Chapter Nine

"Come, follow me to the living room. We have much to talk about. And I'm sure you all have questions." Benedict said.

The large group followed Benedict to the right of the main hall. The group quickly filled up the two couches. Dwight, Jake, David, and Jeff stood.

"Uh... Benedict? Sir? Who exactly are you? What is this place?" Dwight asked.

"My home," Benedict began. "You see, I came to this realm-"

"Realm?" Claudette asked.

"Yes, Claudette," Benedict said. "We aren't from our world. We're... somewhere else."

"How do you know our names?" Jane asked.

"I have heard voices... Whispers of all your names. Who you are. Where you are from. What brought you here." Benedict said.

"What brought us here?" Jake asked.

"You see, you have all been picked. Out of all the billions of people across the planet. Our planet. And others in the stars. You were all picked to be here. Those who suffered great pain are brought here. Same with those who hunt you all down. That's why I sent my small companion to help aid you all. Where is she?" Benedict said.

Jake reached into his pocket and gently held out the crow. She barely moved, blood visible on her body.

"And which killer did this?" Benedict asked. He took the crow, holding her in his hands.

"Nurse," Jake said.

"Ah... Sally... Just as misunderstood as our small friend here..." Benedict said.

"Misunderstood? She nearly killed us!" Nea yelled.

"Yes. But that is why she is here. The same reason you are all here to survive. Like you, they all experience traumatic pain, anger, and other horrible emotions. All of them were picked. Just as all of you were. The Nurse... Sally, was a nurse who took care of the sick during a plague. Until her husband died from an accident. Sally was plagued too. She killed her patients... And eventually herself. Until she was taken." Benedict said.

"You said 'picked' and 'taken'. By who?" Adam asked.

"That is the question," Benedict began. "The one who created this realm. The one who took you all, and me, from our lives. Who took them from their lives and turned them into monsters. The one born from the darkest part of the universe... The Entity."

"The Entity? Another killer?" Dwight asked.

"No, it is not like you and me. It's a god... Or goddess of sorts. Depending on who you might ask. I've been here for a very long time." Benedict said.

"How long?" Kate asked.

"Since 1956," Benedict said.

"So we're stuck here, old man?" Nea asked.

"Possibly. Or possibly not. I've survived for so long that the Entity has forgotten me. Gave me my home to study all the knowledge it had. The research I've done here is beyond our time." Benedict said.

"And none of those books told you how to leave?" Dwight asked.

"It is not that simple. The Entity created this realm. It decides who comes. And who goes." Benedict said.

After a conversation about leaving the realm, Benedict allowed them to go upstairs and rest while he prepared dinner. Late at night, Dwight and Kate sat in a bedroom.

"I've missed you, you know..." Kate said.

"I know... One minute, I just woke up somewhere else. The next, a killer is after me. Then three killers. Now... Well, I've lost count. Things haven't been great, have they?" Dwighr asked.

"No, but we've found each other. And we're all safe." Kate said. She wrapped her arms around him.

"Yeah..." Dwight said.

Kate left Dwight to shower. Dwight called to tell her he would check if the others were okay. He left the bedroom and saw the others settle in as he walked down a long hallway. Jake and Claudette sat on the floor of another bedroom, talking to each other. Ace and Nea were arguing in another room. Dwight only caught a part of it, but Nea had very colorful language. Adam, Jane, and Jeff were sharing more stories about their life experiences. At the end of the hall was a door, barely opened.

Dwight opened it to find a large library. Meg sat alone at the table in the middle. She noticed Dwight and stood.

"I was just leaving," Meg said.

"H-hey, it's okay," Dwight began. He noticed the look of anger on her face. "What's wrong?"

"We've known each other for years. You knew about my dad... My mom..." Meg said.

"Meg, what is this about?" Dwight asked.

"You've always been so clueless... Dwight, I have always liked you... More than a friend, but when I tried to tell you... Kate..." Meg began. "I'm not mad that you and her... I just wish you didn't lie to me. We were still friends."

"Lie?" Dwight asked.

"High school... We stopped talking after high school when you and Kate started dating... everytime I asked why, you wouldn't tell me." Meg said.

"I... I'm sorry... I should have told you. I don't know why I didn't... It's not you... Seriously, it's not. You're amazing. I've just never known what I wanted... I wasn't even sure with Kate. But she's helped me a lot... I really should have told you right away instead of hiding it. I should have been a better friend." Dwight said.

Meg looked down for a minute then back up at Dwight. She held her hand out.

"Friends?" Meg asked.

"Friends," Dwight hugged Meg. They both smiled. After a moment, they sat down at the table.

"Do you trust him?" Meg asked.

"Who? Benedict?" Dwight asked.

"Yeah," Meg said. "I don't know. The way he talked about that thing... The Entity. It sounded like he admired it." Meg said.

"Yeah, we should just keep an eye on him for now," Dwight said.

Kate entered the room. She noticed Dwight and Meg alone.

"Sorry... Benedict said dinner was ready." Kate said.

Downstairs, the group sat around a large table in the dining room. The table was filled with a variety of colorful and well cooked food. They began to eat. Benedict sat at the head of the table.

"This is better than the food I ate at the bar," David said. Benedict let out a little laugh.

"This is really amazing. How did you make all of this?" Kate asked.

"The basement was filled with food. And worry not, food to last a lifetime. Eat as much as you all like." Benedict said.

"So... Tell us more about you?" Ace asked.

"Well," Benedict began. "As I said, I came here in 1956. During the summer, I had been investigating a small town. A town like every other town in America. But this one was different. There was something dark about this place. You see, I learned there had been a number of disappearances. Most unexplained... There was one case that stood out. A married couple had discovered a strange book filled with symbols they had never seen before."

"Doesn't sound strange after what we've been through," David said.

"Yes... Until one day, his wife was driven mad. Drawing the symbols with her own blood anywhere and everywhere she could. Then the symbols became pictures. Of the woods here. The killers. And all of you." Benedict said.

"Us?" Dwight asked.

"Yes," Benedict said. "The wife killed herself a few weeks later. The husband disappeared, never to be seen again. The book found its way to me. In it, are all of your names. Where you are from. Information about your families. Same with the killers. Here."

Benedict stood and left the dining room for a moment. He returned with an old book with a symbol of an eye on it. He sat down and opened the old book.

"Evan MacMillain, or the Trapper, was a wealthy coal miner working for his abusive father until a mining accident. Evan's body was the only one that was never found in the mine. Sally Smithson. I've already told you her story. The Hillbilly... Max Thompson Jr., well, that's not really his name. He never had one... The Doctor... He's quite an interesting read. And now you. Dwight, held back by his own insecurities. Unable to defend himself without the help of others."

Dwight didn't speak. Kate took his hand, and began to respond in anger.

"And Kate. A country singer always wanting to make others smile. Claudette. Unable to make any friends. Jake. You'd be surprised to know that both your mother and father are searching for you now. And Meg..."

Meg stared at him, waiting for what she had already known. Tears began to form in her eyes.

"You will be happy to know your mother has recovered. She, too, is searching for her missing daughter."

Meg let out a sigh of relief. Kate took her hand too and gave her a small smile.

"And me?" Ace asked, curious and slightly amused.

"Ace," Benedict smiled. "A loser. A man who gambles his life away, using his talent to pursue money and nothing more. You think you'll win big one day, but you'll die the same as you are now. With nothing."

"Ouch," Ace said.

"You think you can read a book, and know everything there is about us? We are more than our pain." Jane said.

"Yes," Benedict said. "The daughter of a famous actress. Loretta Lawrence! I can only imagine living in the shadow of your mother."

"Hey! You can't talk to her like that!" Nea said.

"Nea, the artist who stands for nothing. Jeff, the artist who has nothing. Feng, the girl with disapproving parents. Adam, a man who became a teacher. Like his father. A man such as yourself, I know you understand more than the rest." Benedict said.

"I understand you know more about my friends and me than we do," Adam said.

Benedict smiled. He sat the book down on the table and stood.

"I suppose I do. I've studied every book here... And never found a way out. When there's no escape... After carefully listening to what you all said earlier, I think I found a way to leave this place." Benedict said.

"How... How..." Jake began.

Jake fell over in his chair, unconscious. Followed by David, Nea, Feng, Ace, Adam, Jane, and Jeff. Meg was next. Then Claudette. Then Kate. Dwight struggled to stay awake. He fell to the floor.

"We all have killers... Who... Who is yours?" Dwight asked weakly.

"Isn't it obvious by now?" Benedict asked. "It considers me an equal."

"Who?" Dwight asked, as everything began to fade.

"The Entity," Benedict said.