AWAKENED

CHAPTER 33 - The Beginning of the End

The act of living in the present is fluid because circumstances change. Safe today does not mean the same for tomorrow. The next two months go by faster than expected. Our work on the island begins under blue skies with armed guards and drones leading the way through the tropical vegetation. I remind myself they're here to protect us. Sometimes their hard stares make me think otherwise, especially the way Martinez glares at us and lets her eyes linger, perhaps with suspicion for the trouble we might cause, or out of caution, for fear we'll get killed and Jude will hold her responsible. We could be up to something, or just careless and naïve of the surrounding danger. Her body language suggests she has her boss's best interests at heart and could not care less about us as individuals. If things went wrong, I know which side she'd take. Of course, she's known Jude all her life and we're outsiders, so that makes sense.

In the jungle clearings, as Eve examines the mind-controlled primates, I tag along to observe and take notes. Jude had provided me with a tablet, but I can't concentrate long enough to type out anything useful for the ongoing research, so I use the voice recorder when Eve asks me to. Honestly, there's nothing I can do but stand ready in case some wayward ape comes crashing through the undergrowth. With that in mind, I insisted on carrying a weapon. I wouldn't take no for an answer. As a result, the scout team gave me a dart rifle with a fast-acting tranquilizer. That's it. Same as the guards. No real ammo.

While we work, Hannah, the woman from the wildlife lab, babysits Autumn and Ash. She has yet to reveal her last name or anything else about herself, besides the fact she can't have children. With the way she handles the twins, I know she'll make an exceptional mother. According to Jude, she's tried to get pregnant through artificial insemination without success. Maybe one day her time will come. Every day, we leave the twins with her to watch. Martinez's younger female guard joins her for protection, in case of an emergency.

A month after Jude introduced us to the silverback gorilla in the wildlife lab, she announces our impending doom to the general population. Civil unrest ensues, but she's quick to remind everyone how long they have survived thanks to Lucent Technologies. It helps she has the facility's security team to back her up.

Then comes the leading edge of the ash cloud. The skies grow dark and the bunker doors close. The island's primates—smarter than normal, though under mind control—take shelter in the caves and the rainforest's deepest recesses. Any animal that doesn't find refuge dies a painful death as the ash tears their lungs to shreds. The humans hunker down indoors as the thickest shroud overshadows the land, blanketing even the cameras positioned around the island. The gloom veils even our outlook on the future. By the end of the second month, the darkest ash moves out and gives everyone inside the control room a glimmer of hope, but the sporadic down falls keep us indoors.

A few days later, Ziva and the other five babies are born. This changes everything for the colonists, including Eve and me. We arrange with Jude for Hannah to adopt one child, a boy. We give the other four away to other families.

Eve insists on raising Ziva. We have our hands full with Autumn and Ash, but why not? We're responsible for bringing her into this world, so I agree to add her to the family as our own. As the facility's administrator, Jude goes along with this on one condition.

As I consider the clause in our verbal contract, there's a knock at our door. When I check the nearby security monitor, Jude's youthful face beams with expectation on the small screen.

"It's time," she says.

"Be right out." I tap the monitor and it goes black. Then I turn to Eve, who has the three children ready. At nine months old, Autumn and Ash are a fair amount bigger than the tiny newborn. Ziva is a week old, but according to Jude, we don't have to wait anymore.