His head dips as he sighs into his lap.
‘I have to go and get him.’
His eyes shoot up at me, a look of incredulity on his face. He opens his mouth to speak but stops himself and takes a breath. ‘We all risked our lives to get you out,’ he says slowly. ‘Ernie knew what he was doing. You aren’t going back.’
‘Says who? You? My commander? Have I just gone from one prison into another?’ I ask. ‘At least this looks like one, I suppose.’
‘Eve! You’re not alone in having someone in there.’
‘I’m going back.’
‘Your life is too important.’
‘What is the point of a life if you don’t do anything with it? And surely the whole point of me having my freedom is to decide my own future, right?’
Something flashes across his face. For a second I see her, and I know he understands.
He understands, but that doesn’t mean he’s happy.
11
Bram
She’s got to be kidding.
‘We risked everything. Breaking in and rescuing you wasn’t easy, you know.’ I try to explain the obvious.
‘Rescue?’ she says, cocking her head to one side. ‘I’m sorry, did you ever hear me say I needed rescuing? Is that how you see me, like some pathetic fairy-tale princess? A feeble girl who needs someone to save her?’
I stare at her and swallow a lump of floodweed that lingered in my throat. ‘Have you finished?’ I ask.
‘No,’ she snaps.
I sigh, feeling like we’re back on the Drop and she’s venting her frustrations at me via Holly. I need to let her get it out. I know her. I wait for her to fill the silence, as Holly would on the Drop.
‘We’re not on the Drop now,’ she says accusingly.
Shit.
‘That’s right. You think you know me, Bram, but you forget that I know you just as well.’
We stare at each other for a moment but I know she has more to say.
‘You can’t hide behind Holly any more. There’s no EPO to hold responsible for the things you do now. What happens down here, what these Freevers do, it’s all you.’
I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. I suddenly see how right she is.
‘Eve, everything you just said, it’s true,’ I say, as earnestly as I can but it still sounds like a lie.
She raises an eyebrow.
‘No, I mean it! It’s my fault and I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it until just now, but it wasn’t you I was rescuing from that Tower … it was me,’ I say, more to myself than to her. It somehow hits me harder saying it out loud.
She takes my hand, and it’s like electricity connecting us. I used to think that the pilot suits and kinetic gloves gave a true representation of reality, but the truth is, they are nothing like feeling the power of the physical presence of another person.
‘We both jumped. Together. We freed ourselves,’ I say.
‘We freed each other.’ She smiles.
A sudden thud rattles the hinges on the door to the Robing Room.
‘Yes?’ I shout.
‘It’s Chubs,’ calls a voice from beyond.
I roll my eyes at Eve. She smiles.
‘Can I –’
‘Yes, yes, come in!’ She cuts him off.
Chubs enters, sees us standing together and averts his eyes awkwardly as though he’s caught us in the middle of an intimate moment. ‘Sorry,’ he says, staring at the floor.
‘It’s fine, Chubs. What is it?’ I ask.
‘The drones have returned to the Tower. Word on the water is all search-craft are heading back too. Looks like we’re clear, for now.’ He shrugs, with a smile.
‘They’ve called off the search?’ I ask, my brain switching from the euphoria of Eve to the worrying reality of an unexpected move by the EPO.
‘Yeah!’ Chubs laughs. ‘Pretty great, right? I guess we can relax for a while, give the Water Watchers a rest and call in our scouts at the Tower.’
‘No,’ Eve says instinctively.
Chubs’s eyes move from me to her, then back to me.
‘No?’ Chubs repeats.
‘This isn’t right. They’re up to something.’ Eve frowns at me, as though searching for something we’ve all missed.
Chubs looks to me for the answer.
‘I think Eve’s right. Calling off the search sounds too good to be true. It’s got to be a tactical move,’ I agree.
‘Or maybe they’re just resigned to the fact that she actually got away.’
‘She?’ I say. ‘SHE?’
Chubs frowns at me, confused.
‘Are you referring to the most important human on the planet? Is she, the saviour of mankind, the answer to our extinction, someone you think the EPO would just let go? Is SHE someone whom Vivian Silva would just accept has escaped?’ I say, trying to express how much of a curve ball the EPO have just thrown.
‘Bram,’ Eve says quietly.
Chubs is staring at the floor, deflated.
‘Chubs,’ I say, ‘I’m sorry. It’s been a long few days.’
‘No, it’s okay. You’re right.’ He sighs. ‘It is strange that they’d call the search off now. I’ll go up and tell the scouts and Water Watchers to stay in position and continue until further notice.’
‘No,’ Eve announces.
Chubs and I stare at her.
‘No?’ I ask.
‘I’ll tell them,’ Eve says to Chubs, without even a glance to see what my reaction is to this.
‘Bram?’ Chubs asks, the confusion obvious in his voice.
‘It’s okay, Chubs. It is Chubs, isn’t it?’ Eve asks.
‘Yes … erm … Miss Eve …’ he mumbles nervously.
‘It’s Eve, just Eve. Chubs, take me to the surface. I’ll deliver the orders myself.’
‘Absolutely not,’ I interject, unable to hold back any longer.
‘Excuse me?’ Eve says.
‘Are you actually insane?’ I ask. ‘The surface? You want to go up there after everything we went through to bring you safely down here?’
‘I want to see the world. It’s been hidden from me for too long.’
‘No, Eve. Not yet,’ I say.
‘Then I really have left one prison for another.’ She’s staring deep into my eyes.
I hold my gaze firm and don’t break. I can’t let her go up there, it’s too dangerous, but I can’t keep her locked up, like the EPO did.
‘You can’t stop me, can you?’ she says.
I hesitate. It’s all she needs.
‘Chubs, lead the way.’ She stands and marches to the door with purpose.
‘Eve, wait!’ I call, but it’s too late.
She’s out of the door in a flash. Chubs can barely stay ahead of her to guide her. I follow in their wake.
‘What the hell is this?’ Saunders says, pulling his big nose out of a vintage, water-damaged book while sitting at his post outside the entrance to the submerged sphere that leads to the surface.
I catch Chubs widening his eyes at Saunders, warning him.
‘Eve, shit!’ Saunders says, dropping his book into the foot of water he’s standing in.
‘Just plain Eve will do,’ Eve replies, with a smile, trying to soften him. As if she needed to. ‘I want to go up now, please.’
Saunders immediately looks at me for clarification.
‘You don’t need to look at him. I’m not your prisoner, am I?’ Eve asks, and I can hear the fire inside her, the one I helped ignite.
‘… No, Eve,’ he replies.
‘No?’ she repeats.
‘No. You’re not our prisoner,’ Saunders says slowly, trying to buy time to think of what to do.
‘Look, Eve. All we want is to do what’s best for you,’ I say. It sounds pathetic.
‘What you think is best for me. I guess Vivian was just doing what she thought was best for me too, was she?’ Eve replies.
I’ve got nothing.
None of us has.
‘I think it’s time that I start deciding what’s best for me, don’t you?’ Eve says, stepping forward towards the brass door to the spherical pod that goes to the surface.
Saunders steps aside, throwing me a what-the-hell look.
‘Well, are you coming or am I going to have to figure out how to do this on my own?’ she says from inside the cramped sphere.
‘No, we’re all coming,’ I say, following her inside with Chubs and Saunders.
We take our seats in the cramped vessel.
‘Are you sure?’ Saunders asks Eve, his hand hovering over the brass lever that is currently positioned over the word ‘Descend’.
Without saying a word she reaches out and lifts the lever up until it clicks into the ‘Ascend’ position. The spherical underwater lift jolts to life. Gallons of water fill the chamber outside and our pod begins to float.
As we rise through the excavated interior of the clock tower, which was once one of this ancient city’s most iconic landmarks, I notice Chubs and Saunders exchange subtle looks. They sense it as well as I do. The roles have shifted in the Deep.
I am no longer in command.
The Freevers have a new leader.
‘Are you armed?’ I ask Chubs.
He nods and pulls back his overcoat to reveal a selection of weapons. Far more than necessary but, for once, I’m glad of the arsenal he’s carrying.
Without me asking, he reaches into his gun belt, unstraps a small blaster and hands it to me.
‘Thanks,’ I say, taking the weapon and arming it.
‘Do you think you’ll need that?’ Eve asks, looking back at me from the small porthole.
‘If the EPO are there, we’ll need a hell of a lot more than a few hand-blasters,’ Saunders chips in.
‘Don’t worry, we’ve got eyes all around the area,’ Chubs says, comforting her.
‘You know it’s not too late to go back down?’ I say hopefully.
But Eve just smiles.
I’d known it was useless.
12
Eve
I’m shocked at the rush I’m feeling. I spoke and I was heard. Of course, I’ve always had this stupid title, but it carried no weight. I was only ever someone floating around in her own world above the clouds. I never really felt important. This is so different.
It was only as I started speaking, when I watched Chubs, Saunders and a bemused Bram listen and act accordingly, that I started to grasp the reality of the situation I’m in.
I have the power.
I’ve empowered myself.
What a rush.
Bram is scared. He’s never had reason to express fear to me before, and now I know why: there was nothing at stake up there. Out here, the danger is real and that worries him. I knew it from the way his eyes darted around as he tried to make sense of the situation. How his voice rose when he spoke to Chubs. This means something to him.
That said, it doesn’t mean I’m going to follow him or anyone else blindly. I have to figure out what’s going on down here for myself, then make an informed decision on what’s best to do. I shouldn’t have snapped at him, but I’m sick of people gaining authority over me. I’m sure I’ll find myself being short with him numerous times as we learn to live side by side – properly side by side. It’s not going to be easy when there’s so much else to think about, and our views seem to be pulling us in opposite directions.
We stop floating upwards as we reach the surface. The vessel bobs up and down.
‘You’ll need to –’
‘Stop,’ I cut across Bram, watching as Saunders releases the door and cold air bursts in. My body tenses. My shoulders ping up to my ears.
‘– wear a coat,’ Bram finishes, with an eye roll, chucking a bundle of fabric in my direction.
He doesn’t wait for my response. He starts pulling on his own coat.
‘Are you trying to mother her?’ mutters Chubs, kicking Bram’s foot as he stands up.
Bram’s cheeks redden.
‘Lead the way,’ I say, following Saunders out of the sphere and back on to the stone staircase I walked down behind Helena yesterday. From the top of the steps I see what I didn’t have time to take in before.
The world outside.
The real one.
Murky brown water surrounds us, vast and uninviting. Buildings poke out – bricks growing thick green algae, glass panels smashed through to bring the outdoors in and let the inside out. Debris floats this way and that – items lost, discarded and useless, knocking their way along the river. Bumping into anything in their way.
Here anything is salvageable. Just take the way their headquarters have been botched together and saved from erosion. Outside items have been strapped together, united to create boats or rafts. Floating homes anchored by ropes and chains.
I think of my paradise in the sky – the garden they grew for me. Out here the only green is that on the brick. No trees, plants or shrubbery grow, painting the view with colour. It’s grey and bleak, without the promise of life. It’s become as barren as its inhabitants, who crouch in the shadows. But it’s raw, real and damningly beautiful.
I follow the others back on to the small boat that brought me here. Chubs steers into the open river. More buildings protrude from below. Strewn fabric hangs, like flags or washing, billowing in the breeze – perhaps to declare ownership of whatever building someone has inhabited. The river ahead seems to dance with light, thanks to the huge screens suspended on the sides of buildings.
‘What are they for?’ I ask, gesturing at them.
‘Pumping out whatever bullshit the EPO wants us to believe,’ Chubs grumbles.
I turn to Bram. He shrugs in agreement, his eyes moving from mine and scanning the darkness around us. It’s clear he’s on edge.
‘Can we go and look?’ I ask, wanting to see for myself.
‘It’s not safe,’ insists Bram.
‘Is anything?’ I challenge. I’m even more determined to seek out the extent of the EPO’s lies.
‘People are going to be looking for you even if they aren’t.’
‘Let’s make sure our teams are still on the look-out first. Then we can get a bit closer,’ Saunders interrupts, his eyes flicking between Bram and me.
Bram’s face twists in annoyance while I nod in thanks.
We veer off the main channel, sailing under a huge steel archway, then into a tunnel. It’s quiet. The sound of our boat as it pushes through the water echoes around us. We hug the wall to our left, disappearing under fabric hanging overhead. Approaching a clearing, someone steps out from behind the shadows, holding out their hand for us to stop. The dim lighting reflects off the weapon in his grasp that is pointing directly at us.
My body stiffens as my heart pounds in my chest.
‘What the –’ mutters Bram.
‘For Eve,’ Chubs calls, his voice hardened and full of authority as he holds out his arm and blocks Bram trying to raise his gun.
The man before us nods in acknowledgement.
‘Rodriguez,’ Saunders says, firing out the information to me and Bram – he’s clearly never been down here either. I feel oddly satisfied to be somewhere neither of us has ventured.
‘Our teams are still out there trying to decipher what’s going on, but it’s gone cold,’ he says, holding his arm over his eyes to stop the lights from our boat blinding him. ‘The team out east thought they had someone trailing them, but it turned out to be nothing.’
‘How can you be sure?’ I ask.
If my voice and presence are surprising to him, he doesn’t let on. He’s unwavering as he continues.
‘It was just a couple of kids playing around. Ground teams who were in situ when you left say they’ve seen a lot of activity of troops arriving back at their base, but none leaving.’
‘They’re up to something,’ Saunders says.
‘Or they have something they know we’ll be heading back for,’ mutters Bram, rubbing his face over his hands.
�
�How many teams do you have out there?’ I ask.
‘Two in each quarter, four on the ground.’
‘Right. Well, have them continue with their surveillance,’ I say, resisting the urge to say ‘please’. Pleasantries seem out of place here. ‘It’s still early days. Who knows what they might throw at us?’ The words seem laughable coming from my lips. I’m well aware that I have no idea what Vivian is capable of. Thankfully no one highlights this point to me as we say our goodbyes and make our way back to the larger expanse of water.
‘Still want to go up there?’ Saunders checks.
‘Yes.’
We turn towards the lights, the boat travelling slowly. Bram chucks a wet blanket at me. ‘We’re already being stupid, so let’s not be insane.’
Reluctantly I pick it up and drape it around me, covering my head so that just my eyes show.
The water around us becomes more populated, just as the buildings around us show signs of life. Groups of people gather in the shadows, shuffling through the darkness. Others shout profanities at each other from different types of watercraft – angry and mean. Burning sticks are thrown, and bangs are heard, along with screams of agony.
‘They’ve been rebelling for so long it’s become the only way some know how to communicate,’ Saunders explains, ducking as something flies overhead.
I flinch, instinctively lowering my head to conceal myself further.
‘Can we just get back?’ hisses Bram. ‘This is stupid. You being here right now is stupid.’
I’d be inclined to agree if it weren’t for the melodic tones suddenly making their way into my ears.
As we drift closer, I see them. Underneath the glare of the dancing bright lights and the giant screens, basking in their brilliant white, a large gathering of people is singing as they look up at the images being shown. Their makeshift boats have been tied together, and they float as one united front. Their earnest faces sing out passionately – words about being found, being safe and staying hopeful. There’s joyfulness in the moment, as though it’s an occasion to come together. I spot one man, draped in colourful grubby fabric, singing with his arms open wide as his body sways, feeling the words with every fibre of his being. His faith is spellbinding to watch.
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