Blood Flower

Chapter 3

YALL IM SORRY FOR NOT POSTING ON SCHEDULE I LOST MOTIVATION AND IM SORRY IF THIS CHAPTER IS SHORT THE NEXT ONE I PROMISE WILL BE A LOT LONGER BYE

Table 7 of Bridge Café was occupied by four high schoolers, chattering happily.
Until Yuri came in, carrying three flight tickets for Russia.
"Hey, Yuri! Where are you going?" Monika asked.
"Nowhere," she replied.
"Yekaterinburg doesn't look like nothing." Kai pulled the tickets from her hand. "What's there?"
"What's Yeka-hummingbird?" Sayori mumbled through a mouthful of doughnut.
"City in Russia." Yuri's head was turned down, looking at her coffee. "Fine. I'll tell you what's there."
The girls and Kai leaned in.
"Some people are born with a certain type of mutation in their DNA. It's called the Third Eye, and when it's activated or 'open', it makes you some sort of ethereal superhuman. If you don't manage it well, you can become a monster, though. People with it are called the Eximinae, and there's a group of people who kidnap them for experiments, and if they're worthless, they kill you. Markovs, that's what they're called." Yuri shuddered as she mentioned the name. A chill fell over the room.
"Anyway, I'm going to go to Camp Markov with my mother and my sister. I need to stop him."
"I'm going with you," Natsuki said firmly.
"So am I," Kai added.
"Us too," Monika and Sayori said together.
"No, no, no!" Yuri cried. "I don't want you guys getting involved in my problems."
"Yuri. We're your friends, and it's our job to help you." Kai looked her straight in the eye. "No matter how scary or odd something is, we're gonna be there to help you."
Yuri sighed. "You're right. But if you get hurt, I'm not paying for your hospital bills, alright?"
The students laughed. 
The bells above the door jingled as two people pushed it open, entering the café. One of them looked like she was around their age, and the other was—
"Tanaka-san!"
"Hi girls!" Haruka smiled and sat down. "And guy," she added, looking at Kai. "This is Yuri's sister, Libitina."
A girl with pastel blue hair tied in twin-tails, round thick-rimmed glasses, a black and white striped dress, a crossbody bag and a navy blue camera pulled up a chair. “Hi. I’m Libitina,” she said.
Monika looked at Yuri, then at Libitina. “You don’t...look alike…”
“Of course not. I can’t use my regular body; that’s too risky. So I did something Nurse Irina taught me many years ago called ‘Relinquo Corpus’, or leaving your body as a soul for a short period of time. They think I’m in a coma. Usually, they’d straight up kill me, but for some reason, they like me. Oh, and also, I'm sorry to Coral Pink Hair Girl and the other boy about last night. I believe I was out of control." 
"That's all?! You almost killed Kai and you just casually say sorry?" Sayori yelled, doughnut crumbs flying from her mouth.
"Sayori, it's fine," Kai told her.
"No, it's not! Liberty, or whatever your name is, can you please just tell us what on Earth is going on?"
"It's Libitina. And I'm not going to tell you what happened. I'm gonna show you what happened." She pulled out an unusual-looking device and tapped a few buttons as holographic pictures and letters appeared before their eyes.

***
May 1st, 2003
Buckinghamshire, England

"Smile, girls!"
A camera flashed as two twins each held a plate with a chocolate cake on top. The slightly taller one put an arm around the other as both their curly blonde locks bounced.
"Can we eat the cake now?" asked one of the girls through gritted teeth.
"Oh, yes, of course, Elyssa! Dig in!" 
The girl named Elyssa began to gobble up her cake, smudges of frosting covering her mouth. "Mind your manners, Ell," the taller girl commented.
"Oh, come on, Libitina, why don't you let your guard down and have fun for just one day?" Elyssa said, her words muffled by the chocolate cake in her mouth.
Libitina smiled. "Sure."
Their mother knew they were highly intelligent. She wasn't sure how they learned so fast, though. Ever since their father had been incarcerated, she'd been the breadwinner of the family. Working as a schoolteacher by day, and running a struggling convenience store by night. Yet her daughters were still the way they were. Confident and smart.
Just as she was about to cut more cake, a loud bang resounded through their flat. Men in sunglasses and tuxedos burst in through the popcorn drywall.
"We are here in the name of Renier Markov. We are looking for Miss Libitina and Miss Elyssa, for they exhibit the powers of the Third Eye and Eximinae. Come forward."
So he wasn't making things up, the mother thought. Everything he said was true.
"NO!" Their mother stepped in front of them. "I won't let you hurt my children!"
One of the men in the gang locked her gaze. Her eyes had a look of pleading. As the man turned away, she could have sworn he almost felt guilty for what he was about to do.
A tall man with slicked black hair emerged. "Step aside, silly woman. Whatever is unnecessary must be eliminated."
The girls heard the gunshot before they even saw the gun.
"I love you. Stay safe." Their mother's eyes rolled back into her head.
She gave a great shudder and fell into a pool of her own blood.