by Kim Cormack
Zach shoved her and teased, “Those Swedish Feet candies are better and pizza.”
“Mmm…Spaghetti, or maybe lasagna?” Melody added.
Kayn threw her arms around Melody and said, “Let’s not use food. This conversation’s making me hungry.”
Zach glanced over at the two girls that were walking with their arms draped around each other’s necks. He teased, “Maybe it’s a girl and not a boy?”
Kayn smiled at Zach and said, “Maybe it is a girl.”
Melody teased, “Maybe mine is too.”
Zach plunked himself down in the grass and star-fished himself out. He groaned, “Quit messing with me you two. It’s not very nice.”
They flopped themselves down beside Zach in the grass. He sat up and began to talk in an announcer’s voice, “Here sits Zach. One lone man destined to be perpetually lost in the friend zone with two beautiful girls... Forever.”
Mel said, “The very best way to get over somebody is to....”
Zach butted in, “Mel our girl here is an innocent flower. Leave your tarty suggestions for a lunch with Lily and Frost.”
Mel bounced around a bit and declared, “How about Frost? You stare at him all the time. I’ve seen him staring at you.”
Kayn glared at her and replied, “Everyone stares at Frost. How can you not? He barely speaks to me. He was in love with my dead twin sister. I think a part of him is angry that Chloe didn’t turn out to be the dominant soul. I think he honestly can’t stand the sight of me.”
“Anybody but Frost, he’s such a peacock.” Zach groaned.
Kayn plucked a handful of grass and threw it at him.
He chuckled, “Oh no, she’s already defending him. Should I order your wedding cake right now? Do you want carrot or lemon?” Zach yanked a bunch of grass out and started to cover her with it. Kayn flailed her hands in front of her to fight him off. He pinned her down and said, “You swing like a little girl.” Melody dropped grass on her while Zach tickled her until Kayn was covered in grass and squealing that she was going to pee.
They heard Lexy clear her throat. She said, “Seriously? Just when I think you three couldn’t possibly get any weirder?” Lexy added, “Pee yourself if you need to, it’s time to get back to training.”
The whole next day was hundreds of versions of Lexy screaming, “Come at me!” One by one they attacked her and she killed them in various, increasingly creative ways, while the others took note. Lexy’s skills as a warrior were unmatched. If you attacked Lexy for any reason you were going to die and it was going to be extremely unpleasant. Three of them had come at her, weapons in hand and she had taken them out as though she were merely swatting moderately annoying flies. She had never once even broken a sweat. It was intimidating to say the least. Lexy appeared to have no fear. It was more than that; she appeared to be incapable of fear.
Three weeks were spent in the in-between running through impossible scenarios with Lexy. Kayn was certain that twenty years in the future, she’d still be having nightmares of Lexy hollering the words, ‘Come at me!’
They all had their particular strengths. During the breaks from the horrifically repetitive and humiliating beatings they were taking, Frost would teach them how to be free of spirit. It took the ability to balance good and evil to do what they were obligated to do. Frost taught his lessons in a not so politically correct way. He was the voice that stood in everyone’s ear whispering, I dare you to do it.
Once in a while, when they were all just about ready to have a well-deserved complete and total mental break down, they would have an hour with Guru Grey. Kayn now could easily see why each of their roles had importance. Grey was teaching them spiritual survival skills. In order to find their way through a complete absence of daylight, they would need to have the ability to create a light within themselves. This light that they had created within themselves would serve as a reminder that the darkest of times did not last for more than a second in the grand scheme of things.
During these three weeks she rarely allowed herself to think about Kevin. They did not require sleep while in the in-between. It was a well needed reprieve from the dreams of him that continued to haunt her.
All of their hands began to flash. The scenery blinked and they were standing in the sandy desert.
Frost announced, “Time’s up. It’s bound to be a bumpy ride. Arrianna is probably exhausted...Lexy.”
Usually they appeared in the tombs and began the stomach churning descent. This time the tombs strobed a couple of times and then went into a high speed flat spin. It was like the worst carnival ride ever. Kayn braced herself as she clicked into the fact that the tombs had ceased to strobe. This wasn’t good. When the older ones began to scream for Lexy she knew they were in really trouble.
Lexy hissed, “Shit,” she placed the palm of her hand in the print on the ceiling. The tomb began to strobe with blinding light and Lexy began to scream in a primal shrill, almost deafening pitch but she kept her hand there while they spun at a stomach churning speed. Kayn wanted to look to see what she was screaming about but the light was too bright. Lexy screamed over and over again. They spun in vomitus high speed circles until they came to an abrupt stop. Kayn had never been so grateful to stop moving in her life. Nobody was hooting or having fun this time. They were all probably holding their hands over their mouths trying to stop themselves from upchucking all over the inside of the tomb just like she was. She waited for the tomb to open but nothing happened. This was weird? Kayn turned around to look at Lexy. She was out cold. It was more than that her eyes were wide open and glazed over. She was lying next to Lexy’s dead body… Awesome.
They all laid there in awkward silence for a minute before Grey said, “Lexy how many times did you kill them today?”
Kayn replied, “Hey... Um, you guys. I think Lexy’s dead.”
Grey groaned and said, “She can’t die. It’s only temporary. She just had to use her own energy to bring the tombs home because she got carried away with your training and killed Arrianna. Who also can’t permanently die. How many times did she kill you guys?”
“Shit, I lost count, Zach replied. “I don’t know, fifty, maybe a hundred times?”
Lily sighed, “Well, get comfortable everyone… It could be a while.”
Kayn looked at dead Lexy and asked anyone alive who could answer, “Well, how do we get out?”
Grey piped up loudly from the tomb beside her, “Lexy just made Arrianna heal three people a hundred times in three hours. She’s quite obviously dead. That means Lexy is our only way out.”
“Can’t we just open them?” Mel asked.
Lily replied, “Frost might be able to open his but the rest of us have two people per tomb. We’re stuck in here.”
Frost chuckled and said, “I’ll wait a few minutes with you guys. I’m in no hurry. So… You guys got killed a hundred times in three weeks. That’s hilarious.”
Melody corrected Frost, “It was more like, a couple hundred times each.”
Frost started to howl.
“That is so hilarious I almost forgot to laugh,” Zach mumbled.
Grey addressed the group from within his tomb, “Sorry guys, I would have stopped her if I’d known she was going that far overboard.”
Lily sighed, “Seriously Grey, we all knew she was going to go overboard. That’s why we did it. Quit trying to be good cop.”
“Thanks for that,” Zach said.
Lily replied, “Cut the comic relief Zach before I tell Lexy you made fun of her for passing out.”
Grey exclaimed, “Well, I’m going to take a nap while we wait.”
They were all exhausted and fell asleep while they waited for one of the Healers to awaken. Kayn’s last conscious thoughts were of how wrong it was to take a nap beside a dead body. It felt a bit insensitive. Her thoughts drifted to Kevin. If his memory had been totally erased and he was dealing with a perfectly clean slate, then he would have no torturous visions of what he had lost. He had been
given a gift. She slipped away into a dream of him. She opened her eyes as the lid of the tomb ground open.
Lexy sat up and declared, “I come back from the bloody dead and you’re taking a nap beside my corpse. How desensitized did I make you three?” Lexy climbed out of the tomb and teased, “Out or in Zena?”
Zena Warrior Princess… Ha, ha. Very funny. Kayn hopped out. Lexy knelt in front of the last tomb and laid her hand flat against the side. Kayn had never seen them operated one by one from the outside before. It was very cool. Her hand glowed and the other tombs began to grind open.
Grey got out, glanced at the ground. Looked at Arrianna’s body and said, “I hope it was worth it. She’s going to be pissed.”
Lexy crouched down beside her body as she replied, “When the Testing is over, we’ll know.”
Sweet Dreams of You
They were travelling south towards Florida for their next job. It was one hell of a long drive and you could only play so many board games. Kayn spent a lot of time sleeping because this was the only way she could see him. Tonight, she was back at the house she’d grown up in. Alone in the kitchen, she’d gathered what she needed out of the fridge. She started to slice up a tomato; each movement of normalcy was so soothing. Someone knocked on the front door and she could tell by the knock that it was Kevin. She walked to the door, opened it and said, “Whatever it is you’re trying to sell, I don’t want any.”
Kevin wandered right past her as he teased, “Oh, I already know you want it.”
She beamed and continued the game, “Wait right here. I’ll go grab my purse.” Kayn slowly scaled the stairs, glancing behind her every three or four steps. As she wandered into her room, she heard the soft rustle of his footsteps on carpet.
He strolled into her bedroom and teased, “Don’t you want to see what I’m selling first? I mean, who buys something without checking it out to see if it works?”
Kayn kept up the pretense as she sparred, “Well then, what are you waiting for? Show me how it works.” He grinned as he stepped towards her and kissed her gently on the lips.
She teased, “Never mind, I’ll buy something from the next salesman.” He grinned and kissed her again, but this time with such deep passionate intensity that she lost her balance when he released her from his embrace, she tripped and fell backwards onto the bed.
Kevin teased, “Well, that’s very forward of you.”
Their little game was becoming hysterically funny. They removed their shirts and hastily tossed them aside. He gathered her in his arms and while lost in the loving warmth of his embrace, he whispered in his ear, “I’m so in love with you.”
Kayn pulled away, looked directly into his eyes, gently touched his face and said, “I know.”
Kevin beamed and chuckled, “Oh…You know?” He started to tickle her and they laughed as they wrestled around until his tickles changed to kisses. He tenderly kissed the barely visible scar above her heart. He gazed up at her and whispered, “Who are you?”
She awoke with a gasp on her bunk. Well, at least this dream had been about them together. She’d also been dreaming of him bedding other women. Kayn swung her legs over the side, stepped off and strolled over to the fridge to pour herself a glass of juice.
The whole group was playing cards at the table. Frost looked up from his hand when she wandered into the room and asked, “Are you okay?”
She was a little bit shocked that he’d spoken to her. She replied, “I’m fine,” before wandering back down the hall towards her bunk.
Frost followed her to her bunk and stated, “No, you’re not.”
Kayn sat on her bunk as she answered, “It was just a bad dream. It’s not a big deal, honestly.”
Frost sat on his bunk directly across from her and with concern in his eyes he softly said, “Drink your juice and then pass me your glass. I’ll bring it back to the sink.”
She drank her juice and passed Frost the glass and their fingers touched. His voice cracked with emotion as he whispered, “I’ll go get Zach.”
Kayn got under the covers. That was strange. Zach appeared. He climbed under the covers with her and gave her a giant bear hug.
Zach whispered against her hair, “You had a bad dream? Want to talk about it?”
Feeling safe in his arms Kayn whispered, “I’ve been having bad dreams about Kevin. Well, they always start out incredible, then they go…Bad.”
“What do you mean by bad?” Zach whispered.
The warmth of his breath against her hair tickled. Kayn smiled before she began her confession, “Sometimes, I see him with someone else. In other dreams, he asks me who I am.” She turned around in bed to face Zach. He looked like he wanted to say something. He didn’t have to. She knew that’s what Kevin was probably doing. It made her heart ache.
Zach began to gently stroke her hair as he whispered, “You can’t obsess over this anymore. It’s not healthy. From what I understand, erased in clan lingo is as good as gone. The guy that you were in love with, no longer exists but we are here and we all love you. He’s moved on. You should too. Tell you what…I dare you to flirt with someone tomorrow. You have to try to move forward in life, just take baby steps until you feel like you’re ready to take normal ones.” Zach snuggled up even closer to her. He didn’t say anything else. They just went to sleep.
The next afternoon they arrived at a motel where they would all get a break from bunk beds. Kayn shared a room with Zach and Melody. They ordered a pizza, watched movies until everyone decided it was time to get some rest. Melody was asleep and Zach was enjoying a long overdue shower. She could hear the faint sound of the song he was singing through the whooshing of the spray. Kayn hadn’t been able to sleep, so she walked outside of the motel room into the starry night’s welcoming breeze, wearing only her tank top and shorts. She leaned over the railing and saw him. Frost was hand in hand with a beautiful brunette. He led her up the stairs where he stopped, leaned over and whispered something in her ear. He arrived at the top of the stairs one floor below her before Kayn could dive back in her room unseen. Frost made eye contact with her. He looked her up and down in his usual deviously naughty manner. Kayn stood frozen in place, every hair on end. She should have left and disappeared into her room but for some reason she couldn’t will her hands to stop gripping the railing. She watched as he fumbled with the lock on his door for a second, then pushed the girl up against the building and kissed her. She couldn’t manage to peel her eyes away even for the sake of being polite.
He opened the door and held it for the girl. Frost made eye contact with Kayn again, gave her a mischievous grin and mouthed the words, “You want to come?”
Kayn felt the heat rise in her cheeks and knew she must be ten shades of red. He was toying with her. She glared at him, while still willing her hands to let go of the railing.
Zach stuck his head out of the motel room door and exclaimed, “There you are.” He strolled over to see what she was looking at. Frost grinned at them both and disappeared into his room.
Zach barely contained his smile as he whispered, “You shouldn’t let him mess with your head like that Brighton. He gets off on it.”
She knew he did. Kayn walked past Zach without responding and flung herself down on the bed face first. She gave a muffled scream into her pillow. Melody woke up and began laughing before she even opened her eyes.
Mel whispered, “Someone needs to tell him to get a room on another floor, if he is going to be entertaining the locals.”
Kayn kept her face pressed down into the pillow.
Zach teased, “Mel, you should see the color of her face right now. It’s adorable. Awe muffin… Did the big bad naughty wolf of Ankh turn you on?”
“Cut it out you two,” Kayn grumbled into the pillow.
She tried to block out the visions of what Frost was involved in only a few rooms away and one floor down but it was quite difficult to block out when you were hearing the blow by blow. He drove her absolutely insane but it sounded
like he was having fun.
“Stop thinking so loudly Kayn,” Zach mumbled. “I’m trying to pretend the girl’s screaming my name.”
“Don’t be gross Zach.” Melody murmured.
Kayn giggled as Zach complained, “You girls are horrible for my ego.”
Melody obviously felt sorry for him. She got out of bed with Kayn, snuggled up next to Zach and teased, “You are incredibly hot and if we were allowed, I would totally be into you.”
Zach said, “Seriously?”
“Sure, why not?” Mel replied.
She was full of shit. They both thought of him as a brother.
“You’re a horrible liar Mel,” Zach chuckled.
Mel cuddled up closer and whispered in his ear, “Kayn would totally be into you too.”
Zach turned around to look at Kayn and she winked. Between the sound effects from the other room and Melody lying next to him Zach was beginning to look more than a little bit uncomfortable.
Zach whispered, “All right Mel, you need to go get back into bed with Kayn.”
There were obvious glitches in their sibling-esque relationship. This time nobody made comments about Zach being gross. You could turn on a monastery with the sound effects coming from Frost’s room. Zach was a teenage boy. It didn’t take a whole hell of a lot for him to be that way naturally.
Kayn was equally tortured by Frost’s shenanigans for various reasons. She felt confused as she slipped off into a dream. She was set adrift in her sister’s memories and dreamt of her sister’s passionate time with Frost while in the in-between. The sky was lit up with stars and she was lost in the sensation of Frost’s lips, teeth and tongue. He naughtily nipped and trailed seductive kisses on her skin, down to her stomach. She moaned, lost in the intensity of the rippling path of pleasure that followed every feathered kiss of his lips. He wanted her. He wanted Chloe. She wasn’t Chloe.
Melody woke her by stroking her hair gently. The sunlight was glaring in through the window. She whispered, “You were talking in your sleep.”
