“I wouldn’t know about anything related to that. But I doubt he’d bring a dangerous bio-weapon into our home…not with small kids running around.” Lucy put her hands on her hips and tried to channel her mother.
Galen stood up and tried to stand tall, too. He lifted his head upward and looked up his nose at Gordy. “We didn’t do anything wrong. Go away.”
Blair stopped and looked at her brother. She shrugged and raised her eyebrows. Gordy turned to them and sighed. “Sit down, Lucy,” he said, and he motioned for the couch.
“No,” she replied. She stood firm.
“I’ll make this quick,” Gordy said. “You have five minutes to take what you need from this place and follow me and Blair to the lower deck. There’s a boat waiting to take you and your family to the shore. Five minutes and the clock is running.”
Lucy’s heart pounded. “What?” she asked, confused. “I don’t understand...I thought no one was supposed to leave...”
“No one is supposed to leave,” Gordy replied. “But my father intends to kill you, and Blair and I are convinced that your death and the death of your family is not in the best interest of our Islands.”
“Wait,” Lucy stared straight at Gordy. “You’re willing to spare us because it benefits you?”
Gordy smiled and shook his head. “You’re young, Lucy. When you’re older you will understand.”
“What if we refuse?” Galen interrupted. Lucy tried to hush him.
“You will die,” Blair said. She walked down into the living room and stood beside her brother. “We are not your enemy…we’re here to help you. This isn’t a trick.”
“This doesn’t make sense. Why not let us die? No one seemed to have any problems killing people before,” Lucy said to directly to Blair. Her voice had a bite to it, but Blair ignored the implications. Lucy looked to Gordy next. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and looked at his sister.
“I’ve made it clear that my motive is selfish,” he replied. “Four minutes.”
“Selfish, how?” Lucy ignored the countdown.
“My father has certain things he cares about...chief among them is control. It’s more about knowing that he has managed his own world and less about understanding what we need for the Islands to survive. But you see, I care about this place and I intend to take control of Kymberlin...perhaps sooner than later. I don’t need a mutiny on my hands within the first week. Killing the King family in a public display…within the first month of its existence? It’s bad policy.”
“So, this truly has nothing to do with us. No sense of compassion.”
“No,” Gordy said matter-of-factly. “It has everything do to with the future and sanctity of this world. Killing you serves no purpose in the larger scheme of the Islands…showing you mercy and kindness will serve our purposes better. But you see, I’m not in charge yet. My father will still override my wishes and he will kill you.”
Galen and Lucy exchanged a look.
“How can I trust you?” Lucy asked.
“You can never trust another human being fully and without reservation. You can only hope that their needs match with your needs. In this case, we are aligned. You want to live…and I need you not to die on Kymberlin. Escape is our mutual best interest.”
“People will ask where we’ve gone…”
Blair cleared her throat. “We will tell them that due to the circumstances of Scott King’s death and the explosion that took the lives of Ethan, Teddy, and Grant…that in your deep grief and mourning we thought it best to relocate you. To Copia.” She beamed, pleased with herself.
Galen looked confused and he started to ask a question, but Lucy stopped him. “And when people discover that Copia is a sham?” Lucy could see Galen’s mouth drop with surprise, but he didn’t say a word.
“They won’t,” Blair added. “Copia will succumb to a raging fire within the next four months. We already have footage and the pictures to prove this.”
“All that work…”
“Will be to preserve a quality of life that is good and needed. You can’t convince people to live a life of beauty and simplicity without selling them the lie. That’s what no one has ever understood. If you want to better the world, if you want to make changes for the good, you can’t trust that people will see their inherent value and intrinsically desire change. People are stubborn. If you want to change the world, you just do it.” Gordy said. He looked out their large window to the dimming day. He sighed and shook his head. “Time is running out, Lucy. I can’t answer any more of your questions…”
“Did my father jump?” Lucy crossed her arms in front of her body and waited for Gordy’s response. She felt so immediately unafraid of him and his family.
After a pause, Gordy nodded. “He was wounded. It was his last moment to exercise free will. Jump or fall. And he jumped, yes.”
“The explosion...”
“Jesus…” Blair whined and she stamped a foot in protest. “The guards will be back soon, Gordy. Lucy, please…”
But Gordy didn’t blink. He looked right at Lucy and took a breath. “The bodies were unrecoverable,” he answered slowly. Methodically. As if he knew. As if he were repeating the lie knowing that it was a lie. “Three minutes, Lucy. Or I will be unable to help you.”
“But you’ve admitted you’re only helping yourself,” she said. “Don’t spin it. If it didn’t matter what the public thought of our deaths, you wouldn’t be here.”
“We are creating a world where people can feel free and happy. Is that selfish? To want this place to succeed? To save you in an effort to save the Island from self-destruction? You see, Lucy, I care about this place. My father would rather crash everyone and everything into the sea than give up control. But I intend to see this through...my sister designed this place, the towers. It was Kymberlin’s idea. Not this perverted government with a leader who uses force, but she designed the building...the idea of sustainable energy, of a community where people could follow their dreams. It was an unattainable utopia that my father turned into an obsession.”
“It’s an illusion,” Lucy whispered.
“It’s possible,” he responded. “I believe.”
She looked at Blair. “And you’re with Gordy on this?”
Blair looked to the ground. “We know my father,” was all she said. “Let us save you. Once you leave, it becomes our war to fight, our battle and our battle alone.”
Lucy turned to Galen, and she was about to ask him what to do. If Blair and Gordy knew that the King family was alive, would they ever be free from the shadow of Kymberlin and the threat of discovery? She wanted to believe that Gordy would hide their disappearance from Huck. But what if it served himself to bring them back? Would he hunt them down again? She would leave if it meant she could be free of Kymberlin and the Trumans forever.
“How do I know that no one will find out what happened to us?” Lucy asked. “How do I know my family will be safe?”
Gordy walked to Lucy. She stood tall before him, pulling her spine upward, tilting her chin in defiance.
“I am offering you a boat. And a small window of time. And you will promise me that you will never come back here...ever. My father will think you are dead. Only Blair and I will ever know the truth. Over time people will forget you...don’t roll your eyes...it’s true. We will continue to grow our empire and let the earth heal, and you and your family will fade away.”
“That’s not true,” Galen said. “People will wonder where we’ve gone!”
Gordy shook his head. “No.”
“In one hundred years, you’ll be a myth,” Blair said. “A bedtime story. A cautionary tale. If you slip out in the darkness, you are dealt a kindness that we cannot give you otherwise...a chance to start over and let this place recover.”
“People forget,” Gordy added. “It’s nature’s kindest flaw.”