T H R E E

~E V E~

“I have been looking everywhere for you,” Zachariah said as he grinned. “You are truly very stubborn; you didn’t even try to speak to them like I told you to,” he said. I tried moving away from him, but he just wouldn’t budge. “You seem to be in a hurry,” he said before shifting his eyes towards the rooftop I was running away from.

I quickly pushed him aside as I ran off, skipping a lot of stairs with the hope that I wouldn’t trip in the process. I almost stopped when he called my name as he chased after me, “Eve, can you stop running?”

How did he even know my name? Oh yeah, my name is written on my books, and all of my posters are everywhere.

I looked behind me to see how quickly he had closed the gap between us. There was no way I planned on competing at this point; I needed an escape route and one that’s fast.

I swallowed hard, accepting that an elevator was my only option; I just had to breathe and hope nobody was on it. I ran to the main hall and tapped repeatedly on the elevator buttons, and yet it wouldn’t budge at all. I was losing my mind at how annoying it was becoming.

I decided for myself that the only option I was left with was to strip.

I looked behind me to see how scarce the floor was before I took off my gloves. My tattoo glowed out of my black dress as I tried using my powers to shapeshift. I maintained composure and a clear mind as I felt my body levitating as time slowed up for me.

“Eve?” Zachariah called again as he caught me in the air. At that same moment, the very elevator that I begged to open suddenly opened, and I was left with staring eyes from the people on it and from that officer while on air.

I didn’t fret, as this was so easy to overturn. I seized shifting as I dropped to the ground, holding up time for another minute. I took off my contact lenses and marched to Zachariah. “Breathe if you consent that I should kiss you,” I said to a blank Zachariah who was frozen with time. I leaned my head on his heart to hear his breathing, and a single thump was enough for me. I avoided touching him as I tiptoed up to his lips and kissed him.

Zachariah's lips tasted like ice cream, my favorite type of flavor, which was him. Don’t mind me, I loathe ice cream.

I withdraw from his and bore deeply into his eyes. He has such a beautiful, nah, I am fooling myself. This is a common eye color among humans, but since I kissed him, he does look good with it, unlike the other billions of humans occupying this planet.

As I bore deeper into him, the words, “Forget about me,” oozed out of my mouth before I broke the loop and entered the elevator. With the people on it, I put all of them to sleep with a clap of my hand. It was another skill I learned, given that I have only turned people into stones with my hand.

I stood outside the mall, feeling a deep sense of freedom and safety. I sniffed through the air, though heavily polluted, and it did feel good.

“Eva! I have  been looking around for you.” Raghul came around me; he was panting seriously from exhaustion. “We need to hurry up and leave. I heard someone fall off the roof, and there is a crowd around that area.”

Ah, the girl from before—totally forgotten about her.

“Then let’s leave; I need some rest,” I said.

“Wait here; I will drive the car around.” Raghul retreated slowly as he watched me, making sure I didn’t move an inch. “Wait there,”

What does he take me for, exactly? I can properly manage myself .

Raghul drove over. I opened the car and got in as he drove off.

We headed in the direction of the girl that died, Rachel. The crowd had gotten bigger than it was before, so it was hard to see anything, though the police had already surrounded the area. “It is suicide,” Raghul mentioned as we sped fast. I looked out the window, and something prompted me to call for the stop of the car.

The race of my heart beat increased as I caught sight of Rachel’s wrist as her body was put in a body bag. I pushed into the crowd for a much closer look, and indeed, it was exactly what I saw.

What was the exact tattoo on my shoulders doing on her wrist? What does the Inyoka have to do with this? Did I kill her? No, no, I didn't do anything at all; that is out of it.

“Eva! Get back in the car,” Raghul called back to me. I turned to retreat as I saw Zachariah again; he seemed different and lost.

“I need you all to push back a little; this is a police line.” He said in a calm tone to the crowd and reporters that pushed through to see everything for themselves, “Ma’am, I need you to also comply as well,” he said to me before moving away.

I was confused, though, knowing well enough that I did take off his memory of me.

“Sir, an old man claimed that he saw someone on the roof after the girl had fallen; three others confirmed this as well,” a fellow officer said as he followed Zachariah as he crossed the police line.

“Alright, we will surely look into it,” Zachariah said in a commanding tone.

A hand grabbed mine and pulled me out of the scene as I stared astonished that Zachariah wasn’t just a mall security, or did I alter time like before?

“That is enough pulling Raghul,” I said as I snatched my hand back from him and got back into the car.

Raghul drove to our house, and still, I couldn’t wrap my mind around everything.