Chapter Seven
Sure, it was uncanny how similar they were, but it definitely couldn't be him. I mean, it was impossible, right? The blonde hair, muscular frame and pink eyes were the same, but honestly, Adam never could have gotten here that quickly.
And yet here he is, strikingly similar, standing not two feet away from me, while I am struck speechless. I attempt to collect myself and am reminded that I'm not in my true form – I'm a long haired, redheaded teen that's just looking to flirt. Somehow, with his stare boring into me like that, I can't convince myself. Adam gives me my cue to begin acting like the marionette I am.
"Hello, sweetheart. Anybody home?" He winks and I blush furiously while winding a strand of ruby hair around my finger, aiming my gaze downwards. I respond, looking up at him again and raising a delicate eyebrow.
"Who's asking?" I respond coquettishly. Adam chuckles and leans on the doorframe, closing in on me, I notice. Flustered, I try to keep up my façade, but in vain. He's got me, I can tell.
I can't hide anything from those rosy eyes, those eyes that stare into me and can predict my every move with ease. Before long, I felt the familiar sense of realization crack down hard on my conscience.
Adam has found me, and probably intends to kill me.
No, I think, staring into his eyes again. No, not those eyes that both threaten and adore. He doesn't want to kill me, he cares about me too much. He intends to kill Sven, Rinslet and…
Train?
The sudden realization dawns on me, and then everything goes black.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
Sometimes, people dream to escape from the real world for a time, to make their fantasies come true in a world designed for their pleasure and contentment. Then again, I wasn't exactly what you would call a "person," was I? Therefore, dreams were insignificant to me. Because I really had no hopes or dreams like everyone else, and I rarely dreamt. When I did, it was all computer generated, based on someone else's ambitions, but not my own. Never my own.
The man who had created me was curious. One of my earliest memories was this one.
"The process is almost complete."
"How much longer?" an impatient voice demanded. A pause, filled with the click, clack of computer keys. The man at the computer answered vaguely.
"A matter of seconds, sir. She should be able to hear us now."
"Really? That's extraordinary…" The man's voice sounded interested, and very pleased. Muffled footsteps came closer, stopping abruptly a few feet away. A woman's voice came from everywhere at once.
"Project: NanoRobotics is complete. Checking functions." I was aware that my eyes had been opened, a light shining into them, one at a time. The light disappeared and I was faced with a life-like mannequin holding a gun to my head. I aimed my eyes at the defenseless ragdoll, red lasers disintegrating him. I nimbly stepped over a pile of ash that had been the mannequin not five seconds earlier.
Pleased, my lips lifted upwards and parted, exposing my teeth, my canines peeking over my lips, vampire-like. The rotund man that had been watching from the sidelines led me to a chair, gesturing for me to sit. I obeyed, still smiling. The man scratched his chin thoughtfully, seemingly thinking. Finally, after a matter of moments, he snapped his fingers, I was led to a small bed and my eyes were asked to be closed. I obeyed, ever faithful. Multiple wires were attached to my head, and an electric shock ran through my body, causing it to "sleep." That was the first time I dreamt.
To describe that dream is to describe a colorful sunrise to a blind man. Nearly impossible. So I settle for this – it was disconcerting. I shake my head do dispel the thought of that dream, and instead fall into a fitful sleep, silently begging for no dreams.
I am back in the Garden. It's beautiful as ever, the same as I left it except for one exception.
Adam is absent.
I look around uneasily, sensing something amiss. Of course, everything is the same. Gathering my white-as-snow dress, I run to the stream, the cool grass swishing behind me. As I get closer and closer to the stream, pushing away hanging willow branches, I can already tell that I came to the wrong place. Adam is not here. I let go of my dress and just let it flutter in the wind. Its paleness is accented by the lush grass underfoot.
Since there is nothing else to do, I sit on the riverbank, letting the cool water lick my feet, going all the way up to my ankles. Giggling, I notice some fish, rubbing their glossy scales on the underside of my foot. They are off soon, so I dry my wet feet and quickly head to the clearing again, to check if Adam has made his entrance.
He hasn't, of course. It was foolish of me to expect him to come, I scold myself. There's no use in pouting. I might as well just relax – after all, Adam's presence has always put me on edge. He's so intense that I'm holding my breath whenever he does something and flinch when he says something.
Nothing like being with Train. With Train, I feel like we belong together, and he always makes me laugh. Black Cat is the cutest cat I know, and he's so loyal to everyone. It hurts me to see him mourn over Saya, but he's gotten better, and I'm happy for him. He's my best friend… and maybe something more.
Of course, Adam has to pick that exact moment to approach me – without his shirt on, I might add. If I had a heart, it would be beating in my chest so hard, I could be sure that Adam could hear it. He's so gorgeous, he takes my breath away.
"Adam," I manage to squeak out. "W-where were you?" I curse myself for stuttering. Adam takes no notice.
"That doesn't matter now." He purrs, taking my face in both of his hands, his eyes staring into mine searchingly. I frown.
"What's wrong?" Sitting up, I look at him worriedly, but I notice that he doesn't meet my gaze. Looking at something in the distance, he sighs deeply. Eyeing me, he comes so close to my face that his piney scent overwhelms me and I close my eyes, smiling. Wait, I think. Piney scent…
Train! My brain instantly makes the connection, and I force my eyes to snap open. Instead, reluctantly, sleepily, I open them. Unconsciously, I play my part, bringing Adam's face close to mine. He seems surprised, but attempts to hide his feelings. I place my lips on his, knowing that's what he wants. Adam senses my reluctance but doesn't pull back. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot his eyes closed and a look of intense desire takes over his face. I try and pull away, but he holds me close, not wanting the moment to end. I pull away strongly this time, with more force, and resist the desire to wipe my lips with the back of my hand. The god in front of me has to believe that I wanted that kiss, that I needed it. He smiles at me approvingly, and I instantly regret kissing him. Jerk.
My thoughts travel to Train, wishing that I had kissed him like that instead of this player that conned me into loving him. The way I loved Train was real, deeper than the ocean, higher than the sky. Wait, what was I thinking? Did I really love Train that much? As more than a friend? Oh, the push and pull of love… The thought was dizzying, so instead I stayed focused at the task at hand.
Adam's face had turned hard as stone. I tried a smile, but I definitely couldn't win him over with just that this time.
I was so focused on trying to win him over that it wasn't until later that I realized what was happening. The lush green grass beneath me was the first to go. Sure, it stayed green but instead of keeping cropped close to the ground, wayward, twisted vines were born from multiple strands of grass braided together and they coiled around my ankles, holding tightly.
The multiple bushes that signaled the end of the clearing transformed into barbed wire that snapped out viciously at anyone who dared get close. Those bushes had been so charming before, trimmed to perfection, but still enough to make them appear naturally pretty.
The wonderful willow trees hanging over the stream had been beautiful, the beloved part of the Garden, but now their branches and thick, steady trunks became black as death, and every leaf transformed into a slice of steel, deadly to the touch.
A scream caught in my throat.
I understood now. This place, this Garden of Eden represented Adam. On the outside he was a god, the prince of everyone's hearts, but on the inside, he was like a black, vicious spider, entangling everyone unwise enough to adore him in his web of lies. And if I was his soul mate, as the Bible specified, then I was like that too. I almost cried at this. No, no, no. This wasn't me. I was pure, sweet, innocent Eve, Sven's Princess, Rinslet's Evekat and Train's Evening. Adam was a psychotic, mad, enraged villain whose only target was to kill Train and keep me prisoner forever in his Garden of Evil.
When I wake up, I'm gasping, and I am surrounded by darkness.
It's that kind that seems like it has a life of its own, the black swirling, trapping you in its blindness. You can almost feel the thickness, touch it, and it drowns you like a deadly quicksand made up of nightmares. It watches your every move with cruel eyes of its own, making your fears come to life.
I felt suffocated, covered in the stuff up to my throat, but I knew this was Adam's intention, so I tried my best to push the thought away.
As my eyes adjusted, I could make out certain features of the room.
There was a cot backed up against a wall, identical to my own. Many others were lined up beside each other, row after row after row, in a never ending line that was eventually swallowed up by the inky black. They seemed like hospital beds, almost, though instead of holding patients struggling for life, the figures under the milky white blankets were still. I could sense no breath of life from any of the cots, and the only thing that was heard throughout the huge room was the sound of my own labored breathing.
At that moment, I couldn't muster up the courage to lift the sheets and look at all of the people Adam had killed in his rampage for power. The pain, hatred, amazement and shock inside me were too great.
Pain, because someone as ethereal and admired as Adam had used his powers for evil.
Hatred that he was a fraud and a liar.
Amazement that he had the will to do all of this to others.
And finally…
Shock that he had no conscience.
He had so much blood on his hands, and yet he took no notice of it. It was disgusting. Sure, you might think me full of myself, for I too had killed before. But I had reason to – there are people out there that deserve to die more than anyone else, and yet they live. There are people out there that deserve to live more than anyone else, and yet they die. My role in this world is to keep those people deserving to be alive, alive. And my other one? To kill those that deserve to die. That's what sweeping is all about.
The real Adam, the cruel Adam, not the kind one I knew, brought tears to my eyes. Why would he do this? Sobs wracked my body, and I sat there for a very long time, crying for Adam, even though deep down, I knew he didn't deserve my sympathy. I couldn't stop myself, though. I cried anyway.
Finally, after my tears had subsided, my gaze locked on the cot nearest to me. A small voice inside me whispered, Maybe he didn't kill after all. Maybe these bodies are just sleeping. I smiled at the tiny flicker of hope inside of me, appreciating its presence. Look, it demanded. Just one peek. I couldn't help myself – holding my breath and closing my eyes, I pulled back the soft white fabric. My eyes begged me to keep them closed, to not look at the body there. I obeyed, but my curious fingers travelled down the rough pillow until they met something hard and cold. My eyebrows frowned and I pursed my lips, eyes still closed.
Metal?
Before I could think, my eyes snapped open and I took in the sight in front of me, suppressing a sigh of relief and at the same time, a scream.
Adam wasn't a demon after all.
Not exactly, anyway.
He hadn't killed.
The… thing, lying on the cot… I couldn't even describe it…
Standing up hurriedly, I ran to the next cot and the next, tears streaming down my face at the sight of these lifeless shells, ripping blanket after blanket after blanket in a frenzy of disbelief.
Finally, I stopped and came back to the first cot, the one right beside mine. These were the perfect metal people, I thought, the future of the human race. There were so many of them, thousands, that there was no doubt in my mind what his plan was.
Adam was going to build an army of robots.
Kneeling down beside the cot holding the first of them, I held my face in my hands, knowing that we were doomed if Adam followed through with his plan. He would kill Sven and Rinslet, no doubt, and then bring Train here and make me watch him die. Even the thought was too painful to bear.
The silence in the huge room was deafening, ringing louder and louder. I climbed back in my cot, covered myself with the thin blanket, and cried.
Train… I thought to myself before sleep took over.
Train…
I love you.
OOOH, ADAM'S JEALOUS~! Hope you liked the chapter, and I promise to update sooner. I'll explain in the next chapter. Please R&R if you liked it!
~Aomori Miki~