Darkness split apart and a shaft of light streamed through the door; the majority of it blocked, a silhouette of Nora. She reached up & to the side, and flicked on the light. It was a small guest bathroom. Everything within the walls of the bathroom was made of plastic, with the only exceptions being porcelain, soft towels, and the small mirror above the sink.
She went in, closed the door behind her, and locked it. She slumped over the sink. She pulled herself up, then stared at herself in the mirror. She sighed, eyes looking into her own, unblinking. A yellow Uni, white head-hair with pink highlights, and a look of grim desperation stared back. She broke her stare, and pointed her face down into the sink. She turned the water on, cupped her hands to catch the water, then splashed the frigid liquid into her face.
She raised her head back up to look in the mirror again. The face sagged and dripped off her head, only her left eye now unobscured and able to see. Yellow slop ran through her fingers, and diluted in the water. She continued to stare at her own melted face in the mirror as the water ran.
In the reflection, someone stood in the shower behind the curtain. Nora’s single eye widened as she noticed them.
She spun around, then stumbled backward, as her half melted hands grasped at the sink and locked doorknob to steady herself. The fast movement slung the damp custard from her face onto the floor and walls. The shadow behind the curtain was gone.
She took a few cautious steps toward it, then ripped the curtain aside at once, with enough force to pop one of the rings attaching it to the pole off.
There was no one there. She inhaled deep, backed away, then let out a long exhausted sigh.
She slunk over the sink again, then pulled a towel towards her. A glob of yellow goop came off from her face onto the towel.
Fuck.
she whispered to herself.
She opened the cabinet under the sink, then stuffed the towel into it. She stood up straight, and adjusted her hair.
They found me.
Her face was fine. It hadn’t melted off. There was no one behind her.
Nora walked down the stairs, from the second story to the first. The steps terminated at the foyer, which connected the front of the house together. The space was cramped, like the bathroom she’d just left, which allowed the small amount of light from the half-circle window embedded in the door to light up the whole foyer. She continued to walk forward as she stepped off the stairway, walked past the thresholds to the kitchen & living room, and stared out the window in the door.
Rose, in the kitchen, looked up from her food preparation as Nora walked past, Hm? Oh, hello! Did you have a good nap?
Nora heard her, but ignored the question for the moment. The other side of the window was damp. It had only stopped raining a few minutes ago from the look of things outside, as the sun punched through the clouds to the west. Across the street, was someone in a brown cloak, their body entirely obscured. She turned away from the window.
Nora cleared her throat, I uh. Yeah. I don’t usually mean to wake up in the afternoon, but uh…. I was exhausted today. Sorry.
Oh, it’s no issue. I hope you’re feeling alright.
Nora walked over into the kitchen. Inside, Rose stood at her island countertop, with a bag of celery sticks, a large bowl filled with a black speckled cream-colored substance, and white grilled meat cut up into cubes on a cutting board.
What uh… what are you making?
Poultry salad.
Mm. Right. Uh… can I ask you about something?
Hm? Of course, what do you need?
Well… I need to uh… I have a uh… doctor’s appointment.
Oh, I see! That’s perfectly fine. You want me to leave the door unlocked for you?
Thanks, but uh, that’s not what I mean, exactly. I don’t… have a car. I’m really sorry.
Ohhh, okay, you need a ride! Yes, yes, that’s quite alright, especially for a doctor’s appointment. When do you need to be there?
As uh…
Nora began to look more uncomfortable, as soon as is, uh, convenient for you. As soon as you can.
Uh. I see.
I know, I apologise, I’ve just… I’ve been putting it off. But uh… it’s ready for me. Whenever I get there.
Right, right. Uhm. I can put this away for now.
Rose put the lid on the large bowl of mayonnaise, pepper, and poppy seeds she’d mixed together, opened the refrigerator door, then heaved it inside, next to where the bowl of leftover custard from the potluck should be. Rose blinked. Where…? My leftover custard. It’s not where I left it last night.
She paused in contemplation, then glanced in Nora’s direction, without moving her head. She silently debated whether or not to ask Nora about it. She decided not to.
Rose closed the fridge, and turned to Nora, So where do they live?
He’s uh… he lives at the edge of Brightvale.
Oh, alright. That’s like… five minutes or so?
No, the uh. Not here, the capital. I mean the country.
…Oh.
Rose raised her eyebrows.
Towards where Meridell starts. He kinda… lives on the border between the Inside and Outside. Of the uh, the country, I mean.
That’s… a ways away, isn’t it?
Maybe… half an hour. 45 minutes, if you’re a slow driver.
Hmm… I mean….
Rose looked out the window. It was almost sunset, What about the train?
It uh… it goes through a tunnel, right?
That’s right?
No. No, sorry, I can’t. They would find me on the….
Nora stopped herself, and cleared her throat, Uh. No, uh. I’ve… recently developed a… phobia. Of tunnels. And bridges.
Rose did her best to hide her concern and annoyance as she put the rest of the ingredients away, Oh, that’s fine. That’s alright.
I’m sorry about this. I should have said something earlier.
It’s… it’s okay. If you need to feel safe, then… I’ll do my best.
Thank you… I’m… really sorry.
she held her head in one hand.
Rose noticed how much Nora’s face sagged into her hand and distorted, as though the skin on her face was too loose.
She cleared her throat, Do you uh… want some friends? To tag along with us?
Friends?
Like, ya’know, from the old days? I was thinking Yolanda could come with us.
Oh! Isn’t she like… police now?
Well, detective, but yes, essentially.
I… dunno if…
Nora lowered her voice to a mumble, a gun would even work on them… but… I mean, it couldn’t hurt. Sh—sure, yeah, she can come along, if it’s not too much trouble. Let me go uh, gather up my stuff.
Tucked under the stairs was a small nook, and in that space, sat a table made of dark wood. It held a phone book, a small notepad of personal numbers, and important letters. The phone book was bright yellow, and bore a square picture of some unspecified part of Brightvale castle. The color photo displayed the pale pastel yellow of the bricks, and the forest green of the roof tiles. Rose walked over to it as Nora went up the stairs to the guest bedroom. She picked up the notepad with her numbers in it, a small black leather bound collection of paper, and searched for Yolanda’s number in it. Hung on the wall next to the table, was the house’s phone. She picked up the receiver, punched in the number, and waited.
There was a soft, quiet ringing on the other side. After a moment, someone picked up: Hello? Who’s this?
Yolanda answered. There was a cacophony of phone rings, shuffled papers, and conversations on the other side.
This is Rose.
Ahh, hey, what’s goin on? Can’t talk much right now, what do you need?
Are you busy right now?
Uh— extremely, why?
You are? I… I see. You wouldn’t be able to spare a couple hours?
Absolutely not, sorry.
Ah—h. I uh, I see.
What’s the matter, then? Couple hours? Is everything alright over there?
Yes! Quite, I uh, I believe so. A friend of mine is… in need of a bit of assistance.
Help, huh? Like, bodyguard kind of help?
No, no, I don’t think so. I certainly hope not. We thought maybe, you might be… good for her peace of mind, based on your position. She seemed to like the idea.
Hh-mm, nooope. Sorry. Wish I could, but I’m wayyyy too busy. The Ophiuchus got somebody else.
W—what? They did?? When did that happen? Is that why you cancelled the game?
Yep. I am up to my dick in work right now, and it’s got me on a tight leash. Can this adventure of yours wait a few days?
No, I uh, don’t think it can.
Alright well good luck then. Maybe you can get Rowan to help?
Rowan? I uh… maybe, why him?
Alright, see you later.
Yolanda hung up the phone.
Rose sighed and rubbed between her eyes, as she put the phone down, Damn.
she thought to herself, Well, that’s out the window. Rowan, huh?
she looked back at the phone, Hell, maybe. He’s a coach after all, he’s got to be at least physically capable. I dunno if he’s really the right person to call for this, but… it’s better than nothing.
Nora stepped down, silent as she came down the steps. She stayed out of sight, and listened in as Rose called up another number. After a moment of waiting, Rose spoke again.
Hey, are you there?
Hm? Uh, no. This is a ghost, haunting the phone. Heheheh.
he chuckled, Whatcha need? Did you want the recipe for the grape jelly meatballs?
Rose chuckled too, Heh, nooo, not today. It’s uh… I apologize for this being such short notice, but… do you have a couple hours to spare?
Oh yeah? Uh, maybe, what’s goin on? Is this about game stuff?
No, unfortunately. Cancelled.
Aww, yeah, I heard about that. Alright, so, what is it?
Mmhm. I uh… have to drive somewhere, and… we need help with something.
We? Somethin heavy? Need help movin somethin?
No, no, I don’t think so. It’s more that… the situation is kind of… precarious.
Like… what?
It’s… something I don’t feel entirely safe doing… alone.
Uh.
Nora winced, and turned her head away.
Again, I apologize if that’s too much.
Hey, no, don’t worry. Have you asked Yolanda about it?
I did, yes. She’s too busy to go with us, unfortunately. Something happened, with the uh, killer going around, and she can’t leave the station.
Killer??
Nora mouthed to herself, and her eyes widened.
Ohhh. That’s why the game is cancelled. Sheesh.
She told you it was cancelled, but not why?
Yeah, no. Just a really quick call saying not to bother tonight.
Mm, I see. She was quite busy when I called her. So, no, she’s not available.
Rose shook her head.
That’s a shame. Christabel was really getting into it. Well… uh….
he turned away from the phone, then back, I uh, sure. Yeah. Yeah I can come along, not doing anything today. What are we, uh, doing, exactly?
Mostly just riding in a car, if all goes well. I wanted someone else with us… on the off-chance that there is… some kind of… difficulty, with all this….
For a couple hours? Why don’t you take a train?
That would be more convenient, yes. That’s… apparently not an option.
Right… yeah, yeah, I can come on over. Who are you with?
Well… you’re uh… not gonna believe it, but… it’s Nora.
Nora looked back over, and listened more intently.
The other side was silent for a moment, Uh… Nora. You say that like uh, like I should know who that is. I mean, it sounds familiar.
You've met her. Von Sacher-Masoch. Christabel’s older sister.
Nora wrenched her eyes shut, and rubbed her forehead.
Uh… OH! The Uni? From when we were in college?
Mmhm.
Oh okay,
Rowan said, I know who that is now. Gosh, that’s… that’s been a hell of a long time, huh? She just kinda vanished off the face of the planet didn’t she, just like Susanna?
Yes… yes she did. Until uh, recently.
And she needs us to… take her somewhere?
That’s right. I think she’s… I think she’s developed some kind of….
Nora peeked out between her fingers, face still in her hands.
N—nevermind. I don’t want to speak ill of a friend. I just… wanted to be careful.
Oh. Uh. Alright…?
Nora huffed, but not loud enough for Rose to hear, and snuck back up the stairs.
I just… don’t know, for sure. She won’t even use the train. She’s been… acting quite strange, and not in a good way. Erratic, I feel. I don’t claim to be any sort of empath, or what have you, but… she seems frightened. Frustrated. It sounds like she’s seeing a doctor, which is probably a good thing….
That’s good? I assume that’s good.
Mmhm. Again, I apologize.
Hey, hey, no problem! At least I know who it is, and not some stranger.
Thank you, so much.
I’ll be ready in… about ten minutes or so, I gotta put a shirt and some pants on. Come on over in a minute.
Rose smiled, Alright, you got it. I’ll get everything together.
Nora walked down the stairs, and made enough noise to make sure Rose could hear her this time.
Rose hung up the phone, Ahh, hey. Are you ready to go?
Yeah. So uh… is…
Nora cleared her throat, Yolanda coming with us?
No, uh, there’s some kind of problem at the station.
Okay then.
Thankfully, I uhm, got someone else.
Who is it?
It’s another one of our old friends. Rowan, you remember him?
She’d heard Rose on the phone, but hadn’t realized who she’d spoken to. Nora raised her eyebrows, and she straightened out her back from her slump, R—Rowan? You… got him to come with us?
That’s right, seems as though he has the day off.
That’s… that’s great!
a small smile appeared on her face, for the first time that day, I mean uh, cool, that’s cool. I’m glad he uh, took the time out for me. Us.
Uhm. Right.
Rose turned away, as she began to put on her large blue coat.
The moon lit the outside, as the Paranormal Club trudged out from the Wernicke house. Christabel flicked off her lantern, and Susanna turned off their flashlight. Nora came out last. She adjusted her jacket, in the hope that no one would notice the angular bulge in the right-bottom pocket.
The vice-president slammed the large wood door shut, then walked past everyone else: Well that was fucking pointless.
they muttered to themselves, In there for almost a whole fucking hour.
Nuh-uh! It wasn’t pointless!
Yolanda folded her arms, I got a ton of audio data!
They responded with dry sarcasam, Did you now? You hear anything in there?
It’s on the tape.
she tapped at her tape recorder with her pointer finger, I gotta listen to the static, for the voices.
Sure ya do.
I’m telling you, you’ll be able to hear it!
…Sure.
Uhhhgg. Some paranormal investigator you are.
You know what? Tell you what. You actually find something on there, and I’ll buy you whatever you want from that damned restaurant you keep dragging us to. Deal?
Ha! Deal!
Yolanda grinned, Cold Scoopies for everybody. And maybe I’ll even get you to eat something, for once.
Absolutely not.
Yolanda smiled and rolled her eyes. As the rest of the club filtered past them and down the drive, Yolanda walked around to the back of the car, So uh….
Hm? What?
Since you… brought your car….
So? You all got here on foot, you can all leave on foot. The car was just in case, if there was an emergency or something. Like if you actually did find something supernatural in there.
Awwwww!
No, hell no, don’t even think about it. Besides, there’s not enough room for everybody in here. This thing can only fit four people in it comfortably, five uncomfortably, including me. If I could take everyone at once, I would consider it, but leaving people behind is not an option.
I mean… not everyone needs a ride.
Susanna stopped and stared at her.
I mean, I have like, the heaviest stuff with me. And I am the president of the club.
Oh, fuck off.
they muttered, You spoiled brat.
W—what did you say?
Not a damn thing. I’m going home.
Could you at least take some of us over to to the club meeting room?
No.
What about Cold Scoopies?
Hell no.
they glared.
Aren’t you hungry?
No. Not in the slightest.
Fine, whatever. Tell Martha I said hi.
Sure.
they lied.
Nora had her head pointed at the ground, as she fast-walked to catch up to her sister. She overheard someone in front of them, and looked up. Olivia & Rowan walked with each other, and he whispered to her. Nora frowned, and looked back down.
Christabel turned, and saw her sister behind her. She slowed her walk to let Nora catch up, Hoy.
Nora turned her head and gave a sideways glance at her, Hm?
she smirked once she realized who it was, Oh, ey.
She dropped her modern accent, and fell back to her middle-speak one, the same as Christabel.
What’s the matter?
It’s… nothing. By the way, uh….
…Yeah?
You uh… you go on ahead. I’m gonna hail a taxi and go uh… somewhere.
Somewhere?
Nora chuckled, Gonna get feckin bumpsy.
She sighed, and looked disappointed, You wouldn’t,
then lowered her voice, you’ve been dry for ages.
If I wanna do it, I’ll do it.
What would mum say?
Mum don’t give a damn and you know it.
Christabel made a sad frown.
Not ‘bout anything but her new toy, his money, and her new kid. Cakes and ale for Sechson, but us?
Nora….
Migh’s well not even be kin to me mother anymore.
Don’t speak like that….
I’ll say what I want.
The two walked on, together, but silent.
Look…
Nora relented and looked back over to her, I’m sorry for snappin’ at ya. You didn’t need to hear any of that. I’ve been keepin it in, and just….
It’s… fine. I just afeared for ya.
Heh. Don’t bother. You got it backwards, it’s my job to worry about you.
I always will, ye can’t stop me. The drink doesn’t do you well.
I know. I know. …I’ll see you in the morn.
W— you’re leavin already?
Already indeed. Nighty-night, little lady.
Ohhh you….
Christabel folded her arms in frustration, If I donna see you by sun-up, I swear to high heaven I’ll….
Nora smiled and chuckled, then turned away to walk into the underbrush, and Christabel sighed as she watched her go.
Rose’s blue & brown wood paneled station wagon came to a slow stop, and gravel settled under the tires. Rowan lived in the suburbs just outside of the college campus, under large shade trees and between wooden fences. The sun had drifted further down in the sky, and a house next door had turned their porchlight on: a bright green exposed lightbulb. Her car rested and idled in Rowan’s driveway, a loose gravel path that led to a moss-covered sheet metal garage door. Nora looked around from the back seat, her head bobbed and moved around to get a better look at his small house. All she could see inside were gardening and houseworking tools hung up on the walls.
The front door opened, and Rowan stepped out. He waved at the car with a smile. He then turned away to close and lock the door. The green Lutari wore a color coordinated green & yellow sweater, with dark brown slacks and shoes. His forest green hair looked tossed around, unkempt.
Nora raised her eyebrows again and muttered, Oh my goodness.
then turned to Rose, He’s gotten… um, taller?
Rose looked over from the driver’s seat, I suppose so? I haven’t noticed, but I suppose it’s been a while since you’ve seen him.
Yeah.
He jogged over to the passenger side of the car. As he got close, Nora noticed that the fur on his eyelids, and in a large circle around his eyes, was black —similar to eyeshadow— just as it was when he wore eye blackener in college yooyuball. It was as though he’d finished a game and forgotten to clean the eye black off of himself. He opened the door, then plopped down into the seat with enough force to rock the car, on purpose.
Hey heyy.
he looked back and forth between the two of them, How is everybody? You all weren’t waiting for long, were ya?
Noo, no, you’re not late.
Rose put the car into reverse, then eased off the brakes.
Nora smiled, How are you?
Hello! I’m good! Haven’t seen you in a million years! Gosh, you look… exactly like you did back in college.
he narrowed his eyes, You uh… you should tell me how you manage that.
After a nervous chuckle, she nodded, Y—yeah. Maybe someday.
then held out her gloved hand.
He reciprocated the handshake.
She tried to grip his hand tight, but it only made her own bend out of shape like frosting in a piping bag. She pulled her hand back and cleared her throat, Good uh, it’s good to see you too.
Whoa, what happened to your hand? Are you okay?
It’s fine, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it, I’m just, uh, a little sweaty is all. The glove came loose.
Ahh, uh, alright. Sorry if I squeezed too hard.
he looked down at her glove. It seemed normal now, so he shrugged it off and looked away.
Nora breathed a sigh of relief.
Rose pulled out of the drive, and Rowan put his seatbelt on.
The car accelerated down the road. Nora stole a glance once more into Rowan’s garage. Tools and weights were replaced with hooks and chains. The lights inside had all turned orange. She could see people in black as they stood in there. They watched her, and their gaze followed her as the car drove back toward the school.
So, uh,
he looked around at the other two, Remind me, where are we going?
To my doctor.
Nora answered, He’s uh… on the border.
Border… of like… here and the UKM?
Right.
Ahh, good. Whew. Y’had me spooked there, I thought we were goin by the Wall of Shame or somethin’.
Oh.
Nora smirked and snorted, Heh.
then her smile faded, The uh… which one?
Which what?
Which wall do you mean?
…The Wall.
Uhm…. What’s it for?
East and west, dividing Brightvale?
When did that happen?
Sixty one.
Ah. Yeah, I was uh… out of town. When that happened.
How did you not hear about that? That was international news.
I haven’t… been keeping track of things here. While I was gone.
Rowan looked over to Rose, with a raised eyebrow.
She glanced at him, but remained watching the road.
He turned back to Nora, The… the communist and capitalist split of Brightvale? They started building it in fifty two, worked on it for almost a decade, a bunch of people died. You didn’t hear about any of that?
She shook her head.
No TV or newspapers where you were?
Nope.
You’ve been uh… really outta town then, huh?
Yeah. I’ll… talk about it later maybe.
…Right then.
The car passed around the college grounds, and Nora watched the buildings as they passed, Hmm. So much has changed, but… the University still looks just the same. Mostly.
Mm.
Rose nodded.
The stadium is new,
Rowan added, But you can’t see it from this angle. Well, I think you might be able to see some of the lights, actually. The old stadium is just used for storage now.
Wait….
Nora squinted and stared out from the backseat window, What in the…?
Hm?
Rose looked through the rear-view mirror, What’s the matter?
There was a building to the left of them, visible from the road. A large circular structure was covered in tarp and caution tape. Windows busted outward, metal fixtures bent, glass & brick cracked and shattered.
The… the amphitheatre.
her accent slipped back into her native middle-speak for a moment, It’s fuckin ruint.
Ahhh. That’s right.
W—when did that happen?
I’m honestly surprised I hadn’t told you yet, I’ve told everyone else by now. Recently, but before you got here. About a month ago. Someone had the audacity to blow it up.
B—blow it up?? Like, with magic? Or a bomb?
Well… not with any kind of conventional explosive. It was described to me as… some kind of… heatless, non-magical, concussive force.
Nora didn’t have a response to that, so she waited for Rose to continue.
It’s been an absolute hell trying to get anyone to professionally investigate it for me, what with a murderer roaming around, and the professors are all scrambling to finish their work for the semester. I’ve been in there to try and clean it up many times…. I’ve had to sell large portions of the ruined metal fixtures just to afford to get a contractor to fix the architectural damage. I’m glad someone in town seems to be buying up all the silver I can find in there, but…. So much of those were one-of-a-kind, custom made….
Rose gripped the steering wheel harder, Ohhh it makes me so angry. Such an enormous waste.
I’m sorry. No one saw anything?
Nothing helpful.
No?
Apparently, a passer-by thought that they saw someone there that night, someone who looked just like one of my students. They tell this to the board, and they assume it was my fault, somehow. But that’s impossible, since who they described was with me that whole night, preparing for her role in The Forest Prince. Absolutely infuriating.
Mmhm.
So, unless the culprit was a shapeshifter or doppelganger or some-such nonsense, then it’s completely useless information to me.
Yeah. That’s stupid.
Nora shrank into her seat, No such thing. Sorry you have to deal with all that. Shapeshifting is a stupid idea anyway.
It’s… alright. I live, I deal with these sorts of things.
Rowan piped up, I never heard about that last thing.
Which part?
About the witness, or your student.
No? I thought I told you?
He shrugged, If you did, I don’t remember.
Nora craned her neck over to see it again, Well… why…? Why would anyone do that though? What’s the point? Just destruction for the sake of it?
Rose sighed and shook her head, I ask myself that constantly. All I can think of… is that it was some troublemakers, who decided that no one would miss the theatre. Quite a depressing thought.
Mm.
That, or an accident, and no one wanted to admit guilt.
Fear & dread flashed in Nora’s eyes, and she forced herself to look away from Rose. She stared at the amphitheater as they drove past it. People —warped and grotesque— stood inside of it, behind what little glass remained. They all stared at her. She couldn’t pull her gaze away, until she lost sight of it as the car rounded a corner.
Nora pushed the double doors apart, and stepped inside. All around her, people hidden in dark booths and side rooms gave her suspicious looks with their beady eyes as she walked into the bar. The room was about 5 meters square of free space, minus the booth seating. It was dark, filled with smoke, and tinged red from maroon colored lamp shades and curtains. Her garish pink & white hair, bright red clothes, and washed bright yellow fur looked nothing like any of the other patrons.
As she walked up to the bar, the bartender —a red Kyrii with an eyepatch— leaned over the counter. He raised his brow, but only the eyebrow of his good eye moved much. He sized her up, then spoke, Y’all need help with somethin?
Huh? Y’all?
Nora looked at him, behind her, then back again, Uh, if by y’all you mean me, and by help, you mean a drink, then, sure.
You lookin for somethin fruity? Wanna try somethin new?
She stood about half a meter away from him next to the bar, What?
then leaned on the counter as well, held up with her elbows, Hell no.
No?
I am here to get fucking wasted and forget all my goddamn problems for an hour or two. I just want mead. Sorry if you were expecting anything else.
He chuckled, then cleared his throat, Right.
Nora looked up to the bartender with a silent glare.
Uhm… what mead we do have is… rather… boujee booze, if you know what I mean.
Alright, alright. Fuckin hell. Just get me the cheapest, highest proof thing you have.
Such as… vodka?
Sure, why not. I’m gonna…
she twisted around, and pointed over to an empty booth behind her and to the left of the front doors, be over in that booth over there. Alright? You keep that shit coming until I can’t pay for it anymore, you understand me?
The bartender raised his eyebrow again, but said nothing.
She turned her gaze down to the table, and the bartender turned to walk away.
Nora pushed herself off the bar’s counter, and trudged over to the empty booth she’d picked out for herself. One by one, as she walked over and sat down, the patrons decided she wasn’t worth their time, and had gone back to their drinking, talking, or card games. She closed her eyes, and waited.
Nora opened her eyes. She’d rested her chin on her arm, which in turn rested on the window sill, mouth almost against the glass. She watched as trees and grass sped past. She looked closer, and thought she could see something dart amongst the trees. She shook her head, and closed her eyes to ignore it. She opened them again, and looked into the side-mirror, at Rowan’s reflection.
Hey.
Nora said, more quiet than she meant to. She cleared her throat, then spoke again at a more normal volume, Hey.
Hm?
Rowan moved his head, Who ya talkin to?
Heh. You.
I see. Whatcha need?
Oh, I dunno. I’m just… curious. How you’ve been doin.
Ahh. I can’t complain… too much.
he chuckled, I’m handlin it.
Mm… whaddya do nowadays?
I’m the Yooyuball coach at Brightvale now.
he closed his eyes and smiled.
That’s nice.
I think we’re pretty good. We win, we lose, it’s all fine. They’re good kids.
You… do anything else?
I have a garden, behind my house.
Oh yeah?
Yeah. It’s a uh… personal thing.
Oh.
Nora nodded, Right. So uh… are you doing anything? Later? After this?
He turned his head to look at her, in the mirror, and raised an eyebrow.
N—not anything, like…
she cleared her throat, …nevermind.
I’m uh… busy. Sorry. Not really interested in… uh, stuff. At the moment.
Yeah.
Nora turned to look back out the window. She glanced at the mirror again, to make sure he wasn’t still looking at her, You stupid bastard…. You awkward piece of shit. Idiot.
she growled at herself.
She glanced out the window. A fleeting image dashed past the car, too blurry to make out. She shook her head, blinked a few times, then turned away from the window. She stared at the roof of the car.
Her eyes were drawn to the rear-view mirror. There was someone behind the car.
Nora’s eyes widened, and she turned around slow to face the back window. The cloaked person that she’d seen from Rose’s window, across the street, was now in the street. She blinked in disbelief, then looked down to the asphalt below them. The figure floated above the ground, unmoving, as though the car were parked. She looked back up. The brown open cloak swayed in the wind. It moved as though from a calm breeze, and not from the 100km/h that the car had been going. The cloak cast an unnatural black shadow. Anything under the cloak —within the shadow— was made too dark to see, such as their body and the asphalt under it. Their hands, feet, and a section of tail poked out from the cloak’s darkness, and was all that was lit by the sun. The exception to this supernatural darkness was a faint orange glow around their body, and their left eye which glowed the same orange color, but brighter. Nora saw them as an androgynous Lutari, but nothing else could be determined.
Nora was paralyzed by the bizarre, dreamlike image before her. Without moving, she wrenched her eyes shut, then opened them again. Nothing had changed. The small amount of them visible made it look like they had brown fur, but something was off about them. Their fur… what is that texture…. It’s like they’re… a single, solid material…
she thought to herself as she stared at them, just like… me.
. She squinted at them, and looked at the few parts that were under the sunlight, It’s… chocolate.
she realized. Nora shuddered, as her senses returned, and panic filled her, Oh fuck, It’s one of them.
The Lutari began to raise their hand, and drew closer.
Oh no, fuck fuck fuck.
Nora turned away, ducked into the seat, and covered her head in her arms.
The quick motion that she’d made to hide herself wiggled the car. Rose felt this, and glanced over at Rowan. He hadn’t noticed. She looked back to the road, and after a moment, looked into the rear view mirror. She saw Nora, huddled in the back seat, as she hid under her own arms. Her heart sank at the sight of her cowering.
By the way… Nora.
Nora sniffed, and looked up.
If you… need to stop, or something, just let us know, alright? If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.
R… right.
she pretended to relax, We uh, don’t need to stop yet. I don’t think. I’m alright.
she straightened herself out, and refused to look behind her.
Al… alright.
Nora looked past Rose, and saw the opening of a tunnel into the side of a large hill, down the road in front of them. She stared ahead, and squinted her eyes at it.
The cloaked Lutari stood there, in the same lane as Rose’s car, in the comparative dark of the tunnel. Orange high pressure lights shown down on them, but they remained dark, like a cloaked void. Their cloak billowed and whipped around as cars drove around them. Their single orange left eye stared into Nora, all that could be seen of them at that distance.
Don’t… don’t go in the tunnel.
Hm?
Rose glanced at her through the rear view mirror, I didn’t hear you, what did you say?
It’s… tunnels, circles, thresholds…
she mumbled, places where the barrier is the weakest. Places that things can cross over, where the Outside can merge with our world.
Rowan turned around in his seat to look at her, What the hell are you on about back there?
Don’t go through that tunnel. Go uh. Off on the exit. I’m uh… I have a uh, irrational fear of tunnels.
He gave her an incredulous look, What??
Rose began to ease off the gass.
I’m… hungry. Can we stop at a gas station? Off on the next exit, before the tunnel?
Rowan turned to Rose with the same expression he'd used on Nora.
She was unwilling to take her eyes off the road for more than a few moments, but responded, Sh… sure, Nora, we can stop at a convenience store. It’s no issue.
Rose turned on her blinker, and decelerated. Nora watched the Lutari, as Rose merged onto the exit ramp. As the car moved, a group of pine trees blocked the view of the tunnel, but she continued to stare in that direction. Rowan, not required to keep an eye on the road like Rose, watched Nora as she glared into the trees— at nothing.
They eased into a parking space out of the way of the gas pumps, and the passenger side faced the front of the gas station. Rose put the car into park, and turned it off.
Thanks.
Nora unbuckled her seatbelt, Sorry.
It’s alright.
Rose turned to him, Rowan, do you need anything?
As he turned to her, and began to respond, Nora opened the car door and jumped out.
Hm? Oh, nahh, I’m good.
he shook his head, I got everything I needed to do, done before I left.
Mm.
They both watched, as she shut the door, and walked over to the gas station. She held her clothes down, as a small gust had picked up.
Rowan turned away, and leaned back in his seat, Hey, uh. Can I ask you something?
Hm? What’s that?
Does… does this car seat have one of those levers?
She broke her stare at Nora, and turned her head towards him, I’m sorry?
The uh, thing that lets you recline in the seat.
Oh. Uh, yes, it does.
Ahh. Very nice.
he smiled, You don’t mind?
No, go right ahead. So long as you put it back up when you leave, of course.
He nodded, then fished around for a lever. He found it, and then fell backwards, as he’d leaned against the backrest too hard. He chuckled, but didn’t try to pull himself back up.
So…
he looked back over to her, and cleared his throat, an irrational fear of tunnels, huh?
She… mentioned that to me before. It just slipped my mind, until she reminded me.
Ah.
he nodded, and looked away, I see. You think that’s… real, then?
The condition exists.
she phrased her sentence in a way as to not tell a direct lie, I played a character once, in a production, that had that.
Oh really now.
A condition called gephyrophobia. It was based on a true story. You’ve probably never seen it, though.
Mm. Right. That’s her deal, then?
So I have been told.
They both sat in silence for a moment.
He shifted in his seat, It’s just that uh….
he cleared his throat, She’s, uh… you know. Kind of being….
I— look,
she lowered her voice, as though to hide the conversation from Nora, I don’t— we don’t know that. I know she’s acting a little… unusual, but if she actually is in danger… I don’t want to abandon our friend when she needs us the most.
Well hang on, that’s not what I’m saying—
I don’t want to put her in greater danger by my negligence.
I mean, she’s the one kinda putting us in danger. Y’know? Having us drive out to the middle-a-nowhere.
But can’t you feel it?
Feel what?
Her… her aura, I don’t know how to explain it.
He stared at her.
N—not any spiritual thing, don’t get the wrong idea, I just… I can feel how afraid she is. The Nora I know is not a good actor. No matter how suspicious she’s being, I can tell she’s terrified of something.
Scared, maybe. Sure, I can see that. But have you also considered: kookie?
Don’t be mean.
I’m not! If she’s—
If it’s just paranoia, and truly nothing else… then maybe a relaxing drive’ll bring her to her senses. Besides… even if she is… unwell… that doesn’t mean her concerns aren’t real.
Alright… alright.
he relented, and leaned back into the seat.
Nora pushed the door open, and a bell attached to the door jingled. She looked around. The sunset shone through the western wall, which held the door she came through. The wall was made almost entirely out of large windows, to show off the items for sale to the outside. Nora looked to her left. The cashier looked up at her as he heard the sound of the bell. He was a grey Moehog with head-hair of the same color, a mohawk slicked back with grease. He was of average height, thin, and looked about 20 or so, she guessed. He wore all maroon clothes, with the exception of a large black greatcoat, though it too had maroon accents on it. Even his eyes were reddish-maroon colored. Gee. I wonder what their favorite color is.
she thought to herself, then chuckled.
He’d been reading yesterday’s newspaper, which he set down as she walked in, Mm, good afternoon.
he nodded at her.
He didn’t sound quite like what she expected him to, as he spoke with a faint Krawk Island accent. She could tell he was bored just from his voice, but still polite enough to put on a show of customer service, so she nodded back at him.
He gave her a small grin on the side of his face she could see, What can I do for ya?
No, uh, nothing.
she looked behind her, then back at him again, I’m alright. I’ll be right back… I’m uh… getting something.
Mm. Just holler at me if you need me for anythin.
Before he picked up his newspaper back up, she noticed that there was a magazine hidden inside the large papers, that he had been looking at instead. She turned away, then dipped back into the shelves of goods. Shiny packages of junk food filled the display shelves, wrapped in plastic, aluminum foil, or both. She shuddered. The last thing I wanna think about is food right now. Too bad I’ll go crazy if I don’t eat something.
. She walked around, and looked up and down the shelves. She paced back and forth, as her eyes darted around. She stopped, then whispered to herself, Perfect.
On the display, one above the bottom shelf, was a six-pack of prepackaged cups of shelf-stable custard, full of preservatives, she was sure. She put her hand into her pocket, then pulled out a round plastic compact mirror. She flicked it open with one hand. She saw her face in it, stuck her tongue out, and chuckled at herself. She rotated the mirror so that she could see behind her and to the side. This place may be too old or too out-of-the-way to have much security. No mirror fixtures. No one else in here.
She turned slow, all the way around, until she could see the cashier in the mirror. He hadn’t been looking at her, instead, the magazine hidden inside the newspaper had his undivided attention. She smirked, put the mirror back in her pocket, then kneeled down.
She grabbed the package of custard cups, lifted up her shirt, then stuffed the packages into herself. The package sunk into her body, and as she pulled her shirt back down, the pointed edges of the packaging vanished into her, as someone would sink into quicksand. She held still, quiet, and glanced around. There was no noise. She reached down, pulled out another package of custard, and repeated the process until there was no more.
She walked out from the isle, and stretched. She looked over at the cashier, but he remained distracted, Hey.
she raised her voice, and watched him.
He looked up, eyes wide for a moment, until he saw it was just her, Hm? Oh! Uh. Yes? Do you need something?
Yeah. You all got a washroom in here?
Oh, it’s uh…
he leaned over the counter, and pointed to the back of the store, to her right, back there, on the left. There’s a uh, bathroom sign, and also a freezer. You uh, can’t go into the freezer though, sorry.
Right. Thanks.
she nodded at him again.
She looked down at his newspaper. As he’d leaned over the counter to give her directions, his papers had bent over to reveal what the magazine was. She could tell, even at her distance, that it was some kind of pornography, though she couldn’t make out exactly what kind.
He tilted his head, then looked down. A look of panic came over his face, Oh. Fuck. Damnit.
he mumbled curses to himself, then sat back down, as he stuffed the magazine back behind the paper.
She shook her head, and turned away. She couldn’t help but smirk and snort at him.
The back of the store was less clean than the front half. Grime coated the lower portion of the walls, and maintenance equipment had been parked in the open. A soda machine with plastic cups next to it, both Achyfi branded, hummed next to her. She continued to walk, into a small hallway to the employee area of the store. Like he’d said, the restroom and the sign that pointed towards it were tucked into the wall to her left, and the heavy freezer door was straight ahead. There was something familiar about the area, and a chill went up her. She ignored the feeling.
She turned towards the bathroom, grabbed the handle of the door, then sighed. She glanced over towards the front of the store. The cashier had leaned back in his chair, and was out of sight, save for a small bit of newspaper that hung over the counter.
God.
she thought to herself, Am I really back to eating shoplifted food in bathrooms?
she chuckled to herself, I can’t believe I’m nostalgic for those early, desperate years. After I see the doctor… maybe everything really will go back to normal.
She pulled open the bathroom door.
It opened into the great hall of a temple. An orange colored, sweet smelling fog billowed out from the open door, from the massive interior structure in front of her. Pillars of what looked like sugar compressed into stone lined the walls. The floor was covered in a granular substance reminiscent of sand— brown sugar that had spilled upon the ground in copious amounts. Chains with the hardness and glint of metal (but made of something orange & transluscent) hung from the ceiling, and ended with hooks which dangled above the floor. At the end of the hall, at the back of the temple, a figure stood. Wrapped in a brown cloak, a shadow around their body, and nothing else, was the orange outline of a chocolate Lutari. They stared at her with their glowing left eye, raised their arm, then beckoned her towards them. The gesture was quicker, more urgent this time.
Without a word or any hesitation, she shut the door. She inhaled, paused, exhaled, then walked away from it.
She looked up, then stopped again, and her eyes went wide. The windows at the front of the store, that should have been a portal to the outside of the gas station, instead showed a different landscape. The metal and plastic of the pumps, overhang, and signage had almost disintegrated. Parts of them fell off, and had hit the sand
below. A desert, a wasteland of jelly and brown sugar sand as far as her eyes could see, laid out before her. Gelatin mountains and buildings dotted the horizon, and a bright orange sun hung above everything.
She walked forward, and stared out, Holy shit. Every time I think I lose them, it just gets fucking worse….
she mumbled to herself, I don’t understand… how are they getting so close, so fast? How do they always know where I am? I haven’t even used the box yet….
Uh.
the cashier stared at her.
She turned her head to look over at him, eyes still wide.
You uh… you alright?
Y… yeah. I’m… just…
she glanced outside, then back to him, waiting for somebody. They’re gonna come pick me up. Don’t worry about it.
Uhh… alright.
he gave her a worried look, then went back to his magazine. He glanced back up at her again, then down.
She put her hand up to the glass. There were people out there in the distance, where none were before. Some wore cloaks, and some wore nonsensical coverings she didn’t recognize; shiny material, the color of black licorice, tight against them. What wasn’t covered was discolored, the wrong texture to be actual fur or skin. Chunks were taken out of them, gashes and bite marks. Some of them had exposed muscles, though most of them weren’t made out of meat. Parts of the clothes were sewn into their bodies, and others had bars and hooks put into them for decoration. Their unnatural sugar-white eyes stared at her. One held some sort of skinless beast by a chain, it’s form was vaguely canid, but something she didn’t recognize as neopian. It’s muscles were dark brown & maroon like jerky, rough, and pitted with sugar & salt. It breathed heavy, and it stared back at her, with eyes that suggested a frightening intelligence. It was smiling, she realized, and not just from lack of skin or lips. They were waiting for her.
Rowan yawned, and turned his gaze away from the sunset clouds, then looked over at Rose, So what’s uh… what does Christabel have to say about this, eh?
Oh, that Nora is back?
Yeah. I bet she’s ecstatic, regardless of… what state she came back in.
Well…. We haven’t told her yet.
What?
That’s right.
Why not??
…Nora… told me not to tell her.
Rowan turned to her all the way, his brow scrunched into a frown, but with mouth slightly ajar from disbelief, Not to tell her.
he leaned toward her, Her sister.
I know… it’s… just as strange to me as it is to you. I… obliged her request. But I’m… not sure what she hopes to accomplish, keeping her sister in the dark. She’d been gone for so long, that….
You realize how suspicious that is, right?
Of course I do.
He shook his head, and looked out the windshield, into the distance, I… we thought whoever… got… Olivia… might have gotten Nora, too. Just that no one ever found Nora’s body.
Right.
Rose hung her head and massaged her brow, Right. I know. But… since Nora’s alive….
Then maybe… maybe whatever happened to Olivia… maybe….
Rose watched him, and waited for what he would say next.
Maybe she’s scared of whatever happend to Olivia happening again.
Rose looked away. That was not what she was thinking.
We need to tell Christabel!
Not…
she held her hand up, n—not necessarily.
He paused, and looked back over to the convenience store.
Rowan had planned to say something else, but stopped. He could see Nora. Her eyes were wide with terror, as she looked around the outside from behind the glass. He leaned closer to the window to get a better look. Her gaze went back and forth, as though she was unable to see the car for something that blocked her vision.
Uh… so… you think we oughta check in on her?
Why? She hasn’t been in there that long.
Maybe not, but uh… she looks… like she’s ready to go.
Hm?
Rose looked over, What do you mean? Why do you say that?
She leaned forward to see around Rowan, and saw the same scene he did. Nora’s gaze shifted between a few targets outside. Targets at eye-level, Rose noticed, save one. But there was no one there.
Right. Well.
she huffed, It looks like she’s… more in need of assistance than I’d first realized.
Yeah, no kidding.
he opened his door.
Rose turned and opened her door as well, and they both stepped out to walk across the parking lot.
She ever do anything like this before?
No.
Rose shook her head, Nothing like this, when she was with me… I’ve never seen her… afraid of nothing. This is a new thing.
…You think she might be out of some kind of medication she didn’t tell you about?
That might explain why she needs to go to a doctor, if it’s not something you can get at a pharmacy.
Ahh. I… I kinda feel bad about calling her crazy, now. Don’t tell her I said that, alright?
Of course.
Even as they approached, she didn’t notice them. The door opened, the bell rang, and Nora’s head turned fast to the noise. Rowan walked in first, and pushed the door open. She relaxed, and heaved a sigh.
Rowan? Oh, god, you scared the shit outta me.
Heyy! Uh… yeah. You… looked kinda spooked. Just checking on you, you good?
Nora looked to her left, back toward the glass wall. They still stood out there. The door wasn’t open, in their world, Yeah I’m alright. Don’t… don’t worry. I uh… think I have to leave.
Yeah, I figured.
he nodded.
Thanks.
Nora walked past him, and ducked past Rose, to get to the car as fast as she could without running.
He waved at the cashier, Ahem. S—sorry. About that. She’s uh… she’s fine. Don’t worry about it.
The cashier peeked over his paper & magazine, still with a bored expression, nodded at Rowan, then raised it back up.
Nora stared down a few glasses of vodka. The double doors opened, and someone walked in, but she didn’t look up.
Y’all need help with somethin?
the bartender had been cleaning a glass mug, and he walked over to the customer.
A feminine voice spoke up, Oh, uh, yeah!
Nora tried to ignore everything but her drink.
The bartender continued, What ye fancy? Mead? Vodka?
Oh, noo, hahaha. I want, like, something fruity, or fancy, please.
Right then. Why don’t ye grab yourself a chair, and I’ll come up with somethin for ya.
That’d be super, thank you.
Nora couldn’t resist her curiosity any longer, and took a glance at the familiar voice. Her eyes widened, and she frowned, as she saw who it was. It was Olivia. She turned her head away as fast as she could, and scooted over in her seat, in an attempt to hide from her. It didn’t work. The sound of her scooting attracted Olivia’s attention in the otherwise quiet bar.
Hm…? Hey… hey wait a minute… Nora?
she said with a smile.
Nora froze in her seat, and cursed under her breath, God damnit.
Heyyy!
she walked over and leaned on Nora’s table, I didn’t know you’d be here!
Hey. Uh.
Nora looked up at her, and hunched over the table, Me neither.
Olivia waved over to the bartender to get his attention, Hey, e—excuse me?
He had already been watching them.
Could you uh… could I have that drink over here? I’m sitting here now.
He smirked, then nodded, and continued to watch them as he made the drink.
Olivia and Nora both leaned over several empty glasses. Nora was buzzed, drowsy, and it took considerable effort to keep her eyes open. Olivia on the other hand, was a happy drunk. Nora smirked, as Olivia wobbled and giggled uncontrollably.
So… you ran off before us…? But it’s so far away! Like, why’d you do that?
Just…
wanted to be alone.
she stopped herself from saying, …wanted to… stretch my legs.
she lied.
You walked?
N—no—
Lordy, you can run fast. Hehee. Why didn’t you take a taxi like I did?
She sighed, I did. I uh… I didn’t literally run, I took a taxi.
Oh. I was here thinkin you were… secretly like, a marathon runner or something.
I dunno, I just… wanted…
she chose a polite way to say it, privacy. I… got a little overwhelmed. It’s been a long night. Long before we all went to that house. I’m just drowning my sorrows, I guess.
Awww, honey.
Hey, you.
Nora pointed at her, Don’t you tell me a damn thing. I’ll gargle as much giggle-water as I want.
Olivia smirked and giggled more, You’re funny, you know that?
Excuse me??
No! No—no, I mean like, in a good way. I like the thing you said.
…Right.
Olivia sipped more of her bright blue cocktail, The thing you said was funny. Hehehehee.
Yeah. You said that already. I just… I guess I wanted to go somewhere no one recognized me. I told the taxi driver to take me… to the farthest bar away. That was still in the city limits, anyway.
Heheh. Sounds like you would wanna be, a uh, shapeshifter or something. Just put on another face and not have to worry about it.
Heh. I’d love that, actually.
Nora smiled, and looked down into her glass, That sounds cool as hell.
she looked up at Olivia, I wish I could pretend to be you sometimes, to be honest.
R—really?
I dunno.
Nora looked away, You seem to have more fun than I do. You know a lot of people. Talk to people I wish I had the guts to.
Awwww. I should take you out more.
Oh yeah?
Yeah! I could try and introduce you to some of our friends!
Our?
Me and Rowan.
Right.
Nora sighed, You and Rowan.
They paused for a moment, as both took a drink.
So…
Nora leaned back, Why here? Why alone? Did you wanna get away from him? The only thing he ever pays attention to is you and yooyuball.
Get away? Oh, nooo, hahaha. He was just tired, he almost passed out in the taxi.
Alright.
Nora took another drink.
He’s at our dorm. I like… wanted to do a night out, but like… Yolanda was like… really pissy for some reason.
Nora chortled as she sipped more drink.
You weren’t there, Anne & Sam were gonna go to a motorcycle thing with her brother, and Christabel just wanted to go home.
Home?
Well, you guys’s dorm, I mean.
Ahh.
Nora swished her drink around, and thought about Christabel, That makes more sense.
So I decided to just go by myself.
Why here?
Oh I dunno, I didn’t pick it out. I asked the driver what his favorite bar was, and he dropped me off here.
Ahh.
Heheh, yeah.
You’re a real giggly drunk, huh?
W—what? Pffehehh, I’m not drunk.
Sure.
she grinned.
Favorite bar….
Nora looked away, and thought to herself, This bar is supposed to be the furthest bar away from Brightvale University within the city limits…. That taxi driver… must have just scammed Olivia by driving her as far as they possibly could. To get the largest fare outta her.
Nora smirked again, and chuckled, What a bastard. Oh well.
What’cha gigglin about?
Hm?
Nora looked back up, Oh, I was uh…
she stalled for time in an attempt to think of something else, just… thinking about…. So like… the Wernicke house, right?
Oh, yeah?
Yeah. I uh… Chrissy invited me along, but uh… I wasn’t paying very much attention.
Oh my god, you have nicknames for each other? That’s so cute….
I mean… yeah? You’ve never heard me call her that before?
Noo, I haven’t, that’s so adorable….
Well, yeah. You try and say
Christabel
four million times growing up. I’m just lucky Norry
didn’t stick.
Heeheee. I wish I had a sister. We could give each other cute nicknames….
Nora chuckled and shook her head, Well, anyway. Yeah. What was the deal with the house?
You don’t know? You’re in the club, right…?
I am, but like… only when they’re doing something interesting. Or when Chrissy drags me along.
Ohh, okay.
Olivia nodded.
I’m honestly creeped out by some-a these people. Like that uh… the blue Bori, with the dark blue ponytail.
Oh, Zigmund?
Yeah. Hate that guy. He’s got, like, crazy eyes, lookin around all shifty-like. I’m glad he skimped out on us for the house thing. He kinda reminds me of somebody, but I can’t put my finger on it.
Yeah, he’s kind of annoying I guess.
And the other guy, what was his name… Paul? The Gelert? Guy with the greasy hair?
What, Samantha’s brother?
Yeah. Mutes all the TVs and radios whene’er he walks into a room, even if people are tryin’ta watch somethin. Fuckin rude as hell. What is it with these people?
I uh… just try to ignore him. Sam is kinda protective of him. Don’t say any of that to their faces, alright? She’s a little scary when she’s mad. And she’s got some kind of… weird sixth sense for any slights to her brother or something.
Mm. Thanks.
she nodded, I’ll try to remember that. Almost feel as though the Paranormal Club, like, attracts weirdos.
I mean, we’re in the club too.
Nora snorted, Pfft. Yeah. Heheh. I guess so. Maybe we’re weirdos and don’t know it yet.
Or maybe we’ll get turned into weirdos, heheee.
Olivia giggled.
Nora scoffed, I bloody well hope not.
Wait, uh. What were we talking about before this? Oh! About the house!!
Ah! Yeah, sorry. I got us a little side-tracked.
Heheh, you’re fine.
she cleared her throat, then lowered her head, hands apart, as though she were about to tell a ghost story: So, Yolanda’s dad, he’s like, the police chief or whatever, right?
That’s right?
And she overhears, like, some… weird shit happened there from him and his buddies. Wait. Did I just say the s-word?
she put her hands up to her face, Oh my gosh. Maybe I am drunk.
What are you, five? Whatever. What happened?
Oh, right. So like, she overhears him talking about super crazy stuff, like, them all being gone out of nowhere, cars still in the driveway, maybe like, dead.
I heard about that much. What happened to them?
Well we don’t know! Their cars were in the driveway, and like, dinner was on the table like they were about to eat it… nothing was really knocked over or smashed. The police searched the whole house, but it was locked from the inside, and there was no one in there, but like, apparently there was some blood in the kitchen? But totally clean besides that.
Really? I didn’t see any.
You went in the kitchen?
Yeah. Clean as a whistle. Most of the food was gone too.
Huh. Well, Yolanda thought it was like, something paranormal, so she wanted to have everyone investigate it. The police tried to see if the bodies were in the basement, but like, they couldn’t find the entrance to the basement, like it’d disappeared.
Wait, really? Why couldn’t they find it? It’s just in the kitchen, next to the pantry.
…How do you know that?
I found it.
The…??
her eyes widened, then lowered her voice, you found the bodies??
Noo, no. There weren’t any bodies in the basement.
Aww.
Aww? You say that like it’s a bad thing!
I mean, it would be super cool if we —like, the club— solved a murder mystery or something cool like that.
Oh.
Nora rolled her eyes, Pfft.
So the basement was empty?
Well… sorta? There was… like, it was just a dirt floor. There were boot prints, and it looked like people had been laying on it. But there wasn’t anyone there. There was a big block or something, with a huge screen and a keyboard in the back.
Screen and a keyboard….
Yeah.
A computer terminal? Like we have in the computer lab? In their basement?? That’s weird.
Yeah, and uh….
Nora fished something out of her jacket pocket, and placed it on the table. It was an upside down triangle on all sides. It was made out of a combination of two materials: a brass colored metal, and something else difficult to distinguish. The substance could either have been wood or stone, in a dark brown color, but it was impossible to tell. As Nora took her hand off of it, it remained standing on a single point in defiance of gravity, and it rotated by a very small amount as her fingers brushed against it. It was divided into nine segments, with unfamiliar symbols on each one.
What uh… what is that?
Olivia pointed at the box.
Not sure. Some kind of weird toy maybe. The uh… the lines between these triangle shapes, uh, you can twist it. Like this.
Nora took the toy
in both hands, then twisted it. The individual sections turned, in a rotationally symmetrical motion around the core, held together by an internal free-spinning hinge. She put it back down onto the table, in a new configuration.
Olivia stared at it, It’s a uh… tet… tet-ra-he-dron.
she struggled to speak through the fog of alcohol.
Is that what this is?
Oh, no, I don’t know what this is,
she pointed at the box, what I said… that’s just the uh… geometric… name.
Sorry, I dunno shit about magic. Kinda interested in thaumaturgy though.
Geometry is maths, not magic.
Math, magic, same difference to me.
Why’s it… stood up? Like that? On the point. Is it one of those gravity toys? Like the blow-up Chia clown that you can’t knock over all the way, and stands back up again, because it has a weight on the bottom? Does it have a weight in it?
I dunno.
Nora shrugged.
Where’d you get it?
I found it uh… can you keep a secret?
Uh. Heheh. In this state?
she grinned, No, I cannot. Though, I might just forget everything you tell me by tomorrow, so it balances out.
Right.
Nora smirked, Well. It doesn’t matter anyway. I uh… when we all went to the Wernicke house, I uh… split up, and snuck off to the basement. There was this… orange glow in there. And on the ground, in the middle of the floor… this.
she pointed at it, Doin this spinny number.
So you took it?
Hell yeah I took it. Lookkit this thing.
What if it’s evil and cursed or whatever?
she grinned.
She chuckled, If nothing else I can just pawn it off to somebody.
Y’know, uh.
she paused to take another drink, Samantha, Anastasia’s girlfriend?
Yeah? What about ‘er?
Her dad, Dr. Kirscher… he knew the Wernickes. I’ve heard Sam talk about him, their whole family was really into spooky stuff like this. You should ask ‘em about it.
Heh. Maybe I will, if I get the chance.
The world outside crumbled as it sped past. Nora had scrunched down in her seat as she watched it. Trees fell & the ground trembled. Houses, buildings, and infrastructure visible from the highway began to collapse and cave in all around the vehicle, as it turned to sugar, gingerbread, and jelly. Hands, paws, and claws— teeth, blades, and bone— all scraped & pounded against the edges of the window & behind the door, as a hungry, unliving mass gripped the back end of the car.
…I’m… not gonna make it….
Nora saw the bar in the distance. It was a run-down shack that stood alone next to a parking lot. The entire structure was made of wood, bleached by the sun, the only dark wood there were the double doors to the inside, under the awning of the porch. The sign above the awning had eroded away, the name of it scrubbed away or pried off. She couldn’t tell how much of the damage it had suffered was from her vision of the worlds merging, or just from the effects of time and entropy. Even as the world around it turned to sand, gelatin, and chocolate rubble, it remained there.
She stared at it and mumbled to herself, I’m gonna have to… oh god I’m gonna have to use them as bait aren’t I…. I can’t believe I’m about to do this…. This is so fucked….
Rose. We… I….
Hm? What do you need?
S—slow down the car. I’m sorry, I don’t think I’m going to make it to the doctor’s.
Rowan turned his head, Hm? Do you have to go pee or somethin? Why didn’t you go at the gas station?
Nora glared at him, That’s not why.
then looked back over to Rose, I… we have to stop. I’m sorry but we have to stop.
Alr— …th—that’s alright, Nora. Whatever you need to do.
That bar over there, you see it?
Rose switched on her blinkers, and took a quick glance at it, Mmhm?
Let’s uh… stop there.
Looks like the only option.
she nodded, We’ll stop by there for you.
Oh.
Rowan looked over at it, then to her, Oh okay. You’re thirsty then! Why didn’t you just say so?
Nora looked away from the both of them.
It’s uh… it looks kinda… scraggly.
he jabbed his thumb in it’s direction, It kinda looks like the building itself is hungover. Heheh.
Hey, uh…
Nora looked over at him, when we get there… could you let me out?
Like, open the door for you?
Yeah.
Uh… sure, alright. I can do that.
As the car turned off from the exit, the clawing and scraping sounds faded away. Nora clutched her stomach, nauseous from the stress, and took a deep, heavy breath.
Hey, uh… Nora?
Oliva stood up. She wobbled, and looked confused.
Yeah? What’s the matter?
Could you uhm… the uh… glasses. I don’t want to uh… leave them, or… have someone take them. Or like… y’know.
You want me to watch your glass? Sure.
Right, right! Yeah. Sorry, I’m uh….
Completely wasted?
Nooo…
she grinned, noo. Hehehee. I’m uh… I’ll be back.
She walked over to the bar, and leaned against the counter. She went over, almost too far, and lifted herself off her feet for a moment.
The bartender looked over, then moved toward her, Excuse me, do you need help with something?
I gotta… heheheee.
she lowered her voice to a whisper, I gotta go peepee.
then snorted and giggled.
Nora rolled her eyes, scrunched up and hid her face, as she cringed in second-hand embarrassment.
The bartender leaned away, and pointed her to the back of the bar.
Olivia nodded, and pushed herself off the counter, Oh, also, by the way…
she pointed a wobbly finger at him, is there uh… do you sell snackies? You got any food back there?
No.
Surely there’s something!
He shook his head, We don’t have a permit to sell food. Just drinks.
What kind of a bar doesn’t have pretzels??
A liquor license is expensive enough nowadays, ever since Hagan came back. Whatever we might have is whatever the employees’ve brought with them from home. Anything else is for emergencies only.
But it is! Me so hungie!
she grinned, It’s a hunger emergency!
I doubt it.
Oh…
she looked down, that’s a shame. Not even like… pretzels or jerky in the basement or something?
We don’t even have a basement.
Oh well.
she nodded, I’m gonna go now.
then walked away, toward the back.
Rowan opened the car door, and got up.
Nora watched as he vanished through the threshold, and the door closed behind him. The outside of the car was a desolate landscape, with only the bar there to correlate with reality. He opened the door, and on the other side, was the real world.
She breathed another sigh of relief, as she unbuckled her seatbelt, and got up out of the car, Thank you.
No problem.
Rose opened her door, and got up as well. She leaned over the roof of her car, Nora… do you want us to come with you?
Yeah… in a second, thank you.
she avoided their gaze, Thank you again. Just let me go in first.
Nora walked forward, and stepped up onto the wooden porch under the awning. She went up to the door. It was locked. She sighed, moved her hand to the seam between the two double doors, then pushed it in. It sunk through it, and went inside.
Rose & Rowan watched as the doors opened in front of Nora, and she stepped in, without closing them behind her. It was unlit inside.
As she disappeared into the darkness, Rowan turned to Rose: So… that place is uh. Closed. Like, closed closed.
Rose rubbed her temples.
Like, out of business closed.
I know what you meant. I can see that.
Well? How’d she get in? What the hell is going on with her?
Rowan… do you… have a permit?
A… permit…? You mean like…
he lowered his head and his volume, self defense?
That’s right.
You uh… you think I’m gonna need that?
Rose sighed, and stared into the open double doors of the bar.
I mean… I’m a strong guy. I can lift one of my students over my head. What, you think I’d need a gun or something? Destruction magic?
Rose closed her door, Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
then stepped around her car.
Rowan shook his head and mumbled, What the hell have I gotten myself into?
As they both walked towards the wooden structure, she looked up. The sign that would have displayed the name of the business was blank, though there were holes and bent nails where the letters of the sign would have been hung. As Rowan walked in, she stopped, her attention grabbed by something in the window. In front of the faded maroon curtains and the glass, there was a piece of laminated paper. Old tape was attached to the top, but it had long since detached from the glass. The only reason it remained on the window was because the corner had been jammed into the gap between the glass and the wood trim. She tried to pull on the paper, but it was stuck. She bent down to read it instead.
This is…
she read the paper to herself quietly, notice of foreclosure. From… nineteen… fifty two?? Th… this place has been closed for years!
Rose stood back up, then walked in fast through the door.
Rowan turned around, Hm? Did you say something?
There’s a notice of foreclosure on the door. The year?
Yeah? When?
Nineteen fifty two.
What??
It was empty, all of it. There were no glasses, bottles, or chairs. Everything that wasn’t nailed to the floor or walls had been gutted, save for the maroon curtains. All of said curtains were closed, so only slivers of light hit the dingy brown wood floors.
Nora stood in the middle of the bar, head hung low, It’s… it’s too late.
Rowan looked up towards her, and folded his arms, Yeah, a lil’ bit. If a drink is what you were after.
Nora…
Rose moved closer to her, too late for what?
Nora turned around, and stared past them.
No one had closed the doors behind them, which let the sun come through. But not their sun. The outside world had been replaced by brown sugar sand, orange fog-choked sky, and a false sun that glowed orange & hung over the landscape. Strange figures stood in the distance outside. They inched closer.
It’s too late. We have to hide.
Rowan squinted at her, Hide??
They’re getting closer. If we… if we hide, maybe they’ll think we moved on, or found another way out.
W—
Rose blinked, Who?
Nora turned away, fast-walked to the back of the bar, and didn’t respond.
Nora, who is chasing you?
Nora stomped on the ground, put one hand on the wall, and tightened her other into a fist. She was only a few steps away from an alcove behind the bar. She turned to look at Rose, her expression wide-eyed with terror and rage, Who?? Who fucking isn’t at this point??
Rose stopped, I… I just want to help.
I wish you could, but you can’t. It’s bigger than you,
she put her hand to her chest, it’s bigger than me! I fucked up, over and over again, and I keep pissing people off everywhere I go! People with resources, Rose. People who want me fucking dead or worse.
Rowan raised his eyebrows, and looked back and forth between the two of them.
Just…
Rose put her hands in front of her, just explain it to me. I feel like… if maybe I understood what was happening, maybe—
You wanna know what’s going on? I’ll tell you what’s going on. You all have no idea how many freaks are after me right now. I —fuckin— where do I even fuckin begin?
she turned around, her right hand held against her forehead, The sadists? No.
she shook her head, Most recently? Some old, rich, asshole from Qasala is trying to blow my brains out
Wh—??
He seemed like the only one who wasn’t freaking out, seemed like he had a plan. Something about a tooth in a vault somewhere. Thought I could trust him, that was a fucking mistake.
N—Nora—
She paced across the floor, and gesticulated with her hands, I found out… I—I keep talking to this guy, pretend like, I’m into that. I find out… he’s fucking delusional. So I try and sneak off, and what does he do?? He tells me I
she threw her hands up, know too much
now, and starts shooting fucking lightning at me. Lightning! So I ran away!Like I always fucking have to!
Nora, if someone like that is trying to hurt you, you need to call the police!
You think I can trust them? This guy is richer than god, I have no idea how he has so much money. Even if he did go to jail, he could just pay his way out. Besides, that’s just one of my problems. I haven’t even brought up the suits yet.
What?
she shook her head a little, I’m sorry?
I don’t know who the fuck they are. When we all…
she looked down and to the side, unsure of how to word what she wanted to say, got here… old lunatic and everybody else, we got fuckin swarmed by weirdos. People in like, military spook, fuckin, science outfits, start wrangling us up, and only a few of us get away. Wouldn’t’ve even bothered cozying up to that old bastard if not for them.
Got here? From where?
She spoke quietly, You’d never fuckin believe me. I’m not even sure if I believe it.
Rose looked back to Rowan, a worried look on her face.
He silently mouthed to her: (She’s wacko. She’s fuckin lost it.)
Rose shook her head shushed him, then turned back to Nora, You can tell me.
No.
she put her head in her hands, voice wavering, I know you people think I’m fuckin insane. It’s why I never told you anything. Not about the old guy, not about the suits, not about the sadists.
Rose stared at her, and blinked, Sadists? Who are they?
Rowan mumbled at Rose, Does it matter?
Shh.
Nora glanced at Rowan, but chose to ignore him and looked back to Rose, They’re the ones that are closest to me. The people after me right now. They’re pissed off at me because…
her voice trembled from held back tears, because I fucked up. Because I fucked up… and then I ran. I run for years. But even after all of this, they’ve finally found me again. After all this time. All of it was fucking pointless.
Rowan looked to the side, then looked back up at Nora, …Well… if those people are the ones chasing you now, why didn’t you mention them first?
Nora pulled her face from her hands, and stared at him with wild, angry eyes, You think you’re so fucking clever. I know I’m running for my life, right now, but I swear, if you make one more snide comment, my foot is gonna make a detour
she inhaled, right up your ass.
S—sorry.
Rose took a step closer to Nora, Why is it so important that you have to hide? Can you not just come with us?
They’re…. The ones that are after me now, you can’t see them. They’re on the Outside. I’m the only one they’re fucking with, so only I can see them. If I go any farther they’re gonna… you’re gonna lose me. They’ll take me, and I’ll disappear.
She walked away, again toward the back of the bar.
W—wait! Where are you going?
She walked out of view. Her footsteps were audible, fading as she walked down stairs.
Rose ran to follow her, Nora!
She stopped and stared at the threshold Nora had walked into, then Rowan —who had followed behind her— did as well. The open door to the basement was thin, much more so than a regular door, and tall, going from floor to ceiling. The wall that the basement door was attached to didn’t fit in with the rest of the bar either. It had had been painted a deep, unreflective black, the same as the door inset into it, with gold vertical dividing lines as trim around the threshold to the basement. The paint job seemed very recent, Rose noticed. On either side of the door were two symbols, painted onto the walls with the same gold color as the trim. The first, on the right, was a cross, symmetrical both vertically and horizontally, circumscribed within a circle. The second, on the right, was a pentagram, also circumscribed within a circle. Both were the same size, at the same height, and glimmered with what little reflected light that came in around the curtains.
Uh.
Rowan looked back at the doorway, Well… what do we do now? What’s this all about? Did she… know this was here?
We have to go down there and help her.
Not down there we don’t. Hell no. I’m gonna look for a phone. Call the hospital, or the police if this gets any worse.
She glared at him, I know it’s dangerous, I know how stupid this sounds. But I can’t just leave her here. Didn’t you hear what she said?
Oh, I did. I think I’ve heard quite enough. I mean, I didn’t really absorb most of it, she was kinda rambling nonsense at me. But yeah. Enough.
Rose frowned, then walked down the stairs without him. She stepped down into the dark of the basement, and her lupine eyes quickly adjusted to it. It was a room full of brown dirt, dust, and metal. On the far wall to her left, there was a large screen, unpowered, and attached to a keyboard. Rose slowed her descent to look at it, confused, Why…
she lowered her voice, why is there a computer terminal down here? And why is the screen so large? What is this doing down here?
As Rose stepped down from the stairs and onto the dirt floor, Nora came out from her hiding spot underneath the stairs. She grabbed Rose by the neck, and pulled her into a choke hold. Rose gasped, stumbled forward, and caught herself on a thin metal load-bearing pillar next to the end of the stairs. Nora turned her head to look down at Rose’s ankle, and pointed her hand at it. A bright orange glow shone from her palm, as ethereal chains shot out.
W— Nora!!
she panted as she struggled, Nora what are you doing??
She didn’t respond, a desperate expression on her face, as she pulled Rose out of the way of the pillar, held out her hand, and watched as the other end of the chain clamped itself to it.
Rowan’s shoes stomped down the stairs as he ran at Nora, having heard Rose shout. Nora turned to look at him, but was too late to dodge out of the way as he tackled her. She lost her grip on Rose, and all of them fell forward onto the ground. Nora’s muzzle hit the floor with a thud, and she growled. Rowan moved to his knees, then his feet, as he took up a college wrestling stance.
Hey!
he shouted, What the fuck is going on down here?
Nora pulled herself to her knees.
He took a quick glance behind him, then another longer glance, as he saw the chain locked onto Rose’s ankle. The main mass of the chain was a very dark blue & black, with an outline around it almost like a cartoon, where an orange glow pulsated. He turned back to Nora, What the fuck is this about? You gonna lock us up down here? Is that it? You wanna tussle?
Rose backed away toward the pillar, and watched the two of them.
As Nora began to pull herself to her feet, she glared at Rowan, I didn’t want any of this… but you don’t wanna fight me.
Oh? I don’t? Gimme one good reason.
She wiped dirt off of her lip, I’m gonna mess up your pretty face.
Nora picked up a metal pipe up off the floor, and swung it at him.
Whoa!! Shit!
he jumped to the side, and out of the way.
Rose tried to walk forward, in between the two of them, but the chain stopped her. She looked down. It had somehow shortened itself from the length it was before, and grew heavier the farther she went away from the pillar she’d been chained to. She stared at it for a second, bewildered: What is this?
she thought, It has to be magic of some kind, but this seems like… too complicated of a spell to be cast like that, she didn’t even use an incantation.
She huffed, and looked back over at the two of them, Nora, stop this! This isn’t like you!
She ignored her, and swung again. Rowan grabbed her wrist as it came down, and he winced in pain as the pipe hit his shoulder. He grabbed the pipe with his other hand, and pulled hard. It, and the loose glove that Nora had been wearing, both pulled away, and drips of custard fell to the ground. Instead of retreating, she launched herself into him to grab the pipe back, but he turned to miss her, the both of them now turned 180°.
Stop it!
he yelled at her, Quit it, or I’m gonna have to knock you out with this thing!
he shook the pipe at her.
She growled, tried to tackle him again, and he turned for her to miss. She grabbed his sweater as she fell past him, and he was drug down to the ground with her. She punched at his chest and stomach, as he tried to pull himself off of her. They rolled around on the ground as Nora punched and kicked at him.
This…
he coughed, this is your… your last warning! Don’t think I won’t do it!
Shut the fuck up and stay down, jackass.
Nora kicked his shin.
AUGH! Shit!!
Rowan managed to get on top of her, pulled himself up, and raised the pipe over his head.
Nora bared her teeth, and punched him in the pectoral muscle, in front of his armpit.
He winced, grunted & closed his eyes, then slammed the pipe down onto her head with as much force as his tired and pained arm could manage.
Rose yelped and put her hands to her face.
He panted, and opened his eyes. For a moment, it felt like his heart had stopped. Nora’s head had deformed around the pipe, splattered, like someone had dropped a bowl of oatmeal on the floor. Yellow slop had gone everywhere, on the pipe, on his clothes, and all over the dirt.
Oh… god. Oh my god… is she… dead?? What the fuck? There’s… no blood?
he dropped the pipe in shock.
Nora’s hand gripped the pipe where it had landed next to them, and with a single motion, hit him in the abdomen. He wordlessly shouted, hit hard enough to fall off of Nora and onto the floor beside her, and he clutched his side.
It seemed as though time rewound, as the yellow material that made up her head flowed up from the floor, and rebuilt her face. Rose watched in fear as Nora stood back up, face intact, as though nothing had happened. Nora raised her hand at Rowan. With an orange glow, a chain went to his ankle, just like the chain around Rose’s. She pointed it at a pipe connected to the computer terminal. The other side of the chain came out, then attached to it. The glow subsided as she closed her hand.
Nora stood there, bent over. She panted, and shook her head.
Rose summoned up the courage to speak, Nora… why are you doing this?
she held her voice steady, her years of acting experience overriding her fear.
Nora looked over for a moment, then turned away to avoid looking at her, I’m sorry.
she panted. Her voice had gone raspy, I’m so sorry… but I have to. They know where we are.
she glanced up toward the stairs, the basement’s exit, Or, where we were a few seconds ago. This basement is just buying us some time.
If you wanted to, I could have… I could have just pulled over for you. You could have just told us to stay here, you don’t need to chain us up, just… we’ll let you go, okay? You don’t have to worry about it.
Nora shook her head, Save it.
We’ll stay here for a while if that’s what you want! Just… don’t leave us trapped down here. Anything I can do to help, I will.
Rowan moaned, and pulled himself up, as he rubbed his side where she’d hit him. He moved his hand up to his face and looked at his finger-claws, to see if it had drawn blood. It was clean, so he let his arm fall to the floor. He blinked a few times, in an attempt to get his eyes to focus, then looked up at Nora, What… the fuck… just happened?
Nora turned to him.
Rose gestured to him, shushed him, gave as many (No! Please don’t say anything!)
signals as she could think of.
He either didn’t notice her, or wasn’t convinced, Wh… what…
he spoke between deep breaths, and gestured at the chain attached to his ankle is this??
A charism. Void Chains.
He paused, and lowered his head, It’s… what?
The mundanes would know it as thaumaturgy.
Th… thaumaturgy?? Why the…
he looked around, then back to her, What?? No. That’s, fuckin, fake medieval priest-magic! That’s paranormal club crap! What is this actually? How are you doing this?
It’s not magic, and it’s not fake.
I mean, I guess it has to be not fake, since I’m, like, lookin at it. I know you and your family are from back then, because of the whole…
time shift… thing
, but I mean—
No! No.
she frowned, and paced around the room, That’s not… that’s not the reason. You get it from outsider beings. It’s a manifestation of their will—
Look, forget it, I shouldn’t’ve even asked.
he shook his head, Nora, I don’t give a crap about history, context, or whatever lore this stuff has, I just want out of here.
Rose stared at Nora, Why are you using this on us?
She turned to her, Because, as fucked up as this sounds… I have to use you two. As bait.
For the people chasing you?
Mm. I stole this power from them. I hate using it, but I’ll do what I have to.
Rowan leaned back onto the terminal, What does that have to do with us then? You stole magic? How do you steal magic?? What are we supposed to do about that?
I said, it’s not magic!
she gritted her teeth at him and gripped the pipe tighter.
Well, it looks like magic to me. What’s the fucking difference?
Elemental magic, as you know it, doesn’t care about being used, or what you use it for. This is different.
You know what, don’t answer that, I don’t care, I don’t wanna hear it. I quit the goddamn club, why do I keep asking these questions?
Shut up and let me finish. If you use charismata… against the will of who it belongs to… it tries to take that power back. The sadists, The Hunger. They want me. You all… you all were just my only option to distract them. I’m sorry.
Rowan panted, swallowed, and looked into the darkness. After a moment to compose himself, he looked back to her, I don’t… I don’t even… fuckin… I don’t know what to say in a situation like this. Nora, you fucked up bad. You know that, right?
Trust me, I know. I have been in a constant state of
fucked up
long before the two of you ever got involved.
Rose pulled against the chain to get her attention again, Could you… give that power back to them?
She shook her head, I wish. The only reason I took this power in the first place was to escape from them. They were chasing me long before this.
Nora… you… you didn’t have to go through all this. If you needed protection from something… surely someone in the school could have helped you! They have… they have all kinds of people, powerful magic users! They… I’m sure something could—
No. I appreciate it, but no. None of them could stop a dæva, let alone a billion of their fucking minions.
A… deva?
Actually,
Rowan pointed his index finger up, then at Nora, You know what? I’m sorry to interrupt you but, uh… I have actually thought of something I want an answer to. A uh, a different question, it’s kind of important, I think.
Nora sighed, rolled her eyes, then turned to him, What?
I… I could’ve sworn that, you know… that I uh….
he looked away, cleared his throat, then looked back, Didn’t I just —fucking— pulp you? Did you turn to mush or something? Did I hallucinate that?
Nora let out a single, unenthusiastic chuckle.
I thought I’d fucking killed you. I mean, I didn’t want to, or mean to, don’t get the wrong idea. Just a… little uh… soporific love tap, if y’know what I’m sayin.
No.
Nora had a grim expression on her face, No, you did not imagine that.
He waited for a moment, for her to elaborate.
She only stared at him.
Was that… one of your uh, fake not-magic things?
It’s not charismata, if that’s what you mean.
Then… what…? That’s just… a thing you do, then? What… are you?
She inhaled slow, and held it for a moment before speaking, I’m not a neopian, or a Uni, anymore. I just look like one, right now.
Rose leaned back, A… shapeshifter? Are you… the real Nora?
She huffed, Well, yeah? Why wouldn't I be?
If you can shapeshift, why do you just look like yourself?
Because I… I’m tired, okay?? I was using some other form as a disguise before this. I haven’t looked like myself in years, and I was so exhausted from it. It takes so much effort to look like something that isn’t yourself. You have no idea what it feels like, to pretend to be someone else.
Nora… I’m an actor.
Yeah, well, you get to go home and take the mask off! I couldn’t! The longer you stay in a form that isn’t yours, the more you need to turn back into your real self. It gets harder and harder to be someone different. It’s agonizing! I hated it!
But… here? You didn’t think anyone would recognize you here?
I didn’t think about shit, okay? I wasn’t thinking. As asinine as it feels to admit that. I didn’t have a master plan or anything, I’m just trying to make it to tomorrow.
she sighed, A part of me thought that… maybe everyone I knew would have moved away by now, or maybe everyone hated me because of what I did and were just going to avoid me like the plague. Hell, maybe I wanted someone to recognize me. I dunno what I was thinking. I felt like I was being pulled toward Brightvale, who knows why. Maybe in my head… I thought time might rewind, and everything would go back to normal, like waking up from a bad dream….
Uh.
Rowan cleared his throat.
Oh for gods sakes, what now?
You never answered. What you uh… what you are now.
She sighed, Right. Well. I’m a ghoul. Apparently.
she closed her eyes, turned away, then opened them again, That same wacko… the one that attacked me with lightning. That old fuck I told you about? He’s the one that explained all this shit to me. I’m like a… an earthbound spirit or something.
A spirit. A ghoul.
he gave a cautious nod, Right. So ghouls are… made of… gunk?
What??
she frowned at him, I’m not gunk! That’s just… it’s….
she looked at her hand, Ghouls can be made out of anything that isn’t already alive. Whatever was around their sprit when they came back from the other side. Usually a corpse, their old body. If their body was made out of something else… like if they spent too long in—
Okay, so, long story short?
She inhaled angrily, Fine!! I’m… I’m made out of fucking custard. There, are you happy? Goddamn goofy bullshit from the fucking jelly world I got trapped in. You see this??
she pulled up her shirt, then reached into her own body. She pulled out a single cup of prepackaged gas station custard.
Uh.
She popped off the metal lid, and let it fall to the floor.
He watched it hit the ground, then looked back up to her.
She tipped the cup over, shook it, and let the custard inside drop onto her hand. It disappeared into her, incorporated into her flesh
the moment it made contact, This is what I’m made of. I’m not made out of person-stuff anymore.
Oh. That’s why you smell like that. I just thought you were wearing perfume or something. That is…
he watched the custard vanish into her hand, is…
he then looked back up to her face, …is all that shit you were going on about real, then?
You thought I was delusional, didn’t you.
Can you blame me?? I mean, I wasn’t gonna say that, to your face, out loud. I didn’t wanna hurt your feelings. As much fuckin good that does me right now.
Mmh. Well. Sorry I had to be the one to break it to you.
Nora…
Rose tried to change the subject back to what it was before, As… educational… as all this has been…. What did you mean by this basement
buying you time
? Why do we have to be here?
Only certain people can see the door, or go through it. The ones looking for me, from their perspective, they saw us disappear into a wall. That’s what most people would see, anyway.
How is that possible? Did you do that?
Something called
she turned to Rowan, novamancy
. I heard about it, out there. It can do stuff even outsider beings think is impossible. And, no, I didn’t do this. This whole underground room is… some kind of impossible place. It’s… important, somehow. Cosmically.And before you throw a fucking tantrum over there,
she turned away, don’t ask me why, I don’t know either. I’m not supposed to know about this place, no one is. All I know, is what I could dig up on the Wernicke basement while I was on the outside.
The Wernicke’s?
Yeah. You remember them?
Only somewhat, it’s been years! What does this place have to do with them?
It’s the same. The same basement. We’re in some kind of spatial anomaly. Either something they did to the house… or maybe it was always here, underground, and they built the house on top of it. Well, it doesn’t matter. All that matters, is the sadists can only get in here if they get summoned here, with the box. Otherwise… this place is impenetrable.
But… why is…?
Why is this place underneath Das Augenklappe and the Wernicke house simultaneously? I don’t know, and at this point, I don’t care either. It seems like fate or something backed me into this corner. Made me come back here to wallow in my own fuckup, as some kind of karmic punishment.
Rowan’s eyes widened, Wh— I recognize that name.
Rose looked over at him, What?
That name… is… that what bar we’re in?
Why? Rowan, what is it?
That’s…
he turned to look at Rose, that’s the name of the bar that… the last place anyone saw Olivia. When… when she….
Oh.
Rose stepped back, and put her back to the pillar, This is… where Olivia died?
she turned to her, Did you know about this?
Nora’s face tensed up, then she shook her head, They know this place, at least that it exists. Once you two bait them into here… I’ll fuck off, permanently. And neither you or them are ever gonna find me again.
Rose was aware that she didn’t answer the question, Nora… why would they have met you here? Did they…?
Nora said nothing.
Are the people chasing you now… are they the ones who did that to Olivia…?
…No.
her voice began to waver again, Look, I don’t wanna talk about this.
…Why would someone look for you where Olivia died?
It was a mistake.
she turned away from both of them, I didn’t know what I was doing.
she started mumbling, It was just a fucking mistake… I don’t deserve this.
Rowan, once again, looked back and forth between the two of them.
Rose stared at her, What was a mistake, Nora?
Nora drank the last of her vodka, and set the glass down. She stared at the empty booth across from her, then sighed. She leaned over in her seat, and stuck herself out to look around the room. The act made her dizzy, and she blinked a couple times. Most of the patrons had either left, fallen asleep at their tables, or were too busy playing card games to notice her.
Fantastic.
Nora muttered, then pulled herself up out of the booth seat.
As she stood, she gripped the table as tight as she could. It felt like she’d lagged behind the rest of the world; she felt the planet spin below her, around the sun, pulled along by the arm of the galaxy. It took all her concentration to remain upright. She blinked more, cleared her throat, and sniffled. She took a few steps over to the counter. The bartender had, at this point, turned his back to where she’d sat.
She tapped on the counter to get his attention, Hey, uh.
she wobbled a little, What’s-yer-name.
He turned around. He’d been wiping a glass down with a white cloth towel, the second time she’d watched him do that tonight, Hm? Yes?
Yeah, uh…
she forgot, for a moment, why she’d gotten up, the uh….
What do you need?
Just… just gimmie a second, don’t rush me.
she frowned at him, then looked down at the bar.
Mm. Alright.
he nodded and smirked.
Mmhm.
she blinked slow.
Hope you don’t mind me asking, but… where’s your friend?
Hm?
Nora looked up.
I do hope she isn’t planning on… y’know. Putting this on a running tab. We don’t do that here.
Oh! Yes! I mean— uh, no she isn’t gonna… whatever. That’s why I got up. Where is she?
I thought she was with you.
She uh… she had to go to the washroom.
That was…. I hope she isn’t still in there, it’s been almost 15 minutes.
Yeah… that’s why I got up. Where’s the bathroom? I think… I’m gonna go check on her.
Check the bathroom? Well, it’s back there, in that hallway.
he leaned over the counter, and gestured to the back of the bar. There was a left turn, into a large threshold. A hallway went past what could be seen from the counter.
Anything else back there? Somewhere else she could have gone?
Shouldn’t be.
he shrugged.
Right. Thanks.
she nodded. With great care not to fall over her own shoes, she pushed herself off of the counter, and steadied herself with the backs of the bar-stools. Satisfied that she could stand on her own, she stepped toward the back of the bar, and to the hall.
As she turned the corner, and looked at the far wall, a feeling of panic hit her. Insead of the drab wood walls the rest of the establishment had, the end of the hall was wallpapered in a familiar off-white, light pastel blue. She looked down, and saw wood paneled trim, also different from the bar. This is…
she stared at it, as the memory of earlier that night flashed in her mind, this is the same wallpaper and trim… as the Wernicke’s kitchen.
In the middle of the wall, was the threshold to the basement. It was too thin, the wrong size for a normal door to be, just like the basement door of the Wernicke house. It was open, and the wood stairs led down into the dark. She shook her head, and turned away, No. No, it can’t be the same door. That’s stupid. I’m… fuckin… ha… lahucinating.
she couldn’t get the word right in her mind, Haloosen… eighting. Whate’er it is that I’m tryin’na say.
she pointed at the door, and shook her head, That’s not real.
She looked at the bathroom door, to her left. It looked like everything else in the bar, and in that way comforted her. The hall was so small that she didn’t even need to take a step toward it, as she knocked on the door.
Hey. Olivia, you in there?
Nora put her hand up on the door, with intent to lean on it, but it instead swung open, and she had to catch herself on the door frame.
The bathroom door opened up to a small room, with only a toilet, sink & mirror wall fixture, and a basket. Nora looked around. There was a stack of folded hand towels to the side of the sink, the basket next to the fixture was meant for those used towels— to be washed at some point. There was no one in the bathroom. The closest thing to a person in there was graffiti; an image of an alien head & torso —an Aisha with large blank eyes, vertically stretched proportions, and with an extra pair of ears— had been drawn onto the bottom right corner of the sink’s mirror with permanent marker. Above it was text that read check the bathroom
.
She sighed, and swiveled her head to point at the basement again, Olivia?
she moved away from the bathroom, unsteady.
There was no response.
Fuck….
she mumbled as she walked through the threshold, and looked down into it. It was just the same as the Wernicke basement, minus the orange glow she’d seen earlier that night. Fear filled her, Is… is anyone in here?
Silence.
She looked down and to her left. There were a few rusted iron tools next to the door, inside, which leaned against a wood support for the stairs. A large double-ended wrench, a medium sized screwdriver, and a cross pein hammer. They were the same tools that were in the house, and a chill went up her spine as she remembered this. She wished for a flashlight, but picked up the hammer. It was heavier than it looked, made of solid metal, and she stumbled a bit as she carried it.
Hello? Anyone? Are you down here?
She watched her own feet as she walked, but repeatedly glanced up at the rest of the basement as she struggled not to trip on the steps. The dirt floor at the end of the stairs was the limit for what she could see, and her heart raced as she took a careful step into the dark. Even though her eyes were slow to adjust, she saw something there. On the other side of the room, was a dark shape. A person. Nora stared at it, and she stepped back. The dark shape lurched forward, closer to her.
Nora held back a scream, closed her eyes, and turned away, as she swung the hammer in self defense. She felt the impact, as the hammer hit something. She whimpered in fear as she stumbled backwards, into the wall, and back into the light cast from upstairs.
She sat there for a moment, arms raised in expectation of a counterattack.
But no one was there.
She opened her eyes slow, and lowered her arms. As her eyes began to adjust, she could see that someone had fallen to the floor, still in the dark. Nora grunted as she pulled herself off of the floor, then dusted her pants, all while watching the lump on the ground. She moved over to it, still off-balance from her inebriation. She squinted, and leaned in closer, W… wait. Olivia? Is that you?
It was her. Olivia’s body had been knocked onto the ground.
Aw hell. What you… what’re you doing down here? I thought somebody was gonna attack me!
Nora awaited a response, but there was none.
For… for god’s sake.
she kneaded her brow with her left hand, the one that hadn’t been holding the hammer, You scared the shit outta me, you know that? Why didn’t you say anything?
There was still no response.
Hey. Olivia? Why aren’t you saying anything?
She leaned over, and put herself deeper into the darkness. She blinked, and had to squint again, forcing her eyes to adjust to the dark, and through the blur of alcohol. As she leaned more, the strange toy that she’d shown Olivia fell out of her jacket pocket, earlier dislodged by the swing she’d made with the hammer. As it hit the floor, it clattered, and splattered. She blinked at the strange noise it had made. It sat still, flat on one of it’s faces. She then looked back to Olivia. Her eyes had adjusted enough to see blood.
Oh.
Olivia had been bleeding, and the blood had made a puddle around her head, which the puzzle box had fallen into.
Oh no. Oh shit.
She still hadn’t moved, for as long as Nora had seen her, not even to breathe.
Oh fuck. No no no. This isn’t….
she stepped back again, and whispered, What have I done?
She continued to bleed out.
Olivia? Please start breathing. Oh god, please breathe.
Nothing.
Nora looked around, then put on a fake smile, fear still in her eyes, Haha, ok, make-believe time is over!
The body remained on the floor.
Her expression faded back into fear, as she mumbled in panic, Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god—
Click.
Nora looked to the side. The puzzle box had shot upright, stood on a single point, and slowly rotated.
The door to the basement slammed shut, the light from upstairs gone, and Nora turned her head to the loud sound it had made on instinct.
The puzzle box began to click faster, and faster, and faster, as it began to glow. Nora turned to look at it, and hammer slipped out of her hand.
…Ah.
Rose whispered, I see.
Rowan stared at Nora, wide eyed and mouth ajar, but silent.
Nora looked up at Rose, …That’s your reaction?
I see
?? Like you…?? As if you…??
Rose put her hands up in front of her, N—not to… downplay the gravity of the situation. But… this isn’t… I wasn’t…
This wasn’t a surprise to you?
Rose looked down to the ground.
You… you fucking knew??
Rose hung her head, I… I didn’t want to believe it.
Nora blinked, and took a step back.
You vanished on the same night she died. Knowing you’re alive now, and without any other information, it’s… it was the most… logical answer.
It was an accident.
Nora whispered.
But I…
Rose looked back up, I didn’t want to believe it! I wanted to prove myself wrong, prove you were innocent! I didn’t want to trust my gut about something like this…! I didn’t want to be….
It was a fucking accident!
Nora scrunched up her face, and turned away.
Rowan had no comment, and just stared into the floor. His sarcasm and fighting spirit was gone.
Nora, I’m sorry.
I didn’t…! I didn’t mean to!
she shook, I don’t even fucking know why she went down here! Maybe she thought there was like, food hidden in here or something? She said she was hungry, I guess, but, it just… it…. Fuck.
she spoke through gritted teeth, her voice unstable, Forget it. It doesn’t fucking matter, she’s dead now anyway.
Rowan shook his head and muttered, I have to leave. I can’t listen to this.
She turned to Rowan, You.
then walked over to him, You wanna see what else I can do? You want more thaumaturgy to be pissed off about?
N—no.
he mumbled.
What would have been tears welled up in her eyes, though they were the same material as the rest of her, You hate me now, don’t you? Or did you always, and you just have an excuse now?
her voice was unsteady, I can tell what you’re thinking about me, what everybody thinks about me.
He couldn’t do anything but look at her.
Of course you do. Why wouldn’t you? Well. Welcome to the club. I’m gonna need somebody to look the part. You’ll have to do.
Her palm glowed orange again, and she shoved her hand into his face.
He pulled away from her, but couldn’t get enough distance to stop whatever was about to happen. The same yellow custard that made up Nora’s body stuck to his forehead where she pushed against him, and he scrunched up his face. The edges of the substance glowed orange. He put his hand up to his face, and tried to wipe it off, but it only stuck to his fingers. His eyes widened, as he looked down at them. His fingers had reshaped to looked like Nora’s.
What.
he started to breathe faster, Oh what the fuck??
The yellow spread more over his face and up his scalp. Where the custard grew into his hair, it turned into a cotton candy facsimile of it, the same white & pink color as Nora’s. It got into his right eye, which made him grab at his face again, No no no no. Nora what the fuck is this?!
he looked up at her with his left eye, S—stop it!! Stop this right now!!
Rose stared in horror as it went into his mouth, and sealed it closed.
He continued to yell, or at least attempt to, but it came out muffled and incomprehensible.
N…
she turned to Nora, eyes wide, at her limit to what acting could repress, Nora what are you doing to him?
Nora stood and watched.
Rose could tell she was disgusted from her expression.
I’m shapeshifting him. They’ll think he’s me.
she pulled her gaze away from him, Being a shapeshifter… means more than just the ability to change my own shape. They’ll… probably figure it out eventually, but… I’ll only need a couple hours.
Is… is he…?
She glanced back at him, I don’t know. At this point I don’t care.
then back to her, Look. You’re solving the puzzle, you’re summoning them here. What happens after that….
Rose saw guilt in her eyes.
Whatever. You’ll live. It doesn’t matter. Nothing fucking matters.
Rose lowered her head, held her mouth in her hands, and spoke in a quiet voice, Oh my god.
Nora looked away from her, and back to Rowan.
He had stopped shouting, but still struggled, as he attempted to pull off his new face like a mask.
This… this isn’t like you… I….
Rose shook her head, and forced herself to stop talking out loud. I think I’m gonna throw up. Okay. Okay. No. Calm down.
she measured her breaths and closed her eyes, Don’t get emotional. Just… don’t panic. You’re an actor. You can talk your way out of this.
Rose inhaled deep, then exhaled. She kept her eyes closed, and emptied her mind, and began to think.
Nora… how did you leave the basement.
Nora turned away from the both of them, and shook her head, It opened a portal.
Rose did not look up at Nora as she spoke, What did.
The puzzle. The box. This thing.
she lifted up the box a couple inches from her face for emphasis, It floated in the air, then… expanded
she made an upside-down triangle shape with her hands, then moved them apart, and swallowed everything. After that… they just… appeared out of nowhere. When that happens, you’ve… done whatever it wanted. For lack of actually solving it.
Who is
they
?
The sadists. They thought I’d summoned them on purpose. That I wanted some kind of… fucked up fetish thing. They were expecting offerings. When they found… the body instead… they got pissed. Really fucking pissed.
You said they took you with them. Why.
They like blood. And pain. But a mortal’s death is off-limits to them, apparently. One of them called it
a waste of good suffering
. Can you believe that? What kind of fucked up shit is that?
Rose did not respond.
So they pulled me through, into their fucked up little corner of hell. They told me they were going to take me somewhere to be
judged
, whatever the hell that means. Probably something horrible.
Rose squinted, as she realized something, …Wait… wait a minute. The…
Rose looked up at her and pointed, that thing you have there. Where did you get that?
Th—this?
she lifted up the puzzle box again.
Yes. That.
It’s… what do you mean? It’s the same thing.
…The very same object that you had with Olivia? That made the portal?
Yeah.
But where did you get it?
The Wernicke’s basement. Here.
I mean right now. Where did you get that? I never saw where you got it from.
Oh.
she gestured with her eyes, down to her stomach, The same place where I hid the pudding cups.
Hold on…. You’ve been… you’ve been carrying that around with you… this entire time? You had that while you were in my house?
Wh— of course I have!!
she threw her hands up, What, you think I’m gonna just throw something like this away for no reason? It got me into there, I was hoping it could get me out of there too. Couldn’t ever get it to work on command, though. Not for lack of trying.
Now, are… are these…
sadists
you mentioned, are they… connected to this object?
Well, yeah. It’s their cordoned-off territory, where it opens up to. I’m pretty sure they made this thing themselves.
Have you…. Now, I’m sure you’ve… considered this already, but…
What are you getting at?
Have you… considered —potentially— that… that’s how they’ve been following you?
Nora stared at her.
That… that’s how they seem to know where you are? Because it’s connected to them?
Nora’s irritated face faded to expressionlessness. She looked to the side, then down at the box, Uh.
And… and now that I’m thinking about it… you… you said you were going to summon them here?
Well, I’m not going to, but… they will be. Why?
After… after everything you’ve done to get away from them, you’re….
Rose blinked and shook her head, Is this really your plan?? You’re going to bring them here on purpose?? After everything you just told me?
I told you, they can’t get through the door to this place. Once they get here— uhhgg, no!! I don’t need to explain all this shit to you! Just open the goddamn box!
Nora threw the puzzle at Rose’s feet, You think I had any of this shit mapped out from the beginning? I never planned any of this! I’m not some mastermind from a movie, ok? I just… I just needed to get away from them…. This was… this was the best I could come up with. I didn’t want you people to get wrapped up in this chaos, I was gonna save this place for later, but… here we are anyway. The closest thing I had to a plan was going to the doctor, that’s it. But now it’s too late, they’re too close to me. They’re coming here regardless. So I won’t be here when they do.
But….
But what?
…Why would I open the box? I mean, even if I knew how, why would I do that? Why would I bring these… dangerous outsider beings here?
That’s a uh… that’s a good question, actually. Fine. I’ll show you why.
Nora stepped forward, reached down, and grabbed at her ankle.
Rose gasped and pulled back too late.
Some kind of energy crackled from Nora’s hand. Nothing seemed to happen, and Nora stood back up.
Her ankle felt stiff, but otherwise, nothing had changed.
…What was that? Nora, what did you do?
If I couldn’t convince you to do it on your own… then I was gonna make you do it. That was a curse. Thaumaturgy not aligned to any dæva. Something ghouls can do.
Rowan inhaled, his mouth now able to open after all this time. He exhaled, looked away, and felt at his new face.
Rose hadn’t looked at him in all this time, in an attempt to remain calm. His appearance shocked her. He didn’t just resemble Nora, he was identical to Nora. His clothes had changed, his everything had changed, and only the minute details of his face were left to transfigure into hers.
Nora glared at him, then back to Rose, To make a potentially long explanation short… I set the terms of the curse. Every moment that you’re not trying to solve that puzzle… you get more and more crystallized. Starting as soon as I want.
Rowan went to speak, and got out a single syllable, Nor—
then gasped, and put his hands to his mouth, I….
his voice was feminine & raspy, M… my voice.
he looked up at Nora, It’s… yours.
Nora ignored him and walked towards the stairs.
W—wait!
Rose held out her hand, Wh… where are you…?
Where am I going? Why the hell would I tell you that?
I… I don’t know. I just….
She sighed, It’s not like you even know who he is, so it doesn’t matter. Nothing fucking matters.
Rose blinked.
I really was going to a doctor. I’d made an appointment with…
she caught herself about to say his name, and cleared her throat instead, a doctor. He says he’s going to protect me. From them. And study my uh…
anomalous biology
.
Rose narrowed her eyes at her, Study your
anomalous biology
? Someone told you that?
She nodded.
If somebody said that to me I’d call the fucking police.
Nora turned to glare at her, and raised her voice, Well I don’t have much of a choice, do I? What, do I just barge into the police station? Tell them that I’m some kind of undead custard monster now?? And I’ve got fucking demons from Cokaygne chasing after me??
N… no—!
How do I explain this to anybody without getting thrown into an asylum, a laboratory, or both?? They’ll toss me into a watertight room, and when no one else is watching me, those fucking things are gonna come crawling out of the corners between walls, and drag me back to hell!
You… don’t have to do this.
Yes, I do. I don’t care what it takes, I’m not gonna let them get me. I managed survive the black death, the time shift, and a world war!! After all this time, I’m not gonna let this bullshit be what finally gets me.
I… I can’t believe you’re… just going to sacrifice us like this.
What? No.
she shook her head, No, they don’t want you. You solve that puzzle and they’ll… probably just ignore you, walk right past. I… hope. Just… when all this is over with… you two keep your damn mouths shut, alright?
she pointed at each of them, The police’ll never believe any of this, and don’t… don’t you dare….
she lowered her voice, Don’t tell Chrissy about this. Promise me. I don’t want this to be the last thing she….
she turned her head away from them both.
Rose stared at her, …I’m… I’m not sure what I can promise you. But… if I can avoid bringing your sister undue anguish….
Nora sighed, and nodded her head, The chains, even the crystallization… everything should fade away, once I get far enough away, physically. Just forget you ever saw me.
Before anyone could say anything else, Nora stomped up the stairs.
N—Nora no! Don’t—!
She slammed the door.
The two of them sat alone. She could hear Nora’s boots as she walked around upstairs. She ran, stopped to slam the doors behind her, and jumped from the awning. Rose lowered herself to the floor, as all the sounds faded. She shook her head, then looked around the room. Her eyes had adjusted to the previous gloom before, but now that the basement door was closed it had become even darker. She could see the walls, but they were made featureless by the dark.
Rose looked over at Rowan.
He was identical to how Nora had looked in every way now, save one. His custard skin was less solid, and it made him look as though he had been sweating profusely. He stared at the ground in front of him.
Rowan.
He blinked, inhaled loudly, then looked over to her, Hey—
he cleared his throat, his voice quieter than he meant it to be, Hey. Uh. What is it?
Do you… know anything about the thaumaturgy she spoke of? Enough to get these things off?
Oh. Uh. No, sorry. All I know is… what I mentioned earlier. Like… history footnotes, from back when I was in college. If I knew somethin useful I would’a tried it already. You?
I know someone who might, but without a phone, that doesn’t help us much.
Right. I don’t suppose lockpicks would work on these.
You have lockpicks?
Hm? Oh, no. Just thinking aloud.
Rose sighed, Right.
They both heard the unmistakable sound of a car engine’s ignition above them, and both looked up.
Rowan leaned his head back, and it hit the metal pole he’d been chained to. His head did not sound solid. He sighed, Aw hell, she didn’t.
It… appears she has.
Sh—
he looked back down to Rose, she’s stealing the car!
This has been made abundantly clear.
God damnit! Where did she learn how to hotwire a car??
Rose looked back down to him, She’s a grown adult, she could’ve learned anywhere!
Sh—sure, but… she’s like… from like, old Brightvale! It’s not like stealing a whinny!
Her and her sister have been in the modern day for years, they’re not stupid.
I mean, I didn’t say that.
If she could learn modern language, she could learn how to hotwire a car.
He threw his hands to his sides, in an exaggerated show of resignation, Fine. Fuckin hell. Well. That’s one more problem we gotta deal with once we get outta here.
She rubbed her brow with one hand, Mmmhm.
Rose looked up, straight ahead, and past Rowan. She felt her attention being pulled back to the computer terminal behind him, the only other feature in the room besides the stairs, themselves, and what they’d been chained to. She leaned forward, and cleared her throat to get his attention, …Alright.
Hm?
he looked over to her.
Are you able to stand?
I… I haven’t tried to.
Mm.
she nodded once, Can uhm… can you try?
Yeah, uh. I can uh…. Sure.
he pulled his right hand up from the floor, then looked at it.
What? What is it?
I… I smell it everywhere.
What?
Sugar. I thought I would get used to it, but it’s just… everywhere.
I’m sorry…. Just try to get up.
Why?
I… I want you to look at something.
What?
The computer terminal, behind you.
Oh.
he swiveled around, That thing?
Yes.
she massaged her brow in frustration, That thing.
Okay, right.
he cleared his throat, Well, I mean… can’t you reach it?
She lifted up the chain attached to her ankle. It was at its maximum length already from where she sat.
Right. Right….
Rose’s tone began to get more annoyed, Do you not wanna get up?
I—I mean—
Because the only one who knows I even left my house today, is Yolanda, and the next time she expects to hear from me is next game. Do you know when that— when the next game with her is??
Uh.
A week from now.
Oh.
Nobody else has any idea where we are, or what we were doing. So we’re gonna have to figure… a way out of here ourselves.
A look of desperation had grown over his face, as he looked around the room. Air escaped his lungs, with a sound somewhere between a chortle and a cry. He cleared his throat again, Sorry. I’m sorry. I uhm… I probably… sorry. I’ll get over myself.
Rose watched him push his back off of the terminal’s front.
I uh… I….
he grunted as he grabbed onto the pole he was chained to, Everything feels… wrong.
he wobbled as he managed to stand. His eyes were wide as he looked down at himself, Oh god.
he mumbled, I’m… am I shorter?
he looked at her, then back down to himself, This is ludicrous. Am I…?
Rowan. Look at me.
He looked back up, panicked.
I need you to turn around… and see if you can turn that computer on. Or if there’s a… a telephone connected to it.
Is…? Is that how that works?
his eyes darted around to look at it. It had a massive screen and keyboard, all in a single boxy device that took up a large portion of the room in front of him, I don’t know how to use a computer.
Brightvale’s computer systems —the university, the government, and some businesses— use telephone lines to connect to each other. If this computer is connected to the network, any network for that matter, then there’s likely to be a telephone in here too.
Oh… oh okay!
a smile crept up on his face, That… that’s great!
If!
she raised her pointer finger, If this thing connects to a network. I don’t wanna get your hopes up too much.
Oh.
he nodded, Right. Okay. Got it.
Look for a toggle switch, or a button. Something that wouldn’t be part of the letters on the keyboard.
Uh.
It should say
on
or off
.
I… don’t….
Or alternatively,
einon / ausoff
or marcheon / arrêtoff
if it’s from a local manufacturer.
J—just hold on, okay?
he leaned over the machine, and looked all around it. On the right side of the box, he could feel something. A switch. He recoiled, and looked at his hand.
Rose saw this, and tilted her head, What is it? Did you find something?
My… my fingers. They’re so stubby. Where did she put my claws?? They can’t fit in there, this doesn’t make sense… I want my claws back.
Rowan, did you find a switch? A telephone?
I found… a switch. Lemme take a look at it.
The switch was large, big enough to be operated by two fingers, and lighter in color than the grey metal it stuck out of. It had two symbols, barely visible from how low the light was:
The first was a warm yellow colored pentagon pointed up, and the other, a cool-toned purple colored pentagon pointed down. The switch was in the purple/down position.
Well??
Rose edged forward, Switch it and find out!
He did so, and the switch made a loud clack as it moved to the yellow/up position.
From their perspective, nothing seemed to have happened.
N… nothing happened.
I can see that. Are there any other switches on it?
No.
Try and type on the keyboard. Does the screen turn on?
He hit the spacebar, then waited a moment, Uhhhhhh no.
he turned to her, and shook his head, I’m sorry.
She sighed, It’s… it’s alright. …Maybe if—
There was a surge of energy in her ankle where Nora had cursed her, and she inhaled out of reflex. She looked over to it, Oh no.
Rowan turned around, Hm? What? What’s wrong?
She started it.
Started what?
…The… the curse she put on me before she left, she must’ve….
she sighed and looked over at the exit to the basement, Right. I need to…
solve
the puzzle. Whatever that means.
She could feel her ankle stiffen, and she glanced at it again. She hadn’t expected the curse to affect the clothes around the crystallized part of her as well. She shook her head, then grabbed the puzzle off the floor where Nora had tossed it at her. Even as she looked over the strange triangular box in her hands, she could feel the crystallization slow down.
It can… it can tell.
she tried to turn one of the sides of the puzzle box, and it shifted around.
What do you mean?
The curse she put on me. It can tell when I’m trying to solve the puzzle or not.
That’s…
he looked back and forth between her ankle and the box, is that something thaumaturgy can do? Conditional stuff like that?
Evidently.
Because like… they made me learn some basic magic, before I could become, y’know, a coach. Basic requirements like maths and all that.
I know, I went here too.
And that’s uh… that’s not how magic works. As far as I know.
Well, it must be with thaumaturgy. She did make quite a fuss about how it was not magic.
He chuffed, I guess.
Regardless, it looks like I’m stuck solving this thing, unless I want a career in tableau vivant.
Right, sure.
he pretended to know what that was, So you uh… know how to solve that?
Not yet. I really don’t know what I’m looking at, I’m just messing with it.
…Do… you uh… have any… clues?
I… don’t recognize any of these symbols, especially so with how dark it is in here, nor do they seem to fit together… in any way I can make sense of, at least.
Oh. Alright then.
he chuckled, then cleared his throat, We’re uh… we’re… gonna be in here for a bit, aren’t we?
Potentially. There’s only so many combinations, if that’s what the puzzle is.
Like… maybe a hundred or so?
Uh….
she looked at it. Each of the 4 sides had 9 sections, and each section had a unique symbol, for a total of 36 symbols. She cleared her throat, Sure. Depending on how specific it wants me to be… it could be a hundred or so… or millions. Maybe more.
I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that. So, what… whaddya think is gonna happen when you get it solved? Like… is it… gonna have a key in it? For the chains?
I doubt it.
R—right.
he looked to the side, and thought for a moment, What if… what if the… chains break when the puzzle gets solved?
I would take anything I could get at this point.
What if…
he looked at the puzzle again, with a more worried expression, what if it’s just a toy or something? What if we— what if we open the box and nothing happens?
Rowan.
she glanced up at him, You are not helping.
then looked back down at the box.
Right. Right, sorry. I’ll uh. I’ll just uh….
he cleared his throat again, She… she said the chains would fade, but….
Rowan looked down at himself, How… how long is this gonna last?
he gestured at the body Nora had given him.
Rose couldn’t think of an answer, and continued to fiddle with the box.
I mean… it’s not… it’s not terrible. It doesn’t hurt, it feels kinda nice actually. And Nora isn’t ugly or anything.
he cleared his throat, But… I’d… rather not look like my friend’s dead sister, you know?
She gave him an absent-minded nod.
Undead sister, I suppose.
Rose gave him an annoyed look, and went back to the puzzle.
That uh… that would be kind of awkward.
…Rowan.
S—sorry. I’m sorry, I’m just… I’m… trying to… make myself okay with this.
She glanced at him, bewildered, Why would you have to be okay with this?
No, no, I… have to… feel like…. That all this is fine, actually. I shouldn’t worry about it. I… I don’t know how to… really handle this otherwise.
his voice wavered.
She looked up at him again, I’m… so sorry.
I was…
he lowered his voice, and looked away, I was getting over… all this. Olivia. I thought… I thought it had been long enough that I would’ve…. And now….
he turned back to her, I just need— about— I need— I just need to think a— think about something else. Anything else, it doesn’t matter what I gotta think about. I just gotta…. This is fine.
She’d stopped her attempt to solve the puzzle as she listened to him, and her leg began to further crystallize. Rose sharply inhaled, looked back down at it, then went back to the puzzle.
Fuck.
he cursed at himself, Dammit, I’m sorry, I should’ve just kept my mouth shut.
Rowan, no.
Shoulda kept all this shit to myself.
It’s not your fault.
Just… I’ll just let you keep trying to solve the puzzle. You’re the one with like, some kind of weird curse, we can worry about me later.
Rose nodded, and paid more attention to the puzzle, despite her concern for his mental state. The symbols on the puzzle were etched in gold (or something that looked like it), which made them reflective and easier to see in the low light of the basement. The longer she studied them, the more a pattern in the markings revealed itself. Each small triangular section contained what she once thought were single symbols, but on a closer look, were a pair of large and small symbols that repeated in other ways all over the object. A certain set of more ornate symbols were always large, and the other simpler ones always small, nestled within and to the bottom left of the larger shape in predetermined gaps. Other than some basic shapes —such as a circle, a dot, horizontal & vertical lines— none of the individual symbols were anything that she recognized. One looked like the greater than
symbol >
, another like the less than
symbol <
, however, the less than
counterpart was much smaller than the other, for an unknown reason. Some seemed to resemble familiar letters, such as one that looked like a lopsided, italicised T with a half circle divot on the left-top. Another appeared to be a capital E, but with the middle horizontal line missing.
Hm.
Rose made a small vocalisation and nodded her head.
Hm?
Rowan looked over.
She cleared her throat, Ah. Sorry.
then glanced at him, Just… finding patterns, in this strange little thing.
He nodded.
Whatever this is supposed to be, it’s not random.
Oh. Well that’s good.
he looked away, then back again, Right? Is that good?
Sure.
she shrugged, I suppose. More likely that there is a solution, not just pure luck. Though not really any indication on what I’m supposed to be doing with that information.
Heh. That last part rhymed.
he smiled a little, Enough to help, at least?
No.
Oh….
his smile faded again.
All of it theoretically interesting, of course. Academic curiosity, surely. None of it helpful, in this moment. Might as well have been written on the moon. We get out of here… and I have a friend who would probably want to see this.
…Whatever it is.
Mmhm….
she glanced over at Rowan, then behind him. At the terminal again, I… can’t get over that.
Hm? Get over what?
She gestured with her snout, at the terminal behind him.
He twisted around, looked at it, then back to her, Oh, this thing again?
That’s right. If there was anything that would make me think this place was important —cosmically or otherwise— that would be it.
I mean… yeah. If it could turn on, or was connected to something, I’d understand, but… it… I dunno.
It’s just… it’s huge, it has done absolutely nothing, and it has no right to be here.
I guess.
he shrugged, Why are you so bothered by it? Are you mad because we can’t turn it on?
Well, that, but… more than that! It’s as though… it’s like if I was watching a play, and there was this… huge, interesting looking prop in the middle of the stage, say a large door, and all the action happened around it… but it just sat there and didn’t do anything. For the whole play. What’s the point of it being there?
I mean… stuff can just exist, you know.
She huffed, Of course. But… the fact that it’s here is… peculiar. Can you… hear anything? Coming from it?
From this? Uh….
he put his head closer to the terminal, …Nope. Maybe some buzzing? I guess it might be plugged into something, maybe.
Is it?
It’s really quiet though.
R… right. Is that all?
Seems like it.
Well, that’s… unsatisfying.
she looked back down at the puzzle.
…Maybe…
he stroked his now custard chin, I guess to use your
he poked his thumb at the terminal, play
metaphor… maybe there was another play where the door was important,but like, it was just left on stage by accident, and then another play started. That’s kinda what history is, after all.
She looked back over to him, That’s… that’s not really how plays work, but… I suppose understand what you mean. Doesn’t make me feel any better though.
Mm. Sorry.
he shrugged, So, uh… cosmic importance, huh? You uh… you believe that then?
In a situation like this… I would have gone along with anything she told me, no matter how ridiculous. If it meant she stayed calm and didn’t kill us. I… tried to stay as calm as I could, but… I….
Of course, of course. But uh… do you actually believe that?
I…
she shook her head, I have no idea. I haven’t really… had time to process… any of this.
Yeah. I get that.
What I just saw… I… didn’t even think… I didn’t even know this was possible. For all I know… hell, maybe there are such things as cosmically important basements.
she allowed herself a cautious chuckle, Who knows at this point?
He nodded, then looked over to the closed basement door once again.
Nora’s hands gripped the steering wheel. The engine roared as she held down the gas pedal, and cold air blew into her face from the vents. The world around the car was normal, baseline reality. The sun shone the right color, things were made of the correct materials, and there were no distant figures to stare into the car, to watch her & draw closer. She muttered to herself, but not with a smile, It worked. I can’t believe that worked.
She glanced into the rear-view mirror. The bar was far away by that point, no longer visible. She expected to see a cloaked, levitating figure in the mirror, but there was no one. Nothing out of the ordinary. She looked back to the road in front of her. A picture appeared in her mind, of Rose in the basement. She shook her head. There was no relief, fear had just been replaced by guilt.
She saw a flash of green, and her gaze shot back to the mirror. She had no physical heart, but the panic she felt made it seem like hers had frozen. A forest green car had come onto the highway from an on-ramp. As she looked closer, she saw an older individual, and presumably their child in the passenger seat. She relaxed, then shuddered, as she left them behind, Fuck,
she inhaled fast, then exhaled slow, Could’ve sworn that was a cop. Thank god it wasn’t.
The engine of Rose’s station wagon audibly struggled. Nora looked down at the speedometer and squinted to read the text. The car was going 129km/h.
If they saw me going this fast, I’d be fuckin… I’d be in even more fuckin trouble.
she thought for a moment, Wait a minute… police. The car! Aw shit,
she became panicked again, if I go there with her car, in his driveway, the cops’ll…. Aww fuck, I gotta ditch the car, I gotta get rid of this thing! Fuck! Why am I only now just realizing this! God I’m a fucking idiot…. It’s a goddamn miracle I made it this far. How am I gonna…?
She looked off to the side, and saw the train tracks on the side of the road, The… the train. If those fucks are distracted, it shouldn’t matter how I get there. I’ll… that’s what I gotta do. God I hope they stay distracted….
Rowan had his eyes closed as he leaned against the pole he’d been chained to, and Rose had busied herself with the puzzle. There was nothing more to learn, no more clues that could be logically extracted from the physical object in front of her, but she fiddled with it still, just to stop the onset of the curse. It’s a shame I can’t get any more information out of Nora….
she thought to herself, There’s really nothing else to try besides brute force.
She considered smashing the puzzle into the ground just to see what would happen, but decided against it. If it broke without being solved, then crystallization was inevitable. She shook her head, No. Definitely not it. Am I really at a dead end? If I had more time, if I had help from other people, I’m sure I could solve this. But down here…?
she sighed, and shook her head again. She looked around the room, but it was just a void, or might as well have been. She looked back down to the box, So it’s connected to the people chasing her. Probably.
she thought, Can I get any clues from that?
She remembered what Nora told her, about how it opened last time, in a pool of Olivia’s blood. She shuddered, and felt her fur ruffle up, Nora never solved the puzzle, did she? It just… opened on it’s own.
she blinked, Wait… what if…?
Rose set the puzzle down in front of her, and went to her knees.
The sound of this made Rowan open his eyes, and look down. He saw her stuff her hand into her inside jacket pocket, Hm?
he pulled himself up a bit, Hey, what’s uh…? Did you… figure it out? Is it solved?
No. Not yet, anyway.
She pulled an object from her jacket, and he leaned closer to try and figure out what it was. It was in the shape of a handle, made of layers of metal, sandwiched between two dark wood strips, but he could make out nothing else in the low light.
What is that?
Offiziersmesserpocket multitool (Literal: officer’s knife).
Oh! One of those things. For like, camping and stuff?
Basically.
I didn’t know you went camping.
I don’t.
she pulled out the knife-head from the body of the tool.
He gave her a look of concern, and the tone of his voice changed to match, The knife? Uh… what are you… gonna use that for? Are you gonna try and pry it open?
No. Though, in a way… yes. That is exactly what I’m doing.
She stared at her hand for a moment, then shook her head. She moved her hand and arm, bending it to look at the outer side of it, to the part of her arm connected to her elbow. She straightened her arm, removed the jacket & tossed it over to her right, then pulled up the left sleeve on her shirt to expose the lower half of her bare arm.
Rowan watched her do this, his expression filling with more and more worry, R—Rose what are you…?? Oh please tell me you’re not gonna….
She never solved the puzzle. But she did open it.
Oh fuck.
Rose bent her arm so that her hand was close to her face and shoulder, and her elbow pointed down, at the box. She rested the knife blade on the muscle, connected to her elbow.
W—why don’t you, like, use your hand? Like on TV?
Your hand is one of the most painful and debilitating places to get cut on your entire body. It’s full of veins and tendons and nerves that might not heal for years.
Well… why do they do it on TV then?
Because it’s dramatic, and easy to act out. I would know.
she chuckled.
So… your arm is safer?
I don’t think safe is a good way to think about it. I don’t remember if there’s anything important here, on the outer side of my arm. Honestly, I could be wrong, I’m just guessing.
N… no! Rose, that’s horrible, don’t—!
She did it, before he could protest any further. She pressed the blade into the small muscular bulge in her arm, and pulled it down. She resisted crying out from the pain, as she heavily breathed in and out. It stung with an intensity she expected, but wasn’t prepared for. She winced and bared her teeth, as she set down the knife next to the box. She tried to ball her hand into a fist, but that made it hurt even worse, which made her gasp. She loosened her grip as her diaphragm contracted on its own, and it sent a wheeze out of her mouth. She swallowed, tried to ignore the pain, and looked down at the puzzle.
Her blood had dripped down onto the top point of the box, and seemed to soak into it, as though the center was hollow. Her eyes welled up from the pain, so she blinked a few times to clear her vision. Both her and Rowan waited for something to happen.
Nothing happened.
She closed her eyes and let out a frustrated huff, then turned her head away.
He shuddered, and tried not to look at her arm, I can’t… I can’t believe you did that.
Drastic measures… needed to be taken.
she spoke through clenched teeth.
It uh… I… guess it was… worth a shot?
Mmhm.
she didn’t move as she responded.
J… just… don’t… don’t hurt yourself any more, okay? Don’t—
Rose jumped in surprise. Her will to solve the puzzle had lapsed, and in that moment, the curse surged in power. The crystallization crawled farther up her leg, and in desperation, she bent over and put her hand on the puzzle. She grunted in anger, Damnit. Damn this thing to hell. What does this thing want??
D… don’t….
No.
she looked up at him, I know what you’re thinking, but no.
she looked back down at the puzzle, That can’t be it. She said… she said that death enraged them. If that’s what it was, what opened the box… no. No, that’s not it. It had to have been something else. But what?
I… I don’t remember what she said….
Blood. Blood and pain. That’s what the people chasing her want.
she looked at the cut in her arm, But I have both of those. Is this just not enough? What the hell else would it want?
she sighed, then lowered her voice, Okay. Calm down. Getting angry isn’t going to help. Think. I need to think.
She looked around the room, and her eyes rested where Nora stood. Is there anything else, anything at all that she said?
she tilted her head, Wait… food. Food. She said… she thought that Olivia went down here to look for food. That other world… she described it as being made out of food. Nora! Nora is made out of food now! But…
she looked down, and back to the puzzle, how does that help me though? Did Olivia eat something? I don’t have any food, so I can’t test that theory. …Food. Why food. Of all the things, why…? …Wait.
…Hunger.
Rowan looked over to her, but didn’t know what to say.
Rose looked up at him, Nora had a name for the deva that she was running from. She didn’t call it by it’s true name, whatever it was… she called it
The Hunger
.
…Alright? What… what does that mean? Does that help?
I’m not sure, but… I think… I think I have one more thing I have left to try.
She closed her eyes. In the darkness behind her eyes, she summoned up an image of her kitchen. Her brown wood cabinets, her black granite countertop, and her metal refrigerator. She placed herself inside the scene, an actor in her own play. She saw through her avatar’s eyes, raised her right arm, and grabbed the handle to the fridge. The metal against her hand was cold, and she imagined her grip tighter. She pulled the door open, and the interior light came on. The fridge was full of illusory shapes, representations of food. In the middle right where she’d left it earlier that day, was the poultry salad she’d prepared for herself. She’d forgotten about it completely. She hadn’t eaten breakfast, nor lunch, and she planned to have her own cooking for dinner. She stared at it, as she imagined it in more and more detail, the fibrous poultry, the cool sauce filled with little black poppy seeds. She reached out with her left hand, and touched the glass bowl, and it was even more cold than the handle of the fridge. She pulled it closer to her. Now that she remembered it, the feeling of hunger came back to her. Her mind was filled with hunger, blood, and pain.
Click.
She opened her eyes. The box had oriented itself onto a single point. Rowan heard this too, and he jumped from the sudden sound, then stared at it like she did. It rotated on its vertical axis, in a slow spin. It clicked again as one side of it spun around, and it changed its configuration. It did this again, then again, faster and faster. The speed with which it moved slung Rose’s blood all around them, as the sides of the puzzle spun and shifted.
Olivia. She was hungry.
there was a pit in her stomach, as hunger mixed with sadness, It must have been one of the last things she ever thought about.
It stopped. The puzzle had seen what it wanted within Rose, and in response, solved itself. An orange outline formed around the box as it faced her, an upside-down triangle. Within the outline, the box began to grow dark, as a void grew within it.
The orange tetrahedron, and the void within it, began to grow in size. The two of them scrambled to their feet, backed away from it, and Rowan held up his hands in an attempt to shield himself from whatever was about to happen. The shape expanded rapidly, and it flew outward to every corner of the room, as it swallowed them whole. All light had been extinguished, and all their senses had gone silent, save for a feeling of weightlessness.
Nora pulled into a parking spot. The engine of the car sounded labored as it stuttered and sputtered. She put the car into park, then switched the engine off. As she did so, the car let out what could be mistaken as a relieved sigh, amid the popping and snapping the engine generated as heat radiated from it.
She forced open the door, lept out from the car, and tossed the keys into the seat. As she closed the car door, she looked away and shaded her eyes with her hand. The sun was almost set now, and it had turned the world a soft orange. She turned from both the sunset and the car, then broke into a jog in the direction of the train station. As the air began to grow colder, she could see the steam rise from the trains and hear them chug in the distance.
Rose opened her eyes.
She stood in the same room, or so her senses told her. The puzzle sat in front of her, still on its tip, in the same slow spin. She looked down at it, and tilted her head. Her wounds had been healed, and her jacket was on, What… what just happened?
Rowan opened his eyes. He still stood in a guarded position, but more relaxed now, Uh… I… I dunno. Something happened.
She nodded, and stared at it, That much is evident.
Are we… fine? Did you do it?
I… I’m not sure. It’s not doing anything else, so… maybe there’s something else I have to do?
He shrugged.
Anything they were about to say was interrupted by a rumble, and the sound of metal being bent. They both jumped in surprise, and Rowan backed up closer to the pipe. Rose looked to her right, where most of the sound had come from. On a previously featureless wall, shrouded in dark, double doors had appeared. They looked to be made of either rough metal, or smooth stone, just like the box at their feet.
Rose tensed, as the crystallization began again. She grimaced as she bent down, and picked up the box with her right hand. There was another long creak, as the entire structure strained against some powerful force. There were now gaps in the walls, and from these voids, came a monochromatic orange light: faint at first, but as the rumbling grew louder, the light shone brighter, until the inside of the basement was illuminated at all angles. The rays of light moved from the floor, upward, as though the whole basement traveled down a shaft like an elevator. There were terrible noises all around them, things that sounded like the breathing of giants, distant moans, and chains being drug against stone. And now, footsteps. Rose stood and stared at the door, as Rowan slunk down to the floor in fear. She pressed her fingers against the puzzle, to satisfy the curse, but it was stuck in position. Afraid, she shoved the box into her jacket pocket.
The door opened outward. On the other side, were three unnatural figures. A sickly sweet smell flowed from them into the room— similar to what Rowan now smelled like, but even more intense. They walked in a triangular formation, one ahead and two behind. The one in the middle-front looked like a Kacheek, colored a bright lime green. Their body had no fur, and they were as smooth & transparent as glass, or a polished gemstone. Intense color highlights of the orange light reflected off their body, and objects behind were visible through them as blurred shadows, including the other two figures.
None of them had fur. Instead, they were all made out of strange unliving material like Nora had been. The one on the left —furthest away from Rose— resembled a Hissi, and had what looked to be the skin of a chocolate chip cookie. Frosting was formed into the shape of hair on his head, a large wig with stripes of white and brown. Spikes had been driven into their head.
Another, in the shape of an Aisha, was a matte white, their body coated in powdered sugar & cream of tartar like lokum. Silver-colored pins had been driven into his body all over, most concentrated in his head, in the pattern of a spiderweb.
They stepped forward into the room. All of their bodies were torn and pierced, barbs of crystalline sugar, and shiny black licorice material, pressed into and through their forms. Their clothes must have been for ornamentation only, Rose surmised, as the Kacheek was clothed in places unnecessary, and bare in places clothes ought to have been. The Kacheek and the Aisha were far more scarred than the Hissi, filled with prongs and sharp implements both inside & outside their body, able to be seen through lack of dress— and in the case of the Kacheek, the transparent material they were made of. The sound of them, as they stepped forward, reminded Rose of the sounds of full plate armor. Metal rubbing against metal, against leather, against the stone of the floor.
The Kacheek turned their head to Rowan, and he cowered. The creature sniffed at him, once. No one moved, as they stared at him for a moment. They frowned, and turned their head to Rose. They spoke in a feminine whisper, their voice forceful, but quiet.
Where is she.
For a moment, Rose couldn’t move or speak.
The shapeshifter. The Prince of Blood.
the alien being’s gaze bore into her like a predator who had backed it’s prey into a corner, Speak.
She inhaled, then cleared her throat, as she summoned the courage to speak to it, N—Nora?
No, I am not Nora.
H— oh,
Rose shook her head, I—I meant—
You may call me Karsandvtar.
they stared at her without blinking as they spoke, For now, I am your ally. To you, I am an emissary —and demon servant— of The Hunger, the Maid of Void.
Rose’s face went blank, as a memory, a realization began to dawn on her, W—waitaminute.
Rose lowered her brow, and held out her hand at the demon to point at them, What did you say your name was?
You have been told enough. Where is the Prince of Blood? Answer me.
But… how…?
she shook her head.
Where is she. I will not repeat myself again.
She— she’s out there!
Rose gestured to the basement door, She took my car! She’s going to a doc—!
The curse interrupted her as it crawled farther up her leg, which made her wince and look down at it.
Where is the box?
I—
she stammered, as the curse grew through her, She cursed me! She said if I stopped trying to solve this thing, it… I’ll turn to crystal!
It is solved. You opened the box. We came.
W—what?? But it’s still…!
Her leg was solid, numb crystal now, and it continued to expand. It grew faster, and faster, and she fell to the ground as its weight unbalanced her. She pulled her jacket against her stomach as her arms solidified, It… it doesn’t care that I already solved it,
she gritted her teeth, it just… sees me not trying to, and… god damnit! Nora you bastard!
She wheezed as she tried to speak, but her throat, then her face, became too stiff to move. Her vision grew dark, as she watched the three of them move over to Rowan.
The orange of the sunset had begun to turn pink. Nora sat down, into the padded seat. The train car was small, only three meters in width, most of which was taken up by the seats on both sides. There were many windows that looked out from the train car, and conifer trees whizzed past them on the outside. The only sounds were of the wheels against the tracks, the distant chug of the engine, and people. She glanced all over, at the neopians around her. They flipped through books & newspapers, cleared their throats & sniffled, and shifted in their seats to get more comfortable. All of them, ordinary. She sighed, and allowed herself to relax.
The outside went dark, as the train passed into a tunnel. Nora leaned back, and opened her eyes, as the change in light level had alerted her. She shuddered, but then shook her head to ease herself.
She once again looked over the occupants of the car. No one had moved much from where they’d sat, and she gave them another careful look. Each one kept to themselves, or to their riding partners, all quiet and relaxed.
The train had emerged from the tunnel, and sunset poured into the vehicle again. She continued to inspect the train, as she couldn’t help being vigilant, even now as she seemed safe. Instead of the pink sunset, the sky had once again changed to orange. She blinked, squinted, then tilted her head.
Each train car was joined to another via walkable gangway connection, between a vestibule on each side, so that two doors connected each car. The door to the connection itself was made of a heavy metal plate, with a square glass window inset at head-height, and secured by brass trim & bolts. Nora’s gaze moved across the inside of the car, as she tried to inspect the outside without drawing attention to herself. Conifer trees no longer sped past the windows, and instead, distant mountains had become barren, or discolored. Her eyes rested on the door within the vestibule to her left.
A Lutari, cloaked in void, stood outside the train car in the gangway connection, on the other side of the closed door, and they watched her with a single orange eye. Nora’s own eyes widened as she turned her head to face the vision, and her insides twisted up in terror. They passed through the door as would a ghost; the metal and glass provided no resistance at all to them.
She got up from her seat, as the Lutari glided towards her slowly, centimeters above the floor. She whipped around as she backed away from them, and gave desperate looks to the passengers. Those who had cared to look up only looked at her. Nora glanced back and forth between a passenger and the Lutari. He looked where she did, then back to her. Nora was the only one who could see the levitating figure. As it moved toward her still, she turned, and ran.
She looked to her left, outside the windows of the car, and felt nauseous. The windows displayed the orange false sun, the brown sugar sand and crumbled structures. The land was barren in some places, and in others, dense with trees not made of wood. Dark figures had gathered around the tracks, and some looked in to watch her.
She yanked the door open, to the other gangway, then the other, and barreled forward through it. The passengers jumped and shouted at her, but she ignored them and looked behind her. The cloaked figure still followed, and they grew in speed. The same unnatural orange light shone in through the windows, the same landscapes. A giant pillar of packed brown sugar that resembled stone floated above the ground, far from the train: an elliptic cylinder covered with painted carvings of water, landscapes, and a language unknown to Nora. In the top center of these carvings, was that of an orange, upside-down triangle, and its center void was a hole all the way through the structure to the other side. A moon was visible through this void, like an eye that watched her.
She forced her way through two more doors. The rancorous sounds of the Outside grew in volume alongside that of the train’s engine. A conductor shouted, and attempted to grab onto Nora’s arm, but she slipped past them, temporarily shifted into a liquid. She crashed through another set of doors. She looked behind her. The cloaked figure had gotten even closer. She shouted wordlessly as she ran, closed her eyes, then lept through the threshold to the front of the train, hand outstretched in anticipation to grab the handle to the next door.
Void.
Nothing. She had leapt into an empty, infinite expanse. All the sights and sounds that had assaulted her had vanished, as everything was replaced by a feeling of weightlessness, her body frozen in place.
The phantasam was illuminated now. An androgynous chocolate Lutari, who wore a brown cloak and nothing else, floated next to Nora. Their body was unblemished by injuries or impliments of torture, save for the absence of their right eye. They looked at her, their face in an expression of regret. They reached out, and softly held Nora’s hand.
The train driver sipped at his coffee. A small amount had gotten onto his moustache, so he sucked at it, and gave it small lick. He bent over, and set his coffee down on the floor to the right of his swiveling chair. He sniffled, and looked out over the rail in front of him.
The door behind him burst open with a deafening clatter.
He jumped, and pulled himself around in the chair to look behind him. The open door swiveled on its hinges, and he leaned forward to look down into the train. The gangway connection was empty, and several doors down had also opened, as confused passengers & conductors looked around. But no one was there.