That Moment When: An Anthology of Young Adult Fiction

by A. M. Lalonde

  I walk to the living room and check the vid monitors before I leave. On one wall there are six screens, all showing different areas inside and outside the Compound. I search until I find my father. He’s in his main comm room upstairs. Probably planning more trips to request money for our project.

  I shake my head. At least he’s nowhere near my lab, so it’s safe to get back to work.

  I step back out into the hallway and enter my code to lock the door. My father no longer lives down here on this level, preferring to sleep near his lab. I programmed extra security just in case he ever decided to come down here, but I doubt I’ll ever need it. He acts like mom never existed, and most of the time he acts like I don’t exist either.

  I grit my teeth and turn my attention back to what I need to do upstairs. I get in the elevator and return to the ground floor. I hurry down the tunnel toward my lab.

  The walls in this tunnel are completely full of space memorabilia. I started on this tunnel first because it leads under the Compound and up into the huge warehouse that I use as my lab. It’s not as big as the warehouse next to it that was my mother’s, but it’s big enough to have a working space shuttle hidden under the floor. I’m not really sure why my mother preserved an old space shuttle, but I’ve made sure my father doesn’t mess with it.

  * * *

  The next morning I decide to take advantage of the lower temperatures outside to make another trip out to the Fence. I plan a direct route to the last section that needs to be examined.

  The path I take this time skirts the ruins and is mostly debris-free. I find I can conserve more air when I don’t have to be climbing over broken junk.

  I get to a darker section of the wall and realize that this section of the wall is not just shaded by the sun - it is stained. I stare at the ugly crack snaking down the metal in front of me. The jagged open edges are shiny compared to the rest of the rusted wall. Although the crack is barely wide enough to allow light to pass through, the whole ten-foot section bulges toward me. Right in front of me is proof that the rumors are true - we really were attacked. And by the lack of heavy rust in the crack I estimate it happened sometime in the last decade. While I was living here. How had I not heard about this?

  A shrill alarm startles me and I realize I’ve been ignoring the warning lights in my visor. I’m almost out of air already, and I’m farther away from the Compound buildings than I’ve ever been before. Panic sets in as I silence the alarm.

  I turn and head back toward safety trying to keep my pace and breathing even. Now would be a bad time for a panic attack. I squint toward the Compound and try to gauge how close I’m going to be. If I go to my lab, I’ll run out of air at least five minutes before I get close enough to the hatch. I can’t hold my breath that long.

  I consider the storage building again. With my father already here, I shouldn’t have to worry about him being in the storage bay. The dark shape I saw landing outside the Compound a few minutes ago was probably just the weekly supply ship. I would just have to stay out of sight.

  The warning lights in my visor change to an annoying fast-paced staccato, and I push myself into a sprint. I’ll have to try for the storage building’s closest hatch which is a newer one with a hand scanner. But it’s the closest to me. I angle myself for a direct line to it and concentrate on controlling my breathing.

  I’m still a good fifty meters away when I run out of oxygen. I inhale the last few breaths of air and focus on the hatch directly in front of me. I make out the door handle and the palm scanner next to it just as the edges of my vision start to get murky.

  I stumble, my limbs tingling from lack of oxygen. I keep pressing forward and fumble with my gloves until I finally get one off. I’m almost there.

  I trip on something protruding from the sand and fall face down. The impact knocks the rest of the precious air out of me. My lungs feel like they’re going to explode right out of my chest. I have to get up.

  I push myself to my feet. I moan happily as the scanner recognizes my hand and the hatch springs open.

  I stumble inside and hit the floor as the hatch automatically hisses closed behind me.

  I reach up and rip my helmet and visor off to inhale the cool air greedily. I didn’t die. I made it.

  I really need to stop cutting it this close.

  I roll over on my back and stare at the metal ceiling. I actually did it. I proved to myself that there really are people out there that want us dead.

  I’ve also accomplished my personal goal of making the trip to any point of the fence on one oxygen tank. I smile. I’ve found over the years that setting outrageous goals and then accomplishing them keeps me from being bored, which of course then keeps me out of trouble.

  Hopefully, my father wasn’t watching the outside vid feed. I frown. I don’t usually care if he sees me, but after getting in trouble yesterday I need to try to stay off his radar for a while.

  I groan and pull myself up and grab my air tank. I’ve got to get out of here and back to my lab before he sends someone looking for me.

  * * *

  I head down toward the tunnels, the tank clanking against my suit. I hear a loud noise and stop at one of the observation windows that look into the storage bay.

  The outside door is slowly opening with a screeching metallic groan. Two huge hover cars slide in, heavily loaded. The enclosed front portion of each vehicle is tinted, so I can’t see the drivers.

  Anxious to get out of sight of my father, I continue walking down the hallway. I peer through the other windows as I go, watching the hover cars slow to a stop and lower to the ground. I’ve only been in a hover car a few times in my life. I convinced one of the newer staff to teach me how to drive one, but it didn’t end well. He gave up after two lessons.

  I hesitate at the last window, curious. My father forbids me from being here when the supplies are delivered.

  The drivers have their hover cars stable and engines off. Out of the first one climbs a tall, thin man in a dirty beige jumpsuit. He starts tugging heavy boxes out of the back of the enclosed storage container on his hover car, one at a time and then stacks them neatly along the side of the bay.

  The driver of the other hover car crawls out and jumps to the ground. He stomps his boots and turns to look around the storage bay. He’s much shorter than the other driver, but also wears a beige jumpsuit.

  I check nervously down the hallway, and then turn to press my face against the one-way window to get a better look. It’s been a long time since I saw anyone new.

  I look back toward the hover cars and drop the oxygen tank with a loud thud. My jaw drops as I see that the second driver is actually a girl. A girl who looks to be about my age.

  I watch as she brushes sand out of her dark hair and then pulls it back on top of her head. Her green eyes seem to pierce into me as she turns my way. I scoot backward from the window, even though I know they’re tinted and she can’t see me. My heart races as I watch her open the back of her hover car and starts unloading boxes.

  I hear voices down the hallway, so I peel my eyes away from the girl and grab the oxygen tank. I tuck it near the hatch I just came in and look around for a place to hide. I find an unlocked doorway into the storage bay, and quickly slip inside. I crouch down behind boxes stacked near the door. I can’t see if anyone is coming down the hallway toward me, since now I’m on the other side of the tinted windows.

  I make my way across the storage bay, staying hidden behind boxes. I need to get away from the door, just in case whoever it is comes in here.

  I flatten myself against the wall behind a large crate just as the door flies open with a loud crash.

  I slowly tilt my head so I can see around the crate in front of me. I see a man walking rapidly toward the hover cars. It’s my father. He probably saw the oxygen tank I left by the hatch. Great.

  I make my way farther around the storage bay as my father’s loud voice fills the cargo bay. I find an empty crate and crawl inside, pulling the
lid carefully closed. Now I just need to stay hidden long enough for my father and the hover cars to leave.

  * * *

  I soon hear my father leaving, and I breathe a huge sigh of relief. I tell myself this’ll be the last time I push my luck this far. Besides, now that I’ve accomplished my Fence goal, I need to come up with another one. This time it will be a safer goal.

  I hear one of the hover cars start up and the man saying something to the girl. Then a horrible scraping sound echoes off the walls and I have to cover my ears tightly. The noise stops suddenly, but then I feel something crash against the box I’m hiding in. The walls of my crate tremble and I feel the box rising up in the air.

  The box finally crashes with a thud to the ground and everything is silent again. Except for the loud beating of my heart that I’m afraid can be heard outside of the crate. After steadying myself, and taking a few deep breaths, I reach for the lid and push. But it’s stuck on something and won’t open. I try not to panic as my eyes adjust to the darkness. There’s a vibration underneath and I’m moving again. I reach up and put all my strength into pushing the lid off. I manage to get it to slide to the side a few centimeters. Far enough so I can look through the crack and see that I’m inside the hover car’s storage box. Crap.

  I sit down hard and take a few more cleansing breaths. The sound of metallic groaning from the outside doors opening chills the blood in my veins. The hover cars are leaving. And I’m stuck in the back of one.

  I stand up and start pounding on the side of the crate and yell as loud as I can. But it’s useless. The drivers can’t hear me from within their enclosed cabs. And the loud door noises make it so that no one could hear me anyway.

  Once outside I don’t know how long I’ll have oxygen. I sit down and start my breathing exercises. The city ships aren’t allowed inside our Compound, so they send in their hover cars with the supplies.

  I hope they didn’t park too far away.

  I feel an wave of heat as the hover car I’m in leaves the safety and coolness of the storage building. I soon hear another loud metallic screech combined with the sound of un-oiled hydraulics. The Fence gate. I’ve never been allowed near it, not even to watch it open. I try to peek out of the box, but I’m facing the Compound, so I can only see the storage bay receding into the distance.

  After passing through the gate I finally get to see the outside of the Fence for the first time. I watch helplessly as the giant gate closes and we speed farther away from it.

  My lungs start burning and I try taking small, quick breaths. The heat is intense but at least I still have my enviro suit on.

  We finally come to a stop as my vision gets darker. I hear loud, unfamiliar noises as I fade into unconsciousness.

  * * *

  I wake and take several deep breaths of cool air. I open my eyes and see that I’m still in the box, but it’s quiet and I feel only a small vibration through the floor.

  I carefully stand up and shake out my tingling hands and feet. I reach up and push the crate’s lid, this time it slides easily. Relieved, I hoist myself up and climb out of the crate.

  I find myself in a smaller storage bay. I look around and see the large entrance for the hover cars, and opposite that a smaller one. I head for the smaller door, keeping out of sight in case there’s someone still here.

  I get to the door without seeing or hearing anyone else. I turn the handle and push the door open slowly. It opens into a narrow, empty corridor.

  I step out and look in both directions. One leads to another metal door, but the other direction leads to an intersection with another corridor. I head that way.

  At the next intersection I just have to guess. They both lead to other corridors. I turn right and keep walking. I still don’t hear or see anyone.

  This corridor ends at a large hatch. My heart starts racing as I hear voices on the other side. I’m torn between needing to get back to the Compound before my father finds out I’m missing, and curiosity about where these people are going and how they live. Either way I can’t just stand here, so I turn the handle and push the hatch open.

  The man and the girl I saw earlier are sitting in what looks like the ship’s bridge. They’re arguing with each other and haven’t noticed me yet.

  The ship’s technology is old, and I can see several of the computer consoles behind the girl are dark with wires hanging out. The console in front of her has flashing lights and she has some sort of tool in her hand.

  As much as this girl fascinates me, my attention is captured by the huge vid screen that dominates the whole front wall. Desert flashes by as the ship flies horizontal over the surface. Then giant broken structures come into the view, their stark shapes pushing through the sand in geometric patterns. Soon, the sand gives way to a dark gray body of water that takes over the horizon.

  My skin grows cold and I squint at the screen. We’ve been flying for at least an hour; there should be cities and towns underneath us, not more desert and lifeless water.

  Then I feel the ship rising, and the darkness recedes from view showing me how large it truly is. I frown. From the pictures I’ve seen, this is the Seattle area. Was the Seattle area. What happened here? Where are all the people? I feel sick to my stomach.

  The ship lurches slightly as it rises toward the cloud cover. I have to grab onto the nearest console to keep my balance. I let out an involuntary grunt as my chest slams into the metal.

  “What the hell?” The man’s face turns toward me, contorted with surprise and anger. “What are you doing here? On my ship?”

  I shake my head. This isn’t happening. I tell myself I must be dreaming. I look back at the vid screen and watch in horror as the ship continues rising fast, showing me that there is no world below us. Everything is sand and brokenness.

  The man turns toward the girl. “We have to get him back right away before Dr. Kincaid finds out.” His voice now sounds more fearful than angry.

  I look back to the man, tears in my eyes. The man’s expression softens and he comes over to help me sit down. I slump limply into a chair and watch as more dead land comes into view as we climb higher into space.

  * * *

  The girl stands in front of me, blocking my view of the vid screen. Her green eyes are warm and full of emotion. I can’t help but to smile weakly back.

  “They didn’t tell you.” She says softly.

  I shake my head miserably. “Is the whole world like this now?” I point to the vid screen.

  She nods.

  “How long has it been like this?”

  She looks over at the man as she answers me. “It’s been several generations since it’s been livable on Earth. The sand storms started worldwide about twenty years ago.” The man nods and moves back to his console.

  I feel anger deep within me. “How could they have lied to me this whole time?” I stand to pace in the small space between consoles.

  The girl just watches me.

  I stop in front of her. “So, you bring us supplies from where then? Not Seattle, apparently.” I let out a harsh laugh.

  The girl hesitates, and then goes back to her console. Her fingers fly over it and I can feel the ship change direction.

  “What are you doing, Kindra?” The man frowns at the girl.

  “I’m going to show him where the rest of humanity is. He deserves that much at least.” A sad smile plays on her lips.

  The man just nods again and goes back to work on a broken console.

  “Your name is Kindra?” I ask lamely. “I’m Abishai.” I hold out my hand to her.

  She grins. “I know who you are.” She shakes my hand anyway. “Everyone knows who you are. Your dad is famous, and the whole world is waiting for you guys to finish the Eugenesis Project so we can finally get the Migration moving.”

  I’m speechless. It’s like someone has pushed my reset button and I’ve got to live my life over from the start.

  “Look, Abishai.” Kindra’s musical voice draws my attention
to the vid screen. The ship is above the endless cloud cover now. Stars are multiplying against the dark background of space as we leave the Earth’s atmosphere.

  I have to hold on to a console to steady myself again. Not because the ship is moving, but because the view is so beautiful and stunning. Millions of stars stretch in every direction. I’ve never seen stars in the night sky, since the clouds have always been thick with clouds. This is nothing like the pictures I’ve studied. Even the live vids don’t do the real thing justice. Up here I can almost feel the stars pulsing. They’re captivating in their cold brightness, and the sheer numbers of them.

  At the bottom of the screen, Earth is now just an ugly brown ball with angry clouds swirling on its surface. The once blue planet is gone, and has been for decades.

  “This is where you live?” I manage to whisper. “Everyone lives up here now?” I gesture to the stars in front of me.

  Kindra comes to stand next to me and places one of her warm hands on my arm, sending shivers down my spine. “Yes, Abishai. We live up here in habitats now. All of humanity does, except for you and your group in the Compound. The work you’re doing down there is important, and we’re all watching your progress.”

  I just nod, enjoying her warm touch and the view out the vid screen. We stay like this until the ship descends back underneath the clouds, and I’m returned back to my world of sand and drones. The Fence can no longer contain me now that my future has been etched in the stars.

  —ABOUT THE AUTHOR—

  If you liked this short story,

  check out my Recycling Humanity Series on Amazon!

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