Eve
rubbed her shoulders already sore from the pack she carried. The scorching sun
beat down on her relentlessly and her face dripped with sweat. They had left
shortly after breakfast, the task of finding the new caskets an ever-driving
force behind the band of angels. Josiah led her and two other angels with great
speed, the urgency to get to the coast as soon as possible his mission. They
were three days away from the southern most tip of the coast. Eve had not seen
the ocean since the year of her awakening. She could still remember the salty
breeze blowing through her long blonde hair. The smell had invigorated her and
she had run full tilt into the waves. She had screamed her joy with the birds
that had flown overhead, laughter had bubbled out of her and the sun had beamed
down, showering her with its radiant light. She remembered the sun kissing her
cheeks, its warmth rushing through her. She had never felt so alive. Her first
month of awakening had been glorious. She had spent every day discovering the
brilliance of Shepard’s creations, yet the ocean had always been her favourite.
She smiled to herself as Josiah sped his pace even more. She was anxious as
well, to put the incident with the new ones behind her, and to awaken even
more.
“Josiah!” Eve called, “Do you
remember the first time you and Elijah took me to the ocean?”
Josiah laughed and called back,
“How could I forget? You frightened half the wildlife when the first wave
caught you,”
“In all our time together, I never
asked why the coast seems so safe. Why don’t the destroyers like the ocean?”
“The salt, it purifies, cleanses.
Their skin can barely tolerate the breeze when it blows the water across the
sand. Elijah once told me of a demon who had been pursuing him from the fields
near the water. As Elijah ran across the beach, the demon followed, and when
the breeze blew, the demon began shrieking. Elijah ran to the water, the beast
still pursuing. At the very moment the water came into contact with the demon,
shrieks and steam filled the air as the skin burned to the bone. It kept
pursuing him however, and it disintegrated,”
“They really are determined to
kill us all, aren’t they?”
“Yes, the destroyers find demons
dispensable, so they will send out as many to their deaths in order to see
their means fulfilled,”
“So, why don’t we camp down here
more often? Why are more outposts not set up here? Why do we make ourselves
vulnerable?”
Josiah stopped and turned to face
Eve, “It is just as dangerous to maintain a position we think is impenetrable.
We would never be able to leave; they would surround us, knowing they have the
upper hand. As supplies run low, we would risk the angels and humans lives to
get a hold of more. Having camps spread out throughout the territory is far
safer. The destroyers can’t pinpoint our location,” he paused, “what may seem
like a position of strength can often be a weakness, we cannot allow ourselves
to relax in comfort, for that can often be a deception as well,” he turned back
around and began walking again.
