-Sarah McLachlan's 'Drawn to the Rhythm
"If a man could pass through Paradise in a dream,
and have a flower presented to him as a pledge
that his soul had really been there,
and if he found that flower in his hand when he awoke
-Ay! and what then?"
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Anima Poetae
Her Biology assignment completed and a more proper dinner eaten, Koby headed up to bed just after 11:30. There was still no sign of her mother.
'Geez, she's been in that meeting since 4,' Koby thought as she brushed out her tangled hair before retiring. Once all the knots had been worked out, she set her brush down and stared at her reflection in the mirror.
As it always did, her reflection stared back, matching her blank expression exactly. 'I wonder why my friends like my hair so much. It's just hair.' To Koby, her hair was just an interesting color and far too long. 'It's been ages since I lost got it cut. It's halfway down my back now. I wish Mom would let me cut it short like Haruka's...' Koby stopped her train of thought right there. "Why bother even thinking about it?" she muttered as she turned away from the mirror and turned her light off. "She'll never let me cut it, so why start the argument?"
Koby sighed and lay down in her small bed, remembering at the last minute to set her alarm for the next morning. As she pulled her covers over her body, Koby sent out a silent prayer for a good night's sleep. Moments later, as if her wish had come true, Koby was sleeping, but not soundly.
"Do you accept the challenge?"
"You have to be serious - it's not a game. There's something coming."
"You don't have a choice! It's your destiny! You must fulfil it or we'll all die!"
Destiny... destiny... destiny... The word echoed in the cavernous room Koby found herself in. The voices were all around her, surrounding her, trying to force her to accept something that she wanted no part in.
"I don't want to!" she screamed. "Leave me alone!" She started to run away from the voices and their persuasions but she felt like she was moving in slow motion.
"You must fight!" the voices called after her.
Frantically, Koby struggled to run faster. To her relief, the voices became more and more distant with each step that she took and she slowly escaped the dim light of the cavernous room. When she could no longer hear their haunting orders, she stopped running and sat down, her back to a wall.
As she caught her breath, she looked around to see where she had wound up.
"I'm at school!" she realized suddenly. "I hope I'm not late for class!" Koby grabbed the stack of textbooks that had appeared next to her, scrambled to her feet and began to dash down the abandoned carpet hallway as best she could in the long pleated black skirt and dress shoes that were a part of the girls' uniform at Richmond.
"Koby, wait!" a familiar voice called from behind her.
Koby skidded to a halt and turned around to see Haruka and Michiru standing behind her.
"You forgot something," Haruka said solemnly, extending her arm to Koby. In her hand she held a small rod with a star-like figure attached to the top.
Koby hesitated to take it.
"Go on," Michiru encouraged, "it's yours. Take it and fulfil your destiny. Besides, you'll need it for class."
Hostility welled up inside of Koby at the mention of her destiny. "No!" she shouted. "It's not mine! I don't want it!" Koby turned sharply on her heel and sped down the hall to her classroom. Panting, she flung open the door, apologizing breathlessly for her tardiness, then suddenly freezing in horror at the scene that met her eyes.
Her classmates and teacher all sat slumped in their desks, eyes open but glazed. None of them appeared to be breathing.
Koby dropped her books and walked farther into the room, hunting the source of this atrocity.
"What happened? Who did this?" Koby shouted to the classroom of bodies.
No one answered.
Adrenaline pumping, Koby ran over to each student, trying to find someone with a healthy gaze, someone with a beating heart.
"None of them can help you," Michiru's voice whispered from the doorway. "You have to help them."
"How do I..." Koby started to ask, but was tackled from behind by a rather serpentine humanoid.
"I musssst have your ssssoul," it hissed at her. The creature rolled her over on to her back and placed its scaly hands on her forehead. "Look into my eyessss." Two small yellow slits that were the monster�s eyes grabbed her gaze and she felt a tug deep inside of her.
"Help me!" she cried to Haruka and Michiru.
"You must fight!" Haruka called back. "You have no choice!"
"But I don't want to!" Koby shrieked. "I don't want any of this!" Koby had begun to feel numb and empty as the monster came closer to stealing her soul completely. Her final protest came out as a half whisper. "I don't want to fight."
Then everything faded to gray.
A baby was crying in the distance, it's cries long and haunting.
"I've got her Michiru."
Koby's sight cleared as she felt strong arms pick her up and cradle her lovingly. Confused, she looked up and found herself staring into Haruka's face.
"Hush there little girl. Don't cry Koby, shh," Haruka soothed, rocking baby Koby gently.
"I've never seen you act so gentle before," Michiru joked as Haruka smoothed Koby's hair down.
'What am I doing here?' Koby wondered as her infant form stopped its wailing.
"That's a good girl," Haruka cooed. "Look, we have a present for you."
Michiru walked over and dangled a gold necklace with an eight pointed star charm hanging from it. 'I've seen that figure before,' Koby thought as she saw her small fists grab at the piece of exquisite jewelry and heard distant laughter.
"See, I told you she'd like it," Michiru said as her voice grew fainter and fainter and a loud beeping filled Koby's ears...
Koby's eyes snapped open when her alarm clock began beeping in its annoying and inconsiderate way. Grumpily she smacked down the snooze button with her left hand and pushed herself up from the bed.
"5:30's too damn early," she muttered sleepily as she began to rub the sleep from her eyes. It was then that she noticed that her right hand was holding something tightly in its grasp.
When she opened her fist to see what treasures lay hidden beneath her closed fingers Koby gasped.
Nestled comfortably in her palm was the same golden necklace with the same star charm that Koby had seen in her dream.
Chapter 4
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