Rebels of Eden

by Joey Graceffa

  “Well, there is the rain festival coming up, and I have the perfect dress . . .” She stops short at my incredulous face and bursts into laughter. Not mocking, superior laughter, but the real old Lark chuckle, full of real, irrepressible mirth. “I know, I’ve been acting just like that kind of person for months. Acting. Oh, great Earth, Rowan, how miserable I’ve been! How much I’ve despised myself!”

  “Then let’s go,” I urge her.

  “Soon, very soon. Tonight. It’s just . . . after your escapades the school locked down on the students a bit. All the Oaks students have an implant that notifies the staff if we leave the grounds without authorization.”

  “Oh no!”

  “Don’t worry, I have a friend who can deactivate it. Do you think Oaks students aren’t going to find a way to sneak off campus? Some things never change. He’s at the secret party. You remember those? Oh, I really don’t want to miss it. It has a wolf pack theme. Oh, but this is so much better!” She sounds excited and giddy now, a remarkable change. I can’t help but feel a deep sense of satisfaction that I’m the one who saved her from her shell of sadness.

  “Meet me at the party in ten minutes. You remember where to go, right? I should be ready to go.” She hugs me, then all but dances to the door. “Thank you for coming to save me, Rowan. You have no idea how much this means to me.” She flashes me the brightest smile, and as she leaves I think, I’ll get used to her new and improved face if she keeps smiling at me like that.

  For a moment I sit on her bed, overcome with surprise and joy. I never really had hope of finding Lark. I’d assumed she met her end in a prison cell. And even if she had escaped or been released, how would I have found her in a city of more than a million people?

  Now, almost magically, things seem to be coming together. Everyone I love is near me. Defeating Chief Ellena seems possible. We will save Eden, and return to the outside world, and one day we can relax. One day we can be happy . . .

  I TOUCH MY ear, activating the hidden communicator, and tell the others that I’ve found Lark.

  “She’s coming with us!” I say, unable to keep the giddiness from my tone.

  Immediately the frequency is jammed with garbled answers from everyone at once. As they all speak over each other, I catch more tones of concern and even dismay than happiness. When they finally settle down and let one person speak at a time, it is Ash who says, “Rowan, are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  I’m stunned. “Ash, you of all people!”

  “Why is she here?” Mom breaks in.

  “She’s a student at Oaks,” I start to explain.

  “No, why is she here?” Mom repeats with greater emphasis. “The Center must have a plan for her.”

  “And why is she here now, right when we’re on a mission of ultimate importance for the survival of the rebellion?” Lachlan wants to know.

  “It’s a coincidence,” I say. “She knows me, she wants to come. She doesn’t seem like she’s under any kind of control.”

  “Doesn’t seem,” Mom says. “How would you know?”

  “I’d know!” I say adamantly. “I’ve been there myself.”

  “And you didn’t know then,” Mom says gently.

  “I’m meeting her at the secret party in a few minutes,” I tell them. “She has to come with us. I can’t abandon her again!”

  “I don’t like it,” Mom says. “I’m coming with you.”

  “I’m already there,” Mira whispers into her communicator, and I hear the sounds of partying in the background. “So is Angel. We came with those two girls, but they abandoned us by something they called the punch bowl. It tasted like fruit juice, but after a glass I think I know why they call it punch—I feel as dizzy as if I’ve been punched in the head!” She giggles. Uh-oh. The Oaks punch is notoriously strong. For a girl who has never had alcohol other than the drugged wine at the Passage Test, a single glass could send her reeling.

  “Mira, what are you doing?” Carnelian breaks in. “Don’t put yourself in danger. I’m on my way.”

  “But you three have to watch the Temple.”

  It is only then that I realize that the only ones who haven’t chimed in are Lachlan, Flame, and my father—the ones doing the most dangerous part of the assignment in the Chambers of Mysteries.

  They’re fine, Yarrow assures me. If there was trouble, you’d have heard. If you want Lark, go get her. I admit I didn’t used to understand what you saw in her, but with a couple of surgeries and the right clothes—wow!

  You know it’s about far more than that, I think, chiding the other person in my head.

  Yeah, but before she was just a scruffy outer-circle kid. Now she’s spectacular.

  You’re so shallow.

  I’m you. Now, come on, I want to see this party. I’m dying to know what theme they chose. I left them so many great ideas! I had this inspiration for a wolf-themed party. If we manage to escape Eden again, this might be my last chance for fun. My kind of fun. I’ll spend the rest of my life mucking around in the dirt being a stupid farmer or something.

  I can’t help but laugh at my alter ego. She’s covering it with sarcasm, but she’s as excited about Lark as I am. I check myself in the mirror—for Yarrow’s benefit—and head to the secret party hall. As I leave, I give one last look over my shoulder at the room that used to be mine. I had good times here. Yarrow did, anyway. When will things be simple and safe again?

  Yes! Yarrow exults in my head. They did use one of my ideas. See, my mark on this school will last!

  * * *

  WHEN WE CROSS the threshold we’re in a cave. Strange animals are painted on the walls—shaggy elephant-like monsters, huge cats with daggers for teeth. A mock-fire flickers, and shadows of people dressed in furs crouch nearby, striking stone against stone. We’re in the primitive cave-home of our ancestors. They hide behind stonewalls from the terrible wild beasts that roam outside.

  Then we pass beyond the cavemen into the party hall, to be greeted with a wild primeval wilderness.

  A boreal forest scene is projected on the walls, spruce and larch trees amid gently falling snow. Shadows slink among the trees, their eyes menacingly watching the dancers. There are synthetic trees. The old Rowan would have been amazed, because they look almost exactly like real trees. But now I can tell the difference at a glance. These trees have no soul.

  It’s impressive, though, and I am truly stunned when I see huge, shaggy timber wolves stalking through the partiers. In varying shades of gray and black and white, the wolves pace and snarl right next to the students. I see one of the Oaks kids reach out a hand to one and it sniffs, then snaps at his extended fingers. The boy pulls his hand back with a startled laugh.

  A wolf-pack theme, Yarrow says. Perfect.

  I’m impressed by the technology of the holograms. They’re smart, reactive projections that can interact with people. But they’re acting like wolves, more or less, and want nothing to do with the people. The wolves interact with each other, but they scorn humans. It’s amazing.

  The rest of the party is just like I remember it—or how Yarrow remembers it. Instantly my body is swept away by the pulsing, multicolored strobe lights and the pounding rhythm of the music. It’s a song I’ve never heard, sung by a girl with a sultry voice, with the line I want to live in your skin repeated over and over to an intricate baseline.

  I scan the room for my lilac princess. Over by the crystal punch bowl Mira is watchful, but swaying slightly. Pearl is near her, being propositioned by an Oaks freshman she would have scorned before. Now, though she’s clearly not interested, I can tell from her body language across the room that she’s being polite.

  I have to fight the urge to indulge in this scene. The music, the lights . . . all I need is a drink and I’ll be dancing and looking for trouble, trying to pat the surly wolves. Some visceral part of me longs for that, and I have to remind myself that everything depends on this night going without a hitch. I’ve already thrown a wrench in our perfect plan by
finding Lark. Now I have to make sure everything works smoothly despite that. I can’t lose my focus.

  I make my way to Mira and Angel, and we speak in low voices while I wait.

  Suddenly the strobe lights stop flashing, and the room is just illuminated by a multihued glow. For a moment I see afterimages of the lights flashing on my inner lids, still pulsing in time with the beat.

  I hear a girl next to me say, “You know what that means.”

  “Yeah, Her Royal Highness is here,” another answers. “Why does she have to be such a buzzkill, shutting down the flashing lights every time she comes to a party?”

  “It’s a power thing,” the first girl says.

  A secret smile touches my face. I know why the flashing lights were killed. I know who is here.

  I turn, and see the crowd part near the door. It is like a vacuum, an empty space I feel compelled to fill. Slowly I walk toward that lilac-haired goddess. I’m getting used to her enhancements. They seem more natural on second viewing. It doesn’t matter what she looks like. She’s my Lark.

  But oh, great Earth, she is lovely . . .

  “You came,” she says as I glide up to her.

  “I told you I would,” I say, leaning close to be heard over the loud music. “I’ll never let you down, Lark.”

  For a moment a peculiar expression crosses her face, but she shakes it off with a smile. “Just like old times, isn’t it?” she says. “Do you remember when we first met? Under those dim lights in the Rain Forest Club, I thought you were Ash.”

  “How could I forget?” I ask, feeling mesmerized by the past. That was the most perfect night of my life, my first taste of freedom. But the taste of that forbidden fruit had terrible consequences. Would it all come out right in the end? The suffering and loss would be worth it if I could end future suffering, not just for me but for all the people of Eden.

  “So much has changed,” Lark says dreamily.

  “No,” I say. “So much has happened. But I haven’t changed. Neither have you, I think.”

  “Maybe I’ve changed,” she says with a sly, seductive smile. “For the better, I hope?”

  “You are always my own Lark. The same girl I met in the shadows. My first friend.” I stroke a strand of her lilac hair. “There’s so much I need to tell you.”

  “Me, too,” Lark says. “But not yet.”

  “You’re right. We have to go.” I take her hand to pull her to the exit, at the same time looking over the crowd to catch Angel’s eye. With a jerk of my head I tell her it is time to go.

  I see Lark’s hand flutter to her lips, then, instead of coming with me, she resists and pulls me to her. “Dance with me,” she says, laughing.

  “We don’t have time . . .” I begin. Then she is kissing me, her mouth so soft and warm, parting my lips. I melt into her. Then I feel something slip past my tongue—a little pill that effervesces the second it hits my mouth.

  “Lark, what did you do?”

  Then, suddenly, I don’t care. All I can see is her. The colors, the sounds, the other people fade into a blur, and the only thing in the universe is Lark—her lips, her hands, her brilliant eyes locking mine in an embrace of souls.

  We’re dancing, more slowly than the music’s beat, creating our own rhythm. I see Mom and Ash and Carnelian enter the party, and that makes me vaguely happy. More love in the room, I think. Ash and Pearl. Mira and Carnelian. The more love, the better. My body feels both energized and ultimately relaxed. Why am I here? Oh yes, for Lark. Everything is for Lark.

  Time slips away. All I know is the sinuous movement of our bodies against each other. Until . . .

  An explosion! Screams! An acrid smell fills the room and students are running for the doors . . . which are blocked. In utter confusion I whirl around and see Greenshirts blocking the exits.

  I feel something echoing in my brain. I don’t know how else to describe it. A pulse goes through the room like something at a frequency I can almost but not quite hear. Then all at once the screams stop, the panic subsides. All the Oaks students are standing like calm and barely mobile statues, vague smiles on all of their faces. Someone shuts off the music, and the only sounds are from Mira shouting a warning before a Greenshirt grabs her from behind and clamps a hand over her mouth.

  They have Ash, and Pearl. Carnelian puts up a good struggle, but a gun to Mira’s head makes him stop fighting. I count five Greenshirts.

  And one trim woman with short blond hair, wearing an impeccably tailored suit in dove gray, with a gun strapped to her thigh. Chief Ellena. She has an arm looped around Mom’s throat, a gun pointed at her head.

  I turn to Lark, and in my initial confusion I still trust her completely. I try to get between her and the danger, to protect her. Instead, she bypasses me to stand near Chief Ellena.

  I’m forced to admit the painful truth. “You betrayed me!”

  She regards me, her face looking unnaturally perfect, supremely cruel. “It hurts, doesn’t it?”

  No, it can’t be true, I think, my head clearing. We were so close. I was so sure . . .

  “How could you do this to me, Lark?”

  “You left me to rot!” she hisses.

  Two Greenshirts move behind me, but don’t grab me. Chief Ellena calmly speaks over Mom’s shoulder. “Your friend Lark was a much more promising student than you ever were, Rowan. Or is it Yarrow? I could put another personality in there for you if you like. Oh, but with Lark I tried a new technique. Deleting one persona and layering another on top of it turned out to be too traumatic for the brain. As your case proved. The two selves were always fighting. With Lark I kept her core personality and went delving for all the parts she kept hidden. The secret jealousies, the ambition, the vanity. It was all there in her, just buried under all that nobility.”

  Chief Ellena makes a noise of derision. “We learned a valuable lesson from you, Rowan. Why change a person completely when you can just bring their fundamental human nature to the fore? Every human has those greedy, grasping animal instincts in them. With Lark, I just played them up. So she isn’t a new person like you were with Yarrow. She is still Lark. She remembers everything that happened to her. I just helped her see what is truly important in life.”

  “You took away everything good in her!” I scream.

  “Who needs goodness, when you can have power and control?” Lark chimes in. “I’ll never be helpless again. I’ll never depend on you or anyone else for my happiness.”

  “Oh, Lark,” I say miserably.

  “This is the real Lark,” Chief Ellena goes on. “The one that was hidden behind petty morality and fear of what society thinks. Her core self. Isn’t it beautiful? I did the same thing with the populace of Eden, but I went deeper into the heart of what it means to be a human. Do you know what people want more than anything? What they long for, what they work so hard to achieve, though they never realize it?”

  She pauses dramatically. “People don’t want to think,” she says, pronouncing each word distinctly and slowly. “That is the blessing I gave to the people of Eden. Most of them, anyway. And soon, all of them. Very soon.”

  I look around for any hope of escape. With only five Greenshirts plus the Chief it should be possible. But they are heavily armed, and the other Oaks kids are just milling around, unconcerned, unaware. If we try anything, how many might be caught in the cross fire?

  And with a gun at her temple, my mom would be the first to die.

  “I am truly surprised to see you again,” Chief Ellena goes on. “And on such a noble cause. Rescuing your friend? A friend who despises you? And for that misguided heroism you sacrifice so many of your other friends and allies. No wonder you were such a disappointment to me.”

  She shakes her head as she looks at Mira, Carnelian, Ash. She doesn’t seem to recognize Pearl in her veil. “That was a splendid stunt you pulled, blowing up the Underground,” she goes on. “It caused no end of aggravation for us.” She caresses Mom’s cheek with the muzzle of her gun. “The
only bright spot to that event was the satisfying thought that you were dead. Tell me, how did you survive the blast?”

  I can’t tell her about Harmonia and the outside world. She’s heard rumors, but if she ever knew they were true, what would she do? I want to end her control, give the people of Eden freedom. I still don’t know if they should be turned loose on the world, or if a million people in the environment will just set about destroying the planet again.

  One thing I know for sure is that the Eden that is under Chief Ellena’s control can’t be allowed anywhere near Harmonia and the peaceful wilderness. If she knew what was out there, she’d want to control it, too. I envision all the people of Harmonia overrun by Greenshirts, forcibly implanted with lenses, turned into robots by this evil woman . . .

  “I was lucky,” I say stubbornly.

  She chuckles cruelly as she squeezes my mom’s neck tighter. Mom winces, but grits her teeth. “Not so lucky if you are my prisoner again. Oh, the fun we’ll have on the operating table, my dear former daughter! Now tell me!” she growls. “Is there another layer to the Underground that we didn’t discover? Do the rebels have some technology that will protect them from a blast of that size?”

  “Do you think I’d tell you anything?” I ask defiantly.

  She smiles. “Oh, I think you’ll tell me everything . . . eventually. Your brain is mine to explore at my leisure, my child.”

  “She’s not your child!” Mom screams, struggling to break free of Ellena’s clutches.

  “How interesting to find you alive, Rosalba. For the moment. This night is full of surprises.”

  My mom fumes at her, twisting futilely. “Put down the gun and fight me, Ellena!”

  “How . . . touching. What a primal force maternal love is. That is why I never had children. I don’t like anything to control me.”

  “You unnatural woman!” Mom shouts. “Can’t you see you’re destroying your own species? If you control their brains they’re not even people anymore. EcoPan will stop you. Its directive is to save humanity, and when it realizes what you are doing . . .”