MIRROR IMAGE


BY Anime Twin


DESMOND
It started out just like every other birthday I've had:with my foster parents paying way too much attention to me. My name is Desmond Darken ,and I'm 16 today.''Is there anything special you'd like to do today,Desmond?'' my foster mom,Katherine,asked as I walked downstairs.''Not really , but thanks anyway,Kathy.'' I replied. I was never rude to Katherine. She was the one who insisted on adopting me when I was six. Marcus,her husband,never wanted to be a dad, but she talked him into it. Marcus makes it clear that he does not like me. ''Leave the kid alone,Katherine. He never does anything anyway.''Marcus called from his usual spot on the couch. ''And who did I learn that from,Marcus?''I asked,smirking. Marcus was good for one thing at least: teasing. I was glad it was Saturday today. At least I didn't have to go to school today.''I'm going to the mall. See you guys later.'' I said,heading for the front door.''Desmond,please behave today. I don't want the sheriff bringing you home again.''Katherine said. I sighed. The sheriff had brought me home from the mall last month for supposedly starting a fire.''That wasn't me . I did not start the fire.'' I said,annoyed. I opened the door and left before she had a chance to say anything else. Luckily,our apartment was only about a block away from Midnight Hollow Mall. Midnight Hollow's a pretty big town,and I love it. My foster mom gives me thirty dollars a month for allowance. I've been saving up for months to get a subscription to some of my favorite magazines,and to buy myself some new fire posters for my room. When I got to the mall, I saw a kid who looked a lot like me heading into the comic shop. I headed straight for a store that I knew sold awesome posters and bought two new posters. I then headed for a newsstand and bought the magazine I wanted. I checked my watch .I still had money left,so I went to see a new movie that looked halfway decent. That's when everything went crazy. ''Look out! That guy's got a gun!''someone yelled. I turned around. Just my crappy luck. He was headed right for me. Instinct toke over .I froze in place,waiting for the guy to try and grab me. The sad thing is that this has happened before. I seem to attract trouble. The guy tackled me,knocking me over . He tried to get his arm around my neck. That was his first mistake. I used his own weight against him, flipping him onto his back. The guy was so shocked he forgot he had a weapon. I snatched the gun from him and set it on the ground ,kicking it a few feet away.
Then, before the guy tried to stand up ,I put my foot on his chest. Now that this loser was no longer a threat, I taunted him. ''You can't fight a kid ? I mean, I know you're no professional ,but come on! At least try!'' That was my mistake. The guy was stronger when he was angry. He grabbed my ankle , throwing me into the wall. '' Oh, so you can defend yourself.'' I said, picking myself up. He grabbed a baseball bat from a stand outside a store and ran at me again. This guy sure was stupid,going for a bat instead of the gun that was in plain sight. At least that meant he couldn't kill me as fast. I ducked just before the bat smashed into my skull ,and the bat flew out of the guy's hands. I caught the bat ,and dodged around the guy before he could stop me. '' My name is Marcus,and I'm going to kill you!!!''I took another look at him. It was my foster dad ,Marcus. He yelled something I won't repeat,running after me- again. I noticed that we were near the escalators now,and it gave me an idea. We were on the top floor ,so if my idea worked,I just might live through my sixteenth birthday. Just as Marcus got going so fast he couldn't stop, I stepped away from the railing,and he ran into it and fell over...but before he fell,he grabbed me .Oh ,man , this is so gonna leave a mark!, I thought,bracing myself for the impact. It never came. Someone on the second level of the three-story mall had caught my hand, stopping my fall. It was the kid I'd seen earlier. He pulled me up and over the railing.''Thanks,man. You saved my life.'' I said . There was a loud scream. We both looked over the railing. Marcus had broken his leg. Good.''Who was that?'' the kid who had saved me asked. ''My foster dad.'' I replied.''Seriously?''the kid said, laughing. ''Yeah.'' I said ,laughing with him. ''My name's Desmond,by the way.''I told him. ''Mine's Damien. '' he answered.''Hey ,you know ,we kind of look exactly alike.'' I said . It was true . Looking at Damien was just like looking in a mirror. ''We better go tell the cops our version of the story before they arrest you.''Damien said with a smirk. ''Yeah, we probably should. But maybe you should do the talking. They don't trust me. They're convinced I started a huge fire here last month.''I said, already looking around for the cops. Unfortunately, they were already here, and they'd been talking to Marcus, and I was willing to bet Marcus had made me seem like the bad guy.'' Hey, kid, freeze and put your hands up! You're under arrest!'' the sheriff yelled ,pulling out handcuffs and running over to us. ''Officer, wait. You've got the wrong kid. This is my brother, Desmond. We're twins. He was with me the whole time.''Damien said. He must have practice lying, because,for a second, even I believed him. ''Twins ,huh? Well, okay. But keep an eye out for that other kid.''the sheriff said,walking away.''Will do,sir!'' we called after him. Once the cops had left , I said''Nice coverup,Damien. Thanks.'' ''No problem .My foster mom tries to get me arrested all the time.''He said ,laughing. ''I should be the one thanking you. You made my birthday much more exciting.''he added, smiling. ''It's your b-day today too?How old are you? I'm sixteen today.'' I said. This was getting freaky. We looked alike,our voices were the same,and now we had the same birthday? I definitely had some questions to ask when I got home. '' I'm sixteen today ,too! Maybe we really are twins!'' Damien said,laughing. For him ,at least, the twin thing was a joke, but it wasn't for me. ''Well, see ya later. '' I said, walking out of the mall before things got any weirder. Could my birthday be any stranger? ,I thought walking home. ''I'm home, Katherine.''I called, opening the door. I'd taken a little longer then usual walking back,so I'd been gone for roughly three hours .I hadn't been expecting this ,though:there were three other people here besides Katherine and I. Two of them I didn't recognize, but one I did know:Damien. The two adults must be his foster parents. ''Katherine, what's going on?'' I asked, sitting down on the couch next to her. ''Desmond, I have something to tell you. Now, please understand , we only kept this from you to protect you. Your parents- your real parents- died in a car accident when you were three, and you and your twin were taken to an adoption agency. Somehow, they adopted you to different families. They didn't tell us until about a year ago that you had a brother. Damien is your brother. I know this may be difficult for you to believe, but it's true. ''Katherine explained, looking very nervous. '' I believe you, Katherine.'' I said . I had a brother. I needed time to think about this for a minute. ''I'm going to my room. I need to think about this.'' I murmured,not caring if anyone heard. I walked slowly up the stairs, noticing for the first time in years little details:the paintings of sunsets that Katherine loved so much; the way Marcus left every room cluttered with trash; the silence of the apartment. I wondered for the first time in ten years what my life would be like if my parents were still alive. Would the house be neater? Would my mother always worry like Katherine did? Would my father take me to football games ,and always be eager to spend time with me? Would Damien and I do everything together? Would I be more like a normal kid? What would my life be like? I needed more answers. What had really happened the night of the accident? How had Damien and I really been seperated ? If Katherine wouldn't tell me, I knew someone who would. I picked up my cellphone from my dresser, dialing a number I hadn't dialed for years. ''Hello?''I said ,hoping he would answer. '' Who's calling me? If this is another prank call-''It's me,Desmond. Diego,I need your help. '' I interuppted ,laughing. Diego hadn't changed a bit.He'd always let little things tick him off. ''Des? I haven't heard from you for eons!How are you? What's the problem? Do you need bail or something?'' Diego asked, a note of curiosity in his voice. ''I'm okay, Diego.No, I don't need bail. The problem is , I just found out I have a twin. I need you to do some serious hacking.'' I told him, filling him in while he hacked private computer records. Diego could hack into any file. He was smart, but devious.''Okay. I found all the information I could.I'm sending it to your printer right now. Brace yourself, bro. This is some heavy stuff.''Diego muttered through the phone. Within a few seconds , my printer was going as fast as it could to print everything.''You didn't have to send it all now, you know.'' I said, surprised at how much there was. There had to be at least forty pages now, and it was still coming.'' I know I didn't have to send it all now,but the thing is,this isn't my computer.I'll see you in about two minutes, Des. ''Diego explained,hanging up. Some of the papers looked confidential,high -security stuff. I decided to wait for Diego to get here before I read anything;it was probably a good idea.There was a light knock on the window;I glanced at it;Diego was resting lightly on a tree branch,laughing.''Open your window.'' he mouthed.I nodded and did so, praying no one would bug us.No such luck-there was a tentative rap on my door.''Desmond?'' Damien said. ''Come in.'' I said,half sighing.Damien opened the door,looking a little nervous.''Wow,you weren't kidding about the twin.'' Diego muttered,staring at Damien and I.''Stop it.'' I snapped,anger suddenlly flaring in me. Instantly,the papers I held started on fire.''Dude...'' Diego whispered in a low voice,staring as the flames flickered.Damien was pressed against the wall,staring at me in terror. ''I..don't like fire.'' Damien whispered,true fear flooding his face.....


DAMIEN
I never was one of the crowd;I'd grown used to being a freak,a reject,unwanted.I knew weird things happened sometimes,but I'd never seen anyone make fire and control it like Desmond just had.What really worried me was how his power might affect my power.I began to wonder if I should tell them about my power.Desmond might be my brother,but I barely knew him. Could I really trust him with my secret ?Was it worth the risk?''Well,since Des is apparently a living match,I guess I have to tell you both the real story.Your parents were scientists

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 09.09.2011

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