Where The River Flows Red

Three

Adam Lambert- Ghost Town

    I couldn't sleep so here I am. Music playing softly from the small speaker on the other side of my room with my bed covered in homework sheets. I have never been up this late. Not even when I first moved here. After singing along to a few songs I got up and opened my door to see if anyone was out there. When I cleared the hall, I slipped my bunny slippers on and decided that I desperately needed water. The house is dimly lit. Surprisingly I'm not afraid to be out here this late. I always expected myself to be afraid to come out here without Silas. 

    "Miss Tobi? What are you doing up so late?" Ivanka asked when I walked into the kitchen. 

    "I was doing homework and decided on something to drink and maybe a snack?" I asked. She smiled. 

    "Apple juice and a pop tart?" she suggested. I nodded. She padded the high chair next to her and went over to the fridge. 

    "Do you ever sleep?" 

    "It's odd for me to be up this late. I just... I was worried about you. I knew you were awake. I just didn't think you'd come down here," 

    "They scared you too?" I asked. She nodded. "Mom told me this weird story. I kind of knew the answer to this was going to be bullshit," 

    "I want you to listen to me, Tobi. Her story holds some truth in it, no matter how ridiculous it sounds. It's never okay to ignore things no matter how preposterous they sound," 

    "Vampires, Vanka?" I scoffed. She sighed placing the glass of apple juice in front of me.

    "The truth may surprise you, my lady. You were adopted into a family with a horrid past. I think they wanted to start over with you. A clean slate. Fate has a way of interfering when we try to change what we really are. I'll advise you to keep your mind open. Not everything is what it seems," she wrapped two warm pop tarts in a couple of napkins and handed them to me. "Now run back up. You may not have class until noon, but I will be damned if I allow you to wake up at such hour," 

    "Thank you," I smiled, getting off the chair. 

    "You're very welcome, my love. Sweet dreams," 

    "You too," 

    I walked up to my room and stopped when I saw that the light to the library was on. I walked over to see Silas flipping through some old books. I smiled pushing the door all the way open. He didn't notice as I walked in. It wasn't until I placed the glass of apple juice on the table that he jumped up startled. 

    "You scared the hell out of me, Tobe," he scolded. I laughed. 

    "I see that. I never thought I'd see the day where you would be in here reading, alone," I teased. He rolled his eyes. His usual playful smirk back in place. 

    "I thought you were asleep," 

    "I finished my physics homework and started on my Sociology worksheets," 

    "Nice, I'm going to need help with physics. I feel like what we learned before is nowhere near the same as what we're doing now," 

    "Same thing bigger words," I said looking down at what he was reading. "Compulsion. The science of hypnosis?" 

    "Yeah, I was reading about people who were hypnotized to forget certain memories and it reminded me of you," 

    "Of me? Why me?" I asked offering him the glass of apple juice. I went over some of the notes he had taken. He's very serious about this. 

    "You don't remember anything prior to the day of your arrival at the convent," 

    "I was three," I said. 

    "Yeah, but you remember the man vividly and everything after that. Why not before him?" 

    "So, what are your theories?" 

    "It says here you can only be hypnotized once or until whatever hypnosis was done is undone or finished," 

    "And you think I was hypnotized to forget?" I asked with a smirk. He looked over at me. 

    "There's nothing, Tobe. There is nothing in any book that gives us any clue of who you are. Except for the paperwork that was brought with you when you were taken to the convent. The man who left you there doesn't exist,"

    "So some weird religious nut jobs set you off on a quest to figure out my past?" I asked not understanding why this is important all of a sudden. He smirked. 

    "I've wanted to help you do this since we've met. I want you to feel whole. I can't imagine what it would be like to not remember everything. To not know," he explained. I nudged him with my shoulder. 

    "Silas, I was three. I remember the two years in the convent and my life here with you, mom, and dad. If it's true about my parents dying then I hope they're in a better place. If they just sent me away then, then I don't want to find out. They didn't want me. I'm okay with believing they're in a better place," 

    "We should go to bed. These books aren't going anywhere," he nudged me playfully. I nodded. 

    He walked me to my room I waited for him to go to his and shut the door before I shut my own. I finished eating my pop tart since I gave him the other and lied back after putting all my homework away. 

    I got up and went back to see the books he had been reading. They were journals hand scripted by a man named Silas Bourne in seventeen sixty-four. This is who he was named after. It's journal as well as a guide. Most of these books were written by Silas all dating back to the seventeen hundreds. The stop in seventeen ninety-three and they're continued by a woman named Cita Bourne. 

    I looked around. I had never seen these books before. I had skimmed through all the books on these shelves since I was five years old and not once had I seen something that remotely resembled these journals. The itch to look around to try and find where these were hidden started, but the urge to go to bed was greater. I'd have to ask Silas tomorrow. 

    It felt like I had just closed my eyes when I sat up. There's something weird about my room. I looked around to see someone standing on the balcony. I got up thinking it was probably my brother but he wouldn't do that unless he had woken me up and he wouldn't just come in my room unless I was having a nightmare. He'd knock. 

    "Who are you?" I asked. He turned to face me and I jumped back. "Elijah?" 

    "I didn't think this would work. I guess you're a bit of night owl," he said. I looked around. 

    "Am I dreaming?" I asked and he smiled. 

    "Yeah, you're dreaming," he confirmed. I walked back inside and sat on my bed. 

    "Why would I be dreaming of you? We're not exactly on good terms," 

    He smirked sitting on the wooden desk chair in my room. The way he sat, his demeanor, it all has a certain way of alarming me. I had never been intimidated by anyone until now. He sets off all these little red alarms in my head. Like something is telling me he's dangerous, but the bigger part leaves me rooted before him. I want to know more. See more. 

    "I'm truly sorry about what happened. It's just. You're so familiar. I had never met a female slayer your age before," 

    "A slayer? I don't know what that means," 

    "You do or we wouldn't be talking about it," I looked down at my hands and then back up at him. He seemed to be getting closer. "But you aren't like them, are you? You are much too innocent to be a..." 

    "A what?"  I asked. He smiled. 

    "You don't know yet," he said looking away. "I can only access your mind through what you already know," 

    "Are you going to hurt me?" I asked. 

    "I would never hurt you," he said. "You're too beautiful for that. Zach doesn't know his strength around your kind yet. Nightstalkers are brutes like that," 

    "So you two aren't from the same Clan, but you're twins?"

    "Yes, we are, but we believe in different things. I cherish the sun and the creatures of the day. He believes in the moon. Shadows are his calling,"

    "I want to know more," I encouraged. He stood up and knelt down in front of me. 

    "No, you don't. If your family is keeping you away from this life then maybe it's best for you to stay away. Don't go digging for something that can ruin who you are. You're a beautiful creature Tobiana and I wish for you to remain this way. Untainted, innocent, so that you can live the long happy life of a mortal," 

    "The girl in class called me that. A mortal. Aren't we all mortals?" I asked. He smiled. I like it. Maybe a little too much for my own good.

    "She whispered that. Just as I whispered to you in Gallahad's classroom. You shouldn't be able to hear these things. I've never heard of a mortal who can," 

    "So what does that mean?"  I asked. He sighed looking me over. 

    "I don't know, but I am becoming more intrigued with you," 

    "You're very intriguing yourself," 

    "I am a bit upset with you, Tobiana," he squinted his eyes. I laughed. 

    "Because of your brother?" I grinned. He smiled and nodded. "I knew," 

    "What?" he asked. 

    "There was something about him that was off. This morning when I saw you, you held my complete attention. I couldn't ignore you no matter how hard I tried. I couldn't take my eyes away. It was easy to distract myself with him. I obviously wouldn't have guessed that there were two of you. I thought maybe because you had scared me," 

    "I scared you?" he asked. 

    "Well, I scared myself. I didn't hear you and Professor Gallahad leave the room," I shrugged. He nodded. His eyes looking directly into mine. 

    "You've met my kind before," he said. 

    "I'm sorry. Your kind?" 

    "Someone from the Clans," 

    "Yeah, my family," I stated. he shook his head. 

    "No, they aren't part of my Clans. They're different from ours. We all have a place in this world, your family simply adapted to ours. We are born in this," 

    "What is this?" 

    "It doesn't matter. I hope you don't take it personally, Tobiana. I was asked to stay away from you. I think that's what's best for the both of us. I don't want you to get hurt because of me again," 

    "Will I still see you in class?" I asked. His smile returned. 

    "Of course and I will see you. We must keep our distance. This is for our families. Agreed?" he asked. I nodded. "Goodnight, Tobiana Bourne," 

    "My real name is Amelia Lockwood. I'm Tobiana because it was the name given to me when I was in the convent and Bourne now because of my adopted parents," 

    "Amelia Lockwood?" he asked. When I looked up at him he was gone. The room began to fade and sleep was all that mattered. 

    I sat up. The clock read eight twenty-six. There was this ache in my chest like I had lost something important. I got up and began to get ready to go to school later. What an oddly vivid dream. I feel like he had actually been here. Like I had actually spoken to him. Like he had said goodbye and for some reason that makes me feel worse. It was only a dream but I wish I could back and say it back. Closure perhaps? 

    "Tobi, are you up sweetheart?" I heard the knock on the door outside the bathroom. 

    "Yeah, dad. In the bathroom," 

    "Okay, I'm going to have a late breakfast. Care to join me?" 

    "Yeah, I'll be right out," 

    "Excellent," I heard him walk away.

    I finished getting ready and rushed down. He was sitting in the dining room, his face buried in a newspaper as it usually is. I sat close to him. Matilda greeted us and began to set up our breakfast. Dad has always intimidated me. It's a lot easier to talk to my mom because... well, I guess it's because she's a woman. Silas reminds me so much of him except, Silas doesn't have a businessman demeanor. His demeanor comes from mom. He wants to be a doctor. He wants to save the world just like she does and for that, he has to be welcoming. People who don't know I'm adopted say I look like dad. That we're basically the same person. Cold and more business than pleasure. 

    "You didn't sleep well, did you?" he asked once he put the paper down. 

    "No, it was. I had a rough first day," I admitted.

    "Aside from the incident how did it go?" he asked. I smiled at him. 

    "I loved it," I beamed because I really did love my first day.

    "Mom asked me to talk to you about dropping the Literature class. I told her you wouldn't, but I'd like to ask you myself. I'd also like to offer you an internship," my heart skipped.

    "An internship? In what department?" I asked. 

    "There is an opening in robotic advancements. There are two actually. I think you and Silas would benefit from this," 

    "Silas is in medical," I reminded him. He nodded. "Dad. Are you talking about the artificial replacements?" he nodded again with a smirk this time. "Oh, my god. I've been applying for that since forever," 

    "I know. You and Silas were picked by the head of the department. I wanted to tell you yesterday, but you seemed upset. Show me your arm," I lifted my arm to show him and he sighed. "Filthy leeches. I hate that they addressed you as such. Had Silas been there this wouldn't have happened," 

    "It's okay, dad. I told him I'd be fine. He insisted to stay and I told him to go," I don't want Silas to get in trouble because of me. He nodded. 

    "If you like, I can speak with the Dean and ask him to transfer you to the morning class," 

    "Yeah, okay. I just don't want to fall behind," I don't want to drop the class a transfer is better than not taking it at all. 

    "I love that you are sticking to your schedule. I'll see what I can do," 

    "Thanks, Dad," 

    "Here is your internship schedule. Report to Doctor Cromwell. Make sure Silas isn't late," 

    "I promise," 

    "One last thing," 

    "Stay away from the Collins,"  

    "Way ahead of you," I saluted him. He chuckled. 

    "Good. Have a great day, Sweetheart," he said kissing the top of my head before leaving. Stay away from the boy we're dreaming of. No big deal. At least, it shouldn't be.