Apophis (27 page)

“Did you jump off the roof of your house with feathers glued to your arms?” I teased.

She looked at me and rolled her eyes.  “I was five, Sam.  Not stupid.”

“But you drew this,” I said.  It seemed improbable.  “Are you sure?”

“My parents put this drawing up on the refrigerator and never took it down.  I saw this bird every time I came home for a school vacation.”

There were no other markings on the storefront besides the redbird with its yellow mohawk.

“So do we just go in?” I asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

I pushed on the horizontal door handle. I expected to be met with resistance, that the store would be locked, but surprisingly it swung open.

Inside, the shop was empty. It looked like it had been well-picked over by looters or bandits.
 It was hard to piece together what the shop might have been before the Frost, but it kind of resembled an old video rental shop.

Nora walked in after me. “I don’t get it,” she said, puzzled. “Where's the entrance to Eden?”

I cautiously stepped around the shop, fully expecting that someone might pop out at us.  The whole store was eerily silent except when my boots walked over a random discarded DVD case. The only hopeful sign of life was a space heater in the corner that was churning out enough heat to make my gloves and hat overkill. This had to be the right place – no average generator would still be functional to supply that kind of energy.

“Is there a back room, maybe?” I suggested. “Or a basement?”

Nora looked lost in thought. “Where is everybody?”

I leaned against the front register area. Behind the front counter were assorted office supplies, but no key rings that might lead us to a secret room.
 Sitting all by itself on the counter was a silver bell – the kind you’re supposed to ring for service.  “What do you think about this?” I asked as I pointed to the bell.

“It couldn’t hurt.”

I pressed down on the bell’s top button.  The bell sounded crisp and loud in the nearly empty store.

We stood, unmoving and unbreathing, as we waited for something, anything, to happen.
 Our eyes met and when at least a minute had passed, her disappointment was salient.

I was just about to offer up some encouraging words when a door I had somehow overlooked opened.
 A willowy woman, no more than 40 or so, breezed into the room.

“Can I help you?”

Nora stepped up to the counter.  “Uh, I’m not exactly sure how this works.  If there’s a password or something.”

The woman quirked an eyebrow.  “What exactly are you looking for?”

“My dad built Eden.”

The woman looked unfathomably amused. “So your dad is God? Think you can ask him to turn down the air conditioning? I’m freezing.”

Nora flushed. “No, his name was Jerry West.”

“
Was?
” the woman asked, now looking interested instead of amused.

“Yeah, he, uh, he died a few days ago. He was shot just outside of Hot Springs, Montana.”

“And you two girls made it out here all by yourselves?” she asked. Her eyes flicked from Nora's face to mine.

“We’ve come a long way, lady,” I snapped. My patience ran thin and I didn’t approve of the way this woman was toying with Nora. “So is this the gateway to Eden or not?”

The woman’s brown eyes remained steadily locked on my face as if she was trying to remember my face for a police composite drawing later. “No. It’s not.”

From my peripheral vision I saw Nora’s shoulders slump forward.

“We don’t call it Eden,” the woman supplied. “We call it West Genesis.”

“West Genesis?” Nora echoed. Her voice and body language perked up.

“Genesis, like the book in the Bible,” the woman who had yet to introduce herself clarified. “And I had thought the west part was because of our location on the West Coast, but now that I think about it, it could be named after your father.”

Her gaze went back to me. “And who might you be?”

“This is Samantha,” Nora spoke up before I could even open my mouth. "She’s my little sister.”

The woman's gaze continued to travel back and forth between our faces. I was sure she was looking for some kind of resemblance and finding none.
 Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she picked up a landline and dialed a number.  I held my breath, fully expecting security or something to come busting through a wall like the Kool-Aid man.

“I’ve got Jerry West’s two daughters here,” she spoke into the phone. There was a pregnant pause. “No. Just them.” Her voice dropped. “Mr. West didn’t make the trip.”

I glanced over at Nora.  She held her body extremely upright and her lips were drawn in a tight line.  I grabbed her hand, hidden by the tall ledge surrounding the front counter and gave it a squeeze.

The woman hung up the phone and turned her attention back to us. “Because of his service to constructing West Genesis, your father was to be granted accommodations for three.”

Nora, her father, and her mother, I thought to myself.

“For the time being,” she continued, “you two will be allowed to live in one of the family-sized suites, but you may be asked to downsize to one of the smaller apartments if we need the space later.”

“That will be fine,” Nora said. “Just as long as my sister and I aren’t separated.”

“Of course,” the woman replied with a curt nod. “We never like to split up families.”

“Does someone have to stay up here all the time on the off-chance that someone comes in looking for this place?” I asked.

“It’s not so bad,” the woman shrugged. “The back room is nicely heated and I get to catch up on all the reading I never had time to do before Apophis.
 We’ve got the Library of Congress’s holdings digitized and there are resident writers in West Genesis who earn their keep writing new novels and poetry.”

“Earn their keep?” I questioned. Something about that phrase sounded more sinister than peeling potatoes at Hot Springs.

The woman waved a hand. “You’ll learn all about it at orientation.”  She turned her back to us and removed several carpet squares to reveal a panel on the floor.  It looked like the entrance to a crawl space or cannery cellar, except for a complicated set of dials.  She expertly spun the dials this way and that as if she’d done it thousands of times before.  When her hands stopped moving, there was a series of metallic clicking noises and the floor boards shifted out of the way to reveal a set of stairs that disappeared into the darkness.

She waved her hand like a game show prize model.  “Welcome to West Genesis.”

Both Nora and I stared down at the dark hole.   The first four or five steps were illuminated by the store’s overhead light, but beyond that was a murky darkness. 

“So we just go down those stairs?” Nora asked.

“Simple as that,” the woman confirmed.  “At the bottom of the stairs you’ll find another West Genesis resident.  His name is Henry and he’ll take you the rest of the way down.”

I breathed in a shaky breath and appraised Nora.  She still looked uncertain.  “Ready, sis?” I asked.

Her eyes snapped up and she met my gaze with a girlish smile.  “You bet, Sammy.”

We made our way down a metal staircase that spiraled into the earth. I started counting stairs, but when I got to two hundred, I stopped.  Small in-wall sconces struggled to provide enough light so we didn’t stumble blindly down the stairs.  My boots echoed noisily against the metal grate.  The banister felt gritty under my bare hand like it had just been sandblasted to eliminate rust.

“Not exactly handicap accessible, is it?” I remarked.  My voice seemed to get swallowed up by the darkness.

“Something tells me only able-bodied people are allowed in West Genesis,” Nora noted darkly.

I stopped and looked straight up.  The woman at the top of the stairs must have shut the floor panel because I no longer saw the window of light.  “Are we sure we want to go down here?”

“Not really,” Nora admitted with a sigh.  “That woman upstairs was horrible.  But your dad might be down here.”

“I should have asked her about him.” Damn it. I’d completely forgotten.

“Yeah, but who knows if she would have told you the truth.”  She continued down the stairs, so I followed. “We should see for ourselves.”

When we finally reached the bottom of the staircase, we were met by a man with salt and pepper hair.  He was dressed casually in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt.  He offered an outstretched hand and a winning smile to Nora, who’d reached the bottom first.  “Miss West,” he greeted, “I’m Henry Couch.  Glad to have you aboard.”

Nora accepted the handshake and poured on the charm. “Nora West,” she introduced herself.  “And this is my sister, Samantha.”

I flashed Henry a quick grin, but I’m sure it looked more pained than genuine.

Henry pulled and pushed at an elaborate set of handles.  A series of gears twisted and churned and it sounded like something was unlocking.

“That’s pretty elaborate,” I spoke up, feeling unwontedly brave despite being who knows how far underground. “Is that to keep people in or out?”

I felt a sharp stab in my ribs as Nora’s elbow found my side.  “Don’t mind her,” she smiled a little too brightly.  “Sam doesn’t know how to do subtle.”

Henry seemed unconcerned by my question. “It’s okay,” he laughed pleasantly, eyes crinkling.  “It does seem a little bit overkill.  But all these checks and balances were already here when we inherited the place.”

“It was a nuclear bomb shelter before, right?” Nora noted.  “It makes sense.  I suppose they’d want air-tight seals and fancy locks to keep safe from nuclear fallout.”

“Does the President live down here?” I blurted out another question. I immediately wrapped my arms around my ribs incase Nora’s elbows were on the way.  She held back though when Henry chuckled again.

“I don’t want to give too much away,” he said vaguely. “You’ll learn all about that at orientation.”  He looked pointedly at me.  “And don’t be afraid to ask questions, Miss West. We try to be as transparent as possible in West Genesis.”

“Thank you, Henry.”  I made sure to stick my tongue out at Nora.  It added to the whole “sibling” vibe, I’m sure.

Henry yanked on the handle of the large metal door, which slid horizontally across the floor.  I half expected another set of rusty stairs to take us deeper into the ground, but instead the door slid open to reveal the inside of an elevator.

“Now
this
wasn’t part of the original structure,” Henry noted.  “This was all your dad.”

I peered inside suspiciously.  It looked harmless enough – just an oversized service elevator.

Henry motioned grandly with his arm. “Going down, ladies?” he grinned.

Nora flashed him another practiced smile and strode into the center of the elevator.  I offered Henry a less impressive smile and followed her inside.

“Are you coming with?” Nora asked.

“No,” Henry shook his head.  “I’ve got a few more hours before my shift is over.  We have people stationed at all the checkpoints 24-7 because there’s still a few more people who’ve yet to show up.”

“What happens when everyone is present and accounted for?” Nora asked.

Henry smiled mildly. “I see curiosity runs in the family.”  Then, before either of us could comment, the elevator door slid closed.

Another set of mechanical locks clicked and snapped into place.  The elevator shuddered and jolted.

“Steam powered,” Nora mused aloud.  “We must be near another natural hot water spring.”

The elevator compartment jumped again before we began our long descent.

“Can you imagine if they really named this place after your dad?” I remarked. “You’re gonna be like royalty down here.”

“So are you, sis,” she laughed. 

I hadn’t forgotten about that detail.  “So I’m your sister, eh?” I murmured out the side of my mouth. I didn’t want to speak too loudly in case we were being watched by a hidden camera.

Nora stared straight ahead. “It was just a precaution,” she said in an equally quiet tone.  She must have been thinking the same thing as me about being watched. “They might not have let you in otherwise.”

Again, I became more worried for my father than for myself.  Had he come here asking for Eden only to be turned away by the stubborn woman at the shop front? Or had the name Jerry West been enough to garner him access?

A very short woman with thick eyeglasses greeted us when the elevator door slid open again.

“Good afternoon, girls,” she chirped. “My name is Cynthia Hook.  I’ll be bringing you to your apartment.” She reminded me of an ostrich with her pencil sharp nose, long neck, and short fluffy haircut.

Nora slid back into her role as gracious guest once again.  “Ms. Hook,” she purred, “so nice to meet you.”

“Oh, call me Cynthia, dear,” the be-speckled woman said.  “We’re a pretty informal bunch down here.”