Primitive Man

Chapter 86: Hopeless Eva

The morning sun rose with the usual warmth, gently awakening Garnt from his deep slumber. As he blinked away the remnants of sleep, he found himself surrounded by the warm, comforting presence of Unami, Ayra, and Rona. They had been watching over him, tending to his needs, and sharing the warmth of his bed.

"These girls!" Feeling the weight of their bodies, he muttered those words happy to see them doing well.

Garnt shifted his body, feeling a strange sensation. His entire body was soaked in sweat, his clothes clinging to him like a second skin. Memories flooded back to him like a torrential downpour. He remembered the battle – the clash of steel, the deafening roars, and the earth-shaking tremors as a massive beast attacked their group.

His eyes darted around the room, and in the soft morning light, he spotted Kara and Gundo, still asleep. His sudden movement startled Kara, who let out a yelp, causing everyone else in the room to stir and slowly open their eyes.

Wide-eyed and confused, Garnt found himself the centre of attention. The girls looked at him with eyes that glistened with tears. It was as if he'd returned from the brink of oblivion.

"What's going on?" Garnt mumbled, bewildered by the sudden outpouring of emotion.

Gundo stepped forward, her voice heavy with relief. "You've been unconscious for several days, Garnt. We thought we'd lost you." Tears leaked from her eyes, simply showing how much she cared about him. "I'm glad you're back with us,"

Ayra chimed in, her voice cracking with emotion, "Gundo was the most worried one among us. She hardly left your side for a moment. We all took turns looking after you, but she practically lived here."

Still feeling groggy, Garnt tried to push himself up, but his body protested, aching and unresponsive. Gundo gently pushed him back onto the bed. "You need more rest, Garnt. Your body took a severe beating in that battle. You need time to recover."

Rona and Unami also nodded their heads showing that, they won't allow him to act on his own this time.

Garnt looked at the faces of his friends, their worry and relief evident in their eyes. "I appreciate all of you, but I need to know what's happening in the village. We can't stay idle."

Everyone looked uneasy hearing his words and they knew hiding things from him wouldn't be ideal for them, since they were in a critical situation in their lives.

With the help of Rona and Ayra, Garnt managed to get up as they held his shoulder without letting them go.

The earlier concerns of Gundo vanished, as it was important for Garnt to see the reality of the situation.

"Garnt, we are not going to hide anything, so listen-" Gundo hesitated, but then she opened the door.

Garnt's heart raced as he surveyed the grim scene outside the village. The people looked defeated, their spirits crushed by recent events. The loss of their loved ones and the uncertain fate of their village had taken its toll. Garnt felt a surge of guilt for not being there to protect them during their time of need.

As Rona and Ayra helped him up, the villagers gathered around, their eyes filled with questions and concern. Garnt struggled to focus on their inquiries, his mind still hazy from his recent ordeal. But Gundo stepped forward once again, her voice steady and authoritative.

"Everyone, Garnt needs more time to recover. He'll be back to lead us soon. In the meantime, we need to support one another and rebuild our village." Her words seemed to provide some comfort to the villagers, and they reluctantly dispersed, leaving Garnt and his friends some space.

Gundo ordered the other girls to take Garnt inside, since they didn't want anyone to disturb his recovery.

Feeling both overwhelmed and frustrated by his inability to comprehend the situation fully, Garnt turned to Eva, the voice inside his head that had guided him on many occasions and became almost like a second mother to him. But this time, when he called for her assistance, there was no response. Panic crept in as he realized something was wrong.

"Eva? What's going on?" Garnt's voice trembled with anxiety. He had come to rely on Eva's guidance, and her absence was deeply unsettling and nerver wrecking.

After what felt like an eternity, a weak, barely audible response finally came from Eva. "Everything is over, Garnt. I'm done with this whole thing." Her tone was flat, devoid of the usual warmth and support she provided. "There's no meaning to any of these things."

Garnt's heart sank at Eva's words. He had always known that she was a part of him, a manifestation of his inner strength and determination, but her resignation shook him to his core. "Eva, please, you can't just give up. We need you now more than ever. What happened?"

Eva remained silent for a moment, and Garnt feared the worst. But then she spoke, her voice filled with weariness.

Her voice quivered as she started to cry, and her words were filled with a feeling of deep sorrow, "I won't be able to save her, Garnt. It's over for me." Her emotions were raw and overwhelming.

Garnt was bewildered by her words. "Save who? What are you talking about, Eva? Please, I need to understand."

Suddenly, a vivid and distressing memory flashed before Garnt's eyes. It was the memory of Eva's daughter's funeral, a scene filled with grief and sorrow. He saw how Eva's daughter had died, and the immense pain she had felt.

It was a gloomy afternoon at the cemetery, with thick, dark clouds hanging low in the sky. Most of the attendees wore somber black attire, and the air was heavy with a sense of loss.

Eva stood in front of the grave, her posture rigid and her eyes dry, as if the tears had abandoned her. She clutched a small bouquet of white lilies, a stark contrast to the surrounding darkness. The silence was oppressive, and the only sounds were the soft murmur of the wind and the occasional sniffles from the mourners.

Garnt watched in quiet sympathy as Eva began to speak about the scene they were watching, her voice quivering but filled with a heavy determination to share her burden. "My daughter, she... she's gone," she began, her gaze fixed on the freshly turned soil. "I don't even know if it was an accident or something worse."

Eva's words hung in the air, a chilling uncertainty surrounding them. She continued, her voice choked with sorrow, "Before this... before her death, she was going through something terrible. Bullying at school. I didn't even know, Garnt. I was a bad mother who couldn't protect her own child."

Eva's voice trembled as she revealed the depth of her guilt and anguish. "She never told me what she was going through, never said a word. I didn't see the signs and I wasn't there for her, even if she wanted to tell me.

I should have seen it, should have been there for her." Her voice broke, and for the first time, the strong woman Eva started to cry with a tear welled in her eye, but it did not fall.

As Eva continued to speak, her words felt like a confession of her failures as a mother. "I don't even know if she died or... or if she... if she took her own life," she whispered, her voice barely audible. The weight of not knowing the truth gnawed at her, and the anguish was etched across her face.

Garnt couldn't find words to offer comfort in the face of such a heartbreaking revelation.

Then, the memory shifted, and Garnt saw the events that followed - Eva causing a massive incident in a high-security lab to steal a mysterious material. It was all for the purpose of turning back time and preventing her daughter's death. However, the experiment had gone terribly wrong, leading to a catastrophic explosion that took the lives of almost all her crew members.

Garnt was shocked and speechless as he witnessed these traumatic memories. He now understood the weight of Eva's burden and the terrible consequences of her actions. He couldn't imagine the guilt and despair she must have been carrying all this time.

Tears welled up in Garnt's eyes as he realized the extent of Eva's sacrifice and the pain she had endured. "Eva, I'm so sorry," he whispered, his voice filled with empathy. "We'll find a way to help you. You don't have to carry this alone. We'll face it together, just like we always have."

Eva's response was a mixture of gratitude and sadness.

[Thank you, Garnt, but it might be too late. You saw that beast right? The existence of that animal means I can't reach my goal.]

She finally revealed, why she was supporting Garnt in the first place, and what she was expecting.

[The meteor! It is the material that we were experimenting on. A scientific substance that had the power of gods, that we called Chicxulub. The existence of dinosaurs means, that meteors haven't hit this place.]

Garnt didn't know what to say, as she finally got to know about the question of why she was helping him without even showing any restraint.

[It's all over, Garnt. I'm tired. I'm going to sleep, you should spend your life however you want. I'm really sorry for everything.]