"Base to Malcolm. Do you copy?" Jack spoke into the radio receiver. "Malcolm. Do you copy-"
The radio crackled.
"Jack, try it again."
"I am," he said, leaning into Kasper. "Malcolm-" Jack swapped channels and tried the remaining two.
"Go find him." Kasper felt an awkward uncertainty beginning to blossom between them. "Now."
"In the dark?!?" Jack shouted. "Have you- lost your mind?"
"Fine. We will," the woman spoke.
"Riley-"
"What choice do we have?" Riley said. "We know where he should be."
Kasper's fingers curled into the palms of his hands. He felt them stick together. Blood didn't always make things slick. Sometimes it made things sticky, confusing, and worse.
So much worse.
Come on, Zak, where are you...
Nerves prickled deep within him. If he had killed him in that split-second blackout, there would be no point to any of this and he'd kill them all regardless.
Jack looked on expectantly, waiting for the next order. "Why are you doing this-"
"You jumped us. Did you think you'd get away with it?" Kasper felt for his knife.
It was gone, and his hands were already shaking.
Too many people.
Where had it gone?
"What do you want- guns?" Riley took hers out, tossing it to the ground. "Just take them- if it's more drugs, we don't have any to give you."
"Drugs-" Kasper looked at the weapon, stooping to pick it up.
Where the hell are you?
"I'm not here for your guns."
For a brief moment, he studied the shoes of those closest to him. None of them were Zak's. All the not-Zaks seemed to take a step back as he rose and held it out to her.
His confidence was diffusing.
"Then we have nothing for you- these people had nothing to do with yesterday." She bolstered. "You killed them for nothing."
"Nothing..." He looked at his hands. "I'm not hungry anymore. That's something."
Kasper turned the weapon over.
"Are you trying to be funny?"
"No." He checked the gun for bullets, saw that it was empty, and tossed it back to her. "You didn't fire once. Any of you. Are you stupid or scared-"
POP!
A single shot sounded and a deep well of pain struck Kasper's side. He spun around, grabbing at the wound without a word.
A kid stood behind him. His white-knuckled grip around the gun faltered.
Kasper grimaced. "Really?!?"
The sound of bending metal drew his attention to a nearby rooftop.
It was Zak.
He hopped down and moved to join him.
Completely scratch-free.
He's alive.
The bullet hole had already healed up by the time Zak reached them.
"Guns won't hurt me. Understand? It won't do anything." He watched Zak take it all in. "If anyone hurts him, I'll kill you all."
Kasper wiped away the beading sweat on his forehead.
YOU ARE READING
The Eden Projects (FINAL EDITING)
Action"This story has no hero." Set in the distant future, where the government has been overthrown, and a new world power has risen, known only by the Moniker "ARK Corporation." We follow Kasper as he fights to survive in a nightmare where wrong is made...
