Legacy (The Biodome Chronicles) (19 page)

“How did you climb up without being noticed by Leaf and Ember?”

“They were a wee bit distracted with each other, were they not?”

Oaklee turned away from Coal, feeling a warmth color her cheeks as she thought of the intimate moment.

With softness, Coal said, “You look very becoming when you blush, Oaklee.” He lowered himself onto the branch, facing her.

“Please, My Lord. You will embarrass us both.” She continued to look away and felt a stronger blush color her complexion.

“Oaklee,” he began with a nervous sigh, “I know you do not care for me in the same way I care for you.” Coal reached out and took her free hand in his and she froze. “But my heart is entirely yours, My Lady.”

Oaklee pulled away, wishing she had more space and freedom, and then said, “Coal Hansen, Son of Fire, my father died four days ago. Is there a reason you must press your case so strongly right now? I cannot breathe!”

“Yes, I desire to care for you. I do not want for you to feel alone.”

Coal looked down at their shared branch, his attention diverted by a distressed ant trying to find a way around them. Oaklee silently encouraged the insect to find a safe escape.

He began again, almost shyly, “I know your relationship with Leaf is not ideal. I would like to step in and become your provider and protector, to honor you as a man honors a woman.”

He looked so sincere and vulnerable as he reached for her hand once again, and she panicked.

“We are barely adults. I cannot wrap my head around all that I have lost to even fully consider what you are offering, all I would gain.”

“I shall give you my pledge, My Lady,” Coal said, his tone sweet and gentle, befuddling her senses. “I shall honor my pledge until you are ready. I wish for you to be my wife, Willow Oak. Please, let me love you and not only as your friend.”

She looked down at the ant, the insect’s frantic moves in rhythm with her heart. Coal was acting most strangely, and his determined resolve made her withdraw into herself even more. Why could he not wait until she turned sixteen to offer his hand in marriage, per The Code? Additionally, he continued to address her with a courtesy title The Elements had not ceremoniously bestowed upon her yet. Although he had an impetuous nature, this was beyond his normal impulsive side. Her heart began to wither, feeling it was all a ruse, a way to marry into power.

With each word slow and measured, she said, “What if I am never ready, Coal? What if I was never meant to marry, but instead to have some other worthwhile position in this community?”

Coal gave Oaklee a wounded look so deep that her eyes teared up as she struggled with the heaviness in her heart
. She did not wish to meet anyone else’s needs right now. They stared at each other with simmering emotions until Oaklee lowered her gaze and returned her attention back to the ant.

“Willow Oak Watson, Daughter of Earth, I know you. I believe, even better than you know yourself. I know everything there is about you, except one thing: how to win your heart.” Coal stood up and climbed over to a nearby branch. He looked back up at her as he began to lower. “I will prove to you that I am worthy of your great affection. You are not as high and mighty as you believe. I thought you were a woman, but when you grow up a little more you will recognize that friendship no longer remains a possibility between us. And you will not wish for your brother’s protection forever.”

“Get off my tree!”

Coal grit his teeth as she glared at him.

Grow up more, indeed. If he was even slightly mature he would be kind enough to give her peace and solitude to mourn the way she wished. He still had his father and a mother figure. She was an orphan, unprotected, and required to carry the weight of a secret neither she nor Leaf knew how to handle. Oaklee continued to glare at Coal, and he eventually lowered his head and his large shoulders sagged.

“I am most sorry, Oaklee. I am a stupid, insensitive fool.”

He plucked a golden leaf from the tree and handed it to her while turning his head away. She accepted the leaf with trembling fingers and peered at him with a single arched eyebrow.

He whispered, “So your treasured leaf will not be alone.”

Coal descended the mighty oak without looking back up, and then ran off toward the livestock biome. Oaklee watched until he had completely disappeared from her vision and then she began sobbing, gasping for air as the walls that enclosed her life seemed to loom closer than before.

Coal even knew of her leaf. Was she so transparent? Or was he just that obsessed? He seemed to expect her to be flattered, but once again she felt that her privacy had been invaded. In his subtle ways, he revealed that he knew the rhythm of her beating heart. Only it made her heart harden against him that much more. He was right, he did not know how to win her affection.

She wiped away her tears, resolving it would be the last time she would cry, and began climbing down the tree to search for Laurel. She wanted to enjoy the uncomplicated happiness of her little sister’s world. With feet planted on the forest floor before the giant fern that had concealed Leaf, she turned around and began walking toward The Waters when she noticed Jeff Abrahms, strolling toward her with anxious steps.

“Willow, a word if you please,” he said when a few steps away, a nervous gait to his walk.

She remained still while looking around the forest, wondering why she was singled out. When he finally stood before her, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver matte object that was rolled up. He looked around, spotted a rock, and beckoned for her to follow. Jeff sat upon the rock with tired movements, unrolling the object on his lap, and then pushed a button. A bright bluish light suddenly appeared. Oaklee gasped with excitement, jumping back slightly. Jeff gave her a strange look, and she remembered her generation was not supposed to know technology so she changed her expression to appear fearfully stunned, even though she was overjoyed with seeing what she surmised was a Scroll.

“My apologies, Willow. I should have prepared you. This is called a Scroll. It is a computer humans used over twenty years ago.” Jeff motioned her back over to take a peek. “Who knows what they use now,” he muttered to himself. “Anyway, I received a message from Hanley Nichols that you need to hear.”

“Hanley Nichols sent a message to me?” she said with incredulity, her eyes widening in surprise.

“No. Not to you per se, but to all those near your age group living within New Eden.”

Curious, Oaklee knelt on the forest floor, feeling the dampness seep through her linen dress. She leaned in to study the Scroll and hoped her movements appeared natural. Jeff offered a small smile and then took her hand, closing her fingers save her index finger. He moved her finger on the flat surface, directing pictures this way and that way, and she giggled. A confident pointer finger tapped on a single picture, which caused that picture to disappear and another picture to appear. Was she using magic? How did the device know his thoughts, communicating through her finger? Several lines of words were organized by a number system, which she figured were dates and times. He used her finger to tap on a specific entry and a message popped up, displaying a type of lettering that was so perfectly neat, similar to a book, that she was in awe. He released her hand with an amused smile. Willow smiled widely in return, momentarily forgetting the pain in her heart over Coal and her father.

“I shall read aloud for you: ‘New Eden Enterprises would like to offer the Township of New Eden a unique opportunity. I am in need of a new intern who will advise me on the best tried and true methods of ecological restoration and waste management. In exchange, I will send in someone from my community to learn these very skills from masters who have surpassed the expectations of the entire modern world. With Project Phase Two approaching this year, an opportunity such as this will help both cultures ease into the changes to come. This would be a ninety-day trade, and then the agreeing parties would go back to their original homes. If a young adult between the ages of sixteen and twenty would like this opportunity, they need to report to the
sealed entrance by 1100 hours on the Saturday following receipt of this message.’”

Jeff looked up to her, lightly thumping the Scroll for emphasis. “You see, this is a perfect solution.”

“I do believe you are speaking in puzzles. A perfect solution to what?” Oaklee tilted her head to get a better view of Jeff’s expression, trying to read his eyes. He seemed at a loss for words, trying to formulate what to say and moved his mouth although nothing came out. “My Lord, perhaps you should lie down. You looked peaked.”

He turned a nervous stare to Oaklee, the left eyelid twitching. “Leaf should go. It would be a beneficial experience for him.” He nodded his head, agreeing with his own words. “Try and convince him it is his duty to go.”

Oaklee knit her brows in concern. Jeff was behaving strangely, and it caused unease to nibble at her mind.

“I shall speak with him; however, I must be honest, I am not sure I am ready for him to leave.”

Jeff hung his head and avoided her eyes, nodding agreement once more. “No, I would imagine not.” Pushing a button, he rolled up the Scroll and placed it in his pocket. He looked up at her with concern shadowing his features and begged with his eyes. “There will be a meeting today at three in the afternoon time. All adults between the ages of sixteen and twenty are required to attend, and their families are encouraged to do so as well.”

“Required?” Willow asked. “I thought this was an open invitation?”

“Yes,” was all Jeff said as he turned around and began walking toward the chancery.

Something was definitely amiss. Her father and Jeff had been good friends. Clearly he was stricken with grief, the poor man. Unless—unless he knew the secret of the strange card Leaf had found and the secret of their Legacy. Even her own father had told Leaf to gather his sisters and leave New Eden, to search out Della Jayne and share that he had sent them. Why would he make such a request? Yet when Master Fillion asked if they were in trouble, both she and Leaf chose not to explore the answer as if a part of them deep down believed it may be true.

Della Jayne Nichols. Oaklee stood up straighter while connecting Leaf’s statement to Master Fillion, who was flummoxed by the information as well. Why did the Dungeon Master feel he should have known this information? His strange confession baffled her, and she wondered exactly who Master Fillion was that he would know Della and Hanley Nichols, and in such a way that Leaf’s words would bother him so. And was this why he knew her full name? Was he linked to Della Jayne somehow? Did Della know who she was? The very idea wrinkled her mind with trepidation. Secrets gave her headaches and disturbed her to distraction.

Oaklee sighed and rubbed her temples, then focused her thoughts on Jeff’s peculiar response to Hanley’s message. Did Jeff know of their father’s request? Was he trying to protect Leaf and honor their father’s wishes? Regardless, she finally knew what a Scroll was and even how to use it. A part of their mystery was solved. Where was her mother’s? Did Jeff seek her out on purpose to also show her the Scroll and how to use it?

She paused once again, desperately trying to absorb that her mother was once The Aether, and so was her father. Why would Hanley give such honor to the family of his wife’s former intended? Why did her father and Della end their engagement? She could not fathom that her father would break a vow. Della must be a very important woman to have held the hearts of two powerful men. And very beautiful, she imagined.

For the moment, Oaklee forgot about finding Laurel and her encounter with Coal, forging her way through the forest to the Mediterranean livestock dome. An urgency rushed through her, giving her feet wings as she sprinted as fast as she could. Hopefully, Leaf kept company with Ember as she milked the goats mid-day. The panic in her bloodstream demanded an immediate audience and she did not know if she could endure a lengthy search for her brother.

***

Under conditions of isolation and confinement, the ability to satisfy a need for achievement and order is often restricted by the environment itself. ... Adjustment of expectations to meet the reality of the situation may also account for the inverse association between a desire for efficiency in friends and emotional stability. Similarly, the ability to satisfy a desire for affection from others is limited by a perceived need among all crew members to create their own personal space in a confined setting. The willingness to display friendship and offer emotional support to other crew members is often counterbalanced by a perceived inability to offer effective support and a fear of being burdened by the problems of others that are similar in nature to one’s own problems.

—
Lawrence A. Palinkas, University of California, San Diego *

My hope has always been that the first generation would find a way to cope with and minimize isolation, confinement, and extreme environment stressors, making New Eden a paradise for all living within the township. Unlike in the early 1990s, when the Biospherians were pioneers in an uncharted land of such proportions, we now know and understand from their experience how to counterbalance the symptoms of ICE. There must be limited reminders of the past, and limited connections to the present outside world. We took these cues from LARP, a subculture of people who continually live in alternate realities, creating stories, histories, and worlds with their imaginations and ingenuity, known for the supportive communities formed by their game. I can say with confidence that New Eden Township is thriving with its alternate lifestyle. We may finally have a colony for Mars without fear of social breakdown.

—
Hanley Nichols, “The Community of New Eden and ICE,”
Nature
, May 2044

***