HALF: Dead nor Alive

“Are you full already?” Eve asked and looked at Archie who already stopped eating the meat and enjoyed the view of the night sky. “You really have a small stomach, huh? I still need at least three of this parasite until I can replenish all my energy,” she continued as she tore the flesh with her sharp claws.

“Yes, you can have it, I want to enjoy the view right now,” Archie answered as he laid down and stared at the aurora.

“Hmm, you’re no fun,” Eve said as she threw the meat and walked toward Archie.

“Eve, what’s your original ability? I’m curious,” Archie asked as he looked at Eve.

“My original ability? It’s this,” Eve answered and she started to change her appearance.

The sliver white hair of her started to change its color to black and then red, blue, and green. She could manipulate her own body and change its shape to whatever she wanted it to be. She could even become Ruby, Nova, and Faye which shocked him.

“Although I have this ability, I barely used it because there’s no reason for me to use it since I was alone in the middle of nowhere. There were no humans that I could interact with. I almost forgot that I have this ability,” Eve answered as she looked at her body started to reshape itself to its original look.

“I see, maybe the reason why you have that ability is so you can avoid the Adams,” Archie said.

“This isn’t the only purpose of the ability,” Eve said as she sat down next to Archie and then laid down. “There was time that I had to use it and made a mess,” she continued.

Archie looked at her with curiosity but Eve didn’t seem to want to talk about it yet by the look of her expression.

They both silently stared at the aurora and enjoyed the night.

“Aren’t you still hungry? There’s still a lot of meat in there,” Archie asked as he looked up and saw the parasite’s body was only half eaten.

“Seeing you stop eating makes me lose my appetite,” Eve said as she rubbed her stomach. “Even though I’m still hungry, it’s not like I’m going to starve since I already fill at least ten percent of my energy,” she continued as she lifted her hand that was covered with blood.

“You said that you can’t regenerate your cells, right?” Archie asked as he turned his head toward Eve.

“Yes, here, let me show you,” Eve said as she sat down and then she cut off her left hand. “See, it’s not regenerating at all, but when I put my hand back, you can see it reconnect itself,” she explained as she slowly put her hand on her wrist and it reconnected itself as she explained.

Archie looked at Eve while he was still laying down, she then laid down again and enjoyed the aurora.

“You have been living for hundreds of years, right, Eve? How does it feel to live on your own for that long?” Archie asked.

“I’m not sure but if the meteor struck hundreds of years ago, then yes, I guess,” Eve answered. “If you’re asking me how it feels, I’m not sure how to tell you because all my life I have been living to survive, and the moment I meet the first Adam, I started to feel that my freedom felt threatened and then I killed him,” she answered.

Archie hummed and didn’t say anything after he asked that question.

“Why do you ask?” Eve stared Archie in the eye.

“You know that you can gain an ability from eating Adam’s heart, right?” Archie asked.

“I do, I ate two of them and gained two abilities from them,” Eve answered as she looked at Archie. “Why?” she asked.

Archie looked at her. “You know, can I ask you a favor?” he replied. Eve raised her eyebrows and kept staring at him. “Can you promise to not kill me? Because I have been thinking that I don’t want to be immortal and I don’t think my mind can handle it,” he answered.

Eve sat up and looked at Archie. “You’re telling me that you want to die when you think you’re bored of living?” she asked.

“Yes, something like that because if I don’t have anyone else on earth. So, if you’re thinking of killing me after you found a better Adam than me, I want you to remember that I want to live long enough until the people I know are dead. I can promise you that I don’t have any plan to do anything that can harm you,” Archie answered as he stared at Eve.

Eve furrowed her forehead and she looked angry when she heard Archie’s reasoning. She sat on top of Archie and put her hands on his chest as she furrowed her eyebrows and stared Archie in the eye.

“What are you talking about?” Eve asked.

“You know, after everything that I have been through, seeing how the world is right now and imagining myself in a world where no more humans are quite disturbing. I don’t think I can live alone and I would rather die and I will let you eat my heart so you can get all my abilities,” Archie answered.

“What if I want to be with you,” Eve asked.

“If that’s the case then I wouldn’t mind but that’s only if but you never know since there are still at least five Adams out there that we haven’t met,” Archie answered as he looked Eve in the eye.

“Your heart is pounding really fast right now,” Eve said as she looked at Archie’s chest.

“It’s because you’re sitting on top of me and I have never been in this kind of position and situation ever,” Archie answered as he smiled at Eve. “Can you get off? It’s starting to feel a bit uncomfortable,” he continued.

“Before I do that, can I have a taste?” Eve asked as she looked at Archie’s arm.

“A taste? Of what?” Archie asked back with his eyebrows furrowed.

“Your flesh,” Eve answered as she grabbed Archie’s left arm. “I want to see your regeneration ability as well. Can I?” She asked as she removed Archie’s glove and rolled his sleeve.

“Sure,” Archie answered as he gulped.

Eve rubbed Archie’s wrist on her lips and she sniffed the scent of his body then opened her mouth. She bit off his wrist in a single bite which shocked Archie since it looked so easy and weirdly enough it didn’t hurt as he thought.

“It’s delicious…” Eve said as she ate his hand in her hand.

Archie never tested his own flesh so he didn’t know. He looked at his arm that slowly regenerated itself while Eve watched his wrist and hand grow back.

“I’m envious of your ability,” Eve said but then she felt weird in her body. She looked at her back and something happened to her cell where Ruby shot her with the serum. “My wound, it heals,” she said as she looked at Archie with disbelief.

“What? Really?” Archie sat up as he watched Eve touching her back.

Eve spread her wings and her right wing was slowly repairing itself, they both looked at her wing and were amazed by it.

“This is amazing,” Eve said with a big smile on her face, and she didn’t remember when the last time she felt amazed by something.

“That’s great, now you can fly normally,” Archie said. “After knowing that, I think I know my purpose now, and that’s to help you when you need it,” he continued as he looked at Eve.

“Is that how you look at it? To help me?” Eve asked as she turned her body toward Archie.

“I don’t really mind, if it’s for you, at least I have another purpose in life since we both are the same being. That’s more reason why I want you to take my ability than letting the other Adams take it from me,” Archie answered.

Eve smiled and nodded as she stood up and then offered her hand. “Let’s go home, I’m starting to feel sleepy,” she said.

Archie nodded and grabbed Eve’s hand.

The morning came, and both Eve and Archie were still sleeping since they came back to the barrack at dawn. Ruby looked at them both sleeping side by side and they both looked so peaceful even though they were quite the opposite back then.

“Ruby, are they really a couple, or is it just my imagination?” Nova asked as she dried her hair with a towel after she took a shower. She looked at Eve who was clinging onto Archie’s body while they both were asleep and it somehow looked cute.

“It’s complicated but looking at them right now, it’s enough to tell that those two are more than friends,” Ruby answered as she wash her face.