Preternatural (Worlds & Secrets) by Lloyd Harry-Davis

away.
    “Couldn’t you just use the telephone?” Jade yelled back, but sighed hopelessly as mum continued to march on into the distance.
    “In a way, she’s saying we can do anything you know,” I said blithely.
    “ Funny!” Jaden responded sarcastically, showing no emotions. Jade turned the keys twice and flung the door open. Jaden entered after I left Jade to lock the door, which she did so savagely with two forceful jolts of her wrist behind us. Jaden and Jade rushed upstairs, stomping on the staircase as they did.
    I stopped myself from following them and turned to face the wide mirror hanging on the wall. I advanced towards it and pulled the skin from underneath my eyes lower. An almost unnoticeable, thin ring of red was wrapped around my hazel iris. I exhaled deeply and blinked. This day was not being good to me – but hey, who knew; maybe I had died in my sleep and this was just some awkward illusion of stuff that should have happened in my life. Ergh, see? I’m so distraught I can’t even seem to be making coherent sense. At that point, all I wanted was to lose myself in the arms of Morpheus and, dare I say it, have some sanity back in the world. I might’ve just started hating jokes now. I sprinted upstairs and invited myself into Jaden’s room.
    “ You could knock !”
    “ Erm, ye– no. First sunburn without sun and now this ,” I snapped, scratching the back of my frizzy hair. He shook his head at me.
    “ What are you talking about?” Jaden pondered. I merely stood in front of him and showed him my eye.
    “ Is that…red? What, did you put on colour contacts?” he continued.
    “ No , I just noticed it downstairs in the mirror.” Jaden yawned. I twitched for a split second and touched the back of my neck. I quickly flinched with a sharp sting.
    “ Aww, no!”
    “ What? What’s wrong?”
    “ The heat, it’s back again. I feel like I’m in an oven!” I said uncomfortably. I couldn’t stay still and glistening balls of sweat slid down my porcelain white forehead. I quickly took off my blazer and lifted up my shirt to see my back in front of Jaden’s mirror. Jaden winced and I exhaled out of exasperation.
    “ Come on, the sunburn thing again ?!” I exclaimed. Jaden stifled another yawn.
    “ Aden, buddy, I’m really sorry about your situation, but I’m really tired. So if you’ll excuse me – wait, what am I saying this is my room – Aden, get out! I’m going to sleep!” Jaden commanded.
    “ Wha –” My sentence was instantly cut short as the door slammed in my face. I walked to Jade’s room. I knocked gently and let myself in, but she was fast asleep as well. I sighed hopelessly. Was nobody active in this household? I twitched and almost fell to the floor as the heat began to sieve into my pores. The problem wasn’t that it was painful – it was just that I felt hot. Too hot. Unbearably sweltering. Thus preventing me from reasonable judgement and proper movement. Not that my judgement had ever been fair anyway, but my hand-eye coordination had gone off. Red was green and blue was yellow, colours combined and I felt like my mind was crashing.
    I trudged to the bathroom and ran a bath with only cold water. As soon as the tub was full , I impatiently turned off the tap and slowly entered the tub with my clothes on. The heat was distracting and it made it very hard for me to concentrate – but I then found tranquillity in the water. I sighed and breathed out profoundly, falling into slumber in the cold, relaxing and soothing liquid.
     
     
    It was more realistic than ever before. I seemed to be in a corridor with two long aisles on both sides – each with hanging light bulbs that seemed to work perfectly. I came to a stop at a big wooden arch door. I opened it only to reveal a very large room, which I casually walked into. But I wasn’t exactly myself. I looked at my hands and noticed they weren’t mine. I must’ve been someone else because my skin complexion was darker.