The Young Man

THE YOUNG MAN

By

Patrick Seaman

The Young Man eyed the field nervously. Standing in the tree line, just inside the covering brush, he was invisible, he hoped, to any prying eyes along the opposing field. He scanned up and down, looking for any movement that could be a threat. It was quiet. That was normal, given the lack of birds and other wildlife. The wind blew through the trees above him. His father had told him about birds, how they once flew constantly through the air, perched in trees, and sang their cheerful songs. They were all gone now. He had told him stories of the woodland mammals; squirrels climbing up and down trees, foraging for nuts to store for the winter. Chipmunks running about through the leaves on the ground. And the deer, majestic, trotting silently through the forest-the bucks with their beautiful antlers, and the does with their little spotted fawns. The Young Man looked forward to a day that he could see them for real-not just pictures in an old tattered book, or videos on the computer. He wondered what they would smell like. Snapping out of his thoughts, he refocused on the task at hand. It had taken him months of travel to get to this point, and he didn’t want to fail now. The Raiders could be hiding anywhere. Ambush was their specialty. Cannibals who killed and ate unwary travelers between the domed cities. The Young Man wondered what meat tasted like. Even human. He had never had any meat at all; he and his clan, like everyone else, subsisted on plants-fruits, vegetables, nuts & seeds. After the Shift, as his parents called it, there were no more animals to eat. And very few humans to eat them, as well. He was an Outsider-part of the small percentage of humans left who didn’t live in a domed city, protected from the Raiders, and other outsiders.

The area appeared clear, so the Young Man took a deep breath, and slipped out of the tree line. He silently sprinted, head low as he had been taught, to the other side. Once safely under the cover of the trees, he relaxed, stopped, and listened. As usual, no movement, no sound beside the wind in the trees above. He checked his bearings and pressed on. “It shouldn’t be much farther now,” the Young Man thought to himself. Per the instructions his father had made him memorize, he only had about another day’s journey to reach the city. Columbus. Named for an explorer hundreds of years ago, he knew. Site of a large university back before the Shift. The Young Man’s father had worked in secret in his laboratory. The Young Man was never quite sure what he was doing, but his father had had him trained by the group’s security people. He was stealthy, strong, and fast. He could run, climb, hide, and fight better than nearly any of his friends. He was never told what was in the large, stainless steel heart shaped locket he wore on a chain around his neck, just that it was of the utmost importance that it gets to Columbus-and specifically, to Dr Lawrence. His father was believing the project was still in operation, and could do something with what was in the locket. He’d been drilled time and again, for as long as he could remember, on how to open the secret catch, what to do if he was about to be compromised (he didn’t like to think about that-it didn’t look like it would fit well in either place…), how to fight, escape, etc. He just didn’t know what was in it-just that it was, “For all of us,” as his father had often said. He took a drink from his canteen and moved on.

It was about dusk when he saw it. The large, shining dome of the city. A small river, a creek, really, which he knew from his preparations was the Scioto River, flowed gently along the western edge, just outside the dome. He moved closer, and decided to bed down for the night as he had many times in a thicket of briars-easy to hear anyone sneaking up on him. He would figure out a way to enter the city in the morning.

Dawn came silently, as always. The Young Man stretched, ate some food from his pack, and took a swig from his canteen. He surveyed the west side of the dome. No entry points that he could see. Throughout the day, he covertly made his way around the circular dome. Finally, on the east side, he saw it. A road, more like a path, strewn with debris, led up to a covered awning. Getting closer, he saw a set of double metal doors. Ensuring that the area was clear, he moved up towards it. A sign covered the doors, in English, Spanish, and a few other languages the Young Man didn’t recognize. It read:

CITY OF COLUMBUS, STATE OF OHIO, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

PRESS THE RED BUTTON, LOOK AT THE CAMERA TO YOUR UPPER LEFT

NO WEAPONS INSIDE

ENTRY IS CONDITIONAL

He pressed the button, and looked up into the surveillance camera encased in a protective dome far above his reach. A voice immediately addressed him from a hidden speaker. “Good afternoon. What can we do for you?” He was taken aback-he didn’t know where the voice came from, and he hadn’t heard another human speak for several months. He cleared his throat to speak the words he’d been forced to memorize for years. “Is Doctor James Lawrence, Microbiologist at The Ohio State University, or any of his colleagues or students here? I come bearing a message from Doctor William Boyles, Director of Microbiology of Rockefeller University.” He gulped, looked around the area, constantly maintaining situational awareness. He had been instructed to run at the first sign of danger or betrayal. The Young Man had no intention of failing in a mission he’d been trained for his entire life. Even if he didn’t quite know what it was…

“Stand by…” the voice said. For what seemed like an eternity, he nervously waited. Finally, he heard the clanking of what sounded like heavy chains on the other side. The doors slowly opened, and several men, armed with what the Young Man knew to be firearms from books and videos he’d seen emerged. They were much bigger than him as well, but he wasn’t too concerned-he’d been trained to use his opponent’s size and weight as leverage against them-just in case it went sour. “Step forward,” one of them said. “We’re just going to check you real quick. Do you feel sick at all?” “No,” the Young Man said. “I’m fine.” He was scanned with a handheld device he didn’t recognize, head to toe. “Temperature, BP, bone structure normal, no abnormalities, no metal on him, except for a chain & large necklace.” The Young Man instinctively clutched the locket. “I am to give this only to Doctor Lawrence-or someone who worked with him.” “No problem,” said the man with the scanner. “We’ll take you to him.” He was escorted to a wheeled vehicle-again, his first time being in a motorized vehicle. He’d been prepared for the possibility, though. He was nervous with anticipation, but still cautious, as he’d been taught, ready to escape the moment he sensed betrayal-failure was not an option. After about a 20-minute ride, they arrived at a sterile looking building inside the dome. He was led in to a brightly lit room and left with one of the men. “Wait here,” said the one who had done all of the talking, as he went into another room. Shortly thereafter, he returned with a very old man in a lab coat. The man looked the Young Man up and down, and finally said, “Well, Young Man-why did Bill send you looking for me? What do you have for me?” The Young Man studied him, remembering his mission. “Are you Doctor Lawrence?” “Yes,” replied the old man. “How is Bill? How do you know him?” “I have to confirm first,” said the Young Man. “Rosebud?” “Rosebud?” Repeated the Doctor. “Rosebud…” He repeated and chuckled. “Bill and I used to drink cheap bourbon and watch Citizen Kane after a big exam back in school.” He smiled at the memory. “How is Bill?” The Young Man exhaled hard, and almost teared up. “That was confirmation, Doctor…he’s my father. I am to give you this,” the Young Man said, taking the large, shiny steel, heart-shaped locket from around his neck and handing it to him. Doctor Lawrence looked at it puzzlingly. “What is it?” He asked. The Young Man took it back, sheepishly. “Only I can open it,” he said, “Sorry-my father and I, that is.” He opened the locket with the hidden secret catch, as he had hundreds of times. Doctor Lawrence took the miniature SIM-type card out, and walked back to the lab. The Young Man and the armed men followed. Lawrence plugged it in. His eyes grew wide as he viewed the data on the card. After a few minutes, he broke down, sobbing loudly in his hands. The other men were clearly confused, and uncomfortable. “What is it?!” The Doctor got himself under control, and said between tears, “Do you know what this is? Do you even realize? After so long, after the Shift, and all of the animals dying out…to see them again…” His voice trailed off wistfully. The armed man who spoke broke the silence. “What is it, Doctor?” “Genomes,” said Lawrence. “The genetic codes for the animals that are all gone now. With this, we can replicate them via cloning. We can start over, and repopulate.” He turned towards the Young Man. “I can’t believe Bill did it. We thought all of the data was lost. And I can’t believe you made it here, unscathed. You’re truly blessed. We are all blessed. We-all of us-can’t thank you and your dad enough. But where are my manners?” Lawrence said, composing himself. “Tell me, Young Man. What’s your name?” The Young Man stood a little taller than he had been, and looked Dr. Lawrence in the eye.

“Noah.”