Tethered Twins

Chapter Fifty Nine

Emmie Keyes

The first sense that came back to me was the power of hearing.

The noise was overpowering. I could hear the screams of every person Tobias had taken control of. In amongst the chaos I could hear Rex apologising for what he had done. I could hear his every thought and how he longed to regain control and stop Tobias. Rufus too was worried and obsessed about grabbing a frying pan and beating Tobias with it.

The thought made me want to laugh but I couldn’t articulate the sound. I felt like a passer-by observing Tobias’ power but with none of my own.

My other senses were lost in the ether and the collection of other sounds were not familiar without any other context. I could hear Grace shouting and yelling at Gabe to stop. I had no idea why and hoped that she hadn’t been possessed by Tobias as well. Although if what The Deck told me was true that should be impossible.

Then I could hear my father. I knew he hadn’t been turned so I must have been able to hear him through someone else like Rex.

“Emmie has been successfully transfused,” he said.

“Good,” said Tobias. This time it was his voice I could hear. There was no one else speaking his words for him. His voice was real and filled my head, blocking out every other sound.

“Emmie,” said Tobias. “Welcome to the greatest experiment of all. You are now a part of the world that was created twenty one years ago and soon you’ll be able to see the true extent of what was done to me that day.”

The blackness all around me started to light up slightly and in one corner there shone a bright beacon of light. It moved towards me as if Tobias wanted to show me something.

As the light reached me and filled my vision I could see inside the Olympic stadium again. Am I seeing through my own eyes? I wondered. The view was not what I expected. I could see Tobias from head on and as the view shifted I could see myself in a chair held in place.

The view moved closer and I could now see my face up close. My eyes were wide open and I was staring to the sky, just like Tobias had been. My arms were limp and I seemed lifeless.

“Am I dead?” I asked and I could hear the words emerge from elsewhere. The voice was not my own. “Rex?” I asked and I could hear his voice repeating me.

The view startled backwards away from me and I then realised what was happening. I focused on the floor and the view shifted downwards. I gasped in shock as the realisation hit me and then saw a hand raise up to stop the gasp.

I was controlling Rex. He was carrying out my every thought and saying my every word.

I looked around to try and get my bearings and saw Rufus standing totally still. In a heartbeat I was pulled away from the vision and towards a new bright light. As I approached this one I could now see through the eyes of Rufus and was looking back at Rex. I moved his arm to wave at Rex and then switched back to Rex so he could wave in return.

“What have you done to me?” I asked and the words were echoed by both Rufus and Rex.

“That’s nothing,” said Tobias. “With this power anything is possible. We can change the world in any way we wish. Imagine being able to take over anyone at any time. The possibilities are infinite.”

He was right. This power could change the world for the better. If we took over corrupt politicians and the people who were destroying society then we could shape a better world. Yet everything I had seen of Tobias made this seem like an impossibility. The man was obsessed with war.