The Alias

Part 5

The desert boy is led to the golden door on the side of the stage. The room fills with impatience not to go next but to know what happens when you walk through that door. Minutes seem to pass as hours when an agonizing scream leaps from the door echoing through everyone's ears. The brunette from yesterday starts shaking. Her little whimpering voice whispers, "They said it'd be painless, Mother and Father promised. It's not gonna hurt, right Sebastian?"

The boy, Sebastian, spoke up, soothing the girl holding his arm, "I couldn't tell you. This is why we were created, Winter. You've gotta be strong when they take you, okay." It isn't a question but a command.

A girl with piercing red eyes is being dragged in now and after her a boy with hazel hair and rich brown fear for eyes. Winter lets out a stifling whimpering cry and is soon swept away with trails from tears forming on her cheeks. Her high pitched scream shatters the calm facade Sebastian held. I stood there by myself as he walks through the door. When it is my turn to go, Chase leads me up the wooden stairs. They aren't as cold as the ones from my memory. My bare feet soundlessly sweep across the stage. The golden door reflects the chills of those that walked through before me. Chase opens it and a muffled creak sounds in the room flowing from the door.

Inside everything is a dark maroon. The smell of decomposing flesh and iron was giving off the hint it wasn't paint but the dried crimson warmth. My thoughts flee when a voice sounds through the walls, "In here we'll test your will by putting you against your biggest fear. After that we'll start the calling ceremony. The test will start in 3...2...1...."

Nothing happens at first but then the walls start shifting. Thoughts spark through me scuttling around to find my deepest fear. One that brings such an emotion to the grasping hands of my accusers. Instead hidden in the crevices of my vault lies an ocean of murky liquid. Thick waves of rushing emptiness beg for me to touch them. The room creates my every thought. The ocean and the pearly white sand that seems to glow in comparison to the murky waves. My feet slowly move toward the liquid but stop short when the scene starts to shift again.

The garden from the dream comes into view. Bursts of color create a delusion in the dimming moonlight flooding the space. In the center a pulsing porcelain lotus stands out. The girl from the dream holds the flower gently moving closer to me with every brush of her toes on the linoleum. She is like my twin in every way except for our eyes. Mine bring no emotion forth while her's springs with countless details of life.