by Jason Letts
Nathan happened to snap out of his unfocused daze and glimpse them passing by. He immediately shot up and started marching down the row to catch them. Cam groaned, throwing down her hands and coming to a halt.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered.
“Cammie, wait!” he shouted, lumbering forward as he pushed through the crowd.
“Cam,” she corrected him, begrudgingly turning around.
“Whatever. I really have to talk to you,” Nathan said.
“I’m busy now. I’m sure you’ll see me later sometime.” Cam tried to apologize to Garrett with her eyes, and that tipped off Nathan he was there. Out of the three of them, Garrett was by far dressed the nicest.
“Wait, who’s this?” Nathan asked, though he was looking questionably at Cam’s grungy clothes.
“This is my boyfriend, and we’re leaving,” Cam said, turning around and pulling Garrett with her. He winked at Nathan and let her drag him along, but Nathan reached out and grabbed Cam’s shoulder to yank her back.
“Hey!” she growled.
“I’m serious. We have to talk. Something inexplicable has happened,” he was nodding at her, trying to get her to believe, but she had nothing but apathy on her face. Sighing, she looked over at Garrett, who was strangely amused by the situation.
“Can I meet up with you later?” she asked, sulking.
“Whatever. Just don’t get into any trouble without me,” he said.
Garrett leaned in to plant a kiss on her cheek, staring at Nathan out of the corner of his eye as he did it. Nathan cringed and averted his gaze until he was alone with his hostile sister.
“What’s so important you have to ruin my life for?” she snapped.
“Something outrageous,” he said, staring into her brown eyes. “But we can’t talk about it here. She could be listening.”
He nervously scanned the other mall patrons as he grabbed Cam’s arm and forced her forward. They plowed through the main doors and stalked out into the parking lot on a cold, snowy, and gray afternoon. Their headlights on, cars full of people anxious to do some holiday shopping cruised about looking for a parking space.
Nathan’s truck was tucked behind a larger SUV, but they found it and quickly climbed in.
“What is it?” Cam demanded. Nathan didn’t start the truck, instead twisting around to face her.
“We’ve been tricked. Your machine worked, and it switched Apoxy into another world and gave us Eve in her place. They aren’t the same people at all, but she used the mind block to make us believe what she wanted.”
“What?” Cam gasped, and Nathan reached for her chin to make her look right at him.
“You’ve got to trust me. Impose it on top of what your mind is saying you believe. The woman we’ve been living with since your experiment is not someone we know, and she’s out to destroy us.”
Cammie stared at her brother, frozen for a moment. Her eyebrows scrunched up as though she were going to cry, but instead her look hardened to block out the firestorm going on in her brain.
“How do you know this?” she asked at last, still stunned.
The memories riled Nathan, making him grip the steering wheel and start the car.
“She admitted to it. She told me everything. I couldn’t believe it myself, but the sickening way she looked at me made me realize it was the truth. Now I just feel dirty in a way I couldn’t imagine, empty and dirty.”
“Why would she just tell you?” Cam wondered. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s all just a game to her,” Nathan roared, slamming the butt of his fist against the steering wheel and putting the truck into gear. He reversed out of the spot much faster than he should have. The vehicle skidded as he hit the brakes to avoid another car. “All she cares about is torturing us for her own amusement. She thinks it’s funny to watch us suffer, and that’s why she’s been manipulating us.”
He finally managed to pull out and start away from the parking lot, but something he said perturbed Cam, who stared at her brother shrewdly.
“She didn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to do!” she said.
“We’ve got to find a way to make things right again,” Nathan argued.
“Don’t you think we’re better off now than we were before? I’m happier now than I’ve ever been, and it’s all because of Eve.”
Nathan covered his face in his hands as he stopped at the first traffic light. He cast a sidelong glance at his sister and scratched his neck. Cam had her pink hand pressed against the heating vent.
“Don’t you realize what she’s done to us, what she’s taken from me? The girl I love is…somewhere I can’t even fathom, but I’ve been made to think she’s still here by another spirit who’s been warping us into horrible versions of ourselves. It makes you want to vomit, doesn’t it?” he ranted.
“Yeah, I guess,” Cam mumbled, but she wasn’t paying much attention. The passing buildings of the city absorbed her attention, and she hid behind the detached sensibility masking her face. Nathan sighed.
“She’s all I have left, you know? And if I don’t find a way to get her back I’ll be left here alone to whither away to nothing. If I can’t fight for her now after she’s given up everything for me, then I never deserved to have her in the first place. There was an ache in my gut the moment I got home after you’d done the experiment. My body knew she was gone, but my mind couldn’t understand it. Now that I know the truth, I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back.”
It didn’t seem to matter to him that his sister wasn’t responding. He’d been talking mostly to himself, reminding himself how he felt and what he needed to do after all that had happened to him. Cam picked at a thread poking out of one of the frayed spots on her jeans.
“What are you going to do?” she asked. “And where are we going anyway?”
“We’re headed home,” he answered.
“Why?”
“It’s impossible to hide from her. She can just find us anywhere she wants. The only thing we can do is choose where we want it to all go down.”
After a few more blocks they were cruising down the street in their own neighborhood. The snow was falling heavier now and the windshield wipers did their best to brush the fluffy flakes off the glass. They pulled into the driveway, and Cam reluctantly departed the vehicle the same time her brother did.
When they walked through the door, they immediately found Eve sitting in one of the armchairs in the living room. She had one leg over the other, a gray coat and a scarf covering her middle, and a seductive smile on her face. Both Nathan and Cam were surprised to see her waiting there, and neither knew exactly what to do.
“Welcome home, sweetheart,” she said, her voice carrying a little bit of song.
Nathan’s chiseled features hardened as his eyes met the one who had deceived him. He took an authoritative step closer to her, but she merely lifted her head toward him, fluttering her eyelashes.
“Are you going to hit me too?” Eve asked, reclining in her chair. The smugness never faded from her lips, and she was even so bold as to drag her toes against his ankle. Maybe Nathan thought she deserved it, but he wasn’t going to stoop that low.
“Bring Apoxy back to me!” he ordered.
Eve held out her hand and Nathan pulled her to her feet. She didn’t shy away from him though, rather she savored the anger on his face from a position of unflappable control.
“I told you. Apoxy doesn’t exist anymore. She goes by Sarah and has for a very long time now.”
“Enough!” he shouted. “Just do it.”
She put her hands on his hips and brought herself toe to toe with him. Over his shoulder, he gazed at Cam who had her arms crossed and leaned against the corner.
“Are you sure you’d rather have her instead of me?” she whispered in his ear.
“Yes,” he replied, the energy and the tension making his breath short.
“Aren’t I the one who gives you what you want? Do you need me to remind yo
u?” As she spoke in hushed tones, she dragged a finger up his inner thigh and motioned to bring her tongue to his earlobe, but just a slight bump sent her back into the chair.
“Absolutely not,” he said, repositioning himself in the kitchen so he had more space. Eve tossed one leg over the other and pressed a fist into her cheek.
“I really can’t convince you? Well that’s an awful shame. Of course, you’re not the only one here with a vote,” she observed, and the next time Nathan blinked Eve was beside Cam, leaning over her shoulder. “What about you? Do you want me to leave?”
Vacant, Cam recoiled from Eve, scrunching up her cheeks as though she were bracing herself for something.
“Don’t ask me,” she said.
“And why not?” Eve pressed, her voice much, much louder. “It’s time for you to express yourself, be exactly who you were meant to be. You’re the kind of girl who goes out and gets what she wants, and if I’m not mistaken you’ve gotten quite a lot recently, haven’t you?”
Cam kept her mouth shut, only casting a pained expression at her watchful brother.
“Where would you be without me? What about the piles of clothes I stole for you? You wouldn’t have your exciting, new relationship. The closest you would’ve ever come to being kissed was by a book when your nose was pressed too close. You’d still be hiding, afraid of yourself, and unable to dig your way out.”
Cam was wilting under the pressure. She was trying to hide underneath the makeup on her face, but it wasn’t doing the job. Caught between Eve and her brother, she seemed unable to do anything.
“Cammie, please,” Nathan begged, making Eve smile.
“Go on, tell him. That’s not your name, is it?” Eve goaded her, but Cam gave her a hard look.
“I don’t need you to tell me who I am anymore!” she snapped. “I won’t mind it if I never see you again.”
Taken aback, Eve withdrew and set her hand on her chest to recover herself. Broken, she nodded.
“I’m sorry you feel that way. You see, I’m the only one here who really cares about you. All along I’ve been trying to help you, just as if I were your big sister. And come to find out you’re pushing me away simply because Nathan wants you to even though he’s been keeping a very big secret from you.”
Cam’s eyes followed Eve’s finger to Nathan, who stood on the edge of the kitchen near the living room looking as though someone wanted to shoot an arrow through an apple on his head. It didn’t take much to arouse Cam’s suspicions, and she narrowed her piercing eyes.
“What’s he keeping from me?”
“It’s nothing!” Nathan said, coming forward, but Eve produced a letter from her back pocket and dangled it in front of Cam’s face.
“So many important letters recently,” Eve mused. “And yet I’m the only one who remembers to check the mail. Looks like this one’s addressed to you.”
Cam took the plain white envelope and ran her thumb under the seal. She tore the official-looking letter out, unfolded it, and ran her eyes over it. Her face paled and she became increasingly frantic as the contents rocked her.
“I’m being investigated?” she gasped, almost choking. When she returned her eyes to Nathan, she was beside herself for shock. “And you knew about this?”
“Look, I can explain!” he said, trying to calm her.
“That means yes,” Eve butted in.
“I didn’t think it would turn out this way,” Nathan pleaded. “They asked me some questions about you at work. I told them the truth that you weren’t involved and I just said I didn’t know when they were trying to implicate you.”
Cam couldn’t even listen to him though.
“And why wouldn’t you tell me about that? I could’ve come up with a good explanation and it never would’ve gotten this far.”
“I was trying to protect you!” Nathan countered, but Cam was fuming.
“Keeping me in the dark doesn’t protect me!” she shouted. She set her hands on the kitchen table and glanced again at the letter. “What am I going to do? They are just summoning me to talk, and there’s no real charges, but this is what they do before they make charges.”
Eve put an arm around Cam and offered her sympathy.
“See what you get for not minding your own business?” Eve lamented, making Cam sulk. Nathan stepped in and pulled Eve away from his sister. Taking her place, Nathan stooped over to get Cam’s attention.
“She’s just trying to drive us apart. Can’t you see that? You have to believe me that I did it for your own good.”
“There’s a lot of that going around lately,” Eve snickered, but she didn’t get a reaction out of Cam, who glared at her brother.
“How can I even trust you anymore?” she snarled, blowing Nathan back as though she’d slapped him.
“Honesty is always the best policy,” Eve laughed at Nathan, who backed away in defeat.
“But that doesn’t mean I still want you here!” Cam interjected, making Eve swirl around. “Instigating this is even worse, and there isn’t a shadow of a doubt in my heart that we’d be better off without you.”
“Alright, I understand. Don’t worry, my friend. I won’t hold it against you. Do me a favor though. When you think about Garrett and what makes you happiest, I just want you to remember that I’m a part of it, ok?” Eve winked, making Cam roll her eyes.
Condemned, the young blonde woman strolled to the kitchen table, positioning herself between Nathan and his sister.
“I can tell when I’m not wanted. This has been fun while it lasted, but I guess that’s everything and it’s time for me to move on. All you have to do is blink and this place will be but a memory to me.”
“Wait!” Nathan objected. “You didn’t bring her back to me! You can’t leave us without doing that.”
Peering at him, the confusion pouring out of her face, Eve couldn’t seem to figure out what he meant.
“Wait, so you’re kicking me out…and you want me to do something for you? That doesn’t seem fair at all!” she moaned.
“You don’t have any other options. We’re done playing your games. Just do this and leave!” Nathan demanded.
Eve brushed her hair over her shoulder and smiled. Perking up, she gave him a questioning look.
“If you’re not giving me any options, maybe I’ll have to give you one. I do have to ask you something though. How badly do you want her back? Because you may not like what you’ll be getting.”
“Very badly,” Nathan said, losing his patience.
“Good, then this should be easy for you. I can bring her back to you, but she’ll end up dying in your arms. Sound fair?”
“Are you kidding me?” Nathan roared, stomping forward. His face was getting red and his eyes were livid. Even Cam gawked at the proposal.
“What?” Eve shrugged. “I’m offering you a deal. I’ll give you something you want, and in exchange I have to get something I want.”
“No!” Nathan refused.
“Ok then. Bye bye,” Eve waved, vanishing in the next instant. The house was suddenly silent, and Nathan and Cam gazed at each other in bewilderment. There was nothing to do. She was just gone.
“Eve!” Nathan called.
“You miss me already?” she said from directly behind him. “Or did you reconsider?”
“How could you possibly think I could agree to anything that leaves the woman I love dying in my arms?” he asked, his tone genuine. Eve glanced at the ceiling as she struggled to think.
“Are you going to kill her?” Cam asked, catching their attention. Eve came out from behind Nathan so she could speak directly to Cam.
“What do you take me for, a murderer?” Eve moaned. “Just because I want to see her die doesn’t mean I’m going to do anything about it. Besides, time has a way of taking care of that for me anyway.”
“But she’s dying?” Nathan tried to verify, but Eve only shrugged. “Does that mean if she doesn’t die in my arms she’ll be dying alone somewhere else?”
Suddenly there was something worse than the terrible scenario Eve had presented to him. Nathan reached out to the table for extra support. He appeared drained, the horror he feared eating away at him because it was better than the alternative. Glancing at Cam, he sought an answer to his conundrum.
“I have no idea what’ll happen,” Cam said, sympathizing with her brother.
Eve’s sudden laughter interrupted the grinding going on in Nathan’s head.
“What are you waiting for?” she scolded him. “Do you care about her or not? Why don’t you try acting like a man? If you were a man, you’d know what to do. Time to be a man here, Nathan!”
Her cackling unnerved him, and he shut his eyes to block her out. It was hard to figure out what he needed to do for all the emotions running through him, but it seemed he had no choice but to go along with what she said. He could take what she was willing to give and find a way around the rest of it later.
“It’s a deal.”
*
I was standing in a field of blooming dandelions near a group of small cabins. Beside me, Eve squinted a bit to block out the sun that was suddenly so intense.
“You have thirty seconds until that girl is floating face down in the water.”
I didn’t waste a moment responding, just twisting my head trying to figure out where I was and where I had to go. There were trees, a road, and it wasn’t until I looked toward the cabins that I saw the water beyond.
I raced off immediately, noting that the water looked a long ways away. I was on some kind of a hill, the shore buried below me.
“See you when you’re ready!” Eve called, but I was sprinting away from her as fast as I could. It was so hot, and I stripped off my scarf and coat, throwing them carelessly to the ground.
I pumped my arms and legs, stretching my cheeks and sucking in air. Running between the cabins, I looked for a way to get down to the water. There were thick shrubs everywhere, but then I saw a long set of wooden stairs.
I was on them an instant later, my feet smacking against the boards as I descended as fast as I could. I pushed myself much faster than my legs could carry me, and I fell forward, tumbling against the steps. The pain killed, but time was ticking. I had to save Cammie.
