A Silver Handgun

Chapter 1

***Aaron Wright***

A silver handgun.

It glinted in the sunlight as pale hands grasped the handle, taking aim at a manakin in the distance. A grin spread across their face as a bullet ripped through the dummy’s forehead.

“Great job. Do you think you could do that with a real person and in front of a crowd?” A voice echoed across the empty field.

My blood was boiling in my veins as my vision came back into focus. I looked up half expecting to be standing in the empty field with the gun in my hand, but I looked up to find my own green and amber eyes. The mirror I stared into was smudged to the point of no going back. My hands gripped the sink until my tan knuckles turned white.

“What is happening to me?” I muttered into the small bathroom.

For a normal person this might be normal; well except the part with the gun. For everyone else this was part of their lives since the day they turned sixteen, well unless you have a best friend soulmate; they break into your mind around the age of five. But getting their memories was the norm. Yet here I was basically a grown man getting flashes of a life that isn’t mine for the first time since, well… ever.

But I can’t help thinking… is this really my soulmates life? Is this even my soulmate? Is it selfish to say if this their life I don’t want to be a part of it? I’ve seen enough to know they’re a criminal, maybe even a murderer. I don’t want to spend my life running from the police. I’ve already spent most of my life thinking I don’t have a soulmate so why would I need one now, just when I come to terms with the fact, I lack a destined lover, is when these memories of violence, fear, and running away plague my mind. Fate is cruel, destiny is a liar, and soulmates are bull.

Why do we have soulmates anyway? We should be with whoever makes us happy! I get that soulmates are about finding who your most compatible with and will probably end up falling in love with, but I want the freedom to choose who I’m going to love for the rest of my life without feeling obligated to be with them because our minds just happen to be connected. I don’t know who’s in my head, but I want them to go back to where ever they’ve been for the past five years of my life. I want them to leave me and my head alone.

I pushed off the sink and stormed out of the bathroom. My apartment was small but functional. I didn’t have to worry about noisy neighbors thanks to the thick walls and they didn’t have to deal with my late nights on my computer and loudish music. I had a great job working main computer techie for FallOut corp. and never had to worry if I had enough money for food. But recently these memory flashes have been throwing me off my game. Making me more prone to forgetfulness. Yesterday I almost forgot to run the security sweep make sure none of the firewalls I set up got torn down by another hacker and what not. That could’ve gotten me fired. My soulmate’s memories are ruining my life but, as much as I hate it, I’m worried. My soulmate could get caught at any time doing whatever crime they do. But they should get caught! Just because they happen to be my soulmate doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get what they deserve. I’m losing my sense of justice and it’s ticking me off.

I grabbed my work shirt from the top of my dirty laundry pile sliding it over my head as I scanned the room for a pair of khakis. I had to get to work in thirty minutes or I was going to be late… again. Sure, my boss loved me but if I was late one more time, she swore on her life she would grab me by the feet and hang me from her window, and she’s not one to make empty threats. So, what if I was a little scared of her, I mean wouldn’t you be? One second, Natalie’s the nicest person you’ve met and the next she’s skinning you alive while cackling like a witch.

Now fully dressed I grabbed my laptop and keys and flew out the door. There was no way I was going to be late today.

***Jade Thorn***

    Soulmates; they’re a weird concept. One person in the entire world who you’re connected too, whether it’s platonic or not. One soulmate is too much for some people. They adore their privacy so much that they can’t stand having the person they’ll learn to love swimming through their thoughts. If they can’t handle having one soulmate, they certainly couldn’t even comprehend having two.

    Having two soulmates is rarity. One soulmate is destined to be your best friend while the other is the one, you’ll love more than anything. As you touch the hands with your destined best friend it feels as if the whole world is brighter and more beautiful, as for the destined lover part I have no idea what I’m supposed to feel.

I am one of the rare people in the world with two soulmates, my best friend is too. I met her years ago and we’ve stuck together ever since. Amber keeps me grounded whether it’s during a police chase or when we’re alone in a hotel trying to stay under the radar. She knows me more than anyone else so why do I need a destined lover. I have never even felt my “true love’s” presence in my head nor do I want to. I have my best friend and that’s all that I need. Who cares if the universe happened to connect my brain with my perfect match? Falling in love would just get in my way of everything I’ve built for myself not to mention I wouldn’t want to drag my soulmate into my less… conventional life.

Amber just gets me. We knew that we should worry about ourselves and our friendship for the time being having met in middle school when your lives seemed to fall apart. So, we agreed to take away our ability to read our future love’s minds. There’s a chip that you can have implanted in the back of your head that protects your mind from unfamiliar signals and it keeps your own head from projecting your own signals to an unknown soulmate. If they already know you, the chip won’t work cause your brain has grown well acquainted with that brain and its brain waves. So, while Amber and I could still talk telepathically, our soulmates can neither transmit their own thoughts to us and they won’t be able to read our thoughts, let alone feel our emotions.

I don’t want whoever my soulmate is to be dragged into my mess of a life. Whoever they are I’m pretty sure they don’t deserve to constantly be on the run. They deserve someone that can give them all their love without having to constantly look over their shoulder. Not to mention, I don’t want to change. I pray the best for whoever I’m destined to love.