Early summer 2585:

She loved to come to the lake. Nowhere else on earth was so beautiful and cool. Sunlight shimmered on the water and played chase with the golden ripples that dipped behind the shadows cast by stately redwood trees, only to emerge a heartbeat later and begin its game once again. The trees surrounding the lake were ancient now, born before the two thousand year wars.

Perhaps it was her father who made this place seem special, who created the magic. He was wonderful and good. He cared deeply for his family and his friends. But more than that, he worked hard to uphold the laws of the cities and to bring understanding between the City Dwellers and the outsiders.

He had promised her, had obtained the passes needed to go outside the perimeter of the virus-free bubble that protected them. She had been so proud when he handed her the permit.

"Victoria, I'm giving you this for safe keeping," he'd told her. "Now, don't lose the pass. Without this little piece of paper both you and Vanessa will have to stay home and I'll be forced to swim alone."

But her father was a busy and important man. Minutes before they meant to depart, he was called away on something vital, matters of state that had to be taken care of immediately.

She and Vanessa watched him leave. Yet they had the treasured passes in hand. There was no reason Tori could think of that she and her twin should stay home. They left the sterile confines of the City to swim and play, just as they had planned.

Oh, and it was such a beautiful day. Vanessa's giggle slipped across the deep blue surface, and seemed to dive beneath, as if following her twin in a careless display of frivolity. Nessa's dark blond curls broke the surface of the water. She shook her head. Droplets flew into the air then shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. They caught rainbows of light and melded with their source. Laughter rippled again.

Tori dove, then quickly emerged from the mysterious depths; with strokes synchronized perfectly, they swam to the farthest point of land. Reaching shallow water, they waded ashore, oblivious to everything except the beauty of the day.

"I wish father had been here." Nessa's small breathy voice lost itself in the towering trees and thick foliage.

"He had important business." Something was about to happen. Tori sensed it--some sudden stillness in the air, something that warned her.

Nessa DeMontville cast an exasperated glance at her twin who moved past her toward a huge granite rock that loomed almost ten feet above the earth. Another boulder soared higher.

"He promised us, and it has been so long."

"Sometimes he doesn't have a choice." To Tori, the forest had suddenly turned quiet--too quiet.

"Are you sure it was alright for us to come without him?"

"We have the passes," Tori said, scarcely able to breathe.

Nessa shook her head. "Yes, but..."

"I rest my case." She crossed her arms in front of her.

"But father..."

Tori patted the rock next to her. "I promise as soon as we dry off, we'll go home. Come on, join me."