Saving Eden

by K R S McEntire

  She crawled out of her warm blanket, searched her closet for clean clothes, and tried to pretend it was just another day. Deep down, she felt today was immensely important. By meeting this tutor, she was taking her first steps towards becoming a functioning adult.

  She pulled her baby blue dress over her tired body, picked up Emi’s backpack, and slipped on scandals. Right before she stepped out of the room she heard a knock at the door. Jesse peaked inside.

  “Need me to walk you to your tutor, Angela?” he asked.

  “I thought you didn’t like school,” she teased as she marched past him out the door. She wanted to spend time with him, but part of her felt she needed to do this alone.

  “It’s not school. Besides, I thought you might like the company,” he said.

  “I’m fine. Really. I’ll see you tonight,” Angela said, wanting to be alone with her thoughts. Freedom told her where the tutor lived, and she didn’t want Jesse to think she was not capable of taking care of herself.

  “Okay,” he said, looking disappointed.

  Angela moved closer to him and planted a small kiss on his lips. A crooked grin spread across his face. He reached out and pulled her into a deeper embrace, but she moved away before he could persuade her.

  “Bye everyone!” Angela called out to anyone who happened to be listening as she summoned the old elevator. She didn’t wait for a response before she hopped on.

  It was a sunny day, but the wind was blowing with all its strength. Angela enjoyed walking because it gave her time alone to think and observe the world around her.

  To get to the tutor’s home, Angela had to walk past the settlement’s schoolhouse. A few windows of the schoolhouse were shattered, but beyond that, the grounds looked like they were still being cared for. Dozens of carded teens waited outside the large brick building, chatting amongst themselves as they waited for their teacher to arrive and unlock the door.

  Two blocks past the schoolhouse, Angela turned down a narrow, littered alleyway to a small house painted a dull yellow. Angela wasn’t sure if she was in the correct place. At one point in history, there were more than a million homes in Chicago. Even with the majority of those households having been destroyed, there were still enough structurally sound buildings in the settlement to allow everyone to claim a decent home. Some people moved into apartments or hotel rooms, while others found houses to call home. But almost everyone picked locations with neighbors nearby.

  This house was at the end of a cul-de-sac of abandoned homes that were all too modest and unremarkable to inspire anyone to claim them. Angela was surprised the tutor would call this area home. After making sure the numbers on the door matched the numbers Freedom had shown her, Angela pulled open the dented screen and knocked on a wood door covered in cracked yellow paint.

  A woman with copper-colored skin and long, silver locs opened the door. She wore a bright, flowing multicolored skirt and a fitted green top.

  “Come in child,” the woman said. “Freedom told me to expect you. You must be Angela. I’m Miss Kaper.”

  Angela smiled. “Thank you for inviting me into your home.”

  “It’s always nice to see young people who are excited about learning,” the woman said.

  Angela stepped into the room and was overwhelmed by a thick fragrance emitting from the dozens of incense burning in the room. That’s one way to block out the pungent stench of the air outside, she thought. These was no generator to power the room, so Miss Kaper had lanterns in the places that sunlight didn’t reach. The room was sparsely furnished, but the walls were covered in photographs of high school graduates, flyers advertising talent shows, musicals, sporting events, and proms. Angela knew these photographs were mementos from the past like the items in her father’s box back home.

  “Happy to be here,” Angela responded.

  A teenage girl sat on the couch wrapped in a blanket. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Angela.

  “I knew about you before she did,” the girl said in a singsong voice.

  She had long wavy hair in a reddish-golden shade that contrasted against her tan skin. Her eyes were green and striking, and in the white of her left eye there was what looked like a small tattoo of a star.

  “You just moved to the settlement a few days ago, right?” the girl asked.

  “I’m sorry . . . who are you?” Angela asked. How did she know when she got to Chicago?

  “I’m Violet,” she said. “I know your friend, Jesse.”

  “Did he tell you about me?” Angela asked.

  “No,” Violet said. “I haven’t spoken to Jesse in years.”

  Angela narrowed her eyes at the girl, but was unsure how to respond.

  “Enough, girls,” Miss Kaper said. “You are both here to learn.”

  Miss Kaper shared that she was a teacher years ago, but was fired for refusing to report uncarded students to the Watch. Angela asked her what the school in the settlement was like.

  Even though school was no longer required, Miss Kaper said dozens of students still attended. The students were motivated by the dream of getting into one of the few colleges that still existed, a sure-fire ticket out of their birth settlement and to a better, or at least more interesting, world. the Watch was hesitant to let people leave Chicago for reasons other than work or education. By keeping everyone in their birth settlements, the Watch could easily keep track of the population and the amount of aid needed at each location.

  After leaving the school, she started tutoring students who, for one reason or another, could not attend school. She purposely chose this neighborhood because of its seclusion.

  “I couldn’t risk going to a real school,” Violet said. “If anyone finds out about my mutations, they would call the Watch on me.”

  Angela’s eyes widened, “You’re a mutant?” She had never had the chance to speak with a mutant before.

  “Want to see my ability?” Violet asked. Miss Kaper looked annoyed, but Angela nodded.

  Violet reached out her hand towards Angela and when Angela took it, a jolt of electricity shot through her body.”

  “Ow!” Angela yelped. “What the heck?”

  “Cool, right?” Violet said. “And that's just one of my abilities.”

  “Enough Violet,” Miss Kaper said. “Angela is here to learn.”

  Angela explained that she wanted to learn to read and write. Miss Kaper spent the majority of the day tutoring Angela, teaching her what sounds each letter made and a few basic sight words, including street names and places around the settlement. At the end of the day, after stepped outside of Miss Kaper’s home, Angela pulled Violet aside.

  “How did you know when I came to the Chicago?” Angela challenged.

  “Some people can see a little more clearly than others and understand a little bit more than most,” Violet said. “You could say I have a really special mind.”

  “Is that your other mutation?” Angela asked.

  “Quiet!” Violet whispered. “I don’t really like to call it that, I just have a brain that works a little bit differently. My cousin Winter has a similar brain, but her powers are much stronger than mine. She was the one who told me about you.”

  “How did you meet Jesse?” Angela asked.

  “In middle school, all of our friends use to hang out at this arcade and bowling place called Glee. We didn’t know it, but there were people doing recruiting there.”

  “Recruiting for what?” Angela asked.

  “I think you know what,” Violet said. “That was when he met Freedom.”

  “You know about The Resistance!” Angela blurted out. So much for it being a top-secret underground movement.

  Violet ignored Angela and continued, “I think Jesse had a little crush on Freedom at first. He was thirteen and she was seventeen at the time. No way she was interested.”

  Violet rolled her eyes.

  “So he joined and you didn’t?” Angela asked, pulling the entire story together in her head.

  Vi
olet nodded. “Tomorrow after tutoring, I would like you to meet Winter. She can explain more.”

  And with that, Violet rushed off. Angela decided to call it a day and make her way home.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The distance between Miss Kaper’s house and The Resistance was great, but Angela did not mind. It offered an opportunity to dream.

  As she traversed the desolate streets, she imagined the settlement in its prime, when it was a bustling city. She pictured hundreds of cars racing past the tall, strong buildings. She saw a boarded-up strip mall and imagined prom dress shopping with Emi before taking Jesse to the dance. As she passed a blocked entrance to the L, she imagined hopping on a crowded bus or train and traveling to the lake with Zinc and Rain. When she made it back home, her dad would be sitting on the porch with a brand new Wild West book in hand, waiting to lecture her about coming home on time after a night of hanging out with friends.

  Back at the abandoned warehouse, Angela wanted to collapse onto her bed and rest her tired muscles. She desired time to herself to think about her conversation with Violet and to center her mind. She could not shake the feeling that The Resistance knew more about her than they were letting on, that her encounter with Jesse was not by chance alone. But she still had a job to do if she was to keep her home and prove herself to Freedom. She was in charge of the garden, and it was her first day.

  Angela looked for Jesse because she remembered that he was supposed to track her progress, but he was nowhere to be found. When she decided to check her own bedroom, she saw Becca and Freedom standing inside.

  “Hey.” Angela was confused. Why was her room being invaded?

  “Hey!” Freedom seemed startled. “Angela, there have been some changes.”

  Angela put her hands on her hips, summoning the courage to look Freedom in the eyes.

  “Okay. What type of changes?” Angela asked.

  “Becca and her little ones need a place to stay, so you are going to be switching places with them for a while,” Freedom said.

  “Switching places?” Angela wasn't sure what she meant.

  “It’s just temporary, until we find Becca and her children a permanent home,” Freedom said. “You will live in the storage room downstairs. We will let you out each morning to attend tutoring and do any errands you need. We think it will be a positive change overall; the greenhouse is down there and it will allow you to be closer to your work.”

  Angela frowned. There were plenty of unoccupied or minimally occupied rooms upstairs. Why couldn't they move some storage boxes out of the way and let her sleep in one of them? And what did they mean by “let her out?” Would they not allow her to have a key? She was fully capable of letting herself out. Why were they treating her like a prisoner?

  “Where is Jesse?” Angela felt more comfortable expressing her discomfort to him. He would not allow this.

  “He will be down to track your work. You may go get started,” Freedom said, handing her a key. Angela knew arguing with her was useless. She took the key and entered the tunnel that lead to the basement alone for the first time, but she vowed to not let anyone leave her inside the storage room without a key.

  Since Becca and her children were living upstairs and Jesse wasn't here yet, she decided to explore her new home office a bit. She tried to turn on one of the computers, but soon realized she was clueless when it came to operating technology. Instead, she started to dig around the file cabinets in the room and look at the papers inside. Paper was something that she understood. The file cabinet that held the papers reminded her of her father's boxes. She recognized some of the letters on the file from tutoring, but was still unable to read any of the words beyond a few sight words that she remembered. A few of them had photographs attached to the documents with staples or paper clips.

  On one file, she saw a picture of the girl with glowing eyes from the party, on another was a picture of Julian. There were hundreds and hundreds of files, and more pictures than there were people in the city. Angela realized that these documents spanned many years and some of the people must be long dead. She found herself imagining the lives of the people in the picture and wishing she could understand the words, when she saw an image that made her heart stop.

  One top one of the files, attached by a tiny metal paperclip, there was a photo of a woman. Brown skin. Dark hair in coils. A familiar smile.

  Angela’s mother.

  She gasped, dropping the stack of papers from her hand, and began to panic. Why did The Resistance have a picture of her mother stored away? It was becoming increasingly unlikely that Jesse had found her on accident.

  Angela could not read the words on the file, so she picked up and folded the paper and stuffed it inside her dress pocket. She quickly tried to clean up the mess she had made in the room. After she was certain that everything looked the same as it did before, she walked over to the garden and started planting the seeds. A heartbeat later, the door swung open and Jesse waltzed into the room.

  “Hey, I see you are already hard at work. How was tutoring?” he asked, reaching out towards her to give her a hug.

  Angela shifted to avoid his arms, but acted as if she had not noticed his attempt to embrace her. Angela tried to act casual. He looked so genuinely happy to see her that she didn’t want to believe he had any ulterior motives for bringing her to Chicago, but photos don’t lie.

  “Tutoring was fine.” Angela didn’t want him to know she had met Violet. She wanted to decide if she should talk to Winter herself.

  “Were there any other students?” He asked.

  “Yep.” Angela was purposely vague.

  “Make any new friends?” Jesse asked. He sounded like a prying parent, and she wondered if living with Jesse would be much different than staying home.

  “Yes.” Angela said curtly. Then, when she saw concern in Jesse’s eyes, she decided to offer a little more. “A mutant. She zapped me.”

  Jesse looked at Angela with mischief in his eyes.

  “I missed you while you were away,” he said, pulling her closer until their faces were only inches apart. Even though she suspected he was lying to her, that he knew more than he was letting on, when he pulled her near her heart raced, betraying the logical part of her mind. Her mind went back to the first kiss, her lips eager to taste his again, but with the information she knew now, she wondered how could she possibly want to kiss him.

  “You’re not going to run off on me with any of the boys from your tutoring class, are you?” Jesse’s voice was a deep whisper.

  Angela giggled. There were no boys in her tutoring class.

  “They’re not my type,” Angela whispered back, cursing herself when the words left her lips. Was she flirting with him?

  Jesse smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Slowly, he moved his lips to hers. When Jesse kissed her, all thoughts of the file seemed to fade away. Her mind and heart were consumed by desire. Down here, there was no one to interrupt their embrace. Angela held him closer as they kissed, and when he finally pulled his lips away, she felt like they were worlds apart.

  When he removed his arm from her waist, the distance allowed her to regain a bit of her sanity. Her mother’s file flashed back into her mind. She needed to get the truth out of him.

  “Would you ever lie to me?” Angela blurted out.

  “Of course not,” Jesse said, taken aback. “I love you.”

  And with those words, he started to move in for another kiss. But Angela was frozen. She could not love him, at least not until she knew the truth.

  “I need time to think,” Angela said.

  “I . . . uh . . . I understand,” he said, trying to force words out of his mouth, but not knowing what to say. His voice was confused and stricken, his face looked pained. “I’m sorry if I moved too fast —”

  “Let’s just work on the garden,” Angela said, and they directed their attention to planting seeds. The room was silent, but it wasn't the comfortable silence they usually sha
red.

  After she was done with her work and Jesse had recorded all of the items she had planted and harvested on a file, Angela asked him if it would be okay if she could sleep upstairs.

  “Sorry,” Jesse said. “Freedom says you have to sleep down here tonight. I will be taking your key, but I will let you out for tutoring in the morning.”

  She glanced over at the cage, still waiting for a new occupant. Being locked right outside of the cage was not much different than being locked inside it. She would have to think fast.

  “I don’t really feel safe alone down here.” Angela moved closer to Jesse, reaching out to hold his hand. “I keep thinking of Julian’s body. It’s stuck in my mind.”

  Jesse nodded. “I can sleep here with you tonight, if you need me to.”

  Angela realized that was as good of an offer as she would get. He could not leave her trapped down here forever if he was here too, and she would not have to part with her key.

  The storage room was cold, and Jesse suggested that they cuddle up close to stay warm. Angela turned him down, opting for her own blanket. She shivered throughout the night.

  Angela’s dreams were haunted by images of her father, only his hair was dull and gray. There were bags under his bloodshot eyes as he searched the empty kitchen cabinets for food. Eventually, he ran from the house, through the garden, and leapt over the gate. He disappeared into the dark and dangerous wilds.

  The next morning Angela woke to find Jesse examining the tiny garden. Angela was surprised to see that most of the seeds had already sprouted.

  “Some green thumb you have,” Jesse smiled at her, all too dismissive of something akin to a miracle. This soil was taken from within the settlement. If it was this easy to grow food, why were so many people hungry?

  “Right . . . ” Angela said, watching the buds in amazement and remembering the berries that grew overnight in the forest. “How long does it usually take crops to grow?”