Peggy's Apartment, Wednesday 7 PM.
More than a day had passed since Carol directed her friend to take the mask away. Since then, Peggy found herself diving deeper down a norse rabbit hole as she researched at home and even at work. She not only understood what it was capable of but also became deeply familiar with the mythology behind its existence. She really wanted to share her findings with Carol but any attempts at reaching out only led to either voicemails or unread messages. And to add to her concerns, she noticed that Carol hadn't been in the office for two days. While she kept her distance to give her friend some space, she finally felt compelled to physically go over and see if she was okay... and share everything she learned in vivid detail.
With that in mind, she scooped up the mask into her purse and strolled out of her apartment towards her friend's place. However, after walking down the sidewalk for a block she felt a strange feeling that she was being followed. She looked behind her and saw a tall man with an unkempt stubble that she had never seen before.
"Hello there luv," he gestured as the two stopped in their tracks.
"Do... I know you?" She asked as she gripped her purse tightly against her chest.
"No, but you've seen my girlfriend. Haven't you?" He asked as he stood his ground. "You've been walking around with her face."
Peggy grew confused as she tried to parse out what the man was saying. Was he talking about Carol? As she thought to herself, she inaudibly mouthed, "Carol?"
"Don't play daft with me lady," he growled as he pointed towards her purse. "I know you have that piece of wood in there..." he continued while stepping closer towards her.
"I don't have anything sir," Peggy quietly said as she stepped back; the two in lockstep. "And even if I did, I wouldn't hand it to strangers!"
With that, Peggy hopped backwards and started to run away from Peter. From a distance she heard him call out, "I don't much care what that bitch thinks. Nobody will keep me away from my love; especially you!"
As the two were in a desperate chase, Peter pulled out a pistol and pointed it in Peggy's direction. Peggy looked over her shoulder as her purse slips out of her grip and lands on the ground. She quickly pivoted and reclaimed her purse but then looked up to see Peter towering over her.
"Now... give me her face or I'll blow a hole in yours!" He threatened as he pointed his weapon at her.
Peggy was now in a tricky situation. She could try to make a break for it but she had a hunch that she would get fatally wounded at such a close range. Or she could risk it by handing him the mask and...
She reluctantly pulls out the mask from her purse and hands it to him. But just as Peter was about to grab the artifact from her hand, she quickly stepped aside and grabbed his arm to pull him downwards and make him lose his balance. Peggy then used her available arm and elbowed him in the gut which made him drop his gun and skid its metallic hull towards the edge of the sidewalk. With Peter stumbling to recover from her surprise attack, Peggy punched him in his right temple and kicked him in the sternum in quick succession before making a dazed Peter fall onto his back.
"Man, self defense classes finally paid off," she snickered to herself before turning around and beginning to walk away. "Get lost before I call the cops, scumbag~"
But then she felt a hand grab her ankle and made her lose her balance and toss her purse, with the mask inside, up into the air. She tried to release herself from his grasp but he was too strong. All of sudden, she felt something hard bonk atop her head as she witnessed Carol's inanimate mask land on her forehead and begin to stretch itself and grow accustomed to a new host.
"Aiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Peggy hollered aloud as Peter found himself engulfed in a supernatural twister and disappear with her into the night.
Carol's Apartment. Thursday, 7:30 AM.
As rays of light entered through Carol's apartment window, she nudged herself awake after feeling like a total slob for the past few days. She had called in sick for two days in a row, ignored all incoming calls, and avoided any human interaction. Carol just wanted to be alone and meditate on her sins as she continued to loop through the memories from her alter ego's escapades. She felt used. She felt abused. And above all, she could still hear whispers of Cherry taunt her despite not having physical possession of her mask.
"I can't believe we were foiled by her, if you weren't so weak we could have done even more!" Cherry mocked. "Don't be a coward, get it back from her and we can continue!"
Carol covered her ears with a nearby pillow as she tried to tune out her alter ego's incessant whining. She felt herself tear up a little bit as she tried to ignore the verbal onslaught.
Fortunately for Carol, Cherry's voice had dulled since giving it to her friend and after a few minutes of ignoring her alter ego's goading, Carol was left in complete silence once again. She turned her head towards a clock on the wall and watched it tick up to 8 AM. While it was refreshing to make some time to decompress, she knew her director wouldn't be too thrilled if she missed work for a third day in a row. Carol let out a deep sigh and slowly made her way to the bathroom to get herself ready for a normal day ahead.
DramCorp Design Inc, 10th floor. Thursday, 10:00 AM.
"Still crazy as always," Carol mumbled to herself as she walked out of the elevator.
She stopped by Peggy's desk and noticed a pile of paperwork sitting in her mailbox. She knew that Peggy could get distracted easily, but the amount of backlog on her plate surprised her. She turned around and noticed one of the directors strolling by.
The director walked up and asked how she was. "I'm ok... just took a day or two for personal stuff," Carol replied as she tried to smile back at him. "By the way, have you seen Peggy?"
"Haven't seen her today. Figured she got sick or somethin'," he replied and walked off. Carol grew concerned and thought about reaching out her to see if she was all right. But after hesitating for a minute, she decided against it to avoid getting into the weeds about her secret during the work day.
"Ya know... I'm far more interesting to talk to than her," a familiar sultry voice echoed through the halls.
Carol quickly took a seat at Peggy's desk and rubbed her temples as she waited for her inner monologue to quiet down before heading to her desk. Her head continued to throb as the mixture of Cherry's voice and the dull ambiance of the office clouded her thinking. She really wanted to leave and not only clear her mind but also see if her friend was all right.
Just as she got up from her friend's desk, Carol turned her head and looked at the assistant and blinked for a second.
"Hello Carol. Got a sec to chat?" The assistant asked with a perky tone. Carol returned a slight nod.
"It's about the advertising layout for the Pepsi project..." The assistant started to say before getting cut off.
"Yeah, yeah, I submitted it last week to Edith for her approval," Carol butted in.
"Yes. It was approved. But since Edith is on medical leave for the rest of the month, the execs thought you could come present it at the boardroom meeting," the assistant replied.
Carol turned her head to her side and blinked for a second. If what she suspected was true, her management chain was asking her to step in for Edith which could be the catalyst for getting promoted.
"You don't need to tell me now, but let me know soon. It's on Friday, 11 AM sharp!" The assistant finished as she strolled out of Peggy's cubical.
"Well, at least things are looking up for once..." Carol mumbled to herself before turning back around.
Carol's Apartment. Thursday, 5:30 PM.
As Carol rode the elevator up to her loft, she found herself arguing with her alter ego; again.
"You know... instead of fretting about being you, you can just be me!" Cherry chortled to herself. "Think about the amount of brain power you can save if you..."
"Shut up, Shut UP, SHUT UP!" Carol yelled in frustration as she closed her eyes and tried to plug her ears with her fingers.
"Excuse me...?" A commanding voice called out as Carol saw two figures stand in the entrance to the elevator. To her left was a blonde woman who looked to be in her mid-40s while the other was a pudgy gentleman with curly hair. They both had black vests with police crests adorned on the front.
"Don't worry ma'am, you're not in trouble. I am Detective Catherine Greene. And this is Detective Doyle. We just have some questions about your whereabouts these past few days," the blonde asked as the three shuffled her towards a nearby bench beside the elevators.
Carol reluctantly followed the two cops while nursing a sudden pang in her stomach.
"My whereabouts? Why? What's going on...?" Carol nervously asked. Detective Doyle then pulled out a tablet computer and showed a video of Peter and Cherry wreaking havoc at the convention center.
"Where were you two nights ago?" Detective Greene asked while fishing for a pencil and a notepad from her back pocket.
"I, uh..." Carol began to stammer as she struggled to come up with an answer. Her memories from two nights ago were clouded and unclear but she had a sneaking suspicion that her alter ego was involved.
"There you are! I've been worried sick," David called out as he exited another elevator while carrying some take out. David quickly made his way towards his girlfriend and gave her a warm hug.
"You haven't answered my texts or calls since Monday, what happened...?" David started to ask until he noticed the two cops that sat across from them.
"Is there a problem officers?" David asked as he repositioned himself to face the cops.
"Do you know this lady?" Detective Doyle asked as he folded his arms. David returned a nod.
"I'm her boyfriend," he proudly proclaimed as he turned to face Carol with a wide smile.
"Are you Peter Cathey?" The blonde officer asked in a gruff voice.
"No," David replied. "I'm David Carlisle. See?" He fishes his wallet from his pocket and showed the two agents his drivers license. "Who's Peter Cathey?"
"Sorry about that sir, we're looking for this man," Detective Doyle raised his tablet towards David and pointed out the tall looking man at the scene of the crime. "This lady was last seen at a cafe with him a couple days ago. We have reason to suspect was part of the duo that committed grand theft auto on Monday night."
David turned to his girlfriend and glared at her, "Oh good, we have something else to discuss..."
"Something else, Mr. Carlisle...?" Detective Green asked as she leaned towards David.
"Oh, uh-h... we were in the middle of talking about intimacy; appropriate boundaries, behavior and all that jazz. Right hon?" David slightly fibbed while elbowing his girlfriend. "There was that umbrella thing..." He murmured to himself which caught Carol's immediate attention.
She looked confusingly at her boyfriend but then a memory flashed in her mind with her standing in the middle of his apartment in front of a petrified David. Carol returned a slight nod and slouched in her seat as she felt her subconscious grumble in the back of her mind.
"Hmm," Detective Green mewed as she wrote on her notepad. "And when was that altercation?"
"It wasn't an altercation officer just a... cordial chat. It was around... uh... 11:30 at night. I went to bed soon thereafter," he replied as he nervously looked at the timestamp displayed on the detective's tablet.
Detective Green looked up from her notes and directed her gaze at Doyle's tablet and noted that the footage had a timestamp of 11:20 PM.
"Ok, that'll be all from us. We'll be in touch," and with that the two cops called for an elevator and left.
Carol breathed a sigh of relief as she saw her boyfriend in a totally new light. Thanks to him she saved her from looking like a fool or worse; incriminating herself.
"Well," David started to say as he rubbed his clammy hands on his pants. "Since I just lied point blank to the police for you, would you mind telling me what the hell is going on?"
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The Who's behind The Mask? series and cover art were imagined by possessionmask1994 on DeviantArt!
