Eden (5 page)

It hadn’t mattered,
wondering if mankind could now live forever.  They were all
killed instead.

By month four,
ninety-eight percent of the world’s population had become infected,
not even human anymore.  More machine than man.  We,
mankind, were a dying race. 

Those that had survived
figured out real fast that you had to flee into the country. 
The world was plunged back into the dark ages anyway.

As the first hints of
light started to faze into the sky my replacement came, a man in
his early thirties named Tuck.  He seemed surprised to see me
instead of his comrade whom I had relieved.  I climbed down
from the tower with stiff legs and headed back toward the
tents.

I caught a glimpse of the
red-haired woman and the small child walking with Avian toward the
medical tent.   Just as I walked past it, Gabriel stepped
out of his tent.  He gave me a knowing look and walked with me
after Avian.  A few moments later I heard someone step out of
another tent and looked back to see West following behind us
silently.

The air in the medical
tent was sharp, smelling faintly of blood and stolen bleach. 
Victoria was already sitting on Avian’s table, pulling her skirt up
to her knee as Avian pulled on a pair of precious latex
gloves.  It was disheartening how something that had been so
mundane ten years ago had become so precious.

“
I trust you got some rest
last night?” Avian asked as he inspected her foot, the boy standing
close by.  The skin on her foot was swollen and red, puss
struggling to be let out.

“
Yes, thank you,” she
answered quietly, her expression uncomfortable, as if the thought
of a man touching any part of her body scandalized her.

Gabriel sat on one of the
stumps that served as a seat, his fingers scratching at his grayed
beard.  I could tell he was struggling for words, unsure of
what his actions were going to be.

“
What are your
intentions?” he finally asked, directing his question to
West.  I then noticed that West had been studying me with
narrowed eyes.  “What is your goal right now?”

“
Stay alive, just like all
of you,” West answered simply, his eyes shifting from my face to
Gabriel’s.

“
And where had you been
heading, when Eve found you?”

“
Just away from the
city.  We didn’t know if we would ever find anyone else. 
As far as we knew, our little group could be the only humans
left.  And then there were only three of us after we got
separated from our group.”

Gabriel considered his
words.  A strange feeling of emptiness filled me as I thought
about what he had said.  The thought of no one else being out
there felt like final defeat.  No wonder they had looked so
tired last night.  They’d had the weight of the world on their
shoulders.

“
We could use you,”
Gabriel said, having seemingly made up his mind.  “We’ve lost
someone recently; his absence will be felt, in more ways than
one.”  Avian’s eyes flickered toward Gabriel’s face for a
moment.  I didn’t miss the pain that filled them.  “We
invite you to stay with us, if you can be trusted.  We won’t
hesitate to dispose of you if we find otherwise.”

“
We won’t be trouble,”
Victoria said, her voice desperate.  “Please, we just want to
stop running.”

Our attention turned to
West.  Even though it hadn’t been stated, and even though
Victoria seemed to be the same age, he was obviously the one who
had taken care of everyone, the one who made the
decisions.

He simply
nodded.

“
I will have some of the
extra tents set up,” Gabriel said.  Avian looked relieved to
hear that he wouldn’t have to share his quarters again with a
stranger he didn’t know if he could trust.  “How does she look
Avian?”

He didn’t even look up as
he scrubbed at her skin, Victoria’s face looking pained.  “The
cut was bad.  It’s amazing you didn’t bleed to death. 
Even more amazing this infection hasn’t killed you.  But if we
keep it clean it should heal up fine.  I suggest she stay off
her feet for at least a few days.”

Gabriel nodded, looking
momentarily at the boy.  I knew it hurt him to see another
child.  Gabriel had lost a child to the infection in the
beginning.

“
You will go with Eve to
the fields this morning,” he said, taking his eyes away from Brady
and looking at West.  “This is important.  The gardens
keep us alive.  If he acts suspicious, if you fear any
betrayal from him, kill him, Eve.”

West glanced at me
briefly, his eyes slightly wide with surprise at Gabriel’s bold
words.  He then looked back at Gabriel and gave the smallest
nod of understanding.

“
Come on,” I said as I
went to the flap of the tent.  “I am already late.”  I
didn’t wait to see if he followed me as I headed in the direction
of the gardens.

He walked a few paces
behind me.  I listened for any sounds of wrong movement. 
I kept my hand on the knife that was fixed in my belt, ready to use
it on him if he tried to attack.  He only followed me, his
eyes taking the forest around us in.

“
How many are there here?”
he finally asked, his voice falling in short waves in the
trees.

“
Thirty-four,” I said
automatically.  “I mean, thirty-three.  There are
thirty-three of us in Eden.”  It felt like a rock had just
formed in my chest as the image of Tye’s lifeless metallic eye
staring at me came back.

“
And your leader, his name
is?”

“
He’s not exactly our
leader.  He didn’t ask to be one but we all trust him. 
His name is Gabriel.  And the other one is Avian.  He is
as close to a doctor as there is anymore.”

“
And your name is
Eve.”  It wasn’t a question.  “Where do you come from,
Eve?”

My stomach knotted up, my
hand gripped tighter on my knife.  “You ask a lot of
questions.”  His question felt more meaningful than it should
have.

“
I’m just trying to figure
things out.”

He didn’t say anything
else after that and I made sure I didn’t let him see my face. 
Everyone had come from somewhere in Eden.  I just didn’t know
where I had come from.  All I had were broken images from my
nightmares that didn’t link together, a shattered mirror that would
never be put together again.

We walked in hardened
silence the rest of the way to the gardens.  When we arrived
it felt as if every pair of eyes fell upon us, growing wide with
fear and curiosity.  I couldn’t raise my eyes to meet
theirs.  The attention made me want to run.  I had raised
myself to keep out of sight and in the shadows.

Pretending like we weren’t
being scrutinized, I led West to the storage shed and grabbed a
wheelbarrow.  “This way,” I said, keeping my voice and my gaze
down.

West was well aware of all
the looks he was getting but he didn’t hide from them like I
did.  He met their eyes, his face showing no emotion as he
followed me through the gate and down a path.  Despite the
questions that they were practically screaming with their eyes, no
one said a word as we passed.

We stopped in the western
field where hints of corn were starting to sprout.  Tufts of
green rose in perfect rows.  Spring brought hope every
year.  Every row echoed our victory over the infection,
against the Fallen.  We were still here.  While we were
still here there was still some form of hope.

I dropped to my hands and
knees and started on a row, picking out the rebellious weeds that
insisted in cropping up.  Seeing what I did, West dropped a
few rows away from me and started pulling too.

My hands worked swiftly
and with well-practiced precision but my eyes kept flickering to
West’s form.  His back was turned to me, his head bent low as
he worked dutifully.  He looked able to take care of
himself.  His frame was light but
well-muscled. 

His dark hair fell across
his eyes, left shaggy and long like the majority of the males in
the world.  It was difficult to cut hair without shaving it
completely off.  The only man in Eden who kept his hair short
was Avian, who shaved his head completely every other week or
so.

As I was tangled in my own
thoughts I suddenly realized that he had looked at me, his woodsy
eyes holding mine.  He had paused in his work, his hand a few
inches above the ground, holding a weed.  I felt frozen for a
moment, unable to look away.  Why did his eyes echo something
in the recesses of my mind, calling to a place in my memory I had
forgotten?

The small smile that
tugged on his lips was all I needed to snap back into
reality. 

“
How long have you been
here, Eve?” he asked, his eyes turning back to his task.  He
threw the weed in his hand into the wheelbarrow.

“
For as long as I can
remember,” I said simply.  I felt oddly disarmed, as if he had
tipped over a wall in me that I didn’t really realize was
there.  I didn’t really want that wall tipped.

“
Since before the fall?”
his voice sounded slightly surprised.

“
No, just after
it.”

“
How old are you?” he
asked, glancing up at me for a moment.

“
How old are you?” I
questioned back.  I didn’t like the questions.  I felt
like I didn’t have enough answers most of the time.

“
I turn nineteen in two
months.”

We were both quiet for a
few moments, only the soft sound of earth being
disturbed. 

“
I’m seventeen,” I said
quietly to the dirt.  “I think.”

“
You think?”

“
I think,” I said sharply,
making sure not to look into his face.

The sound of feet brought
my attention up.  Graye had moved into our field, keeping a
short distance away but watching us as we worked.

“
Who’s he?” West asked,
meeting Graye’s eyes for a moment.

“
Graye,” I answered. 
“He can have a temper.  Stay out of his way if you
can.”

West met Graye’s eyes
again for a second, holding them as if to test what I had just
said.

We said little else as we
finished our shift, dumping the full wheelbarrow of weeds into the
compost pile.  With the rest of the group, we walked back to
Eden.  Despite the whispers that flew through the group, no
one dared to ask about West’s presence.

I saw little of the
newcomers the rest of the afternoon.  They stayed close to
Gabriel’s side, getting settled in.  Word was spreading fast
about them, it would be impossible for it not to.  Emotions
were mixed.  Some were elated to have three new members come
into our family.  There was obvious excitement about
Brady.  There weren’t many children anymore.  Other’s
felt like I did, not sure if trust was to be automatically given
just because they were human.

The sun started to set, an
orange haze peppered with stars.  I sat on the hill that
protected Eden on the north side, watching as everyone went about
their evening routine.  Some made trips to the outhouses,
others to take an evening bath, some heading to bed early.  I
watched them, feeling a sense of pride for them yet feeling
disconnected and distant.  I was one of them but they didn’t
understand me and I didn’t really understand them.

I heard rubble being
disturbed on the trail that led to my spot and poked my head over
the ledge.  Avian climbed up over the rounded ledge, giving me
a half tight-lipped smile as he joined at my side.

The silence was
comfortable as we saw the fires being lit below us.  Trails of
smoke drifted into the sky before they faded into the darkening
light.  The sound of Avian’s breathing comforted me.  It
was so familiar.  If anything was home in this wreck of a
world it was Avian.

“
What do you think of
them?” I finally broke the silence, my eyes never leaving the tents
below us.  I picked West out, walking hesitantly to a
fire.  He didn’t sit to warm his hands, just stood back from
the group and watched.

“
I don’t know,” Avian
mused, watching.  The glow of the fires cast an orange haze to
his face that highlighted his sharp brow, the line of his cheek
bones.  “The woman and child seem harmless.  I don’t know
what to think of West though.  There’s something strange about
him.”

I nodded in
agreement.  West had history to him.  Some people were
just like that.  You just looked at them and could tell there
was a story behind their face.  “He’s keeping a
secret.”

“
Like what?” Avian
asked.

I shook my head. 
“I’m not sure.  He knows something.”

Avian was quiet, unsure of
what to say, echoing my own thoughts.  I didn’t like being
uncertain about people, especially when those people could end the
lives of the others around me.  All it would take was one
simple beacon to call out the Fallen.

“
Happy birthday, Eve,”
Avian said quietly.  He extended his hand out to me, a small
box in his palm.

A small smile tugged at my
lips.  “My birthday.”

It probably wasn’t my real
birthday.  Having no memory of anything when I came to Eden,
Sarah insisted we pick a day as my birthday.  Some date to
mark the years of my life as they passed.  I had no idea the
date had come.