EDEN (Completed) (EDEN Series Book 1)

Chapter 22

I'm shaken out of my slumber by the sound of humming flowing in from the outside. The tune sounds morbid and depressing. As I look around the room I fell asleep in, it looks the same, but everything is gray and dull. The wallpaper is riddled with scratch marks and broken picture frames. I stand and head to the doorway, still missing an actual door. Standing in the field, picking dead, black roses, I see my power, manifested in the form my mind sees it. Eden. She turns to me, eyes blacker than a cloudless night, and shakes her head at me.

"I thought we had a deal, you give me control, I give you power," she says.

"I don't have to listen to you; you're not even real!"

"So, either I am real, or you're crazy. Sounds like a lose-lose situation to me," she replies. "What did Luna say? 'Lose your mind and you might find something better?' I'm that something better."

Letting her control me puts me one step closer to being the cold killer the Gens wants me to be. I won't allow it! I've gotten this far on my own, without ever having to give Eden full control. As long as I keep using a little of my power at a time, I should be fine.

"You aren't better than me," I scold.

She laughs, putting the withered roses in her cobweb filled hair.

"You know, I don't need your permission. I'll just wait until you're vulnerable and take over. Your friends are weak. The world is changing, and weak people will be obsolete. But you and I are strong. You and I can, no, will have this world in the palm of our hands." She laughs and in an instant, appears directly in front of me. "See you soon," she says, pushing me down. The moment I hit the ground, I jolt awake back in the room I remember shutting my eyes in.

The sun peeks its rays from atop the canopy in a way that seems to connect with my eyes purposefully. A week ago, I would've been annoyed to wake up to it, but now, feeling the sunshine lets me know I'm still alive, especially after that horrid nightmare. At least, I think it was a nightmare. I can still feel where she pushed me, It stings, lightly. Mute and Aroma are nowhere in sight as I search around the living room. However, Gadget is sitting in the recliner with his fingers entwined, watching me, like he's doing a study.

"Umm, hi," I murmur.

"I send my condolences to you. As I watched your face turn a blush red in the presence of Decoy in the barn, one could infer that you were becoming quite fond of him romantically," he responds.

I didn't think anyone saw that. I can feel my face getting hot again from embarrassment.

"Yes, I believe that was the hue of red. Wait, does this mean you're fond of me as well? Although I am flattered, I must be honest; you're not really my type."

"Great, turned down by a ten-year-old," I laugh.

"I'm eleven. Your face is very symmetrical and beautiful by society's standards, but I prefer an educated woman with a master's degree, like myself, I'm sure you understand."

I'm just going to take all of that as a compliment. I've never been told I have a symmetrical face before, so that's a plus. Mute and Aroma enter the room, Mute twirling in a black and white striped dress. Her face is painted once more, covered in white, with bright red lipstick and black diamonds painted around her eyes. For one of the first times, the paint isn't smeared. Ironically, she has three black teardrops painted under her left eye.

"Our friends made sure to render all the vehicles here useless. I told her we were going to be doing a lot of walking, but she insisted on wearing that dress," Aroma declares.

"You look pretty, Mute," I say.

She fans her eyes likes she's crying tears of joy. She twirls back out of the room and out the door where I can see the rest of the group sitting with backpacks. I must've been the last to wake up. Sol is sitting out there, away from everyone. She wears that familiar distressed look. I guarantee it has to do with Luna.

The sun feels warm against my skin as I leave the house to join the rest of them. We have another long journey ahead, but hopefully, it's the last one we have to make for some time. Sol pulls me to the side and hugs me, tightly, out of nowhere.

"I'm so sorry... she... she has a mind of her own. It's-"

"It's okay," I interject, "you aren't her, you don't have to apologize for her actions. I understand what you're going through, to an extent."

"And... and Decoy, just know, he's in a better place, now," she says, tears streaming from her eyes.

I feel a knot in my throat, the same one I get anytime I'm about to cry. I'm trying to fight the thoughts away. I'm trying to tell myself I just met him and I barely knew him. Even though that is true, I know I still cared about him. It hurts. It hurts so much, all over again.

"I know, I know," I say, nodding while gritting my teeth. Eden said she would take me when I'm vulnerable. I can't let her. I have to be strong on my own. We join the rest of the group, circled around Snap. Junior, or rather, Echo, is packed and ready to travel along with us.

"We have food and supplies now, this trip should be easier than yesterday's," Snap says, "we should get there around nightfall. Let's move."

Out to the woods once again. My feet are still sore from yesterday, but I can do this. His house will be a chance for us to decide what's next. Maybe even go our separate ways and find our lost love ones. I see something I can't believe in Snap. He's actually... smiling? I think this is the first time I've really seen that expression on his face. It looks nice on him. He catches me staring at him and instantly changes his face back to its usual blank slate. I walk a little faster to catch up to him.

"No shame in being happy to see your wife," I tease.

He chuckles, looking at the ground as he walks. "It's not only that. My son is four now; I haven't seen him since he was an infant." The smile returns to his face.

"I'm happy for you," I say.

It's nice to see this side of him. I was beginning to think that hard exterior was also how he was on the inside. He just lost his friend, and I can see the hurt behind his gaze, but I also see he's clinging to the thought of seeing his family once again. I really am happy for him. I no longer have a family, but I'm glad that my friends don't have to go through this. I wouldn't even wish the feeling on my worst enemies.

Mute begins jumping up and down, holding her legs together. She points to a far tree, fervently, trying to get anyone's attention.

"Darling, I told you to go before we left," Aroma says, "well, be quick about it."

We stop to wait for her return. She darts toward a far tree and gets lost in the brush. A minute passes, and it feels like it's taking a lot longer than it should. We hear the crackling of sticks and dead leaves heading back towards us, but it sounds like there's more than one person. Mute comes out of the brush, two men behind her with guns pointed at her torso. She smiles and waves at us, energetically, like her life isn't on the line right now. She points at them with her thumb over her shoulder and rolls her eyes.

"Well, shoot, thought we only caught one of these here fugitives, Clayton. Looks like we got the whole flock. They said you pansies are dangerous, said to stay away from ya. Well, if they're givin' money just for information, I bet the real money is in bringin' you to their doorstep," one man says, staring at a paper in his hands.

"Looks like we're eatin' good tonight, Bubba!" Clayton says.

I guess I need to accept the fact that we don't get to go even twenty-four hours without having guns pointed at us. It truly has gotten old. Somehow, Mute still holds her gleeful demeanor. It must be a bad sign for the general public to be out looking for us. But, I'm sure these two will learn, we are dangerous.