Breaking out of Eden.

Aftershock

The sound of footsteps could be heard pounding down the hallway to where James, Naomi, Jacob and I were thinking of ways we could find the Genesis Files before the Serpent.

"Did you guys feel that?" Faith and Peter burst through the door, looking a bit frantic.

"Feel what?" I asked confused.

"The earthquake." She gave me a look that said duh then she looked round the room in astonishment, to the paper strew all over the floor, the broken table and finally to the huge crack that had appeared on the floor. "What the hell happened in here? It looks like a hurricane blew through."

I could feel the heat in my face as I tried to look anywhere but at Faith. "Oh that earthquake, we felt that." Naomi stated lamely trying to and failing to change the subject.

"Um, OK," Faith gave us all another weird look before turning all of her attention to Jacob "I just came to tell you that most of us are leaving now so if you want to tell us anything before we leave you better do it now."

Jacob seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts "Oh yeah of course, I'll be there in a second." With one final look at the crack in the ground Faith flounced out of the room muttering something about hurricanes.

Peter was still awkwardly standing at the door "I just need to talk to Jacob about the archives in the Knowledge Dome-"

"We will talk about that later Peter." Jacob cut him off with a warning look, "When we are alone."

"Oh, of course." Peter gave a relieved sigh and ran up the corridor after Faith.

I raised an eyebrow at that, Jacob gave me a look that said not now. "Well we are basically done here so you guys can go." he stopped me on my way to the door, "Not you, Valery."

He waited until the door was closed to start talking, "Are you all right, tell me honestly?"

I blew out a sigh, "In all honesty, no. It's just too much, with Mary and Able and now this whole mess with the Genesis Files I feel like I am being pushed in so many different directions! I also have university this coming September. And I don't think I can take much more." By the end I was breathing heavily and my heart was beating too fast to be healthy.

Jacob gave a sad look and motioned for me to sit down, "Sometimes I forget just how young you are."

"Hey!" I said taking immediate offence at his statement, "I'm not that young, I'll be nineteen soon and your only, what like thirty? Thirty one?"

"That's my point your only eighteen. I am sorry about Mary and Able I know how close you were to them but I am going to have to place another worry on your shoulders, but if you think you can't handle it I can understand that and it can wait for another time."

"No I...I want to know now rather than later."

Jacob looked as if he didn't know how to start. "You know what we do here?"

The question confused me a bit "Yeah, we're a secret service who help the people of the Eden and the world. We stop things that we think will harm them, tell them what they need to know. We keep the people safe and do what is best for them." I was proud of myself for remembering them but before I could congratulate myself too much Jacob came out with a statement that scared me a bit.

"Yes we do, and tell me is the Council bad for the people?"

I could only stare a Jacob for a moment. Why would he even ask that? Of course they were bad and they needed to be stopped. Silence consumed the room as Jacob waited patiently for an answer.

"They are bad?" It sounded more like a question that the statement I had wanted it to be but the way Jacob had asked it unsettled me.

"Why?"