Contradicting Worlds

Shock pulsates all over my body. We have the same features except for our hair and the color of our eyes. While my hair is jet-black straight, hers is curly red. My eyes are the perfect color of cognac, hers are beautiful hazel with green outer lining. How can anyone have perfect eyes? It is friggin" unfair.

I watch as she whips her hair away from her eyes furiously. Her hair was french-braided all the way pa.s.sed her shoulder blades but some baby hairs were pestering her face. A laugh startles me and I turn my attention to the thief.

A guy no older than her is standing a few feet away from her. Heaving and... Enjoying? Seems like it from the way his eyes gleam and the way he smiles predatory towards the girl. He has jet-black hair that gets swipe back as the wind rushes over. His eyes are the color of honey and his jaw clenches as the girl before him release unexpected pointed ice that would"ve gone directly to his face if he hadn"t dodged. The fire melted them and he barks out a laugh. "Give me a break Allianah. You know you won"t win against me." He leans back a bit that seems like slacking because he"s too bored to fight this girl.

Allianah--the girl--snorts and flips her hair back with an irritated grunt and smirks when she sees the sudden change in the guy"s posture. "In your dreams, Cade." Just then she releases more ice and flames shot out from Cade"s hand. The ice turned water mid-air and fall to the ground.

Waves formed out of thin air and went to strike him dead but it was stopped directly at his face when it turned suddenly into ice. Seconds later, it was crystals and lava shooting out from either party but they dodge it easily. They move in perfect rhythm, every move they make is synchronized with each other. It"s almost seemed like they weren"t enemies but they were learning how each other moves from defense to offense. They weren"t trying to hurt each other but rather they were... Learning from each other.

It is hard to miss if you are simply there to watch. But I observe. And I can see that they are trying to learn each other"s movements and abilities. They move swiftly together, it almost looks like they are dancing rather than fighting.

I watch, mesmerized for a few more moments before Cade"s movement and offenses finally halt. His arms fall limply to his sides and his expression went blank as he stared emotionless to the girl. He"s looking directly at her eyes and a small smile creeps its way towards the girl"s lips. She moves towards Cade who"s now looking pale and sweat breaks in his forehead, prompting a small laugh to escape Allianah"s mouth. She walks quicker in strides and when she reaches him, her hands weave themselves in his hair and she closes the final gap separating them. She gives him a chaste kiss then leans back and grins fully.

Cade shakes his head like he"s just had his latest nightmare and he"s heaving chest looks like he"s been out in the long run. When he finally regains his composure, his eyes narrow at Allianah. "That is not fair," he growls, moving to her like she"s some kind of food and I cringe at the sight. He looks like he wants to devour her right there. Allianah throws her head back while she laughs and his eyes soften as well as his stance. He watches her as though she holds his heart and as though nothing else matters but her.

"What"s not fair?" Allianah asked, tilting her head to the side to feign innocence.

"You," he points an accusing finger at her. "Using your fear powers to me." Then he jerks his hand to point at his chest. "Argh, I always wonder how you can have two unique abilities at the same time."

"Aww," she drawls out. "But you use your fire to me, baby. I think it"s only fair." She ruffles his hair and he gives her a growl before he pounces and grabs her by the waist. She laughs and shrieks while she lets him attack her sides causing her to squirm and finally pushes his hands away. Or at least tries to because he doesn"t let her. Instead, his grip to her tightens even more.

He stops when he realizes that she needs air to breathe. Taking gulps of it, she slowly melts against him and he visibly relaxes. He lets out a sigh as he nuzzles into her neck and pulls her impossibly closer to his.

Her back is pressed tightly to his chest and his arms are snaked around her and they close their eyes, seemingly content to have each other. They melt with each other and they shared a sigh. They don"t seem bothered with the fight going on around them, and I know that they are trying to savor this moment even though it is not in peace.

"Apparently," Allianah started, disentangling herself from a scowling Cade. She laughs softly at his expression before giving a tender kiss. "My fear ability still needs a little more training before I can finally have the full power to control it."

"It doesn"t look like it needs a little more training, given that it didn"t almost kill me. Again." They both grin as memories consume them and they both engage in an eager conversation.

But it"s like I tune the world out as Allianah"s words replay in my head. When it slipped out of Cade"s mouth, I didn"t pay much attention to it. Honestly, I didn"t even get the words to register in my brain cause I was too busy ogling at the two of them. But now that it was mentioned twice from different mouths, I can finally process what I just heard.

The longer I stand there--dumbfounded for the reason that someone has the same ability as mine and that someone could be the reason why I am alive and surviving--the more suffocating it becomes. And the harder it is to breathe. h.e.l.l, I don"t even know if I am breathing anymore.

Finally, I find the right way of how to breathe again only when I felt creepy--way too creepy--intense gaze on my back. I forced to roll my shoulders and stand upright and as stiff as a stone can be. I am tense for the fact that the gaze felt so unG.o.dly familiar.

I force myself to turn around and face the psycho creeper. Seconds later, I am reeling, staggering, and tripping backward.

The eyes that are staring straight ahead were owned by the last person I want to encounter right now. Though she looked younger by years, the feral sharpness in her eyes is still there.

"Sarah!" Allianah"s voice broke me out of my thoughts. And I watch as the head"s very cool and stoic demeanor turns into a puddle as a warm--and very odd--smile lights up her face. If she ever smiles to me like that, I would seriously think that the world has come to an end.

She turns to meet Allianah and Cade and they engulf each other in a group hug full of squeals, pride, and joy. The other people watch them with humor in their eyes but they didn"t bother them.

I hold myself as the scenery shifted again. I take a quick note of my surroundings. I am not inside any establishment anymore. Instead, I am standing outside with the cold winter air hitting my body. There isn"t any single light here or any lamp-post for that matter. But the moonlight is bright enough for me to see. There are enough trees everywhere though I am in the middle of a road.

I shiver in cold, taking in the silence and darkness. But my moment of peace broke minute later when I hear shouts and see sparks shot out not so far away from me.

I make out a few figures running to me with lightning speed and watch as they stop beside me, catching their breaths. Another spark lights up and I instantly notice all the familiar faces. Their group of three has somewhat expanded. Another group was chasing them, few caught up to them and they battle. I took a fast scan of the new faces and somehow made a mental note to myself to remember them.

"Run!" A guy in blue sweater shouts while sparks from his hand shot out causing flames to ignite once they reach their destination and cries of agony pierce through the night.

"Don"t you think we"re already doing that?" A girl retorted while shrieking when a man almost cut her before its own body exploded, turning into ashes. "I hate this. We need to switch place now."

"On it," another guy said. "Now!"

"Finally," the same girl grunted while pulling her hair in frustration. She runs to the guy and puts her hand on his shoulder while her other arm is outstretched sideways, reaching for the wind.

"Guys. Faster!" the same guy shouts. "I can"t hold it any longer."

Soon, their other acquaintances went running to them. They form a chain together until all six of them are clinging onto each other. Hands and fingers interlocked.

I wait for them to vanish but they never did. They seem to be waiting for someone. That"s when I realize that Sarah is still missing. I turn away from the group to find her and when I saw her I can tell that she is exhausted. She is doing her best to run faster while fighting all the hindrances and obstacles. "Go," the guy running with her said. "I"ll try my best to hold them."

"No," she insisted.

"Go Sarah."

"No Jacob." She annoyingly insisted. They both sound a little breathless and I know in myself that one of them should hold these thugs off. They continue fighting while their friends are shouting for them but Sarah"s eyes suddenly widen when her eyes caught something of what"s behind Jacob.

"Jacob!" She shouted, her expression a mixture of worry and horror as Jacob turns around just in time to have a knife embedded in hir right side. He gives a startled and strangled cry. His hand shots out and the man who stabbed him went flying feet away from them. He grasps the hilt of the knife and pulls it out from him with a visible effort. He whimpers as his hand came in aid to his wound but removing the knife is a wrong move from him, now the blood is seeping through his fingers and his shirt. His knees wobbled out from underneath him but Sarah was suddenly by his side, tears pooling in her eyes. This is the first time I"ve seen the head get so emotional. This guy meant a lot for her than everything ever was.

"No no no no..." She continues to chant in a hoa.r.s.e voice. With a trembling hand, Jacob reaches out to cup her cheek and she leans into the touch. The first tears escape and soon others followed suit. He wipes them but they keep coming. He smiles sadly before blowing out a long breath and his hand falls from her cheek and he stares up blankly at the sky. Sarah tucks his head in her neck, rocking them while she cries her eyes out and with one last scream of anguish, the guys who were following them burst into flames. Their cries and screams fill up the lifeless night.

Sarah is as lifeless as Jacob so she didn"t even put up much of a fight when she was being hauled to her feet. It was like she was numb all over. And the sight alone reminds me of the night I lost Chelssey. I remember the sickening feeling and dread flows in my veins.

Allianah throws Sarah"s arm over her shoulder and she"s doing her best to move the two of them. Cade carries Jacob on his back and together, the four of them, made it to their friend and all of them vanish the second they reached them.

I moved on as well. This time, I am inside an abandoned building with as much light as earlier. Broken windows and armchairs filled up the room along with a few spider"s webs. This room needs cleaning. I hear shuffles of moving from somewhere and I went on to find where the noise was coming from.

It didn"t take me long to find them considering that they are in the same room as me. I gasp when I get a look at what they were doing. All seven of them are sitting around Jacob"s corpse, their hands clasp around each other. They look like in some kind of ritual. But two of their group move out from the circle, to sit directly beside Jacob. Allianah and Sarah joined their hands while Allianah"s other free hand went to rest on Jacob"s chest.

They are chanting words I can"t decipher since they are talking discreetly. The green light came from Allianah"s hand to Jacob"s chest. Their eyes are closed so they can"t see it devour Jacob"s body. It plays around his body like simple threads of life. Their chanting went louder and the light went from green to gold to violet to blue to green again and it dances around his body while changing its color. But he remains asleep, unmoving. Allianah removes her hand from his chest and they break their circle while they watch what the light will do to Jacob"s body. It plays and change colors awhile before finally settling down and changing into gray. Sarah"s throat bobs up and down before a sob breaks through from her.

Allianah"s arms went around her but she pushes her away before scurrying out from her sitting position and out from the door. I follow her since I can move. I go after her until she went outside and into the pouring rain. She screams and screams her lungs out and the storm seems to agree with her since it is sending crackling thunder and lightning. Fury is clear in her eyes while she yells words to the world. I taught she is doing nothing harmless until her hand shot out and flames ignite in a tree near to her which is amusing and idiosyncratic at the same time because it is raining heavily but it seems to be only fueling the fire. Instead of ceasing it.

Chaos broke out as she continues to pour her heart out. The raging storm matches her wrath. Running footsteps had me turning around and her friends step out of the awning to get to her. They are shouting things to her. Things that should calm her down but she doesn"t seem to hear them. I know she"s only seconds away from losing control so Allianah did what I would have done.

She takes tentative steps towards her and she"s speaking softly to her. I can"t hear her since the thunderstorm is so loud but I can only guess by the way her lips are moving. I don"t even know how they can hear each other despite the calamity their facing. Allianah should have been dead when a flash of lightning strikes her but she simply sent it off to a different path. She continues to send lightning, fire, ice, and every other thing--that Sarah keeps on throwing at her--in the opposite direction by the flick of her hand or snap of her fingers. "Sarah!" She shouted, still struggling to get through the storm. "Sarah, stop this. This is not what Jacob wants!" That has Sarah finally acknowledging her existence. Although she still looks like she"s seconds away from combusting at least the storm eases a little and the fire dies out a little too.

"You don"t know what he wants." She growls and lightning dances in her fingers, ice crystals suddenly appear out of nowhere and they circle her like they are in some kind of ritual. Fire joins in too, playing around her feet, the ground rattles, the wind turns cruel, almost cutting through her skin. Almost. A new storm is brewing, from the sound that it"s making, it appears to be holding back. Sarah"s eyes are now close, she"s concentrating from the looks of it. I didn"t get much look after that because at the same time she opened her eyes, I am being dragged out of the scene.

It appears that Allianah made progress at that time cause right now all seven of them are sitting around a table, seemingly in the middle of a meeting. Allianah and Sarah are at both ends of the table, Cade on the right side of Allianah, and others follow. Allianah and Sarah are sharply staring at each other. They look like they are moments away from clawing each other"s eyes out. Their other friend bristles a little at the tension the two are immersing. The heavy silence that envelops the room is procuring sweat from everyone. Sarah is the one who takes the initiative to break the stillness of the room. "All I am saying is," she started. "We are running out of options. The ecosystem is slowly dying, the animals are facing very serious ma.s.s extinction and the balance is slowly tilting. Soon we are going to run out of food supplies because these d*mn humans don"t take considerations of birth f*ck*ng control or family planning."

"So you are suggesting running this experiment of separating males from females to control the rapid increase in population."

"Yes," Sarah hisses out. "And to sustain the balance."

"We can"t do that," Allianah sits back.

"Why?"

"I"ve told you so many times, Sarah," Allianah said through a sigh. "This can lead to a more serious problem than losing balance in the ecosystem. This can result in human extinction."

Sarah rolls her eyes and scoffs. "And I told you so many times, that"s why we need to be the ones manipulating this experiment so we can control properly the population instead of it resulting in our extinction. These people will listen to your speech about how we need to control our s.e.x hormones but they won"t apply it. Why? Because they are the reckless selfish son of b*tch*s who only cares about their satisfaction." Allianah leans forward, her eyes narrowing into slits as she puts a challenging stare to Sarah.

"Do not test me, Sarah." The edge in her voice is not hard to miss.

"I am not testing you, Ally. I am just simply laying out the facts and the probabilities of what might happen in the future if we don"t take precautionary measures right now. We need to take action, Ally. Let"s face it, they won"t listen to your lousy speeches anymore. They need stronger guidance than that."

"No." It"s not a suggestion but a command and I am pretty sure Sarah heard the change in tone in her voice because she glares at her before speaking again.

"You seem to keep on forgetting that we are all leaders here, not just you. And we aren"t under your dictatorship. I say we vote." The others shift uncomfortably in their seats.

"Sure. But if I win, this is the last time that this topic will be open up."

"Yes, and If I win we will have a trial regarding this and I will be the one conducting that," Sarah deadpan.

"Fine by me. Now let"s vote."

I hate Leo. It"s official this time. He keeps on dragging me out of the scene just when the exciting part happens. Fudging cliffhanger all the time.

I land in a room. I mean, a different room. This looks more like a bedroom. The wall is surrounded by pink paint, the ceiling is covered with green stars and moon that I am sure are glow in the dark. There"s small a bed with pink covers with a cute looking canopy. Curtains--which are also pink--are drape from the canopy to the bed. A small vintage color cabinet is standing on the right side with a book resting atop of it. This looks like a toddler"s bedroom.

Sure enough, the door was opened with a blast, it hits the wall, it"s hinges rattle at the impact and a giggling little girl came in. Her black hair was tied up in pretty pig-tails. Her large brown cognac eyes stare up at me. I should be freaking out because she is staring straight into my eyes but I didn"t. Instead, I felt the weirdest thing. My heart contracts and air abandoned my lungs, everything inside me swells at the sight of the little girl who"s happiness relies on the silliest thing. Then it hits me like a train wrecking my own body. That girl is me. The toddler who can bearly walk on her own and who is now crawling to me with her tiny thumb being sucked by her mouth is me. I start to walk towards her, even more, surprise that Leo is letting me walk, given that the toddler I could probably--certainly--see me. I subconsciously ruffle her very little hair and she giggles again. I tickle her sides and she gives me a high-pitch laugh that fills up the lifeless room.

"I swear, she can walk, she"s only crawling because she wants to be carried."

Someone groans. I snap my head up to see a woman standing on the doorway, watching the baby with adoration and contentment in her eyes. Another figure looms behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist, kissing the side of her neck and she melts against him.

"Then we better carry her." The guy said. He moves away from her to the baby in front of me. The baby turns to him and a giggle escapes her. She puts her hands in the air and he scoops her up in his arms.

"Daddy!" His eyes soften at the endearment and he blows a raspberry in her tummy that earns him a euphonious laugh.

"That"s right, sweetie, I"m Daddy." She claps her hands like that was the most wonderful thing to hear. Allianah came up beside him. She rests her head on his shoulder while her arm snakes around his waist. She kisses his shoulder and she watches both of them with love in her eyes. The baby reaches around her daddy to touch Allianah"s face.

"Mommy!" She squeals and just like her daddy"s eyes, Allianah"s visibly softens at the nickname their child gave her. Allianah caught her child"s hand presses a feather-like kiss on her palm.

"That"s right, Recca. I"m Mommy." I don"t know but for some reason, the name sends a jolt in me that I can"t quite fathom what. It seems to awaken and confuse me at the same time. But one thing"s for sure, it sent my heart squeezing for air. My eyes pour with tears. What"s with that name?

"Let"s get you to sleep, shall we?" Cade said. He carries Recca to her bed and tucks her under the blanket.

"Read." Recca quips. Parents. That"s what Cade and Allianah are right now. They are parents. I don"t know what to call them until now and I don"t know how I know that word. It just pops up in my head suddenly.

Cade and Allianah are sitting on either side of Recca and Cade is reading her a book. They look like the perfect family picture. Earlier, I was almost sure that I am this kid but now especially when Cade called her Recca, I"m not anymore. But Recca looks so much like me. And I look like Allianah, pretty much. Though you can"t see Cade"s looks in me there sure are remnants. If they are my parents and I am Recca, where are they? Were they forced to forget me too like I was forced to forget who I am? h.e.l.l, I don"t even know if I am Recca or Ellie. I don"t know who I am or who I should be. Am I Ellie, the royalty where the life of so many lies or am I Recca, the forgotten and the lost?

I was pulled out again and I landed into a more sickening event. I am still in the same room with the same people but I can see and feel the change in the course of events. Cade and Allianah are both sitting on either side of Recca who is now not a toddler anymore. She is now closer to the age of six or so--an educated guess of course--and her features are closer to mine as well which confuses the h.e.l.l out of me even more. She is currently sleeping peacefully unaware of the sad goodbyes her parents are giving her.

Tears are streaming down Allianah"s face as well as Cade"s. They are whispering things in her ear and I wonder why Recca isn"t even batting an eye because they are too close to her and that she can probably hear them but she shows no movement. Even as the door burst open and bang on the wall, she didn"t wake up. The open door reveals a torn Sarah who"s holding a gun with a silencer in her hand.

Both Cade and Allianah snap their heads up and Allianah offers a sad smile to Sarah. Cade gives Recca one final kiss on her forehead and he joins Allianah who"s heading towards Sarah. "We"re ready," Allianah said once they reached Sarah.

"You knew?" Sarah choked on--what I can tell--her tears.

"Sarah," Allianah reached up to touch Sarah"s cheeks. "You are my best friend. Do you think that I wouldn"t know?" Sarah finally gave up on the silent war she was having to herself and she let the tears fall.

"I"m sorry," she sobs while Allianah brushes the tears away. "I swear I tried. I tried. But I couldn"t. I was so helpless." Her voice cracks on the last word and Allianah"s arms went around her as she cries.

"No, you"re not. But we can"t battle with fate, can we?" Sarah leans back. "Take care of my daughter. Please?"

"I will. I will." She said the words more to her than to them. As if she needs rea.s.surance in her own words.

"Let"s take this somewhere else, shall we?" Allianah said. Her voice growing quiet. All Sarah did was nod. They walked out of the door and curiosity piqued my interest so I follow.

Sarah leads the way. Allianah and Cade seem to calm although Sarah is holding a gun. Once we were outside, Sarah leads us into a greenhouse. Gla.s.ses encompa.s.s the house, causing the ray of sunlight to wash over the vast species of plants. Water flows smoothly in the built-in drainage ca.n.a.l. It is enchanting in here. But one thing caught my most interest. It"s the fountain amidst the sea of flowers.

Clear blue water flows from it and flowers bloom around it. Cade and Allianah approached it. Their back was turned to us. They are holding hands, fingers interlock with each other while Sarah is a sobbing mess beside me. She raises her gun in a trembling hand. "What are you..." I try to say before two loud gunshots echo in this place followed by two loud thuds indicating that the bodies have already fallen to the dirt.

I couldn"t look at Cade"s and Allianah"s corpses. I can"t because I know what will happen if I look. It will break me. I don"t know why, I just know that it will.

Sarah releases a loud sob then her knees buckle from underneath. She falls on her b.u.t.t while tears flow down her cheeks like a waterfall. She throws the gun away and she crawls to the two bodies. That"s when I look. Cade and Allianah are lying on the earth, they are facing each other, their eyes locked together but they are unmoving. Unbreathing. Their hands stay inside each other while blood continues to flow out of their heads from the two gunshot wounds Sarah made. Sarah closes Cade"s eyes then Allianah"s. Then she backs away from them, her jeans and body covered with her friends" blood. She crawls from them until her back hits the water fountain. She curls herself in a tiny ball, her shoulders shaking as she cries.

I just stay standing there watching. Watching as she finally stands up then clean the blood then she buries the bodies. That"s all I can do. I watch. All of me feels numb all of a sudden, my blood. I can feel my blood turning cold at the sight. I almost couldn"t take my eyes off of them and I didn"t. Not until Sarah decided to go back.

I follow her senseless. But I snap out of it when I realize that she"s rounding the corner towards Recca"s room. No, no, no, no. Please have mercy with the baby.

But I was wrong. Because when she entered the room, she didn"t do what I thought she would do. She didn"t put a bullet in the little girl"s head instead she went to her bed to scoop Recca in her arms. She held her tight to her chest, almost like she"s afraid that she"ll disappear any second. Recca snuggles closer and Sarah"s embrace grows tighter. "I"m sorry for what I did to your parents. I promise that I will take care of you like you are one of my own. One day, when the time was finally right, you"ll understand..."

Suddenly, all things spiraled and I was being dragged out of the scene. But this time I did not fall into a new one. This time I am back, staring at the spiraling colors of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.