CHAPTER 4: Viral
Something bumped Eve's foot. Pulling her attention away from her meal.
Looking down, she saw it was a small rubber ball.
Eve picked it up and examined the amusing animated characters and bright colors.
She became aware of someone approaching from the side and looked up to see a small child of roughly four or five. The Kid stood patiently eyeing the ball without saying anything.
Eve extended her arm, offering the ball back. The child looked at her, and then back at the ball before taking it. "Thank you Lady" said the kid before returning to play.
Eve had found this leafy park on the edge of another small town in the mid afternoon. It had been busy with families enjoying themselves. She watched them go about their lives, laughing, playing. A group of young guys, college age had been playing football among themselves and were now resting on the grass. People, young and old, just being happy.
While not engaging with anyone, Eve just enjoyed watching, soaking up the energy. A young couple on a date sat on a bench nearby, sharing a kiss. Eve turned away and went back to her meal.
She had walked across a mountain and through miles of forest before coming to this place, attracted by the smell of the burger stand nearby. It had probably diverted her somewhat, but Eve had almost forgotten how long it had been since she's had a hot meal. She had chosen the biggest cheeseburger and fries they had, and had drenched them in spicy sauces. She even attracted a few looks as she devoured her meal as heartily as she did, but Eve didn't care, she was enjoying every slow bite.
Eve could hunt and eat in the wilderness, or subsist on small energy snacks while on the move, but the smell of that stand had been like a beacon. She didn't plan on staying long, after finishing her delicious food, she sat back and allowed herself to relax with her drink.
Watching the children play for a time, Eve couldn't help but think of what she'd lost. Was there any world in which she could have ever been one of those families? Eve let out a long sigh, and decided it was time to make a move.
As Eve stood and collected her affects. Shouldering her pack and disposing of the Styrofoam container into a nearby trash can, Eve began to notice she'd drawn a few odd looks from the group of young men by the edge of the field. They were in their early twenties and fit. She had watched them play a few rounds.
Eve had experienced unwanted attention before and under normal circumstances would have paid no attention whatsoever as the young men muttered among themselves….. were it not for the fact she picked up on a single utterance of "Dude, yeah, I think that's her".
That's her? What does that mean? They don't know me, nobody does…
As she walked along the path adjacent to the young men, they all got up in unison and moved onto the path, not blocking her, but catching up and flanking her.
Eve quickened her pace, and she shifted her shoulders, pulling her hood forward and retreating into it, if she had been a cat, her fur would have bristled. Eve had no idea what this was, but she sensed a definite threat.
"Hay" said the biggest of the men, moving up alongside her on her left.
"Hay it's you right?
You're all over the internet".
Eve felt another of the men moving up on her right. Eve ignored him "You're bigtime wanted for busting out!". Another voice from behind her, the original one from whom she'd caught the comment "Greene, Evelyn Greene right? There's a big reward for you". Another of the young men in the group piped up "Yo, everyone's looking for you".
Some of them had their phones out and were filming. That's when the one behind her said "Dude, do it". With that the biggest of the men on her left reached over and attempted to take hold of her hood.
Eve stopped dead in her tracks while simultaneously moving her arm up and blocking his hand. He made another attempt to pull it back saying "C'mon, we know it's you, we got you", this time she slapped his hand away. That prompted a big "WHOOAA" from the rest of the gathered group. Eve looked around, there were still families left in the park, and they were all beginning to take notice.
The young men now positioned themselves around her. "Don't touch me" she said, firmly, but without raising her voice "I'm not whoever you think I am".
The biggest of them chuckled. "Oh really, so that's not you" he laughed, while holding up a phone to her face. "You're pretty hard to miss, Evelyn Greene, even if you try".
Eve instantly remembered the day that photo was taken. An early chemical test, one of the first and most painful. After the session, the guards had made her stand by a white wall, while her body healed. One of the scientists had taken photographs of the stages of healing. Over time her body had been able to heal more quickly.
Laura had put a stop to that practice early on, limiting the chemical tests and only using external cameras to film the stages of regeneration. She knew that being held up by the guards just prolonged the trauma.
Eve looked at the image on the phone, and then up to the young man "No, that's not me. My name's not Evelyn" she said.
That's not me...not anymore Eve thought, as she slowly looked around at the others, there were seven of them, all well built, confident.
Another of the young men turned his phone onto himself and spoke into it "We found Evelyn Green, yo! Most Wanted! She busted out of prison, where she was locked up for being DAMN SEXY UUGGHH!"
You're on the right track, if only you really knew Eve thought. Had he not switched his camera back around, still recording and shoved his phone in her face, Eve might have actually laughed. "Hay, say something, gorgeous!"
Eve swatted the phone out of his grip, prompting the rest of them to cheer again "WHHOAAA" but this time they began to close ranks as their friend retrieved his phone from the grass and returned to the group.
Eve put her hands up and directed her eyes down and away submissively
"Look, I don't want any trouble" she said, her voice not much above a whisper.
It wasn't the first time Eve had run afoul of hostile people while out in the world and she was beginning to suspect this was going to turn ugly.
Her subdued posture may have appeared outwardly as a surrender, in reality, Eve was offering her final attempt to dial down the situation, but their energy was already self reinforcing.
"Then you picked the wrong town" said the young man at her eight-o'clock. Following his larger friend's initial move, he made a grab for her hood. Again, she snapped around and slapped his hand away before he could.
This prompted another loud exchange between the young men.
Eve still had her hands up, she scanned around the group as they shifted and positioned themselves around her.
Eve cleared her throat, and delivered her warning in as stern a voice as she could without shouting "Listen, this is your last chance, I don't want any trouble, so just…..".
They all bellowed with laughter, cutting her off. "Our last chance, what have you been smoking, bitch". In a strange way, Eve understood their mirth. They were all bigger and apparently stronger, she was one person. They must've thought that was a joke.
Her pack was suddenly, violently pulled from her shoulder. Eve spun to see the one next to the ringleader holding it above his head. A big grin plastered on his face that didn't reach his eyes. He handed it to his friend immediately to his right.
Eve made a step towards him and the ringleader matched it. Eve sensed their excitement, the increased rhythm of their hearts and the quickening of their breathing.
The one with her pack heaved it and threw it over her head to his friend, the same one just behind her who had tried to pick at her hood. It was coming….
Eve, once again turned to face him. She could see the excitement on his face as he held up her pack, teasing her with it "You want this, just come get it".
At this point, it was inevitable. The Other was scratching at the door, but Eve decided it wasn't needed, and subdued those instincts.
At the very tipping point of the hostility, Eve let calm wash over her. Slowly sweeping back her hood and turning, scanning each member of the group, noting the position and precise body language of each individual. They were a team after all, she had watched them play one another.
Eve's senses were beyond razor sharp, able to detect chemical, physiological and even molecular changes. She didn't need her full range to pick up on their body language and know they were about to rush her… however, she did pick up on their individual adrenal surges and know the precise moment it would come, and from whom.
Then it happened, the big one, the ringleader, made a grab for her….
What happened next, for her, was like slow motion, but for them, it happened with blinding speed.
Eve rounded on him, seizing and redirecting his arm, bending it back while placing her other hand in the center of his chest. He barely had time to register the pain and scream from his awkwardly bent arm, before being launched backwards through the air, clearing at least twenty feet and hitting the mesh fence of the nearby basketball court.
There was a brief pause while the young men exchanged puzzled looks. All eyes in the park were now on her.
Eve stood motionless in the middle of them, letting her senses tell her the next move. One immediately to Eve's left came in with a swing, Eve easily ducked it, sweeping his legs out from under him and was back up in time for three of them to rush her at once from the right.
Eve seized one, the heaviest member of the group, by his throat and pulled him into a single arm-lock while delivering a swift kick to the knee of the man next to him.
The kick was rewarded by a gruesome wet crack as his leg bent backwards, followed by a piercing squeal as he fell to the floor. Eve blocked a haymaker from the third and re-directed it, before smacking him down to the ground with a single blow.
The heavy one was still struggling against Eve's vice-like grip. Now back on his feet, the one who had swung at her was joined by his friend as they rushed her.
With the Big man still in her grip, Eve swung him bodily at his oncoming friends. His body whipped around in an arcing motion, as if he were a human cudgel. His body impacted his friends at waist height, swiping them off their feet and leaving all three of them in a bloody, broken pile.
As the last of them fell, Eve exhaled, involuntarily bringing forth a low, guttural growl, like that of a Jaguar, as she once again silenced the Apex Predator waiting just beneath the surface.
The silence was broken again... "STOP RIGHT THERE!" a voice bellowed from behind her.
"PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD AND GET ON THE FLOOR!".
Eve turned to see that a Police Officer had run over from the edge of the park, having been attracted by the sudden commotion, and now had a Taser aimed at her.
He was clearly deeply unsettled by the scene that had unfolded before him, from the way his eyes darted from Eve, to the injured young men, and then back to her.
"I SAID GET DOWN… NOW!"
Eve's body had experienced everything from nerve gas, toxins, shock batons, large caliber rounds, automatic gunfire and even flames, not to mention attacks from the razor claws, teeth and assorted whiplash tentacles her own kind could bring to bear. Her body had adapted to all of it. The officer had no way of knowing that he was essentially aiming a BB gun at a living tank.
Eve took a step towards the officer, prompting him to pull the trigger. The loud POP! Rang out. Two electrified barbs struck Eve in the cheek and neck. The Officer kept his finger depressed on the trigger, however, the fifty thousand volts pulsing through her body failed to elicit even the slightest reaction.
Affixing the officer with a cold stare, Eve sensed he was about to drop the taser and reach for a firearm. While Eve's body was immune to a wide range of calibers, she was aware that many others were present. She would not risk a stray bullet striking an innocent.
This has already escalated far enough. Before the Officer had time to respond, Eve had closed the distance, and using some swift martial arts moves she once saw in a movie, knocked the taser device from his hand and delivered a quick punch which, for Eve, was barely a flick.
The officer looked surprised for a moment before stumbling backwards and collapsing to the floor unconscious.
Since the time of her initial escape from the lab, Eve had injured a number of humans in the name of gaining and then keeping her freedom, however she had never actually taken a human life. The only lives she had ever extinguished were members of her own kind, and even then, when she'd exhausted all other options... them and any animals she hunted for food.
I won't be the monster they all think I am.
Eve took a breath, realizing it was suddenly quiet. The only murmurs and groans came from the wounded idiots strewn around her. Eve turned and regarded the last young man, still standing… and still holding her pack, holding his gaze, unblinking, while she picked out the taser barbs.
Eve stepped into the void between them, causing him to bring the pack up in front of him as a barrier. She took another step towards him and slowly regarded him up and down. Eve extended her hand and simply waited, never breaking eye contact.
It took a few moments, but he eventually, tentatively, took a single, cautious step forward and slowly handed over the pack. Eve kept her gaze locked on him as she slowly pulled it back onto her shoulder.
Finally breaking eye contact, Eve looked around. They were all alive, a few broken bones and bruised egos but nothing serious. The largest one, the ringleader was horribly winded but had begun crawling on his hands and knees.
Eve felt a sudden rush of self consciousness as she became aware that everyone in the park had dropped what they were doing and were now staring at the scene that had just unfolded before them. Most with horrified expressions. She even saw the small child to whom she'd handed back the ball, and the young couple on the bench, all eyes, and a few phones were on her too.
Without another word, she turned and made to leave. As she did, however, she spotted one of the young men's phones on the ground and something made her pause. It belonged to the ringleader, the one who showed her the photograph.
Eve retrieved the now cracked device, and pulled up the post. Above the picture was an alert for an escaped convict "Evelyn Greene". Eve quickly read the post, and the details about "Evelyn Green's" crime and subsequent prison escape, it said there was a reward for information leading to her arrest, but failed to mention a specific amount. TBC it said. None of the details really mattered, they were all fake, Eve's pursuers had put out word of a wanted person. A wanted person with her face.
Scrolling up, she saw it had over ten thousand likes and almost as many shares. It all boiled down to a way to get her face out there. To get more eyes searching…. To flush her out of hiding
The few visible top comments weren't much to go on, only general comments about how "Hot" she looked. She also noticed a great deal of "Reaction" emoji's, hearts and smiles among a few angry faces.
Eve let out a long sigh "Shit" and shook her head.
She unceremoniously let the phone slip from her hand. It clattered on the ground between her and the last young man, who was still frozen to the spot. Eve looked around her one last time and then started moving. This time, nobody attempted to approach her.
Eve kept a measured pace as she walked the rest of the length of the park pathway until she came to a large out-building near the park's perimeter. She was still aware of all the eyes on her. As soon as she rounded the corner of the building, she broke into a run, and then a full sprint. Easily reaching 40 mph as she crossed the last part of the green and darted into the tree line.
–_–_–_–_–_–_
Now, we've had a glimpse of how Eve has become a quiet badass in her isolation. But think of all the people filming this fight on their phones, how something like this would absolutely blow up on the internet. Think about how insane a fight like that would look, and then think of the comments sections, imagine you're watching that and what you'd put in the comments.