Revealing Eden (11 page)

T
HE DULL HAZE of the oxy flowing through Eden couldn’t tamp down her anxiety. She tried to ignore the data streaming into her mind. She didn’t want to know how far above the earth the scramjet flew or how fast it headed south. Just as she suspected, their destination was out of bounds, and therefore not given. Even that she tried to ignore by repeating her silent mantra over and over.

I’m a stone in a cool, dark cave
.

Somehow, high up in the stratosphere, the image failed to soothe her. She never thought she would long to be back in the Combs.

Diagonally across the cabin, she saw Daisy hand a black case to Bramford. She seemed careful not to draw too near and left quickly. Bramford popped open the case and studied a black screen. It was an old-fashioned computer, Eden realized. Probably stowed on board in case another meltdown burned out the World-Band.

She watched, fascinated, as Bramford’s sharp nails clicked against the keyboard. She’d never seen anyone use the archaic manual method. Then she eyed his hands and realized he’d lost his Life-Band ring. Probably when his fingers had enlarged.

Poor Bramford, cut off from the constant direction of his inner voice. To Eden, it seemed like a fate worse than death.

And yet, he appeared calm, even intent, as he worked. She imagined him shifting money and resources to their destination. He might buy a temporary reprieve, but even in the dreamy wash of oxy she knew it was only a matter of time before they met their doom.

A minute later, Daisy returned with a first aid kit. “Ready, Doctor Newman?” she said, kneeling beside him.

“What?” Then, as if remembering his wound, he waved a hand over it. “Proceed as you think best.”

Daisy carefully cut away the pant leg and began to dress the wound. Eden gagged at the sight of the angry, oozing mess.

“It’s only blood, Daught.”

Always a failure in Father’s eyes
. What on Blessed Earth would he think of her colossal betrayal? She’d cost them everything. How could he ever forgive her?

“I’m afraid we left in a rush,” Daisy said. “There’s no medicine aboard.”

“But we can get some when we land, can’t we?” Eden said.

“It’s doubtful.”

“Why? Where are we going?” A horrible possibility struck her. “Don’t tell me there won’t be any oxy, either?”

“We’ll land in approximately two hours.” She tidied her supplies. “I’m sorry I can’t do more.”

“But—”

Daisy jerked her head towards Bramford, silencing Eden, then headed back to her station.

Eden slumped in her seat, muttering. “No oxy, no meds?”

“In that case, I estimate a high probability of gangrene,” her father said. “The most elegant solution would be to amputate the leg. No impairment to any major body system and my odds for survival would increase.”

“How can you even say that?”

“Bramford needs me, don’t you see?”

She shook her head angrily. “You’re insane.”

“Wait and see, Daught.”

“There’s nothing
to
see. There’s never going to be anything to see ever again. If your head wasn’t in the clouds you would see that.”
But you don’t even see me
.

The shaggy eyebrows arched. “Only forward momentum exists; the past is gone. The best course of action would be to consider this an unexpected adventure.”

“I was hoping to make it to my eighteenth birthday.”

Her father sighed, his disappointment clear. “I’ll insist Bramford send you back when we land.”

“I’m not leaving you alone with…that.”

“Bramford is the same, essentially.”

“If you believe that, you’re crazier than I thought.”

He adjusted his glasses, looking over at his prototype. Eden studied Bramford, too, riveted by his lean, muscled body, too large for the chair to contain.

“His appearance is undeniably altered,” her father said. “And yet, it’s safe to say his reasoning remains fully intact. In fact, the results are far superior to any projections. To adapt to such a degree and retain man’s mental capacity—why, it’s a lucky break, worth any price.”

“Even our lives, Father?”
My life?

He looked at her, wide-eyed. “But Daught, this is science.”

Did he also think of her mother’s passing as just a blip on the evolutionary scene? She recalled his cold-hearted manner on that fateful day. He hadn’t even said goodbye to her mother. Sometimes Eden felt she didn’t know him at all.

He shut his eyes, his face taut with pain. When the wave subsided he began again. “I’ve reworked the calculations and deduced that the spike in heat in the laboratory caused over-expression in the affected genes, thus accelerating the transformation.”

“Can you reverse the process?” Eden said, feeling the weight of her guilt.

“Hmmm. It might have been possible to reverse a minor adaptation, as was planned. But at this advanced stage, I estimate a reversal would cause fatal damage to the subject’s internal systems.”

No turning back for Bramford?
“Won’t he be furious?”

Her father waved away the question. “This is what’s so exciting. We don’t know what to expect. Bramford is highly unpredictable in his current adaptation.”

“You mean he might become even more animal-like?”

“We can’t predict what latent genes might be activated. As I said, we have to wait and see.”

“Or not,” Eden said pointedly.

“What are you saying?”

She leaned close and whispered. “Why risk our lives for Bramford?”

Her father looked stricken. “But I’m responsible for him, Daught.”

“You threatened to kill him today.”

“It was a bluff.” He pulled the syringe from his shirt pocket. “Only a sedative, you see? I would never hurt him.”

“But you said he’s unpredictable. He might kill us.” She paused to let the idea sink in. “Maybe we could cut a deal: Bramford for our freedom. It’s not too late.”

“What? With Jamal?”

“Never,” Eden said, once more worrying her father would discover her connection to him. “You must know someone in science at the Uni-Gov level who could help us.”

“And what makes you think I’d want such a deal?”

She threw up her hands; her voice grew shrill. “Why can’t you understand? It’s our only option. We have to give up Bramford.”

In a flash, the beast leapt beside her with a terrifying roar. Her eyes traveled from his strong thighs, thick as tree trunks, to his brilliant eyes. She felt trapped, as if caught in the path of an avalanche. Only, she wasn’t sure she wanted to move out of the way.

Trembling, Eden rose to face him. “My father’s health is in jeopardy,” she said. “You must send us home.”

“So you can go back to your FFP friend?” Bramford said.

She felt as if her stomach fell to her knees. “It wasn’t like that.”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know who Jamal was?”

“I swear I had no idea. If I had known, I never would have…” But what could she say?

Bramford snapped at her. “I want the truth.”

His broad, naked chest distracted her so she forced herself to look into his eyes, which didn’t help much, either. Instead, she stared at a point just over his shoulder, as he often had done to her in the past.

“You saw those soldiers after me at the dance,” Eden said. “I wasn’t in on Jamal’s plan, I swear.”

“Dance?” her father said.

“There was an information leak at REA,” Bramford said. “Only your father and I knew the extent of the operation. I think we can safely assume that neither he nor I betrayed us to the FFP.”

“Don’t listen to him, Father.”

But Bramford kept up the attack. “Why did you disobey my order to stay in your unit? Jamal convinced you to go, didn’t he?”

Eden hung her head on her chest. “I thought—”

“You thought Jamal would option you. And whenever you enjoyed romantic visits with him you just happened to let vital data slip. Isn’t that true?”

“What, what?” her father said.

“You don’t understand.”

Bramford shook his head. “How naïve could you be, Eden?”

“To believe a Coal might want me? Is that what you mean?”

Embarrassment flickered across his face. That was exactly what he meant.

Eden looked him dead in the eye. “Someday, when you’re locked up in a cage, Bramford, maybe you’ll understand what it feels like to be an outcast.”

He flinched. His startling green eyes narrowed as he growled menacingly. Eden braced herself for the unexpected, when his face flooded again with human intelligence.

“We always have a choice in life,” Bramford said, matter-of-factly. “If you weren’t so self-involved you’d understand that. But since you’ve proven to be untrustworthy—” His hand snaked forward and tore out her Life-Band earring.

Eden screamed as her hand flew to the spot. How dare he? She felt more violated than if she’d been raped.

She raised her arm to strike him, but he caught it midair, pinning her beneath him. They stood locked together like a pair of impassioned tango dancers. A muscle twitched in his jaw. The hair on the back of her neck prickled.

Something else besides fear gripped her; something Eden couldn’t name. A sharp awareness of his powerful body, the warmth of his skin on hers, and the nearness of his lips overpowered her. Or maybe it was the lack of noise in her head that disoriented her. She felt off balance without her Life-Band, frighteningly alone with her thoughts.

“Be careful, Daught,” her father said, his voice cutting through the tension.

Bramford released her and she fell back into her seat, breathless.

“I’ll need your Life-Band, too,” he said, turning to her father.

“Of course.” He handed Bramford the wristband, then offered the syringe. “What about a sedative? I doubt it will kill you.”

“Father,” Eden said in a warning voice.

“Just a little scientific humor.”

Like an obedient child, Bramford knelt down, though he still loomed over her father. He arched his back at the jab of the needle, growling through his teeth. Eden had the feeling that he used all of his strength to resist striking out.

“Thanks,” he said, sheepishly.

His chilling, measured gaze passed over Eden as he stalked back to his seat.

“I’m really sorry, Father,” Eden said meekly.

He shook his head. “Inconceivable, Daught.”

Her father was all she had left in the world. Now, she had lost him, too. For Earth’s sake, she just couldn’t think about it. So she stuffed her despair onto a crowded shelf in her heart and slammed the door shut.

T
IME?
EDEN REPEATED, puzzled by the lack of response in her head. She rubbed her earlobe and felt the empty spot. Like an amputee who still feels the presence of a missing limb, she had forgotten her Life-Band was gone. Bramford had taken more than her earring; he’d stolen her identity. She just didn’t know who she was anymore. The random thoughts that skittered through her head like frightened mice were as alien to her as the high-flying scramjet.

In the alcove ahead, Eden saw Bramford’s dark head rolled to one side and figured the sedative had taken affect. Her father dozed nearby, his face tight with pain. This might be her only chance.

She quietly slipped into the aisle, heading for the attendant’s area. Unable to resist the opportunity to study the sleeping beast, she stopped beside him. A company T-shirt strained over his shoulders like a child’s garment, exposing his muscular torso. Long, dark eyelashes swooned over the sharp slash of cheekbones. Fine, dark hair framed his rugged face.

Time seemed to flicker around Bramford, imposing his former self over his animal-like incarnation, as if his old Holo-Image clung to him. Eden suspected that the dual identities
waged a mysterious battle. But which did she want to win? The powerful titan that might save them or the savage beast that excited her?

Eden had despised the attractive, top-rated man Bramford had been. And yet, this wild creature stirred something deeply primal in her.