CA Chapter Thirty-seven (Patreon)

They were six thousand seven hundred and forty-two wrong turns - according to Vexxx, anyway - into the next level when Tess sat down and clutched at her head. “I just can’t do it,” she groaned. “This place makes my head hurt, and I’ve been nauseated for days. I really, really hate this level.”

Alpha looked up at the half-dwarf, who was seated on a glass staircase directly over her head. Tess was upside-down, from Alpha’s perspective, but that was normal for this place, which was just one impossible construction after another. There were vertical ladders that led to staircases that somehow brought them back to the top of the ladder, even though they both went ‘down’. Spiral stairs flipped over on themselves as they walked, and once they lost Vexxx and only realized that he was standing on the underside of the same floor they were on because his smell still surrounded them.

The worst part was that they could actually see the entire floor at once, since they were walking on the convoluted interior surface of a sort of Dyson sphere, with a brilliant spark in the center, providing crystal clear light. It should have been impossible to get lost, and yet the bizarre visual enigmas surrounding them caused them to do so over and over again.

“I think we’re actually close this time, Tess,” Alpha said, staring toward the glimmering plaza that was so starkly obvious in the bright light. They had emerged directly across from it, so they hadn’t seen it until they’d walked far enough that the central ‘star’ wasn’t between it and them, at which point they realized that one of the staircases that led away from their entry point went almost directly toward the only large, open area on the entire floor. They’d spent every minute since then trying to either reach the square, or find their way back to their starting location, with equally abysmal results.

Tess laid back on the stairs, which were so transparent that they were nearly invisible. Their mini-maps didn’t work at all on this level, and even Vexxx had given up on drawing his own map after he realized there were literally translucent staircases and crystal slides that they’d walked right past without even noticing.

“I… think I’m going to have to give up on this one, Alpha.” Tess admitted reluctantly. “I have vertigo, and this place is starting to make it hard to go down stairs in the real world. I had to use an escalator yesterday, and I almost threw up.”

Vexxx, who was just out of smelling-distance ahead of them, looked back toward the group, though he avoided Alpha’s eyes. “Me, too,” he admitted reluctantly. “I mean, I don’t have vertigo or anything, but my school is two stories, and I have to go up or down stairs almost every period. I have to close my eyes by the time I go to Physics sixth period.”

Alpha looked around at the disorienting mixture of clear glass, mirrors, cloudy crystal, and glittering granite that surrounded them. It all reflected back the bluish light of the miniature sun, creating a sort of halo of light that was almost blinding. “What if,” she said, slowly, “we blindfold you? It wouldn’t be fun, but you could just follow along behind us, without having to see everything.”

Tess hesitated. “All right,” she said, reluctantly, “but if that doesn’t work, I really am going to have to just… give up. I hate to do it, but this isn’t fun. I don’t want to have to explain to my doctor that I need to up my dose of Prochlor so I can play a game.”

Alpha winced, but Vexxx said, “Maybe Alpha can keep exploring while we’re logged out.” He grimaced. “There has to be a trick to this floor, just like the other ones. I bet once we figure it out, it’ll be easy to get to the boss arena, or whatever that is.” He motioned toward the open square, which seemed so tantalizingly close. “You can PM us, Alpha, and we can log on and do… whatever it is, and finish this floor together.”

Looking relieved, Tess nodded. “That could work! I mean, we’ll probably get separated, so hopefully whatever the solution is, it’s one that we can do individually,” she glanced at Myles, whose expression gave nothing away, “or something.”

Alpha rubbed her temples, trying to think. “Okay. Do you want to try being blindfolded first, or just log off and come back when I contact you, or the Tent expires?” At Tess’ pleading expression, she turned to Myles. “Myles, could you give them a few extra Tents? I’m not convinced I’m just going to magically figure this out in forty-eight hours after… how long have we been down here?”

“Twelve days,” Vexxx said, before Myles could respond. “Twelve days, ten hours, and thirty-seven minutes, which is twelve days, ten hours, and thirty-five minutes too long.”

For once, Tess looked like she agreed with the mage. “I need a break,” she said. “I need to eat something that wasn’t made by a gnome who doesn’t understand how spices work - no offense, Toggle - and I need to get some sleep where I don’t dream about stairways that lead to their own beginnings and ladders that don’t lead anywhere at all.”

Alpha reached up and stroked Orah’s smooth back, feeling the snake’s head bump affectionately against her fingers. “Let’s do this, then. Myles, set up a Tent, then give Tess and Vexxx two more Tents each. You guys will only have to log on once every other day to change Tents. That gives us ten more days to try to figure out the solution to this labyrinth, and then anyone who wants to can give up.”

Tess heaved an exaggerated sigh, but she actually looked relieved as she stood and walked down the last few steps, somehow appearing behind the rest of the group, even though she’d been above and slightly in front of them a moment before.

“Deal,” she says, and glances around at the short section of flat ‘ground’ on which they stood. “And this is about as good as anyplace to do it.”

As one, she and Vexxx turn pleading eyes on Myles, who snorts a laugh and takes one of his apparently infinite supply of Tents out of his inventory. He flicks the Tent into the air, and it unfolds as it comes down, landing so that it neatly blocks the path right behind Tess. Handing more Tents to Vexxx and Tess, he steps out of the way, motioning for them to go on with a magnanimous wave.

With a grateful smile, the half-Dwarf dove for it, barely taking time to wave to everyone else before the canvas flap closed behind her. Vexxx lingered a moment longer, crouching in front of the opening, a thoughtful expression on his face. He met Alpha’s eyes. “You know,” he said, “I was really, like, jealous when I found out that you were in an immersion pod. But this,” he waved to indicate the dizzying glitter of their surroundings, “changed my mind. At least I can leave when I want to, but you’re stuck here.” A sudden, gleeful smile crossed his lips. “Sucks to be you!” He dove into the tent before Alpha could reach him.

Shaking her head, Alpha looked back at Amy, Myles, and Toggle. “He’s such a punk,” she muttered, then frowned as she really looked at Toggle for the first time in what seemed to be days, and probably was. “Toggle? Are you all right?”

Toggle looked up from where he was examining his own feet, and the deep circles beneath his eyes spoke for themselves. “Yes, Mistress,” he said, voice sluggish.

She shook her head. “No, you’re not. What’s going on?”

The gnome shuffled his feet, but admitted, “I can’t sleep, Mistress. Gnomes are a subterranean species, and the light here is too bright.”

Stepping forward, Alpha crouched in front of the little being. “Why didn’t you say anything? We can make you a hat with a brim, or maybe a blindfold?”

Toggle clutched at his pointy red felt hat, which he refused to give up, even though it had clearly seen better days. “I tried covering my eyes,” he admits, “but the light seeps in. If I covered up enough so it was dark, then I couldn’t breathe.”

Alpha shook her head. “That’s it. We’re going to sleep now. I’m tired, too, and it’s as good a place as any.” She started pulling fabric and furs from her inventory. “Don’t worry, Toggle, we’ll rig something up so you can get some rest.”

And they did, though it took more effort than she would have imagined when they started. They ended up with Toggle headfirst in a sort of sleeping bag held open with curved Rib Bones that Alpha found at the bottom of her inventory. She had no idea where she’d gotten them, or why she’d kept them, but they were just the right size to form a tunnel for someone gnome-sized.

Gratefully, Toggle crawled into the long tube, and when the wiggling lump that was the gnome reached the closed end of the bag, he grew so still that Alpha thought he must have fallen asleep right away. She nearly jumped out of her skin when his small, muffled voice emerged several minutes later.

“Mistress?” Toggle said, sounding even more uncertain than usual.

“Yes?” She had to lean in to hear the next words.

“Would you… sing me a song? To help me sleep.”

Alpha froze, her eyes flashing to Myles, who held his hands up to indicate his innocence.

“I-” What could she say? What should she say? The gnome might be an NPC, but he had also cooked, cleaned, risked his life disarming traps, provided helpful insight, and was her only source of blood other than her friends. Honestly, he was probably the single most useful member of his party, and all he’d asked for was… a song? And the truth was, ever since the night Myles set them up on a campout like they were little kids, there’d been a song burning in the back of her mind, though it probably wasn’t a particularly restful one.

Quietly, she sighed. “...All right, Toggle.”

Without another word, she pointed at Myles and Amy, then circled her finger to indicate they should turn around. It wouldn’t stop them from hearing, but at least she wouldn’t have to feel their eyes on her.

She reached for one of the many bags that hung from her waist. She’d put most of her bags into storage when they went through Vargo, but she’d kept a few, just in case they needed more space than their personal inventories afforded them. This bag was just one among several, but she knew exactly which one it was. Opening it, she pulled out a midsize guitar. It was too small for her, now, but once it had been just the right size.

Cautiously, she plucked a string, then another, half expecting it to be out of tune, even though she knew that items remained exactly the same from the moment they entered inventory, until the moment they were taken out. Warm, mellow notes billowed out, filling the air like a fresh summer breeze. There was no magic behind them, not now, not like there once was, but as her hesitant fingers tapped and stroked the strings, it seemed like the whole world fell still to listen.

Alpha opened her mouth, not knowing what she should sing, and at the same time knowing what she would sing. It was the only thing she could sing, really. The only song that had been in her mind since before her mother died. The reason she’d never been able to give Molly the song she’d asked for. Everything she wrote became this song, and it was the one song she could never let her mother hear.

“The sun gets in my eyes.

Makes me want to cry,

But you want me to smile,

So I’ll do that for a while.

At least until you’re gone.”

Her voice cracked and wobbled in a way it hadn’t in… ever. She hadn’t practiced, hadn’t hummed, hadn’t even listened to music in over a year, because every tune that entered her brain became this, and this was a song she never wanted to sing. Never wanted to finish. The next words pushed themselves out of her throat, though, and her fingers trembled on the strings.

“We walk together in the park,

Side by side as it grows dark.

You’re slower than you used to be,

and the sun gets in my eyes.

Swam in the lake the other day,

Even though it was only May.

Our time was growing short,

And the sun was in my eyes.

I held your hand as you laid in bed,

Then threw the curtains wide,

and said,

The sun’s just in my eyes.

The sun gets in my eyes.

Makes me want to cry,

You’re not here to remind me to smile.

Guess I’ll cry a little while.

Now that you are gone.”

Gone.

A truth that she never wanted to speak. A song that allowed the inevitable to escape, while Alpha - Ava - had been busy trying to escape the inevitable. A song that predicted a future she had denied with every fiber of her being, until she broke the part of her that created it in an attempt to push it away.

Warm arms and the scent of honeysuckle slid around her as the last note lingered in the air, and Alpha sobbed into a soft, silk-covered shoulder.