C0NV3RG3 (Sequel to M3RG3)

Chapter 10

The immunity gene. It doesn't run in your family. Arista whispered bleakly. She probably doesn't remember anyone, including you.

I shoved away Arista's painstaking thoughts. I had to stay strong. I would only lose a sister that I had no actual memories about. That was all.

Yet, I felt like I knew her, that we were a family. Still, standing here, staring at my sister who was studying me in confusion, there was no doubt I was nothing but a mere stranger to her.

"I'm not Astrid," I paused, biting down on my tongue, the tears sliding down my throat. "I'm Lyla, a member of the Merging Process, fifth-generation," I forced out, my voice thick with tears. "You're Layla, right? You're the first generation of the Merging Process."

"Normally, people just call me the Simulator," She replied, smiling secretively. "But Layla works. Would you prefer Astrid or Lyla?"

A term. That was what my sister had been reduced to. Not a person, a name, but a term, a stereotype.

"Astrid works, but you can call me Lyla once in a while," I tried to muster a secretive smile. "Astrid sounds a bit too... Outworld."

"It's the same for me. The Simulator sounds too... overbearing. Layla does sound more down to earth." Both of us shared a mutual smile.

"Look, we need to talk, like right now." Two hours and thirty minutes left. "When is your next shift?"

"In an hour or so," She replied, lips twisting to a frown. "Why?"

"It's something really important," I muttered. "I can't talk about it here."

For a split second, registration flickered across her face. But just as quickly, it hardened into resolve. "Leave," She suddenly demanded.

I flinched. "We really need to talk," I whispered. "Please."

"I have no desire to talk," She said, her face as blank as a slate. "Especially to someone like you."

"Simulator," I cleared my throat. I couldn't cry. The simulator would think of it as a weakness."I am Astrid, the fifth generation of the Merging Process. I would like to talk to Layla."

"Layla," The Simulator's voice was detached and robotic, the voice of a perfect Republican. "is gone. I sent her away."

"But I need to talk to her," The Simulator cocked her head at my desperation, her blue eyes sparkling with curiosity. "I have to talk to her. It's important."

"It can wait." She calmly stated.

"But it can't!" I yelled, ignoring the shocked and horrified stares of the people surrounding us.

Grab her into our room and talk some sense into her. Arista advised. With surprising ease, I wrapped both hands around her wrists before hauling the Simulator towards my room. She wasn't putting up a fight, but she was using another approach to persuade, or rather, threaten me.

"William won't be happy with you. You will fail as a member of the Merging Process. Is this what you want? To abduct and threaten the most prestigious simulation maker?" I ignored her monotonous voice, my arms aching as I dragged her further down, ignoring other shocked and confused stares of passing Republicans.

Just a little more. I shoved the Simulator into my room. Done.

"Layla," I stared into her blank, depthless eyes. "It's me, Lyla, your sister. You have to listen to me."

"I told you, Layla is unconscious." The Simulator stated again, her doll-like eyes blinking back at me.

"Wake her up then!" I shook the Simulator, eyes brimming with tears of frustration and anger.

"Do not be hasty, child," Her voice was reprimanding. "Layla will wake up if she wants to."

"I am not a child," I seethed. "And I know that Layla will wake up if she knows that her sister is sitting next to her right now."

"She has forgotten everything about you. Why do you think she will listen to you?" She cocked her head to the side, feigned curiosity sculpted on her face.

"Because that happened to me as well, but I'm still here, trying to reunite with my sister. We may not remember each other, but our sisterhood still stands strong." I glared at the Simulator, my eyes glistening with tears. Her shiny, dark blue orbs blinked back at me. "So? Wake her up!"

The Simulator's face remained unresponsive and slate-like, her body rooted to my bed. "Layla? Simulator?" I whispered, my fingers almost touching her fiery curls.

The setbacks of the Merging Process. Arista whispered. It can't be.

"No," I whispered, rocking my body back and forth. "She can't, she won't, she isn't-"

I don't know. Arista whispered bleakly. I didn't know. Maybe she's the one who has it. I'm sorry.

"You're supposed to know everything!" I screamed. My wrist slammed against the nightstand. "You're supposed to tell me what to do!" I choked down a hysterical sob, muffling my cries into my pillow. "And it's all my fault," I mumbled, my throat aching and sore. "I shouldn't have gone after my sister," I whispered. "It's my fault, all my fault."

A pair of hands gently wrapped me from behind. "Lyla," The voice whispered soothingly. "It's me, Layla."

I pulled back to look at her. The emptiness in her eyes was gone. They were glimmering, shining, like the millions of stars in the sky. "You don't remember anything," I whispered, my face ashen and streaked with tears.

She shook her head. The fierceness in her eyes had dimmed, but still, it was her. "I don't, but I've seen enough to know our past. The Merging Process may have separated us, but it can't take away what we had. I never thought that I would see you again."

She embraced me again, and this time, I relented, melting into her warm embrace.

"Welcome home, Lyla," She whispered.

A/N: And the first part of C0NV3RG3 is done! Now I wonder what's going on with Arista...

Next update: 15th March