D. MacHale - SYLO

We were funneled through open gates guarded by two SYLO sentries. I felt the weight of the Wiffle ball in my jacket pocket and hoped that the guards weren’t doing body searches. I had a moment of panic when I feared that Kent had set me up.

To my relief I walked past the guards without a problem. We filed through a narrow walkway with high fencing on both sides leading to a large tent that had the distinct smell of cooking food. It actually made my mouth water. I couldn’t remember when I had eaten last.

Once inside, the crowd split into two orderly lines that each led to a different serving station. I followed everyone’s lead and picked up a sectioned tray and a flimsy plastic spoon. I suppose there were no knives or forks because they could be used as weapons, though I’m not exactly sure how much damage you could do with a plastic fork.

We had no choice with the food. Everyone got the same thing as they slid their trays past the steam tables manned by workers with white smocks that had SYLO logos on the arms. If you didn’t like what they were serving, too bad. Kind of like the cafeteria at school. But the food was pretty good. There was sliced turkey with gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a slice of pumpkin pie. It was your basic Thanksgiving dinner, though at that moment I couldn’t think of anything to be thankful for. There was only water to drink but that was okay. The portions were big and it all smelled delicious.

The whole setup was efficient and orderly. There was plenty of food and enough workers to keep it all running smoothly, which said to me that this operation hadn’t been put together in a hurry. Food had to be ordered and delivered. Workers had to be brought in. Uniforms had to be made. You don’t just slap something like this together overnight. It made me realize that whatever the truth was about SYLO being on the island, it had been planned and prepped for a good long time. When I left the line with my tray, I scanned the tent for a place to sit. There were long tables running the length of the space. Prisoners were filing in from different entrances so I got the chance to see some of my fellow inmates. I saw Kent but we didn’t acknowledge each other. If we were being watched, it would be better not to be seen together too often. The person I really wanted to see was Tori, so I pretended to look for a place to sit while walking slowly along the rows of tables, checking faces.

SYLO guards stood silently along the walls, watching our every move. My guess is that there were a few hundred prisoners. Nobody spoke, which wasn’t a surprise but it sure was eerie. The inmates all sat at their tables and ate without so much as looking up at anybody else or even asking for the salt.

I saw a few faces I recognized from around the island, but none that I had been friendly with. Most were strangers. I was about to give up on Tori when I spotted a USM cap. Yes!

I walked quickly to the end of the table and saw her there, quietly eating. It was total relief. I didn’t want to say anything to her because I would have been the only person in the whole room speaking, so I walked past her and cleared my throat to get her attention.

I thought I was being subtle, but when a room is mostly silent, any noise is jarring. At least ten people looked up. Thankfully, one of them was Tori. When she saw me, I could see the relief in her eyes. She was just as worried about me as I was about her. I gave her a wink and continued on.

Seeing her gave me the resolve to make a decision. I was going to trust Kent. I was going to escape with him…and Tori was coming with us.

I sat between a lady wearing a bright pink warm-up suit and a guy who looked like any of the hundreds of lobstermen who worked off Pemberwick. It was a bizarre assortment of people in that they were a cross-section you would see on any day on the island, not the types you would expect to find under military arrest.

The one person I didn’t see was Tori’s dad. If he had been arrested, why wasn’t he there?

I followed everyone’s lead and ate silently. It didn’t take long. I suppose I should have taken my time and enjoyed it but I was starving. I was happy to see that people were going up for seconds and I wasn’t shy about joining them. I marched right back up and doubled up on the meal. Not only was I hungry but there was no telling when I might get the chance to eat again.

The mealtime lasted twenty minutes, which was plenty. It wasn’t like people were sitting around chatting afterward. When they were finished, they dropped their utensils and sat silently, staring at nothing.

A horn sounded. Everyone diligently stood up and filed out, depositing their trays in a bin by the door. I took a quick glance back to see Tori doing the same thing on the far side.

We marched out the same way we had come in and were herded toward the recreation yard. I wondered what the rest of the schedule for the day was. Were we just going to hang out on the fairway until somebody told us to go to bed? I hadn’t even been shown where I was supposed to sleep. I entered the yard, prepared to do nothing, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I spun quickly to see it was a SYLO soldier.

“Come with me,” he ordered.

I figured I was about to see my prison cell and followed him without question. He led me back toward the row of huts and opened the door of one. I was about to step inside when I heard, “Hey! Tucker!”

It was strange to hear a friendly voice in the otherwise silent yard. I turned to see Kent jogging up. Oddly, he was all smiling and bright as if he were having a great time.

“My turn,” he said. “Let’s have the ball.”

My brain locked. Why was he asking for the ball with the Ruby? The SYLO guard was standing right there. Was Kent throwing me under the bus?

“C’mon, man,” he cajoled. “I’m bored out of my mind.”

Not sure of what else to do, I reached into the pocket of my hoodie, took out the crystal-filled ball, and tossed it to him.

“Thanks!” he said. “We’ll have a catch later.”

He turned and jogged off, tossing the ball into the air and catching it like it was the most fun thing in the world. I didn’t understand what had happened and wasn’t going to get any answers standing there, so I continued into the hut. The soldier closed the door behind me and I was once again alone.

It wasn’t my new home. At least I hoped it wasn’t. It was empty except for a single chair in the middle of the room. There were three blank walls and one that was a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall mirror. I stood there for a second, unsure of what to do, when the mirror turned to clear glass as a light came on behind it. It was a two-way mirror and standing on the other side was Captain Granger.

“Sit down, please,” he ordered dryly.

I walked tentatively to the chair but didn’t sit.

“Once again,” he began. “Why were you out on the water last night?”

“What do you want to hear?” I said. “I told you. I was trying to escape.”

“Why?”

“Are you serious? What don’t you get? There’s no virus. I know that. So that means we’re prisoners. Not just in this camp, the whole island. We’re cut off from the rest of the world and I want to know why.”

“Who helped you escape?” he asked.

“Nobody. It was just the three of us.”

“The boats you used belonged to Michael Sleeper. Did he plan the escape?”

“No! He was arrested before I even got to his house. You must know that.”

“Was the escape planned before that?”

“No.”

“Tell me who else was involved.”

“Jeez, dude,” I said, frustrated. “You can ask me the same questions over and over, but I’ll keep giving you the same answers because it’s the truth.”