Replica [Fantasy Smackdown #2]

Replica

     I gazed down at my palms. They felt clammy. The feeling was new. Warmth escalated past my wrists, and toward my elbows. It started to burn.

     “What the –” I stopped, and wiped the beads of sweat that settled above my brows.

     A chair scooted across the floor, the first noise I’ve heard since arriving on this planet, however long ago that was…I had no idea.

     A woman gazed at me, and never once turned away. There was no way she could have noticed I was there. No one has ever paid attention to my existence.

     “Hello?” I said out loud. My voice sounded large inside the silent café. “Can you see me?”

     She nodded. 

     I swallowed, and stepped forward. “You…can see me?”

     “Yes, Harahel,” she replied. “You are the impiety of a Fallen, indeed.” The woman glowed, literally. Right away I knew she was one of the Holy.

     “Have you come to take me home?”

     She shook her head. “Do you even know where you are, Hara?”

     “No, I don’t…” I muttered. "It seems to be a mirror image of when I was on Earth?"  My statement turned into a question, I was clueless.

     “You’re on Replica,” she answered. “All of this is inside your mind. This is your world. Oh, and how rude of me, my name is Anapiel, but you can call me Ana.” Her eyes were a pool of liquid blue. 

     I couldn’t look away from her, she was too graceful. “But how are you here, then?”

     Ana chuckled, “It’s because of our higher power. Now, Hara, you should know better by now.” Her smirk turned into a toothy grin. 

     “Right…” I huffed. “Then if this is my world, I play by my rules?” Confidence prickled inside my gut and chest. I felt enlightened by this feeling.

     Ana weaved her long side braid through her slender fingers, and flicked it back over her shoulder. “Unfortunately, for you, that isn’t how this works.” She moved with elegance, and stood before me. Her finger twirled a long strand of my hair. “Now listen carefully. I’m only able to tell you this once.” She tucked the pink tendril behind my ear, and took a step back. “This is your chance to return as a Holy. I expect you will not reject this offer?”

     “That depends…”

     Ana’s eyes widened. “You’ve sinned, Hara! Now you must repent!” She shook her head and hands. “I apologize for that, but I need you to finish this task. You were never meant to save him…”

     I stepped forward and grabbed her dainty wrist. “I was Thaddeus’s Watcher! I was sent to ensure he kept his sanity after the war…” My voice trailed off. I remembered all the nights I’d spent with him. His terrible dreams haunted him.

     “He is stricken with anxiety and panic attacks. That will be the death of him, I swear,” said Ana. She walked across the café and sat down at a circular table. “His impending death will not be stopped. It’s his time to go –”

     I stomped toward the table, and slammed my fist onto its surface. The people around us were not disturbed. They carried on, and sipped their drinks.

     “What was the purpose of my mission, Ana?” I asked in between shallow breaths.

     “To help him pass in peace, to be his guiding light, that is all,” she replied.