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Only then did Eden feel a bit better, and took a deep breath.
Those rails and trains were no longer in service, but they were now hosting a lot more life than before. Hence, people were dotted all along the railroad tracks, their backs against the walls.
Moreover, there was no signal up here. Around the end of the twenty-first century, special fences had been put up to turn off any signal that wasn’t part of the train’s electrical functions to avoid potential hijackings and other hacking attempts. SINs didn’t work; any type of tracking device was useless. Which was why the people coming up here were those without SINs or those who wanted to hide theirs. Eden sighed, massaging her neck. She would have to be quick once she got back; grab her things, pack a bag, and leave. If the Italians had scanned her SIN, it meant they would be able to find it again the minute it was reactivated... Would she have to spend her life SIN-less? Eden couldn’t do that. A SIN was absolutely necessary to live with. Without it, it was the same as having no identity, no money, no rights. It was essential, and it was horribly expensive to get one. While people in the Core received one for free at birth, most people in the Suburbs had to work like crazy for ten or twenty years before they could afford one. Some even began saving ahead for their children before they were conceived.
“Woof!”
Eden looked down at Bullet, who was trotting ahead of her, getting excited about a couple of mice. She frowned. Beer had been left behind... She hoped the pup had survived the gunfight. She was surprised she had come out of it unscathed. It had felt like shots came from all sides, yet she had managed to get out of there just fine...
Something felt off about this whole situation, but she couldn’t put her finger on the detail that felt wrong. It was too late to think about it now anyway. She had fled, and she would never go back. Eden kept walking and tried not to think about the words Dante whispered to her at the end. How could he say such things when he was shot down...
Finally, she arrived at the next station, the 18th. This one she was familiar with, as it was on the lower west side, right next to her place. She noted to herself that if she needed, the two closest stations were fine to use...
Carrying Bullet, she got down but didn’t reactivate her SIN right away. She had to win as much time as she could. Eden hurried back to her apartment. Even there, she tried to be careful, checking over her shoulder at each intersection. She felt like those golden eyes were following her everywhere and it stressed her out. She wished she could shake off that sensation that something was wrong and tried to calm down her thumping heart.
Once she reached her building, nothing seemed strange or out of place. No one was guarding the entrance today, but that wasn’t unusual. Eden hurried upstairs as Bullet became excited to be back in a familiar place. However, she didn’t have time to play around with him. Eden grabbed the largest backpack she had and began throwing in the few belongings she owned. She was suddenly reminded of those lemon seeds Jack had given her... She would never get to try and grow those, she couldn’t take any of her plants either. She could only focus on what was important. She changed into some of her own clothes, abandoned the previous ones on the floor, and gathered everything else into her backpack. She also took some of the pups’ stuff that she had bought just days before. Bullet protested loudly when she took some of the toys and began chewing the backpack angrily, but his little teeth were not doing much damage.
Only when she was ready did Eden grab her bag and the pup, then ran downstairs.
“Loir!” she yelled, banging against the door.
It opened right away and she ran into the darkness.
“Oh, Kitty is back, and... Oh, hi, puppy!” squealed Loir.
He was still the same, stuck to his desk chair and wearing the same dark clothes. Eden was out of breath and panicked, but he barely noticed.
“So, how is your stay at the Italians’?” he asked as if it was a mundane situation.
“Not good. I ran while they were caught in another fight... Loir, I have to get out of here. They scanned my SIN. They will look for me the second I reactivate it.”
The hacker didn’t seem worried at all. He shrugged and tilted his head, glancing at her backpack.
“Oh... Where are you going?”
“I-I don’t know,” confessed Eden. “I wanted to go and check on Jack first...”
Loir said nothing, which felt extremely awkward.
Then, he slowly widened his smile, making Eden step back, a bit disturbed. Loir smiling was like a shark showing all of his fangs. There was nothing happy to be felt about it. A shudder went down her spine.
“Eden is running away again...” He whistled. “Running away from the bigger kitty...”
“You know I don’t have a choice,” she retorted, frowning. “I’ll never work for the Italian, never, Loir. After what they did to Adam... I can’t forgive it.”
“...You’re curious,” he suddenly said.
“What?”
Loir rested his chin on his knee, his pitch-black eyes staring at Eden.
“Eden is all alone,” he sang in a slow and creepy tune. “Eden hates but Eden doesn’t take revenge. She runs, and runs, and runs... who taught you to always run, Eden?”
“You’re one to talk,” she retorted. “You’re the guy hiding in a basement!”
“I know who I’m running from. Do you?”
Eden sighed and looked away, avoiding that annoying smirk of his. She crossed her arms, feeling very lonely and cold all of a sudden.
