Connectors of the Two Worlds

Chapter 14

The class has started again but I came late. I came running towards our room just to keep up with the sound of the school bell but I still failed. The Filipino teacher began scolding me. I was 10 minutes late. Shame on me.

I was seated on my permanent pity chair when suddenly two different hands offered two notebooks. The first one is yellow and the other one is black. Looking up, I saw Rex and Joe. They were staring at each other in confusion or maybe in irritation? They both said something in chorus that I didn't get to understand.

I tilted my head and creased my eyebrows. What's happening?

Joe, being the first to surrender had said to me. "We're gonna have a short quiz. I've jotted down the hints. I was just wondering if you might be needing this..." Joe bashfully motioned his notes that looked like ten-year-old's handwriting.

I smirked at it. Though it felt awkward, I was touched the moment he gave effort just to lend me his notebook. I cleared my throat. "I uh--"

"Clan, I think I've jotted it down completely. Mine will be much of a help," Rexander interrupted, also motioning his neat notes looking so ladylike.

"Umm...guys..." I slowly pushed the notes back to them with a sheepish smile. "Don't worry. I've advanced read already. I know what's the lesson."

The two boys set aback, feeling disappointed. Joe cleared his throat softly and asked, "A-are you sure?"

I smiled at him. "Yeah, sure!" I replied, stammering. Darn, this is awkward! After having weird moments with Joe, I've come to think of many alibis to get away from him. I don't know but I felt weird lately. I'm confused with my feelings for him. I'm starting to look out for him but hide away when he looks. Then, there's this one time that he didn't attend class, I began to miss him. And that's so weird. I should stop thinking about him before I could get the wrong idea later on.

"Well, if that's the case, just nudge me back if you're not sure, okay?" Rex prompted with a hint of disappointment on his face but smiled.

I laughed softly. "Thank you, but I think it won't be necessary. I'm expecting the worst, trust me..." I hurriedly opened my Filipino book and pretended to be busy, but in truth I was bewildered.

When I felt they returned to their designated seats, I finally sighed in relief.

What was that?

I hadn't bother to think about it afterwards. After class, I half ran to Wednesday's side. She was startled.

"Clan! My gosh, you startled me," she cried, hand on her chest.

I laughed and pinched her cheek. "You're so funny! Come on, it wasn't that startling," I said boisterously.

Seriously...

The smile faded away on her face and grimaced. "Yeah. Maybe I drank too much coffee this morning."

"Now, that is funny!" and we laughed.

After school and perhaps after the play practice, Wednesday and I planked to my bed. I've realized how much I missed her. After her disappearing for the past few weeks, I had the time to talk to her, finally. We began giggling and talking all day until it was evening.

"You did that? That's my girl!" She laughed and changed her weight to her side to look at me. She was surprised when I told her about the stories from the party thrown at the Garcia Mansion up to the "notes offering".

"It's weird. You know... I'm not used to see them like that." I grimaced while thinking of what happened earlier.

"Oh, don't worry too much, Clan. I'm sure one of these days you'll be surprised," she said, smirking. Her playful eyebrows raised in unison.

That shuddered in my mind. It sounded like a double meaning to me.

~~~

I ran across the top of a building. Dauntlessly moving faster than I thought I could have.

Someone's after me but I happened to anticipate him. I kept on running, trying to figure out my next move. Focusing on my freeway, I felt my feet was flying and losing their gravity.

I gasped. I came to a full stop on the edge. I almost lost my balance. There was nowhere to land anymore as I reached the edge of the building. Fear shattered my composure as I landed on my heels.

It's a dead end.

I turned around and saw the tall man that is after me, glaring.

He wore a dark armor, covering his whole body and a metal helmet on the head. I couldn't look at his face but I can sense his ardent emotion. Glad? Or more than satisfied? I couldn't tell.

"Stay away from me!" I yelled. He paced towards me in suspense. I shrieked slowly. On the third step, I almost slipped as there was no flat surface at all.

It alarmed me. He hadn't stopped moving, and I was left with no choice. I braced myself. I let my body fall against the blazing wind down to the endless abyss. My skin stretched like a kite. I sensed how sharp the wind was while free falling. I closed my eyes. I let the wind torture my skin. It pains me a lot yet I have to endure.

Suddenly, I thought of my dad. The thought of him alone in the house makes me sad. Who will take care of him if I'd be dead? Will Marrianne come home if that happens? What if she'll be trapped to her new husband?

And what about my friends? Wednesday. She'll be grieving and I'm scared to imagine her going with Hanna's groupie. I don't want her to end up being as liberated as they are.

And Rex... I don't want to leave him. I don't want to leave them behind.

"No...please..." I begged, whispering in the wind. Suddenly, a bright light blinded me.

Not long enough, the whole place changed. I wandered around at this white room. No shadows nor corners visible in the area. "W-where am I?" I asked myself. My voice seemed clear realizing the place was closed.

Suddenly, someone not far from where I stood appeared. He looked familiar and again, I couldn't remember anything.

"Rule number one: never put the fear in your heart, or you will lose your way out," he started. He motioned his hand unto his chest and moved closer to me.

"W-who are you?" I shuddered.

He smirked. "It doesn't matter..." He paced to the side. "I'm just here to explain some things to you... like giving you rules..."

I raised my brow in disbelief. This man couldn't be serious. "Rules?" I scoffed. "What's really happening here? I demand an answer!"

"Yes. It's life projection rules and they will help you plan things clearly," he answered. "Here, let me show you..." He suddenly waved his graceful hand in mid-air. There, flashes of pictures and events inside my life played in slide show.

I was left amused watching them before my eyes. Of how I was watched while I was all wet inside Marrianne's womb. How she cried when she bore me. How I learnt the first word, the first step, my first baby bike...

My first friend, Rexander. My first heartache... The annulment. The weird dreams... Alfred.

I suddenly stopped and looked back at the man who's responsible for those lost memories. He smiled unwittingly and said, "From the slide show I've shown you, I must say you've been all too overdramatic yourself with just a little touch of the easiest problems that existed in this very world--" He laughed and I was about to react but he spoke again. "But well of course, you're just a puny miserable little girl who acts just as miserable as she think she is, but she's not."

"W-wait... And what is it that you're pointing out? To show me how overdramatic I am? Make me even more miserable as you say I am? Is that it?!" I shouted at him in anger.

Then, he laughed real hard and the images faded away. He himself faded away, too. But I still hear him speaking. "You don't have to mourn nor sober, Connector. The misery ain't coming yet. That's what I want to say..."

~~~

It was twilight when I woke up. I knew it since the moonlight hit my face from the window in my bedroom, where the dead shallow ball started rising from out of nowhere pulling the sun under the endless horizon.

I overslept again. It's 6pm and the setting is still occurring. I got up on my bed and heard someone knocking.

There Kyla appeared, a bread and juice on a tray on her hand and gestured, "Snack?" She placed the tray on the sturdy study table beside my bed. "Not feeling well, huh, Angelica?"

Instead of answering, I just took a piece of bread and tried eating as best as I could. It took me a moment to fully swallow it for I felt my throat is sore and croaked. My head spinning like getting my worst ride in EK's roller coaster and imagining my eyes. My nose is emitting smokes as my body temperature is increasing. My skin is delicately resisting a pinch of motion as it shivers like a naked bear in the snow.

With all the weird movements I can never resist, Kyla examined me. Her hand on my forehead and shook her head in dismay. "You're so hot like a frying pan!" she said in a worried panicky tone. "I'll go get some tablets for you. Go get some rest," then she hurried down stairs.

I sighed. This feeling is undeniably irritating and I wanted to go back to sleep. But I know I couldn't and it's because I'm not feeling well. I hugged myself afterwards. I started to feel cold. My shoulders started to tremble.

I was about to walk across the room to reach for my sweater next to my wardrobe when suddenly I felt a hot surface underneath me. It caused me to jump in pain. I was out-balanced and fell down on the floor, still protesting in pain. I hurriedly looked at my right foot and saw there was this visible red circle on it while fumes released. It still hurts. I searched the floor for anything unusual to cause me the burn, but I failed. There was no hot spots or anything sharp there on the surface that would possibly cause me this wound.

I was bewildered. Then I shouted again in great pain as I felt my foot is on fire! I wailed and wailed but the pain wouldn't stop.

The next thing I knew, Dad was home, bewildered. He called an ambulance. He saw how my foot is eaten by the burns. I was wailing sharply until my sanity faded away. I lost my consciousness.

~~~

Alfred thrashed out the poor table as his heart pounded hard like a firecracker. He breathed sharply, balled his hands at his side. Next to him is the eldest son of a De Evo.

He smirked at Alfred as he broke the head of one of the connectors he found him. Probably, to warn him of his father's coming. The day they will mark the Earth as their kingdom.

Vichz de Evo wiped his bloody neck and eyed the boy. "I wanted to kill them all in one whip, boy. But father wanted a warning for all of you." As the remains of the corps become ashes and blown by the wind, Vichz paced forward to Alfred with a spiteful look on his face. "Young Voulner, you must deliver this message to Mantra. Tell her that we are starting the harvest. And no one can stop us. Not even you..." he warned, then, he suddenly turned back and disappeared.

Alfred thought of throwing a vortex to the De Evos and banish them in the universe. Suppose, he was as wicked as they are, but he isn't. He was offended by the fact that he was the last choice of someone who was a puppet of the De Evos. A very weak creature who wants power more than enough. A being who would sell her heart for a pitiful reason.

Alfred despised that woman, and he promised himself to never trust anyone again.

He shook his head meekly and shove his way downtown by his ducatti. He rode like a mad man. He wanted to fade his anger. He tripled his speed until he reached his destination. When he stepped at the door of our house, he protested in great pain.

It was loud enough to hear but we never sensed it, at the time I was wailing in pain, too. Alfred must've noticed the commotion but he couldn't move out the door.

Dad was about to open it but Eva's little kitten, a dioleppard shove Alfred away.

"It's too dangerous to get close to her right now, Master! You both might explode. The heat is still on process," she warned him. Rita gritted her teeth as she began to panic.

Alfred balled his hands while on the floor. Pretty much, he had acted so aggressive. Thinking they haven't got much time to waste and introduce himself to me. But he thought again, it wasn't a good idea after all.

Alfred watched us the whole time as they delivered me to a hospital. He wasn't sure of what to do, but he knows he has to look out for me.

De Evos are now on a hunt for Connectors, and I know that they will give me a vain death that will soon unleash its curse all over the surface of the Earth.

------

Glossary

Connectors-- they are so-called devices of the Dions to help each to use their powers in the outside world of Dio; are being used as Gate Keys back to Dio.

Dio-- (pronounced as Deeyow) A world coming from the other side of the universe connected through different world gates; to protect the stars and the planets of Milky Way Galaxy.

Dion-- (pronounced as Deeyön) the creatures of Dio that resembles a normal human being on earth but having extraordinary powers of the nature. Also called Daemons.

Dioleppard-- (pronounced as Deeyôlepard) a Dion creature that is considered as a device/pet to a Dion. Each Dion shall have each one Dioleppard to protect themselves from any danger. It may be in a cat or in human form. Their skin, as in human form, always appears as reddish.

Dionerre-- (pronounced as Dayónir) A device that can identify a connector or a living Dion. They are rarely seen and should be hidden away from human hands. They may be in a form of object or spirit.the creatures of Dio that resembles a normal human being on earth but having extraordinary powers of the nature. Also called Daemons.