Changing Winds

The world was a vast desert land. Vin felt the hot wind soar past him, lifting the sand high into the atmosphere, carrying it far into the horizon. Every morning it was the same. The sun rose in the west, over the tops of what were once the world’s tallest skyscrapers, which now were nothing more than decaying ruins standing above the dunes.

As the sun climbed into sky, glass and metal from those ancient structures shimmered it its light, calling to mind that once before, a great civilization lived here. Little of that old world remained now, as all else lay covered by the desert sands.

Vin was busy, as were the other builders. The village of Makinus was carved out of the ruins of the Buried City. Vin and the other builders dug, hammered, scraped, and sweated beneath the rising heat of the blazing sun. Each day, they worked too hard to expand the walls of the canyon they had carved between the buildings. It was thanks to the protection of these canyon walls that the people of Makinus were able to survive the harsh conditions of the desert.

Working side-by-side with the builders were the Frontliners. They were trained specialists who explored the interiors of the buildings, scavenging for artifacts and oddities of the old world. These sorts of things were to be turned in to the Protectors as they sometimes provided clues to the way the past civilizations dealt with the extreme heat and lack of water. Protectors were the police guards of Makinus, who maintained the peace and order. They also had division of protectors who studied medicine and worked in the clinics, as well as protectors who studied history and taught history to chosen civilians whom they deemed worthy of teaching at the Children’s Schools.

They didn’t want just anybody teaching. In the past, there had been an incident where a group of teachers began teaching lies to the children and their parents, causing a small but well-remembered uprising. Many civilians were executed for taking part, including the children. The few involved, whose minds had not been completely corrupted by the lies, were taken to the clinics for testing, but they were never seen or heard from again. After that, it was commonly understood that the strict measure of the protectors was for the betterment of society.

Despite this, on certain days, Vin secretly traded with the frontliners, hidden from the watchful eye of the protectors. He offered what little food he was rationed at the supply center for objects and artifacts the frontliners found in the ruins that caught his attention. He could never bring these things back to camp, so he found a secret place — a tunnel he discovered and never revealed to anyone, where he stashed his toys. Only his close friends knew about Vin’s secret stash.

The deed did not go unpunished. No instance of law-breaking ever did. Every member of society had white gem, the size of a small pebble, implanted in between their eyebrows, just above the bridge of their nose. It was called a opticon, as it displayed on the outside the workings of the mind.

When a person was in accordance with the law, the opticon remained in its white state, but when a person knew they were breaking the law, the optacons turned black and sent waves of pain into the head of the person. The more severe the crime, the more severe the pain. It made the job of protectors much easier. It was impossible for people to lie without giving themselves away. No one could commit a crimes and remain focused enough to get away with it, because the pain from the opticon could be so severe it had been known to cripple a person on the spot.

Vin suffered the pains willingly, when trading with the frontliners. It was worth the temporary pain to have such fantastic items. What was even better was that for reasons he could not explain, the opticons remained white when he visited his cave and admired his collection.

“It’s not technically breaking any law,” he would tell his friends. “There’s no law that says you may not enter a cave to play with contraband.”

“You know you’re going to get caught one of these days,” said Izzy.

“No I’m not,” said Vin. “That’s why I keep you around. You’re the green-eyed beauty who catches the attention of every man in Makinus, including those armored buffoons. One smile from you and those protectors would fall over dead.”

“Aww, C’Mon,” said Aaron. “I thought I was the pretty one.”

The all laughed and rummaged through Vin’s latest acquisitions. There was always something interesting to look at. Over the years, Vin had collected books, mp3 players, action figures, clothes, car parts, jewelry, and other random things. He’d stacked them into piles based on what he thought each thing did.

There was a stack for Health Items, where he kept things like plates and forks and pots. He also had a bowflex and some dumbbells. He had a stack for educational items. There he had things like books, comic books, phone books, recipe books, and even used up appointment books. He had a stack for women’s things like dresses, mannequins, bardie dolls, and bras. There were other stacks as well, including a stack of things he wasn’t sure where to put.

There he had a ceiling fan, a baby’s crib, some stuffed animals, some old beer cans, and a few other items.

“Turn on the music box,” said Izzy. “I feel like dancing!”

“I have to keep it down, though,” said Vin. “it’s not quite dark yet and the protectors might still be around here.

Vin had an old record player which was powered by turning a wheel. It had taken them weeks to figure out what it was, and during that time it was the kind of the mystery pile, but once Vin got a hold of an old Salsa album, they figured out what the record player was. Since then, they had danced at least three times a week. They learned moved from many of the magazines Vin had stacked up. Each time they found pictures of people dancing, they brainstormed how they think the dance moves must have gone, until they all reached a consensus.

The night life was secretive and exciting for the trio, but it was their school duties that really filled their hearts. Vin, especially, had a soft spot for the little ones. Since Makinus was a village with the single focus of surviving for the sake of surviving, there weren’t many options for walks of life. Early in your childhood, you were selected to follow a certain path. You would either be a builder, a frontliner, a cook, a medic, or a watchman — which was basically a snitch who spied for the Protectors in exchange for being in their good graces.

Vin was a builder, and three times a week, he would take a class of students to the building sites, where he would give them hands-on lessons on how to dig quickly and effectively, how to apply different techniques for breaking the clay beneath the sand, and hot to build new things with the clay.

“Makinus was built this way,” he told his little builders. “And it’s expanding, see?”

He would point over at the canyons between the buildings. That’s where most of the construction was going on those days.

“Mister Vin,” said a little boy.

“Yes, Dante?” said Vin.

“My dad says I can’t go beyond the city. He says there’s monsters out there. He said that’s what the storm cloud are.”

Every child looked at the dark storm clouds which hovered over the western horizon, perpetually threatening.

“Is that true?” asked Dante. “Cruz my mom says Dad says stupid things sometimes and I shouldn’t listen to him.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it, either way,” said Vin. “The truth is, there are things out there, but they never make their way here. They stay under that dark storm. You wanna know why I think they won’t come?”

“Yeah!” cheered the children and Vin scooted down. All the kids crowded into a huddle.

Vin looked at the intently then exploded up into the air.

“Cuz I’d eat them all!” he yelled and the kids took off running and laughing while Vin chased them around, tickling them and laughing with them.

In the afternoons, Vin and Aaron wen tot the work in the building sites, while Izzy went to work in the medic center. The three of them had known each other since they were children. They had other friends, but they were the core three who never wavered.

Aaron was the goofy one, always chasing girls, always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Izzy was the smart one, although she had taken a recent adventurous streak which Vin loved. Vin was the positive one. No matter how bad things were, how hard work got, how unfair a protector had treated them, he always found a reason to keep going and he shared this gift with his friends. Together, they formed an unbreakable trio.

“I heard that the frontliners broke into a new level in that big blue building,” said Aaron. “Only this was one of those levels that opened up into a series of other rooms and connected the other buildings through tunnels and stuff.”

“When did that happen?” said Vin. “I was wondering what was down there.”

“Just this morning, apparently,” said Aaron. “One of the guys was talking about it. You know Mick. His brother Dobbs is a frontliner.”

“Yea, I know him,” said Vin.

“Well he was talking about it. Said that Dobbs was in the crew that opened it up. Bet they’ll find all sorts of cool stuff down there. Maybe something you’d like.”

“Yeah,” said Vin, “But whenever it’s a big find like that, the protectors are usually all over it. I get most of my stuff from the little rooms they open. You know that.”

“I know,” said Aaron, “But I seem to recall a certain someone saying they’d do *anything* to get Izzy a ring like the ones those men gives the girls in your magazines, and Dobbs told Mick that they found an old jewelry shop down there.”

“You serious?” said Vin.

“Mhmm,” said Aaron. “And since I’m such a good friend and all, I might have asked a favor here and there and gotten us a pass down there.”

“What?” said Vin.

“You heard me,” said Aaron. “Tonight, after shift work ends, Dobbs is gonna take us down into the buried city where you can visit the jewelry shop.”

“You’re lying, Aaron,” said Vin laughing, “You’re opticon is turning black.”

“I’m not lying,” said Aaron. “I just happen know this is a major No-No, but I’m still going to make you do it. I’m inciting criminal acts, which is why the damn opticon is turning black. It’s worth the headache.”

“We can’t go there,” said Vin. “The protectors are going to be watching every entrance.”

“Have a little more faith in your boy,” said Aaron. “I got this. I made a couple of promises to some very cute friends of mine. They will help us keep the boys in white preoccupied while we do what we do.”

“What kind of promises did you make, lover boy?”

“You know me,” said Aaron. “I said they could share me for a week.”

Vin shot Aaron an incredulous look.

“Alright, fine,” said Aaron. “I told them I’d get them some jewelry too. They did agree to hook up afterwards if I got them something real nice, so we have to make this a good run Vin. I need this!”

“I don’t know, man,” said Vin.

“Come on, Man,” said Aaron. “You like Izzy. Don’t even pretend that you don’t cuz I’ll slap you.”

“Okay, okay,” said Vin. “Fine. I’ll go.”

“That’s what I’m talking about,” said Aaron, looking at Vin’s opticon. “You’re going dark, Vin. I like it! And if any protector does get in our way, you can give him the old Vinny Boy one-two combo!”

“You’re an idiot,” laughed Vin, rubbing his head. “What are we gonna tell Izzy? She’s gonna wonder where we’ve run off to.”

“Got it covered,” said Aaron. “Turns out this is a double shift night for her at the clinics. That was actually the reason we have to do this on such short notice.”

“I thought she had a double shift just two days ago,” said Vin. “She never does two of those in one week.”

“Hey man, I don’t make the rules,” said Aaron. “I just heard that from her.”

“Oh,” said Vin. “Well, I guess we’re good to go then.”

“Good to go,” said Aaron, reaching out to Vin for their secret handshake.

That night, after a long shift, the boys cut back from the shuttle line and returned to the building site. From there, they scanned the city, trying not to be seen by protectors.

“There’s a lot of them out tonight,” said Vin. “Maybe it’s not such a good idea, Aaron.”

“It’s a great idea,” said Aaron. “Only. You know what. I’m an idiot. Dobbs is going to meet us here, but only if Rick is with us, and I told Rick we’d wait for him by the school because… well… you know Rick.”

“What?” said Vin.

“He’s been seeing that teacher, from the school. The short one with the curly hair.”

“Becca?” asked Vin.

“Yes!” said Aaron. “That’s the one. He meets her there, after his shift. I told him we’d wait for him before going to see his brother. Dobbs isn’t going to take us anywhere unless his brother goes.”

“Why is Rick going?” asked Vin.

“Becca, duh!” said Aaron.

“Geez,” said Vin. “I guess lots of girls are going to be getting gifts tomorrow.”

“It’s like… what did they call it in that book you showed me… It’s Christmas!”

The boys returned to the shuttle station and got in the back of the line.

“Hope Rick and Dobbs don’t grow impatient,” said Vin. “It’s gonna be a bit now before we can get a shuttle.”

“I’m sure Becca’s got Rick’s mind on other things if you know what I mean.”

After a long wait, they finally got a shuttle to take them to the supply center, where they turned in their empty food containers, then were carried off to the shuttle drop off route.

They hopped off at the first stop which was the closest one to the school.

“Hey,” said Vin. “If we’re meeting Rick here, how are we getting back to the building site.”

“Rick said he had a means of getting us there,” said Aaron.

“How the hell does Rick have a means of getting us anywhere?” asked Vin.

“I don’t know,” said Aaron, “That’s just what he said.”

As they approached the school zone, Vin noticed there were lights on and people gathered.

“There’s protectors here,” said Vin, ducking and pulling Aaron down with him. He felt his head begin to hurt as his conscience weighed heavy on him. “You think they caught Rick and Becca here? No one’s supposed to be in this zone after hours.”

“I hope not,” said Aaron, his opticon turning dark as well. “Shit. I really hope not. I like that guy and she ain’t too bad herself.”

Vin looked around for protectors but couldn’t spot any.

“We should go look,” said Aaron. “If it’s really protectors, maybe one of us could distract them and the other one can help Rick.”

“Are you crazy, Aaron?” said Vin. “If they caught him, they already know who he is. His best chance is to explain the situation and hope for the best.”

“I’m sorry, Vin,” said Aaron. “I can’t just let him get caught like that.”

Aaron ran toward the building behind which was the light, while Vin remained in place, still and quiet. He wanted to call out to Aaron to tell him to come back, but he was worried the protectors would hear him. Aaron was always doing stupid things but this topped the list. Vin would have regretfully walked away from a situation where Rick was caught by protectors, but there was no way in hell he’d be able to live with himself if he let Aaron get caught by them. Pushing back his anger, he stood up and ran after his friend, hoping to find him crouching by the wall, spying on whoever was on the other side of the wall.

“Aaron!” he said in a loud whisper. He reached the furthest wall he could reach without jumping out into the open where the light was. It looked like light from a fire pit, the way it danced orange and red on the walls. Vin could see shadows moving around.

“Vin, help us!” he heard Aaron cry.

“Let go of her!” cried Rick.

“No!” screamed Becca.

It was too much. Vin jumped out, fists ready to swing, when he saw them. Aaron, Rick, Becca, Izzy, the other teachers, and his students. Behind all of them was Jo, the man who had brought him up in this place. He’d been Vin’s guardian since Vin could remember. They were all there, gathered around a fire pit.

“Surprise!” they all yelled.

“What… What’s this…” Vin said, stepping slowly toward them all. “Why is everyone here?”

“Happy Birthday, Vin,” said Izzy, running up, hugging him, and kissing him on the cheek.

“It’s a surprise birthday party, Vinny Boy,” said Aaron, his opticon white as ever. “Believe it or not, it was your old man’s idea.”

Jo waved from the back. He looked very happy to see Vin surprised. Vin and Izzy walked back to the group and everyone started hugging him. Vin returned all the affection, especially with his little students whose parents surprised him the most. It was dangerous to be out like this. If the protectors would crash the party, it would be bad news for everyone involved.

“The kids love you,” said one of the parents. “They bugged us for weeks until we all agreed to come.”

“How long have you guys been planning this?” asked Vin. His eyes were on jo the whole time. He owed everything to that man. His life, his upbringing, his positive outlook on life, and now this.

“About six weeks,” said Izzy. “Jo approached us. He said it had to be soon so we figured the best way to pull it off would be with the story about the underground river.”

“Underground river?” said Vin. “That’s not what Aaron told me. He said—“

“It doesn’t matter what I said,” said Aaron. “What matters is that we’re all here now!”

“Yes, that’s true,” said Vin, realizing Aaron just saved him from dropping hints about his crush on Izzy.

“When you’re ready to tell her, you gotta do it right,” whispered Aaron. “Not like this.”

“Thanks,” said Vin. “I guess I’m still in shock, I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“That’s why I’m here, Buddy,” said Aaron.

Vin walked over to Jo and the two men hugged.

“Happy Birthday, Vin,” said Jo in his deep and steady voice.

“It’s not even my birthday,” said Vin. “That was months ago.“

“I know,” said Vin, “And we didn’t celebrate it as we should have.”

“You gave me this necklace," said Vin. "I love it."

"Yes," said Jo. "That’s a very special necklace, but you’ve never had a celebration."

"Jo, no one gets celebrations."

"Look around you," said Jo. "I’m not the only one who feels this way. You’re a special young man, Vin. You deserve a little something more."

Vin was speechless. The surprise had hit its mark and Vin couldn’t think of a time he had ever been happier.

The next morning, Vin sat cross-legged, perched on the edge of the tallest building-top, high above the other workers. He was there early to take part in the sunrise. It was a deep meditation, as his senses took in the environment. Jo had taught him a relaxation technique, where he imagined himself walking through a forest, to the edge of a cliff. There was always an old rope bridge from the cliff to the other side of a fogged-filled chasm, and on that other side was a great castle. He would cross the bridge and enter the castle, and inside there would be hundreds, if not thousands of rooms for him to explore. He never travelled too far into the castle. Many of the corridors were dark and he always had the strange feeling that someone was in there, watching him.

Aaron showed up to the site at the normal time and knew exactly where to find Vin. He climbed up the ladder that led to the roof top and tip toed his way to Vin who was gazing out over Makinus.

“Boo!” said Aaron, but Vin turned slowly and smiled at his friend.

“That hasn’t worked for years, Aaron,” said Vin.

“Not ever since you started doing that mind castle crap,” said Aaron. He sat down next to Vin and looked out at the view of their sandy world.

“You remember the first time we came up here?” asked Vin. “You wanted to bring those girls we met at the Town Center. The blonde and the redhead.”

“Yeah!” laughed Aaron. “Wait, what do you mean I *wanted* to bring them. I *did* bring them up here.”

“You didn’t *bring* them up here,” said Vin. “They only came because you said it was the only way they could get their bags back which you stole.”

“Did I get them up here or what?” said Aaron. “I seem to recall you had a good time with the redhead. What was her name? Derina. Denira.”

“It was Maris, Aaron!” laughed Vin. “You’re way off.”

“Maris,” said Aaron. “She was cute. Mine was better though. Maybe she was Denira.”

“The blonde was Kendra,” said Vin. “You’re really bad at this.”

“You can’t blame me, Vinny. I’ve brought so many girls up here, I’m bound to mix up one or two of ‘em.”

The two young men laughed and flicked pebbles into the canyon below. Vin looked across the span of desert, and focused his attention on the storm over the northern horizon.

“Jo says the storms in the old world never lasted as long as that,” said Vin.

“Oh yeah?” said Aaron.

“Yeah,” said Vin. “The clouds would come, it would rain, and then they’d go and it would be sunny again.”

“Rain was when the white stuff fell, right?” asked Aaron.

“That’s snow,” said Vin. “Rain is water. It just falls from the clouds.”

He pointed at the stormclouds.

“I don’t believe it,” said Aaron. “You need generator to make water. It can’t just fall from the sky like that. I’m surprised you still buy in to those fairy tales.”

“It’s not a fairy tale,” said Vin. “Look. You can sort of see it, right now. See how its hazy and grey under the cloud.”

“That’s dust,” said Aaron, “From the wind.”

“It’s rain,” said Vin.

“Now lightning,” said Aaron. “That’s something I can believe in, cuz I can see it and hear from way over here.”

“Yeah,” said Vin. “I wonder what’s inside those clouds, making all that lightning.”

“Man, I swear,” said Aaron. “You waste too much time thinking about weird stuff like this. That’s why I just stick to girls. They’re here. They’re hot. I understand them. So much easier than rain and lightning.”

“Hey look,” said Vin, pointing at the top edge of the canyon over the northern front of Makinus.

“What?” said Aaron.

“Check it out,” said Vin. “Look, Aaron. Do you see them?”

“What are you looking at?” asked Aaron.

Vin stood up, grabbed Aaron by the shoulders and pointed again. On the edge of the canyon were two shapes that looked like people.

“The Desert Ghosts,” said Vin. “That’s what the kids call them.”

“Oh wow,” said Aaron sarcastically. “Look at that. Desert mirages. I still prefer checking our girls.”

“The kids have been talking about them but I didn’t know what they meant. I see why they freaked out, they really do look like real—“

Vin stopped talking and Aaron turned to look at him.

“You okay, Man?” asked Aaron.

“Aaron, those aren’t mirages. Look!”

The shapes were moving. They were walking across the northern edge. Vin rubbed his eyes and covered the sun from his face to see better. The figures were definitely walking.

“They’re people,” said Vin.

“Holy shit, they *are* moving!” said Aaron. “Who are they?”

“I don’t know,” said Vin. “Protectors wear white. I can’t tell what exactly they’re wearing from here. Is that red?”

“Yeah,” said Aaron. “The other one is wearing black. No sleeves. Who dresses like that?”

“It’s not the protector uniform,” said Vin. “That’s for sure.”

“What are they doing up there?” asked Aaron.

“It’s hard to see from here,” said Vin, “And it’s almost time to work. You think they’ll be up there later?”

“I’ve never noticed them before,” said Aaron, “So I’m guessing they don’t show up often.”

“Who are they?” Vin thought out loud.

“It has to be some kids messing around,” said Aaron.

“No kids could get up there, Aaron. You know that as well as I do. That’s well beyond the border. The pain from their opticon alone would cripple them, and there’s bound to be protectors all up and down the roads that lead up there.”

“In that case, it couldn’t be anyone form Makinus,” said Aaron.

“You think they’re survivors?” said Vin. “Like… from another city. You think there could be another place like Makinus, Aaron?”

“I… I guess I never really thought about it much,” said Aaron. “I always left that weird thinking to you, but… I guess it’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“Why would they come here?” said Vin. “They must not know what it’s like here.”

“Maybe that’s why they’re watching,” said Aaron. “Great, now I sound like you!”

“We need to meet them somehow,” said Vin. “Maybe they’ve come to tell us about their village. Maybe it’s a big city like the Buried City.”

“Calm down, brother,” said Aaron. “We don’t know any of that yet.”

“After work,” said Vin. “We’ll try to spot them again. They have to be around there somewhere. There’s nowhere else to go out there.”

“Sure,” said Aaron, “After work. Come on. It’s about that time anyway.”

They climbed down a ladder on the side of the building. There were front liners at the bottom of the ladder, gearing up to go into the buried city.

“What’s up boys,” said Barry, one of the frontliner. “Vin, I heard you were interested in a certain discovery we made down below.”

Vin looked at Aaron who was smiling.

“Um… yeah, I heard there was—“

“Shh!” said Barry, motioning with his head at a trio of protectors who were walking their way. “We’ll talk later.”

Most of Makinus was built around the perimeter of what was believe to be the Northeastern side of the Buried City. No one knew for sure because the majority of the city remained below. The frontliners had maps detailing the areas they had ventured into, but they were always on the lookout for city maps from the old days. That would give them a much better perspective on their exact location.

The builders in Vin’s unit were working to create a livable canyon that cut right through the city top, between the biggest buildings. The plan was that it would be a residential area for the frontliners, so they could spend more time in the city below, rather than wasting that time moving to and from camp on shuttles. Instead, they could start working earlier and finish later, and always be a couple of steps away from their home.

“It’s looking good, eh?” said a frontliner to the boys as they walked by.

“Magnificent,” said Aaron. “You’re going to be the envy of Makinus when we’re done with it.”

The boys reached the construction area. Already, many of their fellow builders were hard at work. There were buildings all around them, and between the buildings was a network of trenches where the builders could walk, lug earth around, and build independent sections, one at a time. It was a very different site than the other construction sites where entire sectors were dug out at once.

“I’m glad we’re doing it this way,” said Vin. “Can’t have more sinkholes like last week.”

“Seriously,” said Aaron. “Who would have guessed that the earth around here was so unstable.”

“That’s why we’re so careful now,” said Vin. “Focusing on various small areas rather than digging the whole place up at once makes it easier to predict unstable earth.”

“That’s right,” said Aaron. “Hey, you think the Fronts know anything about those ghosts we saw?”

“I don’t know,” said Vin. “We should ask. They always get the dirt on what’s going on around here.”

“They’re higher up the food chain,” said Vin.

“Look, there’s Dobbs,” said Aaron. “Hey Dobbs!”

Dobbs climbing out of a window of a very tall building, when he heard Aaron’s call.

“Hey boys!” he said. “How’re those homes coming?”

“They’re good, Dobbs,” said Vin.

“Hey,” said Aaron, “Any chance we can talk for a minute?”

“Can’t right now,” said Dobbs. “We’re about to head down to the area I was telling you about. But maybe after work. Why, is it urgent?”

“A little,” said Aaron. “It’s okay, man. No worries.”

“Who am I kidding?” said Dobbs. “You’re building my future home. Hold on a second.”

He turned and yelled some orders at the men inside, then turned back around.

“Meet me on the other side of the building,” he said. “There’s a small water generator there. I need a drink.”

A few minutes later, they met at the generator and Dobbs offered them some water.

“Thank, Man,” said Vin.

“So what can I do for ya?” said Dobbs. “You’re still wanting to go on that little trip? I told you I gotta see with a couple other guys when exactly we can pull it off. I would have said tonight, but there’s been unexpected events.”

“Like what?” said Aaron.

“One of the guys swears he heard sounds down there,” said Dobbs. “He got the whole team spooked. Now they’re saying it’s a popzone.”

“A popzone?” said Aaron.

“Populated,” said Vin. “There may be survivors there.”

“Yeah,” said Dobbs, “And anyone who’s been down there that long without civilization is bound to be a little crazy, so the order from above is to proceed with caution.”

“Man,” said Aaron. “My whole life, this place has been a big borefest, and now all of a sudden there’s crazies popping up everywhere!”

“What do you mean *everywhere*?” asked Dobbs.

“Well that’s what we wanted to talk to you about,” said Vin. “Aaron and I saw two figures walking on the edge of the Northern canyon.”

“Protectors,” said Dobbs.

“No, they weren’t protectors,” said Vin. “No white uniforms. It looked like one of them was in black and the other in red. Neither had sleeves. Honestly though, it was hard to tell what they were wearing from this far away, but I can say with certainty it wasn’t protectors.”

Dobbs rubbed his chin and looked at the boys.

“We were hoping you’d heard something about that,” said Vin.

“No,” said Dobbs, “Although, like you said, it’s funny that they show up around the same time that my men heard sounds down there. Cuz let me tell ya. We never hear anything down there.”

“You think it’s the same people?” said Aaron.

“I’m not a betting man,” said Dobbs, “But if I was, I’d say they had to be the same people.”

“But that means there’s gotta be an underground path from the buried city to somewhere up near the northern edge,” said Vin. “I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

“Me neither,” said Dobbs, “But this is new territory for us. I’ll keep an eye out. Any particular reason you boys interested in these, uh…”

“Ghosts,” said Aaron. “That’s what his students call ‘em.”

“Well don’t be calling them that around my men,” said Dobbs. “They’re already spooked as it is. All I need now is a bunch of grown men crying bout ghosts!”

“I’m interested,” said Vin, “Because it means that… Well, you know Jo’s not my real father, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” said Dobbs.

“My dad left after my mom had me,” said Vin. “Jo says he just disappeared into the desert. I guess I just thought that maybe if these people were from another place… you know… like this. Then maybe…”

“Listen, Kid,” said Dobbs. “It’s never a good idea to go getting your hopes up like that. You’re what, 20, 21?”

“Twenty,” said Vin.

“That means your dad left 20 years ago,” said Dobbs. “Yeah, I suppose it’s possible these ghosts *might* know something, but I wouldn’t count on it. In any case, I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”

“Thanks,” said Aaron. They shook hands and parted ways.

“Oh!” said Dobbs, turning back around to face them. “I don’t know how I forgot. There is *one* bit of unrelated news you may want to know about.”

“What’s that?” asked Vin.

“The protectors are pushing up the Purification,” said Dobbs. “Look, I got this from one of them.”

Dobbs handed Vin a sheet of paper with a long list of names on it.

“It’s the list,” he said. “It’s going up in a few days. This is their rough copy. I guess they might add a couple more names, but this is it.”

“Anyone we know?” asked Aaron.

“Izzy’s mom,” said Vin. “She’s going to be devastated. But she’s a healthy woman. There’s so many older, sick women I know who aren’t on here.”

“Yeah,” said Aaron. “Like my neighbor! That lady is a royal pain in the neck. That’s who they should be taking. This list makes no sense.”

Dobbs took the list back, folded it, and stuffed it in his pocket.

“Listen boys, I gotta go,” he said. “Sorry about your friend’s mom.”

“Yeah, me too,” said Vin.

“You gonna tell her?” said Aaron.

“No,” Vin said. “Dobbs said the list wouldn’t go up for a few days. Maybe they’ll catch their mistake and fix it. See, this is why they shouldn’t rush things like this. People on that list go in for purification and never come back. That shouldn’t be something they take so lightly.”

“Come on, Man,” said Aaron. “We’re late for work, and you’re probably right. They’ll fix their mistakes.”

The boys went into the trenches and worked a long day under the desert sun. Vin’s thought bounced back and forth between the ghosts and the Purification list. After their shift was over and they had made their way back to the shuttle stop, Aaron pointed at a flyer stuck on the inside of the shuttle door.

REVISED PURIFICATION LIST

After careful consideration and deliberate categorization of blood types and hormonal records on file, the Purification Committee of Medical Professionals for the city of Makinus has issued the following list of names. Individuals named on this list are to report to the clinical sector for purification testing by no later than Friday at 5pm. Anyone who refuses to show up will be hunted down and taken in by force. Let us remind you that purification is for the well-being of our society. It eliminates disease almost entirely and helps keep the population count at a stable level. Thank you for your cooperation.

“This isn’t the same list Dobbs showed us” said Vin.

“That just went up,” said the driver. “Protectors put them in every shuttle just an hour ago. They’ll be all over town as well.

“Vin, look,” said Aaron. “Right there, above my finger.”

“Jo!” said Vin. “But why? Jo’s not even that old and he’s still a very active builder. They’ve never taken the active workers before. What’s going on?”

“My brother’s on there!” said another man in the shuttle.

“So’s mine!” said another.

“My name’s on the list,” said a horrified young man, no older than Vin.

“I heard it’s by blood type now,” said the driver. “Apparently, they found a potential weakness in that blood type.”

“They’re gonna kill me!” cried the young man.

Vin and Aaron looked at each other. Something wasn’t right about this and Jo was going to pay the ultimate price if they didn’t figure out what it was and fixed it fast.

“We can’t let this happen,” said Vin.

“How are you going to stop it?” asked Jo.

“I don’t know, but I can’t let them take Jo.”

On the way back to camp, as they passed up the school, Vin noticed there were lights on at the school again.

“Someone else getting a surprise birthday party?” said Vin, pointing at the school. Aaron looked over.

“I had nothing to do with this one,” said Aaron, scanning the school. Suddenly he stopped. “Wait. Vin! Driver, stop here! We’re getting off!”

“What the hell, Aaron?” said Vin, but Aaron had already jumped off the shuttle. Vin went out after him.

“What are you doing?” he asked him.

“Shh!” Aaron said, “Look!”

He pointed at the side wall of the school. Vin looked and saw two protectors on the floor.

“Those are protectors!” said Vin.

“Yeah,” said Aaron. “Now look over there!”

Vin looked past the side wall at the glow of fire shining around the corner.

“I’m tired so maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me,” said Aaron, “But I think I saw your ghosts. Just for a split second.”

“You’re kidding,” said Vin. “We have to go see.”

“I know,” said Aaron. “But you have to promise me one thing.”

“What?” said Vin.

“Okay, two things,” said Aaron.

“Okay, what?” said Vin.

“First off, if there’s a cute girl, hands off. I saw her first.”

“Okay, she’s all yours,” said Vin.

“Second,” said Aaron. “You have to promise me that you’re going to control yourself.”

“What do you mean?” said Vin.

“I’ve never heard you talk about your father like you did today,” said Aaron. “You never shared that with me. That’s some deep shit, Vin. You can’t just bring that up with these people. Let’s take it slow. If they do know something, we don’t want to scare them off.”

“I don’t think they scare easily,” said Vin, looking at the fallen protectors. “But okay. I’ll take it slow. Can we go now?”

“Yeah,” said Aaron. “Let’s catch some ghosts.”