I followed that path for a long time. Once again, I’m not
sure how long, and it doesn’t really matter anyway. That stupid anonymous
commenter was right. I found the answers I was looking for. Unfortunately, they
weren’t the answers I wanted.
The path led me through all sorts of places, too many and
too fantastic for me to describe here. At the end I entered darkness. That same
darkness from before. It sent shivers down my spine and put my hairs on end,
but I pushed forward anyway. It made me think I was close.
I walked out into a white room. It was about the size of a
closet when I first stepped in, but it immediately started growing, expanding
outward until I couldn’t see the walls anymore. It remained well lit and white,
however.
The ground twisted up and took the shape of Nessa. She
smiled at me. “It’s been a while, [Silent]. I never got to thank you for the
physics lessons.”
I was on edge. I didn’t know how to reply, so I didn’t. Her
smile turned into a frown, and another figure twisted out of the ground. One
body, split down the middle. One half was Niel, the other was Marianne. “Hello,
[Silent],” they said in unison, “Thank you for bringing us together again.”
Again, I didn’t reply. After a moment, the floor formed a
third figure. It was Tallie. She didn’t say anything, she just smiled.
Nessa stepped forward. Her feet were still attached to the
floor, and it pulled around her feet like stretched bubble gum. “Why didn’t you
tell me what was wrong with me?” she asked, “Why didn’t you notice my murderer?
Why did you let me die?”
I remained silent. I was tired of those questions. They didn’t
have any effect on me anymore. Nessa’s face twisted into a scowl, and I watched
as her face caved in a sudden shower of blood. Her body collapsed to the floor
and melted into white.
Marianne/Niel stepped up next. “You let me disappear. You
forgot me. You never even gave me a chance.”
I still had yet to say a word. I was getting tired of this
obvious charade. I get it. I’m full of guilt and angst and shit from all the
people I couldn’t save. When I didn’t reply, MariNiel turned grey and faded
into white dust.
Tallie didn’t step forward. Instead, she turned and ran. It
was weird, the way the floor stuck to her feet and pulled itself up in strings.
I followed her. As I ran, the white room darkened. The floor started to crack
and flake and ooze some black, oily substance. It was hard to keep my balance,
but I had to keep Tallie in sight. She finally stopped at a door. It was
covered in rotting white paint, the walls around it had exposed brick in some
areas. The black ooze dripped down the walls and coated the floor completely.
Tallie turned to me with a smile in her eyes. “You couldn’t
have saved me if you tried.”
And then she disappeared in a splash of black ick.
