The Human (The Eden Trilogy) (7 page)

“The Redwoods?” Avian asked, studying them.

Margaret nodded.

“We heard the message,” Margaret said, now fixing me with hard eyes.  I stepped back to the door now that she was talking.  “We were curious to talk to other survivors, so we came.  We weren’t exactly expecting to be held hostage.”

“One can never be too careful these days,” Royce said, standing straight again.  He was still tense, but I felt him backing down now that they had answered some of his questions.

“We’re not looking to join you permanently,” Alistar said, looking around at each of us.  “We just wanted to talk, share information.  We thought it could be valuable.”

Royce glanced over at Gabriel who shrugged and shook his head as if to say it was Royce’s call.

“Everyone will be heading to bed right now,” Royce said.  I glanced out the window that overlooked the buildings around us.  The sun had dipped below the skyline and darkness was settling.  “We’ll talk in the morning.  Avian, Gabriel, will you take their group to the fourth floor?”

They both nodded and directed Margaret and Alistar back toward the elevator.

I almost smiled when Royce said the fourth floor.  It was the former mental unit.  Very secure.  Easy to lock down.

Royce didn’t trust these people any more than I did.

When they were out in the hall, Royce shut the door and turned to me.

“I’m shutting down all the elevators when they’re settled,” he said, meeting my eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.  “I want you guarding the blue floor.  All the scientists will be sleeping on that floor tonight. We’re not saying anything about the Pulse, the Extractor, you, or West until we know more about these people.  Got it?”

“Yes, sir,” I said with a nod.

“Don’t shoot me, Eve,” he said as I turned to leave.  “But I think it’s best if West stays up there tonight as well.  It’s a little obvious just looking at him that he’s had some major work.”

I gave him a hard stare for a long moment.  But in the end logic won out, and I couldn’t argue with him.

“Make sure Avian knows where I am tonight,” I said as I walked toward the stairs.

“Yes ma’am.”

The scientists didn’t even begin to argue when I told them we were all in lockdown for the night.  Half of them slept up on the blue floor more than they slept in their own rooms anyway.  Many of them had become anti-social after all the years they had spent holed up on the blue floor working on the Pulse.  A lot of them didn’t know how to mingle with the general population any more.

Thankfully I could always count on Dr. Beeson to feel guilty about what he’d helped do to me, and he kept West occupied while I stood guard at the door to the stairs that led access to the rest of the hospital.

The floor grew quiet as everyone settled down for the night.  The lights along the floor, running through the walls, glowed brilliant as ever.  I positioned myself with an assault rifle in front of the door to the staircase.

There was something about what Margaret and Alistar had said that didn’t sit right with me.  They were from north of us.  But not far enough north that they wouldn’t see the sun on a nearly daily basis.  They, as well as the rest of their group, had been white and pasty-faced.  I looked down at my own arms.  Even though I’d been inside quite a bit the last two months, my skin was still well tanned from the sun.

I wondered how big their lies really were.

EIGHT

“Any idea what’s going on down there?”

I turned to find West behind me, hands stuffed into his pockets.  My eyes immediately fell to the blue glow coming through his shirt.

“No,” I responded and turned back to the door leading to the stairwell.

The sun had risen.  It was now eight o’clock and the blue floor had yet to receive an update.

“Royce must really not trust them if he’s hiding all of us up here,” West said.  I heard him sit on the floor against the wall.

“There’s something not right about them,” I said.  I blinked hard.

I wasn’t tired.  I was used to staying up at nights and keep guard.  This was second nature to me.  This was what I was good at.

But my eyes were burning from staring at that stupid door all night.

“You look like crap,” he said.

“I could say the same thing,” I snapped.  “But that would be mean.”

“Cold, Eve,” he said.  “Not that I don’t somewhat deserve it.”

“Somewhat?”

“I’m not going to make this easy for you,” he said in a low voice.

I could tell he wanted me to look back at him, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.  He needed to face reality.

I was trying with West.  I really was.

“Lock down is over.”  Dr. Beeson was in the hall, a radio in his hand.  “They’re calling everyone down for a meeting in the auditorium.”

I didn’t like it, it felt dangerous to gather us all into one room, but I didn’t exactly have the power to override Royce.

Everyone from the blue floor made their way down the stairway and we all exited onto the second floor. 

I’d only ever been in the auditorium once before.  It was a massive room that dropped down at an angle toward a stage.  Rows upon rows of seats rose up from the elevated stage.  The room would easily seat five hundred people.

As soon as I entered the room, Avian and Elijah signaled to me from just to the side of the stage. 

“What’s going on?” I whispered as I joined them.  I was on instant alert when I realized they were keeping to the shadows, out of view of the masses.

“We still didn’t get any answers this morning,” Avian said, his eyes scanning those who filtered into the room.  “They mostly just asked a lot of questions.  We told them about the Pulse since they basically already knew about it being as they walked into a cleared city.  No one is too worried about them stealing it.  It doesn’t exactly fit into your back pocket.”

“They’re saying they’d like to stay a while, talk some more, tell us what it’s like up north,” Elijah said.  He held a rifle tight in his hands.  “They’re asking that we let them stay for a week.”

“I don’t like it,” I whispered, shaking my head.  My eyes fell on Margaret, who sat in the front row.  She had the tips of her fingers pressed together, her gaze fixed on the empty stage.

“Neither does Royce,” Elijah said.  “That’s why he’s having security detail quietly follow them at all times.  They know we’re going to be watching them.  But not how closely.”

“Why doesn’t Royce just ask them to leave?” I asked.  By this point it looked like most everyone had entered the room.

“Because none of us want a war to start,” Avian said.

Royce and Gabriel stepped onto the stage.

“Take the right exit,” Elijah said, pointing back toward the door I’d entered through.  “Keep a low profile.”

I nodded and quietly slipped back up the stairs to the door.  I kept my rifle hanging at my left side so that it was out of sight, but was ready to use it at one wrong move.

“Thank you all for coming,” Royce said as he turned his eyes out on those before him.  “I am sure you are all wondering what the dramatics have been about the last twenty-four hours.”

The members of New Eden looked frightened, glancing around at those they did not recognize.  Brady hung tight around Victoria’s neck, Wix with his arms around her.  Lin sat next to a few other women, each eying the strangers.

“We’ve been honored with a surprise visit from our friends to the north,” Royce said.  Even from a distance, I could see how he clenched his teeth.  “They heard our radio broadcast and came to learn more about our way of life.  They will be staying on the fourth floor for the next seven days.”  There was an underlying tone that said they would not be welcome after seven days.

“You are welcome to talk to them if you like, but I won’t feel bad if you don’t feel compelled to get to know these people who will be leaving our presence in a week.  But I wanted to let you all know what was going on,” Royce said.

“Please let your friends and neighbors know,” Gabriel said, stepping forward.  “Not everyone is in attendance today, so we don’t want anyone feeling alarmed when they see strangers in our city.”

“Back to life, people,” Royce said with a wave of his arms, dismissing everyone.

Most everyone looked at least slightly wary and confused but they all filed back out of the auditorium.  Royce and Gabriel stayed behind with Margaret and Alistar, but Elijah once again signaled to Avian and me.

We all quickly made our way to room 112, center of security.

Bill, Graye, and the other dozen soldiers on security detail were already gathered.  I did however notice West was not joining us.  Elijah must have finally realized having him mix with the crew was a bad idea for now.

“Royce wants us to tail these people for the next week.  That means twenty-four-seven.  Raj and Nick, you’ll be on night watch,” Elijah said, pointing to the two of them.  “I want a guard in the staircase, and another at the elevator.  They’ll know there’s someone at the elevator, but we’re not telling them about the staircase.  Royce wants to test them and see if they’re going to sneak out at night and go snooping around.

“The rest of you will each be assigned a floor.  Bill, Graye, and Banner, you three will cover the grounds around the hospital.  Anyone leaves, you tail them.  Call for back up if they spread more than the three of you can keep an eye on.”

“Dr. Beeson will be bringing hand-held radios any moment for each of you.  You’re to check in on an hourly basis.  They will report directly back to myself and Royce.  I don’t have to say that if you see something suspicious, you report it immediately.”

“I really don’t like this,” I said once again under my breath.

“Yeah,” Avian said back.  “I think everyone has a bad feeling about this.”

I was torn between duty and curiosity.

Avian and I were in charge of watching the first floor, from the time we woke, until the time the newcomers were herded back to the fourth floor at night.

My assignment was to watch.  To make sure nothing happened, that no one got out of line.

But I wanted to know what was going on.

Margaret and Royce spent most of their time on the sixth floor, in his office.  Elijah stood constant guard alone just outside Royce’s door.

I wanted to know what they were talking about.  I wanted to make sure Royce didn’t spill our secrets, even though I trusted him not to.  I wanted to hear what was happening to the world outside of New Eden.

But I wouldn’t abandon my duties.

I finally had a job.

I hung back in the lobby, watching.  We’d moved the elementary and other school classes to the empty third floor.  While Lin and the other teachers conducted class an armed guard stood watch over them.  The dozen people who were employed in the operation of New Eden worked as usual in the lobby, but these outsiders slowly wandered, watching, asking questions.

I was proud of those around me.  They were careful.  They watched what they said.  

But I had a bad feeling that eventually someone was going to slip up.

I looked up when West stepped into the lobby.  West met my gaze for a moment when he spotted me.  He shook his head nearly imperceptibly before his attention turned to the outsider who approached him.

I watched very carefully as West talked.

I’d had trust issues with West ever since the day I caught him stealing food from Eden.  But back then those trust issues had only been important between the two of us.

Could I still trust him to keep our people and our secrets safe?

By the fifth day, I was so agitated I could hardly stand it.  I felt cooped up and blind.  I felt in the dark and out of the loop.

“You okay?” Avian asked as we switched places.  We took shifts, either at the front of the hospital, with the lobby and restrooms, or the back, with the kitchens and medical wing.

“I just want them to leave,” I said, my eyes sweeping the hallway.

“Two more days,” he said quietly.  He placed his hand on the back of my head and pressed a kiss to my brow.

“I can’t stand this,” I said, shaking my head.  “I need out.  I need trees and mountains.  I need—”

“Hey,” Avian cut me off, pulling me into his arms.  “It’s okay.”

“No,” I said.  It felt like something wild and dangerous was in my throat, quickly rising up, choking me.  “It’s not.  I need out.  I can’t breathe.”

“Whoa,” Avian said, stepping back just a bit so he could look down into my face.  “Eve, if you need a break, I’m sure we could tell Elijah.  He’ll find someone to fill in.”

“I don’t need a break,” I said, my voice sounding disgusted.  I instantly felt ashamed at myself.  “Forget what I said.  I’m…fine.”

“Eve, you’re obviously
not
fine,” he said, concern flooding his face.  “You’ve been on the verge of a lash-out for the last week.  It’s understandable that moving into the city and having all these adjustments would be hard on you.”

I shook my head, the back of my eyes stinging.  My line of sight rose to the ceiling and I couldn’t look back at Avian because I felt so disgusted with myself.  “I am not that weak.  I am not that human.”

“Eve,” Avian said, his voice hard and stern.  It took me off guard enough to meet his eyes again.  “You
are
human.  And it is
okay.
”

“I’m going to talk to Dr. Beeson,” I said, taking a step away from him, my eyes falling to the floor this time.  “This last adjustment was too much.  You two were right.  I can’t handle any more of these.”

Avian stopped short.  Everything in his posture and stance said that he didn’t know what to say.

Gathering myself, I turned and headed back toward the kitchen.

An hour after the outsiders went to bed, I lied down, staring up at the dark ceiling.  I was working very hard to not think or feel anything.

My door opened but I didn’t bother turning to see who it was.  A warm body slipped into the bed next to me, strong arms circling my waist.  I numbly turned on my side and rested my head on Avian’s chest.

“I understand how hard you are trying to be empathetic with West,” he said in a low voice.  “And how you’re trying your best to be like the rest of us.  I know you’re trying to understand the crazy emotions we all have to deal with.”

He pressed his lips into my hair, gathering me tighter against his body.  He took several deep breaths and I realized the way I had been behaving the last week had not been hard on me alone.