Love

by Douglas R.

  PLAY

  WITH

  MY

  HAIR

  Douglas R

  At 3:41 PM, four airplanes crashed in different parts of the world.

  I was on all four planes at the same time.

  I only survived one.

  I am running… I’ve seen this happen before.

  This is my first time on Earth.

  And I know I’m not alone.

  My name is Myla and this is my story.

  LOSS (Play With My Hair, #2)

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  Other books by Douglas R

  Horizon

  “I should've realized soon enough they were looking for me all my life

  I was abducted in Delhi.

  Taken to Peru.

  They say we are five.

  They even have an army for us.

  And a mission.

  Worldwide destruction is about to befall mankind.

  And the only relic that can save us is lost 65 million years B.C.

  So they brought us to the time machine.

  This is why we are here.

  Will you come with us?”

  -Ivey Choi

  Join the adventure with Ivey here.

  it begins with love…

  Contents

  Wild Purple

  Love

  1, 2 and 3

  4, 5 and 6

  7, 8 and 9

  10, 11 and 12

  13, 14 and 15

  16, 17 and 18

  19, 20 and 21

  22, 23 and 24

  25, 26 and 27

  28, 29 and 30

  31, 32 and 33

  34, 35 and 36

  37, 38 and 39

  40

  Loss

  1

  About the author

  WILD PURPLE

  I wave my hand. All I feel is broken pieces of glass, steel and plastic scattered under my back and across the floor. I bring my hand to my forehead as I blink, slowly awakening in a world I don't know. A bright light pours in from a curved square window, meeting my face at full blaze.

  I raise my hand to block the light and everything around me suddenly materializes. My heart jumps out of my chest and I choke on my own scream.

  Dead bodies lie around me, mangled with shards of steel protruding from their torsos. I quickly push myself back and I hit something. I shriek, spinning around to notice it's only a seat. That's when I see the columns of seats flanking me and running down the tunnel-like space, littered with death.

  My mouth is agape as I continue to scan my horrific wake-up scene.

  I have to get out of here!

  I pick myself up. I have scratches all over my arms where my sleeve ends. With a hand up my face I can feel a few cuts and some dry blood. What happened here?

  I look for an exit around me and notice a maroon curtain at the wall. I slowly make for it, cringing at the sight of the mangled bodies and trying not to step on them.

  When I get to the curtain I pull it away and find another room with the same scene. Bodies curled up in their seats, others sprawled across the floor. There is a shower of light in the middle. I look up and notice a huge hole in the ceiling. And I see trees.

  I move closer, fixing my gaze on the light that filters through the leaves and my lips part, as if drinking the sun. The hole stretches down to the bottom of the wall where the grass fringes in.

  A jungle.

  This is my exit!

  A deep buzz sound fills the air. I stand still. Have they found me? The sound seems to be coming from the sky so I keep my eyes fixed at the hole. I take a step back as the buzz gets louder and all at once it appears.

  I gasp.

  A hovercraft flies in and stops right above the trees, right above my zenith. There is a click and the next thing I see is a black rope, quickly descending. My heart is beginning to gallop. Part of me is telling me to stay, maybe they could be my rescuers. Maybe I could trust them. The other part of me is screaming for me to run.

  The rope comes down and accurately stops dead right in my face. I raise my hand and wrap my fingers around the material—

  Sparks explode.

  I pull back so fast it makes my entire body swing off balance. I grab a seat for support and snap a look at the black rope again. A figure in a white body suit is coming down, carrying a Zapper.

  An enemy soldier!

  In almost zero seconds my mind matches the image of the man in white, the Zapper and the hovercraft into asingle word—death—and I am already bursting through the opening in the wall, charging my body into the wild. For my life. I fight the urge to scream as I spear through the jungle, the long leaves licking my face.

  How could I have been so stupid? I know what they are. They want nothing more than to find me and get rid of me for good.

  I dash through the trees and I can hear him coming. He's close. I don't know how many they are. By the looks of things they weren't expecting to find me alive. I barely see my way through these leaves. I can only feel the ground under my feet and guess what the jungle is like ahead of me.

  I glance back and a white fabric is bobbing above the green, going up and down and looking to kill me. My heart is racing. I don't know where to go. He's too close for me to hide. I can't keep running forever.

  I grit my teeth and fight the tears that are balling up in my eyes. I shouldn't do this. I shouldn't lose hope. I shouldn't—argh!

  A sharp sting finds my back with no warning. Before I can reach the spot with my hand my legs fail me and I stumble forward, hitting the ground head-on.

  I cannot move.

  The wilderness will not hide me.

  The ground trembles under my cheek and I know what's coming before I see it. Two white boots stop in front of me. A hand slides underneath my torso and turns me over. The earth drops from my face and I can see past the tall trees and into the light in the sky. My heart is galloping but I can't respond. My body won't move.

  I hear a click and instinctively roll my eyes to see the soldier in white, recharging his Zapper. The buzz grows in the air and my heart goes into panic mode. But the adrenaline is quickly drained as the hovercraft returns, stealing the light and casting a dark shadow over my new world. A world that I may no longer remember after I am gone.

  So this is what it's like to die.

  The hovercraft turns hazy as I blink my eyes. Everything undulates like rippling water.

  The soldier in white shows no mercy as he positions his Zapper above my heart. I make a tear, letting it roll off my cheek so this new world will remember who I am. He pulls his finger back and a zap of deep purple envelopes me and with that final heartbeat, my entire world is gone.

  LOVE

  1

  The only thing I like about Scanning is the warmth of the heat radiating from the wall and the glowing particles swirling in the air like tiny lost suns.

  I'm standing in my underwear with my chin up and my arms spread out, a few feet away from the Scanner: A special glass wall, shooting artificial medicinal sunshine that's supposed to kill any germs on my skin. Pandor is a generally healthy planet and my city is probably the most hygienic but the people who are responsible for my not-dying recommend that I scan every morning.

  For me, bright yellow means warmth. Sharp purple means death. I don't regularly have dreams about dying so I'm not going to think about last night. I'm six blue moon's old and I can take care of what happens in my head when I sleep.

  The medicinal sunshine dims out and I lower my chin, sighing to the beginning of another big day at the Major Tower. I head there every day. Sometimes for training, sometimes for the Oracle. If it's training, it's a good day. If it's the Oracle, it's a tough day. I sighed.

  Today is to
ugh.

  I pick up my towel from the floor and head to my room. It's a small room with two orb lights floating in the air a few feet above my head.

  Across my bed is the glass wall, giving me a nice view of the ocean and the giddy multicolored fish from an underwater vantage point.

  Yes, my home is underwater. It's like a large glass box dunked in the ocean. The interior design is beautiful and simple. Finished with plush couches with the softest upholstery, orb lights in every corner, a small bedroom that I wish they made bigger, a Scanning room, Private gym, living room and an unnecessary traditional kitchen.

  No one cooks food anymore these days. All our food is manufactured, transformed and then stored in cubes we call Metros.

  You put the cube in a Converter machine which resembles a microwave (seriously, is anyone still using that?) that converts the cube back into the food it was.

  I put on my sweatshirt and shorts and head to the kitchen where I'm prescribed to take one AD4 cube and a glass of protein no-fat milk.

  Sometimes I feel like Pandor is controlling us, even to the very things we eat. I'm sure the Metro cube was an idea to inhibit us in some way. At least we are still allowed to eat as much fruit as we like and thankfully, it's illegal to cube fruits.

  Some maniacs still cube them anyway to transport them in bulk. Then they convert them in secret and you buy them in the stores without knowing they aren't completely natural anymore. You can tell by the taste. There's a plastic feeling to it. It's not authentic.

  I put the cube in the Converter and punch start. It takes two seconds and a zap of light for the door to open and my breakfast to slide out.

  Bacon, eggs and a block of cheese. Not so bad, I suppose. I add an orange from the fruit fridge and have my meal at the counter while a huge shark stares at me. I ignore it. They don't seem so intimidating when you get used to them. I get these odd feelings like they want to talk to me. I hope talking to sharks is not one of my strengths.

  As a Lebra, I have four strengths. One: I am the only person in my entire planet who can communicate with the Oracle. Which basically means I'm subconsciously memorizing the entire history of my planet. I had to be taken away from my parents when I was only three blue moon's old and trained every single day of my life. I am being prepared to lead the Elders in ruling the planet one day. Don't get me wrong, the whole thing sucks. Trust me, you don't want to be chosen.

  Two: I can easily create force fields and energy balls that Rhiannon calls Orbs, better than most people. I don't really believe that because I still suck badly at it. It's a good thing Rhiannon is patient.

  Three: They say I was born a fighter. I don't know how that applies as a strength. Rhiannon still kicks my butt during training. But at least I score in the Amnesia Trials.

  Four: I am emotionally unavailable. According to the Elders it means I'm not supposed to fall in love. They can't risk me losing focus or getting hurt. That means my social life is a small circle. My family barely fits in. And about the no boyfriend part? I'm actively hormonal so that's not a pretty position to be in.

  I'm barely through my breakfast when a speaker in the ceiling comes on with an electronic voice message:

  Rhiannon wishes to teleport.

  "Permit," I say to an invisible mic I have never yet found and then there's a buzz in the Teleport Chamber. I gobble what's left on my plate and leave the room to find Rhiannon standing in my living room in a bright yellow track suit with white stripes. He's a quick mover.

  "Hello, Myla. Had your breakfast?"

  "Yup."

  "Good. We have the Oracle today and you look like we need to double your Orb sessions."

  "I know. The Orb seems so hard."

  He smiles, "I know. But you'll get it."

  I walk over to him and we head back to the Teleport. We stand under the dark low ceiling and he taps a few digits on the keypad. In a zap as instant as electricity we are gone.

  2

  Teleporting is like watching your body erase itself from toe to crown. The enjoyable part of it is when you get poured out like water from the small Ejector in the next Port.

  It happens really quick but if you focus hard enough, you can feel yourself change into something else that you can't explain.

  Rhiannon slides his arm behind my back as we walk out of the Port and into the streets of Doris, the capital of our planet.

  The city is intertwined with nature, being built upon a jungle with high rise buildings marching up the hill and appearing above the trees. Our pathways fly over the canopy. People on Air-scooters buzz about the city. They're the folk who don't trust Teleportation technology and would prefer something more mechanical. They're too afraid to accept change. It's only a matter of time before they realize the limits of their resistance.

  The city is landmarked with pink and purple pyramids that glow during the night, a reminder of the Kings and Elders who rule us. The people I hate to be associated with.

  I walk close to the railings all the time, sliding my hand over the steel and peering down below at the treetops.

  I pick at the leaves, reaching over to me from the trees. A pulse zaps into my fingers and sinks into my chest. Like always, a strong heartbeat follows and then a steady beating.

  "That's our music. Everything in Pandor falls under the same beat," says Rhiannon.

  "You've told me that before." I shift my gaze back to the path ahead and I take the lead again. Rhiannon follows. "Like a thousand times."

  "They used to call me nature boy back in Engagement."

  "Guess I'm not the only one who grew up without any friends."

  I shouldn't have said that.

  I know I've struck a tough chord. I look up at the Major Tower to pretend I don't care. But there's not much I can hide from Rhiannon.

  He puts his hand over my shoulder and I stop in my tracks. I turn and his deep black eyes shepherd me, "It will be better. Trust me."

  He turns away and we fall back into pace. The Major Tower spears the sky as the tallest building on the planet. Hundreds of stories tall. You can see it from anywhere.

  My mother told me stories about our ancestors who tried to build a tower to reach the stars. If they were here today, they would be impressed.

  Rhiannon and I climb a few stone steps. The sun is now breaking into threads of sunshine across the edge of the massive tower. We stop in front of a stone wall engraved with a round metallic door.

  With a wave of a hand and two beeps the door slides apart into five different segments, giving us way. We escape the heat and stroll into a Tower only so few are allowed to enter. The doors close behind our backs, leaving us in the dark. The type that looks like blue. We stand in a low ceiling tunnel with soldiers lined up on either side, dressed in black with infrared goggles and holding Zappers.

  Their chins are always up but as soon as we stride forward each one of them shifts their gaze towards me and Rhiannon.

  The soldiers are not exactly real. Pandor has a culture of cloning people. All of these soldiers are controlled by a tiny chip in their brains. They act human but they're not. And even though I know that's true, it can sometimes be hard to believe. I've been around clones a lot more than most people. Every time I have Amnesia Trials that's what we use.

  "You seem to linger," says Rhiannon.

  "Their weapons," I say.

  "What about them?"

  My dream haunts me again. The Zappers in their hands were the same used by my enemy to kill me. I haven't told Rhiannon before. I wouldn't bother. It's not the first time I've dreamed of my death.

  "The Golgorians used the same weapons."

  "If you're accusing the Elders of being copy-cats then right you are," he grins. Then he slowly raises his hand to shield his eyes from the incoming light.

  He points ahead, "To the Vine!" A huge shaft stands in the center of the Tower, carrying six elevators around it, each of them glowing blue on the outside. Rhiannon waves his hand again, the system quickly scans his identity and
the door slides down. We ease ourselves into the metallic elevator floor and the door slides up again, displaying a vibrant and gorgeous view of the sea waves rising up the beach.

  It's too risky to build the elevator shaft on the side of the Tower where we could see the view of the city and landscapes through a window, so we improvised: cameras on the outside and a door that doubles as a screen on the inside.

  "The Oracle," says Rhiannon. The elevator begins to move up. At the same time it circles the shaft like a vine plant. That's why practically everyone here calls the elevator system the Vine. In fact, we say it so much it's become official. For some reason I am yet to know, Rhiannon is in love with it.

  "I thought the system is telepathic?"

  "It is," says Rhiannon. "But I have doubts. Last time I was thinking about the Training Room and it took me down to the Hub. I prefer speaking my thoughts to make sure they are heard loud and clear."

  I laugh. "No. You're just a confused man. It must be boring to put up with me every day."

  Rhiannon smiles, "Extremely. However, I also have to put up with the Elders and with Cinder."

  I roll my eyes, "Everyone has to put up with Cinder."

  The Vine is not very fast. Or perhaps I feel that way because the Oracle is in the heart of the Tower. And half way up the Tower is still way, way, way up there, you know?

  I lean back against a bar and watch the display of our virtual scenery change. Now the screen is fully dominated by the sea and her floating houses with the waves crashing against their windows and fish flying above their balconies. I wish I had a floating house.

  No you can't. You're a Lebra. You know what that means...

  I can't be out in the open like a bird in a shooting range. A house at sea is a stupid mistake. It will make me a target so easy the enemy would guess it's a trap. That's why I live underwater. It's still cool though. I get artificial sun baths every morning so I should be okay.