The alarm on Sofie’s smartwatch wakes Megan up. She snoozes it. It will ring again in ten minutes. This one is for the morning jog, Megan’s sure. Fifteen minutes later, Sofie leaves. Megan remains still on her bed, contemplating everything around her.

For the past weeks, she has seen up close her sister’s routine. Closer than before. How Sofie goes about her day. The morning jog. Always at the same time. The teaching assistant classes. The afternoon to grade papers. The dissertation she writes and how she stays silently for hours while working on it. All with the help of the drugs she sees her take.

Megan has stepped aside after their last discussion. Sofie's communication is limited to good morning and good night. She does ask from time to time if Megan is feeling better, how’s the pain, and if she still can’t use her abilities.

She still can’t. Her body's pain decreases, not due to healing but time. Megan wonders if, like the death one, she will be powerless now.

Is this the price I must pay?

Sofie comes back, her smartwatch rings again. She’ll snooze it and in five minutes it will ring again. It’s time for her shower. That’s the time she has. Then it will ring again in ten minutes for her to get dressed, have breakfast. Then it will ring again.

Megan goes to the living room. The sisters’ eyes cross paths and mumble good morning to each other. Megan turns on the television and sees the images of the destruction of several nearby countries. A massive earthquake followed by a tsunami. The desperation of the people is devastating. People searching for their missing relatives, their homes completely tarnished. The news presenter shows an emergency voting taking place live on the Congress. They pass a bill of relief of billions of dollars to help the neighboring countries.

***

Two weeks later, Sofie’s alarm goes off, but this time she doesn’t leave 15 minutes later for her morning jog.

One hour for pick up. Her text reads.

Megan goes to the kitchen and watches her continuously snoozing the alarm.

“No run today?”

“No, I’ve sprained my ankle yesterday,” Sofie gets up in pain and puts her coffee mug on the sink.

“Maybe my power will return and I can heal you.” Megan sits down facing her.

“I don’t need you to heal me. Never have,” Sofie turns around and walks slowly, sitting down with her tablet reading.

“I have followed you for years, Sof. I never see you with anyone. No friends, no companion. I have been here for over a month and you don’t smile whenever you receive a text. No one calls you. I’ve never even seen you use social media. The activities that you have are social, sure, but when I followed you, I never saw you engaging with anyone. You cut contact with Marianne. You are completely alone. That concerns me.”

The alarm on Sofie’s watch rings again and she snoozes it.

“Let’s get one thing straight. You are here because that’s what father would’ve wanted. That’s why I’m helping you. You don’t get to criticize my life, Megan. You don’t get to pretend you know it because you have been following me around.”

“You are my sister, Sofie. I love you. I want you well!”

“If you loved me, you would’ve stayed!” Sofie shouts and puts down the tablet.

She gets up and sees a new text. Fifteen minutes.

“I never came back, out of love. Out of love.” Megan gets up and takes the toast out of the toaster, starts preparing her tea.

Sofie gets up and grabs a new milk package from the pantry, tells Megan to finish her toast that she’ll take care of the tea.

Megan smiles and leaves the counter.

“What do you mean? With ‘out of love’? How can abandoning someone be an act of love?”

“I wanted you to have the best life you could. That wasn’t. Isn’t. Something I can offer. I’m a terrorist, known worldwide. There’s no future with me. With Marianne, you could have something.”

“Never love with Marianne.”

“Maybe not, but commodities. You could’ve built your happiness. With me, there’s no happiness. I wanted you to have a fighting chance.”

The alarm goes off again. Sofie snoozes it and brings Megan her tea. Megan drinks it and they stay in silent.

The alarm goes off again and Megan sees things blurry. She puts her hand on her forehead and tries to get up slowly.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Are you okay, Megan?” Sofie gets up and meets her, guiding her slowly to the couch.

“No… I'm…” Megan’s speech slows down until she can’t speak anymore. Her muscles aren’t moving. Her eyes remain open and she’s conscious.

“I would save my energy if I were you. It’s a very potent tranquilizer. The same we used on your friends the other day,” Sofie lays Megan on the couch and puts a pillow below her head.

As Sofie lays her down, Megan recalls their childhood. They’d play around the house. Head to the lake in the summer. Watch the sunset together. Play until their parents forced them to stop. Those were her happiest moments. Whenever she got to be with Sofie. While she trained at the factory, the only thing that made it all worth it was knowing that her sister would be waiting for her to get home.

Sofie was always there whenever she opened the door. Waiting. Every time she left in the morning, Sofie begged her to stay.

Megan hears the door open. She can’t move to see who arrived. Sofie’s alarm goes off again.

Five people enter the room. One of them is Saif Ahktar. They are all dressed as paramedics. As soon as they enter, Sofie closes the door and they take out their guns.

“Dr. Olsen didn’t come?” Sofie asks.

Mum. Megan remembers the first time she met Marianne. The kindness in her blue eyes.

“No.” Saif answers.

“Morning. Why isn’t the specimen wearing the bracelet?” One of them asks Sofie.

“It can’t use its abilities.”

Megan’s eyes fixate on the ceiling. She tries to focus on better days. The happier ones. When she went to the lake with Erik, Marianne, and Sofie. The smile on their faces. A perfect day.

“Still, can you please put it on it? Let’s not take any chances.” The same man says.

“Sure,” Sofie goes back to the kitchen counter and opens several cabinets, searching for the bracelet. “It’s here somewhere.”

While Sofie is searching for it, the men take a proper look at Megan. Monster.

Saif avoids staring at Megan.

The alarm goes off and Sofie snoozes it.

“Here it is!” She grabs the bracelet and goes back to Megan’s. She puts the bracelet on her wrist and looks at her, “now I just have to turn it on.” she keeps touching it until it connects and turns on, “done. Please, Dr. Ahktar, can you confirm that it is on?”

Saif grabs his device. Turns it on. He sees that in the room there is one bracelet. Connected. Turned on.

“Yes. It’s on.” He faces Sofie and once more avoids looking at Megan.

“We have an ambulance outside, we’ll put it on this and take it now,” one says and approaches slowly Megan with the ambulance sketcher.

The other three join him. Slowly go near Megan and watch her closely.

“Are you sure it can’t use its abilities?” One asks while seeing Megan’s eyes facing them.

“I mean, it’s always a matter of probability, but it hasn’t used it during its stay and with the bracelet now…” Sofie smiles.

“It can be a disguise,” another comments.

"I'll help you out," Sofie comes nearer and grabs Megan in one swift motion. She slowly puts her in the sketcher, taking her time to properly strap her there. "I'll go with you on the ambulance, check its levels, and make sure it won't be any problem during the ride until the lab. Let me just grab my things,” she gets up.

“Sophie.” Ahktar says. “You aren’t authorized to join us.”

“Can’t we just skip protocol?” Sofie looks at Saif and her eyes soften.

“We can’t.” Saif says. “They exist for safety. From what we’ve seen, the specimen is controlled. We’ll take it from here.”

The men start raising the sketcher and moving it.

“Saif.” Sofie raises her eyes and he looks at her. “Can I just… it’s silly.”

“What is?”

“Because we were brought up together, Mr. Hall thinks that I shouldn’t test on it going further. He says that it can cause deeper stress on its body, mind. Can damage it. But this thing here…” she points to Megan and looks at her.

Megan can’t see her. She keeps staring at the wall. Remembering their good times.

“This thing killed my father-” Sofie’s voice breaks. She bites her lower lip to prevent from crying.

The men around the room look away. Saif keeps looking at Sofie. He sees Marianne in her. Even with the darker hair and the contact lenses.

Megan’s eyes open as wide as she can. She tries to close her fists but can’t.

“Now that the façade is over, I’d like to have the chance to say what I have to say to it. One last time. Can you please wait just a few more minutes and give me that opportunity?” Sofie cries finally.

“We have to go.” One man says.

“Just a few moments, I beg of you, please. It killed… my father.” She wipes her nose with her sweater.

Saif sighs. “Go ahead.”

“Megan,” she goes nearer to her and faces her, “I remember growing up how close we were. How much I loved being your sister, how I adored you.” Her voice breaks.

Megan can see her now. Her beloved sister. Right in front of her. Ready to give her up to being tested.

“No one else mattered to me in the entire world. When father died…” Sofie takes a deep breath and continues. “I knew…” her voice breaks again. “That I would only survive it because of you. That you’d stay by my side.”

Sofie stops to wipe the tears on the sweater again.

“You held my hand. But slowly you drifted away...” she shakes her head. “I know now why. Because you killed him!” She shouts. “Back then, I couldn’t understand why you started being distant, why you no longer had the time to be with me. I thought I had done something. That it was my fault.”

Megan’s green eyes are red with all the tears.

“When mother came home without you, I cried so much. My heart stopped for a while. I couldn’t breathe without you.” She takes a deep breath. “I saw the images, and I knew it was impossible! My sister…” she shakes her head and laughs, “my sister would’ve never done anything like that. I tried to find a justification.” She scoffs.

Saif looks away. He focuses on the building in front.

“That you were attacked, that the images were fake, that they were enemies, so you were a superhero. I mourned your death.” Sofie smiles. “One day you showed up again on my life. It was you, and I waited for you to come get me… but you didn’t.” She cries compulsively. “Mother finally told me the truth. That your lack of self-control killed father!” Her voice grows.

Saif looks at the people down on the street. Going about their day. Happily strolling.

“That you took away the one person who loved me. Because you are incapable of love, Megan! You are nothing but a monster! A weapon!” she shouts. “Now, I look at the images from the Ariston community and I know it was you. Something is deeply broken inside of you. I hope you suffer, Megan. I wish you had never entered my life.”

The alarm goes off again. Sofie snoozes it.

“And now, Megan, we bid adieu. At the end of the day, it’s impressive, isn’t it?” A smile forms. She focuses on Megan’s eyes. “That the lingering nostalgia makes me say this. Du kunne aldri skade meg.” She closes Megan’s eyes. You could never hurt me. Meaning she forgives Megan.

Megan’s tears run through her face. Jeg ville aldri skade deg. I would never hurt you. Meaning she’ll do better next time.