Two is Better Than One

14 Years Later

I slowly opened my eyes. Sigh. Yet another day has begun. I get up out of my sleeping chamber. I glance at my mirror as I walk past. Same pin-straight brown hair, same blue eyes, same skinny frame...Honestly, I have no idea why I was chosen for Ami. Maybe it's my blue eyes? It's definitely not my hair. At least I'm not in Mal. That's where the deformed, ugly people go to live. By the Counsel's standards, I'm pretty. What is beauty, though? I ponder this as I sit to begin my morning meal. I've always wanted to see Mal. I have heard the citizens of Mal are a little...dumb. I guess they don't have the intelligence serum like we do. I get ready for the education building.

"Goodbye, Mother! I shout as I step into the glistening white hallway. Everything has curved edges here in Ami. There are no sharp edges in the architecture. The education building is right down the hallway. I smile at my BFF (Biologic Free Friend).

"Katie! So great to see you!" I say bubbly. She smiles, too.

My first class is history. Ugh, so boring.

"Today, we will be learning about the United States of America," Mr. Robo stated in his monotone voice. Seriously? Again?

"The U.S. had a civil war, and became an anarchy." Yeah, yeah, and we gathered up, and created the city of Vit from the ashes of the United States, and created the twin cities of Ami and Mal. Blah, blah, blah. My head fell into my arms.

I was running down a dirty street. Then, I was being punched in the gut over and over again. I suddenly was sobbing in a darkened, cold corner. Finally, I was staring in a cracked, dirty mirror. Fragmented by the crack, I was staring at my reflection. My cheeks were gaunt, and bruises lined my face. The most startling thing, was the fact that my eyes were bright green. FLASH. I was sitting at my desk in school listening to the end of Mr. Robo's spiel.

"That was how Vit was created. Oh, I will be building houses in Mal in a week. If you would like to help, you can come with me a week from today." BRRING! The bell rang, signaling the end of class. I stumbled out into the hallway. What was that? That question plagued me the rest of the day.

About a week later, we went to help Mr. Robo. Finally! I need to see something other than the boring white walls that I have been surrounded by since birth. I boarded the train. I dozed off. Suddenly, I had chains wrapped around my bloody wrists. FLASH. I was being shaken awake by Katie.

"We are here," she whispered. I hopped out of my seat.

"Do you think the people of Mal know that they are slightly lower on the evolution scale?" I ask snarkily.

"Sure, Alli, sure," Katie said with a smile. We exited the train. I gazed around. Mal was dark. All of the edges of the architecture were sharp and straight. The main building was craggy, like a mountain, and it was guarded by a solid, black, iron gate. I gulped. Is that gate to keep people out, or to keep people in?

Meanwhile, a girl with features just like Alli was getting prepared to escape from the main building. Almost there! She thought to herself as she slid under the gate as it was closing, only to meet four guards waiting for her on the other side. The captain of the guards smirked.

"Again, Marissa, really?" He said as he stroked her cheek. Marissa growled, and bit into his plump hand.

"Get away from me," she stated as he shrieked in pain. "Besides, I'm not Marissa." Inspiration struck as she noticed an Ami girl with her face look worriedly at her. "She is."

I glance at the girl surrounded by guards who appeared a couple of minutes ago. Wait, why does she look like me? Is it witchery?

Suddenly, all the guards come rushing towards me, dragging the girl with them.

"Are you Marissa?" one of them asks. I look at the girl, and see her eyes close in distress. I gulp, and say one simple word that will change my life forever.

"Yes."

Marissa's eyes fly open. Did that girl just say she was me? The captain of the guards frowns, clearly puzzled, then decides to believe her. Idiot. Doesn't he even see the difference in our eye colors? Marissa thinks.

The guards drop her, and she says, "I would like to see a blood test. We must be related."

The Healer Guard pulls out his ReLation kit, and scans them.

"Twins," he states indifferently. Marissa is shocked, but not as shocked as the other girl.

I shriek as the guards grab me, and drag me into the main building. They drag me into what I can assume is the prison, and throw me into a cell. I curl into a ball, and rock myself to sleep.

A loud BANG awakens me from my slumber. I blink the weariness from my eyes. A tall man wearing the outfit of a guard, but with much more pins and medals, was standing above me.

"Let's go," he says as he grabs my upper arm and drags me up a couple of floors. Why is this happening to me? This should be happening to Marissa, my...twin. Why did I even say I was her?

The highly decorated officer threw me into a throne room. There was a small frail man. He was wearing a crown, which seemed to be dragging him down to the floor. How does this man have enough strength to carry the crown? A thick, lush cape covered his shoulders, stretching all the way down to the floor.

"I know you are not Marissa," the frail man whispered. I took a sharp intake of breath. How did he know?

"I also know you are from Ami. You probably often wondered why you lived in Ami. You were never beautiful enough for Ami. The truth is, you were meant to be in Mal with Marissa. I wanted to test you and your sister to see if you had twin telepathy. For thirteen straight years, neither of you had contact with each other. Suddenly, one of you contacted the other." That must have been why I had a vision...of Marissa?

"Yet, you saw the horrors of Mal through Marissa."

"But...my class was here on a community service trip!"

"Exactly. If all had gone well, your classmates would never have learned of the horrors hidden in the depths. I will deal with them later. To insure that the secrets of Mal will never come to light, I will give you a choice. Either way, you can never speak a word of Mal. Leave, and never return, or die," the man said quietly.

Marissa sighed, then began to follow the guards. She knew about the unspeakable horrors that came out of the building, having been subjected to them herself. Marissa ran under the gate just in time. She knew what she had to do. Quickly, Marissa sprinted into the throne room.

"What?!" I screech. What about my sister? I can't leave her here! I haven't even scratched the surface of the evil buried here! I have to protect her.

"Sir, I choose..."

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