Arise: Chapter 14: Youth

Chapter 14: Youth 

(Zacchaeus's POV)

She looked so beautiful, it was hard not to stare. My love for Talutah had never felt wrong, or strange. I loved her over anything else, but she refused to see the truth. 

"Talutah, are you sure you want to go through with this?" We, even though it killed me inside, decided to let Ivy in and explain. Everything.

She stepped into the room, turning towards Talutah.

"Oh, my dear, I see you still embrace red as much as you hate my brother. Glad to see you alive, darling."

Colby rises to his feet, turning towards the door. 

I should've known they were in this together.

"Sister, what a surprise."

"Colby, Devin, Zacchaeus. Almost a family reunion. Where's Stephanie and Julia, darlings?"

I stand up from the seat, angry. The last time I saw Ivy, she was collapsing on the floor, and I thought she was dead. Now, she's fooled me with her sick bag of tricks.

"Ivy, care to explain your death to the world, or is that another silly mistake you made."

"I don't know, brother. You were after all my only real parental figure, so you tell me."

She stands behind me, whispering into my ear.

"How about a little lesson on human history, dear Zacchaeus?"

I sighed, turning to stare her in the face. Fine.

"Okay, little sis. Let's talk family. Something we never had."

....

Years and years ago, there was a loving hard working couple, Michael and Linetta Mercado, one of the more wealthier yet humble families in the small town. They had a simple L-shaped house by the river, with their daughter.

Her name was Sophie Jane Mercado. Being the only child, she was spoiled to death. The parents loved her to pieces, and built her a room with a beautiful view of the water.

She never wanted much, but what she did want, she got.

The family had a beautiful garden, built just for the daughter.

Every morning, she would walk outside and tend to the garden, watering her favourite tomato plant the most.

She was their golden apple on a tree, their most prized possession.

And so, while they sat in the comfort of their own home, she would spend all the while picking fruits and vegetables.

Until one day, her mother came outside to call her in for lunch, and she didn't reply.

The mother called the father outside, and the scoured the area for her.

But she was gone, and the family fell to their knees in grief, and angered at the hollowness of life.

And so, the very next day they built a wall around the garden, furious with the past. However, with an unfortunate occurrence, they gave birth to a baby boy.

They named him Zacchaeus Mercado. He was restricted from leaving the house, the garden became an unoccupied territory and the parents grew stricter and harsher than before. But while they wanted to keep him safe, they also wanted him to stay in their loving arms and never run away.

The family took the grief to their home, too. They sold the TV, sold anything bright and colourful and sold off their daughter's old bed and anything that could make them fall back into depression.

They locked off her room with security tape and sealed off the door. They never wanted to ever look inside her room again.

Linetta even took up gardening death flowers, knowing death took Sophie from them.

Her biggest mistake would be never keeping one in arms reach.

As the boy grew up, his parents started acting mysterious as he headed towards bed. Something wasn't right at his home, and they didn't seem to care about the boy enough. So, each night he tucked himself in and hummed himself to sleep.

Some nights he would listen in from his room, but he could hear enough. After all, there was another room in between them.

Most nights his parents discussed his safety, some nights his lack of discipline. His father hated the fact they were too light on him.

Some nights Zacchaeus would walk to the edge of the ropes and try and peer in through the crack in the door.

He only ever saw sheets covering the floor.

One particular night however, he heard something he though would never come out of his mother's mouth.

"Michael, darling, I think I may be having twins."

The boy was furious. His own parents had him feel only hatred towards other children, or even other people in general! He trudged off to bed that night unhappy and unwelcome.

Nights passed, nothing new, nothing exciting. One night, he heard a loud scream. He thought someone was in serious trouble, so he jumped out of bed and ran into the living room.

But the sight shocked him to the bone.

His mother had gone into labor, and with the father close by, she was giving birth to his little sibling.

But he couldn't bear to feel sympathy.

Soon, she gave birth to two healthy babies, but that was not all. After the 'adorable' Stephanie and the 'cute' Devin, the mother gave birth to another three children, and the birth completely ruined her life.

As she headed for bed after tucking the children in that night, she felt something fairly unusual.

From the pressure of the birth, the mother collapsed. Screaming in pain, she let out her final yell for help as she muttered her last word, shutting her eyes closed.

Michael ran into the room, tears streaming down his face.

He lost the love of his life to five children, five too many.

Years passed and the children grew up under Zacchaeus's guidance, as much as he suffered through the consequences. There was Stephanie Alexandria, Devin Terence...

Ivy Pepper, Colby Gregory...

And the youngest of the bunch, Julia Lynn. 

The children looked up to Zacchaeus as a father, much since their own father was rarely home and barely bothered to worry about them. He provided his son with a job and acted as if he was the new man of the house.

But, today, their father finally returned home, with some news that could haunt them.

"Children, I have a terrible case of lung cancer and I will be leaving for your grandmother's tomorrow morning."

The older boy thought he was telling the truth, but he knew it was never true. It was all a lie to soften the blow the children would face.

The next morning, with nothing but sadness in his eyes, the teenager waited for his father to say goodbye, but he had left without a goodbye kiss or a note of apology. He was as real as the old photographs on the wall; memories of the past.

So, the older boy lived to look after his siblings until they were old enough to go out into the world on their own.

But sadly for him, that was never an option.

When the quintuplets aged to 13, Zacchaeus was 22 years of age, and now he gave them news they never wanted to hear. He left them in the dark, left them on the streets alone and cold. He sold their beloved home and used the money to afford a way out, moving to a far away town, without any family in sight.

But somewhere in their minds, they began developing a plan, a plan to take away their miserable life and take away their brother for good.

But before the older boy got any chance to run, Ivy stood her ground, bared her teeth in anger.

And slapped him square in the jaw. His mouth ached, as she screamed in mercy.

"What the hell, Zac. You look after us for years, then just decide you're old enough to leave us be."

"Ivy, you're 13 now! You can manage while I make sure my life doesn't suck as much as mother's and father's did." She glares into his eyes, the hurt boiling to a fit of rage.

Their argument continues as the others watch on, angered yet calm and collected about it all.

Stephanie walks over to Julia, whispering something under her breath.

Something that could only kill.

But without hesitation, Zacchaeus continued outside, staring into the garden. The one place he could never visit, never peek into, never see the true growing power.

He knew there must have been a way in; his parents always snuck in at night to tend to their precious death fruit, the something that could grant immortality in this world.

 He ripped away the delicate life form, tiny particles falling away from the broken bond.

"I will only need the strength to move further."

"I will never need to feel love again, for as long as I stay silent."

"For as long as I forget."

....

(Just to let you know, this is not part of Zacchaeus's story. However, it is still a flashback.)

Ivy froze in place, pulling the pieces of her life forward.

"One, he loved us. Two, he cared for us. Three, he fed us. Four, he-"

She heard a brush in the wind, a quiet crash in the silky smooth night.

Stepping towards the cornered off door, she pushed away the rope and stepped towards the door.

Memories of stories she heard about the girl who lived in this room haunted her thoughts.

She can't be alive, Ivy. She thought, turning the handle.

 But as she gently shut the door, she noticed something far from the things she had imagined.

A girl lay on the floor, her head nestled on her knees, her dark black blonde streaked hair falling against her plain white over the shoulder top and her short black jeans.

She stood at the sound of the door, brushing the hair away from her face in fear.

"Oh...thank goodness someone saved me."She mumbled, anger obviously haunting her tongue.

"Who...who are you?"

"Ana Quinn. I guess you didn't know I was here either. That rat Zacchaeus locked me up."

"Don't worry about anything, 'cause one day, he'll be dead."

Ivy frowned at the girl.

...

(Talutah's POV)

"See, nothing was too harsh, sister." He tried to calm her down, but in all reality, she just hated him enough to not care.

"Zacchaeus, that story only makes your whole life a stinking pile of dung."

"Hey, I helped you out for years. I fed you. I gave you money. I could have easily left with father."

"And died rotting on the farm? Have fun with that old brother. We both know you needed us."

Ivy jumps at him, pulling him down to the floor with her.

She jumps onto his body, pushing her harsh nails into his throat.

"Brother, you ruined any chance we had at happiness. For that, you need to die."

I could easily fight back, and I could easily run and hide, but I decide to let things play out.

I know she won't kill him. 

She needs to pain his feeling first. One of them being me.

Colby stares harshly at the two as they make their way to their feet.

"Ivy!"

She slams her knee into his forehead, bruising a definite show up. 

I should stop this. I will stop this.

 "Ivy! Zacchaeus. Are you two are bunch of imbeciles. Darlings, you could kill each other, and we all know that would ruin the dear plan, so sit the hell down and let me talk."

I shouldn't have snapped that much, but they needed to have a taste of what it's like.

"I know the past was tough, but dears, so was mine. We face tragedy head on, but how we come back from it defines how we live the rest of our lives. If we decide to face it and move on, we become a hero. If you choose to lurk in the shadows and seek revenge, you become a villain. We choose how we live based on how we suffer."

Ivy twitches her nose. "That was sweet and all, but how does it relate to us?"

Zacchaeus stares over at her.

"Ivy, what she's trying to say is that my life-and yours-were defined by the fact that we faced enough grief to change us to become something else."

"You two hate each other for one simple reason; you both lost too much. You hate on each other because you remind each other of the past. I've experienced the same feeling. I felt like I had to hate Kriss because she reminded me of Asho, someone I lost." I frown. It's been so long since I talked about him. 

I can't bear to think about how today would be different with him around.

"Tal, we don't have to talk about him at all."

"The fact is darlings, we wasted our youth trying to become someone respected, but we forgot to care the slightest about ourselves. We need to open our eyes...The future is for the weak."

I smile down at the two of them.

The future will be for the broken and the desperate.

Because all of us will be dead.

....

Asho's light eyes smile in the early morning light.

"Hey, Talutah. I always loved that name."

He stares towards me, his green coat like I always imagine. 

I've missed you, Asho.

He steps away from the patio, his soft blonde hair gently caressed by the wind. 

"Why am I here, Ash. Why put me through my greatest fear?"

This sick joke. I can't stand to let him know how I turned out without him.

He walks towards me, his shoes gracing the dark dirt, the light sand, as he heads towards the fire.

My fire.

"Talutah, I've missed you. How's my little sister?"

His sister. 

She lost her memory and she became just like me, for a couple of days. 

I ruined her life.

He pulls me into a tight hug. I don't know how I feel about all of this. 

He can't be here.

He can't be alive.

Tears fall down my face. I can't let it show.

"Tal, what's wrong?"

He knows.

"Ash, how are you...here right now? You're dead. I became like this to protect your legacy."

"He's not here, darling."

I snap out of the romance, her voice chilling the bones in my body.

The Raven. Hooray.

"Hello, Talutah, Asho. How's life going, dears?"

We both turn towards her, staring deep into her eyes. 

"Jacqueline, leave."

"No, Talutah. You need to know the truth. Your lover boy isn't alive. No one you love is alive anymore."

It's true. 

No one I could care about is alive. My heart's a dark black hole.

He falls to the floor, his eyes lifeless. Cold.

My whole life is a shamble. I hold his body in my arms. This reminds me too much of the past.

She turns away, dropping a silver bullet onto the floor.

I'm sorry Asho.

I never meant to hurt you. Or your sister.

....

I snap awake. It was a sick dream.

A nightmare.

I hop out of the bed. Zacchaeus's bed.

"I can't take it anymore, Zac. I've had enough nightmares."

"Don't worry. You're safe now."

....

(Cody's POV)

Sylvia hops onto the treadmill, running towards the light.

"Meg, I've really enjoyed being here."

"Shut the hell up Ana. You lived in a god damn house before, I lived on the street."

"Girls, calm down."

Dan walks into the gym room, smiling.

"Hey, Slyv. Mind if I join?" 

"Sure."

They both begin running, as I walk into the room.

Today we decided, as a group, to just relax. 

"Hey guys, too bad there's only three machines." Ayana walked into the room, slouching into a chair by the window.

"I'm gonna have a shower. I'll be back soon."Sylvia hopped off the treadmill and walked towards the bathroom.

I looked over to Ayana. 

"Do you wanna head down to the pool tomorrow? I hear it's gonna be heated."

"Count me in. Let me go to the toilet and I'll be back to talk about the details."

Kylie waltzed into the library, smiling cheerfully.

"Hey guys, guess what? I just booked tickets for Taylor Effin' Swift!"

The doorbell blared into the house.

"Should someone get that?" Ayana looked towards the front door, hesitant.

"The last time someone was at the door it was Talutah. I'm not taking chances."

I guess I'll go. I leapt out of the gym room, looking towards the side window. Whatever's at the front, it's not worth my attention just yet.

I finally turned to see who it was.

Oh no.

She wore a white flowing dress. She was like no other.

It was the girl from the ball.

"Stephanie?"

"Oh, Cody, how I've longed for this day. May I come in?"

May she come in?

The real question is, may she come out with the truth?