The Seer

Its 3:06 am. Like clockwork, I can hear Pop Malone flipping my blueberry pancakes. Now here comes Pumpkin Malone with her award-winning organic peach chamomile tea. As I continued my sketches, I took a sip of tea and my phone rang. Its 3:14 am. I answer and it’s my older sister. “Hey Vi, I was calling to let you know I’m on my way home from school. I will be there at 10 am. I had a dream about a dead eagle, so I need to see everyone’s faces.” I said, “Great! I miss you so much! I will see you then.” I haven’t seen her since she dropped me off, on my first day of senior year, on her way back to college. I cut my night short and told the Malones goodbye. I wanted to get good sleep so I could spend the day with my sister.

When I woke that morning at 8 am, my mother didn’t. There she was, Mary Ann Bird, lying there in bed, cold. What a horrible homecoming for my sister. I called the police and told them to hurry. About ten minutes later, two women in uniform showed up and I let them in. After they looked at my mother we went downstairs to the kitchen where they began to ask me a lot of questions. They started looking around as if they were looking for something specific. I said assertively, “You can’t walk around our house without a warrant, I didn’t give you permission.” An officer said, “We are just looking to see if there is any evidence of foul play.” At that moment, my sister walks in from the garage. She immediately recognized the officers and before I could speak, the officers drew their weapons and began to shoot in my sister’s direction. I dove into the dining room and hid behind the wall. I saw a gun slide into the dining room. I dove for the gun but when I stood up my sister was in full hand to hand combat with the officers. Like full Charlize Thereon in Atomic Blonde combat. My sister screams, “HELP ME!” Surely, she doesn’t want me to fight alongside her. My entire life she has been my sparring partner, but we’ve never fought others, at-least not me. I can’t leave her alone, but I can’t shoot a cop. I can hear my mother whisper, “It’s just you and your sister, that’s all you got.” “VI!” The sound of my sister’s screaming my name activated a mini Angelina Jolie in me. I did the only thing that seemed smart at the time. I shot both cops in the leg. When they fell, my sister screamed “RUN!” We ran through the garage, hopped in her car and she sped off. “LISA! What was that? Who are they? I JUST SHOT A COP!” She only said, “It isn’t safe for you. I have to get you to grand-mom.”

It’s 12:17 pm. We’ve been in this car over three hours and I still haven’t told her about mom. We pull up to this gate and she puts in a code. I have no clue where we are. We drive about a mile down this road leading to this gigantic mansion. Suddenly I see about 100 women come out the front door. Among them I see my aunts Angelica and Eliza and my grandmother Jennifer. My sister hops out and they all embrace her. My aunt Eliza reaches her hand out to me as I get out of the car. “Come we must get inside. We’ll explain everything to you.”

I take her hand and follow the others through the big brown double doors. We gather in the den and my Aunt Eliza guide me to the front. “We were going to tell you our family history on your 18th birthday next month but I’m afraid we must tell you now. We’ve all had the same dream and assembled here immediately. I’ve been trying to reach your mother. We need to figure out who in our bloodline has passed.” I was immediately saddened, and they could see the grief all over my face. My aunt Eliza gasped and grabbed her heart. My grandmother asked, “Vi was it your mother?” I nodded yes. My sister fell to the ground. “They killed her!” I became angry and shouted, “Who killed her? What does any of this have to do with our bloodline?” My grandmother walked over to a wall of picture frames. “There are two bloodlines. The guardians and the Visionaries. Our family has been the visionary bloodline for generations. We give our visions of what is to come to the Guardians. They use our visions to prevent horrible things from coming to past. Many lives have been saved throughout the centuries. It wasn’t until I met your grandfather, that these two bloodlines joined together. Your mother was the first Visionary Guardian. A true fighter. Your Aunts are hybrids also. She was raising the both of you to become hybrids as well. That’s why she allowed you to sketch your visions at that diner late in the night. That’s why you and your sister have been taught over 10 different styles of fighting.” As my sister rises from the floor, she reveals what she knows. “When I got to the house to meet my mother and Vi, two Dyvarks were in our home. They must have come back for us.”

My aunt Angelica then pulls a necklace out of her shirt from around her neck. She unlocks the bookcase with it and the door slides open. “When a life is saved, these golden balls appear in the fountain out front. We keep them safe here because we are connected to them. They are the fruit of our visions. When someone dies, their visions die too. However, if they were to be destroyed while one lives, whomever cast the vision will never be able to cast another. If we can no longer cast visions, death for mankind would be inevitable. The Dyvarks fight the guardians to ensure the visions come true. They must have followed your mother home on her last mission. Did she have on her necklace she always wears?” “No” I said. Aunt Eliza came forward and said, “If they have a key, they must be planning an attack for here. We must assemble the guardians and get Vi somewhere safe.” “Why do I need to be safe? Why can’t I fight?” My grandmother grabbed my shoulders and said “When someone in the bloodline dies the next eldest child’s gift is awakened. After their first vision, their key appears in that which they love. You have not cast your first vision yet, so you do not have a key. If they attack tonight and prevail, they will destroy all of our past visions. You will be the last Visionary. We cannot risk something happening to you.” They told me to stay here in the den. They immediately began planning and preparing for a large battle. As I walked the yard, I watched as the guardians sharpened weapons and sparred with each other. I watched as my sister armed the other visionaries in case the first line of defense was broken.

It’s 8:59 pm. The anxiety of not knowing if I would live terrified me. My sister came to get me from the den. She escorted me down into a lower chamber of the mansion. There was a door with high tech security. She used my hand print and eyeball to access the room. When we got inside, I felt like I was in the White House Bunker. My sister over to a screen and invited me to sit in a chair in front of it. When I sat down, I could see every camera in and outside the house. “Vi, listen to me very carefully. If the Dyvarks get into the Den. They will destroy our visions. There is nothing you can do to stop that. What you can do, is press this button. It will blow up the entire property. No Dyvark will escape to reign havoc on the world. You will be safe to cast your visions and save what they reveal.” With tears streaming down my face, I said “But you all will die.” She replied, “We sacrifice our lives every day for the safety of mankind. This no different. You must be strong and do what needs to be done? Can I count on?” Too full to answer, I nodded yes. She left me a gun and locked me in this bunker.

Fifteen minutes later, I feel the impact of an explosion. I began searching the cameras for where it came from and it was right in the front yard. Now every camera outside is flooded with guardians fighting Dyvarks. The Guardians are putting up a good fight but the Dyvarks have breached the inside of the mansion. I see my Aunt Eliza fighting a Dyvark near the den. I became overwhelmed with fear for her life but even more fear because I might have to press this button. As I silently rooted for her, I noticed a necklace fall from pants. Is that my mother’s necklace? Before I could zoom in, all of the cameras began to static. How will I know if I need to press the button? I grabbed the gun and jumped to go see if I could at-least spot how close they were to the den.

When I got upstairs no other Dyvarks were inside the mansion. The guardians were winning. I heard laughter coming from the den so I walked toward it. When I peaked through the crack, I could see my Aunt Eliza kissing the Dyvark. I swung the door open and pointed the gun at them both. In her hand was my mother’s necklace. “Aunt Eliza, how could you? He’s a Dyvark! And that’s my mother’s necklace. Did you kill her?” She draws a gun on me. “Now Vi, I never liked your mother and when we destroy all of these visions this undeserving world will get what’s coming to it. We won’t have to fight anymore. We can love and grow old with no care in the World.” “How could you kill your own sister. Our family is fighting for their lives right outside because of you! Give me the necklace. It doesn’t have to be this way.” “Vi I have always loved you, but you will not come between us and our future together. So lower your gun.” I began to lower my gun, but I caught a glimpse of my sister outside fighting. I knew there was only one smart thing to do at the time. So, I shot my Aunt Eliza in the chest. She fired back and it grazed my arm. I shot the Dyvark as he reached for his gun. He dropped to the floor. I ran to my Aunt and snatched the key from her as she took her final breathes. My sister ran in after defeating the Dyvarks. I explained and everyone was heart-broken. It’s 11:27 pm and we are back on the road. We arrive at home just in time for me to go to my favorite 24/7 Diner.

Its 3:06 am. Like clockwork, I can hear Pop Malone flipping my blueberry pancakes. Now here comes Pumpkin Malone with her award-winning organic peach chamomile tea. As I continued my sketches, I took a sip of tea and something hit my mouth. As I pulled it out, I noticed it was a necklace. Then my phone rang. Its 3:14 am. I answer and it is my older sister. “Hey Vi, I was calling to let you know I’m on my way home from school. I will be there at 10 am. I had a dream about a dead eagle, so I need to see everyone’s faces.”