The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) (76 page)

             
“James wants to hand him over.”

             
I brought up James simply to gauge her level of attachment to him.
I was curious to know how deep the bond had forged itself inside each of them.

             
“Yes, he does. He feels no sense of reluctance to do so, either. He will do anything to keep us safe, no matter how cruel.”

             
“Are you okay with that?”

             
Brynna nodded.

             
“We are
two completely different breeds. Men take action with little thought. Women think for ages but rarely act.”

             
“That’s not true. You’ve acted on impulse quite a bit here of late.”

             
“That was different. I was emotionally motivated to protect the people I lov
e. Then again,” She
looked up at the stars that were beginning to awake for their nocturnal watch over the world, “His motivation is the same as mine. Perhaps my whole theory is ridiculous.”

             
“Whoa…” I reached out and grasped her hand. “You have never admi
tted to flaws in your reasoning. This is a big moment. If Hell was still beneath our feet, I would have felt it freeze over through my shoes.”

             
“Shut up…” She murmured through a small smile. “You are curious about mine and James’s relationship.”

             
“Well, no
t curious. When you say it like that, it sounds creepy, like I want intimate details of your love life or something…” I looked at her, suddenly serious, “Brynna, did you two…”

             
“That is none of your business!” She exclaimed as she grasped her heart in genu
ine shock at the question, as though she were a sixteenth-century, God-loving maiden asked for relations outside of marriage by a sleazy, smooth-talking king. I giggled.

             
“You totally did!”

             
“I did nothing of the sort…’

             
“Brynn,” I took her hand again, “I’
m not twelve anymore. I’m old enough to know that these things happen. Don’t worry, I’m not going to go mimic your sinful actions.”

             
She laughed again.

             
“Do as I say, not as I do. Isn’t that the old expression?’

             
“I don’t know about old. But it certainly d
oes get thrown around a lot.”

             
“It is generally used to excuse hypocrisy, which is why I refrain from saying it. Just remember that mine and James’s relationship is to be kept from Elijah at all costs.”

             
“Of course. He likes him a lot right now. He thinks
he’s hilarious. Just let him find out that you two are involved and he’ll think he’s Satan preying on young virgins. I approve, though, Brynna. I know that you don’t need anyone’s approval, but you have mine.”

             
She nodded and looked at me, still smiling sl
ightly.

             
“In the same way that my opinion matters greatly to you, yours matters greatly to me. If you ever tell anyone I said that, I will injure you severely, far worse than any Shadow in the woods ever could.”

             
My heart surged. Brynna had always done wha
tever she saw fit to do, with no regard for what anyone, even those who believed they were close to her, thought of her actions. Now, she had just admitted that what I thought mattered to her. It was a moment that repaired and strengthened the bond between
us. Watching her reckless courage and wishing I possessed a fraction of it had ignited the electrical surge that was pulling us back together. Her gentleness that I had long believed to be permanently dead was beginning to resurface, making it easier for
me to see her clearly. My heart still ached for our mother, whom Brynna had heartlessly left behind. I had been so thrilled to find that our father was alive but now, I wished that her truly cold decision had been reversed. I wished that he had been left t
o die and our mother had been spared. A part of me even wished Maura had died with him.

             
“Forget about her.” Brynna told me as we walked back towards the boy.

             
“Brynna!” I covered my ears like I always did when she entered my mind to read my thoughts, “How
do you do that?!”

             
“When someone has a sudden change of mood, generally going from very happy to very sad or angry, as you just did, their thoughts scream what their mouths will not say.”

             
“I just don’t want to talk about it. Do you know what I realized?”
I said in an attempt to change the subject. “You talk like them.”

             
“Like who?”

             
“The Pangean people. They’re all really eloquent, aren’t they?”

             
“They are, indeed. Though, I was eloquent long before we arrived here. I chalk that up to my vast intelligence
, as you very well know.”

             
“I know. Or maybe…”

             
“If you are going to suggest that fate, which is a fallacy, mind you, had anything to do with this, I am going to scowl at you.”

             
“Okay.” I shut up.

             
We had reached Elijah and James, who were pulling the boy
up onto his feet. Elijah tied his hands behind him with the vine, utilizing his knowledge of knots that he had acquired in Boy Scouts. Apparently, he never forgot the lesson.

             
“Alright, let’s go.”

             
“Just take me back to my father. He’ll kill me! Adam will
kill me and then my father will come after all of you!”

             
“Shut up!” Elijah snapped at him as he walked him forward. “I’ll kill you myself if you don’t shut up.”

             
“Eli!” I exclaimed in horror. I was truly shocked that he would even suggest mercilessly murde
ring someone who posed no real threat.

             
“Just keep walking.” Elijah shot at the boy.

             
And so we were walking again, Elijah and James leading the struggling boy forward in the direction of the city. Brynna followed closely behind, cradling a still sleeping
Penny. I followed her, trying to fight against my stubborn heart that knew what we were doing was wrong. Alice, Quinn and Nick moved in our wake, mumbling about heartlessness and bad decisions.

             
I almost turned and joined their group.

Part Three: The Almi
ghty Split

Brynna

             
We had believed that we were going in the right direction. I forgave my mistake simply because we had only been on Pangea for a short while. It was impossible for me to hold myself accountable for not knowing the full layout of the lan
d. The Pangean boy was by no means going to give us any help. We were walking him to his death, after all.

             
I was sitting down quietly, watching Elijah as he tried to coax Penny into eating some berries he had found. He had eaten a whole handful the day be
fore in order to decipher any toxicity that may have been present under their green, scaly skins. Surely, fruit so ugly had to be poisonous. I had given him a long, furious lecture on reckless actions, suppressing my urge to scream and hit him for being so
unforgivably stupid. I understood why he had done it. What I was truly angry at was that we had to play Roulette with our lives in order to eat. He hadn’t apologized. He hadn’t spoken at all. He had just let me lecture him on foolishness.

             
“Stop glaring b
efore you burn a hole in his back, baby.” James told me and I turned the furious glare he had just commented on to him. “Never mind. Glare all you want.” He walked down the fallen log he was perched on. My anger dissolved as I reached up to wrap my arms ar
ound his middle.

             
“I am running out of cigarettes. I stole several packs from one of the storage units on our first night here. I should have stolen rations.”

             
“Yes, so we could have witnessed a witch hunt to rival the one in Salem hundreds of years ago. T
hat’s a smart plan, my love.”

             
I beamed happily as he knelt beside me and grasped my hands. He smiled, too, when he looked up at me.

             
“I like when you call me 'my love.’” I told him softly, “It sounds so medieval, so it is similar to the way I always talk.
Plus, the endearment is heartwarming.”

             
He laughed softly and kissed me.

             
“My love, my love, my love…”

             
I laughed now, too, and wrapped my arms around his neck as my lips caressed his. We both
stopped, looking over to see Penny still refusing the berries
that Elijah was offering her. No amount of begging or lying was going to work.

             
“Are you going to step in any time soon?”

             
“No, sir. If he wants to eat potentially poisonous plant life, that is his prerogative.”

             
“Those aren't poisonous, though. The ones h
e ate earlier have worked their way through his system by now and if they were poisonous, he wouldn't still be here.”

             
“I know. But as punishment for the scare he gave me, he can fight Penny to eat. It is a lost cause. She is as stubborn as I am.”

             
“If you
went over there and told her to eat them right now, she would do it.”

             
“I know she would. That is one of the perks of my job as surrogate mother. She listens to me.”

             
“You’ve never told me how that came to be.”

             
“There is not much to tell.” I shrugged,
“Our mother had her in order to fill the void left by the death of my youngest brother. Maura and my mother resented us both. I was young and self-interested but I knew that I had to put that aside and take care of her. During the time that I raised Penny,
I was also chiefly responsible for Violet. See? That is not really much of a story now, is it?”

             
“Actually, it is. You rarely divulge details like that.” He kissed my cheek, “You must be succumbing to my charms.”

             
I laughed and placed my hand on his face.

             
“That happened long ago, sweetheart.” I stood up after kissing him again, knowing I had shocked him by admitting my enchantment with him out loud. He followed after me and after catching up, he put his arm around my shoulder. I smiled up at him again.

             
“
I have been meaning to tell you that there is a structure nearby.”

             
He looked at me in slight surprise.

             
“How do you just randomly drop that into the conversation?’

             
“Technically, we were not talking so there was no conversation. But I digress…” I linked
my fingers with his and pulled him along. “Come with me.”

             
I had been out wandering, looking for shrubbery that appeared to be non life-threatening. I led him to the canal that I had almost tripped in. It was an irrigation system of some kind that was quit
e advanced, considering our surroundings.

             
“I was going to follow it but I was not sure if I would be encountering any more natives looking for a sacrifice.”

             
“Good. Let’s follow it now.”

             
We were careful to avoid falling into the ditch. It was deep, with
steep sides fashioned from dirt hardened by the blazing hot sun. Once, I lost my footing and if it weren’t for James’s quick hands, I would have gone tumbling down into it.

             
“Graceful, baby…” He told me sarcastically.

             
Later, he almost tripped and I reache
d out, grasped the back of his shirt in both hands and pulled him away from the edge.

             
“Go ahead and say it because I know you want to.” He challenged me in good humor, but I sauntered forward, smiling widely as I walked in front of him.