Black Eyes

Chapter 15

Eva emerged from the laboratory with only one goal in mind. Find out what Dominik was hiding. With long strides she headed towards the front door. Sitting on the kitchen chair was Mariah watching the small TV. She almost didn't notice Eva's silent presence until the android spoke to her.

"I'll be back tonight" she said firmly.

"Where are you going?" the woman distracted by the TV screen asked inquisitively. Now her slightly sunken blue eyes seemed to study Eva from head to toe.

Eva didn't answer and closed the door behind her. What she was looking for she would not find in Zraegan, or at least, not above the city nor on top of the roofs she was so good at climbing.

No, what she was looking for was hidden beneath her feet among the intricate tunnels of the Below. The ever-present rain was light and left small dark spots on Eva's hoodie. She tied her blonde hair back and hid it under the hood. It was twilight and the sky was tinged with dull orange if you looked towards the west and coloured the clouds with a faint purple and vermilion.

The nearest entrance for the Below was about fifteen minutes away, five if she had passed through the roofs, but it was not yet the dead of night and as good as she was as disappearing like a shadow, she felt that she would continue by land through the alleys narrow and smelly in the Southern area. The people still present in the main streets and the nightclubs which began to turn on the LED lights of various colours painting the street bathed in reflections similar to the Northern Lights.

Eva walked slowly and cautiously, avoiding the main streets and heading towards the large factories that divided the South and East area. Eva looked around, listened to the clicking of passers-by's shoes and as soon as she didn't hear any more noise she left an alley to cross a larger road and entered another alley until she reached its dead end.

The walls of the two houses that lined the alley were full of mould and climbing ivy. The floor was dirty: cigarette butts, plastic bags and trays of food half gnawed by mice, but at the end of the alley there was a manhole and that was the android's only interest. Eva easily lifted the manhole cover and found a gun on her forehead. She expected it.

"When a God dies" asked a woman's voice, almost persuasive.

"The caws caw at its grave" Eva replied, looking around to make sure she wasn't drawing attention.

This entrance was not equipped with bolts to unhook, so the woman moved the heavy iron circle to the side and allowed Eva to enter.

With a leap, tilting her back in an almost unnatural way, but perfect for the android's body, Eva was inside and was able to look at the woman in her eyes. She had never seen her before. In fact she had never explored the Below of that area of the city, neither she nor the previous Evas.

The woman was taller than her and looked about thirty years old. She was wearing a dark dress and a black shawl, hunter's boots on her feet and a gun in her hand.

"I've never seen you around here" the woman said, narrowing her eyes.

Eva pulled a folded piece of paper, a passport, from a pocket of her hoodie. Those who wanted to roam around Zraegan's Below had to have one. The woman quickly checked the document.

"In fact, I'm heading East" Eva replied, folding the sheet of paper.

"Oh" exclaimed the woman "So you're not interested in the big markets of the North. You're looking for information" she narrowed her eyes even more and studied Eva up and down.

"You know that the East area is dangerous for a little girl like you" the woman continued, her voice almost a laugh.

Eva didn't have time to explain to her that she was actually a killer android so she shrugged and replied.