The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) (86 page)

             
“I know that you want to look around so I will accompa
ny you. But let’s make it quick.”

             
The house was very easy to become lost in, even with James’s above-average sense of direction. We found our way into the kitchen, where there was a group of people cleaning up. Apparently, they had just had dinner while w
e were still downstairs in the cells. The kind people there offered us some food that they were wrapping to put away in the basement. We declined, but I did ask for them to send a generous helping of everything upstairs to Penny, Violet and Elijah. I even
asked on behalf of the other three. They agreed, and we continued our exploration.

             
On the third floor where we had come from, there were enough rooms that few people had to share. Of course, the house's population included families that wanted to room tog
ether, so there was even extra space for anyone that came along looking for shelter.

             
“We made the right choice.” A man told us when we stopped to talk with him about his
experience living there. “There are three meals a day, a roof over our heads, and
we’re safe from the natives and the other people from the ship. What else can we ask for?”

             
Still, I was reluctant to believe that all was well. I was never going to let down my guard, no matter how comfortingly normal my surroundings were. The joyful, rel
ieved testaments of the other residents were not enough to break my cautionary view of our current situation.

             
James agreed that we needed to keep an eye out for danger.

             
“I don’t trust anything that’s too good to be true.” He told me, “I think these peopl
e are afraid and they’re willing to believe what they want to believe. It’s stupid to do that, as you well know.”

             
“Yes, I do.” I replied as I inhaled the smoke from the last cigarette in my pack. We were sitting on the back porch, staring out at the rain
that had begun to fall. The smell was heavenly and should have convinced me that it was alright to believe that we were safe. But any sign from God or the Gods that everything was going to be okay was still met with distrust in me. I had three other people
that I was responsible for. I could not allow my desire to feel secure to override my cynicism.

             
“They’re going to believe every word out of that guy’s mouth. He holds a lot of power and I don’t like it.” James told me darkly. I looked over at him to find
that his brown eyes were illuminated by the touches of sunlight that were still able to break through the rain clouds. When I did not reply, he looked over at me.

             
“What? Why are you smiling?”

             
“No reason.” I said, “You are a handsome devil.”

             
He chuckled
softly and leaned over to kiss me.

             
“That was a random assertion but I appreciate it very much. You're the female equivalent of that.”

             
“Oh, why thank you.” I grinned but then returned to the topic at hand. “Anyway, he is so timid and yet, I don't trust h
im. I don’t trust anyone that holds power over a whole group of people. I am surprised that so many people trust him after their experiences with my father.”

             
“Well, your father was a prime example of why it's unwise to trust those with too much power. He
appointed himself our leader at the campsite and I was not going to live under the thumb of Daniel Olivier. I preferred taking my chances out in the woods. I would take on one hundred natives single-handed before I lived under his rules.”
             

             
“Well, I don’t
think that Don possesses the ability to enact the same cruel laws and regulations that my father put into place. He was starving people, did you know that? He wanted nature to take its course so that our population there would dwindle. That man we just spo
ke to was one of them. His daughter almost died. I could sense the fear of losing her still hanging about in his heart. It was fading away but it was still present.”

             
“Your father is exactly the type of person that we don’t need here. He is the proverbial
wolf amongst a flock of sheep.”

             
“It does not help that most of the sheep are so desperate for a strong leader that they will follow anyone. That is why we need to exercise caution while we are here. Don could turn into the same beast that my father has al
ways been. It is too much power for one person.”

             
“I agree, baby. You know I agree with that.” He looked at me, wanting to ask a question that he knew I would be reluctant to answer.

             
“Go on, darling.” I rolled my eyes to the overcast sky above our heads.

             
“What happened to you after I left the campsite?”

             
I flicked the ember off of my cigarette and exhaled the last precious puff of smoke. I watched it billow away, wanting to do nothing more than dodge that particular conversation. I knew how angry it would
make him. It still infuriated me enough to drive that killer instinct I was just beginning to discover. The relationship between my father and I had always been a violent one devoid of any semblance of love and respect. But I never could have guessed, eve
n with infinite knowledge, that he would hand me over to Adam as a peace offering. He had suggested that Adam was entranced with me,
which I knew was true. If my father was aware of that, then he knew that trading me to Adam would have resulted in the wors
t possible assault, one that I had already experienced. The most despicable aspect of it was that my father did not care what Adam did to me. He only wanted to guarantee his own safety.

             
“Hey…” James was saying gently. When I resurfaced, I found that his
hands were on my face. I looked up at him, realizing that I had briefly left the common time-frame in order to dwell within the space of those nasty, heart-tugging thoughts.

             
I opened my mouth to ask how long it had been since I had submerged into silence
but before I could, James answered me, knowing that the question was coming because he knew me so well already.

             
“Only a few minutes.” He told me and after a gentle kiss, he studied me closely to discern whether or not I was alright.

             
“I am sorry.” I told
him dryly. I did not know what else to say.

             
“Don’t apologize. You never apologize for anything. Definitely don’t apologize for that, sweetheart.”

             
“What occurred between my father and I is not difficult for me to discuss. The topic we were speaking of ear
lier is much harder. I do not understand either event, though. I do not understand how a man can want to cause harm to his own child. Not just any harm, either, but the worst. He told me that Adam wanted me. In exchange, Adam was offering him safety. I wou
ld like to give my father the benefit of the doubt and say that he just wanted to protect those he was responsible for, meaning the whole campsite.”

             
“But that’s bullshit and you know it!” James hissed furiously. I could see him shaking in rage.

             
“Please d
on’t get angry. It is just not worth it, James.”

             
“You’re worth me getting angry over, Brynna! What else did he say?”

             
“There were many things that he said. He did not admit it out loud but he is terrified by the idea of people evolving while he stays the
same. He was going to round them all up and either banish them or kill them outright. It is truly disgusting, how horrible of a person he is. It is mind-boggling, to say the very least. The reason why he even took me away from the others is that he was afr
aid and repulsed by what I was turning into. When the natives attacked, I changed over so I could fight them off. I think the entire campsite saw. The other people were afraid, too.”

             
“How did you get away?”

             
“Elijah, Alice and Quinn broke into the ship to
save me. They are all changing over, as you very well know. They embrace what they are turning into the same way that you and I do. Through their strength and their ability to fight, they were able to get me out.”

             
James nodded before asking another uncom
fortable question.

             
“Why did he hit you?”

             
That bitterness I had so long embraced in order to survive the depressing truth burgeoned inside of me sickeningly, like a rose turned black with rot; it forced a small smile of disgusted disbelief to appear on my
face.

             
“I did exactly what you just witnessed. I went out of it. It reminded him of something that he will never forgive. He knew that I was in that exact state of mind while my brother was dying. I am aware that you know all about that just like you know
all about Michael, my mother, my siblings...”

             
For my sake, he lightened the mood with a joke.

             
“Yeah. That’s all public record, not that I was spying on you or anything. Not that I was looking you up, drooling over your picture, climbing up your broken f
ire-escape to gaze in at you longingly... Nothing like that. Of course not.”

             
As always, his dry sense of humor got the best of me. Despite all that we had just discussed, I laughed. I embraced him, so appreciative of his easy maneuvering out of tight emot
ional spaces that I was uncomfortable in. He was beyond angry at my father for what he had done. I understood that our evolution sharpened our emotions, creating a storm of potency that was felt through every last limb.
Somehow, James was able to suppress
his animal rage for me. After tightening my arms around him, I kissed his neck.

             
“I didn’t follow you to that bar. It was strictly coincidence, you know.” He added and I giggled again, shocked that he was able to bring forth such a girlish sound in me. I h
ad never giggled a day in my life until I met him. In fact, I even hated the word ‘giggle.’

             
“No, you admitted that you were stalking me. You are a legitimate creeper.”

             
“Only for you, my love. My love, my love, my love…”

             
I laughed again and then we were
kissing fervently, completely unaware of the world around us.

             
“Sorry to interrupt…”

             
Don blasted Abba.

             
“Really?” I muttered irritably. I pulled away from James, who I could see was equally aggravated by the interruption.

             
“I know it has only been a few h
ours but how are you settling in?”

             
I looked at James, blinking in disbelief. What a trivial question so unworthy of our time. I had to remind myself that he was just being courteous.

             
“It is nice.” I answered vaguely.

             
“Just nice?”

             
“What do you want me t
o say?” I asked, “Are you expecting thanks? Did I thank you yet?”

             
“No. But I’m not after gratitude. It’s unimportant to me.”

             
“Well, it should be very important to you.” I told him, “We are incredibly thankful that you are allowing us to stay here. The ho
use is amazing. What you are doing here is remarkable, really.”

             
“I try my best.” Don replied humbly, “I know that my interruption is not welcome. But besides inquiring how you two were adjusting thus far, I also wanted to offer you work.”

             
James and I bot
h were well aware that work was certainly not being offered. It was being quietly demanded. I wondered briefly what the consequences would be if we declined. I was not so narcissistic as to believe that we should be excused from responsibilities. I was sim
ply curious. I was still on my quest to discover the complete blueprint of Don Abba's emotional and intellectual flow. In short, I was attempting to peg his personality accurately in order to determine whether or not we had anything to fear from him.

             
Alr
ight, that was not a short explanation...