The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) (129 page)

             
“They’re very close. Come on!” I pulled him to his feet and turned to Elijah, who was dozing against a tree. “Eli!”

             
“Yeah?!” His voice
bombarded the forest with noise. He looked around wildly, expecting a fight.

             
“Watch them. Let’s go.” Two commands in one breath was not even a record for me.

             
“Where are you two going? Do I even want to know?” Elijah called after us.

             
“Violet and Penny
are close!” I called over my shoulder.

             
“What?!”

             
“Stay here!”

             
After going through so much trouble to save Savannah, Oliver and their mother, one would assume that Elijah would have listened. However, he left Alice and Quinn, both sleeping, to guard the n
ew additions to our merry band.

             
“What do you mean they’re…”

             
But upon breaking through the trees, I saw four and a half shapes trekking towards us, lifting their feet to step through the still melting snow at the foot of the mountain.
             

             
“Oh my…” No witty
remarks or elaborately formed exclamations could adequately express the relief or the joy. Tears might have sufficed, but then, I was not one for crying, as I’m sure you have gathered.

             
Violet cried enough for the two of us. I did break my code of conduct
by kissing her cheek twice, though. I held her so tightly, I thought she would be crushed. The previous twenty four hours seemed so long, an endless stream of time with only darkness at the end. Every inch of my all-knowing ways could not have predicted th
e outcome of Violet and Penny being taken. I had been unable to see and thus, I was left to wonder and speculate with only the darkest tools of my mind to mold the future.

             
And yet there they were, right in front of me. I scooped Penny up, my trembling arm
s locking around her small body so that no one could take her again. I looked her over before turning my searching gaze to Violet, whom Elijah was now practically suffocating in an embrace. If there was one bruise, even a paper-cut… But there was none.

             
To
call her an elephant in the room metaphorically would be accurate. To call Maura an elephant in the literal sense was far too generous. Her clothes hung from her skeletal frame, reminding me of the gruesome images shown during Health class to warn of the
dangers of eating disorders. The bruises that covered her did not spark a rage in me; I felt merely a dim concern. For a moment, I wished that I could feel something towards her. I wished that I could rush to her, inquire about her well-being, and promise
her that I would remedy any pain she was feeling. For a moment, I thought those feelings would emerge but in my mind, I saw her hands flying up to cover her ears. Ice saved me from sympathy.

             
“You look…” I started to say but she nodded.

             
“I know. Are you g
oing to gloat, Brynna?”

             
Malice was absent from her voice. In fact, when she spoke those words, I heard only quiet pleading.

             
“Do you think so little of me?” I whispered to her so the others couldn’t hear.

             
“I left him. I left the life we had built…”

             
“Don
’t get sentimental.” My voice rose one octave from an only slightly gentle whisper to an aggravated hiss. “Look what he’s done to you!”

             
“It wasn’t him.” She muttered with her eyes fixed below her on the ground.

             
“Why won’t you look at me?”

             
“I can’t tell
you anything about them, alright?” Her eyes rose to meet mine and I saw a mirrored image of myself; defiance was staring back at me. “There are good people up there. People that I don’t want to see get hurt…’

             
“How very noble.” I turned away from her and
thought I heard her crying softly.
             
Elijah, despite his earlier anger towards her, swooped in to comfort her, knowing that I could and would not.

             
“It’s alright. It’s okay.” James told me softly as he squeezed both of my hands. I looked past him, out at the
mountain and the surrounding land glowing in the twilight. The greenery was beginning to spring forth from the snow, gasping for the fresh air. I could sympathize with that, surely.

             
“You don’t owe her anything.” James told me. “Don’t think that you do.”

             
I nodded.

             
“Even if there is no debt, we still have to take her with us. We can’t leave her. Any person with a scrap of goodness in their heart deserves a chance, James.”

             
“I know. Of course we’ll take her with us, baby.”

             
I heard a shriek of joy behind m
e and Alice was flying through the trees, running to Violet and Penny. Violet screamed, too. I had missed the emergence of their friendship, though when I thought back to those peaceful days in the kitchen, I remembered their long talks about typical nonse
nse. To hear such inane conversation normally evoked an eye roll and a disdainful remark from me about the vapid nature of youth. But in their case, it warmed me to see such normalcy. I wanted them both to be young.

             
“I almost had an asthma attack chasing
you and they’re really uncomfortable, so don’t ever get taken again.” Quinn told Violet. She giggled raucously in response and returned his warm hug.

             
There was one person that I had not spoken to yet. I walked over to Nick and stood on my tiptoes to embra
ce him. When that awkward moment of warmth expired, I went to pull away immediately.

             
“Stop being weird.” He told me.

             
I smiled and held onto him for a minute longer.

             
“Thank you. From her thoughts, I gathered that you were taking care of her.” I informed
him.

             
“No way. She was taking care of me. It was her grand escape plan.”

             
“Well, just so you know, she was thinking that she couldn’t have done it without you. So I suppose that warrants a pat on the back.” I reached back and clapped him on the back once.

             
“Ow.”

             
“Pansy.” I grinned and then turned to the group at large. “Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we…”

             
“…are going to follow Adam back to the city.”

             
As was always the case, Adam’s appearance was sudden and unwelcome. I jumped in surprise when I realized
he was standing just in back of me, so close that we were almost touching.

             
“Back up two steps. I value my bubble.”

             
“What bubble?” He asked me, sounding blithely amused, which was also quite common for him.

             
“If you don’t take two steps back, I’ll tell yo
u all about it.”

             
Don and a group of four others came stomping out of the trees, looking disgruntled.

             
“You know, you really should tell me when you’re going to take off like that. We almost lost you.”

             
Don, in typical passive aggressive fashion, scowled a
t me instead of Adam.

             
“Hello, Don.” I greeted him with a winning smile of pure taunting. The grin vanished abruptly
from my face as I looked back at Adam, rolled my eyes and moved to stand beside James. Though it was a doubtful scenario, I was starting to
wonder if Adam was, as Violet would put it, “into me.” Surely, a leader of so many who was several thousand years old would have no interest in me. But his subtle glances and his knowing smiles were strange. Perhaps he wanted to kill me, which would be fa
r more desirable a scenario than him coveting my affections. However unlikely, I still made a point of standing beside James when Adam was present so as to make the point crystal clear: James was the man I had chosen to be with and that more than likely wo
uld not change. Though both men were, if honesty is required, incredibly good-looking, James was also kind, humorous and, though this is awkward, very skilled at copulating. Adam was nothing more than a warlord who hid in his vast city, contorting circumst
ances in the world at large to create the most entertaining spectacle, which he would watch with rabid enthusiasm even as lives were ended violently. In fact, the more violent the deaths, the happier he would be.

             
But I digress. This is all unimportant.

             
“
Brynna, I need to talk to you.” Violet took my hand and pulled me away from James.

             
The secret! In my relief, I had forgotten ever learning that there was a revelation to be told.

             
“What is it? I know there is something significant.”

             
“It’s more than
significant.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. She looked behind me to ensure that no one was eavesdropping. My anticipation grew.

             
“What is it?” I demanded again.

             
“Well, I’m sure that you know that the Bachums sent people to spy on us. They sent them
so they could attack us from within, you know? And they’ve joined with the other natives. You know, the ones that Adam is fighting...”

             
“Yes, I know, I know. Now, what is the secret?” My impatience was growing.

             
“Brynna…” Her hands grasped mine and her eye
s looked behind me again.

             
“Get up!” A voice shouted and now, I whipped around.

             
“Stop!” Violet was screaming and running away from me. Though the sight before us should have erased the questions from my mind and spurred me to immediate action, I still fou
nd myself mentally pouting, knowing it would be even longer before I knew the hidden truth she was withholding.

             
Maura had fallen to the ground, her body weakened from whatever physical abuse she had been forced to endure. Don was pulling her up roughly by
her arms, trying to force her to stand. When he finally managed to maneuver her onto her feet, he moved forward so his face was close to hers.

             
“You’re with him?!” He bellowed in an intimidating show of brutal, verbal force. “You’re with him and you think
we’re going to take you in!? I want to know everything, do you understand?!”

             
“Put a leash on your dog. A muzzle, too, while you’re at it. We’re trying to have a discussion.” I snapped at Adam as I watched Violet grab hold of Don and throw him off of Maur
a.

             
“She’s his wife!” Don had gotten back onto his feet and was pointing an accusatory finger at Maura.

             
“I left him, didn’t I?” Maura screamed back but her voice was trembling under the threat of tears.

             
“She came with us willingly. We didn’t take her.” N
ick explained hurriedly in an attempt to help.

             
“You all know that we can’t just let her come live with us like nothing has happened! For all we know, they wanted you to take her! She could run back to them any time she wants! They know you three trust her
!”

             
“And what would she tell them?” I demanded with a derisive giggle. “I’m sure our forages for berries and roots and our hurried search for shelter will be most pivotal in determining their next course of militaristic action.” I rolled my eyes to the sky
, begging for an intervention that would swiftly remedy the stupidity of those individuals around me.

             
“You’re just mad because of what they did!” Violet proclaimed furiously. “You’re just trying to punish her for what Mary and Rich did to us! It wasn’t he
r fault, Don! She’s suffered enough! She
wants to be on our side now! You’re just trying to make her suffer because Mary and Rich took our people and burned down the house!”