Evanescent

by Carlyle Labuschagne

  A knock sounded at the door. I looked up, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from, my chest suddenly tight. The dark, metal door swooshed open, and I felt like bolting right through it.

  “In case you are thinking of running, take a look outside,” the voice warned, pulling tight on the reins of my escape plan.

  Suddenly, I became aware of a large window. My feet carried me there without thinking. I put my palms to the big, glass window, and the first thing I saw was an image I never thought I would ever see. Earth – a planet with unmistakeable colors, it was so clear and brilliant. Blues of the ocean, whites of the clouds, grays of snow-capped mountains, and luscious, green grasslands. An iridescent, sapphire sky, radiant and glowing reached into the black space beyond. Stars dotted the black distance between us, calling to me.

  “I will ask you again. What do you want?”

  “The antidote.”

  I snorted. “I’d rather die.”

  If they got to the antidote, they could very well abolish it. Mutants would evolve, stuck, controlled beings forever, and those of the Shadowing kind would destroy everything in their path until nothing existed but darkness.

  I spun abruptly when the scent of glorious food enveloped me. My mouth watered profusely. The smell grew in intensity until I was sitting right in front of the table about to take my first bite. I drew back, stood, and with one hand swept the plate clean from the table. All of it meant nothing to me. Food littered the crisp, white carpet. The plate bounced from the force and landed near the bed, a dark splatter tainting the crisp white sheets.

  “One thing, and I’ll do anything you want.”

  There was silence.

  “Troy and my friends – all of them. The school. You leave them be. You rid them of your agents, your partners, whatever. Poseidon will be ruled by Minoans once again.”

  Silence.

  My chest rose and fell. “Is that a yes?”

  “They are already on the ship.”

  “What about Poseidon.”

  “Yes.”

  “Show me.”

  “That will take time.”

  “Show me!” I shouted.

  “Ava.” At the mention of my name, my chest filled with warmth, spreading and igniting my entire body.

  I ran to Troy. He stood there, all cleaned up, a few scrapes on his brow, his lip swollen. My arms flung around his neck, my throat a tight knot with everything I wanted to say. When his arms folded my body into his, I broke down and cried.

  “We are all here, even Arriana. It’s all going to be okay. Just give them what they want, and we can get on with our life on Earth, just as you always wanted.”

  “So Earth wasn’t destroyed? I was right?”

  He nodded, his hand finding the back of my neck. He pressed me closer, his scent drowning me. I kissed his neck and his face.

  “You would give in?” I frowned incredulously.

  “To have you in my arms, safely – yes, I would,” he said softly.

  His lips found mine. But it was wrong, he would never give in, never. I loved him because he freed me – now? Suddenly, I experienced an excruciating pain shooting through my brain and gasped as a dark images flashed, leaving a white noise echoing inside my head.

  “Ava, are you okay?” he asked, hands cupping my face.

  I pushed him from me, but he tried to pull me back. I looked away while he still held on to my hips. The mirror was glowing, an amethyst so bright it drowned the room in purple hues. A warning.

  “Let me go, please let me go,” I wailed, not being able to stand what I was feeling.

  “Ava?” His unsure tone blistered into my mind.

  He pulled me back forcefully. I turned and punched him in his face, the shock and hurt in his expression splintered into my chest.

  I fell to the floor.

  “I know what you’re doing,” I spat.

  My eyes found the food I’d flung all over the white carpet.

  “Ava, please!” Troy begged. I could smell him, but it wasn’t real.

  My hand found the green peas, then I rolled it through the bright, yellow corn. I stared at the juicy meat. Troy’s hand touched my shoulder as he crouched down beside me.

  “There is no stain.” I lifted my hand to take a closer look.

  “What?” he said.

  I stared back into his eyes, they were every bit his eyes. His face. I ran my fingers over his bottom lip, heat flowed from my fingers to the very tip of my toes. His arms found me. I kept my eyes on his. It was gentle, just breath between us before he placed his lips over mine. I knew it. It was non-existent, just a kiss. That is all there was.

  “You forgot something.” I pulled back, my hand resting on his chest, the other around his neck. His eyes slowly fluttered open, like he was lost for a moment. I stared into his hazel eyes.

  “Troy would never give up,” I said and stood back, letting Troy’s grip around me fall to the lonely nothingness.

  My words blew away the ashes of devastation, carried it away by the wind of forgotten sorrow. I knew this feeling, the taste of loss. There was even the wind’s bellow through the trees before it striped everything away. “His eyes are green when he is happy,” I added. A cloud fell over me, a dark, heavy, stifling cloud as I was lifted from my sedated state.

  “I was afraid of that,” the voice said.

  Abruptly, I stood from my metal bed in a dark, gray passage – metal walls, metal floor – in that paper-thin, infirmary gown. The white noise peaked, bleeding back dark shadows. My breath came out in wisps of white clouds. I started to shiver. Closing my eyes, I tried to sense something near me, smell something, feel a breeze, feel anything other than my loneliness, my only friend.

  A crushing voice startled me. “You will activate the antidote,” he repeated.

  I shook my head.

  “We have your friends – take a look.”

  A bright light flashed from the floor beneath my feet, my eyes painfully tried to adjust. On the screen set in the floor was an image of a well-lit room. A large chamber with dozens of teenagers. I found a boy I recognized from the English school, then I recognized Greg, and next to him Willard and… Sam! Her red hair such a brilliant sight to see. She was alright. They were all alright.

  “What do you want with them?” my voice broke. “How do I know this is not a trick?”

  “We have been searching for your kind for a long time,” a sarcastic voice answered. “We are so close. I know you have something we need.”

  Another screen flickered to life beside me on the metal wall. It looked very much like a boxing ring, except it was on a field, similar to our hockey field back at Vista.

  “Please don’t hurt them,” I said loudly.

  “The stadium separates the mutants from the Curatrix born.”

  “What?” I barked.

  “You still have no idea what the Broken are?” I could hear the smile in his voice. “Your grandfather is none other than Hitler’s son and very much like you, a perfect specimen. He sought after the cure for all mutants, because he hated what he was, just like you do. I think he knew what the cure was and hid it. And guess what? It lies in your kind, your race has the answers we need. Some of our mutants cannot be controlled or killed, but with the cure… well, you are a smart girl. No need to elaborate further.”

  “If you have all the answers, why do you need me?”

  “There is one piece of the puzzle missing, isn’t there?” Silence. “You will activate the antidote.”

  “That’s not it.”

  “The Shadowing cannot possess the earthly plane as we once did. We need your help.”

  I could shift right now, and kill each and every last one of them. I smiled. However, they didn’t deserve to get off so easily.

  “Not gonna happen.”

  “You cannot shift in this chamber, if that is what you are indeed trying to do. You have no idea what we are, do you?”

  “You’re the High Council, Illuminatus. Creat
ors of the mutant projects.”

  “We know what you carry inside of you, we have it, too. But you – you’re the high carrier of the disease we hear. You have power beyond our means, you can ignite our abilities and you can destroy them.”

  In my mind, I swore. “Tell me what you want,” I repeated, my fists twisting and shaking at my sides.

  “I will show you.”

  The dark noise pierced through the air, shadows exploded, all my senses erupted and all I could see was the color of my blood on the walls.

  Zenith is what they call the point of singularity, where everything comes together in one single moment. It’s that one kiss you will never, ever forget. It’s like having a volcano of pleasure erupt in your mouth. Nothing has ever mattered, but that moment. Your entire life has existed for that one kiss. The heat, and the impenetrable hunger that will never be satisfied until it digs up your entire soul. It’s in the way he holds you like he will never, ever let you go. It awakens all your senses. You have never been so weak to his touch. A kiss that ignites your soul, giving it life. His scent, taste and touch is infuriatingly, irresistibly, and irrevocably – edible, consumable and daring. The fire burns right through you, melting you into him. It’s a language that uses everything inside of you to communicate. It’s a prayer only your bodies and souls will ever know. His lips become your life force. It’s that kiss you never walk away from. This is who I will be for the rest of my life. Addicted to that kiss, the ultimate high with infinite, sweet poisons. It corrupts me, turns me inside out, leaves me shaking and invigorated. That is the moment I feel the most alive – ever.

  He is my fire side.

  Carlyle Labuschagne is a South African debut author working her way into the hearts of international readers with her first young adult dystopian novel ‘The Broken Destiny’. Evanescent, book two in the Broken Trilogy is set to release in November 2013. She is not only an author, but works as a sales representative and marketing manager by day. She holds a diploma in creative writing through the writing school at College SA.

  Carlyle loves to swim, fights for the trees, and is a food lover who is driven by her passion for life. Carlyle also writes for IU e-magazine India, an inspirational non-profit magazine that aims at inspiring the world through words. The drive behind her author career is healing through words. Carlyle is also the founder of the first annual book drive – Help Build A Library in Africa Project.

  “My goal as an author is to touch people’s lives, and help others love their differences and one another.”

  Other books in the series

  The Broken Destiny

  voted #3 on the Goodreads Debut list for 2012.

  Where to connect with the author:

  Twitter @CarlyleL

  Website: www.carlylelabuschagne.com

  Facebook page: Carlyle Labuschagne Author

  Carlyle is a firm believer in – YA saves!