Escape from Eden (Original Series book 2)

by Rachel McClellan

  I'm mindful of my steps as I navigate down the steep roof to the edge. Close by is a tall tree, but to reach it, I'm going to have to really jump and stretch. I glance down. I'm not that high, maybe ten feet. I can do this.

  Using all the strength in my legs, I jump from the roof. My hands just barely catch a thick limb, leaving my legs dangling beneath me. I swing forward until I'm able to snag the tree trunk with my feet. It takes me a minute to climb the rest of the way down, but as soon as my feet touch ground, I sprint away from the cabin and into the forest, guided only by the full moon's light.

  I jog a little farther until I reach an old barn where they keep most of the vehicles. I sink to my knees and drop the bag to the ground. I unzip it and fish around inside for my wristpad. I find it at the bottom among several other items I may need.

  After securing the wristpad, I turn it on to the map feature. I tap the screen and a small projection fills the air in front of me. My position on the aerial map is indicated by a green dot, Link's is in blue. He's about a quarter mile away. Yesterday, I snuck his wristpad from his room while he was sleeping so I could pair mine to his, a trick I learned after watching Colt do the same thing so they could track Link.

  I walk to the end of the barn where they keep the motorcycles. I take the last bike and push it as far as I can through the trees before I fire it up. My experience with them is limited. We had one growing up, but it was broken more often than not. Hopefully, I can just hang on and not do anything too reckless.

  It's slow going the first few miles as I can't see well. The light from the wristpad only goes so far, and it's constantly bouncing because of the rough terrain. More than a few times, the bike tips over when I try to ride up small rises or around fallen trees. Because of this, I fall farther and farther behind Link.

  Eventually, I reach a dirt road where I make up a lot of time. When Link's blue dot slows, I hide the bike into a clump of bushes and walk the rest of the way. By now Link will have begun his journey into the mile-long security field around Enfield.

  I feel a little guilty using Link like this without his knowledge, but I didn't know what else to do. I glance down at the blue dot. He's maybe half a mile in front of me and moving fast. Suddenly the dot stops, making me think he got hit with a dart, but then it starts up again. Good. He wasn't shocked.

  As he goes, I memorize his path. It will be the same one I take in hopes that he will have triggered all the security darts, letting me sneak into Enfield unnoticed.

  The moon hangs low in the sky; its light skims the top of the forest. Occasionally, thick ribbons of light find their way through tangled branches. I try to keep to the light as much as possible to soothe my racing pulse. My biggest fear is getting caught. I think I would rather die than go through that pain again. I shake my head, trying to rid myself of such thoughts. Think of your mother.

  Link's blue dot stops again. I suck in a breath and hold it until it begins to move. I exhale, my chest relaxing. I'm sure he's been shot a couple of times now, which means guards are on their way. Link's movements are fast and sporadic enough that they will have a hard time finding him.

  A sign up ahead reads: Warning: Property of IHRD. DO NOT PASS. When I reach it, I hesitate at the threshold. I could still go back. I glance behind me, then in front. One thing I've never done before is go backwards.

  I step forward. It might just be in my mind, but I swear the air feels differently here, more charged. It makes me nervous so I pick up my pace, darting back and forth between the same trees Link hid behind. Occasionally moonlight catches the imprint of his boot in the soft ground.

  My gaze dashes back and forth between the treetops searching for any darts Link may have not triggered. The last thing I need right now is to get hit by one of those, which, according to Stella, would shock me something awful. So far I am lucky, having only spotted a couple on the ground. They are smaller than I expected, about the size of a large grasshopper. I wonder if any of them actually struck Link. The first one would have but then he could've tried dodging or knocking the others away as much as possible.

  Link's blue dot is close…and not moving. I freeze.

  "Come on, Link," I whisper, my muscles tight.

  Ten seconds pass and still he doesn't move. Something's wrong. I lift my head and run, staying on the same path Link had taken minutes before. I skid to a stop when I hear voices to my left, and press my back against a tree.

  "Over here!" a deep voice calls.

  Hurried footsteps crunch against the ground. From what I can tell, there are at least three sets. I sneak out of the shadows and continue on the path. That's when I see him. Link's lying in a small clearing surrounded by three Primes, his body twitching unnaturally. He also looks unconscious. They must've injected him with something. My suspicions are confirmed when I see one of the Primes pocketing a syringe.

  I move to help Link, despite the Primes, but at the last second I force myself back into the shadows. I can't help him like this. I have a better chance of sneaking into Enfield and getting him out that way then I do fighting these guys.

  At least that's what I tell myself. Part of me thinks I'm just being a coward because I'm afraid I'll get caught too. I press my knuckles to my tight lips. I'm so sorry, Link.

  The three men discuss what to do.

  "How do you think he escaped?" one of them asks.

  The one on his knees, hovering just over Link, says, "I don't know if he did escape. He doesn't look familiar. Maybe he's trying to sneak in. His walking pattern would suggest it."

  "For what purpose? We haven't had an Original try to get into Enfield for years."

  "Plus he's wearing one of our uniforms. He had to have snuck out."

  "Possibly. Let's get him back," the Prime with the deep voice says. "We can question him later." He presses something to Link's leg, and there's a clicking sound. Link's whole body relaxes.

  The heftier of the two easily picks up Link and flings him over his shoulder. Link isn't wearing his backpack, which means he must've abandoned it somewhere. I'd better find it before anyone else does.

  I wait several minutes before I move out of my hiding place to search the area. I'm almost to the spot where Link was when I notice an odd lump in the shadows not far away. Very carefully, I step to it mindful of any darts that haven't been triggered yet. I need to keep my identity secret for as long as possible.

  The backpack is definitely Link's. It matches mine. A short distance from it is a thin sheet of metal a few feet tall and a couple of feet wide. I pick it up, wondering where it came from. There are several puncture marks across its surface. Then it dawns on me. Link was using this as a shield. He let himself get shot once so the guards at Enfield would know an Original was on the loose and wouldn't electrocute the area, then he blocked what he could with this. Smart. And even smarter that he tossed his bag where the guards wouldn't find it, when he must've heard them approaching.

  I lower next to the bag and unzip it, searching specifically for the small com device and security card. They are right on top. After stuffing the security card into my own bag, along with Link's Taser, I turn the com device over in my hand thinking how best to deal with it. I'm sure Colt and the others have figured out that Link has been captured. They would've seen the same thing I saw.

  It takes me a second to realize the device is turned off. I slide a pinhead-sized knob over to the right. A small light appears, blinking rapidly. I stare at the flashes making a mental note of each one: long, short, short, long, long, short and on and on until I'm able to make a sentence with the letters.

  "Status"

  I lower the device, thinking how best to answer. Do I want them to know I'm out here so soon? Colt will be hurt when he finds out I've lied to him, but that is inevitable. Besides, Colt might try to do something reckless, like an air raid, if he thinks there is no chance the security field can be turned off.

  Pressing my finger to the communicator, I tap: "Link captured. I will turn off field."


  I tap it one more time to make sure they got it. I can only imagine what Colt is doing right now. He probably has someone rushing to my room to see if I'm really gone. Then there will probably be a bunch of curse words. It takes a full three minutes before there's a response.

  "You lied."

  I tap back: "Yes."

  It's a few more seconds, then, "Be careful."

  I blow air through my lips and slip the communicator into my breast pocket. Pressing the button on my wristpad, the 3-D topographic map appears. Enfield isn't far, maybe another two hundred yards.

  Taking my backpack and the metal plate with me, I straighten and think about the darts I'd found, hoping to find a pattern. If a Techhead designed it, they would've been very methodical in their placement. They seem to be placed every fifty feet and in a checkered pattern. I could be way off, though, having only seen a fraction of the darts.

  Because I have nothing else to go on, I do my best to stick to the pattern and sprint forward. There's a whistling through the air. I lift the metal shield just as something stabs through it directly in front of my face. I run the risk of being electrocuted if they can't get a blood sample, but I figure where they just found an Original, they will assume Link wasn't alone and won't be so quick to shock me dead, seeing how I have such valuable blood and all. I hope anyway. I'm taking a huge risk.

  A dart zings through the night, but I block this one too. I veer left, realizing I calculated the pattern wrong. I really have no idea what I'm doing.

  The trees thin, giving me a view of a tall brick wall surrounding Enfield. While I am still running, I examine the map. A red dot blinks near the back. This is the safest place to climb without being seen by security cameras. I curse. I was hoping to come out closer to it, but I'm at least another hundred yards away.

  Another whistling. I lift the shield and just barely manage to knock the dart away. I'm sprinting as fast as I can, my lungs expanding to their full capacity. The hair on my arms lift, as if the air has suddenly become more electric. My heart races. If they don't get a reading on me soon, I may very well be burned to a crisp. A small part of me prefers this to being captured. I grit my teeth. Just don't get captured.

  The next time there's a zinging sound, I move the metal away from me. The dart pierces my thigh, nearly dropping me to the ground. I gasp and quickly pull it out before I'm shocked. That hurt worse than I thought it would! I toss it as far as I can away from the wall. When the guards come to investigate, I hope I'll be long gone.

  I run to the wall and quickly unzip my bag. I pull out a grapple gun and point it at the top of the fifteen-foot wall. A long, thin cable shoots to the top and catches on the edge. I throw my pack over my shoulders and begin to climb. My muscles are shot from the quick sprint, so I'm slower than I'd like to be, but eventually I reach the top.

  Just as I'm about to climb over, I hear another zinging. My heart stops. I'm not protected.

  The dart imbeds itself deep into my calf, but I can't pull it out right away as I'm clinging to the wall's edge. I scramble to the top and reach back, but just as I grab it, a shot of electricity shoots through me sending my body into spasms. The dart slides from my skin and drops to the ground outside the wall. To prevent me from doing the same, I jerk to the right, making me fall off the wall, but into Enfield. I'm shaking so bad that I am unable to catch myself when I hit the ground. Pain erupts all over my body, but at least I don't think I've broken anything.

  While I wait for the trembling to stop, something Link didn't get the chance to do, I take note of my surroundings. There are several small homes in front of me. A streetlamp illuminates a road that has long been anything but functional. Chunks of pavement protrude sharply up from the ground, and in certain areas it looks like bombs have gone off. Not far away, a swing on a broken playground squeaks as a faint breeze blows it back and forth. So far, none of us have spotted any children.

  There are no lights coming from any of the houses. In fact, the whole place is deserted. There is no evidence of any kind that Originals live here.

  Because the dart is no longer in me, my muscle spasms stop after only a minute or two. I need to move quickly. The guards are probably on their way to investigate.

  I pull out the guard's uniform I'd stolen and colored contacts from my backpack and dress quickly. When I'm finished, I grab the communicator and tap: "I'm in. Contact you soon." Then I turn it off and shove it into my pocket.

  Despite it being a risk, I decide to take the backpack with me. There are several items in it I might need, specifically the Taser. I figure at any sign of trouble, I can just hide it.

  I run next to the houses, hidden within the shadows for as a long as I can. At the edge of the small subdivision, I stop. I'm at the south end of Enfield. In the distance, two guards cross a central plaza. There is no one else. Off to my right, maybe a quarter of a mile, are the two buildings several stories high. This is where they keep Originals. I'm tempted to go there first, but resist. I need to find Link.

  There's a security building near the entrance with holding cells. Most likely they would take him there. Security cameras are positioned everywhere, but there are enough buildings and trees that I should be able to avoid most of them… at nighttime anyway. Daylight will bring a whole new set of challenges. I'd better hurry.

  I walk casually across the street, but once I reach a row of buildings, I sprint behind them. It takes me a full twenty minutes to run across Enfield. The place feels much bigger than it looked from the aerial projection. I'm out of breath, and my calf still hurts where I was punctured. Not to mention my entire body. I'm sure I'll be full of bruises from hitting the ground.

  There are voices from around the corner. I slide along the side of the building, listening closely. From what I can tell there are two Primes. One of them, the one with a deep voice, sounds like the same Prime that had been in the forest with Link. I risk a glance. There are three. Two women, and I was right about the man being the same as the guy in the forest. They are standing beneath a spread of light. The females are both Speeders. The color of my contacts are the same as theirs. Maybe I could use that to my advantage, if the man would just leave.

  The deep-voiced man is a Rhine. One of the girls calls him by name: Rhett. There's something about him that scares me.

  I keep my breathing even, hoping it will slow my pounding heart. I try to tell myself that I can do this. Be strong. Be confident. It doesn't help, and I'm still as terrified as ever. I just need to fake it. Let my body go first and hope my mind follows.

  Their conversation is limited. They speak a little about the new prisoner, and what it means. One of the girls thinks he looks familiar and was simply trying to escape like others in the past. The other two disagree. Rhett thinks the boy is trying to break in to save someone inside. They all laugh at this, and Rhett makes the comment, "As if anyone can be saved here." They laugh again.

  I bring my hand to my mouth. Maybe we've all underestimated just how difficult this is going to be. When their laughter subsides, Rhett reminds them that no one is to see the prisoner under any circumstances until the Institute's inquisitors arrive in the morning. I glance at my wristpad. That doesn't give me much time.

  I retreat deeper into the shadows and circle the rear of the building. At least they didn't mention that there is an Original on the loose. Maybe they aren't looking for me. Maybe they think their system glitched. Maybe I'm being a fool for even thinking these thoughts.

  Gritting my teeth, I continue to search. There's got to be another entrance into the building. Hurry!

  On the opposite side, I discover a set of stairs leading into a basement, but a six-foot wired fence with a good amount of barbed wire at its top blocks them.

  I groan and unzip my backpack. The only thing I find that might help me over the barbed wires is the inner lining of the backpack. It will have to do. Before I begin to climb, I rip it out and slide the bag back over my shoulders.

  When I reach the top, I
place the cloth over the barbs. It's a difficult process trying to maneuver my way over, and I nearly snag myself several times. I drop to the bottom and hurry down the steps to the back door.

  Like I expect, it's locked, but next to the door is a security pad. I remove Ebony's card and stare at it, wondering if it will work. Stella said Ebony's DNA was needed to shut the security field off, but didn't say if it would work on other parts of Enfield. I insert the card, wishing for the best, and pull it out. Nothing happens. I try it two more times, but still the door doesn't open. I'm going to need to find another card and quick.

  After hiding my backpack, I hurry back up the stairs and over the fence. I run through the darkness and to the section of Enfield that houses the guards, the Green is what it's called, almost a mile away. Many of the guards stay at the Green for weeks at a time. I should be able to find a bored guard and take their badge somehow. I've had harder challenges. That's what I tell myself anyway, but my legs are shaking uncontrollably, forcing me to slow down. I am a lamb going into a den of really smart and powerful lions. I would rather face Junks in the tunnels than this.

  Because of the time of night, I expect the Green to be quiet and uninhabited like the rest of Enfield, but I encounter something else entirely. It starts with music playing in the distance. A deep bass drum fills the air; its beat matches my pulse that speeds up the closer I get.

  I weave through square, metal homes that are all the same size and shape. Some of them have their lights on inside, but others are dark. I try to open a few doors on homes that look empty, but they are all locked and have the same security box as the building holding Link. Unable to break in, I follow the sounds of music.

  I go as far as I can until I run out of homes to hide behind. Just in front of me is a long park with trees lit up by thousands of lights. Music blares from speakers hanging on posts. In the center, at least a hundred Primes, dressed in normal street clothes, are dancing in time to the beat of the music. Their hips sway, their hands touch and some kiss, but despite their closeness with each other, none of them seem attached to anyone in particular. Before the song is over, they switch partners. This isn't a dance about beauty or love, this is purely carnal and self serving. The sight makes me ill.