The Watchers of Eden (The Watchers Trilogy, Book One)

by Edge, T. C.

  “Because I have to be,” he says. “It's part of my duty, as a trainer, to remain detached, to show no emotion. Not all Watchers are like me, Cyra.”

  “And Jackson dying, was that all a set up to teach me a lesson, to make me conquer that fear? Like how you let Amir break, just to show us how serious it is in the Grid? Do you not care about that at all?! Do you not care that I nearly broke too?!” My words grow louder as I speak, spitting out of my mouth like venom as tears build in my eyes.

  “Jackson's death was an accident, Cyra. He died several weeks ago. Your test was watching it, knowing that it was real for the first time. You failed that test. You haven't yet let go of that fear.”

  “And I won't have to now, will I!” I shout. “Because now he's dead, and you've got what you wanted. Now, there's nothing I fear!”

  I stand, my heart raging, and storm towards the door.

  “Stop,” come Ajax's voice behind me.

  I stop in the doorway and turn.

  “I'm sorry for his death, Cyra, I truly am. But there was nothing you, or anyone else, could have done. It was an unfortunate accident, nothing more.”

  I stare at him, a hatred building inside me. Not for him, not for anyone in particular. Just a burning hatred for the world, for Eden and everything in it.

  “What time do we start tomorrow?” I ask, as calmly as possible. Inside I feel dead and numb, like nothing matters any more.

  “Take a few days, Cyra,” he says. “Come back next week.”

  Then I turn and storm out, slamming the door behind me.

  Ellie finds me back in my room, having already gone down to the hospital to find that I'd absconded. When she knocks and comes in, I hastily drop my diary back down into the bag next to my bed and brush a tear from my eye.

  She asks me what happened, telling me that no one informed her as to why I'd blacked out. I give her the barest of details, finding it almost impossible to speak about it out loud. My eyes grow wet, but inside I feel paralysed, my heart and soul crushed into dust. An empty vessel, now shaped into a tool for Eden to use as it wishes. I guess that's what they wanted all along.

  She does most of the speaking, though. I think she can tell that I'm in no condition to go into any detail about what happened. She says that she was by my side, everyday, just like Anders was with Amir. Link would come too, on occasion, to lend his support. I see her welling up as she tells me how she thought I'd never wake up. How she thought I was broken beyond repair, just like Amir.

  She describes her own physical test and how she almost died herself, bitten by several snakes as she attempted to reach the anti-venom that would save her. She tells me, though, that she felt no fear as she did it. How those same snakes that used to haunt her dreams are now nothing to her.

  Apparently all the others passed their tests too, and for the last week they've moved onto a different type of training. Already, she says, Link is able to see slightly into the Void. Although she admits that she's made no discernible progress herself, nor has anyone else.

  I hardly say anything as she speaks, my mind still trying to catch up with everything that's happened, everything I've missed. When she leaves, I lie there, staring up towards the ceiling, my diary clutched tight to my chest. Soon Eve begins to darken the room, and I say nothing. I just let the light fade, slowly into the blackness, hoping that I never see the light again.

  I fall into strange dreams. I can now tell the difference between what's a dream and what's a vision. Dreams are more obscure, less clear. When you wake from one you know it's not real, just a manifestation in your mind. A vision is different. It's clearer, more intense. Somehow, when you wake from a vision, you know it's real. You can just feel it inside you, creeping closer as it threatens to become reality, repeating in your sleep night after night.

  That night, no visions come to me. Just dreams of everything I've lost. My mother strokes my head as I lie there, curled into a ball, crying until my eyes run dry. She whispers into my ear, telling me to be strong, that I'll get through all of this. Jackson joins her, and they stand side by side, drifting away from me, fading into the blackness.

  I wake with a start and sit up in my bed. The room has grown light already, the sound of the city waking up below, carrying on as it always does, day after day after day. Ellie comes to check on me before going to the Grid. She's so sweet like that, and it's nice to see that her sensitive side hasn't been beaten out of her. Maybe Ajax is right. Losing your fear doesn't make you cold and inhuman. It just strengthens you and gives you this confidence and resolve.

  Only my fear was different. My fear didn't involve moving past something restrictive, something unpleasant like snakes or fire or a fear of heights. My fear involved the death of everything I love. If anyone is going to grow cold and inhuman, it's me.

  I spend the day walking around the upper deck, which is always much quieter during the daytime. When the evening begins to dawn, I retreat to Surface Level 8, a place I feel most at home. I walk through passageways as they fill with workers having completed their duties for the day. Watch as they meet their husbands and wives and hug their children. Happy, despite having so little, to be together.

  People look at me as I pass, walking aimlessly across the level. But they don't stare like they do up on deck. They just look at me like I'm one of them. Another young girl, plucked from the mainland, lost and alone.

  Down a passageway I see a door ajar. Inside is an unused room, filled with nothing but a bed and a sink. It's not like my room, though. I can't just summon Eve to unfold the wardrobe, or order food to be delivered from a hole in the wall. No. I know, down here, that Eve doesn't exist. That this entire floor is filled with basic rooms like this one, and that rations are given out, just like back home.

  I step into the room and shut the door. Inside is a lock, which I turn up, shutting out the world. The bed is uncomfortable when I lie on it compared to my own. Yet it's what I want. It reminds me of home.

  Around me I can hear noises through the wall. A man speaking loudly to someone. A child's laughter. A baby crying. I close my eyes and imagine I'm back in the Block, my mother in the next room, Jackson a short walk away through town. I think of the Grove, of our meeting point at the old log in the middle. I think of how we used to laugh, how we'd hug when we parted, how it felt to have his strong arms wrap around me.

  I think of the night my mother died, of how all I wanted was to leave and never look back. Of the kiss Jackson gave me, his way of saying goodbye. I knew, then, that I'd probably never see him again. Now that fear has become reality, one that leaves me empty and hollow, as barren as the landscape he died on.

  I lie on that bed for hours. Soon, those hours become a day. Then two. I think of following my mother, following Jackson to the grave. Of letting my growing thirst overcome me. I wonder whether they're looking for me, how long it would take for them to find me. How worried Ellie must be, and perhaps Link too.

  But somehow, I don't care. I just lie there, wasting away, my mind consumed by thoughts of my past, thoughts of those I love. I have nothing now. Nothing to live for. Nothing to fight for. Everything in my world has been crushed and destroyed. I might as well follow.

  When the door is kicked open off its lock, I hardly even move or react. There's a heavy thud, and a crack as the lock is broken, and the door swings wildly open. I arch my neck up and see Ajax standing in the shadow of the doorway. He rushes towards me, eyes sunken with a mixture of anger and concern, and lifts my head with his hands.

  He stares into my flickering eyes and quickly rushes towards the sink, returning with his hands cupped with water. He pours some of the cool liquid down my throat and I feel immediate relief. Then he checks my body for injuries, running his eyes over me.

  “Are you hurt?” he asks.

  I shake my head. “How did you know I was here?” I croak.

  “I saw you,” he says. “Last night I saw you here, wasting away. What the hell are you playing at, Cyra?!”


  “A vision?” I ask.

  “Yes, a vision. Why are you doing this? You have everything to live for.”

  “I wasn't going to die here,” I say weakly. “I just needed time to myself.”

  “Time without eating or drinking. You were going to die, Cyra. I saw you.”

  “Well maybe you should have left me. What's the point in carrying on.”

  “The point is you have a gift and....a responsibility. Your life is too valuable to just give up. What about all the people you'll save? Don't they count? What about your friends here, Ellie and Link. Don't you care what they'd think?”

  I roll to my side so that he can't see the tear trickle down my cheek. I know he's right. I know I'm being selfish, that whatever has happened in my past, I do have an obligation to help people. I think of what my mother would say. How disappointed she'd be with me for giving in like this. What Jackson would tell me. To keep going, to fight through the pain and move on.

  I feel Ajax rolling me back over, his face softening at the sight of my tears.

  “Cyra,” he says, his voice quieter now, “I understand what you're going through. We all lose people we love, we all have to suffer change. You have to be strong right now. I'm not going to give up on you and I'm not going to let you self destruct like this.”

  He takes my hand in a rare moment of tenderness and squeezes it tight. “If ever you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you. If you need support, just ask for it, don't carry the entire burden yourself.”

  I lightly nod my head as tears start rolling. “I'm sorry about the other day,” I say. “I know its not your fault. None of this is your fault. It's just....hard. No one can understand what it's like, seeing the person you care about most dying every day, knowing they're now gone forever. I know it's stupid and I know I probably wouldn't have seen him ever again anyway but....I can't help how I feel.”

  “It's not stupid, Cyra. And you're wrong about no one being able to understand.” His eyes glint with a painful memory. “I understand.”

  “You lost someone?” I ask, searching his eyes.

  “My wife,” he says, “and my little girl.”

  I think of Ajax walking into the Grid, water rushing towards him. I think of seeing him the other day, drenched from head to toe. Every night he goes in there and relives something horrible, something horrific. He relives the deaths of his family.

  “They both drowned at sea,” he says. “I see it night after night now.”

  “But....why?”

  “Because it gives me my strength, helps me remember what I do this for. Every person I save, every recruit I train who goes on to save people, it makes it all worth it.”

  I sit up onto the bed, my head feeling light and dizzy. “You must think I'm so stupid,” I say, dipping my eyes down.

  Ajax lifts my chin. “Not one bit. You're strong, Cyra. You've been through more than any recruit I've ever had, and you're still here. I know it's hard, but you're here for a reason. Everyone has a destiny.”

  “If it's meant to be, it will be,” I whisper. “Do you truly believe that?”

  He nods. “Yes, but not in the way you think. I believe there's so much more to people than the roles they're given. People can do amazing things when you let them. I've seen it time and time again. This world we live in isn't fair, Cyra. It never has been, across history. But some of us are put here for an important reason, and you're one of them. That, I truly do believe.”

  “Thank you,” I say, “for coming here. For saving me.”

  “Don't mention it. Now come on, let's get you home.”

  Then he lifts me to my feet, wraps my arm over his shoulder, and supports me all the way back to my room on the deck.

  17 - The Void

  It's a week since my breakdown when I stand, facing forward, a busy street in front of me. I walk, not quite knowing what to expect, when suddenly I see a car rushing in my direction. It comes from around the corner, at a tremendous pace, people jumping out of the way as it hurtles right at me.

  I have no time to react. No time to move. I grimace and brace for impact, but it never comes. The car stops, suddenly, and fades in front of my eyes, only a foot or so away from me.

  The rest of the street fades as well, and I'm left looking at an empty hall. Or, part of it at least. The Grid has now become portioned off into four separate zones, broken up by clear partition walls. I see, in the zone ahead of me, Link rushing through a battlefield, being sprayed at by fake bullets. They hurt when they hit you – I've experienced that much already – but they can't do any serious harm. He dodges through them, similar to how Ajax did on our first day here, although one still manages to hit him. I can see he's not happy about it.

  I turn to the left, where Ellie and Larna are engaged in some sort of hand to hand combat. They look slightly awkward as they fight, their faces obscured by protective headgear, their hands locked inside padded gloves. But it's not their appearance that's odd. It's more their fighting style, which remains extremely amateur. Not that I can judge them much. I'm not exactly brilliant myself.

  At the far end of the hall in the final quarter, Theo stands with Lorna, Rupert and Kyle. They crouch behind a low barricade, various weapons lined up on the wall next to them, firing at targets that sprout from the ground and disappear just as quickly. That section is purely used for weapons training.

  Ajax walks towards me, shaking his head.

  “You're not concentrating hard enough, Cyra. I know you can do this. Link can do it, even Theo has his moments. And I know you'll be able to as well.”

  “It came out of nowhere! I had no idea that was even going to happen.”

  He sighs. “That's the entire point. If you knew it would happen, you wouldn't need to see it coming. You should know that car's going to come towards you before you even see it for real. Then, you'll have no trouble avoiding it. Go again, and this time, forget everything else that's going on in your head and focus.”

  He steps back and, once more, my section of the hall begins morphing in front of my eyes. This time, however, I'm not up on the busy streets above, but am in the woods, surrounded by thick green trees and heavy foliage. I begin walking, as before, trying to follow Ajax's advice.

  “It's all about personal survival. Some Watchers have an ability to sense danger to themselves before it occurs. Focus on your surroundings, on what dangers you might face. Concentrate, and you'll see it before it comes.”

  Ajax has always had a cryptic way of explaining things, and I sure don't understand what he's been telling me for the past week. I've been inside these simulations day after day, and have found myself getting battered and bruised each time. None of the others have had much success either, which makes me feel a bit better. Well, except Link, at least. He's already being shaped into a serious weapon.

  Because, in effect, that's what we all are. We're not only used to report on our visions. We're not only tasked with saving people from potential disasters. Some of us have other abilities that make us useful to the military as well. Those Watchers who can see into the Void make up a special military unit that, during times of war, can be called upon to fight.

  According to Ajax, that hasn't happened for some time, yet the contingency is always being prepared for. So, that's why we're having to go through weapons and combat training. That's what this part of the training is all about.

  I keep moving through the woods, listening for any unusual sounds or the sight of someone holding a gun in my direction. Yet there's nothing. Just the usual tweeting of birds and clicking of insects, the light swaying of the breeze as it brushes through the trees.

  I'm reminded of the Grove, and Jackson once more pops into my mind. He's there most days still, although I've been doing everything to keep myself busy and keep him out. I imagine him walking alongside me, talking as we used to. Then, I hear him whisper in my ear: “Watch out for the wolves.”

  I know it's happening before I hear or see them. It's hard to explain. They're th
ere, rushing towards me from all sides, but they're not really there. They appear more like ghosts, like apparitions, shooting out from the foliage. I react immediately, turning to the nearest tree and jumping up to grab a low hanging branch.

  I swing my legs up just as the growling starts and the wolves come bursting from the bushes, following right in behind their ghostly precursors. They pour forward, about a dozen or so of them, running up the bark and snapping at my feet. I'm just out of reach, but climb higher, my heart pounding hard, as they circle beneath me. Then, as quickly as it all started, they fade away, along with the woods around me. All that remains is me, and the tree I happen to be hiding in.

  Claps echo across the hall and I look over to see Ajax walking towards me, a smile cut across his face.

  “Now that's how to do it, Cyra. You can come down from the tree now.”

  I carefully drop to the floor and the tree disappears behind me.

  “I don't even know what happened,” I say, panting slightly. “They were like ghosts, followed in by their real bodies.”

  “That's exactly it. That's what it's all about. When you learn to control that ability, you'll see all dangers coming your way. In effect, you'll be able to defy death at every turn.”

  “Well, how often are you expecting me to be in such situations?” I ask. “Defying death is great and all, but I'd rather not tempt fate if at all possible.”

  “It depends, Cyra. If you're called upon, you might have to go to some very dangerous places.”

  “Right, that's great. I'd prefer I couldn't see into the Void if that's the case.”

  Ajax frowns and puts on his more serious voice. “Remember what I told you. This is a duty, it's not a privilege. You should feel honoured to have this ability. Not many Watchers do.”

  I still can't get past the thought that this is all just one big curse, but I don't say that to him. Link might embrace it all, might love the idea of being this protector of the people, but that's just not me. I'd rather a simple life somewhere. I wish most days, despite wanting to leave so desperately when my mother died, that I could just return to Agricola.