Alice woke to the patter of rain on the window nearby. A dreary, dim glow seeped in around the edges of the curtains and she sighed. Rainy days were so gloomy…
She climbed out of bed and put on another of the pretty new dresses before making her way out to the main house. Mr. Cecil was awake and reading the paper again. This time there was writing but a lot of it seemed to be blacked out. Such a peculiar newspaper…
"There are eggs and bacon for you in the kitchen." Mr. Cecil said, once again not looking up from his paper. "We can go see Carlos when you're done eating. He wanted to do some kind of tests on the rain this morning."
"Do you think something is wrong with the rain, Mr. Cecil?" She asked.
"Oh, probably. There's always something wrong, though sometimes things are better for it. He worries too much."
She looked at him askance then went to get her breakfast. Once she was seated at the small dining table she watched the rain fall from the low, unfriendly clouds. At least there was no thunder and lightening as there had been the night before. She could not imagine what might cause a storm like this - it seemed quite normal and as dry as it had been since she came to this strange place, she would have thought people would be excited.
When she finished eating Mr. Cecil fashioned an umbrella from two coats, half a dozen pins and a broken rake. When she asked why he did not have an umbrella he looked at her as if she had asked why he had only two arms and shook his head. She let the subject drop and simply walked beside him as they strolled through the rain.
Mr. Carlos' lab was not far at all and for that she was very glad. It was unnerving to see people looking up at the clouds with deep suspicion. Some were even boarding up their windows. Alice turned her mind to the lab and away from the strange people as soon as they were through the door. The brightly lit room had an unusual scent and appeared to be scrupulously cleaned. There was not a smudge, not a speck of dirt anywhere. Even the floor was perfectly polished. She saw Mr. Carlos across the room staring at a jar that held a few inches of water as if waiting for it to move of its own accord.
"It's water, right?" Mr. Cecil asked softly from beside Mr. Carlos. The poor man was so startled he actually jumped and began stuttering until Mr. Cecil rested a hand on his cheek. "Alright, I won't do that again. Have you learned anything about the rain?"
Once Mr. Carlos calmed down he shook his head. "It seems to be normal water from normal clouds… but I don't remember seeing it rain like this before. Little storms that only last an hour or two maybe… but this? All night and into the next day? This is weird. Isn't it, Cecil?"
"A little unusual, yes." He admitted. "But as you said - it's normal water from normal clouds."
"But nothing in Night Vale is normal! That makes this abnormal!" Mr. Carlos protested in frustration. "I have to be missing something…"
"Maybe the storm came through one of the doors." Alice suggested as she looked around at all the other vials and bottles of liquids. So many pretty colors… She pointed to a clear jar with a black stopper that held a lovely blue substance. "What does this one do?"
"Oh… uhhh… that's glass cleaner… I dropped the bottle and broke the sprayer…" Mr. Carlos said with an awkward smile.
Mr. Cecil glanced at the long window that let in the dim sunlight and turned back to Carlos with a wide grin. "Alice, would you mind waiting outside for just a moment? I have to speak with Carlos in private."
"Yes, sir." She answered and returned to the door, glad this was not one that required the person opening it to draw blood. As soon as she was outside someone grabbed each of her arms, covered her mouth and she was swiftly carried around the corner of the building and along a twisting route until she was quite lost and very scared.
When at last they stopped in what seemed to be an abandoned building of some kind she was released only to find herself surrounded by children. The two carrying her seemed a little older than the others, perhaps fourteen or fifteen. One of them, the girl, stepped forward and narrowed her eyes at Alice.
"You read?"
"Y-yes…" She said uncertainly as she scanned the faces of the unfriendly looking children.
"What's your favorite book?" The older girl pressed.
"The Boys' and Girls' Library by Mr. Goodrich." She said, grasping at the only one she could think of just then. She was not sure it would be wise to admit she only read the parts with pictures.
The girl nodded in satisfaction. "I'm Tamika and this is my army."
"Army?" Alice looked around uncertainly. The children did seem strangely confident and quiet. She had honestly never seen so many in one place without someone laughing or playing. "Why do you need an army?"
"Because Night Vale needs us. The grown-ups are too used to the way things are. They won't stand up for their rights, they won't even read because the City Council tells them not to. They are scared of what will happen if everyone gets smarter and we are going to prove them right. Now, you've been kidnapped and you can either stay as our prisoner or join our army and help us fight for a better future."
"But I've never been in a fight before!" Alice protested. "Mother said girls should never fight… as much as I would love to help make this a nicer town-"
"Your mother is wrong." Tamika snapped, cutting her off. "Girls are just as good at fighting as boys are. Some are even better. Why do you think they tried so hard in the past to keep us docile? Don't just accept everything you are told. Read more, learn more, think more! You want to help, we'll teach you to fight."
"But… what about Mr. Cecil and Mr. Carlos? I really should get back…" Alice protested weakly. She didn't want to fight - they were going to send her home soon and she would not have to worry about all of this anymore.
"They know where you are." Tamika shrugged. "Well, they know you are with us. Cecil has always supported us in whatever way he can. Why do you think he sent you outside alone?"
"He knew?" She felt a little betrayed but if Mr. Cecil approved of them perhaps they were not as bad as they seemed. She deemed it wisest to play along for the time being and hope Mr. Carlos could find a way to open the door to send her home soon.
"Of course. So - what'll it be? You with us or not?"
"Yes… I will try to help."
"Good." Tamika smiled and led the army through hidden tunnels going deeper underground. For the next few hours Alice learned to use different kinds of guns as well as a few other weapons. She was very clumsy and it took some time to use any of them with any amount of accuracy but she found she actually enjoyed shooting targets with a small pistol. The recoil from the larger guns she tried hurt her hands.
It was almost dinner time when they took Alice back to Mr. Carlos' lab. Once again the storm was building up, thunder and lightning cut through the otherwise still night.
"Did you have fun?" Mr. Carlos asked as she hurried in and brushed the water from her dress.
"I'm not sure. I suppose so…" She said as she looked around. "Has Mr. Cecil gone already?"
"Yes, he said he had some people to talk to." Mr. Carlos smiled and set aside the papers he had been looking at. "Want to race home?"
Alice laughed and nodded. That would certainly make the short trip back to the apartment more fun. They had not even gone a full block when Alice slowed - huddled in the doorway of a boarded up house was a young boy with pale brown hair who clung desperately to a stuffed bear.
"Are you alright?" Alice asked as she approached. She could hear Mr. Carlos' shoes close behind her.
"Silly old bear…." The boy whimpered. "Silly, silly bear…."
"Mr. Carlos, I think he needs help." Alice said as she looked back and froze. Behind them stood a man wearing a cape and a leather mask with holes cut out for eyes and mouth. The man strode by Mr. Carlos and picked the child up.
"Silly old bear!" The boy wailed, curling into a ball around his toy.
"Don't worry. The boy will be cared for." The man said before he disappeared around the corner of the house.
"But…!" Alice tried to protest but Mr. Carlos rested a hand on her shoulder.
"That was the Sheriff's Secret Police. I'm sure he'll be alright." He was clearly not as confident as he tried to sound and Alice did her best to set aside her concerns as they walked the rest of the way to the nice, dry apartment.
An hour later Alice was in wonderfully dry clothing and helping Mr. Carlos prepare dinner while they waited for Mr. Cecil's radio show to start. Once again Mr. Carlos spoke in whispers and taught her about why the world was the way it was. This was quickly becoming her favorite part of the day.
"The sky is falling and it doesn't look like it is going to stop... Welcome to Night Vale."
Mr. Carlos grinned and stopped talking as the strange popping and crackling noises on the radio changed to the now familiar voice.
"It's been another busy day, listeners. The storm that has been causing unusual amounts of precipitation shows no sign of stopping and while many residents seem sure it has to do with a botched ritual, Old Lady Josie says Erika insists it has to do with the evil young boy who now commands a sizable pack of feral dogs. He was last seen over by Gino's Italian where he seems to have made one of the subway stations into his home.
"John Peters - you know, the farmer - has deemed the child a miracle and insists that the so-called angels are just jealous of his rainmaking abilities. He has expressed his gratitude by leaving food and other supplies close as the vicious dogs would allow. All he has been able to learn is that the boy calls himself Damien."
Alice looked over at Mr. Carlos. "Is it possible for a person to make a storm like Erika says?"
"I really don't see how but there are a lot of things that seem impossible yet are true." He answered with a frown. "I would need to run some tests on the boy but the feral dogs will make that difficult."
"The boy in the zoo seems to be good with dogs, maybe he can help"
"Maybe... but he hasn't let anyone get close either. Wolves and feral dogs don't usually get along so avoiding contact between the two might be preferable."
"There are rumors of more doors opening but none have been able to gather details with all this rain limiting vision. The Sheriff's Secret Police have been unhappy with the situation that has grounded their helicopters so concerned citizens need not worry, they are working tirelessly to learn the truth about this situation."
Alice's mind wandered from the radio as she stared out the window. She understood how precipitation worked now thanks to Mr. Carlos' lessons but this rain remained a mystery. He was very excited about it even though he was running out of tests.
As she watched the rain streaks trailing along the window a new thought occurred to her. "What does the faceless old woman eat if she doesn't have a mouth?"
"That's a good question." He admitted. "Though as much as people talk, I've never seen her so I can't be sure she is literally faceless. She might be figuratively faceless since no one knows what she looks like."
"That makes sense." She nodded and yawned. It had been a very busy day and she was incredibly tired. Mr. Cecil's show was only half over when the sounds of low thunder and rain in combination with his voice lulled her into a peaceful sleep.
A/N: Questions? Concerns? You're not alone. Let's hide in a blanket fort, pretend there are no listening devices and convince each other it will all be okay.
Today's proverb - Dancing is the best form of communication when you're on fire.