Godless Sound: Interludes
A Loud House Interactive Story
INTERLUDE I: TOGETHER
You are now Lisa Loud.
According to the theory of ex-corpus physical manifestations you've researched, you needed two material links for the alma, or "soul", to be pulled back from its current plane.
The first should come from its previous material container. You got it a couple of days ago, thanks to a very cooperative gravekeeper and some funds deviation from college.
Taking the whole corpse would have been too hard to bring and kept hidden, but if your hypothesis is correct, just a part of it should suffice, recovered from the burial itself. It helped that, for reasons unknown yet, the preservation state of the body was remarkable. Strange. But that question is to be answered on another occasion.
You had the sample in a small metallic box in your pocket. It was curious how stronger the sample was than the subject's past belongings, which just moved slightly under the ex-corpus manifestations.
Not only it moved. It was warm and soft to the touch. Like holding her hand once again...
"Cold mind, cold mind..." You verbalize to yourself. You can't let your heart meddle in this phase.
The second sample is trickier to get. It has to be something that has the soul's ethereal trace. However, simple toys and old pacifiers were not enough. The soul prints on objects are, according to your readings, too low for the procedure. It had to come from a living thing, a closer connection to this plane.
You look at Charles. An old dog that slept all day. You look at Cliff. An old cat that ate all day. You look at Walt. Xeroxed replacement of other canaries. You look at Geo. Shortlived offspring of an offspring.
CHOOSE:
Charles
Cliff
Walt
Geo
CHOSEN: Walt
The place was set already. The kitchen was probably the best. You had alcohol, and water ready to boil your tools, a clean and sterilized table. But the blood had to be wiped with something nobody would miss, or at least you think nobody should care about. And going by your experience attending surgeries in visitor rooms, there would be a lot of blood to clean, and it would ruin anything you may use.
You thought in some clothes the older sisters left here before leaving to their own places. There were some things like that in the attic. Some kind of colorful mantle, you guess something Leni made many years ago. There was also a sweater with a howling wolf stamp that Lola found some time ago at your current room, back when she moved in there. You remember Lori wearing it.
CHOOSE:
Leni's mantle
Lori's sweater
CHOSEN: Leni's mantle
Now, finally, you needed a tool to get the sample. Since it would come from a living organism, it should be something that could either hack through flesh and bone fast or do a clean cut. Sadly, you couldn't bring the surgical implements from college, so you had to do it with the house' tools at hand.
There's that big butcher cleaver mom uses to chop everything, from vegetables to beef, and you remember one-time mom cut clean chicken bones and other hard objects. Labeled on one side with the words "stainless steel, german manufacture". It'd be kind of funny to use a german tool for such cruel experimentations. If done with a sure strike, it should work for taking the sample, fast and easy.
There was also dad's saw in the garage. It wasn't as clean, but maybe with proper sterilizing, it could be safe to use. Plus, you'd be sure it can go through any kind of bodily tissue since you saw dad cutting even metal rods with it. It would be sure success to use it, but it'd take longer than a guillotine movement.
CHOOSE:
Mom's butcher cleaver
Dad's saw
CHOSEN: Mom's butcher cleaver
Time for the sample. You go to Walt's cage. You grab him, calmly. He flinches a bit, a little surprised by your approach, but you pet the animal and he calms down, feeling the warmness of your touch. You carry him to the kitchen, Walt completely unaware of your plans.
"Sorry to get you into this" You apologize to Walt.
When you get there, you place the animal at the arm of a chair, close to the door, like a small guard.
"Can you chirp when somebody comes? I'll need a heads-up".
The animal had a good understanding of your language, thanks to both you, with the "special diets" you tested on all the pets for a campus friend's research; and to Lana, who has way more patience than you to train them to do tricks. The bird chirped, signaling agreement.
Just when you were about to just leave the pet's side, you remember to give one more command.
"Oh, and don't look into the kitchen. Keep your eyes on the doors".
Walt follows the order and stays put in his spot.
You go to the table in the kitchen and prepare it with every cleaning utensil you may need, including the colorful mantle and lots of toilet paper. You prepare the syringe with anesthetics. You clean and sterilize the butcher cleaver with care, leaving it to boil in a big casserole, along with one of Charles' chewing toys. You sterilize your hands and draw a line with the marker in the place to cut. Once you draw the line, cautiously you take the cutting tool and let the water evaporate, and the same with the chewing toy. You put the big knife at the side, while you use one of dad's belts to reduce the limb's blood flow. You clean the marked area with cotton and alcohol. You grab the syringe, pierce through the skin and apply the anesthetic. You pressure the area with the cotton, as you feel your left hand go completely numb. You put your hand on the table, while the other grabs chewing toy. You put it in your mouth, and bite hard as your right hand grabs the cleaver.
Thank God everyone else is asleep.
The anesthetics had your hand numb, but you weren't so sure that would be enough. You chewed on the toy as hard as you could, preparing for the swing. You lift the cleaver in the air, with some difficulty. It was pretty heavy. It balances up there, while you try to aim perfectly to the line you drew just below your pinky finger's joint. You feel a very cold sweat drop goes down your forehead, to your cheek, down your chin. You repeat in your head "Cold mind", many times.
Inhale.
Your scream is muffled.
It still hurts. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts it hurts it hurts it fucking hurts. Tears fall down from your eyes, as your glasses fog, clouding your vision. You almost drop the chewing toy from your mouth, but you accommodate it and bite harder. You still had to cut a little more. Some skin was loose, some cartilage splintered, a nerve visible.
It hurts.
It hurts.
It hurts so fucking much.
You cry as silently as you can, as you grab the mantle to hold the blood coming out from your finger stump, and the chewing toy falls from your mouth to the ground.
With difficulty, you take out of your pocket the metallic little box and open its locks. Inside, another transparent container holds another finger, from your deceased little sister. At its side, another clear container, open. You put your severed finger there.
You are now one step closer to her.
With one hand wounded and numb, it was hard to do the whole clean-up process. You cauterized your wound with a hot spoon, heated with the stove's fire. It didn't stop the bleeding fully, but it was better than let it flow. You grabbed some bandages and wrapped them around your hand and pinky stump. You took out dad's belt from your arm, and then you proceeded to clean the table, grab everything disposable and throw it in a garbage bag. You grab the tool and throw it in the kitchen sink, to wash it later.
After a whole lot of toilet paper and detergents, you grabbed the garbage bag and went out through the kitchen's garden door. It was rainy outside, and you splashed many ponds, covering your lab coat with muddied water. In a way, it helped to cover the blood stains.
You threw the garbage bag into the dumpster. Hopefully, nobody noticed. You went back from the same door you came.
You take a seat now, wipe your glasses and your tears, and breathe. It still hurts. Your left hand tingles. The anesthetics were wearing off. In an hour, the full feeling would come back, and the pain you already were feeling would only get worse.
You stand up to clean the tool, but just as you get close to the sink, you hear a bird chirp.
"Lisa?".
Your heart skips a beat, as you let an "eep!" escape your mouth and hide your wounded hand under your lab coat. Your whole body tenses up. You turn back, and see Lynn standing at the kitchen's entrance. What the hell was she doing there? You thought everyone was asleep in their rooms. She was somewhat wet. Was she STILL out? For how long? You should have checked every room first, before proceeding with the sample extraction...
Nevermind. You sigh with relief. She didn't notice anything weird. Your cleaning was thorough. Plus, her eyes seemed to trail off to nowhere in particular. She isn't very concentrated right now.
You can't really speak, in your state, so you just raise your right hand and wave.
"What are you doing here?" Lynn asks while she walks into the kitchen, searching around for a cup.
"Oh, I-I was... I just came for water..." You mutter, as you grab a random glass close to the sink, and fill it with liquid.
You drink the glass fast, and leave the glass wherever, as you walk back to your room. Lynn just watches you drift out, and shrugs.
You leave as fast as you can and get inside Lily's room. You close the door, and let yourself drop, leaning over it. It seems you didn't forget anything. Nobody would know. Nobody could know.
As you sit there, you take the metallic box out of your pocket and look at the samples. The box was warmer than before. She's here. Lily's here. You're together again.
You put the box back into your pocket, and go grab your study diary and pen. You sit at your improvised desk of stacked books.
"October 25, 20XX. The test samples have been secured. There was a very weird reaction, one of the samples got warm with me touching it directly. I'm not sure what this means, except maybe, there's still purpose in this world for Lily's soul, which would explain why her ethereal traces persist. I took the second sample today. My own pinkie finger from my left hand, just as I took her right's. Lynn saw me, but she has her mind somewhere else. I took the utmost care in the whole procedure, so she probably didn't notice my hands. I hope not. I don't want them to know. My current experiment is going too far for most people sensibilities, and I know my family would stop me at the very moment they find out. That's why they can't know. They could ruin it".
INTERLUDE END