Isaac disappears out of the kitchen again, and we follow. He shows Maggie and Boyd into the first door in the hallway, and Norah heads into the second. The rest of us traipse up the stairs. None of the house is carpeted and the floorboards are rough and splintered. We pass the bathroom. At a glance, it looks gross. Although it smells of bleach, the tile grout is black, and the floorboards are covered in dark water stains.
Yana and Haydn head into the biggest bedroom, and Yvette takes the one right next door. Isaac shows Golding in to the box room much to his annoyance. None of the rooms have beds or furniture, not that I’d want to sleep on a mouldy, bug infested mattress.
Adam and I follow Isaac a little further down the hallway, and he shows me into a good size room with peeling, pink wallpaper. There is a wood effect vinyl lay on the floor. He smiles a little awkwardly, and I know he has kept this room for me. It is reasonably clean and looks nicer than the others.
“So, that’s you,” he says to Adam, pointing to the door next to mine. Adam thanks him and walks inside leaving Isaac and I alone.
Moonlight streams through the bare windows. The rain sounds louder as it batters the cracked single-glazing, and wind howls through what I assume to be an attic above.
Isaac helps me stretch out my sleeping bag, and then retreats to the door. We awkwardly stare at each other for a few moments. I desperately want to break the silence, but I haven’t a clue what to say to him.
“Come down when you’re ready for something to eat,” is all he says, and then he leaves the room.
I knock on Adam’s open door and let myself into his small room. The ceiling is painted black with yellow moons. It makes the room look even smaller and more depressing.
“This is surreal,” I sigh, flopping onto his sleeping bag.
He lies down beside me, and I wonder whether I should have been so quick to jump on his bed. He takes my hand, and we both stare at the ugly ceiling in silence.
“What now?” I ask.
Adam shrugs. “Just go with the flow, I suppose.” He sits up, dragging me up with him. “Whatever happens, we stick together, okay?”
I nod. The one thing I am certain on is wherever Adam goes, I shall go.
We kiss again, softly at first, and then with more urgency. His hands find my waist as I move closer to him. The feeling he gives me is unlike anything I’ve felt before. How can I be nervous and desperate for him at the same time?
A cough startles us, and Isaac stands in the doorway. I straighten my scrubs, and tuck my hair behind my ears. Adam wipes at his lips with his thumb.
“Sorry, I should have knocked,” Isaac says. “I thought you’d like to get out of that uniform. These are just some of Boyd’s spares. I reckon they’ll do.” He hands Adam a stack of clothes and a pair of boots. Adam takes the clothes, and thanks him. “I left some clothes outside your door, Teddie. I’m not sure what style you like, but if they’re no good, Maggie might have something you can borrow.” He rubs at his forehead nervously. “Yeah... okay... In about an hour, we’ll be meeting in the kitchen for food.” He turns and hurries toward the door.
I make a move to stop him, but I’m not sure why.
“Go after him,” says Adam, nudging me out the door.
Isaac is all but jogging down the hallway, and I notice the white paper bag of clothes sat outside my door.
“Isaac,” I call after him. “Thank you.”
He stops in his tracks, slowly turning to face me. “Like I said, if they’re no good—”
“Not just for the clothes. Thank you for getting me out of that place.”
He makes his way back up the hallway to me and follows me into my room. “I have no idea what to say to you,” he says, sighing.
He looks like he is in physical pain. I want to place a hand on his arm, but stop myself. I don’t know this man, yet. I think his is a sorrowful face. His eyes must have seen something terrible in his life.
“How about the truth?”
Isaac runs his hand over his face and leans against the wall. “Shana wouldn’t even let me be at your birth. I knew she was going to stay with Rob, and I was fine with that. I just never thought she could snatch you away from me like that.” He clears his throat.
“Did my Dad know he wasn’t my real father?” I ask.
“I’m not sure. Shana told him he was, but when you started showing signs of telekinesis there could have been no doubt in his mind that he wasn’t. I knew you were mine from day one. I know how cliché it sounds, but it’s true. I remember Shana calling me from the hospital asking me to visit. I jumped in the car and drove straight through the night to Cornwall. I was on such a high; it felt like I floated all the way there. It was the first time I got to see you, and you were this perfect, little, fire haired angel. Then, she told me that she didn’t want me in your life. She let me hold you, bond with you, and then told me to disappear. She was punishing me.”
“Punishing you for what? I ask, holding his gaze, daring him to tell me.
“For hurting her. I was unfaithful. We had an on and off, destructive kind of relationship, but I want you to know that I did love her when you were conceived. Even Norah liked her. She wanted me with a Non- EVO girl. She said she would balance my crazy just like Norah had done with my Dad. Then, in one moment of weakness, I messed my whole life up. I hurt Shana deeply, and she was bitter. That’s when she met Rob. When she told me she was pregnant, she swore I would never be a part of your life, but I thought she was just angry at me and that she’d come around. You know the rest. She told Rob about my Ergokinesis, convinced him I was a danger to you, and then you all disappeared.”
That does sound like Shana. She has a temper and can hold a grudge. I can’t feel bad for her, though. Isaac hurt her? So, what? You don’t use your kid as a weapon to get vengeance. She used me to get at Isaac, and used Dad to raise me. If she was so worried about keeping me safe, and keeping me away from EVO, then why did she betray me to Roscoe? I know it is pointless trying to justify the actions of a depressed alcoholic.
“What exactly is Ergokinesis?” I ask.
“I can control energy. I can manipulate it defensively and that’s where I get my grade. I’m a grade six,” he replies. He flashes me a coy smile and sighs. “Yeah, I know grade six sounds impressive, but it really isn’t in the scheme of things.”
“So, you never managed to track me down?” I ask. I want him to say he hunted for me every day for the last eighteen years.
He studies me for a moment, his eyes serious, and then he smiles to himself. “I found you the day before your fifth birthday. Shana hid you in plain sight; she didn’t even take you out of Cornwall. It was ingenious of her, actually. I pulled up in the lane by your house, and I must have sat there for an hour before I summoned up the courage to walk up to the door. I was about to knock, when I heard a little voice shout ‘Daddy’. There you were, running up the field from the beach with Shana, and Rob swung you onto his shoulders. I can still hear that giggle of yours clear as day. But I hid. I actually hid in the bushes and watched you from afar. You were more perfect than I had imagined, and you were boisterous, just like my sister, Tess, had been as a kid. Right then, I knew you were better off without me in your life. I waited for you all to go inside, walked back to my car, and drove away.”
“You drove away?” The words leave my lips barely louder than a whisper.
“You’ve seen how evil this world can be for us. I wanted to keep you out of all of this. You were safer with Rob than with me.”
“You’re right,” I say, bitterly. “My Dad was a brilliant Dad to me, and yes, Shana was hard work, but Dad stuck around for me. Like you said, he must have known I wasn’t his child and he still didn’t abandon me. He was there for me until the end. I don’t want to talk about this, it makes me feel sick.”
“Teddie, I’m not trying to replace Rob—”
“Good, because you could never,” I say, curtly.
Isaac nods to himself and stands to leave. �
�I did what I had to do to keep you safe. I know I can never replace Rob, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t figure out what we are to each other. I want to get to know you,” he says.
“I want that too.” I’m a little shocked that I said it, but I mean it. I hug him, holding tight. “The last few weeks have changed my perspective. The past is the past, and anyway, you’re here now. That means something.”
It’s comforting to bury my face into his chest. He stands rigid for a moment, and then pats a hand on my back. He isn’t one for displays of affection. I know that from his awkwardness with Norah, but at least he is trying. I feel his chin lower to the top of my head and the shudder in his chest as if an eighteen-year-old wound had just started to heal.
“I promise to make things right,” he says.
“There is something I’ve wanted to ask you. How did you find out that Roscoe was on to me?”
“Yvette,” he says.
I see only truth in his eyes. “How do you know her?”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “That’s a whole other story. I need a stiff drink first.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I grab my chance in the bathroom, after what seems like forever waiting. The tap shower has no pressure, and I’m left with the cold water, but it’s enough to feel clean. Tying my wet hair back out of my face, I stick my dressing back to my arm and run down the hallway in just a towel.
The clothes Isaac left are brand new, practical choices of jeans and vests, and no red in sight. Thank god for that. The underwear is a plain and boring black, but I doubt he would have spent much time on those choices.
Struggling into a deep purple vest top and matching jersey, I look at my reflection in the window pane, and I’m impressed that everything fits. I look half decent, considering.
My mind flits to Adam, and I glance to my reflection again. I look pale. I pinch my cheeks to bring some colour to my face. How I looked never bothered me greatly, but now I’m acting all air head over a boy.
I pull on a pair of lace up ankle boots identical to ones I already own. Or should I say, owned? Nothing of my old life feels like it belongs to me anymore. I throw all the price tags in the waste bin along with my scrubs. I want to pour petrol on them and burn them, but the bin will have to do.
Adam doesn’t answer when I knock on the door; he must already be downstairs. I follow the hallway back to the staircase, and Golding comes out of his room. His hair is freshly styled in a messy Mohawk, his sky-blue eyes stand out against heavy eyeliner, and his ears are full of metal. What a difference an hour can make.
“You look like a different guy,” I say. I think I expected him to have a designer suits and shiny shoes type of style, something that screamed money, but this grungy, punk style suits him better.
“What can I say? Red scrubs kill my vibe. I’m chuffed Norah bought some of my stuff. Did Uncle Isaac buy you clothes?” He spins me around. “You got a booty,” he says, laughing.
I wiggle my bum a little, and then feel ridiculous. “So, I’ve got a cousin,” I say, changing the subject.
Golding takes my hand and leads me downstairs. “Tell me about it. You were always just this fairy-tale I was told as a kid.” We both laugh. “Seriously though, I’m psyched that you are part of the family.”
“Me too.”
We stand in the doorway of the kitchen unnoticed. Yana sits at the plastic table in white-wash jeans and a grey sweatshirt. Both hang from her slender frame. Haydn sits beside her wearing a pair of grey jogging bottoms and a navy-blue t-shirt. They’re chatting to Maggie who hasn’t bothered to change. Norah stands at the camping stove, stirring something in a pan and laughing over her shoulder along with them. I’m a little disappointed that Adam isn’t here.
Norah fusses over us like a mother hen. The back door opens, and Isaac, Boyd, and Adam walk in carrying boxes of food and guns.
Adam wears dark jeans, boots, and a white top that is a size too small in a good way. I feel his eyes doing exactly the same thing to me- running over me like honey.
He places his box on the floor beside Isaac’s and takes the seat next me. His hand finds mine under the table and he lowers his mouth to my ear. A shiver runs the length of my spine.
“How did it go with Isaac?” he whispers.
“Good, we cleared the air.”
Norah places a pan of chilli in the middle of the table. I stand and start dishing up. I’m used to doing it at home. Shana was never sober enough to dish up, let alone cook. Dad used to cook, and I’d dish, then Shana kicked him out, and I cooked- and dished- and washed- and dried. If nothing else, I feel like I’m being helpful, and no one objects.
We eat greedily. Norah’s chilli leaves a burning warmth in my chest and a full ache in my belly. I slump in my seat satisfied, whilst she makes a fresh batch of coffee.
Isaac whispers something to Boyd who nods seriously. His eyes pass over Maggie and Yvette in one swift movement.
“So, how is it you all know each other?” I ask.
Isaac rubs at the back of neck, avoiding my eyes. Maggie, Yvette, and Boyd share a look, but don’t look to answer me. I can tell that they feel it is Isaac’s story to tell.
“What’s the big secret?”
“Maggie was a doctor at Facility One until four years ago, and you already know Boyd and Yvette’s connection there. Well, I was...” Isaac clears his throat and his expression has turned solemn. “I was Roscoe’s first EVO-TORO.”
“It was you?” I ask. “How’d you get—”
“How’d I get out?” Isaac interrupts. “Maggie.” He rests his hands on Maggie’s shoulders.
“I was only in my role for three weeks when I was introduced to Isaac, EVO-TORO 1,” says Maggie. “I had never encountered TORO before Isaac. Then, Roscoe explained what they were, who they were. I was horrified. I hadn’t signed up for that. It’s as good as taking someone’s life in my opinion. It could have easily have been me in his place, and he was nothing more than their guinea pig- their weapon. I thought I was joining a military conditioning program. I had no idea as to the extent that the government were pushing the boundaries.”
Isaac folds his hands across his chest as if embracing himself. “This was before Yvette was on the scene. I was a shell of a man. It has taken me a long time to find myself again. I don’t think I’ll ever be the same. The things to which they subjected me...” His voice trails off, and his eyes glaze over from recalling the memories. He suddenly appears extremely TORO like, and my blood runs cold from the expression on his face; an expression I’ve not even encountered from Adam. Boyd slaps a hand on his shoulder, bringing Isaac back to reality. “There was not a chance I would let you guys experience that.”
“You remember everything from your conditioning?” Adam asks. He has turned a pale shade of green.
“I try not to, and it is getting easier, but yes, I remember it all.”
“Is that where you were when you fell off the face of the earth?” Golding asks. Isaac nods. “Get Yvette to manipulate you like she has done to Adam?” he says.
I nod in agreement. I can’t imagine what Isaac has seen or what he dreams about at night? Norah dabs at her eyes with a napkin, and her emotion seems to grate on Isaac. She places a hand on his forearm, but his jaw clenches from her affection. I can understand his aversion to being touched- he has TORO in him- in his memories.
“No. I have come to see my memories as my motivation. I am stronger for it, and I will not forget all that Maggie has done for me,” he says, smiling. “Adam has been fortunate to not recall his conditioning, and I am thankful that Yvette has in some way been able to help him and those poor souls left behind.”
“How did you escape the facility?” Yana asks, looking to Maggie for an answer.
“Considering Isaac was TORO, I knew he wouldn’t disobey his orders to remain on site. I had met Boyd a couple of times and I knew he wasn’t like Roscoe and the others, so I thought up a plan.”
“Basically, she woo
ed me and got me to order Isaac off site,” Boyd says, smiling, lightening the atmosphere somewhat. “As a TORO, Isaac wasn’t as highly protected as the EVO they were still testing. That was Roscoe’s biggest mistake, I guess. Roscoe knew it was Maggie who helped Isaac escape, but he had no idea about my involvement. I couldn’t just leave knowing what they were doing to the EVO there. I used my influence to halt certain programs, and although I couldn’t put an end to the EVO-TORO program, I managed to make sure that Roscoe had road blocks in his way. It held him off for a while at least. Then, he found you.” He nods in my direction, and Adam’s hand tightens on my own.
“And how did Yvette come into the equation?” I ask them.
Yvette clears her throat. “I am in the room,” she says.
“How could we forget?” Maggie mumbles, rolling her eyes.
The pair of them stare at each other for a moment, but it is Yvette who looks away first.
“Okay, how do you come into the equation?” I ask Yvette. I’m unsure if she is looking to provoke me or if she just can’t help being petulant, so I let it go over my head. That, and the fact that I have no energy to enter into a slanging match with her.
“I took over from Maggie, and I, too, had no idea to the extent that Roscoe was pushing Team O.R.O. When Maggie left the program it was still in its infancy and only a handful of men had started the conditioning program. I had no idea that Maggie was my predecessor.”
“Roscoe informed Towley and I of the new development with Yvette,” Boyd adds. “I told Maggie and Isaac, and that was when I found out that Maggie had previous connections to Yvette.”
Yvette straightens her shirt in annoyance at being interrupted “We went through training together,” says Yvette. “I can’t say we were friendly toward each other, but—”
“No buts, we were never friendly,” Maggie scoffs.
Golding stifles a snort, and I return Maggie’s side glance with a smile.
EVO Nation Series Trilogy Box Set Page 12