Fan Fiction ❯ Fallen ❯ l ( Chapter 1 )

Fallen

By: Taylor Campney

""Eden…Eden…Eden…"

These were the only words that escaped Melina's dying lips. I stood there, staring at her for the longest time. Maybe I was in denial. Maybe I thought this was just a bad dream, but this state of mind would not last long. It would not take me long to realize what was going on.

My brain raced with thoughts, and yet no matter what I did my body would not respond. I just stood there; staring at the glorious, dying angel sprawled before me. My hung slightly open. I thought if I closed it I would lose all knowledge of how to breathe. The sun was setting now. What had once been a gray sky now was filled with beautiful reds. Perhaps the Angels were crying for her. I remember Melina's told me that once.

"You know Eden, only true Angels can cry tears of blood." I think I chuckled to myself at that thought despite my current situation.

It must have been a beautiful sight, Melina laying there, golden hair flowing wildly in all directions, one bullet wound right where her heart would be, her blood lightly flowing to the ground and the Angels calling her home. Everything seemed to pass in slow-motion. I could tell she was trying to say something; unfortunately I still couldn't get my senses to work.

Her eyes seemed to burn with tears right in front me. That was what got me out of this extreme state of shock. A reached down and dragged my hand down the side of her face. It finally set in. I finally felt it. I felt that piece of me start to wither. The part of Melina made. A tiny essence of my soul would see this Heaven.

"Yo-yo you c-came back-k," Melina struggled to get the words out. It looked as if she would be incomplete if she didn't savor every last moment with me.

"I think I would have felt less guilt if I had just left you," as much as I hated to say that I had to. To my surprise, Melina found it funny.

"You know, maybe if you hadn't have come I would have survived. I could pin this on you," she said in a surprisingly mordent tone. I was surprised she was strong enough to voice emotion.

"How `bout I just put you out of your misery? You've got to be in some sort of pain?" I asked her. She knew I was serious. If Melina wanted me to kill her I wouldn't deny her. Hell, I wouldn't deny her anything she wanted. I was confident she knew this.

"I'm better now," she said while grabbing my hand. Just when I thought the hole in my stomach couldn't get any deeper. "So, what are we to do now?"

"Anything you want. Just name it."

"Do you believe in Heaven?" I thought about this. I knew it was possible, but I wasn't about to put all my faith and life into the theory.

"I believe there is a heaven." That's not a lie.

"Then promise me one thing," she began with a look in her eye like I had never seen, "that you will try your best to join me in Heaven. That you will try, and I mean try hard. After all, I won't be gone. I'll just be right beyond those clouds, straight up into the stars. I'll finally be at home. Don't you want to see it someday?"

I just gazed at her. There was a passion in her words, and I wanted to believe. And I would.

"I will stop at nothing to assure that we are together again. I love you Melina, with every emotion in my body. Every feeling I have, and that's worth fighting for."

She only smiled that beautiful enticing grin.

"Now, kill me." No struggles, no questions and no arguments as stood up slowly to kill my only true love. She had her eyes closed. The sun was being swallowed by the dark void of night. My love's sunset was ending. I pulled out my gun and aimed right at her head. One thought crossed my mind as I slowly curled my finger around the trigger:

Enjoy heaven my Angel.

Bang.

The Angel smiled. She was home."

Chapter one:

"So what's that story got to do with anything?" Rebecca asked. She was naïve and knew not of the seriousness this story has. She felt it just to be another one of my stories.

"Noting…just something I thought was good," I never truly thought this was good. I was hoping she'd understand. Gene had told me that the teenager fancied me, but there was much my partner didn't know about me. There are a lot of things the world doesn't know about me, hell, there's a lot I don't know about me. But this I always knew and it would always stay with me. Anytime I thought of Melina, this story played in my head. It plays like an old black and white movie. Light jazz music playing, and her intoxicating me. Every move entices me, her scent embraces me.

I try not to thing about it though. I did love her, but there's no way I could keep my promise. I've tried, I swear I have. After trying to stay away from temptation, a man finally realizes how much sin there really is in the world.

My name is Eden Strife. I am on a quest to join my fallen Angel. I will pick up where she left off on her studies, and find DATA -- The world that is the source of all robotics, cyborgs and Bio-androids. It is said that is where everyone can find out what they want to know. It knows everything and can tell all. I must find this for her because that's the one promise I can keep.

This is how my life has unfolded. The second after I shot Melina everything changed. I piece of me really did leave, and until I find DATA I'll never be complete again. Gene, my greatest and most reliable friend, is all the time telling me I'm crazy. He says I'm chasing after a useless dream. Maybe that's right, and maybe this is just a waste of time. Maybe…none of this is real.

"Earth to Eden! Heeeellloo? Is anyone home?" Rebecca said while tapping on my head. I hated it when she did that, but I didn't have the heart to tell her. She was so innocent, especially in a room full of outlaws. Besides, she always took crap like personally.

"Well," she started, "she must've been important to make the stern Eden zone out. Who was she?"

She was on to me, and she had that seriousness in her voice. That seriousness in a teenager's voice that says "tell me or you will feel my wrath." Which I was not prepared to listen to her whine about it all day and for her just to forget tomorrow.

"She was a really good friend of mine."

"I'm not buying that. If she was just a good friend of yours you wouldn't have shot her. You wouldn't have loved her that much." I hated the fact that Rebecca knew everything. At least, she knew everything about me.

"You don't know that. I would shoot Gene if he really wanted me to."

"No you wouldn't. Eden! You're the one who told me humans seldom love anything enough to just let it go. You expect me to believe you love Gene enough to let him go? You would take his life?" Damn her…

"Alright! I was in love with her!" Then she did it. You know the annoying ooooohhhhhh sound you made in the sixth grade when someone got in trouble.

"Ooooohhhhhh!" I knew there was a reason I hated her. "So, tell me about her." Even more reason to wish death upon her.

"I don't like to think about her. She's just a painful memory, an Angel who stole my soul."

Rebecca snorted to herself, and rather loudly at that. "I don't buy that for a second. The way you told me that story you must have thought more of her. Spill!"

"She was just a girl I met. Not saying that I met her when she was in her test tube. The only woman I couldn't have, and I had to fall for her. And when the fall-"

"They fall hard," Rebecca said finishing the sentence for me.

"Yeah, that's it. She was a bio-android who didn't know a thing about herself. That's when we found out about DATA. We started studying it, and found out it was a highly sought after prize. Of course, we weren't the ones who wanted it the most. Somehow, Melina got some very valuable piece of information, and the Banshees wanted it from us."

"What are the Banshees?"

"An outlaw duo. Two brothers I believe…I never did find out. Well, Gene lured me out of the house that day. We went to go find work, and while we were gone the Banshees showed up. They beat, cut and basically tortured her trying to get her to tell them her secret. She never told and they assumed that she didn't know. So, they shot her and threw outside. I never forget she leaned up against the chair and the sun passed right through her. I thought it was about to swallow her whole," I said with a sigh.

"You really did promise her that you'd see her again, didn't you?" Rebecca asked with heavy sadness.

"I wish I hadn't now. I could never keep that promise."

"Why?" I hated this question. Why? Well, because no one's perfect. To me it seems that you have to be perfect to get into this `heaven' or whatever it is.

"How could she have died anyway? She was a bio-android."

"She wasn't a normal bio-android. She was a new thing they were trying. They created her to be like a computer but she could die. She had human functions, and death is one of them."

"What was the valuable piece of information?"

"She never told me. I actually didn't know she was shot at the time, but through the weave of the DATA research I found out why her life was taken. However, Melina took her murderer to her grave. No one will ever know what it is."

"Now, why can't you keep you're promise to her?"

"I'm not sure why. I just don't think I can, it's hard to pretend everything's ok when your two seconds away from a nervous-breakdown. I don't know how to live life that way."

"So you think you have to be perfect?" Rebecca said and looked at me like `don't shake your head yes you stupid idiot'.

"I don't think Eden would expect or want to be perfect. And if he does I say this, "You have issues Osama. One of Fifty-two children"," Gene said while walking into the living area. Saved! Thank you god! You can always count on Gene to bail you out when you need it. Well, almost always…

"You always walk in on the right times you know?" Rebecca stated in an angry tone. She wasn't happy.

"No…no I did not know that doctor. Please, tell me more blatantly obvious facts!" Gene said as he was looking at her with that look of, `Don't-act-like-I'm-stupid-you-know-that-I-was-listening-to-every-word-you- were-just-saying'. Either that or he was just being Gene. The Gene I know at least. I remember some times when Gene got real serious, and when he does that fun-loving mask comes off. He's not one to mess with seeing as he'd kill anyone who got anywhere near Rebecca. He's overprotective, and surprisingly secretive. I can't tell if he really likes Rebecca as something more or if he's playing the role of an older brother.

We sat there talking about some useless things, every once in awhile Gene would make me laugh so hard I thought I was going to wet my pants and the fourth member of my crew had yet to come out. If he was still asleep I had to give him his props. If he could sleep through my howling laughter, Rebecca's loud voice and Gene's side-splitting jokes he was an extraordinary man. Of course, I always had a weird feeling about Sky. Yeah, that's his name. It reflects the man's personality. He's soft-spoken, mysterious, strong, wise and an artist. He drew the most beautiful picture once. It had the most beautiful woman in it, but she was trying to hide her face. The robe she wore was black, torn and filthy. I asked him how he could give such a vision such a personality. His eyes glazed over, and he simply asked me, "What you see in this picture means nothing, unless you knew the real beauty in it." I can't help wondering if this picture holds the key to his past.

I usually try to leave him alone though. I respect him more than anyone, for I believe he's been through a lot. However, I have no information about his past. Maybe that's why he's looking for DATA. Maybe he doesn't have a clue himself.

I've always told myself the reason I'm looking is for her, but in my heart I know that ain't true. I guess I'm looking to find out who I really am. I know where I came from, and I know who my parents were and all that good stuff. All I want to know is why I'm here and why she's not. It's a question that's been burning in my brain ever since I felt Melina pass through me. Why am I so much more important that I am still here and she's not. It really doesn't seem fair.

"WHY DO YOU KEEP GOING TO YOUR CRAZY LITTLE WORLD! AM I NOT IMPORTANT ENOUGH FOR YOU?! DON'T I MEAN SOMETHING TO YOU!? YOU TOLD ME YOU LOVED ME! NOO! WAS ALL THAT A LIE TOO?! ANSWER ME!" Gene said in the voice of a woman who was in love with a man who was married to woman and he didn't really love her. Hmmm…Fatal Attraction. He was playfully sobbing on Rebecca's shoulder and she was consoling him saying things like, "He didn't deserve you anyway!" I chuckled to myself lightly. We really hadn't gotten anywhere with our research in the four years we had been trying to find out what DATA was or whatever.

We hadn't given up just yet though, we still had hope. We just didn't have any leads at the moment and we couldn't break the number one rule. Everyone must be present, and Sky wasn't. If we had to go right into Gaia, cyberspace, we would all know. We try not to worry each other.

This is what the world has come to. It reminds me of an old movie called the Matrix. Of course, there's still an Earth. There are just people who choose to study Gaia and there are those who know nothing about it. Gaia is swarming with cyborgs and robots. Bio-android is no longer a known species in Gaia. DATA is somewhere in the depths of Gaia. At least, we imagine that it's deep into Gaia.

2770 isn't the safest time to live in, but I guess there's still no way to control when you're born. Gene's always felt like he belonged in the 1980's. Personally, I don't think the world was ready for Gene Liddel. I don't think we're ready for him now.

I glance over at my friends to see Gene pulling his hand through Rebecca's red hair. His azure gaze pierced the nothingness he stared so hard at. This was the Gene I didn't know. Silence enclosed on the room. I was about to break it when Sky burst into the room and ran right over to the computer system.

"Sky!" Rebecca yelled.

"No time…to explain. We…have to go…into Gaia…" Sky said through pants. Something was wrong.

"Sky what's wrong?" Gene asked. But we weren't going to get anything out of him. I remember this day as the end of many things, but what I remember it most as is the last day I saw the sun.

I hope I see it again…