The Anima App (Part Five, CADDY'S POINT OF VIEW I MADE A MISTAKE AND ONLY JUST NOTICED IT!)

I’ve been told I often make rash decisions. I don’t know what to make of it; don’t just tell me what’s wrong with my life. Help me fix it. Maybe breaking into Mayweather’s house to see Carson was a bad idea.

But it was definitely one of the better ones.

“I see you’ve brought Carson,” Ms Trachard turns her nose up at me, settling back into her magazine. “Who’s the goth girl?”

I smirk, sensing Vedette tense up. “Goth?” She whispers. “I am not goth. I am Vedette, third in line to Nœl’s secretarial position, the time trav-”

“In our play!” I scream out, catching her odd looks. “Uh... Yeah. Vedette gets really into character”

“Sure...” Ms. Trachard yawns. “Well, have fun. Don’t kill yourselves. And Caddy?”

I stray behind as Carson and Vedette move ahead. “Yeah?”

She smiles at me, warm and welcoming. I guess I’ve finally melted the both of us for a little while. “I’m glad you made up with him”

“How’d you?”

But when I turn around, she’s not there, the echo of high heels clicking against linoleum floors wafting toward me as she rushes down the hall. For some reason, I keep forgetting that there’s anyone else even at this place besides me. All of them ignore me, huddled into small groups.

Well, I have Carson. Fuck those basic girls. I just need him now.

“What?” Carson’s voice drifts down the other side of the hall. “I... repeat that?”

Okay, so maybe I’m nosy. But maybe Carson’s being a little loud. I can’t miss out on any drama, especially if I can use it to validate my hate towards Vedette.

“I’m...” Vedette chokes on the last word. “I’m technically your cousin”

Okay, so maybe not what I was expecting.

“Wait... what does that even mean? You...”

“Mayweather created me,” Vedette announces, sounding a little confident at the end, as if trying to highlight the fact that she survived Mayweather. “I am not biologically your cousin... but I guess you could say we’re related”

“I’m sorry... but what? And you waited this long to tell me?”

“Carson, it’s a sensitive topic. I... I had issues”

“Where were you all those years Mayweather tortured me? When I was trapped and alone”

Alone. What about me?

Wasn’t I anything to him whenever Mayweather abused him?

Aren’t I useful?

“No one protected me. I had to fend for myself. Maybe you could learn the same lesson”

Ouch.

“Are you telling me that I should have run away?”

“Well, Mayweather was using you. Imagine the consequences if you were to-”

“Shit!” I lose my footing, falling straight into their conversation, face down. When I crane my neck up to stare at the cousins, Vedette sneers at me.

“Did you have fun listening to us bicker? This is all for you, you know”

“Well, it’d be a little better if I knew what we were doing this for”

Vedette sighs, pulling out her phone. “I doubt you know much about history, do you?”

“Uh...”

“Well, there’s the god Aman. Basically, the leader, if you will. He plans to destroy this world and take all us to the next, thus proving him invincible and supreme. However, he isn’t the first god to go through this cycle. The goddess before him wanted to stop the cycle, so she placed her power inside of Aman’s lover, Toruń. She ran away from him, attempting to lay with anyone who would let her”

“Wow,” I snort. “What a slut”

The time traveler rolls her eyes, locking the phone. “She’s your ancestor. Most likely a great great grandmother. Or farther down the line”

“Well, I never saw her at any reunions”

“Toruń died along with the rest of the gods, including Aman”

“Then we’re done, aren’t we?” Carson pipes up, looking nervous. I guess this has been pretty confusing for him too. Maybe I should have thought of that before I eavesdropped so much.

“I have two different jobs to deal with,” Vedette answers, slumping down to the bench at the other edge of the hall. “Aman may be finished in this timeline, but No- I have my suspicions that this isn’t the first timeline.

“It has been prophesied that a time traveler of extraordinary power will turn on the other time travelers when someone very close to them dies. My superior believes that time traveler may be Mayweather or I.

“If the prophecy proves to be true, the timeline will be reset. If you die now, Aman won’t have anything standing in his way. Understand now?”

“Not really,” I admit, feeling stupid. Then again, it’s not every day that a bombshell like this gets dropped on you. Like... the world’s going to end if I die? Since when was I so important?

“Well, let me dumb it down for you. If you die, the world’s fucked. Better?”

“Oh yeah,” I mumble. “Obviously”

“Great. Now, onto our next topic; I have gathered information about our whereabouts; apparently, another time traveler is in the vicinity. Nœl couldn’t me give me the name, but they’ve been told to find me. Hopefully”

“Hopefully?” Carson asks, a nervous crack highlighting the edge of his words.

“Messages get blurry when transmitted over time. Let’s just hope they got the message faster than me. I doubt it will take very long for Mayweather to catch up to us”

“We need somewhere else to hide?” I whine, kneeling down to the ground. “But we just got here!”

“Precisely. If Mayweather catches us, she will kill you. Do you want to cause another fire?”

My heart stops for a moment, and I can sense Carson faltering too. “Oh hell no. You don’t just get to bring up fire lik-”

“She did it before and nearly killed you. She could try it again”

“Why can’t you just send us to a new time period?”

“Mayweather was kicked off the time-traveling army, but her powers still remain. If we run to a new time period, there’s no telling how much we could mess up”

“So you have such cool powers, but you don’t even use them?”

“If I used them incessantly,” Vedette growls, turning away from me. “This world would be destroyed. Too much exposure to time travelers would mean the end of the world. I’m supposed to keep it together, not break it.

“What a bitch..." I moan, joining her on the ground. "How sheltered were you?"

She flinches at my last comment, but I ignore her. It doesn't get to be about her. "If you're so smart," Vedette's face contorts into a sick smirk. "Then why don't you figure out how to stop this?"

"Uh, because I'm a fucking idiot. Go ask Carson"

"I don't want to ruin anything!"

"Exactly. Vedette, as the only smart one in the group, I nominate you to be the leader"

"Wow," she notes drily. "Charming"

"I've been told it all before"

"Well," she lifts herself off the ground, dusting off the dirt on her jacket. "Maybe we should work on harnessing your Anima. If Mayweather comes here to kill you, you shouldn't be completely defenseless. Of course, it would be fun to watch her try to kill you"

"Do you actually want me alive?"

"Not really," Carson's eyes bulge at the confession, but I just shrug. Girls have never really liked me all that much. There's just so much fighting over territory and boys. Why can't we all just accept the fact that some people are better than others? "In fact, the 'end the world' side is looking pretty appealing right now"

"Great," I mumble. "Glad we're all on the same page"

"And so motivated," Carson points out.

"Thank you. If we're the three that are somehow going to stop the end of the world, I think it's pretty safe to say that it's gonna fucking end"

"If you don't follow me," Vedette snatches my arm. "Then your life is going to end much faster. Now... I have never done this before, so it may hurt"

"Ah, so you're saying that it's going to hurt because you want it to"

"Precisely. Now... do you have any remote areas inside this building?"

"I think the basement's empty. Unless someone's smoking"

"Don't worry," Vedette snaps on a leather glove, following me down the corridor. Carson just strays behind, unsure of where he should go. Honestly, I almost wish I was in his position. I don't like being the center of attention. I don't want to be here.

The basement's as inviting as it always is, as in, terrifying. A dangling light shifts back and forth, spinning across the dark ceiling above us. Cobwebs adorn the dimly lit walls. Everything is nightmare fuel, filled with claustrophobia.

"Anima is an age old power," Vedette reads from a scripture she produced only a second ago. It crinkles under her gloved hands, the only noise in the room besides Carson's uncomfortable shifting, the squeak of leather from Vedette's attire, and my raspy breaths. "Caddy Dinah, you are faced with only two option: perish or accept. Which do you choose?"

No matter what I want to say, I know what is going to come out. "I accept this power as my own"

"Do you understand the terms?"

"What terms?" I ask, beginning to panic. Are the walls closing in? Do I have to accept? Is there an undo button? What about the fine print?

"The power will die with you. Caddy Dinah, you are the only living descendant of the Anima Goddess. If you are unable to provide a child, Anima will cease to exist. If you do, and that child bears more children, and so on until the next century, then Anima may have a chance to live on. Only then will you be released from your role"

"Are you saying I can't die?"

"No. However, death often stays restless in this world. I forgot how primitive this time is, in terms of magic. You really have fallen behind. You will never be released into what could be assumed to be a peaceful death until this century ends.

"Although," Vedette drops the prophet act, staring at me deadpan. Or is there a tiny part of her that really cares? "You shouldn't worry about that bit. I don't know exactly how death would work, what with all the gods being dead, but I doubt it improved much in the last couple centuries. Death isn't something you should go running to"

Oh. So not really.

"Do you accept these terms?"

I swallow, watching as Carson edges back into the light, smiling softly. "I- I guess. I mean... yes"

"Then allow me to imbue with the power of Anima. Carson, I'll ask you to step back only once. If Anima is to hit you, you will surely die. More importantly, this ritual will be a waste"

Vedette stares at me, not even a hint of humor on her face. "I hope this kills you"

A black-light streams out of her, heading straight towards me. When it connects with my heart, I double over, coughing. "That should just about do it," Vedette tells me. "You were so close to"

"What did you do?" Carson's voice sounds shrill, yet underwater. I can barely even see the tips of Vedette's boots as I lie on the ground, choking. "Did you kill her?"

"Well, Anima did. I guess she wasn't a worthy vessel. Perhaps her brother would have been a better option. It's a pity that Mayweather killed him and not her"

Carson slams Vedette against the wall. A thin laugh comes from the back of her throat. "Oh, don't be like that. Look on the bright side; if Caddy somehow survives this, then she'll finally be in her full potential.

"Anyway, it's not like she wanted to live much longer"

"What?" Carson turns to me, a look of disgust on his face. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I can't answer.

"I could have helped me"

No.

"This is ridiculous!"

At least he got that right.

"You have to fight this!"

"That's why you're dying," Vedette calls from the wall, her voice still hoarse from Carson's shoving. "You wanted to die, didn't you? Well, it's going to complicate things if you die. I'd rather not fill out the paperwork. If Nœl finds out about this, then I'm dead.

"If you want to live, then do it! Anima will kill you!"

I struggle to get up, pushing off the ground. Why did I want to die? Why is it so hard to want to live?

No. I want to live.

A pink light shines from my heart for only a second, before the entire room explodes with the light. I can barely hear Carson and Vedette's screams as it envelops them, and then the entire room.

And then it's all over.

"That's it?" I ask, looking over myself. "Uh... Wingardium Leviosar!"

"Leviosa," Vedette corrects me. "That isn't how it works anyway. What's the deal? Why are you still normal?"

"Maybe it didn't work?" Carson asks, looking back towards me. The room still feels claustrophobic. The lights are still dim. Why hasn't anything changed at all?

"Oh hell!" Vedette curls up, grabbing her head. "This is worse than if you died! I probably fucked something up! Nœl’s going to kill me!"

Just then, a thundering of stomps echoes down the stairs. Before anyone can barricade the door, it swings open. "What the fuck are you kids doing down here?" Ms. Trachard has her hands on her hips.

"Summon Lucifer," Vedette answers, once again deadpan. I interrupt her before she can speak, just as Carson tries to interrupt me.

"Having sex"

"Nothing!"

"Uh..." Ms. Trachard looks almost as confused as we all do. "Well, have fun. Or not"

She slams the door shut, stomping back up the stairs. "Are you okay?" Carson asks, still nervous.

"I'm fine," I turn on and off my phone, swiping back and forth between the two homepages. My apps swing back and forth like a rotisserie before my finger lands on one. A bright pink square, with nothing else adorning it. No name either. Before I can tap on it, the entire building shakes. Carson and I dive for the door frame.

"Is it an earthquake?" He shouts, trying desperately to look it up. "What's going on?"

Vedette curses, smashing her boot down. "No. We're too late.

"Mayweather found us"