He spreads his palm and places it on the glass.
My heart beats faster: I’m desperate to discover who is waiting within.
Eve’s chest rises as she takes a deep breath while the glass becomes totally clear, revealing the slumped body of an old man sitting in the single chair bolted to the centre of the cell.
‘Dad …’ I read on her trembling lips.
There is a gasp from my fellow Freevers at seeing Ernie like this.
‘Is he alive?’ Helena calls to no response from anyone on the outside.
A few seconds pass. Then Michael catches my eye and nods towards the display on the glass wall of Ernie’s cell where his vital signs are displayed.
‘He’s alive,’ I confirm quietly, seeing his pulse register on the glass.
As everyone’s attention is directed at Ernie, Michael subtly runs his hand on the illuminated controls on the glass of our cell – the sound from the hallway is suddenly audible to us all.
‘Dad!’ Eve calls. ‘It’s me – Eve. Your Eve.’
The old man’s forehead creases as he struggles to open his eyes but he manages it and a moment of disbelief flashes across his face.
‘Welcome home, Eve,’ a cool, calm voice says, and all heads instantly turn to face the powerful figure that has appeared at the far end of the corridor.
Vivian.
37
Eve
Now that I see him I don’t want to look away. Now that he is with me I don’t ever want to be without him. My father. My kind, loving father, whom I’ve been robbed of for all these years.
This isn’t the way I dreamt we’d meet again. I pictured warm embraces and shared laughter – stumbling words of forgiveness and promises never to be apart again. Instead I’m caught in a trap. Hung up to witness whatever evil has been planned for him, my army and Bram.
I don’t believe this is it.
I won’t let myself accept that this is where the story ends. Not for any of us. We’re good people. I have to believe in our mission, or we’ve already failed.
I try to pull my hand from the device that’s holding me in the air and cry out in pain. My strength is matched, forcing the joint from the socket before pinging it back into place.
I clamp my eyes shut and breathe through the agony.
No, I tell myself.
No, I repeat.
I will not let the people from the Deep see me like this – not when they have put so much faith in me.
I will not give the EPO the satisfaction of humiliating me in front of them, or making me look vulnerable and weak.
I will not be less than they deserve.
I look at my father and see what they’ve done to him. I look at the men and women I met in the Deep, at Bram, and feel my anger rise.
This is thanks to her. I think back to the times we used to run through the meadows, how she used to be carefree and fun, and wonder how she became so twisted and despicable. Did the power go to her head? Or was she always this way and I just failed to see it – my innocent eyes always looking for the good in people?
Look at her, flanked by her army of scared and lost men. Among them Michael, trying to keep his steely gaze now that she’s back in the room. He must play his part, but it’s terrifying to see the fear so visible in his eyes. If I can see it, can anyone else? Can she? Or is she so used to looking through people rather than at them that their feelings don’t even register so long as they’re doing as they’re told?
‘Are you not going to say hello?’ she asks.
I stay silent.
She raises an eyebrow in reply before turning to my father’s cage. ‘I thought I raised her better than that. I really did, Ernie,’ she says, her finger sliding down the glass between them. ‘Kids.’ She tuts. ‘When they fall in with the wrong crowd there’s just no stopping them. But they always come back eventually …’
My father’s shoulders stoop lower, shaking with his sobs. My heart aches. How I wish I could simply scoop him up and take him far away from here. All I want is to tell him that none of this is his fault. He gave me life, and he tried to give me freedom.
Vivian glides towards me, her cold eyes on mine. When she’s a few feet away she stops and stares, as though willing me to crack – to give her something to play against. I decide to bide my time and let her show her cards before acting.
‘Everyone out,’ she barks, turning on her heels and gesturing for the guards to go. ‘Except you. You stay. You’ve surprised me tonight, Turner. Excellent work.’
My gaze flashes to Michael as his head dips in acknowledgement. This is what we want: we need him with us, although it terrifies me that she’s singled him out. Has he really travelled this far up the ranks in such a short time? How did he manage to win her over?
The dismissed guards turn and walk away. They don’t look back or show any concern for me. Traitors.
The door slams behind them, causing my body to jerk in shock, resulting in another agonizing stretch of my limbs.
‘You’ve never been down here, have you, Eve?’ she asks. ‘There’s a reason for that. The Detention Level was never built for you to see. It was built for you, of course. It was built, like the rest of the Tower, to protect you. To keep you safe from harm. Life outside, Eve, is unpredictable. You’ve seen for yourself now what they have done to the world. How they have managed to ruin any good that existed before. We wanted to give you everything. We gave you Utopia.’
‘You gave me a prison,’ I say, through a clenched jaw.
‘Ah, but it was beautiful. It’s such a shame you had to go and ruin everything. If you want to act like a prisoner, then I have no choice but to treat you like one. It’s for the good of the people.’
‘More of your senseless shite,’ shouts Helena, from the cage with the Freevers. ‘You’ve made her a pawn in your game.’
‘Helena? Is that you?’ Vivian asks, turning away from me and peering through the glass. ‘Oh, she’s a bad one, Eve. You should see the file we have on her. She’s one of the worst. Hard to calculate exactly how many people she’s killed. In. Your. Honour,’ she says with a deliberate slowness, punching out every word. ‘You must be so thrilled to have friends like these. A mob of common criminals. Terrorists thinking they’re working for the greater good, when they’re the thorns on any rose we create.’
The Freevers look at her in disbelief as she attempts to rewrite their history. All the good they’ve been trying to do, smeared as evil. Is this how they’ll be remembered?
‘Still, we have you all now and can put an end to your tiresome crusade. Oh!’ she says, as though she’s clumsily forgotten something. ‘Bram! Oh, Bram,’ she says, finding him in the centre of the cage where he’s been joined by Chubs and Helena. ‘It appears that life outside the Tower didn’t quite work out for you,’ she says. ‘If only you’d done as you were told and listened, rather than joining this army.’
‘I didn’t join them. I led them,’ he says, his face full of anger. ‘I led them to Ernie, and I helped facilitate Eve’s escape. They followed my orders. So if anyone should be punished, it’s me.’
‘No!’ I shout, before Vivian raises her hand, a force coming towards me and silencing me.
‘How surprising,’ she says, looking genuinely taken aback. ‘I never realized you had anything of substance about you. Get him out,’ she yaps at Michael.
‘Bram, she’ll kill you on the spot,’ I hear Chubs warn.
‘You have safety in numbers here,’ adds Helena, as she grips his shoulder.
‘You’re one of us.’
‘Stay inside.’
‘You led us but didn’t force us, Bram.’
The words come thick and fast as every person in that cubicle tries to make him see sense, but they fall on deaf ears. I can tell from the expression on Bram’s face that he won’t back down. He wants to take the punishment so that no one else suffers, but he must realize Vivian won’t be so fair.
Michael’s fingers swipe at the glass, causin
g a circle of green light to illuminate on the cell floor.
‘Stand there,’ he tells Bram. ‘Everyone else, against the wall.’ He manages to sound every bit the emotionless soldier Vivian expects him to be.
Bram obeys, stepping into the indicated spot while his cell-mates move away. The inner-glass door opens, allowing him to walk inside before resealing behind him. A second later the outer door appears in the glass wall and Michael is there to pull him out by his cuffed wrists, then drag him across to the centre of the corridor, where his ankles are restrained and tethered to a metal loop, like a dog.
As soon as Bram is out, the Freevers rush to the re-formed glass, their hands pressing against it, visibly wishing they could get to Bram and help him, just like me. All eyes are on him. All faces are shrivelled in despair as they watch him rise to his feet and turn to Vivian.
‘This is all so very sweet. You clearly made a wonderful leader – look how they flock to watch. See how they already weep over your death.’
‘Please, Vivian!’ I can’t stop the emotion hitting my voice. ‘It’s not him you’re angry with. I’m back. I’m here! Take me. I’m the one you want!’
I pull at my arms and legs even though the pain sears through me. I have to stop her.
I knew coming back here would be a risk to Bram’s life, but I never expected us to be in this situation so quickly. Or for us to be in such a powerless position. This feels so wrong.
She doesn’t even flinch as I scream. Her full attention is on Bram, her head cocked to one side as though trying to read him. She glances at our friends in the cage, her face brightening at an idea. In just a few seconds Michael jumps, placing a hand on his chest. An order? He puts his finger to his ear, listening to what is being said to him in his earpiece. Whatever it is causes his eyes to widen and a shiver to run through him.
‘Yes … Miss Silva,’ he says slowly, and he nods as he makes his way back to the glass. His legs seem to have doubled in weight as it’s quite an effort for him to manoeuvre himself. At first I think it’s the sight of a man weighed down by his conscience, but then my doubt starts to rise. I have been duped so many times. I think of Saunders’s death and of the horrors Michael confessed to having committed. He’s been unable to resist Vivian’s commands so far. But I hadn’t expected him to carry out Bram’s execution.
‘Vivian, no, please. Not Bram. No one has to die for me,’ I hear myself beg, but my pathetic sobs fall on deaf ears as Vivian places herself in front of Bram, the sides of her mouth lifting as she goes to speak, knowing that we’re all holding our breath as we wait to hear what will happen next.
‘Is there anything you wish to say to your devoted followers? Any last words?’ she chimes.
I’m breathless. Even though he knew what he was putting himself up for, he must have had a flicker of hope, a plan he’s not revealed yet. Something. Anything! This cannot be it.
His nostrils flare as he licks his lips. His mouth twitches as he bravely lifts his chin. He turns his face towards mine and our eyes lock. I’m taken back to when we first met – when he entered my life as my first ever Holly and became my first, and possibly only, true friend. I’m taken back to playing silly games on the Drop, to sleepovers up in my room. I’m taken back to meeting him outside the lift and our two worlds colliding properly for the first time. I’m taken back to our game with the Rubik’s Cube when I could feel his hands entwining with mine even though we were floors apart. I’m taken back to our first kiss and how electrifying it was. I’m taken back to our last, and how safe that felt.
I can’t help but let the tears stream down my face as the memories of us come flooding back.
‘I love you,’ I choke.
‘Bram,’ Vivian snaps. ‘Last words.’
Without tearing his eyes from mine, he takes a deep breath and opens his mouth to speak.
‘For Eve,’ he says, his voice calm and firm.
38
Bram
I close my eyes and wait for the inevitable, trying to make peace in my mind that my part of this journey is about to end and Eve will carry on alone.
Nothing happens.
My fluttering breath catches in my throat, my body surprised at being allowed one.
I’m suddenly aware of some commotion from within the Freevers’ cell and open my eyes to see what the hell is going on.
A thick white vapour is flowing at their ankles and rapidly rising.
‘No!’ I scream, getting to my feet but my restraints hold me back. ‘Vivian, no! These are good people. They were just trying to do what was best for Eve.’
My words are ignored as Vivian stands and stares into the cell and my brothers and sisters are obscured with this lethal substance, swirling its deadly finger-like wisps of air around the glass.
‘Vivian, please!’ Eve screams, emotion making her voice crack as tears run down her face and fall from her hanging body to the concrete.
‘You asked to be punished instead of them and there is no higher form of punishment than being responsible for the deaths of your friends as you watch helplessly. Now, face the consequences of what you did, Bram. You and Eve,’ Vivian says.
The shadowy figures within the cell are all but gone. The white clouds have taken them.
Something appears suddenly through the haze. A hand. It’s placed purposefully on the glass, fingers spread wide and open. Not reaching out in fear or desperation but in strength.
Helena.
Another hand appears next to it. Then another. Until the glass wall is lined with this last stand of solidarity. Their faces and bodies may be gone, obscured by the clouds, but they stand to face the end together.
I raise my hand as high as the cuffs will let me and spread my palm towards them, knowing they cannot see me but hoping that on some level they understand that I’m standing beside them.
One by one the hands fall away. Fading into the white. Until soon there’s nothing but a milky fog filling the entire room.
‘It’s over,’ Michael says, his voice failing to hide his resentment at what we just witnessed.
‘It’s not over, though, is it?’ Eve says, tears still dripping on to the floor. ‘It will never be over. Not for me.’ She sobs.
‘No, not for you,’ Vivian’s voice is flat. Calm. Evil. ‘But for Bram …’
Eve’s crying pauses. ‘No. Not Bram. Vivian, you have me back. You have what you want. Too many people have died for me. No more. Not Bram!’ she cries.
Vivian holds up her hand to silence her.
‘Putting the life of the saviour of mankind at risk is a capital offence, punishable by law. Guard Turner, the punishment is?’ Vivian asks.
‘Death,’ Michael answers, now devoid of emotion, almost robotic.
‘Death. That’s correct, Turner. The three of you do seem to meet under the most extreme circumstances. Of course, this is quite the role reversal compared to the last time you were together.’ Vivian waves her hand and the glass wall of the cell illuminates, displaying archive video footage.
The lift doors open. I instantly rip Michael away from Eve and plant my fist into his jaw. He sprawls across the floor before he is arrested and dragged away.
The footage cuts to another clip. Moments earlier, inside the lift.
‘I’m not sure you would have seen this before, Bram.’
Eve and Michael are close. He licks his lips. She looks calm as she talks to him. With no sound I can only imagine the way she’s pleading for him to think about his actions.
His hand traces over the top of her clothes, hesitating before cupping her face and moving closer. His eyes shut, yet his face is still full of the emotion of being close to Eve – shock, delight, horror and desire.
They talk. They part. He unbuttons the dark khaki uniform she wears as a disguise until it falls to the floor, revealing her own dress underneath. More talking. More searching into each other’s eyes. Suddenly Eve’s face drops into despair. Quickly Michael holds out an arm for comfort. She walks into
his embrace. She isn’t forced. She accepts it almost as though she wants it.
The footage ends.
Among all the emotion stirring through me, a distinct trace of heartache has just been added.
‘Your brother begged for your life,’ Vivian says, breaking the silence. ‘Had Ketch not been such a vital part of our system I’d have had you executed immediately, but amid the disruption of the Potentials I couldn’t accept losing the head of the Final Guard.’
‘So, I endanger the most important person in the world and you just locked me up in my room, like a naughty kid,’ Michael replies.
‘Yes, because I soon realized the significance of this encounter. After failing to fabricate a meeting that might create chemistry with Eve and the Potentials, it happened of its own accord. Were you her captor or her saviour? The line was blurred enough and I knew it would play on Eve’s mind. Physical contact, albeit pathetically small, would have a great impact on her. A connection unlike anything she could get from one of her Hollys,’ she fires at me. ‘I had my suspicions that this moment might be a catalyst for something bigger. And today I’m proved right.’ Vivian smiles.
I see Michael glance at Eve in my peripheral vision but I can’t bring myself to look at either of them yet.
‘Can’t you see, Turner? You brought them both here, not anyone else. You. It could only have been you because she trusts you.’
Vivian swipes her hand in the air and the glass screen comes alive again. This time it’s all three of us.
My heart stops.
We stand at the top of the abandoned glass skyscraper of the old city, the footage obviously taken from on board the Interceptor, judging by its shakiness. As the vehicle settles outside the glass the camera detects our faces and automatically enhances the image.
Michael speaks. Although it’s impossible to tell what he said even an idiot would know that he’s not trying to arrest us. His eyes look more like he’s the one who’s been caught than us.
‘She came with you because of the bond that formed after your little lift encounter.’ Vivian’s words tear right through me, as though it were itself a form of torture.
The Eve Illusion Page 23
