Eve of Man (The Harvest Book 2) (37 page)

“I do not need a lesson on war nor on words from you.
I understand quite well how wars are won.”

“A war of words my dear is quite different than a war of
power and brutality. Words can be debated, heatedly even while maintaining
one’s contented position, in the comfort of a chair or your lover’s arms,” he
paused and Matri stiffened. “Don’t bristle love. I know of your desires and do
not hold blame. It was I who failed you. I hold no ill will against those who
stepped in to do that which I have not. No dear, your desires of the flesh do
not nibble away at my mind, they do not advise of caution, or warn of being
wary.”

“What of my thoughts causes you caution or otherwise
to think you need to be wary?”

“Your loyalties love. Do they sway back and forth or
are they steady and sure.”

Matri did stiffen at his comment, for it bothered her
more than him admitting he didn’t care that she found another’s embrace
preferable to his. Her loyalties had never been in question and certainly not
by Sattya. “My loyalties do not sway in the least. I have always been loyal to
the Adita creed and always will.” Matri walked to the door and turned to face
Sattya. “Be careful in your pursuits dear, for as comfort will, blindness can
cripple the greatest of men.” She left him alone with his thoughts.  

Sattya crossed his arms and turned back to the
windows. Storms were always brewing, wars were always being waged, and
sacrifices were always required. This was part of life. Matri had been too long
away from the battle. The thrill of victory long forgotten, but not for him,
for him the sweet taste lingered on, the longing deep in his spirit. Soon it
would be the Adita’s time to rise, to conquer, to once again dominate the
universes. In less than a fortnight the necessary steps would be taken, those actions
that would guarantee their victory.  Sattya glanced out to the horizon. The storm
continued to brew, the clouds turning more sinister, the lightning’s long
tentacles stretched out across the sky. For a split second, a minuscule shred
of doubt flitted by. He waved his hand in front of his face as if swatting at a
pesky insect. Life was and always would be about endurance, about power
struggles, about conquering one’s enemy. He knew this. The Elders knew this.
Soon Eve would know and understand the full implications of their edict. The
wheels of this colossal machine had been set into motion long before the Elders
had arrived at their decision and, even if he’d entertained the thought, he was
powerless to stop the machine now.

Behind him Pala and two other Svan entered the room.
Sattya turned to them and said, “It is time.”

“Do you want them all?” Pala asked.

“Leave the good doctor and his daughter behind for
now.”

“As you wish.” Pala nodded to Sattya and they left the
room.

June Sixteenth

Colin kissed Charlie goodbye, jumped off the porch and
headed down the street towards his house. He turned once to wave good-bye and
she blew him a kiss. He almost ran back to get the real thing, but he’d
promised Zack a hot breakfast, so he kept on walking. A look of disgust crossed
his face thinking about his brother. Since moving to Paru Zack had become
domesticated and it was driving Colin insane. Zack as his brother was hard to
live with at times, but Zack acting like his parent was downright excruciating
almost all of the time. At least the medical facility and the other doctors kept
Zack busy. A captive audience his brother could bend and twist words with, which
in turn allowed Colin peace for ten to twelve hours each day.

A strong breeze blew some leaves down the street and onto
the lawns. If he had a rake, he would have been more than happy to put it to
use, but alas those things weren’t needed on Paru. The Elders took care of
everything. Tomorrow the leaves would be gone. Poof! Like a magic trick. Colin
paused at his walkway and glanced down the street towards the portal, wondering
again what would happen if he dove into the murky center. The wind gusted again,
this time accompanied by a rumble of thunder. He looked to the sky, but saw not
a cloud anywhere.

“Must be out on the ocean,” he said out loud, but not
too loud. He didn’t care what Zack or the others thought about Paru, he thought
the place creepy.

A large object flying above cast a shadow over the
ground, blocking out the sun for a brief moment. Colin shielded his eyes, but couldn’t
see the culprit. He shrugged and went inside to make breakfast.

***

Across town Zack handed Cathy Fox a bouncing baby
girl. Young Fox was the fifth girl delivered in the week and he was worried.
What were the odds of not having a boy after fifty-two deliveries? Three more
were due at the end of the week, all were having girls. It defied reason, and
after discussing this with the other doctors, they’d decided to run tests. Which
tests to run, they hadn’t determined.

After giving instructions to Riri, he headed for the
exit. Jenny would be dropping off his daughter in a couple of hours and, if
Colin held true to his word, a hot breakfast would be waiting for him. A loud
clap of thunder greeted him as he opened the hospital door. He looked for rain
clouds, but the sky was clear. Let it rain, he thought. Today was going to be a
good day and not even torrential rain could dampen his spirits. With the
thought of possibly seeing his friend again, Zack hurried home.

***

Colin spooned another lump of green leafy stuff onto
Zack’s plate and crinkled his nose. Unlike his brother, Colin hadn’t acquired a
taste for the food. Being forced to become a vegetarian ranked at the top of
his list of things he didn’t like here in Paruville. They were only allowed to
eat meat on the last day of the month. On that first ‘day of meat’, he’d been
stoked thinking they were going to have thick juicy steaks. Not so. Not so. Not
that the meat served was bad, but the taste was more like fish and nowhere in
the vicinity of beef.

“What are you so excited about this morning? Did you
deliver another baby?” Colin asked, rolling his eyes.

“I’m not excited and I delivered three. You should try
doing something constructive with your time. Something more than hanging out at
Charlie’s house all day and night.” Zack gave him a reproachful stare.

“And exactly what would that be?” Colin set the pan
down hard enough to startle German and Josie who were snoozing under the table.
“There’s no school, no gym, no slopes. What the hell am I supposed to do here?
Be your housewife? Be Madison’s babysitter?”

Zack sat back from the table. “Wow. Aren’t you acting
like a spoiled little shit?”

“Save your self-righteous I’m better than everyone bullshit
speech. I don’t want to hear it. Again.”

“You need to hear it. And you need to listen to it.
You aren’t special Colin. We’re all in this together. Stop thinking about
yourself all the goddamned time.”

“I don’t need you telling me what to do. I’m nineteen
years old. I’m not your fucking little brother anymore.”

“You act like your nine. And you’ll always be my
little twerp brother.”

“You know what? Fuck off.” Colin threw the pan into
the sink and stormed out, slamming the front door.  German ran after him and
stood at the door whining.

“Come here boy.” Zack held out a scrap of food, but
the dog ignored him.

Zack picked at his food, having lost his appetite. Things
shouldn’t be like this, with them fighting all the time. Not that they hadn’t
fought before coming to Paru, but never like this. Sometimes he felt Colin
hated him. Bringing the little screaming bundles of joy into the world, that
was the easy part, that part he did well. The parenting part he sucked at and wasn’t
equipped for. How in the hell was he going to raise his daughter when he
couldn’t control a nineteen-year-old? Maybe Jenny could give him advice. The
more he thought about this the better he felt. Jenny always offered good sound
advice. She’d know how to handle Colin’s temper tantrums. Feeling better about
Colin, Zack took notice of German and Josie, both were sitting facing the door,
ears perked straight and tall, turning in every direction. A ‘holy shit’ clap
of thunder shook the house, startling him and the dogs. Josie ran for cover in
the back bedroom, while German paced back and forth in front of the door.

“What’s wrong with you dog?”

 German ran to Zack, barked loud and sharp, and ran
back to the door. He pawed at the knob and again barked loud and sharp. Zack
walked over to the door and looked outside. He glanced up and down the street,
but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Meanwhile German continued to paw at the
door, whining for Zack to open up and let him out.

“Easy German, take it easy. There’s nothing out
there.” Zack’s eyes came to rest on the portal. The murky inside shimmered in
the sunlight, but something about that shimmer appeared a bit off. He absently
turned the knob, unlatching the door from the jam and giving German the
opportunity he needed. Zack was pushed out of the way and almost lost his
balance as German charged through the door and across the porch. Zack ran out
after him, but to no avail. The dog was halfway down the street, racing towards
Charlie’s house. Zack ran after him. The uneasy feeling settled in his stomach.

Up ahead on Charlie’s porch German jumped and pawed at
her front door like a rabid crazed beast. When neither Charlie nor Colin came
to investigate, the unease in Zack’s stomach hardened and pushed a rancid taste
up into his throat. He swallowed hard to keep the lump down, to calm his
nerves, which were threatening to assail his senses like a disturbed hornet’s
nest. German barked and jumped at the door again. He turned and snarled upon
seeing Zack walking up the porch steps.

“Easy boy. It’s me. It’s Zack.” Zack stepped back down
to the bottom step. German advanced towards him, growling and drooling, eyes
blazing and keen on him. Zack stood still, almost paralyzed in thinking his dog
might try to kill him. He risked a glance at German’s face. The dog still bared
his teeth, but he wasn’t looking at Zack, his eyes were locked on something
across the street. Zack took a chance and glanced over his shoulder. The street
was empty. The street was quiet. Zack turned all the way around, looked up and
down the street, no longer worried about German pouncing on him. Bigger and
badder things thrived on Paru. This last thought shocked him out of his reverie
and he bolted up the steps and yanked open the door.

“Charlie! Colin!” Zack ran through the house screaming
their names, opening and closing doors like a madman. No one answered...

A Note from
the author:

Thank you for reading Eve of Man. I hope you enjoyed it. The
third installation in the series will be published in 2015.

Best,

Anne Ferretti

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