my brain is shrinking. also I'm pretty sure Argos is really OOC in terms of sadistic
*****
Durum opus est; vita durior.
Someone told me it meant "Work is hard, life is harder", roughly translated to "It is hard work; life is harder."
They did also say they put an already fancy-sounding phrase through Google Translate to make it sound fancier. I forgot who it was, probably some dude who caught me feeling down, but it did make me feel better, actually. I like thinking that way sometimes.
But this. This is extremely outlandish.
Some dude with at least two dozen eyes is sitting on my bed. I don't know what he wants, but he wouldn't have gone through the trouble of almost getting killed if he didn't want something.
"Do you know who lived here before you?" he asks. Unlike what the book says, he sounds a bit threatening. Then again, it makes everything in there sound extremely threatening.
"Some dude who killed himself," I say. "Y'know, regular old crazy dude with as much conspiracy theories running through his head to fill the Grand Canyon?"
The man giggles. He doesn't look sadistic.
"Well, that's part of it," he replies. "The Voids are real, and I'm pretty sure you were taught all about it. The man who lived here didn't hurt himself. He was, for the most part, really careful. But not as careful as he should've been."
"What-" then I realize. "Oh."
Mr. Plant and Argos killed him. They didn't find his research.
This dude in front of me is Argos.
And that man did not think aliens existed.
"I'm sorry to tell you this way, but there was no other foreseeable chance to get this moment again," Argos says. I've backed up against the wall.
"If you hurt Molly..."
"I'm not going to. Mr. Plant has quite the bond with her, and I've come to like her too," Argos replies. "What I wanted to do with you is make an agreement."
An agreement?
"Mr. Plant and I stay here for the holidays, in turn, you can ask us as many questions as you want," he says. I stay still. "That notebook of yours would've formed so many, right?"
"If you hurt Molly, accidental or not, you are not going to be staying in this house. Is that clear?"
"Clear as day, Alice," he says. He walks out the room, both of us making sure the door is closed, and I'm alone again.
They won't hurt Molly, right? They shouldn't.
I look for the knife on the bedside table. It isn't there. Argos must have taken it when I was distracted.
"No weapons."
I look around. Nobody else is here. It's only me and my thoughts. I feel like I shouldn't have had it in the first place. Like I somehow knew that these two were going to come before I found the notebook. As if before I even knew they existed, that someone would come and talk to me this way. Someone would put Molly in danger and have me to blame.
That feeling that something else is missing. A family member, a pet, some event that would change everything. Anything. But it isn't there. And it never was.
*****
Word Count: 544