ã€ŠA Mundane Lifeã€‹


 Overture

    The chill of the wind reminded me that I had made the right choice by wearing a sweater.

    Locking my car, I made my way to the Reineking¡¯s house.

    Out of all the houses I¡¯d worked at theirs was probably the biggest, the size alone made it look imposing, but the amount of rooms inside was what truly made me feel overwhelmed the first time I was there. Sometimes I wondered if one day my own house could be like that, but then my mind ran through the logistics of the maintenance a house like that needed and felt much more comfortable with an apartment instead.

    As I approached the door I took a quick look at my watch. Four-forty-five.

    Satisfied with the time I rang the doorbell.

    One of the things I learned from babysitting was to expect some delay between the time I arrived and when I actually started to work. It wasn¡¯t uncommon to find myself waiting for something close to fifteen minutes for the parents to leave while they finished dressing up, telling their kids to behave, telling me any important information I should know, or just straight up engaging in small talk for too long.

    Which isn¡¯t to say I was mad about it, all the parents I¡¯d worked for had been nice and polite to me and hey, I was still getting paid.

    After a few seconds, the door half opened and to my surprise it wasn¡¯t Mrs. Reineking behind it but Amy, the girl I¡¯d be watching tonight.

    ¡°Hi Riley¡±, she said, waving her hand.

    ¡°Hi Amy¡±, I greeted back, ¡°Are your parents still getting ready?¡±

    ¡°Mhmm¡±, she muttered in confirmation, then fully opened the door and let me in.

    I took my shoes off and walked past the studio to the living room, where there were signs of a half prepared board game.

    With a smile, I turned to Amy, ¡°Are you that eager, that you started without me?¡±, I asked.

    Pouting, she began, ¡°Last time I almost won! You just rolled an eight out of nowhere and then I had no more bees¡±, and then, she added, ¡°And you laughed!¡±

    I had to suppress a giggle.

    She wasn¡¯t actually wrong, my win that time had just been such bullshit that I started laughing out of disbelief.

    ¡°Well¡±, I began, ¡°Now you get to show me who¡¯s boss this time¡±.

    She just stood there and stuck her tongue out, no real ill intent behind it.

    I was about to do the same, but then a voice I recognized interrupted me, ¡°Oh you girls seem to be doing just fine¡±

    I turned to face where the voice had come from and both Mr. Reineking and Mrs. Reineking were there.

    ¡°We were just having a bit of trash talk before our game, Mrs. Reineking, nothing to worry about¡±, I said.

    ¡°Please, just Jennifer is fine¡±, she said.

    Nope, sounds weird.I thought.

    ¡°So, who should we bet on, Riley?¡±, Mr. Reineking asked.

    This is the small talk I was talking about.

    Though it didn¡¯t seem it would last long, since both of them looked just about ready to leave. I decided to go along, but the answer came from Amy, ¡°Me, of course¡±.

    My eyes widened in incredulity, the nonchalance of her statement taking me off guard. ¡°I like that confidence, I think you have your winner Mr. Reineking¡±, I said with just a tinge of humor in my voice. It was on.

    Mr. Reineking laughed, ¡°She¡¯s still mad from last time, talked our ears off with how she wasthis closeto winning¡±, he told me.

    ¡°Well, I did get pretty lucky last time, but it¡¯s getting closer to her birthday, so I don¡¯t know, maybe luck will be on her side this time¡±, I responded.

    ¡°I do see that you¡¯re way ahead on the festivities¡±, Mrs. Reineking said, pointing to my ugly sweater.

    ¡°Oh yeah, I heard from my mom it was gonna be chilly so I grabbed the warmest thing I had in my closet. I know it¡¯s not Christmas, but the stores have already started putting on merchandise so it counts, right?¡±.

    ¡°Sweetie you¡¯re fine, we¡¯ve just gotten to putting things up for Halloween ourselves. If anything we should hurry, it¡¯s just right around the corner¡±

    ¡°Next week, right?¡±, I asked.

    ¡°Yes, Amy¡¯s gonna be dressed as a pirate, but tell her why, honey¡±. Mr. Reineking requested, facing Amy as his lips curved into a smile.

    I turned to Amy, who stared at me.

    ¡°I have to get that booty¡±, she simply explained.

    There was no argument to her logic.

    ¡°Did she get that from school?¡±, I asked them, sporting a wide smile.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even know, when we asked her why she wanted to be a pirate she just said that and that was that.¡± Mrs. Reineking answered.

    Mr. Reineking took that as his cue to end the conversation, ¡°Well, I¡¯d love to chat a little bit more but it¡¯s getting late and you girls still need to settle things once and for all¡±.

    Then, Mrs. Reineking gave me the old speech, ¡°There¡¯s 20 dollars for pizza on top of the fridge and if you girls want dessert there¡¯s still some jelly I made on Thursday. Amy, please behave and be nice to Riley, I know it goes without saying but there¡¯s no harm in repeating it. Riley, please make sure she gets to bed at eight, we should be back at around ten, ten-thirty at most. If anything happens I left our office¡¯s number on the studio desk, don¡¯t hesitate to give us a call, alright?¡±.

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am¡±, I replied.

    <div>

    ¡°Yes, mom¡±, Amy said.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s all. Amy, honey, since we won¡¯t be seeing you until tomorrow, how about you give Dad and I a nice goodbye hug, okay?¡±, Mrs. Reineking asked.

    On command, Amy went next to her parents and they got to her height in turn, followed suit by a family hug.

    It seemed like ages, but it probably was nothing more than a few seconds.

    As they got up, Amy and I walked them to the door, where I gave them farewell for the night, ¡°Have fun on your dinner guys!¡±

    ¡°You girls have fun too, we¡¯ll see you later Riley¡±, Mr. Reineking said, closing the door behind them.

    Alright, now for the fun part.

    ¡°You ready or what, kiddo?¡±, I asked Amy.

    <hr>

    Now, I¡¯m not saying I got absolutely destroyed. But what I¡¯m saying is that considering how my opponent had two full squadrons of worker bees on top of a Queen against 5 beetles, the odds weren¡¯t exactly in my favor.

    ¡°We can do another one if you want¡±, she told me, wearing the biggest shit-eating grin I had ever seen in my life.

    I had to give it to her, she sure as hell showed me.

    Not feeling quite up for another round, I decided to change the subject, ¡°No thanks, I¡¯m good. But I¡¯m ready for pizza, if you want¡±.

    Apparently, food outmatched any desire for another victory, because Amy¡¯s eyes lit up as soon as I mentioned it.

    ¡°Yes, please!¡±, she said.

    ¡°Alright, just let me give them a call. Do you know what you want?¡±, I asked.

    ¡°Pepperoni!¡±, she said in response.

    ¡°Then pepperoni it is¡±.

    I began to make my way to the phone on the studio, it was one of those newer ones where you could just press the numbers instead of having to rotate them.Muchmore convenient if you asked me.

    I dialed the number of the pizzeria, waiting a few moments on the line before someone was ready to take my order.

    I told them that just one large pizza was fine, despite multiple attempts of them trying to make me buy a large soda or bread sticks.

    ¡°What is the address?¡±, the guy on the line asked.

    ¡°27828 Kildren Court, and actually, it¡¯s on the side of the road so you may want to slow down to make sure you don¡¯t pass it, trust me, it¡¯s happened to me before¡±, I answered.

    ¡°Is that on the right or the left side?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s on the right, but let me double check¡±, I faced the window to confirm I was telling the operator the right direction.

    And then it happened.

    At first I thought it was just the time of the evening, it was about to be seven on the dot and it had already become dark, so it wasn¡¯t too difficult to think that the thing on the yard was just the stem of the oak tree, the absence of light distorting it to prey on my attention¡­ until it moved.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am?¡±, the voice on the line suddenly brought me back to the house, before I even had any time to make sense of what I witnessed.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s-it¡¯s on the right¡±, I managed to say. I turned to the window again and whatever it was I thought I saw was gone.

    <div>

    ¡°Okay, your order should be eighteen dollars and the estimated time wait should be around 30 minutes, is that okay?

    ¡°That¡¯s okay¡±, I blurted.

    ¡°Alright, thank you for your business, we hope you have a great evening¡±, was the last thing I heard before the call was over.

    It didn¡¯t take long for me to notice my heartbeat, and how fast it was. It had probably picked up speed when I sawthaton the yard, but I hadn¡¯t even registered it until now.

    My mind raced through explanations of what I had seen, defense mechanisms on full throttle. Maybe it had been an animal, it wouldn¡¯t be the first time a deer had been sighted in a property like this, there were even signs on the road to watch out for them.

    But I couldn¡¯t be sure. And the worst parts of my mind decided right then to make me fully aware of the fact that there were only two people in the house. Amy and I.

    I needed to check on her.

    If it really is nothing, then I can laugh about it all I want later,I thought.

    ¡°Amy!?¡±, I yelled, surprised by the intensity of my own volume.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±, she responded, nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Where are you!?¡±, I yelled again, my anxiety calmed somewhat by the sound of her voice.

    ¡°In my room¡±, was her answer.

    I jumped the stairs, reaching for her room like my life depended on it. And there she was, sitting on the bed and looking at her pirate costume like it was a work of art.

    Oh thank God.Was the only thing I could think of.

    Something in the way I looked must have given away how worried I was, because as soon as Amy looked at me she asked, ¡°Are you okay Riley?¡±.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m fine¡±, I tried to reassure her. ¡°Listen, Amy, I think-¡°.

    A noise from outside cut my speech short, and made both Amy and I shriek in shock.

    It was violent, and from what sounds I could make, glass and metal, I began to have an idea of what it had been. The fact that it was the only way we could have gotten away from here was what terrified me the most.

    Amy looked at me, fear growing on her face as I tried to push my own aside. ¡°Just stay there, I need to take a look¡±, I commanded, as I made way to the window.

    What had I been expecting? My rear view mirrors broken? My front windshield shattered?

    There was a hole where the hood was, where themotorwas. Big enough that from where I stood I knew my head could fit with space to spare.

    There was nowhere for us to run.

    Going outside was suicide, whatever it was that did this was still there, and from what little I had seen from it, it was faster and stronger than me.

    I needed to act fast.

    Amy was my priority, I needed to make sure she survived. I had no illusions on how this was going to go, I was the first line of defense between that thing and her, she couldn¡¯t fight, which meant that I had to find a place where she could hide for as long as it took. Somewhere where I could make it hard to get to her. For as many rooms as this house had, I could count on one hand the ones that fit my needs.

    Yes, the irony didn¡¯t escape me.

    Being painfully conscious that our invisible clock was ticking I made my choice. Kneeling to eye level with Amy, I cupped her face with my hands and told her, being careful to sound as calm as I could, ¡°Amy, we¡¯re not safe right now and I need to make sure you are, I¡¯m gonna take you to the basement, and then I¡¯m gonna need your help. I¡¯m gonnaneed you to stay where I tell you and not come out until I say so, your parents do, or the police. Do you understand?¡±

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    <div>

    ¡°Riley, I¡¯m scared¡±, she whimpered.

    ¡°I know, sweetie, I know, but I need to make sure you know this, I can¡¯t do this without your help. Do you understand what I¡¯m telling you?¡±, I asked, my voice shaking.

    With tears in her eyes, she nodded.

    ¡°Okay, okay.¡±, I said with a smile, the only thing I could do to reassure her right now.

    I grabbed her hand, motioning for her to follow me. As we moved, I constantly checked for movement on the house. That thing had only acted outside so far, but I had no way to tell if it had made its way inside already. I prayed it hadn¡¯t.

    Once in the basement, I lunged to the closet on the wall. I¡¯d remembered this from one time we wanted to play outside and we needed a basketball. It was spacious enough for her, now I just needed to barricade it.

    ¡°Amy, please get inside¡±, I pointed to the closet. She followed suit, far more agitated than earlier, hiccuping and sniffing, her eyes red from all the tears. This was the first time I¡¯d seen her like this, so frightened, sovulnerable. All of a sudden the memory of her from other days, better days, surfaced in my mind. A brilliant girl, laughing without a care in the world as we played together.

    I had to protect that.

    Before closing the door I spoke to her one last time, ¡°Amy, I want you to know that you were one of the most fun kids I ever watched, I know you¡¯ll be a great person one day¡±.

    I didn¡¯t wait for a response, I wouldn¡¯t be able to keep myself together. I simply closed the door.

    The basement acted as a sort of gym and guest room, so I quickly grabbed anything that I could get my hands on and pushed it towards the door of the closet. A bench press, sofa, dumbbells, ping-pong table, even the goddamn TV furniture and the fridge. When I was sure that anything that could be moved was put against that door andonlythen did I make a run to the studio.

    Having to catch myself on the desk I began pushing the numbers on the phone. Nine-One-One. The last time I had been on the phone it was still working, I needed it to be now as well.

    Every second I waited my pulse got just a little bit faster, my palms began to sweat to the point they were sticking on the phone, and I felt chills all over my body.

    Finally, and I almost cried when it did, a voice on the other side of the line emerged, ¡°Dencemont Nine-One-One¡±.

    ¡°Yes, my-my name is Riley Wazynski, I am at 27828 Kildren Court, a man just came on the front of the house and he¡¯s armed¡±, I said. No one would come if I told them that there was a monster in the house, so I came up with something that would be credible and required their presence.

    ¡°Okay, ma¡¯am, I¡¯m gonna need you to tell me that again. Where are you?¡±

    ¡°Two-seven-eight-two-eight Kildren Court, Kay-i-el-dee¨Car¨Ce-en Cee-o-u-ar-tee.¡±

    ¡°Okay, and are you alone in the house right now ma¡¯am?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m¨CI¡¯m babysitting a girl, I barricaded her in the basement, it¡¯s her house.¡±

    ¡°Ma¡¯am can you¨Care you able to see the intruder?¡±

    ¡°No, he¨Che broke my car, we can¡¯t get out, he was trying to break into the house¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m gonna need you to tell me where you are right now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in the studio.¡±

    ¡°Is there anywhere from where the intruder could see you?¡±

    I already knew the answer, ¡°There¡¯s a window in the room.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m gonna need you to either block the view or stay away from its field of vision.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but I won¡¯t be able to stay on the phone.¡±

    <div>

    ¡°Your safety and the child¡¯s comes first ma¡¯am, if you can barricade yourself with her.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve got your address, help is on the way¡±

    ¡°Thank you, please hurry¡±

    ¡°We will¡±, and then the voice was gone, only the tone of the phone remained.

    I put it down, I had accomplished my mission anyways. Now I had to get the house ready as much as I could.

    I rushed towards the kitchen, opening the drawers where the cutlery was. I needed a weapon. If¨Cno,whenI came across the creature the last thing I needed was to be completely defenseless. It didn¡¯t matter if I couldn¡¯t kill it, if I could so much as slow it down then that was more than enough. I set my eyes on a long knife, taking it out of its sheath to examine it. It was sturdy, with light bouncing off of the metal, and most importantly, the edge seemed extremely sharp.

    I put the sheath back on, focusing now on the trash can as I began throwing its contents onto the sink, I needed it empty if I wanted this to work.

    Next I opened the shelves, I grabbed all the glassware and ceramics I could find and threw it onto the trash can, making sure I was putting enough force for it to shatter.

    The shelves were soon depleted, forcing me to look elsewhere for resources. The lamps in the living room, the pot on the kitchen table, the dirty dishes too.

    Soon I came across a box of beer on the cupboards, I was hesitant to use them, not knowing if the liquid would make my mission harder. Then an idea crossed my mind. Quickly, I grabbed one of the bottles and made use of my knife to put a hole on the cap, the pressure causing the beer to propel on my face. I drained the contents onto the sink and rinsed it as best I could. Putting the bottle on my sweater¡¯s pocket I grabbed the knife again and cut a portion of one of the towels in the drawer next to the sink. I put that on my pocket as well.

    There were only two more things left, but one was upstairs and I needed to finish with the trash can first. I quickly grabbed a lighter and resumed my task.

    After exhausting all the breakable stuff I could find I put my plan into motion.

    From the front door, I made a trail all over the first floor and into the second, covering as much space as I could while taking care to put chunks big enough that I would hear if they were crushed.

    If I couldn¡¯t keep up with it in speed, at the very least I could make sure where it was and send it in another direction

    I was about to finish the stairs when the power went out.

    There was no more time left.

    I hadn¡¯t counted on this, right now it didn¡¯t matter if the thing stepped into the glass with all its might for everyone to hear. I couldn¡¯t see anything.

    I didn¡¯t know how long it would take for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, so I needed to get to the other item on my list quickly. Having a general idea of my position, I knew the main bedroom had to be somewhere on my left.

    With a new objective, I discarded the trash can and got into fours. It was far more dangerous for me to run around in the dark than it was to crawl, and I needed to be in top shape for as long as I could.

    Slowly, I crawled to the left. There were several pieces of furniture I needed to feel my way through to avoid, I wished I could go faster, but my eyesight wasn¡¯t that great yet.

    The noises on the roof stopped me dead in my tracks.

    I couldn¡¯t quite place what it was doing, for a moment, it seemed as if it were scanning its surroundings, as it walked slowly and with heavy steps. But then it would switch to fast and hurried steps, making me feel like the roof would come down on me at any second.

    There was no sign of it stopping, and I couldn¡¯t be of use to anyone if I just stayed right where I was. With the creature still moving, I picked up the pace towards the bedroom, placing my hand on the wall to use it as a guide.

    <div>

    I kept going like this, with the roof pounding over my head while my eyesight getting slightly better as I pressed on. In an attempt to make me feel better, I told myself it was far better that the thing kept making noise, at the very least that way I knew where it was. Small mercies.

    Eventually, my hand ran out of wall and I felt the relief of a door. I tried to make out the knob, opening the door quickly once I found it, not bothering to close it behind me.

    I had grown more accustomed to the dark now, and I could make the rough outlines of where things were, so I dared standing and rushing to the bathroom. My goal was the cabinet next to the toilet. As fast as I could, I began to pick up the contents and putting them as close to my eyes as I possibly could to make out what they were. I knew what I needed, but figuring out the labels in the darkness with no source of light made my task infinitely harder.

    I grabbed from the bottom shelf. Glass cleaner. I ventured on the middle. Eye drops. With a speed that bordered on erratic, I chose the top this time. Liquid soap.

    God dammit.

    I kept going. Losing count of how many items I went through until I finally found it.

    Alcohol.

    I put the liquid on my side, taking the bottle from my pocket with shaking hands.

    Once, I¡¯d heard my friends boast about the stupidest thing they¡¯d ever done and gotten away with. Most of them talked about smoking pot or having sex in the car.

    One of them said they had burned a tree with a molotov.

    When one of us was brave enough to call him out and ask him how would he even know how to make one, he said it was actually quite easy: Find a glass bottle, get some alcohol, a rug or towel, and a lighter too.

    I was about to find out how honest he had been.

    I began to pour the alcohol into the bottle, some of it spilling outside. That was acceptable, I just needed as much as I could inside.

    With the towel, I soaked as much of the alcohol that had spilled into my hands and grabbed the opposite side, trying my best to alignt it with the hole. I missed quite a few times, but eventually I managed to push it through, until I was sure that the part on the inside made contact with the alcohol.

    It was done. The most capable weapon I had against that thing.

    Now I needed to lure it to me.

    I couldn¡¯t use it inside the house, if a fire were to break then it wouldn¡¯t matter whether or not the creature got to Amy, she would die either way. She wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the closet by herself and I had no idea when help would get here.

    I doubted I could help her as well. Since I needed to be close enough to it to have a good shot, and no matter how much I wanted to believe otherwise¡­ my odds didn¡¯t look great at that distance.

    No, I needed to bring the fight outside.

    Now that I knew what I had to do, I couldn¡¯t help but laugh at myself. I said going outside was suicide, the strength and speed of the creature far superior than mine. I even made a sound trap for it, fully expecting to stay indoors.

    And here I was, about to leave out of my own volition.

    I clenched my teeth, and the hand on the molotov gripped harder. There was no point in delaying the inevitable.

    Standing, I headed towards the hall, where the lack of sound warned me that I no longer had a concrete location for the creature.

    The darkness was not a danger anymore, with the limited sight I had I could avoid the furniture and reach the stairs with little trouble, getting down was harder, but using the rails as support while carefully landing my feet made me able to get safely to the first floor.

    I considered my next move, wondering how I could get the attention of the monster. Make a bunch of noise was where my mind went first, yelling was a surefire way to attract its attention, a lone target to fully focus on.

    <div>

    As fate would have it, I didn¡¯t have to come up with a plan.

    A blinding light entered the house, causing me to wince in reflex after being in the dark for so long.

    Was it the police? No, that couldn¡¯t be, I knew we were quite away from downtown Dencemont and even if they had gone right after I called the timing just didn¡¯t match up in my mind.

    The answer suddenly dawned on me.

    The pizza.

    My first instinct was to warn them, do anything, scream my head off to stay away. I was ready to open the door when I stopped.

    A horrible thought occurred to me.

    If I, who was inside the house, had noticed an outside presence immediately. It wasn¡¯t difficult to imagine that the creature would have done as well. In fact, it may even consider it a threat, or at the very least, an inconvenience.

    The perfect bait.

    I just stood there, motionless, not even daring to make a sound as I watched the car stop, just shy of my own car.

    The lights went out, and I started to count down.

    One. The driver gets out of the car.

    Two.They open the back door and pull out a bag.

    Three.They walk to the house.

    Four.They glance at my car and stop, curiosity getting the best of them when they see the state it¡¯s in.

    Five.I dare say they are confused, as they step away and turn to face the house.

    Six.Panic sets in, my guess is they see the lights are out and realize something is wrong.

    Seven.They step back, dropping the bag and running to the car as fast as they can.

    Eight.They make it to the driver¡¯s door.

    Nine. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so sorry.

    Ten.It¡¯s too late

    The only warning I had was the sound of the glass breaking.

    I threw the door open, made witness to the consequences of my actions.

    The creature held the boy from the chest, munching through his neck and shoulder, taking big bites, crushing the bone and ripping the flesh as it pulled away, again and again.

    I had to stop the urge to vomit.

    The boy¡¯s arm eventually fell off, but the creature must have thought that too small a prize, as it ignored it and instead simply turned the body around. Biting into the side of the torso this time.

    My gaze was glued to the scene, disgust and fear clashing with each other. All the bravado I had mustered earlier threatened to leave me right then and there. But I couldn¡¯t let that happen.

    I didn¡¯t have the right.

    Regardless of the outcome, I had a window, and I was absolutely sure I wouldn¡¯t get another one.

    I took the lighter out, igniting it and setting the towel on fire.

    I took aim, and let it rain on the fucker.

    <div>

    It didn¡¯t scream, or made any noise for that matter. The only reason I knew it was hurt was because of its movements, first it smashed itself onto the car, probably trying to escape the fire, then it flailed its limbs, which made me aware of its other two arms.

    The creature¡¯s motions grew slower, but I realized that the fire was beginning to die too. I grabbed my knife, removing the cover and getting ready to attack.

    The monster dropped to the grass, twisting in what I now recognized was an attempt at putting out the fire.

    Our eyes met.

    They were small, like marbles, but so many I couldn¡¯t keep track of them.

    I no longer had the element of surprise, I had to attack now.

    Before I even managed to run the creature jumped into the house. The window of the studio shattering into a million tiny little pieces.

    No, no no no no no.

    I rushed back into the house. I had to keep track of it, I had to keep it occupied, I had to contain it, I had to¨C

    A sharp pain hit me in my left leg. I dropped to the floor, crying in pain as I reached to the injury on my leg, it was useless but I couldn¡¯t help my reflexes.

    I turned my head in all directions, trying to look for the source of the attack. And from the corner of the stairs, the creature approached in all fours, slowly, like it had all the time in the world.

    Stupid, so fucking stupid.

    I had dropped my guard, and the creature had taken full advantage of it.

    The monster just kept moving, and I could swear it tilted its head to the side, as if it were examining me,appraisingme.

    If the pain wasn¡¯t enough, one quick look at my leg told me everything I needed to know. I wasn¡¯t going anywhere.

    I located the knife that I had dropped when the creature stroke. I grabbed it, and braced myself.

    The creature lunged, perceiving my hostility.

    I put my left shoulder in front to take the brunt of the attack. It still wasn¡¯t enough.

    If my leg had left me crying from the pain then the bite I received from the monster made me scream at the top of my lungs, the feeling of my skin being pierced and immediate focus on it almost making me lose my grip on the knife.

    Relentlessly, I stabbed what I thought was the neck of the creature. Its blood cold to the touch and its ¡°skin¡± cracking under the knife.

    Neither of us was letting go, our attacks only growing more intense as the seconds went by.

    Both of us were going for the kill.

    I kept stabbing. Even when I felt my left arm fell off and I was pinned on the floor.

    I kept stabbing. The creature stopped biting, resorting instead to its claws to begin a new assault on me.

    I kept stabbing. One of the claws lodged into my right eye and I worried the knife would no longer connect.

    I kept¨C

    <hr>

    I never put much thought into sleep.

    I knew I loved it, so much in fact that I had to literally bribe myself with going to the theater or a visit to the guy who sold pirated games just to get my ass out of bed.

    But I never thought about when the actual sleeping happened. I knew we were going to learn about it on AP Psych but I hadn¡¯t gotten that far yet.

    <div>

    It just really didn¡¯t seem that important to me.

    I tried to open my eyes and I don¡¯t think I even managed to get them halfway open before a burning sensation stopped me from doing so.

    It was darkness all around me, the only thing that made me sure I even existed was the bed I was resting on. I had no idea where I was, in fact I had no idea about anything.

    I knew I was fighting the creature before I ended up here, it was the time in between that made me anxious. What happened to Amy? Was she alright? Did the cops find her? A million questions rushed through my head and I hadn¡¯t even really started yet.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡±, a woman¡¯s voice asked.

    I assumed she was talking to me, since I heard no one else besides me in wherever I was.

    ¡°¡±, I tried to speak but only an awkward sound came out. I realized my throat was dry and felt like it was being crushed every time I tried to swallow.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was told your condition would have improved by now, but I see that¡¯s not the case¡±, she said softly, almost apologetically.

    I didn¡¯t even bother to try and respond, I doubted I could talk in a while. After all I had just woken up from who knew how long.

    ¡°Perhaps we can try something different?¡±, she asked. And I knew she was either talking to herself or to someone else I wasn¡¯t aware of. I refused to believe someone would keep chatting with a person who couldn¡¯t even mutter a word unless they could speak with their hands.

    Wait.

    I was so focused on my lack of sight and speech that I had forgotten to verify if I could even move. I tried flexing my fingers on both arms.

    I could feel them.

    Now I tried to raise my arms in their entirety, as if I were doing my daily routine from waking up.

    I could move.

    And for the first time, I tried sitting on the bed. Nearly managing a laugh when I did so.

    ¡°Alright, so therehasbeen some improvement¡±, she said, emphasizing the has. ¡°I¡¯m glad¡±.

    I turned around to face the direction I felt she was at. I still couldn¡¯t talk or see but it did wonders for my mind to know I was able to still move.

    ¡°I have something to tell you¡± the woman began, ¡°I can¡¯t fully agree with your methods, but I want you to know¡±. She paused for the briefest of seconds, ¡°You did a good thing¡±

    I was confused, briefly wondering what she meant. Until all doubts were removed when she said two words. The only words I needed to hear.

    ¡°She¡¯s safe¡±

    I didn¡¯t even know I had any energy left in me to weep, but it was as if hearing that had removed a lock. My lips trembled as tears followed soon after and I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

    Amy was alive, and that was all that mattered.

    The woman spoke again, ¡°We arrived in time to neutralize the creature, but your body had taken too much damage already. I wish we could have done more for you¡±.

    I felt like the world had stopped.

    The last thing¨CNo,everythingshe had just said was horribly wrong.

    What did they mean by ¡°neutralize¡±?

    What the hell had happened to me?

    A nauseating feeling grew in my stomach, as I began to realize something.

    <div>

    How was I able to move both of my arms?

    I was operating under the impression that I couldn¡¯t see and talk due to the damage from my fight with the creature.

    And if that wasn¡¯t the case?

    Who was this woman?

    ¡°If what I heard during the briefing was true, you¡¯ll eventually have questions for me¡±, the woman explained.

    ¡°Please know that the information I am allowed to disclose is severy limited until you¡¯ve fully recovered. But know this, we won¡¯t hurt you, matter of fact we want to gain your trust and we are willing to work with you to do so. We need more people like you¡±

    I didn¡¯t like this, this was too convenient. The fact I couldn¡¯t voice my consent to any of this only made the feeling of defeat worse.

    I had no choice but to go along with her for now.

    She kept going on but I blocked most of what she was saying out of pure spite.

    I did manage to hold on to one last thing she told me before she took off.

    Her name.

    Crystal Monroe.

    <div>

 Curtains Rise 1.1

    The big day was finally here, and I didn¡¯t know what to make of it.

    I arrived at the airport a little earlier than what the arrival was programmed for, not wanting to deal with the traffic that would begin soon as most people returned home from their jobs. Finding the gate was easy enough, I even managed to get a seat before the room got crowded. I figured these were the people who had families that decided to extend their vacation to the very last minute, regardless of school or responsibilities.

    I chuckled, finding humor in the situation. I used to be the one having someone wait for me, usually Mom, whenever I went to an outing with my friends; now that the roles were reversed, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the nerves were part of the package too.

    I glanced at the clock on the wall across from my seat, the hour and minute hand still in place while the second hand slowly made its way to meet them. Six-thirty-three. Twelve more minutes before she arrived.

    For the past couple of months, Mom and I had been preparing the house for the arrival of our exchange student. My father had been the one to suggest the idea a couple of years back, when he and Mom were still together, as his response to me wanting a sibling. I figured he wasn¡¯t serious and just trying to buy time long enough that I would dismiss the idea as I grew up, which eventually happened. So, when I came back one day from school and my mother of all people said what would I think of hosting an exchange student? To say I was surprised would be an understatement.

    She had explained how there were no commitments yet, so far there had only been the back and forth of information between her and the school: Our responsibilities, how long we could afford to host the student, how the matching process worked and so on.

    ¡°I know this is a lot, sweetie, so I wanted to talk to you about it before I went any further with this¡± she had said.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what I was feeling exactly, and some part of me believed that it was a normal response, after all, something of this magnitude required planning, making necessary changes to our schedule; I thought of my car and having someone else to share the ride to school with, then I also remembered how we could have the best intentions and our inexperience could still ruin things for everyone.

    The other, more honest part of myself said that I wasn¡¯t ready for a change of pace.

    ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    I blinked as the words brought me back to my current surroundings. With my train of thought interrupted, I looked up to where the voice had come from. A thirty-year-old looking woman wearing a hoodie and an elderly lady grabbing her arm stood by my right side.

    I had an inkling of what she was going to ask me, so I started to reach for the floor.

    ¡°Is there any-¡±

    She didn¡¯t get to finish her sentence. I picked my bag from below my seat as I stood up, motioning the old lady to take it. She gave me a soft ¡®thank you¡¯ and slowly let go of the arm of the other woman, giving her a look that to me seemed to be meant to reassure her that she could sit on her own.

    After whatever worries she had died down, the younger woman turned towards me, ¡°Thank you, my mother likes to pretend she¡¯s not that old, but I can tell when she¡¯s getting tired,¡± she said.

    ¡°It''s not a problem, the flight I¡¯m waiting for will be here soon, so I had to get up anyways.¡± I responded.

    ¡°Do you also have family coming back?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±, I lied. I knew she was only trying to make small talk, but I didn¡¯t exactly feel comfortable telling a stranger my business.

    ¡°I feel jealous¡±, She replied. ¡°My brother, he went with his wife to Orlando and sent me some pictures of them at the beach. It really made me wish we had something we could go swim at around here.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­there¡¯s the Dome, though I guess the pool doesn¡¯t really beat the real thing, no matter how fancy they make it.¡±

    ¡°And it¡¯s not even the main attraction anymore¡±, she interjected, ¡°Sure, the thing is still going strong and brings in a lot of people, even more so during this time of the year, but every time I hear the Dome being brought up is always about the new stuff. The holograms, the computers- In fact, weren¡¯t they going to make another exhibition?¡±

    ¡°You mean the automation one?¡± I answered.

    ¡°Yeah, I think that¡¯s the one¡±, she made a pause, ¡°If you had asked me ten years ago what I thought about all the tech rush going on in the world I would have just shrugged it off as a craze¡±.

    The woman opened her mouth, intent on keeping the conversation going, but the sound of a chime from the speakers cut her off.

    ¡°Good afternoon,¡± The announcement began, ¡°Flight PK 7865 from Chicago has arrived, and the passengers will soon begin to disembark. As they collect their belongings and make their way to the exit gate, we ask that you stay clear from the doors to ensure faster movement, and to allow passengers with connecting flights to reach their boarding gate on a timely manner. From the Dencemont International Airport, we thank you for your cooperation and wish you a great day.¡±

    A crowd began to form around the doors despite the announcement¡¯s plea. There were some cries of excitement, muffled laughs, exasperated sighs and one or two people getting posters with greetings ready to be identified by their recipient.

    Me? I stayed where I was. Joining the sea of people would only make it more difficult for her to see me once she left the plane, and it would also make it easier to leave as soon as possible.

    The doors started to open; a moment of silence passed where the crowd held their breath until the first passengers came out. One after another, they turned their heads to look for familiar faces, those that did were greeted with hugs and small talk, those that weren¡¯t either had to wait just a few more seconds before someone recognized them or simply kept walking.

    It was somewhere around the second wave of passengers that it dawned on me I hadn¡¯t taken out my sign yet.

    I dropped my bag on the floor, opening it and taking out the white cardboard that would save me the embarrassment of yelling and probably butcher the name of the girl in front of everyone. Maybe I was overthinking it and she wouldn¡¯t really mind, but I decided to err on the side of caution, at least until we could get to know each other better.

    As I raised the sign high enough that I thought it would be visible, I noticed the woman I was talking to had moved to where her mother was. It made sense, the conversation had been interrupted and my attention had moved on to the people getting off the plane. The window of opportunity presented itself and she took advantage of it.

    The size of the crowd began to dwindle as the minutes went by, not too much, but just enough for me to be able to have a good view of whoever came through the doors. With each new wave my focus grew higher, eyes darting between each person that fit the profile, being careful not to make a false move in case they weren¡¯t her. For a moment, I feared that we might have missed each other, and she had wandered the airport alone. The possibility of that happening was slim and if I was being honest, illogical, but as the seconds went by and no one approached me I couldn¡¯t help but think of the worst.

    Then I saw her.

    Nearly my height, she had light brown skin, and dark curly hair long enough that some of it spilled over her shoulders. She wore jeans, sneakers, and a plain green t-shirt, which scored some points with me as I wasn¡¯t one to use shirts with designs that much.

    She stood still, one hand on the handle of her luggage, and her head looking up from where I was. As she lowered her gaze, my eyes met hers, and I guessed my sign did the trick because she started to approach me with confidence, wearing a bright smile on her face that gave her an aura of kindness.

    ¡°Marianne?¡± She asked, stopping just a few feet away from me.

    I had expected the accent, though you really had to pay attention to notice it. Her voice on the other hand, surprised me. I had thought a high-pitched voice was likely from the way she looked, but was proven wrong with how smooth it was.

    ¡°Yeah, but Mary¡¯s fine,¡± I replied. ¡°Are you-¡±, I prepared myself, ¡°Belisaria?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Belisaria exclaimed.

    ¡°Cool, it¡¯s nice to meet you. Do you need any help with your bags?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m okay, but thank you.¡± Then, offering me her hand, she added, ¡°Nice to meet you as well.¡±

    I shook her hand, giving her a smile of my own. So far so good.

    ¡°I should probably mention,¡± I started as I let go of her hand. ¡°My mom had to sub for a coworker at the very last minute so she couldn¡¯t come with me, but she wanted me to tell you she, quote unquote, ¡®was really sorry for missing out on your very first day here, and she¡¯ll make sure we have a girls night out soon to make up for it¡¯.¡±

    Yes, the irony of my mother not being here didn¡¯t escape me, but in all fairness it really had been a last-minute call from her job, and they needed her badly there. I couldn¡¯t really complain about it.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s okay, I thought she was in the bathroom because I didn¡¯t see her with you, but thanks for letting me know.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I told her we would have plenty of time to show you around, but it was a big deal to her, so if you could just humor her when she asks you about it that would be perfect.¡±

    Something in the way I said that must have been funny, because Belisaria gave out a snort before saying, ¡°I will keep that in mind.¡±

    As glad as I was about how well our conversation was going despite my worries, I wanted to get us home at a decent hour to give Belisaria time to unpack and find us something to eat, which meant we needed to move fast.

    "I don''t want to sound rude, but traffic is gonna get rough in a minute if we don''t hurry, would it be okay if we leave now?" I asked.

    She nodded in response, grabbing her luggage as we went on our way to the garage.

    It was amazing how much the airport had changed over the past couple of years. Everywhere we looked was crowded with enhanced advertisements, what they promoted could range from the shittiest of headphones to Ashtynn Bella''s upcoming concert. It didn''t matter, what attracted us was the holographic images, the disturbingly realistic visuals that always managed to catch our attention without fail. Most of them worked under the same method: A projector would slowly build up a rough three-dimensional form of the product in pixels and work it''s way until all the finer details came together.

    ¡°You know, I wasn''t expecting to be exposed to the future this early, we haven''t even left the airport yet¡±.

    Belisaria''s words caught me off guard. I had no idea what she was talking about so I simply offered an, ¡°hmm?¡±.

    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Yeah, like isn''t that the whole deal with Dencemont?¡±, she asked.

    Oh, now I knew what she was on about.

    ¡°I don''t¡­think it''s accurate to call it that anymore, we still pump new toys every now and then but I know for a fact that other places like New York and Boston have the same tech we do. Actually I think they''re pushing for some kind of inclusion of tech in schools at New York¡±, I answered.

    Dencemont had been called the city of the future way back when I was a child. The development of technology such as cassettes and flip phones made us a huge deal, in no small part thanks to how portable they were. My dad used to tell me how in his day people carried phones the size of my arm around and used vinyls at home to listen to music. They had no replacement yet, but with Boston''s entrance on the stage thanks to their development of personal computers and New York''s investment on the internet it was clear we were no longer top dog in the country, let alone the world.

    ¡°Is Mexico City the same?¡±, I asked.

    Belisaria''s expression shifted, a grimace forming on her face as she began to speak.

    ¡°In a way, but I think in our case it''s reflected more on the subway system than anywhere else. There was so much publicity and promises from the party in charge to make the city completely connected that we were all really surprised when they actually made it happen¡±, she said.

    ¡°Because of logistics?¡±, I ventured.

    ¡°Oh no, we just didn''t have any faith in it, that''s all.¡±

    Damn.

    Belisaria continued, ¡°You would be surprised how many times projects like that would be either forgotten, or made completely different from what was originally promised. Now?, We''ve got not only a subway system that connects the city but most of the country too. It''s only a matter of time until the states in the north are connected as well.¡±

    ¡°But?¡±

    ¡°But¡±, she said, dragging the word into buuuuut. ¡°It could be better, it could be safer, and it could also not be so damn late all the time.¡±

    I chuckled, ¡°Sounds like New York.¡±

    ¡°I don''t know about that¡±, she responded, the humor noticeable in her voice. ¡°I would need to jump in there to properly compare.¡±

    Belisaria and I kept sharing stories, each word shattering the silence that, up until a few hours ago I was sure would be there with us. The garage couldn''t have been more than ten minutes away from the gate but it might as well have been seconds for me. Our long conversation only stopped as we finally reached my car.

    I helped Belisaria get her bags inside, feeling relieved for the extra trunk space of my SUV as it was almost full by the time we put everything inside. Just as I got ready to turn the engine on and get us home, a question came across my mind.

    I turned towards Belisaria, ¡°Your name¡­did I say it right?¡±

    She looked at me for a moment. ¡°No¡±, she answered, and then, with a smile, she asked, ¡°Did I say yours right?¡±

    ¡°Close enough¡±, I responded.

    ¡°Then don''t worry about it. If you want, we can help each other. I came here to be better in English after all, and I can teach you some Spanish.¡±

    ¡°I could definitely use the help for my Spanish class¡±, I said with a giggle.

    ¡°Sounds good. Do you wanna start now?¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°There''s more space in this drawer if you want to put your stuff in it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, I''ll put some of my shirts there¡±, Belisaria said.

    We had arrived at my house some fifty minutes after we left the airport. The game plan was to help Belisaria set up in her room, give her a tour of the house, and go eat. I told her we could take it easy, we had avoided the worst of the traffic and all the food places closed around ten. It was barely eight o''clock right now. Mom wouldn''t be back until late at night and she would probably crash as soon as she got into bed so introductions would probably have to wait until tomorrow morning.

    ¡°Okay¡±, I said as I put one of Belisaria''s jackets on the closet. ¡°I think I''m ready for another one.¡±

    ¡°La verdad es relativa pero la neta es absoluta.¡±

    Well, alright.

    ¡°So I''m catching something about the truth and¡­being relative?¡±, I offered to the best of my ability.

    ¡°Yeah! The full thing would be something like, ¡®The truth is relative but the neta is absolute¡¯¡±, Belisaria explained. ¡°It''s like a street saying, my brother was the one that said it to me.¡±

    ¡°What''s neyta?¡±, I asked.

    ¡°Ne-ta¡±, She corrected. ¡°It''s like¡±, she seemed to struggle to find the words, ¡°a word that we use to tell someone to be honest with us, or when we want others to know we''re telling the truth. It''s supposed to mean the same as truth.¡±

    ¡°Like when we call something bullshit when we think it''s a lie?¡±

    ¡°I think that¡¯s the best way to put it.¡±

    ¡°Heh, that''s funny.¡±

    I had thought that my Spanish wasn''t terrible, but after hearing her talk I was completely taken aback by how fast Belisaria could speak it. I knew it was her first language but still, there were leagues of difference between us.

    ¡°Your turn now¡±, Belisaria said.

    ¡°Girl, I really don''t think you need help with English, you speak it really well¡±.

    She shrugged, ¡°You can always keep improving, just try and give me something hard¡±.

    Hmm. ¡°Okay, here goes: They''re going to get their papers at the store over there¡±, I threw. ¡°Can you tell me what kind and where I''m using each ¡®there¡¯?¡±

    Belisaria frowned, arms crossed and deep in thought. After a few seconds, she extended her hand and began raising a finger. ¡°The one with i is before the papers¡±, she raised another finger, ¡°The other one, the one with a wye is the one at the beginning¡±, she raised a third and final finger, ¡°And the last one is the, umm, the normal one at the end.¡±

    ¡°The ¡®normal¡¯ one?¡±, I asked, emphasizing the word as a coy smile formed on my face.

    ¡°I can spell it if you want¡±, she retorted.

    ¡°I''m just messing with you. But you just proved my point, I threw you a curveball and you hit it out of the park.¡±

    ¡°You do pretty well too, you just need more practice.¡±

    I decided to take the compliment at face value. All of Belisaria''s belongings had finally been organized so we decided to stop our impromptu lesson and start giving her a rundown of the house.

    ¡°Well, obviously this is your room, and right across from it is mine, it''s pretty much like yours except it''s smaller. At the left is my mom''s room, it''s probably the biggest room in here and also the only one that has a bathroom in it.¡± I made a pause. ¡°Don''t hesitate to ask either of us for anything you might need help with, okay?¡±

    She nodded.

    ¡°Okay, there''s the living room with a couple of couches right over there to the right of my door, the TV on the stand is pretty old but it still holds up. if you turn around and walk just past the stairs there''s the bathroom, it has two sinks and a mirror, a toilet, a closet, and a shower. If you want to you can also switch it so the water comes out to the bathtub.¡± I turned on the faucet to demonstrate and closed it soon after. ¡°I usually do the cleaning once a week, would it be okay with you if we take turns on the cleaning?¡±

    ¡°Fine with me.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    I moved to the right onto the next room. ¡°This is the laundry room, we have a washing machine and a dryer, we also¨C¡±

    ¡°You don''t have¨C¡±

    We apologized as we urged the other to talk. After a moment of silence, I broke the spell, ¡°You go ahead.¡±

    ¡°I was just wondering if there was anywhere you could put the clothes to dry outside, or just somewhere where the sun can shine its light on it.¡±

    I considered possible places where that could work, but the weather really wasn''t gonna make us any favors for the next few months. ¡°I mean, right now I don''t think it would work because of the weather, you noticed how it was cloudy outside and it''s only gonna get colder and windier. But I know for a fact you can do it on the summer, the sun burns hotter than hell then, so we could probably set the clothes to dry on the yard.¡±

    ¡°That''s good to know, thanks. What were you gonna say?¡±

    ¡°Oh, just where the detergent and softener are¡±, I pointed towards the shelf right above the machines.

    ¡°Oh, okay.¡±

    ¡°That''s it for this floor, now if you follow me I''ll guide you towards the great downstairs.¡±

    ¡°Is that where all the fun happens?¡±, Belisaria asked as we went down the stairs.

    ¡°It depends¡±, I answered. ¡°When my mom brings her friends it gets lively down there, but when I bring my friends we usually hang upstairs on the living room or in my room. I''m more of a book person though.¡±

    ¡°Must be nice having a quiet house, mine has to handle my mom, my dad, my brothers and I.¡±

    ¡°Must be loud¡±, I told her.

    ¡°Oh it is, but I think we''re all used to it. It''s been that way my whole life and most of my parents¡¯.¡±

    I turned the lights on when we reached the end of the stairs. There had still been enough light when we had come in but now there was barely enough for good visibility.

    ¡°This is the first floor.¡± I pointed one hand to the left. ¡°Over there we have the other living room, with more couches and a better TV. A little to the right behind the brown sofa is the door to the yard.¡±

    ¡°Can I see the yard?¡±, Belisaria asked.

    ¡°Absolutely.¡±

    I stopped to let her check out the yard from outside, it wasn''t cold enough that we needed winter clothes yet but we would get there soon.

    Once she had her fill I closed the door behind us and resumed the tour. ¡°The kitchen is right across from the living room. You have the table bar which also has the sink in it. Both the stove and oven are electric, we just had them changed last year. The cabinets above have, from left to right: plates and cups, spices and sugar, and glassware.¡±

    ¡°They''re pretty big¡±, Belisaria mentioned.

    ¡°The size is misleading, the things inside don''t use up all the space¡±, I said.

    ¡°But I''m guessing that''s not true for the pantry.¡±

    ¡°Oh no, that thing is full to the brim.¡± I opened the door to reveal the cereals, doughs, sweets, pasta, waffles, juices and canned meat and fruits.

    She widened her eyes in mock surprise, ¡°Yeah, that is pretty full.¡±

    ¡°Everything in there is fair game. You want it? Take it. It usually lasts us a solid few weeks before we need to go grocery shopping again.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate it.¡±

    ¡°And if we go back to the living room, there''s a corridor behind it, on one end there''s a bathroom, with a mirror, a sink and a toilet. And on the other end there''s the door to the garage.¡±

    I turned around, only one room left.

    ¡°And¡±, I voiced as I walked past the kitchen to the right, stopping at the white double doors besides the entrance. ¡°This is the studio, it used to be my dad''s workspace since it has good illumination from the windows inside, but now we mostly use it when I need the computer to do my homework or my mom has work from home.¡±

    With the tour finally over I thought it was finally time to eat, but I needed to check something first.

    ¡°Look¡±, I began, Belisaria''s attention wholly focused on me. ¡°There''s food on the pantry and the fridge, and I''m pretty sure between the two of us we could cook up something awesome. But I also know you had a pretty long flight and it''s nighttime, so there''s also the option of eating outside. Whatever you choose, we do.¡±

    She put her hands on her hips, face looking down. ¡°Well, I do like cooking¡±, she then raised her head, facing me with a fox-like smile. ¡°But not tonight¡±.

    God, her smile was contagious. ¡°Do you need anything from your room?¡±, I asked.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Let''s go then.¡±

    I turned off the lights and headed out the door, Belisaria right behind me. I made sure to lock the door and that I had my wallet with me and headed straight to my car.

    The drive wasn''t long, a couple of minutes at most. One of the perks of living where I did. I parked right outside the clothes shop, a strategic choice since it was close to the food court.

    I guided us through the mall proper, I asked Belisaria what she wanted and said she would eat anything. I liked this girl more and more by the minute

    We eventually settled on a burger restaurant called Loaf o'' Meat, it was crowded but I had heard it was pretty decent. We sat in a booth, where one of the waiters gave us a menu each. After choosing our drinks, a soda for me and a milkshake for Belisaria, he left to give us time to look at the menu and order.

    ¡°I think I''m gonna get the Double Cheddar and Beef, you?¡±, I asked.

    ¡°I''ll get¡­ the Chicken Party¡±, Belisaria replied.

    ¡°Okay, as soon as he comes here we''ll tell him.¡±

    ¡°You think they''ll take long?, it looks busy¡±

    ¡°Maybe, are you that hungry?¡±

    ¡°No, I say it more because of-¡±, instead of finishing her sentence, Belisaria signaled me with her eyes towards the table next to us.

    There, a man looked like he was on the brink of losing his patience at a waitress, with her visibly uncomfortable and looking down.

    ¡°I''ve been waiting for one. goddamn. hour¡±, the man said, loud enough that some other customers turned their heads around. ¡°I really fucking hope these are some quality burgers, this is absolutely ridiculous¡±

    ¡°I''m sorry sir, some of our staff is still on vacation and we''re short of hands¡±, the waitress replied, a practiced restraint flowing from her voice.

    ¡°That''s not my problem¡±, the man spat.

    Then why the hell are you still waiting here?, I thought.

    ¡°Fucking asshole¡±, I blurted out without thinking.

    ¡°Do you want to leave?¡±, Belisaria asked.

    ¡°No. He doesn''t get to ruin our dinner. If this place was as crowded as it was when we entered then he knew what he was in for. We''re not to blame for his lack of self-awareness.¡±

    I didn''t bother to hide my frustration, I had dealt with plenty of idiots like that in the past, after all.

    To my surprise, Belisaria also shared my feelings, ¡°I''m used to seeing it in Mexico, but it''s sad to see it happening here too. My older brother works at a fast food restaurant. My father said everyone should work in the service industry at least once in their lives, that''s why he did it. He told me it humbled him, seeing people that have to work multiple jobs get treated like shit by others.¡±

    I didn''t reply immediately, not sure of what I wanted to say and not knowing the right words for it.

    Until I did.

    ¡°I think¡±, I started. ¡°That we could use some more people like your father and your brother¡±

    Those words earned me a ¡®thank you¡¯. And I could see how earnest it was by the look of her eyes.

    It was soon replaced with an eager one, as she seemed to realize something and raised her hand . I turned around and saw our waiter approaching, I guessed she was trying to get him to take our order.

    Despite the clear line of sight however, the waiter ignored us and walked straight to the table with the man who had just made a scene.

    ¡°Excuse me sir, we''re working on your order, it should be ready soon¡±, the waiter said. If the smile he was wearing was faked I had to give it to him, it didn''t look like it at all.

    ¡°What is soon?¡±, the man asked with little patience.

    ¡°Ten minutes¡±, the waiter calmly replied back.

    The concrete number seemed to have worked on the man, he was still angry, but he looked less antagonistic after that.

    ¡°Okay, sure¡±, he said. That would have been the cue for the waiter to either take our order or, due to the lack of manpower, focus on any issues that needed his immediate attention.

    The waiter didn''t move.

    He stared at the man, long after he had already said his piece. At first the man was confused, but that soon transformed into anger, which fully came out in his next words: ¡°What?¡±

    I couldn''t see it clearly from where I was sitting, but the waiter seemed¡­ confused?

    ¡°No, it''s just¨C There''s something in your eye, sir.¡±

    I don''t know what happened first.

    The waiters¡¯ index and middle fingers, pushing through the man''s eyes as if they were no more than a piece of paper, or the screams from the customers who had just witnessed him doing so.

    The man was down in seconds, blood pouring from where his left eye had just been and staining his blue t-shirt and green cargo shorts. Both of his hands covered his eye, maybe a reflex in response to the pain, as he agonized on the floor, sobbing.

    And the waiter just stood there, droplets of blood falling from his fingers, mere inches away from his face. Observing them like they were the most fascinating thing in the world.

    I don''t know how long it took me to process what had happened, but by the time I came to myself I had noticed something else entirely.

    There were customers who had rushed to the man''s aide, regardless of medical knowledge or experience. And others who, after waking up from their stupor, had quickly restrained the waiter.

    But there were others who simply¡­ did nothing.

    Not like the bystanders, who had congregated around the area and were either too terrified or morbidly curious to do anything. Or the ones who had fled, eager to get out of whatever danger they might have sensed.

    I was talking about the ones that looked exactly like the waiter did. Simply standing there, their expressions dead. Not a single reaction coming out of their bodies.

    Every single cell of my body screamed the same thing: Run.

    I got up from the booth, grabbing Belisaria from the wrist, not caring if I used too much force, I could apologize later. I needed to get us out of there.

    I pushed through the crowd, feeling my heart sink when one of the dead-looking people focused their sights on us. I ran faster, and the only thing that greeted me after we reached the inside of the mall was more chaos.

    I could see people running in every direction, fleeing from something.

    In one of the stores across from us a lady was crawling, her legs looking wrong, bent in a way that could only have come from violence. I did not want to stay and find the source.

    Belisaria seemed to have regained her senses, so I told her that we were gonna go through the clothes shop, and to keep up.

    I mentally cursed. The cacophony of sounds made it extremely hard to concentrate. Every person in front of me could try and hurt or kill us, and they thought the same about us.

    We had barely made it towards the clothes shop when I stopped dead in my tracks.

    A body laid in front of me, I had only managed to evade it because of Belisaria''s warning. Just a few inches more and I would have been just below it. Dead on impact, I could only conclude it had fallen from the upper floors.

    Or was it pushed?

    I couldn''t, or didn''t want to think about the implications of that question. Not when we were this close to the exit.

    We kept running past the aisles, not slowing down for a second. Around me, I could see other people running in the same direction. I could also see others being attacked, I had the impulse of stopping and trying to help, but I just kept running. I couldn''t risk it, not when there were so many of them. I forced the thought out of my way as I felt tears running down my cheeks.

    The whole world seemed to stop when I heard the shots.

    I nearly tripped as I stopped, and I had to summon the strength to get myself back up quickly and turn Belisaria around.

    The clothes¡¯ shop exit was not an option anymore.

    We could outrun single people, maybe a group if we timed it right. But I didn''t trust myself to evade bullets when I also needed to worry about someone else.

    Going back to the mall was too much of a risk as well. Too much open space. Too many things that could go wrong.

    As if to prove me right, the power went out.

    We were in complete darkness. It was only because of Belisaria grabbing my hand and whispering to me to get down that I managed to regain some sense of control.

    We crawled towards the back of a kiosk, hands on our mouths to try and mitigate any sounds we could make.

    It was then that I realized how quiet everything was. No more screams, no more shots and no more running.

    But we weren''t alone. And they knew that too.

 1.a (Intermission)

    It was the heavy steps that finally did it.

    Regina opened her eyes. She hadn''t been sleeping for a while now, after muffled sounds stirred her up, so out of place in the quietness of her home. It reminded her of the sensation of falling in a dream, only to violently wake up and realize you were in the comfort of your own bed.

    She removed the blankets and made an effort to not make a sound as she stepped on the floor, getting closer to the door to hear what was happening better.

    ¡°Where?¡±, her mother asked, her voice urgent.

    ¡°Glenn Pole Mall¡±, her father responded, as calm as ever.

    ¡°And how long has it been?¡±

    ¡°About 30 minutes, give or take.¡±

    ¡°Jesus Christ.¡±

    Her parents began to move faster.

    She knew the mall, she had just been there last week with her friends, browsing through the music store and hoping to find good deals.

    The decision to build it had long been postponed, despite the number of people living in the south of the city growing exponentially in the past couple of years.

    Just how much of that delay was caused by the hand of her parent''s superior wasn''t something she was privy to. Perhaps it was better that way.

    Regardless, something, or someone eventually gave in. The construction began on the winter break of eight grade, and was ready just in time for the summer of her junior year of highschool. There was no shortage of people going in and out long after its opening.

    At one point, as an attraction, a multi-purpose enhanced advertisement had been built in the heart of the mall, pre-programmed with ten designs and more added every few months. A novelty for sure, as the little ones, and even the adults who had never seen one before stared in awe at the animations: A sea lion bumping its nose towards the viewers. A mock band, playing a tune that changed depending on the day of the week. A map of the globe, slowly zooming into North America, then the US, then Dencemont, and finally the mall itself.

    The latest addition was special, since it only showed in the evening. At ten o¡¯clock sharp, in bright, big red numbers it showed how many people had been at the mall in the day, the animation changing into one of party balloons whenever a new record was set.

    Last weeks¡¯ record was one thousand fourteen.

    Regina opened the door of her room. Heading down the stairs where she faced her parents at the entrance of the kitchen. Their discussion turned to silence as soon as she made her entrance. They were out of their pajamas and into civilian clothes. Preparations would occur on site, then.

    She spoke before they had the chance to say anything, ¡°Let me help, I can call up Jeremy, I doubt he''s asleep. He can tell you how many can still be helped. Or I can call Louisa, I¡¯m pretty sure she can make her mom give you more time or supplies or anything else you might need.¡±

    At that she couldn''t help but wince. She knew that taking advantage of Louisa¡¯s relationship with the boss wasn''t exactly noble, but if there were people in danger they were gonna need all the help they could get.

    Her father gave her a long, good look. She had seen him do that before, when he was assessing a situation that needed careful thought in order to get the best possible outcome.

    Just like the day Mikayla had left the house.

    ¡°Give Jeremy a ring¡±, her father finally said. ¡°Sharon''s already up, so don''t go calling Louisa, I''d like to think she can tug at her mom''s heart too but I think that''d only make us look bad.¡±

    Regina nodded.

    Her father''s expression softened a bit, ¡°It was a good idea, though.¡±

    ¡°After you do that you go back to sleep, you''ve still got school in a few more days and you have to get used to the routine again¡±, her mother spoke.

    ¡°Yes, mom¡±, she simply said. She didn''t bother asking if she could come. They would have woke her up if that were the case.

    ¡°Can you grab our stuff, honey?¡± Her father had meant that as a question, she was sure, but it had come out as an order.

    Still, she obeyed.

    With hurried steps, she approached the basement, shivering as a chill spread through her body.

    She looked at the floor, by now she had it memorized, but it still felt good to remember the directions her sister had taught her. Three steps right. One to the left. If you see a wooden ball, then you did it wrong. If you see the couch then you did it right

    It made her feel like she still lived there, that their family was still complete. Her absence had been noted since day one, despite the slight graying of her father''s hair and her mother''s protectiveness saying otherwise.

    Simon Midham was a strong man. Regina remembered fondly the times when she was a child and he would lift her from the ground, riding on his back during the summer days for as long as she asked, without a single trace of exhaustion from her father. For all his strength unfortunately, he was equally as proud.

    Mikayla had never been fine with their situation, she had long questioned why their family needed to continue what the last generation had done before them and the response her dad always gave slowly, but surely, ran her patience thin: Because we have to.

    Sometimes Regina wondered if her sister had only endured because of her. It didn''t matter, they thought too differently and in the end Mikayla had realized this, giving her an ultimatum the night before she left for college.

    To join her once she graduated, to no longer be stuck in that city and with her family''s duty, to live.

    It would be absurd to others, to expect a response to that demand when the deadline was four years away.

    Maybe that''s why she did it. Regina thought.

    She didn''t gave Mikayla an answer. The next day, there was no trace of her, only a tiny piece of paper on the desk of her room with her contact information in it.

    It had been her mother, Emily, who found it, and later gave it to her. Maybe as a way to make up for the lack of involvement, for letting things get too out of hand.

    Perhaps she understood too, when she married her dad she thought she had an idea of what she was getting into. Twenty years later she had gotten too deep, too entranced and too fearful to consider the possibility of living any other way.

    Regina kneeled, grabbing the side of the baseboard just next to the old couch. She pulled it down until she felt it come off and set it next to her. The wall was simpler, she only needed to push hard enough for the magnets to give in.

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    Inside, three black duffle bags in perfect order greeted her. She grabbed two, putting everything back just the way she was taught.

    Bags in hand, she returned to the first floor, her parents already out at the entrance. She brushed a string of hair off her face. The wind was picking up speed. Hopefully the weather wouldn''t be an issue.

    Her mom opened the trunk of the car for her, motioning for her to drop off the bags.

    Once she did, her mom pulled her into a hug.

    ¡°You won''t even notice we''re gone¡±, she told her, not for the first time. It was more a mantra than an actual reassurance nowadays, as if the mere act of saying it guaranteed they would return safely.

    Regina hugged her mother back. Who was she to tempt fate?

    ¡°We''ll give you a call when everything is done¡±, her father said, closing the trunk. ¡°You know what to do if we don''t.¡±

    Regina left the comfort of her mother''s arms, turning towards her father. ¡°I think Mikayla would need to know too if something happened to you¡±, she said.

    He said nothing, staying quiet for a brief moment before giving a slight nod of the head in agreement.

    She reached towards him and gave him a hug as well, to which he reciprocated. For what seemed like minutes, the two of them stayed like that.

    They eventually parted ways. She stayed behind for a moment to see her parents ride into the night, only returning to the house when she could no longer see them in the distance.

    Inside, she rushed up the stairs and onto her room. There was a flip phone in the desk just across the feet of her bed.

    She ignored it.

    Instead, she opened the closet, her hands lunging to the third drawer in the middle of it.

    She swept the contents until she found what she wanted. With her thumb, she drew the pattern that unlocked the screen, she kept swiping until she found the ¡®Contacts¡¯ icon, sorting through the most recent names.

    Louisa

    Oliver

    Nick

    Jeremy

    She pressed the number.

    The other side of the line picked up almost immediately, taking Regina aback. Even the waiting chime barely had any time to come up.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Hey Jeremy, I''m gonna need your help. There''s a situation, my parents got called, I think it''s a big one. It''s happening at Glenn Pole.¡±

    ¡°Wait. Is that what this is about?¡±. There were some more words that came out of the line, so rambled that she couldn''t quite make them out. ¡°Okay, okay. Yeah, I can help, I figure you want me to take the blocks out?¡±

    ¡°Please, If you could. I can stay on the line until it''s done, if you want.¡± Jeremy would never admit it, but she knew that he still wasn''t completely used to the blocks, to the news they carried, and how he was the one that had to deliver them.

    There was a pause on the line, and for a moment, Regina had worried she had overstepped her bounds.

    ¡°I would appreciate that, thanks.¡± Jeremy had finally said.

    ¡°No worries.¡± She responded, despite almost losing it just a few seconds ago.

    ¡°Were your parents also called?¡±

    ¡°Only my mom, you know how she worked something out with Sharon in order for things to be more lax on my dad. Can''t imagine both of them going out. I hope they all come back safe¡±

    ¡°They will.¡± She said flatly. Then, realizing how she had sounded, she added, ¡°They''ve done this way before we were born, they know what they''re doing¡±.

    ¡°Right.¡± He didn''t sound convinced. ¡°I''m still not entirely sure how that''s going to work out for us. I think¨C give me one second.¡±

    There were sounds of pieces being mixed inside a box, jumping and shaking over and over until it finally stopped.

    ¡°Okay, sorry, I''m setting them up now.¡± Jeremy said.

    ¡°You''re good.¡± She replied. ¡°What were you saying?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah! I was thinking about the ¡®family business.¡¯¡± She could almost hear the quotations around the words. ¡°And, well, it does sound good on paper. We get out of highschool, we get to choose a major, any major for college on a free ride. Then we graduate, and we have a couple of years for ourselves, but then we have to come back, right?¡±

    ¡°That''s how it works, yeah.¡±

    ¡°Don''t you think that''s fucked up?¡±

    Ah, the elephant in the room.

    ¡°You sound like my sister.¡± Regina said.

    ¡°Sorry, didn''t mean for it to come out like that. But, don''t you think she had a point?¡± His voice was curious, now. He probably wanted to know her stance on the issue.

    She thought back to one of the last conversations she had with Mikayla before she left the house. About how she needed to stand for herself instead of simply doing as others wanted. Of how she grew angry of seeing her baby sister being so quick to accept what her parents said.

    Submissive. She had called her.

    Regina reflected on what had happened earlier in the house. A part of her thought that maybe, she had a right to be angry at her parents for putting their lives on the line, and taking for granted that she would follow in their footsteps once the time came. She thought of how she did as she was told, never raising her voice or questioning the reason behind why things were the way they did like her sister had.

    ¡°Reggie?¡±

    Jeremy''s voice brought her back to reality, ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°I thought something happened to you, you went dead for a while.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, just¡­ there¡¯s been a lot on my mind. I''m fine, I promise.¡±

    ¡°I don''t buy that.¡± He said in a matter-of-fact voice. ¡°But I won''t make you tell me, I''ve done the same thing to you guys before.¡±

    At least he was self-aware. She doubted she could say the same about herself.

    ¡°I''ll tell you later, once we''re back in school, that way maybe we can have all the others come over and have a heart to heart amongst ourselves. Sound fair?¡±

    The sound of Jeremy''s dry laugh made her chuckle as well. ¡°Whatever you say, man.¡± His voice turned serious, ¡°It''s done by the way.¡±

    She perked up, ¡°How many?¡±

    The answer took a while to arrive, and that in itself should have been answer enough for her, but she needed a concrete number.

    ¡°Fifteen.¡± Jeremy said.

    Regina¡¯s heart dropped. She had expected more, that they still had time.

    ¡°Thank you Jeremy.¡± She managed to say.

    ¡°Go to sleep, I think you''ve done enough for the night, I''ll let my parents know what you told me.¡±

    ¡°Alright, you take care too, Reggie.¡± With those words the call ended.

    Regina opened the texts, searching for the one labeled ¡®Urgent only! M & D¡¯.

    Once she found it, she texted two digits: 15. And hit send.

    After waiting for minutes, she finally received confirmation that they had received the message. A checkmark.

    She locked the phone. There was nothing else she could do, or had the energy to.

    She remembered her mother''s words to get some sleep and began to heed them, stopping almost immediately.

    She unlocked the phone, and opened the contacts list again. Scrolling down to the very last name.

    Mikayla

    She held her thumb just above the name, close enough that she would merely need to press to call.

    She wondered. She wanted to hear her sister''s voice again, to talk about anything. College, homework, love, movies. What they used to do when they lived together.

    She hovered the thumb over the name. And exited the contacts list.

    Another day, she told herself as she slipped inside the bed.

    She''ll still be there another day.

 Curtains Rise 1.2

    The darkness enveloped us, rendering our surroundings impenetrable. Belisaria''s hand clutched mine tightly, a mutual understanding forming between us in the absence of words. We stayed huddled behind the kiosk, neither of us daring to speak.

    Seconds felt like eternities as we waited, unsure of what lurked beyond our hiding place. I had read somewhere that as you lost one of your senses, the others amplified to compensate for it. I didn¡¯t know how true that was, but right now my ears were picking up on every sound I could imagine, from the beat of my heart to the ventilation of the store.

    My body tensed. I heard footsteps, slow and deliberate, echoing in the dark. The sound drew closer, towards us. I dug my nails into Belisaria¡¯s hand so deep that I felt blood coming out of it. I prepared for the worst, lips trembling and sweat forming on my forehead as a figure emerged from the shadows.

    I couldn¡¯t make out their gender, the features obscured by the lack of light, but they were taller than either of us. Their direction seemed erratic, as if scanning for any remnants of life amidst the desolation.

    I dared not move, not even a muscle. Fear held me captive, paralyzing me from tip to toe.

    The figure came closer. It carried a firearm, cradled against its chest.

    My mind raced, attempting to strategize, knowing it was only a matter of time before they saw us. My survival instinct screamed for attention, urging me to act, to flee, to do something.

    A metallic clatter resounded from another section of the mall, the noise shattering the fragile silence that enveloped us. The figure''s head snapped in the direction of the noise, their pace quickening as it headed toward the source of the sound.

    The sudden distraction had granted us a window of opportunity, and I wasn¡¯t gonna let it go to waste. I motioned urgently to Belisaria, indicating we should move in the opposite direction.

    We crawled on all fours, trying to make as little noise as possible as we navigated the floor.

    While crawling was the safest option since we had little visibility and made less noise, we also had to let each other know when to maneuver over fallen merchandise, bodies and anything else that got in the way. There was also the problem of direction. The clothes¡¯ shop layout was disorienting in the darkness, what were once hallways I knew like the palm of my hand became unfamiliar passages and hallways stretching into what seemed like infinity. Soon, we also heard gunfire, there was no timing to it, it appeared just as suddenly as it was gone. Yet another reminder of how vulnerable we were.

    Still, those problems paled in comparison to the, by far, most important one. What now?

    We had no plan, we were simply headed towards where there was no danger or, most likely, it was simply less obvious.

    Should we wait? Hoping that someone had called the police in the midst of the chaos, or that they had escaped and carried us on their thoughts as they informed the authorities?

    Or should we make an attempt to escape? The hardest part would be to avoid anyone, or, if push came to shove, confront them. But once we were out we only had to get to my car and put as much distance as we could to get to safety.

    I weighed my choices.

    I knew we had only managed to get away at the kiosk due to luck, but what if we ran into another person, let alone armed, that was hostile towards us. And even if they weren''t, they could still be a problem, we couldn''t know if they were unstable, or if they could physically keep up with us, or if they would leave us as soon as things went sideways.

    There were too many variables I couldn''t control and just keeping the two of us alive was difficult enough, I rationalized.

    The other option was to wait, but then we just traded one problem for another. We needed to locate somewhere we could stay safely at, ideally it should be hard to break into but if not we could barricade it ourselves. Then, once in safety, call for help.

    I stopped, reaching for Belisaria. I could feel her shivering, and it took me a second to realize I was too. Time was gold, so I ran the possibilities in my head for the final time, before settling on one.

    I pressed myself towards her, before whispering, ¡°We''re gonna make a run for it.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡±, she managed to say, and I  could feel all the strength she mustered in order to do so.

    Now that I had a goal, I felt as if my mind became clearer. I had a solid thought of where we needed to go.

    Firstly, however, I needed to recognize where we were.

    Our run from the mall to the kiosk had put us somewhere in the front side of the store, and after we had left the kiosk we crawled to the left. Okay, I could work with that.

    I started to move again, this time to the north, Belisaria following closely behind.

    My sense of direction was rewarded when I saw the center of the mall, illuminated by the moonlight through the skylight and seemingly empty of any life.

    We slowly approached the open space, aiming for the cover of an advertisement while keeping our heads down. We caught our breaths once we had our backs to it. Good, we were making progress.

    I ran through my plan. There were two assumptions I was making here. One was that the attackers were confined to the mall and my car hadn''t been hijacked. It was our best way to make sure we left this place quickly and notify others of what was going on. Running away, while technically an option would be useless if we were caught. Which led me to my second assumption. That those of us who weren''t acting like maniacs were completely outnumbered.

    From the very little information I had, I pieced together that the behavior of the people who were hunting us wasn''t normal. The waiter did not react with shock to his actions nor did some of the others watching, completely the opposite in fact. Even the person that we had avoided earlier at the kiosk seemed collected. I also thought back to how easily the waiter had been able to pierce the eyes of the man with his bare fingers, and the legs of the woman we saw in our escape. What were they, superhuman?

    Had it not been for the circumstances I would have laughed, the more I thought, the more I theorized, the more stupid everything sounded.

    Regardless, I couldn''t ignore the facts. Our priority would be to avoid anyone at all costs. If and only if, we had no other choice we would fight.

    Just as I got ready to move, Belisaria tugged at me. Facing her, she then tilted her head to the floor. There were shards of glass all over. I understood what she meant. She picked the biggest two, dragging them towards us with the tips of her fingers.

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Wait.¡± I told her.

    I took off my jacket, grabbing one of the shards with the sleeve, then, I started to cut through the other sleeve. The idea was to get a makeshift handle, we didn''t need any injuries slowing us down.

    I ripped the sleeve off once I was done, giving it to Belisaria. She did the same procedure and gave me the other sleeve once done.

    Armored up, we continued our way through the hallway, this time headed towards the main entrance. Our heads constantly turning, scanning the surroundings, ready to flee at any moment.

    Can you feel it?

    Both of us froze. That was the voice of a man, but something was off about it.

    You''re no longer in control, I''m the one who tells you so.

    Not a voice, voices. Was that a song?

    How do you like the roles reversed? Is it fun to be lion and not sheep?

    The melody sounded familiar. But from this distance I couldn''t be certain.

    Come on baby, let loose, you know you want a bite of the forbidden fruit.

    The lyrics were wrong, but¡­I could¡­ I could get closer to check.

    Take a leap and don''t look back. Who''s to say you''ve gotta stop?

    Just a little closer.

    Today the world is yours.

    Yes it is.

    So go ahead and make it so.

    Ye-

    A wave of pain spread over my stomach, strong enough that I thought I would vomit, just as I dropped to the floor.

    I brought my hand to the place of injury, instinct taking over for a moment. Then I glanced at the direction where the hit had come from.

    Belisaria was towering over me, blood pouring from her cheek, trembling- no, shaking.

    I tried to ask what had happened, but was promptly shut up by Belisaria branding her shard of glass at me, not taking her eyes off me even once, and I recognized something in them. Fear.

    I tried again. Ignoring the pain and raising my hands in surrender.

    ¡°I- what, what happened?¡± I pathetically managed to ask.

    Her expression morphed, giving entry to another emotion I recognized. Confusion.

    ¡°You went straight for my face,¡± she pointed with a shaky finger to her cheek. ¡°Almost lost my eye. Barely managed to dodge you.¡±

    Did¡­ did I do that? I had no memory of doing so.

    ¡°You didn''t even hesitated¡±

    ¡°I- I''m sorry for that. I didn''t want to do that. I don''t know why I did that. But, can- can I stand?¡± I pleaded.

    She took a few steps back, shard still pointed my way. There was no negative, though,  so I slowly got on my feet.

    ¡°Look. We were walking in the hallway, when this song started playing, right?¡±

    She nodded slightly.

    ¡°And then- and then, I just- I don''t know, followed it. Because I recognized it, but the lyrics weren''t exactly right and I.¡± I stopped myself, because what I was about to say next didn''t even make sense to me. ¡°I needed to check out why the lyrics were wrong.¡±

    If my words had any effect on her she did an incredible job of not showing it.

    I just stood there, anything else that I was concerned about before delegated to second place. Even as a thought formed in the back of my mind that we needed to keep moving, too much time wasted already.

    Two words were enough for her to have my undivided attention.

    ¡°Turn around.¡±

    I did as she said, not exactly knowing what to expect until I faced it.

    It was the Glenn Pole billboard. The one that had all the little kids amazed, but it was stuck on the projection of the band, as they kept playing over and over. The same lyrics I had just heard coming out once more.

    My head started to pound.

    I wasn''t myself. I wanted to ask my parents why couldn''t they just stay together, I wanted to go back to my old job and tell any and all entitled customers to fuck off. I demanded it.

    All those feelings were too hard to convey in words I knew. But actions were so much simpler. If I could just give as much hurt as I had, if I could-

    This time it was my face that suffered the damage. Small mercies.

    I blinked, returning to reality. Belisaria''s expression still showed some fear, but it was obscured by concern.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± She asked.

    I didn''t have any time to answer.  Not that I thought I could have anyways.

    From the left side of the hallway emerged a squadron of uniformed people. At first I thought they were the security of the mall, brainwashed and ready to fire at us, so I got ready to run.

    Then I heard one of them shout, ¡°Freeze!¡±

    Both of us did, which, in retrospective, was idiotic. For all we knew, they could have just shot us the moment we heeded the order.

    They surrounded us, ordering us to put our hands on the back of our heads and get on our knees. I felt a tug on my hands as I was restrained. A moment later, one member came forward, a lamp in one hand and a little book in another.

    ¡°Show me.¡± He directed at the book. He had a deep, growly voice. If I had to guess I''d put him around his forties.

    From the corner of my eye, I saw some sort of symbol being drawn in it. He repeated the same process with Belisaria, giving his teammates a nod once he was done.

    ¡°That makes it, what, ten?¡±, another member asked.

    ¡°Eleven. Get them out of here, we still have to sweep the rest of the floor.¡± The older member said.

    ¡°Sir?¡± a female voice asked. ¡°I think we found it¡±

    The older member turned around, the soldier who had just spoken signaled to the billboard.

    ¡°That?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it just tried to take over. I''m surprised these two are still in one piece¡±.

    There was more barking of orders after that. Five of them were to stay with us while the rest pushed through.

    Our escorts made a circle around us, telling us to keep our heads down as we moved. I didn''t know whether to be relieved or afraid. I knew they weren''t police, after having seen the older soldier use that book on us, but they didn''t seem to be hostile towards us.

    We kept walking for what seemed like an eternity, until we finally reached the outside. The sky looked to me more beautiful than ever in its all-encompassing sight.

    It was only when we reached an all-white van that the formation broke.

    We were told to enter. Inside, there were another five people. All of them older than us. Three men, two women. I had never seen them in my life before, but I doubted I would forget them now.

    Once we got finally seated one of the soldiers told us to hold still for a moment before closing the door.

    One, two, three and more seconds passed as we waited for something, anything, to happen.

    At last, the door opened. But the sight before us was wrong. For starters, the outside was white, fully bright in complete contrast to the scenery from a moment ago.

    The other, perhaps even stranger vision was the woman standing right in front of us, fully dressed in a business suit.

    ¡°My name is Sharon Thomas.¡± She stated.

    ¡°And I''m here to help you.¡±

 Curtains Rise 1.3

    ¡°Is there anything else I can do for you?¡±

    I looked up to the nurse, or, well, who I thought was a nurse, and shook my head.

    He gave a nod back, before standing up leaving, gently closing the door behind him.

    Once again I clutched the blanket around me, even tighter this time. I glanced to my right, where a now cold cup of water awaited me on top of the table. I had thought of giving it a sip, if I didn¡¯t worry I would drop it as soon as I got a hold of it.

    It was a struggle to even think. My temples pulsed, my body shivered, and my strength slowly fading away. Quite frankly, I wished nothing more than to let the exhaustion take over me and sleep until next year, knowledge be damned.

    But not yet. Not until I got what I wanted.

    Earlier, when we had left the van, some people dressed in hazmat suits had come and taken us to a separate area, divided into two chambers. Men in one room and women in the other. If the suits didn''t give it away, then the smell of disinfectant and soap made it obvious that we were in some sort of decontamination area.

    They made us undress as soon as we entered our chamber, and I could immediately tell none of us felt comfortable doing so, some of us facing away in embarrassment. Personally, I was more wary of what they were gonna do to us. The suits weren''t aggressive when we took longer than expected to follow their orders, but they did insist that no one was moving anywhere until we did so. To that, Belisaria was the first to comply. The rest of us looked at each other, as if asking if we should do so as well. I took the leap of faith next. A combination of both wanting to get it over with and the logic that our custodians seemed too professional about the whole process for us to be in immediate danger telling me to do so.

    After that, the other two followed through.

    I won''t lie, when the showers were activated, despite the initial surprise, I couldn''t help but feel some sort of relief.

    Granted, it worked better if I closed my eyes while the hot water slid down my body, ignoring everything else around me. But just for that time, even in the few times that I allowed myself to open my eyes, as I watched the dirt mix in the water and wash away in the drain, I felt like everything I had just experienced was far away from me.

    The abrupt end of the shower brought me right back to reality. The suits told us to line up, giving us another order to close our eyes and mouth and try to breathe as little as possible before spraying us front and back. I''m not certain how long it took, perhaps only seconds. Time flows in a funny way when you can''t see it happening in front of you.

    When they were done the first thing I did was breathe, and being surprised by the lack of smell from the chemical they used.

    Soon after giving us each a towel to dry and cover ourselves with, we were directed to a locker room where a different group of people waited for us.

    They were visible now. All women, maybe in their early thirties wearing clothes that I associated with surgeons instead of hazmat suits. By now I had figured that we weren''t going to see the men again, or at the very least, until the end of these stations. Each of the surgeons had a sealed packet of clothes, given to us one by one as soon as we entered the room.

    ¡°Please tell us if they don''t fit so we can give you one that does.¡± I heard one of them say.

    The clothes were simple. Deep blue shirts with long sleeves and pants. At that moment I remember thinking that the only thing they needed was a hat and to be stripped, then we would look the part.

    I hadn''t really thought about it earlier, but with the routine of awaiting orders and then complying, it hit me that none of us had spoken a word since¡­ since before we arrived here. Whether out of shock or simple reservation we hadn''t really shared anything with each other in the van, and any kind of contact that we might have had was interrupted by our arrival.

    ¡°I have a question.¡± I dared to say, my own voice feeling alien to me as the words left my mouth.

    All eyes were on me, and I felt small, very small all of a sudden.

    ¡°Yes?¡± One of the surgeons asked.

    I froze, I hadn''t anticipated that they would actually answer me. This made a world of difference.

    What the hell was that back there? Who are you? Where are we? How did we get here?  Were some of the questions that rushed to my mind, each one of them eager to be free.

    ¡°When can we go home?¡± Was what came out.

    For one moment, for just a fraction of a second, I could have sworn that the surgeon showed pity, or even sympathy, on her face.

    And just like that, it was gone, ¡°After the interviews are over. You will go through a medical check up right after this, then to the interviews. It''ll be over soon, we promise.¡± She said, voice calm but firm.

    Maybe I had to give them more credit. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made as to why I, no, we didn''t put up more of a resistance. I couldn¡¯t speak for the other two but Belisaria and I were exhausted, both mentally and physically. Then these people had rescued us, and while we were at their mercy they hadn''t used force or threats to make us do as they said, which hadn''t given us a justification to be hostile towards them.

    ¡°How long will that take?¡±

    I turned to where the voice had come from. One of the other two women had decided to make themselves present. A head taller than me, she had dark chocolate skin, and wavy hair in a pixie style. The way she crossed her arms reminded me of my mom when she knew I was lying to her but wanted myself to admit it.

    ¡°Not longer than an hour.¡± The surgeon said.

    That prompted a laugh out of pixie hair.

    ¡°And if that doesn''t happen?¡± She retorted.

    ¡°Then we tried our best.¡± The surgeon replied flatly.

    Those words had an effect on all of us. Pixie hair went silent, articulating with her mouth as if she were to say something, but never did. To my right, Belisaria was visibly shaken, looking at the floor and her face pale. The other woman wasn''t doing any better, looking as if she were about to vomit.

    I was trying to analyze what the surgeon had meant. If I took her at face value then the interviews were the last step to our freedom, but only if we passed them. Which meant that they had the last word on whether or not we left. Which begged the question, what condition did we have to fulfill?

    Or, put differently, was something wrong with us?

    The surgeon spoke, ¡°Before you try to ask more, I won''t be able to answer any more of your questions. This will be brought up in the interviews too. I swear, there''s a reason for this, but I can''t disclose it.¡±

    I didn''t have the energy to question things further, and if she was telling the truth, it would have been useless anyway. Neither did anyone else for that matter.

    We finished dressing, going through the medical station where another set of people dressed like doctors received us. The things they made us go through were so general, so normal, that the whole time I was expecting for the other shoe to drop.

    We got measured, our blood pressure tested, our hearing checked, our breathing, we also got to stick our tongues out while saying ahhh, and for good measure they also threw a vision test in there.

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    Which eventually landed us in our individual rooms: completely empty except for a table, two chairs across from each other, and a double-view mirror.

    I was only told to wait once I was there. I did so, sitting in the chair farther away from the mirror. That was a mistake.

    It was like all the fatigue had decided to catch up to me merely for making myself comfortable, or maybe for not having another chore to work through, my body taking that as a sign to stop holding itself together.

    I stayed awake by any means necessary. Pinching, slapping my cheeks, blinking rapidly, I even tried to walk around, disregarding the dizziness as it continued to build in my head.

    The nurse came during one of my walks, immediately telling me to sit down and take it easy. He also offered me some hot water and a blanket, the same I was wearing right now.

    I sighed. That had been a while ago. Now my head was killing me and I wasn''t sure how long I could stay awake.

    Then the door opened.

    In came the same woman who had greeted us earlier at the van.

    Sharon Thomas, if my memory wasn''t wrong.

    She held a cup with a spoon in one hand. I hated myself for the thought, but I was willing to ask for a sip if it was coffee.

    ¡°Hello¡±, she started, giving me a polite smile, ¡°My name is Sharon, what''s yours?¡±

    ¡°Marianne.¡± I responded.

    She flashed another smile, ¡°It''s nice to meet you Marianne. Do you have any questions for me?¡± She asked as she sat in the chair across mine.

    I wanted to have time to prepare my questions but I was so desperate for any kind of activity that I simply began with what first came to mind, ¡°Where are we?¡±

    She looked at me dead in the eyes.

    Now that I had a good look at her I could tell that she looked¡­ hardened. Not in a non-empathic kind of way, but more in terms of how much she had lived through, perhaps experienced was a better word. There were lines in her forehead and across her face that made her look older than she looked. Matter of fact I couldn''t really put her age in place. She couldn''t be older than 50, or if she was she took exceptional care in her person despite my earlier observations. Her brown hair seemed to be losing color but there were no signals of extensions or dye as far as I could tell. All-natural.

    She took a sip before answering, her green eyes still on me, ¡°To give you an answer that would satisfy you: You are in an area unknown to the general public, within the limits of Dencemont but further away from the urbanized area.¡±

    ¡°So I''m still close to home.¡± I said, but it sounded more like a question.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Was my only response.

    She didn''t seem evasive for now. I needed to capitalize on that.

    ¡°What happened earlier at the mall?¡± I shot.

    Sharon gave a dry laugh, ¡°You and your friend experienced one kind of event my team and I are in charge of making sure doesn''t become public and cause overwhelming casualties.¡±

    What kind of bullshit answer was that?

    No, wait.

    ¡°What-what happened to Belisaria?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Miss Quijas is alright, physically she only suffered a minor cut on her face, which has already been treated. She''s also sound of mind, despite our original concerns.¡±

    I drew myself closer to the table, ¡°What concerns?¡±

    She went silent for a moment. Choosing to cross her hands on the table before speaking, ¡°You two were closest to the epicenter of the event I mentioned before.¡± She leaned closer, ¡°Which means you were at the biggest risk of going hostile and losing your mind in the process, like the others you saw.¡±

    I was speechless. I remembered what had happened back at the billboard in the mall, how I had apparently attacked Belisaria and I had no memory of it. Of the music, and how I was drawn to it.

    What if she already knew?

    ¡°Do you have anything you want to say to me?¡± Sharon asked.

    I hesitated. I think I understood what the surgeon meant when she said that they would have tried their best if the interviews didn''t work.

    I didn''t want to make things harder on me.

    ¡°I think¡­¡± I trailed off, trying to find the confidence to finish the sentence, ¡° I know, it happened to me, that I went berserk¡±.

    I had half expected what she said next, ¡°I know.¡± But not the smile accompanying it. I didn''t feel any malice from it, it felt more like one you would get when you get an answer right.

    ¡°So what does that mean for me?¡± I asked quietly.

    Sharon sighed, ¡°You are in a position I wouldn''t wish upon anyone. Have you ever heard the expression ¡®Damned if you do, damned if you don''t¡¯?¡±

    I didn''t like where this was going. ¡°Yeah.¡± I said

    ¡°The way things are in my line of work, once you are in, you are in for life. Marianne, no matter what you choose, you can''t avoid things like this happening to you anymore, nor can Miss Quijas.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± I demanded.

    This time Sharon took longer to answer, ¡°Because the same way you know they exist, they too are aware of your existence.¡±

    ¡°Who''s they?¡± I didn''t even bother trying to hide my frustration this time.

    ¡°I can''t answer that.¡±

    Motherfucker.

    ¡°And I''m just supposed to accept like that?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    My emotions were on a rollercoaster right now, swinging from fear to anger and now, confusion.

    ¡°So I don''t have to choose?¡±

    ¡°That''s not correct either.¡± She looked at me again, holding eye contact the entire time she talked, ¡°I am the leader of one team from a large organization, and that means there are people above me. But it also means I have some pull on how things go in my turf, partly because it keeps things relatively stable around here and partly because I''ve been around for a while, so I know my people.¡±

    I connected the dots.

    ¡°You''re giving me a deadline.¡± I deadpanned.

    She smirked, ¡°Correct.¡±

    ¡°How long?¡±

    ¡°A week, I can''t do anything longer than that.¡±

    ¡°For both of us?¡±

    Sharon raised an eyebrow at my question, but quickly realized who I was talking about, ¡°Yes, the same goes for her.¡±

    I let myself relax a little bit. It wasn''t ideal, but I couldn''t bargain for anything better than this, at the very least we had bought some time.

    Still, now I had more questions than ever.

    ¡°Why are you doing this for us?¡±

    ¡°I have a daughter your age.¡±

    I didn''t think she was lying, she was old enough to be a mother, but I didn''t think that was the entirety of it, ¡°And?¡±

    She gave me a full smile now, teeth showing, ¡°My position is, traditionally, inherited, my father taught me and my grandmother to him and so on. I mentioned earlier how I''ve been around for a while. I''ve seen this ... group, try and coerce others into working for it. It doesn''t usually end well.¡±

    Small wonder.

    ¡°What about my mother? How am I supposed to explain this to her?¡±

    ¡°We''ve got that covered. And, to be fair, we got lucky. As soon as we got you two identified we tracked your mother''s work address. After that it was just a matter of making the right calls to make sure she stayed longer at work.¡±

    I squinted my eyes at her, ready to protest.

    ¡°Now, I understand how that sounds. Trust me, we don''t meddle more than we need to, or would you rather explain for yourself why the two of you were bruised and cut to your mother this late at night?¡±

    I said nothing.

    ¡°Anything else you want to know?¡±

    I did, as a matter of fact. ¡°How will I contact you?¡±

    ¡°Oh so you won''t try to run away?¡±

    ¡°I figured you could always just track me down, and it would look great for me.¡±

    ¡°Smart. We will contact you by the way.¡±

    Okay.

    ¡°How are you taking us back?¡±

    There was a sparkle in her eyes as soon as I asked my question, and she began making circular motions with the spoon in her cup.

    ¡°You ever know when you fall asleep?¡±

    ¡°You mean the exact moment?¡±

    The movements kept going, and there was a certain rhythm to it that felt pleasant to me.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°No, I don''t¡±

    The spoon moved all over the inside of the cup, each movement more elegant than the one before it.

    ¡°Isn''t that weird?¡±

    The spoon drops inside the cup.  Never to be seen again.

    And everything goes black.

 1.b (Intermission)

    ¡°My name is David, I''m a Sophomore and I''m majoring in Communications, and¡­ I guess one interesting thing about me is that I like to draw.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that''s nice. Do you paint something specific or¡­?¡±

    ¡°Um, it really depends. Sometimes I can have an idea for the whole day and do some sketches over and over until I feel like it''s right. But sometimes I''ll also draw whatever. Like a couple of weeks ago I was watching this space movie and I liked the way the costumes looked so I just drew them.¡±

    ¡°I wish I had an artist bone in me, I''ve given a try at drawing but every time I end up doing stick figures. Makes my youngest son look like Picasso in comparison.¡±

    There were some laughs from the rest of the room at the comment, which effectively marked the end of the conversation.

    ¡°Well, David, thank you very much for your introduction.¡± The professor eventually said, earning a nod from him.

    ¡°Now, I''m seeing that there aren''t any more people at the table so we''re gonna skip to the next one.¡± His eyes fell on the blonde student in the back row, ¡°Last but not least, sorry to put you on the spot, but could you tell us a little about yourself back there?¡±

    She obliged. ¡°My name is Mikayla, I''m a Freshman majoring in Sociology with a minor in Informatics and an interesting thing about me is that my birthday is on Christmas.¡±

    Clear and concise. It helped that she had already known how she was going to answer.

    ¡°Do you get double gifts on Christmas?¡± The professor asked, eyes widened and a tinge of surprise in his voice.

    Mikayla got ready to answer. The question wasn¡¯t new, and it didn''t really bother her, but it always surprised her how people reacted to that little piece of information. She wished she knew the average number of people whose birthday fell on a holiday, surely it couldn''t be that rare.

    ¡°I don''t, unfortunately.¡±

    ¡°That''s too bad, I imagine it would be great though.¡±

    ¡°Maybe.¡±

    The reminder of the class was spent rather quickly, not at all surprising since it was the first of the semester. Mikayla listened, but it might as well have been background noise, with the only real information she retained being to check the syllabus for grade distribution, deadlines and exam dates, and the professor''s office hours.

    ¡°Alright folks, go away.¡± Mikayla heard, and as if she were back in highschool just after the bell had rung, everyone began to pack up.

    She took the big, stuffy jacket in the back of her chair and put it on, bracing herself as she made the walk down to the first floor of the building. The weather had begun to transition from a mild chill to disgusting cold on her way to class earlier, and somehow she doubted that it had warmed up in the short minutes she spent there.

    That''s what I get for taking evening classes. She thought.

    She reached for the double doors, greeted by cold air the second she opened them. It wasn''t nearly as bad as she thought it would be, then again she was prepared for it, unlike a few people she observed as she walked by, wearing only t-shirts and jeans.

    She shivered, it was as if looking at them had made her own temperature drop.

    Her walk came to a halt at the stop sign on the intersection across the parking lot. She looked to the post on her right and pressed the button with the side of her arm; there was no need to take her hands out of the comfort of the pockets¡¯ warmth.

    Seconds went by, and Mikayla considered that, maybe, if she stared hard enough the light would change to red. Maybe.

    She sniffed, her nose was running, now. Great.

    She took a look at both sides of the road, crossing once she was sure there were no cars coming from either side. There, no harm had been done and she got what she wanted.

    It wasn''t until she entered her car that a nasty feeling began to grow on her stomach. The jaywalk was nothing, lowest in the pyramid of her concern. It was the memories it triggered what made her feel utterly crushed.

    Three weeks. She hadn''t expected a call but a message wasn''t so hard to ask for, was it?

    She caught herself as her eyes went puffy, threatening to let the flood out.

    Mikayla stood still in her seat for a long while, staring into the expanding city, so lively in the night with all its lights on.

    Normally at this point she would turn the engine on, drive a short distance to her apartment and cook dinner, catch up with her reading, or watch a movie. Not necessarily in that order.

    It had taken her a bit to adjust, to have that much time for herself and no one watching her over. Shame it wouldn''t last.

    She didn''t see her usual routine lasting past this weekend, eventually the workload would settle in, killing most of the free time she had. In a way, that was comforting, the thought of having her mind too busy with studying for exams on top of working late on papers and homework meant less time to think about her family. Unlike now.

    Mikayla turned the engine on. She wasn''t going home, not like the destination changed much, her thoughts would follow her anywhere, but she didn¡¯t want to be alone with them right now.

    Hands on the wheel, she exited the parking lot and headed towards downtown. She knew just where to go.

    During orientation week one of the tasks they had been given was to explore the city in groups, making note of any places of interest so that they could visit them later on their own. It was, of course, also meant as an ice breaker of sorts since they were all incoming students, but aside from orientation she was absolutely sure no one from her group had interacted with each other in school, even the cliques that formed during that short time. They all had too different schedules for that to happen.

    The experience wasn''t a waste, all things considered, there had been a small bar-styled restaurant they had come across during their trip. Her destination.

    It took longer than she''d admit to find it. Between taking a wrong turn a block earlier and the artificial light giving it a different look than when she first saw it in daylight throwing her for a loop. Thankfully there were still open spaces for her to park in once she actually made it

    There''s live music tonight, she realizes as she walks right into the joint and her ears are filled with rhythmic jazz. It''s full on the center, leaving her with no option but to sit at the bar. She doesn''t mind, there''s a better view from there.

    Her gaze engulfs the scene right in front of her. It''s a college town, yet the amount of people her age still takes her by surprise, she didn''t think this place would be that popular. The performers are a nice addition, not too loud that you have to speak over them but with enough presence that it''s welcomed by the rest of the patrons.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    It''s perfect.

    ¡°They''re pretty good, right?¡±

    Mikayla turned around, finding a girl her age looking at her. Within enough distance that she could make out the blue of her eyes.

    ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡±

    ¡°It''s a nice little gem, wasn¡¯t really expecting it to be this cozy.¡± The girl says as she stares into the crowd.

    ¡°The orange light probably helps, gives it a vintage feeling.¡± Mikayla offers.

    The girl turned around at such speed Mikayla worried she did something to her neck. ¡°Like one of those old movies. The ones with the mafia.¡± Her face is shining, like she just won the lottery.

    Well, that was certainly not the first thing that came to mind when she entered.

    ¡°You''re thinking ¡®Easy Times¡¯¡±

    ¡°Is that a movie?¡±

    Mikayla does a double take. No way.

    ¡°You''ve never seen ¡®Easy Times¡¯?¡± She asks, her voice incredulous.

    ¡°Nope.¡± The girl replies, popping the ¡®p¡¯.

    Against her will, a laugh escaped her mouth. ¡°It''s a really great movie. It has all the one-liners you could want and a brutal ending. You should watch it.¡±

    ¡°O-kay, I''ll make sure to add it to my list then. Must be pretty good if it got you all like that.¡±

    Shit. ¡°Oh I didn''t mean to go full trivia on you like that, it''s just that, well, It''s like the mafia movie, you know?¡± Mikayla finished lamely.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± The girl replied. ¡°I like the energy.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± She intended to come off as sarcastic, but a smile tugging at the corner of her lips betrayed her intention.

    ¡°What''s your name?¡± The girl asked.

    ¡°Mikayla. You?¡±

    A fox-like smile emerged on the girl''s face, making her dimples visible. ¡°Guess.¡±

    Mikayla scoffed in mock indignation. ¡°We''re gonna be here all night long.¡±

    The girl only doubled up at that. ¡°Drinks are on me if you get it right.¡±

    She wasn''t about to say no to that.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Mikayla began, dragging the ¡®o¡¯. ¡°Vanessa? You look like a Vanessa.¡±

    ¡°Nuh-uh.¡±

    ¡°Michelle?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Erin?¡±

    ¡°Wrong.¡±

    ¡°Taylor?¡±

    ¡°Incorrect.¡±

    Mikayla continued giving out names, all of which were rejected. She couldn''t be sure if she was being had, but the responses she was given prevented her from getting too mad. Who said ¡®Nonners¡¯ for a no?

    ¡°Alright. Last one.¡±

    ¡°Aww, you''re tapping out?¡± The girl taunted.

    ¡°I''m this close to punching you.¡± Mikayla replied. The cackle she got only strengthened her resolve, ¡°Judith.¡±

    Mikayla was ready for another negative, confusion settling in once it didn''t come.

    ¡°Congrats, you know what drink you want?¡± The girl said nonchalantly.

    Bullshit. ¡°Bullshit.¡± Mikayla said, eyes squinting.

    ¡°I swear. Cross my heart.¡±

    ¡°Oh and I''m just supposed to take you at your word?¡±

    She looked straight at her. ¡°Yeah.¡±

    The nerve!

    ¡°Whatever. I want one of those orange martini ones, I saw a waitress deliver a bunch of them while you were too busy making a fool of me.¡±

    Judith snickered, ¡°Need I remind you that you were a willing participant?¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡±

    ¡°How do I order then?¡±

    She was unbelievable. Worst was that Mikayla had no witty reply to counter with, so she resigned to give Judith a deadly stare.

    ¡°Okay, turning down the smart ass now.¡±

    Good. She thought.

    After a few minutes, she had her drink, and made it a point to savor it slowly, this was her hard-earned prize, after all.

    ¡°This isn''t half bad. I thought it would taste, I don''t know, more bitter.¡± Mikayla said after a while.

    ¡°I asked the bartender to go easy on the alcohol, that may be why.¡± Judith replied.

    Mikayla nearly choked. She had completely forgotten that she wasn''t twenty-one yet.

    Judith turned her head towards her, an inquisitive look in her eyes.

    Realization hit her, ¡°Hold on.¡±

    Mikayla said nothing. Judith stared at her for a while.

    ¡°Finish it, it''s gonna look worse if you just leave it.¡± Judith finally said.

    Mikayla gulped down her drink in response.

    ¡°Sure, that works too.¡±

    Mikayla put the empty glass to the side, heart still pounding. ¡°I''m sorry, that was my bad.¡±

    Judith shaked her head just as she finished her own drink. ¡°No, I should have asked you how old you were instead of making assumptions.¡±

    ¡°That''s¨C I appreciate that.¡±

    ¡°Don''t mention it.¡± Then, she added, ¡°Glad I could cheer you up.¡±

    Mikayla faced Judith, confusion written all over her face. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Judith fidgeted with her hands, looking down as she answered, ¡°I was sitting by myself on one of the tables over by the band, pretty much getting ready to leave when I saw you come in. You looked a little gloomy, and, well, you don''t have to tell me if you don''t want to but I just thought I would just go and say hi.¡±

    Mikayla let the words sink in, processing them slowly. Here was a girl who had only just met her and had gone out of her way to make her night a little bit better.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Judith asked, concern dripping from every word.

    It took a while for Mikayla to realize she was crying. There was no sobbing, no great breakdown, but the tears wouldn''t stop. How could a complete stranger show more care for her than her own fucking family?

    An ugly laughter began to slip out of her mouth, full of venom. She didn''t care, she wanted to let it all out, better than let it consume her bit by bit over time.

    ¡°Yeah, some shit happened and I just wanted to take my mind off it for a while.¡± She managed to say, voice hard. ¡°Then I remembered I saw this place the other day and decided to check it out.¡±

    Mikayla looked at Judith. Did she know what she had done for her? The magnitude of what she had achieved? She couldn''t be sure, so she thought of how to put it into words. ¡°Thank you, is what I really want to say.¡±

    ¡°Anytime.¡± She hears, and there are no more words needed between them.

    Eventually the music dies down, the crowd leaves and the bar closes. The duo decides it''s as good a time as any to leave.

    Mikayla offers Judith a ride home, she politely declines, saying it''s very close from here.

    She doesn''t oppose to exchanging numbers however, and that makes an already good night even better.

    ¡°If it''s alright with you, I would like to know you better. Because I can''t remember the last time I had so much fun like this.¡± Judith says.

    Just a second later, she apologizes, telling Mikayla she didn''t mean to say that the last bit was fun. She understands, and says she would also like to know her better.

    They part ways once they reach Mikayla''s car, with Judith starting to walk away. But before she even enters the car she hears her calling her name.

    ¡°Yeah?¡± She responds.

    ¡°You look pretty when you smile.¡± Judith screams, and it''s the last thing she says before she runs into the night.

    Mikayla blushes, completely stunned. She wasn''t sure if Judith just said that to comfort her but it felt nice to hear regardless.

    It''s a nice drive towards her apartment, and there''s only one thought on her mind as she gazes upon the clear sky.

    What a beautiful night.

 Weird in Full 2.1

    I woke up in my bed.

    Now, that in itself doesn''t sound so bad, and in fact I didn''t think much of it while I still had my eyes closed and still hazy from sleep.

    Until my memories caught up with me. I don''t know if that prompted the soreness in my body and the headache but it sure seemed like that.

    The soreness I could deal with, my legs felt heavy and stiff but I could will myself to move them, same as my arms. It was my head that gave me more of a problem. As I got out of the bed I was immediately assaulted by a wave of pulses and disorientation, making me lose my balance for a moment. I managed to catch myself by holding onto the wall, but the discomfort was enough to make me shut my eyes, only opening them once I was sure the headache was gone.

    It didn''t feel real. Right here, right now, I was standing in my room as if nothing had happened. It made me shiver once I realized that meant those people had been in my house, seen my room, carried me here. So much information in their turf and so little on mine.

    I forced myself to stop that line of thought. There were other things I needed to worry about.

    I made my way to Belisaria¡¯s room, knocking on the door out of reflex.

    ¡°Yeah?¡± I heard on the other side.

    I opened the door. Belisaria was sitting on the edge of the bed, her gaze fixated on the door of the closet.

    When I tried to talk, the words came out like a horrible mess. Jumbled, rushed, too high pitched. It would have been embarrassing if my audience had reacted to it. Belisaria didn''t even move.

    It took a few more attempts, but I managed to put together a sentence, ¡°Can I sit?¡±. It was barely above a whisper, but at least it got a slight nod out of her.

    I walked to the side of the bed, slowly sitting next to her.

    ¡°How-how are you feeling?¡± I asked. Yeah, stupid question, I know.

    ¡°Bit sore, you?¡± Belisaria replied, her voice distant, it didn''t help that she still wasn''t looking at me.

    ¡°Same, but I also had a headache earlier. Did you also-.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Her response was final.

    ¡°Okay. Good. Okay.¡±

    We didn''t say anything for a moment. The way this was going, I didn''t think I would get any answers longer than three words from Belisaria.

    ¡°I''m sorry.¡±

    I immediately looked up. ¡°For what?¡±

    Belisaria lowered her gaze, looking down at her hands. ¡°I don''t know what time it is now, I''ve been sitting for a while. I think it was around six, maybe, that I woke up.¡±

    I glanced at the alarm clock. 9:30. She had been like that for over three hours.

    Belisaria continued, ¡°I thought ¡®I should check on her¡¯ because I didn''t see you after we did the tests, but then.¡±

    She turned around to face me, her eyes on the verge of tears.

    ¡°But then I saw myself in the mirror.¡± She said as she pointed to it. ¡°And I saw the patch, and I don''t know why but I just, I just-¡±

    She cried, and I began to cry too.

    ¡°I remembered¡­where I was, how far away from home¡­I was.¡± Her voice was broken, barely managing to push the words out in between sobs.

    ¡°What if¡­ what if I had died?¡±

    I pulled her tightly into a hug. Both of us let everything out.

    By the time we were done we looked absolutely terrible, our eyes were red and there was snot all over our noses.

    ¡°I should be the one saying sorry.¡± I muttered, feeling myself calming down a little. ¡°For what I did to you.¡±

    She brought one hand to her left cheek, where the patch was. ¡°Not your fault.¡±

    That was the easy way out. If my aim had been slightly better, if she hadn''t reacted when she did, maybe we wouldn''t even be having this conversation at all.

    ¡°Doesn''t matter. It''s still there isn''t it?¡± I said.

    She opened her mouth slightly, looking ready to counter, only to stop halfway, looking to the side in resignation.

    ¡°Did they tell you about the¡­ deal?¡± She said eventually.

    I nodded, ¡°The person I talked to said they would contact us first. Did you hear anything else?¡±

    ¡°That they are pretty much a secret society.¡± She looked at me, ¡°Do you know how they got us back here?¡±

    I honestly had no idea. The last thing I remembered was Sharon stirring her cup before I woke up here.

    ¡°No. She pulled some trick on me, I don''t know if it was hypnosis or what, but I was in that room one moment and the next one I''m in my bed.¡±

    ¡°That''s the same that happened to me.¡± Belisaria replied.

    Figures. Some shit.

    ¡°We should, I don''t even know.¡± I said, rubbing my eyes. Like that would give me some clarity of mind.

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°How''s a bath for a start?¡± Belisaria said. ¡°We both look like shit.¡±

    I snorted, ¡°Can''t argue with that. You go first.¡±

    She shot me a look as if saying ¡®you sure?¡¯.

    ¡°I have to talk to my mom. Just, for my own sanity.¡±

    Her expression softened, ¡°Okay.¡±

    I followed Belisaria to the bathroom, washing my face in the sink. I didn''t want to give my mom any opportunities to suspect something was up.

    Before I exited, I grabbed Belisaria by the shoulder, there was something else I needed to tell her.

    ¡°I don''t know if I said this yesterday, but there is a phone downstairs if you want to call your family.¡±

    She only gave me a nod, before closing the door.

    Okay.

    I breathed in, and out.

    I didn''t knock, opting instead to simply open the door to mom''s room.

    She was still asleep, her black hair spread over her face in a manner that made me remember a Japanese horror movie I had watched at the film club. I couldn''t help the grin that came afterwards, the comparison was too appropriate.

    I nudged mom a little, stirring her up.

    ¡°Mary? What time is it?¡± She asked, half-asleep.

    ¡°Around ten.¡± I said. ¡°Belisaria is taking a shower, I''ll go after her but I thought it would be good to let you know.¡±

    That woke her up. ¡°Oh. Oh! That''s right!, I''m sorry sweetie, I''ve been all over the place. I thought I could introduce myself yesterday if I came in early enough, but  we didn''t get the all clear until later in the night, and by the time I was here you were both already asleep.¡±

    She was already getting up by the time I replied, ¡°No, no worries, I figured. She was spent after the flight so we called it a day after we went to eat dinner.¡±

    ¡°Oh I can imagine, I didn''t even eat. I went straight to bed after I checked on you two and took off my makeup. Went out cold.¡±

    I tuned mom out for a bit. I was glad that whoever those people were had kept their word. Mom didn''t suspect anything. It was for the better, as much as I hated to admit it. We had come out relatively unscathed from yesterday''s events, if we were to tell her what had happened, well, for starters I doubted she would believe us, and in the off chance she did, I feared that would drag her to the same situation we were in. There was no need for that to happen.

    ¡°Do you know what you want to eat for breakfast?¡± Mom asked.

    I gave the first thing I could think of, ¡°Pancakes.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± She said as she put her slippers on. ¡°If you want to, you can use my shower, I don''t think I''m gonna leave the house for today so I''m taking it easy.¡±

    ¡°Work from home?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it''s my turn now, since I was in the late night crew yesterday.¡± There was a pause, and Mom looked at me sadly, ¡°Sorry kiddo, I think our night out will have to wait until next weekend.¡±

    There was my opening. I closed the distance between us, giving my mom a hug and a kiss on the cheek. ¡°That''s okay mom.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡± She said, dragging the ¡®o¡¯. ¡°That''s a lot of affection right there, what did you do?¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°Nothing. I just¡­ had a conversation with Belisaria. She said she was homesick.¡± Technically not a lie.

    ¡°I guess I got infected with it.¡±

    Mom hugged me back, planting a kiss on my forehead before she let me go.

    ¡°Well, I sure wouldn''t mind more of that.¡±

    She walked off, not before asking me if we could tag-team, me doing her bed while she did breakfast. I told her that sounded fair to me. It didn''t take me longer than a few minutes to get the bed done.

    The shower was quick, helped by the fact that I was eager to put something in my stomach as soon as possible. I wrapped a towel around me and walked straight to my room.

    I opened the closet, looking for fresh clothes when my heart skipped a beat. My phone and wallet were right there on the second shelf, staring at me.

    I took them quickly, checking the contents in my wallet to see if anything was missing. Once I double checked everything was in there I moved on to my phone, repeating the process.

    There was a wave of relief as it became evident nothing had been tampered with, but I was also mad at myself for not realizing before that I was missing these.

    ¡°Mary?¡± I heard my mom yell from downstairs.

    ¡°Yeah?¡± I yelled back.

    ¡°Your pancakes are gonna get cold, you done yet?¡±

    ¡°I''m coming!¡± I said.

    I dried my hair as best as I could, throwing some deodorant and putting on jeans, a flannel shirt and sneakers. The phone and wallet were now secure in my pocket. I felt them again, just to be sure.

    I hadn''t even fully come down the stairs when I smelled the pancakes. They could have been the absolute worst, most artificial meal ever I created and I wouldn''t have cared, I needed to eat.

    I sat on one of the chairs at the table, where everything had already been set up. Belisaria was already eating, and by the looks of it she was on her second serving.

    Mom put a plate of pancakes in front of me soon after I sat, they smelled delicious.

    ¡°So Mary¡±, Mom began as I took a bite from one of the pancakes, ¡°It was a bit late but I introduced myself to Belisaria before you came down.¡±

    I looked at Belisaria. She looked at me, then at my mom.

    ¡°She is the most lovely lady I''ve ever met. I almost had to fight her so she could sit down. She wanted to help me do everything, but we settled on just setting the table.¡±

    I looked at Belisaria once more. She looked at me, then at my mom again.

    ¡°She is pretty great.¡± I said.

    It was Belisaria¡¯s turn to speak now, ¡°Your mom''s very nice, she was telling me about school and what to expect.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it''s not that bad. I kinda don''t want to graduate now.¡±

    ¡°Really? Why?¡± Mom asked.

    ¡°It''s what I''ve known my whole life: school. After that there''s college, but it''s different, and after college there''s real life.¡±

    Mom looked at me, her expression wasn''t disappointment nor frustration. It was more like confusion. This hadn''t been the first time we discussed something along the lines of what happened after high school, with me not really knowing what I wanted to do. Mom and Dad had both gone to college, so they had expected me to do so as well. I wasn''t opposed per se, I just wanted to be more sure of where I was headed in life, maybe go to community college first and dip my toes before going further.

    There was a vibration in my pocket. I almost didn''t reach for it for the sake of politeness, until I saw Belisaria getting her phone out. So it wasn''t just me that had her stuff back.

    We looked at each other. What were the odds of both of us receiving a text at the same time?

    I excused myself to the bathroom, opening my phone once I made sure the door was closed.

    The text was minimalistic, standing out on the tiny white background.

    Today. 2 PM. Westfield HS.