“What’s going to happen to all of these people?” Lilah motioned to the bodies around her. “I know a nice jail where we can store Kane.” Lilah offered, a grin forming on her face as she pictured Kane in the jail cell he’d put her in.
“Nothing,” Freedom said.
Lilah tilted her head to the side. Did she hear that correctly?
“What do you mean, nothing?” Lilah asked.
“We are going to let the tranqs wear off,” Freedom said. “And go about our day.”
The members of the Resistance and residents of Eden started to gather around Freedom.
Lilah couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She looked at the armed Wardens and glanced at Kane’s sleeping body. They would start to wake up in only a couple of hours.
“They’ll kill us.” Lilah exclaimed.
“They’ll probably try,” Freedom said. “And they might succeed.”
Lilah didn’t know how to respond to that. Did Freedom have a death wish?
“Look, I promised Adam this would be a rescue mission and nothing more.”
“Since when do you answer to a Warden?” Lilah spat.
“Since one gave me something that will help us win,” Freedom said.
“Tranq guns?” Lilah asked.
“Trust me, Lilah,” Freedom said. Her sharp tone told Lilah there were to be no more questions.
“Look, we have already done something that has never been done before,” Freedom continued. “We have shown the nation our strength and our humanity. Most importantly, they’ve seen that Kane can be beaten. Trust me. We should leave them all here. Let them wake up and realize they’ve been bested once again by the Resistance.”
She pointed to a small black car in the distance.
“That’s our ride. I’ll explain everything once we make it back to the Resistance headquarters”
Freedom took off, causing Lilah and the others to scramble to catch up. Lilah opened her mouth to argue but decided against it. Instead, she climbed into the back of Freedom’s car and crossed her arms over her chest.
Adam sat up front with Freedom, and Jesse and Angela climbed into the back, sandwiching Lilah between the two of them. Adam was looking out the window at the lifeless bodies thoughtfully. Lilah handed her weapon back to Adam.
“Tranq guns,” Lilah said. “Couldn’t even get us the real thing?”
Adam tensed at her words despite her friendly tone.
“I’m so sorry, Lilah,” he said.
A girl walked over to Freedom’s window, her blue afro puffs bright and cheery despite the gruesome scene. “What are we supposed to do? Walk?” she asked.
Freedom’s lips twisted into a crooked smile. “Rain, I promised to leave the people be. I said nothing about their vehicles. See if you can find the keys to one of Kane's fancy limos. Grab all of the other Eden residents and Resistance members. We’ll debrief at home.”
The girl’s eyes widened. “You want me to steal a car from Kane?”
Freedom chuckled to herself. “I do.”
Lilah caught Freedom shooting Adam a defiant smile in the mirror. Adam looked away, pretending not to notice. Freedom turned the key and the vehicle roared loudly.
“Faulty muffler,” Freedom said, grinning at Rain. “I could do with a new car.”
The car sped off, and Lilah could see Adam rolling his eyes at Freedom.
“It’s good that you used tranqs,” Adam said. “They won’t see you as monsters, seeing as you didn’t kill anyone.”
“Adam, there are some people who will always see us as monsters,” Freedom said. “I stopped worrying about what they see.”
Freedom waved her left hand dismissively toward Adam as her right hand controlled the vehicle. Though she was full of bravado, Lilah should see her hands trembling on the wheel as she drove toward Resistance headquarters.
Even Freedom seemed scared about what would come after Kane and the Wardens woke up. Lilah hoped whatever Adam had promised was worth it.
The car approached an old abandoned warehouse in a corner of the settlement that few people visited. Its windows were cracked and shattered, and its brick walls were covered in graffiti. The vehicle came to a quick halt, causing Lilah to lunge forward, her tattered seat belt digging into her ribcage.
“This is your headquarters?” Lilah asked.
“What did you expect?” Freedom asked.
“Something hidden. Underground. Secret,” Lilah said. Freedom hopped out of the car.
“Oh, we are more underground than you’d think. But we won't be for long.” Freedom said.
From the mirror, Lilah could see Kane’s limo pull up and park behind Freedom’s car.
She felt a jolt of panic until she saw Nathan and Trace step out. The residents of Eden and Resistance members climbed out of the back of the limo.
The door that led inside the warehouse was covered in red graffiti. Lilah frowned at the littered grounds surrounding the building, stepping over forgotten trash. This wasn't where she expected the members of the Resistance to live.
When Freedom pulled open the door, Lilah scrunched her nose at the dust and debris that covered the building. Freedom took them to an elevator with an “out of service” sign taped to it. She pressed a button, summoning the noisy machine. As the door creaked open, Freedom looked back at the crowd.
“We are going to need to take two trips. Basement.” Freedom hopped on, and Lilah followed.
Jesse, Nathan, Angela, and some Resistance members that Lilah did not know piled in as well. The door shut, and the shaky machine descended into darkness. Lilah had never been on an elevator before. She clutched her stomach to settle the queasiness she felt.
The door slid open, and they stepped into a much cleaner space. They were in a long hallway with many doors along its walls. Freedom ignored the doors and walked to a large room around the corner. When she turned on the lights, Lilah gasped.
It was an office space, with desks, tables, and chairs. Lilah was surprised to see three large computers and a small television in the room. While a few families in the settlement owned televisions, and some even owned computers, she’d never seen so much technology in one place.
“This is where the magic happens,” Freedom said. “Our control room. Making fake CitCards, treating mutants, getting in all kinds of trouble. Isn't that right, Angela?”
“Home sweet home,” Angela said. “Just keep me away from the cages.”
Freedom chuckled, leaving Lilah to wonder what that exchange was about. There were more important matters to attend to than understanding inside jokes.
“What did Adam promise you?” Lilah asked.
Freedom pulled a chair from the desk and sat down.
Everyone else sank to the ground and sat cross-legged in front of her, like children waiting for a lecture from a teacher at school.
“Adam,” Freedom said, “why don’t you tell them what you found?”
Adam nodded as he slowly stood up and walked to the front of the room, standing next to where Freedom sat.
“Before I say anything else, I want to tell you all that I'm sorry that I put you all in this position.”
“Save it,” Freedom said, examining her nails. “Get to the good stuff.”
“Right,” Adam said. “There is a facility in part of the old jailhouse. Kane is trying to learn how to…harvest mutant powers. This allows people without mutations to take on these abilities temporarily. In addition to this, he’s also created a cure.”
Lilah’s breath caught in her throat. She leaned forward, heart pounding. Did he mean what she thought he might mean?
“A cure for mutations,” Adam went on. “I was able to share that cure with Freedom.”
“Wait, hold up,” Lilah said. “If Kane has a cure for mutations, why is he killing mutants? Why doesn't he just cure us all?”
Adam shook his head. “I asked those same questions when Brice showed me the facility. I thought we were supposed to be the good guys, but I cannot
justify Kane’s actions. Seeing all of those mutants locked up, treated like guinea pigs. There were children...”
His voice trailed off.
“Adam was able to give the Resistance several of Kane's formulas that grant temporary abilities alongside a working cure,” Freedom said.
“The cure works for ninety-nine percent of mutations,” Adam said. “From my understanding, it kind of reprograms your DNA back to factory settings.”
“The members of the Resistance know how many lives we have lost as we tried to cure dangerous and difficult mutations,” Freedom said. “I agreed to leave Kane and the Wardens be in exchange for this cure. Rain, our resident medic, will study it and figure out the formula.”
Lilah saw the girl with afro puffs nod. “Can’t wait to get started. This is what I've been waiting for since I joined up. I can finally put my degrees to good use.”
Lilah suddenly felt uneasy.
“Wait,” Lilah said. “What if we don’t want to be cured?”
“No one’s going to force a cure on anyone,” Freedom said. “A world without mutants would be a dull world. This is for those whose mutations endanger their lives, and who want to remove them.”
Mason raised a scaly hand “I think I’d like to take it,” he said. “My mutation does not endanger my life, but it doesn't do me any real good. I’d like to feel like myself again.”
“All that will be worked out once Rain duplicates the formulas. She’s a genius. It shouldn’t take her too long to find a cure,” Freedom said.
“So what now?” Lilah asked. “What do you want to do about Kane?”
“Should we escape via the City Below?” Angela asked. “Go back to Eden?”
“No. We aren't running away every time Kane scares us. Besides, the Watch knows where Eden is located.” Freedom said. “A place like Eden is a beautiful idea, but we have to bring Eden here. We need to create a city where mutants don’t need to hide.”
“Then what do we do?” Angela wanted to know.
“Now,” Freedom said, “we wait.”
In a couple of hours, Kane and the Wardens would wake up, humiliated and infuriated by their failure.
Lilah pictured Kane making a nationwide call for Wardens to kill every mutant they could find. A war would break out, and the nation would erupt into chaos once again. This time, no one would survive.
But a couple of hours passed, and the city remained silent. Freedom checked the live-stream, but there was no message from Kane.
Two more hours passed. The city remained calm. Despite their nerves, they eventually fell asleep.
The next morning, while the others were still sleeping, Lilah went up the elevator and crept outside, half expecting to be ambushed as she tentatively shut the door behind her.
“Where are you going?” Adam raced behind her, slamming the door open as soon as she had shut it. She jumped. She hadn’t even heard him come up.
“You’ll be recognized from yesterday. Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Adam asked.
“I have somewhere to go,” Lilah said. “Why do you care?”
“I care about you, Lilah,” Adam whispered. “Can’t you see that?”
Lilah turned away. “As much as I try to forgive you, all I see is the man who almost got me killed.”
“And now,” Adam said, “I am the man who is trying to keep you alive. Can’t I at least walk with you if you must go out?”
Lilah rolled her eyes, but the corners of her lips twisted upward. “What makes you think you can keep me safe?”
Adam held up a tranq gun. “Protection.”
Lilah's eyes narrowed on the weapon. “Why are you up so early?” Lilah asked.
“Freedom and I have something to take care of later today,” he said.
“Oh?” Lilah raised an eyebrow.
“We're going to get the mutants out of jail,” he explained.
“What?” Lilah asked. “How?”
“Lilah, we took them down before. Don’t worry about it. I’m more concerned about where you are going alone.”
He handed her the tranq gun and quickly shut the door behind him as he stepped outside.
Tranq gun in hand, Lilah took off down the road toward her parents’ house. She spotted a Warden up ahead and paused.
“Keep going,” Adam said.
“He’ll recognize us,” Lilah whispered.
“Trust me.”
Lilah took a tentative step forward. Sweat pooled on the back of her neck as she crossed the Warden’s path.
The Warden eyed her and pulled out his phone, frantically tapping at his screen. He didn’t stop her. He had to have known who she was. She felt like she was in the eye of a storm, and soon she’d be swept up into it. Here the lions lay low, waiting to pounce. But for now, she was allowed to live.
Her heart raced when she saw her parents’ house in the distance. She wanted to scream for joy as she knocked on the front door fervently. The old wooden door creaked open. When her mother peeked out, her mouth formed a small ‘o.’
“Lilah!” she exclaimed. “Goodness, you’re alive.”
Lilah fell into her mother's arms and sobbed.
“Come in! Come in!” She ushered Lilah and Adam inside, locking the door behind them.
“Where’s Dad?” Lilah asked, wiping a tear from her cheek.
“He went out looking for you! I stayed behind with Lyric in case the Wardens came here. I didn’t want her out there, but I didn’t want her here alone.”
She heard quick footsteps rushing from another room toward the door. Lyric raced into the room, almost tripping over her feet as she came to a halt.
“Lilah!” She exclaimed. Lilah released her mother and turned toward her sister.
“Bear!” She hugged her sister tight.
Her mother’s eyes drifted toward the closed door, and Lilah followed her gaze. Adam stood near the door, glancing around the living room and pretending to be engrossed with family photos that were hanging on the wall.
“This is Adam,” Lilah introduced him.
“I know who he is,” her mother said. “You saved my daughter’s life.”
She wrapped Adam in a hug. He froze, then slowly reciprocated her embrace.
Lilah’s mother pulled away.
“What I don’t understand,” she said, “is why you did it. What made you turn against the Watch? Are you a mutant too?”
“No, ma’am,” Adam said.
“Were you helping out in Eden then?”
“Not exactly,” Adam admitted. He scratched his head nervously.
“Well, whatever the reason, I’m so glad a Warden finally stood up to that bully. I’ve always been so conflicted about Kane. On one hand, I know he helps the settlement out with his shipments of food and supplies. On the other hand, my daughter’s been living in fear her entire life because of him.”
“Ex-Warden,” Adam corrected. “Now, I’m working with the Resistance.”
Lyric came up to Adam and took him by the hand.
“Let me give you a tour.”
Lilah and her mother trailed behind Lyric as she led Adam from the living room to the adjacent kitchen.
“This is the kitchen,” Lyric announced. She opened a small side door that led to a dark stairwell. “The basement’s down there.”
Lilah chuckled at her sister. “I’ve got it from here, Bear.”
Lyric looked disappointed as she let go of Adam’s hand.
Lilah turned to her mother. “I’ll probably stop by again when Dad comes back, but I wanted to let you know I’m okay. I probably won’t be living here anymore.”
“What?” Lyric’s voice cracked. “But you just got back!”
“I know, and I’ll visit you all the time. But with what I’ve done, I don’t want to put you guys in any danger when Kane decides he wants revenge. Besides, I think I found a job that's a bit more meaningful than being a seamstress. The Resistance is working to help people like me, and I want to be a part of it.”
Her mother nodded.
“I’ll visit all the time,” Lilah promised.
“You better,” Lyric said. She gave Lilah a tight hug.
“I’m just glad to see you alive and well. I questioned if sending you to Eden was the right thing to do, but I knew you were a strong girl,” her mother said.
Lilah gave them both a long embrace before walking back outside with Adam. Once they were in the yard, Lilah gave Adam a sheepish smile.
“Sorry about Lyric,” Lilah said. “I’ve never seen her so starstruck.”
“It’s fine,” he said. “Can we talk for a moment?”
“What about?” Lilah asked.
Adam pulled her away from the house, onto the sidewalk. He looked around to make sure no one else was nearby.
“Look, Lilah, I know I'm not your favorite person. What I did was horrible. But I’m here, trying to make things right, just like you.”
Lilah met his eyes. “I know.”
“I’m sorry if I hurt you,” he said. “Not if… I did hurt you. I’m not asking for your forgiveness, but I think you deserve to hear that.”
“You’ve already apologized,” Lilah said. “I get it. I accept.”
“I don’t just want your acceptance, Lilah,” Adam said.
“Well then, what do you want?” Lilah asked. She put her hands in her pockets as she waited for a reply.
Adam scratched his head and looked away. His face turned red and flushed.
“What is it?” Lilah pressed.
Adam took a deep breath and met her gaze again. He moved closer, taking her hands in his. They felt clammy, which caused Lilah to notice the sweat collecting on his brow.
“I like you, Lilah,” he said. “I know I said otherwise. I was scared, and I needed time to figure out how I felt. But now I know exactly how I feel. I like that you challenge me. You cause me to pause and question everything I thought I knew about the world, about mutants and the Watch. Even about myself. And we're not in Eden anymore, but I still feel like the air is crisper when you are around. The grass is greener, the sky brighter, and my heart is lighter. You are a girl with the power to turn the world to ashes, yet you strive to bring everything you touch to life. And I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”
Finding Eden Page 12