Flipside

Part 1, Chapter 4

Marsha and Nevin had decided to trust Gemma.

"What are those things you're holding? Are they scissor blades?" Nevin asked. Gemma was not satisfied with saying yes, making them seem boring.

"No, they're dualblades." She told them. She had agreed to sit down in the living room and drink chamomile tea with the other two children, and they all sipped their drinks occasionally to maintain the businesslike atmosphere. Marsha had excused herself for a minute or two to change her clothes and waterproof her belongings. Her laptop was soon in a bag, as well as a change of clothes that included a hat, a sweater, socks, a shirt, shorts, and two pairs of underwear. She placed them all in a bag. When she returned, she was wearing some boots that were good for running in, like sneakers; a navy blue hoodie over a green shirt, and her favourite jeans. They were skinny, but stretchy. The three finished their tea when they decided to sneak out into Marsha's backyard. Some people jumped down from her treehouse and ran at them, wielding an axe and a wooden stake. They looked rather different from the others. They didn't have hoods. One of them was wearing a mint green dress with some sandals that climbed up her legs like boots with symmetrical rectangular cuts in them that exposed more skin than it shielded. The other was wearing a shirt for a sports team and some cargo shorts.

"You need to help us." The girl murmured. "Please. We're being chased."

***

"It's quite something that we were all chased until we arrived here," Dante remarked. "Perhaps it was fate?" A ping sounded from Gemma's phone. She had received a text. She showed it to the others.

It wasn't fate.

"Not creepy. Not creepy at all." Pepper said sarcastically.

"It was a ShareNet message from my own user." Gemma announced. "That doesn't even make sense. I'm gonna video call them and turn off the camera." She did just that.

"Hello." Came the voice from the other line. It wasn't a question, like when you normally pick up a phone, it was more of a statement. A remark.

"Okay, creep, who the hell are you?" Pepper announced.

"Is that Pepper?" Came a voice in the background of the call.

"Yeah." Said the caller.

"Why are you trying to save her?" Asked the other voice.

"Shut up, Nevin, I'm talking to them!" Screeched the voice.

"Okay, okay."

"Sorry about that."

"You haven't answered the question. Who are you." Nevin growled.

"Look, I don't have any more time. I need to progress. Bye." They hung up.

***

Reap.

Kill.

Make us proud.

"Shut up!" Sasha snarled. Her scar burned angrily. She pushed her scythe away from her, just in case.

Kill.
Reap.
Make us proud.

"Stop it. I don't work for you anymore. Reaping is not my task, you know that."

Go home, Sasha Levine.

Go home, you've made it evident that you can't handle the pressure.

"I'm helping my friends right now. I can't do any favours for you right now." She told them.

GO HOME, SASHA. THAT IS AN ORDER. YOU CAN SEE THEM AFTER.

"Fine, fine." She walked to the nearest road and hypnotized the driver. "You will drive me home, and when I leave the car, you will drive back here, exit your trance, and forget this ever happened."

"I will drive you home, and when you leave the car, I will drive back here, exit my trance, and forget this ever happened." He repeated. Within ten minutes, she was home. It was her own home, not her parent's. The followers had built it for her.

The yard had seen better days. The grass was long, and the hedges didn't look like hedges, more so like strange bushes. She twisted the doorknob and pushed in. The smell that hit her was disgusting. It was musky, dank, and dead. She walked out into the main area. There was a cup of tea sitting there, still steaming hot. She sat down by it and raised it to her lips.

Sasha.

"Yes?" She had the sense not to look behind her. The leader was said to kill anyone who saw him.

You've gotten stronger since I last saw you.

"Don't remind me." She bit her lip.

This is your fate.

"There's no such thing as fate." She announced.

I'll humour you. So, tell me, how did you feel?

"Feel when I killed them?" She asked. "Guilty."

Your parents left you to die.

"Death would be joyous right now, you know that? No tasks, no orders, no following." She muttered.

I gave you a purpose.

"Good for you." She was starting to ignore him.

I have a new task for you.

"Is that so?"

I need you to reap four people.

Four people. Four friends. Sasha winced.

Not just any people. They're coming to the Flipside soon. Much weaker than you. They don't even have real weapons. I need you to kill them. One of them is a follower. The other four are not.

"Why? You scared?" She smirked.

SASHA LEVINE. She felt thick, viscous fluid in her shoulders, threatening to swallow her whole.

"Fine, fine. I'll do it." Sasha was lying. She knew that she had finally discovered something that the leader feared. She would not reap any threat to him. She would revert to her original state the only other way:

She would kill the one who initiated her Following.

***

"Ready, guys?" Marsha had waterproofed the belongings of all the others. They nodded, then dived in in unison. Marsha paddled downward, looking desperately for the bottom.

It didn't exist.

She swam until she finally hit something, but that something wasn't solid. It was air. She breathed heavily, and looked around.

So this was what the Flipside looked like.