“Yes, please come in, Elijah,” Royce said as he stepped past us and joined the man at his side. “Elijah underwent extraction five months ago. He has fully recovered with no traces of cybernetics left.”
Saying this man had fully recovered seemed like a cruel joke. He wore an eye patch and I understood why. The eyes were usually the first thing to turn. Half of his face looked like it had been rubbed over the crumbling road, and not let up for hours. The short sleeved shirt he wore exposed the pocked and scarred skin of his arms. His hands looked similar.
“Elijah had been on scouting duty when a Hunter cornered him. As you know, one touch is all it takes. One of our other scouts killed the Hunter and brought him back here. It had only been just over a half an hour when he started the treatment.”
“How long did it take?” Avian asked. I saw him swallow hard. I wondered if he was thinking of Tye, like I was.
“Almost three weeks,” Elijah said. His voice was as rough sounding as the rest of his body looked.
“This is really amazing,” Avian said, shaking his head. He just kept blinking, as if what he was seeing would disappear at any moment. I didn’t blame him. This didn’t seem real.
“I must get back to my duties,” Elijah said, looking over at Royce.
“Of course,” he said. “Thank you for coming.” Elijah stepped out of the room and I heard his footsteps fade down the hall.
“I see no reason for you not to stay,” Royce said as he turned and looked at the four of us. “We can keep you fed, keep you safe, comfortable. I think we have an obligation to keep the human race alive. We all do.
“But, I understand that you need everyone to make a decision. We can send vehicles after the rest of your group if you like. We have military tanks that will keep any Fallen out and there is room enough for all the members you brought with you.”
I could feel my brain clouding up again. This was too much, too fast. I needed more time to process everything, to sort it all out. Luckily, Avian was clear-headed as always.
“If we could have a bit of time alone to discuss this, it would be appreciated,” he said, glancing at West, Tuck, and I.
“Of course,” Royce nodded. “You’re welcome to use one of the offices if you’d like, or you have your rooms. I will be in my office if you need me.”
We followed Royce back to the elevator. I felt like I was suffocating in this tiny box. Everything was pressing in too close, including West. I gasped in the air as the doors slid open and we stepped out.
West…
My brother…
Breathe, Eve. Focus.
We entered into an empty room just a few doors down from Royce’s office. It was devoid of anything but two wooden chairs. I took one as soon as we entered.
“This is amazing,” West said as he closed the door behind us. “I wondered how they kept them away here but I never would have imagined it was through wireless communication.”
“And that extractor is incredible,” Avian said, the same excitement in his voice.
I could only squeeze my eyes closed and try to subdue the rolling of my stomach that hadn’t stopped since I had talked with Dr. Beeson. I didn’t want to be around West right then, I couldn’t look at him. I just wanted to run and never stop.
“I see no reason we shouldn’t go get everyone else,” West said as he slowly paced the room. Even the sound of his voice felt grating.
“If they have military tanks they would probably be safe to even go out during the day,” Tuck said quietly. “Not that they would, but it would be better than us trying to sneak out and get them ourselves.”
“I agree,” Avian said. Even the sound of his voice wasn’t soothing to me in that moment. “What do you think Eve?”
My stomach gave a little jump and I had to purse my lips closed to keep everything in my system down. I just gave a little nod of agreement. I honestly didn’t know what to think on the matter. My brain wasn’t really working.
“Are you feeling okay?” Avian asked as he squatted down in front of me. I couldn’t even meet his eyes. He pressed the back of his hand to my forehead. “You’re freezing. And you’re clammy. Are you sick?”
I managed another nod.
West… My brother… Our parents… Family…
Breathe.
“I didn’t think you could get sick,” he said as he placed his hands on either side of my face. “I think I’d better stay here. The two of you are going to need to go with Royce’s people to get everyone tonight, to prove that this is all real. And don’t force anyone if they don’t want to come. It’s still their decision.”
“Maybe I should stay too,” I heard West say as he took another step towards me.
“No!” I tried to shout but it came out as more of a drugged sounding mumble.
Avian gave me a confused glance before looking back up at West. “You should go with Tuck. You’re in charge now.”
I didn’t even realize that West and Tuck had left the room and that Avian had picked me up in his arms. I barely registered the lights overhead as they came and went as we moved down the hall and into the elevator. Some time later, I felt a bed underneath me and Avian’s blue eyes came into focus. I caught sight of someone else in the room but it didn’t seem to matter who it was.
“What’s wrong, Eve?” Avian’s voice sounded fuzzy. I just blinked, staring at him through the haze of my brain.
Everything was wrong.
Something was pressed into my ear and it beeped a few moments later. “Ninety-eight exactly. Not too far from normal temperature.”
Something was placed around my arm and it gave a tight squeeze. Something else was clipped onto my finger. “Blood pressure is low and her pulse is racing.”
“She’s in shock,” Avian said quietly as he placed his hands on my cheeks again. “But why?”
“Nurse,” the other voice called. “Grab a few blankets and get an IV bag.”
Some kind of mask was placed over my nose and mouth, forcing air into my system. I felt some pressure in the crease of my arm and a while later, felt something cool start spreading through my system. Something warm was tucked around me and my head became all the fuzzier.
“Eve,” someone’s voice called through the haze. “Eve, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
A lot had happened, I thought. I’d learned who my mother was. I’d learned how I’d come to be in this world. I had some sort of idea who my father might be.
But I’d also learned that the boy I had developed some sort of feelings for, the boy I had kissed, and spent intimate time with, might be my brother.
I’d learned I might have a family member still alive.
I could handle being attacked by robots. I could handle watching our beloved gardens burn. I could survive losing Sarah. I had handled living in a world that had fallen apart.
But I didn’t know how to handle this.
I think I slept. I didn’t remember what happened after that and I had no idea how much time had passed when my eyes focused on the dimmed lights above my head. My hair stuck to my forehead and neck as I turned my head to see where I was. I laid on one of the strange skeletal looking beds and there were tubes and wires sticking to and in my body. They led to a screen that beeped and flashed things I didn’t understand.
I looked the other way, my cheek brushing the top of Avian’s recently shaven head. His head rested right next to my shoulder, my left hand held loosely in his. As I brushed against him, his head jerked up. The whites of his eyes were red, his entire face tired looking. He looked like he hadn’t slept for a while.
“Hey,” he said, a small smile forming on his lips. He squeezed my hand tighter. “How do you feel?”