by Dee, Maria
“See you this Wednesday!”
“Thursday,” he sighed.
“Yes, of course. Just joking,” I chortled, waving a hand.
Nicholas was in plain sight, only a few feet away. He approached us. I couldn’t help but feel guilty allowing myself to become consumed by petty things; meanwhile my dearest friend was in the hospital.
Marla knew Nicholas and I were akin in a non-blood related way. I needed to find out just how much she knew.
“Xenia, I’ve been looking for you,” Nicholas greeted, looking over at Reese awaiting introduction. He stood awkwardly by me, placing his arm around my waist.
“Nicholas, hey. This is Reese,” I introduced. Nicholas shot him a wary look. “My TA,” I slowly annunciated. I had only ever seen him act this way once before.
“Nice to meet you, Nick,” he said, offering his hand.
“Nicholas,” he corrected, shaking his hand firmly judging by Reese’s expression. Reese stood eye to eye with Nicholas, except his hair was a lighter brown.
“My bad. Well then. See you in class, Xenia. Remember, make amends with Tree while you still can and life, as we know it, will be better for everyone…especially me.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I snickered amicably.
“Did you join the environmental club or something? Becoming a Tree hugger?” he smirked.
“This Tree isn’t the huggable kind.”
“It has thorns?” he asked, furrowing his brow.
“Sort of…Reese, my TA in case you didn’t hear the first time, was referring to my tutorial partner. You met her briefly once before....but you were kinda idle then.”
“Oh, I remember. The intense girl who was two shakes away from placing a bounty on your ass? I remember a lot more than you think,” he said. His eyes pierced with shame.
“I’d love to hear more about your recollections, but for now, could you tell me if Marla said anything to you since the shooting?”
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you visit her today?”
“Yes, briefly. Calliope texted me once she was leaving and I swung by.”
“Marla knows about us. She said she noticed your eyes were like mine…different.”
“How? She’s unconscious.”
“What? She awoke when I saw her last.”
“Xenia, Marla hasn’t come out of her coma. I spoke with her doctor just earlier today. She’s as deep as they get,” he explained, worried. “Are you alright? You’re looking a little frail. Maybe you need to rest.”
And there it was again. Why was everyone so concerned about my health? I pulled out a pocket mirror and looked at myself, horrified. My stomach clenched in pain and nausea overcame me. I looked sickly from the dark circles under my eyes and pale complexion.
“What’s happening to me?” I asked, confused. “I feel like my fragment is…fading.”
“Tell me, what happened in Styx? How did you get rid of your…traveller?” he whispered carefully looking over his shoulder.
I had left him in the dark about that part and everything thereafter, including the Lifters. It was time he knew so I filled him in on all the loose ends.
“The Lifter is using your fragment to search for her dominant source, the one that’s needed in restoration. She’s draining your light, Xenia.”
“You mean to tell me, she stole my fragment? And here I thought that creepy thing was trying to be nice.”
“Xenia, this isn’t funny.”
“For some reason, she never really understands the magnitude of the trouble she gets into,” Kiran said, joining us.
“Kiran!” I shouted, throwing my arms around him. “Where’ve you been? How are you?”
“I’ve been working. Mostly deliberating the grand outcome of our lives. Each scenario I play out in my head pans out for the worse.”
“What can we do about the Lifter? My symptoms are worsening each day.”
“Now that she’s using your fragment to search for your source, she doesn’t need you as a Charon.”
“So once she’s united, I’ll get my frag back?”
“Not exactly. Once she locates her source, your fragment will serve as a seal. You’ll…die,” he whispered, morose.
My body set off in alarm and my face tightened.
“But not if we find her first and stop her,” Nicholas jumped in, hopeful.
“How do we stop an eerie Lifter?” First with the Diplozoe talk and now Lifters—what’s next?
“You’ll need to stop her, but we’ll guide you in tracking her,” said Kiran.
“Have either of you done this before?” They turned to face one another, both raising their hands.
“Okay, then it’s settled. How do I stop her?”
“There are two ways: the first and more widely accepted method is to obliterate the Lifter entirely. The more humanely option would be to stop her in her tracks by using an incantation to make her source invisible.”
“But I don’t know who her source even is?”
“You don’t need to. You cast the incantation and since the Lifter took your fragment, she is bound as well. You’ll both be blind to her source…unable to see her or even track her.”
“And then what?”
“She’ll fade away, and your fragment will be salvaged.”
“Fade?”
“Yes, Xenia. She’ll fade into the atmosphere as many other Lifters have for centuries. The longer a fragment goes unclaimed, it slowly deteriorates and becomes forever lost—a Lifter. They’re notorious for stealing a Charon’s light. Our particles rejoice into the atmosphere from which they came from…the ultimate source for all living creatures, including us.” Kiran looked at Nicholas and then at me before I fell forward, landing in Nicholas’ quick arms.
Marla Adjacent
Once I came too, I was in Calliope’s loft and I wasn’t alone.
“Hey beautiful, you fainted. Cal said you were bunking with her.”
“Don’t act so innocent,” I scolded. I could hear Calliope in the kitchen putting on a teapot.
“Whatever do you mean?” he asked, feigning innocence.
“I know you had something to do with this. You don’t want me living with Edric. Just admit it.”
“I had nothing to do with this, I swear,” he said, smirking devilishly.
“Swear on what?”
“I swear on…Orion’s life,” he said, cracking a smile.
“Exactly what I thought,” I giggled. “Why don’t you trust Edric? What has he done for you to dislike him?”
“He’s a Nordstrom.”
“He’s an entirely different kind of Nordstrom. I think it’s unfair of you to judge him so harshly. He’s only been kind to me.”
“I bet.”
“Nicholas!”
He skulked a little before running his hand down the side of my face. “I worry about you. You know that. We don’t know who we can trust, especially after what happened…”
I decided it was time to know the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
“I want to know, how was it that Orion did…what he did?” I alluded to his trickery, particularly his ternio’s forte.
“We all have special abilities and it comes with the territory as you now know,” he said, elaborating some more, “Orion’s special skills were used in his darkest hour. He used us both…manipulated you and used my source knowing that I’d be trapped…incapable of putting a stop to him. He knew very well what kind of harm he was inflicting and he didn’t stop. I begged him at first but then once he embodied my source, my consciousness faded and I was no longer there, not even hibernating. I was displaced to the offline world with a barricade.”
“Isn’t there a way for you t
o prevent that?”
“Yes, if you’re suspecting foul play, but under the order of Nyxta, jumpers are forbidden and if caught, it is a punishable act. Another reason we must turn him in to the authority.”
Oh no. Not this again.
“Why don’t we leave Nyxta out of this, huh? I think I’ve had enough of her for a while. And besides, what good would come out of banishing Orion to another dimension?”
“For one, never seeing him again. Just so you know, I have a list. I can go get it,” he said, pointing behind him.
“You’re just upset, Nicholas. I was too,” I said, biting my tongue thereafter.
“I see. How soon we forget…and so easily might I add,” he scolded, enraged, “I think I should go.”
“No, wait. It came out wrong. Orion is scum, but it doesn’t mean I want him dead.”
“After what he did, I’m surprised. I see things clearly now, thanks. There isn’t anything he could possibly do to make you dislike him. That just means one thing.”
Dear God.
“You’re in love with him, Xenia.”
“What? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Did you know, even just for a second, that it wasn’t me?”
I bit down on my lip, drawing blood. “No, how could I?” The sickly feeling gnawed at my insides.
“I’ve got to go. Once you’ve figured out who you want to be with, send me a message. It’ll be easier that way.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. How could he give up so easily? It was so unlike him.
“Who are you?” I asked suspiciously.
“Oh, it’s me alright. I can’t bare this anymore. I want to be with you but not if it means I’d have to share you. I can’t share you with him.”
“Sharing? There’d be no sharing of me.”
“If you’re not entirely invested in us, it’s because a part of you is with Orion. That’s sharing to me…”
‘Nicholas! Come back here!” I shouted after him but I was too exhausted to move, let alone get up.
I heard the front door slam shut and shortly after, Calliope entered the guest room, my room for all intents and purposes.
“Wow that sounded pretty intense. You okay?”
“No.”
“Good,” she scorned.
“What’s your deal?”
“You have some nerve. Forbidding me from seeing Orion, meanwhile you’ve been pinning for him, secretly seeing him even behind Nicholas’ back. How could you?”
“You don’t know the half of it…I detest him! And besides, I’ve seen the way Orion gawks at you.” I threw a curb ball—anything to get her off my case.
“Pray tell, whatever do you mean?” she whispered with a little southern drawl, brushing her hair to the side. She was really improving her range of accents, courtesy the fine arts department. Her course schedule was the epitome of randomness, as was her track record with men.
“Maybe you think there’s something going on between the two of us but there isn’t. I try to keep him away from the people I love, so I understand where the confusion could stem from.”
“I don’t understand it though. How is it he came to be involved in your life and the people you love?”
I thought there would be more questions like, “so he really likes me?” or “how could you tell?”
“We run with the same crowd is all,” I slipped. Damn it.
“How come I don’t know about this crowd, Xeni? What am I, chop liver?” she hissed, continuing, “I mean, is Marla apart of this secret society too? Is that why she was shot?” In that moment, silence befell on us both. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it. I-I don’t know why I said that.”
“It’s fine. We just got caught up in the moment.” I couldn’t help but feel the guilt laden words skewer me. Marla’s fate was altered, and it was because of me. My actions led to her untimely…mishap.
“Xenia, I’m scared. For the first time ever in my life, I’m scared of losing Marla.”
“I know, Cal. So am I.”
“She’s gonna die, isn’t she?” she whimpered. I rushed to her side, irrespective of the deadening aches I felt all throughout my body.
“We don’t know that. Only Marla knows.”
Exactly why I decided it was time to pay her a visit, offline.
~
Just as soon as Calliope left for lectures, I got in the shower. Something I easily took for granted day in and out. It was a triumph clearing my legs over the tub into the shower. The warm nearing hot water against my skin felt unusual but satisfying. Once I finished, I slid the glass door open and stepped out just as carefully as I had going in, except this time there was water everywhere. I slipped and fell landing on the hard marble flooring scraping my knee against the edge of an elevated corner piece. I rested on the bathroom floor with a sudden surge of energy. I breathed in deeply as a heavy weight lifted from my shoulders. I looked down at my knee and realized I had a deep gash. Kiran’s words dawned on me.
It all made sense. I knew what I had to do.
After I cleaned up and prepared myself for the day ahead, I was able to get around much easier. I transitioned through Styx and a part of me willed me to stay in search of the Lifter, which robbed me of my fragment, but the rational part of me said, no. I was strong enough to persevere and as I travelled to the offline world, I felt at ease because in this world, Marla existed. Maybe not the Marla I had known since childhood but nonetheless, still a part of her.
With every travel to the offline world, I was beginning to notice the differences. The air smelled different, almost like it was thicker and more concentrated by Mother Nature. The air we breathed in the online world was thick, however filled by a cocktail of toxic chemicals and gases. The people looked odd too. Maybe it was my overactive imagination but I swore there was something different about these people offline. Were they aliens? Or was I the alien? I couldn’t quite pin point it…
Once I reached Marla’s door, I knocked with a shaking fist. I was petrified of what would happen once the door opened.
“Hello, how can I help you?” she asked, waiting patiently. It was Marla’s mother. “If you’re selling something, we aren’t interested.”
“No, I’m not selling anything. I was just looking for someone. Maybe I’ve got the wrong address…Marla?” I asked. She shot me her classic ‘don’t mess with me’ look. I shifted away from the doorway.
“Yes, but I think you must be looking for Marla junior.” She was named after her mother and rightfully so; she was the spitting image of her.
“Xenia!” she shouted, running down the stairwell. “Wait, it’s really you!” she ran into my embrace, nearly knocking me over. I clung to her, and the tears streamed on cue.
“I don’t understand. I woke up one day and then you were gone. You were literally non-existent,” she said, nearly hyperventilating. Her mother watched us, riddled by confusion.
“Can we go to your room and catch up?” I said, motioning with my eyes toward her mother.
“Marla, why don’t you introduce your friend? She’s just a friend, right?” Marla senior pried, suspiciously.
“Yes, mother. We’re friends...long lost friends.”
“But I’ve met all your friends.”
“Apparently not all of them,” she chided in the background. Her black hair was just as shiny and her green eyes just as electrifying.
Holly shit.
“Cal! Hey!” I yelped, quickly biting my tongue.
“Uh, right. Hey, you,” she said at first and then whispered to Marla, “Who’s this girl?”
“Okay, this is monumentally messed up,” Marla sighed, continuing, “How could you forget Xenia? You met her at that party…remember?” she hissed through her teeth.
Cal
liope hung in the balance confused over, what appeared to be, her faulty memory. In the online world, one would never challenge Calliope’s…well anything.
“I didn’t forget. I was just trying to remember what the occasion was, is all.” Apparently, some things never changed.
Marla’s mother cleared the room once the ruckus simmered down.
“Cal, I think I’m going to spend some time catching up with my old friend. Thanks for stopping by,” she said, ushering her out the front door.
“Alright, alright. I got it. No need to shove. I’ll leave,” she glowered.
“Thanks again. I’ll call you later.”
“Yeah, looking forward to hearing more about…this,” she pointed between the two of us.
Once we were in the clear, Marla went on a rampage. “What’s going on? Why doesn’t Calliope know you, and why are you supposedly dead? How—” she paused, looking as white as the paint on the wall.
“Marla, I can explain. Please…sit down before you pass out.” She did as I directed and once she turned a shade pinker, I started to explain something forsaken to humans. “First off, do you remember what happened that night of the shooting?”
“Yes, I do. What I don’t remember is living in a world where you don’t exist!” she exclaimed.
“I promise I’ll get to that soon. More importantly, what do you remember after the shooting?”
“Not much…it all happened so fast. I remember a lot of blood and you were crying and screaming at someone. I remember blood everywhere, even on your face,” she said, straining to remember. “Then I saw nothing for a while but I could hear the commotion all around me; beeping and incoherent chatter before everything went silent. I don’t know for how long but then I awoke by a stream. Three little kids came to me but they were…dead…and their eyes, Xenia. There were so horrid.”
“I know this is difficult for you Marla, but I need to know everything.”
She understood and nodded in response. “The children told me I wasn’t supposed to be there…I didn’t belong. That’s when they cornered me and I fell.”
“Fell where?” I asked, feeling a shiver travel down my rigid back.