by TheMuhan
Vagabond: Don't worry; I will cast a protective spell of invisibility so no one find us.
The Vagabond stands up and dances at the park entrance, at the same time I hug Iveth and I squeeze my cheek against hers.
Yvonne: I'll stay awake to protect you, you can sleep easy.
Iveth closes her eyes and listen to my voice...
Yvonne: Everything will be fine, there is nothing to fear.
Then the world falls silent because Iveth fell into Morpheus’ arms.
I do not know how long after, amid that darkness, the voice of the Vagabond can be heard and he says...
Vagabond: ¡Shiny! is a wonderful treasure, I must take care of it. It belongs to one of my princesses. I swear to protect her and this includes protecting her treasures.
Iveth slowly opens her eyes and realizes I fell asleep hugging her.
Iveth: Great, we're trapped in the middle of a park, next to a gentleman wannabe whom has a screw loose ... or two.
Meanwhile the Vagabond seems to be distracted with one of my belongings.
Iveth, who tries to not move too much to not wake me up, perceives that the Vagabond observes the artifact I brought with me and begins to recite something quietly.
Iveth: You must leave that; it's a very dangerous device.
Vagabond: More dangerous is the idea of not knowing what things are and to live with the uncertainty that kills us and eat us inside.
Iveth: Whatever, but don't say I didn't warned you.
I move in my sleep and squeeze Iveth's face against mine as if it were a pillow.
Iveth: At least one of us could sleep, but you were supposed to watch my sleep, my dear friend.
The vagabond flips the artifact, observes an inscription on the back of it and says...
Vagabond: coniunctio duo feminae in corpore partior in duas partes.
Then a great flash occurs, the Vagabond flies through the air, hits his head against the trunk of a large tree and is knocked unconscious.
Darkness envelops the place; product of the collective unconsciousness.
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***
Run woman run.
The road is dark...
Iveth: I can’t see.
I feel through my whole body an unspeakable weariness.
I feel a strong current of air running down my skin.
I feel my hands wet because of the sweat.
I feel my mouth gasping and swallowing saliva.
I feel each of my steps on the floor.
I feel how a strong anxiety is eating me on the inside.
Am I dying or what is happening to me?
I hear noise of grass; does that mean I'm in an open area?
I feel my hand wiping the sweat from my forehead.
But how can that be if I am sleeping with Yvonne in the park in front of the Vagabond who is supposedly protecting us?
The path is illuminated by the lampposts...
Yvonne: They’ve found us and now they've got Iveth, I'm lost. What am I going to tell her parents and how am I going to tell them that they have lost their daughter because of me? I see the way before me but I don’t know where it leads, I don't know the place I just know they can catch me in any moment.
My body can't bear it anymore, but the cocktail of adrenaline is what keeps me running to escape.
I run against the wind looking for a solution.
My hands sweat and cling to life.
I gasp and gulp saliva asking to life for more strength to keep running.
Each of my steps takes me away from those who try to catch me.
I'm eager to find the exit out of this fucking nightmare. Wake up woman, come on, do it! I'm sure this is all a bad dream.
I wonder if I can escape to amend my mistakes and seek help.
The sound of soft grass under my shoes and the open place reminds me that I'm alive and I still have a choice, to keep running!
I clean this sweat of my brow that does not let me see, and that gets into my eyes, and burns them.
I wonder if they really have captured Iveth, the last thing I remember is that we were embraced when we fell asleep.
My last memory is of the poor Vagabond lying on the floor face down but Where can Iveth be?
I hear voices behind me still pursuing me. I must not stop.
I run at full speed through a neighborhood facing the park.
I get myself among the houses.
I follow as many aisles as I can because I need to lose them.
I end up under a light post in front of some houses with an old fountain.
I hide behind the fountain and wait.
I catch my breath and I keep waiting.
Suddenly the four men, who followed us at the mall, run in front of my astonished gaze.
And I think to myself: I knew it!, I knew I was being followed, but I never thought they were the same people.
Suddenly I relax and I catch my breath. At least now I know who they are. But, why can't I feel half of my body?
I walk to the light post that illuminates the hall, pulled a mirror and I realize that half of my face seems to be asleep.
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***
What should not have happened.
Iveth: Someone caresses my face, Could it be mom waking me up to go to school? It can't be. I ran away with Yvonne.
I don't want to get up yet I'm afraid that if I open my eyes this dream ends, this is the first time that I dream of getting tired, so tomorrow I will search its meaning on the internet.
Iveth suddenly felt a few slaps on her cheek and thinks...
Iveth: God, somebody is hitting me now, that means that my dream became a nightmare.
Under the light post...
Yvonne: I'm under a light post without being able to feel half of my body, slapping it so that it reacts, but nothing happens. Have I had a stroke from the shock? That would be impossible.
The light from the light post makes my face look different tonight; I'd better cover it with a lock of my hair to avoid awkward stares.
I cover half of my face, which is paralyzed, with a lock of my hair.
In that darkness...
Iveth: Who is putting my hair over my face? Do not do that, can’t you see that I hate the feeling? The main reason why I never put my hair upon my face is...
Under the light post...
Yvonne: Oh god, the hair tickles my nose; I think I'll ... ah ... ah...
ACHOO!
Yvonne wrinkles her nose with her eyes closed.
Iveth: I hate sneezing.
Yvonne: What are you doing here? Where are you?
Iveth: I'm right here where else can I be?
Yvonne: You scared me. I thought the men of the sect had captured you.
Iveth: My friend it was you who fell asleep, I took care of you.
Smiling, I ask her.
Yvonne: Really?
Iveth turns her head up and tells me...
Iveth: But don't worry nothing happened out of the ordinary. Even though...
Yvonne: Even though, what?
Iveth: Travis was in front of you when you were asleep and I saw he was checking the artifact.
I ask worried...
Yvonne: And then, what did he do next?
Iveth: We just talked; I wanted to convince him to leave you alone...
Yvonne: But?
Iveth: The last thing I remember was that he was reading an entry in your necklace then everything lit up.
I grab the mirror and I put it in front of my face while I say...
Yvonne: Okay, I hope someday to know what this sect wants from me.
Iveth: Do you remember that the police officer mentioned something about someone called Debora?
After hearing Iveth's response I put down the mirror, I get pale and grab the light pole.
Iveth: Do you remember?
I tell Iveth...
Yvonne: Now I know why I can't see you.
Iv
eth: What are you talking about?
I put the mirror in front of my face and I talk to Iveth while I watch my reflection.
Yvonne: I don't know what Travis did, but it seems that it affected us.
Iveth: No ... I can't ... believe it.
Yvonne: So, the sect wanted to merge my body with Debora?
Iveth is very frightened.
I'm thinking.
And my face shows it.
Under the light of the light post two women are trapped in the same body, looking up, with half of our face immersed in despair and with our other half thinking about something.
I cover half of my face and say...
Yvonne: For you to keep not sneezing now I will cover my face with a lock of our hair, you know the city better than me must guide us.
She caresses my side of our shared face.
Iveth: We should better go back home, I think we can deceive my parents if you keep covering half of your face with a lock of our hair.
Yvonne: The advantage of being a woman is that you can experiment with your look as much as you want. Sounds good, this way I will be calmer and I'm not going to feel as if I'm betraying the trust of your parents.
End of Chapter Zero
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###
Characters:
Yvonne: A mysterious woman who was abducted by an unknown sect.
Iveth: A young lady, who helps Yvonne, who was running away from a sect.
Iveth’s father: Iveth’s relative.
Iveth’s mother: Iveth’s relative.
John: Iveth’s younger brother.
The sect: Everything about them is unknown.
Man spying Yvonne & Iveth at the mall: Sect member warning Yvonne of his sect’s activities.
Four men following Yvonne and Iveth: Members of the sect.
Phone stranger: Mysterious stranger at the phone who called Iveth’s house asking for Yvonne.
Police Officer #1: Fallen officer in the line of duty while trying to help the girls.
Police Officer #2: Member of the sect who murdered police officer #1.
Debora: Mysterious woman somehow related to the sect.
Vagabond (Travis): Street philosopher who helps the girls in Ruan’s park.
Silhouette: Unknown character laughing next to Yvonne during the ritual which she managed to escape.
About the author.
Muhan is a well versed creator in the Siamese twins department who has the know-how on how to draw great Siamese Twins, create cool stories and present them to you in a creative way, thanks to more than a decade of experience working on the topic.
Also he’s a self improvement fanatic and that’s why most of the time you can find him reading a new book on how to improve his artistic skills and drinking coffee, which means that his next story/draw will be better than the last one.
Muhan likes to concentrate on highlighting the human side of his conjoined twins in the stories he writes and his drawings, and he’s (Totally) against the idea of having monsters with two heads in his stories.
Do you want to connect with Muhan?,
Do you want to talk with/to Muhan?
Do you want to see Muhan’s hand in action?
Thanks for making it this far, ¿Do you liked the story? Drop me a message I’m willing to hear from you.
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