Utopia

Chapter 9: Intricate Patterns

Jaron's POV

Darkness. The thing that greets me every time I drift off into a deep sleep. I have always experienced the same darkness, and have found a comfort in the sense of loneliness in the room, but something about it was different today. A new presence was in the room. Suddenly, a bright light erupts somewhere off in the distance, blinding me. Something about that light was inviting, drawing me to it. I extend my hand outwards in an attempt to feel the light...

"Wake up!" I hear Eledina yell as I feel cold water being dropped on my head. I quickly sit up in my bed and push my hair away from my eyes as I turn to glare at her.

"What the hell was that for?" I yell at her. Eledina takes a step back in response.

"You wouldn't wake up," she says as she looks at me with innocent eyes. I stare daggers at her and she rolls her eyes at me. "I need you to go pick up Alejandra." At this moment, I'm even more confused as to why my sister would wake me up so early in the morning to pick up Curly Fry.

"What?" I ask. She puts the cup in her hand on the nightstand and goes to sit next to me on a spot that is still dry.

"Alejandra is freaking out," she starts, "When she got home, she went to go wash off all of the body paint but when she got out, she noticed that it wasn't coming off.

"I told her she probably needed to give it time for the paint to wash away, but she explained to me that she had taken three showers and the paint still looked like it was freshly put on. She also told me that, unlike the first time she showered, she didn't see any paint go down the drain.

"I told her I would call her back and consulted Doctor Althia and she told me she wanted to see her to run a couple of tests. I'm going to go pick her up and help her set up in the infirmary, and I need you to go pick up Alejandra and take her there," she finishes. I process all of the information and I let out a breath.

"Knowing Alejandra, she's going to be freaking out and you want me to pick her up because you believe I'm the only one that can handle her. Am I correct?" I respond.

"That's partly the reason. It's also because I don't think she's going to stop trying to take off the pattern on her skin, and I don't know if I'll be able to keep her restrained if I have to stop her from doing that." We both let out a little laugh at the thought of Alejandra being paranoid.

"Just a tip for next time," I speak out, "Don't pour water on me to wake me up." She shrugs her shoulders and gets up to head towards the door.

"It's not my fault you're such a heavy sleeper. We could be in the middle of an alien invasion and you would still be knocked out in bed."

"You're forgetting we technically are in the middle of one, they just don't know we exist yet," I tell her and she shakes her head before exiting my room. I get up from the bed and strip the bed of the sheets before throwing them on the floor next to the bed. After that, I proceed to get ready before heading out to pick up Alejandra.

Not wanting to wake Manolo, I decide to take one of the hover bikes to pick her up. The ride to her house is calming, and the cold air feels nice against my skin. Soon, the canopy of trees above me starts to separate, and I find myself in front of Alejandra's house. I scroll through the contacts on the comm until my finger stops on Curly Fry and I call her. She doesn't answer, but seconds later she bursts out the door trying to put a hoodie on.

"Need some help?" I joke with her and she glares at me once she's got her situation under control. I laugh at the anger in her eyes, and after a few seconds I notice the pattern on her skin. Without another word, I rush to her and gently grab her arm before pulling the sleeve of her hoodie up in order to see the contents underneath it. I trace the tree bark pattern up her arm. They've gotten darker since the last time I had seen them.