The Resistance

CHAPTER FOUR | “Wanna See A Magic Trick?…”

-PLANET FOOR- | Saigon

“Have you eaten anything?

I could smell her before she’d even decided to speak to me. I always could.

“No. I’m not hungry.” I quipped, short. Annoyed. Never bothering to look up.

“Had another bad dream?”

“Why do you want to know, Allure? It’s the same thing with you everyday-“

“Ah ah. Don’t disrespect me, Saigon.” She smiled before reaching up to place a finger in front of her own lips. Letting a sensual “shh” wisp through.

Allure was an original muse. A lieutenant that once stood at Amoura’s side. Aiming to be general before The Treaties were signed. A battle with The Analds had evolved her gifts as a Muse as she now could regenerate, shield, generate reproduction among the plants and other natural elements. She could also travel the realms via dream. And now she sat as lieutenant at my side, outside the gates of The Valley, Begrudgingly.

“You know what day it is...and you’re tense. I get that. But now is not the time for rifts. I’d leave you for less. You need to keep your head quite literally from this moment forward.” She paused thoughtfully before standing to leave.

“You’re people need you more than ever now. I should know. Mine are extinct.”

I sat. In the middle of trees. Trees far beyond the distance of the back of Great Valley. Staring into my palms. Squinting past the burning corners of my eyes. Feeling...too alive? To human.

~~~

“You won’t know me the same anymore. That doesn’t scare you?”.

I used the silence to kiss her shoulder, before swashing a splash of water across it to wash it away. She leaned into me, with a deep sign. We sat heart to heart in a massive circular bowl. Submerged in warm water. Bubbles cascading the surface. Fingertips pruned together. Clenched and weary but unwavering. I wanted this very moment with Amoura forever.

“You know, I didn’t ask for any of this.” She whispers into my fingertips before kissing the palm of my hand.

Suddenly exasperated, she slowly leaned forward before easing into a standing position. Pregnant belly sloshing heavily around the surface, protruding above the bubbles...

~~~

I traced the ragged indentations in my palm before clenching my fist tight, almost to the point of agony. Wishing the memories away. Balling them up, with nowhere to discard.

That’s when I heard it.

Tires?

Dragging across the grass with drawn out crunching, echoing off the leaves.

A car.

And then the siren.

Leaping to my feet now, fully registering with reality, I reached at my hip.

And stood frozen in horror, looking at a dark blue limousine soaring toward our camp. At an alarmingly fast rate, I noticed.

Mr Toussaint, the vampire himself, staring wildly, directly through the windshield, right into my eyes.

-PLANET FYVE- | Lucan Black

Glancing at my father across the table with a weary expression, biting my lip aggressively, I frowned. Hearing iris off into the distance, somewhere in the house, I leaned forward, already in my mind declaring I wouldn’t make this bigger than what it was. Though I knew it was big.

“What do you mean we’re moving? We just fucking got here!” I hissed. Like an agitated cat. Slight dribble leaving the corners of my mouth.

My father groaned frustrated and overwhelmed I could tell, before sliding his hand down his old withered face, clasping his hands in his lap with defeat.

“Luc...you wouldn’t understand. And my hands are tied in this situation, literally...” he mumbled lowly glancing at the back of the house towards Iris’ loud animated voice. On the phone most likely.

“We’ll finish the year out here, if even that, then we must leave...we have to son.” He grumbled not looking me in the eye. Not once.

“Yes, Lucious I heard that part the first three times you said it but you haven’t yet said why were moving and to where. Why do you accept this from your job, why can’t we ever stay somewhere long enough...hell IS THAT EVEN YOUR JOB OR IS IT A FRONT?! What kind of marketing firm makes you move 3 times in one year?! You’ve got kids pop...you got us out here—..”

“Boy...if we didn’t have the relationship we have right now as men I would be beatin yo ass all up and down the damn street. You speak to me with some respect! I don’t give a goddamn how mad you are! I’m mad too! Shit...your mother always dreamed about coming here. To California...said it was her dream destination to bring you kids and raise y’all here. Only reason I accepted the move this time actually...but we can’t stay here no more son...things are goin on that are bigger than you AND me...” he sighed before reaching across the table to grab my hand.

“And I know...I know the three of us haven’t been as close as we were before, with me working, and y’all getting older...school and social lives and what not I get it. But...I’m doing this to protect y’all...y’all are my kids and I love y’all.”

Okay. Enough was enough I thought, shooting up from my chair tossing his hand out of mine. Feeling slightly dizzy. But completely submerged in the current argument. Not even seeing the environment around me.

“Oh come on! Protect us?! From WHAT Lucious?! You think Iris is gonna want to hear that shi...stuff. I mean...I’m not trying to be disrespectful pop and you know that. I’ve NEVER in my life disrespected you. EVER. But you just....you just...aren’t making any sense.”

I sat back down dejectedly. Angry even though I only had half a reason to be. Temples throbbing and pulsating. Sweat arching down my back through my shirt. Suddenly warm beyond reason.

“Iris knows already. I talked to her first. She’s part of the reason we’re moving in the first place...your aunt called earlier to talk to both of us. Son you’re siste— hey, HEY NOW LUC COME BACK HERE, WAIT!” My father rushed behind me as I flew from my seat storming into iris’ room, face red, sweat now pouring from me, body overwhelmed with heat. Suddenly tired and nauseous but choosing to ignore it in loom of my much needed outburst.

Crashing into her room without even turning the knob, sending the door stiffly toppling to the side off the hinges. I ran straight up to her bed, grabbing her by the front of her shirt pulling her centimeters from my face. Shaking now. Sick feeling bubbling in the pit of my stomach etching my mind with personal concern. But not enough to ignore the issue at hand.

“What the FUCK. Did you do Iris.” My voice thundered off the walls, sending pictures and her mirror that mounted the walls falling to the floor, shattering as I heaved in her face. Breathing right into her mouth.

“Son...son let her go. Let me explain. I’ll explain if you’ll listen to me Lucan. There’s way to much to explain. But if you let me call your aunt up...I’ll get her on the phone right now. Just let us explain.”

Hearing the US empathized in his statement cause me to let my sister go immediately. Leaving her to lurch backwards into her bed in a fit of tears.

Tears that I couldn’t focus on right now because my mind for some reason lingered intensely on the “US”. The word started to bounce around my head as my vision became blurry and the sudden violent urge to vomit washed over me like a cloth. My entire body.

“Son...what’s wrong? Son??. Shit!! Not now! It’s not suppose to happen right NOW! Iris! IRIS GRAB HIM!! I GOTTA GET YOUR AUNT ON THE PHONE!”

I heard my dads voice echo as if he was getting farther and farther away. Vision leaving me alongside his voice. I reach my hand out, weak, blindly trying to grab on to something. Anything to keep from passing out.

Hearing my sister cry out to me sent me to my knees. Like her voice flipped a switch.

“Luc...LUCAN?!”

~~~~

“Do you know why you are here?”

I squinted. To ease the light that shined brightly above me. Around me. Everywhere.

I sat up, slow and painfully, shielding my eyes. Moving my tongue around in my extremely dry mouth. Just parting my lips caused them to crack slightly.

“Do you know who you are?”

I grimaced as I attempted to stand. To quick, I thought as I came slumping back down into what felt like what I imagined a cloud would feel like. Watching the bright orb around me suddenly dim down to a low candlelit flicker I came face to face with the voice that sat across from me. Asking me question after question.

“...do you know who I am?” He asked in an amused tone of voice. Never looking into my eyes, instead peeling an orange. A juicy red orange...wait. Wait, that wasn’t right.

Following his finger up his arms with my eyes, glancing over his bowed head I looked around at the darkness. Lit only by the dark candles that hung mid air. Attached to nothing. Just...there. In the air. I sat erect, turning in every direction, trying to peer into the darkness.

Seeing nothing, I now looked back at the person across from me. Gasping lowly as I looked into a face that looked exactly like me. It WAS me. But....different.

This version of me sat perched on a golden throne. Dressed in all black, black and gold dress shoes. With 2 large gold rings adorning the left hand. A simple gold watch. Gold Cuban chain and 2 diamond studs in each ear. But...me in every exact sense of the word. Smile stretching across his face in the most grotesque manner. Humanly impossible the way his lips curved from literal ear to ear. Like a demon.

“Who...who’re you?”

Nothing.

“Where am I?!” I screamed high pitched and loud. Full of fear and confusion.

“What is this? Where is Lucious. And...and Iris?!”

He smirked. Disgusting.

I shrunk back in fear, taking quick glances around me, seeing nothing but darkness. Pitch black, ink like, opaque darkness.

Except...

To the left of me, right next to me as I glanced across, I saw eyes.

Big round eyes staring out at me into the darkness. Blinking slowly. No head, no mouth. No Silhouette of the body. Nothing…but eyes. They watered and blinked slowly as if coming to tears.

“I’ve been waiting for you, my boy. A long time actually...” looking forward I saw the doppelgänger slothfully moving toward me. In a slow sliding matter, as if dragging his body toward me instead of walking.

I looked left again to see if the eyes were still there, somehow thinking if they were then I’d know what to do. I don’t know why I thought this intensely. Believed it.

And there they were, glancing frantically back and forth from me to the man. The…thing? Suddenly sprouting a mouth and hands. Black hands, as if they were covered in mud and ash, shot out towards me. Fingers splayed open as of to say “no” or “stop”. Mouth widened, pink tongue and blindingly white teeth drenched in blood....tar? Maybe.

“Wake up, Wolfe! Wake up child!” The eyes bellowed loudly. Deafening. Thundering out into the darkness.

Looking forward. The man. Thing, stood right in my face. So close I could feel him breathing into my mouth. Breathing fiercely with breath that tasted of copper. Metal and tinged. Salty and rich.

Rigid, trembling as he reached his hands up, holding...

“No! Nooooo! Move! Stop!” I shrieked, tears blurring my vision. I stretched my legs and pushed myself off of the large circular bed I didn’t realize I’d been sitting on. He leaned forward, hands entwined and gripped into the hair adorning the two heads he held out to me. Decapitated. Dangling in the air, covered in blood and dirt. Lucious and Iris. Dead as the surrounding air. Eyes rolled upward and dropping in a sleepy manner. Mouths sagging down, perched open slightly.

The immediate dread. The feeling of confusion and angst. Sadness.

His face. The things face froze. His eyes up, arms stretched, as if he were praising god while looking up into the sky, he froze. Not moving. Not breathing.

“Wake UP, Lucan! You need to wake up NOW!”

I sat there, on the black invisible floor, in a daze. Holding my breath. In complete muffled silence. A loud shrill ringing in my ear...or in my head. Inside of me....I sat there waiting for it to move. I KNEW it was going to move.

Am I really dreaming? What the fuck was even happening. The feeling, not images, the feeling of my dad and me arguing, me grabbing Iris. The feeling…the thought of possible memories were coming fast, encasing my chest. Swallowing me. Did I?....Did I kill them? Did I kill my SELF? Was I dead?...

Looking back at the...thing. I gasped seeing him in the still frozen stance but with his eyes looking directly at me this time, no longer rolled upward. His grotesque smile started stretching again, slowly across his face, arms still stretched, head still tilted up in the air. He smirked hard.

“...you wanna see a magic trick, Wolf? A magic trick? A magic trick? A magic trick? A magic trick?!” He repeated over and over. Louder and louder. Higher. Screaming even. “A magic trick” he kept repeating as I covered my ears to no avail, sweating now. Hot. No, boiling all over. Starting to feel nauseous.

“WAKE UP LUCAN!! WAKE UP!! WAKE—“

TBC