Steven was aware that a few heads had turned in his direction. By now, they must have realised he was a stranger.
Anna laughed out loud, as she feigned amusement. She whispered in his ear and sharply added, ‘Don’t say anything. Your accent alone will give you away. Let’s just get some food.’
At the serving station, Anna introduced Steven, ‘This is Mike, Annika and their daughter Sian. Everyone this is Steven.’
The three of them stared, transfixed.
‘Steven,’ Annika glared, and seemed to quiz her husband with an intense glance, before she held out her hand.
‘He will be formally introduced soon. For now, can we have some food please? He just got here,’ Anna said.
Everyone in the room, barring the children, stopped talking.
Mike nudged Sian. Coming out of her trance, Sian poured a helping of food into a wooden bowl and handed it to Steven – she was not smiling.
The steaming food made Steven’s mouth water, as his stomach rumbled.
Anna spoke to Mike in a different dialect; he shook his head in response. ‘Let’s sit down,’ she said.
It was not a request.
Anna steered him towards an empty table and seemingly ignored the puzzled expressions she passed.
Once seated, Steven picked up his spoon. Ravenous, he tucked in before stopping to examine the contents. ‘What am I eating today?’
‘It looks like caiman stew. We do grow our own vegetables so it does actually have things you would recognise, like potatoes.’
‘Hang on a minute. Caiman, as in, crocodile stew?’ He barely contained his mouthful as he choked.
‘Of course,’ Anna smiled, amused at his reaction.
‘I guess I’ve got nothing to lose.’ He put some more in his mouth and relished the taste – it was a cross between chicken and fish. Again, this was a pleasant surprise. He ate with vigour.
‘Glad to see you have an appetite.’
The sound of new arrivals made him glance at the entrance – it was Ingrid and Lana. As they walked, the older children ran up. They pestered and asked them same thing over and over.
‘What do they want?’ Steven enquired, as he noticed Ingrid was smiling, happy.
‘Treats. They know Ingrid has been away and hope she has something for them. There are many things we can’t get or make here.’
The reply puzzled him. He was surprised by the humanity of the situation. He hadn’t known what to expect. In honesty, the environment simulated a lost and ancient civilisation, not a recently formed one.
‘What is the language you’re talking?’
‘It’s the language we developed,’ she replied.
With a full stomach, he could not stop his eyelids from drooping as tiredness set in.
‘You need some rest,’ she observed.
‘I could fall asleep on the spot,’ he admitted.
‘I’ll find you somewhere to sleep. Let’s make a move.’
As they stood up to go, the sound of shouting made him look at the entrance again. A woman, who looked remarkably similar to Anna, was pointing her finger at Ian. The words became clearer as everyone was silenced.
‘You bastard, how could you go behind my back? How dare you. Tell me where he is – tell me now,’ she screamed.
Ian looked around the room, his signature grin on full display. Extending his arm, he pointed towards Steven and gave an unapologetic shrug.
The woman stared at Steven and froze. Aware of her impromptu audience, she turned and fled.
Reticent, Steven asked, ‘Is that my mother?’
Anna looked embarrassed, as she gave a slight nod. ‘This is a lot for her to take in. She needs as much time as you do.’
‘I doubt that,’ Steven retorted.
‘Your mum has not had it easy. I’ll leave it at that. Finish your food and let’s get out of here,’ Anna said. Now, she looked angry.
Everyone was looking now, formal introduction over.
As they went out of a smaller exit, on the other side of the room, a series of stone steps revealed their route. He was sure Emily had just gone the same way. The steps led towards a maze of corridors, with rooms dotted in between. On the whole, the room entrances were covered by curtains, not doors. It was obvious safety was not an issue. It made him wonder if anyone valued their privacy as much as he did. Once at the end of the hall, they came across one of the few wooden doors. He noticed there was no lock since Anna did not need to use a key. It struck him that once inside, security was lax. Was the high level of security to stop anyone or anything from coming in or to keep them from going out?
Inside, a small lounge area led to a balcony. On the right, a curved, door height entrance was covered by a curtain.
‘You can sleep in there.’ Anna pushed aside the curtain to reveal a bedroom. ‘I’ll let you be. You rest, I’ll come back later.’ In a sympathetic voice, she said, ‘It’s nice to have you home.’
Steven nodded, not having the energy to argue and headed towards the room. A huge bed, made from intricately carved wood, greeted him. The mattress was covered in a purple sheet and matching pillow. As he collapsed on the bed, he closed his eyes and switched off.
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Chapter 28
Back Home
Ian was irritated. Emily was out of line. The only reason he had hung around was to eat, but he refused to answer any questions. As soon as he was done, he left in a hurry. There was no way he was going to be subjected to a Spanish inquisition for longer than necessary. A swim was what he needed. With a fresh set of clothes, he headed out. The soothing sound of water, whooshing down and bubbling as it met the surface echoed in the underground cavern. The sight of the waterfall never ceased to amaze him.
He left his clothes strewn on the floor and dived into the pool. Once under the waterfall, he started to feel at ease. If there was one thing he loved about what he was, it was his constant energy. It was great to look and feel his twenty-year-old self. He had been the same for over fifty years and he had definitely come to terms with his eternal youth. Aging was not for him.
He heard someone approach, and he looked up just in time to see Eilif diving into the pool. The dive was graceful and he disappeared under the surface of the water for a while.
Finally, Eilif surfaced and gave a shriek of joy, ‘It’s great to be back.’
‘Definitely,’ Ian agreed.
As Eilif approached, Ian voiced his thoughts, ‘People look so withered out there. Don’t you think? Here everyone is so youthful. Well, apart from the originals,’ he guffawed.
‘At least they show the ones that have never left what people look like when they age. Even if they always look the same,’ Eilif observed, as he performed a perfect eggbeater kick in the deep water.
‘They do look older, but they are relatively young compared to those aged seventy and above.’
‘Do you think our parents mind? You know, having been frozen in time at their age,’ Eilif asked, his hands sculling back and forth.
‘I don’t think they’re bothered. It is what it is. Their change did not give them the ability to reverse, just to freeze the aging process.’
‘It’s so dirty in the outside world, isn’t it? I mean I like going to visit, it’s part of our heritage. But to quote Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz – there’s no place like home.’
‘The sad thing is I remember watching that film when it was released. I must have been only eight years old at the time. It was before we went to live in Los Alamos. What a different time. No-one knew then how the war would change and destroy countless lives in the name of creating a better race. It always gets to me that Hitler genuinely thought he was on a noble quest to create better human beings.’
‘So you all decided to vanish and create this utopia?’
‘Well, you know all this from your teaching, but yes my parents and the others realised that they had become, in some ways, superior or stronger to normal human beings. They did not w
ant to conquer or take life. The war was doing that already. So, it felt like a natural solution to disappear from society and develop a place that was hidden from the rest of the world. The thing is we still have so much to learn about ourselves. We’ve barely scratched the surface. But, at least we have full control of our destiny; we are not subject to the laws imposed by normal man.’
‘Don’t you think,’ Eilif paused, as though uneasy, ‘Don’t you think it’ll only be a matter of time before we can’t sustain ourselves? The population is growing and there is a restlessness developing.’
Ian sighed, ‘I know.’
Eilif changed the subject, ‘Do you think Steven will adapt?’
‘I hope so. He can’t go anywhere else.’
‘From my observations, it is obvious that humanity does not usually like being caged up. Even though we’re not strictly speaking, normal human beings, our emotions are the same. The level of protection we have installed is just looking for someone to try to find its weakness.’
‘There is no flaw in our security,’ Ian snapped, his stare resolute.
‘Look I know you change the security codes and have a high level of surveillance equipment installed. All I’m just saying is I’m not the first person to think it. Steven is new to this. I’m not convinced he’ll just accept it.’
‘He has no choice. He’ll have to do as we say.’
Eilif shrugged, dived under, and disappeared.
Before he had a chance to resurface, Ian swam to the water’s edge, got out and hastily put his clothes back on. The conversation was not going anywhere productive. Ian was loathed to admit that Eilif had a point. Steven did not seem like the type to lie low. Yet, he did not get the impression he was radical enough to try to escape. Either way, even if Steven tried to find a way out, the security was impenetrable.
No-one would get out unless he authorised it. They never had and never would. The only blip in all the time he had been in the community was Emily. They should never have let her leave. He would not make the same mistake again.
***
Emily knew she was not exactly role model material, yet, there she was pretending to be the picture of responsibility. As a teacher, she could never say aloud what she was thinking, but the facts spoke for themselves. So far, she had managed to get infected by a bat and become an abnormal human being; become dependent on blood for survival to the extent that she had killed human beings; lived within the confines of a surreal environment; given birth to a forbidden half-human child; abandoned the said child; and attempted to get on with her life, albeit a disgruntled and unsatisfying one.
Someone had to see the irony of her situation.
She could walk away. Refuse to take the lesson. Her trauma warranted a sick day. Then again, what was the point? She had to try to carry on as normal. She had to rise above it.
‘As all of you know I’m Emily, one of the originals.’ She hated that word – originals. She did not feel superior to anyone else because she was bitten by the psycho bats. ‘I’m here to develop your new abilities, and to enable you to enhance them. Anyone got anything to start us off with? Can you do something new that you couldn’t do before?’
An eager girl at the front raised her hand in the air. She flapped her hand higher, as though she might explode unless she was allowed to reply.
‘Please tell us,’ Emily obliged.
‘I can see perfectly at night,’ she beamed, using a lot of hand gestures to continue with her explanation. Her frizzy, brown hair bounced as she talked, ‘On the hunt we attended the other night my vision was so clear, I couldn’t believe it. It was amazing. The veins and arteries pumping blood around the animal seemed magnified. I knew exactly what to do.’
Emily kept a smile pasted on her face. It was important to act like a teacher even though, in a lot of ways, she considered herself to be a pupil. She had seen the girl grow up, and knew her parents were two of the finest hunters she had ever met. ‘That’s excellent,’ she praised.
‘Anyone else?’ Emily asked, scanning the room. It was hard to keep track of all the new additions.
Although the only two members of the community that could not reproduce were her parents, the reproductive ability of the rest of the community appeared endless. The community reminded her of a rabbit warren – forever expanding. Of course, it had no control mechanism or natural predator. The young were the most vulnerable until they changed, but they had designed their home well. Only a few had died since they had arrived. That had been at the beginning, before they had been prepared. Now, there was a very limited chance of them being attacked. Even diseases had been wiped out by the development of vaccines. They had thought of everything. They had defied the odds and prospered.
As Henrik started to explain how he was able to perform complex calculations in the blink of an eye she felt her thoughts drift away. She wondered what Steven was doing right now. Henrik stared at her, waiting for a reply, and she focused, ‘Just like your great-grandfather, Morten, good for you.’
A grumble at the back of the room made her tense.
‘Speak up, Antonio,’ Emily demanded, ‘What’s on your mind?’
‘The only special skill I want to have is the knowledge to get out of here,’ he said with a smirk, as he folded his arms over his chest.
Ian’s son was showing signs of her rebellious streak. Emily sighed. It always came up. ‘That part of your training will be covered another day. We’re not capable of living out in the open. It’s too dangerous.’
‘Not for me, it’s not,’ Antonio continued, ‘let them try to take me on.’
‘Like I said, you’ll discuss that further in another class.’
It was frustrating for Emily to have to lie. She knew exactly what he meant. Yet, his father was responsible for bringing someone else to this prison – her son, Steven. It vexed her. She took out the necessary equipment and focused on the lesson. She split the pupils into two groups. Then she left them with their assignment and stared into the distance.
Immortality, it had seemed like such a dream when they first discovered they were not aging. For her it was a living nightmare. She did not want to live forever. The thought of living indefinitely had lost all of its appeal. It was her dream to live a normal life, where she would grow old. She could not help feeling hard done by. She was responsible for teaching the new ones the beauty of what they had become. Someone was having a joke at her expense. Her life was a sham.
***
The sight from the balcony was impressive. It looked directly upon the heart of the rainforest. Anna knew she was lucky. Since she was one of the first to arrive, she had one of the few rooms located on the periphery of the volcano. As the numbers in the community had increased, the rooms had been created where there was space, so outside light was not always guaranteed. Anna sat on her favourite rocking chair, looked out, and waited. It was only a matter of time before Emily would turn up. As the door opened, Anna turned around and smiled, ‘You took your time.’
‘I had to teach – and calm down.’
‘You certainly lost it with Ian. You always let him get to you.’
‘Our younger, brat of a brother.’
‘You two never got along.’
Emily made her way over to the chair next to Anna and sat down. ‘I miss the room I used to have, it was just like this. Now, I’m in the dungeons.’
‘Your room is not that bad, and hey, you only have yourself to blame.’
‘I guess,’ Emily fiddled with her fingernails, ‘so, what’s he like? Is he okay about being here?’
‘I have to be honest. He’s barely talked to me, he doesn’t seem happy to be here.’
‘Great.’ Emily frowned and balled her hands into fists.
‘Do you want me to leave, so that you can talk to him when he wakes up?’
‘I don’t know.’ Emily bit her lower lip as her hands relaxed. ‘Do you mind staying?’
‘Not at all,’ Anna replied. She turned to face Emily an
d half smiled. It was the first time Emily had ever admitted that she needed her, in a roundabout kind of way.
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Chapter 29
Meeting Mum
The sound of two women talking woke Steven up and he realised it sounded like Anna – only two of her. Sitting up, he stretched his arms in protest. He wanted some time alone. Unable to stall the inevitable confrontation, he made his way through the curtain.
Anna got up from her chair to greet him, ‘You’re awake.’
‘Just about,’ he replied. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his mother, Emily, frozen to the spot, her hands on her knees.
‘Steven, you need to talk to your mother. Will you speak to her, please?’
Steven could not answer.
‘Steven. Please talk to her.’ Anna was insistent.
Was his mother such a coward? He was not going to be scared. With pursed lips, he nodded.
‘I’ll wait here,’ Anna said, as she moved out of the way and indicated towards the balcony.
Steven wandered over and stared out into the Amazon. He did not look at Emily. She had to speak first.
After a few minutes had passed, Emily finally broke the silence, ‘This is quite a view, don’t you think?’
Steven hummed in agreement, before he asked, ‘How long was I out for?’
‘You’ve been asleep for a long time, but I only just got here. I suspect you must have slept for over twelve hours.’
‘Really? I don’t usually sleep longer than eight hours.’
‘Your body is preparing for the…’ she stopped, and hesitated.
‘Change,’ he said. He was sure he knew more than she expected.
‘So, they told you about it.’ She shook her head, pain etched on her face.
‘Yes, they told me.’
‘It should have been me, I’m sorry,’ she apologised, ‘I–I should have found a way to prepare you for wh-what will happen.’
The Evolution Trilogy: Hybrid, Complications & Return Page 19
