A small man stood in front of Pip. Dressed head to toe in black, Pip could not see the figure’s face. A horrific mask hid it underneath a pointed hood. Pip Rickett felt as though he looked at Mister Punch centuries after he had died. Skeletal features were exaggerated. Perfect white teeth were exposed in a crescent. The manic grin was petrified between a large hooked nose and pointed chin. Cheeks rounded the bottom of black eye holes which added a certain charm to this otherwise grotesque face. The late Mister Punch shook his head
“Pip!” A young voice called out. The word pulled Pip back to reality. Pip Rickett was suddenly reminded of where he stood. The crowd was dense. He caught a glimpse of shaggy blonde hair when Alex grabbed his uncle’s shoulder, “I wasn’t sure if I’d find you."
“Well you did,” Pip answered. He turned back to find the masked figure but could not see him. There were too many people. The large man searched his immediate area. There was just a mass of souls. Most looked lost as they walked nowhere in particular. Some stood still. Other, less concerned faces shouted out words of support and help. He straightened his back to enforce his control of the situation. “Here I am.” The men studied each other for a moment.
“You look--” Alex began. A large woman cut off the sentence as she barged into him.
Pip ignored the comment. He needed to make sense of where he was. This place was unfamiliar. While it felt like an open market, this was not Africa. There was no sunshine, no breeze. Just a stifling sensation created by too much humanity. The worst part was that Pip had forgotten why they were there. Or even how they came to be there. The only thing Pip Rickett could be certain of at that time was that it was real. He had never been so aware of his existence. He felt fresh. His skin felt so clean that it gently tickled. It was an unusual but natural sensation.
A short distance away Pip saw a white statue. It depicted a partially dressed man. On his head was a winged helmet and he gripped some sort of stick in his hand. Pip felt a hand grab his own. He turned to find its source with natural terror. Then he remembered. It was the woman with purple hair. Her brown eyes smiled at him from between two bodies.
“Let’s get out of here,” Pip shouted to Alex, “To a quieter place. We need to get things straight.”
“Too right,” Alex agreed.
Pip turned away from his nephew and said something to a small woman with purple hair in front of him. When he started to walk, Alex followed. He had been under Pip Rickett's care for the last seventeen years. During that time he had learned to obey his uncle and listen to every word he said. More often than not, his life would depend on it. That moment was no exception. While he had no idea who the short woman was, if Pip trusted her then Alex had no reason not to.
Away from the crowd that gathered by the statue Alex kept up with Pip as best he could. The square did not get any quieter as they crossed it. Small groups of lost looking individuals followed one or two guides like tourists in an unknown city. Trains of people crossed Alex's path but he managed to weave in and around them to keep his pace. It was one group who stopped completely that caused Alex to panic.
Although he would never say it, Alex was scared. He did not want to be separated from his uncle in this place again. When Pip had disappeared earlier Alex had felt alone. He felt vulnerable. This was not a place he recognised. He did not know his away around these streets. Fear bubbled inside his gut but he did not know how to deal with it. His uncle had always taught him to face his fear, to turn that feeling into adrenaline and use it. Lions and rhinos could smell fear. They would use it against him if he did not have control of it. But there were no wild animals around here. None that he was used to anyway. Alex saw three bull in the archway of a building. Except they couldn't have been cattle because they stood on two legs like men. Two of them walked away. Alex was scared.
A strong hand grabbed his shoulder. Alex did not realise that he had slowed his walk to look at the bull-headed men. The strong grip made him jump. It was something that he had not done since he was a child. Panic soon made way to embarrassment when Alex realised that the hand belonged to his uncle. Pip Rickett had always been a stern man. His steely blue eyes sat in the middle of his bald head which was softened by a bushy orange moustache.
“Keep up,” Pip ordered and dragged his nephew closer.
Soon they arrived at a place that resembled a drinking den. The building looked as though it was about to fall over. It was supported on the outside by a selection of poles. These supports were buried into the middle of the path. Dents and torn out chunks in the poles suggested that they could have been made more visible to the people who passed by. Alex took a couple of steps back into the narrow street and looked up at the place.
A second, sturdier looking structure had been built on the roof of the tavern. It had small turrets and a strong balcony that supported a series of ropes and planks which formed a bridge. Alex followed the airborne walkway from this newer looking building to its ancient neighbour across the street. From that building were more bridges which reached out in all directions to create some sort of public walkway. Alex drew his attention back to the tavern in front of him. A sign swung above the doorway. It depicted a pack of evil dogs. The words “The Three Heads” had faded underneath.
“Alex,” Pip Rickett called out with a wave of his hand.
Alex noticed the short older woman with long purple hair peer from behind his uncle. She tugged at Pip’s brown shirt and stepped into the darkness. Pip shot a look at Alex which reminded him of his childhood. When Pip looked at him like that, Alex knew that there was no time to mess around. A few choice words and a raised hand would often reinforce the glance. Alex tried to see past his uncle's large frame. There was nothing he could really distinguish other than shadows. Beyond the darkness inside Alex could hear the general hubbub of a bar. Like everywhere else in this odd city, it was busy.
Warmth built up from the bottom of Alex's back. He suddenly felt uneasy. There was something about the establishment that he could not trust. It could have been because the building looked as though it was about to fall down or because he could not really see inside it. Or it could have been the sinister nature of the dogs on the sign.
Insufficiency grew in Alex. He felt depressed. This was entirely his fault, but he could not place what ‘this’ was exactly. He had somehow brought his uncle to a strange place. He felt as though he owed Pip something, but nothing would be enough. Alex felt worthless. The least he could do for his uncle was buy him a drink as an apology. He took a deep breath and passed the doorframe. There was no door.
A tiny creature with goat legs, bat wings and a pig face felt let down. It had been staring at the young human outside the tavern for some time. The superbia knew that it was a far superior creature than that young human yet the human did not seem to notice. The creature was superior than most creatures in Necropolis, even better than any of its own species, although most of them were very admirable. Later, it decided, it would find a reflective surface and admire its own beauty and perfection. The superbia soon forgot its plans when it saw another lowly human walk down the street. The demon knew for certain that it was better than this one. It stared at the elderly man knowing just how superior it was. The elderly man suddenly felt insufficient.
Alex weaved his way through the revellers in the tavern. It was quite dark inside. Candles spewed out of bottles on each table and chandeliers fell from the ceiling supported by ropes and levers. Most of the light however was blocked by people. Alex saw Pip by the bar and negotiated his way over. When he drew near he saw the mysterious small woman with purple hair stand next to him.
“Hey,” he greeted his uncle.
“I got you a beer,” Pip said almost critically, “Or the closest thing to it.” He studied his nephew. Sympathetic eyes cheated his hard exterior, “I think you’ll need one.”
“No, Pip, let me buy these. I feel like I owe you one,” Alex pleaded.
“Buy me one with what, rand?” asked Pip.
Alex searched his pockets.
“It’s no use Al,” Pip said before Alex could say anything, “Rand is no good here. No money we’re used to is good here.”
Alex looked confused, “I don’t understand. How can--”
Pip thrust a large jug into Alex’s hand. “You can thank Ruby later,” Pip said as he walked into the crowd, “Let’s find a seat.”
Alex was about to follow when he felt a gentle hand touch his arm. It was the woman. Even in the light, she was older than Alex had thought.
“I’m Ruby by the way,” the woman said. There was an accent in her voice, “Your uncle, he has not yet had time to come to terms with what I said to him. This is why he has not introduced us.”
“Oh,” Alex was taken aback, “I’m--”
“Alex,” Ruby finished for him, “I know. He was so desperate to find you.” Alex took a sip from the jug in his hand. It was a cold beverage, flat and tasted slightly like mud but was not entirely repulsive. “Come, let us find him. I think he has found a table.” Ruby took her own jug from the bar, linked arms with Alex and headed into the darkness where Pip had gone.
They soon found him seated at a table with two free stools. Alex knew his uncle. He did not care to find out how he acquired a table with the right amount of stools in such a busy place. Pip gestured for his nephew and Ruby to join him on either side.
“I see you two have met,” Pip noted as he positioned the jug under his moustache. He took a long glug of his drink.
“Yes,” Ruby began, “I had to introduce myself while you found our table.”
Alex remained silent. He took a mouthful of his own beer.
“Is that all you introduced him to?” Pip asked. He stared at nothing in particular behind the bar.
“Yes,” Ruby answered.
Alex's gaze jumped between the two. His brow frowned. “What do you mean?”
Pip took a deep breath. He continued to stare.
“What he--,” Ruby began.
“We’re dead Al,” Pip said. His bright blue eyes fell to his nephew. “Dead.” The large bald man choked.