Twin Worlds

Chapter 3

Two hours later, I still had absolutely no clue what to do.  Before me lay a paper, full of ideas that seemed genius but would definitely fail.  I ran my hand through my hair, and stared at the paper for about ten minutes before I realized I was zoning out.  My phone buzzed nearby, and I reached for it eagerly, hoping that it was a text from someone from my old school.  Maybe they would want to become friends, maybe apologize for mistreating me.  At this point, I was desperate for friends.  I flipped my phone over, and was disappointed to see that it was only a notification from one of my games.  I sat in silence for a moment, staring longingly at my phone.  No, I thought, there's no time for friends right now.  I can have friends after I find out the truth/save the world/get ripped/find love.  I went on like this, daydreaming about a much better version of me, for a few minutes before I once again snapped back into reality.  I should probably stop being so pathetic, I thought to myself, the readers are gonna get bored.

The one time that I actually needed my brain, it decided not to work.  In frustration, I stormed into my backyard.  My parents were arguing about something as I walked by, but I didn't care.  I needed to calm down.  I laid down in the hammock, staring up at the leaves fluttering in the wind.  Ah, I thought, I love the sounds of nature.  The birds singing, the leaves swaying in the wind, the car in the driveway.  Wait... whose car is that?  I sat upright, swerving to see the mysterious vehicle that had appeared in front of our house.  A sleek black car, it had approached almost unnoticed.  A man in a thick fluffy coat stepped out, and grabbed a suitcase out of the trunk.  He approached the house.  I decided to go inside and see what this was all about.

The man was already inside when I came in.  He was tall, taller than my dad.  He had a shaved head, and his face was chiseled.  A scar ran its way down the side of his head  He looked like a stereotypical U.S. soldier, minus the camo uniform.  He smiled as he shook my mom's hand.  My dad stood to the side.  If he was trying to hide his annoyance, he wasn't doing that good of a job.  "...Well I'm glad you had a safe trip," my mom said to the man. I closed the door behind me, and the adults turned in my direction.  "Phoenix, ah," my mom said, clearly searching for the right words to say, "this is my colleague Lt. Alcott.  He's going to be staying with us for a while, at least until he can find an apartment or something in the area."  He was here for the same reason we had to come.  She tried to hide it, but I knew that was the reason.  They were both required to be here for something, and whatever that "something" was, it currently resided in the military base at the edge of the forest.

"If you don't mind," my mother said with a grin, "Lt. Alcott will be staying with you in your room."

Now I knew that I had to stop this, whatever it was.  My mother had finally crossed the line.  And in that moment of anger, a brilliant idea presented itself to me.  I knew what I had to do, and I was prepared to do it.