Eden Box Set by G C Julien

Author:G C Julien [Julien, G C]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-06-22T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16 – EVE

She walks faster at the sight of me, her fluffy hair looking like a bonnet atop her head.

“Nola,” I say, and her shoes squeak against the main hall’s tiles. She turns around, her shoulders hunched forward.

“Y-yes? Oh, Eve!” she says, and she lets out a laugh. “I didn’t see you there.”

I’m not an idiot—she was clearly trying to avoid me. But why?

“Where are you off to?” I say as softly as I can. “I saw you leave during our meeting.”

She flicks her wrist as if it’s no big deal. “Had a little”—she rubs at the air in front of her stomach—“belly issue, if ya know what I mean.”

I tilt my head back and watch her, but I realize I’m staring when her eyes begin shifting from side to side—an obvious sign of discomfort. “Ah, yes,” I say. “Of course. I understand.” I let out a sharp breath through tight lips in an attempt to fluff it off. “I hope you feel better soon, Nola. When you do, could you please swing by my office?”

She plucks an invisible thread from her dress and shifts her weight.

“I want to tell you about the meeting,” I say. “The part you missed, I mean.”

“Oh,” she says, and it comes out almost too quickly. She lets out a forced laugh, bows her head, and says, “Yes, of course, Eve. I’ll head over shortly.”

I watch her as she takes short, quick steps toward Division Five. What is she up to?

“Oh, Eve,” I hear and turn around. “You were wonderful.”

It’s Madelaine, Zack’s mother. Her big brown eyes are wide open and she’s grinning from ear to ear.

“What a place,” she says, extending her arms on either side of her. “Eden, I mean. It’s… It’s incredible what you’ve done here, Eve.”

What I’ve done? I smile at her, hoping she’ll continue. I want to hear more. I want to know how she views Eden, and why she finds it so incredible. After all the work I’ve put into creating this paradise, it’s an extraordinary feeling to have someone remind me of it—to have someone express their gratitude for all I’ve done.

“How long did it take you?” she asks. “I mean… the gardens, the livestock, the solar-paneled electricity. You saved these women, Eve. Out there—” She doesn’t even give me the time to answer. Instead, the smile on her face disappears as if it were nothing more than a sticker being peeled off. “It’s horrible, Eve… There’s nothing left. I mean, aside from a few survivors who are trying to build societies, there’s nothing. The only reason I survived with Zack is that we followed a group of women…” She’s so animated, slapping the air around her. “They kept us alive. They knew what they were doing. Two of them were ex-military, and they protected us. For a while, I mean… And this place, Eden. I’d heard about it from other women. But I thought it was a myth. I can’t believe you pulled this off. We’d talk about you, you know, at night, around our fire.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.