Finding Eden Read online

  “You walk ahead of me,” he eventually said. “I need to keep my eye on you.”

  Realizing she had little choice, Lilah walked toward the entrance. She kept her pace casual—not so slow that she’d seem hesitant, but not so fast that she’d seem nervous.

  The fact that she wasn’t in handcuffs was proof that he was giving her the benefit of the doubt. He’d seen her around town with her parents and her younger sister. Her family was in good standing with the Watch. As far as Lilah knew, she was the only mutant who was able to pass the tests and stay legally carded. Then again, if any other mutants were passing, they would probably be just as quiet about it as she was.

  The Warden pulled out a flashlight and shone it on the lock. He fumbled with his keys as he tried to unlock the door with his spare hand. Lilah took deep, slow, and quiet breaths, touching her right palm to her left wrist to make sure it was cool.

  Once they were inside, the Warden handed Lilah the flashlight and asked her to shine it toward a power generator that sat in the corner. The flashlight was the heavy-duty kind, sturdy, with a large spotlight that illuminated the room. Her hand trembled as she took hold of it. She couldn’t discern if her unsteady grip was due to the object's weight or her nerves.

  The Warden turned his back to her and began fiddling with the generator. Lilah considered hitting him on the head with his flashlight and running back home.

  “Is there any way I can call my parents?” Lilah asked, deciding against her former plan. “They expect me home at a particular time.”

  “Just...one…moment,” the Warden said as the room lit up.

  They were in the waiting room of a small clinic that still had most of its furnishings from before the war. Lilah realized she must have been wrong about this place being abandoned. The furniture was lacking the layers of dust and grime she expected to find in an uninhabited building. The floors were clean, and a half-full coffee pot sat on a desk. The air was thick with the savory-smooth scent of recently roasted beans. This building was obviously still being used, but she knew it wasn’t used by any of the three doctors who worked in town. Why did the Watch use this medical facility as an office?

  He led her to a smaller examination room, where he instructed her to sit on a white chair as he prepared a needle to draw her blood.

  As she waited, her eyes drifted over to a trio of vials on a nearby desk. They were full of a hazy liquid and had words scribbled upon them in dark ink.

  The Warden followed her gaze and attempted to block her view of the vials by standing in front of them, but not before she had a chance to read the labels:

  ‘Strength’

  ‘Mind Control’

  ‘Invisibility’

  What the heck is this place? Lilah thought.

  He walked up to her and quickly pricked her arm. She watched the vial fill with crimson blood.

  The blood in the vial turned blue as he mixed in a foreign solution, same as last time. Her lungs deflated with relief. The Warden removed the needle and Lilah started to stand, but he instructed her to sit back down.

  “I’m not done with you yet,” he said, sticking sensors to various points on her scalp and head. Lilah tried not to panic, but this hadn’t been done the last time she was tested.

  He powered up a computer, and she saw lines rising and falling on the monitor. She wanted to ask him what they meant but kept her mouth shut.

  “Your brainwaves and blood do not seem to have any types of mutations,” the Warden eventually said. “So, I'll ask you this: what do you think happened to Billy’s arm?”

  “I wish I knew,” Lilah said.

  The Warden moved closer to where Lilah was seated. He pulled up a small stool in front of her, took a seat, and leaned in closer. She could feel his breath on her skin as he spoke. Was he purposely trying to scare her?

  The beach. Sandcastles. Cool water on my toes.

  She needed to focus and stay calm.

  “Your CitCard files note that you were suspected of a mutation years ago. Someone claimed that you started a fire with your bare hands,” he said. “And then tonight, I saw the mark on Billy’s arm with my own eyes. The burn looked like a handprint.”

  “You just tested me,” Lilah said. “You know I’m not a mutant.”

  The Warden turned off the monitor. “All I know is that my tests do not detect a mutation. There is still a lot we don’t know about mutations and how they work.”

  Lilah was starting to doubt that he would let her go back home to her family. Tears brimmed in her eyes and she looked up—vision blurry—trying to hold them back.

  Please, just let me go home, she thought.

  “We don’t kill every mutant we capture,” he continued. “Sometimes, we study them. After the incident, we wanted to learn more about what we were up against, what could cause mutants to survive and thrive under the noses of honest people.”

  He paused, studying Lilah as if waiting for a reaction. When she didn’t give him one, he continued.

  “We have learned so much just over the past year. Mutations are not always obvious. It’s possible for someone to have a mutation and not even know they have it. It's also possible for someone to have a mutation and hide it. They might try to blend in with society.”

  He leaned forward and his voice took a darker tone. “In the end, the truth always comes out.”

  Lilah tried to visualize the beach again, but the only image that came to mind was of herself drowning in it.

  “I’m not saying that any of that applies to you, of course, but I think you would benefit from further testing. We have a facility where we can find out why these incidents keep happening to you.” The Warden's tone was reassuring, but she could read between the lines and detect the venom in his words.

  “That sounds great,” Lilah said sweetly, knowing all the while that she would light the entire city on fire before she allowed anyone to take her to a facility.

  “For now, let’s head back to the car. I promised to take you home,” the Warden said. “You’ll be hearing from me again soon.”

  Chapter Four

  Adam

  Adam didn’t know what to expect when he stepped into the airplane. All the pre-war images he’d seen of aircraft had only shown the exterior rather than the inside. He prayed that his fear of heights wouldn't prevent him from fully enjoying this once-in-a-lifetime experience. His heart raced with fear and anticipation as he followed Melissa to the aircraft cabin.

  There were rows of narrow seats inside of the airplane. Adam estimated there might be around 200. Though the fabric on the seats was ripped and worn, the heady chemical scent that clung to the air told him the aircraft had been recently cleaned. He walked down the aisle and looked out the window in an attempt to see the plane from every angle. He wanted to explore every nook and cranny of the remarkable machine.

  As Melissa disappeared to sit with the pilot, Adam walked down the aisle to find a seat. Two of the seats were occupied by men who looked to be around the same age as Adam, maybe a little older. They smiled warmly as he approached. Adam nodded toward them as he carried the box holding his uniform to a seat.

  “Let me help you with that,” one offered. He stood up and took Adam’s box, lifting it to a small compartment over Adam’s seat.

  The man was tall and thin, with red hair and a freckled face. He looked a few years older than Adam’s eighteen years.

  “Name’s Adam.” Adam reached out his hand and offered a firm shake.

  “Brice.” He took Adam’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  The plane started to roll away. As it picked up speed, Brice plopped down on his seat. Adam peeked at his family through the window with a heavy heart.

  Another boy, more muscular but younger than Brice, offered a small salute. “You might want to sit down, dude. Taking off is the hardest part. I’m Nate.”

  “Right.” Adam sat down in the empty seat behind Nate seat as the plane picked up speed and took off into the sky.

&
nbsp; Adam's stomach twisted as the plane started to ascend. He clasped his hands on his lap and swallowed.

  “You okay, man?” Nate asked. “You look a little pale.”

  “I will be once we land,” Adam chuckled nervously. “The things you do for your country.”

  He could see all of Indianapolis waving at him through his window. They became smaller and smaller as he accelerated into the clouds.

  “I’m so glad I was first to get picked up. It just doesn't get old,” Brice said. “We are literally flying. Can you believe people used to complain about layovers and long flights? Can you believe people once took this for granted?”

  “Yea, we get a birds-eye view of what the world has become from up here,” Adam said thoughtfully. There was a time when grass and farmland stretched for miles in Indiana. Generations ago, his great-grandparents owned land where they grew corn and soybeans. Due to contamination from the Bio Wars, most of Indiana's crops dried up. Now only yellow strands of grass dared to rise out of the soil. Even though all Adam could see from the sky were miles and miles of fruitless land, flying alongside the clouds was still an unforgettable experience. He wasn't as nervous as he thought he would be.

  He turned to his coworkers. “Where are you guys from?”

  Adam learned that Brice was from Ohio and Nate was from Kentucky. Like Adam, they had been training to become Wardens of the Watch for years.

  It was a very selective process. Applicants needed to be smart, fit, and possess a high-school diploma or higher. Few people bothered with formal education these days. The credits from Kane were usually enough to take care of a person’s basic needs, and the only work available was related to helping rebuild the Indianapolis settlement. But Adam couldn’t picture himself staying in town and getting a construction job like his father. There was a part of him that wanted to be seen. He desperately wanted to make something of himself. The name Adam Clark needed to go down in history, and getting out of town would be a nice first step.

  “What did you guys think of all that training they put us through? Really put me through the wringer,” Brice said.

  Adam nodded. “Weapons training was to be expected; tracking and wilderness survival was not. I don’t understand why we had to learn all that. We aren’t even allowed outside of city bounds.”

  “But dude! We got to speak with Kane. Everyone in my settlement was so jealous,” Nate said.

  Potential Wardens were also required to do interviews with local Wardens, then eventually a phone interview with President Kane himself.

  “Did anyone have to take the math and science test?” Brice asked.

  Adam and Nate shook their heads no.

  “So what brought you all here?” Adam asked, wanting to get to know his coworkers better. “Becoming a Warden is not an easy task.”

  “My dad caught mutants for the Watch as a freelancer,” Nate said. “It’s an exciting way to make some extra credits. I figured why not go all in and make a career out of it.”

  Adam looked at Brice expectantly.

  “I wanted to do this for my sister, actually,” he said. “This isn’t the first time I left home. I moved to New York to attend undergrad. I was studying medicine at one of the few universities we have left. But then I got word from my mother that my sister had been attacked and was sick. I applied to go home, forfeiting school to try and save her. She was killed by a mutant; it was like he infected her with some type of poison. I’m glad Kane gave me another opportunity to make something of myself.”

  Adam’s heart sank. “I’m sorry to hear that. About your sister. That's awful.”

  If any mutant even thought about hurting Avery and Alex, they wouldn't live to see another day.

  Brice nodded. “Everyone has lost somebody nowadays. At least I’m working to get rid of the problem now. The mutants…they shouldn’t be around people. If we allow a bunch of superpowered vigilantes to take over, it'll be the end of humanity. I know I can’t bring my sister back, but I wanted to help the cause in some way.”

  “What about you, Adam?” Nate inquired. “Why did you join?”

  “My neighbor, Olivia, was attacked by a mutant,” Adam said. “It beat her, then picked her up and tossed her against a wall, breaking some of her bones.”

  “Dude, I heard about that! It was right after the incident, right?” Nate said.

  Adam nodded. “Olivia is like a second mother to me. She babysat me as a child and now she helps take care of my little siblings. I wanted to be a Warden before that happened, but that solidified it. The mutant was inhumanely strong. He also wasn’t carded. Apparently, he had been using some type of counterfeit CitCard. I didn’t even know we had mutants in the wilds of Indiana, much less that any could be living in the Indianapolis settlement with us. There are so few survivors in the settlement that everybody knows everybody. I am a bit of an idealist. I just really wanted to be a part of fixing this, of keeping everyone safe. I never dreamt they would ship me off to Chicago, but since they did, I'm definitely planning on making the most of it.”

  The angle of the plane started to shift, causing Adam to cling to his seat. Brice stood up, a cheeky grin on his face, while Adam and Nate looked at him in alarm.

  “I want to see the wing,” Brice announced.

  Nate quickly stood up in agreement, a large grin forming on his face.

  You’ll be fine, Adam told himself as he rose from his seat, his heart in this throat and his stomach in his shoes as he glanced out the window.

  Soon, all three boys were wandering around the plane, trying to find the absolute best view until a bout of turbulence convinced Adam to sit back down. After they found new seats, Adam looked out of his window at the vast but barren woodlands. He knew the woods were once rural areas of the state.

  After the fall of the United States government, the Kane family stepped in to help the survivors of the Bio Wars. They demanded all citizens relocate to their state capital or, in Chicago’s case, the most populous city in the state. The people who relocated to Chicago were tested for mutations before they were given CitCards. Those who didn’t pass the tests were killed by the Watch. Some people mutated after receiving their card, and to this day the Wardens hunt and kill them off to keep healthy people safe. The rural and suburban homes were torn down to prevent people from staying behind. Over time, despite the contaminated soil, trees and weeds grew in the abandoned land.

  Some say mutants ran away to the land surrounding the city to die on their own terms, as it was impossible to grow food out there. Still, Adam wondered, if not from the woods, where did the mutants that caused the incident come from? Could mutants be living right under their noses, passing as everyday citizens? Could the killers still be in town, planning their next attack?

  The settlement of Chicago had more than double the number of survivors than Indianapolis had, and Adam could see his new world getting larger and larger as the plane made its way to the airport. He took in the blue-gray waters of Lake Michigan and the abandoned wooded area surrounding the city.

  Melissa stepped back into the aircraft cabin. “Please stay seated as we land.”

  The Chicago O’Hare International Airport was littered with giant metal parts. If the plane did not land in exactly the right fashion, Adam felt they would crash into the rubble. He bounced in his seat as the wheels hit the ground and drew in a quick breath. Outside his window, he could see a smaller aircraft with the same paint job as his. He wondered if it belonged to Kane, or maybe it was used to transport more new Watch recruits. There was even a small helicopter at the airport. They waited for Melissa to give them the okay to stand before leaving the plane.

  Adam walked out of the plane and waited with Brice and Nate. A small white car rolled over to where they were standing. There were few cars in Indianapolis, and Adam had never seen a vehicle so clean.

  Melissa instructed all three boys to hop into the back seat as she climbed into the passenger's seat. As the car skidded off, she twisted her neck to face th
e boys.

  “I...have some news for you,” Melissa said, her voice sounding unsure. “I know this is short notice. I thought we would have a little more time to relax after we land.”

  She paused, her face a bit flustered.

  “Now that all of the new recruits are here, our fearless leader is eager to get started on our mission. Besides, with all of the planes flying around, it seems the people of the settlement are becoming a little restless. So, I’ll just tell you now. Kane is planning on doing a speech later tonight at around 8 p.m.”

  Adam drew in a breath.

  “You’re going to meet the president!” Melissa said.

  Chapter Five

  Lilah

  As the Warden pulled his car in front of Lilah's house, her eyes shot to an unfamiliar black car in the driveway. Her parents did not own a car. They never had guests.

  “Here you are.” The Warden was eyeing the car with curiosity but said nothing. It was not illegal to have a car in your driveway, after all.

  “Thank you,” Lilah said sweetly, hopping out of the vehicle as quickly as she could.

  “I’ll be back in a few days,” the Warden said, but there was malice hidden in his tone. “I definitely think you could benefit from more testing.”

  Lilah cursed under her breath as the Warden drove off, then hesitantly walked to her front door. Hands still trembling, she knocked twice, wanting nothing more than to fall into the safety of her mother's arms after such a tiring night—but the woman who opened the door wasn't her mother.

  She was blonde and tall, wearing a body-hugging black dress and red combat boots. Lilah guessed she might be in her mid-twenties. Her sharp, manicured eyebrows arched harshly over her blue eyes.

  Lilah looked over the woman's shoulder at her mother, father, and sister, all crammed together on their tiny loveseat. Lilah’s little sister sat on her mother's lap. She was chewing at the bottom of her braids, as she tended to do when she was nervous, and kicking her long brown legs up and down as she looked back at Lilah. Lilah's father’s face was hard to read, as usual, but her mom had an apologetic, almost guilty, look in her eyes. Lilah turned back to the blonde and met her gaze.