The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) (82 page)

             
“You have all the power over it, sweetheart,” James's eyes met mine, “You make the final decision.”

             
“I know. James, if you knew the full details of everything, you would not be so surprised.”

             
“I’m not surprised. I’m not upset. I understand, Brynna.”

             
“I know.” I nodded, feeling tears welling up in my eyes again. I wanted to love him. I wanted the defenses I had built so tediously for many years to crumple into nonexistence. I wanted James. I
needed him. And he was right, I knew. Only I could decide whether or not I would advance our relationship. Only I could decide when to shut those cynically protective voices down for good. Those beliefs that had a mind of their own were actually mine and I
could eradicate them if I found the power to do so.

             
“I should not be asking for your patience anymore.”

             
“Stop.” He kissed me again. I moved closer to him and kissed him back, “We have all the time in the world, baby.”

             
All the time in the world...
That
reminded me. I pulled away so I could look into his eyes. In my own, he saw that tremendous and dreadful fear that I could not sufficiently explain.

             
“What? What is it?” He asked as he tried to reach forward to grasp my face. Then, he remembered that his h
ands were still cuffed behind the chair he was sitting in.

             
“He told me we are immortal.” I answered softly, “And we have stopped aging.”

             
“That’s…” He laughed softly to brush off the ridiculous notion but in his eyes, I saw that he knew it was true with j
ust as much certainty as I did.

             
“It is what everyone wants, isn’t it?” I asked with a bitter laugh, “Every living creature, human or otherwise, is afraid to die. Yet here we are, wondering whether the gift of eternal life is right. We are not sure if we e
ven want it.”

             
“It’s too much to think about now. Jesus, Brynn…” He muttered incredulously, “That was a bombshell and a half.”

             
“I know.  I should have given you a warning. I am sorry.”

             
Don appeared in the doorway behind us.

             
“So, what have you decided? G
ood, you’re awake, James. How do you feel?”

             
“Seven of your people beat the shit out of me while I was still too drugged up to win the fight. How do you think?” James asked, and I watched his eyes turn red.

             
“Relax. Look at me.” I had both of my hands on h
is face, “We need to let this go, baby.”

             
“I’ll let it go.” James told me loudly enough so Don could hear. “But you don’t want to know what I’m going to do if it happens again. In a fair fight, those seven guys would have been nothing by the time I was don
e with them. Let me remind you, too, that it took
seven
of your best people to take me down. Keep that in mind, Don, if ever you decide to pull that shit again but especially, and you better listen and absorb every last syllable of this,
especially
if you
put your hands on her again!”

             
“I don’t doubt any of that, James, what with your newly acquired strength. No one will be trying to hurt you, her, or the other kids again. That is a promise.” Don was slightly rattled by James's threat but he plowed forward
with the conversation, trying to keep things upbeat. “So, has Brynna told you what I have offered?”

             
“Shelter, food, community. Yeah, she told me.”

             
“And what have the two of you decided?”

             
“We don’t really have much of a choice, do we?” James spat at him,
“It’s either stay here and live or try to make it out there where there are natives and Shadows around every turn, amongst other things. Let me ask you, what do you think our decision is?”

             
“James…” I raised my eyebrows, warning him without words that we
needed to make nice with those people, despite how sickening it was. I certainly was not going to grovel but I was not going to complicate the situation with animosity and obvious aggression, either.

             
“Alright,” He barked at me somewhat more angrily than I
expected, “I'm done.”

             
“I’ll go get Robert. He has the keys to your handcuffs.”

             
“Thanks, honey!” James called after him sarcastically.

             
“Hey…” I grasped his chin lightly and spoke as sternly as I could when he switched into his angry, disdainful mode. I
found it very entertaining when said anger was not directed at me. “If we want to stay here, you are going to have to play nice with the big kids on the playground, lest you wish to get sand kicked in your face. And do not snap furiously at your girlfriend
, lest you wish for chastity.”

             
He could not help it. Despite his irritation at my suggestion, he laughed.

             
“You know I don’t wish for that. Not in the slightest. God, I’ve had a really hard day and you’re threatening me with that? What are you? Oh, right;
you're a monster. That's what.”

             
I giggled again before returning to the topic at hand.

             
“I am serious, James. We need to try for peace with these people. I do not trust them as far as I can throw them, especially since they have teamed up with Adam. But
we need to stay here for our own safety. We are both proud to a fault. We need to suppress our urge to be vain and just go with the flow, as they say.”

             
“Baby, this is…” He stopped upon seeing the disapproving look on my face. “Do you really want to do thi
s?”

             
“I do not
want
to. I just know that we
have
to. I will tell you the details of my conversation with Don at a more convenient time. Right now, you will just have to trust me when I say that we need to be here.”

             
He was still frowning when he nodded but
when he kissed me again, I knew that his dismay and irritation were not directed at me.

             
“Only for your sake, my love.”

             
I beamed brightly at the endearment and pressed my head to his chest. He rested his own on top of mine and I closed my eyes, knowing t
hat he was reluctant to stay but so thankful that we were. We were going to keep one eye open when we slept, surely. But at least we did not have to worry that natives would cut our throats in the middle of the night. We could handle the humans easily. We
were evolving and most of them were not.

             
I could not help but believe that we had the whole situation under control at last. However, believing was very different than knowing, I had discovered.

             
I knew that the danger was still evident around every turn.
I knew that if there was ever a time to run, this was it.

             
What I don’t know is why I didn’t.

XXX

             
Violet, Elijah and Penny were not handcuffed. When I entered each of their rooms, they hugged me, asked if I was alright, inquired about James’s whereabout
s and then expressed their desire to leave and never return.

             
“We’re staying.” I told them when we were all together in a group. Violet, who had been embracing James, turned to look at me, eyes wide in surprise.

             
“What do you mean, we’re staying? Brynn, th
ey dragged us out of the jungle in the middle of the day, they threw us in cells…”

             
“Yes, they were very untoward. They were not kind. However, we all know that trekking through the jungle is unsafe. Our experience in the cave was enough of an indication.
It was more than a fair warning. We need to stay here with other people who can protect us, if need be.”

             
“We were doing fine protecting ourselves.” Elijah spat angrily, “We’re evolving. Most of the people here aren’t, I'd be willing to bet.”

             
“Wasn’t this
always our endgame, though?” James chimed in to help me out, “Weren’t we headed here to begin with?”

             
“Yeah, before the monstrous squid-shark experience, we were headed here. That should have been enough of a sign.” Violet crossed her arms over her chest,
closing herself off to any further reasoning. I was still going to try to explain whether she was open to hearing the logistical details behind my decision or not.

             
“I am aware that we are all upset. But they are offering us a place to stay. Everyone work
s around here, so we would have to be alright with that. But we will have a supply of food, constant shelter, and there is strength in numbers, like we have always said.”

             
“Look, Brynn, I can see why you think this would be a good idea.” Elijah told me aft
er a moment of pondering all I had said. “But there was no reason for them to drag us out the woods like that. We really thought that they were natives and I almost killed one of them.”

             
“Well, clearly they are not that offended at your violent outburst be
cause you are still standing here.”

             
“I don’t trust that guy.”
             
“It’s not Don that I don’t trust.” Violet disagreed, “He’s nothing. He’s not a threat at all. I mean, look at him…”

             
We all turned to observe Don who was talking quietly to Adam. I did not hon
e in on their conversation because I knew that Adam would sense it. I had already experienced the mind-numbing pain he inflicted on those who rudely eavesdropped.

             
“He’s nothing,” Violet repeated, “It’s that other guy. What did you say his name was?”

             
“Ada
m. But you need to remember that he saved your life when he certainly didn’t have to. Because of that, we should at least try to trust him.” James told her.

             
“James, they beat you up. How can you not want to do the same to them?” Violet changed tactics qui
ckly; she was now appealing to his ruthless pride. Smart move, Violet Mae…

             
His expression darkened suddenly at the mention of it. I grasped his hand in mine and linked our fingers together. He looked at me and softened immediately. I smiled at him before
looking away.

             
“Your sister is right,” James told them, “We don’t have a choice. We have to stay here.”
             

             
“They know that we’re changing over.” Elijah told us. “I heard two of the guards talking about it. I understand that we need to be part of a group but
I don’t think that aligning ourselves with people who hang their freaking dismembered enemies from trees…”

             
“That is enough.” I snapped at him. I looked down at Penny, who held my other hand even tighter at the mention of the poor souls left to hang in th
e woods. “You didn’t see that, did you?”

             
She shook her head and wrapped her arms around my middle. I patted her head comfortingly.

             
“You are angry that they dragged you here. I understand that. I am not exactly thrilled about it, either. But I also unders
tand that despite what they have done, they are our best chance of surviving.” I sighed heavily, looking up for divine guidance to help me determine how best to make them understand. As usual, I was offered no help, at least not by a higher power.

             
James r
escued me from the conversational stalemate as he always did.

             
“It has been a long, violent fight. Every day since we’ve been here, we’ve been fighting something. Natives, Shadows, cave-people, monstrous squid-sharks…” He looked between Violet and Elijah,
“The list will go on the longer we stay out there. Who knows what else we’ll see? Who knows if we’ll continue to survive? At least here, we have a chance. We might not see another fight
ever.
Is there anything else that we could possibly ask for, given the
circumstances?”