You scan your badge, but nothing happens. "Try yours," you say to Damien, but his doesn't work either.
"Now what?" you ask.
"Looks like we need higher security clearance," Damien says. "But how do we get it?"
"I suppose we could ambush a security guard," you suggest. "Though that seems pretty risky."
Suddenly, someone shouts, "Jen! Damien!" You turn and see a familiar figure galloping awkwardly down the hallway towards you.
"Benji!" you cry. "You found us!"
A few feet before he reaches you, he slows down and bends over. "Whooo," he gasps. "My lungs aren't what they used to be."
Evidently, he has reapplied his makeup since his performance in the lobby. A bit of a rush job, but passable.
"How'd you get in?" Damien asks.
"It turns out the receptionist is a big fan of Uncle Benji," he says with a wink. "Once she stopped screaming and recognized me, we got along like gangbusters. I told her I'm working on a new one-man play about the VM pandemic, and I was just doing a little method acting. To make up for the scare I caused her, I offered to put on a performance in the break room. But now I think l'd rather help you guys out instead."
"Uh huh," you say, shooting Damien a quick look. If he suspects Benji's story is bogus, he's not showing it.
"So what's the plan?" Benji asks, rubbing his hands together."
"Well," Damien says. "We found the portal to the surface."
"No way," Benji gasps. "That's great, guys."
"Trouble is, we can't get in."
"Huh," Benji says, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "You know, they did give me a visitor's badge. I wonder if that would work."
"I doubt it," Damien says. "We have geneticist access, and that's not even good enough."
"Just let me check..." He pulls a badge out of his pocket, but he's being sure to shield it from your view. When he slides it through the card reader, the door unlocks. "Oh, hey," he says, quickly pocketing the badge. "Look at that. I guess it works."
Youre excited to get to the garden, but you're also awfully curious about Benji's badge.
"Hey Benji?" you ask, trying to sound as casual as possible. "Mind if I see that for a second?"
His moustache twitches slightly over his broad smile. "But don't you want to see the garden?"
"Yeah, Jen," Damien says. "Let's go."
"In a second," you say. "After I see your badge."
Benji's smile fades, and for the first time since you met him, you feel afraid. "Trust me, little girl," he says through gritted teeth. "You don't want to do that."
"Uh, okay." You shrug, hoping your smile covers your newfound fear. But mentally, you're making a note to keep a close eye on him from now on.
The door swings open to reveal a set of stairs-a rare occurrence in the sector system. As you begin the climb, a strange new aroma dances in your nostrils.
"What is that?" Damien asks, holding his nose.
Benji takes a deep, satisfied breath. "That, boys and girls, is the smell of earth."
You emerge into the garden, which is entirely enclosed in a thick dome of glass. Up above that is something you've only seen in movies and heard about from your parents. The sky. And even more impressive—the sun.
"Whoa," Damien sighs, squinting heavenward.
"It's so bright," you say, doing the same. When your eyes can no longer stand it, you close them, and a cluster of golden yellow orbs dance in the darkness behind your eyelids. A small breeze enters the row of vents along the top of the dome and brushes softly against your cheek. That must be what they called wind.
"Look!" Damien points at a puff of white sliding lazily across the impossibly blue sky. "A cloud!"
As you absorb your first impressions of the surface world, your ears start to detect a more familiar sound: VMs. There's a tall, green hedge growing around the inside perimeter of the dome, but it doesn't quite hide the fact that the entire building is surrounded by hundreds of drooling, clawing meatbags. All around, they scrape at the thick glass, leaving streaks and smudges, until one of their
brethren pushes them out of the way and takes over. Beyond that are buildings, surface buildings like in the movies!
"Oh crap!" Damien draws his pistol and points it at the glass.
"No!" a voice shouts. "Hold your fire!" You look down to find a little person standing in between two rows of plants. He's wearing a green apron and holding what looks Ilike a giant pair of scissors. "Who are you people?" he asks. "What do you want?"
You smile and try to look as non-threatening as possible.
"I'm Jen, and this is Damien and Benji. We just wanted to see your garden."
"Who sent you?" he asks, his thick eyebrow cocking with suspicion. "No one is supposed to know about this place."
"It's okay," you say. "We have a mutual friend in the orchard." You wink.
Damien puts a hand on your shoulder and nods slowly at the man as though letting him in on a conspiracy.
"I see," he says. "So Gina opened her fat mouth, did she? Figures."
You shrug, not wanting anyone to get in trouble.
"Well, I'm Sebastian," He pulls a small red globe from a nearby plant and tosses it to you. "Have a cherry tomato."
"Oh, that's okay," you say. "I'm not really a fan of tomatoes. Or cherries, for that matter, especially after visiting the Hydro-P orchard."
"Just try it." He tosses one to Damien as well. You put the tomato in your mouth and bite down, expecting gooey, flavorless mush. But instead there's a crisp crunch followed by a burst of flavor like you've never tasted.
"Oh my god," you say when you've recovered. "That's amazing."
Sebastian nods knowingly. "Welcome to Eden. I was just sharpening my hedge shears, but I think I can spare a few minutes for a grand tour if you're interested."
Damien glances uneasily at a VM that's sliding its mouth along the outside of the glass like a sucker fish in the family aquarium back home. "Um, shouldn't we be worried about those guys?"
"Nah," Sebastian says, knocking on the glass. "Sixteen inches and totally shatterproof. Fire off a round in here and it could ricochet around here for days. The only other way in or out is through that door." He points to a thick metal door about thirty meters away. "I don't even have clearance for that."
"Okay," Damien holsters his weapon, but he still doesn't look convinced.
"Relax, kid," Sebastian laughs. "I've been coming here every day for the past ten years and not a single one of them has ever gotten in. We're safe." He puts down the shears and pushes a rolling step ladder out of the way. "Come on, let me show you around."
You, Damien, and Benji follow behind him as he points out various plants.
"Tomatoes are just one of my specialties," he says with evident pride. "Anything that doesn't grow well in that chemical muck down below is a popular request up here—carrots, avocados, okra, strawberries..." He stops at a small box in which dozens of green spears the size of pencils grow up out of the earth. "Have you ever had asparagus?"
"Never heard of it," you say.
He snaps off a spear and hands it to you to taste. "I prefer it cooked, but raw is good too. It makes your pee smell kinda funny, though, so don't be alarmed later on."
"Uh, thanks." You take a small bite from the tip. It's tangy and weird, and you try not to gag as Sebastian watches you chew it. You wish you had another tomato to wash away the nasty flavor in your mouth.
"Back here is where I keep my version of pesticide." Sebastian steps up to a low table filled with various bottles and measuring spoons. "I make it all from scratch without chemicals, but it still gets the job done well enough." He picks up a red tank of liquid and sprays the nozzle towards the bed of cucumbers, enveloping them in a thick pink mist that completely obscures the area and then slowly dissipates.
He continues to babble on for a while about various plant diseases and their cures, so you focus on taking in as much of the view of the surface as you can through the glass. That's when you realize you haven't yet taken any photos. How else is anyone at school going to believe your amazing discovery?
'I have more manners than to just start shooting off pictures in here,' you think.
"This is all so incredible! Do you mind if I take a few pictures?" you ask.
Sebastian looks startled. "Are you kidding me? Photos aren't allowed in here! Do you want security on you? Take you to some back room somewhere?"
"Sorry, I thought l'd ask," you say.
"It's Okay, I'm glad you did. I'm just surprised you didn't know the policy," says Sebastian, who has now regained his composure.
Suddenly, your ears are assaulted by the piercing wail of an emergency alarm. At first you think the security guards have finally discovered your illegal entry, but then you spot Benji back by the surface security door. The three of you head to the back of the dome.
"Benji!" you cry. "What did you do?"
Standing among the growing swarm of wild-eyed VMs that are now pouring into the dome, Benji throws back his head and laughs. Before he turns and exits the dome, he tosses something at Damien. "Thanks for your help, kids!" he cries as he pushes a particularly clumsy meatbag out of his way. "I'll send you a postcard." He's gone before you can manage to get a good shot at him.
Damien holds up the object—the bloody receptionist's badge.
You briefly wonder what a receptionist would be doing with such a high clearance badge, but right now that's the least of your worries.
Damien and Sebastian are closest to the dome door and the VMs are closing fast. Sebastian isn't moving. You're not sure if he can't stand the thought of abandoning his precious garden to these monsters or if he's just too surprised to make a decision. Damien yells at him to run as he pulls out his gun and shoots the first VM between the eyes.
You're not leaving them to this fate. You have to provide them some cover, a little time.
You charge and crush down on the head of one, just before it reaches Sebastian. This seems to break Sebastian out of his daze. He grabs a shovel, plants it against a planter box, and fends off a VM who stupidly leans against the shovel, trying to push through it while waving his arms. This one makes an easy target and you crush its skul.
In a frenzy. you wade into the melee swinging your crowbar, going for the head, but not always connecting.
One wraps its arms around you and bites into your shoulder. Sebastian cracks it on the head with the shovel, which distracts it long enough for Damien to blow its brains out.
"We have to close the dome door!" shouts Sebastian.
"Cover me while I shut it!" shouts Damien.
You only have so much ammo, and so you scan the greenhouse for other potential weapons. There's some wooden stakes that seem pretty sturdy, as well as Sebastian's garden shears and the pesticide.
You grab the tank of pesticide and aim the nozzle at the oncoming crowd. When the bilast of pink mist envelops the mob, the meatbags suddenly stop in their tracks. They stand around looking dazed for a moment, but this immobilizing effect doesn't last long before they start to move forward again.
"It's working!" Damien shouts. "Keep spraying them!"
Damien disappears into the fog of spray near the door. You shout for him, afraid that the meatbags will grab him, but do not dare to let up on the spray nozzle.
A few long seconds later, he emerges coughing with tears running down his cheeks. He trips as though he can barely see.
"I sealed the portal, but there's already way too many meatbags in here to handle on our own," he shouts.
"Let's run!" you shout as you spray a few more pink clouds before you depart. There's not much left in the tank, but you bring it with you just in case. It may come in handy getting you out of the sector. When you make it to the stairs, you find Sebastian sitting a few steps down, clutching his ankle.
"I think I twisted it," he gasps.
He's a small man, but you estimate he must weigh at least one hundred pounds. It might be awfully difficult getting him to safety. The VMs are still hot on your heels, and there's not much time before they come tumbling down the stairs after all of you.
"Let's help him," you shout to Damien over the wail of the alarms. You spray small bursts of pesticide over your shoulder as he gets Sebastian to his feet, and then you both hoist him up by an armpit and carry him the rest of the way down the stairs. You catch a small scratch on the back of your neck during the process, but it was worth it to save one of your fellow humans, wasn't it?
"Thank you," he says, once you've reached the bottom and shut the door securely behind you and the VMs. "I wish there was some way I could repay you."
"There's no need," you say, leaning against the door in exhaustion. "Though I wouldn't mind a case or two of those tomatoes if you could spare them."
"I'll see what I can do," he laughs.
You're just about to say something else to Sebastian when you realize he's already disappeared into the crowded hallway. All around you, the food plant is abuzz. People run past with anxious looks on their faces, too preoccupied with their own safety to notice you and Damien standing there.
"l heard they had to identify Holly by her fingerprints," you overhear as a group of women pass. "Her face was chewed clean off."
"I told her not to go sneaking around with the company CEO," another woman scoffs. "I wouldn't be surprised if his wife attacked that hussy with her own two hands."
"Not funny, Marge," the first woman replies.
"Let's just hope they catch whoever is responsible before anyone else gets hurt," a third woman says, nodding towards an approaching group of armed security guards.
One of the guards eyes you suspiciously. You're still leaning against the door, and you can feel the VMs banging on it from the other side.
You put on your best "scared little girl" face and rush to the guard's side.
"Please help!" you gasp. "There are VMs in the surface garden!" You point at the door.
He looks at the door and then frowns down at you and appears to be about to say something when another guard says, "Hear that? Coming from the door!"
You lead them over to the door, which is now vibrating violently from the pounding on the other side. The guards immediately fan out and aim their weapons for attack.
"You did good, kid," one of them says, patting you on the head. "Now stand back so we carn take care of things."
You and Damien waste no time obeying his order. It's not until you pass the orchard that you hear their gunshots, and you don't stop running until you get to the receptionist's office. It's deserted now, and a large white sheet has been draped over the desk. You notice the smear of red on the floor below as you pass and try not to think about Holly, the receptionist.
Back at the sector interchange, Chase and Val are nowhere to be seen.
"They should be here by now," Damien says, checking his watch.
"They're fine," you assure him. "They're probably on their way right now, arguing about some silly little thing."
"Yeah," he laughs. "What's with them, anyway? Hopefully they didn't strangle each other."
The squeal of brakes cuts through the air as the same black car you saw earlier pulls up next to you on the tracks. The door opens and a girl with black spiky hair and a lip piercing pokes her head out. You notice a tattoo on her neck that reads 'Survive'. "Hey," she says, "aren't you the girl from Toxifarian?"
"Uh..." You glance at Damien, who shrugs. "Not really."
The girl shakes her head and laughs. "Don't lie. I saw you on that Gloria chick's show. Right, Kenny?" She gestures to someone else inside the car. "That's her!"
A skinny guy with a thick red beard appears in the doorway of the car. "Yep," he says. "We're big fans, by the way. Especially Delia, here. She's got all your live bootlegs. Hey, what's that?" He points to your pesticide tank. "Some sort of new instrument you're working on?"
"Kind of," you say. "Were you guys following us earlier?"
Kenny and Delia exchange a guilty look. "Yeah," Delia says. "Sorry about that. We swear we're not creepy stalkers. We just wondered what you guys do when you're not touring.
"Maybe you've seen our friends—the other two members of the band? They went to Kappa Sector."
Kenny shrugs. "Nah, but get in. We can take you to go look for them."
"No thanks," you say. "They'll probably be here soon. But it was nice to meet you both." You hope that's enough of a hint that you want them to leave, but neither Kenny nor Delia seem to have picked up on it. A slow grin spreads across Kenny's face.
"Well now," he says, "You see, that really wasn't a yes or no question." He snaps his fingers and two very large, muscled men (or are they HFVMs?) emerge from the car and come running towards you.
"Nice instincts, Jen," Damien says. He pulls his gun, but one of the thugs punches him and Damien goes down.
"Alright," you say, holding up your hands in surrender. "There's no need for violence. We'll come with you."
"Excellent," Delia says. "We really appreciate your cooperation.
You step inside the car, which is an exact replica of the Toxifarian tour car, right down to the shag carpet. "Wow," you say. "I guess you guys really are fans."
Then you notice one major difference: sitting on an orange velvet couch in the back are Chase and Val. Their hands are bound behind their backs, and they both have gags in their mouths. They're flanked on either side by two very large, muscled men (or are they HFVMs?). There's some blood on Chase's gag from a cut on his swollen lower lip.
Delia strips you and Damien of all your weapons, including the pesticide tank, tossing everything in a closet in the back of the car. You can't remember the last time you've been without at least your crowbar outside of your home pod, and the vulnerability terrifies you. Looks like you'll have to rely on your cool for the time being. Right now, you turn your attention to Chase.
"Are you okay?" you ask him. He nods, blinking back his own tears of relief at the sight of you.
"Sit, sit," Kenny says, waving you towards a pair of striped beanbags. "You'll have plenty of time for a reunion later." He knocks on the wall of the car, and it shudders to Iife as two more henchmen take their place on either side of you. The whir of the engine kicks into high gear as you start speeding towards... somewhere. Then Kenny settles into a large, overstuffed chair and eyes you and Damien curiously. "I believe you have something of ours? Some badges and a map?"
Damien begrudgingly removes the items from his backpack and places them in Kenny's waiting hands. As you watch him fold the map and carefully place it in his shirt pocket, you can't keep yourself from speaking up.
"What do the dots mean?" you ask, trying to keep the desperation from your voice. "Are they other HFVMs? I mean, it's not like it matters to us now, right?"
Kenny chuckles. "What do you think I am, some hack comic book villain who spills every little detail of his dastardly plan once I have the heroes in my grasp?" He strokes his beard thoughtfully with one hand, twisting the tip between his skinny fingers—looking exactly like a hack Comic book villain.
You shrug, disappointed. "I guess not."
"So how'd your little surface scouting adventure go, anyway?" he asks. "It seems you've been separated from dear old Uncle Benji. Tell me, what happened to him?"
"Uncle Benji's currently out roaming the surface" you say, matter-of-factly.
"No way!" Kenny can hardly contain his excitement at this news. The henchmen high-five each other, and Delia licks her smiling lips. "Tell me everything," he continues, leaning forward in anticipation. "Every single detail. How'd you find it? "
"Damien and I did most of the work," you say. "But Benji wouldn't have been able to get outside if he hadn't killed a receptionist in cold blood and stolen her badge."
Kenny throws up his hands. "Of course. We shoulda just started with her instead of bothering with those geneticists. Word was, that ditz was sleeping with the boss, and so he gave her a pass to get to all the out of-the-way places in the building." Kenny winks. "You know, access to wherever she was needed.."
"What's it like?" Delia asks. "The surface, I mean."
"It's bright," you say wistfully. "That's the big thing. The sun—it's just so intense."
Kenny sits back and sighs. "God, I miss it. I haven't seen it since I was sixteen. Why did I spend so much time in my parents' basement?"
"I used to lay out in it every day during the summer," Delia says, glancing ruefuly at her peach makeup-covered arm. I looked so killer with a tan."
Kenny winks at her. "I bet you did, baby."
As the car comes to a stop, one of the henchmen grabs you by the wrists and pulls you to your feet. "You're not gonna do anything stupid, are ya?" he grunts. You shake your head earnestly. Val and Chase's gags and ropes are removed, and they're asked the same question. The rest of the henchmen gather around your friends like sheepdogs and herd you all out of the car onto a dim platform. Before you stands a large, silver building, the walls of which are throbbing with heavy bass. The sign over the door blinks Stumblesin pink neon. It appears to be a goth-themed nightclub, judging from the music and the line of black-clad young people standing behind a purple velvet rope.
"Don't worry, kids," Kenny says, prodding you in the back with a borny finger. "We're on the VIP list." He leads you past the line and nods once at the bouncer, who unhooks the rope and gestures for you to enter. Inside the club, flashing red and green lights dance along the dark walls and illuminate clusters of sullen-faced patrons. A girl with long green fingernails and a bad case of bitch face stares at you as you walk past. But does she want to eat you, or just beat you up? A pang of anxiety hits you, and you wish longingly for your trusty crowbar.
It seems that most everyone here knows Kenny and Delia. Anyone else who doesn't, at least has the good sense to get out of their way as your group makes its way across the crowded club to the back corner. Along the way, Val elbows you and points to the stage where the band is playing. It's Toxifarian. Your stomach drops, but then it nearly bottoms out when Kenny and Delia stop at a large circular booth. Sitting right at its center is Bob Holbrook, Toxifarian's manager. Kenny leans over and whispers something in his ear, then Bob turns to you with a wide smile.
"Hey, kids!" he shouts. "So glad you could join us." He waves his fingertips at a few of the people at the table, and they get up and leave. He pats the empty space next to him, and you have no choice but to slide in, followed by one of Kenny's henchmen. A pretty girl with hair so blonde it's nearly white sits at his other side. She glumly swirls some ice cubes around in her empty glass with a skinny black straw, refusing to look up as the rest of your friends climb into the booth.
"How about some sodas for my friends?" Bob calls to a nearby waitress. He smiles even wider and winks at you.
"What do you think of the band tonight? It's a little different when you see them in their natural environment, huh?"
You nod silently.
"I don't know," Kenny cuts in from across the booth. "I think I prefer the original lineup. There's something not quite right about these guys."
"I agree," Bob says, nodding sagely. "But that's not to say that you didn't do a magnificent job filling in, given the circumstances. I particularly liked that Gloria Goodbody performance, though I was a little hurt that I wasn't informed about it beforehand."
"Sorry about that," you say.
"Nonsense," Bob says, smiling and spreading his long arms out along the back of the booth as the waitress arrives with the sodas. "Sales went through the roof after that little stunt. I would, however, like to get my real boys back as soon as possible. Any idea of where I might be able to find them?"
You think back to the Zeta High and wonder just how much-if any-of the truth you should tell him about what really happened at the dance.