Ifs Buts and Coconuts

I told you to keep me in, but now you will pay the consequences. 

“If we die, can I have all your worldly possessions?” 

“If we both die, then how are you going to-oh never mind that.” Tasha let her silver hair whip around her face, clutching her blaster tightly. Aliens, everywhere, covering the landscape. She didn’t want to kill them, but they intimidated her, especially since they just appeared out of nowhere. Jay stood beside her, waving and making stupid hand motions with his arms. 

“Do you understand me?” He danced like a maniac, pausing to whisper into Tasha’s ear. “Run. Tasha. Run.” She didn’t want to leave him, and stood rooted to the ground, but Jay pushed her into a wheelbarrow and winked. 

“No! But-” Tasha desperately tried to get out of the wheelbarrow but it was moving too fast down the steep path. Before she got swept away, Jay smiled somberly. 

“No Tasha. No ifs, buts, or coconuts.”

Tasha couldn’t breathe. This was all the empty’s fault. If it hadn’t spiraled out of control, their worlds wouldn’t have collided. Jay wouldn’t survive aliens. He had never practiced for combat like she had, and if this was anybody’s mission, it was hers. Jay wouldn’t stand a chance. 

“Ow.”  

A sack mumbled from inside the wheelbarrow, barely audible but still very much there. Tasha’s heart skipped a beat. 

“I said, ow.” 

A girl emerged from the flap in the sack and stuck her head out angrily, blue skin and all, no older than twelve. Another person, a boy, wearing less fancier clothes shushed the girl and yanked her down to the ground, staring at Tasha warily. Tash looked at the blaster in her hand and blushed, setting it down on the ground beside her. 

“Sorry, I wasn’t going to-” Tasha stopped, remembering Jay, and tried to stop the wheelbarrow with her feet. It flew upwards, then crash-landed onto the ground in an alley, sending her flying into a stack of hay. The boy and girl gave each other nervous glances and scooted away from Tasha. She frowned and threw the blaster at their feet, a sudden rush of anger flowing through her veins. Tasha looked at the city from the sidewalk and saw the plumes of smoke, fire, and screams. She had to find him; it was going to be her fault. 

“Where are you going?” The girl asked, grabbing Tasha’s shoulder lightly. She sounded normal, with a slight accent that Tasha couldn’t place. The boy next to her hissed, but the girl still held on. Tasha eyed the castle swarming with other blue-skinned creatures and sighed, collapsing on the ground exhausted. 

“The empty is supposed to be protecting us, keeping our worlds at balance, and somehow, it lost control and our planet crashed into yours.” She sounded distant, still aching to find Jay but not knowing where to start. 

“If you go and find him now, you’ll die.” The boy mumbles, reaching out for Tasha’s hand. The girl immediately let go and shuddered violently, then shaking her head, barely getting any words out. 

“Sorry about your planet.” The boy, seeing the girl’s distraught expression, changed the topic. They knew something that they weren’t telling Tasha. 

“My name’s Maxim, and this here is Alma.” He gestured to himself, and then the girl. Alma pressed her palm against her forehead, breathing heavily, but still breathing. Tasha wanted to break free of Maxim’s grip, and run until she found him, and keep running into the chaos. She couldn’t hide any longer. Maxim ignored Alma’s vigorous shuddering and grit his teeth.

“We’ll all go then. I know the way. To find your boyfriend.” 

Tasha’s eyes almost popped out of her head. “He’s not my-” Maxim just gave her a small smile and grabbed Alma. Alma was still shaking, but she was running alongside them, struggling to keep up as flocks of terrified citizens ran for the outskirts of the city. Alma’s eyes looked up at Tasha’s and gave her an expression filled with guilt, as if she were trying to say sorry for something. Tasha just nodded off into the horizon, determination etched into her face. She was going to fix this. 

Jay was nowhere in sight, in the middle of the raging fire and horrified citizens. Tasha shouted over the screams and coughed as the smoke engulfed her scorching lungs. Suddenly, she saw a figure hunched over under a twisted piece of metal, flicking it to the side. Jay. 

Tasha ran towards the figure, almost losing Maxim and Alma in the thick crowd. 

“I found you!” She smiled, panting heavily, but Jay’s eyes were drawn to something else. Alma. He had his hands on his hips, now standing and focusing on the nervous girl biting her lip and shuddering. 

“You doomed us all, you know that right? Why would you? How COULD you?” He towered over Alma’s small figure as Alma began to back away, afraid. 

“Jay!” Tasha spoke without intention, grabbing Jay’s shoulder and forcing him to look at her. “What are you doing to that poor girl?” Jay frowned and shook his head like Tasha was the wrong one. 

“No. Haven’t you been told yet? This is the home of the Star People, Universe carriers, and this here is the new star child.” Jay motioned to Alma, glaring at Tasha as he spoke, anger flooding his every movement. Tasha gasped in horror, staring at Alma as she cowered behind Maxim, Jay ready to punch everyone in the face. This little girl was the whole reason why their whole world had blown apart to pieces, everyone they loved to just die? Tasha inhaled slowly, then exhaled.

“Why?” That was all she said, taking everybody by surprise. Alma stood up a bit straighter and furrowed her eyebrows at Jay.

“You don’t know. You don’t know anything about the isolation, the lies, the burden, holding the empty in your shadow; you don’t know anything about the Star People. You don’t know how it feels to be trapped, and when you’re finally set free the world ends and it’s all your fault.” Maxim shielded Alma with his own hands as well, covering her from the blows yet to come, but Jay didn’t move. He held onto Alma’s hand and sat down, coming to her level.

“So how do you think we can end this?” Tasha let out a breath she didn’t know  she had been holding and gave Jay a grateful smile. No, she could never forgive the empty, but maybe she could forgive Alma. She watched as Alma pointed to the main palace, almost untouched by the spreading flames. 

“That. I need to reconnect with the empty through the castle.” Jay licked his lips deep in thought. He pondered the thought for a minute, saw the spreading flames and terrified citizens, and began running toward the palace, Tasha at his heels. 

The run to the palace wasn’t long. They were already in the main city when they saw the beacon in which Alma could use to reconnect with the empty. She saw Maxim’s crumbled expression and smiled. 

“When I come back we can do all sorts of things together. I just can’t express myself; how hard can that be?” Tasha could hear the pain in Alma’s voice, but the whole world was counting on her to reconnect with the empty so their worlds could be stabilized again. She stepped under the massive beacon and closed her eyes firmly, waiting for the empty’s response. 

It felt like only a matter of seconds before Alma came out, but her purple arm shone brightly again, but her face expressed the burden of a thousand lifetimes. Something had happened. Tasha tried to read her expression, but she wouldn’t let it show, not even while she was relaying the message. The fires had gotten bigger, thicker, sending plumes of smoke into the sky, poisoning the air. A massive group of citizens stood in the remains of their homes, watching the fire eat up their city.

“It wants a sacrifice to pledge allegiance to me again.” Tasha gasped out loud, watching Alma’s serious expression. It couldn’t be true, and if it was, who would sacrifice themself for the empty? Maxim stared at the ground and so did Jay, leaving Tasha with Alma. 

“I’ll do it.” Tasha couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth, but she stood in front of Alma like she did, ready. Alma covered her mouth with her hand.

“No. I can’t be responsible for the death of another. It should be me-I have done so much bad-I can’t bear it anymore.” Tasha smiled at Jay, his face drained. 

“I can’t let anyone die anymore. Alma is the heir to the throne and she needs to build her kingdom up again.” Jay pleaded with Tasha, begged her but she walked toward the beacon of light without turning around, saying her last words with gusto. 

“No Jay. No ifs, buts, or coconuts.”