The door to Bea's apartment slowly swung open as Gregg stepped through. Despite the warm, humid weather, he was still dressed in leather and denim, which Mae thought would be extremely uncomfortable, but she knew how Gregg was about that punk look. The two shut the door behind them and sat near the two girls. Everyone was suffocated by an awkward silence before Gregg finally spoke up.
"So, what'd you wanna talk about so bad?"
"The pictures of the guy, remember?" Mae huffed. She pulled out her phone and held it up, showing off the picture of the figure.
"Mhm, and you're sure that this is a cultist and not, say, just a regular guy?"
"What's that on his face?" Bea asked.
"Yes, Gregg! See, look at…" Mae scrolled through her photos, finally stopping at the video, "this!"
Gregg thought, "He… went into the mine? Okay, so what's so special about—"
"He walked through the rubble! He just… phased through it! Look!" Mae exclaimed, playing the video again.
"How'd he do that?" Bea wondered. She was, despite her skepticism, pretty interested in what Mae was showing and telling her.
"I don't really know, but that doesn't matter. Remember what the one cult guy when we first met them?"
"He could walk through walls…" Gregg said slowly, "Huh, you've… really put a lot of effort into this story."
"I'm not lying! I saw all this and I even got pictures! Just like you wanted!" Mae shouted.
Gregg groaned, "Mae, I didn't want you to actually get pictures."
"You said you wouldn't believe me unless had pictures, and now I have some! What else do you want?"
Gregg sighed. "Mae, I want you to stop with this. Stop with all of this cult shit, cause none of it is real, and it's just putting you on edge and whatever. Please stop."
"Look, I want to stop with this 'cult shit', too! But, I can't yet because there's at least one cultist still out there who also happens to be hanging around my house every night!"
"Really now? So this guy should be standing outside the apartment building? If I look out the window I should see him?"
"Gregg…"
"No, he's gotta be here, right? Cause he's following you everywhere?"
"Gregg."
Gregg stood up and held his arms and head up. Dramatically, he pleaded, "Oh great goat god, please show us a sign if this cultist goat is real."
The lights flickered.
Gregg paused and, dumbfounded, began to stutter, "Wait, was… was that one of you?" He turned around, back to the group. None had moved, except for Mae, who was stood up next to Gregg, ready to punch him straight in the face.
"You haven't, like, missed an electric bill or something, Bea, have you?" Gregg asked, desperate for an explanation.
Bea stated, "No, we've paid our electric bill. I think that that was actually—"
"Angus? What could've done that?"
"I don't know, maybe the electricity surged or something." Angus thought.
Gregg snapped. "That's what it was. Electric surge. That wasn't any sort of mysterious deus ex machina or whatever, just a—"
"Don't you dare blow it off like that! That was clearly some sort of sign that I'm right! It couldn't have been a coincidence, Greggory!"
"Oooh, you just know that wasn't a coincidence, huh? Just like you—"
"Shut up— both of you!" Bea shouted, causing Gregg to quickly stop mid-sentence and for both to turn their attention to Bea, stood right in between the two. "Alright, let's just say that the cult is still around in some fashion; then what?"
Mae thought. "We'd try to stop anyone still alive, I guess."
"Okay… how? Clearly, if your video is real—"
"Which it is!"
"—Then this guy has some magical powers or something. We can't take that on, especially since we have no weapons.'
"I've got a bat."
Bea sighed, "I know, Mae, I know you have a bat. That's not enough." Bea switched her attention over to Gregg, "And you also have to think about whether this guy isn't a cultist. What if he's just a homeless guy or something like that?"
"But he's not!"
"But Mae, what if he is? Then what? If you assault a homeless guy I'm not helping you in any way."
"Come on, you guys gotta believe me! I was right last time about the cult!"
"You also joined it, Mae, so I wouldn't be so confident," Gregg replied.
"How much more are—"
"Shut up! You two need to separated. You're acting like children," Bea interrupted.
Gregg, almost shamefully, sat down next to his boyfriend. Mae sat down as well.
"Guys, can you at least consider this? What if I'm right and we're not prepared?" said Mae.
"What exactly would preparing mean, though? Getting a gun and chasing this guy through the woods?" Bea asked.
"I don't know, maybe we could just get some sort or weapon and then just, hole up at Germ's or—" Mae paused. "Germ. He's, like, super sick, right?"
"I mean, last time I checked he was." Bea explained.
"Then we gotta go over there! He's not gonna be able to protect himself!"
"Give Germ some credit. He's probably more fit than any of us," Gregg said.
"But he's sick! Besides, he's super close to the mine and pretty much alone," Mae retorted.
"He'll be fine because there's no one after him."
"The cult guy will. He was down there in the mine with you guys last time."
"Exactly. Since they're all dead and not alive, it's fine."
"Gregg, you can't just—"
"Fucking shut up!" Bea yelled. "Okay," she sighed, "let's just go to Germ's so that at the very least we can calm Mae down, cause I can't listen to you two fucking argue anymore."
"Yes, good idea. Let's please not do that anymore," Angus said.
Angus headed for the door, causing Gregg to follow behind. Bea, after grabbing her keys, grabbed Mae's hand and led her to the door.
"Bea," Mae thought, "do you believe me?"
"...Not entirely. You had some good proof, but you're also definitely wrong."
"But, Bea—"
Bea shushed her girlfriend. "Hey, I believed you this much, don't push it." She locked the apartment door behind her.
Mae chuckled. "Thanks, I guess."
"Good answer," Bea smiled before leading Mae to the elevator, where the two boys stood waiting, having waited for Bea and Mae to flirt.
"Can I push the button?" Gregg asked, feverishly.
Angus laughed. "Go right ahead."
Gregg pushed the ground floor button and the doors to the elevator shut.
"...So, what was Germ like last time you saw him?" Mae wondered.
"Well, yesterday, I went by his house to see if he was okay, and from what I was told, he was pretty much bedridden." The elevator door opened and the four began to walk out of the elevator and building. "Whatever happened to him happened hard."
"I thought it was just that he was drunk or hungover or whatever?" Gregg questioned.
"Maybe he was, but he's also apparently been sleep deprived, unable to eat, and I think he has a concussion," Bea explained.
The four stepped out of the building. "Are we walking over there?" Mae asked.
"Nah, I don't really feel like walking that far right now." Bea said before unlocking her car and getting in.
Mae opened the door for the passenger seat and sat down. Behind her, Gregg and Angus got in the back. The drive following was short, but still allowed all the passengers to enjoy some peace and quiet after the arguing. Bea had turned the radio on, keeping the volume low, however. Barely two songs had finished by the time they had arrived.
Bea parked outside of Germ's house and turned her key, stopping the engine. Everyone took a collective, metaphorical breath before opening their door and stepping out. Bea led the group up to the front door and knocked on the door. She waited for a moment before Germ's dad answered her. The lock of the door unlocked with several clicks and then the door swung open.
"Hello," Germ's dad said, almost confused.
"Hello, Mr. Warton. Could we talk to Germ really quickly?" Bea asked with as much politeness as she could muster.
"He's still pretty dang sick, kid. I think it'd be best if we left 'im alone for a while."
Mae stepped forth. "It's important we talk to him."
"Why do y— Oh. Is this about…?" Mr. Warton trailed off. Mae nodded.
"Oh, well, I guess, sure. Come on in," he invited, stepping out of the way.
The four walked in. The house smelled of the sort of lemon aroma that cleaning products give off. In the chair that previously held Grandma Creepo sat taped closed cardboard boxes of varying sizes and colors. Mae walked forward and heard the door close behind her.
"He's in his room, in case y'all couldn't tell," Germ's dad explained, locking the door. Multiple different locks were on the door. It seemed like they were put up hurriedly, as the screws that held the chain lock in place were screwed in at different angles and uneven with the floor, causing the lock to be crooked. Mr. Warton quickly slid the last lock closed and meandered towards the living room.
Mae had almost forgotten that Germ's dad was part of the cult as well. She could trust him and talk to him about the cult. He had gone through the same thing she had. He was tricked, too.
Bea grabbed Mae's hand, causing Mae to flinch, having not been paying attention to the world around her. She looked at the girl next to her, who then began to lead her down the hall to Germ's room. Mae smiled weakly.
Bea tapped her knuckles against the door, getting a quiet groan in response. Bea turned to Mae.
"Does that mean I can come in?" she wondered. Mae shrugged.
Bea rapped against the door again, recieving a louder, more strained groan. Bea sighed and subtly shook her head.
"I guess it does," Bea muttered, opening the door.
The room, smelling even more of cleaning products, contained Germ, laid haphazardly across his bed. His hat had fallen on the floor, next to an empty bowl sat by his bed. A full glass of ice water sat on a bedside table. Germ lifted his head up off his pillow, noticed the four intruders and mumbled, "What're you doing here?"
Angus gently shut the bedroom door behind him as Mae began to speak. "It's about the cult." Gregg, arms crossed, rolled his eyes.
"What else is there about the cult? You got rid of 'em, remember?" Germ moaned.
Mae shook her head. "There's still a guy left and he definitely wants to kill all of us." She gestured to everyone in the room.
"I just wanna say that we have, like, no proof of that," Gregg added.
Angus whispered to Gregg, "Just let her do this. When she realizes there's nobody after her she'll drop it."
Gregg and Angus began to argue whispering. Mae turned back to Germ and held up her phone, showing off the picture she'd taken. "See? This guy's been hanging around my house and he hit me over the head and knocked me unconscious."
Germ exhaled sharply as he shifted his position. "Join the club."
"This is serious, Germ. Especially since you're so close to the mine."
"I doubt that I'll be killed, Mae. Besides," Germ unzipped a pocket on his jacket and pulled out a pocket knife. "I got this."
Dim light came through the closed blinds and bounced off the blade into Mae's eyes. Germ showed the knife off for a few more moments before slowly pushing the sharp metal back into its place and back into his pocket. He zipped it closed as Mae began to speak again.
"But this guy is more than just that." Mae swiped to the video she'd taken and played it. "He's able to go through walls and stuff. He's like, supernatural or something."
"Alright, you beat god before, what do you need me for?" Germ cleared his throat. "Could you hand me that water?"
Mae grabbed the glass and handed it to the bird. He propped himself up with his arm and quickly chugged half of it, before placing it near the edge of the table. "Thanks," he muttered.
"Look, Germ, I'm just tryna keep everyone alive. We'll leave you alone, just let us stay in the house or whatever and keep you alive."
"You never mentioned that, Mae," Bea said. Mae held up her hand and continued to wait for Germ's response as he thought.
Germ sighed. "Sure, fine. Stay in my house. But tell my parents to stay in a hotel or something for the night."
"Why?" Mae wondered.
"Cause if you are right, which I doubt, then I don't want 'em killed by this guy or anything like that."
Mae flinched. God, he was seriously suggesting not only stabbing someone to death but also his parents dying. Well, Bea's dad had died in the mine, as well as, hopefully, all of the other cultists, so it wasn't too far-fetched to think someone could die. But she wasn't really prepared for that idea. She'd seriously not thought about someone dying. Hopefully no one would. Not if she or her bat had anything to— She'd forgotten her bat. Shit. That could be a problem.
Mae snapped back to reality. "Uh, sure. I can tell them that."
"Thanks," Germ responded. Angus opened the door as the group began to head for it.
Bea leaned over and whispered to Mae, "You never mentioned staying here all night, Mae."
"Look just do this tonight and if we all live then we hopefully don't have to do it again."
Bea sighed. "You know, I've given you a lot today. I'm trusting you and letting you waste my day, so you better not do this all again, ever."
"Alright." Mae glanced at Gregg for a second. "You don't think Gregg's actually, like, mad about this, do you?"
"...I think he's annoyed and worried, but no, I don't think he's mad at you. But you better not do this stuff tomorrow if you don't want him annoyed still."
"Yeah," Mae nodded.
The explanation as to why Germ's parents should leave was short. It wasn't hard to convince Germ's dad that they should leave. Mae said that they would finally stop the cult for good and Mr. Warton dutifully pointed to his room, explained there was a rifle in the closet, said not to be too loud or attract attention, and wished them the best of luck. Then, Mr. Warton had a quick private chat with Germ's mom, and after they packed a small bag with clothes and such, they were off. As Germ's dad was walking out the door, he tossed them the key, which Angus caught.
"Lock the door behind me and stay safe now." Mr. Warton continued out the door and then quickly shouted back through the small gap in the doorway, "We'll back 'round noon, alright?"
"Alright." Bea replied. "Thank you and have a good night, Mr. Warton."
"You, too." Mr. Warton shut the door and walked away. Angus locked the several mechanisms on the door. Now they would see what happened.
