‘It’s in Brazil,’ Eilif stated.
Steven opened his eyes and saw Eilif heading off towards the bookstore. It would have been his usual haunt.
Waiting around at the departure lounge was excruciating. Several times, Steven held back the urge to run up to one of the guards and explain that he was being kidnapped. It felt like it anyway, regardless of the fact he had no way to prove it. It was unbelievable to think his destination was Brazil. He had never been to South America. Their final destination was Manaus, going via São Paulo. His knowledge of geography was scanty at best, but he had a feeling it was in the heart of the Amazon. It made sense to hide a new species of man in a place teeming with dangerous and unique wildlife.
Back to Table of Contents
Chapter 21
Journey To The Unknown
The flight from London to São Paulo took nearly twelve hours. Steven managed to watch two films and sleep for a proportion of the time. The flight was nearly full – the effect of the summer holidays, as a lot of tourists headed towards South America. A few children screamed throughout. It prompted a rise in volume. He could not understand why parents thought travelling with young children, on a long haul flight, was a good idea. The food was decent, as far as airline food went, and it kept hunger pangs at bay.
Steven noticed how Eilif and Ian blended in. He could see how they kept up the façade. There was no way anyone would ever suspect they were anything other than normal. It was still difficult for him to accept that he was going to need blood to survive. It was inconceivable. He could not fathom how he was going to develop the need to kill any of the people around him. He could see why they had told him he would not be a vampire. The species he apparently belonged to was different. In the same way human beings are natural omnivores, he would have to survive on a combination of food and blood. He was sure the concept of evolution had never been so complicated.
The wait at the transfer lounge took a few more hours, before they finally boarded the flight to Manaus.
After nearly a whole day of travelling, they landed with a jolt. As soon as the doors of the plane opened, Steven suppressed the urge to run out to freedom. In a sheep-like manner, he followed his companions to passport control and on to the arrivals lounge to retrieve their luggage, which seemed to have multiplied as Ian and Eilif hauled it off the conveyer belt. They had enough bags for six, not three. Having been unable to take his clothes with him, Steven was travelling light. It was doubtful his English wardrobe would have been suitable for a tropical climate.
Outside the airport, they headed for the car park and loaded up a four-wheel drive parked in the long stay car park. The car was far from impressive, with a well-worn green paint and dented sides.
The climate was scorching, even though humid. A light drizzle of rain provided the only relief. Steven climbed into the back seat in the car and looked out of the window as he considered his surroundings.
Ian turned to face him, ‘We still have a way to go. Try to be patient and enjoy the ride.’
Steven nodded. He didn’t exactly have any other choice.
After five minutes, Steven decided to ask a question, ‘So, why did you move to Brazil?’
‘I’ll let you do the talking now, Eilif. You know this as well as I do,’ Ian grunted.
‘Fair enough,’ Eilif replied, ‘The original fourteen left Los Alamos using the excuse they had to go back to Europe to help with the war effort. It was easy for them to fake their deaths – everyone seemed to be dying in the war.’
Steven hoped that was not an attempt at humour.
‘They moved to México City. The ones that had already changed indulged their newfound needs and desires, before cementing their ideas for the future. After exhausting all the available possibilities, it was agreed they did not want to remain in civilisation as hunters. Their vision was to recreate a new civilisation – somewhere they would be protected from the outside world. Eventually, the community was born within the tropical undergrowth of the Amazon Jungle in Brazil. Their enthusiasm and vision allowed them to utilise their newfound abilities and scientific expertise to create a safe haven that would allow them to remain invisible. When Morten and Arla discovered they had retained their reproductive ability, everyone rejoiced. The first child born within the community was me. Those first few years are considered to have been amazing. As far as everyone was concerned they had created a utopia.’
‘It certainly was that,’ Ian guffawed.
Eilif grinned. ‘They led normal lives, fed off other mammals in the Amazon, and realised that they did not need to hunt humans, if none where available. The complication arrived when Juan was a month away from his twentieth birthday.
Overnight, he developed a fever and became sick. Everyone thought he would die. Jeff was the one who recognised the symptoms. He had seen Emily and Anna succumb to the same conditions in Los Alamos. It had also happened on the advent of their twentieth birthday. He knew the only thing that would save Juan was human blood – and he was right. From then on, it became obvious all adolescents would have to return for human blood to complete the evolutionary process. Otherwise, they would die.’
Ian beeped the car horn three times. Someone had left their car in the middle of the road, doors open. The driver sauntered back, nonplussed. He glared in defiance at Ian, as he got back in to drive away.
Ian pulled a face and was about to hurl some abuse in the man’s direction when he reconsidered. ‘I don’t need a confrontation now,’ he huffed.
After ten more minutes of stop start driving, the car pulled into a space.
In a bid for fresh air, Steven opened the car door and got out to see where they were. It was obviously a main port. All around them people were going about their frantic business. A range of fishing boats littered the area and some makeshifts shacks were selling the fresh catch of the day.
Ian made his way down a pontoon.
Eilif grabbed one of the large suitcases and handed it to Steven, ‘Make yourself useful and take this over, will you?’
At the water’s edge, Steven took a minute to inspect the transportation. It looked like a very old and outdated version of a river cruise ship, about ninety feet in length. If he did not know any better, he could have sworn it was the ship used on an old Agatha Christie film adaptation of Death on the Nile years earlier. In the scheme of things it looked reasonably safe. Its size made him wary. He had no idea how much longer the trip would take.
Using all of his strength, he lugged the heavy and cumbersome suitcase up the narrow ramp.
As he was about to hoist it onto the floor, a hand reached out, grabbed it and threw it over their back as if it was a feather.
A cheeky voice said, ‘Is it a bit heavy for you?’
His felt his jaw drop. What shocked him at first was the fact she was so unbelievably strong. After he had got over that all he could feel was resentment. He had hoped to never see her again and now the reality of the situation dawned on him. She was one of them. Through gritted teeth, he said, ‘Ingrid, we meet again.’
‘Did you miss me?’ she teased, her manner coquettish.
‘Hardly,’ he murmured. He stared away from her and pretended to study the floor.
To his surprise, another woman came out from behind Ingrid and held out her hand. She had short black hair, chocolate brown eyes and a tanned complexion. She was totally different to Ingrid. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you Steven. I’m Ingrid’s mum, Lana. I’ve heard a lot about you.’
The fact her name was Lana made him stop and think. If he remembered correctly, she was one of the original Santos children. ‘Right, I hope some of it was good,’ he said. As he looked from one to the other, he rolled his eyes, ‘I guess I’ll get used to the age thing eventually.’
‘I’m sure you will,’ Ingrid added.
‘I’ve got work to do. I’ll see you later.’ Lana gave a curt nod, glanced at Ingrid for a split second as though wary, and walked away. He got the impression she had o
nly come up to see what he looked like. He wondered what Ingrid had told her about him.
‘I’m not usually one to bear grudges, but I think you’ve got a heck of a lot of explaining to do,’ Steven stressed, head cocked to the side, arms folded.
‘We’ve got the whole trip. I’ll answer as much as I can.’ She seemed to stare at him, in a strange, glassy-eyed, kind of way.
‘So, what happens now?’ he asked, as he shoved his hands into his trouser pockets.
‘We’ll be heading off soon. Your new home awaits. It really is nice to see you again.’
‘So are you ready?’ Ian called out, as he pulled another box on to the vessel. He sounded at ease.
‘As ready as I’ll ever be,’ Steven replied. There was no point acting childish.
Ian laughed out loud and walked off. He was still busy with the preparations. A lot of bags and extra supplies continued to arrive on the ship. Steven was not the sort to mope, so he figured he might as well pitch in. After loading the car onto the ship with a jib crane, the ramp was raised and they were ready to go.
The spluttering sound of the motor started, and Ian called out, ‘At least the motor’s still working.’
Finally, they cruised up river. The journey seemed never-ending. Steven was convinced they were travelling to the end of the earth.
As they left the harbour, a group of river dolphins swam next to the boat. It was plain they did not have a care in the world. The way they frolicked in the waves and swooped in and out of the surf made Steven jealous. He yearned to have that sense of freedom again. He leant overboard and was splashed in the face as a dolphin leapt up out of the water. With the back of his arm he brushed the water off his face and could not help chuckling. He lost track of time as he saw the dense undergrowth ahead and civilisation disappear. He wondered when he would be with normal humans again.
Steven was taken aback as he noticed something weird happen to the river water, as the dark colour of the river they came from met with the light-green coloured water up ahead. The waters eased alongside each other, stubborn in their quest to remain independent. It was a metaphor for his life – two sides that refused to mix. He heard someone come up behind him, yet he pretended he did not know they were there and continued to study the water.
‘The Rio Negro literally translates into...’
‘Black river,’ he interrupted, eyes fixed downwards, ‘I can translate some Spanish.’
‘Right,’ Ingrid remarked. She said it in a bemused tone, obviously impressed. ‘As the black river meets the Solimões River the two waters run side by side without mixing for about eight kilometres.’
‘Why don’t they mix?’ His curiosity was sparked and he decided to play along.
‘Well, the Rio Negro is a darker, slower and heavier body of water. If you dip your hand in to either side you’ll notice the difference in temperature.’
He frowned, impressed. It really was an interesting display. The fact unknown perils, such as piranhas, lurked under the water made him unlikely to test the theory.
‘The waters will merge soon. Welcome to the Amazon River.’
Steven stared in awe at his surroundings. The environment was exotic, alluring, and practically prehistoric. The picture of land before time.
‘I’m sure you must be tired. Would you like a place to rest?’ Ingrid asked. Her smile came across genuine. He would have to try to cut her some slack.
‘Yeah, thanks.’ He was tired and fed up. A place to crash sounded great.
Back to Table of Contents
Chapter 22
Ingrid
Once she had left Steven in one of the cabins, Ingrid made her way back to the deck. A pair of macaws squawked as they flew across the river. They were such amazing birds, so colourful and intelligent.
‘You okay?’ Lana came up alongside her and placed her arm over Ingrid’s shoulder. ‘Steven does not seem that happy.’
Ingrid pursed her lips. ‘He’ll get over it. I did what I had to. It’s not me he should blame.’
‘True, but it might take some time. He could probably do with some space,’ Lana said.
Ingrid knew her mum was perceptive; it made her wary. ‘Sure. I–I just…forget it. I’ll give him some space,’ she faltered. She could not admit the illogical attraction. She changed the subject and added, ‘Isn’t it ironic? Some species of macaw are facing extinction because of the constant deforestation of the perimeter by human beings. It’s not exactly us that are the monsters.’
‘I know, but humanity has a way of excusing itself.’
‘Do you think they’ll find us someday?’ Ingrid was scared of what humans would do to people like them.
‘Maybe. If they ever get close, we’ll be ready or we’ll move on. We’ll go somewhere new. There are many places to hide in the world.’
‘Do we always have to hide?’ Ingrid was annoyed. She did not want to feel like a freak of nature. Mankind had evolved over billions of years and no-one told Neanderthal man he was not welcome; he just made himself at home. Then again, he had wiped out the other species of mankind in the process. Evolution was harsh. The survival of the fittest, Darwin was a genius.
Lana adopted the now familiar teacher stance, ‘You know what could happen. Humans are cruel towards anything they see as a threat to their existence.’
Ingrid raised her chin. ‘Yet, they are lenient against those that create havoc within society in so many other ways. The endless list of crimes committed in the quest for peace is depressing.’
‘Are you okay? What’s this about?’ Lana asked. She put both of her hands on Ingrid’s shoulders and narrowed her eyes.
Ingrid looked away and shrugged Lana’s hands off. ‘I just wish things could have been different for Steven. If we’d brought him back sooner, it would have been easier. He might not hate me.’
Lana took hold of Ingrid’s hands and gave them a squeeze. ‘I’m sorry about that. You shouldn’t worry about what he thinks. You are my daughter and I love you. You did nothing wrong. We had to give Anna the chance to fix it.’
Ingrid could not understand why they always had to follow so much etiquette in the community. If she had waited any longer to talk to Carmen, things would have probably been even worse for Steven. ‘But, she didn’t and now he doesn’t trust us, and so close to his change.’
‘Look, I should have done something too. I tried to talk to Anna, but she told me it was under control. What you did was not right. You should have talked to me before you went to see Carmen, but it will be better for Steven in the long run. Emily needs to explain things to him. We all know he’s her son, just look at the resemblance. There’s no way Anna had him twenty years ago. That would be impossible. But, Emily was and still is unstable at times, so leaving him couldn’t have been easy.’
Ingrid could not help thinking that even though it could not have been easy, it was still a stupid thing to do. Emily was weird. Everyone thought it. ‘I get that. I just hope Steven adapts to our way of life. He has not had the proper preparation, and we still don’t know how his change will go. He’s not like the rest of us.’
Lana tilted her head and smiled as she released Ingrid’s hands. ‘Maybe, but then Emily was human too, before the accident. She wasn’t prepared for what happened either. I’m sure she’ll know what to do.’
‘I guess. I don’t trust her. I think…forget it.’ Ingrid suspected Emily, not Anna, was responsible for the cover-up in England, but she did not want to jump to conclusions.
‘You feel very protective of him, don’t you?’
Ingrid bit her lower lip. It felt stupid to say she was in love with Steven – she barely knew him. ‘Well, I feel like I got him into this mess.’
Lana shook her head. ‘But, just imagine if you had not found him. He would have gone through the change alone. Think of the repercussions.’
‘Emily would have checked on him first.’
‘You know she can’t leave without permission. No-one knows what she was
planning to do. The point is he is going to be ready now, and it’s all thanks to you.’ Lana wrapped both arms around Ingrid and gave her a huge hug.
Ingrid leant her head against her mother’s shoulder. It was difficult to know what she was really feeling. After the change, she had fully accepted what she had become. She never doubted whether taking human life was right or wrong, it was necessary. Since the attack on Steven she had become confused. Remorse was not a sentiment she experienced often. Now, she felt more drawn to him than ever. Seeing him again had made her remember why she had chosen him in the first place.
***
Steven woke up disorientated for the second time in two days. The motion of the water caused the surroundings to sway gently. Dry land was something to hope for. His body was drenched in sweat and his clothes clung to his body. When he sat up he noticed a new set of clothes folded neatly on the chair, a t-shirt and shorts. He would give anything for a shower. Somehow, he doubted there would be anything to resemble an en suite where they were heading.
A loud rumbling sound caught him unawares. He was hungry, starving in fact.
Steven left the sanctuary of the cabin and made his way down the narrow corridor in the direction of what he hoped to be the kitchen. A mouth-watering aroma infiltrated the air. The thought of proper food made him salivate. An open door revealed the small kitchenette facilities. Ingrid stood in front of the hob stirring an enormous sliver pot.
‘Hi,’ she said, turning around to greet him.
He could be courteous, ‘Something smells good. What is it?’
‘One of our specialties, Piranha soup.’
‘You’re kidding. I thought they’d want to eat me?’
Ingrid laughed, ‘Actually, they don’t attack that often. In fact, Piranha attacks are rare. Usually, an attack on a person has only taken place when someone is injured and showing signs of distress.’ She seemed to be waffling. He sensed nerves. ‘We regularly bathe with them swimming around.’
The Evolution Trilogy: Hybrid, Complications & Return Page 15
