.The Eraser.

dix-neuf

                                                                    -19-

The lights automatically flickered to life as the motion detectors in the gym sensed someone entering. Atara was always impressed by the technology, but not lately. She had been visiting her escape more often than usual, but every time she entered, the automatic lights did not catch her interest. 

They were at the back of her mind as other grievous thoughts had invaded all her brain space. It had been two weeks since Copper's funeral and about a month had passed since her death. Life at the base was not the same anymore. 

The late Copper was such a loud mouth; always causing disputes and quarrelling where ever she found herself. A person like her would definitely be missed- she was one of a kind. The Erasers all noticed the absence of her strong personality, but they forced themselves to move on. Losing someone was the norm. of life. 

The gym was empty as usual as it was 3 AM in the morning. Atara walked to the treadmill, her favorite exercising machine. She put her gym bag down beside the brown bench at the corner and in a groggy manner she began her work out. She increased the speed as images of the exploding plane and everything Copper related flashed before her eyes. 

For the past two weeks- if at all she managed to sleep- all Atara had seen in dreamland was a girl with brown hair. Sometimes the girl would be smiling, other times sneering and on rare occasions laughing. The day of the explosion would haunt her in her dreams and Atara would be forced to just get up in the middle of the night and come to the gym. 

This was the only place that was her safe haven in the base. She moved her leg muscles faster and faster as the treadmill's intensity increased. She pushed her self forward in rhythm with the machine; burning away the calories and at the same time consuming away, the guilt and sadness off her heart and mind. The technique works for an hour after she leaves the gym, but then as she lives through the day, the dispiriting thoughts return with full force.  

She was exercising at the highest speed for thirty minutes straight. Her muscles in her thighs began to ache in protest. They have had enough. Atara did not have much energy to carry on as she had not been fully eating these past weeks. All appetite was lost. 

She decreased its intense speed; however she did not stop the machine completely. The images flashing before her were stubborn. They were not going away as she had hoped. 

She was now slowly jogging, although her thigh muscles still scram at her to stop. Atara felt that stopping would mean that the ZED had won this battle and that they had achieved what they aimed at doing to their enemy; causing grief and weakening them completely. 

She would not give in. Enough was enough- the ZED has destroyed many people's lives. She vowed to herself saying, ''the terror group has to go down, now or never''. But the only question was: how? The mission at Walton's college had zero leads on them and the trip to Niger brought more pain than answers. 

There was nowhere to look at the moment, but Atara had faith in Jean. He always knew what to do next when an enemy was ahead of them. ''In the end the bad guy always loses'', that's what he would always say when the Erasers found themselves at the brink of giving up. 

Atara sat down on the bench and looked ahead. A fatigued girl with black hair tied backwards in a ponytail and who was wearing a grey track suit; was staring back at her with dull brown eyes. It was her reflection. It reminded her of the time she had been in the gym when she could not sleep after her return from Mandossa.  

'It seems like a long time ago' she thought; 'but it's just been over two months since I assassinated the prime minister.' She wondered how the people were now doing without that cruel dynasty called a dictatorship.