REND

Sunlight bathed my face, nudging me out of sleep. I had always drawn the thick curtain shades of the guest room I was staying in because that was what I was used to in my condo. “Is that you, Deen?” I grumbled, assuming she entered the room and pulled the curtains open to wake me up. “What time is—wait, what?”

Hard ground was beneath me. I was no longer cradled by comfy pillows and a springy mattress, the last state I was certain I was in before I fell asleep. Instead, my cheek rested on a cold, rough surface. I immediately got up, adrenaline rushing through my body, pumping my heart into hyperdrive and driving away the drowsiness instantly.

As I jumped to my feet, I found myself in an enclosed dome-shaped space that looked like it was carved out of solid rock. It was large enough to fit maybe two of Deen’s house, with the ceiling as high as the utility pole out in the street. The air was musty and damp.

I’m going to get so angry if I got kidnapped again.

What I mistook for sunlight was actually an item glowing bright yellow in the center of the cavern, suspended by invisible forces in defiance of gravity in the middle of a pillar of water continuously pouring from the ceiling to a hole in the ground. It was an exquisite golden gauntlet, its fingers ending in wicked claws.

I recognized it instantly.

SpookyErind’s gauntlet!

I breathed slowly to calm myself. Although annoyed, I relaxed knowing I was somewhere safe. SpookyErind wouldn’t hurt me, right? After all, she was the one who saved me from certain death.

Where was I anyway? This wasn’t the place I previously met her. Good thing I was not naked this time. I wore the clothes I went to sleep in. That also meant I was barefoot.

The glowing gauntlet wasn’t the only source of light in this cavern. Curious bioluminescent flora, unlike any I had seen on Earth, littered various spots of the cavern, the meager kaleidoscope of lights they gave off trying to survive under the glare of SpookyErind’s gauntlet. Perhaps even more curious were the broken pillars and statues around me, like I was in the ruins of an ancient civilization. These statues, as well as the carvings on the pillars, sometimes depicted humans but were mostly of creatures that probably came from some mythology I wasn’t familiar with.

So, what do I do now?

Six archways, evenly spaced throughout the perimeter of the cavern, appeared to be the only means of exit. Gaping maws of darkness that the light of the gauntlet couldn’t pierce.

Or…I can take the gauntlet?

SpookyErind didn’t seem to be around.

I made my way to it, climbing over the rubble and carefully avoiding the alien plants. As I struggled to get over a thick column that has fallen over, I realized I didn’t feel as strong as before. Or maybe the correct thing to say was that I was as weak as before I had gotten powers. Even my feet hurt walking over the gravel and uneven ground. I had my normal body back in this weird place.

When I reached the middle of the room, I couldn’t see any way to get to the gauntlet floating in the downpour like a salmon swimming up a waterfall. If I still had my superstrength I could've stacked these ruins to get to it, or threw a rock to try to dislodge it.

I reached for the falling water with my index finger, tensed, ready to run away if something bad happened. My fingertip poked through the wall of cold water. A bell chimed somewhere. I jumped back and looked around for the source of the sound.

Nothing.

However, one of the archways lit up, blue fire tracing the arch with incomprehensible writing. The lines of fire entered the corridor, creeping along the walls and the ceiling, illuminating the hallway like a runway at the airport.

That was my next path, I guess.

 

---

 

Several minutes passed...

Or maybe an hour...

Possibly two...

I wasn’t sure anymore.

All I knew was my feet were sore and my knees tired. It felt like I'd been walking this corridor for a long time and I couldn’t recall when I started walking. No end was in sight.

Was this some loopy dream thing? Not that I was worried about getting trapped here. SpookyErind needed me outside. Last time this happened, I returned to the normal world with barely any passage of time even though I stayed quite a while in SpookyErind’s dimension. I could take my time getting to the end of this path.

A troubling thought needled my mind. What if she had already taken over my body?

Fuck! Why didn’t I immediately think of that?

Was that why I had my weak, normal body now? Was this the real me? The human me? And now I was trapped here forever.

What now?

The corridor stretched far in front of me. I turned back and found that it was the same.

Wait a minute.

Was this the way forward? Or back?

Did it matter?

I paused to consider. No. Not really.

I should've been dead before anyway, so SpookyErind could have that body since she was the one who saved it. My only regret was I couldn’t see what kind of monster my body transformed into when SpookyErind manifests herself into my world. I bet she was going to be gigantic and powerful, and she'd probably be the type of Adumbrae that retained its consciousness instead of those lesser ones that mindlessly rampaged until they were eliminated. The city was going to be a warzone. Call the army, the super soldiers of the BID, ComExo units, the Corebrings…

As for me?

Just keep walking...

 

---

 

A gigantic double-winged door appeared in front of me out of nowhere after I didn’t know how long, signaling the end of my journey. Ancient and made of dark metal, it was adorned with ominous carvings of wolves, fangs, and claws.

I approached it, placed my palms against it, and tried to push it. But I was too weak. How do I open this thing?

To answer my thoughts, the door slowly opened on its own, the ground grumbling beneath my soles. It led to yet another cavern. Perhaps this one was smaller than the previous one, but I couldn’t exactly tell because it was shrouded in darkness except for the places touched by the light of the blue flame from the corridor.

I entered the room. The fire did not follow me. I didn't dare go further inside and plunge myself into darkness.

Something was inside here, far in the back of the huge room. Hints of its fur caught the blue light, giving me an idea of its shape. It was incredibly colossal, a wall of fierce fur and powerful muscles, and it appeared to be curled up at the end of the room. Chains bound it, reflecting hints of the light from outside.

I couldn’t see most of it but I felt it was familiar.

It was like my transformation during my rampage at the docks.

This was bigger. Far bigger.

Hellooo, a voice said inside my head in a singsong way. There was no sound, the greeting simply popped inside my head like I was the one who thought of it. Someone, presumably the speaker, hugged me from behind and squeezed hard, nearly knocking the wind out of me. I missed me so much, she said.

I turned my head to see who it was and found myself face to face with a Thalia drama mask, the laughing mask of theater. The mask was divided down the middle, one side colored white, the other black. Cracks ran all over the mask, even squiggling across the lines of golden metal that radiated from its eye sockets. Peeking through those holes were tantalizing red eyes with an unearthly glow, more beautiful than the finest jewelry I'd seen.

It was SpookyErind. Who else could it be?

“Hi,” I said, struggling to breathe normally despite the bear hug she had me in. I was unsure of what to say to her. “You missed…you? Or me?”

The cracks on the mask deepened and expanded, breaking the mask apart. The broken pieces crumbled to dust and disappeared into the air, revealing a grinning face that looked like mine, with the cute upturned nose and tiny bunny teeth. I’m praising my own looks, I know. The difference was her marble-like complexion; her white, almost transparent, wispy hair; and, of course, those demonic eyes.

I missed you, I missed me, me, you, she said, still singing. Meyoumeyoumeyou.

“Am I dead?”

Nope, why would you think that? That’s a weird thing to ask after just meeting again. I’m not the grim reaper.

“Just asking. Have you taken over my body?”

What are you talking about? She tilted her head and smiled innocently.

I held her arms and tried to unwrap her around me, but she wouldn’t budge. “Was only wondering why I'm here. I thought you took over my body already.”

That’s nonsense. We’re one and the same. No one is taking over anyone.

“You do say that a lot.” What should I ask her? I shouldn’t risk antagonizing her or I might not get out of here. She did seem amiable to me. “Where is this?”

Somewhere not your world? Does it really matter where this is? she said, repeating my earlier train of thought when I walked through the corridor. I shrugged to show I agreed with her. Is your next question why are you here?

I nodded.

Because I don’t know the answer to that one. You’re the one who came here. She nuzzled her cheeks against mine. She was surprisingly warm. I expected her to be dead cold because she looked like a vampire or some demon lord. Why don’t we just bond?

“I’m not really a touchy-feely type,” I said with no intention of finding out what she meant by that. “If we’re the same then you shouldn’t be too.”

This doesn’t count. This is just me loving myself. I do love myself so, so, so, very much. Don’t you?”

“I do love myself very much too. Perhaps, I only love and can only love myself.”

Samesies. We have so much in common. Meyoumeyoumeyoumeyou—

“Oh, I do have a question I’ve been meaning to ask you,” I said, interrupting her chanting. “How do I turn into that monster?” I pointed to the hulking mountain of fur covered in shadows. “You let me borrow a face, and I really appreciated it. Super thanks. But I don’t know how to use it.”

Eh?! She let me go. I inhaled deeply. Grabbing my shoulders, she rotated me to face her. Seriously? You don’t know how to use it?

“Um…I don’t….sorry.”

SpookyErind giggled with a thick air of condescension and patted my head like I was the biggest dumbass she had ever seen across whatever dimensions she'd been in. You’re not a very good listener, aren’t you? Didn’t I say ‘That face has to follow all your Rules too’ when we last met and I gave you that face?

“I remember that. I’ve been thinking about how the Rules affect me when I'm transformed.”

Ughhh. That’s not it. She placed her hands on the side of my head and pulled me closer until the tips of our noses bumped. Come on, you know this. Think.

Her eyes burned like molten steel. I willed myself to look into them although I felt that I would probably lose myself in them. We stared at each other for several seconds. “Shit, I get it now.”

Ding! Okay, I suck at making a lightbulb noise.

“The face you gave me works based on the Rules. But what Rule is it?” I tried to remember the times I had transformed.

What do you think?

“Rule Four,” I whispered, everything finally clicking in place. The circumstances I had asked for the face was a Rule Four scenario, and that was the intention when she gave them to me. Which meant it works based on Rule Four. “Action, reaction. Or more like action, retribution. Nothing happened when I tried to eat the chicken because it didn’t do anything to me. But for people who meant me harm—”

She squealed in excitement. I cringed. I didn’t think I have made such a reaction to anything ever. Exactly! I was scared there for a bit you might be an idiot. Because that would make me an idiot too. But I’m not. Sooo… good job! Do you have anything else to ask me?

“Nothing, for now.” I paused then added, "Thanks for the help."

Well then. SpookyErind moved away and turned her back to me. Do visit sometimes. It’s entertaining with you around.

“How do I come to visit you?”

Dunno. You just keep popping around here.

 

---

 

Fierce sunlight pierced through my thin eyelids and poked me out of sleep. Was it for real this time? I purred in satisfaction as I stretched out my muscles charged with superhuman strength, then warily opened one eye to check if I was back in the real world.

Deen’s smiling face peered over mine. “It’s unlike you to wake up late.” She checked the time on her phone. “Seven a.m. It’s not really late but late for your usual wake-up time. It always amazes me how you always get up at five sharp, even without an alarm.”

“I’m just used to waking up at that time no matter what time I fell asleep. Even if I slept at four in the morning, I will still wake up at five.” I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. There was something odd in my palm when I balled up my hand. With my thumb, I checked if the pimple patch I used to cover the crystalline growth was still there.

Deen sat on the edge of my bed. “You weren’t outside stirring tea in your peculiar way, so I got worried you may be sick.”

“I...I just woke up early then decided to go back to sleep.” I opened my palm half an inch to take a peek, then quickly closed it. Shit. I clenched my jaws to stop myself cursing out loud.

“By the way,” Deen said, “Johann has hacked into the traffic camera feeds last night. Dario messaged me that they discovered a problem.”

You got that right that there’s a problem. I nonchalantly hid my right hand under the covers. “What’s the problem?”

“Every Saturday, between eight p.m. to twelve midnight, the traffic cams monitoring the streets surrounding the club are turned off. They may be paying someone at MetroTraffic to do that.”

“So, we don’t know which truck to ambush?”

“Yes, we need to do some brainstorming on our backup plan. Right now, they’re viewing footage of neighboring streets trying to find a new lead. Myra will give me copies of some footage so we can help them out.”

“Sure, I’ll help with that,” I said. “I think we can talk about possible plans while we eat breakfast? I’ll just fix myself up then follow you down.”

Deen hopped off my bed. “Sure, we’ll figure out something soon. I made avocado toast, by the way. I hope it turned out fine.”

“Yum,” I said with fake gusto. I opened my right hand when she left to examine the growth. It expanded. The crystal on the left portion of my palm branched out and gave birth to a second tiny crystal, connected with a hairs-width vein of gold.