Monday, July 13th, 2020
Eve nervously crinkled the paper beneath her. She hated the way it crunched every time she moved. Demetri and Maria agreed to give her everything she’d asked for, as well as room and board, provided she went through proper prenatal appointments. She sighed. Whoever was supposed to be with her kept her waiting for almost forty five minutes now.
Maria, she’d learned, was the head doctor. She specialized in emergency situations, life threatening shit. Demetri was a doctor of science, not medicine, and was actually responsible for a lot of the technology in the facility. They were both much to important to waste their time with this petty waiting. Eve groaned and lay back. The paper beneath her crumpled until she got comfortable. It was a pain in the ass convincing Silus not to come with her. Good thing, though. Twiddling his thumbs wasn’t an activity he enjoyed, and the oh so important ultrasound wasn’t until later, anyway.
Questions, peeing in a cup, vitals, all the boring stuff seemed to be what they ordered today. Eve eyed the clock. She swore the seconds were ticking by slower than usual. She was debating on changing out of the stupid hospital robe and leaving when the door finally opened.
“Good afternoon, sorry for keeping you waiting. I know no one likes these boring tests and vitals as such, so hopefully we can get through this sooner. My name is Jazmine, and I've been assigned to helping you out today.” Jazmine introduced herself, waving gently as she entered the room. One could almost smell the sunny disposition as she began checking through the clipboard and mentally ticking off the requirements. Going down the list she noted several of them were the basic one given to the intaking nurse. She had to momentarily wonder why she was selected until she took a look at the name and understanding dawned on her. Another thought came to mind as she looked over the info and a plan slowly formed in her mind.
“Now, I know most of the basic tests need to be checked off such vitals, so I was wondering if you would be up for a task, though it would be understandable if you said no. I have another patient of mine going through some mental and physical therapy, and one of the tasks is learning and working with those of different backgrounds. Would you be okay with partaking in helping another while I check in the basics.” Jazmine asked of the woman, holding the clipboard against her chest and awaiting the answer. She didn't want to presume she might answer in the affirmative, but it was an idea she was willing to risk.
Eve sat up when the nurse walked into the office. She quickly sized her up. She seemed normal enough. The woman was pretty, but not in a way that Eve felt threatened in anyway. That was probably the hormones. Maria warned that she might start feeling defensive. Eve scratched behind her ear when the question was posed.
“You want me to help someone because of my cultural background?” She raised an eyebrow. “Seems kind of racist but I guess so. Can I change back into pants?” Eve wasn’t feeling particularly helpful today, but she figured anything would be better than sitting around wasting time. Besides, she might be able to learn more about the facility.
“Less your heritage, more your personal life my dear. You may put on your pants, so I'll give you a few minutes to get dressed.” Jazmine smiled thankfully as she excused herself, giving her the time to get dressed before she would return so that her patient would have time to get herself situated. Once given the clearance she returned to the room, a man in tow.
“Eve, I would like to introduce you to Andrew. Andrew was one of the inmates that had escaped the asylum, yet he has spent most of his time either their or in a hospital. While he has come a long way, there is very things he can achieve within these walls.” Jazmine introduced the young man. The man's eyes lit up when he heard the girls name, but waited until Jazmine was finished with her introduction.
“It's good to meet you, I was actually one of the few tasked to help look for you through the internet.” Andrew spoke, giving a polite wave. Dressed in a simple pair of sweats and plain black shirt, one could see that he was rather eager to meet with Eve. Jazmine began her tests with confirmation from Eve, allowing herself to fade into the background.
Eve happily changed out of the breezy hospital gown. She had just slipped back into a pair of jeans and one of the Lazarus t-shirts Maria had given her when she heard the rap at the door. The dark woman stood in the middle of the room as Andrew appeared. For a moment, she froze. The name “Dead Boy” popped into her head, but she couldn’t be sure until Jazmine confirmed her thoughts.
“Andrew,” Eve said aloud. She knew she’d recognized him, but she had never known his name. Not only did this kid spend time at the Asylum, but he worked for her dad? And he helped find her? There was a lot she didn’t know, obviously, but she didn’t realize how big the iceberg was. It seemed like she’d just hit the tip when it came to uncovering Lazarus.
“I’m Eve,” she said, giving him a nod. She wasn’t a hand shaker. Kids on the street didn’t shake hands unless they were making a deal or breaking one. “So…” she began awkwardly, trying to initiate conversation. “You work for Dem- you work for my dad?”
The words still felt strange on her tongue. All her life she’d thought her parents left her behind because they were dead. She still didn’t know how she felt about that, but she didn’t want to bring up the Asylum. It felt like a safer topic of conversation.
“Yeah, he's a really great man. I could tell he was desperate to find you, to know that you were safe. I've only been working for a few weeks now, as I had joined after living with Connor for a month. It's really enjoyable.” Andrew spoke, glad that he didn't have to shake hands. What he had seen most people did, and it wasn't something he could partake in.
“If the wrinkles were anything to go to, he was really wanting to make sure you were alive and happy.” Andrew chimed in, feeling a bit odd. His father had cared for him while he could. But after being stuck in the asylum, he never heard word of his father again. Nor did he have much worry over it, as he hadn't seen him for over a decade at least.
“So, as an aside, and from what Jazmine mentioned, you wanted to meet other gifted.” Andrew commented.
Eve listened as Andrew spoke. Connor. The guy who’d helped rescue her. She cocked her head to the side when Andrew mentioned Demetri. “A really great man,” he'd said. Eve scoffed a bit. A great man who abandoned a baby. She just didn't have it in her heart to forgive him just yet.
“So it's real, huh? Lazarus.” She motioned to the facility with her hands. “The hospital is actually a big cover to house the Gifted? They didn't like, torture you or brainwash you to say all this shit?” After all the Agency had done, it just seemed a little too good to be true.
“No, they just wanted to give me a place to live and asked to study my gift. I've been studied before, and they are super nice about it, working with my schedule than anything else. It's really nice working with them.” Andrew spoke with a smile, a gleam in his eyes.
“I have yet to see a torture machine here, and I'm not sure how many gifted are here. Jazmine is a gifted, and one of the very few I can actually work with as she isn't affected by my gift.” Andrew commented, noting the slight blush on Jazmines face and could feel his own skin flush in response.
Eve listened to Andrew with her eyes slightly narrowed in skepticism, head skewed slightly to the side. When he was finished, she looked between him and the nurse. There were some sparks flying between them. Some probably would have found it to be rather cute. For Eve, it was just irritating. She frowned, still unconvinced.
“Sounds like they’re just trying to figure out how they can use you,” she said a bit bitterly. She remembered Andrew, and before he’d seemed like he was little except skin and bones. Truth be told, she remembered feeling pity for him, the only one she remembered seeing in a wheelchair. He almost seemed like he’d been on the brink of death itself. Yet here he was, looking healthy as ever.
Maybe she just didn't want to admit the truth. Maybe it was the lovey dovey glances Andrew and Jazmine kept shooting each other. The illusion of being an orphan whose only home was whenever she rested her head was all she'd known. And yet, there seemed to be half a dozen people so far trying to convince her that her parents were filthy rich people who made a living by helping others. Seemed like an awful bit of irony.
If, however, Andrew spoke the truth, he was part of the reason she sat here, alive and well, in the first place. Who knows where she’d be otherwise? Probably an incoherent zombie, still at the church with the man with addictive blood. She repressed a shiver.
“Why do you do it?” She asked, looking Andrew dead in the eye. “You could have hidden away. Why join up with these people? Don't you think they might have other motives to help you? Like they're hiding something?”
Eve had heard whispers of a group that truly did their best to do good. A group that worked in the shadows, aiding people with and without gifts. Could she really have landed in the right place, for once? Or was this just the most elaborate ruse of them all?
“They offered me a place to live, just to help me. As for hiding… that would be impossible. I've spent most of my life in some sort of hospital, or in that place. My gift is a curse to my body, and I can't fully control it yet.” Andrew spoke as he rested a hand on the seat nearby. With some focus on his part, a faint sizzle could be heard from the chair before his hand popped through a hole that had suddenly appeared.
“I can decay things that I touch, and with focus can make them fade faster. But this also affects my body.” Andrew spoke before revealing his hand to Eve, showcasing the shiny red and liquid coloring. Jazmine could be heard gasping and one could almost feel the gaze from her on Andrew.
“I could never really use my gift to hide, and with how badly in shape I was at the Asylum, I would never have survived more than a day before I started leaving a trail. With all that, they only wanted to learn how to make things resilient just so I could hold things.” Andrew spoke before heading over to the nearby sink to wash his hand down.
Eve silently fumed. She felt like an asshole, for one, but mainly she felt angry. She was pissed that Demetri, the man who claimed to be her father, spent his time and money on random Gifted that he didn’t even know yet it took him over two decades to reach out to his flesh and blood to do the same. Why?
She listened to Andrew wash his hands, the image of his raw skin fresh in his mind. She had a gift that could rock some people, but his was truly a burden. A terrifying, terrifying burden that she couldn’t begin to imagine carrying. She was never a touchy feely person, but the idea of not being able to interact with another human being on a physical level was just… lonely.
Maybe Andrew was right. Maybe these people were everything he claimed. Was it really possible that there was a group of people with power to distribute kindness? She wanted to believe, but the years of living under overpasses and in subways made it too hard to accept. Everybody wanted something. Everyone stood for something. What did her parents really stand for?
“Thanks for your help finding me,” Eve said eventually, after Andrew’s hand had been cleaned and taken care of. Her voice was quiet and her eyes were downcast. As much as she wanted to pretend things were alright, the drug dealer had shaken her to the core. Even if her parents had malicious intentions, they couldn’t have been as bad as that guy. The confirmed pregnancy was a suspicion that suddenly felt like a weight on her. Top it off with her parents re-entering her life, and it was just a bit too much for her to handle.
She slid out of the chair and gave Andrew and Jazmine both a nod.
“If you need me,” Eve said to Jazmine, “I’ll be around.” She held up the new phone she’d been given. They knew how to get ahold of her if they needed to.
“Take it easy,” she said to Andrew. She looked him over one last time, taking in his thin but healthy figure, the pinks and whites of his face, the lack of bags she’d seen before. Andrew’s gift could be dangerous if someone had learned how to use it properly, but he seemed happier and healthier than she’d ever seen him. Maybe Demetri was one of the good guys. Her eyes were clouded over with the flurry of thoughts that ran through her mind. Her parents made good on their promise of letting her meet some other Gifted. So far their story seemed to check out. There was just a small suspicion in her mind that wouldn’t be quieted until she could figure it out for sure, though.
Andrew watched for a second, having seen the anger flush from her face and the slight oddness when her dad was mentioned. Knowing what he had from the files, the family had been broken up since the girl was young, younger than her. He moved before thinking, his hand moments from tapping her shoulder before he stopped, remembering the rules Jazmine had spoke to him about.
“Hey Eve… I know it's not my position to speak, but… I really think you should give your father a chance. You're gifted with a family that cares, and I'm sure he had a good reason for letting you go. My dad did the same for me when my gift was exposed and I haven't seen him for the last twelve years. So… you should talk with him alone.” Andrew spoke, feeling that he had been butting into a situation he wasn't needed in. Call it a sense of loyalty to the man who gave him this job, or just a wish to see her happier than she had seemed.
“I'm always available to talk if you want, not like I'm going anywhere soon.” Andrew tried to finish with a joke, feeling it hang in the air as Jazmine just shook her head in despair.
Eve stopped when her name was called and turned to face Andrew once more. Her hand rested on the doorknob. She glared indirectly when the word “father” escaped the young man’s lips. It still made her angry to think about. She could have spent the rest of her life believing her own little fantasy of dead parents who died at the Agency’s hands. When he mentioned his own family, however, her eyes softened. His parents never bothered to reach out after all the despair Andrew had been through. She remembered his eyes from before, sunken and hollow, the eyes of a haunted soul that had been put through too much.
She'd been meaning to speak to Demetri alone, without Maria, without Silus, but the timing just hadn't been right. It just hadn't happened yet. There was a reverence in Andrew’s voice when he spoke about Demetri. The man had given him a home and a job, but there was something else. A sort of fire in Andrew’s eyes that weren't there back at the Asylum. Part of her felt bitter. He had an optimism, an internal joy she couldn't quite grasp that annoyed her.
“Yeah,” Eve nodded at his offer to talk. “You and me both,” she said, smiling weakly at his little joke. Humor was something she could appreciate, even if it wasn't that funny.
“Andy, Jaz, it's been real.” False bravado welled up inside of her. She still felt plenty of anger, but not at those two. They seemed nice. Genuinely nice. And they believed in Lazarus and its cause enough to work for them.
Part of her heart ached for the young man. His dad had let him suffer and never bothered to see how he held up. Andrew held Demetri in a high regard, and she wondered how close those two actually were. She opened the door and began to exit the room before stopping the door with her foot. Eve looked back at Andrew with a small, sad smile.
“Nice chatting with you. I'll see you around… Andrew,” she said with one final nod. The door clicked shut behind her. She took a deep, slow breath. Demetri had found her, better late than never, and it was more than Andrew's dad did for him. Maybe the bald kid was right. If nothing else, she owed Demetri a shot.
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