Sacred Blood

Pulling. Reaching. Scratching. Clawing. I'm in a dark tunnel, a sharp wind pushing me towards the wrong end. No! I scream. It's the wrong way! I get pulled, closer and closer. A white light blinds me and I'm surrounded by color.

I wake up, my heart pounding. I furrow my brow, confused at my surroundings. Instead of my old wooden bed, I'm in a sleek hovering bed with hospital-white sheets.

I glance up and see a tinted-glass ceiling. Airplanes drone above me, but they're like nothing I've ever seen.

I race towards my back door. I sigh. That's different, too. Did some futuristic remodeler come in my sleep?

I take another step forward and the doors open soundlessly. Silence meets me. I'm even more puzzled. Not even the birds are chirping.

I'm not scared, though. I have a type of blood that keeps me from being harmed or injured in any way. My great-grandmother, Alessandra Laurier, my namesake, discovered it.  It only passes through the women Laurier, and it is our responsibility to keep the bloodline going.

A bee buzzes over a hovering table and I pick it up. To my great shock, it stings me.

I run to the street, which is relievingly still filled with people. For someone who lives in New York City, empty streets are nightmares.

I run to the nearest person and ask, "Do you know anyone by the name of Laurier?"

He looks at me quizzically and says, "The former president? The woman?"

"Uh... yeah, her."

"She died."

I cover my shock by thanking him and scurrying away. The blood is gone. Which means...

I shake away the thought and keep walking. A billboard looms above me. I read it and gape.

Stop the war! It proclaims. Make 3013 a new future!

Another one reads: Make Australia stop! Atomic bombs are wrong!

I'm in... the future?!

Wandering around the futuristic city, I wonder how I’m ever going to get back. Maybe even stop this fate that is holding me from doing so. 

I’m so lost in my thoughts that I bump into a person. “Sorry,” I mumble, moving out of the way. But the boy grabs my arm. He peers at my face so intensely I wonder if there’s something wrong with me.

He snaps his fingers. “I know you!” He proclaims. “You’re great-great-great-great Aunt Alessandra!” The boy pulls me closer. “But what are you doing here?”

I stand there, picking my way through my muddled thoughts. “How- how do you know me?”

He pulls out a picture from his jacket and shows it to me. It looks like me, but older. 

I step back. “Why are you showing me this?” 

“Because you’re from the past.” When I look at him with a creased brow, he grits his teeth and mutters, “You’re not supposed to be here!” 

“Ah.” I nod. “Who are you, anyway?” 

“Alex.” He holds out his hand. “And you’re my Aunt Alessandra.”

I shake my head. “That’s way too weird. Anyway, why do you have my picture?”

“Because apparently, I look a lot like you. Like, scary look-alike.”

I did notice some similarities. “But that’s not the point. The point is that I have to save my bloodline and to do that I have to get back to my present.” 

His eyes widen. “You have the blood? Like, the blood? ” 

“Yeah. But it doesn’t work anymore because my future great whatever granddaughter just died. She was the last one, based on my assumptions. Now that I’m in this time period, it affects me.”

Alex looks both ways. “Come with me.” He grabs my arm and pulls me to a dark alley filled with trash that hits me like a stink wave. 

I try to breathe through my mouth. “Where are you taking me?” I whisper.

“Shhh,” he whispers. 

He sweeps away some of the trash and uncovers a door. 

“Where are you taking me?” I ask again.

He turns toward me. “To a place that needs you. The blood is severely important and you are the only one who has it.”

I try to wrench my arm away. “You- don’t- need- my- blood!” I force through gritted teeth. My attempts at escaping have failed. I am trapped. 

His grip turns to steel. “Yes, we do.”

Two guards that are twice the size of me lumber out of the door. “Sir, where do we need her?” Asks one

“Oh, take her to the asylum. She’ll have fun there.” Alex sneers at me. My heart stops. 

They grab my arm, wrenching it. I give out a little scream and one of them chuckles.

“That’s just the beginning, little girl.”

They take me down a sterile white hallway, then another, then so many that I lose count. There’s no way to escape now. 

A steel door meets me. One of the men laughs again and punches a code in a keypad next to the door. The door hisses open and inexplicable noises meet me.

I’m going to die anyway. I wish I could’ve said goodbye to my Maman and Papa, but it’s too late now.

The door closes shut behind me. I slump down the blindingly bright wall and await the horrors that will come.

Imagine my shock when a small boy, around the age of seven, rounds a corner.

He’s wearing a white tunic and has bare feet. He grins at me with a gap in between his teeth. I gape. This is the same asylum that Alex was talking to me about?

“Hi, I’m Milo,” the boy says. “I know a way out. But don’t tell anybody, ‘cause I’m not supposed to know. Nobody except Westin knows, but he’s too messed up to remember. What about you? What’s your story?”

I swallow hard. “W-well, I’m Alessandra, and I’m here because Alex wants something I have.”

“Is it that blood Alex keeps raving about?” A curt British accent meets my ears, but I see no one.

“Oh, zat one! I never thought she would come, but she did!” This one is German. Where are these people coming from?

“I never thought she would come! Let’s go meet her.” 

Where I was expecting two, only one person came. “Oh, zere she is! Isn’t she velly nice?” She said in a German accent. “Yes, I think so. She’s very pretty, but a mite plump.” She switched to British.

“That’s Acey,” Milo whispered. “She has a split personality, but she’s actually very nice.” 

I decided not to say anything. The woman walked away, talking to herself in switching accents.

“Aye, don’t let that ol’ Acey get to you.” An old man with an eye patch swaggered into the room. “Noice to meet ya, lassie.” 

“That’s Westin.” 

“Ah,” I whispered back to Milo. “How bad is he?” 

“This is one of his good days. You’re lucky. I came on a bad one, but it didn’t scare me as much.”

I was very disturbed but didn’t let it show. “Milo, what did you say about a way out?”

“There.” He pointed to the door I entered through. 

I rolled my eyes. “Wow, I never would’ve guessed.”

He grinned. “Kidding! There’s a hole, but we stay in here ‘cause it’s safe and there’s food. But plenty of people have escaped and Alex didn’t know ‘cause it’s so big.” He spread his arms. “If you go two lefts and right, there’s a hole.”

“Thanks, Milo. Stay safe. I’ll miss you.”

“Bye, Ally!” 

I smiled at the nickname. I followed Milo's directions and was relieved that I didn’t encounter any more characters. 

I looked behind me and found Milo following me. 

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“You’re different,” he said. “I want to watch you go.”

I smiled again. “Thanks.”

I found the hole and squeezed through it. Milo squeezed behind me. I found myself in chaos. What few people there were screaming and running to the nearest buildings. 

I shrugged. I just escaped an asylum. There could be worse. I jogged ahead and turned to wave to Milo, but he was staring shocked. 

“Ally, look up!” He screamed.

I looked up and saw a missile hurtling towards me.