The Flaw

1

Asher's POV (Kat)

I still remember the first day we arrived on Occultum. At the time there were only eight of us; Cora, Tania, Bianca, Carlotta, Zac, André, Elaine and I. I had been the first to wake up on the north beach, hacking up water, my throat burning. I had only slight memories of what happened before I woke up. They are empty memories though, random and unrecognizable, as if someone tied all the ends of a string ball together.

I push myself up off the sand; head spinning as waves of dizziness wash over me. I steady myself against a nearby palm tree as I try to make sense of everything. My eyes clear as my vision comes into focus. Raw memories flash behind my eyes, a small, modern house, a family: a young boy with sandy blonde hair and sapphire irises, an older man with brown hair, brown eyes and thick-rimmed glasses and a woman around the same age as the man with bright red hair and green eyes.

"Your family," a voice whispers.

Next, I see a golden retriever running after a stick on a peaceful beach. The stick floats in the water as the dog swims towards it, reaching for it. Then, the visions go static, as if the signal has been lost. They reappear as they were before as the dog brings the stick back to the same sandy-haired boy, who can't be much older than six or seven. 

"Good boy, Dingo!'"The boy says as he ruffles the dog's coat of fur.

An image of a school comes up; Gatesbridge Elementary reads a  rectangular piece of metal in front of a large building. Birch trees and grass surround the school and students in uniforms wander around the campus. A girl with auburn hair and bright green irises leans against the school wall.  I merely watch as she moves slowly towards the road. Grief contorts her face as she drifts off into other thoughts. She steps out onto the road, not looking up as a tear rolls down her cheek, walking alone when a car comes zooming down the road towards her. My eyes widen. 

"Wait, Stop!" I yell out. 

She stops wiping her eyes, turning towards me as she catches a glimpse of the car directly before it rams into her like a wrecking ball.

The visions ends and reality sinks in. I gaze around at the seven bodies lying still on the brittle sand. A tall girl with brown hair lies still, hair splayed all around her. She looks peaceful. I make my way towards where she lies still on her back, her chest completely still.  At this moment I'm certain she's dead. I feel for a pulse calculating, 10, 20, 30... nothing. I wait for a full minute. Nothing, not a single beat. I put my head in my hands, crouching beside her, willing her to be alive. I grip her wrist like it's my lifeline.

I turn to try the others, when something jumps under my finger which is still clamped around her wrist. A pulse. My head turns back in utter disbelief at what I'm feeling. Her green-grey eyes snap open. She takes a huge gasp of air in, sucking as much oxygen as she can into her lungs. She recovers quickly and snaps her head in my direction. Her luminous eyes move from my hand clamping her wrist to the others and the beach. Finally after a long pause she speaks up. 

"Get the hell off me." she says calmly.

"I- I'm sorry, I thought you were...dead," I trail off, my voice but a mere whisper.

"Well that's reassuring!" She scoffs.

"I don't understand, you should be dead!" I exclaim.

"Well, I'm obviously not. So now that we've established that, let's focus on where the hell are we and how to get all these people to wake the fu-"

"Okay, lets calm down," I say with an even tone. But inside, panic is rising.

"Do you have a name, Boots?" She asks, scowling.

"Boots? My name isn't Boots it's..." I stop short, thinking. What is my name?

An image flashes before me a reflection, a mirror a tall, lanky boy with dirty-blonde hair and brown eyes. He's in a uniform, a light blue shirt and grey pants. His name badge reads Asher. That's you, a voice whispers in the back of my head.

"Earth to Boots?" asks the girl, snapping her fingers in front of my face.

"My name is Asher," I utter, unfazed.

I turn to ask her and see she seems to be distracted.

"Cora," she whispers, as if testing the word out. 

Suddenly she snaps out of it and clears her throat. 

"Cora is my name," She states confidently. "Enough of this chitchat, we need to wake these bastards up."

~

"Boots, you in here?" Cora calls.

"Yeah, come in," I yell. 

The bamboo door of my hut swings backwards as I stand from my sleeping mat.

"Hey Cora, what's up?" I ask.

"Evan died last week and the replacement hasn't arrived yet," she sighs glumly, shaking her head.

"Don't worry I'm sure they'll arrive soon," I mumble.

Evan had suffered; he'd arrived disheveled and insane. He'd barely had any time before the Latens got him. He was far too curious...

"Whatever you say, Boots. Breakfast's almost ready, Tania's prepping like crazy," she says, making her way out the door.