The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) by T. Rudacille Read Free Book Online Page A

who think that they're leaving have been gathering things for years.”
                  “I would call them such awful things. But I just cannot think of anything that is quite awful enough.” I looked at him. “James, how much time do we have?”
                  Once again, he fell into a lapse of silence and studied me. As the seconds ticked by so distressingly, I began to dread his answer more and more, until the feeling became so unbearable that when he opened his mouth to reply, I almost covered my ears to avoid hearing it...
                  “A day.”
    XXX
     
                  As we suspected, the two jocks were still outside of my apartment building, sitt ing across the street on two different benches and staring at the door with expressions of pained concentration on their slowly decaying faces.
                  “Is there a back way in?” James asked me as the car idled.
                  I nodded, studying the physical deterioration of th e two young men who only the night before had been so boyishly good-looking. No longer were they clean-cut and stocky. Though I knew that their height remained the same in actuality, the way they slouched cast the illusion that they had shrunk down at leas t three feet. Their emaciation was severe; they were merely wisps of skin clinging tightly to creaking bones. Even from across the street, I could see that their eyes were surrounded by menacing dark circles and their hair was beginning to fall from their pale white, snake-veined scalps. To a passerby, they simply appeared to be afflicted with some terrible, fatal disease. To me, they were the perfect real-life imitations of the monsters I had run from in my childhood nightmares.
                  “Why do they look like tha t?” I whispered to James and I did not realize how tightly my hand was squeezing his arm.
                  “Do you want me to sugar-coat it or do you want me to be blunt?”
                  I frowned at him over my shoulder.
              “What do you think?” I answered sarcastically.
                  “They haven't e aten you yet.”
                  I looked at him, my eyes bugging in fear but then quickly resuming their normal shape.
                  “I will let you know when I require a full explanation on that. Now is certainly not the time.”
                  “I wasn't going to give you one anyway.” He drove away slowly, rolling his window up before we passed them. Thank God his windows were tinted or they surely would have seen us.
                  He parked the car just behind a meter. I watched him hop out with charismatic grace and had to roll my eyes; this was a gentleman who knew how good-looking and powerful he was. Arrogance never complimented a male, I had been told once by Maura, who believed herself to be the all-knowing authority on the matters of men. Shaking my head, I started to open my door only to find that he was already there, opening it for me.
                  “Thanks.” I murmured. “Chivalry isn't dead, I suppose.”
                  “No. Not to old guys like me, at least.” He replied as he walked to the meter to dispense three quarters inside of it.
                  “Shall we?” He beckoned towards the alley. I nodded, striding ahead of him with no fear of what might meet me. I just wanted to pack my things and go, knowing that every second ticking past was too precious to waste. We only had twenty-three hours left until the ship that would carry us far from the chaos and carnage departed our world forever.
                  Once safely sheltered by the shadows of the corridor, we hastened our pace until we reached the back door of my building. I took my keys from my purse and tried to steady my trembling hands long enough to unl ock the