later pulled to a stop on the road in front of the dock.
Doors glided open, and dozens of women spilled out. They were of all ages, though most looked to be in their forties. By the time they had all assembled on the road in front of us, there were about a hundred of them. They wore pleasant smiles, and were all beautifully dressed, with immaculately fitted pants, shirts and dresses, and jewelry sparkling on their wrists and ears.
And, when I noticed that the rings on their thumbs were all either silver, gold or platinum, I realized what was happening.
