Genesis

By K. Klein

Have you ever wondered what the first humans did when they woke on this planet? How did they survive?
Ed and Eva are separated in an accident that destroys their ship.
Ed wakes on a beach and does not know who he is, where he is, or where he came from.
They meet up later, after they each had a chance to explore this new world.
They agree that they must reach their other teams who are supposed to be populating the other continents.
Afterwards, they journey to the north, trying to learn about the people and animals that inhabit the place.
The journey lasts long enough for them to grow old together, have a child of their own and forge friendships with the cultures they meet.
Why do we look to the sky when we talk about "God" or "The Gods?" Why do we fear some of the things we fear? The story explores the beginnings of the things we believe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 12, 2010
• ISBN: 9781453586211

K. Klein

At the age of 17 years old, I joined the army. I spent 2 tours of duty in Germany where I met many people from many different nations. I found that we all had some specific things in common: We wanted to live our lives, happily, without interference from others. As I wandered through life, I became curious about the beliefs of my own, and other cultures. Why do we believe so differently, yet all want the same basic things? It was this curiosity that has caused me to deliberately go out and meet many more people. My hopes are that someday, we can figure out where we really come from.

Book preview

Copyright © 2010 by K. Klein.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2010914851

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4535-8620-4

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4535-8619-8

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4535-8621-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

83823

You smug, bastards! All this time you thought you were creating the perfect world, and you were only destroying yourselves.

—Dr. E. Guy, to the Central Council

Contents

Eva

Day 1

Eva

Ed Meets the Nightlife

Day 2

Eva

Day 3

Eva

Day 4

Eva

Day 5

Day 6

Research

The Journey Really Begins!

Daybreak

The Plains

A New Day

The Journey Continues

Neighbors

Morning

Wake Up!

Morning

Party Time!

Down Time

Education

On Our Way

The Journey Begins—Again!

The Creature

The Great Valley

Firestones

Discoveries

Run Away!

Settling

Union

Enlightenment

The New Nightlife

The Beginning

Eva

She was tossed about the cabin while the ship rocked violently. The noise of the waves against the hull was deafening as she tried to find someone alive. So far, everyone seemed to have died in the impact. Then, she heard a moan from the team leader. Thank the stars, she thought, someone else made it.

She grabbed the man by the back of his jumpsuit and pulled him down the aisle and out of a gaping hole in the side. The craft was bucking and rolling in the water as she dove in with her burden. It was dark, but she could see the white crests of the waves as they tried to engulf her. She did not know if she and her friend would make it to land, but she had to try.

Something hit her hard. She shook her head and looked around. All she could see was a crate floating near her. She grabbed for it and was lucky on the first try. Kicking her feet as hard as she was able, she pushed her friend on to the box.

The waves pounded them again and pushed him off. She tried to grab him, but he floated out of her reach. She tried and tried to reach her friend, but he moved farther away with each passing wave.

She swam for the crate again—no luck this time. It floated away on the waves. Their chances of completing the mission seemed slim. She looked around and watched as the silhouette of the ship slowly disappeared into the sea.

It was dark. It was cold. Her energy was almost gone. She was very afraid.

There was debris from the wreck floating in the water around her. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not reach anything that would help her stay afloat. Minutes of struggle seemed to turn into hours.

Stars filled the sky as she tried to find a reason to keep going. She wasn’t even sure that she was heading in the right direction. For all she knew, she could have been swimming in circles.

She was weakening. Her resolve was fading. Why fight a losing battle? She gave up.

That was when everything changed. She felt something touch the bottom of her feet. It disappeared, and then she felt it again. She pushed on it and found that she could stand. It was fortune working in her favor! The water tossed her around as she made it to shore. She was alive!

At least she had survived this far. Now what was she to do? She had to get to solid land!

The sky was clear, and there was a slight breeze as she dragged her weakened body onto the sand. She lay there until she felt some of her strength return. She was exhausted.

Her only surviving crewmate had disappeared into the darkness after she pulled him from the wreck, and now she was alone. Why try to go on? She had tried to let herself in the water in hopes of drowning and ending the struggle. But that had failed. Now she was alone. There was very little hope of rescue.

She cried. Then she laughed. Then she cried again. Fate had been kind to her. Fate had also been cruel. On the one hand, she had been given the gift of life, but on the other hand, she had been isolated from everything that made it worth living.

The irony was almost too much to bear as she faded away into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Day 1

The first thing I was aware of was the heat—extreme heat. Then . . . that damned light. It was so bright that I couldn’t open my eyes. After that, there was confusion.

What happened? I groaned. I opened my eyes slowly and stared straight up into a clear blue sky. I closed them again. I thought, How strange the sky looks!

Where am I? I said to myself as I rolled over. How did I get here? Then, terror struck me. "Who am I?" I opened my eyes carefully, shielding them from the light. I could not remember what had happened.

Looking around, I found that I was lying in sand, near water that was rolling up onto the shore. How had I arrived on the beach? My clothes were wet, and I felt as if someone had beaten me. I was stiff and sore.

Course sand was in my hair, my clothes, and all over my body. Sitting up, I searched myself for injuries. There were minor cuts and bruises, some sore places, but nothing major.

Thank the stars! There aren’t any broken bones or missing limbs. This only added to the mystery. As I stood up, I felt dizzy. I coughed.

Better do this slowly, I told myself. I wavered between consciousness and oblivion, but willed myself back to my senses. Passing out wouldn’t help matters.

When my legs became more stable and my ears stopped ringing, I looked around. The sand stretched out as far as I could see in both directions. It was bright white in the sunlight, and I could see waves of heat coming from it.

The water was a deep dark green. As I looked farther out, it turned blue and merged with the sky in the distance. Foam formed and washed ashore as the waves slid onto the sand. There were no clouds in the sky, and the sun was low on the horizon. I couldn’t tell if it was rising or setting, but it did not seem to matter.

Behind me were some woods with tall, leafy trees and short, stubby bushes. I could see no sign of life anywhere near me.

Okay. Now what are you going to do? I said aloud. I was beginning to feel better now but did not want to push myself too hard. The sun was hotter than I had ever known it to be. The air pressed in on me like a vise, and it felt as if I weighed twice as much as I really did.

If only I could remember! I was sure that I did not just appear here. I had to have come from some place!

I sat for a while, trying to make sense of my situation. Slowly, my mind began working. I needed to find out where I was—that was first priority. Then I would have to find help. Any help would do! If I couldn’t find help, I would need to find food, water, and a place to sleep.

However, for right now, I needed to get the lay of the land. Since I wasn’t sure which way to walk on the beach, I turned to look at the woods. Walking to the tree line, I peered inside.

It wasn’t too dark in there. The sunlight filtering through the branches lit the leaves and the ground with a bright glow. The trees were growing in an uneven manner, but I could see a long way inside.

Okay, so go climb a tree and see what you can see, old boy, I told myself and then laughed. I didn’t even know how old I was!

As I walked into the woods, I felt much better. The trees shaded me from the sun and made me feel protected. What should I be afraid of? I thought. Who knows? I sure don’t.

Then, the urgency to find out more about this place left me. It was a beautiful day. The temperature was perfect, if not a little bit hot. Everything seemed peaceful.

Why worry about anything? Might as well relax and enjoy it, I told myself. Somehow, I knew that everything would be all right. I did not know how I knew—I just did. I was sure that my memory would come back and that I would walk out of here to find . . . What? Who?

Oh well. Deal with it when it happens. There was something gnawing at my mind, but I didn’t know what.

Leisurely, I began walking deeper into the woods, noting that the trees were spaced just the right distance apart. I didn’t need to alter my course too much or twist my way through tight spots. The ground was flat and level but littered with the accumulation of years’ worth of dead, dry, and decaying leaves. This was good because I still felt a little bit weak in the knees, and the cushion afforded by the carpet of leaves helped to soothe my stride. The air was warm, but a slight breeze kept me cool and helped to keep me from feeling closed in.

Birds of a type that I did not recognize were flitting around in the branches above. They were assorted shades of greens, reds, blues, and yellows. It was a wonderful sight! I would love to write home about it . . . that is, if I had something to write on and write with, and . . . oh yeah . . . if I had a home to write to!

This was becoming very depressing. I had to stop thinking like that. Those kinds of thoughts were a waste of time and a distraction. They would not get me anywhere, and they could be dangerous. I needed to find a tall tree to climb—one that would help me to see where I was!

Wandering further, I located a promising-looking tree. It had branches, low enough to pull myself up and big enough to hold me. Maybe I could make my way to the top without killing myself. It looked like it was slightly taller than its neighbors were. I hoped that it would give me a clear view of the surrounding area.

Reaching up, I took hold of a branch and began to climb. One branch at a time, I made my way higher and closer to the top. It was not as easy as it looked.

When was the last time I had climbed a tree? Had I ever climbed one?

At the halfway point, I noticed a faint odor on the breeze. It was sweet and almost brought back the memory of . . . hmmm . . . something. Stopping on a sturdy branch, I looked around to see if I could identify where the smell was coming from.

Two or three trees away, I could see bunches of oddly shaped yellow fruit hanging from long stems at the top of the tree. Looking closer, I noticed that some of the other trees were full of them. It looked as if something had been nibbling on some of them. That reminded me that I was very hungry and, of course, I couldn’t remember when I had eaten last.

The fact that something was eating the fruit seemed to mean that they might be good for food. Well, I’ll grab a bite when I get down from here. First off, I need to see where I am, I said to myself as I ascended higher onto the tree.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, I reached a point where I could see past the other trees. Looking in the direction of the beach, I saw the ocean stretching out as far as the eye could see.

There was no sign of habitation, but I could see what appeared to be an island. It was so far away that I couldn’t be sure it was really there. No surprises there, I thought.

Then I began searching the horizon behind me for any sign of life—other than trees or birds! All I could see were more trees. Some had the same fruit that I’d spotted on the tree near me, while others had some different-colored fruit. Still others had no fruit at all.

Then, far off in the distance, I spotted a white capped mountain. It stood far above the horizon, like a sentinel, ever watchful in this alien world. It was a long way inland, so I had a decision to make: stay by the shore or travel to the mountain.

Well, there did not seem to be any reason to stick close to the shore, so I decided to go to the mountain.

It looked as if it would take at least a couple of days to reach it, but I knew then that I had to try. Maybe there would be someone on the other side of it. At least I could see more of the land from there. And this would give me an opportunity to do some exploring.

Slowly, methodically, I began making my way down the tree to the ground. Coming down was much easier than going up, but I still had to be careful. It would be just my luck to get part of the way down and fall the rest of the way.

On the ground, I got my bearings and started my journey to the mountain. I stopped at a tree to pick some of the fruit. It was long and thin, had a smooth, yellow skin with a stem at one end.

I bit into it—yuck! The skin was bitter! I scooped a piece of the inside with my finger and tasted that. I found it to be very sweet. It would do for food and water if I couldn’t find a drinkable supply.

I had no idea how long it would take to get to the mountain, or when I would find more food, so I grabbed as much of the fruit as I could carry and set out on my trip.

The walk was easy. The woods were quiet except for the birds. They seemed to take pleasure in dropping leaves and twigs on me as I passed. I enjoyed watching them play among the leaves and liked hearing their songs.

It was hard to tell if there was anything else alive in these woods. The rustling of the breeze through the trees, and the singing and chattering of birds masked any sounds that other creatures may have made.

I hadn’t seen signs of life besides the birds and the trees. There were no trails of any kind. It seemed to me that I might be in virgin territory. Imagine that! No other person has ever been here before! I chuckled.

Then the fear hit me again. If no one had ever been here, then I had little chance of rescue. This was a thought that sent a chill to the very marrow of my bones. I couldn’t remember if there even was such a place. But if there was, and I was there, how would I be able to survive?

Stop it! I screamed out loud. There’s no use in thinking like that! Even if this were the most remote part of the world, I would survive! I was determined. I was breathing. There was food to be had for the picking. There was bound to be freshwater somewhere, or else the birds wouldn’t be able to survive. The weather was fantastic. It didn’t look like I would freeze to death or anything, so why worry.

There is hope! All I had to do was not give up. I had to try to keep a positive attitude. I couldn’t allow myself to dwell on negative thoughts. Thoughts like that would lead to certain destruction.

Deep in thought, I almost passed another tree with strange-looking nuts hanging from it.

Looking around, I noticed more of them on the ground. The nuts had a green cover over a very hard shell. They were about the size of my big toe. Some of them appeared to have broken open.

Picking one up, I pulled it apart and found a seed inside that looked as if it had dried up. Squeezing it between my thumb and finger, I noticed that it wasn’t dried; it just looked that way. Taking a small piece and popping it into my mouth, I found it to be a little bitter but very tasty. This can’t be the best way to find food! I chided myself. But what else could I do? Settling on the ground, I gathered up as many of the nuts as I could reach. Some had the green covering on them, and I found that they didn’t open.

Others had covers that had turned black. These opened easier, but they were full of small, white, bugs. Okay. So, we’re going to have to figure out how to find the good ones, I said, tossing away the bad nuts. Maybe the birds will eat the bugs.

Figuring out that it was a hit-and-miss proposition, I continued gathering up the nuts and adding them to my stash of food. When I was tired of collecting and shelling them, I placed them in my pocket and laid back to enjoy a short break.

I really wasn’t very tired anymore, which surprised me. I had exerted myself in climbing the tree and walking. But it seemed as if I hadn’t put out much effort.

I noticed that the shadows of the trees had moved slightly. It looked as if the sun was almost directly overhead. How long does it stay light? I wondered.

After sitting for a while, I thought, Okay, let’s get to the mountain.

Standing again and getting my bearings, I started in the direction I had been heading. The trees were beginning to thin out, and I could see farther ahead now. Bushes were growing in the extra sunlight afforded by the thinning trees. They didn’t make the trek any harder, but it added some interesting features which I studied as I walked.

The birds had either found someplace else to play or decided that they didn’t want to fly so far from one tree to the next. Most of them were gone. Anyway, it was getting quieter.

The breeze had died down also, which made it easier to hear other noises. This really didn’t seem to matter much, because there wasn’t anything else to hear. There was only the sound of my footsteps crunching the leaves.

Suddenly, I had the feeling that someone was watching me. I looked around. There was nothing to be seen. Looking up, I scanned the trees as far as I could see. Again—nothing!

The trees were empty except for some other strangely colored fruits. There wasn’t a sign of movement anywhere. Keeping watch on the ground and looking around at the trees from time to time, I proceeded on my way.

Soon the ground began to slant downward—ever so slightly at first, and then more steeply as I moved toward the mountain. This was something I hadn’t seen from the tree.

Looking ahead, I could see a ravine. It didn’t look too deep and wouldn’t be a problem crossing.

The trees were thinning out even more, giving me a better view of my surroundings. There were small, leafy bushes and some medium-sized trees growing in the sunlight, which now streamed through the trees. Unfortunately, none of them looked as if they would be good for food.

I tramped onward toward the mountain, looking at the foliage around me, trying to recognize something—anything! Nothing looked familiar.

Rocks were beginning to appear through the soil. This became painfully clear when I tripped over a rather large one and rolled down the slope. Standing up, bouncing around on one foot while massaging my injured toe, I cussed!

Damn! That hurt! I held my throbbing big toe until the pain started to subside, then sat on the ground, and felt to see if it had been broken. Nope, just some skin peeling off! That wasn’t really a good thing, but at least I hadn’t ripped off the nail.

I stood again, brushing away the leaves that clung to me. Then I gathered the fruit that had fallen from my hands and pockets. I looked around closely for any other rocks that may attack me. I had to pick my path more carefully!

I started down toward the ravine. I’d better watch my step, I said to myself as I approached the bottom of the grade. I don’t need a broken leg. I’m not sure I could fix it, let alone stand the pain! And it would really slow me down.

Somehow, I knew that I was doing the right thing by walking toward the mountain. It no longer seemed like just another good idea. I began to feel as if I was being drawn to it.

I picked up my pace now. A new sense of urgency slowly began to fill me. I must get to the mountain. Walking faster, almost running, I started losing my food supplies.

The fruits, which I had been carrying in my hands, were beginning to turn black, and the juices were making my hands sticky. I debated on whether I should just drop them and look for more later. But I thought, who knows when, or if, I’ll find more.

I started thinking, Somewhere there had to be something I could use to carry them.

I was so distracted that I almost tripped again. As I attempted to recover, I stepped into a small puddle of water at the bottom of the ravine. This brought me to a halt.

Where was this water coming from? Looking around, I noticed that the bushes and plants were growing thicker in a line toward a small rise. I had crashed through them without even realizing that they were there. I stopped to think.

What do I do? I asked myself.

Slowly, almost painfully, I reasoned that since water flows downhill, the source would have to be up above my position. Duh! If I just keep following the plant line toward the rise, I might get lucky and find the source of the water.

I began to move toward the higher end of the row, hoping that a spring wouldn’t be far. Fortunately, I wasn’t going too far off my original course to the mountain.

My mind began working again. If there were other animals in these woods, they probably needed water too. The problem with other animals needing water was that they might want to fight for it . . . and, I had no weapons. This realization brought me up short in my tracks.

Problems, problems! What to do now? I needed to find some way to protect myself. A