Space Plague

2

Ever wondered what the real story behind COVID-19 is? And no, it was not a conspiracy, or a lab experiment gone wrong. No, this pandemic was caused by two twin girls and a feud between clans. Now, buckle up, because I’m about to tell you the story of how my sister and I unleashed a plague on the world.

It started on a Friday afternoon, like many things do. My twin sister Eliza and I were chilling watching Father Brown in the living room. Our grandmother Nanna is a fan of that show, and in our house it’s 

was downstairs making dinner, probably her infamous “mystery” stew. Just a normal afternoon at the Ramirez house.

That’s when Eliza gave a yelp and crumpled to the ground. I was on my way to help her when my vision clouded with pain. I doubled over gasping for breath. My whole back felt like it was on fire. Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. I struggled to my feet, and turned to see Eliza’s wide-eyed stare meeting mine.

“Ariana, are you okay?” She asked.

“Totally fine” I lied; my breathing labored. “What happened?”

“I got a splitting headache,” she answered, “What happened to you?”

“Back pain” I said, looking at Eliza worriedly. I had always had back pains, but never this bad. The same went for her headaches.

“Should we tell Nanna?” I asked.

“Let’s not, she’ll get super worried and probably send us to the hospital or something.” Eliza said.

I tried to smile, but my back still hurt. It was strange how worried Nanna would get about our pains, because usually she left us to do our own thing. Not that she wasn’t a caring grandmother, but, well, she’d raised us since we were five, and that can be tiring. We haven’t needed anything, but I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a mom to talk to and a dad to teach me how to ride a bike. Our parents died in a car crash when we were five years old, but strangely I don’t have any memories of them. Nanna tells us that they loved each other very much, and that having twins was their biggest blessing. Personally, I don’t consider having double the amount of crying and poopy diapers a blessing, but whatever.

Eliza and I decided that the pains were a one-time thing, but they didn’t stop. Over the next week our pains got worse and more frequent. We got really worried, but we still didn’t tell Nanna. I mean seriously? I’m barely 15 and I already have back pains? Thanks a lot.

Soon thing got even weirder. I started feeling something growing on my shoulder blades. They started off small, but soon they got bigger. Two feathery nobs were coming out of my back. “Great,” I muttered, “Now I’m turning into a chicken.”

“At least you’re not a rhinoceros.” Eliza grumbled.  She had gotten a huge bump on her forehead, which then started growing a pointy end.

By this point you think someone would have noticed right? I mean a half chicken and a half rhino going into a supermarket usually attract some kind of attention. But nobody noticed, not even Nanna, but she isn’t the most observant person, she hadn’t noticed the time Eliza cut my hair when we were eight.

Two weeks later we had fully grown, umm, whatever they were. I had huge golden wings that reached my knees, and with a wingspan the size of a dining table. Eliza had a shiny golden unicorn horn right in the center of her forehead. It radiated a sort of calm, but looked pretty powerful.

 Not that it made us feel any better, but we realized that we had been seeing people like us for years. Ever since we remember, we have seen people with wings and unicorn horns. When we were little we would squeal and point to them, saying “Shiny!” Whenever that happened Nanna would always rush us along, looking around her nervously like someone was going to jump out and yell “BOO!”

We had obviously never told anyone else, and lately we hadn’t seen many of them. We both decided that the next time we saw someone with wings or a horn, we would march up and ask them about all this. Things kept getting stranger. My normal clothes passed right through my wings, as if they weren’t there, and only the two of us could seem to touch them and see them. If it weren’t for Eliza, I would have gone crazy ages ago. We were pretty scared as it was, but at least we had each other to talk to.

One afternoon, while we were doing homework in the kitchen, inspiration hit. Nanna was sitting next to us, so I used our secret communication method. We didn’t know how, but we have always been able to talk to each other through our minds.  

Yeah, by this point you’re probably thinking, so you have wings and can talk telepathically? Cool! Ha, you try sleeping with 3 feet long wings and have a sister who can annoy you directly into your mind.

I guess we thought all twins could speak like this; I mean why not? We’ve gotten away with a ton of things because of it. Pop quizzes are so easy for Eliza, because I always study. Not fair. Anyway, I opened my mind link to Eliza’s, and transmitted a message.  

“Hey Eliza, I was thinking,”

“Wow, you? Thinking?”

“Hey!”

“Just kidding. What’s your idea?”

“Do you think I should try flying?”

“Oh my gosh that would be so cool.”

“I know right!”

“So, you’re going to like, jump off the roof and see if it works?”

“What?! Of course not, I could die!”

“Oh, good point.”

“I’m going to start small, like jumping down stairs and that kind of stuff. And then once I get the hang of it…”

“You’ll start flying!”

“Exactly”

Over the next week I started practicing. At first it was hard. Even though I had had wings for about two weeks now, controlling them was still tricky. But soon I could fly down the stairs and float in place. My wingspan was too big for flying inside, so Eliza and I started going to the nearby soccer field. We soon realized that while people couldn’t see my wings, they could definitely see me fly. I scared a bunch of bicyclists that way, but they probably just blamed the double cheeseburger they had had for lunch. 

About a week later I was ready to fly, actually fly. I waited till night time, when darkness would cover my flight, and then I slipped out onto the roof. Before you ask, penguin pajamas. Pink penguin pajamas.

I stood at the very edge and looked down. We live in a two-story house, so the ground looked pretty far away. I have never been afraid of heights, but jumping of a roof is another thing. I took a deep breath and jumped.

I plummeted toward the ground for the scariest two seconds of my life, as I realized I was going to die right then and there. Luckily, I remembered my wings. I unfolded them, and caught the wind.

I sored upward in delight, and flapped my wings. The cool night air felt wonderful on my skin, and the whole town spread out beneath me. I was flying. I was actually flying! I let out a whoop of delight, and flew up into the clouds. Despite my difficulties in learning to control them, my wings now felt like a part of me, and flying was natural, like I had been born to do it.

I flew around for about an hour, and then headed back. I could barely fall asleep; I was so exhilarated. All of my worries about wings and horns flew out into the night sky. I still didn’t know why I had wings, but I knew for certain that I belonged in the clouds.

The next morning, I excitedly told Eliza all about it. Strangely, she looked subdued, and wasn’t as excited as I thought she would be. I thought maybe she was just tired.

It was Saturday, so instead of school we hung around the house and played poker with Nanna. Yeah, she’s taught us several useful things, like baking, unplugging toilets, and gambling. Later that night, I was sitting on my bed, scrolling social media, when Eliza ran in and jumped on me.

“Pillow fight!” She shouted and started pounding me on the head with a pillow. “Hey!” I yelled, and hit her back. We were laughing and throwing pillows and stuffed animals. I grabbed an especially firm pillow and threw it at her. Everything seemed to slow down. Eliza stared at the pillow as it sailed to her. Her horn glowed, and the pillow suddenly stopped, suspended in midair.

CHAPTER 2The bell for the last period rang. Kids scuffled around packing their stuff and saying their goodbyes. I hugged my friends Liam and Jenna, and said a not-so-tearful good bye to the rest of my classmates. I grabbed my things and headed over to where Eliza was waiting. She was talking to her girlfriend. I stayed behind to give them some privacy, but I got the gist of what was happening. Lila was breaking up with my sister. Eliza was trying to hold in tears, and was gesturing frantically with her hands.

Lila shook her head, handed something to Eliza and walked away. I went to Eliza and put my arm around her shoulders.

 “Let’s get out of here.” She mumbled. We walked out the school and took a left to go home.

“What happened back there?” I asked.

“Lila broke up with me. She said her parents had been giving her a hard time, and she didn’t say this, but I know that she also hated all the looks she was getting at school. And at the end of the school year too.” Eliza sniffled.

I felt anger bubbling up inside me. Why do other people think they know best about who someone should like? My sister came out about 2 years ago, although it was pretty obvious before that. Ever since then a lot of people at our school have been calling her names and being plain mean. Even I have gotten some of the backlash, but it’s nothing compared to what Eliza goes through.

My sister is the kindest person I know, yet people treat her like trash. The girls at our school are nice to her face, but then trash-talk her behind her back. I heard one of them say that they didn’t want her making a move on them or something stupid like that. She has one friend who has stuck by her side. Earlier this year, when Lila transferred and they started going out, Eliza has been lighter, quicker to laugh. They just lately made their relationship public, and it’s been going downhill ever since. I hate to admit it, but I saw the break up coming. I don’t say that to Eliza though.

“That’s tough, I’m so sorry.” I said. “But come on, you have super powers! If she can’t see how awesome you are, then she doesn’t deserve you.”

Eliza had been practicing her powers all weekend, and they were improving. She has been insufferable about it, making my tooth brush dance out of my mouth and things like that.

She gave a small laugh. “Thanks Ariana. I’ll get over it.”

“Take your time. Meanwhile, let’s binge watch the Harry Potter movies, I have a stash of M&Ms that Nanna hasn’t found.”

She smiled. “You’re the best.”

Tuesday morning dawned bright and clear. Not that I noticed. I slept soundly till noon. Nanna always says that I sleep like the dead. Seriously, you could set off a firework outside my bedroom window and I wouldn’t notice.

The start of vacation is the best, but soon I got bored of watching Nanna teach Eliza to knit. I went out onto the roof, and looked up at the blue October sky. My thoughts went back to the usual things. Why do Eliza and I have wings and a horn? Does Nanna know anything about it? Where are the other people like us?

As if answering my question, I saw a glowing dot growing on the horizon. I squinted, and as it got closer, I realized it was a person! The man had huge wings like mine, except his were a deep blue like the night sky. He looked like he was in his 40s, with a kind grizzled face and warm brown eyes. He had a long graying beard, which made him look a little like Santa Claus. If Santa wore ripped jeans and a leather jacket, that is.

I waved my arms to get his attention. When he saw me, a surprised look crossed his face. He flew toward me, and landed on the roof next to me. I marched up to him.

“Oh my gosh, finally! My sister and I hadn’t seen one of you in forever, we were getting worried. Why do I have wings? Where are the others like us?”

“Woah woah woah, slow down” the man chuckled “I haven’t met any angel as eager as you in a while.”

Angels? Is that what we were?  

Seeing my confused expression, he said “Sorry, I should introduce myself. You may call me Mr. D.”

“I’m Ariana.” I said back. What did D stand for, I wondered?

“Nice to meet you Ariana,” said Mr. D “Judging from your expression I assume you haven’t heard of the AR.”

I c****d my head. “The letter R?”

Mr. D laughed. “Lots of angels ask that. I’ll explain on the way. Now, you mentioned a sister whose an angel, right? She should come with us too.”

“Um my sister is not an angel,” I said, “and where are we going?”

Mr. D looked perplexed. That makes two of us, I thought.

 “But you said your sister can also see angels. . .”

“Oh yeah, but she’s a unicorn.” I giggled, “Well, I mean, she has a horn on her forehead.”

Mr. D stared at me. His eyes filled with fear and confusion.

“Your sister has a horn on her head?” He asked.

“Um yeah, I can’t make this stuff up” I answered.

“And she can see other angels?” He repeated.

“Uh yeah, and other unicorns.”

“This is quite strange.”

“Why? I’ve also seen a bunch of other people with horns. Not as many lately, but I used to see them all the time.”

His eyes got even wider, if it was possible. “You’ve seen unicorns here? In Guatemala?”

“Of course,” I answered, getting a little tired of this guy repeating what I say, “I’ve lived here all my life.”

Mr. D seemed to consider this. “Well,” he finally said, “I guess I have to bring you to Andromeda. I’ll explain everything on the way, and let’s hope these are all the surprises we’ll be getting tonight.”

I very much doubted that.

Mr. D and I flew up into the clouds. He explained that we would fly to his house, and from there take a portal to the council. I wanted to ask what a portal was, but he kept on explaining.

“So the AR is the Angel Republic. It’s the society of angels, and it’s main city is Andromeda, located above the clouds.”

Okay, a city on the clouds makes total sense, I thought.

“We have a ruling council, which is composed by the eldest angels. North America is angel territory, South America is unicorn territory.”

“What about Central America? And those other continents, what are they called? Oh yeah, Asia, Africa and the rest.”

Mr. D didn’t seem to appreciate my sarcasm. “The Eastern Hemisphere is land to other creatures. Angels and unicorns know better than to go there, it’s very dangerous for our kind.”

Other creatures? The French sounded scary enough to me. Also, I noticed Mr. D didn’t say anything about Central America.

“Like I was saying, angels live in North America, from Mexico to Canada. Here we can live normal lives down in the mortal world, or we can work for the AR up in Andromeda. We are allowed to marry angels or mortals, and children when they turn 15 get their wings. Then they are taken up to Andromeda to train and learn how to harness their powers. You’ll be put in a class with the beginners, and then work your way up.”

Harness powers? Cool!

“We angels can control 2 elements, water and air, you’ll soon find out which one you control. We also specialize in other kinds of magic, like illusions and telepathy. Every angel can control these to some extent, but some are better at a specific one.”

Telepathy? Like Eliza and me?

“Who do you live with?” He asked suddenly, as if just realizing that I must have some guardian. “Did your parents ever tell you that you’re an angel?”

“My parents died when I was 5 years old. My sister and I have lived with my grandma ever since,” I said. “She’s a . . . mortal.”

Mr. D turned to look at me. I didn’t meet his eyes. I knew I would find pity in his gaze, and I hated that. “You and your sister are strong to have made it through the changing on your own.”

I looked up, surprised. I was not used to getting that one.

“It must have been scary,” He continued, “Going through that pain and not knowing what was happening. You’re strong.”

My eyes stung. It had been scary. If I hadn’t had Eliza… I looked up at Mr. D “Thanks,” I mumbled.

Mr. D nodded. “Let’s continue.”

By this point we had been flying for about an hour, but I wasn’t too tired. I was glad for all that flight practice back at home. We seemed to have left Guatemala behind entirely.

After another 10 minutes, Mr. D stopped at a two-story white house. It had pink stucco lining the walls. Mr. D landed on the roof, and I followed him.

“Where are we?” I asked. This didn’t look like a house where an angel might live, but I’d seen weirder things.

“In Mexico. I live here with my husband, but I’m usually working up in Andromeda.”

We’d flown all the way to Mexico?

As if seeing my confused expression, Mr. D nodded. “Angels can fly for long distances, especially when you’ve had practice.” He said, giving me a pointed look. “I hope you made sure no one saw you”

I blushed. “Of course, I only flew at night.”

This seemed to satisfy him, and he led the way to the door into the house. The inside was clean and modern. Bookshelves on every wall held titles like “The Care and Keeping of Your Wings.”, “How to Make a Portal.” And even “30 Mortal Recipes.”

We were walking down the first flight of stairs when a voice called down from the first floor. “Honey, is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me” Mr. D called back.

We walked into the kitchen, where a gray-winged angel stood stirring a teacup. He was tall, with tan muscles and a buzz cut. On his left bicep I could make out a tattoo with the name Miranda. Mr. D went up to him and kissed him. This must be his husband, I thought, because I’m observant like that.

After they separated Mr. D’s husband turned to me. “And who is this?” He studied me with his intense blue eyes.

“I’m Ariana,” I said. This guy was intimidating.

 “She’s a knew recruit,” Mr. D explained, “Ariana, this is Chris, my husband.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said politely.

“Likewise,” answered Chris. “You taking her through the portal D?”

Why did his own husband call him D?

“Yes, but first I must discuss a couple things with her. You should stay and listen too.” Mr. D looked at Chris. They seemed to have a telepathic communication, because when they looked away, Chris was looking at me warily. “Please sit,” Chris said.

We all sat around the kitchen table, and Chris brought us cups of tea. The flight had made me thirsty, so I gulped it down. When I looked up from my cup Chris was looking at me. His eyes were sad, and he seemed lost in a memory. He quickly looked away.

“Sooo,” I cleared my throat uncomfortably. “What else do you need to explain to me?”

“You know how you said your sister is a unicorn?”

“Uh huh” I answered.

“And how you grew up in Guatemala, and you can see other unicorns there?”

“Yup,” I said, wondering where this was going.

“Well that’s not normal in our world.”

“What do you mean not normal?”

“Well, Central America is neutral territory. From Guatemala to Panama, angels and unicorns can only see their own kind. This way there are no prejudices, but it’s also quite unnerving, since you don’t know if you’re talking to a mortal or a unicorn. Because of this, angels are not allowed to live there, and to marry a mortal there you have to get a special permission.”

“Some angels have grown up there, usually because their angel parent passed away, and the mortal they live with doesn’t know better,” Chris put in, “When that happens, someone from the government goes to explain, and they usually move to North America.”

My head swam as I tried to keep up with the new information. How is my twin sister a unicorn then? And why can I see unicorns? But I had one pressing question.

“Why so many precautions against the unicorns?” I asked, “Why do we have to be kept separate?”

Mr. D sighed. “Well, it’s very complica-

At that moment sirens started sounding. The lights went out, and a single red light flashed.

Chris stood. “Is that…

“another attack.” finished Mr. D

Another?

In the dim light I could tell they were looking at each other. “Take her and go,” Chris said, I’ll get everything ready”

“Chris, are you sure you can handle it?” Mr. D’s forehead was creased with worry.

“I don’t have a choice.” Suddenly a pounding started on the door. The walls started crumbling.

Mr. D and Chris looked at each other for short moment, but it seemed to last forever. “I’ll meet you in Andromeda.” said Chris. “Go!”