Population Zero

Chapter Fifteen

This week's monthly meeting was chaos from start to finish. We arrived at the usual time and place but the youth officers were nowhere to be found. The teenagers were arguing loudly at our table and I couldn't help but overhear their arguments.

"Eric was a psycho! I'm glad he's gone. Dustin would still be here if Eric had been dismissed like he deserved." Said one of the boys.

"Sure, Eric was a psycho but Dustin wasn't much better. He probably would have killed himself anyway." Said another boy.

"How can you say that! Dustin didn't deserve what Eric did to him. He lied!" Replied the first boy.

"How do you know he was lying?" Asked a third boy.

The group fell silent. The first boy looked up and made eye contact with me and it sent a strike of lightening to my chest. I dropped my gaze and started awkwardly fidgeting as though I could somehow make myself disappear. Pretty soon after that Eric came out from the automatic doors followed by a much older man and the youths began booing loudly and shaking their fists and stomping their feet on the ground. Eric attempted to hush them but no one was responding. Finally, the old man he was with climbed up onto one of the opposite round tables and his voice began to boom. "Silence! Immediately!" Everyone began to quiet down at this unexpected command from a man that no one seemed to recognize. One by one the preadolescent boys fell silent followed by the teenagers. The last boy protesting received an elbow to his stomach and with a loud "oof" sound, he finally quieted too.

"Listen up. My name is Zach. I am taking over as youth officer for the teenage wing. Eric will now be the youth officer for the East Wing." A chorus of growling came from the preadolescent boys and as I searched through the faces I quickly spotted Elijah. I don't think I've ever seen him look so angry before. He was standing straight up on the round table beside Jack and Tony stomping his feet and shouting in a fury. Meanwhile the teenagers were high-fiving each other and celebrating by pounding each other on the back and tousling each other's hair. I tried to distance myself from them and I sat close to Renzo and Fabian who sat quietly waiting for the excitement to die down. Throughout the meeting we learned that Zach is a retired youth officer who lived on the compound and taught a few of the history classes as a substitute teacher as needed. He was well into his 50s and newly coming out of retirement to cover the sudden death of the preadolescent's youth officer, Dustin. After Zach finished introducing himself, Eric took the floor. "We are all deeply saddened by Dustin's sudden passing. There are grief counselors on site and available for anyone who may need them. Please do not hesitate to utilize this service. Many of the youths are choosing to pay tributes as a way to cope with their grief. Keepsakes are a special way to keep a loved one's memory alive. A belonging like a hat or an article of clothing.." he trailed off for a moment and stared hard into the crowd. "However, please keep in mind that taking an item that does not belong to you is considered theft. If you have taken an item by accident or with intent, it must be returned immediately." He paused again and stared into the crowd. Some youths began murmuring and looking around at each other. They must all have been wondering the same thing. What item was stolen? "A productive way to grieve could be composing a song. Our very own Renzo has done just that! Come on up here, Renzo!" Everyone clapped faintly as Renzo came up to perform his song

"He didn't know what I know; Lord my God
There is another way out; Lord my God
Will you show us mercy?; Lord my God
My heart is filled with doubt; Lord my God

Is there a place in heaven; Lord my God
For a life ended in sin? Lord my God
Has your atonement covered; Lord my God
The future of all men?; Lord my God

I put my faith in you; Lord my God
For you are beyond knowing; Lord my God
Let nothing come between us; Lord my God
Love forever growing; Lord my God"

Silence fell over the crowd. I pondered his words while the others weeped quietly and passed out tissues. Renzo himself had tears flowing down his cheeks during his entire performance and his shirt was drenched. I myself was crying silently with a tissue in hand attempting to catch every tear that fell off my jaw. Afterwards everyone began to disperse and just like that the meeting was over.

I quickly forgot about the mysterious stolen belonging and walked off still clenching my tissue and trying to calm my breathing. I needed to focus my energy at the task at hand. A conversation with Elijah. I wasn't even sure if he was going to want to talk to me but I had to try. I shook Renzo and Fabian off easily claiming I was feeling dizzy and needed a minute. Renzo seemed to be pretty emotional anyway and was anxious to get out of the crowd with Fabian close behind him. Once they left I caught sight of Elijah and mustered up the courage to tap his shoulder. He turned around and gasped at the sight of me as though he had just seen a ghost. "Lucas! How did you get here! I thought you were..." and he trailed off. He threw his arms around me in a giant bear hug that threw me off. I couldn't believe he was actually happy to see me but I was so glad for the closeness that I hugged him back hard. He held on tight to me for the longest time before he finally grabbed my shoulders and pushed me off of him to take a closer look into my eyes. He took my face into his hands. "I thought you were..." he trailed off again unable to finish his sentence. "What, Elijah? I'm back now. What happened here? What happened to Dustin?" He stared into my eyes and after a long pause he said, "Dustin killed himself. He thought you were dead. I thought you were dead. You've been gone for months. What happened to you?" Dead? Elijah thought I was dead? Is that why that boy looked at me so strangely? "Lucas. Eric convinced Dustin that you were dead. I only know about it because Dustin told me. Nobody knew where you went. Most of the boys assumed you had gotten into trouble. I can't believe you are here." He hugged me again tight. "But we can't talk here. Tomorrow is Dustin's funeral. Let's talk there. Besides, there is something I need to give you. Something Dustin would have really wanted you to have. There's still so much you need to know." With a tight squeeze of my shoulder, Elijah was gone. I walked back to the teenage wing slowly taking my time to absorb all this new information. My heart stung with the thought of Dustin killing himself. Eric lied. He convinced Dustin that I was dead and now he is gone. A rage started building up inside my chest. He has gone too far. He will pay for what he has done.