"Disaster?" I asked as I pulled on the coat.
"Yep, it's been pretty frequent, if I remember right. Disasters have been occurring for the past five years, and it only got worse."
Beep-beep! Beep-beep!
The mobile phone rang, and Sis picked it up.
"Sh*t, it's a 6.7 magnitude, and let's go, Alice, we should go to the Warp point."
"Warp point?"
"I will explain on the way," she said, grabbing my hand and leading me out in haste.
We exited the house. The tremor ran up through my feet and into my chest, making it hard to stand straight. Walls across the street were trembling but didn't crack, and dust filled the air like smoke. Cars were beeping, the sound piled into a single sharp noise that hurt my ears. Everybody was heading toward the same direction, some had panicked expressions, while the majority of them were fearless.
I looked up and saw the neighborhood signboard at the corner still hanging, swinging wildly. It read Ziron 2nd Cross, the letters rattling as if they might fall off. The billboards that usually showed ads had changed. Every screen flashed directions, arrows pointing toward the nearest warp point, and lines of text urging evacuation and precautions. The road buckled slightly in front of us, making me timid and causing me to lose my step.
"Alice," Sis exclaimed, getting hold of my shoulder.
"Don't be scared, I am here, okay? I won't let you die, so don't worry, and just focus on your steps, okay? Our shoes are made in a way that no matter how big a disaster is, a person won't fall unless they trip themselves, so watch your step."
"Okay," I said in a quiet tone, my voice quivering in fear and uncertainty.
"Let's go," she said, grabbing my hand, and started to stride.
"The nearest Warp point is in a mile or less. Once we go there, we are safe, alright?" she said as she led me to the trembling ground.
"Warp point?"
"That's basically like a gas station, we go to a place, there will be a machine in it, we choose the nearby shelter, and we are transported to it in an instant. Keep your worries aside, three people can travel together, so I will come with you."
"That's better...but there is no one on the road here."
"Oh, that's because I reside in the southern area of the East Crosmo. Let's just say shabby people usually don't roam around here."
"You said it's an earthquake. Do many other disasters happen, sis?"
"Yeah, a few months, there was a tsunami. Luckily, Crosmo is located at the center of Evercold, so we don't usually face a lot of tsunamis, but as a whole kingdom, last month a tsunami hit the capital city, Brewton."
"So only earthquakes here?"
"Predominantly it's earthquakes, but there are landslides here and there."
Wangh!
"Alice, watch out!" Sis exclaimed as a nearby pole fell towards us.
Schink!
I immediately used Siku's ability, the four-limbed-like things knocked the pole away from us as it hit the ground with a loud thud.
"Oh, not bad, Alice. Pretty good with Siku's ability," she said, patting my back.
"Let's turn around. We can't go on from here."
"Huh, why?"
"It's an electrical pole, Alice. Look at the bottom, it looks like someone was doing regular maintenance on it when this earthquake struck, and they left it unscrewed, and no, we just can't cross the pole, we will die from electrocution."
"Oh, okay."
We turned around to enter Ziron 1st cross street and took a left to get into Inxi 5th cross street.
"You really use Siku's ability efficiently, you are scaring me," she said as we continued the run, the tremor gradually increasing.
"Tell me, sis, what would you do if I couldn't go back?"
"You will go back, Alice. You should go back, got it? I want Siku back."
I Guess she won't be happy if I just want to be here. What if I tell her the truth? No, Alyss, don't do that, you idiot.
"Before you misinterpret, you are Alice, okay? Not my brother Davvil as much as you remind me of him, and as much as I want you to stay, you have your own parents who worry about you. You should do that for your sake, not for them or me, and I prefer Siku over you. You may feel like my brother, but you are not Davvil, and I have known you for only a few days, though I would like to spend more time," she said, stopping in her tracks and turning to look at me.
"So don't think badly of me, alright? And hey, if you are able to transmigrate whenever you want, you can pay your sis a visit, got it?" she said, massaging my cheeks, and gave me a hearty smile.
The smile was so warm that the cold around us vanished. It was the same smile. Mom wore it when she welcomed me home after a long day at school, embracing me in her arms, genuine care etched into her eyes. She became my shining light in the darkness I've been in ever since that night. A hand reaching out to lift me up from the pit, just as Elian once did.
"Now let's get going, shall we?" Sis said, yanking me as she continued to run, her pace slowing down, her tender palms holding mine, guiding me through the chaos as a ray of hope.
Forgive me, sis. I did a lot of things you told me not to do, but I guess it can't be helped, since I am doing it again. As much as you wanted me to go back to my parents, they aren't here anymore. And even if I am able to transmigrate, where would I go? I don't know. There isn't a place welcoming me as you do. My body is gone, and I am taking over random people bodies. As much as you want Siku back, forgive me, sis, you won't be able to get him back. I am stuck here with you. I didn't want to transmigrate, sis. I didn't want to transmigrate into Siku, but transmigration into Siku is what I needed. I want to live. Live here. Be with you as much as I can. Be as your brother, a replacement to Davvil till I die. I am selfish, aren't I? But you would understand. I really apologize, sis, for putting my happiness above yours. But guess I am like that, because there is no other way, even if I tried. I want this happy life, sis. You may be sad without Siku, but sorry, sis, I want this happy life, no matter what.
"We are close to the Warp point, Alice; just hold on, okay?"
"Okay, sis."
"Woah, woah, woah," she exclaimed as the ground started to tremor vigorously as the ground started to show small cracks.
Beep-beep! - Beep-beep! - Beep-beep! - Beep-beep!
The sound of the mobile was in sharp contrast to the blunt sound of the tremble, it fell from her pocket, and then it bounced on the floor as the corners cracked the mobile screen, in full red with the numbers 14.3 in yellow.
wee-woo! wee-woo!
The sirens, which were silent still now, started to ring, followed by the PA telling everyone to hurry up to the nearby shelter or to stay in open ground.
"Holy sh*t, it's fu*king 14.3. Alice, don't let go of me. Alright, let's just run faster and reach a Warp point.
Don't tell me I am going to die again.
We ran fast, the cracks expanding, and crossed Tintern Lane, reaching Solway Alley.
"If I remember correctly...we are close to the point, okay?...It's just a quarter of a mile from here," she said, panting and gasping.
Solway Alley residents were in an elevated space; the street went below, while the buildings were on the side in an elevated platform almost twice the size of me. We ran on the pavement, oblivious to the cracks forming on the walls, until Arna noticed.
"Fu*k, Alice, move away from the pavement and run in the middle of the road. The wall is going to fa-," she said as her face turned pale. The wall broke down, the debris falling on us.
"ALICE!" she exclaimed, her hands trying to reach mine in desperation.
Schink!
The fangs came out of my back and prevented the blocks of wall from crushing me, save for the tiny rocks in it, and I closed my eyes and shut my ears in fear of dying again. The sound of debris falling felt deafening to my ears as I dropped to my knees.
After a couple of seconds the tremor stopped, the debris was scattered across the street. I opened my eyes and rubbed off the dust, as my entire body was covered in it, and as the dust withdrew, the sight I saw made me lose my mind.
I saw Sis crushed under the debris except for her left hand, which stood while her entire body was crushed under the blocks of the wall. The tender hand that reached out to help me when I was crushed under my own death, the one that gave me a glimpse of care, was now limp.