by Sara Saedi
Wylie’s eyes popped open as someone yanked off her blindfold. The light was blinding after so many hours of darkness, but her eyes quickly adjusted as she looked around. She expected to find herself in a sterile lab or a hospital room, but they were in what appeared to be Olivia’s office. The furniture looked lush and expensive, and Wylie was tempted to ask if she could lay her head down on the sofa and take a nap. The tropical smells emanated from a scented candle burning on the desk. There were framed degrees on the walls and paintings that looked like still lifes from the island.
“Phinn wasn’t kidding,” Olivia remarked, as she took a closer look at Wylie’s face. “You’re quite lovely. Your skin doesn’t have a single mark on it. I remember those days fondly.”
Olivia looked like she was a few years older than Wylie’s parents. She was what many would describe as attractive—for her age. She had high cheekbones and a wide smile that looked youthful, but her eyes told a different story: puffy skin, sagging eyelids, and clumpy lashes.
“When can we see our brother?” Wylie said.
“Soon,” Olivia replied. “He’s a very nice kid, but so much wasted potential.”
Olivia walked past Wylie to where Lola was standing, and flung her arms around her.
“I missed you, Lols,” she said, using the same nickname Wylie had for her friend.
“I missed you, too,” Lola answered. “I’m sorry for what Phinn did to you. I should have told you that when it happened.”
“It’s water under the bridge,” Olivia answered. She glanced at Hopper and raised an eyebrow.
“You, I’ve never met,” she said.
“I’m Hopper,” he answered.
“What happened to your hand?” Olivia asked.
Hopper glanced at Tinka, then looked back to face Olivia.
“Phinn happened,” he said.
Olivia placed her hand on top of his head and mussed his curls. “We’re glad to have you here,” she told him.
The kids sat quietly as Dr. Jay described finding Micah and Tinka on the island, while leaving out the fact that they saved him from sinking into quicksand. The rest of the kids, he told Olivia, had arrived by boat. She seemed to well up when he revealed the fate of their colleagues, though she didn’t pretend to be surprised by the news.
“I’m glad you made it out alive, sweetie,” she said, planting a kiss on Dr. Jay’s forehead.
Their affection for each other alarmed Wylie. Back on the island, Dr. Jay merely described Olivia as an eccentric woman who signed his paychecks, but the ease in their rapport suggested a closer bond.
“I want you to write a full report on your findings. I’ll get our guests acclimated.”
None of them said anything as Dr. Jay left the office. They weren’t supposed to like him. They needed to seem afraid of him. But Wylie expected a subtle look or nod that indicated he was still on their side. Nothing.
“You must be exhausted,” Olivia said, with a tone of maternal concern. “And you’re probably wondering why you’re here.”
“Not really,” Tinka piped in. “I’m pretty sure it has something to do with an extravagant revenge plot. You’re really selling that whole ‘mad scientist’ vibe with the lab coat.”
“This has nothing to do with revenge. It’s about sharing the gifts of Minor Island with the rest of the world. And you’re here to help me do that.”
As if on cue, the elevator doors opened and a man in scrubs stepped into the room. He had bruises on his neck and wore a patch over his right eye. He didn’t speak to them as he used a knife to cut through their ropes, but Wylie’s hackles rose when she felt his hand on her arm.
“I always felt so bad for you,” Tinka said to Olivia, as the man worked to loosen her restraints. “I remember the day you were exiled. I’ve never seen anyone cry that hard. I was glad you were leaving, but I’ve wondered about you since. How does anyone move on from something like that? Now I know the answer: they don’t.”
Olivia smiled warmly in response. “You know, if you weren’t so petite and porcelain, you wouldn’t get away with that attitude. We’ll have to work on that. Anyway, let’s get you showered and fed and properly medicated.”
They shifted nervously as Olivia opened a wooden box on her desk and removed a handful of rahat flowers that were smaller and paler in hue than the crop that grew on the island.
“We’re growing these ourselves now. They’re genetically modified, but they still have the intended effect.”
Olivia told them to swallow an entire flower each, insisting that they didn’t pack as much of a punch as the ones back home. Wylie had tried rahat for the first time a few nights before, and Hopper had told her that a single petal would lull her right to sleep. She’d followed his advice and within minutes, her eyelids collapsed and she was consumed by a deep slumber. Ingesting an entire flower seemed like it would have the power to shut down her organs and kill her, but it didn’t appear that taking the drug was optional. Maybe it would help quiet Wylie’s nerves. She was eager to see Joshua, but she would also be forced to see Phinn again.
After they each swallowed a flower, Olivia and the man in the scrubs led them toward a locker room to get cleaned up. The hallways reminded Wylie of a hospital, minus the gurneys and beeping monitors and frantic visitors.
The steaming shower made the entire trip worth it. Wylie almost didn’t care what they did to her now. She stood completely still as the hot water spilled over her skin, wiping off the dirt and grime she’d accrued on the hike through the woods. The effects of the rahat flowers crept up on her slowly. They steadied her thoughts, but they also made her feel like she could do anything. It had been a long time since she’d drunk alcohol, but she recognized the sensation of total confidence. The future was wide open with possibilities. Finding their way to BioLark was half the battle. Now they just had to get out. It didn’t even matter that a mousy female nurse stood guard behind the stall doors as she finished showering. What mattered was that the towels here were fluffy and soft and warm.
As she dried off, the nurse wordlessly handed her a pair of hospital scrubs. The fabric was stiff and the style was plain, aside from a pocket square on the shirt with the emblem of a bird trapped inside a test tube. Wylie dutifully put on the uniform. It was too soon to be disobedient. They needed to heed Dr. Jay’s advice. The more they cooperated, the more surprised Olivia would be when they fought their way out.
After she got dressed, Wylie was escorted into what looked like an employee lounge and was told to help herself to a plate of sandwiches and a cooler filled with soda and bottled water. Hopper and Tinka were the only two present, and they were quietly eating their sandwiches. Until now, the two had kept as much distance from each other as possible. She knew Tinka was desperate to apologize for what she’d done to Hopper, but that she didn’t know where to start.
Micah and Lola arrived at the same time, and they scarfed down the food that was offered to them. Even Lola had her appetite back. The fare was simple, but they were too hungry to care. By the time Olivia arrived, there was nothing left to eat or drink.
“How is everyone feeling?” Olivia inquired.
“Good,” Wylie managed to say, but the drowsiness was setting in.
“It’s not bedtime yet,” Olivia warned. “I have a surprise for you. You’re going to want to stay awake for this.”
Hopper took Wylie’s hand as they walked out the door and she squeezed his back.
“How do you feel, Hops?” she asked. “You’re moments from seeing Nadia. You want to practice your opening line on me?”
Hopper laughed and shook his head.
“Dalton,” he whispered. “You’re gonna break my good fingers if you don’t loosen your grip.”
Wylie softened her hold, but didn’t let go.
She was so tangled up in her thoughts that she nearly didn’t notice the linoleum
floors had turned into plastic planks of wood. The neon-lit hallways had disappeared behind them, and it no longer felt like they were indoors. The temperature reminded her of warm summer nights in the city where restaurant patios filled up with New Yorkers who forgot winter had ever existed. She looked up and discovered a dome shaped sky that was the color of black nail polish. Every inch of it was covered in tiny stars that glittered more brightly than the ones that danced over the parvaz field.
“It looks like home,” Tinka said.
Wylie looked around to see rows of bungalows on either side of them. She heard music playing, and she could swear it was Bailey’s voice traveling through her ear canal.
“You built this place?” Lola asked. She was walking alongside Olivia.
“I did. Isn’t it glorious?”
“Not as glorious as the real thing,” Tinka muttered.
Olivia ignored the comment and led them through a narrow opening between bungalows that gave way to a staircase.
“Welcome to your residency party,” she announced.
Wylie gazed at what looked like an architect’s mock-up of the Clearing. It felt like someone had decided to perform a school play about the island, and this was the set they’d built. She instinctively squeezed Hopper’s hand, careful not to hurt him this time. She knew they were both anxious about finding Phinn among the crowd of kids below them. But they had each other and they could conquer the fear together.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
two truths and no lies
they were no longer allowed to have sugar roots at the evening soirees Olivia forced them to attend. She announced the new rule during breakfast, and told everyone they could blame Phinn.
“He ruined it for all of you,” she said. “I know. He’s such an elder.”
Normally, Phinn wouldn’t have cared, but no one liked the food here and the sugar roots were a nice reminder of where they came from. He liked to eat them with his eyes closed, so that he could make believe that they were back home, and not in some fake version of the Clearing. He thought about taking a dip in the lagoon to clear his head, but the smell of chlorine made it less appealing.
He was officially depressed. They’d tried to escape, but it hadn’t worked. Perhaps it was poor planning on their part, but they didn’t have the luxury of mobilizing an army when Nurse Conway and others like him eavesdropped on their every word.
“We have company!” Olivia’s voice bellowed through the room.
He turned toward Olivia’s voice, expecting to see an influx of staff members to keep them in line, but instead, there were five kids standing next to her. The drugs made everything look blurry in the distance, but Phinn could swear one of the kids looked like Tinka. He pushed his way through the small crowd so that he could get a closer look.
It worked, he thought. The universe had finally rewarded him for his penance. Wylie had returned to him.
“Wylie!” he cried at the top of his lungs.
He saw a look of discomfort cross her face. From there, every other discovery seemed to fast-forward. There was a boy standing next to her—a clean-cut version of Hopper. There was a girl standing on the other side. It was Lola. Phinn felt his heart drop into his stomach and dissolve. He wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go. It was time for his final reckoning.
He hung back as he watched Micah and Wylie run to Joshua. Even when Phinn and Wylie had supposedly been in love, she’d always put her brothers first. The Daltons embraced in a group hug, and held on for dear life.
His eyes darted away from them to Lola and Maz. They took a few tentative steps toward each other, and then Maz sprinted up the staircase and met her halfway. Lola flung her arms around him and it seemed like they melded into one person as they held each other. Phinn couldn’t hear what they whispered to one another before they dove into passionate kisses in the middle of the staircase. Love really does conquer all, Phinn thought as they either refused to come up for air or didn’t need to breathe in each other’s presence.
“Poor Phinn,” he heard a girl’s voice say. “He has no one to run to.”
He’d been so focused on the others that he hadn’t even noticed Tinka now standing beside him. She let her hand rest on his shoulder. There was a time when Phinn would have removed it or called her impossibly clingy, but right now, he was glad to feel the featherweight of her palm on his body.
“Can I hug you?’ he asked.
“Fine,” Tinka said. But as they embraced, she whispered, “I know what you did to Lola.”
“And check it out,” she added as they separated. “You’re the reason they’re still scared of the poor guy.”
Hopper was awkwardly milling around next to the Dalton siblings. Phinn had never expected to see him again. He certainly never expected to see him with Wylie. It had taken the other kids a minute to recognize him without his beard and long hair, but once they spotted the three missing fingers on his right hand, they retreated in fear. Phinn could see the embarrassment on Hopper’s face, but he wasn’t sure if it was from being treated like a social pariah or from witnessing firsthand that no one was more important to Wylie than her brothers.
“He’s dangerous!” Nadia screamed to one of the BioLark employees. “You need to get him out of here. He’s not one of us.”
The outburst forced Lola and Maz to break apart.
“He is one of us,” Lola said firmly.
Lola didn’t have to be loud or combative to capture everyone’s attention. Though he’d never admit it to anyone, Phinn had never been afraid that his power would be usurped by any of the guys on the island. Lola was the only person he worried would make a better leader than him. It was a mystery to him why no one else had realized that yet. Now she addressed the kids.
“Phinn made you believe that Hopper kidnapped me, but that’s not what happened,” she said.
Phinn didn’t know where to focus. If he looked down at his feet, he would appear sheepish at best, and pathetic at worst. But he couldn’t bear to see the disgust on Wylie’s face or the smug satisfaction on Olivia’s. Most of all, he didn’t want to watch Maz process the fact that he’d been a loyal soldier to a guy who’d stripped him of the person he loved most in the world.
“What’s she talking about, Phinn?” Maz asked.
“I made a mistake,” was the only thing Phinn could utter.
He had enough parvaz left in his system to breeze off and let them sort out the details on their own. He didn’t need to be here for this. But where would he fly? He would have to meander in circles above them, a shark without teeth.
Instead, he stood there and listened, full of shame, as Lola described to everyone the day she learned the truth about Gregory Dalton and confronted Phinn on his boat. Her voice never wavered as she recounted what it felt like to drift alone in the ocean on a raft, certain she was going to die and that no one would find out what really happened to her. But Hopper had come along and rescued her. He’d rescued Wylie, too.
The kids turned to Phinn—some incredulous, some furious. He couldn’t look Maz in the eye to see what his best friend was feeling.
“It’s true,” he confessed. “It’s all true.”
* * *
For weeks, Wylie had dreaded the idea of seeing Phinn again. What if, after everything, she still found herself drawn to him? What if she still found him attractive and charismatic? What would that make her—an addicted girlfriend? A bad feminist? A needy human?
But none of those emotions resurfaced when she set eyes on his scrambled teeth and amber hair and broad shoulders. She didn’t feel an inkling of sympathy or pity. He was someone she didn’t want in her life anymore. Wylie wanted him to melt away from the amusement park version of the Clearing they were standing in.
“It’s true,” Phinn muttered. “It’s all true.”
At least he was done making excuses for himself. The others were only n
ow discovering the true low of Phinn’s wrongdoings. But Wylie had her own truths to reconfigure. Here she was, back with her brother. Joshua’s hair was trimmed short and there were no signs of stubble on his face. He looked surprisingly healthy and well rested. His eyes had turned into puddles at the sight of Wylie, and she could hear him crying as they hugged. All this time, he’d probably assumed she was dead.
“I’m sorry,” he kept repeating over and over again, but she didn’t know what he had to apologize for.
She wanted to reassure him that they had a plan to get him out of here, but Dr. Jay had warned them that the place was bugged. Instead, Wylie hugged him back and told him that everything was going to be okay. She kept her arm around him while Lola confessed Phinn’s sins for him. Joshua had trusted Phinn even when Wylie had stopped. She knew it wouldn’t be easy to hear that he was worse than they all thought.
“Well, this has been a fascinating window into the collapse of a leader,” Olivia broke in. “Lola, you’re a survivor. You’re safe with us. We won’t let Phinn hurt you again.”
It felt odd to go through such a personal encounter in the presence of virtual strangers employed by BioLark. This was not the showdown they’d expected those nights on Hopper’s boat. They were supposed to make these revelations in the real Clearing, not one put together with purchases from the garden section of a Home Depot.
“You left her there to die?” Maz asked Phinn, ignoring everyone else around them.
“I didn’t want her to die,” Phinn replied. “I just needed to make it go away.”
“So you could be with Wylie.” Maz didn’t phrase it as a question.
Wylie felt sickened that she was the motive for the crimes against Lola. She remembered the nights she and Phinn stayed up late in bed, speculating about her best friend’s disappearance. Wylie had even suggested that Maz might be guilty of getting rid of Lola. It was a ridiculous theory. Especially since the person responsible had been sleeping next to her all along.