Next Up

Track 18

Marcello turned the corner to walk down the hallway. "What are you doing?" He asked skeptically. "Are the rooms empty?"

Zoe looked at him with wide eyes. Her back was pressed tightly to the wall as if she were trying to shimmy along a cliff's edge. The sound of rustling cards filled the hallway as she frantically shuffled them in her hands. "I, uh," she stammered, her eyes falling to his feet.

He walked down the hall toward her, several kittens following him. "What's going on?"

"There's some naked person in the bathroom," she mumbled.

"Is it the guy?" He asked quickly.

Zoe shook her head. "I've never seen her before. She was just there..."

Marcello cocked his head to the side, a slightly amused expression on his face. He walked past her into the bedroom, making a B-Line toward the bathroom. He stuck his head through the door.

"So it would seem," he said, looking the woman up and down. He was about to open his mouth to say something but quickly closed it. He walked back into the bedroom, seeing Zoe crouched behind the bed, using it as a shield, just in case. Only the top of her head and eyes were visible from the bathroom doorway. An evening orange aura glowed around the cards in her hand, as she held them, ready to throw them or defend at a moment's notice. "Hey, Zoe," he started. "I think you should talk to her."

"What?" Zoe asked incredulously. "I don't want to talk to her. Why do you want me to talk to her?"

"You're both women. Maybe you ask if she's seen the guy. It's like when police use a female cop to ask questions to women since they'll subconsciously trust her more."

Zoe stared at him like he had grown another head.

"Okay," She said, slinking from behind the bed to the bathroom door. Forcing a smile, "Hey," Zoe said in the Apris language. The woman perked up, making eye contact with Zoe as she entered the bathroom. "Well, so, uh..." she gulped, feeling a bead of sweat run down her forehead. "Okay, so, I'm Zoe and this is..." she turned, but Marcello didn't follow her into the room. "I'm Zoe, and well, I'd like to ask you something. There's this guy we're looking for. If I were to guess, he'd be a foot taller than I. Muscular black man with lots of tattoos. Early to mid-twenties, and..." she trailed off, seeing the woman raise herself, get to her feet, and step out of the bathtub. Her wet feet slapped the tile as she walked toward the stunned Zoe. She was tall and thin, her ribs protruding through her skin.

She mumbled. She stood less than a foot away from Zoe, their eyes on an equal level.

"Don't touch me!" Zoe shoved her away, stepping back slowly, her hands stiff and by her sides. She shook slightly as she moved back from the woman's attempted embrace.

"What is with her?" Marcello stepped into the bathroom and glanced from Zoe back to the woman who stood in the middle of the bathroom. She had no reaction to what had just happened. It was as if she were now a mannequin, cold and unmoving. Staring with glassy, unblinking eyes.

Zoe went to leave, but the entire bedroom was now filled with cats. Laying on the bed, sitting on the windowsill, and pacing around the floor, their eyes were like gaping golden voids, boring holes into her. "What is going on?"

Marcello looked to see what she was talking about, 'When did all those cats follow me? There was only a few just seconds ago. What IS going on here? It's clear now that the guy isn't in the home, but there's only one door in or out, as far as I'm aware. He's either hiding, or there's possibly a secret door.' He looked up, seeing the naked woman staring at him.

The naked woman spoke, "Are...Are you here to take them away? I love them, ya know? There's always enough food and water around. I take good care of em' I promise!"