Evalene's Number: The Number Series

by Bethany Atazadeh

  She held the ice to one black eye and then the other. Her only gift today. Pressure built behind her eyes from holding back tears.

  Stepping into the dark servant’s hallway, she slowly climbed the two flights of stairs back to her little attic room. Without bothering to undress or assess the damage done to her face, she crawled into bed under the covers, pushing the book aside, laying her tender face on the pillow, and closing her eyes.

  A knock on her door startled Evalene awake. She was confused. No one came up to her room. It took her a moment to remember what happened, but as she rolled over her face stung where it touched the pillow, reminding her. “One second,” she croaked. Dragging herself out of bed, she flipped on the light switch and opened the door.

  Violet was standing on the other side, wringing her hands. Her eyes widened at the sight of Evalene’s face. Eyes swollen half shut, Evalene could only imagine how bad it looked.

  “Thank you,” she whispered. And Evalene nodded. That was all that needed to be said.

  “Your father noticed your absence at dinner, and during the news when they talked about the second… bulletin…” Violet stumbled over the word nervously, as if it were a crime to even say it. “He asked for you when the broadcast ended.” Had he remembered Evalene’s birthday?

  Violet smiled a little in encouragement, “Do you think you could make it downstairs to serve tea if we give you a few minutes to clean up first?” Violet whispered the last few words. “Daeva told him you were being punished, but he still asked to have you sent down.”

  Clean up? How did someone clean up two black eyes? Violet shifted her weight back and forth, one foot turned towards the stairs. “Lady Ruby retired for the night,” she offered after a moment’s pause, and Evalene appreciated the girl’s thoughtfulness. One less person to see her like this.

  “Thanks,” Evalene said, her voice coming out raspy. She cleared her throat and tried again, “I’ll be right down.”

  Violet nodded and disappeared down the narrow staircase. Evalene closed her door softly. She wasn’t sure what to do about her face. She didn’t own make up.

  Peering into her hazy little hand mirror, Evalene understood what Violet meant. Her eyes were red and puffy, the skin around them already bruising shades of purple and blue that would only get darker, and her hair was all over the place. That at least could be fixed. She pulled a brush through it a few times, and quickly tied it back.

  There was crusted blood by her left eye from where Daeva’s ring had cracked the skin. Evalene picked up a small cloth, dipped it into a water bowl on her dressing table, and squeezed the water out. She brought the damp cloth to her face and gently held it to her eyelids, and then around them, trying to wash away tears and blood without opening the cut again. Wincing, she pulled it away and took another peel. A small improvement.

  Evalene’s natural rebellious spirit rose. Let him see, she thought, maybe he’ll be shocked into doing something for once. But she doubted it.

  She lifted her chin, wrapping her frail dignity around her like a shield. Trudging slowly downstairs, she stepped into the doorway of the dining room, where her father sipped his tea and read the newspaper. Moving around the table, she came to stand against the wall next to Violet, crossing her hands to clasp them in front of her.

  She cleared her throat. Not allowed to speak first, she waited.

  He dragged his eyes from the paper, distracted. His brows rose high and forehead wrinkled when he saw her, and he adjusted his glasses, face registering surprise and confusion. Or maybe concern? Evalene wished she could read him better.

  “Ah, yes,” he said, and coughed. “Ah, Violet, dear, could you fetch me another cup of tea from the kitchen please?” He let the girl come and take his half-empty teacup away, waiting until she left the room to continue.

  “Come sit, Evie,” he said and patted the chair next to him. Evalene’s heart softened at the childhood nickname. Obediently she came and sat next to him, turning in the chair to face her father. It felt for a moment as if they were family again, having a meal together, until she glanced down at her hands where they rested on her brown dress, a forceful reminder that this wasn’t the case.

  Byron patted his pockets as she sat, searching for something. “Ah, here it is,” he mumbled, pulling out a tiny velvet box.

  He briefly startled again at the sight of her face and frowned. Yet he still said nothing about her injuries. Though Daeva was a lower Number, her history as an informant seemed to weigh heavily on him. Did he feel as helpless as she did?

  He cleared his throat, taking her hand without a word and placing the little box in her palm, wrapping her fingers around it. “Just a little something for your birthday.” Patting her hand once, he let go. “You can open it later.”

  Evalene put the little box in her pocket, understanding the underlying message. It would be their secret.

  “Thank you, I will.” Evalene didn’t know what else to say.

  Her father nodded and opened his mouth as if to say more, but Violet’s footsteps sounded on the hardwood floor coming back from the kitchen. Her father picked up the paper and shook it out. Evalene stood on cue.

  As she moved back to her place against the wall, he frowned at the front page. The article held a blurry photo of the morning’s second bulletin. She wanted to ask him what the article said, what she’d missed on the news, what he thought about it all? He wouldn’t mind her speaking out of turn.

  But Violet appeared in the doorway with a fresh cup of tea, and Evalene kept silent. If Daeva heard about it, she would mind very much.

  The girls stood quietly, waiting to be needed, waiting for the night to end. The little box felt like it was burning a hole in Evalene’s pocket.

  Finally, Bryon stood and moved towards the library, his favorite room in the house. As he left, Evalene felt her throat close up, making it hard to swallow. He’d never once said a word about her face.

  As she moved to pick up his dirty cup and saucer, Violet waved her off, “I’ll handle it.” Gesturing towards the door leading away from the kitchen, Violet indicated she should go back to her room. “It’d be better if Daeva didn’t see you...”

  Evalene pursed her lips, but didn’t disagree. Making her way up to her little attic room, Evalene’s stomach growled in protest at leaving the food behind. Her whole face flamed from the swelling. But she clung to one small piece of joy: she still had the stolen book hidden away in her room. And without meaning to, Daeva had provided her an entire day alone to read.

  Softly shutting the door to her room, Evalene took the two steps to her bed in the dark, dropping onto the mattress. A lump under her hip reminded her of the little box in her pocket. She hurried to flip on the light switch, pulling out the tiny velvet box and lifting the lid.

  It held a circle pendant on a thin chain. The round jewelry might have been a small coin, but the old markings had been melted away and around the edges was an inscription, written in a language she couldn’t read and didn’t recognize, that encircled the design in the middle of the coin. On top of this lay a second charm of a simple, beautiful tree surrounded by a circle.

  It was not expensive or feminine. Lady Ruby would have scoffed at it and demanded to know where her father hid the real present. But for Evalene, it was beautiful.

  She gently pulled it out of the box, undid the clasp, and fastened it around her neck. The chain was long, making it easy to hide under the collar of her dress, and the charm was so light, she barely felt it. Picking up her hand mirror to admire it, she touched the gift affectionately, trying to smile. Trying to be happy her father had remembered her.

  It was a tiny bright spot in her world, like a candle burning in a huge dark forest. She tried to focus on it, keep it burning, but her injuries and his response doused it. How was one cheap necklace going to help her? It was all she could do to turn out the light and crawl under the covers, with one thought taking form in her mind as she fell asleep.

  As she slowly woke th
e next morning, an overwhelming thought was on her mind: escape. Her dreams had been filled with failed attempts, everything that could possibly go wrong taking place, making her anxious. Yet the longer she thought about it, the more certain she was that she had to try, needed to try, in spite of her fear. How had she been foolish enough to think adulthood would be different? Age didn’t change anything. Her future would look exactly like her present if she stayed here.

  She rolled over, wincing when her black eye hit the pillow. She sucked in a breath at the pain, and closed her eyes. Rolling away from the sunlight streaming in, she considered sleeping through the whole day. But as the little room flooded with warm, yellow light, thoughts of escape kept her awake, her chest tight with anxiety.

  Her book made a lump under the mattress where she’d tucked it back in the safe place, but she couldn’t summon the energy or the desire to read it now. Such bad timing to be on house arrest when she needed to talk to Kevra more than ever. But she couldn’t risk getting caught.

  She played absently with the little necklace her father had given her. Thinking of his reaction last night led to wondering how her mother would have reacted. If Pearl really had been involved in the Bloom Rebellion, then Evalene doubted she would’ve taken it sitting down.

  No, in her mind, Evalene imagined her mother standing up to Daeva, maybe even firing her. She tried to envision her mother, but couldn’t quite picture her anymore. Just a memory of kind blue eyes and soft arms hugging her tight. Ruby had demanded to have all photos removed years back. Her father hadn’t even noticed. He probably wouldn’t notice when Evalene was gone either.

  Rolling back to the front, Evalene pulled her book out and cradled it half under the covers, in case anyone burst into her room unannounced. She would endure today’s punishment. If possible, she would even enjoy it. Grimly, she opened to the last page she’d read. For now, this was her escape.

  9

  Can It Be Done?

  W AITING UNDER THE TREE two days later, Evalene heard Kevra’s footsteps on the hard-packed earth before she was even in sight. As her friend rounded the corner, her mouth was already half open, ready to begin a conversation when she glimpsed Evalene’s two black eyes. Kevra gasped, stopping where she stood. “What in the name of the Number One happened to you?”

  “It was Daeva,” Evalene shrugged. “You know how she gets.” Trying to ignore the tightening in her gut, she took a deep breath to speak the words that would change everything. “Kevra, I’m ready.” It was harder than she thought it would be to say it out loud. “We have to leave.”

  Kevra lit up and started dancing around, squealing in excitement, but Evalene was unable to join her. She’d never made such a drastic decision in her life. The consequences of getting caught weighed heavily on her.

  Interrupting Kevra’s celebration dance, Evalene leaned on the rock. “You told me you had a plan? Were you being serious?”

  Kevra grinned, and pranced over, plopping down to sit next to Evalene. “Of course I have a plan!” She laughed. “You’re going to love it.”

  “Tell me quickly,” Evalene said. Glancing at the path back to the house, and then towards the sun, trying to gage how much time she had, Evalene bit her lip. “I want to leave as soon as possible.”

  But Kevra’s plan was full of holes.

  “How will we get through the Regulator checkpoints? That’s at least…” Evalene tried to picture the road to Delmare, how many cities there were along the way, “five or six cities. Which means at least that many check points.” And it had been five years since she’d traveled those roads. In that amount of time, a lot could have changed.

  Kevra shrugged, “We’ll steal Ruby’s ID. You could pass as her if they don’t look too close.”

  “But won’t she list it as stolen?” Evalene frowned, imagining the Regs arresting them at a checkpoint when Ruby reported the missing ID.

  “We’ll have to wait until the last minute. If we leave at night, and she sleeps until noon like she usually does, that’ll give us almost 12 hours head start.” Kevra smiled as if that resolved everything.

  But Evalene shook her head. “No, it’s a two-day drive. Even if we drive through the night and don’t stop, it’d still be at least 24 hours. That’s too risky.” She needed to get back to the house. “I’ll see if I can sneak a peek at Ruby’s calendar. If we can find a day where she doesn’t have any commitments… we could slip her an extra sleeping pill at dinner.” Ruby loved her sleeping pills.

  “Or two or three,” Kevra grinned, “That’s perfect!” It was far from perfect, Evalene chewed her lip at everything they’d need to decide. How would their absence go unnoticed by the staff? Especially Daeva? And if they did get reported, which they probably would, how long could they avoid the Regs catching up to them?

  “I wish we could fly,” Kevra said, sighing, interrupting Evalene’s thoughts. Thanks to the Number One’s Grid, no planes could come anywhere near Eden by air without being shot down instantly. But neither could anyone leave that way.

  Evalene stood. Their only option was the coast, and finding a ship. Kevra knew that as well as she did, so Evalene only replied, “I hate heights. And I’d probably get motion sickness.” She moved to walk back towards the house and Kevra followed.

  “Oh yeah,” Kevra rolled her eyes, “and a boat is so much better.” She had a point. But they couldn’t afford to be picky. They made plans to meet late that night to plan further, but Evalene could already tell the majority of the details would fall on her shoulders. Kevra thought big picture. She hadn’t even considered they’d need to get gas!

  Evalene’s bruises were still present, making her look a bit like a raccoon the way they surrounded her eyes and cheek. Daeva seemed content that Evalene knew her place with this evidence, but the temporary calm didn’t slow Evalene’s plans in the slightest. It was short-lived. She wanted to leave in the next few days if possible.

  By nightfall, Evalene felt better about their plan, having spent the day filling in most of the holes. Waiting for everyone to go to bed so she could meet Kevra was agonizing, but finally, she snuck outside, racing down the short path to the detached garage. No need to meet out by the tree when it was dark.

  “We have three days,” she whispered to Kevra the moment her friend’s face appeared in the shadows.

  As Evalene explained each step, Kevra stopped her with a hand on her arm. “I have an idea for that,” she said, and her teeth flashed in the moonlight as she smiled, “Come with me.”

  Entering the huge garage from a side door, Kevra flipped a switch to turn on a small lamp, reaching into a bin, and pulling out car keys. Shaking her head, Evalene backed up, “No, it’s too soon to go tonight.”

  “No silly,” Kevra laughed softly, “We’re not going anywhere, just trust me. Get in the driver’s seat.” She pointed to the closest car.

  Frowning, Evalene did as directed, watching Kevra climb in on the passenger side.

  “Okay,” Kevra twisted in her seat to face Evalene, “I’ve never told you this, because it’s not legal, but I’ve known how to drive since I was a kid. My dad taught me. By the time I was Numbered, we’d gone out driving on country roads so many times I could’ve been a professional driver like him. If I’d been Numbered higher.” Kevra’s mouth twisted sourly. “But the good news is, now I can teach you!”

  Evalene smiled for the first time since she’d agreed to run. This was the one problem she hadn’t found a solution to. It was perfect.

  Kevra spent nearly an hour explaining the car to her, making her repeat each step back. The dim lighting of the lamp made it more difficult. It was hard to see the pedals and buttons clearly. But they didn’t dare turn on more lights in case the main house noticed.

  “We can meet tomorrow night and the next. By the time we leave you’ll be a pro,” Kevra reassured her, and Evalene agreed.

  The next day, when it was time to clean the master bedroom suites, Evalene quietly locked the door when she reached Ruby
’s room. Ruby liked to try on dozens of outfits before deciding, leaving the discarded options strewn across the floor. A few extra minutes cleaning here should go unnoticed.

  Opening Ruby’s closet, Evalene stared into it, blinking, wondering where to start. It was the size of her entire room in the attic. Sorting through the tops, skirts, and dresses, the different accessories, and the shoes, she tried to pick quickly.

  Ruby wore sky blue as her main color, just like her father, although Evalene couldn’t understand how the woman had been Numbered Six when she didn’t seem to have a brain at all.

  Donning a top and a skirt, Evalene then pulled her own dress back on over them. The neckline of the brown dress was severely high compared to Ruby’s and the hemline much longer, so she wasn’t concerned about anything showing.

  She placed some accessories – leggings, boots, and a jacket – into the bag she’d brought. Leaning out one of the windows, Evalene searched the entire yard for any sign of movement, before carefully dropping the bag straight down.

  It dropped perfectly into the hole she had dug between the bushes last night. She hoped it was deep enough. Since it was below ground, no one should notice it. She would pick it up tonight after meeting Kevra. Tomorrow she would repeat the process once more with an outfit for Kevra.

  In a flurry of activity, Evalene raced around the room, putting everything back in its place, tidying up in half the time.

  When she got a chance to stop at her room later, she would remove the sky-blue layers underneath that felt like layers of white hot lies burning her skin. They would go in the hollow space under her loose floorboard, next to her most valuable possession, the blue scarf from Lola. The day after her Numbering she’d found it in her pocket, but instead of turning it in, she’d kept it, hidden. Now, after all these years, Lola’s gift would finally be worn.

  10

  Escape

  W HEN THE DAY ARRIVED, Evalene still didn’t feel ready. Holding her hand mirror in front of her, she tried on Ruby’s huge dark sunglasses. Thankfully, the borrowed frames covered her bruises completely. The black and blue around her eyes had faded to a sickly yellowish green, but they would still give her away if anyone noticed.