The Human (The Eden Trilogy) (2 page)

"Slowing it down?" West asked as he sank onto his bed.  "Not fully stopping it?"

I shook my head.  "It keeps it at bay for about two weeks at a time, but no. It doesn't stop it permanently.  You have to go back in the Extractor every two weeks."

West stared at me in disbelief for a moment.  "How do you know all this?  How...  How long has this been going on?"

"Just short of two months," I answered him hollowly. I sat back in the chair, my arms crossing over my chest.  "You've undergone extraction three times now.  And every time you come back out, you don't remember what's happened."

West shook his head, squeezing his eyes closed tightly, like maybe he could shake the memories into focus.

"You should probably get some rest, eat some food," I said, climbing to my feet.  "I will walk with you to the kitchen, let them know you're okay."

"Did I hurt anyone?" he asked.  “They’ve got me locked up.  There must be a reason for that.”

I stilled by the door.  The first time he had woken, Dr. Beeson had been there, as well as some of his team.  He had broken three of Dr. Beeson’s fingers and the arm of his assistant, Addie.  “It doesn’t matter,” I said after too long of a pause.  “We just need to focus on getting you better.”

West turned toward the mirror that hung on the wall.  Or what remained of it.  He had thrown a book at it the second time he woke up and broken it pretty badly.  His face paled when he saw his reflection.  One of his hands rose to touch his skin.

"Come on," I said uncomfortably, trying to draw his attention away from what he was seeing.  "Let’s get you some food."

"I'm not hungry," he said, still studying his reflection.

"Fine," I said.  "Help me get the door open?"

West didn’t respond.  His head whipped to the right, toward the small window that looked out to the sunny street below.  He crossed to it, looking out.

“It worked?” he breathed.  “Didn’t it?”

I nodded, even though he wasn’t looking at me.  “Yeah, the Pulse killed them all off.  We’re safe, for now.”

West took a deep breath and continued to stare out the window for a long moment.   “I can’t believe I missed it.” 

It was my fault he had.  He’d been trying to protect me when he got infected.

Finally, he turned.  With his help, we forced the door open.  I stepped out into the hall.

"Are you going to terrorize anyone, or do I need to send up an armed guard?" I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets.  It might have sounded like I was making a joke, but I wasn’t.

"I feel okay.  Freaked out, but okay."  He shook his head when he looked out into the hall, realizing he was on the blue floor and not the residential second floor.

"Good," I said, turning to go.

I'd only taken two steps away from West when he called out to me.

"You chose Avian, didn't you?"

I hesitated mid-step, a sharp, biting cold spreading through my veins.  I had hoped we could avoid this part for just a little while longer this time around.

"Yes," I answered simply.  Without waiting for his reply, I kept walking down the hall.

TWO

“Are you okay?”

My eyes jerked to the right, finding Lin walking out of room 104.  The room behind her was filled with children.  They sat in a circle, reading books and coloring pictures.  Lin was the new-age elementary school teacher.

I’d been standing in the lobby, zoned out, trying not to think about West or cybernetics or Bane or the complexity of love.  She stopped at my side, her arms folded across her tiny frame.  “West woke up, didn’t he?” she asked.

I nodded, pressing my lips tightly together.  My eyes searched the lobby.

“I think Avian went back to his room,” Lin said as she too scanned the space.  It wasn’t as busy as it had been a few weeks ago.  The day-to-day operations of New Eden had changed.  We didn’t have to worry about the Bane falling down on us.  For now.

“West was pretty calm this time,” I said, looking back toward the classroom.  Parents came to collect their children.  Wix took Brady by the hand and led him out into the sun outside.  “Once I got there anyway.”

“Are
you
okay though?” Lin asked.  Her eyes searched for the truth I knew she’d find.

My eyes rose to the ceiling and I shook my head.  “I don’t know,” I said quietly.  “He asked about my decision almost immediately.”

“It’s still fresh for him,” Lin said.

“It’s always fresh for him,” I said, wrapping my arms around my midsection.  “That’s the problem.  I keep trying to move on, to let go of the guilt I feel.  But him forgetting every time makes that impossible.”

“You don’t need to punish yourself,” Lin said, placing a tiny hand on my arm.  “You deserve to be happy, Eve.  You can’t save everyone and you can’t always fix every problem.”

I met her gaze again and I felt an immense sense of gratitude toward her.  Lin was one of the most understanding people I had ever met.  I couldn’t comprehend how she could always take things so calmly and evenly.  But she always said the right things when I needed to hear them.

“Thanks,” I said, attempting a bit of a smile.

“Any time,” she said before wrapping me in a hug that was surprisingly strong, considering her size.

“I think I’m going to go find Avian now,” I said when she released me.

“I think that’s a good idea,” she said with a wink before she walked back to the remaining students.

Climbing the stairs, I turned down the hall.  I knocked on Avian’s door once.  No one answered so I peeked inside, only to find it empty.

I opened the door to my own room to find a small package sitting on my bed.  I crossed the room and gingerly picked it up.

It was solid, far heavier than I expected it to be.

Tearing back the brown paper packaging, I found a box.  I lifted the lid to find a beautiful, silver handgun.

“I kind of thought it just screamed ‘Eve.’”

I turned to see Avian leaning in the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Is this a Desert Eagle .44 magnum?” I asked, my voice disbelieving.  I looked back at the firearm.  I pulled the clip out and found it fully loaded.

“Yep,” Avian said, crossing the room and stopping by my side.  “I found it while I was out with the rehoming crew.”

 “These are nearly impossible to find,” I said with a laugh in my voice.  “And you just happen across one?”

Avian placed his hands on my shoulders.  He leaned in close, brushing his lips across my shoulder.  “Uh huh.”

“You want to go test it out after duty tomorrow?” I asked, replacing the clip and eying along the barrel.

“I was hoping you would say that,” he said and I could hear the smile in his voice.  “I got myself a new compound bow and a quiver full of broad tipped carbon shaft arrows.  I wanted to test them out.”

Setting the gun down on the bed, the safety on, I turned and faced Avian.  He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in close.  There was a hint of a smile playing in the corners of his mouth.

“Are you using firearms to get me alone in my room?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, his smile growing as he pushed the door closed.

Avian’s lips were as familiar as the feeling of clothing against my skin, but he was different fabrics and textures every time they met.  His lips consumed my own, trailed to my jaw, explored my neck, sought other places on my body. 

I lay back on the bed, my new firearm hard under my spine.  Avian lifted me further onto the bed and he shifted on top of me.  My hands clutched the fabric of his shirt and as his lips trailed once again to my throat, the fabric suddenly split as I tugged.  Neither of us noticed as I let the tattered remains fall to the floor.

Avian was the one sure way to pull me back to the surface on my dark, drowning days.

His hands held the small of my back, his skin meeting mine in a way that threatened to black me out.  My breath came out ragged in a way hours of running never managed to bring out of me.

I tugged on his lower lip with my teeth, my hand running over his buzzed hair.  I loved it when it got to this length.  It was soft and fuzzy.  I rolled on top of him, my legs straddling his. 

Somehow we'd found heaven on Earth in the middle of hell.  Avian and I together, that was what it was.  Heaven.  Happiness.

There was a knock on the door.  “Eve?” Royce’s voice rang though the heavy wood.  “You in there?”

I jerked back from Avian, covering my mouth to stifle the scream or laugh I knew was about to come.  My face felt warm and I knew I was blushing. 

“Yeah, I’m here,” I said, springing off of Avian and straightening my clothes.  I half-tripped across the room and cracked the door open. 

Royce shook his head, a coy smile playing on his lips that said he knew exactly what I had just been doing. 

“You need something?” I squeaked.

“Dr. Beeson and Dr. Stone would like a report on West,” Royce said.  His own face was slightly red with embarrassment.

“Okay, I’ll be up in a few minutes,” I said, my voice higher pitched than I would have liked.

“Five minutes,” he said, attempting to be serious once again.  “Oh, and Avian,” he said loudly.  My face flushed all the more hot.  “Nice work on the block five scout.  Looks like those units will be perfect.”

“Thank you, Sir,” Avian called from behind me.  I faintly heard him suppressing a laugh.

Royce just shook his head as he walked away.  I heard him mutter something like “horny hybrid” under his breath.

I turned back to Avian, feeling utterly horrified.

Avian burst into laughter. 

“This is not funny, Avian!” I said, throwing a box of tissues in his direction. 

He just laughed as he dodged them.  “I have to say, I never thought I’d have the experience of being walked in on by the father with you,” he said.

“Royce…” I started to argue.

“He might as well be,” Avian said, the smile still on his face.  “Trust me, he’s protective enough of you to be your father.”

My face still felt hot.  “Well, I’m fully aware of what the human emotion of embarrassment feels like now.”

Avian chuckled and bent to grab his shirt.  He held up the tattered remains with a ridiculous smile.

“Sorry about that,” I said, not feeling sorry in the slightest.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said light-heartedly as he dropped it into my garbage can.  “I can always get another in this city.”

I couldn't help but stare at him for a moment.  He really was beautiful.  His eyes burned bright in the dim light, his brow heavy and dark, giving him a deep and soulful look.  His jaw was strong, all his features so serious and deep.  I'd heard stories about angels—beautiful, good, and perfect creatures that came from heaven and walked the earth.

Avian was an angel if ever there were one.

“You’d better get going or you’re going to get in trouble with your dad,” Avian teased, pressing a kiss to my forehead.  I punched him in the arm, maybe a little too hard considering he winced.

“Thank you for the gun,” I said, truly meaning it.

“You’re welcome,” he said, pressing a kiss to my lips.