Worlds Colliding

Serena sat in the Carlton Gardens taking in nature as the light breezed brushed her face. She rested back against the hard timber bench, with its paint-peeling mahogany brown and green arm rests. A woman wearing a striped jumper and blue loose jeans bent down to pet her white dog. She waved, but the woman turned away. A man walking a poodle stormed off without acknowledging her. Was she invisible here?

Would this young man sporting a backpack, black shorts and a grey top say hello? He didn’t even gaze in her direction.

The wind whooshed and whirred while scattered bright green leaves, twigs and branches gave off a beautiful chaos. Black pigeon perched and pecked the ground, the cawing of crows and birds alerting her to the beauty of nature. Up ahead, a grassy knoll featured more trees amidst vibrant burgundy flowers.

Aromas of hot chips blended in with coffee filled her senses as a group of boys walked past. One of them, tall and lanky, approached but his friend pulled him away. “Hi,” she said.

The group rushed past her, again ignored. But why? What was going on in this other world full of colour, diversity, and buzzing energy? Even the sounds were clearer here, with the rumbling of cars surrounding the park, the rattling tram in the near-distance, and the beep of a car horn. Smells of dust and fume came from buses.

Serena glanced at her clothes: a drab black skirt, a grey t-shirt, and ash sandals. Was it noticeable she was from the other world?

Her aunt had visited her and her parents earlier that day, reporting on this coloured world that contrasted to her world. She had driven two hours to pass the border out of curiosity, but her aunt had advised against it without explanation.

Coming here was important because she was getting bored with her life: the same administrative job with no variety, the same food she ate every day, the same clothes she wore on particular days of the week, and the same shows they’d aired on TV with no new releases. But in this coloured world, everything was different. She had to find out why people ignored her.

Serena left the park and stepped along the tree-lined concrete path towards the strips of restaurants and shops. A barber shop bounced with people, a bank filled with bustling people in a moving queue, a laneway featured people dancing and laughing. More cafes and crowds, but no glances her way. Should she have dressed in colour to pretend that this was her world? No, people would still notice.

She passed an ice-cream shop where a toddler waved. “Hello. What your name?”

Serena leaned forward, staring into her deep blue eyes and rosy cheeks, licking a chocolate ice-cream. “Hi, I’m Serena. What’s your name?”

Her mother turned from the counter, wincing. Pulling her away, the lady shook her head. “No talking to strangers. You can get hurt.”

Serena stood back against the wall and gazed at the mother and daughter waltzing out of the shop when the toddler said, “ah baba baba.” What the hell. How would her child get hurt? It wasn’t as if she was a serial killer. No harm in being friendly. She didn’t know much about this world, but she knew she wasn’t welcome. But she wouldn’t give up.

She walked across the road with strong glares from people.

Serena bypassed skateboarders whizzing by, narrowly bumping into her as she paced along and entered a café. Rows upon rows of glass cabinets featured yummy, glazed desserts like chocolate eclairs, strawberry tarts, and donuts. A centre counter had servers making hot beverages, the coffee and cinnamon smells eliciting hunger. She leaned in towards the counter of desserts as the server put up a hand and shifted her position to serve someone else. Other servers did the same thing: remaining silent and ignoring her.

***

Strolling towards the beverage counter, she said, “excuse me, I’d like to order.” But the server here also shook his head in silence. But they served others.

Relenting with a puff of air, she made her way to a round marble table with padded chairs, her shoulders hunched. Why couldn’t she get service? Wasn’t she human like them? Coming here wasn’t a great idea. It was time to leave, as she wasn’t welcome.

A voice nearby broke her reverie. “Excuse me.”

Serena peered across the table at a woman of about her age, in her early twenties. Bangles jingled and gold necklaces lined her neck that featured red, blotchy patches. Her deep chestnut eyes and the colours of her blouse danced. Purple fingernails and purple highlights in her hair gave her a gothic look. “Yes.”

“I noticed you wanting to order. It’s a common story, unfortunately. I’m Sky, by the way.”

Her breath shallowed. “Serena.” She cleared her throat. “What are you talking about?”

Sky smiled. “I’ve taken my chip out.” She stared past her. “Or at least my boyfriend has. He’s a surgeon.”

An unease settled into her stomach. “What do you mean by chip?”

She leaned closer and whispered. “Not here. Let’s go to Argyle Square.”

Serena sensed authenticity in Sky. “Sure.”

The short walk over the stepping stones to the area led to crowds who cycled, skated or strolled around beds of bushland. A three-piece band played across a stage, jazz tunes reverberating in the square. Sky ushered her over to a bench opposite the stage, away from people. The woman fumbled with her twirly frilled bright skirt and hugged her body as if cold. “The National Board has taken over our world.” She took a breath. “The Board’s implanted a chip in everyone’s brain.” With a squeeze of her hands, her eyes darkened. “A way to avoid interaction with the grey world.”

Serena’s chest squeezed tight. “How does that work?” Did the chip impact their avoidance of her here?

“Each time one of us talks to you, it shortens our lives by two years.” She huffed, teeth clenching. “They have killed kids; toddlers who are only two or three years of age and might talk to a newcomer from the grey world. Visitors of your world don’t come often, but when they do, young children’s lives shorten. They die if they’re only two years old, or if they’re three, they’ll regress to being one-year-old again.”

Serena gasped. That explained why the mother didn’t want her child talking to her, for his own safety. It made sense. “But how could they implant a chip in a child’s brain? That’s the lowest of the low.”

“Exactly.” Sky’s eyes darted around her, passersby watching the band, and others playing with a basketball. “Which is why we need to stop them.”

Serena angled her head. “Stop them? How?”

Sky leaned in. “I have a list of board members. We have a plan. Others I’ve spoken to from the grey world are scared. I need your help.”

Serena berated herself for coming to this world. Wasn’t her simple, repetitive, humdrum life better than resorting to this chaos? “What plan?”

Sky rested back in her seat. “If you talk to them as a group and ask if we could merge both worlds, it can distract them.”

Serena rubbed the side of her neck, her hands sweating. “That’s not a bad idea. Why can’t we merge our worlds? But distract them from what?”

Sky looked past her briefly. “I have proposed the merge already, and they refused, which is why they need to hear it from someone else. They don’t believe in the darkness of their psyches.”

“But can’t they see we’re human in the grey world? That we can adapt together? I want change and diversity, and I’m sure you crave stability and structure. Strike a balance.”

“Sure, I do,” said Sky. “But they see you as an inferior species. They’ve got elitist positions, believing they’re better than everyone else. As if they have the right to make decisions without consulting the community. They don’t care how it affects us. They are killing children, for Christ’s sake. They’re murderers.”

Serena’s stomach churned. “I get there’s more to this plan of yours. You said distraction.”

“We need to kill them for the sake of the world.”

Serena gasped, her vision blurring. “I’m not a murderer.” She cowered. “How does that make you any different when you’re stooping to their level?”

She sighed. “Sounds like I need to give you the whole story, Serena. Buckle up.”

***

The sky was turning grey as if imminent of rain with the mild air grounding her. How could she consider being an accomplice to murder? But then again, they were killing children, making decisions that catered to an elitist attitude.

“If you have other ideas, I’m open to them, Serena.”

She spotted a group of others from the grey world, noticeable by what they were wearing. “I can talk to them about a merger. We have nothing to lose. I might be able to convince them. Let it be a first step. Otherwise, we might have other options that don’t involve murder.”

Clasping her hands together with lips taut, Sky leaned in. “The whole story is that the National Board has been appointed to not only regulate the practice of health professionals, but they’ve also been chosen to replace the democratic government. That no longer exists here. We have no voting rights, no say in how to manage education, health and welfare, no say in anything. Only recently, they’ve made the decision to declare war on other countries because of tariffs. Rather than find a peaceful solution, they have trained soldiers to enter the grey worlds overseas. The world of colour is dominating your world and they’re killing you off bit by bit. That is their plan; to enter even the local grey worlds in Australia and eliminate you all.”

Serena couldn’t breathe. No, this couldn’t be happening. It had to be a mistake. “How do you know all this? What if it’s fake news?”

“It’s not, and I know because my boyfriend is on the Board, so he’d be the only one we don’t kill. He has had to play nice to stay safe, but this is in their documents, their five-year mission. They want to wipe out your world both nationally and internationally. He even sent me the documents. It’s iron-clad; signed, sealed and passed through to the next phase.”

“Which is what?”

Serena got up, prodded Serena away from the bench and shoved her behind a clump of bushes. “Do not move. For your safety. I’ll explain later.”

A loud bell rang out as people covered their ears. As she peeked from behind the bushes, stomping footsteps approached. Men in army uniform rushed through the Square and one by one, forcibly grabbed five people from the grey world. Yanking them by their arms and shoving a rifle in their faces, terror rang out as they screamed. One man pounded into the soldier’s face, but he retaliated when the butt of his rifle knocked him in the nose, drawing blood.

What the hell! This was worse than she thought. They were going to kill her kind, and she had to stop this.

Once the soldiers left in their vehicles, Sky brought her out. “This is the next phase. Do you believe me now?”

Serena nodded. “I’m in.”

***

Serena sat inside Sky’s SUV, her head resting against the seat three days later. She had stayed at Sky’s apartment until it was time.

“Three more children have died,” said Sky as she started the motor and drove into the city. “Oh, and several other elderly people friendly with grey visitors have had their life shortened. People don’t agree with these chips in their brain. It’s cruel and unethical.”

She nodded. “You’re right, but I hope this plan works. Run it by me again.”

Dodging cars and beeping slow drivers, she turned briefly as the road cleared until lagging behind a semi-trailer. She huffed. “At this rate, we’re going to be late. But okay. First thing, we get them drinking coffee before you start speaking. The poison won’t kick in straight away. I just spoke to Jude, my boyfriend, who will drop poison into the urn.”

“What if someone decides they don’t want coffee?”

“No, Jude says they always drink it. Don’t worry. This will work.”

Her chest tightened. “What if something goes wrong? Do you have a back-up plan?” Sky nodded as she manoeuvred around the slow drivers towards an underground car park. “Sky? What’s the back-up plan?”

Sky faced her and raised a brow. “You don’t want to know?”

Serena put a hand over her face. “Will he resort to murder?”

“Yes. It’s justified and I won’t apologise for it, but it won’t come to that. You speak to them about the merger, and I’ll wait in the car. When you witness they’re all dead, you leave with Jude, and we drive off. They’ve seen me, so I need to stay put.”

“I understand, but how did Jude convince them of this meeting? I’m in the grey world.”

“They don’t know that. You look exactly like me with my own clothes, so they won’t realise. Even if they do, they can’t do anything about it now. Jude’s got your back if he suspects anything.”

She swallowed. “And you trust Jude?”

“With my life, yes. We’ve been fighting against their dogma for years and enough is enough. People are dying for no reason. What we’re doing is for the greater good. We’re literally saving the whole world; greys and colours.”

“You’ve become warriors. Now, what are the symptoms of this poison?”

Sky turned off the motor. “You’ll see bloodshot eyes, droopiness, confusion, speech deficits and coughing until the organs shut down.”

She could barely breathe. What was she doing? “Oh my goodness,” said Serena.”

Sky turned to her and grabbed her hands. “Remember exactly why we are doing this. Remind yourself of how many people they’ve killed. We’ve tried other strategies and failed. This is the absolute last resort, Serena. Are you still with me?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now get out there and make us proud.”

***

Serena’s stomach turning as ten members of the board of mixed gender stared in her direction while she fiddled with pages of notes. Jude sat to her right, nodding. His blonde, wavy hair and clear, blue eyes made him appear like a sexy surfer than a surgeon. “Thank you for seeing me today. As Jude said, I would like to discuss a merger of the grey and coloured worlds.”

A blonde woman with rimmed glasses and thin lips raised a hand. “This has already been discussed, so why dredge this up again?”

Jude intervened. “I hear you, Marie, but let’s see what Serena has to say. As I explained, she is a reputable businesswoman in the decorative arts, with high praises from the national and international coloured world. We can ask questions or give our opinions at the end.”

“Fine,” said Marie, who sat cross-armed, staring daggers at Serena.

She took a breath and referred to her notes. “As I was saying, having a merger of the two worlds will add skills, talents, fresh ideas, and diversity to the coloured world. It would be a bonus, creating even more colour and richness. Not to mention….” she stopped talking when three members coughed and gasped for breath. “Are you all right?”

Others gazed, frozen in their seats, while Jude got up. “I’ll get you water.” He disappeared while other members rose to approach the sick.

Marie shook her head. “We will need to cancel this meeting. As you can see….” she fell back against her seat, her hand clasping at her chest. “Oh, no. I’m feeling sick too. What is….going…on here?”

Jude returned and handed the sick members a glass of water each.

“We need to call the ambulance,” said an elderly gentleman with a beard.”

Jude glanced at Serenity with a concerned look as the man rummaged into his back pocket and retrieved his phone. Oh, no. That wasn’t part of the plan. What could they do? “Gerald, wait. Serena will call them. Come with me to the staff room for a first aid kit.”

She pulled out her phone and clicked on Sky’s number. “Yes, hello. We need an ambulance.” Serena recited the address when Jude and Gerald walked away.

“What’s going on?” asked Sky.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Oh, I get it,” her new friend said.

She ended the call and made her way around the table as more members fell sick with symptoms. “Don’t worry. The ambulance is on their way. You’re all going to be fine.”

Jude returned on his own, carrying a first aid kit. Christ! Was Gerald dead.

Serenity walked out of the conference room and headed to the room where she spotted Gerald with his back to her, sitting on an armchair.

Slowing down her steps, her heart palpitated. “Are you okay?” Blurred vision, aching throat, and weakened legs made her frozen in her spot. Gerald’s head drooped, his eyes closed. She felt for his pulse. Dead. The poison must have kicked in.

Serenity walked back to the conference room. Jude placed a finger against Marie’s pulse and neck while others appeared dead. He looked up. “They’re all gone. We need to go. Now.”

Serenity nodded as Jude prodded her to the elevator until they made it to the carpark and approached Sky.

She stepped into the back seat while Jude sat on the passenger’s side.

“Is it done?” said Sky.

Jude smiled and leaned in. “We’re free, Sky.”

Did they just save the world? Heart racing, Sky turned to her with a wink. “Welcome to the new world.”

Sky sped out of the carpark as Serenity braced for her new life.