The Annihilation of Foreverland

fight, got it. What’s the other thing?”
    “Let me in the Mansion when you get there.”
    Zin was thinking about it. Moments later, he got it. He nodded. All right.
    Danny went to the door. Zin was still up on one elbow. It was the longest he’d stayed lucid in the last days. He watched Danny leave.

    Danny stepped onto the dune. Black waves roared onto shore with white foam on top. The tide was high; the water skimming across the hardpacked sand.
    He gripped the paper sack against the tug of the wind. It was too dark to see down the beach. Reed was usually on the left end. A hundred yards proved him correct. His knees were pulled up to his chest, hair fluttering.
    Danny had been on the island almost two months. In that time, Reed had become a withered camp survivor. Every bone was visible from the waist up. Danny sat next to him and pulled out two bananas and passed one to him. Reed took it. He held it for several moments before peeling it.
    “You got to eat, Reed.”
    Reed chewed, slowly. “It only makes me feel better.”
    “Yeah, that’s the idea.”
    “And that makes it harder.”
    When the bananas were gone, Danny handed him an apple. “You know what they say about apples.”
    “They don’t say that here, Danny Boy. Besides, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
    Reed pushed up his lip, revealed the black gap of a missing tooth. Danny hadn’t noticed it when they were at the doctor’s office. His teeth were falling out.
    Danny bit a chunk and handed it to him. “Yeah, it’s gross but there are worse things. You got to eat. I can’t have you petering out before the next round ends.”
    Reed eyeballed the slice. Danny swore he could see him smile before taking it. Danny took another bite and held it out. He ate the entire apple that way.
    “I’m going to drop a satellite, Reed.”
    Reed didn’t respond.
    “I’ll hack the United States Air Force, direct one their Milstar satellites to make an emergency landing in the middle of the island. The government will be here before it lands.”
    “You think you can do that?”
    Danny recalled the processing speed and the ease at which he maneuvered through the global communications network the last time. It had become more an effort of will than skill.
    “I can.”
    Reed just nodded.
    They listened to the ocean, to the rise and fall of the water.
    Danny leaned back on his elbows. The sky was filled with a thousand points of light. He located the Big Dipper and Orion’s Belt. He put his head down and closed his eyes. And the water lulled him to sleep.
    A bird woke him. The waves glittered with morning light.
    Reed was gone.
    The fourth round was near.

    Mr. Jones was waiting at the Haystack. The gongs had already passed.
    He led Danny inside with a few encouraging words. The rest of the camp was in their cells, still dressed, waiting for Danny. They were glad he arrived but not happy to see him.
    Reed was already nude with his back to Danny. He could count all the vertebrae.
    Mr. Jones took Danny’s clothes. Zin was the last to arrive. His Investor guided him inside with a hand on his shoulder. He was vacant, spastically swallowing. The Investor asked him three times for his clothes before he caught on. The boys grew impatient.
    When the doors closed and the skylights darkened, Zin stood in the middle of his cell, shoulders slumped. Head down.
    “Bye, Zin,” Danny whispered.
    He wasn’t sure he heard him. But didn’t expect him to.

38
    The Director watched the sun set.
    He awoke completely refreshed. He had not slept well until recently. He never slept well in the face of uncertainty. That was over now. He knew what needed to be done. And how to do it.
    “Director,” the intercom said. “We’ll be dropping the lucid gear in thirty minutes.”
    “Thank you.”
    He changed into a clean shirt and settled into his reclining chair. The kneading rollers adjusted to his shifting weight, allowing him to settle into a comfortable position. The Director stared at the ceiling. Deep breath.
    The network technician that monitored Foreverland showed him how Danny had somehow circumvented the security like some sort of science fiction mind meld. He became one with the environment and rode it into the Ethernet, around the world and all the way to the satellites.
    He wouldn’t do it again. They were ready for him.
    In fact, he was hoping he would try.
    He would watch closely this time. Even though he couldn’t see into the Nowhere, there were ways to