Chapter 12 - It's Time

      “Happy Birthday, April.”

“Happy Birthday, Gemma.”

The cold water lapped playfully around her ankles, like a child unaware of the tense situation and laughing out of context. Each wave would be gleefully disregarded during summer time under most circumstances, but on this chilling June's day of peace and serenity, each one told a story which unwound and unwound until it would reach a crashing end; breaking down in a timeless pattern of high and low tide. The familiar sound �" the sound that had been recorded countless times �" of the water parting and rejoining the overly rippled surface of the ocean could be heard through her own ears as she waded, hand in hand with her best friend, further into the depths of the deep, dark world full of possibility and unknown secrets one could not possibly imagine.

Soon, herself and Gemma would be just another secret floating endlessly within the sinks of the Earth, joining all the other sunken ships, bodies and memories.

When April had returned home after running away to Xavier, her mother had taken the news badly. The usual procedure of shouting, crying and threatening to move all over again had taken place. However, in a moment of obscure weakness of her strengthened mind, April had let slip that she'd known for a while about the truth: that herself and Gemma were no more than clones.

Having heard this, her mother had sat her down and filled in the rest of the gaps, providing her with the missing pieces to the jigsaw that had been baffling her for too long, and being the only thing April had ever wished her to be: honest.

April had used to have a sister �" Rebecca �" who had been murdered by her partner, Miles, unexpectedly when she was only 16. Miles had gotten away, only to be caught 3 years later when he'd returned to the May household. He'd been locked up, not only for murder but for sexual assault towards a three year old child also. The child had been April, but she had no memory of any of this happening. Either way, Miles would never be back in her life.

When Rebecca had died, her Uncle (her dad's brother), Xavier, had made them an offering. He'd been on the verge of a scientific breakthrough at the time, and being distraught, her mother and father had both agreed to let him use Rebecca's body in the promise he could bring her back. Using blood samples from the bedding and her night dress, he'd managed to cure three orphan babies of a disease by replacing their genes with Rebecca's.

April didn't know what had happened to the third clone, but she'd been handed back to her mum and dad, and Gemma had been put back up for adoption despite her files not quite adding up. A nice couple �" Jim and Sue �" had been put up to adopting her, but Gemma didn't mind this as they treated her well and loved her despite her being a clone.

Having expected a some miracle that would have brought their Rebecca back to life, her parents had been unsure of how to handle a whole new version of her, but they couldn't complain as technically, Xavier had kept his promise.

They'd agreed that she couldn't find out she was a clone, as this would make her feel secondary, unimportant and unloved. This meant that their baby could never know about Rebecca's, Gemma's or Xavier's existence. After her dad leaving his brother, Xavier, beaten on the honey-comb tiles of his laboratory when the horror of his actions had sunken in, her mother had decided to move the whole family away to have a fresh start.

They'd lived in a complicated matrix of secrets for 15 years when April had found the capsule in her wrist. Neither parent had been sure exactly of what the capsule contained, but they knew it had been placed there at the beginning, so had freaked out because it could be considered a clue.

This was when April had met Gemma. Despite all Mary's efforts of preventing April from finding out about where she came from and squashing her to silence in case of the event that someone April talked to could tell her something or plant a leading idea, she'd unknowingly moved the family within a half mile of Gemma's exact location.

They'd solemnly informed her that they also weren't sure about what would happen to April when she reached 16. Xavier had told them all those years ago that his solution had an expiry date of sixteen years, as supposedly, this was when Rebecca's genes would 'run out', and be drowned in April's own DNA.

After this heart-felt conversation, April had gotten on with her parents much more. She'd felt closer to them because they were no longer hiding things from her. She'd treated her mum as her best friend in the world, besides Gemma of course.

And that was how they'd ended up here.

It had taken her a few months to get to know Jake before she'd told him the fairytale of her crazy Uncle's maddening ideas of what constitutes as being a Saviour. She'd started at the very beginning and talked for a full hour, not missing anything out, until she'd reached the present.

He'd freaked out, but she had expected him to. She'd have been worried if he hadn't. But, the important thing was that he'd come back to her after freaking out. That made everything okay.

He'd wanted to come with her today, but she'd been adamant that this was something her and Gemma had to do alone.

Her new mother, No-Secrets-Mary who had been hiding inside her mum's brick wall of protective instincts for fifteen years, had driven them to the coast, as this was where April had wanted to spend her final moments.

It wasn't definite that they would die out here. It wasn't certain. But, it was more than likely. This was what Xavier had wanted to happen, and he seemed pretty practised at getting his way. This was what he'd meant by an expiry date.

This was the end.

It wasn't a sunny day, and the irony of the pathetic fallacy hit her funny bone like a bullseye. She didn't mind that it wasn't sunny, however, because she enjoyed the solitude of being the only two people in the water that stretched around her vision.

There was a strong wind, almost knocking her over as the thickness of the water compared to the usual air had gathered around her feet. It kept blowing her hair in front of her face so she would only be able to see between strands. The intensity of the sky's breath only angered the waves, causing them to engulf the space below.

Despite this, everything was still so calm. Not calm like on a summer's say when everyone is lay back on a sun bed listening to the hum of chatter around them whilst others gasp for shade, but in a more alternative way. It was somewhere the more enlightened people would go to just sit and think. Somewhere that you could imagine listening to your favourite song in; too caught up in the emotion and meaningful lyrics that don't mean anything to anyone else to barely catch a breath.

Gemma squeezed her hand a little tighter.

It was a nice way to go. It wasn't the fear that held her back, but the life she would be leaving, which somehow, she had learnt to enjoy.

There was something rewarding about pushing the tide away, that feeling of power nudging the waves, making way for her life before it ran out.

She was also bothered by the thought of the other clone. Wherever or whoever she was, would she know what was about to happen to her in approximately 52 seconds? Would she be surrounded by the people who love her, or would she be alone? Would she be scared, or would she be like April, who had accepted that it wasn't her fate to live on?

50 seconds.

April had already said goodbye to Jake, just in case. They'd both cried, and he'd told her that he loved her. She'd said it back, and he had kissed her some more; a feeling that still felt magical even though she was more than used to it by now.

40 seconds.

She could feel Gemma looking at her, though she kept her gaze directed straight ahead. If she looked at Gemma she would be tempted to look back, and if she looked back she wouldn't be strong enough to not run away.

This was something she was sure of. She was sure that it was the best way to go, with the best person by her side, so she had to stick to it.

She could hear Gemma saying words, and it took her a while to listen hard enough above the thrashing of the ocean which now owned up to her waist. Gemma was reciting the lyrics to Heroes by David Bowie �" her number one song when she needed calming down. Because of this, April risked a side glance at her.

She saw the panic run from Gemma's eyes as she looked at her. It comforted her to know that Gemma agreed with her, and that Gemma wasn't afraid either. If Gemma had been afraid, that would mean there was a reason to be afraid, and April would have started being afraid of it too.

20 seconds.

In her last moments, April thought back to how she used to be at Greendale: so timid and unable to have an opinion on anything. So clueless and feeble she hadn't even been counted as a person half the time.

10 seconds.

Then she thought about how much she'd changed. She'd never felt exactly strong minded, but seeing herself now �" so sure that this was exactly how she wanted to die �" she seemed like the most strong minded person ever. She thought about how she had friends, and how she had gotten hooked on things like Coronation Street and music, like all the other teenagers she knew.

5 seconds.

One of the more vicious waved spat in her face, but she didn't flinch. Nothing could hurt her now.

4 seconds.

She silenced Gemma, and lead her one final step into the sea.

3 seconds.

She could feel Gemma shivering in the biting coldness of the water, but April herself could barely feel the brisk temperatures around her body.

2 seconds.

April closed her eyes, letting the breeze and specks of water take over. I'll be yours soon, she told them. Breeze, you can carry me away. Carry Rebecca's spirit that has lived inside of me all these years to a happy place where it can live on in peace. Waves, you can hide my body. You can drag me down; swallow me deep within the complex layers of your existence, never to be recovered.

1 second.

April took a breath �" what could be her last breath �" and felt the snapping of bones in her hand as Gemma squeezed a little too hard. However, April did not even blink in reaction to the crunching like the breaking of a twig, as what did it matter if she were handing herself over to the ocean with a hand or a broken hand?

An impressively large wave knocked them over, forcing the freaks to their knees.

0 seconds.