Silent Eden

Chapter Two

Zanthius could move over the rocky shores of the island with no trouble at all. Many seasons of practice allowed him a delft ability to climb, jump and maneuver without winding himself. He could hear his islander comrades in the water, shouting to one another about the kelp that grew in the underwater bottoms of the island. The water rose and fell around the island without become tides.

Wind blew through his deep brown hair, leaving damp curls to cling to his high forehead. The smell of the island had changed quite suddenly as he had been climbing back to his hut. Turning back, he caught glimpse of a flash of light on the part of the island that had been left for ruin since long before his ancestors had come to the paradise.

The ruins hovered above him in crumbling towers and parapets. Glassless, empty windows had become homes for the paradise birds that made their homes on the island. Here, it was much quieter than elsewhere. Although he could still hear the shouts of kelp harvesters, he could no longer hear the noise of the rest of the island. No trees grew in the ruins. Brush had begun to grow, but it barely reached through the stone cracks of the strange, alien place and grew no higher than his knees. The hard blue and black berries that they produced weren’t for eating. He would never seen any animals trying to eat them, so he didn’t bother picking any.

Zathius knew that there were animals here, but he seldom ever saw them. They were quicker than he was, and the birds were wise enough to nest in the high, windowless walls, far away from predators.

He glanced over his bare shoulder. For some reason, he felt as though he were being watched. It was nonsense, since none of the island folk ever came to the ruins. There had been talk of returning to them, but it was so hard to keep the ghosts of the past from bothering the eldest and youngest, the rosy skinned peoples remains in their little villages on the island, keeping far away from the stony and strange towers. Too much talk of hauntings.

He spotted something laying on the ground between two crumbling columns. Taking a deep breath, he felt the lesser of his two hearts skip at the sight of pale skin and hair. Pirates? It couldn’t have been a pirate. Possible, but very unlikely, he thought as he slid down a slope of gravel. The skin was far too pale. But perhaps it was a Mainlander. Unlikely, as there hadn’t been a Mainlander on the island in many decades.

Stopping suddenly, he took a good, hard look at the creature lying in a heap on the stones. The brown rags showed that there was no rank of significance, despite the pale skin. Upon further approach, he could see the curve of a hip, slender legs and thin fingers and a thin, young face.

He reached out carefully, touching sandy blonde hair with careful fingers. It was hard to tell who or what this person was. Mainlanders had a taste for Islanders, he was told once. He didn’t believe they were capable of eating an entire islander, but there was no point in taking the chance. Taking the hilt of his knife, he lifted her lip, taking a good, hard look at the pale things’ teeth.

They were flat and pale yellow. It was unlikely that it ate any sort of meat, never mind the leathery skin and tough flesh of any island dweller. Replacing the knife to his hip, Zanthius crept closer, pulling aside the pale creatures brown rags so he could listen for its heartbeats.

Two tiny breasts were covered in a rag of yellow. It was female. Well, he wondered; At least it had a sex. That could have been considered a good sign. He pressed his ear against her belly, listening carefully for the drumbeat of her sun and moon hearts. He could only hear one firm heartbeat. Just the one, single heart beating in her chest.

It was no wonder she was so pale, then. Pulling back, he checked her fingers. Five fingers on each hand, but no webbing. She wasn’t any kind of island kin he knew of. Turning her face towards him, he brushed aside her hair, peering carefully into the pale skin and brows. Using his thumb, he checked her eyes for any sort of consciousness. The blue orb was rolled back. She wasn’t feigning anything as far as he could tell. But blue eyes? He would never heard of anyone off the island with blue eyes before, neither Pirate nor mainlander. It was possible that there were other types of humans and Earth folk that he had never heard of, since he didn’t leave the island, but it seemed unlikely. Perhaps she was a mutant, or even an alien. The strange symmetrical blue mark on her face might have been explained like that.