West shifted in his seat and his change in demeanor grabbed my attention.
“What?” I said, turning my eyes on him.
“I understand that saving the world is more important,” West said, his voice unsure and uncomfortable. “But I searched for her for five years. I thought I’d found her, only to find out I’d found my nemesis. How could I possibly stop trying to find her?”
Our eyes locked on each other and the silence was heavy inside the vehicle for several long moments.
“West,” I said, my voice quiet. “Will you come back with us if we have to leave? If we can’t find her?”
He didn’t respond for a beat. “I don’t know,” he replied truthfully. “I don’t think I’ll know the answer to that until we get to that moment.”
There was chaos behind West’s expression. There was confusion and commitment and a million other things that I completely understood. That didn’t make them easy to accept. But West was his own person and this was his decision.
“Okay,” was my response.
“You do realize making the decision not to return with us is suicide,” Dr. Evans growled and the heat was instantly back in the air. “After everything I did to make sure you survived, you’re going to throw it away?”
“Your efforts to get me out of NovaTor were not completely unselfish,” West said back in a low voice. “I can make my own choices now.”
As the van grew quiet again, I closed my eyes and let out a slow breath.
My life was way too complicated.
There was suddenly a warm, comforting hand on my shoulder from behind and I breathed slightly easier. I placed my hand over Avian’s and pictured trees and mountains. I pictured scouting down unseen trails. I imagined overlooking a valley and knowing that was where I belonged.
I imagined my life a few months down the road, if there was such a thing.
“That was the last major city until we get to Vegas,” Bill said quietly as the last of the buildings fell away and we rolled out into the desert.
TEN
I kept waiting for something to go wrong. For something to happen.
But Avian was very good at keeping Morgan hidden. He was inconspicuous in checking her IV line, in monitoring her breathing and pulse. I dared imagine no one would discover she was back there until we got the entire way to NovaTor.
And out here in the desert, there wasn’t a trace of Bane, other than two demolished bodies we’d passed in the middle of the road. Nothing could have destroyed them like that except for another Bane. My army was out there somewhere.
So we had yet to have a need to fire even a single bullet. Much of the drive reminded me of our journey from old Eden. There was nothing to see for miles and miles except for dry clay and sand and rugged hills and small canyons.
But just as we passed a sign that read fifty miles to Las Vegas, the clouds started rolling in, threatening rain in the late January air.
Dr. Beeson had said once the sun was gone we would get about one hour of power before the batteries ran dry. We would die just outside the city.
“How long do we try and stay on the freeway?” Avian asked as the sky grew darker. “There are bound to be hordes of Bane in the city.”
“I still don’t see why we don’t just drive through the city,” Dr. Evans said, shaking his head. “We’ve all seen enough evidence to know that Eve Two can handle anything that might come at us.”
“It’s never a bad idea to err on the side of caution,” I said, cringing as we hit a large pothole. The road had grown rougher and rougher as we got further into the desert.
“My child,” Dr. Evans said, turning to face me. “When will you stop doubting your capabilities and accept that you are more than the rest of us?”
I just shook my head and looked away from him. We hit another hole in the road, making everything and everyone in the vehicle bounce violently to the left before being tossed back.
Morgan gave a whimpering cry.
My eyes grew wide and I instantly froze.
Bill and Dr. Evans gave no indication that they’d heard, but West whipped around in his seat, searching for the source of the noise.
Of course Morgan groaned in that moment.
“What was that?” West hissed, standing and leaning over his seat to gain a better view.
“Just our stuff getting shifted around,” Avian lied, his eyes darting to mine.
West didn’t miss that.
“I don’t think so,” he said, his voice hard. He started to move toward Morgan’s hidden form.
“Sit down, West,” I said, my voice hard. “It wasn’t anything.”
By now, Bill and Dr. Evans had started paying attention to what was going on.
“Then why are you two acting so weird?” West said, his voice growing louder and harder. “In fact, why have you both been acting weird this whole day? What’s back there?”
My eyes darted to Avian and we held each other’s gaze for a long moment. We had both known the moment was going to come when we’d have to tell the truth about what we were doing. But we had no way to know how everyone would react.
Especially Dr. Evans.
“I’m going to try and save the baby,” I said, my voice low.
“What baby?” West asked, his eyes growing dark.
By this point, Bill had stopped the solar tank and he and Dr. Evans were turned around looking at us.
“Morgan’s,” I replied simply.
There was a heavy moment before West pushed his way past Avian and leaned over the seat. He shifted the carefully placed bags. And then he saw her.
“No,” he said, shaking his head, never taking his eyes from her unconscious form. “You did not bring a dying, pregnant woman with us on a possibly suicidal mission.”
“What is going on?” Dr. Evans demanded. One of his mechanical hands curled into a steel fist.
I gave a hard swallow as I eyed his hands, knowing the unstoppable damage they could cause.
“Morgan is five and a half months pregnant,” Avian said when my words failed. “She was injured in the earthquake, and she isn’t going to pull through it. The baby is almost guaranteed to die with her.”
Everyone was silent as West turned and sank into the seat next to Avian.
“I was going to die once too,” I said, my voice even. “I came into this world too soon to a mother who was dying. You saved me, Dr. Evans.”
“That was a long time ago, my dear girl,” he said, his gaze falling away from mine.
“But you still have the formula for what saved me,” I said, not backing down even though, for one of the first times in my life, I was actually scared, in a way I couldn’t explain. “And we’re already heading back to where you kept that formula and all of the things you needed to create it.”
There was a general, quick intake of breath as everyone in the solar tank sorted out the plan Avian and I devised.
“You want me to recreate that first generation of TorBane,” Dr. Evans said. “And give it to the dying baby in that woman’s stomach?”
I shook my head and the back of my eyes stung. “Not want. I’m demanding it. I won’t be your savior until you try to save that baby.”
“It’s possible, isn’t it?” Avian said, again placing his hand on my shoulder. “You could do the same procedure to that baby that you did to Eve and eventually her sister all those years ago.”
Dr. Evans didn’t say anything, just shot daggers at me with his eyes.
This was not part of his master plan.
Suddenly, Bill pulled a handgun from the holster at his hip and placed it flat against the glass enclosure. “Is it possible?” he said in a low voice.
Dr. Evans looked at Bill, not in the least bit afraid of the firearm pointed right at his face. Everyone in the vehicle could see the gears turning in his head. “It’s highly improbable that everything at NovaTor needed to create that first version of TorBane is still in usable condition. But it is not impossible.”
“Seriously?” West said, glancing back at Morgan. “You could create another baby like Eve?”
“As I said, it is improbable,” Dr. Evans growled. “And a large waste of precious time considering how long it will set us back in returning to New Eden with everything we need. But, it is not impossible.”
“Holy…” West breathed, running his hands through his hair. “Eve, how long have you and Avian been planning this?”
I met his eyes, but suddenly my throat felt tight and unable to speak. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized how badly I wanted this plan to work, for Dr. Evans to be able to save the dying baby. But what if it didn’t work? What if he couldn’t get together the supplies he needed to recreate my version of TorBane?
And the child…
“A few days,” Avian answered for me. “Eve came up with the idea and I agreed with her. We put Morgan in the van early this morning before everyone was awake.”
“Morgan has been out for how long?” West questioned. “Have you even asked her if she’s okay with this?”
“No,” I said, my voice surprisingly rough. “But I don’t think she would want her child to die either. Not if there was a chance it could be saved.”
“No offense,” West said, his expression suddenly sour. “But are you sure she would want her child to spend the rest of its life as a hybrid?”
For the third time, Avian punched West.
Due to their extremely close quarters, he didn’t get much swing behind it, but it got the message across.
“Seriously, Avian!” West screamed, cradling his jaw in his hand. “Enough with beating the crap out of me! We get you don’t want anyone messing with your woman!”
“Quit acting like a dick and I wouldn’t have to,” Avian growled, his blue eyes ablaze.
“Ahh,” West groaned, opening his mouth wide and stretching the muscles. “I’m sorry, Eve. That was a stupid thing to say.”
“Trust me,” I said, my voice cold. “I’m used to your crap by now.”
“Children,” Dr. Evans said, his eyes looking rabid. “Let’s not fight now. Although I hate to say it, they’re right, West. That was uncalled for. With the version of TorBane Eve had, she would have been almost normal if she hadn’t had the chip implanted in her brain. I’m not agreeing to anything, but the child could have a fairly normal life if it was given the same treatment.”
“Other than she’ll basically be indestructible, like Eve, right?” Avian said, not relaxing in the least.
Dr. Evans nodded. I had little doubt the suddenly glazed over look in his eyes meant that he was calculating everything out, making plans already.
I was banking on the fact that Dr. Evans was a man of science and curiosity. I was offering him a chance to create one being that was supposed to be what he intended for the world.
One chance to get this right.
A few moments later, he finally met my eyes. “I’m not saying yes, but I am saying I will consider it.”
“I’m not offering you the chance to consider it,” I said seriously. “I’m saying you try it or I won’t save the world.”
“That sounds awfully selfish, don’t you think?” he said pointedly.
“Maybe I am selfish,” I said, my hands curling into fists. “But that doesn’t change my deal.”
He was quiet for a moment and everyone seemed to be holding their breath until Dr. Evans gave an answer.
“Then I guess this trip is going to take us a bit longer than we planned.”
ELEVEN
With the tension and truth somewhat relieved, everyone got out of the solar tank for a few minutes to stretch and take a bathroom break. Avian took the time to rearrange Morgan, in hopes she would be more comfortable. Not that she was aware of his efforts. He replaced the nearly depleted oxygen tank and started her on a fresh bag of IV fluids.
Her pulse and vitals were growing fainter by the hour.
Avian estimated she had another four days before her organs began shutting down.
That was if she didn’t have a heart attack first.
My eyes automatically swept the horizon around us, M16 in hand.
“You were pretty impressive in there,” Avian said, standing beside me, hands stuffed in his pockets. “Dr. Evans is kind of intimidating, but you weren’t backing down.”
“We’ve lost enough people, if we can save one more, it’s worth it,” I said, absentmindedly drawing a line in the dirt with the toe of my boot.
“Eve,” he said, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “I fully support trying to save this baby, one hundred percent. But have you really considered what will happen if this works, if the baby lives? It will never be like anyone around it. It will always feel different from anyone else. Everyone but you.”
I didn’t look up at Avian as I pondered what he said. The thought had danced around in the back of my head as I made my plans and dared to speculate that this might work. But I had focused on this plan one step at a time. First get Avian on board. Get Morgan into the solar tank without anyone noticing. Tell everyone my plan.
But it was stupid of me not to think this all the way through.
What would happen if this did work?
Who would take care of the baby?
I looked up at Avian, locked my eyes with his intense blue ones.
Avian was a rock, someone who still stood no matter how much the world had thrown at him. He would still stand no matter what happened in the future.
He was the perfect father figure.
But could I ever fill the role of a mother?
I wasn’t so sure I had it in me.
“We better get moving again,” Bill said as he walked back to the tank from relieving himself. As he did, the first drops of rain started falling from the sky. “We’ve maybe got another forty minutes of juice before we’re stuck till the sun decides to come back out.”
I met Avian’s eyes once more, his unanswered question hanging in the air.
I couldn’t give him an answer when I didn’t have one.
“West!” I shouted. He’d wandered off to stretch his legs and take a break. “Let’s get going!”
He came jogging back to the van and we all loaded up. Sixty seconds later we were rolling down the cracked road again.
The rain picked up in intensity until it was solid and drenching. It wasn’t long until there was standing water on the road. The sky continued to grow darker, and over the next half hour, the solar tank moved slower and slower.
“Ten miles to Vegas,” Bill said, looking down at one of his maps. “We should probably take the next exit and make our way around the city.”
“Bill, watch out!” West suddenly shouted.
Bill slammed on the breaks and our tires rode on top of the water on the road for a moment before splashing to a stop.
Standing in the middle of the freeway were two women. Both with very large assault rifles pointed at us.
Dr. Evans suddenly chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, this is just precious.”
The two women kept their firearms leveled at us as they crept forward.
“Open the doors!” one of them yelled, tapping her firearm on the door just to the side of West.
He glanced over at the rest of us, unsure of what to do. “Is she serious?” he said, his brows furrowed together in disbelief.
“Firearms ready,” I said, steadying my own gun in the direction of the door. Everyone else pointed their own assorted weapons at the door. I nodded to West. “Open it.”
West placed his hand on the handle of the door and shoved it open. As soon as the two women saw what was waiting for them, they dropped their weapons and held their hands up.
“Don’t shoot,” the same one who had spoken before said, shaking her head. “We were just looking for some food and were surprised to see anyone else on the road.”
“What are you doing so close to the city?” I asked, still not relaxing my M16. “There’s got to be hundreds of thousands of Bane just a
t your backs.”
The same woman, the one with the matted blonde hair that was pulled back in a messy bun at the top of her head, spoke. “I don’t know about that. I mean, I’m sure there are some. But it looks like most of the city has burned down.”
“Burned down?” I said, my brows pulling together. “Who’s left to bother?”
The woman shrugged, shaking her head.
“Might not have been anyone,” West said, his eyes turning toward the city as he lowered his weapon slightly.
“Could have been lightning,” Dr. Evans said.
And as soon as he spoke, the women took one look at him, screamed, and scrambled for their firearms.
“Wait!” all four of us shouted at the same time. West leapt from the van, tugging their firearms from their hands. The woman who had yet to speak swung at him and tried once again to recover her firearm.
She started shouting and screaming in a language I didn’t recognize.
“What are you doing driving around with one of them?!” the blond woman said, her eyes wild as she backed away from the vehicle.
“He’s safe,” West said, handing their firearms back to me. He then held his hands up to show he wouldn’t hurt them and slowly started walking toward them. “He’s not quite like the others. He will infect you if he touches you, yes, but he still has his humanity. He won’t hurt anyone.”
Both the women shook their heads, but they stopped their retreat.
“Not possible,” the blond one said.
Cracking his window just a tiny bit, because it was still raining, and he was mostly Bane after all, Dr. Evans looked out at them. “I can assure you that it is indeed possible.”
“How does it talk?!” the woman shouted, nearly jumping out of her skin. The other woman shouted words I didn’t understand.
It took a very long time to explain it all—how exactly Dr. Evans had kept his humanity, how he was different from the others. Neither of them would come any closer to the vehicle and in the end, it was Avian and I who climbed out to talk to them.