Eve awoke to a rough floor under her. She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

“Where am I?”

The place around her was strange. Hospital white walls surrounded her as she sat up. She threw the one and only blanket off her and sat up. Her heart started to race, her mind reeling.

“Peter?” she whispered. She knew she was alone in the strange room but she felt like she wasn’t at the same time. “Is anyone there?”

She heard a shuffle coming from the direction of the door. She stood up cautiously and stepped quietly over to it. She turned the cold metal door handle and pulled the door open a slight bit, expecting it to be locked.

“Sorry, ma’am, what do you need?” a voice reached her ears, causing her to jump.

“Who are you? Where am I?” her first instinct was to materialize a knife of some protection but something told her she would regret it.

“I’m your guard. You need to stay in your room till further notice,” he told her. He reached for the door handle and pulled the door shut.

“Why am I here?” she screamed at the door, pounding on it with her fists.

“I’m tired of this. Never having a place that I can depend on. Never having anyone that stays with me. I’m. Just. So. Sick. And. Tired. Of. It!” The words exploded out of her mouth.

Eve’s mind was still a raging mess. Thoughts ran through it like never before. Possibilities swam around that scared fish and the stress she was feeling was just so heavy.

She screamed, hoping no one could hear her outside the door. She flexed her hands, trying to will anything, anything, a mallet, a hammer, anything, to her hands. The only response she got was a sharp cold stab in the wrist. Her fingers pried at the metal wrist band but her efforts where only met with more stabbing of the prongs and blood.

Eve collapsed to her knees, tears streaming down her face. In a rush, it all came back to her. Water, morphing, Peter, Max, Drew, Aswynn, all of it, came crashing into her mind. A cry escaped her lips as she realised what she’d gone through and the things she’d done.

“Get use to it, Eve,” she told herself, standing up. “It’s your life now.”

*****

Peter slid down the cold brick wall. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. The six sleeping figures around him reminded that he was the leader. Again. He had to make some choices that he knew he would regret.

“The struggle is real, Eve,” he laughed. His eyes still closed, he listened to the extra heart beat in his ear- Eve’s. At least she was still alive.

A figure stirred next to him so he opened his eyes. They tossed and turned for a moment and then found a comfortable spot and settled in. He looked at the others around him. Three boys and three girls. They were his little group he had to lead safely back to the Resistance.

He leaned his head back up against the wall and once again closed his eyes. He let his mind wander and eventually he fell off into a cold sleep.

People swarmed around him, a few here and there bumped into him but he didn’t notice. His attention was focused on one girl standing about fifteen feet in front of him. She had long black hair and her body was shaking with sobs. She was standing with her back to him, her hair flowing in the soft breeze. Melted colors ran around her outline. She turned around slowly, the feeling of Peter’s eyes on her catching her attention. She looked at him, confusion written on her face. Her eyes looked tired and scared.

“Eve.” Peter couldn’t resist saying it. He repeated it only louder.

She shook her head. “I don’t know you.” He couldn’t hear her over the hustle of the people around them but he could read her lips.

“I’m Peter!” he pointed at himself. “Your friend? Do you remember me?”

His throat began to hurt as tears rose in his eyes. “Please.”

“I don’t know you. I don’t know you.” Eve continued to chant the words over again, slowly fading farther and farther away from him.

“Hey.” Peter was being shaken awake by a girl.

“Wha…” he opened his eyes. “What?”

“You were getting pretty agitated in your sleep. You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. Thanks, Raven,” he said, sitting up straighter.

“It’s Sparrow. Raven and Robin are my sisters,” she laughed quietly.

“Right. You’re all identical triplets which just makes it soooo easy on me,” he laughed also.

“What were you dreaming about?” she asked, settling in next to him. “Figured I’d ask since you woke me up.”

“Sorry about that. The dream was about a friend. A friend who…. I don’t know if I’ll ever see again,” he sighed and looked down at his hands.

“What’s her name?” Sparrow asked, flicking a strand of dirt brown hair out of her face.

“How’d ya know it’s a her?” he asked, a little shook.

“Trust me, I might have two other sisters but I know when a guy’s hung up on a girl. If it was just one of their bros, they’d be sad but they’d also be chill with it,” she shrugged.

“Unless it’s a really emotional boy.”

“Her names Eve,” he answered. “We were close. Not like that but more in a brother/sister way. TRAKKER’s got her and I have no clue what they might do to her. As it is, they’ve already released all the Subjects into the public so that should be,” he hesitated. “Fun.”

“We’re here for ya, dude,” she smiled. “That might not be as big as a comfort as I thought it be when I was thinking about it but whatever.”

“That happens.” Peter nodded. “This is certainly going to be interesting!”

WOW! I can’t believe it!!! I’m writing the second book already? It feels like I started the first one just yesterday. Obviously, I have to go back and change a few things but I will let you know what they are! Thanks for reading and sticking with me through this awesome and amazing journey. -Famewriter

The door behind Eve opened and she stood up slowly. “Does her majesty want me?”

Her eyes landed on an African-American guard at the door. He held it open, a gun in the other hand. His name tag said his name was Zion. He was of middle height with a buzz cut.

“Yeah, but I’d advise that you don’t use the sarcasm on her, Eve. She will make you regret it.”

“She can try all she wants.” Eve shrugged. She ran a hand through her hair letting it flip to the otherside. “Let’s go see the Wicked Witch of the West.”

“I already told you….’ he didn’t finished.

“Yeah, I know. ‘Don’t use the sarcasm on her.’” Eve rolled her eyes. “I’m not completely stupid.”

“Let’s go.” Eve followed him out the door and down the hallway, her arms folded over her chest the whole time.

Guards hustled and bustled around them, scientists in white lab coats bumped into them as they hurried to their tests. Probably a new batch of Subjects that they were going to release.

“How’d you get this job, Zion,” Eve asked as they road up the elevator. The glass walls allowed them to see what was going on outside on the bottom levels.

“Chance and pure luck,” he answered.

“There is no such thing as luck,” she said. “I thought it was just luck that I got dragged into this whole mess and then I find out that no, it’s because the psychopath that heads this up is my aunt.”

“Your Professor Aswynn’s niece?” he asked, obviously making it clear that he didn’t want to talk. “That’s nice.”

Eve rolled her eyes and waited for the whole thing to be over with. The doors made a ding and opened and they stepped out. Zion led while Eve followed.

“Pure luck,” he shrugged.

“There’s no such thing as pure luck,” she said partially to herself. “I thought that getting into this mess was pure luck but then I find out that my aunt, the psychopath leading this whole stupid operation, had planned it all along. Fun times.”

“That’s nice,” he said woodenly. He didn’t want to talk to her. That was fine, she didn’t want to talk to him either.

The doors binged as they arrived at the correct floor. Stepping outside, Zion led the way down the hall to Aswynn’s office. As they neared, Eve could hear shouting and yelling. She stopped before she opened the door.

“FINE!” it was a boy’s voice. “I’ll do it. Just leave me alone!”

The door yanked open and the boy jumped when he saw Eve.

“The devil’s real, huh?” she asked sarcastically. Recovering from his scare he brushed past her and stomped down the hall. Eve shrugged and pushed the door open.

“Hello, Eve,” Aswynn looked stressed but still sugarcoated her voice. “Did you sleep well?”

“Nope,” she answered simply.

“Too bad. Tell me, do you love your friends?” she asked.

“Who are my friends?” Eve asked innocently.

“Don’t act dumb with me, child.” the smile was gone now. “You know who I’m talking about.”

“No, I don’t.” she crossed her arms over her chest and sat down in one of the chairs. “I don’t have friends. I only have one big family and you’re not in it.”

“Since your so blind, let me spell it out for you.” Aswynn’s voice was threatening.

“Anyone you love, I have the ability to kill. And I will if you don’t do as I ask.”

“Why would you do that?” Eve was angry.

Please don’t let her have Peter, God. Eve silently prayed.

“Because,” Aswynn drew it out. “You love Peter, Max, Dee, Drew, all those little want-

to-be heroes. If you don’t comply, they die.”

They sat in silence. Eve didn’t want TRAKKER to win but she also didn’t want the others to suffer because of it.

“Why do you even try, Eve?” Aswynn asked, folding her arms on her desk. “Why do you try to stop us? You’re a bunch of teens who are fighting against the most powerful corporation on earth.”

“Why do you breath?” Eve asked annoyed.

“It’s part of life. I need air to live,” she was confused.

“Exactly. Before I die, I can at least try to live a little longer,” she said.

“Are you going to cooperate with us?” Aswynn asked.

Eve swallowed. “Yes.”

The word was short, soft. It was a sign of defeat but it was also the beginning of a war.

“Good. We’ll talk after you take a shower. You smell very bad,” Aswynn commanded.

“That is what happens when you’re on the run for over a month,” she shrugged.

Eve felt the cold iron of the bracelets on her wrist. “Take these off.”

“Why should I?” Aswynn challenged.

“I already told you I’d cooperate. Besides, you might need these powers one day,” she pointed out.

“I’ll take them off but the moment you hurt someone with your power, they’re going back on.” she reached forward and touched the side of the bracelets. They glowed green

and then unlocked, falling onto the desk with a satisfying sound. As they fell off though, they took little strips of skin that had been stuck to them with dried blood. She sucked in a breath between her clenched teeth as they tore away. Eve’s wrists were a bloody mess and they stung terribly. “Thank you.”

She turned and walked out the door with Zion leading the way to the showers.

As they walked down the strange corridors, questions bombarded Eve’s mind but she chose to only ask one. “That boy I ran into on the way into Aswynn’s office, who is he?”

“Her son,” Zion answered shortly.

“And his name?” she pressed.

“Brodie.” It was obvious he didn’t want to say anything more about the subject but he did. “You’ll meet him later.”

Up ahead was a door marked showers. Eve pushed it open and stepped inside, taking in the sight. It was a nice sized room with about ten shower cubes in it. Shower curtains separated the cubes. It had a tile floor with the word TRAKKER right in the middle of the floor.

“Nice little touch of personality,” she murmured as she walked to the far shower stall. She stepped inside one of the changing rooms and started to undress.

“How long has it been since I last had a shower?” she thought. Dirt clung to her legs and there were was an obvious difference from where her clothes had and had not been.

“At the hotel but that seemed like years ago,” she answered. “And then we went back to the Resistance, we waded through the sewers of New York, and then I slaughtered a few pigs and ended up here.”

She closed the shower curtain behind her and switched on the water. It was freezing cold at first but Eve got used to it. As the water poured over her tired body, her muscles relaxed and her mind was finally peaceful. She felt the blood wash off her back and arms and slide down her legs into the drain. She felt as the water washed the dirt away revealing the real Eve, the one that hadn’t seen the light in a long time. She took a moment to rejuvenate and then she stepped out, completely clean, and got changed into the crisp TRAKKER uniform that had been hung on the door for her.

“You know, you could make these more comfortable,” she told Zion as they walked back to Aswynn’s office. “You’d get better feedback from your employees.”

He said nothing but rather walked on in silence.

Eve was sitting in the dark grey chair in front of Aswynn’s desk, her wet hair dripping onto the carpet behind her. “So…. what do I do now?’

“I’m going to give you your assignment and I want you to meet you second in command,” Aswynn said, handing her a file. “Your assignment is to head up our Salvation

Team, which will be named the Converts. You will train them on how to survive and fine tune their powers. You will also help me with the meetings that are sure to come. The governments from every nation will be wanting to talk to me and I’ll need your help handling the questions.”

“And why me?” Eve asked.

“Because you’ve experienced it all first hand,” she answered. “I’ll give you more details after you meet Brodie, your second in command. Zion will show you the way.”

“I don’t know, Zion’s not the most talkative,” she looked over her shoulder at him skeptically.

“He’s your guard, not an entourage.” Aswynn corrected her.

“Whatever,” Eve said as she stood up. “Come on Zi, let’s go meet Brodie Boy.”

Nothing like a good shower to make you feel better. Lol

Peter sat up, the kink in his shoulders and neck prodding him to find a more comfortable position to sleep in. As he settled down with his face up against the cold cobblestone, his mind registered where he was. He shot to a standing position and surveyed the area around him. A few people walked around, purses and briefcases tucked securely under their arms. They didn’t pay any attention to the six sleeping forms around Peter as they bustled about with their own business.

He squatted down and shook the sleeping girl next to him awake. “Sparrow?”

“What?” she asked sitting up. She flipped her hair out of her face.

“Can you wake the others up, I gotta find something to eat or we’re all going to die,” he said.

“Hold it, man,” she stood up, stopping him. “I have more experience in the food situation so why don’t you wake the others up and I’ll go do the other thing, ’kay?”

“Um, sure?” he wasn’t sure if she wanted to get out of waking the others up or if she really knew what she was doing. He shrugged it off as she crept out of the alleyway.

“Hey, wake up,” he patted one of the boys on the back, trying to wake him up gently. “Get up.”

The boy said something inaudible and rolled over the other way, away from Peter.

Peter tried many more times but to no avail. “Now I see why Sparrow wanted to get the food. It’s a lot easier than this!”

He tried one more time with one of the triplets and got her to wake up. “Oh bless God one of you is up.” he laughed, helping her stand up.

“Where’s Sparrow?” she immediately asked.

“She went to get food and I was supposed to wake you guys up, but….” he didn’t have to finish the sentence, it was obvious what was going on.

“Just kick ’em,” she advised.

“I can’t kick them!” he was taken aback by her advice. “Why would I do that?”

“Look, to wake up those three boys, you’re going to have to kick them. And Robin, well,

we all know she loves her sleep,” she shrugged. “If you won’t do it, I will.”

“I don’t want to kick a girl, so you go ahead. She’s your sister anyway,” he said begrudgingly.

He stepped over the sleeping girl to get to the far boy. He kicked him swiftly in the back, causing the boy to wake up screaming and yelling like a little girl.

“Kaywan, shut it or you’ll get everyone calling the police on us,” Raven snapped, kicking Robin in the ribs at the same time. Unlike Kaywan though, she just sat up quietly and looked around.

“Why was he screaming?” she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Peter kicked him in the back,” Raven answered, moving on to one of the boys.

“I’m used to it by now,” she said. She continued when she saw Peter’s confused face.

“Getting kicked in the back, that is.”

“Ahh,” he nodded.

All the boys were awake now and sitting up, waiting for Sparrow to get back with something to eat. Moments later, she came sliding into the alleyway, a McDonald’s bag in hand.

“Sorry it took so long,” she apologized, out of breath. “I had to snitch some money from this business guy and then I had to get out of there really fast before he figured out who took it and then I had to go to McDonald’s and get the food and then get back here. I got to walk through the drive-thru which was really savage.”

“You can scratch that off your bucket list now,” Kaywan said sarcastically.

“Believe it or not, it was number two. Number one is getting to use a fire extinguisher. Those just look like they’d be so much fun.” she handed the bag to Peter and sat down with the rest.

Opening it, he looked inside. Ten sandwiches.

“Ten? How much money did you snitch off that guy?” he was flabbergasted.

“I can’t just take five dollars out of his wallet and nothing else without him noticing! You gotta take it all unless you’re like, really talented!” she covered for herself.

“Something tells me you’ve done this many times before now,” he shook his head. He reached inside and threw one to each person. “Enjoy. This might be our last meal.”

“Thanks, that adds such a wonderful touch of joy to the situation,” one of the boys remarked.

“Hey, dude,” Sparrow called to Peter. “As the leader, aren’t you supposed to be more, I don’t know, encouraging?”

“Okay,” he said, fed up. “Eat up me hearty mates for this may be the last McDonald’s ye eat in a while!”

“Were you trying to be a pirate or a British person?” Robin asked.

“Uh, see this is what I get when I try,” he said, looking at Sparrow.

“Whatever,” she shrugged, biting into her food. “Be a morbid person. It suits you well.”

Peter shook his head and sat down to eat. “Thanks, Sparrow, for the food.”

“Yup,” she answered, mouth full. “Anytime.”

Zion led Eve down another hallway which looked exactly like the one they’d just come from. Up ahead was a pair of swinging doors. The guards on either side opened them at Zion’s signal.

They stopped once they were inside the door. It was a cafeteria of sorts, grey walls, grey tables and chairs, grey everything.

These people sure love their grey. Eve thought to herself.

“There he is,” Zion pointed over to the other side of the cafeteria where a boy was sitting all by himself. It was the same boy that Eve had run into earlier only now he didn’t look so mad. His face was buried in his hands, the tray of food pushed off to the side.

“He looks sad,” she noted.

“Probably just upset he’s second in command and not first. Go talk to him.” Zion gave her a nudge on the back with the butt of his gun.

“Hey, watch it!” she warned him.

She wove her way through the aisles of tables and chairs and was soon standing across from the boy. At the sound of the chair being pulled out, he looked up at her, recognition flashing on his face.

“Hey,” he said softly. He had a mid-fade buzz cut on the sides, long on the top, and falling into his face -- along with dark eyes with specks of green and blue in them. His hair was a sort of brown with blonde highlights.

“Hey,” she sat down and leaned back in the chair. “Brodie, right?”

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“Well, you’re certainly a man of few words,” she remarked.

“Just wait till I get used to having you around. I’m always being told I talk too much,” he gave a little laugh. “And you are….?”

“Eve.” she extended her hand and he shook it. “Nice to meet you.”

"Same.”

They sat in silence, not sure what to do.

How long has it been since I’ve actually had to introduce myself to someone? Normally, I just go up to them and tell them who I am and what I need to be done, but this is different. I can’t really rush into it. She thought to herself. Just be straight forward! Why am I getting nervous about this?

“Okay, so this is awkward so I’m just—gonna, go over there,” she pushed her seat back and went to stand up, but Brodie grabbed her arm.

“What all do you know?” he asked. He motioned for her to sit down. “About this assignment.”

“Um, nothing. I was hoping you’d know some stuff,” she answered.

“Well, I don’t. My mom dragged me into this whole thing. I didn’t want to do this, but she said it was important,” he dropped his head again.

“Your mom?” she asked tentatively.

“Yeah,” he looked at her like she had just asked a stupid question. “I’m Brodie Pritchett, Aswynn Pritchett’s son.”

“Nope. No. I’m sorry, but I can’t. No.” she stood up again, yanking away from him when he tried to pull her back down. “You’re the son of the psychopath who has single-handedly killed almost every single one of my friends. Why should you be any different?”

“Who said I was like her?” he asked.

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” she glared at him.

“Eve. Please. If we don’t make this work, it’ll be bad for us all,” he looked at her, waiting for her response.

She thought for a moment and then leaned down until she was only a few inches away from his face. “I don’t care about the threats your mom makes, I only care about the safety of my friends.”

“So you’ll talk to me?” he asked.

“Maybe,” she looked around. “Just a quick question. This is a cafeteria, right? So do they have those little ice cream cups? It’s been forever since I’ve had ice cream.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little off topic?” he asked.

“Just answer me,” she growled.

If he’s gonna be second in command, he needs to get used to taking orders and such from me. She tried to justify her actions. Okay, so maybe I just like to boss people around.

“Yeah, they do,” he answered.

“Good, I’ll be right back,” she walked away.

Shucks, Brodie thought. This is going to be way harder than Mom said.

“Want some?” Eve asked when she sat down. She had five of the little cups of ice cream.

Three chocolate and two vanilla.

“Can I have a chocolate?” he asked, reaching forward.

“No sir, you cannot!” she smacked his hand away. “You can have a vanilla. And a tip for

you, never take a girl’s chocolate.”

His eyes widened as he quickly grabbed a vanilla. Why did I sign up for this?

Word of advice for all those guys out there. NEVER, and I mean NEVER, take a girl’s chocolate. It can get nasty.

The phone on the desk next to Aswynn started to ring. Caught off guard, she put her pen down and peered at the caller ID. Restricted.

Interesting. She thought. It can only be one person.

“Hello, this is Aswynn Pritchett speaking, head of TRAKKER,” she answered.

“Yes, hello. I know who you are,” the voice on the other end brought a smile to her face.

“We seem to be having an international crisis and you seem to be the only person we can turn to.”

“Tell me more, Mr. President.” The smile on her face grew wider with the seconds. Her plan was going according to plan.

*

Eve stood up and threw the empty ice cream cup over Brodie’s head and into the trash can. “Score.”

“Pretty good,” he said, bored. “I don’t know what we’re supposed to be talking about here

because it seems like we don’t know anything.”

“Seems?” she asked. “We don’t.”

“Okay, thanks for clarifying,” he said, a hint of sarcasm.

The noise of clanging dishes and silverware surrounded them. Eve sat back down and put her chin in her hands.

“I can’t remember the last time I sat around doing nothing for this long,” she muttered.

She thought for a moment before she spoke again. “Maybe Aswynn can give me a new assignment until the Converts come. Maybe the world finally realized that the Subjects had been released.”

She stood up and walked for the door.

“Wait, Eve!” Brodie called after her. She didn’t stop though. She heard the scrape of his chair on the floor as he stood up to hurry after her.

“What?” she asked.

“Converts, Subjects, what are these things?” he asked, falling in step next to her. Zion pushed the doors open for them and followed after them.

“You seriously do not know anything do you?” she laughed. “You probably don’t even know that your mom has released what will probably be the extinction of mankind.”

“Um, what?” he was confused. “My mom runs the biggest medical corporation in the world.”

“Uh-huh,” she nodded. “Then ask her why she already has all of this planned? What are you second in command of? What do I command? How did I get here and why am I here?”

Brodie stopped walking and watched as Eve walked away. She was right. Something was going on with his mom.

Eve continued down the hallway, Zion still behind her. A ton of questions bordered her thoughts, but she didn’t have answers to them. All she needed right now was something to take her mind off the crazy world she now called home. Unfortunately, she couldn’t have that. She quickened her pace and soon arrived at Aswynn’s office. She didn’t stop for the guards to open the door, she just walked by them.

Aswynn looked up as her doors were flung open. Eve walked up to the desk and sat down in one of the chairs.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “One, how long am I gonna have to sit around hanging out with that low-life Brodie and two, how long till the world actually realizes that there’s a bunch of maniac’s wandering the streets?”

“I only have one answer, but it should answer both of your questions,” Aswynn stood up and walked to the big glass window behind her. “I just got off the phone with the President of the United States. He asked me, the head of the biggest medical corporation on the planet, to come up with an antidote for this ‘virus’.”

“Oh, really?” she asked. “How long are you going to ‘work’ on that for?”

“I told him we had one of Subjects wander into the building and, after seeing it’s deranged state, we decided to run some tests on it,” she answered.

“Didn’t he ask why you didn’t let him know about it immediately?” Eve questioned.

“Oh, yes, he did” she nodded. “I told him we were certain and that it had only been a week ago.”

“So, back to my original question, how long is it going to take you to come up with this antidote?” she asked.

“Not very long,” Aswynn turned around to face her. “It’s very similar to another virus we’ve treated, rabies, so not very long.”

She smiled but Eve scowled.

“You’re lying to everyone, you know that right?” Eve stood up and walked up to her. “Your own son doesn’t even know what a devil you are.”

“Sometimes it’s better he didn’t know,” she said, staring sternly at her. “If you tell him anything outside of what he needs to know, I will punish you.”

“The worst you can do is kill me and that would be a win-loss situation you see, ’cause then I’d be dead and gone and out of this whole cruddy situation and you would be without me. You wouldn’t have anyone to train your Converts, no one to boss around, no one to tell you how to survive in a dystopian world,” Eve snarled. “You need me. You can’t risk hurting me. I will tell Brodie whatever I feel he needs to know, and you can’t stop me.”

“Like you said to Max, ‘You’re getting a little too big for your britches,’” she quoted.

The air went out of Eve at the mention of her past life, but she didn’t say anything but rather turned and walked out, shoving Zion out of the way. Aswynn signaled Zion to stop her. He attempted to grab her arm, but she pivoted out of his reach, gave him an icy-cold stare and continued to walk away. As she did this, Brodie walked past her into Aswynn's office.

“Mom, you’ve got some explaining to do,” she heard him say. Despite the hate welling up inside her, she smiled.

**

Eve sat on the floor in her room. The dark grey walls around her set her on edge. No windows, one door, and a bunch of questions in her head was enough to drive her crazy. She closed her eyes and concentrated on Peter. As much as it pained her to do, she did. The heartbeat in her ears became louder.

“Why didn’t they block this?” she wondered.

Drew’s words came back to her. You and Peter have a mental connection. If they couldn’t block it then, why would they be able to block it now?

Peter? She sent it out tentatively, not sure if she wanted a response or not.

Eve? The word came into her mind. It was happy, excited, and there was something else, but she couldn’t pinpoint it.

Are you okay? The happiness that filled her was abundant. A smile crept onto her face.

I am but I’m afraid I’ve got bad news. He paused. Drew killed Dee.

The words came out fast as if they were scalding hot. Eve could sense the pain that came with it, a circle of red that grew bigger and bigger as the words settled in. The words burned her mind.

What? A tear slipped down Eve’s cheek at the thought of losing her best friend. The one that had been with her from the beginning of this living hell was gone? That’s not fair.

Eve, I know. I’m sorry. The words were filled with emotion.

Sorry doesn’t reverse everything that happened, Peter. She snapped. Drew killed her?

Yes.

Why did I save him? Why did I even try to go back in and get him? Why did I put everyone else’s lives on the line for HIM! And this is what I get? He kills my best friend after everything that we’ve done for him? Anger welled up inside of her. It boiled up and over the top.

She stood up and walked to the wall, railing her fists against the white drywall. The pain she felt in her heart was excruciating.

Peter, feeling her agony, didn’t say anything.

WHY? She kept screaming it over and over again as she pounded on the same spot. She’d already punched through the wall and leaned back, sobbing uncontrollably.

Eve. I need to tell you something. I miss you. The words were soothing to her hurting soul.

I miss you too. The tears continued to flow but she sat down on the floor, defeated and tired.

And—I, he hesitated. Don’t know what to do.

If this is about you not knowing how to lead, I’ve got a tip for you. She sniffed. You just gotta have faith in yourself. You just gotta believe that you are capable of it.

Okay.

I have faith in you, Peter. You’ll do great. She sent.

I just want you to know that no matter what happens from now on and forward, I’m glad it all happened. He told her.

Why? She asked.

Cause I would never have met you. It was a whisper, almost as if he was scared to say it.

Thanks.

She then ended the connection

As Eve thought about what Peter had said, the words floated around in her head like leaves on a pond. She stood up, cracked her knuckles, and walked to the door. She stopped when her hand rested on the cold handle. The feeling of cold metal brought back a few memories. She hadn’t really forgotten about her ability, but had rather put herself on check, cautious of the warning Aswynn had given her.

She took a step back. “As long as I don’t hurt anybody, it’ll be fine.”

She flexed her fingers and a cool blade obeyed her beckoning call. She smiled.

“I really have missed this,” she said, giving it a gently swing. She dropped it, dissolving at her command before it even hit the ground.

She commanded a smaller knife and one appeared, resting in her hands. She sat down as her fingers traced their way across the elaborate handle. If I can materialize a knife, which is made of metal, how about a spoon?

A spoon sounded kind of wimpy to her, but she decided it was a good place to start. She could advance from there. She concentrated, not really sure what to do. She felt an unfamiliar shape evolve in her hand and she opened her eyes to see a metal rod.

“That’s not a spoon but we’re getting there,” she muttered.

She continued the process many times until she finally got it. She shook her hand, the spoon disappearing into thin air, and replaced it with a hand-sized knife. Standing up, she walked over to the wall right across from the bed and set to work.

First, she drew a long diagonal line and then a curve attached to it. She then drew a new line and attached three shorter lines to it horizontally. The repeated the last step and leaned back, looking at her handywork. The lines in the wall etched a word - a name. Dee.

Eve sighed and got to work on Drew’s name along with Astrid’s, Aden’s, and the other people who had sacrificed their lives.

“For the ones who died,” she said.

She threw the knife handle over blade into the opposite wall. Sliding down the wall she’d just carved on, tears poured down her cheeks.

She didn’t know exactly why she was crying but she knew one thing. She was sick and tired of living in a world were the cheaters win and the others loose. Pushing off of the floor, she yanked the door open and stormed down the hall, Zion trailing behind her.

Eve hurried on past Aswynn’s office without slowly. She arrived at the elevator doors and turned to Zion.

“Does this place have a swimming pool, gym, anything worth my time?” she asked, folding her arms over her chest.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “There’s a swimming pool on the top floor and a gym in the basement. There’s also a lounge room with TV’s and X-boxes.”

Eve jabbed the up button on the elevator and stepped inside. Pushing the correct button, the doors shut, and the compartment started to slowly move up. It was a glass elevator, so she could see below her and all the floors as they passed. There were a significant smaller number of people walking around since the first time she’d stepped into the TRAKKER building. The Xetylígo Virus probably wasn’t helping that either. The elevator arrived, and Zion showed Eve the way to pool.

“You can stay out here,” she said before she entered. “I want some peace.”

“Whatever,” he shrugged. She pushed the swinging doors open and walked to the edge of the pool. She took her shoes and socks off, pulled her hair out of its current ponytail, and took a deep breath.

The water rippled at the other end, but she ignored it, pushing off with a powerful lunge, sliding into the water in a graceful dive. The water rushed over her skin, pulling her hair back. She took a quick inhale. The feeling of water rushing into her lungs would have been panicking to others, but she knew she was fine. She exhaled, air bubbles rising to the surface and popping, and inhaled another time. She made her way to the deep end where she saw the lower part of a body in the water.

Who is that? She wondered. It could be anybody. This place is crawling with pigs.

She turned and swam back to the other end when the person submerged again. Thankfully they had their eyes closed so they didn’t see her at first.

Eve surfaced and pulled herself out of the water. The person on the other side surfaced and wiped the water out of their face. It was Brodie. He pushed his wet hair back and looked at her.

“Do you swim?” he asked, doggy paddling over.

“A little,” she lied.

“Show me what ya can do,” he prodded. She scooted over as he pulled himself up next to her.

“It’ll freak you out,” she laughed.

“In a good way or bad way?” he asked.

“It depends,” she shrugged. “Do you like fish?”

“I used to have a really big aquarium full of exotic tropical fish but then my dad “accidentally” did a science experiment on them and they all died,” he answered.

“Fine.” She slipped back into the water gently and pulled herself closer to the wall, so he couldn’t see her legs, feet, and part of her torso turning into a huge tail.

“So, what kind of experiment did you dad do on your fish?” she asked, distracting him.

“I don’t know but it killed every single one of them in about four days. All their veins got real pudgy and green and then they started to eat each other,” he said.

“That’s nasty,” she grimaced. “Okay, you ready?”

He nodded.

Eve arched back and dived under, going headfirst to the very bottom and the long tail following after her. It splashed water on Brodie who jumped back at the sight of it.

“What the devil?!?” he yelped. He flattened himself up against the wall until she resurfaced.

At the sight of his face, she burst out laughing. As she swam back over to the side of the pool, she morphed her legs back and pulled herself out.

When Brodie saw that her legs were back to normal, he loosened up.

“What was that?”

“It’s complicated,” she shrugged. “Come on.”

She pushed him closer to the edge.

“NO!” he protested.

“Why?” she asked, edging him forward more.

“You like half fish or something!” he struggled against her, but she was stronger than he was.

Eve rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around him tighter and jumped into the water, pulling him along with her. Under the water they went, and she morphed a fin. Dragging him by his arm she swam for the bottom.

She let go of him and shot back to the surface. Brodie surfaced a few seconds later. They made their way to the side of the pool and got out.

“What happened to you that you’re like this?” he asked her as they sat down, feet in the water. Eve’s tail was gone.

“A lot,” she answered. “I wasn’t always like this. I had been normal once, well as close to normal as a foster kid can get. Then one day, I’m adopted by a scientist who tells me that the government has made a law to kill the unwanted. The old, mentally challenged, and us, the foster kids, the one’s without families. She told me she was saving me, along with hundreds of other kids just like me but it was all a lie. It was scheme. We were her science experiments. And everything after that has led up to me being here.”

“What was that ladies name?” he asked.

Eve thought about telling him but decided against it. He’d find out when the time was right and now was not the right time. “It’s not necessary.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes before either of them spoke. “You said there were hundreds of kids like you. Did you know any of them? Brodie questioned.

“Yeah,” she nodded. Her eyes burned, tears threatening to flow.

“Oh, sorry,” he said when he saw them.

“Nah, it’s fine,” she sniffed and wiped her eyes. “If you’re gonna be my second in command, you need to know some things about me and my past.”

“Okay.”

Eve took a deep breath. “My name is Eve. My mom died while giving birth to me. My dad died five years later in a drunk driving accident. I’m half fish, half human. You mom is my aunt, and—I hate this place.”

“Why?” he asked. “Why do you hate this place.”

“This building, this corporation has played a major part in my life and I can’t exactly say it’s for the better either,” she explained. Hatred crept into her, slowly filling her. TRAKKER had caused so much pain in her life along with others.

“Anything else I should know?”

“I’m telepathic and I could kill you right now if I wanted to. That has nothing to do with being telepathic though,” she shrugged.

“What do you mean by ‘kill you right now’?” he asked, a bit concerned.

She sighed and shook her hand, a medium sized knife appearing.

“Here.”

She handed it to him, flexing her will so it wouldn’t disintegrate the moment he touched it. Brodie took it carefully, reverently, and examined it.

“Bet this comes in handy every once in a while,” he noted.

A smile crept onto Eve’s face as she thought about how bad she’d scared Cooper that one night. “Yeah, it’s come in handy a few times.”

He went to hand it back to her, but she just snapped her fingers and it disappeared.

“Okay,” he said, wiping his hands on his shorts. He looked a bit unnerved at the fact that she could control metal.

They relapsed into silence again. A silent awkwardness fell over them. Eve finally stood up and made for the door. She pulled it open and went to walk out but before she did, she looked at Brodie, arms supporting himself as he slipped into the water once more. He reminded her of someone and it was not Aswynn. She turned away and headed out the door.

“You ready?” Zion asked when he saw her.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Where’s the bathroom?”

He led her down a hallway and pointed to a door. She slipped by him and shut the door firmly behind her. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just one stall but rather two rows of them. She walked to the sinks and leaned on one.

Her breath was gone, and a thought was nagging at the back of her head. Brodie. He looked like someone, someone she knew very well. The name was on the tip of her tongue. Staring into the mirror she thought.

When was the last time she’d actually seen what she looked like? She couldn’t remember. She ran a hand through her hair, standing up a little straighter. She leaned forward, searching her own eyes for the answers that she desperately needed.

Her clothes were still dripping wet from the pool and the water was dropping onto the floor around her bare feet. That reminded her that she’d left her shoes in the pool room.

Eve stepped backwards, holding her gaze in the mirror for as long as she could but then she turned and walked out.

Zion followed her to the elevators, her bare feet making a rhythmic padding noise on the carpet and her wet clothes leaving a trail of water behind her.

“Um, you walked past the elevator,” Zion said, slowing down.

“Yeah, I know,” she nodded. “I’m taking the stairs.”

“But why?” he was confused.

“My legs already look like pancakes when I sit down, they don’t need to get any bigger unless it’s muscle,” she shrugged. She pulled the door open marked Stairs and he begrudgingly followed. As they walked, the thoughts that Eve had pushed to the back of her head resurfaced. The long walk up gave her plenty of time to think about them.

*****

“That was ten or more floors, Eve,” Zion panted.

“I know,” she nodded. “It’s good for you. You burned all those donut calories you ate this morning.”

“HEY!” he protested. “It’s just because the coffee machine was broken, okay?”

Eve laughed

She pulled the door to the current floor open, coming face to face with Aswynn.

“Oh,” Eve said, stepping back. “What do you want?”

“We have an early convert I want you to meet,” Aswynn answered. “She’s waiting in my

office.”

“How’d ya know where I was?” she asked out of curiosity.

“Surveillance cameras, my dear,” Aswynn smiled a cold, menacing smile. “I know where everyone is at all times.”

Eve followed Aswynn down the hallway. Her clothes had started to air dry, but the smell of improperly dried clothes started to aggravate her. She no longer left a trail of water either.

They arrived at the door which Aswynn pushed open. The moment she entered the room, her face turned upwards in a forced smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Disgust filled Eve as she followed her inside.

“Hello, Mouse,” Aswynn nodded at the small, petite girl sitting in a chair. Her name fit her perfectly. She was small, with a rounded face and pink cheeks. She had extremely blonde hair, almost white and a permanent curl in her hair from where she’d obviously tucked it behind her ears too many times. “This is your instructor, Eve.”

Eve nodded. “Nice to meet you, Mouse.”

She stepped forward to shake her hand. Mouse stood up, not coming up farther then Eve’s shoulder.

“Nice to meet you,” she shook her hand, smiling a sincere smile.

“Mouse may seem small, but she has a big brain,” Aswynn assured Eve. “She’s very good with technology and computers.”

“Well, you get one down you get ’em both down, ya know?” Mouse laughed shyly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

It’s her nervous tick, Eve thought.

She thought about what hers was and then realized she was cracking her fingers. She instantly stopped and folded her hands behind her back.

“Eve, will you please show her your room? She’ll be staying with you till we get the dormitories set up,” Aswynn turned away and sat down at her desk. She immediately started typing but stopped when she remembered something. “And please introduce her to Brodie.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she rolled her eyes and motioned for Mouse to follow her.

Once they were outside the office, Mouse came out of her shell a little. “You don’t seem to like Aswynn.”

“Wow, I should start calling you Sherlock!” Eve snapped. “I’m sorry. It’s just been one of those days.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Mouse waved it off. “So why don’t you like her?”

“I have my reasons and chances are you’ll find out why soon,” she answered vaguely. Zion followed them down the hallway until they arrived at her room.

Opening the door, Mouse stepped inside. The white walls and bunk-bed lined were the first thing that caught her eye but then she saw a wooden dresser on the right to the door. Eve brushed by her and pulled the dresser away from the wall.

“That’s not okay,” she heard her mutter.

“What are you doing?” Mouse was confused.

“I have something on this wall that I want to see day in and day out to remind me of people I loved. They have absolutely no right to block it,” she growled.

As Eve moved the dresser to the other side of the room, Mouse walked up to the wall to see what she was talking about. She saw the names and her heart broke.

“There’s so many names,” she said quietly. “Who are these people?”

Eve stiffened. “They had been my friends. They still would be except that they’re dead.”

“Oh,” Mouse ran her hand over the names. She felt the torn-up drywall, the tears that probably fell from Eve’s eyes as she carved away. She looked down and saw that the names went all the way to the bottom.

“What happened to them?” she asked. She didn’t want to ask how they died straight out. It seemed too heartless.

“They were murdered.” Eve refused to give her any clear answers.

“Eve, please,” Mouse turned away from the wall and turned her to face her. “Something tells me that we are going to have to open up a bit to each other just because of the future ahead and something tells me that you need someone to talk to.”

Eve jammed the dresser up against the wall and Mouse was almost certain that the corners had punctured the wall. “They stood by me for a long time and then one day they—were just gone. I don’t know what happened to the bottom ones; how they died that is. I know what happened to Dee and Drew.”

“Tell me,” she pressed. She sat down on the lower bunk.

“Drew has the Xetylígo Virus, the one that started this apocalypse.

We thought he’d be okay, but we were obviously wrong. Dee went to check on him and, he….” she choked back a sob. “Dee died.”

Mouse didn’t say anything. She got what Eve was trying to say.

Through her rough answers and the look in her eyes she knew she was in pain and she didn’t want anyone to put her in any more. She decided to change the subject.

“Aswynn said to introduce me to Brodie, who is he?” she stood up and pulled the dresser back and out of the broken wall.

“He’s second in command,” Eve answered as she wiped her eyes. “He might still be at the pool. Do you want to meet him?”

“Sure,” she nodded. Anything to get you out of this room that is practically drowning you in sorrow.

Eve didn’t say anything but rather walked to the door, pulled it open, and walked down the hall. Zion went to follow her, but she put a hand up, stopping him.

“Zion,” she said. Her voice was quiet but firm. “I’m not going anywhere. This building is on lock down anyway.”

“It’s my job,” he went to say but she cut him off.

“I don’t care.” The quiet voice was gone, and it was replaced with a firm, loud one. “I’m getting sick of this whole ‘You’re a prisoner here’ thing. If I wanted to leave this place I would have a long time ago and you know that.”

Zion didn’t argue. He only handed her a square metal box. “Keep this with you.”

“Why? What is it?” she turned it over in her hand a few times, feeling the surface of it. It was smooth and cold despite the fact that he had it in his pocket.

“It’s so we can find you easier inside the compound,” he answered. Eve nodded and took it, tucking it into her back pocket.

Mouse cautiously looked back at Zion as she walked by. He stood back at his post, gun positioned up against his shoulder. She smiled. He was a good guy. She quickly caught up with Eve and matched her steps.

Since she was so small, she had to practically run to keep up with her fast strides.

“Tell me about Brodie,” she said, trying to make conversation. Eve jabbed the floor button and stood back as the doors shut.

“There’s not much to say,” she shrugged. “I only just met him a day or two ago.”

“I thought you’ve been here longer!” she was a little confused.

“No.” she shook her head. “I sorta got—pressed into this job.”

“By who?”

“Aswynn, who else?” Eve answered

The elevator doors slid open and they stepped out, Eve leading the way. They walked down the long corridors until they arrived at the pool.

Eve sat down on the edge of the pool and Mouse joined her. Brodie surfaced a few feet away but swam over and pulled himself up next to Eve.

“Who’s this?” he asked, nodding at Mouse.

“First convert,” she said. “Her name is Mouse.”

“Mouse?” he looked at her face and then saw how small she actually was. “I can see it now.”

Mouse smiled shyly and tucked her hair behind her ear. Again.

“When do we get the others?” he questioned Eve.

“I don’t know. Aswynn tends to keep necessary information from me,” she shrugged.

“But, since she has this all planned out and it’s a worldwide crisis, I’m gonna say very soon.”

“How ’bout you go find out and I’ll show Mouse around,” he offered.

Eve looked at him, a smile playing over her lips, and then at Mouse. She looked unsure of herself.

“He’s my cousin,” Eve mouthed to her and Mouse smiled back.

She stood up and left, walking down the empty corridors by herself for the first time in forever. She sighed. Instead of letting her mind linger on the thoughts that filled her head, she ran down the halls that were virtually empty and to the elevator. She slapped the down button and waited for the elevator to arrive.

The doors opened, and she stepped inside. Her hand reached forward to push one of the buttons when she saw her reflection in the closed glass doors. Her thumb continued forward, pushing the button, but her eyes stayed glue to her reflection.

She knew who Brodie looked like and she knew that person like the back of her hand.

The elevator continued its downward journey and it seemed like her life was following the same direction—down.

******

Peter doubled over in pain, his lungs trying to pull in air but to no avail. Sparrow rushed forward from their hiding spot and punched the Subject in the face. He heard bones snap, but his head was spinning. He wasn’t sure who’s bones had snapped, the Subjects face or his ribs. He toppled backwards onto the hard cement as Sparrow continued to knock the crud out the attacker.

He could breathe again. His lung still hurt like they were getting stabbed every time he took in air, but he was alive. For now anyways. He propped himself up on his elbow, other hand grabbing at his chest. He saw blood.

Not good. He thought. He winced as he sat up farther.

“Lay down,” it was Raven. He refused to obey even though she tried to push him down. “The stupid thing tried to stab you. It didn’t go in far enough to cause any serious damage that’s if you call getting halfway stabbed not serious. Peter, stay down!”

Sparrow was still punching away. Peter watched her hands, fueled by anger, hate, and adrenaline, as they hit home every time. Her muscles were defined, each arm let loose with such precision. She knew what she was doing.

I’m glad she’s on my side. He thought. He saw the blood that was flying every time she hit. A small laugh built up inside of him. Blood is funny. Why isn’t it blue? Or yellow? Why do we bleed when we’re hurt?

The pain had caused his stomach to go numb. He was getting lightheaded. Maybe it was the sight of blood everywhere or maybe it was the thought of almost dying. He didn’t know. His eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed onto his back.

Sparrow climbed off the bruised and bloodied monster and reached for the knife she’d knocked from its hand. Wrapping her fingers around the handle she brought it up above her head and, with a scream, brought it down with all her might. She didn’t feel bad about it. The monster underneath her wasn’t even human anymore.

“That’s what you get for messing with us, you.” She was cut off by Raven yelling for help.

She saw the blood on Peter, on the ground, and on her. None of it was new to her. She rushed to Peter’s side, squeezing his bloodied hand.

“He isn’t….” she didn’t finish.

“No, he’s not dead, just unconscious,” Raven snapped. “Now you’re the one with the healing power, do your thing.”

She hesitated for some reason she didn’t know.

“Look, Sparrow, this isn’t like last time. He’s not our despised enemy that’s bleeding out because you pummeled the life out of him,” Raven was starting to panic. “We need him. And now!”

Sparrow grabbed a handful of Peter’s hair to lift his head onto her lap.

She leaned forward, hand on his bleeding abdomen, and concentrated. She felt the sticky blood on her hands. She smelled iron and tasted the acrid air around them.

You’re wrong, Raven. She thought bitterly. It’s exactly like last time ’cause I’m still the same monster now as I was then.

Peter flinched under her hand. She could feel his body spasming. She flexed her hand, a blue-green light emanating from it. Tears blurred her vision and for a moment, she had a flashback.

People all around her cheered. She stood, finger clinging to the chain link fence, chest rising and falling. She looked behind her to see the disfigured face of her opponent.

I will never go back to that life. She thought as tears dropped into the blood beneath her. I will never fight in a cage like that again.

Peter’s eyes flickered open. The first thing he saw was Sparrow leaning over him, hand on his forehead, feeling for a fever. They were camped out in an old warehouse, broken machinery and shattered glass surrounded them. A fire burned in a metal barrel a few feet away.

“Oh, you’re awake,” she removed her hand and helped him sit up.

Groaning, he clutched his stomach. “What in the world happened?”

“You, being the stupid, narrow-minded fool that you are, thought it’d be a good idea to—I don’t know exactly what, but you tried to knock him out, I think. You were a bit slow and he turned around and stabbed you in the gut.”

When she stopped abruptly he said, “And then what?”

“I don’t know,” she said quietly. She removed her hand from his back, taking away the support.

“I saw what you did to that person,” he said quickly before she could leave. He grabbed her arm, keeping her from getting out of the question. “You were beating the life out of him. But you knew what you were doing, Sparrow, like—you’d beat someone up like that many times before.”

She refused to meet his eye.

“Have you?” he pressed.

“Peter, we all have secrets and we all have things in our past that we want to forget and you asking these questions is not helping me,” she finally met his eyes. “If I want you to know, I’ll tell you.”

He let go of her and she stood up.

“I truly am sorry for not telling you. Maybe one day I’ll tell you but right now it’s still too painful,” she walked away.

Raven leaned over and handed Peter a heated aluminum can that tasted like ginger.

“Thanks,” he said as he took it.

“No problem,” she settled down next to him. “The three of us have had a bad past and for some of us it’s a lot harder to handle.”

“What can you tell me?” he asked. “Not that you have to tell me, but I would like to know.”

She glanced over at the others. “Sparrow’s seen some things that some of the toughest people in the world wouldn’t be able to unsee and she’s done things that I don’t think she’ll ever forget.”

Peter nodded.

“Get some rest,” she stood up, patting his shoulder on the way and walked back to the group.

He stared down at the metal can. What could be so bad that they couldn’t tell him? As he thought about it, he noticed something different. It sounded like everything was louder—something was missing.

The heartbeat. He could have sworn his heart stopped for a second. Something happened to Eve.

******

The elevator doors opened but Eve didn’t walk out. She was doubled over on the floor, arms wrapped around her stomach. There was a stabbing pain, and, for a moment, she thought she had been stabbed.

She screamed into clenched teeth, her insides turning. She was positive she was bleeding but when she pulled her hand back, there was nothing. Tears streamed down her face.

The elevator, having decided that its doors had been open for too long, shut, leaving her alone. Anybody walking past the elevator could see her writhing on the floor.

Her stomach went numb with pain. She was still crying, hands clutching her abdomen. Eve caught a glimpse of someone walking by but didn’t think about it. The pain may have subsided, but it was still there. The elevator doors reopened and when she looked up, she was looking at Kade.

“What’s wrong,” he knelt down and pulled her arms from her stomach. Lifting up her shirt, he ran a cold finger over her aching stomach. The moment he removed his hand, she went back to a rolled-up ball. “There’s nothing here.”

She couldn’t answer. Her jaw was clenched so tight she thought she was going to break it.

Kade looked at her face, taking in the tears and the occasional groan that would come from her.

“Do you have a mental connection with anybody?” he asked quickly as if the words burned his mouth.

She nodded.

“Who?” he asked urgently. He pulled her hands away again, searching for any mark for a clue or a hint of what was going on.

“Peter,” she managed. The words hurt to say. Her head hurt, her vision was going in and out, and she was having trouble breathing.

“I think you have a bit of a physical connection too which is rare, but....” he leaned over, slipped a hand under her neck and one under her knees, and picked her up like she was nothing but a pile of blankets.

“Considering how strong Dee was mentally, I’d say she probably established it by accident.”

Eve didn’t want to be carried but she had no other choice. The pain was now racing through her whole body, from her head to the very tips of her toes.

“I have a solution to this problem,” he said slowly. “I think.”

“You think?” she snapped, instantly regretting it. The pain in her head doubled as she opened her mouth.

“I have to say this and then I’ll shut up,” he assured her. “You really are a mean person. I mean, look at you! Snapping at me when I’m trying to help you.”

“Why are you even here? Isn’t there an apocalypse happening or something?” she said this softer, and slower. Eve didn’t know if he knew about Asywnn’s plans or not.

“It’s a fake one seeing the real disease hasn’t actually been released.” he shrugged. So he did know. He nodded at a door. “This is you, right?”

She nodded.

He opened the door to her room and walked over to the bed, laying her down gently.

“I need you to relax for this,” he slid his arm out from under her and straightened up. “You have a connection, a physical one, with Peter. By the way you’re acting, I’m gonna say he’s gotten stabbed or something along those lines. For you to not be affected by this, I’m going to block the connection.” he began talking slowly and soothingly. “It’s going to hurt a little bit up here.” he tapped his head. “But at least you won’t feel like you’re getting gutted, ya know?”

Peter’s hurt. Thinking hurt her head more but she had too. If Peter’s hurt, he might be dying right now!

“Stop worrying about Peter,” Kade instructed, getting down onto his knees so he was level with her bed. He touched the middle of her forehead, closed his eyes, and concentrated.

The moment his finger came in contact with her, a shocking sensation raged through her brain. She screamed, she couldn’t help it. The pain was searing. It felt like her whole being was getting ripped in half. Her body spasmed and then was still. Her vision went black and her eyes rolled back. Her breathing slowed down.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

He removed his hand and stood up. Turning away he walked to the opposite wall. All the names drew his attention to it. He lifted his hand to feel it but stopped. He didn’t need to feel the wall to feel the emotion. His trained brain picked up on the emotions that were let loose in the exact same spot as he stood.

Anger. He could feel the heat of it. It was like he was standing in the middle of a raging forest fire.

Love. It was a cushiony pink that made him feel like he was floating.

Confusion. A solid gray block that barred all other emotions from surfacing.

He took a step back, his heart racing. He’d felt all of those emotions before and all at one time also, just like Eve. He turned to look at her. Her chest rose and fell with each peaceful breath she took.

He smiled, remembering all the mood swings that he’d seen her go through and he finally understood why. She and Peter were connected on a low physical level along with a high mental level. Whatever emotions he felt would be mixed with the ones she was feeling at the moment and vice versa.

“Maybe that’s why you’re always up so tight,” he said with a laugh. “Or maybe you’re just naturally like that.”

He sat down with his back to the door, one knee brought up to his chest and the other stretched out in front of him. He stayed there for close to thirty minutes, eyes closed, and head back against the cold metal.

A groan came from the bed and he opened his eyes slowly. Standing up, he walked quietly to the side of the bed and squatted down.

“How’s your head?” he asked in a low voice.

Before he could say anything or hear a response to his question, she was holding an ice-cold blade to his throat.

“What did you do to me?” she growled.

I knew she’d do this. He thought to himself.

She angled the knife upward, the sharp edge cutting into his throat a little. “Answer me. Now.”

“Relax on the bed, don’t exert your mind,” he commanded. He touched the tip of the blade and used his mental strength to make it vanish. He put a hand on her shoulder and guided her back down to the bed.

“Your connection with Peter had evolved into something more, a minor physical connection. For example, if he gets stabbed, which I’m pretty sure he did, you will feel it. How that works, I do not know but that doesn’t matter because you don’t have it anymore.”

“What do you mean?” she gritted her teeth as a dull throbbing began in her head.

“I had to block it for a while until Peter has the chance to heal,” he explained. “You can say thank you.”

“Thank you,” Eve said. She knew what he was implying. If he hadn’t of found her in the elevator and blocked the connection, she’d probably still be there, basically dying on the floor.

“You’re welcome,” he smiled, standing up. She sat up slowly and stood up with help.

“I have to talk to Aswynn,” she said, heading for the door slowly.

“The body aches will wear off in a few minutes, but you will have the headache for a day or two,” he told her.

He matched his pace with hers. She bit her tongue, trying not to limp as pain shot up her legs with every shot. The bright lights hurt her eyes which in turn caused her head to hurt anymore.

“Let’s get you some Motrin,” he advised.

He led her past Aswynn’s office and into a little room that was barely visible when walking by. He tried the handle of a metal cabinet that had a sticker on it saying that no one was supposed to access it without help from the certified nurse.

“How are we supposed to get in there?” she asked, leaning back, arms folded across her

chest.

“I don’t need a certified nurse to get this open. Besides, I know her from way back,” he turned around in a slow circle, surveying the area around them.

“Tight space, medicine cabinet, bunch of old books, two people, a door, no window, a needed key,” he muttered everything under his breath as he turned. He stopped, facing the door. Next to it, mounted on the wall, was a brown cabinet. He pulled it open and looked inside. “Maple really loved chocolate. She was also really absent minded.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” she asked, confused.

“Well think about it,” he leaned back on the wall. “If you couldn’t remember where you put your keys you’d start looking around. You’d look in the cabinets, drawers, everywhere and while you did such things, you’d find a zip bag of wrapped chocolate.” he picked the bag up carefully. “Now you’ve already looked everywhere imaginable so you, or at least Maple, would decide to have a bit of a snack.” He shook the bag and it made a jingling sound—keys. “And then she’d fined them and—Walla! She’d get into the cabinet.”

“How do you know so much about this Maple person?” she questioned.

He laughed as he pulled the keys out and tossed the bag back into cabinet. “I know nothing about anyone named Maple. I’m an Elite Predictor, Eve.”

A smile crept onto her face. “You had me.”

“I know.” He unlocked the cabinet and grabbed the Motrin bottle. “If you ever need any more of it, you’ll know where the keys will be.”

He replaced the keys in the bag and handed two pills to Eve. “This should take care of the headache for a bit.”

“Thanks,” she swallowed them dry and looked at him. She studied him for a minute and then asked what was on her mind. “Why are you helping me? You could be doing anything else right now, but you carried me out of the elevator, stopped the pain, got me Motrin, and made me smile in the process.”

“Because I’m a kind person,” he looked away. “I’m not entirely heartless ya know.”

She reached behind her and opened the door, stepping out into the hallway. Kade followed, shutting the door firmly behind him.

“So, why do you want to talk to the Wicked Witch of the West?” he asked, following her down the hallway.

“To see when the rest of the Converts get here,” she answered.

“Converts?” he asked.

“They’re gonna be like us only their parent’s will have to pay thousands for it,” she said. She stopped when Aswynn’s office came into view, two guards flanking both sides of the door. “How long will you be here?”

“Eh, I don’t know,” he shrugged. “As long as necessary.”

“Well, I have to talk to her. Thanks again for the help,” she said.

“Yeah, no problem,” he answered. Eve turned and headed towards the office. The guards didn’t stop her, and she opened the door without knocking.

“Hello, Eve,” she said, looking up from a form. “What do you need?”

“We already have one Convert, when will the others be here?” she settled down into her usual chair.

“The Elimination Rounds begin tomorrow,” she started. “We will pick up all the candidates and they’ll be here for three days. Day one we’ll be testing physical endurance; Day two will be testing their survival skills in simulations; On day three we will have the last test. Emotions, mental stability, and results. That night we’ll have the Result Banquet where some will go home, and some will stay.”

“Elimination Rounds?” she questioned. “I thought you only wanted the money and power!”

“As much as I love those things, the few survivors have to be able to do just that—survive,” she explained.

“So you do have a little bit of common sense in you,” Eve muttered as she stood up, pushing the chair back. She headed for the door but stopped and turned back around.

“You mentioned simulations.”

“Advanced VR to test and train their abilities,” she nodded.

Makes sense. She thought. She left the room without another word.

She met Kade outside the door who was leaning up against the wall staring into space.

“That went fast,” he noted.

She nodded. “You don’t want to talk to the Devil for too long, ya know, ’cause then you start to act like the Devil.”

He laughed.

They roamed the halls absentmindedly, not talking a lot. Eve felt something vibrate in her back pocket and pulled out the black square. She turned it over in her hand until she saw the glowing purple writing.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Dinner time,” she waved it in the air and then returned it to her pocket. “I’m hungry, how ‘bout you?’

“I’m down,” he answered.

Eve sat her tray down on the table in front of Mouse and Brodie and slid into her spot. Kade sat down next to her and immediately started to eat.

“Who’s this?” Brodie asked, nodding at him.

“Kade,” Eve answered. ’He’s not a Convert, just a friend of TRAKKER.”

“Is he immune?”

“Yes,” she took a bite of mashed potatoes.

“Don’t you have to make a donation to TRAKKER to get the antidote?” he continued to press her for information. “And I think I’d know this guy if he was a friend of TRAKKER.”

“I’m a really close friend,” Kade added. “But I’m not around a lot.”

Brodie dropped it and changed the subject to something else. “Did you talk to Aswynn, Eve.”

“Yeah,” she relayed everything that Aswynn had told her.

“Elimination Rounds?” Mouse questioned. “They didn’t put me through those.”

“How big of a donation did you dad make?” Kade asked, looking up at her.

“About two times the suggest,” she said.

“Go figure,” Eve rolled her eyes and Kade smirked.

Mouse didn’t say anything but went back to eating.

“So they arrive tomorrow?” Brodie double-checked.

Eve nodded. “I wouldn’t get too attached to them though because three-fourths of them will be leaving after three days.”

Mouse tucked her hair behind her ear before speaking. “Shouldn’t be a problem. Practically all these kids are going to be spoiled brats.”

They all stopped eating and looked at her.

“What?” she asked nervously.

“You’re one of those kids,” Brodie pointed out.

“My dad may be on the richer side of the spectrum but trust me when I say I’m not like them,” she defended herself. She pointed at Brodie. “He’ll tell you. I’m not stuck up and snotty.”

“That’s true,” he nodded. “I don’t think she’s that type of person.” She smiled at him.

“Emphasis on the word ‘think’,” Eve said. “He doesn’t even have a brain to do that with.

“Really?” he laughed light-heartedly. “Not cool cuz.”

She set her fork down carefully and stood up. Her eyes were wide.

“Did I say something?” Brodie asked, confused.

Kade, I need to talk to you. Right now. Eve said telepathically.

“We’ll be right back,” Kade stood up, nodded at Brodie and Mouse, and then guided Eve out.

Once they were outside she spoke. “Do you know anything about Brodie?”

“Why?” he asked, confused.

“He’s my cousin,” she said rubbing the back of her neck. “I didn’t even know I had a family, Kade, and then I find out I have an aunt and three cousins.” she stopped and took a deep breath. “Brodie and I look alike.”

“You’re cousins,” he shrugged.

“Aswynn and I look nothing alike. Nothing!” she emphasized.

A grin slowly grew on Kade’s face like he was trying to keep something back.

“You know something,” Eve stopped rubbing her neck and let her hand drop.

“What, no, I don’t,” he said, suppressing a smile.

“To quote you, ‘I’m an Elite Predictor, Eve,’” she did the air-quotes. “And I can tell by the way you’re smiling.”

“Eve,” he said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You’re related to Brodie, that you already know. You also know how and right now that’s all you need to know.”

“Why can’t you just tell me?”

“I can’t because of time lines and such. It’s the same reason why Dee couldn’t tell you things. Like a great person once said, ’It’s more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff,” he smiled.

She looked at him, confused.

“Just ask the British Boy, he’ll get it,” he removed his hand from her shoulder and turned to walk back into the cafeteria. “Trust me, please, just this once, Eve. You have to trust me.”

She thought a minute. “I trust you.”

“Good to know,” he held the door open for her as she walked through and they joined the others.

*****

Eve lay in bed that night listening to Mouse breathing. She wasn’t tired so she got up and quietly left the room. The bright lights hurt her eyes but she wandered down the hall to the elevator. Recalling what Zion had said earlier about a gym lower down in the building, she pushed the button for the basement. As it took made its descent, she began to think. She wondered how Peter and the others were getting on. She wondered about Brodie, about Kade. She thought about Peter.

It was weird not having his heart beat in her ear. It made everything sound louder and made her feel smaller.

The doors opened and she stepped out. She surveyed the area around her. It was like any other gym only it was completely deserted. Weights lined a mirror wall, a squat machine, and a few other things that she didn’t have a clue about were all out on the floor. Over in the far left corner she was a boxing ring. She walked over and slid under the bungee ropes that served as a fence. She sat down in the corner closest to her. She crossed her legs at the ankle and folded her hands in her lap. She didn’t know why she came down here in the first place.

She heard voices coming from the room on the left, the lounge room. It was obviously a girl and boy but she couldn’t make anything out. She froze when the door opened and two people walked out -- Kade and Zero. Kade instantly saw her sitting in the ring but didn’t stop talking but instead looked her in the eyes. Zero looked up and saw her and froze.

“Spying on us?” she snarled, eyes instantly turning cold.

“No,” Eve shook her head. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Zero narrowed her eyes at her but then headed for the elevator, glaring one more time at her as the doors closed.

“How do you know her?” she asked once Zero was gone.

“I’m in and out of TRAKKER a lot,” he answered as he ducked under the ropes to join her. He sat down next to her and pulled one leg up, the other stretched out. “I know a lot of the people here.”

“You also made up a whole story about Maple,” she pointed out.

“Brit told you a while ago that I had a reason for coming back and helping TRAKKER,” he said, his voice distant. “Zero is my reason.”

“Oh, so you like her?” a grin spread on Eve’s face.

“No, that’s disgusting!” he exclaimed. “She’s my sister but she doesn’t exactly know that.”

Eve jaw dropped. She could see it know. They had the same jaw and eye.

“You should see your face,” he laughed.

“If she doesn’t know you’re her brother, who does she think you are then?” she was having trouble grasping the fact.

“A really close friend,” he shrugged.

Eve swallowed. “How did she end up in TRAKKER?”

“You just want all the beans to spill, don’t you?” he said, looking at her.

“You’re the one who brought the subject up!” she defended herself.

“I use to be like you, Eve,” he licked his lips and continued. “I was second in command for the second group of Hybrids and Zero was the commander. As you already know, the first group of Hybrids was completely killed off by Aswynn but some of the second got away. Zero didn’t though. They said they saw potential in her. They took her, wiped her memory everything, and planted false ones that said she was a test tube baby, raised by the TRAKKER facility.

“She forgot all about me, about the Hybrids, about everything,” his voice cracked. “She didn’t use to be a cold hearted girl. She use to be so kind but yet so brave, like you.”

He couldn’t keep his composure anymore. He cracked, tears sliding down his face and sobs racking his body. At first, she didn’t know what to do but then her instincts kicked in and she pulled him into a hug. He hugged her so hard she had troubled breathing. She didn’t understand why but then she did. He needed someone to be there for him like he’d

been there for so many people for so long.

“I’m sorry,” she said, still hugging him. He regained his composure and pulled away, trying his eyes as he did so. “Are you alright, Kade.”

“My real name isn’t Kade,” he admitted. “It was Keaton.”

“Keaton? Why’d ya change it?”

“Because the name carried terrible memories,” he looked away. He gave a little laugh. “Well, I guess I spilled about every bean in the pot.”

She smiled. “But doesn’t it just feel so good that someone else knows your secret?”

He nodded.

***

Peter’s mind reeled, trying to figure out what had happened to Eve that her heartbeat was gone. His stomach still ached but when he looked at where he’d been stabbed he only saw a scar about an inch wide. He ran his finger over it, wiping away the dried, crusty blood. He heard footsteps and looked up to see Sparrow walking towards him.

“Hey,” he dropped his shirt and she sat down next to him. “Who healed me?”

“I did,” she said softly. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and looked him in the eye. “A few hours ago you asked me about how I knew what I was doing.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want too,” he said when he saw her eyes brimming with tears.

“No. If we want to survive, we have to be a team and that mean no secrets,” she sniffed. She took a deep breath and began. “Before this whole thing with TRAKKER and Aswynn, we had a different life. It was way different and way worse than anyone could imagine.

“Our parents died when their plane crashed over the Pacific Ocean. The next morning, people came to take us to foster care. They allowed us time to grab things from the house and while we did so, we escaped through a window. We were on the run for a month and half until we found a place we could sorta call home. It was known as the Warrior Force.”

Peter had heard of it many times. It was compound on the outskirts on New York -- similar to the area that surrounded the Resistance -- and was known for its brutal rules and regulations. Ex fighters would go there to make a career.

“You’ve heard of them by the look on your face,” she said. “And you probably know the rules. You have to fight someone at least one time every two weeks and your out. If you lose so many time, you were out also. I was twelve when we got there and being the protective younger sister that I was, I would fight my sisters fights. Nobody knew the difference because we all look alike. I learned how to take care of myself through each fight. I learned everybody's weaknesses by watching every fight. I would watch as bones were broken and as lives were sometimes ended just so I could learn how to survive.

“And then there were the Cages,” she bit her lip to keep from crying. “That’s where the fights went down. The blue mats would be stained with dried blood and after every fight, they would get dirtier and dirtier until they didn’t even resemble blue mats.”

She gave a bitter laugh. “One day, a boy came. He was around my age so I was instantly put in the Cage to fight him. He knew the rules of the place, he’d been in and out several times. He told me to go ahead and beat him up, he’d take it easy on me. He knew I couldn’t afford to lose one more fight or we’d all be out. Oh my, I love that kid. But I did what he said. I beat him up until he tapped out.”

She stopped talking. Peter didn’t say anything but let her sit in silence, tears rolling down her face. She finally started again. “He could heal fast, he had some healing ability or something because a week after our fight, he was ready to go. Anyway,” she brushed the tears away. “He taught me everything he knew about fighting. How to dodge people’s punches, how to find their weak spot. He taught me how to be fast and how to be smart during each fight. He was awesome. But then one day, he just disappeared. A few weeks later, Aswynn came strutting in and took us away for her little experiments. And it wasn’t like we could do anything to stop her, just did it.”

Peter clenched his jaw. “That’s not fair.”

“Peter, life's never fair. I think we all know that,” she sighed.

“What was his name, the boy?” he asked out of curiosity.

“Keaton,” she answered. “I owe my life to him.”

Eve sat up in bed and yawned. She frowned, confused at where she was but then she realized and crawled out of bed. She walked to the dresser, her eyes landing on the combat suit on the top. It had a sticky note that had her name on it, so she tossed the sticky note to the side and quickly pulled it on.

It was black, not a big jump from grey but a jump at least, with thin white stripes running downwards. The best way she could describe it is that it looked like a map of subways routes only they were all white. She tucked the black square Zion had given her in her back pocket.

She stepped outside, shutting the door firmly behind her, and headed to the cafeteria. Her stomach growled when she smelled food. She pushed the door open and instantly got in line behind Mouse.

“Good morning,” Mouse greeted her.

“Good morning,” she returned. “Did ya sleep well?”

“Like a rock,” she answered. “The beds are really comfortable.”

“A lot more comfortable than a rock-hard floor,” Eve laughed. She scooped up some eggs and dumped them on her plate and then grabbed a few strips of bacon along with a waffle and cup of milk.

“The Converts are coming today,” she reminded her. Eve nodded and slid in next to Kade who was already seated.

“Are ya nervous?” he asked.

“No,” Eve answered. “Should I be?”

“You’re only going to be hanging around the kids of some of the richest people in the world for three days, so nah, ya shouldn’t be,” Kade shrugged.

“Hey, there might be some good-looking ones too,” Mouse winked.

“That isn’t any motivation for Eve,” he butted in. “She already has her eye on someone.”

Eve elbowed him so hard in the ribs that choked on his eggs. “No, I don’t. And he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“Ooh!” Mouse giggled. “Someone special.”

“You’re one to be talking about….” she started but Mouse kicked her under the table as Brodie set his tray down and sat down next to her.

“I’m nervous,” Brodie said, chin in hand.

“And why?” she questioned.

“We’re only going to be hanging around the kids of some of the richest people in the world for three days,” he answered.

Eve choked on her milk and Kade, who had finally recovered from being elbowed in the side spit his eggs out onto the floor. Mouse doubled over laughing at what he’d said and the reactions of the others.

“What?” Brodie asked, confused.

“Kade literally just said that!” Mouse managed.

Eve was thumping her chest, trying to breathe and Kade was now kicking the eggs he had spit on the floor under the table across from them, so nobody could blame it on him. Once he finished he turned and started hammering Eve on the back with the heel of his palm.

You can breathe water but you’re choking on water? He asked jokingly.

Water and milk are two different things and I don’t breathe water, I breathe the oxygen in the water! She continued to choke.

She could finally breathe again.

“Are you good?” Brodie asked, concerned.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I don’t really see any reason to be worried. The only ones that will make it are the ones with the best average which means they won’t be totally wimps.”

“I was never really a social butterfly,” he shrugged.

Kade snorted. “Social butterfly. In my line of work, you can’t be a ‘butterfly’ ya got to be a hornet basically.”

Eve looked at him, confused. “And that means what exactly?”

“There’s no time for being nice,” he shrugged. She got was he was saying and went back to eating.

The intercom system crackled, startling everyone in the cafeteria. “This is Aswynn Pritchett reminding you that today the possible Converts arrive so please be ready!”

“They aren’t even here yet,” Kade muttered. Eve pushed her plate away and rested her chin in her elbows.

“They make it sound like the first day of summer camp or something fun like that,” she said with disgust. “They should say, ‘Good morning! Are you ready to die?’ or something along those lines.”

“You really have it out for these people,” Mouse noted.

That’s an understatement. She went to respond.

“That’s an understatement,” Kade said before she could. She glared at him and he smiled.

Stop reading my mind. She ordered.

He mentally shrugged. I can’t help it.

She rolled her eyes and looked at Mouse. “Yes, it’s a big understatement.”

“But why?” she questioned. “Why do you hate them so much when they’re trying to do so much for humanity?”

Kade stiffened and Eve shook her head. “The world may never know.”

Then again, we could always tell them. Kade told her.

Oh, yeah, totally. ‘Hey everyone! The people that are saving you are actually killing you!’ she said sarcastically.

You know what I mean. He said. Not everyone, but maybe the Converts deserve to know.

Right now we don’t even know who the other Converts are going to be. Eve reminded him.

And I’m almost positive that whoever pays Aswynn off the most will be number one.

Kade nodded. That’s all she’s about. Power and money.

“Are you two doing that whole telepathic thing?” Brodie asked, pointing a finger at each in turn.

“Yes,” they both said at the same time.

“Are you going to always do that?” Mouse asked.

“No,” they said again.

Stop! Eve yelled at Kade mentally.

Maybe you’re copycatting me. He laughed.

Not possible, you’re the one with the mind reading ability. She pointed out.

“They’re doing it again,” Mouse whispered to Brodie. “Talking in each other’s heads.”

“So what if we are?” Eve demanded. “What’cha gonna do about it?”

“I can’t stop you,” she shrugged, a playful smile spreading over her face. She went to say something, but the intercom turned on and Aswynn started to talk.

“Eve Williams, Brodie Pritchett, and Mouse Capaldi, could you please head down to the lobby?”

“That’s us,” Eve said, standing up.

“Well, I can’t go ’cause I wasn’t invited,” Kade said jokingly. “I guess I’ll just miss out on that awesome meeting.”

“You’re coming,” she laughed. She grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him up. “Come on.”

“I’m coming,” he said, following them out the door.

They walked towards the lobby and arrived just in time to see a black limo pull up. Tinted windows kept them from seeing inside but the door opened, and they quickly saw who it was. A boy climbed out, brown hair a jumbled mess from running his hand through it to many times. He wore a white dress shirt with a suit coat over it, both sleeves rolled up to the elbow. He was on the taller side, tower a few inches over Aswynn when she went to shake his hand.

His eyes scanned the group that had gathered around. His eyes landed on Eve and she saw the faintest smile. He continued on through the crowd, looking at each person in turn.

“Hey,” he waved smoothly.

“Please, do come inside,” Aswynn was all smiles. “You don’t want to be out here for too long.”

“Sure,” he nodded, following her inside.

“I should probably introduce you to your instructor,” she said, walking over in Eve’s direction.

Eve tried not to be nervous, but it seemed like forever since she met anyone new, besides Mouse who was easy to get along with.

“This is Eve,” she introduced her. “She’ll be your instructor. Eve, this is Adam King.”

Eve looked up at him. His green eyes looked down at her but not in a condescending way.

“Hey,” she said. He held his hand out and she shook it.

“Nice to meet you,” he nodded.

“Ooh,” Kade leaned over and whispered into her ear. “We got an Adam on the premises.”

“So?” she asked, acting casual. She knew what he was getting at but if he said it, she’d kick him in the shin.

“Have you never read a Bible in your life?” he smiled. “It’s only the first account in it.”

“What are you trying to say?” she growled.

Adam, Eve, I don’t know. He said this part mentally much to her relief.

She kicked him in the shin like she told herself she would do. Not gonna happen.

Hey! It was a joke! He defended. He rubbed his leg.

“We have another person pulling up,” Aswynn announced.

Eve looked around and spotted Adam standing over by the staircase, arms folded in front of him, a bored look on his face.

“This is Thomas Good,” Aswynn introduced him. He had blonde hair with dull brown eyes and a few freckles. He looked at them all in a judgmental manner and didn’t even introduce himself.

I really hope he doesn’t get through. Eve told Kade.

He’s too judgy. He’s the guy that be pointing out everything wrong with everything and wouldn’t even notice that he got shot while doing so. He laughed.

She agreed.

“Jewels McKay.” She was of a darker complexion with seeking green eyes. She had straight black hair and high cheekbones which made her look pretty and smart.

She’s a model. Kade told Eve. Been on the cover of every fashion magazine twice.

She shrugged. She’s pretty.

Kade mentally agreed and she rolled her eyes.

“Hello,” Jewels held her hand out politely. “I’m Jewels McKay.”

“Eve,” she shook her hand.

“And I’m Kade,” he added, nodding.

“Nice to meet you!” she said with a little laugh. She joined Adam and Thomas over by the stairs.

The next was Legend Dairy, a medium height boy with blonde and brown hair and dark brown eyes. He introduced himself politely and went over to join the other group.

“His name is Legend Dairy,” Kade laughed. “Like legendary.”

“He probably hates his parents,” Eve said.

“I would love to have an awesome name like that,” he said.

Another car pulled up, but Eve didn’t pay attention to who got out. She was watching the group of kids over by the stairs. Most of them seemed to be minding their business or chatting amongst themselves quietly but she noticed Adam standing farther into the corner, his back up against the wall. He saw her looking at him and smiled slightly. She looked away and began to think.

He isn’t social like the others, he’s quiet. She thought. He’s gonna do good. He’d detached from the others, he hasn’t said much at all.

Eve was snapped from her own little world by Kade nudging her in the side. She focused on the face in front of her, a girl maybe a year or two younger than her with straight brown hair, a small nose, and bright green eyes. She smiled and extended her hand.

“I’m Hayley Jones,” she smiled.

Eve smiled and shook her hand. “I’m Eve, your instructor.”

“Any tips for me?” she joked.

“Just be you,” she told her.

Hayley turned and joined the others.

“So,” Brodie whispered to Eve. “What’cha think?”

Eve watched as a few other cars pulled up and people got out before she answered.

“Some have potential, and some don’t.”

Her eyes skimmed over the line of teens coming in the door. She would have a lot more hands to shake.

*****

Eve looked at all thirty of the faces in front of her and her heart began to speed up. The last time she’d talked to a large group of people it had been back at the Base before the whole launching process. She took in a steady deep breath and began.

“I am Eve and I will be monitoring you in the Elimination Rounds,” she started. “Before I go any farther, let me explain what those are.

“They are simulations that will present you with common obstacles that you would face in an apocalypse which will take place over the span of three days. Day one we’ll be testing physical endurance; Day two will be testing their survival skills in simulations; On day three we will have the last test. Emotions, mental stability, and that night will be the results.” she cringed when she realized she’d practically quoted Aswynn word for word. “Your overall score will be the average of all your scores put together. The ones at the top of the list make it through and the others go home. Any questions.”

“You said something about simulations,” Jewels spoke up. “Is it like a hallucination or VR?”

“It’s a highly developed Virtual Reality technology that the government has provided especially for this reason,” Eve told her. It was the truth but Aswynn had told her, so she couldn’t be too sure.

“Have you been through these VRs before?” Adam asked. He ran hand through his hair and waited for her response.

“No,” she answered without hesitation. “I survived something way harder called Life.”

She involuntarily rubbed the scars on his wrists, sending a shot of pain straight to her heart. She swallowed and looked at him. “Any more questions?”

The room was silent.

“Okay,” she said. “Eliminations start tomorrow at eight o’clock sharp.”

The room emptied out, but Kade stayed by the door, one shoulder leaning up against the wall.

“Eve, we need to talk.”

The statement caught Eve off guard but she nodded and Kade walked up to her. She sat down in one of the chairs and he followed suit.

“What about?” she asked.

“You need to keep your eye on Adam,” he said softly.

“Dude, can you please get over the whole Adam and Eve thing?” she asked, spinning around once.

“No,” he shook his head. “I’m being serious.”

“And why do I need to watch him?”

“He has a lot of potential but something is telling me he isn’t going to show it right away,” he said. “He’s going to use a little bit of it to get him in the top couple and then back off.”

“How do you know?” she narrowed her eyes at him. “I know you’re a Predictor and all but this doesn’t seem like that kind of thing right now.”

“Educated guess,” he shrugged. “I think you already figured that all out about him.”

“Nah,” she shook her head. “I figure he’ll do good though.”

Kade nodded and they lapsed into silence.

“Anything else you need to ask me?” she broke the silence.

He sat thinking for a moment before answering. “Have you talked to Peter recently?”

“You mean since the whole stomach thing?” she asked. He nodded. “No.”

“Maybe you should just to check in on him,” he suggested as he stood up and headed for the door.

Eve removed her feet from the table and leaned forward. “Why?”

“You two are close and you won't remain that way if you don't talk,” he called behind him. He shut the door behind him.

She decided to do what he suggested.

Peter? She reached out tentatively. Can you hear me?

Eve! Peter’s response came. She could hear relief in his voice. Are you alright?

Yeah, are you? She asked.

Basically. Some subject stabbed me but Sparrow was able to heal me. He said casually.

You make it sound like you get stabbed in the stomach every day. She absentmindedly chewed on her fingernails. I figured that’s what happened to you.

Whatcha mean?

I was practically dying when it happened. I was curled up on the floor of an elevator screaming like I’d been shot. She laughed. Stabbed actually. Kade found me and blocked the connection so I didn’t have to feel your pain.

But we just have a mental connection, how would you be able to feel my pain? He had questions that needed answers.

Kade said it was a mental connection that had sort of evolved into a tiny bit of a physical connection so whenever you have major pain I can feel it and vice versa.

Wait, hold up… Kade’s with you? There was something in his voice -- a mix of disbelief tinged by hate.

Yeah. she answered slowly.

You know he works for TRAKKER right? He might help the Resistance every now and again but the majority of his time he helps them! He raised his voice.

Peter, I can’t hate him for helping them. One, I’d be a hypocrite for hating him when I’m doing the same thing he’s doing and second, he has his reasons. She yelled. Something inside of her wanted to stand up for Kade and a part of her wanted to agree with Peter.

He’s dangerous, Eve. Peters voice was low.

I don’t care! She yelled into his head. She stood up and paced a few steps before

continuing. Right now, he’s the only one I can relatively trust. You’re not here, Dee’s dead, and

Drew is a crazy person!

Drew is our friend.

He’s basically dead! A tear slipped down her cheek and she couldn’t stop the others from following. Am I terrible person for saying the truth, Peter? Am I a terrible person for just wanting a friend for once? Am I a terrible person for wanting a better world? AM I A TERRIBLE PERSON?

No. he said in a small voice. We all want those things but sometimes we aren’t supposed to have them. Life isn’t fair.

Stop telling me life isn’t fair. She growled. And don’t talk to me again.

Eve cut the connection. She crouched down and pressed her palms to her eyes to stop the tears. She took a deep breath, stood up, wiped the remaining tears away, and walked out, closing the door behind her.

She headed to her room, getting a few strange looks from guards.

What are you staring at? She felt like yelling at them. Never seen anyone cry before?

Anger and hurt welled up inside her, swiftly turning into despair and sadness. She pushed her door open but stopped.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, her voice menacing and dripping with hatred.

The person turned around and looked at her for a moment without answering. “I need answers.”

“Zero, you can leave,” Eve stepped to the side, holding the door open and motioning for her to leave. “Because I don’t have any answers.”

“I think you do.” Zero ripped the door away from her and slammed it shut. “Who is Kade?”

“Why do you care?” she asked, leaning back and folding her arms over her chest. “And what makes you so sure I’ll tell you the truth?”

“You and Kade have been hanging out a lot lately,” her voice had softened and was no longer angry. It sounded more confused and desperate. “Like you know him.”

“Jealous?” Eve smirked.

“No,” she shook her head. “I never looked at him that way and hopefully never will. I always looked at him as an older brother, ya know? The one that would protect you with his life.”

“Maybe you should talk to him?” she suggested.

“I need to know somethings first,” Zero grabbed her hair and twisted it around her fingers, pulling as she did so. She closed her eyes for a moment and then looked at Eve.

“How did you meet him?”

Eve narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, wondering if she should tell her. “He teleported us to Resistance Headquarters.”

Zero looked more frustrated. “That’s just one more question I have. Why does he work for both of us? Why does he help the Resistance and then us?”

“He has a reason,” she hinted.

“Like what?” she asked. Her eyes glimmered with hope.

“Ask him yourself,” Eve shut her mouth and refused to say anything else.

“Fine,” Zero turned and walked briskly to the door. She opened the door and without looking back said, “Thanks for sorta helping me.”

Eve breathed deeply and dropped onto her bed, bouncing a little as she hit. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t believe she had exploded on Peter and yelled at him the way she had but she also did want to apologize for some reason.

I’m so stupid! She smacked herself in the head. He’s gonna hate me now.”

****

Eve sat down at the table next to Mouse with Kade and Brodie on the opposite side. She rested her chin in her hands.

“Where’s your food?” Mouse asked, a little concerned.

“Not hungry,” she muttered.

Kade looked up at her and she glared back at him.

Someone’s in a bad mood. He muttered in her head.

She ignored him. She looked at what Brodie was eating -- a hotdog with potato salad and a can of soda-- none of which looked very appeasing at the moment.

“Are you feeling okay?” Mouse put her fork down and looked at Eve.

“I’m fine,” she answered sternly. Mouse wasn’t buying it. “Look, I’ve gone days without eating anything, skipping one meal isn’t gonna kill me.”

“Days?”

“Yeah, so what?” she asked defensively. “Just leave me alone, okay?”

“Fine!” Brodie threw up his hands in mock surrender making Eve want to punch. If she wasn’t careful, she might just do so.

What’s got you so on edge? Kade asked her after a few minutes.

If I wanted you to know I would have already told you. She answered coldly.

I know when I’m not wanted and now seems like one of those times. He left her alone and the others continued to eat in silence.

After they were done, Kade pulled Eve aside. “Did I do something?”

“No, I did,” she rubbed the back of her neck. “I was stupid and now I’m regretting it.”

“What happened?”

“I talked to Peter like you suggested but,” she hesitated.

“But…?” he pressed.

“I yelled at him and told him to never talk to me again.” she flinched as the fresh memory popped to mind.

“Why’d ya get mad at him in the first place?” he leaned back on his heels.

She just shook her head.

“You can tell me,” he assured her.

“He said you were dangerous. He said you were terrible because you’re a traitor to both sides,” she finally spit it out. “And I sorta stood up for you.”

“Why? Why would you stand up for me?” his eyes softened.

“Because we’re in the same boat and it’d be wrong of me not to,” she shrugged. “We both have something tying us back to TRAKKER, tying us back to people who have a special place in our hearts.”

“What’s tying you back to TRAKKER?” he asked, confusion hinting in his voice.

“I stayed behind so the others could get out safely,” she answered. She cracked her fingers nervously, the memory popping back into her head. “And then I find out I’m related to Aswynn and Brodie.”

“But you hate Aswynn.”

“Yes, I do. But Brodie doesn’t know what she’s done or is doing. He’s blind to the fact that his mom is a terrible person because like everyone else, he thinks she’s doing great things for the world,” she explained. “He doesn’t know better and I feel like it’s my duty to protect him from Aswynn if that makes sense.”

Kade nodded. “Yeah, it does.” He scratches his neck before speaking again. “I’m sorry about Peter. I seriously had no clue that was gonna happen.”

“How could you not? You’re an Elite Predictor,” she exclaimed.

“Predictors guess, Eve. The Elite part on the beginning just means that I’m really good at it,” he said.

Eve chewed on her fingernails thoughtfully. “Zero was trying to find you earlier.”

“Yeah, I’ve been avoiding her,” he looked out the window.

“Why? She wants to talk to you about some pretty important stuff.”

“Cause right now isn’t… the right time,” he hesitated. “We don’t need her finding out

that I’m related to her and causing confusion in the ranks, ya know?” he laughed nervously.

“You just don’t want to talk to her,” Eve realised.

“Yeah, you’re right! How to I explain to her what TRAKKER did to her when she’s Aswynn’s left hand person?” He rubbed his temples.

She thought for a moment. “I get it.”

He headed for the door. “I’ll talk to ya later.”

****

Peter cradled his head in his hands. The strange quiet in his ears was deafening to him. There had always been a heartbeat alongside his. Her heartbeat.

You’re acting like she’s dead. Get it together. He chided himself.

He looked up, wiping his hands on his pants leg, and looked around. The setting sunlight was streaming through the last few remaining glass windows, broken edges cutting into the blinding light. He heard someone walking towards him and looked up to see Raven.

“Hey,” she said, sitting down next to him. She crossed her legs at the ankles and leaned back up against the brick wall. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” he answered but as much as he tried, he couldn’t keep the sadness out of his voice.

“You’re a bad liar,” she said softly. They sat in the quiet for a moment. “What’s bothering you?”

“Nothing I didn’t bring on myself,” he told her with a little laugh. “I made someone mad.”

“It happens,” she shrugged. “They’ll get over it eventually. Everyone does.”

“Maybe.” There was a bud of hope blooming inside him.

“Who’d ya make made?” she pressed.

“Eve,” he answered. “She’s the leader of the Hybrids. Or was. I don't know anymore.”

“Oh.”

Peter laughed. “I hope she forgives me.”

“Tell her you’re sorry. No girl wants to admit she was wrong,” she suggested.

“She told me to never talk to her again,” he conveyed.

“Egh, that’s just a suggested.”

He smiled.

****

Eve swallowed. She knew she should have been in bed hours ago but like last night, she couldn’t sleep. And now she found herself standing on the roof of the building, arms wrapped around herself to keep warm from the biting cold. She exhaled, her breath forming a perfect white cloud in the air and vanishing.

She walked closer to the edge and sat down, feet dangling over the edge. She relished the feeling of the air tangling it’s way through her hair. On the building opposite her, she saw the bright white neon letters that spelled TRAKKER Hospital. She rolled her eyes.

They even have a hospital. People must really buy their story. She thought.

She looked at the other roof, a American flag flapping in the wind. She watched it snap back and forth, and her heart sank. She was almost positive that a flag like that wouldn’t fly for a long time after this ‘apocalypse’ was over.

Eve let her mind wander and found herself thinking about how different her life would be if she actually had a mom and dad. If she wasn’t in this situation. She was disgusted at herself. She couldn’t change those facts and dwelling on them wasn’t helping her with anything.

She stood up and walked back inside, winding her way through the maze or hallways until she reached her room. She slowly and as quietly as possible opened the door. She sat down on the bottom mattress and began to untie her shoes.

“You’re up late.” a voice said. Scared, Eve flexed her hand and a long, sharp knife that

almost shown in the dark appeared.

“Sorry, did I scare you?” it was Mouse.

“No,” Eve lied. The blade vanished and she went back to taking her shoes off. “Why aren’t you asleep?”

“Nervous about tomorrow,” she answered. “Aswynn told me I have to go through the Elimination Rounds to make sure I’m worth the antidote. She didn’t say it in those words but that’s what she was implying.”

“You’ll do fine,” she assured her. Both shoes sat next to the bed as Eve pulled the covers up to her shoulders and closed her eyes.

“Do you believe in God?” Mouse asked. The question came out of nowhere, startling her for a moment.

“I don’t know,” Eve answered truthfully after a moment. “Why do you ask?”

“Just curiosity,” she imagine Mouse shrugging. “I guess because you seem a little mad at everything and…” she hesitated. “Bitter at the world.”

“When the world single handedly rips everything you love away from you, tearing you into a million pieces and leaving you there, broken, how would you react?” she was aware of the anger in her voice.

“I’d be upset too.” There was silence for a moment. “Aswynn told me when I got here that you were a foster kid before all of this. Did any of the homes you stayed in believe in God?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I once stayed with a pastor and his family for a little over a year before family issues came up.”

“So you’re familiar with the idea of God then,” Mouse noted.

“You can say that. I believed in God once,” she thought back to the days when it seemed she had nothing to worry about. “But that changed. I saw families fall apart over their moral rules and standards. One person in the family wanted this rule to be more lenient and this person didn’t want it to move. I even saw a church split because of some petty argument about the color of the carpet. No joke.”

“So… God and church have a bit of a bad connotation,” Mouse said slowly.

Eve nodded and then realized she couldn’t see her. “Yeah.”

“Yes or no, do you believe in God?”

“I person I once knew put it this way; ‘God gives the choice to believe He exists or to not believe, but He is never going to force you to believe. Some people never see the good in life and only the bad and those are the people who are most likely to never believe in a God.’” she swallowed. “And I think he was right. In my life, I have seen more bad things then good and it’s hard to see how a God who’s supposed to be loving and kind can let all

that happen.”

“So you don’t believe in God then.”

“No.” Sleep was pulling her eyelids closed and she yawned. “Goodnight, Mouse.”

“Who told you that God gives you a choice?” Mouse asked, curiosity getting the better of her. “Cause he was right.”

“Some kid named Jordan,” she answered groggily. That’s when she realized something, something very important but her brain was too tired to process what she had just said.

With a sigh, she slipped into a peaceful sleep.