Eden's Gate

Chapter 32: Understanding

Mrs. LaBeaux wasn't able to go with Kaitlyn, but she did give her a small motorized boat to get there. It was almost surreal, zooming through the forest to get to the school in 8 hours when they had spent a week and a half walking to the exact same place. She had parked it at the first place they had made camp. She'd have to walk the rest of the way, but that was okay.

How Mrs. LaBeaux planned to get it back was beyond her and not something she found herself concerned with.

They hadn't gotten very far that first night, hoping that by keeping their power hidden they could afford the luxury while they figured out which direction they ran off into the forest. Night had fallen, but it was still early enough that the school doors would still be open. She wouldn't be able to avoid the cameras this way, but that was okay.

"You absolutely sure about this, Kait?" Mr. Lepus asked.

Kaitlyn nodded, "this has to end. She'll keep chasing me until one of us dies."

Kaitlyn cracked her knuckles, heading towards the door. Mr. Lepus grabbed her leg.

"So what's the plan?" He asked.

That was an excellent question. Kaitlyn had been so busy thinking about what she would say to Eliza that she hadn't really thought about what she should do if it failed - or how she should even go about encountering it.

"Alright, how's this? You go and hide, keep a safe distance where people won't notice you but where you can see me. I'll stop hiding my signature and she'll come, right away. She'll take me to her office - follow us, discreetly. I'll talk to her. If I can't figure this out..."

Kaitlyn looked ominously at the knife in her hand. She carefully slid it into sleeve of her jacket, the blade flat against her arm.

"I'll finish it...and if I can't, that's where you come in."

"Got it," Mr. Lepus said.

She walked to the door, the lever handle starring her in the face. She slowly reached to it, pressing her thumb into the lever and stepped inside. The school was empty, with the kids back in their dorms and the teachers either at home or in their wing. It was always weird, seeing the school so lifeless, dark and empty.

It was even stranger now, with the context for why she was returning and why she hadn't left in the first place. Mr. Lepus immediately ran away, hiding in line of sight, just as instructed. She was very glad his little feet didn't make sound.

Kaitlyn raised her hand, lifting the painting of Eliza off the wall before unhooking it and letting it fall. Within two minutes, she could hear someone coming. Sure enough, it was Eliza, exactly as predicted.

"Oh, thank goodness you came to your senses," she said. "You're home. Thank you."

"Mum," Kaitlyn said. "I want to talk to you about this."

"Yes, yes, of course. I did too. It was never my intent to hurt you children. I wanted to explain everything, but my hand kept being forced."

She began to walk to her office, and Kaitlyn followed. She could see a warm smile on her Eliza's face.

"What happened to my friends? All of them." Kaitlyn asked.

"I had to put their souls in Soul Caskets," she said. "Their bodies have been preserved as best as possible. Once this is all over, we can put their souls back in them and you can see them all again, I promise."

Kaitlyn narrowed her eyes. She quickly checked behind her, seeing the smallest hint of a black and white stripped ear behind one of the open doors.

"Can you actually do that?" Kaitlyn asked, skeptically.

"I can do it. Some of them, though, have injuries that I can't heal - and now that their bodies are dead, they can't either. Healing those - or learning how to make a new body for them to inhabit - is why we need the Elder Things."

Kaitlyn nodded. So that's what she meant by all that. They made it to her office now, and she took out her key to unlock the door before opening it and entering. Kaitlyn followed her in, sticking her foot in the door subtly to leave it open a crack for Mr. Lepus to come in.

"What...what are they? The Elder Things?" Kaitlyn asked. "I spoke with...someone, who said that they could kill all of us in a few minutes. Would they do that? Could they?"

Eliza walked over to her desk and looked at the stone with its curious mark on it. She brushed it off with her finger for a moment as she spoke.

"They could," she said, "that is certainly within their capability. Engineering a bioweapon plague that spreads over the planet within days is a very easy task for them. I know they look horrifying, but it's not as simple as all that."

She set the rock down, walking over to the bookshelf and looking for a specific book as she spoke.

"What can you say about any individual person? About their morals and acts. What can you say about a group of people that always remains accurate? It's the same with them. There are those who are kind, and those who are not. Those who are kind would prevent anything of that sort from happening."

"And if they don't?" Kaitlyn asked. "What if the first one we meet decides to blow up the planet or something?"

"Unlikely," she assured, "people don't do things without reason. They're so advanced the concepts of prejudice have probably long since died off."

"Are you sure?" Kaitlyn asked.

Eliza pulled a book off the shelf fiercely, opening and flicking through the pages until she found one she wanted to find.

"Yes," she said, with a tone Kaitlyn could smell the condescension on.

"What if you're wrong?"

She set the book down on the table, a frown on her face, "It's funny that you think you know better than me. I spent over 30 years learning about them, searching for them, finding them. I've dedicated the majority of my life to them." Her expression softened a bit as she seemed to regain control of her temper. "I understand this is difficult. But the rewards outweigh the risks. They could do so much good by coming here, uplift us into a new age, end genetic disease, teach us how to colonize our own solar system and beyond. They can save your friends. Isn't that worth the small, minor potential that some of them may be unpleasant?"

This wasn't working. Kaitlyn scratched the edge of her jacket, thinking if she should grab the knife before realizing she had one more question she needed to ask.

"...why us?"

Eliza smiled, walking over to Kaitlyn and bending down a bit to be closer to her eye level, before reaching out her thumb and pressing it into her head.

"Let me show you." She said.

The world around Kaitlyn spun and twirled, as she was launched into a memory.