Act Three: Escalation
Chapter Eleven
London, England, United Kingdom
1899
Dwight walked down the streets of London. Men, women, and children hurried through the rain. Dwight stood in the center of the street. He looked around for anyone he knew. He saw a woman with red hair nearby.
"Meg... Meg? Meg!" Dwight called. The woman turned, greeted by another man who kissed her. Both happily walked away together in the rain. Soaked and tired, Dwight looked down at the ground.
"Dwight?"
Dwight turned around and saw Claudette. Her hair was now in a crown braid with two small buns. She was wearing worn clothes and an apron with some kind of substances stained on the front of it. Claudette tearfully looked at him and smiled. She ran to him and wrapped her arms around him. After a moment, she stepped away.
"Sorry... I'm just happy to see you." Claudette said.
"Claudette, where am I? Where are we?" Dwight asked.
"London... 1899." Claudette said.
"1899? What happened to the others? Meg? Jake? Kate? Ace? Nea? The others?" Dwight asked.
"Jake and I woke up here. We took jobs from a brilliant man named Vigo. I'm a botanist now, Dwight!" Claudette said with a smile.
"I'm happy for you. I really am. But where are the others?" Dwight asked.
"Come with me," Claudette said.
Claudette and Dwight entered a small worn down building on the corner of a street. Claudette led Dwight to a bedroom upstairs where an elderly man with little hair and a long beard laid in bed. Claudette stood beside his bed, trying to help the man become comfortable. Dwight noticed a cane beside his bed. The man looked at Dwight with his small eyes and spoke softly.
"Dwight?" The man named Vigo asked.
"How did you know my name?" Dwight asked.
A familiar crow flew into the room, landing on the small dresser beside the old man. She cawed at Dwight.
"Your small friend told me all about you... You... Claudette... Jake... Meg... Kate... The others." Vigo said.
"Do you know where they are?" Dwight asked.
"Far away from here... But safe from the Entity"
"You know..." Dwight began.
"My family... For generations I have been researching... trying to understand it. The Entity is not like anything we've come to understand. It wants... It needs suffering... And now that you've proven anyone can escape... Even those tainted... It will now begin to consume everything." Vigo said weakly.
"Dwight," Claudette began. "Jake and I have been here for the past month. We didn't tell him anything, but he knew about everything that happened. He sent Jake to meet with someone who knew how to stop the Entity."
"Stop it? From what?" Dwight asked.
"Dwight, we aren't in our universe. We're in another. But the Entity is started to pull universes a part and together." Claudette said.
"I don't understand," Dwight said.
"If we don't stop the Entity, there will be no home to return to." Claudette said.
Later, Vigo had fallen asleep. Claudette had hummed him a tune. Dwight remembered he heard the Huntress had hummed the same tone before the killers entered the library. Now, Dwight and Claudette sat at a table in a small kitchen. Claudette quickly made Dwight a meal. As he ate, Claudette explained the situation more. Their crow had rested next to Dwight's foot.
"Vigo had sent Jake to meet a man at some temple in Japan," Claudette said.
"Does he have a name?" Dwight asked.
"No... But Vigo said we can trust him. He has more information on all of us. You. Me. Jake. The others. Vigo called him The Observer. Him, Vigo, and another man... The Alchemist were the last in trying to find a way to stop the Entity. It sent killers after them. Vigo hasn't heard from The Alchemist and The Observer left to find something." Claudette said.
"Do either of them have names?" Dwight asked jokingly.
"Dwight," Claudette said softly.
"Sorry... But the others? Have you seen them?" Dwight asked.
"No... I'm sorry, Dwight." Claudette said.
Dwight looked down at the crow. She rested her head against Dwight's ankle. He gave the small bird a smile.
"So what do we do now?" Dwight asked.
"We are going to Japan," Claudette said.
"J-Japan? Wait, what? We can't go to Japan? Can we?" Dwight asked.
"We have to. If you want to find Meg, Kate, and the others, we have to do this." Claudette said. "And I'm worried about Jake. He hasn't sent anything to let us know he was okay..."
"Okay... Okay, so how are we going to get there?" Dwight asked.
"With this..." Claudette said. She went to a shelf and removed a single book. One with an eye and triangle around it. She looked at Dwight and he nodded. A green portal formed inside the small room, and in an instant, Dwight, Claudette, and their pet crow disappeared.
