Finding Eden (4 page)

After a couple minutes, I was about to give up on her answering, when she said, “No.” Her voice was rough. I felt a pang of remorse; I was sure it was my fault and I was probably the reason why she couldn’t sleep.

I rolled over to face her cot and said, “I won’t hurt you.”

She visibly relaxed and after all that went down tonight, I was finally able to fall asleep.

[ Elle
]

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I screamed. Waking up to this man hovering over me wasn’t a good end to my restful day’s sleep. My knife was unsheathed as quickly as I was on my feet. I held it up in front of me, warning him away. “Step back,” I hissed between my clenched teeth. I couldn’t believe I let myself trust him so easily.

He backed away and put his hands up in surrender. “Easy there, Kid.” He nodded towards his right hand. I narrowed my eyes. He was holding my burn cream. “I was going to apply it to your burns. I was just trying to help.” He kept his hands up.

I put my knife away and tried to unwind. Now that he mentioned it, I could feel the heat radiating from my back. It hurt. I was a human heater and that was one device I no longer had a need for. I flinched and he cocked his head to the side. As I stepped forward, I snatched the burn cream from his hand.

“I can do it myself.” I sat down on my bed, unscrewed the cap, squirted a single dollop into my hand, and gently massaged it into my sore flesh. I recoiled. It felt so cool against my skin. It was refreshing to say the least and it was a beautiful thing to be blissfully unaware of the searing pain. I put some on the back of my ears as well. “Is it all covered?” I hated asking for his help.

“Yes.”

“Listen…” I looked up at him, but this time I actually
really
looked at him. He was tall—like a good foot and a half taller than me. I could tell he was tan and his skin took on a glow against the candle light. He sported a short, military-style haircut. It made him look hard, but the way he always wore that smirk seemed to make me think otherwise. He was probably mid-to-late twenties, and I didn’t appreciate him calling me kid when I was, in fact, twenty-three. I think. I wasn’t quite sure what month it was any more.

             
Then I saw his eyes. One was bright, golden-brown. The other had a milky-white layer. It occurred to me that he was blind in one eye. It didn’t take away from his looks though. It actually kind of added to them. I momentarily wondered how he had lost sight in his left eye. I didn’t realize I was staring until he shifted uneasily on his feet.

“What?” He snapped. It was the first time he showed any negativity towards me. Even during our scuffle, he seemed in good humor. I’ve had a poor attitude the entire time. I immediately felt crappy—well, kind of.

“Listen,” I repeated, wanting to say his name, but realizing I had no idea what it was. “What’s your name?”

“I don’t do names.”

I groaned. I had to call him something. Why was he being difficult? And then it came to me. “Fine. In honor of our meeting place, I’ll call you
Tex
.” I started fiddling with the hem of my shorts. This was suddenly uncomfortable. “You can’t stay. I just don’t have enough supplies. I only have about enough to survive another month. I’d rather live another month alone than a week or two with you.” I immediately regretted saying it. It sounded much harsher than I intended. I quickly added, “It’s no offense to you.”

“Ouch!” He said with an expression of mock pain plastered across his face.

“Why is everything funny to you?” I frowned. I had a feeling it was all a façade, but I wasn’t sure why.

He didn’t answer my question.

“I can let you stay one more day, but then you have to leave.” I went on.

He nodded. “I appreciate it. I need to be gone tomorrow anyways. I have somewhere I’m heading.”

“Where’s tha—”

“Is the hunting knife your weapon of choice?” He interrupted quickly.

He cut me off.
How rude
, I thought to myself.
Rather, how
weird. I fingered the handle of my knife and nodded.

“I could teach you a few things, if you’d like.”

I bit down on my lip as I took in his offer and mulled it over. It was either that or press the issue of where he was heading. I decided that improving my weapon skills would be much more advantageous to me.

I agreed to his offer and gave him my name. He didn’t seem all that interested in knowing it.

“You’re better than I expected, Blondie.”

It was the first compliment I had received from Tex all evening. We were now outside since we needed more room than the bunker had to offer. We were both soaked in sweat and had finished off a bottle of water each. We had been at it for hours. He had shown me several techniques that I had all but mastered. I’d have to remind myself later to ask where he learned all of this.

I was on the reverse grip technique now. The handle was secured in my fist and the blade rested alongside my wrist. He told me it was perfect for slashing maneuvers. Although it wasn’t an effective move, it was still a good one to know.

“Okay, the last technique is called the hammer grip. It’s the preferred method because the knife is least likely to be knocked from your hand. Holding it this way, you can easily deliver a blow with most of your power and strength behind it.” He took the knife from me and made a fist around the handle, gripping it tightly. “You can easily cut through clothing this way and it works well when thrusting.” He returned the knife to me. “Make sure your forefinger is touching your thumb.”

I mirrored the way he had been holding it. The blade was angled up and I started to thrust towards the sky

“Good,” he approved. “You can cause damage at a distance with this technique. You can also slash and slice, as well as attack with the butt of the handle. You just have to be careful because now your hand and arm are vulnerable and your enemy will take advantage of that very quickly.”

I sliced and slashed at the air while working on the different stances he had taught me earlier that evening. I grunted, bringing the butt of the handle up and to the side. If someone had been there, it would have been a knock-out blow. 

“I’m beat,” Tex groaned, stretching his muscles out. He arched his back and his shirt edged slowly up his stomach. It was flat. He was obviously fit and tan, or maybe, that was just dirt. I was as pale as a vampire; after all, I had been living like one for so long. I was symbiotic with the desert now; dirt seemed to seep from my pores. Whether it was stained skin or a tan, it didn’t matter. He didn’t affect me in
that
way, at least I assured myself of that fact—and then, reassured myself afterward.

I put my knife back into its sheath and cracked my knuckles. It felt good. I had a feeling my right hand would be sore and even more calloused by the time I woke up tonight and had to say goodbye to Tex.

              It was weird. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that now. I hadn’t realized it until now, but it was nice not being alone for once.

[ Tex ]

I dug in my pack and took out two packaged wet wipes; I handed one to Blondie. I didn’t have to tell her what they were for. She hurriedly ripped open the tiny foil package and unfolded the damp cloth. She wiped the sweat and dirt off her face, neck, chest, underarms, and I followed suit.

I didn’t expect the girl to say thanks, but I guess she did it in her own way when she brought me over a bag of beef jerky. We shared several pieces between ourselves. I hadn’t touched any sort of meat in over two years, so I relished in it, taking my sweet time.

“Why is that your weapon of choice?” Elle asked between mouthfuls.

“My axe?” I pointed at my double-sided axe leaning against the wall.

“No, your flashlight.”
She bit off a piece of the jerky and narrowed her eyes. They gleamed playfully. It made me very uncomfortable.

“It was the closest thing I had to a weapon at home.” I could have told her about my arsenal of pistols I had taken with me, but I didn’t think she wanted to know why they were absent now. The truth was that I had run out of bullets. And it was public knowledge that guns are useless without bullets and she was the one person—right now, in this moment—that didn’t need to know. She could get frightened and kick me out into the daylight. Of course I wouldn’t allow that, which means I’d have to subdue her, or worse, kill her.

Like I killed all those people who tried to steal from me, emptying my clips into anyone who came upon me, threatening and promising to take all that I had left. Because this backpack and what filled it was
all
that I had left. I would trade it though, and every human being left on this godforsaken piece of rock, just to have them back.

Their faces slowly came back to me. Her soaked brown hair framed her horror-stricken face as she realized what was about to happen. One hand was reaching out to me in desperate hope; the other was grasping our little girl. That man had a vice grip on her neck, pulling her deeper under the water. The ocean water moved too quickly and pulled her from my reach. My little girl, only four, all brown curls tied up in pigtails, looked utterly frightened and confused while holding on to her mother. My wife screamed my name. I swam towards them, but the current was faster. The man trying to hold onto my wife to keep himself afloat pulled them under. And they were gone, just like that.

Of course, no one saw the tsunami coming. How would we have? There was no way for us to be alerted, not even a siren. It happened the day after the whole killer sun thing started. It was most likely the earthquakes that caused it. It engulfed the entire coast of California; San Diego was washed away along with most of its residents. The waves came in the late afternoon, so with the still bright, burning sun, it wasn’t like we could have gone to higher ground. We were doomed from the start and that greedy man hammered the final nails into their coffins.

I’d never forget his face—that murderer. I now savor the memory of him dying there. He was a selfish man, taking the lives of two innocents with him. It felt so good remembering it, remembering his demise; I prayed I never would forget it. I used to stay awake when I should have been sleeping, imagining what his last moments would have been like. I would have liked to think he might have given my family a fighting chance, but I knew he would have been narrow-minded until the very end. I would relish thinking of all the air escaping his lungs and then filling up with the burning salt water. I prayed it burned; I prayed that it was unbearable, excruciating. I would have liked to have seen the light leave his eyes as he choked on his own watery tomb.

“You’ll never forget whose face?” The kid asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. I hadn’t realized I said it out loud. I silently cursed my stupidity. I took a deep breath and ran my fingers over my head. “Tex?” She questioned further.

I wasn’t just quick on my feet. “A man I saw. He drowned in the tsunami.”

“There was a tsunami?” Blondie’s voice grew in pitch with each syllable until it was just a squeak.

“Yeah, it wiped most of the coast off the map.” I showed no emotion.

She blanched. Her entire demeanor changed in an instant. She completely froze and it reminded me of when we had first arrived here after the gas station incident.

“Oh, no, you’re not doing this again, Kid!” I knelt down in front of her, staring up into her eyes. I waved my hand back and forth.
“Earth to Blondie. Come back to me.”

“Mom… Dad…” The words barely passed through her lips. “I’m sorry.” A single tear made a damp trail down her cheek, cleaning away the dust. I wanted to wipe it away, but it wasn’t my place. The desire must have come from having a daughter.
Or a wife.

She looked so small. I just wanted to pick her up and tell her everything would be okay. Again, the desire must have come from having a daughter.
Or a wife. And it was a lie. Nothing would ever be okay, not anymore.

“Talk to me.”

She didn’t.

I pressed my lips together, thinking. After a moment, I reached forward and poked her cheek.

Still no reaction.

“Hey, Blondie!”
I poked her nose. Again, there was nothing, so I reached behind her, grabbed her braid that hung down to her waist, and gave it a yank.

She blinked. I beamed at my success. It was like I was playing with my little girl again.

“My dad and mom,” she started without me having to ask again, “went back into town the next night, after everything began. I was angry that they didn’t go back for my friends the day we left. I was so tired that I slept through them sneaking out. I woke up to a note…” Elle reached under her pillow and retrieved a piece of paper that looked like it was handled a thousand times before.

Elle,

We were going to surprise you with something, but we didn’t want to make you worry about our absence if you woke up before we returned. We’ll be back before sunrise.

We love you, our sweet little Elle.

Mom & Da
d

“It doesn’t say anything about going back for your friends.” I frowned, reading the note once again.