Elián;
"We're here." Alana suddenly says, pulling me out of my thoughts, and when I look up, I freeze.
There. Stretched over a fairly large lake is the red, painfully familiar bridge.
Yes. The one back home was made of concrete and was wide enough for cars to pass…
But this one is a magnificent wooden contraption, is mostly made of red painted wood, and is big enough for two horses to trot past side by side…
I would recognise that bridge any day. I drove past it over a hundred times, and it's the last place I was before… whatever the fuck this is started.
Thisisthebridge…
TheoneI was knockedoffthenightoftheaccident.
I never thought I'd see it again…
My legs go on autopilot, and before I can stop myself, I start running towards it. Panting, I reach the bridge... completely ignoring Alana chasing behind me.
I hold the bridge as if checking that it's really there, and to my horror… to my shock… it is.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Why is this here?
Is this place some alternate version of home?
No.
This bridge is the only familiar thing I've seen since I got here.
"Master Elián, please don't run like that…" Alana says behind me, panting, but I ignore her.
I start walking up the bridge briskly. Searching for the exact spot I was when the accident happened, and soon enough, I find it.
I pause when I get there, and that part of the bridge isn't painted red. It looks patched up. I take my fingers to it, as I stare at the huge part of the bridge, obviously freshly fixed.
This is the same part of the bridge that would have taken damage due to the accident.
I turn to Alana, who is struggling to stifle her pants as she catches up with me again.
"What happened here?" I question, and she looks to the side of the bridge where I'm touching.
"We're not exactly sure. A little over a week ago, lightning struck during a night storm and destroyed this part of the bridge. Nothing like that has ever happened before. It was… an odd night." She narrates as she stares at where my hand is, and I look back at the bridge.
It was raining here, too?
"The clan elders say that it's a sign." She then adds, and I turn back to her with a creased brow.
"A sign?" I repeat, and she looks up at me and nods.
"A sign that the prophecy is about to come to pass. The prophecy about the one who'd come and bring true unity to the clans. Bring peace to our world." She says, and I blink at her.
What in Wheels Of Time is she talking about?!
"I find it intriguing that not long after this, you show up. An omega who can breed well with any clan. That's incredibly rare, master Elián." She adds, and I raise a brow.
Oh.
So now, I'm Superman?
Thor?
Saviour of the fucking universe?!
No. Goddammit. Maybe some stupid glitch in the matrix caused this. I got involved in an accident and got sent here.
An accident that... had an impact here too.
I move closer to the edge and stare down at the water.
The bridge is the same height. Wait...
What if this is my gateway back to the real world?
I stare at the water beneath... how the light scatters beautifully against its surface, and the colourful fishes just beneath the surface of the impeccably clean water.
"Those are the flying fish. To the water people, they are sacred and are seen as symbols of freedom and liberation..." Alana speaks, and I look at her as she does.
Freedom...
I can't be a mere coincidence that this bridge is right above a lake filled with fish that represent freedom.
I take hold of the bridge's railing as I stare at the water. My heart now hammering in my ears.
"Master Elian?" Alana calls, but I don't respond.
"We keep calling you an omega, because that is what you are. You were born specifically for the pleasure of and bearing children for Alphas."
"If you had made it past this estate, you wouldn't have made it till morning."
"We're the only men you're allowed to admire."
"The Alphas are very protective of their belongings…"
The words replay in my mind, and my grip on the railing tightens.
"Master Elian... I... I think we should head back..." Alana says, but I can't look away from the water.
I wonder... Will everything go back to normal if I just...
"Master Elian!!"
Only after hearing Alana's scream do I realise that I've flung myself off the bridge.
Air swooshes past my ears as I pierce through the air, heading for the water.
I shut my eyes.
Yes. This is it. This should take me back home.
Everything will go back to normal now. I crash into the water, and as the warm water embraces my skin, one thought burns itself into my mind.
What if I'm wrong?
If I am... I can't swim.
Did I just jump to my death?
I open my eyes, and all I see is bubbles, ripples and water...
Why does it feel different? It doesn't feel like that night... It feels... wrong.
This isn't soothing. This is scary. Fuck! I can't breathe!
I start struggling to get back to the surface. To breathe... but I can't. No matter how hard I flap my arms and feet, it feels like I'm sinking deeper.
Shit.
I'm gonna die.
I'm gonna die for real!!
I feel my body begin to grow weak from my struggles, and on impulse, I open my mouth, taking a fucking deep breath, but that only feels my lungs with water and causes discomforting pain to shoot through me.
My panic and struggles intensify, but soon I feel my arms and legs get tired. My eyes begin to flutter weakly, and I watch as the surface begins to get farther away from me as I sink.
So this is it...
How I die... so miserably...
I shut my eyes as the last air bubble escapes me, and silence engulfs me.
"Elian!"
I groan weakly... That's my voice.
"Youfuckingfool,you'llruineverything!" I open my eyes in alarm, and everything is dark. Like I'm in some kind of void.
I look around in fear and freeze. There... right behind me... is me.
But he's not... really me. He has red hair and a stubbornness in his red eyes that's like nothing I've ever seen.
"Who... Who are you?" I question in confusion, and he sighs.
"I'm Elien. The real owner of that body." He replies, pointing at me, and I blink at him in confusion.
"Listen here, you klutz. While I'm also against the idea of being used as a baby pooper, I do not intend to be killed!" He scolds, and I blink at him in utter confusion.
Have I gone mad? Did my brain lose oxygen for too long?
"And your plan to escape is dumb as fuck too. I... Well, you're in my body now, too, so we. We're in trouble with some powerful Alphas. So, going out of this estate is asking for death!" He adds, and I blink at him.
"Wh...what!?"
"You heard me. You're safer here. Look... I've been trying to communicate with you, but for some reason, I can't. I don't know who you are, or why you're suddenly stuck with me in my body, but while you're here, DON'T GET US KILLED! I'm not ready to die!" He snaps at me, and I blink at him.
How... why is there two of me? He's the me of this world?
What??
I swear, even statistics never confused me this much...
"And while you're at it, yes. You're an Omega. So, if you don't want to end up carrying a litter of pups, keep your legs closed. Also, one of the Alpha brothers has unfinished business with me. He hates me. So, please be wary of him."
I blink at him in fear, too dazed to understand whatever is going on. Didn't Koda say I just popped up here? Why then is there an Elien who's clearly been here all this while? Also, one of the brothers knows me... Elien? And hates... him?
"Who?"
Elien opens his mouth to speak, and suddenly, I feel a powerful force grab my collar and yank me upwards.
I shut my eyes in panic, and the next time I open them, I find myself breaking through the water's surface.
I'm dropped on the ground, and an unfamiliar masculine voice breaks through the haze.
"Fetch the physician!"