Chapter Two

FIRST RULE OF WAR: MAKE SURE THE VICTORY IS WORTH THE TROUBLE YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH WHEN YOU DECLARE VENGEANCE. -ERICA

      Sophie's brown eyes widen and she stared in the corner. I immediately turned to look at what had her so shaken. It didn't see a thing."There's Emma," she mumbled astonished. "Can't you see her?" I tried staring harder at the corner and I made out a pale figure sitting in the corner. I could see her face perfectly clear. Seeing this spirit made a flood of memories quickly poor in my brain and then leak out the other side.
      "The same Emma who use to have tsaa parties with us when we were little?" I questioned. "The same Emma who would stay up all night chatting about herself and other things that we didn't understand at the time?" Sophie nodded. The surprise of seeing Emma wore off, now she was just excited about how she was able to see her.
      "And the same Emma who use to have a sister named Erica," sinabi Sophie. "Whatever happened to her?" The outline of Emma began to flicker as she tried to talk to us. The depressed look on her face told us that she was unable to talk.
      "Sophie, Zoe, come down for dinner," called our dad. Sophie gave Emma an apologetic glance and we rushed off before dad gets suspicious.
      We came down at the exact moment dad was taking a segundo bite of his hotdog with no condiments. Sophie and I sat on opposites sides of each other while dad and Carrie sat at the head of the table.
      It was quiet at first. No one really had anything to talk about except for Carrie who couldn't help but talk. "So are you guys happy we moved?" She asked. I shared a glance with Sophie and it was obvious what the answer was. "Well, don't worry. I am sure you will get use to it soon enough."
      "Moving on," our dad interjected. "We have finally come up with a wedding date. We both decided that it will be fantastic if we got married August 4."
      Sophie's mouth dropped along with mine. They had the nerve to get married the same araw mom and dad got married. "Did Carrie talk you into this? Do you have to get married on mom's wedding day?"
      Dad shook his head. "No, no, she didn't talk me into this. She actually tried to talk me out of it."
      "I did not want him to be married on the same araw he was married to your mom but he insisted," sinabi Carrie. I didn't believe her and neither did Sophie.

Sophie and I planned to explore the house and the rest of the lot that came with it tomorrow. There was a big forest behind our house and we wanted to go and see what we could find. Right now, I really needed to sleep. I was so tired that I almost fell down the stairs when I was going to my room.
      That night I had my first nightmare. It was in a graveyard (how all dreams start). I was with my mga kaibigan Emma and Erica. Sadly, I was alone. Sophie laid dead right beside me and I wasn't even upset. Her expression was peaceful and serene. Erica looked up at me. "This is her future. This is how it will all end."
      "You can either help me now or leave her body to rot." Emma glanced sadly at Sophie's lifeless body. "She would have made a beautiful model." She made a tsk-ing sound and shook her head. Her features were a lot madami clear. They both had had pale blonde hair and pale green eyes. They were pretty.
      "How do I stop it?" I asked calmly. Did it even dawn on my dream self that my twin sister was dead? "Can it be stopped?"
      "Yes, it can," answered Emma.
      "Do you even want that? Once you hear the plan there is no guarantee that you won't try to kill her yourself." Erica stared hard at me. She, unlike her sister, had short blonde hair and she was no as pale. "This plan will save us all but there is no guarantee that you would want Sophie to be here when it is over."
      "I would do anything to save my sister," I nagkomento determined. Then I woke up.

"Bye dad!" shouted Sophie from the door.
      "Where is she going?" I asked dad.
      "I think she sinabi that she was going to a party," dad replied. "Carrie had introduced her to a girl and the girl invited her to a party."
      "Where was I?" I interrogated.
      "Sleeping," he replied.
      Sophie had completely forgotten about our adventure this morning. I was determined to have a better time without Sophie then I could possibly have with her. What puzzled me was why did Carrie introduce Sophie to the girl and not me? I shrugged it off.
      I slipped into my short shorts, a light green tank top, and some combat boots. I pulled my long black hair into a high ponytail. Trotting outside and into the forest of nature, I was happy to be on my own. If Sophie was here, she would already be complaining about the lack of light, the creepy bugs crawling and flying around, and the hot air ruining her hair. I was happy to not have Sophie around. I made everything so much madami peaceful. Ever since me and Sophie were born, she was always the complainer.
      'Hello, again,' whispered Emma. She was right along side of me. Being near her made everything around her extremely cold. 'Are you willing to help me?'
      "I don't even know what you are talking about," I replied. Emma was blurry again. She was not as clear as she was in my dream.
      'You must help me save my sister from The One.'
      "Who the hell is The One?" I asked.
      'A notorious king that is loathed sa pamamagitan ng everyone in The Spirit Realm. He kidnapped my sister, Erica and he hid her somewhere in the depths of his kingdom. No spirit is allowed to go anywhere near his kingdom but you are not a spirit. You are 100% human.'
      "What if I don't want to do it?"
      'Don't make me angry.' She glared harshly at me. 'You may have been my friend but I need you now and I won't take no for an answer. Think about, ask Sophie, and I will be back for your answer later.' Her image flickered and then dissolved into little raindrops. Then there was raindrops everywhere; the sky became filled with raindrops. It was soon followed sa pamamagitan ng thunder, so I left my adventure behind.