The Broken Destiny

by Carlyle Labuschagne

  “Girls,” she said gently, motioning for us to take our seats.

  Sam moved swiftly in between the rows of chairs toward Linda and Angelique, who were waving for us to come and sit in the open seats beside them. I would have smiled if it wasn’t for the staring faces. All eyes followed me as I went and sat between Sam and Angelique, frowning. Clearly the calls were for Sam and not for me. I ducked down and hid behind the tall girl in front of me as a low murmur made its way around the hall. Sam squeezed my hand letting me know she was there for me, handed me a metal pen and my tablet from my bag. Needless to say, the whole lecture was a complete waste of time. I spent the entire hour and a half scribbling Enoch and Troy’s names on the paper of my textbook. I was one of the few who still had an actual paper book. I held on to the old things to remind me we were real, where life had come from. I edged the page with flowers, thorns and clouds and in the center, I drew trees. In every little flower someone’s name took its place, making up a tree of memorabilia. Maya, Anaya, Arriana, Kronan, Troy and Enoch’s names were all there. I especially couldn’t stop thinking about Enoch. I had remembered everything and was certain that it couldn’t have been a dream. I contemplated the scar on my cheek, the itchiness on my thigh, the slight sting on my ankle and the dirt covering my favorite pair of boots. They were all reminders that it hadn’t been a dream.

  While heading back to the dormitory, I let the numbness settle in. I felt no pain, no excitement at having returned home, and no sadness for the truth that had been revealed about me – about our kind. The numbness stemmed from how people reacted as I walked down the long corridors. Eyes followed me through the park as we walked toward our wing of apartments. Nearing the front door of our apartment, I looked up to see dozens of stars staring down at us. The clouds gradually fogged over their shiny faces. I turned to look at the night sky behind us. Through the branches, I saw more clouds moving into position, covering the velvet sky with tufts of the darkest gray. Sam waved goodnight to the guards and swung her arm over my shoulder. I remembered the thunder that shook the cave, a chill making its way down my spine.

  “I’m sorry,” Sam said, as we stepped into our room.

  She pulled me close.

  “I hate this,” I whined.

  “I know,” she whispered. “I’m sorry,” she said again.

  I sighed and dumped my bag on my bed.

  “Oh, man. How I’ve missed this bed,” I said, not really feeling the truth to my so called confession, but I had nothing to say to Sam, and that was odd.

  “One hour till curfew!” A loud voice boomed through the apartment. Sam shot me a solid stare. I thought of what Anaya had said. “Measures need to be taken before your return.”

  “I know,” I said to her.

  “Oh.” Was all she said, before making her way to the bathroom.

  I made my way to where she stood. She was leaning over the shiny metal basin and staring at herself on the monitor. Suddenly, I saw how pale Sam actually was, purple circles under her eyes stood out against her porcelain skin. She was so beautiful though. She reminded me of a phoenix because of the way her striking, flaming hair contrasted with her ivory skin. She was a tall, graceful, young woman.

  “Sam?” I said softly.

  “I’m just glad you’re alright,” she said, anticipating my question.

  She came over to the doorway and hugged me tightly against her shaking body.

  “Of course I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked, pushing her away from me.

  She looked down at her feet.

  “They’re saying that you…”

  A knock at the door caught our attention.

  “Girls.”

  It was Kim, and she wasn’t alone. Anaya, accompanied by a tall, fair-haired man, also entered the room. It was Vice President Vermaak. I froze; men do not come to this side of the school at all. We stood nervously at attention. He was military after all.

  “Sir,” we acknowledged firmly.

  Anaya bowed and I automatically bowed back. When I straightened, I saw that everyone’s eyes were fixed on me. I smiled a little inside. Vermaak’s beady eyes scanned the room, his gaze eventually resting on me. His face hardened suddenly.

  “Girls,” he said and saluted us. “After much discussion over the past few days we have decided…”

  Days? I pondered, before refocusing on his serious face.

  “…until then, you may continue to live here with us.”

  I only caught the last bit of what he was saying, but it was enough to know that the Council had decided to kick me out after all.

  “What?” I spat out. “You’re sending me away?” I glowered at Kim, suddenly unaware of his presence.

  He cleared his throat in outrage and glanced at Kim, one eyebrow arched in distaste regarding my behavior.

  “Teach this girl some manners,” he barked, his eyes sweeping over me again. “Until then, handle this please,” he added, looking back at Kim, giving her a sharp hard nod.

  “Domestics,” he grunted, and shaking his head turned toward the stairs not bothering to salute before he left.

  “Kim!” I protested as anger ripped through my core.

  Sam walked away, but Anaya stood rooted in her position, her eyes following Sam’s exit. Kim put her hand on my shoulder. “We’re afraid that your peers might not understand what you’re going through. They’re afraid that…”

  “No, Kim. You’re afraid,” I said bluntly, and followed that up by slapping my hand over my mouth. I was shocked at what I had just said. The words had just stumbled out.

  “You’re right,” she said softly. “We all are.”

  I wanted to say, “At least you’re honest”, but instead I said, “That’s no reason to throw me away.”

  “That’s not what we’re doing, Ava. You know that.”

  “Really?” I spun around. “Then tell me what the real reason is.”

  “I don’t want you to feel alienated. You know how cruel kids can be.”

  “Yes.” I said sharply. “But, this is not going to make me feel any better.”

  She shook her head. “There is a reason why Minoan magic has an influence on your being.”

  I sulkily sat down on the bed and stared at my shaking hands; I didn’t want to understand.

  “You can’t do this to me,” I pleaded. “This has to be the worst thing that has ever happened to me, being kicked out of the only house I have ever known – because I am different. What the hell is wrong with this organization? You can’t handle what you created!” I exhaled loudly. “This feels worse than…”

  “No, Ava.” Anaya disagreed, disrupting my flow of thought before I could continue.

  “I am sorry, Anaya,” I said, my head hung in shame.

  “We have put you under the guardianship of Anaya and her family.” Kim said, sitting beside me on the bed. It rocked under her weight and I turned to face the window.

  I realized that it wasn’t the worst thing in the world at all. So, I go live with Anaya. At least I’ll fit in a lot better. At least no one judges me there, I thought.

  “Honey,” Kim said.

  It had been years since she had called me that. I met her gaze and stared at her sharply. She leaned over, her slim body nearing, preparing to hug me.

  “If it were up to me, I would adopt you.” She smiled and hugged me tightly.

  I swallowed tears.

  “That’s not fair,” Sam said mockingly from just outside the door.

  Kim gently let go. “You too!” She retorted.

  “That might have been true at some point, Kim,” I said, looking back out the window. “But, I have seen how everyone reacts around me now. Even you can’t deny it, Kim. I’m an alien.”

  There was silence. Sam, whom I had expected to laugh out loud, didn’t make a sound.

  “My hands are…” Kim began.

  Anaya stepped forward, interrupting her, which was unusual for a Minoan. Then again, Anaya was no typical Minoan.

&n
bsp; “The Council wanted you to stay with the military; they even considered the possibility of letting them train you for combat.” She rolled her eyes at me as if to say ‘can you believe it?’

  This told me that the military knew all about the true nature of the experiments. I slapped myself against the forehead. Of course they did. They would obviously want to turn anyone who still possessed the super human gene into a soldier. A wild thought crossed my mind: Maybe everyone in the Military School carries the changing gene. Okay, so maybe not everyone, I reasoned with myself, but I did think that it would have fit the theory perfectly. Or maybe, it was that I didn’t want to be so alone anymore.

  Later that evening, I watched the troops as they settled into their posts. They were scattered throughout all corners of the street, and down to the strip of shops. I grabbed my earpiece.

  “Anaya,” I said bluntly. I wanted to talk to Maya – no one understood me here. Sam shot me a ‘what now’ look.

  “Hello,” a male voice answered. It was Enoch.

  My stomach dropped at the sound of his voice, and so did the call. The device started to buzz in my palm, its purple light flashing wildly, like the beat of my heart.

  “Answer it,” Sam insisted from behind her desk, she was already buried in her books.

  “Hello,” I whispered. Anything that involved Enoch, whether I was in his presence – and apparently, just hearing his voice – turned me into a klutz and a complete disaster.

  “Are you always this rude, or are you just rude toward me?” He sounded irritable, which was just how I remembered him.

  “Oh, hi,” I said, trying to keep my cool, a smile flickering across my face.

  “Maya said to leave you a message.” He paused. “Hello? Have you hung up on me again?”

  “No,” I said, trying to steady the quiver inside me.

  He breathed loudly into the phone. “Good. She says to meet her at the marketplace after your finals on Thursday.” He paused again.

  “Okay, thanks…” I started, but stopped abruptly when he started speaking at the same time.

  I giggled and my cheeks heated up. I was so glad he couldn’t see me.

  “Ava?” he said.

  “Yes,” I answered slowly, my heart racing when he said my name so softly, so gently.

  “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  I swallowed, and that was it for me. I fell for him then and there. Everything went blank.

  “Hello,” I heard him say again. “You have the worst manners over this device.”

  “Fine, hmm, oh and thank you,” I said, hurriedly trying to collect my thoughts. “Tell her I’ll call her to let her know what time I’ll be there.”

  “No,” Enoch objected quickly. “No. Come alone at four. I’ll be waiting. Alone.”

  “The escorts…” I protested, but he was already gone.

  So, he wants to see me. We did have a moment on the beach then, I thought to myself. My heart grew wings and took flight, taking my mind with it. The lingering silence brought me back. Sam sat gaping at me. I flushed scarlet, and my stomach churned.

  “Hmm, either you’re planning to sneak out or…”

  She knew me so well. I fell back onto my bed, my head spinning, whirling, floating.

  “You have to help me!” I begged.

  “No way. You are out of your mind,” she replied, turning back to her books.

  I jumped off the bed and walked over to her.

  “I need to see him.” I said, feeling desperate.

  “No,” she said.

  “Thank you.”

  I kissed her on the cheek.

  “You’re stupid.” She stood, rising over me. “This is dangerous.”

  Her eyes met mine. They exuded a fierce glint of authority. She threw down the metal pen, the sound chiming through the air. I made my way back to my bed once again and sat down.

  “Maybe you’re right.”

  She crossed her arms. “Of course I am right. After everything that has happened to you, you want to risk your safety – your life – for a boy, a Minoan?” She shook her head in disbelief.

  “Then help me,” I pleaded.

  “I will not help you become a muti killing!” she shouted, leaving the room and stomping down the stairs. “You’re an idiot!” she yelled.

  I stood in the doorway staring at the closed dormitory door across the hall.

  “Where is everyone?” I called to her from the top landing. I could hear her rummaging around in the refrigerator.

  “They’re scared of you remember!” she wailed back. “Left the minute they heard of your return.” Leave it to Sam to tell it like it is.

  The wood creaked as I made my way down the stairs. The pinch in both my thigh and ankle reminded me of the attacks with each step I took. I laughed to myself. So, everyone thinks I have a disease. They think I am carrying the virus in my genes. Just like the story they fabricated about Errol – little do they know it is much more than that.

  “Were you waiting for me?” I asked, staring at her back.

  “What?” She turned to me, a large yellow apple in her hand.

  “You know. When I woke up you were there.” I shrugged.

  Her shoulders sagged “Yes. Wouldn’t you be waiting for your best friend to open her eyes? What else was I going to do?” Her eyes were desperate and sad.

  “I don’t know,” I said, hanging my head.

  She hugged me and then pushed me away.

  “No. There will be no meeting any guys, anywhere. Okay? I can’t lose you again.”

  She held my shoulders and shook me as she spoke, stressing the last few words. I rolled my eyes.

  “No, Ava. There’s no way. Forget about it. Promise me you’ll be smart about this.” She closed her eyes. “Promise me.” She flicked out her pinkie. “Pinkie swear on our friendship you won’t do this.”

  Pinkie swearing was something we had picked up from an Earth movie. Sam stared at me, her blue eyes blinking.

  “Okay. Fine,” I said, holding out my pinkie. “I swear on our friendship.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two shadows moving past the kitchen window and flinched.

  “The guards patrol our garden every night,” Sam said as she looked down at me, her eyes trailing over my legs. “So, don’t make a habit of walking around pantless.” Her eyebrows raised in question.

  I had been sitting on my bed sulking for a while, just staring at my iPod, when I heard the sound of a motorbike making its way up the street below our bedroom window. I hurried over, and when I looked out, the dark rider was staring up at my window. I quickly retreated into the shadows. I looked over at Sam, but she was already asleep. I looked down at my iPod – already past two in the morning. I crawled back over my bed and slowly made my way to the bottom corner of the window. He was still there, but this time he wasn’t alone. He was speaking to the guards. His head tilted up again. On any other night, the radiance of the three moons would have made it impossible for anyone to remain unseen, if they didn’t stick to the shadows, that is. However, on this particular night, the dark clouds dimmed the streets by creating a dark blue haze, in turn making it difficult for me to recognize any of them. They spoke for a while. He looked up again, and this time I didn’t back down, but returned his gaze as I leaned right against the window pane, completely drawn to him. The glass misted around my palms as I pressed myself closer and closer – almost as if I could float right through it and find myself inches away from him. I wondered who he was, and why I felt so drawn to him. His pull on me broke when he saluted, spun a wheelie and drove off into the distance. I followed the red glow of his rear lights until they were swallowed up by the night. I forced myself to go to bed and tried to persuade myself to go to sleep, but in no time I had gotten out of bed again. I threw my iPod down on the table and paced back and forth in front of the window. I switched on my laptop by waving my palm over the motion sensors. The screen came to life, its bright blue light burning my eyes. I switched it o
ff again, pulled a book from under my bed and turned a few pages. I knew I was tired because my eyes weren’t focusing on anything. I threw the book down, pulled on some pants, slipped into my shoes, grabbed my coat and headed out the door. I waited for an alarm to go off, warning our keepers of the curfew break. But, I was met with nothing but the soft whistle of the chilly breeze as it bent back dark branches. I sighed and made it to the gate before a figure moved in front of me. The shadows hid his face.

  “A bit late for a walk, wouldn’t you say?” a loud voice declared.

  My heart stopped. When he stepped out of the shadows, I moved back, startled. I recognized him. I remembered his black hair, dark eyes, thin lips and puffed out chest. He had been on the beach that day.

  “Oh, it’s only you,” I said calmly.

  “You can call me Rob,” he retorted and howled loudly.

  “Shhh.” I pleaded.

  He chuckled.

  His friend dropped down from the tree above us, landing perfectly on both feet, his chest puffed out proudly, just like Rob’s. The tall fair-haired boy hit his friend on the chest. The force made him lose his balance. They exchanged a look, nodding in agreement.

  “Troy sent us. He thought you might be up to something.” He raised a questioning eyebrow.

  “It seems he was right.” Robert smirked.

  At the mention of Troy’s name, I felt a pang of longing in my chest. How and why, I wasn’t sure but it was real, and I had to draw a deep breath to curb my hunger for something I didn’t understand. I had no idea what he looked like, but our brief quarrel that one night had played over and over again in my head. I shouldn’t have been such a coward, should have lured him out of the shadows.