“Well are you gonna tell me or not?”
He runs his hand through his hair once more. “I mean, I’ve got nothing to hide, if that’s what you’re worried about. It was before you and I got together, so it doesn’t matter.”
She exhales, but some tension remains in her throat. “I know, I just…”
Reaching for his hand, she searches for the right words to explain how she is feeling. “I wish I knew you sooner, and I feel like I missed out on your life so far. So sometimes, I think I ask a lot about you because it’s like a futile attempt to catch up, you know? Like, do you ever feel like I was supposed to know you sooner, but for some odd reason I just didn’t?”
Anthony smiles at her, and leans in to place a quick kiss on her lips. She kisses him back, but he pulls away so he can say what he needs to before the intoxication kicks in and he completely forgets. “I absolutely relate to what you’re saying. It’s very true that I often feel like something was… missing, with us. Maybe it’s lost time, or some kind of freaky time warp messed up fate. But whatever it is, I am so incredibly happy… that I have you now.”
He puts his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close, and stares off into the distance. He sips his coffee with his free hand, and inhales deeply, enjoying the clean, fresh air, and Miranda’s subtle, fruity perfume.
“It’s comforting to know that at least we’re on the same page, even if it seems like it took forever to get here.”
“Totally.”
“So that freak in the blue, rubbery suit?”
Anthony sighs. “I mean, to be honest, it was implied through all the craziness that he was related to her somehow, but she never really explained it to me. That’s pretty much all I’ve got.”
She nods, but a question still remains behind her eyes. “Okay, but why is he so… odd? Off-putting? Weird? It’s like he’s not… from this planet - what a freak.”
Anthony smirks. “Well, I guess he’s just… eccentric. I don’t know - now you know as much as I do.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
CHAPTER 6
“Onyx? Why does it have to be Onyx?” Jade fumes and begins clenching her fists as the crowd begins to hum with wild excitement and anticipation in the aftermath of the voting results.
“Well, that’s what the popular vote dictated. You understand that it’s only fair to - ”
“But he’s not even here! He’s still on Earth with that ridiculous character who started this whole mess.”
Evander swallows back some inflammatory words and tries to figure out the best way to calm down Jade.
“Look, I understand that a lot has happened, but it isn’t fair to blame Luna - she is braver than most other sorters would be, especially after such a short time of existing! And Onyx has proven, time and time again, that he is the best one for the job. He is strong, well-studied and…”
“Still stuck on Earth.” Jade crosses her arms as her face begins to turn an angry shade of red. “I really believe I can do this, you’ve got to give me a chance.”
Evander shakes his head. “Everyone has spoken! As soon as I determine it to be safe, I’ll summon Onyx back to the Upperworld, and the revolution will begin.”
Most of the crowd cheers at this exclamation, and Jade offers an explicit hand gesture to everyone else as she stomps out of the large conference room.
“You’ll regret this, you really will. See you all in the Underworld, because that’s where we’re all going to end up!” She slams the door shut behind her, leaving Evander with the crowd of disturbers, ready to plan their next step in this long battle that is about to come to a head.
“Okay, well, she clearly has made her feelings obvious, but we don’t need to let that stop us. Please know that I am completely devoted to this cause, and I will ensure that everything goes exactly as planned.”
Evander looks out over the audience, and he notices a small hand raised toward the center of the crowd. “Yes? Do you have a question?”
A red-haired sorter lowers her hand and hesitates to speak.
“Well, go on, we haven’t got a lot of time, you know.”
“I was wondering, what exactly is the plan? I know we’re going to take down Zephyr and all that, but how exactly are we going to pull that off?”
A smile erupts over Evander’s face. “Well, it’s a good thing you asked that, since I do believe that I haven’t been all that clear about it. If you’ll take a look at this map…”
Evander directs his laser pointer toward the holograph presentation that is now floating in front of the crowd.
“This is how it’s going to go down…”
✷✷✷
Luna reluctantly gets out of bed while trying not to trip over their discarded outfits from last night, and walks over to the drawer where Onyx stashed her new clothing that they bought yesterday. Picking through it gingerly, she settles on some fitted black pants, a white shirt, and the deep purple sweater that Onyx liked on her in the store. He said it matched her eyes, and upon looking herself over in the mirror, she can see that it indeed does. She walks out of their bedroom and toward the bathroom, where Onyx is brushing his teeth.
“What are you doing?” Luna looks at him expectantly, and he smiles through the froth that has collected at his lips. He leans over the sink and spits the frothy, white liquid out of his mouth, letting it swirl down the drain.
“I was brushing my teeth - you should do the same.”
“What?”
Onyx sighs to himself, realizing how many basic things he’ll have to teach Luna about living on Earth. His studies over a few centuries had taught him well, but she hasn’t had those opportunities to learn about the world and how to live in it.
“You’ll have to remember that we’ve been relegated to humanoid forms now, which means that these bodies require certain levels of upkeep, maintenance, and routine cleansing.” He pauses to grab a fresh toothbrush from one of the bathroom drawers, and then squirts some toothpaste onto it. “Just use this to scrub your teeth, and then spit it out into the sink when you’re done.”
Luna hesitantly takes it from him, and does as she is told. But the sharp minty flavor makes her cough and sputter a bit.
“That’s so weird.”
Onyx smiles at her innocence. “You’ll get used to it, I promise!”
She manages to smile back at him through the frothy liquid, and some of it pools at the corners of her mouth and threatens to cascade off of her lips.
“Okay, now spit it out.”
Luna does as she’s told, but not as Onyx had likely expected.
“I did say ‘into the sink’.”
Luna shrugs her shoulders. “Oops, sorry.”
Onyx smiles sheepishly and shakes his head. “Nothing some paper towels and water can’t clean up.”
Luna brushes her long, dark hair out of her face as Onyx cleans up the mess she accidentally made with the frothy, minty toothpaste.
“You’ll get used to it, I promise. I know… being here, isn’t easy for you.”
Luna shakes her head. “It’s… okay. Difficult, but okay.”
Onyx finishes with his own morning routine, and then heads back to their room to prepare to leave for the day.
“Onyx?”
Luna pokes her head into the room as Onyx places a wad of Earth currency into the front pocket of his new jeans.
“Yes, Luna?”
“I have a question.”
“Ask anything.”
“What’s… this?” She motions between them with her hand, clearly questioning their relationship. “Uh, you’re here, and you’ve helped me so much, and you’re taking care of me, and then… last night… what are we?”
At the mention of the previous evening, Onyx blushes, and then turns to meet her gaze.
“I never explained everything to you, did I?”
Luna shakes her head, with a quizzical look on her face. “I guess not.”
“Come sit.” He pats a pla
ce on the still-disheveled bed next to him.
“So, you understand about what happened in the Upperworld, right? How there was a terrible mistake, and you covered for Delphine? I was worried about you - so, so worried about you. And then, I was told something especially shocking. I guess I kept meaning to tell you but I kept putting it off because of everything that was happening. Can you believe this is the first time in forever we haven’t been running away from something?”
Luna nods her head. “It has been really scary.”
“I know! Which is why I neglected to properly explain everything. In the heat of the moment, other things just seemed more of a pressing need.”
“I understand. Continue, please.”
Onyx wraps his arm around her petite shoulders, pulling her closer to him.
“Well, it turns out, that you and I weren’t originally meant to be sorters.”
Luna’s back stiffens and she turns to him incredulously. “What? How?”
Onyx pulls her close again, stroking her back to calm her down. “Well, as you very well know at this point, humanoids often do not conduct themselves the way we plan for them to.”
Luna nods and shrugs. “Of course, I understand, but what does that have to do with -”
“I was aborted.”
“What?”
Onyx takes a deep breath and tries to steady himself before explaining the painful truth of his own existence that he now must carry with him.
“I was supposed to be a humanoid. My Earth mother, she chose to… destroy me before I could be born…” Onyx chokes a little as the words fall out of his mouth. “Zephyr arranged for my soul to be re-absorbed into the Upperworld to give me a chance to live as a sorter. Made sense at the time, I suppose. But it still makes me sick to think about - because there are probably so many others, and they have no idea.”
“I’m so confused…”
“I know, it really is a lot to take in.”
“But, what does this have to do with me?”
Onyx continues rubbing her back as he tries to find the right way to explain the shocking truth of her own alternate existence.
“Well, do you remember how in the Sorting Room, we decided who lives where and who they end up with as their significant other and life partner?”
Luna nods.
“Well, you were… meant to be mine.”
“What?”
“I know, it’s shocking, but you were also meant to be a humanoid, in essence. You were supposed to be my… wife.”
Luna breathes deeply for a moment, allowing the silence to wash over her as the truth of the matter weighs on her shoulders as a heavy boulder. “So… is that why…” She motions between them again.
“I think so - you see, when we were both retracted into the Upperworld again, our human essences couldn’t be fully erased. So we’re still programmed… for each other.”
“Uh, okay. I guess that explains a lot.”
Onyx nods. “It sure does. I’m just sorry I didn’t explain it to you sooner.”
“But there’s one more thing I don’t know.”
“Ask away!”
Luna swallows for a moment before speaking. “Well, if you were the one destroyed, why is it that I wasn’t allowed to live?”
Onyx frowns. “Well, the way I understand it, humanoids have little to no purpose without their significant life partner, so you were retracted because otherwise you would have been doomed to a life alone. Because I wouldn’t have been there for you.” His voice wavers a little as the verbalization of his worst fear takes shape in his mind.
Luna wraps her small arms around Onyx’s strong torso. “I’m really glad I have you now.”
“Me too, Luna. You are… so amazing. And for that, I am grateful.”
CHAPTER 7
“Yeah I saw the little perp this morning… I had him in my sights, but he darted down an alleyway before I could catch him. No, Carnes, it wasn’t the donuts slowing me down… you should’ve seen this kid, he was like unnaturally fast… yeah, yeah, I know, we gotta catch him. You’re preaching to the choir here, Carnes. Okay, okay. Yeah I’ll keep my eyes peeled. Last I saw him was at the intersection of Cranberry and Sasquatch. Yep, over and out.”
Officer Jones ends his phone call, and continues making the long trek back to his office from the coffee shop.
I was so close… I almost had him. If only I was just a little faster. Maybe I really should be eating a little healthier.
He glances down at his distended, donut-filled belly, and shrugs. It’s a nice thought but I really doubt I could survive all this craziness without my coffee and donuts.
Upon reaching his office, he settles down at his desk, and decides to look over the various police reports involving the suspicion around this mysterious, blue-clad figure. There have only been a few thus far, and only within the span of about a week, but it was better than nothing. A lead is a lead, no matter how sparse it may seem at first.
He picks up one of the security camera photos and takes a good, long look at Seth as a chill runs down his spine. He shivers, but remains focused.
“I will find you, and when I do, you’ll curse the day you were born. No one upsets my town and gets away with it… no one.”
✷✷✷
As the scorned child moves toward the abode of the heroes, the sky seems to darken in his wake. What was once an azure sky dotted with immaculate, puffy white clouds, is now darkening to a sickly gray, with even the clouds seemingly trying to escape. A cool breeze follows him as he makes his way to the main entrance of the building. His small, bony hand grips the cold metal of the door handle, and he struggles to push it open.
It seems there is a force field keeping me from entering this area. He mutters a few newly learned expletives that he picked up from overhearing other Earth-dwellers, and then steps back to get a better look at the obstacle at hand. His eyes widen with insight as they quickly land on the word “PULL” printed obviously on the glass door. He smiles gleefully and does as the written text instructs him, thereby granting him access to the building. He continues walking toward the front desk, past a rather plump woman quietly reading a magazine in a nearby chair, and is immediately greeted with the superior gaze of the woman behind the desk.
“May I help you?” She lowers her glasses to get a better look at him - likely to compensate for the bifocal effect.
“Yes, I would greatly appreciate your assistance.”
The woman scans his body with her eyes and points toward a doorway down the hallway behind her. “Comic con is going to be held down the hall, but you’re a day early - it doesn’t start until tomorrow.”
Seth slowly turns his head at a slight angle, as if an invisible noose is holding him by the throat and had just broken his neck. “What is… comic con?”
The jaunty angle likely appears unnatural to the woman, as she begins to curiously stare him down again.
“You mean that is really just how you dress?”
Her rude query is met with silence. “Well, okay then. What did you need from me?”
Seth tilts his head slowly back to its original posture, and meets her eyes with his cold, dead, violet ones.
“I need to find Luna and Onyx.”
“Do they have a last name?”
More silence.
“Are they residents here?”
A pause. “What is… ‘resident’?”
The woman behind the desk stiffens, as she realizes the abnormality of the situation. “Who are you, and why are you here? I’m going to need to see some sort of identification, or I am going to have to ask you to leave.”
“What is… ‘identification’?”
“Uhm, okay. Just remain where you are. Hey, you’re wearing the same weird outfit that other guy was wearing…” She not-so-subtly shifts her weight, landing her hip on the concealed panic button behind the counter.
“What are you doing?” For a newly Earth-bound being, Seth catches even the subtlest of motions.
“Nothing that concerns you. Now, I suggest you either leave, or wait quietly for - ”
She never gets to finish that sentence, as Seth’s fist comes into direct contact with her unsuspecting skull, and her mortal body folds onto the floor in a disorganized heap. A slow trickle of blood trickles out of her nose and her eyes remain closed amidst the sickly pallor of her complexion. He wastes no time in leaping over the counter and looking through the records to find information about Luna and Onyx’s whereabouts. After only a few minutes of searching, he manages to find their names amongst the other listed residents, and he makes note of their house number.
Now I will be able to find them, and do what I came to Earth to do. Finally!
He tries (and fails) to hide the delirious glee that spreads across his face - the sheer proximity of his target makes his skin tingle in anticipation. His hand grips the hilt of the dagger concealed in his pocket, while the other hand checks to make sure the magnetized rock is at hand to transport him back to the Upperworld once the deed is done.
CHAPTER 8
“Okay, but is that really going to work? It sounds… crazy.” The red-haired sorter asks Evander expectantly, as the plan he suggested seems to be nothing short of bizarre. It’s raucous, discordant, and quite risky. Evander slowly nods his head - he clearly has weighed the options, and doesn't actually care at all.
“Yes Brielle, I’m convinced it’s our only option. You’re going to have to trust me on this one. Can you do that?”
She nods, but continues biting her lip nervously. “I really hope you’re right, Evander. It’s just, crazy.”
He turns to respond to her, but his jaw is set stiffly, and his face has been hardened from all the planning and organizing of this rogue mission. It would be a lot for anyone, but especially someone who is still just the record keeper. Evander was never meant to lead a revolution - but here he is, doing it anyway. Mostly because no one else would, and someone has to, or else their existence in the Upperworld really would end forever. The measures he is taking are all working against the impending apocalypse that is set to occur if Zephyr is allowed to decease without a replacement. And in this case, Onyx has been chosen to fulfill that role.
The Fall of Zephyr Page 11