Fredric Shernoff - Atlantic Island

Hands went up. Before long, every hand was raised but Michelle’s. Theo saw her look around. She reluctantly raised hers as well.

“I’d follow you to the gates of Hell itself, Theo,” said Joseph. “And if I die, it will be fighting. A good death, yes?”

“Thank you, Joseph,” Theo said. “I am… honored, touched, beyond words to have your support. To know each and every one of you.” He spoke for the next five minutes praising them for the challenge they had accepted.

A week later, he stood in front of the safe house, addressing his entire army, Kylee and Bill at his sides.

“The world outside this island, it would seem, fell victim a long time ago to a dictator and his ruthless ways. The same thing has happened now, on Atlantic Island. With your help, with your sacrifice, this comes to an end. Tiberius comes to an end. And in his place, we will bring about a better, brighter future. We will find safe, reasonable ways to provide opportunity and basic necessities for every citizen of this nation. I promise you that I will do everything imaginable to ensure that what you do very soon will be remembered in the history books to come, and never, ever forgotten. Be ready, my friends. I will call on you soon to fight for your freedom. Will you stand with me?”

The crowd cheered. “Good thing Tiberius’s men are far away,” said Bill. “Enjoy it, bro. They love you.”

Theo did enjoy it. As much as he feared what was to come, he felt empowered by the support of all these people. More than that, he knew that as crazy as this whole situation was, he had found what he had always been meant to do. Sam Lucas saw it in him right away. He was meant to lead people to better, happier lives.

It was a bizarre concurrence of emotions. On the one hand, he felt fully realized for the first time in his life. Here on a bizarre island he had “found himself.” Still, that self-discovery had come in the middle of death and loss, with more surely to come. How many of the cheering people in front of him now would not survive the coming conflict? How many of those children sheltered in the safe house would lose one parent? How many would lose both? These thoughts floated through his brain, round and round, as he took time to greet his supporters like the politicians he had seen on television.

Theo spent the next few days in meetings with his inner circle. The plan for the uprising was becoming more defined with each session. Theo knew well the sayings about the best plans for war going out the window once the battle began, but he believed that the broad outlines of the strategy would hold no matter what. In many ways they had to hold for the endeavor to be successful.

The outline was easy to develop. An outside force would join a rebellion within the prison. The combined army would fight through the streets to take the Palace. This was simple enough to understand. Theo and his advisors quickly realized there would be some difficult spots in the plan.

“We need to find a way to get word to the prisoners. We have to let them know that help is coming and that they need to start the battle from within. Does anybody have any idea how we can do that?”

“Getting a message to the prisoners is going to be impossible,” said Brian. “I spent last night doing surveillance on the place. It’s built into an old hotel, and every inch is manned by the Security Force. Cameras show every angle of the outside. I couldn’t get anywhere close.”

“If I may,” said Andrew, “I’ve got a suggestion. It might be crazy… I don’t know.”

The group listened in as Andrew spoke. When he finished, Theo said, “Andrew, you’re right. It might be a crazy plan, but it also might work.”

At the next meeting, discussion turned to the attack on the Palace. Kylee wanted to get word to Carlos Menendez, to let him know what was coming. They decided to send Brian and Liz into the city to pass the message along.

Theo felt good about the progress they were making. Still, it was one thing to discuss the ideas for war, another thing to truly go out and fight. What was coming scared him to death. After the meeting, he walked down to the beach and sat in the sand, watching the waves. This had become his post-meeting ritual. The solitude and vastness of the ocean helped clear his mind of the multitude of worries that piled up every day.

“Mind if I join you, chief?” asked Bill.

“Nah, find a patch of sand. There are a few to go around.”

“So… how are you handling all this?”

“What, sending people to maybe die? I’m handling it swimmingly.”

“They aren’t dying for you, man. If they die it’s for themselves. For their families. For the good of everybody trapped on this island. And c’mon, it’s not like you aren’t taking on a hell of a lot of risk yourself.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s part of it too. All of it weighs on me. It’s just a bizarre feeling. I know that in some weird way I’m meant to do this. I just… well, I kind of wish the responsibility could fall to someone else.”

“I understand that. You’re a pretty amazing dude, Theo. The way you’ve held all of us together has been beyond impressive. But you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t occasionally want to pass the buck. You’re scared, which is a totally normal reaction. You want to know that you’ll live to see the new world we are all fighting for. We all have those fears, but it’s you who makes us believe that this is a cause that’s bigger than any of us. We’re all together in this. You’ve got a pretty heavy cross to bear, but we’ll help in any way we can. That’s what friends do for each other, right?”

“You’re right, man. Again. I think without you and Kylee and Ry and everyone really I would go completely off the rails. Thanks for being there for me.”

“You got it, buddy.”

Suddenly a voice echoed, amplified through what sounded like a megaphone. “Bring out the traitor Theo Essex, by order of the Supreme Leader!”

“Well, would you listen to that,” said Bill. “I think somebody’s in trouble.” The joking words were not reflected in Bill’s face. He held out his hand and pulled Theo to his feet.

With his closest friend by his side, Theo walked through the sands and across the damaged boardwalk. At the place where the broken side street intersected Atlantic Avenue a crowd of people had formed. As Theo drew closer, his pupils straining in the darkness to properly see what was in front of him, he realized he wasn’t seeing a gathering. He was witnessing a standoff.

Kylee, Ryan, Jamie, Brian, Liz, Andrew, Joseph and about ten of the women Theo now thought of as “Kylee’s army” were holding various firearms pointed in the direction of a mass of Security Force agents, their own frightening military-grade weapons pointed back. In the middle of the Security Force stood Bertier, heavily armored.

“Well, well, well. If it ain’t King Crap of Loserville.” Bertier smiled with delight as Theo tentatively approached. Theo wondered how many of Bertier’s friends were under the fearsome masks of the Security Force. Did they have night vision in those masks? Theo thought it was likely. He realized now how fortunate they had been that the guard outside the bank had not chosen to wear his mask.

Bertier continued to grin. “I heard you was some kinda’ big deal, but look at you. You ain’t nothin’.”

“What do you want, Bertier?” he asked.

“It ain’t what I want. It’s what Supreme Leader Tiberius wants. It’s simple, really. Starts with you getting arrested here tonight, ends with your public execution. Whatever you were planning, looks like it just ain’t gonna work out. Damn shame.”

Theo took a few steps closer. His team had their guns trained and unwavering. “How did you find me?”