HALF: Dead nor Alive

“Are you going to test her or not?” Archie asked as he looked at Faye who was still dumbfounded by what she saw.

“Is she really-” Faye couldn’t finish her sentence but Archie already nodded his head.

“Yes, she’s far scarier than me in this so don’t get fooled by her beauty,” Archie said.

Faye looked at both of them but she shook her head. “I’m sorry but I still have to see it with my own two eyes if she’s really capable,” Faye said with a straight face, Archie never thought she would become so strict and it made him feel like he didn’t know her at all.

“I’m ready with whatever you’re going to bring me,” Eve said as she stretched her arms and suddenly her arms made a loud cracking sound that startled both of them.

Eve looked a bit in pain and Archie could tell the cracking sound was coming from her right shoulder. She looked at her right hand for a second as she squeezed it then she looked at Faye. “Where’s the bug?”

“It’s on its way, we have to bring it from downstairs,” Faye answered as she looked at Eve with a bit of concern because of the loud cracking sound.

Archie knew that Eve was dangerous, he knew that she might kill him, but for an unknown reason, he got attracted to her. He never felt this way before, if he could express it, he believed that he fell for her charm, and the reason why might be because she was the Eve, the one he should find.

Eve looked at Archie and she smiled at him, the same smile with intention hidden behind it. He was curious and at the same time, he didn’t want to get too attached to her.

“It’s here, are you ready, Eve?” Faye asked as she looked at the green light above the gate on the other side.

“Yes, show me the bug,” Eve answered as she walked forward.

Three Gen 7 parasites were coming out from the gate, Faye was looking at Archie and Eve’s expressions but she didn’t get what she wanted to see. They both were staring at those parasites as if it wasn’t a big deal, especially Eve who chuckled with disbelief.

“You can tell that those parasites were too scared to come forward, do you think I must kill these bugs? I don’t want to kill them if they didn’t show any resistance,” Eve said as she pointed at the parasites who were hugging the closed gate.

Faye thought something was wrong with the parasites but she never saw a parasite who looked scared like them.

“It doesn’t matter, just kill them and show me what you got,” Faye said as she looked at Eve.

“Fine,” Eve said as she looked at Faye with her right hand pointed at the parasites.

The parasites were screaming, growling, and screeching in panic while Eve kept staring at Faye. Eve squeezed her hand and the three parasites exploded as if they were being crushed by something heavy.

“Done,” Eve said she walked back and stood next to Archie.

Faye was shocked as she put her hand on her forehead with her eyes wide open. “How? How did you kill them like that?!” She asked as she stared at Eve.

“That’s one of my abilities,” Eve answered.

“Are we done here or should we go for the next test?” Archie asked.

Faye cleared her throat and shook her head. “I don’t think it will be necessary for me to test anything else for both of you,” she said. “You both are officially a part of the Valor special force,” she continued as she reached out her hand for a handshake.

Archie shook Faye’s hand and then Eve.

“Ouch!” Faye flinched as she pulled her hand and saw blood come out from her palm. “Where did this come from?” She mumbled to herself as she wiped the blood and sucked the wound.

Archie looked at Eve who was licking Faye’s blood, she looked at Archie and she was grinning while she cleaned the blood on her index finger. He shook his head in disbelief and he didn’t know what it was for.

“What are we going to do next? Are we going to have an inauguration or something like that?” Archie asked.

“Yes, there will be one after the test is over, so if you want to wait, you can use the empty barrack. I will bring you both there since it’s quite far and avoid getting lost,” Faye answered as she opened the steel door in front of her then Archie and Eve followed her from behind.

“You guys are okay with waiting, right? I will ask someone to bring you food and drink while waiting,” Faye asked as she turned her head to look at them.

“I’m fine, we are also waiting for Nova so it’s not a problem at all,” Archie answered.

“As long as I’m with him, I’m fine with anything,” Eve answered.

Faye raised her eyebrows with a smile on her face. “Are you two perhaps a couple?” She asked.

“It’s complicated…” Archie answered as he looked at Eve who seemed to not understand what a couple mean.

“It would be weird if it’s not complicated after seeing you both like that. That doesn’t mean you both don’t look good together though because I can see that you both have something in common that makes you look like a good couple,” Faye said as she smiled at them.

“Speaking of couple, I know it’s a bit too late but congratulations on your wedding,” Archie said.

Faye nodded her head and wreathed in a smile. “Thank you,” she replied.

Faye showed the barrack and they both looked inside it. It was really big and it didn’t look what Archie thought. It looked fancy and the beds looked comfortable to sleep on.

“I will come back to pick you up for the inauguration later, and there will be food coming so just stay here,” Faye said as she stood in front of the door. “See you both later,” she continued and then left the barrack.

Eve immediately tested the bed and laid down on it, she was surprised by how comfortable the bed was. Archie looked at her and she looked like a kid full of curiosity about the unknown.

“I taste your blood in her body, how could she have your blood in her body, my Adam?” Eve asked as she looked at Archie.

“It’s a long story,” Archie said. “Since we have all the time, I will tell you from the beginning,” he continued as he looked at Eve who walked toward him.

Archie told Eve everything and didn’t hide a single story, she looked at him like a child listening to a bedtime story. He never thought he could share his experience with anyone and it made his shoulders weightless for a moment.

“So now all those humans have your blood in their bodies because of that experiment. Then those Throne guys were erasing everyone’s memories about you and replaced it with someone else,” Eve said as she looked at Archie.

“Yes, what about you? Do you remember anything about your past?” Archie asked while he looked at the kitchen in the other room.

“I don’t remember anything, the moment I open my eyes, I was in the middle of nowhere,” Eve answered as she followed Archie to the other side of the room. “I don’t know everything but I do know how to operate things so I guess my memories got wiped out as well, but the problem is it didn’t come back,” she continued as she opened the fridge and looked at the frozen food.

“You never asked them?” Archie asked as he looked at Eve who smelt the frozen food in the fridge.

“I did ask them but they said it was for the best that I lost my memories,” Eve answered as she grabbed a grape from the fridge. “I think they don’t want me to remember my past because it will affect the way I think about the situation,” she continued as she looked at Archie while she ate the grape.

“Are you okay with that?” Archie asked as he frowned his eyebrows.

Eve ate the grape and stared at Archie for quite a while before she answered. “Yes, I have been living for hundreds of years and I don’t think knowing my past now will do me any good,” she said. “You’re the only Adam that looks at me like that, I know that something is different about you compared to the others,” she continued as she smiled and chewed the grape.

“But that doesn’t guarantee that you won’t kill me, right?” Archie asked as he looked at Eve with a bit of worried.

“I don’t know, we will see,” Eve said as she threw the grapes in the trash can. “For now, I just want to stay by your side,” she continued with a smile on her face.