Eve's perspective

"Another break in! Can you believe it?" Some nurses complain, passing my new office to get to the meeting. 

A number of us have already made our way to the new location. Of course, transporting every doctor, security, and Gifted will take a number of days. Perhaps it may take a number of weeks. I'm sure, this time around, we can agree that more time is needed for such transportation to ensure our location is not discovered.

However, despite the extra time we may be willing to put into this task, I believe our compound will be discovered again. The discovery may happen in weeks or months, but it is likely to happen. I know there's a spy within our Purus walls. I don't who it is, neither do I have much reason to believe this is so, but I trust my intuition. There must be a spy.

"Grace, we need to hurry." Laughter fills the corridor as people hurry through it.

I smile at a few more nurses walking past my office. They're making their way to the meeting. All the medical staff are expected to be there. However, I am exempt from attending this meeting. My talent is recognized, so I am not forced to listen to advice regarding new and improved training methods for the medical team.

Instead, I remain in my office to continue my purpose in this life. I must continue curing the sick. On the rare occasions when I am unable to do so, I must remove them from this world and pray they find peace in the next. The latter is what I must do for the young man crying behind me.

I sigh as I close and lock my office door, preventing outsiders from looking in. I hate to do this. More than anything in the world, I wish to make the Gifted normal. I wish to return them to their harmless and pure state, but that cannot be the case for everyone who walks through my door. At least, not yet. The day will come when I am able to cure them all.

"Can you cure me, Doc?" He asks.

His voice is deep, and I must admit, he has a handsome face. He reminds me of a man I once loved. It's even stranger that they share the same name.

"Yes," I lie, "I can cure you, David."

The man smiles, overjoyed by the hope I give him. I do not like to lie, but how can I not in a situation as this. There is no harm in telling David that he will be receiving the help he seeks.

Perhaps, in some way, I am curing him. Through death, I am giving him a new life; one with the possibility of a Gifted-less state. Today, David will be free of all illness. He will live in peace.

I walk to my desk, organizing all files on top of it and making sure I input all necessary data on my computer. Most of it will have to be lies claiming David is a dangerous defect.

"Thank you, Eve. Thank you."

That is something, amongst his surname and young age, he does not have in common with the man I once loved. My David was never the type of man to thank me, and this man in front of me has done so on many occasions.

It isn't that my David was never grateful for anything I did for him, he simply did not know how to thank me. It was strange, but I understood him. I understood almost everything about my David, except his acceptance of the Gifted.

"You do not need to thank me. I'm only doing my job."

"Then thank you for doing your job, Eve."

David smiles, crossed legged, as he sits on the seat closest to my desk. Knowing his fate, I offered him the most comfortable seat in here.

"I'm sorry, David. Your name seems to be awakening some awfully traumatic memories. Will it bother you if I call you Dave? That isn't too much of a difference, is it?"

"Oh...no, that's alright. Dave it is. Some of my friends calls me Dave."

I smile at Dave, grateful for his permission. He is a kind man; the sort of man I wish I could help.

"You're curious," I say, noticing Dave's eyes widen at my request to call him by a different name.

"No, it's alright, Doc. You don't need to tell me."

I pull a chair closer to his, positioning it in front of him for us to be able to talk to each other comfortably. It takes me some time to sit in it because of the knee injury I sustained this morning.

"It's alright, Dave. I can tell you as long as you promise to take this secret with you to the grave."

I, surely to Dave's confusion, shake my head. My choice of words aren't the best, but considering he is unaware that he won't live much longer, I suppose he does not think so.

"I will," he says, and I believe even if he were to live, I could tell him my story. He has such trusting eyes.

"Thank you, Dave." I continue when I see his eyebrows furrow in confusion, "It's nice to talk to someone about this. I don't have much options, you see."

I lean back in my chair, closing my eyes as I remember the of hunger and humiliation. I can still smell the fires David would make to keep us all warm, and I remember the sudden rains that prevented David from achieving such a goal.

"Forgive me. I'm getting lost in my thoughts." I chuckle.

"You don't have to tell me, Eve, unless it will help you."

Dave smiles politely, and I can tell from his eyes that he really wants to hear my story.

"I can't remember how many years ago this was, but I lived a life of suffering. I...I had a criminal record, so I couldn't find a job. I just caused some trouble with a young Foster," I defend myself once I sense Dave's worry, "but back then, that was enough to get anyone exiled. My husband had one too, but his was due to the Kin Act. He was imprisoned for rape, but his brother is the one that did it. The brother raped his own child. Well, step-child."

"That's disgusting. How could your husband accept that crime?"

"There's so many things you never know you can do for family, until you do them. At least, that's what my husband said. His name was David, or his name is David. I don't even know if he's alive now, but I always speak of him as if he's not. We went our separate ways, you see. He hurt me in a way I never imagined was possible."

"Eve..."

"We had two daughters. I had twins. One of them was Gifted, and the other was not. David and I were pleased to have a special child."

"You were pleased?"

I chuckle at Dave's surprise. "Yes, I was pleased. I wasn't always Purus. I had different beliefs and different dreams than I do now. My entire world was different."

"What changed your mind?"

"The very thing I was pleased about; my Gifted child. She was a defect. She was an Iron Rod, but her mind would confuse her, and her body would hurt in ways unimaginable. She must have been eight or nine when she lost the war within her, and she killed her twin."

I look at Dave, waiting to see if he will give me some reaction that may comfort me. However, Dave does what all the others did when I told them this story; he remains silent. Perhaps I am at fault for expecting anyone to say anything worthwhile as a response to my story.

"The worst part of it was Lapis, my Gifted child, refused to be purified. She was scared of the risks. Sometimes the process of curing a defect is...fatal."

I look at my desk, searching for some pills I'm sure I brought with me. My hands feel them before my eyes see them, and I grab the plastic of pills, placing it on my lap and leaning back in the chair once again.

"David agreed with her. He didn't want to lose his other child, but at some point, I stopped thinking of Lapis as my child. David was always out, doing whatever underground job he could find to provide for us, so he never saw the things I did. He never saw the wicked look in Lapis's eyes, and he was never a victim to her outbursts. She wasn't my daughter anymore."

"She couldn't control herself, could she?"

"That doesn't matter." My voice is stern, and I notice Dave flinch. "My apologies. After all these years, I'm still hurting."

"I understand." Dave smiles at me, and I almost tell him that he can never understand my pain, but there is no point to that.

"David even took in another child, as if it would replace the one we lost. She was the same age as Lapis. I never liked her, but I suppose it had to do with the fact that she looked quite similar to Lapis. One day, I couldn't take it anymore. I poisoned the children, but...they survived. Of course, David suspected me, so he ran away with them."

I lean forward, moving the plastic on my lap to Dave's lap. He flinches, and I suppose he is not comfortable around me now that he knows just what I am capable of.

"That's the day I vowed to help the sick. The Purus was newly formed, but they took me in. They trained me to cure the Gifted. They even let me change my name."

I watch as Dave looks to plastics on his lap, laughing as I remember how difficult it was for me to decide on the name Eve. I might even prefer it to Ruth.

"They will help you. You'll stay here tonight, so I can monitor the effects."

"These pills are the cure?" He asks hesitantly.

"One made just for you." I smile.

Dave opens the plastic, throws the pills into his mouth, and begins to chew on them loudly.

"I'm sorry about your family, Doc."

"Please, there's no reason to be sorry. All things happen for a reason, and I needed to experience that pain to lead me down this path. Through the Purus, I was given a new life and a new purpose. With this life, I can even help my family. I haven't found all of them, but I know of some of their locations. I even keep pictures of my family on my walls or in my pockets. So many of them are sick."

"You plan on curing them?"

"Of course."

"Even if they don't want to be cured?"

"David, everyone wants to be cured." I stand up and motion to the bed on the other half of my office. "You should rest now. You'll be okay soon."

I watch as Dave follows my instructions before spinning my chair to face my desk. I have no work to do, but people often feel uncomfortable when someone is facing them while they try to sleep, and the last thing I want is for Dave to feel that discomfort.

The thought of Dave saddens me. I hate to watch gentle souls die, but this is what must be done before the sickness making him Gifted turns that gentle soul into a monster. I need to find a way to help myself before it happens to me.

If only I were any other thing but a Filter. My chances of curing myself would be higher that way. Instead, I must go through countless experiments and make deals with such vile people, just so I can be as pure as I hope the world to be.

Remembering a deal I made, I pull out a phone from my pocket, but I have yet to receive any message from Saint. He's supposed to confirm the date I will be able to pick up the Filters I was promised for helping the market with the rescue, but it's likely that I will receive no message from him again. I suppose this is what I deserve for trusting others.

At least I was able to obtain some Filters from them; two Filters per week or I'd refuse to give Mathea a code. It made no sense to trust that they would not take my life after I helped them. They may even find me and take my life now. At least the deal, despite my failure in finding a cure, allowed me some time to experiment on Filters. If the market keeps their word, I can carry on doing so until I am to free myself from such a repulsive state.

I wish I were able to do that for Mathea; free her. However, with her sister and the market knowing my secret, I cannot make an enemy of them just yet.