AB: Hey, everybody! I hope this week has been a good one for you all! I know I have had my ups and downs, but that is completely normal. So, last chapter, I feel, was not the best; please know that I am working on improving the quality of my writing. Also, last chapter, I revealed that Iris suffers from psychological damage from WeirdWorld, and I know it seems that I brought that up randomly, but I have been subtly hinting at it throughout the story.
Komodo: AB, what are you planning to title the sequel?
AB: Good question, Komodo. I have a few options, but I will ask once we get closer. I will also put up a poll on my profile once I finalize the list.
Komodo: Okay. Thank you.
AB: No problem. If that is all, I will go ahead with the chapter. Disclaimer: The Secret Saturdays belongs to Jay Stephens and, I think, Cartoon Network. Here's Chapter 18: Life is a Riddle
(3rd person POV)
The woman, after many weeks, finally gathered up enough courage to escape the monster. She fled while the serpent was out, but she soon became hopelessly lost in the sweltering desert.
She sat down on the sand in despair; she did not understand why her own people had done this to her. Suddenly, she saw two animals fighting each other, and the larger of the two was about to kill the other one. The losing animal gave off a vibe of power and strength; the woman ran to help it. She fought, and her courage payed off. The larger animal backed off and ran away.
The smaller animal transformed into Nanshe, the goddess of prophecy. The woman bowed before the goddess, as Nanshe foretold of the woman's marriage to Ningirama, the god of healing and protection from snakes. The woman smiled, and Nanshe disappeared after one last prophecy. Nanshe told the woman she would gain the powers of the elements, if she bore a daughter her husband would never know.
(Iris's POV)
I finger the charm hanging from my choker. Somehow the familiar feeling of the star shaped pendant is comforting despite the distressing world around me. Then my fingers release the charm and touch the black velvet ribbon. I go over to the mirror in the bathroom and stare intently into it. My eyes lock with my reflection, and I look at the choker. Suddenly, I recognize what the choker represents. It looks so much like a collar, a way of showing ownership. In my broken mind, I want to keep wearing the choker to show that part of still belongs at WeirdWorld, but something tells me it is high time to let my past go. Two months today have passed since the War of the Cryptids, and I need to move on.
Slowly, I unclasp the choker and watch it as it falls to the floor. Then I bend down and scoop it up in my palm. The silver charm reflects the bathroom light; I slide it off the ribbon and stuff the charm in my pocket. Then I crumple up the black ribbon and toss it in the garbage can. I walk out of the bathroom, half confidently, half scared of what I just did.
The airship is dead silent, a stark contrast to the construction outside. I do not think everyone is still asleep because of how late in the morning it is. Zak, Fisk, Zon, Komodo, and Mom are probably doing research; I think I will join them. Where Dr. Saturday and Uncle Doyle are, I have no clue.
Just as I suspected, Mom, Zak, Fisk, Zon, and Komodo are all in the computer room, searching the database for information. Komodo is the first to notice me, and he promptly calls me over to help him; he is searching for information on Mashdaria. Hoping to find answers, I join in as well. No one has any problems finding information, but the catch is, it is all different information. Fisk grumbles hopelessly, and Zak groans.
"We're never going to find the answer! For all we know, Rani Nagi could have been lying!" Zak cries, not that I can blame him.
"Zak, sweetie, we can figure this out. Why don't you go take a break? You've been doing this since six," Mom suggests. Fisk and Zon walk Zak out of the room. "He really wants this curse removed," Mom sighs.
"I can see that." My mind flickers back to last week. "I think I know someone who can help us."
Atka Ublureak approaches the airship cautiously. I hurry out to meet him and lead him inside. I introduce him and Mom to each other, and I ask him what he knows about Mashdaria, Ningirama, and their child. Atka Ublureak looks at me, confused.
"You cannot figure this out on your own?" he asks. I shake my head. "Then I am afraid there is not much I can tell you. I can tell you, though, that Ningirama was from Sumer, and so was Mashdaria. That ought to be enough to narrow down the information to a few." Mom refines the search, and we are left with 257 results.
"Can you not help us anymore?" I ask, a little desperately.
"Sadly, I cannot. I am sorry." Mom says that she is stepping out for a moment.
"Atka Ublureak, please," I plead.
"Iris, I cannot."
"Then tell my why my Kur powers are fading. Why just this telepathic conversation is draining me." A frustrated lump forms in my throat.
"All will be answered, if you can solve these riddles. What is in a rainbow that Greece once had; what is a fruit and an outing?"
"That tells me nothing. Atka Ublureak, why can you not tell me?"
"Because I do not know," Atka Ublureak half growls, half sighs. "I know they were from Sumer, and I know the answers to the riddles, but I know nothing else." Silence settles between us. "No one cryptid knows the whole story besides the one who hides it. Now, I think it is best if I leave."
I walk Atka Ublureak to the trees and watch him as he runs off. There is one month left in the truce, these riddles, and the secret of Mashdaria, Ningirama, and their child to unlock. I hope the Saturdays are better problem solvers than I, or else we are all doomed.
The feeling of being watched returns, so I return to airship casually. I finger the charm in thought.
I wake up extremely early the next morning and head straight to the computer room. Pulling up every website, article, e-book, video, etc on the riddles, I waste the entire morning. Nothing pulls me away from my work, not even hunger. I am determined to find the answers to the riddles and lift the curse on Kur if it kills me.
Zak comes in about lunch and practically drags me away from the computer. I am so cross-eyed, I can barely walk on my own. Zak tells me that he will take over the search; I try to protest and tell him that he does not know the riddles, but Zak walks away before I finish.
I eat lunch, and Mom tells me to go rest for a while. Returning to my room, I lie down on the bed and soon doze off.
Daddy unloads our bags from the car while I run to the edge of the water. The lake is cold, so I shriek in surprise. Then I run back to Daddy and try to help as he sets up camp. I cannot do much because of my size.
"Do you need any help, Leonidas?" a familiar voice asks. Daddy and I turn around, and I see the woman I have grown to love. Her hair is pulled back in a braided ponytail, and she is dressed for the outdoors; this is different from what she normally wears.
"That would be lovely, thank you," Daddy answers.
They get the tent set up and everything inside. Then we all go canoeing and try our luck at fishing. We do not catch anything, but we still have fun. Then we go swimming in the lake, and we spend the remainder of the day hiking.
After sundown, the three of us sit by the campfire and roast marshmallows. Daddy and the woman tell stories for a while. My eyelids start to grow heavy, and I start to fall asleep. I feel Daddy pick me up in his strong arms and lay me down in my sleeping bag. I think Daddy and the woman stay up longer, but I do not know.
When I wake up in the morning, I climb out of the tent and find Daddy and the woman talking while they make breakfast.
"Would you be ready?" Daddy asks.
"To be honest, I have no idea. After what happened, this is a breakthrough for me," the woman explains.
"Let's give it time, and we'll see where it goes from there, okay?" Daddy suggests.
"Okay. Thank you so much for understanding, Leo."
"Of course."
Our weekend passes through a whirlwind of fun, and it is soon time to part ways. Daddy and the woman hug for the first time; they promise we will meet up again soon. Then Daddy and I return home.
My head is fuzzy when I first wake up, and I do not know where I am. It is light outside, which throws my senses off even more; I wonder if I died. Then I glance at the date on the clock. I was asleep for several hours, apparently. I sit up and slowly start to make sense of the world. My sense return, so I walk around the room for a little bit.
Zon walks on and sees me. She squawks and tells me that dinner is ready; I slept for a lot longer than I thought. The two of us head to the kitchen, where everyone else is sitting in awkward silence. We all eat without making a sound, and we all go to our own corners when we finish.
Back in my bedroom, I sit on the floor and pull my charm out of my pocket. I turn it over with my fingers. I remember when Father gave it to me for my sixth adoption day. It was part of a charm bracelet, and this one was my favorite charm. The day before Argost came, Father asked my what I wanted to take on a trip with me, and I said the bracelet; Father said it could only be a charm, so I chose the star. After Argost took me to WeirdWorld, Munya made the necklace, but Argost turned it into a choker.
The silver colored charm reflects the overhead light. I decide that I will find a way to get the bracelet back and use it to remember my childhood. But I wonder, what ever happened to the woman I grew to love?
Zak wakes me up bright and early the following morning, so I whack him with my pillow and roll over. Then Zon and Fisk start making noises in my ear, so I whack the both of them as hard as I can with the pillow. They back off, and I start going back to sleep. All of a sudden, Zak pulls out an airhorn and blasts it in my ear. I could kill him.
"Do you realize what time I was up yesterday morning?!" I demand.
"No, but that was yesterday, and this is today," he talks a mile a minute.
"Well, I am awake now. What do you want?" I am not in the mood for this.
"Combat practice." Now, I really could kill him.
"I hate you, Zak."
"You don't mean it. Now, come on!" Zak and the others step out of the room, and I debate with myself over whether or not I should go back to sleep. I decide to get out of bed and join Zak in the gym.
The minute I enter the gym, I notice the obstacle course. I shoot Zak a nasty look, but he shrugs before darting towards the obstacle course. I race in after him and realize this is going to be a lot harder than I originally thought it would be.
The first obstacle is a wall I have to scale, and of course Zak already is on the other side; I, however, am horrible at climbing anything. I remember that when I tried to escape Dr. Beeman's lab, I kept slipping and sliding down the side of the mountain. Once I finally am able to scale the wall, I see Zak at the end of the course. I refuse to let him out do me.
I finish the course, and Zak claps and sarcastically congratulates me. I roll my eyes as I bend over, panting and trying to catch my breath.
"You *pant* are *pant* really fast *pant* for an undead *pant* person," I gasp.
"Thanks." Zak pauses. "Hey! I am not undead!" The laughter counteracts the offense in his voice. "You're not too bad yourself, Iris."
"Thank you, Zak." My breath is back.
"You know, Iris, your speaking has become much more fluid." Now that Zak mentions it, I have noticed that I stumble less when I speak English.
"ZaK, will you tell me about how you discovered your powers?"
"Yes, but under one condition: you get a weapon."
"Fine."
Zak and I sit down on the living room couch. Zak explains that it the March after he turned eleven and they were researching some Kalmykian Snakes. Zak explains that he does not remember what exactly happened, but the snakes were somehow upset. They began to explode on and around the Saturdays. Zak held out his hand, expecting nothing to happen, and the snakes stopped exploding; their eyes were glowing just like Zak's. The snakes slithered away, but Zak soon lost control, and the snakes began pursuing the Saturdays, exploding as they went. Ultimately, the Saturdays escaped, and Zak began practicing controlling cryptids.
"I wish I never found out about my powers. I wish that my powers had remained secret. Then none of this wouldn't have happened," Zak exclaims.
"But you would never have met me." Zak smiles at me.
"Point taken." Then Zak asks me how I found out I have powers.
I tell him that Argost somehow knew I was Kur and tricked Father into letting him take me as a "protege." But Argost actually made me his servant and brainwashed me. However, Argost soon learned that I was only a small part Kur and would not be useful, so he abused me. That was how I discovered I have other powers, powers over the elements, memories, and healing.
"Wow. I get how you would have discovered healing and elements, but how did you discover you have memory powers?" Zaks responds.
"Munya," is all I reply with. There is a long silence between us before Zak asks, as he has done before, how we can both be the reincarnation of Kur, especially if I am only part Kur. I shrug and say that perhaps reincarnation separates the soul; we both know that is not the answer. Then I tell Zak that I have a confession to make. Zak looks at me with worry.
"Zak, my Kur powers are fading, and I am watching yours get stronger. But, Zak, I do not know why."
"I know."
Sleep evaded last night, so I am not in a great mood the next morning. I stay to myself and do not bother anyone, so they do not bother me. I go back to researching the riddles, Mashdaria, Ningirama, and their child; the result yield no results, even after hours of thorough searches. As much as I want to, I refuse to let myself cry. Reminding myself that my Kur powers are fading and that the curse will not affect me once they are gone makes me feel tad bit better, but my concern for Zak is winning out.
Mom comes in and pulls me away from my barren searches. She drags me along for a walk outside. The foundation has already been laid, and there is no construction today, and the peace is nice. Mom takes me into the trees surrounding the area, talking to me as we walk. I keep quiet for most of the walk, until we stop in a clearing.
"Iris, I know you have psychological damage from WeirdWorld; anybody who survived there for over a day would. I have a friend who is an adolescent therapist. Would you be willing to meet with her?" I think for a moment about the effects WeirdWorld had on me and tell Mom that I would be willing. Then we walk back to the airship, and Mom calls her friend.
"Hannah? It's Drew. How are you?" There is silence on this end for a few minutes. "Listen, Hannah, my daughter, we believe, has suffered psychological damage, and we think it might be PTSD. Would you mind if we bring her in someday soon?" Mom stops talking as the other person responds. "Thank you so much, Hannah." Mom hangs up and turns to me. "We're going to see Dr. Cooper a week from today."
"May I ask you a question, Mom?" Mom nods. "When are you planning on telling Zak that you and Dr. Saturday are going to get a divorce?"
"Mom? You're getting a divorce?" Mom and I turn around and see Zak standing in the doorway. Mom looks at me, and Zak runs off; Mom gives me a glare before going after him. The room is empty except for a single being, me, but I feel the stares of thousand eyes. I glance over my shoulders and scour the room trying to determine if someone is here, but I am alone. How damaged am I, if this is how I feel all the time? How much damage can I have that I fear the wrath of a dead man?
I leave the room and return to my room, where I sit in complete silence and listen to the world outside the walls. The sound of Mom, Zak, Zon, Fisk, and Komodo discussing the divorce passes through the walls and reminds me of what I have done. I never should have asked about it. I never should have come here. I never should have been taken from my home. i never should have been born.
I am sitting in the bathroom, staring at the tile walls. I hate myself for being myself, and I just want to die in a hole. This family is falling to pieces because of me, and I do not deserve everything they have done for and given me. I wish we would hear back from the lawyer about the other will, even if I do not trust him.
The silence of the bathroom is slowly killing me, but it kills softly. I want out of this world with all this pain, where I am perpetually awkward and out of place. Every teenager feels like a fish out of water at some point, I know, but this is so much worse. Control over my life is slipping away faster than it ever has before, and it is destroying me. All I want is control over some aspect of my life, even if it is pain. The glint of razor catches my attention. Even if it is pain. I pick up the razor. It is pain. I look at my legs, pull down my pants to my knees, and cut. Pain.
The blood reminds me that I am still alive. The sting reminds me that I am not numb. I start to understand what I have just done. A wave of relief engulfs me, and I do not bother to heal myself; I let the bleeding stop itself. I clean the wounds and slide my jeans back up all the way, rinse off the blade, and act as if nothing happened. Nothing happened.
Iris: AB, what are you planning?
AB: It's your story, not mine. You live it, I tell it.
Iris: Fine. When are you planning to reveal to everyone who the woman in my memories is?
AB: Three possibilities: 1) In a later chapter, 2) in the last chapter, or 3) in the sequel, if I write one.
Iris: Helpful. Not.
AB: Well, that is all I have for this week. I know things got dark at the end there, but you all know I do not normally do that. I love you all, and thank you all so much for reading! Don't forget to follow, review, and favorite!