Breaking out of Eden.

Why Reading Is Bad For Your Health

The world faded to grey and I was standing on a flat empty grassland with the Keeper but he didn't seem to notice me, after a moment of him standing alone he spoke in another language. It was like nothing I had ever heard before, it was both beautiful and harsh. Rising and falling in a sorrowful melody.

As he continued with the haunting music colour began to appear, first only blues yellows and reds but then they began to mix to create swirls of every colour imaginable, it was truly the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

Small pinpoints of light began to form, from those insignificant pricks of light came people. Each of them looking around in wonder before looking down to find themselves unclothed but they didn't seem to mind. Soon the people began to become aware of those around them and they began to fashion clothes. First from leaves then firs and then linens. All the while the keeper stood and watched with that vacant smile playing on his lips.

Before my eyes civilisations began to form, I could see them, the people of Eden discovering their powers. Then those with stronger powers began to take charge, bands were formed. If you were in band 1 then your power was weak and if you were in band 10 then you were strong.

I could see the sorrows of the people in band 1 and feel the happiness radiating off of those who found themselves in a high band.

What baffled me was there were no wars in their history. If someone took over, the people would do nothing about it, it was as if they had no freedom.

I turned to see the keeper standing beside me watching his children grow and develop, he had a happy smile but he soon grew sad and angry. I could see why. The people began to become corrupt and greedy taking what was not theirs and killing those who they thought unworthy of the gifts that had been bestowed upon them .

After a time he turned away in disgust and horror and the world payed for it. The people grew worse and a sickness began. Children began to be born ungifted and the people killed them for it or they were thrown out onto the streets.

I saw every gift that had been given and my skin began to burn as more and more images swirled in front of my eyes until I could take no more of the suffering and the hate that I saw and I turned away, much like the keeper had.

All of a sudden I felt a lurch and I was back in my room with a burned book in my hands, after a moment it turned to ash and fell to the floor.

Almost as soon as the first ash fell, my brain began to process what had happened and I ran for the bathroom and promptly emptied the contents of my stomach, after that I had to run a cold shower my skin still felt as it was burning up and I could hear my erratic heart beats thumping in my ears.

I fell to the floor, clutching my head in pain. It felt like my brain was to big for my skull. My skin burned as I it felt change and harden.

In my minds eye I could still see the faces of the people of Eden, hear the cries of the ungifted and feel the pain that all of them went through when they discovered their gift.

There was too much information. I felt felt like anything I touched would crumble into nothingness.

A light came on in the hallway and and I could hear Maia's soft footsteps coming toward me. "Vally, are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine don't come in." I could feel myself panicking and the towel where my hand was resting began to smoke and burst into flames. I screamed as the fire began to spread.

"Valery I smell smoke!" Maia began to bang on the door, What's going on?"

"N...n...Nothing! stay away from the door." My mind felt too full, my body going through fit of searing hot pain then to shivering uncontrollably.

Through all of this I could just about see the bathroom was now in flames and I could do nothing but curl up into the foetal position and pray that the pain stopped.

Focusing on the flames I tried to cool them down and it seemed to work, the temperature plummeted. The flames were still at large but now I was freezing and the sink and shower had gained a soft covering of frost.

"Valery I'm coming in."

Maia pushed against the door and broke the lock, she stood at the door staring in disbelief "What did you do?"

All at once the pain stopped and I could breath easily again.

I could feel my tearstained cheeks and sore muscles. The only difference was my mind felt bigger, like something had been unlocked in it.

"Maia I need to tell you something."

After we put out the fire and called the plumber so he could fix the sink I told Maia everything from joining the Morning Star to reading the Genesis File.

"Show me."

"What?"

"Show me one of your powers."

"It's not that simple Maia, its not safe I can't control it."

She crossed her arms and leaned back into the sofa, flicking her dark hair out of her face "I don't believe you Valery, It's just to far fetched. It sounds like one of the stories you like to read."

"Fine, fine I'll do it but don't say I didn't warn you if something goes wrong."

I stood up and closed my eyes, focusing on small objects in the room I tried to raise them, I knew it had worked because I could feel the slight pull at the back of my mind and Maia's intake of breath. Opening my eyes everything fell to the floor with a crash.

Maia was on the other side of the room back up against the wall "What are you?"

"Maia it's me, Valery."

She shook her head, "no the Valery I knew was normal, your a..a freak of nature."

The insult stung me like a physical blow. I looked up to see Maia standing huddled against the wall, her Carmel coloured skin covered in a light sheen of sweat. she was shivering uncontrollably.

"Get out."

"What?"

"I said get out, whoever you are you aren't my friend you just look like her."

"Fine." I picked myself up off of the floor and ran towards the door not even noticing Maia wince when I brushed passed her.

I let the tears fall when I reached the street. This hurt more than when Mary and Able died, more than when I saw Matt and Becka and even more that Adam Eden's own personal brand of torture.

Maia was my best friend, my constant companion. Through thick and thin she had always been there for me and now she couldn't even look at me.

The amulet couldn't contain my grief as my tears mingled with the rain I had caused.

I wandered away from my home and my best friend, walking aimlessly, not even caring that this time I was soaked through, not even noticing where I was until the ground fell away and I realised that my feet had taken me to the docks.

I sat down and watched the sun rise and, as the rays of light lit up the sky red and gold, my heart seemed to break along with the dawn.

A/N

This chapter made me so sad and I hope you guys appreciate my pain.

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