Opposing Sides

Chapter 19: Extinguish

     Clarissa hugs Bells as she feels a chill and tries to get comfortable in the queen sized bed. She has not been able to get a full night of rest for seven months, now. Her torso has a small lump that signifies that she is pregnant. When she wakes, she tries to hide her small baby bump as much as possible by wearing big clothes. Daren knows about her pregnancy and she does not think that he is happy about it. Lately, she has muscle aches and shortness of breath. She also gets dizzy and vomits multiple times throughout the day, but she thought that this phase of her pregnancy would be over by now. Her lips are dry. When she dreams, she experiences the continuation of the nightmare she had since the beginning of her pregnancy. Her joints pop in and out of place at odd times. They make small cracking noises when she moves. She sits up in the bed. Clarissa believes there will be no more sleep for her today. She throws the cream colored sheets and comforter off of her body and walks to the bathroom. Of course, she stumbles and has to lean on the hallway’s walls to not fall. She makes it in the bathroom and a grin begins to form on her lips. She kneels on the bathroom sink to get a better view of her reflection in the candlelit bathroom. The shadows of the bathroom cannot hide the round, bloodshot, and brown eyes looking at her in the mirror. As Clarissa brushes her teeth, she feels the rising of digested chicken soup. An acidic flavor teases her tongue and she tries to swallow the ascending contents within her. Her right hand removes the toothbrush from her mouth and holds it away from her face. Vomit spills out of her mouth without her permission. Some of it gets on the faucet and she tries to wash it off as best as she could but her knees buckle and she falls to the floor. Loud knocking comes from the front door. A balled up medium sized hand slams itself on the door repeatedly and Clarissa groans. She slowly pulls herself back up on her feet with the help of the rim of the sink. Her arms shake a bit. She leans on the wall and walks toward the door. Her thin hands unlock the door and open it. Vanessa looks at her with wide eyes. The eyes have tears that just will not leave her eyes. Clarissa knows that she is sad but it seems that is not extremely sad. “What is wrong?” Clarissa’s raspy voice asks. “There is a fire. Brian’s house is on fire and I was not there because…I was not there and a fire happened. I do not know what went wrong!” Vanessa. The man standing behind her smirks and it quickly fades when he sees Clarissa look at him.

“Who is he?”

“He is a… guard.”

             The man licks the spot in his mouth that no longer had teeth. He thinks about his son and if the fire was caused by him. “Can we come in?” He asks. Clarissa’s heartbeat speeds up and she falls backwards. Bells steps out of shadows and catches Clarissa before she hits the floor. He scoops her up and gently places her on the couch in the living room. Then his eyes turn neon orange and morphs into a creature in the foggy room. In a few minutes, he gets to his brother’s home. Most of the flames have been put out by guards. He runs into the building and he sees a few burned bodies on the floor. He wants to find his son and his brother but all the bodies look the same. After searching all over the old library, he went outside and morphed back to his human form. Tears ran down his left cheek as he began asking the guards about Daren and Brian. He walks up to a guy talking to some guards with burns all over his body and singed clothes. Daren looks at Bells and hugs him. “What happened? Who did this to you?” Bells ask. “I will heal but I cannot find Uncle Brian. I hope he was not fighting Cine. I cannot find Cine either!” Daren says.

“Stop fretting. You need to calm down and let yourself heal.”

“Dad, what about…”

“Let it go. I will try to find out more. Let me handle this.”

“Do you think anyone died?”

“I do not know. We should try to be optimistic until we get some information.”

Daren faints while hugging his father. Bells morphs and takes his son home. When he gets to the house he transforms and opens the door. He sees Vanessa lying unconscious on the floor next to her guard, who has a deep wound that is bleeding from his torso. Aziri is standing by a window; with a wooden cane in his hand, looking in his direction. A short male with thin, brown arms walks out from behind the door and helps Bells with Daren. His dark, brown afro is not as big as his father’s grey streaked afro. There are straight, dark brown marks on his arm from the incisions made by Doctor Ganashbe. “What happened?” Bells ask. “That guard was rude,” Aziri says.

“Rude?”

“They were in a romantic relationship. He said that before I ripped his heart out.”

“You did not have to kill him.”

“They were conspiring against Brian. He hinted at some big plan and laughed about the fire.”

“Aziri, you do not understand. I have everything under control. You should get as much rest as you can. You know you are not…”

“Bells, I do not need you to pity me. I may not be as healthy as I was in the past but I can still fight. If I survived the poking, prodding, and the surgery that Doctor Ganashbe put me through, I can deal with a puny threat like him. Plus, I do not see how you have this whole ordeal under control.”

“Chad, can you take Daren to his room?”

Chad nods and throws Daren over his shoulder with ease. He glances at his father; with his dark brown eyes, before darting up the stairs. Bells closes the door. Aziri sits on an armchair next to the couch Clarissa is on.

“I never trusted Vanessa.”

“Well, your presentiment was right.”

“I have to find out who started that fire.”

“Where is Brian?”

“We have not found him yet. Daren says that he was fighting someone.”

“Yes, that does sound like Brian.”

            Aziri lost his wife after leaving Ganjo. The doctor experimented on her and turned her into a mutant. Her body could not withstand the constant shifting of her bones and the pain that accompanied it. The lower part of her rib cage collapsed and pierced her liver. He remembers this and wonders if he was as passionate as Bells would he have been able to save her. The thought leaves his mind as fast as it came. A pain crawls along the sides of his waist and he repositions himself on the chair.

        Bells looks at Aziri with worry in his eyes. Aziri used to be so strong. Now, he cannot stand for long periods of time and he needs to lean on a cane to stand. Aziri told him that his father helped his family escape but no one can find Captain J. or General Tame. Bells tries to remain optimistic, but he fears that the doctor may have done much worse to them. Every year that past by Bells has only fed his fear. He thinks. What is Doctor Ganashbe up to? Whatever the doctor is planning Bells wants to be prepared that is why he has his counterattack ready. 

       Cynthia did work for the doctor at one point in time. I wonder if he has her as a spy. Did the doctor tell me that she was not working for him so that I can trust her later? Should she not be trusted? He gets lost in his thoughts and the same conclusion keeps arising. Cynthia has to die. He told Brian to get rid of her and he did not listen. Now, his home is burnt and he is missing. The information that Aziri told him supports the action he believes he must take to protect his family and friends. 

        He feels like the doctor is always many steps ahead of him. He believes that the doctor is the master mind behind all the hidden schemes that pop up before his eyes when they are complete. He is paranoid. To Bells, the world has changed so much because of the influence of one man, Doctor Ganashbe.