The Empty World | The Empty World Sequence [complete | rewriting]

"Twenty-Nine" (Draft 2)

"Who's been in the hall recently?"

Morpheus let his vision open across time. The sight was as natural to him as being able to fly across time, but he wasn't a full Angel and so as flights sometimes made him dizzy or nauseous the vision sometimes confused him, and so he usually blocked out all but the present. Near him in the hall he saw Daniel and Karen, and Bastian all looking as if on a television screen with bad reception, their own ghosts standing behind them. He saw Julien walking up the stairs and in several other rooms, but he looked a ghost completely. He saw Anne walking up the steps, and Shade standing on the floor above looking down over the rail into the hall. He saw another Anne in the hall.

"There's been a strong ripple here. Shade has been here a long time, Julien has been here but did not see him. The kids have been in, they look strange to me, as if they are in two places at one. Anne has seen Julien, but she has also seen Shade."

"Laughter, I wonder whose cloves you smell."

Morpheus took a deep breath. "Shade smokes Sampoernas and Julien smokes Darjums, I think it must be Shade. If I was smelling Julien there'd be a distinct scent of Eternity...he always reeks of it."

"Let's go upstairs," Opium whispered.

They climbed the stairs slowly. Morpheus knew from watching that somewhere to the right was Andrew's infamous library, and somewhere to the left was his bedroom, but there were many rooms. He saw ghosts of Julien and Anne in the hall, together. He saw very clear past figures of Shade and Anne.

He walked all the way down the hall to Andrew's bedroom but it was empty but for ghosts, looking back over a longer time Morpheus could see Julien and Andrew laying on the rug before the fireplace together. He could see Andrew stumbling about in a bloody shirt with Angel running after him. He could see Bastian on Andrew's bed at many times. There were so many Andrews that Morpheus felt dizzy looking into the room. He turned away.

Opium was standing still in the hall, one finger raised to her lips, one on the other hand pointing to the floor. The light was coming from under the door she stood near. Morpheus stepped closer, quietly. He really shouldn't have missed that clue. "Anne and Shade," he whispered.

"If it's Shade he'll hear you," Opium said.

Morpheus listened close, low voices and moans. And when he tried to take the images from them he couldn't. "Anne knows how to block?" he asked softly.

"Yes, Joy taught her and Daniel a few tricks. Daniel's a small talent, actually, he senses things when he meets people, or comes into new places."

"We can't stand and wait, we need to talk to them. I'll never be able to get anything from them as long as they block, and you need to be able to get a good long look at anyone to be able to steal their secrets."

"You want me to walk in on them?"

"You did it to me and Julien with no problem, anyway, Shade won't be mad, he's admitted to being quite the voyeur himself."

"But Anne's human. And I hardly know her."

"I'll do it," Morpheus said, "Oh! If we stand here arguing about it Shade will just open the door."

"OK, knock for me then," Opium said, her arms appearing to cross at her chest.

Morpheus knocked on the door twice, pretty loudly. Then Morpheus opened the door for Opium and she walked inside the room. He heard Shade saying hello to Opium, sort of laughing. And then Anne asking in a loud excited voice if Opium had seen any others. "Don't worry, we'll talk, let me bring Morpheus in here," Opium said.