Mutant Love
Anna Tennyson was a mutant. But she only knew that a couple of days ago when her foster parents told her the truth of her being. She hadn’t really tried flying—well, she sometimes planned to fly but whenever she looked down from the roof, even if their house was a bungalow, she kept on chickening out. It’s not that she didn’t believe her parents, she knew they love her as much as she love them or her mother wouldn’t be crying buckets while confiding in her that she’s a mutant.
Carla Tennyson always brought Anna extra lunch just in case she’ll finally use her gift and thus use more of her energy. But her father, Benedict Tennyson, kept on whispering that she would never believe that her mother is actually encouraging her to use her mutant powers when her father knew that Carla is afraid of her daughter’s life being in danger when people knew of her powers.
“You’re mother’s just saying that so that you would never be afraid of who you are. In my case, I’m just afraid of her being afraid for you. So be a good girl and do whatever you’re heart tells you to. Just don’t get in trouble in school.” He would then hug her tight and pat her head before sending her off.
But the thing is, Anna’s mother is not the only one who is afraid of her daughter being a mutant. The said daughter is also afraid of herself in being a mutant.
Now as she stood in one of the bleachers for the Freshmen Orientation, strangely held at night, Anna couldn’t help but feel agitated for some reason. She could feel something is going to happen and that something is not good.
“Hey, Anna!”
She gasped and turned to see her bestfriend, Zethro, smiling at her. She smiled back at him and quelled the fluttering of her heart.
Yes, hers was an unrequited love. Bestfriends. Friend zoned. Always afraid to tell what she really feels in fear that she’ll lose something irreplaceable whenever things never go her way. She also know that Zethro is also a mutant like her, always hiding his right eye behind his jet, black hair, giving him the mysterious, bad boy image. She’s the only lucky girl to be given his smiles everyday when a lot of girls fight for his attention.
“Zethro,” she raced toward him and hugged him. It was what she always did and it was a good excuse to hold him close. She playfully peeked from his bangs to look into his hidden eye and giggled when he pushed her away with cheeks flushing.
“How many times do I have to tell you to stop checking this out?” Zethro snapped but Anna knew he was not that mad like the first time she tried peeking in his eye.
She shrugged. “What? I like looking at your eyes.”
“You haven’t seen me with both my eyes,” he pouted.
“But I want to. You just don’t want to show me.” Anna frowned and pulled Zethro’s hand—not seeing the way he blushed—and looked for a place for them to sit.
As people began coming in and filling the bleachers, a faint rumbling made Anna flinch. She gave a jolt when she felt Zethro’s hand on her shoulder.
“You hear that?” he whispered in her ear.
She nodded. “Yes.” She turned and saw him say something before the rumbling got worse and the lower part of the bleacher cracked as the place rocked and quacked.
Screams and shout filled the room as chaos tumbled. People scattered out. The ground shook. Everything was out of control.
“Anna!”
Anna turned and gasped, seeing the ground where Zethro was standing began to crack and split open fast. “Zethro!” She raced toward him and reached for his hand while he was reaching for hers but as their fingers were just mere inches away Zethro fell along with the part of the bleacher where he was standing.
“No! Zethro, no!” Falling on her knees, she watched as he shouted her name and Anna saw everything around her change.
Closing her eyes, she felt the world slow and as she opened them, she was welcomed by new sights, new senses, new feelings. Without a second later, she dived after Zethro, pulling her arms forward to speed up she was now face to face with Zethro.
“Anna?! What are you doing?!” he shouted but reached out for her nonetheless.
Couldn’t help herself, she laughed and hugged Zethro tight.
“Anna, this is not the time to—W-whoa!”
Anna laughed as she felt something tingle on her back and a loud swoosh before a faint fluttering noise was heard. Biting her tongue, she struggled to balance Zethro’s weight along with hers and tried to carry the both of them to hover above the crumbling wreck.
“A-Anna… You can fly?” Zethro asked as she finally kept them a good feet away from the ground.
“I…” Anna tried looking back to check up on her wings but knew it was not the time to study them. “I think I can. Let’s get out of here.” Holding him close, she flew up to the safest place where the crack stopped, on the roof of the next door building.
“But there are others who are about to fall!” he protested.
“My mutant powers don’t cover doppelgangers, Zethro. I can’t let you go!” Anna shouted amidst the screaming of the other people falling. There were so many and if she get Zethro shelter as fast as she could, she still couldn’t save those—
She squinted at a distance to see a lot of dots in the sky along with the stars. “Zethro, is that—”
“I think it is.” Zethro looked up and squinted with her.
They both gasped as something zoomed past them along with flapping, fluttering and buzzing noises. Anna managed to get to the ledge of the roof but she fumbled in her landing and got them both to tumble on the roof, with her lying on top of him.
Thanking the darkness of the night for hiding her blush, she gazed up to apologize only to find Zethro looking back at her. His blue eye glittered like the stars and she forgot what she was about to say. But the buzzing and the fluttering came back, breaking the magical moment they both had making them jump back away from each other.
“I’m sorry.” They both said simultaneously and smiled timidly after but still looking into each other’s eyes.
Zethro cleared his throat. “L-let’s check the noise out,” he suddenly declared and Anna nodded before following his lead to watch over the roof.
Anna’s eyes widened as she saw people—they’re considered as mutants now—with butterfly, dragonfly and bumblebee wings catching falling people from the wreckage.
“Hey, is that… is that the seniors?” Zethro pointed to a man with bumblebee wings.
“Whoa! A senior? A student in this school? Mutant?” Anna asked, dumbfounded.
The seniors zipped past the roof they are on and flew towards the roof on another building. Anna’s feet and wings are itching to fly towards the seniors and ask them a lot of questions.
“Go on, Anna.”
Anna whirled back and saw Zethro smiling softly at her. “What?”
He nodded over the next roof. “Go on and ask away.”
She smiled. She knew that Zethro could read minds so she also know that if she concentrated into not letting her feelings go into that surface of her mind, she’s safe from Zethro’s uncontrollable powers. But if he uses his other eye… then, she’d better brace herself for him to know the truth.
“Thank you, Zeth.” She quickly kissed his cheek and fluttered her wings before flying away to where the seniors are.
As Zethro watch Anna fly away—one thing that he unfortunately didn’t have as a mutant, he sighed sadly at the one thing he will never have. Sure, having the mutant powers of flight is a really cool thing but being cool is not the reason why he was forlorn because he doesn’t have the flight. Without flight, he couldn’t be with Anna.
Having the mutant powers of mind reading didn’t quell his satisfaction when all he wanted to know from the minds of that certain someone is that she… Nah, never mind.
“What do you wish?” a lone voice composed of a million voices drifted faint in the air.
“W-who goes there?” Zethro circled around but found no one.
“I could give you everything you want.” the voice continued.
“What are you talking about?” He kept himself alert and scanned his environment.
“You could have power. You could have wings. You could have… her.”
“W-wha—” Zethro felt some unseen power force to tilt his head to look at that silhouetted figure floating in the middle of the moon. “Anna?”
“Yes. Just ask. And you can have her.”
“I… I…” His speech wavered and his eyes glowed unnaturally bright. And he spoke, in his unusual way. “I will have her.” With a speed of light, he disappeared from where he’s standing and left a trail of greenish, smoky light in his wake.
As the trail fade, Anna finished chatting with the seniors and was happy that the school she was attending was a mutant school in disguise. It must be why a huge envelope with the school’s name on it came in their mail. She was more than happy to know that she’s attending school with Zethro again.
Speaking of Zethro, Anna faced the roof she left Zethro and found. No one. Where is he?
“Nikolo, I felt some strange, yet powerful magic nearby.” someone informed the head senior.
“We must be on a look-out, everyone—”
“Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh!”
Anna quickly turned around to see Zethro on the edge of a nearby roof of yet another building, charging fast towards her in speeds she could never trace. She didn’t get a chance to scream when he leapt out of the roof and aimed at her.
“Whooooooaaaaaa!!!” She screamed as she was trapped in Zethro’s embrace, pinning her wings and felt them falling.
“New girl!” She saw Nikolo prepared himself to save her but he held back when Zethro speared him a slashing look—which, literally, slashed open his uniform.
“I-I can handle him, Senior Nikolo!” Anna shouted to them. “Zeth, what are you doing?!” she demanded.
“You fool! What are you doing?!” Anna gasped at the million voices that melded into one. “You are wasting the powers I lend you!”
Anna wrapped her arms around Zethro’s neck. “W-who was that, Zeth?”
“I am doing what you told me to want.” Anna squinted at the sight of Zethro talking but his voice was not his own.
“I made you, you imbecile. You follow what I order you.” the million voices screamed, sending the windows of the building they were falling over crashing.
“You are what I am. And I am what you are. But that doesn’t give you control over me. In the end, I am me. And I know who I am now.” Zethro gazed into Anna’s eyes so deep that she felt like she’s been sucked into a vortex which she would happily be in.
She forgot where they are, that they are falling into the ground, that her wings are still pinned by Zethro’s embrace, and that they are going to die if she didn’t get out of his arms and give them a lift. But she didn’t care. She didn’t want to. And she didn’t know why. All she ever wanted was that moment with Zethro.
The wind picked up and swirled around them, letting his hair fly about his face, giving her glimpse of his other eye. Anna skirted a hand on his right cheek and slowly lifted it under his bangs but she stopped short. She didn’t want to annoy Zethro more even in this state. He is not himself but somehow… he is himself. She doesn’t know. And she didn’t care. All she ever wanted was to love Zethro.
She flinched a little when he covered her hand with his. Shocked, she blinked a couple of times before gazing into his blue eye. Seeing a message there, she slowly hiked her hand up until she felt she covered his hidden eye. With that hand, she gently swept his bangs away and tucked it over his ear.
Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the most beautiful sight she ever saw. She was now looking at Zethro with both of his eyes before her. One a beautiful blue and the other a dazzling red. Both glowed like the silver moon above them and she could never ask for a better moment than this.
“And I like who I am.” Zethro whispered and closed his eyes before Anna felt his lips on hers. He’s kissing her! He’s really kissing her!
Finally, her last thought before closing her eyes and absorbed the lovely feeling.
********
“What has happened?”
“Is that okay? I mean, I know it’s night but this is still a part of the school.”
“A very crucial part of the school, unfortunately.”
The voices kept on mumbling and Anna was extremely annoyed. Whoever wanted to wake her from this beautiful dream deserves to die. She really wanted to prolong the feeling of Zethro kissing her. How she wished this happen sooner but she really wanted to save her first kiss to him.
Her breath hitched when she felt something tighten on her waist and she was forced to open her eyes… Only to find herself gazing into Zethro’s face. His eyes were close and… HIS LIPS WERE ON HERS!
She blinked and blinked and blinked but she really is awake and… and Zethro was really kissing her. Her eyes darted around her and they widened when she saw a lot of people’s heads are gathered around them. What has happened?
She remembered Zethro charging towards her. That millions of voice that talks around them and the way Zethro talks. Her seeing both of his eyes. Him kissing her—which is still happening now. She already fell for him and he doesn’t need more assurance and—wait… they were falling a while ago… right?
“Hmm hmn,” Anna mumbled and Zethro just groaned before hugging her tight again. She fought the feeling of being sucked into his vortex again and patted his shoulder. When it did not work, she patted his cheek. Still not working, she flicked on his forehead and he finally let her go.
“Ow! What was that for?” Zethro demanded, an arm slid off her waist and his hand rubbed his forehead.
Anna opened her mouth but she shut them back when she saw the both of them floating a good five feet from the ground. She saw the people around them again and cleared her throat. “W-well, Zeth, as much as I want to do that a-again, I couldn’t. There are people watching us!”
Zethro looked around them and shrugged. “So what?”
She widened her eyes at him. “So what? Are you kidding me?”
He laughed and hugged her and she couldn’t help but smile. He let her go but he draped his arm around her shoulder before raising a hand and lowering them back in the ground. People gasped in shock and horror and that puzzled Anna.
“What’s the deal?” she whispered toward Zethro and when she faced him, she couldn’t help but smile when he did not cover his other eye and his eyes are not glowing anymore but his whole body.
“The deal is that we are in front of the principal’s office.” Zethro said calmly and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the building and nodding to the dumbfounded students that are present.
Anna’s face heated and buried her face in her hands. Principal’s office? How mortifying! And they did PDA there?!
“Don’t sweat it, Anna.” Zethro suddenly said and Anna whipped her head to look at him. She narrowed her eyes at him and gasped. Did he just—
“Yes, I did.”
Her face burned. So, he knows. She was, indeed, happy that he doesn’t hide his other eye anymore but that could only mean—
“I know.” Zethro quickly kissed her cheek and nodded to Senior Nikolo as they passed him. “Oh, and Nikolo, investigate on the accident, will you? I want to know if it was accidental or not.”
“Yes, Sir.” With that, he nodded at his group and they all flew away, while the others herd the onlookers away.
Anna shook her head. Zethro is being addressed as Sir? And he didn’t address Senior Nikolo as a senior! “Zeth—”
“I know. I should have told you before, Anna. But I want you to love me and know me as the real me.” They both stopped in front of a door and Zethro turned toward her and took her hands in his. “I was scared for you to know the truth and that came to haunt me. That was the part that you witnessed a while ago. And the thing is, while I have you in my arms, I don’t care about anything anymore. I don’t care if you knew and you would be mad. I just know that I told you the truth and I showed you the real me and I am not sorry that you met the ordinary me. Not the Mutant School President-slash-Principal.”
“Zethro…” She looked into his blue and red eyes and cupped his cheek. “You were the one who sent the mail.”
“Yes.”
“You already know of my powers.”
“Guilty. But I haven’t really experienced it until a moment ago.”
“You are Zen Jethro Anubis. Principal-President of the Mutant School. Has the powerful power of transforming things and can control the elements.”
“Uh… Yeah. T-that’s me.”
“You told me he’s your father.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“You disguised your name!” She flicked at his forehead.
“Ow! Okay, I deserve that. I’m sorry.” he said while rubbing the sore spot.
“But you’re the one I love.”
“I’m sorry, that’s—Wait… You do?”
Anna laughed. “I thought you said, you knew?”
Zethro smiled and rubbed his nape. “Well, I was bluffing. I couldn’t read into your mind, Anna. Unless you want me to.”
“Oh, Zeth—wait, is it okay for me to still call you Zethro? You’re Zen Jethro now.”
“You can still call me that… though…” he smoothed the hair from her eyes. “You can also call me, Zen, Jet, Honey, Dear, Darling… You can call me anything you want.”
Anna grinned. “I don’t hear a proper question, Zeth.” she teased.
Zethro rolled his eyes and kneeled on the ground. “Okay, fine, I knew you were not gonna make this easy so I’ll go to the extreme measure already.”
Gathering her hands in his again, he cleared his throat. “Anna Tennyson, will you be my bride?”
She smiled. “No.”
“Hmp. Fiancée?”
“Ha-ha, no.”
“…Girlfriend?”
Anna pulled him up at that. “That… we can start.” she flicked at his forehead again. “Knucklehead, I still have to go to school or the Principal will terminate my entrance.”
“Hmm, I think I could talk with the Principal about your case.” He felt for his forehead. “That is, if his brains won’t be turned to mush by a certain new entrée.”
She pulled on his collar until their faces are close. “Now you make me sound like food.”
His eyes flashed. “You are, my love. You are.”
He kissed her then while pulling her into the building. Anna’s wings fluttered open and were glowing with a colorful kaleidoscope that mimics Zethro’s aura.
Wish Upon A Star
I am a normal, regular, ordinary girl. But who I landed on, was not some normal, regular, ordinary guy or person. No. He’s a mystic being from the other side of the planet and it’s not that he came here on Earth, thus making him weird. Again, no. I came on his home planet and it makes me an alien… and weird. But unlike the aliens(which was probably them, anyway), coming on Earth, they have powers and/or abilities that makes them very intriguing, I am the exact opposite of it. If I’m a food, I’m bland. I don’t even know what he sees in me.
Did I mention how I got here? No, maybe not. Honestly, I don’t know how I got here, either. I somehow wanted to connect what happened to me with Gil Perez’s case on 1593. The only thing that’s different is just a little thing… I ‘TELEPORTED’ IN ANOTHER DIMENSION!
I found myself lying with my face flat on soft grass. I opened my eyes and saw a pair of white sneakers with blue streaks. I looked up from the shoes, the blue jogging pants with white lines on each of its side, to the white shirt with blue linings and looking straight up at a handsome face with dark chocolate brown eyes.
He smiled at me and—I know it sounds crazy—but he told me I was his girl. That we were meant to be and all that stuff. And, still a little confused on my whereabouts, I kind of accepted him even though all I thought about in accepting something from him was his help. It seemed like he comes with the package.
All I know is that I am in some kind of new planet, lost, alone and downright different. Honestly, I don’t feel as if I’m away from Earth anyway. Nothing became different even if I’m an alien here. I’m still ordinary, plain, unappreciated. I know that the feelings of this guy for me are not that serious. Guys always do that to get the girl. And I never landed on any guy… Until now. But this is all temporary. I’ll find a way to get home and forget this all happened. Even with a story like this, it won’t sell on Earth if I say it.
I never talked to him, he never talks to me. He just leads me to different places in the strange planet. It was beautiful. No pollution. No big over-bearing cities. Since I’m an orphan and an exiled rat on Earth, the treatment of this planet is much better than there and it makes me want to stay in here. No matter if I’m ordinary, I could start a new life here.
He leads me in a mall. Many people—if you could call them that—are milling over minding their own businesses. He went over a store leaving me standing looking at one of the shops displays. He thinks I didn’t know he left me and probably went over to get some new girl. I frowned. I may be ordinary but I am not that ordinary to be useless. I looked at a wooden board. It was blank. I rolled my eyes and looked at it again and saw that red goo—blood maybe, began drawing on the board the shape of an eye with markings written vertically on each of its side. Markings which I saw written on mysterious parchments that is said to be from aliens.
A tap from my shoulder made me jump up and looked at the person who tapped me. It was him. I never expected him to get back to me. I was somehow planning in finding my own way until I could get a new start at my new life. He must have found no new girls to play with. I sighed and was about to walk over to the fountain in the middle of it when he suddenly lunges at me and we both fell to the ground.
“What the—” I was cut short when a sharp shuriken lodged on the floor near my left ear. A few centimeters and it’ll cut it right off my head!
“Pity that, he saved her?” a voice echoed from second floor and I looked up to see a cat-like woman, sneering on the railing.
She looked over to her friend. “Let’s go, girl. We won’t be wasting our time with that… Normal.”
I struggled out of his hold and held up my hand to silence him when he opened his mouth.
“I need to sit back at the fountain. You don’t need be with me, you know. I’ll take this as a new start in my life. Just go and find another girl to pledge your love to.” I quickly got up from sitting on the floor and patted the dust and speck that clings on my jeans. I turned my back to him and headed for the fountain.
Sitting down and saw that he was not where I left him anymore, I looked around and people don’t seem to be on a panic when I nearly died back there. That thought got me thinking. If I died back there, how could I start on my new life? People here didn’t seem that different with the ones on Earth. At least on Earth, they don’t attempt to kill me just because they knew I was in their premises. Going back to Earth doesn’t seem so bad, after all.
I slumped my shoulders and thought about going back to where I popped up and—A canned soda with hieroglyphs as its brand name suddenly came into view. I looked up and saw him standing in front of me with the soda on hand.
“Here…” he said quietly. “You need this.”
I shyly got the beverage from him, wishing he won’t notice my hand trembling form the shock of getting killed, and gingerly gave it a small sip. I hummed appreciatively at the refreshing zing from the drink and I felt him sitting beside me, my mind began to drift on a plan to come back to Earth.
Using a hand to brace myself on the fountain’s side and the other to tilt the soda up, I glugged down the soda. I flinched when I felt his hands covered mine. I blinked and looked at him from the corner of my eye and saw his serious expression.
“I know that this is too fast for you but I’ll promise to take it slowly as possible. Any much slower and I know I’ll end up losing you.” I lowered the can and opened my mouth to ask what he’s talking about when he beat me to it. “All I’m saying is give me a chance. I know that adjusting here is not a piece of cake and that threats are still real and, unfortunately, much more dangerous here but I’ll protect you. It’s what I always do.”
“How—”
“Do you ever wonder that time when one night, you are worried that you feel like you’re being followed? And then, when you heard the rustling noise, that feeling went away and you thought it was just a squirrel. There was somebody following you and I stopped him from doing so. Just don’t ask how yet.” He sighed. “I’ve been with you for years now and you don’t even know it. I fall for you every time just to make you wish on me whenever you go star gazing. I’ve loved you my whole life time and my next life time and my next and my next. If you wish to start anew, please start over with me.” He held my hand with both of his and planted a soft kiss on my knuckles.
I couldn’t believe what I’m hearing. But… But I’m just—
“You’re not just a normal, ordinary, regular girl. You are my normal, ordinary, regular girl.” He kissed my knuckles again. And I couldn’t help but smile. If this ain’t a confession, then what is?
So, I stayed in that world and lived with him. That’s where I knew he’s a Celestine, a kind of being that merges with a celestial body, normally stars, that in the end is their lifeline. When a star falls, they die with it and it would take a whole lot of regeneration process in order to merge with yet another star. He may not say it but I got the impression that the regeneration process is not a fun ride. And it makes me worry…
“Don’t worry about me. It may not be a fun ride but it is worth every damn time.” he smiled at me.
“How did you know what I was thinking?” I asked, curious. And my eyes narrowed when he slipped his arm over my shoulder to pull me close.
“Would you believe me if I say ‘great lovers think alike?’” he grinned sheepishly.
I shook my head and cuddled closer. “Not a chance.”
“I figured as much.” He inhaled and heaved out a breath. “I was reading your mind the whole time and that’s where I knew, when you turned 15, that you may want to wish something out loud but I could read what you really wish for.”
My face reddened and his smile widened. “Yes. You may wish for this and that. But all I ever looked forward to when you’re wishing is what you wished for in your mind.”
I buried my face on his chest in embarrassment. And even if I don’t have mind reading powers, I knew what he was thinking at the moment.
“Wish that to me again.” he whispered in my ear. “Not the hunk of rock you thought I’d be but me, the one who loves the plain, regular, ordinary you.”
I sighed and hugged him tighter before looking up at his face and smiled. “I wish that star would transform into a guy that would love me forever.”
He leaned down and kissed me. “Wish granted.”
Love Upon the Apocalypse
The crackling of the film echoed throughout the empty school hallway as Fantasma watched without blinking. The removed video shot of the paranormal activities. It was the shot of a video camera left by the Multimedia students to get a raw shot of one of the room’s of the school at night for the film festival.
When the students saw this part of the video, they probably removed it to avoid scaring their audience or to let the viewers believe that the school was ghost-free or to avoid being haunted by the spirit in the video.
It was a violent poltergeist. Fantasma knew because while she was watching the removed video, alone and in probably the same room where the students get to record this, the empty bottles of drinks inside their crates, which was positioned beside her, began jumping out of the crate and were smashed into pieces near her feet. She quickly ran out of the room as soon as she was able, thinking of another way to know without being jeopardized.
As Fantasma stood outside of the room a week from that incident, she looked at a computer geek watching porn in the room. She knew that geek, it was her classmate, Fred. If anyone could get some meaning out of anything, she was sure that Fred was that guy.
Without knocking, she burst into the room and ignored Fred’s shocked expression while fumbling to turn off the projector. She went straight to the storage box marked Multi 12-13 and got the CD out. Handing it to Fred, she murmured, “Can you tell me what you see in this? I believe the poltergeist knows the answer to the creeping apocalyptic phase our world is receiving.”
Fred accepted the CD and nodded like a professional and went to work. Fantasma nodded her satisfaction and went out of the room, feeling kind of dizzy and light headed and bump to Grayson, her boyfriend.
“Fantasma…” he said. “There’s—”
“Chaos! Utter chaos!”
Both Fantasma and Grayson rolled their eyes at a shrieking Candace followed by Mark and Loraine.
“What is going on?” Fantasma asked.
“There’s—” Candace began and Fantasma threw her a deadly look.
“I’m asking Grayson, Candace.”
Grayson nodded when he was sure the girl won’t speak anymore. Fantasma felt another wave of lightheadedness but Grayson held her by the shoulders, unknowingly supporting her.
“It’s no good out there, Tassie. The zombies had already multiplied and the only place safe is here in this school. Mark and I already secured all the possible entrance of the abominations.”
She gulped but nodded. “The other survivors?”
“Safe in the school’s basement.” Mark replied.
She looked at what’s left of them. The school’s anti-zombie squad and grew cold. There was only the six of them left and the rest of their crew was outside scratching on the steel doors for entrance. Dizziness began and she shook her head before looking up at the concerned expression her boyfriend was wearing.
She gently patted Grayson’s hand on her shoulder before shrugging it away.
“I’m fine, Grayson. I had Fred analyze the video I watched last week and I’m sure that the spirit knows something about the abrupt apocalyptic phase.”
After saying those words, the door opened to a disheveled Fred. He has a few cuts and nicks along his legs and arms and a few on his cheeks but she knew he was okay.
“The poltergeist never wanted me to know but I stood firm in the memory of my brother, a former anti-zombie crew.” he said handing over the CD to Fantasma.
“What did you know?” she asked and Mark, Candace and Loraine gathered around him.
“In my opinion, after a series of shard-throwing, the video revealed snippets of a room here in the school, I took the liberty to get a snapshot and printed it for all of you to see.” He reached behind him and took out a sheet of paper.
Handing over the CD to Grayson, Fantasma took the picture and studied it.
“It looks like the school’s abandoned Sewing Department.” Grayson announced.
“I bet something is up there.” Mark said.
“We better get there, then.” Loraine nodded.
“Great, I’ll be right here and—” Fred didn’t finish what he was about to say when the door back to the AV room closed shut.
“I suppose the poltergeist wanted you with us.” Candace said with a roll of her eyes.
“But I’m not a part of you guys.” Fred said, tugging hard on the door knob.
“You have no choice if that was the poltergeist wishes, Fred. You have to come with us in this.” Fantasma said gently and headed down to the hallway which leads to the stairs of the school’s upper floors.
As the six of them reached the Sewing Department, they stopped to watch the writings written in blood on the door.
To end the despair
Come in a pair
Here in my lair
Solve riddles if you dare
“Riddles, huh?” Candace quickly locked arms with Fred. “Paired!” she announced smugly that earned eye rolling from all of them. Even Fred.
They shuffled into the room and yet another message was written in the wall in blood.
Each of the pair
Choose in my lair
A place of drawers
And find the answers
The six of them wandered over their chosen table where a small drawer made of wood sat in the middle of it.
Grayson opened the first lower drawer and got out a drawing of a teddy bear’s head while Fantasma opened the second lower drawer and the upper first drawer. There was a white, full bodied teddy in the first drawer and a green head of a teddy bear on the second.
“Maybe there’s something in the bears?” Fantasma murmured and her head began to spin so she braced both her hands on the table.
“Tassie! Are you okay?” Grayson asked and was about to reach for her when she lightly swatted his hand away.
“I-I’m fine… Check the… the white bear.”
Grayson quickly got the white bear and already knew that that was the bear they were looking for judging by the bulge on its back, he made work to shred the bear in half and got its contents. Four keys.
They both looked at each other and glanced at the last four unopened drawers with a keyhole.
Fantasma slowly turned around to break the news to her group. “Hey guys you…” her sentence ended in gasp and her legs buckled and Grayson dropped the bear while bracing himself on the table.
Behind them, all their friends lay on the ground, bloodied, dead, their bodies are rent in half and their innards are laid out for the world to see… Just like what Grayson did to the bear.
A bloodied message was scrawled on the wall above their dead friends.
Congratulations, boy
In this next ploy
No need to be coy
We’ll just take our toy
“Toy… What does it mean—Tassie! Tassie!” He screamed as Fantasma breathed heavily and landed with a thud on the floor. He rushed beside her and held her in his arms.
“Tassie! Tassie, no!”
********
Fantasma’s tears streamed down her cheeks to no end. She was looking at Grayson. He was crying while holding her. Her dead body.
She wrapped herself in her arms and cried even harder. She knew who she was now. She remembered all she’d done.
“G-Grayson…” she whispered.
To her surprise, he looked up and around and his gaze locked on hers. His tear-stained cheek reddened with anger.
“G-Grayson…” she repeated again.
“So it was you.” he accused. “It was you all along!”
Fresh tears welled from her eyes. “Grayson… I’m sorry.”
He looked down at her body, her dead body, and gently planted a kiss on her lips before placing her gently on the floor and clasped her hands together on her chest. He stood up and looked at her, the ghost.
“You were behind all of this.”
“Yes.” she whispered, ashamed.
“Why?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“Liar. If you wanted this to begin with, you would’ve just killed me and be done with it,” his voice dripped like acid.
“If I didn’t do that, where’s the fun in all that?” she said in a voice that was not her own and she clasped a hand to her mouth.
His eyes narrowed. “I knew it. You just wanted me to suffer. Why, Fantasma? Because I’ve shown you something you lack while you’re living? That you just had to be someone I love to taste that and that the realization that you are just a parasite feeding off love, you want me to suffer because I showed you love that was not for you to begin with?”
Fantasma’s eyes flashed with anger and hurt. He never called her by name before. It was always Tassie.
“And calling the body you used a toy… Could you get any lower?”
“I tried!” She shouted in a cacophony of a million voice melded into one.
Grayson was caught off guard. Not because of the voices that she just emitted but at what she just said. “What?”
“I… I tried. I tried stopping the disease. I had to. I need you alive. For the survivors.” she whispered and with her head down, she cried.
“W-what do you mean?”
“Our friends…” she looked at the dead bodies. “They’re infected. We love them all and I don’t want you to feel bad when they die. So I killed them for you while you’re busy with the bear.”
“What?!”
“You can look at their innards if you want.” She gulped and more tears. “Mark was infected first yet Loraine had to kiss him to prove to Candace that he’s not infected even though she knew he is. That’s how much Loraine loves Mark.”
Grayson ran a hand through his hair. “What the fuck was she thinking? What about Candace? Fred?”
“Candace…” she sniffed. “She’s almost in the transformation. She came in contact with the infection almost a week ago and kept it to herself. Fred? She made a one-night stand with him and…”
“Fuck!” Grayson looked down on her dead body and tears began to glisten in his eyes. “You also made contact with the disease? That’s why you killed the body?”
Fantasma shook her head and sobs began wracking her ethereal body. “The body I’m using was growing weak and it cannot deal with my excess powers that whenever I’m on the edge, it goes out of control and… it nicked and bruised Fred. I’ll still die even if I don’t end it here.”
She floated towards Grayson and placed a ghostly hand on his cheek amidst the tears in her eyes. “I don’t want you hurt. I don’t want anything to happen to you because I know that you’re the only one who could help the survivors live again after the zombies outside kill themselves.”
“You… You did all this for… me? Even though you know that I’ll hate you for it?”
She nodded. “I had to. I wasn’t expecting to stay here lingering though. Maybe it’s because I couldn’t go on without you knowing the truth?”
“Open the drawers. There are combination codes there for the safe hidden in the basement’s wall where we drew our names together. There would be supplies their and provision to last all of you until the disease ends.” she continued.
Grayson slowly cupped her hand that was on his cheek with his. “Tassie…”
She closed her eyes and breathed in deep. Breathe din the love, the forgiveness, the acceptance and… the hope. She smiled and kissed him.
“I love you… Always.”
And with that, she vanished, leaving Grayson calling out to her.
********
3 years later…
“Thank you, Master Grayson…”
“Master Grayson, you’re my hero!”
“Go, Master Grayson!”
“Long live, Master Grayson!”
Grayson smiled at the crowd and retreated to his mansion. Yes. Fantasma’s words were right that the zombies get to kill each other and after successfully eradicating the leftover zombies, he was able to get the survivors to grow to live again. He was elected as their ruler after that and no matter how many times he refused, the people grew adamant until he acquiesced.
While walking in the hallway, he stopped in front of a huge portrait of the woman who was supposed to be by his side when the time came for them to retake humanity. A time like today. A woman who was worthy of the people’s affection and his title. A woman… he loves.
He gently caressed the portrait.
“Tassie…”
“Hmp. I do not look that formal…” a voice made him turn and his heart pound.
“Or do I?” the woman continued to walk towards him. She had red, waist-length hair, her voice was a bit deeper and her eyes were a bright green. Gone was the short silver-haired, blue eyed, woman he once knew and even if she was in another body, his heart pounded the exact same way it had whenever she’s around.
“Tassie…” he murmured in disbelief as she kept on walking near him. He stood stock still unable to move a muscle.
She chuckled and drew her arms around his neck and rolled her eyes. “I know. I already know my name and I don’t need you to repeat them all day.”
He cupped her face with his hands. “Tassie… Is this really you?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Say my name again and I’ll throw you over your balcony.”
He laughed as he remembered the time he kept calling her name that she snapped and threatened him that she’ll throw him in the school’s window.
“You came back…” he said, breathless.
She nodded. “I did, didn’t I? And don’t ask why. You know the reason and it would always be you. And about the how, well, a wayward soul like me has many ways. Are you gonna kiss me now?”
He kissed her then and when they got the chance to breath. She whispered.
“Congratulations, Master Grayson. You did it. I knew you could do it and I love you… Always.”
Impressum
Texte: Kelli G
Bildmaterialien: Bookrix
Lektorat: Kelli G
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 15.10.2015
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Widmung:
This is just a short story based on my dream. Sure, this is not my full dream. You know how dreams are, they are random and tend to jump from one dream scene to another, so I got my way to edit this dream so it could have an ending. :) But overall, the essence of the dream is still the same.