"Any time now....and action!"
She looked at the liquid inside a glass flask while holding it with her left hand and grinned.
"After this, my invention will be a success. People will die just to get a hold of this modern
fountain of youth!" She said in a powerful, confident voice. It was followed by laughter that
echoed throughout the whole production floor. Most of the staff couldn't help but to clap their
hands.
"Aurora Bell can always pull up any character!" One staff whispered to the other staff while
looking admiringly at her from afar.
"Yeah, her role as a crazy chemist is too effective. I can't wait to see what will happen next!" Her
other companion agreed. They both giggled with amazement.
"She's so beautiful, it's a pleasure to work, breathing the same air as her!"
"Girl, do you think we can have our autographs signed later after her shoot?"
"Hey! What on earth are you both doing? Are you even paid to gossip here? Bring me coffee
and snacks, quickly!" Aurora Bell's mom cut them off all of a sudden.
"Uh...we're sorry ma'am."
"Madam, you fool! That's the correct way of addressing me! Can't you see? I'm the mother of
Aurora Bell, a multi-million dollar paid actress?"
"S-Sorry, madam." They both chorused, emphasizing the word madam for her liking. They both
even bowed down to Aurora Bell's mom, who happened to be a stage mom for eternity to her
daughter.
"Hurry up and get lost before I will think of recommending to fire both of you!" She roared that
most of the people on the production floor couldn't help but to stare at her. She folded her arms
in front of them, she never even cared that she already caused a scene just now.
Even the whole shoot stopped for a moment because Doreen, Aurora's mom, made a scene, as
usual. Aurora shrugged as she felt her knees were almost trembling. She couldn't help but to
place both of her hands on the table. She's a bit dizzy and she feels as if her whole world is
spinning.
Unknown to others, her mother forcibly prevented her from eating anything ten hours before the
shoot. Her mother believed that she can show her innermost talent as an actress if she's hungry
and can perfect any shoot in one take. Of course, she's hungry so she needs to hurry.
Everything needs to be done as soon as possible for her to eat fruits and tasteless meat as a
reward.
"Aurora? Are you ready to continue?" Her director asked her, without the hint of empathy.
She slowly nodded her head and forced herself to smile because she's fully aware that her
mother is looking at her now.
She carefully placed the glass flask on her experiment table. She gently poured a generous
amount of its contents on the cotton that she's holding with her left hand. After that, her right
hand is caressing her right cheek.
She slowly dabbed the cotton on her cheek. She finally tried her "experiment" as she looked at
the full-body mirror in front of her. Her smile faded when she felt a burning sensation on her
skin.
"S-Sir, mom! Help! Please somebody help me!" She almost jumped from the excruciating pain
she's feeling right now.
"Cut! Aurora! That is not on the script! What the hell are you saying now?" The director roared,
fuming with anger as he scanned the script he's holding instead of running to her direction.
"But sir! It burns! My face!" She cried while touching her face with both of her hands.
"Sir! Something is wrong with Aurora!" Everyone panicked when she fell on the floor,
unconscious, all of a sudden.
----
She walked calmly between a barren, dry land. Mines were planted and exploded that left dead
bodies of people five months ago. The smell of rotten body parts and fumes entered her nostrils
but she didn't have any reaction at all. Mutants envy her, some even tried to pursue killing her
everywhere she goes but they end up defeated instead. After a month of endlessly walking
around the earth, she realized she was all alone now. She's the sole survivor because she's the
strongest of all.
She has a pair of striking,deep set eyes that show hollow emotions, because she can't feel any.
She has a Greek-shaped nose that resembled her best to Greek warriors from a long time ago.
It complimented her pointy, natural lips, where the bottom lip was larger than the upper lip. She
has developed slightly muscular arms as a result of her being a fighter. However, it didn't let her
feel less of a woman because of her sexy hour-glass figure and broad hips as she matured
quickly at a very young age, compared to her colleagues.
Throughout her life, her capability of not feeling any pain, hunger and fatigue has been an
advantage to her but now, she's not sure.
She stopped walking and turned her gaze to a convenient store. She went inside and looked
around. The last thing she remembered before the war was the people going in and out of this
store. Now, the breeze of sullen air greeted her instead of the smiles of the customers and
cashiers.
She sighed as she sat down and continued looking around. The store was left with lots of food
and necessary things she would need but she can't see any people roaming around. She slowly
went to the counter after pulling a small pocket knife.
"Hello?" Instead of an answer, she only heard herself. She almost forgot that she can easily get
all of the things here without being guilty at all. She's left alone all by herself. She opened her
hand and noticed blood gushing from all parts of it. She remembered that she took a grip too
tight from the pocket knife she's holding right now.
She can't feel anything. How she wished she could right now. She felt like she's going out of her
mind because of the crazy fact that's a part of her. No pain, no hunger, no fatigue.
It's even harder because she's all alone and any time she can go insane, talking to herself.
Without any hesitation, she held the pocket knife on her dominant left hand and struck her
chest. She slowly closed her eyes as she fell on the floor.
She opened her eyes all of a sudden and blinked. Where is she right now?
She tried hovering her gaze around the room and she realized that it was not the store where
she entered as far as she can remember. When she tries to move, she can feel that her body is
very weak. She also felt a burning sensation on her face. It's throbbing non-stop. She moaned in
pain because it's the first time she ever felt it. It was all new to her. It's killing her.
She eventually realized that she already killed herself, and that she's repossessing a body
different from hers right now.
"Shut the fuck up, will you?" She closed her eyes right away after hearing two people arguing as
the door near her opened. She closed her mouth and pretended to be asleep.
"What really happened?" A voice of a man in his mid-forties answered.
"I don't exactly know, okay?" It's the voice of a woman who is almost the same age as his, she
guessed.
"Are you serious right now? How can you not know everything when your eyes can't even get off
our daughter?"
"Correction, adopted daughter, Wright!"
"Don't change the topic and tell me what the hell really happened!" Wright, the stepfather of
Aurora shouted back at her. They were both raising their voices when they noticed that Aurora
was beside them, lying unconscious. They moved away from Aurora and tried to tone their
voices down.
"She was supposed to shoot a crazy chemist scene when the liquid used damaged her face!
That's what happened!"
"How can you not even know anything about it? Were you not able to check on what liquid was
used--
"Oh, c'mon Wright? Don't sound as if you're too concerned about her condition right now. Look!
She's already useless!" Doreen spread her arms on Aurora, who was still not awakened, that's
what they know.
"How can you say those things in front of her?"
"Because she's a fucking, useless trash now. That brat can't even wake up and go back to the
shoot right now!" Doreen wailed, sobbing and worrying so much.
"After what happened to her, Doreen? Can you hear what you're saying right now?"
"Oh, shut the fuck up, Wright! I know we're thinking more about the money than her life, am I
right?
"She's still here and she might hear us."
"Oh, dammit! I am more concerned about the millions of dollars that will be gone if she can't
recover right away! What did the doctors tell you?" She's irritated but she is trying to control her
voice as much as possible while glancing at Aurora.
Wright looked into her eyes and sighed. She can sense the disappointment on his face.
"It was concentrated sulfuric acid. Most of her face was affected and severely burned because
of it."
"What the hell was that? Can you get straight to the point?" She angrily cut him off in the middle
of their conversation.
"She won't recover easily. I don't know if she can still fulfill her duties as an actress since her
body deteriorated due to extreme exhaustion and starvation too."
"I am fucking done, Wright! So done! Do you know what this means? We will have to pay for all
of the rights that will possibly be breached!" She wailed, pulling her hair down with both of her
hands. Wright was speechless.
"That shooting was her day one. She hasn't even started yet. She's been paid by the company
with one-hundred fifty million dollars already!"
"What?!" He exclaimed.
We have no money in the bank. It's all gone! I went shopping the other night with my besties
and I spent twenty-five million dollars for that spree!" She added, while going to and fro as she
became restless all of a sudden.
"I lost most of my money last night from the casino. It was almost fifty million dollars." He
muttered helplessly.
"What? Oh fuck it, Wright! Can this day get any better?"
"I have a plan." He held her hands tight.
"What is it?"
"I'll prepare some paperworks on how to get rid of Aurora."
"Are you planning to kill her?"
"Do you think I am desperate? I am just making a way on how we'll get away with all of the
penalties that we can possibly face."
"Is that even possible?"
"Money is everything in this world, Doreen. It can make this world be in favor of us."
"I never know I could take advantage of your pea-sized brain sometimes." She answered,
grinning.
"We can always get rid of her with the right amount needed. I think I still have some funds left in
the bank to save our ass."
Upon hearing those things, she secretly closed her fist. She felt like a knife stabbed her heart. Is
this what this new body of hers is feeling right now?
She's also called Aurora, but definitely in a different world than hers.