Beyond the Rift ✔ (Completed)

Chapter 35: Double Trouble

Thoughts are rushing the inside of my head. My lungs kept struggling for oxygen. The air around us gets rigid. I feel a tight knot grow in the pit of my stomach. All along, I believed myself to be in potential danger; heedless of the others. I should have known, that anyone can be an easy target of the Qareen.

"It must have got to him!" Yelling, I brush past Nick and bolt upstairs.

"You guys go that way." He gestures to his left, towards a narrow passage with doors on either side. "I'll search the other side. Make sure to call if you find anything." He shouts while disappearing behind another door.

I don't waste a second and dash into the hallway with Marty in my wake. Blood rushes my brain. My breathing grows heavy as I unlock every door. My eyes dart wildly at the interior, scanning each room, looking for a guy in an olive jacket.

A grey suspicion crawls in the back of my head. I feel my blood run cold in my veins.

Ethan is the most arrogant boy I have ever met. He has rarely shown affection for others, other than Elvira. His spleen anger on the other hand, runs deep in his veins for Marty and me. Our fight couple of days ago, says a lot. There is only one person that comes to my mind, when I think of his deepest desire; Rowena, his ex.

I catch a movement from the corner of my eye. I stop dead in my tracks and take a step back. The door is ajar. Lights out. Craning my neck to the right, I try to peer at the moving shadows.

My brain glitches. I could feel my eyes; wide and frozen. The thumping of my heart seizes. A strident numbness shoots up my body, making it hard to sense my surroundings. I try to inhale the sight as a blanket of complex emotions envelope me.

Two figures stand at the center of the room. The blue haze of a moonlight illuminates like a spot light on them. The air around the couple is heavy, the aura; tender.

One of the figures is a 6-foot, lean muscular man. His messy dark hair; unruly and ruffled lazily. Beads of sweat trickling down his temples. Ethan's back is towards the door. His chest rises and falls as he stares at the person in front of him.

Her gaze never leaves Ethan's. Her body too small compared to his. She almost fades behind him. Her chestnut-brown hair gleams in the nightlight. She places her palm at the back of his neck as she pulls him down for a kiss. The peace disrupts when Marty pushes the door wide open next to me.

And for the first time, her eyes dart at us.

The coffee-colored gaze locks with me. I inhale sharply. I decipher the emotion right away. The face that stares back at me, every morning in the mirror. But, for once, it seems unfazed and full of itself.

"Peaches?" Marty speaks uncertainly as he looks at her and back at me.

Ethan's head snaps in our direction. His eyes widen the moment he sees me. His lips part.

But, before he can utter another word, my lungs squeeze tightly. I clasp my hands to my throat. I try to strain my vocals but nothing comes out. My face feels like it is wrapped in a plastic bag, choking me to my death.

Suddenly, my body crumbles and I shake like a leaf. I sense Marty fall on the floor next to me; he too is gasping for air, hitting his fist on the weak floor board. His eyes straining to stay open, so does mine.

"Eee- than, That's not Alexis!" Marty helplessly points to the girl next to Ethan; whose sinister smile makes me wince painfully.

"Ahh.." I clench my fist, as I start to feel the piercing headache hit my sinus like a hammer. I make an effort to look up through the throbbing pain. Ethan looks back at the 'me' who has us off our feet. She continues to tie us down with her magic.

"You..you..are..not real." Ethan's voice cracks as he backs away from her. His face; colorless. His eyes; full of terror. He gulps and tries to pull out his weapon.

"Now, now." She speaks calmly. For once, I hate my voice. I get a good look at her attire. She is dressed exactly the same way as me. It is like looking in a funhouse mirror. "You don't need this. I already told you." She glances down at Ethan's hand; the silver blade clasped tightly.

"You are a Qareen." Ethan's voice breaks, his watery eyes look at her angrily. Regardless, his confidence is weary. His eyes display mixed emotions of anger and fear. It is as if he is too scared to kill her, even though it's an immortal spirit.

"Who I am doesn't matter. What's surprising is that you are the most mystifying creature I have ever met." She slowly starts approaching him. " I can feel the love in your heart, but it's profoundly submerged in a pool of guilt and self-hatred. You have been blaming yourself for the past; for the things that you did. But, something changed recently. You felt the weight beginning to lift up, you haven't felt like this in.... forever. You met me. Yet again, you try to fight me, resist me. You don this don't-give-a-crap attitude, but deep down; you know you can't overlook the obvious."

Between the piercing headaches and my ribcage splitting in half, my heart drums with anticipation. Is Ethan hiding something? What guilt is he carrying? I can see his grip around the blade starting to relax. She must be getting to his head. Stab her Ethan! Now!

"I know what happens to you when you look into my eyes; I know you can't resist me anymore. So, why fight me? Succumb to that feeling." She leans into him. But, Ethan looks away. His gaze travels and lands on me. His eyes are soft as they twinkle in the dim light; helpless.

I feel something break within me, like I stepped too hard on thin ice and am now drowning in an endless cold lake. My body begins to feel numb. I don't know if it's the Qareen magic over me or Ethan's innocent gaze.

"You are right." Ethan faces her again, his voice a bit steady now. "The real Alex does have a hold on me, you on the other hand, are nothing more than a cheap imitation of her." With that he fiercely shoves her away.

Immediately, the force pinning us to the ground disappears. Marty and me gasp and cough. The cool air fills my lungs. I pant as I get to my feet. But, before I can analyze the situation around me, the Qareen straightens up and looks at the three of us. Spleen anger swirling in those brown orbs.

"I am an inevitable being, if you really desire the stone, you'll have to go through me! I won't be defied by a weak human such as yourself!" I hear my voice, only this time it isn't me speaking but the Qareen. She waves a hand at Ethan and throws his body into the wall. The clang of metal is muffled on the grubby wooden floor. Ethan's body lays in a heap in the corner of the room. He doesn't move any further. Anger reaches my brain and I advance towards her, but the unexpected happens.

The "Fake me" freezes. Her eyes widen at me. Parting her lips sightly, she slowly looks down to her chest. A blade sticks out of her chest. Sharp and shiny.

Shock surges me. Not at the sight of her glowing blue blood, rather at her alone. It is like watching my murder happen in real time. Her body shakes and she lets out a throaty roar. The feet beneath us quakes. Dust pours through the cracks in threads. In an instant, she explodes into a bright blue cloud, with an ear-deafening shrill.