Mae just about pulled a muscle from how violently she sat up in her bed. She had broken out in a cold sweat and almost fell off of the bed while sleeping. The dream felt too real. It couldn't be just a figment of her imagination. She threw her head into her hand.
It was still dark out, meaning she hadn't slept for too long. But, Mae definitely wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. How could she? So, her computer comforted her, keeping her awake through the power of the internet.
Stirring away her boredom and keeping herself awake was easy. After all, she had been doing all the work. Mae kept thinking about her dream? Prediction? Astral projection? Well, whatever it was, she couldn't get it out of her head. Clearly it meant something. And what Mae thought that something was wasn't good. The cult was coming back, wasn't it? The same cult that had killed Casey was back.
She weakly tried to convince herself otherwise. She had always been one to overreact, and besides, she had other, less grisly things to think about. But, she just couldn't bring herself to believe it. This was real. This put her, and more importantly, her friends in danger. Sure, Gregg and Angus were safe over in Bright Harbor, but Bea and Germ and Lori and Selmers and… everyone were still here. She had to tell someone. She had to warn her friends. Right? That was the right thing to do? Ugh. None of this had a clear answer.
Mae kept herself content on the internet for as long as she could, but at some point, you run out of feed to scroll through. Also, you run out of patience to deal with anxious, paranoid thoughts. So, after taking a quick look at the clock and seeing the time, about six, she stood up. The sun was low in the sky, but provided enough light for her to leave the house. So, she donned her shoes and pocketed her still charging phone. She had to get her mind off of the cult, even if it meant leaving the house at a regular time.
As much as Mae hated to say it, it was a nice day out. Sure, the town was, again, practically empty, but the sun was shining, the sky was cloudless, the flowers flourished and bloomed, and the birds sung surprisingly pleasant songs. Mae couldn't remember the last time she had been out and about the early in the day. It was nice, as was the feeling of hopping onto a nearby mailbox.
Ding. "Hello, and welcome to the 'Ol Pickaxe," Bea droned, looking down at her phone and sipping recently brewed coffee.
"Hey," Mae responded, attempting to make herself sound cheery and energized, even though she was clearly nervous and tired.
Bea practically spit out her drink as soon as she heard Mae's voice. Her eyes shot up and searched for the source of the voice. She couldn't believe it. Why would Mae be here at 6 in the fucking morning?!
Bea swallowed her coffee, "Mae?!"
"Yeah?" Mae responded, not understanding the confusion.
"What are you doing here so early in the morning?" Bea asked.
"Visiting you," Mae answered.
"Yeah, but at…" Bea looked down at her phone, "eleven past six!"
"So?" Mae continued.
"'So?' Usually you wake up hours from now!" Bea explained.
"I couldn't really sleep," Mae said.
"Okay, so what were you doing? What crimes were you committing?" Bea drilled.
"None crimes?" Mae answered, "...It's just that I… I'm worried about the cult."
Bea had gotten an answer that fit. She knew that only something serious would cause Mae to miss her sleep. But that? That was an answer that Bea didn't really want to hear.
"Oh… Aw, jeez. What's going on?" Bea asked, her attitude changing in milliseconds.
"Well, it's that I keep having the same sort of dreams I had before the cult. Like, the ones with the weird goat god guy. And… I don't really have any evidence, but I can just feel that something's off. Like, the town's been all empty the last few days. And, there's construction on the mines, and I think that maybe… maybe the murdercult's back." Mae said.
Bea took a moment before responding, "...Alright. Mae, if all that's really bothering you, then maybe you should go talk with Dr. Ha—"
"Stop. I don't want to go see Dr. Hank! I'm not crazy! I don't need to go see Dr. Hank again! I just— I wanna know what's going on. I'm just really nervous and scared and wanna know that the cult's not back. I just wanna know if you and me and my family and friends are safe," Mae interrupted on the verge of tears.
Bea leaned over the small counter and hugged Mae, holding on for what felt like forever, before letting go and grabbing Mae's hands. She looked Mae in the eyes.
"I'm sorry… If you wanna go check out the construction at the mine, then I'll go with you. Tomorrow, though. I've kinda gotta finish up work today," Bea sincerely explained.
"Okay. That sounds good." Mae smiled, leaning over and hugging Bea again, "How did I get someone like you to fall in love with someone like me?"
"You were you. Nightmare eyes and all," Bea flirted.
Mae laughed. "I like you, Beatrice Santello."
"You know what? I like you too, Mae Borowski." Bea responded.
Mae returned home around half an hour after she left. She walked upstairs, took her shoes off, and went back to sleep. She could finally sleep. She wasn't alone in this.