Floa got little sleep. She was sure she wasn't the only one. She had been spared the visitation of yet another dream. Last night had been nightmare enough.
Shortly after she had returned, Security banished everyone back home and declared the caverns off limits until further notice. Everyone was confused and frightened, wondering just what had happened. Questions lingered like what Murl had been doing there and what had turned Marie into… that.
It seemed cruel that after just starting to convince everyone that they weren't freaks, Marie had to come out of that cavern looking like a thing out of the Black Pits.
Floa tried to analyze her dreams to figure out some kind of clue. The only one she had was Marie's size. She had certainly exhibited the strength and speed of a giant that night. It had taken multiple adults just to slow her down before she ran out of energy. Where was she now?
Floa dragged herself out of bed later than usual but her mother didn't comment when she showed up late for breakfast, merely asking her how she slept. Floa wondered why people always asked such questions when the answer was obvious.
When breakfast ended, the three of them left home and made their way to the town hall to see if any notices had been posted. The crisp morning air helped wake Floa up.
As forecasted, the sky was clear. The rumbling angry clouds of the previous night were nowhere to be seen. She was getting the feeling those clouds had not been natural. They'd made Priestess Winterveil nervous too.
They found a small crowd gathered in front of the town hall's notice board. Other families were doing the same thing they were and asking each other if they knew anything.
Like last night, confusion and fear reigned. Some were saying Marie may have been possessed by one of the spirits said to inhabit the cavern, others talked about the unnatural thunderheads last night as an ill omen, a sign the gods were angry. Others mentioned Murl, that he and his friends may have done something to anger the spirits or the gods, perhaps some kind of divine retribution for what they'd done to Callie. Some suggested that maybe Mrs. Towers had been right, at least about Marie, that perhaps she really was a violent and dangerous person.
Floa talked with the other kids that were there, asking if any of them had seen or heard anything of Callie or Marie that night. As far as she was able to collect, nothing had seemed out of the ordinary. They talked more about the odd and frightening noises they'd heard. They were being taken more seriously now in light of what had happened.
Her parents asked if there had been any new developments. All anyone knew was that Murl, Admus, and Drang had been taken to hospitals in Inkopolis, the latter two in critical condition. Marie was being kept in the clinic, under guard. Nobody knew anything of Callie.
The other kids asked Floa if she had heard anything; Floa admitted she hadn't but told them that she had gone with the Cuttlefishes back into the caverns to find her last night before Security closed it.
She held them spellbound as she described how they'd found Callie lying in a pool of blood, unconscious, only for the blood to be fake. She'd been taken to the clinic after that. They asked about Admus and Drang but Floa refused to divulge details, saying only that she'd thought they were dead. Frankly, the fact that either of them were still alive was astonishing.
After an hour or so of mingling and talking, their family left and took a walk. They passed by the school, finding it deserted then Floa showed them the park where she and her friends often played. Showing off and explaining the castle and the various games they played to her father was a welcome distraction.
Later, they ended up wandering to the clinic. It too had a sizable crowd in front of it, full of community members looking for answers. Security was trying to keep them away from the clinic building, not letting anyone inside who didn't need to be there.
Their family mingled there for about half an hour but learned nothing new. They backtracked then took a route home that brought them along the river. Floa honestly wasn't too eager to return home just yet. The walk had helped keep her thoughts from wandering too much. Alone and idle she was afraid of the places her mind would go.
As they continued along the river, Floa spotted a lone figure seated on a bench, staring out over the water. Priestess Winterveil! Floa released her parents hands and took off at a run. If there was one person she needed to talk to after last night, it was her.
The priestess turned her head when Floa got close and was a little startled when Floa hugged her tightly.
"You're still here," Floa said, relieved.
The priestess gave her a wan smile and patted her head. "Yes, still here. After what happened light night I could hardly leave just like that. I was actually hoping to run into you again."
Her parents caught up and exchanged greetings with the priestess, but Winterveil remained focused on Floa.
"I was hoping you could help me. I need to go to the temple today, in light of what's happened."
Floa perked up. Something she could actually do? "How?"
"You could come with me to the Temple of Knowledge. There are people there who could interpret your dreams and help find what they mean."
Floa's eyes went big. "Really? They'd be able to figure it out?"
"It's worth a try, especially if they're a message trying to warn us of something."
"Wait," her mother interrupted. "What dreams? What message?"
Floa cringed. She hadn't told her parents anything about her dreams yet. This wasn't how she wanted them to find out.
Winterveil placed a hand on Floa's head and faced her parents. "Floa may have been having prophetic visions. I do know that she has seen and heard things in these dreams that she shouldn't be aware of yet. With your permission, I'd like to take her to the Temple of Knowledge to see what can be gleaned from these dreams. They've been disturbing her for some time and I'm sure she would benefit from a little counselling on the matter."
Her mother gaped. "Our daughter is a prophetess?"
"Possibly, though it's rare for the gift to appear in one so young, especially dreams of the nature she's been seeing."
"What? Floa, why didn't you tell us you were having these dreams?"
Floa turned white, sinking her head between her shoulders. Winterveil stroked her mantle reassuringly.
"Please don't be angry with her. As frightening as these visions can be, talking about them can be even more difficult. People tend to look at you as if you're crazy or tell you the dreams mean nothing even when you know otherwise."
Floa dared to look back at her parents. They were looking at each other, silent messages passing between them. She could see her mother's reluctance. Given all that was happening her instinct would be to keep her child close. On the other hand, a request from a priestess was no small thing, nor were prophetic visions.
Reluctantly, her mother approved.
Pain was the first thing Marie experienced when she regained consciousness. Every part of her body ached terribly, her head hammered, and she felt sick to her stomach even as hunger clawed at her insides. Despite all that, the clinical smell filling her nostrils compelled her to open her eyes.
The first thing she saw was the tiled ceiling, telling her immediately that she was not in her room or even her house. A quick glance around told her that she was in the clinic. But why?
Light stole in through the window to her left but she couldn't tell if it was morning or afternoon. She tried to move her arms to rub her face but found them restricted by something.
Frowning, Marie fought the protests banging around in her head and lifted it off the pillow to see what held her arms down. Broad leather straps crossed her body, pinning it to the bed. She tried to wriggle a bit, could manage little else. It wasn't hard to breathe but the straps held her snugly.
She gave up moving and tried to figure out why she was strapped down like this in the first place. She thought back, tried to remember what had happened. The Cavern Run, that's what they'd been doing. Peering through the fog of her mind, she remembered going inside, strange noises, cries of fear, then…
Marie let out a tortured scream that rattled the walls of the small room. Seconds later, a nurse burst in and went to her bedside.
"Marie, calm down! What's the matter?"
Callie was dead. She'd been killed, deliberately murdered by them. She'd gotten Admus, she had torn Drang apart until she realized Murl was getting away, then pursued him. He had gotten away in the end. She wasn't finished, he needed to pay, he needed to die!
Marie began wriggling violently, fighting her restraints, trying to get free. She growled and snarled, mantle flaring red. The nurse looked terrified and torn between staying and running.
"Hold her down!" The doctor snapped as she came in. The nurse did as she was told, reluctantly.
They both pressed down on Marie, pleading for her to calm down and relax or she would hurt herself. Marie didn't care what they or her body told her. Even if it killed her, she would make sure Murl died.
The bedframe to which the restraints were tied groaned. She managed to wriggle an arm free and swiped at the nurse, who barely got out of the way in time. The doctor too was forced to get back.
Just as Marie got her other arm free, her mother emerged from the hallway and ran to the bed, grabbing Marie's shoulders and holding her down.
"Marie, stop this! Calm down!"
"NO!" Marie roared back at her. "They killed Callie. They have to pay. It's too much! This wouldn't have happened if you all hadn't let them off so easily!"
Marie's head jerked to one side, leaving her stunned. It took her several seconds to realize what had just happened. Her mother had just… slapped her. She had never done that before.
She looked back at her mother in shock, holding her stinging cheek. An infantile part of her eight-year-old mind bubbled to the surface, wondering why Mommy had hurt her. Mommy wasn't supposed to hurt her, Mommy was supposed to love her. Why didn't Mommy love her anymore?
Her mother regarded her sternly. "You will not use that tone with me, young lady. Now you listen. Callie is fine, she's alive and well."
Marie choked on tears. "N-no, I saw her. She was dead, bloody. They had a knife."
"It was fake blood. Your aunt and uncle went to get her themselves. She's at home and she's fine."
Marie searched her mother, looking for the lie. She didn't find it. Of course, her mother was no liar. But if Callie was alive then… oh no, what had she done?
Lightning bolts of shame and regret carved deep rents into her soul. She started sobbing, then screaming. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she started to convulse.
"Marie!"
Her mother tried to restrain her. The doctor and nurse came, trying to help. Marie started foaming at the mouth and made noises no one would have believed could come from a little girl. After one particularly violent convulsion, she went rigid then passed out.
It was good to be back in Inkopolis. Floa had missed the city. It's energy, the lights and sounds; the familiarity of its skyline, but she had never been to this part of the city before.
The Temple of Knowledge sat in the midst of a large green space in one of the city's oldest districts. Flagstones created a spiderweb of pathways between the many buildings on the campus.
The main building was an enormous, rectangular stone structure, as big as a skyscraper lying on its side. It's entrance doors were separated by huge pillars each three stories tall. Winterveil said it had been built in the middle of Queen Immelina's reign. All Floa knew about her was that she had been Calachora's first queen, responsible for taking all the desperate inkling tribes and uniting them into a single nation.
Instead of going into the main building, they passed by it, walking to another one of the buildings on campus. This one was cylindrical in shape with a domed roof, about four stories tall, and surrounded by dense trees. She spotted more than a few priests and priestesses lying or sitting under said trees, eyes closed or staring off into space. Some of them wore the same coloured robes as Winterviel; others wore robes of navy-blue and silver.
A set of double-wide doors guarded the entrance. Above them, words had been carved into a stone block that Floa couldn't read. Inside there was little to see at first. The atrium was relatively small for such a large building. The walls and ceiling were draped with navy-blue fabric. Three corridors led to other parts of the building.
"Welcome to the Temple of Revelation," Winterveil said softly.
Floa frowned. "I thought we were going to the Temple of Knowledge."
"They are part of the came campus. Think of it as like a subordinate temple. All sehr are part of the Temple of Knowledge but not all clerics of the Temple of Knowledge are part of the Temple of Revelation. You understand?"
"Sure."
She smiled and took Floa's hand. "Now, be sure not to speak loudly. This is a place of quiet and focus."
Acknowledging, Floa took the priestess' hand and followed her down the leftmost corridor, deeper into the temple.
"Is everyone here a sehr?"
"Sehr or prophet or people who record things for them. Most people are not allowed in this temple so this is very special for you."
Floa swallowed nervously, feeling the extra pressure. If these dreams turned out not to be prophetic then she might end up in big trouble.
The corridors were odd. The floor was carpeted in the same navy-blue colour as the atrium was, but the walls were also carpeted in the same material with cutouts for the doors and wall sconces. Even the ceiling was tiled with fabric panels, so the two of them passed down the hall almost soundlessly.
Floa lost count of the number of doors they passed. There were so many of them. Only occasionally did they pass a room that was open. One was full of plants, one looked like a break room of some kind with several clerics locked into a quiet discussion, and one looked like a small aquarium.
Priestess Winterveil led her down several corridors, turning this way and that so that Floa lost track of where they were. She felt lost, and the building seemed bigger on the inside than it had looked on the outside. At one point they went up several flights of stairs, then took a sharp turn to the right. Floa guessed they were on the top floor.
A set of large doors loomed ahead. They gave Floa a foreboding feeling and her pace started to slow.
Winterveil looked down at her and gave her a reassuring smile. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Floa. No one here is going to judge you. We are here to help you."
Floa swallowed another knot of anxiety. "You'll make the dreams go away?"
Winterveil let out a small sigh. "That's not something we can do Floa, not usually. You're being shown these dreams because there's something important you need to tell people. Learning who, when, and what, is why we are here. Once the message is delivered, whenever that is, then you'll stop having these particular dreams."
Floa frowned unhappily. "I'm going to have more of these kinds of dreams?"
"Maybe. It depends." Don't worry about that right now; just focus on what's ahead. Are you ready?"
Floa took a deep breath but it didn't really help. She was no coward but she still felt scared, not that she intended to admit it.
"Yeah."
Winterveil gave her hand a gentle squeeze then slowly pushed through the large doors, bringing them into a huge, open chamber.
Floa realized that they were inside the dome atop the building. Above, a skylight let in sunlight that left a circular spot on the floor in the centre of the room in a way eerily reminiscent of the main chamber in the caverns.
At the edge of the circle of light were three figures seated in large, high-backed chairs, wearing large robes more elaborate than Winterveil's and coloured the same navy-blue as the walls and some of the priestesses outside. The one on the left looked like a grandmother, the one in the middle looked old enough to be the grandmother's grandmother, positively ancient. The one on the right looked young enough to be Floa's own mother.
In the very centre of the circle of light were a pair of large pillows. Winterveil brought them to these. Floa blinked as they stepped into the light and then followed the priestess' example as she knelt onto her pillow.
Closing her eyes, Winterveil bowed and put her hands together in a prayer-like fashion.
"I am Sehr'yster'ziki Winterveil. Praise and glory to the Sovereign God for his wisdom and the gifts of foresight and prophecy with which the Custodian Gods have blessed us. May they provide us with clarity and wisdom that we may all understand and provide guidance for the benefit of all. For these things we pray, for these things we are thankful."
"For these things we pray, for these things we are thankful."
Floa jerked in surprise. The repeated words came from a multitude of voices all around them. Peering into the darkness she could see the silhouettes of people standing along the circular walls surrounding them, maybe as many as a hundred.
The ancient one lifted a withered hand towards them but her voice came out strong and clear.
"No need to fear, child. The visions you have received are surely more frightening than anything you see in this room."
Floa had to concede that point, and she felt herself relax just a little.
Priestess Winterveil spoke. "She has been seeing the same dream for almost two months now. Last night, a part of that dream may have come true, but there is more to it. Her dream is still incomplete, and what happened was already terrible. There may be worse to come."
"Then let us see and hear." The ancient one made an inviting gesture and Winterveil turned to Floa.
"Tell them, Floa, just as you told me. Just close your eyes and let it come out of you."
Floa grimaced and fidgeted uncomfortably on her pillow, but tried to do what she said. She closed her eyes and tried to remember how she told it before.
Floa frowned as she thought her heard something. Was that… singing? It was. All around her, she heard the rising voice of a choir, a gentle, soothing melody that gradually rose and filled the room. Were they from the people surrounding her?
Floa took in a deep breath, as if inhaling the song and she let out a deep, relaxing sigh. This time it worked, and she began to speak.
The words came out of her like a river, flowing constantly, never stopping, never tripping over her words or hesitating. Despite the singing, the three priestesses in the chairs seemed to hear her clearly. By the time she was done, her mouth felt dry and like she'd been talking for hours.
The music shifted, lowering in pitch, changing from soothing and uplifting to something darker and foreboding. The three priestesses sat with their eyes closed, appearing deep in thought. When their eyes opened, they did so simultaneously, as if by one mind, then looked at her. It gave Floa the creeps.
"The vision is incomplete," the ancient one said. "More will come with time, but much has been revealed. There must be some discussion."
Winterveil frowned, puzzled, but Floa just scowled. Typical, that's all adults did was have "discussions", never actually doing anything.
"What we can say for sure," she went on, "is that this dream is not about what just happened."
Floa gaped. "Whuh? But…"
"What you saw," said the grandmother, "was a small omen inserted into the dream related to that particular night. Everything else is about something well into the future. This was just one bump on the road to that future."
"But you are right," the younger one said. "It is about your friends, but your dream is still incomplete and may involve the visions of others, so we cannot say what just yet."
Floa sagged. She thought she was coming here to avert rapidly approaching disaster but it seemed whatever the dream was about was far in the future. Was that why they'd all become adults in the dream? She wasn't sure.
"For now," the ancient one said, "proceed to the Temple of Retribution. You have more immediate concerns. When you are ready, child, you will come back and learn more."
Winterveil bowed. "Thank you for your council." She stood up, took Floa's hand and led her out of the chamber.
"Now what do I do?" Floa asked as they left the temple. "I mean, nothing's happened."
Winterveil displayed reassurances. "Maybe not yet, Floa, but they said they need to have some discussion. That's their way of telling you that they need to talk with some other sehrs that might have had dreams related to the same thing as yours."
Floa's stared at her. "You mean, other people might be having the same dream as me"
"More like about the same thing, or different parts of something. Some visions are too much for one person to handle alone so the gods split them up between multiple people."
Floa grimaced, not wanting to imagine what the "full version" of this dream might be, if she was seeing only a section of it, and even that section was incomplete.
"Who were those people?"
"They were the two High-Sehr, and the Arch-Sehr. They're in charge of the Temple of Revelation. If they were the ones reading your dream, then it's a very special one indeed."
That didn't make Floa feel any better.
"And what's… uh… 'sehr yester zeekee' mean?"
Winterveil smiled. "Sehr'yster'ziki. It's what kind of priestess I am. I suppose you're still a bit young to be familiar with a lot of old inklish." She stopped them and held up one finger.
"I am someone who sees and perceives things in other times or places from where I am. That is, I have visions. I am a sehr. The visions let me see and hear things from the past: yster. My specialty is in music: ziki. I'm also a priestess so technically you would also attach the "ome" at the end, but here that tends to be redundant so we often don't bother.
Floa's head spun. She felt like she had just been forced to learn and entire class's worth of instruction in the span of less than a minute.
Winterveil just smiled and patted her head. "You'll learn more as you get older."
Floa gave herself a little shake to settle herself. "So now what?"
"Now, we go to the Temple of Retribution. With what's going on in Calamari County, they're needed. This is well beyond what I'm trained to handle."
Floa had never heard of a priestess admitting limitations like that before. Priestesses always seemed to be able to handle anything. But the memory of Marie last night made her think that she was probably right. These were pretty crazy circumstances, and with the way things were going on in town they would need all the help they could get.
The Temple of Retribution gave off a very different impression than the Temple of Knowledge campus. The entire campus was surrounded by a six metre high wall, with static barriers along the top to prevent anyone from super jumping over it and they had to ask permission to be allowed in. Fortunately, it seemed Priestess Winterveil was expected.
Inside the walls, Floa saw some other children being jogged along the perimeter in matching white shorts and shirts by several stern and frankly scary-looking adults. Other people were gathering fruit from trees, tending vegetable gardens, even things as simple as sweeping the footpaths. Not exactly the popular image people on the outside had of the temple.
The Temple of Retribution was respected by most and feared by all. One of the most important commandments the gods had given inkling kind was that children were sacred. One of the Temple of Retribution's primary missions was the enforcement of that commandment and no position, location, or title was protection from their wrath.
Generally, they handled cases of child abuse or neglect and sometimes cases where children had committed crimes. They were infamous for taking children away from parents considered unworthy for one reason or another and savagely ending the lives of anyone who had directly and deliberately harmed children.
Their second mandate was maintaining the integrity of the Ecclesiarchy. Anyone caught spreading false teachings or promoting sinful practices was hunted and severely dealt with. Exactly what that meant, Floa didn't know, but she was pretty sure it worse than any kid was supposed to imagine.
Winterveil paused at an intersection and turned to the left towards a road that wound through the campus. They followed the sidewalk along the road. Up ahead, Floa spotted an older priestess garbed in the red robes of the Temple of Retribution, speaking with an inkyora standing next to a bright-red car. It didn't look to be a friendly conversation. Another inkyora was standing a short distance behind them, garbed in a white and red cloak with a long wooden rod strapped to her back.
"..perfectly safe," the red inkyora was saying, glaring at the priestess with her hands on her hips. "You really think I'm going my fastest down those touges with my kid on board? I may seem reckless but I'm not insane."
Floa frowned, looked at the inkyora's sporty jacket and shorts. She was a mother? She looked like someone barely out of their teens.
"Nevertheless, Mrs. Scarletteri, that kind of driving, especially on public roads, with your child on board is not only a blatant disregard for your own child's safety it could potentially lead to teaching her certain bad habits."
Mrs. Scarlleteri huffed doubtfully. "Well sorry if I don't believe you. I bet I'll raise my kid to be a better and safer driver than anyone in this temple."
"And I hope you both live to make that happen," the priestess said. "Now, if you don't mind, the decision has been made."
The other inkyora growled and climbed into the car. "Fine, but Cortina will prove you wrong, you'll see."
The car grumbled away, passing them as it went. Floa watched it go, curious as to what that was about. On the back of the car, she spotted a familiar decal.
"Oh, she's from the Trailmaker gang."
Winterveil looked at her. "What's that?"
"The wavy blue triangle on that back of that car that went by. It means she was part of the Trailmaker Street Racers. Xapheerel has a lot of dead streets at night so they race around some of the streets where nobody lives. A lot of people liked them 'cause they were good business for some of the late-night shops, but they usually stick to mountain roads, I heard."
"Still hardly a respectable thing to do," the red robed priestess remarked. "Especially for a parent trying to set an example for their child."
Winterveil bowed. "High Priestess Sivalli, I'm sorry if we caught you at a bad time."
"Not at all. She's not a bad parent, really. Her motivation stems from wanting to share her passion with her daughter. Unfortunately, that passion is a rather dangerous one. Given the troubled life she's led, she's actually turned out rather well. But never mind that; are you ready?"
"Yes, we just came from the Temple of Knowledge. We can leave at any time."
"Good. Before we leave I will need you to come inside and let us know what you saw in more detail. I've already met with the boys' mothers and the one boy who's still able to talk. You can imagine how distraught they were."
"I'm not sure I can," Winterveil admitted softly. "Have they improved at all?"
"The Doctors said it's a miracle they're alive at all, never mind they made it to the hospital. What I need before we leave are more details explaining what happened so that once we get there we can move in the right direction instead of walking around starting from scratch and someone here can continue the work in Inkopolis."
"Then it's fortunate I brought Floa." She gestured down to her. "She actually saw a little bit of what was in the cavern."
Floa winced and shrank a bit as Sivalli looked at her. Floa met her gaze. She was a child; she had nothing to fear from the Temple of Retribution.
Sivalli reached down and caressed her cheek. Her touch was warm. "You poor thing, to have seen such horrors."
"I'll live," Floa replied. Honestly, she was glad just to be able to tell someone with authority about what she saw in greater depth. Other than Winterveil, she'd told nobody precisely what she had seen in that cavern and she hadn't told any adults what she'd seen at all, only other kids. Now, she had a chance to tell someone exactly what she had seen and what it meant to her. Maybe she could get some answers herself, and find out just what had happened to Marie.
Marie stared up at the ceiling. There was really nothing else to look at. She didn't have the best view out the window.
Her thoughts were a storm, blowing dark boulders across the landscape of her mind, sowing destruction as they went. Tears periodically leaked out and stained gaunt cheeks. She was tired, hungry, thirsty, but refused to eat or drink. She just wanted to lay in that bed and rot. It was what she deserved.
Marie had made a terrible mistake. That scene in the caverns played itself over and over again in her mind. She no longer saw the boys wearing the scary masks, she only saw their naked faces and the terror and helplessness in them as she tore them apart and enjoyed it.
That wasn't the behaviour of a matriarch's grandchild, it was the behaviour of a monster, a freak, exactly what they had accused her of being. All it had taken was one moment of weakness, one lapse in judgment, a single time when she had allowed her emotions to rule her and guide her actions instead of logic and reasoning as her mother had taught her, to bring her whole life crashing down in flames, only made worse by the revelation she had some kind of dark beast lurking inside her.
Her grandmother would never want to see, speak, or even hear from her again. She had damned her family, brought shame upon it that they would never be able to wash away. She was a murderer, a savage killer, the kind of creature stories would be told of for generations to frighten naughty children into obedience and conformity. And she had nobody to blame but herself for letting the beast loose.
The nurse came in and approached the bed cautiously. She checked Marie's bonds then eyed the tray of food and the glass of water. "Are you sure you still don't want a drink?"
Marie turned red. She was desperately parched, so hungry she could eat her straps, but she refused. Besides, even if she did eat or drink, she would probably just vomit it up again whether she liked it or not. Her stomach, hungry as it was, didn't seem like it could handle a burden at the moment. It twisted and wriggled around her insides as if trying to escape from the cursed body it had been attached to.
"Marie, you have a visitor."
The nurse stepped aside and Floa entered the room. She looked weary as she sighed into the chair beside her bed. They looked at each other.
"You look like a seagull's dinner," she said with a tired smile. "Feeling better?"
Marie flashed red. Her throat was horse and sore. She didn't want to talk any more than she had to. Her tongue felt like a soggy, old pillow.
Floa eyed the untouched food and water then regarded her oddly. "They expect you to feed yourself when you're strapped down like that?"
Marie didn't want to answer. Through tuk'yan she said, "you shouldn't be here."
"I 'ave permission."
"I'm dangerous. You could get hurt."
Floa eyed the straps again. She started playing with her fingers, nervously.
"You see Callie yet?"
"No. Have you?"
"Not yet. I think I saw 'er mom in town. You know she wouldn't be doing that if Callie were 'urt or… worse." She bit her lip. "I.. uh… saw the cavern. I saw what Callie looked like. If I saw that I probably woulda' snapped too."
Marie looked at her angrily. "I didn't just snap, Floa, I turned into a monster! Maybe I was a monster all along and just didn't realize it until then! No normal inkling kid is strong enough to do what I did, is insane enough to murder a bunch of other kids!" Marie's throat hurt, her voice was raspy and weak. She started to feel faint, but she kept yelling regardless.
"I didn't just want revenge or justice, I wanted to kill them, to eat them, to rip them apart and make them suffer! I wanted to wipe them from existence for taking Callie away, for bullying us for years and getting away with it! I wanted them to die and I wanted to be the one to make it happen! What about that doesn't sound like an insane person?"
Floa shut her mouth. Her eyes were big, her mantle roiled with distress, a more mild reaction than Marie thought the situation deserved, but maybe Floa just wasn't able to process it properly.
Feeling sick and a sense of vertigo, Marie forced her body to relax and closed her eyes.
"Get out. You shouldn't be anywhere near me."
After several seconds, she heard Floa's feet hit the floor and the sound of her footsteps as she left the room. Good. The last thing Marie wanted was to hurt one of the few people in her life she had ever been able to call a friend. Bad enough she'd murdered people she hated. The only way to atone for what she'd done was to simply not exist anymore. Then, at the very least, she wouldn't have to burden her loved ones with her existence and any future tragedies she would create.
The nurse shut the door behind Floa and looked at the two priestesses and the inkyora in the white and red cloak that had come to Calamari County with them.
The nurse told them, "we're worried. She's not eating or drinking. If she doesn't get something soon, she'll die. We've tried feeding her while she's asleep but she just throws up. We might have to resort to heavy sedation and IVs, but we aren't sure if that's safe in her condition."
Priestess Sivalli looked over at Mrs. Sansea, who sat on the nearby bench, her head in her hands, her mantle displaying fear and helplessness. They'd all heard Floa and Marie's exchange.
"There's nothing you can do?"
Mrs. Sansea flashed red. "Anytime I go near her she has a borderline stroke. I don't know what to do."
Floa had never heard any adult sound so weak and pitiful. The inkyora looked at Sivalli with pleading eyes, begging her to do something.
"Let's give her just a bit more time to calm down," Sivalli suggested. "We still have to check into the inn but, as long as we're here, we might as well interview the doctor if she has time."
The nurse flashed green and led her and the robed one down the hallway to the doctor's office. Floa remained planted where she was until Winterveil put a hand on her back.
"Let's take you home. It's getting late."
Glumly, Floa agreed. She gave Mrs. Sansea a parting look then let Winterveil lead her out of the clinic.
As they went out the doors they heard a rustling noise in the nearby bushes. Floa tensed, half expecting some kind of ambush.
Winterveil pulsed blue. "Alright, Callie, come on out."
Surprised, Floa watched Callie slowly and sheepishly come out from behind the bushes.
"Do your parents know you're here?"
Callie looked at her sourly. "Everyone's trying to keep me at home. Nobody's telling me what's happening. All they told me was that Marie was in the hospital and she's not allowed to have visitors." She gave Floa and accusing glare, forcing the latter to avert her gaze, awkwardly.
"So you thought you would come to the hospital anyway and eavesdrop, is that it?"
Callie gulped, her mantle flashing fearfully. She looked down at the footpath.
"So you heard what Marie said?"
Callie flashed green and Winterveil extended a hand towards her. "Come, we'll take you home first."
Callie let out a soft, miserable groan but accepted the priestess' hand and let her lead them away from the clinic.
"I don't understand," she said as they walked down the street. "Why does Marie think she's a monster? I know what she did was bad, but… she's still the same Marie, isn't she?"
"She don't think so," Floa remarked. "She thinks she's turned into some kind of demonic freak. Maybe those guys really got to 'er. Even if I know some of what she saw, only she and they know exactly what 'appened."
"What she is, is scared," Winterveil explained. "Many times you experience something you don't understand, you feel afraid. And this is something so far beyond her understanding that it has her in full on flight. Remember, we're experiencing it from the outside. Imagine what she was going through at the time."
Floa shook her head. "I don't think I can."
"Exactly, and she knows that. She doesn't think anyone can help her, she doesn't want anyone to help her. What she's afraid of most right now is herself and she thinks everyone else should be afraid of her too. So, she's punishing herself."
Callie let out a low, whining noise. "She probably feels really bad for what she did too. She's always worried about how she'll look in front of Nana and how she'll make Nana look to everyone else. I'm sure she feels really bad about that too."
Winterveil sighed. "It seems like what happened was a whole lot of things piled on top of her and then she finally broke from the weight of it."
Floa observed, "Maybe she's just tired of it all. Maybe she's just given up and doesn't wanna' deal with it anymore. Maybe she can't."
"And that might be another reason why she's trying to keep everyone away," Winterveil said sadly. "She's given up and she doesn't want anyone else to stop her from giving up. She doesn't think she has anything to look forward to. Facing the consequences of what she's done probably doesn't look worth it to her."
Floa's ink turned cold. Was Marie giving up on life?
"What do we do? 'ow can we 'elp?"
"I'm not sure yet. If we can convince her not to give up, if we can show her that it's worth conquering her fears, that she still has a life worth living, that she isn't a monster, then I think she will be more receptive to help. Unfortunately, we don't know how to do that yet."
Floa frowned, deep in thought. How did one overcome their fears? Floa had never been afraid of anything in particular for very long. Her fear of the dark had gone away naturally as she'd gotten older, her fear of being without her mother had gone in much the same fashion. This wasn't the same.
She glanced over at Callie who seemed to be thinking along much the same lines. Then, Callie stopped, looked up, checked her surroundings, then let go of Winterveil's hand and took off into the bush.
"Callie!" Floa and the priestess gave chase, following Callie through brush, across meadows and over hills. She crossed the street without looking for cars and ran full-speed down an all too familiar path. She was going to the park.
They caught up with Callie at the castle. She was climbing the battlements of the gatehouse, heading for the ladder.
Ever since the incident where she'd been hung from the bridge ladder, Callie had avoided the park entirely. The trauma from that incident still haunted her.
Floa watched with wide-eyed amazement as Callie stood on the battlement wall, gripping the first rung of the ladder with white-knuckled hands.
"She's gonna' try to cross!"
She looked at Winterveil, but the priestess just watched, concerned but not disapproving. Was she not going to interfere?
Callie swallowed and reached for the next rung, stepping onto the first with one foot, the toes of her other foot still hooked onto the wall.
"Callie, what are you doing?"
"Don't stop me." Her voice had a anxious quiver but there was a kind of underlying determination in her voice.
Floa hurried to the castle and climbed up the back way, scurrying along the battlements on the inside to opposite end of the ladder from Callie.
Callie was now fully onto the ladder. Her limbs were shaky, threatening to give out, but she kept coming onward. Her eyes were huge as she stared through the rungs at the ground, her face taught.
"Don't look at the ground, Callie, look at me." Floa held her arms out, beckoning her. Callie tore her gaze from the ground and met her eyes. Floa saw a hint of the terror and fear from that fateful day reflected in those golden eyes. And yet, Callie kept moving, her movements jerky and stiff but she was moving.
Priestess Winterveil moved underneath the ladder, ready to catch Callie if she fell. Callie kept moving, becoming just a bit faster as she reached the middle.
"Come on, you're halfway. Keep going!" Floa understood what she was doing now. She was conquering her fear, not of heights, but of that day, overcoming her trauma, shaking off a load of baggage holding her back. Floa couldn't help but admire her gumption.
Callie started to speed up, the fear in her diminishing gradually. She crossed the last half in double the time. She reached the other side, Floa took her hands and Callie all but leaped into her arms, nearly making both of them fall.
"I did it!" She cried. "I did it! Did you see me Floa? I did it!"
"I saw I saw." Floa laughed, feeling oddly relieved.
They left the castle. Winterveil waited for them, standing in the pea gravel moat. "Well, how do you feel, Callie?"
"Amazing!" Callie jumped, her fist in the air.
"As you should. You conquered your fear and removed one nightmare from your life. You don't have to fear that memory anymore, do you?"
"No." Callie sounded relieved. "And I've always been too scared to cross the bridge before. But, now that I've done that, I can tell Marie to do the same thing! I can tell her how it works because I've done it."
Floa stared at her. "What are you going to do; make Marie go through the cave again?"
Winterveil smiled. "No, what's important is that Marie be willing to face her fear. Remember, it's not the cave she fears, it's herself."
"So what? We get her a mirror?"
"Oh, I'm sure Callie has an idea."
Callie turned green. "I need to see her now!"
Winterveil offered her hand and Callie took it. Floa took the other hand, and they headed back to the clinic. Floa wasn't sure what was about to happen, but she was sure it was something she didn't want to miss.
Marie groaned when she heard the door open. She did not want more visitors. She was barely conscious.
Cold liquid splashed her in the face and Marie reflexively tried to sit up, only for the restraints to hold her down. She shook her head found that some of the liquid had found its way into her mouth. Water.
Instinctively, her tongue lapped up all the moisture it could get, desperate to recover as much as it could. She was so thirsty she forgot all about trying to avoid it. Once it had absorbed all the moisture in reach, she looked around to see who had splashed her.
Callie stood there, just to the side of her bed. The mark on her neck from the tracheotomy was still visible, as was a hint of the discoloration around her neck, but she otherwise looked well.
She'd been told Callie was alright, told that she hadn't died, merely knocked out, but while she'd believed them – wanted to believe them, there had always been that nagging doubt that they'd been lying to her to calm her down. Now, she had visible proof. She was so happy and relieved to see Callie it took her several seconds to notice her scowl.
"Marie, what's wrong with you?" She demanded. She pointed an accusing finger at her then at the untouched food tray. "Why aren't you eating?"
Marie frowned and looked away. She didn't know how to answer, so she said nothing. Callie wasn't supposed to be here though, she and everyone else was supposed to stay far away from her.
Marie jerked again as a weight fell on her torso and found Callie straddling her, her face close, her mantle an aggressive red.
"Callie? What are you doing?"
"Marie, you don't have to be scared. I crossed the bridge ladder."
Marie stared at her, befuddled. "What?"
"You know, the thing they hanged me off of? The thing where I was dangling really high above the ground screaming? I was really afraid of it after that. I had nightmares about it. But I'm not scared anymore. I crossed it, from one end to the other, all by myself. If I can do it, you can do it too."
Callie words didn't clear things for Marie in the slightest. "What are you talking about?"
"What are you scared of, Marie? Why would anyone have to be scared of you?"
Marie struggled to try and throw Callie off of her. "Didn't anyone tell you what happened?"
"I know what happened. Floa saw part of what happened but she's here too. What are you afraid of, Marie?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm afraid of hurting you, anyone! You shouldn't be here, Callie!"
Callie put her hands on Marie's shoulders, pushing her against the bed. "Why would you be afraid of hurting me now when you've never had to worry before?"
"I'm not the same as before! I'm a monster! Don't you get it?"
"None of us have said you're a monster except you! Don't you get it? We're not afraid of you hurting us. You haven't changed, Marie."
"Yes I have! You weren't there, you didn't feel it! I felt it. Something inside me! It got out, it made me crazy!"
"And what makes you think it wouldn't have happened to anyone else who went through what you did, huh?"
Marie tried to thrash and force Callie off of her but she couldn't. She was exhausted, her energy reserves were gone.
Callie leaned in close. "You sure don't seem scary right now."
Marie whimpered. "I just… I can't, Callie. I'm tired, it's too much anymore."
"What is?"
Marie tried to find the right words but she couldn't. Honestly, she wasn't sure how to describe it.
Callie sighed. "Marie, I know you don't want to give up. I know things seem bad and I don't know what's going to happen, but one thing I do know is that I love you, we all do. You can't change that, we won't let you. Look at what happened at the Sports Festival. You tried really hard and you did better than you ever did before! Why forget that now?"
"It's not the same."
"Why? Because you think you're a monster? A freak?"
Marie cringed. She had thought it but hearing Callie say it was like a slap to the face, not least because she recognized the irony.
"They called us freaks for the longest time. You remember why? Because our eyes were different. When Floa came they said the same thing about her, because her mantle had speckles. You didn't think we were freaks. Why not? Because we knew that our eyes were just different, that Floa's mantle was just different.
"It's the same thing with you calling yourself a monster. You're only saying that because you're scared of it, because you don't know what it is. Are you listening?"
Marie flashed green. She understood what she was saying, but that didn't make her any less scared or ashamed. She managed to convey her fear through her mantle.
Callie smiled and pressed her forehead against hers. "It's okay. Remember whenever I was afraid of the dark when I slept over at your house? You'd always glow for me so I wouldn't be scared. This time, let me be your nightlight. I'm here, Marie, you don't have to be afraid either. The only way you could hurt us right now is by giving up. In fact, unless you stop feeling sorry for yourself, I'm not going to enter the talent show. You wouldn't want to make me miss that would you, Ms. Manager?"
Marie cringed. No, she wouldn't want that. The talent show would be the first time Callie would have an opportunity to really show off her voice and her talents. It was her first step to stardom. Callie was putting her dream at risk for her sake.
Marie felt like crying and probably would have had she the energy to spare. She wasn't sure she agreed with everything Callie was saying, but she was right about one thing for certain: if she gave up now, she would hurt everyone she loved and she would probably regret it.
Her grandmother's words about doing her best came back to her. Would her grandmother still love her? Would her family not be ashamed? Callie wasn't but that was typical of Callie who seemed oblivious to consequences. Still, she supposed, at the very least, her mother and grandmother deserved the chance to scold her.
Her stomach rumbled and Callie grinned. "Hungry?"
Marie groaned and wearily replied. "Feed me that tray before I eat you or something." Inwardly, she cringed at her choice of words. Her mother had often warned her about letting her mouth outrun her brain.
Callie and Floa both laughed and Floa said, "I'll get you some more water."
Between the two of them, Floa and Callie managed to get Marie partially fed and watered. They weren't able to give her everything because she'd been without both for so long she had to be fed carefully. Marie lost consciousness soon afterwards.
At some point during Callie's discussion with Marie, Priestess Sivalli and the robed inkyora with the stick returned. The former was talking with Mrs. Sansea who seemed ashamed for some reason.
"Everything okay?" Floa quietly asked Priestess Winterveil.
"They're just having a discussion. Now, this time I really should take you both home."
Callie didn't want to go. She was still worried about Marie, but she knew better than to argue and was keenly aware she would be missed at home very soon if she wasn't already. So, they both left the clinic.
On the way to Callie's house, Floa asked the priestess, "did you know that would happen?"
"Hm?"
"I mean before. You told us a bunch of stuff about what Marie was feeling, and you let Callie go across the bridge ladder without stopping her. Does that mean you told us that stuff on purpose so we'd do something."
The priestess gave her a wry grin. "You two know Marie better than we do. People in general tend to repeat patterns in their life. If anyone would know how to get Marie out of a deep funk when her parents weren't able to approach her I knew it would be one of her friends and playmates.
"In a way, what Marie is going through is similar to what you've gone through, Floa, with your dreams. It's something you didn't understand, so you were afraid of them, afraid of even talking about them, maybe you were afraid to expose yourself as being different, but after you overcame that fear enough to try and understand it, suddenly they didn't seem as scary, right?"
Floa grunted. She had a point. She wished she had realized that before when she'd first gone to see Marie.
Winterveil guessed what she was thinking. "Don't worry about it. I think Callie's method of more direct confrontation probably helped break her out of it a little more willingly. Seeing her alive was probably enough of a relief to get her to let go of some of that fear."
Callie said, "Marie is just really stubborn and pouty. It makes her act silly."
Winterveil smiled. "Yes, but Marie is dealing with a lot of pent up feelings and frustrations. It's obvious she cares a lot about what her parents and grandparents think of her. It's possible that was part of what made her snap, but we'll have to see."
Floa's stomach knotted with guilt. The priestess was right and she'd used that against Marie, adding to that pressure. Yet another consequence of that particular mistake. She was starting to wish she could go back in time and punch herself in the face to prevent herself from doing that.
The only way she could make it up to Marie was by supporting her and helping her get through this. She wasn't going to be able to do that with her fists. She would have to find some other way.
Author's Notes:
Yay, I get to do some world-building!
I mean, you had to expect it with me at some point, didn't you? ;)
The Ecclesiarchy is a tricky beast to write at times because they're a complex entity, but it's fun from a world-building perspective. I hope you enjoyed it too.
So poor Marie is suffering from trauma and guilt, Callie is frustrated with just about everyone at this point, and Floa is just trying to figure out how to fix things, and everyone else in town is just wondering what the heck is going on and what happens now.
What do you think? What conclusions should the Temple of Retribution draw from these events? What actions should they take? Comment/Review.