[ featured on @beyondsol and @undiscoveredbooks, a youngblood awards 2018 winner ]
In a world divided in two and dominated by lies and truths beyond one's imagination, will peace ever prevail?
The impending war between Solars and Darks threatens the...
"T-that's impossible." The words froth along my mouth as I sink towards the floor in a helpless daze, pictures of my father and Martha spinning through my mind as I conjure images of me and compare my features with Martha's.
"Edward?" Pain splashes onto Martha's face as she slides onto the floor, by my side.
"How is that possible? We don't even look like each other!" Every reasonable, logical excuse comes flying from my mouth as I argue against the reality of what Martha had just said.
Nothing seems real now.
"I- I can explain." Martha's words wobble with more reluctance but I am tired off the fear holding back every answer that I deserve to know. I'm sick of her not telling me such crucial information the moment she met me and I'm pissed, pissed at the entire world and Galaxy and planet Atlanta for fixing me up in such a painful role.
"Your father- our father," Martha corrects herself, catching snatches of the look of disdain on my face, "specialises in the field of weapon making. Sixteen years back, his employer requested for him to create something different- something that would give the term weapon a whole new concept."
I think I know where this is going. Sealing my eyes shut, I push my back right against the wall, trying to draw comfort from the border that holds up the weight of my spine. I can hear everything and nothing all at once- the soft buzz as the solar energy hums, the way the lights flicker against the ground as the fan beats the rays into separate columns on yellow, the way Martha is slowly mustering the courage to say the words. Silence as I spread my fingers across the floor in a web, trying to do everything to stand the weight of the words that will crash against me, tumble onto my body.
"The task inspired him to do something new. Something many consultations with experts deemed risky and dangerous."
"He engineered us." The words leave my mouth. I can't bare to hear it in someone else's voice; I have to say it aloud to know that the words hold truth, that this is no longer an illusion or a joke.
When Martha doesn't say anything else, I struggle to open my eyelids and blink in the view. Everything looks the same but different. Nothing in the room has changed- the beam of lights still create yellow notches against the ground and the metal platform is still present with its looming air, gracing the well-lit room with shadows that drape against the walls. There's still Martha by my side, looking ready for a fight as always in her gear. But everything feels muted by the truth that I have just discovered. The lights seem dim, somehow. Martha's features are painted in a series of emotions ranging from fear to pain which is a strange look on her face.
"So what am I?" I demand. My voice is low but I hear the spikes of anger, ready to ensnare any information that slips by.
"Y-you and I. We're the first two products of his experiment."
"First two-?" My mouth is parched and the mass of facts that Martha continues to unveil stick to my back, forcing my body to quiver as my world threatens to crumble.
"Teddy." In a hoarse whisper, I clutch the side of the walls, "He's his second try. That's why he's so coveted by the Salvation and the Resistance, isn't he?"
With a bob of her head, Martha continues to speak.
"The two of us got lucky. Everybody dismissed us because none of them believed he had created something so dangerous, something that has never been done before. We became his backup and his prototype- he wanted to create something stronger, better, that would support his claims."
"Wait- you still haven't told me. How are we weapons?" I demand, unable to process all the information that she is lunging at me.
Martha's gaze hardens and her mouth wilts into a twist, "Haven't you realised it by now, Edward? We are causing the fractures in Atlanta's crust. We are the cause of the moon cycle's disruption."
"N-no. That's impossible." I stumble over my words, frantically trying to catch them but I trip over the way they break apart in my mind.
"Edward," Martha says sadly, "It's not impossible. It has already happened."
Word Count: 743 Words
A/N: Thank you all for reading this far! (: What do you think? Feedback is highly encouraged and greatly appreciated! (:
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