The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) (94 page)

             
James laid Penny down on the bed and muttered to me that he w
as going to run her a bath. He kissed my forehead before he walked away. Furiously, I began to wipe the blood from Penny's face, cringing as several drops came close to rolling into her eyes. Her soft cries of terror clawed my heart viciously. Only rage co
uld bandage those wounds. I was far beyond angry. My rage extended to so many different people, I could barely keep their faces straight. James's handsome face dissolved into Don's and then to Adam's. I saw my mother, who would have such cutting words to s
ay about the incident; I saw Maura, who was not there... I rubbed my temples as my head pounded.

             
When James reappeared to tell me the bath was ready, I scooped Penny up and pushed past him  furiously. When he attempted to follow me in to the bathroom, I s
lammed the door in his face and turned the lock. I listened as he rattled the doorknob.

             
Penny had suffered minimal physical wounds. A few scratches on her skin were the worst of the damage. A small raised bump on her forehead was little cause for concern.
The man's blood swirled around her in the steaming bathwater. Even the lavender and wildflower infused soap could not erase his smell. I hummed softly to her, attempting to soothe her with my voice. The song and the soap were lulling her to sleep. By the
time I wrapped a towel around her, her cries had stopped and her eyes were drooping. Her head nestled under mine as I carried her back out into the bedroom.

             
“Vamoose.” I muttered to James after I had moved to the dresser beside the window.

             
“I know you're
pissed off but for the life of me, Brynna, I cannot decipher exactly what I did to you this time.” He whispered back angrily.

             
“Take your self-righteous indignation out into the hallway.” I raised my voice to a conversational volume but did not betray my
disgust and rage to him just then. I would not show my anger in front of Penny. I would not argue with James in front of her the way my mother and father had fought viciously in front of Elijah, Violet and me.

             
“Don't even start this shit with me. After wh
at happened...”

             
I sat down on the bed and looked over my shoulder at him.

             
“Go.” I ordered firmly. My eyes were set in steely resolve.

             
“I am getting really sick of your bullshit. Just so you know.”

             
The door slammed behind me. I wanted to follow him,
screaming until my lungs were devoid of air about showing his childish anger in front of my sister while she was so upset. However, if I were to do that, it would be quite hypocritical. The whole statement would be rendered moot by my own immature show of
rage. I dressed Penny quietly, shushing her when her cries began again.

             
“What happened?!” Violet and Elijah had come running in.

             
“Be quiet!” I snapped at them before looking back at Penny. She was looking at me with big, terrified eyes. Tears streamed fr
om them down her round cheeks again. I pressed my lips to her forehead and continued stroking her hair. I held my hand out behind me and mimed silently for Elijah and Violet to stay away until she was asleep. They obeyed.

             
The terrible events of the early
morning had taken their toll on her. The physical exertion of what she had done had exhausted her body. The terror of killing a living being had wrung her young mind dry. What she needed more than anything was a long sleep. When she awoke, we would deal wi
th the after-effects of such a terrifying occurrence.

             
My sister was five years old when she killed a man. It had been in self-defense and because she was changing early. I would remind her of that everyday. Everyday, her mind would find that evil man and
she would succumb to a guilt far beyond her years. I prayed to a God I did not believe in every night that she would forget his face. But every morning that followed, I would realize, begrudgingly and with fury in my heart, that my prayers had gone unanswe
red.

             
Don and James were talking furiously at the top of the stairs that led to our floor. I approached them, honing in on the conversation before they noticed my presence.

             
“Things got out of control and for that, I do apologize.” Don was saying quickly,
“Those two women will be buried but Donovan must be saved.”

             
“He tried to kill her! He tried to kill a five year old girl!”

             
“We cannot hold him accountable for what he did.”

             
“He wasn't even high, Don! Where is your head at right now?!”

             
“I do not judge
people for what they do. I
can't
, James. That would go against everything I believe in! When I brought people here, I promised them a place to live where they would not be judged.”

             
“You can't be serious! He raped and killed two women! He tried to kill Pen
ny! What kind of
message is this going to send to your people? You're going to let them believe that you tolerate rape and murder?!”

             
“Precisely. Humans are inbred with dark desires. We all have them, James. You can't deny that. I cannot hold Donovan respo
nsible for doing exactly what I said I would allow.”
             

             
“You said you would allow assault and...”

             
“
No
. I said that there would be no rules. This is a consequence of that notion but every great society has moments of downfall.”

             
“So, this is a great society
now? That's what this is about?”

             
I had approached them. Don's expression soured upon seeing my face. I scowled at him darkly, my heart racing in rage at all he had said.

             
“This is not a great society, Don. This is a circus.” I spat at him, “You will hold
that abhorrent pig responsible for what he did to my sister. If he had killed her, I would have
destroyed
him. In fact, I will still kill him for what he did!”
             
“You most certainly will not!” Don shot at me, “Two wrongs do not make a right, Brynna, and I
will thank you to remember that!”

             
“I will rip his body apart. If I could also consume his despicable soul, you can bet your life that I would! If I could steal from him whatever eternal salvation awaits us when we depart this world, I would!”

             
“I might no
t have any rules for you to follow, Brynna, but you will not touch him.” Don ordered in fury, “I might not like order but as long as we are all living here, we will not harm each other.”

             
“He killed two women! He tried to kill my sister! That is harming pe
ople, is it not? Where do those events fit in your idealistic world of bullshit?!”
             
Yes. I cursed.

             
“Get yourself under control before you come downstairs.” His eyes glared into mine, “James, you are responsible for her. If anything happens, I will throw a
ll of you out. Is that understood?”

             
“We are leaving! And he most certainly is not responsible for me!” I exclaimed angrily before storming away.

             
“You can't leave! There's no safe place out there for you, Brynna! Your father is looking for you! He has a b
ounty on your head! You have nowhere to go!”

             
“Ignore her. She's just having one of her little girl tantrums.” James told him loudly as he leaned against the wall.

             
I turned around, walked up to him, and slapped him so hard across the face that Don gasped.

             
“What the f...” James started to say but I hit him again.

             
“I am already livid. My fury is directed right at you. Do not tempt me to commit violent acts. Do you understand me?!” I growled furiously after my eyes had turned red.

             
“Let me tell you somethin
g, you crazy...” James began.

             
I turned and huffed away before opening and closing the door to Violet's room. Her suitcases were still lying on the floor, only half-empty. We had been in Don's house for weeks and still, she had not unpacked completely. I w
ondered if perhaps she was wary of staying or if she knew that I would make us leave. For a moment, my heart jolted in guilt. How could I uproot their lives when I knew how much they loved living there?

             
Because two women were killed and those other people
in the house enjoyed recklessly indulging their most carnal inclinations. Because heavy drug use was not only allowed, it was encouraged. What more did I need to know?

             
The door to the room slammed and James stormed up to me. His hands grasped my upper ar
ms painfully as he spun me to face him.

             
“That is enough!” He snarled with his face close to mine, “You are not going anywhere. Your father wants you dead. If he gets you alive, there is no saying what he'll do to you! I am not going to have that on my con
science. Have I made myself perfectly clear?!”

             
“Do you really think that I am going to obey your orders like I am some intellectually insufficient, pitifully smitten schoolgirl, James Maxwell!? I will not stay here another day and you will not follow me!
What happened to Penny is your fault! You were high and you were not there for her!”

             
“Newsflash, sweetheart, neither were you!”

             
I swung my fist up to hit him but he grasped my wrist firmly. Beneath his fingers, the bone began to break. I barely winced.

             
“Hit me again and watch what happens.” He warned me and now his eyes were blazing red, too.

             
“Let go of me!” I shouted at him before pushing him with my free hand. “If I had not been going downstairs to check on you, I never would have breathed in that
smoke! It is your fault that I wasn't there for Penny! You were so recklessly stupid! You were so childish, wanting to get high because all of your stupid friends were! You are so
stupid
, James!”

             
The hand I was pushing him with flew up to slap him again.
That was when whatever fragile hold he had on his anger was lost. That was when whatever remaining juice from the Peace Fruit that was flowing through his veins whispered angrily to him that he had to defend his physical health and his masculinity.

             
James
had been gifted with great strength. As a result, in a physical fight, he would inflict great damage on me. I wished that I had remembered that, but it was too late by the time I realized it.

             
His arms wrapped around me and lifted my small body up. Then,
he slammed me down hard on Violet's bed. Despite the thick padding between the two coverings, my back hit the hardwood floor beneath the bed.

             
Do you remember how I described to you the feeling of one cornered? Well, when James pinned my arms above my head
with one of his hands, I fought with that same desperate, mindless, intensity. I forgot the notion of suppressing my fear in order to avoid being seen as weak. I screamed and kicked him. I lunged forward, trying to sink my teeth down into his throat. Noth
ing, not even my best effort, could successfully subdue or even weaken him.

             
He was hissing insults at me through his clenched teeth. If he was to be believed, I was both a female dog and a mental patient. Most disgustingly, he spat out a derogatory slang
term for a woman's lower anatomy once or twice. I fought to free myself from his grasp, all the while bracing for the moment when his fists began to rain hard, excruciating blows upon me. I had fought my father just like that so many times. I could not bel
ieve that the man I loved was capable of the same cruelty.

             
“James, stop it!” I screamed after dodging the first punch he threw at me, “JAMES! STOP!”

             
The second punch landed hard on my jaw.

             
I was horrified to see that his eyes had dissolved back into tha
t deep blue of the fruit's juice. Somehow, the Peace Fruit (so stupidly named) still held him in its grasp.