"We're almost there," Comma shouts over the howling wind. "By my calculations, it'll be another five minutes, tops."
"Five more minutes and my toes are going to fall off," says Crawford. "Among other things."
We've wandered smack into the middle of a blizzard. The snow-stuff circles rapidly in the air, like a cyclone. I take a sip from the thermos, and the now slightly acidic river-water burns its way down my throat. I pass it to Gail, who makes sure Eloise has her fill before drinking any herself.
The storm only intensifies as we push onward. As if the snow-stuff sublimating against and drying out our skin weren't enough, now there are icicle shards flying left and right, slicing up our cheeks and our clothing. I almost take one in the eye—wouldn't that just be lovely?
Comma throws her head back and laughs. "Is that the best you can do?" She twirls her chakram, slicing up the shards one by one. Her movements are a blur. "C'mon guys—we're almost there!"
I will myself to take a few more steps forward. The tugging starts; I'm caught in the rip's magnetic field. "It's close," I shout. "I can feel it!"
"I can't believe it," says Gail, wiping the wet from her eyes. "We've finally made—"
She turns around, soaked head to toe in blood.
"Gail!" Topher rushes to her side.
Gail stares at him, shivering. "It's... it's not... mine."
Something comes hurtling towards us through the flurry of white. The projectile hits me in the gut and then lands at my feet. Eloise screams. Gail keels over and wretches. I glance down at the object lying at my feet.
It's a severed human head—a female's.
Topher drops to his knees, the ice-shards slicing his nostrils. "Trisha..."
"Show yourself, you bastard!" Crawford shouts, flailing his arms about. "I'm not afraid of you! Bring it on! I'll show y—"
We're assaulted by a barrage of entrails. A lung flops onto Topher's shoulder. A pancreas smacks against Gail's eye. A stomach splatters against the side of Crawford's face, soaking it in stomach acid. He screams and hits the ground, burying his face in the snow-stuff. An unravelled intestine wraps itself around Comma's neck, choking her.
The next wave of dismembered body parts haven't held up as well—they explode upon impact, drenching us in human rot.
"We have to go back!" It's Eloise, raising her voice above the clamour. Pleading with us. Tears stream down her frost-bitten cheeks. She's seen this before: the merciless slaughter of her comrades by the beast.
"I can feel it!" The rip beckons to me. I reach out for it, preparing to peel through...
And then a gust of wind sends me flying backwards. The fall knocks the wind out of me. I try to get back up, but I've lost all feeling in my extremities. When I look at my hands, they're completely frozen. I mean rock solid, all the way through.
It's over.
"Get the hell up." Comma seizes me by the collar and forces me to my feet. She takes my frozen hand in hers. "You can channel your powers through me. Just concentrate. I can't feel the rip unless you do."
I close my eyes and focus on the rip. I zero in on its exact location and then psychically convey that location to Comma. To my surprise, it works. Comma reaches for the rip...
And then draws her hand back, just narrowly avoiding a spinning blade. The weapon that nearly claimed her hand lands in the snow. A jagged blade, made out of blood-stained bone. And there's more where that came from. The bone-blades assault us from all directions. Comma lets go of me and gets to work with her chakram, fending off the blades with lightning speed.
"Someone else help him out," Comma orders. "Leave this to me."
"Please..." Eloise begs.
"I'm on it." Topher nods and grabs my hand. I close my eyes and try to pass on the rip's location to Topher, just as I did to Comma. But the connection isn't as strong; it takes a little longer to transmit the message. When I pass on the location to Topher, he seizes the rip. "Got it!"
"No!" Eloise whimpers. "Don't leave me..."
"We'd never leave you," says Gail. "You're coming with us."
Eloise growls. "You-will-not-leave-ME!" She flickers out of sight. When she reappears, she's wielding a bone-sword that's almost as big as she is. I stand there, frozen, waiting for her to swing. I don't realize that she already has.
Topher's arm lies severed on the ground. A fountain of blood spurts from his stump.
"What the hell...?" Crawford groans—apparently he's still alive.
"No one was going to leave you, you little brat," Comma snaps. "Now, on the other hand..." She glances at Topher. "Poor choice of words, huh?"
"You were going to leave this world," says Eloise, her voice fluctuating between octaves, as if she's possessed by some sort of demon. "Don't you get it, you imbecile? I am this world! YOU. WILL. NOT. LEAVE. ME!"
"I beg to differ." Comma dashes forth. Her chakram clashes with Eloise's sword.
"Quick!" Crawford grabs my hand. "While she's distracted."
I'm not exactly raring to attempt the rip a third time, but what choice do I have? Transmitting the location is somewhat easier this time. Maybe I'm getting used to it. Or maybe the adrenaline's finally kicking in. Crawford hesitates, his hand lingering at his side.
"What are you doing? Peel through!"
"I... I can't..." Crawford swallows.
Eloise howls. Crawford isn't sticking around to find out what she's summoned this time—he turns tail and flees back down the slope, running faster than I've ever seen him run. I'm not as smart. The ground rumbles and splits open beneath me. I stagger backwards and fall flat on my back. A giant spire of ice shoots up from the crevice, encasing the rip.
Comma deflects one of Eloise's blows and then kicks her in the gut. Eloise skids backwards. Comma uses the opening to dash over to the spire. She hacks away at it with her chakram, trying to slice through to the rip. "It's no use," she says, shaking her head. "We'll have to use the other rip."
"But I thought you said—"
"I know what I said," says Comma. "But we haven't got a choice, have we?"
Eloise shrieks, summoning the beast. The beast thunders across the sky. Eloise lunges at Comma, but she's too slow—Comma intercepts the blow and, with a hiss, shatters the bone-blade. Eloise hovers in the air and allows the wind to blow her away before Comma can finish her off. The beast growls ominously above us.
"C'mon." Comma tears her sleeve and wraps it around Topher's arm to slow the bleeding. Then she slings him onto her back. "Before he bleeds to death, preferably."
Gail and I don't need to be told twice. We hasten back down the slope. Despite her burden, Comma moves faster than either of us. The way back proves much easier, mostly because we spend the majority of it slipping and sliding down the frost-covered terrain.
I keep my guard up, waiting for the beast to strike at any moment. But it doesn't; it just watches us from up in the clouds, growling every now and then. The blizzard starts to die down. When we finally reach the rip, Crawford is curled up in foetal position next to it, sucking on his thumb. The left side of his face is scarred from the acid.
"You're a damn coward, you know that?" says Comma.
Crawford only whimpers in response.
"Stop being a useless waste of skin and hold Topher for me."
Nodding, Crawford takes Topher into his arms, getting blood—well, more blood—all over his shirt in the process. Topher has passed out, but from the looks of it, he's still breathing. Comma takes my hand. Our minds connect instantly. We lock on to the rip. In a single swift movement, Comma peels it open.
"Okay, now listen closely," she says. "When we get to the next world, we're going to be swarmed by glowdarks. We need to take cover immediately, so be on the lookout for any sort of shelter. For some reason, they can't pass through manmade structures. If we can find a building, we'll be safe. Temporarily, at least."
No one questions her this time. Whatever suspicions I might have, I cast them aside for the time being. Our life is in her hands now.
Comma grunts. "Are we clear?"
"Crystal," says Gail.
"Then let's—"
"Wait!" Eloise calls out to us. She floats down from the sky, but keeps her distance. Apparently she's afraid of Comma. Unsettling, to say the least. "Please, don't go."
"Don't listen to her," says Comma.
"I promise..." Eloise says, her shoulders trembling. "I'll stop. So please... Don't leave me." The howling wind dies down all around us. Eloise's sobs reverberate across the terrain. Soft snow crystals flutter down from the sky, as if the clouds are sobbing along with her.
Comma crosses her arms. "How stupid do you think we are?"
Gail takes a tentative step forward. "Why did you kill all those people?"
Eloise sniffles. "I just... didn't... want them... to leave... me."
"So you sicced your beast on them?" Comma shakes her head. "Why are we even listening to this? She's insane!"
"I never wanted..." Eloise's words become too wet to make out. She tosses her head back and starts to wail. We stand there in silence, watching her bawl her eyes out.
Gail closes her eyes. "I can feel it."
"What?" Comma gapes at her, incredulously.
"The beast." Gail clasps her palms over her heart. "It's a primal force... bound to Eloise. She doesn't control it—not in the way y'all are thinking. It reacts to her. It's swayed by her emotions. She was frightened of being abandoned, so the beast lashed out. It wasn't her fault."
Comma rolls her eyes. "What a steaming pile of—"
"She's innocent." Gail starts walking towards Eloise. We all watch, our hearts racing. Waiting for Eloise to butcher Gail.
But she doesn't.
Gail stoops down in front of Eloise and plants a gentle kiss on her forehead. She draws the crying girl into her arms. Rocks her back and forth. "I want to stay with you, really I do. But..." She glances back over her shoulder. "Topher's hurt. If we stay here any longer, we're going to lose him."
"But..." Eloise's voice cracks.
Gail pats her on the head. Ruffles her hair. "We'll come back someday. I promise."
Eloise blinks and then starts wailing again, inconsolably. Gail turns her back on Eloise and returns to us. "Let's go," she whispers through her teeth. "Before that crazy bitch tries to kill us again would be nice."
"Sounds like a plan," says Comma. She's the first one through the rip. Crawford carries Topher through to the next world. Gail and I take one last look at Eloise.
"Ready to face some glowdarks?"
Gail smiles. "Not in the slightest."
"Neither am I," I say, cracking my knuckles. "Let's get to it."
Author's Note:
Well. I didn't see that one coming. Maybe I was blinded by all those entrails flying in my face. But is Eloise truly evil? Or was she just lonely?
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