The Perfect World (The Perfect World Series Book 1) (26 page)

“Oh, but I wasn’t the only one who wanted to get you out of here.” Scott looked back towards the door and then back at Cyrus. “Where is she? I thought she’d be here by now.”

“She should be here soon,” John replied, holding up his square device. “I gave her a message shortly before we began talking to him.  I know she was nearly as anxious as you were, Scott.”

“I think she was more worried than I was.”

“Who?” Cyrus asked, getting tired of listening to the other talk about this anonymous person. The question was never answered as said person finally bustled into the room. At first, Cyrus didn’t recognize the woman that ran towards his bed. Then, he saw the small stature, the severe haircut, and her equally severe face. His jaw dropped open of its own accord at seeing another person who he assumed he would never see again.

“Ms. Linda?” Cyrus questioned in shock. “It’s you, isn’t it?”

“Of course it’s me, you silly boy!” she told him in her no-nonsense voice. “I know it’s been a while, but I didn’t think you’d forget who I was. I certainly haven’t forgotten you!”

“I didn’t mean that, but—”

He didn’t finish his sentence as she reached over and gave him a great big hug. “I missed you, you little troublemaker. Life just wasn’t the same without your constant questions and pestering.” She let go and took a good look at him, her brown eyes lighting up at the sight. “Though, I guess you aren’t so little anymore, are you? You’ve gotten so tall, though that hair of yours looks as impossible as ever.”

Cyrus laughed at the comment, running his fingers through his wild brown hair. “I missed you too, Ms. Linda, but I don’t understand. How are you here? What happened to you after the computer incident? Did the guards take you away? Did the people in this dome rescue you? Have you been living here ever since? And how did you—”

He stopped when he realized Ms. Linda was laughing at him. It was good to see her laugh, something she did so rarely when she was  his caretaker. “Questions, questions and more questions. You certainly haven’t changed since you were a kid, Cyrus Wright.” Her tear-filled brown eyes met his green ones as she smiled kindly at him. “Let’s see if I can answer at least one of your questions. I was taken away by the guards after the incident with the computers happened. They figured out that I had connections to people inside this dome and took me away to get rid of me.”

“Wait, were you working for these guys the whole time?” Cyrus pointed to John and Huo.

“Not the entire time, no,” Ms. Linda admitted, turning towards John. “The people in the domes wanted to try to reach out to some of the young kids stuck within their rooms. They wanted the truth to reach them, even if it was just once in their lives. They decided to try to recruit caretakers and other workers from inside of the walls to help get their message through. They thought I was a viable candidate and they contacted me. Once they explained everything to me, I was more than happy to oblige them.”

“But wasn’t that kind of dangerous for you?” Cyrus asked, eyeing John suspiciously.

“It was, but no more than just living in the perfect world is,” Ms. Linda replied with a shrug. “When you’re under their rule, you have to follow every single regulation and law to the letter. As soon as you make too many mistakes or they think you’re out of line, they get rid of you.

“Every day I was working for them felt like a day where I was walking on glass eggs. If I stepped too hard or went too quickly, everything around me would break and fall apart. I survived it by having a sanctuary within my mind where I stored my deepest thoughts and unhappiness. I learned how to keep a blank face no matter what the circumstances. Yet, I never enjoyed living there, and I was never happy. I felt that there was something missing, but I never truly knew what. When they found me and explained their world to me, well, I was happy to help them in any way I could.”

“So, you helped get those videos on the computers?” Cyrus thought aloud, “then you were captured. Did they rescue you?”

“Yes, they managed to get me and a few others away from the guards. I was one of the lucky ones who got away. Many of the others who tried to escape were shot and killed.”

“Such terrible losses …” John whispered, looking truly melancholic.

“Shot?” Cyrus repeated in confusion. “What does ‘shot’ mean?”

“It means what happened to you,” Huo said as he pointed a finger to his shoulder.

John fiddled with his square device and showed Cyrus the picture on the screen. Cyrus recognized the object immediately as the one the guards had used on him. It was a black object with a long brown handle and long pipe on the end of it.

“This is a gun. It’s a weapon that people in the old days used to defend themselves. A bullet, which is a little piece of metal, is shot from the long pipe here at a target at a fast range. Sometimes the bullets go clean through, but other times they get lodged in a person’s body. If it hits any vital points on a person’s body, they will die. These were tools once, used to defend the law abiding populace. Now, it’s used to shoot disobedient children and execute anyone else who disagrees with the perfect world system.”

“So much for no violence in the perfect world,” Scott muttered darkly.

“Once I escaped from the guards, I was sent to live in this dome. John helped enroll me in classes, get used to living and working inside this dome, and I’ve spent the last few years of my life here. I never did stop thinking about you, Cyrus, or Scott or Melody or any of the other children I cared for when I was stuck in the perfect world.”

“Melody?” Cyrus questioned, allowing a bit of hope to get into his voice. “Is she here too?”

The looks on both Scott’s and Ms. Linda’s faces told him the answer before either one of them opened their mouths. “Unfortunately, no, she is not here,” Ms. Linda answered gently. “She was moved to a different dormitory when the day of separation occurred. I know she is still alive, but I can’t tell you otherwise.”

“I see …” Cyrus whispered sadly. “At least she’s okay. That’s something, I guess.”

“Maybe someday she’ll get here too,” Scott said in a helpful tone.

“You think so?” Cyrus questioned, looking up at his old friend.

“It’s possible. I mean, you escaped and got here, right? Who’s to say that she can’t?”

“I hope so, Scott,” Cyrus responded with a smile as he thought of the bright, red-haired girl. “She is pretty creative. I bet she’ll figure a way out.”

“If this young woman does manage that, then we will be sure to help her out,” John reassured him with a sincere look on his face. “You can count on it.”

Cyrus was about to say something else, when Huo interrupted him.“You know what else we can count on? A very ticked off bunch of cabinet members if we stay here much longer. Not to mention, an angry medical staff if we keep talking to their patient. They probably want him to rest after he gets a good meal in him.”

John looked down at his square device and grimaced. “Oh, boy. We’re going to be late again. I can hear the lectures about propriety from here.”

“I’m glad I don’t have to deal with your cabinet members. My own cabinet wouldn’t dare lecture me about lateness.”

“Hmm, I wonder why,” John told him wryly as Huo just shrugged his shoulders, a small smile on his lips.

“Couldn’t tell you.”

“I’m sure you couldn’t,” John remarked sarcastically before he turned back to Cyrus and stuck out a hand. Cyrus clearly didn’t know what to do with it, so he picked up Cyrus’s right hand and shook it. “It was nice meeting you Cyrus. I will check in on you again later to see how the assimilation process is going. Don’t worry too much about it though. It shouldn’t be too hard on you or take very long. Until I see you again, take care.”

John Eldrick exited with a wave, with Huo following close behind. Cyrus looked at Ms. Linda and Scott, who were both still in the room.

“What’s a cabinet?” Cyrus asked, feeling increasingly stupid at all the questions he had to ask.

“It’s a bunch of men and women chosen by the dome’s advisers, which are then elected by the people in this dome to represent them and their interests. John Eldrick is the leader of this dome and the domes in North America. Each dome has a cabinet and a stand-in leader to help out domes run smoothly. They’re basically liaisons who give information, ideas and plans to John about how to improve our livelihood,” Ms. Linda explained kindly.

“Oh, okay,” Cyrus muttered, not really understanding the full concept. “How are they, what was it, elected?”

“I’ll field this one,” Scott told Ms. Linda with a grin. “Basically, people eighteen and older in the domes are allowed to access a secure voting web page on their computers. There are boxes next to each name, and a person puts a check in the box with the name of the person they want to vote for. If one person gets more votes than the others, then they are elected to be the new cabinet members.”

“I see,” Cyrus said, though it was still a little fuzzy.

“Don’t worry about it, Cyrus. I was really confused by everything when I first got here too,” Scott admitted. “It’s so much different from what we grew up with and what we’re used to, but it is a much better system. So don’t worry too much about what you don’t understand now. We’ll help you get started here, and the people in this dome are gonna help you out too. Just give it a little time and you’ll be fine.”

“Scott’s right about that,” Ms. Linda added calmly. “I lived in the perfect world longer than either of you could imagine. Yet, even  within the first few days, I was so much happier. I was happier than I’d ever been. I worked hard to become a part of this community and my last few years have been wonderful. I’m sure it will be the same for you Cyrus.”

“Thanks, Ms. Linda. Thanks, Scott,” he said turning to them both with a warm smile. “I’m glad you’re both here.”

“I’m glad we’re back together too, Cyrus,” Ms. Linda said with a warm expression. Silence permeated the room for a moment, before Scott cut in with another question.

“So, you must be hungry right?” Scott asked flippantly. “You’ve been out cold for two days. What do you want to eat?”

“Well, I, I don’t know …” Cyrus said with a shrug. He’d never been asked such a question before. He wasn’t sure how he should answer it.

Scott looked at him curiously, then slapped a hand to his forehead. “I forgot! You’re used to getting food out of that stupid little slot in the wall, aren’t you?” Cyrus nodded. “Well, here you get to choose what you want to eat. Anything you want to eat, you can have, within reason of course. Sound good?” Scott finished with a grin.

“You mean I never have to eat soggy, nasty oatmeal again?” Cyrus asked with a look of wonder on his face.

Scott snickered at the expression. “I knew you were going to say that. No, you never have to eat oatmeal again, if you don’t want to. You could even eat chocolate brownies for the rest of your life if you wanted to.”

“I wouldn’t recommend that,” Ms. Linda said with her hands on her hips.

“I wasn’t serious.” Scott put a hand over his mouth and whispered, “She’s a real stickler for healthy eating! Be careful not to eat any sweets around her!”

Cyrus wrinkled his nose at the memories of the chocolate brownies that he had been given at the birthday celebrations. “Why would I want to eat chocolate brownies anyway? They’re disgusting!”

Scott looked like he was about to keel over from shock at the words, then his mouth quirked as he remembered what brownies were like back at the dormitory. “Oh, no, not those nasty things! Those aren’t brownies! They’re a disgrace to brownies everywhere! I gotta get you to try the good stuff. That’ll change your mind. Oh and real chocolate! It’s some of the most wonderful stuff I’ve ever tasted.”

“That’s all well and good,” Ms. Linda interrupted, “but Cyrus needs a full meal right now. Not a bunch of junk food.”

“What’s junk food?” Cyrus asked, making Scott laugh and Ms. Linda sigh.

“You’ve got a lot to learn, Cyrus,” Scott said with a smile. “Okay, let’s see if I remember some foods that you like. Do you still like carrots?” Cyrus nodded his head, and Scott put a hand under his chin. “You like apples too, right, and I know you liked meat when we got it.” Cyrus nodded at those options too.

“I’ll order him a hamburger steak, with some carrots for vegetables and some apple slices for dessert. Does that meet your approval, Ms. Linda?” Scott asked with a grin.

“Just make sure he gets a nice glass of water and you’re dandy,” Ms. Linda said with a satisfied smirk.

“Can do.” Scott waved as he went to get one of the hospital staff.

When he came back, the three of them spent time catching up and talking about life under the dome. The more he learned, the more excited Cyrus became. It felt everything he had dreamed of was true. He ate his food happily, which was some of the best food he had ever tasted, and enjoyed the time he spent with Scott and Ms. Linda.

The two of them left when the doctors told him he needed his rest. They both promised to come back the next day to visit with him. The doctor, an older man with salt and pepper hair, checked his shoulder, giving him a shot to keep the pain down.

Cyrus lay down on the hospital bed that night with a big smile on his face. His plan had worked, and he had gotten away from his old world. It was time to see what this new world had in store for him.