The Proposed Prophecies

“Amy died a week later, but not from the virus. She shot herself after the doctor called and wanted to put her into quarantine as her blood results showed positive to the same virus that was spreading across the world.. She killed herself the same exact way as her father. I will never forget the awful sound of the gun on that Friday morning. We couldn’t even have a proper funeral as the government took her body without any explanation. Ashley said her mom had kept a gun for protection that she used to keep in a locked box. And that day she had used it against herself. I think she believed there was a lot worse coming with the virus than just the bleeding eyes. She believed her father’s stories that the virus came with certain death in the third stage of the mutation. She knew there was no way back and I often thought that I would have done the same thing no matter how much her death hurt me.

Me, Tommy, Joann and even Ashley were taken into hospital, per Amy’s doctor’s instructions and put under sets of tests to make sure we were not infected. We had to be Isolated and separated from each other for two weeks. The doctor said the virus could have been caught if the blood from an infected person got into a healthy human through their mouth or even a small cut on the body. I remembered Amy often had small paper cuts on her hands and the day of the incident at the motel I had blood all over me and she was shaking me when I blacked out. So there was a big possibility she had touched the infected blood on my arms while she tried to help me that day and it got into her system. And I could never forgive myself for it. I felt like her death was somehow my fault. For a long time I blamed myself. As part of their tests, the Doctors used needle after needle on me, but I barely acknowledged the pain as it was nothing compared the hurt that wracked me after Amy’s death.

We all tested negative and were able to leave the hospital two weeks later and return to our home which felt empty and cold. The house had been cleaned up and smelled like bleach throughout. I thought it must have been Jake who had cleaned it. I wasn’t even sure if he had been put into quarantine like the rest of us as he never talked about it. Jake also locked Amy’s room and prohibited any of us from entering.

Ashley cried every day and night while Tommy still had no idea what was going on. He was only five and he thought Amy had gone on a business trip like she used to all the time before Ashley got sick. I remember him asking me if Amy would be long because he missed her. I always just hugged him and said that I didn’t know. Each time I looked at him or Ashley I had to convince myself that her death was not my fault. But I know it was. And I will never forgive myself for it.”

“Liv! It’s snowing!” Tommy yelled and ran around the house. Liv smiled; she was glad to see him happy. It had only been two days since they had been released from the hospital but the memories haunted her: the nurses running around taking blood samples and monitoring each move with cables strapped to her body; the plain white room with only one single bed in it where she had to remain in quarantine for two weeks. But these memories were nothing compared to the sound of the gun that haunted her each night. The sound of the gun that spread through the whole property, possibly even echoing throughout the neighborhood.

She hadn’t heard from Evan since the day with the big storm when she had seen him with Eve but her anger grew each time she thought about that day.

She walked out to the terrace with a cup of coffee and watched the snow fall onto the already perfectly white sand. It barely looked like there was any snow on it, only the palm trees around the property seemed to hold the snowflakes. The ocean looked peaceful and it was quiet everywhere. The neighborhood was always quiet, even at two in the afternoon. There were not many children living in the area, so Tommy’s voice was really the only one that was loud as she watched him running around the terrace.

Liv remembered she was supposed to give Becky a call, but since Amy’s death they had been postponing their conversation. She dialed her number and Becky picked up at the third ring of the phone.

“Liv, how good you called. Our flight to Miami has been cancelled this morning and when mom called in they said all the airports are closed.” Liv thought it must have been because the virus had reached Sweden. Her mom had said this yesterday when she called. The news said there was about hundred and five infected people in Stockholm.

“I think we won’t be able to come for Christmas.” Becky added with a sad voice. They had been planning this trip since Amy’s death. Especially since Helena wanted to come and help out with the kids.

“I think it’s better if you stay home for now. Even here they closed the schools temporarily because of the virus. They don’t have a cure yet and the last thing I want is for you or mom to get infected.” Liv said this calmly but her heart was beating faster than usual. It was hard to have her sister and mom so far away when an uncontrollable virus was spreading and there was no cure either. She hadn’t told anyone about what Amy had said about Jason’s story, that there were three stages of viruses and the one that was currently circling around the nation was the easier one. She also hadn’t mentioned that there was a possibility that there was going to be a stage two of the virus in which the aggression was supposed to later lead to death. It would sort the world into sick versus healthy. This was hard to imagine, she thought. She often wondered if this new world would be like in the TV show where people fought against zombies. Would they be one of the fast runners or the slow ones? Would they even be zombies or would they just be infected with a hope to get healthy again? There were a lot of questions with no answers, only fear of the future.

“I forgot to tell you about dad,” Becky noted and Liv realized she had completely forgotten about Christopher and his reappearance. Everything had happened so quickly that she had never asked what he wanted.

“I met with dad couple of weeks ago and he said he needs to take us to safety. He said something about bunkers for people.”

“Bunkers?” Liv repeated. “Maybe he was drunk again.” Christopher was often talking nonsense when he was drunk. But as Liv thought about it more she remembered that Christopher talked about some bunkers even before she moved to Miami, but she had always thought this was related to paranoia cause by the alcohol he drank. Plus she was too scared to be around him because of his bad temper but now she wished she had paid more attention to what he was saying.

“He actually stopped drinking years ago and he is in the army,” Becky said. Liv knew that Becky always secretly wished Christopher would become the father he should have been and she always called him “dad”. She was like Helena, forgiving and full of hope. Liv always felt differently, she had never believed in Christopher, and hated him with all her heart. But the fact that he was in the army made her feel that perhaps the day she had imagined him in the motel wasn’t really a result of her imagination and he had truly been there. She remembered Carmen yelling that the military truck was there which meant the people underneath the masks could have been from the army.

After she hung up with Becky she heard Jake’s voice. She went to the living room and spotted him bringing a Christmas tree into the room. It was as tall as he was, and green but fake.

“I thought we should start a little earlier this year,” he said. His eyes were sorrowful and his voice was suddenly friendly. Liv thought this must be because of Amy’s death. He might not have loved her anymore but he was surely not passive to her death, she thought.

Tommy yelled from happiness and Ashley walked out of her room with the help of Joann. Liv realized that Ashley was starting to look better, she was able to make small steps and her breathing was more regular than before. Liv was glad Ashley was not crying as she had spent a lot of time crying since Amy had died. But it looked like as she was hiding it only because of Tommy. Her eyes were still glazed as the tears were held back.

Liv spotted through the window a military truck that was parked in front of the house. She looked at Jake and was about to ask why it was there when Jake responded before she had a chance to ask.

“We talk about it later. I have to tell you something.” He whispered to Liv with a serious face. It must have been something important if he needed to talk to her. He normally ignored her even after Amy’s death and now he suddenly needed to talk.

He looked at Ashley and Tommy and told them to decorate the tree the way they want it and to surprise him. He added he needed to leave but he would come back later and he wanted them to hang every single ornament onto the tree. He brought two big boxes out of his car, full of Christmas lights and decorations.

“Wait for me tonight,” he whispered to Liv as he was leaving and Liv nodded. She was afraid of what he might tell her. Perhaps it was about the virus. Nothing good had come out of him ever since she had met him. She wasn’t even sure if she should trust him since she knew he had something to do with Eve. But the way he cared for Ashley and Tommy always made her feel like there was something more behind the arrogant mask he held to cover his face.

Tiffany stopped by later on and seemed upset because she was unable to reach Evan. Liv knew it was time to share what was happening and about Eve. She knew she was taking a risk and Tiffany might think she was crazy but she didn’t want to hide anything anymore.

“You think that Eve and your aunt’s husband has something to do with some kind of destruction of human kind that your grandfather wrote about? This is crazy, L. Plus, Eve has been around our family since Evan went to boarding school. She is not some kind of alien from your grandfather’s stories” Tiffany’s voice sounded like she was about to laugh. Liv tried to remind her about the incident on the parking lot but Tiffany didn’t seem to remember.

“You forced me to drink some vodka to calm down. It was the day of the last house party you organized. I was upset, remember?” Liv’s attempts to make Tiffany remember fell on flat ears. It felt like Tiffany was the one who had drank all that vodka and not Liv. She eventually let it go and told Tiffany she hadn’t seen Evan since the storm, which was true. Tiffany left shortly after to see again if Evan was in his apartment, despite Liv telling her he wouldn’t be there. Tiffany did not want to believe her brother had moved away without telling her. Liv watched Tiffany storm out of the house. “Is everything ok?” Ashley’s nurse Joann asked as Liv stood in front of the window looking at Tiffany who must have pushed the gas all the way down as the tires on her car made a squeaky noise. “Everything is fine,” said Liv and Joann smiled but Liv sensed the smile was fake; she didn’t believe her. But Liv barely knew her and didn’t feel like sharing the whole story with her, despite Joann’s nice appearance. Liv sat down on the sofa in the living room and placed her head back. “Please. Wake up now,” she whispered to herself once she heard Joann’s bedroom door close. She hoped she would wake up from a nightmare, but somehow this felt way too real.

***

The clock struck almost midnight and there was still no sign of Jake. Liv sat in the living room and watched the lights on the Christmas tree turn from red to white. The ornaments were all kinds of colors, from blue to purple. Liv laughed as she remembered Ashley saying while she was decorating that Jake was missing a sense of style with all these miss matched colors. Apparently Amy’s Christmas tree had always been stylish with only three types of colors chosen by Ashley and Tommy each year.

The star on the top reminded Liv of the one her mom had bought last year for their tree in Stockholm. She remembered the taste of the fish her mom made. Helena was the best cook ever, Liv thought. There was no one who could mix the spices the way Helena did.

A sudden noise came from the kitchen. It sounded like the sliding door to the terrace had been opened and closed right after. She thought it might have been Jake but then he never used the back door and also she hadn’t seen his car outside. Her breathing quickened as she walked towards the kitchen. On the way, she grabbed the scissors that she had used to cut the labels on the Christmas ornaments earlier that day, and entered the kitchen. She spotted a dark figure and her hand started to shake as she gripped on to the scissors. She turned on the light. It was Evan standing at the sliding door.

“You? What do you want?” She felt anger wash over her. He looked like he was hiding something underneath his dark winter coat.

“I am glad you are alright. I heard what happened to Amy… and I just came to see how you are feeling.”

Liv remained quiet but inside she was screaming. She wanted an explanation for what he was doing with Eve and the lies and secrets that polluted the air around him. He seemed to realize she wasn’t in a chatty mood. “I am leaving tomorrow and I am not sure if I will ever see you again so I came to say goodbye and that I am sorry for everything.”

“You are sorry?” Liv raised her voice but tried to lower it as everyone was sleeping.

“I trusted you. And now you are with Eve? Is this some type of a sick joke?”

Evan shook his head “Of course not. And it’s really not what you think it is.” Liv looked at the floor. She felt tired and disappointed. She wasn’t even sure if she cared enough to hear his explanation but then she asked anyhow. “So how is it then?” she asked softly and looked back at him.

Evan paused and just stared for a minute. He looked as if he wanted to say more to her but somehow changed his mind. “It is complicated. But I want you to know that I have never lied about my feelings for you.” Liv smiled ironically but was on the edge of releasing tears that she was trying to hold back. She was trying to avoid falling apart completely.

“I have something for you,” he added and she looked at his hand as he reached inside his winter coat. He walked closer to the kitchen island. It was the only thing standing between them, and placed two of Jason’s diaries on the island. He slid them to Liv.

“You had them this whole time? Where are the rest?” He was the last person she had expected to take them.

“Sorry but it was the best solution at that time and I can give you only two back at this moment.”

Liv placed her hand on one of the diaries but didn’t move it or open it. She felt disappointed with herself for trusting him enough to tell him about the diaries in the first place.

“Why did you even take them?” Liv asked and stared at the mid-sized brown diary that laid in front of her eyes. Evan’s silence suggested he was not willing to talk about it.

“I had to. But Eve decided to allow you to have two. I am not sure why.” He appeared as if he was about to walk to her but she stepped back giving him a sign that he shouldn’t come closer. Evan listened and exhaled deeply. “I am not sure what her intentions are with you yet but I thought perhaps your grandfather’s diaries would help to answer some questions.”

It all suddenly sounded too much for her, it was exhausting the way her life had changed over the past few months. She used to have an ordinary life but now it felt like a sci-fi movie without a happy ending. Evan was suddenly not who she thought he was. He appeared to be a liar but somehow she still felt like this wasn’t the whole truth. His deep brown eyes suggested there must be more to this situation, something she had missed along the way. She wished he would open up.

“I don’t understand what is happening. Why are you even doing this? You are working with her, or whatever else you are doing and now you are trying to help?” This appeared to her to be some type of sick game of Eve in which Evan was her lover and Liv was just a pawn placed into the game as a toy for entertainment.

“It is not what you think at all and I am sorry that I can’t explain why. But as I said, I have never faked any of my feelings. I really do love you.” His voice sounded as though he really meant it but the mixed feelings were changing her point of view each second. On the one hand she felt like she wanted to run into his arms but then the next moment she wanted to grab a knife and slide it through his heart. The feelings were confusing and hurtful.

“I have to go,” he whispered quietly and turned around as she noticed his eyes tearing up.

“Wait,” she said loudly and he stopped walking but didn’t turn around. She paused. Right at that moment, she wanted to stop him from walking out that door but all she was able to say was a plain thank you for the diaries. He nodded his head and walked out of the house and it felt like he had walked out of her life as well. She sat down on the cold dark tiles on the kitchen floor and finally released the flood of tears she had tried to hold back for the past minutes. Her heart ached and it felt like it had shattered into pieces.

***

The digital clock in the living room, right below the flat screen TV, showed that it was a little after one in the morning. It still looked dark outside and like it was freezing as the frost gradually covered Liv’s white car outside along the corners of the wall-to-wall windows in the living room. She sat on the white sofa and occasionally looked outside the window and read her grandfather’s diary that Evan had given her back. The diary itself was dated from the year 1992, which was the same year as Liv was born.

“I received a phone call early this morning that shocked me to a point I couldn’t breathe. Helena gave a birth to a baby girl she has named Liv. I ran to the hospital as fast I could and Axel joined me. It felt so precious to keep my granddaughter in my arms, despite my hatred for Christopher. He still hadn’t forgiven me for pushing him into the army and into the proposal. I made him work with Helena but my intentions were far from her getting pregnant by Christopher. I thought they would help out with the bunkers. I didn’t know they would have a relationship and I definitely didn’t think that Helena would get pregnant. How on earth did this happen? I was told an Alter’s ability to conceive on their own is taken early on their life to avoid overpopulation. So how did she get pregnant? Axel is amazed but I am slightly afraid. I can’t imagine what Eve would do once she finds out about it. And what would that mean for my granddaughter. Is she human? Is she an Alter? Or is she something in between?”

Liv’s heart stopped for a second. “My mom?” She whispered. How had she never noticed anything different about her or about herself. “Am I different?” she asked herself but other than imagining Eve in the past she didn’t feel different in any way. She felt a sudden anger towards her mom for never telling her the truth. She always acted as if she had met Jason only couple of times. She remembered the times when Christopher had fought with Helena. He often said she wasn’t a real woman and Liv always thought it was just because he always found something he thought she didn’t do correctly. He was hard to please but now Liv’s opinion on him and her mother was completely different. Helena was suddenly an Alter that wasn’t supposed to get pregnant and have children. Liv wondered if that meant that Becky was a mixture of human and Alter too. She felt fearful as she turned the pages, not knowing what revelations she would uncover next.

“I needed to come up with a plan that would keep Liv safe but I am afraid. The day we went to see my granddaughter, Axel said he was unable to read her thoughts. He said with a newborn there would be at least sounds of some type but hers were quiet. Nothing was coming through. This wasn’t the first time we had seen this. As Axel and I worked together on researching people and planning the whole set up for the proposal we came across about twenty more people that Axel said he was unable to read. He started to mark them with the same symbol of a crossed circle on their wrists and he did this to Liv, too. He used to carry this small pen-like device that was able to leave permanent marks on skin just like a tattoo machine. Alters used to use this machine to mark their newborns with the same exact symbol. The only difference was that the real Alters were marked on the back of their heads.

I wondered if all those marked people could have been something in between Alters and humans. But now I know the truth. Helena told me that the ability to conceive children has never been fully explored since the sexual relationship between Alters is not exactly the same as between people but when it came to sexual intercourse between humans and Alters, the outcome was a completely new species. Alters are now able to conceive children the same way as humans, instead of using technology to create the embryos and an incubator for development. Axel said that was impossible and Liv’s birth must have been unique and that he would surely hear about it among the Alters. But I was not so sure about it. I am sure that if Alters are able to conceive with people they would want to keep it a secret in front of Eve and Axel. Who knows what the outcome of the situation would be. They would consider the newborns as some types of hybrids which makes me wonder if perhaps I was one of them too. It is a possibility, as the Alters are unable to read my thought as well.”

Liv looked at her wrist. She had never really paid attention to the mark on it before, or thought it would make her special in any way and yet it was a mark that somehow made her different. She continued to read through her grandfather’s faded but perfect handwriting. It still somehow felt like it was a part of her.

“If we are some sort of hybrids, than Eve would surely feel that this new hybrid was better than mankind. She never trusted people but she is starting to question the loyalty of some of the Alters as well, which is concerning. She wants every single human to die, along with disloyal Alters who do not play by the rules and become emotionally attached to humans over the years. This is surprising given that once upon a time, before I met Clair, she was attached to me.”

Liv realized that Eve was the beautiful creature from the diary that was dated from 1955. He had described the breakup he had planned with the beautiful creature as he was falling in love with Clair.

It was concerning that the Eve from his diary could be the same Eve. She wondered if Eve knew about her being half human, half Alter. Perhaps that was the reason Eve was now in her life.

“Eve has been always jealous of Clair even after Clair lost her battle with cancer. Eve’s hate and disagreement over the terms of the Proposal grew more over the years, especially after I told her that I wanted nothing to do with her, and sided with Axel. I have never had any love for Eve and she knows that. Each time we work together, I can sense her hatred of me. She pretends she listens to whatever Axel says but this is far from the truth. She is not someone who likes to follow the rules or someone else’s commands.

As we spend our time selecting the chosen ones, building the bunkers, making sure everything will be ready and released on time to begin the destruction of Earth as we know it by the year of 2020, I have started to notice how hard this whole plan is becoming. Humans are bonding with Alters and the friendships and love appears developing to be mutual despite the fact that people don’t know about Alters and they believe that they are humans just like us. I don’t even see the difference even after so many years. The only noticeable difference is that Alters live longer and can continue to look a certain age, but they are creatures with emotions as well.”

Liv realized that even Eve had a soft spot and emotions just like humans. She had had an affair with her grandfather once upon a time and once he rejected her, she must have felt jealousy or anger. While Liv continued reading, Jason mentioned about other Alters becoming attached to humans by falling in love or by feeling the power of friendships that occurred as a result of blending in with the human race over the years. She thought about Evan and Jake. Perhaps Jake truly had loved Amy and the kids and maybe that was the reason why he always came back from his mystery trips instead of leaving for good.

And maybe Evan truly loved her too. Liv remembered the way he looked at her and the way he touched her, which she thought could not be faked. But then she knew very little about the Alters and she was not even sure if Evan was an Alter after all. Jake appeared to her like he wasn’t quite of this Earth with his toxic dark eyes. Just one glance from him and her knees felt like they were about to crumble. There was always something strange about Jake that was barely explainable and made her believe he was almost certainly an Alter. But Evan was still somehow a mystery.

**** .

“Liv?” A gentle shake of her arm woke her up. She looked up and spotted Jake. Her clock said it was six in the morning. She must have fallen asleep while reading the diary. She moved her head to the left and spotted the military truck outside, along with Jake’s car. She looked back at Jake who signed with his index finger to stay quiet and got out his gun.

Suddenly she realized there were noises coming out of the kitchen. They sounded like someone was bouncing something. She thought it might be Evan and slowly walked after Jake and tried to sign to him to lower his gun but he wasn’t listening. Liv slowly stepped after him into the kitchen as he turned on the lights. It wasn’t Evan. It was Carlotta hitting her head against the kitchen counter just as the man at the motel had done into the door. “Carlotta?” Liv raised her voice and stepped forward but Jake placed his arm across her waist to sign to stay where she was.

Carlotta looked up and started slowly asking for help. Gradually she started raising her voice until it become a scream in desperation. Her forehead was bleeding from hitting it so many times into the granite counter top. Tears of blood were running from her eyes and down from her nose. Her whole face was red and blood dripped from her chin all over the floor and her clothes.

Suddenly everything appeared in slow motion, just like it had done in the motel. Carlotta looked like she was about to run towards them but Jake pulled the trigger before she even made a step. The bullet dug into her scalp and she fell onto the floor immediately. The sound of the gun reminded her of the sound of Amy shooting herself.

“What happened?” Joann touched Liv’s shoulder but Liv was unable to say a word. She stared at Carlotta who lay in her own blood.

Five men with safety suits ran through the front door. Liv watched them wrap the woman in a white sheet the same exact way as they had at the motel. She expected to see her father there just like she had thought she had seen him at the motel but he wasn’t.

Jake was talking to her but she couldn’t hear him. She saw his lips moving but no sound came out. She felt as if her eyes were about to pop out of their places from being unable to blink for such a long time. “Liv?” Jake’s slight shake brought her back and she heard his deep voice. Tommy was crying and she saw Joann pulling him away from the scene. Liv realized Tommy must have seen it too. She took Jake’s hands off her and followed Joann and Tommy into Ashley’s room. Ashley wanted to get up and see what had happened but Joann did not allow her too.

Suddenly the only thing Liv could focus on was Joann’s care of the children and her soothing voice that assured the kids everything was alright. It felt strange to be focusing on her instead of everything else that was happening but somehow it felt relaxing. Doing this was the only way she could prevent herself from going into shock.