Escape from Eden (Original Series book 2) (5 page)

I
keep
my hand on the small of Stella’s back the whole way to Jerry’s office. For the first time since I’ve met her, she looks her age. Her back is slightly hunched over, and she’s clinging tightly to the old papers.

Tank’s voice carries out into the hall as we round the last corner. He’s complaining about the island’s communication system.

“There has to be a better way,” he says just as we enter the room, but he doesn’t stop talking. “What if the island was attacked? How would we know?”

Jerry’s gaze flashes our way. When he sees me, he frowns and looks back to Tank. “It’s not like we can’t communicate, we just choose not to because of the risk.”

“You have a couple of Techheads on the island, right?” Tank asks. “Can’t their big brains figure something out?”

I sit in a chair next to Tank and offer one to Stella, but she scoots by me to stand by the fireplace behind Jerry’s desk. Within its small hearth, a fire burns low.

Jerry rubs the back of his neck. “One of our Techheads is still mad he got dropped and won’t do anything to help us and the other has the Kiss. He’s in no condition to be doing anything. Can we discuss this later?”

He doesn’t wait for Tank to answer. He turns to me. “What are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you this doesn’t concern you?”

“I asked her to come,” Stella says.

Tank looks at me questioningly, but I just shrug.

Jerry sighs and slides his hand from his neck to his cheek as if trying to rub out all of his tension. “Did you make a decision, Stella? Will you give Tank the information he asked for?”

She lifts the papers in her hands. “It’s all right here. Years of work detailing the layouts of most of the buildings at Enfield. There’s even a map on how to get there.”

Tank stands and walks to her. “Wonderful! Just what we need. I’ll take them off your hands.”

Stella’s eyes flash to mine, and just before Tank reaches her, she lifts the papers and tosses them into the flames.

“No!” I cry.

Tank lunges for the documents, but the fire instantly ignites the old papers. Tank grimaces and jerks his hand back.

“Why did you do that?” Jerry asks. He’s standing, his face pale.

Stella is calm when she answers. “Because you don’t need them.”

Tank’s chest heaves up and down. “Like hell we don’t! That information was invaluable.”

“You still have the information,” she says and comes toward me. “It’s all right here.” She points at me.

“Um…” I say stupidly.

“She looked them over,” she says.

I throw my arms into the air. “For like twenty minutes! I hardly know them.”

“Really?” She narrows her eyes. “What rooms are on the northeast corner of the medical room?”

“That’s the OR,” I say without thinking about it.

“And what is between the lunch room and the formal dining room in the commons area?”

“A broom closet.”

She turns back to Tank and Jerry. “Sage knows it all.”

“But how?” Jerry asks.

“She has a photographic memory.”

“A what?” I ask.

Stella sits next to me, smiling. “A photographic memory. It means your brain takes snapshots of everything it sees. I knew it the first time I gave you a book to read. Do you remember? It was about the history of Purgatory Island. You read it in minutes and then when I asked you about it, you remembered every detail right down to the number of criminals who were first placed here.”

“Thirty-seven,” I say and my eyes go wide. I’ve always had a good memory, but I thought that’s all it was. No wonder Stella played all those memory games with me. She was testing me.

Tank whistles. “So our ordinary little Original isn’t so ordinary.”

My wonder quickly turns to panic. “Do you think my father injected me with some kind of pDNA?”

If he could do it to Max, he could've done it to me.

“The Institute would know if you had Prime DNA in you,” Stella says. “I’m sure they ran many tests to ensure the purity of your DNA.”

I relax a little. They had run lots of tests. If there had been even a hint of pDNA, they wouldn’t have pursued me as hard. “Then how come I have a photographic memory?”

“It’s rare, but there were Originals that had this gift. It’s just the way your brain is wired.” She pats my leg. “It’s a good thing.”

Tank crosses to the other side of the room, his head shaking back and forth. “How does this help us? You just wasted a bunch of time. Now I’m going to have to wait for Sage to copy everything down on paper for me.”

“She will do no such thing,” Stella says, her voice commanding. “Sage is going with you. She’s getting off this island.”

“What?” Tank and I say in unison. I say it with such force that a sharp pain stabs at my wound.

Stella lifts her chin just a little. “The information will stay in her head until she’s ready to get it out. Besides, HOPE needs her.”

Tank laughs, but turns it into a cough when I shoot him a sharp look.

“No offense,” he says, “but we don’t need her for a mission of this magnitude. She would do great in other areas but not combat. That’s for Primes only.”

“You’re wrong. She’s perfect for the job.”

“Explain,” Jerry says and returns to his chair.

She takes a deep breath. On her exhale, she says, “The security at Enfield rivals no other, mainly because of an electrical field that surrounds the whole place a mile wide. It’s set to electrify any Prime who isn’t wearing a special bracelet. Those bracelets have cameras built into their metal frames to ensure one hasn’t been stolen. Originals, however, are safe from the electrical field, with or without a bracelet.”

“But how does it distinguish an Original from a Prime or even animals?” Tank asks. He’s pacing the room.

“By their blood. The field is equipped with motion sensors. The second there’s movement, the trespasser is shot with a tiny, heat-seeking dart that pierces their skin. The trees are loaded with them.” Stella grimaces as if she’s remembering something painful. After a few seconds, she continues. “The dart reads the blood and transmits the information back to Enfield. Animal DNA is ignored, but anyone with pDNA gets zapped instantly. Dead.”

“And what about Originals?” I ask.

A shadow crosses her face. “They get shocked too, not as bad, but enough to cause an immense amount of pain. Then Enfield's security uses the dart to track their location.”

Tank stops moving. “Then how did you get away?”

“By taking the dart out before it shocked me.” Her jaw muscles bulge as if she’s grinding her teeth. "I had to be quick."

“But wouldn’t you just get shot again?” I ask.

She averts her eyes to the glowing fire. “I must’ve been shot dozens of times, but I didn’t stop ripping those things out of me. The pain wasn’t so bad in the beginning, just tiny pricks, but after awhile it felt like my flesh was on fire as more and more pierced my skin. I barely managed to remove them when another would hit me.”

No one in the room says anything. I don’t know about Jerry and Tank, but I’m horrified by the thought of what she must’ve gone through.

Stella continues. “Security came soon after. They knew there was an Original on the property, but because I kept taking the darts out they couldn’t track me. Eventually I escaped the electrical field. It was sheer luck I wasn't found.”

“What if we send a Prime in with a special suit?” Tank asks. “One that can’t be pierced?”

Stella shakes her head. “If they can’t get a DNA reading, they’ll electrocute whatever’s moving. I heard the guards talking about this on a few different occasions. It has to be an Original, and it has to be Sage.” She looks at me pointedly.

“But why?” Tank asks, coming close. “Why her?”

“Because whoever goes in there is going to need a lot of motivation to get through those darts.”

“What motivation do I have?” I ask, my nose scrunching.

Stella gives a small smile and takes my hand. “Because of your mother. She's inside.”

I
shake my head slowly
, staring into Stella's eyes as if she's an abstract painting. "It's not true. My mother died when I was twelve.”

She places her hands in her lap. “She came to Enfield about six months before I escaped. I knew you were her daughter the moment I saw you. I loved Scarlet. She saw me when no one else did—a lot like you Sage—and thought I was special. In a way, she saved me.”

Stella’s talking but I’m not listening. My heart’s thumping in my chest so hard I’m afraid it will break my ribs. I clutch the wound at my side, holding on to the pain.

Tank comes to me and places his hands on my shoulders. “You need to breathe.”

I shake him off, my mind racing with all kinds of questions. Most of them Stella couldn’t answer, but there was one she could.

“Does my father know?” I draw in a quick breath and hold it, terrified of the answer.

She rises from her seat and approaches me the way I might to a cornered rabbit. “Your father has done a lot for Originals—”

I jump to my feet. “I don’t care about any of that! Tell me! Does he know my mother is at Enfield?”

Stella’s gaze looks from Jerry to Tank, then finally rests on me. “When William found me, one of his first questions was about your mother. He wanted to know if I’d seen her.”

Her words turn the air in the room stale and thick. It presses against me, smothering my nose and mouth. I don’t want to breathe in, afraid the filthiness will blacken my throat, my stomach, my heart.

“I’m so sorry,” she says and reaches for me.

I stumble back, my vision beginning to blur. My father's betrayal hits me like a hammer.

“She’s turning white,” Jerry says.

Tank takes me by the shoulders and shakes me gently. “Breathe, Sage.”

“Get her brother,” Stella says to Jerry.

I don’t see or hear him leave. My knees buckle, but Tank supports me until I’m in a chair. Spots of red crowd my vision.

My. Mother. Is. Alive.

How long had I wished this after my father told me she had died? How many hours had I spent at her 'grave'? And all this time she was alive, and my father knew it. But that’s not the worst part.

The worst is
he didn’t do anything about it
.

I inhale finally. The air is more bitter than I thought, and I cough, a bark that stabs at my ribs and tears at my wound. Moisture wets my dry eyes, and my lips tingle. My vision slowly focuses. Tank is kneeling in front of me, his expression pained. Stella stands next to him, a single tear running down her wrinkled cheek.

I barely have enough saliva to say my next words. “Why didn’t he save her?”

Stella glances down at Tank, her chin quivering, and shakes her head as if to say she can’t answer.

“Your father couldn’t have saved her,” Tank says, accepting the task. “Haven’t you heard anything Stella has said? Only an Original can get through the electrical barrier. So let’s say William got the location out of Stella and went after her. Let’s say he made it in, and let’s say he found her. Then what? How would they get out? It’s not like your father had any real help back then. HOPE couldn't have been more than a few dozen strong.”

“They could’ve snuck out together,” I whisper.

Tank thinks about this. “Perhaps, but what were the odds they’d both survive?”

My gaze burns into him. “She was his wife! My mother!”

“And he had to make a tough choice,” Tank says, his voice matching the hardness of my own. “He still had two children at home, remember? Should he have left you behind? You were only twelve!"

“Did he have to tell us that she was dead?”

“I can't tell you why he chose to do that, but I’m sure he had his reasons, starting with protecting you and Max.”

“Protecting us from what?” Max asks from the doorway.

Tears drown my eyes and spill onto my cheeks when I see him. He rushes over to me, and I bury myself into his shoulders. I shouldn’t do this. I’m the strong one, but I can’t stop.

“What’s going on?” His little hands grip the back of my shirt.

“Oh, Max,” I say, breathing through great sobs. I can’t say anything else.

“It’s your mother,” Tank says. “We just found out she’s alive and imprisoned at Enfield.”

Max stiffens, but he doesn’t say anything. I sniff and try to pull myself together. For him. I straighten and wipe my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt, clearing my blurry vision. Max’s expression isn’t what I expect. He’s smiling.

“Mom’s alive?”

“But she’s trapped at Enfield.” Or was. It’s been five years. Who knows if she’s still alive? The thought of dealing with her death again almost breaks me a second time.

“Then we get her out,” he says, as if it’s the easiest thing in the world.

I blink. And then blink again, my eyes staring into his. He’s right. My father made his choice all those years ago, and now I’m going to make mine.

I’m going to save our mother.

“
I
s
there any way to free everyone at Enfield?” I ask, feeling stronger and more grounded. Max sits next to me holding my hand. He’s staring at the fire as it sputters and spits not far away.

Tank and Jerry are there too. Jerry is sitting behind his desk, leaning back. Tank, however, is pacing again. If he could, he would leave right now. It's not in his nature to be patient. He needs to be where the action is. Eden has very little of that.

Stella sits across from me and Max, her eyes red. A dim light above her shines onto her silver hair, giving it an iridescent glow.

“Your best option," she says to me, "is to sneak into their main security room and shut off the power to the electrical field. That will give the Primes the opportunity to break in. Do you remember where that room is?"

“North side,” I say. “Near the front gates. That doesn’t sound too hard.”

“But it will be. You have to have a special card to get into security. The guards that have them now live inside Enfield so it’s not like you can steal theirs without first getting inside, and then you would be going in blind because I know nothing about the guard's barracks.”

“How special is this card?”

She pauses briefly. “The most secure buildings in Enfield require one made with Ebony's DNA. You're going to need a hair or blood sample of hers.”

Tank stops pacing and huffs. "That's about impossible, but let's say we actually do it. It still won't be enough to create a security badge. We're going to need an actual card to duplicate."

"That's something I can't help with," Stella says.

"With the amount of technology you have access to," Jerry tells Tank, "I'm sure you can figure it out."

Tank nods his head as if thinking. "We need to get off this island. Tonight."

“That’s not a good idea,” Jerry says. “Because of the weather, we haven’t had a chance to inspect the tunnel leading to the sub. Parts of it could be collapsed, and you do not want to be out there at night.”

“Then at least let me use your communication system,” Tank insists. "Colt and the others don’t even know I’ve made it to the island. They probably think I’m still being held and tortured at the Institute.” He flinches at this last statement, making me wonder what exactly the Institute did to him.

Jerry moans, blowing air between his thick lips. “You know I can’t do that. It would put the lives of everyone here at risk.”

Max squeezes my hand, and I look at him reassuringly. Jerry would never do anything that might harm Originals.

“Then I’m leaving tonight,” Tank says, his voice growing loud. “HOPE is finally in a position where we can hurt the Institute, and the more time I spend here could mean an Original’s life. I don’t know about you, Jerry, but that’s why I signed on to this rebellion, to save the human race. Not hole up on some remote island.”

Jerry’s silence makes the room feel heavy. I’m holding my breath, waiting for his answer. We can’t do it without his help, just Tank and I.

“There’s only a handful of us that can pilot the sub, and I won’t ask anyone else to risk their lives.” Jerry nods to himself as if he’s confirming his choice. “I’ll do it. I’ll ask for a few others to come, volunteers of course, and we’ll take you as soon as we’re ready.”

And just like that the two begin making plans. Stella is standing closer to the fire as if she’s more interested in its heat than the men’s plans, but her head is tilted like she’s listening to every word. She stands still, so still that I can’t see the rise and fall of her chest as she breathes. I don’t think Jerry and Tank even realize she’s still here.

Max turns to me, his expression hopeful and his mouth open as if he’s about to ask me something big. I’m already shaking my head, thinking he’s going to insist that he comes with us, but this isn’t what he says.

“You have to save Mom,” he pleads. “And bring her back with Dad. I want to be a family again. Promise me.”

I wrap my arms around him, but don’t say anything. How can I? I don’t even know if our mom’s still alive, and my father… his work takes precedent over us. He’s already proven that. Instead I say, “I’ll come back as soon as I can. I swear it.”

He leans away from me. "I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to call you selfish."

I take his hands in mine. "It's me that's sorry. It's been hard for me to get used to the new you. I miss the boy that needed me for everything, and I guess it's taking me a while to figure out my new role as just a regular big sister." I smile and squeeze his hands. "I'm so glad you're happy and thriving here, and I never would do anything to hurt you. I think that sometimes I get so focused on an idea that I don't stop to think about how my actions will hurt the people around me. I really am sorry."

Max hugs me again.

I rub his back, but he pushes away from me suddenly, his eyes wide, as if he’s suddenly remembered something. “I want you to take something with you.”

“What?” I ask.

He stands abruptly nearly knocking over his chair. “I’ll be right back.”

As soon as he’s gone, I join Jerry and Tank on the other side of the room by Jerry’s desk. Jerry looks ridiculously small next to Tank.

“We don’t need that many,” Tank is saying. “Two, maybe three, should be fine.”

Jerry shakes his head. “You don’t know what it’s like out there, especially at night. It’s when the worst of the Techheads’ creations come out, and they are ruthless.”

“Fine,” Tank says, his voice deeper than usual. “But hurry. I’m wasting time.”

“I’ll go recruit some people right now.” Jerry stands. “Give me one hour.”

A thought occurs to me before he leaves the room. “Ask Link, Jerry. I bet he’ll want to come.”

“Link,” Jerry says out loud, as if he’s considering him as an option. “Good idea.”

When he leaves the room I turn to Stella, startling her by my suddenness. “Do you think my mother is still alive? And please be honest.”

It takes her a moment to answer, and I fear the worst. I’ll be mourning her death again before I can celebrate her life.

“Yes. Your mother is a fighter, just like you. I saw it in her eyes the moment we met. But life was tough there," she's quick to say. "Ebony did some horrible things to your mother when she first arrived, some things that may have changed her. You need to promise me something, Sage."

I let go of the breath I'd been holding to say, "Anything."

Her voice lowers, as if she wants only me to hear her next words. "It has to be you who saves your mother. Do you understand? You are the only one who will be able to get through to her."

Rolling my fingers into fists, I whisper, "What did they do to her?"

Stella must’ve seen the color I felt draining from my face, because she speaks quickly. “You don't need to concern yourself with that. Your mother is strong. She had plans to change things at Enfield and then go back for her children.”

“She spoke about us?”

“When she could. We were watched most of the time, but sometimes I was paired with her to work in the gardens. She loved you both dearly.”

I grit my teeth together, thinking how difficult it must've been for her to be trapped in that place. "I can't believe Dad didn't try to save her!"

This catches Tank's attention, and he turns away from the window he was looking out. "I'm sure there's an explanation. Your father would've saved her if he could."

“Really,” I say, my voice suddenly bitter. “Like the way he saved me and Max from the Institute?”

“Look, I'm just saying that you don't know the whole story. Wait until you talk to him."

I’m about to say something I would most likely regret, but Link appears in the doorway, out of breath and smiling. “You guys need my help to get off the island?”

Tank’s eyes narrow, probably concerned about Link’s age. “Are you the best Jerry can get?”

“Link is good,” I say. “He’s one of our best fighters.”

Link walks to my side and drapes his arm across my shoulders. To Tank he says, “I do my best, just like you."

Tank wrinkles his nose, looking from me to Link and back again. “Are you two together? Like, together, together?”

I immediately step away from Link, and his arm drops to his side. “Just friends,” I say, then hurry and ask Link, “Who else is Jerry getting?”

“Layla, Renny, and Smoke.”

“I don’t think you should take that many,” Stella says, surprising us all with her voice. Once again she’s managed to become a part of the room. She steps away from it and into our circle. “I have watched the forest at night from the wall, the way it responds to movement and sounds. With just the two of you, you may go unnoticed, but with more you’ll disrupt the balance. Those creatures who rule the night will sense it and be upon you in minutes.”

“Tell that to Jerry,” Tank says. “I don’t think anyone can change his mind.”

“We need to get our packs,” Link says. “And Jerry said to get one for you too, Tank.”

“I want to pick out my own gear,” Tank says.

“This way.” Link guides him from the room. His shoulders are pulled back, and his chin is out as if he’s leading an army to victory. I realize then that this is probably a dream come true for him: gearing up his hero.

Stella turns to me and smiles. "I have complete faith in you, but remember what I said. You are the only one who can save your mother.”

I nod and motion toward the door with my head. “I better go find Max. He should've been back by now.”

“You take care and always remember what makes you special.”

The way she says it, her voice soft, yet commanding, has me looking at her strangely. “Okay. And thanks for giving me this chance to leave. It won’t be wasted.”

“I know it won’t.”

I leave the room, my chest so light I feel I could fly. I'm finally getting off the island.