Twisted Hearts

I could feel a blaze all around me, a force threatening to push me down. I’m screaming in pain, but not from the fire. It’s a mourning scream; a longing wail for the parent I just lost.

“Dad!” the growl came from my mouth. I tried to let the tears fall, but they would evaporate with the fire as soon as it fell on my face. This only frustrated me more, and I threw myself into the fire only to find a hand catch me and pull me back. I turned to see William staring at me sadly, pityingly. He tugged on my hand and brought me into a hug.

“It’s no use, Jade. He’s gone. I’m sorry, but he wouldn't want you to lose your life for him,” He whispered. Tears of rage fell on my face, but his embrace was so securing and warm that I cuddled up and we stayed like that as the flames reached higher in the sky and we waited for my mother to return with the villagers. My father was gone. I felt tears fall on my face and I stared into the sky but instead I found myself looking up into those bright blue eyes that I loved, and stared at him, until his lips came crashing down on mine.

Then I woke up.

Blearily, I opened my eyes to a sterile white ceiling. The room was cold, and from a glance outside the window, I could tell it was night time. Except for one yellow-orange light that cast a small amount of light, the room was almost pitch-black. My entire body was in agony. My bones ached with excruciating pain and a large part of my left arm stung and throbbed. I tried to push myself up when I felt someone push me back down with a gentle force. Startled, I turn to look at those soft brown eyes of my best friend.

“Ebony! Lie down. Don’t strain yourself. Please,” He cooed quietly. I slowly lowered myself back down.

“How long was I out for? What happened?” I asked groggily. It only just occurred to me that I was in a Hospital. Jacob shuffled his feet nervously, and avoided eye contact.

“ You've been out for quite a while, Ebony, a little more than a day. There was damage to your arm – most of it received second degree burns,” he explained. I quickly checked my arm and sure enough there was a large white bandage attached on my arm. I shook my head to clear it. It didn't make sense.

“Jacob, what else happened?” I pressed. He bit his lip – looking intensely attractive when he did – and then shook his head.

“Eb, I’m sorry. There’s been an accident -” he began, before the doctor burst through the door. He was a small man, with white hair covering the top of his head and a severe receding hairline. His smile reminded me of a frog. He literally gave meaning to the saying ‘smiling from ear to ear’.

“Miss. Carter! You’re awake! It’s so good to see you awake! How are you feeling?” He cried out cheerfully. I could feel my eyes go wide at his voice. He might as well have changed it to Dr. Kermit or something, because his voice was low and croaked, completely off setting for his small boyish face and character. He really was a frog. I heard Jacob snickering to my right, but I was startled by this strange doctor.

“Ebony, meet Dr. Phillips. He is here to check your arm,” he chuckled. Dr. Phillips smiled and gently took my left arm, and started removing the bandages.

“You still haven’t answered my question. How are you feeling?” He asked gently. I cleared my throat and told him I was feeling fine. He smiled at me, and I felt reassured – until I seen my arm. It was red-raw and glistening from the burns.

“Whoa – what happened?” I cried out. Dr. Phillips stared at me, then at Jacob.

“You haven’t told her yet?” He said quietly. Jacob shook his head nervously.

“I didn’t have time doctor, I’m sorry. You walked in before I could,” he explained. I watched this exchange quietly, looking from one to the other.

“Will someone tell me what’s going on here?” I demanded. They both shifted nervously, and Dr Phillips opened his mouth to begin talking when a nurse walked in.

“Sorry, Doctor. Room fifteen is asking for you -” she began before my yell overtook her.

“No! He is not going anywhere before this is explained,” I threatened. The room went silent as my outburst caused an awkward atmosphere.

“Very well - Miss Carter, what do you remember from Monday?” He asked calmly. I tried to think back.

“I remember Jacob picked me up. I got to school, and my locker. I remember seeing a note…” I trailed off, straining to think about the note. I had a feeling it was important but I couldn’t remember what it said, “That’s it. That’s all I can remember,” I said sadly.

“Ebony, I’m afraid after you found that note on Monday you raced home. The school said you were incredibly sick. When you got home, your house was in flames,” he stated. I sat there dumbly for a few seconds.

“Where’s my mother?” I realised. I was losing oxygen. I couldn’t breathe. I knew what was coming, but I couldn’t believe it. I was shaking, from the cold or from what I was hearing I cannot be sure. My heart drops ten metres and I start to lose feeling. It explains my dream though. Why I should remember that particular painful moment when it’s happening all over again.

“I’m terribly sorry, Ebony. She perished in the fire,” he said. Tears threatened to overflow, and a massive ball rose in my throat. I sat there in the silence, a numb mess, until the doctor finished re-applying my bandages and left. Jacob crawled onto the bed with me, and hugged me close. He started chanting anything, but mostly to tell me everything’s going to be okay. I fell asleep on him, in his warm embrace and mourning the loss of my mother.



I woke up the next morning, to Jacob trying to sneak out of the bed.

“Jacob,” I start groggily. He jumps, startled and laughs.

“Ebony, you are an extremely light sleeper. Did you know that?” He smiles. I don’t return it because I don’t feel like it, but I squeeze his hand instead which was still on the bed.

“Where are you going?” I ask.

“I’m just going to grab breakfast from the cafeteria. I’ll be back in ten minutes. Oh! And your school bag is here if you wanted to look at it. Remember that note you mentioned? I found it. What did it mean by this?” He asked, confused. I grab the note from his hand and looked at it – and suddenly Monday comes rushing back to me. Adrenaline kicks in and I feel myself panicking again.

“Jacob, I have to go,” I say. There was no question. They were watching, waiting for the perfect moment.

“Matthew, you can’t! You have to be discharged -”

“So discharge me! I can’t stay here. They are watching me!” I exclaim. He looks taken aback.

“Who is ‘they’?” he questions. I let out a growl.

“I can’t tell you, I just know I need to get out!” I shout.

“Well, at least not all you’re training went to waste,” a honey voice said from across the room. I snap my head to see the two people I never thought I’d see again.

“Anna? William? Is that you? I ask, shocked. The smiles on their faces give me the answer. I let out a humorless laugh. They were twins, with bright blue eyes and blonde hair that was always so silky and smooth, it was almost unnatural. Anna was a charmer – perfect looks, perfect voice, and perfect mind – heck, even her walk was perfect. The only imperfection she really had was that she was taller than average, and she cursed this one imperfection more than anything. Her brother however was different. He had small imperfections everywhere – a freckle here, a scar there. His looks were just as perfect as his sisters though. He was also my first real boyfriend.

The awkward tension enveloped the room, until Jacob piped up.

“Who the hell are you guys?” he asked cautiously.

“Anna Farnham and this is William Farnham. We are here for Jade Darling,” she said slowly, as if an imbecile should know that. This usually worked on people, as they felt suddenly silly for not knowing this important fact – a certain skill she had perfected over the years. For some reason however, this did not work on Jacob.

“Her name is Ebony Carter, and no. You cannot take her anywhere.” He retorted. A heated argument struck up between the two. It took me about five minutes before my patience left me.

“Shut up!” I shouted. The argument ceased instantly and I sighed.

“Jacob, meet Anna and William. Anna and William, this is my best friend – Jacob. Jacob, these people are here to take me to where I belong – I need you to understand that,” I explained. He shook his head.

“You aren't going anywhere,” he said stubbornly. I gave another sigh, before looking him in the eye.

“Jacob,” I pleaded. He growled.

“Either you stay, or I go with you. You choose,” He demanded. I stared at him, neither of us willing to break until finally, I looked away.

“I can’t put you in that danger,” I started.

“What danger? Why can you face it and I can’t?” He points out.

“She has been training for this, whereas you will just get in the way,” Interjected Anna, and I gave her my best exasperated glare.

“Eb, I’m in with this whether you like it or not,” he said. I felt myself relent.

“Well, I guess you could help a little,” I said. I heard Anna scoff in disbelief.

“Have you gone soft, Jade?” Anna questioned. I heard Jacob cough, and I could have sworn he said ‘Ebony’ under his breath. This made me smile, but I kept a poker face. With Anna, it was literally stone of heart.

“Anna, please. He can learn, and he is actually really resourceful. Besides, he is so stubborn he might follow us. It’d be better to have him with us then getting caught in the middle,” I pointed out. She stood for a few seconds in disbelief, before turning to Jacob and smiling.

“Alright, little boy - We’ll test you tonight; see where your strengths and weaknesses lie. If you make it through the night, you can join our team,” she said with a devious grin. Jacob faltered.

“What’s happening tonight?” He asked nervously. She pointed at me.

“We have to sneak her out,”.