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“I... I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“Oh, my child...” Gabriel looked concerned. “Is that what you think this is?”
He gently rubbed Adam’s back, and Adam closed his new eyes. Gabriel smiled as if he were watching a cat ask for more scritches. He’d already brought Adam to the others, and they had all welcomed their new brother. Adam hadn’t been afraid either. If anything, he seemed eager to know his new family and finally get the love and belonging that he had craved for so long.
“Look at this world, Adam,” Gabriel said. “Look through your memories too. Perhaps this world had once been paradise, but it’s nothing more than a barren wasteland now. These beasts have torn Eden apart and forsaken it. They have murdered their paradise, and for what? For nothing. And now they are forced to live in such an awful world...”
Adam was silent as Gabriel moved to stand behind him, and he leaned back slightly to once again soak up Gabriel’s warmth. It seemed to be the only way that he could get any sort of warmth, but he didn’t mind. He liked Gabriel’s touch. He liked Gabriel’s warmth. Gabriel was his lord...
“But... they are all human,” Adam tried to protest. “I can’t just kill people.”
“They are not human,” Gabriel said firmly. “They have all long since cast away the humanity their creator gave them. They are nothing more than beasts now. Parasites. Destroyers and murderers and liars-”
“Not all of them,” Adam said. “Some of them are still good.”
Gabriel looked away as his eyes darkened with anger. This was only a minor hitch. He repeated that silently to himself a few times before twisting his face back into his warm paternal look. Be gentle. Be patient. Be understanding. Adam was new to being an Alternate. It would take some time, but he would fall in line like the rest of them. Just be patient...
“Of course,” He said as he looked down at Adam again. “And it’s so sweet how you think that. But you must remember that you are not human, Adam. You are not one of them. You owe them nothing. You are part of something much greater. Something that will reshape this world and bring back paradise...”
Adam knew he was right, but he still felt guilty. He wasn’t human, but he had lived with the humans all of his life. This whole time he could have had something better, but it had been denied to him simply because of his own ignorance. Had Gabriel known all this time? But then why had he never approached Adam before? Why had he left Adam in such a sad state only to come to him now that a different Alternate had told him the truth?
Gabriel began to once again run his fingers through Adam’s hair. Those fingers were warm and gentle, and Adam loved it. His worries and his thoughts melted away the more Gabriel stroked his hair. Maybe there had been a reason. Maybe Gabriel had not known after all. Maybe Gabriel had had to wait for Adam to know. Maybe Gabriel had tried, but Adam’s own ignorance had blinded him...
Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter. Adam was home now. Adam had his family now.
“I already know who will be your first,” Gabriel said. “It’s someone that you know very well. Do you remember Eve?”
“Eve...?” Adam asked. “You mean Eveline?”
“Eveline...” Gabriel repeated, almost sounding surprised. “Yes... her. You remember her, don’t you? You loved each other very much, didn’t you? But you left her. You left her because you didn’t feel that you belonged with her. You didn’t feel that your love was right. That’s because you could not love her like how she needed to be. You could not love her like how a human loves...”
Yes, he had loved her... or he had tried to. She did want to love her, but he couldn’t love her like how she wanted. After all, how can you share with another when you are empty? How can you share with another when you have nothing to share? And Eveline’s love had not filled his emptiness.
“You want me to kill Eveline?” Adam asked. “I-I can’t! I don’t... I d-don't want to...”
“Killing is the wrong term to use,” Gabriel said. “What you are doing is a great service to her. She was promised paradise, and she was instead forced to live in this awful world. Imagine the sorrow she must feel. The pain. What you will be doing... is sending her to the paradise that she was promised. Imagine how much happier she will be. She will be so grateful. That is what we are all doing, Adam. We are simply sending these people to the paradise the churches promised them...”
Send them to paradise? Paradise sounded pretty good. It sounded much better than Mandela County. It sounded better than this world. Then... was it really that bad? What they were doing... was it really that bad? Adam didn’t understand, but that was probably because he was so new to it. Things would make sense after some time. He just had to be patient and believe. Have faith in his new lord.
“Do you understand, my child?” Gabriel asked. “Do you understand what I’m asking you to do?”
“Send Eveline to paradise,” Adam said. “But... how should I do it?”
“Well, that is up to you,” Gabriel said. “There are many ways to do it, after all. You may choose. But no matter what, the result will be the same. Don’t forget that, Adam. However you choose to do it, Eve will still receive her paradise.”
“Eve will still receive her paradise...” Adam said. “Yes, I understand.”
“Wonderful!” Gabriel sounded happy. Adam liked that he sounded so happy. “Eve is at the police station. Go there and send her to paradise. Free her from this awful world. And remember this too... do not disappoint me, Adam.”
Adam slowly nodded as Gabriel faded away, and he was left in the cold once again. No... he would not disappoint Gabriel. He would not disappoint his savior...