Archipelago N.Y.: Flynn (6 page)

“Hey, I can find
you wire!” said Flynn. “No sweat!”

They both looked
at him.

“There must be
tons of it down in the Subway system,” Flynn told them. “Next time I go there,
I can ...”

“You’ll do no such
thing, young man!” Alan Perry's firm voice cut him off. “That's way too deep of
a dive! Even the best Free Scavs haven’t tried to go down there! And for a very
good reason, too.”

“But...” Flynn
tried to argue, “I’ve already been there…”

“Your dad’s right,
Flynn.” Mr. Kowalski patted him on the shoulder. “It's good to be brave, but
being reckless is another thing.”

Alan Perry nodded
his head in agreement.

“We just have to
find other solutions,” said Mr. Kowalski solemnly, “otherwise, this place is
doomed!”

Alan Perry gave
his son a hard stare then turned back to Mr. Kowalski. “Well, at least stay and
have dinner with us, won’t you?”

“Perhaps another
time, Alan,” said Mr. Kowalski. “I've cooked myself a nice little stew of red
peppers tonight. I was fixing the wires at one of the rooftop greenhouses and
... you know… they’ve just had their new crop harvest… so they gave me a whole
basket to take home.” Mr. Kowalski shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “The perks
of my job,” he mumbled as he zipped his tool bag and started toward the door.

“Mr. Kowalski,
wait!” Flynn rummaged through his sack and produced a dark green bottle. “Here’s
something to go with your dinner, then.”

“Aha!” Mr.
Kowalski's face lit up, taking the bottle. “It's been a long time since I’ve
had one of those! Looks like wine to me...” He was examining the bottle,
turning it in his hands.

“Flynn!” Alan
Perry cried, his face turning red again. “Have you been scavenging in the
restricted zones again?”

But before Flynn
could say anything, they all heard a bell ring outside and the rush of
footsteps along the walkway.

Mr. Kowalski
slipped the bottle quickly in his satchel. “The water’s here! I’d better hurry!”

“No worries, Mr.
Kowalski,” said Flynn, grabbing the four empty plastic jugs under the table. “I'll
get your rations for you tonight.”

“Don’t forget to
let the ladies and kids go first, Flynn,” Alan Perry said.

“I won’t!” cried
Flynn. And with those words, he ran quickly out the door, glad at the
opportunity to escape from his father’s reproachful stare.

The Water Rations
had arrived! This was fresh, drinking water, delivered down through the
pipeline from the Upper Side reservoirs, tapped and distributed around by the
Government rafts and barges. The Government owned the water… Or to be more
precise, a company called Van Zandt Water Solutions owned the water and,
therefore, owned the people. It was that simple. Everyone was held hostage by a
small group of men who had the good fortune to be in possession of the
desalination formula… It was the group that had made it possible to sustain
life on the Archipelago after the Flood… and to rule over the whole place. The
Government could not control rain water, of course, but that hardly mattered…
Rain was such a rare thing... and it never snowed…

Flynn stood in the
long line of people, moving slowly down the walkway, everyone waiting patiently
for their turn to come. It was a well-practiced routine, repeated at the same
time each evening. At exactly 8:00 pm, the valves at the Upper Side end of the
pipeline were opened. Heavily guarded rafts waited at the Lower Side station to
fill up their barrels. All other traffic was shut down. From that point on, the
street canals and all waterways were to be used only by the rafts ferrying the Water
Rations. Those who had not made it home on time didn’t get any water, until the
next day. It worked perfectly for the Government, imposing a kind of voluntary
curfew over the Lower Side.

Flynn stepped
toward the elevator. It was the same one he had used earlier, except now its
platform was lined with large plastic barrels full of water. Thanks to Dino’s man-power,
the platform would make its way up, stop at each floor and wait for the
residents to fill up their containers. Each person was allowed a daily ration
of two gallons and not a drop more.

After having let
several women and their children go ahead of him, it was Flynn’s turn now. He
glanced quickly at the Water Warden standing at the corner of their floor’s
walkway, watching everybody with great intensity. The man was one of their
neighbors, a volunteer in the self-policing practices which the Government
encouraged… Water Wardens would report those who dared to be careless with the
water supply. Anyone who spilled or stole extra rations was punished on the
spot. Wasteful usage was a crime!

“For the Greater Good!”
Flynn mumbled as he filed past the Warden. Flynn hated the man, but he knew it
was wise to hide his feelings… When the Trials were over, Flynn thought, he
would never have to worry about these Wardens again… He would be living on the
Upper Side, where nobody had to ration water…

One by one, Flynn
dipped his jugs in the nearest barrel, careful not to spill a single drop.

Alan Perry was
waiting for Flynn. Lying on the table was an open plastic bag with two fat,
juicy fish fillets in it. “Sit down Flynn,” his father said, then pointed at
the fish. “Where did you get these?”

“I traded for them,”
Flynn shrugged and poured himself a cup of water.

“Was it a legal
trade, then?”

“No.”

“Well…. at least
you're honest.” The harshness in Alan Perry's voice was still there, but his
eyes had taken on a gentler look as he spoke. “I'm worried, Flynn! All this
illegal stuff you keep bringing home ... all this diving, scavving…”

“C'mon, Dad! It's
not the first time I've done that!”

“I know it's not!
I pretend I don't see… I don't ask. But… every time you bring something like
this home... my heart skips a beat! My son got lucky again, is what I think!”

“You sound just
like Tony.”

“Well, he’s got
more common sense than you do! You think this is some kind of a game you’re
playing?”

“Dad! I know what
I’m doing!” Flynn cried.

“Really?”

Their eyes met and
stayed locked for a long, awkward moment. There was a lot of sadness and
reproach in Alan Perry’s eyes. Flynn knew that look very well. His father
didn’t approve of the scavenging and the kind of future Flynn had in mind for
himself. He had seen that look many times in the last year… It was the look of disappointment,
because Flynn was going against tradition. He had refused to do what was
expected of him, and what every good kid in town did when they came of age… They
chose to take on their fathers’ jobs, no matter what… and Flynn had no such
plans. He wasn’t going to be a Watchman, even though he had grown up in his
father’s Watch Tower and knew everything there was to know about the job.

Flynn’s mother had
died shortly after he was born, so with no one else to take care of the baby,
Alan Perry had strapped his infant son to his back and returned to his job …
And the little boy had loved the Watch Tower in the beginning… Perched high
above all the other buildings, Flynn felt like he was on top of the world. Back
then, it seemed like there was no job more important than that of a Watchman…
His father was his hero, always on the lookout for danger, ready to raise the
alarm and keep the Archipelago safe…

Until one day,
Flynn had spotted the Scavenger Crews and watched the divers go to work! Going
down to the ocean bed and coming back with their amazing finds… He also noticed
the respect they had among the people of the Archipelago, especially those who
held the title of Free Scavengers. The golden badges they all wore were the
mark of great success… Those badges were known as Duncan’s Gold, named after
Duncan Roth, the man who was in charge of all official scavenging operations. And
then, Flynn had learnt of the privileges that came with their job and couldn’t
believe his ears… These guys had things that the Lower Siders could only dream
of… housing on the Upper Side, good food, running water, no Wardens spying on them…
The list of perks was long.

By then, Flynn had
been old enough to figure out who the real heroes were… His visits to the Watch
Tower became less and less frequent, until he completely stopped going up
there… He had met Tony Romero hanging round the Scavenger Crews, and they had
built their first raft. They had also made a vow… They were going to become
Free Scavengers, earn their Duncan Gold, even if it killed them… And so, for
the past six years, the boys had spent their days diving and getting ready for
the Trials. They were going to win and change their lives forever. Flynn had
made up his mind about what he wanted…Even if it meant breaking his father’s
heart. Looking at Alan Perry’s sad eyes now, Flynn felt a prick of guilt… But
there was no going back, and he didn’t care what his father was going to say to
him.

After having
studied his son’s face for a very long time, Alan Perry lowered his gaze.

“Flynn, I’m not
going to talk about what you do…or what you plan to do…” The man was struggling
to find the words with which to continue. “… I tried to raise you as best as I
could… to prepare you for the harsh reality of life here ... to keep you safe
and out of trouble…”

“Yeah, I know
that,” said Flynn, looking down at his feet.

“You're a big boy
now… and soon I'll be gone.”

“Hey! Don't say
that!” Flynn’s eyes were now on his father.

“Let's not pretend,
son! You know I'm not going to be around for much longer. I'll be on the
Departure List sooner rather than later… My time’s running out!”

“But ...” Flynn's
eyes were getting wider with every word, “they'll keep you, right? Like Mr.
Kowalski…You're one of their best Watchmen… they won't let you go. They’ll make
you an ancient...”

“Flynn!” Alan
Perry leaned forward, holding his head in his hands. “I can't see that well
anymore!”

“But you saw me
today, didn't you?” There was a note of hope in Flynn's voice. “I was on the
East border… I waved at you… and then you gave me the signal from the Tower...”

“No, son,” Alan
Perry said, shaking his head now. “I'm sorry, I didn’t! Uncle Dale saw you. He
set the signal off… He’s been covering for me quite a bit of late… but it won’t
go unnoticed.”

Flynn jumped up
and turned away from the table. He had expected an argument with his father
over the scavenged wine bottle, the fish he had traded, the Trials… anything
but this… Officer Foley’s words were echoing in his ears now… and Dino’s… both
had said something about his father being on the Departure List this year…Flynn
knew how things were going to play out if his father wasn’t able to do his job
as a Watchman any more… Alan Perry had been preparing him for that moment ever
since he was old enough to understand… And in a way, Flynn, like all the kids
on the Lower Side, understood it all… It seemed perfectly normal to them…It was
what happened to people when they got to a certain age… No longer able to work
and contribute to the community, these people became a burden that the rest
couldn’t carry around. They were dead weigh, and they had to make room for the
young blood, the new working force. The old and infirm simply had to go!

The Government had
not announced the date for the Departure Ceremony, but Flynn knew it could be
any day now. They would let people get complacent, hopeful that they might get
lucky, borrow some more time…And then, the Departure List would come out with
the names of the people who were going to be retired. The Government would
throw a big farewell party, known as the Departure Ceremony, thanking those on
the List for all their hard work and contribution to the community… They would
then put the chosen ones on a raft and escort them away from the city. The raft
would be supplied with a small quantity of food and water and set adrift… And
that was that! What became of the people on the raft was anybody’s guess… they
either died from thirst and starvation, or from the Flood Virus, if they
reached the contaminated mountain ridges west of the Archipelago. .. Nobody
ever came back.

Yes, Flynn had
always known this day would come… that his father would end up on the List and go
to the Ceremony… Then Flynn's turn would come, if he ever lived to be that age…
He would have to leave, just like all those before him. This was how things
worked, thought Flynn… His mind had been so focused on the Trials and getting
ready for the big day that he had stopped paying attention, forgotten about the
Archipelago’s tradition and ignored his own father. Flynn had always thought he
would be ready for this moment when it arrived… that he would be able to handle
it well… accept it and get on with life… But now, he wasn't so sure.

“If you’re on the
List,” said Flynn, “then we’ll think of something…”  

“There’s nothing
we can do, son.” Alan Perry shook his head.

 “There must be!”
Flynn began to pace up and down the little room, thinking furiously on his
feet. “I’ll hide you, Dad!” he cried. “I know of places… underwater… air pockets…
You'll be OK… I’ll bring you plenty of food and...”

“Flynn, stop!”
Allan Perry whispered. “Don’t even think of doing such a foolish and dangerous thing.
If I’m on the List, then so be it… Don’t fight it.”

Flynn opened his
mouth to say something then closed it. He saw the resignation in his father's
eyes… Alan Perry had always been a stickler to the rules…He had obeyed the Greater
Good protocols and never broken a single law in his life…Suddenly, Flynn felt
angry at his father. How could the man be such a coward?

“So, you’ll just
let them take you away?” Flynn asked. “You won’t let me try to help you?”

“No, I won’t let
you.”

“You’d rather die,
then?”

“Who knows? Maybe
it won’t be the end of me… Maybe I'll reach Dry Land and live...”

Startled, Flynn looked
up. “You know there's nothing but ocean out there! Everybody knows that!”

“Mr. Kowalski
would disagree,” Alan Perry said and laughed suddenly. He got up, walked over
to Flynn and threw his arm around his shoulders. “Forget everything I’ve told
you… Right now we've got us some fresh fish to cook. What do you say, son?”

Flynn swallowed
hard then looked at his father. He knew the man was done talking, and Flynn had
to respect that. “Sure,” he mumbled and managed a weak smile. “Let's do that.”

But Flynn was no
longer hungry. The last thing he wanted to think about was food...