The Span of Silence

Ivan Yancy is no ordinary teenager. Sure, he may look 15, but he’s actually 105, thanks to a magical power called having a soulmate.
Ivan has killed every soulmate he’s ever had, because it makes his life longer, so technically as long as he keeps this up, he’s immortal. His best friend, Martha Wise, has done the same.
Finally, Ivan thinks that whatever higher power there is has decided to never make him a soulmate again. But when he goes to a large gathering and comes in contact with many people, he discovers that one of the 124 of them is his soulmate.
But he doesn’t want to kill every single person just for himself. So he meets up with Carol Leveer, a mechanic he met during the gathering. Carol is extremely helpful and a bit cute.
With a great mystery on his hands, Ivan and Carol embark on a not-so-big journey to find out just who Ivan’s soulmate really is.



Chapter One
Ivan’s Tale



In an age far, far away from now, there lived many people. The Earth had been through many hardships, but all in all it had been a time of beautiful peace. Though, the people on this Earth could be considered crazy. It seemed like they were living in a Victorian age, except with modern technology and equipment. Quite crazy, but everything seemed calm. Although, one drastic thing had happened. A woman named Marianne Pages had erupted the balance of space time continuum and accidentally set the world off course. Now, there were such thing as soulmates.

Sure, some of you may have already believed in soulmates, but now they were much easier to find. This was how it worked; when you turned the age of 15, you stopped aging. Sure, the total of your lifespan (as in how many years you’d been alive) kept adding up, but you stayed looking like you were 15. You, per say, did not age. That is, until you met your soulmate. Then, you started aging as did they, and you died alongside them. If you killed them, you would revert back to looking like you were 15 and another soulmate would be born.

Three decades after the soulmate era had been born, a large war broke out among the entire world. People nicknamed it “The War of the Rebellions”. People did not like this new way of life, so they protested and set houses on fire and killed the innocent. This was considered the most terrifying war in the human age.

But we are not focusing on the entire world. We are focusing on a small city near Manhattan, New York. It was called “Time City,” mainly because of its many clocktowers. There lived a small family consisting of a mother, father, son and a dog. The mother’s name was Annabeth Yancy, and she was 39 and counting. Her soulmate and the father, Damien Yancy, was 43 and counting. They had found each other nearly a year after they had turned 15, and had been inseparable ever since. Their son was named Ivan Yancy, and he could be described as a mass murderer.

Well, not a mass one. He had killed every soulmate he’d ever had, so he could remain alive. He was considered immortal. His best friend that was not his soulmate was Martha Wise, an african girl who had moved to Time City for her father’s work. They had their own farm now, and Martha’s father, Garrett, had built them a sturdy tree house in which they spent long days talking and drawing and laughing.

As you may have guessed, Martha had quite a large crush on Ivan, but swore to never tell him in fear of ruining their relationship. Martha, though she looked 15, was actually 87, and Ivan was actually 105. They had a long streak going and they didn’t want to break it. They killed their soulmates to stay with one another, and they appreciated the other’s devotion.

But little did they know that their next soulmates were going to be a lot harder to kill than the rest.

Chapter Two
Ivan’s Predicament

My name is Ivan Yancy, and this has to be the absolute worst day of my life.

I combed my tangled brown hair into something, per say, acceptable and threw on my favorite white t-shirt. (I had many white t-shirts, but this one was just my favorite for some odd reason). A loose red tie hung around my neck and dark jeans with a beige sweater tied around the waist were my outfit for nearly everyday. I could barely take another breath before my mother yelled, “Breakfast, dear!” and I was running down the stairs.

“Oh my. Do you want me to fix your hair?” My mother asks me, and I shake my head, my mouth already filled with a bite of egg biscuit. She gives me a pointed look and I swallow quicker than I needed, holding back a cough. “Mom, it’s fine,” my voice was slightly raspy but she didn’t seem to notice.

“Today is important, dear!” She says, sitting down next to me and smoothing out her apron. I glance at her hair and see multiple streaks of gray. The perks of having a soulmate. I nearly laugh. “You might get a job from these people! Imagine that!” She nearly exclaims. I put my fork down and crack my knuckles. “Mom, really. They don’t want a guy like me. I’m better at math.” I say, and she sighs. “Just try to have fun.” Mom says and I force a smile. “I will.”

Before she can respond, my father comes clunking down the stairs. He’s put on a bit of weight over the years and it shows. He’s also got a funny looking mustache that twirls at the end. Classic. “Hey, son-o-mine,” He says, ruffling my hair. I give him a gentle glare, but he doesn’t notice as he’s already kissing the top of my mum’s head. “You ready for today, kid?” He asks, grabbing a piece of bacon. “Yeah,” I say, unenthusiastically. “Then on with your shoes!” He yells, and I suppress a smile. He’s always been a nice but loud guy.

I stand up out of my chair and put on some fancy-looking shoes with leather for the tops. Bet they’re great in rain. I gaze up at my father, who’s smiling down at me. “This is a great opportunity, Ivan,” he says to me, a certain seriousness crossing his features, “don’t mess it up.” He then turns and smiles at my mother, before bellowing, “we’ll be back around lunchtime, sweets!” Before I’m nearly shoved out the exit and the door slams behind me.

* * *

After thirty minutes of being on a bus with an old lady sleeping on my shoulder, we get off and I suddenly find myself sitting down in an old plastic chair in between my father and a guy who looks suspiciously young. “Ivan,” my father says, going my attention, “this is Riley Leveer. He’s the main mechanic in the engineering department.” The man waves. I force a smile. “Nice to meet you.” I say. “You too.” Riley replies. “Where’s..?” I hear my father say, before Riley interrupts. “Carol? ‘round here somewhere.” Carol. Such a pretty name for a hopefully pretty girl.

Suddenly, a girl with shockingly orange hair comes up and pokes Riley. “Riles! Dan just fixed the broken Mecha Tank! Oh, you come too, Damien! It’s awesome!” Damien is the name of my father. Riley shoots out of his chair and my father is close behind. “Stay here,” he murmurs to me, before ruffling my hair and walking away. To get a better view I climb out of my chair and sit on the plastic table. I must’ve closed my eyes because a few moments later I feel something land beside me and the table squeals in protest. I snap my eyes open and see a teenager sitting next to me.

He’s smiling at me and it’s so contagious I feel the corners of my lips tug up. He’s got platinum blonde hair that’s going just past his ears and emerald eyes. He’s quite beautiful, if we’re being honest. “I hear your Damien’s son.” He says, looking at me. “Yeah.” That’s all I can manage to say. We’re both silent for a second before I find my voice and say, “So how many people do you know here?” He looks at me like I’m joking. After a moment in which he sees I’m not, he replies, “All of them. Perks of your brother being the head of the mechanics.” I freeze. “You’re…Carol?” I stammer, and he nods.

“Well, aren’t you going to introduce yourself?” He asks me, after a moment of utter astonishment. Carol’s a guy? I should’ve known. There’s always a catch. “Ivan. Ivan Yancy.” I say, and he smiles again. “Nice to meet you, Ivan Yancy. Now, seen as you know no one, I shall take the honor to introduce you to everyone.” I’m about to protest, because Father said to stay here, but suddenly he’s holding my hand and my mind goes blank.

* * *

First we’re in the history department. The head is Alphonse Ebet, and he’s one of the nicest people I’ve met. He’s wearing simple attire and a genuine smile. Him and Carol talk for a bit, before the blonde-haired boy introduces the head to myself. We shake hands, exchange a few words when suddenly I’m being pulled away by Carol. I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye.

Then there’s the literature department, the one my father’s in. I recognize nearly everyone there except for the head, whose name is Sososke Orion. He seems like a bit of a quiet guy, but he’s good natured. He tells me he’s heard a lot about me, and then him and Carol talk for a few moments before I’m pulled away.

Next is the science and mathematics department, the one I want to join. The two leaders are Ellen and Ight, in which I actually maintained a strong conversation with for about 3 minutes before Carol grabbed my hand and began pulling me away. This time I managed to yell an embarrassed apology.

Second to last is the Earth Resources department and the mechanics department. Carol and I purposely avoid the Mecha Tank, because his brother and my father are near it and we didn’t want to get caught. The Earth Resources head was a woman named Yani, which was a bit too enthusiastic and talked a bit too much. Thankfully Carol made an excuse and we were on our way.

Lastly was the art department. The director was two people, Nagi and Arma. They just had to be soulmates. Nagi was more or less calm and collected while Arma was a bit rash and unprotected. They were nice people, and Carol introduced me to both before we sped back to the table where we met.

* * *

He smiled at me, and this time I willingly smiled back. Not a minute later my father, Riley and the orange-haired girl came back. “Ah, I see you met Carol,” Riley said, smiling. I nodded, and it seemed like Carol smiled a bit wider. “I hope he didn’t bore you.” Riley said, and I shook my head. “Trust me, he did the complete opposite.” I replied, and Carol gazed at me, his smile disappearing. The gaze seemed almost fond. “Anyhow, kiddo, we gotta go eat some lunch, and then we can continue our race.” Riley said, and Carol nodded brightly.

The blonde boy jumped off of the table, pressed something into my right hand, and waved goodbye. I peered down at my hand and hopefully suppressed my blush to a light pink. “Good guys, both of ‘em.” Father said. “Yeah.” I murmured absentmindedly.

Inside the palm of my hand was Carol’s phone number.