~Chapter 20~
For a while Jesse and Wake walked in silence through the twisted corridors that lead up and down, to the left and to the right, across and beneath floors they had already passed. Apart from those two hooded figures back at the gate they hadn't met anybody else until now, only the inky shadows creeping across the walls and floor kept company to them.
Wake didn't know if this was a good sign, or a bad omen. This was the core of the Dark Place after all, shouldn't things be more… busy in here? However one would define it, though. Also, they still haven't found anything that could be the slightest hint to where Scratch was.
Having stopped at the next intersection that split their way into a total of four, Wake shined ahead with his flashlight, glancing into each corridor, including the one they came from.
And then he sighed and sat on the ground.
"It's hard to admit, but I think we're lost, Jesse." Wake leaned the back of his head to the wall. "Everything looks the same… What a stupid idea it was to even come here!"
Yes, itisstupid, Jesse thought. But what's done, that's done. If only…
"Do you have any pen or pencil with you? Maybe you can try to 'write' us a way through?"
Wake thought for a moment, but then he shook his head in silence.
No, he didn't have any pen… only that sheet of paper he had brought with him from the cabin in first place. He reached into his jacket and took the page out of it, looking at it as if it was their last hope of everything, hoping that it would somehow be able help them… but the page stayed blank.
"I doubt we'll ever get out of here again", said Wake and lowered his eyes. "We shouldn't even be here, I'm so sorry that I dragged you into all this."
"Hush, watch your tongue!" Jesse strongly slapped on his shoulder. "Giving up now, what the hell? You're a goddamn creator, you can change it!"
"But I can't create anything if I don't have the tools to!" He gnashed his teeth and his fingers tightened around the paper in his hand, crumpling it. This stupid thing wouldn't be a help anyway, maybe it could even lead the twisted beings lurking in here to them!
Jesse caught his wrist and raised his clenched hand with the paper before both their eyes.
"You don't need to have them now. Back outside you healed me without any words, think about it!"
"But I healed you without thinking of it! Now I'm thinking too much… I don't know what to do, I-I… I wish…"
I wish there was any way to get through this, he thought and looked at the paper in his hands. Just any way to get out of here alive. To keep Jesse save… To redeem the unspoken promise I made to Scratch – to myself – when following him here. This can't be the end… there must be something, just… anything!
Almost like a response the paper in his hands began to glow again – yet this time in a pale green rather than the red color of before. And after a moment handwritten words appeared on it, and these were large, curvy letters that looked like written in calligraphy:
"Follow the Light."
Wake gasped. He knew these words. He heard them long ago in that nightmarish dream that haunted him when he firstly arrived in Bright Falls, before he got trapped at the Dark Place. It seemed all so long ago, like in a whole different life, and yet he felt as if it had been only yesterday…
"Zane…" he whispered in both shock and awe and in the same moment he said it, the green letters faded away, but not all of them. The remaining melted into another, forming a green dot on the bottom of the page that was flashing weakly but steadily. Even when Wake turned the paper around its own axis the dot kept pointing into the same direction: it was like a compass.
Jesse saw it and she smiled. She knew it, she always knew that he will make it, and that he wasn't alone, he had never been. And that was very, very fine.
But as she thought about it, a glimpse of fearful doubt sparkled in her mind. The further she was going into the Dark Place, the weaker she sensed the Oldest House that was left behind. What was going on in there? How were her people in there and the House itself, holding the Hiss back? Hadn't she betrayed it by leaving?
"I'm keeping (ing)… in control…" Jesse heard a faint voice, whispering like inside of her head, and her hand, formerly wounded, was shining, somehow different than usual, pulsing not from her heartbeat, but like from someone else's. "I'm on guard (guard)… Keep going… I can handle it (it)…"
Jesse took a deep breath, clenched her shining hand to a fist and leaned it to her chest. She, too, was not alone.
Thank you, Trench.
"Are you okay?" asked Wake in worry, still sitting on the ground.
"Sure", she simply said and nodded with a slight smile. "I guess we now know where to go?"
Wake turned the paper around again, but the green dot still didn't point in another direction. He nodded as well, stood up from the ground and looked around the intersecting corridors for a moment, before he pointed to his right.
"This way!"
And without another word, he dashed into the direction that was marked on the paper, navigating through the supernatural maze of the Dark Place as if he always knew the way.
Jesse ran after him, breathing heavily and soon lagged behind. She could fly, though, that would be much easier and quicker… but no, she should save her powers for now; there would surely come a better time to use them, she could feel it. She caught up to Wake when he stopped at the next intersection..
"You should really sign up for gym, Jesse", he said, grinning as he glanced into each of the corridors to make sure that nobody would be able to ambush them, "Such a slow pace doesn't suit you at all."
"I would've suggested the very same to you several hours ago", Jesse said in retort and Wake chuckled, but his light mood died away immediately when he once more looked at the paper in his hands; the green dot wasn't flashing anymore, but glowed weakly near the page's center.
"I think we found him…", he whispered almost soundlessly and stepped into the hallway to his far right. Jesse followed Wake and froze behind him from what they both managed to find: the corridor ended in a small room with nothing in it – except for an object that looked like some kind of altar, built from the same black stone like the walls around them. Scratch was lying on top of it with closed eyes, unmoving, and an ordinary person might assume that he was just—
"He's sleeping", hissed Wake and stood still on the spot. "We're risking our goddamn lives in here and that bastard is sleeping!"
What? No way…!
Jesse passed by Wake. She didn't dare to walk too close towards Scratch, though, or to rush anything – she couldn't tell where it came from, but she had a weird feeling about this all, as if there was still something hiding from their sight. Yet the few steps she took were more than enough to give a better view.
"Alan", she gasped, glancing back over a shoulder, "He… he's not… look!"
Reluctantly the writer came closer. And then, he saw it as well: from the distance Scratch had indeed seemed to be asleep. On second glance, however, Wake realized that it was far from that. In fact, Scratch wasn't even breathing; instead a violent shiver shook his tensed body like he was suffering from a terrible cold, and the only sound within the silence – apart from his clattering teeth – was a faint hissing noise that came from a glowing ribbon wrapped around his left wrist like a shackle, linking him to the surface he was laying on.
"Goddammit…", Wake muttered and stepped forward… but suddenly he froze again, having noticed a slight sparkle only an inch away from where he stood. "What the—!" He raised a hand and touched the thin air before him as if it were made from glass. For a moment nothing seemed to happen, but then a coldness like ice pierced into his skin like thousand tiny needles. It was a feeling he knew too well after all these years, he knew what it meant, what it could do, how it could both create and destroy… and suddenly, the world around him seemed to flicker, only for a second, yet it was enough to pull Wake's mind back into the present; drawing a sharp breath the writer pulled his hand away as if he had burned himself – just in time to see the dark flows that had appeared beneath his fingers, crackling like from electricity as they scattered all over the unseen barrier.
"Hell", Jesse hissed. "We have to break it anyway, no matter how!"
She covered the remaining distance and leaned against the invisible wall, calling for her aura to burn it through, but it was no use – even though the crawling shadows dissolved within her rainbow light, the barrier itself remained untouched.
Gnashing his teeth, Wake silently cursed towards himself. He had been lingering, both back at the gate and within that stupid maze, they had lost time they didn't even have in first place! If only he hadn't hesitated, they would have arrived here earlier, they might have been able to prevent all this!
Just then the paper in Wake's hand began to glow again, and the fine lines of Zane's handwriting formed a single word in green letters on its surface:
"Hide!"
Jesse noticed it, too.
"So where should we?", she asked into the silence. "There's nowhere to hide, we have to fight!"
And as she said it, the word faded away and different ones appeared:
"You can't fight him. He's the new Herald now, and way too strong. Use the light to hide in the shadows. To your left! Hurry!"
"Are you kidding us?", Wake snarled towards the page, "It's a freaking hallway, there is nothing here, we can't—"
But then he realized the meaning of Zane's paradoxical words. Having raised the flashlight in his hands, Wake aimed its beam at the blank wall on the left, and to his surprise the light wasn't reflected like he expected it to; instead the light went right through the black surface, as if it wasn't even there. Without any other word or thought, Wake grabbed Jesse's wrist and pulled her behind the illusionary wall – just in time, as only a second later the sound of hasted footsteps echoed from far ahead that came closer very quickly.
Who's him, anyway? Jesse snorted in impatience, but as much as she was wishing for an answer, she had to admit there was no chance for them to risk in vain. Sighing silently, she covered her eyes with a palm. What the hell she was thinking about when she confessed towards Wake right before Scratch's eyes?! She should have just freaking waited until she was alone with the writer… but Scratch surely wouldn't have left them both alone, no way. And where were they now!
Suddenly the walls around them stirred as if someone had thrown a stone into calm water. Jesse looked at Wake for a long moment, not moving, barely breathing. She saw the same fear within his eyes that was crawling inside of her chest, and slowly reached for her gun, trying to not make any sound. But before she managed to grab it, her eyes froze on the page in Wake's fingers that began to glow again, though much fainter than it had been.
"He passed the barrier. He can't see you from inside."
"You're sure about that?" Wake whispered almost silently, having barely moved his lips. "One wrong step and we're dead… or worse."
"Yes", formed the green glow in response. "He can't see you… doesn't suspect a threat… won't notice… that's how things work…"
With both eyes fixed at the paper, Wake stretched his free hand out into the corridor, waving it up and down… but even after a few moments nothing happened. "You better don't fail me now…", he whispered, and with a deep breath the writer stepped out of the protecting shadows of the illusionary wall.
Jesse didn't dare to move; she was waiting with heavy pounding heart, ready to jump out after Wake in any second to back him up… but there was no need to. Seconds that seemed to last for an eternity passed, until she finally heard the writer's whisper: "It's true, we're safe here. At least for now."
Sighing with relief Jesse came out behind him… and her glance was immediately caught by someone walking up and down behind Scratch, who still laid on the altar without showing any sign of consciousness. Jesse tilted her head, observing the stranger closely. Black jacket and tie, angular face, short brown hair with strands of gray… she had never seen this man before. Yet Wake seemed to know him; Jesse saw the writer's features tensing more and more with each second passing.
"Wait, do you... Who's that?…" Jesse hissed into Wake's ear.
"Nightingale", he whispered back, his voice was dripping with disdain and cold hate alike. "I have no idea how much you know about him… but he hunted me in Bright Falls and got taken by the… you know…"
Robert Nightingale. Yes, she heard of him. Her trusted agents questioned enough people in Bright Falls, including Sheriff Sarah Breaker who had not a very good opinion of him. She hadn't been the only one though – there were a few other complaints about this guy… along with some files hinting to a short but vain investigation following his sudden disappearance.
"Let me tell you he's an asshole, even when he still was a human. Seems he's not dead after all…"
Jesse slightly nodded, partly to herself, partly in approval of Wake's words. So, Nightingale was the – how did Zane call it – the new Herald of Darkness? No surprise he wasn't to be found anywhere.
For a while she and the writer just stood there, neither speaking nor moving; they simply watched Nightingale wandering around… until he suddenly froze still.
"Time to come back to the living, Deviant", he hissed sharply and straightened a hand. Dark flows formed between his fingers, leaking from the tips like black ink, and when he touched Scratch's forehead, the former Herald opened his eyes. Shivering all over, Scratch gasped for air as if he didn't breathe for a long time, yet it soon turned into an agonized cough; a trace of blood dripped from his mouth while countless deep cuts and bright red burn marks appeared all over his face, neck and hands.
Jesse bit her lower lip in growing anger and glanced at Wake, who clenched his hands to fists… and like on his command they started to glow again.
"Alan?" Jesse's heart jumped as she saw Wake's light growing from within. And even though she was more than happy to see his inner powers becoming stronger, it worried her. This disturbance wouldn't remain unnoticed, she was sure of it. "Are you… Are you serious?"
Wake didn't answer. Instead the faint sparkle between his fingers became brighter, much brighter… but then a green glow mixed into it, forcing it to fade away. Once more Zane's words took shape on the page, though much slower than before, as if it took more effort for him to write them: "Not now… it's not the right time, Alan…"
"I–I…" Gnashing his teeth, Wake silently cursed. That wasn't fair. This just wasn't fair! He wasn't used to just stand aside and watch; he had to do something! But what? They couldn't get past this goddamn barrier, Nightingale would notice them before they even broke it… yet they couldn't just wait until this bastard killed Scratch either. What else should they do then? Just what? There had to be a way for them all to get out of this madness, there just had to!
Jesse nervously observed the setting. Her eyes switched from Zane's writing to Nightingale and back.
How long should we wait, then, she thought, and for what!
Alan wouldn't listen to her anyway; he was stubborn as a tree, she couldn't stop him for long. She truly didn't want to intervene, either, but she was beyond angry, too. Yet Jesse knew that it won't end easy – if it only ends…
Suddenly Nightingale looked up. His eyes hastily darted around for a moment, just as if he was trying to locate something invisible within the air, but then he focused at Scratch again. "So, have you changed your mind?" he asked, standing straight before his captive and looking down on him like on something that should be eliminated on first sight. "Or do you need to go back another time? Let me suggest you a deal: you'll tell me what you know about the FBC and the Hiss and I'll grant you a quick and painless death."
Jesse silently gasped, remembering what she read in the long burned manuscript.
In the last couple of weeks the Herald was becoming deviant anyway. He had been foolish enough to think that nobody would notice his secret visits to the Oldest House, but of course They knew. They always did.
Yet the Dark Presence didn't seem to know everything that Scratch knew. Otherwise they wouldn't keep him alive for so long, and Nightingale wouldn't have to question him like this, right? Or rather to interrogate him, as it was exactly that. And – considering the very fact that Scratch's wounds didn't heal by themselves – this interrogation must surely be a painful one. A quick death would certainly be the easiest way to get out of this...
And then her eyes widened – wasn't this exactly what Scratch had asked for back in the experiment room? Hell, he wouldn't betray them for that, would he?
But to her surprise Scratch looked straight into Nightingale's face; the stubborn and determined look within his eyes formed a sharp contrast to his weak voice that had dropped to an almost inaudible whisper: "N-not… not in this life…"
"Oh, I see…", said Nightingale and a scornful smirk appeared on his lips. "You still think they will save you, right? You want to defend your little secret because you hope that they will show up and get you out of here. Let me tell you, deviant, it won't happen. The writer isn't stupid enough to come back here after he got trapped for years. They'll just forget about you and live on their normal lives; you won't be anything else than a faint memory for them, not even this. Do you really think they would care about you? About you? You're an even larger fool than I thought!"
Jesse barely held herself from bursting of laugh when she heard Nightingale's words. The writer isn't stupid enough to come back… and still he was right here, along with her, only waiting for their chance to strike. Human minds could be tricky, couldn't they?
"I-I know that they won't come to save me. I know that they… that they don't care. That's no news for me, Robert." Scratch chuckled hoarsely, something reminding of a mocking smile appeared on his features. "S-still, I'd rather endure a century of… of this, than telling you anything! So go on with y-your punishment, I-I won't give in!"
Just then, Nightingale grabbed Scratch's shirt in rage and forcibly pulled him up.
"Do you really think that this is some sort of game?", he snarled, their faces only an inch away from another. "I'll find out anyway when you take your last breath, you can't win this, you only make it worse for yourself! This is your last chance!"
Scratch didn't answer. And apart from a sharp hiss not a single sound left his lips. He just cunningly looked straight at Nightingale for another moment before he tore his glance away and closed his eyes as if to make a silent, yet final statement. Roaring furiously, Nightingale once more raised his shadow-covered hand… but he never got a chance to strike Scratch with it; suddenly there was a crack like from thunder and another man appeared next to them, literally taking shape out of nowhere.
"Nightingale", he said, "we have a problem."
"Oh shit", Jesse whispered into Wake's ear, "I think we've been spotted."
Drawing her gun with one hand she moved the fingers of the other, calling for her inner powers that soon replied with a faint glow. And only after she glanced at Wake. So this was the exact time to attack before they were found, nothing else to wait for… right?
"We can't fight them both", Wake whispered back and slightly shook the head; and despite he, too, reached for his gun, he didn't move apart from that. Instead he kept looking at Nightingale, tracing him with his eyes when he released Scratch and approached the other man.
"For you it's still HeraldofDarkness", snarled Nightingale, harshly grabbing the other by the shoulder. "You better have an important reason to disturb me; speak or you'll be punished like him!"
"There was interference at the gate, Herald", said the stranger and – having quickly glanced at Scratch – submissively lowered his head. "Someone might've messed with it, but we can't say for sure. You… you should take a look yourself."
"Interference at the gate? But who could—" Cutting himself off, Nightingale fell silent. He released his grip from the stranger's shoulder, seemingly thinking for a moment, before he turned back to Scratch. "Don't worry, Deviant", he said, smiling scornfully at the expression on his predecessor's face that lay somewhere between shock, faint hope and disbelief. "The writer won't get here in time. He will never find his way through the maze. He'll get lost and be killed, and it'll be your fault." Nightingale once more waved his hand. The darkness covering his palm stirred – and within the blink of an eye it changed into the shape of a translucent sword. "I offered you a painless death, but you seem to prefer the… traditionalway…"
And only after, without hesitating, Nightingale brought the sword down, stabbing it deeply into Scratch's chest. Scratch didn't have any chance to react; only his eyes widened in shock. For a moment time seemed to stand still, but then thick dark flows leaked from the ghostly blade, seeping into the wound and Scratch screamed, loud and painful, cringing like his nerves were blazing with electric agony. Yet the eerie echo of his hoarse voice soon died away – and even though he seemed to black out he still weakly whimpered as a stream of blood began to flow from his nose and ears, growing stronger with every passing second.
Having watched Scratch's desperate struggle for a moment, Nightingale eventually bowed down once more.
"You always get what you deserve", he hissed into Scratch's ear, before he nodded towards the other man and when they both dissolved into nothingness, the page in Wake's hand glowed again to form Zane's words for a last time.
"Now is the time … the barrier is still weakened from his passage… break it!"
And then the green glow faded completely, leaving the page blank like before.
"Go!" yelled Jesse and rushed on the barrier – she was shining blindingly bright from her rainbow aura, while his hands once more filled with the white glow of his inner light.
This time the barrier didn't stand a chance – it turned bright red as they both touched it. Sparks of darkness burst from the glowing surface just as if it was trying to defend itself from being passed; giant cracks appeared all over it that got larger and larger, no matter how much the shadows leaking from the walls tried to repair them. And then – with a crack from thunder and the loud noise of breaking glass just like back at the gate – the barrier broke apart into sharp shards that kept sizzling from the energy that was inside of them.
"Scratch!" Jesse ran to the former Herald and touched the sword sticking from his chest with her still glowing hand, yet she shrank back immediately when Scratch once more yelped loudly in pain, weakly moving to get away from her as much as he could.. "We're here, we are here, you hear me?!"
She never got an answer.
"Do something, Jesse," yelled Wake over a shoulder; he was standing with his back to them and aiming his flashlight and gun into the corridor. "They'll find us if we stay here!"
"Me? I'm trying, god… dammit!" She once more grabbed the sword's handle tightly; Scratch's agonized screams pierced like a needle through Jesse's heart, but she forcibly pushed the disturbing and troubled emotions away that stirred within her. This wasn't the time to be weak, she had to get rid of this damn sword, no matter how much it hurt him, there was no other way! Yet the stubborn thing didn't move an inch away.
Jesse roared and let her light spread, making it soak into the entire matter of darkness crawling around, and after what seemed like an eternity to her, the ghostly blade got covered with shiny cracks. Clenching her teeth, Jesse screamed in anger, held it much more stronger – and finally, she pulled the sword over and it shattered into flying dust and black smoke; with a last loud scream Scratch jolted up; still shivering all over, he coughed hard and pressed a hand to his chest where the sword had stuck before.
"Scratch! You Stupid, how could you run away from us like that?!" Jesse desperately embraced him, once more calling for her aura to let it flow from her body for a while… until she noticed an almost unnoticeable shudder running through his figure.
No, wait, Jesse, she thought, you can't just fill him with light like you did to Alan, you'll hurt him even more.
And she let her light dissolve beneath her skin again and just laid her hand on the scar that still remained on Scratch's nape after she had banished his darkness away for the first time.
"J-Jesse… are you… are you mad", Scratch snarled, his voice – despite weak and exhausted – was full of anger, yet he didn't look up to meet eyes with her. "How could you come here… I-I told you to… restore the barrier… and to… to stay away… What i-if They find you…!"
Jesse snorted – same old Scratch – and hugged him tight, hoping that if not her light but, at least, her warmth allowed him to feel better, even if only a little bit.
"Shhh", she said calmly and soothingly stroke across his back. "I told you I won't let you go away, see?"
"I… I was a fool, Jesse…", whispered Scratch out of a sudden, leaning heavily against her shoulder, "I-I'm sorry… I'm so very sorry about everything…"
"That's alright", she whispered back and sighed silently. So much of her strength had been used today, so many emotions… This won't be left without consequences for my powers, she secretly thought, yet she continued holding Scratch like a child.
"HEY!" yelled Wake towards them over a shoulder, still aiming his flashlight and gun into the corridor. "This is no freaking tea party here; did you forget where we are? We must go! Right now, before the asshole comes back!"
Finally. Oh yeah, finally, he can keep himself on an acceptable level, at last.
"Ooooh, that's the spirit, Mr. Wake, you're goddamn right!" Jesse smiled with a slight laugh and reached for Scratch's hand to get him up to his feet. "Let us go! Come on, Scratch, collect yourself!"
Scratch hissed sharply he came to stand. Breathing heavily, he made a few unsteady steps, but soon he got hold back by force. He glanced over a shoulder and when he looked back at Jesse, his eyes were full of shock and fear.
"No, w-we must—!" But he never got the chance to finish what he wanted to say; the translucent ribbon on his wrist, still binding him to the altar of black stone, changed color from violet to a bright red, and Scratch fell to his knees like a cut tree. "Leave me alone, leave me alone!", he yelled, covering his ears as if to shield himself from a voice that only he was able to hear, and once more the blood began to flow from beneath his fingers. "You won't get me, I won't tell you, I-I…!"
"Nrgh! Hell!" Jesse wrapped the shackle with her palms. Her entire soul was burning from anger, hate, disdain – and she turned this inner flame into a new power push, willing to break the chains that were holding Scratch back. She simply didn't care anymore about any consequences, nor if she ever regrets what she had done and was going to do…
But then, another light mixed into Jesse's – weakly green and flickering as if it could get extinguished any second.
"Don't, Jesse", whispered Zane's faint voice inside of her head, "you still need your powers. Think about the House and your agents, they need you… Let me break it, I know this pattern better than you."
"Yes… I guess you're right", Jesse answered in her thoughts and let her light disappear within her body. "But will you manage to? Don't fade away because of me."
"I will, don't worry I've been in this place for almost half a century; I know what my powers are capable of. My light may grow weaker, but it won't vanish completely, trust me."
Jesse slightly nodded, and when she released her grip from Scratch, the glowing shackle on his wrist got engulfed by the green glimmer, and it began to glow, brighter and brighter, as bright that it nearly hurt the eye… until finally the chain broke apart with a loud crack—
"It tried to tear apart his soul, he may not—"
—and suddenly, without any warning, Zane's light was gone.
"Zane? Don't leave!" Jesse fearfully screamed in her thoughts and her anger grew even stronger, much stronger than it had ever been – nothing will stand in her way now; she will win, -they- will win this, no matter what; whatever it takes to get out of this living hell!
Scratch stopped shivering and raised his head, his eyes were confused, his face covered in fear. "What… what did just—?", he whispered, but then he spotted Jesse and Wake, and jumped up to his feet, taking a few steps away from them. "Who… who are you?", he asked, but before any of them could answer, the heavy silence was forcibly torn apart:
"The main gate has been broken!" snarled Nightingale's harsh voice, echoing from everywhere at the same time, not only from the walls, but from as close as if he stood right next to them. "Lock the whole place down! Guard all access-points! Find the intruders! Bring them to me, but alive! Whoever kills them will suffer the same fate as the deviant!"
Flinching hard, Scratch raised his head to the ceiling.
"Intruders? Deviant?", he repeated, and his eyes darted around in confusion and fear. "Does he mean… does he mean us? W-what happened? Who the hell are you?"
"No time to explain, we'll tell you later!" Wake forcibly grabbed his hand and pulled him behind when he dashed into the corridor. "We must get out of here, right now!"
When the hell will this ubiquitous amnesia finally end?!
Jesse reached the writer and his doppelgänger from behind, grabbed them both under the arms and launched herself into the air to fly with them through the hallways.
It was so dark in here now, much darker than it had been before. She couldn't even see further than a few meters in front of them, and while Wake was shining the way with his flashlight, Scratch clenched close to Jesse, seemingly afraid that he might fall. For a moment they were passing through the corridors in silence, but when they flew straight across one intersection, Scratch suddenly opened his eyes.
"No!", he gasped, "N-not this way!"
"Shut up", snarled Wake back, "that's the way we came from, we won't change direction!"
"It's the wrong way! We must go to the left! The left!"
"You both shut up, for Heaven's sake!" Jesse blurted out and then said a bit calmer: "Alan, prompt me where to fly if I'm really going the wrong way."
"We are on the right way, Jesse", said Wake, glancing angrily towards Scratch. "Of course we are, it's the way we came from! And now shut your mouth, Scratch!"
"I-It's not the right way", insisted Scratch and started to struggle against Jesse's grip. "Somebody changed this place to confuse us! I don't know why I know, but I do know! We might've never met before, but you should trust me!"
Jesse silently roared at his words. How could he dare to tell her anything about trust, the very thing whose existence he had denied not even an hour ago?
"Scratch, I would punch you in the face for that if only my hands were free. What a nonsense! Are you kidding me?" And she held him even stronger to herself. If only he says it again, she'll burn him with her aura, she could swear of it!
"I'm not kidding! Why should I?" Scratch's eyes darted around in haste and fear. "We must go back, right now!"
"Don't make me do it!" Jesse hissed at him – more from impotence now than from hate. "Damn, where's the end of this hellhole?!"
"I told you: it's back and to the left! Why don't you just trust me?!"
"Just shut up, goddammit!" yelled Wake and raised the flashlight, smacking it to his Doppelgänger's neck. "Geez, he's still an annoying bastard", he added when Scratch's body sank limp but heavy into Jesse's grip. "Keep going straight ahead, Jesse!"
"Wow, that was tough", Jesse admitted, yet with honest understanding, and grabbed them both closer. Her strength… she felt it slipping away, slowly, but surely… I can fail to make it, suddenly shot into her mind. But no, she must carry on, she had no choice, there was no other way!
"His luck that I can't reach my gun", said Wake with smirk. "I would've— Oh shit!" he suddenly yelled loudly, and Jesse screamed, too, as she saw it: the corridor they were passing through was leading to a dead end. She released both Wake and Scratch from her grasp and made a flip in the air to slow down before hitting the wall. Right after, she jumped on the floor near them and laid both hands on the chest where the heart of her was pounding like mad.
"The hell…? No way!"
"No… No!" Wake rushed towards the dead end and raised his flashlight towards the black stone, hoping that it would be another illusion, but this wall was as solid as it was supposed to. Realizing it, Wake ran back to Scratch, who still laid unconscious on the floor.
"Hey, Scratch, wake up", he said, slapping his twin's cheek and shaking his shoulders. "You were right, okay? You were right! Just wake up and tell us where to go, we'll listen to you now, I promise!"
But no matter how much he begged, it was no use; Scratch didn't move an inch, neither did he react on anything.
Shit!
Wake shortly glanced at Jesse, gnashing his teeth and cursing to himself. Scratch knew this place better then him and Jesse together; of course he did, he spent most of his life in here after all. Why did he only… why didn't he listen? Now they had to figure out a new plan.
Jesse silently hissed and walked back and forth, shivering from the palette of emotions she was tired to hide. The Dark Place was a living being, just like her own Oldest House. But she cares about her House like for her own baby that cries when she's in hurt and feels happy when she's alright – as for this Place, she would smash it in pieces, twist it, forcibly shape something new from it just to make it feel the same cursed pain that she was feeling now.
"I'm sorry, Jesse, I didn't know… I-I thought—"
Yet Wake never managed to finish his sentence; he was interrupted by an almost quiet chuckle right behind them, and a cold voice that followed straight away.
"You should've listened to him, hm?"
Jesse's heart skipped a beat. She recognized this voice immediately – it belonged to the man who had warned Nightingale before. And when she turned around, she slightly startled at seeing their opponents face: short, blonde hair, sharp facial features, a piercing-through glance within the blue eyes… it was Alex Casey who stood before them, no doubt on that, even though the sinister smile on his face was so very different from any photograph of him she had seen within the last weeks. Just like the dark flows that crawled over his body and face, distorting his features in a way that no natural shadow could.
So he's a Taken now, shot through Jesse mind, and there is no way to save him? Oh hell, now he would definitely use this chance to take revenge on Wake for having him killed before; what a freaking irony…
"Stay back, Casey", Wake yelled and – having scramcled to his feet – aimed both his gun and flashlight at him. "Don't you dare to come any closer!"
"You better listen to him", Jesse raised her gun as well and her aura flickered for a blink of an eye, "I don't want to hurt you, neither does he, you got it?"
"Oh I won't come closer, don't worry… I'd really love to kill you, Wake, but the instructions were clear. A shame if you ask me, really. But still…"
The smirk on Casey's face widened when he leaned his palm on the nearest wall—
"I found them, Herald! Sector B-75, Corridor 728, North-Side!"
—and a shadow leaked from his fingers like black ink, crawling across the wall and only after a dark sparks scattered through the air, forming a bright red barrier behind Casey that blocked the way they came from.
"No!" without any thoughts, Jesse pulled the trigger of her gun, but the bullet was reflected from Casey like from an invisible shield and disappeared into the darkness.
"Useless", he said, smirking straight into her face. "This place follows its own rules, I'm sure the deviant told you that. Yet it seems that you still haven't learned anything… What simple minded fools you are…"
That was enough.
Casey's smug grin, his sneering words, the fact that they were cornered like goddamn rats trapped in a cage… this all lit Jesse's soul up like a fire that burned with hate, rage, despair and the will to avenge for everything that she had been put through today.
Roaring in anger she charged towards Casey to knock him over, to make him suffer for everything he had done to them… but before she could get too close, Wake caught her hand and pulled her back, and now it was her turn to struggle with him.
"Let me go, let me—!" Jesse tried to get away from Wake – but stood still, having noticed a movement behind herself. Looking back over a shoulder, she saw how Scratch slightly stirred, clumsily reaching for his neck where Wake had struck him. And yet he didn't seem to come back to full senses, as he kept his eyes closed, groaning quietly from the pain that the rough knock out had brought to him.
But there was no freaking time for that, Nightingale would be with them very soon.
Think, Jesse, think!
And then her glance fell on Wake's flashlight. This surely wasn't the nicest or best way to wake someone from their unconsciousness, but specific problems required specific solutions, after all. She tore the flashlight from the writer's grasp and directed its beam directly on Scratch's face, and just like she intended it, Scratch jolted like he got an electric shock. Having jumped to his feet within a second, his glance hastily switched between Jesse, Wake, Casey's glowing barrier and the dead end behind.
"I-I told you it's the wrong way… I told you!" he whispered and reached into his jacket. "My… my knife… I need my knife… where is it? Where is it, lady?"
The knife? Oh, right! She actually took it with her when she and Wake left the cafeteria; she still hoped to give it back. But wait… she used so much of her powers and this was when Scratch's knife was hiding behind her jacket's bosom along with the gun! She wondered… what if it was much more than just…?
"Catch!" Jesse revealed the knife and threw it to its true owner; Scratch caught it and a weak flow like from black ink leaked from his fingers – flickering faintly, yet still strong enough to cover his hand along with the knife. And as the shadows faded away, the blade between Scratch's fingers had changed appearance: it wasn't silver any longer, neither did it still look like an ordinary kitchen-knife; instead its shape had melted away into a dagger from black metal with silver ornaments on it.
Jesse shortly frowned when Scratch took a few unsteady steps towards the dead end, but to her surprise the blade didn't break apart when he stabbed it into the concrete, not even when he pulled it all the way to the ground. Instead the wall got covered with the fine silver lines that spread over it, glistening in a strangely in the dim twilight all around. And when Scratch drew out the dagger from the concrete again, he hissed a few words in an unknown language… and the wall opened on his command, revealing the corridor beyond.
It works… it works!
Jesse didn't hesitate to scream out from the glimpse of insane happiness that flared up in her soul among the fading anger.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed how Casey leaned his palm on the wall again.
"Hurry, Herald", he yelled furiously, "they're getting away! I need new orders!"
And only after Nightingale's harsh voice echoed from the walls around:
"Something's blocking me… I can't come to your position… Kill them! Don't let them escape!"
"Hell no! Bye-bye!" Jesse replied sarcastically. This strange overwhelming euphoria was nothing like she ever felt before. Maybe this was one of the very consequences of the huge power loss that she expected. But who cares if it helped her to not give up? She just surrendered and let it be.
She grabbed Scratch's hand to pull him into the newly opened passage. Wake quickly followed behind and when Casey charged after them, but out of a sudden the wall behind them glowed in faintly green and fell back close, leaving the agent trapped within the corridor—
"Dammit! Herald, I need one of the keys, hurry!"
—and soon their pursuer's cursing voice faded in the distance.
"To the left, lady, please… I'm not able to open another dead end…"
Seeing Scratch falling behind, Jesse caught him up under the armpits.
"Here, here, we've got it now, I'm sorry", she said and laid his arm around her own shoulder.
To the left. Now that's for sure.
She quickly led him along the corridor and Scratch silently followed her lead. He didn't focus his eyes at anything, but only looked around tiredly to stay conscious, clenching the dagger in his hand closely as if his life depended on it.
"The main gate is closed and guarded", he said after a moment, his words hard to understand between the heavy breaths he took. "But I know another way… a secret way… it leads to a weird place, but it's far better than this one… it grants… control… I-I hope I can still find it—"
And then, he froze still.
"Hey!" Jesse reached for his elbow with her free hand and shook it. "Don't you dare to faint now, you hear me? We don't have time for that!"
Heavily breathing, Scratch closed his eyes, and for a moment it seemed as if Jesse's words would fade unheard, but then he slightly raised a finger, pointing at a spot on the wall across that looked just like every other around them.
"There's nothing there, Scratch", said Jesse with a sigh. This all must affect him indeed very badly when he was already hallucinating. But to her surprise Scratch shook the head.
"I-it's there… the secret path…"
Jesse shrugged.
"And… what now?"
Getting away from Jesse's grasp, Scratch walked towards the wall with unsteady steps and laid his palm on it, touching it in various places as if he was searching for something hidden within the black concrete. Then he raised the dagger again, stabbed it deeply into the stone and turned it around like a key… and within a second the wall crumbled away into gravel and dust, revealing a long tunnel with rough, rainbow colored walls that led far ahead.
"It'll hurt to pass it", whispered Scratch weakly and when he once more leaned with his back against the nearest wall, his knees gave in and he slid down to the ground. "But we're safe in the House that lies beyond… Th-they can't get us there, I tried it before… please t-trust me…"
"Alan?" asked Jesse as the writer came back to them. "We should do it, right?"
Wake looked at Scratch for a moment, then he glanced back into the hallways of the Dark Place, and finally he peeked into the illuminated passage. He had no idea where this would lead them to, or what they would face on their way. And yet…
"Each place is better than this one", he simply said and reached for Scratch's shoulders to pull him back to his feet and to drag him into the tunnel.
Jesse sadly sighed and followed behind.