One of Them, For Now

Scarlet looked at the tablets that Theo gave her. They were light greyish oval shaped capsules. She was feeling uneasy knowing Theo had that other side of him. She was uncertain whether this world had driven her friend into madness, or whether he had always been like that. She had only met him recently on that fair day in school back in her old world.

I like Theo’s sweet side better. His other half is scary!

She returned home after going to the restaurant. Pim was already resting on her bed, snoring heavily. She went over to him and pulled a soft wool blanket over his body. He rolled over to the other side as she adjusted his blanket. His two eyes closed except for the third one that was in the middle. It was staring at her every move. She started to scratch his head and then slowly, the third eye closed, too. She then took a quick bath, changed into cozy pajamas, and got herself into the bed. She was careful not to disturb Pim’s rest.

The next day flew by. The activities after class were what Scarlet was looking forward to the most. She was on a mission to help Theo with uncovering the secrets behind the Cosmocrats. Her nerves were unsettling as she was trying to calm herself down. She had to pinch her arm several times to awaken her presence.

She was afraid of the unknown and what the Cosmocrats really were.

Scarlet hurriedly stuffed her supplies and books into her school bag. There was not much space left in her bag and some of the books were sticking out from the opening of her bag. She struggled to put all of them in at once. She then started to remove the items from her bag and changed the position on how she was stacking them.

Kina noticed Scarlet scrambling. She batted her eyelashes and perked up her head, "You sure are in a rush. Going somewhere?"

Scarlet tried to ignore Kina and avoid any further conversations, "Not really, I just don't want to miss my TV show." She then placed her last book into her bag perfectly. Afterwards, she started to sprint off.

Kina was puzzled, "Wait, what's a tv?"

In this world, actors and actresses do not exist. The concept of movies and shows was nonexistent. The only entertainment the people of this world had were liquor, gossip, and magic. Also, with magic anything can be possible. They could possibility even make a tv if they knew what it was. Scarlet simply forgot the difference between her home world and this one.

It was the end of the day, and the students were turning their memory books into the large steel box. One by one, you can hear the loud thuds as they dropped them inside the box.

Scarlet was hiding behind the wall waiting for all the students to leave.

The lights in the building were shut off and everything was pitch black. Ghost blue orbs started to appear in the hallways and room.

Boom..Ba…Boom…Boom

There were drumbeats coming from the Cosmocrat drummer. His cloak was decorated with gray tassels that had musical notes at the end. Both hands were pounding on the drum with a menacing beat that sent a shuddering wave of sound through the air, making the entire building vibrate. This was also a signal for the other Cosmocrats to make their entrance.

Two lines of Cosmocrats appeared, roaming the school after hours. A long, trailing cloak was fastened to a hood, which was lined with the dense, skeletal skulls of an extraterrestrial being. There was an older Cosmocrat among the rest, he was hunched over and held firmly onto his long lightning-shaped walking stick embedded with two hollowed out eyes and a screaming mouth. The others moved to the side to make room for him as he slowly made it to their hidden office. His face was full of wrinkles like the ripples of the sea and a very long thin white beard that hit the floor.

Scarlet tiptoed; her weight shifted to the balls of her feet with each step. She was trying not to make a sound as she walked to the restroom. Everything in sight was pitch black and some of the dark corners made her feel uneasy. She chewed a tablet from what Theo gave her. It tasted like raw white onions. She squinted her eyes hard, and she frowned as the spiciness and liquids slid down her throat. A few minutes later, her heart pounded fast as she met her gaze in the mirror. Her face had two triangle tattoos under her eyes, and she had two thin bony antennae sprouted from the top of the skull, curving downward. Her long cloak was dragging on the ground. There was also a diamond shaped rock necklace around her neck.

I do look like a Cosmocrat now.

She swayed her head back and forth before the mirror. She was fascinated by the fact she looked like someone else. After adjusting the creases out from her cloak, she left the restroom. She bumped into someone when she was leaving. She put her hand over her head. He was staring at her closely.

She nervously avoided eye contact and moved away.

She noticed her eyes could pierce through the darkness and she could see everything clearly just as if it was in the middle of the day. Her senses were heightened, and she can hear footsteps that are even further away. She was slightly overwhelmed by all her newly found senses. She could see the brightest light that led to a pathway all the way to the Cosmocrat's office. In the room, the cloaked people were all at their desks and taking notes from each memory book they read through.

One of the Cosmocrats waved her over to sit at one of the desks. The Cosmocrat lifted a pile of Memory Books and dropped it in her arms. They were very heavy; she was trying not to drop all of the books. She placed the books onto one corner of the desk. She started to open one of the books, the words seemed to have vanished on the paper. The pages turned into a scene where she could see the person moving around in front of her. Whatever was written came to life right before her eyes.

She took one of the memory books and when she read the front page, it belonged to Kina.

This piqued her interest, curiously, she began flipping through the pages. She could see Kina had an older sister. Her older sister was brushing her hair and taking her to school. She had a sweet innocent face compared to what she looked like now. The next page, it was filled with storms and dark clouds. Kina was holding onto her older sister’s lifeless body and crying.

The cloaked person with an X -shaped tattoo was standing nearby with his arms folded staring at everyone in the distance.

What happened to Kina’s sister? Why are they collecting memory books?

She looked up from her book and noticed the other Cosmocrats after they had finished reading, they cast a spell. Their hands were stretched downward over the book and then it vanished.

Scarlet copied the hand movements and poof- it was gone.

Where was the book? What’s the meaning of this action?