Red Genesis

by Kailin Gow

  Everything he said made sense, but I still couldn’t believe it.

  When I came out of the showers, I couldn’t put on the clothes he gave me. My ankles were too swollen to fit through the pant legs, and my skin from the sores was being scraped on the fabric of the shirt. I found a fluffy soft robe that was easy to put on instead and wrapped it around me, tying it close around the waist. I looked around, and I couldn’t find my undergarments. I never felt like I had a need for it before while at the Shelter, then I did now.

  Thank goodness my robe was large enough to cover me completely, yet I still felt self-conscious, aware that I wasn’t wearing anything underneath it. But after wearing the suit and helmet all day while running and climbing, it felt good to be wearing barely nothing. My skin could finally breathe.

  There was a large mirror in the guest bedroom and I took a look at myself in the mirror. My eyes looked bright, but there were dark circles underneath. My hair was still wet after washing it, yet the fragrant smell of flowers was strong and relaxing, lifting my spirits.

  I hobbled out to the kitchen where I smelled a delicious aroma of roasting vegetables and garlic, cooking in a colorful Dutch oven pot on the Vintage Earth-like steel stove. I walked up to the pot and lifted the lid, taking the large wooden spoon laid out on a colorful spoon rest next to the stove to stir the vegetables. How Will had seasoned the vegetables, it smelled delicious.

  Will… he was not what I expected a young man to be. He was more handsome than anyone I’ve seen before in films and photos. When he spoke, his voice sounded better than any audio recordings I have ever heard. It was full of different tones and vibrated with feeling, his expressions, and even the essence of him.

  So far, Will had seemed very kind and generous. I had to admit, I found myself wanting to like him…to trust him. But why didn’t the satellite cameras pick up any evidence of life on New Earth all these years? All of my training and upbringing from Mom had taught me to be on my guard, even with someone like Will.

  At that moment, the handsome young man whom I was thinking about, walked into the kitchen, startling me.

  “Hi,” I said to Will, turning towards him and trying to catch my breath.

  He stopped walking, and his jaw nearly dropped.

  “Evie,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

  He was looking at me from head to toe, taking me all in, staring at me with such reverence, and a look that bordered on hunger. I knew he was cooking, so he must have been hungry. What I saw in his eyes as he looked at me all over again was a man who was admiring the beauty of a woman and was hungry to have her. I had read love stories on Vintage Earth which were called Romances where the man and the woman main characters had undeniable chemistry between each other, an attraction that eventually lead them to find love and passion with each other. The look Will was giving me right now seemed like a romance novel come alive.

  “Evie,” he said. He gestured with his hands in the air.

  “What?” I asked. I didn’t understand his gestures.

  He pointed at me, and looked away.

  I looked down and saw that my robe was wide open. My breasts were exposed, which I quickly covered up. My face heated up bright red. “I hoped you didn’t see much,” I said. “I’m so embarrassed.”

  Will turned his head to look at me again. “Don’t be, Evie. You surprised me, that’s all. I wasn’t expecting you to be wearing that.”

  “The bathrobe?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he said. “I thought you would be wearing the clothes I gave you.”

  “Sorry I couldn’t wear what you gave me,” I said. “My ankle is swollen. I think I twisted it, and I couldn’t fit into them.”

  “That’s okay,” he said, walking to me and taking the wooden spoon from my hand. “Sit down, Evie. You shouldn’t be on your feet.” He took me in his arms and lifted me, pulling me close to his chest while he walked over to the dining table.

  “Sit here, Evie. I’m almost finish cooking. Then I’ll take a look at it.”

  I sat down at the dining table, which he had set up. Candles, some flowers from the garden, and nice silverware.

  “This is nice,” I said.

  Will may seem like he had never had human company before, but he acted like he had been entertaining people for all his life. He had such good taste, too.

  “I’m glad you like it,” Will said, smiling.

  He came over with a plate filled with roasted root vegetables, which I have never had fresh from a farm. Then he surprised me. He had a piece of beef steak covered with grilled onions and sauce.

  “Where did you get this meat?” I asked, almost salivating from the delicious smell.

  “From the barn,” he said.

  I wiped my eyes. “I know I’m dreaming now. There is no way you can have cows here on New Earth.”

  “Actually,” Will said smiling, “I’m pinching myself to think I’m dreaming of you. Out of nowhere after I had prayed for years, a girl like you show up in front of where I usually go to take a reading of the atmosphere. You know…since I farm…farmers rely on being able to read the sky and ground. So…here I was, just going out to do a reading, when a girl wrapped up in a suit that looked like it was made out of giftwrap shows up. Like you had just fallen from the sky. Like a goddess…like Venus. You could be Venus, for all I know, especially now that I’ve seen you… your curves, beautiful skin, full dark hair, sparkly soulful eyes and lips…”

  He had sat down besides me and was pulling me close. “You smell so good, too. Like jasmine and tea leaves.”

  I felt drawn to him, too, noticing that he had changed into dark pants and a clean shirt. He smelled nice. Like musty wood and cinnamon. My body couldn’t help wanting to pull close to him, to touch him, to feel him near me. Was this the chemistry I’ve read about in books and seen in romance films?

  Suddenly, I wanted him to pull me to him, to touch me, to kiss me.

  He was looking at me with the same desire I felt for him. His body slowly moved towards me… his lips inches from mine. My eyes half-closed as I licked my lips. I was starving, but I also wanted something more… Then I remembered that I had to be on my guard. I didn’t know Will yet, and now that he had cows and other livestock on New Earth when it was nearly impossible to… should have raised a red flag in my mind.

  I pulled back away from Will.

  “Steak,” I said, cutting into it. “I have only dreamed of ever tasting it.”

  The tension between us dropped a bit as Will said, “My parents brought along some livestock. Only the ones that fed on vegetation. We were able to bred some of them after we arrived at New Earth so we had a steady source of meat, milk, and eggs throughout the years.”

  “Wished we had that,” I said. “How is it possible to even bring livestock to New Earth?”

  “Like Noah’s Ark,” Will said, “Dad and Mom brought pairs of animals to New Earth. They had a special allowance to since one of their missions on New Earth was to raise livestock and preserve the ones from Old Earth that could survive the trip and the new atmosphere. It was a good thing we already had transported the animals and our cargo to this cave and started farming… before They came and wiped out every living thing on the ship.”

  “They?” I asked.

  “The dark mist…the creatures that could frighten people to death.”

  “The Monsters,” I said.

  “That’s a suitable word to describe them,” Will said. He stood up to get his own dish of steak and vegetables. He came back with it, and more drinks.

  “This is fresh milk,” he said. “I went out to get it just now. It doesn’t get fresher than that. I thought you might like to try it.”

  I took a drink of the cold white creamy drink and nearly sighed with delight. “Steak and real milk…not the powdered kind but real milk. I’ve died and gone to heaven,” I couldn’t help smiling.

  Will laughed. Then he was staring at my mouth.

  “You have a mustache…a milk must
ache,” he said, indicating where it was on my face.

  “Where?” I asked.

  “Above your lips,” he said, pointing to my lips.

  I brought out my tongue to lick my lips, but I seemed to have missed it.

  Will was staring at my tongue and then my lips. His eyes darken as he leaned in close. “I’ll help you wipe it off.”

  His tongue flicked around the top of my lips, licking the milk off from my face. “Good milk shouldn’t be wasted,” he whispered. Next his tongue was licking my lips, opening it up until he was kissing me. I opened my mouth wider, letting him kiss me hungrily as I began kissing him back.

  “No good milk should ever be wasted,” I huskily said. I wanted more. I wanted his hands to go around me. I wanted him to lay me down.

  He pulled me closer and kissed me deeply. “Do you want me to stop?” He asked.

  I didn’t know what he meant, but deep down inside, I knew if he didn’t stop, I could never go back. At that moment, my stomach growled. I laughed.

  Will looked down at my stomach and said, “Sorry I shouldn’t have done that, but I had been thinking about kissing you since I first saw you. And given our circumstances…now that we’ve found each other…I don’t think it was by coincidence that we did, but by fate. We, Evie, I believe were meant to be together.”

  Given our circumstances, which was so different than how lovers take their time to finally admit they wanted and loved each other, I guessed Will had a point.

  “It’s what I wanted too, I have to admit,” I said. I didn’t mean to say what I was thinking out loud, but I did.

  Will smiled widely then and said, “I can wait. Now, let’s eat.”

  I pulled away and said, “I’m starving.”

  He said, “Me, too.” He reached over and began cutting up my steak for me. “Here, now all you have to do is eat.” I reached out with my fork to stab a piece of steak, but his fork with a piece covered in sauce was already in front of my mouth. “Eat,” he said, feeding me.

  He fed me the entire steak and meal like that, stopping once in a while to let me take a sip of milk. When we were finished with our meal, he carried me over to the cozy sofa, sat me up, and went down on his knees to take a look at my ankle.

  “You’re right,” he said, gently touching my ankles, his fingers so comforting against my skin. “It’s swollen and twisted.” He got up and kissed my forehead. “But with a lot of love and care…I’ll have you good as new, Evie.”

  “Will,” I said. “I don’t want to trouble you over taking care of me…”

  Will turned to me and said, “It’s no trouble at all. I want to take care of you. I’d love to. I want you here. If not for my sanity, but because you’re everything I was hoping for…even if we weren’t stuck on this place and were the last humans alive…you would be the very woman I wanted.”

  “Really?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Will said. “You see…when I was a little boy on the way to New Earth, I met a woman who looked very much like you. She was an Officer onboard our ship. She was so gorgeous and beautiful, I would follow her around all day. I thought she was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I was 6 years old then, and haven’t seen that many women, but even to this day, I thought of her beauty and kindness as the ideal woman.”

  “Didn’t know you were that kind of guy,” I said, joking.

  “What kind of guy?” Will said.

  “Even for a 6-year-old, you were out chasing women.”

  “All the men had a crush on her, Evie,” Will said. “But she already had a man of her own.”

  “Poor little Will,” I said, jokingly.

  “Not poor anymore, I hope,” he said, bringing back an ice pack to put around my ankles. “Promise me you’ll stay.”

  “Just until I can walk without hobbling again,” I said.

  He kissed my forehead. “That’s a start. In the meantime, you said you couldn’t wear the shirt I gave you because of some injuries? Let me take a look.”

  I turned around while he sat behind me on the sofa.

  “I need you to lower your robe so I can see,” he said.

  I lowered the top of my robe, aware I had nothing on beneath it. He was only looking at my back.

  “Oh Evie,” he said. “Poor girl.” He was gently touching the bruises and open wounds on my back. “You’re hurt badly.” He turned me around so he could see the cuts and bruises on my front, before I could object. My face was so hot from having him see me naked in front, especially all bruised and cut up. He saw me blushed, and said, “Sorry, Evie, I had to see where you were hurt. I didn’t mean to take advantage of you.”

  “No, I know that. You’re just being a doctor.”

  “Evie, you have cuts and bruises all over, and even a twisted ankle. I hope you don’t have a broken rib or anything else.” He got up. “I’m going to go make some medicine for you. In the meantime, just rest.”

  He came back with a cup of tea on a saucer and placed it in front of me on the sofa.

  I sank back into the soft sofa and let all my stress and tension out. Picking up the cup of tea and drinking from it, I felt more of the tension fade away. I have never met a man before. Nor another human being, but the one I have just met turned out to be someone that I couldn’t help wanting a deeper connection with. Was it because I was so starving for human contact?

  Or was it because my body couldn’t help wanting more with another human. This chemistry between us…was it because we were both viral young humans whose hormones were pushing us towards each other?

  By the time Will came back, I was already asleep. I could feel him putting some kind of paste on my sores. All over me. I knew I was naked, but I was too tired to care. He needed to heal me, and for that he had to be able to put the medicine on me where I needed it.

  When I woke up, I was now lying in bed in the guest bedroom. Will was not around. My backpack was now on top of the chair at the desk. There were fresh flowers on top of the table by the window.

  Will came in, carrying some fresh bandages and a stone bowl.

  He saw that I was awake and smiled widely, “Evie, you’ve finally woke up. You had me worried at first. You were out for days.”

  “Days?” My eyes widen in surprise. “How can that be?”

  “You must have been exhausted,” Will said. “It was good that you slept, though. It helped with the healing process. You had some deep cuts, but thankfully no broken bones. And the swell on your ankle had gone down.”

  I looked down at my ankle, and the swelling had gone down. “Is it still twisted?” I asked.

  “Well, I was hoping we can test that out,” he said. He came besides me and said, “After I change out the bandages and medicine, we can test your ankles.”

  I was wearing a new robe when he lifted my duvet from me. This time, it was embroidered with an “W.A.”

  “What does the W.A. stand for?” I asked.

  Will sat down besides me and said, “William Andrews.”

  “Your name,” I said. “I’m wearing your robe?”

  “We ran out of other robes so…” He indicated for me to pull my robe down. I was self-conscious as I unrobed in front of him.

  He took a look at me and visibly gulped.

  “It’s fine,” I said. “I like the feeling of wearing something of yours.”

  Will began applying the bandages on me, but hesitated for a second before he said, “So, I’m beginning to grow on you?”

  I smiled. “Would that matter even if we weren’t the only humans left?”

  He was serious when he said, “Yes.”

  “I find you very attractive and someone I might find myself falling for,” I said.

  He moved quickly as he applied bandages to all the wounds I had on my back, my legs, and even my butt. “I just wanted to make sure you fall for me because I’m not the last man around, but because you want me…as much as I want you.” He cleared his throat, as he applied the last bandage on my backside…the one o
n the curve of my right hip.

  My face was heating up again. I was 18 years old…old enough to be considered an adult on Vintage Earth and even on New Earth. I was old enough to get married and have children, yet I was still like a child when it came to men, to love, to even procreate. Because being the last man and woman human, would mean we would eventually have to procreate for the sake of human kind, wouldn’t it?

  He had turned me around where I was facing him. He began applying bandages to my stomach, to my thighs, and was hesitating as he moved his hands toward my breasts where there was one bandage across it. I could feel his breathing become slower. He was staring at me and my breasts for a long time. His voice was deeper, husky as he whispered, “You are so beautiful, Evie.” He had pulled so close he was practically touching me fully with the length of his body. “I am so attracted to you.”