The Shattered Genesis (Eternity)

by Rudacille, T.

  “You don’t want to go in there, Ms. Olivier. They’re not friends of yours in there. They don’t like you because you’re his kid.”

  “Well, I do not like him. I am as disgusted by him as the rest of you are. Just take me to Don. I will explain the situation.”

  “No, you don’t understand. He’s… he’s…” The boy trailed off, turning white as the threat of losing consciousness became evident to him.

  “You have nothing to be afraid of, sweetheart.” I assured him as gently as I could.

  I felt great sympathy for that poor boy. He was younger than Violet and yet he was sent out with a gun to dispatch a threat. I wondered how many of those unfortunate souls hanging in the trees were killed by that young man who was clearly in over his head.

  “What is your name?”

  “Andy.” He answered and I watched as tears welled in his eyes. “I don’t want to do this…”

  The conversation we were having should have been all the warning James and I needed to hear in order to convince us that we should turn back. But our need for community was driven by our survival instinct. We could not responsibly continue to trek along on our own, not after Penny had been taken. Our fellow survivors were our only chance.

  “Alright, Andy. You do not have to do anything that you do not want to do.” I looked at James and tried to convey what I was thinking. Somehow, I was able to manage it, because he nodded in response to my silent question. “We have a prisoner. We stole him from a large group of natives that live in a cave a few miles back.”

  “The cave people are bad. That’s what Adam said.”

  “You have spoken to Adam?”

  “Don joined up with him. That’s why there are…” He pointed at the bodies. “They aren’t just other survivors.”

  “We need to speak to Don.”

  Andy nodded and wiped his eyes quickly. He wanted to erase any indication of his emotional outburst. I assumed that Don would not take kindly to one of his “soldiers” breaking down into a fit of guilt and regret. I gently clasped his arm, surprising myself with that moment of kindness. No non-family member had ever witnessed my caring nature, which barely existed in silence let alone in visible action.

  “I’m Brynna, but I am sure you know that.” He nodded, “This is my…” I trailed off, not knowing how to describe James still despite how far we had come together, “This is James.”

  I had to forgive myself just once for taking the easy way out of a conversational hardship.

  He looked between us and smiled ever so slightly.

  “Anyone from Earth is alright with me. After all of this…” He shuddered slightly, “Come with me. I’ll take you to Don.”

  XXX

  We were led by Andy to a towering wall made from smooth, old rock. Vines slashed their way across its surface so that the whole structure camouflaged into the surrounding forest. After walking several feet, Andy pulled back a particularly thick patch of vines that held beautifully shaped pink flowers.

  “Don't let them fool you.” Andy told me as he used his knife to pull back the vines. “The second you touch them, they shoot a barb from inside straight into your eye. If you manage to avoid that, they get you with this weird white smoke that kills you in seconds.”

  Without even addressing exactly what he had said, I looked at James.

  “Do you think Penny...”

  “No,” He held my hand to comfort me, “Her instincts will stop her, sweetheart. Besides, I doubt there are any more around here...”

  “That's not true, actually. There's a whole tree where they grow around the trunk about a quarter mile from where we're standing.”

  “Let's not talk about that.” James said firmly and when I went to continue, he grasped my face and shook his head to warn me against speaking further on the subject of Penny, Violet and Elijah.

  A door meticulously fashioned from old stones was revealed to us once Andy had safely moved all of the vines away with his knife. A small window at the top of the door was pushed open and an eye appeared; it looked between the three of us in slight alarm before the door swung open without a word from the mysterious gatekeeper. In fact, when we walked through, we did not even see him. When I looked up the long, dirt path we were to travel, I saw at the end a colossal Gothic mansion that had to be as old as the planet itself. It was in that house that Don and his people had taken shelter.

  I surveyed the grounds, noticing that people were busily farming on either side of the path. I did not know exactly what they were growing, but I did note that two men sat in chairs on both sides, lazily observing the work being done. My brows furrowed and I looked at James, finding my own confusion reflected in his eyes.

  “How big is this place?”

  “The house or the grounds?” Andy asked quietly. His gaze was diverted to the ground so he could easily avoid looking at the people working.

  “Both.” James and I answered simultaneously.

  “The house is bigger than any Hollywood mansion back home, I can tell you that. It’s big enough to house all of the people who came with Don.”

  “And the grounds?”

  “They stretch on for miles. The ground is really fertile, Don says. So we’re planting our own stuff. We’re all responsible for feeding ourselves, but some has to be given to Don and his people…” He trailed off, perhaps sensing that this information was not meant to be divulged so freely.

  “Cool. Thanks.” James said in an easy tone that was meant to let Jonathon know discreetly that it was alright to end the conversation. I squeezed his hand. He was proving to be an invaluable asset in those complicated situations that always seemed to be cropping up; those particular moments that I could not squirm my way out of were as unwelcome as weeds in a lavish garden but luckily, James was there to keep everything cut and polished.

  “I have a bad feeling.” I whispered to him almost inaudibly. I pointed to my chest quickly. “Something ominous is lurking close, James.”

  James shook his head and turned mine so that I was looking at him.

  “You have nothing to be afraid of, Brynn. I promise.”

  “James, this just does not feel...”

  “I know. But I've got you, sweetheart.”

  That was all the reassurance I needed.

  Andy pushed the door open and a torrent of cold air that smelled of dust and ruin rushed towards us. I huddled closer to James, though my need for a closer proximity to him had little to do with the chill in the air. There were more people in the corridors and huge, sprawling rooms of the mansion. They were busy pulling vines down that had invaded the house and covered the walls from outside. Some were even patching windows and floorboards. I watched two kids a few years older than Penny as they swept the floor, giggling softly all the while as they observed James and me.

  Besides being slightly disturbed by witnessing that instance of child labor, I was pleased to see that there was no gender divide; both men and women were cleaning and farming. I had no idea at the time why I cared about something so incredibly trivial but the reason would become apparent later. In the moment, I chalked it up to the unapologetic feminism I had always embraced as long as I had known to have an opinion on the matter.

  When we reached the top of the creaking staircase, Andy led us through a corridor lined with chestnut walls and white doors. As we walked, the maroon rug that ran the length of the hallway coughed dust up from under her feet. I sneezed four times, trying to stifle the sound by covering my mouth but still, it bounced off the walls in an endless echo.

  “Bless you for the rest of the day.” James said quietly after my fifth sneeze.

  “Thank you.” I muttered after wrapping my arms around one of his to avoid holding his hand. He did not share my mild germophobic tendencies but still, I wanted to be courteous at the very least.

  Andy raised a shaking hand to knock on the door before us. He cast his eyes downward once again when a male voice instructed us to enter.

  Don Abba was
certainly not what I was expecting. Though I had been informed by Nick that he was a humble man with little to say, I still expected one who led a group of terrified survivors to be terrifying, himself.

  James was of a decent height, but he certainly was not gigantically tall, where I had to possibly suffer a neck injury each time I looked up at him. But the top of Don Abba’s head barely reached James's chin. There was a certain alarm constantly present in his large blue eyes; they darted from me, to James, to Andy, and back again in record rapidity. After all he had seen and experienced in order to safely bring those he was involuntarily responsible for there to safety, I could forgive his skittishness. His hands shook as they spun a feather quickly over his fingers. He was clean-shaven, leading me to assume that they had devised some kind of shaving technique. Perhaps they even had some method of showering.

  “Hello.” He greeted us softly as he rose to his feet slowly. “You’re from Earth. I remember you two, especially. You were the brave souls willing to walk out into the unknown before the rest of us cowards. You were the very first to volunteer.”

  There was not a hint of irony in his voice. I could not help but smile softly as I shook his outstretched hand. His modesty and honesty were refreshing even under the uncertain circumstances.

  “In the interest of full disclosure, I am going to inform you that I am Daniel Olivier’s daughter. My name is Brynna Olivier.”

  “I am well aware that you’re his daughter. I’m also well aware that you don’t share his ruthlessness.”

  I suppressed a small chuckle. Perhaps I did not willingly starve people as a means of population control. Perhaps I would not cause even the slightest harm, either physical or emotional, to my offspring. But I certainly was ruthless in my own way.

  “This is my…” I put my hand on James’s arms but stopped short once again when I attempted to come up with the right term for what James was in relation to me. I did not want to frighten him away by proclaiming anything too serious. I did not want to insult him by downplaying whatever our relationship was to him. I tried again, hoping the appropriate term would just come tumbling out when the time came for it to be spoken. “This is my…”

  Nope.

  “Boyfriend.” James answered for me, and he was smiling slightly in sarcastic triumph as he shook Don's hand, “James Maxwell.”

  “Yes,” I positively beamed and grasped his arm, “Boyfriend.”

  “Very nice to meet you both. Don Abba.” He replied, still in that barely audible voice. But there was genuine enthusiasm present in his tone. He indicated the two intricately designed leather chairs in front of the polished wooden desk that he was taking his place behind again. “May I ask how you found us? Before you answer,” He held up his hand and looked behind me, where Andy was still standing. “Andy, would you kindly bring these two something to drink?”

  “Thank you.” I muttered awkwardly. We were both reaching the point of dehydration where the symptoms began to slow the body down. We certainly needed all of our wits about us now because though Don Abba was not physically threatening, he had many in his house that were. The feeling of unease was still stabbing at my insides and we could not afford to let our guards down or be unable to fight if Don suddenly turned on us.

  “So, you were telling me how you found us.”

  Neither of us had given even the beginning of an answer, actually, but I chose not to call his attention to that. In order to appear cooperative, I answered without a fight.

  “We found you because we were looking for you. We have been traveling through the woods for days now.”

  “Yes, you escaped the campsite after your father very rudely informed you that you would be traded to Adam. Adam is the…”

  “We know who he is.” James informed him crossly. The slight mention of what my father had proposed left him reeling and enraged. I reached over and grasped his hand when Don looked away.

  “You do?” Don sounded slightly shocked as he jotted something down with the feather.

  “Oh, it is a quill…” I mused out loud. I had been slightly bemused as to why the man was carrying around a feather.

  “Yes,” He smiled slightly, “I have to keep track of what we’re doing here someway, don’t I?”

  “I do not know what you are doing here, but I am going to say yes to the query you just posed to me.” I was looking around the office. The light outside was having trouble breaking through the thick clouds; the room was lit only by the slightest glow from the guarded late-afternoon sun.

  “How is it that you know Adam, exactly?” We both stared at him, feeling threatened by his inquisitiveness. He looked up at us and smiled warmly. “Just curious.”

  “We had to go to the city in order to save my sister. She was attacked by some creatures in the woods.”

  “Which creatures?” He asked, “We’ve encountered quite a few. We’ve lost several people to the various things that are in those trees.”

  “Adam called the ones that she ran into Shadows.”

  “Oh, they’re the worst!” Don replied sympathetically, “Six of my people were killed by them a couple of days ago. They walked right into their nest. I didn’t know that Adam could heal people injured by them.”

  A woman entered the room with a silver tray bearing two hollowed-out coconut shells filled with liquid. James and I took them and looked at each other warily. These people really had gone above and beyond in deciphering how exactly they were going to survive. They were completely self-sufficient. Still, there was something off about the situation…

  “Your sisters and your brother escaped with you, didn’t they?”

  “Yes.” I nodded and swirled the liquid around in the shell.

  “Are they alright? Why aren’t they with you?” I looked up to find that his eyes had widened in alarm once again.

  “They’re fine,” I assured him calmly before changing the subject. “So, you have aligned yourself with Adam.”

  “Yes, I have. He has offered to help us with our problem and we will help him with his. That’s the deal, anyway. Who knows if he’ll honor it?”

  “What exactly is your problem that you’re dealing with?” James asked in a tone that challenged Don to lie, if he so dared.

  “We don’t see eye-to-eye with the other group of Earth survivors, James. Adam has offered to help us rectify the situation.”

  “Rectify it how?” James pressed and I glared in his direction to warn him without words not to push the man too far, lest we wish to overstay our welcome.

  “We want to get rid of them. Originally, your father decided to form his own group. The natives took out most of them. They would have gotten him, too, if it weren’t for us. But we weren’t going to allow him or his people to stay here, so he left.”

  “Where did he go? With the Bachums?”

  “Yes. And they took him in with open arms, as I’m told.”

  “How very God-like of them…” I muttered irritably. I rolled my eyes to the heavens that I was currently criticizing.

  Don laughed softly.

  “I can gather that you don’t quite see eye-to-eye with them, either. The reason why we want them gone is because Adam will grant total safety to only one of us. It will either be the Bachums or me. We are trying to round up the survivors who chose neither group, though there are few left alive, sadly.” He was silent for a moment, studying us as he attempted to gauge our reactions to that most chilling news.

  “That's terrible.” I said, just to offer some response.

  “It is. It's also very unfortunate that we should have to resort to such barbaric measures in order to live here safely. But this is Adam’s world. He determines how things run. He decides how it all turns out.”

  “You mean to tell me that he’s proposed this epic war between you and the Bachums and yet he’s helping you? Forgive my morality, but isn’t that cheating?” James asked somewhat derisively.

  “Perhaps. But it’s also a fair trade between myself and him. His p
eople hate the cave-dwellers. They say that they are stuck in the past. They won’t move forward with the times.”

  “Is that why they tried to sacrifice my five year old sister?” I leaned forward slightly in anticipation. I needed to hear his answer.

  “Yes. They believe that in order to be pious one must also be heartless. If they want to appease their God and keep their lives and freedom, they have to follow a very bloody and violent interpretation of their creed.”

  “Adam told you all of this?” I was shocked that he would divulge secrets to a different breed so readily.

  “I told him if he wanted my help, then he needed to be honest with me.”

  I nodded, surprised again by Don's boldness.

  “You were inside the cave?”

  “Yes.” James and I answered.

  “Then you saw their painting on the ceiling, I’m sure. The Four-Armed God?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you see what he was holding?”

  “There were symbols. Yeah, we saw them.” James answered.

  “They symbolize the four great powers bestowed on the people we call the natives. Apparently, for the first several hundred years on Earth, we had those powers, too. Now some of us are regaining them. We’re evolving, but in a way, we’re also moving backwards in time. Does that make any sense?”

  “Is that why he’s so strong now?” I beckoned to James. “Is that why I can see these things before they happen and hear other people’s thoughts?”

  “Yes. That’s why you can fight like wild animals. It’s all an evolutionary tactic that had been rendered inert by our civilized lives on Earth.”

  “Oh.” I muttered. I ran my fingers through my hair and then placed my face in my hands for a minute of quiet processing. It was far too much information to take in at once. My thought patterns were not aided by my desperate need to eat and drink. A headache was rumbling painfully in my ears as it tightened around my forehead and ran with heavy feet down the back of my neck.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Drink this, baby.” James told me softly and I felt the coconut shell being held to my lips. He tilted it back and I drank two gulps of the most amazingly sweet coconut juice I had ever tasted.