The Two Sisters

Chapter 3: Flying, Human Gnats

"What the fuck was that?" they muttered in unison. Staring at each other,  both semi hoping the other would burst out laughing- claiming it was some practical joke, a remembrance to when they were children. But neither dared. Neither moved. Nothing happened.

"No, nooo, no." groaned Effie. "I refuse to believe this is an actual thing. Nothing happened, we're both sleepy. It's nearly 6 am for crying out loud. That, thing.." she trailed off, making motions with her fingers while pointing to her sister's hands. "That thing was a figment of our imaginations, we can't even be completely sure we saw the same thing."

Effie sunk to the floor pulling her knees to her chest. Aife looked at her sister. Out of the two of them Effie had always been the logical one. She hated anything that couldn't be explained. Rainbows, where a nightmare as a child. While Aife was excited about the idea of a little person living inside a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, Effie was transfixed on the idea that colors appeared from the sky. She was 7 years old reading books about light fragments and reflecting ultra violets lights, while Aife just wanted to stare at the pretty colors. It was the one thing throughout their whole lives that was ever an issue between the two. Both equally bright young women, who had different views on life & how to approach it. Effie needed facts, knowledge and cleverness. Things with answers, concrete and evidence. Where as Aife liked exploring, the unknown, and "trying" while going by feeling. There was no "try" with Effie.  No "let's see how this goes" or "let's do this just for fun". Either you had the facts or you didn't, and when you didn't you stayed clear away from it. Aife took a deep breath while she looked at her sister. She wanted to say something calming, but didn't have any of the right words.

The two girls lived in an old stone building, that seemed to crack with every footstep. One of those remarkable buildings were the view, if you could call it that, was onto a dark dusty street lined with trashcans. It was small; two rooms & no neighbours. The only natural light came when the sun rose & a faint orange glow cascaded around the room. It was at the time the only thing the girls could afford on their budget. Little did they know that they're absent of neighbors, friends and the like was just about to come in handy.

"Ef..." Aife headed towards her sister with an outstretched hand.
*THUD* - a sound came that stopped her in her tracks and made Effie's head shoot up as they looked in the direction of the unknown noise. What sounded like a cloth covered body had just hit the window. It hit the window pain with a loud thud, making the rickety old metal latch shake. *THUD* there it was again. The two girls ran to the window to see what it was, but the object vanished just as quickly as it had came. Craning their necks, they looked to see as much as they could through the still closed window. Reaching her hand up to unhook the latch, Aife suddenly felt a sharp sting on her hand. "Do not open that!" Effie glared. "That's stupid. You don't know what's out there."

"You're being ridiculous Ef, it was probably just a bird who flew into the window... they do that sometimes."

"Yeah, when they mistake it as something in which they can fly through. What dumb ass bird flies down and alley, turns left and goes; 'hmm, I shall try this way.' That was not a bird." Aife rolled her eyes in response, waving her hands in her sister's direction, trying to shoo her away.

*THUD* there it was again. The two girls looked up. If the sun had just risen you wouldn't be able to tell anymore; The other age glow was gone. Now outside the girls window was grey. Motionless and grey.

"Aife.. I don't like this, I'm scared."
"Ef, I think I just saw a pair of eyes."

...In a flash everything changed...

Effie starred at the window. Suddenly out of the messy pile of grunge, grime and grey, popped a head. A very tiny, small little head. It was not cute by any means, almost small enough that you'd think you could step on it. Effie took a step closer to the window staring at it, it stared back. Effie tilted her head to the right and it did the same. She peered closer, squinting here eyes to get as good a look as possible; then there it was, movement. To the right and left of the miniature head she could see movement, stirring, shifting. Pointy limbs, which she could make out where bony elbows, shoulders & knees escaping from underneath thin cloth; stretching, clawing it's way out - escaping to be free.

A sudden burst of realisation hit Effie in the stomach. Those were not fabric piles of fabric, they were wings! Her eyes widened, standing there with mouth agape, she was unable to find the vocal chords to depict what she was screaming in her mind. "Aife get down!"

Creatures seemed to appear in thousands, one at every turn, hurling their bodies at the window. One right after the other, their small bodies hit the glass making the window shake. Being it was such an old window, its metal framing that encased the glass seemed to shake the most. The noise was unbearable. Rattling, shaking, screeching from the creatures, the scraping of metal on glass, the thud of small bodies hitting the window...it was all too much.

"Stop, stop STOP" Aife screeched, scrunching her eyes shut, and grasping her head. She was trying so hard to block out the noise and pretend it wasn't happening. It was Effie's scream that brought her back to reality.

A creature had landed on the flat surface of the window, it's palms & soles visible on the other side of the window pain. It began tugging at the latch, trying to pry it open. Pulling immensely hard as the talons on each of its wings scraped up & down the glass, emitting a defining, high pitched sound.

Pure fear ran through them. "I can't take this anymore" bellowed Aife. With one big intake of breathe she let out a powerful, guttural yell. Full of anger, or fear she couldn't tell which... all she could do was feel. Feel the muscles in her stomach contracting, the muscles in her biceps flexing as she pushed all the rage she had in her body out through her stretched arms, down her hands and through her finger tips. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! STAY AWAY FROM MY SISTER".

White light erupted from her finger tips. The more she screamed the stronger the column of light became. Aiming it directly at the window at the little gate crashing un-invited beast trying to pry its way in.

It was sent flying off the window still holding the latch landing with a large thump on the ground below. Now, in front of them, their safety net was gone. A large hole occupied the space where the window's glass had been, & the remaining creatures took little to no time entering to room; their minds set on one thing: "attack".

Swarming Aife first, they created a vortex around her, - left, right and center all you could see where wings. Effie stood in horror as visuals of her sister seemed to disappear behind translucent curved flying bodies. She could hear Aife's shrieks as flashes of white light appeared in the small spaces between beating wings. The light began to grow; suddenly sending the swarm of creatures flying back in all directions, and knocking both girls clean off their feet.

They let out a shriek as the creatures swirled over head. Cowering, huddled together, Effie & Aife tried desperately to grab each other's hands and not let go.
"Effie! You have to help me, Effie help me!" "How?! How?! You have to tell me how!" Effie was shaking with tears. Her sister needed her and she had absolutely no way of helping. Whatever Aife had produced, & been able to conjure up was missing inside of Effie - at-least for now. & she couldn't figure out why.
"Effie help me! PLEASE!"
"Nothings happening!" Tears were streaming down here face. "A, I'm so sorry nothings happening!" She looked at her own hands, pleading with her limbs: "Come on, work! Do something, please! Let me help her!" she yelled at her body shaking her hands furiously - but it was no use, absolutely nothing was happening.

Effie sat motionless in the center of the room. Tears streamed down her face, all she could hear was a high pitched, white noise style ringing sounded in her ears. To her right was the hole in the wall where the window had been only an hour before, to her left was her sister surrounded by these creatures that looked straight from a horror film. She pleaded with her body once more "Why don't you let me help her?!"

On the other side of the room Aife was dealing with her own set of issues. Creatures were coming at her in all directions, including above & she didn't know what to do. The only thing she could keep her focus on was Effie. "I have to get back to Effie" she repeated over and over in her head. "I have to get back to Effie." The more Effie cried, the angrier Aife became. "If you touch her, who ever you are, I will end you. I will end you all."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw one fly right at Effie, knocking her upside the head. "That's it." Aife swung her shoulders around, aiming her outstretched arms at the creature. In a flash of blinding white light she knocked it over right as it was two inches from Effie's face. "I've had it! You attack me, and now my sister!" Surges of white light sprung through Aife's finger tips. Walking in a circle she turned, the light hitting every corner of the room. The small, flying, shrink wrapped human gnats squealed, escaping from the light and back out the window they came.

Aife stammered over to Effie, pulling her onto the remaining bed. Between a puddle of sweat, tears and deep breaths the girls collapsed.