2055, November 7th

Collapse + 6 years

Helena was boarding the elevator when Winnie caught up. Inside, Helena swiped her security card and pressed the button for floor 31. The button panel replied with an angry beep.

"What the fuck? Come on." Helena banged the panel. It took the beating stubbornly.

Winnie decided to let this play out before suggesting they head back, but then Helena pressed the button for floor 38. The elevator closed.

"Where are we going?" Winnie asked.

"We need to steal one of the caretaker's cards. Make sure they're all asleep."

Winnie mentally dove down to the thirty-eighth floor. It was a residential floor, complete with a common area and a kitchenette. The cleaning staff clearly didn't visit there. Crumbs covered the sofas and a television set had a mess of gaming consoles nested beneath it. The coffee table between the two had scattered papers and bowls of finished cereal that no one had bothered moving to the sink. The dorms connecting to the common area had personalized doors, either with posters or clippings. One had a small whiteboard on it with a marker attached by velcro so visitors could leave notes. Winnie didn't look in any of the rooms. She was already breaking one of Victoria's cardinal rules: no looking in the tower.

"I think they are," she said.

"Look around. See if any of them have left for the weekend."

Reluctantly, Winnie did so. Of the twelve rooms, nine were occupied. Of those nine, eight were sleeping. Another was sitting on his bed in his underwear playing a game on a computer.

She wished Helena wouldn't make her do this.

The remaining three rooms had messy beds and laundry scattered about. Two had passcards that she saw: one attached to a retractable belt wire resting on a desk, the other on a lanyard hanging on the backside of the door. She checked the locks of each door, looking at the pins to see if they were unlocked. One was.

Violating privacy with her power was far too easy. She only hoped Victoria wouldn't care too much.

The elevator opened on that floor. Helena crept down the hall to the caretaker's common room. "Did you see any?"

"Are you sure you want to do this? We're going to get in trouble."

"So?"

"I mean, even if we get away with it. Your mom will see it in my head."

"What's she going to do about it? Ground me? I'm already stuck here. And you're a flair. You could murder someone and she'd forgive you.So don't be lame. You see one, don't you?"

Reluctantly, she nodded.

"Then go get it."

Solemnly, Winnie opened the door to the common room, walked to to the unlocked door, and opened it just long enough to snake her hand around and grab the lanyard. That was that, the point of no return. She was going to get in trouble sooner or later.

They snuck out. Helena bumped into her and giggled. Despite herself, Winnie giggled too.

Back at the elevator, Helena swiped the stolen card and punched the floor for the garden. This time, the elevator obliged.

When the door opened, it was as though the elevator transported them outside. A blast of warm, damp air struck them. It smelled of musk and manure. Ahead was a cobbled path leading through grass into shadowed woods. There were no walls, only a deep darkness from which glowing eyes might look out. A canopy of foliage took the place of a ceiling, and in some places, stars peeked through. Only through her flair could Winnie see rafters and skylights far overhead. The place was larger than a stadium, and it had trees—full grown trees that had no right being indoors.

"Follow me." Helena skipped along a path into the woods. Winnie followed. Behind her, the elevator closed, cutting away the small haven of light Winnie had been relying on. She was left in pitch black, with no sound but the chirring of crickets. Fortunately, her flair didn't need light anymore. She could pretend there were lights, and that was good enough. Victoria's would disapprove of this crutch. According to her, Winnie shouldn't need any light at all, real or imaginary.

Helena was ahead, drunkenly feeling her way along the path. Winnie caught up and took the lead while Helena held her shoulder.

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"How are you not bumping into everything?" Helena asked.

"My flair."

"Oh. Right."

They arrived at an enclosure of sleeping pig-like creatures. The plaque before the enclosing wall said "Tapirs", whatever those were. Winnie scanned further. There were enclosures for everything from jaguars to crocodiles. One enclosed section even contained birds.

Helena looked into the enclosure. The tapirs were sleeping behind a fake rock wall.

"Well, this was a waste of time," she said. "You can't see any of them."

"I can."

Helena snorted. "It's not really the same though, is it."

"It's better, kind of. I think if I were blind, I'd be okay."

"Well, look at you. I guess I'll just sit here and drink while you imagine the animals."

"You could see the reptiles."

"Oh yeeaah. Take me to the reptiles. Let's see those little purses." Helena draped her arms over Winnie's shoulders, and they stumbled their way through the dark like a haphazard conga line.

The reptile section had paths meandering between islands of exhibits. A nitrate, reptile smell filled the air.

Winnie took Helena to the first enclosure. It had a sleeping tortoise, a slightly larger breed than Marzipan upstairs—nearly football sized. Its shell was spiked. Winnie checked the other enclosures.

"Your mom has a lot of tortoises," Winnie said.

"Because they're morons. Animals come here when they're too sick or dumb to make it on their own. These guys just want to go extinct, but my mom won't let them. I don't know why anyone cares." Helena straddled an enclosure barrier and took the tequila from Winnie. She talked as she poured another pair of shots. "She should be saving more tigers or something. At least they're on the LakiraLabs logo. But nope, she saves the suitcase lizards."

Winnie sat across from her. The tortoise inside the enclosure awoke and peeked out at them. Helena ignored it as she handed Winnie her shot. "To my mother's little preciouses." She threw back her shot.

Winnie set hers behind her. "This place is amazing," She said, looking around. Between the poor lighting, the crickets, and the warm air, it was just like a climate that existed only before the Collapse.

"Yeah. Fucking fantastic. Isn't it? She spends way too much time down here."

"Maybe it's like a hobby to her," suggested Winnie, "like stamps."

"No. It's an obsession. You've seen those animals in her office, right? The ones that make the place smell like a pet store? They're like her other children. She'll go on trips all over the world. I'll ask to go along, and she'll say no. But she'll take them with her all the fucking time."

"Weird."

"Yeah. Conference in England? Why not bring a bird? And she even cleans their cages herself. One time she left the tortoise behind and its feeder broke. Since the caretakers aren't allowed up there, they asked me to feed the tortoise. I called my mom up about how to unlock the stupid cage and she yelled at me about respecting her personal boundaries."

"I'm sorry."

"Whatever. I don't I care. My mom rules the world, and I'll go to college and do whatever. When she dies, I'll take over and I won't have to deal with her shit anymore." She poured another shot. "Cheers." Holding it up, she nearly took the shot when she noticed the nearby tortoise watching her. "Cheers to you too. First thing I'll do when I'm in charge is throw you back in the jungle. She poured some tequila over the shell of the tortoise. It's eyes tightened, and it retreated.

As the reptile plodded to its miniature pond, Winnie considered telling Helena that the alcohol might make them sick, but she could guess Helena's response to that.

While Winnie was watching the tortoise, Helena took her shot. When she threw her head back, she nearly toppled from her perch. Winnie lunged to catch Helena, and nearly toppled right along with her. In regaining their balance, they knocked the tequila bottle over. It shattered against the pathway. Tequila stench overpowered the zoo smell.

Leaning against each other, Helena and Winnie burst out giggling. Straddling the enclosure wall, gripping one another like two exhausted boxers, they laughed until their sides hurt.

Settling down, Helena smiled at Winnie. Something about the smile was lopsided, but Winnie couldn't decide what. Helena leaned forward. Winnie's heart clenched in panic at what she thought was about to happen, but Helena merely grabbed the shot glass behind Winnie.

"You never finished your shot." Helena held it up.

Winnie took the shot glass. She held it beneath her lips and steeled herself. She really didn't need any more. But she wasn't taking this shot for herself.

Finished, she set down the glass. Helena still had her lopsided smile. Winnie's stomach churned.

A flash of light passed over them. Glancing behind Winnie, Helena sneered and straightened. Winnie visualized behind herself.

Tower security. A man with a flashlight, a blue cap, and a belt of devices approached. His flashlight beam bounced between Winnie to Helena, to the broken tequila bottle. "You know you're not supposed to be here, Your Highness. How did you get in?"

Helena held her arms out in a pose. "Skills."

"Your mother's not going to be happy when she hears about this."

"My mother can go fuck herself."

The guard flashed his light in Winnie's face. "And you. You're security pass expired at midnight. It's time for you to go back to your dorm."

"Would you leave us alone already," Helena said. "Nobody wants you here. Go away."

The guard turned his light back on her. "Your mother doesn't want you here either. So, let's get moving, ladies. Time to go."

"Are you giving me an order?"

"I'm carrying out your mother's orders. So you can leave now, or I can call more guards up here and we can make a scene."

"You wouldn't dare."

In answer, the guard pinched a communicator pinned to his uniform. He spoke into it in Portuguese, but Winnie got the gist.

Helena stormed to her feet. "You know what? Whatever. Let's fucking go. I don't even care anymore."

The guard belayed his last order over the comm.

Helena stumbled. She grabbed Winnie for support, though Winnie wasn't much of a pillar herself. They staggered to the elevator while the guard followed.

A part of her wished she could go back to Helena's room and sleep over. Helena had opened up to her tonight, and it seem wrong to leave her alone now. On the other hand, she couldn't wait to get back to her bed. At some point tonight, she was going to vomit.