Every time she closed her eyes, images would flash through her mind. There didn't seem to be a particular order, they were just random pictures, sometimes frightening and sometimes soft, happy pictures that would cause Eva to smile her perfect smile. She didn't understand it, and being the type of girl she was: She never shared it with anyone.
"Eva, heeeelllo!" Eva started, her eyes opening mid flash to catch sight of a tanned hand waving in front of her face. Her best friend, Gabriella, sat opposite her, looking slightly annoyed.
"Yeah?" Eva asked, picking at her paste like spaghetti and foul smelling sauce. Gabriella rolled her chocolate brown eyes, pouting slightly.
"Never mind, you never listen," Gabriella complained, taking a swig from her bottled water, her food already forgotten.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Eva asked, attempting to ignore Gabriella's last comment.
"No, I swear it was moving," Gabriella shrugged.
"Uh-huh," it was difficult for Eva to not roll her eyes. Gabriella looked at her piercingly.
"You're not eating either," She pointed out, rather accusingly.
"Yeah well, like you said, it was moving," Eva retorted, rising to her feet and grabbing her tray.
"Oh ha, ha," Gabriella snapped, getting up too, but leaving her tray on the table.
"It's the dinner ladies job," She said defensively when Eva frowned at her.
"Ok, meet you outside then," Eva replied, making her way toward the drop off point. A dinner lady took her tray gratefully, smiling at her.
"Did you enjoy it?" The dinner lady asked, not even glancing at the tray in her hand.
"Err, yeah, I wasn't just too hungry," Eva lied, making a full turn and walking as fast as she could through the dining room. She heard the dinner lady chuckling quietly behind her.
Eva made her way through the empty, cool corridors, yawning slightly: She hadn't gotten much sleep last night; in fact, she hadn't had much sleep in the past two weeks. There was a nagging suspicion in the back of her head every time her head hit the pillow that it wasn't the safest idea to go to sleep. Soon after, every sound became suspicious, the creak of a floorboard meant there was someone in the house, sneaking around, a knife glinting in their hand etcetera, etcetera. It couldn't have been anything but paranoia.
Eva made her way onto the school field, spotting Gabriella immediately at their favourite spot; beneath the large willow tree in the far corner. Shielding her eyes from the sun, Eva jogged over, sinking down onto the soft grass beside Gabriella with a relieved sigh. Gabriella turned to look at her.
"Have you ever tried self tan? It works on all skin-stones you know," She added when Eva gave her a withering look. It was true she was quite pale, but she didn't want to look like an orange either.
"I quite like my skin-tone, actually, I'd rather be white than orange" Eva replied, looking at Gabriella.
"They don't all turn you orange," Gabriella grumbled, jutting her jaw out slightly.
"Yeah I know," Eva sighed.
"But then again, your hair may not look right next to tanned skin…it's too red" Gabriella said thoughtfully. "You should dye your hair too,"
Eva let out a growl from the pit of her stomach.
"I'm not dyeing anything," She snarled, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Gabriella held her hands in the air, rolling her eyes again.
"Just a suggestion, Eve," She shrugged. Eva pouted slightly, flicking a strand of her 'too red' hair away from her eyes.
"Your eyes are a nice colour though," Gabriella said after a second, gazing somewhat jealously into Eva's eyes.
"Uh-huh," Eva replied, smirking slightly: She too liked her dark, moss green eyes that were flecked with a dull gold which were surrounded by a mass of black eyelashes, which were, oddly enough for someone so pale, completely natural.
"Yeah, I've never seen that colour before," Gabriella admitted. Eva smiled.
"And you never will," She replied mysteriously, rising to her feet just as the bell rang. Gabriella rose too, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"How do you do that?" She asked as they made their way towards their last lesson: Maths.
"What?" Eva asked, distracted by a black flash in the corner of her eye. She glanced to her right, narrowing her eyes as the field on that side proved to be empty.
"You always get up like a second before the bell rings, it's not natural,"
"I check my watch a lot," Eva shrugged: If she was entirely honest; she did it automatically, as if something told her brain that it was time to get up. It wasn't a conscious decision. Gabriella didn't look convinced, but she didn't press her point.
Maths passed quickly, mostly because Eva was more focused on the black, fast flash she had seen: It wasn't like her to imagine things, even if they were seen out of the corner of her eye. It could just have been a cat, Eva reminded herself, glancing briefly at the blackboard to make it seem like she was copying down the problems and answering them. Beside her, Gabriella cursed.
"What the fuck does + (-34-56) – (-79x25) x15 mean?" She hissed to Eva, who pulled a face.
"I don't know and don't worry about it, she doesn't check them anyway," She replied quietly, indicating their maths teacher, a mousey, short woman in her mid 30s who had a tendency to twitch. Gabriella furiously used her rubber to erase any trace of the equation away from her exercise book, all the while muttering to herself.
When the bell rang, Eva had already raced out of the classroom and into the fresh air. She breathed deeply as she made her way to the bike shelters and unlocked her bike.
"Eva, CALL ME!" Eva waved her hand in acknowledgment to Gabriella's words, before mounting her bike and pedalling furiously.
"EVA MILLER, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO RIDE YOUR BIKE ON SCHOOL PROPERTY!" The shout of Eva's English teacher, Mrs King, was out of her mouth to late: Eva had already made her way onto the main road, a smirk on her face. Although her house was in the countryside; about three miles from her school, it took her less than 15 minutes to get there. She braked abruptly, almost crashing into the wrought iron gate that separated the foot path from the front garden of her house: A large, off white old mansion with a swimming pool.
Eva let her bike fall to the ground, resting her bag on the metal frame and digging in the side pocket for her keys. As soon as she found them, she pressed the buzzer on the far side of the gate, stepping back. The gates opened painfully slowly and Eva picked up her bike, slipped the keys over her neck and swung the back onto her back before wheeling the bike up the drive and towards the house. She let the bike fall again, making her way up the stone steps. She stuck the key into the door, twisting it twice to the right and shoving it open. A cool breeze caressed her face and she smiled as she closed the door behind her.
"MUM?" She called, dumping her bag onto the parquet floor. Abby Miller appeared on the top of the staircase just ahead of Eva. She didn't smile at her daughter.
"Eva, could you come up here please," Her voice was strained and hoarse. Eva nodded jerkily, jogging down the hallway and up the stairs. Her mother gave her a one armed hug.
"Is something wrong, mum?" Eva asked, returning the hug half heartedly. Her mother didn't reply, but her eyes were filled with worry.
"There's someone I'd like you to meet," She whispered, turning her back on Eva and opening the door to the tea room. Eva stepped past her mother and into the room. A young woman sat on one of the sofas, gazing determinedly at the floor. She was very pretty, with waist length brown hair and deep brown eyes.
She looked up as Eva's mother closed the door, leaning back against it with a sigh.
"Eva, I'd like you to meet and old friend of mine, Elektra,"
"Nice to meet you," Eva said, sinking into the sofa opposite the one Elektra sat on. Elektra looked at her, her full lips slightly parted, but she nodded; once, jerkily.
"It's all my pleasure," She replied quietly. Her voice was soft, but slightly hoarse. Eva nodded, glancing at her mother, who avoided her questioning eyes.
"Abby," Elektra said, rising to her feet. "Abby, I understand you don't want this to happen, but the hand is back and I know you want to keep your daughter safe, but you are my top priority,"
Eva frowned, looking at her mother: The hand? Top priority? What was this Elektra going on about?
"They don't want me anymore, Elektra, they'll be looking for someone else," Eva's mother said firmly, flicking her shoulder length brown hair away from her eyes. Elektra sighed.
"You don't stop being the treasure because you've grown older…You're only 32,"
"They still don't want me, the only reason they would come is to kill me,"
Eva gasped: Who would want to kill her mother? And why had Elektra called her 'the treasure'? Nothing was making sense to her anymore. She coughed purposefully. Both Elektra and her mother turned to look at her, looking slightly shocked to find her sitting there.
"What are you on about?" Eva asked. Elektra narrowed her eyes slightly, but said nothing.
"Things…things that happened some time ago," Her mother smiled weakly.
"But you said someone was back," Eva turned to Elektra, who flinched.
"Not just someone….a whole group of people," She muttered, barely audible.
"Elektra!" Eva's mother said firmly, looking pointedly at Eva. Elektra nodded again.
"Sorry Eva, this is between me and Abby," She said to Eva.
"Then why bother asking me to join you?" Eva retorted moodily. Elektra gazed at her.
"You mother is in danger."
Eva gazed at her mother.
"Mum?" She asked. Her mother sighed, biting her lip slightly.
"I don't think…" She trailed off. Elektra nodded, looking sad.
"It's alright, Abby, I'll be here and I'll be damned if I don't send that son of a bitch back where he came from," It was the most emotion Eva had so far heard Elektra put into her words.
"That son of a bitch?" Eva questioned, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. Elektra looked at her.
"It was an expression," She muttered.
"Yeah…ok…I have some homework to do," Eva rose to her feet, smiling slightly at Elektra, whose expression was neutral. The last thing she heard before the door was shut behind her was:
"She doesn't know anything," It was a statement rather than a question from Elektra. Eva could almost see her mother nodding. She bit back the urge to scream and instead made her way down the stairs, collecting her bag and walking to her room, which was situated at the far end of the house where the back garden was also located.
She collapsed onto her bed with a sigh, pulling out her exercise books and setting to work.
After around ten minutes, she found herself stuck on a maths problem. She closed her eyes and the pictures immediately set to work. However, this time around, they seemed to be telling her something: A picture of a beautiful, dark haired woman flashed before her eyes, accompanied by a picture of her mother. Then, she saw her mother and the woman, standing four feet apart, murderous looks in their eyes. The image changed again, this time showing her mother only, lying on the floor, and a blank look in her eyes. Eva screamed. Her eyes flew open and the image disappeared. She sat still for a fraction of a second, her mouth slightly agape: What had that been?
Suddenly, she heard the sound of glass breaking; it was distant, but clear. She jumped to her feet: This really couldn't be paranoia anymore. Eva crept toward her door, pressing her ear against it. Not a single sound. With a deep breath, Eva threw open her door and sprinted into the hallway, where her mother sat on the windowsill, a distant look in her eyes.
"Mum," Eva gasped. Her mother turned to look at her.
"Yes?"
"Didn't you hear that?" Eva asked in disbelief. Her mother frowned.
"Hear what, Eva?" She questioned.
"The glass breaking," Her mother's frown deepened.
"No glass is broken," She told Eva, now getting to her feet.
"But," Eva began, but her mother cut her off.
"Did you see something too?"
Eva's eyes widened: How could her mother know? She looked straight into her mothers brown eyes, biting her lip: How did you tell your mother that you'd seen her dead?
"No," She replied finally, a sigh escaping her. Her mother's face fell.
"I just thought…Never mind,"
"Thought what, tell me," Eva enquired curiously. Her mother shook her head, waving her away.
"It doesn't matter,"
"I'm sure it does," Eva persisted. Her mother smiled weakly.
"It's nothing you need to know right now,"
"Oh, okay," Eva nodded, puckering her lips slightly. There was a silence.
"Dinner will be ready in half an hour,"
Eva nodded again as her mother walked away.
Eva picked at her mash, yawning slightly. Her mother kept glancing at her, a calculating, slightly bemused expression on her face.
"Are you not hungry?" Eva looked up, a frown on her face.
"No…I mean, yeah," She muttered, spearing a slice of cucumber onto her fork and shoving it into her mouth.
"How was school?"
"Shit."
"Eva!" Her mother scolded "Don't use words like that."
Eva shrugged.
"Fine, school was like school, mum, you can't expect much more,"
Her mother sighed.
"Why do you hate school?" She asked suddenly.
"What? I don't hate school, mum," Eva uttered, taken off guard. She pushed her plate away, narrowing her eyes.
"Who told you I did?"
"No-one, it's just that I know what school's like…" Her mother trailed off.
"School's fine mum, no need for you to worry…Thanks, dinner was lovely," Eva added as she rose from her seat, nudging the plate towards the middle of the table.
"Be in bed by 11!" Her mother called after her as Eva made her way towards her room. She waved her hand in acknowledgment of her mother's words.
As soon as she found herself in the privacy of her bedroom, she fell down onto the bed, glancing at her clock on the bedside table: 10pm. Eva rolled her eyes: Trust her mother to make dinner as late as possible. She glanced distastefully at her homework, half of which was due in for the next morning.
"Forget it," She muttered, swiping them onto the floor and grasping her iPod from the bedside table. She put the headphones on and searched around until she found an alright song.
"Bed, now,"
Eva rolled her eyes, pulling the headphones out and turning to face her mother.
"Mum, I can tell the time,"
Her mother shrugged, indicating for her to get changed. Eva watched her mother out of the corner of her eye as she changed into a loose fitting; silky pair of pyjama bottoms and then slipped on a pink tank-top: Her mother looked anxious, almost nervous.
"Goodnight,"
"Night," Eva mumbled into her pillow as the light was extinguished. She listened as her mother made her way through the hallway and towards her own room. Eva punched her pillow furiously: Why did she always get pushed to the side? Why could she never share her mother's worry or fears? She was never told anything.
Her thoughts drifted to Elektra, the serious, almost sad young woman who had seemed to know her mother quite well; so why hadn't Eva ever met her before?
Because you're too immature, a sly voice said in the back of her head. Eva felt tears in the back of her eyes; was that really why? She was 13 almost 14 for heavens sake!
Suddenly, Eva heard glass breaking; this time a lot closer than before. She jumped out of bed, switching on the bedside lamp, gulping slightly as she heard the distinct sounds of footsteps all around the house. Eva listened closely, but none of the footsteps were coming towards her room. With a sinking feeling she realised they were all headed for her mother's room.
Eva threw open her bedroom door and sprinted the opposite way from the footsteps: there was an alternate way to her mother's room: There were stairs in the kitchen which led to the storage room beside her mother's room.
Eva skidded to a halt in the kitchen, taking the stairs two steps at a time.
"It's over, treasure," She stopped at the sound of the cool voice. As quietly as possible, Eva pressed her ear against the wall.
"Yeah, it is," She recognised her mother's voice: She sounded angry.
"You've lived long enough," The same cool voice replied, a kind of sick amusement wrapping around every single world. Eva's breath caught in her throat: She was about to start hyperventilating.
"No," Her mother's voice was defiant. Eva tried desperately to breathe more quietly: She was sure she could be heard in the other room.
"You could be so much more,"
"I don't think so,"
Eva didn't hear the reply from the cool voice, mostly because she had taken a step back and knocked over a whole load of jars. As she watched, horrified, they crashed to the floor, smashing into smithereens, but what worried her most was the noise: It could have woken the dead. She closed her eyes; seeing more images, but like earlier, they were telling her something: She saw a black clad man opening the door to the room she was in. Eva sprang at the door, shoving it open with the most force she could muster. She felt it make contact with a body. There was a cry of pain, but Eva ignored it. She ran into her mother's room, her heart jumping into her throat as she caught sight of her mother, face to face with a dark haired woman: the woman Eva had seen earlier in her mind. In the shadows, a dark haired Asian man stood, a half smile on his face. He was looking straight at Eva.
"She looks like you," He said quietly, stepping out of the shadows. Eva's mother growled.
"Stay away from her," She snarled. Eva glanced at her: her mouth slightly open.
"Mu-" She whispered, but she was interrupted by her own thoughts: She saw a knife flying towards her. Without hesitating, Eva dived to the side, shuddering as the knife missed her by inches. She landed on the floor, jumping up quickly. The whole room had gone quiet. Her mother's expression was shocked, the Asian man's unreadable.
"This changes things," He muttered and before Eva's mother could do anything, she keeled over, a dagger in her chest. Eva screamed as a pool of blood began to form around her mother's unmoving body. She crouched down beside her, wiping a strand of blonde hair away from her face.
"Mum," She whispered. Her mother opened her eyes slightly, her mouth struggling to form words.
"T-take this…g-get….a-away….from….h-here," And with her remaining strength, she slipped a golden chain into Eva's hand.
"It's….yours," Her eyes darkened, gazing unseeingly at the intricate ceiling. Eva rose shakily to her feet, the chain clutched tightly in the palm of her right hand. The Asian man was looking at her, the same half smile on his face.
"A motherless daughter," He whispered. Eva let out a roar of rage, lashing out with the chain without a single thought. It cracked through the air, illuminating the room with a golden glow. The man dodged it easily. Eva flicked the chain again, and again, wanting nothing more than to wipe the smirk of the murderer's face. He kept dodging it, finally catching it in his own hand. He pulled Eva towards him.
"Not bad," He muttered and Eva realised she had caught him on his right cheek…twice. A grim sense of satisfaction swept around her body. A cold gust of air blew through the room and Eva spun around to find Elektra in the doorway, a murderous look in her chocolate brown eyes.
"Kirigi," She snarled, wincing slightly as she caught sight of Abby on the floor. The man – Kirigi – released Eva's chain and drew two samurai swords, directing them at Elektra.
"Eva, come here," Eva walked backwards, keeping her eyes on Kirigi; he looked calm.
"You can't protect her forever," He told Elektra as Eva took her position beside her, the chain once again wrapped tightly in her hand.
"I'm sorry, Eva," Elektra whispered, diving at Kirigi, her dagger's flashing. Eva glanced at the dark haired woman, who had been motionless the entire time: Now she took a step toward Eva. Eva took a step back. Elektra spun around, hurling one of her daggers through the air: It buried itself into the woman's shoulder. She fell back, screaming.
"EVA, RUN!" Elektra shouted as Kirigi knocked the other dagger out of Elektra's hands. Eva didn't need to be told twice, she sprinted towards the staircase, Elektra hot on her heels. As they neared the stairs, Elektra wrapped an arm around Eva's waist.
"Close you eyes and jump," Elektra instructed her. "Now,"
Eva closed her eyes lightly and sprang. She felt herself fly through the air, Elektra's arms still wrapped around her. They landed lightly at the bottom of the stairs. Elektra transferred her hand from Eva's waist to Eva's hand. She squeezed slightly.
"Keep running,"
Eva nodded, glancing back to see Kirigi standing at the top of the stairs, watching in amusement as Eva and Elektra disappeared into the night: He had come to find the treasure and instead found something even better.