Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Girls! Levantanse, ahora mismo!" Their mother yelled as she banged on the bedroom door. Upon opening she saw both her daughters still snuggled in their beds. She sighed, shaking her mane of brown hair and left. Moments later she came in with two large McDonald's cups filled with ice cold water. "My final warning."
"Five more minutes." Her eldest, Xiomara said, pulling the blankets over her head. The mother of two shrugged and dumped the water on her head, then walked over to her second daughter, Rosalinda, on the other side of the room and mimicked the action. The effect was immediate.
"Holy crap Mami!" Xiomara jumped from her bed.
"You're late." She pointed at the clock which read 7:30 am.
"Mom!" The girl whined. "Why didn't you wake us up sooner?" She didn't wait for an answer as she sped to the bathroom.

Xio paused as she noticed a rather large bruise on her stomach. She poked the bluish purple spot but it didn't hurt.
"Cinco minutos!" Her mom yelled from the door. Xiomara shook her head and pulled down her t-shirt. Quickly, and quiet messily, she pulled her hair into two pigtails. She ran down the stairs, almost tripping with her sagging socks. Their mom stood at the door, like its gate keeper, her arms crossed as she glared at her daughters. Her frown melted into a smile as she handed them their bagged lunches, "Mucho cuidado." The girls nodded and rushed out the door.

A block away from the school, the first bell rang. The principal and vice-principals stood watch at the school gate, clipboards ready to dish out detentions. "Crap." Xio whispered as they snuck around back. The eight-foot gate encircled the entire school, but back here by the maintenance sheds, the security was non-existent. As per routine, Rosa bent over with her fingers tightly laced together. Xio placed her foot in her palms. They counted mentally to three and with Rosalinda's boost, Xio grasped the top of the fence. She heaved herself over and turned to catch the backpacks Rosa tossed over. Xio squated down and slipped her hands through the fence to give Rosalinda her boost. Now, safely on the other side they made their way to their first class P.E.

Towards the back of the gym, Rosa gave Xiomara another boost but into an open window. At the top, she scanned the hallway then jumped down. She turned to her right and opened the back door for Rosalinda. From this point on, it was easy to assimilate into the crowd of girls in the locker room. "There you two are. Late again?" Iris, a girl with bright orange hair tied in a loose braid asked giggling. She was already changed into her P.E. gear.
"You know us, Iris." Xio said as she tossed of her clothes. She noticed Iris frowning at her then at Rosa.
"Why are you two covered in bruises?"
"Huh?" Xiomara glanced down at her body. This morning she only had one bruise, now she had several on her arms and legs. "Uh, must have been from climbing the gate."
"Let's move it ladies!" The coach yelled. Xio pushed the matter out of her head and finished dressing.

Their doctor, Dr. Alvarez, a short hispanic woman, eyed the girls with disinterest. She checked the normal things, like their hearing, sight, and reflexes. "I can't find anything wrong with you girls. We are just going to have to wait until your blood work to get back to us." She scribbled something on her pad and gave it to their mother. "This ointment should make the bruises go away or at least make them less noticeable."

Xio slipped off the bench. They had been sitting forever and the pressure in her back was still building up. "But what about the pain?" She rubbed the small of her back and felt a bump. The doctor motioned for her to spin around.

"The pain is here?" She applied pressure right behind her kidneys.
"No here." Xio rubbed the small bump. "I think it got bigger." She felt the doctor's cold hands poke the growing bump and she immediately straightened. "Ms. Flores," she said motioning her mother to a corner of the room. "I'm afraid your daughters might have some form of...cancerous growth. It could be what's causing the permanent bruises but I'm going to need a tissue sample as well." She said in a hushed tone.

"Wait...I, I mean we have...cancer?" Xiomara sank back into the bench, unsure what to think anymore.

"Just another short story, about the new people across the street." Xiomara said. She always liked to watch people and then make stories about them. "The husband is actually an evil mastermind that's living a double life with his wife and family as a cover. But now his archrival, another villain, has found his home. He already killed the family and is going to set fire to the home to erase all the evidence." She explained as she wrote. Their mom shook her head.
"Why can't you write anything nice, mija?" She stood. "How about some lunch- Dios mio!" She covered her mouth, staring at the window. "The neighbors house is on fire!" She lunged for the telephone ready to mark 911 when it rang. With shaking fingers she answered. "Hello?" A pause. "Yes, this is Mrs. Flores....my husband what?" She dropped the phone.
"Mom?" Xio asked. Their mother was almost in hysterics and it was scaring her.
"Your f-father..esta muerto." She sobbed holding onto her daughter. Somewhere Xio could hear the wail of sirens.

The two sat in silence and waited for the crowd to thin out. Eventually their grandmothers came to their side. Silently, they pushed them across the lawn. Xiomara glanced over her shoulder in time to see a sapling growing by their father's headstone. The dirt that was thrown over the grave was already covered in a blanket of blooming flowers, lilies and sunflowers, their father's favorite.

Later that night, Xiomara awoke in a cold sweat. She clenched her covers close to herself as a wave of pain rolled through her body. She muffled her scream in her pillow. After a few minutes, the pain in her backside seemed to subside. She slid out of bed, wanting to splash some cool water on her face when she stumbled forward. She tried to stand but her balance was off. Gravity was not on her side and she fell.

It felt like something was crawling beneath her skin, snaking its way from her head to her back. Xio pulled at her hair, clenching her teeth as she tried to ride the pain out. "Urgh!" She tried clawing at the growing bump, that seemed to have a life of its own. "Get out of my body!" Xio dug her nails deep into her flesh. This thing, this cancer was going to leave her body now. "Arrgh! Nngh." The warm stream of blood seemed to release some of the fire underneath her skin. It was growing. She could feel the length of it sliding across her sleek, wet fingers. She tried to dig deeper, to fight the pain but it overwhelmed her. She lay curled on the hardwood floor, sweating and panting as she lost consciousness.

Xiomara felt groggy and drained. Her whole body was lead. Why am I on the floor? She thought, as she struggled to sit up. Something wet and fuzzy brushed her leg and she almost yelled in fright. 'Calm down Xi.' She thought as she used her nightstand to lift herself up. Again, it brushed against her leg. Xiomara slapped at it. Hurriedly, she turned on the light, wanting to squish the bug before it touched her again. What stared back at her was not an insect but a long, fuzzy black snake. "Snakes aren't fuzzy. This better not be another of Rosa's pranks." She pulled at the object and gasped in surprise. "Oh...my god." It was attached to her backside. Xio turned it a circle, very much like a dog chasing its own tail. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. This is not happening. Not happening." She slapped her face. "Crap this is real. And I..have a tail." Xio ran to Rosa's room and entered without bothering to knock. Strange things have been happening since the bruises showed up. She needed to know that she wasn't going crazy.