Setting foot on Liberty Island was like setting foot on foreign soil. Or at least that was how Elliot saw it. He'd never traveled overseas. There was that one trip to Canada several years ago, but that was part of the same continent. This was, too, actually. The only difference being that it was a small island resting in the New York Harbor.
As far as defense went, this place was high on the list. When their names were added to the roster of people coming in, Elliot was astounded to hear one of the guards announce the total population. There weren't nearly as many people here as he'd been expecting. Perhaps they'd lost a great number of people during the quarantine. Maybe once word spread a little farther, more people would flock here. Liberty Island, when compared with the rest of the state, could really be its own paradise.
Elliot's insides were a knot of tightly wound anxiety and hope. His eyes flicked from face to face as people passed them by, instantly dismissing the unfamiliar and moving on to the next. The process wouldn't end until he saw David. The sensible part of him was aware that Rae needed proper medical attention, but the other part? The eager young man who hadn't seen his little brother in over four years? That part was saying Rae could wait.
Andreas was calling after them, saying something about meeting back near the door when they were finished their search, but Elliot wasn't really listening. He kept Rae close to him as they walked through the interior of Liberty. He wasn't even discouraged when, after the first twenty minutes, they still didn't see David.
And then there he was. Or, rather, there was the back of his head. Elliot became aware that he'd stopped walking, his eyes glued to the familiar figure. There sat David on one of the benches placed around the room, his nose buried in a book.
"That's him." At this point he wasn't even sure he was speaking out loud. He spared Rae a smile, before sliding away from her and slowly crossing the remaining distance to the bench.
This wasn't how it happened in his dreams, although he did have that same feeling of moving in slow motion. In his dreams, though, it was a ridiculous image of the two of them out in a field somewhere, leaves falling down around them like rain, and they were running towards each other, yelling out each other's name in exaggerated slow motion. Then they would hug, cuing the cheesy reunion music.
Elliot felt himself grinning, felt his whole body quivering with suppressed excitement. Finally, he had reached the back of the bench, looming over his little brother, who was currently oblivious to his presence. Resting his hands on the back of the bench, Elliot leaned over just slightly, enough to hopefully give David the feeling that he was being watched.