Chapter 4 – The Other Side
Friday, September 7, 2012 / Danann High School / 3:30 PM
The last bell rang out for the week, resonating loudly through hallways that were beginning to flood with students eager to begin their weekend. On the second floor of the main building, one room was still shut with its students longingly looking out the door, while its teacher was making a few last minute announcements.
"C'mon let us out Ms. Castella!" a student in the back whined.
"The bell may have rung, but I still have one quick announcement for you all," said the young teacher with slightly rustled brown hair, glasses, and a modest spotted dress. She taught different mathematic courses and was finishing her pre-calculus class. An audible sigh could be heard from most of the class. Sam rolled his eyes. A few seconds weren't going to kill anyone. He glanced over at Dan. Today was the day they were going to test the message they had gotten on the strange app they downloaded. Dan just shrugged back at him; they still had plenty of time before 7:00 PM
"I just wanted to let you know that we will be having a short quiz on Monday as a refresher from your time off. After a few days of class you should be ready for this. That's all," She closed a planner at the front of the desk and began erasing the chalkboard.
The students began to scramble toward the door. Sam put his notebooks in his backpack while most of the class was stampeding toward the door. After a quick stretch he began to walk toward Dan who was waving goodbye to quiet little Jill who nodded and left the room quickly. Sam's eyes shifted between the two as she was leaving but he decided not to bring anything up.
It really isn't any of my business, he thought to himself while shaking his head. He was about to ask Dan about their plans for the evening, when Ms. Castella called for the two.
"Ah! Sam and Dan, before you leave I need to talk with you about the Jazz Ensemble's schedule," the teacher motioned for the two to head over to her desk. Despite being the math teacher, she also was the conductor for Danann High's Jazz Ensemble.
After the short chat with Ms. Castella, the two exited the classroom and began moving toward their lockers, ready to end the school day. Sam spoke up about their upcoming appointment, "So is anyone else going to be doing this dumb thing?" He made it clear that he still didn't really want to have any part of that strange email.
"I think a lot of them backed off when they saw how eerily detailed the directions were," Dan said as they stopped in front of their lockers.
"Sounds like what we should be doing. This whole thing stinks," Sam said curtly while tossing a few books into his back pack.
Dan just smirked at him and gave him a punch in the arm, "Aww, c'mon man! It'll be an adventure. If it is just a dumb rumor, we drop a message on the forum and go on our merry way."
Sam just shook his head, "Yeah, on our merry way into a grave after we get stabbed by a weirdo in an alley."
Dan punched Sam in the arm again, "You'll have a chance to put those boxing skills to good use!"
"Maybe you can put that pool cue to better use than hustling freshman out of pool money," Sam shot back.
His friend began shushing him while darting his eyes around, "Don't let the freshman know." He then broke out into a hearty laugh, "Besides, it's a living!"
Sam chuckled lightly and began walking toward the front entrance, "So we'll meet up an hour before seven and grab a bite to eat?"
The two kept their banter going and didn't notice someone creeping up on the two while taking a deep breath. A booming "HOWDY!" came from the person and Sam jumped. Dan just turned around while laughing at his friend's reaction. It was Ashley standing with her arms akimbo and a beaming smile.
She ran up between the two and quickly turned her head to face Sam, "What took y'all?"
"Our pre-cal teacher held us over for a bit to talk about the jazz band's schedule," Sam said avoiding eye contact. While the last few days had gone smoother with her in comparison to their first encounter, at times she got a little too close for comfort. He had an unfounded fear that something would fly at his head when she was around.
Ashley was surprised. The lady she saw while walking by the room didn't seem to be the type, "Your math teacher heads the jazz band?"
Dan nodded, "Yeah, she doesn't talk too much about it but she is a crazy good trumpet player."
"Wow!" When the trio got to the front of the school, Ash threw on her skates and they began to leave the campus grounds. After a bit of small talk about their day and how the first week of classes had gone, Ash asked a question that caught the boys off guard.
"You boys seem tech savvy, what is with that weird website linked on the student forums?"
Sam gave a bit of a sigh, while Dan decided to explain, "We're not sure, but it's probably some elaborate prank."
"I see. I wonder why none of the teachers said anything 'bout it."
"They probably don't want to draw attention to it. You know how adults get when things are out of their control."
"Fair point," she replied.
The conversation was slowing down, but Dan decided to keep it rolling, "So after everything, how was your first week?"
"It's been fun. I met a ton of new folk, and have been looking at some of the club offerings that the school has. This school definitely has a lot of things to do for sure!"
"Anything interest you?"
"Well...I'm not too sure actually. There ain't a whole lot that I'm interested in at the school. Maybe one of the foreign language clubs?" she began trailing off while thinking about what extracurricular activities to try.
"Well there are plenty of other activities to do outside of school," Dan assured her.
"Mhm," she nodded. The two looked over at Sam expectantly. It had been a bit since he was involved in the conversation.
Sam decided to humor them, by asking, "Your dad is the preacher for the local church here, right?"
Ash looked down at the ground after hearing that, "Oh yea. He does that. It's the reason we left home…"
Sam immediately realized he might have made a mistake talking about her home life. It clearly was a bit of a touchy subject. He tried to correct the course of the conversation by steering it in a completely different direction, "So when did you want me to show you The Lounge?"
"You invited her out to The Lounge? I didn't take you for the romantic man!" Dan said slapping Sam's back.
Sam just caught on to Dan's implication and his face and ears began to heat up and change to a light shade of pink, "W-w-what? Shut up man. I-I just. I mean, she asked me…"
Ash giggled and jumped in, "He told me about some of the skating stuff they got there."
"Ah, that's right. You are into the extreme sports. Makes sense then," he turned back to Sam who had an eye twitching. Dan threw his arms up in defense, "Relax man I was just kidding. Besides it'll have to wait 'til tomorrow."
"Whatcha boy's doin' tonight?" she asked, interested in that last bit of dialogue.
Sam just shot a dirty look at Dan who was "Oh uh…we were just going to hang out and do…guy stuff downtown."
"Keepin' secrets?" she asked with a pout but then she flashed another grin "S'alright. I'm goin' to hang out with Jill anyway tonight."
"Wow you managed to get her to hang out over the weekend? She usually just stays home, goes to the library, or goes to an old antique bookstore we have in town."
"Mhm! I kinda noticed that durin' the summer. I asked her to show me some things that y'all do during the weeked. I think we are going to see a movie."
The trio continued their walk outside the school making small talk until they reached Ash's neighborhood and parted ways with her.
"So tonight at six?" asked Sam.
"Yeah. It might get tough trying to get my parents to let me leave, but since it is the weekend I'm pretty sure I can convince them," he replied. His family was not particularly fond of him leaving unless it was for studying or some other activity they approved of, but their complaining wasn't going to stop Dan.
"Alright then, I'll see you later man," Sam said. Dan nodded and the boys went their separate ways.
()()()()
Friday, September 7, 2012 / Townsend Household / 4:00 PM
The front door swung open and Sam made his way through, "I'm back!"
He walked toward the living room and saw Glenn watching television. Out of the corner of his eye he also saw a sight he didn't expect. It was Glenn's dad.
"Hi Sam!" Glenn said turning his body toward Sam and exhibiting a very cheery smile.
"Hello Sam," Mr. Townsend also greeted Sam. It was a bit of a gruffer tone, but he was just as glad to see the boy. He was a tall and burly man, with a chiseled face that was slightly tan and extensive facial hair. He wasn't particularly old, but his head started to grey ever so slight. Sam chalked it up to stress from being the Fire Chief of the immediate region.
Sam was surprised to see him, but it didn't mean he was disappointed. In fact, it was quite the opposite. While being the Fire Chief meant that he hadn't gone out fire fighting in quite some time, Sam still felt a twinge of anxiety every time he went out to the station. He was glad to see the man at home with Glenn.
"Hey Glenn. Hey Mr. Townsend," Sam replied with a short nod, "You're back early. How was your day?"
"It was calm, which is a much needed change of pace from the hustle that has been the department lately. A lot of bureaucratic nonsense has been placing a hamper on my people doing their job," he stood up signaling for Sam to follow him into the kitchen.
"Where ya goin'?" Glenn asked?
"We're gonna grab some snacks," Mr. Townsend replied. Glenn nodded with vigor, eager to eat something after school.
The two walked into the kitchen and Mr. Townsend grabbed some fruits out of the refrigerator as Sam walked to the pantry grabbing some crackers. While cutting the fruits, Mr. Townsend started talking, "This has been the first opportunity I've been able to ask since school started, but how was Glenn?"
Sam quietly sighed, but Mr. Townsend didn't seem to notice, "He was fine, just disappointed about the first day stuff." Sam looked over at the older man, "Glenn knows you guys do important things for the town."
"I see," he stopped cutting for a moment before starting up again, "And how are you doing?"
"Me? School is fine. Classes aren't too bad and my afterschool schedule is mostly the same."
Mr. Townsend gave a short nod, "That's good. Any new friends?"
Sam paused for a moment thinking back to a recent head injury before answering, "A few."
"Good. Glad to hear. Names?"
Sam frowned. He didn't know most of the new freshman joining the boxing club or jazz ensemble enough to be considered friends, "Okay, maybe just one. Ash Winburn."
The older man perked up, "The pastor's daughter?"
"You know them?" Sam asked, head slightly tilted.
He nodded, "A bit. We were just introduced to him in passing during a town meeting. Anything else?"
The teen pondered for a moment with his chin in hand, and then shook his head, "School related? Not really."
"Not just school related Sam. I mean…it has been a long time since we talked about your dad."
The atmosphere grew tense after he mentioned Sam's dad. "Mr. Townsend, please. It's okay. It's been eight years since you took me in. I think I've coped pretty well all things considered. I'm- I'm fine," his voice cracked a bit after uttering that declaration. He hoped that the adult didn't notice it and poured out some apple cider for the trio.
Mr. Townsend gazed at him for a while. Sam was nearing adulthood and had proven to be fairly self-sufficient in the few years afterward, but it didn't stop him from worrying about his best friend's child, "You know Cheryl and I are always here to talk right?"
"I'm not sure what else there is to talk about. He died and left me behind. They called him a 'hero', but what does that matter once you are dead?" he recalled the day that the message came from the armed services and shook his head violently, "The past is the past. All I gotta worry about is now."
He didn't quite believe that the teen was telling him everything, but he decided not to press the issue. It was probably best just to drop the subject before Sam got more agitated, "Do you have plans for this weekend?"
Sam nodded, and was glad to be on a different subject. While he respected the Townsends greatly, he still didn't want to talk about his dad. Maybe he hadn't truly moved on, but he felt it pointless to dwell on the past, "Yeah. Dan and I are going to hang out for a bit on Friday and Saturday."
"I see. Well it is the weekend. As long as you get your work done, I don't see any problem," he gave Sam a pat on the back and grabbed the tray of food after everything had been prepared, "We better get this over to Glenn before we get an earful."
There'll be another chance for him to open up, Mr. Townsend thought.
()()()()
Friday, September 7, 2012 / Danann High School / 6:50 PM
Danann was a small town; there was no doubt about that. Getting around on foot was a relatively easy matter. Shops were just a couple of miles away from most residential communities and shuttles were prepared to ferry people around the town for a modest fee. The town prided itself on the safe atmosphere it had provided for its young students and families and made sure to keep that at the top of their priorities. While it may have seemed excessive to some, the kids felt it rather convenient.
Fruit Street consisted of a variety of shops, such as niche mom and pop stores and general franchises, with restaurants, ranging from cheap fast food to classy fancy bistros. If you wanted something, you could find it here.
Two figures could be seen coming out of a pizzeria that was a block away from Main Street. Street lamps lining the sidewalk were starting to flare to life as the sun began its descent beyond the horizon for the day.
"That wasn't too bad. Though I thought you were going to go for some sort of Korean place," Sam mused while stretching his arms.
Dan shook his head, "I eat that stuff all the time at home. Sometimes I just want a nice hot slice of pizza."
"Fair enough," Sam patted his stomach while they kept moving, "It is gonna take a bit to work that off."
"You'll live," Dan said nonchalantly. The pair kept moving toward the corner of Fruit Street and Main Street.
As they arrived Sam spoke up, "We're here, so now what?"
Dan just glared at him, "Just hold your horses."
Sam just shrugged and the pair sat on a nearby bench. After 10 minutes he pulled out his phone's clock and saw it strike 7:00 PM. He folded his arms and sighed loud enough to be just obnoxious enough for Dan to say something.
"What?"
"Man, I told you this was stupid. What were we even expecting anyway?" Sam was being pretty annoying, but it was understandable as the whole thing seemed fairly ridiculous.
"Hey. I know it was stupid, but it was worth a look, since we aren't losing anything except a few minutes of time. I would have liked to have found out how they were taking those images of our town is all."
"Yeah I guess," Sam reluctantly replied. He was also curious about that, but before he spoke up he noticed how the intersection hadn't seen a car in some time. "Have…have you noticed something strange? I mean about this intersection."
"Yeah. It's Friday and there hasn't been any traffic down this street. Wait huh?" Dan was confused. He looked across the street and saw some more oddities, "That guy across the street has been standing in that same position for a long time. And those people on that restaurant's deck…they aren't moving."
Sam ran across the street to take a closer look. "He's not moving. Like, he's a statue," He took a closer look at the people eating at the restaurant, they were all not moving. It looked as if they had stopped in the middle of what they were doing to pose for a painting. "They're all frozen!"
To the boys it seemed like time had stopped. As soon as they made that realization, all color began to desaturate and fade from the world leaving their surroundings in black and white. They frantically searched around for any cause of the disturbance, but found nothing. Dan ran to the street and found that like the first man they saw, everyone had frozen in place as if they were gray statues in the dimmed over world.
"What the hell is going on!?" Dan exclaimed as he ran across the street to link up with Sam.
Sam was about to say something but was cut off as two odd, green-black, spherical anomalies, no bigger than a baseball, flew out of their phones. Dan fell back in shock as the balls flew up high above them and came back down behind each of them. The small sphere behind Dan began to expand, as Dan began to crawl back wildly. The ball closest to Sam had stayed its original size.
Dan nearly caught up to Sam, when the expanding sphere, now the size of a door, burst into a flat swirling mass that was sickly green with black wisps inside of it. "What is that? Where the heck did it come from?" He questioned as he stared at his phone trying to figure out where the odd object came from. The teen quickly got back up, still shaken but calming down a bit. He began to walk toward the mass, but Sam stopped him.
"I have a bad feeling dude. This makes absolutely no sense. We shouldn't mess with that thing," he said and he quickly looked over his shoulder at the inert globe behind him, "The one behind me hasn't done anything yet. It's creeping me out."
"I'll be careful. We still don't know what happened to everything else around us, and I think this could be a clue," Dan replied trying to at least get a feel of what was occurring to the two. He pulled out his phone and tried to take pictures, but for some reason the Camelot app wouldn't come off the screen and kept repeating "Doorway Opened".
"Huh, is this bugged? Sam can you check if your phone is working?" he motioned to his own phone which only had the Camelot app running. Sam checked his own phone, a bit wary after another orb flew out of his phone as well. However after a cursory look at it he found a similar issue, but instead of saying "Doorway Opened" it just kept flashing "Awaiting Opening".
Dan shook his head, this was all way too strange, as he slowly made his way over to the abnormality. Supposedly, the swirling mass was a doorway if his phone was to be believed. He could see how it could be, but it was still a peculiar sight. It was flattened after it had exploded and he leaned around it to see what was on the other side, but there was nothing there. It was as if it were completely transparent.
This is so weird, he mused. He quickly made his way over to Sam and was about to say something, when the strange portal began to make its move. It had made a loud thunderous boom that startled the two boys and began to vacuum the area where they were. Dan tripped over himself as the vortex began to suck the two toward it. Sam grabbed a lamppost on the side walk but Dan was quickly being dragged closer to the portal. Sam threw out his hand trying to grab Dan, but he was out of reach.
"SAM!" Dan shouted as he hysterically was tried to grab on to anything to prevent himself from being drawn in, but there was nothing close enough to his grip. The suction continuously grew in strength, dragging all sorts of garbage, rocks, and random debris through the air.
"DAN! NO!" screamed Sam as he let go of the lamppost in order to get closer to Dan. He seized the thin trunk of a tree that was closer to Dan. He kept his arm outstretched trying to clutch onto his friend, but he still couldn't reach.
"SHIT! IT'S STILL TOO FAR!" Dan was pulled closer to the doorway and his leg was nearly through the pale green oval.
"I'M NOT GIVING UP!" Sam yelled. He was going to be damned before he failed to save his friend. He jumped after him still trying to get a grasp on Dan as he was being freely dragged in also. If they were going in, Sam was not going to let them go separately. However, he began to notice that the force pulling him toward Dan's portal stopped. It was his chance to get Dan out of there.
Unfortunately, his plans were completely thrown out the window when he saw a look of horror on Dan's face, "SAM BEHIND YOU!"
Sam quickly looked behind him as his own sphere started expanding behind him. He had forgotten about his own phone releasing one of those floating spheres, and only now did it begin to repeat the process. It quickly popped in the same manner as the one Dan released and immediately began to draw Sam closer to it. He struggled to grab onto Dan, but his own portal began to pull him harder, keeping him from reaching his friend.
As Sam was being towed into his gateway, he saw that Dan's shoulders, arms, and head were the only things left on this side of the gate way. Soon, the rest of him was swallowed up by his doorway, "FUCK! NO!"
Dan's doorway condensed into a sphere and vanished as soon as he was taken and Sam was left to struggle against his portal alone. Unfortunately there was nothing for to hold on to keep himself from getting pulled in and he was taken by the vortex.
()()()()
Sam felt himself being pulled in every direction and an overwhelming sense of nausea shot through him, causing him to pass out. In a matter of moments, he finally ended his trip and was dumped unceremoniously on the other side of the doorway.
The brown haired teen awoke with a start and was greeted by strange unfamiliar surroundings. He turned and quickly looked around trying to get a grasp on his location. The air was hot and humid and all around lush foliage grew without restraint. Black streaks and black wisps broke up the solid, dark green colored sky.
It seems he was dumped in the middle of the road in an abandoned town. He shook his head and rubbed his back to ease the pain from the trip. It's been three times in less than a month that I've woken up somewhere strange. What is this place? The sky and surroundings don't seem like anyplace I've seen back home, that's for sure. What happened?
His recollection of what had happened moments ago was fuzzy in his mind and he tried to piece together the chain of events that brought him here. Suddenly, memories flooded his mind and he scrambled on his feet. Dan!
"DAN!" he shouted with no response except for the sound of his own voice echoing throughout the area. He looked around and saw deserted buildings that had massively overgrown plant-life on them but no signs of fauna or civilization. The street he landed on was littered with thick grass and weeds as if plants had been growing here for centuries.
"Hello! Anybody?!"
His voice rang out, but again there was no response. Sam was reluctant to leave since he felt it was probably better to stay put and let someone come find him, but the two of them were lost in this bizarre place and there was little chance to find anyone just standing around.
He pulled out his phone to see if that worked at least. Unfortunately he couldn't leave the Camelot app, but he did noticed something peculiar about it. There was a flashing message that said "New Add-On Installed" over and over again. With little other recourse, he decided to tap on the message and see what the add-on was. A short video of a present being opened popped up and after the gift was unwrapped, a map was shown on the screen as the message "Mapper Add-On Has Been Installed" displayed. He opened up the app to find that the "map" had been mostly bare except for his immediate surroundings. Sam shook his head. Well this might be useful down the road to at least show where I've been. He pocketed his phone, and began walking down the lonesome street.
()()()()
Unbeknownst to him, he wasn't alone. A set of two figures dressed in hooded cloaks were standing on the roofs of the nearby buildings observing him while he began to make his way through the town. They began moving from rooftop to rooftop, keeping up with him and watching all along the way. One was taller than the other and had a slightly more masculine frame than the other who was a hair shorter but more lithe.
The hooded individuals quickly noticed the newcomers, but didn't interfere with what was about to happen. Instead they were content to just observe what he would do when he finally noticed the blob-like creatures catch up to him.
"Looks like some more folks decided the respond to the idiotic email that ol' yellow eyes' nerd sent out. To be honest I thought it was going to fail miserably," the slender individual shrugged. It was clear that her voice was feminine with an adult timbre. "How do you think he'll fair?" she asked. The other individual just kept quiet, slowly removing his hood revealing a white mask that had a cold emotionless face.
"Not the silent treatment again," the female figure sighed, wondering what it would take to get her partner to ever communicate. She just shook her head and gave up, looking back at boy shuffling in the streets as she muttered, "Hopefully he'll be more fun than you. Do you think we should have helped the last few we saw?"
The white masked boy looked down before clearing his throat, "Maybe, but if they die, they die. Since they ended up here, no one, except for Persona-users, will remember them anyway. Mother told us to just observe, those who decided to explore his website. If they are not strong enough to repel the shadows, then that is the unfortunate will of the world."
He waited for a response, but didn't hear anything from his mouthy teammate. When he turned to face her, he saw her leaping up and down.
"Finally! You said something. It is so boring with you around. It almost makes me wish Red or Pink were here. Almost…" she said triumphantly while still hopping about.
He resisted the urge to slap his mask and decided to let go of the fact that she completely ignored what he had said. Instead he started to move across the buildings to keep up with the boy on the road.
The girl looked up from her dance and saw that the white masked boy had ran off. "Hey! Don't ignore me!" she shouted while running after him.
()()()()
Sam continued down the path for about ten minutes but the oppressive atmosphere and the thick undergrowth made it feel like he'd been trudging along for an hour. He wiped the sweat off his brow, cursing the unbearable heat. The green sky was dark made everything dim, and on top of that everywhere he looked there was a thin mist that further obscured his vision.
Where the hell is he? Sam still had no idea where Dan was and his worry started to grow into a mild panic.
He squinted at the growth protruding from the sides of the road. It was reminiscent of a wild jungle, with just the sheer volume of plant life that amassed. Despite the road having a fairly visible path, the flora still managed to extend its reach and blanket the cracked blacktop. Bypassing the overgrowth and the harsh atmosphere managed to sap more and more energy with each step Sam took, and his breathing started to get heavier
He took another look at the map on his phone. It was actually becoming fairly handy. It showed a simple set of lines that indicated the various paths and roads that were easily accessible via foot, and showed Sam as a simple triangle marker. With his vision obscured, it the only thing keeping him from running into walls. However, the more he looked at the map, the more he felt uneasy about this strange place. The roads and intersections that he passed by felt too familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. A quick inspection of the map didn't help to alleviate the nagging feeling of familiarity.
What is going on with this place? It reminds me a bit of home. I wonder if this is what was shown in that stream on the forum. Maybe someone is watching me…
While he continued down the road his phone began beeping, breaking his train of thoughts. He quickly pulled it out in hopes that it was a message. However, those hopes were quickly dashed when he saw the screen. It was just another add-on for the Camelot app. This time it was called the "Shadow Analysis App".
"Shadows? What are those?" As soon as he asked, screaming could be heard echoing throughout the ghost town.
His heart sank, fearing the worst he quickly ran toward the direction of the scream while glancing at his phone. He noticed two red dots pinging on the mapper app that were in the ten o'clock direction of his little triangle. Looking up from the map, he heard noises coming past the corner of a building that could easily be mistaken for a gigantic hedge bush with the amount of foliage growing on it. He slowly tiptoed to the corner of the building, attempting to avoid drawing attention to himself. When he reached the corner, he carefully poked his head out from behind the wall. What he saw was a terrifyingly disgusting sight.
Two blob like creatures were grabbing onto a couple that had looked like they were knocked around by said creatures. The black masses each grabbed one of the pair and dragged them toward their black gooey bodies. When they brought the people close to them, they drove their arms into their chest, but instead of blood and guts the arms went fully through and grabbed what looked like a ghostly teal flame. They tossed aside the limp bodies and absorbed the flame into their mass.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" He slapped his hands over his mouth but the damage was done. The blobs' shot a glance toward the noise and saw Sam. Making a menacing, low, gurgling sound they began to crawl toward him with the intent of doing the same atrocity to him.
He bolted as soon as he saw the strange masses head toward him. After seeing what they did to that couple on the ground, he didn't want to spend time getting to know the creatures. He had a terrible feeling in his gut, which was exacerbated when he glanced over his shoulder to see them picking up speed.
Sam kept running at top speed but the creatures kept coming without pause. Every few seconds he would look behind him and see them inch closer and closer. His lungs started to scream for more oxygen with each ragged breath he took, and his legs were burning hotter than a wildfire. It was clear that this new environment was adversely affecting his performance. He should have been able to run for much longer, especially with the conditioning he was doing over the summer, but the hot, humid, strange, and heavy atmosphere alongside the odd thick foliage, had been wearing him thin and his body wasn't used to it.
While running, he failed to notice a root protruding from the ground which caught his foot, causing him to fall over. This gave the monsters the chance to catch up. He started scrambling away from them, but they were practically on top of him.
The blobs began to contort and twist around, as they rose up into the air. It was a truly bizarre sight to behold as they changed from weird slime-like creatures into floating balls with a mask and tongues flapping around outside their toothy grins. He felt time slow down as the weird floating creatures began to creep closer.
He got back up and threw a punch at the floating mouth only to have it bounce off. The front creature rammed into him, knocking him back down before slowly advanced toward him.
I'm going to be killed in a godforsaken ghost town. Glenn…I'm sorry. I guess I'm gonna see Dad again. But as he began to brace for the worst, he heard a whisper in the back of his mind.
Doth thou desire to live? It was nearly inaudible, but even without hearing it, he felt something stirring with him.
What?
The voice grew louder, enunciating each syllable, echoing throughout his entry being. Doth thou…desire to live?
Of course! I want to live! If I die, Glenn…he'll be alone. The pain of losing someone important…I can't have him go through what I went through!
Then thou, whose will is strong, say my name. Call forth your 'other self'!
Suddenly everything clicked for Sam. In his mind he understood what the voice was telling him and what the strangers he met the month before were talking about. Deep down, he felt something crying out, screaming to be let free.
The monsters stopped as he slowly got up on his feet again. Instead of wildly attacking he closed his eyes and took deep breaths. The monsters were hesitant as a chill went up where their spine would be.
Sam quickly opened his eyes and saw a card with the number zero at the base depicting a grinning person holding a sack slung over his shoulder. He began to shudder as he drew strength from ever part of his body to his throat, and when the energy reached its breaking point, he smashed the card and shouted, "PER-SO-NA!"
Heat was coursing throughout his body, enough to feel as if he were burning in a fiery pit, but there was no pain. There was just a feeling of satisfaction as he felt years of tension washover him and it began to feel like he could be his true self.
He slowly opened his eyes again to see a giant being suited with a practical and modest set of armor and a cloak draped over its left shoulder. It was wielding a long broadsword in its right hand and a small shield in its left hand. Atop its head, was a very simple silver crown and its face's features were stoic and stone-like.
I am thou. Thou art I. From the depths of the sea of thine soul I have come. I am the Once and Future King of Britannia. The Lord of Camelot: Arthur!
Sam wanted to stare in awe at the incredible being that was floating before him and examine him in greater detail, but the two monsters that were approaching did not afford him the luxury. They were hesitant at first after witnessing their prey's Persona come to life, but they quickly moved in to try and catch him off guard.
Noticing the creatures dashing toward him, Sam extended his arm out toward them. Arthur flew toward them cutting them off from Sam and quickly swung his sword horizontally, completely tearing one of the creatures in half. After dispatching the first monster, the second one sped toward Sam in hopes of killing him before Arthur had the chance to slice it into pieces. Sam just stood there as the monster sped closer. Before it was able to even get within ten feet of Sam, Arthur caught up to it and bashed it backwards with his shield. Still stunned from the blunt attack, Arthur raised his sword and swung it down, unleashing a large gust of wind that threw the creature around before another sharp flurry of air cut it to ribbons.
After the battle, Arthur faded away into the same card Sam saw earlier, engulfed in a warm deep blue flame. Sam brought the card close to his chest and let it fade into him, exhaling heavily during the procedure.
Sam was shaking. He had gotten into a few scraps growing up and had been boxing ever since his freshman year, but this was a whole different league of fighting for him. It was more than just a physical scrap, but in a way it was a spiritual test as well. He'd have to get over it soon.
His thoughts wandered back to Dan. He hadn't heard a scream ever since the first two, but it did little to quell his fears. If he was here, he was going to run into those creatures and end up the same way as that couple. Sam needed to find him. Fast.
While thinking of a direction to go, he heard his phone beep again. Hopeful, he quickly grabbed it out of his pocket and turned on the screen. This whole place had been odd, but he never expected to see a floating head. It resembled an older man's visage with a fairly bushy grey beard, and it was wearing a monocle and a bowler hat. The figure also had two free floating hands that adorned a pair of white gloves. At least that is what Sam could interpret based off the model that looked like 3d polygons from early video game consoles.
The floating head tilted downward and twirled its hands in what Sam assumed was the closest approximation of a bow that a disembodied head could perform and began to speak with audio coming out of the speakers in the phone, "Why hello there sir! I am Ector, your personalized AI within the Camelot app. Thanks to the awakening of your Persona, my programming has been activated. It is a pleasure to meet you. Although your phone has supplied me your name, I believe it is standard for humans to greet themselves to new individuals. May I ask for your name?"
Sam was just staring blankly at his phone. I supposed I should be shocked, what with the weird blob monsters, then Arthur, and now this guy. I guess I'm just desensitized at this point.
The AI tilted its head waiting for a response, "Sir?"
"Oh, Sam Locke," Sam introduced himself. He would normally shake hands, but in this case the hands were stuck behind the screen.
Ector's voice resembled an older man's voice, matching with his face, although it had an artificial quality like digitizing to a recording, "It is an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir Samuel."
Samuel? He'd have to correct him later.
"Now I am sure you must have a multitude of questions to ask, but first I must proceed with explaining the nature of this application and my role as your AI assistant. I was provided to you by Master Philemon as a means to aid you in your journey in Camelot. As your assistant, I am a companion to the current plug-ins for the Camelot application; I am able to interface with them to provide you with more helpful and detailed data about the Shadows, Persona, and Camelot in general."
Sam furrowed his brow after hearing that Philemon was involved, "Are you saying that Philemon forced us here? That the two that were…eaten. That was all Philemon's fault?
Ector shook his head and waved his hands profusely, "Oh no, no, no. I am terribly sorry to imply such a thing and raise confusion, but my creator did no such thing. In actuality, the Camelot application was developed by a human under the employ of my master's enemy. I was created as a sort of virus that was to infect this application and respond to the awakening of a Persona."
"Wait, who is Philemon's enemy?" There was a lot that Philemon wasn't telling him, and he wanted answers.
"One moment please," Ector paused momentarily. "Unfortunately, I do not access to that information at this time"
Figures. I guess I'll have to ask him when I see him again. "Okay. Are you able to find other people here?"
"Why of course sir! As I have mentioned before, my access to the other plug-ins to the applications allows me a wi-"
"Look, save the details for another time. My friend Dan got sucked into here too I think. I need to find him before those monsters do. NOW," he said raising his voice after interrupting Ector.
"Ah, well…Very well," Ector hesitated after hearing the demand, which didn't go unnoticed by Sam. "Unfortunately, I cannot give you a specific location; this would require a link between your applications. However, I can mark a hundred meter radius of any Camelot application that is active within three kilometers."
"Sorry for snapping. Can you go ahead and try to find him?" Sam rubbed the back of his head during the slightly awkward apology. Ector just smiled and nodded.
"It is no trouble sir. Give me one moment," Ector closed his eyes, while a loading bar was filling underneath him. "Ah. I detect one signature approximately 300 meters north of this location. I can guide you to the approximate location."
"That must be Dan! Thanks Ector. You can explain the rest of your functionality along the way."
The AI nodded in agreement, "Very good sir."
With that Sam sped off following the directions that Ector provided for him.
()()()()
"Well, well, well. It looks like that one did have the potential," said female figure said. She let down her hood revealing a sunny yellow mask with a jubilant smile going from ear to ear and upside down crescents for eyes.
The white masked individual kept his gaze focused on the teen down on the streets.
"I think that one is the Wildcard that Mother was talking about. Talk about lucky, finding him so quickly!" she exclaimed and clapped her hands together a few times. "I want to go down there and size him up!"
She was about to jump down from the building they were on when the white masked teen grabbed her, and shook his head, finally breaking his silence, "We are here just to watch for now."
If the yellow masked girl's eyes could be seen they'd be rolling harder than a snowball down a hill, although the way she spun her head around made it apparent anyway. She pulled her shoulder away and sighed, "Party pooper. I thought we were going to have fun…" She trailed off, walking away from the edge of the building with shoulders slumped.
"I don't have fun. I do my job," he replied turning away and keeping his eyes on Sam. He saw the boy fiddling and talking to his phone before jetting toward another part of the dilapidated town like a bat out of hell. What was he looking at? I don't recall being able to communicate with the phone here. He quickly ran toward another building in order to keep his eyes on the teen, "He's on the move we need to go."
"You are a buzz kill," the yellow mask whispered.
"Don't care. Hurry up," he replied while leaping toward another building. The yellow masked girl jumped after him, surprised that he heard her but quickly snapped out of her shock to follow her partner.
A/N: Thanks for sticking with me on this one everyone. I told you I would get these done a little faster. With the holiday, trying to publish some papers, classes starting, and lab work it wasn't easy. But it is here now. Also, if you noticed, when I updated those last three chapters I didn't have the separation line for my author note. Sorry about that. When I uploaded the document, I guess it didn't transfer over. I also updated the dates on those last three chapters. I made a colossal screw-up about the date that I should have caught a while ago, but it should be fixed now. The timing was wrong for what I wanted to write. On a semi-related note, the story in Ultimax sucked, and I probably won't do much with that here. Also, I forgot to add chapter three's social link status. Again, I'm just getting back into the swing of things here.
0. Fool (The Team): 1
1. Magician (Daniel Park): 1
5. Hierophant (The Townsend Parents): 1
8. Justice (Glenn Townsend): 1
19. Sun (Ashley Winburn): 1