Genesis Read Online Free PDF Page B

advantage he could get if he were going to make it back to the
farm alive.
    They say time is relative, and for
Christopher, it certainly was. The walk back to the entrance of the mine was
the longest walk he had ever taken, even though it took no longer than the walk
a few minutes previous. Even though he knew with absolute fact that he was in a
secure area, being in the dark was something that not very many people chose to
do anymore these days, and for good reason.
    But he had good reason.
    The last time Christopher was alone in the
dark, he wet is pants from fear.
    And that was last week.
    No one knew about that incident, but
Christopher needed to prove once and for all, to himself, that he was ready for
the world he knew was coming. Ready for the trust that his friends and family
were going to be placing in him. Christopher fought back the fear as he made
his way forward. He could feel the anxiety building in his stomach, and the
pressure building in his bladder.
    There was a bright flash of light ahead,
followed immediately by the sound of thunder that echoed down the mineshaft. That
bolt struck nearby, he thought to himself as he was momentarily blinded by the
flash, and he closed his eyes to give them time to adjust.
    One Mississippi…two Mississippi…three
Mississippi.
    He opened his eyes and made his way
forward, this time able to use both of his hands as he climbed up the rubble
pile at the entrance to the mine. He could feel the rain hitting his face as he
climbed up into the darkness. The wind was howling.
    Christopher had been taught to always wait
a moment at the entrance to the mine to make sure it was clear and no one was
around before he made himself visible, but he was in a rush to get out of the
mine before his bladder exploded. His jeans were already wet, and he didn’t
need them drenched with urine, too.
    He burst out of the mineshaft almost at
full sprint, internally celebrating his victory over his personal fear of the
dark. He found a spot that was slightly sheltered from the wind and rain and
paused, relieved to be out of the mineshaft. It was dark outside, but not like
the darkness inside the mountain. That was a different kind of dark.
    On any other night, Christopher would have
heard the sounds of the approaching thing coming up from behind, but tonight,
the rain and the wind rattling the tree-tops helped to obscure the sound of the
approaching danger. The thing was almost upon him when Christopher glanced
backward. He hadn’t really heard anything, but a nagging feeling in his gut
made him turn his head at the exact moment the thing lunged for him.
    If one thing happened before the other, it
was unobservable to the naked eye, and indeed if one had been watching, it
would have looked as if Christopher did the two things simultaneously: wet his
pants from fear, and began to run down the mountain at full speed. But
Christopher knew, and inside it made him feel even more ill-prepared for the
night than he already was.
    At least the rain would wash away the
evidence.
    In the dark they’re nice and slow…
    He slowed to a swift walk as he repeated
his grandfather’s mantra in his head. As disappointed in himself as he was, he
was mature enough to understand it was actually quite remarkable that he was
out and about. Most kids his age were locked inside their homes with their
parents, trying to wrap themselves in plastic, and here he was, a sixteen-year-old
kid with nothing more than a machete, roaming around the countryside running
errands for his grandfather as if nothing had happened in the world at all.
    His posture got a tad better, and a bit of
self-esteem returned the farther he got from the mineshaft.
    Mission accomplished.
    Besides, the rain would wash the urine from
his pants before he got home, and no one would be the wiser; and with that, the
torrential rain stopped as suddenly as it has started, and he could see the
stars again peeking through holes in the clouds for the first time that