Eden

Chapter Fourteen: Damnation

I lay on a bed of moss since Jackson insisted on staying up. As my mind drifted away I thought about Jace. No doubt was he resting somewhere safe, he had to be. I pictured him lying, cold, and pale somewhere in the jungle. I shudder at the thought. I can't think of him like that! Not Jace, he was the best of us. It should be me.

I remember his marigold hair. The way it twisted around his head like vines. And the muddy green color of his eyes. I imagined him reading in his own library, he deserved one. He liked to read a lot, I noticed. I never read in my own free time. I didn't ever have free time.

"KIRSTEN!" Jackson screams, overtaken by a squawking sound, "Kirsten!"

My body stands immediately, despite my eyes still being closed. As I open my eyes I see chimpanzees surrounding us. I lunge for the bag and run over to Jackson. Teeth marks are all over his skin, and over his bandage.

Jackson has a stick in his hand, he tries to fend off the chimpanzees with it. I kick one in the face, we take off running as they chase us. Their little squeaks grew fainter in the distance.

❋ ❋ ❋

I sit with Jackson by a stream, rubbing the blood off of him.

"Ouch! God damn it, Kirsten!"

"Shut up," I snap, "Let me clean your arm. I don't want it to get infected."

"Is it going to scar?"

"Probably."

"Great."

"They'll probably remove it once we get out," I sigh, "This isn't really my thing."

"What?"

"Blood and guts."

"I thought you hunted, the irony is laughable."

"I make sure they have a quick death, I don't like watching." I whisper, "I don't like violence."

"I hate it here."

"Everyone does."

"What if everyone stopped watching it? What if the Communities refused to send us anymore?"

"They won't."

"But what if?"

"There are no what-ifs, Jackson. We're here now, it doesn't matter." I snap in annoyance, "This is our life. There's no point in trying to dream ourselves out of it. Violence is their religion, in their prayers, they pray for our blood to be marked on their walls. We are their sacrifice so they can feel adequate in this new world. God is their favorite inspiration. Obedience is their violence. There's no sense in changing it."

"Then they're blind, blind obedience to any God, violent or not, is foolish. Devotion to violence is cruelty, no matter what they say."

"Not the way they see it. They see us as a sacrifice, Jackson, they think in order to sacrifice us then we will all be saved. Haven't you noticed? Then once we're out of this hell hole we become religious idols for them to fawn over, to mock, to spit on, to touch."

"I don't want to be theirs."

"There's no point in fighting them. There's no point in fighting the rain, it'll come anyway."

"Kirsten, will you promise me something?"

"I've been making a lot of promises lately, what do you want from me?"

"If I get changed, I want you to shoot me. And take care of Mimi for me. Do you promise?"

"I'm not going to shoot you." I scoff, "Don't be ridiculous."