Archipelago N.Y.: Flynn Read online

  Archipelago

  N.Y.

  (Flynn)

  By Vladimir Todorov

  Text and Artwork Copyright © 2014 Vladimir Todorov

  All Rights Reserved

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  TWENTY ONE

  TWENTY TWO

  TWENTY THREE

  TWENTY FOUR

  TWENTY FIVE

  TWENTY SIX

  TWENTY SEVEN

  ONE

  New York City, Year 0055.

  Drenched in sweat and struggling to breathe, Tony Romero felt a sharp pain shoot up his right leg. The boy knew his thigh muscle was going to cramp at any moment now. It was a given. He’d been working the Seeker’s oxygen pump for so long. Pressing on the pedal with his foot for a good twenty minutes… maybe more… He wasn’t sure… But it felt like hours had passed since the oxygen supply cord had last sounded its shrill little rattle. The rattle was attached to the side of his scavenger raft, and it was his cue to pump more fresh air down to the diving bell - a hundred feet below the water’s surface.

  Tony was exhausted, but he knew the drill. Panting hard, and with his lungs on fire, there was no way he could stop! He had to keep pumping, until the rattle told him his diver had enough air to come back up to the raft… Besides, this was no ordinary diver scavenging the depths of the ocean below. This was his best friend, Flynn Perry. Tony was Flynn’s Crew Mate and his one and only lifeline back to safety. Besides, everybody knew a Crew Mate’s job was to look after his diving buddy… no matter what!

  Grunting, Tony switched feet and glanced down at the pitiful rubber pump that had long forgotten its original color. How he wished they had one of those air compressors instead! The few that remained were servicing the big Industrial Salvage rafts. Fat chance of ever getting their hands on one, Tony thought bitterly, wiping the sweat from his face. Air compressors were precious commodities, impossible to have… forbidden for amateur scavengers like him and Flynn.

  Suddenly, Tony began to cough, his lungs fighting to get as much of the thick, humid air inside them as they could. Gasping and retching, he doubled over. Somehow, Tony managed to keep his foot on the pump, willing Flynn to give him the signal to stop. And then, as his head began to spin into darkness, Tony’s desperate prayers were finally answered… He heard the rattle, and it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard! Stumbling back, Tony took his foot off the oxygen pump. His frail body collapsed on top of the battered car seat he had chained down to the stern of the Seeker. He lay there heaving, trying desperately to catch his breath. Slowly, his hand fumbled inside the pocket of his tattered, sun-bleached shorts and found the inhaler. Tony sucked on it hard once, shook the little bottle and sucked again. Frowning, Tony stared at the inhaler for a long moment, threw it in the water and slumped back on the seat.

  The Seeker swayed gently under the glare of the scorching mid-afternoon sun. No other vessel could be seen across the large expanse of green tinged water. Tony and Flynn had sneaked out at the crack of dawn and dropped anchor at a spot far from the Archipelago’s official scavenging zones. It was so quiet here… peaceful... Tony listened to the sound of the little waves lapping against the row of empty oil drums and car tires that kept the raft’s platform afloat. The Seeker’s deck was cobbled together from all kinds of salvaged and recycled junk. A rusty car bonnet and sheets of corrugated metal were welded onto layers of ancient billboards. Pieces of plastic and broken road signs were held in place by frayed ropes and strips of duct tape. Luckily, Flynn had scavenged a well-preserved stash of this adhesive tape on a recent dive… enough to last them a full year if they used it wisely... Tony groaned. He had such a long list of items that needed repairing… and so little time!

  Suddenly, Tony heard splashing in the water to the raft’s starboard, followed shortly by a familiar voice: “Ahoy, there!” A big mesh sack landed with a thud on the platform. Seconds later, a head popped up. Flynn Perry was finally back from his dive. Oversized goggles covered half his face, making him look like some monstrous sea creature that had risen from the bottom of the ocean. Flynn spat out a mouthful of water, grabbed the tube railing at the edge of the platform and pulled himself over. Rolling swiftly onto the deck, he sprang back on his feet without missing a beat. His tall, lean and tanned body threw a shadow across Tony’s almost skeletal frame.

  “You OK, buddy?” Flynn took off his goggles, spraying droplets of cold water all over his Crew Mate and buddy.

  “Yeah…,” Tony mumbled as he pushed himself up on the seat with a loud grunt. “Did you get any of my stuff, amigo?”

  “It’s your lucky day!” Flynn unfastened his shoulder harness, dug into his diving satchel and took out a large plastic zipper bag. “Catch!”

  Tony caught the bag and began to rummage inside, his fingers now trembling with excitement. He pulled out a vacuum-packed bottle, brushed away the algae slime covering it and squinted at the label. He glanced up at Flynn, his face full of disappointment. “This is cough syrup…”

  “Keep looking!” Flynn gave him a quick reassuring smile.

  Tony shoved his hand back in the bag and took out a few more well-sealed bottles. “Aspirin, Tylenol, multi-vitamins... these are all great finds, but...” He was now muttering to himself, turning the bag upside-down and shaking it, spilling all its contents onto the car seat. “Aha!” Tony whooped with joy as he spotted the two inhalers. His pale face had regained some of its color. “These should last me for a good while… Thanks, amigo!”

  “There’s more of this stuff down below,” said Flynn. He was now taking more scavenged items from his satchel and lining them up on the seat next to Tony: a set of sealed scalpels, a pair of scissors, a bar of soap, a stethoscope… all vacuum-packed and undamaged. “The pharmacy is loaded! And it’s still virgin turf. No one’s found it yet.” With his satchel emptied, Flynn turned around and crouched over the big mesh sack. “We’ve got to come back tomorrow, Tony.” Flynn unfastened the sack with a happy grin on his face. “You know... get a few bigger bags and carry on scavv’ying the place, till we’ve picked it clean. And guess what! There’s a liquor store down there, too. Plenty of stuff to trade on the Black Market, eh! What do you say?”

  There was no answer from Tony.

  “What’s the matter?” Flynn asked, studying his friend over his shoulder.

  Tony stared back at Flynn for a long moment before finally looking away. He fingered the big shark tooth that hung on a string around his neck. The tooth was from the great white Flynn had killed more than a year ago. Tony knew his friend had gone through a lot of trouble to give it to him… In fact, Flynn was lucky to be alive! The angry looking scar on Flynn’s forearm was a constant reminder of what could have happened…‘They say a shark’s tooth will give you strength,’ Flynn had told Tony back then… Well, it hadn’t! Tony knew he was becoming weaker with every passing day, losing strength instead of gaining any… He kept his hand over the tooth for another moment, before meeting Flynn’s eyes. “I think you should find yourself a new Crew Mate... You know… someone who’s strong… and healthy!” Tony said.

  Flynn laughed. “You’re joking, right?”

  “No, I’m dead serious, amigo! Don’t think I can do this anymore…”

&nbs
p; Flynn grabbed a rusty soda can from the sack, scraped the black silt off with his diving knife and tossed it to Tony. “Here you go. That’ll cheer you up!”

  The can landed in Tony’s lap. “No, it won’t!” Tony cried and slammed the can down on the seat without even looking at it. “Don’t you get it, amigo? I’m putting you at risk here… What if I’d passed out? Let you run out of air… on a deep dive like this…”

  “Well, you didn’t!” Flynn had turned away from his friend and was now busy pulling a thick rope out of the water. “You'll be fine, Tony! Now, stop with all that sorry talk and help me get the diving bell out.”

  “I’m no quitter, but...” Tony picked up the slack end of the rope and started coiling it around a piece of rusty pipe sticking out of the platform’s side. “You know we won’t pass the Scavenger Trials together! Not if I’m your Crew Mate.”

  Flynn paused, the muscles on his back suddenly tensing. The Scavenger Trials! … Their big day! The moment Flynn and Tony had been waiting for so long…their one and only chance of becoming proper divers. Free Scavengers! And getting their hands on all the perks and privileges that came with the title… All the wonderful stuff that people on the Lower Side didn’t have! It would be their ticket to the Upper Side… and to living like those who were in power… But to get there, Flynn and Tony would not only have to pass the Trials… they would have to actually win the whole damn competition!

  And now, after years of training hard, hundreds of dangerous dives, practicing and fine-tuning their teamwork, the Trials were almost upon them… Soon, it would be time for Flynn and Tony to face their ultimate challenge… Compete in the Trials… determine their future. The two boys had reached the age of maturity and the moment when every boy and girl on the Archipelago was assigned a job for life… A job you had to do till you were retired and sent away at the Departure Ceremony, thought Flynn, feeling the bile rise up his throat …There would be no second chances for him and Tony… Flynn knew he was ready for the challenge. But he wasn’t so sure about Tony anymore. His friend’s health was failing fast, and Flynn was seriously worried. He wasn’t going to show it, though. He never did… Flynn would rather pretend everything was fine… just like he was doing now.

  Shaking his head, Flynn went back to pulling the rope in silence, until the diving bell popped up on the surface. It was a small, one-man diving device, crudely made out of pieces of plastic, stitched and taped together. Crude, but effective, Flynn thought proudly as he admired the capsule he and Tony had built from scratch. They had been inspired by the Wet Bell, an invention as old as the world. All divers knew it was one of the earliest types of equipment for underwater work and exploration. Open at the bottom like a moon pool and ballasted with weights to keep it upright, it allowed the water pressure to trap the air inside, turning it into a make-shift diving chamber. No Scavenger worth his salt would go down on a deep dive without a bell. But a scavvy also needed a Crew Mate to pump the bell full of fresh air… A good, strong and healthy Crew Mate, Flynn thought with a heavy heart as he stole a quick glance at Tony.

  Flynn took his time securing the bell to the side of the raft. When he was done with it, he turned his attention to the scavenged booty in his sack. First, he scrubbed each item clean of the silt and slime. Then, he arranged everything into separate piles: soda cans, beer cans, bottles of alcohol. Finally, he wiped dry and neatly stacked half a dozen magazines, still sealed and intact in their airtight plastic wrappings. Flynn knew those were even more valuable than the booze and canned food he had found. Magazines had something inside them that could be enjoyed over and over again. They were full of pictures… Full of images from the past! And this made them a big trade on the Black Market… Or a great bribe when dealing with Government officials, Flynn thought with a wicked smile on his face… Everybody knew that old magazines and books, even with their faded and tattered pages, always went for a very good price. Brand new ones, still glossy and untouched, were a real treasure! He was going to make a real killing with them, for sure.

  “Flynn!” Tony cried out, his voice now full of exasperation. “Did you hear what I just said? You won’t pass the Trials with me on board!”

  "And who do you think I’ll pass the Trials with, then?” Flynn asked, trying to keep calm. “Got any suggestions?”

  “Madison Ray would be a good choice,” Tony replied. “Can’t think of anyone better for the job.”

  “What?!?” Flynn swung around and stared at Tony. “You crazy? There’s no way I’m having a girl on my raft!”

  “Why not, amigo?”

  “Because it won’t work!” said Flynn. He hesitated for a moment, then scooped one of his scavenged piles and stuffed all the items back in his sack. “I need to hide this stash,” he said, trying hard to avoid Tony’s eyes. Without saying anther word, he dragged the bag to the edge of the raft, picked it up and disappeared overboard.

  Tony waited patiently, until a few minutes later Flynn’s head emerged next to the Seeker’s platform. “Besides…” Flynn said, spitting water and blowing his nose, “… Madison’s busy with her stupid pigeons ... Don’t think she cares much for scavvy’ing anymore!”

  “Trust me, she does!”

  “Yeah, right!” Flynn grunted as he clambered back onto the raft. He began to pull on the rope which had kept the Seeker secured to the end of a lone power pole. The pole was sticking only six feet above the surface of the ocean, but had done its job well enough. The Seeker had stayed in one place and not drifted away from their diving location.

  “Madison sure misses being on the water, you know… misses what we used to do together,” Tony said.

  The raft bumped into the pole and Flynn raised the truck-tire he had threaded on it earlier that day. He hoisted the makeshift anchor out of the water and threw it back on deck.

  “I've been talking to Madison a lot lately,” Tony began cautiously. “You know how she brings my mom and me pigeon eggs … Well, she’s been asking ‘bout you… like, how’s your training going… stuff like that…” Tony paused briefly to study his friend, then continued with a mischievous smile on his face, “I think it’s ‘cause she likes you, amigo! Always has.”

  “Shut up!” Flynn growled.

  “And she wants to dive again! Try her hand at scavvy’ing.”

  “Tony!” Flynn pointed a warning finger at his friend’s face. “Enough! I don’t want to hear anymore about it!”

  The boys would have continued to argue if it wasn’t for the sudden sound of motor engines reaching their ears. Instantly, they both fell silent. Flynn turned on his heels and felt his heart begin to race. In the far distance, two speed boats were fast approaching, heading straight for the Seeker. “Damn,” Flynn spat when he saw that the first vessel was flying the Archipelago’s yellow Government banner, with the letters LVZ emblazoned over its enormous crest. “It’s Leo Van Zandt.”

  Grabbing a long sheet of sun-bleached tarpaulin from under the car seat, Flynn threw it hastily over the scavenged booty still on deck. Tony was now standing next to him with a worried look on his face. “Don't say anything… I'll deal with this!” said Flynn, rolling the diving bell overboard and letting it sink until it was no longer visible. He then stood waiting, hands on hips, trying to ignore the pounding in his chest.

  Within minutes, the two power boats were circling the Seeker, causing the raft to rise and fall precariously in their wake. Somehow, Tony and Flynn were able to keep their balance. They made out a group of giggling boys in the boat with the banner. A couple of burly security guards with their weapons aimed at the Seeker were riding in the second. Finally, the two vessels began to slow down. Leo Van Zandt, a boy not much older than Flynn and Tony, stood up in the bigger boat. His long blond hair was tucked underneath a faded ‘I love N.Y.’ baseball cap, his eyes hidden behind a pair of old aviator goggles.

  Both boys noticed Leo’s oversized and worn-out bulletproof vest and the gun holstered at the hip… Who would dare shoot at him, wondered Flynn… No o
ne on the Lower Side had guns. Then he noticed the bullet holes on the boat’s windshield… Had someone finally dared to make an attempt on Leo Van Zandt's life? No way! The bullet holes were most probably there from the Olden Days, the time when all survivors had fought for every boat, every piece of floating hardware, anything useful they could lay their hands on... And besides, Leo didn’t just have one boat. He had a whole fleet at his disposal waiting for him on the Upper Side…

  Today, Leo Van Zandt was riding in a fiberglass number called the Fury, and apart from the damage on its windshield, the boat was otherwise in excellent condition. He cut the engine off and brought the boat to a quick stop, ramming its bow into the Seeker’s starboard. The jolt almost sent Tony and Flynn flying, but again both boys managed to stay on their feet. They braced for what was to follow… “For the Greater Good!” they cried, saluting Leo Van Zandt as was the custom when greeting members of the Government.

  “Well, well, look what we have here!” Leo removed his goggles and eyed the boys up and down with a smirk on his face. “Someone’s been scavenging in unchartered waters! Am I right, or what?” he said and snickered loudly.

  Flynn and Tony didn’t answer. While Tony kept his eyes lowered, Flynn threw a quick glance at the guards and stared back at Leo Van Zandt.

  “You’re trespassing, scum boys! Care to explain yourselves?” barked Leo. “What’re you doing so far out of the permitted zone?”

  “Fishing,” Flynn replied, trying to keep his voice steady and calm.

  “Really? Fishing you say…” Leo drawled, addressing his posse. “Did you hear that, guys?” he asked, bursting out in mock laughter. “Well, now!” Leo looked back at Flynn and Tony, feigning surprise. “You must really suck at fishing, then! Where’s your catch? I don't see any fishing gear, either!” His eyes darted away from Flynn as he scanned the raft.

  “We caught a shark, but it got away… and took our net with it,” Flynn lied without missing a beat.