The Eve Illusion

by Giovanna Fletcher

  A non-lethal ball of energy pulses in his direction but misses.

  ‘Drones deployed,’ Guard Ryan’s voice announces inside my ear, and I spot him coming from the opposite side of the walkway, cutting off Eve and Bram. ‘They have nowhere to go now.’

  He’s interrupted by the voice of Miss Silva. It booms mightily through the air, causing everyone to stop.

  My heart is pounding and my breathing is so heavy I can barely hear the words, but I catch the end.

  ‘This is your home, Eve. Your world. It’s yours and only yours. Perfection.’

  Eve looks in my direction. My gun is raised at them.

  ‘Weapons down!’ Miss Silva orders, and the entire Final Guard drop their aim.

  Suddenly I know what is about to happen. It flashes in front of me as a premonition.

  I’m snapped back to the moment and see it unravel for real.

  Bram pulls a Gauntlet from a yellow box, which is ready and waiting for him. He straps the harness around Eve and they climb over the safety rail together, all while Vivian Silva’s voice blasts at them, followed by that of Dr Wells.

  ‘What do we do, Turner?’ Guard Ryan whispers into my earpiece, realizing he’s no good in command, but it’s too late.

  We’ve already lost her.

  ‘Just watch,’ I reply.

  They kiss.

  They smile.

  They jump.

  They fall towards the broken clouds below, leaving an eerie silence in their wake, as though the whole world just gasped in unison.

  The moment replays over and over in my mind, like a recording stuck on a loop.

  Her lips pressed on his.

  Her lips pressed on his.

  Her lips pressed on …

  I shake my head to clear the thought. I just saw the most important human in history leap from the tallest building in the world and all I can think about is that kiss.

  I look at my fellow Final Guards. Their eyes finally rest on me, and I feel the weight of responsibility that comes with this uniform crash down on me, as though it wants me to follow them over the edge and through the clouds.

  I know what I must do, what I’m trained to do … what I want to do.

  I’m going to get Eve back.

  2

  Eve

  I’m falling with him through the air. Away from the world they built for me. Away from their prison and their lies. Away from their games and their manipulation.

  I saw through some of it, of course I did, but how could I possibly have been aware of the depth of their deception? The thickness of the veil Vivian Silva has been holding in front of me all my life?

  I knew Holly was a work of art, built for me to befriend so they could understand the workings of my mind. I knew she wasn’t real in the traditional sense of the word, yet I was glad to have her.

  Him.

  Bram.

  Unfortunately my gratitude was my downfall. It stopped me seeing my friend as a warning. Rather than being thrilled to have someone to talk to, I should’ve seen what Holly really was – an example of what they could do. I should have grasped that every sunrise and sunset, almost everything of beauty I ever loved, was a fabrication, built to keep me locked up in their pretty cage so I would do whatever they asked of me.

  Until this point, my life has been a lie.

  It’s hard to accept. Was every part of it corrupt? Did the Mothers, the elderly women who raised me, taught me, dressed me every day, love me as they claimed? Were they all a part of the story? Or were their reasons for being there as pure as I believed them to be?

  I think of the wrinkled face of Mother Nina, a beautiful soul who gave her life for mine, and I have to believe the Mothers were true. It’s too agonizing to doubt them.

  I feel a twinge of guilt as I think of them back up there in the Tower, and wonder what will become of them. They’ve dedicated more than a decade of their lives to me, only for me to run away.

  Am I running away? Escaping? Or am I chasing the truth?

  Was I right to take Bram’s hand, and jump?

  This is only our second meeting, yet I’ve known him – through her – for most of my life.

  But do I really know him?

  No time to ask questions.

  Bram’s grip around me tightens. Only then do I realize I’ve had my eyes closed since the moment I stepped away from what once was, and given myself to what is below. My face is buried in Bram’s neck, my arms wrapped around his waist and over his broad shoulders. My legs tremble, locked around his.

  The wind rushes past us at such an alarming speed that I’m scared to move. I force my eyes open. The monster of a building I once called home still rushes past us. Its appearance is oddly alien to me. I’ve never been this side of its walls. It’s impossible to take it in now, though. It’s nothing more than a blur.

  We fall through storm clouds, one after another, blocking the view of what’s at our feet, and showering us both with icy droplets. I’m drenched from the spray.

  The world is loud, the wind thundering around us. Flashes of white and red flicker, the light dancing. It’s like nothing I’ve ever known. It’s mystical and terrifying all at once.

  Dropping further still, we leave the clouds behind. And I see it.

  The world below.

  The ground we’re heading towards seems to be alive. It moves and surges, dips and rises. It’s only when I hear the voices calling, shouting, screaming and chanting, that I understand it’s not the ground I’m seeing, but people. The outsiders, the public – the people whose saviour I’ve been told I am. The people who rejoiced at my birth. The people I’ve been warned will hurt me if I fail them. That’s what Vivian wanted me to believe. Right now, as I’m hurtling towards the crowds, I have to believe she was wrong.

  I’ve no idea why they’re all here. Their eyes are fixed on what must be the entrance to the Tower – a hefty metallic structure, imposing and uninviting.

  Bram jolts, and my grip on him tightens. I turn to find a black object flying beside us, projecting a red beam of light across Bram’s face. He tries to turn, to shield us both, but it’s no use. One hand grips whatever the contraption is that’s allowing our descent, and the other holds on to me. We’re circled by their technology. Wherever Bram goes, it goes. I’ve no idea whether it’ll shoot, follow or protect us but, from Bram’s reaction, I’m guessing it’s not the latter.

  Pushing through the air, fighting against the wind, I bring my leg up and over with as much force as I can muster. A swift roundhouse kick, and fragments of glass and metal split off in the blow. The object spins dizzily.

  ‘Yes!’ I scream at a surprised Bram, thankful that the hours of karate lessons they gave me have been of some use. The irony that it’s to their disadvantage is not lost on me.

  I go in for another kick. This one doesn’t impact as smoothly. The fabric of my trousers is caught up in part of its flying mechanism, which is continuing to spin. It’s stopped its erratic flight, but only because it’s got a grip on my clothes.

  Frantically I shake my leg, hoping it’ll easily dislodge, but it doesn’t budge. Instead it starts pulling at my trousers. It’s surprisingly strong for something so small, causing my grip on Bram to slip.

  I scream his name.

  Another yank on my leg and we’re pulled towards the Tower. My head whisks past the metal surface.

  Another.

  And another.

  We’re thrown around, like the ragdolls we used to play with when we were younger.

  The next tug for freedom rips me from Bram. We scrabble for one another. Our eyes lock and I see my own fear echoed in his.

  I drop.

  But I’m not falling to my death. Instead I’m caught by the harness, and left dangling below him.

  I grip the fabric and scramble to get my arms around Bram’s leg. I breathe, trying to think logically. If I kick the whole thing off there’s a chance it’ll fly straight back into us, even if it’s been designed to do me
no harm, like the weapons Ketch and my guards use.

  I raise my legs once more. With enough force to do some damage, but not enough to set it free, I start to jab repeatedly at the functioning propellers with my other foot. Eventually its lights die, its weight banging against my leg. It can stay there, where it’s doing no more than giving me a few bruises.

  Bram reaches down and pulls me up so that I’m back in his arms. My heart is hammering as I hold him close, my arms around his neck, my face buried in his short brown hair. It feels like we’ve been embracing in this way for hours. The world slows and fades away, cocooning us together.

  Yet still we fall.

  Bram pulls his head away, his dark brown eyes looking into mine so intensely, almost panicked. He starts shouting instructions at me, but I can’t make them out. Now that we’re closer to the ground the sounds from below are even louder. I think he’s saying to be quick when we land, or maybe he’s telling me not to be scared, but I can’t be sure.

  ‘I can’t hear you!’ I shout. Even my own voice is getting lost among the cries, explosions and sirens.

  He tries again. He’s worried.

  ‘I know I’m safe with you!’ I shout into his ear, hoping he can hear me.

  I pull back to find him frowning at me, his lips pursing in a way I recognize.

  Despite myself, I smile. Bram. My Bram. Just as she was once my Holly. He might look different now, but so much of him was entwined in her.

  I remember the first time I met her, how thrilled I was to see someone of my own age running through the gardens of the Dome. And I can remember when I first met him – yanking that poor security guard Michael away from me, knocking him out cold.

  I saw him and I knew he was her. Instantly.

  I’m so lost in my thoughts that I’m shocked to find we’re seconds from reaching the ground.

  Suddenly we hit the crowd. The breath is knocked out of me, and something heavy is thrown over me, forcing me into darkness.

  Hands grab me. Bram’s are pulled away.

  Voices are shouting, but I can’t hear his.

  ‘Bram!’ I cry, reaching for him.

  I fail. My grip slips. I’m ripped away.

  I try to kick and scream, but it does no good. There are too many to fight off.

  ‘Bram!’ I scream.

  I know I’ve lost him.

  3

  Bram

  Eve!

  We hit the sea of people hard and hands tear us apart. The harness around us severs and we fall through the heaving bodies to the cold, wet ground.

  I’m so desperate to call, to cling to her with all my strength and never let go, but I know I can’t. I can’t draw attention to us.

  Not yet.

  Stick to the plan.

  I let myself get lost in the stampede.

  When the waiting crowds saw us break through the cloud-base, the gasp of thousands of people hissed up through the air to greet us. We had done it – the impossible. There she was, falling from the sky, like an angel descending to answer their prayers.

  Now we’ve landed, the real challenge begins.

  ‘Where is she?’ voices cry.

  ‘I saw her!’

  ‘It was Eve!’

  ‘Let me see!’

  ‘Is she alive?’

  The crowd sways collectively as I disengage the Gauntlet, the device that slowed our descent, and shake my fist to regain feeling. With Eve now somewhere among the people, I am forgotten, no one. She may as well have fallen through the clouds alone for all they care.

  With no one concerned about me, I scan the surrounding faces, searching for her. She has to be here. This has to have worked.

  We are in the densest part of the gathering, between two cloudscrapers that stretch up towards the colossal Tower. Boxy, concrete structures with WELLS INNOVATIONS emblazoned in bold metallic lettering. No beauty, no design, just functionality. That’s my father through and through.

  This is the right spot. On the northern face of the Tower. That’s what I’d written in my instructions to the Freevers – so where are they?

  My eye catches something.

  A flash of a familiar face through the heaving bodies.

  Helena.

  She finds my gaze and nods. Her creased face is anxious but there’s an unshakeable strength buried beneath. I knew she wouldn’t fail.

  She vanishes from sight, replaced by a heavy figure barrelling towards me, using his trunk-like arms to push through the masses.

  Chubs.

  I’m aware of more people approaching, more faces acknowledging me, more Freevers. They’re all here, what’s left of them.

  For Eve.

  Chubs finds me and turns his back, clearing a little breathing space for me to gather myself for what’s about to happen.

  ‘Are you ready for this?’ he says, over the booming voices. ‘They’ll be here any second.’

  At that moment hundreds of armed black drones identical to the one that targeted me and Eve drop from the clouds.

  They pause, emitting a deep, tense hum as they hang overhead.

  ‘Attention, citizens of Central.’ Vivian Silva’s voice pierces the air as her angular face appears on the walls of every surrounding building. ‘We have experienced a catastrophic security breach. Eve, your precious saviour, is among you and her life is in severe danger.’

  Shit.

  Screams and cries erupt from the crowd.

  ‘Our last hope for the human race cannot be harmed. She cannot be damaged. She cannot be allowed to escape …’ Vivian pauses, then corrects herself ‘… to be taken. You are required to remain calm and still as we conduct our scan of the area. If you are aware of Eve’s whereabouts, make yourself known immediately.’

  I feel my face light up as though a searchlight has found me in the darkness. My pupils take a moment to adjust before I see the whole crowd is illuminated. Blinding white floodlights shine down from the drones above, sweeping the entire area.

  I take a breath. ‘This is it,’ I whisper to Chubs.

  ‘Are you sure?’ he asks, not looking at me.

  ‘… No,’ I say honestly.

  ‘I guess I’ll see you back at the Deep,’ he replies, turning to face me.

  Pushing the surrounding people aside, Chubs ensures that I’m clearly visible, as is the girl now standing next to me.

  Eve.

  ‘THERE SHE IS!’ Chubs roars at the top of his lungs.

  Silence.

  No screams.

  No cries.

  Just pure, stunned silence.

  Heads turn, until the entire crowd is facing us. They all take her in. Her beauty. This is no realiTV screen. This is their Eve, standing among them.

  We’re in the eye of the storm and the only way out is to sail through it.

  I raise my arm slowly and offer my hand to Eve, keeping my eyes on the drones above. She takes it and my palm tingles at her touch, like an electric current surging through my veins, charging me for the escape. Giving me strength.

  ‘Eve, run!’ I shout.

  The drones descend the second we move and chaos consumes the crowd. Chubs ploughs forward, clearing a path for us, heaving hysterical onlookers out of our way.

  ‘Keep up!’ he booms, and we try our best to follow but the crowd is starting to fight back.

  ‘Let her go!’ a voice demands to my right, a civilian with an image of Eve plastered all over his sweatshirt. I feel his arms grip mine and pull me, trying to separate me from Eve. I connect my knee with the man’s ribs. There’s a crack, he falls back, and we follow in Chubs’s wake.

  ‘They’re coming! Interceptors, two of them,’ he calls, signalling back to the EPO Tower.

  I glance behind as two black vehicles appear over the pandemonium.

  ‘I see them!’ I shout. The EPO’s armoured hovercrafts cover distance much faster than the watercraft of Central. Great for crowd control. Not so great for fugitives.

  A blast erupts from the ground and a s
park of light draws a streak of smoke across the sky. The Freever missile misses the Interceptor and hits one of the drones. Glowing embers from the explosion rain down, creating a tidal wave of panic that washes over the crowd.

  ‘Time for phase two!’ I call to Chubs, who immediately changes path.

  I glance at Eve, who charges alongside me. Her face radiates determination. All around us people back off, as though an invisible forcefield pushes them away. Her power is contagious and I use it to battle through the crush of worshippers a few paces ahead of her.

  ‘Nearly there!’ Chubs shouts back. ‘You’ll be on your own from here.’

  Up ahead the crowd starts to thin. We break through the outer wall and are forced to an abrupt halt.

  I almost lose my footing. The edge of the walkway has no barrier. Where the concrete finishes, the water begins.

  ‘Over here!’ Chubs calls, pulling back a black cover from a sleek watercraft.

  ‘Nice boat,’ I say.

  ‘It’s not a boat; it’s a hydrofoil. We’ve been saving this bad boy. Now get in!’ he says, handing me a small earpiece.

  The people surrounding us start to disperse as the Interceptors approach. No one dares defy the EPO.

  REMAIN CALM. YOU ARE BEING RESTRAINED, the automated voice announces from above, as the Interceptor hovers towards us. Its rays cause temporary paralysis to those they touch while it searches the frozen crowd for us.

  ‘Go, now!’ Chubs demands, shoving me into the front of the craft. Eve jumps down into the seat behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist.

  I twist the throttle and the engine erupts, catapulting us forward along the narrow canal faster than I anticipated.

  ‘Jesus!’ I cry, as a spurt of water launches into the air behind us.

  It’s fast, but it’s not subtle. The Interceptor sees us and banks hard, releasing the crowd below from their suspended state as it accelerates after us.

  The chase begins.

  We break away at impossible speed, causing the hull of the hydrofoil to lift smoothly away from the surface of the water, more like flying than sailing. The faster we sail the higher we lift from the surface.