Chapter Six: Drifting

 My eyes peeled open to reveal a splash of sunlight pouring down onto my body, warming me up all over. It was a comfortable heat, and one that I welcomed with a lazy smile, too happy to truly care where I was, and how I had come to be here. Surely such trivial things didn't matter now that I was dead.

Laughter filtered into my ears, soft and sweet; young and angelic. The sound was as familiar to me as breathing, and when I looked over the table I currently sat at, I found Kiera, Mother and Father gathered around, each one sitting down and carefully poised. My eyes were wide as I stared at my three family members, and swallowed in surprise.

I stared down at my hands neatly resting on the glass table, and frowned down at them. If this was a memory, then why did I not recall this moment in time, or the table I currently sat upon. Why was it so hard to recall this memory, like it had never happened? I could remember the grass of our back garden, the trees of the woods swaying in the warm summer's breeze, and all the other one-hundred-and-one things placed around this area, yet the one thing that failed to spark a memory was the table.

"Terra, dear," sounded Mother's voice, soft and full of adoration. When I looked up to stare at her, a nasty shock filled me. Mother died aged in her late forties, yet the woman sitting before me looked no older than twenty-odd. Her long black hair cascaded down her shoulders, contrasting well with the bright blue of her young eyes. There weren't any blemishes on her skin, and she reminded me of pale white porcelain; so beautiful it almost hurt to gaze upon her. "Are you alright?" she asked kindly.

The frown I wore on my face smoothed out, and was replaced by a calm smile - though inside I felt less than calm as my eyes wandered over the contours of my mother's face; so unaccustomed to seeing her as her younger self. "I'm fine, Mother."

Kiera sighed from where she sat, and my eyes flickered over to meet hers. "She's lying, Mother. Really, she was fretting over why she doesn't recall this table in her memories. She thinks we're just memories."

My eyes narrowed as I continued to stare at Kiera, drinking in her features, wondering how it was possible that she could look so young again. She looked like her eleven-year-old self, just days before she had been killed. Her green eyes were sparkling mischievously like they always had, and her long black hair contained a small amount of curls, separating her from the likeness between Mother and myself. Of course, had the accident never happened, Kiera's hair would have straightened out until she looked almost identical to me, her eyes the one exception.

Another thought came to me as I continued to study Kiera: She never would have stated aloud what I was thinking. Though we both knew we could have done, considering our abilities permitted us to know what the other was thinking, we had both sworn not to reveal them to our parents. Telling Mother that I couldn't recall said table was a violation of the promise, and was something Kiera never would have done.

Mother intervened and said, "We are here, darling. Perhaps not in the way you want, but we are here all the same."

I shook my head. "No, you're all just memories. You can't be here! All three of you are dead. Kiera died a long time ago, back when we were children, Mother, you died in a fire alongside Father. None of you should be here unless you're memories!"

Kiera looked briefly hurt by my words. "Then how are we here, now, sister? How are any of us saying the things we're saying if we're dead?"

"It is true - we did die," reassured Mother, her hand reaching across the table and clutching my own, like she was afraid to let me go. "But we're here, now."

"I'm dead, too," I murmured, testing out how that felt on my lips. Knowing that I would no longer gaze upon my best friend, Jane, and giggle with her over crushes. A slight pang of regret and loss formed where my heart was, a slight jab of pain pricking me. But it was too late to erase what had happened, and to go back and live. I had taken my last breath a long while ago - I knew I had.

"Dying," corrected Kiera, a small smile on her lips.

I cocked my head to one side, and said, "How can I be dying?"

"I haven't killed you yet," was her response as she nonchalantly reached out for her cup and began to sip from it. Like it was the most normal thing to do which, for her, it probably was.

My eyes narrowed in reminder of how cruel Kiera had become. "And why are you here?" I demanded spitefully, feeling my hand clench into a tight fist, the other hand held firmly in Mother's. "Shouldn't you be finishing me off and gaining your revenge?"

No one made a move to say anything, and silence stretched out for a long period of time. A slight gust of wind blew across us, whipping my hair lightly across my face. I continued to glare at Kiera, knowing she knew all that had gone on. All of them did - which begged the question of why they were here.

"I don't blame you for what you did," Kiera suddenly said, her eyes cast down to the cup she held shakily in her hands, a look of pure hatred on her face. "Believe me, I wish I could just fade out and disappear from your life. If I could, I would." Her head snapped up to look intently into my eyes, her own eyes wide and desperate as she continued. "But you have to understand, I can't help but I'm doing!"

I frowned in a gradual rise of anger. "What are you talking about? You're the one who attacked me! How can you not stop?"

Kiera drew in a shaky breath and said, "I remember that day so clearly; like it had happened yesterday. I remember how angry I became when you asked about the necklace, and I can't think why I would do such a silly thing for a damn necklace! It was like it had control over me, and the longer I possessed it, the crazier I became. I remember how we fought over it, the blood and the cries we both let out. And I also remember the shove as you attempted to claw my hands from around your throat." She shivered as the words came out, bit by bit, her side of the story was bleeding out and being fed to me, spoonful by spoonful. "When I crashed into the lake and my head hit the rock, it was like I snapped out of it. I screamed because I was so afraid! The water poured into my mouth, and I was desperately struggling for some way out of it. I hadn't learned how to swim, and I wish I had, now. But it was too late... In the next second, my struggle was over and I died."

The world was silent as Kiera froze after that, like she was afraid to continue and reveal what had happened afterwards. I could sense the guilt she felt for her act of violence against me, but I didn't blame her.

Kiera drew in another shaky breath, her eyes focusing on another point in time, her skin turning a pale grey as if she was afraid to relive that moment in time. "It hadn't felt like I had died, to be honest. I was more or less floating in a world painted in black, nothing visible before me. At first this had frightened me - I had longed for Heaven and the bright light which would have transported me there. But then the Fade came, slowly but surely, and they altered my perception of everything." Her bright green eyes darkened at the memory, and she bowed her head in shame. "They whispered to me and told me I was special, that my gifts were meant to be used and desired. They told me that you had wanted that necklace for yourself, and that because I had refused...you killed me. I began to believe them, Terra! I didn't want to - I knew it was wrong to possess such thoughts, but they seemed to be genuine. No lies or catches: They just wanted me to be happy."

I stared at my sister in shock, too distraught to form a sound to truly voice what I was feeling. A mix of emotions washed over me: Pain, horror, anger, fear, sadness, and love. Pain because of what had become of my dear sister and the agony I had caused her. Horror because of the danger lying ahead, and what the Fade had done to convince her of my crime. Anger because Kiera's memory was faulty and she could no longer remember what truly happened. Fear because of the power the Fade possessed and just how close I had come to dying not so long ago - perhaps I was dying, now. Sadness because of all the anguish and pain this family had endured, and for the sorrow sure to come.

And finally - love because my sister was still remaining strong. Though the people sitting before me were shadows of the people they had once been - echoes that didn't truly belong - I knew that if this Kiera had managed to remain un-tainted...then surely there was a hope that my Kiera also possessed the same chance.

"Terra," croaked Kiera, her eyes flooding with tears as she shook on the opposite side of the glass table, her hands clutching the cup like a life-preserver, her hands incapable of holding it properly. "I am so sorry for the pain I have caused you. I never meant any of it! But, believe me, I am not the one doing this. I am not the one attempting to kill you."

A look of uncertainty passed across my face. "How can I be sure you're telling the truth?" I demanded, glancing across towards Mother - who looked just as confused - and then over to my silent father; the one who was supposed to calm the atmosphere, not leave it untouched and boiling.

Kiera sighed. "You can't. But ask yourself this: Why would I want to kill you when the incident wasn't your fault? When have I ever acted so...cruel to anyone? Especially to you! My own flesh and blood."

"People change," I said solemnly, averting my gaze to my hands clasping one another, anxious to leave this place and move on.

"You can't move on!" cried Kiera, her hands slamming down onto the table and causing the cups to shake violently. The loud slam of her palms connecting with the glass was like a gun going off, and the reaction was immediate: I darted to my feet at the same time that my twin did.

My eyes were narrowed in anger and bemusement. "What are you talking about? When one dies, their soul either sails to Heaven or descends to Hell."

Kiera shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "The Fade doesn’t move on. When we die, we remain here. Trapped."

"I'm not one of them!" I shrieked, my hands balling into fists at my sides. "I never will be one of them."

"You are one of us, Terra," retorted Kiera. "No matter how hard you protest that you are not one of us - you are, and always will be."

I shook my head in denial, my heart racing against my chest in horror and surprise. My pulse was rapid in my neck, and I wished that I could snap myself back to consciousness. Anything was better than subjecting myself to such torture; where the world I had believed I belonged to was stripped from me and another handed to me in its place.

"Why are you in denial of such a fact?" demanded my twin, her eyes wide in sincerity and her skin taking on a crimson tinge as her own anger ignited.

"You said so yourself - to become one of the Fade, I have to be in acceptance of who and what I am, and when this has been accomplished, my body will alter and reveal its true form." My brows furrowed into a confident frown. "If that is true, then I can move on like anyone else."

Kiera let out a low, strange, laugh and her lips curved upwards into a cynical smile. "Yes, I can be quite amusing when I want to be. That was a lie told to further confuse and unsettle you, providing you with an escape I never had. In doing so, it meant that killing you would be easier - if you were to use your abilities to attack a fellow Fade, surely that would activate an irreversible change."

My jaw clenched in frustration, and I stiffened, wishing I had the strength to advance and attack her, but knowing that both Mother and Father would involve themselves in our dispute. "You little-"

"Enough!" snapped Father, suddenly. His green eyes flared in disgust, and he gave us both stern looks. In the next second he gestured for us to seat ourselves, and proceeded to say, "You two need to stop your bickering. It doesn't help the situation, nor does it give you an advantage to the problem."

I frowned in confusion, and turned to address my father, staring into those emerald pools and wondering what he felt right then. "Father...I don't understand."

Father nodded gravely and set aside his newspaper, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands onto his lip, preparing himself for something I was sure I would resent. "Before I go into anything else, I must agree with Kiera. She is correct to say that you cannot ascend to Heaven, but nor will you descend to Hell. No matter what your actions are on this planet, you shall not move up or down. You will forever remain here: Trapped on Earth for all time."

I began to protest. "But-"

"Listen, Terra!" interrupted Father, his eyes wide and flaring; like smouldering flames coming to consume and burn my flesh, tearing it from bone and scorching me with its intense gaze. "That is the meaning of being immortal: You cannot die. Your soul cannot detach from the body it is bound to, and this therefore means that should you receive a fatal wound, though your body would - in a sense - die, your soul would not move on. For this reason, and this alone, you cannot transition to the next stage."

A look of pure horror formed on my countenance, and I sank deeper into my chair, seeking solace from the soft feel of the cool metal under my skin. I wanted to sink further, though. Back into the old world I had resided in - where I had been capable of believing there would be a Heaven for me, and where I would have done all it took to remain good so as to reserve a position for me in such a sacred realm. But now this had been barred from me, bringing a whirlwind of pain with it. A whirlwind where every punch and stab I received to my body would further remind me of my condemned fate: Immortal forever. Incapable of moving on to the next stage after life.

"Now you see what I am burdened with, sister," murmured Kiera, her gaze lowered to the cup resting on the glass table in front of her. The sun had gone in, hidden by the pale white of the clouds, meaning Kiera's skin appeared deathly pale and sickening. Light would have lit it up light a halo and set her alight, her skin a glowing, ethereal form.

I sent my sister an apologetic glance but quickly returned to my father, afraid that should my eyes rest on something other than his face he would fade alongside the fate he had to bestow upon me.

Father breathed in and then turned to address me, his green eyes grave and solemn, no spark of emotion slipping through the mask he had placed over himself. As if he needed to guard himself from the pain he was about to hand me - like he could not handle it on his own. "Terra...there is something you need to know concerning the Fade, and where their origins are." He swallowed in discomfort, glanced to Mother for some unspoken direction, and continued to say, "They're not from this world. In fact, humans weren't meant to encounter them or their world. But to elaborate - the Fade originate from a world very close to ours, and we are separated by a small margin - like a sheet of thin glass - and were this glass to somehow crack, it would enable our world to encounter theirs."

Kiera's face had turned pale, and she bowed her head, her countenance briefly revealing an emotion I had never encountered before - one that looked pained and almost grieved by what she was hearing. How could she not have known this information? It seemed that she had known everything else, yet this was a certain shard of history she had not anticipated.

"There are people, very few who still exist, who can break through this glass sheet and come into contact with this other world. These people were gifted with their powers, and are believed to be descendants of the Fade. Though it is unknown how these descendants came to reside here, on Earth, it is suggested that if we can travel to their world, surely they can, ours."

I struggled to comprehend what he meant by that, and frowned over towards Mother, her blue eyes open and inviting. She looked calm and collected, wearing a dazzling smile on her face like this was old news to her which, most likely, was the case.

Kiera spoke up and voiced my opinions where my own words had failed me. "So, you mean to say that we're descendants of the Fade, thereby enabling us to possess their abilities?"

Father nodded, his hands balled into fists, yet he showed no signs of being angry or disgruntled. "That is correct. Their genes flow through your blood, linking you to them in a way I have only heard."

"Why did you and Mother not possess such powers?" I suddenly demanded, glancing up from where I had unintentionally focused down on my hands, tightly clutching at the hem of the dress I wore.

"I do not know. Perhaps because it skipped a generation...or maybe because it was by sheer chance that you even inherited it."

"Is it possible that we made contact we made contact with the Fade when we were born?" asked Kiera, her head cocked to one side in mild curiosity, her eyes alight at the thought.

The notion was absurd to me - how could we possibly have made contact with the Fade at such a young age? Surely we had inherited such powers. And if it was the case that we had encountered the Fade before, why could we not recall it, and how could be possess the powers we had today? What did a brief encounter with them have to do with our abilities?

Father's eyes flickered in surprise towards Kiera's intent face, and then over to mine - shocked that Kiera would have made such an assumption. "It...is possible that you could have broken through the wall preventing normal humans from making contact, but I struggle to understand how that could vouch for your abilities today."

Kiera slumped back in her seat and prodded her cup like she had done when she was a child. Considering she looked like that same child, I assumed that the child-like behaviour that came with such an age had also returned, making small gestures like that automatic.

I spoke up for her. "You said so yourself - very gifted people can break through the barrier, granting them unbelievable power."

"I believe I mentioned that these people were also supposed to be descendants of the Fade." He wore a small smile on his lips, and the gesture was so familiar to me that I couldn't help but mirror his smile. It made me feel as if we were still connected - and not just because of the genes flowing through my veins.

A look of defeat formed on Kiera's countenance, and she said, "So we're just descendants of the Fade? It's not possible for us to have made contact with them?"

"Maybe we did," I rushed in, before Father could answer instead of me. My blue eyes connected with Kiera's emerald green ones, and I licked my lips. "Though we're descendants and we can already access a forbidden world, perhaps we did make contact with them. Perhaps this is what drew their attention to us in the first place."

Father nodded in agreement. "Yes. Yes, I can see where you're coming from, Terra." His eyes grew distant as he focused on another point in time - perhaps attempting to conjure a memory to support this statement, though I had no clue as to how he would recall such a time when it wouldn't have happened in front of him. "It makes sense for them to focus on the two of you - twin descendants are unheard of as far as I can remember, and you're both skilled when it comes to such abilities."

Kiera shrugged. "True, but why focus on us anyway? What's the point? Sure, we learned how to control ourselves at a young age, and we're twins, but I'm positive we're not the only ones. Rare, sure. Only? No."

I opened my mouth to retort to that, but came up short when Mother answered instead, her voice strong and soft at the same time - like cool silk brushing lightly against your skin. Enchanting - drawing us in. "Twin Fade are extremely rare, and this is because of the intense bond formed between the two - neither physical nor mental, it is a bond which can enable the two to always know where the other is and what dangers are coming their way. Twins were originally deemed to have existed so as to protect one another." Mother smiled at the two of us, and I felt a flash of wariness rise inside of me, unsure whether or not running was a good solution. "Though I know little of the Fade or their intentions for the two of you, I do know that the Fade are afraid of twins due to the stronger abilities they possess. I'm unsure of why your abilities are so strong, but I'll take a guess and assume it is because your bond strengthens the two of you. And considering you shall never die, this bond cannot be severed, granting you eternal, ultimate power.

"The Fade live to hunt you down. The sole reason why you are so rare is because of the attacks made on twins' lives. And, when one twin is killed and forced into a state where one cannot locate their body in order to revive, the bond is weakened exponentially, thereby making it easier to destroy them."

"Wait, wait, wait!" cried Kiera, raising her hand in dismissal of the history. Her eyes were narrowed in obvious discrepancy to this. But I noticed the faint flicker of fear in the depths of her eyes, and knew this was just a front. "I thought we can't die."

Father answered for her. "You can't. But when a Fade opposes another Fade - descendant or not - and their powers cast the soul out of the body as said body dies, they then continue to sever the tie holding your soul to your body. Once this is done, the soul is left wandering, incapable of doing anything but returning to the world it originated from, and leading a new life."

Both Kiera and I's mouths dropped in horror, and I felt my face drain of colour. How was it possible for someone to sever the tie forcing a soul to its body? Was such a thing even possible to attempt? And, if this was the case, why go to so much trouble to make both Kiera and I oppose one another?

As if reading my mind, Mother piped up and said, "The methods of destroying twin Fade is too hard and requires a massive amount of power, one that would take decades to conserve. By this time, anything could have happened. Therefore, an easier method would be to turn twins against one another in the hope that both would obliterate their bodies and cast the souls out of this world and into the next."

I shook my head, struggling to absorb so much information, and finding it impossible to keep up with the pace. It worried me that Mother and Father knew so much in the first place, and considering they had never been aware of our gifts before their deaths, I was anxious as to where this sudden interest had come from. The Fade didn't sound too polite, and their methods of killing existing twins were less than kind. How did I know this wasn't an elaborate tale meant to deceive me?

Kiera appeared to be thinking along the same line as me, as she said, "How do you know so much about the Fade?"

Both Mother and Father glanced at one another, their faces unreadable as a message was passed between them. I felt my anger rise inside of my chest, and a burning flame licked at my skin, sizzling me to the core and sending me bolting for violence. I wasn't accustomed to having secrets kept - especially between family.

"What?" I suddenly demanded, slamming my hands down onto the table like Kiera had done only a few moments before. The desire to know what I was up against was intense, and with each passing second I knew I could be in danger of never waking up. Who knew what Kiera or the Fade was doing to me?

Mother nodded at something Father must have said, and she turned to address the two of us, her long black hair dancing in the light breeze which blew our way. She tried for a smile, but it looked more like a grimace than something to reassure us. "We had suspected that the two of you were hiding something from us - back when we were alive. And we knew your pranks weren't just well executed or anything like that. Both your father and I believed you possessed some sort of...power to be doing such things. But neither of us knew the extent of your powers, or what you were capable of." Her gaze lowered to the table, and she appeared to deliberate how to phrase the next part of her answer. Eventually she settled for, "Just before your father and I succumbed to the flames, we saw a flicker of something...inhuman from the corners of our eyes. When we turned to look, it was gone, and the flames closed around us." Mother stopped there, cupping her mouth with her hand - the trauma of the night no doubt getting to her.

Father continued and said, "After had passed, we were on our way to what I assume was Heaven, when an unsettling force drifted past us, in the opposite direction. Both of us were curious as to what we might have encountered during the fire, and returned to investigate, shoving aside Heaven. It was then that we realised...or at least recognised what the creature was doing."

"Contacting me," I murmured, my voice hoarse as if I had been screaming for hours on end and my voice had finally gotten to the point where merely talking would cause a rasp to leave my lips.

My parents nodded in silent agreement, and I slumped in my chair, too weak to demand anything else. They had both discovered the Fade on their journey to Heaven, and had probably risked a lot by returning to tell both Kiera and I this small piece of information. Perhaps it could help us in some way.

I had always assumed Kiera was dead, but as I stared at her across the table, understanding dawned. Kiera had died for a brief time, and during her recovery and regeneration, she had encountered and made contact with the Fade, who poisoned and altered her memory of her last moment on Earth. They had then enabled her to locate her body, and when she awoke she had been fuelled with an unbearable desire for revenge.

Revenge on the sister who had killed her for the necklace.

The necklace!

My eyes widened at the memory of that shiny little object she had once held in her dainty hands, and just as I was about to open my mouth to ask my parents about such a curious object, Mother interrupted by saying, "We must go now. Our time on this world is up. Please stay safe, and remember - no matter how hard it gets out there, no matter how badly you want to give up and just fade away, remember us and how proud we are of the both of you. Never let them get the upper advantage, and fight as one. As twins. You are not enemies."

The sincerity of her words burned in my head, scarring and scalding me as I gawked at my parents. Their bodies were shimmering at the edges; beginning to turn fuzzy and soon to be gone. Their mouths were moving, yet no words entered my ears or made any sound.

I fought to identify what they had said, but was overwhelmed by the burning desire rippling through the air surrounding us. Both Kiera and I were forced under a spell, and we watched in fascination as our parents rose gracefully from their chairs and walked around the table, meeting one another in the middle, hands clasped together as a sign of unity.

We watched as they gave us one last wave, kiss and smile.

We watched as the sun beamed down on the two of them, casting them into an unbearably bright halo of light, obscuring their retreating forms from view.

And we watched as our parents faded out of view, and finally died. Leaving the two of us in this world to fight the mayhem about to ignite. Because one thing was for sure: The battle was far from over...in fact, it was just beginning.

Though Kiera and I had witnessed our parents' passing, and had paid heed to their words, I knew that the spell cast over my twin would only strengthen as we returned. And even if she did recall this moment in time, I doubted she would be strong enough to overcome the fierce need roiling inside of her - moving like a snake; stealthy and deadly, waiting for that perfect moment to strike.

To kill.

And just before I fully faded from this strange world with all its strange things, I heard my sister say something that altogether frightened and strengthened me: "Don't let them tear us apart, sister. Don't let them make me forget this moment. Come and find me. Save me."

Save me, those two little words holding the thousands of emotions my sister felt at that current moment. Those two words reminding me that she was fully aware of what was happening around her as she attacked me. Reminding me that she was still there.

That she was suffering just as badly as I was.

And she wanted out.

So did I.