The Revealing

Saturday, September 20, 2014

There was chaos, and then there was peace. There was noise, and then there was quiet. They told us if we were quiet, we could stay together. Peridot clung to me, frightened, as I held her. I should have been scared, but I was not. I felt brave. I would stay strong for Carson, Damian, Willow and Mason. I would not go out without a fight.

They kept us in a dark room without any windows for what felt like an eternity. They came about six times, with long breaks after the second, fourth and sixth times. They brought us bland food, keeping us alive for some reason. I guessed the long periods of time when they didn’t come were during the night, so they kept us locked up for about three days.

They explained everything to us—everything except the part about us dying. That part they only told me. They said if I tried anything, they would make our deaths slow and painful. So I waited for someone, anyone, to find us. But I knew help wouldn’t come. We would die, and for once, the bad guys would win.

They took us to a new place entirely and kept us there for three days, and then we drove. They removed their robes, explaining they were only hiding their identities before because of the ones who would survive. It sickened me that they were all people we knew—people we had believed to be dead. They were dead. Now others were living in their bodies.

In the car, Peridot clung to my side. The irony of her wearing a seat belt made me laugh to myself. We were driving to my school, which would be empty, so no one would interrupt their ritual. It was a Saturday. Four days had passed since we’d left to search for Lisa. I hoped the others had at least saved her.

They had my hands tied up to Peridot so that I wouldn’t try anything with my new ability. They were doing the ceremony in the gym of the school. Apparently, they’d placed some kind of gem that helped with the process around the room during renovations. They informed me of this on the way. They’d been waiting for this day.

They’d planned it even before Mason and I had moved back there. They’d waited there patiently for me to find Peridot, to come to the caves so that they could kill us and live forever—in my families’ bodies, including my mother’s and my father’s.

It was unfair. As I sat there quietly, waiting at a red light in the back seat of an old Cadillac, I looked back over my life. It’s completely unfair. Why does Peridot have to die, while they’ll live on with her eternal youth? Why do they get to become more powerful with every ability they encounter? Why did Carson have to die? He had no part in this! They only wanted me and Peri. Why are they being rewarded for their greed? Why couldn’t I be human? Why couldn’t Peri be human?

“We are close now. Make a left here, Paul,” said the woman in my mother’s body.

It was close to three o’clock on Saturday morning. I saw my school in the distance. Peridot didn’t know what it looked like, so I tried to remain calm for her, but my body betrayed me. My heart rate sped up, and fear filled the back seat like a bathtub. It seemed so tangible that I felt as if I were drowning in it. Peridot, who absorbed emotions from me, tightened her grip on me. I could feel her breath coming faster. She felt my fear.

The woman wearing my mother’s body was giving directions. It was one of her abilities; she was a living GPS. She always knew the right way, even if she had never been there before. Apparently, that was my mother’s human ability. This was it. We were going to die. Carson’s death had been for nothing. He’d tried to stop them, and they’d gotten to us anyway.

I had been wrong to think we’d win. My life was not like a novel—at least not one that I had read, because in a novel, everything always turned out right. Everyone good lived. There were no useless deaths. If there were any deaths, they were always avenged. It never worked out for the antagonist. The couple whom readers were rooting for always had a cute ending in which they ended up together. This was not a story.

We finally got to the school parking lot, and I contemplated trying to fight, but I knew that would put Peridot in danger. Even though they were planning to kill us, they would do away with her slowly and painfully if I tried anything. So I followed, refusing the hand my father’s body offered me as I stepped out of the car. The idea of him touching me made my skin crawl. I swatted it away and followed them into the school, keeping Peridot close to me, holding her tightly, carrying her. She was holding on to me like a monkey, as tightly as she could. I tried to soothe her by rubbing her back, but there was no comfort I could give her. Nothing I could do or say would make this better for her.

We walked into the dimly lit gym, our footsteps echoing. The echoes made it seem as if the walls were harshly protesting our presence. The basketball net was pulled up to the ceiling, and it looked like an iron monster in the shadows. Everything about this gym that seemed friendly and entertaining to people during the day had transformed into a sinister version of itself. It was like when I saw the eyes of Damian’s father change from turquoise to black. This gym had transformed into a dangerous animal that had swallowed us all. The writing on the wall was no longer bright and inviting. Warm and welcoming slogans had changed seemingly into phrases mocking the situation we were in: “Run to your future,” “Refuse to lose” and, my favourite, “No pain, no gain.” All of them seemed to laugh at the place we were in.

On the far side of the gym was a stone table. It looked old and broken; it was cracking in a few places. When had they had the time to move it there? The many candles surrounding the gym and the table fit in with the disturbing surroundings. The shadows on the table formed an enraged face that laughed at me. Next to the malicious table was a small bench with chalices lined up down the length of it. I wondered what those were for, and my gut knew that nothing good could come from them. In the ceiling, I could still see one of the softballs I had lodged up there by accident during one of my few gym classes. Seeing that ball made me feel sick. The dark atmosphere mixed with my old school life seemed wrong on many levels. I looked at the floor and all around the stone table. The candles looked as if they already had been used, almost until non-existence.

The candles made this seem like some kind of sacrificial ritual, which, technically, it was. The elders stopped being gentle. They grabbed Peridot, tearing her from my arms. She screamed and flailed, trying to reach out to me. I couldn’t do anything, since they were holding me down. However, my body betrayed me yet again, and I began to heat up and glow. They pinned my face to the ground brutishly, and one said, “Don’t even think about it! Do you want her to go fast or to suffer? Turn it off!”

I tried to slow my heart rate and calm myself, but Peridot was still screaming and calling my name. They were going to kill us—what normal person would be calm?

“I’m sorry! I can’t! Just give her back! I’ll calm down—I swear!”

Alison spoke to me in the dark. “The screaming doesn’t bother us. However, the pain is all up to you, so turn it off! Now!”

I held my breath and concentrated on ice and cold. Maybe if I made myself cold, the glow would turn off. It did, and I let out a breath. It was a cold breath that came out as a small puff like a cloud, like breathing in the winter. Interesting.

My mother’s body spoke to me. “There. Was that so hard?” Her motherly tone sickened me.

“Shut up!” I yelled.

I was still concentrating on controlling my glow, and my fingertips started to get cold. Had I picked up another ability?

“No need to be rude. All right, let’s get this over with. I already have enough wrinkles.” She yanked me to my feet roughly, obviously impatient.

The room got darker as they blew out some of the surrounding candles. They’d covered Peridot’s mouth, but I could see her from across the room. Tears soaked her cheeks under a hand that dwarfed her face. She was so small and young.

They yanked my arm toward the fire of the biggest candle I had ever seen in my life. I pulled away. My strength was too much for them to overpower, so two of them grabbed the candle and burn me. My arm caught on fire, and I screamed so loudly that some of the candles fell over. Someone clamped a hand over my mouth, and tears pooled in my eyes and spilled over onto the hand covering my mouth. Someone put out the fire, and my arm was covered in charred black skin. I couldn’t feel it; my hand was completely numb all over.

The hand on my mouth tightened and pulled me toward the table. The hand released my mouth. They put Peridot beside me, and she grabbed my arm and healed it. With a touch, the skin turned back into flesh, and the blackness was gone. I poked my arm, happy that Peridot had this gift. They didn’t seem to care. At least she was unharmed for now. They made us lie down beside each other on the table and secured us.

“In case you’re wondering, we had to burn away the bond from Jason’s earlier greed, when he tried to drain you,” said Alison.

I remembered the training incident when the man had bit my hand.

“It won’t be necessary to burn the little one. She wasn’t attempted and is free of bond,” she added.

My heart was still pounding from the shock of what had just happened, but I was relieved that Peridot wouldn’t have to go through that as well. I could see in the corner of my eye that they were bringing something shiny over. Alison, who apparently loved the sound of her own voice, started explaining.

“You see, draining someone, as a group, is a very delicate, precise procedure. You need to be linked to the cups.” She brought two silver chalices forward. “Then we drink. You only need to spill a drop of blood, but when we drink from the cups, it will be like drinking directly from you. It will link you to the cup, and we will have an endless supply. It’s just easier this way—and a lot less of a mess. I know it sounds gross, but Halfling blood is different from human blood. To us, it’s sweet and addictive. If you are wondering why we need blood, it’s because that is what connects to your gift. When you are drained of blood, you are drained of your life force and, essentially, your gift.”

She smiled, clearly remembering past drainings. “We all have our own cups. But these are for you two. You will need to drink ours before we drink yours. Don’t worry; it doesn’t taste that bad.”

My stomach lurched, and I threw up. The thought of drinking blood made me sick.

“Oh dear, what a mess. Felix!”

A short, round man came out with a bucket and a mop. He was ugly, old and balding. I didn’t think he was an elder. He was cowering away from them. He cleaned up the small amount of vomit, and then he returned to where he’d previously been standing. Alison continued.

“Okay then, now that that is taken care of, let’s get on with this!”

There were 14 elders, and each came up, cut his or her hand and held it over each cup. The cuts healed almost as quickly as they appeared. The cups were a quarter full by the time they’d all finished; some had given more than others. Alison looked at Peridot and me expectantly. She looked back and forth from me to the cups.

“Oh, let me handle this!” My mother’s body stepped forward and walked over to the cups. She picked one up, grabbed my chin with an icy grip and tilted my head back. She put the cup to my lips and tried to make me drink it. I wanted to throw up again, but I probably had nothing left. I turned my head, and she spilt some down my cheek and on the floor. She growled, angry with me. She jerked her finger up, and the blood stopped mid-air and flowed back into the cup.

She tightened her grip this time so that I wouldn’t be able to pull that stunt again. Her nails dug into my cheeks. I finished the cup, and she went on to the next one. Peridot squirmed and tightened her lips together, but the woman had better control this time. She pried her lips open and made her drink it.

“There. Now that the first part is done, it’s your turn.” Alison stepped forward with a knife and pushed it into my hand.

I was surprised at how fast the skin split. The blood pooled in my hand and trickled down my fingertips and into the awaiting cup. She poured some powder into both cups after they finished with the crying Peridot next to me.

Sandra mixed the blood and powder in the cups. Within seconds, my head started to churn, and my eyelids drooped. I suspected Peridot felt the same way. Each time Sandra scraped the side of the cup with my blood in it, I felt as if she were scraping inside of me.

“All right, you are linked to the cup. Now it’s time for us to finish you guys, and then everything is done.” She smiled, almost giddy with excitement. It sickened me.

They all took their cups, which were ready for use, and held them out to Sandra as she went around pouring powder into their cups. From what I could see, as soon as the powder hit the bottom of their cups, it turned to liquid, probably a mix of Peri’s and my blood put together. Then, when all of the cups were full, they put their cups to their lips and began to drink. Instantly, I could feel the pull of it inside me, the loss of blood. It was all happening so fast. We were dying.

They were draining our blood. No one would be able to save us. I thought of Damian and Willow, who had just lost their brother. What were they going to do when they found us? The high school was the last place they would look. I could feel my heart struggling to pump the amount of blood that I had left. I couldn’t feel my toes or my fingers. I was cold. My eyes were heavy and closing. The world around me was blurring. Peri’s eyes were closed. I tried to look around, desperate for someone to save us, and that was when I saw him.

Up in the rafters was the boy from the library. He was watching me with a strange expression. It was if he were trying to stop himself from coming down. My eyes pleaded, trying to beg him to save us. He could make himself invisible and kill everyone there or at least help us. He was a Tharsion.

Then I had an idea. I practically jumped for joy. I was a Halfling—and an important one at that. I could make myself invisible. As quickly as I could, I searched the walls for a window. I would not be able to concentrate on an imaginary window. Luck was on my side, for just below the boy was a dark window. No, the window wasn’t dark. It was made of clear, thin glass. Then everything around me changed appearance, and I knew I was invisible. The cup unlinked from me, and everyone started uttering exclamations. One even asked if I was dead. That made no sense to me, since I would have been visible if I were dead.

However, I did feel close to death. I prepared myself for my heart’s last beat, but instead of hearing the dull pulse in my ears, I heard the loudest crash ever. My eyes closed, but I knew something was happening. There was a bright light behind my eyelids. Maybe that’s the white light everyone always talks about seeing, I thought. I didn’t have the strength to move or to open my eyes. My heart was using all the strength in my body to keep pumping my drastically small amount of blood through my body. Suddenly, a gust of wind rocketed past my ear, making my hair fly in all different directions.

Panicky voices filled the gym, as well as running footsteps and terrified, inhuman screeching. We are being saved. Is it the boy in the rafters? Metal hitting metal echoed around the room, and the cups fell to the floor. I could hear them clatter, and I could feel my strength returning. Someone grabbed my leg and yanked it roughly. I was lighter than I had ever been before, and I slid toward the person with ease. I couldn’t feel anything except adrenaline, which was now coursing through my veins. I must have picked up someone’s ability to heal him- or herself. Then I realized that in order for someone to pull my leg, I must have been visible again. I opened my eyes and saw a disgusting-looking creature opening its mouth like a snake, getting ready to chomp on my limbs. I pulled my leg back with all my strength and kicked the creature’s skull. It was soft, and I killed it. There was a thud as it dropped to the ground.

I heard more running feet, squeals, wind, thuds and screeches. I stood up, seeing something crawling toward Peridot, who was on the floor now. I took three steps and felt the heat return to my hands. I blasted the thing with fire, and it lit up like a bonfire. It screeched, and I couldn’t stand the sound, so I used the cold I’d picked up earlier to freeze it. A frozen burn killed the creature. Across the gym, I could hear a struggle. Someone with wide, beautiful white wings and no shirt was trying to overpower the last elder, my mother. I shouted as loudly as I could, and the two stopped for a second. The woman looked at me with a villainous smile. Then she sped over to me, and the boy followed with caution. She taunted me.

“I killed your mother, and she tasted amazing! The grandmother to the king—and I killed her! How beautifully poetic is that?” She shouted the crazy gibberish, trying to get to me.

I let out a yell that held all of my frustration, anger and sadness. The scream that came from me turned the woman to glass right in front of me, and she shattered before my eyes. My mother was finally gone, and I had been the one to end the life of her body. All that had just happened overwhelmed every rational part of me, and I fell to the floor and wept, getting weak all over again. Suddenly, a pair of arms slid underneath me and cradled me.

Someone was carrying me. My eyes became swollen and puffy; the tears wouldn’t end and kept clouding my vision. Through my blurred vision, I could see a bare, bleeding shoulder, and behind the shoulder, I saw long white feathers. A wing? I closed my eyes. The boy from library. My head rolled to the side against the chest of the person carrying me.

“You can sleep. You are safe.”

That was the last thing I heard before I slipped into a dream state. I dreamed of cold. I dreamed of black. Then I dreamed of an angel.