Echo in Her Mind

Twelve.

Bethany awoke in a cold sweat, not knowing where she was, or how long she was out, but she was severely hoping that the thoughts that filled her mind were a part of a nightmare that she had just experienced. She knew that wasn't the case, however, as Ruben's frame suddenly came rushing to my side, wiping the sweat off my forehead.

"How long has it been?" She asked Ruben, her voice coming out raspy and unfamiliar.

"Only a few hours; if it were days, we'd be dead because The Watcher would've known something was wrong." Bethany didn't even have to look over at him, she knew what his expression was regardless of the solemn tone that his voice held.

"Where are we?" Bethany sat up swiftly, taking in her surroundings, but unable to tell which world it was, as both the surroundings were the same.

"We're back in our dimension. I brought you back after you fainted."

Suddenly, Bethan's anger flared up in her body. The vein in her forehead started to throb and within seconds her shaking fist connected with Ruben's face, before she even realized what she was happening.

He flew back with a force that she didn't even know she was capable of forming, and slammed into the back wall of his living room; cracks spidering up behind him.

Bethany was shocked, to say the least, but she kept silent, waiting for another blow out to occur between the two of them, and also for the beating she was about to take from him. But that never came.

Instead, he stood up and slowly made his way over to her, and said: "I knew you had it in you somewhere." And with that, he left Bethany by herself, confused as to what source of power was just released from inside her.

*****

Bethany lay in Ruben's bed all night, her mind racing with angry thoughts that came out of nowhere. She was made and confused and had no idea what was happening. Her body felt like it was on fire; so hot that she had to strip the bed of all its covers and lay there on the naked, empty, mattress.

Empty.

That's all she had even known. It's not an emotion, but it is certainly a state of being, for Bethany at least.

Time was lost to her thoughts and she was sure Ruben would be barging into the room at any moment, forcing her unwilling body to perform tasks that she had no desire to complete.

As more time passed, and Ruben had yet to make an appearance, Bethany knew something was up. She silently made her way to the door, and creaked it open. As soon as she did, muffled voices could be heard from downstairs.

She silenced her thoughts and snuck out of the bedroom to get closer to the voices. Once she could hear them clearly, she disappeared into the darkness of the hallway, and listened. The voices were clear and ones that have been etched into her brain over the past few days.

Ruben's, of course, and none other than The Watcher. Something was clearly wrong, if her presence wasn't required of them. So, obviously she listened in.

"I understand that you can be incompetent at times, but you need to get that head of yours straightened out, Ruben. You're slipping from your post." The voice of The Watcher echoed through the silent halls. The tension in the room could easily be cut through with a dull butter knife. It was clear that he was not happy with Ruben, due to what, she wasn't sure.

He remained silent, however, as The Watcher continued to speak very demeaning about him.

"I'm not sure what you're trying to pull, or what plan you've got up your sleeve, but you need to remember that no matter what path you stray down, it is a gruesome end for you. Have you forgotten that, Ruben?"

There was silence, and Bethany could imagine The Watcher dangerously close to Ruben's face, awaiting an actual answer to escape from his lips.

"I have not forgotten about my foreseeable future, sir. It is etched into my brain and I could not forget it even if I tried."

"Good, remember that next time you try your feeble attempts at crossing me. You are my weapon, just as Bethany, and together I will finally get what have been waiting to achieve for so long."

Bethany's breath hitched, and her palms began to perspirate; her blood boiled and it took everything in her power not to march down there and demand the answers that she was entitled to.

Who she was.

Why The Watcher needed her.

Why he chose her out of billions of people.

But her mind ticked in annoyance, almost as if warning her to not make her presence known.

"She is ready sir. There is no longer a doubt about that."

"She better be," were the last words out of The Watcher's mouth, before a loud popping sound was heard, and she assumed that meant he had made his exit.

Her body was shaking with anger. So many secrets and lies were surrounding her, that she through for a spilt second about escaping; running as far away as her body would allow her to go. But Ruben's words replayed in her mind:

The Watcher knows all.

He would certainly find her, and she was sure the consequences could be greater than the tasks she had been forced upon currently. Therefore, Bethany swallowed her anger that was burning in her throat, and snuck back into the solitude of Ruben's bedroom, pretending she had never heard the conversation between the two at all.