Chapter 3: Mad tiny guys, mad talking birds and mad
hearts
Aaanddd… I was still stuck at Guna Plaza.
With these six gigantic, beautiful, mad buildings
around me, though not as truly mad as all that I had to witness before which
had made my head turn red and had made incomprehensible words escape my mouth.
Yeah, not one of my most charming moments.
Sigh, Quinn. Shut up and do something useful.
Right! Something useful.
So these six buildings. I walked a bit around the
fountain, careful not to get to the part of the plaza where people were still
walking in those strange rows and where the fireballs were still thrown from
here and there. Nope, I wasn’t ready to mingle with these strange citizens yet.
Not that I ever will be – oh my god, won’t you look at
that! How? Just how?
My jaw almost fell open by the sight of these three
buildings. They were so simple but so special at the same time. They were kind
of the same, I mean they all looked ancient they had the same kind of doors and
like a pathway leading to those doors, lined with pillars, they were all tall
and ooh – they looked like those mausoleums, from the Romans (yes, I do pay
attention in class), only then from time when they did look pretty.
There was only one difference – their color: blue, red
and black. And there was something with
these colors. I had no idea what or how, but they were just so… there. So
unmissably there. Even blind person would see them! (I think)
And now comes the weird part – were they each shone on
by their own color?!
Through the streets twirling above them, a, well,
divine sounds quite appropriate here, so a divine light shone on each of the
buildings.
There was blue holy light for the, well, blue one
which was called the… Indigo Institute of Intellectuals, pressed in the upper
part of the building with gold – divine gold, hehe. Red for the red one which was
called the Crimson Centrum of Civilians. Crimson? As in… Crimson Chin?! (Hehe,
Fairly Odd Parents reference – whoop whoop) And black – wait, black? Yes black!
– for the black one which was called… the Black Bar for Barbarians? Barbarians,
huh – not my place to be.
But, no, there wasn’t any useful stuff here. So I
teared my eyes of those divine buildings and started exploring the other half
of the plaza.
There was some sort of Colosseum-like building which
had its name beaming in neon light above it: the Theatre of Hearts. A gigantic
library stuck out there, too, which, of course, was called the Giants’ Library.
Perhaps I could find something useful there…
In the middle was this really big castle, which was
like really white and there were like spades all over it. And it had towers
shaped like a spade and a spade-formed entrance – it was big a spade! But it
wasn’t as cool as the other stuff, though, so I didn’t look at it for too long.
Not that I was able to, when there were beeps and
bells all around me and people walking around and – through me?! AGAIN?
I scurried back to the big cocoon, still cold as ever,
and shook my head. Good. Good good good. Good good goooooooooooooooddddd.
I am completely naked under this coat. I need to find
clothes. Then I need to go to that library. And then I’ll see what I can find.
Ready? Go.
And there was the first problem. Where do I find these
clothes? For free. Without stealing them. Scratch that – if stealing is what I
must do, then I shall do it.
Someoneeeee! Help meeeee! Not that internally
screaming would help meee!
Okay. Okaayyyy.
I died. There was a knife and it was doing strange
things in my body and I stopped breathing. So I died and I shouldn’t be here,
because I’m dead and dead people aren’t alive. So why was I alive? Why did I
end up here? How did I end up here? Why is this place so mad? Why did that
damned guy leave me? Why were there fireballs? Why were there divine buildings
that looked like mausoleums? Why were all these buildings so big and abnormal?
Why were these people walking so weird?
Why was I asking myself these random questions? I was
making myself suspicious – hold it –
when I was supposed to figure it out on my own, because I’m not weak or
incapable – Hold. It. – but this
place is too mad and were the people watching me, was I going to be followed
and killed again and die for good – Quinn,
hold it – and could I survive anyway?
QUINN. HOLD IT.
I started walking towards some building, like I knew
what I was doing, like I knew this place, like I wasn’t naked and hadn’t just
risen from the dead. I clenched my fists and looked forward as if that building
was my destination. I didn’t bump into anyone, I waited when a dancing carriage
flew by and ducked when some kid threw his fireball towards me. I froze when I
heard the voice, saying: “I know you’re naked.” The tiny, squeaky voice started
giggling and pulled my sleeve, pulling me down, while a male voice said through
gritted teeth: “Get down here, you damned bird.”
Then her grip loosened and I immediately turned around
to face the creepy – tiny guy with a bird in his hands? The guy was wearing a
black suit with green patches on the shoulders. He also wore a big hat with his
red, bushy hair underneath that basically surrounded his tiny chubby head and
came down in a beard. He wore a warm smile and that red nose of his was pretty
cute.
But that was only what he looked like – I still had to
be careful. Pay attention, Quinn.
The bird in his clenched fist, squeaked ‘lemme go!
Lemme go!’, but the guy didn’t do as much as blink at his desperate protests.
Then he moved his hand to the inside of his jacket where he seemed to put the
bird away. So this little guy had a bird who could talk and who knew that I was
naked. Huh.
QUINN – NO JOKES!
But –
Shut up. Focus!
The guy kept smiling at me. “Don’t mind her, girl. She
simply doesn’t know how to act appropriately.”
His smile suddenly faded and he drew closer. When he
had made sure that no one was looking, he waved at me to lean in. I did,
carefully.
“Well, you know,” he said, “if you’re planning to go
the theatre, you can’t just walk in there wearing only a coat. And,” he looked
around him again and continued on an even softer tone, “I’ve seen you with him, so I feel obliged to help you.
Don’t worry – I won’t tell anyone. We just need to go through the back door
where you can get to the dressing rooms.”
I didn’t have the chance to say something, because he
was already pulling through the rows of people to theatre which was the building
I seemed to be headed to.
Play along, but run away when it gets dangerous. Get
out once you have the clothes. Don’t speak unless asked and don’t show any kind
of emotion. You understand? Yes.
We quickly disappeared into a dark alleyway where the
sun didn’t seem to shine. In fact, we were turning corners under a very dark
sky. Soon we reached an alley where the wall across us climbed up in the sky
where a color bomb had exploded into the letters T, H, E, A. The wall of the
Theatre of… I couldn’t remember. Doesn’t matter. Don’t think about it. Just go.
The guy seemed to know exactly where he was headed and
pulled me even further into the maze of alleyways.
Then we reached a lit part of the alley. Heart-formed
lights were placed on the wall across us and a dark red carpet was laid out
before us and turned around the corner. We ended up before a heart-formed
entrance, carved out of a brick wall. The guy let go of my hand and looked at
me with his vicious yellow eyes. It seemed as though his face had grown darker
and his chubby face slimmer and pointier. His nose had grown longer and
crooked. His hands had turned into claws.
And his voice sounded gruff as he said, “Go on, then.”
I did as he said.
Play along, get the clothes and get out.
Past the entrance, was an extremely red hallway. Dark
red walls and red heart-formed lights on them. The red carpet went on here and
led to another heart-formed door.
The dark version of the tiny guy, appeared next to me
and pointed at the door.
Play along, get the clothes and get out.
Play along, get the clothes and get out.
Play along, get the clothes and get out.
I took a quick breath and walked towards it.
My mind quieted down and was empty, hidden behind a
fog.
I didn’t hear my footsteps, breath or feel the
presence of the dark tiny guy lurking behind me.
I just saw the door coming closer and closer.
I saw my hand reaching the doorknob –
It turned –
The door creaked and opened –
Hands flashed out –
Quickly, madly, roughly they reached –
Pulled me in –
I screamed –
Hands around my body, my face –
My mouth –
Silence.
That's the end of chapter 3 of The Stitcher of Souls...
See you on the next page!
[PIC ORIGIN: http://neolucky.deviantart.com/art/Yewon-Till-the-Sky-Falls-Down-113195231 , made by Neolucky]
No comments:
Post a Comment