Two Fates

Camille rushes out of her apartment. Her heels clack down the empty hallway. All of the other Elites are at the meeting already.

She arrives at the elevator and presses the "down" button. As she waits, she impulsively reaches her hand up to her neck and caresses the heart-shaped locket that hangs daintily at her collarbone.

The world has been in shambles since she was born in 2034. Her mother told her stories about a horrible war that broke out between countries that no longer existed, including theirs. Buildings were demolished. People were exterminated.

Families who could afford to pay, were granted safety in a housing system called the Government Buildings. They lived high above the streets, in sky-rises that were built long ago. They could live in these apartments as long as they promised to work for the government and for the greater good of the Elite community. Camille’s parents were one of these families.

Camille was born towards the end of the war. To mark the new generation of children, the Government gave each baby a heart-shaped locket. This granted them Legacy, even after their parents were long gone. The parents were instructed to keep it around the child’s neck, and should they lose it, they can never get a new one. It could never be replaced.

Camille always wondered what was inside, though she had no idea how to open it. As she got older, she tried everything she could think of: Stepping on it, prying the edges with sharp objects, and slamming it between doors.

A few days after Camille's 7th birthday, her mother caught her dangling the locket over the balcony. High up on the 65th floor, Camille’s fist threatened to let the locket slip from her grasp.

Her mother shouted, “Camille! Don’t you dare! Get away from that balcony or so help me!” She grabbed Camille’s arm from over the railing and snatched the locket from her. One hard slap across the face, and Camille knew she messed up.

Her mother looked her in the eyes and explained, “This locket is the only thing that separates you from the Unfortunates down there. You are special. You are elite. The other children in this building are like you, but there are too many others down there that aren’t like you.”

Camille frowned. Frustration filled her voice, “I just wanted to see if it would open after it fell.”

Her mother softened, and as she clasped the necklace back around Camille’s throat, she replied, “When you were born the doctor told me that the locket will open when it's time. I don’t have answers to the questions you may have. When you’re older, you’ll understand.” She kissed Camille on the head.

Now, 23 years later, Camille steps into the waiting elevator and presses ‘L’ for the lobby. As it descends, the glass walls reveal the city in the distance. Shacks and decrepit homes of the ‘Unfortunates’ lay in the horizon. Not much of a view. She was happy her apartment windows faced the East, with a beautiful view of the water.

She steps out of the elevator into the half-empty lobby. Residents of her building and other connecting Government Buildings scurry to the meeting. Women dressed in fine linens and purses. Men in power suits and expensive watches. All wearing a heart-shaped locket. The custodial workers solemnly mop the unusually wet floors, locket-less, and never making eye contact with the Elite.

Camille carefully walks over to the breakfast counter, making sure not to slip on the water, and orders a small cup of coffee, a luxury that doesn’t exist outside of the Government Buildings. She smiles at the barista, who also doesn’t have a locket, and thanks him for the coffee. He half smiles at her.

In the conference hall, she spots Layla, a stylish young woman, who happily waves her over. Camille waves back and steps past a few of the audience member’s feet as politely as she can.

Layla beams, her beauty is undeniable. Her dark brown hair is clipped back in a neat bun. Her skirt is short and not at all business-like, just the way she likes it.

Layla moved from Government Building 10 to Camille’s building at the age of 3. Building 10 experienced a horrible uprising. The Unfortunates broke in and killed many Elites. They ransacked apartments and stole the lockets from some of the Elite children’s necks, either to wear for themselves or to give to their own children.

Layla’s parents hid her locket in her diaper. An Unfortunate broke in and killed her parents, hoping to take the necklace from around Layla’s neck. But it wasn’t there, so they left. Once the trespassers were subdued and the uprising was extinguished, Officials took any remaining children to other buildings to live with government officials who could care for them. They almost didn’t take Layla, until she revealed the locket inside of her diaper.

When they were 11 they met at the indoor pool. Camille asked Layla, “What do you think is in our lockets?”

Layla snorted, “The name of the boy we’re supposed to marry, duh.”

Camille furrowed her brow, “No, I don’t think so. My mom said ---"

“Blah blah, who cares what your mom said?” Layla retorted, “Don’t you like to use your imagination sometimes, Camille?”

“Yes, of course! I’ve thought of everything: A secret code to a safe with billions of dollars. An ancient scroll with the key to the universe…”

“Boring,” Layla laughed, “I think it’s who we’re gonna marry. But I wonder what would happen if we switched? Oooh, let’s switch!”

Camille frowned, “Actually, I have to go. My mom is expecting me to be ready for dinner.” She got out of the water and wrapped a towel around her body.

“Okay, suit yourself. My husband is probably way hotter than yours anyway!” Layla joked.

Camille sits down next to Layla, and sips her coffee. “Look who’s late! And what about my coffee?” Layla feigns disappointment.

“You hate coffee,” says Camille.

“True, but it’s the thought that counts,” retorts Layla.

“Do you have any idea what this meeting’s about? They called it so randomly it wasn’t on my list of things to do today,” Camille flips through her planner.

Before Layla can answer, the Chief Commander walks up to the podium. He leans into the mic and begins to speak, “Good Day, Elites, Officials, and Esteemed members of the Community,” he pauses.

“And may it be a virtuous one,” replies the audience in unison.

The Chief Commander continues, “I should remind you all that you are the backbone of this Community, and you will be greatly rewarded for all of the time and effort you have shared with us over the years. Not a day goes by that we in the Commanding Office are not grateful for your work. Now,” he leans over his notes. His locket dangles over the paper, “I do not want to raise any alarm. I do not want to cause panic. But these are the facts and I will only tell you what I know.”

Camille and Layla look at each other. The rest of the audience mumbles as concern spreads throughout the crowd.

The Chief Commander continues, “We have fought a good fight. But this planet is dying at the fastest rate ever recorded in history. Resources are becoming scarcer by the day. The ocean has wiped out more than half of what’s left of this country. Europe is completely submerged. The temperature all over the planet is dropping rapidly. But we live in a bubble here in the Government Buildings. So, the cold never touches us. The hunger never touches us. But the Oceans will. The water to the East of these buildings is already starting to wash onto the shores. We can’t build a dam big enough in time to stop it. I can’t predict when, but sooner than we think, these buildings will be under water.”

Panic erupts through the audience.

“Settle everyone. Please settle.” The crowd anxiously listens, “There’s only about four cities left around the world that haven’t been completely destroyed, whether by war, famine, or nature, including us. Soon, there will be none. We have all worked hard to maintain our lifestyle. Please listen to this next part, because it is the most crucial.”

Complete silence, deadly silence, spreads throughout the hall. Camille puts her hand on Layla’s knee to stop it from shaking.

“A vial or a number,” He says as he unclasps his necklace and holds it up. Camille looks down at her locket. She peeks over at Layla, who is staring straight ahead. “All of our lockets have been programmed with a timer that will open it when we’ve reached The End. The End of life as we know it. The End of life as it was before we knew it.”

Camille notices water pooling under her feet.

“It will reveal your fate. If you have a number written on a folded piece of paper, please find the nearest Official. You will board an aircraft and sit in the seat that corresponds with said number. And if you have a vial,” the Chief Commander slowly scans the crowd, “the contents will make your transition to the next life more seamless. Better than drowning to death.”

No one speaks. The shock makes everything feel like it’s going in slow motion.

The Chief Commander clears his throat and finishes, “This is a privilege that your parents have gifted you with, from birth, knowing the world would end in your time, not theirs. Not even the Unfortunates have this luxury, but they would kill to. All of us can’t board the craft. Not even I know what fate my locket holds. But I am grateful, either way.”

Suddenly, there is a faint click in the audience. Then another. Click. Click. Click, click, click, click, click… the noise reverberates through the hall as lockets pop open. People gasp. Screams. They run, they fight.

The Chief Commander’s locket pops open. He slowly backs away from the podium and runs off the stage.

Camille hears a click next to her. Layla stares down at her locket and pulls out a small, folded piece of paper. She turns to look at Camille, tears run down her cheeks. Camille hugs Layla tightly.

“What about you, Camille?” Layla cries. They both stare at Camille’s unopened locket.

“I don’t know.”

“I’m not leaving without you,” Layla grabs Camille’s arm.

“It’s okay, Layla. Listen, you have to find an Official right now, they’ll take you where you need to go. Hide your number. Leave now.” Layla nods apologetically, fully crying now, and hugs Camille one last time before running off into the increasingly dangerous crowd.

The water is up to Camille’s knees now. She takes off her heels and wades through the mess, pushing through the mob and avoiding fights and people trying to snatch lockets.

She walks back into the lobby where the rest of the crowd is rushing around in a daze, knocking each other over. The janitors have abandoned their mops in the rising water. Even the barista has fled the building.

The elevators are out of order. Camille climbs the busy staircase to her apartment.

Exhausted, she walks inside and tosses her heels in the entryway. She sits down on the floor in the living room, holding her locket in front of her face, willing it to open. Nothing.

She walks to the balcony and looks out. The water is in the streets, flooding the lobby of the building. Soon, it will cover the whole city. It’s still beautiful.

Camille dangles the locket over the railing, remembering her mother’s words.

She smiles, and lets it drop.