Twenty-Five

We piled out from the dark tunnel, stepping on to the beige and grey streets of Pearl Education. The sun had started to set, the skies turning grey just like everything else around here. Popkins checked his watch.

"Right, it's getting on for eight o'clock which means that all the students would have had their dinner and will be back in their tents. As we all know from being students here ourselves, the students who are about to graduate are kept in age order in the same block and they are the ones we need to speak to."

Popkins gestured for Jamie to copy the spell he was doing. We watched quietly as thousands of A4 sized posters landed in columns on the ground in front of us. We read the words.

The authorities want you to believe that there is only one Generation for you.

That there is only one choice. THIS IS NOT TRUE.

There is a fourth generation, The Sapphires. A few of you will belong there.

But if you are a Ruby, an Emerald or a Diamond, it is possible to travel the generations and live in harmony.

Do your research.

With your help, we don't have to be separated anymore. We don't have to make the choice. We can co-exsist as one.

Meet us in the graduation dome at midnight if you want see with your own eyes how we can love and support each other and pass these posters on to the next group of students.

"Will we make it to midnight, Popkins?"

I hated to sound pessimistic, but it was a valid question. He shrugged, then split the posters into five piles, handing all of us but Maisie one. She wouldn't have been able to hold them, they would have slipped through her shimmering hands.

"I don't know darling. But if we don't, then hopefully the students will put two and two together and realise we've been silenced. Hopefully they will start their own fight. We need to split up into two groups."

All of us frowned.

"We should be together. If something happens, then it happens to all of us. I don't want to split."

Popkins nodded, but sighed at Maisies words.

"I don't disagree, but we have limited time to spread the word. There are thousands of students next to graduate and we have less than four hours to spread the word. We really need to be back at the dome for around quarter to midnight. Now I think it makes sense for the three Sapphires to be on one team, and myself, Mel and Maisie on the  other. Let's go."

"Wait." We all turned to look at Miles, who was raising his hand like a school boy. "I uh... I'm sorry. But I want to switch teams."

I raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly offended.

"Why?"

Miles looked at me, suitably guilty.

"I'm sorry, I just know that my emotions will get in the way if anything happens to you Cassie." He shot Jamie an apologetic look. "You know I have feelings for you. Not only is it uncomfortable for me to watch you and Jamie all over each other, I know that if you are in danger I will lose my head. I won't be able to focus. I'm just being honest, I'm sorry."

I looked at Jamie to scope out his reaction, but he had a poker face. Popkins clapped his hands breezily and shrugged.

"Not to worry. Maisie, you can join the Sapphires and Miles, you're with Mel and I."

Maisie shook her head.

"No."

Popkins widened his eyes.

"No? What do you mean no?"

Maisie hovered beside him, smiling apologetically.

"Similar reasons to Miles. We all know that as soon as the authorities get wind we are here, we will be done for. I can't watch people tear my brother apart, not after what he's already been through. I'm hoping we will all get back to the dome, but just in case we don't, I can't be on that team."

Popkins scratched his head, clearly in a difficult situation.

"Jamie, Cassie...do you two want to be apart as well?"

I shook my head firmly, the idea horrifying to me. Jamie wrapped an arm around my waist.

"No. If something happens, then I want to be with her."

He kissed me on the cheek. Popkins nodded and still looked confused.

"Right, well in that case, I guess I better uh, I better go with you two." He looked at Mel longingly, I could tell he didn't want to leave her. I stepped forward, putting my hand on Popkins arm.

"You stay with them. You don't want to leave Mel and besides, Maisie is our eyes and ears, she's invaluable in helping us with stuff, but she can't hand out the posters and Miles wheelchair might make it slightly more difficult to reach certain tents. So really it will only mostly be you and Mel doing the posters, it makes sense."

Popkins nodded slowly, but I could tell he wasn't convinced. I pulled him over to Mel, Miles and Maisie.

"We will be OK. We have strong abilities as Sapphires. I would kill for Jamie and he would do the same for me. We will get to that dome, I promise."

He sighed, then pulled me into a massive hug. I squeezed him back, not wanting to separate but knowing it was for the best.

"You better make it to that dome sweetheart. Don't make me regret this decision. I already feel uneasy about it."

I reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

"We will be fine Popkins. You be safe too."

I held up a hand to Maisie. She did the same but looked teary. I hugged Mel and told her to look after herself, then bent down and kissed Miles on the cheek. Jamie said his goodbyes too and then we separated. The others went East, while we went West.

We got to work as soon as we got to the tents, shoving a poster under every tent we came to. In fact, we were doing so well that Jamie had to magic up even more piles of posters. Because we were Sapphires, we could run and be physical without getting tired. I felt proud of ourselves for delivering so many. At half eleven, we had once again run out of posters. We made the choice to head back to the dome now, rather than make more. Popkins wanted us there at quarter to midnight, before the graduates turned up, so it made sense to leave now.

We held hands as we walked through the now dark streets.

"You did good. I'm proud of you. If only we didn't have to do stuff like this and could focus our physical power on us instead."

I chuckled, nudging Jamie with my arm.

"You are in a very frisky mood today. First the tunnel, now this."

He laughed, nodding shyly.

"I know. I'm sorry. I think it's the thought of never being able to do that night again with you. It scares me."

I came to a stop and pulled him to me, cupping his face.

"Don't apologise. It scares me too."

I leant in, feeling his lips, soft against my own. The kiss was gentle, loving. I could have stayed there all day, but reluctantly, I pulled away.

"You can't kiss me like that and then pull away. Come back."

I groaned, not wanting to look at him, knowing I would waiver. I took his hand and started walking along instead.

"If I carry on kissing you, then I won't want to stop. And if we don't stop, then we won't be able to meet everyone at the dome. You don't want the others to think the authorities have already got us, do you?"

He pouted, looking cute as a button. He still looked irresistible in his white shirt.

"I guess not. I hate it when you talk sense."

I laughed as we made our way back to the dome. On the way, we spoke and giggled, trying to forget about everything that lie ahead. Jamie checked the time before we entered the dome, it was exactly twenty to midnight. We walked in, shutting the door behind us, realising pretty quickly that it was empty. The others weren't here yet.

"Do you think they're OK?"

He kissed me on the head, holding me close.

"Of course they are. They'll be here. We are early, that's all. We better keep close to the door for when they come in."

We stepped away from the doorway, to the right, and waited in silence. Only five minutes had went by, but it felt like hours. I was just checking Jamie's watch when the door flung open. I breathed a sigh of relief and went rushing over.

"Guys, I'm so glad you made it. I was starting to get...."

I trailed off, gasping as I realised it wasn't our group. Marching in with two huge guards behind her was Dianne. The door slammed shut behind them. She turned to us, a grin of satisfaction on her face.

Jamie pulled me back to him, one arm around my waist and one around my shoulders.

"We will be fine. I promise."

I nodded slightly and gulped, not feeling confident of that.

"Well, well...we meet again. I could tell that you were going to betray me, I just didn't think it would be this quickly."

I held on to Jamie's arm. His heart beat was thudding, making me sure he was a lot more nervous than he let on. I swallowed again, my mouth feeling dry.

"It sure makes it easier, now there are only two of you left."

I gasped, pushing Jamie's arms away from me, and ran forward.

"What have you done to our friends?"

Jamie pulled me back once more.

"She's bluffing. Our friends are OK. Any minute now they will walk in that door and help us face these monsters."

I took a deep breath. I didn't have as much faith in the fact the rest of them were still safe, but if Jamie thought it then I had to believe him.

"I wouldn't worry too much. You'll both be dead before you can find out if I'm bluffing or not."

She took a step forward. I burrowed myself into Jamie, wishing that I could merge into him. Ever since graduation day, I had been nervous. I had been determined and reckless. I had been strong and weak. But right now, I was scared. More frightened than I ever had been.

"Before we get rid of you like the vermin you are, explain one thing. Why?"

The wind in the dome blew Dianne's orange hair, making it stick it out more than it usually did. Her eyes were red today. She reminded me of a snake.

"W...why...what?"

I cleared my throat, wishing that I could sound stronger in this moment. Dianne stepped forward, a malicious smile on her face.

"Why did you choose this? I mean... I knew you would, it's the type of people you are, but I have to know why. Why you believe that having all of you die is a better choice than living without each other?"

"Because it IS a better choice. Don't you see that what you are forcing people to do is wrong?" Jamie's voice was hard, angry. He was gripping on to me tight, half of it was because he wanted to protect me, the other half because he was furious. "When you took over from the human world and forced everyone into these generations, you promised it was for our own good. That there would be no more fighting and anger. That we could live in peace. But you failed. You are making people live in worlds that we don't belong to. You won't let us make friends when we are students. We are all supposed to live the life you want for us and be happy. But no more, Dianne. The people are waking up. There will be thousands of students here at midnight because we have informed them of the truth. So even after we are gone, you still have a fight on your hands."

Her eyes flashed with something. I couldn't quite make it out, but it looked like worry.

"I doubt any of them will listen to you. I have trust that my employees have ingrained it into our students that they are to obey us. I'm not bothered."

I glanced at Jamie quickly. She certainly looked worried. It gave me a bit of hope that this wasn't all going to be for nothing.

Dianne held her hand out to one of the guards. I gasped and stepped back with Jamie as she held up a sharp, glinting silver knife. It was bigger than an average knife but smaller than a sword. The blade was razor sharp.

"I've been through two years of torture. Your little knife will feel like a silk scarfe brushing my skin. Is that the best you've got?"

I felt nauseous as Dianne grinned at Jamie's words and stepped past me to his side. He still had his arms around me. I desperately tried to move him so I could be level with the knife, but he wouldn't let me. He held me so still that I couldn't even turn my head to look at Dianne, I could only hear her.

"Oh Jamie. Our noble, handsome Sapphire. This isn't just any knife. This was designed with the sole purpose of destroying a Sapphire. In particular, a Sapphire who is only being kept alive by their sisters old, broken gemstone. Once this pricks your skin, you have no chance."

Jamie's heart rate and breathing sped up. I tried to wriggle free, but it was no use.

"Please don't. Please. We were silly. We will call the whole thing off." My words did nothing. Jamie grunted as Dianne pressed the knife against his arm. His grip loosened on me. For a minute, I thought it was because he had been cut, but when I looked at him and he mouthed the word 'run' at me, I knew it was because he wanted to keep me safe. He must have known I wasn't going anywhere. I gathered up all my strength and shoved Dianne out of the way, hard. I managed to snatch the knife out of her hand, grabbing it by the blade. The sharp metal cut through my skin with ease, blood pouring out.

"Cassie, are you crazy? Run. Get out of here now."

Jamie was frantic.

Dianne groaned as she hit the floor, banging her head hard. I screamed as the two guards got hold of me on either side. The knife was still clenched in my hand, blood pouring out. To my surprise, one of the guards fainted beside me as blood dripped on to his shoe.

The other guard grunted and struggled to hold me on his own. I managed to switch the knife to the other hand, holding it by the handle. I had a rage inside me like I had never known. The thought of this knife going in to Jamie was too much to bare. With all my strength, I managed to twist myself around and point the knife at the guards neck.

He yelled out and put his hands up in surrender. I squinted my eyes at him, panting hard.

"Let us go. Grab Dianne so we can make a run for it. Or I will kill you now."

He gulped, his eyes watering as he stared down the blade of the knife.

"I.. I can't do that. Please. She's hypnotised me. I have to obey. I have a wife. Please don't kill me."

I never thought I would be the type of person to laugh at another's fear, but I did.

"And you think we don't want to live? You think your life is more precious because you have a wife? It's time all of you paid for what you have done."

I pushed the blade against his skin, his eyes bulging. Suddenly, I felt strong arms wrap around me and pull me back. Jamie gently took the knife and threw it as far as he could down the dome.

"Get out of here. Run to the nearest lake and hold your head under water for five seconds, it breaks the hypnosis. Then, if you are a good person, come back here and help us."

The guard nodded and ran out of the door as fast as his legs could carry him. Jamie whipped out his wand and froze the other guard in a block of ice. He looked at me and shrugged.

"I don't have it in me to kill just yet. Once the ice is melted he will be OK, but for now, he's out of our hair."

Jamie's wand flew out of his hands, landing near the knife. We spun around and saw that Dianne had started to come to, she had her own wand in her hand but her head was bleeding profusely.

I looked at Jamie, trying to focus on him. I was starting to go dizzy.

He ripped off his shirt and tore it into pieces, wrapping it around my hand to stem the bleeding.

"You have been cut really deep. We don't want you to lose any more blood. Just let me handle the rest."

I shook my head, stubbornly.

"No way."

Dianne got shakily to her feet and I could see that we still had the upper hand. She had knocked her head hard when I pushed her down. I was through with the games, I was through with Jamie trying to protect me. I had to end this. I ran forward, standing just centimetres from her wand. I was about to take it from her, when I stopped, gasping.

Her red eyes had been replaced with new eyes. Except.. they weren't new. They were big and brown. They were familiar. It was like looking in a mirror. Dianne's eyes had been slitty and small before. Her sleeves were rolled up her arms and I frowned, noticing that the skin on her arms were olive and tan compared to her pale white face and neck.

An excruciating pain hit me in the chest as Dianne flicked her wand. I collapsed to my knees and wrapped my arms around my body, closing my eyes. As I did, I saw a woman in my mind, knocking on an invisible glass. She had the same brown eyes as what I had just seen and olive skin, like me. Her brunette hair was in a wavy long bob and she smiled softly at me.

"Let Dianne live. If you kill her, you kill me."

The pain was still searing through my chest. I opened my eyes again, seeing Dianne once more, grinning down at me. Her wand pointed to my face. Her eyes were red again, her hands and arms pale once more. I quickly closed my eyes again, hoping to see the vision. The brown haired woman came back into my mind, the smile still there. She held out her hands to me but I couldn't touch them. This was all in my mind.

"Darling girl, my Cassie. I tried to fight for you. I tried to get you back when they took you at birth."

"Mum?"

I didn't speak out loud, only in my mind. I didn't want Dianne to hear.

She nodded, a tear sliding down her face.

"The authorities found out what I was doing and Dianne took over my body. They have the power to do that. I've been here ever since. But if you can find a way out of this without killing her, I can return to you. I love you darling girl."

She faded away and I opened my eyes. Despite the sharp shocks still piercing my body from Dianne's earlier wand attack, I stood up, shakily facing her.

"We..  we would like to re-reconsider your offer."

My hand throbbed, my body hurt. Jamie was by my side, watching Dianne for any sudden movement. I carried on speaking.

"Not only will we....uh..." I bit my lip as another shooting pain thundered towards my heart. "Not only will we stick to our own gens, we.. we will help you and make sure that...that nothing like this ever happens again...."

Every word was a struggle.

"Cassie, what are you...."

I reached out for Jamie's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Dianne pulled her wand back and put her hand on her chin. She seemed to really be considering my words. I began to think that there was a way we could make it out of this, until she flicked her wand violently and the knife designed to kill Jamie flew up from the floor and into her hands.

I felt bile in my throat as I realised what was about to happen. I stepped in front of Jamie as Dianne held the knife in the air, ready to strike. I glared at her, heat radiating from my body.

"You're not going to touch him."

Dianne smirked at me, her red eyes full of evil.

"No my dear, this one's for you."

It all happened in slow motion. I watched in horror as she bought the knife down. It was heading straight for my heart before Jamie moved me out of the way. I screamed as the knife plunged through Jamie's shoulder and he fell to the ground, instantly.

The door flew open and the guard from before ran in with Popkins, Mel, Miles and Maisie. Popkins ran forward just as Dianne pointed her wand at me. I didn't care. If Jamie was gone, I didn't want to be here.  I fell down on top of Jamie, hugging him close, trying to stop the blood pouring out of him. Miles and Mel were frozen to the spot at the door.

Dianne muttered a spell and struck me once more. The pain shot through my chest again and I knew I wouldn't make it this time. I had already felt my heart snap in two when Jamie was stabbed. I had already given up.

Popkins disarmed the wand from Dianne and pushed her to the ground. Maisie floated down and disappeared into Dianne's body. Miles, Mel and Popkins cried out her name as she disappeared for good.

More shocks and bolts electrified my body as I felt Jamie's warmth underneath me.

I muttered his name and felt a tear fall down my cheek as I closed my eyes, feeling the unconsciousness taking over me.