Days of Fury

by B. J. Castillo

  While the girl complied with Kerr's request, he collapsed on the desk chair, uttering a weary sigh and multiple blinks thanks to the sweat accumulated on his eyelids and cheeks. It was not so hot, Evelyn warned, but the cold did not dominate like the day before.

  Eve went back to the desk and picked up the flimsy tube that looked like toothpaste.

  “What is this?” She asked the professor.

  He ran his hand over his face, blinked a couple of times and widened his eyes.

  “Be careful with that, Evelyn,” he warned. “It's drafta. It is an acid paste that eats all kinds of metals; except for etolith, the material from which your bale is made. It also destroys human flesh and bones.”

  “Oh,” Evelyn said, amazed, and carefully lowered the drafta to the desk.

  Kerr smiled.

  “And everything you have invented?” Eve asked.

  "No," replied the professor, dispassionate. “My work here is only limited to the development and perfection of Sally. As I told you in our last meeting, I still have to develop sixty models before bringing our precious agents to this Time.” He sighed. “No, not even this,” he pointed out the chemical potions, “nor are the weapons of my invention.”

  “So, whose?”

  “Everything comes from the future, Evelyn. I just... I copy the original models and produce them for our agents.”

  “Ah.”

  She did not know what else to say; she was surprised.

  Luckily, she did not have to. Juno entered the laboratory again, carrying with both hands, which were wearing gloves up to the elbows, a metal bucket, which ejected a faint white cloud. As Juno approached them, Eve caught a glimpse of the rising cold of the cube.

  Juno left it on the table.

  “What is it?” Eve asked.

  “You'll see,” said Kerr, smiling at her.

  Then, Juno proceeded to remove the lid to the bucket; a thick white mist escaped its insides as it dislodged a hiss. Evelyn had a chill. Juno put her gloved hands into the space and pulled out another smaller box: it was of intense blue ice and whitish cracks on the surface. Inside, there was a tiny creature; for an inexperienced eye, like Evelyn's, it would be translated as a white, purple, and scattered jellyfish; it also looked like a scintillating tooth-lion. The fact is that she was trapped in the blue ice, immovable. And despite her beauty, Evelyn saw beyond: death, chaos, catastrophe…

  Goosebumps. It was a pyxis'avalh, in its most natural and vulnerable state; It could be inside anyone.

  “Did you see the state in which the olrut are transformed when you shoot them with the converter?” Kerr asked. Juno was not with them at that time, as she was trying to save the avalh again in the freezing room. Evelyn nodded. “All right. I suggest that this is its original state: that of a dark obsidian rock. Just like that is the original state of the avalh. Although Tadhg refuses my theory of the olrut.”

  “Tadhg said that there were at least a dozen of those beings, each with a different corporeal form or some gift they used against their main enemies, us the humans,” Eve asked. “It is true?”

  “I'm afraid so,” the professor replied, a little more distressed. “For now only the avalh, the olrut and the szoth are the only ones among us. We assume that the pyxis of our dimension have a leader. We have not been able to prove it, neither in our time nor in the future.”

  “A leader?”

  “Yes,” said Kerr, more serious, thoughtful. “Of the avalh race. Since they are the most intelligent, able to copy all kinds of intelligence and mutate it. Their actions, catastrophic in the future, have given us to understand that they only have one purpose: to stay with our world.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Rhys's room was not very different from hers, Evelyn saw. The size and sparse space were the same. Of course—and she credited it to Rhys's two years of seniority at the Agency—Rhys had customized the room, adding purple and light gray colors, in addition to the insipid white, and paintings with art-pop patterns in black frames. Despite the meager decoration, the place was very feminine and elegant, and nothing modest. It went with the overwhelming personality of Rhys, and also with the attractive parts that composed her.

  “So you've learned all that today?” Rhys asked.

  “Yes,” Eve said loudly. She was behind a Chinese screen trying on one of Rhys's dresses. “I did not have time to ask Professor Kerr, but what is a pyxis'szoth?”

  “Well, Eve,” she began, “the szoth adopt fire, water, and electricity as their natural state; its original state, on the other hand, is similar to that of the olrut.”

  “Rocks.” Evelyn tried to pull up her black dress, but it was too narrow on her hips. She took a breath, and tried again. She heard Rhys laugh.

  “No,” said this one. “Rock is not the original state of the Olrut, although the professor says otherwise. Need help?”

  “I'm fine.” She yanked upward, with all her might, and the dress gave way. Evelyn put her arms through the thin straps of her dress and left the tooth on the back for Rhys, since it was impossible to get to her without hurting her dress. The fabric adjusted to the curves like a second skin, in addition it was much shorter than I had anticipated and the neckline of the chest very pronounced; and Evelyn was not one that was scarce in that part. “It’s ready.”

  She left the screen for Rhys to approve.

  “And?” She asked. “How do I look?”

  Rhys remained quiet for a moment, silent. Then she began to react; her eyes widened, her mouth formed an "o", and, very slowly, she got up from the bed. Evelyn walked towards her, and as she came closer, she noticed the coppery eyes of Rhys drenching in tears.

  “You look so beautiful,” Rhys mused.

  A laugh escaped Eve.

  "I don’t think so," she said. “I can barely breathe a breath of air with this dress.”

  “If you don’t believe me, check it yourself.” She pointed to the full-length mirror that rested near the bed; it was lined with multicolored feather boas and photographs. In one were all of the Agency; in another, only Rhys and her brother. “Come on, come closer.”

  Evelyn went to the mirror and looked. It was her. But different. A lot. The black dress marked curves she had never seen before, there at the hips and thighs, and higher up in the breasts. If the price to look like that was not breathing, then she was willing to pay for it. Beyond the dress, she noticed her face. She was paler than usual, her cheeks were colorless and her lips were almost white. She had purple circles under her eyes, her eyebrows were very high and her hair was curled at the tips.

  Evelyn had inherited most of her features from her father; her black hair, her blue eyes like gems, and those sharp cheekbones, were all her father's.

  “Oh,” Rhys snapped suddenly. Evelyn saw her behind her through the mirror. “We still have to close the back.”

  That she did next. Eve had to hold her breath; she was about to faint. When they achieved their goal, Rhys assured her that the fabric would be lifted to her body, that barely warm up the dress would conform to her.

  “Do you think your brother will like it?” Eve asked before thinking better.

  She perceived, through the mirror, the calm gesture that Rhys's face adopted.

  “What?” She said in a high-pitched voice. “Tadhg?”

  Eve swallowed.

  “Yes… I think…”

  When she turned around, Rhys did too and turned her back on her. She began to murmur something in a very low voice. Evelyn could not understand. Then Rhys turned to her and looked at her with a wrinkled brow and a grimace of dread in her mouth.

  “Do you like Tadhg?” She said.

  “No,” said Evelyn, also she thinking, "Who not?"

  Rhys gave a deep sigh, almost exaggerated, and ran her hand over her forehead. More relaxed, she began to laugh a little nervously.

  “It's a relief,” she said. “My brother... he's much older than you, and he does not like teenag
er.”

  “I'm not a young teenager!” Eve protested.

  “That would a teenager say.” Rhys crossed her arms over her chest. “Listen. Tadhg is a heartbreaker. Yes, it is very attractive; it’s the only thing I'm going to say, because it's my brother. You are a good and innocent girl, Evelyn.” She uncrossed her arms, approached Eve and put her hands on her shoulders. She stared at her. “I do not want Tadhg to break your illusions. In addition, it is totally prohibited by the laws of the Agency to have a relationship with someone who is not of our time.” She paused. “Do it for Tadhg, or you will be in trouble. Get away from him.”

  After a moment of silence, glances and warnings, Evelyn laughed. That way it would ease her nervousness and calm the tension of the moment. Tadhg liked it, of course. She was not blind. And Rhys was right: she was not the kind of girl he needed. She did not agree at all with you-are-a-good-and-innocent-girl. She remembered Tadhg's reaction when Tabita asked him that question, and she recalled that pang in her chest, very deep. She sighed.

  “Now,” Rhys continued, composing a radiant smile, “its turn to the shoes. Needle or platform?”

  Eve did not know what they were. Shrugged.

  “I prefer sports shoes, if you do not mind,” she said.

  Rhys burst into tears alive. Her laughter was subtle, carefree, and contagious.

  “If you're serious,” she said later, calmer, “then I'll answer that I do care. What will people think when they see you enter with a beautiful cocktail dress and a pair of old sneakers? What they will say? They will laugh, the boys will get away from you. I will lose my prestige...

  “There will only be one boy for me tonight,” Eve commented.

  Rhys frowned.

  “Tadhg?”

  “No, no,” she sighed irritably. “I mean the new sheltered —I should see a picture of him first, do not you think? I do not even know if it's a boy or...”

  “He's a boy,” Rhys assured her. “Tadhg will show you a picture at the time.” Then her eyes lit up and she lifted a finger. “I think we should start with makeup and hairstyle, then shoes. After, the accessories.”

  Later they contemplated the results. Dressed, combed and paved, Evelyn hardly felt any different from the girl of an hour ago. Rhys had been right after all: the fabric of the dress had matched her figure after a moment of putting it on. Rhys made her up and used an unusual device to curl her black hair, which Evelyn had never seen and at first sight she had believed that the girl brought her from the future. Rhys had laughed.

  “What time are you coming from?” was what he said.

  After choosing a pair of high gray shoes, Rhys explained what was the difference between a needle shoe and a platform, and then Eve noticed that her were both. She wanted to kill Rhys for making her walk with those stilts; but, she adapted quickly to them.

  In front of the mirror, looking at herself, Eve could hardly believe what she was seeing. It was her. Make-up, combed and well dressed. But she. The makeup enhanced her cheekbones, the shadows of her eyes and the intense blue of her irises. She looked like a twenty-one girl, yes. Evelyn covered her mouth, barely heard small sighs of laughter between her fingers.

  Rhys was laughing too; she had not stopped looking at her at all times with those bright, almost wet eyes. Finally she took a deep breath, straightened up and made Evelyn turn toward her. They stared at each other for a moment. Eve noticed a hint of the effort Rhys was trying to make to suppress the urge to hold her.

  “Now, the accessories,” Rhys said cheerfully. She walked to the bedside table, next to her bed, and took something out of a drawer; then she came to Eve again. “Take this and save them.” She passed three little bottles, which Evelyn alleged were ettalim, littium and nettali, “keep them well. We do not know when they will be necessary.”

  “Where do I keep them?” Her dress did not have rolls, far from it.

  Rhys pursed her lips.

  “Here.”

  “Ah?”

  Evelyn looked at her breasts.

  “There?”

  “Yes,” Rhys said, quite serious. “You’re not short of that; many will not notice your stunning eyes all night long. But what do I say? All men are the same. And some girls. Nobody will look away from your pair...”

  “I understand,” Evelyn cut her off, flushed. It was not something she wanted to discuss. She took only the littium bottle and the nettali bottle. It felt a bit of discomfort, but, as with the dress, maybe that's how it can get used to. She looked at her breasts and then at Rhys.

  Rhys handed her a small black pistol, very different from the weapons of the future he already knew, and a thin belt, so that he would attach it to her thigh under the dress. While Evelyn was doing this, Rhys explained what the weapon was.

  “It's called a defibrillator,” she said. “It is a powerful laser that goes through any solid surface. You must be careful. If a human is shot by it, you can see through a hole to the other side of the person.”

  “What horror,” Eve said, absorbed. “And now I have it in my thigh.”

  “Easy,” Rhys smiled. “You must remove the insurance. Also, I do not think Tadhg allows you to use it.”

  “Then why…?”

  Rhys took her hands and stared at hers.

  “Because” she said slowly “you never know.”

  Evelyn nodded. She remembered the creature that had entered the bathroom the other night, and felt a chill.

  Rhys put her hands to the back of her neck and pulled out a thin white gold necklace, which Evelyn had not noticed until now. The chain was very thin and the pendant had the shape of a tamarind seed, very beautiful, with details of a rose. Rhys held it up before Evelyn.

  “My mother gave it to me,” Rhys began. “Her mother gave it to her in turn. It's for good luck.”

  Eve did not know what to say.

  “I don’t believe…”

  “Eve,” she said, frowning. “It is not a gift. It's a loan. You must take care of it.” Without more than to add, Rhys surrounded her and placed the necklace with fine delicacy. “I know you'll do it.” Again in front of Evelyn, she smiled. “And you'll be lucky, you'll see.”

  * * *

  The rest waited in the hall of the Agency. Her legs began to waver when all eyes were on her. The professor and his wife seemed amazed. Dawit's eyes seemed to protrude more, and his lips formed an abrupt "o". Juno, more impassive, just smiled at her.

  And Tadhg...

  “Where is my brother?” Rhys said disgustedly.

  “Here.”

  Evelyn and the rest looked back.

  Tadhg was handsome. He wore washed jeans, an elegant light blue shirt, black shoes, and his usual leather jacket of the same color. His face was lucid, impeccable. His blue eyes shone more brightly than ever, like beautiful spheres of ice in the fathomless sockets of his face. He looked Evelyn up and down.

  “What the fuck did you put on?!” He snapped at Rhys.

  His sister uncrossed the arms.

  “What are you talking about?” She replied. “She looks beautiful.”

  Tadhg looked back at Evelyn. This time, his gaze went longer at the neckline. Eve felt the world crumble around her. That reaction of Tadhg had not been expected. She thought... he would like it. At that moment, when she looked at her breasts, Evelyn noticed that the look was no other impression than horror.

  “Yes, Tadhg, Evelyn looks beautiful,” Claire said.

  He made a gesture.

  “Anyway,” he finally retorted. “If she has agreed to dress like that, it is her problem.”

  “Yes,” Evelyn said with a sudden pulse of bravery and fury in her chest. “It's my problem. I like this clothes...”

  “I think it looks excellent.”

  Everyone remained in silence. Their looks, however, veered to the other side. Rebecca was entering the hall with a broad smile from ear to ear. She walked slowly towards everyone, in the midst of the commotion, and
stopped right in front of Evelyn.

  “Do not pay attention,” she advised gently. “Tadhg is a bit... Well, let's say that special.” The ally let out a snort. Rhys and Juno could barely contain their laughter. “Today you will be the center of attention.”

  Evelyn could not believe, given previous encounters she had had with Rebecca, that she was telling her such things. Did he mean it? Eve wondered, or was he just playing with her? What kind of game was that? She did not know what else to say.

  “Thank you.” —And she smiled.

  “It's very nice of you, Becca,” the professor said, and turned to Tadhg, with a more circumspect look. “And you... You better watch that language. You can regret.”

  Maybe it was her guess, Eve thought, but Kerr's words sounded like a warning.

  Tadhg sighed deeply and turned to Evelyn, a little rueful.

  “I'm sorry,” he said in all dispassionate. “I guess you look good.”

  “You guess?” She was about to say. It was not what she had expected, but...

  “It's okay,” she said instead.

  “Subject resolved, it would be better to leave now,” the professor said enthusiastically. He pulled his wife closer to him, wrapping his arm around her. “Upon their return,” he added, “we will have a new member among us.”

  Everyone nodded and laughed. Tadhg, Rhys and Evelyn made a move to the elevator, but were interrupted.

  “Wait!”

  Again Rebecca.

  “What happens, Becca?” Claire asked in a worried tone.

  Becca hesitated a moment; then he looked up at Evelyn and approached her.

  “I have to talk to you,” she said softly, in her ear. Her voice was heard urged. “Please.”

  They looked at each other for a moment. Becca had dark greens, almost imperceptible. They shone. Evelyn swallowed and nodded. Then she turned to the others; Tadhg and Rhys were already in the elevator, waiting for her.

  “Go ahead,” she told them. “I climb in a moment.”

  The brothers shared a puzzled look, open-mouthed. An instant later, Rhys nodded; she took Tadhg's hand to stop him, when he made to leave the elevator with a disturbed gesture. Immediately, the doors closed in his face.