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 Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 12:23 pm
Something was definitely missing. Other than the obvious, he told himself with an inner chuckle. He lumbered over to where the statues were, stopping himself in front of the pedestal that had once held one of the three. The one that had blessed him, in fact. But she was missing, so he read the plaque again, and found completely different words there. Words that told him.. almost nothing.
The goddess, when he heard her voice and saw her there, told him just as much.
He accepted the bag she gave him, and opened it. Another blessing, maybe? He felt like he could use it. But no, as he opened it to look inside he realized the bag was just as empty as he was. Maybe a metaphor, then.
No, just a mistake.
He closed the bag and took the scissors handed to him. It was easy to miss the gruesome innuendo that her lilting voice expressed. He was taking hearts from some.. thing that no longer needed them, because they didn't make it.
But he did make it. Had made it. He was here, that was proof enough.
Wasn't it?
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 12:28 pm
He was on the ground now, in front of a tombstone. The scissors were an ill fitted tool for the task at hand, as he pushed away the flowers and started to dig up the glowing heart. Even as he worked the ground with his blades, he tilted his head and took in the name on the tombstone. It was so completely unfamiliar. Just a mix of letters strung together to make sounds that he could inexplicably read anyway.
Here Lies
Roberta Walker
There was nothing left to tell.
The heart came free in his hands, and he pulled it up to let the orange light warm his face. Staring at it made him sleepy. It was the worst idea - the worst time - the worst place - but he couldn't help himself.
He closed his eyes.
--------
The weeds grew taller than him out in the fields behind the house. He was hiding in them, running through them, lying in wait underneath them. The grasslands were his playground, and he was a mighty lion, looking for his prey. He stalked the tall weeds, quietly toddling along. Sometimes he gave up the ruse of a lion, and ran headfirst through the weeds until they started to make his face itch. Then he planted himself on the floor and laughed, and laughed.
No prey would ever come near him now. He didn’t care - he was an adventurer, not a lion. Looking for ruins of an old civilization. Maybe spiders would come crawling out of the eyes of a stone monkey statue. He started slapping his skin, as if he could feel them crawling all over him, and giggled.
He was six years old.
He heard the sound of rustling nearby, and his laughter caught in his throat. SAVAGES! They would find him and skin him and eat his heart! He had to run away before-
“Is someone there?”
That was the first time he ever heard her voice. She was a tiny thing, emerging from the weeds with her dress covered in filth from running in the woods, and those big, round eyes looked as though they almost didn’t fit in her face.
Roberta Walker was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his entire six years of life. And he’d seen some cool stuff.
She took him to one of her hideaways, that night. They heard their family searching for them, but they giggled and ignored the cries. Huddled up underneath a brown tarp, they watched the fireflies flutter through the air, and pointed out every time they were sure one of them was not a firefly at all, but a fairy come to try and steal them away. The shadows turned into pincers, snapping at her dress, and he wrapped his little arms around her and kept her safe the whole night. When the shadows came for him, he felt her tiny hand slide into his, and he knew he could face any fear.
They saw so many things. So many wondrous, unbelievable things. No one would ever believe them, they knew that much. The magic in the shadows was their secret to hold, theirs to treasure. They wouldn’t share it with a soul but each other.
Roberta Walker was Robert’s best friend in the entire world.
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 1:08 pm
Job well done, and now it was time to go home. He had the glowing heart in his bag, and he could have sworn he'd just whistled a tune, though he couldn't possibly remember what tune, as he walked away. He almost slipped on the floor as he began to lose his traction, but he righted himself before he fell, and laughed out into the air at his stupidity. His laughter drowned out the whisper that beckoned behind him. He heard nothing, the first time.
But when she whispered again, it froze him to the bone.
He turned, very slowly. Nothing waited for him, so he turned to walk again. He had to keep changing direction; every time he thought he was almost there, he hit a wall of failure. So he kept trying, and kept hearing the whispers behind him that made him swivel faster and faster in hopes of catching the culprit.
And eventually, he did.
He was neck deep in liquid that he wanted to assume was water, when he felt hands pushing him down and blocking him from air. The longer he couldn't breathe, the easier it was to simply not trying.
And then those ice cold eyes stared down at him, begging him for the one thing he'd never actually owned in the first place. Her heart.
He'd kissed her. Oh God, he'd kissed her, and --- was never going to forgive him. SHE would never forgive him. He'd lost everything in that one heated moment of desperation, and there was nothing he could do to fix it. He might as well die.
He might as well die.
Might as well..
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 1:50 pm
It would have been so easy to just let her hold him down, until all of the pain he'd caused her and her --- drifted away into a sea of false existence. It felt so easy to let go.
But if he'd ever been able to let go, he wouldn't have hurt them in the first place.
He struggled against the hands that kept him down, his giant arms wrapping around her tiny form and pulling her off of him, but she was so much stronger. It made no sense. None of it made any sense anymore, especially since he hadn't breathed in so long..
He lunged out, unaware that his hands still held the scissors. They slid with a squelching sound into her body, until the weight that held him down slumped and fell away, leaving him free to burst back up and breathe those first few hard, ragged breaths.
He felt himself sinking back down immediately after, but there was no more water to sink into. There was nothing but whatever was left in his lungs, coughed and choked out in spurts of uneven gasps. And that, too, was eventually gone.
He still had the heart. Her heart. And for once, he felt victorious. He left the room, refusing to look back at the cold eyes that were still staring at him from a distance.
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:01 pm
((Task 2 begins))
The sight of this particular goddess come to life both thrilled and frightened him. She did not look like a friendly, familiar face. She did, however, look powerful. And he was ready to listen to what she had to say. He took the dagger, a much more powerful gift than the first, and proceeded to follow her instructions to the letter without a word. After all, there was no point in discussing a task given to him by someone like that. There was no confusion. Eat or be eaten. It was time to go hunt.
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Nio Love rolled 1 4-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-4)
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:06 pm
The long hallway didn't seem to have an end, but Trebor walked it. That was the point of hallways. To get you from one destination to another. So he walked. And walked. And walked.
So far, nothing asked for his dagger.
Thud.
Robert spun around, already trying to plunge the tip of it into whatever was behind him. But his dagger punctured empty space, so he turned again and started walking. With each step the hallway became more and more agitating.
Thud.
Again, he twirled and stabbed at the empty hallway, and just for good measure he did it one more time. But there really was nothing there.
Until he looked again. And she was there.
Robert was no fool. He knew what she wanted, and she wasn't going to get it. So he turned, and he ran for dear life, until his entire body slammed into the door at the other hand of the hallway. He knew she was still following, always one step behind. But when he reached the door, it didn't open. Instead, it asked for a passcode.
"ARE YOU SHITTING ME!?"
He looked around for something - anything - there! On the floor, a piece of paper.
A=0, B=1, C=2
...
"ARE YOU SHITTING ME!?"
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Nio Love rolled 2 4-sided dice:
4, 4
Total: 8 (2-8)
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:07 pm
He just. Just needed to find anything. Something that answered what the hell this little piece of paper said. But when he looked again, he just found an exact duplicate of the paper.
You know. In case someone else came around looking to get away from killer shadows.
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Nio Love rolled 2 4-sided dice:
3, 4
Total: 7 (2-8)
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:08 pm
There was only one option left. Trebor took a step or two back, and then slammed his giant body as hard as he could into the door. He felt it creak, but not give. So he did it again, and again, until his shoulder dislocated. He cursed and slid down the still-closed door, but he couldn't stay there long. He saw her coming. She was close now. So close.
"You were close." She whispered. Even from this far away, he could hear her whisper. "So close. If you'd waited a little longer, I would have said yes. I wanted to say yes. You were so close."
He wanted to try and throw the dagger at her from here, but instead he pushed himself up and kept looking for a way out.
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Nio Love rolled 1 4-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-4)
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:09 pm
Nope. Only more pieces of paper with that same piece of useless information.
A=0, B=1, C=2.
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Nio Love rolled 1 4-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-4)
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:10 pm
Even from fifteen feet away, he could feel her. It was as if icy tendrils of her presence were able to reach him from here. He spun, again and again, until he was so dizzy his eyes closed and he slumped down -
“I can’t believe we’re doing this!” She screamed, waving her hand out of the window of the speeding car as they flew down the highway. “Aren’t you going to get in trouble?”
He had one hand on the wheel of his Chevy Roadrunner, and the other around Roberta’s seat. He was grinning like a cheshire cat. He hadn’t seen his best friend in two years, and this was the day she decided to show up at his doorstep.
He was sixteen years old, and today was his little sister’s birthday.
“Nah, it’s fine.” He brushed it off, ignoring the little voice of regret in his head. He had his Roberta back. That was all that mattered. They drove for hours, with no real destination. Just away. They stopped at a ratty little hole in the wall burger joint, and ate greasy burgers while sitting on the hood of his car. “Don’t get her dirty,“ He warned. “She’s my one true love.“
Roberta slid her greasy hands all down the flame decal covered hood. She poked at every gunshot hole decal she could find, and all he could do was laugh.
When they finally came home the next day, he dropped Roberta off at the hotel, and came home to apologize to his sister. The moment he walked through the door, a hefty book slammed into his face, breaking his nose. He didn’t know whether to be angry at her, or proud at what a strong arm she had. He spent the rest of the day trying to make it up to her. He even offered to read the book to her, the way he had when she was just a little thing, too young to read on her own.
--- did not forgive that easily.
And when he drove by the hotel to pick up Roberta that night, he found her already gone. His hands gripped the steering wheel, and it creaked as it threatened to break. His car drove off the road, right into the field they’d played in as children, and he plowed down all of the tall weeds. If he saw something, out of the corner of his eye, his wheel swerved in that direction to run it over. Eventually, there was nothing left, and he found the only thing at the corner of his eyes were tears.
It was the first day he began to despise the dark.
He saw it coming. Felt her coming. He couldn't stop, couldn't hit the brakes, couldn't get out - the memories kept coming - he couldn't stop -
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Nio Love rolled 1 4-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-4)
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:11 pm
“What’s his name?”
“Robert!”
Robert stared at the calico kitten in his best friend’s hand, mewling away as it struggled to right itself from the position it was being held in. “You named your kitten after me?” He asked, looking more than a little unhappy about it. “Why’d you go and do that?”
“So I could always have you around, of course!”
Robert looked up at her, and grimaced. “You DO always have me around.” He countered.
“Well,” She hedged, as she brought the kitten to her chest and snuggled it fiercely. “When we move to Arizona, I won’t. So, I needed something to make up for it, you know?”
Robert Morris was thirteen years old the first time Roberta Walker broke his heart.
There was a stunned silence, followed by a hollow, cracked laugh, followed by even more silence. Roberta finally managed to look up at the boy for his reaction, and cringed. His entire face was red, and he looked like he’d been hit by a car.
“You’re LEAVING ME?”
“Oh come on, I don’t have a choice here. Don’t do that. Don’t look at me like I just told you I never want to see you again!”
“But you WON’T see me again!” At this point, Robert looked about as red as a tomato. His eyes were rimmed with color, threatening to let the waterworks fall. They widened in shock when her response was nothing but a laugh.
“I’ll come back and visit. Lots! This isn’t the end of the world, you know.”
But for him, it was.
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Nio Love rolled 1 4-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-4)
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:12 pm
“Why, ‘Berta. Why couldn’t you have loved me the way I loved you?”
She stilled in his arms. His eyes were too crazed from drinking her in to notice her reaction.
“Would it have been so bad, ‘Berta? Was I really so repulsive, that you just stopped-”
“You made her happy, Robert.”
His eyes cleared, and focused on the girl in his arms. She was crying. Why was she crying? What had he done?
“I would have made you happy.”
She laughed through her tears, a choked sound, and nodded. “Yeah.” She agreed flippantly. “It serves me right.”
His arms went slack, and she backed away. When she looked up at him, he looked as though she’d just slapped him in the face. He was absolutely dumbfounded. Robert was never quick to see the obvious, but just this once..
Just this once, it hit him like a ton of bricks.
“You love me.”
She looked horrified. He took it as confirmation, and before he knew what he was doing, three long strides had him collecting her forcefully in his arms, crushing her against him.
“Robert, stop-”
“You love me.”
“I won’t do this to-”
His lips crushed against hers, and met with no resistance. There was the tiniest of sighs, and her lips parted - oh God, they parted, and let him in. How could he have been so blind? She wanted this as much as he did. All this time, all this wasted-
Roberta pulled away, and slapped him with her tiny hand clear across his right cheek. It left a stinging red mark in the shape of her hand, and his own pressed against it, almost lovingly. He didn’t know whether to laugh, or to cry.
“I think you should leave.” A tiny, shaking voice told him.
He stood his ground.
She pointed at the door.
He snatched the hand out of the air and kissed it.
Her other hand slapped him across the left cheek.
He grabbed the wrist before she could pull away, and held her against him.
“You. Love. Me.”
“Get out, before I call the police.” She was trying so hard to sound strong. Angry. Uncaring. It was precious.
Still holding both of her hands, he leaned in, and she leaned away. There was only so far she could go, and even as she turned her head, his lips pressed against her cheek. They brushed down the jaw. They pressed against her lips once more, and he felt nothing.
Her eyes blazed with fire. It killed all of the fireflies in it‘s wake.
His hands released her, and she stumbled back. She looked from the phone, to him, as if threatening - and that brief moment of happiness he’d finally felt fluttered away.
He felt the shadows closing in on him. He watched them pass her by, coming for him this time. She did nothing to stop them. She didn’t reach out for his hand, they way she once did.
Roberta was leaving him in the dark one final time.
It was the last time Robert ever saw her beautiful face.
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Nio Love rolled 1 4-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-4)
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:13 pm
"A equals zero. B equals one. C equals 2."
When he came to, he realized he was just repeating that same information, the only information he could find, over and over again. He was drowning in memories; horrible, unforgivable memories of a life he didn't want. He begged into the air for the goddesses to take them away again. But the only person who came to him, and brought him sweet oblivion, was her.
She held his head in her hand, holding him in her lap, and pressed against his chest. He could feel the pressure building.
"Don't worry," She whispered, leaning in to kiss his lips. "It only hurts once."
The scissors cut. He felt the pain ripping through his chest, and closed his eyes. This time, she walked away with his heart, just as he had walked away with hers.
But in the end, they both bled out.
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Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 12:35 am
((Task 3))
The goddess was offering him a cookie. He would have taken it, except he was being asked if he loved her most. And the answer.. wasn't the one she wanted. But she felt too sweet, too innocent to tell the truth to. So he agreed to tea party with her, if only because the sound of experiencing love was more desirable than any other emotion.
So Trebor walked through her gates, and sat at her table. This goddess promised something he sorely wanted. He could not resist.
Immediately, he gravitated towards the pink jar. He drank it whole, swaying when it suddenly started to pull him down. He rested his chin on the table, and stared at the two confections. Cake or cookies. Why was it so easy to choose? Someone in the back of his mind whispered to him that she couldn't stop making cakes, lately. And he couldn't stop eating them.
So he ate this one, too.
He felt so light-headed. He even giggled. His mouth made noises, parched from the sweetness, and he reached for the first thing his big fingers could catch on. The colorful, heart covered tea. This would quench his thirst.
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Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 12:37 am
"Do you think we'll be able to hear them?" Robert's ear was pressed up against the glass of the window on the fourth floor of FAO Schwarz, trying desperately to hear the noise outside. Times Square was several blocks away, but that didn't make the view from the window any less beautiful. Both families had agreed that bringing children to that loud, crowded, scene filled with drunks, violence, and standing in the cold for hours was a bad idea. They had compromised, by bringing them to the toy store that boasted of a great view safe for kids. Only kids were allowed to sit on the windowsill, but Robert's parents couldn't care less. They had left Robert and Petra on the windowsill, with explicit instructions to stay put, as they left in search of Poe and Roberta; who'd taken off and running from the moment they'd entered the store. So he sat, his ear pressed up against the glass, and his hand in Petra's to keep her from wandering off or getting lost. He was in charge, they'd told him. Protect Petra at all costs, they'd told him. New York was very naughty, they'd told him. Someone would steal a pretty little thing like Petra away. They were sure of it. They had lived sheltered lives, but they weren't too far off. Still, they'd managed to instill the fear of God into the boy, and his hand clutched the little girl's beside him, going so far as to pulling her close every time she tried to wander away. "Whatcha think, Pet? Will we?" He whispered in that faintly southern accent, and then turned his face to the glass and opened his mouth, pressing his lips against it. He blew until it fogged up, and he drew little arrows in the fog. Little black arrows. They were easy to draw, he kept seeing them in the sky. "No." The quiet voice finally managed, and he turned his head to look at her. She was staring at their hands, intertwined so tightly, and there was a red flush on her cheeks. Robert straightened up sharp as a tack and pulled her closer, eyeing her with a wild, worried expression. "Oh no, are you sick? You ain't gonna hurl, is ya?" He reached up and felt her head; too hot. Her face turned darker red. She was totally gonna hurl. Gross. He picked her up with surprising ease, and dropped her off right in front of him on the windowsill. She let out a tiny noise when he'd lifted her, but he ignored it and snuggled her into the crook of his dirty overall covered legs. "Now siddown, and look outside. Putcher face on the window if y'gotta. It'll cool you down." His hand rubbed her back the way his momma always did when he was feeling sick, and she pressed her face against the glass, sighing softly. His eyes weren't on the window anymore. They were turned away, looking out into the store. He wanted his parents back now. He wanted Roberta to come see the New Years Ball. He wanted them to find her and Poe and get back here before Petra hurled all over him, and- "Hey, Robert?" "You feelin' better, Pet?" She turned around, and he pouted inasmuch as an 8 year old boy in a 12 year old's body could. The boy was large, and built; years of working the farm and drinking milk had seen to it. This was why, despite his youth, he was in charge of Petra right now. He took that charge very seriously - if anyone tried to bug them, they'd get a black eye from an eight year old. "You don't look no better." "The ball's dropping, Robert." "WHAT!?" He hadn't realized people were counting down in the store, but when he looked down the window, several blocks away, he saw the little white ball go down, down, down.. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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