EDEN (Completed) (EDEN Series Book 1)

Chapter 16

The twirling red light above her office door is barely enough light to illuminate the hallway. The tyrant lies before us, possibly ready to try to kill us all. Snap motions us to stand to the sides of the door as he shapes his hand into a boulder of ice. Every fiber of my being wants to kill her, to put an end to this, once and for all, but I can almost hear Lucy's voice begging me not to. I have now become the voice that used to ail me. However, I hope Lucy's good conscience isn't the voice that replaces it. I can't be deterred in my new quest for revenge, no, redemption.

Snap breaks the metal door with one full swing. We rush in with our guards up, only to see Sydney with her back turned to us. How admirable, it seems she's realized her death is almost inevitable. Her office's overhead lights are off, but the same red light from the hall has taken their place. A digital clock hangs near the ceiling. I glance at it when it reads, 3:52, and continues to count down. The walls of the room are lined with pictures of her and what I assume are her family and friends. A few children's drawings fill in the empty gaps between pictures, they all look somewhat... familiar. The organization in here is almost too neat. There doesn't seem to be an object or file out of place. Sydney turns to us, holding a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a half-empty glass in the other.

"It's over, Sydney," Snap says.

She chuckles and takes a sip of her expensive liquor. She throws a phone on the table. I recognize it as the one that instilled fear into Vince. The phone with only one large, red button on it.

"You really think it ends with me?" She says, halfway slurring some of her words. "No, no, it's just the beginning. I'll be surprised if you last more than a day. You'll be labeled as fugitives, and other facilities will send agents and super humans like you. The only difference will be they'll already Be weaponized." She laughs once again, taking a bigger gulp of her drink. She begins to pace back and forth, seeming to collect her thoughts, or maybe, reflecting on her life thus far. "You're all in this now, for life. Remember who you are right now, it's going change you, the longer you live."

"So, it changed you?" I ask.

"Not changed, it just made me accept who I am. Five years ago, I took my first life, accidentally. I gave him a dosage of medication that exceeded how much he actually needed. The doctors just thought the medication wasn't working and his illness was getting worse. Months later, when I finally realized I was slowly killing him, I knew I should stop, but I didn't, I didn't want to. I felt powerful for the first time in my life. Like, a goddess of death. By the time Vince found me, I was already responsible for four casualties."

I was wrong about her; she isn't weak at all. A sociopath, yes, but not weak. Everyone in the room looks mutually disgusted with her. The clock now reads 2:24. I don't know what it's counting down to, but it can't be good, given the circumstances. Gadget casually strolls over to Sydney's computer. He places his hand on it, and the lights turn back on in a matter of seconds. Clicks and sounds of locks being lifted hum throughout the hallway. The countdown continues, though.

"Imagine, myself, a goddess of death, with an army of super humans at my disposal. I was planning on taking over all of this one day, but I guess that dream ends now." She giggles and sits in the chair in front of her desk. "Beautiful Alice, will you be ending me, now?"

"You're not worth the trouble," Snap claims, "let's go."

We start to turn toward the hall. I don't have to kill her; I know I don't. I'm not like her; I'm better than all of this. I'm not a murderer, and I'm not Eden, I'm Alice Aldaine. I can't tell if I'm simply reminding myself of these facts, or actually trying to convince myself.

"I told Vince to kill Lucy, and your parents, it's how I got that locket," Sydney says.

These words resonate in my ears over and over until I turn back to face her. I try to subdue the anger I feel beginning to grow. I can't let her get to me. I won't let her break me. Lucy is watching over me right now, and I can't disappoint her. Part of me always knew she was up to something. I shouldn't be surprised right now, especially now that I see who Sydney really is.

"You're so strong Eden-"

"Alice, my name is Alice," I interrupt.

"Alice," she continues. "You may even be as strong as the Elites, maybe even stronger. The only difference between you and them is that you still had things keeping you human when you could be so much more. Now there's nothing to hold you back. Face it; Lucy and your parents needed to die, their existence was meaningless."

Her words cut me; it feels like she's opened the new wound that was left when Vince killed Lucy. I raise my hand and clench my fists, pulling her up with a chain, just like I did to Vince. Her gasping for air sounds so similar to his; it's so pleasing. I could listen to this for hours. Her legs kick back and forth, desperately searching for something solid to plant themselves on. I feel her fear; I feed on it.

Snap grabs my arm and freezes it. It feels heavy and numb like all my nerves just stopped working. Sydney drops to the ground, holding her neck in pain. Snap's really starting to annoy me. I use my other arm to pull my chains from the wall and restrain him against it.

"If you kill her, you're no better than her!" He shouts.

I hate reasonable people, just let me have my fun. So what if I want to kill Sydney, she got me into this mess, and him, too! He should want her dead as much as I do. The locket around my neck floats in front of my face on its own. It opens, and I see my parents staring back at me with judging eyes. I turn to see Mute with her hand raised; she must be doing this. I understand the gesture, but I just want to see Sydney covered in her blood.

Aroma has crept to my side, unnoticed. She blows a sweet scent across my nose. The scent smells so divine. I feel like I'm lying in a field of roses right now. Actually, I am in a field of roses. When did we get here? I don't care; I don't have a care in the world, anymore. Everything is perfect now that we finally get to escape. I can go see so much of the world. I've always wanted to go to Tokyo; that's always been my dream. My friends put my arms over their shoulders and walk with me through the gorgeous field. I'm so happy I met all of them, I think we're all going to be together for such a long time. We come to a door lined with flowers. It's so beautiful I want to cry. Snap opens it, and light shines through the other side. Are we in heaven right now?

"Wake up," I hear Eden's voice command.

The sound of glass shattering rings in my ears. The roses begin to rot, one by one. The sun fades, and darkness takes its place. This can't be real, not anymore. Not after everything that has happened. I come to my senses, and we're on a railroad track, surrounded by vast forests. Snap and Decoy are holding me up. I lunge away from them, still staining to secure my footing.

"What the hell was that!?" I belt.

Aroma steps forward, wearing a guilty look.

"I apologize, love, but you were getting a tad bit reckless. I did not want to see you do something that you may come to regret."

I know I would've regretted killing Sydney, but that was my choice to make, not hers.

"Stay out of my head," I say, sternly.

She wears a look of sadness that would make anyone feel bad for scolding her. It almost gets to me, almost. The ground begins to rumble, softly. It escalates quickly into what feels like an earthquake. We all, stunned, lie down and try to wait it out. It subsides rather quickly, it seems. I've never experienced an earthquake before, but I always thought they last much longer, especially ones of this magnitude.

"It seems the countdown has reached zero," Gadget says.