The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) (120 page)

             
She grinned at me.

             
“Are you really surprised?”

             
She yelped and dodged quickly when I swatted water from the stream at her.

             
“Do that again and you will not like the consequenc
es, Quinnevra. A very wise man once said, 'You better check yourself before you wreck yourself.’”

             
The hysterical laughter that erupted out of me actually made her jump. Alice came over, looking between the two of us in surprise. I doubled over and grasped
a rock to support myself.

             
“You’ll never believe this, baby!” I gasped out to Alice, “Brynna Olivier can be
funny
!”

             
Alice looked at Brynna, who rolled her eyes to the heavens as she tried to suppress a smile.

             
“He only thinks I was being funny. I do not
succumb to the drunken state of whimsy on any occasion, least of all this one. Come along, children. Let us continue the walk to our deaths.”

             
Alice was laughing now, too. We watched as Brynna sauntered ahead of us, knowing that she was grinning to herself
.

             
“Oh, and did you just call me ‘Quinnevra?’” I asked her when Alice and I caught up to her.

             
“Indeed, I did. That name will more than likely stick, so you might want to set the wheels in motion to begin getting used to it.”

             
“Where in the world did you c
ome up with that?”

             
“Ginevra was a very strong character in my favorite book series of all time.”

             
“So you think I am a very strong man, then? Well, thank you for the compliment, Brynn. It’s unexpected and it really makes me feel good about myself. Thank
you.”

             
“You’re very welcome. Ginevra was a female.” She wrapped her arms around James’s middle as she walked beside him. She smiled up at him when he placed his arm over her shoulders.

             
“Oh!” Alice was cracking up and clapping her hands.

             
“You’re on her si
de now? Traitor…” I muttered.

             
“Estrogen club. You cannot fight biology.” Brynna called to me over her shoulder.

             
“Stop!” Alice exclaimed as she laughed harder.

             
“Well, I don’t know how you two did it. She’s been a zombie for hours.” Elijah told us
quietly.

             
“She just needed to get her mind off of it for a few minutes.” Alice replied, “Plus, she’s getting ready for the fight. We all are.”

             
“Yeah, I noticed that.” Elijah nodded, “I’m starting to feel stronger. It’s like an adrenaline rush, you know?”

             
“That’s exactly what it’s like.” I agreed, “Except it happens without being provoked and it doesn’t go away. I have to admit, I dig it.”

             
“I dig it, too.” Elijah laughed, “The Bachums don’t know what they’re missing. Well, I guess they’re about to. We’re
about to show them.”

             
“Yes. We are.”

             
A darkness came over all of us, erasing the lighthearted humor from only seconds earlier. I looked at them, seeing my growing blood-lust reflected in their eyes. Whatever naive, boyish morals I had preached before were
gone; now, I understood the necessity for violence.

             
“Hey, Brynn!” I called up to her.

             
“Hey, Quinn.”

             
We all chuckled at the rhyme.

             
“I have a question.” I told her when the laughter had died away again.

             
“Well, you can be sure that I have an answer.”

             
“
You said that you’re worried about taking lives of people that disagree with you.”

             
“That was a statement, my dear, not a question.”

             
“Just keep listening, my dear. I asked you this question already. What are you going to do when you get there if you don’t
want to kill anyone? They’re going to try to kill you, right?”

             
“I said that I would not harm anyone that simply disagrees with me. I said nothing about not killing anyone. It is Don who wishes to completely eradicate the other side. As I have stated, I b
elieve that more than half would be willing to live peacefully amongst our kind. Furthermore, I will only harm those that seek to harm myself or any of you. Those that were responsible for Violet and Penny being taken will also pay the ultimate price. Now,
is that evil or is that necessary?”

             
“Or is it necessarily evil?” James asked. Brynna looked up at him. “I know that was profound. You don’t have to tell me.”

             
Brynna giggled softly and stood on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek.

             
“You are very hum
orous, Mr. Maxwell.”

             
“And you are very wise, Ms. Olivier. Not to mention, so very attractive...”

             
“Oh, gross!” Elijah covered his ears in horror, “Seriously, guys, I approve of your relationship. I’ve said that. But can you keep the sappy, grocery-store r
omance novel stuff to a minimum? It’s…”

             
“I know. It’s very awkward. I apologize.” James looked back at Elijah, “Seriously, I do.”

             
“It’s cool. You get it, though, right? She’s my little sister and she’s dating a grandfather and it’s weird, but I’m cool wi
th it…”

             
“Oh!” Alice and I both exclaimed as James and Brynna laughed hysterically. James turned around and pretended to swing at Elijah’s head.

             
“It’s cool, though, because I’ve always wanted an older brother. I’ve always kind of wanted a dad, too, so you
’re like, killing two birds with one stone.” Elijah continued.

             
Brynna laughed hysterically as she slapped her palm to her face and hung her head. Alice and I were beside ourselves.

             
James wrapped his arm around Elijah’s neck and held him tightly in a chok
e-hold.

             
“You’ve got nothin’, old man!” Elijah exclaimed as he tried to fight his way out of James’s grip.

             
“Really? I think I’ve got something. I’m going to have your dignity in a minute because you’re embarrassing yourself right now. You look like a
mouse stuck in a hole in the wall.”

             
The adrenaline was coursing amongst our group like an infectious disease. We were nearing the base of the mountain now, traveling in temperatures soaring far below zero. Our winter clothes had nothing to do with the war
mth that filled each of us. Our bodies were responding to the threat of the harsh conditions and the impending fight. We were preparing unconsciously. The evolutionary implications of our lighthearted playfulness were not lost on any of us. Our fear for Vi
olet and Penny would have quickly crippled us had our adrenaline not begun to work quietly.

             
“Alright, ladies and gentlemen,” Elijah looked at Brynna, Alice and me, “Grandpa,” Elijah said to James who mimed kicking him hard between the legs. Elijah dodged,
cracking up again, “Let’s start climbing.”

             
It was only after we had begun to climb that all the “whimsy”, as Brynna called it, disappeared. Our minds were focused solely on threats lurking in the snow. Our eyes and ears were alert to any signs of movemen
t around us. Luckily, the gray clouds overhead didn’t shed the snow that lurked within them. It was only a matter of time, we knew. We had to get in and out of the Bachum camp before another blizzard hit.

             
At the top of the mountain, we had a clear view of
the settlement. Rows upon rows of log cabins lined the snow-covered land. At the far end of the village, a tall log pyramid had been built. No guessing was necessary to determine who lived in that particular building.

             
“It’s weird to see a pyramid in the
snow.” I commented somewhat randomly. No one responded; James, Brynna and Elijah were scanning the landscape, looking for the best spot to launch our sneak attack. I leaned forward to count how many people were meandering about; the total was zero.

             
“Where
is everyone?” Alice voiced my internal question.

             
“I don’t know. Probably praying or sacrificing goats, I don’t know.” Elijah replied sarcastically. “That’s beautiful, though. We can walk right in and they’ll never know.” He looked at us, “Are you all rea
dy for this?”

             
In response, Brynna began to trek down the mountain, turning her feet sideways to avoid sliding in the snow and ice. We all followed behind her, crouching low to the ground to avoid being seen.

             
“It’s too quiet.” Alice whispered to me. “I do
n’t like it. I don’t trust it, Quinn.”

             
I grasped her hand tightly in mine.

             
Brynna, James and Elijah didn’t trust it either, apparently. When we had reached the base of the mountain, they slunk forward and ducked behind the large boulders that stuck up fr
om the earth like giant stone anthills. Even as we got closer, no one emerged from the cabins or the pyramid at the end of the dirt path.

             
“Do you think they’re messing with us?” I whispered to the rest.

             
“Perhaps. Surely if that’s the case, then they know
we’re here.” Brynna replied, “But why they would hide from five people…”

             
She walked forward quickly and looked all around. Alice gasped when she walked up the steps of one of the cabins and pushed open the door. James and Elijah ran forward when she disa
ppeared into the darkness of the house. Alice and I looked at each other, wanting nothing more than to stay hidden behind the rock. The quiet of the village was unnerving; in every corner lurked a silent threat, or so it seemed. But we had suffered the bru
nt of Brynna’s rage when we had forced them to face the cave-dwellers alone. We knew now that we were all in that mess together; one person’s fight was everyone’s fight.

             
Once inside the cabin, Alice and I were both shocked to find such a reasonably sized
space so sparsely populated. There were only two animal fur beds in one corner, a wooden faucet perched high on the wall in one corner with a small dial beneath it, and a hole in the floor that they clearly used as a bathroom.

             
“Well, I have to say that we
fared better.” James commented as he looked around. “Is this their shower? I wonder if they get hot water like we do.”

             
“Do you see a furnace attached to these houses? No, they have only cold water. At least they have an indoor plumbing system, though, so
it’s not all bad.” Brynna frowned when she looked into the hole that was carved in the floor, “Tell me this isn’t their toilet.”

             
“It smells like a toilet.” Alice covered her nose with one hand and grasped Brynna’s hand with the other, “This is a terrible
place.”

             
Brynna smiled slightly at her purposely over-dramatic comment on the obvious.

             
“Look at this.” Elijah said and we all turned to see that he was holding up one rations box and a half moldy tomato. “This is it. Unless they ate the rest, this is all
they get to eat.”

             
“That’s foul.” Brynna muttered in disgust, “Come on. The deathly atmosphere and horrid conditions these people have been forced to live under is provoking a high level of despondency in me that I am not used to. Come along.”

             
“Let me tr
anslate for you,” James told us, “'I feel really bad for these people and I don’t want to admit it openly.'”

             
“Why don't you translate this, James Maxwell?” As she walked out of the cabin, she gave him the finger.

             
“I’m sorry, I am not fluent in sign langu
age.” James replied sarcastically as he followed after her.