The Metropolis Series #3: Quinn and Cassandra

THE NEXT MORNING, a voice sounded off in the intercoms. My ears pounded, my head hurt, and the harsh morning sun blinded me.

It didn’t help that a high-pitched noise pierced through the halls, making me wince, and after those few seconds of agony, an announcement followed:

“To the students and staff of St. John’s,” it began. The speaker sounded like a nasally middle-aged woman. She was probably one of those administrative officers who rarely made an appearance to the students. “Following the strange events of last night, all students are advised to remain in their dorms until further notice. I repeat, all students are advised to remain in their dorms until further notice. Classes are suspended for the time being. Only faculty and staff will be allowed inside the main campus. If a student wishes to enter the campus to retrieve their belongings, they may do so up to eleven o’clock this morning. Loitering on the school grounds is prohibited. Further details will be posted around the dorm buildings. We hope for everyone’s cooperation in these trying times, so please be guided accordingly.”

The announcer repeated her message another time, allowing every word to sink in. It all seemed clear enough, but I found it funny how it was learning that this world wasn’t real was what led to class suspensions. People went through existential crises all the time. Even before learning about the Metropolis, I knew that doing well in school wasn’t enough to secure a bright future.

But I continued, anyway. Not that I had an option.

I rolled to my side to find Rachael seated on her desk, drying her hair by the fan. Her eyes were still red and puffy from crying, but it amazed me how she was able to care for herself despite receiving devastating news.

“Oh, hey,” she said as she saw me. “Heard the announcement?”

I sat up on the bed. “Yeah.”

“They didn’t even mention the corrupted people surrounding the gates. So they expect us all to hide hoping nobody would notice?”

“Well, you saw how a lot of people broke down last night. They wouldn’t want another outburst in their hands.”

“I suppose.” Rachael sighed, staring at the floor. “This morning, I’ve been thinking of ways to stop the monster, to end this madness once and for all. But how do you stop something so powerful?”

“I don’t know,” I said somberly.

But I was lying. I did know a way, but with the monsters blocking all of St. John’s exits, there was no way to safely reach the Archives.

Philip did insist on finding another way to defeat Cassandra, but I didn’t think he’d be able to think of something overnight. Despite that, I still thought that it was worth going to him for help.

“Maybe we should meet Philip,” I suggested. “He told me that he would think of a way, as well. Maybe we can figure something out together. And since people from the Spanish House are here, some of them might be able to give us some insight.”

Rachael leaned back against her seat. “Right, we saw some Spanish House members last night, didn’t we? God, it’s been long since I last talked to them. And Viv… I wonder how she’s doing…”

I wondered if Viv was at St. John’s, protecting the city her brother swore to save. Or was she at the Spanish House grieving for him? She was so much younger than I was; I couldn’t fathom going through so much pain at her age.

Sadness began to fill the room, not that things hadn’t been desolate already. But in the midst of it all, someone knocked.

“Rachael? Vasquez? It’s Bree.”

“Hang on,” Rachael called.

She got up from her seat only to freeze by the door. I leaned forward to see what was up, and there I found two girls behind Bree.

“Hey, Rache,” Bree said, motioning toward the girls. “These girls here would like to see you. I believe you know each other.”

Rachael didn’t respond. Instead, she knelt and hugged one of the girls in front of her. The girl held her tightly as the both of them began to cry.

“Viv,” Rachael gasped. “Oh my God, how are you?”

Viv wiped her tears. “Not so great,” she said. “You?”

“Not so great, either. Oh, Viv, I’m so sorry…”

Rachael gave Viv one last squeeze before standing to greet the other girl. “Tamara, hey. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Tamara smiled at her. “Hey, Rachael. Yeah, it has.”

Both girls hugged as well. As they did, I noticed that the shark hat Tamara always wore had lost an eye and had gathered some dirt and rips. Its brim was also fraying in certain areas.

“I wish we didn’t have to meet again like this,” Tamara said. “But I’ve been talking with Bree here about the walls. May we come in?”

“Walls?” Rachael asked. “And sure.”

Tamara and Viv stepped into the room as Bree followed behind them. When they turned to notice me, shock crossed their faces.

“Quinn?” Tamara said. “Oh my God, is that you?”

I waved at them. “Hello. Long time no see.”

Seeing Tamara and Viv again gave me a better perspective of what had changed in the last two months. I had my long, thick hair cut short in an attempt to break my association with Cassandra, but in a twisted turn of events, I appeared weaker as my evil twin leeched on to my existence.

“So it’s true?” Viv swallowed. “Cassandra wants to take your place?”

Bree raised a brow. “C—Cassandra? Is that the monster’s name?”

Tamara nodded. “Apparently so.”

“Sounds like a character from a Greek tragedy.”

“Well, in Greek myths,” Viv began, “Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. She had the gift of—”

“Wait,” I raised my hand. As interesting as Greek myths were, Cassandra’s namesake was the least of my concerns. “How did you guys know of my condition?”

“I caught them up with the basics,” Bree explained.

Rachael closed the door. “How did you guys even meet?”

“I thought I’d get in touch with the student council president of St. John’s regarding our current situation,” Tamara began, “so I asked around. I’d initially wanted to talk to the higher-ups of this school, but I hear they can be a little hard to reach.”

“Hope you didn’t scare anyone off,” I added.

“I noticed that the students are a bit more stable. The teachers and staff, however, are a little bit on the shaky side.”

“Please, everyone,” Rachael said. “Have a seat.”

Everyone sat on the edge of the bed.

“So, what is this about the walls?” she asked Tamara as she sat on her desk chair. “And what walls are you even referring to?”

“Ah,” Tamara swallowed. “You see, Viv and I were patrolling the walls of St. John’s earlier this morning. The monsters are getting violent; they’re shaking the gates and trying to force themselves into the campus grounds. We were able to get an aerial view, and—”

“Wait,” Bree cut her off. “These monsters are different from Cassandra, right?”

“That’s right. The monsters outside are corrupted Metropolitans. Cassandra, on the other hand, is like a goddess to them. She has them under her control, and no one can tell what her next move is. Anyway, we were able to get an aerial view of St. John’s—”

“I still can’t believe they can turn into doves. Sounds like some cool shit right there. Can I do that, too?”

Tamara glared at Bree and cleared her throat. “I don’t know about that, but what I’m trying to say is that the monsters are spanning at about a three-mile radius all around the school.”

Bree’s face turned pale. “Th—three miles?”

“N—no way,” Rachael gasped.

“Yeah.” Tamara nodded grimly. “And they’re all pushing against the walls and gates. That was the report from about an hour ago, and there’s no telling how much bigger the radius has gotten. There’s also the concern of St. John’s walls holding up. Cracks are forming and the gates are slowly coming out of their hinges!”

“At least we know this school isn’t made out of substandard materials,” Bree muttered. “We would have all been dead hours ago.”

“I’m just glad that the monsters aren’t smart enough to stand on top of each other to climb over the walls,” Viv said.

Tamara rubbed her temples. “My God, Viv. Don’t make me imagine things. Anyway, we don’t know how much time we have left before the monsters break into St. John’s. But what are they after?”

I couldn’t speak during the conversation. Cassandra was already taking away my existence. Now, not only were the monsters blocking the exits, but they also wanted to infiltrate St. John’s.

“It’s obvious that they’re after me,” I said softly. “Either that or they’re after Rachael.”

Tamara turned to Rachael. “Rachael? What would the monsters want with Rachael?”

“Because I’m the only person who can protect Quinn from this… Cassandra,” Rachael said, choking on Cassandra’s name.

“Wait, what do you mean by that?” Viv asked.

“Cassandra tried to trap me in a dream last night,” I began. “I saw how the Metropolis was before she took over it: all gray and boring with heavy traffic and businessmen crossing the streets. At first, I thought things had returned to normal, but I was wrong. Cassandra was trying to trick me. She’d tried it before, but I didn’t know what her intentions were back then. Now that I know that she’s trying to take my existence for herself, I am certain that the dream was Cassandra’s doing. Everyone said that I was shaking and saying weird things to myself, and despite everyone’s efforts to wake me up, only Rachael was able to do so. I moved into Rachael’s dorm immediately after, and I haven’t had any of her dreams since.”

Tamara’s brows raised in shock. “And Cassandra knows of this?”

“Well, she’s a god now, isn’t she?” Bree said. “Isn’t she the reason why the Metropolis is all strange right now?”

“Ugh, true. But goodness, can she stop being so powerful?”

I held out my hands. “Okay, let’s not think about Cassandra first.”

I realized that there was a lot to unpack about my evil twin: the fact that she was stealing my existence for my powers, and that it was Julio and Rachael who had brought her back. I didn’t have the time and energy to explain everything.

“There are monsters who want to break into St. John’s,” I insisted. “And once they enter the school, it’ll be disastrous. We have to move.”

“But what are we going to do?” Tamara asked.

“Lethe water works against corruption. A couple of drops can turn them back to normal. Is it possible to get a supply of that?”

“We can try. There are some of us stationed outside of St. John’s. Even then, there are still too many monsters out there. The River Lethe is quite far from the Metropolis, so transferring enough water for all those monsters will take forever.”

I let out a sigh. I didn’t need any more proof that our situation was hopeless. “Yeah. You’re right.”

I was running out of options. I needed to talk to Philip again. We had to think of a plan and fast.

“Tamara, Viv,” I said. “Just do what you guys do and continue monitoring the walls.”

Tamara nodded. “Got it. We’ll be by the school grounds if you need us. Just send us a plane. Come on, Viv.”

She and Viv then left the room.

“And Bree, Rachael,” I continued, “perhaps you guys can come with me to the lobby of the boys’ dorms. Let’s get Philip and help each other think of a plan.”

“Can Harumi come with us?” Bree asked.

“Sure. You can get Harumi. Rachael and I can go ahead.”

“Right. See you there.”

As Bree went out to fetch Harumi, Rachael turned toward me.

“So, you have something in mind?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No, but I’m hoping we do once we get there.”