I said in a low voice. Luther nodded, “I know how you feel. Anya never tells me about our parents either.”
I suddenly heard someone approaching. I turned around to see Isaac standing next to my seat
“You okay, Iris? The train’s pretty fast and I wanted to…” He glanced at Luther. “Oh, hey dude,” Isaac said with a weak smile. Luther smiled back, weakly as well. They seemed to act oddly with each other.
“Um, yeah, I’m okay…” I said absent mindedly, trying to analyze their unusual greeting. Isaac nodded and walked back to his seat next to Mason.
Luther tilted his head to look behind me, and then at Isaac.
“That’s your brother right? You two look a lot alike. I suspect you’re twins.” He kept looking at Isaac and then smiled at me. “Hey, it’s Isaac isn’t it?” he asked. I nodded.
“I’d like to talk to him. It’s been a while since we’ve talked. Nice talking to you, Iris.” He stood up and left. I didn’t remember Luther ever hanging out with Isaac, but then again, he was our neighbor.
Lexus came back with a brown bag in one hand. Her face gained more color than when the train started moving. She looked outside and then at me,
“Oh right, that’s why you’re clutching onto your seat. I almost forgot. You want this?” She handed the brown bag over to me, but I shook my head.
“I don’t throw up Lexus. I just get scared” Lexus shrugged and put the paper bag next to her.
Couldn’t whoever was driving the train slow down a bit?
++++++++++
After a half-hour of total silence, Lexus fell asleep. Apparently, she had stayed up all night trying to decide whether to wear her striped black and white tank top or her black T-shirt.
I did not sleep; instead I kept thinking about the Unknown and when we were going to stop at the Plaza. I just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. Every year there were more obstacles, challenges and deaths.
I felt like resting my head and sleeping, but every time I tried, thoughts came in and I thought about the Unknown again. I kept getting nervous every time the Unknown popped into my head. I wished I was like Lexus: unafraid of what might happen and able to accept it.
As I stared out of the window, I heard footsteps. I turned around and saw one, actually, two girls. They looked exactly alike. They sat on the seats in front of Lexus and me. I squeezed my eyes and opened them again to make sure that I wasn’t just seeing double. Both girls had strawberry blonde hair and very light green eyes and both looked very pretty. One of them saw me looking and smiled at me.
“Hi...” she said while the other was on her cell phone texting. Wait a minute; I thought we weren’t allowed to bring anything on the train from home. The girl looked at her sister, waiting for her to say something to me.
“Winter, say something, don’t be rude!!” the girl said, while elbowing her sister’s shoulder. The girl with the cell phone stopped texting and looked at her sister impatiently, but then noticed me and said hi. They both smiled at me simultaneously. It was creepy. I smiled weakly in return.
“Hey...” I said gently. This was awkward. The girl next to the texter broke the silence.
“I’m Summer Odette, by the way, and this is my sister Winter Odette. I know you, you’re Iris Abernorth, Isaac’s twin sister.” What was with everyone knowing my name all of a sudden? I actually wished I were a nobody rather than having strange people knowing my name.
“How do you know my brother?” I asked, surprised since she not only knew my name, but my brother’s as well. The girl, Summer, giggled at the question.
“School of course! He’s like the smartest kid in class! I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a Sphinx. That dude is a genius!” Summer said in an excited tone. She seemed upbeat about everything, made her seem a bit cartoonish, unlike her sister who didn’t utter a single word. I looked at the two of them. The texter looked like a gothic version of her bubbly sister.
“He’s acting a bit strange though; he’s usually more talkative,” she said, lowering her voice to a whisper so Isaac wouldn’t hear. I looked back to make sure Isaac wasn’t looking and then turned back to them.
“No, he’s just, uh, feeling a bit sick” I said lying through my teeth, “I mean we had lumpy oatmeal for breakfast. My mom’s not that much of a cook,” I continued, “Did your mother cook you anything disgusting for you this morning like ours did?” I asked jokingly.
“No, our mother was killed by werewolves before they banned the Werewolf Sector”, she replied.
I was going to scold myself for being so nosy today, but I forgot about that for a moment and focused on what she said, Werewolf Sector? Wait, what?
“The Werewolf sector? I never knew we even had a Werewolf sector,” I told Summer. Even the books we were taught at school never mentioned anything about a sixth sector. I learned that we only had five.
Winter quickly snapped out of her texting trance and smirked, “You never heard of the banned sector before? The Werewolf sector was the most dangerous of all sectors with the strangest power of all. They told us stories about it when we were kids…”
“What is it?” I asked feeling extremely curious now. The leaders hated anything that was abnormal. That was the reason why they banned Cygnus.
“They change into werewolves every night when the sun sets, not only when there is a full moon but rather every…single…night. The problem with that is every time they turn into their werewolf forms, they lose sight of reality, and only one thing enters their evil minds - killing everyone on sight. Strangely, only one werewolf was able to control his thoughts, and not just his thoughts, but every other werewolf’s thoughts as well. He was actually one of the leaders, and also the leader of the Werewolf sector. His name was-”
“Cygnus” I said, cutting her off. Cygnus is a werewolf. That’s why they banned him. For his powers and strength. How did they know about this?
She nodded in agreement and continued, “The leaders of the sectors were afraid of his unusual powers and that he might take over the city. So they banished Cygnus and sent him to the Shadow Lands and every other werewolf with him along with the sector they were in. That’s why they threw him behind that high barrier: only to keep the most powerful werewolf in Purlieu away from the city: Cygnus,” she said in a serious tone. I could not keep myself from believing her. She was telling the truth. I mean, what other reason did the leaders have to keep a barrier between us and what was outside - The Shadow Lands?
I forgot about Lexus who was dozing off next to me. She slowly opened her eyes and woke up with a yawn.
“Hi, Iris” she said, while she yawned. She sighed when she looked out of the window,
“Oh Come on! We’re still not there yet? Worst… ride…of… my... life” Lexus buried her face in her hands but then slowly raised her head and noticed the Odette twins. She quickly gave them a tour guide smile, “Hi I’m-”
“Lexus Keats, we know you” the girl, Summer, said.
Lexus jerked her head a bit backward, obviously creeped out. I don’t blame her. I had the same reaction.
Summer giggled, “You’re the one who got detention for punching a boy who cut in line in front of you,” she said, amused by the accomplishment. Lexus gave her a proud smile.
“Yup, serves him right for taking my spot in line,” she said triumphantly. I looked at her and raised my eyebrow,
“You know you could’ve just as easily told him to go to the back of the line, right?” I said.
“That was the only day they made burgers in the cafeteria and you know I like burgers!” she told me using an angry tone. I shook my head.
“It’s been