Landing Feet First

Regret’s heart stopped as his eyes went wide. It was like watching a balloon pop. No; it was like watching your best friend turn into a balloon and then popping. He slowly turned and faced the girl who, as swiftly as she pulled it out, slid her sword back into her scabbard. His whole body was shaking, his bones rattling in his skin. Sam, who was essentially his best friend, was just…murdered. And she… This girl just acts as if nothing had happened! As if she didn’t see what she did to Sam…

“How… How could you-”

“Sorry. My turrets,” she cut him off, stretching her arms before cracking her neck and continuing her walk.

“T-Turrets?! Your turrets make you…demolish-”

“I’d rather think of it as exterminate.”

“Exterminate the lost souls of this world?!” Regret cried out in furious pain, throwing his arms up into the air. “And what about that sword?! It’s an actual sword! I thought you said it was just a hilt!!”

“It is just a hilt, crazy a$$ tweeker. See?” she pulled out her sword again and raised the blade over the panicky boy’s head, fuller side down.

He stared up at it in fear. What was she going to do to him?! Regret turned to face the girl again. She had no emotions on her face. It was as if she had done this a billion times before; probably because she has done this a billion times before. But not with an actual blade!

She swung it down, letting the fuller smack Regret dead center of his head, knocking him to the ground from the sheer weight of the weapon. How could she carry such a thing?!

The girl blinked at Regret while he cried out in pain and soothed the growing lump on his head. “Oh. I guess you can see it.” She stated in a surprised tone, putting away the sword and popping her bubblegum.

“Was that the test to prove if I were telling the truth?!” He asked her in irritated disbelief.

“Well yeah. It hasn’t failed me yet! Well, not till now, at least.” she shrugged in her nonchalant manner. “I wonder why you can see my sword…and those nasty monstrum. I better call Aquila quick.” She pulled out her phone and danced her fingers across the screen before holding it to her ear.

Regret shook his head in confusion. “Wha-what’s a monstrum? Sam wasn’t as m-monster, and… And I needa get home to me mum else she’ll—”

The girl pulled out her sword, holding it right under his chin and stopping him from moving an inch. “Nah, kid. You’ve gotta stay put. I need Aquila to tell me what to do with you,” she stated in her slightly monotone voice, finally spitting her annoying gum out onto the sidewalk.

Regret gulped, a bead of sweat running down his face as he swapped nervous looks between the sword and the girl. The girl smirked at this, seemingly enjoying the fear and panic she endowed onto him.

Suddenly, the phone clicked and an audible ‘Hello’ came from the other side.

“Aquila. There is a boy here-”

‘Civil, I am quite tired of…’ the other side hushed down as the girl turned away from Regret, still holding the sword to his neck as steadily as before, her arms not tiring despite the weight of the massive weapon. She was obviously very skilled with this weapon.

“Yeah, but Aquila, chill… …Nah, just listen, I- … ... Nah, he’s different. … … No, not that kinda different. He can see monstrum, I think. Well, yeah I know some people can, but that isn’t all! He can see Apus Maaaaahhh… Uh … … … … … Just kill him?!”

Regret gulped again. Did she just say what he thought she just said?!

The girl sighed. “Okay, Aquila…whatever you want.” She hung up the phone and faced Regret.

His breaths were shaky and uneven, his heart pounding in his chest.

“Well, you must’ve heard what Aquila said. And Aquila is always right, so… Yeah. Sorry, bro.” she shrugged, rolling her eyes.

“No, wait please, don’t!” Regret managed to get out of his suddenly parched, bone-dry mouth. His face and hands were clammy and covered in sweat.

“Sorry kid. Aquila’s rules…” she raised the sword over her shoulder, aiming to slice right across his neck.

Regret closed his eyes and braced himself. “Please… Please Civil, don’t…” he begged through quivering lips…

He heard her chuckle. “You know my name? Cute, but it’s not gunna save you.”

With her smile ever smug, she swung down her sword… But the sound of her ringtone stopped her dead in her tracks.

“Yeah, Aquila?” she asked, quickly raising her cell phone to her ear and turning away.

Regret let out a shaky breath, thankful that he hadn’t just had his head sliced off.

“Yeah, he can see Apus Major. … … I tried telling you! You wouldn’t listen! … … … Jeez, make up your mind; I almost killed the poor kid, Aquila.” She hung up her phone and faced Regret once more, huffing and pouting, obviously pissed off. “Sorry about that, kid. Apparently the big stink brain was having a bad day! Arg, he makes me so angry sometimes, I wanna hack him in half!”

“Wh-what about me?” Regret braved asking, staring up at Civil.

“Oh right.” She raised the hilt to his face and swung it down hard.

Everything went black… …

“So he’s the kid we’ve been lookin for, huh? He’s weak.”

“I know; I’ve tried changing him when the two of you were younger. That didn’t sit well with his Majesty.”

Regret opened his eyes.

“Oh, he’s awake.” Civil commented, getting closer to him and helping him to sit up. “Hey there.” She greeted.

“Go ahead and explain everything to him, Civil. I’m going to contact his queen.” stated a man behind Civil. He was tall and bald.

“Fine, whatever Aquila,” she shooed him off. “I’ll do every important thing around here.” She rolled her eyes as the bald man walked out of the room.

Regret looked around. “Is this…a cave?”

“A lair, numbskull. And you can ask questions later. I’m going to explain everything now.” Civil declared, sitting down in front of him.

“Explain every-”

“I said after, dip skit.” She growled, shutting up Regret for good. Civil nodded her gratitude after a moment of complete silence. “In case you haven’t noticed, you arms and legs are tied. You can’t escape.” She stated in her usual nonchalant manner.

Regret wiggled his wrists. It was true. He was tied down like a prisoner. He looked back at Civil in questioning.

“So you don’t escape. You’re our bait.”

“Bait? For what?!”

“I was just getting to that. What don’t you understand about ‘I said after, dip skit.’?” She glared the boy down till he sunk at her stare, allowing her a huff of annoyance. “We need your queen.” She finally answered.

Regret raised a brow, not understanding at all.

“You don’t know anything…”

He shook his head in response.

“Look,” she sighed. “Sorry to tell you this, but all of those…ghosts you saw weren’t dead people.”

“Then what were they? If…If they weren’t people?”

Civil pursed her lips, not completely sure how to explain this. “They were… In simple terms: gene X.”

Regret continued to stare at her, completely confused. “How can they be gene X. Gene X is a virus; anyone can catch it-”

“But no one you loved ever has. Haven’t you noticed? And there is no cure. No cure known to human kind, at least.” Civil murmured with a dark chuckle. “Everyone who ‘catches it’ will die without hope of a cure. It’s wiping out humanity as we know it.”

“Do you know the cure?!” Regret asked desperately.

Civil threw him a look. “Why? No one you know directly will ever be affected by the virus-”

“Because I want it wiped clean from Earth! I want no human being to suffer such a horrible death ever again!”

Civil scoffed. “You wanna know the cure?” Regret fervently nodded his head. “Like I said, those things are gene X. If they touch you they get inside of you and attack you at a molecular level. There’s no hope after that. They touch you once and BOOM! You’re dead before you knew it. And you’re their master, kid. You’re what’s keeping these monstrum here. You’ve got to die.” She sang out with a smug smile.

“Fine! Take my life!” Regret demanded with assertion in his tone.

“What?! No, that’s suicide! As if I’d do that…” she turned away from him, suddenly all choked up.

“Why not?! You’ve obviously killed dozens of…monsters or things or whatever you called them! Please… Help these people stop suffering! Why can’t you do it?!” he choked out, his voice straining in his distress.

“Because then I’d lose everything, too…” she murmured, taking out her golden sword and staring at it…

Regret furrowed his brows at her. “I’m afraid I don’t understand, Civil…”

“You know my name… I feel bad that I don’t know yours…” she muttered, still staring at her sword.

Regret gazed at her silently, feeling the tiniest bit sorry for her and a little confused. She was so seemingly strong and unbreakable when he first talked to her. Now she looked as if she were in a distress. Like how a person would when pawning a precious item for food money. “My name’s Regret…” he answered after a while.

Civil chuckled at this. “That’s insanely ironic… I bet nobody has ever regretted a thing about you… But your name is…” she laughed some more, letting her thought drift off. “And my name is Civil! What a joke, there’s obviously nothing civil about me!” she swung her sword as if to prove her point. She looked back at Regret, deep rooted guilt in her smile. “I’m glad we get to meet just this once, Regret. Before one of us dies…”

“Dies?”

“Did you know, Regret…” she cut him off, combing through her long, dark hair with her fingers. “Did you know that we’re siblings?”

Regret’s mind went blank as it tried to register what she had just stated. He blinked his eyes at her, stunned.

“Twins, actually… Separated the moment we were born… Our mother died somewhere in there. Our real mother.” She sighed, as if somewhat in a daze.

“I… I don’t understand. You’re…my twin sister?”

“You know, now that I’ve met you I understand why Aquila would have wanted to kill you as a child. You’re not suited for the role you play. I would be much better suited for your part…”

“Stop! Just stop, Civil, please! You’re switching too fast between topics, I cannot keep up. I don’t understand a thing you’re telling me I just… You’re my sister?!” he cried out, still stuck on that part.

She smiled softly at him. It was the most sincere smile he had ever seen on her. It reminded him of…himself. “Yeah, bro. I’m your sister. We’ve shared the same flesh and blood. We look exactly alike if you’ve noticed. Same hair and eyes and skin… You’re older, of course. The evil one is always older.”

“The evil one??” He choked out. “Am I…evil because I can see people like Sam?!”

Civil looked away, hugging her knees closer to her chest. “You yourself aren’t evil, Regret… You’re just the protector of evil… As a person, you are good through and through. I’m real evil. I kill and laugh at death. It runs through my veins, the need to destroy! But…I’m the fighter for all good. God has a sick sense of humor…”

Regret stared at her. “If we were switched-”

“Then we’d be a lot happier! I’m way better for evil and you’re way better as-”

“The world would be in ruins.” Regret cut her off. “Sickness would run amuck. And I would never be able to…kill someone like Sam. I could never kill… Maybe we are better suited for what we are now than if we switched, Civil. Maybe you were born cruel so you could kill me…”

“If I do that I’ll lose my powers, too. I’d never be able to see or use Apus Major again.” She gripped onto her sword. “If you die my life will become the same as a mortal. I can’t do that, I’m too obsessed with eliminating monstrum. It’s the both of us or neither of us. If I die there will be nothing to control the monstrum, not even you. If you die gene X will disappear and so will my whole reason for existing…”

“You are being selfish!”

“I’m being honest!” she spat at him.

Regret glared at her. “Then you know what you can do, Civil… It’d just be better if we both-”

“That’s suicide. I can’t do that…” She sighed, turning away from him.

Silence fell upon them like the g-force of a roller coaster. It came on so quickly it was nauseating.

“You know it is always an option.” Regret whispered out of his lips like vomit. Something he had to let out despite the foul taste.

Civil swallowed hard, but didn’t answer as she hugged her sword closer to her body. Regret sighed as he stared at the ground, his eyes tearing up at the thought of death. At the death he’s caused… If only he had known sooner… Everyone would have been-

Suddenly, he felt pressure on his shoulder. He looked to see Civil leaning her head across his shoulder, burying her face in his neck. He sighed, but didn’t say anything. It was comforting to have her close to him. It was almost comforting, like there was a hole in his chest he never knew was there before and she filled it perfectly.

“I’ve always dreamt of this day…” she whispered, almost as if in a daze. “The day I get to apologize to you… The day I get to hang out with my big brother… I’ve waited for this small clasp of time for so long…” she murmured.

“You have always known about me?”

She nodded against his shoulder. “Well, I’ve always known I had an older brother… Didn’t know it’d be you specifically.”

Regret sighed, letting a smile ease through. “At least you knew. I feel bad; I never knew I had a twin sister. I would have gone and looked for you if I had known.”

“Civil,” called an assertive voice from the doorway. “Preparations need to be made; you are needed in the meeting room.”

“K Aquila, give me one last minute.”

“Have you explained everything to him?!” Aquila hissed from the door making Regret jump out of his skin.

“Yeah I have! Just give me a minute!” Civil barked back with twice as much attitude.

With a growl, Aquila slammed the door shut and Civil sighed where she sat.

“If there was any other way…” she muttered as she got up from the floor. “If we could save everyone including ourselves, you know I’d do it…”

“You know what you can do Civil!” Regret stated as she walked off. “You know what you can do!” he hollered out as she closed the door, leaving him alone…