Friend Or Foe?

"Agreed," said Miss Veirce," why don't you go explore the backyard, socialize with the others. Supper will be ready at five-thirty. "

Veirce showed me to the back door, a yard with trophy animals, soccer nets, and a big oak tree.

The boy I had known as Calix, jogged up to me after a few steps into the sun. He had a black mask covering his mouth, with what looked like ventilators on the side.

"Is this a good time to ask for your name," he said.

"Ensley," I said.

"Calix, but everyone around here calls me Case."

It was the first time I had seen the house outside. Coated in the same color of blue, slightly sharper than a baby blue. The white trim is like a picture frame around a family photo.

The roof that was meant to be a dark grey, was now a soft one, faded over the years. Three stories, the bottom layer being covered by a porchway over the whole thing.

 The second floor had one bedroom sticking out of the front. From there two more sat silently behind it, with the following pattern of one more layer. The middle bedroom was framed with a patio, and a porch looks on top of it. OnTop of the building, stood the biggest bedroom, accompanied by an attic on both sides. The yard was protected with a freshly painted, black spiked fence. You could still smell the aroma. And the yard roamed with garden trophies and games. 

"It's not as nice as the rest of Switzerland," said Case," been around since the 1900s. But it's a home." 

"I need to get back to my photography class," I said," They've must have called the cops by now."

"You step outside with your freshly new smelling power's, you'll be dead before sunset."

As Case continued walking, I stopped and sniffed my school hoodie. I don't think I smelled any different. 

I followed Case over to a big oak tree that owned the yard. There was a small shoebox covered in grass. And inside was a baby chipmunk. 

"This fell out of the tree a few days ago," he said," think you could give us a hand in putting it back?"

"How would I get back down," I asked.

"I'll go find some rope," said Case before he ran off. I stood there awkwardly holding this adorable creature. 

A teen girl around my age walked up to me.

"Haisley Caelie," she said," I would shake your hand, but I don't suspect you want a broken arm." 

"Ensley Fayre," I said," and no, not particularly."

Haisley stared down at my feet and slowly made her way back to my eyes.

"Nice shoes," she said sarcastically. 

It was then when Calix returned with the rope.

"What's that for," Haisley asked.

"She's putting Nutmeg back in the tree." 

Haisley snatched the rope from him in a growl," Let me do it, you'll kill her."

I awkwardly put my arms above my head, still holding Nutmeg. Haisley pulled the not so tight rope around my waist, it felt like she broke one of my ribs. She tied the other end to herself and waited.

"Do whatever it is you're going to do." 

With one hand, I unclipped myself from my led prison and began floating upwards. My head hit the bottom of a tree branch, and I looked back to the ground where I once roamed.

"Relax a little," said Calix.

I spotted the nest tucked away in the tree, and Nutmeg happily hopped off of my hand. Pushing myself away from the tree branch, I floated until the ropes max capacity. 

My mind had me convinced that my whole life was a dream. I no longer weighed anything. Gravity no longer bounded me to this earth.  

"Can I come down now," I yelled. 

Haisley united herself from the other end and began pulling me down. In long, forceful yanks. She nearly had me face planting back onto the ground. She held me down by my hips, digging me firmly into the ground as I put my shoes back on. 

"That's it?" she said, making a snarky remark," you float." 

"Behave yourself, Haisley," Calix said," she's only just started to develop."

" I just lost gravity," I said, not wanting to have someone stick up for me all the time." That's all, nothing special." 

An old school bell rang out from across the yard. 

"That's the bell to get ready for dinner," said Calix.

We walked in a group back to the house, I had never felt so alone in my entire life. Even when we had to bring our parents to school, and all I had was my grandmother. This was even worse. Miss Veirce was standing at the doorway, calmly waiting for all of us. 

"Haisley, please allow Ensley to borrow one of your dresses for tonight's supper, just until we can get her formal clothes ."

Haisley groaned as if she was being told to run another mile in my high school PE. I shyly followed her upstairs into her bedroom, with a thud

 her closet doors swung open. Without saying a word she rummaged through her closet and threw me a simple light blue dress. It had no designer patterns or anything other than a ruffle at the top of it and it was strapless. Without a word, I went to wander the halls to find a bathroom.

" If you're interested in Calix," said Keone," my advice is not to bother. Haisley has had a claim on him for years."

Keone was holding hands with Roman, they were a couple.

" No offense to him," I said," but he just isn't my type."

"Haisley might let you live then," said Roman," but I wouldn't get your hopes up. And the bathroom is three doors down on your left." 

"Thank you," I said, and we parted ways with a silent nod. 

With the undecorated dress, and with an old fashioned ponytail, I made my way downstairs. Everyone else was settling into their seats at the same time as me. Miss Veirce had me sit next to Fee, alongside her.

 The table from end to end was filled with a homemade meal. I waited silently for further instruction on what to do. 

" For those of you who are not aware," said Miss Veirce," Ensley is a grandchild of one of our past leaders." 

" So she's a princess?" Asked Fee.

"That's not how it works Fee," said Calix.

 Fee leaned closer to me and whispered," I think you look like a princess." 

" Oh right," said Miss Veirce, clearly lost in her thoughts," you can fill your plates."

I was too shy to be one of the first to reach for food. With being the newest here, I felt that it simply wasn't my place. Once everyone had taken their preferred meal, I timidly took what was left.

Well the rest of us stuffed our faces, Keone sat quietly and didn't move." 

"Aren't you hungry," Miss Veirce asked him," lunch was hours ago."

"He's embarrassed in front of Ensley," said Roman," still feels nauseous from Fee's illusion but doesn't want to take off the gloves."

" Am not!" Keone defended.

" Please don't be," I said," I hope that you can believe me when I say meeting all of you is putting in the missing puzzle pieces in my life." 

Without making eye contact with anyone, Keone took off his gloves and put his palms to the plate. His hands devoured the meal like a pack of wild animals. 

Calix had taken his mask off to eat, and in a brief moment faster than lightning, he sneezed. Everyone powers shut off like a school power outage. Complaints could be heard roaring from all over the table.

" Alright Fairborn you need to put that mask back on," said Miss Veirce. 

After a few more minutes of eating she cleared her throat. 

"Miss Caelia, since you are closets to Ensley's age, I want you to share a bedroom with her, as well as a bed."

Haisley dropped her fork onto her plate and I watched it clatter.

" I'm not sharing my room with her! There isn't enough room."

"Now that Miss Fayre is awake and well she can no longer stay in my room."

"She won't even be able to stay on the bed," Haisley protested," she'll float." 

"We will find a way to keep her restrained, end of discussion."

Haisley groaned.

A sudden boom came from outside, I nearly jumped out of my skin but no one else seemed to care.

"Hurry up and finish everyone," Miss Veirce called out.

It was loud enough to rattle the plates and cutlery. 

No sooner than when she finished, another one rang out, throwing a picture frame behind me. I ducked as it flew over to the other side of the room.

"What is that," I asked.

Calix cleared his throat before speaking," for the next few minutes we'll be in 1940." 

"No, it's not," I said. 

Calix stood up and opened the curtain, everything in the far distance was on fire.

I realized then what was happening.

"We need to get out of here," I said," They're bombing Switzerland."

Fee giggled," she doesn't know, she thinks we're all going to die.

"It's only a Changeover," said Keone," nothing to worry about." 

"This happens every single night?" I asked.

Miss Veirce nodded before swallowing her food," to keep humans from finding us, I've created a loop. During dinner, it starts from the first Divergents to ever exist, and until the end of this world. So no one can live in this who is human or a Vaquix. When the Changeover is done, it goes back to the current time until the next day."

Somehow I was anything but reassured.

"Can we go outside and watch," said Haisley after twenty minutes of sulking. 

"But no one here has finished their food," Miss Veirce said.

"Please," the other's course.

"Fine," Miss Veirce huffed and stood up from the table. She scooped Fee into her arms and led all of us outside. 

It was like a surround sound screen. The whole property was left as normal, but everything around it was just one bright blur and an inaudible sense of sound.  

Calix looked down at his watch and then backed up," In the next few minutes, we should be at the end." 

We stood there like scattered pieces on a chessboard. Billows of black smoke roared across the sky, teardrops burned in a hazy distance. The drone of unseen airplanes seemed to come from everywhere. Now and then came the muffled of another blast I could feel in my chest like a second heart. Followed by waves of the boiling heat. Bright tracer bullets marked the sky and in a split second, it all went back to normal. 

The people around me applauded as I stood there doing my utmost not to faint. It started to drizzle and Miss Veirce assured us all back inside like a herd of sheep. 

Later that evening, I went to sleep wearing the same dress I guess I had worn for the entire world's existence. I laid uncomfortably in Haisley's bed, she made out as much distance between us as possible. I had taken off my shoes and was using a blanket tucked under the mattress to keep me from floating. All I could think about that night was how much I missed my grandmother.

And Maria, what do they think happened to me? 

Waking up the next morning, face-planted onto the ceiling was something to get used too. I flipped over onto my back and used my feet to push me away until I could grab the bedpost. 

Haisley had left a hump of clothes laying on her bedroom floor that she considered "acceptable" for me to wear.

Clipping my led prisons onto my feet I made my way downstairs. With wite T-shirt and jeans, the dining room was stacked high with breakfast goods.

  Ruckus was coming from the parlour, I grabbed a small biscuit and walked through the open doors.

"Keep this hubbub down everyone!" Miss Veirce shouted as I walked through the opening. "Ensley you're awake, wonderful. Come sit." 

I was hustled over to a couch cramped with all the other kids.

"What's going on," I asked Calix.

"You'll see," he said.

"Who's a part of it?"

"You'll see." 

"What's it about?"

Calix lowered his mask and let out a slight squeak, just enough to make my body shiver. 

When all I had calmed Fee had stepped into the center of the parlor. Fee, wearing a pink ruffled dress and her hair in curls, it began.

"The show I'm going to be performing for you today requires illusions and mind manipulation. Anyone who feels uncomfortable with having no control over their brains, please exit the room now."

Suddenly everyone's eyes fell on me. I couldn't say I was confident with the whole thing. But I felt it would have been rude of me If I objected.

"The show is about to begin," said Fee, and the shad's faded from her face. 

I looked around for a reassurance glance from Calix, and that was when I realized I was alone. The world around me was like a painting. So realistic, but in a cartoon way. Then came Fee's voice.

"For my first illusions, It's none other than Miss Veirce herself."

A wolf with fur as dark as the night sky slowly prowled towards me. Licking its chops, it stared into my soul with its golden eyes. It didn't stop until it was nose to nose with me and growling.

  All of that faded in a glimpse and the sound of shattering rock swarmed around me. I found myself falling down a mountain until landing in a grass field. Rabbit's swarmed the field and when I turned around, the mountain was lifted into the sky and tossed like a soccer ball you would throw into your neighbor's yard. 

The world spun around me, forming itself into the woods where I was attacked by the Vaquix.

Walking alone, and afraid, I kept telling myself it wasn't real. At first, I thought what I walked into was a tree, looking up it turned out to be Calix. Without his mask, the opening of his mouth sent me into another world.

Waking up in the grass with snakes tying my libs to the ground, I did my best not to scream. They slivered away from my body and formed into another. The snakes had formed into Roman, and he stood hovering over me. I felt my breath be stolen from my chest. The ground turned to a hand and I felt myself falling. I looked over my shoulder as I plummeted and saw myself hurdling straight into a jaw. When I opened my eyes, all had stopped. I was floating, in the snowy sky. My shoes were nowhere near me. When I blinked, I was back in the parlor.