CHAPTER 5: Race to the Finish
The sun was beginning to fall and Álverez had been driving these back roads for hours, Dan was growing increasingly positive that they were closing in on Eve, so much so that Álverez was beginning to hope they'd just come upon her walking along the road.
A while back, they had passed by five police cars and three ambulances driving at speed in the opposite direction.
Ever since then, Dan's directions had been getting more abrupt and Álverez had missed several turns, forcing her to double back.
Over the past couple of hours it has seemed like they had been taking random turns and heading deeper into less traveled back roads. Álverez was beginning to question Dan's validity, but couldn't ignore how he had led them to Eve's camp in the middle of nowhere.
She had voiced her exasperation at this new, randomized trend in their direction on several occasions, only for Dan to finally tell her he was having difficulty with her general direction because a while back it felt like she had started to run, and she was still running.
Álverez had speculated aloud, that Eve could have somehow sensed Dan's presence closing in on her and become spooked. He had assured her that it didn't work that way. Though Laura had explained Eve's telepathic capability, Dan's attunement to her functioned more like picking up on her psychic aura and following traces. He could not form a two-way link with her from afar.
He explained that something else must have happened. Around the time they had passed the emergency vehicles on the road, there had been a strange surge of emotions causing Dan to become agitated.
For a while, there had been a steady feeling of contentment. She seemed to be relaxed, travelling at her own pace with no particular cares. At that point, for a short time Dan was assuring Álverez they were very close, that Eve was in, or near the small town to the north.
However, shortly before they arrived, that all changed. They had ended up passing straight through that town and out into the back roads. Dan's Trace on Eve had become sudden;y chaotic.
Dan said her emotions cycled through sadness, anxiety, tension, agitation leading to anger, then a brief period of self consciousness, almost like embarrassment, and finally, fear. That fear had caused Eve to take flight into these backwoods.
It was at that point, the psychic trail had suddenly become random and disjointed. She was running, and she either couldn't or had no desire to stop. Something had clearly spooked Eve. Damn that woman can run Álverez thought.
Álverez also couldn't help but think that if Eve had become spooked like this, it would make it that much harder to convince her to come back with them. . . That was, of course, IF they were able to reach her before Burgess's people, who she was sure were in the area.
"Turn left here!" Dan said abruptly. Álverez felt a stab of frustration as, for the fifth time in the past hour, she was forced to pump the brakes and pull sharply onto an even narrower road.
All the roads up here were narrow, winding and some looked like they hadn't been maintained for several years, with grass growing down the center of the asphalt.
"Dan, you're going to have to give me more warning"
"Sorry, I think we're getting close"
"You said that last time"
"Look, It's like a game of warmer and colder, when I'm going in the right direction, it gets stronger, when I'm not, it fades away" he explained.
"How close do you think we are?" She asked.
Before Dan could answer, Álverez's phone began to vibrate, she hit the touchscreen in the dash and Press's name came up. Álverez hit the [Answer] key and the call connected.
"Hay, you guys making any progress?" Press's came over the speaker.
"Yeah, Press, Dan is on this, her trail is chaotic but he thinks we're getting close now". There was a slight pause before Press responded. "Alright, well, I don't mean to hustle you but if you're gonna find her at all, you'd better do it fast".
Álverez looked at Dan, who was staring intently at the road ahead "What's changed?" she asked.
Press never sounded worried, but Álverez could tell he was concerned about something "There's been… an incident" he said finally…
"What kind of incident?" Said Dan, cutting in before Álverez could respond. "Some college Jocks in a park spotted the so called "Evelyn Greene" from Burgess's goddamn online media campaign and decided they were gonna fuck with her. Playing bounty hunter I guess, now they're all in hospital. A cop who got involved and shot her with a taser. Eve cleaned his clock too. The whole thing is all over the internet so Burgess will be putting all his assets into that area".
"Shit" shouted Álverez, smacking her hand on the wheel, "Dan, can you tell me how close you think we are?"
Dan peered out into the forest. "She's been running for a long time. She doesn't wanna stop, but I think she's looking for a place to rest for a while and get her bearings". Press's voice came over the speaker again "Listen, I trust you both, you know that, but you guys are in a race now, and there's no prize for finishing second. Dan, do your thing, and Consuela, get everyone out of there safe".
"We'll find her Press, I have a good sense of her" said Dan.
It was then that Laura's voice came over the speaker. "Dan… Consuela" she said in a soft, but serious tone. "Yeah Laura?" Dan replied. Álverez could tell by the tone that Laura was worried.
"Bring her back safe will you?" she said after a pause.
"We'll do everything we can, Laura" Álverez replied. "Eve saved my life once, I'm not going to let Burgess get his hands on her".
After a brief pause, Press's voice came back over the speaker "Alright, check in as soon as you have anything, in the meantime, I'm gonna arrange a safe house"
"Ok, I'll call as soon as we have any news" said Álverez.
They finished the call and Álverez shared an uneasy look with Dan as they continued down an increasingly darker road.
Eve emerged from the trees, panting. Her body was slick with sweat. She had been running flat out for over two hours. She knew that she had gone well beyond whatever perimeter the local police would throw up for someone on foot. She had crossed many roads, trails and even followed a river, using every trick she knew to evade any pursuers.
She wasn't worried about local police, but all those people filming on phones. Eve knew it was only a matter of time before they came hunting. She had eluded them for years, and then one innocent meal on a park bench had ended that streak. Eve had been cursing herself for it all the way.
She crouched down and let her senses take in the area, a collection of abandoned buildings and ruined structures. An old oil refinery? Lumber yard? It didn't matter, it was abandoned. A large place with over a dozen buildings all collapsing into history, at some point it may have been the largest employer across the three small towns in this area, now it was a crumbling, rusted shell of its former self.
Satisfied that the area was abandoned, Eve broke cover and vaulted over the old fence and straight up to a second story window. She heard rodents scurrying into the rotting woodwork as she climbed in. You're safe, she thought. She didn't plan on staying long.
Eve made her way through the building and up onto the third floor. At one point, it looked to have housed machinery of various kinds, now it was cleared out and empty.
Eve leaned against one of the rusted steel beams and sank to the floor, absolutely exhausted. After a few moments just thinking, Eve leaned forward and held her head in her hands I didn't wanna hurt those boys, they did this, they wanted that to happen, and I played right into it! . . . "Stupid, Stupid!" she hissed, cursing herself.
Eve shook her head and leaned back against the beam, lost in thought. Now she would have to run, and stick to places without humans, that meant no more gas stations, diners or towns, no more supplies acquired legally. If she needed anything between here and the sea, she would have to steal it.
Eve pulled out her map and compass, laying them flat on the floor. The sun had gone down and it was pitch black. She would not risk any fires now, anything that could bring attention, but Eve's vision cut through darkness with ease.
In those few times she had been around anyone during her time out in the world. They had often commented on her "eyeshine" when viewed in dark, or otherwise poorly lit environments. Some had found it eerie, but others have commented that it looked cool. A couple of the men she'd been with on her travels had found it to be an attractive or intriguing attribute. "It gave her an air of mystery" one had said.
She located her rough position while she devoured one of her energy bars and drank from her canteen. She then set about plotting the quietest path west that avoided areas of human habitation. From now on, she would stick to the backwoods, and travel only by night. Eve memorised all the initial stages of the route. A task that took just a few moments, before folding her map and compass back into their sleeve on her pack.
She would allow herself an hour to rest, then she would run again until dawn and find another secluded spot, that would give her roughly seven solid hours of travel time… and that much closer to the sea.
Sooner or later, she would have to consider how she was going to cross the Bering Sea, stowing away on something was the first idea that came to mind, but those were all options to consider once she got there. She would have to find a port and observe the comings and goings of vessels.
Eve sat back and let her eyes wander around the space, this decrepit old building reminded Eve of the large barn on the Ross family estate, where she'd met Patrick and where they had been able to touch for the first time without her glass cage keeping them separate.
For just a few moments, Eve had shared a passion with Patrick that no word in any known language could describe, but that passion had been cut violently short. In his rage, he had attacked Laura, when she and her companions had found them, and Eve had been forced to make her choice.
Sometimes Eve caught herself wondering how things would be different if she had maintained her bond with Patrick. It would have likely meant Laura's death, and the deaths of her companions.
But would it have ended with Eve being free to live a life with Patrick and have a normal life, a family even? No, they would have hunted them, hounded them like animals just the same.
Eve forced those thoughts from her mind, it would not help to start thinking of that again now. It was a fantasy. Eve had to think of the reality. She knew there were places on the other side of the Bering Sea where they couldn't operate as easily, places where, perhaps, she could try to live a somewhat normal life without having to constantly keep moving. She had to keep focused on that.
The fatigue began to wash over her and made her eyes feel heavy, her body felt numb and as she began to drift she thought…. Just a few minutes then I move…. The Sea…..
Burgess watched intently as the map of the region came up on screen. The area had three small towns spread across a hundred square miles. Eve's little fight had occurred in the northernmost town and she had last been seen running in a south westerly direction.
The various videos and social media feeds of the incident played across a number of separate screens. It worked thought Burgess. A bunch of young jock types spotted her in some park and tried to grab her, useful idiots. It was blowing up online in a major way, but now everyone would be on the lookout for "Evelyn Greene".
Now they were hours behind, which was much better than weeks, and now the tech guys were hard at work, trying to bring that margin down even more.
"It was strange that she didn't kill any of them, it's like she held back… Sil wouldn't have hesitated" he thought aloud. Only Graves picked up on his musings. "I suppose in that regard we're lucky, Sir. If she'd changed form in public there would be fresh problems". "Hmm, True, but your idea is starting to bear fruit, son!" Burgess was impressed with the junior officer who had come highly recommended for his out of the box thinking. His career had been fairly uneventful before Operation: Medusa. There may have been some high up family connection or a friend of one of the generals that might have gotten him a shoe in on this highly classified operation, but it didn't matter, the kid was worth his salt.
Through satellite imagery, they had managed to extrapolate a few possible areas she may emerge, chief among them, an old oil refinery. Likely a collection of crumbling buildings now. However, Eve was fast on her feet, and could run at full sprint for hours on end without stopping, evading any normal perimeter or containment measure.
From the gas station to the location of the fight, Eve appeared to be following a westerly course, but after an incident like that, and given her previous behaviour when spooked, she would likely head for remote areas, avoiding highways, towns and anywhere with people.
The terrain that lay between all three towns was dense forest and hills. Eve had made use of such locations before.
"Pull up satellite imaging on that place" he barked. The screen switched to a black and white thermal scan of the area and zoomed in on a collection of ruined buildings slowly being consumed by the surrounding forest.
As the thermal scan moved from one building to the next, it suddenly identified a heat trace, not inside one of the buildings, but nearby in the forest.
"What is that? Can you get in any closer?" Graves asked one of the support crew.
The resolution intensified on the small clearing near one of the perimeter fences. Burgess almost dismissed it as an animal, but then it moved, revealing itself to be a humanoid shape crouched down.
"There" said Burgess "Get in close on that" he watched the figure get to its feet and then run with inhuman speed towards the old fence. The figure suddenly bounded up from the ground and caught onto a second story window ledge of the old warehouse before clambering inside.
"Drop them in at that location, Lieutenant" said Burgess, "We have our primary target".
"Yes Sir" Graves began the process of deploying the new team. Burgess had had them personally vetted for this mission, he had assembled a good, hard team. Uncompromising men, highly accomplished and also deniable. He had approval to use contractors for this operation should it extend onto foreign soil…. Which it now had.
Armed with the latest weapons and gear, equipment so secret even he had had to pass out a few markers getting it approved for the operation, they represented the best chance of cleaning up the Alien threat before she had another opportunity to slip away.
"Got you now, you slippery little bitch" he muttered to himself as the satellite image switched out, and the body cams of his team began to appear around the screen.
"Alright, listen up, your target is located on the second floor of the north east building, looks to be an old refinery. Do not give her any quarter. Your target is stronger and faster than she appears, and will respond with immediate lethal action. You are authorized to use lethal force, this is strictly search and destroy".
"Yes Sir" came their voices in unison over the speaker.
If Anyone viewed this before I fixed it, my apologies, it somehow became corrupted... again.