Eden – The Prologue Chapter

Eden uses a different approach to Novel Writing. Instead of using dedicated chapters for specific events, I chose to use sections to encompass a variety of events, as well as to show where the story really changes. The Prologue is innocent enough and not much happens, but it is a beautiful component of my writing. Enjoy.

 

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No one ever expected the end of the world to arrive in their generation. I was part of the unlucky generation where the apocalypse did arrive.

It was twenty-twenty five. Five years before I began writing this account of the myriad of events that led to the downfall of the world. When I look back on those days, the signs were obvious that the end was near. Then again, it is not as if anyone could predict it with accuracy. The last normal day I had was a Monday in June.

My alarm blared at 7:01. I groaned and it took several tries to shut off the noise. I heard several birds tweet outside and felt the warmth of the sun on my face as it peeked through the slit in my curtains. I rolled over to shield my eyes, and buried my nose between the shoulders of my girlfriend. I smiled and kissed her spine. She fidgeted and mumbled to my touch.

“Morning,” I whispered.

Karlie turned her head to the side to try to look at me. I felt each breath she took. When her lungs were full of air, it amplified her heartbeat. Without air, I felt her warmth and the flex of her muscles. I was lucky to have someone like Karlie in my life after all the years of pain I suffered from previous relationships.

“I never get a ‘morning’ out of you. Who are you and what’ve you done with Ryan?” Karlie said.

“I’m still me. Aren’t I allowed to show my loving partner some affection every now and again?” I responded.

Karlie rotated her body to face me. I had to tilt my head back a little bit to meet her eyes. I did not hate much, but my height was one thing I did. It always felt as though you had to break your neck to witness the world like others. Karlie did not care about my height and her legs entwined with mine when she was more comfortable.

“I suppose you could do that. And how do I know that you are still you? Sure, you sound like her and look like her, but I can’t trust your word, Ryan, if that is your real name.”

“Now you know that’s not fair. I went through a lot of trouble to have people call me that. It fits my personality far better than my other name, doesn’t it?”

Karlie giggled and brushed a lock of short hair from my face. “You can believe whatever you want to believe, Alyssa. Besides, you know I don’t care what you call yourself, as long as I can call you my own.”

I beamed and gave Karlie a deep kiss. My hand ran along the tanned skin of her back, feeling her curves and the way her body reacted to my touch. I wished I could do this all day and treat Karlie like the queen she deserved to be. Of course, my own life as an adult was more important than the chance to spend time with the one I love. With reluctance, I sat up in our bed.

“And I love you for that reason. I wish I could spend more time around you, but,” I sighed. “Duty calls. I promise we will have all the time in the world on our vacation next week. I know I’ve been looking forward to it for months.”

“It’s all you really talk about whenever you get the opportunity. We’ve both worked hard for the chance to get out and be free of our burdens. I don’t like to see you worry about me. I couldn’t wish for a better person to come home to every night. After all, you listen to me for one. Can’t be that smart,” Karlie said.

I slapped her side through the blankets and shook my head in a playful way. It was true what she said though. I did listen to her, because she always knew how to brighten my day even when I was certain nothing else could.

“People tell me I’m a good ear for them to pour their heat into. Granted a lot of them ran away the moment I opened my mouth and spoke to them,” I said and ran a hand through my hair.

“Well it’s clear they don’t deserve you in the slightest. Someone so nice, positive, and beautiful deserves only the best. If they ran, then they couldn’t see the real you.”

Karlie sat up next to me. One of her arms was across my shoulders and her other rubbed my arm. I knew that her position was little more than a bad cliché from a romantic novel, but Karlie felt like the one person who could make it work. And she did.

“I should get ready for work. But first, I need this,” I said and cupped Karlie’s face, kissing her with fiery passion.

We stared at each other for a few long seconds before we both cracked into fits of laughter. Karlie had an infectious laugh and her face matched it. She was far from being a model, but she never aspired to have others regard her as one. Karlie loved to look unique, and she embraced it. It helped endear her to me.

I rose from the bed and blew her yet another kiss as I ducked into the bathroom. I heard her flop back down into the mattress and gave a quiet chuckle. I leaned on the basin and stared at myself in the mirror. My brown hair was a tangle, but it would not take much to correct that. My eyes, hazel in colour, looked and felt tired. It was a common feeling for me to experience after long nights.

Only another week of the grind, I thought. Another week and then you can relax and catch up on everything.

With a heaving sigh, I dragged my feet to the shower cubicle. The hot water running down my back was incredible. The sweat from the night before washed away and I could not help but let out a satisfied moan to the feeling. I afforded my hands the opportunity to wander and give my body a proper clean. I started at my neck, which was not slender as one might expect from someone my size. It was as muscled as my shoulders and arms. When I ran my fingers along my biceps, I could not help but flex. I never understood why, but the feeling of muscles in my hands was always a major turn-on for me. My arms continued guiding my hands along my body. The next stop was my breasts. Petite, yes, but they were enough for me. I was not the kind of female to fancy a large chest, though I made a clear exception for Karlie.

One of the guys, even in your taste, I chuckled to myself.

I fondled my chest for a few minutes, massaging the flesh while making sure I was in good health. My mind often wandered away from me and I closed my eyes for a few seconds as an experiment. My fingers, guided by my subconscious, gave a little tug on my nipples. The action brought me back into reality and I cleared my throat. I washed the rest of my body without contemplating stopping to feel myself up. I had Karlie to do that for me.

Once dried and dressed in the suit I wore to work, I had to rush out the door. It was 7:29am and I was going to be late if I did not hurry. Most days I would hitch a ride with one of my co-workers. I noted the conspicuous absence of their car today. I did not have time to call someone else. I was lucky kept my grandfather’s motorbike in the carport. It only saw the light of day on weekends. It felt weird to uncover the scuffed yellow paintjob.

The jacket I had was too large for me, as most articles of clothing were, but it was comfortable. I pulled my riding pants on, then my helmet before I mounted the bike. I loved the feeling of it between my legs and a wave of ecstasy consumed my body when the engine turned over with a reverberating roar. A few seconds later, I was tearing along the pavement down the neighbouring highway.

I thought nothing of the absence of my lift until I arrived at the office where I worked. Most of the spots were full of the usual vehicles, but several were missing. I parked in the spot reserved for me for the first time. A quick glance at the sky told me that rain was not expected to arrive any time today. I shook my head and looked at my watch. I smiled and relaxed a little. Four minutes before I was due to start.

One of my other co-workers arrived as I was removing my jacket. Daniel Hart, a man I thought to be in his mid-thirties stepped out of the black Charger. He loved that car more than he did his ex-wife. It explained why it was the one thing he kept during their divorce. He waved at me. I gave a curt nod back.

“No lift today, Ryan?” he said.

I shrugged my shoulders. “They never showed up, but here I am. How was your weekend?”

“Ah, you know same old, same old. My ex-bitch didn’t let me take the kids out to the zoo even though I promised the trip months ago that I would. Said there was a family emergency up north. Yea, my weekend could’ve gone better. What about you? Everything good on the home front? You ask the question yet?”

“I’m saving that up for next week. I want to do it right, you know? Only get one chance to ask someone to marry you. At least, the right person. No offence meant if it hit close to home. I know you’re still dealing with the fallout of your divorce. Must’ve been hard for you to deal with. I don’t think I could handle it.”

Daniel laughed and waved me off. He was quite adept at being nonchalant a lot of the time, but I could tell a part of it ate away at him. I was glad I was not on his bad side in any case. I would hate to come across an ex-special forces soldier like Daniel.

“Shit happens. Life’s a bitch and I won’t dwell on the past. Nothing good there. Well, except my kids. I love them with all my heart and it’s because of them I won’t do nothing rash. I want to be their father, not someone behind bars. You been following the news from Luna?”

I shook my head. “No, I must’ve missed it. Why, something happen?”

I walked with Daniel inside the office complex. The company we worked for, Crow Enterprises was on the third floor. We both sighed as we stepped into the cramped elevator. The top of my head came halfway up his chest, but he knew firsthand how little I let my size affect me. He pulled up something on his phone and turned it toward me.

“They found something buried up there. Not something human either.”

“So humanity isn’t alone in the universe after all? That’s good to know, don’t you think?” I said.

“It’s fucking scary is what it is. What happens if the owners aren’t friendly? We’re not equipped to fight against a spacefaring race. You know they’ll have laser swords, blaster pistols, and autonomous robots to fight for them against us. What do we have? Gunpowder weapons. Fuck, it’s like the medieval period meeting World War Two,” Daniel said.

“You’ve been watching Star Wars again, haven’t you?”

Daniel nodded and went a deep red. I chuckled at him and gave him a playful punch to the arm. The elevator chimed and the doors opened to our office. We did not work in a fancy place, but it was quite state of the art when compared to other similar buildings. The layout left nothing to the imagination and oftentimes we would all feel cramped. It was employment though. It paid well too. The pay was the main thing drew me toward this job. It was enough for me to give Karlie a comfortable life so she could do as she wanted to.

“Yea, maybe a little too much. But you can’t blame a guy for trying to imagine what a futuristic war would look like, can you?”

“No, I guess I can’t blame you for having an imagination. I’ll take your word for it. You’re the ex-soldier here, not me.”

“Hey, I wouldn’t want to mess with you in any case, Ryan. I’ve seen you outside that suit, and sweetheart, you’ve got abs that would make other men jealous. Fucking ripped is what you are.”

I gave Daniel a playful shove into his cubicle. We sat opposite each other and I was glad for that. We did not have the most glamourous jobs in the world. Most of what we did was data entry of classified documents, but it was a weird setup. Across the whole office, we knew the entirety of the files, but each of us had to input specific sections of every file. And there were thousands of files.

I sat down at my computer and let out a relaxed sigh. I did notice that everyone except Abraham was present at work today. Even my lift, Evelyn Short, arrived a few minutes after I settled down. She made her way over to my desk with an apologetic look on her face.

“Ryan, hey, I totally spaced this morning and forgot to swing by to get you. Hope it wasn’t too inconvenient for you,” she said.

Evelyn was a ditz, but she was loveable for that very reason. I had come to expect her to be a little out-there. I leaned back in my chair with a squeak, a smug look on my face. I had the chance to get whatever I wanted from Evelyn.

“I wouldn’t worry about it. I didn’t. I don’t expect to have others cater to me daily, so why don’t you buy me a drink at lunch and we’ll be even?”

Evelyn slumped in gratitude when I said that. I was not a mean person, so there was no way I would play a cruel prank on one of my co-workers. Evelyn was too nice to be cruel to in the long run. She also scared the crap out of me. Sure, she was a ditz, but I knew she had connections in the seedy underground of the United States. Evelyn was not someone to trifle with if you could avoid it.

“You had me worried there. And yea, I can manage that. Oh! How’s, ummmm, you know?” Evelyn said.

“Are you going to finish that thought, or do I need to get an exorcist again?”

Evelyn huffed. “You know what I mean. How is Karlie doing? I hope she’s good. I heard about that accident.”

“Evelyn… that was four years ago. Karlie is more than fine. In fact, I think she’s perfectly capable of doing whatever she wants to do again.”

“Oh, right. I think you told me that before. I’m sorry if I repeated myself. I don’t mean to do that, but I forget sometimes, you know?”

I gave a nod to Evelyn. I did understand her predicament. I myself had to take a variety of medications to keep myself in a relative catatonic state. Many of my issues stemmed from my abusive childhood. Few people knew the full details of what happened, and I did not like to talk about it at all.

“We should get to work. Busy week ahead of us,” I muttered.

A round of grunts came from around the office. Within a few minutes, the room filled with the click-clack of keyboards littered with the occasional page turn. All of us expected it to be a normal day and we treated it as such.

The office television played in the background most days. All of us listened to the news, but we did not pay much attention. I guess if we did know what was going on around the world for the few months prior to this week, we could have prepared better. None of us could prepare our brains for the focus of the news this week. I do not recall what drew my attention to the screen, but I know it was a few minutes before midday that I turned my gaze from my workstation.

“…and what worries experts about these insurgents hearkens back to the recent news from Luna,” a female voice projected from the screen.

I knew the owner of the voice. Eliza Taylor. Though we grew up together after I moved to the States at a young age, we became distant as we became adults. I did still talk to her, but it was a very rare occurrence and whenever we did talk, I picked up that she was not too interested in what I had to say. I was too scared to admit I was proud of her of all she accomplished in six years of journalism. It was what she always wanted to do and I was one of the few to encourage her to follow through on that goal.

I shook my head and, though I continued to work, I trained my focus onto the television. Eliza’s co-host, Terrance McMichael popped up on screen. He was almost three times Eliza’s age, but he knew what he was talking about and people listened to him with great interest.

“Indeed that is true, Eliza. Luna reports are normally standard growth reports, but the last one to come back contained some intriguing developments. The chief scientist for Luna, Doctor Patrick Malloy, conducted an interview early Saturday morning. Instead of his standard spiel and blandness, this is what he had to say,” Terrance said.

The screen cuts to a grainy video feed. Central to the frame was a red-haired, middle-aged man. His once white lab coat was now a dull mixture of colours. His eyes wandered with wanton abandon and he did not once focus on the camera. I knew many of the scientists that worked up on Luna were a little out there. Malloy was strange when compared to them.

“Luna Base is proud to report a breakthrough in our efforts to terraform terrestrial planets. In the past, our trials focused on wanting to change the atmospheric conditions, but that was under the assumption we wanted to colonise a planetoid that had at least a minimal atmosphere. Yet, last night at 0200 hours, our ground team found an object hidden underneath the surface of the Sea of Tranquillity. We do not know where it came from, but our expert team managed to peek into the alien object and saw life inside. In the past, scientists succeeded in proving bacterial life lived on other planets, but this was complex, multicellular plant life. And the best part was the ability for the cells of the plants inside to reproduce at a rate we thought not possible, and they did so in near zero-atmospheric conditions,” Malloy said.

The feed cuts back to the studio with Eliza and Terrance. The way they sat was representative of their personality. While Terrance sat hunched over with his elbows on his knees and a keen look of interest on his face, Eliza was more blasé about the whole situation. She sat cock-headed and even though her face did not show it, I saw the boredom in her eyes. Terrance turned his balding head to Eliza.

“European insurgents and a strange device on Luna. How do the two interact and affect each other, Eliza? I think I have an idea, but I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter,” Terrance said.

“Well Terrance, the insurgents have long searched for any excuse they can to deride their respective governments. Many of the splinter cells decry that the work going on at Luna is an affront to the human race. They feel that the work done in space at the expense of the taxpayers’ dollar would have better use down here, on Earth. Mere hours after Doctor Malloy gave his address we had reports come in from central Europe about terror attacks that have, on last count, taken half a million lives. That is an astronomical number and I have to ask, why would such groups abuse human life if their point is that they want peace? Their philosophy and methods are barbaric and go against the very words they preach,” Eliza said.

Terrance shrugged his shoulders. There was a modicum of respect between the two on screen. That much was clear. I glanced around my office and found most of the employees transfixed on the screen. A few had cups of coffee in their hand and I found their expressions more interesting than what happened on the television. As such, I did not remember anything else about the report.

My lunch break rolled around and I ducked outside. I promised Karlie I would give up before our holiday, but I could not help but light up a cigarette. I needed something to calm my nerves. The door to the building opened. Daniel and Evelyn came out and I waved them over.

“Some serious shit going on over in Europe. Reckon there’ll be any threat to us?” Daniel said.

“Only threat to the world is another President Trump. Some dark days there, but we got past it in the end,” I said.

“That’s true enough. Maybe I should run for President.”

I rolled my eyes and handed Daniel a lighter. Evelyn’s phone rang and she ducked away to answer it. I saw Daniel’s eyes follow her and I quirked an eyebrow. It made me a little curious what he was thinking.

“You couldn’t handle being President, Dan. You struggle to get through a simple task at work right now. I’ve seen the looks you give Evelyn. Have you two been doing the freaky salsa on the side? It’s okay if you are. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Of course we have not been doing anything lewd. She’s my co-worker. I don’t date co-workers,” Daniel said.

“Explain Janine to me then. Wasn’t she your co-worker? If I recall, she’s you ex-wife now,” I said.

Daniel tried to wrap me in a headlock, but my superior strength allowed me to slip free of his grasp. I caught him in a hammerlock and, though he was far taller than I was, I craned his neck backwards. He tried to struggle, but he knew as well as I did that it was no use.

“Okay, okay, you got me. I regret Janine, but we had something for a while. Then again, I know you have a black heart,” Daniel said.

“At least I’ve held down my relationship and I intend to continue it until the end of my days,” I replied.

I released Daniel and he staggered forward, rubbing his arm with a played-up grimace. I rolled my eyes and turned to see Evelyn skipping along with a broad grin. I cocked my head in an inquisitive way.

“Good news! Daddy is coming down for a few days. He’ll be here in an hour. I can’t wait for you to meet him!” Evelyn said.

“Cool. Is he nice? I’m imagining him to be a real swell dude,” Daniel piped up.

Evelyn and I glared at Daniel. He threw his hands into the air and backed away. His eyes never left us until we turned back to each other. It was weird to see Evelyn so cheery. Her entire body seemed to shake with the excitement. I remembered her mentioning what her dad did at some point and I put a finger to my temple as I tried to remember.

“Evie… isn’t your dad like this real powerful mob boss?” I said.

“No, I don’t think so. His associates and my brothers do call him ‘Godfather,’ though. I always found that odd, but I guess that’s how much they respect him!”

I sighed. Evelyn was a sweet girl, but I knew she had to find out the truth one day. I stomped my cigarette out and placed a firm hand on Evelyn’s shoulder. I began to escort her inside. She walked with a spring in her step and I shook my head with a smile.

“Your dad is the mob boss, Evie. Godfather is the term they give to the highest rank in their ranks. Trust me when I say that you did not get this job because of your skills, Evie. Head office wants to fire you, but they are scared of the repercussions that would come because of that action. Haven’t you ever wondered why you don’t get as much work as the rest of us?” I said.

I half-expected a lightbulb to go off in Evelyn’s mind. There was no such moment and all she did was give me a sideways stare. Evelyn was the master of producing the smuggest face she could. The corners of her mouth angled upwards and her eyebrows relaxed.

“You done?”

I nodded. “Yea.”

“My daddy taught me well. ‘Never discuss the family business, Evie,’ he would tell me. I don’t put on this dumb bimbo façade for shits and giggles. I do it so I don’t draw attention from prying eyes and ears,” Evelyn took a breath to compose herself. “I like you, Ryan. I think of you as a true friend. I’ll warn you not to say those things, especially when my daddy is here. To you people, he is a middle office manager, nothing more. Now, shall we?”

Evelyn held the door to the building open for me with a sweet smile. I can tell she fell back into her well-rehearsed character. I grinned back with a nod and went inside. The wait for the elevator did not look tense, but I knew that Evelyn was inspecting me with her eyes. She did such a thing quite often. I did not mind as it let me know that, even to a confirmed straight female like Evelyn, I was attractive. It boosted my confidence, but this time also terrified me. I did not know what Evelyn was capable of doing with her connections.

The elevator arrived the second my phone dinged. I entered alongside Evelyn and Daniel. I was surprised Daniel had the patience to wait. The doors closed and I retrieved my phone. I knew whom the text was from before I looked.

“Got bored at work. Whaddaya think?” Karlie said.

Attached was a selfie of her in a two-piece swimsuit that left nothing to the imagination. A flush of heat ran up my body and a coy smile crossed my lips. I typed out a hasty reply.

“You already know the answer to that question. I think you look wonderful. Also, if you keep sending such pictures, I might not be able to keep my hands off you later.”

I did not expect a response. Karlie knew what I was like on a workday. I did appreciate hearing from her and it seemed to make the day go by a little quicker. I looked forward to our vacation the following week. I tucked my phone away in my pocket and whistled a soft tune.

The elevator doors opened and the three of us returned to our desks. Eliza and Terrance continued to prattle on through the television. With a sigh, I flopped down into my chair. By instinct, my eyes and ears focused on the television and I furrowed my brow.

“I did not think I’d see the return of such policies. It seems that the Trump administration taught us nothing,” Terrance said.

“It keeps the Mexicans out,” Eliza retorted.

“That it does. I think that was the one positive to come from Trump. The wall was a surprising and effective method. I know I was one of the few who decried it when I heard it was proceeding as planned, but I must say, the Donald had a plan.”

I hated the way that Terrance praised the 45^th President. Then again, I had quite a bit of bias. Though I lived in the United States, I was not a permanent citizen. It was hard to relinquish my Australian citizenship, but I had to do it one day. Karlie told me years ago that she did not fall in love with my personality, but my nationality. I used to be angry at that, but I soon realised that me being Australian played to my advantage. Karlie was not tempted to dare look at other women. It brought a sadistic smile to my face most days. Of course, Karlie did love me for more than that reason, and she proved it every single day. I shook my head and refocused on the television.

“A lot of records continue to be broken in Washington. We’ve got history making votes coming up, and I believe that the policies passed by Trump during the three years before his impeachment laid the foundations for much of what happens in the world today,” Terrance said.

“Load of horse shit.”

I jumped to the suddenness of Stacey’s voice. I did not realise she stood next to me until she spoke. Of course, it was how she announced herself. Stacey Day was not the typical female. She was crude, crass and had a temper hotter than the surface of the sun.

“Startled me, Stacey. What’re you doing here? I thought head office wasn’t scheduled until next month?” I said.

“Guess is as good as mine. No one ever tells me shit around here. All I get is a message on where the fuck to go and what time to be there. Least this crap pays me well,” she said in her husky voice.

“I can’t complain with you there. Work is work.”

“Fucking oath Williams.”

Stacey had the peculiar habit of referring to everyone by his or her last name. In a large group, it got confusing, but people got used to it quick. I was a remnant of her life before her transition. She did not like to talk about it, but for those who knew the signs, there was no need to ask questions. Knowing that fact did not stop me from liking Stacey. She was nice, if a little rough around the edges. I saw a little of myself in Stacey. We took no shit from anyone and made out opinions known.

“So what’s been going on down south? I heard about what happened down in Florida. Sounded like real nasty business,” I said. “I mean, I’d do the same if someone came to my workplace and did that crap. Sounds like the instigator got what they deserved.”

“A lot of crap afflicts the south these days, though I admit it looks bad for Crow Enterprises. People don’t seem to like the work we do, even though what we do benefits the masses. Fuck, I mean, look how far the company has come in five years. Started as a small two-man team down in Florida and now there are offices all over the continental States. All that expansion and even I don’t know what the fuck we do,” Stacey said.

She was not wrong. I was of the mindset that the only people that knew what Crow Enterprises was about were the people who funded it. It led to a myriad of stories about the organisation being responsible for the mass production of weapons of mass destruction or wanting to implement a new world order. Whatever the truth behind Crow Enterprises, I did not care what they did. I wanted to stay off their radar.

“I suppose that’s true. The south is a hotspot of activity, especially in the religious sector. I hope things aren’t too rough for you,” I said.

“No rougher than they were when I was a gay male. Still fucking hate Mississippi with a passion. Hands down the worst place in America. At least you have things easier up here,” Stacey responded.

“Don’t be so sure. It’s hard for a four-foot ten female to be taken with any kind of seriousness. Being foreign does not help me and I hear the voices say that I took a job from someone more deserving,” I said.

Stacey whirled on her heels and leaned over my desk. She did not care that I had a full view down her low-cut shirt and while it did fluster me a little, I knew I had someone else I could enjoy. I forced my eyes up to meet Stacey’s and noticed the wry smirk on her lips.

“Deserving is not what Crow Enterprises has ever represented. They look at experience and quality of work. You happen to be one of the best workers in this office, and your peers know it. They don’t like to say it, but trust me when I say that head office receives a lot of compliments that relate back to you. From my position, you are good at making friends and proving yourself time and time again,” Stacey said. “Oh, and don’t be afraid to stare. I know how much you love gazing at female chests.”

Stacey grinned and I went a deep red. Again, she was not wrong about me enjoying breasts a little too much. It was part of the reason Karlie and I did not go out often. Not to a fancy place in any case. My eyes always wandered ever since I was old enough to recall. I am not ashamed to say I discovered my sexuality the day I first gazed upon my sister’s bare breasts. The thoughts I had were taboo, but something felt right about wanting to grope and massage her beautiful pillows.

I never told Karlie, but my sister and I did feel each other up on very rare occasions. We never went further than that and the memories continued to embarrass me. It did not help that Steph – that was my sister’s name – ended up a lesbian, like me. I knew it was who we were though a lot of people tried to blame it on our two mums. Every time someone tried to place blame on them, I would laugh and say they encouraged everything that my sister and I did, as a loving parent should. We were free to follow our own pursuits and we did.

“I don’t know if I prove myself. This is not a hard job when you think about it,” I said.

Before Stacey could respond, a resounding thumping echoed off the door to the office. All eyes inside turned to it and the sound from the television faded. Of all of us, only Evelyn sprang to her feet and skipped to the door. With a broad and doe-eyed smile, she opened the door to a contingent of well-dressed men. The one in the front opened his arms wide when he saw Evelyn.

“Evie, my daughter! How have you been? I am sorry that I cannot come more often, but work is busy. I hope you don’t mind, but I brought along some of my colleagues. They wanna see how the business runs and what kind of things you get up to. I also must apologise for being early. My driver seemed eager to be rid of me as soon as he could,” he said in a raspy voice.

Evelyn’s dad was a stout and surly man in his early sixties. He stood no taller than his daughter was as the two embraced each other. He waddled into the office and, while most of the office returned to their work, I could not help but stare. Evelyn seemed to be the polar opposite of her father. She wore bright colours and he wore a dapper suit. His eyes were tired and his body drained while she was energetic and pixie-like.

“Daddy! I’m so glad you could come. I’ve missed you, but things are good! I love the area you found for me and I would be glad to show you how things run! Come, come!”

Evelyn bounced around as she led her father by the hand through the office. Terrance shared a laugh with him and nothing seemed amiss. In fact, the entire time Evelyn’s father and his associates were there, they were nothing but courteous and respectful, even offering to help us do our work quicker. I was the last person in the office to meet Evelyn’s father. I did not even notice the two approach until I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up to see the pair taking a seat in front of me. Evelyn returned to work.

“You must be the one Evelyn calls Ryan. I have heard a lot of good things about you, so it is a pleasure to meet you,” he paused to kiss my hand. “I am Giorgio Salvatore. I know Evelyn does not like to talk about me, but you must understand it is as much for her safety as it is mine. The things I involve myself in are quite dangerous and I wish no harm on my daughter.”

“I assure you there is no need to apologise to me. I understand your reasons and I know we all want to protect our loved ones. The pleasure is all mine,” I said.

“I did not believe my daughter when she spoke of you having an accent, but now that I hear you, I know I should trust her more. If you’ll forgive an old Italian man, I must say you have a gorgeous voice and a beautiful face. Do not worry, I am in a loving marriage and I only say these things because they are true,” Giorgio said.

“I appreciate the compliment, Mr. Salvatore. Though I must admit, I am surprised Evelyn speaks of me to you. I do not consider myself such an interesting subject,” I said.

Giorgio gave a soft smile. He did not look like the typical mob boss you see in movies. His face was much sweeter and his hair, though it was receding, still had enough vigour in it to give his scalp character. I noted that while he rested his hands on mine that he felt cold and clammy.

The hands of death, I thought.

“Evie speaks highly of everyone in our conversations. Every Friday night she calls me and often we speak until the sun rises. I believe family is as important as any career and we should not forget about them,” Giorgio said.

A flashing warning sign drew my attention to the television. Giorgio’s chair squeaked as her turned his focus to the screen. Stacey turned the volume up though we did not need to hear anything to recognise the news network was in a panic.

“Governments all around the world suggest residents seek immediate cover. I repeat: Luna Base has come under attack by multiple unidentified craft. All inhabitants of Luna Base presumed dead. The United States is launching a large number of nuclear weapons from undisclosed locations at the encroaching vehicles. During this time, governments all around the world suggest residents seek immediate cover,” an automated voice said on a constant loop.

My thoughts went right to Karlie and my gut reaction was that I needed to do anything to keep her safe. Yet, even with the situation outside, the atmosphere inside the office remained eerie calm. I looked around. No one else moved at all. Their entire bodies sat paralysed by fear. I glanced to the door. I did not look back as I sprinted down the stairs.