[001] monsters hide behind the prettiest faces

                    Eden had been born with a violent heart, and she tried so hard to keep it suppressed while the world was still functioning. She thought she would've had to suffer forever. But then the world ended and Eden was finally able to act on her violent urges. She wasn't called a monster or a psychopath. It was all in the name of mere survival. In a way, Eden felt like she had been reborn the moment that the world all fell apart. People like Eden were the ones on top, taking out those weaker than her. People like Eden were the ones who adapted to their roles as the predator naturally, not thinking twice about slicing the throat of someone else to live another day.

                     Either him or me... I choose me every damn time.

                    She had lost track of how much time had passed since the world collapsed at the hands of the dead coming back to life. Eden could still remember the day that it happened. She had just been let go from the police force due to complicated matters (ha, it was a nice way of saying she had snapped and killed a man in cold blood) and Eden had been fuming in some seedy bar. The news playing on the small, shitty TV began talking about dead people coming back to life and eating people. They claimed it was some sort of terrible virus and that you should stay indoors while the authorities took care of it.

                   That hopeful message went to shit pretty quickly when there were a lot more dead than living.

                    Eden managed to survive the best way she knew how. She killed. She made sacrifices and stained her hands with blood that she could never wash away no matter how hard she scrubbed. She became the monster that her old colleagues at the academy feared. The last bit of humanity Eden had been clinging onto in the past had died when civilization did. And as twisted as it sounded, Eden was so happy. She was finally herself and although Eden was alone, she was alive. It was better if she was alone anyways. People slowed her down and Eden was way too selfish to let anyone stick around for long. Eden always wanted something someone else had, and she was willing to take it no matter what.

                    It was no surprise that she was alone today, just as she had been all the other days since the apocalypse had begun. It was a miserably hot day, the weather showing no signs of easing up. Eden had always hated the summer, the way the heat made her clothes stick to her thin body and her entire body become coated in a thick and uncomfortable sweat truly made Eden even angrier than normal. But she didn't have the luxury of a house to stay in, or even air conditioning. The last house Eden had been in was a couple of months ago and she couldn't even be there for long after a herd of those dead assholes came through. That was one of the few moments where she thought she might actually die.

                   Now Eden was walking along a long road that seemed to be going nowhere, the summer heat only making her feel more and more exhausted. She wasn't sure how much more she could take. She was running out of food and water and Eden knew her luck would have to kick in sometime. Or maybe it was destined to run out. Maybe God had had enough of watching Eden's blood-soaked sins and decided to kill her out the cowardly way, letting starvation kill her instead. Eden wasn't about to give in so easily, not when she had fought so hard to live.

                   She wouldn't be going down without a fight.

                  Just then, Eden heard the noise of a man shouting in frustration followed by the noise of a fist slamming into metal. She paused, bending down to where her knife was hidden in her boot. Her fingers hovered above the side of her boot, waiting to pull out her knife and potentially end any threat that came her way. Eden decided to hold off, realizing that she only heard one man. He was more than likely alone and really, Eden could handle one man. She didn't even need her gun which was situated in her back pocket.

                   Plus, she really needed to preserve on her bullets.

                   Eden walked ahead and saw a tall man with tan skin hunched over an old truck. Eden didn't have to see his face to know that he was defeated. He kicked the tire for good measure, murmuring underneath his breath. He turned around, not expecting to see Eden there. But he was quickly startled by her presence and backed away from her, pulling out his gun and pointing it right at her.

                   "Hey, don't shoot!" Eden exclaimed, holding up her hands. "Please don't. I need help."

                   "Stay back. What... what's your name?" he asked.

                    She swallowed hard, deciding to try and sell the innocent bit. It worked every time. "I'm Eden. Please help me. I'm lost and hungry. I need your help. You're the first human I've seen in forever."

                     He lowered his gun, seeming to buy her act. Eden did look desperate and starving and she was small. There was no way she could possibly take him down. "I'm Adam. Look, I... I can help you."

                      "Thank you so much," Eden sighed in relief. "Does your car work? I've been on my feet for so long. They're swollen."

                      "It doesn't work right now but you can sit inside with me. It's hot as Satan's balls out here anyways. We can both use some shade," Adam offered.

                      Eden nodded with a small smile. "Yes, please."

                      Adam smiled back at her, opening the car door for her. She climbed in and he closed the door behind her. Briefly, the brunette looked behind her to see that there was a large duffle bag filled with stuff. Unfortunately, time was against Eden so she couldn't really see what was inside. Eden turned back around and watched him as he went over to the other side and sat down in the driver's seat. Eden released another sigh and sat back in her seat, briefly closing her eyes. Adam turned to look at the beautiful woman, admiring her briefly. Although her clothes were a little dirty and a light coating of sweat covered her body, she looked... pristine. And it made Adam wonder what more there was to Eden's story.

                   "Thank you again for deciding to help me. You can't imagine how much it means to me. I didn't think I was ever going to find a kind soul like you to help me," Eden replied.

                   "It's no problem. Look, I don't mean to be rude but how'd you survive this long?" Adam questioned.

                   "Hiding," she lies with a frown. "It was really hard, being alone for so long. Sometimes, I'd go days without food. I feel so lucky to have found you."

                   "Don't worry, you're in safe hands now," Adam assured.

                    "Thanks. Are you alone?" Eden inquired.

                    Adam shook his head. "No, I'm not alone. I've got a friend."

                    "Is he imaginary or what?" Eden teased.

                    That earned a chuckle from him. "Nah, he's real. He's just not here right now."

                    "Where is he?" Eden questioned.

                    She needed to know everything before she was able to make her next move.

                    "My friend should be coming back soon. He's going to help fix up the car so we can go back to our community," Adam answered. He didn't think that he was in danger, spilling his guts to the innocent looking girl in need of his help.

                    Men loved to play the hero, each and every time. It was a weakness that often got them killed. Eden loved how predictable they could be.

                    "You have a community?" Eden asked, eyes wide with faux amazement.

                    She hadn't come across any community. She tended to target people that were alone and take what she could get. The most had been three people whom Eden had managed to pluck off one by one. But never had Eden entered a community and stayed. She didn't plan on it either.

                    "Yeah. You should come back with us, darling. We could use a new set of hands," Adam offered.

                    A wide smile crosses Eden's features. "I'd love to. Maybe I should keep you company while we wait for your friend. I could use the little bit of rest anyway."

                   "Cool," Adam agreed, his gaze lingering on Eden. He couldn't help himself. She was attractive. If Adam took her back with him, there was no doubt she'd become one of his leader's wives in no time.

                  "So, uh, what brought you and your friend out here?" Eden then asked.

                  "Scavenging for some supplies, food, whatever valuables we could find. We take whatever we can get. We earn everything that we took," Adam explained.

                  "So that's what that big, nice bag is for," Eden hummed. "How long is your friend going to be?"

                   "He should be here any minute now actually," Adam explained, looking out the window to check for any sign of his friend.

                   Eden didn't have very long then. She needed to act now if she was going to kill him and rob him of that precious bag filled with everything Eden needed. "Great."

                  Eden knew that it would've been easier to just shoot him. But she couldn't risk the noise. So she pulled out her knife instead, deciding that it would be best to take Adam by surprise. Just as he turned around to face her, Eden plunged the knife into his chest. She went in deep, watching his eyes widen from shock and horror. She quickly yanked out the knife, blood spilling from the wound in his chest and staining his shirt. The once pristine white t-shirt he had been wearing was now soaked in crimson, spreading all over rapidly.

                 She stabbed him again in the abdomen this time, not giving him the chance to recover. The gasp he released was loud, Eden able to hear the blood well up in his throat and slowly begin to choke him. His breaths were short and gurgled as he continued to look at Eden with wide, bloodshot eyes. She ripped the knife out before repeating the motion, stabbing him over and over again in the stomach and chest until his desperate, gurgled breaths finally ceased.

                 When Eden finished, she looked at Adam's body now bleeding out and slumped over on the driver's side. She waited for the moment she'd feel guilty but she didn't feel a thing. Just like the moment when she shot that abusive asshole or the countless other people she killed, Eden hadn't felt anything besides a sick satisfaction that was bound to land her in hell.

                Now was no different.

                She wiped off her knife with her shirt before she put away her knife in the side of her boot. She then grabbed his bag, peering inside to see that there was a lot of canned foods, a couple of water bottles, and even a gun inside. It was enough to last Eden for a little while until she found her next victim. Eden obviously couldn't go back to wherever this guy lived, even if she knew there might be more food where that came from. She had murdered him and she was sure his community (if one actually existed) would kill her in retaliation. Eden may have enjoyed the thrill but she was smart enough to know when she'd lose a fight.

                "It was nice meeting you, Adam. You were a total idiot with a staring problem but... you weren't as bad as the others I've dealt with," Eden sighed.

                Slinging the bag over her shoulders, her bloodstained hands grabbed the door and pushed it open. Eden climbed out like everything was fine and normal. As though she hadn't just murdered a guy. This was the new normal and anyone still trying to cling onto their humanity and morals were the delusional ones, in Eden's opinion. As she made her escape into the woods surrounding the road, Eden began to whistle the very same song her mom used to sing to her at night - the woman always sporting some sort of bruise as far back as Eden could remember. She disappeared into the thicket of trees, all the while completely unaware that someone had been watching her. Someone who had witnessed her brutally murdering his friend before stealing his goods.

                 Someone who was itching to get their revenge. And they knew exactly how too. Unlike the many times before, Eden wouldn't be getting away with this one.

( 🐺🩸🔪)

word count: 2187
notes: welcome to the first chapter where you see eden go full killer mode. she literally goes from 0 to 100 in no time whatsoever. she has poor impulse control and she enjoys killing a little too much. but her actions are going to catch up to her in the next chapter, as you can probably guess. let me know your thoughts, how you feel about eden, etc.!