Escape to Eden

by Rachel McClellan

  “Is that why you came after me?” It’s my turn to search his eyes.

  He clears his throat. “All of us agreed it would be a good idea if I went with you.”

  My face falls and I turn away, feeling silly for thinking he might say something else.

  “My wing is almost better,” he continues. “If we can just stay ahead of the Institute, it won’t be long before I can fly you to New York City. And then, who knows? Maybe we’ll catch up to the others before they go to Eden.”

  I start walking. Must keep moving. “But there’s something you’ve failed to acknowledge.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You found me. A little too easy, if you ask me. Just imagine how much easier it will be for the Canine.”

  “We don’t even know they’re on to us yet.”

  I glance at him over my shoulder. “You don’t believe that, and you know it. I saw yours and Anthony’s expressions when Jenna told you about the Institute’s announcement. They’re coming.”

  He doesn’t dispel or confirm my suspicions, but when I pick up my pace, he matches it.

  “We just have to keep moving,” he says.

  “That’s what I’m doing.”

  “Have you eaten yet?”

  “I will.”

  Colt swings the backpack off his shoulders in front of him while still walking. He rummages through the bag. “Here. Eat this.”

  I take a breakfast bar from him and tear into it. “Thanks.”

  The rain finally stops falling, and, as if someone’s taken a knife to the sky, light breaks through the gray. I glance over at Colt. Although he’s taking a big risk by being with me, I’m glad he’s here. I don’t feel so alone.

  “Do you have any dry clothes you can change into?” he asks.

  I glance down, surprised to see that I’m shivering. Sometimes my thoughts distract me from physical ailments, a trick my father taught me. “I have some in my backpack.”

  “Good. And if you need more, I brought something that will fit you.”

  I stop moving and turn to him. He’s staring straight ahead, his expression serious. I wish I could read his thoughts. “Thank you.”

  He doesn’t look at me. “I’ll wait over here.”

  It takes me several minutes to peel the wet clothes off my body. Once I’m dressed, I roll my damp shirt and pants into the poncho and stuff them into my backpack. At some point I’ll dry them.

  Colt turns around when he hears me approaching. He has pulled on a white t-shirt. “Feel better?”

  I nod.

  “Good, because we need to run now.”

  My heart skips a beat. “Are they here?”

  “Maybe.”

  “What are you sensing?”

  “Could be nothing, but the forest is too quiet. Usually I can hear deer or rabbits, something, but nothing’s moving.”

  I inhale deeply then swallow the cold air. “Let’s go.”

  We run fast, me trailing behind Colt. I used to run along the beach for hours so running through the forest, even jumping over the occasional log, isn’t difficult. It helps that my leg is feeling better and that I’m not carrying Max.

  After two hours, Colt stops in a clearing. “Let’s take a break.”

  I nod, unable to catch my breath enough to speak, and fall back into the still damp grass, my arms spread wide. My body hums as if charged with electricity; sparks of it shock my legs. It is a good feeling.

  Colt’s looking down at me, but it’s not a relaxed look. More pained than anything else.

  “What?” I ask.

  “I just want to apologize again. For putting you and Max in danger. I was a fool.”

  I sit up, trying to remember what he’s talking about, but then it comes to me. Me forgetting must mean I’ve forgiven him “You don’t need to apologize again. I for—”

  “They’re here.”

  His words cut off my forgiveness. I scramble to my feet. On the far side of the clearing, the Canine stands still. His stance is more predator than human.

  “Can we run?” I whisper.

  Colt tucks me behind him. “We’re surrounded.”

  “I’ve got them,” the Canine says, but to whom I’m not sure. I can’t see anyone else. He wipes saliva off his hairy chin.

  As if on cue, the forest becomes alive with sounds of machines—the same roaring sound I’d heard when we were driving away from the charging station. I glance around, but am unable to see anything through the trees. How did they manage to approach us without me hearing? They must have some kind of noise filter.

  Colt turns to me and takes me by the arms. “I’m going to fly us out of here, got it?”

  “But your wing—”

  “Is fine now. It’s the only shot we have.”

  “There’s no way. They’ll shoot you down before we’ve even begun.”

  He works his jaw, staring back and forth into my eyes.

  “It’s okay,” I say. “It’s me they want. I’ll bargain for your release.”

  “Me? You think that’s what I’m worried about?”

  I glance behind him. Prime men and women with all kinds of guns trail behind the Canine and circle wide around us. They are different shapes and sizes, some extremely skinny with white hair, some muscular and short with red Mohawks. Others have multi-colored hair, but one thing they have in common is they are all deadly. There’s got to be a way out of this, but nothing comes to mind. My father never prepared me for something like this.

  The circle of Primes comes together. Over their heads, a tall figure walks toward us. I hoped I’d never have to see that face again, but there she is—Ebony, her hands clasped together in front of her and her chin tilted up.

  Two Primes break the circle, allowing her to pass. Just before the circle closes, I notice a quick movement behind the line. Someone is on the outside of the circle, pacing back and forth. I squint my eyes to discover who, but the circle grows tighter.

  Ebony walks alongside the Canine. She isn’t smiling, nor does she look angry. Her lack of emotion disturbs me more than anything else. A person incapable of feeling is the cruelest of leaders.

  She stops a short distance from us. “You have cost us a lot of money, Original, and one way or another, you will pay us back.”

  “She’s not a commodity,” Colt says. He keeps one hand in front of me as if to protect me.

  Ebony looks at him for the first time. “I am surprised to see you here, Colt.”

  I turn to him. “How does she know your name?”

  Ebony smiles, but it’s not a happy, genuine one. It’s full of venom, the kind that kills you with one bite. “You haven’t told her, have you?”

  Colt looks at me, his eyes sad, and then I know what she’s talking about.

  I answer for him. “I know all about Colt, and what he’s done. He’s not that same man anymore.”

  “Oh really?” Ebony asks. “Then why was he in my office six weeks ago looking for work? He even said nothing was beneath him. Colt goes where the money flows.”

  I shake my head and say, “I don’t believe you.”

  “Don’t insult me,” Ebony hisses. “Techheads have no reason to lie. They are the truth in this world, sometimes the only one telling it.”

  “Your version of the truth,” I say.

  Her left nostril rises. “I should cut out your tongue for even suggesting such a thing.”

  “Stop!” Colt says to her, then turns to me. “What she said is true, Sage, but that’s not the whole story.”

  His eyes bleed an emotion stronger than any storm. Pain is at the center, and I sense his desperation to be understood, like everything he’s fought for is slipping from his grasp.

  “I’m afraid there isn’t any time for your pathetic story,” Ebony says and moves closer to us. The Canine follows, his eyes fixed on me like I’m a hambone. “It’s time to go, Original, and then we’re going to go find that dumb brother of yours. He’s got to be around here somewhere.”

>   “You’re not going to touch her or him,” Colt says.

  “And how will you stop us? Look around, Noc. You’re surrounded.”

  In my peripheral vision, I see Colt looking up like he’s considering flying. I can’t let that happen. They’ll shoot us down before we’re ten feet off the ground, and as confused as I am about Colt, I couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to him. I’ll save him if I can, and then walk away forever if I need to.

  I speak quickly, “Let Colt go and I’ll go with you.”

  “No, Sage,” Colt says.

  I don’t look over at him when I take a firm step forward. I’d escaped once before. Maybe I can do it again.

  “Take her,” Ebony says to the Canine. She turns around and walks away.

  The Canine approaches me, grayish foam bubbling at the sides of his mouth. His hands, claws extended, open and close like he’s about to fight someone in a boxing ring, but what does he expect me to do? Fight him? I hardly have the skills—but I do know his weakness.

  I glance up at the sun. It’s just above us, shining bright against a blue sky, completely oblivious to the scene unfolding beneath it. I hold my wristpad just right so the light shines upon its shiny surface and turn it toward the Canine’s yellow eyes. He immediately recoils and hisses as if doused with fire.

  Ebony turns around. Her thin eyebrows pull together and her equally thin lips turn down. “Must this be so complicated? She’s an Original! Someone shoot her through the arm and get this over with.”

  A man with a violet complexion raises a weapon I don’t recognize and points in my direction. His finger presses on a button. I dive to the side just as a sound louder than any thunder cracks through the air.

  “No!” Colt yells and jumps in front of me.

  Something hits him in the chest and his body flips in the air until he’s lying face first in the dirt. I drop to my knees in front of him, unsure what to do. “Colt?” I shake him gently. He doesn’t respond. “What did you do to him?”

  The Canine comes next to me. His sweaty palm closes over the back of my neck and lifts me until my feet dangle. Switching me to his other hand, he turns me around to face him. His breath, smelling of rotten teeth and sour milk, warms my lips when he says, “Chasing you has been the most fun I’ve had all year, but to lick the blood off my claws again,” he moans, “would be the highlight of my life.”

  “Enough,” Ebony calls from the side of the clearing. “I have work to do.”

  He sniffs me. “Another time, perhaps,” he says and carries me like I’m a dead rabbit. I try to look back at Colt to see if he’s moving, but the Canine’s tight grip on my neck prevents me.

  We are about to disappear into the shadows of the forest when a whirling sound appears out of nowhere. It’s followed by a gust of wind that tears through the clearing, twisting my hair up into my face. Above us, a great sphere blocks the sunlight and plunges us into darkness.

  “What is going on?” Ebony demands but no one answers.

  A square section of the bottom of the sphere opens and a familiar, blond-haired man pokes his head out and grins. “Having a party without me?”

  “Tank?” Ebony asks. It’s probably the first time in her life she’s ever been confused.

  “That’s me, babe.” His hand lowers out of the bottom of the aircraft. He’s holding a wide-barreled gun and shoots in our direction.

  A burst of air, traveling faster than sound, knocks us to the ground and sucks the air from my lungs. Tank shoots again in the opposite direction before anyone can react. Soon everyone is lying on the ground, all gasping for air.

  I claw at the ground, desperate to take a breath, but it’s like there’s an invisible weight crushing my lungs. Bursts of red and blues cloud my vision.

  “We’ve got you,” Tank’s voice says, and I feel myself being lifted.

  A second later he’s leaping, and instantly the temperature warms. He must’ve jumped back into the sphere. I can’t see much, the reds and blues turning to black, except for blinking lights. Every part of me is cramping, straining my muscles to the point I think they might snap and curl up into tight balls.

  “You need to relax and breathe, Sage.” It’s Anthony’s voice. How did he get here?

  “Come on, Patch,” Jenna says. “Quit acting like a baby and relax. You’d think you were dying or some-thing.”

  Jenna and Anthony’s voices brings me great comfort. That means Max must be here too. I concentrate hard on loosening my muscles, but my chest continues to constrict. Take yourself to another place, my father’s voice echoes in my head.

  I imagine I’m swimming beneath the ocean’s often turbulent surface. It’s another world under the sea, one that is quiet and makes sense.

  I sit up, sucking in a deep breath, my eyes wide.

  “There you go. Just breathe in and out real slow.” Anthony rubs my back in slow circles.

  I take another breath and my vision clears. Tank’s perfectly shaped face comes into focus. He’s directly in front of me, flashing his flawless teeth that look like sculpted pearls. Jenna’s behind him, sitting on a swivel chair picking at her fingernails.

  “Where’s Max?” I ask, gasping for air. My lungs still haven’t fully expanded.

  Anthony points to my left. Max is there, bouncing the toy bear along the arm of another chair. He looks content and happy. My shoulders relax. For all of two seconds before I panic again. “Colt! We have to get him. They shot him and—”

  Tank covers my mouth with his large hand. “Calm down, woman. He’s in the next room.”

  I scramble to my feet and rush through an oval-shaped metal opening. Colt is lying on the floor, his chest exposed. A girl in a white lab coat with long, straight black hair is bent over him, tapping a bandage to a wound near his left shoulder.

  I drop next to him. “How is he?”

  She looks up at me, and I startle. Her eyes are all white, not even black pupils. She’s a Spotter, which means she has a gift for sensing poor health in others. Because of this, they often go into the medical field.

  “He will live,” she says. “A short time, anyway. He had another seizure. A small one, but it was bad.”

  I smooth a black curl away from his forehead. It could be me lying there, but he saved me. I don’t believe what Ebony said. Colt is a good man.

  “When will he wake?” I ask.

  “Maybe in an hour. I gave him something to help with the pain in his shoulder. That’s probably what caused the seizure.”

  “Thank you,” I say.

  “It’s my pleasure.” She stands and goes to a metal sink built into an all-black cabinet to wash her hands. “My name’s Ash, and you are the first Original I’ve ever met.”

  “And I’m Sage, and you’re the first Spotter I’ve ever met.”

  She smiles and dries her hands.

  This room is cooler in temperature than the one I just came from and circular in shape. There are black shiny cabinets built into all the round walls. One of the cupboards is wide and tall, making me wonder if it pulls out into a bed. By the temperature and how clean this room is, I assume it’s some sort of medical area.

  “We’ll make him more comfortable in a few minutes,” Ash says. She opens a nearby cupboard and places silver medical instruments inside.

  Above me is a skylight. White clouds rush by and it’s then that I remember that we’re flying, which surprises me because I feel no vibrations from the motion.

  “Where are we going?” I ask.

  Ash turns around. “We arrive in New York City in two hours.”

  “It takes that long?”

  Anthony clears his throat behind me. “We’re making a wide circle to approach the city from the south to hopefully avoid detection from the Institute.”

  “Excuse me,” Ash says and passes by Anthony and through an oval opening.

  “Thanks, Ash,” he calls after her. He looks back at me and crosses his arm to his chest. “You left us.”

 
I place my hand on Colt’s forehead. It’s warmer than I’ve ever felt him before. “I didn’t want the Canine to catch up to us. They would’ve taken or killed you all, and I couldn’t live with that, especially knowing it’s me they’re tracking.”

  It’s a long moment before Anthony says, “Colt didn’t do so well when he realized you left.”

  “I didn’t mean to worry anyone.”

  “I get why you did it, but I wish we could’ve talked about it first. We could’ve come up with a plan, one that wouldn’t have given Colt a panic attack. But I am glad he found you.”

  “I’m not. He would be okay right now if it wasn’t for me.” The words are bitter in my mouth, and when I swallow them my stomach churns.

  “You need to be careful, Sage.” His voice holds a threatening note.

  I look up at him. “What are you talking about?”

  “Colt isn’t like you, not even close. You have a whole population of Originals waiting for you, other people with whom you can form relationships. Don’t get hung up on one of us.”

  I try to process his words, but I’m not sure what he’s saying. “I don’t understand.”

  His expression softens. “You’re caring too much. Nothing good will come of it.”

  His meaning becomes clear, and my face burns red. “I’m just concerned is all. He’s saved my life a couple of times. I don’t know how I will ever repay him.”

  “You owe him nothing. He was doing his job and only his job. Remember that.” He walks away, leaving me alone with Colt.

  I place my hand in my lap. He was only doing his job. That’s all it was, because we’re different. I make my mind believe Anthony’s truth, despite the feelings of my heart.

  I stay with Colt a little longer before I return to the room I came in from. It looks similar to the medical room, but one wall has a bunch of electronics and blinking lights. I recognize a few of the monitors: satellite feed of the landscape, heat detectors monitoring areas we pass over, and a running feed of various conversations that must be going on within a certain proximity of us. Tank probably has it flagged to look for anything that has to do with us. I don’t see Jenna and Anthony, but there is a closed door directly in front of me. My guess is they are behind it.