Saving Eden

Chapter Two: A Pretty Nice Rock (Part 1)

Angela stopped trying to wake him after she realized that poking and shaking him was doing absolutely nothing. Instead she sat with him, full of apprehension. She held his hand and waited.

Being outside the gates of the garden put Angela on edge. Even though she was only a short walk away from her home, she felt as if she had entered a forbidden and dangerous world. Rather than the luscious plants and flowers that grew within their garden, the soil under her bare feet was hard and the brown grass struggled to rise from it. The branches on the trees bore no leaves, and the lack of shade caused the sun to sting her skin.

Angela inspected the boy. Blood and dirt covered both his golden skin and the dark hair that fell halfway down his face. Despite his current state, Angela found the smooth features of his face to be handsome.

Happiness bubbled up inside Angela when, after what felt like forever, she saw his eyes open weakly and heard him murmur something inaudible.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, "How are you feeling?"

His body was still, but his eyes shifted to meet hers. The expression on his face was incredibly calm for someone who had blacked out for so long.

Though the mass the tree limbs above him partially eclipsed his view of the setting sun, the exposed light shining in his face caused him to squint. He didn't seem to notice the worry apparent on Angela's face.

"Music girl," he murmured. His started to close his eyes again.

"Please stay awake," Angela reach towards him and touched his cheek. His eyes blinked open.

Angela suddenly felt shy. She had never spoken to anyone but her father before. She plucked at a loose string on the bottom of her dress and looked down.

The boy sat up straighter now, placing his hand on his bleeding head to survey the damage.

"How did you find this place?" he asked with bewilderment in his voice. That voice, smooth and deep, sounded as good as music to Angela.

"I'm not really sure myself," Angela admitted, knowing he was referring to her garden."I grew up here."

The boy looked over her homemade dress and her bare feet. He studied her facial expression for answers that he couldn't find, but his body relaxed as he realized that Angela wasn't going to hurt him.

"Beautiful," he finally said.

Angela's face grew warm, "Excuse me?"

"Your garden. It's beautiful, it looks completely unaffected," he finally said. "The soil is soft, the fruit tastes good. So much food. Is this was the world was like when our great-grandparents were alive?"

"I'm not sure why this land is healthy," she admitted.

"But how did you find this place? What were you doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?" he queried. "And how the hell did you get a piano out here?"

This caused Angela to giggle. She found it amusing that out of all things, he was curious about her piano.

"I could ask you the same question," she dodged. "About being out here, of course, not about having a piano."

She did not know why her garden was healthy despite the barren land, but her father had always said they could never leave the garden for safety. She didn't want to offer any private information to a stranger.

"That's fair," he said. "My name's Jesse, I'm seventeen, and I'm out here because despite their official job descriptions, the Watchmen seem more interested in keeping the community in the city than in hunting down people who get out. I ran away because it was safer for me to be out here."

While the majority of what he had said confused Angela, she understood that he had run away from a community of other people. It was hard to contain her excitement at the prospect of other survivors. She was impressed that Jesse had ran away from his home, which was something that she had only daydreamed about.

"Who are the Watchmen?" Angela looked around the forest to see if there were any other strangers around. Jesse watched her face intently, trying to see if she was joking.

"Have you been living under a rock?" he finally asked.

Angela eyes grew wide with amazement, "Do people live under rocks where you are from?"

Jesse paused for a second, trying to pick up hints of sarcasm in Angela's voice.

"It's a figure of speech," Jesse took in Angela's blank expression. "Have you lived here forever?"

Angela looked down, folding her arms over her chest, "Pretty close, I guess."

He chuckled, "Well, it looks like you found yourself a pretty nice rock to live under. I don't understand how it hasn't been affected. I would apologize for stealing food...except if I didn't, I would not be alive to apologize so, sorry, not sorry. Survival of the fittest, you know?"

Angela giggled again. He seemed to speak in riddles. She had never heard the phrase 'survival of the fittest' but could guess at his meaning. He stole her food to stay alive.

"What's your name, and why do you live out here?" Jesse asked, breaking the silence.

Angela didn't know what was going on with the outside world, but she had realized long ago that her father was afraid to leave their home. Maybe her father didn't know about the community that Jesse was from.

"My name is Angela, and I live here because my father lives here. I don't know anything beyond that," Angela said cautiously. "I didn't have much choice in the matter because I was three years old when I first came here. I don't remember anyplace else. Where are you running away to?"

Jesse shrugged. "No destination, just hiding out and hoping for a miracle," he said, sitting up and resting his back against a nearby tree trunk. "Had a Watchman look up my CitCard credentials, which were fake, so I had to leave the city for a bit. I didn't really have a destination until I heard music in the distance. I followed the sound, then I stumbled upon your garden. I've never seen anything like it."

Angela's eyes widened, "A real city? Like, with thousands of people all living together?"

He chuckled. "Not thousands, but there are about five hundered survivors in my city. The population is growing, now that more women are having children again."

Angela wanted to ask more questions about the city, but decided her curiosity would have to wait. She knew her father's eyes would peek out of the curtains soon and he would not find her inside their gates. She didn't want him to notice her absence or to see the boy just yet. Now that Jessie was fully conscious, she had to leave him.

"I'll come back later, I promise. Will you wait for me here?" Angela asked.

"If you promise to bring me more food from the garden, I could be persuaded," Jesse said.

Angela swore to bring him a plate after dinner.