The Proposed Prophecies
Chapter 27: THE FLOOR FOURTY NINE

“Where am I?” Liv mumbled. Her vision was blurry but slowly clearing. She felt the soft pillow and blanket on top of her body. It felt far too soft, she was sure it could not have been one from the red zone. It was warm and smelled like fresh bread and coffee. Suddenly the smell of the coffee somehow reminded her of Evan and the elevator and the way he had stood there right in front of her.

“Where am I?” she asked again, this time louder as her vision improved. There was a small nightstand next to her with a tray on top of it. Even if she couldn’t see what was on top of it she could smell the fresh turkey sandwich and a cup of coffee.

“One teaspoon of sugar and a little milk.” She didn’t turn around but she knew who it was.

“I still remember the way you like it.” She heard the noise of a chair as he was standing up and suddenly she felt his hand on her waist even through the thick blanket.

“Please, don’t touch me.” The words spilled out faster than she wanted. She was afraid to turn and to face him. She was afraid she would see his face as a reflection of Eve or even worse, that she would feel the love she felt back in Miami. She didn’t want to feel anything, especially not for him, the son of Eve.

“Where am I? How long have I been sleeping?” She felt Evan’s hands pulling away.

“You are in my bedroom on the forty-ninth floor. And you have been here for a week. But it is a miracle you are even alive. The doctor said your body was under heated, dehydrated and undernourished.”

She slowly turned around and looked at him. He was about to sit back down on the chair next to her bed. “Floor forty-nine?” This was right below Eve’s office. She could just get a gun and move one floor above and kill her.

“Liv?” Evan’s voice interrupted her thoughts. He looked different in that thick military suit. She noticed the gun in his holder attached to his belt again, just like Jake used to have or Joann. His eyes remained on hers and he sat back in the chair. On the surface he looked calm but then she noticed his tapping foot, which was always an indicator of being nervous or upset.

“I guess I should explain.” He stood up again, walking around the bed all the way to the nightstand and lifted up the tray with food. “Sit up. You should eat something.” Liv was still unsure how to feel about him but the smell of the sandwich and the coffee caused her stomach to growl even louder. She had craved this for too long. She sat up and let him place the tray into her lap, on top of the white fluffy blanket that felt softer than a kitten. She grabbed the turkey sandwich on wheat bread. It looked fresh and crisp. There was lettuce, tomato and even cheese peeking through the edges. She took a bite and closed her eyes. The sandwich was sublime, hitting each taste bud slowly but surely.

After a moment, Evan walked around again and sat in his chair. The room was small but at least anyone could walk and not worrying about being tripped over by the bed.

“I need to tell you something,” he said quietly and she realized he kept looking at the way she was eating. But nothing could bother her at that moment, not even the fact that she probably looked ridiculous as she kept swallowing without even properly chewing; all she could focus on was the turkey sandwich, she was unable to pay attention to him.

“Liv?” He gently raised his voice again and she looked over. He exhaled deeply “So you want to tell me that Eve is your mother and you thought it would be fun to have some drama by being with me?”

“No. Of course not. I mean yes, she is my mother, but I wasn’t hanging out with you because of that.” His words felt empty and worthless as she remembered Jake and the way his lifeless body had fallen onto the ground. He might have had a hard time showing his emotions but his words never felt as empty as Evan’s.

“Tiffany’s real brother was sent to a boarding school when he was thirteen. Eve sent me there to take his place as we looked very similar and no one would notice. His parents only came to see him once each year for the next five years. Even they never noticed once I took his place.” Evan shook his head a little and wiped his face and brushed through his hair right after. “Eve sent me to switch places in order for me to learn a little about human life and to help out with the preparation for the depopulation process as I was mostly only assigned to work on the bunkers.” His foot kept tapping, which was irritating. It was louder and faster with each second.

“What happened to Tiffany’s real brother? Is Evan even your real name?” Liv put down the remaining sandwich.

“I was supposed to get rid of him but the real Evan wanted to disappear. I never had to kill him. He was tired of his manipulative parents and wanted to run away. He was around helping me to convince his family I was him and once he turned eighteen he took out most of his trust fund and left the country. And no, Evan was his name but Alters don’t have names, we have numbers instead. Once we were sent to earth we were able to choose our own names and I chose Evan, just like the real one.” Liv realized that she had never known that. Perhaps Jake wasn’t really Jake either or Eve chose her name on her own. It always felt a little strange that aliens would have regular human names anyhow.

“So you never truly cared about Tiffany? You just needed her brother’s identity.”

Liv raised her voice. Her emotions were coming back, along with her anger. Now she felt as if she had her full concentration even after only few bites of the sandwich.

“I am sorry, Liv. I know this is a lot to take in and trust me I would do anything just to…”

“Just stop talking.” She interrupted him and exhaled. She needed to come up with a solution. She couldn’t afford not to have Evan by her side. She still had her family down there who she needed to get out. She remembered the leaking water in the prison. The bunker looked like it would fall apart eventually. She wasn’t sure what the situation was but she knew it was not safe to remain in the bunker either. She lifted up the tray and Evan walked to the other side of the bed again and helped her to put it on the nightstand. This time he sat right next to her and placed his hand on hers.

“I would do anything to make you smile again.” He gently touched her cheek and moved his hand back.

“Then let my friends and family go,” she said.

“That’s not really an option right now.” He said and she tried to hold back all her anger but somehow it kept slipping out.

“Did you know Tiffany is dead?” Evan looked more serious.

“Don’t think, not even for a second, that the past few years have been easy for me. I had to make sacrifices too. I loved Tiffany as my sister but I couldn’t help her.” His voice sounded quieter with each word.

“But now you can help millions of other people. All you have to do is stop Eve and the spread of the virus.” She leaned closer and he placed his hand on her face. A loud knock on the door made her jump.

“Eve wants to see you.” Joann stepped into the room and held the door open with her foot. Liv felt her pulse quicken. She had wondered if Joann had died by falling down the stairs but she was just standing there as if nothing had happened. Liv imagined taking Evan’s gun and shooting her but Joann would surely be able to shoot her before she’d had time to get the gun out of the holder. Evan got up and walked to the door. Before he stepped out he looked back.

“Rest up. I will return later.” He walked out and Joann walked into the room. Liv’s first intention was to grab something to protect herself. She looked at the tray and thought perhaps that would work.

“Calm down. I am not here to take revenge. Though I must say you hit me pretty hard for such a tiny figure.” Joann walked closer, her hands behind her back. There was a red mark underneath Joann’s eye from Liv hitting her in the cell as she tried to escape.

“I really meant what I said in the prison, Liv. About sometimes having to do certain things in order to survive. You still have a family to worry about, and of course your precious friend Carmen.” She started walking around the room, her hands still behind her back. She was looking around and not keeping eye contact. But Liv didn’t keep her out of her sight. Not even for a moment.

“You are the only hope they have. If you don’t go through with the plan and turn Evan against Eve than they will all die of starvation and if not hunger than from the bunker collapsing on top of them.”

“What? You still want me to do that? Why?” Liv felt confused. Joann kept walking from one side of the room to the other. She stopped and smiled. “Of course. And you should do it quickly, too. Otherwise how long do you think it will be until those walls keep the ocean out? And how long until to the water reaches the third floor and eventually the sixth? You do realize that half of the zones are technically under water, right? For them to get out they would have to reach the fifteenth floor where the first exit is.”

Liv hated Joann, but she knew she was right. She remembered the leaking water in the prison under the first floor. If it would break through the wall there would be no way for anyone to escape unless the exit doors opened. And eventually it would reach her sister and Carmen and eventually Tommy and Ashley who were still all by themselves somewhere on the sixth floor.

“I don’t understand whose side you are on?” Liv asked quietly.

Joann suddenly walked closer and sat right next to her. Liv sit up more and pulled her cover up, closer to her chest. Joann smiled and it was the same kind smile she had always had. Liv realized that it was only her smile that contradicted her awful personality.

“I am on my own side and you should be too. Why do you think I let you escape from the prison? Do you really think that I would just go down there for no reason? I needed you out,” Joann said and smiled.

“You could have let me out without all the drama.” Joann laughed a little. “That would have been no fun. And besides, Eve was watching all of us, including Evan. That’s why he never got you out. But now she has bigger problems, such as the decreasing amount of Alters on her side. Anyhow, I have to go but I just want you to think about it for now. Evan would do anything for you,” she whispered and placed her hand against Liv’s cheek.

“Don’t touch me.” Liv raised her voice and pulled her head away.

“We can make an excellent team,” Joann said and got up from the bed, walking away. She didn’t look back but locked the door behind her as she walked out of the room.

She must go through with the plan, thought Liv. At least until she’d got her family to safety. No matter how much she hated Joann, she was right. She needed to do something to survive, even if it meant faking it until she made it.

Later that day, Evan came back. This time he brought mashed potatoes and grilled chicken. But suddenly it felt wrong to even think about food. She thought about how many people were starving down there in the bunkers and yet up here it looked like there was all kinds of food. She wondered how good they must be living up here with chickens and mashed potatoes and sandwiches. They probably had fresh coffee every day.

“I am not hungry,” she said and tried to get up. Evan placed the tray onto the bed as the previous tray was still on the nightstand. ’Wait, I’ll help you.” He grabbed her by her hands but her legs felt a lot weaker.

“Where are you going?”

“To see my family,” Liv replied but sat back down to the bed as her feet were not cooperating.

“I think you should stay and relax for now.”

“Relax?” Liv raised her voice. She wanted to punch him right there and had a hard time controlling her temper.

“We need to keep quiet that you are here. No one can know.”

“How long do you want me to stay here, locked up?” He was still holding her hands and she pulled them out.

“You don’t have to be locked in but I want to keep you safe, and it is not safe right now for you to leave this room. My mother said that the Alters are separating in two groups and it looks like there have been some protests and fights in each zone and among people too. I think people know about the Alters and the truth about the government’s proposal and they are furious.” Liv suddenly realized that this knowledge must have come from Carmen. Her job was to tell people the truth and make them chose to make a stand, and prepare them to rise and break out, just as Jake had ordered her to do. It must have been the distraction before the fight. Did anyone know that Jake was dead? And who was leading the other side, if not him? Surely it wasn’t Joann? She was the only one she could possibly think of.

Evan sat down next to her on the bed. “I cannot believe the Alters are splitting. This is everything we go against. Everything that Axel went against. We are supposed to be one nation, one family. Axel wanted us to set an example for the people – people that were always at war over issues like race and religion. And now here we are, at war with each other.” His voice was lowered and he spoke slowly.

“You can stop it. It doesn’t have to be this way. Eve can be taken off her post and you are next in line. I am sure you can do a better job than her. She is the reason the Alters are splitting.”

Evan stared at her, his eyes wide open. “How do you know that I am next in line? Eve elected me after your grandfather passed away so you can’t possibly know this from his journals.”

Liv froze for a second. She started thinking on what to say. Nothing popped up.

“So?’ he said.

“I overheard Jake and Eve talking about it while I was living in Amy’s house.”

And the explanation seemed to suffice. She exhaled.

He grabbed the tray next to him. “I’ll tell you what. You eat at least half of this and I will send some more food to the red and yellow zone.” He smiled as if he had just given the best deal of his life. It wasn’t much but it was better than nothing. Plus the food smelt really good, even if she felt guilty for thinking this.. She looked at Evan as he put the tray on top of her lap. He watched her while she ate. She tried to avoid looking at him. Despite the anger and agony she still felt something as she looked at him. She didn’t want to, but at the end of the day it was Evan; the guy she used to love back then and perhaps still did now.

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