When Shadows Rise | I

Ch. 1 | The calm before the storm

FYI, the chapters moving forward have been completely edited and rewritten! Also 'Teresa Banks' is now Talia Elbaz! Just wanted to let you all know so there wouldn't be any confusion!

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NEW YORK CITY, YEAR OF 2016 

According to Benjamin Franklin, there were two things certain in this life: death and taxes. Both were inevitable and no matter how hard you try to outrun them, they will come for you. While Talia knew Benjamin Franklin couldn't have said truer words, in her opinion, there were four things certain in her life: death, taxes, friends, and family.

Talia was fortune enough she was one of the few lucky ones to have her parents and her best friend by her side. In a way, she lived in a co-symbiotic state: she was always there for them and they were always there for her. She never had to worry about a single thing because she knew they would be right by her side.

She didn't count on things changing. It never even crossed her mind that things would change. Perhaps she was wrong. Five things were certain in her life: death, taxes, friends, family, and change. And as soon as that happened, there would be no turning back.

It was nine days before the new school year started. Her mother, the esteemed Dr. Genesis Elbaz, was hosting the eight-year anniversary of the opening of her company, GenTech Labs at the ClearSprings Palace Hotel— the one hotel where all the famous socialites, businesspeople, and celebrities host grandiose events of all sorts.

Talia wouldn't say she and her family were famous famous, but her parents- especially her mother- had a reputation for good publicity. Genesis had done a number of favors for the public and as a result, the people of New York City came to see her as a pillar of the science community— a woman who was only interested in finding ways to help humanity move forward.

After a whole day of her mother introducing her to the party guests, Talia decided to take a rest in the lobby, sitting down on a lounge chair. She was just done sipping her bottle of water when she felt a hand on her shoulder and the presence of someone next to her. She broke into a grin upon realizing it was her best friend, April 'O' Neil.

If it was any other event, Talia knew for sure that April wouldn't even dare set a foot in the area, but April had known Talia and her family for quite a while now and knew that this party meant everything for Talia's mother (plus, she knew Talia would be there and what kind of friend would she be if she didn't show up for moral support?).

April was merely 5'0, but that didn't stop her from tugging at people's collars to meet them at eye-level. With her mane of wild red hair and freckles, Talia always thought her best friend to be beautiful. However, her looks heavily contrasted with her tomboyish personality.

"Your mom sure went all-out for this," April remarked. "The buffet line is to die for."

"Glad you're enjoying yourself," Talia laughed. "I believe we are the only two teenagers amongst a room of adults."

"Then thank God I came because if I hadn't, you would've been on your own." April patted her friend's shoulder. "That was something I couldn't possibly put you through."

"Which makes me feel so much better that your father decided not to make you transfer schools," Talia said, remembering what her friend had said months earlier— something about her father, Captain Kirby 'O' Neil pulling her out of the same high school the two have attended the past two years.

"Yeah, from what I understood there seemed to be some kind of shady stuff happening there." April shrugged. "Like, drugs, y'know? But I reassured him that I would never take part in that junk. What could be so damn pleasurable about snorting coke?"

"As far as I've heard, people use them for many reasons: pleasure, pain, and peer-pressure. It's such a shame that these people believe that drugs are their way out, when in reality, it's their way to meet the doors of death."

April nods. "Sometimes, I think my dad brings his feelings at work home. It can be frustrating at times. I just wish he would start seeing me as the fifteen year-old I am and not like I'm five."

"It's as you said: whatever he experiences out in the field, he has to bring it home. It's a father's instinct to protect his child no matter how old they are— and that instinct is no doubt stronger if you're in the police force."

"You know, and I feel a bit bad for saying this, but sometimes I wish my dad wasn't in law enforcement. I just sit down and wonder: couldn't my dad have chosen another career? One that doesn't involve a gun and a badge and putting yourself at risk everyday? Couldn't he be a doctor like your father? At least you're assured that he'll come home everyday; I'm not so sure about mine."

Talia could detect the pessimism in her friend's voice, so she slings one arm around April's shoulder and uses the other hand to squeeze her friend's hand. "I don't pretend to assume that I know what you feel like. But I do know that you shouldn't think that way. Positive thoughts, remember? You just have to trust that everything will come out alright in the end."

"How, Taly?" April looked at her friend in the eyes with slight uncertainty. "What if something happens?"

"Then I'll be there," Talia smiled. "Didn't we promise that we would always have each other no matter what?"

April chuckled softly. "We swore to each other like sworn sisters."

"Nothing's going to change that, April." Talia pats April's cheek. "Everything will be fine."

April found Talia's words comforting, and so she laid her head on her shoulder.

If only Talia knew those words always brought terrible consequences.

***

"First, I would like to say thank you all for joining me on this special day," Genesis announced to the audience, holding a microphone in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other. "For on this day eight years ago, was when the door containing the key to unlocking the many future possibilities of science finally opened."

Talia and April were among the crowd outside, feeling the sun kiss their skins and their sweat cling to their foreheads and pits. All the two girls had to cool off were glasses of water, versus the adults who had alcohol. Genesis briefly met her daughter's eyes and the two exchanged a smile.

"Like I was saying, this would not have been possible if it weren't for years and years of work, sacrifices, and research. But above all, the support of my family-" Genesis looked at Talia once more, "-who have stayed by my side no matter what stone was thrown at us."

"I bet this is the part where she tells us to raise our glasses," April whispered to her friend.

As if April were on cue, Genesis then said, "Now, would you all join me for a toast?"

Everyone lifted their glasses in sync.

"To GenTech Labs," Genesis beamed. "May it continue to have a bright and successful future."

With the last word said, everyone chugged down their drinks. In her mother's speech, Talia really believed the road she was on would lead to happiness. She loved how things were; nothing in her life would change and she would die a happy old woman.

But Talia's blissful wishing was equivalent to the British thinking the sun would never set on the British Empire.

And both would be proven wrong.