Chapter 3: I Ride the White Line, Oh, Oh, Oh!
1
Taylor's heart was pounding. It wasn't a normal heartbeat, but the heartbeat of someone fighting for their life, yet she wasn't afraid. There was nothing to fear in the first place. She was in the middle of an absolute void that even light couldn't reach.
Or so it should be. But she knew. Somehow, she knew there was something beyond the darkness.
Watching her.
"Who are you?"
Her words didn't go beyond her own ears. It was as if she had her head underwater. She didn't feel like she was out of breath, but what should have been words came out as bubbles that got lost in the blackness. Where something like a shark swam.
"Who are you?"
Yes. Something like that. For weak humans, encountering such a predator in its natural habitat was instant death. That darkness belonged to it, and she would be swallowed if she was careless.
"Who are you?"
For the third time, there was no response. At least not verbally. But it became clear. Taylor's vision penetrated the unfathomable darkness and saw...
"Ah." A choked gasp.
Her own face, only it was completely different. She hadn't smiled much lately. She hadn't had many reasons to smile for years, so any kind of smile would have looked strange on her face, as if she had forgotten how to smile. But, that smile.
That smile full of malice. That dark smile was utterly unthinkable.
And if that were the only change in that imperfect reflection. Additionally, a strange third eye burned on her forehead. Its golden light seemed to burn her, punish her, judge her. Well, maybe not her, but for some reason, she instinctively understood that it existed for that purpose. That light was the fire of the valley of the deepest shadows.
And, there was something on her clothes. Hanging from both sleeves, tied by nothing. Taylor knew what that object was called, but now she simply couldn't think. The fingers of her mind tried to grasp the relevant memories, but they slipped away from her.
There was nothing to fear, but she was afraid.
Her reflection extended its thumb towards her, still with the same damn smile. Somehow she knew what it was going to say before it said it. She knew what was going to happen.
"Penalty Game..."
She didn't hear the rest. An image projected from the burning third eye shot towards her like a bullet. It surely hit her right in the heart. Then, Taylor woke up.
In the locker again. Of course. Waking up in the hospital, solving a puzzle she had failed for years in a single day as if she already knew the answer, Emma and the strange things that had started happening. All a product of a feverish mind on the brink of death.
Sophia and the others hadn't just locked her in a school locker. It had been a dirty, rusty one taken from some dumpster. Then they had thrown it into the sea with the door closed. Now she was sinking.
That's why she had started thinking about being underwater in the middle of the dream. That's why she couldn't even speak.
Strange sounds that a human throat shouldn't be able to form resonated in the claustrophobic space as Taylor pounded on the door. It was useless, of course. Rusty or not, the metal door wouldn't yield to the insignificant strength of a girl like her. To begin with, she could barely gather strength. She barely had any oxygen and strength left.
She didn't want to die.
She didn't want to disappear in this underwater coffin. But it didn't matter what she wanted. The world was cold and dark and not for people like her. Even before her mother died, Taylor had simply been bad at life.
She had had a single friend who had stabbed her in the back. Given how willing she had been to betray her, she supposed she had only put up with her out of pity in the first place.
So it was probably a good thing. She probably had to disappear here.
2
Taylor woke up, this time for real.
The caged warmth of her sheets contrasted sharply with the imaginary cold of her underwater tomb. She took a deep breath, trying to regain control of her breathing. It had only been a dream. A fucked-up nightmare, but just that. Shit. It wasn't the first time she dreamed that she hadn't really gotten out of the locker and it wouldn't be the last, but shit.
Taylor threw the sheets off the bed but didn't get up. She lay on the bed. Without energy, staring at the ceiling with empty eyes. It was a school day, but she didn't want to go anywhere. She wasn't up for it.
She got up and went to the bathroom. Maybe she had gotten up a little too quickly because she felt a bit dizzy. She grabbed the porcelain sink firmly on both sides. She turned on the faucet and washed her face, closing her eyes. There was a certain desperation in her as if she were a poor bastard lost in the desert and this was the first time in who knows how long that she saw some water.
Sinking in the locker to the bottom of the sea. It had certainly been horrible, but there was something much worse. Something she couldn't remember. But she felt it was close to the surface, that she could reach out and bring it to light. If she wanted to. She wasn't sure she wanted to do something like that.
Taylor looked back at her reflection. It was still the same. Looking away a bit, however, it felt like out of the corner of her eye...
Nothing. It was nonsense. She shook her head. She wasn't going anywhere today, she needed to rest. Taylor went to find her father to tell him, hoping he hadn't already left for work.
And he hadn't left. She found him in the kitchen, clearly worried. He always was. That hadn't changed either.
"Dad, I don't want to go to school today."
He relaxed immediately. Not completely, but it was noticeable. Of course. He hadn't wanted her to go back to Winslow in the first place. Although she had made the decision herself, she suddenly wasn't sure why she had wanted to go back. Vague feelings and impressions shouldn't outweigh bad memories. There were only bad memories there.
"What's wrong, Taylor? Are you feeling sick?"
"Yes. I didn't sleep well. I mean, I did sleep, but I didn't rest."
Dad lowered his gaze to his coffee cup.
"Nightmares?"
Taylor swallowed. She didn't want to lie to him. She was tired of lying to him, and it hadn't led to anything good anyway. She didn't want to worry him either, but she had already admitted that something was wrong. She was freshly awake. She didn't have the head to make up a different excuse.
"Yes." She looked away. Wondering if, well, he would ask. She knew he wanted to. That wasn't the question.
"I'm sorry."
"What do you have to be sorry for? It's not your fault."
"I'm your father, Taylor. My mission in this world is to protect you, and I failed. I have a lot to apologize for."
This wouldn't make it easier for him, not really, but...
"You couldn't have done anything." She decided to give him the truth. "You have a lot of work. No matter how much you complained at every opportunity, the teachers would lie to you or ignore you because they have bigger problems. Like gang activity. And you couldn't afford to transfer me to a better school. So don't blame yourself for anything. It's really my fault."
Dad looked at her with wide eyes. Instead of being hurt by her words towards him, he was offended by what she had said about herself.
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, I befriended Emma. I chose very poorly. I don't think anything special happened, she just showed her true face. And if I were smarter, I would have skipped a few grades and now I'd be out of Winslow."
"What are you talking about? Blame Emma, that Sophia, those..." His voice trembled. It was clear what he wanted to say, but he didn't want to say it. Not in front of her. He still regretted the only time she had seen him raise his voice in anger. "Blame the school. Blame me, for not doing anything. Blame this shitty world. But you are not to blame for anything, don't talk like that again."
Taylor fell silent. Slowly and after a while...
"Well, okay, but neither are you. Can we agree on that?"
Dad's face darkened slightly. No, he wasn't. He never would be. No matter what she told him, it wouldn't erase the feeling of guilt from his mind. The truth that he couldn't have done anything even if he had noticed earlier was insignificant. In fact, it only increased his pain and guilt.
A terrible spiral that was destined to destroy him from within. He already had too many things to think about. Taylor felt useless. No matter how desperately she wanted to stop that, she couldn't do anything. Did she feel? She was a damn useless. Even now, she was only causing him problems.
She just wanted...
She just wanted to have peace, damn it. Was it too much to ask? Mental peace? Was it really too much to ask?
"Okay, Taylor. Agreed."
It was a lie, but she nodded, willing to accept it. At least for now.
"Hey... I'm going to take the day off too. Let's spend some time together."
Taylor nodded again. Her eyes stung.
3
They got in the car. The trip felt very brief. When he parked near a café, Danny presented her with another problem to face.
"I didn't want to bring it up after the talk we had this morning, but don't you want to contact the Protectorate? After what happened with Emma and those guys... It's undeniable that strange things are happening. Even if you don't remember, even if it turns out to be nothing, I think it would be best..."
"Didn't Emma deserve it?"
Danny looked at her through the rearview mirror. He moved his hands on the steering wheel, nervous.
"Of course she deserved it. She could have done the same to you, after all. It's just luck that you didn't end up in a coma."
She could feel the "but" floating in the air. She wasn't willing to let him say it.
"And the other possible... Victims? Gang members, white supremacists. Even if something is happening, what's the problem, Dad? Tell me."
Danny sighed. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back.
"Nothing. I'm sorry I brought it up."
Dad opened the door, getting out of the car. Taylor followed him out shortly after. She hated how weak she was, even now. Even an argument, if you could call it that, in which she had the advantage and had won left her hands trembling. She hated it with all her soul.
They walked towards the café in silence. She felt like a little girl following her father.
She was a little girl, no matter how much she wanted to think of herself otherwise. A powerless little girl who couldn't solve her own problems. Emma was to blame, but she hadn't made it easy for her. Now that she was free from the brutal daily routine that wore her down physically and mentally, she could see that clearly. No matter what excuses she used, no matter how close they were to the truth, what mattered was that she had given up.
Emma was sleeping a probably eternal sleep. But what about Sophia and the others? Nothing had ended.
She wasn't satisfied at all.
"I can't get rid of the puzzle," she admitted. "I need it to feel strong. Without it, I won't be able to keep my sanity."
Because it was simply too much. Even looking back was dizzying from how far she had to look. So many years of the same shit over and over again, without a valve to escape, without escape. One could never escape oneself. Except if...
Well.
Except if they gave birth to another self.
That other self, newly born and unscarred, might possess the strength she desired to have. It could be everything she needed.
Dad turned around to look at her, without stopping his walk forward. Taylor's eyes widened. She saw what was going to happen. She saw it coming, but she also knew immediately that it wouldn't do any good.
That didn't give her permission not to try, of course. Her arm extended before she could think about it. All the sounds of the world disappeared, except for the beating of her heart. Only that wild beating resonated in her ears.
She was about to grab his hand, but their fingers merely brushed. Although they were so close, they seemed to be a world apart, with no possibility of touching. Even before he was sent flying. Taylor's mouth fell open. She collapsed to her knees.
A little later, Dad ended up lying on the pavement. A red carpet slowly extended from his head. A carpet so red it hurt to look at.
She crawled towards him on all fours. Only then did she realize she was no longer standing. That her vision had turned white and she had collapsed as if she had been the one hit.
Hit.
Yes, one of the two cars that were wildly driving down the road. Inside each of them was an idiot in disguise. Uber and Leet playing protagonists of GTA, or any other generic open-world game. The police, as usual too late, were chasing them. They would be collecting stars.
A nervous laugh escaped her throat. She knew she was laughing, but she couldn't hear anything.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw some movement. He's still breathing. Of course, he has to be alive. Her father's misty eyes passed through her. For a moment she feared the worst, but she was able to grab his hand and squeeze it as if wanting to finish some unresolved business.
No. He would survive. He was strong and would survive. He couldn't die in an accident... No, it hadn't been an accident, but... He couldn't die. He couldn't. No.
The sound of ambulance sirens broke the stasis of her world on the brink of the abyss, bringing back the noises and color.
Had someone called the ambulance while she had been staring into nothing, lying on the ground, instead of delighting in others' suffering? That didn't fit her view of the world, but she didn't give a damn. She was too scared to cry. The fear was like a physical pressure on her chest. But she wanted to cry, that was for sure.
The medics appeared around her like ghosts in white coats, taking her father away on a stretcher, asking useless questions. Her ears buzzed. She moved her tongue without knowing what she was saying, but one thing she heard clearly.
"Do you want to ride in the ambulance?"
Taylor nodded. Her throat couldn't form words at this point.
4
The ambulance was swaying and shaking a lot. It couldn't be comfortable for her father, but she supposed he wasn't conscious enough to notice. Taylor clutched the puzzle against her chest with both hands. She hadn't put it on before leaving the house. To put it on, she must have taken it off at some point.
Since she solved it... Well, since she bought a chain for the puzzle, she hadn't taken it off. She had done everything with it beating against her chest, as if it were alive. Now it also seemed to beat.
It seemed to be pushing her forward. I know, she thought. I know very well what I have to do.
She frowned.
They won't get away with it.
5
When the medics told her that Dad would probably wake up, that it could have been much worse, Taylor nodded and left. Part of her wanted to stay here and be the first person he saw when he woke up, but the rage was too strong. They couldn't get away with it. That was the only thing she could think of.
Taylor went into the bathroom on the first floor of the hospital. In one of the stalls, closing the door behind her, as if seeking her comfort zone at school. Or the closest thing that existed, in any case. But it wasn't about that.
Taylor threw her head back, closing her eyes. She took a deep breath. And she spoke to it.
She spoke directly to the shark that swam in her darkest nightmares.
"I'll do what you want, but now cooperate. Show me where Uber and Leet are."
It showed her, of course. It could do anything, why wouldn't it do what she wanted? She didn't care if it was the powers of darkness. She didn't feel it as a dark power, in any case. It was a blade for justice.
"There you are. There you are, you bastards. Laughing. Celebrating, as if nothing had happened. There you are."
While in reality, they had almost destroyed the remaining half of her world. She realized her teeth were chattering. It wasn't the only thing she was clenching. If she thought it was an ordinary object, Taylor would worry about shattering the puzzle into a thousand pieces.
The puzzle that beat against her chest was resonating with her rage as she squeezed it so, so hard.
Taylor left the hospital. She didn't have a car, she didn't know how to drive, but she didn't need one either. A secret base was useless if it was no longer so secret. Her feet took her to the destination in the blink of an eye. It almost felt like the journey had been erased from her memories, as it couldn't have been that short.
She entered Uber and Leet's lair. As expected, the only design theme was video games. Only design was an exaggeration. It was a vomit of things only vaguely related, like most of their shitty broadcasts.
In the very distant past, sometimes she had watched them and found them funny. Now she couldn't believe such a memory existed.
"Who the hell are you?" Leet said with a trembling voice.
He's tiny, she thought. He's a damn kid.
Which she already knew, of course, but seeing him in person was somehow different. How can they be so full of evil? Just like his partner. How could there be so much evil wherever she looked? Someone had to fix things, even if it was step by step. The guardian of justice.
"Hey, I asked you a question!"
Yes, she understood. Taylor understood perfectly why the puzzle had passed into her hands. The powers of darkness existed to judge evil. Light couldn't reach the deep darkness, it disappeared before it could touch it. That's why it could persist.
Someone like her was needed to set things right. To make this world that had gone mad make sense again.
Piece by piece.
Uber, more cautious, remained silent. Maybe he sensed something. Too late.
"You ran over my father. I don't care who it was, you're both going to pay."
"Your father? When?"
"Today," she said, her voice barely audible. "Today."
He didn't remember, of course. Those who had too much power for everyone's good, the popular ones, the bullies. They never remembered the ants they crushed along the way. Although Uber and Leet were far from popular, they were still privileged by having superpowers.
They thought they were better than others. They thought they could do anything and get away with it.
Someone had to clip their wings.
"I'm going to kill you."
It was crossing a line, she knew. It was something that should be unthinkable for normal people. But normal hadn't served her at all. It didn't serve anyone. Normal was for someone like her to be trampled on, so she would spit on normality and rise. With the help of the powers of the deepest shadows.
Leet took a step forward and brandished a bat. Of course. They weren't going to go around with firearms, so they didn't have many options to disguise themselves as a GTA protagonist.
Taylor barely had time to react, raising her arms to protect her head. Her arms took the full impact. She felt the vibration down to her boots and fell to her knees. Of course, that wasn't going to go well.
"Leet...!"
"Don't worry. You just heard her, she's threatening us. It's not like I'm going to kill her, damn it, what do you think? It's just that well..." Suddenly the tone changed, it became very cold. "The cameras are still recording. Focus."
"You can't even dress-up properly. Tell me, I'm lost, but in which GTA do they have those masks that cover the whole face exactly? Didn't have the balls... to put on one of those that only cover everything below the eyes, huh?"
She wasn't speaking as if she were herself. She wasn't speaking with a shred of sense. She didn't want to.
Leet, of course, got angry and hit her square in the face this time. Lying on the ground, Taylor didn't think about the pain or the blood she felt on her fingertips when she brought them up to check the wound. The only thing she thought about was how that idiot wanted the video to make them look good, even in front of their fans. She didn't know.
She had no idea how these little shits had fans in the first place!
Taylor laughed at her own joke that wasn't a joke at all.
And even Uber, more sensible and patient, lost his patience. They gave him a good beating, saying a lot of useless things for the benefit of the audience. Taylor didn't listen. She didn't have an ounce of fear. She could have focused on the dialogue if she had wanted to. That was the point, she simply didn't want to. She didn't have to hear any of that.
"What's the matter, what were you going to do to us?" Leet mocked. She wondered if he was acting like the complete sociopath that any open-world video game protagonist in the hands of a bored person would be, or if he really believed this would count as a win. Beating up a powerless girl who had barely defended herself. The video they were broadcasting on their own would be a good hit in itself, but Taylor wasn't satisfied with that. She needed more. Much more.
She grabbed Leet's ankle, squeezing hard.
"Ouch, it seems she still has more strength than you," Leet protested, slightly pained, but not at all worried. He thought he had gotten away with it, as usual. There was the problem. People like him got used to it, and then they not only continued. They went further and further. Until they crossed the line. Until they did something irreversible.
"No respect for us. She still hasn't learned the lesson, damn it."
Lesson? Yes, it was time for a lesson.
The puzzle began to shake and vibrate. At that very moment...
"Damn it!"
"What's the matter?"
"The connection has been cut. The WiFi, all the cameras, somehow."
Taylor saw the shadow behind her extend across the wall. She shouldn't have been able to see it from her position for obvious reasons, but she saw it. Maybe with the eye of her mind. The shark had emerged from the depths of the black sea. In any case, at that very moment, she lost the last thread that tied her to consciousness.
Her last memory was the golden light of judgment burning intensely.
I Ride the White Line, Oh, Oh, Oh!: FIN