Lost: The Novels

by Catherine Hapka

  “What do you mean?” she asked cautiously.

  The young man shrugged. “Everyone knew Arreglo couldn’t be totally trusted,” he said. “He was always a little too willing to sell off his convictions to the highest bidder, you know? To compromise away his principles. But this one—he just cut a deal with Q Corp. I’m sure you’ve heard about their latest proposed travesty against nature down in South America?” Without waiting for a response, he continued. “Well, Arreglo decided that building a new chemical plant in the middle of precious rain forest land sounds like a dandy idea. Not only did he remove his formal objections to the local government, but he’s actually throwing his support behind the project—he promised to help get the poison-spewing plant going as soon as possible.”

  “I don’t think so,” Faith said. She had heard of Q Corp, of course—everyone had. The international conglomerate topped every list there was of major polluters. “Dr. Arreglo would never do something like that. A plant like that is exactly the kind of thing he’s always speaking out against. In fact, I think I remember him saying something about the one you’re talking about a while ago—that it was a bad idea, I mean.”

  “A bad idea?” he repeated. “Is that what Arreglo calls displacing thousands of innocent creatures? Despoiling an untouched wilderness? A bad idea?” He barked out a short, humorless laugh.

  Faith shook her head. “I know him—he just isn’t that kind of person,” she insisted. “He cares too much about the environment to ever make any deals that would really harm it.”

  “Maybe that used to be true, or maybe not. But no question. This time he really did it.”

  The young man seemed so utterly certain that Faith didn’t quite dare to argue with him. Plus, she had a meeting to get to. “Well, if he did, he must have a really good reason,” she said instead, trying to be diplomatic.

  “Oh, I get it.” The young man rolled his eyes. “So you’re one of those. Saving the planet is just fine as long as we don’t inconvenience big business, right? Well, if you ask me, there’s no good reason to make a deal with the devil. When you do that, you become the devil yourself.”

  “Okay, then,” Faith said, turning to leave. It was clear that this conversation was going nowhere fast, and she didn’t have time for it.

  He stopped her by grabbing her arm and leaning closer. His fingers dug into her flesh, hurting her. “Think about it, sweetheart,” he said. “When it comes to the environment, compromise means catastrophe. This is a huge step backward for the movement. Thanks to this one man’s weakness, thousands of innocent creatures in the Vibora Basin will die. Birds, fish, snakes…”

  Even as she prepared to yank her arm away Faith stopped short, hit hard by the words Vibora Basin and snakes. Now, finally, she remembered more of that conversation with Arreglo.

  It had happened a month or so ago, just when news of the proposed chemical plant was first hitting the media. Arreglo had mentioned it to her during one of their meetings because he knew that snakes were Faith’s passion and her life’s work. Several vulnerable species lived in the Vibora Basin, one of the last large-scale preserves of their shrinking habitat. If what this anonymous young protester was telling her was correct, that habitat was about to be destroyed, dooming the snakes to probable extinction in the wild.

  “Wait,” she said. “Are you sure about this? Because—”

  “Hey!” Before she could finish the question, a pudgy girl with a green mohawk strode toward them. A handful of other protesters straggled along behind her. “Is this another Arreglo defender or something?”

  Her voice sounded hostile and oddly eager, as if she were hoping Faith would fight back. Faith glanced from the girl to her companions and back again, her heart thumping faster. She hated any sort of confrontation, especially in a group situation.

  “Back off, guys,” the black-haired young man said, frowning at the newcomers. “Leave her alone, okay? Go on. Scram. I mean it.”

  As the others dispersed, Faith smiled uncertainly at him. She was grateful to him for defending her, but she couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d just told her about Arreglo.

  “Go on inside to your meeting, beautiful,” he said, stepping aside to allow her access to the steps. “Ask Arreglo about this. You’ll see.”

  Faith wasn’t sure what to say, so she hurried past him without a word. Entering the broad, echoing lobby of the science building, she headed for the elevator, feeling a bit shaken. For one thing, she wasn’t used to having strangers call her “beautiful.” People had called Gayle that all the time, of course. But even though everyone always said that Faith looked just like her older sister, she was rarely complimented on her own looks. It was something she was used to; she never really thought about it anymore.

  Her cheeks grew hot as she remembered the dark-haired protester’s intense blue eyes. Those eyes had stared right into her, never seeming to blink, like a viper with every ounce of its being focused on its prey. Passionate as she was herself about environmental issues, she couldn’t imagine being like that guy outside—marching and shouting and waving signs, arguing with perfect strangers.…She couldn’t help being a little envious of that sort of certainty and fire.

  “Afternoon, darlin’.” Inside Dr. Arreglo’s book-lined outer office, Faith was greeted warmly by the professor’s secretary, an auburn-haired forty-year-old named Candace. “You look pale, Faithie. Those kooks outside give you a hard time?”

  “Have they been out there long?” Faith asked.

  Candace chuckled. “All damn day,” she said. “Ran into them on my way in from lunch. Moira down in Dr. Zale’s office had to smack one of ’em with her purse before they’d let her through.”

  Faith smiled weakly, not for the first time wishing she could be a little more like Candace and Moira and some of the other women she knew. They never seemed afraid to stand up for themselves or say exactly what they thought, no matter who was listening.

  “Anyway, the boss is waiting for you,” Candace went on, already returning her attention to the papers on her desk. “Said send you on in when you got here.”

  “Thanks.” Faith headed for the frosted-glass door leading into Arreglo’s inner sanctum.

  When she entered, Arreglo lifted his head from his work. His cheeks crinkled behind his salt-and-pepper beard as he smiled at her across the cluttered metal desk. “Ah, Faith,” he said, his English still lightly accented despite thirty years in the United States. “There you are, my dear. I was beginning to worry.”

  “Sorry I’m late.” Faith slid into the chair in front of the desk. “I—um, those protesters outside held me up a little.”

  “Ah.” Arreglo sighed. He folded his hands carefully on the desk in front of him, making his tweed sleeves rustle. “Yes, they are quite angry with me, I’m afraid. They do not like my change of heart regarding the Vibora Basin project.”

  Faith’s eyes widened. “So it’s true?” she blurted out in disbelief. She realized she’d been waiting for him to laugh, to tell her those protesters were crazy.…“You really did cut a deal with Q Corp?”

  “I suppose one could say that, yes.” Arreglo leaned back in his chair and rubbed his beard, gazing at her thoughtfully. “After careful consideration, I came to the conclusion that this is the only way to make headway with the company.”

  “But—but the snakes! What about the animals? And the ecosystem there is so delicate, everyone says so…” Faith knew she was babbling, but she couldn’t help it.

  Arreglo sighed again. “I understand your shock, my dear. I’m still a bit shocked myself, you see. But in the real world, compromise is sometimes necessary in order to move forward. We sometimes have to do what we never thought we could to help make a change, do you see what I mean?”

  Faith just stared at him, aghast. “No,” she choked out at last. “I—I don’t understand.”

  “It’s rather complicated, I’m afraid,” Arreglo said wearily. “Unfortunately we cannot turn back time. We cannot make this
world different, no matter how much we may desire it. That leaves us no choice but to move forward and find ways to embrace pragmatism in ways that further our beliefs.”

  “No choice? But there’s always a choice! You could choose to keep fighting, couldn’t you?”

  “I could indeed.” Arreglo rubbed his beard. “But as Einstein once said, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If the usual methods are not working, it is time to find new ones that may.”

  “You mean by dooming a whole ecosystem?” Faith clutched her hands together so tightly that her fingernails dug into the skin.

  “The entire planet is itself an ecosystem, is it not? I’m thinking globally and trying to maximize any positive effect I can have.”

  Faith opened her mouth, trying to muster up the words that would convince him that he was making a big mistake. But she found herself speechless. He was still her idol, still made her nervous even if she disagreed with him.

  Besides, why should she have to change his mind at all? He was the one who was supposed to know how the world worked and what needed to be done to fix it. Aside from her older sister, Dr. Arreglo was the person on whom she’d based most of her beliefs about nature, science, and conservationism. Now he had decided to act against all his professed beliefs, just like that, and he didn’t even seem to realize it.

  Horrific visions of fish and snakes and frogs choking on putrid chemical-laden sludge lodged themselves in her head, and she could feel her emotions swirling up inside her, threatening to overwhelm her. It was no good. Her whole world had just shifted on its axis, and she needed time to figure out how to handle it.

  Abruptly pushing back from the desk, she stood up, fumbling with her books. “I have to go,” she muttered in the general direction of the floor. She didn’t dare meet his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  “Oh dear.” Arreglo sounded concerned. “I hope I haven’t upset you too much, Faith. I’d like to discuss this with you further. When would you like to meet again?”

  The answer was on her lips before she knew it. “Never,” she choked out. Tears spilled out before she could stop them, adding shame to the whirlwind of bewilderment, shock, anger, and consternation coursing through her. “I mean, I think I’d better ask to be transferred to a different adviser.”

  “Oh, Faith!” Arreglo sounded dismayed. “I truly hope you don’t mean that. You’ve been such a joy to advise thus far, so dedicated to learning—besides, you’re already a talented researcher and I’d hate to lose your input. Please, we need to talk about this, or—”

  “No, I don’t think so,” she mumbled, turning away so quickly she stubbed her toe hard on the leg of her chair. The pain made her gasp a little, and she almost sat down again.

  But she resisted the urge. She knew herself well enough to know that she’d better get out of there immediately if she wanted to stick by her principles. Otherwise she was far too likely to be swayed by Arreglo’s grandfatherly demeanor and nice words.

  She stumbled toward the door, half blinded by tears, her toe throbbing. “Good-bye,” she whispered, so quietly that she was sure he couldn’t hear her.

  Rushing right past a startled Candace, she headed for the stairs, not wanting to wait for the ancient, creaky elevator. She felt betrayed and confused and sad and not at all sure she’d just done the right thing. She could almost hear her sister’s voice chiding her gently: Oh, Faith. Your brain works so well—so why do you always think with your heart?

  She paused in the stairwell, gulping in a few deep breaths as she stared at the peeling cement wall. Why would he do this? she wondered bleakly, feeling as if her whole world had just been turned upside down again. She’d only experienced this type of utterly bereft feeling twice before, and even though those other times had been much, much worse, that didn’t make this time feel any better. She closed her eyes briefly, picturing Arreglo’s face. For most of her adult life, she had believed they saw the world the same way…

  Outside, the protest was still in full swing. The group was chanting something about poison and profits, but Faith hardly heard them. Her eyes had immediately found the dark-haired young man, who was still waving his sign near the steps.

  He saw her right away, too. She steeled herself as he loped toward her, expecting a smirk and an “I told you so.”

  Instead, his eyes were solemn as he gazed down at her tearful face. “Hey, I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he murmured sympathetically.

  “You were right,” she said tightly, doing her best to prevent another cascade of tears.

  He smiled slightly and stepped closer. “I’m Oscar.”

  3

  FAITH STEPPED OUT OF the shade of the trees onto the beach. The sand was searing hot beneath her bare feet, but she hardly noticed the extra layer of pain. There was no room for anything else as she took in the details of the horrific scene before her.

  A few feet away, a woman was sobbing uncontrollably, clutching a seat cushion from the plane. A little farther down the beach, someone was helping a man with blood pouring down his side to stagger away from a burning piece of the fuselage. To her right, an anxious-looking Asian man was shouting something she couldn’t understand…

  So much suffering. Faith could hardly stand to look; the only way she could tolerate it was if she knew she was helping somehow. Still she stood paralyzed with uncertainty, not sure where to begin or even if any of these people would want her help. She continued to stare around, feeling awkward and useless.

  Being shy never helped anyone get things done. She could almost hear her sister’s voice in her head—Gayle must have said that a million times when Faith was a teenager. Sometimes, sweetie, you just gotta jump in with both feet.

  A sudden explosion down the beach startled her out of her reverie. The explosion was too far away to affect her, but she stepped back instinctively, shielding her eyes as she looked over to see what had happened. An enormous chunk of now-indistinguishable metal was in flames. Bits of it were falling over the nearby area of the beach like fiery rain, sending people scattering in all directions.

  “Hey! You there, young lady! Are you okay?”

  Faith turned to see a ruddy-faced, athletic-looking man in his forties jogging toward her. As he reached her, the fumes seeping out of a nearby piece of wreckage drifted past, making the stranger’s face shimmer and meld into an oddly familiar shape. She stared at him in astonishment. A second later the ocean breeze blew away the fumes, and the illusion was gone.

  The man looked concerned. “Hey, you okay?” he said again, peering into her face. “Maybe we oughta get you away from all these gas leaks and whatnot, eh? Come on with me, missy.”

  Putting an arm around her shoulders, he steered her a little farther up the beach. By the time they reached the shade of a bamboo grove at the edge of the sand, Faith had regained the power of speech.

  “S-sorry for staring,” she stammered, realizing he probably thought she was injured or in shock. And no wonder, the way she’d been goggling at him like an idiot. “I’m fine. It’s just—for a second there, you looked sort of like someone I know. My old PhD adviser.”

  “PhD?” The man smiled ruefully, running one hand over his thinning hair, which was black with soot and grease. “Sorry, barking up the wrong tree there, miss. I ain’t exactly the intellectual type. Barely scraped my way through high school.…But now you mention it, maybe you remind me a little bit of someone, too.”

  The stranger had a down-to-earth, unassuming way about him that put her at ease despite the situation. His square-jawed face was sweaty and smeared with dirt and ash; there were a couple of shallow gashes on his chin and a nasty-looking laceration near his left ear. Now that she got a better look, he resembled Arreglo about as much as a sturdy ox resembled an intelligent but easy-living house cat.

  Just then some part of the shattered plane let out a loud creak, and the man glanced briefly in that direction. “Listen, my name’s George,” he said b
riskly. “If you’re really okay, maybe the two of us should dive in and try to help.”

  “I’m Faith.” She took a deep breath, trying to steady her pounding heart. “Just tell me what you want me to do.”

  George glanced around, momentarily uncertain. Then his expression hardened into determination. “Luggage, Faith,” he said. “That’s what we should do.”

  “Luggage?” Faith wasn’t sure she’d heard him right.

  He nodded firmly. “Someone needs to start collecting up the suitcases and whatnot from the plane. You know—grab it and stow it somewhere safe before it gets burned up or taken away by the tide. That’ll make it a little easier on the rescuers when they come get us. We can start a pile over there by that crooked little tree.”

  Faith hesitated. Somehow collecting luggage wasn’t what she’d had in mind. She wanted to help save people, not things. “Well, okay,” she said slowly, glancing toward the tree George had pointed out, which was well out of the way of the mayhem on the beach. “But maybe first we should check to see if anyone’s hurt and if we can—”

  “Look, I don’t think so.” George’s voice held an edge of impatience as he cut her off before she could finish. “The kid over there with the pens told me that guy down the beach there’s a doctor.”

  Faith tried to follow his gestures as he waved in turn toward a good-looking, dark-haired young man around Faith’s age who had just hurried past them clutching several pens and then toward another man, who was leaning over the prone form of an older black woman a short distance away.

  “Now, I’m not much good with the nursing and whatnot,” George continued. “But I reckon I can help out in my own way. Are you with me?”

  Faith was tempted to say no. What if someone bled to death or got caught in another explosion while they were gathering carry-on bags and makeup cases? George’s plan just didn’t seem like the best use of their time.

  “Come on!” George said brusquely, already turning away to grab a slightly charred duffel bag lying nearby.

  Taking a deep breath, Faith marshaled her churning thoughts. Hadn’t she just decided she wasn’t going to let people push her around anymore? Then she glanced at George’s face. His mouth was set in a determined line, but his eyes darted here and there, seeming unwilling to rest for too long on any of the horrific sights all around them.