Chapter 11
Edie had always been the sort of person who bit off more than she could chew, so she wasn't sure why it’d been such a surprise to her when she choked.
“I don’t have any further questions, Mr. Drake. I’m telling you that I know why Maria Lake disappeared, and you know too.”
Famous last words.
But if this was death, it wasn't so bad.
She was somewhere between sleeping and waking. She was close enough to the former that there was barely any awareness of the pain in her chest as her heart debated whether it was worth the effort to keep beating. Her eyes were open, though they weren’t really focused on anything.
“Edie.”
Vivi was there, formed right in front of her face if their voice gave any indication. Edie blinked, struggling to glimpse those paint-splotch eyes one more time.
“Edie, the promise.”
She smiled. “I’m not going anywhere, Vivi. I’m still here. I’m not leaving.”
I just won’t be alive anymore, is all.
“I made a promise too,” Vivi reminded her.
Edie blinked as Vivi’s face came into focus. They seemed…smaller. Were they shrinking?
I’m not letting you die.
Her chest stopped hurting. Slowly, she sat upright, her breath shaky as consciousness hit her full force.
“Vivi?”
Where are you?
“Where did you go?”
Why did you leave?
Edie wrapped her arms around herself, trying to steady her breathing.
“Vivi!”
She knew there wouldn’t be an answer. Closing her eyes, she tried to conjure up their voice.
We both made a promise.
I didn’t let you die, and you didn’t leave me.
But you left me.
What would you say to that, huh, Vivi?
Edie didn’t know.
She’d never know.
They were gone.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Anne didn’t know what she’d been expecting.
Granted, a hidden tunnel underneath a lake wasn’t the most bizarre of scenarios, but it still seemed a little surreal, as if any moment she might wake up and find the whole thing was a dream.
The tunnel was brightly lit. Not only were torches held in sconces along its walls, but white light pulsed in streaks within the rock, like lightning caught within the earth.
“Fascinating,” Dr. Skirth murmured, tracing the paths of the light with her fingers. “Looks as if there’s some sort of energy source captured here. Maybe the generator is underneath here…?”
“Hey, Doc?”
Skirth jumped, turning to the mysterious figure behind her.
“I’m just as fascinated by creepy underground temple tech as the next guy, but maybe we should focus here?”
Skirth wasn’t quite certain what to make of Spider. For some reason, Weying had asked him to assist them, and for some equally vague motivation, he’d agreed. When she’d asked him why, all he’d said was, “Sounded like fun.” Which probably wasn’t meant to sound ominous, but since no emotion showed through his mask, his cheery tone came off as slightly uncanny.
Spider smiled at Skirth before remembering something for the umpteenth time.
Right, I’m wearing a mask. Dangit. How do I keep forgetting that?
A nudge to the arm knocked his train of thought back on track.
“You go first.”
Anne watched Spider skitter ahead in the fashion of his namesake.
“What made you decide to bring him?” Skirth asked.
She shrugged as she turned to the doctor. “Thought it might help to have someone on our side who’s as strange as our situation.”
“Heard that,” the referred to called. “By the way, there’s no one else here, so feel free to come on in.”
The tunnel opened into a circular cavern. Spider stood in the center, spreading his arms before bending at the waist into a dramatic bow.
“Welcome to La Casa de Mal, ladies! Over here is the Torture Corner, over there is the Other Torture Corner, and here on the opposite wall is The Big Honking Rock, Which is Probably Used for Torture Somehow.”
Skirth approached the rock and tapped it. “Looks like it’s covering the entrance to something. Maybe a safe.”
No one said, Or a tomb.
Anne let out a frustrated breath through her nose. “Well, unless one of you is secretly lugging around an x-ray machine, there’s no way we’re finding out what’s on the other side.”
Spider joined Skirth and Weying over at the wall. He set his hand on the side of the rock and pushed lightly, stepping back as it rolled away to reveal another, smaller cavern.
Skirth jumped, glancing over at Spider incredulously. He shrugged.
“It’s lighter than it looks.”
Anne stepped into the cavern, blinking as her eyes adjusted from sterile white light to murky shadows. She glanced around, her stomach tight.
“There’s nothing here.”
There was a hoarse, rasping laugh, which rapidly collapsed into weak coughing. As Skirth and Spider followed Weying into the cave, the coughing stopped abruptly.
“Rude. Didn’t know I meant that little to you.”
Edie smiled faintly as she lay on the floor, watching as Anne looked around frantically. “Down here, Annie.”
Anne looked directly at her, but Edie could see that her eyes weren’t fixing on her, instead skimming over her as if she were a pebble on the ground.
The doctor was there too, standing behind Anne and setting a comforting hand on the blond woman’s shoulder. “Maybe there’s another section to the cavern?”
Edie blinked, sitting upright. “What the- I’m right here! Why can’t you-”
Another coughing fit cut her off. As she clutched at her sides, Edie realized she couldn’t see her arms. Forcing herself to stand, she stumbled forward, nearly knocking Anne over as Edie threw her arms around her neck. Anne shrieked and began clawing at the unseen force holding her as Edie clung on tighter.
Is this because of you, Vivi?
It’s okay. It’s Anne. Remember me telling you about Anne? She’s a friend.
(This has to be Vivi.)
If you can hear me, let the others see me.
Edie blinked again, and when she opened her eyes, she could see her arm hooked around Anne’s neck. Anne had stopped trying to pry her off as well, instead squeezing her to the point that Edie was pretty sure her ribs were going to break.
“Oh my gosh…Edie, I-”
Edie felt a sudden pain in her chest. Wincing, she began to pull away. “Hey, Annie, could you let up a little bit?”
Anne’s arms loosened, and Edie drew in a breath, glancing over Anne’s shoulders as she did so.
“Wait, is that Spider? Who’s that dude with him? And, uh, Skirth? You look kind of pale.”
Taking in Skirth’s horrified face, Edie peered down at Anne’s back, where a red spot was spreading between her shoulder blades.
Edie looked back up at Spider and the man next to him. The man was partially wrapped in a white sticky substance, which contrasted with his black robes.
She clutched her side again, remembering the feeling of getting her guts bruised by steel-toed boots. A glint of movement caught her eye- Spider was pulling something away from Mr. Cultist.
A gun.
Edie didn’t remember running past Skirth, pushing Spider aside, or knocking the man to the ground. All she knew was that her hands were around the man’s throat, and she was squeezing, and her nails were biting through his skin.
Spider was peeling her off of Anne’s murderer now, prying her bloody-nailed fingers from the man’s throat. Even in her daze, Edie took a vague satisfaction in seeing the purple stripes of bruises across the delicate white skin of his neck.
Now Skirth was taking her aside, saying something about bringing samples to Drake, and the police must’ve gotten there sometime because there were red and blue lights flashing in the corner of Edie’s vision. As she struggled to breathe without panting, she realized she was outside.
She glanced up, up at the black sky speckled with white, and let tears roll freely down her cheeks.
Look, Vivi. We made it.
We’re out.