Cali's Splitting Image

Chapter 05

At my question about the young scientist who had gone missing, I suddenly saw that Orion and Tessa’s face fell and they looked so upset. I understand that because the one who’s missing was the hope of reclaiming humanity.

“It’s true that she had gone missing and no one could find her,” Orion answered. “Her name is Dr. Zienna, eighteen years of age. She was the only one who knew the ingredients of the cure, that’s why she’s the only hope we have left.”

“Didn’t she mention the ingredients? She should have at least shared that information with someone else,” I said. “If we only knew who else knew about the ingredients and how to make the cure, maybe we could ask other scientists to create it on her behalf.”

“Dr. Zienna doesn't trust people easily, that's why she never told anyone,” Orion responded. “All we could do right now was to find her and hopefully, it’ll be sooner.”

Then Tessa joined in the conversation. “If I were to be honest, I was starting to lose hope about finding Dr. Zienna and about creating the right cure.” Then she heaved a sigh, frustrated.

“I hate to ask this question but…what if she turned into one of them too?” I asked about the possibility. “Not to bring negative vibes, but I was just stating the possibility. What if she turned into one?”

“We don’t know what the organization would do if that happens,” Gail responded. “All we could do was to find her and hope.”

I started to feel overwhelmed by all the information being shared to me and I could feel the exhaustion in my body. I knew that I had to take a rest so I decided to go back to the room where I first woke up. I excused myself and said, “Thanks for all the information. I kind of want to go back to my room to take a break and maybe, sleep. I’m tired.”

“Sure, want us to walk you back?” Gail asked.

I smiled at him and shook my head sideways. “Don’t worry about me. I can go back on my own,” And with that, I turned my heels around and started walking away, leaving Gail and Tessa behind.

Living underwater feels like I’m living in my own fantasy world. It’s hard to believe that stepping out of this place meant being drowned in the water simply because what’s out there was water. The walls were like a glass panel where we could see the view from the outside. That’s why the corals and the sea creatures are all visible. But I couldn’t help but to wonder what would happen if a sea catastrophe suddenly strikes. Maybe it was safe to assume that A.M.C.O was prepared for whatever disaster might come.

Lost in thoughts, I didn’t notice that I had already reached the room. As I opened the door, I stepped inside and plopped down the soft bed prepared for me. I was pretty lucky because I have a place to stay and if you think about it, I am kind of homeless right now who just got into an adoption center. The thoughts of that frustrates me so I shook my head to shrug those kinds of thoughts off. I shifted my thoughts into thinking of a way to find my father. Hopefully, he was safe, especially that he’s planning on ending my sister. I am extremely worried about what might happen.

I was feeling so exhausted that I found myself drifting off to sleep. I could feel my consciousness drifting into my dreamland when suddenly, I heard a voice yelling at me that made my eyes open.

“Hey! Who are you? What are you doing in my room? Why are you lying on my bed?” she said then pointed at the door. “You’re trespassing, get out!”

As our eyes met, I was surprised after seeing that we looked a lot with her tanned skin like mine and long black hair. The difference was, her hair was long and curly that fell up to her waist while mine was straight and fell down the shoulder length. It was like I was staring at my reflection and my exact replica. It started giving me a weird feeling.

“You don’t need to be rude, you know?” I said as I raised an eyebrow at her. “For your information, Jake took me here as a guest so I wasn’t a trespasser. Girl, you need to calm down, alright?”

She threw me a sharp and suspicious glare. Clearly, she’s sending me a message that she doesn’t believe me – not even a bit. I heaved a deep sigh and got up on her bed. “If you don’t believe me, then why don’t you ask Jake, Tessa and Gail? They’ll confirm my claims.”

“Look, missy, I don't know what you're talking about and I don't care who took you here,” she started. “This is MY bedroom. MY property. Go out and leave before I kick your butt!”

I was so pissed off that I started to glare at her and said, “You're a rude one, aren't you?” Then to piss her off even more, I sat down on her bed, crossed my legs and crossed my arms under my chest. I made sure to show her that I am not planning on leaving her bedroom. “I am not leaving. Someone brought me here so I am not trespassing.”

Before she got the chance to speak, Gail and Tessa suddenly barged in.

“We heard you shouting, what's going on in here?” said Tessa.

Suddenly, Gail pointed out that he noticed that we resemble each other’s features. “I just realized that Cali and Ciarra looked similar.”

After hearing that, Tessa looked at me and then back at the girl and all of a sudden, her mouth hung open in total shock. “You’re right. It’s like they were twins. Are you two related to each other?”

“What? We’re not related to each other! I just met her,” I told her.

“We’re not related. You know that I am the daughter of A.M.C.O’s founder, right? And my parents didn’t tell me anything about having more siblings aside from Hunter and Apollo,” she explained. “Enough about my personal life. Who’s this girl? And why didn’t you tell me that someone else is going to use my bedroom?”

“Sorry about that. It was an emergency so we almost forgot to tell you,” Tessa said and she looked like she started to feel bad. “To answer your question, her name is Cali. She’s a survivor from the outside world. Jake took her here.”

“See? Told you, I am not a trespasser,” I told her and sighed. “Anyway, aren’t you even slightly surprised that we looked alike a lot?”

“Sorry but I don't pay attention to what doesn't matter to me.”she rudely responded. Rage suddenly flows through my veins. I clenched my fist tight, trying to keep myself calm and composed like a matured individual will do. Thankfully, Tessa spoke.

“Okay, Ciarra. That's enough! She's going to live here from now on. Be good, she just went through a lot,” Tessa said to the girl she called Ciarra and continued. “Her sister turned into a mid-infected and her father decided to stay on the land to end her sister.”

Ciarra fell silent at Tessa’s revelation and as for me, I suddenly felt sad upon remembering everything that happened. It would be nice if everything’s happen was just a dream, but it wasn’t. Ciarra heaved a sigh and to my surprise, she calmed down and even apologized to me. “My apologies for being harsh towards you. It must have been really tough on you.”

“Can you share your room with her, Ciarra?” Tessa asked.

“She can but she has to make sure that she's not going to touch any of my stuff,” she responded and continued, “Don't cross the line.”

“Don't worry, I am not the type who'd touch things that weren't mine,” I responded with a smile, assuring her that I’m not going to touch her stuff inside her room. “I appreciate you sharing your room with me. Don't worry, I'll find my own room so I can leave you alone.”

“That’s good to know because I don’t share what’s mine,” she responded. Now, I'm not so sure if she’s a good or a bad person. Maybe mixed, I don’t know.

Tessa and Gail flashed a grateful smile at Ciarra and said, “That’s settled then. Cali will be staying here with you til she finds her own room.”

I then decided that I want to have a moment of peace by myself so I excused myself and said, “Sorry guys but I want to take a walk outside for a while alone.” This place is so safe to roam around so Tessa and Gail agreed but Ciarra didn’t say anything. And with that, I started to walk outside and began exploring Aqua City.

I just followed my feet that led me into a garden. I roamed around the area and was mesmerized that there’s a garden under the sea and it looked like the plants had been taking care of really well with the help of artificial sunlight and fertilizers. I sat down at the empty bench and started absorbing everything that’s happened to me in just a day. Sometimes, a lot could happen in just a day and even in just a minute.

In the middle of my thoughts, I heard an unfamiliar voice speak up. “Who are you? You looked like Ciarra but I could tell that you're a different person.”