Viktoria ran a hand through her hair, thinking. Her--their--house was large, but too big for just two people. Fancy decorations decked the halls, and hot Florida heat seeped in through the windows.
It was a lovely evening, and the room was perfectly silent. Closing her eyes, Viktoria soaked in the silence for a moment, then sighed. Nervousness ate away at her composure. The tips of her hands trembled. Her breathing was hard to keep steady.
For so long, she longed for the part of her that was missing. The lost memories that left a hole in her mind. And now, the hole was filled, but in its place grew another. Viktoria would've done anything to see them again--the only people she understood, the only people who understood her. She remembered them so clearly, but whenever she reached out to touch them it was as if they disappeared.
How long had it been since she'd heard their voices?
Her stomach knotted. Today was the day.
"I'm going to my room," Viktoria told Iona, her "sister," who sat on the couch eating pecans.
"Okay," Iona replied. "Don't do anything stupid."
This is probably a really stupid idea, she thought as she left the living room. She walked into her room and locked the door, inhaling sharply. Iona, the Goddess of Torture, would have Viktoria's head if she found out anything sketchy was going on. Vi was walking on shattered glass with no shoes. Things were bound to go wrong, but she needed to try.
Taking a deep breath, she turned on the TV. It was set on a popular news channel, and a sturdy man with a stiff voice was relaying current events to everyone watching. Viktoria stared at the screen, then frowned.
She took a pocket knife she'd hidden in her pocket and stabbed it into the TV, causing the screen to shatter into pieces. Shards of glass cut through Viktoria's skin and she watched blood trickle down onto the floor. Her face was expressionless.
After a moment, she squeezed her fist, the glass cutting further into her hand. The news station she'd been watching erupted into chaos, and using the chaos she felt radiating from the connection she'd managed to make, she took hold. With a blink, she was in the newsman's body, directly facing the live camera.
"There have been reports of an incoming terrorist attack," she said in the man's deep voice. "All citizens are asked to find safety as fast as they possibly can."
She continued, effectively terrifying the nation.
Once she was done, she blinked and was suddenly back in her own body, which layed on the floor. She shuddered. The power of chaos coursed through her bones, at first refreshing.
Then, suddenly, a wave of power hit and she coughed. Her powers were rusty and her body weak. When she tried to stand, she only fell back to the ground, voice and strength having vanished.
Viktoria clenched her fists. I'm not done yet.
With a shaky and now blood-soaked hand, she reached out to the broken TV. She caressed what was left of the screen at first, then traced the edge. As if acting in reverse chaos, the pieces slowly floated back into place, making it look as though nothing ever happened.
Vi inhaled deeply, then collapsed completely. Holding her cut-up hand to her chest, she focused with all of her energy. Amidst the chaos now breaking out across the nation, she could sense them--two excruciatingly familiar souls. One in New York, and the other in Texas.
She made a motion as if she were reaching out, blinked, and then found herself in another body. This time, she was in the boy of a young man. This man was in an apartment building, his hair slicked back and a leather jacket thrown over his shoulder. Able to sense her old friend's presence, Viktoria nearly ran toward the specific apartment door.
Vi knocked. While she waited, she ran her hands through the mans' pockets and came out with a napkin and pen. She began writing down her phone number.
The door opened, and two people answered--a man and a woman.
Colby. Viktoria's heart raced. Seeing him again was surreal, but she couldn't bask. Not now. She had to focus.
"Is there something you want?" The girl asked politely. Viktoria knew her, but she couldn't place what she was the goddess of. Regardless, it was obvious this girl was the one in charge of watching Colby.
"Yes," Viktoria replied. She turned to Colby specifically. "I'm your neighbor and I wanted to talk to you two about something. I can't get into it right now because I'm awfully busy, but if you could call back, that'd be great."
Without waiting for a response, Vi handed the napkin with her phone number to Colby.
"What is it that you wanted to talk about?" The girl asked, frowning slightly.
Viktoria waved awkwardly. "Sorry, I don't have any time. Just call me, okay? Bye."
And with that, she walked around the corner of the apartment building and switched back to her own body. In her normal body, everything was excruciating. It was as if she was being condensed, the chaos being far too much power for her to handle in that moment. Attempting to quell her groaning, however, she closed her eyes again.
This time, she was a girl. Not a bad-looking one, either. She was outside a store, and inside was Harper. She couldn't help but smile a sad smile--again, seeing her friends after so many years was... well, it was indescribable. Taking a deep breath, she met Harper and a young man on their way out, smiling nervously.
"Hi," she said, only to Harper. "You're cute."
Harper smiled. "Thanks. You're cute too."
After a moment, she scratched the back of her head. "Do you want to go out for coffee sometime? I can give you my phone number."
"I would love to," Harper responded.
And so they exchanged phone numbers.