Adam and Eve[/color] - Quix and Aurelia]
"That's what love is, Eve." Adam squeezed her hands in his and scraped his nail across her palms, staring down at his sister with a gentleness and compassion that the man felt only for her. "Protecting the ones you care for, and doing everything possible to keep them safe and make them happy." His voice low, Adam withdrew one of his hands from Eve's and cupped her cheek in his palm, then ran it comfortingly down her back as she buried her head into his chest. "It's not what God tried to teach us, he doesn't know how to love properly, but Jerry and Betty do. They'd make the same sacrifice for us."
An eternity ago, it seemed since he'd initially awakened to David's visage on the television screen and from that time on he and Eve had spoken of naught else except their intent to murder God and his sycophants. As far as Adam was concerned, but had not mentioned to his sibling, also every piously hypocritical priest they encountered on their mission, and the empathy-free, condoning God's abuse of her son and daughter, Mother Mary Magdalene. Yet no lightning bolt had struck, the sky hadn't fallen in nor had the ground opened up and swallowed the duo. The remained safe, dry and unharmed as the storm continued its relentless rage outside.
Was it because they'd switched off the television before God had noticed his disobedient children?
Or had he appraised them through the glass, then turned away when he'd witnessed that Adam and Eve were no longer scared little kids, caned and browbeaten into submission, unable to defend themselves from his damnation? Had he recognised the unbreakable bond that had blossomed between the two. A bond, forged by shared pain and consummated in love and physical union, so strong that it contained the potential to destroy any who moved to threaten it. Even Him.
Unbreakable.
A long dormant power ignited inside him. He looked up to the ceiling as lightning flashed, thunder clapped and the rain pounded down on the tin roof, wanting to scream at the top of his lungs. To dare God to appear, to come out from hiding and face him and Evie in a battle to the death.
Right here, right now.
Akin to a partially charged battery, the energy swiftly dissipated, leaving Adam to wonder if it had been real or imagined as he instead turned to his assigned task.
Whilst Eve worked on her list, he collected their clothing from the wardrobe and packed it into two canvas hold-alls, then added their undergarments from the dresser adjacent to the bed. Adam trusted his sister's instincts and organisational abilities implicitly, she was much better at the list thing, so didn't interrupt or offer any suggestions. Until eventually one word she muttered aloud garnered his undivided attention and he turned to face her. "Masks?" Quizzical brow raised, Adam stared at Eve for a good ten seconds, chewing over the concept.
"Masks are a good idea." After sweeping their bathroom items into a plastic bag, packing done, he dropped it all at the trailer exit, approached Evie and placed his hands on her hips. A smile flitted across his face. "I'm starting to think he's not totally omnipotent or omniscient. He lied about that as he does everything else, because we're still alive, aren't we? He needs time and as long as we stay disguised and on the move we should be okay. Plus, even if He's aware it's us, God won't dare reveal that his own children intend to kill him."
Oh, no, some might question why, and the truth would tarnish his reputation of unblemished perfection. David had likely explained their absence by assuring people that the siblings were on a missionary sojourn in Africa or some such bullshit.
"We can wear the mask of Satan and instill the fear of the Devil in his minions, leave his sign on those we kill. The Wizard of Oz, remember, Evie, he rules by fear and intimidation. If God's Army is more terrified of us than they are him, they'll scatter to the four corners of the earth like the cowards they are. Then we can take Him. Alone."
Despite the confidence Adam exuded in speaking to his sister, and the budding belief that David wasn't quite as powerful as he'd made himself out to be, the fear that he could be instantly and fatally proved wrong lurked in the recesses of his mind. Each minute they delayed further endangered the town and its residents. Grasping Eve's wrist gently, he raised his gaze to the breaking dawn light, easier for a deity with eyes everywhere to see them by. "Are you almost ready?"