by Melissa Kuch
“Aurora Alvarez, you are hereby charged with conspiracy against the IDEAL and the Common Good government. How do you plead?”
She looked at him curiously and stated, “I will not speak without my lawyer present.”
“So you plead guilty.”
Aurora looked flabbergasted and repeated, “I have rights to an attorney.”
The First Lieutenant thrust his fist against the table forcefully, causing the table to shake almost as much as Aurora’s legs. “You gave up your rights once you conspired against your government.”
Aurora’s mouth was open in shock.
“I have not conspired against anything. I am guilty of breaking and entering. I admit it. I was curious and wanted to read a book. I am sorry.”
The First Lieutenant stood up and whispered maliciously in her ear, “You and I both know that being curious is not the only thing you are guilty of.”
Aurora’s heart felt like it was beating out of her chest, and sweat was pouring down her face. It was suffocating in that room with no air circulation; she stared at the blank white walls for something or someone to help her.
He sat down across from her, void of any emotions, and resumed his normal tone of voice. “You have something that we want, Miss Alvarez. A weapon that is of catastrophic proportions. You want to help your friend Boreas and your teacher Mrs. Xiomy, don’t you? If you tell us what we want to know, I will let them go free. You can go back to your home on Wishbone Avenue. Nobody needs to get hurt.”
Aurora gulped and said, “How can I believe you?”
He smiled sadistically and sneered, “Am I not a trustworthy man, Miss Alvarez? Let’s see how trustworthy you are. I mean to put you to the test. If you don’t tell me what I want to know in the next thirty seconds, your friend Boreas is going to be given an electric shock. One may not kill him, but each thirty seconds that passes after that, I will give the order to give him another, and then another. You can see where I am going with this.”
Aurora couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The First Lieutenant pressed a button and the white wall in front of her became transparent so that she was able to see into the room next to her. Horrified, she saw Boreas, shirtless and bound to a wooden chair, strapped in with electrodes taped to his chest. He was blindfolded and couldn’t see her. She started to scream his name, but the First Lieutenant silenced her, saying the room was soundproof.
“Now tell me, where is the giant?”
Aurora felt her body shaking, and her mind was whirling, trying to think of something to say. She thought about Otus, but she couldn’t give him up, especially if he was the one to prevent the Geometric Storm. Time was ticking away, and the Inspector had his finger on the button to send the electric current into Boreas’s body. She looked into the heartless face of the First Lieutenant, who was not wavering. “Twenty-eight, twenty-nine…”
He was one number away, the button about to ignite the electric current, when she cried out, “Stop!”
The First Lieutenant grabbed her by the shirt collar and cried out, “Tell me what I want to know!”
“Please don’t hurt him!”
“Where is the giant?”
Aurora started sobbing and declared, “I must tell the Inspector. He needs to know the truth. I will tell him everything about the giant and the prophecy.”
The First Lieutenant released his hold on her and went to the door. He informed the guards to stop the experiment and ordered them to lead Boreas and Mrs. Xiomy back to their cell. He would take Aurora to the Inspector personally.
He grabbed her roughly and whispered into her ear, “If you are lying, the Inspector’s wrath will be much worse than anything I would have made you suffer.”
Aurora was handcuffed and forcefully led into a clear glass elevator that would lead up to the penthouse office of Inspector Herald. As they were propelled upward, Aurora looked down upon the town of Candlewick, and she spotted her house and near it, the house of Mary Fray. It was then that she looked up at the First Lieutenant, his sunglasses now propped on the top of his head, and she saw Mary’s owl eyes staring back at her. She gasped, short of breath, and looked again. He stood there staunch and steadfast, but there was no mistake that this man before her was Mary Fray’s brother. A wave of hope swept over her and she quickly checked the four corners of the glass elevator but did not see a camera. She took a deep breath and knew that their life depended on her to be brave.
She whispered, “Where is Mary?”
He obstinately turned to her with shock written over his face. “Did I instruct you to speak?”
“You are Mary Fray’s brother. She was my best friend and was taken away by the Common Good Army. How are you working for them? What has happened to her and your parents?”
He closed his eyes and when they opened again they were cold as ice. “That name and those people are dead to me. They couldn’t let their religion go like I could. They had to make trouble and practice their Jewish faith even when I warned them what would happen. They didn’t listen.”
“Where is Mary? Is she dead?”
He shook his head. “No, she is not dead. She is in a jail out west.”
“She is your sister.”
“I warn you do not look to me for help! I do what I am told. I couldn’t help my own sister. What makes you think I would risk everything for her friend?”
Aurora realized they were nearly at the top and quickly said, “If you cannot help me then tell my father. He will know what to do. But just know that if Boreas and I don’t get out of here there will be worse consequences. The Geometric Storm is coming, and only we can stop it. If you care about this country, can you do this for me? For Mary’s sake?”
He stared at her, and for a brief moment a look of tenderness was perceptible in his eyes. But before he could answer the elevator doors swung open, and he roughly grabbed her by the arm and led her into Inspector Herald’s penthouse office. There were no walls, only large windows that ran the perimeter of the office, overlooking the town of Candlewick and the ocean beyond. TV monitors were hanging from the ceiling broadcasting all of the different channels. A solitary mahogany desk stood against the center window with a door leading onto the balcony where a telescope was sitting. She remembered the rumor that the Inspector would use the telescope to look into the graveyard and gaze upon David Xiomy’s tombstone. She never thought that she would ever see this firsthand.
The First Lieutenant entrusted her into the hands of two burly officers who appeared to be the Inspector’s body guards.
“She is ready to confess to the Inspector. He has been notified.”
Before she could steal another look toward him for help, the First Lieutenant had signed over his prisoner and marched to the elevator, where he descended away from her. She closed her eyes, knowing that he belonged to the Inspector. Any love he had for his sister was forgotten.
The officer pointed his gun at her and ordered her to walk forward. She obliged and started inching her way through the Inspector’s mighty office. It was eerily quiet at this level with all of the television sets on mute, though they were flickering as the television anchors were reciting the news. A picture of Aurora flashed onto the screen. Below it read, “IDEAL Conspirator.”
The officer jabbed his gun into her back as she was nearly onto the balcony and had yet to see the Inspector.
“Miss Alvarez, come join me.”
It was the same cold, manipulating voice she had heard outside her house on Wishbone Avenue and countless times on the television set. She saw him standing there behind the telescope, having been lost in the shadows of the night. The Inspector’s authoritative tone ushered her forward, walking through the clear sliding door, which lead onto the majestic balcony. She looked down the thirty stories but felt dizzy. The Inspector eyed her curiously, and she was intimidated in his presence. His bald scalp was glowing in the moonlight, and his scarred face caused her to recoil slightly.
“It is nice to see you again, Miss
Alvarez. Glad to hear that you will be cooperating, unlike those foolish friends of yours.”
“I come to you, Inspector, because I believe that you care about this country.”
“More than anything, Miss Alvarez.” A cool, crisp wind nipped her as he spoke, and she hugged the wall, fearful to get too close to the banister. All he had to do was push her over and she would plunge to her death.
Aurora cleared her throat. “There is going to be a Geometric Storm that is going to hit this country. This weapon that you are looking for is the only one who can stop it. We need to help him. You need to let us fulfill our mission or else a catastrophic event will occur. Many people will die.”
The Inspector chortled. “The Aurora Borealis. Oh, I have heard this prophecy before, Miss Alvarez.”
“So if you know it to be true, then you must believe me and know that I am not conspiring against you. I just want to help prevent this storm.”
“And I have news for you,” the Inspector interjected, looking through his telescope at the world below. “I welcome this storm with open arms. I have no intention of stopping it.”
Aurora felt the world spinning out of control and couldn’t believe her ears. “You don’t want to stop it?”
The Inspector turned to face her, seductively licking the lower half of his chipped tooth. “I am not an evil man, Miss Alvarez. I lived through such evil and war that your innocent mind cannot imagine. Before your time I saw brother killing brother due to having different religious beliefs. I saw such massacres and death over religion. I created this new country out of nothing. We had to fight people like David Xiomy and his followers in order to maintain this peace. What I do, how I maintain it, is by force. If people start to sway, if they start to question, then it will fall apart. But this Geometric Storm will seal my fate as the ruler of this country. It will bring the people back to me, especially the ones who are looking to challenge me and the IDEAL. That cannot happen, Miss Alvarez, and you and your giant friend are not going to stop me.”
Aurora was terrified of this man before her. “You want to murder innocent people to stay in power?”
“It is for the greater good, Miss Alvarez,” he spoke resolutely. He stepped toward her, dogmatic and domineering, and caressed her hair saying, “You are a beautiful girl Miss. Alvarez. Don’t make me end your life. Tell me what I need to know. Where is your giant friend?”
She was paralyzed with fear. She opened her mouth to speak, but the signal to her brain had stopped and no words came out.
“You don’t want to make an enemy of me, Miss Alvarez. Tell me what I want to know or else you can watch your friend Boreas die. Is that what you want?”
Just then they heard a commotion within the Inspector’s office, and the Inspector bellowed, very displeased to have been interrupted. The First Lieutenant opened the glass door and stepped out onto the balcony.
“Excuse my intrusion, Inspector, but I just got word from Officer Woolchuck. Two prisoners have escaped.”
The Inspector released his hold on Aurora and cried out, “Escaped! What do you mean escaped?”
He stormed off the balcony, enraged, slamming and locking the door behind him. He had left Aurora there, knowing there was no way of escape. Aurora regained feeling in her fingers now that the Inspector was not touching her, and she bit her nails in suspenseful anguish. Did Boreas and Mrs. Xiomy escape? Did the First Lieutenant reach out to her father like she had asked? She stood there in the whirling wind and felt herself at the mercy of the Inspector. It was hopeless. There was no chance of escape. She felt herself collapse onto the floor, and she leaned her head against the brick thinking there was no hope left. She clung tightly to the ledge, wearily thinking about her parents. She was glad she wrote the letter and told them how much she loved them. She couldn’t remember the last time she had told them that, but she did love them very much. And now she may never see them again to tell them that in person. She would be found dead, along with Boreas, and no one would stop the Geometric Storm from transpiring.
Aurora looked up and appeared to be floating through time, the sky illuminated by the colorful glow of the northern lights. Flashes of light were streaming from the sun in a multitude of colors toward Candlewick with its power conquering all in its path. The ocean was the color of blood; fish and other ocean life were floating on the surface, destroyed by the radiation. And then she saw her parents lying on the shore, their bodies being buried by the waves.
She snapped out of her hallucination with a start. The Inspector still had not come back, and she thought she was hearing her name resonate in the wind. She sat huddled in her corner, her arms wrapped around her chest to keep herself warm, but then she froze as she heard another sound reverberating below the balcony walls. She listened again.
“Aurora!”
It was her name being called out loud and clear. She rose to her feet and looked cautiously over the edge of the balcony when all of a sudden she gasped as something large propelled straight toward her. It came into focus, and before she knew it she was swooped up into a giant hand and was flying upward toward the sky.
tus what are you doing here?” she cried out, not believing this was happening.
“Glad to see you too!” He smiled and propped her into the overalls pocket where Mrs. Xiomy was lying down, passed out. Aurora quickly hurried to her side and tried to shake her awake out of her fainting spell.
Aurora looked up at Otus and asked, “Where is Boreas?”
“He is safe. He’ll explain everything once we get there.”
“Once we get where?”
Mrs. Xiomy came out of her unconscious state and then screamed a high, piercing scream that turned into a fit of hysterical laughter. Mrs. Xiomy then fainted again and was lying lifeless in Otus’s pocket, her head leaning against Aurora’s chest. Otus continued taking huge leaps into the air, and in the distance Aurora could make out sirens signaling their escape. Fear once again overwhelmed her knowing that the Inspector would be looking for them. She clutched onto Mrs. Xiomy’s hand until they reached the Candlewick Park cave where Otus had been hiding for the past three days. Aurora spotted the Fiat hidden in the forsythia bushes, and she felt her heart skip a beat knowing that Boreas must have driven it here. Did he even have a license? She hoped Newton was all right.
Otus removed the wooden panel and started to trudge through the cave, and Aurora searched madly for Boreas, but he was nowhere to be found.
“Otus, where is he?” she asked fearful that Boreas was not as fortunate as them with their narrow escape.
Otus smiled back. “Boreas is safe. You will see him in a minute. We have to get out of this cave before it fills with water.”
She had no idea what he was talking about as they headed deeper into the dark cold cave. The water was up to Otus’s ankles, and he had to duck in order to not hit his head on the top of the cave ceiling. There were some graffiti art on the sides of the cave that was barely legible that read, “No Trespassing” and “Haunted.” There was nothing and no one else in that cave. They reached the solid wall foundation at the back, and it was a dead end. The water was now gushing with great velocity into the cave due to high tide and was already up to Otus’s waistline. There was nowhere else to turn. The water continued to rise, inching higher and higher. Otus pushed on the cave wall, and it appeared to be moving. It was not the end of the cave wall at all but an illusion, and before she could comprehend this fact, the granite wall continued opening like elevator doors and revealed a glass structure that was as large as the cave wall itself. Otus took a careful step onto the glass floor of the contraption, and the cave walls started to close them in like a sarcophagus. A grated floor drained the water out of the contraption that they were now in. It was pitch dark, and Aurora began to feel as if they were trapped. Just then the walls began to vibrate, and Aurora dug her nails into Otus’s skin, alarmed, as they started to plummet downward into the Atlantic Ocean.
“We are going under!” Aurora crie
d out in disbelief. “We will be killed!”
Otus laughed heartily. “That’s what I thought too! But I’m still here. Unless it’s my ghost that is carrying you.”
Aurora didn’t have a choice but to trust Otus as the elevator continued to submerge beneath sea level and shot out like a rocket from the cave and into the ocean.
Aurora could not believe that she could breathe. She was sure that her lungs would collapse from the pressure like so many deep sea divers she had read about. However, oxygen pumped into her lungs just as it would on land. They continued to travel on a vertical course, and the glass elevator cast a minimal amount of light as it illuminated sea turtles, fish, and beautiful coral and anemone swaying with the ocean current. The elevator itself was a remarkable invention, octagonal in shape with each panel made out of glass, and though electronically run, it did not have any wires attached. It was being controlled by a central hub.
As Aurora stared downward she caught sight of their destination coming into focus. It was like an emerald palace sitting on the bed of the ocean floor, made out of glass and shimmering. She realized that the elevator was leading them toward this mysterious place that went against all logic, and Aurora had to blink multiple times, expecting this manifestation to disappear. The elevator was sucked through a long tube that eventually stopped abruptly. A cool mist soaked them, squirting out from the vents, and Aurora realized it was a disinfectant. She kept thinking that at any minute she would pinch herself and be back in her bed in Candlewick and not 6,500 feet below sea level on the Abyssal Plain, the deepest, most level part of the ocean.
The glass doors lifted upward and Otus stepped forth into the metropolis. Large rectangular windows acted as walls and stretched upward until they met at a cupola in the center. Aurora felt like she was in a huge undersea aquarium. Behind these walls were fish and other sea life that swam past, unfazed by this edifice. She appeared to be in a grand library with spiraled staircases elegantly draped in red velvet leading to rows upon rows of bookshelves. People were busy in motion, dressed in strange garments. Some wore brown robes that stretched down to their feet. Others wore all black with white collars. Some wore black hats, and their beards were grown long and in crises-crossed shapes. Some women wore garments that completely covered their faces and other women were dressed in long, flowing black garments but with a white neckline. Some wore beautiful Indian garments like she had seen in the portrait of Mrs. Taboo. And then she saw people dressed just like her and Mrs. Xiomy, reading or speaking in small groups turning to look at the giant and the trespassers. Some looked upon them with curious glances, while others stared up at them both paranoid and suspicious. They all stopped talking as they passed, and the men and women in their hooded clothing appeared even angry as they approached.