Human Spines

Seeing You-I

Emmeline

        "I choose this one." I step into the first room, making Dumaine and Amistifer follow. Lochlan and Hans stand out in the hall, neither of them stepping into a room. "Lochlan, are you going to stay until morning with us?"

        "Yes, but I-I don't—"

        "That's too bad." Dumaine slams the door in his face. I did not expect that.

        "What'd you do that for?!" I squeeze his hand.

        "He was gonna ask to share the room with us, and I wasn't about to let him. He has to stay with Hans."

        "Why? How did you know? No, nevermind. I can't let go of you yet, but I need to talk to Amistifer, but I don't know what language it'll come out in. Think, think, think." I can't think.

        "Don't strain yourself." Amistifer soothes, standing at the edge of the furthest bed. "If I speak to you in this English language, you will speak in it also. Calm down. I tested this long ago."

        "What else did you test?" I step forward, worried about what he might say.

        "Many things. And I convinced you of a lot too. Like bears? They really do exist." He smiles this crooked grin.

        "No! You said bears were fake! Animatronic! I don't believe in bears!" My head shakes.

        "I love bears, they're my favorite." Dumaine slumps onto the large bed beside me. I'd like him to play me a song, but then I would have to let go of him. And I can't do that.

        The room around us feels like a flashback. Everything is colored some shade of tan. There are no giant mirrors or much of anything. The air feels stagnant, now annoyed we've disrupted its perfect calm. I think Dumaine feels it too, as he seems to be watching the walls.

        "Amistifer, what was going on in Slidell? At the train station? Does Illyvimsius need to be locked up again?" I look straight up at him, and he steps closer.

        "She was warming up. Getting ready." His smile has flattened.

        I squint. His eyes are beginning to blind me from their brightness. "Getting ready for what?"

        "Those self-righteous Opaque." His eyes shut but I know he can still see me through my thoughts.

        "What's an Opaque?" The question drops from my mouth.

        "The opposite of a Translucent. They're unseeable to both my kind and humans. They feast and feast and are never satisfied. They believe they're the best and should be worshipped, sacrificed to. They read the stories humans wrote and have stolen the label of Angel and left the Translucent to be called Demons. They live in the sky, not flying, but constantly falling away from the Earth. They have no color, they are pale beings, hoarders of information who do not understand the limitations of human minds and the Earth's laws of physics."

        My mind is on full blast.

        "I have so many questions."

        He nods in response. So I shoot.

        "Are you a Translucent? What is a Translucent? If they're unseeable, how do you know what they look like? What do they feast on? Who do they believe should worship them? What should be sacrificed to them? How do you know this? How have they stolen the label of Angel? How come you never told me you're not a Demon? How could you know they live in the sky? Do they progressively get farther away from the Earth or is there something they've landed on? By 'no color' do you mean they are clear or white? Are they like Telliyon? How do they not understand? I apologize for any disrespect."