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wispisstillverybored67 · 11 months

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Thrill la Thrill

What's that noise behind you?

What's that shadow on the stair?

It's here. to remind you...

You'd better beware!

*yawn* We're there already? Wait, why were we here again? Um, let's see... His Fowlyness and that slimy prick had suddenly booted up the tank, and before I could settle on my side, we were driving off to the fortune teller's. I asked, but they both shushed me. Oh well. I should go get some more peanuts if there's time. I think I'm out...

Hey... Is that a blood moon hanging up? Right in the middle of fall too... Uh, did something come up?

Oh... His Fowlyness is finished here. Time to head back. The guys step on the gas and thusly drove back "home".

"Yo... What was the deal with the visit to Mabel? At least tell me what she said." I tried to get an answer from the boys.

"Yeah. What'd she say?" Hey, one of the few times me and Escargoon are on the same page! That never happens.

"She says I have this ghost on my tail." I can practically feel the fear radiating off DDD. His tone... didn't change a bit.

"A ghost on your tail? I didn't even know you had a tail."

"Well I guess I don't stand a ghost of a chance." The boys joked about the problem. We all laughed a bit at the stupid pun, in a bad attempt to lighten the mood. Hahahaha... no.

"But maybe this is just some giant mistake. Maybe there's some logical explication of the whole situation!" His Fowlyness is gonna have a stroke if he attempts to figure out the truth.

"Sorry, a ghost?" Might as well join 'em... "Sure that wasn't just, I don't know, your shadow? His shadow? The mini monsters' shadow? Come on you two-"

"Hey, it's there in the camera too. You gonna argue with the camera?" I was gonna say something else, but then that slimy prick interrupted me.

"*yawn* No, not really. Well, I won't really care if there was a ghost on you. Unless they like peanuts. That's my only rule. A ghost can move in here, but if it takes rent in peanuts, we need to do something..."

"Yeah, picture sure don't lie." Oh my...

All remained silent, and good, until...

We hit the castle. "Wait what's up with that drawbridge?!" His Fowlyness was already screaming. Are we going to be squished?

"I don't know, Sire! It's actin' like it's HAUNTED OR SOMETHING!" Wait what? Hey, why's the tank slanting?!

*ka-thonk!* Dang it all... What was all that about?

"What was that for...?" I complained.

"Drawbridge never done that before..." And DDD complained too.

"Maybe that's the ghost's way of sayin' 'boo'." Why does that slimy prick keep insisting there's a ghost?

"There ain't no ghost!" We would've argued on this for longer, but the boys quickly got scared by something else. A noise, then footsteps. How odd. Maybe that IS a ghost. But ghosts don't have feet! So what's with the noises?!

It's... It's... Waddle Doo? "Ah... I'm glad yer alright, Sire!" How did he get there?

"You... We..." What was I gonna say? Dunno.

"Some guard you are!" "With an eye like that, ya should look out for the king's safety!" You tell 'em, boys! "The boys are in a horrible mood, so you better not make this worse!" I joined in.

"Well I'm sorry, Sire, but it wasn't my fault! Somebody must'a sabotaged the drawbridge!" he then claimed, motioning up and down for it's broken motion.

"Huh?" We all went. "Not a likely story!" I sensed that Escargoon was probably gonna go off on him, so I just took my cart out, and wheeled inside. Wonder what awaits me there?

______________________________________________________________

*a handful of minutes later...*

"Oh... It was a spook, I knew it was a spook...!" Ms Lady Like was pacing back and forth in the main hall (I think it was). Her sir was attempting and failing to get her to relax.

"Try to calm down, my dear!"

"What is it? Spill it, Like-Like." I was just wondering what was the proverbial spook.

Oh, footsteps.

"Great... Sir Ebrum and his gang of grousers. Now what's the matter?" Ah. Judging from that being the slimy prick's voice, the boys are back inside.

"Well we... We think we might've seen a-"

"A galloping GOBLIN!" Erm... She's probably exaggerating this... right?

"Huh? What's she talkin' about?" His Fowlyness was guessing just as good as me.

"I mean, it does sound rather silly, and there could be some perfectly logical explanation fo-"

"But we saw a ghost!" Alright, alright. Point taken...

"Uh, maybe it was just a pigment of your imagination-"

"But I saw it too!" And now Tiff (of all people) jumped in. And thus, she made her piece. A few hours ago (at least I think it was that time ago...), she was heading back to the main hall to finish something before going to bed, but footsteps overshot the hall, as if someone or something was following her. Between the surprised screams, I can tell no ghost had touched down here. She probably didn't believe in ghosts until now, either.

Is that so? Hmm...

"That thing gave me a scare too." Thus, Like-Like told her piece next. 2 hours before Tiff came here, she was just watching a drama, too bad the curtains flew open. Though the sound of bats were lingering around, the thing that was imprinted on the outside world was a ghost. I think it then came inside when she shut the windows. So it's her that brought the ghost in? Aw... She probably pinched herself to see if she's not awake.

"...I had a rather disturbing encounter myself, Sire." With the Sir giving the last piece, that makes everyone. A day (I think) ago, he was down in the cellar in an attempt to see what needed to be replaced and what didn't. Too bad the ghost found out how to move some of the wine bottles around. Man, I'm glad he never saw the skeleton chained up down there... Hehe, a spirit among the spirits. Caught the pun.

"This is all way too conveniently timed..." I complained a bit.

"Oh, I see the plan!" DDD finally spoke. Huh? "When I move out, y'all take over the castle." What the hell. Mr. Prime immediately denied something like that.

"But if you did leave, I hope you take Clara and Escargoon with you." Lady Like on the other hand, didn't exactly deny that stuff either. At least get my name right!

"Look, if that would happen, I'm not goin' with them... I'm staying." I complained in the back.

I began to zone out as the group conversed a bit. Nyeh... I wonder where Kirby, Tuff and the mini-monsters, Fololo and Falala are? Um... They mentioned having something to do today, but I don't know what they said they had to do... Oh, is that Meta Knight? How'd he get here? When did he get here?

"Hmph... With all due respect, sire, I do find it hard to believe that you aren't involved with these... paranormalities." Is that a word? Erm...

"Uh... This ain't my fault, I get spooked by spooks!" Dedede scrambled to defend himself from the thing in the corner.

Everyone got impatient. Mmm... Why, though? Oh, I know.

Tiff especially was having none of that. "I bet it's another one of those monsters!"

"Is that so? Is this another plot against Kirby??" Even Sir Ebrum joined in on this. I didn't expect that from him. Well, to His Fowlyness, that is.

"Look, I ain't plannin' nothin' to nobody, and there ain't no ghosts 'cause there ain't no such a thing!!!" He's quaking.

K(that's me!): Oh really? Seems like the evidence is turning against it.

L: Then what was that floating in my window?!

S: Why were those bottles floating?!

T: There's a ghost here!

Against our mounting evidence, he quickly broke under pressure, and I think he lost it.

"AHHHHHHH!! THE GHOST IS AFTER MEEEE!!! AND I GOTTA DO SOMETHIN' BEFORE IT GETS ME!!!!" He screamed out in a panic, and then left immediately. The other one followed him to... wherever he ran off to. Oh no, wait, he just went to the direction of his room. Mmm... How tragic.

"*sigh* That was so weird..." I complained once they left.

"Indeed. I simply hope it won't reappear while we sleep." Oh, is the group gonna go to bed? Yeah, it's about time.

"I am sure it would keep to the outdoors. Now..." Ah, yeah, they're gone. Tiff and her parents left the scene. But Tiff herself is lingering. Hmm...

______________________________________________________________

...

"Oi, Tiff, can I talk to you for a sec?" I called out to her once those two left the scene.

"Yeah, but first off... A ghost haunting him?" she questioned while I walked up to her.

"I tried to get something out of the boys." I sighed. "Nothing came out. But I did overhear Mabel giving her verdict on this to his Fowlyness. Something like that is true, apparently."

"I have trouble believing this fully... I just hope it leaves soon enough."

"The boys should be back by tomorrow... *yawn* So I'll be off now... Hehe, don't let those ghosts bite." I told her off as I began paddling my cart to my room.

"I guess. Goodnight." And thus, we've gone our separate ways.

The hall to my room isn't that far. Just keep right until you hit the yard view, then go left. After about 15 minutes, I'm back to my room.

Ahhhh... This is nice... Just gonna cozy up in my blanket fort with a bowl of peanuts and a cold bottle of iced tea. Maybe I can crack open the TV and see what's on. Or not. Let the soft moonlight filter through the room.

Hmph... Why can't the lights get fixed soon enough? Wait a sec, they already fixed it, didn't they? I hate that they whir like that. Hate it hate it hate it. Let's see if they get fixed in the morning...

______________________________________________________________

Hate hate hate... That's a nice word, isn't it? Hate... Let me tell you how much hate we can stuff into this place since I got here. There are 3.84 million watts of electricity (or something) flowing through this castle in wafer thin wires in all angles. If the word 'hate' was sent in every wire's nano-something or other in these hundreds of thousands of watts, it wouldn't equal a billionth of the hate I can stuff into this castle for it's screwed upness at this microinstant. For this. Hate. Hate.

Er... I'm just watching my shows, right now. This one is based a novel on a young detective and her repeated encounters with a brilliant, yet insane serial killer. I don't exactly like the ending change on TV, but other then that, it's quite solid. Still, the fact that it comes on at night is a huge detriment. I'm trying to get some sleep here, you know? But I guess it'll be fine.

Oh, what's that at the window? Better check it out...

Walk up to the window, open the curtains, and then the window itself.

"Ah... You know, you ARE supposed to trail inside while the others do their stuff, you know..."

"Hahaha. I get that, but it's too funny to see people's reactions!"

"Just don't get too loud that they'll figure you out. We don't want our jig to be up..."

"Right right right. So you take the right, and I'll take the left, sound good?"

"Yeah, why not? As long as the target gets down there. How about you three... What do you think about your potential game plan?"

"A what?"

"Game plan? Isn't just doing what we're normally doing fine?"

"Poyo."

"Uh... I suppose. Okay... How about we meet near the men's room once all is dealt with, does this sound good?"

"Sounds like a plan! See ya later, Claire!" "Bye-Bye Clara!" "Poyo Poyice!" They leave for the windows on another side of the wall. When will they get my name right?! *sigh*

Now that they reminded me... I need to go put my makeup on for the big event. One moment...

______________________________________________________________

*30 minutes later...*

"Excuse me, Clara? Sorry to interrupt, but do you have a moment?" Meh? Sir Ebrum now? My makeup is on... How'll I excuse this?

"Nah, you're fine. *opens door* So what's it?" I'm covered in flour from head to toe, my lips are coated in barbeque sauce, my eyes are outlined in a fruit punch powder/thickening liquid agent mixture, my ears are traced with egg yolk in it's inner sections, my hair is capped in a straight black wig, and it's tips are dyed yellow-and-black with honey mustard and activated charcoal. I eventually kept it mostly shut, so he could hear me properly, but to not ruin my makeup or ask about it. What's it for, you may ask? Why, to scare off the ghosts with a ghastly wail, of course! Why do you look so sad?

"I recall you telling me about a specific song that can repel ghouls and the like. In the rare event that it does not leave after tonight, do you remember the title of the song?"

Oh.

"Blumenkranz?" I know this song by heart. I think he's talking to me first about it, since the dang ghost was seen there last, according to a report from some Waddle Dees 6 hours ago. Why does he say that I said that it repelled ghosts? I don't remember saying that. When we went over the book imports some time ago, I never said anything of the sort when the book of scores came up.

"I see. Well, in this case... Good night." Ah... He left.

Hey.

He never asked what Blumenkranz actually meant.

Everyone always asks what Blumenkranz means.

Even you're asking what it means behind that screen.

But it's fine.

I can tell you now.

But this may take a while.

You see... it translates to "Flower Wreath", or a, how you say, flower crown. But it carries a higher dignity then a simple flower crown... Only the strongest, finest flowers should be woven and bound into this shape. Withered flowers should be removed immediately. If you don't want to be upset by it's poorer quality, only bind the fresh flowers. A well placed one should improve one's condition, or at least their mood and posture. To bear a blumenkranz... is to take in it's near-weightlessness. But the finesse and dignity it requires to bear it with elegance and grace is difficult to utilize effectively... One who bears the highest quality blumenkranz demands everyone's attention, trust, love. At least, that's what my dad always told me

...Okay, ramble over. I have to leave now. But first... Peanuts, my cart, and computer! Alright... let's go.

______________________________________________________________

*10 minutes later...*

Let's see... Faulty lights? Check. Halloween themed snacks in the basement? Check. Cameras broadcasting that slimy prick's voices and turn it into ghastly wails? Check. Flashing lights? Check. Flappers going in and out of the windows? Check. Unknowing victims castlemates? Check. Languid maiden wheeling herself to where she thinks the king may be? Check. This may sound off, but all this is simply extra measures against the ghosts. I believe some other inhabitants will also be attempting a "Kill la Kill" deal. That's when you scare something by pretending to be it. It's referred as such because if you have to scare a killer, go and kill it. Simple. To scare a scarer, scare it back. Kill or be killed. Scam or be scammed. Scare or be scared. Thrill or be thrilled. That's how it goes here, at least. Although, all those snacks are reserved for me, I just hope His Fowlyness isn't hijacking it off down there...

*ssshwoon!* The heck was that? Um... From the direction it came from... and connect that to the direction it flew into... Shoot. The men's room has more guests...

Out of curiosity, I decided to go and check it out.

Now, I was rolling towards the boy's room to hunt down any stragglers. I heard screaming from this area, so why not take a detour? Okay.

*a few minutes later...*

The door to the bathroom is open. and I can hear DDD's erm... potty break from here. I was in the middle of the hallway, mind you. Oh... It seems it's not just him that's here. Why is he running to my direction?

"Klarissa! What the heck were you doing the whole night?!"

"Picking off any stragglers, what does it look like? You know... with this, no interruptions will be encountered, since I took care of the Waddles and whatnot."

"And the Ebrums?"

Oh. "No worries, they're off looking for the book with that song... What was it called? Said it repelled ghouls or something." I think... Didn't anticipate that, but I'm sure it'll be fine.

"The makeup? Really?"

"Listen, dumbass, I don't appreciate the constant questioning. If you waste anymore time, he'll ruin the whole thing. H-H-He-HEY! ESCARGOON DON'T LEAVE ME BEHIND IN THIS CRAZY-" Don't ditch me now! What was that even for?!

"Clara?! Get over here!" Is that His Fowlyness?! Why does he sound so terrified?! I thought he doesn't fear this kind of stuff! Hey... What's that noise behind me?

"Spot." I finished myself. With this, he ran out to see me from the bathroom. I froze. My face would've been warped more menacingly, but I just looked terrified. It looks suspicious, but I assure you that it's just for getting the ghost out. I'm not doing anything else.

You think Dedede could'a pulled this off? No.

Why do you look so sad? I had no reason to reject this.

What's with these ghastly wails behind me? I tensed up, so it kinda looked like I was nervous at the sight of the king, probably rushing towards me. ...Hey. I recognize those voices anywhere.

"AYYYEEEEEEEEEE! MY SAVIOR!!" I'M SAVED! I projected my voice into a demonic conaltro, but they knew who I was. He sure as hell didn't. I ran onto the mini ghosts like there was no tomorrow: with these events, it looks very suspicious.

I didn't exactly recall what he shouted at that moment, all I needed was them...!

Since the three chased down the king elsewhere once they shifted over there, I waited at one side of the hallway. It's exactly who I thought it was! Everyone came back. It was...

...

"I knew you had in in you, Tuff, Fo-Fa and Kirby!!" I exclaimed when the coast was clear.

"Hehehaha!" the former giggled a bit as he helped unmask the latter. "Told you we'd pull it off, no problem!"

"Yeah! That gave him ghost-bumps!" Fololo joked around.

"We sure scared 'em bad~!" I can tell that Tuff's feeling proud of himself for this.

"Let's spook 'em again!" Falala just read my mind!

"Sounds like a plan! Let's go!" I quickly wheeled off to our runaway king for this idea to work. I assure you, it's to set an example for the ghost, nothing else. If we have DDD vulnerable, he'll know what for, and not bother us again. Es ist fraglich aber wahr.

______________________________________________________________

*30 minutes later...*

Awaken...

My King!

Heed...

My call!

I have an axe to grind with this guy...!

It's time for the biggest event of the night! We have the king strapped down to a makeshift autopsy table, while a large axe is set on one side in the basement. A degradable wall is set to fall just off his feet, while the other one will crumble easily all over the floor. Praise! This is a fine opportunity of examples! Oh, in a little while, you'll understand too. Watch! He's gonna wake up now! He won't recognize me in the makeup. I'm sitting on the hanging axe.

A scream... then realization.

"Them ghosts finally got me!" Hahaha... The king's gonna wish he was never born...! We toyed with His Fowlyness for a bit, then knocked him out, and brought him into the place where there is no darkness (a lie).

The wine cellar and torture basement! This is usually where the tortured are exposed to mindless torture until one pisses off the torturer and gets turned into slime. But we don't have a slime-grinder, nor a large enough computer program in here, so it's been refurbished into the centerpiece, where we lay our scene. One night, we'll finish our due, we'll take our leave and go.

I gave Tuff the thumbs up, the signal to unhinge the axe. Let's begin...

*nyoom*

"♬Ich möchte stärker werden, weil unsere Welt sehr grausam ist, Es ist ratsam, welke blumen zu entfernen♬" I sang loudly in a dominating tone to drive a point. Isn't it ironic... The Ebrums had gone off to find the specific song from the library, and which song did I decide to sing, in a bout of irony? You guessed it; Blumenkranz!

I swung down close to him, and amplified my voice's volume whenever I did so. All he could've done was suck in his gut so he doesn't get bisected.

"That's cuttin' it too close!!" Yeah no kidding.

*nyoom* Another scream from him. *nyoom* How are you screaming already, when it barely begun?! Ah, whatever! The hair on my body is firing off, my gut is burning! Sweat is pouring! l LOVE THIS PLAN!

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!! I'M SORRY FOR EVERY BAD THING I EVER DONE!! OH I'M A GONER FOR SURE!!!!" "WAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" My laughter sunk up with his screams. With this leaking out, I changed to a different song.

"♬Woah-oah-WOAH-oah-oah-oah-oah-oah! Ooo, show me!" "♬Ja, ich bin viel stärker, als ich je gedacht hab, Fliege höher, Laufe viel schneller, Vergiss die wahrheit nicht Ja, ich bin viel stärker, als ich je gedacht hab, Ich entferne welke blumen, Wieso siehst du so traurig aus?♬ " Lalala lalala... That song simply doesn't get old.

The axe had to be brought back in for the next trick. I would've liked for it to last longer, but I get why. Now, I gave Tuff the OK. He then gave signal to Fo-Fa to push down the walls. First, the crumbling overcover wall. *ka-boom!* He seemed to have braced for pain from it, but he was super shocked/relieved when it was revealed to just be wet paper-mache and toilet paper. Then the miniature skeletons appeared. That was my idea. Mmm... I hope that ghost is watching! Watching and dreaming that it's not gonna be scared of this sight! Woooooo! I continued to sing my Blumenzehn mixture. "♬Ist der blumengarten echt oder falsch?♬" "♬Show me your looove~! Show me your love! Oh!♬" I can hear footsteps, it's sad but true. But I'm not worried.

And then, on my scream, the trio of ghosts fly downward, having donned their disguises beforehand, to circle the target in a medley of ghastly wails and evil smiles. The air is stagnant, and the scene is perfect. He even started crying! I'm unsure whether to feel bad or laugh! The song must go on, the show must go ON!

"♬Was willst du von mir? Ich mag wollen oder nicht, ich muss den feind verfolgen, Ich bin nicht frei von dieser welt, Was willst du von mir? Ich mag wollen oder nicht, ich muss den feind verfolgen, Ich bin nicht frei von dieser welt♬"

After a bit of madness... He conked out. Whaaaa?

Tuff and I jumped down from our perch to observe. "Yo. That's peculiar." I commented.

"Wuh-oh. He got so scared, he fainted!" He realized.

Laughter came emanating from one side. It was Escargoon...! I can't believe the words... My savior...!

"That was excellent work, team." He remarked as he came out from the shadow. I hope he saw everything. What an exhilarating moment! "A trick like that deserves a nice treat!" Lollipops.

"Alright!!" We all ran to get a lolly before everyone else did. Mmm... I guess getting candy as a reward is the best thing for a kid, and I don't blame them at all, but you can also just buy these from the candy store down in Cappy Town normally. Still, it tastes quite good.

"And don't think I didn't forget about you wanting 'proper' compensation for this, Klarissa." *gasp* PEANUTS! He remembered! I ran back over quickly to grab the bag of the good stuff. First he's the only one to pronounce my name properly, and now this?! Ahh... This is the life. More for the pile. And these are pre-de-shelled, too! I am SO gonna take any more offers from him, I HAVE to pay him back after this!

"That was fun!" Fololo exclaimed what was on everyone's mind.

"So's getting candy!" Falala was more interested in what was in her hole. Kirby too. "Poyum~"

"I guess it's okay to help Escargoon as long as it doesn't help King Dedede." Tuff noted.

"You said it. Could he ever work up these schemes like he does?" I told him, shoving the goods into my mouth. No. No he cannot. Can he think properly? I think not. This is a memory I'll forever cherish as the night we enacted our thrill or be thrilled scheme..!

Hahahaha... *fwush!* The lights flushed open, halting our victory. We looked at the other direction. Oh no.

"Uh oh!" Falala squeaked out once we saw.

It was what remained of the Ebrums, clearly annoyed that they were lead astray... and Meta Knight tagged along too. The book that held the score of Blumenkranz was promptly dropped by Tiff.

"What's going on here, you guys?"

"Kirby?"

"Why are you all here with Escargoon?"

Daughter, mother and father were looking for answers. Everyone shambled about, trying to find a way to salvage this discovery. Tuff laughed awkwardly. I followed suit.

"Uhh... Hehehe... Ya see, uh... *sigh* The jig is up. We're pinched for sure." I tried. Really. I'm afraid I'll have to tell you the truth. There... was no ghosts. There wasn't ever a ghost.

"U-Poyo!" Why is he so happy about this? This is most certainly not a good thing!

"It appears we've found our... ghosts." Meta Knight was half prying, and half expecting of what he was seeing.

"One of you had better explain!" Mr. Prime pushed us for an answer. Quickly. A lie is the only thing that pitifully planted inside our heads. How can we save ourselves from this? How can we save face...? How can we survive this night unscathed? Our "leader" took a step forward, and reluctantly ratted us all out.

"Alright. This... was my revenge."

"What do you mean?" Simple, Tiff.

And thus, the whole thing was explained. His Fowlyness likes pranking him because he's a coward. He's got a seemingly bottomless imagination of ways to drive him... mmm... "crazy". Simple jump scares, locking rooms, dark and light contrasts, freaky costumes... Could be anything, really. But, judging by his tone, he seemed... guilty from this. But why? He's the one who started the whole thing! The one who brought us all together for the night for this prank!

"And so I decided to turn the tables and make him the victim for a change." Yes... he's tearing up right now.

Wieso siehst du so traurig aus? I whispered to myself. I'd ask out loud, but I don't wanna get hanged, drawn, and quartered for treason. But I DID take it far, so I should probably own it to not be the only one among us to live. I'll ask later. Why do you look so sad?

"Well... That's tragic, isn't it?" I don't understand, Mr. Prime. It's not tragic at all. It shouldn't be.

That slimy prick continued with the schpiel. I'm sorry I lied to you. I was onto this the whole time. Kirby, Fololo, Falala, Tuff, Klarissa, and Escargoon... We were the ghosts that roamed the castle to seek revenge, just as she said...! I'm sure you don't trust me with things as much, since you believed in me so... H-Hey! What do you mean I was awful at hiding this from you?! Where do you get all that... Anyways... He spent hours planning every detail of this elaborate, golden scheme before tonight. Breaking into the vault to get enough Denden to bribe Mabel with... Boobytrapping the drawbridge, and making sure Waddle Doo was kept in the dark... Editing the camera so a ghost appeared behind him... Even recruiting us all into his Ghost Squad...

"Just to get back at that beast...!" I hear ya. He WAS a beast. But I haven't heard that 'til just now. He whispered to my ear. I had no reason to reject him. And here I was, facepalming in embarrassment, hoping for this moment to just be a daydream, or to die on the spot. That was me. When I had taken so much joy in making the king wail... Why do you look so sad? Why do we look so sad?

"It appears you were able to shamboozle us all..." Meta Knight trailed off, bringing some of us relief. Relief that at least he wasn't mad. Against better judgement, I slowly uncovered my face.

"By Jones, you certainly had me believing in ghosts!" Mr. Prime remarked. Someone such as him could've fallen for it any day. I'm just surprised Tiff fell for it...!

Like-Like on the other hand was having none of it.

"Tuff, I'm ashamed of you!" Kind of expected for now, isn't it?

But then again, neither was he.

"King Dedede's ALWAYS doing somethin' to scare us; why shouldn't we scare him?!" "Poyo." Now they were both defending their new "friend", and their actions. Well, I don't know about Kirby.

"Eh..." I stammered out a bit. He's not WRONG, but...

"Clarice?" Meta Knight blurted out.

"Hmm?" What does he want.

"I just cannot understand why you would do this. You say that you're 'carefree and unflappable'... but the revenge idea just does not make sense." Well...

"Oh, is that so? Well, that's because I have no cause for it."

"So you weren't pranked by the king? How-"

"No no, I was. Anyone he knows gets pranked in under 2 weeks, and you of all people should know. I think, yeah. You were there for that part, you know? He used to have some fun with me, you know. But he got bored of it ever since he tried switching the hot water in the ladies' room with boiling water."

"But then why-" Hmm?

"Oh it's nothing, Tiff. See, I legitimately am carefree and unflappable, like I said. You think that's a good thing... But when you're like that all the time, your whole world just sorta becomes... dull. Nothing can excite you anymore. Nothing can reach you anymore. Everything bores you now."

"And on your apparent disliking of him?" On my disliking of who? Ah...

"I'm going to ignore you mispronouncing my name, Meta Knight. But you'll get it soon enough. Because yeah, we just do NOT get along. Can't stand his smug attitude. Honestly? I'm looking for cheap thrills. I don't care if it's coming from someone like him, as you can see. Truthfully, if siding with Escargoon means I can go get THIS level of thrills... What does it matter if we're vitriolic? I honestly don't see the problem."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. He approached me for this trick on his own accord. You were there for that part, I believe. I was going to cut out most of my 19 hours of sleep for this joke. And the proof is in the lolly. A fitting payment for the fulfillment of his wish. No?" I held it out in front. It was sort of small. "Normally, I work for peanuts, but for this, I made an exception.

"Fitting?! This is simply a petty trick!" She's STILL not over it?

"So you say, Like Like. But it's as Tuff said. If the king is constantly pulling worse pranks on us, what does it matter if this gets pulled off? This, ultimately, is the hardest I've ever worked for a single piece of candy, and I'll gladly do this again, if it means getting a shred of THESE thrills... Besides, I suppose making His Fowlyness faint is nothing compared to the stuff he pulled with us~"

"Pardon? Like with what?"

"Look at my neck. Do you see this mark? Do you see this? Do you know where this came from? You probably already anticipate this answer. Yes, this is no thanks to him. His latest prank on me was, as I said, overloading the water load in the woman's bathroom, so when I would use the sink, it would splash boiling water everywhere. Sounds dramatic, of course. But it's true. 'Course, I'm no coward. He is. I'd never get a good reaction, but he did. So this is the last prank on me. But you know what, honestly? You could say it kinda circles back to what he said. 'Just to get back at that beast' or something, you know~?" This is probably going over your heads... so just take it as it is.

"So that's it, huh?" Tiff finally realized it all. Right back at ya.

"Exactly. And now, with this truth in your grasp, we all can say that this Escargoon Squad finally got their revenge." I popped out some sunglasses, and put them on, so it would look cooler once I said the "got our revenge" part.

"Well, I guess bad things happen to bad kings!"

"That's bad karma to you! Ohohohohohohoho!" We all broke out into laughter after I spoke. I'm just happy he's perked up from it. I can't fathom on why he felt guilty, but I'll ask that later...

"Well ya sure had me shooken." WOAH! He's awake?! The king's awake?!

Everyone was also quite shocked at this turn of events. I would be, too.

"Ah! Sire-!"

"You sure went through a lotta trouble, and you got me good." Okay, I don't get THIS. Why is he so relaxed on this? Normally he'd have our heads any other day. Why is he not flipping out.

And he's... admitting that this is his fault?! What happened to him that made him act like this? Oh, I knew we should have simply hypnotized him asleep instead of hitting him with his hammer! Is he... Does that slimy prick not see anything wrong with this? Put this behind us... When has DDD ever done that? I know where this is going. I've seen it in a play. No boys, you're NOT buddies! Oh...

"You're free. Now let's put this whole thing behind us...!"

"Heh, my chum... Or should I say: my chump."

*WOOSH!*

"NO FOOL MAKES A FOOL OUTTA KING DEDEDE!!" THERE IT IS! THERE'S THE BEAST!!

"HUH?! Does this mean you're still mad?!" Yeah no kidding!

"QUIEEEEET!! YOU JOKESTERS THOUGHT YOU SNUCK OUT THE LAST LAUGH?! WELL THE LAUGH'S ON YOU!!!" Ayeeeeeee!!! No no no! Run for it! Us ghosts ran like mad out of the basement.

______________________________________________________________

*5 minutes devoted to sprinting later...*

"YER ALL GONNA BE GHOSTS WHEN I CATCH UP WITH Y'ALL!!!"

I think he's still behind us. He's still behind us. He's still behind us he's still behind us he's still behind us he's still behind us he's still behind us he's still behind us... Wait, what's that flying overhead? Oh, no use worrying, just keep running!

"Oooooooo..." The thing went on as it flew closer to us, then past us. We stumbled, then stopped, stumped. "A ghost...?" I thought aloud. It was honing on His Fowlyness...

"Hehehe! Can't fool me this time, Kirby!!" That's not...

He tried catching it, but it just phased behind him.

"Kiiiiiiiiing Dedede~" It speaks?! Oh no. It turned around to face the one it wanted. The aforementioned king was stumped, like us.

"Uh... Kirby? Fololo? Falala? If you're here, then-" His Fowlyness stopped just when he realized it. Fear warped across his face, so he just ran. Away from that thing. Yeouch!

"Pay what you owwwwwweee..." It went on like that as it chased him around. I shrugged to the group, then followed after 'em. They followed as well.

...

*5 more minutes devoted to sprinting later...*

I must've lost sight of the group, I ended up in the throne room... First the ghost came in, holding a sack of Denden, and taking it with it to that monster portal in the middle. Hey... Was that needed?

"A gold digger ghost...?" Wow, seems like the man of the hour's perplexed from these events as well. Everyone not named DDD files in here, circling in front of the TV to get some answers. Since that's where the Sales Guy makes fun of him through.

"What the hell." I blurted out in a dead-pan.

The TV suddenly flashes on. Yeah, it was the Sales Guy alright! "Overdue bills. King Dedede owed us big-time, and this was the only way we could collect. Ta-ta~" It turned off as quickly as it flashed.

What the hell.

"WOW Escargoon! Looks like yer tricks costed the king a lotta money!" Tuff shouted on an impulse.

"He DESERVED it! Listen, life ain't a free ride, kid, you gotta pay for everything!" He's owning it now! Hahaha... I knew he had it in him.

*click!* Again?! The doors flung open. We faced the target.

"Heh. That's right." DDD's tone was just dripping with ill intent. "Now you're gonna pay BIG TIME!!!" Ayeeeeee! Get me outta here! Oh I wish Marx was here to see this...!

#thrill la thrill #kirby right back at ya #wisp's children #wisp rambles #wisp writes #king dedede #tiff ebrum #sir ebrum #lady like #klarissa hawks #tuff ebrum #lololo #fololo #lalala #falala #escargoon #queue in wonderland

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grim-faux · 2 years

Text

3 _ 13 _ The Ones That Ran Away

First - An Echo Rebounds Through the Silent City

Melodies crooned behind the ongoing layers of walls, each choked syllable peppered with the scratches of interference within whatever made the glass screens shimmer. Shattered windows hung heavy with the dense plume of fog, where murky droplets formed on the glossy fins pinned in the cracked frames. The garbled speek of the television made the room eerie with the vacuum of silence crowding the rest of the world, beyond the windows and spiraling into the hazy depths below. Howling rains and stabbing pellets was the usual – it cloaked the noises of feet slapping hollow wood, or something heavy falling over - really, any noise that could draw the attention of a hidden thing from somewhere it should stay.

The cupboard creaked when the other kid pushed the door out. He was slow to emerge, as if in the short time he went scouting, a monster might’ve come in and stolen her away.

She shuddered and carried the package food to the corner of the cabinets. She gnawed through the plastic cover and gobbled whatever her teeth bit through. From the corner of her hood, she watched the other kid shuffle from the cupboard with a lumpy box. In the same fashion he watched her with the side of his eye, while he working to tear apart the container.

The feeling was mutual. She didn’t like the kid. Something about him, the way he smelled or the way he dressed (not that anyone had choices). Still, she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. He was off.

This whole place was off.

Most the rooms didn’t give anything, but she figured early on that was typical. The sounds of creeping residents put them on edge, beside how the walls themselves vibrated or rattled despite the placid weather. Once they had a fill on food, and shoved stuff into their available pockets, the two went on. They abandoned the kitchen by climbing up the counter to... what should be a window, slotted above the sink. It was more of a worn out ulcer from intense storms, and maybe something colliding with building side. A narrow ledge bent beneath the tattered opening did hold their weight, and for the next excursion they were outside.

The city never knew dry, even during hours lapse of rainfall, the wet soaked into everything and held tight. Especially the outer building walls, always slimy with the relentless storms. It was a peril for kids to navigate, but gave them the main highway and near assured safety - if a kid was careful. Strafing along narrow ledges and climbing over vent flues was not without tragedies, but served to cull the feeble from the strong. Survivors. The ones that never stopped, despite how the world might punish them for existing.

Perched on the metal grate of a fire escape, Six studied the cable tangled on the sharp inclined side of the platform. The tether attached (somewhere) to the television, rotating below ever so slightly. Gibberish vomited from the screen, along with eye aching grays and blacks. It was important to avoid televisions, not only because of Viewers, but some more important reasons. No sane kid risked tampering with the box menace. None. The danger was the thing that pretended safety, but lured with symbols and curious singing. But she was smarter. Sometimes - on chance if she couldn't get away - she swore the imprint of an eye blinked through, among the stranger shapes of adults and other things. The television was not a simple box, but a monster in its own way. And she hated it.

The alley below the television looked clear of hazards. While ignoring the emaciated body of a child splayed directly beneath the flashing box. She supposed the child must’ve fallen, or might could have been stamped into smatterings by a boot. The latter was the less likely happening, since creatures were usually swift to pluck up a body. It was rare to find dead kids.

“Oi.”

She picked her head up and turned to the other kid, right on her shoulder. When granted her attention, he dropped onto the TVs flat top briefly, before diving to a mess of papers gathered around the kids corpse.

The kid, she forgets what he called himself. Something like fire, or lighter? It’s not that important. He peered up and beckoned. She didn’t reward him with a reaction, so he darted into a direction without a glimpse back. The path he chose, it did almost clear between the narrow walls. Even so, the kid was soon obscured among the haze and not likely to return.

Everything was… off. She didn’t know how to explain what this felt of, or why all of what she saw seemed ‘out-of-place’. She didn’t recall much before waking up in the room, aside from a need to take shelter and find some food. That was consistent. Everything else, the rain and the buildings… all foreign. Misplaced, or better yet, the scenery wasn't what it should be. For the life of her, she couldn't recall what this place should be like.

Punishing rain, layers of clouds pummeling the skyrises. Somewhere, she was sure there was colors. Like her jacket. The other kid adorned drab gray and blue, and whatever else stained him through. Not her though.

Six scooted to the gap in the rails, where the kid dropped. Bracing herself, she let herself down by her hands. She lost her balance upon hitting the televisions top and scarcely braced for hitting the ground, waterlogged papers aside. At least she didn’t make a sound, but she was numbed all through her footpads as she rushed off to find the other kid. He seemed to know this place.

Hiding was natural. Scavenging, that too, standard. Everything else – the scenery, the rain, the derelict buildings. Something was missing. Something about this whole scene was… wrong. Not right. She was forgetting something. The raw heat of colors burned in her thoughts, and flashed through her worst nightmares. The speek on the card haunted her if she was left too long on idle, wondering about the strange ideas marching through her repertoire of a mental checklist. Something about the place, the pictures - food. And the promise of more. She could only imagine the illusion of warmth.

The fog bundled her tightly with its oily chill, a thousand or so glittering beads coated her hood and sleeves. It wasn’t long before the glaring images of the television paled to nothing and the craggy jingles drowned behind the soupy vapor. She was the same as the other kid. It was best to avoid those. Never mind if adults flocked to them, and both could be heard long before being seen. Unless you were the sort of kid that got between an adult and the screen.

The alley was blocked by an ugly wood fence. The other kid prodded the boards, but hadn’t gotten through. She searched among garbage bags and piles of rubbish, but couldn’t locate any sort of tool they might could lift. A ways back from the cluttered fenc huddled a banged up dumpster. She took the handle at the base, and cooed to the boy.

He picked up the theme fast and came loping over. With their combined might and some grunting, they managed to scoot the dumpster closer to the fence. Not by much, too much ruble and weight bore down on their puny vigor.

It was an easy matter afterwards to boost him onto the dumpster lid, and then clamber up herself, when he reached down to her. Now perched on the lid and following a brief recovery, the kid took a running leap and managed to land directly on the edge of the fence. She was a little impressed. With a misty huff and scuff of her footpad, she followed his example.

However, her heel missed the slot between the slates in the top, and she nearly went crashing backwards. If not for the other kid snaring her arm, he yanked her forward. Once situated proper, she glared at the kid. He didn’t look her way, but went on to drop down to the open sidewalk on the other side.

The two moved carefully through the clouded roads. The persistent lamps glowed through the thicket, flashing and humming with obnoxious intensity. The two strayed near discarded artifacts, such as grocery baskets or abused furniture – practically melting - or a chunk of building shed from above. It was dangerous to be out in this way, the fog was a challenge to navigate and anything could be lurking beyond the veil waiting. Most the sounds was stifled, the earthbound haze sheltered their passing. The world surrounding them was likewise, creepy with its smothered silence and ethereal dreamscape. Though, everywhere she went the cotton threaded scenery was always familiar, but never could she pinpoint when she chanced upon the ruins, let alone who she was with.

Unlike the rain, the fog soaked through the openings of her coat. This made water slid from her sleeves and the hood stick to her head. Her color was the one thing that made her special, since no one wanted to steal armor that was eye-catching and amazing, but also gave her an advantage against the rain.

The fog. Not so much. Humph.

Even water rushing through gutters and cracks in the road held a hushed croon. Despite how stale and numb the air was, a shirt whipped like a flag on the eave of a canopy above. In the alcove beneath the awning, bleached pages decorated the floor and plastered against the opaque windows.

Six cast her gaze around, while the other kid knelt at a glossy puddle and dipped his hands into the water. No shapes drifted at the fringes and no sounds made her alert. Calm for the moment, she examined the exuberant images outlined on the soaked poster cards. She almost thought the speek made... sense, but how or where it might could have, she didn’t know. The marks felt familiar, and if she watched them intently enough, the meaning would transfer over.

With a shake of her head, Six dismissed the idea. Dumb. The marks meant nothing. It was something adults shared – a secret speek full of junk.

She left the posters, and found a waterlogged cardboard box with a puddle gathered on the bent lid. That gave her a few swallows to cleanse the gooeyness of her throat.

The other kid already ventured back into the sidewalk, following close to the walls of the city blocks they passed. She fell in step a ways back, not fully devoted to pursuit. He and she didn’t acknowledge the other much, aside to check that the other was there. Both of them kept on alert, but they stayed outwardly tuned to the strange noises that came from nothing – something shuffling, a voice whimpering, a whistling that could’ve been a clever dash of wind.

Across the city, the stretched horizon groaned, affording them hint that storms would be returning. Soon the weary light dulled, and patches of gray swarmed among the tallest sentinels.

So many roads came apart, revealing caverns deep and dark. More often these gaping channels forced much backtracking and lost time (and energy), but other times, previous travelers left passage for newcomers. She and the other kid wandered a long the edge one way, then the other, until they found a bent series of wood planks lashed across the wide break. The bound wood creaked under their combined weight, but held firm without a shiver.

As she crossed, she extended her arms out. No idea why, it really didn’t help and she didn’t feel her balance waver. This ritual meant something

It always surprised her when Wisp – that is what he was – looked back at her, or she saw his face. She always expected to see someone else looking at her. The other boy, maybe. The one they no longer saw - got lost or ran away. It happened.

A thin mist began to fall. Not quite raining, but something like droplets beaded on her jacket hood. Wisp did pick up the pace and she hastened after the boy. The dull rattle of televisions cut through the faint sizzle, distorted but easily recognized against the crackle of the Viewers voices seared by transmission. Neither of the warnings was safer than the other, but noises offered an early detection, and patches of the thick vapor to avoid. So long as they were cautious and patient, the citizens never caught scent of their presence.

Before they got too drenched, Wisp took interest in some planks of wood layered and wedged atop stacked heaps of garbage. Six adjusted her hood, and then could spy the tatter of cloth flashing beneath an open window. It took work between them both pulling or pushing the other up the slanted planks, already slimy and impossible to get traction on at all. And much falling, for Wisp since he had darn rags tied on his feet. For a while they went no where, but no one was getting off the street since despite the window being on level with the stack, the window was not fully open.

Six discovered it was easy enough to grip the edge and scoot up sideways. Only if she didn’t lose her balance and flop over the side.

It took their combined effort to hoist the window up, then they could slide in. Once they cleared the windowsill and began wandering the halls, doing initial scans—

The window cracked shut!

Big deal. Six still tugged at the stiff sleeves of her coat, and glanced around the corridor. Some of the ceiling lights smoldered, not enough as far as she was concerned. It was quiet of terrible sounds, aside from the wind picking up at the glass barrier and struggling to snatch them back.

The other kid went on ahead. She didn’t know if he cared she followed, or if they went in the same direction and it was convenience they decided to help the other. She didn’t know the boy, and decided not to trust him long ago.

The ceiling and walls kept shape, the usual decay and wear of a dozen scuffed feet cleaved the floor clean of anything but splintered wood. The rain stayed out, fierce drafts carried down the stairways and cut through their drenched clothing. This might be a good area to nest. If there was any food. At every corner or doorway, the two paused and preened the shadows with their ears, they sniffed at the musty aged tinder. Under a book or beneath a pile of saw dust, a strange living thing scurried from the prospect of intruders - the way they did. Overall, nothing to maintain alert, no shuffling to drive them into hiding themselves.

Following up some extended scouting of the lower floors, they found a working lift that took them to an upper floor. But no higher. That was fine, they resumed exploring through the bent hall checking open doorways and keeping vigilant. It seemed….

Too quiet. Unnaturally so. That wasn’t… right.

How could that be a problem? Six wondered, as she and the Wisp slipped under the blotchy patterns of faithless light. If they’re careful and wary, nothing could surprise them. Even so, it was off. The rooms. Quiet. Empty. But not safe. Never safe. The vacancy melded an ominous threat of a past tragedy, which promised a violent replay.

A broken patch caving under their toes condemned their travel beneath floorboards, which still went somewhere. Maybe. Gaps dropped bars of light into the dust and ruble, defining bent barriers of wood and splinters. Climbing a series of slates jammed into the plaster backing of a wall, got them up a room or more, she lost track of how high they climbed. The crude ladder was not stable in its mount, and more than once Wisp nearly tumbled backwards into her.

This relentless exploring did deliver them to a room, leading into a corridor and an area of smaller rooms. They checked on two rooms that had windows, but Wisp didn’t seem impressed. With no input of her own, she'd leave it to the kid to figure where their maybe exit would be. The wild wind salivating at the broken boards and scowling wind did not make this prospect an eager one, but the weather was not likely to falter soon.

After exploring around on her own for a while, and having no success with food finding, Six did cross paths with the other kid, huddled behind a blanket garbed chair and gazing at the wall behind the shelter. The wood was scratched by child speek, all the lines looked very deep but had not faded.

Hmm. Was story? Mean how?

Of course, the ever-watching Eye. Some monsters with pointy teeth. A door. A child missing their head. Little creatures, they looked liked ants. Something that might’ve been a cage, or a box. A chair. The other speek might've been children, or dolls. A lot of it was hard to make out.

She glanced over at Wisp. The kid was rigid, eyes fixed on a speckle of disjointed and incomplete scratches. He held a bit of flint and was carving into a space of the wood, bits of dust crumbling away. The speek was something of a child, she thought, but she didn’t see what it was before he dug into the mark.

Though the rooms hadn’t been damaged to allow the new rain in, mildew and decay was thick. Anywhere inside would have been tolerable compared to the streets, the kid was riled about something. Six pretended not to notice, and kept her interest on searching for food things. She had almost nibbled through the rations that went jammed into her pockets earlier, and none of it was worth celebrating over – the scraps gone muddy from damp and them both climbing around.

No kid liked the kitchen. Sure, get excited and shiver about maybe a meal. A maybe meal. The kitchens with good foods had to have something hording food in the little rooms. That was her big worry.

With Wisp tailing her wistfully, they chanced upon that one most dangerous, but most important room. The dwelling appeared all hollowed and abandoned, stank of the waterlogged wood – all the same, the kitchen didn’t give all answers away with a glimpse. They first made certain no hidden doors or alcoves hid in the gloomy corners, where things not quite dead lay in dead-sleep for the off chance victim.

The kitchen retained gaunt appearance, mimicking the other rooms they both plodded through. Wisp went first, and Six followed. Cupboard doors and cabinets high above (the few remaining) hung open; the floor harbored the shedding of a dozen bags or boxes, all shredded. A whole pack must have plundered the rations.

The other kid pulled a skinned box from the floor of a cupboard and shook it. A couple of insects flung to the floor, but nothing to get excited about. Mites or something.

She tipped her head back and skimmed over the shelter of doors above. Was worth effort? She pointed, and watched as Wisp trailed her arrow aim.

Wisp shook his head. With a stern lock of his shoulders, he snapped around and marched from the chamber.

Six didn’t want to just leave. But casting her gaze across the discarded containers, it was despairing. The time they might spend scaling high, only to find more starved cabinets, that time could be put into finding another place. Or catching something better.

Stuff like time and energy was a luxury children didn’t have. Every decision had weight, every error added up. No do overs.

It was easier to follow the boy and watch his every move. Especially in the halls and endless rooms when all looked the same, but that didn’t bother Wisp. She only felt assured when they managed to find a stairway or a built ladder to climb up for the higher floors, where she could detach for a while and maybe have a chance to find something left out. Sometimes in a room with a television, a plate would be abandoned with food crusted on. Televisions would never stop being danger, for more reasons than just the Viewers flocking from everywhere. But no creatures, no food things. That was the harsh nature of surviving.

This building… didn’t have Viewers lurking, but more important no televisions. It was still possible to stumble upon good scraps left out in a random room, usually stale and in questionable shape. Food was still food, and going without something would bring pain and more danger. She aimed to be the first to get a mouthful. But careful first. The absence of danger was a threat all of its own.

“Hoo.”

Six hurried to the end of the corridor, where the other kid waited. He kept his gaze around the edge, but when she closed in the kid inched beyond the side and shuffled toward a pile of garbage. Once they felt that the open hall was bare of life and the silence genuine, he and she padded by the shut doors at a swifter pace. They paid close attention to the entries that gaped open, or doors left ajar that they could maybe squeeze into.

Most of the doorways didn’t go much of anywhere. A hall, a few rooms, and furniture to hide around or under. The two only resorted to hide places when they got spooked or overwhelmed by the uncanny stillness festering in the crooning shadows. Sometimes, nothing lay behind the door but a deep pit, swirling with mist and groaning.

Other hazards lurked in the corridors, aside from wandering creatures seeking aimless scavengers. The walls bawled, agonizing against the blistering gales pummeling without relent. Someday, they promised. Perhaps… today? Or not. Who really knows when? All sentinels must fall, all dangers must cave.

While rushing through a corridor, the plaster and wood plunged from the ceiling. Ruble and grit pummeled their heels as the two raced neck and neck – vaulting over broken furniture, a wide break in the floor. Though fortunately, only a patch collapsed and the walls encasing their escape held firm, imparting a husky weep of the trauma endured. The floor still shivered and graveled wails vibrated through the core of everything of this precarious world. Safety was unreliable and fragile.

Six still ran, even after tremors faded and the dust simmered into a watery vapor. She couldn’t stop. The walls folded inward, the floor disintegrated. Everything was coming undone, she lost her balance. He leapt away while she fell! They were—

“Oi. Oi!” the raspy voice choked.

Her arm snagged, and she whipped and bucked at the branch cutting at her skin. The longer she fought, the more ferocious she became with kicking and stifled snarling. She was on the verge of fighting, when the light from above flickered the way bulbs glistened during intense storms. She froze, gawking eye-to-eye with a kid.

Wisp glared at her, one fist tangled with her shoulder and the other hand tethered to her wrist. He held on for dear life, face cracked into scowls. He didn’t loosen his grip or his knotted face, not until she relaxed. Then his face and his entire body uncoiled. Only a slight bit.

“Shh,” he hissed.

She shoved him away. No noise. Quiet. The kid was making more whimpering. She didn’t whimper!

The other kid held her with a glare for longer still, shoulders tight. He was always like this. As if she hadn’t been wandering these roads for… however long since she woke up. She didn’t know since how long that was. It was after they lost the other kid.

Six turned her gaze up, tugging on the hood of her jacket to gather in the boundaries of the area they stumbled into.

High above a bulb swung from a dangling cable, off center of the ceiling. Water dripped from somewhere above, but not drenching the floor. From the heights overhead extended the bent and twisted stairway, and that looked solid from where she stood. It had to be. Some sort of adult in a stiff coat dangled in the weirdest pose she’d ever seen a creature hang in; the body tangled entirely, one arm pinned to its backside, while the other long dangling arm rotated independent of the socket and body.

It was all broken, and moths or other insects fluttered around the corpse. The cord snickered with each miniscule retch of the corpses movement. It would be interesting if the tether snapped and the boney sack collided with the floor. It would be best not to wait for another collapse.

Wisp was already on his way up the steps, going at it on his hands and feet like some creature. It looked fun. Easier than hiking up.

The kid was watching as she came galloping up. She wasn’t as graceful as him, but the contrast of light and shadowed pool of her hood made it impossible to pick out the shameless smirk. The kid turned and went on, and she in turn trailed – padding into another enclosed corridor, cluttered with plaster and timber from furniture.

It wasn’t like she went with him out of the necessity of it. Finding pathways that seemed safe enough, if not at all traversable, was an ongoing struggle. She and the kid had the same goals – not die and not get mangled. Where go? What seek?

Foods and shelter. Big goals. Impossible.

While the kid poked around at some large boxes, she curled up by a wall and had a rest. And poke at her thoughts. There was another-other kid, right? They had pack, her, him, and… Him? Most frustrating, she didn’t recall a face. But smell. She remembered smell better. Faces were so forgettable. She’d seen so many, all of them gone. Faces always went away. The other Him had been persistent in her dreams, stuck to her cloths but hard to see all the same.

Broken light bulbs and ovens. That’s what it made her think of. Most kids stank of cage grunge and filth. The other one was different.

With a rasp, she picked her head up and glanced the room. No noises alerted her to danger, the lone bulb on a corner desk shed enough light without giving smaller shapes away. It was a damp hum of clarity, still, her dusty eyes scratched at the harsh intensity.

To her side, the other kid shifted in his sleep. It must’ve been him. The kid winced and mewled, either trapped in a nightmare or struggling through the dream haunts. She gave his shoulder a firm kick and uncoiled.

He sprang awake a lay like a carved out crab, eyes wild.

Six paid his recovery no mind, instead rising up and dusting out her jacket. Need she remind him, no food was found as of yet? She gestured to him and began walking.

The story was the same with most of the dwelling full of the small rooms. It should have been anticipated, since where the Viewers didn’t crowd to, then no food. No televisions, no Viewers. Stupid monsters. They probably fell out of the windows before reaching this high. No safety was worth the clawing tummy. This was dumb.

In one of the corridors, Wisp and her sat to scratch out a strategy on a wall. He was like her, did picture speek but didn’t make much noise. He craved into the soft plaster what she already knew – television and the Viewers. No food. A window. Duh.

His arm was shaking when he polished off the window speek. The one thing they managed to find didn’t count as food, Viewers didn’t eat birds. Something was hanging around at one point, but they hadn’t found any fresh kills, and better yet, heard nothing to make fear in them. That meant whatever it was had either left or died, but it hadn’t eaten up what it killed. So… it wasn’t big? It made her feel better to not think of it lurking and hunting.

The two took another elevator, which only went up a few floors. When the gate didn’t open upon reaching the lifts final resting place, Wisp had to figure out a way out of the cage by jiggling the lever. She had to help, since the lever was too high to reach alone, and it made more sense for him to hold on while she jumped up to grab and pull at his ankles. The lift was jammed, where it wouldnever go back down all the way. They would be stuck.

If she hadn’t managed to get the door unjammed. Wisp helped a little.

Part of the lifts issues might be on account part of the floor and wall, and some of the buildings side was missing. They both raced to the corridor end and inspected the damage, finding much of the wall caved out and draped across a rooftop further below.

Before she really mapped out what looked safe, Wisp was already stumbling down the rocky slope. Shrugging, she went ahead and followed. If something happened, Wisp would be the first to know.

The hard gale thrashed against her hood, and the cold pellets coated everything in white beads. Clouds choked out whatever light might brave the heavy cover, but the vibrating water gleamed against the cleaved flesh of the building.

Six turned her gaze up, examining the remaining ruins of the skyrise. Beneath the boiling mist, the moth of clothing spiraled downward. The terrible roar of a crumbling stone bellowed upward, seeming to come from all directions. Giving herself a shake, she hurried across the blocky slabs and made the roundabout of unsteady debris in order to reach the roof edge slanting beneath.

Before joining Wisp on the stable surface, she paused and checked over the side of the roofs edge. She thought it was more clothing, in a way it was. It might’ve been a hat or a the mask some creature lost.

In the near center of the roof, a hut with an open door creaked against the intense weather. Long ago the hinges ground away, but most of the panel lay pinned by the entrance. The stairway into the entry sighed stale, dank air. She hurried after Wisp when he took the first few steps, sniffling as he went. At their backs the clogged radiance snuffed out, the whining door haunted each tentative step.

The stairway went downward, until the steps broke apart leaving them with no assured route. If not for discarded clothing, a shirt tangled on the jagged wood of the shredded banister. Wisp saw the route, and took the climb first.

When Six let herself down, the threadbare cloth ripped before she could brace herself for the drop. Wisp tried to dive aside, but she landed on top of him anyway.

The two lay in pain, listening for the creaking walls and the assured clamor of something large barreling for the clatter of bones. Nothing came. Nothing sought… for now.

Assured nothing was on the verge of rushing upon the slightest shuffle, she and the other kid collected themselves. They landed on the flattened ruins of the stairway, its creaking complaints still echoed against the walls. Some shrewd radiance swelled from somewhere distant, and they could navigate the serrated fencing bent around them. Only enough walls stood to corral them, to trap, but they had a place for their feet.

She crawled after the kid under a mesh of bent wood and cloth, spare light glittered in among rasps of drifting dust. Only one safe path was open for exploration, but neither would complain. The constrained tunnel bent downward, and she suspected by the loss of actual floor slates, the floors collapsed and twisted into something.

When Wisp stalled at a difficult twist, she tugged on his ankle. Turn back?

The kid tugged his leg away and squeezed through the gap, pretty much on his tummy and almost upside down. He got stuck, and she went ahead and twisted his body to the... left, or was it right? Righty-tighty? Lefty—

With a grunt, the kid popped loose. Six followed, only on account she forgot to release his leg. They went rolling down a slope of plaster wall, until the floor leveled out.

As ever Wisp was on his feet, sharp and listening to the stale air. He lunged for the nearest dark patch beside a crate and huddled down. She followed, patches of moldy carpet dampened their frantic steps.

The corridor went one way, but the way they came from was clogged entirely by the collapsed ceiling. Surprise-surprise. Bulbs trapped by ruble smoldered, but along the floor glittered the bits of glass from the wilted ones. Even with his feet bound up, Wisp was cautious about getting close to the shimmery pieces.

That kid was weird like that. The other weird thing, he had a hard time eating some foods. She wasn’t sure which foods, he was picky at times for no good reason. Difficult kids didn’t last long. He was a prissy boy.

No televisions. Not a good sign, but they weren’t really expecting much going through the rooms. This was dumb. The only consolation was they were going down, and the walls didn’t shatter around them. Sometimes a lift shaft was open, and they could leap down and reach a vent or something. Other times, their path was as easy as finding a crummy ladder built into the inner wall, or slates which let them scale to the next floor below.

Some floors kept their secrets, and would not let them find a way out. Six and the kid had chittering arguments and angry scratch speek on the floors, about where to go or what to do. When was the last time she ate?

One difficult floor at last imparted its secrets – they could jump on a brittle patch of floor next to a wall, which plunged them into an tight space beneath the ruptured boards. Crawling through the must of insect husks and grime, they used their combined strength (waning in all this wandering and nothing found) to shove through a rusted vent flue.

The whole thing shattered into dust and the two dropped, to who knows where. She’s certain Wisp made a cry, but in all the confusion and crumbling she couldn’t be sure. The noise got cut off when they smashed into a soft ground, which was pretty miraculous. What were the odds! She wasn’t prepared for crashing to a hard floor, or whatever else the ground could be made up of – jagged cement, spears of rebar, punishing glass.

Nope! Hit a moldering soft thing.

Wisp shot up and gave the scenery a brief skim. He snorted at and shook splinters from his tattered hood – it didn’t offer him any protection from anything.

Slower but all the same woven to the surroundings, Six pushed herself off the cushion and gathered in the room. Foremost, she singled out the doorway, and where they should be wary. Next, where to hide if something came through that gaping entry – they had a second corridor to rush for. A table sat to the side, but wouldn’t offer much cover if something tore the room apart. A tall dresser might be worthwhile, it was impressive with height and looked climbable.

She winced when Wisp gave a hiss and dove to the floor. When she gathered what gave him such excitement, Six joined without hesitation.

Foods! Boxes and packages scattered around a stack of books! Wisp was savaging a box, nearly ripping free its precious contents without regard. She wasn’t much far off, barely getting her fingers out of the way before burying her teeth into the soft mush stuff. It tasted horrible, but that was edible. And she was inhaling every crumb.

Throughout the process of their feeding frenzy, she and the kid glanced between the two entries. The anticipation of something tearing in burned in their collected brains, given the too fortunate treasure of their discovery.

This was very likely a trap. Thus far, no noise or gruff choking indicated warning. They kept on alert and waited. They wouldn’t get much further without eating. In short, the ferocious gnashing and angry snarls diminished by leagues, and they could nibble at a semi-not-desperate pace. Despite awful flavor, they were happy to have cheek-fulls of whatever.

Wisp didn’t have endurance for scarfing. He pushed aside a box he was gnawing on and shuffled to his feet. The recliner chair held his attention for awhile, and a glint of light hit his eye, enough for Six to see his expression was anything but placid. Without a sound, the kid scurried to the furthest wall and huddled down. For rest.

More for her.

She shook the metal flint off a package and went to work on the plastic, nearly choking in the process of going at it before peeling away all the coating. While the kid was off, she let her eyes rove over the drab scenery. Foods made everything, it wouldn’t last but for awhile her main goal was achieved. And when danger came rooting for children, she’d have the energy to run and jump and dodge and slide. Flee. Flee was the only way to survive.

It was better to run. Bad happened when kids couldn’t do that. Tired, sick, nutty, sad, hurt. It all ended kids. But flee and hide never failed.

Never.

She sat among the wrappers and all the work she did, confused. Why food but not trap? It was more than a pack worth. Unless danger, no pack abandon. And the dumb toys.

Most of it was soft things, of bizarre creatures with no real names. She reached over and tugged a floppy, plump limbed animal and looked it over. It didn’t have eyes. At one time, maybe, but not anymore. It was so ratty and broken, she couldn’t decide if the eyes came off on their own….

Something about the room was… off. Like this place, and how everything was terrible. She couldn’t place why or specifically, what could make her feel that way. The trap?

She stood and dusted the flakes of debris off her jacket and crept to the entry. On her way through the one doorway, she glanced to the other kid. He hadn’t budged, his legs drawn up and his arms knotted tight over his shins. She wouldn’t go far.

The corridor beyond the room was nothing noteworthy, offering the same depressing glow of paint, and the cracked, flaking walls. She got a close focus of the patchy fabric crushed into threads, the small crawly things scattering at her silent steps.

Nothing stood out to her. The dwelling just creeped on her skin for no reason, aside from having a stash of foods all for the take. For who? And to why? The more she thought of it, the bigger her unease grew. It was like waking up all over again and something was… wrong.

She passed a small bathroom, not bothering with a search. A door was shut, but she wasn’t interested in finding a way in. Not yet. The next room across the way from where she left the other kid, was more interesting. She traced along the wall as per routine, checking the furniture for hide places. Behind a fallen chair, more child speek. A story? More gibberish? Children did speek for warning and danger.

The only speek she ever saw was the time that never stopped, and the watching Tower.

She crouched beside the wall and touched the vague carving. Many of the lines had no sort of meaning, maybe it wasn’t speek. It was frustrated like chewing. The chair made another appearance. A large and lumpy creature grabbed children, one body in its large burly hand was only half-a-child. The lines on its face must’ve been juices or whatever came out of children. A sideways door on a line. A bird. Ladder….

Hmm.

The sharp piece of flint had a feel to it, of being held and used for a long time. It was a favorite tool, but forgotten. Discarded…..

She experimented with carving lines into the wall, beside the other kids speek. The lines meant nothing, she just wanted to see how hard it was to make the mark so deep. Some speek began to form.

“Climb.” She tilted her head against the inner wall of her hood. “Fall.”

Those sounds. The hissing and humming, but not like sing. “S’together. Make friends. To safe….” Another patch of scratching and chitters. It was a strange speek, but she managed to imitate the noises. And sometimes, while they huddled together, he leaned beside her shoulder.

“What make name?”

She tightened her eyes shut against the hard glare of the light. That terrible noise blistered her ears, curdling all other echoes and warbles of the room. Her movement ground to a halt as she climbed through the air, clawing at the worn carpet sticking to her sleeves and knees. Strength abandoned her, as did the… other.

Wedged in between the wall and couch, a crinkled bag and arm surfaced from the dark pool. But the hand grasped the corner of the bag, and the body sagged to the floor. Whatever is happening swirled behind the cutting knife digging into her thoughts, vague shapes and the screaming crackle punctured her movement. Her nails ripped through the fibers beneath her. The coffee table bent sideways, and something horrible blotted out the dying light drenching her coat.

With a choked snort she repelled backwards from the wall and lay on her back, vision muddled and ceiling whirling. Thoughts hitched and burbled in her head, the light a somber gleam but blazing with a cruelty that soured everything in the back of her throat. She thought she had to be sick, her gut ached. Everything in her ached.

The space of the wall where she did speek, nothing was there. Not a picture but a messy, deep gouge. It tore out snippets of the other speek.

Working through the numbness, she managed to sit up and hunch forward. The quiet was soothing, the room felt… calm. Empty.

Abandoned.

She picked herself up and walked around the room a bit more, pulling some sensation back into her shaky legs. On the other side of the room lay a partially collapsed cabinet, the small drawer slots rested in splinters. She picked up one of the feathers scattered by a cubby and twirled it between her palms. Poking out of a space of the cabinet sat some clothing, and another of the stupid animal toys. If she thought back, the ones from the other room were missing eyes too. That was… spooky.

Feeling uneasy annoyed, Six left the room and went back to where she left the other kid. For whatever reason, she couldn’t focus on the corridor or the walls, or the shadows and the sounds. Her head buzzed with a phantom tenderness that only not thinking could ease.

WrongWrongWrongWrongWrong. Everything was wrong. She shouldn’t be here… not this place or its rooms, but… she couldn’t put into think for reasons or why. This wasn’t where she was meant to be.

When she came near the entry of the room, she jarred to a stop and glared.

That! YOU! She pulled her arms close to her chest and gave her most savage glare.

Impossibly, the scratchy and distorted shadow that was nothing of a shadow. Silent and mysterious in all its appearances, it stood observing her. Was it even aware? What made it? Nothing of questions or ponderings brought her closer to its purpose, of for reason of being. It followed, a disconnected memory of… someone.

Empty.

She held its void glower, challenging with a mental snarl. Six meant to go ahead forward and confront it proper, but she couldn’t move. She wasn’t scared! Nothing frightened her! She was tough, and smart! Definitely smarter than some dumb shade! She did allow a gravely hiss, only to get her point across.

None of her affront put off the shadow. It couldn’t feel, it was uncaring. The murky silhouette simply was. And as suddenly as it appeared to visit, it was gone – dissolved into black threads, as always and as before, as if it never were. She knew this wasn’t the end, as it was not the first appearance it had made since she saw it... in That place. It wanted something. Demanded her to understand an unspoken caution. Somehow, without expressing any sort of awareness, she knew it was wholly thinking in some way. But not in a way that would make sense. Nothing in this world made sense.

It was unforgiving, relentless, and stupid, but she didn’t care. She had a lovely raincoat, and that was all she really needed.

Still, she felt all of this... was a misplaced world from a distant dream. She belonged elsewhere.

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