My apologies for missing Monday’s installment entirely; sad family business called me away. Hopefully I’ll now be better able to get back onto my regular Monday and Thursday schedule.
If you’re new to the Great Game, please have a quick look at the blurb to your left, where you’ll find a short catch-up introduction.
“There is no route back,” I said.
“The ways change,” said the little girl. “Maybe it’s different now. There are bad things in the shade. They won’t let you get beyond. You’ll never find the truth.”
I thought about that for a moment. “What about those doors?”
“Unpredictable,” she said. The bear seemed to twitch slightly in her arms, and she glanced down at it. “I have to go.” She ran past me, and back up the way I had come.
I watched her run off, and then looked around the chamber. The one thing that certainly didn’t make sense was just staying in here and eventually dying of thirst. The corridors behind me were just as stark, and the darkness ahead felt oppressive. I decided to try one of the doorways, eventually settling on the one which had the witch-light spilling from it.
I walked up to the doorway, and looked through. It was impossible to make anything out; it looked as if blue, glowing mists were churning on the other side. I glanced behind myself, uncertain, but the red and green doorway seemed to have a shimmering curtain just inside. I took a deep breath, braced myself, and stepped forward.
“Get down!”
Cold wind was blowing into my face. The street ahead looked sad, for reasons I couldn’t immediately place. The sky was sullen, heavy with grey clouds.
“Down!”
There was a hard tug at the base of my spine, and I fell backwards, landing painfully in a foolish seated position.
“Have you lost your mind, man?”
The voice was just behind my ear, a furious whisper. It sounded familiar. I thought about the question, and then shrugged. “Maybe.” My ass stung.
“Quietly, man! Great God.”
“Sorry,” I said, softly.
“What the devil is wrong with you, Taylor?”
I heard various soft rustles behind me, the sounds of small motions. Everything went very still for a moment, and then hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me down. It looked as if it was going to rain. Travis’ head blotted out the sky.
“Hello, sir,” I said. “I’m not sure. There was a little girl, and a bear, and blue, swirling mists…”
“What?” Travis looked confused, and slightly alarmed.
I put some effort into pulling my thoughts together. “I went to the ABG, to talk to that Paz guy. There was something in the basement. A crazy pattern. Then, I dunno, I must have blacked out or something; I remember a nightmare about tunnels, and a little girl with a bear, and a blue, swirling door. And then you were telling me to get down.”
“Bloody marvellous,” Travis said. “What charming timing. So you don’t remember anything about the last three weeks?”
“Three weeks?”
“Lucky bastard,” said a different voice, off to the left.
Travis sighed. “Alright. Look, it’s bad, but we’re not out of the game yet. Follow my lead, and we can talk about this later. Sit up, but remember that this is a hostile situation. Stay low and quiet. Got it?”
“Okay,” I said, “but…”
Loading ...Today’s photo is Blue Mist Abstract by lrargerich