No matter the demons that haunt him, he has still remained a light. And I find myself feeling prouder of him in this moment than I ever have. When he glances at me, searching for approval, I give him a nod and a smile.
“You will stay in Ross City,” the President finally says. The murmurs around him die down. “Until we have decided the appropriate course of punishment for you both for your actions. The Level system will be reset to its original state.”
I never expected the city to approve of what we’d done. Neither had Eden. But even now, as the President speaks, I see some uncomfortable shifting around the room. There isn’t unanimous agreement on this.
President Ikari sighs, then continues. “Meanwhile, I will also convene a special council to discuss possible solutions to some of what you have brought up. You’ll be notified if your services are needed again.”
It’s not much. Change never happens quickly, anyway. Butsomething in his tone lifts a burden off my chest, and I exchange a look with my brother. He had done this. However things go in the future here, he was the one who planted the seed.
I half expect Eden to hesitate when he speaks again. But he doesn’t. His voice is clear, and his shoulders are straight. He bows his head slightly at the President, as if this is something he’s used to doing every day.
“Of course, sir,” he says.
EDEN
Our final sentence comes a week later.
Two counts each of insubordination—one for heading back to Ross City without notifying anyone, and the second for installing changes onto the original Level system. Our own Levels are halved. Daniel is released from the AIS.
Prison time, however, is pardoned by the President himself. He has permitted us to return to the Republic on schedule, in time for my internship with Batalla Hall. Returning to Antarctica at any time will require his personal consent.
It all works out in the end. I think our time in Antarctica has come to a close.
***
A month later, on our last day in Ross City, I head back to the Undercity. My system is tracking my every movement now—Daniel knows exactly where I’m going, as does the entire government. ButI’d gotten permission for today. Today is when I’m seeing Pressa, who has been released from the hospital for her shoulder injury.
Things already look different by the time I arrive in the Undercity. The street’s still grungy, of course, the tightly packed stands still billowing smoke from their grills, the half-working neon signs still hanging over the crammed storefronts. There are still zero-level folks huddled against the walls, trying to sleep in the midst of all the bustle.
But I also see a newly appointed task force at work. President Ikari had kept his word, at least—people with blue armbands are surveying Undercity civilians, interviewing them and listening to their grievances. Here and there, I see scattered groups of people gathered to hear someone giving a speech, or pockets of protesters waving signs in the air. The Levels hovering over their heads aren’t being deducted for their protesting.
The shop that Pressa’s father owned is still being repaired. One of their neighbors is nailing a new windowpane in, while two others are hoisting a new neon sign over the store. I pause to smile at the sight.
Pressa is standing outside the shop and calling directions up at the two working on the sign. Her left arm’s still in a cast, but she seems like she’s moving around pretty easily with it as she directs them.
When she sees me, she pauses to pat me on the shoulder. “Glad you came by today,” she says.
“Glad to see you smiling,” I reply, and she grins that familiar little grin of hers, leaning subtly against my shoulder as she does. It sends a warm current through my chest.
“I brought you something,” I tell her, then reach into my backpackand take out a frame encasing a delicate arrangement of dried flowers. It’s the first time I’ve ever given her something like this, and I blush as I hold it up for her. “I thought it might look nice in your father’s shop, you know, herbs and everything.”
Pressa holds the frame before her with a look of wonder. Her eyes shine with moisture. “Oh, Eden,” she breathes, tapping a finger gently against the glass. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
I beam, feeling my heart lift at her words. Then I reach into my pocket and take out a fresh flower, a small yellow bud that I hadn’t pressed into the frame. “And one for you,” I add, tucking it neatly behind her ear.
She looks up at me with a smile that brightens everything around us. She seems happier than the last time I saw her—and even though the death of her father still haunts her eyes, there’s also a sense of purpose there, that she can still find him if she preserves her father’s store here. I smile at her, taking in her beauty, and feel the sharp stab of leaving her behind.
I clear my throat and try not to think about it. “How’s Marren doing, managing the store?” I ask her.
“Good,” she says, squinting inside the shop’s windows, where her father’s assistant is now leaning over the counter and measuring out several spoonfuls of herbs for a customer. “You should’ve seen him the first few days. He was running around like a headless chicken. But I think he’s settled into a groove.”
We look on as Marren searches the shelves in vain, scratching his head as he tries to figure out where he has stocked all the new medicine the shop now carries. I can’t help laughing a little.
“Good groove,” I say.
Pressa smiles. “He’s always had it.”
Daniel, in his final AIS act, spoke up for Mr. Yu’s shop. Director Min legalized it after the city ran an inspection, giving it a permit to sell the higher-quality medications that had previously only been available to the Sky Floors. Without the fear of arrest hanging over everyone’s head, and with the new medicines, people have been flocking here from all over the Undercity. The shop’s bigger than it used to be, too, thanks to the compensation package that the city gave them for their reconstruction.
