"What do you think?" the pessimist incarnate questioned. Or as she liked to call herself, the realist. "Do humans have soulmates, too or are they just aimlessly floundering in the dating cesspool until they find someone? Then they can convince themselves that they are their one true love."
That was the existential question the two women were discussing, for no particular reason, laying amongst fescue grasses and overgrown daisies in the midmorning sun. The three well-manicured headstones appeared to stare down at them in contemplative silence.
"I don't see why not. Why would we be the only ones?" The raven-haired woman asked while watching cumulus clouds morph from bunny to snake to... Penis?
"We're special," her dearest friend jeered with unfiltered sarcasm. "And humans are stupid. Without them, we could live it up in the city or just exist without looking over our shoulders. But no. They're stupid. Worse, they're the monsters in the children's bedtime stories."
"First, stop scaring the children. And second, I'm surprised... You are uncharacteristically savage today," she replied with equal sarcasm.
Lingering smiles touched the women's lips as they reminisced. It certainly wasn't a bad life isolated in the wilderness. After the losses they had experienced, this was the closest they had to peace. The Community had spread far and wide through the mountain range, and they could finally be free. They hadn't seen another Panacea agent, nor aircraft, in months. The woman held hope that the ordeal was finally over—wishful thinking, perhaps.
A gentle breeze ruffled the grass, tickling their supine forms, and the nearby forest whispered ancient secrets.
"That one looks like a massive di-"
"I know. I already saw it."
They chuckled softly before another pensive quietness entombed the lush, rolling meadow. Each woman wondered if their 'soulmate' was thinking of them wherever they were.
Nothing could have prepared them for the suffering or inescapable all-encompassing love they would have to endure in the name of 'soulmates'. If someone had told them three years ago about their fates, they both would have scoffed. One with a scathing remark or two, the other with crippling self-depreciation. No one would love her, she would say. She was certifiably insane.
With a tousle of obsidian locks, she rid her mind of the thought. She didn't believe that anymore, at least most of the time.
He wouldn't let her.
"Any progress on the 'baby-making front?'"
As always, her friend's brashness had her reeling. "Why do you always go there? We aren't trying for a baby! I'm not sure we should even have one. With our genetics, they'll probably have their powers fresh out of the womb." Perhaps she could use that lie on her friends, but deep down, she knew it was because of the perpetual threat of capture. How could she bear a child when someday Panacea could tear them from her arms as quickly as plucking a ripe fruit? What power could they hold with a mother like her? They would never be safe in this world. At least, not yet.
"Don't be so dramatic. You aren't that powerful," the other woman responded wryly, flicking unopened daisies with meticulously sharpened nails.
The only response she could think of was a well-placed eye roll as she flipped onto her belly and picked at the sprouting dandelions. "Make a wish."
"I wish never to hear the words Panacea and Evolved in the same sentence ever again."
With a lungful of air and eyes scrunched shut, the raven-haired woman blew the fluffy white pappi with every ounce of breath. The wind gusted along with her and claimed their desires in a soft embrace.
'I wish for every last one of my kind to be free.'
Never to be seen again.
~~~
A/N
Hello again my loves,
This prologue is long overdue and after careful consideration, is definitely necessary. I think sometimes as a writer you forget random readers don't know how interesting the story is about to get and they judge it by the first chapter. Which is understandable! Hopefully, this dials up the intrigue a little bit ;)
I don't say it nearly enough in this book but thank you so much for reading, and I look forward to reading your comments. It's often the highlight of my day!!
Thank you!
Kayla <3
YOU ARE READING
Evolved
Fantasy"Do you know what you're doing to me?" He leaned his head forward and buried it in her neck, inhaling deeply before peppering kisses along her sternum. She was on fire now. Her energy had a mind of its own, intertwining with his and causing them...
