8 hours ago...
A boy in dark nightclothes sat beside his golden-haired sister on the bed where they had spent the last hours surrounded by strangers who were slowly becoming something else.
They sat side by side on the bed, their legs dangling over the edge.
It was the first time since waking up that they had found some privacy for themselves.
Emil and Emily, the names don't sound too different from each other. It was probably due to the laidback nature of Jos, their dad. He never used to put much thought into anything. But his love was unconditional.
Even their mom, who disagreed with pretty much everything Jos ever said, at that time, maybe remained quiet.
Now that Emil was turning these details over in his mind, they seemed futile, as even the echoes of those people could not be heard in any world now.
"I am sorry." He tried to mask it with his usual quirkiness, but his voice broke apart.
"Why are you being so gloomy, dumbass?" Emily chuckled.
Emil knew that this laugh was just a mask she was trying to put on, as she always had. The first time she was bullied, she came home smiling. She told everyone it was just a brawl, nothing to worry about. But at night, when she thought everyone was asleep, she wept for hours. The same goes for now; she is waiting.
"You don't have to do that, you know." Emil frowned.
"Do what?" Emily looked at him; her eyes were red.
"You don't have to push me away, you don't have to care about these people, we can run away," Emil said, whatever was on his mind.
"And go where?"
The words hung like an arrow in the air, ready to pierce the heart of the enemy. And it did. Emil had no answer.
"I... don't know." He lowered his head.
"Exactly... and that is why we have to keep going," Emily said, her teeth sinking into her lip until a trace of blood surfaced.
Emil knew that it was the truth. A vile truth. An inevitable truth.
But the veneer of the lie was drop-dead gorgeous.
"I guess you are right, Em." Emil stood up.
"They didn't die that night, for us to die this soon. I promise I won't let it happen." He pulled her into him, her head settling against his chest.
There was silence.
They stayed like that for a while.
"What? You think you are some protector of the universe, dumbass." Emily said in her cranky voice, pulling back from him.
"Don't you start again with that, for once, I was trying to be cool." He said while groaning.
"Waaccckk, you can never be that cool. That girl is out of your league." She said while vomiting nothing.
He looked at her, and she gave him a mischievous smile. She started lifting her eyebrows up and down.
"What? No. And what do you mean by out of my league?" Emil's face was already red.
"She's cute. But she's definitely way more powerful than she already looks." Emily leaned back.
"More powerful? How many abilities does she have?" Emil asked.
"I don't know," Emily said while looking at the ceiling of the room.
"Don't know? Don't you have Omensight or whatever that is?" Emil was baffled.
"And maybe that's the reason that I don't know," Emily said, now looking at Emil.
"So, that means you can't see the abilities of someone with Omensight." Emil deduced while placing his hand on his chin.
"Yes," Emily told without adding anything.
'So, that's the reason she chose to save me from Lysander. Well, after all, she's my sister; she won't reveal her power that easily. But that is some crazy…'
"Emil, how many abilities do you have?" Emily asked in a flat tone.
'Shit… wait, what?'
"What? You knew I had powers?" Emil was bewildered.
"I guess. It's related to Omensight, right?" Emily asked.
"I'm not really sure." Emil looked at Emily, who was waiting for him to continue. "I have not been able to tap into that since the confrontation with that first abomination."
"So you're saying you might not have powers at all?" Emily raised her eyebrows.
"I can't say for sure. I did have some weird manifestations at that time. But I'm not sure if you can call them powers." Emil said while recalling the event.
"Hmm... then maybe it's not safe for you to take part in this plan," Emily said, looking up at the ceiling.
"Nope, not a chance. I can't risk it. Maybe I can't access it right now, but what if it manifests right on time?" Emil tried to force his way.
"Maybe... we can't risk your life on maybes or whatifs, genius." Emily shot back.
"Ok, but I can't sit here knowing... I might lose you, too."The humor left his voice.
"You're not gonna get off that easily from me. There is one thing, though..." Emily tried to get Emil's attention, who had been waiting for exactly this.
"Ya, tell me, is it buying time for you guys or creating distractions?" Emil was excited.
Looking at them right now, people could have been confused who's the older sibling here.
"Before that,... You have to promise me one thing." She was softer.
"NO! I don't like that look. What are you hiding, Emily? I'm not like those people who are going to fall for your crap, so tell me, is your vision just a possibility that could happen, or is it the future?" Emil now sounded more authoritative.
"I should have expected this from you. And the truth is, I don't know. I have only seen 3 segments from the future and 1 segment from the past." Emily frowned, fidgeting with her hands.
"Past?"Emil squinted his eyes.
"Grandma... I saw what happened to her... she had a stroke right after knowing what happened... she was told that everyone was dead, including us." She lowered her head, and the muscles on her face tensed.
Though Emil knew the details from Dr. Turner while he was with him in the washroom after lunch. It was still surreal for him that Emily could see in that detail.
"I'm sorry, you had to go through that." Emil lowered his head and said in a mellower voice.
'I hope all of them are at peace.'
He had never wanted to say those words out loud. The truth is, no one in the world wants to say those words. Especially for someone they love.
"I... hope, I hope... You rest in peace, mom, dad, and grandma." His voice cracked.
Emily, who was trying to be stoic all this time, cracked too. Emil continued, "I hope mom,... dad will be responsible at least there, and dad, please listen to mom. I don't like her nagging. You can't do anything, can you now, Mom? ... But I wish you could. God knows I wish I could. Grandma, I love you, you're the best one in the world. Thank yo..." Emil's eyes were blinded by tears, as were Emily's.
They cried their eyes out like they were supposed to when they lost everything. The world didn't allow a 15 and 17-year-old to act like how they were meant to be. But now they could. Now they were.
"You really are the worst,... dumbass... I was trying not to cry," Emily nagged while her head was lowered and her face hidden behind the curtain of grief.
"I am sorry, I promise you this is the last time..." Emil said while his face was red and his eyes puffed out.
"Then promise me one thing... Emil," She looked at him with her swollen hazel eyes.
"..." Emil nodded.
"You will infiltrate the center building the moment there is any escalation." She said that while wiping off her tears with her hospital gown.
"Does it have to do with the Fragment?" Emil asked, dragging the back of his hand across his face.
"Yes… The fate of those fractured glimpses of the future rests in your hands—on whether you succeed."
'That means even she doesn't know if the future can change... Doesn't matter now. I'll destroy the damn universe if something happens to her.'
"What do I need to do?" He asked.
"You have to find a room; it's underground. The name of that room is Way to the Underworld." Emily said with a dark expression.
'Underworld, huh? I guess it's a point of no return.'