When we came to a large metal door painted white with rivets she paused and we stood awkwardly in front of a camera for a moment.
“I know you don’t believe it, it’s not real to you and that is ok…” She said without looking at me.
The door opened and we stepped forward, in front us was a large rectangular hole in the floor that looked like it once housed a stairwell, on either side massive steel doors stood upright.
Filling the void in the floor was a substance that glowed and lit up the entire room with an intense glow. A thick whitish plasma that resembled milk pulsed with purple electrical currents like veins of lightening.
“…but this is my life.” Eve finished her sentence and stared into the rift.
“Holy shit, it’s real?” I stared into it dumbfounded and shoved totally off balance mentally. I had not at all been prepared for everything I had pushed out of my head to actually be true. “I really thought you guys were fucking with me.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you.” Eve held onto my arm.
As we stood there bathed in light a team of people lowered large plastic crates into the rift using rubberized cables. The box would lower, and then after a minute or two the wench would raise the line and the cables would be empty. The team worked quickly, occasionally a box would come up out of the rift, but as we watched I counted one crate out for every twenty crates that went in.
“Take your time.” Eve said, still having not let go of my arm.
I glanced over at the workers; Gavin had a clipboard and seemed to be running a sort of inventory checklist or manifest. He glanced over to us briefly but said nothing. In fact nobody really paid us much mind other than a quick initial glance, a few people would nod their head toward Eve in respect.
“There really is another world down there?” I pondered.
“There is, and I have been a part of it for over two centuries.” She replied, “Are you ready to talk some more?”
“I… I guess I am.” I nodded in agreement; I could no longer deny the possibility.
We went down another hall or two and found one with a few more guards and entered a shorter hallway with a bay of eight doors, four on each side. Eve reached for one of the knobs and opened the door and we stepped in.
“Excuse the mess.” She said and kicked a pair of bellbottom pants from the floor into a corner, probably the ones from a day or two before.
I looked around the room and surveyed what I could only imagine had been her room for the past twenty five years or so.
“Not bad for only spending like a year here in the past quarter of a century?” She laughed.
Retro posters of bands I had never heard of, no name hippy wonders from days gone by lined the walls overlapping. Mood lighting and even an eight-track player Hi-Fi system stood like a monolith in one corner.
“Is that a waterbed?” I laughed.
“Fuck yea!” She said and jumped on it sending waves across the mattress that bounced back and forth jostling her around.
“That is ridiculous.”
“It’s a hell of a lot more comfortable than your bed.” She jabbed.
“I thought you liked my bed?”
“I said I liked the smell of your bed, I like being with you in your bed… but your bed sucks. I can’t handle the springs. Not used to it.” She finally stopped moving.
“Ok, random question then… what is your bed like in Eden?” I asked.
“Layers and layers of folded cotton cloth like real Japanese futons. Not that foam crap. Immensely comfortable and they last for damned near ever.” She replied and put her hands behind her head getting comfortable.
“Wild. Where do you get the cotton?”
“Tell me you aren’t that stupid.” She chuckled.
“How do you raise that many sheep?” I joked and she gave me an odd look, for a moment thinking I was serious.
“We have fields of cotton; it’s a really good crop for us.” She answered after a moment.
“What do you eat?” I asked.
“Not pizza.” She replied. “Cuisine is very similar to Japanese or Mongolian… natural, rice and vegetables mostly but a bit of meat too for the protein. We aren’t on our hands and knees eating grass anymore.”
“Wild.” I said again.
“Simon.” She straightened up.
“Yea?” I turned my head to look at her.
“I have to go back tomorrow; I won’t be back for a year.” She said and her voice cracked.
“I know.”
“I want you to come with me, the year counts toward your degree and…”
“You mean the decade.” I countered.
“Yes.”
“Hmm.” I said not knowing what to say.
“I need to know where you stand. What you are thinking?” She crossed her legs and looked up at me.
“I don’t know Eve, I really don’t know. It’s a lot.”
“It’s a lot to process?”
“It’s just a lot.” I blinked and shook my head.
She stayed silent for a long time, just watching me pace her room. I felt like I was in a museum, a living microcosm of retro-vintage hippy lifestyle. Every little knickknack was alien and old, but at the same time looked and felt brand new. Even the pile of magazines on the floor had dates from the 1970’s and before. I just shook my head in wonderment.
“So, you are what… two hundred years old?” I quipped.
“Two hundred and eleven, if you want to count it that way.”
“You are two hundred, I’m twenty one…” I looked at myself in her mirror, “what could you possibly see in me?”
“I see kindness, and bravery. I see companionship and honesty.” She started and I began to blush, not being used to much compliment. “I see intelligence and…”
“Stop.” I interrupted.
“I see intelligence and a logical mind.” She continued, “I see a good man, who thinks he isn’t.”
“What am I going to tell my Mom?” I looked up at the stained ceiling.
“You can’t tell her anything about any of this.”
“You are fucking right, because she might actually believe me.” I blinked.
“Simon…”
“No seriously Eve, what do I tell her?” I stammered starting to get upset, “Sorry mom, I gotta go on a year long government expedition to wonderland, but don’t worry Ill be back.” I spit the words out viscerally.
“Simon, I…”
“Do I just throw the words at her like my father did and never come back? The exact same fucking words, the exact same fucking bullshit story and then disappear?” I was crying and shouting.
“No, that wouldn’t be fair to her.” Eve finally replied.
“You asked where my mind was at, what I was thinking? Well there it is. I have a life here, this is my life! I am in college… I met a girl, and now I’m all fucked up.” I gritted my teeth.
I sat on the bed with my back to Eve; she moved behind me and wrapped both of her arms around me. Her ridiculous waterbed jostled us both around for a few seconds and I wept in both sadness and anger. Eve held me for the rest of the evening in silence; there wasn’t anything else to say other than goodbye.
Chapter Ten: Goodbye
When I woke up I could hear Eve yelling in the hallway, arguing or verbally assaulting someone. I imagined that no matter what had happened during the week between us, that even in the best of times this must have been a pretty stressful day for everyone at Delta.
“He just needs a bit more time Gavin, fucking hell!” I could hear behind the door.
“There is no more time Mavin, times up! He goes or he stays, but you are coming.”
“Of course I’m coming, I have to don’t I?! Mavin has to martyr herself for the people, fuck her happiness and fuck all of us!” She screamed.
“You don’t mean that.” Gavin lowered his voice.
“No Gavin, I don’t. But this is all fucked, do you hear me FUCKED!” She screamed at the t
op of her lungs and opened the door slamming it behind her.
I looked up at her from the bed, I could tell the sight of me awake both surprised and calmed her.
“Rough morning then?” I asked trying to lighten the mood.
“You could say that.” She said and turned her head.
“Look I…” I started to speak.
“Simon, I realize I asked too much of you. I can’t expect you to drop your whole life and abandon your mother, you are right.” She closed her eyes in defeat as she spoke, “I will be gone for a year to you, but for me it will be a decade. I can’t ask for any promises from you, and I can’t give you any. We have only known each other for a week.”
“It’s not about that.”
“I know Simon, I know. I am not even asking for a commitment to me, it’s not like we would be getting married here, I just wanted a companion… I wanted to reward you with a wonderful life. It really is wonderful; you would have liked it in Eden.” She sunk in defeat.
“Listen it’s time for me to go. You won’t be able to come back to Delta, not till Ross, Gavin and I get back here. They won’t let you in without us and a decade is a long time.” She started to get undressed.
I watched her for a moment to be sure that she was doing what I thought she was doing. “Eve, what are you doing?”
“I was going to give you a show before I go, but…”
“What?” I was shocked by how out of place her display was.
“When I say we are leaving, I mean now. Like now, now. We all go through naked, we have to. Cloth burns and thin plastic melts to the skin. Besides, I need your help to apply the burn gel.” She shrugged, “I didn’t think you would mind.”
The last scrap of her clothing deposited onto the floor into the corner Eve stood in front of me completely naked, her skin stitched and bruised, thin almost invisible old scars mixed with new injuries. It was less sexual and more like opening an old history book and viewing the thin pages some crisp as they day they were printed, others creased and well seasoned from use.
She tossed me a bottle of clear burn gel. “If you miss a spot, it hurts like hell. So help a girl out, will ya? Please don’t miss a spot.”
“This is how you want to say goodbye?” I asked as I stood up.
“No. This is how I am being forced to say goodbye.” She said abruptly, forcing back tears.
I nodded silently and spread the gel over her tiny frame. First her hair, then down her shoulders, every fold, every rib and every surface of her body. I learned her sensitive and ticklish spots and found myself fighting back tears as well. There was something ceremonial to the act, something final.
“Come on, time for me to go.” She said and I opened the door for her as she unabashedly walked down the hall in front of me.
Our last moment alone came before we rounded a corner and she turned to me saying, “Simon, I don’t expect anything and I don’t ask for anything, but I do hope to see you again.”
The doors were open and Eve joined Gavin, Ross, Austringer and Audriana at the rift. Each of them stepped into a small bath of burn gel to cover the bottoms of their feet and then fell backwards into the rift, one by one. It seemed as if muscle memory took over and each one cringed just before hitting the surface, expecting the pain. One by one they disappeared.
She was next to last to go through and as she fell backwards I shouted, “Eve!”
Her only reply was a bright smile as she passed through.
Ross turned to me and said, “You made the wrong choice Simon, but good luck to you just the same.” Before I could answer, he too was gone.
I watched as they lowered the heavy doors over the opening to the rift, and then it was over.
“Mr. Cauven? Time for you to go.” A voice said behind me.
“I know.” I replied sadly.
I kept my head down as I walked out of the building and was sure to have my phone and my jacket before I exited.
“To be honest, I thought you were going to jump in there at the end.” The man escorting me to the door said, “Would have been barbeque on the other end though, they say it takes weeks to heal if you go through unprepped.”
I sighed and shook my head but stayed silent.
“I am supposed to remind you not to come back. Your decision is made, and it isn’t something you can just change your mind about. A year, ten years… it’s a long time on both ends of the stick, if you catch my meaning. Live your life and forget this week ever happened.” He said.
“You sound like Gavin.”
“He is my boss.” The man smiled. “So look, your NDA is still in effect you can’t…”
“I’m not going to talk about this to anyone, ever.” I snapped. “Can I go?”
“Just doing my job Mr. Cauven.” He said and the door unlocked in front of me and I left Delta behind.
I walked down the alley where I had first found Eve; there was still blood on the pavement. I stood for a long time just looking at the puddle stain. She had certainly lost a lot of blood. It had been nice to see her actually walk down the hallway of her own volition; it was quite a contrast in a matter of six days.
I can’t say I regretted my decision to not leave with her, it was the right decision. There wasn’t anything holding me to UPT or Brecken other than my mother, but I couldn’t be the second man to abandon her so abruptly and callously, no matter how much my heart protested.
Eventually I passed the Gamma house, greeted with lots of pats on the back and a warm welcome. But was regrettably informed that rush week was over and if I wanted to pledge, I’d have to wait till next year. I kept walking.
I walked down Greek row, passing the various fraternities and sororities filled with people my own age fulfilling their pursuits and obligations. They felt so distant, so foreign and alien. I saw Sammy in front of the Sigma house, his brother pledges all painted gold and pretending to be statues in front of the house, standing perfectly still while being yelled at and belittled by the older members.
I ate lunch alone; the anticipation of classes starting on Monday was palatable. Everyone seemed suddenly too busy for one another, the time for making friends was over and everyone had disbursed into their little groups.
As I rode the elevator up the multiple floors through far too many stops I stared blankly in dejected boredom at the brushed stainless wall. People came and went, but I was numb. I put my hands in my jacket pocket and felt something inside, a slip of paper. As I got into my room and lay on my bed that still smelled like her, I unfolded it, a note from Eve.
Simon. It’s ok. I am sorry I was too much. Live your best life, you deserve it.
It was those seventeen words that finally punctuated the ending of my first week at college; it had all been too much, just too much. Freshmen aren’t supposed to make life altering decisions. I played it safe, I played it careful and as Ross said, I made the wrong choice.
Chapter Eleven: Year of Hell
One morning in February I had a panic attack. I had done well in my first semester classes and had a good start on second semester. However, suddenly I realized I that could no longer remember her face. I closed my eyes searching my memory, but all that came was the memory of her scent, her hair and the peace and comfort she brought to me when she put her arms around me. I couldn’t remember her face and I suddenly couldn’t breathe.
Through a coincidence, I was in calculus which probably didn’t help my stress level, but Tammy happened to be the teacher’s assistant running that particular class. Strictly business and professional, but it was nice to see such a friendly face in a subject I found terrifying.
“Simon. Simon! Simon breathe, I need you to breathe!” Tammy shouted at me and I suddenly realized I was staring at the ceiling from the floor. “Fucking shit, someone call an ambulance!” Tammy shouted again.
“He is turning blue!” a girl shrieked about the time I lost consciousness.
When I regained myself I was in the back of an ambulance and Tammy was hol
ding my hand, an EMT was giving me oxygen and we were in motion. I could feel the road below us and hear the sirens.
“Yes, Mrs. Cauven?” Tammy paused. “Sorry, Miss. Cauven… We are pulling into UPT University Hospital now… Yes, he is breathing.” I heard Tammy say into her phone.
“Fuck, you called my mom?!” I tried to say, but my words were both slurred and blocked by the actions of the EMT.
They wheeled me into the Emergency Room and eventually I found myself stripped naked, dressed in a gown and placed by orderlies into a bed. Tammy tucked a blanket around my chest and held my hand.
“Never a dull moment Simon.” She said.
“I’m sorry.” I apologized.
“Are you feeling better?” She asked.
“I suddenly couldn’t remember her face.” I replied and started to cry.
“Fucking hell.” She said and squeezed my hand. “I knew you were hurting, but not like this.”
“It’s not always like this, I’ve been fine. This was just sudden… terror.”
“Dude you dropped to the floor like a fish and stopped breathing, you were almost purple when the Ambulance arrived. I thought you were fucking dying.”
“Sorry… I…”
“No dying in my calculus class Simon!” Tammy chided.
“Yes teacher.” I teased while wiping my eyes.
The door swung open and my mother walked into the room. “Oh my god!” she shouted and descended onto the bed giving me a hug. “Are you alright, what happened?” she demanded.
“It’s fine mom, just had a panic attack.” I tried to explain.
“Panic attack? You don’t have panic attacks, you have nerves of steel.” She offered.
“Everyone has their weakness. Even the hero of the day.” Tammy said.
Deltas: Delta Horizon Book One Page 10