The Anima App (Part Three)

I think I’ve figured out what it takes to be a zombie; my legs smash right up against the wall, leaning against the holster of my bed as I blare anything and everything through my headphones. Everyone else is sleeping. I don’t even know sleep.

At least Ms. Trachard can check on me; she wouldn’t want to disturb the other girls in the room.

Why do I take advantage of people’s kindness? It’s a question I had to ask Carson. Now I can’t even ask him at all.

The sun is a sliver on the horizon, peeking out. Reminding me of a new, dismal weekend.

I have to get something done, right? I rip some clean jeans out of my drawer, along with a shirt in my trademark pink, slashed with just a single diagonal grey line. The shirt must have fallen into the depths of my laundry; I've never even noticed it until today.

"I'm going out," I yell to Ms. Trachard as she stalks the halls, watching for people up early. Was she expecting me to get up early? Or was I supposed to sleep in? Again.

"Don't die," she calls back. She turns away from me, but I see a sliver of satisfaction etching it's way up her face, a small smile showing proof of my changed nature. I check my phone as I walk out. I'm not expecting texts, only for a time. 5:30. When was the last time I ever woke up this early? Probably before Quinn-

Yeah... let's not think about that.

I don't need a GPS. I don't even need a car. My legs just automatically take me towards Carson's house. Maybe I wouldn't do this in the past. Maybe I'm changing.

I reach the gate of Mayweather's house, her barbed fence sticking out from between the other houses perpendicular to her. Carson used to tell me that Mayweather hadn't even moved when she gained the sudden influx of wealth; she just tore down the houses beside her. What kind of monster even does that?

Well, this one. "What do you want?" a drawl answers my knock, Mayweather's voice drifting out into the street.

"I want to see Carson"

"Don't you other things to do?" I can almost hear the scowl in her words, but I pretend to ignore it. "He doesn't want to see you"

Wow. The one time she decides to finally play the 'Caring Mommy' part. "Tell him to get his ass up"

"A bit touchy, aren't we? I decide what's best for Carson. I am his legal guardian"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I scream back. A few people's eyes stray away from their phones for a few seconds, but it's not like they're really going to pay attention to me. "Since when?"

"Excuse me?" her voice crackles on my end a little. "Don't you dare speak to me that way! I have provided my nephew a caring home. That's more than you've done"

"Listen, lady," my forehead creases with annoyance as I think up a new plan. "I'm just gonna leave then, alright?"

"Good. Find someone else to bother"

With that final message, Carson's wicked aunt deserts me, probably going back to stomp on some puppies. When I'm satisfied that no one's watching me, I hoist myself over the fence.

I trudge up the dirt-covered path, pressing my palm against the knob. Would Carson let me in? I used to think so, but I can't even be so sure. What if I did all this, just to be left at the door?

A sudden pain strikes me. That's probably exactly how he felt when he tried to tell me. I'm back now, but I don't even love him. What am I going to say? 'I'll think about it?' How fucking lame.

My inner worries prove to be useless; the door yields under my pressure, creaking open with a squeak. A draft of sunlight squeezes past me as I take a tentative step towards Carson's room.

“Don’t move”

It’s too deep to be Mayweather. Who is this guy?

A cool breath streaks down my back, collecting at my neck. When I turn to move, a strong palm smashes down on my shoulder. After wincing in pain, the same voice answers.

“Don’t turn around”

“What the hell is this?” My hand reaches down into my pocket as I stall. Can I pocket dial Ms. Trachard? Does Mayweather even know there’s some intruder in her house?

Maybe he’s the police.

Shit.

“Look,” I continue to waste time as my hand sticks inside my pocket. I feel his breath moving down, so I turn around again, trying to redirect his focus. It works, but I can tell he’s close to hitting me.

“Don’t try that again, kid,” his gruff voice breaks through the smooth air. Where’s Carson? Shouldn’t he be hearing all of this?”

“I just want to talk to my friend,” I mutter, trying to slam open the door. No response. Maybe he’s already left? No; he’d be doing homework around now. What’s going on?

“Carson isn’t your friend”

“Excuse me?” The mysterious man clamps his hand down on my arm as I try to break free. “You can’t say that! You don’t even know me!”

“Ms. Dinah,” he clears his throat. “I think you’ll soon learn that I know much more than you”

“What did you do with Carson?”

“I didn’t do anything. He’s not in any danger”

“Um...” he finally stares down at my hand, spying the phone in my pocket.

“Turn your phone off. In fact, turn your location off”

“Can you at least turn around so I can put in my password?”

I feel him shift behind me. Maybe he’s a respectful kidnapper. I plug in the numbers quickly, obliging to his will.

“Done. Now where did you take Carson”

“Mayweather took him. That’s not a kidnapping, is it? They’re probably having a nice breakfast somewhere. She’ll just need to stall him so he doesn’t see you”

“Why do you even want me? Who are you?”

A badge falls on the floor, leather slapping the dusty ground. When I make a move to pick it up, he doesn’t stop me.

“You can turn around now, if you’d like”

My body spins, but I don’t look up at him. “Aman’s corps? What’s that?”

The guy has dark skin, edging more toward the shadows than any natural skin tone. His bright grey eyes pierce my soul as he stares back into my eyes. When I catch him staring, his gaze falls back down to the floor, snatching the badge back from me. “Don’t they teach you anything in school?”

“Um...” a thousand history lessons filter through me head, all wasted, boring moments. Was I really supposed to pay attention? “Well, I’ve heard of Aman before. They don’t go over him much”

“Did so much change in just 100 years?”

“100 years? Are you... from the past?”

“I won’t answer any more questions. You’re coming with me”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” I grunt as he slams me against the wall, applying handcuffs to me. “We’ll arrest you on the accounts of breaking and entering. I’m sure there’s more we could find in your record to incriminate you further”

“Shit,” I mumble. Is karma finally back for me? Is this the day where every bad decision comes back to me?

“Of course, we’ll only need a few days”

“Where are you even taking me?”

“I told you I wasn’t answering any questions. But, I guess saying that we’re going to be arresting you isn’t much”

“We?”

"Shut up”

“I’m pretty sure you said we”

His iron grip closes in again. “Do you want to stay alive?”

“I mean...”

“Then stop being so goddamn annoying. My job was to apprehend you. Leave your sass for Mayweather”

“Oh, there are a few choice words I’d like to give to-”

My words stop short as my body gets slammed outside. He throws me back onto the lawn without any care, my limbs sprawling across the dead grass, grimy dirt up my nose. Could this get any worse?

Oh look; Carson.

“Caddy?” His voice is tinged with hurt, but his body betrays him. He rushes over to help me, only just now noticing the cuffs.

“Carson!” Mayweather shrieks from behind him, waving her free hand around. The other one reaches into her purse as she frantically types into it. “Please come back! It isn’t safe!”

“What do you know about safe!” I scream back at her. Carson fumbles a little with my lock, but it’s no use; the dark man from before appears almost instantaneously behind Carson.

“Move, kid,” he grunts. “She’s under arrest”

“I know more about Carson’s safety than you do!” Mayweather throws her purse back into her car, but the phone remains in her hand. “I feed him every night! What did you do, break his heart?”

“Oh, like you're a perfect mother..."

"Stop fighting!"

Mayweather and I both break our stares to turn to Carson, but the officer just keeps working on getting Carson away from me. "Listen... I want to forgive you, Caddy. I just..."

"Oh," I sneer back at him. "Don't go there. Don't you dare say I'm not fucking trying"

"See!" He points out. "This what I was gonna say. You care about me, but only because I'm part of your life"

"And I wouldn't want to change that"

"Then what's so wrong about me asking you out?" Carson winces at the very last second, just realizing what he's said. "Shit... you're right"

"I'm sorry"

"I kn-"

But he doesn't get to finish; the man shoves him out of the way one last time, snatching me from the ground. "The cops will be here any second," Mayweather warns me. "Now... give me Anima"

"What?" I ask. "Was... was that a capital A?"

Her puzzled look only lasts for a second before her brows furrow again. "Don't make me ask you again. We don't have to kill you if you give it to us"

"Us? Was that what he was talking about?"

"Shut up," The man warns, but it's too late. Mayweather hears him and storms beside him.

"What did I say about your cover? I told you, I could have chosen anyone! I chose to bring you into the future, and you can't even get a simple job done!"

"Future?"

Carson's aunt whips around with more force than I thought a woman as old as her could exert. "You will die in that cell. And Aman will win"

"Aman?"

"The god from the past," Carson whispers. "From history?"

"Shit," why is history so important all of a sudden?

A red light blurs my vision for a moment as the cop car pulls in. "I'll take them out," Mayweather orders the brute, suddenly becoming the most frazzled looking mob boss. "You take care of the girl"

She strides over to the two cops lounging in the car, flashing a dim light toward them. As soon as it hits, they're knocked out, reeling over into the back seats.

"Grab her, you idiot!" Mayweather shrieks, watching as Carson stares toward her in disbelief.

"Oh, cut the crap," she mutters to him. "Don't act like you thought I was there to protect you"

"What the fuck is going on!" I scream, kicking at the man who hoists me up. "This is a kidnapping! A crime!"

Okay, so maybe I'm a hypocrite.

"No," a dry voice comes from behind me. "This is"

A black blur shifts across my world as my center of gravity switches, throwing me to the ground.

"Get up, loser"

The blur becomes a girl, reaching her hand down toward me. Her silky, raven black hair flutters across her back in a crescent arc, highlighting her dark olive skin. Her fashion tells me more than enough about her personality, an ivory jean jacket with a crimson leather skirt to match, black combat boots riding up her legs.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Vedette," she nods. "Duck"

"Your name is Vedette Duc-"

A loud bang explodes from the corner of the world as Mayweather loads up a gun. "Kill her, you idiot!"

The man kneels down, aiming straight for Vedette. "They don't seem to like you,"

"Yeah," she notes drily. "I get that a lot. We need to get you out of here"

"What about Carson?"

"Please don't tell me you named your car that"

"No, he's my friend!"

Carson, who had been trying to ignore the past events, looks up at us. "Um... I'm not sure if we should trust her"

"Good choice," Vedette taps a little gold watch on her wrist, flashing a thin light.

"Now's not the time to reset your watch"

"No," she elbowed me in the gut. "It's a perfect time. Let's just hope Nœl got the time zone correct"

The light flashes again, shimmering through the air. As soon as the ray hits Mayweather and the gunner, they immediately slow down, as if running through water.

"What did you just do?" I ask her, looking down at my own body. I wave my hand back and forth, surprised to see it moving clearly.

"Time manipulation," Vedette responds, running back toward Carson. "Little favor from the real time god"

When she touches Carson, an electric shock jolts through him, running down his back. He freezes up a little before answering.

"Well. That was weird"

"Let's hope you never have to experience it again," Vedette grabs my shoulder. "Follow me. We need to find a safe place. Do you know anywhere?"

"We could try Ms. Trachard's place""Sure"

Before I can ask her any more questions, Vedette shuts me up, whipper her hair back into the wind.

"First of all," she lists off her grievances on her finger. "You're in deep shit"

"Wow. Shocker"

"It's worse than you think. At least your boyfriend seems to know a little bit of history"

"Um, he's not my boyfriend"

"I doubt that'll matter when you both get killed. The god Aman wants you dead because of Anima"

A little twang of familiarity brushes through me, but I ignore it. That was just some kid's story. "Creation?"

"Precisely. If memory serves, you are the last generation to hold the power of Anima inside of you"

"But... my brother told me that only the descendants of that lady god could have Anima in them"

"Quinn told you that?" Carson rubs his head, looking perplexed. At least he wasn't drawn into some prophecy shit.

I look back toward him, surprised he even remembers Quinn. I barely even mention him anymore. "He told me a story, the night he died. But... it can't possibly be true"

"I think you'll find that what's true and what isn't is going to get blurred rather quickly," Vedette looks back toward her watch. "We only have a minute left before time restores itself"

"Couldn't you just use it again?"

"No," a little bit of her feisty attitude falls away when she talks to Carson, melting around her. "That would cover topic two; I'm a time traveler"

"Well," Carson nods. 'Uh... that's interesting"

"You have no choice but to believe me. I hardly think your minds would survive if you didn't. Especially this dumbass's"

"Hey!" I protest, but Vedette ignores me. "As a time traveler, I don't have the capacity to store more than a small amount of time magic inside of me. Now, we just rely on technology given to us by our leader.

"Your aunt was a time traveler as well, Carson"

"Mayweather?" he asks aloud. "But..."

"She is your biological aunt," Vedette continues. "As well... as well as my mother"

"You're my cousin?"

"Not exactly. Well... I wasn't born, for starters"

"What, you were created?" I roll my eyes. "This has to be a joke"

"Exactly. Mayweather broke away from the time-traveling agency I joined long ago to work for the now-deceased god Aman. She strives to bring him back to life, in order to gain further power"

"But she already has enough money," I complain. "Isn't that enough?"

"For Aman's followers, enough is only a concept. Fifteen years ago, Mayweather strived to create another time traveler to join her, using a bit of her DNA to create me. I was created around a preteen's age, forced to age slowly"

I stare at her back, down toward her outfit, almost a derivative of teen fashion. How slowly did she age?

"With Nœl, my boss, I can age normally again. I was given a mission to protect you, Caddy. If you were to die, Aman would be one step ahead, along with Mayweather"

"Who was the guy back there?"

"He's from a different time than I am; Mayweather must have used stronger time magic to bring him in. However, not all magic is permanent. By now, he's most likely gone from this time. The fact that she did summon him is very concerning; even a novice time traveler could summon someone they know from any time period with enough connection to the person. Mayweather wouldn't have had any connection to him, meaning she took the other option"

"What's the other option?"

"The reason she had to leave Nœl's force is murder. To use stronger time magic, a time traveler has to acquire a sacrifice"

"Mayweather killed someone?"

"You really have doubts? She is a ruthless, cold woman. She'd do anything to get her way"

"And how do we know you aren't the same?"

Vedette glares daggers at me, producing a badge. Unlike the man from before, a clock's face shines back at me. "Nœl's time travelers are given tasks to complete, all of which will help restore the timeline to its natural course. I was ordered to protect you until you achieve enough strength to wield Anima"

"And then what?"

"And then the fun begins"