Chapter 9: A New Day
For Eve, seeing Laura again was almost surreal, especially seeing her on an equal footing. Eve had once depended on her for everything. Laura had never been afraid to be with her in her enclosure in the Lab, but she had always been able to leave, where Eve could not. It remained unsaid, but they both knew this new dynamic would have to be taken one day at a time.
There had been surprisingly few words between them last night, not in an awkward way, however, Eve knew, she sensed that Laura felt the same way. For Laura too, it just hadn't been real, until it was. Eve had been so nervous she hadn't been able to stop trembling. No doubt Laura had felt it, when she hugged her tighter.
When they had finally released their embrace, Laura's eyes were red and swollen, as were her own. So much had happened to them both. Five years, their lives, once inextricably linked, had gone in very different directions, and neither of them really knew where to start, but, according to the others, this was a safe place for the time being, so time was what they had.
They had joined the others inside where they had actually had a hot meal, Eve's last attempt to have a normal meal while sitting in a park had set all these events into motion. There was no way she could've known that there was a new online campaign designed to catch her. On rare occasions she could pass through a small population unnoticed, though she mainly kept to herself in difficult to reach locations.
There had been some small talk once they joined the others, but nothing significant. Press and Dan caught up a little. Press and Laura's previous safe house had been located near Seattle, with Dwayne Lee up north with Dan and Ȧlvarez, Press and Laura had driven across three states.
They had taken an indirect route, sticking to back roads. They commented on seeing beautiful scenery, but a long and tiring journey. What was normally a twenty four hour drive had taken closer to forty, but that was the price one paid for trying to remain inconspicuous.
As for Eve, she had known the moment was coming and had tried to bury her nerves on her own long journey by sitting in the cockpit with Dwayne Lee and learning everything she could about operating the plane. Eve had memorized every switch he had touched from the moment he took off to the moment he landed and studied every aspect of the controls. She was fairly confident she could operate that plane, if she should ever have the need.
After a while, the night reached its natural conclusion, it was decided that they would all get some rest and catch up the following day, after which, they had dispersed to the various guest buildings on the property. Eve had taken up in one of the guest houses with Ȧlvarez.
Eve found herself laying awake for a while, just processing what had just happened before finally drifting off. She had awoken before dawn, as was her habit, it was the best time to hunt, scavenge, or if need be, to look for things to steal. Unable to get back to sleep, she had decided to go out and explore the property.
The guest house was like two attached hotel rooms inside a common area with two bedrooms. Each with their own attached bathroom, allowing her to shower and dress without waking Ȧlvarez.
Eve quietly stepped out, pulling the door closed gently, and immediately noticed that fresh, crisp snow had fallen, not much, a light dusting, she had smelled it in the air last night.
She knew by now that, further north, where she had been, it would likely be colder by now. Eve had walked from her camp at a leisurely pace before reaching that gas station with the kid who had looked at her with starry eyes, then it had taken a further two weeks to reach that park where the fight occurred, it was now mid-October and, it seemed winter was set to come early this year, which meant that it would be long and harsh.
Eve looked around, this place was enormous, she wasn't sure which direction to go, until she just decided to start walking. It felt strange, her routine often involved moving around before the sun came up, but not like this. This was something new, to which she would have to adapt for the time being.
It was the second time in as many days she had woken up in a warm room, under a roof, and not in her bedroll in the middle of a cold forest. It was the second time in as many days she'd been able to take a hot shower, normally she would have to find a creek or lake when she wanted to get clean. She did miss the hot spring she found, that was a big part of why she had camped in that area for so long.
Normally, right now, she wouldn't be casually wandering a place like this, she'd be stalking game trails, following scents, searching for prey. Or if she was in need of gear, she would be searching the outbuildings of properties that backed onto the forest, or anywhere that looked unoccupied.
There were a couple of older barns which she ignored, though it didn't appear as if animals were being kept here. Behind the barns was an orchard, though the few leaves that still clung were ready to fall.
Eve wished she could've seen it in the summer… she hoped she would and then immediately pushed those thoughts aside. Eve knew better than to hope, or to plan for any future beyond the immediate. Especially anything that didn't involve an escape route. If she was being fully honest with herself, that was what she was looking for right now, should it be needed.
Up until recently, her only plan was to head west to the Bering sea. Not the most solid goal, she had come up with the idea the night before leaving her camp after spending less than ten minutes looking at a map, it gave her a rough direction.
From where she was in the Northwest Territories, if she had carried on her original path West, she would have crossed the Yukon into Alaska, from there it would have been a matter of finding a way to quietly cross the Bering Sea and lose herself in the Siberian expanse, then she could have gone to any of a number of places she had read about that interested her.
That relatively simple plan hadn't worked out, because now she was back in the US, thousands of miles south of where she had started. Her new goals, should she decide to help the others in their effort to expose this new underground project, as well as the government, would be significantly more complicated, and come with much more risk. She knew she would have to be more alert, read the rhythms of those around her and have a quick exit strategy should she sense any deception.
Following the sound of flowing water, she made her way to the northern perimeter of the property. Beyond the orchard, the ground rose into a tall rocky crag that overlooked the entire area. Eve easily climbed to the top and was able to see everything for miles, a river, several open fields, the entire property and the forest that bordered its northern edge on the far side of the river.
If anything happens, that's my out. Through the orchard, over the rocks, cross the river, into the cover of the trees, then just keep going, done it all before She thought. Though she also hoped it wouldn't come to that.
Eve had not lied to Ȧlvarez, and had every intention of giving this a chance…there's that hope again, Eve decided she would allow herself that small measure of it, and that, in turn, might allow her to integrate into the new situation in which she found herself.
If she was ever going to find her daughter, this was probably her best, and possibly, only chance at doing so. The sky was clear and cold, with the bright crescent moon and the last few stars still visible. Eve knew if she stayed up here a while longer, it would be a perfect place to watch the sunrise.
Eve sat down on the highest rock and waited, taking in the wide open space and cold, fresh air. She felt it permeate her lungs with each intake of breath.
Eve thought of Dennis Gamble, Patrick's friend and fellow crew member of the Excursion mission. All this was his, having taken up an official office. The memory of him brought with it a small feeling of guilt. Gamble had once tried to connect with her in the Lab, back then she would have given anything to meet anyone new, he seemed like a good man, he had a kind smile, but her senses had picked up on an unseen abnormality within him and instinct demanded rejection.
Thus, Eve had treated him dismissively, but now, years down the line, when she had found herself in need, and he had opened his home to her, even knowing what she was.
Interacting with the transient and homeless while on her travels had taught Eve a few things about kindness and understanding.
Eve had learned to control her instinctual side, it no longer dominated her decision making paradigm. Whenever Gamble arrived, she would ignore whatever her senses told her and thank him for his kindness. No doubt the man was taking serious risks by harboring any one of them, but all of them, he must really believe in what they were doing.
Eve watched as the bright orange light finally crested the horizon and washed over the land towards her, and thought of how, in a strange way, she'd gone in one giant, five year long circle, to end up right back with Laura again, albeit this time with the benefit of not being held captive in a glass cage.
It was only then that Eve became aware she was being watched, she sensed it before she saw it, catching a scent.
Her eyes scanned out beyond the river to a small area where the forest reached the far shore…. there it stood, staring back at her.
A normal human, at that distance, may not have been able to pick out the large White Wolf in the snow and brush on the far side, but Eve was no human.
Eve had seen more wildlife than people in the past couple of years, she had learned all their patterns, when they hunted, what they hunted, when they rested, their routines and migrations, their breeding cycles and all their behaviors.
She knew it was an older Grey Wolf, Eve had seen them in the wilderness before, sometimes, with age, their fur became lighter, but it was rare to see one this white.
Eve thought of the nights she'd spent in the forests of the far north, lying awake in her bedroll, staring up through the trees at the night sky and just listening to them howl across the mountains and valleys.
Eve was good at imitating things she saw and heard, it had taught her skills she'd used to survive. On a few occasions, she had waited for the howls to die down and then imitate the sound. On most occasions it would start a new chain of howls stretching into the distance.
Now, Eve just stared back, savoring the moment. The Wolf tilted its head slightly as it regarded her. It seemed to understand that the individual whom it was looking at, stood apart from all natural life on this earth.
After a few moments, the Wolf turned and started back into the forest, taking one last curious look at her with another tilt of its head, before vanishing into the trees.
"Yeah… I know" Eve sighed.
Eve closed her eyes and felt the light of the sun on her face, it had no real warmth, it was just something she liked to do whenever she could.
She became lost in thought. So much had happened in the past two days, but that wasn't true, something had been happening to her for a while. Should I just come out and tell Laura. Eve wondered how she would even explain to Laura and the rest that she believed the alien entity that had transmitted the message across space was actually trying to contact her in her dreams, not only that, but she had seen a glimpse of it while awake too. It seemingly had a plan for her, a plan she wanted no part of.
It was only when she heard the sound of muffled, crunching footsteps approaching that she knew she'd lost track of time.
"Hay…comfy up there?" Press's voice brought her back to the here and now. Looking down, she saw him standing at the base of the rocks, his tracks through the snow appeared to have come from the opposite direction, the outermost edge of the property… so he hadn't followed her. "You alright? What are you doing out here by yourself?"
It felt strange to hear Press ask her that question "Just… clearing my head, couldn't sleep" she offered. "Been up there long?" he asked, raising a hand to shield his eyes against the bright sunrise. "Maybe an hour… being in a bed, in a room…feels weird, I'm used to.. this" she said, gesturing to the wilderness beyond the river, she was used to being out in the elements.
Press turned and looked across the river, he seemed to consider that for a moment, then nodded "Well, the others are going to the main house. C'mon, I'm gonna finish up and we'll get something to eat".
"Finish up?" she asked. "Yeah, checking the perimeter?"
Still feeling slightly nervous, but also curious, Eve slid herself down off the rocks, stepping off the fifteen foot outcropping to land effortlessly next to him with a feline grace. It was only when seeing the momentary expression of surprise on his face that she realized she would never have done that in front of anyone else, perhaps it was subconscious, no point in hiding it here. It was strange how she accepted that everyone here had seen her in her true form and knew who and what she was, that in itself was a strange feeling.
"C'mon" he said after a moment, and started to make his way around the outer perimeter of the property. Every few hundred yards, he would check on small devices hidden in the ground, covering them with sticks or leaves.
Eve studied what he was doing "What are these things?". Press leaned down to throw some leaves over the small device "They're motion sensors, got them from a friend of mine, they'll give us a few minutes heads-up if anyone gets too close". "What happens if they do?" Eve asked.
"Well, did you see those woods on the other side of the river?" Press said, getting up. Eve turned to where he was pointing "Yeah". "Gamble's well prepared, there's a covered truck with some supplies about a mile into those woods, he knew what he was getting into by helping us".
Eve looked around and then… up… remembering how they had come down on the jet packs "What if they drop out of the sky again? I'm sure Consuela told you about that". Press shrugged "Yeah, that was an escalation, but we've covered all the bases we can".
"This place really is safe, right?" Eve asked. Press looked around, thought for a moment and then nodded reassuringly "Yeah, we're good, it just pays to be thorough. It's a Senator's place, between that, my motion sensors and your alien spidey senses I'd say we're pretty much covered". He grinned.
Eve felt herself suddenly at ease and actually worked up from a smirk to a laugh "Alien spidey senses?". "Didn't know if you'd get that reference, glad you did" he said, walking on.
"TV was my life in the Lab, remember?". "I remember you learned to drive by watching that old Dukes of Hazzard show… or so Laura told me".
Eve smiled at the memory, that show had always managed to lift her spirits in the lab "I haven't thought about that in a long time… haven't driven anything in a long time either".
"Dwayne, our pilot said you were showing a lot of interest in his plane yesterday?" Press asked. "I was nervous about this, about coming here, meeting you and Laura again. Learning the controls on the plane took my mind off it" Eve gave him a half smile.
"Gotta ask" Press began again "How do you like your new found internet fame?" he said with a slight smile. Although Press presented as relaxed around her, his internal rhythms told a slightly different story. He's still not sure about me she thought, but he's trying, just like me.
"I don't" she said abruptly. But realizing that she had just killed a dialogue, she added "But I did like some of the things people wrote".
"Yeah, Laura and I read some of that on the drive out here" he said "Funny how people speculate so close to the truth". Eve paused and considered how the incident in the park, and also her presence affected their situation. "I'm sorry.. I ….I know it probably increased all of your risk… bringing me here".
Press seemed to grunt in agreement "I don't think even Burgess was betting on that happening, on it blowing up like that. It just means we're gonna have to be more careful how we operate".
He was avoiding it, so Eve decided to gently broach the core of the subject "Not just that, I mean having me around like this, un-contained, it's not what you're used to and I know it can't be easy for you".
Press stopped walking and turned to face her, Eve felt herself begin to bristle and immediately pushed the feeling aside. "Look Eve, none of that matters anymore, there's really only one thing I should be saying to you" there was a small pause as he set himself to say it… "and that's thank you".
Eve tilted her head, suddenly confused "Thanks for what?". He made a strong eye contact that almost made her want to look away, but she held his gaze. "Thanks, because you saved my ass with Patrick that night… I never got the chance to say it so I'm saying it now. I know both Laura and Gamble feel the same way".
Now she did look away as the memories of that night resurfaced. She felt a lump in her throat but fought it back down. Eve wasn't willing to show any weakness, but Press seemed to pick up on her initial reaction "Eve…the fact of the matter is, It's a new day now…the game's changed for all of us".
Eve looked up and met his eyes again and nodded, feeling her nerves and the knot in her stomach slowly evaporate as she exhaled, "So I'm not Sil Lite anymore huh?" bringing out an unexpected laugh from Press, "Can't believe you remembered that". They continued to walk, steadily making their way back around to the main house.
"I have so many things to tell Laura" Eve sighed. "She has a few things to tell you too, c'mon, we'll grab some breakfast with the others then Laura and I will bring you up to speed" Press said.
By the time Eve made her way up to the main house with Press, she felt at ease around him and she sensed his heartbeat and internal rhythms had settled in her presence too.
The main house was big, it had a beautiful furnished wood and red brick exterior and a large, open porch. Eve noticed when she rounded one side of the house, that one wall of the living room and the upstairs hall was one big window to the outside.
When she stepped inside, Eve also noted a small look between Laura and Press when they walked in together. Laura had given him a very subtle smile. Eve was under no illusion that prior to her arrival, Press had likely been against this idea. He had probably been talked into it, and now Laura was happy to see him trying. His honesty about that night with Patrick had been unexpected..but a relief.
What followed, for Eve, was, at once the strangest, and probably the most normal thing she had ever done. She went into the main house and had breakfast with the rest of them and talked. They were as curious to hear what she had been doing for the past five years as she was about them.
"You ok? I was a little worried when I saw you were gone?" Álvarez said. "I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk" she said. Álvarez made eye contact and subtly raised an eyebrow, Eve knew she was concerned that Eve might have been unable to sleep because of another connection episode. Eve gave her a half smile and subtly shook her head, saying it without saying it It's ok, I just couldn't sleep.
Álvarez appeared to accept this "Then we'll make it a morning thing from now on while we're here, we'll go for a run around the place". "I'd like that" Eve smiled. "I'll head out later and get you some more clothes.
Eve and Álvarez had become fast friends and then, much more, during her time in Mexico, Consuela had sheltered Eve for a while in the aftermath of the attack. Being with her again felt like they had hardly been apart.
"In a couple of days or so, I can get you a new ID and docs, then if you're careful you should be able to move around some" Press said.
"Thank you" Eve said, then she looked around the rest of them "Thank you….. for this"
"It's just good to have you back, Eve, I looked for you for so long" Laura said "But not for them, not after what you did for us that night". Dan came and sat next to her "They even tried to get me to help find you at one point, you know" Dan said "I said no. That Colonel, I really didn't like the look of that guy".
"Nobody who meets him likes the look of him" Laura said with an obvious negative tone, prompting a collective chuckle from the others. "Let's not think about him while we're eating" Press said.
"How long have you been involved in this, Dan?" Eve asked. Dan smiled "Oh, from the beginning, I've had some contact with Press and Laura since they tried to blow the whistle, it wasn't easy, but I followed their progress through Dennis Gamble".
"A few days, maybe a week, he's gonna come and join us" Press added.
"I heard a couple of things about Dan, but I didn't actually meet him until a few days ago" Álvarez interjected "But I'm glad he's with us".
"When that whole online thing to find you started happening, I knew I couldn't sit on the bench anymore" Dan said "By that point, I'd learned enough about you to know you didn't deserve it". Eve nodded and smiled.
"Won't they come after you now?" Eve asked. Dan thought for a moment "Nobody saw me, so I should still be OK for now, I can keep helping where possible".
Eve made a mental note of that, knowing how quickly he found her once he started, he may be able to repeat that with her daughter.
"Don't any of you have family, how do they feel about all this?" Eve asked, then gestured at Álvarez "I know you have your three Brothers, Consuela".
"Sometimes we stay with them" Laura said. "They know what we're doing, and they know the accusations against us are Bullshit, pardon my french" Press added. "I have a Sister in New York" Dan said "She's a detective". "I met her before all this a couple of times, Olivia Smithson's a tough lady" Press said.
"I gotta call her later, she's been working overtime the past few weeks" Dan added. Press nodded "Yeah I bet". They both realized that Eve was interested but that she had no idea what they were talking about.
"There's a huge gang war going on in the city right now and she's part of a task force handling it" Dan said.
"Part of the reason I chose the forests and not the cities to hide" Eve said.
Dan looked thoughtful, and Eve remembered he was an Empath, she had closed herself off the previous day, but this morning she had felt more relaxed, he was likely sensing her emotions again. She didn't mind so much this time.
"On a related note, can I ask you how long you stayed in that busted out old camper?" Dan asked
Eve gulped in surprise "What? You found that place?". Álvarez piped up "He had me traipsing through the woods for almost a whole day, backtracking from that Gas Station, I had no idea what was going on".
"I…I was there through the summer, then I left to head West from there to the sea". She said shyly, then rolled her eyes "Then I was walking near that park and the burgers smelled so good I decided to stop… well you know what happened next. Stupid really, I had protein bars on me".
Laura leaned in "When they put out that wanted poster, for the first couple of weeks, nothing, I gotta say I started to get worried, then all of a sudden, you just walk out of the woods to buy protein bars and water, I gotta say I didn't expect you to be all the way up there".
Eve tilted her head slightly "Where did you think I was?". Laura paused for a moment "I dunno, a city, somewhere with a lot of people, you always talked about wanting to meet people".
Eve thought for a moment "When I first escaped, I bounced around everywhere, I found my way to Chicago first, then Detroit, then I spent some time just travelling around the Midwest, that's when I got shot in that house". That caused a murmur though the rest of them, they all clearly knew about that incident.
"Yeah, that didn't really go anywhere, most people thought it was fake eventually and the government did a decent job of squashing it. I went out there in the search team, but you were long gone by the time I arrived" Laura said.
Eve continued "After that, I started heading south, and stayed away from towns for a while. I crossed the border and not too long after that I ran into Consuela".
"And I wish you had stayed" Álvarez said with a smile, prompting Eve to exchange a knowing look with her, nobody apart from possibly Dan picked up on its meaning and he didn't say anything". There was a slight pause, Eve regretted not staying in contact with Álvarez. "Anyway after that I just slowly worked my way north".
"Wait, hold on a second" Press said "Straight West from where you were? That's the Bering Sea…that was your plan?" Press looked incredulous. Eve shrugged "Yeah, I was gonna cross the Yukon, then keep going to the coast and find a way to get across".
"Did you have a place in mind or were you just gonna see where you ended up?" Laura asked. Eve noticed Press had leaned slightly forward, as had Álvarez, it was clear they were all interested.
Eve shifted, slightly embarrassed "I… last year, I broke into a house looking for supplies, but while I was there I found books about people who had traveled across Siberia, Tibet, India and the Steppe. The journey took everything they had, but I knew I could do it. I also knew that nobody would be looking for me there".
She noticed how they all just listened, nobody judging her for activities, Eve was never proud of stealing from people, it was just something she did from time to time, to get her hands on fresh clothes, any gear she needed, occasionally she would find money.
"I've been to some of those places when I was younger" Dan said "I do actually think you would have liked it". Laura smiled and nodded to herself "Well I suppose if anyone could make a journey like that, it'd be you" Laura sat forward "I backpacked through Nepal right out of college, and you're right, it would have been very difficult for anyone to find you out there".
"I'd never really been anywhere before I hooked up with you guys" Álvarez said "I never thought I'd be here, eating breakfast in a US Senator's pad".
"Not for the first time" Press said to Álvarez, who thought for a moment "Yeah, but still, if Forbes hadn't chosen my town to set up his little freakshow in my town, I'd never have met any of you, or been anywhere… no offence by the way".
Eve chuckled at that "None taken, the one's he made weren't like me…".
"Right, they were cheap knock off's. Dollar store Hombre's compared to you" Álvarez said, she and Eve both laughed and the others followed.
Eve had forgotten the last time she had been made to feel this… welcome.
After they finished up, Eve took the opportunity to wander around the house, and almost immediately regretted it when she entered the living room.
She had seen into the room from the outside through the large floor to ceiling window, had she spotted it from the outside, she may not have been so quick to enter the room.
On one wall, there was a large photo spread on a canvas, it was dated the day before the Excursion Mission launch.
The picture was of the Excursion crew and their families, Dennis Gamble was a bachelor, but an older couple and a younger man were with him, possibly his parents and a brother. On the other side was Anne Sampas and her husband, together with her mother and some family members. Central in the picture was Patrick Ross, his arm around his young wife, Melissa, and his father standing behind. Patrick's smile was wide, he was practically beaming, as was Melissa. His father's smile was more reserved.
As he smiled back at her from the picture, Eve felt all her previous elation from the morning and the lighthearted banter around the table slowly evaporate, and she felt herself beginning to well up again.
The photo was taken the day before the biggest undertaking of all their lives and they all looked happy and hopeful… Patrick looked happy, he knew nothing of what awaited him on that barren rock, the rest of them knew nothing of the horror that would return with them.
Eve closed her eyes and her head sank as she looked away. So caught in the moment was she, that she hadn't noticed Laura approach. "Are you ok? What's the matter…?" Laura realized part way through the question what was wrong and partly trailed off.
"Oh… I'm sorry, do you want to be alone?". Laura said. Eve felt Laura's hand brush her arm. "No, it's just…they all look so happy, don't they?" Eve uttered, her voice becoming slightly shaky.
"Eve, none of this was your fault, you know that right?". "Why does it feel like it is? All those people". Laura gently pulled Eve's arm to turn her so they were facing each other.
"Listen, there's plenty of blame to go around for what happened, but none of it is on you, the people behind that Mars mission were warned that there could be something waiting up there and they ignored it… as for who's really to blame… well, they're very far away from here" Laura gave a throwaway upward gesture, obviously in reference to whoever was responsible for both the ancient decimation of Mars, and also later, the Signal that the project would use to create Sil and then later, Eve herself.
"I know, it just feels that way... I've had a long time to think about this" Eve said, looking back at the canvas photo "I never did meet that man, not really… he was happy with her, he wouldn't have wanted anything to do with something like me. What I met, it wasn't him…that man never came back from Mars".
"Someone like you, Eve" Laura corrected her, and repeated for emphasis "Someone". Eve felt Laura's hand drop down into hers and gave a gentle squeeze "Someone else out there has been doing this for a long time, while we're all fighting over it down here".
Eve knew at that moment that she wasn't going to keep it to herself anymore. "If you could say anything to whoever sent that signal, what would you say?".
Laura thought for a moment and began to usher Eve away from the photograph and they made their way outside to the house's long porch to get some air, where they sat on a long outdoor bench looking out across the wider expanse of the property.
"What would I say to them…? That's… I don't think I've ever thought about it.. I mean, who knows if they're even still around" Laura thought for a few more moments then added "I suppose I'd ask them why they did it, if they knew what would happen, if they knew how much pain they'd caused to so many people, you, me, Álvarez, Patrick and all the rest".
"Laura…." Eve trailed off….
"What is it?" Laura patiently waited for Eve to find the words. "Whoever did all this… It's not a "they", and it's definitely still around".
Laura looked confused "What do you mean?". Eve took a few moments to formulate how she was going to approach explaining it.
"Remember you… enhanced me, awakened my other side, made me more powerful so I could connect with Patrick?" Eve said. Laura nodded "That's not something I'm likely to ever forget" she said as she took hold of Eve's hand. "Well, the connection I felt… I've been feeling it again…" Eve said.
Laura leaned in closer "Well, we know there are still some of Patrick's offspring out there, and some others?".
"No" Eve said, "I felt their presence when I found my way into Patrick's barn, and then later… in the ambulance…" Eve trailed off again, the pain of the memory slipping in, but she felt Laura squeeze her hand, anchoring her in the moment and what she was trying to explain.
Laura's warm grip was steadying, supportive and gave Eve what she needed to carry on. "They're powerful, but nothing like this… this is…" Eve made the same upward gesture Laura made inside, but not a throwaway gesture, more defined and deliberate "The One who started all this".
Laura's eyes went wide for a moment and took another moment to collect herself "Eve, are you saying that who.. whatever sent that message has been trying to connect with you?"
Eve nodded, her eyes welled up as she found the words "In my dreams, for months now, it shows me things, It wants me for something…but I don't know what. I just know I want it to stop".
Laura seemed to take a breath and think for a moment, but her grip never wavered. "I don't know what it all means, Eve, and the way we are right now, I can't promise I can help, but I'm here…whatever you need" She squeezed a little harder to emphasize the point.
"Thank you" Eve said, feeling relief at being able to say it to someone. She had mentioned it to Álvarez at the safe house, but :aura needed to know.
They both made their way off the porch and began to walk around the property, tracing Eve's path earlier that morning as they talked. It felt good to talk to Laura again, she had been such a constant in Eve's life, until she wasn't.
Eve felt the loneliness she had lived with for the past five years begin to evaporate, but there was something she needed to know, the end goal.
Eve stopped and set herself to ask the question "Laura, there is one thing I need to know". "What is it, Eve?". "There's a chance my daughter is still out there, let's say you do succeed, you expose everything… What then? What happens to her? What happens to us? Even if they don't know who I really am right now, half the internet is already talking about "Evelyn Greene", if the project goes public, they will know who I really am… what I am".
Laura looked deep into her eyes, as if she knew the question was coming and nodded. She looked like she had been waiting to say this for a long time. "Eve, when I joined the project, everyone had a preconception of what your true nature would be… but I watched you take your first breath, I watched you grow, saw you become who you are. Kind, thoughtful, warm, smarter than me, and willing to put others before yourself…If we succeed, and expose it all, they'll all see what I see".
Now Eve really did well up, unable to contain it, her eyes became sore with tears in the cold "Thank you, Laura, but we both know that's just a dream".
Laura dropped her eyes slightly, looking thoughtful "...and if that's the case, Press has friends who specialize in helping people disappear, either way, you'll be free, and you'll be safe".
"And my daughter?" Eve asked.
"I did some digging, there were a few leads early on, but we hit dead ends. The agent in charge of that initial clean up operation kept everything close to the chest" Laura placed a hand on Eve's shoulder "Here's what I do know, If she takes after her mother, I can't wait to meet her either. With all of us here, we have the best chance of finding her, and when we do, I promise as much as I can, you'll both be safe".
"Do you believe she's still alive?" Eve asked, her tone was cautious. Laura thought for a moment and added "Yes, Eve, I do".
Humans were an open book to Eve, when Laura said that she believed her daughter was still out there, she maintained eye contact. Eve sensed that her heartbeat remained steady as did her breathing, her blood pressure did not rise and there were no chemical changes in her pheromones … That was good enough for Eve.
Although she never allowed herself much hope, she could, at least for now, take some solace in the fact that Laura truly believed what she was saying, there was no attempt at deception.
"C'mon, we'll have time to figure all this out".
_
By the time they made it back to the main house, Eve felt much better, having gotten so much off her chest. She could sense that Laura, while concerned about what certain things meant going forward with regard to Eve's visions, also felt elated at all they had shared.
"It's probably about time we brought you up to speed on everything that we've been doing" Laura said.
Press, Dan and Álvarez were still hanging around the table where they'd all had breakfast. They all got up and followed Laura and Eve to a door that led down a wooden staircase to the basement rooms.
From the looks of things, it was in the process of being turned into some kind of entertainment room, but it was slow going. Laura had taken over one of the finished rooms and turned it into some kind of work station. One wall was full of photographs and below it was a desk, with a laptop and a bunch of scattered files. There were also armored boxes that Eve suspected were Lab equipment, things that Laura used to test whatever they found when they hit one of these underground labs.
The area reminded Eve of detective movies, with a rogues gallery on the wall above the desk, it was incomplete and looked like Laura hadn't finished setting it up.
At the top of a triangle of suspects was an image of a tall, toned woman with shoulder length jet black hair. The image was fairly close, but not any kind of official photograph like the others, more like a surveillance photo taken at a distance. The woman's face was her face, it was a strange thing to see.
"Well, here it is..." Press said behind her "Everything we've been able to compile on the new project, the Network, and the people behind it. I see you already recognize the star of the show".
"Is that this…. Arianna?" Eve pulled the image down and studied it "She looks…" Eve looked up at Laura, who met her eyes "Yeah, when she appeared in my apartment that night, at first I thought it was you… it was her eyes that gave her away".
The photo was taken at a distance but she was able to see just enough detail to make out that the woman had one blue eye and one hazel, both bright and striking. She also had many tattoos, her sleeveless suit revealed the intricate sleeve tattoos going up her arms and poking out of her collar "Nice ink, so this is who's after me now?".
Press continued "She's like a Moriarty, practically a ghost, that's the only image anyone's been able to find of her as an adult".
Press pulled out a file, albeit a thin one, with some notes and a grainy image of Arianna Fitch as a teenager, she bore a striking resemblance to her, but this image was more close up and Eve saw how piercing those eyes were, there was an intensity there that showed even though an old photograph.
"We found some of her father's notes on her, it looked like he was studying her abilities. None of them are complete, she's done a pretty good job of erasing herself from most records over the years, these fragments are all we have.
He does mention her genius level intellect and how manipulative she can be. Now she works mainly through intermediaries, and here's the scary part" Press leaned on the corner of the desk "We know that some of Patrick's original offspring, as well as some others, like the ones Forbes McGuire created, are working for her".
Eve put the photo down on the desk "She controls them? How?".
Laura pointed to another photo, this one showed a group of people moving large crates out of a loading dock, overseeing them were a tall man and woman, both with dark hair and striking blue eyes "Shortly after you escaped, we encountered a few Half-Breeds in the cleanup operation, they were unstable, prone to autoimmune disorders, many were dying. We've learned since that Arianna has developed a serum that stabilizes them, in return, they do anything she wants".
Eve had no fond memories of Half Breeds, Patrick's offspring and Forbes McGuire's creations, but to hear that, did bring a small amount of sympathy "So… she enslaved them? She uses this drug like a leash".
"That's one way of putting it" Press nodded "But the people in this Network are like fanatics, they fight for her to the bitter end. The few details we've managed to get from having.. friendly chats with a few members haven't been encouraging".
"So… what? This Network is like some kind of Cult?" Eve asked, prompting Press to exchange a look with Laura. It was Laura who continued "Last year, Press… encouraged a low level member of her Network to talk, apparently when she first recruited the Half-Breeds, a male got a little too confident with her… she ended up killing him herself one on one, now all the other Half-Breeds are terrified of her, they obey her without question".
Eve looked at them incredulously. "So she's fully human? But she killed one of them with no help?...Doesn't seem possible"
"Yeah" Press added "I wasn't sure either, but for the fact he told us that little yarn right before he ran right into traffic and got painted across the pavement… he was more afraid of her than the side of a truck at sixty miles per hour".
Eve took a breath, suddenly understanding that this woman with her face, this woman who's been after her since her escape, will not be a pushover should they come into conflict "What exactly is it that she's trying to do?".
Laura leaned on the desk, folding her arms "She's a true believer, she thinks humanity is obsolete and that the alien species and it's message is the only way forward. She is absolutely devoted to bringing about global change through Alien technology. She'll kill or discredit anyone who gets in the way of that. When I met her, she told me that whoever sent the message saw potential in our species and she's made it her mission to fulfill that potential".
"What technology? I remember back in the lab, you mentioned the only other thing in that message was some kind of advanced fuel catalyst?".
Álvarez moved over and clicked a file on the laptop "No, there's more, this was on the flash drive you recovered from Forbes's lab it contained a section of the Alien signal code, we've been trying to recover the rest" she opened the file and multiple other files came up, each one labelled as "DATAPACKET" and then a corresponding number.
"The original message that was received by the SETI project was somehow routed through a black hole to mask its point of origin, and repeated twenty seven thousand times" Laura explained. Álvarez continued as she scrolled down the files "And from what we've seen, each repetition added another layer to the data".
"The dead star" Eve whispered under her breath. "Huh?" Press looked confused. "I've seen it, the dead star, that's it, the black hole it used to mask the message". Press looked over at Laura and shrugged. She gave him an I'll explain later look.
Dan was sitting in the other corner but suddenly his full attention was on her. "Eve" he said. She turned to face him "When I went to your camp, I felt that you'd been having bad nightmares, is that what you've been seeing?".
Eve nodded, suddenly feeling very self conscious "Among other things... and they're not just nightmares. They're... connections". Dan appeared to perceive how she felt about this and lowered his tone "It's ok, maybe… maybe we can work on that, I have some techniques we can try". "Thank you" Eve said eagerly "I'll try anything to break the connections when they happen".
Dan nodded "Something I say to everyone I work with, I can't promise anything, but I can promise to try everything" he said. "I can't ask more than that" Eve gave him a grateful smile.
Eve turned back to Laura "So there's more to the original message than you knew?" Eve asked. Laura nodded "A lot more, there are technologies in there that could leap humanity forward by a thousand years, but in Arianna Fitch's hands…".
"I'm starting to get this" Eve said "But if she has all these resources, the Half-Breeds and advanced technology, what does she want with me?"
Laura and Press looked at one another, and Eve could instantly tell what the answer was going to be "We don't know" Laura's voice was sullen. "But you said it yourself, Eve, she enslaved the Half-Breeds, so whatever it is, it's nothing good". Eve considered this for a moment "I don't need any drugs or serum to survive. So I don't know what she could use to control me?". Press immediately countered "Oh yeah? What if she has a way to re-activate that electronic tether, that little toxic explosive in your head".
Eve raised an eyebrow and a wry smile "Good luck to her, I dug that out years ago". The room fell silent for a moment. It was Laura who broke it "You did what? It was at the base of your Skull, Eve!".
Eve saw Álvarez and Dan look at each other, as did Laura and Press. Laura visibly winced "I know I'm gonna regret this, what did you dig it out with?"
Eve noted how stunned they all were "A spike". "A what?" Press grimaced. Eve raised her arm and pointed over her shoulder down her back "I snapped one off and used it".
They all exchanged a pained look "Well, one of the things I was gonna ask you is whether you wanted me to remove it, I guess I no longer have to" Laura finally said.
Eve gave a half smile and shrugged "If we're gonna be here a while, laying low. I don't mind going through all this with you, maybe I can see or hear something in the code that you can't". Laura smiled and put her hand on Eve's shoulder.
"So you're on board?" Álvarez asked. Eve smiled and nodded. Press had been leaning on the desk the whole time, but now he stood up "Then I guess someone should say it" he said "Welcome to the resistance".