The Concession

Chapter Eighteen

An hour later, the rain stopped and Will was still hungry. He'd had nothing to eat since he'd gotten there. His stomach rumbled. Fil noticed.

"Get up." He picked Will up from the ground and he wobbled. He could barely stand on his own two feet.

"I have something for you."

Fil snapped his fingers and in a split second the entire atmosphere changed and they appeared somewhere else. And their clothes became dry.

William briefly took a look around him.

It was still a section of the void but the ground had gravel here instead of sand.

It was like a town.

The town wasn't too big and it was stationed in the middle of nowhere.

Music was playing loud and people seemed to be enjoying themselves.

And although it was cause for a shock, William could only stare absentmindedly.

He didn't question how a town had suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the first place even though he thought he and Fil had been the only ones in the void for days, he didn't question how the music seemed to call him and wipe all thoughts away from his mind.

The closer they got to the town the vaguer his mind became.

He just wanted to forget about everything, about Hope.

They got to the nearest house and a group of women came out of it to welcome them.

"Give him food to eat." William heard Fil say to the woman closest to them.

She had long red hair and was dressed in a robe of some sort. She also had makeup on and so did the rest of the women.

"Yes, master." The woman bowed. She eyed William subtly and immediately took a liking to him.

They were all beautiful ampul women. They ushered William in.

"Aren't you coming?"

Fil shook his head.

"There's somewhere I need to be."

"You're going to the living world again, aren't you?" Will turned and asked.

One of the woman's hands was on his chest. He was becoming even more disoriented.

"Take me with you, I want to see her," William said and for a moment the haze that had covered his eyes cleared up again.

Fill nodded to one of the women who bowed in response.

She pulled William back and began whispering sweet nothings into his ears. It was soothing and it made him feel light.

Her voice was sweet and he leaned more into her.

Fil turned around and started walking away.

"Eat." was the last thing Fil said before the door closed in front of him.

{¶{¶{¶{¶{¶}

The wind was calming but it did nothing to alleviate the heaviness in Hope's chest. The night was quiet and dark.

"Do you think we did the right thing?" Hope whispered.

Mary sighed. She turned.

They were both sharing her apartment in the meantime. Mary had been told to keep an eye on her for now. Seth had requested it.

"What do you think?" Mary retorted.

Hope was sitting by the window and just stared out into the night.