This month, I'm starting a novel called Mirror. I really like this one, and I'm gonna post the synopsis in a minute. I may even take a break from Titanium for a while to post, but not yet. I need to keep up with this.
Crystal has a secret. One she's ben hiding all her life. But when her father, the king, becomes fatally ill, and she needs to take over the throne, everything goes wrong, and all she wants is to be free.When the only person she's ever told her secret is gone She runs away, killing all in her wake, and lives alone for too long. But you can't be alone forever. She finds some friends, and learns to control the feeling of darkness she has inside.
So I might mention this now and again on Wednesdays, because that's what Im working on. but now, without furthur ado, I present, Titanium, Chapter 5.
Chapter 5-J
Decisions
At this point, the only feeling I could conjure up was confusion. Tara’s father? Gone. Then… find out he’s on the top of your most hated list, which by the way, right underneath that, is your parents’ names. So… I feel sad. And confused. And not much else.
“J?” Tara asks me, her eyes empty but trying hard to care. “Are you okay?” I nod and shake my head at the same time. Tara nods, her dark, chapped lips pursed in a thin, concentrated line. I look down at her, seeing how upset she is. My Brain Monkey decides to tell me what he thinks of this.
How can you care so much about this girl you barely know? She’s just a random girl from another place.
A random girl that cares about me. Me. not who my parents are, or whether I live in a house or on the street in an alley. So, Brian Monkey, that is why. That is why I care.
“How ‘bout you, Tara? Are you okay?” I ask. She shakes her head, glances at James, and looks to the ground. James and I both step forward at the same time and give her a hug, sandwiching her between us. Remember, I tell myself. The two of us are the only ones who know about all this. Her only friends right now. Only. Keep her safe, dummy. These people are the chance you have for a life. I nod in agreement with myself.
“I’ll keep you safe, Tara. We’ll figure this out.” I say, and James nods.
“You can tell us anything. We boys don’t know anything, except that you’re basically the only thing in life that’s worth it.” James says, and Tara nods, takes a deep breath and pushes all of us apart.
“Alright.” She grins, trying to lighten the heavy air.“You guys are extremely poetic all of a sudden.” I shrug, and James just shakes his head, making an odd face. Then, all of us get our game faces on, and put our arms up for a huddle. James has a few tears on his face, complimenting his set jaw and determined eyes. From the moment I saw him, he became the person I had wanted to be when I was 13. And it’s amazing. These people who haven’t gotten along in years, or barely know each other, are uniting to save someone. I wipe my first tear away and face my new team.
“Joseph lives in a ship in the sky, high in security. He conducts all his experiments and has all his meetings up there. Let’s just say he never leaves. What’s the plan?” James looks at me then over at Tara. Tara looks back at him then over to me.
“Okay. No plan, then. Want to just jump in, then?” I say, trying for a laugh. But apparently, it’s not time for that, because Tara hides her face and James purses his lips. “Apparently not.” I mutter. “We have to do something.” Tara and James nod.
“Is there any way we can get in? Any way at all?”I start to shake my head, then stop short. “Well…” I say. “It’s…” James leans forward on his heels, anticipating something. “It won’t be easy to pull off, and if we can, it won’t be fun.” James nods, and Tara looks like she knows where this is going. “What needs to happen is one of us needs to be taken.” Tara looks faint.
“You mean the sky… and…” I nod. She swallows hard. “When is the next one?” I shake my head.
“You can never know.” James frowns.
“Um, hi. I kind of need to know what’s going on…” He says, looking a bit terrified. He has a right to it, of course. Given the situation, I think we can all be a bit terrified.
“James, I’m going to tell you what a Taking is, and you need to promise not to freak out.” ,James nods. I decide not to waste time. “Three times a week, our lovely ruler abducts someone and experiments on them. If they don’t survive that, and the chances are less than none he kills them afterward. That is the only way someone he doesn’t know gets on that ship.” Tara reaches over and takes James’s hand, both of them looking completely frightened.. I look at them both square in the eye.
“I’ll go.” I say flatly. Tara shakes her head.
“You can’t! You might get hurt!” I look at her.
“Then who should go? You? James?” I yell. I can’t take this anymore, feeling useless. ”What did you do to deserve that? I don’t have anything or anyone to go back to! The least I can do is give you the family I never had!” Tara looks at me, her eyes hollow and full of so many emotions, as if deciding whether I’m a monster or a saint. Finally, after a painful question and a heavy breath from James, Tara sits up tall.
“Who do you think you are? Some kind of knight in shining armor come to save me? I can do things myself!” She stands up and walks up to me, looking into my eyes. “All my life, I’ve made it alone!” Tara continues. “My mother- In a hospital since I was just a little kid, my father, never the same since! I don’t think that I need you, of all people to save me!” Then, I pop. A scoff breaks out of me, and I feel like it doesn’t belong.
“Of all people? Me? So, after telling me that even know you don’t know me, AT ALL! You say that I’m so evil! No one would want to know Jahleel Clark! He’s-” I let a sob break out, just this once. “He’s no one.” Tara narrows her eyes at me. She’s in no mood to sympathize.
“No.” She says simply, her eyes empty and begging for me to hurt her, begging for me to throw a punch, but knowing I never will. “You’re not anyone. You have nothing.” Tara walks backwards, looking right at me. “And I don’t need you. Not any-” James steps in between us, interrupting Tara.
“I’ll do it.” He turns around, begging Tara to challenge him. “I’ll do it.” Tara shakes her head, not meeting anyone’s eyes. No one says anything. I really don’t know what to do. I am really willing to do this. Tara looks at me, over to James, and stands up, looking more composed than she should be.
“No.” She looks back and forth between the two of us. “I know you want to do something for me, but he’s my father. It’s very important that I do this on my own.” I don’t know what to say.
“I-” James starts. “I just... I just got to be your friend again. How can you just leave?” Tara takes her cousins hand and looks at him sadly.
“That’s exactly why. Because I love you. You need to be there for your brothers. Your sisters. You got a whole lot more life to live. I have no idea what I’m going to find up there, but know, that I wouldn’t change this. I have my best friend back, even if it’s only for a little while.” James nods, a new respect in his eyes. They hug, and I feel like I’m reading a novel, her words so poetic. She breaks away, they tap their thumbs against each other, and she walks over to me.
“Jahleel, huh?” I nod.
“The secrets out, I guess.” I say feebly, knowing this joking is only to forget for a simple second. She smiles at me.
“It’s a nice name, J.” I manage to smile. “Just so you know J, you are someone. I was in trouble, and you saved me. It was amazing. You’ve been a good friend. Just promise me you’ll be a good friend to James while I’m gone.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” He’s a great kid, from what I see.” Tara nods, and then looks deeply into my eyes. I look at hers, a browning green, and seething with rage. With their wonderful green middle, and a brown ring mingling together in a beautiful gradient, with a dark, thin, navy ring around it all, framing them in wonder. I smile at her, and she back at me. I hear James groan and I grin. Tara grins back at me and kisses me on the cheek. James steps in between us, pushing our hands apart. I hadn’t noticed that she had intertwined her fingers with mine, but now my hand feels cold and tingles from her touch.
“Enough affection for now, alright?” James looks at me with eyebrows raised. I nod.
“Yes, Sir.” We all laugh, knowing that there might be little time to so later.
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