An Outsider's Call

63

SAWYER

"You never should've looked for that memory!" she growls down at me. I grab her wrists, not ready for loss of breath as I choke. "Do you realize what you've done to me? I will kill you!!"

I need... to tell her...

"That..." I barely choke out. "Wasn't... me...! It was AN ILLUSION!"

She presses on my neck even harder, making me barely lose my entire breath.

"Eden...... is not...... dead!" I let out. That's when she releases her grip, a burst of air coming through my throat. I gasp in relief, rolling to the side. I turn to the side as I slow down my breathing.

"What the hell did you just say?" she says in a terrifying, serious tone. I slowly turn to her, being able to breathe normally as I hold onto my throat.

"I'll explain!" I pant out. America stares at me suspiciously, panting angrily. "Just let me explain... I told you I know what this power is now."

"You're full of shit!" snaps America. "What the hell are you talking about?! You don't say that after a person dies!"

"Let me be clear! Is Eden dead in the real world? Yes. But when a Child of 42 dies, they're not gone!" I mumble, starting to sit up. "A part of them is still alive! A part of Eden is still alive."

"Stop!" shouts America. She thinks I'm taunting her, but I'm not.

"My mother injected herself with Children of 42 powers, and killed herself. But she came back, and gave me the power we have. I think that's how you got your powers. When Eden died, she gave you her power. She lives in you, America. She lives in both of us, they all live in us. And she's still as real as she was three years ago." I say. America starts to cry, tears welling up in her eyes. She shakes her head little by little.

"That's crazy... you're lying..." she mumbles.

"I wouldn't lie to you at this point, and I never have. I never did anything to hurt you, Eden, or any of your people. It was all my father. He tricked you, America. He's the one that gave the order to kill you both." I begin.

"STOP!" shouts America.

"America... they're here to guide us. They brought us together so we could make peace this whole time, and we've been using this power wrong. We both have to break the disunity we have so all of this can all come to an end." I say.

The moment I say the word "disunity", she looks up, knowing where that's from. I slowly stand up, and a few seconds later she does the same.

I lock eyes with her, and raise my hand toward her. I offer it to her, waiting for her to take it.

"We can do better if we do this together." I say. She looks down at my hand, and up at me as my heartbeat rises. I press my lips against each other nervously.

America walks up closer to me in an expressionless matter... but I see emotion in her eyes. She stares at me for several seconds, glancing down at my hand, and me... until she uses her hand to throw a punch across my face.

Just a split second later, her other hand punches me in the face, when she does it again, and again, and again. I let out wail in pain when I fall to the floor, when America repeatedly kicks me in the ribs.

She forces her foot up my ribs several times now until she grabs me by the shirt.

"For Eden!" she shouts, punching me in the face again. She shoves me upward, and slams my head onto the floor.

I'm not gonna fight her.

I'm not. This is the only way I can prove it to her. Prove everything to her.

"Get up." growls America. I lay here, slowly lifting up my body, seeing blood splatters on the floor. I lift my head to look up at her, and get to my knees.

"I'm not gonna fight you." I mumble. America looks at me in fury, and kicks my stomach with all her might. It knocks me back, making me expect a hard impact to the floor...

But the setting around me flashes in a blink, and I suddenly find myself on a soft, blanketed bed. I look around in shock... and realize I'm in a bedroom.

From what I see, this is America's bedroom... and America is standing directly in front of me, looking confused as I do. The spirits must've done that. Physical contact in the Space between us and America makes everything worse.

Her bedroom is a bright blue, and has golden fairy lights surrounding the room, hugging the ceiling.

This is the first time in days America and I have faced each other in reality. We're looking directly at each other, not in the Space, not in a memory... in reality.

But America continues her rage. She punches me in the face once again, and does it again numerous times until I can barely keep my eyes open. I roll off the bed, slamming onto the floor.

"They won't come for you." snarls America. I shudder, breathing in and out, resting my head against the floor. I squeeze my eyes shut to hold back the tears, making my throat tighten and harder to breathe.

They will. They have to. My brain is already killing me... this is not how I am going to die.

I need to succeed. For my mother. For the spirits. For my friends. They have to be coming. They have to be.