Escape from Eden (Original Series book 2) (22 page)

"It's over," I say, trying to catch my breath. "We've risen against the Institute. They're finished."

He laughs long and loud. "Are you kidding me? You think just because you've breached Enfield that you've won? This is just the tip of the iceberg, lady."

This was not a response I was expecting. Between this revelation and what my mother told me, I'm not sure about anything anymore. The only thing I do know is there are a bunch of Originals behind that metal door who need help.

"Your buddies are getting hurt out there," I say. "You better go help them."

He folds his arm to his chest. "I don't have any buddies. Besides, my orders are clear."

"Please let the Originals go," I beg. "They are innocent."

"What they are is dead. You will be too if you don't leave now."

"I can't do that."

We stare at each other for a long moment.

"Fine," he says. "Why don't you come let them out yourself?" He steps to the side. "I'll even open the door for you."

"Do it now."

"No. You come over here, and I'll open it."

"I don't trust you."

He shrugs. "Whatever. No skin off my back."

I'm running out of time. There's no way I can beat him in hand-to-hand combat. My only hope is that I can somehow trick him when I go to the door, maybe even knock him out.

I take a step toward him, my mind running a million different scenarios. None of them are promising. I choose the best one.

As I approach, I slide my hand up the shoulder strap of the backpack. "Open the door."

"Sure, Babe. Whatever you say." He slides his security card into a keypad. The door clicks and opens a mere inch. He motions me forward. "Save your friends."

Just as I reach it, I shrug the backpack off my shoulders and swing it at the guard's face. He dodges, but I still manage to clip his jaw. I swing again, but this time he's ready. He catches my arm and spins me to his chest. I keep a tight grip on my backpack. Whatever happens, I know I can't lose it. It contains my only weapon, even if it's zipped tight within the bag.

"You filthy Original, thinking you can tell
me
what to do." He wedges his foot between the door and the building and flings it open wide. "You get what you deserve." He shoves me inside and to the ground. I go sprawling across the floor, my chin hitting the cold concrete, but at least the backpack is still in my hand. I jump to my feet and rush the door, but before I get there, he slams it shut. I pound my fists until they hurt.

"There's no getting out," a deep voice says. "You're going to die with the rest of us."

I
whirl around
. Jack, the Original who had stood up for the woman my mother had whipped, is standing just behind me, and beyond him dozens of Originals look on. There's a look of hopelessness and utter defeat in their eyes.

"What is this place?" I ask.

Jack looks around, as if seeing it for the first time. "This is our tomb."

"Not if I can help it."

I push by him and circle the all-white room. The ceiling is at least thirty feet high and made out of glass. Just above it, on the roof, is a railing that circles the outside. Primes must go up there to watch whatever it is that happens in this room. There's no one there now, however. I lower my gaze and search the rest of the large space, but it is bare.

"There's got to be something," I growl. I ignore everyone's stares. I must look like a crazy person, searching for hope in a room meant for the hopeless.

I scan the area again, walking quickly. This time I spot a three-by-three foot panel screwed into the wall. It's so thin that I had missed it on my first pass. I rush to my backpack and unzip the zipper, wishing I had kept the com device instead of giving it to Link. I could really use it right now.

As soon as I find the knife, I grip it tightly and hurry to the side of the room. I drive the tip into the top of the panel and the wall. It barely fits. I slide it to the corner where there's the most resistance. Working the blade back and forth, the panel begins to budge. I rip my shoe off, shove my hand inside then pound the handle of the knife as hard as I can until I'm sure the blade is as deep and close to the corner bolt as possible.

There are whispers behind me. A few of the words tickle my ear. "Give up." "Foolish." "Waste of Time." But there are some who come to stand behind me, interested in what I'm doing. Jack is one of them.

Outside there's another explosion, closer this time.

"Do you guys hear that?" I say, while I continue to apply pressure on the corner. "That's people coming to save you."

Jack snorts. "Nobody cares about us. We're ghosts to the outside world."

"You're wrong! The world is changing."

"Is it true?" a woman standing next to Jack asks. She has long blond hair, skin that looks too translucent, and dark circles under her eyes.

Something pops inside and the corner is finally free. I tug it back, but it only opens about a foot. Inside is a long ventilation duct of some kind. It's big enough for humans to crawl through, if I could just get this panel off.

Just then there's a sound from above. Several square sections near the ceiling open, and in their place six narrow tubes snake out and come toward us. They stop a few feet above our heads.

"What is that?" I ask.

Jack stares up. "Gas will fill this room soon. We'll all fall asleep and then we'll die."

"Not if I can help it." I take hold of the loose corner and pull downward, trying to peel it back as far as it can go. I grunt and cry out, but I'm simply not strong enough.

"Let me help," Jack says, and steps next to me.

Together we tug at the panel. It creaks and groans, but eventually it opens almost all of the way.

"You go first," I tell Jack. "I don't know what's at the end. You might have to kick down another panel. Go!"

He nods his head and scrambles into the tunnel, but before he goes in all the way, he glances back at the woman who spoke to him earlier. "Climb in behind me when you can, okay Kate?"

She touches the top of his head tenderly and says, "Be careful."

"Everyone else get in line," I call. "You're all getting out of here."

Several hurry forward, while some stay back. The others try to convince them to go, but they slump to the floor or stare at nothing. There is no more fight in them.

I glance into the narrow opening. I can no longer see Jack as the duct turns at the end. I whirl around to Kate, noticing for the first time how much her eyes look like my mother's. "Climb in."

Instead of doing what I ask, she turns to the person behind her. "Come on, Leon. It's your turn."

Kate continues to help those in line, while I hurry around the room, encouraging the remaining few to get up. "You're free now! Help is out there. You're so close!"

Nothing works, but I can't just let these people die. I tighten my hands into fists, anger coursing through me. "If you all don't get up, I swear I will drag you to that hole and stuff you inside! Do you understand?"

"It's you that doesn't understand," a quiet voice says.

I turn around. There's a woman slumped on the floor. Her stringy hair is long and auburn. I bet it used to be beautiful.

"They've already destroyed us," she says. "All we want is peace now. Please let us have that."

I'm about to argue, when a hissing sound from above stops me. It's followed by a thin puff of smoke from all of the tubes. The room is plenty big and the tubes small. If I had to guess, we have five to seven minutes to get everyone out alive.

"Stay low, everyone!" I call and scramble over to the duct. A few people are still waiting to get inside. Kate is doing all she can to get people to hurry faster. Her blue eyes meet mine.

"Thank you," she says. "For saving who you could."

"It's not over yet."

Another explosion shakes the floor. Only one thing left to do. I'm not even sure it will work. Colt's hearing is exceptional, but would it work through these walls?

Hunched over, I sprint to the large door and inhale deeply. On my exhale, I yell, "Colt!"

Over and over I call his name until my head begins to swim. I slump to the floor, my limbs heavy. There are still about ten people left, most of them have collapsed like me, a few having already closed their eyes. Kate has also fallen to the floor, but she's still trying to push the last person through. I don't think she realizes that the elderly woman she's helping has already stopped moving.

I don't want to die this way, not without having my revenge on the Institute, not knowing my mother is a part of them. But I no longer have a choice.

"The end is coming," a soft voice says not far away.

At least it will be painless, I think. My breaths are becoming more shallow.

"I see Death!" someone yells loud enough to make my eyes fly open.

I follow the direction of a man's pointed finger toward the glass ceiling. There's a dark, winged figure heading right for us. It shatters the glass and great wings flap fresh air into the room. I smile, at least in my mind I do, when I realize that it's not death after all, but Colt.

He sinks on the floor next to me, his face pained. "Are you alright?"

"Save… them," I gasp and glance at the others. No one is moving and only a few have their eyes open.

The door I'm leaning against rattles suddenly, then someone pounds hard. Muffled voices sound behind it.

"Tank's trying to get in," Colt says and drags me to the side, before he rushes to carry away the nearest person.

Every time he lowers back down for someone else, he glances my way. I keep waiting for the added oxygen to clear my mind, but I'm still too weak to suck in a proper breath. My lips begin to tingle and my vision dims.

All of a sudden the door next to me pops, followed by a bunch of smoke. Tank and a few other Primes rush in and drag the remaining people out. Kate is in his arms, her body limp and eyes closed.

Colt finally returns to me and scoops me up, cradling to his bare chest as he walks me out.

"Breath in, Sage," he says.

I try to inhale deeply, but it won't come, and my chest tightens. My eyes widen when I realize I can't get a full breath into my lungs.

"Breathe, dammit!" he says again, with more force. He sets me on cool grass, forcing me to sit up. He turns to yell at someone in the distance. "We need help over here!"

I attempt to breathe again, but my lungs revolt against the motion. I need air! My eyes roll upwards. I'm out in the open, beneath a wide gray sky with wind blowing, but I might as well be trapped inside a dark cave. I claw at Colt, frantic to take a breath.

His grip is tight on my shoulders as he leans forward and whispers in my ear. "Concentrate on every breath. Help is coming."

Just as he says it, Ash drops to her knees in front of me, fumbling with a syringe full of clear liquid. My whole body begins to shake. What I wouldn't give to breathe!

"Hold her," she orders Colt.

Colt extends my arm with one hand and with his other, he presses me to his chest.

"If the poison is what I think it is," Ash says, pressing the needle to my arm, "then this should relax her spasms."

She looks at Colt just before she plunges the fluid into my arm. I don't feel anything other than a burning desire to breathe. I claw at Colt again, my eyes wide. My body jerks, then begins to shake.

"It's not working!" he says.

"Just give it a second." Ash presses her fingers to my wrist checking for a pulse, then looks up at me. "Sage, I want you to take a big breath, as hard as you can. Do you understand?"

What does she think I've been trying to do?

"Now!" she yells at me.

I lift my shoulders back and try to suck in air, but it's like there's a sock stuffed down my throat.

"Again!"

"Come on, Sage," Colt says. I don't know who's gripping who tighter, me or him.

With the last bit of energy I have, I inhale. All of a sudden, my lungs open and cool air rushes in. I gasp and breathe again.

Ash and Colt both drop their shoulders.

He rubs my back. "Good. Don't stop."

It takes over a minute for my breathing to become steady. I hope to never experience that again.

"Are you okay now?" Ash asks.

I nod, and wipe my wind-blown hair away from my face.

She touches my knee. "I need to attend to some other people, but I'll check on you again soon."

"Thank you."

Colt slides over to the grass in front of me. He doesn't say anything, just stares at me, his face full of an emotion I can't pinpoint. It is always that way with him.

"How mad are you?" I ask.

He presses his forehead to mine, his lips a mere inch away. "You're driving me crazy, do you know that?"

I give a small smile and look around. "How's everyone else?"

Several of the buildings are on fire. There are many Primes walking around, laughing and cheering, while other Primes, all dressed the same, sit on the ground next to the Towers, their hands tied behind their backs. Enfield is ours. We did it. By the way everyone is celebrating, it doesn't look like it was too difficult either.

"We suffered some casualties," he says, leaning away from me, "but it wasn't too bad." He focuses on something just behind me. "I'll be right back, okay?"

Before I can answer, he jumps to his feet and hurries off. I'm about to turn around to see where he's going, when I hear, "Sage!"

Link runs toward me. He's holding his right arm protectively to his chest, and his left eye is black.

"Are you okay?" he asks and drops into the grass next to me.

"Nearly died. You?"

"Same."

I glance over my shoulder to where Colt disappeared. He’s speaking with Tank and Jack near the containment building. Tank motions to his left. I follow the direction. Four people lay on the ground, and I recognize Kate's long, blond hair sprawled across the concrete. Jack hurries to her. He drops to his knees and cradles her to his chest, his shoulders trembling. He lets out a terrible moan.

"Is she dead?" Link asks, his voice shaky.

Instead of answering, I inhale a hitched breath that has nothing to do with my spasming lungs moments ago. It doesn't matter what I do or how hard I fight. People will always die.

"Are you okay?" Link asks me. "Where's your mother?"

"Gone," I whisper.

"Like gone, gone?"

"Can we talk about it later?"

He nods his head. "This is crazy. I had no idea it was going to be so violent. I think I'm going to have nightmares for months."

"What happened out here?" I ask.

"After I managed to take out that guard in security, I shut off the electrical field and messaged Colt. They got here quickly, but several hovercrafts were already in the air. They knew we were coming. It was weird."

I swallow, but nearly choke on the lump in my throat. That was my fault, but I don't say that. Not yet anyway.

He rubs the back of his neck with his good arm. "You'd think if this place was as important as we thought it was, the Institute would've tried harder to keep it. I mean, where were all their super Prime fighters, especially Titans?"

He's right. Enfield fell too easily, even with me telling my mother what was coming.

"Remember when we were back at Eden?" Link begins. "That night before Tank showed up? I was whining to you about how bored I was fighting with fake swords and pretend drills." His voice lowers. "What I wouldn't give to be back home at Eden surrounded by a big strong wall."

"I'm so sorry," I say. "I should never have—"

"Don't do that. I was the one who was dying for an adventure. Well, I got it."

I reach over and squeeze his hand. "We saved some people," I offer.

He kicks at the dirt with his shoe. It billows up into the wind. "Yeah. There's that."

"Knowing what you know now, would you still have come?"

He looks pointedly at me. "Would you?"

I turn away, unable to answer. Everything I went through…the pain, the betrayal. Was it worth it?

Just then I spot Anthony walking toward us. He's carrying two large bags.

"You took a huge risk sneaking into Enfield when we expressly told you no," he says to me with eyebrows drawn together

"What have you got there?" I ask, avoiding his eyes. I wish I would've listened and not come to Enfield at all.

"A bunch of reading material and discs. I'm going to try and figure out what they were doing here."

"Search that place over there." I point to the building down the road. "There's an office inside. You'll probably find a lot there."

"What is it?" he asks.

I stare into the distance. "That's where my mother lived."

"Really? She didn't live in the Towers with the rest of them?"