bolt of panic rising from deep within me. “How do we go back?”
“I’ll take you back, Xenia. You’re overwhelmed,” he replied. He walked and I followed. The long stretch of grass vanished in a series of light flickers as we reappeared in my car. Kiran waited for my reaction—post traumatic response, to be exact. I felt a lot in the moment, but nothing that I could express.
“Where d’you live?” I asked, while starting the car, attempting to re-establish some normalcy.
“No questions?” he seemed surprised.
“I want to go home,” I cried.
“I understand,” he said, nodding sympathetically. “You can drop me off by campus. My car is still there.”
I huffed, looking at him as the corners of his lips twitched, fighting a devilish smile.
“Actually, I do have questions. Who was that guy you were with?” I had to know, mostly because I felt his hostility as though I had wronged him somehow.
“He’s Orion,” Kiran said, simply.
“What is he?” I swallowed a lump in my throat.
“Wouldn’t you rather know what you are first?” he asked, bemused.
“I can travel between worlds?”
“Yes, you can. You are a Diplozoe .” He enunciated each word. “As am I.”
“And Orion? He’s also like us?”
“He’s a little more than that, but essentially, yes,” he chuckled, continuing, “Simply put, we can travel between two worlds, even if we are lacking a fragment, because we’re special .”
“Can everyone travel like we can and, more importantly, what’s a fragment?” I asked, desperately trying to understand.
“Not everyone,” he said, continuing, “We’re an evolved race of human beings, Xenia. You’ve known all your life that you were different because our capabilities aren’t normal as defined by this reality. You suppressed your true nature, how, I still wonder,” he said, furrowing his brow. “I’ll explain more tomorrow. It’s too much info to digest in one day.”
“How can we be normal? This all feels—and sounds—freakish.”
“The reality of normal is, and always has been, fabricated, Xenia.
We exist in a world whereby powerful beings brainwashed us from birth, attempting to distract us from reality. Humans have been conditioned to welcome distractions, of any kind, in an attempt to mask the harshness that is reality. Most of the ritualistic things we do on a daily basis bear no relevance to the betterment of human kind. But one thing for sure is that we are the real norm. Our minds were freed from centuries of captivity. The powerful Elite Society of Mortals—ESOM, our mortal enemies—failed to suppress the inevitable evolution of humans. We are normal.”
I closed my eyes in an attempt to distance myself from the present moment. I was afraid of what else I’d uncover had I asked anything more.
“Honestly, I really think you’ve had enough for one day. We can resume our Q & A tomorrow. Would you like that?”
“I guess. There’s just one more thing I need to ask,” I pried.
“Sure. Why the hell not? Shoot.”
“Does Orion despise me or something?”
Kiran took his time, casually checking his cuticles before he responded, “Let’s just say he’s a little envious of your potential as a Diplozoe.”
“So he hates me because of something I have no control over and only just found out about?”
“Hate is a strong word,” he said, bemused. “Yeah, I’d say so.”
“Huh.” I was unable to appreciate the magnitude of the situation while in shock. “I want to know about Orion.”
“Know what exactly?”
“Is he evil?”
“Not in the strictest sense,” he snickered, continuing, “First things first, how do you know him?”
I concentrated hard and a series of flashes slowly resurfaced. The mysterious tattooed guy at Landon’s party. I envisioned him in detail, examining his tattoos.
“I met Orion at Styx Nightclub, but we
“I’ll take you back, Xenia. You’re overwhelmed,” he replied. He walked and I followed. The long stretch of grass vanished in a series of light flickers as we reappeared in my car. Kiran waited for my reaction—post traumatic response, to be exact. I felt a lot in the moment, but nothing that I could express.
“Where d’you live?” I asked, while starting the car, attempting to re-establish some normalcy.
“No questions?” he seemed surprised.
“I want to go home,” I cried.
“I understand,” he said, nodding sympathetically. “You can drop me off by campus. My car is still there.”
I huffed, looking at him as the corners of his lips twitched, fighting a devilish smile.
“Actually, I do have questions. Who was that guy you were with?” I had to know, mostly because I felt his hostility as though I had wronged him somehow.
“He’s Orion,” Kiran said, simply.
“What is he?” I swallowed a lump in my throat.
“Wouldn’t you rather know what you are first?” he asked, bemused.
“I can travel between worlds?”
“Yes, you can. You are a Diplozoe .” He enunciated each word. “As am I.”
“And Orion? He’s also like us?”
“He’s a little more than that, but essentially, yes,” he chuckled, continuing, “Simply put, we can travel between two worlds, even if we are lacking a fragment, because we’re special .”
“Can everyone travel like we can and, more importantly, what’s a fragment?” I asked, desperately trying to understand.
“Not everyone,” he said, continuing, “We’re an evolved race of human beings, Xenia. You’ve known all your life that you were different because our capabilities aren’t normal as defined by this reality. You suppressed your true nature, how, I still wonder,” he said, furrowing his brow. “I’ll explain more tomorrow. It’s too much info to digest in one day.”
“How can we be normal? This all feels—and sounds—freakish.”
“The reality of normal is, and always has been, fabricated, Xenia.
We exist in a world whereby powerful beings brainwashed us from birth, attempting to distract us from reality. Humans have been conditioned to welcome distractions, of any kind, in an attempt to mask the harshness that is reality. Most of the ritualistic things we do on a daily basis bear no relevance to the betterment of human kind. But one thing for sure is that we are the real norm. Our minds were freed from centuries of captivity. The powerful Elite Society of Mortals—ESOM, our mortal enemies—failed to suppress the inevitable evolution of humans. We are normal.”
I closed my eyes in an attempt to distance myself from the present moment. I was afraid of what else I’d uncover had I asked anything more.
“Honestly, I really think you’ve had enough for one day. We can resume our Q & A tomorrow. Would you like that?”
“I guess. There’s just one more thing I need to ask,” I pried.
“Sure. Why the hell not? Shoot.”
“Does Orion despise me or something?”
Kiran took his time, casually checking his cuticles before he responded, “Let’s just say he’s a little envious of your potential as a Diplozoe.”
“So he hates me because of something I have no control over and only just found out about?”
“Hate is a strong word,” he said, bemused. “Yeah, I’d say so.”
“Huh.” I was unable to appreciate the magnitude of the situation while in shock. “I want to know about Orion.”
“Know what exactly?”
“Is he evil?”
“Not in the strictest sense,” he snickered, continuing, “First things first, how do you know him?”
I concentrated hard and a series of flashes slowly resurfaced. The mysterious tattooed guy at Landon’s party. I envisioned him in detail, examining his tattoos.
“I met Orion at Styx Nightclub, but we
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