Holding Everything

Chapter 6: From Lies To Hope

"What are you talking about?" I ask, resting most of my weight against the back of one of the chairs. I feel weak, I know I lost a lot of blood when that whole incident occurred, but I feel like this is excessive. I sit down and my body relaxes into the chair instantly, "how is that possible?"

"Well," she sits as well, propping her elbows up on the table and locking her fingers a few inches from her face, "I heard those 3 call your name in a panic so obviously I went to go check it out, when I got there, I saw the 4 of you lying on the ground gripping your chests with a puddle of blood next to your faces; when I saw that I knew I needed to speak to your grandfather, so I loaded the 3 of them in the car and brought them to his place; right now he's running some tests to see, but from what he told me, they're definitely your Handlers. His hypothesis is since it skipped 3 generations, they all caught up with your awakening. There is something I didn't mention earlier, when you meet your other half your abilities awaken and your bond must strengthen for things to work in your favor in the future, that's why it was decided in the Old Ways that we would marry them. But since you now have 3 other halves, there is a possibility you're going to have to choose 1." She crosses her arms and stands as if she's trying to think. "It's not a definite though, it's just a possibility."

"Okay? What will happen to the other 2?" she glances to the side and sighs softly.

"Anyways I came back to get you, we need to head back to grandpa's place." She says, obviously trying to avoid answering my question.

"Are they really gonna die? That sounds so movie-like; like a total cliché or something." I roll my eyes a bit, getting quite tired of all this. She stands and I follow, slipping on my shoes and grabbing my jacket off the hook by the front door. The drive seems short and peaceful, we arrive at my grandfather's house, its plain with no decorations in the front yard, my grandma died some years back so he stopped keeping up with the gardening they did together. The only thing left is the giant tree in his yard that gives shade to only half of his yard. We walk in and see him sitting at his table sipping some coffee and watching TV, without looking at us he points to the door that's down the hall and leads to the basement; I'm assuming that's where he left my classmates. We walk in and they're all lying on what seems like operating tables, with nothing on and the only thing covering them is a light blue paper-thin sheet doctors usually use. Next to each table is a little tray with what seems like operating tools, "what the hell did he do to-GAH-!" I grip my head as grandpa walks in after smacking me on the head.

"Don't be so loud, they're deciding."

"What do you mean 'Deciding'?"

"I lied." He pauses, watching my confused expression then turns back to the 3 on the tables. "I lied about refusing my Given Handler, but only alittle. I fell in love with your grandmother, but I was quite intrigued by my Handler and the history of our blood and duties, so with your grandmothers permission I stayed close with her, I didn't have a relationship of any kind with her, but the closeness we had to acquire was something I knew would cause conflict in my marriage. She was intrigued too, wanting to learn more, I'll be honest the awakening itself was frightening, I never thought suicide was as easy as that person made it look; and when I was explained everything I was convinced I was cursed, but after the initial shock, I was interested in learning more. That book, 'Not A Dream', have you read it?"

"Ah...yes but...-"

"It's not complete, huh?" I nod, a soft smile appears on his face and he places his hand on my shoulder. "This 'gift' is such a heavy burden, but used correctly and it'll be okay, our first lesson is to understand we can't save everyone, even though it's our job to. So after a few years I decided to stop, I told her that I didn't wish to do this any longer, and she got angry. You see, when you decide to stop, you..." he trails off, his gaze lowers and his eyes are filled with pain suddenly, they begin to water a little but he quickly inhales and walks toward the table, keeping his back to me. "Once you quit, A Red Path awakens within your Given Handler, and they become prey for, 'them', and they die with the Black Path. I didn't know that would be the outcome, I didn't know quitting resulted in that."

"G-Grandpa..." I can see how hard it is for him to tell this story; I listen without saying a word as he continues.

"So I no longer had a gift, my Handler died and took it with her. I felt relief but guilt, I was the one who insisted we continue to study but then quit halfway. There are a lot of rules and consequences to this 'gift', and I knew none of them because I wasn't doing what I was supposed to, I was more concerned with writing my discoveries down rather than saving victims of the Black Path. Tell me, Koubio; have you seen the Red Flame?"

Suddenly I remember the abusive father and boy engulfed in flames, and the girl who was engulfed only seconds before she was crashed into with the train. I gulp hard, "did you encounter someone with a Red Flame too grandpa?!" I ask anxiously, wanting to know any clue of how to deal with whatever those monsters are.

"Aye, but I can't explain it any more than this." He says, rubbing the scruff of his chin where small hairs grew; the room goes quiet for a bit so I ask.

"Grandpa, will I have to choose one of them to be my Handler?" Having to choose one to live and the others to die is not something I can just accept without a problem. He sighs; I can tell from the sigh that he was probably hoping I wouldn't ask that. He gets up and walks to his bookshelf and takes about 5 big books off and reaches passed the back of it and grabs something. When he pulls his arm out, a small book is in his hand, like a small handheld diary. "What is that?" I ask curiously, wondering if he's trying to avoid answering me like mom did a little bit ago. He motions for me to sit with him at his table.

"I don't know if you will have to choose, something like this, to my knowledge has never occurred. Since I didn't fulfill my duty there is a lot that even I don't know; but I do know that this is far more than what you would expect. Since you have 3 Handlers, I am almost certain this is going to be more than just getting rid of the Black Path. I think your mission is going to change. I don't know what this is, but my father told me, that if problems arise, open this book with your other half and it'll help to turn you in the right direction." His eyes stay fixated on the book, as if looking at it brings back memories; I begin to wonder if he himself ever opened it.

"Have you ever opened it?" I ask, uncertain whether it was the right thing to ask.

"I tried, even though I knew I needed my other half, when she died I tried to open it, to find some way to bring her back but..." he trails off, knowing the rest is self-explanatory. I take the book and examine the details. Its slightly rugged, alittle worn, and the thin silk bookmark attached to the top is braided and frayed at the bottom; there's no writing anywhere on the outside, originally black but pretty faded with time; on what I assume is the front, there's a feather quill design going from the top right corner to the bottom left; I run my fingers over it and feel the texture.

"I'm not choosing." I say as I trace the quill, I hear him sigh and I glance up to meet his eyes. I can't see what he's feeling, it doesn't seem like disappointment, but neither pride fits his expression, he's just staring at me.

"You wish to bond with all three?" he asks as if to interrogate me alittle. I nod, he takes one of the five books he grabbed from the bookcase earlier, and hands it to me. "Another lie."

"What?" I take the book, its much different than the little diary he gave me, it's much bigger, almost like something you'd see out of a movie or Fantasy TV series; its smooth and new looking, as if I'm the first person to hold it. Before I can further examine it, he grabs my shoulders and directs my attention to him.

"Be on your best behavior, these bastards are to be met with the utmost respect." He covers my eyes and opens the book, the sound of rushing winds floods my ears and I can feel my hair being blowing in every direction; I can't see what is happening around me, but I know I'm traveling somewhere; somewhere far, far away.