EDEN (Completed) (EDEN Series Book 1)

Chapter 26

A woman appears next to the fortune teller. She's appeared out of nowhere, like she's been there the whole time. She is the spitting image of Mute. The only difference is she has long brown hair. I look at Mute, whose jaw has dropped, awestruck.

"Gamble, this isn't happening anymore. That's my sister!" The woman yells.

Two copies of the man appear behind Mute's sister and the fortune teller. Their guns are aimed at the back of the heads of the women. They tense up and begin shaking, afraid of what's to come.

"I love a family reunion! Also, Misfortune, beautiful illusion! I was right behind all of them this whole time!" He yells. He chuckles cynically as we all lock eyes with one another, trying to figure out what to do.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Mystic. Misfortune. Did I forget to tell you that you aren't going to be making it back? Silly me!"

"What do you want with us," I interject.

"Your lives! See, I could kill you all right now, but where's the fun in that? I'm called Gamble for a reason, you know. An elite needs to have a little fun sometimes," Gamble says.

"You do not have to do this, love. At least let us meet with your superior," Aroma pleads.

"No, no, you've caused way too much trouble for that. But, they did tell me I can bring you back alive if I just so happened to capture any of you. So we're going to play a game. The rules are simple. Only one of these clones you see of me is real. Guess which one is real, and you all get to come back alive. Guess wrong, and one of you dies. Then we'll rinse and repeat until you guess correctly. Easy enough, right?"

"You don't want to do this," Arc claims.

"Numbers are just that, numbers. I don't take orders from you," Gamble replies.

"How about a hint, man?" Echo asks.

"There are no hints when you take a chance," Gamble says, "you just gotta hope Lady Luck is on your side. You have ten seconds to talk amongst yourselves. Oh, and if you try to cheat, I'll kill all of you, which I'm sure Mystic will vouch for me, I can do it in a matter of seconds."

We look back and forth at one another. How can we possibly win at this? The odds are severely against us. Panic rears its ugly head as no one can even muster a word. I look at all the clones and try to find any difference between them, but they all look completely identical. I see Echo lift his chin and try to steady his breathing.

"The real one is behind me. And if not, take my life and let them go with you, alive."

The man looks astonished. He lowers the gun behind echo and looks at him like he's trying to figure him out. The other clones stay firm with their revolvers aimed at us, but the one behind echo has to be the real one. I don't know how he knew, and I don't care, but we're saved.

"Wow, ladies and gentlemen, do you see what is happening here?" The man behind Echo says. "I can't even believe my own eyes. This is something you have to see to believe. All it took was one try. One try to get it... wrong!"

One of the clones fires the gun. I'm frightened from the sound so close to me. I close my eyes, but the tears fight through. I'm afraid to see who was hit. I hear a wail from a voice that sounds foreign to me. It's a female's voice. I'm so disoriented I can't pinpoint where it came from. If I don't recognize it, it must've come from the fortune teller or the woman next to her. The same voice cries out, longer and louder this time. I finally open my eyes, and see Mute, on her knees, screaming with anguish. She hasn't been shot, though. Right next to me, lies Aroma on her back, holding a wound to the side of her abdomen. Her breathing is elevated as she stares up into the sky. She can't have more than a few minutes of life left. Someone needs to act, and act fast. I start to sob uncontrollably. I can't lose another friend. No, things were supposed to get better from now on. She didn't deserve this. Out of all of us, she didn't deserve this! Can I save her? My body is immobilized with fear. Why can't I save anyone?! I'm worthless. I fall to my knees, dry heaving. I feel like my insides are twisting and turning. I can't control my breathing, and I feel like I'm minutes from passing out. Mute jumps to her feet, fuming, and Gamble snatches Echo backward by the neck, pressing the revolver against his head, even more firmly. Mute stops, forcing herself not to do something that might get him killed.