An Alternate Chapter of The Shoujo Parallels: Eri

When the sky and earth collide,

Lightning watches on the side.

Chapter 20 of The Shoujo Parallels: Eri

~~Arzen Venura~

How would you feel if your ex-best friend – or still best friend – told you more than you wanted to hear? More than you ever wanted to know, even though you asked for it?

How would you feel if she said all those things without giving you a chance to say anything in return? If she just talked and talked while a Setomion kept its freezing hand on your mouth so you wouldn’t interrupt?

How would you feel if her last words to you were ‘I’m really, really sorry’? If you couldn’t say anything back because the next thing she did shattered you even more if that was possible just made you look on in horror?

How would you feel if she threw herself off the dam?

All of that.

All of that just happened.

To me.

And I couldn’t even say what I wanted to say.

I couldn’t tell her how I felt.

From the start until now.

She didn’t let me.

And it was all haunting me.

Mixed with what she told me.

The truth mixed with my thoughts, some secrets she probably revealed, everything I wanted to know but didn’t at the same time – it was all in my head, screaming into my mind, punching me anywhere it could. I just stood there and took it because nothing in my life was as horrifying as this.

Not even the death of my grandfather.

Not even seeing a failing grade on that stupid Mathematics test.

Not even watching as all my friends slowly left my life, one by one.

Not even feeling the harsh whip against my skin.

Or the horror of knowing that I was on the brink of death.

Or seeing my world slowly crumble into pieces.

Or seeing her –

Another version of her, to be exact.

And there I was, on the other side, which was perfectly safe and sound.

And there they were, centimeters away from their death.

If only lightning could strike my heart and kill me right now.

Her name nearly left my lips in a terrified scream when another voice broke in.

“What’s happening here?!”

A voice that sounded like my own, but was more mature in a way.

A pair of arms surrounded me and took me away from my side of the arch, asking me what happened, if I was alright, where the hell the other two were. I look up and meet a pair of bright yellow eyes, wide and afraid and so familiar that I wanted to ask if it was really her –

– no, it wasn’t Beatrice Amor.

It was my world’s version of her.

The one who shouted a moment ago yelled something irritably.

“I heard that, Watcher!”

I tried to speak but that screamer – woman – person – thing immediately rushed to my side, looking at me. The next thing I saw was dark green eyes. Almost emerald green, but much darker than that. At that, I realized who she was.

“Don’t look,” she told me, but my eyes saw and I felt like screaming and running –

They fell.

My mind was a mess.

He tried to save her.

But they both fell.

Why didn’t he save her?

Why did it have to be like this?

“We were too late.”

Hell yes you were too freaking late –

“Cissa, get Himmel.”

That other Elaine.

“We’re going back–”

“We have to find them.”

They all looked at me.

The girl with maroon eyes – the Therese of Technika – had her eyes narrowed; the Beatrice of Technika looked remorseful, and the other one simply had a blank look in her eyes.

I wanted to scream at all of them.

Even if one of them was myself.

“But they already fell, Arzen.” Yellow eyes tried to explain. “Their chances of surviving…” she looked at the dam where they fell, not wanting to meet my eyes, “…most likely, they’re already dead–”

I interrupted her at the word dead.

I didn’t want to believe it.

“That’s impossible.”

My voice came out in a whisper.

I didn’t want to cry.

Not now.

But Elaine and the guy – the Watcher – they had to be alive.

They had to be.

I couldn’t let them die here.

Not in my world.

Green eyes pulled an arm around my shoulder. I suddenly remembered her name from the other Elaine’s yelling and whatever while she whipped the Watcher and me.

Eri.

“We’ll find them, Arzen. Somehow.” Her voice had that tone of comfort and slight anxiety. “Right now, we have to go back. When everything calms down, we’ll look for them immediately. Okay?”

It was a lie.

I knew that after lying to myself all the freaking time.

I wanted to jump off and find them myself.

As if knowing my thoughts, Eri shot a glance at Lisa, who sighed softly and looked at me with a sad smile before clasping a hand on my shoulder as well.

A sign of comfort.

And that’s when I completely lost my consciousness.