The Prophecy (Watty Awards 2013)

Chapter 5

V

The journey was extremely demanding, stealing all of the energy Lozada’s men, especially Blake, had left. Food was insufficient and the orange juice, a miniscule left. They had walked for the majority of the day, with little time for rest. Lozada kept hearing footsteps behind them, but was convinced it was just delusions again created by the elongated hunger and thirst. Eventually, toward the end of their exasperating journey, the urge to look round was too much. A woman was roughly one hundred metres behind the group of exhaustion. She looked around mid twenties but her appearance revealed very little, long, dark, and surprisingly luscious hair sweeping across her back due to the omnipresent breeze produced by the fading storm. Held at gunpoint she obediently wandered up to the four aggressive but cautious men. As she slowly walked closer Tyson detected the fragrance ‘Bronze Goddess’ by Estée Lauder; a scent his girlfriend would wear every evening. It was the sweet smell of attitude. Blake pointed the gun at her upper body, the easiest and biggest target, if he had to shoot, her death was almost certain.

“Why have you been following us?” Lozada said curiously, wiping the sweat of his brow. He was intent on killing her but she seemed sweet and innocent and a constant reminder of his late wife.

“I’ve come to help you; I have an advanced understanding of this world, I don’t want to be left alone to rot in this god-forsaken place, I figure it’s easiest when you are part of a group?” The youthful survivor said, the fear and loneliness in her eyes displayed her fright but she was courageous at the same time, she was an insignificant fragment of the chaotic city of London.

“And what information would this be?!” Lozada was still interested but had to show authority.

“I know my way around the Network like no other, my father, my late father, created the blueprints for the system. Take me on and I will take you through the underground Network tunnels!” The young adult yelled, above the furious tempest.

“I don’t trust her, you expect us just to have faith in a stranger? This is madness! Have you gone insane?” Tyson insubordinately questioned his leader, this was courageous but the four needed all the assistance they could get.

“Look, you don’t have to trust her, but nobody knows the Network as best as she does and we won’t survive if we carry on like this, we need the help she is offering!” Lozada was displaying his desperateness; he couldn’t let the prophecy getting into the hands of the Collective, because all would be lost.

“Okay but if anything happens you’re to blame! If she stabs us in the back I’ll kill her!” Blake said, as the nausea and vertigo began to fade, his colour returned from a pale purple to mushroom beige.

“So what do we call you?” Lozada asked, demonstrating his control.

“Eva, Eva Astral” The woman said in confidence.

“What’s the quickest way to Alexandra Palace Eva?” Lozada asked.

“Just follow me…” Eva instructed, now the four became five and everybody’s safety was placed in Eva’s hands. The stranger whom they just met.