Tessa offered a potential solution to her absence. The Evo named Copy could dress and pose as Tessa. She was younger but from a distance a believable disguise could work. Copy could then project multiple Tessa’s all over the base. If H.I.V.E monitored the base, they would have a helluva time trying to track the fake Tessa’s movements. They would be far to confused to make a solid decision on an attack. The ruse would last long enough for her to visit home and make it back to base.
Tessa promised to make the trip quick, and when she returned, they would move forward with a new phase. Tessa gave Finn the green light to monitor some of H.I.V.E’s transport routes and identify weaknesses and high-value targets. When she returned, they would begin raiding H.I.V.E supply lines to acquire additional provisions and that satisfied some of her doubters. There were many on the council who were more than ready to take the fight straight to H.I.V.E.
12
Sam flew Tessa back home in one of the new helicopters. He wanted the opportunity to visit his family and update them. Sam promised Arica he would visit her family as well to relay the same message and vowed to bring her back another time. It wasn’t safe for all of them to leave at once. Someone trustworthy needed to remain behind to watch over operations. Tessa trusted Finn and the H.I.V.E refugees, but in terms of time she hadn’t known them for long. The gang leaders she didn’t trust at all, and they certainly required surveillance. Tessa and Arica were childhood friends, and she trusted Arica without question.
Norine begged Tessa to bring her along, and despite her better judgment, she allowed her aunt to tag along. However, Tessa clarified that Norine would return to base with Sam, and he would come back for her in three days. Tessa wasn’t sure how Stillwater would react to two Evos returning home. Persuading them to accept one Evo in town would be a challenge so Norine would only interact with Tessa’s family for the one day. She couldn’t risk sending the townsfolk a threatening message. She did not intend to pressure them by the presence of multiple Evos.
As they flew over Stillwater, Tessa started to get nervous. This was uncharted territory for Evo and human relations. Evos never return home after taken by H.I.V.E. She couldn’t predict how people would respond to her return. The tiny town below seem quaint and quiet as it always, but the sight of the town stirred a wide range of emotions. She loved that town but wondered if they still loved her. She spent most of her childhood helping the town residents repair and maintain equipment. Tessa saw herself as an asset and she hoped they still remembered all she did for them.
Stillwater looked like home, but deep in the pit of her stomach, it didn’t seem like home anymore. Stillwater was a distant memory of where she came from. She lived a much different life now. Tessa wondered if she had forgotten what it meant to have a home or if the town itself had changed since she left. On the surface, everything looked the same, but this Stillwater didn’t have Evie and Tessa, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to face that reality yet.
She still mourned her sister but not from the comfort of her family because H.I.V.E stole her from home, killing Evie in the process. Tessa suffered guilt over her sister’s death. She accepted an amount of responsibility. If Tessa hadn’t been an Evo, then H.I.V.E would have never come for her, but she couldn’t change her DNA. Tessa could have made different choices, but she doubted the outcome would have changed. Part of her wondered if she should have turned herself in right after killing Static Shock. Or maybe she should have never visited the Evo rebels. There were several different choices Tessa could have made, but it didn’t change the choices she did make and the consequences of those actions.
Sam grounded the chopper on the outskirts of town between his family farm and Tessa’s, and they parted ways. Norine walked with Tessa in silence. She recognized the old farmhouse standing in the distance, and Tessa urged Norine to continue to the house. She had another stop to make before visiting the family.
Tessa veered off the road and onto an overgrown trail. The sun beat down on the back of her neck, and the tall brown grass rustled in the breeze. If not for the wind, the heat would have been unbearable, but Tessa was accustomed to the oppressive heat of this place. A sweltering walk was a penance for her past.
She approached a clear patch of land with gravestones jutting from the ground. The family graveyard where her ancestors rested, and so did her little sister. Tessa guessed which one was Evie. The dirt still appeared disturbed. Mother Earth had not yet reclaimed that spot of land with overgrown grass and weeds. Tessa hoped for vibrant prairie flowers, but there were few things of beauty that survived this harsh world.
Tessa stood by Evie’s grave, staring at the ground and reflecting on her sister. She was such a sweet innocent girl who deserved better than this. Evie deserved to live, and Tessa had to tell herself that she fought for Evie. She had to save the other children out there — the other ones, just like Evie that didn’t stand a chance in this cruel world. Tessa had to give them a future.
She heard
