Eden (Eden Saga) Read online

  Eden

  Title Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  EDEN

  Copyright © 2010 by Matthew C. Plourde

  This book is available in print at many online retailers.

  Digital Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any character resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  The “Eden Saga” by Matthew C. Plourde

  http://matthewcplourde.wordpress.com/

  Cover artwork by Axel Torvenius

  Second Edition: September 2011

  First Edition: October 2010

  For my wife, Bonnie… you just never stop believing in me!

  Myth is more potent than history

  The Storyteller’s Creed, Robert Fulghum

  Chapter 1

  Alexandra Contreras opened her eyes and winced at the sting of dust and smoke. Her ears focused on the crackle of something burning nearby. Smoldering rubber and twisted metal released their associated smells into the mangled section of the bus. She tasted blood in her mouth. Through the grogginess in her head, she wondered why she was lying in a sea of shattered glass on the inside roof of a wrecked bus.

  Before she found any answers in her pounding skull, she heard a man yell nearby.

  “Anybody okay in there?”

  Unsure if the man was asking about her bus, Alexandra looked around. Nighttime darkness filled the vehicle. She remembered the bus only had a few people aboard when she left San Antonio. No, that wasn’t right. She left San Antonio on a large commuter bus. This smaller vehicle left from Laredo last night. Or was it the night before? She wasn’t sure. To stimulate some coherent thoughts, she shook her head and a lance of pain shot through her forehead and down her spine.

  Trying to manage her throbbing head, she turned and saw another passenger through the dark strands of her bloodied hair. He was a middle-aged man lying on his back about four feet away.

  Alexandra forced a smile. “Are you all right?”

  The man didn’t answer. He didn’t even blink. Alexandra felt a rush of nervousness and fear gather momentum at the bottom of her stomach. Sweat chilled her hands as she realized the man could be dead. When the emotions reached her throat, she decided to leave the wreckage as quickly as possible.

  She crawled across the broken glass and debris to a nearby window, which seemed to be the best exit from the overturned vehicle. The torn metal of the roof ripped through her slacks and dug into her legs. Whimpering, she clenched her jaw and reached for the frame of the broken window. As her hand grasped the metal, a pair of boots stepped into view at her right. She couldn’t make out any other details, as the only light came from nearby fires.

  “Ahhh…” A Spanish accented voice came from the boots. “Somebody alive?”

  The boots were joined by a knee and then by a toothless smile. Attached to the smile was a Mexican man - perhaps forty years old, she guessed. His face appeared bruised. As he focused on Alexandra, his glossy eyes widened.

  “You look like you can fit outta the window,” he said, after he smacked his lips and drew his sweaty forearm across his mouth. “Need help?”

  “No. I can make it,” she said as she felt some blood run down her chin.

  The toothless face rose out of view and Alexandra focused on dragging herself through the narrow window. She ripped part of her suit jacket and blouse on the frame as she squeezed through, but the soft dirt was a welcome mattress compared to the roof of the bus. For a few moments, Alexandra was content to lay in the dirt and catch her breath. She looked to the sky, but the stars weren’t shining. The unseasonably cold air irritated the scrapes and lacerations she received from the accident. Then, she wondered if there was an accident. She couldn’t remember.

  “You gonna be okay?” the toothless man said as he shuffled closer.

  A voice in Alexandra’s head urged her to get away from the bus and the toothless man. Her internal compass was usually correct in these things. She looked at him again. He appeared to be dressed in overalls, but almost everything else was indistinguishable in the darkness. Everything except those glossy eyes.

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she lied.

  She balanced on her knee and, after a pause to contemplate where her heels had gone - she planted both feet on the soil. The ground was cool under her bare toes. The toothless man took another step forward and she flinched. Her reaction caused him to halt.

  “Thank you… for your help,” she said as she ran her fingers across her many cuts and bruises to determine the severity of her wounds. She rotated her elbows and knees and felt everything was in working order.

  Then she forced a smile at the toothless man. His eyes bore into her like a searchlight. What did he want? Alarms blared in her head and her heart shivered. Something wasn’t right with this man.

  “I… I have to go,” Alexandra said, wishing her voice was steadier.

  After looking into her eyes, he nodded and meandered away from the bus. Though still groggy and now shaking with fear, she examined her surroundings. The bus rested on its roof in the middle of the dirt street. A sign marked with the word “Candela” was balanced near the driver’s window.

  “Candela,” she whispered. Now she remembered. She was headed to the house she inherited from her mother. Though her mother’s death was over a year ago, the wounds were still as fresh as the ones Alexandra received from the accident. If she was indeed near Candela, in north-central Mexico, then she had far to go. Her mother’s house – the house where she spent her childhood – was still several hundred miles to the south.

  Where were the police? The thought popped into her head as she limped to the entrance of a small café. True, the police coverage here was nothing like back in San Antonio, but Alexandra reasoned she was probably unconscious for a good chunk of time. Or maybe it was only a few moments of blackout. She wasn’t sure. Trying to balance herself, she slumped against the arched doorway of the café. She looked inside, but saw only darkness. That wasn’t right. Her internal clock told her it was still before midnight. The café should have been as mobbed as an electric bug-zapper during a Texas summer sundown.

  Alexandra scanned the length of the street to find most of the houses and establishments dark with
inactivity. Smoke and light from a nearby bonfire framed a few buildings farther down the street. The closest street lamp was dead. Maybe the bus clipped the power but that didn’t explain the lack of movement. Where were the people? Certainly, there should’ve been gawkers. A bus flipped over! People should’ve been everywhere, police included. Perhaps she wasn’t unconscious for as long as she originally calculated.

  She entered the café and utilized the glow from a nearby fire to find the light switch. It didn’t work. Her eyes eventually adjusted to the dark, and a quick scan revealed a payphone at the rear of the cluttered dining room. Before she reached the phone, however, she heard scratching from the kitchen. She froze. The noise stopped for a second and was followed by the clang of a heavy pot striking the floor.

  After the pot rattled to a halt, Alexandra called out, “Hello? I need to use the phone. My bus just –”

  The door to the kitchen burst open before she could finish, and a large dog bounded into the room. Alexandra wasn’t one to get startled easily, but she uttered a hoarse yelp. After vaulting a table, the dog halted in a hunched position and snarled as it focused on her. Light from the fire gave the creature’s eyes and fur an orange glow.

  Her legs were immobilized with fear, but her mind and senses raced. The dog wore a collar, so she ruled-out wolf or wild-dog. Most likely, the canine belonged to the café owner, and if Alexandra backed away, perhaps she could leave. Immediately, her legs were on the brink of collapse and her arms wouldn’t respond.

  Gathering her courage, she took a step backwards, toward the street. The dog mirrored her with a reverse step of its own and another snarl. Outside, a man screamed and the creature lifted its head to the noise. Alexandra decided to run for the door at that instant, but the dog was faster. It pounced on the table next to her, barked, and then leapt through an open window.

  Alexandra grasped a table for support and released the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She took a few moments to gather her thoughts, but nothing made sense since she couldn’t recall the accident. Her hair fell over her face and she ran a hand through the dark, blood-matted lengths. She traced a black strand down to her soiled blouse and ripped slacks. Cuts and bruises dotted her arms and exposed legs.

  “What a mess,” she whispered.

  With another exhale, she pushed away from the table and walked to the phone. Like the lights, the phone was dead. That didn’t make sense. Even if the power was out, the phones should still work. She wasn’t an electrician but the idea seemed reasonable. She tapped the hanger several times but that accomplished nothing. As she returned the receiver to the hook she saw a shadow move across the far wall. Someone was at the door to the café.

  Anxious from the incident with the dog, Alexandra crouched on one knee and peered towards the entrance from her spot in the back of the room. The toothless man appeared in the doorway along with another man. Alexandra couldn’t make out any of this new man’s features, except that he was a good half-foot taller than his companion. They scanned the dining area and then turned back towards the street. What did they want?

  After a few moments she crept to a window. Heart pounding and half-expecting to be met by the face of that dog, she lifted her head to look at the street and the bus. Instead of the dog she saw the toothless man and his friend loitering around the overturned bus. She watched as they took a few minutes to pick at the debris and then they shuffled back into the darkness.

  Alexandra slumped against the wall and closed her chestnut eyes. Her cell phone was still in the bus – all she had to do was find it – if it survived the crash. After some relaxed breathing, she rose to her bare feet and glanced again down the street. When she was sure nobody was around, she departed the café and approached the bus. However, before she made the distance, she saw them. Several forms appeared from a ruined building and advanced upon her. She altered her course and hastened her pace down the street. Led by the toothless man, the small mob followed.

  As Alexandra’s heart quickened, so did her feet. She passed an intersection and risked a glance over her shoulder. The mob consisted of no more than ten men, covered in bruises and clothed in workman’s overalls. Some of them carried rocks or crowbars, and all eyes stared blankly through her. The toothless man grinned when she looked his way and the men broke into an all-out run.

  This time, Alexandra’s legs were ready. Five days a week at the gym were more than a match for the locals of northern Mexico. They couldn’t keep pace. A minute later, she chanced another peek at her pursuers. The glance was enough for her to miss the depression in the road. With a gasp, she fell and twisted her ankle in the soft dirt at the bottom of the hole. She tumbled a full rotation and then came to a halt on the other side. Pain arced through her left ankle and she blinked back the tears as dust covered her like a blanket.

  She commanded her muscles to function, but they didn’t obey. The mob slowed and if the toothless man had teeth, Alexandra would’ve seen them from thirty feet away.

  “Where’s lady goin?” he asked, mouth open in a twisted grin.

  As he advanced, Alexandra’s mind wandered. The memory of a similar scenario demanded recognition. Several years ago, she was accosted by a group of men at the tram stop late one night. Bluffing, she told them she was a cop and she reached into her jacket. The men fled, not waiting to see if she pulled out a gun or a badge. After that encounter, she spent one night a week in a self-defense class. Though she never needed to use the techniques she learned on would-be muggers, some of the lessons were helpful in dealing with the over-thirty dating scene. Unfortunately, none of the men chasing her at the moment seemed interested in her phone number.

  With the mob within fifteen feet, another figure appeared in her field of vision. The mob halted when the stranger stepped into the depression between them and her. Alexandra didn’t hesitate to test her ankle, but it failed and she fell back to the ground.

  For the next several moments, she struggled to remain lucid through the pain. She felt her ankle swell and her knees burned from the fall. The stranger didn’t move after taking position in the depression, and each member of the mob eyed him. Then, one of the men from the mob screamed and stumbled away. He was followed by several others and the mob was soon gone.

  Alexandra had a handle on the pain by then. She managed to crawl a few feet to the side of the earthen road and her eyes remained locked on the stranger. He turned to look at her from beneath his hood. Through the darkness, Alexandra noticed he was taller than the other men, about the same height as her own five feet, ten inches. His face was shrouded and his hands seemed to be tightly wrapped with cloth. The remainder of his body was covered in tattered rags. Was he a beggar?

  He took a step towards her and said in a raspy voice, “Please, come with me. I know someplace safe.”

  Though the voice was nothing more than a loud whisper, Alexandra sensed determination and strength behind it. However, she also felt uneasy in this stranger’s presence, especially after the recent events.

  “Stay right there,” she said, ashamed at the quiver in her voice. “I just want to get my stuff from the bus and leave.”

  The stranger took another step forward.

  “If I wanted to bring you harm, I would have done so by now.” He turned his head towards a scuffling sound emanating from a nearby building. “This place is lost,” he said. “We must not delay.”

  The stranger’s voice carried an accent but Alexandra couldn’t place it. Another scream echoed to her ears and she closed her eyes. The fires. The dog. The mob. Now, the stranger. She felt overwhelmed. What was going on?

  As if he read her mind, the stranger said in his whispered words, “I can promise you answers and safety… but we must leave, now.”

  Almost before he finished, Alexandra said, “I’m not sure I can walk. My ankle… I think I sprained it.”

  With a glace at her wounded ankle, the stranger said, “Put aside the pain and follow me. We don’t have far to go.”


  She gritted her teeth as she rose. Her ankle protested but she remained standing. The stranger seemed satisfied with her progress and turned to leave.

  “Wait,” she said as she took a tentative step forward. “Where are we going?”

  Without looking back to her the stranger said, “Not far. Just up the hill.”

  Exasperated, Alexandra reached out and grabbed the stranger’s arm. The skin was lean and hard underneath the rags. “I need my things from the bus,” she said.

  After glancing at her hand, the stranger tilted his head towards her. Light from a fire briefly illuminated his features. Scar upon scar crisscrossed over his dark skin. However, the skin was so tightly drawn that it almost seemed smooth despite its imperfections. With a gasp, Alexandra released his arm and she retreated a step.

  The stranger turned away and said, “I can retrieve your belongings once you are safe.”

  With a flare of light, the building behind them moaned and collapsed. Farther away, towards the bus, a series of screams echoed upwards with the twisting smoke. She decided to leave the town but how could she trust this stranger?

  “You go ahead,” she said. Her lungs burned from the layer smoke now settling in the street. “I’ll find a safe place on my own.” Though the stranger didn’t trip her internal alarms like the toothless man did, his visage frightened her.

  With a sigh, the stranger turned to her and said, “There are things out here tonight that will look upon you as they would a meal - evil creatures who wish to do evil acts.” He paused to survey the street. “I will protect you from them but we must leave. Now!”

  Alexandra’s mind calculated every angle of her situation, and she arrived at one conclusion. She should follow the stranger. At least he hadn’t chased her out of a café or down the street… yet.

  “Fine,” she said.