Mololuwa M. Ogunyemi

The Children of Eden

Novel extract

1.

ZACHARIAH

Zachariah wasn’t a backstabber. He knew he wasn’t, but somehow, leaving Mordem the way that he did, left him with a sour taste in his mouth. He tried telling himself he was doing it to take a chance on something new. He was tired of running, tired of working to an end he couldn’t see and for a vision that was never his. Mordem had already lost all merit. They had lost steam, lost relevance and even a driving force, so he wanted to give himself the chance to see how the other side lived. He wanted to know what it was like to fight for something other than greed.

*

Zach never thought his well-needed escape would arrive in the form of three loud knocks against his window, in the early hours of a pitch-black Tuesday morning. The hairs on the back of his neck stood high when he first heard the faint knocking against the 18^th-floor windowpane. It didn’t help that his freshly washed curls were still dripping down his spine adding to the chilling sensation. 

Zach lived too high up and too far out for just anyone to find him, let alone have the guts to call on him in such an unconventional way. 

His toes curled up between the thick fibre of his beige carpet and his fingers began to twitch. It felt unfamiliar. It wasn’t like Mordem to send an anonymous messenger at night to call on him, but Mordecai was starting to become an unpredictable fuse. Zach’s jaw tightened as he went back to the conversation that drenched his thoughts over and over just five minutes prior in the shower. Not being the “obedient” soldier Mordecai wanted was becoming a common theme during their arguments at the time, and the more they went back and forth the further away they were from reaching some common ground. But even then, Zach couldn’t see Mordecai being the low-level petty type. Being called out for a job at night was laughably childish compared to the harsh realities Mordecai had previously put Zach through.

As the thoughts rattled around Zach’s brain, trying to decipher what was waiting for him in the cold darkness, he slid halfway across his room, toward the doorway. He took his time and moved with ease, practically across his fluffy rug. Beside the wooden airtight doorframe laid the dimmer for his lights. He gently twisted it down, lowering the brightness just enough so he could still gaze at the movements of the person outside. He thought it the best way to have the upper hand on them whilst also obscuring his own movements.

A sigh escaped him as he lowered himself onto the plump mustard sofa beside the light switch. The last thing Zach wanted to do was fight, but when duty called, he made sure to answer. He was always ready to answer. He started scanning his rooms ticking off all the places he knew he kept something useful.

A pair of unloaded handguns in the wardrobe. Check. A combat knife stuck to the lower side of his desk. Check. Another knife taped to the inner side of the top drawer. Check. A bat beside the couch. Check. And his bed, well that’s where he kept all his favourite toys. 

Another set of three loud knocks echoed around the pale blue walls of Zach’s room. Whoever stood at his ledge was getting impatient and Zach couldn’t help but chuckle. He started doubting if the person behind the curtain even really knew what they were doing. He smiled at the irony of the sneaky guest being someone who easily lacked the patience to get the job done. It was obvious they were skilled since scaling the side of an apartment building, unnoticed, required a certain level of expertise. Then again, waiting to be invited in like a dinner guest made him think there was a lack of aggression in their visit, though he didn’t let the humour of the situation distract him from the alternative possibilities of their visit. 

Zach lifted himself from the indented couch cushion and traced the edge of his bed until he reached the top end. He reached below his pillow, grabbing a hold of the hidden gem – a 2001 silver dagger he had recently stumbled upon in one of his more recent jobs. He clasped the leather handle, lining the blade with his index finger and thumb. His teeth tutted from the inherent bluntness of the blade, but there wasn’t much he could do about it at this point. Zach slid the dagger between his skin and the band on the back of his blue and white striped pyjama bottoms. He grabbed the matching button-down shirt from his bed and draped it over his back and arms, using it as a quick cover. 

Zach’s wet curls now clung to his forehead and neck, but the chill he once felt had since passed. The feeling of cold water hitting the collar of his shirt only made his eyes brighten up and his chest puff out. His eagerness was brewing. 

Bang, bang, bang.

The three thumps were just as loud as the last. Why the rush? Zach smirked to himself. 

Though entertaining, he didn’t want to be up much longer so he made his way to the far wall, right where the window resided. Clicking on the first of two switches, he leant back on his rich mahogany desk watching the beige curtains rise at a humble pace. 

Oh. 

Where he expected to see only one person, he saw two. Their silhouettes were hidden under sleek black bodysuits, and their faces were covered by black-tinted faceguards. They swayed in and out of frame making their slender bodies only known when they swung into the little light left reflecting out from Zach’s room. The brief spotlight left Zach assuming his two stalkers were women. He noticed the silhouette on the right gripping onto something attached to her, presumably holding her hanging body in place. Whatever it was, it wasn’t obvious to the naked eye. They were using some sort of thinrope or string-like tool that was strong enough to hold human weight, though so thin he almost missed it. Few materials around could hold the weight of one person for so long, let alone two. With that in mind, Zach knew it wasn’t the kind of material he could easily find at any old local street market.

Whilst studying the two girls in the dark, he felt himself staring for what was probably a couple of seconds too long. Though, whilst doing so, he felt an unthreatening nature from both of them. All their hands were visible and there was no immediate jump into action from either of them. 

He pressed down on the second switch on the wall, only just enough for the bottom of the window to open a few centimetres high. 

‘How can I help you guys today?’ he asked.

It took about a second or two for either girl to answer. The whistling sound from the wind cut deep until the girl on the right finally spoke. 

‘We’d love for you to let us in for one,’ she said.

‘I’m sure you would,’ Zach smirked.

The two silhouettes turned to each other, still under hidden face marks, with the one on the left shrugging her shoulders. What was that? Zach’s forehead gained indented lines and his shoulders hardened. His new movements shifted the cold blade on his skin, shocking him into remembering its nearby presence, and its perfect position for him to grab.

‘I’d be happy to let you in once you tell me what could be so important, you had to scale the side of a building to get to me,’ he said. 

The two mysterious black figures pulled in closer to the glass.

‘Don’t get too excited,’ said the girl on the right.

The one who hadn’t spoken yet cleared her throat. She grabbed onto the invisible string steadying herself in place. 

‘We’re here on behalf of the Shadow Embassy’s Training Division, Eden.’ She speaks. Despite the intensity – or maybe because of it – her voice was memorable. It was cool and direct.

‘So maybe get a little excited,’ her companion said.

‘Eden?’ Zach raised a brow.

‘I’m assuming you’re aware of what the Shadow Embassy is?’ said the cool voice on the left.

‘Yeah, the secret police that’s not so secret anymore,’ Zach said.

The girl on the right made a sound that sounded somewhere between a chuckle and a scoff. ‘The Shadow Embassy’s exposure was for the best. It helped improve the honest relationship the government tried to keep with the people of Britain.’

‘Yeah… sure,’ said Zach.

‘We’re not here to discuss that right now,’ the intense tone cut through. ‘We’ll be more than happy to elaborate on the nature of our visit once you let us in.’ In Zach’s mind, he definitely heard a smile through her words.

Zach tutted his teeth, and looked down at his dancing toes, pretending contemplation. 

‘Hm. Alright. Back up from the glass a sec,’ he finally said. 

‘Glad you came to your senses,’ said the girl on Zach’s right.

The two black figures crawled through the enlarged gap in his window, bringing in the cold breeze with them. Zach stayed leaning against his desk allowing him to reach around and grab whatever he needed, in case things turned sour. He made sure to position himself directly opposite both girls, to keep his tricks hidden, whilst they stood in front of his bed.

Zach’s eyes widened when he realised something new about his strange company. Their all-black outfits were made of microfibre material. It did more than just cover their bodies but blended into one full suit starting underneath the ear, wrapping over each finger and draping down through into their boots. Though the light was limited, thanks to Zach’s previous adjustment, he still noticed a line of demarcation along the seams of both suits. It was a different tone of black, a nearly faded tone of black, making it look like there was something hidden in the edges of each stitch. The Shadow Embassy’s existence may have become common knowledge by this point, but the intricacies of what materials they worked with were still a mystery, which meant Zach was stuck guessing as to what was hidden beneath.

There were some details that were easily describable though. Both girls wore harnesses, though they housed very different weapons. The one on the right’s weapon of choice was a set of handguns laying on her hips. The gloss of the handles was mildly hidden underneath the cropped bomber jacket she wore over it. On the other hand, the girl on the left carried some sort of staff or baton. It laid diagonally across her back.

‘Now where were we?’ Zach clasped his hands together.

‘Well, we can start with you dropping that weapon you’re hiding, on the desk behind you.’

Zach felt his eyes twitch as he held tightly onto the smile already plastered on his face.

‘That’s funny. You expect me to stand here unable to defend myself whilst you guys stay strapped.’ He pointed a finger at both of their harnesses. 

The cool-toned girl deeply inhaled and exhaled, causing the straps of her harness to tighten. 

‘Look, if we wanted to kill you, we would have done so already. We wouldn’t have bothered dangling away in the freezing cold whilst you waste our time.’ 

Her companion tossed herself down onto Zach’s bed, straightening out the waves she made on his duvet. 

‘Since we can’t really leave until our job is done, we’re just gonna have to wait for you to cooperate,’ she said.

The one left standing crossed her arms and tossed her head back, seemingly in frustration. 

‘Just drop the knife, Zachariah,’ she sighed.

He recognised when someone’s patience was wearing dangerously thin and, though he tried to deny it, he wanted to know more about Eden and why they’d sent people to “speak” with him. 

‘First of all, it’s a dagger, not a knife, and second of all, you’re lucky I’m curious to hear what you guys have to say.’

With heavy arms, Zach pulled up the back of his shirt and tossed the dagger to the other end of the desk. The vibrations from the weapon’s metal hitting the dark wood reverberated across the room. 

To Zach’s surprise, the two girls went to lift the blacked-tinted faceguards, mirroring each other’s exact movements. He leant in, surprised by the immediate candidness. His eyes widened and the corners of his mouth rose with the thrill. 

But of course, it couldn’t be that easy. 

The reveal was nothing like what he expected, but exactly what he should have seen coming. The widened eyes and searing smile quickly deflated when their masks were finally off. The microfibre material of the suits extended to the bottom half of their faces, covering everything except the two strangers’ eyes. Zach forced himself to find satisfaction in it. He could tell a lot about a person from their eyes. It wasn’t the reveal he had hoped for, but it gave him some insight.

‘You have formally been invited to an interview with Eden Representative, Madame Kia. Your interview will be held in three days at Eden’s Southern training facilities, Hellsing House. Becoming an Eden trainee means you will learn what it takes to maintain the peace and protection of the British public.’ 

‘The Shadow Embassy is one of the country’s biggest assets.’ The bomber jacket girl handed Zach a golden-brown envelope sealed with Eden’s infamous silver seal. ‘Here,’ she said.

Her companion went back to narrating the rest of the speech the two of them had obviously rehearsed. 

‘Training at Hellsing House will allow you to become an Eden graduate and an official member of the Shadow Embassy, giving you the opportunity to learn from the best about National Security, Technological Innovation, Educational Systems, Economic Trade and Human Sciences.’ 

‘Okay, I get it. “Join Eden it’s the best”,’ Zach interrupted. ‘You guys don’t need to go through the whole spiel.’ His eyes could no longer focus on anything except that silver seal on the envelope. 

‘Great. Just make sure to thoroughly read through the instructions on the invite, and most importantly, don’t be late.’ The intense voice cut through to Zach.

Zach looked up at her, stunned. Her voice sounded harsher, coarse even. Her eyes were squinting at him. The look made his stomach tense as he realised, she likely didn’t appreciate being rudely interrupted halfway through her speech.

‘Well that’s us done then,’ said the girl on the right. She slid the faceguard back on and started walking toward the window. Her partner tutted, following her lead.

‘Can I ask you guys a question?’ Zach rushed.

The bomber jacket girl shrugged. 

‘Sure.’

‘Why did you guys choose me, like to recruit or whatever?’

They both turned to each other and chuckled. The reapplied faceguards muffled their hidden laughs. 

‘Look we’re not privy to that information,’ said the woman on the left. ‘We’re simply here to deliver the message, and now that it’s been delivered, we’ll be on our way.’

‘Wait, If I even wanted to join Eden, how am I meant to get there? This small card isn’t much to go off,’ he said, waving the envelope around.

Still getting her bearings, with one foot already out the windows ledge, the intense girl spoke, 

‘Figure it out, Zachariah. For your own sake. Everything you need to attend the meeting is on that invite, I promise you.’

Zach watched as his surprised guests reattached themselves to whatever thread they used. He took in a steep breath and looked down at his fingers tightening around the shimmering envelope. Finding the solution to all his problems had somehow made its way to him.

He waited for the two girls to disappear into the darkness of the night, lowered the blinds, and stood dead centre of the room. He pealed the Eden “E” apart and pulled out an eggshell white card and read: