Revelations (The Elysium Chronicles)

by Souders, J. A.

  Across the way, another wall slams, effectively locking us, and at least a half a dozen bodies of goo, between them in a square approximately ten meters by ten meters, with no way out, and nowhere to hide.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CAUTION: THIS SECTOR UNDER QUARANTINE DUE TO BIOHAZARDOUS MATERIAL. TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED.

  —PAINTED ON SIGN NEXT TO THE TUBE

  Evie

  Gavin and Asher each take a turn shoving at the wall while I look for some kind of button or lever that’ll release it, but none of us are successful.

  “Way to go, Asher,” Gavin says between clenched teeth. He’s adopted that tense, ramrod-straight posture again. “Now either we’ve alerted Mother that we’re here, or she’ll find out when she sends someone to check out what’s going on.”

  “Me?” Asher says with a pinched laugh. “I’m not the one who shoved everyone in here! You’re the one who decided it would be the smart thing to run under a wall.”

  “I didn’t know there’d be another wall right behind it doing the same thing.” He throws his hands in the air, prowling along the wall. “I was hoping to get back to the stairs or elevator!” He glances over to me and I try to give him an encouraging smile, but I can’t hold it. I wrap my arms around myself instead.

  “Maybe she’ll just ignore it altogether,” Asher says. “It’s obvious this sector isn’t used anymore. She could think it’s a false alarm.”

  “Like that’s better?” Gavin’s voice sounds like he’s fighting back a scream. “Then we get to starve to death or suffocate. I’m not sure which is worse.” Gavin kicks the wall, even though that’s exactly what Asher did to get us in trouble. “I told you this was a bad idea. I told you guys not to come here, but no. Does anyone listen? Of course not!”

  I’m relieved when Gavin stops shouting and starts pacing. I thought for sure I would have to break them up again.

  Asher looks to the floor. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—”

  Gavin spins around to glare at Asher. “That’s exactly the problem, Asher. You didn’t think. You never think. You just do, and ask questions later.”

  “It’s better to beg forgiveness than ask permission,” Asher shoots back.

  “And screw anyone who happens to get hurt in the process, right? As long as Asher’s happy, no one else matters.”

  “That’s not true and you know it!” Asher practically yells. “This? All this? We’re only here because I was thinking of Evie. Because she needs to be here. I didn’t do this for me. I did this to help her.”

  “And this is helping her? We’re trapped. And we’re going to die! No matter what happens from this point out, that’s going be the end result because Mother is going to kill us. And Evie is going to get the worst of it because she betrayed Mother to help me.”

  I stop twisting my hands together to gape at Gavin. “I did what?”

  He winces. “You betrayed Mother. To get me home.” He rushes on, his sentences running together. “But it’s a good thing, because she was going to turn you into breeding stock, and there were those murders, and she was going to kill you eventually. I’m sure of it. You were much safer up there.” He goes back to glaring at Asher. “Until someone decided to bring you back.”

  “I was trying to help her,” Asher starts.

  “You weren’t planning on helping her! You were planning on using her. Like you do with everyone.”

  I shake my head. “You don’t know that.”

  “Yes I do! I know him more than you ever could. And I know for a fact that he’s just using you.”

  Asher butts in, face flaming. “When are you going to realize what happened was an accident? A horrible mistake. My mistake. I trusted someone I shouldn’t have. He’s a liar and a cheat. He gets people to trust him, only to turn around and not only stab them in the back, but take away the people most important to them. I lost my best friend because of it. Because in trying to help him and his family, I ended up betraying them, and not a day goes by that I don’t regret it. And you want to know something else? The reason I was even helping you and Evie in the first place was because I was trying to make up for what I did to you.”

  “That’s a lie,” Gavin says, but he doesn’t sound convinced. “You’ve said numerous times that you weren’t doing this for me.”

  “For pity’s sake, Gavin! I couldn’t exactly admit I was doing this for you or you’d never have let me. You’re as stubborn as a damn mule and have never taken help from anyone. I knew that the only way I was going to be able to prove anything to you was to take care of your girl. You’d have to be blind not to see how much she means to you and I knew you’d do anything, including letting me help you, to help her.”

  I gape at Asher, shocked. He’s standing with his fists clenched at his sides, his whole body shakes with indignation and anger. I want so badly to ask what exactly happened. It’s not hard to see it was bad—bad enough to split up two best friends—and my heart breaks for the both of them, but I don’t know what to say. I wouldn’t even know where to start.

  Gavin doesn’t say anything either, but at least his anger has left him. Instead, he looks thunderstruck. He lowers himself to the ground, staring off into space. Asher watches him for a few minutes, but when Gavin doesn’t seem intent on saying anything to anyone, Asher turns back to me.

  “So,” he says as if he hadn’t just been yelling at Gavin for the last few minutes, “what do you think that stuff is?” He points to the closest “body.”

  I watch Gavin a second more before turning to Asher. “I don’t know. Maybe it was something they used to clean up the deceased Gavin said were here. They are in the shapes of bodies.”

  “But why did it try to eat my foot?”

  “Maybe it likes the taste of chicken,” Gavin mutters.

  I have to stifle a laugh, but Asher ignores him completely.

  “Hmm.” Asher tilts his head as he focuses his attention on the green sludge. Eventually, he stands and leans over it, then kneels next to it. He rubs his hand against the floor, picks up a handful of debris and starts throwing it into the puddle.

  Even from here I can see it suck up the pieces like a sponge.

  “Hmm,” he says again, then looks around.

  “What are you looking for?” I ask.

  “Something else to throw in it.”

  “Why?”

  “Got any other plans to keep busy?”

  I shake my head.

  “Well, then, this is as good as any.”

  Since he’s got a point, I dig into my pockets to see if I have anything hiding in there. I come up with a pen, a couple scraps of very wet paper, and a paper clip.

  Asher takes the items. One by one he throws them in, only to have them get sucked up. Which is odd, because the muck can’t be more than half a centimeter thick. The pen, at least, should be touching the floor and still visible. Instead the puddle looks completely unchanged. It seems to have eaten the items, just like the other mass ate Asher’s shoe.

  “I guess they’re not coming,” Gavin says when we run out of things to throw. “It’s been a while. I’m sure if they were going to come, they’d have been here by now.”

  “I don’t know whether to gloat, or be upset that I was right,” Asher says, worry clouding his face.

  What was it the computer said about being arrested until surface police get here? Asher’s focused on me, but it’s Gavin who answers.

  “I think it’s a holdover from when this was a resort. The journals Evie found made it really clear her dad had built this whole complex as a rich man’s playground. It was never meant to be a self-sufficient city. Not until Mother killed him and turned it into one.

  “She killed her own dad?” Asher asks. “That’s sick.”

  Gavin presses his lips together and nods, not saying anything.

  I decide I don’t want to continue this conversation and step closer to the green stuff.

  I step as close to the goo as I can without getti
ng a foot full of whatever it is.

  Just as I squat down to look closer at it, the whole puddle lurches toward me. Screaming, I fall back onto my butt at the same time Gavin and Asher shout, “Whoa!”

  Asher, the closest to me, yanks me away, shoving me behind him. I peer around his shoulder.

  “What was that?” Asher asks.

  But Gavin doesn’t get a chance to respond before it moves again, its arm stretching toward Asher and me.

  All three of us run to the other wall, as far away from it as possible, but it doesn’t do anything else.

  “What the hell was that?” Gavin asks.

  Asher shrugs. “I have no clue. I have never seen anything like that before.”

  They both turn toward me. “Evie?” Gavin asks.

  I shake my head rapidly. “How should I know? I don’t remember seeing anything like that. I don’t remember anything, remember?”

  Gavin steps up to it again, but when he apparently gets too close, its arm lunges at him again and he jumps back with a yelp.

  “Okay, I take it back,” Gavin says. “Mother isn’t going to kill us. That thing is.”

  Asher and I both nod, our eyes wide as the arms of several of the piles slide slowly across the floor toward us. But before we can do more than think about reacting, the walls start to rise. The three of us exchange a terrified look. It appears Gavin was wrong again. Mother did come, and she is going to kill us.

  Asher slides underneath the still rising walls and pulls me toward the stairwell with Gavin close on our heels, but before we can get there, a male voice yells, “Stop! Don’t move any further.”

  We keep running, but the voice yells, “Evelyn! Gavin! Wait! Please.”

  Both Asher and I stop in our tracks and Gavin plows into the back of us. “What are you waiting for? Come on!”

  “He knows your names,” Asher says. His face is crumpled into a look of confusion and I’m pretty sure he feels the same warring emotions of fear and curiosity as I do.

  “So … we were here before, it’s not surprising,” Gavin says, tugging on my arm.

  I start to turn away, to listen to Gavin, but the voice shouts again. “I’m not here to hurt you. I promise. I know you don’t trust me, but I promise I’m really here to help you.”

  I’m not sure why I turn around, but when I do there’s an older man with blond hair streaked with gray coming toward us. He appears to be in his sixties or seventies, but he carries himself as if he’s younger. He looks … familiar.

  “Who—who are you?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.

  “Don’t you remember me, Evelyn?” the man asks. I shake my head and he sighs. “It’s me. Father,” he says with a smile.

  I exchange a look with Gavin, who purses his lips and says, “Father is Coupled with Mother. He’s the second-in-command, which means he’s lying about not turning us in.”

  But Asher steps forward, his eyes narrowed. “Eli?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Due to the recent infiltration of a Surface Dweller and subsequent kidnapping of my daughter, Elysium is now under a mandatory curfew. All Citizens, minus those designated by Mother, must be in their residences no later than 8:00pm. All doors will be locked and will be checked nightly. Anyone with their door unlocked or caught outside their residences will be persecuted to the full extent of the law. We understand that this is an inconvenience and appreciate your cooperation.

  —LETTER SENT TO ALL RESIDENTS OF ELYSIUM

  Evie

  My mind instantly goes back to the picture Asher’s grandmother showed us and I realize why the man looks so familiar. He’s one of the men from the picture. The one that was closest to Asher’s grandmother. Asher’s right. It is Eli. A huge weight lifts from my shoulders as I realize we actually found the man we were sent here to find. And he’s alive! Now to see if he can actually do what Asher’s grandmother thinks he can and help me get my memories back.

  Eli, who’s been staring at me, turns his full attention to Asher. “Yes. Yes, but that is not a name I’ve heard in a long, long time.”

  “But … you’re dead!” Gavin bursts out. “We saw the video. We read the journals. Eli was trying to escape, but he was betrayed by someone and Mother killed anyone who tried to escape. She killed Eli. You can’t be him.”

  Eli raises an eyebrow. “Well, she tried anyway,” he says, but before Gavin can argue further, Eli turns his attention back to Asher. “Who are you and how do you know who I am?”

  “I’m Asher St. James. My grandmother—Lenore Allen—sent us here to ask you for help.”

  Eli stares at Asher for a long time. There are so many emotions flickering across his face you can’t even make one out before another is flashing into place.

  Finally, he steps forward, bypassing the green goo, which has stopped moving as if it never had started. His eyes are focused completely on Asher, who shifts as if uncomfortable. When Eli gets within touching distance, he stops and tilts his head this way, then that, studying.

  Gavin and I exchange a look. A smile slowly spreads across Eli’s lips. There is definitely sadness in his expression, but relief as well.

  “You have her eyes,” he says after a minute. He presses his lips together and I think for a minute he’s going to say something or do something else, but then he shakes his head. “No time for regrets.”

  Eli catches the look Asher sends me and raises his brow at Gavin, who only stares back at him, distrust clear on his face. Then Eli turns his attention to me. And this time, I can make out the emotions running over his face. Relief, happiness, and, finally, sadness. Gavin slides his hand into mine and squeezes. I squeeze back to let him know I’m fine.

  It’s not exactly true. My head feels like it could explode at any moment from all the stress, but he doesn’t need to know it.

  Eli reaches out toward me and both Asher and Gavin shout and block his advance. Gavin draws his gun and Eli puts his hands up, palms out.

  “I just wanted to touch the necklace.” He keeps his eyes steady on mine. “I meant no harm. I can’t believe you still have it. I meant no harm.”

  Gavin jerks his head around to face me and there’s understanding in his eyes. He lowers the gun and steps back. “You’re the one who gave it to her?” he asks.

  Eli hesitates for a moment, lowering his hands to let them hang at his sides before saying, “No, not I. Her mother … her real mother. But I gave … I’m pleased to see she kept it.”

  He’s not telling us everything. I don’t know how I know, but I know. From the expression on Gavin’s face, I can see he’s thinking the same thing.

  “But the scents? You’re the one who gave her the perfume bottles, right? You’re the one who helped her every time she got her memories erased?”

  Asher jerks his head around and narrows his eyes at Gavin, even as I watch Eli and Gavin wide-eyed. I had my memories erased before? This isn’t the first time? Why didn’t Gavin tell me? If it happened before and there was a cure, why didn’t we come to Elysium earlier?

  Eli nods. “Yes. I did what I could at the time. Even if it wasn’t nearly enough.”

  “But now you’re here to actually help us?” Asher asks, his face scrunched up in confusion.

  Eli looks around. “Yes, but not here. There’s a place in the Residential Sector that I can take you to. I assure you, it’s safe. Then you can tell me what you need help with.” He turns to me with a smile. “There’s someone there who really misses you and wants to see you again.”

  “Oh no,” Gavin says, and all of us turn to him. He crosses his arms across his chest. “We’re not going anywhere. We came to find you and you’re here, so you need to help us now, so we can back to the Surface.”

  Asher nods, agreeing with Gavin for once, but I ignore it and ask, “Who’s waiting for me?”

  Both boys turn to me. “Evie…,” they warn, but I ignore them.

  “Who?” I demand.

  Eli takes a deep breath. “Your mother. Your real mother,” h
e says, quietly.

  My heart trips in my chest and I raise a hand to my necklace again, trying to remember something about the woman who birthed me, but nothing comes. Not even the tiniest of memories.

  But … I do feel something. And I want nothing more than to meet this woman.

  I open my mouth to tell him we’ll go, but Gavin interrupts. “Nice try, but no. We came to get her memories back. That’s it, and then we’re gone.”

  Eli turns toward me, his eyes really focusing on me again. “You lost your memories?” I nod. “What happened?

  I don’t think Gavin will tell him anything—after all, he was dead set that coming to this place was the wrong idea—but he surprises me. “I don’t know. She was having issues when we left. Small things. Like how to work the Slate, and where things were. But it wasn’t until we got to the Surface that I realized she’d forgotten everything.” He looks at the ground. “Including me.”

  “It’s the nanos,” Asher shoves in. “Grandma said that you and she developed the nanos, but they’ve changed. She couldn’t help Evie, but she was sure you could.”

  Eli’s face darkens. “They’ve changed all right. After all, we couldn’t have our little prize giving anything away, could we?” he mutters.

  Gavin and Asher exchange a look. “Huh?” Asher asks.

  Eli shakes his head. “Nothing. Never mind. I can help her, but not here. She needs to come with me.”

  Gavin raises the gun and aims it at Eli. “I’m not sure if you’re hard of hearing or just dumb, but she’s. Not. Going. With you. Whatever you need to do, you can do it here.”

  Eli shakes his head. “You don’t understand. What needs to be done is … quite complicated. I can’t do it here. Believe me, if I could, I would. It’s going to be hard enough as it is.” He looks at me. “I promise you I won’t let anything happen to you. I can help you, but you have to come with me.”

  Gavin is about to say something, but I know it’s another argument, so I start talking before he can. “The nanos? Are they what’s making me forget everything?”