Vladimir Todorov - Archipelago N.Y. - Flynn

“This will be your residence for the rest of the week. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in our gala room. You’ll find a full list of instructions on your bed.” The guide paused, avoiding any eye-contact with Alan Perry. “Can you read, sir? We provide help for those who can’t.”

“I can read,” said Alan Perry and stepped inside the suite.

“Have a nice stay!” his guide mumbled as he closed the door firmly after him.

Flynn’s father heard it lock promptly from the outside, and then listened as the footsteps of the guide died away quickly down the corridor. He stood for a moment in the dusky hallway, his head resting against the nearest wall. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he suddenly became aware of how different the air smelled. A sweet scent was drifting all around him, making him dizzy and aroused at the same time. His hand found the light switch and flicked it on. Instantly, the suite was bathed in bright light. “Well…” he said, now speaking to himself, “let’s explore our new home, shall we?”

The hallway led Alan Perry into a spacious living room and to the source of the wonderful, heady fragrance. There were half a dozen vases placed around the room and all of them were full of freshly cut flowers. Hypnotized, he walked slowly toward one of them. Flynn’s father reached out and touched the petals to see if they were real. Of course, they were! He had spent all his life thinking that flowers were a thing of the past… that they only existed in the memories of ancients and in pictures. Now, he realized they were still around, most probably grown in one of the greenhouses, exclusively for the pleasure of the Upper Side residents… The Government was wasting drinking water on flowers, while the Lower Side had to ration it, Alan Perry thought with disgust.

His eyes shifted to the huge glass window with a perfect view of the city below. No one had real glass on the Lower Side! Alan Perry dropped his bag on the leather sofa and walked over to the window. He rapped his knuckles on the glass then pressed his face against the window. Flynn was somewhere out there… Alan Perry clenched his fists, angry at himself. Why had he spoiled Flynn’s happiness with his harsh words? The boy would remember him by them… remember the bitterness of a failed man… A single tear rolled down Alan Perry’s cheek, then disappeared into the coarse stubble of his trembling chin.

“Hey! Uncle Dale!”

“Well, look who’s here!” shouted Dale Baker from his lookout perch. The man lowered his binoculars, and his pale watery eyes hovered over Flynn. “You’re a foot taller since I last saw you!”

Flynn had known Dale for as long as he could remember… ever since he was a little boy, growing up in his father’s Watch Tower. Dale had been Alan Perry’s apprentice and then his Watch Tower buddy. “He’s the third member of our family,” Flynn’s father would say, and so the man was “Uncle” Dale to Flynn. Dale Baker was considered a kind of an oddity on the Lower Side. He was never “paired off,” and many suspected it was because he was born with a hare’s lip and lopsided eyes. Any deformity, especially such a visible one like Dale’s, meant never having a family of your own… Robbed of the chance to be a father, Dale had grown very fond of Flynn, playing with the little boy for hours at the “Top of the World”, a name they used for their Watch Tower… Their games had stopped when Flynn had discovered the Free Scavengers, and his visits to the Tower became less and less frequent. At some point, Flynn had stopped coming altogether.

But everything looked the same, Flynn thought as he stepped inside the circular observation deck. It was built at the highest point on the Lower Side, giving the Watchmen a 360-degree view over the entire Archipelago. The Watchmen had four big telescoping lenses trained on the horizon, far beyond the Junk Nets. It was their job to be constantly on the lookout for anything, dead or alive… anything that could possibly carry the Flood Virus into the city’s waters. Flynn saw the old rusty cage in the corner, covered in bird droppings. Inside were a couple of carrier pigeons, cooing softly, waiting to be dispatched with a warning message should the need arise. Yes, everything looked the same, except his father wasn’t there…

Dale noticed Flynn’s surprise and took a deep breath. There was now a concerned look on the man’s face. “Alan didn’t show up for work this morning, Flynn,” he spoke softly. “I thought, you might know where…”

Flynn shook his head… He didn’t know anything, because he had spent the last two nights on his raft, blinded by anger at his father… and then furious at Madison… jealous of Leo. He had gone for a quick dive that morning, cleared his head… and realized he had to find his father… Flynn had rushed to the Watch Tower to apologize… but where was Alan Perry?

“He might be sick, or something,” said Dale. “Decided to stay home… take a little break…”

“Uncle Dale!” Flynn raised his voice. “My dad’s never taken a sick day, ever! You know that!”

“I know, I know!” Dale raised his arms defensively. “But… he’s not that young anymore, is he?” Suddenly, a deep frown appeared across the man’s forehead. He stepped up to Flynn and said, “Maybe he was one of…” His voice trailed off. Dale was unable to finish what he was about to say.

“One of what?”

“I’m not suggesting anything… But I heard quite a few people got rounded up last night.” Dale looked away, avoiding Flynn’s eyes.

Flynn stared at him for a long moment, feeling sick to his stomach. He knew what it was that Dale couldn’t bring himself to say… The Departure List had come out! His father had mentioned the List and they had talked briefly about it… but Flynn had been so caught up in the Trials that he had forgotten all about it… He hadn’t been paying attention… In fact, Madison had spoken of the List too, but Flynn hadn’t listened… A chill ran down his spine.

“I… I just don’t know how to say it, Flynn,” said Dale, struggling to find the right words.

“Well, don’t say it!” Flynn shouted angrily, spun on his heels and shot out of the door.

“Flynn!” Dale ran after him, “I didn’t mean to…”

But Flynn was already climbing down the rope ladder and making his way to the base of the Watch Tower. Moments later, he disappeared into the maze of rooftop shacks below. Dale Baker banged his fist on the door frame, but there was nothing he could do to help his young friend. Such was life…

Flynn ran like the wind! The walkways shook and rattled under his pounding feet, he jumped from one platform to the next, pushing people out of his way, his mind focused on one thing only. To get home! To find his father! His heart was pumping like crazy in his chest. His strong legs were doing the work for him, taking him across the bridges and over the canals, his eyes fixed on his building in the distance, getting closer and closer. Almost there…

Flynn leaped from the bridge onto the roof and shot past Dino, dozing on a chair in front of his shack. There wasn’t any point asking the man for a ride in the elevator, so Flynn sprinted up the stairs, taking a few steps at the time. He was out of breath by the time he kicked back the door flap and entered his apartment.

“Dad!” he shouted as he skidded to a stop. Nothing but silence greeted Flynn! All he could hear was his own heavy breathing. His eyes darted across the room, searching, hoping against hope… “Dad!” Flynn’s voice pitched higher in desperation. “Answer me, damn it!”