Sorry for the long break, but here's another chapter; I have the rest of the story planned out and there's going to be a grand total of 30 chapters, with the last being an epilogue. So, the end is really near this time so thanks for reading and reviewing and keep it up!
Chapter Twenty-Three
Connection
The semi-uncomfortable silence was only broken when Altessa stood and took her duffel bag into the bathroom to change into something other then a wet towel. When she returned, dressed in pajamas with her damp hair pulled back in a ponytail, Kimberly and Thomas still sat in silence, seeming not closer to divulging the answers they were searching for. Finally, Kimberly let out a long sigh and said, "All right, maybe we're going out on too much of a limb here, saying that the visionaries always die last. Perhaps it's just a coincidence."
Thomas nodded in agreement, mulling over her words. "Right, because you were originally supposed to die first with her friends but I pulled you away from the crash." He remarked, raising an eyebrow as he spoke.
"All right, so we've gotten rid of the one theory that we almost had and we're still no closer to figuring out exactly why we had the visions in the first place. I mean, why us? Why exactly are we so much more special than anyone else?" Altessa questioned, sighing in desperation, clearly having had enough with the mind games.
Kimberly shrugged, unsure of exactly how to answer, for if she had the right answers, then they wouldn't be having this discussion in the first place. "What if...what if it wasn't my turn to die in the bathroom. I mean, when have we known Death to screw up on it's own without intervention from someone else? Don't you think that if I was really supposed to die, that I would have?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she spoke, shuddering as she remembered the feeling of the electricity coursing through her body.
"I think Kimberly's right; it just seems too easy that she'd get away with only some shakes." Altessa remarked, apparently noting her friend's shudders. Kimberly smiled slightly, pursing her lips but remaining silent.
Thomas sighed, leaning back against the couch and burying his head in his hands for a split second before gazing toward Kimberly and Altessa once more. "How is this helping us? I don't know about you two but I'm not too relieved to know that Kimberly's still in line to die." He snapped, a little harsher then he had intended to. He continued, lowering his voice and keeping it steady, "We know that we saved Altessa from death but not Kimberly and he still have no idea what makes you two so special."
The apartment was silent once more; Altessa furrowed her brow, chewing on her bottom lip as she thought. "I remember, in middle school or something, that we learned about the presidents." She remarked, noticing Kimberly and Thomas' confused looks, which forced her to continue her random thought. "We spent a lot of time on the important presidents, you know, George Washington, Roosevelt, whatever. And Abraham Lincoln."
Before Altessa could continue Thomas interrupted her by saying, "How, exactly, is this relevant to us? We really don't need a history lesson right now."
Altessa shot him a mildly angry, but more impatient, look before finishing what she had started. "We when studied Abraham Lincoln, we learned that he had supposedly predicted his own death, a few weeks before it had happened. I'm just saying, don't you think that might be relevant?" The teenager clearly chose her last word for Thomas' benefit, shooting him yet another look before turning her attention to Kimberly, who looked deep in thought.
"I think you just might be onto something, Altessa." The brunette remarked, brow furrowed as well. "And you know, now, the press are saying that Princess Diana supposedly predicted her own death as well."
For a brief moment, Thomas thought that they were about to uncover exactly how to beat the Design once a for all, but an argument dawned upon him. "But, from what I know, none of those people were actually able to predict how they were going to die, only that their death was near. That doesn't fit in with your premonitions, because you know exactly how and when."
Altessa sighed, feeling the same sense of defeat that Thomas had felt seconds earlier. She knew the whole situation seemed too difficult to be explained as easily as she and Kimberly were trying to die. There was still one piece of the puzzle that was missing. "What do you and I have in common?" Altessa's question was directed toward Kimberly, who was staring at her. "That we also could have in common with Alex Browning?" She knew they had no way of knowing for sure if their connection -whatever it may be- would be shared with Alex, but it didn't hurt to apply what they knew about the late visionary.
"I was born here in New York." Kimberly suggested, knowing that they had better start from the beginning to attempt to make their connection, if the answer did indeed lie in that aspect.
Altessa shook her head. "I wasn't, I'm from Georgia."
"My middle name is Alicia."
"Nope, mine is Ann."
"My first pet was a cat." Kimberly knew she was really reaching now, but she couldn't think of another question to ask at the moment.
"Mine was a dog."
Kimberly frowned, pursing her lips at Altessa's answer. "I don't like dogs. Let's see, my birthday is November 6th. My mother's was March 19th and my father's is May 30th."
Altessa studied her for a brief moment before answering, "My birthday is March 19th. But, you don't think that's connection do you? Your mother and I sharing the same birthday?"
Before Kimberly could answer, Thomas spoke up. "I doubt it, I don't think that's anything more then a coincidence." Both girls realized that they had to agree with him, because it seemed like too much of a stretch even when they were in such desperate need of answers.
Altessa sighed, puffing out her cheeks as she exhaled. "Wait, I know this is somewhat random but, Kimberly, why don't you like dogs?" She didn't know what was making her ask such a question, but something inside of her was telling her to ask it anyway.
Kimberly gave her a confused look, raising an eyebrow as though attempting to figure out just where the teenager was coming from. She finally answered, "When I was six years old, I was attacked by a dog and I've been afraid of them ever since."
A look of recognition dawned upon Altessa's face and a victorious smile flashed across her features for a moment. "Still random but, just go with me here, how badly were you attacked? Was it life-threatening?" Altessa asked, looking at the brunette with great interest upon her face.
Kimberly shrugged, attempting to think back all those years ago. "I'm not quite sure, I remember waking up in the hospital with a bunch of stitches and my parents looking really worried but they never mentioned that it was life-threatening. I guess it could have been, it was a really mean dog." She answered, trying to follow the teenager's thinking pattern. When she was unable to, she asked, "Altessa, what are you getting at?"
"All right, let's say that your dog attack was threatening, and that you died or almost died. That gives us something in common: the fact that we both died or almost died. When I got shot, I was clinically dead before that explosion. So-" Altessa got cut off by the brunette before she could finish her thought.
"So, it's like the mortician was sort of saying earlier: because you died it gave you insight into the Design and Death like no surviving person ever had. And if I had almost died as well, that gives us the same insight and therefore, the ability to predict how and when we're going to die." Kimberly finished, victoriously with a large smile spreading across her face.
Altessa couldn't help but smile as well, feeling as though a great weight had been removed from her shoulders. They had finally discovered what had set her and Kimberly apart from others, why they had suffered those visions in the first place. They were finally one step closer to figuring out how to save their lives once and for all.
"I hate to burst the good feelings bubble that we all rightfully deserve but, how is going to help us beat the Design? It's great that we finally understand the origin of the visions but...how does that help?" Thomas questioned, causing both girls to glance over at him.
Kimberly thought for a moment, attempting to figure out how their nearly discovered information could be put to the use of saving their lives. "I have no idea. Maybe we should sleep on it." She suggested, realizing just how tired she really was. This day had seemed to drag on forever, with the deaths of most of the survivors, the visit to the mortician and now, discovering one missing link.
Neither Thomas or Altessa argued with Kimberly, all ready to put the bloody day behind them.
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So, I did my best at answering some of the Death mythology, or whatever you want to call it. I'm sure there are loose ends somewhere but I did my best ( I have the flu, so it's amazing I even came up with this) and I hope you enjoyed it. Please review!
Chapter Twenty-Three
Connection
The semi-uncomfortable silence was only broken when Altessa stood and took her duffel bag into the bathroom to change into something other then a wet towel. When she returned, dressed in pajamas with her damp hair pulled back in a ponytail, Kimberly and Thomas still sat in silence, seeming not closer to divulging the answers they were searching for. Finally, Kimberly let out a long sigh and said, "All right, maybe we're going out on too much of a limb here, saying that the visionaries always die last. Perhaps it's just a coincidence."
Thomas nodded in agreement, mulling over her words. "Right, because you were originally supposed to die first with her friends but I pulled you away from the crash." He remarked, raising an eyebrow as he spoke.
"All right, so we've gotten rid of the one theory that we almost had and we're still no closer to figuring out exactly why we had the visions in the first place. I mean, why us? Why exactly are we so much more special than anyone else?" Altessa questioned, sighing in desperation, clearly having had enough with the mind games.
Kimberly shrugged, unsure of exactly how to answer, for if she had the right answers, then they wouldn't be having this discussion in the first place. "What if...what if it wasn't my turn to die in the bathroom. I mean, when have we known Death to screw up on it's own without intervention from someone else? Don't you think that if I was really supposed to die, that I would have?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she spoke, shuddering as she remembered the feeling of the electricity coursing through her body.
"I think Kimberly's right; it just seems too easy that she'd get away with only some shakes." Altessa remarked, apparently noting her friend's shudders. Kimberly smiled slightly, pursing her lips but remaining silent.
Thomas sighed, leaning back against the couch and burying his head in his hands for a split second before gazing toward Kimberly and Altessa once more. "How is this helping us? I don't know about you two but I'm not too relieved to know that Kimberly's still in line to die." He snapped, a little harsher then he had intended to. He continued, lowering his voice and keeping it steady, "We know that we saved Altessa from death but not Kimberly and he still have no idea what makes you two so special."
The apartment was silent once more; Altessa furrowed her brow, chewing on her bottom lip as she thought. "I remember, in middle school or something, that we learned about the presidents." She remarked, noticing Kimberly and Thomas' confused looks, which forced her to continue her random thought. "We spent a lot of time on the important presidents, you know, George Washington, Roosevelt, whatever. And Abraham Lincoln."
Before Altessa could continue Thomas interrupted her by saying, "How, exactly, is this relevant to us? We really don't need a history lesson right now."
Altessa shot him a mildly angry, but more impatient, look before finishing what she had started. "We when studied Abraham Lincoln, we learned that he had supposedly predicted his own death, a few weeks before it had happened. I'm just saying, don't you think that might be relevant?" The teenager clearly chose her last word for Thomas' benefit, shooting him yet another look before turning her attention to Kimberly, who looked deep in thought.
"I think you just might be onto something, Altessa." The brunette remarked, brow furrowed as well. "And you know, now, the press are saying that Princess Diana supposedly predicted her own death as well."
For a brief moment, Thomas thought that they were about to uncover exactly how to beat the Design once a for all, but an argument dawned upon him. "But, from what I know, none of those people were actually able to predict how they were going to die, only that their death was near. That doesn't fit in with your premonitions, because you know exactly how and when."
Altessa sighed, feeling the same sense of defeat that Thomas had felt seconds earlier. She knew the whole situation seemed too difficult to be explained as easily as she and Kimberly were trying to die. There was still one piece of the puzzle that was missing. "What do you and I have in common?" Altessa's question was directed toward Kimberly, who was staring at her. "That we also could have in common with Alex Browning?" She knew they had no way of knowing for sure if their connection -whatever it may be- would be shared with Alex, but it didn't hurt to apply what they knew about the late visionary.
"I was born here in New York." Kimberly suggested, knowing that they had better start from the beginning to attempt to make their connection, if the answer did indeed lie in that aspect.
Altessa shook her head. "I wasn't, I'm from Georgia."
"My middle name is Alicia."
"Nope, mine is Ann."
"My first pet was a cat." Kimberly knew she was really reaching now, but she couldn't think of another question to ask at the moment.
"Mine was a dog."
Kimberly frowned, pursing her lips at Altessa's answer. "I don't like dogs. Let's see, my birthday is November 6th. My mother's was March 19th and my father's is May 30th."
Altessa studied her for a brief moment before answering, "My birthday is March 19th. But, you don't think that's connection do you? Your mother and I sharing the same birthday?"
Before Kimberly could answer, Thomas spoke up. "I doubt it, I don't think that's anything more then a coincidence." Both girls realized that they had to agree with him, because it seemed like too much of a stretch even when they were in such desperate need of answers.
Altessa sighed, puffing out her cheeks as she exhaled. "Wait, I know this is somewhat random but, Kimberly, why don't you like dogs?" She didn't know what was making her ask such a question, but something inside of her was telling her to ask it anyway.
Kimberly gave her a confused look, raising an eyebrow as though attempting to figure out just where the teenager was coming from. She finally answered, "When I was six years old, I was attacked by a dog and I've been afraid of them ever since."
A look of recognition dawned upon Altessa's face and a victorious smile flashed across her features for a moment. "Still random but, just go with me here, how badly were you attacked? Was it life-threatening?" Altessa asked, looking at the brunette with great interest upon her face.
Kimberly shrugged, attempting to think back all those years ago. "I'm not quite sure, I remember waking up in the hospital with a bunch of stitches and my parents looking really worried but they never mentioned that it was life-threatening. I guess it could have been, it was a really mean dog." She answered, trying to follow the teenager's thinking pattern. When she was unable to, she asked, "Altessa, what are you getting at?"
"All right, let's say that your dog attack was threatening, and that you died or almost died. That gives us something in common: the fact that we both died or almost died. When I got shot, I was clinically dead before that explosion. So-" Altessa got cut off by the brunette before she could finish her thought.
"So, it's like the mortician was sort of saying earlier: because you died it gave you insight into the Design and Death like no surviving person ever had. And if I had almost died as well, that gives us the same insight and therefore, the ability to predict how and when we're going to die." Kimberly finished, victoriously with a large smile spreading across her face.
Altessa couldn't help but smile as well, feeling as though a great weight had been removed from her shoulders. They had finally discovered what had set her and Kimberly apart from others, why they had suffered those visions in the first place. They were finally one step closer to figuring out how to save their lives once and for all.
"I hate to burst the good feelings bubble that we all rightfully deserve but, how is going to help us beat the Design? It's great that we finally understand the origin of the visions but...how does that help?" Thomas questioned, causing both girls to glance over at him.
Kimberly thought for a moment, attempting to figure out how their nearly discovered information could be put to the use of saving their lives. "I have no idea. Maybe we should sleep on it." She suggested, realizing just how tired she really was. This day had seemed to drag on forever, with the deaths of most of the survivors, the visit to the mortician and now, discovering one missing link.
Neither Thomas or Altessa argued with Kimberly, all ready to put the bloody day behind them.
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So, I did my best at answering some of the Death mythology, or whatever you want to call it. I'm sure there are loose ends somewhere but I did my best ( I have the flu, so it's amazing I even came up with this) and I hope you enjoyed it. Please review!