Mr. Stone was sitting on a chair beside a bedridden Sharon. His focus was on the steady beeps of the Elecro Cardio Graph.
"The twins said you'd be fine, so I don't understand what's happening." He whispered.
The ECG let out erratic beeps that drew his attention. A slight groan left Sharon and Mr. Stone stood to his feet.
Sharon twitched and she opened her eyes.
"I definitely didn't see myself surviving." Her voice was dry from lack of moisture.
A wave of energy left Mr. Stone and a cup of water materialized in his hand.
He immediately placed the cup against her lip, guiding her to drink it.
She coughed as she drank but Mr. Stone held her neck firmly and ensured every drop entered her mouth.
The care he was showing was in total contrast to the tension that had existed between them.
Sharon pushed his hand away, "If the others see us, it won't take long to realize."
Mr. Stone held her face and looked at her eyes.
They were still black but they now had faint white dots that reminded him of stars in an abyss.
"I don't care. I hid us and almost lost you."
Seeing his tender smile broke something in her.
Tears streamed down Sharon's face. She placed her hand on her stomach.
"I can't feel her again. I'm sorry." Her voice broke.
Mr. Stone held her tightly, "Shh. Shh. It's okay. It's not your fault. You did all you could to give us an edge. I'm sure she's in Heaven happy that her mommy saved the whole world."
His voice brought her sobs to a stop and a slight smile to her face.
________
In a massive building on an isolated island, one of the twins was seated on the floor.
Her sister approached her in silence and tapped her shoulder.
Their flesh, tendons, bones, and blood fused, and in less than an instant, Natalie stood proud and tall.
"Sharon has woken." Natalie started pacing around her mansion.
"This means that we are in one of five realities. If I'm not mistaken, Greg should be willing to reveal his relationship with Sharon." She spoke to herself.
"If that is so then we are in the worst reality. It has the worst rifts but the highest chances of survival."
She walked out of the mansion and stood barefoot on the ground. The grass around her feet tickled her a bit but kept her grounded in reality.
Her eyes locked on the sky above her. Its bright blue hue slowly drew her in until everything around her became that color.
The blue started to darken until everywhere became black and lightless.
Natalie started walking forward in the nothingness until she came across a stream of multicolored threads.
She observed it before shaking her head, "Wrong reality."
Ignoring it, she continued walking about and ignoring all streams until she came to a very small stream.
Natalie spent half an hour observing it before nodding and jumping in.
The black background faded and she found herself before a bright crimson gate that tore the sky in two.
Numerous rifts ripped through the air and destroyed the fabric of reality.
From the largest rift came a creature so horrendous that all she could see was a four-legged beastial figure made of rot.
The only different part was its dark red eyes. The eyes seemed to be made of blood.
There were thousands of soldiers ready to fight it, yet the eyes locked onto her, and the creature let out a light gurgle that sounded like a laugh.
Natalie stumbled back and fell, hitting her head.
Her eyes shut from the pain and when she opened her eyes, she was back on the island, still standing on the ground.
"So this is what awaits us. Unless… unless I shift it."
Her gaze flicked upward, as if weighing invisible threads.
"If I do this and ensure that this happens… then maybe we will survive." A sigh left her lips.
"I already started when I sent Greg Stone to the military base two months ago. I can continue."
She stood and headed back into the mansion and picked up a phone. Her slender fingers dialed a number.
The phone rang and the person on the other end answered.
"Reid. This is Natalie. Stop… don't greet. Meet Greg and Sharon. They are in the Prime Medical Facility. Tell them to prepare." Her voice was somewhat distant.
"Also send Toby to Military Base Alpha and tell him to take charge for the time being."
Reid kept silent and listened.
"Tell the aforementioned and Cayenne that a rift is about to open up." Natalie ended the call.
She stared into the distance deep in thought, "I don't dare look into that reality for now. It might do more than just notice me."
Her flesh wriggled and her bones snapped. She slowly split back into the twins.
"I fear we don't know." The first spoke and the other continued.
"If we are the death of man."