Finding Eden

by K R S McEntire

  “There's nothing complex about it!” Lilah said. “Why is my humanity seen as a complexity to you? Don’t I deserve to live just like everyone else?”

  “What’s complex,” Adam said, “at least, to me, is that not all mutations are alike. Some harm the mutant, causing them to die or to go crazy. Some mutations can’t be controlled. Some mutants go feral. They kill innocent people. It happened in my hometown.”

  “The Watch kills innocent people, and no one has more blood on their hands than Kane. If you are a mutant, or even if you just aren't carded, you are denied food and medicine or killed on sight.”

  “I didn’t come here to argue, Lilah,” Adam said.

  “Then why did you come?” Lilah asked. “If you are looking for forgiveness, look elsewhere.”

  Adam was silent for a moment. “I talked to your friend, Freedom.”

  Lilah gasped. How did Adam find Freedom? Did he know about the Resistance?

  “I have a present for you.” He pulled a gray bundle of cloth out of his pocket and reached through the bars of the cell. As he stretched his arm his sleeve exposed bare skin. Lilah cocked her eyebrow at his arm. He was brave to assume she wouldn't burn him.

  He handed her the bundle. Whatever was inside of it felt heavy in her hands.

  Lilah unwrapped the cloth to reveal a black pistol and a small silver key.

  “A gun?”

  “Tranquilizer gun,” he said.

  Lilah scoffed. “What good is that?”

  “I don’t want to be responsible for any more death,” Adam said. “It’s potent enough to take a person down instantly, keep them down for hours, and it has multiple rounds.”

  “And the key?” Lilah asked

  “Use it wisely tomorrow,”

  “Tomorrow?” Lilah asked. “What happens tomorrow?”

  “I’ve said more than I should. I guess we’ll find out, won't we?”

  Then he turned his back on Lilah and walked toward the exit.

  Lilah knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep that night. She sat with her back against the wall and her eyes on the door until it creaked open again the next morning. She expected Kane, but he hadn’t bothered to visit her this time.

  Four Wardens entered the room. Lilah recognized one of them from the invasion of Eden. He had been so ridiculously muscular she thought the Wardens had recruited a mutant. She’d wondered why a mutant would kill their own kind.

  Now, however, the redheaded man looked lanky and small; all of his muscles had disappeared. The strength he used to break into their fortress was nowhere to be found. At his side was a female Warden, who walked in holding his hand and smirking at Lilah. Two other Wardens trailed behind them.

  The girl walked over to the cell and pulled a gun out of a hidden holster, spinning the gun around in her hand to make a show of it. Lilah cringed as the girl aimed at her temple. It wasn’t a tranq gun.

  “Hands up!” the girl said.

  She remembered the tranquilizer gun Adam had given her and her hand fell to her side. With a gun pointed at Lilah’s head, she knew if she tried anything, the Warden would shoot her dead before she had a chance to aim. Some help you are, Adam.

  Lilah raised her hands above her head and watched a smirk emerge on the girl's face. The Warden was enjoying this.

  “Back against the wall,” the girl barked. Lilah did as she was told.

  The two male Wardens came in and roughly grabbed her wrists, slapping metal handcuffs on them. With her hands behind her back, they led her out of the jail cell.

  Kane was waiting right outside the door in a narrow hallway. He spoke to her in a soft voice.

  “How can we find the Resistance, Lilah? Tell us and you’ll be spared.”

  Lilah remained silent, so Kane got closer.

  “How were they able to grow that garden?” Kane asked

  Hell if I know, Lilah thought but said nothing.

  As Kane led her through the halls, she noticed two men in lab coats carrying needles and vials into another area of the prison. The door that slammed behind the men was made of metal, but she was able to peek through a small glass area of the door. There were two rows of jail cells on both sides of a narrow hallway, much like the room she had been kept in. The cells were holding humans and animals alike. Lilah gasped at the sight of it—she didn’t know the jail was still being used. Why were animals being kept in the city? Unnaturally large animals at that. Before she got a good look inside, the Wardens tugged at her, hurrying her along.

  Kane led her outside. She looked back at the building he had led her from and saw that she had been right about being held in the abandoned jail. It was in a part of the settlement that people only visited to sort through the rubble and abandoned buildings for knick-knacks and supplies. The windows had all been boarded over. There was no way for the average person to learn what was inside. Two long, black vehicles waited outside. Lilah was pulled toward the back of one.

  It took her a while to realize it was a limousine, having never seen one before except in the rare pre-war movies she’d watched at the homes of friends who had televisions. They threw her into the back, and Lilah saw that all of the other Eden residents were there.

  All except Kevin.

  “Angela! Jesse!” she cried.

  “Good to see you alive, Lilah,” Angela said.

  “Did they question you?” Jesse wanted to know.

  “Of course they did. I told them nothing. Not that I know anything,” Lilah whispered.

  Lilah wondered how Eden thrived in such a harsh and barren world but decided the ride to their execution was not the time to ask gardening tips. The limo was quickly approaching the old mall.

  “Looks like we’ve reached our final destination,” Jesse said, looking out the window. Lilah’s mouth fell open in shock as she gazed past him.

  The market near the mall was more populated than she had ever seen it. Hundreds of residents, possibly the entire settlement, flooded the streets as Wardens with black batons policed the crowd, instructing the residents to sit in designated chairs that had been set up behind yellow police tape.

  There were hundreds of fold-up chairs of various colors and sizes lined up in rows. Slowly, the residents of the Chicago settlement started finding their seats.

  “This brings back some less than pleasant memories,” Angela said. Nathan reached out and squeezed his daughter’s hand tight.

  “I survived this a year ago. We all can survive it now,” Nathan said, but Angela looked doubtful.

  The limo came to a smooth stop. They waited in silence for a few never-ending minutes until a Warden opened the door to the vehicle.

  “Come out one at a time!” he barked.

  They crawled out of the vehicle, and he connected their handcuffs with a large chain and stepped aside.

  Lilah wiggled her arm toward her waist and pressed her hand onto the hard object at her side, assuring herself she could reach the key and gun if the opportunity presented itself. The bulge from the weapon was adequately hidden under the oversized, dirty rags the Wardens had given them for clothes.

  She understood now: a key for the cuffs; a gun for whatever happened after she removed them. But as she looked out at the crowd, she doubted a safe opportunity to remove them would come. Every Warden in Chicago was here, and they were armed.

  Her eyes scanned the crowd until she saw Adam in the distance, working amongst the Wardens. He wouldn’t meet her gaze as she was led past him toward the podium.

  The Wardens made the people of Eden stand a few feet away from the podium; two Wardens stood guard on both sides of their row. The crowd of at least five hundred started booing and yelling profanities at them. Lilah, who was in the center of the row, straightened her back, refusing to look down or away. She could feel sweat collecting on her brow as she faced the crowd.

  Her mother and father were in seats near the front of the crowd, their eyes wide with panic and helplessness. Lilah’s sister, at her father’s side, was crying in
consolably.

  She almost broke down at the sight of them; her forehead scrunched up as she struggled to hold back tears. Lilah couldn't help but feel like she let them down. She’d gotten caught. And there were no second chances for her.

  Behind her parents, Lilah saw a face that surprised her. Maybe it shouldn’t have been surprising, seeing as the whole settlement was here. She understood that her parents wanted to see her one last time, but why would the leader of the Resistance want to watch an execution?

  Freedom was in the crowd, surrounded by others who looked just as silent and stoic as she was. Not smiling. Not blinking. Refusing to look at Lilah and the other prisoners.

  Kane walked up to the podium. He didn’t bother glancing in her direction either.

  It was the day of her murder, and she was invisible.

  “You all are witnessing a historic day,” Kane said to the audience.

  The crowd cheered.

  “Today, we will show those who want to taint this land we are working to rebuild that we will not stand for it,” he continued. “We have captured the mutants and mutant sympathizers that were involved in the incident a year ago. Today, we will live-stream their execution across America as a warning to anyone who chooses to take innocent lives. But first, I would like to introduce you to the man who found their hideaway in the forest, who risked his life by living amongst the enemy. Please welcome Adam Clark!”

  Lilah watched in disbelief as Adam walked onto the stage and took his place at the podium.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Adam

  Adam took a deep breath and stepped behind the podium.

  He’d stood in front of a crowd this large once before—the day he became a member of the Watch. On that day, he’d felt nothing but pride. Today, he felt dread.

  He’d been asked to make a speech, to share the details of his heroic journey of finding Eden and capturing the mutants. Just a week ago, this moment would have been a dream come true. Now, he felt nothing but anxiety.

  He wasn’t sure what would happen next or if his plan could work, but there was no way he could end the day without letting someone down, be it Lilah, Kane, his family, or the entire nation live streaming this execution.

  Looking out into the crowd, he realized some of them looked bored. They were forced to listen to a teenager’s speech rather than enjoy the bloodbath they came to see.

  They won’t be bored for long, Adam thought.

  He allowed himself to steal a quick glance at Lilah. Her lips were slightly parted, and her forehead wrinkled; there was panic in her eyes. Maybe she’d never forgive him. He didn’t deserve forgiveness, but he prayed that she would at least get the chance to live.

  Adam turned back toward the crowd and cleared his throat. The sound echoed through the mic. He remembered Kane’s advice to look both at the crowd and camera, and he smiled toward a small camera that was streaming his speech to the nation.

  He pictured his parents watching from Indiana, so proud of their heroic son in his immaculate uniform and fresh pair of shoes. He swallowed and parted his lips.

  “Good afternoon, Chicago,” said Adam. He paused, waiting for the applause to die down, before looking back at the camera. “And good afternoon, America.

  “A month ago, I was just an average teenager from Indiana with dreams of coming to a new settlement and making something of myself. I had no idea that once I got here, I would embark on an adventure that would change my entire life.”

  The cheers grew louder, and the Wardens tried to calm the crowd.

  “I'd always been the type to play by the rules. Maybe that’s why I wanted a job enforcing them. I wanted to help bring order to the chaos in this world.”

  Adam could see Kane smiling at him. He glanced back over at Lilah, whose expression was a mixture of confusion and rage.

  “Imagine my surprise when I was permitted to leave the city boundaries and explore the forest. I was thrilled and terrified. I finally had a chance to make a name for myself. I met mutants. I found Eden… Then I realized I was wrong.”

  Kane’s smile diminished. Adam could feel sweat gathering on the nape of his neck.

  “The people of Eden aren’t dangerous. Most of them aren’t even mutants. And I’m starting to see that the line between man and monster is murkier than I previously believed,” Adam said.

  Kane was whispering to Melissa now, and she stormed off toward a group of Wardens. They’d finally realized he wasn’t planning on reciting the pre-planned speech he’d shared with Kane. He had his own agenda, one that would solidify him firmly on the side of the mutants he was once set on destroying. Adam knew he needed to speak quickly if he were to get his message across.

  “It is our choices, not our DNA, that determines if we are men or monsters. We can fight for life or allow senseless death.”

  A group of Wardens was marching toward him now. Melissa was racing to the camera broadcasting the livestream.

  “And today, I make my choice.”

  Adam took out his tranq gun, aimed it at Kane, and fired.

  Kane fell to the ground, and for a moment the crowd was stunned into stillness, only the sound of a quick, unified gasp escaping the resident’s lips.

  A heartbeat later, the crowd erupted into mass hysteria. The citizens flooded the streets. Some raced toward Adam while others sprinted away from the scene, clutching their loved ones and children tight.

  Adam’s fellow Wardens pulled out their guns and aimed at him, but most hesitated to fire in fear of hitting the panicked citizens. A few bullets soared toward Adam as he ran, praying that he could dodge them all and that no one else would be struck by them.

  Adam looked over at Lilah, who had already freed herself from her handcuffs and was freeing the other prisoners. He wanted to help her, to stand close and protect her, but he needed to protect himself.

  Adam turned back toward the crowd and saw Freedom and nine other Resistance members stand up, the tranq guns he had supplied them with in their hands.

  About time, he thought, praying they had good aim.

  He’d met Freedom’s friends, Rain and Zink, when he’d supplied them the tranq guns the day before, but he didn’t know the others who were helping. Rain looked like a practiced markswoman, but Zink seemed to be shaking in his boots. He held the weapon at arm’s length with unsteady hands.

  The ten members of the Resistance started firing at the Wardens, causing them to turn from Adam to find the new threat. Because they were in plain clothes, the Wardens struggled to distinguish the Resistance members from the rest of the crowd

  “Where’s that coming from?” Brice called out when the female recruit was tranqed.

  “You’ll pay for that!” Brice yelled, spinning around with his weapon ready as a tranq bullet hit him in the back. A second later, he lay still on the ground next to her.

  Eventually, the Resistance took all twenty of the Wardens down. A few citizens were caught in the crossfire, and they lay on the ground, asleep. Adam noticed a couple of dead bodies as well, struck by the Wardens’ rounds.

  With the Wardens tranqed, some spectators ran away out of fear while others tried to drag the fallen Wardens and citizens away to safety. Most tried to attack the Resistance members and Adam, but Adam tranqed anyone who got too close as he raced through the chaos, leaping over abandoned chairs, looking for Lilah.

  As Adam ran through the crowd, a man grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back onto the metal tip of a pistol. Adam glanced back at the weapon and gulped. It wasn’t a tranq gun.

  “You traitor,” the man snarled, readying his weapon with a click. Adam tensed his muscles, preparing for the blow that would end his life. He heard a gun go off and flinched as the man fell to the ground.

  Adam looked around, surprised. Lilah was standing a few feet ahead, tranq gun in hand.

  “Now we are even,” she said, as she raced past him. All of the Wardens were down, and the crowd had either been tranquilized or run off.

&n
bsp; The camera was still live-streaming this spectacle to all of America. Freedom stepped onto the podium.

  “A new age is coming, and we will be a part of it!” Freedom declared. Behind her, in full view of the camera, the bodies of tranqed Wardens lay still on the ground.

  “People created the mutants, and now people try to destroy them. But the Resistance is real. We won’t be stopped, and we will not hide in the shadows any longer. We will fight for those who are ready to fight. If anyone even thinks about harming a mutant, remember we are armed with more than just tranqs.”

  Then, for the first time that night, Freedom pulled out a real gun. Adam's heart raced. He hadn’t given her that one, and she’d promised not to harm anyone. What was she doing?

  Freedom turned to Adam, a smirk on her lips as she lifted the weapon.

  She aimed at the camera and fired.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Lilah

  Dozens of bodies filled the street outside of the market, their arms and legs sprawled wildly on the cracked concrete.

  As Lilah stepped over them, she paused to watch their chests rise and fall, reminding herself that they were not dead, only sleeping. A massacre had not taken place; She was not a monster. She was a victim who escaped with her life.

  The only people standing were the residents of Eden and members of the Resistance. But Lilah had no interest in any of them. Her stomach twisted as she ran, panting, and surveyed each fallen body in search of her parents and sister. When she couldn’t find them among the fallen, she sighed in relief and looked toward Freedom.

  Freedom stood in the distance, surveying the battlefield. Her blonde hair blew rapidly in the wind.

  Lilah raced over to Freedom.

  “I can’t find my parents,” she gasped. “I saw them in the crowd earlier.”

  “Most people ran off when Kane was tranqed,” Freedom said. “The entire settlement is either sleeping or hiding right now. I’m sure they are fine.”