Half-Breed

by Zachary Smith

  Chapter 24

  It’s cold, the likes I haven’t felt for a while; an ice cold that chills my core and makes the hairs on my neck stand on end, almost painfully so. But I refuse to open my eyes as I feel as if I’ve only just nodded off and don’t want to venture out the comfort of my bed into the freezer I call a bedroom. I figure I must’ve forgotten to shut the window and the temperature outside has dipped, considerably. Why fight it? I know I’ll have to get up, I’m already half-awake as it is, and resisting will only wake me further.

  I sigh and grudgingly open my eyes, and to my surprise, I’m in the town centre. Only this is not the town at present. This is how I know it in the future, buildings here are heaps of rubble and the sky is charred a dark black. I’ve returned to the destination of my first vision, albeit this time I am alone, no swarming crowd, no TJ and no evil me.

  “What now?” I mumble as I rise from my bed – which has journeyed with me.

  For once I do not fear, I know this is a dream, as it feels all wrong. The air is heavy, like liquid being poured over my body, and different parts of the town centre seem to be caught in some sort of time lapse, sometimes showing the past – my present – or the now – my future. Trying to decipher what time I’m seeing is enough to send my head into a spin, causing pain to its already delicate state. Watching from the wall of a flower bed, the café opposite flickers between a normal busy day, complete with shoppers resting their feet, and an empty burnt out building.

  “Grab my hands!” A child yells.

  A young girl with black hair then appears, playing on the wall of the flower bed I’m sat on, but seems to not notice me. Jumping from the wall, I stumble back and watch as two more children appear, two boys, one large with blonde hair, and the other small with black hair – it’s a younger version of Matthew and me.

  “No, this game is boring,” says the young Matthew. “Can’t we go play in the park?”

  “No,” the younger me replies. “You promised you’d do this with us.”

  “Yeah, we have to.” Confirms the girl.

  The young Matthew stubbornly crosses his arms and sulks, to which the other two echo a laugh through the otherwise quiet centre while dancing around him. “Chicken!” they repeatedly chant until he gives in.

  “Fine.” He grunts – just as I remember it from our younger years.

  The blackened sky above breaks open and shines a bright golden light upon the three children as each one takes a corner of the flower bed, joining their hands in the centre; as if my dream wants me to see this. For a moment, nothing happens, and they just stand there aimlessly staring at each other. Even they seem to be unsure what’s about to happen.

  “You did it wrong!” yells the girl.

  “No, I didn’t. You did.” The younger me shoots back.

  Suddenly a mix of fire and light engulfs them, swirling around and cocooning the whole flower bed in a cyclone of chaos until they are no longer visible.

  “Whoa, this is fun!” yells the girl, as lights shoot from the swirling mess, dragging streams of flames into the night sky, like a firework display.

  “FREEDOM!” they all chant.

  Then they vanish, leaving no trace they were ever here and once again I am alone in this burnt out wreck I call a home.

  “Cute, aren’t we?” a soft airy voice says.

  In the blink of an eye, Talia appears on the wall where the children once stood, sitting there as if she always has been. I recoil, partly due to her sudden presence and partly due to her statement. “The girl was you?” I question.

  She tilts her head side to side, then shrugs. “A young me.” She says, emotionlessly. “But who’s to know? It’s your dream after all.”

  Joining her, but at a distance, as she still makes me feel uncomfortable, I ask whether it was the ritual we’d just witnessed.

  “It sure did look like one,” she replies, with her big round eyes fixed on me. “Does this mean you have some good news for me?”

  Pained by nerves, I take a deep breath of the cold liquid air, nearly gagging as it runs down my throat. For a brief moment, I consider holding back the information, heeding Darcy’s plea, but I take another scan of the ruined town centre and refuse to let it come to this. So I recite what I know, not fully understanding it myself, word for word.

  “Oh. That is interesting.” She interrupts. “A Daemon and Celestial’s power together.”

  I skip a breath. “Does that sound wrong?” I panic. “Darcy could have been mistaken?”

  She laughs a mockingly high pitched cackle. “Oh, Mitchell. If that’s what’s needed, then it’ll work just fine.”

  Struck with nerves, I find myself mimicking her laugh, albeit it quieter and forced. “There’s one more thing.” I caution.

  She eyes me up and down with a stern look, readying herself. “Go on…”

  “We need to find a Nexus-Point.”

  Her demeanour changes in seconds, throwing my already panicked mind further into unsettlement. How she can switch up her emotions so fast is beyond me. Smiling, she edges closer. “That’s easy.” She beams. “Time stands still at a Nexus-Point.” Then she fades away, leaving me to look out into the distance and upon the broken clock tower.

  “The clock tower!” I cry, leaping to the softness of my bedroom floor.

  “The… clock tower?” Matthew questions, standing in the doorway and looking unimpressed.

  The room is dark, apart from the minimal shine rebounding from the hallway, which means it must still be late, or the early hours of the morning. Matthew, who I’ve woken – again – holds the doorframe with his large arms and leans into a stretch, bending them back as he groans. “You’ve been sleep talking for the last thirty minutes. Loudly.” He utters. “About the clock tower, of all things.”

  I scrunch my nose, cringing. It’s always embarrassing whenever he tells me what I’ve done in my sleep. Like the time he couldn’t wait to tell me I’d spent the night talking to a towel, thinking it was an animal or the time I wore my underwear on my head, thinking I was off to college in one of my hats. “That’s it for tonight,” I promise, flashing him a dimple-indented grin.

  “Good.”

  “Matthew,” I say to grab him attention.

  He stops mid-shuffle. “Yeah?”

  “We need to talk,” I hesitate. “Sometime tomorrow, ok?”

  “Ok,” he whispers effortlessly. “Now please, go back to sleep, and no more clock towers.” With one final tired look, he disappears down the hallway, before switching out the lights.

  Still feeling the coldness from my dream or at least the memory of it, I pull the heavy duvet over my body and I twirl around in it until I’m completely wrapped. Tomorrow the hard part will be done, I tell myself, for I will have told Matthew of my intentions. And I can only hope he’ll support me in my decision because without him… I’m screwed.

  But that’s a hurdle I’ll tackle tomorrow. For now, I just need to try and get some sleep.

  “Mitchell Harper, will you stop staring out the window and answer the question?!” says Mrs Armstrong, her angry voice booms through the classroom, reaching me at the back.

  Many sniggering students then turn to face me, each one staring at me with their wide eyes. “I’m sorry,” I mumble, with my head down. Already I can feel the temperature within me rising, and a familiar pulsating feeling resonating from my stomach.

  “And the answer is?!” She yells, sending a jolt through me which heightens the burning feeling.

  Hands gripping the table, I try to block it out, count my breaths and think of somewhere else; a place where I’d feel cool, like the beach. But nothing works, and still, the students laugh, and still Mrs Armstrong yells.

  Panicked, I grab my folders and throw them into my bag. Wasting no time, I hurry to the classroom door with my sight set firmly to the floor in a bid to avoid all eye contact with anyone. Through a fake cough, I manage a quiet apology to Mrs Armstrong as I leave, in the hope, she’ll just think
I’m sick.

  “Mr Harper!” Her voice echoes through the hallway, chasing me, but I’m already halfway to the double doors that lead to the outside.

  No longer do I have any thoughts running through my mind, other than that to escape and put as much distance between me and the college full of innocent lives. Picking up speed, I burst through the doors and pass many blank faces until I leave the college campus. Where I am going or what direction I have taken, I’m unsure, and I only begin to take note when I make it to the cliff tops. Of all the places, my subconscious brought me here – knowing it’s the one place that can calm me.

  Exhausted, and with the burning sensation dulled, I allow myself to stop to catch my breath. I won’t be returning to college this afternoon, that’s for sure. Not after that near miss. So I take refuge beneath a tree, shading myself from the sun to rest my tired body.

  Startled, my eyes shoot open, sensing the presence of a crowd closing in on me. I must have been sleeping, or at least in a dozed state, as I leap to my feet in a panic, knocking one of them in the process.

  “Chill out, Mitch! It’s only us.” Riley pleads.

  By us, he means, Miah, Aimee and Matthew, who is still in his rugby kit, smeared with dirt. Obviously, he was dragged from training and from the look on his face, he none best pleased about it.

  Still shaken, I take a moment to calm my beating heart. “How’d you find me?” I pant.

  “It’s pretty easy for a clairvoyant.” Quips Miah, rolling her eyes. “Ya know, it’s kinda what I do.”

  “You ok dude?” Riley asks.

  “Fine.” I shoot back. “I mean, why did you find me?”

  Arms folded, Miah calculates her steps, walking around me in a half circle. “Because Mitchell Harper,” – she’s mad – “I thought it would be good for us all to have a little chat. There’s an upcoming event we both know needs discussing. So! Sit down!”

  The order was aimed at me, although we all sit in a flash, hurrying to the ground. Even Matthew doesn’t mess around or make some kind of wisecrack remark. “You did say you wanted to talk.” he points out.

  I was a fool to think I’d be able to do this on my own time and terms, especially after Miah found out. As always, she’s thrown me out of my comfort zone and thrust into a situation where I want to bolt. I could, quite easily, but I’d be caught before I’d even have a chance to stand. “Where do I even start?” I huff.

  “Wherever you think’s best, Mitch.” Riley sympathises.

  So I decide to take them back, right to the beginning, starting with my dreams. I don’t hold back, not in the slightest. I mention everything, the destroyed town, TJ and the evil me. And like someone has opened the floodgates of my fears, I find I cannot stop myself. Churning out letters to form words, words to form sentences, all in a bid for their understanding. Which I’m surprised I gain, evening after I let slip that in one of my dreams I blast them all into nothing more than ash.

  “Then we’ll fight it!” Riley interrupts. “That’s what your training is for!”

  I shake my head. “It’s not that simple,” I tell him. “You need to understand, that since my powers manifested, I’ve had this dark cloud over me. It’s a presence I cannot control. And it’s always following me.”

  “A presence?” he questions.

  “Evil.” I reply. “It’s an unnatural feeling, one that doesn’t feel a part of me. But it’s there, I can assure you.”

  Matthew’s face remains solid, statue-like, as he listens in, resembling the face I saw the night our powers manifested. Could he be planning another runner? I wouldn’t blame him, but things are different now. I need him. As without him, my fate is sealed. “Surely there’s something we can do?” he fires out, cutting off whoever was talking.

  Now. It’s finally time for the moment I’ve been dreading. So with a deep breath, I compose my thoughts and launch into a long speech about the Kalayaan ritual. At first, all goes well as they nod along in agreement, each suggesting they think it’s for the best, up until I mention all Half-Breeds will become powerless.

  “I won’t be a Half-Breed anymore?” Aimee cuts in, her eyes glazed.

  “I’m sorry,” I murmur. “If there was another way–”

  “That’s it!” Riley shouts. “There has to be another way? And we’ll find it, together.”

  “There isn’t.”

  He rises to his knees, probably in an attempt to project his voice better. “How do you know? Until now you’ve been tackling this alone, but now you have us.”

  “Riley,” Miah subdues. “I’ve seen it for myself, and if that’s our future, which his power would highly suggest so, we can’t afford to waste any more time.”

  Silent, since I told everyone their powers would be bound, Matthew remains at a distance, picking at the grass between his legs and placing it into a neat pile. “Matthew?” I ask. “What are your thoughts?”

  He looks up and scrunches up his lips, suggesting he’s still thinking before he shrugs effortlessly. “I’ll miss having these powers, I won’t lie.” He says firmly. “I feel like we’ve hardly had any time to use them and now we’ll never know what good we could have done with them.”

  His words are like a dagger, cutting away at what little hope I had left. Of everyone, it was his approval I wanted the most, as he’s part of this, just as much as I am.

  He continues. “But… if you know deep down that something ain’t right and you’re sure there’s no other way, then, of course, I’m with you! After all, we can’t have you destroying the world in one of your little tantrums.” And with that single joke – at my expense – he lets out a booming laugh, one in which we all join in on, lightening the mood in a way only he could.

  “So we’re all in agreement?” Miah concurs. “We complete the ritual this weekend?”

  “We?” I recoil. “No, no, no. It only requires Matthew and me.”

  She looks at me calmly, trying her hardest to fight a smirk. “Hun,” she says softly, yet firmly. “Ya really think I’m going to let ya go bind my powers without me being there?”

  “But–”

  “Decision made.” She shrugs, holding my gaze. “So, accept it.”

  The crash of waves can be heard over the silence we plunge into, that, and Matthew desperately trying to conceal his laughter. “And that’s how it’s done!” he sniggers. “You’ve gotta teach me your ways to sorting this one out!” And with a quick yank at the back of my cap, he exposes the front of my messy hair.

  Annoyed, I try to shove him away, but feel as if I’m pushing against a brick wall. “Fine,” I groan, knowing I won’t be able to fight her on this. She’s too much like Matthew, and I learnt when I was much younger, that an argument with him could never be won.

  “Let’s all have a lovely outing to perform the world changing ritual.” I sarcastically quip. “Like normal people!”

  “Yeah!” Aimee laugh, throwing a fist in the air. “Like normal people!”

  “That’s the spirit, hun.” Miah mockingly adds.

  “Yeah hun, that’s the spirit.” Whispers Matthew, just enough for me to hear, sending a hot flush to my face.

  “We both know you’re not going to win this one, Mitch,” Riley concurs. “Guess we’ll just have to face it! It’s no longer you and me.”

  He’s right, our little unit is gone. The simplicity that was Riley and I is no more, and in its place, I find myself part of a group, albeit small, but a group nonetheless. An impossibility, that somehow become a reality. But the scariest and most unbelievable thing of all, I’m actually happy about it.

  Mitchell Harper, a faceless mannequin with two different colour eyes, a Half-Breed, dreamer and fire starter, finally steps out from the shadows and into a light. And that’s where I intend to stay.

  “Well…” I laugh. “If I must have friends, I’m glad it’s you guys.”

  “How touching.” An airy voice says. “Oh. Am I interrupting something?”

  Talia!?

&n
bsp;