“Who you are?” She asked, this time with more determination and confidence.
Silence.
Evelyn made a gesture to repeat the question but it was interrupted.
“I was sent by your father to confirm your safety,” said the stranger. “I need you to open the door to make sure that it is.”
“Ed,” she thought, and in a fit of unconscious stupidity, she moved forward and opened the door almost to the whistle. A part of her felt terribly relieved —moments before the door opened— that it was Ed. Then, almost immediately, she realized that this could not be his voice, because he spoke fluently, without stuttering. She knew she would regret it.
“Evelyn,” said the stranger.
She stifled an exclamation. She was stiffer than before. She had never seen that man before. He was very tall and stocky; he wore a black leather jacket with a hood that plunged his face into a dark gloom. Her worst nightmares came true. She could only see the flash of the individual's eyes in the shadows. Eve leaned back.
"Wait," he said, raising a hand toward her. It was not that word that stopped her flight action, but his harmless tone of saying it. She stopped and looked at him closely. “Do not close the door, Evelyn.”
Evelyn. His way of saying her name with that calm, slow and somber voice, froze her blood. He really did not want to attack her, he would have done it that way; he just wanted me to hear him, he warned, noting the relaxed posture he adopted at that moment. She sighed lightly and stood before him as firmly as she could.
“Who you are?” Evelyn asked him. “Has my father really sent you?”
“I'll tell you who I am if you let me in,” he said. “I will tell you everything you want to know after I tell you who I am and where I come from. Otherwise, when I answer you out here, I’ll run the risk of you closing the door in my face and I will have to use less pleasant methods.” The last sentence almost sounded like a threat.
Evelyn did not move from her place.
“Have my father sent you?” She repeated firmly.
The man gave an exasperated snort and lowered his hood. The first thing she observed was his eyes, a pair of rings of intense blue around the black pupils. They were amazing, almost hypnotic. His hair was a brilliant brown chestnut that he wore pointed, unalterable before the movement exerted to remove the hood. His face was very attractive, strong, straight jaw and sharp cheekbones. He had a thin layer of hair covering his chin, sideburns and around his lips.
Evelyn did not have time to do more fixations on him. The man surrounded her, like a snake dodging a rock in his path, and rushed into the house, rubbing it with one of his strong arms. Eve almost rushes back. She followed him with her eyes after recovering: he threw himself towards the kitchen. She huffed, scared. She glanced outside. There was no one, it was cold and silent. She noticed a dark, gleaming truck parked at the other end of the lonely street. She had never seen it. Another sigh and entered.
Maybe she was making the worst mistake of her life by not asking for help; maybe she would never know, maybe, then, she would be dead already. The alarm continued silent and unalterable. She could activate it whenever she wanted, but she did not. She paraded down the narrow corridor in pursuit of the stranger.
“What do you do?” She snapped.
The man hit the bottom of the refrigerator with his head and cursed. When he stood up, he had a can of Coca-Cola in his hand, which he proceeded to open after closing the refrigerator. He looked at her, unconcerned, and lifted the can. Evelyn shook him head, speechless. The stranger leaned against the edge of the counter, cavalierly, and opened the can; a snap and her heart stopped for a moment.
“My name is Tadhg,” he said, and took a deep sip of the soda.
“Tadhg,” Eve repeated incredulously. “What kind of stupid name is that?”
He lowered the can, exhaled, and ran the back of his hand over his lips.
“That was the nickname my grandfather gave me,” he said in a warning tone. “Watch out.” And he took another sip.
The light in the kitchen was very white and radiant, no detail escaping from it. Then, taking advantage of the moment, Evelyn looked more closely at the stranger. There was something familiar about him that she could not decipher. Besides, he was more attractive in that light, almost like a god of flesh and blood. She had never had anyone as attractive as Tadhg before her, besides, of course, Caleb.
He had strong arms, broad shoulders and a muscular torso. He could feel it through the tight leather of his jacket. It was impossible for her to look away from him. Maybe he was twenty-five or twenty-six, not too old. Evelyn knew that someone like that man was far from her means.
Tadhg lowered the can and looked at it indifferently.
“I know,” he said, and he sketched a clever smile on his full lips. “I am incredibly handsome.”
“My father did not send you,” she replied dryly, after regaining her breath.
“Do not.”
“So, who are you?”
“I'm an agent of…” He stopped. Apparently, he himself did not believe what he was about to say. “I am a special agent.”
“How about”... the CIA? She ventured. Then she noticed a metal form attached to Tadhg's belt and half hidden by the windbreaker; despite this, Eve knew perfectly well what a weapon looked like. She almost panicked. “You... you...”
“I'm not from the CIA, Evelyn,” he said with special emphasis on her name. “Although I know someone who does.”
She swallowed hard.
“Who you are?” She insisted.
Tadhg left the can on the table, squared his shoulders and stood before her. He was taller than Evelyn had noticed at first, and his look was darker, almost with a gleam of lament, a feverish blue flame, his eyes close to hers, and distant too. Distant. All in all, she felt herself pierced by those blue eyes. Her legs faltered for a moment and almost collapsed.
Tadhg was close to answering, she warned. The silence that preceded an announcement was always the worst of all, it was a cold and piercing silence.
“I am,” he said, slowly, “an agent of the future.”
Evelyn frowned.
“What?” He exclaimed.
Tadhg turned, turning his back, and ran his hand through his dark hair.
“I am an agent of the future,” said seriously. That voice was strong and also a bit muffled. Tadhg turned and stared at her. “I come from the future. I have been sent to the past, the here and now, by an agency that takes care of it. My mission, and that of the other agents, is to preserve the future of humanity from the past.”
Silence. Long and heavy silence. Evelyn looked down, bewildered and dazed.
After several seconds, Tadhg spoke again.
“Will you ever say anything?”
She looked up and smiled.
“You're kidding?” She snapped, waving her hands. “I'm not amused.” She pointed a finger at him. “You... you're not funny. Who sent you? Tabita?” She exploded, furious. “Sure, it was Tabita. Tabita and her jokes!”
“It's true,” Tadhg cut her dryly; he pressed the hard jaw and the fists to the sides, his knuckles turned crimson and his dark circles, bruised color. Evelyn's reasoning seemed to hurt his good sense, his pride. Perhaps he himself believed it, that it came from the future, and it was not a joke, after all; that meant she had let a lunatic into his house. “I assure you, everything I say is true. My colleagues and I come from the future. The machine that made it possible is called Kerr Machine St-089.”
“Are there more agents?” Evelyn heard herself ask.
“Yes. Few in this Time.”
“More lunatics,” she was about to say.
“I know you do not believe me,” Tadhg assured him, tense as a board. “But in a few minutes I'll be able to prove it to you.”
“What will happen then?”
“They will come,” he replied ominously. “The pyxis.”
“Pyxis?” E
ve repeated. “What are pyxis?”
Tadhg glanced at the hour marked on the microwave counter and snorted.
“I must get you out of here before they arrive,” he said.
Whatever those pyxis were, Evelyn wondered, what would they do at home?
“Why would they come here?” She said in a quiet voice.
If it was not a joke and a game, she had decided to play it regardless of the risks.
Tadhg looked at her somberly. Every time he seemed more restless, nervous, he moved from one place to another.
“They want to kill you,” he finally said.
And then, Evelyn felt a cold flash through her chest. She remained as still as a statue, and to complete, there were tapping blows against the door. For a moment, her heart stopped. The other one, it accelerated again. Tadhg and she shared a look. More touches. If that was a game, a cruel joke, or whatever it was, she decided to get it over with.
She rushed out of the kitchen, barely hearing Tadhg's voice in a whisper behind her, trying to stop her. Evelyn advanced toward the door, noticing a shadow through the dense glass, and, gathering all her energy, opened it.
“Evelyn, aa-are you oke-ay?” Ed stuttered.
Evelyn looked at him milestone.
“Yes.”
“Wha-y aa-re you awake?”
She glanced back, discreetly. Tadhg was not, or was ... behind the wall of the stairs. Then he looked at Ed and acted a yawn.
“You hit the door, right?”
“Yes.” He smiled nervously, and turned red as an apple.
“Besides, my father warned me about you,” she said. “I knew you would come to make sure.”
Ed was a little taller than her. He had square shoulders and a pointed chin. His white complexion exuded excessively. His gray eyes remained fixed on Evelyn's; they did not study it up and down once, he was very nervous for that. He wore a black suit, the formal uniform of the elite bodyguard of the agency presided over by Eve's father.
“I'm fine, Ed,” she reassured him, and yawned; this time it was more exaggerated. “I'm sleepy. Maybe...”
“I-I'm sso-sorry,” Ed stuttered, and raised his hand to say farewell. “Good-bye.”
“Goodbye.”
Eve closed the door and sighed.
* * *
The man who claimed to come from the future emerged from his hiding place and moved quickly towards her. His gaze was the antithesis of goodness; a blue and cold abyss, sharp shards of glass that pierced the girl's chest. She remained impassive and silent as he approached her with determination. He was furious.
“What the hell do you think you're doing?!” He said, and took her by the wrist. “You will come with me.”
“I am not going anywhere.” She made an unsuccessful gesture to free herself from his grip. The subject squeezed hard and pulled her towards the door. Eve took his hand that tightened hers and twisted him wrist. He growled. Evelyn was free and ran up the stairs. Tadhg took her by the ankle, an attempt to reach her, and Evelyn fell face down on the carpeted steps; the man pulled her to him, and Evelyn reached for his chin with a kick from the other leg.
Once free, she went up. Tadhg was on his heels, so Evelyn went into the bathroom. They struggled to close the door. She beat him again. Inside, the subject thumped against the door, tumbling through the wood to her back. Her eyes were waterlogged with tears and her heart was so fast that he feared it would burst at any moment. She had to think of something.
“Well, you've earned your nickname, Fury,” Tadhg snapped with a grunt from the other end. He no longer knocked on the door. “What part of what should I get out of here before your arrival have you not understood?”
“It's a game,” Eve called.
“No, absolutely not,” the man replied loudly. “They will arrive at any time.”
“And why me?” She gasped. “Why do they want to kill me?”
“I can’t tell you,” he said. “They are the rules, and the rules of the Agency must be respected. My team and I cannot reveal details about the future so as not to change it. You are of the utmost importance to us.” He knocked on the door. “Fuck, open now!”
“He's crazy,” Evelyn thought.
“What year are you coming from? Can you tell me that?” She could not believe she was really asking.
“What?”
She repeated the question.
An instant of absolute silence.
“Two thousand forty-eight,” Tadhg said tempered, and heard him sigh. “Will you open me now?”
Evelyn thought about it.
“Its fine,” she said at last. “Back off.
She had not decided to believe him, but maybe it was the only way out of all that madness. Her plan was to reach the alarm on the ground floor and operate it. Of course, it would not be easy, and she had to protect herself in some way. She looked in the drawers under the sink. Then she opened the door and walked out slowly, pointing to Tadhg with a small can of pepper spray.
He smiled.
“There's one in the Agency,” he said nonchalantly, hands raised. “Only that they fulfill other functions.”
“Which?” she dared to ask.
“Some delete the memory and others leave you in a state of unconsciousness.” His tone, full of naturalness and cynicism, made her glimpse the degree of madness that filled the mind of that man. “The Pyxis have no memory, so we only use them with humans. Easy, I have none now.”
Slowly, she looked down at the bright weapon in Tadhg's belt.
Tadhg followed her eyes and sharpened his smile.
“This,” he said as he made to take it, “is a 'paralyzing weapon,' and it works...”
“Stop!” Evelyn shouted at him, and he was instantly stiff. “Do not touch her.”
“I just want to show you.”
“It’s not necessary.”
He clicked his gums.
"It's the only way you can believe me," he insisted. “Everything I have told you is true, my team and I come from the future, and it is our current mission to protect you from the Pyxis.”
“Where is your team?” She asked, nervous and dazed. “What are the Pyxis?”
“You make a lot of questions.”
“Yes. And you give me few answers,” she replied sullenly. “And why did you call me Fury?”
“I did that?” He frowned.
She came closer and raised the spray even more, threatening. Tadhg raised his hands, afraid of being sprayed by the spiciness, and shifted the weight from one leg to the other. He remained as serious and carefree as before. Evelyn, on the other hand, was married, angry and frightened, and the night was just beginning.
“Yes. You called me Fury," she bellowed. ”Well, you've earned your nickname, Fury, you said.
“You've asked me something before,” Tadhg said. “My team and where is it. In this year we have only come four: my sister and I, and two others who are in our temporary shelter: the Agency. And the Pyxis... It's complicated to explain it. I would recommend that we wait for your arrival, so that you can see them with your own eyes. But in that way I would also risk your life and our mission. That is not an option, Evelyn.”
“And you plan to take me with you to the Agency?”
“Plane protect you.”
“Why?”
“Because it's my mission,” he said eagerly. “And because you are important for the future. And because...” He stopped and looked down, containing the immeasurable wish to say something more, to add something that, perhaps, was more important than any of the other reasons he had already mentioned.
“Okay,” she finally said, and dropped the spray. “I will go with you.”
Tadhg composed a smile.
“All right. We must go now,” he said in a hurry.
“No,” she said. “I have to change, pick up some changes of clothes and... God, my father! If I leave, at least I have to leave a note.”
�
�No time, Evelyn,” Tadhg said, and took her hand; they stared at each other for a long moment. “The Pyxis...”
There were knocks on the door, as sly as Ed's, and the atmosphere became tense. Goosebumps and her heart began to beat slowly. Each silence, after the double pair of calm blows, was more tortuous than the previous one. Their eyes met again.
“They're here,” Tadhg whispered.
“What will we do?” She asked, nervous and shocked, as trembling as a custard.
“Hide!”
“Where?”
“There.” He pointed to the bathroom. “And take.” He handed her the weapon in his belt. “I know you know how to use a gun, your father taught you; this weapon is not different, although its effect is. Make sure you hit the target. I will knock on the door three times if it is me,” he added in a very low voice; “otherwise, open and shoot whatever you have in front, even if it looks like me.”
“What will you do?” Eve asked as she took the ‘paralyzing weapon,' as Tadhg had called it, and went into the bathroom.
“I will take care of them.” He leaned down and pulled out another, smaller, black weapon from a sash on his calf; then he looked at her. “Remember, I will give three touches.” Evelyn nodded, and he grinned. “Wish me luck.”
And closed the door before her.
In the bathroom, alone and trembling, she thought about everything that had happened in the last hours. Woke up. It was approached by a stranger. His name was Tadhg and he claimed to come from the future. The visit of Ed. And of course, the great danger that her life ran if she fell into the hands of what Tadhg called Pyxis and whose nature she still ignored. She ran the back of her arm through her nose, to rinse away the moisture; she sat on the carpeted floor and sighed.
For a long time she heard nothing beyond silence, tense and suffocating. Filled with anxiety, she tried to distract himself by studying carefully the weapon that Tadhg had given him. The paralyzing weapon. It seemed nothing more than a simple metal gun, heavy and polished; the trigger was red and also the edge of the barrel. Yes, there was something strange about it, which was undeniable. However, Evelyn was not willing to discover what it was.
Days of Fury (Future Men Series Book 1) Page 2
