One
Adam
“The time is near. Soon, the world will be cleansed of all the evil it has seen over the years.” Adam was determined to right all the wrongs humans have caused while living on Earth. He wants to restore nature to the way it once was when he and his love Eve first walked the Earth. After thousands of years, he was finally reborn to fulfill that prophecy. “Only one final piece remains: Eve.”
Since his reincarnation, Adam has been searching for the reincarnation of Eve so his plans can be put into action. For years, he’s searched but always came up empty-handed. All the young girls he thought was Eve were false leads.
“Master Adam, we’ve found another one!” A solider of the Heavens reported to him. “We’re pretty sure this is the one you’ve been searching for.”
“Show her to me.” He stood up from his throne, looking down into the cauldron that contained magic water that allowed him to watch the humans on Earth. The water showed the image of a young girl with golden blonde hair, pale skin and bright green eyes. Adam placed a hand into the water, feeling her aura to confirm. “There’s no mistaking it; it is her. This is the one true Eve.” He smiled at the image, captured by the girl’s beauty. “Run a background check on her. I want all of her information.” He demanded.
The guard bowed to him and left the room to carry out Adam’s orders.
“It won’t be long now.” He whispered to himself.
The guard returned after about an hour and reported everything he and the others gathered on the girl. “Sir, we’ve looked up all we could on the girl and discovered that she lives in Tampa, Florida and is a junior in high school. Her friends and family call her Claire Baxter.”
Adam smiled, listening to his Eve’s backstory. “She goes by Claire. It’s safe to assume that she doesn’t know her role in Earth’s evolution.”
“There’s something else you should know, Master Adam: the girl’s parents are Valley Guardians who’re keeping her from knowing who she really is until the time is right. They posed as adoptive parents and took her in as their own.”
“So those fools are onto my plan. It doesn’t matter. I have ways to get through to Eve’s memory without interference. I’m going to Earth. Eve…you will soon belong to me.”
Eve
“Claire, are you almost ready?” her mother, Martha called to her from the living room. “We’ve got to go now!”
“Almost ready, mom! Be down in three minutes!” Claire yelled back, zipping up her backpack and throwing it over her back. She closed the door to her room and headed down the stairs where she saw her older brother Alex come out of the kitchen with two water bottles in his hand.
“Man you’re slow.” He chuckled. “If you let me help, you would’ve been packed sooner.”
Claire gave him a sinister smirk. “Well I’m packed aren’t I?” she said, showing her bags.
Alex shook his head while tossing her one of the bottles of water, watching her catch it with no problem and then opening the one he had and taking a chug out of it.
“Hurry up you two! We’re burning daylight!” Their father Luke honked the horn of the jeep as Alex and Claire came out of the house. “Put your things in the back and buckle up.”
Claire handed her bags to Alex after he set his things in the back and loaded hers on top of his, before slamming the trunk shut. The two then climbed in the back of the vehicle and prepared for the long ride ahead of them. Their summer was coming to an end, so they were taking a trip to Universal Studios and staying with their cousin Kathy and her husband Frank, who lived an hour away from the park. They were going to spend two weeks there for some family time.
While on the road, Claire texted her friend Elizabeth about what she was doing for the last few weeks of vacation.
Elizabeth: Todd and I went on an epic date last Friday.
Claire:Rly? Where’d u go?
Elizabeth:It was our anniversary, so he took me 2 a spa and then we spent 5 days at a 5-star hotel. Omg it was romantic! XD
Claire:Wow, he’s a real charmer lol
Elizabeth:I know >///< I luv him so much! Hey u wanna go back to school shopping after u come back?
Claire:Sounds good. I’ll txt u ahead of time before I get back.
Elizabeth:Awesome! See ya then ^^
“There’s a gas station coming up a few miles ahead. Anyone need a rest stop?” Luke asked.
Everyone looked around at each other, as if speaking telepathically. “I do.” Claire finally spoke up. “I seriously need to stretch my legs.”
“I really gotta drain the lizard.” Alex said next.
“Gross, Alex! Just say you have to pee.” Claire pushed Alex, while letting out a giggle from the back of her throat.
Luke and Martha laughed as Luke merged into the right lane to turn onto the exit. “We have about two miles left till we get to the house. Let’s pick up some snacks. I’m getting a craving for a honey bun and a pop.” Martha said, rubbing her stomach.”
“Same here, hon.” Luke said back. “Also, do you mind driving after we leave the stop? I need to close my eyes.”
“No problem. You’re starting to get bags under your eyes anyway.”
Ten minutes later, they arrived at a small gas station that was next to a bar. The second the car stopped, Alex ran from the car and headed next door to the bar to use the restroom. While he did that, Claire got out and went in the gas station to pick out a snack that would hold her up until they got to their cousin’s house.
It only took her five minutes to pick out a bag of Doritos, a protein bar and a bottle of Sierra Mist, pay for it and head back to the car. As she exited the shop, there was a distant whisper that echoed in her ear. It traveled with the wind.Eve….Come back to me. Eve. She looked around to realize that no one else felt the wind but her.
“Hey, Earth to Claire.” Her father tapped Claire on the shoulder, which caused her to jump slightly and look up at him. “Are you okay? You spaced out.”
Her breath escaped from her, not able to answer right away. The voice still echoed in her head. Once it left, Claire answered him. “Umm…I’m okay.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I guess it’s this long car ride. I’ll be okay, dad.”
Luke nodded as he led Claire back to the car. Shortly after she was strapped in, Alex returned from the bar and quickly ran into the gas station to grab something for him and then returned to the car. Claire couldn’t let go of the voice she heard in her head. Why did it call her Eve? Why was the voice comforting and familiar to her? All these questions and more ran through Claire’s head as they continued on the road in silence. ‘That voice…why can’t I stop thinking about it?’ Not even the Sierra Mist made her forget her experience, and no one in the car asked her about her blank expression. In the end, she kept her feelings bottled up inside and just stared out the window, watching the world turn into a blur of colors and shapeless objects.
“We’re here, everyone!” Martha announced, waking up Alex from his sleep. “Claire, call Kathy and tell her we’re about ten minutes from her place.”
“Kay mom.” Claire took out her phone from her pocket and dialed Kathy’s number.
The line rang twice before Kathy picked up. “Hey Cousin Claire, what’s up?”
“Hey Kathy, just callin’ to tell you we’re about ten minutes from your house. You’re home right?”
“Actually, I’m at the store gathering food. But Frank is at the house. I’ll call him to let him know you’re on your way.”
“Okay, we’ll see you in a bit.”
“Can’t wait! Later.”
“Later, Kat.” Claire hung up and stuffed her phone back in her pocket. “She’s out shopping now, but Frank is home. Kat said she’d call him to let him know we’re not too far.”
“Alright.” Martha responded.
They came up to a stop light close to the big city of Orlando. When they stopped, Claire looked out the window and saw a boy that was looking directly at her. Something inside her triggered her brain to change the images around her into a luscious green garden with only her and the boy. The boy walked up to her, offering his hand.I’ve been waiting for you. She heard him say.
“Why me?” she asked blindly. “Who are you?”
“Claire, why are you talking to yourself?” Alex asked, shaking her a few times.
Claire quickly snapped back to reality once the car began to move again. She looked out the window and noticed that the boy had disappeared. Her head spun slightly and she almost fell against Alex. “Who was that?”
“Who was who?” Alex asked with concern in his voice.
“Sweetie, are you okay?” her mother asked, looking at her through the center mirror above the radio.
Claire looked over at Alex. “There was a boy…and we were…in this garden…” She quickly looked out the window again, trying to remember what she saw.
“Um, what did the boy look like?” Alex asked her.
Claire thought about it. “Well…he was standing at the stoplight. He had…brunette hair and fountain blue eyes. But…when I was in the garden, his appearance changed.”
“Changed into what?” Martha asked.
“I…don’t remember.” Claire admitted. “Was I talking out loud?”
“Yeah, you were like,‘Why me? Who are you?’Are you gonna be okay?”
“We’ll all be fine once we get out of this car.” Martha said. “Just a few more lights and we’ll have reached our destination.”
Claire leaned against her brother to relax during the last few minutes of the car ride.
