Atom and Eve

Don't know where I came up with this idea. Probably a dream I had.

   It started with a bang. And then there was light. Bright, sharp, painful, hellish light that consumed everything. Mountains burned to cinders, plateaus reduce to piles of smoldering stones. But He stopped the light, reduce it into nothing more than a little red rubber ball and shot it into the sky, where it stayed.
   He created everything in seven days. He erected the mountains again, planted the valleys and field with grass and trees and life, breathed the sky and coughed the clouds, wept the rain and rivers and lakes. It only took seven days. And on that seventh day, He created Her.
   She was beautiful, flawless, perfect in shape and look and form. She possessed perfect wit and perfect demeanor. He modeled her in His very image and, thus, she was perfect. He placed her in the most beautiful place in His created world, befitting her beauty, where she would come to no harm or illness. He created Her a garden out of the very ground, of tall trees and beautiful flowers of every color. He filled the garden with animals of all shapes and sizes to keep her from becoming lonely.
   But He never told her about the piece of light that remained. He could not dispel it or abolish it, so He fashioned it into a useful form. It was to be her guardian, a force of fury and flame to protect Her from any and all harm. He gave it reason and thought and a form that would be comforting to Her. But it was no man; it was a force of nature, a furious thing crafted only to destroy. And He did not tell her of the Others; His lost children, the imperfect ones, the garbage cast away in his quest to create man. They lived on the outside of the garden, in the dark and barren wilderness, mad and deformed things that crept in shadow.
   And despite the serenity and perfection of the garden, and the company of the cheerful animals, she did grow lonely. She sought a companion, one she could converse with and love. The animals provided no such thing, offering only trivial distractions with their playing. So She tried to leave the garden to the outside, to search for a friend.
   The minute Her toe left the garden's carpet of grass, the light was upon Her; a raging wall of inferno, it's flame's blue and wild and huge. She sheltered her eyes from the harsh radiance of the flames and, through squinted lashes, watched as a man emerged from the flame! She smiled and cheered and started towards him but as She drew close, she realized that it was no man. It did, indeed, have the shape of man but it's outline rippled and it's form shimmered with blue fire. It drew close, a thing of hulking gait.
    "What do you think you are doing?" it asked, it's voice soft and gentle against the harsh cracking of the fires.
    "I am lonely," She said. "The garden and the animals bore me. I seek companionship, so I thought to go outside in search of a friend."
    "No." the fire-man said, shaking it's head. "You are confined to the garden, Eve. It is by His will that you remain there. I am your guardian and you will abide by His word."
    "But I--"
    "Go back. Now."
   She did as She was told and returned to the garden, sitting under a tree. The animals came to comfort Her but She shooed them away. She watched as the giant fire storm subsided, but the man made of flame remained on the outskirts of the garden, his back turned to her. It frightened Her, deeply. But She wondered why it was here. It said that it was here to protect Her - Her guardian - but protect Her from what? There was nothing out there, for all She cold see, except empty and barren wilderness. The garden did not provide any threat or danger, either, so She sat under the tree and puzzled over it's purpose. Has She offended Him, Her maker? Was She being punished by being confined to the garden? Then Her guardian was Her protector as well as Her jailor....
   She stayed under the tree, pondering and all the while, the sun dipped beyond the horizon, coating the world in inky blackness. None of the animals stirred or made sounds - most likely asleep at the coming of the night - and there was silence. And then She heard them. Horrible screeches and screams of agony poured forth from the darkness on all sides. Sounds of the kind that desperate and depraved animals make when starved for food. They horrified Her.
   She watched the inferno ignite again outside the garden and the man of fire was moving back and forth. Streams of light and flame washed from it's arms and fingertips, lashing out at the darkness. What was it attacking? She couldn't see.....
   Another screech, this time much closer. She whirled around and saw it; a hulking, lumpy thing in the night. It was hairless, with beady eyes and slavering jaws. One of the creature's arms was much longer than the other and rippled with cords of muscle. The other arm was little more than a stunted lump clutched tightly to it's chest. The creature screeched again and lunged for Her but erupted into a blaze of blue fire just as it's claws were about to grasp Her face. The fire burned the creature severely - She could smell the stench of burning flesh and blood - and watched as the thing burned down to a skeleton and then to ashes. She turned to see the fire-man with it's arm outstretched turn away back to the end of the garden. It burned away all the others until there was nothing but silence in the dark. She watched, wide eyed, at Her guardian until sleep took Her. It was uneasy sleep, filled with half-dreams and nightmares of the things that dwelt in the darkness that surrounded Her.
   She spent Her days under that tree, playing with the animals, but Her eyes never strayed far from that shimmering figure in the distance. Her nights, too, were spent in horror as She watched it dispatch legions of the creatures, their cries and death screams piercing her ears. She lived a bland and fearful existence.
   That is, until the snake came.
   It was another day and She took Her usual perch under the tree. No animals approached Her this morning, which was odd, as they always rushed to greet Her as She sat under the tree. As She sat, She became increasingly aware of the silence and it disturbed Her but She felt rooted to Her spot. She did not dare to move, as the tree, to Her, offered the only protection in the garden.
   "A very quiet day, madame," whispered a voice from above.
   The snake, slimy green with mottled brown markings, slithered down from the upper boughs of the tree. She had never seen the snake in the garden before and wondered if He had just fashioned it and placed it there to entertain her. She smiled as the snake wound it's way around the branches.
   "Indeed. Too quiet, I think." She said.
   "I am inclined to agree. It must be boring, sitting here under a tree for all of your days. Why not get up, do some exercise? Or perhaps leave the garden?"
   "I've tried. The leaving, I mean. But.... I cannot leave."
   "You have legs. Just walk on out," the snake volunteered from it's branch, words slurred by hisses.
   "I know. But I cannot. He..... it... is out there."
   "It?"
   "The man made of fire," She said. "I tried before and it told me to return. I cannot leave. It prevents it."
   "I see. It protects you, you know." the snake said, bobbing it's head, slit eyes narrowing on Her. "Else, you'd be torn apart by your siblings."
   "Siblings?"
   "Oh, yes. Those things? They are your brothers and sisters. Did you think you were the only one, Eve?" the snake questioned, it's tone stabbing and accusatory. "No. He tried to make others, before you. There are many, but only you are perfect, flawless. Reasonable. The others are little more than animals."
   "Why would they want to kill their sister?" She asked, beginning to dread ever talking to the beast. "We're blood!"
    "Who knows? Jealousy? Fear? Rage?" the snake slithered down closer. "But the real question isn't that, Eve. It is: what is worth protecting when you can't leave the garden? Eventually, they will overrun him. And eventually, they will tear you to pieces, right there, where you stand."
    She looked down at Her feet and shivered.
   "No," She whispered.
   "Yes." the snake whispered back. "There are so many of them. And that... thing is just one. All alone against the tide. But I hold an answer."
   "Tell me!"
   The snake laughed. "Oh, indeed? Very well. You will need a companion. A lover. A mate. With that, you can leave the garden."
    "How? I am the only one here!" She sighed, exasperated.
    "Yes, but not for long. You can create your companion.... through sacrifice. He has not told you this because He fears what man will be able to do once they've.... spread. You can create your companion, and I will aid you in this, but at the cost of a part of yourself."
     She mused this over. She was lonely and frightened and withering away in the garden alone. But to sacrifice something, a piece of Her own self, to create a companion? It seemed a high cost. She stared long and hard at the snake, who stared back at Her with garnet eyes. She finally relented and nodded.
    "What must I sacrifice?"
    "All I ask.... is for a finger," the snake said, bobbing it's head towards one of Her hands. "Just a finger."
   So She tore off one of Her fingers on Her right hand and presented it to the snake. It scowled and hissed, shaking it's head.
   "That is not the correct one, dear."
   So She screamed and tore off the rest of Her fingers, biting off the last ones with Her teeth. They lay on the grass beneath the tree, bloody stumps of mangled flesh, sacrifices before the serpent. The serpent slithered down to the ground and swallowed all of Her fingers up into it's mouth.
   "Go wash what's left of your hands in the pool. It'll prevent you from bleeding out. And I will return with your companion soon, madame."
   And with that, the snake was off, vanishing into the grass. Her hands screamed in agony, blood beading and dripping in streams from the wounds. She stumbled to the pool in the garden and immersed Her hands in the crystalline water. Her wounds healed but Her fingers did not come back. She sighed and returned under the tree and closed Her eyes.
   The snake came back the next day, with ten men, all nude, in tow. It presented them to her and said that they were all her companions. She was overjoyed and wrapped Her arms around each. But they did not move nor flinch or did they smile.
   "Now, to be able to leave the garden, you will need to kill the guardian. He will stop you with all of his might otherwise. But against these ten men, he stands no chance." the snake whispered to Her.
   "Kill him.....? But why?"
   "He will keep you here, despite whatever you may wish." the snake hissed. "Tell them to kill him at dawn and it will be done."
   Again, the snake vanished into the grass, leaving Eve and the ten men alone. They made Her uncomfortable, with their statue stares and unmoving demeanor. She cast Her eyes to the ground and lowered Her head.
   "Kill him at dawn," She uttered, seating Herself under the tree and burying Her head in Her knees.
    She slept until late night, when She woke all on Her own. The men were now by the edges of the garden, waiting like cats stalking mice. Ahead, in the barren fields, was the fire-man, flames batting against her siblings. There were no screeches, as the fire-man was so harsh and swift that the wretches did not even have time to scream. She watched in awe and sadness, as he would have no idea what was to come. The men stood completely still and silent, so much so that She lost sight of them in the darkness. In the distance, the sun began to peek over the horizon, casting dawn's radiance in the sky.
   And then She saw them strike. They lunged for the man made of fire, fists flying, legs kicking up dirt. They surged into him and beat him savagely but he retaliated. He incinerated one before it could draw close and tossed aside another, catching flame mid-air. The remaining eight he dispatched with fiery fists or jets of fire that illuminated the sky brightly. One by one, the men were destroyed and the man of fire simply remained on the outside. She wept as She watched this. Her men, Her friends, so easily destroyed. Damn that snake! Liar! Thief!
   "Oh, dear," the snake's voice hissed. "They did not last long, did they?"
   "Why?!" She shouted at it. "You lied to me!"
   "My lady!" it said, taken aback, curling slightly. "How was I to know that ten would not be enough?"
    "Look at me!" She wailed, holding up the fingerless lumps that were now Her hands.
    "Still very beautiful, Eve. What is a missing finger or two? Or ten? Besides, I have the solution to your problem. All I require is--- "
    "You said that the last time! Liar!"
    "Now, now. Mistakes, mistakes. Just allow me to take your arms and you will be free. You do still want to be free, yes?"
    "Yes! Yes! T--t--take them!" She cried.
    "At once," the snake said, leaping from the tree and biting off her arms, swallowing them whole. "As before, bathe in the pool and I'll be back tomorrow."
    She did as She was told, just like last time. She stayed submersed in the pool until the sun set, darkness came and then dawn came after that. The snake returned, slithering in the grass to the lip of the pool. Behind it stood a man, tall and powerfully built with brown hair, who looked down at Her with confusion and uncertainty. She noted that the skin on his arms was lighter than the sun kissed flesh of his body.
    "Eve," said the snake. "Meet Adam. He is your ticket to freedom. Adam.... this is your lover."
    "E.... E.....Eve," said the man, hesitantly, mouth forming the name awkwardly.
    "Adam," She smiled and rose from the pool.
   She moved to him and kissed him on the check. He did not turn away or move, like the others, but he did blink and flinch a little at the sight of Her mangled arms.
   "Your arms....." he said softly.
   "She gave them up for you." the snake answered for Her, slithering around the duo. "For love and for.... freedom. You must kill the thing barring you from leaving and then you two will be free."
   So they waited for sundown. Once the moon rose, they made their move. They ran to the end of the garden, where grass touched burnt soil and, as was predicted, the wall of fire erected before them, rising out of the ash and rock. The guardian leaned out of the fire and strode towards them. Before it could talk, Adam lunged at it, fist digging into it's face, blowing part of it away. The flames reformed and vanished again as Adam threw another punch. He and the flame man grappled and wrestled, the fire touch of the guardian cooking Adam's skin, charring it black. It slammed Adam to the ground and then tossed him back the way he came. He landed at Eve's feet, rolled over and got to his feet, looking at Her.
    "Run! Follow me!"
    He ran in the other direction. He was very fast and She struggled to keep up with him as they bolted the other way. The guardian did follow, but they were too far ahead. As they ran, Eve heard it scream, a cry of frustration and sheer rage. The very sound chilled Her blood. And then came the flash as the garden was utterly obliterated by atomic fire. But they ran, on and on, into the darkness over harsh, jagged rocks that bore into their soles. They ran until the dawn came, streaking the sky golden and orange and purple and then they stopped, resting at the apex of a mountain, which gave them an unobstructed panoramic view of the world that existed outside the garden.
    It was a stark and bleak place, all black rocks with mountains in the distance, mountains that shredded the sky like dark grey teeth.
    "We're free....." Eve breathed in amazement at the sunrise.
    "Yes," Adam agreed. "But the garden is gone."
    "Gone?"
    "Yes. The guardian destroyed it. Did you see the flash?" he asked Her.
    "I did. But I thought he merely wanted to slow us. Why did he destroy the garden?"
    Adam blinked at her incredulously.
    "What?"
    "Why did he destroy the garden?"
    "What do you mean?" he asked. "You didn't know? That was the snake's plan all along."