The Result of a Change
Chapter 19

14 days later...

Sitting by the polished glass of the wall sized window, I gaze out, watching the tiny flickers of light that escaped between the buildings of the ruined city, London. I still remember the day we landed here, how beautiful it was, the snow covered all the buildings and the houses and I called it the city of purity. It’s hard to believe how much of a change this city experienced over the past few months. The beautiful pure white view of the snow covering the tower and the houses, once filled with happy moments, laughter and cries, has turned to a charcoal black view with bits of burnt bricks and rusted iron, empty houses and shattered glass pieces all over the streets. Yet, I do sense hope when I see the little flames rising up and hearing the music of the children jumping on the dirty water puddles and laughing as if their life depended on it. Their parents watch them with watery eyes and a smile that hides their misery.

I remember my parents, their eyes filled with concern and the way they talk to me, warn me and guide me... but I still do remember how I lost them in a matter of a few hours, how I didn’t bid my farewell to them. I press my eyes shut and wipe the tear that made its way on my cheek. I won’t disappoint them. They died to let me know the truth, to make things right and I’ll never let their blood go in vain.

Since the Xoliners started ruling, everything grew worse than it was after the war. Some people tried making peace with them but I’ll never support this idea, the idea of them taking something not theirs and ripping it from its rightful owners. They’ve already taken over almost all the states of the United Kingdom, excluding few villages on the borders of Ireland. Their chiefs fought until the Xoliners gave up on this part of the land. For them, it didn’t matter but for their owners, it was a matter of life and death, and I adore them for this bravery.

Other countries, neighbouring and far away, made some precautions to avoid the invasion of Xoliners, to protect their land. Sometimes, humans aren’t just helpless creatures, they do think and plan but the problem here is, they’re never sure of the consequences which might be accepted as a general fact, I see it may destroy them. The rulers here just want power, just like the Xoliners. And to see two different kinds of creatures craving for the same thing makes me laugh. But I was more than happy to learn they united to protect their lands after they heard of the complete destruction that started here.

The sound of soft knocks on the doors brings me back to reality, releasing me from my thoughts. I turn my head facing the closed door and sit up straight.

“Come in!” I shout and Edward’s head snaps in.

Smiling he enters in the room and shuts the door behind him.

“What are you doing?” he says in a faint voice, I almost thought he was talking to himself.

“Nothing in particular, just wondering when will everything end.”

“I didn’t know you waited for the world to crash down.”

I let out a small chuckle, “Really? How could you not know already?” I reply sarcastically.

He laughs but turns the curve on his face to a straight line shortly after.

“I wish this all was just a terrible nightmare.” he says in a serious tone.

I nod turning my gaze back to the dark world outside.

“I’ll make sure everything changes.” I say in a low tone almost in a whisper.

“How could you say that and you fear change?” he replies instantly.

“I do... but I shouldn’t let my fears get in the way. I need to make things right, although the world seems too wrong to be corrected.”

He smiles once again, “You can do it, Zoey, I believe in you.” he says standing up.

“Thank you.” I reply as I stand up and give him a short hug.

“Want to drink coffee? Peter’s making some.” he says as he walks out of the room, looking at me over his shoulder.

“Sure.” I reply following him outside.

I don’t remember the last time I drank coffee. It has been a lot, I can say. I really needed it and the slightest mention of it makes my face light up.

Walking behind Edward, I look at the floor and notice something different. It’s no more rusted iron, rather it’s a polished set of ceramic tiles. I look around at the walls and notice the change there too. The dark brown and red spots of blood are no more there and the hallways are enhanced with more tube lights, making everything look white but not the pure white I adore, rather it’s the artificial one that makes me feel uneasy. How long had I stayed alone in my room, gazing at the window and wondering about the situation? Days? Weeks? I’ll never know for I lost the count of days. I need a calendar too. I hope Peter has one.

“Here.” Edward says as he takes the turn on his left. I nod following him.

As much as I wanted to keep up my pace with him, I couldn’t. I stop in the middle of the hallway as I hear low whispers of a conversation between two persons.

“Are you really doing this?” An unrecognizable voice asks.

“You’ll replace out later.” I freeze in place after realizing who the second person is.

Jonathan.

But what is he talking about? I need to know who the other person is. Glancing at Edward, I replace going further and further, not realizing I’m not following him. I swallow the lump in my throat and give the door a little knock.

“Come in!” Jonathan shouts.

I open the door and step in. Glancing at the person seated in front of him, I shut the door and clear my throat.

“Zoey, this is Harold. Harold, this is Zoey.” He says introducing us.

“Nice to meet you.” I say pulling my hand out for a shake.

“Nice to meet you too.” he says taking my hand and shaking it firmly.

“So,” he starts, “I heard you started living here recently.”

I nod giving him a smile. That isn’t something too good to bring up.

“And how do you feel about it?”

“I don’t think that would matter much.” I reply. Facing Jonathan, I start again, “How much of the required amount of the serum is done?” I ask running off the topic Harold opened up.

Looking at the screen before him and tapping on it, “20%” he says.

“Thank you. I’ll check up tomorrow for the progress. See you.”

He nods and I twist the door knob. Stepping out, I take a long breath and shut the door behind. What on earth had just happened? My mind is exploding. I needed answers and all I got was a dumb question of how I feel about living here!

“Well, I feel like killing you all.” I thought.

Straightening myself, I turn on my heel and gasp.

Edward puts a hand on my mouth shutting me up and gestures me to keep quiet and follow him. The moment we move away from Jonathan’s office, he speaks up, “What the hell were you doing in there?”

“First of all, don’t curse. Secondly, I heard something and got suddenly curious.”

“What did you hear?”

“I heard Harold ask Jonathan if he was really going to do something and then I knocked to get information of who he was and the progress of the serum.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes?” I reply more of a question than an answer.

His shoulders lag and he sighs a sigh of relief.

“Great, then. I thought something was wrong. Now, come with me, Peter’s waiting.”

And don’t you think that is actually not right either? I wanted to argue with him but I dropped it. Nodding, I follow him to the welcoming scent of coffee and a grinning Peter standing by the kitchen stool.