Chapter 10: The First Lead
"Eve" the thin faced man said at the foot of the gurney. Eve stared back at him "No… NO!, You.. stay away from me!" she pulled herself back away from him, feeling the cold metal back wall of the military ambulance.
Outside the ambulance, beyond the thin faced man was a dark forest, cool and dry, it was summer, and there was a sweet smell of pollen and dry wood.
"Not again" This time she knew where it would come from, the child, the Half-Breed sitting on the opposite side. Wrapping one arm around her heavily pregnant belly to protect herself, she raised one arm to her side… but the attack never came.
Instead, when Eve tentatively turned and looked to her right, expecting to see Patrick's offspring, she instead saw … him.
Handsome and wearing his clean pressed Air-Force Dress Blues, Patrick sat calmly, leaning forward, staring back at her with sad eyes. His eyes slowly moved down to look at her bulge "I never got to see".
He slowly moved to reach forward and touch her enlarged abdomen. Eve swatted his hand away and screamed "Don't touch me!" There was no anger in Patrick, no aggression, he just looked... sad "Eve" he whispered.
"NO!" She shouted "Not after what you did! Stay away from me!". Patrick looked thoughtful and his eyes went back to her pregnant belly, which was beginning to distend outwards "Look what we did, Eve, she's ours. She's gonna be beautiful, like you".
"She's MINE!" Eve screamed. Patrick's eyes dropped to the floor "I watched myself do that to you, I.. tried.. I.. couldn't stop it". He looked back up at her, this time his eyes were red and swollen with tears "I'm so sorry, Eve, I've been trapped here ever since, All I can think about is you, and our daughter".
Eve clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. The pain was immense now, surging, pounding "Everyone's so good at saying that AFTER THEY DO IT!" She growled through gritted teeth as she held on protectively.
Patrick made no move towards her, nor did the thin faced man standing outside the ambulance. Patrick's eyes dropped to the floor. Eve watched as her belly distended outwards and began to open out onto the gurney between her legs. The pain was almost too much to bear, Eve screwed her eyes shut as tight as she could and let out an agonised roar as she pushed.
She felt new life spill out of her distended abdomen and then the feeling of relief, and joy washed over her. Drenched with sweat, she opened her eyes and reached forward to pick up her baby… instead her hands met only the bloody slick sheets below her.
A feeling beyond panic began to set in, so much so that it sent a shiver through her so hard it was more like a spasm "No, no, no NO NO!".
Then Eve heard it, a cry, her cry, her baby girl was somewhere outside the ambulance in the forest. Eve looked up, the thin faced man was gone, so was Patrick. She was completely alone.
Her desperation brought strength back to her legs as she painfully picked herself up and threw herself out of the back of the ambulance.
"UUgghh" Eve hit a cool, hard ground, like bone. Not a soft, crisp forest floor she expected, opening her eyes she saw the ground was not one of soil, grass or fallen leaves, not a forest floor at all…. It was hard, chitinous and shell-like.
She suddenly knew what to expect before she even looked up. She was here again it had reached out to her. This time it had chosen to torment her with a moment in her life that was at once the most beautiful, precious and also the most painful.
Eve kept her eyes focused on the ground, not wanting to look up, knowing what she'd see. The twisting, ossified helix shaped towers, thousands of them stretching as far as the eye could see, the dead worlds hanging in the dark sky. The giant, living tower in the far distance where something always watched… or the dead star that dominated the sky and ended every encounter by pulsing its darkness across the land and washing her away into an abyss. . . No she'd seen it before, played it's game, and she'd had enough. She wasn't going to let this thing use that moment in her life to torment her.
"Why?… Why are you DOING THIS TO ME!" her words started with a growl and ended with a tortured scream, echoing out across the empty landscape. "You don't know me…. AND YOU DON'T OWN ME!" She slammed her fist on the hard, chitinous surface, still refusing to raise her head.
"Eve… look at me" A voice came from nearby. Eve refused, and kept her eyes firmly down, refusing to acknowledge who or whatever it was. "No, I'm not playing this game anymore, so go ahead, wash me away into the dark again like you always do".
Eve shut her eyes as hard as she could and tried to focus on waking up, severing the connection.
"I said…" A hand seized her by the throat and pulled her up into a kneeling position, they were now face to face. "LOOK AT ME!". It was Patrick again, only this time, his calm demeanour was gone, replaced by anger and rage, his face was shifting and changing, as if it were unable to decide which form to take. His eyes weren't the gentle alluring blue she remembered, they were glowing red, like hot coals.
His smartly pressed Air Force Dress Blues were gone too, replaced by the torn and bloodstained pale blue shirt and jeans he'd been wearing when she saw him for the first time.
"You're …. You're not him" she managed to utter until he squeezed tighter. "I'm all you ever knew, all you ever wanted. I'm the one you ran all night to find". Eve struggled, but it was useless "No, I wanted the man, I wanted to.. to...live free" Eve croaked out the words through his grip.
"Free? …" Patrick said. An empty grin crept across his face, filled with rows of razor sharp teeth "Look around you, Regent, do you feel free? You can never be free from what's inside... you are Power... and sooner or later, you'll use it".
Eve mustered all her strength to struggle "N... No!".
With that, his grip released and she collapsed to the ground. Eve coughed and clutched at her throat, feeling it slowly heal from his crushing grip. "Stop calling me that, I don't know what it means, and I don't care, I want … no part of it!" Eve said painfully.
"Then…. Extra-Terrestrial Vulnerability Experiment S1L-2.0.. What do you truly want?" came another voice.
"I told you, to be fff…" Eve found her words trailing off as, from behind "Patrick" emerged the thin faced man in military uniform, taking up a position at "Patrick's" side, in his arms, he was holding something wrapped in a white sheet spotted with blood. "Patrick" stepped up to the man, who handed him what was bundled up in his arms… it was her.
"No…NO! DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!" Eve tried to rise, but it's gaze, it's will fell upon her from the distant tower again, forcing her back to her knees. This time she wouldn't be stopped, Eve screamed as she fought against it, pushing herself back up to her feet. She managed two steps before it was too much and her legs buckled under the immense weight.
The air around her seemed to crackle and burn.
"No!... NOOO!" Eve screamed defiantly, as she dug her hands into the hard, chitinous ground and braced her legs, she wouldn't be forced down again. With an almighty scream, she dragged herself back up to her feet, in doing so, she forgot all semblance of control and fully unleashed herself. By the time she was on her feet, her "Other" form was fully manifested. Her hair had bonded into tendrils, razor sharp blades erupted from her back, her skin was hard and chitinous, her eyes had formed membranes and resembled something dark and reptilian. It was no longer pain and fear that she felt, it was a white hot rage, the likes of which she had never experienced.
Every experiment, every torture, every pain had made her stronger, given her new adaptations, and now they were all on full display.
Bioluminescence coursed through her chitinous, translucent skin, surging with a new energy adapted from the weapons that had recently been used on her. Her forearms grew razor sharp, back facing spikes and the ones on her back could cut through a world.
Eve managed one step, then another, and then noticed that both the Patrick-thing and the skinny faced man now had a look of surprise and something else… fear.
The Patrick-thing's eyes burned as he glared at her, emanating a deep red glow that seemed to be welling up from deep behind his eyes. This thing clearly wasn't used to this level of defiance. His eyes suddenly shifted and regarded something off to one side of her.
Before Eve could follow his gaze to see what he was looking at, she was seized around the throat, this time not by a hand, but something long and wet, composed of pure muscle. She had felt it before, a lashing tongue.
Eve reached up and grabbed the slimy appendage digging her claws into it's flesh and causing whatever was attacking her to scream.
Eve looked to her side and saw that the scream came from the Child-thing. Patrick's offspring, the one she remembered from the ambulance, standing there, partially changed, eyes burning red, dressed only in what appeared to be a cut out tunic fashioned from some old material.
This was no child, and this time, Eve wasn't weak. She tugged her small attacker towards her and once he was within reached, she kicked him backwards. The tongue snapped and the "Child" flew backwards.
It landed on the ground several yards away and almost immediately jumped up to its feet, it began to twitch and spasm as it unleashed its other form, becoming an oversized, lumbering, quadrupedal monstrosity, like Patrick had become in the barn the night they met.. the night they touched for the first and only time.
When he had been with her, he had appeared humanoid, chitinous and strong, like her other form, but once threatened, he changed again, becoming abhorrent.
"You wanted this" came another from behind her. Eve turned to see herself... but It wasn't her, it was an aspect, a divergence from reality.
Eve was wearing the dress she had worn the night she escaped, long and flowing, smooth against her skin, decorated with flowery patterns. As the other "Eve" approached, her skin began to pop and blood formed on the dress, as non-existent "Bullets" tore through her, she seemed unphased by the wounds forming all over her body, staining the beautiful dress with blood. "Remember that night, this is what you wanted, what we wanted, not to be like the rest of them, we were meant for something greater, something beautiful".
A whimper drew Eve's attention back to the vision of her child in the Patrick-thing's arms. Those bright blue eyes opened and stared back at her, it was all she could think about where are you…
I had something beautiful Eve thought
Eve's eyes met those of the Patrick-thing "Let us remind you". As if on cue, the hulking creature roared and charged at her.
Eve broke into a sprint charging right back at it. Just at the moment they were about to clash, she dropped and slid beneath its giant, lumbering form, raking her razor sharp talons down its abdomen, breaking apart its chitinous ribcage and slicing its softer underbelly lower down.
The creature let loose a howl of agony as it struggled to hold its spilling insides in place. It staggered and lost balance as its steaming insides slopped out onto the chitinous surface and it collapsed in long gurgling gasps, not dead, but it would take a while to recover.
Eve recovered and turned to confront the Patrick-thing but instead found herself face to face with "Eve". This entity was an aspect of her, the purified version of the instinct that had driven her the night of her escape.
The night when she was overcome with the desire, the need, to be with Patrick, until she was, and she had sensed the deep well of darkness within the thing that was controlling the man like a puppet.
"Eve" looked her up and down and then her eyes wandered over to the hulking creature, still writhing in agony as it attempted to heal itself… then she smiled "Yes….That's the spirit".
The impact was so powerful, so fast, that Eve never saw it coming. Before she knew it, she was knocked to the ground and "Eve" was standing over her.
"Eve" had her arm still out stretched from the swipe. Eve watched as her fingers became talons, the skin on her arm became hard, chitinous and translucent. The change continued up her arm and further on, until it disappeared under her flowery, blood stained sleeve. She admired her newly formed claw and then slammed it down on Eve's neck, pinning her to the ground "No more distractions, embrace your purpose".
"Eve" looked in the direction of the Patrick-thing holding Eve's baby.
He looked down at the child wrapped in his arms and his eyes became red, his expression, a cold smile, filled with melevolence. "Patrick" looked back up at Eve and smiled, before slowly turning and walking away in the direction of the distant living tower.
A few moments later, the thin faced man turned to follow him.
Abject terror filled Eve at the prospect of losing her baby again, her scream became a roar of pure, unencumbered rage as she struggled against the might of "Eve's" grip.
Eve put every ounce of her strength and will into freeing herself and began to notice that "Eve's" expression was changing, she was no longer calm and collected, she was struggling. With the last ounce of her strength she gripped "Eve's" arm and snapped it back.
"Eve" screamed and tried to pull herself away, but now, Eve refused to let go, now Eve had the upper hand, with one last effort, Eve drew in her strength, jumped and kicked "Eve" with both feet, sending the entity cartwheeling across the ground to land several yards away.
Eve dropped back to the ground and immediately rolled into a feral crouch, poised to strike. Eve tore the remnants of "Eve's" shattered arm from her neck and rose to her feet. There was only one thing between her and "Patrick" now, the larger creature had recovered and was coming towards her again.
Eve threw the shattered arm aside, then reached back to snap off two dorsal blades as she began to march towards the creature.
Her pace quickened into a run until she was once again a full sprint. As she drew near to the creature, she hurled the first blade, it entered just below the jaw and knocked the creature off balance, it raised itself and roared, spreading its bony arms, the second blade hit home right between its eyes, with enough force to knock it over onto its back.
Before it could do anything, she was on its chest, rending and tearing with all her might, reopening its massive ribcage and tearing at the organs within, causing catastrophic damage.
It screamed in agony and Eve heard a cracking, sucking sound. Looking at its face, she saw that in a final act of defiance, it was separating its head into two, to attack her again that way.
She remembered the way Patrick had done this, using those heads to bite and immobilise her arms while choking her on a disgusting phallic tendril that erupted from his torso, the memory of it filled her with a new level of rage.
Roaring, Eve rolled herself down over its massive chest and seized both of its newly formed throats with all her might, once again, she began to dig in and pull, extending her claws like a cat, tearing through its chitinous flesh. Eve found herself pulling the entire creature as it came with her.
The tendril shot out from the space between its heads and wrapped around her throat, now it was once again a question of who could last the longest, but this time, the larger creature was on its back, not her. Eve braced her foot on its chest, and dug her claws in deeper until she could feel the bones at the back of each neck begin to crack.
The creature screamed as she pulled with every ounce of her strength, but Eve could feel it's strength was waning. Raising herself up to her full height and keeping her leg braced against its chest. The tendril around her throat pulled too, trying to drag her down to its level. It furiously flailed with its bony arms, but at this awkward angle, she had the upper hand.
Gathering up all her remaining strength, she pulled again, unleashing an ear splitting roar, this time she felt something give, something snap, something break and finally, both necks tore, the creature's heads flew free in either direction.
Eve tore the tendril from around her throat and staggered away, exhausted from the effort, but still profoundly resolved.
Eve felt strength come back to her as her body re-aligned itself and adapted, she felt that familiar internal shift, and this time, it was accompanied by a bioluminescent flourish across her Chitinous body.
She felt strong again as her unsteady gait was replaced by a determined march as she caught up with "Patrick" and the thin faced man.
When she was a few paces behind them she stopped, drew as much air into her lungs as possible, and let loose a roar, a roar that contained all her anguish, her fury and her loss.
"Patrick" stopped and slowly turned to face her, she saw the expression on his face.
It shook its head in an expression of utter disgust.
This creature, this thing, was unused to any form of dissent, or resistance.
The Thin faced man remained expressionless, and glanced up at the Dead Star in the sky, which promptly pulsed once again, sending out its wave of all devouring darkness.
The Patrick-thing looked her up and down. The expression on his face turned from disgust to disappointment and uttered "...in the absence of light…"
"In the Absence of Peace" came another voice from her side, she looked and saw it was the creature, having changed back into the child from the ambulance.
"In the Absence of hope" said the skinny faced man standing beside "Patrick".
Eve heard footsteps approaching from the opposite side and saw it was "Eve", her arm having regenerated and the dress was once again clean and perfect. Eve stepped close and leaned in to whisper "We.. Stand.. Awoken".
In the next instant they were all gone, and Eve stood alone, now back in her human skin, wearing only the torn, blood stained bed sheet from the ambulance. In the distance, the tide of darkness was still rolling towards her.
It was then that Eve became aware that she wasn't alone, there was a weight in her arms. Eve looked down to find she was now holding the child, wrapped in white blankets.
Eve's eyes welled with tears as the thunderous wave of darkness roiled towards her. She gently parted the blankets to stare into those deep blue eyes, eyes she had glimpsed only once before "I'm so sorry, I'll find you.. I promise I'll find you" were the only words she was able to utter before the wave of cold blackness hit, washing her away into oblivion.
UUUGGHHHH! Eve awoke in a cold sweat bolt upright and looked around. She was back in her room at Gamble's lodge. Memory flooded back, she was here, after the first day, she'd met everyone and talked, then returned here with Álvarez. They had talked, watched a movie, and then Álvarez had fallen asleep.
Eve felt her eyes well up with tears When will this ever stop? She leaned her head forward in her arms and sobbed.
Eve didn't know how long she sat there in the dark before she heard footsteps approaching her door from the hall, followed by a gentle knock "Eve, you ok?" Álvarez's voice on the other side was soothing, gentle. "I…" was all she managed to say before she was overwhelmed again. "Can I come in?" Álvarez asked.
Eve nodded twice before she realised she wasn't making any sound and wiped her eyes "Y..Yeah" she murmured. The door opened slowly and Álvarez poked her head around the door.
Eve could see perfectly in the dark, and often forgot that others couldn't as she noticed Álvarez's eyes scanning around trying to pick her out. Eve reached for the lamp beside the bed and covered her eyes as she touched the base, illuminating the space.
"Hay, you ok? … Another one?" she heard Álvarez cross the room and then felt her as she sat next to her on the side of the bed. Eve finally took her hand away from her eyes and squinted as she allowed the light in. For all her adaptations, sudden fluorescent light was always hard, she wasn't used to it anymore, and it didn't help that her eyes were full of salty tears. Eve hated others seeing this, but Álvarez was closer to her than most.
Álvarez took her by the hand and squeezed. "You can tell me" she said. "It… it made me. It forced me to relive.. The Ambulance". Eve had told Álvarez the whole story after they met in Mexico, when Eve had stayed with her.
Álvarez clearly hadn't told the others the full extent of Eve's stay in Mexico after the attack. As the investigators rolled in, followed by some American authorities, Álvarez had sheltered Eve in her own home for over two months.
The two of them had formed a close bond, which had developed in an unexpected, and passionate way for them both.
Eve felt Consuela slip her arms around her and pull her close, her presence always felt warm and soothing. Álvarez understood the significance of the Ambulance. Eve had told her everything when she took her in, back in Mexico.
Eve hadn't expected this, and felt herself well up into a sob, leaning into Álvarez' embrace. "Está bien, It's ok, I promised you, wherever she is, we'll find her" Álvarez whispered. "But now I know this thing wants her too" Eve Sobbed. "I saw him, then I saw myself".
Álvarez shifted slightly "Him? Who?". "Patrick, it showed itself to me as Patrick, and as myself, and as the man from the Ambulance, this time it spoke to me".
Eve felt Álvarez draw in a deep breath, she knew what Patrick had done to her after Eve had tried to stop him hurting Laura. "Mierda… what did it say?". Eve remembered its cryptic comments on letting go of light, hope and peace, to be fully awoken. They made little sense when separated, but she thought she understood enough, and it wasn't the life she wanted, nor was it the life she would ever want for her daughter, or for anyone.
"It wants me to become something, it got angry when I refused". "Because you're stronger, Eve, you stepped away from it's plan for you" Consuela said "I think it's scared of you, scared of what you can become without it".
Consuela took a breath, and Eve felt a small rush of anger in her rhythms "I hope you told that hiju de puta to go fuck itself" Eve found herself unintentionally smiling "I… I didn't use those words, but kinda..." Eve wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I don't need to be Dan to see this thing is trying to fuck with your head, don't let it" Álvarez said, resting her head against Eve's "You hear me? I know you, whatever this is, you're stronger".
There was a long pause between them and Eve felt Consuela pull closer, the sound of her breathing was soothing.
"I missed you" Eve whispered. "I missed you too" Consuela said "After what happened in Washington, I tried to get back home, but it took a long time, by then you were gone. I never told Laura and Press, but I thought if I stuck with them, it was my best chance of finding you again… I understand if you need time, but I'm here".
"It's not that, it's just,,, what's happening with me, I don't know if I can trust myself" Eve said in a shaky voice, feeling a lump in her throat. "I trust you, like I said, I understand this is a big change, if you need time… just don't let whatever that thing is stop you being you, because then it wins".
Eve felt the warmth in her, and remembered how much they had shared in their time together down in Mexico. She closed her eyes and pulled Consuela close "I wish you hadn't gone with them, I wish you'd have stayed with me".
Álvarez pulled back slightly to look in her eyes and took a deep regretful breath "So do I, but, we're here now, right?" Álvarez rested head against Eve's again to emphasise her next words point "We'll get through this, you and me".
Eve looked into her eyes "The others, they know we were close back then, do they know about.. everything?". Consuela smiled and shook her head "No, they don't know the best parts, or, how long you were really there. I kept that to myself".
Overcome with emotion, Eve leaned in and kissed Consuela passionately, holding it for a few moments before pulling back "I.. I'm sorry, I…" Eve couldn't finish the sentence before Consuela leaned in and kissed her back, pushing her all the way back down onto the bed.
Dan couldn't help but feel it in the early hours of the morning. It woke him from a dead sleep, a rush of intense fear, anger, longing and then... the images.
Eve had experienced an episode so strong that Dan had felt it over in his room in the main house. He had gotten out of bed, and begun making his way across the yard with a mind to help her when he had sensed something else that stopped him. The emotions radiated like the heat of a bonfire the closer he got, what initially was a deep sense of anguish had subsided and given way to an intense passion and desire.
It was enough to make him stop in his tracks at the bottom of the steps to the main house..."Oh".
Dan was no idiot, and he knew that if he continued now, even with the best intentions, he wouldn't be more harm than good. No, he'd turned back and decided that he'd work with Eve when she was ready.
He had sensed an urgency in Álvarez when they first met, but she kept a lot locked away, as he'd watched them interact, however, it had become clear to Dan that Eve's time in Mexico was more eventful than either of them had let on.
They had both been through so much, and had been apart for a long time.
He'd felt happy for them as he returned to his room. When Dan got back inside, he'd immediately gotten out a pad, and quickly sketched what he'd glimpsed. A twisted landscape with what appeared to be ossified, twisting, triple helix shaped towers spaced evenly every few miles.
In the distance was a larger, more ominous structure with many sharp protrusions, a tower stretching hundreds of miles into the sky. In the sky, beyond the loathsome tower was what Dan could only describe as a black hole, a dark, empty void in the fabric of reality surrounded by a bright accretion disk of light.
This was terrifying, but it was also useful. Now Dan had a glimpse and felt the presence of whatever had been tormenting Eve. The origin of the message, its bearing, its terrible will, its crushing, humbling gaze and the shadow it cast over Eve.
A mind, a will, an order of magnitude so far beyond anything he had ever felt.
He knew now what Eve was up against… what he was up against… and if they failed... what the entire world could find itself up against..
No, those thoughts were too large for now… now he had to focus on what he could do for Eve, the blocking techniques he could teach her, the one's he'd learned. Most of all, a plan began to form in his mind, he jotted down a few notes.
Dan made a few notes. Whatever this thing was, had gotten into Eve's mind and used the pain it found there against her. Eve was telepathic, she knew how to use her powers, but there was always more she could learn, like him, she had learned to use her abilities out of pure instinct, she could learn how to hone those powers properly and use them to her advantage.
Aside from the Psychic techniques and meditations he could teach her, he'd also work with her on coming to terms with the things she was holding onto that were clearly something this thing was using against her.
Just as he had been forced to do after L.A. Dan had found it hard to live with what happened in the tunnels. He had found Sil's offspring, a boy, he was innocent.
For that matter, even though Sil had killed several innocent people, Dan understood she was finding her place in a world that had largely shown her nothing but hostility. Had there been a way to help her, he would have tried.
Dan had no intention of harming the child he found in the tunnels and wanted to help him, but when he reached out to pick him up, the child suddenly transformed and sprang at him. In his panic, he had just reacted. Bathing the creature in flame, hearing Sil's scream of anguish still haunted him and became a big part of his drive to help others through their difficulties.
"I couldn't help them, but I can help Eve" he whispered to himself.
Dan resolved that he would do everything he could to try and understand this entity that was trying to connect with Eve. He knew that was a monumental task, but he had to try. He began to suspect that in helping Eve to overcome it, by extension, it might actually save everyone from whatever he felt was coming.
Eve opened her eyes slowly, it was early, the sun would be up soon, but this time she felt rested, more content. She had a feeling that the feelings she had for Consuela would be rekindled, but not so soon, perhaps she had shut herself off more than she thought. Press was right when he said the game had changed, it had changed for her too. There was a weight on her chest and she realised it was Consuela's arm draped across her.
Eve's bed was soaked in a cold sweat after her most recent episode, and then, they had added more, after which they had decided to move things to Consuela's room to be more comfortable.
Eve turned her head, Consuela was still asleep, breathing softly. Eve smiled, remembering their time together in Mexico. After the attack, Mexican Federal authorities had rolled in, and some American investigators.
Eve was preparing to run a barricade, but Consuela had followed her and persuaded her to hide until the heat was off.
The night of the attack. Consuela and Eve had maintained a very distrustful manner, to say the least, but by the time the sun came up, they had come to rely on one another. Consuela brought Eve to her house on the edge of the town where she lived alone. It was one of the few neighbourhoods that hadn't seen bloodshed that night.
Álvarez was determined that someone be held responsible for what happened to her town. Eve told her about Laura and that she would make sure it was taken care of. Consuela wasted no time, taking the files Eve had found in the remnants of Forbes's lab, and flew directly to Dulles international, armed with what she knew about Laura, and the fact that she was an excellent detective in her own right, it only took her a single day to find Laura's apartment and from what Eve understood, Consuela spent less than two hours with her, pretty much dumping the files in her lap and heading back before any American authorities took notice.
There, they had stayed together, Eve could have left after the first week when things began to quiet down. She didn't know why, but she had stayed. Consuela introduced her to her brothers, who had also been forced to deal with Forbes's creations that night. They had accepted her, taken her in, and most importantly, they knew who she was, and they had kept her secret. Eve felt happy, wanted, and safe for the first time in her life.
She had grown closer to Consuela after only the second week, then, Eve had opened up about everything she had been through up until the night of the attack. That was when things had unexpectedly become more intense, and a passion had stirred between them. It was unlike anything she had experienced before. She had experienced desire, yearning for someone before, but this was deeper.
They had continued in this relationship for over two months, when, once again, quite unexpectedly, Eve had caught two distinctive scents approaching the house… Laura was there, and she had Press with her. Eve had been stepping out of the shower at the time and cone into an absolute panic.
At the time, Eve didn't know if they were still hunting her for the project. She resorted to something that she looked back on with much embarrassment, crawling beneath a pile of clothes in Consuela's bedroom, like a child would. There she stayed, unmoving for over three hours, listening to them talk.
Laura was planning to expose the project, and they had a journalist lined up to listen to their story in Washington, but it would really help if Consuela accompanied them and gave her statement about the attack on her town. It would prove that the knowledge to create the alien entities was out there, and already being misused.
Eve also overheard how Consuela covered for her, she lied to them, telling them a well constructed half-truth, that she had met during the attack, that she had indeed sheltered Eve afterwards, but that Eve had left in search of her daughter.
The truth, of course, at that point, Eve had no idea where to start. They had been planning on travelling back to the US together, returning to the Ross estate, trying to find the spot in the woods where that Ambulance had stopped and seeing what, if any clues they could find from there.
Amidst her thoughts of the past, Eve also made a mental note, with everyone, Consuela, Laura, Press and Dan, that the plan now had stronger foundations.
It was clear, listening to Laura's voice, that she was shocked, saddened. When Consuela had initially given her the files, that was obviously the first time she had heard anything about Eve having given birth, clearly she had been side-lined in the aftermath of what happened that night and they had kept the truth from her, either that or they just didn't know.
Laura had mentioned that Forbes was part of a larger organisation, but appeared to have gone rogue, but didn't say anything further. Eve sensed Consuela's anger rising, the idea of someone else doing what Forbes had done.
Eve stayed there listening, her heart pounding for a long time. Over the next few days, Consuela considered their offer, and despite Eve's pleas that it would be a mistake to go, possibly even a trap, Consuela had a determination that whoever was responsible, was going to pay for the lives that were destroyed that night.
Eve had eventually relented when Consuela had promised to return in a few days, no matter what, but on the second day after she departed, Eve saw the news about the incident in the Capitol, that several people were injured, an exchange of gunfire between unknown parties, and a highly accomplished journalist, Edward Jacobi, was killed.
Eve spent most of the next twelve hours crying, believing that Consuela wouldn't be coming back, moreover, there was now the possibility that someone would come here looking for her. Eve did the only thing she could, after leaving a hastily written note with one of Consuela's brothers, she ran, and she kept running until she found herself in the depths of the forest in the Northwest Territories, an isolated place where nobody would find her.
She would often lay awake in her bedroll, thinking of Consuela's warm embrace, and the sound of her breathing, remembering a good time in her life, when she was wanted, when, and her constant underlying anguish over that night in the ambulance, was soothed.
A time that had lived only briefly…but she felt glad to have lived it. Consuela drew in a deep breath and opened one eye "Hey…Buenos días chica" she whispered. "Morning..." Eve whispered back "You ok?".
Consuela smiled "I missed you so much, I missed this". "Me too, you have no idea how much" Eve Whispered. "Well, I think you showed me last night" Consuela said, with a mischievous smile. Eve reached over and brushed back Consuela's hair "To think it took all this to get us back together". "It was all worth it now that we are" Consuela said, pulling herself closer.
"I meant what I said you know" Consuela whispered "If this doesn't work out, you and I will look for her together" and rested her head against Eve's. "I wasn't sure at first, but I think It will, something that Press said, the game has changed, you know?" Eve whispered.
"He was right, we've seen a few of these places now I never thought I'd be doing this, fighting something like this" Consuela stopped herself "Nevermind, now's not the time, we're safe for now, we can get to know each other again".
"It's ok, I get it, it's been hard" Eve whispered. "Sí, it's been a long, hard road for us both, but it brought us both right here" Consuela said.
"This time we can make it last" Eve whispered and smiled. "As it should've been" Consuela shuffled up and leaned over her, nuzzling up to her neck and face. Eve closed her eyes and enjoyed the kiss that followed.
Dan knew that Álvarez and Eve had talked about starting their day with a couple of laps of the property, after the images he'd seen last night, he was sure that whatever the entity was that was tormenting Eve, it was definitely trying to manipulate her in some way.
He figured out, based on everything he knew about Eve, she had turned on Patrick to save Laura, Press and Gamble, she had no desire to harm anyone, it was obvious that whatever the entity was, it viewed Eve as an anomaly.
It had sent that message to Earth with the intention of creating a means to infiltrate and destroy the human species, Eve wasn't conforming to it's plan and it was treating her like a problem to be solved.
He waited on the front porch as they arrived, having gone back to their guest building to change, so he could take a moment with Eve before she went down to visit Laura and start looking through the files.
Eve smiled as she walked up the steps with Álvarez "Hay, morning" she said. Dan sensed she was clearly still thinking about her episode last night, she also seemed to sense that he was waiting for her "You go ahead, I'll catch up" Eve told Álvarez and came over to sit with him.
"I think I know what you wanna talk about, you felt it right?" she said. Dan was a little taken aback, Eve knew, but she seemed to have taken it well, no doubt what he knew happened afterwards must've helped.
"It's good, you know" Dan began "Having someone around who can really get you on this level… under the circumstances". Eve looked down and nodded "Last night… it was the worst one yet, I think, whatever it is, I'm not doing.. or being what it wants. It's confused… angry". "You know what, Eve, I caught some images when it happened…last night… that's exactly what I thought too… you ok?".
Eve took a moment, and a deep breath, she glanced in through the window and saw Álvarez getting something to eat. Consuela glanced up and caught her looking, they exchanged a smile "I think I will be" Eve said softly "I just need to figure out how to stop it".
Dan looked up and followed Eve's gaze, she turned to face him again and gave him an awkward half smile "Look, I know that you've probably figured us out, can we keep it between us for now?".
Dan reached out and squeezed her hand "Absolutely, I could tell there was something from the moment I met Consuela up north, her desperation to find you. I'm glad you have this, it'll help I think, you have that rock to hold on to".
Eve's smile practically beamed. In that moment, Dan understood her better than anyone, Eve was, above all else, someone who understood that happiness was fleeting, but sought to have peace in her life. "Can we start today?" Eve asked. "I've got a few ideas where we can start, we've gotta work on what you did at the farmhouse, remember?" Dan replied "When you learned that I could sense your emotions you shut down, you didn't trust us".
Eve's expression fell, she looked down again "I'm sorry about that, it was just difficult, I'd been running for so long and what happened at that old place in the woods…" she trailed off "I… it was a lot".
Dan put his hand on her shoulder as he noticed her eyes redden slightly, Eve was strong, but the events of the past few days had definitely left her feeling vulnerable. Eve clearly wasn't used to talking about her feelings with anyone, aside from possibly Álvarez. She had been surviving alone up there for so long. "I understand, but Eve, I think it's because you've been through so much that this thing is getting through, it's making these connections with you, using what it finds in your memories, things it knows will disturb you, to get a reaction out of you" Dan explained as gently as possible.
"Ahh… yeah, well it certainly did that" Eve's eyes welled up with tears as she spoke, "It shows me things from my past, like it wants to know me, It said it wanted me to fulfil my purpose…If that means what I think it means, I want no part of it... I told it as much".
"I'm not gonna lie Eve, it won't be easy, it'll be very personal, we're gonna have to talk about all those things that scare you, that hurt you. Things that this being is trying to use against you. If we can address them, knock them down one by one, maybe it'll have less to use" Dan explained as gently as he could, knowing that they had a difficult task ahead.
"There's also one other thing, Eve" Dan said, he could tell he had her full attention "This thing, whatever it is, It's obviously very powerful, very old, I sensed that, so we don't know how it might adapt". Eve gave him a solemn half smile "Well… adaptation.. It's kinda my thing too". Dan laughed "Yeah, like I said, I caught a few images, and what you were feeling, you really resisted".
Eve's expression was still solemn "Maybe I made my position clear enough, what are the chances it might lose my number and give up huh?". Although Dan sensed that in the back of her mind, she was anxious about what lay ahead, Eve covered it with humour, that was a good start. The first time Dan was around her, he sensed a deep well of strength, she would need it for what was to come.
"There you go" Dan grinned "Yeah, maybe it's all for nothing, you told it to get lost and it might never come back". Eve's expression warmed and she smiled "If it wasn't so early, I'd drink to that" she said.
Something seemed to occur to Eve in that moment, she locked eyes with him "Dan, can I ask you a question?". "Sure, anything" he said. "Before two days ago, you didn't know me at all, only what you'd been told, why do you want to help me so much?" She paused and then added something he hadn't expected: "Does it have something to do with Sil?"
Dan felt a little taken aback, Eve was clearly extremely perceptive "I… I think so, yeah" He replied. "You met her right? What was she like?". Dan thought for a moment, exhaling deeply "That's a difficult question, Eve, I was once as close to her as you are to me. If I hadn't gotten scared and blown it, maybe things would have been different. If I'd have been able to talk to her, like we're talking, who knows?" .
"A lot like me, I take it you don't mean the obvious right?" Eve smiled, she was finding that humour again. "No, well... yeah… that too, but when I got close to her, I sensed she had that strength in her too, and like you, deep down, I think all she really wanted was to have peace… that's why I regret what happened so much".
Eve looked down again and now she reached out and took his hand "Strength in me? I'm sorry to disappoint, Dan. There were days, back in the lab that I thought about smashing the glass so they'd trigger my tether device and just end it all". "But you didn't, did you? I saw you talking with Laura yesterday, you have a lot of love for each other don't you?" Dan asked.
Eve lifted her head and nodded, then looked in through the window again "She was put in an impossible position, she did the best she could, I didn't always appreciate that… but without her, I wouldn't be here". "And without you, neither would she" Dan interjected.
"So you don't think I'll end up like Sil?" Dan hadn't expected that question from Eve. He knew she was looking for reassurance, one thing he knew he was good at "Eve, look at me". She raised her eyes and met his gaze, Dan leaned forward to emphasise his point "No, I absolutely don't think you'll end up like her. I couldn't help her, but I can do everything within my power to help you, and whatever comes our way, we're gonna get through it. Sil didn't have anyone to help her, but you've got Laura, Consuela, Press. You've got me… and you've got Gamble whenever he gets here. Laura told me what you did that night on the Ross Estate, you probably saved everyone".
"Thank you, Dan, really, thank you" Eve said. They sat in silence for a moment, Dan looked out over the countryside, the sun was rising over a land of mist, there was still a layer of fresh snow on the ground. "That night" Eve suddenly said, bringing Dan's attention back to her, she was staring at him with a new determination "What… what is it?" he asked. "Come on" Eve said abruptly, and stood up.
Dan followed as Eve made her way through the front door and made a beeline for the entrance to the basement where Laura had set up the computer and all the files in her workspace.
The previous day, Laura had not finished setting up her workspace properly, Eve's arrival had taken priority over everything. She was just starting to get the rest of the hardcopy files out of their box when Eve came down to the basement "Morning Eve... you ok?" Laura asked, but she trailed off as she realised that Eve had a strange look about her, a determination. Dan was right behind her.
"Laura, you mentioned that these files are people who you think could be part of Arianna's network?" Eve said, her voice was low, it wasn't anger, it was something else, but it was clear she was on a mission here.
"That's right, and some of them are people on the original project, anyone we can trace who might have evidence on how it all started... Eve what's the matter?".
Eve stepped closer and looked at the wall, studying every image carefully "He might be here" Eve whispered.
Laura started to feel a little anxious, she had only ever seen Eve like this once, the night she escaped "Who?". Eve took the box full of files and started going through it frantically "Him".
"Eve, calm down, you're gonna mess it all up, tell me who you're looking for and maybe…". "I have to know, he might be here" Eve said, completely preoccupied with what she was doing.
Laura pulled out the rest of the stack of files and placed it on the empty part of the desk "Eve, you're not making any sense, who are you looking for?"
Eve was flipping through a stack of files in her hands when suddenly she stopped on one of them, she stared at it, and her mouth fell open. Laura saw her eyes redden and a tear fell down one cheek, her breathing quickened "Him".
Eve moved around Laura and sat down in the chair by the desk and stared at it. "Eve… can I see". Laura gently reached down and took the file out of Eve's hands, it came away surprisingly easily.
The face, in black and white, that stared back at Laura from the file was that of Dr. Bruce Abbot, a biochemist and geneticist who was part of the early stages of the original Sil project, at the time, it was codenamed "Operation Distant Call".
"Eve?" Laura asked, still unsure what any of this had to do with Bruce Abbot.
Eve's reply was barely above a whisper "The Ambulance… that night, in the woods... he was there". Dan stepped closer and looked at the file "Bruce Abbott? Who's that?". Laura had studied Abbot's file, along with everyone involved with the original project extensively, Bruce Abbot was part of Xavier Fitch's original team working on the alien signal and sequencing the Alien Genome. However, Laura had looked through all these files, she knew that Abbot was not satisfied with sequencing the Alien genetic code.
Abbot was, by all reports, obsessive and manipulative, constantly arguing for the creation of a pure strain, a "Wet Machine" as he put it, believing that only a pure alien strain would carry the true meaning of the alien message.
His constant clashes with Fitch and his other colleague, Dr. Thomas Hollander, who also later departed the Project for personal reasons, had eventually led to his dismissal from the entire operation. He had eventually taken up a Professorship at Wisconsin-Madison University teaching Biochemistry and Genetics.
"He was there" Eve whispered again "He's the one who took my daughter… my baby" Eve's eyes were red with tears, she was clearly reliving it. "Eve, Bruce Abbot shouldn't have even known you existed". Eve seemed to take a moment and collect herself, but it was an effort, she took a deep breath and stood up, taking the file back and turning the pages, she looked like she was absorbing every word. "He knew my name… he said my name, like he was surprised to see me alive".
Eve's expression changed, her jaw clenched, her overall demeanour turned dark "Laura… do you know where this man is?". Laura knew that tone of voice, Eve's anguish was fast turning to anger, Laura put a hand on her shoulder "Eve, we searched for Bruce Abbot and some of the others, but he was nowhere to be found… he disappeared, Eve".
Eve looked ready to explode staring at his face in the file, Laura felt her own instincts telling her to back away, but she ignored them, instead, she took hold of the file and pulled it out of Eve's hands, throwing it onto the desk. Laura then took Eve by the shoulders, turning her so they were face to face "Eve, I told you I'd help you find her, trust me, we will do that… ok?". Laura saw the determination in Eve's eyes, she had just found her first solid lead.
Since learning that Eve had a daughter, it had become one of Laura's priorities to find her and hopefully keep her safe from Arianna's Network and the Government, but she had nothing to go on, until Eve just handed it to her. Laura understood that while it was just one of her priorities, it was the only one for Eve.
Eve's expression slowly began to soften again and Laura watched a single tear fall down her left cheek "When the other one attacked me… he just stood there and watched". Laura didn't know what to do at that moment. She did the only thing she could, and pulled Eve closer to hug her tightly, she could see what Eve was going through and wouldn't wish it upon anyone.
Dan moved around to the desk and picked up the file "Wait, if this guy was kicked off the original project, how did he even know about Eve?" Dan asked "It was a separate project, all top secret right?". Eve took a step back and rubbed her eyes "So..a college Professor, a scientist, not a soldier… although he was dressed like one. I've had his skinny face burned into my brain for over five years since that night. I remember the way he smelled, the sound of his heartbeat, he was afraid.. I knew something wasn't right about him".
"What's been right about any of this though, right, Eve?" Laura said. Eve leaned against the desk, gave a single, barely perceptible, rueful snort and shook her head "Bruce...fucking Abbot…Now I know your name" Eve whispered, no nobody in particular.
Now Laura felt her own anger rising, Bruce Abbot, an obsessive and manipulative man who should not have been anywhere near Eve, had somehow infiltrated Burgess's command.
"Shit….well, this solves one thing that's been bugging me" Laura began "I raised hell with Burgess when I found out what happened that night, after you escaped for the second time. I knew something was wrong. The driver originally assigned to that detail was signed out, off base at the time, but we couldn't find out who took his place".
"It doesn't matter how he got in there, or how he knew about me… I only care about what he did with my daughter… Wisconsin-Madison University, we can start there…" Eve began, but Laura stopped her before she went any further. "Eve, listen, Press and I already searched for him, back when we first ended up on the run, looking for evidence on the project, we started looking for anyone associated with the original operation. We went there, we asked around, about four months after you escaped, Bruce Abbot disappeared".
"Fuck! Well there must have been something?" That was the first time Laura had ever heard Eve curse like that, twice in as many minutes. "Eve, it's ok, you've given us a good lead here, if we look a little deeper, we can talk to Gamble, Press can put word out through his friends, and we can see if anything turns up, maybe his activities before he disappeared might give us another clue".
"What's going on" Press came down the stairs with Álvarez, both of whom immediately noticed something was wrong.
"Bruce fucking Abbot, that's what's going on" Laura said to Press. "The Professor from Wisconsin?" Press asked "Mr. Disappearing-Act?". Laura held up his file "Eve just found him, the mystery ambulance driver". Laura could see Press's wheels turning, Abbot's disappearance was suspicious, but they hadn't been able to link it to the Network.
Eve wiped her eyes and collected herself "He's the one who took my daughter". Now Press came over and took a look at Abbot's file "Shit, Eve, I'm sorry, I can't pretend to know what you're going through, but I promise we'll do everything we can. This guy worked with Fitch… Arianna's old man". "And Sil's… technically" Dan said.
Laura gathered the rest of the files Eve had just rifled through and dumped them back in their box, she'd finish organising them later. As she did, she mentally processed what she had just learned Bruce Abbot, what the hell were you up to? If you did anything to that kid..I'll… Laura shook her head and pushed the thoughts aside, the question, one of many that had been dogging her for a while had just been answered, but it raised many more?
Was Abbot working alone?
Was Arianna involved?
How did he even know about Eve?
What was he going to do?
Perhaps Abbot had been infiltrating the facility for a while with the intention of freeing Eve for his own purposes, but even so, there was no way he would have known she would escape herself, had he simply adjusted his plan to the developing situation?
Given everything Laura had learned about Abbot and others as she had gone along… Abbot, despite his numerous negative traits, was a smart man, creative and versatile, if anyone could have infiltrated Project Athena with the goal of pulling a "Smash and Grab", and stealing Eve… Abbot was no super spy, but he was resourceful.
Laura had studied his file, he was known to be someone that didn't work well with others, not even Fitch could work with him, for that reason, she had ruled him out as being part of the Network.
Whatever Bruce Abbot was up to that night, Somehow he had kept himself informed about Project Athena, he had figured out a way to infiltrate them at a critical moment… But there was no way he could've known Eve was with child in that ambulance.
No, whatever was going on that night, given everything she'd seen of the Network, it didn't seem like the work of Arianna. She would have sent someone with an actual background in espionage for a task like that, there would have likely been more than one, a professional extraction team. Abbot was a lone wolf, he must've been trying to steal Eve's body to study for himself, believing she was dead.
No, he had to have been alone Laura thought. If Arianna Fitch was behind the events of that night, she would have taken both Eve and the child, and the world would be feeling the consequences.
Right now, Laura's only priority was Eve "It's alright, Eve, you've given us our first step, we'll figure this out". "I'll go back into what Abbot was up to just before he disappeared" Press said "Maybe I missed something".
Álvarez stepped up and leaned against the desk next to Eve, linking an arm supportively "Hay, we've got this". "I remember now, there was another professor that vanished right before Abbot. Nicholas Turner I think, he was overseeing development of the Tokamak Fusion Generator over there at the old Ashland plant, it's all decommissioned now" Press said "It was suspicious, but we couldn't link him to Arianna, or to you".
Eve seemed to decompress slightly, and went outside with Álvarez to get some fresh air. As the morning went on, Eve managed to calm herself down, it was clear that she had been on a rollercoaster of emotions since last night.
After getting all the details about Abbot she could find, even looking him up on the University website, he never had a social media presence, but was featured in the profiles of a few former students, mainly talking about his sudden disappearance, but nothing she could use, she realised that his trail was cold.
There also wasn't much she could do about it for the time being, what with being a wanted fugitive, not to mention the fact that her fight up north was still generating millions of views online. These things didn't help her situation, no for the time being, she would have to sit tight and try to adjust.
Laura had seen Eve upset many times, but never anything like that, then again, Laura had never had kids, and understood that perhaps she lacked perspective. Eve was a mother whose child had been taken from her under the most brutal of circumstances. Laura couldn't imagine the pit of despair such a thing could bring.
In the afternoon, Dan had taken Eve out to the small rocky crags by the river. She had taken a liking to that spot, and they had begun their first session of meditations.
It wasn't until then, that Laura found out that Eve had experienced yet another one of her "Episodes" overnight and that was what prompted her to look through the files. She had seen Abbot during the "Dream", or something that had taken on his appearance, along with the appearance of Patrick, and herself.
Laura was a scientist, her world was logic and reason, but she cared for Eve, she always had.
This entity that was tormenting her, there was no real word in science to describe what it was. That it would do this to Eve. This entity, this highly advanced form of life, possessed a calculating, artful cruelty to achieve it's goals, forcing Eve to relive traumatic events and tormenting her like this in her own mind, there was only one word for that, Evil.
Eve had deviated from its intentions for her, and it was either punishing her or trying to get her back on track. Given what Álvarez had described, Eve had told it to "Go fuck itself", not with actual words, but through her resistance to it's influence. A fact that made Laura feel even more proud.
Laura knew that one effect of the Alien Gene was that, aside from adding Alien traits to whatever lifeform with which it was combined, it also greatly enhanced whatever was already there, human instincts, human drives… and, in Eve's case, her humanity too.
Press came back down to the basement in the early evening "Hay, come on, you've been down here all day". Laura rubbed her eyes "Yeah, we've got a lot to get through". Press leaned on the desk and took her by the hand "Nobody's gonna be going anywhere for a while, there's plenty of time". Laura paused and leaned back in the chair "So what do you think… Bruce Abbot? I never saw that coming".
"First thought, if by some miracle, we find him, I'm standing well out of the way". "I'll tell you what I think" Laura said "I think he wanted the Kudos he was denied the first time around on the original project… I think he was trying to steal Eve's body so he could study her, maybe even recreate her, who knows".
Press nodded in agreement "Sounds likely, but then she gave him a double surprise by being still alive, and being pregnant" Press paused for a moment "From everything I know about the guy, he sounds like a Grade-A asshole, but, from a professional point of view, I have to respect the time, the dedication and the planning that went into his little heist, even if it didn't go to plan". "Yeah" Laura gave a humourless chuckle "I wonder when people will learn that when you mess with anything to do with this alien stuff, it will never go the way you think?"
Press nodded in agreement. "From what we know, he was back on the campus for a couple of months after that night, before he up and vanished" Laura said, staring at his extended personnel file on the laptop screen. Press chuckled "Well, if this guy clashed so much with Xavier Fitch, maybe Eve's Daughter couldn't stand him either and … well, you can imagine". Laura raised an eyebrow "Yeah, I think I can imagine… I find myself wondering what she's like, what her name is?".
"So you think she's still out there?" Press asked. "You see how resilient Eve is" Laura replied "Can you honestly imagine a scenario where she isn't still out there?". Press thought for a moment and nodded "Yeah, you're right, that's the logic of it… come on, the other's are gonna start without us".
Laura took Press's hand and got up out of the chair. Laura took his arm and they made their way up to Gamble's kitchen where they all sat around the table. Laura noticed immediately that Eve seemed a lot calmer, having spent the afternoon learning some of Dan's Mental Exercises.
"Hay, you started without us?" Laura said as she sat down. Álvarez was making her way back to the table with her plate "No, you're just in time" she said with a smile. "Dan was just telling us where he learned all his psychic abilities" Eve said.
"Well, I didn't learn them, I was born with them, I just had to learn how to use them" Dan told her "Gotta learn how to ride a bike". "I always did wanna ask, I just thought it was private" Press said, bringing a plate to the table. Dan shook his head "No, not at all. It was hard as a Kid, being this way, you soak up the thoughts and emotions of everyone around you, and living in a big apartment building in Hell's Kitchen, I had families above, below and either side". "And you were getting it all?" Eve asked.
"Pretty much, but it was my Aunt Orynthia, she was like me too, you know, Sighted. Now, she had a really good handle on it, better than anyone I've ever seen, apart from you of course" he said, gesturing to Eve.
Eve smiled "Thanks". "No, really, first day, you already learned a lot.. But I digressed. My Aunt taunt me a bunch of stuff, how to control it, how to use it. Dial it up when you wanna learn something, dial it down when you want some peace, shut it off when you're getting something you don't like. She used to say the mind is a universe of infinite possibility, if you can think of it, you can do it, a tool for every occasion".
"Sounds like she was really skilled in using her Sighted abilities, does it run in your family?" Laura asked. "Yeah, go back far enough, there are a few people in my family who were Sighted, on my mother's side" Dan said. Press leaned forward "Your Aunt, where did she learn all her skills with it?".
"Oh, I dunno, she only mentioned him once, a man she met in Paris in the summer of 1959, they spent some time together, then she said one day he just disappeared. Then, when I was sixteen, she disappeared too".
"I'm sorry Dan, I didn't mean to…" Press began... but Dan held up a hand to tell him it was alright. "No, it's cool, I like to think he came back for her and they went off together, she was well travelled, and she never really took to New York".
"I hope that's true" Álvarez said "Did your Aunt mention anything else about him?". "Not really" Dan said "Only that he came from a long line of Whispers". Eve tilted her head "What's a Whisper?". "Oh, among Sighted people, and I've met a few, Whispers are kinda like a ghost story".
"How many other people like you do you know, Dan?" Press asked. "Quite a few, I joined a program, they said it was designed for "Gifted" kids when I was in High School, by then, word had gotten around about me, it was a government funded study of people Psychic Acuity, I kept in contact with a lot of the participants, it's hard to find other people who "Get you" on that level you know".
"And they all had this story about these Whispers?" Press asked. "Yeah, a few of them had parents, grandparents or extended family with the same abilities and several had stories of meeting a Whisper, supposedly they're Sighted people who've been fighting throughout history, you know, protecting people like us from persecution… which did happen a hell of a lot".
"I read about that" Eve said "A few hundred years ago, they would've called you a "witch" or something right?". Dan nodded "In some parts of the world they still would, I like to think that Whispers are real, but I don't know, whenever I got bullied and things got bad, it wasn't any Whisper that came to the rescue, it was my sister Olivia who stepped up, she had my back, I had hers, we both had to grow up fast in that neighbourhood".
"Sounds rough" Laura said. "Yeah, it can be tough being different" Dan said. "No argument there" Eve chimed in, prompting them all to exchange a murmur of laughter.
"You're just an unusual girl, with unusual problems" Álvarez smiled. "We're both unusual" Eve grinned, gesturing to Dan "Dan had unusual problems too… but they don't involve spikes". Dan leaned back and laughed "No, I can't say I have that particular issue".
"Ahh So what" Álvarez said "Every girl had sharp parts" she gestured to Eve "Apparently that's a universal truth". Eve thought for a moment, then broke into laughter "Thanks... I think". It caused the rest of them to break into laughter too.
"Eve, I've been meaning to ask" Press said "Does it hurt when you do that?". "You mean when I change?" Eve grinned, holding up a hand. Laura playfully knocked Press on the arm "Press!".
"No it's ok, Laura… no it doesn't hurt… it feels like…" Eve thought for a moment, searching for the words, then her eyes fell upon a bottle of whisky in the rack behind Press "If you drank two or three glasses of that Whisky, then sat down somewhere and closed your eyes… that sinking, falling feeling you get".
"Ok, now I'm intrigued" Laura said "So when you change it feels like being drunk?". "No, just when you're actually changing, it's like that sensation" Eve said, gesturing again at the Whisky bottle in the corner "But it's more intense, like it's washing over you, lighting up every nerve... like free fall maybe".
"What's it like when you're fully changed?" Dan said. Eve went quiet for a moment again, trying to find the right words to explain it "It's like being lighting, every sensation, every smell, every sound, your thoughts are razor sharp, exposed like a raw nerve, every instinct dialled up to eleven". Eve stopped for a moment, realising that everyone was listening intently.
"So it feels good?" Laura said, breaking the silence "I never imagined it like that". Eve smiled "Very good, but it can take a lot out of me. When I was living on the move, I'd do it at least once every few days, usually to hunt".
Laura leaned forward, feeling fully captivated, she hadn't seen Eve in so long and her time out in the world had certainly changed her "You do it to hunt?"
Eve Shrugged "Well yeah, I never had a rifle or anything like that, also, also, why spend money on a hunting knife when I have an unlimited supply of them on my back?"
"That's… that's.. undeniable logic" Laura began to laugh. Álvarez leaned back and looked at Eve. Laura watched a grin start to creep across Consuela's face. "What?... what is it?" Eve said.
Consuela started to chuckle "Can you imagine if you're camping out somewhere in the woods, probably smoking some Jazz Cabbage and drinking catching a glimpse of that in the middle of the night?" She made an overt gesture of taking an invisible joint out of her mouth and staring at it with wide eyes.
Eve looked down and began to smirk, then looked back at Consuela "Yeah… A few years back, I was on my way back up north after leaving Mexico… that actually happened". Laura almost swallowed her food the wrong way "What?". Press echoed her "What! Oh, I gotta hear this".
"Me too" Consuela was already laughing.
Eve looked at Dan, who also shrugged and nodded, then cleared her throat, as if a little embarrassed "Well, it happened in Idaho, just north of Sawtooth City". Laura immediately knew where this was "I know that place" she said "That's the Dark Sky Reserve, the state park area right?".
Eve nodded "Yeah, beautiful night sky out there… Anyway I was fully changed, I was hunting, it was something like 2:30am, not sure, can't wear a watch when I'm like that...when I got after this deer, it blew through a creek and right through the middle of a campsite with about eight people. I misjudged the slope on the other side and slipped in the mud, but running that fast I couldn't stop myself. I fell" Eve made a sweeping motion with her hand "Wend down hard, right in front of all of them, right in the middle of their camp".
"Oh my God" Press said "Dare I even ask what happened next?". "Nothing… bad" Eve began "Nobody got hurt".
"So what did you do?" Dan asked, on the verge of laughter himself. Eve stopped herself for a moment, looking slightly self-conscious, then continued "They looked like college kids, they were all smoking and drinking, they had a campfire. The Deer knocked over their beer cooler on it's way though, then I came crashing in, fully in my Other Form and landed on my ass right in the middle of them".
Consuela couldn't stop laughing at this point "Did they freak out?". At this point, Eve also started to laugh, thinking of the memory "It was weird, they were all either drunk or high, they just stared at me... I stared back at them for what seemed like a long time, then it was like reality set in for them one by one and they all just freaked out and ran off in different directions, just left me sitting there".
"I bet if we check message boards we'll find this story, maybe Reddit or something" Consuela said, at the same time, she reached over with a bottle of wine she'd gotten from town the previous afternoon and filled Eve's glass "So did they come back?".
"No I didn't see them again" Eve said "But they left everything behind, including a bag full of something like twenty Pre-Rolled Joints, E-Tabs and Mushrooms". "Ohh, no Eve, tell me you didn't…" Laura said.
Eve seemed to go self-conscious again "Y… Yeah… I was feeling frustrated that I lost my meal, among other things, so I grabbed all their food, their snacks, and the bag of drugs. I threw it in their beer cooler with what was left of their drinks... some of their clothes too, and took it all back to my camp. I had a nice little spot hidden away in the rocks on the top of a hill a few miles away".
"So, you tried them?" Consuela asked, leaning forward, totally enthralled by this story. "I… I stayed up there for the next week or so, but I don't remember much of it… I swallowed and smoked everything in that bag".
"Did anyone come looking for you?" Dan asked. "If they did, I don't remember, when it finally wore off I packed up and kept moving north". "It's weird" Consuela giggled "I spent years fighting Cartels and drug dealers, and I still wish I'd have been there for that. I bet they never reported it because how could you?"
Consuela continued, in an impression of what they'd say "Yes officer, some alien woman wrecked out camp site, ruined our evening and stole all our party favours...you can guarantee all those kids, to this day are still wondering what was in those drugs".
Press turned to Laura "Ok, Laura, think about this…" he chuckled "So, we're out there, with half the government after us… fighting Arianna's network, trying to expose the project… all of this, while Eve here, is sitting at the top of a mountain... in full Sil mode.. getting absolutely trashed". That started everyone laughing, including Eve.
Laura had seen Eve in real anguish early that morning, and now, after working with Dan, and being made to feel welcome, she seemed happy, Laura couldn't remember, the last time, if ever, she had seen Eve laugh.
The five of them, Laura, Press, Dan, Álvarez and Eve continued to swap stories, joke, laugh and most importantly bond. They stayed there late into the night. They had all come here from different places, but they each knew that the only way to get through what was coming, was together.
It had now been over a week and a half since they had arrived at the Lodge. Gamble had been delayed in Washington, but he had been in contact and was working on a few more leads. He was due to join them in the next few days. When he arrived, he would waive his security so they could have privacy. It had given them all much needed time to form a routine and build on their new dynamic.
Eve had really begun to come out of her shell after that second day, and it was fulfilling for Laura to see just how much her personality had grown, some of the stories she told about her time out in the world, some were upsetting, some frightening and others had them all in fits of laughter.
Although Álvarez had never mentioned it, Laura had always suspected that she had sheltered Eve for longer than the few days she had said, the two of them had an incredibly strong bond and did everything together.
On the second night, Eve had experienced another one of her "Episodes" the worst yet, leading her to identify Bruce Abbot as the man behind her daughter's disappearance. Although Laura couldn't begin to understand the motivations of this "presence" that was trying to connect with Eve, it was clear that it possessed a deep well of malevolence, it's motivations for doing what it did were known only to itself.
Dan had begun working with Eve on some of the extra-sensory and mental techniques he knew, for better control of the psychic acuity, blocking out unwanted thoughts and emotions when needed. They had begun spending a lot of time together too.
Laura always held a deep regret over how she was forced to experiment on Eve in the lab, more so now than ever. Eve was a bird that was never meant to be caged, something inside Laura had known this from very early on.
Part of her even wondered, if Xavier Fitch had bothered to form a connection with Sil in the original project, to actually raise her, nurture her and treat her as a person, would she have turned out the same, instead, all she had to follow was raw instinct, that wasn't enough.
Laura now questioned everything she thought she knew about Eve, and about her species. In their pure form, which she had seen in L.A. they were violent and aggressive, driven by primal instinct... however, when blended with Humans, they were not inherently violent. Eve was living proof, they were incredibly powerful, capable of great and terrible things, but they were also highly intelligent, emotionally complex, probably more so than a human, they could be kind, compassionate with a sense of humour.
Whatever this thing was that had begun tormenting Eve, it clearly hadn't counted on her strength, and her will to remain in control of her own life, of who she was.
"You know I thought you and Consuela were crazy at first, but I'm glad I was wrong, I think things are gonna work out" Press said behind her. Laura hadn't heard him approach. "Here, I got you some coffee" he said as he handed her a large mug.
"You ever feel like this is all we need, if we can just all find somewhere safe and just outlive all this" she said. Press draped his arm around her. "You know I do, if only it were that simple". Laura took a long breath "The more I've seen what Eve has become, the more I don't want her anywhere near this, I started this fight, Eve doesn't deserve to get dragged into it" Laura leaned into him.
Press thought for a moment "I think she knows it's her fight as much as yours, mine, or any of us. She's not the same girl who tore her way out of that Lab, I can see how much she's grown as a person. She saved those people in Mexico, including Consuela. Hell... she saved us. She knows the score, she just wants to end all this and find her daughter" Press said, then added "I for one, actually wanna find her daughter too".
Laura raised her coffee to her mouth, enjoying the heat of the mug through her gloves "Yeah…long painful road led us all here". "But here we are, you, me, Dan, Consuela and now Eve…and whenever Gamble gets here, the whole gang, back together right?".
Laura laughed "You ever think…what if Arden could see us now?" she chuckled. Press didn't miss a beat "Arden? You kidding me? He'd love this, he'd still be all over you like he was in L.A".
Laura laughed again and tapped him on the chest "Nah, he got the message that I was taken... but with Consuela and Eve here too?". Press broke into laughter "Well when you put it that way, bigtime ladies man that he thought he was… who's he gonna put those English gentleman moves on first, place your bets" with that they both Laughed hard. "My money would be on Consuela" Laura chuckled. "I don't know? I think mine would be on Eve". There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before they both broke into laughter again.
Dan came out of the main house and joined them "What did I miss". "Oh we were just talking about Arden, what it would be like if he was here with us now". "Oh come on" Dan said "He'd be in his element… plying me with Long Island Iced Tea and trying to rope me into being his damn wingman again, just a question of would he be chatting up Eve or Consuela?" prompting more laughter "Yeah..That's what we were just saying!" Press chuckled.
"Absent Friends" Laura said, and took a drink. Even though it was the middle of the day and it was coffee they were drinking, Press and Dan echoed her Sentiments "Yeah, Absent Friends".
"I do hope that we can find her Daughter" Dan said "Ever since I found out, I've been wondering where she could be, what she's doing? What she's like". "When we're able, we'll track down some former students and go have a chat, anyone who might have been around Abbot in those final few weeks before he vanished" Press said "Did some checking, but his trail is completely cold as far as I can tell".
"Wherever she is, I just hope she's alright, for Eve's sake too… I should've been there for her that night" Laura said, suddenly feeling that regret again.
"If you had been in that ambulance, you might not be here right now, Laura" Dan said "Eve told me all about it, trust me, it was messed up… and If you weren't here, where would the rest of us be?". Laura felt Press's arm tighten around her reassuringly "Lost, is the answer to that" Press said, in one of those rare moments he used his softer voice.
Laura looked out over the cold landscape and began to realise that this thing that she had begun, had taken on a life of its own.
Everyone here had had their lives profoundly affected by the alien message and the chain of events it had set in motion, but after all the pain they had individually gone through, they had found each other.
It made her even more determined to bring the project, and all the suffering left in its wake to an end. Too many good people had already lost their lives or had them permanently ruined because of this. This…this was a family, drawn together by circumstances beyond any of their respective control, but they were together now, and she would do anything to protect them.
Ok, so, it's been a while since I updated Survivor, basically, I have to build a case for Eve and the team to follow. Bruce Abbot from the 3rd movie, little would be known in universe, of his fate. The only people who know what happened to him are Sara, Dean and probably Hastings.
There are a lot of moving parts to what is coming. You may have also noticed that Dan mentioned hearing "Ghost Stories" about The Whispers... Whispers are very real, if you've been reading my linked story Species: Angel of Vermin, then you'll know that the character "Connar "Hooded Crow" Braden" is a Whisper.
Watch this space, more is on the way, and also. I wanna see some comments from you guys about what message you'd leave for "Evelyn Greene" on a radio show... because there's a chance she might hear it...