Ascent (26 page)

The Party can’t be happy about Matt’s resistance because he’s seen the future.

Matt looks happy in the pictures, like the world was lifted off his shoulders and he is able to live again.

I catch the security guard watching me. I wave at him; he nods and goes back to ESPN. I can still see its reflection in the window.

I log into my email and there’s a message from Jonathan.

Have you been out to the site?

I know what he’s referring to: Area 31. I glance back at the guard again. He appears to have forgotten I’m even in the room.

No. But I’ve passed the initiation. I’m being accepted into the Party this afternoon. After I’m a member I should have access to all the Party’s secrets.

I hit send just as the guard stands up. I sweep the device off the back of the computer and stand up.

“Graduation is soon. I’m surprised you’re down here on the computer,” the guard says as he walks my direction.

I log off the computer and stand. “Yep, I’m heading back to my room to get ready.”

“Must be something interesting you’re working. You know you’re only supposed to use Party-approved sites, right?”

“Of course.”

Then he’s standing in front of me, a foot taller and two feet wider. “Good, because I don’t want any funny business on my watch.”

He gives me a hard stare and I try not to squirm. When he doesn’t make any move to leave I take a step around him. “Well, I’ve got to go get ready. I’ll see you around.” Then I leave the office and hurry back to my room.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Farrah–Kate

We made it. It’s the final week and the remaining fourteen of us are being initiated into the Party. I won’t be returning to LA. I’m moving to a higher floor of Winn Hotel and getting a larger room. I’ll learn the Party’s secrets. I’ll go to Party training. I’ll never be allowed out.

And I know I made the right decision, even if it means the rest of my life will be dedicated to a political party and I really don’t care about politics at all. But the Party saved my mother, and for that I owe them everything.

The graduation ceremony is being held in the President’s Conference Room in Winn Hotel. Our families will be allowed to attend. My dad is coming to graduation. I still don’t know what happened to my mom. I can’t wait to find out what happened after I left. To find out what the rest of her life was like.

We’re all dressed up for the ceremony. I’m wearing the Party uniform: khaki pants and a white blouse. There’s a pin of the American flag on the front. The pin is a flag with only one star. According to the Party, there’s only one state.

I wait in the lobby for my classmates to come downstairs. Well, my classmates minus one – the one that mattered to me the most.

Security is tight.

After the initiation we’ll never be able to go back.

There’s no way out.

Liam enters the lobby wearing a tux. I’ve never seen Liam in anything but his security uniform.

“Farrah, you clean up nicely. Ready for your graduation?”

I nod my head. “Yes, it will be good to see my dad and join the Party’s ranks.” The words feel like clay on my tongue.

Slowly my classmates come down the elevator. Once we have everyone, we follow Liam to the President’s Conference Room. The only other time I’ve been in the conference room was when Kyle Everson had his little indiscretion. But now I’ve passed the test. We’re becoming part of the elite. Everything will be available to us now. I thought I came here to only save my mother, but now I’m being offered a chance to join the world’s leaders. I’m excited.

If Matt were here everything would be perfect.

***

The President’s Room is down a long hallway behind a heavy steel door. We approach the door and Liam punches numbers in a handheld device. The door slides open. The room is a cavern. It doubles as a bunker for the elite.

There is barely enough people in attendance to fill the room: it’s far too large. Only the staff at IYD and family members are invited to attend the ceremony.

I’m sitting with my classmates, occasionally looking around the room at all their families. It’s been along time since we’ve had contact with the outside world.

Dr. Thompson takes the podium and starts his speech. I sit in the front row as stiff as a board.

I listen carefully to his words. Even though I came to save Mom, my chest swells with pride. I’m one of them now. I’m part of the only group that matters.

I look behind me. Dad’s sitting towards the back. Just like me, he’s sitting straight as a board. I glance to the back of the crowd and spot a woman with blonde, flipped hair and Hollywood sunglasses. She stands in the corner, looking right at me.

Goosebumps line my skin.

It’s the woman from the films – the woman from my past. I’m sure it’s her.

I can’t take my eyes off of her. This woman, this ghost, from my past – and she’s here in the present. I can’t believe we’re in the same room.

She leans against the wall. From behind her sunglasses I feel her gaze. I can feel her looking at me, examining me. I’m so sure it’s her that my heart skips a beat.

Marvin Winn takes the stage for his commencement speech. He stands behind the podium. I can barely see his head over the top. I glance over my shoulder and the woman is still there, hiding behind her Hollywood sunglasses, the sunglasses that protect her from the outside world.

Dad’s sitting by himself. Dad always sits by himself. I look over my shoulder and give him a little wave. He nods his head at me. Like it would be too much to wave or to smile or to mouth congratulations.

“Dr. Thompson, members of the faculty and staff at the Institute for Youth Development, proud parents, and most of all, our esteemed students. Thank you for gathering here today so we can take this time to congratulate our students on their accomplishments and acknowledge their achievements.”

I fold my hands in my lap. Casey is next to me, sitting perfectly straight, listening intently to Marvin’s speech. She looks so different in the Party’s uniform. All the while, I keep looking over my shoulder. I can’t help it. Like the woman behind me will disappear if for even a moment I forget she’s there.

“IYD’s goal is to develop the future leaders of America. This year’s graduates represent the best high school students today. We are here to celebrate their achievements.”

Marvin goes on to say how much we’ve contributed to scientific research and how we’ll be able to contribute to the Party. I’m filled with pride and empty at the same time. I can’t stop looking at the vacant seat that Matt was supposed to occupy. The room feels like it’s missing something without him.

Marvin finishes his speech and everyone claps. I look over my shoulder for the woman in the room.

And she’s gone.

***

We’re each granted a diploma that’s engraved in gold. After graduation everyone moves into the reception area. Tables filled with pastries dot the room. An ice sculpture stands, trying not to melt. Parents make small talk while they wait for the freshly minted Party members to enter the room. I spot Dad by himself, standing in the corner, with a bottle of beer in hand. He waves at me when he sees me. I walk over to meet him.

We don’t hug.

“Good job with the program. Sounds like you had quite the summer.” He extends a hand out awkwardly in an attempt to shake my hand. I feel like it’s the only way he communicates with me. We’re like two forces of energy circling, existing in the same place, but not connecting.

“Thanks, Dad.” I look around the room. All the parents look so happy to see their kids who’ve been gone all summer. Siblings in the room talk excitedly. Cousins have tagged along. But here in the corner it’s just Dad and I, standing awkwardly next to each other.

“So, how does it feel to be an official Party member?”

I shrug. “I can’t believe I was lucky enough to be chosen for the program.”

“Do you think you’ll like living in Las Vegas?”

I nod my head. “The hotel is very nice. It’s state of the art. I feel safe here.”

He looks at the ground. He knows what I’m talking about. The world isn’t the way it used to be. Everything is different now. Being a member of the Party is the only guarantee for the future.

“That’s good. I’m glad coming out here over the summer was worth it then.”

I spot Casey walking over to us, her parents in tow. They’re exactly as I pictured: North Trek jackets, Keen shoes, natural colored hair … Her brother is taller than her and looks like he spends his weekends hiking.

Casey hugs me.

“This is my friend Farrah.”

I expect a handshake from her mom but instead she reaches out her arms and gives me a tight hug. I can’t remember the last time a parental person gave me a hug. It’s sad, really.

“So nice to meet you, Farrah! Casey told me wonderful things about you. Well, what she could anyway. I guess everything at IYD is super secret and you can only share so much, but what I heard is wonderful.”

Dad’s standing back with a pasted smile on his face. Like he wants to jump into the conversation, but doesn’t know how. I decide to help him out.

“This is my dad, Bill.”

“So nice to meet you, Bill.” Casey’s parents shake his hand and start up with small talk about summer, the weather, the stifling desert heat, and how there’s no way they could spend the summer in the desert the way we did. But doing it to join the Party is worth it.

I listen and nod my head along with the words. I keep glancing over to where the woman was standing during Marvin’s speech. She’s not there, so I scan the crowd. She hasn’t come back.

Casey’s parents excuse themselves and retreat back to the food table.

“Dad, I need to use the restroom.”

“Okay, dear.”

Instead of heading over to mingle with the other parents, he heads back to the chair he’s been sitting in all night. He takes a seat and watches all the activity going on around him. I pause for a moment, before walking out of the room.

***

The hallway is empty, with the exception of servers in black pants and crisp white shirts running up and down the hall. Trays teeter in their hands. One wrong move and glasses will fly into the air and break on the floor.

I walk into the bathroom. Marvin Winn is all about the best details and it shows in the women’s room. No expense has been spared. Marble floors reflect the light, tiled bathroom counters. Classical music floats in the air. I hear a
swoosh
that makes me jump and the smell of freshener fills the air. Hand towels are neatly folded in a basket.

I sit down on an over-filled couch and my mind replays the summer. Nine years ago I changed Mom’s fate.

I wonder about the woman at the ceremony with the blonde hair, hiding behind the sunglasses that are an all-too-familiar memory in my mind.

I want to find her.

The hallways are still empty. I hear voices from the conference room. The words linger in the air – people talking over each other – sentences forgotten as soon as they are heard. A server rushes by and brushes his tray against my arm. For a moment the glasses wobble, and I’m afraid they’re going to fall. But they regain their composure and the server hurries away.

My shoes click and echo on the polished marble floors as I walk back down the hallway. I look through open doors, in windows, searching for the woman. For once the halls are devoid of security. They’re all in the President’s Room – where I’m supposed to be.

The hall turns and I find myself heading out back of the casino. The door is propped open just slightly. I gently open it and squeeze through.

Air whooshes out the door as I step outside: it’s the air conditioning, sending a blast of cold air into the hot, dry day. I squint my eyes against the sun and look around. Security guards patrol the front of the hotel. No one pays me any attention at all.

They’re completely unaware that inside the hotel are the world’s first time travelers and future Party members. So much has changed. The ability to go back to the past opens so many possibilities.

And it’s why I’m standing outside in the heat when I should be standing inside.

I’m looking for my mother.

But she’s not out here. I look in all directions, searching … and nothing. There are only guards and a few delivery people out here.

I head back inside.

A couple of servers are speaking in the hallway. One looks at me and smiles. I smile back, aware that I should be at the reception. I walk past them like I know where I’m going. Like I’m not a student from IYD walking around where she shouldn’t.

Down the hall leads to the casino. I exit and look around. Vacationers dump money into the casino machines. I walk fast down the aisle, my eyes darting around, looking for the woman that looked so much like the person I know.

And I have to hurry or I know someone will come looking for me. I pick up my pace and walk past the restaurants, the shops. I circle the casino. And still, she’s not here. It’s like she’s disappeared into thin air – and I’m too aware that I’ve been gone twenty minutes. I have to go back; my dad will come out looking for me any minute and I don’t want him to think I deserted him.