DUSK - Esther Machethe (best book club books txt) 📗

that Alec and Angeline have been dating. I didn’t believe it until I saw them snogging at the school gate. I am sorry I didn’t say it earlier.” He trailed off. I was dumbstruck. He knew all along but he never said a word.

“Ashton! You could have saved me all this drama from the start if you just told me.” I said, exasperated. He threw me a sarcastic look.

“Seriously? You were so into the guy that you wouldn’t believe me. Plus I’ll admit that my constant reminder of my dislike for the guys might have contributed a lot to your lack of trust when it came to Alec” he said with a sheepish look. He was right. I would never have believed it unless I saw it with my bare eyes, I never thought that he would do this to me but I guess I had put him on a very high pedestal. I sighed, trying to accept the fact.

“You are right, I’m sorry about that.” I tried to sound positive; think positive thoughts but it never really worked well. All I could think of was ways to remember what happened on Saturday, my life depended on it.

“Hey, are you coming, the bell just rang,” Ash brought me out of my thinking. I nodded and quickly fell into step with him, thinking of ways to get my memory back.

The classes went by in a haze and before I knew it, I was heading towards my final class of the day; literature. I regretted it the moment I stepped in and all curious eyes snapped up to my direction. The first problem, I always sat next to Alec, who was already seated at his usual spot. I looked around for any empty seat but to my luck, there was none.

I lowered my gaze and walked towards the empty seat and slowly sank into my chair. The tension in that room was visible like a thick fog. Alec didn’t look my way and I tried to focus on the students who seemed oblivious to everything. I don’t think I have ever been happier to see the teacher walk in than I was then.

“Today I want us to read a script from this book I found somewhere then we’ll discuss it together but before that, Alec, you are needed in the Principal’s office.” He said in a cheery voice. A number of people groaned, some shot Alec inquisitive looks but I was relieved. He quickly walked out before the teacher droned on.

“Settle down people, it’s a short script, just a page long. However, we have to share since they are few, so your partner will be the person sitting next to you. No switching seats.” He said in a reprimanding tone.

Alec returned after a short while which, to me was too short, scowling, and a special glare towards me. What the hell did I do to this guy??

“Can I switch my seat, I can’t stand talking to some people, let alone discussing with them,” Alec complained in an angry tone.

The teacher sighed like he was expecting it.

“Sorry son but you have to bear it, and this will count in your finals unless you want to fail, I suggest you give it your best shot.” He said in a dismissive tone.

I took the script from him and looked at it, a smile forming on my face,

“Read it, I already know the book and the chapter. I can also write the report if you don’t want to.” I shrugged, not wanting the hurt to sip from my voice.

I didn’t think it was possible but he scowled even more, “I can do it too you know, am not that dumb.” He said though clenched teeth.

Then a smug smile fell on his lips, “Unless you want Dusk to do it on our behalf, or does she only kick ass?” I looked at him, ready to ask who Dusk is when pictures started flooding my head. They were too much making my head and body hurt. I felt like I was burning and let out a whimper before everything went dark.

CHAPTER FOUR

I could hear the voices in my head. They sounded like loud whispers. I tried to hear what they were saying but the only thing I could make out was that they were arguing. The voices came closer then started to drift further away until they disappeared.

A bright light appeared out of nowhere and it grew big until I found myself opening my eyes. I was at home, in my parents’ room. I sat up, trying to remember how I ended up here. I was almost giving up when everything came crashing back; the break-up with Alec, confrontation with Angeline and the final piece where Alec talked about Dusk and I remembered things before I passed out. I guessed that my parent came for me. I was about to go downstairs when I remembered something; Dusk.

I finally remembered about Saturday and I killed two guys! Oh, My Goodness!! I killed two people, what if they had families or even wives and children, wait, will I go to prison and how come people didn’t notice they were missing? I was so busy asking myself questions that I couldn’t answer that I didn’t even notice mom walking in.

“Honey, are you alright? How are you feeling?” she asked as she sat next to me on the bed. That sight was very familiar.

“I killed two people on Saturday, did you know that?” I tried to sound casual but I failed. She was quiet for some time confirming my already blooming suspicion.

“What’s going on mom, who is Dusk?” She looked shocked at the mention of Dusk before she faced the door, a sign of her silence.

“Your father will explain everything when he gets home from work.” She finally responded in a firm tone, leaving no room for discussion, she turned to me, an apologetic look on her face before straightening herself and walking out, leaving me to my thoughts.

I walked down the stairs to look for something to eat when I found mom arguing with dad and I bet it was something serious. Dad was about to say something when I caught his eye and he looked panicked. Mom turned and when she saw me she opened her mouth to say something then shut it. They shared a look before mom turned to me. Something was up.

“Would you like something to eat? It’s going to be a long talk,” she said. Dad shot her a look but she shrugged it off like it was nothing.

“She needs to know the truth Elroy, better now than never.” She added before walking off into the kitchen.

Dad walked to the living room where he sat on his favorite chair, motioning for me to take the one opposite him. Mom returned a few minutes later and placed a bowl of pasta which I assume was made while I was still sleeping. She sat next to dad who looked a bit uncomfortable.

“I’ll just start from the beginning, it’s easier that way.” He paused, waiting for my approval. I nodded, anxious to know what this was all about. Dad lowered his head, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before he looked up at me. His eyes conveying all the emotions he felt however much he tried to mask them.

“Chloe, I want to tell you a lot of things and to be completely honest I’m really scared of how you will take all these information but I want you to know that everything your mother and I did was to protect you and to ensure you survive.” I stared blankly at them, not sure of what to expect. I silently prayed that it wasn’t something bad.

“How old are you Chloe?” Dad asked, taking me by complete surprise. I blinked for a few minutes; waiting for him to say something like ‘I’m just joking’ or to even start laughing but nothing came.

“I’m turning eighteen next Saturday,” I said in a shaky voice, afraid that they will say I’m younger but he just sighed.

“It’s time you learned the truth.”

I sat there, no one was moving, no one blinked and no one said a word. The tension and anxiety rolled off me in waves. I was scared, what if I learned something I couldn’t change, something like a ninja. I smiled at the thought. A ninja would be cool.

“When I graduated university with an honorary degree in robotics engineering, I thought life couldn’t be better. I got a job at an esteemed company where I met my first love. Her name was Ilana and I thought I was the luckiest man in the world. We started dating after a while and everything was great. She was a scientist at the Centre for Disease Control, popularly known as CDC. We got paired to do a project which involved finding a cure for a deadly virus called Bazi Plague in a unique way using Nano-chips to control the spread of the cells. Long story short, we got engaged and would have gotten married if I didn’t find her cheating on me with a colleague of hers and I broke everything off.” He paused gauging my reaction

It was weird hearing him talk about someone else other than my mom but I still nodded, encouraging him to continue.

“She went crazy and tried to invent a cure for the disease which she tested on herself by injecting the disease and the cure. We discovered that the ‘cure’ she made only accelerated the infection and would have died in less than 48hours if my colleagues, Shelly and I were not able to finish the first Nanochip and used it on her.” He paused again. It must be hard for him to talk about that time but with the small smile he had, I guessed things would have gotten better.

“The chip was successful and it saved her life but her skin was too damaged to recover so we created nano-bots that helped to camouflage her skin so that she can look normal to everyone else. The nano-bots provided a temporary solution and had to be replaced every month. A month later, we discovered that she was pregnant but due to her condition, there was a slim chance that the baby would survive since the disease was hereditary.

Seven months later, we had to separate the baby from her, but the little girl was almost dead, the disease ate its way through her skin and exposure to air would cause death. We had created a chip that would protect the internal organ by acting as a skin, camouflage and also help the brain to function. It was a unique chip, the first prototype and it worked well.

The chip was equipped with every form of knowledge that the human race was aware of; defense mechanism, creativity, and the medical knowledge you name it but these things have to be activated separately so the chip was given a code name that was separate from the child.

The girl was called Chloe and the chip was called Dusk because you were born at dusk. Ilana tried to kill the child so that she can have the chip but we put you in foster care where one of us always adopted