Fate of Pandora - Book II

Consequences

Everyone turned to Jasmet. Lukas and Risa held on to a glimmer of hope; but Luna and Arika were less optimistic about what she was going to say. All of them wanted to go back home. They had never wished so strongly to return to their routine, boring lives – anything was better than being forever lost in this weird place. If they escaped 'unscratched' after all of Karina's torment, then there really wasn't a way to stop living – not while they were in a constant paradox of existing and, at the same time, not. In their minds being immortal was actually a curse and not a blessing.

"You think we can escape this place?" Lukas asked, hardly able to hide the excitement in his voice.

"Erm... Yes, but..." Jasmet stumbled over her words as she tried to think of a clear way to explain it.

"Is it dangerous, or too difficult?" Luna prompted in a worried tone.

"I'm not sure how to classify it... I think it is less dangerous than problem-proof."

Seeing how the girl was measuring her words carefully, Arika already knew there was going to be a heavy cost to cross back to their dimension. "Will everyone go back?" The young girl knew she had hit a nerve by the way Jasmet stared back at her. It was stamped on her face that she didn't have good news.

The albino girl lowered her head and sighed heavily. "It's-It's not that simple. You see..." She bit her lower lip as the words faltered.

"You want me to continue from here? I can face them," Jay asked in her mind.

"No, it's fine. It's just a bit harder than I thought it would be to explain it to them." Jasmet closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and when she opened them she looked more determined.

"No, not everyone will be able to go back," she finally spilled out, surprising both Lukas and Risa, while Arika and Luna were expecting it. "The string in our bellies, our umbilical cord you might say, is the connection to our life on Earth. By severing it, we can easily get lost." Jasmet was repeating herself to make her point clear. "After seeing what Kira tried to do to return Pandora, I realized the cord is made of your own life-force. Thus, if my theory is right, it's possible to reconnect us back to our dimension."

"So, if we use our life-energy, we can recreate our strings, right?" Lukas didn't see what the problem was; everyone could return if done right. "It's not like we'll drain all our life just to create such a frail string."

"Yes, you're right. Recreating one's string won't cost you much. The problem is how you will accomplish that."

"And what is your idea?" Luna wanted to be clear about what they should do.

"I know how to recover your strings. I can use my life to return all four of you home."

"Then it's a no," Luna decided, crossing her arms to indicate she was not willing to discuss it.

"I'm not asking your permission," Jasmet replied, quite harshly.

Luna glanced back at her, not liking how Jasmet's strong eyes had a resemblance with Jay's, yet she really was still Jasmet. "I don't want you to sacrifice yourself for me," she said sincerely.

"It doesn't change the fact that it is my fault we are all trapped in here. It's my responsibility to take everyone back safe."

"Wa-Wait a minute, Jasmet. You're not serious about this, are you?" Lukas was uneasy with the route this conversation was taking. He felt like he had just swallowed a big, heavy stone. "I also would never accept leaving you behind. We're friends, remember? Just teach us how to do it and–"