When Cecil arrived at the radio station the next day he found a very angry looking Dana waiting inside his studio, "What brings you hear Dana?" He tried to smile at her, but she was glaring at him and it made him very nervous.
"Well you see Cecil, I was eating dinner last night and I got a very intriguing call from the Sheriff's Secret Police. Would you like to guess what they told me?" she asked, Cecil shifted uncomfortably but said nothing, "They told me that Carlos had just emerged from the house that does not exist. Do you still remember him? Or were you too busy with your new boyfriend to remember the original one?
Cecil visibly paled, and after a moments silence, "Did you tell him about Earl?"
Dana's glare intensified, "Actually he told me. And is that really all you have to say on the matter? You should be ashamed of yourself, you've broken his heart you know. I don't even know if he intends to stay in Night Vale after this, and if he does leave I can't say that I could blame him. So I hope you're happy with yourself, because I promise you won't win him back from this."
Cecil flinched away from her anger, he wasn't sure what to say to her. In truth he'd given up on Carlos coming back, "Can you tell him I'm sorry?"
"I will do no such thing," Dana said, "You made your bed and now you have to lie in it."
Then Dana left, and Cecil was left alone to despair over what she had said.
XoXoXoXoX
Kevin paced back and forth in is cell, has bored and he was sick of not having something to do. The guards were no help, he'd asked them for something to do and they just laughed, mumbling about HBO. Kevin didn't know what HBO was, but it wasn't helping his current situation.
He continued his pacing, counting the steps from one wall to the other. How long would he be forced to live like this? Would be forever be confined to a ten foot cell with no way to pass the time? He was trying very hard not to think about it. They surely had to let him go soon. At least he hoped they would. At the very least they should be telling him the results of his trial soon, surely he would be told that.
"Hey interloper, you keep that up much longer you'll start wearing a hole in the floor," one of the guards said. There were five of them total, all sitting around a table playing cards.
"I'm afraid I'm a bit impatient," Kevin said, smiling at the guard, "I don't suppose one of you could tell me what time it is?"
"Almost noon," said the guard who'd spoken earlier, he seemed to be the only one willing to acknowledge Kevin's existence, "Hey someone turn the radio on, Cecil's show will be starting soon."
One of the other guards, much younger than the others, leapt up to oblige. Kevin however was far less enthusiastic to hear Cecil's voice again, and returned to his bed.
"Mistakes are a natural part of human life, so if you're an alternate species trying to blend in, make sure to throw in slip ups every now and again. Welcome to Night Vale," Cecil's voice filled the room, and Kevin wondered if Carlos would be on the show. He was hoping yes, because it would be a very uncomfortable interview and therefor hilarious.
"Big news listeners!" Cecil said, "I've just gotten word from Mayor Cardinal that everyone's favorite outsider has returned to Night Vale! That's right listeners, Carlos the Scientist has found his way home to us! So if you see him make sure to say hello, I'm sure he'd love to hear how glad we are to have him home!"
Kevin waited to see if his own return would be mentioned as well, but Cecil either didn't know or had been asked not to tell because he was now reciting the community calendar. It was more varied than the one Kevin read to Desert Bluffs every week. The broadcast seemed to be going on forever, how long were those guards going to listen to Cecil's nonsense? Kevin pulled his pillow over his head and started humming, trying to block out the sound of the radio.
Kevin was so busy blocking the noise of the radio that he didn't notice when the door to the room outside his cell was opened. He didn't see Dana and Carlos enter the room, or the death glare Dana shot to the guards in reference to their choice in radio. However he did notice when the radio was turned off, and was therefore able to hear his cell door being unlocked.
"Congratulations Kevin," Dana said as the guards opened the door, "Carlos and I convinced the city council to release you."
Kevin leapt to his feet in joy, "Wonderful! I just knew you two wouldn't leave me here to rot!"
"There is one catch," Carlos said, "Because if nothing else you have the potential to become a violent murderer, and murder is now illegal in Night Vale."
"Oh?" Kevin asked.
"To enable the Sheriff's Secret Police to keep an eye on you, you may never leave Night Vale again," as Dana spoke one of the guards clipped an ankle monitor onto him, "Should you step foot outside the city limits, you will be electrocuted. If you attempt to remove, or tamper with, your monitor you will be electrocuted. If you attempt to murder anyone, you will be electrocuted."
"I'm sensing the pattern," Kevin said, "Will it kill me?"
Dana and Carlos exchanged nervous glances, "We don't know," Carlos said, "The city council refused to specify how many volts you would be exposed to."
"Wonderful," Kevin said, "Is there any other new threats to my life I should be aware of?"
"Not that we're aware of," Dana said, "But in Night Vale there is almost always a new threat to our lives."
Kevin wasn't sure what to make of that, but before he could think about it too much he was being ushered out of the room by the Sheriff's Secret Police.
XoXoXoXoX
"And now, the weather," Cecil said, cueing the song and taking a moment to relax.
Cecil still hadn't heard from Carlos. He knew Carlos wasn't happy, Dana had made that abundantly clear, but he thought he'd have been open to talking it out. Cecil had tried calling, but all he got was Carlos's voicemail and he wasn't sure what to say so he didn't leave a message. He'd also made an announcement on the radio to welcome Carlos back home, but he wasn't sure Carlos had been listening.
Cecil wished he could talk to Carlos, if they could just talk about it maybe he could fix it. Carlos couldn't stay mad at him forever, could he? Though another part of him wasn't sure he wanted to make up with Carlos, after all Earl was also important to him. Though he wasn't sure what his exact relationship with Earl was, he did know that Earl wasn't currently angry at him.
Cecil sighed, he was due to be on again any minute. But at least he'd be home soon, and then maybe he could get this mess sorted out.
