Escape to Eden Read Online Free PDF Page B

drive?” I ask Jenna.
    She scowls like the question is the dumbest one she’s ever heard. “Of course. Don’t you?”
    “I don’t know,” I admit. The only thing I remember about cars is what I saw from hundreds of feet in the air.
    “Because humans die so young, the legal age for an adult was moved to twelve,” Anthony explains. “We needed more people in the work force. That means they need the ability to drive.”
    “How old are you?” I ask him, and wince at the pain in my tired legs.
    “Twenty-six.”
    Jenna snickers. “Anthony’s so old he used to ride a train to school.”
    “Just because you’re legally an adult,” Anthony says to her, “doesn’t mean you have the maturity of one. Trains stopped running over a hundred years ago.”
    I look over the railing and grip it hard. So many stairs.
    Anthony and Jenna continue to verbally assault each other as we hurry down the steps, but neither one seems to be offended. They make me think of how a brother and sister might interact, and I wonder if there’s someone I’m close to in the world. This thought creates a pit in my stomach.
    It takes us fifteen minutes to reach the bottom. My muscles scream, but I won’t show how exhausted I am. I need to be strong for these people who are helping me. Anthony opens a door, and a gust of wind nearly takes my hat off.
    “Hold on, Patch,” Jenna says and laughs. “You might blow away.”
    I press the hat to my head, and choke at the coldness of the air as it rushes into my lungs. The streets are clean and shiny, almost as if they’ve been polished, and thin strips of grass and trees on each side of the street have been meticulously groomed. Every few seconds a car, sleek in design, drives by. Everything looks perfect. No blemishes. No scars.
    “Where’s your car?” Anthony asks.
    She points to the corner. “And don’t even think you’re going to drive, old man. I don’t want you getting crusties all over my seats.”
    “Let’s hurry,” he says.
    I walk faster to catch up, but Jenna lags behind, staring longingly at a clothing store across the street. Inside the glass window, a mannequin wears a long black dress that’s open on the sides. It sparkles with jewelry.
    Anthony and I reach the car unnoticed. Only a handful of people are on the streets and most of them look uninterested in us.
    Except one.
    A man across the street with blond hair. He’s facing our direction, leaning against a light post. He doesn’t look much older than me. I wish I could see his eyes.
    Anthony attempts to wait patiently for Jenna, but his hand is gripping the handle of the door tightly. “Take your time, Jenna!We’re in no rush,” he calls. His gaze flickers to the lone man.
    “Life’s too short to rush,” Jenna says when she reaches the car. As soon as she touches the driver’s side door, something clicks, and she opens it. Anthony opens the passenger door and motions me into the backseat. I scramble in and turn around to look at the man. He’s gone.
    “Drive,” he says. “Fast.”
    Jenna doesn’t question. The car’s engine comes to life when she wraps her hands around the steering wheel. The tires don’t squeal as the car shoots forward.
    “Drive six blocks then backtrack to The Rapture.”
    She does as he says, never saying a word. I glance behind us several times, not able to tell one pair of headlights from another.
    “Pull into the alley and park,” Anthony says.
    Jenna drives into the dark alleyway and parks next to a shiny metal container the size of a small tree. The top of it reads, “Waste.” There is nothing else around us. The long strip of space between the two shiny metal buildings is free of clutter and debris.
    At Anthony’s insistence we wait in the car until he feels it’s safe for us to go. Several minutes of darkness and silence pass, turning the air into a heavy pressure on my chest. It’s as if the whole space has swollen like an invisible bubble that seems to smother my