Chapter 4 - Sister

Making sure the titanium pieces were as secured as possible in my sleeves I slowly made my way towards Father.

A few drops of blood fell on the ground as I walked, but I ignored the pain. Fast, I needed to be fast.

I positioned myself, dagger in hand, my knees bent, feet apart and arms in front of my face. I locked eyes with Father.

That was all he needed before lunging towards me, dagger aimed for my neck. I dodged and plunged my own dagger towards his heart. He stepped sideways and flipped around, managing to slice my right shoulder. I winced but quickly recovered.

Now was not the time to lose focus.

I whirled and crouched as I aimed for his right leg, but he just rolled out of reach. It all seemed so easy for him.

I was starting to feel helpless. I really am useless.

As I was lost in my thoughts, I failed to see Father’s dagger now resting against my neck. The pressure Father exerted on the dagger pierced my sensible skin and I felt it sting.

“I give up” I said. What a crushing defeat.

As if to confirm my thoughts, the AI’s voice rang once again in the blindingly white room. “Agility: 0, Strength: 0, Intelligence: 0, Charisma: 0, Luck: 0”.

I wanted to laugh. Badly. Or maybe cry. Or scream. I really didn't know anymore.

Just as I was about to turn around and leave, Father opened his mouth, his eyes fixed on something behind me.

"So, what do you think? Your sister is just as useless as the day she was born. You can’t say anything about my decision now, can you?”

I dared not look back. My sister was here. My sweet, sweet sister. My light, my support, my best friend. My better half… Until 11 years ago that is.

Until she demonstrated fantastic capabilities at the tender age of five. Until Father separated us, named her 00001 and me 14999. Until she became his protégé.

Now she won’t even dare look me in the eyes on the rare occasions we cross paths in this enormous lab.

And it broke my heart every single time.

Even my twin sister was ashamed of a useless sister like me. But who could blame her? At 14, after her first expedition, she became one of the youngest Moons in history, and was given a new name by the System. Callisto. Name given only to one of the top ten challengers.

But something didn’t seem right. The last expedition was only yesterday. How could she be back already?

Watching me attentively, Father answered my question without me having the need to speak it out loud.

“I can see your confused look. Yes, normally, the Moons are forced to participate in every expedition. But you do know that a voluntary candidate can take his or her place if needed to. I found one for your sister yesterday because I wanted her to take one last look at you. After all, after today, you will never see each other again. You will be far too occupied to see anyone anymore. Except your doctors of course. They will take good care of you, don’t you worry.”

A sinister smile spread on his face, the first true honest emotion he had ever displayed. I felt a chill run down my spine as realization hit me. 15000.

They said she died yesterday. But we never saw her body. A tear slid down my cheek. I grounded my teeth together, fisting my hands. Monster. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to see him writhe under me. I wanted to skin him alive and cut him in a thousand tiny little pieces.

As Father saw my facial expression, he looked taken aback. I quickly molded my features into neutrality. Now was not the time. He could not know that I wasn’t as tamed as he thought. He could not know of my loathing and thirst for revenge. But soon. Soon he will.

I finally decided to turn around and look at my sister. As always, her eyes were indifferent, her expression seemingly bored. That hurt more than I would have liked to admit.

I blinked away the tears forming in my eyes and held my head high.

“Hello sister. Or should I call you Callisto? I’m sure you are absolutely ecstatic about this little vacation Father offered you. At least my little sister would have been for you. Her heart and soul were so pure, I thought she was an angel descended on Earth to spread her love and joy to us useless children. But she died yesterday. Yes, she caught a cold the doctors said. You can’t imagine how sad we all feel. She didn’t deserve such a sudden death. But then again, she was useless after all. So maybe she did. Like I deserve to live the rest of my life locked up in our warm and cozy home, serving the greater good. Such an honor truly.”

My sister didn’t show a single reaction to my words. Not even one. So, I continued, my hand squeezing my chest as I felt the remains of my shattered heart screaming in agony.

“Well, I hope you’ll lead a good life. The world is counting on you. Go be the hero in the limelight. I’ll be the only taint on your blinding light, the only shame you’ll ever need to bear. But don’t worry. Soon, you won’t have to bear anything at all. You’ll finally be free. Let me be the one to gift you your wings.”

This is goodbye sister. For good.

I ran down the halls, the pain in my thigh, shoulder and neck long forgotten. My vision began to blur as uncontrollable sobs escaped my trembling mouth.

I couldn’t hate her, I just couldn’t. But after tonight, I won’t ever see her again. And it hurt. It hurt so much that I couldn’t see her smile for one last time, couldn’t hear her say my name, the name we decided together on, one last time. I wanted to feel the warmth of her hug, her protective arms around me, keeping me safe, keeping me calm, keeping me sane. I wanted my old sister back.

And it hurt so much more knowing that I’ll never get her back.

After what felt like an eternity, I finally reached my cell, panting, sobbing, heartbroken. I closed the door and cried myself to sleep. After all, I needed all the rest I could get if tonight was going to work.

If I wanted my own wings to grow on my back and give me the freedom I longed for as long as I could remember.

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