by Keary Taylor
He carried a cloth in his arms and I could see several food items sticking out of it. The small child held a piece of bread possessively in his hands, ready to protect it with his life.
“It’s dangerous coming here and taking what isn’t yours,” I said as I held his eyes.
“We haven’t eaten in days,” the boy said, his voice sounding tired. “We’ve been running for over a week, maybe longer. So I guess it’s either you kill us or starvation will.”
My eyes scanned over them carefully, checking for any signs. Their eyes looked normal but it was difficult to tell in the minimal light. I was fairly certain the woman was organic, considering her wound. The Fallen could heal themselves as long as the injury wasn’t fatal. The cybernetic molecules would spread to the damaged area, stealing more of their humanity as the injured flesh was replaced with mechanical components.
The boy seemed likely organic as well, Fallen children didn’t know how to hide their true nature.
So the only one I had to question was the boy. He moved with skill, he had shot with deadly accuracy. He hadn’t earned a clearing yet.
“You are going to have to come with me,” I said finally, keeping the boys tired but determined stare.
He held my eyes for a moment before looking back at his companions. I glanced at the woman, she actually looked slightly relieved. The child only bit into his bread, devouring it with a speed that left half of the food on his face.
“Alright,” he finally said, as if he actually had a choice. I nodded my head in the opposite direction and they started walking toward Eden with the feet that had traveled a hundred miles.
The walk back didn’t take long. They hadn’t gotten far from Eden before I confronted them. Our pace was slowed, hindered by the woman’s limping. I watched her closely as she moved. She could have been faking, trying to pretend to be human. Doubt crept into my mind. It was hard to tell human from Fallen sometimes. It all depended on how long they had been infected.
Camp was still silent when we entered its perimeters, as it should have been. Pressing a finger to my lips, I urged them toward Gabriel’s tent. I assumed by the lack of alert that the guard in the tower had fallen asleep. I took a mental note to request that Gabriel add more night watches to my list of duties.
I went to the east wall of Gabriel’s tent, the one I knew he slept on.
“Gabriel,” I whispered in attempt to not wake everyone nearby. “Gabriel.”
I heard a grunt and a shift of movement. At the same time I heard a flap being thrown back from another tent and a moment later an alarmed looking Avian stumbled out of his tent.
“Eve?” he questioned as he squinted through the darkness. “What… whoa! Uh…” he struggled to make his brain work as he realized I wasn’t alone.
“I found them after he stole from the stores, out in the woods nearby,” I gave a hushed explanation. “Gabriel,” I hissed again.
This seemed to finally rouse him as I heard a curse and two seconds later Gabriel half tripped out of the entrance.
“What the devil…” he said angrily and stopped short as he took in the growing group outside his tent. “Who are they?”
“The ones we saw in the woods,” I said simply for him. It was amazing the Fallen hadn’t figured out how slow humans were after they woke up. Everyone could easily be picked off in the middle of the night.
“You caught them?” Gabriel said stupidly.
“No, he’s forcing me to point the blade at them,” I said as I rolled my eyes.
Gabriel glared at me for a moment before he turned his attention to Avian. “Get the CDU,” he said.
With a nod, Avian turned and jogged toward the medical tent.
“Where did you come from?” Gabriel demanded as he turned to the boy.
“We were just outside a city, a few days south of here. There were thirteen of us. We’re all that’s left.”
“The city?” Gabriel said, surprise evident in his voice.
“Our camp moved around but we were always within walking distance. We needed to be able to get to supplies. The Hunters found us though.”
That was explanation enough for us. While food was becoming scarce in the city as roamers raided, other supplies were still to be found; clothing, medical supplies, weapons occasionally. We went on our own raids when the need arose.
The sound of Avian’s quiet jogging announced his return, feet that had been trained to move as silent as possible. His eyes were grim as he slowed when we came into view. We were all quiet as he charged it up and calibrated it.
“What is it?” the young child asked as he pressed himself against the woman, eyeing the device with uncertainty.
“This,” Avian said as he finished pushing buttons, his tone careful for the child. “Is called a Cybernetic Diffusion Unit. Or a CDU for short. It protects us from the bad guys.”
“What are you going to do with it?” the boy asked warily.
“I’m just going to touch you with it. It will give you a little shock but shouldn’t hurt.”
Shouldn’t.
“This isn’t necessary,” the older boy said as he watched the child. “We’re not Fallen.”
Despite his words I knew he understood why we were doing this. Even as Avian touched the CDU to the young boy’s arm I knew nothing would happen. They weren’t pretending.
The child jumped as the electricity leapt though his system. He buried his face into the woman’s skirts, not wanting to watch as Avian looked into the woman’s eyes with polite apologies. She barely flinched as she was shocked.
With more uncertainty, Avian turned to the boy, his eyes not so kind anymore.
If the CDU was turned on a Fallen they would be shorted out and killed instantly, including their human parts. The cybernetic molecules saturated every part of your body once you were infected, even if your skin stayed intact, your muscles, your hair. This was the device that had saved us from Tye once he had Fallen.
The boy did not take his eyes from Avian as he approached. He rolled up his sleeves, almost in a challenging way, as if daring Avian to prove him not organic.
I didn’t even realize I had been holding my breath for over a minute until Avian had taken the CDU away from the boys arm. He hadn’t even flinched, not reacted in any way.
“Satisfied?” the boy asked in a flat voice, his eyes suddenly looking ready to sleep.
“No,” Gabriel said, his thick brows drawing together. “You’ve stolen from us.”
“We needed food,” the woman spoke for the first time. “The boy, he needed to eat.”
Gabriel turned his dark blue eyes on her, his hands on his hips. While his face was stern he looked almost comical, standing in the moonlight, in his nightgown. With his gray beard he looked almost like a picture I had seen of Santa Claus long ago.
“What are your names?” Gabriel demanded, though his expression softened slightly.
“This is Victoria,” the boy said, indicating the woman. “And Brady. And my name is West.”
“Are you going to cause any trouble here?” Gabriel asked, his tone serious with the need for assurance that was essential to our survival.
West shook his head, his eyes meeting mine. “I’d rather not have her knife me, so no.” The woman and the child both shook their heads as well.
“We were going to approach your camp in the morning,” West said, his tone less sarcastic. “Brady couldn’t wait to eat.”
Gabriel looked at the group for a long moment. I could see the gears turning in his finally awake head. The decision to let them stay was a gravely important one. On the one hand it was risky. We knew nothing of their past and there was the chance they could be being tracked by Hunters. On the other hand we could use more bodies, especially West, considering the recent loss of Tye. And besides that, they were human, our fellow species. We owed it to them to take them in. We were becoming fewer and fewer, a dying race.
“You,” Gabriel finally said, indicating West. “You may stay w
ith Avian for the time being. There is an extra tent close to his, used for storage at the moment that the two of you can stay in,” he said, meaning the woman and child.
Avian and West eyed each other warily but I could tell West was too tired to fight anything. I knew Gabriel had assigned West to Avian’s tent so he could be watched.
“Thank you,” Victoria said gratefully.
“Are you alright until morning?” Avian said, looking meaningfully at Victoria. “I have medical training.”
She looked embarrassed to have his attention on her, her face flushing a visible scarlet, even in the moonlight. “I will be alright, thank you.”
“Don’t try and run off in the night,” I said as everyone started to disband. “It’s not safe.”
West met my eyes for a moment and I thought I saw a hit of a smile tug at his lips.
“I want to talk to you at day break,” Gabriel said as he lifted the flap of his tent. “All of you.”
Avian and I nodded and the newcomers followed Avian. Alone again, I started the walk to the watch tower. I breathed the cool night air in, letting it relax my tense muscles. It was strange, how alive I felt. I felt oddly satisfied and excited.
It wasn’t my night but I climbed the ladder to the tower. I woke the guard who was on duty. He was immensely apologetic, obviously embarrassed that he had fallen asleep. He would feel ten times worse come morning when he learned three people had raided camp while he had dreams of television and air conditioning.
The distant sound of awkward helpfulness drifted up to the tower for a few minutes and then the night was quiet again, just as it should be. I sat on the hard wooden bench, pulling my jacket tighter around me. The air felt suddenly cold now that the adrenaline that had been saturating my muscles had ebbed.
I rubbed my eyes which suddenly felt heavy, though mentally I didn’t feel tired in the slightest. I hated sleep. Idleness made me irritable and frustrated. Sleep was about as idle as you could be. It wasn’t like it came as a relief to me. Others in Eden dreamt of times before the Fall. Of families, of homes with electricity and running water. Of what life should have been like.
I couldn’t remember what it was like before the Fall. Even though I was thirteen when the world ended, my very first memory was of Avian’s burning blue eyes.
About eight years ago, a breakthrough in science was made. For years, technology had been evolving. Robotic prosthetics were made, artificial hearts kept people alive. Nanorobotics and cybernetic technology evolved faster than the media could even keep up with. It started out so harmless. There was nothing but good intensions. It was difficult to find faults in the people who had created the infection.
A group of scientists created a new breed of technology, manufactured a product that was going to save millions of people’s lives, improve another few million more. They created technology that infused human DNA with cybernetic mater. It had the ability to generate new limbs, organs, and just about any other part. It was a perfect blend of machine and man.
The scientists became billionaires overnight. People were put on waiting lists, crying with joy that their lost leg was going to be regenerated, that their little sister who had been waiting for a liver transplant was going to live.
The unconfirmed question hung in the air. This technology had the ability to regenerate any body part. When your heart, liver, lungs began to wear out you could simply buy new cybernetic hybrid ones. If you could afford it. Would people now be able to live forever?
Fifteen-hundred implants were given. Those who were treated came from every corner of the world, were observed for a week after the procedure to make sure the implants grew as they were programmed to, and then sent home. For three months the world seemed like a better place to live in.
And then the side effects started showing up. The people who had been improved were having other parts of their bodies change. A cybernetic lung was joined by a mechanical kidney, an enhanced, metallic eye. The technology was evolving on its own, slowly taking over the human’s bodies.
Then it wasn’t just the patients that were starting to lose themselves. It was their families, their close friends. After further research, it was found that cybernetic cells weren’t stopping where they were supposed to. The technology was dubbed as “the infection” and could be spread as easily as touching an infected person.
A war raged through mankind, splitting the world into two sides. There were those who wanted to build an electromagnetic pulse, to wipe the infection out completely. But the rest of them cried there had to be another way. Doing such would send everyone back into the dark ages. Setting off an EMP would wipe out every computer, every car, every water heater, and backup generator.
They waited too long.
It hadn’t mattered, wondering if mankind could now live forever. They were all killed instead.
By month four, ninety-eight percent of the world’s population had become infected, not even human anymore. More machine than man. We, mankind, were a dying race.
Those that had survived figured out real fast that you had to flee into the country. The world was plunged back into the dark ages anyway.
As the first hints of light started to faze into the sky my replacement came, a man in his early thirties named Tuck. He seemed surprised to see me instead of his comrade whom I had relieved. I climbed down from the tower with stiff legs and headed back toward the tents.
I caught a glimpse of the red-haired woman and the small child walking with Avian toward the medical tent. Just as I walked past it, Gabriel stepped out of his tent. He gave me a knowing look and walked with me after Avian. A few moments later I heard someone step out of another tent and looked back to see West following behind us silently.
The air in the medical tent was sharp, smelling faintly of blood and stolen bleach. Victoria was already sitting on Avian’s table, pulling her skirt up to her knee as Avian pulled on a pair of precious latex gloves. It was disheartening how something that had been so mundane ten years ago had become so precious.
“I trust you got some rest last night?” Avian asked as he inspected her foot, the boy standing close by. The skin on her foot was swollen and red, puss struggling to be let out.
“Yes, thank you,” she answered quietly, her expression uncomfortable, as if the thought of a man touching any part of her body scandalized her.
Gabriel sat on one of the stumps that served as a seat, his fingers scratching at his grayed beard. I could tell he was struggling for words, unsure of what his actions were going to be.
“What are your intentions?” he finally asked, directing his question to West. I then noticed that West had been studying me with narrowed eyes. “What is your goal right now?”
“Stay alive, just like all of you,” West answered simply, his eyes shifting from my face to Gabriel’s.
“And where had you been heading, when Eve found you?”
“Just away from the city. We didn’t know if we would ever find anyone else. As far as we knew, our little group could be the only humans left. And then there were only three of us after we got separated from our group.”
Gabriel considered his words. A strange feeling of emptiness filled me as I thought about what he had said. The thought of no one else being out there felt like final defeat. No wonder they had looked so tired last night. They’d had the weight of the world on their shoulders.
“We could use you,” Gabriel said, having seemingly made up his mind. “We’ve lost someone recently; his absence will be felt, in more ways than one.” Avian’s eyes flickered toward Gabriel’s face for a moment. I didn’t miss the pain that filled them. “We invite you to stay with us, if you can be trusted. We won’t hesitate to dispose of you if we find otherwise.”
“We won’t be trouble,” Victoria said, her voice desperate. “Please, we just want to stop running.”
Our attention turned to West. Even though it hadn’t been stated, and even though Victoria seemed to be the same age, he was obviously the on
e who had taken care of everyone, the one who made the decisions.
He simply nodded.
“I will have some of the extra tents set up,” Gabriel said. Avian looked relieved to hear that he wouldn’t have to share his quarters again with a stranger he didn’t know if he could trust. “How does she look Avian?”
He didn’t even look up as he scrubbed at her skin, Victoria’s face looking pained. “The cut was bad. It’s amazing you didn’t bleed to death. Even more amazing this infection hasn’t killed you. But if we keep it clean it should heal up fine. I suggest she stay off her feet for at least a few days.”
Gabriel nodded, looking momentarily at the boy. I knew it hurt him to see another child. Gabriel had lost a child to the infection in the beginning.
“You will go with Eve to the fields this morning,” he said, taking his eyes away from Brady and looking at West. “This is important. The gardens keep us alive. If he acts suspicious, if you fear any betrayal from him, kill him, Eve.”
West glanced at me briefly, his eyes slightly wide with surprise at Gabriel’s bold words. He then looked back at Gabriel and gave the smallest nod of understanding.
“Come on,” I said as I went to the flap of the tent. “I am already late.” I didn’t wait to see if he followed me as I headed in the direction of the gardens.
He walked a few paces behind me. I listened for any sounds of wrong movement. I kept my hand on the knife that was fixed in my belt, ready to use it on him if he tried to attack. He only followed me, his eyes taking the forest around us in.
“How many are there here?” he finally asked, his voice falling in short waves in the trees.
“Thirty-four,” I said automatically. “I mean, thirty-three. There are thirty-three of us in Eden.” It felt like a rock had just formed in my chest as the image of Tye’s lifeless metallic eye staring at me came back.
“And your leader, his name is?”
“He’s not exactly our leader. He didn’t ask to be one but we all trust him. His name is Gabriel. And the other one is Avian. He is as close to a doctor as there is anymore.”
“And your name is Eve.” It wasn’t a question. “Where do you come from, Eve?”