As It Was Always Meant To Be: Welcome To Night Vale

Carlos

Carlos rolled through the desert in his jeep. The hood was down and for some reason the desert was surprisingly warm, despite it being so late at night. Carlos felt the comfortably hot air drift over him as he drove towards the town in the distance. Feeling slightly lonely in such a seemingly empty place, Carlos turned on the radio. "Welcome, to Night Vale." a melodic, deep voice drifted from the speakers of his car.

This intrigued Carlos. Night Vale was the name of the town he had recently been assigned to after receiving a grant from his department. The man proceeded with the news. Wanting to get to know what his town would be like, Carlos paid rapt attention. What Carlos wasn't expecting was how strange this new town seemed to be. The first segment was an announcement from the city council. Apparently, a new dog park had opened up. Yet, according to the city council, dogs were not allowed in the dog park. People were being told to not approach the dog park. Hooded figures would be in the dog park, the people were told not to approach them, or even look at them. Carlos was so confused- a dog park that didn't allow dogs? This town sounded so strange. Next in the news they spoke of a woman who seemed to be named Old Woman Josie.

It seemed that Angels had appeared to her and helped her change a light bulb. Carlos glanced up to see himself nearing none other than the mysterious town itself. He passed Big Ricco's Pizza and pulled into a lab that had his companies sign out in front. He switched off the car and wandered into the building, missing the mystery man's voice describe something new. This mystery man told the town,

"A new man came into town today. Who is he? What does he want from us? Why his perfect and beautiful haircut? Why his perfect and beautiful coat? He says he is a scientist. Well, we have all been scientists at one point or another in our lives. But why now? Why here? And just what does he plan to do with all those breakers and humming electrical instruments in that lab he is renting—the one next to Big Ricco's Pizza? No one does a slice like Big Ricco. No one." But Carlos didn't hear the man describe himself. He didn't hear someone who had never met him describe him in such detail, and who knows what would have happened if he had?

A few days later Carlos held a town meeting. He introduced himself. He told the town that they were by far, the most scientifically interesting town in the US, and he had come here to study just what is going on. He smiled, trying to win over the ominous looking people dressed in official-looking suits at the back of the room who looked on with an impassive gaze.

While at the meeting, Carlos managed to meet Old Woman Josie. She had made corn muffins and Carlos hadn't the heart to tell her that they were missing salt. He smiled and ate the entire muffin. She was a shorter woman, chubby and soft looking. Her purple dress and black church shoes complimented her soft facial features. Her hair was a lovely white and cut very short in an average older woman cut. In her purse she kept glasses that she used for reading. Everything about her was simple, but welcoming.

Carlos also met someone that he had wanted to meet since the moment he first turned on his radio. He would now recognize that deep, soothing voice anywhere. Carlos turned his head to see one of the most fascinating people he had ever met. His hair was an extremely white blonde, and he was pale. He was fairly tall, easily taller than Carlos who stood at an average 6'2". He wore a basic long sleeved shirt, with a brown vest over it. Adorning his neck was a startling purple bow tie, but it worked on the mystery man. His sleeves had been rolled up to reveal dark tattoos contrasting his pale skin. At first glance they seemed to be tentacles and eyes littering his arms that only stopped when the shirt started. As Carlos continued to observe the tattoos he noticed something else, the tattoos were moving across his arms. Slithering and floating on their own accord. Carlos glanced back to the handsome man's face and noticed something else. Behind the purple glasses that the man was wearing, his eyes were a startling violet. As Carlos stared into them, the man glanced up. He gave Carlos a small smile and Carlos felt himself fall in love instantly. He watched as the man positively floated towards Carlos.

"Hello," the man smiled warmly. "Welcome to Night Vale, I'm Cecil."Carlos held out his hand and smiled. Cecil.The name fit him perfectly. "Thank you, Cecil." Carlos let his name fall from his mouth effortlessly.

Carlos turned on Cecil's radio show later that night in anticipation of what his lovely broadcaster would say next. Just as he went to turn on the station a colleague of his came into the lab, carrying a beaker of brown glowing liquid. Carlos retracted his hand from the portable radio. Somehow, listening to Cecil was an activity that Carlos didn't want to share, even though it seemed the entire town listened. It was something that Carlos had wanted to be alone to listen to. With a sigh, he abandoned the radio and turned toward his colleague, pulling on a spare pair of safety goggles and getting down to business.

Cecil

Cecil paid rapt attention to the scientist. He watched as Carlos told the town how interesting this town was, how he wanted to study the town. Cecil feared for Carlos, he feared for what Carlos didn't know. His hair was black and slightly curly. It wasn't long enough to hang loosely, but it was still fairly long. His skin was a dark mocha color, matching big brown eyes that sparkled when he talked of his plans to study the town. While his lab coat was pristine, clean and ironed on his broad shoulders, his jeans were tattered at the bottom. He wore an unknown warn in band t-shirt and his shoes were ratty, yellow chucks. His teeth were like a military cemetery. He was perfect, but then he was gone.

Cecil wandered the room, attempting to look for Carlos without seeming like he was looking for the scientist. He got caught up talking to Tilly the barber when he felt someone staring at him. He glanced over to see none other than Carlos himself staring at Cecil. Cecil pushed his blush down from his cheeks and attempted to leave the conversation he was in. "Hello. Welcome to Night Vale, I'm Cecil."

Carlos reached out to shake his hand and with a small smile he said, "Thank you, Cecil."

Cecil couldn't help but love the way the scientist said his name. He couldn't help the broad smile on his face or the way his hand felt much too cold after he let go of Carlos's hand. Maybe he waited around slightly longer than necessary for the scientist, and maybe he talked about the scientist on his show that night. All he could do was hope that Carlos hadn't discovered his radio show yet.

Carlos

Carlos hurried from the lab to his house, frantically running through his apartment and to his living room. He stopped a moment to carefully take off his lab coat and hang it on the hook by the door. He toed off his shoes and walked towards the coffee table. While wrapping himself in a fuzzy purple blanket (maybe he bought it because it reminded him of Cecil's eyes, but if you asked he would immediately deny it. And if you did the blush across his cheeks would tell you the truth.) and turned on the radio just in time to hear Cecil describing the new glow cloud that had recently rolled across the sky towards the town. Cecil went on to say that one death had been attributed to the glow cloud, and just like that Carlos's plan for a relaxing evening of listening to his radio broadcaster came to a close. He begrudgingly turned off the radio and went back to his lab coat.

He walked out of his apartment and towards his car. Quickly driving to his lab he grabbed a few test tubes and corks, in case any rain came out of the cloud for testing. Placing them in a case, he grabbed the lab's computer; the weather balloon might have something useful for him. He got back in his car and drove around town searching for the glowing cloud. He rolled down the window and the smell of vanilla hit him like a brick wall. He leaned out the window and looked towards the west. There, he spotted a rather large cloud. It was currently moving from a dark, purple- blue to an astounding violet color. As he continued to watch the cloud he started to hear a low whistling noise. Carlos pulled away from the town and stopped in the field. He got out of his jeep and pulled open the back door. He grabbed his camera and set up the stand, putting it on a timer and allowed it to continually take photos of the cloud. He opened the laptop and attempted to understand the readings from the weather balloon that had been set up earlier. Without warning, several different types of undistinguishable objects began to fall from the cloud. Curiously, Carlos crept towards the cloud and watched the figures fall. Suddenly, he felt a soft thud on his head, causing him to stumble. Carlos carefully grabbed it only to discover it to be a dead raven. Revolted, Carlos dropped the dead bird. He glanced around to see that all the objects falling from the sky were in fact some type of small, dead animal. He jogged back to the car and picked up a small container and some gloves. He gathered up a few of the creatures and loaded up his jeep. He got in the car and traveled to the one person who could have some answers, he drove to see Cecil.

Cecil

Cecil sat in his chair, letting his headphones sit around his neck as he set up for the next broadcast. Cecil had lived in Night Vale his entire life, making the small town less confusing. The one thing that Cecil had learned after all this time is that you can't make sense of anything that goes on in his town. Everything around him is impossible to understand, and it made the place he called home that much more beautiful. When it rained, the town could smell of roses, but in a flash flood it smells like a fire. Sometimes the rain isn't rain at all. Sometimes burning acid falls from the sky and you have to hope you are lucky and are inside that day. Once in a while, when it rains it comes down in the form of notes and song. When the sun sets it's a beautiful mixture of purples and during the day the color of the sky can change. Night Vale is incomprehensible in the way that time and space are. So when Cecil heard a knock at the door just to see Carlos burst in the room with a dead raven in hand and a confused expression, Cecil understood. He understood that Carlos hadn't yet figured out that, for the most part, this town didn't have an explanation.

"Cecil, the glow cloud. It's sitting out there raining down dead animals! What's going on?" Carlos demanded, looking flustered.

With a small smile Cecil replied, "The glow cloud isn't just a cloud Carlos, it's a giant living mass. Why it drops dead birds and smells of vanilla is confusing, but its reasoning is like your reasoning for always wearing a lab coat. It's just something that is. It's just so neat." Realizing that Cecil had been gushing and stopped, blushing. It seemed, however, that the explanation Cecil had provided wasn't good enough for Carlos.

"I'm sorry, Cecil, but everything has an explanation. Clouds aren't beings, animals don't fall from the sky, and the rain shouldn't smell of vanilla. Just because I can't find the answers doesn't mean that they aren't there." Carlos ran his hands through his dark hair, pulling it out of frustration.

Cecil sighed. He shouldn't have expected Carlos to understand immediately, but he was just being closed-minded now. Cecil saw that the scientist could be slightly stubborn if he wanted to be. So that's why Cecil let the scientist skulk out of the studio. He let Carlos go, but as the door closed he felt something heavy sit in his stomach. He felt a lump in his throat climb up, and it didn't leave for the rest of the day.

And so time went on in Night Vale, in its own inexplicable way that is always has and always will. Until one day. Time didn't cease on this day. That's the thing about time in Night Vale. Time doesn't end. It's irregular, but it's reliable in the sense that it is the only constant in the town. However, to Cecil, time might as well have ended that day. Because on that day, Carlos went after the hooded figures.

Carlos

The hooded figures always seemed unreachable. Carlos wanted to study them but every time he mentioned it to someone, especially Cecil, he was warned against it. In fact it almost scared him how adamant the townspeople were about not approaching the hooded figures. Cecil would casually mention reminders on his radio show to not approach them and Carlos knew it wasn't for the entire town, but more so for Carlos's sake. On this specific day, Carlos decided that he only wanted to watch them. He would make observations quickly and quietly and then continue his work through his memory alone.

Carlos had seen a hooded figure from the corner of his eye. He attempted to follow the creature for a block or two. And he succeeded; the figure didn't seem to notice Carlos. He kept his steady pace after the figure; he didn't notice that he was nearing the dog park. Without warning, the hooded figure disappeared. Glancing around he became worried, Carlos came to a halt immediately. He turned back around to hurry home, an unsettling feeling sitting like a rock in his stomach. Once he turned the corner the sight before him made his throat constrict and his hands shake. Three hooded figures stood in a curved formation in front of him. While Carlos was rendered motionless, the hooded figures began their slow descent upon him. When one lifted its arm as if to grab him, Carlos's world came back into focus. He turned around and sprinted towards an alley. He felt as though his lungs were on fire, his feet pounding against the sidewalk. With each slap of his foot he felt himself growing weaker. The hot desert town's sun didn't help Carlos's attempt at escaping. Spotting an alleyway, he dashed into it. Ungracefully, he scrambled up Old Woman Josie's fence and sprinted across the yard, never daring to look back, never daring to slow his pace. He could have yelled for joy when the door softly creaked open. He snuck through the house, praying that Old Woman Josie wasn't home. He dared to stalk to the window and peek through it, risking checking for the hooded figures that had been slowly following him when he had dared to go near the dog park. Cecil had warned the town not to approach the dog park or the hooded figures (again), but he couldn't resist. After all, he was a scientist. That's what they do, go after things they shouldn't, asking why, finding the answers in the most unlikely of places.

He felt his lips twitch up at the thought of Cecil. Cecil, with his dark tattoos that moved on their own accord, his hair that was supposed to be such a nice light blonde, but changed colors according to how the radio host felt, and those purple eyes(that were almost violet really). The dorky vests, bowties, and violet glasses that sat on his nose made his adorable look complete. Contrasting with his gentle look (despite his dark, moving tattoos, but he usually kept them covered anyway) Cecil has a deep, melodic voice that could soothe the angriest of beasts. He could almost hear it now, "Carlos." The way that Cecil seemed to carefully caress his name as if it were breakable each time he said it made Carlos's thoughts of running from the hooded figures flit away and thoughts of his lovely radio broadcaster consume his mind instead.

"Carlos?" The very same voice called out to him as he whipped around.

"Cecil?" He tried very hard to keep the blood from rushing to his cheeks, but his tan skin burned on despite his efforts. Embarrassment from the way he had been thinking of the man now only feet away from Carlos made responding difficult. "Why are you in Old Woman Josie's house?" Carlos questioned.

"I was going to ask you the same." Cecil countered with a raise of an eyebrow.

Slightly ashamed from his foolishness, Carlos turned his head away from Cecil.

"I'm sorry." Carlos paused, "I know you warned us not to approach the dog park or the hooded figures, but I couldn't resist. I just needed to see them. People deserve to know why we can't approach them." He continued, pointedly looking away from Cecil. He shifted from foot to foot, fidgeting uselessly.

Much to Carlos's surprise he heard Cecil scramble towards him, lifting up his chin and searching his face with those violet eyes that made his heart skip a beat. Cecil continued to check him over thoroughly. Cecil exclaimed, "Carlos! I said that on air specifically so you would know to stay away! Just because you're some great scientist doesn't meant that you can just run after any danger that makes itself known! You could have gotten hurt!" As Cecil talked he stopped checking Carlos for injuries and gathered his hands in-between them.

Carlos's heart fluttered at the feeling of Cecil's hands holding his wrists in front of them. Cecil's eyes frantically searched Carlos's face, attempting to see if the oblivious scientist had managed to understand a single word that Cecil had uttered to him. Unsatisfied with what he saw, Cecil grabbed Carlos into his arms and tucked him under his chin while fondly murmuring, "You idiot." If Carlos hadn't been blushing before, he definitely was now. Having Cecil this close to him made it seemingly impossible to maintain steady breathing and a clear head. Slowly, realizing how this looked, Cecil released poor Carlos and cleared his throat.

"We should probably get out of here now; I don't know how much longer until the hooded figures find me here," Carlos muttered lamely. Just as the two turned around, two hooded figures stood in front of the stairs. Unmoving, faces shadowed in darkness they remained soundlessly. Carlos stopped breathing completely. His eyes widened slowly as Cecil stared at him in confusion.

"Cecil…." Carlos murmured, his usually tan face turning pale.

They attempted to back up, only to have their backs hit the window. The figures stepped towards them and before Cecil could make sense of what was happening, Carlos had vanished. Cecil attempted to scream, but he couldn't get the air into his lungs. He reached towards the spot his scientist was just standing, only to have his hands find empty air. He turned towards the door. The angels were gone. The realization that the angels had taken his Carlos, his scientist, was gone and there was no telling when he would come back. That is assuming that he ever does come back. Overridden with grief, Cecil sunk to his knees. He held his head in his hands; he made no noise but shook terribly. The tattoos on his arms zipped back and forth, quivering around in useless patterns. Silently, hot tears ran down the radio host's face. He had lost his Carlos and he never had the chance to tell him how he really felt.

And it was in this state, hours later that Old Woman Josie found Cecil. She dropped her purse and rushed to him. Cecil pushed his face into her dress and finally choked out a sob. It seemed that once he had started he couldn't stop. She stroked his back and softly scratched his blonde hair.

Some time later, when Cecil was reduced to sniffles, Old Woman Josie gave him one last pat on the back, saying, "That's enough now."

Cecil nodded numbly; he wiped his tears and held his head high. While he no longer showed his pain, Cecil could still feel the hole that sat heavy in his center.

But while we may not be consciously aware that time is passing, it does all the same. A week passed since Carlos had vanished. Cecil spent every night in the scientist's apartment, waiting for him to reappear as suddenly as he had left.

Then another week passed. Cecil went back to work at the radio, but his calming voice no longer rang confidently through the radio. Instead he sounded hollow, sticking only to the news. He no longer gave reports on his personal life, he felt as though it wasn't worth reporting to Cecil anymore.

As days turned to weeks, and weeks to months Cecil slowly but steadily gave up hope. The only thing he had left of Carlos was his memories.

Until one night, because on this one special night, the hooded figures disappeared. The townspeople were slow to notice their disappearance. After all, how could they notice something they weren't allowed to look at in the first place? One Night Vale resident noticed however. So that night during his broadcast, Cecil seemed more animated than usual when he spoke about the hooded figures. He had suspected that the hooded figures had something to do with the disappearance of his Carlos.

"Night Vale," Cecil slowly said, "I don't know if you've noticed, but the hooded figures are gone. Where did they go? Why did they go?" He paused, giving the listeners time to think. Taking a breath, he leaned towards the microphone to continue, but before he could say anything his studio door slammed open. Startled, Cecil's head snapped to the door to see an intern panting and standing in the doorway. The intern desperately motioned Cecil outside the studio.

Cecil leaned towards the microphone and unsurely said, "Forgive me, dear listeners, but it seems intern John needs a word with me. But for now, the weather." He set up the four-minute song and rushed into the hallway. He looked at John and waited for the intern to catch his breath.

"The dog park, the big walls that surround it I mean, they just opened. One of the walls just split like a door!" he said, waving his arms around.

"Neat. I'll make sure to mention that next. Thanks." Cecil said, slightly irritated at being interrupted during a broadcast. He went to go back to his show when he felt John's hand grabbing his arm."

"No Cecil, there's more! People are coming out of the dog park!" John exclaimed.

Cecil's eyes widened almost comically. "Is he… ?" he muttered, staring intently at the intern.

John's expression turned slightly distressed as he murmured, "Well, we haven't seen him yet, but there's a chance and I thought you would want to know.." Cecil didn't let him finish. He dashed around John, his current show forgotten. He came outside and turned left, He climbed into his car and sped off through the center of the road. Ignoring traffic laws, pedestrians, and secret police as he raced towards the dog park. His last hope to find his Carlos. He drove past his apartment, Josie's house, the Arby's, and eventually pulled out near the dog park.

Random people were pouring out. No one in the town had even noticed how many citizens and outsiders alike had disappeared. Women were crying and holding onto children, men cried silently as they held onto their wives and children. Some people wandered alone, looking dazed as they wandered aimlessly. The hope he had just gained was slowly leaving him. But, as Cecil turned away he happened to look to wards the Arby's. There he saw one lone figure sitting on the hood of a car. Cecil recognized the lab coat that hung on those broad shoulders, but it had become ripped and dirty.

With hope rising in him once again he rushed forward. His feet were barely keeping up. He sprinted his way towards the car, stumbling all the way. Before he got too close to the car he started to slow down. Doubt riddled his mind; what if his Carlos wasn't the same? It had been months since he had last seen Carlos, anything could have happened to him. Cecil needed to know, he had to know if he still had a chance to make Carlos be his. With this in mind, he once more began his walk towards the car. Carefully choosing each step as he went towards the front of the car and saw that it was in fact, his Carlos. He slowly climbed onto the hood, scooting towards Carlos. He laid his hand between them, an invitation to Carlos.

They said nothing. Just as Carlos felt the hope inside him drain, a sudden warm weight fell on his hand. Cecil turned his hand upwards, intertwining their hands. The two men looked out over the desert. The Arby's sign blinking in front of them and the seemingly endless desert and Carlos softly let his head fall onto Cecil's shoulder. As they sat in the small infinity they had created, they fell completely, utterly, absolutely, and instantly in love all over again.

So, as time came to pass in Night Vale, in the inexplicable, irregular, but constant way that it always does and always will Carlos and Cecil continued together. As the way it was always meant to be: with Carlos and Cecil together.