The Metropolis Series #3: Quinn and Cassandra

THINGS COULDN’T POSSIBLY get worse at that point, but knowing Cassandra, she was probably just getting started. For the longest time, St. John’s was the only place where I felt normal, and she had just taken that away, too.

At the pace she was going, I needed to act more quickly, but it was hard to think of a plan with everyone around me screaming.

Meanwhile, Philip took a while to process Rachael’s words. He stared at her with his eyes wide and his jaw unhinged. Perhaps there were many ways he wanted to react, but all he could say was:

“Oh…”

“Well, you seem calm,” Rachael said. “What do you know about the Metropolis.”

“Everything, actually,” Philip replied.

“Really? Since when?”

“It’s a long story. But for now, we have to calm everyone down and make them understand what happened.”

Philip continued stroking Bree’s back. There seemed to be no end to her tears.

“But how do we do that?” I asked Philip.

Rachael stroked her chin. “Gathering everyone for an assembly would be impossible. Oh! We can use the intercoms. Let’s go!”

Philip patted Bree’s shoulder. “We’ll be right back,” he assured her.

We then followed Rachael to the intercoms. The main control panel was in a small room next to the multipurpose hall where a computer and sound mixer sat. It was fairly near the principal’s office, so it was easily accessible to the school administration in case they needed to make an important announcement. On that day, however, nothing was more important than telling everyone at St. John’s the truth about their existence.

I never thought that a moment like that would come.

I watched as Rachael and Philip worked to set up the sound system. They connected wires and flicked switches, ignoring the frenzy in the halls. Rachael found a handheld microphone in a desk drawer, plugged it in, and brought it up to her lips.

“Hello, hello,” she said. “Is this thing on?”

The nearest speaker was by the entrance of the main campus, which could be seen through the door’s glass. I listened closely, waiting for Rachael’s voice to shoot from the speaker.

“Hello, hello…”

“It’s working,” I told her.

Rachael cleared her throat and looked toward the hallway.

“Everyone, please calm down,” she urged. “If you can hear me, please stop for a sec and listen. Please listen…”

She repeated those words until the screaming faded. Philip and I saw a few students looking up at the speakers, some tapping the people near them so that they would listen.

“Okay,” Rachael sighed. “I’ll assume you’re all listening now. This is Rachael Chavez of Class 5. You must all be wondering what happened. You’re all suddenly aware of the world around you, but at the same time, you feel lost. Trust me, some time ago, I was in the same position, so I know what you’re all feeling.

“Let me start by being real with all of you. This world that we’re in… isn’t real. I repeat. The world that we’re in isn’t real. You all like fiction, don’t you? Or do you find yourselves forced by your teachers to read novels you don’t care about? Either way, that’s what this world is. Fiction. Everything you do is fiction. Everything you see is fiction. We are characters made by an Author.”

Rachael paused to listen to the reactions of those in the halls. People whispered to each other, passing confused looks.

“Yup,” Rachael said. “Sucks to have your bubble bursting like that, doesn’t it? But it doesn’t end there. Have you guys ever heard of the saying kill your darlings? The Author isn’t the nicest person out there. He’s so indecisive that he creates characters just to scrap them away. And that, my friends, is what happened to us today. We’ve been forgotten by the Author. In the eyes of other Metropolitans, we no longer exist.”

That was when another uproar began to creep in. The voices in the halls got louder, and people were on the brink of a crisis.

Rachael closed her eyes. “I know. I know. But it’s a reality we need to face. I’m telling you all this because I want everyone to be prepared. The city hasn’t been the same for days, and it may not be for a long time…”

Philip cleared his throat. “Hey, Rachael,” he said, tapping her shoulder. “May I say something?”

Rachael looked confused at first, but she handed Philip the microphone. “Sure, go ahead.”

Before he spoke, Philip turned in my direction. “I’m going to tell them everything,” he said softly.

He didn’t need to specify, but I knew what he was talking about.

He sounded like he was asking me for permission to tell St. John’s what we discussed with Mr. Simon. I hesitated at first. It didn’t immediately occur to me that everyone on campus was not a Metropolitan anymore.

They were the new Forgotten Ones.

Slowly, I nodded. They had the right to know the truth, even if it would scare them.

“Hello,” Philip said. “This is Philip Acosta of Class 5. You may freak out hearing what I’m about to say, but it’s important, and it’s just as hard for me to tell you. Someone else has taken over the Author’s work, and that’s why the city’s been different lately. I have a feeling that it was this very entity who wiped us out, not the Author. Now, before you all panic, I’m going to tell you how we can all stay safe during this uncertainty. Rachael, can you help me with this one?”

Like the students and teachers of St. John’s, Rachael looked just as surprised by Philip’s revelations, so she staggered to her feet when she stood next to him.

“Oh, okay, sure,” she stammered.

The two began to talk about everything they knew about the Metropolis. Rachael discussed paper airplanes (that meant phones wouldn’t work for them anymore, making everyone groan), doves, and monsters, while Philip shared how to remain calm and how to comfort others in case the situation worsened.

“Hang tight, everyone,” Philip said. “We’re finding out how to get the Metropolis back to normal, but in the meantime, please look after each other.”

“If you have any questions, just feel free to ask us,” Rachael added.

“But please, don’t crowd us.”

“Yes. We’d appreciate that.”

Finally, Rachael and Philip went off the air. They both let out a sigh and sat on the floor, leaning their backs against the wall.

I sat next to Rachael and thought about the last few minutes. It was probably one of the most remarkable things I’d seen in the past few days: two former Metropolitans helping their schoolmates and teachers cope with Cassandra’s atrocities. It sparked a sense of hope in me that warmed me up, and if I wasn’t so sick, I would have reacted with much more vigor.

“Wow, guys,” I said. “That was amazing…”

Philip smiled. “Thanks, Quinn. I tried my best.”

“Dude,” Rachael interjected. “I didn’t know you knew so much about the Metropolis. How long have you known?”

Philip looked warily around the room before responding. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Sure.”

“I’m actually an Archivist.”

Rachael narrowed her eyes. “Archivist… it’s the first time I heard that word.”

“That’s because it’s part of our job to remain hidden,” Philip explained. “We compile and store the Author’s work.”

“Wow, and you’ve been doing this the whole time?”

“Yup. It explains why I disappear sometimes.”

“I see. So that’s why you weren’t at the Christmas party?”

“Yeah.”

“Whoa. Who would have thought, huh? You still owe me, though.”

Philip sighed. “Okay, okay…”

The three of us laughed softly.

“Hey,” Philip then said to Rachael. “You’ve done well yourself. I can’t believe you were once a Forgotten One.”

“And I can’t believe I still have it in me,” Rachael replied. “I never thought I’d be able to remember… everything…”

Her voice trailed off. She hung her head low and let out a sigh.

“When I was a Forgotten One,” she began, “I was in love with someone. Memories of him have been surfacing in my dreams. Philip, he was the one calling for me at that river.”

“Whoa,” Philip said. “Are you sure?”

Rachael nodded slowly. “I’m sure. Now that I’m no longer a part of the Metropolis, I remember who he is, how our relationship was, and how I’d left him. All alone…”

Hearing that from Rachael made my heart sink. Why did this all have to happen after Julio was gone? Why couldn’t they at least get the chance to meet again, to make amends, to repair bridges? I had come to realize another thing Cassandra had taken away, and it made my blood boil.

“Julio,” I said softly. “His name was Julio…”

Rachael looked at me, her eyes wide. “H—How did you know?”

“I… I knew—I know him…”

“Wait,” Philip said. “Isn’t that the name of…”

“You know him, too?” Rachael asked him. “Where is he? C—Can I see him…?”

Philip and I exchanged glances. We didn’t need the words to understand each other, but our grave expressions worried Rachael.

“Guys…” she said.

“Rachael,” Philip began. “He’s—”

“He’s gone, Rachael,” I supplied.

And for the first time since arriving at St. John’s, I heard silence. It hung in the air and weighed down on our shoulders.

“What?” she implored. “No, no…”

She covered her mouth with her hands. She shivered as her eyes glistened with tears.

“I’m sorry, Rachael,” I whispered.

“What happened to him?” she then asked me. “H—How did he—”

“He was killed…”

“Killed?” she gasped. “By… who?”

I wanted her to stop. I didn’t have the strength to answer any more of her questions. But she deserved to know what happened.

“The Girl Beyond Bounds…” I said softly.

At first, Rachael didn’t believe me.

“The Girl Beyond Bounds…?” she asked. “But… But I got rid of her. That was why I jumped into that river, I—I saved him…”

And that was when she lost it. She cried for all sorts of things that night: her futile sacrifice, the boy she had lost…

There were no other words to say but sorry, but doing so felt empty. It didn’t stop Cassandra. It didn’t bring Julio back.

It did nothing.

As Philip brought Rachael in his arms, tears fell from my eyes. I apologized before leaving the room, ignoring the confused students and teachers in the halls. I burst into the school grounds, letting the cold evening breeze sting, and hid behind the basketball court.

And that was where I grieved.

I thought I knew what silence was. It filled the gaps between awkward conversations. It was the most broken rule in the classrooms of St. John’s, and finally, it was the sound that soothed my mind when my thoughts overwhelmed me. But silence became a never-ending nightmare I couldn’t wake myself up from. I thought that my sobs would break it, but the loud cries never came. My eyes simply flooded with tears, blurring the city lights on the horizon.

I tried to find hope in the stars, but I couldn’t see them, so I glared at the lamp posts instead. The beams of light were scattered and jagged; they were like warning signs instead of answers. I covered my face so I wouldn’t have to stare at their violent radiance.

I must have sat there for a long time. Cars passed, pedestrians crossed, and the world moved on. Hell had broken loose in the last few days, and perhaps it was ironic that it was Curtis who had found me that night. He had become the last person I wanted to talk to. He’d proven time and time again that he couldn’t handle the things I was going through, so when I heard his footsteps approaching me, I didn’t look up. I wanted to be left alone, but I felt him sit next to me on the ground.

“Hey, Quinn,” I heard him say. “You all right?”

He tried his best to sound reassuring, but his voice was shaky. Given his track record, I expected him to be just like the other kids who cried and panicked in the hallways. With that being said, I felt iffy with the idea of him trying to comfort me.

I simply shook my head in response. I should have known that he wouldn’t leave me alone after that. I felt his frail hand on my shoulder and nudged it away.

“Please, Curtis,” I said, looking up. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Even in the dark, I had a good look at his face. His hair was a mess, his eyes were bloodshot, and his smile was barely there.

“I see.” Curtis withdrew his hand. “I—I get it. Well, not really. I still couldn’t believe what Philip and Rachael said.” He let out a nervous laugh. “Who would have thought that—that all this time, we aren’t—”

Real. I knew that was the word he wanted to say.

He shook his head. “N—Never mind,” he faltered. “I don’t want to think about it anymore. This is fine. This is all fine…”

I wanted to argue with Curtis and tell him that things weren’t fine, but I wasn’t able to do so when I heard someone approach me. They emerged from one of the dark corners of the basketball court, and as they moved slowly toward us, the dim lights from the lampposts shone on their face.

As much as I wanted to say I had the guts to tell Harumi how much she’d hurt me, to go over the details of the pain and heartbreak I felt, I couldn’t. The moment I saw her standing there, I froze. All of the bitter feelings seemed to drain out of me only to come back a million times stronger, but instead of lashing out, I fled.

As I stormed down the basketball court, I knew that she was calling me. I would try to block it out, but her voice would find its way to my ears, forcing me to listen to her pleas.

“Quinn, wait,” I heard her say. “Please listen to me. Quinn…”

That was when I completely burst.

“What more is there to say?” I shrieked. “That you tricked me? That you lied to me? I already know that. Your friend told me.”

“Okay.” Curtis raised his hands. “I guess I’ll leave you guys alone…”

As he awkwardly walked back to the main campus, Harumi stepped forward.

“I know,” she said. “I know it was wrong, but please, please listen…”

I would have accepted the situation more if she had acted more like Cassandra. The penitent look on her face threw me off.

“Why did you do it?” I then asked. As hard as it was to speak to her, perhaps an explanation would help me decide how to act.

“She promised me something…” Harumi said. “When I came here, I didn’t know who I was, but I knew of the Metropolis. I knew that this world wasn’t real, but Cassandra didn’t tell me much. All she said was that she was closely linked to the Author and that she could return my memories if I did whatever she said…”

I shook my head. It shouldn’t have surprised me that she initially returned to the Metropolis without her memories, and even though I was still mad at her, it made me sick knowing that Cassandra had taken advantage of her.

“And now what?” I questioned. “I assume you got your memories back, and you made a fool out of everyone. But at what cost? That monster’s taken over the Metropolis, and it would only be a matter of time before—”

“Quinn,” Harumi pressed. “That’s why I came to talk to you. I let Cassandra manipulate me, and I hate how she blinded me from the times we spent. Quinn, I remember… what she did… at the river…”

Just as she said that, I envisioned Cassandra pushing Harumi into the Lethe. I remembered how hopeless and heartbroken I was, but those emotions were from a third-person perspective. I couldn’t imagine what Harumi had felt. Her face was pale, and her eyes stared aimlessly at the ground. I didn’t think anyone could fake those trembling hands.

She remembered dying…

“Look, Harumi,” I said. “I hate what she did to you. And I’m sorry. I know we’re both victims of Cassandra in our own ways, but that doesn’t make me—”

Excuse what you did? Forgive your actions? I wasn’t sure which of those I wanted to say, but it didn’t matter. Harumi stepped forward before I could finish.

“And that’s why I want to make it up to you,” she insisted. “I—”

She looked around warily. Despite the distant shadows of the other students on the school grounds, we were pretty much alone.

“I know what Cassandra’s next move is,” she said in a low voice.

I swallowed. I felt all sorts of things that night. I was emotionally and physically exhausted, and apprehension decided to add itself to the mix. I knew that Harumi could be offering me vital information, but after what she’d done, I doubted her sincerity. What if she was distracting me? What if she planned to lead me the wrong way?

I narrowed my eyes. “What is she planning, then?”

Harumi whispered in my ear. “She wants to destroy the Archives.”

I gasped. “What?”

“What she’s doing to the Metropolis is scary, yes, but she’s just tracing over it and adding little details of her own—like the sick, twisted artist she is. She can’t create a world from scratch yet, and that’s what she’s working on. Once she harnesses enough power, she’ll get rid of the old Metropolis by burning all records of it. So not only will everyone be forgotten, but they’ll also be obliterated!”

I felt the life drain out of me. Would Harumi lie about something like that? Even then, I didn’t want to take my chances.

Cassandra was on her way to erasing everything. For good.

“How much time do you think we have left?” I asked.

She looked at me with concern. “Well, she’s using your powers, isn’t she? How are you feeling?”

For a while, I was surprised that she knew about that, but then, I reminded myself that she worked for Cassandra.

So of course, she knew.

“Terrible,” I said. “Like I’m about to die.”

“Oh God…” Harumi covered her mouth with her hands. “At the rate Cassandra’s going, I’m guessing that we only have a day left…”

Having an actual deadline had its pros and cons. I knew how much time I had left to work with—however, it wasn’t a lot. I wanted to vomit, to spoil the ground that Cassandra was trying to claim for herself, but I managed to hold it in. I wobbled, but Harumi grabbed me by the shoulders before I could lose my balance.

“I made a mistake,” Harumi began. “All this time, I thought that you were the one trying to replace Cassandra in this world, but it’s the other way around. I need to make this up to you, to everyone. You believe me, right?”

I wished she hadn’t asked, because I didn’t want to give her a concrete answer.

“Tell me what we need to do,” I decided to say instead.

Harumi nodded. “We need to find Philip. We’ve got to warn the Archives…”