The "fateful" day came even faster than Laura had imagined. The four young people decided to go in search of Helena Walker that afternoon: after all, they were in no hurry. They spent the morning "preparing", by noting downthe address mentioned in the post about the biologist's commemoration and by researching in advance which busthey'd have to taketo get there. In addition, Laura asked Chloe to give her some eloquence tips, so as she'd know what to ask or answer, should the conversation with Helena bring out certain details: the blonde girlalways asked this favor ofher friend before important events, knowing well how charismatic she was. In fact, she'd helped her a lot before her job interview as well.
They decided to go on the adventure more or less in the middle of the afternoon, after Laura had carefully examined once more the "strangest" points of Darwin's premise, so she'd remember to ask Helena for those specific details once they discussed the subject. She was basically planning an impromptu interview. Chloe recommended not gettingcaught up in the agitation, because there was nothing to be ashamed of, but it was difficult for Laura not to feel embarrassed: she was still about to break into the life of a woman she didn't know and who had no idea that someone had found a book she'd tried to get rid of. Sam, in a clumsy attempt to make her feel better, confessed that he was feeling even more uncomfortable than she was, because he had nothing to do with it, which only made her feel worse and cost him yet another foul look from Chloe. Jack, on the other hand, didn't express himself and Laura imagined that he wanted to avoid saying something inappropriate.
They spent most of the bus ride in silence and, at each stop, Laura's tension grew. Eventually, they arrived at the stop where they had to get off and went ahead on foot following the signs, until they recognized the building framed in the photo from the post. It had nothing out of the ordinary, not that Laura was expecting anything special. For a moment, however, she wondered if Helena might have moved after coming back in 2016; at the thought, she broke into a cold sweat, fearing that they'd just made that journey in vain. But she was able to breathe a sigh of relief when, approaching the intercom and checking the names, they found Helena's. Laura raised her hand to the button with hesitation; before pressing it, she turned to her friends for encouragement and the three of them exhorted her by nodding with a smile. And so, after taking a deep breath to lessen her tension, Laura rang the intercom. There was silence (apart from the city noises behind them) for so many seconds that the girl was tempted to ring again, but then they suddenly heard a woman's voice:
«Who is it?»
It was a sweet and, for a reason that Laura couldn't understand, a rather reassuring voice: just hearing that short and simple question made her feel incredibly at ease, so much of her agitation disappeared. Therefore, without further ado, Laura asked:
«Is that Helena Waker?»
«Of course it's me. Who am I talking to?»
«I'm really sorry to disturb you, Miss Walker, but I'd like to ask you a couple of questions abouta book that I found in the library, which I'd never heard of. It's signed by Charles Darwin, but it's not authentic and at the end of it there's a note with your name, so I thought...»
«Wait a moment, who are you?»
Laura nearly froze, realizing only at that moment that she'd jumped right away to the reason for that visit without introducing herself. Striving not to be left speechless and all in a sweat, she hurried to answer:
«Oh, forgive me! My name's Laura Hamilton, I'm a... uh... I'm about to become a paleontologist. I... well... I recently found a job and, to celebrate, I decided to borrow a book. I happened to find exactly the one I've just mentioned. I did some research on you and decided to ask you a few questions. That is, if you don't mind!»
Laura had the impression that the woman was getting nervous, or even frightened: she was unable to give her an answer for many seconds and her voice sounded anxious. When she finally spoke, the biologist soundedslightly grumpy:
«I've never written a book, you clearly mistook me for someone else. Goodbye»
«What? But that note...»
«That's right, that note is mine, not the book. And I want nothing to do with it. Leave me alone, please»
«But why?»
«You have no reason to interfere: lucky for me, that's all water under the bridge»
Laura wasn't going to let her hang up, after all the effort they'd put into tracking her down, so she immediately moved on to the first question that came to her mind to convince Helena not to dismiss her:
«Then who's the author?»
«It looks clear to me: Charles Darwin»
«Impossible, it's an apocryphal»
«It's not»
«How do you know that?» insisted Laura, with her heart racing.
Behind her, she heard Chloe encouraging her by whispering to go on that way, not to stop replying right away to keep the biologist talking. Helena Walker hesitated for a moment, but didn't hang up. In fact, as the girl was hoping, she took the bait and answered:
«I... excuse me, why do you care? What is it to you?»
«Then you do know something about it, don't you?»
«If I did, why should I tell you?»
Laura considered whether she should be honest or divert the subject in her turn, but instinctively decided that telling the truth was the best choice:
«Because, honestly, I'm very interested in this encyclopedia, especially in some details that are mentioned in the premise and in your note. I want to know. If this book is authentic, as you just told me, how come Darwin knew so many prehistoric species ahead of his time? Why are all those creatures so different from what's been reconstructed through fossils? And I have many more questions. I simply want answers, nothing else»
There was silence, which brought back Laura's embarrassment. However, the biologist didn't hang up. At one point, the girl began to regret her brief moment of ardor, but she eventually had the answer she was no longer hoping for:
«Fine. Come on in»
They heard a click and the door of the building opened. Laura was about to thank her, but Helena eventually hung up in earnest. With her heart still pounding in her chest, Laura turned around and her friends complimented her, so she thanked them instead. The girl had to stop herself from jumping forjoy, so excited was she about getting what she wanted. As they entered, she remembered not mentioning the fact that she'd brought three friends with her, but she didn't worry: that would be the least difficult thing to explain at that point.
Checking the names on the bells, the four of them went up to the third floor, where they finally saw the biologist's name. Still excited, Laura rang the doorbell and waited. Soon after, they heard the key turningin the lock and the door opened a little: at last, Laura saw Helena Walker in person. She looked thirty and was unexpectedly tall, almost Sam's height. Helena had short dark brown hair, hazel eyes and a slightly elongated face. She was wearing simple household clothes.
«You didn't tell me you had company» Helena said, in a wary tone, noticing the girl's three friends.
«I know, sorry about that, but while I was talking from the intercom I didn't get a chance to mention that part. These are my best friends, I just asked them to come with me because I'm... uh... shy, in situations like this. But they can wait outside, if you want»
«That wouldn't be a problem for us» Jack reassured.
Helena hesitated for a few moments, pursingher lips, but finally shook her head:
«No, it's fine: you've come this far... please, come in»
«Thank you»
They entered, finding themselves in a cozy living room with a small table and chairs, which Helena offered them. Laura sat down onone of them and took the opportunity to look around: there were a few shelves on which various souvenirs and photos of exotic places were placed, most likely from Helena's expeditions. She recognized one of the pictures: it was the same as Helena's Facebook profile, but framed. On other shelves near the window, there was a collection of bones of several animals, trophies such as porcupine thorns and lion fangs. In a basket in a corner, Laura glimpsed a collection of biology encyclopedias. Finally, displayed ona sideboard, instead of old-fashioned crockery, there were essays showing the dates of the years when Helena had probably been atuniversity and bearing her signature. Along with them, there were collections of handwritten sheets enriched with sketches. At that moment, Helena sat down in front of them, at the other end of the table, and started the conversation with a note of embarrassment in her voice:
«So, you found the book I left behind three years ago, Miss Hamilton»
«Wait – Laura interrupted her – Please,just call me Laura»
Helena was puzzled for a split second, before nodding and smiling:
«Oh, that's fine!»
«Thanks. And these are Sam, Chloe and Jack»
«Nice to meet you» they greeted.
«All right, in that case... feel free to call me Helena» the biologist reassured her.
In that answer, Laura didn't sense the woman's tension for a moment, perceiving instead the same reassuring and nearly maternal voice that she'd heard at the start of their discussion on the intercom. The girl thought that, if that was the tone Helena normally spoke in, she must be a delightful person: if she knew her, she'd probably adore her.
«All right, Helena - she replied – Now, let me explain: Jeremy... I mean, the librarian, mentioned you when I borrowed this encyclopedia: you told him the book is about something impossible to believe»
«That's true. Did you believe it when you read it?»
«Well, I… didn't»
«Indeed. That's why I'm amazed that you even looked me up and found me just to talk about it. What kind of answers do you expect from me, exactly?»
She'd gone straight to the point even soonerthan expected, which made Laura slightly uncomfortable. The girl, however, didn't balkand took the opportunity to ask her the fateful question:
«I know it sounds ridiculous to ask, but considering all the "clues" scattered around the book and what little we could assume about you... is it all true? Does ARK exist?»
At that point, Helena blushed. It looked like she was trying to stop herself from answering. Her discomfort was so intense that she began looking away and twisting her hands, resting on her knees. Eventually, after a nervous sigh, she gave Laura an uncertain glance and, apparently striving to overcome a certain reluctance, replied:
«Yes»
Laura heard a sarcastic giggle next to her:
«Yeah, of course» Sam commented.
She also heard a very slight thud: Chloe must've tapped his arm very quickly to scold him, as usual. Laura was tempted to give him an angry look for saying something so humiliating to Helena, but all of a sudden Jack tried to encourage her:
«If that's true, could you tell us more about the island? Maybe more details than the book. Anything, really»
Helena looked less embarrassed, maybe she was feeling reassured that she hadn't been made outright fun of.Then she recomposed herself and asked, still insecure:
«What did you learn about me, exactly?»
«We took a look at your Facebook profile. Apparently something happened to you in 2008 and you came home only eight years later» Laura replied.
The biologist nodded:
«Yes... well, while studying humpback whales in the Pacific, I was caught in a storm and nearly drowned. At the end of that nightmare, I woke up on a white beach, surrounded by giant arched cliffs and strewn with blue crystals. I swear to you, for a while I believed I was in the next world. It took me some time to settle in, but I soon found out all the oddities that place hid. Prehistoric creatures, different biomes literally next to each other, olive-skinned natives who understood all languages... and finally that damn invisible barrier off the coast»
«The vibrating curtain of air Darwin wrote about?» asked Laura.
Helena nodded:
«That's right. I couldn't get out of there... I was stuck on ARK forever»
«Wait, then how did you even get there, if there's an invisible wall?» asked Sam, confused.
The woman shrugged:
«I don't know, it looks like you can enter, but not leave. On the island there are more castaways than you would imagine.Before moving on, there's one thing I want to make clear: I didn't stay on ARK for eight years. I'd lost track of time, but I guarantee you that I didn't spend thatmuch time there»
«What do you mean? From what we know, you came home three years ago» Chloe remarked.
Helena spread her arms:
«I can't explain it to you, I'm sorry. I can only tell you what I saw with my own eyes. And I saw castaways who came from other historical periods, some very distantfrom ourera. And when I left the island with three people I met there, after we were found and rescued, it suddenly turned out it was 2016»
«So does the island... bend time?» Jack almost gasped,incredulous.
«It just might. Who knows? Regardless, my three shipwreck companions are examples of the castaways from other ages I've just mentioned»
«The three signatures at the bottom of your note... who are they?» Laura recalled.
«I'll talk about them in a moment. At first I accepted my fate, so I put on a good face and kept doing my job on ARK. I spent every single day on the island trying to fully understand the nature and life of the creatures, both the wild ones and their counterparts tamed by the Arkians. It was amazing how docile and obedient they were, once domesticated. And even more so was that so many species from different continents and geological periods coexisted in perfect ecological harmony. I was more and more convinced that something controlled the island or monitored it, like a zoo... but sadly I never got to discover what it was»
«That's very interesting!» exclaimed Laura, who was beginning to feel involved.
«But what can you tell us about your three friends? If it's true that they're from other ages, I'm very curious to learn more about them» admitted Chloe, intrigued.
Helena gave a half smile before carrying on:
«Right. Where shall I start? Edmund is the one who was more helpful and supportive than anyone else to me, while I was studying ARK. Sir Edmund Rockwell... like he'd say, "stupendous scholar, gallant gentleman and explorer extraordinaire" - she added, with a smile – He's a chemist and an explorer from Victorian London: he found ARK by chance during an expedition to Oceania. When I got there, Edmund was already the most well-liked foreigner among the natives: he owned a clinic and experimented with the local flora to make new drugs and tonics which enhanced the body in several ways»
«A popular druggist, in short» Sam quipped.
Helena nodded:
«Something like that, yes. I'd often visit him and we'd discuss our findings. You have no idea how good it did me to have a confidant like him... I always needed to share my theories with someone and he was the perfect friend. Almost a mentor, on some occasions. Then, without me being aware of it, a misunderstanding occurred and Edmund acted like there was bad blood between us for a while, before we talked it out, but all in all he's not a bad person: he's quite self-centered and he definitely overestimates himself, but I don't know anyone who values discovery as much as he does»
«What kind of misunderstanding?» asked Jack.
«It's complicated, I'd better explain itlater. Then we have Mei-Yin, who'd earned a reputation on ARK as "the Beast Queen of the Jungle". She lived alone and was a very skilled tamer: her pack of creatures was envied even by the native hunters. Mei is a warrior from ancient China. I never understood the exact year, but she mentioned the Yellow Turbans' uprising... one of those very rare times when I got her totalk about herself without having to deal with her gaze. From what I understand, while defending her village from an ambush by the rebels, she was taken prisoner and traveled a very long way to be sold as a slave. She was embarked for Oceania, but she was as unlucky as me: there was a storm. She remained at sea for months, before being shipwreckedon ARK. She became a mercenary and helped the natives in the war against the New Legion...»
«Wait, what? Like… a literal legion, like those of the Romans?» asked Chloe, perplexed.
«That's right. And here's the last member of the group, the one who made the biggest mess of all: Gaius Marcellus Nerva. I'll tell you: everyone, including me, long believed that he was the "bad guy", but over time we realized that, in his head, he was convinced he was doing good, in a relative sort of way. He was a centurion in Trajan's time. He told me that his original legion was tasked with exploring the most unknown territories of the Far East, beyond the Indo and the areas reached by Alexander the Great. I dare not imagine how long they marched; anyway, they got to the Pacific... reduced to the bone»
«Did an entire Roman legion march from Italy to the Pacific?!» exclaimed Sam, incredulous.
«Crazy, but true: he's living proof. Upon arriving at the ocean, they built a ship with the help of the locals and left; at that point, Gaius was left alone and shipwrecked on ARK. Once settled in, he decided that the Arkians were barbarians to be "saved" from ignorance and civilized, so he gathered a new army called the New Legion and began to conquer the villages of the island's tribes, one by one. The first time I met him, he took me prisoner after a battle against Mei's beasts. He was truly convinced that he'd been sent there by... Jupiter? Janus? I never remember. Anyway, according to him, it was destiny: he thought it was right to romanize the Arkians, even by force»
«And in the end, how was all that solved?» asked Laura.
Helena shrugged:
«When I was his prisoner, his army was the dominant tribe of ARK, but in the end a series of events suddenly turned the tide. At that time, Edmund and I were investigating mysterious artifacts that we believed to be connected to the invisible barrier, as we eventually proved. At one point, Gaius heard about it and took Edmund with him to learn more as the artifacts were all taken to the three obelisks on the island, because he was convinced they were a divine weapon or something like that»
«Could you tell us more about these artifacts and obelisks? If they're connected to the barrier, then that's how you got home, isn't it?» interrupted Laura.
«That's right, but I'll explain it better in a moment. The last artifact, a strange multicolored crystal, was to be placed in the ruins on the Apotheosis, the floating isles East of ARK. Gaius and his legionnaires went there, but unfortunately for them it was the lair of an about twenty meter tall gorilla behaving like a kind of "king" of ARK. The natives called it Kong»
Before the biologist could go on, the boys staredand Sam burst out laughing like a madman, clapping his hands loudly:
«Hahahahaha! That's the last straw! Brilliant! You know, for a moment you really had me fooled» he admitted.
«Sorry?» asked Helena, perplexed.
«Seriously, with all those details about the barrier, the natives, the island and those exciting tales of your friends... it really felt like you were telling the truth. But with this bullshit you've confirmed once and for all that ARK is galactic nonsense»
«Yes, I totally fell for it myself – added Chloe – Though it sounded absurd from the beginning that the inhabitants of this "prehistoric island" knew every language. Nonetheless, congratulations onyour creativity: your book is very well put together»
«King Kong... I didn't expect this – Jack smiled – If I may, it's a bit too far-fetcheda detail: it takes away originality from the story. You accept constructive criticism, don't you?»
«I don't believe it, you even put King Kong into it... what would be next, Godzilla?» provoked Sam.
Helena, in response, looked at him with an embarrassed and forlorn expression, without replying.
«Why are you looking at me like that? There's nothing wrong with that, you just have to admit that it's actually a made-up story. My God, King Kong... floating isles...» Sam kept laughing.
Laura, for her part, feltso let down that she didn't know what to think. Moreover, she was embarrassed with herself: she should've given in right from the start to the self-evident factthat the book was exactly what it seemed to be: a neat fictional encyclopedia treating prehistoric creatures from an original perspective, under the pretext of a false historical document. But no, she'd clung to the tiniest hope that there could be some truth behind that book, she'd involved her friends in an unnecessary quest for a biologist who was way too imaginative. And Helena had found Laura's naivety so amusing that she'd kept indulging her delusion, before slamming the truth in her face. She was so ashamed... she'd made a fool of herself, wasted her friends' time and her own and dragged them into that embarrassing situation. She wanted to bury herself.
«Now you don't believe me either, do you, Laura?» sighed Helena, in a sympathetic tone.
That maternal and comforting voice, at that moment, made her feel worse: she felt even more fooled. Shecould only stare at Helena with a half discouraged, half outraged look. After watching her in silence, Laura shook her head. Sam clapped his hands on his lap and signaled that he wanted to leave:
«Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Helena, but now we're getting out of your hair. Thanks for putting on a great show for us! Come on, guys. Laura, don't get depressed, you can comfort yourself when you start your new career»
«Yes, you're right. Thanks for the chat, Helena» sighed the girl, standing up.
They turned to the door. However, the woman suddenly called out to them with a determined exclamation:
«Wait!»
They turned around, perplexed.
«Is there more?» asked Laura, with the last glimmer of hope left in her.
«There is. I'd rather avoid showing this to you, but by now I've gotten off the fence by telling you my story... sit down, please. Trust me»
Laura hesitated, then looked at her friends for an opinion. From their expressions, she knew they were waiting to see what she'd decide. So, readyto have faith despite the embarrassment, she went along with Helena and sat down again, followed by the others. Helena thanked them with a grateful smile, then left the living room and turned a corner, probably headed to a bedroom. They heard her movingsome stuff around and then she came back. When she reappeared, the biologist had three items with her which left Laura stunned: a very long primary feather of a bird she couldn't identify, a seed so strange that it looked like an alien sapling and the skull of a small monkey. The girl had seen the sketch of an identical skull while reading Darwin's encyclopedia: it belonged to a mesopithecus, an old-world monkey from the Pliocene period. Although she could already guess the origin of those items, Laura decided to leave nothing to chance and, faking naivety, she asked:
«What are those?»
Helena placed them on the table and looked at them like they were precious objects, as she replied:
«To me, they're mementos. You may consider them evidence»
The biologist picked up the feather and smoothed it, with a smile full of poorly concealed nostalgia:
«When Edmund and I got acquainted on ARK, he gave me an argentavis with which I could easily move around the island. It was a female, she already had a name when she became mine: Athena. Edmund, on the other hand, had a male named Archimedes. Oh, Athena... I used to watch her fly around on her own, every morning, as I enjoyed the sunrise from some high place. Everything was beautiful. My greatest regret is that I couldn't say goodbye to her properly»
«What happened?» asked Laura, who'd gotten carried away again without realizing it.
«When the New Legion captured me, I lost sight of her in the mayhem. I haven't seen her since, although me and the others gave ourselves a few weeks to recover from the whole mess, before leaving ARK»
«What about that strange seed?» asked Jack.
«This is a "plant species X" seed. Long story short, as you might figure from the book, ARK is a place that'scompletely out of the ordinary and some things look devoid of any logic. However, the coexistence ofspecies from different eons hasn't only influenced the evolution of the fauna, but also that of the flora. Plant species X is an endemic plant of ARK, which spits harmful seeds if threatened. It's often used as a defense system to houses or settlements: it's basically an automatic turret»
«I'm sorry, have you just compared a plant to a turret?» Sam asked somewhat sardonically.
«I guarantee you that a turret plant is the most normal-looking thing, knowing what ecosystem it belongs to» Helena replied.
«And that's a mesopithecus skull» Laura concluded, anticipating Helena.
«That's right, from Rockwell's clinic. Edmund even tried to keep a sample of one of his recipes, the "mindwipe tonic", but luckily I talked him out of it»
Laura's feelings were now mixed again: she was both happy to see that Helena wasn't making fun of her, and shocked for getting conclusive proof that...
«ARK does exist» she said softly.
«I told you. Now you got proof» the woman replied.
There was an awkward silence afterwards. It was Chloe who started the conversation again, with a question bornof curiosity:
«From your story, I understand that your three friends came to Sydney with you, after leavingthe island. May I ask you where they are now? What became of you four after your return? I mean, if the three of them are from the past, it must've been tough»
Helena smiled and nodded:
«You're damn right, it was very hard to help them start anew in 2016. But, all in all, we managed tofind solutions that suited everyone»
«Do they live hereat your place?» Jack asked.
«Yes, they've been living here with me for three years. My flat was easy to adjust to roommates, so why not take advantage of it? Anyway, if you want to know what they're currently doing, I'll tell you. Edmund had less issues than the rest of us in making a choice: he was already a doctor and a mix between a pharmacist and a chemist, he's very clever and learns quickly, so all he needed to do was to catch up with modern day medicine. He's still attending a university course in medicine: when he learns all he needs to, he'll be a doctor again»
«But what about the Chinese warrior and the centurion? I doubt they had an easy time» Chloe admitted.
Helena giggled:
«Well, to begin with, I had both of them sign on to an English course, because it was essential. They'd already learnt a few words: when speaking to Mei, I used the basics of Mandarin I'd studied at university and, after we became friends, I taught her a few sentences. Nerva, on the other hand, had asked Rockwell to instruct him on the "Britons' language", as he calls it. Though of courseit wouldn't be enough to live here at all. As soon as Mei and Gaius learnt to get along well with the language, we saw to their careers»
«Sure... they both grew up swinging swords and gutting people, what job could possibly suit them in a society like this?» Sam asked, amused.
«Truth be told, it wasn't that hard to find something within their reach. Mei was the Beast Queen, you have no idea how skilled she is with wild animals. She's now a catcher: with all the reports of snakes, deadly spiders and monitor lizards in Sydney, she has her work cut out for her. As for Gaius... well, he comes from a civilization that wanted to bring order and discipline by force, so I had an odd but logical idea: I convinced him to become a bouncer. He eventually found a job as one: they hired him in a clothes shop in a shopping center. He's cool with it»
«Better than I thought» Chloe said sincerely.
«Sorry for asking, but where are they now?» Jack asked.
Helena shrugged:
«They're busy, that's all. I'm on holiday these days»
«What about you, Helena? What did you do after ARK?» Laura asked her.
At that point, the biologist's relaxed smile vanished. Laura immediately regretted that question: she must've struck a nerve. She was about to apologize when the biologist sighed sadly and replied:
«It may sound like a paradox, but I'm the one who struggled the most to start over. First of all, meeting those I love and care about after eight years was a lot to swallow, both for me and them. They thought I was dead, and rightly so. Apart from that, however, I no longer felt like doing fieldresearch on animals... let's say that something inside me got stuck, after all that happened on that island. I didn't feel like going on expeditions anymore, but I obviously couldn't give up biology, so I found the right compromise: I got a positionin a high school as a natural science teacher»
«How about that, you just look good in a teacher's role» giggled Sam.
«Yeah, you're not the first one to tell me» Helena smiled.
After that, no one said anything more. Then Laura couldn't help but rethink everything that had been said up to that point and process the findings, now that she'd gotten confirmation that it was the truth. She soon realized that, of all of the incredible details that the book and Helena had explained on the prehistoric island, there was one that intrigued her above all else: Helena's theory that there was an unknown factor which, according to the clues, was keeping in check the Arkian ecosystem to keep it in balance, although within it there were completely different biomes and creatures that were never supposed to live together, forced to share territories. In nature, normally, such features weren't remotely conceivable: the most similar contexts were zoos, andin fact it was no coincidence that Helena hadcompared ARK to one. That factor could be anything... what if it was a living being? What if, in some way, it was also connected to the invisible barrier manipulating time? Perhaps the island was like a complex beehive managed by a queen... one by one, all those questions encouraged her to try and clarify that big dark point of the matter, so the girl resumed with the questions:
«Helena, how exactly did you manage to leave? You said the barrier prevents anyone from leaving ARK… you also mentioned artifacts that seemed to be connected to the barrier. Was it true?»
The biologist nodded:
«Correct, they were all hidden in the caves of the island. There are three crystal-tipped obsidian obelisks on ARK: one green, one blue and one red. Underneath them, there are hollows with the shapes of the artifacts, and in the end it turned out that putting them all in place made the barrier disappear. After the war against the New Legion, the chieftains of the Arkian tribes discussed hiding the artifacts in safe places, I guess they did it after our departure»
«Well, at least escaping from there is difficult but not impossible: it's better than nothing» said Jack.
«And so, you eventually failed to understand what was behind the ecosystem of ARK?» Laura went on.
«That's right, sadly. All the clues I'd collected seemed to prove it, only the source of it all was missing. At first I thought that the balanced relationship between prey and predators and the obedience of tamed creatures depended on the king of the island, meaning Kong...»
She was interrupted by a chuckle from Sam, who received a nudge of reproach from Chloe.
«I'm sorry, I just can't take this King Kong thing seriously» the redhead chuckled.
The woman gave him a slightly frustrated look before continuing:
«According to Arkian lore, the temperament of the creatures and the natural balance of ARK are distorted and reformed depending on what creature becomes the king, so thanks to Kong there's peace and perfect balance. It sounded like an answer, but I realized that the fertility rate of some species and the regeneration speed of damaged environments can't depend on one animal. There's something bigger behind the whole thing... and, I confess, I strongly suspect that I came very close to finding it»
Laura's eyes lit up:
«So do you know what it is?»
At that point, however, the passion and frenzy with which Helena was sharing her theories with the typical joy of one who's finally free to reveal their secrets faded, replaced by a bitter, almost repentant look, and by a voice that expressed disappointment and a sense of defeat:
«No. I'm sorry, but no. I never found the great truth I was after for months. But it was my choice»
«What do you mean?» Laura insisted, let down.
«I found a new clue, the last day before setting sail with the others. I had every good reason to be sure it would lead me to exactly what I was looking for… but I chose to let it go. I tried with all my heart to carry out my research to the end, to fulfill my duty as a scientist, but I wasn't strong enough. I didn't feel up toit. The way out, my ticket back home, was finally at hand: was it worth it to risk giving up such an opportunity, just to find out why an island works in a certain way? It was a chance I wasn't willing to take»
«And you feel guilty aboutthat? In my opinion, you did the right thing» Jack triedto comfort her.
«As much as I hate unfinished business, I would've donethe same thing in your place» Chloe added.
«I've always tried to remind myselfthat I did the right thing, yet the thought that I gave up on my discovery has haunted me for three years. And I never let the others know about my failed research: Edmund wouldn't forgive me, because he cared as much as I did, even if for different reasons. However, the discomfort with my choice is the reason why I tried to think as little as possible about ARK: that's why I left the book in that library. Athena's feather was the only reminder of the island that I dared pick up every now and then, but for the rest I did my best to move on... until you came along»
«I'm so sorry, we came here only because a bizarre book intrigued me... I didn't think I'd reopen an old wound of yours» sighed Laura, feeling guilty.
«Are you kidding me? It's no problem! In fact, it warms my heart to see that someone has a genuine interest in my adventure, even if all you had was a name in an absurd encyclopedia. It was nice to give you my story: it's like a part of me has gotten rid of a burden. Thank you, I'm serious. Just don't tell people, of course»
«We're glad to know! And you can rest assured, we weren't going to tell anyone about this meeting anyway» Jack smiled.
«So… are we done? Is the case closed?» Sam asked, staring at Laura.
«Yes, so it seems» Laura nodded, even though she wasn't convinced at all.
Helena then clapped her hands on her knees and stood up.
«Well, it looks like you're leaving. It was nice to meet you guys! Take care. And good luck in your future career, Laura: paleontology is a wonderful world, a dear friend of mine could tell you if she were here!»
«I don't doubt it. Thanks for everything, Helena» Laura replied.
The boys stood up in turn, waited for their hostess to open the door and usher themout of the flat, ready to go back to their everyday life… until Chloe hesitantly stopped, confusing everyone; the black-haired girl turned back to Helena and, astonishing her friends, she asked her with a hint of embarrassment if she'd mind introducing them to her three friends in the future and let them all keepin touch, while they were at it. Jack and Laura blushed, while Sam stared at her and addressed her in a witty tone:
«Chloe, don't you think you're asking too much? It's fine to be outgoing and make new friends, but we've only just met her anyway! We had a chat, we had fun, but that's all... don't you agree, Helena? Excuse her, that's just how Chloe is: she gets attached quickly» he joked.
«Damn it, don't you dare act like a daddy to take revenge for my homilies!» she reacted in response.
«Please don't embarrass us... we've wasted enough time already» Jack urged them, while Laura nodded in agreement with him.
Helena hesitated for a bit, but in the end she admitted it wasn't a bad idea. She stated that she'd already introduced her friends to old and new acquaintances before and had never regretted it. She also added that she wouldn't mind at all discussing the various aspects of ARK more in detail with Laura on future occasions, if the girl really cared: for her it would be like teaching biology to her students, but in a "secret" field and with a new acquaintance met by chance.
«Really, Helena? If you're doing this just to please her, don't bother! I'm serious! In fact, why haven't you apologized yet, Chloe?» she asked the other girl.
Chloe shrugged, not quite embarrassed:
«Why should I apologize? It looks like she agrees with me» she winked.
«I'm beinghonest! I'd really like to see you again: you're nice, you know? I'll talk about it with the others as soon as I get a chance: if everyone agrees, we'll consider it»
«Great! Shall we exchange numbers? Or keep up to date with your Facebook profile?»
«I prefer the phone number» the woman replied.
Laura, for the umpteenth time, couldn't believe it: she liked Helena more every second that passed. She felt an honest admiration for her: she was nice, helpful, reassuring, open to dialogue, friendly... she had the feeling that she could never get tired of talking with her. So, after the four of them and Helena hadexchanged phone numbers, they said goodbye and left. As they let themselves out and headed down the street, Sam admitted that he didn't know what to think about that day. Chloe just gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder and pointed out that, after all, they'd done great: Laura had finally figured out the truth behind Darwin's encyclopedia and maybe Chloe herself would soon get to knowa native ancient Chinese and a true Roman soldier, thanks to whom her language skills would make quite aleap forward.
«Yes, very nice, but the point is: this so-called ARK is still merely a topic we can't actually do anything about and it's not certain that Helena Walker's friends will agree to meet us. It was like discussing a film: fun, but useless... no offense, Laura»
«None taken, Sam» she sighed.
«Are you happy?» Jack asked her, with a friendly smile.
«Of course I am! Shouldn't I be? I found out even more than I'd hoped for!» she replied.
They crossed the street and discussed their meeting with the biologist all the way to the first bus stop; they carried on while sitting on the bench, waiting for a bus to arrive. As they focused on the stories of Helena's friends, Sam fell silent, watching the other side of the street with a suspicious look. Suddenly he drew the attention of the others to Helena's place.A few steps from the entrance to the condominium, there was a man who appeared to be staring right at them. He stood out among the passers-by, because he was quirky: he was dressed all in black and, from what little they could make out at that distance, he looked unkempt and dirty. The most bizarredetail was that he was wearing a bowler hat.
«Why is that creepy guy looking at us?» Jack asked.
«Creepy? He looks plain stupid to me» Sam said.
Laura tried to give him a closer look: the bowler hat guy was tall and slender, he had an elongated face with a strong chin, little hair and a long, thick mustache; he was ridiculouslyhunched over and wringing his hands. He seemed to be giggling with a crazy expression all the time and... was he really talking to himself?
«He doesn't look sane to me» Chloe confided.
At that moment, however, the bowler hat guy stopped staring at them and walked away, with a bizarre cautious gait. At that point, Laura relaxed, only then realizing the sight of him hadmade her uncomfortable. In an attempt to compose herself, she gave credit to Sam:
«I agree, he's just out of his mind. I don't think he was looking at us for a reason»
«I don't think so either: he's just a weirdo» Jack nodded, holding his thumb and forefinger on his chin.
Either way, Laura instinctivelyput the book in her bag, after holding it under her arm: for some reason, she no longer feltit safe to leaveit. However, she thought it was just a passing sensation and she tried to forget it when they got on the bus to go home. Now all they had to do was resume their daily lives and wait for news from Helena.