Before I begin allow me to say that this may have some spoilers for readers. Based on a story I saw in a fan fiction where people were being eaten by their reflection. Cecil's tattoos serve as a type of weapon and his third eye appears when upset or threatened. Also, I have this idea that Cecil has ADHD and that's why he rambles. I attempted to capture this idea when I wrote about his thought process. Also, this is working with the idea that Cecil and Carlos had not yet dated and that little people never attacked Night Vale. I suppose I'm writing this as an 'In the Beginning" type of thing. Cecil's POV.
"Goodnight, dear listeners. Goodnight."
I finished my goodbye to the faithful citizens of Night Vale. It is a heavy burden to be placed upon my shoulders; it is up to me to deliver quality news to Night Vale. The red 'On Air' sign goes off as Station Management emanates a croaking noise from behind the door. This is my cue to make my leave.
I gathered my coat and suitcase and stood up. Making my way towards the door on the far side of the purple room, there was a light knock on the frosted glass. I assumed it was yet another intern telling me that they are leaving. I opened the door with no hesitation, but what I saw was no intern.
There was Carlos. His curly black hair was ruffled slightly from his long day of work. His grey hairs seemed to be more prominent and plentiful. I never realized just how drug out Night Vale's favorite scientist had become, but never the less, he was still perfect. His lab coat had not yet been discarded, and covered his slightly built arms and chest in yet another layer of fabric. I could see his khakis and brown Doc Martens peeking out beneath the white layer of light protection. His bright brown eyes had dimmed more and more as he spent more time here in our desert community. It must be because of his late nights and early starts I had told myself. His expression was nervous as he looked at me. I had no more than two inches on him in height, but his hair made up for it.
He smiled at me shyly, "Hello Mr. Baldwin. If you're not too busy, the boys and I back at the lab would be much obliged if you would come down and answer some questions about Night Vale. Other than Josie, you seem to know more about this city than anyone, especially because all news is filtered through you. Would you mind?"
I feel as though if I were to tell him that I wanted to, I would have come off as too excited; so I turned my attention to the hall way. It was the same deep purple as the recording studio I had just spent about an hour in, but with more light. Due to Station Management, the recording room had to be darkened. The only light I could use to read my paper was a dusty lamp with a low wattage bulb and the, as previously mentioned, dim 'On Air' sign. I saw another intern bolting out of the building.
"I would be honored to help you in your studies," I answered quickly, regardless of my attempt to calm myself.
His eyes seemed to brighten at my response. This small sign of joy was enough to make my evening, not to mention I would be spending it with Carlos.
"Thank you so much Mr. Baldwin! Your assistance is much appreciated! My car is parked outside." He breathed out.
His continued identification of my last name was beginning to trouble me, "Please, call me Cecil."
His teeth shined as he smiled at me, "Of course, Cecil. I promise it won't take long."
He turned around briskly, the smell of lavender and vanilla wisping off down the corridor with him. I followed after him at a respectable distance as he walked away. Just as he had said, his hybrid coupe was parked in front of the radio broadcast building.
He opened the door for me, like a true gentleman before racing around the car to get in his seat. I carefully sat down in the passenger side and smiled as I saw him. He had that effect on me; that warm fuzzy feeling that grows from the stomach and infects your entire body. I was truly in love with Carlos.
I pushed the frame of my glasses a bit higher on my nose.
"We are having a little bit of trouble in our theories of Night Vale's lack of publicity, as well as the creation of the draw bridge. How is Night Vale not more well known, and the symbols on the bridge written in spray paint are foreign to us. We are unsure of what they mean and we can't find any information about them," he explained.
"Ah yes. The artistic abilities of those dogs is amazing," I commented.
The detail in the images was magnificent after all, regardless of legal definition.
"Yes I suppose, but don't you think it is a little impractical for dogs to correctly operate a can of spray paint, let alone create such a portionally accurate piece?"
"Maybe. I suppose it is a little weird, but this is Night Vale. We experience many things that are out of the ordinary here," I explained.
It must be hard for a man of science to truly understand everything that goes on in our little desert community. The citizens of Night Vale have simply adapted to not making such a fuss over simple things such as rabid dogs and floating cats in the men's room. I was really enjoying the company of Koscheck. That cat was so nice to everyone. I hope one of the interns remembered to feed him.
He sighed, almost as if he was expecting my answer before speaking again, "I suppose so, but there has to be some type of explanation for why Night Vale is the way it is."
I slumped back in the passenger seat I was in. Looking out the window I thought, 'What is different about Night Vale than those other places I've read about or been to?' Oh wait! I've got it!
"Carlos, I think I figured it out!" I shouted. "The reason that we have such strange phenomena in our town is because of our location."
He looked at me for a split second before returning his stare at the road, "What do you mean 'Our location?'"
"Night Vale is the only city that can't be found on Google, right?"
"Yes."
"That's because we are so hidden. I bet these things that happen here are here because no one will know about them except for Night Vale citizens. Our camouflage is enough to mask whatever is happening from the outside world. I mean, we aren't anywhere near the interstate. Which reminds me, how did you find out about Night Vale?"
Wow, I was rambling again wasn't I. I looked away from my lap and at him. His expression was that of astonishment.
"That was..." he paused, "... a better explanation than anything any of the scientists could come up with, and you're probably right. How did you figure that out?"
I was probably grinning like an idiot at this point, but I didn't care. I had just impressed Carlos with a simple idea. Maybe if I told him other simple ideas I would impress him even more.
"Other than to Europe, I've never left Night Vale. I realized that the other countries and cities watched the National News and were on it sometimes. The only news that Night Vale has is from me and all of that is local. To be honest, I'm pretty sure that Night Vale would be on the National News every night if they new about us, but they don't. And you still haven't answered my question. How did you find out about us?"
"Oh, we chanced on it by accident."
What did that mean? Was he trying to go somewhere else and got lost and stuck here? Would he leave if he couldn't find out what he wanted? Where was he going? Oh, I bet he was going to Desert Bluffs. Those assholes were probably trying to get Carlos there now. He wouldn't leave me would he? What would I do if he left? Not only would Night Vale lose their most precious, most perfect scientist, but I would lose the love of my life. Even worse, Desert Bluffs would get Carlos!
"Cecil!" Carlos called from the driver seat.
His voice snapped me out of my frenzy.
"Are you alright Cecil?"
I smiled, "Yes of course, I was simply lost in my thoughts is all. Could you possibly be more in depth with your discovery of Night Vale?"
He smiled, it was beautiful.
"Of course. We were actually on our way to another city in Arizona, but our van was running low on gas. We pulled off of the interstate in an attempt to find a gas station, but couldn't find one. Eventually we realized that we couldn't get back on the interstate the way we came, so we kept driving forward and eventually found Night Vale. This town is so interesting compared to Arizona that we sent an email to the head of our science organization that we would be staying here. When he asked why, we told him it was an extreme point of interest."
Oh good. He wasn't going to Desert Bluffs. Those assholes are probably still trying to take him though. You know who is also an asshole? The Apache Tracker. What is his problem? His racist display of the Indian Headdress is offensive and rude to all Native American citizens of Night Vale. This is supposed to be a place of equality and oh, Carlos is talking to me again.
"Basically, we can't figure out why certain things don't exist here, or why our reflections move freely," Carlos explained.
The mentions of the mirror reminded me of something, "Oh, about the reflections, did you do as I recommended?"
"What do you mean?"
"You don't listen to the news, do you?"
"Not always, but when I do, I normally tune in just in time for the weather. That leads me to another question. Why do you play music during the weather?"
"Never mind that, Carlos. You really need to listen to the news. It could help you in a life or death situation!" I figured I was mothering him once again, "Our reflections are coming out of the mirrors and eating us. I made the announcement yesterday! You need to cover all mirrors and avoid bathrooms because after all, a blanket is only a blanket."
He was staring at me befuddled. I was simply warning him, I don't want him to die.
Carlos pulled off of the main road and into the lab's parking lot. Despite popular idea, he did NOT live in the lab. He actually was staying in a nearby apartment complex.
Exiting the car, Carlos and I walked to the lab's security door. He pulled out a white card and scanned it into a black box screwed into the wall. The door clicked before Carlos opened it for me.
After turning a few times here and there, Carlos stopped at a room closed off by double doors. He used the same card and the doors opened again. The lab was a large white room with a few scattered windows. The white painted walls held various pictures of other scientists as well as some graphs and charts. To the left of the door, a rack carrying many white lab coats and goggles was asphyxiated. Rows of tables and stools filled the area. One table was crowded with many composition books and writing utensils of many kinds. Which were illegal by the way. Another was full of disassembled watches. An old stereo system sat on one of the windowsills near a table with various glass containers full of many chemicals. A box of gloves sat on each table towards the end. The floor, unlike the tables that rested upon it, was reflecting the harsh light of the overhead lamps.
A few other scientists were writing in the notebooks and some were mixing chemicals. All of them stopped their work to wave at me. I smiled happily and waved back lightly.
Carlos giggled lightly, "Alright Cecil, take a seat and we'll start right away.