Unsuitable

by Dawn Norwell

  “If the Syndicate uses nuclear weapons, I’m afraid we don’t stand a chance.” I was hit by the intensity of that statement as I realized that I was residing in a city where everyone could be dead in a matter of hours, myself included.

  “We’ll be okay,” Ximea assured me, but I could tell by her troubled expression that she wasn’t as certain as she sounded. “Nova’s forefathers worked their entire lives to ensure that we had the best protection possible, using their knowledge and resources to fortify our bunkers in the event of another war. The bunkers are supposed to be indestructible.”

  “Has anyone ever tested that theory?” I asked hesitantly. The hard glint in her eyes told me the answer was no. “What can I do to help?” I asked, pulling the blanket from my legs and getting unsteadily to my feet.

  “You can find a wheelchair and rest,” she said, pushing gently on my shoulders. “You’re a patient right now. Not a physician.”

  “I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me, Ximea, but I feel much better. And, let’s be honest, you need as many doctors as you can get.” I glanced at the handful of overwhelmed medical professionals trying to help the patients who greatly outnumbered them.

  “I guess that’s true,” Ximea admitted. “Okay, you can help. But only in transporting the patients. I don’t think Athena would like it if I had you administering medicine without her authorization.”

  I nodded and set to work. As I helped a patient in a nearby bed get into her wheelchair, I felt a sense of normalcy. It was nice to be doing routine work, and for a moment, it was like I was back in Concord. Despite its many flaws, Concord had been the only place that I had ever known. I couldn’t help feeling nostalgic as I thought about my home.

  Yeah, the same home that might be about to demolish an entire community for no reason, I reminded myself.

  I looked around the hospital room, taking in the terror on the faces of patients and doctors alike, as they prepared for uncertainty. I had to bite the inside of my jaw to stop my tears as I realized that I was the reason behind this panic.

  I pushed the idea from my mind and focused on hooking my patient’s IV bag to her wheelchair. I stared at the contraption, trying to figure out how to get it to move. In Concord, we had automated wheelchairs that maneuvered themselves when you typed in the destination code, but Nova wasn’t nearly as advanced. I had become so accustomed to this progressive technology that I found myself struggling with the most basic tasks.

  “Are you sure you’re a doctor?” the elderly woman asked as I shoved unsuccessfully against her chair.

  I observed the other hospital workers as they removed the brake from the wheels. I replicated their movements, finally managing to unlock the obstinate wheelchair. I gave the patient a smug smile as I pushed her out of the room.

  I followed a hysterical young orderly as she led a group of children down the hallway and into an elevator. The woman’s terror was contagious, and soon enough, the entire compartment was filled with panic. It was poor patient care on the orderly’s part, but I tried not to judge her too harshly; if I was in her place and didn’t know if my home or family would still be here in a couple of hours, I would probably be frantic too.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I consoled a young girl who was sobbing into the folds of her dress, crying out for her mother. My words did little to alleviate her fear.

  Once everyone was safely inside the elevator, someone pushed a button with the number one hundred and twenty-two listed. Instead of accelerating upward as I expected, the elevator started to descend.

  Ximea noticed my worried expression and leaned forward, whispering in my ear so that no one else could hear. “Many of our structures, including the bunker, were initially built underground because of the contamination. The higher the number on the elevator, the further into the Earth you’re traveling,” she explained.

  I nodded. It made sense, I guess. But one hundred and twenty-two floors into the Earth seemed a bit excessive. Was it even safe to be that far beneath the ground?

  I started to grow increasingly more anxious with each floor that we passed, feeling claustrophobic as we continued traveling deeper and deeper. I observed the other passengers, trying to read my panic on their faces, but everyone else seemed unfazed by the elevator’s descent.

  Get it together, Kai.

  Having a panic attack was a definite way of letting everyone else know that I was an outsider. I was hoping to conceal this revelation for as long as possible; if other people in Nova shared the same sentiments that Zander did, I wasn’t sure how welcomed I would be.

  When the elevator doors finally opened, I let out a deep sigh of relief. As I stepped onto the platform of level one hundred and twenty-two, I halted in my tracks. People muttered frazzled curse words as they tried to hurry past me to the safety beyond, but I barely noticed them. I was too distracted by the magical world that I’d just walked into.

  Although Concord was impressive with its progressive equipment and sleek, futuristic buildings made of pure gold, Nova’s underground world was, by far, the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

  In school, we learned about the various biomes that existed before the Dominate War forever altered the planet. Underground Nova reminded me of the pictures I’d seen of a beautiful rainforest. Tall, ancient trees ascended far above us, the mass of their monstrous trunks revealing that they were hundreds of years old. Their leaves formed a canopy of vibrant green high overhead, filling the room with sweet, fresh air.

  It was the first time that I’d seen a tree in person. There was no reason to have them in Concord where our food, building materials, and oxygen were all created in labs. I stood awestruck, staring above me at the stupendous forestry. My patient cleared her throat irritably from her wheelchair, not nearly as amazed by the luxuriant foliage as I was, but I ignored her, lost in the moment. Standing in the middle of this wonderland, I forgot how to breathe.

  “It’s something, isn’t it?” Ximea asked with a smile.

  “It’s wonderful,” I mumbled in a daze. I followed her through the emerald paradise as we took our patients to the designated waiting area. My eyes welled with tears the more of its beauty I saw.

  “Not only did our ancestors construct the bunker, but they were also smart enough to fill it with everything that we might need to survive, should the land above us become inhabitable again. There’s even an area for the various animals who survived the war, some for eating and others to continue their species. It’s like a modern-day Noah’s ark,” she laughed.

  “You can find every type of tree and plant still in existence down here. The flowers are used for homeopathic purposes- they are often boiled into teas to treat illnesses, fever, and assist in pregnancy. Lilies were our forefathers’ favorite, as you can tell by the abundance of them in this area,” Ximea explained, leading me through the floral wonderland, the aroma of the blossoms wafting up to meet my nose.

  I smiled when I noticed the familiar orange petals of a Tiger Lily. The smell reminded me of a day not so long ago, when I stood in the flower shop in Concord with Sienna.

  “Take the Tiger Lilies,” she had encouraged me, unknown implications in her voice.

  Could she have been dropping subtle nuances that would eventually lead me to Nova? Maybe she and others in Concord realized the error of the Syndicate’s ways and would be willing to come together with Nova, putting classifications of suit and unsuit behind us forever.

  Though it was a stretch, the idea gave me hope for our future.

  **********

  The underground bunker was large enough to comfortably house all of Nova’s citizens, with room to spare. There were different levels to the living quarters, Compartments A-H, depending on your status within the community. The higher you ranked in Nova, the more secure and further underground your lodging was. Athena, for example, was in the lowest possible compartment- H.

  “No one knows you’re a suit yet, and Athena would like to keep it that way for as l
ong as we can; there’s already a lot of tension between Nova and Concord, and your being here will only make matters worse. So, for your safety, you will be staying with me,” Ximea said, opening a door in Compartment G.

  Inside the room was a set of bunk beds, two desks, a closet filled with plain clothes, and a sink. Ximea plopped on the top bunk, exhausted from the busy day of moving patients down to the bunker.

  I busied myself by covering my mattress with the sheets and bedding that was provided. I folded and unfolded the blanket meticulously until it was nearly perfect, trying to distract myself as the harsh reality of what this day might bring lingered at the forefront of my mind.

  Once my bed was made, there was nothing to do except wait. The room was quiet for a while, filled with no sound except Ximea’s soft snores on the bunk above me. I stared at the wall as apprehensive knots formed in the pit of my stomach, contemplating what could happen in just a few hours. Ximea was fairly certain the bunker would hold in the event of an attack, but I wasn’t convinced.

  Suddenly, a loud beeping sound echoed through the noiseless room. I leaped to my feet, smacking my head on the bunk above me, but hardly noticing the pain.

  This is it, I thought to myself, bracing for the bombs that could be raining down on our heads at any moment. I looked at Ximea with wide, fear-filled eyes, wondering why she wasn’t as panicked as I was.

  “Relax. This isn’t an attack,” she assured me. “It’s just a signal for everyone to gather in the auditorium. Athena will probably want to give us an update.”

  I let out a deep sigh of relief, but my heart was still hammering in my chest.

  Ten minutes later, Ximea and I made our way down the hallway to a large amphitheater where thousands of Nova residents had gathered. People occasionally glanced at me, their eyebrows furrowing as they tried to place my face in their memories. I averted my eyes, trying to evade their inquisitive gaze.

  I noticed Athena loitering in the hallway ahead of us, her voice animated as she whispered vehemently to a man hidden in the shadows. As we approached, I vaguely recognize the man as Zander, though he looked different outside of his soldier attire. His dark hair fell in messy spikes just above his ears, and his blue eyes sparkled in the bright fluorescent lights of the auditorium. Large muscles flexed beneath his white t-shirt as he crossed his arms dauntingly, both biceps donning dark tribal tattoos that added to his intimidation factor.

  “You can’t do that!” Zander said in a hushed murmur, his voice filled with outrage.

  “What’s going on?” Ximea asked as we drew near.

  Zander started to answer but closed his mouth into an angry slit when he saw me.

  “Zander thinks that Compartment A is compromised,” Athena disclosed.

  “I know it’s compromised,” Zander said, eyeing me from his peripherals. “There are small fissures in the ceiling that need to be properly sealed before we allow access to that area. We would be taking a serious, life-endangering chance by placing people there before it’s been fixed.” He leaned forward and stared earnestly into her face. “We can’t just ignore this, Mom.”

  My eyebrows raised with surprise. Athena was Zander’s mother? I could see the resemblance now, how his crystal blue eyes were an exact replica of hers, though their dispositions were as contrasting as apples and oranges. The differences between them reminded me a little of Thane and myself.

  “And where am I supposed to put them, Zander?” Athena asked, rubbing her temples with her index fingers. “The other compartments are full. I couldn’t move them if I wanted to.”

  “So, you’re just going to risk letting them die?” Zander asked, appalled.

  “Stop being so theatrical. We just don’t have the time or resources to transfer an entire compartment without causing panic, not with everything else that’s going on,” Athena said, her voice strained. Worry lines creased between her eyes. “I’m sorry, but they’ll just have to make do for the time being.”

  I felt anxious butterflies dancing in my stomach, their words hitting home. My parents’ deaths occurred because of an accidental cave-in in an office building near Syndicate headquarters. When I was young, I often wondered if there was something that could have been done, some fissure that could have been repaired during routine maintenance checks that would have prevented their premature demise. Maybe if it had been caught in time, my mother and father would still be alive.

  “I’m sorry, I know that this isn’t my place,” I interjected, unable to bite my tongue any longer. “But if Compartment A might be dangerous, wouldn’t it be counterintuitive to keep people there? I mean, what was the point of evacuating Nova if you’re just putting people in further danger. I know that I’m new here, but Zander sounds like he has a good point.”

  Zander laughed humorlessly. “I don’t need your help, suit. Mind your own damn business.”

  I took a step back at the venom in his voice. Ximea glanced at me from the corner of her eyes and gave an apologetic shrug.

  Turning back to Athena, Zander continued, “The last thing you need right now is a big incident. There’s already gossip of wanting to amend our government as it is. If something happens on your watch, it might be the opportunity needed to unseat you, and with Concord waging war against us, we need you in a position of power now more than ever. You can’t take any chances,” he pleaded.

  Athena gave a small smile and placed her hand gently on her son’s shoulder. “I appreciate your concern, Zander. But I’m not worried about losing my position. If it happens, it happens. I’m here only because people want me to be. If they decide I’m no longer fit for this position, I will step down without debate. When my time is up, I will accept that with humility.”

  Zander started to speak, but Athena cut him off.

  “I know that you are worried, but I need you to listen to me. We are far underground, locked inside a bunker that has been reinforced time and time again for the past two hundred years. We will be fine.

  “Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go tell a room full of panicked people that we may be having bombs dropped on our heads shortly,” Athena said with a sigh.

  Zander ground his teeth in frustration, but he didn’t argue. He simply stared after his mother as she walked up to the stage, and stood before her people. The room fell silent at once.

  “Welcome, Nova citizens. Glory be,” Athena said, touching her heart, then her forehead with her right thumb and placing her fist into the air.

  “Glory be!” the crowd said in unison, imitating her movement. I looked at Ximea curiously.

  “It’s our cultural symbol,” she explained. “It means that our hearts, our minds, and our lives are devoted to Nova, and to protecting one another.” I watched in amazement as they all participated in the movement, touching their hearts and foreheads in unison.

  “I’m sure you are all wondering why I have initiated infiltration protocol,” Athena said, sucking in a deep breath. “I feel that you all deserve honesty, so that is what I will give you. I have obtained classified information from an anonymous source foreseeing that an attack on our city is imminent.”

  The crowd erupted into nervous chatter. People covered their mouths in horror, and mothers clung tightly to children.

  When the uproar quieted, Athena continued speaking. “I know that this is frightening, but it is just precautionary until we have a better understanding of the situation. If the worst-case scenario does occur, I have confidence that our military exercises have prepared us for this situation.

  “That being said, when we finish this assembly, everyone will report back to their compartments, which will be sealed until the all-clear is given. Each stratum has a communal restroom, a play area for the children, and an exercise facility; please use them at your leisure. The cafeteria will be opening shortly, but until then, you will each find rations of food in your rooms, along with first aid kits, in case of an emergency.”

  The room seemed to barely hear her, with each person lost in t
he terror of what was to come. My own heart hammered against my chest as the situation became even more real. I could die today. We all could. And there was nothing we could do about it except hide underground and hope for the best.

  “I need you all to remain calm,” Athena called over the noise. I admired her composure; if she was frightened, she didn’t let it show. “Keep your communication devices accessible so that I can give you updated information as I receive it. Until then, you are dismissed,” Athena said with a reassuring smile, stepping down from the podium.

  The crowd disbursed without hesitation, everyone rushing from the auditorium, eager to be within the safe confines of their compartments. Ximea and I followed their lead, returning to Compartment G, and locking our door behind us where we would impatiently wait for the inevitable attack that could kill us all.

  CHAPTER TEN: BITTERSWEET BREAKWAY

  W e lingered in our concealed apartment for an agonizingly long time. Minute after minute, hour after hour, all we could do was wait. It was torturous to simply remain trapped in our room, like a hamster in a cage, with no knowledge or control over what was happening above us.

  I found myself watching the time tick by at an agonizingly slow speed, unable to focus on anything else. Twelve hours and many chewed fingernails later, the machine the unsuits referred to as a ‘comm’ illuminated the room. Athena’s face appeared above the device in the form of a hologram.

  “Good evening, Nova. Thank you for your patience as we gather information regarding our current situation. I wanted to let you know that, at this time, we do not see signs of a missile launch. Though this is great news, it doesn’t mean that we are in the clear. I will keep you aware of any new information as we learn it, but things are quiet for now. Regardless, infiltration protocol requires us to remain in lockdown for forty-eight hours, so settle in folks,” she said.

  Then the screen went black.