The Proposed Prophecies
Chapter 20: THE COMMANDER OF THE ALTERS

Liv dragged her feet back from work and her hands hurt from the handcuffs placed on her too tightly, like always. One month had passed since she’d woken up in the bunker and it already felt like she’d been there for an eternity. The lack of food and natural light caused widespread depression and fights which were followed by the noise of guns shooting at everyone who misbehaved.

“Liv Johansson, please wait at the door” a woman’s voice called through the monitor in her room. She had never been called up for anything before and this appeared out of the schedule. She wasn’t sure what to expect as she followed the instructions and walked towards the exit where she was supposed to wait. She looked at the watch on her wrist that helped her follow her schedule in a timely manner. It was close to nine in the morning. She wasn’t sure what day was it, not that this even mattered anymore. Every day was same. Her stomach was growling as she hadn’t had time to get in the breakfast line that morning so had gone without breakfast again. She thought back to those days when all she would do was to have a cup of coffee in the morning and didn’t need to eat until lunchtime. But this time there was sometimes no lunch or dinner to begin with and so she needed breakfast. She walked in circles in front of the exit when it finally opened. It always made a strange noise, like warehouse metal door opening in a warehouse.

“Jake?” Liv’s heart nearly stopped once she spotted a highly armed Jake. He walked into the red zone and repeated the given instructions.

“The commander wants to see you. You need to wear the cuffs the whole time and walk behind me without saying a word. If you try to escape or commit any type of threat, you will be shot. Understood?”

“Yes.” She nodded her head but inside her mind was screaming with happiness. She had waited for him for the past month and with no sign of him, her hopes had slowly faded with each passing day. Until now.

He put the cuffs on her hands. She felt an energy from this slight touch. She followed him out of the red zone into the hallway straight to the elevators.

“Jake,” she whispered as they reached the elevators. Her voice sounded loud against his silence. She wasn’t sure why was he ignoring her but she thought perhaps he must be being watched.

Suddenly he aimed his gun at her. She felt petrified. “Quiet” he ordered and looked above the elevator and she realized there was a camera once she looked up. She wondered how many more cameras were around the bunker. It was so small, only barely noticeable by the tiny red dot. Perhaps she had one in her room but had never noticed it.

They went all the way to the top floor and Liv started to feel fearful. When she was told the commander wanted to see her she thought of Eve right away. And just by thinking of her, she felt fear and anger at the same time. She hadn’t seen her a while and wasn’t sure what was the meeting was about.

Once they reached the 50th floor, he let her walk out of the elevator first. She glanced at him but he ignored her. She knew it must be because of the cameras. Six months ago, when she first saw him, she thought he was ignorant but now she would never think that – he knew everything that was going on and she felt that. The real him was someone who was genuine and caring. He cared for the kids and had been the one who had come back for them during the virus. Maybe he had appeared ignorant because he had been watched back then too.

As she exited the elevator she was blinded by natural light. The whole floor was lit up with sunshine as the walls on the left side, facing the island, were all made from the sun shine through and tickled her face as she passed by. Her eyes watered. She had not seen natural light for quite a while. She could see the green forest laid out far below and the blue ocean in the back. Seeing these things made her miss the simple things in life such as the power of nature. They were so high up that she realized that some part of the bunker could not be under the ground. The overseers had just given this illusion. She remembered Carmen describing the entrance as being was built into a rocky cliff. The island itself didn’t look to be occupied from up there as there were only trees and bushes as far as she could see. She glanced back at the ocean and somehow felt a sense for freedom. It was an escape from the nightmare.

“Keep moving,” Jake ordered as she lagged behind. The walls of the hallway leading to the office were white but the sun made them look yellow and the concrete floor looked just as it did down in the red zone; grey but not cold from the sunshine. There was nothing hanging on the walls, no decorations only a few more doors on the right. The whole left side appeared to be a window wall and she could also see that the whole building was in the shape of a circle. Jake placed his hand lightly on her back and urged her to go inside one of the offices on the right.

“Welcome, my dear,” Eve said, looking down at some papers. She signed with her hand for Liv to have a seat. Liv felt her blood boil as she looked at Eve. She remembered her hanging out with Amy, pretending to help with her business and pretending to be her friend. She wondered why she was even doing it. Liv’s chair was soft, not like the dining bench at the red zone or her chair in the office where she worked. She looked back at Jake who stood behind her and still avoided looking at her. Eve’s office was mostly empty and gave the impression that she didn’t work there often. There was only her dark desk and the chair she sat on, plus a bookshelf with some books on it behind her. The bookshelf reminded Liv of Evan. She realized she haven’t thought about him for a while. It felt as if he had been erased from her memories but that bookshelf somehow brought them back. She started to wonder what had happened to him. Perhaps he was somewhere still in Miami or maybe he was in another part of the bunker.

“I have heard a lot of good things about you Liv. Apparently you do your job without any complaints. Your cooperation is appreciated.” Eve was still looking at some papers as she said this. Her reading glasses slid down so they were resting on the tip of her nose.

“Do I have a choice?” Liv asked quietly, raising Eve’s attention. Eve looked at Liv and placed her reading glasses down.

“You always have a choice. In fact we all have a choice, my dear.” The calmness of Eve’s voice was annoying. She used to think Eve’s voice was calm and polite but somehow it didn’t sound that way underneath today. All her frustrations at being in the bunker seemed to rise up inside her. She thought about how hungry she was all the time. She looked outside of Eve’s office and focused her sight on the strong sun to keep herself from attacking Eve. The notion that everyone had a choice here was a complete lie. People didn’t have a choice at all. They didn’t desire to lose their loved ones or to be kept underneath the ground, trapped and starving in a bunker.

She inhaled slowly in and out.

“I have a proposal for you,” Eve continued but Liv’s attention was raised only when Eve mentioned Becky’s name.

“I don’t understand. What do you want from me?” Liv raised her voice in desperation.

Eve smiled and took out a pack of cigarettes from a drawer and lit one. Liv watched her inhale and exhale. The cloud of poison slowly overtook the whole room. She remembered Amy smoking in front of her window but her smoke was a cloud moving upwards into the skies while Eve’s smoke remained in the room, slowly making Liv feel like she needed to vomit.

Liv coughed from the smoke. The air conditioning wasn’t doing a good job of getting rid of it.

“I apologize, my dear. I have picked up some bad habits from humans over the years.” She pushed the cigarette down onto the ashtray. Liv felt like she was truly about to vomit. She was hungry and the smell of the smoke was not helping her stomach.

“I want you to start trusting me and I want you in my team”. Eve used her hands a lot while she talked and Liv kept staring at them. They moved like when an orchestra leader leads a team of musicians. “I decided to invite you on our monthly meetings. Some of my team outside is working on making sure the virus spreads evenly and everywhere. They visit here on a monthly basis to announce the progress made. I want you to be there and write about the progress, with some extra editing of course. I want you to write about the virus as being part of the third world war. I have a guard who will give you an outline that you can base your documents on. I believe that should not be an issue for you.” She looked at Liv who realized Eve was expecting an answer from her.

“Of course. Now can I see Becky?” She didn’t care about what Eve had asked her to do, all she cared about was seeing her sister. Eve nodded.

“She will join you in the red zone soon. So are you happy to join my team?” Liv nodded even though it wasn’t really clear to her why Eve wanted her on her team. She wondered if it was because of her being half human and half Alter.

“Good. Very good my dear, I will have Jake pick you up on the first Monday of each month.” Eve appeared satisfied and Liv wasn’t really sure what her true intention was. What Eve was asking her to do seemed far too easy and she was sure there was more to this request than she knew about. She didn’t say more though as all that really mattered was the safety of Becky and the kids’.

Eve lit up another cigarette and raised her head as a sign for Jake to take Liv back. Liv got up and walked to the door but she stopped. “Why? Why me?” she asked and turned around. Eve was already inhaling the cigarette. She smiled a little. “Once upon a time I made a deal with your grandfather. He kept his part of the deal so I’ll keep mine.” Her smile wasn’t really reassuring. It was more of a troubled smile. Her intentions weren’t good, Liv was sure of it. She felt Jake’s hand push her to keep moving.

Liv walked silently back to the elevator, dragging one foot after another. She was no longer even interested in the blue sky and the sunshine. All she could think about were Eve’s words. She wondered what deal her grandfather had made with her. The way down to the third floor was quiet and the smell of the mold hit her nostrils again once they reached the desired floor.

As she walked out of the elevator she felt Jake grab her arm. She stopped and saw him looking at the watch on his wrist and glancing at the spot above the elevator. She looked too and realized the small camera wasn’t blinking red anymore.

“I have about three minutes until the security guard realizes the camera has been disconnected.” She smiled. She had so many questions she wanted to ask. He placed his hands on top of her shoulders and explained that there were many Alters on his side who believed in his father’s legacy. Liv realized that Jake’s father must have been Axel. She wasn’t sure if the Alters had the same family bond as humans did but Jake was implying that Axel was his father.

“Eve has always been evil and I am not strong enough to defeat her. But now that I have so many Alters on my side, I can fight her. It won’t be easy and I will need your help.” He looked at his watch again and then back at her. “I will lead you through the next few months”

Liv nodded her head but what he was saying was terrifying. She couldn’t bear another few months of misery and hunger. She wasn’t even sure if she could survive for that long but she didn’t say anything as all she wanted was her family and friends to be safe.

“All I need you to do for now is to go to these meetings and make Eve believe you trust her and are on her side. I need you to stay unnoticeable for now.”

He glanced at his watch again. “Now, turn around… and don’t talk. Not even inside. The time is over for now but I promise I will explain more in two weeks after your first meeting.” He looked up and the camera had started to blink red again. His words were fast and she hadn’t even had time to ask any questions but she knew she would be able to remain unnoticeable and make Eve believe she was on her team. But the only problem was the time frame given for this. Five months was a long time and she wanted to know what would happen after the fifth month. Would there be some kind of fight, a protest from the resistance? Or perhaps they would finally be set free.

“See you in two weeks,” he added before the door to the red zone closed behind her.

Liv walked through the hallway and looked towards the ceiling as she continued into the dining area. The cameras were everywhere, blinking next to the long rows of blinding warehouse lights. Perhaps the lights were so strong to prevent anyone from looking too closely at them and noticing the small red blinking dots of the cameras. Suddenly she felt like a fool for not noticing this earlier. She looked straight ahead and noticed all those people walking around, trusting each other, trusting her each time they walked by and wondered if any of them had even noticed the cameras either.

“I will share this deliciousness with you,” Carmen said sarcastically as she split the beans and crackers in two portions and offered some to Liv as she walked into the dining area. “There are cameras everywhere, right next to the lights,” Liv whispered as she sat right next to Carmen. “Why doesn’t it surprise me? I bet they are on the toilets too,” Carmen replied, rolling her eyes and moving her lips to the side before exhaling. Liv suddenly smiled as she remembered the first time she had met Carmen on the plane to Miami. She had done the same thing, rolling her eyes, moving her lips to the right and exhaling after she walked back from the restroom with the guy. “How different is our life now,” Liv said out loud and realized that if there was no such thing as the Proposal and the Alters she would be probably in her second semester, prepping for graduation.

Joann hadn’t said a word as they sat there, she was just picking on her beans. She didn’t look like she was eating a whole lot. Liv looked at both of them and wanted to tell them everything else she had found out but she remembered Jake’s words telling her not to talk, not even inside. If they had cameras all over then they may have listening devices too, or perhaps the cameras were able to record voices as well. She exhaled deeply. From now on she would not be able to share anything.

She picked at her beans. There were given beans every single day but Liv ate them anyway as she was hungry and there was nothing else to eat. She looked at Joann again who appeared so distracted, like her mind wasn’t even there. She stared at her plate of beans and moved them around with the fork.

“What is wrong?” Liv asked. Joann’s hands seemed to be shaking. She shook her head as if to say that nothing was wrong but Liv still sensed that something was wrong. Joann stood up and excused herself shortly after.

Liv asked Carmen if she knew something but Carmen said that Joann had been this way since the morning and she didn’t want to talk about it. Liv thought that something must have happened, unless Joann felt depressed, which wouldn’t be a surprise. Even Liv frequently felt depressed. Life underneath the ground was definitely not a dream come true.

Later on that day Liv lay on her bed and looked at the light on the ceiling and the red dot next to it as it blinked each second. Liv started to count each dot. It was the only entertainment in the bunker. They had no TV or social activities. Even showering, something she used to enjoy, was no longer enjoyable. The water was always cold. At least the guards were not allowed into the showers but now that she knew for certain that there were cameras in the showers, she felt violated, watched and creeped out at the same time. She had a clean red uniform on which she would have to use for the next day too. She missed the small things in life such as choosing her own clothes, or to even wearing underwear. The uniform was itchy and the fact that she had nothing underneath made it a hundred times worse.

There was a light knock on the door. It was shortly after midnight and no one should have been out of their room at that point. The rules strictly prohibiting this and breaking rules such as this were punished with imprisonment or even death. She looked back up at the light and realized the camera wasn’t blinking any longer. It must have been disconnected. Maybe it was Jake outside her door.

Liv stepped off the bed and towards to the door. “Liv? It’s me, Joann.”

“Joann?” Liv was surprised. Joann was the last person she expected to be standing there. Liv opened the door quickly and rushed her in. “What happened?” Liv asked and glanced up at the camera again, looking for the red blinking dot.

“Everything is disconnected but comes back again when the security guards change shifts in the morning,” Joann said and exhaled deeply. She sat down on the bed and looked down at the concrete floor, tapping her red sneakers. Joann’s feet were so small, thought Liv, as she looked at her tapping them. She appeared slightly nervous. The fact that Joann knew about the cameras was strange but then Liv realized that she knew very little about Joann to begin with. She was always so quiet and never shared anything about herself.

“How do you know about the cameras?” Liv asked as she looked at Joann, whose long, red, healthy-looking hair was always so neatly placed into a ponytail. She held on to the white sheet that covered Liv’s bed like it was some type of a security blanket. “What is going on?” Liv asked again. Joann’s seemed to hesitate. Liv still stood in the small space between the door and the bed and waited for Joann to talk. Her room suddenly appeared even smaller now that she had Joann there. She didn’t think it was possible for it to look smaller than it already did.

“I haven’t been completely honest with you and Carmen,” Joann said and looked at Liv. Her eyes were dazzling as if she was about to release some tears. “Liv, I have to leave the red zone but I’ll be around.”

Her words sounded strange and her voice became quieter, as if she was somehow ashamed to say this. Liv sat next to her and placed her hand on Joann’s. She saw the green of her eyes, and the tears threatening to fall “What do you mean?” Liv asked. She wasn’t worried about what would Joann say. Given what had happened over the past few months, nothing could shock her. She knew whatever Joann had to say must be big, since Joann mostly talked to Carmen and Liv never felt like she was that close to Joann. Joann was her friend but it was not the same friendship and connection she had shared with Carmen or Tiffany.

“I am not human, I am an Alter as well. I was hired by Jake to take care of Ashley but in reality I was there to make sure everything moved along smoothly while he was gone and I am here in the bunker only to get the guards on Jake’s side and to look after you. But now that the guards have agreed to turn against Eve I have no business in here any longer and I have to go and help Jake with the next step.” The fact that Joann was an Alter was a shock but somehow Joann still appeared the same to Liv. It didn’t really make a difference that she was an Alter and the fact she was there to look after them felt caring. But there was something that made her feel differently about Joann and that was her involvement with Jake.

“So, you and Jake are working on defeating Eve together?” Liv asked. She felt a small amount of jealousy. This was craziness, there was nothing really between her and Jake that she could describe as a romantic relationship. But she was jealous that Joann had greater involvement with Jake than she had.

“It’s not like that, Liv. I have known Jake for a long time. Plus, I have never looked at him that way. There is someone else in my life that means so much to me and I feel like I am putting her down right now by lying to her.” In some strange way it made her relax and the jealousy disappeared completely. She remembered in the diary it had said that many Alters had started feel certain bonds between them and humans. This must have made the depopulation and restoration process much harder to implement.

“I wish I could share everything with her but I can’t. It is very important that Eve gets off the commander post soon otherwise she will lead mankind to a certain destruction.” Her words came slowly and quietly. She tried to prevent tears from falling down her face. “The bunkers are not safe and this one is not even finished yet and I am afraid you will all die, either from the bunker collapsing or from starvation.” Her tears rolled one after another down her face. Liv let her place her head on her shoulder. Joann’s words sounded honest and her tears were more than real.

“I won’t be here tomorrow morning and I need you to be there for Carmen.” Joann sat up straight again, leaving Liv’s shoulder. “What does Eve want?” Liv asked and Joann shook her head. “She wants to complete the proposal early and I am afraid that will cost more lives that necessary.” She stood up from the bed and stepped to the door before leaning her back against it.

“I think she knows that the Alters are turning against her and she is becoming more furious. Soon there will be a war between the Alters on her side and the Alters on our side. There has never been a war between Alters and we never had to turn against each other when Axel was here. But everything changed after he died.”

“Do you know what happened to him?” Liv remembered her grandfather’s diary in which he described how Eve asked him to take Axel out of his way. But she was sure he hadn’t done this. He wrote about his father-son bond with Axel. She imagined that Eve had been responsible for his death once Joann said he was poisoned but even Joann didn’t know who had done this. She said it must have been Eve because she was the only one who wanted to have the last word and she hated the fact that Axel was the commander.

Joann wiped the remaining tears off her face. “Please tell Carmen that I am sorry.” Liv shook her head; Liv was sure Carmen would be upset at first but would eventually realize that Joann only wanted in all likelihood she had never planned to become so close to Carmen in the first place.

“What about Ashley and Tommy?” Liv realized that there would now be no way to know if they were alright. She only knew what was going on with them from Joann as she worked in the school zone. “Don’t worry, they will be alright. I have another Alter watching them.” Joann’s words were calming even if it meant that Liv would not be updated about Ashley and Tommy on daily basis.

Joann looked like she was about to open the door but she paused and looked back at Liv.

“Jake is a good guy. He has been taking care of the Alters for such a long time. Sometimes he doesn’t know how to show his feelings and he can be misleading with his arrogance sometimes, but while I was living in your house I noticed the way he looked at you. Even when you weren’t aware. I think he somehow fell in love with you, even if he hasn’t acknowledged it to himself yet.” Joann smiled before she walked out of the door. Liv smiled back and wondered if her interest in Jake was truly that obvious. Sometimes it felt strange to her that she thought of him so much despite her incessant hunger and the possibility of a collapsing bunker.