Chapter 25 #2
The realisation hits me like an explosion against the dam of my emotions, unleashed like a tidal wave.
I weep endlessly, struggling to catch my breath.
My knees are so weak that I fall into his body.
I don’t know what to say, scrambling to figure out where to start.
My body shakes as Malcolm’s arms surround me, with the raw eruption of my heart spilling from my face.
Rex pats my back. “It’s okay. You’re safe now. We’ve got you.”
My sobbing tears soak into Malcolm’s white shirt. There’s an ache in my chest, emitting a sweltering warmth, and I wonder if it’s the biological equivalent of the broken parts of my heart welding together. When I raise my hands to wipe away the tears, the handcuffs on my wrists jingle.
“My friends?!” I jolt upright, looking between them all. “Where are they? … My friends… Are they okay?!”
“They’re in holding,” Rex confirms.
“Holding? Like a holding cell? Like prison?” I say urgently.
“Well, it’s not like that, baby girl. It’s precautionary,” Roscoe assures me as I jitter at the thought of being separated from them.
“Are they okay? Can I see them?”
Rex’s hand comes around mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze to still my shaking. “They’re fine. They have food and water. They’re not even awake yet.” He taps a radio connected to his belt.
My heart settles, trusting my fathers to look after them while I comprehend my reality. Seeing all three of them before me feels unreal, like one of my dreams—except I haven’t lived this moment before.
“Sparrow, listen,” Malcolm says, straightening his glasses. “We’re so glad to have you back with us, but there are a few things we need to straighten out.”
Everything I want to say, the stories I want to share, halts me.
I had not realised how much shame is attached to it all.
The mistake I made when falling in love.
Not being able to overcome my weakness when intimidated by Krick.
Admitting defeat when I agreed to leave with Leon.
I feel as though I have failed them, and now I have to explain why I haven’t made it to Eden.
Roscoe rubs my back. “It’s best to rip the Band-Aid off with this one.”
We sit as they clear their papers and maps from the table.
Malcolm brings me a hot cup of tea, the lemon slice scent rising from the vapours while I clasp the warm mug, letting it prickle my palms as I inhale the steam.
The gesture of receiving a cup of tea after the day I’ve had is enough to send me teary again.
Malcolm knows just how much it comforts me, and especially coming from him, it feels like a long internal hug.
There’s an awkwardness that I hate. We have been separated by hundreds of miles for three years, and I didn’t think things would change. But something is different—and I hate that it’s me.
I fidget in my chair, struggling to look them in the eye. “So, what do you want to know?”
Rex sits across from me with pen and paper. They start with my time at Jimmy’s and my admittance into the city, and I explain how things work within the walls. It goes on and on, but then they ask about certain details, and my brows crease as I try to understand how they know such things.
“Wait a minute… How do you know about Krick and Donnie? By name?”
Rex’s fingers interlock as he leans on the table. “Well, when Jimmy could no longer care for you, we arranged the job in the city. To keep you with a trusted minder, to keep an eye on you.”
“There was a minder? Where? Who?!”
They reply in unison, “Smith.”
Son of a bitch—Smith?! The silent doorman walking me home every night had a direct line to my fathers this whole time?!
I slam my cup on the table. “Why the hell wouldn’t you contact me?! I had no idea what happened to you. I dreamed about you every night! I thought you were dead!”
Rex holds up his palms. “Everlee, Jimmy told us how much of a struggle it was, you being separated from us. We gave you the space you needed. We had to set a distance.”
“We didn’t want to, but we felt it was best for you,” Malcolm follows up.
I understand it. The disconnect helped me become more independent—but it doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.
I sit, pouting, as they continue asking questions about the city, delving into the details of policing, the Unity Index, and the treatment of women.
It is easier to talk about than I thought, only for me to be hit with an unexpected question.
“So … we have to ask about the boy … Joseph Finch,” Malcolm says.
Hearing his name aloud halts my breath, and I fumble with my thumbs, shying away. “You know about Joey?”
Roscoe gives a smirk as he delicately says, “Smith expressed concerns that the two of you were planning on running away.”
“How observant.” I reluctantly shield my face. “What do you need to know?”
“Well, you were obviously pretty close to him. We need to know how much he knows … about you,” Rex says.
I peek through my fingers. He’s resting the end of the pen on his lip, and they’re all waiting for me to answer.
“I told him … about my family. That we were prominent in the rebellion. And we were going to leave to find you,” I say bravely, taking a sip of my tea.
“So, nothing … about the Eve Project?” Malcolm asks, and I avert my gaze.
“Well… I didn’t tell Joey about that… No.”
There’s a pause. Malcolm leans onto the table and peers over the top of his glasses. “Everlee? Did you tell anyone?”
I lift the cup to my lips, softly mumbling into the mug, “No one in the city,” and I slurp the hot tea to avoid admitting I revealed our secret.
Rex slaps his hand to his forehead. “Please don’t tell me you told the bounty hunters.”
I continue to slurp my tea as they react with utter disbelief, forcing me to defend myself from the scoffs and groans. “Hey, they’re not just bounty hunters! They’re my friends! I trust them with my life!”
Rex slams the table. “Everlee, they are paid mercenaries! Why on earth would you put yourself in such a vulnerable position?! They’d do anything for money!”
And just like the old days, we’re barely reunited for thirty minutes before we’ve found something to clash over.
“Hey! I told them because we had no idea who had commandeered me. If you had been less secretive, then that wouldn’t have been an issue.
How about the fact that you could have been the government, and they were going to hand me over to a lifetime of experimentation and suffering?
That’s why it was important for them to know!
So they could keep me safe! So, how about that?
” I say with a snarky glare, much to the amusement of Roscoe, who is struggling to control his snickering.
Even Malcolm’s lips are curling at my bite.
Rex, however, is less impressed. “Well, we’ll see, won’t we? If we offer them the money they’re owed, and they leave, then they’re not as loyal as you think they are. I hope for your sake that you’re right, because I can’t bear to see you lose more people.”
His last line reminds me that he cares, but I know I’m right on this one. He pulls his radio from his belt, holding eye contact with me. “Update on the detainees.”
“All three are alert, eating, drinking, and conversing,” a gruff voice says.
“ETA two minutes. We’ll need the room.” He stands from the table, combing his fingers through his beard. “Malcolm, you stay behind the glass with Everlee. Roscoe, you come in and good cop, bad cop with me. Let’s go!”
We step through the doorway atop a small set of stairs, and I see what seems like endless rows of trailers.
Men casually walk around with guns in holsters and rifles strapped over their shoulders.
From what used to be a farmhouse community, the rebellion has clearly thrived since I left.
Stone-slabbed paths lead between the trailers, and men nod to my fathers as we pass by.
Rex marches towards a set of three bottle-green shipping containers, the bubbling paint peeling with speckled sprays of orange rust growing from their corners, pushing from beneath.
I feel like a scolded child about to meet her punishment. I lean into Malcolm, who in his whole life has never been mad at me for anything. “Can I come in to see them?”
His face is stern as he whispers, “No, sparrow. Rex is going to question them. It’s best they don’t know you’re there, but you must bear witness. If they sold you out, and you weren’t here to see it, then you wouldn’t believe us, would you?” he says, offering a tight-lipped smile.
The door opens before Rex reaches it, and three armed men file out, while the last one hands Rex a bundle of keys.
Inside, the metallic rust scent catches along my tongue.
There’s a small area hosting seats, and a table covered in scattered playing cards.
It’s illuminated from beyond the window, and next to that is a solid iron door.
My fathers march boldly towards the window, looking into the confinement area, lit with a few fluorescent tube lights that illuminate the bare interior metal walls of the container.
Rex’s jaw clamps tight, and he barely looks back, while Roscoe offers me a pitying smile.
Both tuck a balaclava over their heads before marching to the iron door, which groans as it opens, and it closes with a heavy thud behind them.
I step towards the glass, and a relieved exhale falls from my throat when I see my friends.
They sit on the floor, staring agog at a disguised Rex and Roscoe.
The severed cuffs still hang from their wrists, with empty plates and cups beside them.
They don’t react as we stand in the window, so I whisper to Malcolm, “One-way mirror?” and he gives a confirmatory nod.
Rex says confidently with his arms wide while pacing the width of the room, “Gentlemen, I’m sorry for the hijacking. It was the safest way to obtain our target.”
Leon scrambles to his feet, his voice hoarse as he asks, “Is she okay?”
Rex stops squarely before Leon. “Mr. Faulkner, Cooper, and Hawkins, we want to thank you for your service. It seems you came across a little more trouble than we anticipated. So, we will double your finder’s fee, under a new condition.”
Leon looks back at Atlas and Zeke with uncertainty, and they both stand to join him. “What condition?”
My stomach tightens. Why wouldn’t he refuse it straight out? I step closer to the window, feeling the cool glass on the tip of my nose, while my breath clouds the surface.
“Since the girl vaguely matches the description, we’re after a little more information, but she is unwilling to talk,” Rex says. “Some … confirmation that this is the correct consignment would be great. Any details she may have shared about her identity will be very lucrative for you.”
Roscoe says, “Anything about her home, her family… Any medical conditions?”
Rex pulls a fat brick of bills from each pocket, handing one bundle to Leon while dangling the other before him, which looks like as much money as the bar made in a couple of months.
My teeth grit as Leon studies the cash, running his finger down the side like he’s trying to count what’s there.
His jaw ticks. My heart stutters at the prospect of his consideration.
“Her identity? Well, she’s Everlee Clade.” Leon shakes his head. “I’m not sure I understand the question you’re asking.”
“It’s pretty simple, Leon. We believe we have found what will reshape the world. We have to run tests, which will cost us time. Resources are expensive, and time is something we cannot afford. We can give you that money right now if you tell us if she shared anything with you?”
Leon nods. “Ohhhh, right. Yeah, what was it she said, guys?” He looks at Atlas and Zeke, who both stand sternly beside him.
My heart stops.
“Asthmatic, yeah. She gets wheezy.”
Atlas and Zeke nod.
“Yeah, asthmatic.”
“Real wheezy.”
I shoot a smug look back at Malcolm, who is clearly enjoying the entertainment.
“Ahhh. That’s a shame.” Rex sighs, tucking the dollars back into his pocket. He steps back, banging on the window and startling me. “Guys, sedate her and prep her for testing.”
Zeke’s face grows pale.
“Hey, we didn’t sign up for this,” Leon says, shoving the money into Rex’s shoulder. “What are you doing?!”
Roscoe steps between them. “Hey, hey. Calm down. Here, take this, you’ve earned it.” He takes the money from Rex and places it in Leon’s palm. “We’ve brought your bikes around, and we’ll have you on your way with tanks full of fuel and satchels stocked with supplies.”
“She’s not your concern anymore,” Rex adds. “We’ll look after her now.”
“Ahhh. That’s awkward…” Leon says with a wincing face. “Because, you see, she’s one of us now … and we’re not leaving without her.”
Any doubt in my stomach melts into warmth, and hopefully, my fathers can now move on from their concerns.
Leon fumbles with the dollars, dropping them to the floor, and he bends down to pick them up.
With a swift shift, he grabs his metal plate from the floor and swipes it across Rex’s face with a metallic clunk.