World's Collide

Chapter 5: Duty Calls

Adina's POV

For the past week I've felt sick to my stomach. My gut pain not going anywhere. But I have been working through it as my routine was started to set in. Early morning flights with Levi around Flyers Ridge, where all Flyer Houses were. A flight over and around the Alpha House. Then over and around the town. We had my breakfast in town. Then we would fly over to the edge of the forest. Walk a third way into the forest. The first third of the forest was where the shapeshifters worked on the perimeter, setting traps and doing rounds. We were there to make sure they were okay. 'Brothers in security' is what they called us. Every hour two different Flyers checked up on them.

When we reached the end of the first third of the forest we would take flight again and fly to the Alpha house. The reason we only use a third of the forest for out border is because the shapeshifters said it is dangerous to go further in because of creatures that lived there, but we did need the forest to hide our border lines, giving us a tactical advantage..

Once at the Alpha house, Levi and I would separate and go guard our different assets. One thing I was glad for was that Levi and I were placed in the same house.

Being with Sophia mainly meant that I needed to stay around her as she was home-schooled by a tutor from town. Then I would stay with her as she played, with a nanny watching her, although she never really played, spent most of her time reading. That's impressive to me. When I was eight, all I thought about was how I was going to dodge my mom at bath time on that day. I then needed to train Sophia in some self-defense techniques after which she had free time. She would mainly take walks, on which she would ask me the most intriguing questions. Ones I couldn't answer. Questions about the Collision and why it happened, the different outcomes which would have happened, had that day been different. She is a child genius and so I can't even give her fairy tale answers. It makes perfect sense that she is going to be our next leader. She is truly amazing and I truly cherish the bond I have with her. The bond that became so strong over only a few days. It's almost like I'm watching a smarter me grow up and all I want to do is protect her. That's the only way I can explain it. Personality wise though, Sophia is nothing like me. Still I would protect her with my life.

Levi keeps busy with 4-year old Eva. She has him wrapped around her little finger. It's cute seeing them together and I know he would give her life for her.

"Ang, come back from space," Sophia says, bringing back from my thoughts. I don't understand why she calls me Ang. That's nowhere near my name. I once asked her, but all she said was 'my mind tells me what to do'

"As I was saying before you spaced out, how about today for my free time I just go to my room and read and I will ask Mom to let you leave early? Tomorrow is your wedding and all," she stated as we were putting away all equipment that we used during practice.

I smile down at her, moved by her concern for me and my wedding day and reply, "That's a nice gesture, but not how things work. I do my full shift. No getting rid or me." 

Once we completely pack away all equipment, we head up to her room. "I'm sure Mom will let you go though, if you want to leave," she continues on the topic.

Truth is I don't really want tomorrow to come, not as fast as it is. But I can't tell her that. She might mention it to her father who will see it as me disobeying the law.

"No really, I'm okay," I reply with a bright smile. "What's your plans for today?," I ask. 

"I'm just going to finishing reading my book," she replies.

"What are you reading?", I ask, still amazed that she is so smart.

"It's a journal that belonged to a human girl long ago. She writes about how she had a death sentence and chose to spend her remaining time on Earth as a traveller. She travels to the most beautiful places and documents all of them," she says with a spark in her eyes. She must really like this book. I don't really want the spark to disappear so I continue to talk about the book, "What did she do to deserve a death sentence?"

"Nothing, that I can tell. She calls the death sentence a mercy. Something that saves her," Sophia says with a shrug.

"A mercy? I can't imagine being electrocuted or hung as a mercy," I say now truly intrigued with the story.

"She wasn't being killed. She wasn't sentenced to death. She just had a death sentence," she says and looks up at me. She obviously notices my confusion because she continues, "She had something that the Humans called cancer. One of the biggest killers of humankind. Once she found out she has this illness, she realised she only had a limited amount of time left. She calls it a mercy because she says it was going to relieve her of living in a dark and gloomy world. She refuses to go out that way though. She then plans this extraordinary journey that will take her around the world, looking for the beauty within. She recorded her experience because she hoped that after she was gone, people would read it and see the beauty of the world which will lead to lightening their mood and outlook on life which will lead to more positive people. She believed with this positivity, people could change a very dark world into one of light and goodness."

"Did she succeed in her mission," I ask curiously.

"You know everything is not all business. It wasn't her mission. It was her life goal. And I don't know if she achieved it. I never finished the story," she says, the spark in her eye never leaving.

I let out a hum and nodded my head.

"I wish to be like her. We already have the same life mission," she mumbles out as we reach her room. She is truly inspirational and pure.

Around 11pm I headed home.The pit in my stomach was screaming at me. It made me was to curl up and sleep, so that's what I did as soon as my head hit the pillow.