Fire And Fifth

Olivia felt like she was losing herself, letting go of all that was being carried on her petite shoulders. She new, most of all, that releasing all of those worries is what would get her through the day and past all of the danger being surrounded by the children of the Circle. At any moment they could turn her in, and her cozy little life would probably be destroyed without hesitation.

This war between Lightworkers and the Circle wore April out, she can see that as the sickness taking its toll in April is visible now, more so then it has ever been before. Her cheek bones are protruding out of her face, her black eyes are sunken in on her face and her lips have sagging wrinkles like the rest of her skin, stretched and unhealthy with the quick paced weight loss from the spread of her cancer and the treatments of chemo and all of that medical junk. Olivia was watching April wither away into nothingness, disappearing...

She just hopes that April will make it through at least past four years, but the odds weren't even sparing them two.

"You're home." April spoke, her voice raspy and coarse. Her head was turned around the old, vintage red chair she sat on, and Olivia could see her bony, wrinkly fingers clutching onto the arm daintily. She has no energy to even lift those fingers to wave a hello, or to even grip the coffee mug that's been there since last night with stale, cold coffee still inside.

Seeing her in that state breaks Olivia's heart, every time.

"Yeah..." Olivia whispered, "You want anything? Crackers, or something?"

"No. I'm not hungry."

"Alright." Olivia quickly passed through the small living room, cluttered and completely disorganized, straight into the dark narrow hallway to the end, where her room was. Moon stretched his gray paws out across her purple comforter, his belly exposed as he rolled on his back and mewed.

"Hey there." Olivia breathed, rubbing his stomach gently after letting her backpack drop to her feet. Slowly she breathed in the lingering scent of the lavender incense she burned last night, dipping her head back as her nerves relaxed. It was him...that stupid Circle boy in her Social Studies class that took a dangerous interest in her that was starting to dawn on her and stress her out. She felt his power, strong and firm, and it filled her entire body and tensed her muscles. Olivia wondered if he was aware of how much the universe trusted it's power in him, how much of it existed in him.

"How was your day?" She asked Moon, who jumped off the bed and stretched, his fluffy gray tail straight in the air. She watched him yawn, then sit down and mew up at her. With a quick glance to the bowls beside her black desk, she realized he hadn't eaten much today, and only half of his water had been drunk. Moon's eating habits were out of whack, but Olivia had grown use to them. She was just as weird.

Olivia's green eyes glanced towards her window, the light from the approaching dusk stopping at the blinds that shielded her from the real world outside. So many years has the window been the place of her daydreaming, back then like she was doing at that very moment she would pull open the thick blinds and reveal the sun hiding poorly behind a mask of soft clouds rimmed with heavenly white and darkened in the middle to a peaceful gray. Olivia felt the beauty of the sunset fill every part of her, every cell coming alive as her head fell back against her shoulders, her pale pink lips parting as a righteous sigh escaped.

Quickly opening the window she felt the cool temperature of outside flow inside and reach every piece of exposed skin on her, soothing her senses. That's what she loved most about being a lightworker and being able to feel the magic of life so strongly that although it sometimes embarrassed her in public, was unbelievably beautiful to her. Unfortunately, her cell rang from behind her where she placed it on the edge of her bed. Looking at the caller I.D. it showed Demi was calling, her one and only friend still stuck at Evergreen.

"'Ello?" Olivia greeted, a desperate feeling to hang up and escape back to that world by her window bulged in her throat.

"Olive! How was your first day at Durham High?" Demi asked, her voice high and excited. Olivia was anything but that.

"It was lonely." She mumbled, but Demi still managed to hear her.

"Don't worry about it. So have you met any of those kids?"

Olivia hesitated, "Not really met. More like caught the attention of. I have at least one in every class."

"How many are there?"

Olivia counted on her fingers, "At least seven."

"Wow. Seven? Honestly, I'm surprised. The Circle only breeds inside their little group, and I've been told it's so limited your choice of someone worthy of combining genes is."

As Demi was speaking, Olivia managed to space into her "other zone", staring down at the amethyst ring set in gold on her pinkie. It was given to her by her mother when she eight, and was meant to be worn on that finger. It wasn't until recently she could fit it, remembering the warmth her mother carried with her through that little, simple ring.

"I've also heard that this kid Michael who is like, the heir of the throne or something has more power then anyone in the Circle. Almost as close to the strength of yours." Olivia's attention peaked at those words, her head nearly began spinning. Michael...He's famous now.

"He's the heir?"

"Oh, yeah!" Demi spoke, dragging out 'yeah' with excitement and enthusiasm. "He's this really scrawny, black haired kid though."

"I know who he is, he's in my Social Studies class." Olivia said, hearing Demi's stunned gasp.

"No way! Has any of them showed an suspicion towards you?" Demi asked, an important question that Olivia has been dreading to answer.

"As far as I know, I'm not quite sure, but I wouldn't be surprised. Michael as showed interest in me, that kind of 'I want to date you, even though I know you'll probably die because of it' interest."

Demi gasped again, "No, no, no, no! That cannot be happening! He is not suppose to show any date like, crush like interest in you what so ever! That could blow this whole thing to pieces with an atom bomb! It's like being exposed to radiation and having your skin melt off your body kind of dangerous. His father is mean, cruel, and everything all of humanity should be afraid of! And if he here's that his son has taken interest in an outsider, and ends up realizing that outsider is a lightworker you are screwed!"

"If that's so, then why are you putting me in this position?" Olivia asked her quietly, her voice threatening to crack under the fear. She's heard about Mr. Van and what he's done in the past to lightworkers who've tried to stop his torture, brainwashing, and worst of all what he would do to outsiders that just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Olivia fears this man more then she's feared anything ever before.

"Look...don't show any interest back, because if you do...your practically committing suicide." And then Demi hung up, the sound of a deadline in Olivia's ear. She felt offended for Demi's quick escape, but wasn't surprised since she had pulled the "why me?" card. Glancing back towards her other world, the sun had disappeared below the line of the black horizon, and she realized it was too late for her.