“Edmond, does she know that you’re telling me all of this?”
“She’s not listening right now because she’s getting ready for you, but she knows what I’m telling you because most of it, I’ve told others before you.”
“Aren’t you afraid?”
“I’m terrified. I can block her out only until this game is finished. Blocking her takes an enormous amount of energy that I can keep up for only a limited time. Her attention, her efforts, are on my champion, which right now is you. Whenever my player loses, once the amulet is returned home to its box, she turns loose all of her anger upon me. By then I am too tired to continue and she is too strong. She gets into my mind and she turns her rage loose upon me, torturing me until she loses interest in it. The better you play, the longer her interest.”
The impact of his words hit me fully. I realized that I loved Edmond and I needed to win this to keep him safe. The thought of Rochere torturing him was too terrible to imagine. I needed to protect him. Even though there were times that no other word fit as well, I now truly realized why Virginia so hated the description of this quest as a “game”.
My eyes began to fill with tears as I looked up at Edmond, searching his face for answers. But all he did was smile sweetly at me and say, “Don’t worry about that too much, Ashley, you have enough to think about, enough to do without worrying about me. I chose this place to meet with you so that you could have some real pleasantness in the midst of all this sordid business.
“Now I don’t want you to be alarmed when you awaken. All the chemical burns you received in the reflecting pool are healed. What you see might look bad, but it can all be washed off. The evil one can’t get to you in the real world now, so when you wake up, please don’t be afraid to get into the shower.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Was I hurt?”
“The talisman protected you as best it could from the full effects of the liquid in the reflecting pool, for had it not been for the amulet, your flesh would have been seared off your bones only a matter of seconds before your bones were then dissolved. But because the amulet was working at diminished power, you were still kept in the pool too long and you did receive a few chemical burns. They were mostly superficial, but they would have landed you into the hospital for a few days. It was a delay that would have handed this victory over to the evil one, for she would have surely then sent Geoffrey after you to kill you as you slept.”
“I thought she wouldn’t do that.”
“She never has in the past, but for you, she would have made an exception. She would actually have forfeited her own pleasure in killing you personally, taking her anger and frustration out on me instead.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. While she thrills at killing the people I call, she could not afford to pass up an opportunity like that to get rid of you. Try not to think about it too much just yet. The evil one will be ready for you all too soon and I want you to get some sleep before you set out again.
As he held me in his arms, my eyelids grew heavy and upon closing them, I quickly drifted fast asleep, my paradise escape melting away.
After what seemed like only a few seconds later, I awoke feeling rested and refreshed, face down on the floor of the apartment, carpet fibers in my mouth.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
I pulled the bits of carpet out of my mouth and sat up, orienting back to the real world. I was covered in dried blood and goo residue and I realized now why Edmond had made the comment about not being afraid to take a shower. I felt for the necklace at my throat and found it lying there, no longer buried beneath my skin, no longer hiding itself from me, and became confident that what happened the last time could not happen today. Arrosha had already played that card and could not play it again because she needed to get into my head to get to me and her water’s effects had already worn off. I walked into the bathroom, still amazed at my improved reflection in the mirror, knowing this time that there would be no shadows lurking in the background. The horrors that Rochere had in store for me lurked not in my present, but in my future.
Over and over, I reminded myself of that as I walked into the tub that still held bad memories for me. I had little choice, though, because I was so horribly grimy. As I stood beneath the water running haphazardly from the shower head as it sat precariously upon its pipe, hammered into place to make due until a real plumber could show up,
The power of the amulet was kicking in. I could feel the difference it made in me already. Even though I was making this shower a short one, at least I was taking it. Before the courage I’d received from the amulet, I never would have had the nerve to step in here again. I sooner would have wiped myself clean with a stack of towels, changed clothes and gone off with the residues of goo and blood still sticking to my skin. It was different now. I was different now. I knew that nothing could harm me, at least not at the moment. The amulet would see to that. It would protect me from whatever Rochere had in store for me, at least out here, in the real world. In her world, it could prove to be a very different matter indeed.
I wondered what Rochere’s next move would be, what surprises she was readying in my “honor”. She enjoyed doing her own dirty work didn’t she, loved it, in fact. She needed the satisfaction of killing her prey by her own hands. As long as I wore the necklace amulet, she couldn’t really get to me, could she, but the real danger would come when she was finished toying with me, when I was in that room facing Edmond, when she had completely tired of this round of the game and was ready to get rid of me. As I rinsed my face for the last time, I got a little shower water in my mouth and it tasted foul and absolutely disgusting. If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn it was poison; I could really see now why the tastes of the outside world held so little appeal to the group and why Arrosha had trusted Geoffrey not to do what he did.
I stepped out of the shower, dried off quickly and stepped out to dress. Riffling through my things, I picked out a t-shirt, too large for me now, but one which I could still wear, for most of the weight that I’d lost was from the waist down. That posed another problem for me, however, so I picked out a pair of once-too-tight stretch pants that were now far too loose and pinned them with a couple of trusty safety pins in order to keep them up.
I thought about calling my family, but they were still enjoying their cruise and I didn’t see the sense of ruining it for them. There was nothing they could do right now from where they were, anyway. I thought about calling Carolyne, but decided against that, too. There would just be too many questions. In the off chance that I won, she’d be hearing from me again and in the case that I didn’t, she’d know something bad happened to me soon enough. Besides, I had enough to worry about as it was.
It was time for me to go now and I took nothing with me, for I no longer had either driver’s license or a key to the apartment. It felt strange to me to leave with nothing but the clothes on my back; it was now that the full realization that I might not be coming back really hit home.
I left the apartment, sad but determined. I took the more direct route, down Burgundy, to The Crypt this time, no longer trying to avoid or delay my fate, an act I could never have done yesterday or the day before. I felt braver now, for I possessed a confidence that I’d never had in my entire life.
I wondered how much of my newfound courage came from Edmond and how much of it came from my necklace amulet. I had to smile, realizing that I thought of it now as “my” necklace, when only a couple of days ago, I felt as though I’d practically stolen the thing. Now, it felt like a part of my body, like a piece of me. I’d actually grown quite fond of it, as I would a pet. I was left to wonder, though, if the necklace talisman was becoming my pet or whether I was becoming its.
This time, it was with surety that I walked up to The Crypt, not lagging but not hurrying either. While I might not be avoiding my fate, I certainly wasn’t rushing in to meet it, either. Once again, I stopped across the street before entering. It was tim
e for me to “face my demon”. For most people, it was a metaphor, but for me, it was a reality. I stepped off the curb toward The Crypt, mentally preparing myself for battle. I swallowed hard. I was toast and I knew it. Forget DOA, for all intents and purposes, I was Dead Before Arrival. But I had no choice, so I kept walking, straight ahead, right on into The Crypt.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
I opened the door and walked into the club, realizing that, whether I won or lost, it would be the very last time I would ever enter The Crypt. I really couldn’t say that I would miss it.
As I walked in, standing behind the bar was Max. At least I thought it was Max, because had I not known he belonged here, I would never have recognized him. He was extremely deformed, like a Claymation character that had been thrown about too hard and too many times to be able to keep its shape.
The shock of seeing him this way must have registered on my face, because, before I said a word, he offered, “I know, I know. Ain’t I pretty? I’m nothin’ but her own, personal silly putty. You got that,” he pointed at me, indicating the improvements in my appearance, “and I got this.” He pointed to himself.
“What happened to you?” I asked, unable to hide my shock.
“Arrosha happened, that’s what. She got pissed that she lost the last round. Not that it was me that did anything wrong. She just likes to take things out on me. I think it’s the only reason she keeps me around. I’m her big joke.”
“I’m so sorry, Max.”
“That makes the two of us. Listen, you can’t go on in right now. She’s still gettin’ ready for you. Might as well sit here and talk for awhile if you can stomach lookin’ at me. You want a drink while you’re waitin’?”
“You have to be kidding.” I answered him.
“I had to ask. Arrosha expects it. You might say it’s what I get paid for, if I actually got paid. Just between you and me, though, I’m glad you turned it down.”
“So, listen, Max, at the mansion, I found out that you used to be one of us.”
“Really? Who told you that?”
“Geoffrey showed me a newspaper clipping. And then a certain gentleman we both know corroborated it.”
“Did he really?”
“Yes.”
“Well, then, I guess he’s right. Must be, huh. I gotta tell you, though, that when I wore that,” he pointed to my necklace, “it didn’t look so foo-foo girly like it does now. It looked butch, real butch. It was nice and macho when I had it on. Hey, it was the seventies and it looked real ‘in’. You see, it changes to suit the wearer when it needs to.”
“So what happened? Now that we’ve got a little time to kill, I wouldn’t mind hearing about it.”
“He didn’t tell you?”
“He only gave me the nutshell version. Anything you’d like to add?”
“No.”
“Alright, then. I guess we’ll just sit here and stare at each other until she’s ready to get started.”
“Love.”
“What?”
“It was love that brought me down, okay? Not ordinary love, but the real thing. First love, the kind that makes the freakin’ earth move. Ya know?”
“Yeah, I do,” I commiserated.
“There was this girl at the mansion. She was part of Arrosha’s group. Her name was Gizelle. She was so sweet, she was so special. It was like Arrosha picked her out just for me and I’m sure she had my type in mind when she did pick her out. She’s a fuckin’ genius at matchmaking, that Arrosha. I made the mistake of fallin’ in love with her. Hey, I was there for almost two months, not just a few days like you were. I had time to get to know her, right? And like I said, it was first love. You know how first love is, you don’t know to look out for it, so it hits ya full blast, it blinds ya, it knocks ya to your knees. Heck, I was only nineteen at the time, and I fell hard. I know I’m nothin’ to look at now, but hey, I was a real stud in my prime back then and pretty handsome, I’d been told.
“Anyway, Gizelle, she was something, I tell ya, and like Ben and most of the folks that you met, she was an innocent in all of this. Arrosha was usin’ her just like she uses everybody. But the game went on too long and Arrosha got tired of playin’ it. So, once she realized that Gizelle and I were in love, she decided to use it against me and torture her.
“I just couldn’t stand the thought of that, of somebody hurtin’ my sweet little Gizelle. I had to protect her and there was nothin’ else I could do to protect her. I tried, I really tried to think of somethin’ else, but handing over the amulet was the only way.”
He looked down, ashamed.
“I know what you’re thinkin’. How could I even consider it? Did she drug me like she did you? I wish I could have that for an excuse, but nah, she didn’t. I was good the whole time I was there and never took any essence or water or anything else. You see, back then, she didn’t have those zombie creatures that she used on you. She didn’t know how to keep ‘em around long enough to use ‘em like that. They’re a relatively new invention of hers.”
“So what happened, then. You know, to Gizelle and the others?” I asked.
“Well, once the amulet returned to its box, she killed them all anyway. My poor sweet Gizelle. She loved me as much as I loved her. Even though I screwed up real bad and gave the bitch the amulet, she still went ahead and murdered my Gizelle anyway.
“Yep, she killed everybody in that group. It was their reward for her failure. Those saps, they thought she loved them, but she’s a real freak. She don’t feel love, she don’t feel nothin’ except for herself. She just used them all. She just uses everybody. And then she kills them. She killed everybody in that whole group and she’ll do the same to this next group tonight.”
He absentmindedly wiped down the already clean bar counter and said sadly, “As a matter of fact, I’m probably the only one that’s safe.”
“So, you don’t think she’ll hurt you?” I asked.
“Oh, she’ll hurt me. A lot and that’s for sure.”
“That doesn’t make you afraid?”
“Toots, I’m always afraid, ever since she first stuck her claws into me. She’ll hurt me. She does it all the time. Hey, just take a look at me, right? But she won’t actually harm me. You see, I failed the mission, baby. I failed the great quest. I let down the man in the portrait. That’s why she keeps me around. I’m her fuckin’ trophy. She’s made me ugly and deformed and now I’m nothin but a lapdog and butt boy to her and to anybody she controls.”
“Ben never mentioned anything about Arrosha screwing with your looks.”
“She always turned me back before he saw me. And I wasn’t allowed to tell him. She monitored what I said to the group, although she don’t care anymore now. You know that phrase ‘tongue tied’? With Arrosha it was a lot more than just a figure of speech.
“Ben didn’t know. He never saw it. Neither did any of the others except for Geoffrey. She did it in private, away from prying eyes, away from witnesses. Nobody that cared or would have objected knew how she treated me. Only Geoffrey knew and he egged her on. I guess I was their little private joke.”
Geoffrey’s sense of entitlement made more sense to me now.
“She punishes me all the time,” he continued. “Once the amulet energy finally wore off completely, she started bein’ able to get into my mind again. The shit she puts in there is more vile than the crap she does to my body. That twisted bitch is so evil, so foul, you wouldn’t believe. She punishes me so much I die inside every time, but she won’t kill me outright like the others because I’m different from everybody else. I’m special, you see. I’m Edmond’s failed champion, so she likes to keep me around for the express purpose of humiliation. She likes to make me pay, to remind Edmond of who’s really in charge, like that poor bastard ever needs any reminding.”
Since Max was in a decidedly chatty mood, I went ahead and asked him, “Why are you telling me all of this, Max? Don’t you think she’ll hear you?”
“Nah. After all of
these years, I can tell when she’s listenin’. Right now, she ain’t. I’ve learned how to tune in to that. You see, she ain’t no deity, no matter how much she’s got some people convinced, so she’s got her weaknesses. And right now, she’s too busy makin’ preparations for you and the others.
“Besides, I’ve been awfully pissy to you before now and I feel bad about it. You were nice to me when I was halfway decent to you, so I figure I owed you something at least to make it up. You’re in a bad spot, the same spot I was in once. I figured instead of bein’ resentful of you, I’d help you a little with what I know. Just because I failed doesn’t mean you don’t deserve your fair chance at bat.”
“So you’re sure that she’s not listening?” I double-checked.
“Real sure.”
“Why doesn’t she just use surveillance equipment?”
“Oh, don’t you think she wouldn’t love to. But she can’t because it won’t work. See, the real world is one dimension, the nightmare world’s another, and this place is somewhere in-between, just like the apartment, sort of halfway points in between the two. What works in one won’t work in the other, and nothin’ works in these halfway points. Don’t matter if it’s analog or digital, don’t matter if it’s that freaky stuff that paranormal investigators use. It’s why the mansion has its own power supply, cause no technology is compatible from one place to the next and she don’t know how to patch them together to make ‘em work, either.”
“She has problems with technology, then?”
“Hell, yeah, you could say that. It’s the only reason that we even stand a fightin’ chance. I’ve learned a thing or two about her in all this time I’ve been her freakin’ lapdog. She ain’t that good at this. It’s why she kills off the people Edmond calls so early on and why so few of us get through the first rounds of this game to challenge her for real. It’s hard for her to fight against the amulet. She can fight the whole world with all of its weapons easier than she can fight you while you’re wearing that thing,” he pointed to my necklace.
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