Chapter 13: Blending In

…

After about an hour and a half of wandering around, Link and Irleen concluded that they were lost. The main road that they had continued down had ended at an abandoned four-story building that had been raised in the middle of the street. They had taken side streets to the next major road only to find that they had been on a completely different road from the first one they had found that morning. Of course, they had not noticed this until Irleen had made a comment about the lack of shops. So Link had decided to resort to a different means of navigation and jumped onto one of the two-story buildings using the mysterious feather he had received from "Constable Fieldview" two years ago. Here, it was much easier to see that the stars were still around, and Link had used them to determine that they had wandered farther west from where they had first explored the city. From there, Link had dropped back down into the streets and made his way to the east as best as the crooked streets would allow.

Along the way, Link had tried his best to not bump into anyone else. He had succeeded, of course, but he had still been quite unprepared for the alien environment around him. Just as before, people had appeared to be carrying on a conversation with thin air. Or a wall, which Irleen had supposed was a little saner than randomly stopping in the middle of the streets to talk. And, even without Link trying to pull hoods off, there had still been blood-curdling screams from out of nowhere. Mostly, they had sounded in the distance, which caused both of their spines to shiver as they had wondered what the cause had been. More startling, however, had been when the screams were close by. Shrill and without warning, Link would nearly jump out of his skin while Irleen, after the third scream, had decided to experience the rest of their exploration from the safety of Link's cap. At one point, Link had concluded that he had become paranoid because he had the impression someone had followed him from one of the side streets to about when he had jumped onto the building.

Now, he stood in the middle of a large road with the locals walking past without a care. He gave an exhausted sigh and told Irleen, "Okay, we're lost."

"I'm not surprised," Irleen replied. "Now what?"

Link looked toward the tower at the center of the island. "I don't know. We should be there by now, but we're not. Nothing looks familiar."

"It's too bad we didn't have a way of marking any of these buildings."

Link tilted his head when he realized that Irleen might have had an idea. "Wait a minute." He paused to think a little more. "We did mark a building."

"We did?" Irleen asked.

"The building Biluf knocked over."

Irleen was quiet for a moment. Then she spoke in an irritated voice, "Okay, maybe we should go over the definition of 'marking', Link."

"No, just listen. All we have to do is look for a gap in the buildings. That was a pretty big one she took out."

"And yet, I don't think anyone else noticed."

Link cringed inside and tried to force down the thought that people had been in that building. Then he jumped. With the mysterious blue feather in his pocket, the experience was like having a sudden gust lift him off his feet and hurl him into the air. The first time he had used the feather (unwittingly), he had tripped over the edge of the Island Symphony's only launch and skid his face against the deck. Two years later, he had learned how to jump from Layna. She had even taught him how to get just a little more momentum out of a jump, although it only applied to when he was jumping for distance. For height, it was simply a matter of swinging his legs forward and letting his knees absorb the landing.

Being on top of the building helped refresh Link a bit. Walking among the locals felt draining. He took in a deep breath and let the breeze brush his fatigue away for a moment. Then his eyes wandered the island's horizon. He considered for a moment that they still might be too far away for him to spot it.

Then he sighed and pressed his hand over his eyes. "You're not gonna believe this," he told Irleen.

Irleen's response was flat. "We passed it. Didn't we."

"Yyyyep… We're… maybe two streets on the wrong side." He moved back to the side of the building and looked down into the crowd. "Going down."

"I'm ready."

Link held his cap to his head as he dropped into a gap in the crowd near the building. The same burst of power that let him jump so high cushioned his legs as he hit the ground again, leaving him able to immediately start walking.

Two streets later, he turned to continue toward the center. He did not understand how, but he felt like walking on this particular street was wrong. At first, he thought it was just the screaming. Walking in this direction, he could hear that much more of those distant screams seemed to be coming from further ahead. Then he noticed that the crowd had thinned out, which only made him wonder why more people on this street were screaming so much. He felt it had to be something on the street that was different from the rest of the island. It led him to believe that it might have to do with the demolished building or the two holes in the ground.

He found that he was half-correct.

While he was approaching the hole, he was walking in the same direction as two of the local people. They walked ahead, and, when Link saw the hole further down the road, he wondered if they would turn, fall in, or float across like the ghosts that he believed them to be. Instead, they stopped. Link was only one step away from either of them when they both broke out into a high-pitched scream. He jumped backwards and covered his ears while Irleen shouted from under his hat. He watched both figures writhe where they stood. Once they were finished, they turned away from each other and left, appearing hunched over even more than the others nearby.

"What the hell was that?!" Irleen asked.

Link advanced toward the hole, and he felt a shock hit his spine. "Irleen, come out here," he said. "Now."

Irleen emerged from Link's hat. "What is it?"

Link pointed at the hole.

A hole that waved and rippled like the surface of a lake. Link could not tell this was happening because the surface was pitch-black even under the nearby lights. He would have been contented with that, except he could see the movement on the edges of the hole. That was all: no reflections, no shimmer of light off the surface, no view of the bottom, just black like there was a hole in the world.

Irleen gave only a small noise to indicate her lack of coherent thought. Then she said in a defeated tone, "This place just gets stranger and stranger. I can't wait to get out of here."

Link indicated the black pool in front of him. "This doesn't worry you? It creeps me out."

"It's just water, Link," Irleen said. "It looks like something flooded the library. I bet it has something to do with Biluf's explosion."

Link gave her a frown. "It's just water?"

"Yeah. It probably messed up a bunch of those books, but, really… I'm just too tired to care right now. I'll probably freak out about it in the morning."

"Are you feeling all right?"

Irleen sighed. "I think I just need some sleep. Still, it's nothing to freak out about, Link. I can see the roots on the inside. All I see is water. Inconveniently-placed water, but that's all."

Link turned and squinted into the pool. Apprehension still tinged his voice as he said, "Okay, if you say so." He pointed out the street to his left. "Shall we go to the store?"

"Please." Link found that he could not blame her. Even as he moved around to the front of the nearby shop, he barely had the energy to force a small jog out of his legs. After that, he could tell that his walking pace had turned a little sluggish as he moved up the street. Irleen was noticeably slower, taking her time to follow in Link's wake and forcing him to stop twice to let her catch up. He could only think that his lack of sleep tonight might be responsible. Back during Cunimincus' escape, he had been able to manage a sleepless night or two. He must have simply lost that ability over the past two years.

Once they were inside the shop, Link's mind felt as if it snapped back to awareness. The lamps hanging on each wall showed that the room on the first floor was composed of rows of shelves littered with machined parts. Bolts and brackets, nuts and gears, whole pulleys and even hand tools, Link could not help feeling that Flower's initial impression of the shop was greatly understated.

"Ooh, this is perfect," he told Irleen. "This isn't just some piddly little shop. They found a machine shop."

"What's the difference?" Irleen asked.

Link spotted movement on the opposite side of the room between the rows. "Leynne can use this shop to make the parts he needs," he said as he slid between the shelves. "It's the best as long as it has the tools."

"Okay, I think I can get behind this," Irleen said with a small enough uptake in her voice that Link grinned at her reply.

On the other side of the shelves, Link found that one of the locals, wearing a maroon cloak and hood, had busied himself by rolling a short wax pencil across the desk he sat at. His other elbow rested on the desk, and what might have been a chin laid in his hand.

Link leaned over and held up a hand as he said, "Excuse me." The creature did not respond, but this was something Link had expected. He stepped closer to the desk and repeated a little louder, "Excuse me."

He was a little surprised to see a pair of brown eyes turn up at him. He was not sure if seeing the eyes stare up at him from under a dark hood was better or worse than no eyes. The creature gave a raspy sigh and spoke with the same type of echoed voice as Link and Irleen had heard before, "Can I help you?"

Irleen gave a delighted giggle while Link put on a smile. "You're-you're talking to us?" Link asked.

"I don't have anything better to do," the creature replied with boredom prevalent in his slow voice. He set the pencil aside and stood up with a grunt, pressing its hands on the desk as if the action required more effort than he could manage. "I might as well entertain the interior workings of my mind."

"What?" Irleen asked. "What do you mean?"

"C'mon, do you really have to act like that? For hallucinations, you're a little stupid."

"Ha-hallucinations!?" Irleen shrieked, forcing Link to slap his hands over his ears. "What?!"

"Take it easy, Irleen," Link told her. "I'm standing right next to you."

"Yeah, take it easy," the creature complained. "I've never known a hallucination to be so noisy."

"We are not hallucinations!" Irleen snapped as she jerked forward at the creature.

"That's what all my hallucinations say," the creature pointed out.

"Will it be a hallucination if Link here punches you!?"

The creature shrugged and sat back down. "That's fine. It's been a while since one of you punched me."

"Wow," Link commented in a flat voice. "You've had some… interesting hallucinations."

"You're not helping!" Irleen snapped at him.

"Irleen, just calm down," Link said in a level tone. "Look, he's the only one actually talking to us, so… I don't know, why don't we just go with it?"

"Great," Irleen moaned. "My existence is getting cheaper by the year."

Link offered her a weak smile before turning back to the creature. "Look, uh… sorry, what's-what's your name?"

"You don't know my name?" the creature asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Uh… no, not really," Link admitted.

"Damn. I was hoping you'd know this time." Irleen made a scoffing sound, and Link hissed at her to be quiet. "What color am I wearing?"

Link gave the creature a blank look. "What… what color?" he asked. The creature nodded. "Uh, well, uh… red? Does that sound right?"

"Maroon," Irleen corrected.

"Isn't that just another word for 'red'?" Link asked.

"I think I like the fairy's word better," the creature said. "So… I guess you can just call me 'Maroon'."

"Okay," Link said. "Maroon, then. You, uh… you own this shop, right?"

"For some time now, yes."

"Are you the only one here?"

"I've never needed anyone else here. Why are you asking me this stuff? You should already know this."

Link and Irleen looked at each other, and Link could only offer a shrug. Then Irleen told Maroon in as clear a voice as she could, "We're… taking a look at your life. Questioning things. Uh… self-evaluation. Is this the first time we've done this?"

"Hmm. I think so."

Link pinched the bridge of his nose. "Irleen…"

"Hey, you said to go with it," Irleen argued.

"Huh. This is actually quite an experience," Maroon commented aloud, his voice filled with an intrigue that drew a confused look from Link. "So, you guys are gonna warn me before I do anything dangerous, right? The last ones were really helpful in that department."

"Uuuh… sure, no problem," Link replied. "Uh… look, we… we might invite some other hallucinations into your shop later. Do you mind?"

"Not particularly. Are you planning on doing some work? Because, well, my lathe has been broken for a while."

"We'll have to remember to ask Leynne if he needs a lathe," Link whispered to Irleen.

"What's a lathe?" Irleen asked at the same volume.

Link thought for a moment. "I don't know."

"What do you plan to work on?" Maroon asked.

Link, lacking any other explanation, simply said, "My airship."

"Oh. That's nice."

"Imaginary airship, Link," Irleen whispered.

"Yeah, I got it," Link whispered back. Then he raised his voice to ask Maroon, "Look, do you mind if we ask you some more questions? Stuff about this island?"

"Part of my self-evaluation?" Maroon asked.

"Uh—yeah," Link answered, glad that he had a questionably reasonable explanation to latch onto.

"Okay."

Link sat on the front edge of the desk with one leg resting on the surface, careful not to knock the cup full of wax pencils off the corner behind him. "What's this island called?"

"I… I'm not sure. Does it need a name?"

Link and Irleen shared a look. "Well, it would be nice," Irleen told him.

Maroon shrugged. "I can't think of anyone who would use it."

"How about your people?" Link asked. "How long have they been here?"

"My people?" Maroon asked.

"The people outside," Link said, pointing a thumb at the door.

"There are people outside?"

"I guess that answers that question," Irleen commented.

"Do… you think you're the only one here?" Link asked.

"I've never been really sure," Maroon answered. "My hallucinations have been getting stronger lately. I think. The problem is I can't tell the difference between a real person or my own imagination. They're both… I guess they've just become the same to me. Even if they were real, it's not like they'd talk to me anyway."

"Why not?" Link asked.

"Well, they're just like that. Even if you think one is talking to you, chances are you're completely wrong."

"Yeah, we noticed that," Irleen said. "Do you know why they're like that, what caused them to be like that?"

"I can't say. I've always known them to be like that. They don't seem to go anywhere; they just wander the streets. You can't touch them, or else they scream." As if sensing the opportune time, someone not far from the shop suddenly released a blood-curdling scream that caused both Link and Irleen to jump. Maroon, however, held out a hand to indicate the door. "Yeah, kind of like that. I think I gave up trying to understand them a long time ago."

"How long have you been here?" Link asked. "Were you born here?"

"Eeeeeh… I… really don't know. This place is pretty much everything I've ever known. Not that I can say I know a lot. It's-it's a little weird. Like when you first wake up and you kind of have to remember who you are after a dream?"

"I've never had to do that," Irleen said.

"Me, neither," Link said.

"You're hallucinations; why would you?"

Link gave a weak grin when Irleen groaned at Maroon's response. "He's got a point," he told her.

"Of course he does; he lives here," Irleen replied. "And I thought talking to Sello was hard. At least he knows I'm a fairy."

Link's grin became wider, and he even had an audible chuckle in his voice before he could finish saying, "He also 'knows' that we're sailing under water and that Cuccos live in the engine."

"What's a 'cucco'?" Maroon asked.

"It's a kind of bird," Link told him.

"Oh." He looked between the two of them. "What's a 'bird'?"

"What's a…? Are-are you serious?" Irleen asked.

"Yes."

"Uh… wings, feathers?" Link tried to explain. "Flies?" He held up his hands and flapped them as he added, "Chirp, chirp?"

"Link," Irleen said with a touch of flat annoyance. "I hate you right now."

"I'm talking about birds, not you."

"I am a bird."

"You're a Sorian."

"Is that a bird?" Maroon asked.

Link gave a small shrug. "Kinda."

"Shut up," Irleen told Link. Then she turned to Maroon and said, "You're not helping."

"My hallucinations are getting weird. I don't think I've ever seen two of them arguing before."

"Okay, I'm getting sick of playing this game," Irleen told Link.

"Look, we're getting answers," Link said. "We won't be doing this for much longer."

"Yeah. This is actually kind of fun. What else do you want to know?"

"Uh…" Link droned, looking to Irleen for a response.

"Well… do you know anything about the people that live here before your people?" Irleen asked.

"No, not really. I didn't even know there were people living here before us."

"Really?" Link asked as he slid off the desk.

"Did you even know about the library underground?" Irleen asked. "It's not too far from your shop."

Maroon shrugged. "Sorry, but this is about all I know, just this shop. If it's underground, you can probably see why I'd miss seeing it."

"Okay, I've got one," Link spoke up. "Other than you, is there anyone else on this island who… well, if you started talking to them, they'd talk back?"

"Iiii don't know," Maroon droned as he thought. "I imagine that if I tried talking to anyone else, they might think they're hallucinating."

"You don't say…" Irleen commented in a flat voice.

"The people here aren't quite all together. You've heard the screaming. You've seen the people wandering the streets. Very few people here can even perceive that there might be something beyond this island."

"Do you know anyone that does, though?" Irleen asked.

"Uh… no. It's been a long time since I last spoke to anyone that wasn't in my mind."

"I guess that keeps you from being lonely and bored, right?" Link suggested. "Can you think of anyone at all?"

"I'm trying, but my head is just so unclear. That's…" He indicated Link and Irleen with a semi-transparent hand. "I mean, that's pretty much why I'm talking to you."

"Okay," Link said with a nod. "Would you… excuse us for a minute?"

"Sure."

Link indicated Irleen to follow him. They moved between the shelves to the opposite side of the room. Link stood where he could still see Maroon moving around in his peripheral vision as he talked to Irleen in a low voice. "Well, what do you think?" he asked.

"I think this guy's playing cards with a two-card deck," Irleen replied. "He looks as fragmented as anyone else we've met."

"Except his eyes," Link said, pointing to his own eyes. "Did you see those?"

"Yeah. Anything near them looks like normal life, but the rest of his body is like a fishbowl. It makes me wonder if he just happens to be less fragmented than everyone else we've encountered."

"So it can't be a coincidence. As long as we find someone with normal eyes, we should be fine. Right?"

"Maybe someone with any normal body part," Irleen amended. "But yeah, it looks promising. I just hope there's someone a little more coherent than him. Having to fake being one of his hallucinations is getting on my nerves."

Link sighed. "At least it's something."

"What do—" Irleen began. But when Link turned to look at Maroon with a sudden jerk, she cut off and followed his gaze.

Link started through the shelves toward what he now perceived to be an empty desk. "Maroon?" he asked. Stepping out of the shelves, he looked off to either side. "Maroon?"

"Where'd he go?" Irleen asked as she rose nearly to the ceiling to look around.

"I don't know," Link said. "I thought I saw him fall or something, but I didn't hear anything." He stepped around the desk and looked down at the stool he had been sitting on. "Irleen!"

"What, what?" Irleen asked, dropping down to Link's level.

Link moved the stool aside so that she had a clear look at Maroon's cloak. He looked up at her with shock in his eyes. "Is he…? He-he can't…"

Irleen dropped down to the floor. "It's all right, Link," she said with a relieved tone. "He's still alive. He looks like the one I found yesterday. I think he just fell asleep."

Link let out a relieved sigh and pressed his shoulder against the wall. "Okay," he said with a nod. "Wow, that just… There was no warning. Can you tell why he did that?"

Irleen rose and looked around. "Link? It's morning."

Link stood up straight and had to angle himself to look out the door on the other side of the shelves. "C'mon," he told Irleen as he moved around the desk again.

His pace had picked up, and he rushed out of the building onto a street once again barren of life. The lamps along the street were all out. The sky was still navy, but Link was certain sunrise was not too far away. Both of them glanced back inside to see that the lamps were still burning in the shop.

"Wow," Irleen commented. "This is crazy. Did we just not notice them clearing out?"

"We probably wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't for Maroon," Link said as he turned to her. "Just one hint of light, and they all go out? You're right; it's crazy."

"They couldn't have been awake for more than… what, six hours? Seven?"

"This time of year, it should be about eight and a half hours of night." He glanced down the street. "It's light enough, we could signal the Island Symphony and have them dock."

"Please," Irleen replied. Link nodded and started down the road after pulling his flare gun out. "This whole night has been one serious ride. Can you imagine going through day after day like that?"

"I don't think I want to," Link said as he opened the flare gun's breach. He found a flare still inside and pulled it out to check the shell. "What do you think? Are we green or blue?"

"Do you have a color for 'tired and disturbed by being on this freak island'?"

"Green it is," Link said as he put the blue flare back on his belt. He had to look at two other shells before finding a green flare. As he loaded the gun, he commented with a grin, "Well, we learned something today."

"What's that?"

"The locals are a little crazy."

"Understatement of the year."

Link took aim so that the flare would arc toward the area of the island where the Island Symphony had previously docked and fired. FZZZzzzzzzzz! Moments later, as they continued down the road, green light burst to life in the sky.

Then, just minutes after Link's flare, another spot of green rose from the distance beyond the boundaries of the island. It caused both of them to give a sigh of relief.