Sincerely, Serotonin. That’s what they call me minus the space and comma.
But you can call me Ichi. I’m learning to write for my own joy instead of validation from others.
Sponsored by the Goodest of all the Girls, Pantone.
The heroes had called them NPCs, apparently standing for non-player characters. The citizens were unimportant, the heroes claimed. They were simply there to aid them on their quest.
But where were they now? Between ashes and madness, what remained of the heroes? Nothing. They had been a pipe dream all along.
That was when the innkeeper had a brilliant idea. Who needs heroes from another world? They had brains, brawns, and talents between them, provided they were willing to stand up. In the end, a party emerged, consisting of the innkeeper, a merchant, the town doctor, and a few other souls.
Non-player characters? More like not the prophesied champions, but that wouldn’t stop them from saving the world.
The sky sea ebbed and flowed, reflecting down light to the sand below. Algae and seaweed grew in the warmth of that light, decorating the world below. Cities had crumbled, paved paths had eroded from the tide.
How long had it been since life moved underwater? She couldn’t say.
All that remained above the waves was death; that was all she knew.
"I'll fine you ten million Pokeyen if you don't kiss me."
Barry never actually expected her to go for it.
~
Barry was always on the move, quick on his feet from one place to another. Dawn was always slower, taking her time to enjoy the world around her. And Barry was always frustrated with Dawn because she took much too long to catch up.
That’s just the way things were. Today would be no different.
The young champion was stretched out on her bed, a novel in hand and her faithful Pokemon companions resting in their balls, hidden away in the bag by her bed. It was an easy day, nothing to do, no Team Plasma to deal with and no Barry demanding she hurry or else face a fine.
All in all, it was a nice day.
“Oh.”
She could hear him coming already, dirty sneakers running up the stairs to her room. An eager smile was on his face.
“Dawn, come on! We gotta go!”
“Go where?” she asked with a small laugh.
“Lake Verity, duh! I totally saw a Pokemon there, and you gotta see it too!”
She rolled her eyes. So Mesprit had actually deemed Barry worthy of seeing them. Barry wasn’t a bad trainer by any means, but he was loud and showy. Dawn would have figured the legendary Pokemon too annoyed by such energy to deal with the blonde.
Then again… Mesprit was the guardian of emotion, so an energetic boy like Barry was probably right up the Pokemon’s ally.
“Okay, okay. I’m coming.” She got up from the bed and put on her signature pink coat, white scarf, and matching hat. “Let’s go.”
Barry ran ahead of her just like always, nearly bumping into her mother on the way out, then another citizen of Twinleaf on his way to the lake. Always in a hurry, Dawn thought with a chuckle. She’d been on the receiving end of his speed one too many times to count.
“Come on! You’re too slow!” he whined. From time to time, he’d turn around and jog in place while waiting for her to catch up. She took her time, walking at an easy pace. “Dawn, hurry or you’ll miss it!”
“Would you relax? I’m sure the Pokemon’s got nowhere better to be.”
It wasn’t much longer before they were at the lake. It was quiet as always. A gentle breeze blew the leaves of the evergreen trees around them. The lake rippled with the Pokemon living beneath its surface.
“So,” Dawn teased. “Where is it?”
“Ah, well…”
“Well?”
“Okay, fine. I didn’t actually see a Pokemon,” he admitted.
This caught Dawn by surprise. Barry was usually so predictable, but she’d never thought him one to lie, especially about something like this. She couldn’t help but wonder why.
“Okay then,” she said. “Why did you call me out here?”
His cheeks flushed and he cleared his throat. What was this about? After he took a moment to prepare himself, her rival pointed a finger in her direction.
“Dawn Berlitz, you’re too slow!”
“So you’re going to fine me because I took my time walking?” she asked. “I’m not paying.”
He huffed and placed his hands on his hips. “No, no. You got it all wrong this time. I mean, yeah, you’re slow as Hell, but that’s so not what this is about.”
She sighed softly. “Then what is it about, Barry? I’ve got a book to get back to.”
He took another moment to gather himself. He sucked in a deep breath and exhaled just a little too quickly. But it seemed to fire him up and give him the remaining amount of courage he needs.
“I’ve been waiting for you to fall for my charms and kiss me for, like, ever! So, Dawn, if you don’t kiss me right now I’m going to fine you ten million Pokeyen!”
Seriously? That’s what all this energy was about? Well, she supposed it was better than some alternatives…
He grinned as if he’d won not just a battle, but a whole war. “Well? Pay up!”
He really thought she wasn’t going to go for it? What a dork…
The last thing Barry expected was for Dawn to walk up to him, grab him by his signature green scarf, and pull him in for a kiss that may have lasted a second or two too long.
“There. No fine for me today,” she said with a satisfied grin.
“Wait. What?!” His eyes were wide and his mouth was open. His cheeks were flushed a Cherrim-colored hue.
“I kissed you. So now what?”
“You can’t just kiss someone to avoid a fine!” he insisted, stamping his foot angrily. Always such a child. And always so slow on the uptake.
Dawn couldn’t help but laugh. “I know,” she said. “But I can kiss someone I like.”
If you’ll be my boat, I’ll be your sea,
The depths of pure blue just to prove curiosities.
Ebbing and flowing and pushed by a breeze,
I live to make you free. I live to make you free.
But you can set sail to the west if you want to
And past the horizon, ‘til I can’t even see you,
Far from here where the beaches are wide.
Just leave me your wake to remember you by.
“Boats and Birds” by Gregory & the Hawk
~
To my darling daughter Tetra, who has yet to be born, I dedicate this journal so that you may remember your mother loves you and that your father is never too far away.
Sincerely
Dazel Nohansen
~
Captain’s Log
Day X of the Helmaroc Month, Year XX
My crew tells me of strange rumors that put my nerves on end. Townsfolk of Windfall state there is a more fearsome pirate crew than my own, and have admitted feeling relieved when they see its “only me”.
I admit I have dedicated myself to being a pirate who others can rely on, for work or errands or faith. It should not come as a surprise to me that this leads to naïveté and foolishness, though the fact still irks me to no end.
They say the crew takes up residence at the Forsaken Fortress in the northwestern part of the Great Sea. Today we set sail from Windfall. They won’t know what hit them.
You should know better than to cross a pirate captain.
Captain Dazel Nohansen of The Fallen Goddess
~
It was part of the captain’s routine to make frequent entries in her diary so that, were anything to ever happen to her, her crew would have a way to see into her head, to know where they were to go next and what they ought to dedicate themselves to without her guidance. Today was no exception.
She returned her quill to its spot in the inkwell once her entry was finished and took a moment to read over the perfectly swirled cursive she’d just written.
By the time she’d written the entry, the crew had already begun their voyage to the Forsaken Fortress. Few pirates dared to head to the supposedly cursed isle, but Dazel was not afraid of some silly curse or any monsters foolish enough to attack her when she was armed with a gun or blade, let alone both. And she’d be damned if her crew showed any such cowardice.
She exhaled a sigh and shut the diary, stashing it away in a drawer, just in time to hear a knock on the door.
“Yes, come in,” she said, her tone stern if only because of her irritation.
The door creaked open and a child’s head poked its way inside. Gonzo. He couldn’t have been more than five when Dazel first found him, begging for food or rupees because he had none to his name. He had no family, so the captain raised him as her own child. He was reliable… for a boy who was now only seven.
“Captain,” he nodded his head in way of greeting her.
“Gonzo,” she said softly, now that she saw it was only him. “Is something wrong.”
“No, ma’am,” he said. “Got an announcement. Forsaken Fortress is in view.”
She stood and threw on her coat. “I see. I shall be out in just a minute. Make sure we don’t get too close, okay? We have no idea what those pirates have up their sleeves.”
She could only imagine. Cannons and grappling mechanics were inevitable, but there had been rumors the rival captain held the capability to use dark magic and command beasts. Dazel doubted it was true, but made sure to acknowledge the possibility anyways. A pirate captain always had to be prepared.
Dazel quickly checked her inventory. A sword, a gun, her pirate’s charm - this was likely all the captain needed to handle the rival crew and get a good look at the fortress.
She raised a hand to her neck, pulling on the leather to bring her necklace into view. It had been passed down her family for generations and could be used to talk to others from a distance. She found it fascinating, more unique than letters and with a wondrous sense of mystery regarding how it worked.
Satisfied, she smoothed out the wrinkles on her red and black coat and stepped onto the deck.
“Mako, Sanza - what’s the situation?” she called.
The two were part of her crew. The latter was just in late teens, or perhaps early twenties. Dazel never bothered asking, and he never bothered telling her. Mako was far older, older than everyone in her crew. He was a sort of father figure, even if he did like teasing everyone.
“Captain,” Sanza turned his attention to her. “We’ve spotted cannons mounted on the walls. They’d likely fire if we got too close.”
“The searchlights are also keeping an eye out for any unwanted visitors.” Mako cleaned his glasses on his shirt as he spoke.
“Then that leaves only one solution.” A grin spread across her tanned features.
“Captain...” Mako returned his glasses to his face and gave her a concerned look. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking what I think you are.”
She chuckled. “Nothing like the barrel trick. I trust you to follow my aim.”
They muttered grumbles of complaints. They should have known their feisty captain would willingly volunteer herself to scout out the fortress by herself. She was always stubborn like that, and admittedly a little foolhardy too.
But this was the best way. It would get her in without the guards noticing her or the searchlights catching sight of their ship. She wouldn’t have to deal with too many pirates, though she could handle any that came her way, and would easily get the answers she needed from the rival captain.
That brought up a question.
She glanced at Mako. “What was the captain’s name?”
He shook her head. “The villagers didn’t say. They don’t even know what he looks like.”
She spat at the ground. “Tch, typical. He’s probably just some know-it-all who thinks he’s tough. That just makes this so much easier.”
With that said, she helped ready the catapult for launch and crouched inside the barrel they planned to launch. Her hand was on the hilt of her blade. Her gun was conveniently tucked away in easy reach.
She eyed the fortress from a distance, taking note of a ledge that seemed to lead to the uppermost portion of the structure. There was no doubt in Dazel’s mind that the captain would be there.
“To the right… No, your other right! Good. Now up, up, up- STOP.”
Once Dazel was certain her aim was perfect, her grin spread wider.
“Ready. Set. Launch!”
As the captain commanded, the catapult sent her flying. She jumped out of the barrel as she reached the ledge, leaving the evidence to crash against the wall, splinter, and fall into the water below. Perfect. The guards wouldn’t notice a thing.
They likely didn’t even suspect a thing as the large wooden door before her was neither locked or guarded. She shrugged to herself.
“Amateurs,” she muttered, before letting herself inside, closing the door behind her as quietly as she could.
She turned around to see what was likely a prison in the castle. The barred off portions of the room would likely suggest that. But there were no prisoners in there nor any reason for Dazel to look their way.
Wooden platforms snaked up the wall, leading to an outdoor portion far before here. She took off in a sprint, easily scaling the platforms to the top.
Where a terrifyingly large bird was waiting.
“What in the blue depths is this?!” she demanded before she could stop herself.
The beast was covered in faded purple feathers, decorated by violet, white, and black wingtips and lengthy golden tailfeathers. A silver mask covered its face, but its glowing yellow eyes were on full display.
A trembling hand reached for her gun and was near ready to fire, when the monster picked her up, its onyx talons digging into her coat and carrying her away.
“Let me go this instant! Damn bird, you hear me?!”
It flew her to a cabin-like area nestled at the top of the fortress. As if sensing the bird had captured his prey, a portly man with skin far darker than her own stepped out onto the balcony.
The bird tilted its head, as if asking what to do with the captain of the Fallen Goddess. The man just smirked and motioned behind him. The bird flung her at the captain and she crashed into the wall, before crumpling on the ground. Her gun scattered away from her grip.
“Damn beast,” she muttered as she slowly sat up, raising a hand to her aching head. “Damn pirates.”
The man approached her slowly, hands on the golden hilts of his blades as if daring her to draw her weapons. She glared at him, taking in his fiery red mane and beard, as well as the robes with markings she’d only seen in books before.
Just who was this man? Other than someone far more capable that Dazel had predicted…
“And you are?”
“You may call Ganondorf. I am the leader of the crew you so desperately sought out.” He motioned to the inside room he’d been staying in before. “Could I interest you in a chat?”
Dazel grit her teeth. Seemed she didn’t have a choice either way.
The longer you know someone, the more you learn about them. It was an obvious fact, one even Groose knew.
He knew that Link was Zelda’s favorite, that he always had been. They grew up together, after all. Groose could still remember Zelda leading the boy around by the hand, since he was too timid to go anywhere by himself. No doubt he’d begin courting her soon, after everything that happened.
He also knew that Link was a hero. He had descended from the world above, a world they left behind, when Zelda was taken. He fought and fought and eventually found and rescued her. Groose helped, of course. The pipsqueak couldn’t have done it without him.
The last thing he knew - he was stronger than Link physically. Though the boy could spin circles around him in speed and skill with a blade, Groose had physical strength on his side.
And it was from this knowledge that Groose hatched a plan. He’d beat Link in a wrestling match and impress Zelda. Maybe then her beautiful blue eyes would turn from that twerp to him.
He trained for nearly a week, until his patience ran out. It didn’t matter. He was ready.
Watch out, Link! Here comes the Groosenator!
He approached the blonde one day, when Link was busy practicing swordplay against a dummy Groose constructed for him. “Hey, Link,” he said, careful not to let his tone give away his planned mischievousness. “Wanna train?”
The boy looked over at him with a grin before wiping away the sweat from his brow with a free hand.
Another thing Groose knew about Link, he never spoke. Never. He used Skyloftian sign most of the time, forcing Groose to figure it out to understand him. When he didn’t, he just pointed or nodded or motioned to whatever he needed done.
Link stood ready to spar, his sword drawn and shield ready. Then he hesitated. Groose wasn’t holding a blade, let alone a shield. He sheathed his weapon before signing, ”Not gonna use a sword?”
A wide grin spread across the tanned man’s face. “Nope, just bare fists. That work for you?”
Link nodded.
Zelda paused to look up from the book she was reading. She raised a brow, then sighed and marked her place in the tome.
“Really, Groose?” she asked with a chuckle. “As if Link hasn’t beat you enough times already?”
His face flushed with embarrassment and frustration. “I’ll win this time, Zelda. You’ll see! Plus, it’s to keep his skills sharp.” At least, that’s what he told himself.
He lunged at Link, who ducked under his arm. He tried to kick Groose in the back, but he blocked the kick. He jerked Link’s leg, pulling the blonde off his feet.
“Checkmate!”
He climbed on top of Link, one hand pinning his chest down, the other holding Link’s hands above his head. Had they always been this small? He couldn’t remember. And the blonde’s chest- Was it always this soft? This squishy?
“Cut it out!” a feminine voice cried out.
Groose registered that Link’s mouth had moved. But that voice… It couldn’t have been his. He glanced over at Zelda, who just sighed and shook her head. So much for impressing her with his victory.
But that voice wasn’t hers. That left a question. If not her, then who?
“Get your hand off my chest, Groose!”
His golden eyes widened as he slowly looked back at the blonde pinned under him. That’s right. This voice was to Link. But how. He was a guy. Or maybe…
He squeezed the soft something that was in his hand, as if to confirm what was trying to sick in. Link let out an embarrassed cry.
“Groose, c’mon!”
A crimson flush spread across Groose’s face as he pulled back, flopping onto his butt as he watched Link with wide eyes. That voice was Link’s. But it had been so feminine. And his body - so soft!
That couldn’t be… Unless…?
“You’re… You’re…” Groose stammered. He tried to cover his blush with a hand, while he pointed an accusatory finger at Link with the other.
“A girl,” Zelda said. “You didn’t know.”
“A girl?!” Groose demanded, gaze quickly going between the two blondes.
Link nodded and folded her arms over her chest. “Geez… I didn’t want you finding out like that…” Her face was even redder than his. Considering what he’d just done, Groose didn’t blame her.
“B-but how? And why?!”
Link stood up and turned her back to the others, seeming to find the training dummy surprisingly interesting. She ran her fingers over the wood and straw that comprised the dummy.
“It’s… a long story.”
“One she’d rather not tell,” Zelda chimed in.
But Link just glanced over her shoulder with a small smile.
“Do you remember my dad?” she asked. Groose just nodded. “Well, he’d always wanted a son. Mom died when I was still young, so I couldn’t have a little brother. Instead, Dad insisted I be his son. Go to knight school, train hard, be a hero - that was all his idea.”
“Link…” Zelda said softly.
“Shoot, sorry…” Groose grumbled. “I didn’t know, didn’t realize…” He felt dumb no matter what he tried to say.
Link turned back to the others, hands clasped behind her back, leaning against the dummy. A small, sad smile lit up her face.
“He said I had to be quiet and strong. I had to look out for Zelda. I had to… be the son he always wanted me to be.”
Groose didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t know, he never had. How could he? He stood and closed the distance between them.
“Groose?”
He didn’t respond to Link saying his name, only pulled her into a tight hug. “You’re safe now, damn it. And you can be whoever you want to be.”
Tears glistened in Link’s eyes. “Thank you…”
Groose pulled back, taking in the rosy hues coloring Link’s cheeks. “But, uh… Who do you want to be?”
“I just want to be me. I want to be Link, Zelda's best friend, and your... friend too.” She'd settle with that for now.
Groose couldn’t help but chuckle. “Good enough for me.” He was none the wiser about how Link really felt.
She never meant to stay away this long. Honestly, she’d never meant to come to the town in the first place, or to leave when her life got rough.
It seemed like so long ago, when the young Miss Mayor arrived in Arcadia for the first time. She’d gone there on a whim, just to see where the train may take her. She wanted to find a home somewhere, to get out from under her parents’ roof. And so she found Arcadia.
How could she ever expect that she’d become mayor though?
Those days were full of those warm, fuzzy memories, where she made friends and saw some travel out of her town to go elsewhere.
But there had been those who stayed with her through it all. There was one in particular she couldn’t imagine running the town without.
Before she came to Arcadia, if you told the mayor her best friend was going to be a Japanese cat with white red and fur and very grumpy personality, she would have laughed.
Before coming there, she had only seen a common cat. The four-legged ones, who eat fish and sleep all day. The ones who meow and use scratch pads. That is, the common house cat.
But this was cat was different. All the animals in Arcadia were.
They were as tall as any ordinary human. They walked on their hind legs and could talk instead of just meowing.
This cat in particular wore kimono, but never any pants or shoes. He said they were uncomfortable and tight. She didn’t question it. Well she did at first, back when she found herself questioning how animals like this even existed.
For so long, she’d wanted to go back. She felt guilty for leaving Isabelle to run her town without so much as a word of when she’d be back. But the mayor had been very, very sick for so long. She didn’t think she would ever get better.
But now she was, and she was coming home.
The train pulled to a stop.
“Heya, Mayor! We’ve arrived!” the energetic conductor said. He was a monkey, but good at his job and very respectful. “Glad to see you’re finally back!”
“Thanks. I’m happy to be back,” she said with a smile.
“Need any help getting your bags?”
“No, I’m alright.” She shook her head. All she had was a suitcase and her messenger bag. Both had been sitting on the train seat next to her.
She smoothed off her skirt, a pretty pastel thing she wouldn’t have thought about wearing before she left. She’d been in such a dark place then. But a smile had finally returned to her face. She was finally better, even if there would still be rough days.
Hopefully her villagers would still be waiting for her.
Hopefully Kabuki would be waiting for her.
“Well, let me know if you need a ride anywhere, Miss Mayor. You have a good day!”
“I will, Porter. Thank you.”
She stepped off the train and exhaled a sigh of joy as she found her town. Yes, it was a little overrun with weeds. They had mainly her responsibility after all. And yes, the sky was dark and grey, just as it had been on the day she left. But this was home.
This was Arcadia.
She looked around and found a familiar face. He seemed preoccupied watching the sky under his straw umbrella. Either that he was ignoring her.
“Long time, no see, Kabuki.”
He jumped at her voice, his fur standing on end. His blue eyes were wide with shock and disbelief. A trembling paw let go of his umbrella and it fell.
“You… You came back.”
“I’m sorry I took so long. I-”
Before the explanation could ever pass through her lips, the cat pulled her into a hug. It was tight and a little hard to breath. His claws even dug into the fabric of the outfit she took so long to decide on. She dropped her suitcase so she could hug him back.
“You’re back! You’re back!” he kept saying, before finally pulling away to get a good look at her face. Joy was quick to turn to frustration. “I can’t believe you kept me waiting this long, you good-for-nothing mayor! Everyone said you wouldn’t come back, but me and Isabelle believed you would. And-”
Tears stung the mayor’s eyes. Her hopes hadn’t been for nothing. Someone was still waiting for her to come home after all these months.
She reached up to swipe the tears away, but Kabuki was quicker than she was. His soft fur tickled her cheeks.
“Tch, same crybaby as always, huh?”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
“Nah. I wouldn’t have you any other way.” He planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “Welcome home, Mayor.”
Ellis looked around, eye wide. She thought [insert name] was big, but it was nothing compared to this. Tall, grey buildings overlooked the sidewalks with busy people rushing by on either side. Cars patiently waited in the dark streets to continue moving to whatever destination lay in store for them.
She glanced around at the world outside from the back of Caspian’s rusted car. It was an old model, not fancy enough to be called an antique but not useless enough to be a called a clunker. Benny fidgeted with the radio dial in the front seat, and Caspian kept his eyes on the road.
“First time here, huh?” Nine asked.
“First time I remember,” she replied.
In the distance, she could see a large building with massive windows overlooking the streets. A plaza sat in front of the building, complete with benches, trees, and a fancy-looking statue with an image of the goddess.
“What is that?” she asked. “Some kind of church?”
Caspian shook his head. “Not quite. More like the… well, the castle of sorts.”
“Not real pretty for a castle,” Benny mumbled as he readied his camera to take a few shots. “Seems like it’d be a church.”
Nine rolled his eyes. “Well, considering the Kendricks think they’re the goddess’s blessing to the world, you’re not too far from the truth.” He spat the words, looking annoyed as he reclined in his seat.
Ellis wasn’t sure what had Nine so frustrated. Perhaps the threat that the kingdom would close down their adventurer’s guild for harboring the princess without telling them. But it seemed like more than that, like he was angry at the kingdom itself, and the royal family even more so.
“You okay?” she asked.
“I’m… I’m fine. Just bad memories.”
It probably had something to do with why Nine had gone to jail in the first place. She wanted to ask, wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind. The words died at the back of her throat or on her tongue.
“Mm,” was all she settled with.
They turned right at the three-way light and soon pulled into a parking lot. Caspian nestled the keys into the pocket of his slacks after locking the doors. Benny was the first out, stretching and jogging in place. He never was good at staying in one place for too long. Ellis didn’t blame him this time. She was antsy too. Though maybe not as antsy as Nine seemed to be, clenched fists shoved in the pockets of his ripped jeans.
“So, any idea what we say to the king?” Benny asked.
Caspian shook his head. “I was actually going to let Ellis take the lead.”
“Me?” she asked. “Seriously?”
“You are his daughter after all.”
Logically, it made sense. It all checked out. The royal heir to the throne should be the one to speak to her father in defense of her guild. But what if he still got upset? What if he demanded she stay here? Seemed like the only logical thing to expect when a princess returns to her kingdom.
They crossed the parking lot.
Ellis felt like everyone’s eyes were on her. She glanced around. As far as she could tell, no one was watching her. She should have been fine. But she still felt anxious. She pulled her hood over her head and shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket.
It was a chilly day. The skies were as dark as the buildings. She had a feeling it was going to rain later. Seemed fitting somehow.
Ellis’s legs began to shake as she approached the castle. Her breath caught in her throat, choking her. She stopped, trying to get her nerves to calm down. They wouldn’t. She felt like she was suffocating.
“I don’t want to do this,” she said, then repeated it again and again. “I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to do this.”
Caspian breathed out a small sigh. He wasn’t angry with her, at least not as far as she could tell. He seemed more like he was worried about her. He was always worried about her.
Nine placed his hand on Ellis’s hood, a small sign of faith to show that he was there, on her side, and would protect her if it came down to it.
Benny linked arms with her and, when she dared look up, they all had small, anxious smiles on their faces. They were trying to be brave for her sake, even if they were scared. She ought to show them the same courtesy.
“You ready?” Benny asked, grinning as wide as he could muster. She could feel his body tremble. None of them were ready. But they had to go in anyways.
Ellis sucked in a shaking breath and nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
They headed inside to a reception area. A bored looking woman sat behind the desk in a black suit top and skirt. She inspected papers, signed them, and put them to the side to work on the next one. When the bell above the door chimed to show she had visitors, she glanced up. At first, she looked annoyed. Then she saw Ellis, and her features softened.
“Princess,” she said. She stood and bowed to the returning royal. Ellis didn’t like it.
“Hey,” was all she could muster. “I, uh… guess we’re here to see my father?” She wasn’t sure how else to phrase it.
The woman cast a dark look towards the princess’s three companions. “Them as well?” she asked.
“Yes, them as well.” She wouldn’t do this without them.
She watched the woman roll her eyes - the nerve! - before motioning over a guard. The man raised his visor to reveal a look of shock as he admired the princess, but he said nothing.
The woman motioned towards the back of the building with a nod of her head. “To his majesty’s throne room,” she said.
The guard nodded. “This way, folks.”
He led them deep into the castle, though Ellis still couldn’t help but feel this place felt more like a cathedral or office building. Or maybe a bank; she realized that comparison might be more fitting than the other two.
Finally, the guard stopped before a large door with some ornate images of the goddess herself carved into wood. They really seemed to like showing off the goddess and, honestly, it made Ellis kind of uncomfortable. It was like they had a giant billboard that read “chosen by the goddess, all others serve us”. She didn’t like it.
She gave a nervous glance to her companions. “Here we go.” She wasn’t the least bit enthused. Caspian held one door open. Nine held the other. Benny and Ellis walked in, and the other two quickly followed. The doors clicked into place behind them.
They found themselves in a very long room, with a fancy dark blue rug leading up to an onyx throne. A tired-looking man sat there, looking ahead with little interest. This interest was quick to come when he realized his guests weren’t more subjects with requests for him to fulfill. No, it was his daughter, long though lost, and the men he deemed to have a part in taking her away from her home.
Ellis kept her head bowed, not daring more than a glance or two up at the man who supposedly was her father. She felt no connection to him, or this castle, or this country. She felt out of place, and it was making her kind of crabby.
She stopped before the throne. How does one react when meeting a king and father? Unsure of what else to do, Ellis knelt down before the man. The others followed suit.
“It’s an honor to meet you, sir,” Ellis said. Her tone lacked any enthusiasm to prove her words true.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve meet, Ellysia,” the king replied with a small smile.
That name didn’t feel like hers, but she couldn’t just not answer to it. Any potential further disrespect would just set the king’s anger deeper. That threatened the adventurer’s guild. She couldn’t have that.
“And these are?” he asked, turning his attention to her companions.
“Caspian Evergrand.”
“Benoit Lavigne. But, uh, she just calls me Benny.”
“Nine.”
The king raised a brow. “Nine?”
“Your kingdom stripped me of my name and used me as an experiment. Hence, Nine.”
The king just made a small noise of recognition at Nine’s hate-filled words. “I see. You three may leave now. Go return to your little guild. You may leave my daughter here.”
“Like Hell we will!” Nine snapped, fists clenching. He’d been content to play along with niceties until now. But he’d had enough. He wouldn’t pretend anymore.
Caspian sighed. “Sir, with all due respect, I feel her majesty is much better suited to work with our guild.”
“Plus, she’d be hella bored here,” Benny added.
The king’s eyes narrowed. He stood and grabbed a blade resting near his throne. “I said, you may leave.” He spoke slowly, his words filled with anger.“This is my daughter, heir to my kingdom. She doesn’t belong with you lot.”
Ellis shook her head. “I disagree. You may be Ellysia’s father, but I don’t know you. I don’t know this kingdom, and I don’t want to know it. I’m happy. So you can back off.”
He looked at her with wide eyes. Her betrayal was a dangerous thing, and Sir Kendrick was about to prove it.
“Guards, arrest these men. They’ve poisoned the princess’s mind!”
Ellis wasn’t sure how so many guards heard the man, but they came rushing in like a flood.
“We got any weapons?” Ellis asked, revealing her daggers.
“Left my bow in the car. My bad.” Benny offered an apologetic smile.
“I don’t need a staff to heal, though I admit I left mine in the trunk as well.”
“You guys are useless,” Nine grumbled.
“Oh, and I assume you brought your sword?” Caspian retorted.
Nine just rolled his eyes. “Don’t need one for shadow magic and punching the hell out of these creeps.”
“So that leaves three of us who can fight… and Benny.”
“Sorry!”
Ellis chuckled. “No worries. We gotta get outta here. We’ll figure out the plan from there.”
Because there was no way in Hell Ellis would just give in so easily. Wasn’t her style.
There’s something haunting about seeing yourself in the news. Ellis leaned forward in her seat, mouth slightly open as if to say “how” though no sound would come out. They didn’t call her “Ellis” though.
“Princess Ellysia Maria von Kendrick,” Benny read aloud, his voice soft as if unsure if his dyslexia was acting up again. “Missing princess of the empire of Ystoria.”
Nine lowered his shades from his face. “Can’t be,” he muttered. But he didn’t sound so sure of himself.
Caspian folded his hands in his lap. “I heard about this a while ago. She vanished ten years ago, some rival scheme of another country. They never found her, even after the war. Everyone thought her dead. And yet… they never gave up hope.”
Ellis admired the girl on the TV screen. She supposed they looked somewhat alike. Dark hair, check. Violet eyes, check. Fair skin, check. But they didn’t account for her short messy hair or the scar covering half her face. It was her, and it wasn’t quite her. It was Princess Ellysia, not Ellis of [insert name] Adventurer Guild.
She bit into her lip, brows furrowing. What was this about a search for her? Or, for the princess, anyways? The reporter said they were looking for the princess, alive or dead, to return to her kingdom. That it was the right thing to do if you had any information to pass it on to the government.
Her gaze fell to the ground. It made her sick to see that mirror image from a parallel world. That wasn’t her. Maybe at one point, it had been. But it wasn’t her anymore.
“What will you do?” she asked, her voice no louder than a whisper.
“What do you mean, what will we do? Isn’t it obvious?” Benny asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Her stomach churned at those words. So this was how it had to be. She didn’t want to go back. She wanted to stay here with the guys and live life as Ellis, not some princess she didn’t even recognize. And yet, what choice was there?
“Of course you’re staying with us, little princess,” Nine said and ruffled her hair.
She looked up to see grins all around her. Nine had that scary smile he got when he tried to be reassuring. Caspian just chuckled to himself, as if unable to believe Ellis would ever believe otherwise. And Benny? Benny threw his arms around his best friend and sister-in-arms.
“Dude, you think we’re just gonna fork you over to ‘em? Hell no! We’re in it for the long haul.” Benny hesitated. “That is, as long as you want to stay with us. You do, right?” He had those puppy dog eyes.
It wasn’t like she could turn him down anyways. She didn’t want to.
“Of course I do. I want nothing more.”
If someone wanted her back, they’d have to try and take her. Because this was home. Here, with her friends, at the adventurer’s guild - this was where she was meant to be.
Hell be damned if any kingdom thought they could take her from her friends.
Ellis listened to the pitter-pat of rain against the windowpane of the [insert name] Adventurer’s Guild, her home and workplace. She was sketching the room for what felt like the thousandth time since she started living here. She didn’t mind the practice though, and she always seemed to find a new angle to draft things from.
Benny kept leaning in close to the windows to snap pictures of the raindrops against the glass. He always had an eye for unique pics, and it occasionally gave Ellis something more abstract to draw. His headphones covered his ears, keeping him in the zone. He didn’t fear the thunder, not like Ellis did. He was just easily distracted if not careful. She found that to be one of his most endearing and most frustrating traits.
Caspian sat behind the counter of the bar. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and took another sip of his drink. If you asked him what it was, he would lie and tell you it was coffee - black, of course. He had a bit of a complex with being seen as weak. Though Ellis knew the truth. He couldn’t stand the bitterness of coffee, and was actually drinking a black tea blend with a few sugar cubes and some honey mixed in to lighten the bitter taste.
Nine was stretched out on a couch, arm propping his head up as a pillow. His dark shades covered his eyes, making her wonder if the man was asleep or if he was simply just lounging around. Though, judging from those soft breaths, the scary-looking man probably was asleep.
A thunder clap sounded, breaking the peaceful world. Ellis began to tremble, rocking back and forth to ease her mind. She never could handle loud noises. Probably had something to do with the scar that covered half her face and her lack of memories.
Caspian glanced over, a look of concern on his face. “All well, Ellis?” he asked.
She forced a nod. “I’ll… I’ll be fine. Just need a minute.”
Benny lowered his headphones from his ears, letting them rest around his neck with the goggles he always wore. He glanced anxiously between Caspian behind the bar and Ellis shaking in a booth. Finally, he settled on looking at the former.
“Thunderclap?” he asked.
Caspian just nodded.
In a few moment’s time, Benny had crossed the room and motioned for Ellis to scoot over in the booth. He eased in next to her, taking one of her trembling hands in his and giving it a firm squeeze.
“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, softly and gently. He offered a small smile. “How ‘bout you borrow my headphones?”
She looked at him, eyes wide. “You sure?”
He nodded. “’Course I’m sure. Nine’d kill me if he woke up and saw we just let you sit there scared stiff.”
Ellis wouldn’t put it past Nine. As the tank of the group, he was somewhat of an unspoken leader when it came to action, though Caspian was both their healer and tactician when it came to jobs. Still, Nine was the scariest of their ragtag group and it was best not to anger him. Ellis had avoided him at first when she came to live with the guild, but now Nine was more of a big soft teddy bear with a scary outward appearance. And as protective of her as the other two, lest she forget.
Benny slid the bright red headphones onto her ears. They were the nice, sound-blocking kind, bought half because Benny had thought they looked cool and the other half because Ellis needed peace in moments like this.
“What’s on the playlist today?” She moved the cushion off of one of her ears so she could hear Benny’s response.
Benny grinned. “Anything you want.”
“That old pop punk music?” she asked with a hopeful grin.
“Of course.”
He skimmed through his playlists until he came across the folder Ellis had asked for. He was more of the sort to enjoy cheery pop music that played on the popular radio stations. Ellis was more of a rebel when it came to music, enjoying the punk pop tunes and defiant lyrics. When she’d found this genre, Benny had bought as many CDs as their meager allowance could afford so he could fill his music player with her favorite songs for moments like this.
As they sat there, Benny’s thumb rubbed comforting circles into Ellis’s hand until it finally stopped shaking. With his free hand, he skimmed through the photos he took, leaving some and deleting others. Ellis watched with a small smile, her head leaning against his shoulder.
Her heart slowed, relaxed, and she breathed out a small, contented sigh. What would she do without these boys?
Lumi didn’t know how long she was swallowed by the darkness, how long her corpse must have rotted on the side of the street. She didn’t know. She couldn’t. All she felt was the feeling of being trapped underwater, holding her breath but with no threat of running out of air. All she could do was wait for life to pull her out of the darkness.
She gasped for air, and found it filled her lungs finally. Her chest ached, though whether that was from holding her breath for so long or the many tendrils that had pierced her was beyond Lumi’s guess.
She drew in some deep, shaking breaths as she realized she was, in fact, alive. Or as alive as one could be after they have an experience with death. Not even a near death experience could relate. She had definitely died, and now she was back.
They were right. Death wasn’t final here.
She ran a hand over her chest, checking for injuries. All she felt were the many holes pierced through her shirt and cardigan.
With a groan, Lumi pulled herself to her feet. Her body ached, but the piercings were long gone. She wondered how long she’d been away. Just a few minutes? That’s how it had been for Justin and Kelly. But she wasn’t sure.
Even when Lumi returned home, she found no clocks with which to tell time. There was no phone to check or gaming system. There were no watches either. There was only Lumi standing in the lobby of her hopeful shop.
She breathed a small sigh, running her fingertips over the shop counter. A thin line of dust came back with the finger. She glanced around and found the dust everywhere. Just how long had she been gone?
Lumi sighed. No point just thinking about it. Something had to be done.
She wandered her home and found a closet in the downstairs kitchen. It was empty save for a frustratingly convenient broom and dustpan, as well as a cloth sitting along on a shelf. There was no food in the pantry, only those three items.
Adonis Valley was strange like that. It gave only what the resident seemed to need, and only that. Though anything that took crops to create, for the most part, seemed off the table of convenience.
She’d have to figure that out later.
Her stomach growled hungrily as she took to cleaning her home. It took some time, likely more than an hour, to have everything swept – both upstairs and downstairs.
So what would Lumi do now?
She hesitated in her room, eyes falling upon her reflection. Holes were torn through her clothes, leaving them ragged and revealing. She ought to change, ought to take a shower to wash all the aches away.
She stripped in her room though, eyes falling upon the dark spots that littered her chest. Scars. Scars from the shadow’s tendrils. The wound would stick with her, it seemed.
It bothered her, but it didn’t surprise her. She still remembered what Justin and Kelly looked like when they stumbled back into the bar. Justin’s shirt and jacket were cut in half like weird crop tops, revealing the thick scar spread across his chest. Kelly was on full display to the world, the cracks across her body showing how she’d been torn apart quite literally, piece by piece.
She didn’t remember if they had other scars. She’d like to think she would have seen them, noticed them, but she didn’t quite remember and definitely wasn’t sure of herself. She’d been too shocked to take much information then.
She dug some clean, whole, non-damaged clothes out of her closet and headed to the bathroom, which sat in a neat little corner of the loft behind a light brown door.
She closed the door behind her, locked it for good measure. Another sigh exhaled. Just what was this valley? And how could she leave it? How could she escape it?
She remembered the pamphlet which had mysteriously disappeared. There was no exit. There was no escape.
She still wanted to try. Not now, not soon. Just whenever she worked up her courage enough to risk upsetting the shadows. It seemed a long while off. She wouldn’t push it.
She turned on the hot, steamy water and waited. Inhale, exhale. Her lungs were complete, together. She could breathe. It no longer hurt, but the fear remained.
She stepped into the hot water and breathed another sigh. It felt good, like it was unrolling all the kinks that had spread throughout her body since her first death.
First death, huh? In a place like this, it seemed terrifyingly inevitable. Her body trembled upon the thought. She’d have to die again and again and again until she finally found some grace and got the hell out of here. It was sobering. It was horrifying.
She turned off the water and found a single towel neatly sitting on the counter. She grabbed it and dried herself off, before leaving it around her shoulders so her long hair didn’t wet her oversized t-shirt.
She didn’t know what to do next. What could she do next?
She was too tired to visit the bar and let everyone know she was alright. She didn’t know where Shane lived so she couldn’t go see him and get comfort from him. She didn’t have the energy to explore the town or find the farm up north.
For now, she just wanted to curl up and get some sleep, not just float in a shadowy limbo for God knows how long. Lumi needed just a little break before she had to get her hands dirty again.
Lumi stopped in front of the house she knew to be hers. She wasn’t sure how she knew. She couldn’t distinguish the color from the other houses, nor was their any number or mailbox to show this was indeed her home. She knew just, almost instinctually, that it was hers.
Shane just grunted to show he heard her. His hands were shoved in the pockets of his dingy black jacket.
“So, um… I guess I’ll be going.”
She opened the door. Why hadn’t she locked it? She must have a key somewhere, right? It would be bad if those shadow creatures got inside. But, then again, they only seemed to lurk about in the fog. For now, she hadn’t seen them inside any buildings.
She hesitated. If she went inside now, Shane would leave and Lumi would be lft alone with her thoughts. That was the last thing she wanted. She hesitated in the door way.
“Hey, Shane?”
“Yeah?”
“Would you like to stay a while? I can see if there’s any tea I can put on.”
She didn’t want to be alone. The thoughts would consume her and feed off of her fear. She was already overwhelmed enough. She was sure she’d have a panic attack if she had to think about where she was, how she got here, and what those shadows were any more than she already had.
Luckily, Shane nodded. “Yeah. Don’t got anywhere else to be.”
Lumi motioned for him to come inside, and he did. She shut the door behind them, making sure to lock it. Oh, but would Shane think that was weird? It wasn’t like she was trying to put the moves on him or anything. She was fairly certain he wasn’t her type.
“Just to stay safe,” she explained, just in case he was concerned.
But all he said was, “Yeah, I get it.”
She was glad he did. She then turned back to the lower floor of her new home. It looked like some sort of shop, with several empty shelves and a counter a register could likely fit on. Come to think of it, the bar didn’t have a register either. Maybe because they didn’t need money here, if what Grant said was true.
“What’s with this place? You run some sort of business?” Shane asked. He looked around the room, before spotting a small table in the corner by the window. He plopped down in one of the chairs and leaned back.
“Not exactly,” Lumi said. “I wanted to be a baker, but that dream just didn’t come true.”
“It could,” Shane said, his answer vague.
“How? I can’t sell anything in a place like this.”
“You don’t need to sell anything. People here could use some sort of pick me up. A nice cake or some fresh bread. Something like that.”
He raised his shoulders and then let them down in a lazy shrug.
“But where would I even get the ingredients?” she insisted. She hadn’t seen any other stores, but maybe she’d just passed it by on accident.
“There’s a farm to the north of town. Guy there’s pretty weird, but he does a good job. It’s where Grant gets most of his drinks.”
Lumi quirked a brunette brow. “The farm makes alcohol?” she asked.
Shane chuckled. “They make a little bit of everything. Animal products, alcohol, crops – Hell, they even make cloth from wool and flax.”
Lumi wasn’t sure she understood. How could one person do all that? It seemed like an impossible job to run a farm on your own, especially in a terrifying place like this. Wouldn’t the shadows attack the farmer? She paced around the room anxiously.
“Don’t think too much about it,” Shane said, as if sensing her thoughts. “Not much makes sense here. You’ll just hurt your head if you think about it too hard.”
Lumi could definitely agree that her head was aching just trying to piece together the many mysteries in the valley. It all felt like some horrible, impossible dream – a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from.
But it was a nightmare she had to live in.
She glanced about the empty shelves. Maybe she could do some baking soon. It would put her mind to ease. If she just had some flour, eggs, and milk, she could make something. But she would need far more than that to actually run a free bakery. She hated the thought that it was for free, but if money had no value here there was really no point.
She exhaled a small sigh. There was nothing to be found in this room. She’d have to go further in to find some tea. Or anything to drink at this point.
“Is it okay if I leave the room for a minute?” she asked.
He just waved her off, muttering something about how she didn’t need his permission to explore her own house.
That was true. Lumi just hadn’t wanted to be rude, even though Shane seemed to have no issue being rude himself. She wondered if he was just a gruff sort of guy.
She headed through a door by the stairs. It led into a kitchen, fairly modern with all the cooking utensils, pots, and pans she could ever possibly need. It would be a nice place to bake once she had the ingredients.
She checked the shelves and cabinets only to find there were no tea packets to put on. She supposed she’d have to get the tea leaves herself. That meant she’d have to get something else for Shane and her to drink.
In the back right corner of the room, there was a tall, black refrigerator. Lumi made her way over to it and opened the right door, the one for the fridge. She could always check the freezer later. Inside, there were three kinds of sodas – a fruity strawberry one, Sprite, and Coke.
It only occurred to her then that she had no idea what Shane would even like to drink. She hadn’t thought to ask. Not to mention she’d assumed there would be at least one kind of tea for her to make for the two of them. Seemed that wasn’t the case.
She’d had a Sprite earlier, so she decided not to grab that can. Instead she grabbed two red cans, one strawberry, one Coke. She returned to the shop room with a can in each hand. She settled across the table from Shane and placed the cans on the table.
“Got a preference?” she asked.
He shrugged.
“You can take whichever one you want,” she insisted. “Or I can grab you a Sprite.”
“This is fine,” he mumbled and took the can of Coke. He popped the tab and gulped some down. “Always was more of a beer guy though.”
Lumi managed a pleasant smile. “I don’t drink though.”
He sighed. “You mentioned that.”
Lumi glanced out the window at the fog-filled world. She could see the shadows skulking about, dragging limbs, their bones creaking from the effort. Even now, she had no idea what they were. Demons? Bogeymen? She wasn’t sure. All she knew was that they were some kind of monster, and definitely not of a friendly variety.
She searched her mind for something, anything, to talk about. The silence was suffocating. So Lumi said the first thing to come to her mind.
“How long have you lived here?”
Shane hummed thoughtfully. “Let’s see… You said it was 2019?” he asked.
Lumi nodded.
“Must have been seven years or so,” he said.
“How old were you when you came here?”
He hesitated. His eyes darted back and forth as he searched his memory. “Can’t remember,” he said. Seemed his memory came up blank. “You forget a lot of things here.”
“Like what?” Lumi asked even though she was sure she wouldn’t like the answer.
“The world outside. Anyone you weren’t particularly close to. I remember my ex-wife and our daughter, but can’t seem to remember my own parent’s names.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Lumi said. What else could she say to that?
He just shook his head. “Don’t be. Sometimes it’s better to forget.”
This time, Lumi held her tongue. She didn’t know just what he was trying to forget or what must have happened to him in the past. She didn’t want to push him to remember something he’d rather not.
Shane took another swig of his drink. “Let’s see,” he said. “You forget songs you didn’t hear often. And jobs you had. You remember the gist, but not what it was like. You remember clothes you wore and food you ate. Books you read, movies you saw. That sort of thing.”
“What else do you remember?”
“Anything that can hurt you.”
Lumi wanted to ask what that meant, but she was afraid. Anything that can hurt you? She certainly didn’t remember seeing those shadows in her day to day life, but they could certainly hurt her.
“Shane…”
“Don’t ask. I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.”
She didn’t know what that meant either, but he said it with such an air of certainty that she couldn’t help but believe him.
Shane downed the rest of his drink and slammed the can on the table. “Just be careful. This valley’s more dangerous than you can imagine.”
Those words sent a chill down her spine. She could already tell it was extremely dangerous. All she had to do was look outside, and she saw the same creatures that had killed Justin and Kelly. She saw what it did to them, or at least to the latter.
The valley was even more dangerous than that? She was scared to ask what other horrors the fog hid.
Shane glanced outside again. “It’s getting darker,” he muttered. There was a slight hint of anxiousness to his voice.
“Does something happen when it gets dark?” Lumi asked.
He grit his teeth. “They get more active.” He must have meant the shadows.
He quickly tossed his can in a nearby trashcan and turned to Lumi with an apologetic smile. “Look, I gotta go. Otherwise you might not see me for a while.”
She didn’t know what that meant either. She didn’t want to ask, didn’t want to know. Lumi just led him to the door and opened it for him.
“Stay safe, okay?” she asked.
“You too.”
Lumi was about to say her farewells when she heard something. A voice. It was calling out to her in the fog. A chill ran down her spine. The hairs on the back of her neck bristled. She knew that voice.
“Dad?” She barely managed to breathe the words.
Shane put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t,” he warned. “Stay here.”
But she shook her head. “I didn’t know Dad was here! He’s been gone for so long. I have to find him. I have to tell him it’s not safe here.”
She shrugged his hand off her shoulder and ran into the fog.
“Lumi, over here!” the deep voice of her father called.
“I’m coming, Dad!”
He had disappeared when she was only twelve, but she still remembered his face, his voice, everything. She could never forget.
And there he was. She saw him. His arms were outreached to her, a grin on his face. Didn’t he know how dangerous it was out here? She had to get him inside. They could have their reunion then.
“Dad!”
But just one hug couldn’t work. She ran to the man and gave him a hug. He still had the scent of the cologne he wore all those years ago, the one Lumi couldn’t find in any of the stores.
“Dad, it’s been so long!” she said, sniffling back tears.
“I missed you,” he said. His voice cracked. He really must have missed her as much as she missed him.
“I missed you too…”
“My dearest daughter, welcome to Adonis Valley.”
The man’s voice distorted like a crackling old radio. Lumi risked a glance up. Her father was gone. In its place was a shadow with a maniacal, toothy grin spread across its face, literally from ear to ear.
“Dad?” she squeaked out.
Just in time for something to pierce through her chest. It was a shadowy tendril, a spike made from whatever the monster was made out of. It was hard to breathe. Lumi gasped for air and tried to pull the spike out from her chest.
Behind her, she could hear Shane swear under his breath. So he saw her fall for this. Seemed she was long gone, but she could at least save him.
She coughed up blood on her shirt as she glanced at Shane out of the corner of her eye. “Get out of here,” she begged. “Go home. I’ll live.”
She hoped.
Shane stared at her, thick brows knit together in worry. He swore under his breath again, this time loud enough for Lumi to make out the distinct words.
She watched him disappear into the fog, just in time for another tendril to pierce through her stomach. Then another through her shoulder. Over and over. She screamed as she was pierced like a pincushion.
As darkness overtook her, the tendrils removed themselves from her body. She fell to the ground, unable to move, unable to breath. It felt like she was choking and drowning.
The house had been silent since the young miss was lost. Empty and cold. Covered in a layer of dust because she was around to clean it. She always had loved cleaning. A girly girl. She loved cooking too. Always smiling while she tended to the estate alongside the maids.
All this the right hand man remembered.
He also very distinctly remembered the flood that overtook the town. The noble’s district had all but been flooded. It took so much time to get new furniture and carpets.
But he couldn’t get the young miss back.
He pushed his glasses up his face, pausing by an old picture of them together. She’d been so young, too young to go out the way she did. The estate was empty without her. It was dead - his crypt.
“Sir, I’m out to get groceries!” he called from outside the study door.
He heard a grunt of acknowledgement, and that was all the right hand man needed to go out on the town. It was busy. They must have been preparing for some sort of festival. He couldn’t remember which. He’d lost track of the days since the young miss was gone. Holidays were meaningless without her cheer.
He paused upon seeing a new building. A chapel of some sorts, it seemed. He didn’t know when they’d built it or how he hadn’t noticed it until now. Probably too caught up in his thoughts to focus on the world around him. Seemed that was the way of this family and its employees. Such was understandable. Such was inevitable.
Just as he turned to head to the market, someone ran past him. A young woman in priestess robes. Her raven hair flowed behind her as she hurried on.
Someone called out for her, and she looked around.
When Lumi came to, the first thing she was overwhelmingly aware of was her aching head, quickly followed by her churning stomach. She groaned lightly as she sat up, finding herself in a booth seat. She raised a hand to her pulsing temple and blinked a few times, letting the world come into focus.
“Finally up,” came a voice to her right. “We were starting to worry.”
She glanced in the voice’s direction. It was the grungy-looking man from earlier, the only who looked crabby as could be. Right now, though, his thick brows were knit in concern. For once, he didn’t look angry.
He then turned to the bar. “Donna, she’s up.”
Lumi turned in time to see the waitress come bounding up to her, a cup of water in one hand, some painkillers in the other.
“Hey,” Lumi said weakly.
“You had quite a shock, huh? I don’t blame you. Freaked me out the first time I saw it too.”
She handed Lumi the glass and two oval-shaped pills. Lumi popped the pills in her mouth and downed them with water. She was too tired to try and argue or resist. Plus, they looked well enough like Ibuprofen, so they probably were. At least she hoped they were.
It took a moment for Donna’s words to register. Saw “it”? At first, Lumi couldn’t remember a thing. Then a flood of memories came rushing back all at once. It made
Lumi’s already uneasy stomach feel all the worse.
“What was that?” Lumi asked. “That thing, I mean. The one who killed those two…”
Donna chewed at her lip, as if unsure how to answer if she knew the answer at all. She looked at the bartender, then at the man sitting across the table from Lumi.
The latter chose to speak. “Honestly? Don’t know. I call them shadows. They’re… well, some sick freaks that hunt us down honestly.”
“Are they human?” Lumi asked though she already knew the answer.
The man chuckled. “Hardly. They look human enough, but I’m pretty sure they’re monsters or something. Maybe demons.”
That certainly would fit their terrifying appearance, Lumi supposed. She ran a hand through her brunette hair, trying to take it all in. It was hard. There was so much she didn’t understand, so much she couldn’t bring herself to even try to comprehend.
“Don’t worry. They’re not really dead. I mean, they are. But not really,” Donna said as if that would make it all better. It didn’t. It just left Lumi with even more questions than she started with.
“What do you mean ‘not dead’. I saw that girl get… get torn apart. And the guy-“
“People don’t die around here,” the bartender said, glancing up from his paper. He then sighed and turned back to it, muttering something about a crossword puzzle.
“But I saw her die,” Lumi said, her words sounding weak and desperate even to her.
The man across the table spoke again. “Look, I get it. You saw her die, but she’ll come back. Grant meant what he said. The dead don’t stay dead here.”
There was a hesitation after those words, as if there was something he wasn’t telling Lumi. For now, she chose not to press the issue. She didn’t understand how things could happen like that. But there were stranger things going on in this fog-filled town, strange enough that Lumi was willing to accept these strangers’ words.
The dead don’t stay dead. But that left yet another question.
“But what happens when they die?”
All three of them were unable to meet Lumi’s eye. She wasn’t sure why. Donna absentmindedly rose a hand to her scarred temple.
Grant, the bartender, was the one to tell her. “They piece themselves back together. Ain’t pretty. I advise just staying here ‘til they do.”
Lumi wasn’t going to argue with that. Those shadows were probably still outside, hungry for more blood and death. The last thing Lumi wanted was to deal with them.
“Just what is this place?” Lumi asked.
“Adonis Valley,” said the man across the table. “You can’t leave. You can’t die. You just… exist here. It’s kind of your own personal Hell.” He gave a half-hearted laugh at his own words.
Lumi lowered her eyes, trying to make sense of what he said. “But there has to be a way out of here, right?”
Again, they all avoided her eyes. This time, Donna was the one who spoke. “Hon, listen, there’s no way out. We’re stuck here. We’ve all tried to leave. We can’t.”
Lumi wanted to protest, to insist there surely had to be some way out of here if only they could think of it. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything. She glanced at the three before her and saw the look of pain in their eyes. They meant their every word.
“I’ll walk you back once Justin and Kelly get back here. You’d probably feel safer with someone else around.”
Lumi nodded. “I would but… I still don’t even know your name.”
He gave a half smile. “It’s Shane.”
“I’m Lumi,” she said.
“Heard you when you introduced yourself to Donna,” he replied.
“Oh.”
She looked away, sipping at her water and listening to the music playing on the jukebox. It was a weird hodgepodge of different tunes – some country music from the fifties, cheerful pop songs from the eighties, nineties boy bands, early twenty-teens emo. It was like each of the songs were selected for everyone who had been in the bar earlier. Everyone but Lumi.
Donna hummed to herself as she checked what song was playing. “Lumi, what year is it outside?”
The question struck Lumi as odd. What did she mean “outside”? How did she not know the year? It didn’t make sense but, then again, nothing else did in the valley.
“It was 2019,” she replied.
The others muttered shocked acknowledgement among themselves. Why didn’t they know? What was going on?
She didn’t know how much time passed, stuck in those thoughts, a hand holding her head as if it might explode from all this confusion and fear. Eventually, she heard the door open.
She looked up to see two familiar figures walk in – Justin and Kelly. Justin was missing his shirt and a fresh scar spread across his chest as if he’d been cut in two. Kelly was stark naked. Crack-like scars spread all over her body as if it had pieced itself back together.
Just like Grant said.
They all averted their eyes to provide the two with as much privacy as they could allow.
Even Donna didn’t look their way when she spoke to them. “You know where the extra clothes are in the back, right?”
“Yeah, we know. Come on, Kelly.”
The two headed through a door near the bar, which they shut behind them to provide a way to block out prying eyes.
Lumi opened her mouth to ask just what had happened, but Shane just raised his hand to hold off her question.
“Don’t ask too much too soon,” he warned her. He stood up from the bar and stretched, his back giving a nice pop when he did so. “See ya, Grant, Donna. Tell those two to be more careful next time.”
Grant nodded. “Yeah, I will. Don’t think they’ll listen though.”
“They better,” Shane grumbled. He headed for the door and held it open for Lumi, an impatient look on his face.
Lumi was close behind. She got the feeling that if they stayed too long in one place outdoors, they’d meet a similar fate to Justin and Kelly. The thought terrified her. She’d likely have nightmares about it tonight.
For now, she was just content to walk home with Shane in silence.
The outside world was unmistakably covered by a thick fog, so thick that one could probably cut it with a knife.
She could barely make out her hand a few feet in front of her face, so she took a moment to orient herself. She could vaguely see the street stretching out on either side of her new house. Street lamps stood tall, but there were also moving shadows. Were those the creatures she’d seen in the pamphlet? She decided not to find out.
She glanced to her right and saw one slowly hobbling in her direction. It was still a ways away, but it moved fast for how it was dragging its body. Lumi didn’t want to be here when it got to closer.
So she headed in the opposite direction, to her left. She wasn’t entirely sure where she was going, but was sure that if she remembered the way she came, it would be easy enough to find her way back.
And so she just wandered.
She passed by buildings with all the lights off. She didn’t hear any noises from outside. Either the houses and shops were abandoned, or their owners were out, just like she was. She followed the path a ways further, noticing it spread out into a plaza. Was this the center of town?
In the center of the plaza, there was a large fountain, topped with a statue of what looked like an angel. It was hard to make out more than just the silhouette in the fog. Lumi wondered if it was actually a nice-looking statue, or just another horror waiting to be revealed when the fog vanished.
When did the fog vanish? She wasn’t sure.
She didn’t linger too long in the plaza, especially not when she saw the shadow folk stalking around. They were getting closer, and there were more of them now. If she wasn’t careful, she’d likely end up a victim. Of what? She didn’t want to find out. She needed a place to hideout until they were gone.
She passed the plaza and looked for the first building she could find with lights on. Surprisingly, it didn’t take too long. There was a decent-sized building with a neon sign lit up in a sickly green color. There were lights on past the windows.
Lumi could barely make out what the sign said. It was too foggy, too dark.
“Loveless Liquor? What kind of a name is that?”
But she didn’t question it too long. Whether it was a brewery or a bar, she didn’t care. It was hopefully safer inside than it was out.
She knocked on the door, before letting herself in. She knew she should have waited for someone to open the door, just in case that was how things were done here. But she couldn’t wait. It wasn’t safe.
She headed inside and was met, finally, with a clear view. It was an old-timey bar, full of pictures that she couldn’t make out from this distance. Road signs also hung on the walls, though she didn’t recognize any of the locations the signs were meant to point to.
A man looked up from the bar. He looked to be in his late forties, maybe early fifties, and wore something like a cowboy or country singer would back in the fifties. His bedazzled suit was a light brown, matching the cowboy hat atop his head. He had a thick moustache that covered a good portion of his upper lip.
He was strange-looking, almost like he didn’t fit the time setting, but he didn’t look too intimidating. He almost looked friendly.
He looked up and quirked a dark brow. “Hey there. Not seen you around here before.”
Something about that statement unsettled Lumi. Adonis Valley hadn’t shown up on the maps she’d checked before responding to the email, so she’d assumed that it was a community in the process of being built. The bartender’s words suggested otherwise.
“Yeah,” Lumi said nervously. “You could say I just moved here.”
He gave a knowing nod, as if he understood what vague words meant. Had he been tricked by the email too?
“Come have a seat. We’ve got whatever you like.”
“I don’t drink,” Lumi replied. “Never liked the taste. Had a weird twang to it. I’ll just sit.”
He motioned for her to head to any barstool she chose, so she chose the one furthest from the door.
“Don’t matter none whether you like alcohol or not. We’ve got literally everything.”
Literally everything? There were too many drinks in the world to suggest something like that, and yet he said it with confidence. Was he a strange hallucination cropped up from this fog-filled world? Lumi was no longer sure the answer was no.
She hesitated. “A Sprite, then?” she asked, almost hopefully.
He nodded and leaned down to get something from beneath the bar. She couldn’t see what, but she assumed there must have been some sort of mini fridge there.
He stood and offered her the green can. “Need a glass?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, this is fine.”
She popped the tab and took a sip. Sure enough, it was nice and cold and bubbly. It was Sprite like she remembered it, a semblance of normality in this crazy world.
She took the time then to look around the room at the people in there.
There was bartender himself, who went back to a newspaper. For some reason, Lumi couldn’t make out the writing or make sense of the pictures. She didn’t know why. She didn’t like it.
There as a waitress, a bubbly, ditzy, blonde woman who looked like she stepped right out of the eighties. She looked like she would be a Cyndi Lauper fan, or perhaps that she might have been the woman herself. There was a strange, thick scar on her left temple. Her bangs were pushed back by a hairband, leaving the scar on full display. This woman too was seemingly plucked from a different time and placed in this strange valley.
There was a young couple sitting near the door. The boy had dirty blonde hair, spiked and gelled like some sort of nineties boy band member. He wore an ugly hoodie, worn sneakers, and torn jeans. The girl had her raven hair pulled into two braids which rested on her shoulders. She wore an old cardigan over a sweater and a long plaid skirt.
Perhaps the most normal of the bar’s inhabitants was the man in the corner. His dark, greasy hair rested uncombed and untamed. His hoodie was torn, resting over a polo and khaki shorts. His sneakers were caked in mud. He leaned against the wall, downing a beer in a glass mug. He was fairly big with a beer belly, and he looked grouchy as could be.
For a moment, their eyes met. His were dark grey, almost like the sea in a storm. She felt heat rise to her face, and she looked away. Just in time for the blonde woman to approach her.
“Hey, it’s good to have a new face around here.” She offered a smile too friendly for the fog-filled world outside. Her blonde hair had pink and purple highlights in it; Lumi only noticed that now. “I’m Donna. And you?”
Lumi forced an anxious smile. “Lumi,” she replied.
“Strange name. Is it short for anything?”
“Lumiette. Parents wanted a cool, new age sort of name. Seems that’s what they came up with.” Her shoulders rose then fell in a half-hearted shrug.
“Well, it’s a pretty name anyhow. First day here?”
The fact that she could tell so easily sent a chill down Lumi’s spine, but she nodded and forced her smile to remain on her face. “Yeah. How’d you tell?”
“You just had that look,” Donna said, as vague as could be. “We all had that look at one point or another.”
Lumi didn’t know what that meant, nor did she particularly care to know. It was probably bad news either way.
Luckily Donna got distracted enough when the young couple stood and headed for the door.
The young man raised his hand in farewell .”Later. Stay safe, alright?”
“Have a good day,” the braided girl added.
Donna waved at them. “You better come back here alive, you hear me?”
They talked about it so casually. Staying safe, being alive – it all felt wrong. It made her stomach churn to the point where not even the Sprite could ease her stomach. She needed to leave soon.
She downed the rest of her sSrite, then fumbled in her bag.
“Huh?”
Her wallet was missing. She knew she’d had it this morning when she’d gotten on the train, but now it was gone. She had everything else in her bag. Or so she thought.
“That’s weird.”
She felt her pockets. Empty. She dug through her bag again. It wasn’t there. Her phone was gone too. Her gaming consoles weren’t there either. She’d packed them to help pass the time, but they were also gone.
She didn’t like this one bit.
“Looking for something?” the bartender asked.
The way he spoke sent a chill down Lumi’s spine. “My wallet. I, uh… I must have left it at home.”
The bartender just chuckled, like he expected it. Had he taken her wallet? How could he have done that though? But her house had been unlocked when she woke up…
She needed to leave. She needed to go right now.
Donna put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. It was supposed to be comforting gesture, but it only brought Lumi more anxiety.
“Don’t worry about it,” Donna said. “You don’t need to pay for anything here.”
Lumi swallowed hard. What was this community? Some kind of a cult? She had to get out of here, before the demons could catch, before the people could sacrifice her to whatever crazy gods they surely worshipped.
“W-well, I’ll be going then.” Lumi’s voice cracked and she gave nervous laugh.
Even when she headed for the door, she could still feel eyes on her. This was bad, bad, bad. She’d feel safer in her new home. She just had to make it there alive.
She excused herself from the bar and headed outside, just in time to freeze in her tracks.
The girl from earlier had something – something – stuck through her stomach. Pierced through her stomach. She coughed and hacked, blood splattering on her cardigan as she did so. She looked up at the blonde guy through desperate eyes.
“Justin,” she croaked out.
The thing through her stomach pulsated. Lumi almost emptied her stomach then and there. The blackness literally tore the girl apart into so many tiny, bloody pieces. Lumi was going to be sick.
“You bastard!” the blonde, apparently named Justin, cried out. He ran to punch the shadow in its face. But it just turned to him with a sickening creak. Its mouth spread wide in a bloody, gaping smile.
Lumi opened her mouth to scream, to warn Justin to be careful. She never got the chance.
A hand covered her mouth, muffling her cry, while another arm wrapped around her stomach and pulled her back inside. The figure behind her crouched, pulling her down with him.
The hand covered her mouth was removed, and she looked over her shoulder to see the grouchy guy from before. He raised a pudgy finger to his lips, shushing her. He then flicked the lights off and motioned for the others to hide.
Lumi locked the door just in case, before falling back into the man. Her mind was spinning, or perhaps it was the world around her. Nothing made sense. It was wrong, all wrong.
“What… What happened to them?” she barely choked out.
The man shook his head. “Seems they got a shadow agitated,” he said in a hushed whisper. “Wouldn’t recommend it, by the way.”
She stifled a gag by covering her mouth.
The man holding her looked to Donna. “Donna, we’re gonna need a trash can.”
She had just enough time to fetch one before Lumi threw up then promptly faded. Seemed she’d have to get answers later.
“Want to start a new life? Come to Adonis Valley!”
Those words stood in bold at the top of an email. Lumi had meant to delete it, but ended up opening it accidentally. The words were accompanied by beautiful countryside pictures, most likely of the aforementioned Adonis Valley.
Lumi wondered just where the valley was. She’d never heard of it before, and a Google search yielded no results. It was like the place never existed, or perhaps it was just beginning. Maybe they were trying to find people to help start a new community.
She read the rest of the email more thoroughly than she’d like to admit, eyes carefully hovering over each word, taking the information in. It seemed the valley was looking for potential residents who wanted to live a peaceful, countryside life. They were especially looking for people who could farm, bake, or build; Lumi could bake.
She’d been so tired of living life as a nine-to-five customer service worker, baking only in her past time while she cried over the hardships of the day. She wanted to bake full time. She wanted to live that peaceful valley life.
She replied to the email and they gave her very specific, very strict instructions for how she should go about moving to the valley.
First, box up her belongings and send them in a specified truck ahead of time. When she traveled, bring only what she needed – a purse, necessary belongings, the clothes on her back – and no more. There would be a bus showing up on the outskirts of town at six in the morning. SHe couldn’t afford to be late, or her items would be forfeit.
Looking back, she felt like an idiot for so easily submitting to the emails’ demands, and yet she couldn’t help but feel things couldn’t have gone any other way.
So, sure enough, once she’d quit her job and sent her belongings ahead of her, she headed to that empty bus stop on the first day of the month. She sat outside in the fog, her jacket zipped up and her over-the-shoulder bag clung tight to her chest.
At exactly six, an old, grey bus stopped in front of the bus stop. It opened its doors. Try as she might, Lumi couldn’t seem to register the bus driver’s face. She was probably just tired.
“Let’s go,” the bus driver said.
“Coming.”
She stood and boarded the bus, taking a seat near the back. She tried to look out the window, but it was so foggy she couldn’t make out much of the world passing her by.
Her eyelids felt heavy. She’d gotten up at five just to make it here on time and throw away the few belongings she had left. A little shuteye wouldn’t hurt. Nothing in the emails said she couldn’t sleep on the way there.
Just an hour or so… I’ll feel better when I wake up.
She let the steady rumble of the bus lull her to sleep. It was dark, so dark, but somewhat peaceful. She was sure she’d wake up long before she got to the valley.
And yet, when she opened her eyes, she was no longer on the bus. She was lying in a bed she didn’t recognize, in a house she also didn’t recognize. At first, all she felt was confusion. She was no longer tired, but she wasn’t fully convinced that this was reality. It felt more like a strange dream.
She sat up in bed, letting one leg go over dangle over the side, then the other. She stretched and felt her back pop. She felt so stiff, as if she’d slept wrong for a hundred years. How weird. She popped her neck and it gave way with a sickening crackle.
It hurt. She hurt. Dreams weren’t supposed to hurt, were they?
The feeling of confusion was quickly consumed by an overwhelming feeling of panic. This wasn’t any place she recognized, and it certainly wasn’t the bus. Where was she?
She hurried to the window, but found she could barely make out the world outside. There were the faint outlines of trees and houses, but nothing she recognized. Just where was she?
“It’s just a dream. This has to be just a dream”
She pinched her cheek hard, then let out a small whine as she realized it did indeed hurt. It wasn’t a dream. But then what could she call this? It didn’t feel real. It felt wrong, all wrong.
Lumi sucked in a deep, shaking breath as she tried to process her surroundings. She turned her back to the window, taking in the room she was in. Parts of it were familiar, sickeningly so. The sheets were hers. So was the pillow. The clothes in the open closet were hers. But the room was so very much not.
“What is this place?”
Her eyes fell upon a small pamphlet sitting on the bedside table. She forced her legs forwards. What was it? Something related to this strange place she was in? She had to know.
Sure enough, those big bold letters were up top. Adonis Valley. They weren’t in some cheerful, pop font, like they had been before, but rather big, solid, black letters. They overtook the otherwise white page, with an old grainy image of… something in the fog. What was that? It looked humanoid, but it wasn’t a human. It was a shadow of sorts.
“What the hell?”
Lumi picked the pamphlet up and flipped through the small pages, eyes frantically skimming the pages for some sort of answer. There had to be an answer. But there was none, only the warnings that Lumi ought to make herself at home and definitely, most definitely not try to leave.
That just made her want to leave all the more.
Then there was another picture of the strange shadow creature with a very big warning: DO. NOT. INTERACT. It didn’t say why, but it was all the warning Lumi needed. Don’t interact? You got it!
Not that she wanted to run into those terrifying-looking things in the first place. Whatever they were.
She sighed softly as she paced around her room. She couldn’t just stay in her bedroom all day, or for the rest of her time in this valley. She had to find more information and figure things out. She had to find her way back to home, to normality, to reality.
Her pale pink cardigan hung over a chair. It was the only part of her outfit that hadn’t stayed on her when she woke up. But at least it was close by. It was chilly in the house, though whether the cold was called by fear or an actual breeze, Lumi couldn’t tell.
She sighed softly, gathering her purse which sat in the chair her cardigan rested over. She pulled the cardigan on, buttoning up the large, brown buttons until she was as warm as she likely would be.
“So let’s see what this Adonis Valley place is all about.”
She drew in a deep breath, then exhaled it. She’d have to learn sooner or later, so why not now? She just had to be brave.
Her legs trembled as she made her way down the stairs, past what looked like a small shop. She could explore the rest of her new home later. For now, she just wanted to see the world outside the door.
It was impossible to avoid the International Network of Information – INI for short - since its formation twenty years ago. It dominated the airwaves, snuck into the cracks of the Internet to form its own niche, told people anything and everything they wanted to know.
I admired them for that. They put giving out the truth above everything, and they didn’t just focus on celebrities or world news. They had a bit of everything – cooking, study tips, even how to be a good housewife.
And then there was the black sheep, Walt Winston. His infamous Winston Report was laughable at best, idiotic at worst. He played detective as he hunted down vampires, ghosts, and the like. Everyone knew it was a cheap rip-off of actual news. What I didn’t know was why they kept him.
Or, more importantly, why they hired me to look after him.
At least it would be an easy job. Just babysit Walt as he played supernatural reporter – that was it. Then I’d get paid and blog whatever I wanted between assignments.
But Walt was no child. He was a tall, slim man in his late thirties. His wild mess of brunette hair contrasted with his neatly trimmed moustache, hanging over his lips like a framed mantelpiece. He wore black dress shoes, khaki pants, and a pale pink button-up shirt. Suspenders sealed the deal. He wanted the children to think of him as an old fashioned detective.
I guess I could see why kids liked him at least. His eccentricity was charming in a way, if not downright ridiculous. Kids liked that a hero. I never understood why.
Walt’s office was as off-balance as he was. Sure, it had the necessities – file cabinet, desk, lamp, and so forth – but then there were the piles of ignored paperwork. Photos of the Nazca lines and Moai statues were framed on the wall where anyone else would hang motivational posters. Glass-encased fossils and old books in foreign writing littered his shelves. A dream catcher hung over his door. A corkboard hung on the one free spot on the wall. On it were pictures of corpses, an old mansion, and childlike drawings all connected with different colors of string. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
He spun around three times in his swivel chair before he noticed me, and immediately gave me a white as a ghost smile.
“Oh, goodie!” He clapped his hands together. “A new customer!”
“Not quite. Try ‘new secretary’.”
“I told them I didn’t need another one.”
“They clearly think you do.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but stopped before a word had left his mouth. He shrugged, smiled, and tried again. “Oh, no matter. It’s more fun with a little help. Bet the girls’ll flock to me even more with a young man like you by my side.”
“That’s all good and well, sir, but-“
“But we haven’t even been introduced! Silly me! I’m Walt Winston, supernatural reporter extraordinaire. And you are?”
“Robin Hathaway. Journalist. Been at it for-“
“A few years or something?” He interrupted once, then again before I had time to answer. “Specifics aren’t important.”
Clearly.
***
Yet he gave me almost every detail about our first mission together as we walked to the company parking lot. We were going to some backwaters town in Kansas appropriately named Middle of Nowhere. The town’s men kept vanishing to the old Everglade estate on the edge of town, apparently some historical landmark. Those who came back looked empty at best, on the verge of death at worst.
Something about what he said didn’t quite add up though. I thought I must have heard him wrong. “What do you mean ‘those that came back’?”
“It’s quite simple actually. Some died. Apparently they had a great fall, got all bloody and broken, and were covered in glass.” He played with the curled end of his moustache as he spoke. “I’ll spare you the photos.”
“That’s awful.”
“More like fortunate.”
“Excuse me?”
“Undead are rather irritating to deal with.”
“Like zombies?”
“Or vampires. Or reanimated corpses. There are all kinds really.”
Was he being serious? I really couldn’t tell.
And then I understood. The INI had paid some folks to come up with a spooky story to get this nut job out of the office. That way people could actually do their job without worrying Walt would get into their business. What I didn’t get was why they ever hired Walt in the first place. He wasn’t qualified to do anything, let alone be a reporter.
“Well, here we are.”
He held the passenger door open for me. I glanced at the abomination of a lemon for just one second, long enough for the piss yellow color to burn my eyes. It didn’t surprise me Walt drove something like this. I was just embarrassed I actually had to get in it.
***
From the moment the key slipped into the ignition and the motor roared to life, Europop CDs began to blast through the radio. It felt like a European sledgehammer was crashing against my temple. I couldn’t think clearly, let alone get some sleep. Worst of all, this ride was going to last twelve hours. I had hardly survived one.
By the end of this ride, one of us would be dead – me if my ears bled out and my brained turned to mush, or Walt if I lost control of myself before my untimely demise.
My knuckles turned white as I gripped the edge of my seat. I just had to hold it in. I just had to keep myself from losing it. If I didn’t, I might become Walt’s next case.
“Hathaway?”
I could finally hear. He’d actually turned down the music.
“What?”
I looked up from the floorboards. His brows were actually knit with concern. Not that he seemed to understand it was his fault or anything.
“Is everything okay?”
“Take a guess,” I told him. The sarcasm was strong in me today.
“I’d assume not.” He gave a nervous laugh. “Don’t tell me you get motion sickness. You can open the window if you want.”
“That won’t help.”
“Should we pull over then? Get a bag for you?”
“I’m not sick!” I snapped.
“Then what’s the matter?”
They’d really paired me with a piece of work – dense, eccentric, and annoying as Hell. The moment I got back, I was quitting. But, for now, I was stuck. No way was I about to turn down this money. I could get my first paycheck, and then I was out of here.
“The music,” I said. I took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then released it. “Your music is giving me a headache!”
“Oh? I-it’s loud?” Wasn’t that the understatement of the year? He didn’t wait for my response. He turned it down even more, until it was a just a soft hum in the background. “Sorry,” he said. “I don’t usually have anyone coming with me. Music just, uh, makes the trip go faster.”
So he actually had a human side. He wasn’t just a ball of eccentricity piloting a human. Color me surprised.
“Is this better?”
“A lot,” I said. “Mind if I rest my eyes?”
“Be my guest.” He reached over and ruffled my pale purple hair. “I’ll wake you when we get there.”
I stared out the window, waiting for my head to stop hurting. When that happened, I’d let myself sleep.
***
When I woke up, Walt was gently shaking my shoulder. The bright blue sky that had followed us out of the city was replaced by night. More stars than I could count hung overhead, joined by a full moon. So this was the country.
“Morning,” I said with a yawn.
“I was wondering when you’d wake up. Looks like I kept the CDs low enough for you.”
“That you did.”
So we’d actually arrived without any trouble, at least nothing that woke me up. I guess Walt could be sensitive to others’ feelings when he put his mind to it.
“What’s the plan now? Drop by the motel?”
He shook his head. “You can if you want. I have to check in with the mayor.”
It was all I could do to keep from groaning. He may have seemed more sensitive, but his craziness hadn’t toned down at all.
“Seriously?”
“But of course! I need to know if I’ve missed anything in my preparations. We need an inside perspective for that, Robin. Can I call you Robin?” He didn’t wait for a response. “Who better to ask than the man watching over it all?”
His poetic words fell on half-asleep ears, but I wasn’t going to sit in the motel twiddling my thumbs like a child. I was going with him. It might even wear Walt out a little – but I doubted that. He eagerly motioned for me to follow before prancing in the direction of city hall. The car beeped and locked as I followed him into the night.
***
City hall was an old building made of stone in the center of the town. At this hour, a reasonable person would have been asleep, but the lights were still on inside and the door was unlocked. I don’t know what we would have done if the building had been closed. Guessing from how obnoxious Walt had been so far, probably sit outside all night. Either that or hunt down the mayor’s house.
Inside were tall ceilings, tile floors, and cabinets full of trophies from any major accomplishment this little town had been able to pull together. At the end of the left hall was a door titled “MAYOR” in big, black letters. At least they were straight forward.
Walt rapped his knuckles against the door a few times. “Mister Mayor, mind if we come in?” he singsonged.
“But of course,” came a tired voice from inside.
I didn’t blame him. Even after the long ride, I still wished I was asleep. Being near Walt was just that tiring.
Walt held the door open for me and then followed me in. The office, to say the least, looked better than Walt’s. Papers were neatly stacked on a mahogany desk. File cabinets stood on either side of the room, each labeled for easy findings. Plaques and framed photos hung on the walls .I wished I was working for a guy like this instead.
In front of the mayor’s desk was a plush couch the color of hot chocolate. We sat there and waited for the man in charge to explain himself. He was short, round, and his grey head of hair was starting to pull back on his forehead. Lines contorted his face. He must have been in this business a while.
“Thank goodness you’ve finally come. I can’t bear to think what would happen if we waited any longer.”
Figures. Of course he’d play along with Walt’s little game. He’d probably been bribed by the INI to keep him busy.
“It’s my pleasure, sir,” Walt said. He pulled a camcorder out from his bag. “If I may?”
The mayor nodded. “The INI told me you’d film this. That was part of your price.”
“Exactly.” He handed the camcorder to me and helped turn it on. “Okay, Robin. Tell me we’re live and press the button.”
Secretary and cameraman. I guess the pay was good enough for two jobs. “Alright, sir. We’re live in three… two… and one.”
Walt cleared his throat and then turned on the charm. A pleasant grin spread across his face and he winked at the camera, hopefully at his potential viewers instead of me.
Then he began to speak.
“Now from what I’ve heard, Middle of Nowhere has a sort of ghost problem?”
The mayor nodded gravely. Had to give it to the guy. He was a good actor.
“Yes, and my, is she a looker. Of course she is. She’s an Everglade.” At our confused expressions, he explained himself. “The Everglades founded Middle of Nowhere way back in 1852. Funny thing is, you’d think smart people like them would settle down in a big city with their talents. They had looks, brains, wealth, and yet they settled down here with their servants.”
Slaves is what he meant. So they were plantation owners.
“And you think this lady is one of them?” I found myself asking.
Walt didn’t reprimand me. He just seemed happy I was actually taking an interest in the investigation. Really I just wanted to call the man on his bluff.
But he wasn’t startled. The mayor just smiled and stared off into the distance. “Yes, sir. Or ma’am?”
I shrugged.
“This ghost – there’s nothing like her. She has long brunette hair that waves like ocean tides. Her amber eyes have hazel flakes that make them sparkle. Her breasts are supple and even make her modest nightgown look stunning.” He was practically drooling as he described the so-called ghost.
I had to roll my eyes. Even if this was some kind of a scary story, they were sexualizing a ghost. I’d never seen anything like it.
And yet Walt leaned more forward with every word. I half-expected his expression to mirror the mayor’s. But it didn’t. His brows traveled up his pale forehead. His lips parted in anticipation.
“I think I know exactly what we’re dealing with,” he said.
***
I wanted to pick Walt’s brain, see just what he thought we were up against, but he ended our interview with the mayor after dropping that bomb. Not even the man in charge knew what he was talking about. I made sure to ask after Walt stepped out, but he didn’t tell me anything.
Walt was strangely silent the rest of the evening. I couldn’t get any secrets out of him. Nothing could be done about it. Just rest, regroup, and see if I could get the truth out of a groggier Walt come morning.
The motel I booked wasn’t too far away, and it certainly wasn’t anything special. It was a long building, shaped like a rectangle. In the front, there was an office where we checked in. Two long halls were on either side of the counter. Our room was on the left side – second door to the right.
Inside was an underwhelming single room. It had a mini fridge, a microwave, a bathroom, and a single bed that would feel cramped with the both of us in it.
It wasn’t much, but it was what the town had available. I guess the ghost brought the other visitors in.
The night almost felt longer than the car ride. Walt opened his mouth wide and snored, and he clung to me like a body pillow. I don’t how I managed it, but I got some more sleep in.
Then dawn came.
I knew I wasn’t going to get any more sleep, so I pried myself from Walt’s side. The room was unbearably hot. Whether it was from dealing with Walt’s sweat or a lack of AC, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that I needed a good shower.
Walt would be out for a few more hours, and he would be out hard. I’d tried to tell him to wake up and move over, but he hadn’t listened at all. I even raised my voice. Had I gotten any louder, my yelling would have woken up the staff.
That meant I got some peace and quiet.
That meant I got to sing.
The warm water worked the kinks out of my body, until I was ready to dry, dress, and get on with my day. I left the towel around my shoulders. It might be a bit until he woke up, and I didn’t really feel like drying my hair.
And yet I was met with wide eyes outside the bathroom door.
“Songbird, that was awesome! You didn’t tell me you could sing!” He applauded my efforts. Literally.
“E-excuse me?”
How had he gotten up so fast? When I left, he was passed out. Now he was on his feet and clapping for me.
“What? You like your new nickname?”
“Of course not. Call me Robin.”
“Nope. No can do.” He waved his hand around dismissively. “Songbird is Songbird. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.”
Unbelievable. He was really going to stick with it.
And just like that, I became Songbird. My journalist title might as well have gone out the window with my real name.
***
As soon as Walt had showered and dressed, we were on our way to the Everglade estate. Thankfully, it was on foot. I couldn’t stand another minute in that yellow abomination so soon.
It was no wonder the estate was built so far away from the town. It didn’t match the boring brick buildings one bit. It was tall and majestic, reaching three stories high if I didn’t include the roof. Its walls were painted a deep shade of violet with peaking black roofs that put the best haunted houses to shame. The weeds in the garden and ivy clinging to the sides of the building certainly helped the creep factor.
Definitely a nice attraction. I’d have to tell some thrill-seekers about it when I got back to blogging.
We passed the tall, rusted gates and I followed Walt. I thought he’d go up to the front door, but he didn’t. He must have had some sort of a plan he’d fill me in on in just a moment. At least, I hoped he’d fill me in.
We stopped before the entrance to an overgrown hedge maze. Walt straightened his tie and readied his camcorder. All business.
He didn’t explain a thing.
“Why aren’t we going inside?” I asked.
He looked at me with wide eyes, as if only remembering then that I was there. He winced, looked away, and then spoke slowly to me like I was a child.
“Now, Songbird, I know this is your first job with me. You’ve never seen ghosts before, so you’re probably very scared-“
“Not really.”
“Now, now.” He waggled his finger at me. “Pride will get you nowhere.”
“I’m seriously not scared.”
“Fine. Have it your way.” He turned back to the hedge maze. “There might be a ghost in there, and ghosts are dangerous things. Do not get distracted. Do not get lost. Do not forget where you are. Understand?”
“Yeah, I get it. But don’t worry. I’ve had more dangerous jobs.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“Then tell me. What’s so bad about ghosts?”
He placed his camcorder back in his bag just so he could count “what’s so bad” on his fingers.
“Let’s see. There’s possession, temptation, scratchy claws that tear your flesh to shreds, gnashing teeth that will rip apart what claws didn’t-“
I held up my hands. “Okay, okay. I hear you. I’ll be careful.”
“You better.”
“I will.”
I didn’t know where Walt thought he was going. If I was a ghost, I’d be inside – away from the summer heat. Gardens were nice and all, but they were more of a spring thing. He was just wasting time.
Oh, of course. Had to fill up that episode’s screen time somehow. Even if it was just twenty minutes long and the commercials carried it to the thirty minute mark, Walt still had to get enough material to make the episode interesting.
Even if he was wasting my time.
I just wish I knew what was up with him.
Even as Walt headed though the maze, he spoke in a deep voice, smooth and rich like dark chocolate. I was starting to get an idea why folks watched his show. He slowly told potential viewers about the history of this town, the victims of the ghost, and what the estate was like – all details we’d picked up last night.
Had to give it to the guy. His mind was a steel trap.
But I wasn’t quite caught up in his game.
The hedges cleared away at last, revealing what they were designed to hide: a garden of red roses. In the center was an old wooden gazebo with chipping white paint. A figure sat in there, her back turned to us, but I saw her long brunette hair.
This had to be the girl.
Catch her. Call her on her bluff. Go home.
As soon as this ghost business was history, so was this job.
“I’ve got this.”
“Songbird, no!”
But I had already made my way towards the old gazebo.
“Hi, Miss. Mind if I talk to you for a moment?”
She slowly turned her head towards me. All the way. A full 180 degrees.
My stomach churned as I carefully added a word. “Please?”
The head floated off the neck. Its eyes turned black. Blood began to leak from where pretty hazel eyes once were.
“Get down!”
I didn’t have time to think. One moment, I was standing. The head flew towards me. The next, I was tackled to the ground. My body trembled under a weight.
“Get off! Get off!” I screamed, trying to bat it away.
But it grabbed my shoulders and gave me a gentle shake.
“It’s me, Songbird. It’s Walt.”
“What the hell was that? Some kind of puppet?”
“A ghost.”
I didn’t want to believe it.
I wouldn’t believe it.
“As if.”
***
In the end, we decided to pull back. Walt said it was dangerous, that the ghost might come for me again. I didn’t know what to think. Everything I knew about those creepy campfire story creatures – was he trying to tell me those things were real?
“You were lucky I was with you.”
Was it lucky? Did that thing really try to kill me?
I stared down at my hands, at the motel room floor. I was still shaking. Even though my heartbeat had returned to its usual pace, the shaking wouldn’t stop.
“What was that thing?” I asked. “It couldn’t be human.”
“I told you,” he said. “It was a ghost.”
“Ghosts aren’t real.”
“Then what would you call that thing?” he asked. He knelt down before me to meet my eyes. “A practical illusion? A hologram?”
We were outside. There was no way it was a hologram. If anything could do what the ghost did, it was either a projection or the real deal. And it couldn’t be a projection.
“I doubted you. I did exactly what you told me not to.”
“It’s okay. We’re all doubters at first. But we learn.”
“From what?” I demanded. “They don’t teach this at school!”
A smile spread across his face. His eyes lit up – with mischief or happiness, I wasn’t sure. Walt stood and extended a hand to me.
“Let me be your teacher. I’m the best in the business.”
I hesitated, then took his hand.
“I don’t doubt that,” I said.
***
I felt my heart begin to race again as I saw the mansion in the evening sunset. Compared to the pinks and oranges that lit up the sky, the Everglade estate looked black. My stomach churned. I began to sweat.
“This is it,” Walt said. “Our date with destiny.”
After practically having to carry me back, the rusted gate was shut and locked. We didn’t have the key, but Walt wasn’t about to let that stop him so easily. He climbed over the gate first, before helping me over.
I remembered his words from earlier. Don’t get distracted. Don’t get lost. Don’t forget where you are. I mentally added one more command.
Don’t underestimate the supernatural.
Walt slowly creaked the door open and peered inside. No sight of ghosts so far. He motioned for me to follow him in. I did.
Inside were lush red carpets, ornate tile floors, and woodwork fit for noblemen. In some past life, this really must have been a nice home for some plantation owners.
Now all that was left was its shell. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling like chandeliers. Everything was under a heavy layer of dust that made me cough. Even the stairs creaked as we headed up them.
There was nothing on the first floor, and even more nothing on the second. That left one floor to go.
Halfway up the stairs I heard something. Sobbing. It was faint, but I thought it might have been a woman.
“What is that?” I asked.
“The ghost, most likely.”
I wouldn’t argue. I’d seen what ghosts were capable of. Crying wouldn’t surprise me anymore.
Walt turned his camcorder on and described the mansion, perhaps for those who could only listen to his show. He was considerate like that, I supposed.
He mentioned the large windows that greeted us as we headed up the stairs and the old paintings that hung from the walls. The faces in them were faded from wear, but their outfits looked old. Around the time of the Civil War. They were all the same group of people.
So those were the Everglades. They were dead and buried now, like this town’s reputation. But they’d had their day.
The ghost must have been one of them. The Mother maybe? No. It didn’t seem quite right.
“Songbird, this way.”
I cast one last glance at the painting before following Walt down the east hall. He stopped at the last room on the left and put his ear to the door.
“She’s in there.”
I didn’t say anything. I figured it was more for his viewers than for me.
Walt slowly closed his hand around the doorknob and it gave way with a creak.
Inside everything was covered by a white tarp. A fine layer of dust rested on top of those. They hadn’t been moved for a while, but someone had been in here.
“Walt, look.”
I pointed at the ground and his gaze followed. I figured his viewers would want to see this.
“Several footsteps lead into the room towards one of the tarps. I think it covers a chair. The footsteps stop abruptly, but there’s a large, glass window here. It’s shattered. I’m sure you darling viewers can guess what happened to these poor fellows.”
The victims. Everything Walt said about them added up. The great fall, the blood, the broken bones, and the glass – the ghost pushed them out the window to their death.
I refused to let us suffer the same fate.
Walt crept inside but I stayed near the door. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t move. Fear had me frozen where I stood. Walt approached the tarp. The sobs came from under.
“Miss?” he asked the tarp. “Will you show me your face?”
The white fabric flew into the air, freeing the dust from it, before falling to the floor. A woman sat where it had rested only moments before. She was in an old, white nightgown and met the mayor’s description to a tee.
“Darling,” the woman said. She turned to face Walt.
He’d taken a few steps back when the tarp rose. Fear had been in his eyes then. Now he was captivated, staring at her. I didn’t know if it was the boobs or her innocent smile but, when she opened her arms, Walt ran to embrace her.
What was he doing?
He was making the same mistake I’d made just earlier today.
“Walt, are you crazy?”
The sudden voice made him freeze. He blinked and looked around, as if he wasn’t quite sure of where he was. I suppose ghosts had several forms of possession.
He reached towards the woman and wiped her bangs away from her face. His confusion turned to hurt.
“Walt?”
“You’re… not her.” His voice shook. “You’re not Grace.”
His brows knit together as he stared at the woman. He looked offended. Hurt even. I don’t know who this Grace person, but I had no doubt that’s who he wanted to see. This was just a poor illusion.
The woman twisted and distorted in the hideous, eyeless, bloody mess from before.
“You’re not the young master,” she said. “You’re not him.”
A chill ran down my spine.
“Walt, get back!”
Walt stared at her with blank eyes, then slowly looked to me. His collar bunched up as if someone had grabbed him.
“If you’re not him,” the ghost gasped, “then you are a liar.”
I scrambled to get to Walt.
It was too late.
He slammed against the wall and crumpled as he hit the floor. He was gasping and shaking, but he was still breathing. That meant he was still alive.
The ghost turned and began to stalk towards him.
He might die if she threw him around again. He might go out the window.
No way. I wasn’t about to let my new boss become another victim.
“Hey, you!”
Her head spun around as if it were on a swivel. Her body tumbled towards me as if it were a puppet on some twisted man’s string.
“And you!” Her voice distorted. Funny. I only thought that happened in movies. “You’re with him, I bet! Thought it would be fun to trick me!”
“N-no, nothing of the sort. I promise.”
She reached towards me and I began to float above the ground. It felt like someone had grabbed me by the neck and lifted me. I gasped for breath and tried to get free.
All I managed was a weak “W-Walt…”
Funny. I never imagined I would ask someone for help in my last moments, let alone him.
Then again, I guess I never planned to die.
“Let my Songbird go!”
He forced himself to his feet and tackled the woman. The body went down but the head just stared at him. Then she bared her teeth at Walt.
I fell to the floor and looked around. There had to be something I could use. I wasn’t about to just let us die here.
And then I saw it.
When Walt tackled the ghost, a few of the other tarps fell. There were paintings underneath, the same as the ones in the hallways. But I could see the faces now. I could tell what I was looking at.
The mayor had been right on the money. This was the old Everglade estate, and a family did find it. There was the plantation owner, his plump wife, two kids, and an older black woman.
She thought Walt had been the young master. One of the kids was a boy.
The pieces were coming together.
“M-Ma’am,” I said. “I think I know where your boy is.”
The ghost looked to me – her head and her body. Slowly the head lowered itself back onto the body. Its hair quit whipping around wildly. For a moment, she was a placated.
I’d use that to my advantage.
“That boy… I think he might’ve run away from the war.”
“Why’s that?”
“You said Walt looks like him, right?”
She nodded slowly. Her eyes filled back in. Hazel looked a lot better than black and bleeding. Her skin sucked in that color until her skin was the color of the earth.
“Bit more pompous than my youngin’, but ‘bout the same.” As she took on her true form, her accent slipped in.
“So she was the maid,” Walt breathed.
I nodded. “Ma’am, I think he might’ve headed north and found a wife.”
“Instead of comin’ home?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t know the boy.”
She thought a moment and then she laughed. It was strange. The woman who had tried to kill us both moments before was smiling and laughing. Not haughtily. Not cruelly. She was actually in a good mood.
“Dallas did say he never wanted to run a farm. This must be his son. Explains the resemblance.”
She must have lost track of the years. “Great grandkid, probably, but close enough.”
The woman seemed to find some peace in that. “Well, I reckon he’s better off that way. Must’ve lived a full life. Probably been waitin’ for me up top all these years.”
“Better go see him then.”
“I guess I better.”
The woman faded away, and I felt her absence. She had to move on sometime. I was just happy I could help.
I crossed the room and handed Walt his camcorder.
He looked at me with wide eyes. He still wasn’t quite back to normal.
“You have to finish the show, silly. Your fans deserve that.”
That roused enough sense in the man that he took the camcorder and walked to the window. He filmed the last traces of the sunset as he narrated the conclusion.
“It turned out the ghost was a maid of the old Everglade family. All she wanted was to see the boy she raised again, and so she led men who looked like him here. When she found out it wasn’t them, she threw them to their death. But she’s moved on now, and so shall we.”
He turned the camcorder to face him. I could only hope he was in the image.
“And we’ll move on as well. Until next time. This is Walt Winston signing out.”
He turned the camcorder off and turned to me.
“We should get out of here,” he said.
“Let’s.”
***
In the end, we stayed one more night. It was too late to drive another twelve hours, especially after everything we’d gone through. I didn’t know about him, but I was still in a lot of pain from being thrown around like a ragdoll.
Walt said he needed some time alone, so I let him collect the reward from the mayor by himself. He’d have the walk to and from there to collect his thoughts, and then maybe he’d let me in on whatever he was feeling. If we were supposed to be partners from then on, he kind of had to.
The door to our room opened. Walt slipped inside. Then he closed the door
“I’m back,” was all he said. He removed the wad of cash from his suit pocket and placed it on the mini fridge.
“Welcome back.”
I scooted over on the bed so he had room to lay down. My back was to the edge of my side of the bed. He settled beside me, laying on his back. I figured it was just so he didn’t have to look at me.
“I take it you’ll be quitting now?” he asked.
“What? Of course not.”
He raised his head to look at me. A single brow quirked. “Most quit after their first job.”
“Not me,” I said. “I’m in it for the long haul.”
He laughed and laid his head back. “Someone like you might actually be able to do it.”
We lay there in silence for some time. The only light came from the open window. You had to appreciate the country. The stars were something else. I wanted to give him the opportunity to say something first, but it didn’t look like he was going to. Guess that meant it was up to me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Her,” he wheezed. He cleared his throat, but it wasn’t enough to stop it from cracking. “I thought it would be her.”
“Grace, right?”
He nodded. “She was my wife. I, uh… lost her in an accident five years back.” He chuckled nervously, but I could tell he was on the verge of crying. “She wanted to come with me on a real dangerous job and… I… I told her not to. I told her that one was too dangerous. But she said we were partners. Partners had each other’s back.”
“How did she die?”
It was an insensitive question. I wasn’t stupid enough to think it wasn’t. But I was also curious.
“She saved me.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. What do you say when your boss says his wife died for his sake? So I said the only thing I could think of.
“I’m sorry.”
He turned away from me, and I figured I would at least look away so he could cry. I’d even pretend I didn’t hear it, pretend I was sleeping. That way the guy could save some face. Acting happy all the time had to be such a pain.
I closed my eyes and tried to slow my breaths. It would be a bit before I actually fell asleep.
“Hey, Songbird?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Call me Walt.”
“Yes, s- Er, Walt.”
“Could you do me a favor?”
I raised a shoulder. “I can try,” I said. It might make him feel better.
“Could you sing for me?”
I thought I’d heard him wrong. “I’m sorry?”
“When I was upset, Grace used to sing to me. I know it’s a bit rude asking you to take her place but-“
“It’s fine. What do you want me to sing?”
“Anything.”
So I sang an old lullaby Mom used to sing me when I was a kid. On nights where thunderstorms kept me awake or a bad dream wouldn’t let me go back to sleep, Mom would sing to me. It wasn’t so hard to sleep then.
Even though I couldn’t see him, I knew Walt finally let his smile fall. His breath became ragged. He finally started to cry.
Back in the day, they called people like us adventurers. We worked in guilds, providing our services to those who requested it. From slaying magnificent beasts to painting a picture of a horizon our patrons may never see - we did it all.
Nowadays they have a different name for us. Freelancers. Though the dragoons have argued the name confuses potential clients.
With stable jobs popping up left and right, people don’t want adventurers in their life. They want moving companies and professional photographers. Or, you know, actual law enforcement to take care of threats.
That’s why there’s so few of us. We’re the former convicts, the ones who didn’t make it through school, the ones whose disabilities keep us from working the typical nine to five job. We take whatever we can get and go from there.
Truthfully, though, it’s the only place that feels like home. I could never bear to leave it.
