The Shattered Genesis (Eternity)

by Rudacille, T.

  A phrase came back to me from Bible school: wolves in sheep clothing. A Brynna-ism, as James called them, came back to me as well:

  “If it seems like it's too good to be true, you're probably two steps from the edge of total catastrophe.”

  I received both of those messages timidly.

  XXX

  After an awkward prayer, dinner was eaten in silence. I tried not to observe those around me too closely, out of fear of giving myself away. Penny stared around, unabashed, her brows furrowed in confusion.

  “Why is no one talking?” She whispered to me.

  I shushed her and squeezed her hands under the table.

  After an awkward dinner, we were a part of an awkward religious ceremony that involved speaking in some unknown language, gesticulating wildly to the sky, and singing in monotonous vowels for three hours. After everyone was exhausted from all the rigorous worshiping, we fell into our seats and watched as Tyre took the podium from Rich. Rich clapped his hands and everyone joined in immediately. When I saw Tyre glance at Penny hungrily, I nearly jumped out of my chair and charged him. Nick’s hands tightening around both of mine stopped me.

  You cannot imagine the suffocating feeling of suppressing your true nature. You cannot imagine how difficult it is to stifle even your protective instinct that will guarantee the longevity of a child. I would become uncomfortably familiar with the stifling weight of keeping the beast down over the following days.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I am very pleased to stand before you today with joyous news. Abba's group has split. The battle was won in your favor. Congratulations.”

  There was a rumble of applause so deafening, I feared briefly that the wooden walls would cave. I saw every display of happiness one can observe in human beings; everything from a small smirk to screaming thanks at the ceiling and jumping up and down in ecstasy.

  “The war is not over yet, however. We still must take back the city from Adam.”

  Now, people muttered darkly amongst themselves about evil incarnate and damnation. I stifled the urge to roll my eyes.

  “Jesus...” Nick murmured in disgusted disbelief.

  I looked at him, silently urging him not to speak.

  “I know!” A woman in front of us turned around, smiling gigantically. “God is so great!”

  “These people don't know anything about God or His so...” I began to whisper to Nick but Maura smacked my hand, not looking at me. When I gasped in response to the slight pain, I also looked over at her. She gave me an almost imperceptible shake of her head.

  “Richard and I believe that it is time for you all to know the great truth behind the bloodshed that has claimed the lives of so many of my people and his. Only through this great truth will you truly understand.”

  Jeez, were they going to dim the lights dramatically?

  “Thousands of years ago, when the Earth and Purissimus had just come into being, human-like creatures were shaped in the image of the One God. His rules were simple; you all are familiar with the Great Ten. The war with Adam began with the building of the Shining City. While my people and I wished to continue worshiping in order to show our profound thanks for the powers that He had bestowed upon us, Adam wished to harvest the world for resources in order to build an empire.”

  Anger was pulsing through the crowd. Penny looked at me, her eyes widened slightly in fear. I pulled her into my lap and held her close.

  “The greatest gift that was given to us was this pure land that we inhabit. Adam was destroying it mercilessly. As more of the land died, his powers only grew more potent while ours began to die away. We did not grieve the loss; we only realized that if Adam, in all his infinite evil and his love of destruction, possessed them, then surely, they were not of God but of the Beast. Our fight had been raging for many years when from out of the sky, came your ship. Our numbers had been lessened by his brutality. We were fortunate that there were those who know the Great Truth on board your craft. You all know the Truth.” He beckoned out to the audience who were hanging onto his every word. They were thrilled to be complimented by him. There was not a shred of doubt amongst any of them.

  “While Adam embraces the powers of the Beast, you all are our gift from the one God. You all will aid us in achieving our victory. From out of the ashes of a ruined world came the faithful warriors I had so long asked for. Together, we will overthrow Adam. Together, we will claim the city and restore Purissimus to its Godly glory. It is the will of the all-mighty Creator, for this war to be fought. It is His will for us to win. Never fear defeat, my friends. We are the Chosen Ones.”

  “On the note of never fearing defeat, I'd like to add this, if you don't mind, Tyre.”

  “Please...” Tyre stepped away and Rich took the podium.

  “I'd like all of you men who fight to remember this: God gave his one son to die for our sins. If you are grieving those we lost yesterday, just remember that they died serving God. They died fighting in the name of Him and his Son.”

  I watched as people nodded with tears either brimming in their eyes or streaming rapidly down their faces. One man even pumped his fist into the air. Rich was eating up the adulation and the show of unity amongst his people. He stepped away from the podium, beckoning for Tyre to take it again.

  “Now, because we have won such a spectacular victory, we must make an offering.”

  Silence. Forget a knife; a chainsaw couldn't have cut through the tension in that room. All around, people glanced, wide-eyed at one another. A woman in front of us put her face in her hands, stifling sobs. What the hell?

  “Please don't fret, my lady.” Tyre told her kindly but his eyes were glinting with malice. “It will not be one of you this time. It will be one that is consumed by the darkness. It will be one that we took from Abba. Gentlemen...”

  He gestured to the door at the far right end of the hall. From out of it, two male Old Spirits dragged Eric, one of the men responsible for keeping our fires burning, from the back room. Though he fought to free himself from their grasp, he did not scream obscenities or call those people on their blind, pitilessly stupid devotion. My heart raced as I turned Penny away from the scene.

  “It's Eric!” She cried to me. “What are they going to do?”

  I shushed her again, my entire body trembling. Eric had been a friend to everyone; he was always ready with a joke or to laugh at one told by someone else. He and his wife had been very much loved. I wanted to run forward, throw myself over him, and beg them to stop their senseless violence. I wanted to scream, reminding them that no God in the western canon demanded ritual sacrifice, at least according to Brynna, who knew everything. Were they really so blind? Were they really so stupid in terms of the faith they claimed they followed down to the letter?

  They slammed Eric down on the altar at the front of the church. People were standing, craning their necks to get a better look. I turned my head away, fighting tears and my own faltering breaths. Nick wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling both Penny and me closer to him. His eyes were averted from the carnage in front of us.

  Arms raised to the sky and swayed back and forth as people hummed in an ominous monotone. Maura's hand snaked around my back, grasping a handful of my shirt. Even her eyes were cast down. As others screamed and cried for the sacrifice, we prayed for something, anything that would stop it. A light would fill the hall and the booming voice of the Lord would demand that they stop their pitiless bloodshed. Jesus Christ would chastise them for embracing such brutal methods of worship and claiming that they were following His code.

  But the hall remained dimly lit by the torches. The only sound came from the worshipers risen from their seats, crying out to the heavens and stomping their feet, shaking the foundation of the structure we were in. For a moment, I prayed that the roof would collapse on our heads. Penny's tears ran down my neck and I grasped her even more tightly, squeezing my eyes shut as Tyre raised the knife above his head…

  Cheers erupted and through my half
-opened eyes, I saw people embracing before raising their hands to the sky in triumph and thanks.

  Look anywhere else! Don't look, Violet! My mind whispered in a desperate, shaky plea. Even my brain knew that seeing Eric's mangled body would weaken the already fragile grip I held on my sanity. To lose it there in the church meant not only my death, but Penny’s and Nick’s, and maybe even Maura's.

  There is truth to the belief that a subconscious part of our minds is fascinated by tragedy and gruesome sights. That part of my brain pulled my protesting eyes to the sight of Eric's body. Blood was dripping down the altar, pattering against the hardwood floor like a grotesque rain. His eyes and mouth were still wide open in his final scream of terror.

  God grasped the top of the building and spun us in fierce, powerful circles. My legs were knocked out from beneath me. I hit the ground hard, feeling Penny flying from my arms.

  The darkness in the hearts of those people snuffed out the light from the torches.

  I closed my eyes.

  XXX

  “I am so sorry about this, Rich. I just don't think she's used to it yet.”

  “Don't apologize, Dan. It's alright. It's always shocking the first time. But I'm sure she knows that it was necessary. If she doesn't know now, she will soon enough.”

  Yeah, I'd know that soon, alright… Right after I realized that every evil act of man ever committed on Earth or Pangea was for the greater good...

  “Hey, Vi.” Nick's blurry outline was in front of my eyes when I opened them. I felt a cup of water being pressed to my lips and the cold liquid pouring down my throat. My hands flew up to rub my forehead. “You're alright, liebling. It's all over now.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  Mary Bachum's voice showed the greatest concern which betrayed her true apathy. Her voice was as welcome as a blow to the head.

  “You gave us quite a scare, Violet.” She told me. “Drink that water. It will help.”

  Her clawed hand squeezed my knee. I struggled not to push it off, stand up, and begin berating them all for what they had done to Eric. It had been murder. It had been a sin.

  My heart beat so quickly, I feared they could hear it; if they did, they would know my fear and beneath that, my traitorous intentions. I didn't see Penny or Maura and Nick's eyes were full to the brim with quiet fear to rival my own. Had they inflicted my punishment for fainting onto Maura and Penny?

  “Be clever, Violet. Play the part.” Brynna's voice urged me gently in my mind.

  “I don't do very well around blood.” I explained ruefully. “I’m so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Bachum.”

  Mary and Rich both laughed softly, assuring me that it was alright. My father joined in after a moment of frowning at me in disbelief. He was well aware that I had always been the one to dress wounds while Brynna faced away from the injured party, her skin paler than a corpse's.

  “I know. Believe it or not, a lot of people couldn't handle it in the beginning, so you're not alone.” Rich said as he beamed at me. “Mary, you even used to cringe a little bit.”

  “I fainted outright the first time, too.” Mary told me as she shook her head sheepishly.

  “You did!” Rich snapped his fingers as he remembered. “I felt just awful, Violet. I knew that I had better go find a flower patch that night and bring some home for her.”

  “And he did!” Mary wrapped her arm around his back and smiled up at him in genuine adoration. “It's alright, honey. I understood that it was necessary. And now, I don't have to look away for a second.” She let go of Rich and grasped my hand. God, that woman was so overly touchy.

  The lie rose from my stomach into my throat before spewing out of my lips like bile. It tasted even worse, by far.

  “I understand that it was necessary, too. I am really sorry that I fainted. Truly, I feel terrible about it. I feel like I distracted people from it.”

  I wanted the hand of God to reach out and smack me in the mouth like I was a back-talking child. I still don't know how I found the will to say something so repulsive and untrue.

  “Please, don't apologize. You and your father, always apologizing. We understand, Violet.” Rich told me and now his hand was resting on my shoulder for an uncomfortable minute. “Now, please, Nick, take your soon-to-be wife back to your house. You remember where it is?”

  “Yes.” Nick answered instantly before jumping up to take my hand. “I'll take very good care of her.”

  “Of course you will.” Mary agreed and her eyes were watery at the sight of our young love. She placed her hand over her heart as she looked between the two of us. Vomit...

  She kissed my cheek and then his, still beaming like a proud parent watching their children as they went off to prom. Double vomit...

  Nick and I tried not to run from the building. He kept his arm around my shoulder, steering me to the door and opening it for me like the true gentlemen he was. Once we were out in the frigid night air, we walked calmly for a few steps before upping our pace to a brisk walk. Several times, we glanced over our shoulders to make sure that they weren't following us. Never once did I let go of his hand nor did he ever try to pull it from my grasp.

  “Oh, my God... oh, my God...” I whispered. Tears were blurring my vision and my nose was running. Snow was beginning to shoot vengefully from the clouds. We were shivering as the freezing cold wind nipped at our exposed skin. Our cheeks were red as the air smacked us for even pretending to feel such great ambivalence to the murder of a man we had known. Even if we hadn't known him, our little charade was reprehensible. We were cowards, both of us. Had Eric's eyes found me in the crowd of people screaming for his death? Had he seen my remorse? Did it matter?

  Of course it didn’t. He was dead.

  I was sobbing quietly as both of my hands held onto Nick's arm now.

  “Where is it? Where's the house?” I croaked out through my tears.

  “I don't know. I just said that so we could get out of there!” He told me as he walked us along. The terror in my heart and the cold around me shook my body into a fit of shivers that gave me the appearance of being in the throes of a seizure. The falling snow and the blazing wind had extinguished the torches that would have lit the way. We were traveling blind; I feared that at any moment, we would walk right off the cliff and tumble to the ground so many thousands of feet below. Even the stars were hidden by the clouds in the sky.

  Nick stopped us so he could shed his hoodie. Beneath it, he was wearing a Black Keys t-shirt. I remembered that night in the house when we had kissed as their song played smoothly from Teresa's iPod. Sure, the hangover from the Peace Fruit was unpleasant but the night with him had been worth it. My tears fell freely and my cries intensified. He wrapped his jacket around my shoulders and put both of his cold hands on my face. He kissed my forehead tenderly.

  “You need this.” I gasped out to him as I started to shrug out of his jacket.

  “No, you do.” He replied softly, pulling the thick sweatshirt back onto me and zipping it up. “Listen to me. We're going to be alright, Violet. Look at me.”

  I raised my eyes to meet his and was stunned to find that in the depths of green, there were flecks of light blue. I remembered pictures of tropical beaches with waves of the same color lapping the shores. On my bucket list (which did not regard the things I wished to do before my death, but rather before I got married and had children), I had said that I wanted to see at least five beaches that were as beautiful in real life as they were in their pictures. I knew I never would now, so I cried harder. The snow seemed to thicken even more dangerously.

  “We're going to get out of here. We're going to get Penny and we're going to run.” He whispered to me.

  “We don't know where we are.” I cried. “How are we going to find our way back to them? How will Brynna and Eli ever find us?”

  “We'll find them.” His beautiful eyes stared intently into mine. In his gaze, I saw another trouble that had little to do with our current predicament.

  �
��What is it?” I asked him softly.

  “Nothing. Now isn't the time.”

  “But...”

  “Another time, Vi.” He stopped, realizing that he might not get another opportunity to tell me whatever it was that he was withholding.

  “Just tell me.”

  “I shouldn't have kissed you like that. I shouldn't have done that just for show. That was rude of me.”

  “No, it wasn't. It was smart. You carried me through that, Nick. I couldn't have lied like that without you helping me.”

  His soft laugh warmed my ears.

  “I don't know if me helping you lie is such a good thing.”

  “In this case, it was. It saved our lives.”

  “Either way, that wasn't real. But this is.” He closed the gap between us and his lips were pressed to mine. The cold fled from both of our bodies. The snow around us ceased. The torches along the path erupted to life. We pulled away, stunned by the change in the atmosphere.

  We laughed.

  XXX

  Penny was coloring with worn crayons when we returned. She beamed up at Nick and me.

  “I can't wait for Brynn to get here. Look! I drew us.”

  Penny's picture perfectly exemplified her childish innocence; we were all holding hands, standing side by side in the garden that had been in front of Don's house. She had drawn a huge sun and birds flying in the sky. I couldn't help but smile.

  “Look at James's big muscles!” She squealed happily before laughing half hysterically at her own joke. Nick and I laughed with her while Maura merely smiled.