Eden’s Rise

Farai - to rejoice and be happy

Prologue

We all thought that when the vaccine came out in 2021, it would be the end of the virus. I wish we would have known that it was just the beginning. After the vaccine, things went back to normal, for the most part, until a year later. Covid-19 evolved into a supervirus, causing those who got it to turn into carriers for the first month, but after that, their organs would slowly start to shut off.

Now, in 2024, the world is completely different. The states all broke into their own governments, forming 50 more countries. Only Hawaii and Alaska remained unchanged by the virus due to their isolation. Everyone knows someone who died. Most of my friends and family have gone, the leaders of most of the governments around the world are gone, due to the virus. Now the only people left were those that were immune to the virus.

———-

The alarm blared, powered by solar and wind energy; the only energies that were still usable after the Evolve. Farai woke with a start. She heard the birds chirping and felt the sunbeams slanting through the windows. For a brief second, she forgot that it was the end of the world.

The far off yells of looting, sounds of explosions from burnt out cars, and clamor of residents of Eden broke her out of this reverie. With a deep inhale, Farai swung her legs from the bed, thanking whatever powers may be that this shelter was still standing.

Tiredly, she padded over to the dresser and pulled on her usual attire of slim fitted black clothes. She looked into the vanity mirror and reflected on everything that had changed. Just five short years ago, Farai was a young and spry 17 year old, hair black. She remembered her archery lessons and playing volleyball for her school. Yet here she stood, hair beginning to grey, scars on her face, a completely different image than back then. She pulled open the door and headed down to the eating area, greeting the people of Eden, new and old faces alike.

The shelter was dubbed Eden by its creators, her parents, was crowded today. Around Farai was the hustle and bustle of volunteers, trying to keep one shred of hope alive in a world ruled by people who simply didn’t care. The old brick of the previously abandoned building began to crumble under its own weight and was held in place by any scrap the volunteers could find. The whole area became a rainbow of the sunlight glinting off the faded paint of car doors used to patch holes.

There were three stories, a roof, and a basement. The basement was primarily used to provide medical aid to those who needed it. The ground floor was for registration and food. The next two floors were for sleeping, lodging, or whatever people needed the space for. Finally was the roof, which housed poultry and a small farm.

Farai grabbed 2 bowls of stew, steaming in the cold October air, and headed into the basement to see Caspian. He was her twin brother and the resident medic of the people at Eden until his condition got worse.

“Hey Cas, how’s it going today?” As she rounded the corner, she saw him, frailer than before and ravaged by cancer. It was progressing.

“There have been… three more cases outside. We… need to be careful.” Always straight to the point, Caspian never liked to delay important matters. “You will have to make sure… you stay safe. I can’t… lose you Farai.” He looked up from his bed, tears shone in his eyes. “I can’t lose anyone else.” He coughed.

“C. I am more worried about you… I feel so hopeless. You are the only person I’ve got left. After mom and dad… and the looters. I am afraid C. What did the government say?”

“They said I am not important enough to treat… and its too late anyways.” He put her hand in his and looked her in the eye. “I am always with you Far. Always in your heart when you need me most. Remember that when I’m gone. Like I always said, I get to die first.” His voice was fading with fatigue. “I… I love you… Farai.” and his eyes closed. His hand fell away to reveal a locket in the shape of a heart. “Open this… when you need me near.” His breathing stopped and he was gone.

She sat beside him, sobbing into her sleeve, desperately holding his hand that was growing cold. The medics swarmed his cot and began to cover him and prepare for a burial. A short time later, Farai stood shakily and walked over to the sink. After washing the tear-stains from her face, she decided it was time to get to work. Gathering the soup bowls, still full, she went upstairs, putting on a brave face to the people of Eden, but breaking down when she got to her room.

———-

Two years had passed and little had changed. Minus her brother, Farai was running Eden with the help of the volunteers. She spent a long time planning a way to get back at the government for refusing to help Cas. Finally though, she had a plan. One that only she knew about.

She had been training for the past year, practicing her knife skills for emergencies, learning stealth, and running daily. Half the basement had been turned into a range for her to get powerful enough to take action. It was the anniversary of his death. It was the night she would take her revenge.

If she did this right, she would be able to enact real change. If she didn’t, she would die. So she wrote a letter. “The next time you see me, I will either be the leader of this land, or in a coffin. Stay safe my dear Eden. I will come home.”

Farai dressed herself in all black, tying her curly hair tight in a bun. She grabbed her knife before donning the beloved locket from her brother. It was all she had left. And she set off.

The journey was long, but she was ready. It was an eight hour trip, so she left before the sun became visible. She enjoyed watching the sky slowly turn purple, to blue, painted with oranges and pinks, to a blue so bright it almost burned to look at. The cool October air kept her refreshed as she jogged. Periodically, her hand would touch the locket as she reminded herself what this was all about. Her only goal: to go to the emperor's house and kill him while he slept. Or die trying.

When Farai arrived, it was about five hours before sundown. She saw it, in the distance. The grand house of a wealthy emperor. It was clean and white with a green lawn and big trees that looked like broccoli, almost untouched by the Evolve. Nobody was home, she knew that her target wouldn’t arrive until an hour before dusk.

Stealthily, she crept up to the house, looking for a way she could get in. She saw, on the second floor, a few windows had been cracked and boarded shut, but one was still open. She decided to scale the house, using the drainpipe and bits of broken paneling to get up to the window.

Perching on the windowsill, she tried working the board free to get access. It was nailed on, but with a few hard shoves she was able to move the wood aside and enter the building. She shifted the wood back into place, then wandered around the house, being careful to not leave behind a trace of her presence. She padded down the granite halls searching for the master bedroom while admiring the detail of the exquisite carpentry.

The entire house seemed to glow from the clean white paint. Farai had never seen a place as beautiful and immaculate as this. It took her breath away. For a fleeting moment, she just stood, admiring the place. Then she heard the front door open and close. Her heart pounded in her ears as she frantically began to search for a place to hide. Only hearing one set of footsteps, she realized that it was just the emperor, the guards were outside.

She hid behind the drapes of a window, long broken by the rebels who wanted to loot this land. She held her breath, praying that her pounding heart wouldn’t blow her cover. The footsteps thundered closer and she saw a squat shadow of a man through the sheets.

As he passed her, she stepped from behind her cover and pressed her blade to his throat. She growled “Do not make a noise or alert your guard or I will end you.” Her veins were throbbing and her muscles vibrating with adrenaline as she guided him to a room with a desk. “Now write what I say as I say it.” Handing him a pen and paper, she began.

“I, Emperor Clinton Payne, honor and name Farai Kaiser as my successor. It is with great pride that I entitle such a woman to my small but mighty nation. It is also with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement. I plan to live out my days abroad in the island nation of Hawaii. Do not fret over my departure, though, as Ms. Kaiser has a great plan of how to help our nation through these tough times. She will be happy to explain on her first day.”

He put down the pen. “But… I don’t want to retire. I am doing a great job leading this country…”

“No, sir,” she sighed, lowering her grip on the knife. “The badlands are named as such for a reason. You are living a life of peace and wealth, blind to the struggles of us without money, without medical care, without food or homes. You are sitting in your ivory tower without any regard for the people you are meant to be serving. But I will help them, and I will let you live happily for the rest of your days. You did not mean to be the villain. Most do not mean to. But I wish to help end that.”

“I will cooperate. I’m sorry… I did not realize the pain that I had caused.” His eyes spilled tears as he sincerely said “I tried my best but I wasn’t enough. Don’t kill me. I want to see my land become wonderful. Please do what I was too nearsighted to do.”

“I will.” She promised, only half true, she dropped the knife. “It’s time to leave though. You need to deliver the letter to the guards on your own.” Walking him to the front door and handing Mr. Payne the letter, she whispered “it’s time, sir.”

He opened the door and walked down the steps to his guard, resigned. “It’s time I did this.” Passing the letter to his chief of security he sighed. “I’m tired Louis. I need to be a person and not a leader. She will take it from here.” Payne turned and went back inside to pack.

Finally, she opened the locket. It contained an old picture of their whole family as well as a loose piece of paper. She unfurled the slip and read it as tears filled her eyes. “Don’t doubt yourself. I never did. I love you.”

———-

The following days, Payne packed and left while Farai made the house hers. She started drafting plans to create communities and shelters all across the state, as well as help those who were stricken worst of all. Over the next few years, her plans spread to neighboring countries, and she found allies in other leaders, proving that all hope had not yet been lost.