"So what's going on with you and Jamie?" Theo asked.

  Bill tensed defensively. "What do you mean?"

  "I'm not blind, buddy, I've seen the way you two look at each other. I saw how upset she was when you were convicted and how excited she was when you came home. I know there's something between you."

  "Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there. Jamie's awesome. We get along great and she's hot and like, yeah, in another lifetime maybe. But Theo there can't be anything with me and her. She was with Mark. She's still with Mark."

  "Mark's in a coma," Theo said. He knew that speaking so harshly would hit Bill hard and he knew from the wounded flash in Bill's eyes that he was right. Theo decided to press on. "Mark's in a coma and we don't know when he's getting out or if he's going to get out. I think Jamie's been pretty amazing the way she's stayed by his side. But let's look at the facts. They only knew each other for one night, and you have to think that some of her dedication comes from the fact that he saved her life. They weren't in a relationship and if the Event hadn't happened for all we know it might have just been a one night hookup."

  Bill looked incredibly conflicted. "So you're saying that I should move in on Mark's girl while he's… knocked out."

  "I'm saying that happiness since the Event seems to be in short supply. If you're lucky enough to have found someone who makes you happy... I think you should go for it. I honestly think Mark would understand... will understand."

  Bill wasn't entirely convinced. "I'll think about it, man. But you know she has to agree to be my girlfriend, it's not all up to me."

  "Yeah, I get that," said Theo. "The fact that you'll think about it is good enough for me." They sat silent for a while.

  "I think you should join the mayor's group," said Bill.

  "Really? Why?"

  "You've got a great way of looking at things. You help all of us see stuff we wouldn't figure out on our own." Bill picked up a small piece of gravel and hurled it into the water. "I think this place needs somebody who can figure things out."

  "I don't know," said Theo, "isn't Ry's science team supposed to be the ones doing all that?"

  "It's different," said Bill, "Ry's geeks are trying to make contact with strangers and study the Event and get TV and all the other stuff we miss... but you know that. It's the other issues. You know, like the ones where people get thrown in jail for the wrong reasons?"

  Theo laughed. "Okay, I see your point. I told Mayor Lucas I'd consider his offer when the time came. Right now we've got our jobs to do here and school is starting up soon."

  Bill's eyes widened. "Oh crap! I totally forgot about that. What do you think they're gonna expect us to do?"

  "No clue. I've been thinking about it. If everything here is all tied to working in these different departments then what we need is more like on the job training or internships or something. School isn't going to do much, especially for those of us who are old enough to already know how to read and do math and whatever."

  "So why make us go to school?" Bill asked.

  "I don't know, I think part of it is to keep up the sense of order and normal life. I also think maybe Mayor Lucas still holds out hope of rescue. He's a reasonable man and I think he knew what had to be done to prevent total chaos but I doubt any of this Atlantic Island stuff was his idea, or that he likes it all that much."

  "What about Tiberius?" asked Bill. "He didn't strike me as reasonable at all."

  "No, I don't think he is," said Theo. "The mayor keeps him in check as best he can but I'm nervous that overturning his ruling offset some kind of balance, some agreement they had in place. Tiberius was furious and he doesn't seem like a guy who can let things go."

  "So he's like an angry dog that Lucas keeps on a leash," said Bill

  Theo considered this. "Something like that. But if he's a dog, he's a pretty damned smart one. He's incredibly dangerous, and the only thing Atlantic Island has going for it is that Sam Lucas knows how dangerous he can be."

  Chapter 10

  Theo and his friends walked into the auditorium in the heart of the casino that was now being casually referred to as "the Palace." In Theo's last trip here to see Mayor Lucas, he had bypassed much of the casino and so had missed the extensive construction that was taking place to renovate spaces on the lower levels for the new Atlantic Island school. He and the others were shocked to see the array of classrooms that had been carved out of ballrooms in anticipation of the new school year.

  The auditorium remained unchanged from its previous life hosting a range of acts from musicians to comedians to Broadway-quality musicals. Now the stage was bare save for a podium with the Atlantic Island seal, the same logo that adorned banners to either side of the room.

  The students filed in. Signs demarcated areas for each grade, from grade one to grade twelve. Theo's group entered the area reserved for the twelfth grade. Theo knew there wouldn't be many students in his section. He hadn't seen many people his age around the island and he knew that students were allowed to drop out and return to full time work responsibilities upon turning eighteen. Jamie wasn't there for that very reason. Theo thought sadly that Mark, who turned eighteen in June would have enjoyed getting to skip out on school.

  Sitting in the section set aside for the eleventh grade, the tattooed kids Theo kept noticing around town were looking miserable, like they would rather be anywhere else but school. The one in the middle, tall with a bald head, seemed to be the leader of the gang. He had his feet up on the seat in front of him, and on the whole didn't seem nearly as annoyed as his friends. In fact, Theo thought, he looked like he didn't have a care in the world.

  As the seats continued to fill with students of all ages, Theo tried to do a rough head count. Doing some quick multiplication told him that there were at least three thousand students, maybe more. He shared this fact with Kylee. "Pretty big chunk of the population, don't you think?"

  "Actually," she said, "it's less than I'd have expected. I mean lots of kids were at the shore when the Event happened. I guess many of them were in Ocean City though so... they're not here."

  She blushed with embarrassment at having brought up the whereabouts of other shore visitors from before the Event. In the months since, though discussing families and friends on the mainland had been discouraged, talk about those who died on the island or had been on the neighboring islands had become practically taboo.

  When it seemed all but the latest stragglers had been seated, Mayor Lucas arrived at the podium and greeted everyone with his typical cheerful demeanor. Tiberius, Theo noted to his delight, was not in attendance.

  "Welcome, welcome, students of Atlantic Island!" began the Mayor. "I am so very happy to see you today. I have spoken previously of our island's bright future, born out of the darkness of the Event. You who sit before me are the lights that provide that brightness. You are the key to our future and I have every bit of faith imaginable that you will do all of us proud as you move through the process of your education and journey forth into the world."

  "Now, we have some logistics to deal with before you can all head off to your classrooms and truly start the school year. To handle all those messy details," he laughed, "it is my great pleasure to introduce you to Mrs. Limpua, formerly principal of a wonderful school in upstate New York and now principal of Atlantic Island Academy."

  The mayor led everyone in applauding as a thin woman with short, dark hair took the stage and shook his hand at the podium. She smiled at the crowd of children and teenagers. "Good morning students! Let's all applaud Mayor Lucas for all the hard work he has been doing to help all of us!" Most of the students applauded. Theo noticed that baldy and his buddies were not applauding but were focused on harassing the kids in front of them.

  "I think," continued Mrs. Limpua, "that we have so much potential in this room just ready to be unleashed. Of course, we don't know anything about you yet. We don't know what schools you went to, what grades you earned and what courses you completed. That's why our first order of business today is going to be to administer some diagnostic tests." She looked down at the youngest kids. "That means we are going to see what you've learned. Don't worry about doing poorly on the test. We are only trying to make sure you are at the right grade level. Some of you may be adjusted up or down. Just do your best and let us worry about the rest!"

  After some more talk about the rules and regulations, Mrs. Limpua dismissed the students to their testing stations. Theo and his friends left the auditorium and followed a winding hallway. Construction crew members were painting touchup coats of what Theo guessed was a shade of peach. He realized that this hall must have been newly built and wondered why they couldn't have built it in a straight line.

  Theo and Michelle were assigned to the same testing room. He wasn't surprised to see chairs and tables, as he had no idea where anyone would find a large number of classroom desks on the island. He took a seat next to Michelle. "Do you think this is going to be really hard?" she asked.

  "I don't see why it would be. They just want to make sure we are at the right grade level. I'm not sure if they even think all our normal subjects are that important."

  She looked stunned by this. "You think they aren't going to let us take all the subjects?"

  Theo laughed. "I don't know! It's not like we have to worry about getting into college. I'd guess they are prepping us for the different departments."

  Michelle frowned. "Right... no college."

  "Well, at this point it would just be so hard to pull off and I think they need as many young people working as possible. Our population is so small we can't afford to have thousands of people sitting in classes all the time."

  "I know you're right," she said, "it's just... my parents were always so crazy about college. Had to get into the best possible school, had to be top of the class... I know it doesn't make any sense but I feel like they'd be so disappointed in me." She turned away, tears in her eyes. "I miss them."

  "I understand," Theo said.

  A woman came around and distributed test sheets and pens. Theo was surprised to see pens instead of pencils, and then realized the government probably had been able to find many more of the former from various offices around the island. He wondered for a moment what would happen when the pens ran out.

  He looked down at the test sheet. The questions covered a wide variety of topics, from grammar to math to hypothetical, "what would you do in this situation" type questions. The questions ranged from so easy Theo expected that just about everyone would get them correct to challenging, high level problems that were way above his education level. Noticeably absent were any questions about history.

  Theo thought he made a good showing for himself on the test. As he checked his answers he got a feeling that the test was looking not only to judge grade levels but also to get a sense of the students' aptitude for the many work crews on the island.

  After the test Theo and Michelle went down to the cafeteria to meet their friends. Lunch at school was going to be just as bland as lunch on the job site. Theo could not wait for the farms to be up and operating. He knew the citizens of Atlantic Island were lucky to have access to so much canned and dried food, but there was something about fresh produce that was sorely lacking. He suspected too that eating all this dried stuff wasn't so good for his health, though Theo hardly had the knowledge to back up that theory.

  "Did anybody else think that was a huge waste of time?" asked Bill.

  "What do you mean?" asked Ryan.

  "I mean most of us already know what we want to do. Hell, most of us are already doing it. This isn't the old world. School, college, whatever, I don't think it matters anymore. "

  "So," said Theo, "What does matter?"

  "Work," said Bill. "Working your ass off, making a difference and getting to live, be free and enjoy fine food like these crackers I can't get enough of."

  "Being stuck in that prison gave you this new perspective?" asked Kylee. She looked genuinely concerned.

  "I guess, maybe, yeah. I think I'm just being realistic. This is our life now. When I'm working, even just lugging stones and stuff, I feel like I'm really living. What good is it going to do for me to sit in a class? Thank God I'm getting out in January. "

  Theo had to admit that Bill made some valid points. "Maybe this is all part of them testing out some new ideas. Maybe they will reevaluate things after this school year?"

  "So they are beta testing us?" asked Michelle.

  "Something like that I guess," said Theo. "Bill's definitely right that without college we probably should spend the last year of school focusing on our particular trade in some way. They must not have all of that figured out yet and just want to keep us getting some kind of education. It's all part of keeping people calm."

  "Keeping them controlled, you mean," said Bill.

  "I bet Theo will have some information for us when he starts meeting with the mayor," said Kylee.

  "Hey," said Ryan, "speaking of information, I've got some cool news to report from the science committee!"

  "You mean the nerd squad," said Bill with a smirk.

  Ryan laughed. "Say what you will, but I'm telling you man, we are doing some interesting work. We are presenting some stuff to the mayor next Wednesday night!"

  "Okay, let's hear it," said Bill. "What have you got?"

  "Alright. Check this out. I'm on a team that was …"

  A voice yelled across the cafeteria, cutting Ryan off. "Attention please! Would the following people come join me at the front of the room immediately? Bill Mansfield, Kylee Blair, Michelle Cho, Ryan Adini and Theo Essex."

  The teens looked at each other with concern. Slowly they rose from their seats and walked to the cafeteria's entrance where a stocky security officer waited.

  "Do you know this guy?" Theo asked Kylee. She shook her head.

  They stepped in front of the officer and gave their names. "Are we in some kind of trouble?" asked Michelle.

  "No, no, you're not in any trouble," the officer said. He spoke quietly so as to not be overheard by the other students looking with great interest at the front of the room. "I'm afraid your friend Mark's condition has turned grave. Mayor Lucas has asked as a courtesy that you be provided government transport to the hospital. I suggest we move quickly."

  Theo and his friends moved in a silence that had become all too common the past few months. Theo looked at the sad faces around him and was angry. They were too damned young to have to go through all this! It didn't matter how tough or smart or creative any of them were. He didn't care how much leadership quality Mayor Lucas saw in him. At that moment Theo was a scared, angry boy who just wanted his old life back. He felt his hands clench into fists as he walked. This shouldn't be happening to any of them, but Mark? Certainly not Mark who was always joking, always playing around, always looking for a new girl to hook up with. Mark shouldn't be "grave."

  The officer led them out a back passageway to the parking garage of the building. A black SUV was waiting for them. Theo knew how rare it was for even the government officials to travel by vehicle given the limited supply of fuel. He appreciated the gesture from the mayor, but nothing could ease the vice that was tightening around his chest.

  The car pulled away from the rear door of what Theo still thought of as a casino and wound around the several floors of the parking garage. Theo and his friends hadn't said a word. He held Kylee's hand and wondered what was happening to Mark. He hoped that if Mark were truly dying that they would get there in time to have one last chance to see him.

  There was no need for the SUV to turn on its siren or lights to clear a path. Almost nobody ever drove on the island, and at this time of day everybody was at his or her jobs, home with little children or in school. The drive was brief. The hospital approached quickly and the government car drove right up to the entrance. The officer turned back to the teens from his front passenger seat. "They know you're here so just go right in. You know the way to your friend's room, right?" For the first time in what seemed an eternity, they spoke to say that yes, they knew how to get to Mark's room.

  They thanked the officer and the driver and left the big car. The automatic doors to the hospital parted in front of them and they moved swiftly toward the elevators, once more embracing silence and the shelter of their own thoughts.

  Theo's brain barely registered the walk across the lobby, the ride in the elevator or the brief distance to Mark's room. The next thing he knew, he was standing with his friends around Mark's bed. Jamie was already in the room, tears wet on her face. The beeping of the machinery in the room had become an all-too-familiar sound in recent weeks. A doctor was standing by Mark's head, jotting something in a folder. He looked up at the teens.

  "The mayor said you are the closest thing to next of kin this young man has on the island," the doctor said.

  "What happened to him?" asked Theo. "He's been stable all this time."

  "He was stable, yes," said the doctor, "but his brain functionality has been minimal and his body has not been recovering the way we'd hoped. Instead it has been slowly breaking down over the past few weeks. We nearly lost him last night and performed an emergency surgery to drain some fluid and relieve swelling, but even so… I'm afraid there's very little time left."

  "Can he hear us?" asked Bill, his voice choked with emotion.

  "I'm sorry but he's lost almost all brain function," said the doctor. "It's doubtful anything you say will register, but I certainly don't want to discourage you from trying."

  "How long does he have left?" asked Ryan.

  "It's hard to say," said the doctor. "Minutes? Maybe hours? If there's anything you want to say to him, even if it's only for your own benefit, you should say it."

  Kylee and Michelle walked over to Jamie and hugged her. Kylee whispered something to Jamie and the three girls began to walk toward the door. Jamie squeezed Mark's limp hand as she passed his bed. When they were out in the hallway, the doctor said "I'll let you have time with your friend." He took his chart and left the room.