Genesis 2.0 (Monster Apocalypse Survival) Sci-Fi/DarkFan/Horror

Chapter Thirty-five

Lips still tingling from the kiss we shared, I turn from Daniel and start searching the cavern. It’s hard to focus on the task at hand, my mind keeps wandering back to his words.

I surrender. The warmth of his sigh still lingers on my lips. I can’t resist you any longer. I don’t care if I burn forever, as long as I have you first.

Has he really just signed his own death warrant? Had he put himself in so much danger by admitting his feelings for me? Now, I believe I understand why many of the girls in school were overly dramatic about boys. Guys, themselves, are drama.

I can’t think of anything but Daniel, and the possible danger he’s just brought upon himself.

“You need to worry about more than just that,” Aeriel’s disapproving voice cuts through the gravel crunching under my feet.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, careful to keep my voice low, which is next to useless considering every sound made echoes around us in chaotic whirls, words overlapping each other, until it’s all a big jumble of incomprehensible sentences.

Grabbing my forearm, she turns me to face her, her mouth set in an angry line.

“It means that after all this is over, after we’ve found the Tree, and hopefully saved mankind, Daniel and I will return to our home, where he will pay for his every sin, while you carry on living the life every human dreams of. We’ll have restored order to all this chaos.”

My face must mirror the confusion and disbelief warring in my mind. Aeriel straightens to her full height, and glares down at me. “Do you honestly believe there’s a happily-ever-after for you and Daniel?”

At a loss for words, I merely stare at her.

“You do, don’t you? Heavens bless you,” she huffs. “You’re much more immature than I thought.” And with that, she stalks away.

My eyes search out, and find Daniel, across the cave, his deft hands swiftly moving across every square inch of stone wall. He is a celestial being, an angel, a creature who doesn’t belong in my world.

How can I be so stupid? Aeriel’s right, there’s no future for us. So why does it feel like I’ll die without him in my life? Why do my lungs feel like they’re filled with water when I envision the future without him?

He can’t stay here, and I can’t go with him. So, in essence, I do have more to worry about. I can’t live with him, but I also can’t live without him. We crossed than line mere moments ago.

“I’ve found something!”

My gaze zips back to Daniel just as he pulls a pile of dusty debris from a small crevice. He cradles the grayish mound in his palm, his eyes radiantly glowing. Bringing the find toward his face, he blows across the pile, and smoke fills the air. It’s like he’s found a lamp, and then rubs it.

Scenes fast forward in mid-air before me. Quickly shifting images of war, geological decimation, genocide, battles fought in the name of God, murder committed at the whims of mad men, fires raging the Earth, Tsunamis crashing to land – erasing entire cities, earthquakes swallowing every living thing in sight, meteors falling from the sky – wiping out entire populations, and on, and on.

My mind fills with screams of agony, echoing across time, and land. Then, when I feel the need to puncture my skull, hoping to relieve the pressure beating against my cerebral walls, all the sounds, and images collide, twisting into a swirling vortex, and disappear back into Daniel’s hand.  The whole scene sounds like a zipper forcefully closing, or someone dragging a needle across a turning record.

“Andrea?” I look up, my gaze connecting with Daniel’s in answer to his concern. I barely register the confusion marring his face before succumbing to the darkness.

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A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. Hope this chapter makes up for it. 🥰