Eden Book 1 (Eden Series)

  He turns his back to the target and takes several steps away from the cliff; as he does, he notices everyone staring at him. Even Hiroshi, who makes eye contact with him and gives him a reassuring nod. Noah looks to the ground and refocuses. He takes a deep breath and before exhaling, he pivots, takes four quick steps, then plants and hurls the hook with all of his might, letting out a loud roar in the process that makes the hairs on the back of Evelyn’s neck stand at attention. Everyone watches the hook reach its intended target, at which they explode into cheers. But the moment is short lived, as Noah’s tug causes the hook to fall off the face of the mountain. He reels the rope back in to have another go.

  He makes no adjustments in his second throw, and this time the others remain silent until he gives the nod that, indeed, the hook is grappled. Noah reels the rope until it has only a slight sag in the middle and then, with the extra slack, he creates a new Y-shaped anchor, which he fixes firmly to the rock floor. He decides to keep the original anchor wrapped around the boulder, erring on the side of caution. Noah takes a deep breath and clears his head. Slacklining, unknown to most, was common among the Phantom Nine, and considered to be among the more pedestrian maneuvers in their repertoire. However, most of their slacklines were no longer than thirty meters, and this distance was more than double that.

  With most of the travelers having nothing to do but wait, they look on curiously, trying to decipher Noah’s intentions. Luna leans toward Evelyn and whispers, “What is he about to do?”

  “I haven’t the foggiest,” Evelyn admits, her eyes fixed on her husband. “But I’m certain I’m not going to like it.”

  Noah moves to the edge of the cliff and latches a short cable to the slackline, the other end attached to his utility belt. This cable, just a meter in length, is his only connection to the line, but it’s not the only lifeline he will have if he loses his balance. His backup is the line he will carry inside the rope feed in the shoulder strap of his backpack. He secures that line with a single anchor that will remain until Jacob is ready to join the others down below. That line will ultimately serve as the zip-line if everything goes according to plan.

  He slides on his climbing gloves and walks off the edge of the cliff, his life teetering on the line. The others watch in stunned silence. Stepping more than a meter out, he bounces slightly on the slackline, his feet never leaving the rope, testing the strength of the tether. His actions elicit several gasps from the spectators and in three quick backward steps he is on solid footing once more. Feeling as confident as he can about the hold, he takes another deep breath and turns to look directly at Evelyn. He delivers a trademark wink and mouths I love you.

  Evelyn puts on her bravest face. I love you too. He smiles and walks on to the line again, this time slowly placing one foot in front of the other as if walking on a narrow beam, his arms rocking slightly to the right and left. The soles of his shoes are made specifically for these types of maneuvers, ones that he performed while in the Phantom Nine, and this particular exercise is no different.

  Hiroshi and Jacob are in the midst of a conversation about the mount for the pulley when Max interrupts both of them by nudging Hiroshi’s arm and pointing to the man on the wire. They stand in awe as Noah walks on air across the deep divide. “Holy shit! Did he tell you he was going to do that?”

  “We never discussed it,” says Hiroshi, his gaze unwavering.

  Time seems to stand still. No one dares take their eyes off Noah as he inches his way to the other side. Cast against a pale blue sky, he glides across, gravity be damned. The slack in the line actually aids Noah’s crossing, allowing him to find his center, with the sag resting in middle. The others watch with their hearts wrapped around their throats, knowing full well that without him, they would be lost.

  When his feet finally reach solid ground, a collective sigh rings out across the mountains. Noah waves his arms at his fellow travelers to signal that the anchors supporting the slackline can be released. His mission only half complete, he reels the line to begin his hike across the jagged slope.

  With the pulley system in place, Max expertly rappels down the side of the mountain to the narrow landing. A few minutes later, though, Hiroshi’s inexperience as a climber almost kills him. During the rappel, he descends too quickly and momentarily loses his grip on the line. He is able to recover, none the worse for wear except for a painful rope burn.

  Tragedy averted, and when their pulses return to normal, Max and Jacob begin to lower the others. Mia is the first to go, and to everyone’s overwhelming relief, her descent goes perfectly. The good feelings are short-lived when Alice, who is slated to go next, refuses to budge. After a ten-minute consultation with Evelyn and Luna, she reluctantly goes through with it. Though she lands unscathed, her screams will ring in Hiroshi’s and Max’s ears for all eternity.

  Meanwhile, Noah is halfway through his hike across the mountain and, feeling the effects of his rigorous activity, decides to take a break. Sleep-deprived and under-nourished, his charity has taken its toll; he will need to eat soon if he is to continue at full capacity. Positioned diagonally across the chasm from the others, he looks through his binoculars to check on their progress and promptly wishes he hadn’t. It appears they are delayed, and when he scans the landing below, he sees Hiroshi, Max, Alice, and Mia standing around and gazing upward, waiting for someone. Josette, he thinks to himself, who else? He knew she would be difficult and she hasn’t disappointed. From his angle he can’t see those who have yet to descend and, realizing the situation is out of his control, he picks himself up and heads toward the clearing.

  In short time, Noah anchors his end of the zip-line, and when he again checks on the others, he is relieved to see they have made progress, though not as much as he would like. Luna is near the end of her descent, which puts them at the halfway point. Noah lights the signal fire, letting them know he is ready whenever they are. With nothing to do but wait, he decides to scour the area for food. In a sea of tall green grass near the landing, he captures insects of all shapes and sizes, popping them into his mouth and chomping vigorously as their variegated guts dribble down his salt-and-pepper chin.

  It is well past noon by the time everyone reaches the lower landing, with Jacob the last to descend. After they secure their end of the zip-line, Hiroshi signals to Noah with Mia’s compact mirror that they are ready. Noah responds in kind by lighting a dead branch and waving it across to signal that he is ready to receive the first passenger.

  Evelyn turns to the group. “Who wants to go first?”

  The silence is palpable. No one steps forward except for Max, though his orders preclude him from going until everyone else is safely across. Not surprisingly, he makes a point of letting everyone know just that. Evelyn has no choice but to do what she has dreaded all along and volunteer to be the first to test the line.

  “I guess the honor is mine.” She smiles widely, trying with only marginal success to mask her fear.

  Hiroshi senses her trepidation and smiles warmly in an attempt to put her at ease. It doesn’t work. “Take a deep breath, and close your eyes,” he whispers. “It will be over before you know it.”

  Evelyn nods, unable to process his words. As Max and Hiroshi strap her into the harness, she looks across the open air to see Noah waiting for her. She walks to the edge of the cliff and looks down. She wishes she hadn’t. The drop is bottomless, or appears to be, and she is thankful that she relinquished any food that had been in her earlier in the morning. She hasn’t eaten anything since and gladly gave her breakfast ration to Luna.

  Electricity runs through her body at a fever pitch, and she feels a peculiar warmth from it all, leaving her feeling lightheaded. “You’re all set,” Hiroshi says. “All you need to do is walk off the edge and hold on to the bar. In just a few seconds, you will be in the arms of your husband.”

  His words comfort her, and Evelyn thanks him. Then she closes her eyes and takes several deep breaths in an effort to clear her head. An eerie
calm washes over her and before that feeling deserts her, she leaps over the edge. The instant her feet leave the ground, she is bombarded by the memory of greeting Noah at Heathrow, the moment she had been waiting years for. Her husband had finally come home to her, alive, his release from the army, official; his service to the war, over. Their excitement and longing for one another couldn’t wait, and when they entered the car — the backseat — she ordered Peggy to drive them home.

  Their desires unhinged, she climbed on top of him, softly biting and sucking his neck and earlobes, as his hands slid up her dress to discover that she was pantyless and sopping wet. Through her moans, she unbuckled his trousers and pulled them toward her, pushing them down to his ankles. And when he slipped his thick manhood deep inside her she screamed so loud it could have wakened the dead. Her inner sanctum, complete.

  Their passion play continued long after they crossed the threshold of their London home. From the kitchen to the parlor, and eventually into the bedroom, their lovemaking left a trail of clothing and loose buttons, their ecstasy evident in every room. The session spanned long into the night and through the next day.

  With the wind tossing her hair, her ride coming to an end, Evelyn feels a surge of joy as she glides gently into Noah’s arms. She releases the bar and wraps both arms around him. She gives him a long wet kiss that catches him off guard. He looks at her curiously.

  “That was thrilling!” She smiles from ear to ear.

  Noah can’t help but laugh. “You’re positively flushed. Are you alright?”

  She gazes into his eyes as he unlatches her harness. “I’ve never felt better.”

  Noah slings the harness with a quick flick of the wrist, and it flies out of view on Hiroshi’s reel. “What happened to you this morning? I noticed you didn’t eat any breakfast. Are you under the weather?”

  Evelyn dismisses this with a wave of her hand. “Oh, it was nothing,” she says, playing it cool.

  Noah doesn’t believe her, but he diverts his attention back to the task at hand. Over the next two hours, Jacob, Mia, Craig, Hank, Patrick, Sarah, and Luna make it safely across without incident. Only Alice, Josette, Max, and Hiroshi are left. It is at this point that they reach an impasse: Josette and Alice both seem reluctant to go and, as Noah watches through his binoculars, he can see an animated exchange between Josette and Hiroshi.

  “I don’t like the look of this,” Noah says to no one in particular.

  Evelyn, without asking, senses what’s happening and she encourages the others to wave their arms at the two unwilling participants in an effort to coax them, but to no avail. After several more minutes, Hiroshi finally gets Alice in the harness, but she is too occupied with sobbing hysterically to hold on to the bar. Eventually, she takes hold and slowly walks to the edge, where she freezes. Hiroshi says something, gives her a gentle push and almost immediately, Alice slumps in her harness, her arms hanging lifelessly at her sides, causing Josette to scream so loudly that the echoes reach the other side.

  Everyone watches helplessly as Alice zips toward them, limp in her harness. She is met by Evelyn and Noah, who softly pat her face and call out her name until she finally comes to, overwhelmed, but otherwise unharmed. Evelyn offers her a drink of water, which she declines, and Noah asks her to wave to Hiroshi and the others to let them know that she is alright.

  Unfortunately, Alice’s encouragement has no effect on Josette, who stomps her feet and shakes her head no. Noah gazes heavenward and prays for a fatal bolt of lightning. By now, little remains of the day, and Hiroshi and Max throw up both arms in defeat as Josette, inconsolable, refuses to come across. Last night, Hiroshi and Noah had discussed the possibility of this happening; they had agreed to force their hand and get the unwilling across by any means necessary.

  That time has now come. Hiroshi and Max take hold of Josette and forcibly strap her into the harness. Flailing her arms and legs wildly, she swings maliciously at their faces, intent on injuring her hijackers. Showing remarkable restraint, Hiroshi and Max gleefully throw her off the ledge the moment she is secure. Josette’s ride is difficult to watch. She kicks her legs violently, which causes the line to bounce erratically, slowing her progress.

  Screaming like a stuck pig, she curses at them, in an odd blend of French and English. “Fuck all of you CUNTS! .... You fucking touch me and I swear I will fucking KILL YOU! Toi, ma putain de salope, tu me fait chier avec tes trucs de merde! All of you motherfuckers can rot in HELL! .... Don’t you TOUCH ME! .... Don’t you dare, not a fucking finger! .... YOU FUCKING CUNTS!

  Noah stands patiently, dreading her arrival, but Evelyn steps on to the landing. “I got this,” she tells him.

  “What?”

  “Go take a walk, I’m handling this. Josette is too crazy right now, and I can’t predict what she will do when she lands.”

  Noah bows mockingly and backs away, thankfully leaving her to greet the misanthrope alone. Evelyn cheers Josette’s arrival, but it’s of no consequence. She is hysterical. She flings Evelyn’s arms away and eventually connects, hitting Evelyn square on the chin. She responds in kind with a cold hard slap across the face that leaves the human train wreck stunned and momentarily catatonic.

  Clutching Josette around her shoulders she gives her a firm shake. “Now you listen to me,” she says through clenched teeth. “The next time you bitch and moan about someone endangering your precious life, you remember this day and how much time you wasted! My husband has risked life and limb to make sure that everyone gets out of this mess alive and this is how you act? We are all under tremendous pressure, but I swear to God, Josette, I will not tolerate your crazy bullshit for another second. Do you understand me?”

  Josette doesn’t flinch but she nods slowly. Evelyn loosens her grip and frees her from the harness, letting her slink away to a fallen log where she buries her head in silence. The others just gape at Evelyn in shock, Noah included. But he soon snaps out of it and takes over once again, sending the harness back to Max, who has been waiting for this moment all day.

  Wasting no time, Max runs off the cliff as fast as he can and comes barreling toward them.

  “WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!”

  His roar is so loud that it echoes through the mountains. Swooping across the landing, Max excitedly hoots and hollers, unable to contain his excitement and wanting to go again. His unbridled enthusiasm is in stark contrast to the drama that had unfolded moments earlier. As the dust settles, with only one traveler left to go, the castaways gather around the clearing to welcome Hiroshi.

  Standing all alone on the other side, Hiroshi belts himself to the line. Noah watches him through his binoculars. One more. Just one bloody more. He lowers the lens and looks to the sky, as if in prayer, and determines they have two hours of light left. Enough time, he hopes, to get over the ridge and find a place to camp for the night.

  The high-pitched squeal of the line buzzes as Hiroshi zips through the air, and within moments, he is greeted by a host of cheers. Noah exhales deeply, relieved that everyone made it through alive. He asks Evelyn to gather everybody for the short hike ahead, and to distribute the new walking sticks he made while he waited for them. He and Hiroshi break down the zip-line and scavenge what rope they can before Noah unceremoniously cuts the cord. Still shaken, Josette is the last to fall in line. Slowly picking herself up, she takes her position next to Craig.

  The scout team begins the progression up the ridge, the usual pairs following behind. Feeling a huge burden lifted, Noah seems looser than he had this morning and speaks freely with Mia. Their conversation comprises mostly small talk and the row between Evelyn and Josette. Noah swears he never saw it coming, but Mia assures him that Josette deserved every bit of it and that if anyone had any doubts about Evelyn’s toughness before, no one will dare cross her now. They share several laughs in the process and just for a moment they almost forget that they are running for their lives.

  With the light fading, Noah leads them up a wide incline. The slopes to either s
ide are filled with loose rocks, some as big as boulders. “We need to move through this quickly and once we do, we’ll set up camp at the next clearing,” Noah tells Mia.

  “If you say so.” Mia shrugs and pulls her hood over her head as a chill comes over her. “So remember when you said if I knew something I should tell you?”

  “Of course I do. Tell me everything.”

  “Everything?” Mia asks. “Alright... Luna is pregnant. From what I gather, about eight weeks.”

  “Fascinating, and you saw this?”

  “Yeah, and I think Evelyn is pregnant too,” she says casually, as if discussing tomorrow’s weather.

  Noah is taken aback. “Are you certain? Did you have a vision about this?”

  “Oh no. Nothing like that. I overheard them talking.”

  “You overheard them? So this isn’t a vision?”

  “No it’s not a vision. I overheard them this morning, while I was in the loo.”

  “The loo?”

  “Yes. Evelyn was throwing up, and Luna came to her and gave her something — something to smell I think. And then as soon as that happened, Evelyn dry heaved and it was so totally gross.”

  Noah laughs aloud. “Mia, what the fuck are you talking about?”

  Mia suddenly stops short, as she experiences a bout of déjà vu. She grabs hold of Noah’s arm and he can see the fear grow in her eyes. “We gotta run back as fast as we can, and I mean right fucking now!”

  “How much time do we have?”

  “Seconds!”

  “Alright, then go!” he commands. She is already running furiously back down the path.

  Noah turns, waving his arms to the procession. Upon seeing his signal, Max screams, “RUN!”

  His shout echoes through the pass, just as a quake rattles the earth, sending a landslide of loose rocks and boulders tumbling around them. Noah bolts down the trail, barking instructions and helping those he comes across along the way. A haze of dust cascades over them and in the confusion, some people stop running and huddle against the hillside, their hands covering their heads, screaming in terror.