Tethered Twins Saga: Complete Trilogy (Twins, Souls and Hearts)

by Mike Essex

  “Are we in a red zone?” I asked.

  “I don’t think so. The closest red zone on the map was ‘Strand’ which looked like a very fun place to visit,” she was right, aside from Javon Prison, the Strand area had been one of the largest red circles on the map.

  “If we avoid that then we’ll be fine,” I replied. Except without a map we had no idea if Embankment would lead us directly to the Strand or if we were even in the right area. The fact this street was still destroyed made it clear we’d face soldiers either way.

  A broken bridge loomed ahead of us, nothing more than the large struts and the faintest hint of a walkway on either side remaining. Further down the road we could see four soldiers who had set up a temporary base at the foot of the bridge. Sandbags surrounded their location and I could see the light reflect off their heavy weaponry.

  I checked the weapons Grace and I had. Along with a small set of binoculars between us we had a pistol and a knife each, a small token gesture from Jacobi. I would have given anything to have the machine gun now.

  We bent our knees and lowered our bodies down into the shadow of a nearby building. Grace raised her gun and aimed it directly at one of the soldiers. Through the scope of the gun she lined up his head and then moved the gun back and forth between the four targets. It was clear she was thinking of attacking, plotting out the quickest way to take them out.

  Whilst Grace steadied her aim I looked at the soldiers through the binoculars. There were similarities between them. Two of the men had similar facial structures, near identical big noses and firm chins. The other two had blue eyes that looked like a mirror image and the exact same shade of brown hair. I couldn’t be sure but a part of me believed them to be two sets of twins, a loophole that could turn the odds in our favour.

  I caught Grace’s attention by waving in front of her face, which startled her from aiming. Showing her the binoculars I whispered my theory about the twins and it was enough to convince her that we had a chance of taking them out. Not that we had a choice, the soldiers blocked off the road completely.

  We agreed that she’d take out the big noses and I’d take out the blue eyed soldiers. If they truly were twins then we’d only have to kill two of them and the other two would fall.

  I took out my weapon, turned off the safety and aimed it at the closer of the two men. He was busy packing up items from their temporary base into large rucksacks, his head darting about as he did so. His body would have been the easier target but I couldn’t take the risk he was wearing body armour so I waited for his head to stop moving, it was the only place where I felt a single shot might kill him.

  I placed both hands on the gun, one to hold it and the other to steady my aim. At the police shooting range in Smyth West they’d taught me to control my breathing and focus on a single point. Except that was a stationary target in a shooting range and this was an unpredictable human life.

  I took a deep breath, turned towards Grace and we quietly started a countdown.

  After the final second passed we both pulled our triggers. In less than a second my bullet had pierced itself through the blue eyed man’s head. Even from this distance I could see his skull fracture from the impact, shards of bone splintering out across the street.

  I quickly grabbed the binoculars to watch him fall to the ground. Grace gave me a thumbs up to confirm that her target had also been hit, a slightly odd way to celebrate a death but a useful sign nonetheless.

  I shifted my view through the binoculars to check on the remaining soldiers and confirm that they had died. At the very least I expected them to be frozen to the spot experiencing the Tether events that were happening to their injured twins. I expected to see two motionless bodies but was taken aback by the flurry of activity we had unleashed.

  The two remaining soldiers were gathering weapons and shouting out for support. Grace raised her weapon, hoping to take out the soldiers but we both knew it was too late. A wave of gunshots peppered our location, tearing chunks from the walls and streets. We had to retreat.

  We turned back from the building, keeping low to stay in the shadow and ducked into an alleyway. There was no time to plan our path now, this was the only way to go. We ran down the street on a rickety path that descended downwards. I stumbled on one of the cracks on the pavement and quickly caught onto a nearby dumpster to steady myself.

  Grace grabbed me and helped pull me forward. We couldn’t afford to stop for even a second. The road curved around to the right, taking us closer to the soldiers’ original location but we had no other choice. When we made our way around the bend we were faced with no way forwards except the large imposing façade of a block of flats. The road led into a large set of open metal doors.

  We dashed through the doors, thankful for such a lucky break and made our way into an underground parking structure. From the distance I could hear the soldiers behind us. They knew we’d travelled down this road and were closing in on us.

  We ran to the back wall of the parking garage hoping for a way out that would take us underneath the building and on to the main road again. Yet we could find nothing, the only way into and out of the structure seemed to be by the main double doors.

  “We have to fight back,” said Grace and I knew she was right. If there was no way out of this place then we’d have to go back the way we came.

  The regeneration of the city had yet to remove the cars in this structure, although many of them had clearly been taken by desperate people in an effort to leave the city. Of the cars that remained we found two 4x4 vehicles next to each other and hid behind them.

  I lowered myself down onto all fours and looked under the car to watch the entrance. I could see the two soldiers running down the road towards us and I positioned my gun accordingly.

  They ran towards the garage but did not come inside. Instead they stopped near to the entrance and disappeared. I continued to lay on the floor my gun poised in preparation.

  We heard the rattling of the two metal doors creaking to life and watched as the entrance to the garage began to close. Before the door could snap shut two hands tossed grenades into the room which flooded the garage with smoke. We choked on the fumes, struggling to breathe and unsure if the soldiers had entered the room in the chaos.

  Desperately searching for a clear view in amongst the smoke I finally heard the announcement on the klaxon clearly. “Regeneration of Embankment will begin in 2 minutes.”

  THIRTY THREE

  “We have to get out of here,” I said to Grace. Suddenly the soldiers were the least of our worries. I had no idea what the regeneration would involve but based on the intense heat of the Houses of Parliament it didn’t seem like a process we could survive.

  We clambered to our feet, my eyes tearing up from the smoke. There were no windows in the garage and nowhere for the smoke to pass, it merely lingered on and I could see no more than two feet in front of me.

  I grabbed hold of Grace’s hand and she placed her other hand against the wall to feel her way in the haze. Together we walked towards the entrance hoping to find a way to open the metal doors. I walked over abandoned suitcases, clothes and rubbish trying my best not to trip over them. There were so many shattered memories from the people who had lived here; a reminder of their desperate attempts to escape during the Siege.

  We dashed past a cycle rack and reached the entrance of the garage. “Help me with the doors,” said Grace and together we tried to prise them apart with our bare hands. The doors budged slightly but every time we pulled them more than a hands width apart they snapped back shut again, something on the outside holding them into place.

  I ran back to the bikes and tried to pull one of them away from the rack. A rusted chain held it in place tightly. I looked across the rest of the rungs but this was the only bike left so I continued to pull at it, the chain creaking under the pressure. Seeing what I was doing Grace ran over and together we pulled at the bike, desperately trying to break the old chain.

  Over t
he sound of the rattling chain there was another sound of metal twisting. In amongst the smoke we couldn’t see the source of the sound but we continued to pull knowing that whatever it was it wasn’t important now.

  On the final pull we were sent backwards the bike spiralling over our heads and smashing off the side of a car. We ran over to it and found that the chain was still in place along with a rung of the bike rack that had been freed from its support.

  We couldn’t ride the bike out of the building but that didn’t matter. That had never been my intention. We pushed the bike towards the garage entrance and dropped it to the floor by the entrance of the doors. Grace and I pulled on the metal doors and when the gap appeared we kicked the bike in between the doors. As soon as it slipped through we backed away gasping for air from the exertion, but instead found the sickly taste of the smoke filling our lungs.

  “What now?” asked Grace. In front of us the bike held the door open a hands width. I walked towards the opening and ran my hand down the outside edge of the door. Its metal surface that had minutes ago felt cold had already started to feel warmer and I knew that the regeneration was already starting to take effect.

  About two thirds of the way up the door I felt a bar that ran across the opening. I grabbed the bar with one hand and started to rattle it up and down, hoping that I could loosen its grip on the exit doors. With every passing moment the bar felt hotter and hotter until I started to feel my skin singe from the heat.

  I yelled out in pain and released my grip on the bar. The gap in the doors had helped to clear the smoke slightly and I looked down at my hands to see they were a bright red colour. I rubbed my brow and wiped away the beads of sweat that had started to form.

  Grace removed her jacket and wrapped it around her hands. Her exposed arms were covered in sweat and her face had started to go red. I could smell the burning of leather as she wrapped her hands and the jacket around the bar. The doors continued to push back against each other trying to crush the bike and return to their closed position.

  All around us we heard the building shake as we watched it transform. The rubbish on the floor began to vanish as the memories people had left behind started to fold inwards on themselves until they disappeared completely. Such a thing was impossible. Surely my vision had begun to play tricks on me as I saw the dusty stone floors metamorphosise into a slick black tiled surface.

  I rubbed the sweat out of my eyes but the vision remained. I couldn’t deny it now: the building was changing around us. Unexpectedly the heat of the metal finally won out and cut through Grace’s jacket. I could hear her scream out from the pain but she refused to let go.

  “Just a bit longer!” she shouted.

  I reached out to help her, my hands in agony from the hot metal bar and with us working on it together we could feel the bar start to bend.

  From beneath my feet I watched as the bike began to twist, its mangled mass of metal folding together forming new shapes in the space between the doors. “We have to let go,” I shouted to Grace, but she didn’t listen.

  In a single motion the bike vanished completely. I pulled Grace’s hands away just in time for the door to slam shut, the bike no longer holding it open.

  We tumbled to the floor and I landed on my front, blacking out for just a second. I looked down at the floor and saw that it had changed again into a polished wooden surface. As I rose up I could see that the entire space had changed in design. The cars were gone, replaced with elegant circular tables decorated with lace and candles.

  The large stone spires that held the floors above in place had changed into magnificent archways carved out of the walls. The metal doors had vanished, replaced by a well-lit bar, complete with shelves for thousands of drinks.

  “No!” shouted Grace. She clambered to her feet and felt the bar’s surface. The heat confirmed it was real and that despite the magnificence of the room this was not a place we could stay.

  She tore the shelves out from one of the storage areas and started to kick at the wooden backing. “It has to be here. It has to be!”

  But the exit was gone. The hole Grace had made in the wall revealed nothing more than a concrete block where the door had once been. She backed away in shock as the realisation hit her that our exit had gone. We were trapped in here.

  The heat continued on and we desperately needed to find fresh air.

  THIRTY FOUR

  The underground ballroom was one of the most beautiful rooms I had ever seen, crystal chandeliers hung from a rich cream coloured ceiling, where rows of golden archways led down to a colossal stage. I couldn’t think of anywhere more magnificent to die. The haves probably wouldn’t be too happy when they found the dead bodies of two have-nots on the floor of their new extravagant space and that made it all the sweeter.

  Their new world of decadence would be forever stained with the blood of two of the people they despised. It all seemed rather fitting. I lay on the wooden floor looking up at a magnificent crystal chandelier, feeling my body heat rise ever higher by the roaring heat of the room. I closed my eyes and thought about all of the shows that would happen in this space.

  Beautiful dancers would perform majestic moves, comedians would tell jokes that broke down boundaries and musicians would fill the world with soulful tones that spoke from the heart.

  “The Keyes Theatre.”

  Maybe that’s what they’d name it. My surname up in lights. I pictured the conversation in my head.

  “Where shall we go tonight dear?”

  “Let’s go to the Keyes my darling.”

  “Oh yes, let’s. I hear the ballet is wonderful.”

  Yes, that seemed like a fitting end. Except the reality seemed unlikely. It was more probable that the soldiers would dispose of our bodies, clear up the space and hide the truth. Our friends and family would never know what happened to us. We would merely be lost to time.

  “Ow!” I shouted, the side of my face feeling redder and hotter than it had ever been. As my vision cleared I expected to see the purple hooded man saving me again. “Will?” I asked.

  “Get up,” said my saving grace, who just so happened to actually be Grace.

  Before I could process what was happening I was being pulled up into the air by my arm. My legs quickly stiffened up in preparation for being upwards again and I tried to gain my balance. I wobbled precariously, dizzy from the heat and the delusions in my mind.

  I spun my body around, raising my arms out and taking in the majesty of the room. My body was now as spinning as my mind and I could see hundreds of people sat in the seats watching me dancing. “Look Grace, we’re famous,” I slurred.

  “Don’t make me slap you again!” she shook me and my eyes struggled to focus on the people in the crowd. “Look Grace, people, they must have regenerated too. No. That’s impossible. Right? I mean they couldn’t just create people? That would be cool though. Ooh, I would like something cool. I’m hot,” the words tumbled from my mouth with little clarity and much distortion.

  Grace ignored me and placed one of my arms over her shoulder, holding my hand in place. “Come on you,” she said and I was thankful she hadn’t yet succumbed to the heat. The people in the chairs started to disappear but the ballroom remained, despite all of my delusions it was a space that I knew to be real.

  “The Keyes Theatre, you see it too right?” I asked Grace as she led me up a twisted staircase of majestic gold.

  “Right,” said Grace. “Keyes Theatre? Really? You always did have a big head.”

  I tried to hit her but my arm missed. I felt too weak to care. I wondered if this was what being drunk felt like. Alcohol was hard to come by in Smyth West and when we found it, it was mainly used for treating wounds but I’d heard stories of the haves drinking themselves silly and losing control of their functions.

  “Let’s go home. I’m drunk,” I said to Grace.

  “Right,” she repeated and I felt like an awful burden. “Sorry to disappoint you Emzie but it’s not the Keyes
Theatre.”

  “What?” I asked, feeling drowsy.

  Grace pointed to a sign that read “The Majestic Plaza”. I felt angry at whoever had made this place coupled with a tinge of disappointment. It was enough to snap me back to reality for a moment which only made me remember the agonising heat coursing through my body. I looked at Grace, her bow soaked with sweat, her arms bright red and her eyes barely open.

  Seeing her this way started to clear my mind and I felt a cool breeze run through my body. Much like at Q-Whitehall the calming effect made my body feel icy cold as it ran through me. I wondered if Grace could feel it as well and I placed a palm upon her head. She breathed out a sigh of relief.

  “But how?” she asked.

  I didn’t know how to explain it. All I knew was that the cooling effect started in my stomach each time and quickly covered my body. It felt perfectly natural, like my brain was simply calling upon a chemical of some kind to be produced to cool me down, which quickly spread around my bloodstream. Except I’d never heard of such a thing occurring naturally.

  “I don’t know,” was all I could say.

  I helped Grace find her footing and we each put an arm around either other. Despite the cool feeling I still felt exhausted, my body crying out in pain. We walked through the theatre lobby and out onto the city streets.

  A dazzling pink light shone down from the sky, covering the nearby buildings and streets around us. I tried to identify the source but the light dazzled me and I had to look away. The midday breeze cooled our bodies slightly, whilst the pink light tried to heat our bodies beyond their natural point. If it wasn’t for the cooling sensation inside of me and the ability to pass that on to Grace I was sure we would have been destroyed by the light instantly.

  A flashy red carpet led us down the steps from the theatre and back on to the street. In front of us a large building flickered like the flash of a camera appearing in and out of focus until eventually it disappeared into nothingness. We looked at each other in disbelief as the city morphed around us, being reshaped into a new paradise for the haves.