Eden by Keary Taylor

the
tent.
    “ I know,” he said simply
as he untied a tether.
    We worked quietly as the
tent came down.  We then packed the poles into their bag and
set to rolling the canvas up.
    “ We wanted to thank you
for what you did,” Avian said as he worked at my side. 
“ I wanted to
thank you.  It was incredibly dangerous but you did it
anyway.”
    I just gave a nod as I
held the bag open and Avian slid the bulk of the tent in.  I
tied the opening after the poles went in and set it on the
ground.
    “ The wagon should be back
in just a few minutes,” Avian said as he looked out to the
east.  “Sarah went this morning with Bill.  West set out
on his own a little bit ago.  It’s just the two of us now and
our things.”
    I gave a nod and allowed
Avian to help me carry the three bags that had once been Sarah and
I’s tent toward the pile that was his belongings and the medical
supplies and tent.
    “ I don’t want you to be
angry at me forever,” Avian said as we stood there, side by
side.  “You have no idea how many times I wanted to tell you,
how many times I knew I should have told you.  I’m sorry,
Eve.  It was wrong.
    I gave another nod, as
close as I could make myself get to accepting his apology at the
moment.  We then heard the sound of the wagon rumbling through
the trees towards us.
    There had been two horses
kept in Eden, until about eight months ago.  The older of the
two had broken its leg and, unable to take care of the animal,
Gabriel had to put him down.  We managed with the smaller
wagon with just one horse.
    A woman by the name of
Morgan and her husband Eli, drove the wagon and helped us to load
our things into the small space.  With everything that had to
be hauled there was no room for anything else.  Avian and I
would be walking.
    That was fine with
me.  I would have walked anyway.
    Little was said as we
finished loading.  The couple told us that no signs of the
hunters had been seen and that the new location for Eden was
wonderful, located right next to a lake.  Everyone was getting
settled in just fine.
    The wagon made good pace
as we let them go ahead of us, and it didn’t take long before it
was out of sight, leaving Avian and I alone.
    “ He knew who I was,” I
suddenly said as we walked through the trees.  “West, he knew
me before I came here.  His grandfather experimented on
me.  He’s the reason I can do the things I can do.”
    “ He told you this?” Avian
asked, his brow furrowed.
    I shook my head. 
“No, I found a notebook filled with the things he did to me. 
West said I had been at this facility for as long as he could
remember.  Possibly since I was a baby.  He told me we
used to play together as children sometimes.”
    “ I have a hard time
imagining you playing anything,” Avian said.  I noticed a
smile was tugging on his lips.
    “ I can’t imagine I was
very good at it.”
    A chuckle suddenly broke
from Avian’s chest.  I couldn’t help smiling too.
    We walked quietly for a
while.  I sensed how relaxed Avian was.  I wondered how
it felt.  I never felt relaxed.  My ears listened to the
sounds of the woods around us, searching for any sign of
alert.  My eyes scanned the trees.  I even smelled at the
air, being alert for any scent of exhaust from an ATV or a
helicopter.
    I kept the handgun West
had given back to me tucked into the back of my pants.  I was
ready to pull it out at any moment and unload it, grab Avian, and
run for our lives. 
    Despite Avian’s relaxed
stance, I had little doubt the bulky bag he had on his back
contained the CDU.  He wasn’t coming out into these woods
unprepared either.
    “ Why did you ask Graye to
get the necklace for me?” I asked, glancing over at his
face.
    Avian hesitated for a few
moments.  “I wanted you to have something special for your
birthday,” he said as he looked at me briefly.  I noted the
way he stiffened slightly.  “I thought you should have
something a woman would normally