The Eve (The Eden Trilogy) (4 page)

“How long?” Avian asked again.

Dr. Beeson looked at Royce.  “Seven weeks?”

Royce nodded.

“The challenge isn’t just in the amount of time it will take to build the device,” Dr. Evans said, his voice serious.  “We have to turn her kill switch back on.”

“What’s the problem with that?” Avian asked.

“I blocked the kill switch with another code,” Dr. Evans said with a heavy sigh.  “The code is long and complicated.  Not something I could memorize.  So I wrote it down, made backups.”

“We have to go back to NovaTor to get it, don’t we?” I asked, my insides growing cold.

“Yes.”

THREE

Royce, Dr. Beeson, and Dr. Evans had a lot of work to do and a lot of plans to lay out.  West had stood to leave when Dr. Evans insisted he stay.  West hadn’t fought the request, but did look hesitant.

But I had hit my information limit and needed sleep.  I could catch up later.  Avian, Tristan, Bill, and I stepped out of the coffee shop into the empty street.

“Where is everyone?” I asked.

“All of New Eden is still confined to the hospital,” Avian said as we stood in the street.  He slid his hands into his back pockets.  His shoulders were stiff, his brow drawn together.  “Everyone went into lockdown when we realized what you were doing, just in case.  So no one has been allowed outside the hospital for the past four days.”

“What about everyone from the Underground?” I asked, looking over at Tristan.

“They’re a bit more like refugees at the moment,” he said.  There were mixed emotions behind his eyes.

“What happened after I left?”

Tristan slung his rifle over one shoulder and folded his arms over his chest.  “The fighting died out pretty quickly after.  Everyone was so shocked by Margaret’s death that they weren’t sure if they were supposed to keep fighting or not.”

“Do they still think Royce and I killed her?” I asked.  I recalled Royce’s rough interrogation of her after the beacon went off.  We’d been up on the sixth floor.  And then shots were fired below.  Royce and I tore out of there.  Just before we exited to the building, Margaret jumped from the window, ending her own life.

Tristan nodded.  “They’re angry, and more than a little scared about what is going to happen to them.  About half of them are still convinced you and him pushed her.”

“How is there any peace here then?” I asked, again looking both ways down the silent street.  “How has the fighting not picked back up?”

“Separation,” Avian said, his voice sounding like his mind was far away.

Tristan nodded.  “We’re all staying in an old hotel three blocks from here.  Tuck and his BRC crew cleared it out a few months ago.  Until we figure things out, they stay there, you lot stay here.”

“And what about you, Tristan?” I asked, meeting his eyes.  “Where do you stay?”

There was hesitation in his response.  So Avian answered for him.

“Tristan has been the peacekeeper,” he said.  “The go-between.  He’s been doing an excellent job, I think, considering we haven’t gone back to war.”

I nodded, knowing how hard this must have been on Tristan.  He wanted to be a member of New Eden.  He’d never fit in at the Underground.  But you can’t escape your past.

“And you?” I asked, turning back to Avian.  “It looks like Royce hasn’t locked you back up.  Nick is going to live.”

Avian looked away from me and his entire countenance grew dark.  “He doesn’t need to put me behind bars.  My borderline exile is punishment enough.”

“Excuse me?” I said, my brows drawing together.

“I’ve been stripped of all duties and rank,” Avian responded, still not looking at me.  “Most people wanted all my firearms taken away.  Royce only let me keep them because of my marksmanship and he wasn’t sure what was going to happen while you were with the Bane.  Things are going to be different now, Eve.  I’ve made a huge mistake.”

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to say.  Avian
had
made a huge mistake, one that had almost ended two lives just a few days ago.  He had accidentally shot Nick and threatened to kill West.  He’d had the gun in West’s face and everything.

“Good thing in this world, there are plenty of chances to prove yourself and gain redemption,” I said. 

I slipped my hand into his and we started across the road.

Avian had never held my hand so tightly.

“How you holding up?” he asked. 

“I don’t even know what I am right now,” I said with a shake of my head.  Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Tristan set off east, to where I assumed the hotel was.  “I feel a bit delirious right now.”  It was true.  As we crossed the lobby of the hospital, shapes and colors floated across my vision.  It didn’t even really feel like my feet were touching the floor.  I felt as if I were floating and drowning at the same time.

“Sleep deprivation can do that to you,” he said quietly as we started up the stairs.

“I don’t think it’s just the lack of sleep.”  We stepped out into the hall and started out toward my door.  We hadn’t gotten more than two yards though, when a man stepped out of his room.  His eyes grew wide when he saw me and a ridiculous smile spread on his face.

“Eve’s back!” he bellowed.  Suddenly he started clapping his hands above his head.

I was confused and taken aback by his loud gesture.  My face grew warmer and I started to grow irritated with his very loud display.  Doors suddenly opened and more than a dozen people stepped out of their rooms.  As soon as they saw me, they started cheering and clapping as well.

“Thank you!” some people shouted.  “We would all be infected if not for you,” others said.  There was a lot of other ridiculous praise being spouted off.

A disbelieving chuckle worked its way up my throat, and a smile actually tugged in one corner of my mouth.

Avian let go of my hand, took half a step back, and joined in the clapping, despite the dirty looks some people threw in his direction.

I shook my head to try to fight off the embarrassed smile that kept pulling at my lips.

Lin suddenly broke through the crowd and rushed forward to engulf me in a hug.

“You’re alive!” she laughed.  She placed her hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes.  “They didn’t rip you apart!”

“Nope,” I said, hardly able to hold back the laugh in my throat.  “It was actually pretty boring out there in the desert.”

“You’re an absolute idiot,” she said, shaking her head.  Tears pooled in her eyes even though she was smiling.  “Heading out there with all those Bane by yourself.”

“But it worked!” a man from just behind her said.  “We aren’t dead because she was an idiot.”

I finally did laugh.

And it felt so good.

Avian placed his hands on my shoulders and started steering me through the crowd to my bedroom.

“Eve hasn’t slept in four days,” he said.

“Let the poor woman rest,” Lin interrupted, pushing her way through everyone ahead of us.  “Let her pass!”

We made our way through the joyous crowd to my door.  I placed my hand on the knob and looked back at them.  The noise had calmed down and they all looked at me.

There was hope in their eyes.  And they didn’t even know about the plans that were to come.  But maybe that was what made New Eden special.  Against all odds, we had survived.  We still had qualities like hope and humanity.  We managed to love and to conquer against a world that crushed most of our kind like a tsunami. 

I placed a fist over my heart and pressed my lips together.

The entire crowd placed their fists over their hearts as well.

“Thank you,” I said, barely loud enough for them all to hear me.

No one said a word.  They each just gave a small nod of their head.  Many of them tapped their fists to their hearts as if this simple gesture connected each of us in on a way that said:
we are here, and we will remain.

I pushed the door to my room open and stepped inside.

FOUR

I slept a dreamless sleep.  It was dark and heavy and peaceful.  Arguably the best sleep of my life.

When I woke, the sky was fading to black.  With how rested and hungry I felt, I knew I hadn’t been asleep for only a few hours.  I’d slept for more than twenty-four.

My room was empty and for that I was grateful.  I wouldn’t want Avian sitting and waiting around for me to get rested up.  He had to have a lot of other things to do.  Well, maybe not.  He had said he’d been stripped of his duties.

The water felt rejuvenating as I took a shower.  Dirt trails slid down my skin into the white shower floor.  I recalled the first time I had showered here, after we discovered the hospital, after we fled the mountains when the Bane burned our gardens.

That felt like a lifetime ago.

I felt slightly overwhelmed as I got ready for the end of the day.  There was so much to do, so much we needed to talk about.  There were so many plans to lay.  I didn’t even know where to begin.

Thankfully, I was never alone and the fate of the world didn’t quite rest solely on my shoulders.

I pulled my clothes and boots on and stepped out into the hall.  This time there was no applause, no crowd to welcome me home.  It was quiet and empty, as it should be.  I descended the stairs and came out onto the main floor.

As I approached the medical wing, I spotted Gabriel, standing in the doorway, hands on hips.  His expression was grim, the kind of dark look that only comes with death.

I stopped at his side, looking into the wing.  There was a door open and inside, one of the doctors zipped up a black bag.  Dr. Sun closed her eyes and hung her head.

“How many died in the fight?” I asked.

Gabriel didn’t glance down at me; he just kept looking at the black body bag.  “Alac and Perry were both killed,” he said, his voice rough.  They’d both been members of security and, later, the re-homing crew.  “Elijah’s badly wounded.  It will be months until he’s back to normal.  Four of the refugees were killed as well.”

I shook my head, hatred and resentment boiling under my skin.  It all felt so meaningless.  We had a much bigger enemy to fight than ourselves.

Gabriel gave a big sigh, his thick shoulders rising and falling with the effort.  He turned and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a bear hug.

“Thank you,” he said, “for what you did.  You saved a lot of lives.”

I patted Gabriel’s back.  “I kind of wish people would stop talking about it.  It’s making me uncomfortable.”

He laughed, his large belly bouncing up and down as he released me.

“You’re the key to saving the planet but you’re still uncomfortable about it,” he said, a twinkle in his eye.  “Your humility is just one of the many things that make you special, Eve.”

I rolled my eyes at him and started walking back down the hall.  “You’re not helping.”

He laughed as I walked away.

Evening light spilled in through the front doors, warm and golden.  I saw others outside, going about their day, taking their rations for the next day home to their families.  Once I returned with news the Bane threat had been neutralized, they must have been allowed to return to their homes.

Their activities and lives seemed so normal—yet our lives were about to change once more.

I turned to see Graye heading back for the armory and jogged to catch up with him.

“Hey,” I called as he stepped inside the room.  “Have you seen West?”

“Probably at dinner,” he said as he set to cleaning his weapon.

“Thanks.”  I started to turn when I noticed he was using Elijah’s prized assault rifle.  “I assume you’re in charge now, since Elijah is out of commission?”

Graye grunted in confirmation, not once looking up.

Unsure of what else to say, I turned and started for the dining room.

A low hum sounded ahead of me, and I found the dining room full.  Scanning the room, I spotted West in one corner, sitting on his own.  I was about to start toward him, when Royce, Dr. Beeson, Addie, and a few of the other scientists stepped up to the counter to get their trays.

I changed course and made a beeline for Dr. Beeson.

“We need to talk,” I said from behind him as he grabbed a plate of steaming potatoes.

Dr. Beeson glanced back at me, and then looked over at Royce, as if hoping Royce would say he had more important things to attend to and that it would have to wait.

“This is your messy past, not mine,” Royce said, shaking his head as he forked some kind of meat onto his plate.  “Go deal with it and then we’ll get back to work.  You owe her that much.”

I hoped appreciation reflected on my face as I looked over at Royce.  He placed a solid hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.  I covered his hand with mine for a brief moment. 

He gave a wink before walking away.  Maybe I was forgiven after all.

“I’d like a word with you and West if you don’t mind.”

His tray fully loaded, Dr. Beeson nodded, his eyes dark.

We made our way through the crowded room.  When West spotted us, his still slightly blackened eyes widened and he sat back in his chair as if preparing for another blow.

“I don’t think I’m going to hit you this time,” I said as I sank into the seat across from him.  “But I do want to talk.  It’s time for the truth.  All of it.”

As Dr. Beeson sat in the other chair, West’s eyes were hesitant.  He’d spun such a complicated web of shaded-truths and all out lies, could he dare untangle them all?

“This isn’t a choice, West,” I said, fixing my eyes with his.  “I can’t imagine there is much left to hide—well, there better not be.  This all ends, now.”

“What more do you want to know?” he finally asked.

“First,” I said, turning to Dr. Beeson.  “You knew I had a sister.  You never said anything either.  How did you not spill the beans?”

Dr. Beeson set down the fork he’d picked up and had yet to use.  “The first time I saw you, you were with West.  When Royce wanted to test you with the CDU?”

I remembered.  That was when our team had first arrived in New Eden, a mission to simply see if there was actually anyone alive in the city.  Royce ordered everyone to be tested for infection.  Everyone had gone into panic mode when he insisted that I was no exception for testing.  Until Dr. Beeson stepped in the room and confirmed I couldn’t spread TorBane.