The Eden Compound

The Eden Compound (Chapter Six)

            He’d hated her ever since. They’d always been rivals for the top-of-the-class status but after the breakup he’d gotten competitive. She felt a sudden wave of hatred towards him. That evil little monkey. He’s the one that put me here.

            “Thanks for telling me, I guess,” she said. She looked over at Linn, who was white as a sheet. Siobhan got out, and Linn and Keenan followed suit.

            “No problem,” he said, looking at her a bit oddly. Is there something on my face? she thought. “Wait- is Linn going with you or something?”

            “Yes,” Linn said, though she looked a bit unsure. She was still pale as a ghost, and she was staring at the peri that were slumped against the other side of the gate.

            “That’s against the rules,” he said, frowning.

            “I’m her best friend, buddy,” she said, coming back to life again. “I’m going whether you like it or not, and you can shove that up your-”

            “Linn!” Siobhan cut her off. “She’s with me, yeah.”

            “I guess that’s fine,” he said. “And what exactly did you do? Kill someone? They said you fed a peri, but that can’t be all.”

            Siobhan gave a wry chuckle. “It was.”

            “That’s stupid,” he said. “I mean, if they’re going to charge you, they should at least come up with something good.”

            She had to laugh at that. “And since when have they needed to? God, they can do anything, really, and the government won’t care as long as it doesn’t bother them.”

            He snorted. “True. And I hope you don’t mind me asking, but… what’s the monkey for?”

            She hesitated. “It- it used to belong to my younger sister. She died.”

            “Oh,” he said, letting the subject drop. He sighed. “I have to do an eyescan to open the gates. They were too lazy to send a real policeman out here.”

            “I’m low-priority, remember?” She showed him her wrist. “Plus they’ve got me tagged, anywhere I go they can find me.”

            He looked like something had suddenly dawned on him. “They are, aren’t they?” he said. A grin lit up his face.

            “What?” Siobhan asked. He grinned again, showing that he had a dimple on one of his cheeks.

            “Just don’t expect to be living like a peri, that’s all I can say,” he said, sounding mischievous. “Cameras,” he whispered. Confused, Siobhan just nodded. She realized Linn hadn’t said a word and turned to her.

            “Linn? Linn!” Linn was standing by the gate as if entranced by the peri.

            “It seems like they can’t see me, but I can see them,” she said.

            “ ‘And the gate that stops them from coming in stops them from looking in, but the people inside can look out to remind them of what they could be,’” Keenan recited. Siobhan looked at him, frowning.

            “That sounds familiar,” she said.

            “The history book,” he explained. “There’s not much reading at the station and I don’t have a lot to do.” He leaned against the car. “Should I do the eyescan then?”

            He didn’t seem too regretful. In fact, Siobhan thought, he looks like he’s kind of pleased. Which set her on edge. Sadistic bastard.

            “Don’t be too worried about it,” he said, walking over opening the little black box that held the scanner. He bent down for it to see his eye.

            “What’s that mean?” she asked.

            “Can’t say,” he said, fully grinning now. Is there someplace beyond the Compound? There isn’t another Compound for a while. “Just trust me about this.”

            “All right,” she said as the gates opened. Her grip on the bag tightened as her fingers got sweaty. Her stomach did a flip. It’s time to leave.

            They stepped out and it started to close again. Keened lifted his hand up as a kind of a wave. Siobhan did the same, feeling forlorn. Soon she couldn’t see him, but she knew he could see her.

            The gates closed. There was no going back. They stood silent, shocked.

            “He totally likes you,” Linn said finally.