TWINED

by A. L. Collins

  I sighed. “I don’t see why I’m the one who has to snap it back into place.”

  He looked at his hand and saw a couple spots of blood, “Because I’m not in control of my power yet. With my luck I’ll end up ripping it off my face.”

  “Well then why don’t you practice controlling your powers?”

  “I can’t.”

  “Can’t imagine whose fault that is.”

  “Yours,” he said.

  “Why is it my fault?” I asked.

  “I’m not even supposed to have any powers at all, not until I Join. I’m unbound but being around you makes me fluctuate so much that I don’t know my ass from a hole in the ground. One minute I’m Superman and the next I can’t even fight off fake me.” He winced again. “That being said, my nose hurts.”

  “Well then quit talking and let me fix it,” I said. “I’ll do it quick and simple, like ripping off a band-aid.”

  Gray put the gauze back into the cabinet. “Loves, you both do know there’s an easier way of doing this?”

  Albert blinked. “Oh… that’s right.” He took my hand and placed it gently over his nose.

  “What are you doing?”

  “We’re very synchronized, remember?”

  I then thought of his side and the gashes that no longer existed. “Oh, right.”

  And he was right. I literally felt his nose shifting back to normal. It felt weird in my hand. It still seemed to hurt him although not as much as setting it back in place did.

  “That’s just freaking awesome, not going to lie,” I said in amazement.

  In a few seconds his nose was totally back to normal and I didn’t have to do a thing. I wiped some blood off my hand as Albert sniffed clearly for the first time in hours.

  “There we go.” Albert smiled. “You’d be a better man than I am, Avalin Marsh.”

  I laughed and so did he. That awesome laugh I loved so much rang through my ears.

  After that whole fiasco with Albert’s double, we figured it’d be easier to store the fake Albert in the nurse’s office where Gray had hidden a syringe of sedative. The sedative was supposedly there in case a Twined student had an episode and started shooting off their powers. But right now I think it was working just fine on the other Albert. It was decided that Gray would take this mystery Twined back to her home for “interrogation” as Albert called it. As for me, I wasn’t sure what this Twined was trying to gain from attacking us out of the blue.

  “We’re lucky we got away when we did,” Gray said. “Ten seconds more and we would’ve gotten caught in the swarm of students and faculty coming to see what the noise was about.”

  “Shouldn’t we put him somewhere a bit more… fortified?” Albert asked Gray.

  The woman grinned and reached into her pocket. “Not necessary, he’s sedated.”

  “Well we can’t keep him here, too dangerous for everyone here at school. We have to move him,” I said.

  “Agreed. I’ll take him back to my home and question him there. I’ll enact a ritual to form his Marker. Hopefully once I have that, I’ll be able to use it to leverage some information out of him.”

  I shrugged. “I think you should take his Marker now, just to be safe.”

  “It’s not that simple, unfortunately. It’ll take a lot of preparation to take his Marker from him. But you’re right Avalin; I’ll do it as soon as I get him to my home.”

  Albert seemed impressed with me. “You know what a Marker is?”

  “You’ve mentioned it a few times. Sounded like something important.”

  Gray nodded. “They are very important. Markers are the items used in a Joining ritual. It symbolizes and holds the power of the bond between human and Twined. Without a Marker, Twined become vulnerable and their powers weaken. It is the prized possession of any Joined Pair. With no Marker there is no bond.”

  “Twined who are bonded cannot truly be ‘killed’ until their Marker is destroyed,” Albert informed me.

  I couldn’t even comprehend what kind of power an item like that held.

  I shook my head, “Wait, what if you destroy his Marker? Will that weaken or kill Albert’s clone?”

  “That clone is a Twined in disguise,” Gray said. “And no, it wouldn’t kill him outright. But it would make him susceptible to death, breaking the bond he has with his partner and negating his powers. It will prove an excellent form of persuasion when I question him.”

  “You’re not going to really kill him are you?”

  “Not yet,” Gray said back.

  I was shocked to hear something like that come from Gray. “Not yet?”

  Albert put his hand on my shoulder. “Listen Avalin, this guy is involved with Jessica. I guarantee he was coming after you as soon as he got done killing me. He didn’t hesitate to cause harm. We should let him know that we won’t either.”

  “But you’re certain he’s working for Jessica?”

  “Remember when Jessica first attacked us? I had thought that she was a Twined with illusion powers. But that’s not the case; she turned out to be a Shadow Lynx.”

  It started coming back to me. “That’s right… that illusion.”

  “The one that made you think all the cars were gone. The one that trapped you and me to begin with, that had to be the work of an Illusionist. Illusions are something that a Shadow Lynx has no power over,” Albert said. “So I figured that Jessica and her partner must have another Joined Pair working with them. And taking my appearance is the perfect illusion.”

  I nodded. “And that Twined said that Jessica was coming after me. That’s how he got me to follow him in the first place, how he made me believe he was you.”

  “He has to be working with her, for her, something. The question is what the hell do they want with you? They’re already Joined. It’s not like they’re trying to steal you for themselves.” He shrugged.

  “He most likely wants to take me back to her alive. That’s why he didn’t want to go to Gray for help. He knew she’d be able to tell he was a fake.”

  “I’m decently well known in the Twined world,” Gray replied. “With all my contacts it’s smart that Jessica doesn’t want to get mixed up with me.”

  I had no idea who any of these Twined were or what they wanted from me. I mean even Jessica had been around me for years, but I’d always fought with Connie only. I had nothing to do with any of them. And prior to this, Jessica and I have had no previous confrontations. Sure whenever Connie called me a pale twat Jessica always laughed. But nothing came from her directly. Not until I learned about the Twined.

  I sighed and sat on the chair Albert had previously occupied. “I just don’t get it. Why come after me?”

  Albert glanced at me with worry in his eyes. I could feel some of his emotion. I don’t think he liked when I was upset.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked him softly.

  His eyes broke away. “Uh… nothing.” He seemed embarrassed. I wondered why.

  Gray crossed her arms. She leaned against her desk and said, “Albert, Avalin… I know this entire ordeal has been tiring for you both.”

  The two of us nodded. Tiring was an understatement.

  Gray rubbed her forehead. “Normally I leave it up to the human and the Twined to sort out their differences and make their own decisions.”

  “Regarding Joining you mean?” Albert asked.

  The nurse nodded.

  I sunk into my chair. I had forgotten about that and was happy I had. I thought Albert would immediately start on me about why he needs me, why he wanted us to Join, but he didn’t. In truth he didn’t even look at me.

  In fact it was Gray who suggested the two of us proceed with the ritual.

  “However… this is a special case.” Gray turned to me. “Avalin, whatever these
people want, it has to do with you. And I know you’re very, very new to this world. That’s why… it might be better for you to accept Albert’s offer. I think the two of you should Join.”

  Albert and I both looked at her in shock. “What?” we said in unison. Neither of us expected that to come from her.

  “Listen, Albert is a good man Avalin. And he’s already shown he can protect you. The power you’re able to grant him is extraordinary. He’ll need that power and proper control over it if the two of you are going to fend off Jessica and whoever does her bidding. And sweetie I know you wish more than anything that you could just close your eyes and make this disappear, but you can’t. This isn’t one of your episodes, this time things are real.”

  I looked to my lap. She did have a point. I couldn’t argue.

  “And Albert, Avalin is new to this world. There are many Twined who would take advantage of her, Twined who would do her harm. She needs to be defended, but she also needs to be treated right. You need to provide all that for her and more if this partnership is going to thrive. She is going to be putting much faith in you soon enough. Do not betray her trust.”

  Albert nodded, “Of course… that was never in question.”

  Gray looked to us both, “Something is going on in this school, in this town. I don’t know what it is… but for some reason it’s got to do with the two of you.” She raised her finger. “But if you two are going to Join, there can be no walls between you. To be an effective Joined Pair the two of you must trust each other, and trust each other fully. Do you understand me?”

  “I understand… but we tried to Join before and it didn’t work. What if it doesn’t work this time?” I asked.

  Albert looked to me and then to Gray. “She’s right. Our last attempt ended in failure.”

  I was surprised to hear him agree with me.

  “Hmm… were you properly taught on how to Join with a human, Albert?”

  He nodded. “My family taught me everything I needed to know. I’ve seen it done time and again. It should have worked the first time. I don’t know why it didn’t.”

  “Is it… is it because we don’t trust each other fully?” I asked. “I mean I hate to suggest it… but what if that’s the problem?”

  “That shouldn’t be too much of a factor, not in the actual ritual,” Gray said. “Unless you pushed him out with all of your being, I don’t think your mind would have completely rejected him. And if that was the case, he wouldn’t be nearly as synchronized with you as he is.”

  Albert looked at me. “You… you do trust me at least a little, right?”

  I sighed. “You’ve helped me a lot. I have… confidence in you. But I don’t know about trust yet.” I felt bad about how I felt. I just couldn’t help being uneasy.

  He nodded. I felt that he thought my statement was fair. “I just have to earn that trust, then.”

  “What did you use for a Marker?” Gray asked.

  “This.” I fingered my necklace.

  “May I see it?”

  I took off my necklace gently and handed it to her. She looked it over carefully, feeling the edges, glancing over the color and how in shined in the light. “What is your emotional attachment to this item?”

  “Uh… it was my grandmother’s.”

  “Does it hold significant value to you?”

  “Of course. It’s the only thing of my grandmother’s that I have left.” I rubbed my fingers together. “She was really special to me. She helped me while my family was… preoccupied with other things.”

  That “preoccupation” was the incident with my mother. I knew Gray had knowledge of my past. But I didn’t want to say anything about my mother in front of Albert, despite the fact that he seemed to know about her already. I wasn’t sure how extensive his knowledge was.

  The nurse shrugged. “Well then this should be perfect Marker potential. The emotional connection should have made the process very smooth.”

  That, strangely, didn’t make me feel better. “So you don’t know what the problem is? I mean if Albert and I are so synchronized then what’s keeping us from being together?”

  Albert looked at me. “Being together?”

  “What? I mean, Joining. Bonding. You know.”

  He gave me a mischievous grin. I felt his emotions. He was trying to be funny.

  It kind of worked. “Oh shut up,” I said playfully.

  Gray smiled slightly, but it quickly faded. “You are synchronized, more so than any pair I’ve ever seen.” She brushed her caramel hair back. “It seems that this time I’m at a loss for words. I specialize in Tracking and identification. The Joining and Marker process is not my strongest subject. Usually there should be no complications.”

  “Usually?” I asked. “Great. So we’re the abnormal supernatural symbiotic pair,” I said with much sarcasm.

  “The freaks among the freaks,” Albert recited. But when he spoke, it seemed to trigger an idea. “Wait a minute. That’s it!”

  “What’s it?”

  “We can go see Jaspit!”

  “And Jaspit is?” I asked. Even Gray shrugged her shoulders.

  “I’ve known Jaspit for years. He was the one who pointed me in Gray’s direction when I first came to Rowan.” Albert’s excitement didn’t cease. “He and his partner Vikki are experts on issues like this.”

  I looked at him seriously. “Can we trust them?”

  “Absolutely. They tend to keep a low profile, but if I ask nicely I’m sure they’ll assess our little problem.” He shrugged. “Besides, Jaspit’s my family. He’ll help us.”

  Gray nodded. “If that is who you think can best help you, then that is where you need to go.”

  I looked to Gray and then Albert. They both seemed to think that this Jaspit person was the only solution to our problem. Well if I was really going to Join with Albert, better to get advice from someone he really trusts. This screws him over just as much as it does me if we can’t form a bond worth talking about.

  ****

  We packed into Gray’s Prius and left as soon as we were done discussing our next course of action. Gray said it was best if we don’t wait to get this bond formed. At least if Albert gains this power he’s been talking about it’ll be easier to fight off whatever Jessica throws at us, which will help both of us sleep easier at night. If I don’t travel halfway across the country while I sleep, that is.

  The car ride started off kind of awkward. The last time Albert and I were in this car together things got… heated. But I guess our issues have kind of smoothened out since I was Joining with him after all. This led me to think that I had great options in this predicament; Join or die. How poetic.

  “Gray said she’ll have that Twined pair escort the captive back to her place,” he said as he pulled into a right turn on this misty Michigan day.

  “You mean Mayuki and Kisuke?” I asked.

  “Yeah. The Asian couple.”

  I smirked, “They’re not a couple.”

  “You don’t think so? They look like it to me.”

  “Gray said Joined Pairs don’t have to be romantic.”

  “Not all of them, no, but those two I think are a couple. And a good one too. I mean granted the guy is a little cold. But the girl’s warmth makes up for it completely.”

  I laughed. I was surprised how much I was laughing around him today considering what we were on our way to do. “Don’t tell me you’re like some kind of closet matchmaker.”

  He laughed back. “No way. Can’t a guy just be a spectator on romance?”

  “Sounds like a horrible reality show,” I said.

  “Yeah it does don’t it?” He grimaced. “The Romance Spectator. Ugh.” He acted as if he got shivers which ended up looking hilarious.

  “Ah romance, the sensation only
equal to the feeling you get after swallowing an entire pitcher full of cotton balls.”

  “Ah you’re just not seeing the right kind of romance.”

  I gave him a look. “And you would know…”

  He shrugged. “Just based on the fact that I have class.”

  I snorted. Not my proudest moment, but I did. “Right.”

  “Nice,” he said about the snort and I rolled my eyes. “Hey, you only know Twined Albert. The one who punches cats across fields and nags you to Join with him.” He looked at me with an expression lighter than what he usually wore. “Fun Albert, as I like to call him, can really be a good time when he wants to be.”

  That brought out a whole side of Albert that I’ve never seen before. In truth he was right. I’ve only seen the mysterious supernatural side of him. On the flip end he was really kind of… dare I say normal? I mean sure he’s not my cup of tea but I was surprised that we were actually sustaining a conversation about something other than Jessica.

  “It’s nice,” he said. Most likely he was reading my mind because he was about to say exactly what I was thinking. “I mean it’s nice for once we’re not talking about Jessica or our impending death. Feels good to talk about normal things for a change.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. It does raise the mood a bit.”

  “We never did have any time to properly get to know one another.” His face seemed to portray a little worry, mixed with nervousness. “Avalin I hope you’re okay with this.”

  I looked at him. “Well I mean I want to live just as much as you do.”

  “No, I meant… I don’t want you to Join with me because you have to.”

  I didn’t understand what he was talking about. “But I do have to. That’s kind of the reason we’re going to see this Jaspit dude.”

  “I mean… I don’t know what I mean.” He sighed, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. “I want you to want this too. I mean not like that. Damn it. I want you to be a willing participant. It’s like I’m forcing you to do this and I feel like shit about it. I need you, I need you more than anything in the world and I… I want to protect you. But I really wish you felt a want to do this, not just an obligation to.”