The Annihilation of Foreverland

behind the silo. No tombstone, no cross or words. He put him in the ground still wearing coveralls, his mouth slightly agape, and covered him with dirt. When he was done, he dropped the shovel and went inside and called Lucinda.
    The next day, they were hundreds of miles away from home. Lucinda’s suitcase was in the back. Reed’s few belongings were in a paper sack. They were driving south. They didn’t know where, they were just going to drive until they felt like stopping. They wanted to get married but they’d have to find someone that would wed seventeen year olds without parental consent. There was always Vegas.
    Their truck went off the road somewhere in Oklahoma . The bumper wrapped around an oak tree.
    Both of them went through the windshield.
    Reed survived. He saw her body next to a tree. She wasn’t moving. He tried to get to her, to help her, to breathe into her lungs, to touch her once more…
    The record ended.
    Reed Johnston was acquired .
    And woke up on the island.

43
    The Nowhere room was empty.
    Lucinda wasn’t there when Danny returned from the Records. He was relieved. He considered staying in the Records until the round ended but it was too risky. Lucinda would know his thoughts the moment he arrived. She would know that she was dead.
    Lucinda is a memory.
    When Reed arrived on the island, somehow she slipped out of his memories and came to life in Foreverland. She didn’t know that she didn’t exist outside in the real world.
    She thinks she’s alive. Does that make her real?
    Did Reed know?
    No, Reed was just as confused as she was. He dreamed of her, didn’t know her name. Only Danny knew they had a real past. He knew they had parents, they were real people before they woke up on the island. But their parents were gone. There was nothing left of their lives.
    No one would look for them.
    Danny drifted back to his body, back to the Haystack and cold reality. He sat up, groggily. The cells were open and empty. Reed was gone. Zin, too. A few Investors were standing outside his cell. They were looking across the aisle . They didn’t pay attention to Danny quickly getting dressed.
    Two more Investors came inside with a stretcher. They placed it next to Sid. He was still lying flat on the floor. The Investors began to dress him. His eyes were open. His mouth, too.
    “Let’s go, Danny Boy.” Mr. Jones reached for him. “There’s nothing to watch.”
    Danny pulled his arm away. Mr. Constantino.
    “Come along, son.” Mr. Jones blocked the view into Sid’s cell. “Why don’t you get to your room and get some rest. This was a long round.”
    “What happened to Sid?” Danny said.
    “He just progressed a little faster than expected, nothing to worry about, son. Come along.”
    Danny hurried into the aisle so that Mr. Jones wouldn’t touch him. He went to his room alone and looked across the Yard. A flatbed cart emerged from the trees. Someone was lying on the back of it, covered with a sheet and his Investor riding next to him. They went around the dormitory. Toward the Chimney.
    You can stay here.
    Lucinda pulled him into Foreverland, like she ripped his identity from his body.
    Where was he now?
    It didn’t matter.
    A satellite would soon be punching a crater in the Mansion.

LAST
    ROUND

Foster Parents Arrested for Neglect and Abuse

    CHICAGO , Illinois . – Cynthia and John Halner were arrested for neglect and physical abuse of twelve foster children living in their home. The Department of Child and Family Services investigated claims of children complaining at school about being punished with belt buckles, bamboo sticks and screwdrivers.
    Eleven of the children have been placed in the custody of other families. The oldest child, Eric Zinder, 16, was reported missing. Cynthia and John Halner claimed he had run away several months earlier and failed to report it, although they continued to receive support for his care.

44
    It felt like his brains got pulled out of his head.
    The Director had to yank the needle out. His hands were still shaking. He lay in the chair, his breathing shallow, staring at the needle in his forehead for too long. Foreverland had closed but he was afraid to reach for it. Each time he did, his hand quivered violently. It would be dangerous if the needle shook inside the stent and scrambled his frontal lobe like a lobotomy knife. He took a deep breath and ripped it out like a loose tooth.
    It was several minutes before he stopped seeing double.
    She