Breathless (The Breathe Series Book 1)

by Christy Johnson

  Love, Me.”

  I take a step back from the podium to see the sarcophagus resting at the back of the auditorium. No one had seen the body, yet, the entire congregation was filled with sniffles and whimpers. My heart ached and pounded. I couldn’t believe that I was here. Wait, here? Where is here? And who are we crying for? I look down at the obituary in my hand. There is no picture, no name; the entire page is blank. What is going on? I look up to see dropped heads and black hats. There were no traces of tousled hair; only thing I could see were the mouths of the people, which were crooked in smiles. Their hats circular, stretching out from all sides about 8 inches from their heads. Their dresses long and black, the excess of them were lying humbly at their sides, reaching down to the floor, as they continue to sit in place, heads still dropped.

  “I –” I open my mouth to speak but am stopped with heart filling terror. Who’s in the sarcophagus? My voice bounces off the walls and still, no one utters a word or even raises a head to look at me.

  “He –” He – “Hello?” Hello. Lo. Lo. Lo. Lo. It all echoed. Everything I said and still, no one lifts a brow.

  “Why aren’t you answering me!?” I sob. “Who – who is in there? Who died?” Died. Died. Died. Died. No one moves.

  “Please, what is going on?” I panic. Still, no movement.

  Frustration snuggles its way into the chambers of my heart, “Alright, well if no one is going to tell me what is going on, I guess I will have to find out for myself!” I stomp off stage like a spoiled brat and fleet toward the coffin in the back of the congregation. As I run past every row, the heads turn and follow me to the casket. Row by row, every head turns to follow my insanity.

  I run faster and faster but no matter how fast I run, the coffin drifts further away from me and before I could reach it, each row offers something up to me. Their long fingers stretching out towards me, offering me gifts that made it nearly impossible for me to refuse. One offered love and to forget who was in the coffin, another offered freedom, another offered life but I still pressed on.

  I was just two rows away from the casket when the people began to stand in front of me and raise their heads slowly enough so that their eyes do not show yet. I stop – dead. My face impersonates horror as I am unsure of what obstacle would be next but if it was Riley in that sarcophagus, I wouldn’t care what these people did to me anyway. “You’ll be ready eventually.” She says, finally lifting her head, taunting me. Her face blank, literally. She only wore an evil smile and coal black eyes. My mouth drops open at the sight of her.

  “…heart stopping, earth shattering…love. Don’t you want to feel like that again? Love someone like that? Love the person who wants to run away with you and be with only you?” Another one bribes. Its eyes covered by their hat and their voice disguised with evil intent.

  “I had that! I don’t want it again. Let me through!” I say, mushing them to the side.

  “Take the bribe, Nora. He did.”

  “He? Who is he?”

  “You know who.” The creature’s smile contorts with demise.

  “What do you want!?” I scream at them. Their mouths still twisted into an evil smile. “What. Do. You. Want?” I whisper but made sure to pronounce each word loud and crisp. Everyone from the last three rows walks out into the isle, forming an alliance, blocking me from the truth. They link arms to keep me from seeing who or what is lying in that coffin. I peek around them to see them trying to hover over the opening of the sarcophagus.

  “We want – YOU!” They screech in harmony as their want pushes me backwards. Whirlwinds form as the creatures behind me swarm in to grab my legs, forcing me to plummet to the ground as they consistently pull and tug away at me. Their mouths stretched open, wider than I had ever seen. They were inhuman – forcing me to step away, to not go any further. I reach out to grab a pew closest to me, screaming for mercy. The dark blue walls begin to close in as the screeching grows louder. I look to the front of me again to see black eyes staring me down. Eyes so black that no white existed in them. No pureness. Nothing. Just space black. I could have gone back with them – those things. I could have dealt with the screeching and tugging at my body but I was too determined to see what – or who was in that coffin.

  “NO!” I scream and pull myself forward, attempting to get myself through the last three rows. I manage to slide one of my feet through someone’s grip, kicking them in the face. I hear its cheekbone crack as black blood spews from its mouth onto the next thing directly beside of them, melting their face off with their acid black blood. That one disintegrates, releasing my other leg to grip their face that’s melting. I rush to my feet before anything else could grab me. “Please?” I beg the ones standing in front of the casket.

  “This is what you want?” The leader gleams down at me with those same piercing black eyes, making my toes curl.

  “I need this.” I beg simply. Without question, the rest of them pile on top of me, forcing me to succumb to them but the fear of defeat arises within me, permitting me to pull up through them. I smack one hand on the edge of the sarcophagus dragging myself up harder. If only I could just get a peek of the person’s face… I grunt. One creature realizes where I am and grab my ankles, trying to drag me back down but I couldn’t go back. I had to know!

  “I’ll give you what you want. I’ll give you –” I was willing to sacrifice it all – myself. I slap my other hand onto the coffin, grunting with my eyes closed, pulling myself up. I open my eyes to a girl with black hair, pursed, full pink lips and glazed over brown eyes penetrating into the ceiling…

  “Me.” In just one word, I breathe my last breath and collapse.

  *****

  My eyes open as time dawdles. I look down to see my car flipping – the window shield is completely gone, gravity snatching my body from the Oasis, my body ripping through the air. The car that was behind me is in the air smacking every particle, including myself. I grunt and watch the blood spew out of my mouth. No matter how slowly time dwindled, it was still moving even faster. A beautiful contradiction. I find myself reaching out to him, the guy who was directly behind me. His head hanging and his arms flapping lifelessly while he’s still in his car. My brain needed time to process this. I see his car flip again… Just slow down. The bottom of it was kissing the sky. Let me think. Just let me think! For a split moment, my body remains shredding the air, my limbs twisting and turning, kissing the sky, too, then SMACK! I kiss the pavement even harder.

  Truly the kiss of death.

  5 the past 1.1

  “Are you nervous?” Doctor Donna Harris’ ice blue eyes were burning into my skull.

  “Um, no. Should I be?”

  “Your heart beat is irregular. It is almost beating twice as fast as the normal rate.”

  “Oh?” I try to sound concerned.

  “Lie on your back and let’s get the ultrasound running, Nora.” I lie back with an uncomfortable bulge in the pit of my stomach. It always felt weird coming to the Care Station but according to Law 8.7, all minors must be present for ALL checkups every 6 months after their 15th birthday: MANDATORY.

  We are all assigned a specific Unit according to our Tribal economics and location. Within those Units are multiple Care Stations and since I belonged to Abenaki, my Unit was 8, the smallest Unit in the entire world. However many Care Stations within a Unit depended on population and since my tribe is considered the smallest, we only had 17 Care Stations scattered across our tribal lands. Now if we were to travel and something terrible happened, we could sign in at any Care Station and Unit. The world isn’t that harsh.

  Our world was small, well, we are taught that as kiddos. The eight tribes in this world only share one piece of land and according to academy lectures, Jeshyria comprises 85% water and 15% land. There’s no particular order the tribes come in, unless it comes to how many Care Stations one tribe gets.

  At the peak of the land is my tribe, Abenaki. We are of honor and light, the purest tribe. We aren’t the we
althiest or the poorest and we don’t live in tents or castles – we are just regular people, every day people. Like everyone else in my tribe, my family and I live in a cabin – which was all that my mother could afford once my father died, anyway Although it is a two story home that entails of three bedrooms and two bathrooms, it’s cozy and small. My favorite part of it all, though, is the small office room in the nook off of the living room area. The times are seldom that mom let us go in there but when I had that streak to write a short story or to even use my imagination, she would open the door, letting me sit at her desk and play with the screens that would project with just a wave of a hand. Overall, we are grateful for what we have but it would be a lie if I said we didn’t want more or didn’t miss our old lives with dad in it, although, a huge part of me remembers seldom of our lives when dad was here.

  The tribe that sits right under Abenaki and is touching Tse’Khene is Tribe Braedon. That tribe is the third wealthiest and is also where Riley’s from. They are the people of the land and are known for owning businesses and inventing new ways to make the milieu healthier for everyone. They belong to Unit 6 with 20 Care Stations. Tse’Khene sits in between Rise and Abenaki. The people there are called people of the rocks. They are well known for mining and building their houses out of stone. Most of them become Architects, moving up the scale to Rise. Unit 5 with 21 care Stations.

  Rise is the one tribe everyone fantasizes about being a part of. The people there are wealthy beyond compare; well, if we don’t count Anishinable, that is. Risers are built differently from us, though (not all of them, but most are) – there’s a lot of talk that they aren’t even from this world. Something about their physique doesn’t match our “normality”. They seem somewhat… foreign – so, mom says but she usually shrouds when she talks about Rise anyway. Their skin is usually darker than ours, eyes soft and light, faces are squarer than I had ever seen, and their body, muscular. Of course, a few chubby Risers exist. They are usually always dressed in pointy shouldered suits and drove expensive cars, reflecting their wealth. Their jobs consists of bossing others around. I always roll my eyes at that thought. They are the second wealthiest tribe within this world, consisting of Unit 7 with 25 Care Stations.

  Powhatan is positioned beneath Rise. I was always taught that they were the tribe of falling waters and lived behind the waterfalls but, I have witnessed none of that. What can I say? My family and I don’t get out much. They belong to Unit 3, 24 Care Stations. Dakelh – the tribe of traveling waters, is right next to Rise. Stories have been told of them living beneath the waters. That, I’m not too sure of either. Apalachicola is in that tribe. There are other academies around the world, too, but the best will always be Apalchicola – my opinion. Unit 2, 19 Care Stations.

  Bode’wadmi are the firekeepers. We weren’t taught too much about them except they are in between Powhatan and Anishinable. I only assume they associate themselves with the laws of fire. Those quiet people have Unit 4 with 18 Care Stations. Anishinable: the original people, believe they were the first to rule among Jeshyria. I mean, but who would be brave enough to tell them otherwise? Alongside Rise, they are the ones that made the world go ‘round. Their strong suit is mainly allowance bits – I mean, tons of it. They are the people we answer to but unlike Rise, they don’t take over the world. Humility always proceeds them. Their cars aren’t fancy and they don’t parade around in ridiculous suits reflecting any of their wealth, although everyone knows they have money. The Originals have Unit 1, of course, and 26 Care Stations.

  Since, we had to come to the Care Station every 6 months for a checkup after our 15th birthday, I had to make this appointment, humiliated because I was 16 and according to the law I was behind schedule. My mother received certified mail last month stating that if I didn’t show to this appointment, she would be imprisoned. Another burden on my mother’s shoulders because of me. I roll my eyes.

  “Alright, this will be cold on your abdomen. Just relax.” Unfortunately, it was hard to relax with a full bladder and someone pushing down on it with an object. She said she was checking for normality – I would love to understand what normal is anyway.

  “Here we go.” She glazes light teal gel over my lower stomach, pressing an object down on it hard. I wince, while trying to hold in my urine. My stomach swooshes and creaks.

  “Hmm.” That didn’t sound good.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “When was your last cycle?” She asks, never taking her eyes off the projected screen.

  “I – I’ve never had one.” She waves her hand, dismissing the screen. It disintegrates. She doesn’t speak. She just glances at me, her movements mysterious – almost as if she had something to hide. She wipes my stomach off, projects the screen onto her palm by her wrist gadget, documenting something, about me, I can only assume.

  “What’s wrong, doctor?”

  “I – I will be right back.” Her screen disappears back into her gadget when she balls up her fist to hide the evidence of my abnormality. She exits the room. I sit up, grabbing my clothes and pulling them on, waiting for her return.

  When she enters the room again, she seems to be more serious. Morbid. She clears her throat before speaking, “Miss Jacobs?”

  “Yes?” Nervousness consumes me. I fidget with my tattered shirt (clothing doesn’t reflect my tribe, I’m just a tomboy – mostly). She says nothing, instead, she tries to make this entire issue suspenseful but I don’t find it charming. Just tell me what it is already. “What is it?” I study her as she smooths back her brown hair, pushing her glasses up to touch the edge of her eyelashes. I guess she didn’t want the surgical procedure to improve her eyesight. She walks over to her small stool to sit down.

  “This won’t be easy to say.” She lowers her voice. Her lips thin. I notice the grimace expression she tries to mask. I realized then, I wasn’t a typical case.

  “I need to be aware of.” Tears fill my eyes.

  She lowers her eyes not wanting to tell me but she does anyway. “You have a condition that is known as PCOS... which is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.” She pauses for a moment. “You have cysts all over your ovaries which are preventing you from having a cycle per 3 months.” She searches my eyes for strength…for myself.

  “Wh –”

  “Also,” She cuts me off, placing her finger to her smooth lips, showing that I should lower my voice.

  “I have something else to say. It will kill me if I don’t.” She continues with closed eyes. She opens them again and looks down as she fidgets with the papers in her hands then looking back to me.

  “Okay?” I whisper.

  She looks down at her hands again, “You are infertile. You more than likely can never have children.” I clutch my forehead as my head spins, or was that the room?

  “But I will be banned!” I whisper. Any woman who’s infertile is a disgrace to her tribe and family – diseased. I cringe with sorrow. “I will be the first woman to have ever been declared as infertile. Are you sure!? Can you retest me?” My eyes widen, pleading her to help me.

  “I have knowledge of – But –”

  “No but’s! Help me! Please?” She notices the tears in my eyes and she squints with remorse.

  “There is nothing I can do, Nora.” My mother knew this woman. She also understood of the consequences of my diagnosis, that’s why she had Donna to test me. This had to be our secret.

  “Please!” I grab her by her white crisp lab coat.

  “Anything is possible, Nora. I want you to do your own research about this but whatever you do, do not tell anyone. It is not safe for you. Especially here.” I unhand her and she hands over the papers. I don’t take them, I just stare into the perfectly, non-scuffed white floor. She places them down onto the table I am sitting on, touches my shoulder, and walks out of the room. I didn’t understand what she meant by that; by: It’s not safe for you, especially not here. Care Stations are always supposed to be safe, right?

  *****

&nb
sp; “Ahhhhh!” I’m sweating when I awake as I fumble around under my shirt to feel the whelps forming on my abdomen.

  “Are you alright, Nora!? What’s wrong?” My mom glances at me with concern. Her car swerves almost veering off the road. Something burns and etches its way through my body onto the surface of my skin. My body tries to counteract to the foreign pain creeping its way through to the exterior but fails. The pain rising up further from within me, wanting to raise its head from under my skin to pull in a breath of fresh air.

  “Nora!” My mom pulls the car over while I’m still grasping at my stomach, clutching the door handle, wanting to jump out into the road to end it all. This must be a part of the PCOS.

  “MMM!” I say with my mouth pressed into a thin line.

  “What is it? Talk to me.” She reaches out to touch me but snatches her hand back as she’s afraid to touch me. “What hurts!?” She screams, still analyzing my being.

  With shaking hands, I raise my shirt to see my abdomen burning red and black whelps forming. My mom gasps in disbelief, her eyes widen with terror as tears stream down her cheeks. I scream again. What is happening!? I scan down to see a figure – a new tattoo etched into my skin. Black and bold. I squint, forcing my eyes to adjust to the foreign etchings. My brain demands itself to make out the new markings but there was no use, I had no idea what it was; let alone, understood what it meant but let’s just say, I was dying to find out.

  “Riley?” I run to him with my arms stretched out, yearning for his embrace. We met at Hardcover Hoard after hours where no one would see or hear us.