Escape from Eden (Original Series book 2)

by Rachel McClellan

  I wonder how they got there, but then I see Brutus, the Techhead who had taken care of me before I left the island, try to fight against a Speeder who is loading him into the bay. Lightning quick, the Speeder jabs a Taser into his side, shocking him until he passes out. My heart sinks into my gut as the Speeder tosses him next to the others. I look past him, searching the many faces. I don't see Max, but I do catch sight of Link's brother and father.

  My hands tighten into fists when I also spot Stella crowded among them. She's staring straight ahead, seemingly unnerved by everything going on around her. Everyone else is crying, cowering or fighting, but not her. That's when it hits me. She's taken eDNA. An anger burns in my chest as bright as the flames in the distance. Did my mother force her to take it? Was Stella one of her test subjects?

  In the distance, Colt is still diving toward the guards, but often has to retreat when too many bullets fly in his direction. He's going to get hit if he keeps this up.

  Tank has somehow broken free from the Titan, and, along with the others, is getting closer to the Originals. Their progress is not only slowed by the Institute's weapons, but also by two tortizes that appear enraged with everyone's presence. Their heads and tails thrash at anything that moves.

  I continue to search the grounds, my heart lifting when I don't spot Max anywhere. Maybe he got out. If they had some notice, Jerry could've got many of the Originals off the island and to the safe house. This thought has me looking for Jerry, who I also don't see. Thunder cracks over head rumbling deep into the ground, but I seem to be the only one who feels it.

  Because I don't see Max, I decide my next move should be to help the others. I raise the gun and aim it where I think it will do the most good. I focus it on a red-headed Titan who's looking up at the sky with a weapon drawn, most likely searching for Colt. All I have to do is pull the trigger, and the Titan will fall.

  I steady the gun and point. It shakes in my hand. This feels different from killing a creature that is more animal than not. Pull the trigger! I grip the gun harder.

  All of a sudden something smashes into my side, and I'm lifted into the air, the gun flying from my hands. I crash onto my back. I barely manage to sip a breath before the tail of a tortiz comes toward me fast. I roll out of the way just as it crushes the earth. I scramble to my feet, ready to bolt, but Tank has caught the beast's attention and is luring it away from me.

  I frantically search the ground for the gun, but it must be buried in mud because I can't see it anywhere. I should've grabbed a wind blaster, even if it can only hold one charge. And then, as if I'd conjured one up with just my thoughts, I spot one lying on the ground not far away. If I'm quick and stay low to the ground, I should be able to reach it.

  After making sure everyone is distracted, I scurry on all fours out into the open and toward the blaster. I snatch it up, loving the feeling of it in my hands despite it being heavier, and point it toward the red-haired Titan. There are a couple of Originals behind him who will most likely get hit too, but it doesn't stop me. They will survive.

  I pull the trigger, but nothing happens. I slap it a couple of times, but still it doesn't work. Either it's already been shot, or the Institute has remotely deactivated any electronic weapons. It's probably the latter, because everyone seems to be using older mechanical weapons.

  I'm about to crawl back to my spot to rethink my plan when I hear a familiar scream followed by, "No! Put me down!"

  I turn my head slowly. A Titan is rushing back to the bay with my brother flung over his shoulder. Max is beating his small fists into the giant's back.

  "Max!" I yell.

  He stops thrashing and looks toward me. "Sage!"

  I jump to my feet and sprint toward him. Bullets whiz by me, but I don't stop. Behind me, Tank yells, "Cover her!"

  More bullets rush by me, giving me a clear path to Max. The Titan carrying him sees me chasing him. As he passes by a metal sheet that must've once been attached to the compound's roof, he picks it up and swings it through the air toward me. I barely manage to dive out of the way before it slices off my head. I scramble to my feet and keep running.

  Max's eyes are locked with mine. His hands are out stretched toward me, his mouth open as if he's screaming, but I can't hear anything over the sound of my racing heartbeat in my ears. For a moment, he's like the voiceless Old Max.

  I'm almost to him when my feet are knocked out from under me. My body flies forward and slides along the wet, muddy ground. I barely manage to sit up before a strong arm wraps around my neck from behind and jerks me to my feet.

  "Ebony has a price on your head dead or alive," a man's voice says so close that steam from his breath warms my ear. "Dead is so much better."

  The arm pulls in tight, cutting off my air supply, while his other hand clasps the top of my head. The way he's holding me makes me think he's about to snap my neck…all while Max watches.

  I kick backwards as hard as I can, and swing my fists, but it's like I'm hitting a brick wall. By his height, he can't be a Titan, which means it's probably a Rhine by his incredible strength. Any second and I'll be dead, but I don't stop fighting.

  All of a sudden, I'm tossed to the side when the Rhine falls to the ground. Colt stands tall over us, his great black wings extended behind him. His expression is twisted into animalistic rage. He lifts a gun in his hand and points it at the Titan. The gun fires.

  But the Rhine doesn't fall like expected. Instead, he's standing while Colt falls. Colt's angry expression has changed to one of surprise. The red-haired Titan I had failed to kill moments before is poised behind him, a smoking gun raised in Colt's direction.

  "No!" I shout and rush to Colt, but before I get there, the Rhine, who had nearly killed me before, appears next to me swinging a fist directly into the side of my head. I collapse to the ground, my vision exploding into blacks and reds.

  "Sage!" Max voice cries. "Sage!"

  He continues to call my name, his voice growing more distant with every cry. By now, he's probably in the bay with the others.

  Get up! I try to move, but it’s like I'm paralyzed. My body simply won't respond, so I lie there in the mud under the pelting rain.

  Colt is sprawled face first in front of me, blood running down the sides of his bare back from a gunshot to his lower shoulder. His wings are folded tightly to his back. At first I think he’s dead, but then I notice his fingers claw into the ground as if he's trying to get back up. Before he can, the red-headed Titan scoops him up and carries him toward the others.

  "This time I will kill you," the Rhine's voice says. He presses his big boot onto my head and presses hard, squishing the side of my face into the mud. The pain is instant, and I cry out even as wet sludge fills my mouth. Just before I lose consciousness, I spot Tank barreling down on us. It's the last thing I see before the whole world goes black.

  35

  My eyes flicker open, and I blink several times. I'm in a hovercraft, wet and lying on the cold floor, but it doesn't look like the same one I was in before. The colors are dark, and a jacket belonging to an Institute guard hangs on the back of a nearby chair. My heart sinks into my stomach. I've been taken captive.

  I curl into a ball, the pain in my chest unbearable. This is all my fault. Max was captured because of me. Colt was shot and taken because of me; I should've pulled the trigger faster. I squeeze my eyes tight, wishing I could go back in time to do everything all over again. I would start at our cabin in Maine. I'd take Max with me and head up North. We could've lived off the land. Just the two of us, moving from place to place.

  Tears run down the back of my throat when I think about never knowing Colt, Anthony, Tank and even Jenna. My life has been made better because of them, but I can't say the same thing about their lives because of me. For all I know Colt is dead.

  Something touches my back. I jump and scurry away until I hit a wall. My head throbs from the motion.

  "Whoa! Easy there. Everything's okay."

  I look up. A
nthony is crouching down, his golden eyes staring at me kindly. His left eye is black and there's a wide bandage wrapped around his forearm.

  "Did you get caught too?" I ask.

  He smiles. "Not this time. We commandeered one of their crafts when they left it behind. There's a wealth of information on this thing."

  I glance around. "So I'm safe?"

  "For now."

  I try to sit up more, but the pain in my head prevents it. I lower back down, my face sideways on the floor.

  "Careful. You have a good wound on your head, and your shoulder isn't much better. Ash will be here to fix you up just as soon as she finishes with a few others who are in worse condition than you."

  "My father!" I blurt. "Is he okay?"

  "He lost a lot of blood, but Ash took care of him. You can see him just as soon as we land back in Enfield. This craft was one of the last to leave."

  "How is everyone else?" I ask and chew on my lower lip.

  He averts his gaze. "We lost a lot of good people, but as soon as I arrived with the others, we were able to gain ground and chase the Institute off."

  "Were any Originals rescued? My brother?"

  "I'm afraid we couldn't get to Max in time, and the only Originals left are the ones who made it to the safe house, mostly women and children."

  "And Jerry?"

  Anthony lowers his head. "He didn't make it. We found his body."

  I bite on my lip until I taste blood. Jerry gave everything he had to protect the people on Eden, and in the end, he gave his life. "This is all my fault."

  "The Institute did this. No one else. Do you understand?"

  "But you don't know what I did," I whisper.

  "I do know. Tank told me."

  I meet his gaze. There is no judgment in his eyes, no accusing glare.

  "You made a mistake, that’s all. Anyone of us could've done it had we been in the same situation. You trusted someone you thought was on your side, and that person you loved betrayed you."

  I inhale a shaky breath. Warm tears run off the bridge of my nose. "Sometimes I think it would be better if none of you ever met me."

  He lowers to his knees and rests a hand on my back. "Helping you escape to Eden was a defining moment for me, and I'm pretty sure the others would say the same thing too. Just look at all the amazing things Colt has accomplished by bringing Primes together! You brought back our humanity. You showed us that there are some things worth dying for."

  I want to believe his words, but all I can see is that red-haired Titan standing over Colt's body. I should've killed him.

  As if he read my mind, he says, "I saw Colt. He was alive when they took him. Don't worry. They won't kill him. They’ll try to get as much information out of him as they can."

  This makes me feel even worse, because I know the kind of torture he will have to endure, and they'll make sure he feels all of it. "It would be better if they had killed him."

  "You can't mean that," he says. "We are going to get him back, just like we’re getting Max and the others back. You can't lose hope. We will save Eden, I promise."

  "Eden is destroyed. There's no saving it." The words are bitter in my mouth.

  Anthony smiles again. "You don't get it, do you? Eden isn't a place. It's an idea. It's a world where man cares about the welfare of their brothers, where charity rules and all are united in one purpose, mind and deed. No one is greater than the other. They all work hard, not for the selfish accumulation of wealth, but to better establish their lives and their community. Most importantly, this humanity isn't conditional based on someone's age. This is the Eden I fight for. This is the Eden you made me believe in."

  I don't know what to say. Another tear drips to the floor.

  "Is this a bad time?"

  I glance behind Anthony. Ash is in the doorway holding a medical kit. Her hair is messy and dirt is smudged on her cheek.

  He stands. "I think we're all done. Take care of her, Ash. She's been through a lot." Before he leaves, he tells me, "We land at Enfield in about ten minutes. I think that place is going to make an excellent base for both Primes and Originals."

  Before Anthony disappears, I ask, "How did the Institute get to the island so quickly? It's almost as if they already knew Eden's location." I secretly hope this, because that would mean I didn't really betray them.

  He turns around. "Are you sure you want that answer?"

  "Why wouldn't I?"

  "We have a theory," he begins, "that your mother knew it was just a matter of time before you came to her when she heard you were at the Institute, whether it was Ebony bringing you, or you finding your way in. She also knew she could get you to tell the location of Eden by playing on your emotions. She was right. Just as soon as you told her, she had their army, who was already ready, deployed to the island." He looks pointedly at me. "Nobody blames you, though. Remember that."

  I sit in a state of shock long after he goes. I played directly into her hands and let her manipulate me since day one. I feel like I'm caught in a circling carrousel of lies and bad decisions.

  Ash comes in to bandage my wounds. Other than a wicked headache, I'll be fine, she assures me. I wish it were that simple. Max is captured. Colt could be dead. I am anything but fine.

  Once the hovercraft lands in the center of Enfield, I exit the ramp. It is no longer raining, but clouds remain. My father limps toward me and wraps his arms around me.

  "It's so good to see you," he says, his voice teetering with emotion.

  "You too." I mean what I say.

  Across the Green, I lock eyes with Tank. He nods once and walks away. He's clearly still mad, but at least he acknowledged me. Somehow, I will make it up to him, to all of them.

  "Come on," my father says. "Let's get you something to eat."

  "I'd rather rest if that's okay."

  "Actually, Link is dying to see you. He wants to know about his brother and father. Did you see them?"

  I close my eyes briefly and open them back up. "The Institute has them. Is Link's mother here?"

  "She was with the first wave of Originals we flew in."

  "Good." At least Link has someone here. It will make the pain of losing his father and brother not hurt so much. Having people around who love you is important. I look at my father appreciatively. We may disagree on the way things should be done, but in the end we love each other and that's all that matters. "Where is he?"

  "In the dining hall." My father glances in the direction, grimacing.

  "I know where it is. Don't worry, you don't have to come," I say, my gaze dropping to his leg. "You're the one who needs to rest."

  He nods and points to a long metal building at the edge of the Green. "I'm staying over there in their old lab. There's a lot of information I'm uncovering about what was going on here."

  "Anything important so far?"

  "Well I found out where all the children were taken," he says.

  "Where?"

  "About five years ago, Ebony ordered them all to a facility called Brine Haven down South. For what purpose, I'm not sure yet."

  Even though I don't know what fate befell the children, I'm glad they weren't here. They could've gotten hurt or worse. "Did you find anything else?"

  "You know those Originals you saved?" He clears his throat and averts his gaze. "They are all in the late stages of the Kiss, a new strain I've never seen before. The Institute must've engineered it to affect only Originals. None of them have much longer to live."

  "For what purpose?" I ask, appalled.

  "I'm not sure yet, but it looks like they were testing different drugs on them."

  "Can you help them?"

  "I think I can actually. I have access to their lab and all their files."

  "Good. Get working on it as soon as you can."

  He grins. "I thought you didn't like me always working?"

  "I get it now," I say and sort of return his smile. "You're saving lives."

  "Trying to, anyway." He pulls me in
for one more hug before he hobbles away. Despite everything, I am so grateful he is here. I don't know what I would do without him.

  The mood in the dining hall is very different from the last time we were all gathered together. No one is celebrating, and everyone is speaking in hushed tones. From a nearby table, someone says, "I'm leaving tomorrow before I end up dead." Others nod in agreement.

  I step past them only to hear from another table, "With Colt gone, I don't know how we'll survive."

  Someone else adds, "I should never have come."

  My legs grow weak. Everything's falling apart. I left Eden with the hope of saving my mother and the Originals, but I ended up playing into their hands instead. There has to be a way to fix this.

  Link hurries over when he sees me standing in the middle of the great room. His eyes are red and his face pale. His mom trails behind him, her arms limp at her side.

  "My father and Chase," he says, his voice full of desperation. "Did you see them?"

  I reach out and take his hand. "I did. They're alive, but they were taken."

  Link's face falls, but somehow he manages to find the strength to wrap his free arm protectively around his mother. She leans into his chest and cries quietly.

  "We'll get them back," I say. "I promise."

  "What about Max?" he asks.

  I let go of his hand. "He was taken too."

  We stare at each other for a few tense seconds. There is fire in his eyes that I know matches my own.

  "I think I'm starting to understand what it feels like to be you." He chuckles uncomfortably, but then his expression darkens. "Whatever happens next, you just make sure I'm on that rescue mission."

  "Hey Patch!" a voice calls.

  After Link walks away with his mother, I turn and find Jenna sitting at a table with Maisy and Jet. Jenna motions me over. I hesitate. I'd rather be alone right now, plus I don't know if she knows what I did. She will be the least forgiving of them all.

  "Patch!" she calls again. "I'm going to keep yelling until you get over here, so hurry up!"