This story is part of the 'The Banishers' universe, and takes place during the events of Stage 01 and Let Me Breathe.
Disclaimer: I do not own Five Nights at Freddy's or Five Nights at Candy's. Five Nights at Freddy's belongs to Scott Cawthon, and Five Nights at Candy's to Emil Macko. I do NOT own any of the characters currently featured in this fic (keep in mind that OCs may be introduced later on in the story).
Please view my profile if you wish for more information on 'The Banishers', or any of my other stories.
Well holy crap, these chapters just get longer and longer 0_0
Well, I'll leave you to it. I'll probably do some work on Let Me Breathe now, but I'm not sure. And just to clear things up, Stage 01, Let Me Breathe and Strangers But In Dreams are all listed as 'The Banishers Part 1, 2 or 3, but they all take place during the same time, which is why they're being written at the same time. I'm finished, yes, I'm finished.
Enjoy the chapter, and read and review :)
WARNING TO SENSITIVE READERS: Blood, Gore, and Trauma.
Chapter 3
A Bright Sunrise on a Rainy Day
Maybe as she had faded away, Marilyn had been laughing, because she has assumed that she was about to die. And it wasn't as if the assumption wasn't fair; Blood had been leaking from the side of her head, and she hadn't even had the energy to lift her head. But when she'd woken up, it was a different story. The first thing she did was cry. She curled up into a little ball, and wept, her tears falling into the red carpet on which she now lay. And she stayed that way for minutes, hours, maybe even days.
But eventually her tears dried, and boredom overtook her fear and sadness. So with nothing else to do, Marilyn sat up and looked at the room. The spot on the carpet where she had lay was now damp and soggy, and she quickly scrambled away from it, bumping into one of the black walls. The only furniture in the room was a green bed, with a matching green pillow. And in the very centre of the room was a blue, origami cat, standing up right.
"Hello! It's me! I'm the origami cat." The cat said, and Marilyn stared at it with a blank expression as it continued to ramble. "How am I here? You're dreaming now! Sort of…at least. This room you're in is your old room! From before you moved! But right now, it looks like you barely remember it." At this point, she was beginning to wonder if she should have just stayed in her ball. Maybe the cat wouldn't be saying this stupid speech then. "You've had a lot of nightmares lately, right?" Suddenly Marilyn jolted at the word he'd used.
Nightmares.
"Remember a few years ago? You had trouble sleeping almost every night! So your dad gave you a cassette tape player with a tape with quiet music that he made for you so you could sleep. I bet it would also help you with sleeping better now."
Suddenly Marilyn remembered everything, and smiled as the memories of the tape player came back to her. She'd loved that thing, though she couldn't remember where she'd last seen it. What was it she had named that tape? My Sleepy Music, wasn't it? Yes, that sounded right.
"So go look for the tape player! I'll stay here if you need my help!" Then the cat fell silent, and Marilyn stood. There was a path leading out of the room, made out of little white dots. Hesitantly she placed her foot onto the path, expecting it to instantly give away. But it held firm, and she smiled as took another step forward, then another, then another, until she was walking down the path without hesitation. The path Marilyn noticed, was the only dry land in this place. Everywhere else, apart from her room, was covered in a thin layer of water, deep enough that when she stepped in it the water splashed around, but shallow enough that it only reached up halfway to her knees. In front of her was a stone, encircled by the path with a few words engraved into it.
Beware of the Shadows. Stay on the path.
Little did she know, those words would become the very core of her life for the next 10 years. Beware of the Shadows. Stay on the path. The staying on the path bit was obvious. After all, who wouldn't plus, it wasn't as if she wanted to get wet. But the shadows? What shadows? This whole place was made of shadows. When Marilyn looked back to find her room, she couldn't even see it. There was just darkness, water, and the path.
"This is the Deepscape! This is where your deepest memories are!" Marilyn flinched when she heard the origami cat speaking. "I'm talking to you from the Dreamscape! See those glowing particle-thingies? They make up a path! The tape player should be somewhere ahead. Just remember to stay on the path, so the shadows can't get you!"
The hints about shadows were beginning to drive Marilyn crazy. How many shadows could she see here? There were the ones in her room, the ones cast by the stone, the reflection of the Rat in the water, and her own shadow cast on the-
The reflection on the water? She snapped her head back, and saw nothing. She sighed, and looked around. She was being paranoid. There wasn't a Rat any-
Suddenly something moved in the darkness, causing the water to ripple. And then a purple Rat shot out from the shadows, running at full speed towards the path. Marilyn screamed as the shadow neared, then froze as it reached the path. The shadow Rat clawed at her angrily as the glow from the path began to strengthen, keeping it at bay. She stared at it anxiously as it tilted its head, twitching back and forth before it finally made its decision, and scampered back off into the darkness.
"So that's what it meant." Marilyn muttered. "Shadows." As she continued down the path, she thought about what the shadow had looked like. It had been a purple Rat-the same Rat who she'd seen crack his skull on the edge of that table. What was he doing here?
This is where your deepest memories are!
Wasn't that what the origami cat had said? That her deepest memories were in this place, the Deepscape? Then that meant that the Shadows were…nightmares. The unwanted memories, that had been engraved so deep into her brain that she couldn't put them away. They stayed here, locked away, but constantly manipulating her, taunting her, making her follow the path they chose.
Suddenly Marilyn jolted as she realised she'd kicked something. Looking down, she grinned, grabbing the tape player. It was a little scratched, probably from all the years she had used it, but it still shone in the dark, in contrast to the purple Shadows that she now knew roamed the Deepscape.
Smiling to herself, Marilyn walked back in the direction she had come, as she began to plan her next moves. She'd found the tape player. Now she needed to remember her room, find a way to get back to the real world, and maybe, go to sleep. But above all, she needed to survive.
xXx
Marilyn bended her knees as she landed, and was surprised to find that she hadn't broken any bones. Injuries and pain had worked differently in the Deepscape. Broken bones were little more than bruises, and fatal wounds were like scratches. The regenerative energy of that world had followed her to the real world, it seemed.
She staggered a little, and placed her hand against the purple tree before it disappeared back into the ground. The cars around her had all stopped; one of them had attempted to veer away from her, and had crashed into a tree planted on the sidewalk.
"Fuck. Sorry." Marilyn muttered, before looking around at the startled faces. "Uh, apologies. Just saying, they should make the windows out of thicker glass." Everyone was still silent, and she rolled her eyes. "Great. Uh…" Whipping her head around, she spotted another tree, and ran toward it. As soon as she reached it, the tree began to descend into the ground, and another instantly began to grow further ahead. They were forming a trail; a trail Marilyn intended to follow.
"Marilyn!" She heard her father yell, and she growled in annoyance.
"Fuck. Dad, don't worry. I'll see you later. Just want to stretch my legs!" She shouted back, and placed her hand against the third tree. Marilyn cursed as she saw the fourth one sprout on top a building, and grimaced.
"Just need to follow the trail, not the singular tree." She muttered to herself. She ran around the building, and watched the tree disappear, a fifth one appearing in the distance.
"Hey, Marilyn!" Whipping her head around, she scowled at Matt, who was driving towards her in a battered blue Honda. "Where are you going?"
"Just a quick run." She said, and pointed towards the direction of the tree. "I'm heading there."
"You still remember where home is?" He asked, and Marilyn jolted as she realised where the trees were leading her. They'd been set on a certain path, down roads and lanes she had remembered. They were leading her home. Of course; it all made sense.
"Sort of." She replied, giving him a small shrug.
"I'm amazed you still remember. Hop in." Matt said, opening the door for her. "You know, they didn't discharge you yet. Dad's a little miffed."
"And should I care? I'm perfectly fine." Marilyn muttered, crossing her arms after she'd fastened her seatbelt. "You jumped out of a fucking window, Mary. How'd you even survive?"
"I bent my knees." She said, shrugging. He stared at her, wide-eyed at her answer.
"What do you mean, you bent your knees?! That was 21 floors! How the hell did you not break any bones?"
"You're telling me that bending your knees doesn't always break your fall? You mean they lied in school?" Although Marilyn knew that she should have taken at least a little damage from the impact, she was genuinely confused about the 'bending your knees' thing. She'd been in a coma for 10 years, after all.
"Ah, never mind." Matt muttered, then planted his foot on the break. Marilyn jerked forward as the car came to a screeching halt. "We're here." He grinned, and they exited the car. At that moment the tree which stood next to the house sank into the ground, and Marilyn smiled. There was a short footpath past the red brick fence, leading to the door. The house itself was coloured red, with a dark shingled roof and large windows on either side. The grass in the front yard was hopelessly overgrown, though Marilyn was fairly certain that they had only just grown back. Maybe that was just her thinking about the growth rate of the purple trees.
"Come in." Matt grinned and opened the door. Marilyn stepped inside, and smiled as she looked around. It looked almost exactly the same as she'd last seen it; white wallpaper, blue carpet, and a row of family picture hanging on the wall. As she walked down the corridor she halted, opening the door to her left.
Her room had been left untouched. Her toys were still arranged on the floor the way she had left them that morning, and the wallpaper was still the same; red, with a flower pattern. And poking out from underneath her bed…
"Holy fuck." Marilyn muttered, pulling out the tape player. "This is still here." She hugged it to her chest, pressing the rewind button. A whirring noise came from the tape player, and Matt walked in.
"Should I leave you alone?" He asked, and Marilyn nodded. "If you wouldn't mind." She waited until the door closed, then hit the play button. A soothing melody began to play, and she smiled as the soft music filled the room.
My Sleepy Music. The name was still there, written in black marker on a piece of masking tape stuck crudely to the tape player. It still stayed true to its name; when she'd been in the Deepscape, Marilyn had clung to that melody like her life depended on it. She could only sleep when the music played. It was the reason why the nights went by, why the shadows would flee, why she hadn't stepped out of that coma in a state of madness. It had been this music.
Something broke through the dirt, and Marilyn looked up to see another tree sprouting.
"What do you want to show me now?" She muttered, half curious, half annoyed that the trees kept popping up at the worst moments. The skin and her knuckles had already mended, and the few drops of blood which had fallen onto the crimson carpet were now unnoticeable. The Deepscape really was a magical place.
She walked back out the front door, and placed a hand on the tree. Instantly it went underground, and another sprouted up ahead. Marilyn followed, ignoring the strange looks people gave her as she walked along the trail the trees were leading her. It didn't matter what they thought; the trees were all that were important.
As she crossed a road and touched the tree there, Marilyn blinked and looked around, expecting another one to appear. But if there was one, it was nowhere to be seen. She span around in a circle, irritated. Cars, people, road, cars, sky, Shadow Rat, cars-
He had almost gone unnoticed, as he hid in the shadows cast by a large plant hanging over a fence. It had been the purple that had given him away. Purple was a dark colour, but it stood out easily against black. Besides, the long waving tail that was poking out from his back was moving back and forth like a dog would wag their tail.
As Shadow Rat stared at her, Marilyn suddenly realised the tape had finished rewinding. Quickly she mashed the play button, looking back up as her sleepy music began to play. Shadow Rat's empty eye sockets quivered, as his body shook rapidly, the same way it had when he reacted to the bright lights from the Deepscape paths. Maybe it was the rays of sun, affecting him this way.
Marilyn took a few steps towards the Shadow, and then gave him a smirk.
"You know, I was wondering when I'd see you around here. The Dream Trees were already popping up; it was only a matter of time before you appeared." Shadow Rat let out a raspy laugh.
"You followed them here, didn't you? I FREAKIN' KNEW IT!" For the past 10 years, Marilyn had never heard the purple suit speak. And yet, it didn't come as a shock to her, to hear his voice. He still sounded the same as he had back then, all those years ago.
"Second law of the Deepscape; the Dream Trees will take you where you want to go." She shrugged. "Anyone would have followed them, if they could see them."
"Anyone who was a Dream Walker like you are." Shadow Rat corrected. "And there are hardly any."
Marilyn chuckled, and glanced at a passing car.
"You know, I'm surprised you're not trying to kill me. I thought you'd be clawing at my throat by now." He tilted his head, and his arm jerked quickly.
"What's the point? I killed you in the Deepscape, and now we're in the real world again. That was all I wanted; to come back here." She snorted, and sighed.
"You know, I wanted to stay there. I had better memories in the Deepscape than I did in the real world before the coma."
"Well then you're either stupid, or your life sucks." Shadow Rat said, causing Marilyn to laugh.
"Because it wasn't obvious enough, was it?" She replied dryly. "I witnessed the murder of two adults before I turned 8. Then my brother was badly injured by a robot designed to look like one of the men who died, and then the puppeteer and his stupid face decided to shoot me in the head."
"Yeah, so your life SUCKS. Glad we could clear that up." He said loudly, and his foot tapped the pavement. "Although I will admit that I don't regret it. Maybe it was a good place for you, but for me it was just a nightmare. Not because I was scared, mind you. But it was SO, damn, BORING."
"Mm." She pressed the rewind button, and listened to the following whirring sound, until she heard a faint click. "I want to find him. You reckon the Dream Trees will take me to him?"
"They take you where you want to go." Shadow Rat responded. "I might not have been able to step onto the path, but I remember those words carved into the memory stone clear as day. They won't always pop up, but when they do, they'll lead you to him."
"That's reassuring." Marilyn muttered. "What are you going to do now?"
"Me? I'm gonna wait till nightfall. See if I can find Shadow Cat. The idiot just HAD to run in the opposite direction, didn't he? I said 'Cat, Cat, come on, this way', and you know what he said? He said 'Nah, I can handle myself'. That pompous little BASTARD…"
Somehow watching Shadow Rat fume about his friend was highly amusing. A new image came into Marilyn's head; in it, Shadow Rat and Shadow Cat were pointing at each other accusingly, though they were both shrunk to the size of toddlers, and Shadow Cat was wearing a diaper.
Crash!
The two whipped their heads around to see a Dream Tree sprouting on the other side of the road.
"Well, you DID want one to appear." Shadow Rat laughed, and Marilyn pouted. She crossed the road, paying no heed to the cars and placing her hand against the trunk. Another one sprouted up ahead; and underneath it was Shadow Rat.
"How did you get there so fast?" She asked curiously, and he grinned.
"I shadow walked. I'm sensitive to the light, but the Dream Trees offer just a LITTLE bit of shade."
"Right, because that makes perfect sense."
"EXACTLY."
"Well, come on then. These trees aren't going to carry us."
"No," Shadow Rat said, "they're not."
xXx
"Marilyn?" Matt called, for the third time. "God damn it Mary, this isn't funny." His sister had been a little odd before the accident, he had to admit, but jumping out of a window on the 21st storey of a building, attempting to run home on foot, and leaving said home only minutes after arriving? Even he didn't think she was that crazy, and he was her brother.
Scowling, he pulled out his phone and rang his father.
"Hey dad. Mary just disappeared again." Matt said, before Ray could say a word.
"And how exactly did that happen?" He asked angrily. "I told you not to let her out of your sight."
"That was slightly difficult, considering how she insisted that I leave her alone. She was listening to My Sleepy Music, dad. I had too; she's trying to catch up." He attempted to explain. "And she took the tape player, too."
"Well, shit."
"Yeah, shit."
"Ok, just try and find her. She can't have gone far."
"I disagree. Mary ran halfway home in 3 minutes. She's pretty strong, for someone who's been asleep for so long."
"Then take the car."
"Yeah. Yeah, I'll do that." Ray hung up, and Matt muttered a curse. Because of course he was left to do all the work. It was always him."
xXx
"This house?" Marilyn said doubtfully as she placed her hand against the Dream Tree, causing it to sink into the dirt. The house in question was fairly small, a flimsy wooden fence and a rusted screen door the only defence against intruders. "I can't imagine him living here."
"They led you here, didn't they? And they take you where you want to go. UNLESS of course, your subconsciousness told you about a longing to visit a distant relative." Shadow Rat pointed out as they vaulted over the fence.
"Oh, fuck off." Marilyn muttered.
"You use that word a lot. Why is that?" he asked as she went around the side of the house, and peered through one of the windows.
"It's the only curse word I know. Learnt it from Tracey a minute or two before he shot me in the head."
"Sounds fun."
"Yeah, fun. He's not in the living room, if this is even his house." She muttered, and walked over to the next window. "He's not here either. That's-oh, fuck."
"What is it?" Shadow Rat asked, as Marilyn muttered a stream of fucks and damns. "This is my old psychiatrist's house. I just saw a picture of him framed on the wall. That's his bedroom-oh my god. Why did they lead me here?" She muttered, holding her head in her hands. "I wanted to find the puppeteer, not Dr Wood."
Shadow Rat perked up at that, and she frowned.
"What is it?"
"You said his name was Wood?" He asked. "Any chance his first name was Vinnie?" Marilyn froze.
"You knew him." She said in disbelief, and he nodded.
"Yeah, I knew Vinnie. Or at least I think I did. My memories are jumbled up, probably by the Deepscape."
"There's got to be something. Marilyn muttered as she looked around the room. There were quite a few things pinned to the wall. One of them looked like a newspaper article, though she couldn't see what is said. There was the picture of him she'd seen earlier, and then-
Marilyn gasped and placed a hand over her mouth.
"Oh my god." Right next to the picture, was a framed piece of paper. It read DIPLOMA, and something about acting. She'd seen that before. She'd seen that in the room where the Rat and Cat had died.
"He's...the puppeteer." When she'd had Dr Wood as her psychiatrist, he'd been the puppeteer that whole time. That was…what was the word again? Shocking?
"He was watching me the whole time. And as soon as I remembered, he tried to kill me." Marilyn muttered. "That sneaky little fuck."
Both of them were silent for a while, before Shadow Rat attempted to lighten the mood.
"You seriously need to learn how to use that word." He muttered quietly as she scowled.
"I don't care. That guy put me through hell. I trusted him. I didn't see who he was." A tear rolled down her face, and she let it fall onto the grass. "This is insane." At that moment the music ended, and Shadow Rat scampered off into the darkness. At least he didn't need to ask her whether she wanted to be left alone.
Sighing she headed back onto the path. She really didn't want to see his face again. Even without the makeup. Still the same man, after all.
Marilyn realised suddenly that she'd bumped into someone. The girl she'd hit suddenly dropped what she was carrying, a scowled.
"Oh god, I'm sorry." She attempted to help, but the girl waved her off.
"Don't worry about it. Accidents happen." She picked up the books she'd been carrying, and looked at Marilyn. "What's up with the hospital gown?" She looked at herself, remembering what she was wearing.
"Oh yeah. Uh, just left hospital. Coma." She explained, and the girl grimaced.
"Oh. Believe me, I know how much those suck. How long were you under?"
"Uh, 10 years."
"10 years." The girl sucked in her cheeks for a moment. "Fuck. You must have missed a lot. I mean, 10 years. Wow. That's like-" Suddenly she froze, and dropped her books again. "Marilyn?"
She put a hand over her mouth, and realised how familiar the other girl looked.
"No way. Tracey?" A few seconds of silence passed, before the two embraced each other.
"You're looking well, for someone who just woke up after 10 years." Tracey joked. "How are you?"
"Surprisingly, I'm not feeling too bad." Marilyn admitted, grinning. "What about you?"
"Meh, not bad. I've been alright. Just living life. It sort of sucked without you around, though. Didn't have many friends."
"Huh. But you're alright though?"
"…yeah more or less."
"What is that meant to mean?" Marilyn asked. "You hesitated for a moment." Tracey winced before she answered, lightly rubbing her arm. "…eh. It's just a little hard for me to sleep sometimes. The day you got shot, I-" She frowned and dipped her head. "You remember how I said I knew how much comas sucked?"
"Shit. What did he do to you?"
"Nothing Marilyn, I-"
"You've been to the Deepscape too." It wasn't a question. Everything Tracey had done; her talking about comas, her insomnia, and the fact that she was constantly rubbing her arm when she recalled something bad.
"They got you on your arm." She guessed, and Tracey flinched.
"How did you know?" She asked warily, and Marilyn sighed.
"You're rubbing it all the time." She glanced down, flinching and pulling it away. "They got me on my leg." Marilyn said, pulling up the gown to show her the scars. "I saw Shadows of the Rat and Cat. What about you?" Tracey was silent, as she looked at the ground.
"I…I saw the puppeteer." She said quietly, and began to rub her arm again. "After I knocked into him, I ran. I tried to get help. But, well, he was right on my tail. I didn't even make it to the end of the road. He pulled me back, threw me onto the ground, real fucking hard. And I couldn't fight back, he was way too strong. And then he…he fucking raped me."
There was silence for a moment or two, as Marilyn registered the information. The puppeteer, he…raped her?
"I fainted. I…guess I just couldn't handle it. It…it fucking hurt. And then I woke up a few moments later, in the dark."
"Holy fuck." Marilyn muttered as Tracey shuddered. "How long were you under?"
"I think a year or two. I…I thought I would go crazy in there. How did you even make it out of there without being in a state of madness?"
"Honestly? I just watched the calendar, ticked off the days, collected my memories. I met a few toys of mine in there. They talked; it was sort of weird."
"Sounds like you did go mad."
"Yeah, probably." Marilyn admitted. She wondered if she should tell Tracey that the puppeteer's house was the one they were standing next to right now. But that would probably just make her panic.
"Have you gone back?" Tracey asked curiously, and Marilyn frowned.
"What do you mean?" She asked, and Tracey face-palmed.
"So you haven't gone back. Don't worry, it took me a while to figure it out." Marilyn tilted her head as Tracey headed down a nearby side street, motioning for her to follow. "You have to…remember what happened. The reason you entered the Deepscape. See, you were shot in the head by the puppeteer, but that happened because you witnessed the murders of the Rat and Cat. So in other words, you have to relive that memory. And it'll open for you."
Marilyn gave her a doubtful look.
"You're telling me you have to relive yourself getting raped every time you want to go back?"
"Oh, fuck off. It's not that bad once you've done it so many times."
"Then what was that, when you told me about it earlier? You were shaking and all that crap."
"That was me talking about it, it's a lot worse than reliving it." Tracey explained. She extended out a hand and brought it down like a knife, and a purple ripple sliced through the air. "See? It's like a portal that needs to be powered by thought. There's a point in the memory, a climax. It's the thing that affected you the most."
"Huh." Marilyn muttered, and extended her hand.
He pushed with all his might, sending the Rat flying backwards, arms windmilling in panic. Marilyn gasped as his head smashed against the table holding Vinnie, whose arm fell off the table from the following wobble. The costumed man fell to the floor, no sound coming from his mouth. She watched, terrified as she noticed that where the Rat had hit his head, there was now a red patch of blood.
She brought her hand down, but nothing happened. Marilyn clenched her teeth, trying again.
"What's with all the…" The Cat began to say, but stopped when he saw the body on the floor. A small pool of blood had begun to drip from his head, and was now even wider than the Rat's costumed mask. "What happened!?" He exclaimed, and the puppeteer made a panicked motion.
"LOCK THE DOOR!" He said, and the Cat obeyed, quickly turning around the shut the door, twisting the small lock in the door handle. He looked back and walked up to the puppeteer. "I…I didn't mean to, it was an accident, I swear! He just, he…" He started saying. Sweat had begun to form on his face, and now two tear streaks had formed from his eyes, causing his white face paint to drip off.
Still nothing. Why wasn't this working? She closed her eyes, to prevent herself from being overtaken by the memory.
At that moment, she wanted so badly to jump out of the closet and tell the Cat to turn around. He was a good man, and good men didn't deserve to die. But her mind told her no. And the mind always won.
His hands quickly grabbed around the Cat's neck, just as the Rat had done to him. His gloved fingers began to tighten, and the Cat-
Suddenly as she brought her hand down, the air rippled, and Marilyn found herself staring into a dark abyss, a rippling void in the fabric of time and space.
"Wow." She muttered, taking a few steps back. "That was pretty sudden."
"You don't say. That's the biggest portal I've ever seen." It really was pretty big. It stood taller than both of the girls put together, and about half as wide.
"So I just walk in?"
"Yeah."
"How do I get out?"
"Oh, that? You just kill yourself." Tracey said, a completely serious expression on her face.
"You've got to be kidding me." Marilyn muttered as she looked back at the portal.
"Not really. Easiest way is to just step off the path."
"I've kind of befriended one of the Shadows."
"Well, then you can just ask them to kill you."
"I'd really rather not. What about opening another portal?" She asked, and Tracey frowned.
"I've never tried something like that. Seems a little risky, to be honest, and I don't know how you'd power the portal. But by all means, go ahead and try it. I guess it can't really hurt, can it?"
Marilyn muttered quietly in agreement, and placed one foot into the portal. There was no resistance, no feeling; it was just like she was walking down a corridor.
"Just don't tough the edges." Tracey warned as she stepped in next to her. "I've still got scars; it hurts like hell."
"Right, lovely." Marilyn murmured, and looked around. They were on the path, the water still as the little particles glowed. The portal instantly closed behind them as Tracey stepped through, leaving the path as the only light source.
"I wonder where we are." Marilyn said, trying to see any familiar landmarks.
"What do you mean? Are you saying you used to keep your bearings in here? I lost my room a week after I got here." Tracey admitted sheepishly.
"It was a little difficult. But in my room was a bunch of paper and some coloured pencils, so yeah, I drew a map. And because it drew from my memory, it never really ran out. It always reverted to the way I last remembered it." Marilyn explained as they headed down the path. "Oh look, there's a Memory Stone!" She exclaimed, pointing at a stone with words engraved into it. "I only ever found a few of these. We're either close to my room, or really far away from it."
They approached the stone, Marilyn reading the words with a grin on her face.
"Beware of the Shadows. Stay on the path. God, I still remember the moment I read this." Marilyn laughed. "My room is literally only a few hundred metres from here. Come on." Tracey smiled as they continued down the path.
"You actually seem to like it here." She said, sounding confused.
"Meh. Life was more interesting here than it was in the real world, that's for sure. Plus, it was a lot more peaceful. I just had to stay on the path, and Shadows couldn't hurt me."
"They got to you eventually." Tracey pointed out.
"Same with you, though."
"Ah, that's true."
A house had appeared ahead, and Marilyn whooped as she ran to it, Tracey struggling to keep up. It looked exactly the same as it did in real life. A front yard and gate had now appeared, probably from her visiting it in the real world. But it still felt the same way it had always felt.
Home.
Marilyn vaulted over the fence, and ran to the front door. She twisted the doorknob, smirking as it swung open.
"You know, there wasn't always a door here." She said as Tracey followed her into the house. She tapped one of the pictures in the hall, and watched as the Rat suddenly appeared in the background. "Those pictures aren't accurate." Marilyn told her as she whipped her head around. "They're infected, by the nightmares."
"Ah." Tracey muttered to herself quietly as Marilyn flung open the door to her room, and grinned.
"Well, this is interesting. It's not the same as it was in my house. That toy should be a little more to the left…Matt, that sneaky bastard. Though I wonder…" She turned around and flung open the closet, revealing several stacks of clothes. "Yup. They're still here. God, this place works miracles."
"I'm a little confused." Tracey said as Marilyn pulled something out of the pink closet. "How come there are clothes that fit you in here?"
"The room adapted to what I needed. If I needed food, I got food. Water, I got water. Clothes, I got clothes; a crap ton of them, actually. You mind turning around for a moment?"
"Y-Yeah, sure." Tracey spluttered, turning as Marilyn threw off the hospital gown, and pulled on a green T-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans. She tied her hair back, and grinned when she looked in the mirror.
"I'm done. You can look now." She announced, and Tracey spun around. "How do I look?" Marilyn asked, and Tracey tilted her head.
"Pretty good." She admitted, and looked at the jeans. "Were those always ripped?"
"Oh, these?" Marilyn tilted her head down. "I'm pretty sure they were. The Deepscape has style." She smirked, and closed the closet door. "Alright. So, about that portal…"
"Right. Yeah, I'm still not sure what you would have to recall." Tracey said as Marilyn sat down on her bed, absentmindedly rubbing her leg.
"You said that to get in, we have to relive what made us come here in the first place. What if to get out, we just have to relive how we got caught?"
"Huh. I never thought of that."
"Really, after so long? I thought that up in 10 seconds."
Tracey rolled her eyes as Marilyn closed her own, and tried to remember how she'd been caught.
She could see the Dream Trees, leading her to where she wanted to go. Something from the real world had carried over; maybe a newspaper article, maybe a broken toy. All she needed was to find out what it was.
She walked past Memory Stones and other broken toys as she neared the first of the Dream Trees. She places a hand against it, and watched as it sunk into the ground. Suddenly she heard a ripple behind her, and froze with realisation; she'd been so focused on getting to the trees, she'd strayed away from the path.
She sprinted, ignoring the sounds of Shadow Rat loping behind her, his teeth chattering as her limbs twitched and his head continued to spasm. Up ahead a purple shadow appeared in the water, and Shadow Cat leapt out, showing his razor sharp claws. Panicking, she veered to the left, as Shadow Rat accidentally crashed into a newly sprouted Dream Tree.
Shadow Cat leapt over the purple trees, and bared his teeth. She screamed and ducked, as the feline flew overhead, and tumbled in the water. Suddenly she could hear the sound of Shadow Rat right behind her, and she ran faster. She ran and she ran, till her feet were sore and her lungs were on fire, but he was still too fast for her and as his clawed hand reached out and grabbed her leg she screamed as she-
-pulled her hand down, and the real world rippled in front of her.
"No way." Tracey said disbelievingly, and put her hand through the portal. "It actually worked."
"I told you." Marilyn smiled and walked through, finding herself in her room. "It's like we just walked through a mirror."
"True." Tracey agreed, and turned to look at her. "How did it feel?" She asked. "To relive it again?"
"Honestly? It was easier than getting in." Marilyn said with a shrug. "You should try it later."
"Sounds good."
"Mm."
"You hungry?"
"…not really." A few seconds later Marilyn's stomach growled, and Tracey snickered.
"You want to go get food? It's on me. We can go to the diner down the road."
"Cool, just wait a second. I've gotta rewind my tape." Tracey watched as Marilyn pressed the rewind button, and raised an eyebrow. "You know, you could use earphones."
"What are those?"
She laughed at her friend's expression, and walked with her out of the house.
"Okay, we're buying you a pair right after we eat."
"Cool. God, you're right. I am hungry."
xXx
"Shadow Cat, come OUT! We are NOT playing HIDE-AND-SEEK!" Shadow Rat yelled angrily as he walked in the darkness, his feet making little splashes in the water. "This isn't FUNNY! I thought we agreed to stop being IDIOTS! We're FREE! We can go back home! Where ARE you?!"
He whipped his head around, and stomped off in another direction, his head twitching impatiently.
"COME ON!" Shadow Rat cried out, and kicked at the water, spraying the path with the tiny droplets. It was too bad he couldn't cross it; to be honest, Shadow Cat was probably on the other side, maybe playing a stupid board game against himself. Maybe Monopoly.
Gritting his teeth, Shadow Rat bounded alongside the path, trying to find a point where it ended. He giggled with happiness as he found a 'dead end', and looped around to the other side.
"Come on, Shadow Cat! Are you AFRAID-" He staggered to a halt, his grin twisted into a look of horror. "Oh, SHIT. You've got to be kidding me." He kneeled down, and pulled out a purple fabric shoulder casing. "No, no no. It can't be." Shadow Rat looked around, and felt his heart sink as he saw the rest of Shadow Cat's body. He was just lying there, empty eyes staring at nothing, and the water covering half his body. It had soaked through the costume, and was running through his mouth. The armoured casing around his neck was broken, and three diagonal slashes were along his chest.
"No, come on. You're kidding. This is why WE SHOULD HAVE STAYED TOGETHER!" Shadow Rat screamed, throwing down the piece of shoulder casing. "How could this HAPPEN?! This was meant to be a SAFE place!" He stomped his foot as he stared down at Shadow Cat, looking again at the broken skin around his neck. Could it be…?
He looked away, and bounded off into the darkness, only one goal on his mind.
To kill the puppeteer.
