Kylee considered what he said. “Okay, but isn’t it kind of true that all their loved ones are drowned? I mean, this universe’s version of them anyway.”
“Well that might be true for the older people. Remember, Dr. Johnson thinks the place drowned decades ago. My parents probably never met on this world. Yours either. Hell, they themselves might not have had a chance to be born. And that’s not taking into account the Nazi factor. The timeline is so different. It’s just so hard to know.”
Kylee put her arm around Theo’s waist. “Wow. When you put it like that I guess I understand why you’re so on edge. This is way too much for you to deal with. For any of us to deal with. This whole thing is just insane.”
“You’re not kidding,” said Theo. “I keep thinking that maybe I lost my mind at some point. That I’m at home in some mental institution somewhere ranting and raving about all this stuff.”
She gave him her suspicious, eyebrow-raised look. “So you think that meeting me was part of a delusional break with reality.”
Theo laughed. “Of course… nobody as great as you could exist in the real world.”
“Nice save. Smooth.” she said.
“Thanks. You’ve never thought that maybe all of this is just too crazy to be real?”
“I don’t know,” Kylee said, “I guess I entertained the thought that maybe you and I fell asleep on the beach that first night, before all the crazy. Maybe this is all a messed up nightmare.”
“Some nightmare,” Theo said. “Must have been something really wrong with that pizza.”
“God, I could go for some pizza right about now.”
“Just be happy for our crappy canned goods and fish. Once the crops get growing in the next few months, maybe there’s a chance of pizza returning in the future.”
She sighed dramatically. “A girl can dream.”
By now Theo and Kylee had entered the arena and were following their friends down the stairs to an available row. Theo was going to leave them there and head down to the arena floor where he would sit up front with other members of the mayor’s advisory committee.
Theo kissed Kylee and said goodbye to the other teens. “Remember,” said Bill, “if things go really bad for the mayor, I’m going to pretend I don’t know you. Nothing personal, of course.”
Jamie gave him a look. “I kid, I kid,” he said. “But seriously, man, if the going gets tough, get the hell out of there. We’ll find you in the parking lot.”
“I’m going to hope it doesn’t come to any of that,” said Theo, “but let’s meet in the parking lot anyway.”
Theo walked down the concrete steps. At the bottom of the section he checked in with a security guard who looked his name up on a sheet of paper. Finding Theo on the list, the guard stepped aside and motioned for Theo to pass to the next level down. The stage was set up as it had been the last time the mayor addressed the crowd, except the only flag in site was the Atlantic Island flag, of which there were many all around the arena.
Theo made eye contact with Officer Dougherty, who pointed to a vacant seat next to him. Theo carefully slid past the people in the front row until he stood next to Dougherty who stuck out his hand. “Good to see you Theo.”
Theo shook the man’s hand and smiled. “You too, sir.” Though Theo had always considered himself polite and respectful around parents, teachers, police or anyone else in authority, he had never been one to say “sir” or “ma’am” or anything like that. It felt false to him, and he had never wanted to be a kiss-ass like some guys he knew. Somehow, here on the island he had found himself addressing people in a formal manner regularly, and as genuinely as possible. Theo realized that he was changing in many ways. He hoped this was a good development.
“Sir…can I ask you something?”
Dougherty seemed surprised but smiled. “Of course. Anybody who can defend his positions to Paul Tiberius deserves to be heard whenever he wishes. What’s on your mind?”
“My friends are concerned about how people are going to react to whatever Mayor Lucas ends up saying. I’ve assured them we are all safe but is that true? Do you have precautions in place?”
Officer Dougherty leaned in close to Theo and spoke in almost a whisper. “Do you see that man up near that elderly couple? The one with the red ballcap?”
Theo scanned the distant crowd. Sure enough, there was a short, deeply tanned man with a red hat sitting calmly. “I see him.”
“That’s your buddy Menendez,” said Officer Dougherty. “He’s working undercover tonight. We’ve got a bunch of members of the Security Force around the arena. I won’t point them all out, don’t want to reveal all our secrets, but trust me, they are there. Up where you can’t see in the catwalk around the perimeter we’ve got sharpshooters in position, and a few more on the roof looking out over the parking lot and boardwalk. We would be prepared for this big a gathering no matter what the mayor had to say, and we took extra precautions due to the…sensitive nature of what we know is happening. Don’t worry. We’re your tax dollars at work…or, well, you know.” He laughed at his comment, just one of many phrases that no longer worked in this new world.
The lights dimmed and a voice boomed over the loudspeaker. “Ladies and gentlemen of Atlantic Island, please put your hands together and give a warm welcome to the leaders of our land, Mayor Sam Lucas and Deputy Mayor Paul Tiberius!”
Well, thought Theo, that removes any question about Tiberius showing up. The deputy mayor may have been in attendance but he did not look happy to be there. He remained in the shadows, a living ghost, as Mayor Lucas took to the podium and raised both hands to greet the applause.
“People of Atlantic Island,” the mayor began, “as always it does my heart good to see your bright faces and to hear your cheers. We have come a long, long way these past few months. If you asked people before the Event if they thought humanity could triumph over such impossible odds, such unbearable adversity, I believe few would have thought it likely. And yet here we are. A new nation bound by a dedication to hard work, to education and to each other. That is the key to our survival thus far and it is the key to our continued prosperity and growth as we move into the future.
“When we met last, I told you about our population. Since that time, I’m afraid to say that many who survived the Event with very serious injuries have since succumbed to those same injuries. We had some sicknesses develop for a variety of reasons, all of which are now completely under control. Through these and other causes, I’m sorry to report that we lost approximately 500 men, women and children since I last spoke to you. Please bow your heads and take a moment of silence to acknowledge their passing.”
The quiet was broken by sniffs and sobs around the arena. Theo, his head bowed low, thought of Mark. Mark had survived the Event only to die in the new world. Except really Mark had never made it past the Event. That shell of a person they had visited in the hospital was not his friend. Mark had died in the Event…maybe he had died the moment they got in the car to head to the shore. It had just taken his body a long time to figure it out. Theo wondered how many of them sitting here were similarly already dead.
The mayor scanned the room and smiled. “Now I have some exciting news to report, for things move in cycles. Where there was destruction, now there is reconstruction. Where there was death… I am thrilled to tell you that the first native citizen of Atlantic Island has been born. His parents, Thomas and Martha Melrose have named their beautiful son Adam, which I think is wonderfully appropriate. Let’s give them a round of applause.”