by Ryan Casey
And the mere thought of that… it scared her.
“But we have to go on the evidence of what we’ve seen. We have to go on the evidence of the things we’ve witnessed. The things we’ve experienced. And this place… there’s order here. There’s kindness here. There’s education and jobs. Things that wouldn’t be in place if there was some kind of dark place at the end of all of this. Right?”
Kelsie nodded. But truth be told, she still wasn’t sure. She still wasn’t convinced. She heard what Alison was saying. It made her feel a little better about everything.
But not totally. Not completely.
She realised that she might just be letting her mind get the better of her.
Maybe she was just overthinking all of this.
Maybe she was just being paranoid.
She took a deep breath then lay back against her bed. And Alison must’ve seen something. She must’ve spotted it. Just a look on her face. If she hadn’t, maybe she wouldn’t have said anything. Maybe she wouldn’t have asked the question.
“This is about Mike, too, isn’t it?”
And just hearing Mike’s name made Kelsie’s stomach knot. Because she was trying not to think about him. She was trying not to think about what had happened to him. She was trying not to think about the fact that his body had gone… with no explanation.
“I miss him too,” Alison said.
Kelsie looked at her. Saw her staring off into space. And for the first time in a long time, Kelsie felt like she was seeing Alison crack. She was seeing the steely, tough armour break to pieces.
“You loved him, didn’t you?” Kelsie asked.
Alison looked at her. Looked right into her eyes. And there was no way she could say anything, then. No way she could say anything that would change Kelsie’s mind. No way she could hide how she really felt.
“Yes,” Alison said. “Yes, I suppose… I suppose I did.”
And then she took in a deep, sharp breath, and that hard look returned to her face.
Kelsie wanted to tell Alison what she thought. She wanted to tell her that deep down, she believed he was still out there. That he was still alive, somewhere, somehow.
And that she got the feeling that she hadn’t seen him for the last time.
But before Kelsie could say anything, Alison leaned over, smile on her face. Kissed Kelsie on her forehead.
“Anyway, love. It’s late. You… you get some rest. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day. Your first day at new school. Right?”
Kelsie felt her stomach turn. She never liked school as it was. So a new school in this new world with a whole new curriculum that she didn’t understand wasn’t going to be easy to get used to.
But regardless, she took a deep breath, and she sighed. “Okay,” she said.
Alison went to say something. Then she stopped. And Kelsie wanted to ask her what she wanted to say. She wanted to ask her what she’d tried to say.
But then the moment passed because Alison got up and walked out of her room.
The room door opened.
Then the room door shut.
And Kelsie was left in silence.
But as she lay there, she couldn’t stop the thoughts spinning around her mind.
She couldn’t stop the monsters under the bed from creeping out and climbing on top of her.
She couldn’t stop the fear that this was just too good, that this was just too perfect…
And she wasn’t sure anything was ever going to change that.
Chapter Nine
When Vincent told Mike about the true nature of the extraction point, he felt a mixture of emotions. A deep sense of foreboding. But also a sense of inevitability. A sense of deep dread. Because it was familiar. It was familiar to what he had heard already. It was similar to what he’d been told.
It just had a few… key differences.
“It is a safe haven of sorts,” Vincent said. “And sure, it might even be billing itself as an extraction point. That much we are sure of. But one thing we are also sure of… is when people are actually taken away from that place… they don’t go to some kind of paradise. They don’t go to some kind of place where everything is good. Where everything is fine. The helicopters, we’ve seen them. We’ve seen them flying overhead. The different directions they head in. And in some cases, we’ve seen where they actually land.”
“Where?”
“They dump the people,” Vincent said. “They—they dump them far from home. Because the truth is… well, we don’t know for certain. Not with absolute certainty. But we can only assume that the reason people aren’t being taken away to some mythical promised land is because there isn’t one after all.”
Mike brushed his hand through his hair. He was still wrapping his head around this. Still trying to understand it all. “If this is what’s happening. If this is what’s really going on. Why not take them abroad somewhere? Why not, like, take them somewhere they won’t have a chance of finding the extraction point again, at least?”
Vincent shook his head. “Like I say. We can’t pretend to understand everything about this world. About these people’s motives. All we can say is that this is the truth. And we know it for certain.”
“How can you know it for certain?”
“Because I was on one of those helicopters.”
Mike looked around. Saw one of the women with long ginger hair standing there. She looked skinny, but tough. A constant furrowed look of scepticism on her face. Tired eyes. Like she’d been through a lot.
“This is Nina,” Vincent said.
She walked up. Shook Mike’s hand. Didn’t seem totally comfortable about it.
“You were on one of those helicopters?” Mike asked.
“It dumped me a long, long way from here. Just stopped, then told me to get off. They gave me a few things. A few supplies. Food, water, that sort of thing. Enough to get by with. But they told me something. Something with absolute certainty.”
Mike frowned. “What did they tell you?”
“They told me never to return to that extraction point. That if I did, they’d kill me on sight.”
Mike shook his head. All of this was just too much.
“I spent weeks walking. I spent weeks surviving on my own. I got sick. Wouldn’t want to guess how close I was to dying, or how many times. But eventually, I found my way here. Didn’t want to trust it at first, of course. I mean, who would trust anyone or anywhere after what I’d been through? But yeah. I’ve been here a while now. And whatever you might think of this place… it’s good. Really, truly good. And it’s going to get better and better.”
Mike still didn’t know what to say. “So they have this place. This perfect place, from what you say. A place where there’s order and security. Why lie? Why pretend like there’s something else out there when there isn’t?”
Vincent shrugged. “I can’t pretend to know for certain, again. But I know one thing for sure. People need hope. They rely on hope. Even when their situation appears good… they need something else. A promise of something greater. Something bigger. Again. I can’t pretend to understand the motives of these people completely… but I’d wager a bet it helps people stay in line. It helps them maintain order. Hope keeps people going. Always been the way. In the old world, you worked to earn to spend on something that seemed far away in the distance. But it was that dangling carrot of hope that kept you going through the miserable days. It was that promise of something greater out there that had you spending your whole life slaving away in a cubicle, only to retire and find out you’ve been conned all along. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The illusion doesn’t need to be held up. Not anymore.”
Mike stood there in the hospital corridor, scissors still in hand. He didn’t know what to say. What to think.
The only thing he knew was that Kelsie, Gina, Alison, Ian, Arya… they were out there. They were out there, and they were in danger.
He couldn’t have them reaching that place.
H
e couldn’t have them buying into the hope then being dumped somewhere far away. He just couldn’t live with that risk.
But at the same time… if he stood any hope of ever finding them again, he had to hope they had reached that extraction point. Because it was the only place he could know for certain where they actually were. It was the only place he could know with certainty where to find them.
He had to get there.
He had to tell them the truth.
Then as painful as it was… they had to leave that place. Together.
He took a deep breath, and he walked past Vincent, over towards his people.
“Mike?” Vincent said.
“I can’t stay here,” Mike said. “Not while I have people out there. People I care about heading right towards that extraction point.”
“But your wounds. You won’t make it.”
“Then I’ll die trying,” Mike said. “I’ve trusted people too much as it is. I’ve put my faith in others far too many times. I can’t do that. Not anymore. Not again.”
He kept on walking.
But then Vincent came up behind him. Put a hand on his shoulder.
Mike turned around instantly, instinctively.
“It’s a dangerous journey, Mike. Even without a wound like yours, it’s not safe out there. And when you get there… even less so.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mike asked.
“That’s the thing,” the ginger woman said. “When you get there… when you’re living there… leaving isn’t quite so easy.”
Mike frowned. “What kind of a place doesn’t let you leave?”
“Oh, they let you leave. But nobody wants to. Why would they when everything seems perfect, after all? And if you do leave… well, in their eyes, they know something’s wrong. They know you might be onto them somehow. Then there’s the risk that word could spread. But trust me, Mike. Believe me. The second you go there and the second you start opening your mouth about the things you’ve heard… you’re in trouble. Big trouble. And so is everyone you tell the truth.”
Mike swallowed a lump in his throat. As he stood there, he felt trapped. Trapped by his injury. Trapped by the knowledge he knew.
Trapped by the fear that the rest of his people were buying into the myths of this place, buying into its perfection…
And that risk always being there that they were going to be dumped out of it at any given moment.
But he knew he had no choice.
He knew there was no other option. Not when his people were involved.
“I like what you have here,” Mike said. “I like what you’re building. And I respect you. I respect you for everything you’ve done for me. But I can’t stay here. Not while my people are out there. Not while…”
He felt a pain, then. A sudden, sharp pain in his torso.
When he looked down, he saw something on his shirt.
Something that filled him with dread.
Blood.
He looked up. Vincent was looking at him. Concern on his face.
“Mike?” he said. “Are you feeling okay?”
But his voice was growing distant.
His words were muffled.
And then his body started to sway, his balance started to drift.
And then before he could do a thing about it, before he could act, he fell to the floor, and consciousness faded.
Chapter Ten
Kelsie woke suddenly and abruptly.
She didn’t know where she was for a moment. The darkness was more intense than any she was used to. She took a few seconds to consider where she was. Outside? No. Not enough wind. In a tent somewhere? No. It was too quiet, even for that.
And then it hit her.
The reality hit her.
She was in a bed. In a bedroom. In a portacabin.
In the extraction point.
She felt a combination of emotions when she remembered exactly where she was. Part of her felt relieved. But another part of her felt uncertain. Disconcerted.
Because she knew how much she doubted this place.
But then there was something else. Something bothering her. Something she didn’t understand, something she hadn’t comprehended, not yet.
She felt groggy and distant. Not like she’d woken from sleep naturally, but like she’d been woken up.
Woken by something.
By someone.
It was right on cue that she heard the footsteps.
And then the voices.
They were right outside her room. Moving by quite quickly. She couldn’t make out any of the words, what was being said, anything like that.
She only knew that she sensed that someone was trying to be quiet out there, and they’d failed.
And for that reason… Kelsie felt like she had to investigate.
She got out of bed. Crept over to the window. She didn’t want anyone to know she was peeking. She wanted to stay quiet, stay on the low.
That lack of trust still built deep within.
She held her breath out of instinct more than anything, and then she pulled aside the curtains.
She could see people out there. Two people who had just passed by.
And Kelsie thought at first they were just guards. Just guards of this place going about their business. That’s what the voice in her head told her. That’s what she wanted to believe.
But these two guards were jogging.
Guns in hand.
And there was something else that caught Kelsie’s focus. Caught her attention.
One of the guards.
It was the weird man who’d been looking at her.
Aiden.
She felt caught, then. Caught between two directions. On the one hand, she wanted to get back in bed, close her eyes, try to sleep. Forget she’d ever seen anything. Act as normal. Because there was bound to be things going on here. Things beyond her knowledge. Beyond her understanding.
But then on the other hand… that urge inside her. That urge for knowledge. That urge to know the truth.
That urge was always going to be stronger than any self-restraint or resistance she had inside her.
So she walked over to her door.
She took a few deep breaths.
And then she stepped outside.
The first thing she did was turn and lock her door. Because she didn’t want anyone to come searching for her. She wanted people to think she was still in there, still at home.
She wasn’t planning on being gone for long, after all.
The night was cool and still. But Kelsie couldn’t believe just how much louder it was out here than it was inside. Not in any kind of big way. Just the sound of the wind. The sound of talking somewhere in the distance.
And the sound of those footsteps.
Kelsie turned. She had to squint at first because she couldn’t make out where Aiden and the other guard had gone.
But then she saw them.
They were just up ahead. Turning a corner.
Disappearing.
She walked, then. Picked up her pace. She couldn’t get caught standing here. She couldn’t stick behind.
She wanted to know where the two men were going. Why they had their guns in hand. Why they looked so urgent.
And then she started walking quicker towards the people.
She felt her heart pounding. Felt the urgency building up. Because she knew what she was doing was troublesome. She knew it could put her in danger.
She didn’t know why she knew. Just that she knew for certain that things could very easily go wrong, here. That there were things to this place she didn’t understand. Things she maybe didn’t want to understand.
She just had to keep on searching.
Keep on going.
She heard something else, then. Footsteps. Voices. Only these weren’t ahead. They were behind her.
She froze. Looked over her shoulder.
A couple of people sneaking past, smiles on their faces, giggling and whispering to
one another.
She sighed. Just people. Just citizens of the extraction point here. There was a curfew, and it looked like they were sneaking out. But they weren’t going in the same direction as Kelsie. They were going the other way.
In a way… she didn’t like that. Because she didn’t want to go this way alone.
But she knew she had to keep going, now. She couldn’t give up.
So she turned around and kept on running.
When she reached the corner, she stopped.
The two men were standing ahead. Standing at the gates. The main entrance to the place, where she’d come in. Far away from every other sign of life in this place. Out of the way.
Looking over their shoulders.
Making sure they were alone.
They were looking through an opening in the gates.
Talking to someone.
It sounded like they were shouting. Which meant that something was wrong. Something wasn’t right at all.
But Kelsie couldn’t see who these men were talking to.
She couldn’t see who they were shouting at, at all.
Just that she heard a name.
Lana.
She looked up. Looked at the top of the gate.
And she saw some ladders beside them.
A spot where there were no guards, not right now.
She tightened her fist. Could she climb the ladders? Go up there and see what was happening down below?
She figured that at the end of the day, she only had one choice.
As dangerous as it might feel.
She climbed. Started to drag herself up the ladder, quicker, quicker. The more she climbed, the more she worried she was going to be spotted. That someone was going to see her. Someone was going to stop her.
But she kept on going.
Kept on climbing.
And as she was climbing, she heard a bang.
She froze. Thought they were onto her. Thought they’d seen her.
But then she looked down and saw them.
They hadn’t seen her. They’d opened a hatch in the gates and were leaning out of it.
So she took a deep breath. She turned around. Started climbing again.