“Take them and find James! Run!” The words tumbled from my mouth towards Elijah as the imminent danger of the situation registered clearly in my mind. I did not know exactly what was occurring above our heads nor did I want to send my friends and family to James for assistance, but I knew swift action was necessary. In fact, it was the only crucial link between us and our lives continuing past the present.
Adam ran into the corridor just as I ducked back into the room with Maura. I couldn't leave her. I could hear him shouting to my friends and siblings, ordering them to get out of the building. But I could not leave Maura's body, not when she, like everyone else both good and evil, deserved to be buried properly. After all she had suffered, I had to put her to rest.
“We have to go!” Adam was shouting at me now. “They're here!”
“Who?” My tone betrayed my apathy. I cared nothing for the war anymore. The day, the place, had taken a toll on me. I could not afford a scrap of emotion as I was already being contorted and tormented by the pain of Maura's death and the stinging betrayal left by the truth I had learned about James.
“They stole the sun harness!”
“Adam, what the hell is a sun harness?” I asked, my voice never rising above a mere murmur.
“It doesn't matter what it is! We need to go now!”
“I will not leave her.”
“What are you talking about, Brynna?” He demanded dangerously as he walked closer to me. “She is gone. There is nothing more that you can do for her.”
“I can bury her. I don't know if that's a custom...”
“Be quiet. Get up. Let's go.” He ordered and a hazardous nuclear explosion of fury blasted mightily inside of me. I stood up, whipped around, stormed towards him, and shoved him hard in his firm chest.
“If it wasn't for you, she would still be here!” I shouted before pushing him again. Surprisingly, I was able to make him stumble back a step. “You and your pitifully stupid war! And you sent James! I fell in love with him and it was all a lie! Why did you do this?!” I opened my hand, brought it up to his face and slapped him hard. I was a fan of slapping. I was finding that it was the only remedy for certain infuriating things. It truly did help.
“Brynna, I will explain everything to you!” He grabbed both of my wrists in a painful hold. I grimaced but fought wildly to free them from his grasp only to find that he was as strong as he looked; he never lost or even weakened his grip.
The ceiling shed dust on the next impact. I could smell smoke. A fire had taken hold of the building and soon, we would be consumed by it. Adam was right; we had to leave. But one glance at Maura's peacefully absent body strengthened my resolve to stay.
“I'll carry her out. In a few minutes, I'll have gathered the strength to carry her.”
“We don't have a few minutes!” His voice thundered deafeningly. I had angered him and I knew it. Under normal circumstances, my bullheaded nature entertained him but as the fire ate through the walls around us, closing in for the kill, he found my tendency to dig my heels in frustrating and also, potentially deadly. I would have been substantially irritated by such stubbornness, as well.
“Go!” I shouted back at him just as loudly. The fire would not be what brought the building down; our shouting match certainly would.
“You're going to carry her?” He grabbed the tops of my arms after I turned away from him to kneel at Maura's bedside.
“Yes.” I shot at him defiantly.
“No.” He snarled before yanking me upwards so that I was standing on my feet. “I am going to carry you.”
I was over his shoulder and he was ramming himself into the blocked door before I had even processed his words completely.
“NO!” I screamed as I struggled to throw myself off of him. In one fluid motion, he adjusted me on his shoulder, strengthened his hold on me, and rammed into the door again. The force with which he hit it sent it flying off its hinges, pinning the piece of debris that had been blocking it against the opposite wall. I watched the room behind us fill with thick smoke; Maura disappeared from my view.
“No, no, no!” I grabbed both sides of the door frame and held on tight. In time, he would get frustrated and drop me onto the floor. Then, he would run for the stairway, dodging flaming pieces falling from the roof before hurtling up the steps and saving himself. By that time, I would not be able to save myself or Maura's body. I would simply curl up beside her and await the final moment. No one would be perched mournfully beside me, apologizing for how they had wronged me, telling me they loved me, or even lying to me, saying that everything would be alright. I would prefer it that way. No symphony of emotionally heavy words and empty reassurances would be necessary. The only soundtrack I would need to my last coherent thoughts would be the crackling of the fire and the bone-shaking explosions overhead. I had heard that in home fires, smoke was the killer, not the flames. Surely, though, my death would still be painful; I would struggle to draw clean air into my lungs but instead, would only breathe toxic, heavy, black smoke. I would suffocate, to put it simply. But at least I would not burn.
“I will hurt you if you do not let go!” Adam shouted once again. I did not doubt his sincerity.
“I'm not leaving her!” I shrieked. I had graduated from struggling to fall out of his grasp to kicking my feet into his stomach so he would drop me. “I can't leave her! Don't you see?! She might have left me before but if I was gone, she wouldn't leave! I know that! I know it, and I can't leave her, Adam!” The tears running down my cheeks were not a result of the coarse smoke stinging my eyes. The crack in my voice softened him. Instead of hurting me, he pulled me forward, turned me sideways and cradled me in his arms.
“It is just her body.” He whispered to me. “You know that. Her soul is safe.”
I stared up into his eyes. That quickly, I accepted his words. I knew, beyond any shadow of doubt, that he was right. There was no use risking my life to bury an empty shell. The most essential part of her essence was already safe, sent back to the source from which we all were sprung. I hoped that there was a merciful one God, who welcomed her through the fabled gates of Heaven with open arms. I hoped wherever she was that she was safe. As I hoped and prayed for her eternal happiness, my arms flung up to wrap around Adam's neck. I held onto him tightly, closing my eyes so as not to see Maura's body disappear from view. Though Adam had convinced me that she was safe, I could not bear to see her body consumed in flames. Old world thinking persisted, even then.
We were moving quickly, though Adam was not running. Never once did he attempt to put me down as he maneuvered through the fallen, burning rubble. In fact, I could sense that he preferred having me nestled safely in his arms. There, I could not be hurt. What strange thoughts for him to be having... Quickly, I determined that he knew if I were to perish in the fire, I could not agree to help him.
“That is foolishness far below you, Brynna Olivier.” He muttered to me as he kicked open the door at the top of the stairs. I looked up at him, my eyes wide. “Not very amusing when the tables turn, is it?”
I turned my head to the side, stunned to find that I was breathing fresh air. We had emerged onto long dirt pathway leading to the gate in front of Adam's mansion. We turned back to look up, only to find that the entire house had gone up in flames. I looked at him, shocked to see that there was not a shred of pain evident in his eyes. Seeing his house burn didn't phase him in the slightest. Still, I grasped his hand. If I were watching my home of so many years crumble to the ground before me, I would certainly want someone to comfort me, though I would not ask for it and I would prefer their condolence to be silent and simple.
“Come on.” I whispered to him. “We have to go.”
He nodded and we turned away, only to find ourselves surrounded. Having been lost in our thoughts, we did not sense the angry horde of Bachum supporters approaching. In their minds, I heard shrill cries of gratitude to a mortal man, though I could not decipher exactly whose face it was that they were holding so
firmly at the forefront of their minds. They owed him their lives, according to Tyre, for he had stolen the sun harness.
“What, in the name of the one God or Gods, is a sun harness?”
“Contextual clues, my dear. Think on it for a moment.” Adam replied as he put his arm in front of me and moved me behind him. I moved right back out to stand beside him. I would face the mob of fanatical crazies with him, for I was not afraid in the slightest.
“You will run when I say so.” Adam muttered to me firmly as Tyre moved to the front of the crowd. There was another deafening bang that rattled the earth and the building fifty feet from Adam's mansion fell to the ground in flaming scraps. I didn't nod in affirmation to Adam's order. He glared at me, ordering me to nod or say out loud that I understood. I raised my eyebrows, cocked my head to the side slightly, and glared back at him. I think if I were a man, he would have punched me.
“Well, I never thought I would see the day where you were found wandering about without your guards.”
Tyre was even more menacing in the dim, smoke-filled twilight. His eyes reflected the darkest hues of the earth. His pale white skin eerily contrasted with the darkness of his eyes and his prominent nose that sat between them proudly. While many men on Pangea were healthily muscular, Tyre was tall and almost dangerously thin. The immortality of the other men I knew had never drained the traces of vibrant youth. Tyre had been sucked dry of such fresh beauty. The man seemed born to play the ghoulishly gaunt villain in a horror movie. The cliché was not lost on me and I almost laughed to myself as it became clear.
“Brynna Olivier...” He turned his gleaming white grin of triumph to me. I scowled at him defiantly. “I have been told by your father that you now know all. Pity you did not join us. Now, who knows?”
“I know. Isn't that why you wanted me dead, Tyre?” I challenged him. “So, where is your lapdog? I have so desperately wanted to meet Rich Bachum.”
“He's powering the harness, of course.” Tyre replied in a voice of dangerous elation. “Come now, Adam, let us make this quick.” Anger pulsed beneath the cool and collected facade. A barbaric glee was beginning to rear its head inside of him. He had finally won. It had been five hundred years since Adam had tossed him and his people from the city he had not wanted built and finally, he could dole out Adam's last punishment.
“You will not attempt to fight me, will you? You and those two humans are three of a kind, Tyre.” Adam was grinning ear to ear, genuinely amused by whatever it was he sensed in Tyre. “You're cowards more likely to sneak up on your foes in the night than to stand face to face with them. You will make deals in the hopes of being spared, deserting all you believe just to breathe the air here for another day.”
“I have never made a deal with you! I would never be so foolish!” Tyre hissed venomously, his fangs forming far more slowly than ours did. “This girl has, hasn't she? Otherwise, her father would have killed her by now. But no, she stands here before me in perfect condition and thank the God for that! I can now end her myself.”
Adam's calm ambivalence disappeared in a blink. I felt the change in him several seconds before I looked over. Upon looking into his red eyes, I knew that a fight would ensue between them. He would, for whatever reason, fight for me. I could not understand why and he had no time to explain. I do not think that he would have, even if we had ages to talk.
“If you so much as turn your gaze to her,” When he began to speak, his voice was a furious whisper. But as he continued, it rose to its intimidatingly forceful thunder. “I will destroy every man around you before I KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND!”
Whoa... My eyes were wide and my eyebrows were raised in shock. When Tyre did turn his gaze to me, it was a direct provocation that was imprudent, to say the very least. Adam's fangs sprung out and he lunged forward; the roar that erupted from him made his thunderous shouts seem like mere whispers in the dark. His hand was locked firmly around Tyre's throat when six of the enemy's men pulled him off. Even as they forced Adam onto his knees, I could see the terror in their eyes that he would break free and slaughter them all effortlessly. Beneath that fear, though, I could see their lusting fury; they wanted to see him killed. They wanted to congratulate themselves and each other after it was over. They wanted to revel in the war's ending, knowing they had won.
Tyre rose to his feet, smiling in sadistic glee. From behind him, a man handed over a large, curved sword. Adam never fought to free himself. His pride would not allow it. Even as Tyre brought the sword above his head and froze, the smirk never left Adam's face.
“STOP!” I stunned both myself and the men around me with my scream of protest. Even Adam was surprised, though he hid it well.
“You are next, my dear.” Tyre grinned at me.
“Run.” Adam instructed me calmly.
“NO!” I shouted.
“Do not let her run. You all will pay a price if she gets away!” Tyre shouted at them.
“Run now, Brynna.” Adam's words were still infused with a lightness that was so out of place in the current conundrum. He sounded as though he was telling a mildly humorous joke. I could have stabbed him myself.
When one man walked forward to hold me in place, my own beast burst out of its cage in a grandiose, violent escape. I closed the space between that man and I before jumping up and locking my legs on either side of his torso. I grabbed a hold of his head in both hands, practically salivating as I pictured sinking my teeth down into his throat. My head jerked up to the sky and I screeched shrilly at the heavens. When the sound drained out of me completely, I twisted my hands, spinning the man's head around on his neck. He crumpled to the ground beneath me; I was still attached to him and yet I managed to land gracefully on my knees. My head jerked up in time to see that I had created a necessary diversion. The men holding Adam were in a state of horror that slackened their grip on him.
My own fighting abilities were lackluster in comparison to his brutal strength. In one swipe, he swung his arm back, colliding with each man and sending him flying backwards into the gates outside of his house that now stood in rubble. Tyre snapped out of whatever daze he was in and brought the knife down. Adam dodged the blade in time for it to miss his chest but still, it made contact, plunging deep into his stomach. He grimaced in pain only slightly.
“Do not look at me! Fight them!” He bellowed at me.
Whatever daze I was in, I abruptly came out of to join the common realm once again. Instantly, I sprung into action; I ran past a man charging me and snatched the dagger he was carrying right out of his hand.
Alright, genetic mutation. Show me what I can do, I thought just as a man got close enough for me to strike.
I stretched my arm out, spun in a circle and heard the sickening slash of skin as the knife cut through the charging man's throat. I felt the warm spray of blood on my arm as I slammed my hand onto the ground to stop my body from spinning anymore. Without looking, I threw the knife sideways; I heard another man's bones cracking around the serrated blade after it forcefully entered his chest cavity. My head jerked in my second victim's direction before my legs carried me to him. He was falling forward, grasping his chest. In a blur of movement, I ripped the knife from his chest, placed my hands on his shoulders, and propelled myself into a flip through the air before landing on my feet.
Two younger men were facing me. In them, I sensed no darkness. I saw no evil in their hearts as I had seen inside of the others I had just killed. They stared at me in horror, trembling, awaiting my move. The guns in their hands rattled as they shook. They never raised them.
“Go home, gentlemen.” I whispered after taking a much needed deep breath.
They looked at me, looked at each other, and then turned to run. Two gunshots rang out behind me and I looked down at myself; they were loud enough that I knew they had been made by a sufficiently large shotgun. If I had been shot, the bullets would have blown open a hole in my abdomen, given the close proximity of the shooter.
But I was not
the wounded party; the two boys who had run were. They had fallen to the ground, their top halves messes of blood and flesh. I will admit that I felt an unimaginably strong surge of pain through my body at seeing such innocent creatures taken so cruelly before what could ever rightfully be their time. As the despair assuaged, outrage took its place. I knew exactly who stood behind me, wielding that gun. Only he would feel the need to carry such a large weapon, for he would not accept nature's power.
Rich Bachum turned the muzzle of the shotgun so that it was pointed at me. I understood suddenly why Adam showed and perhaps felt no fear. He wished to die an honorable death. I would never fall to my knees, sniveling and pleading like a coward. I would not shed a tear. I would not attempt to forge a deal. I would die the same way I had always lived: in defiance of cowardice.
“At last we meet, Mr. Bachum.”
“Do not say my name, you disgusting freak!” He shouted and I frowned in revulsion when a large wad of spit flew from his mouth as he spoke.
“I can sense that I have been living in your mind rent-free.”
“You were raised well! You're from Earth! You...” He took a step towards me, “vile...” Another step and he raised the shotgun so that it was aligned with my head, “whore!”
I expected him to fire after he was finished that particular sentiment. However, his shaking hands just held the gun even more firmly.
“Ooh...” I sang with a grin and chuckle, “vile! An honorable choice of words, Mr. Bachum.”
“What did I just say?! I do not want to hear my name coming from your disgusting mouth!”
“Pull the trigger, Mr. Bachum.” I ordered softly, tauntingly.
“I am warning you!”
“Are you a big enough man to do it, Mr. Bachum?”
The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) Page 83