“I don’t know,” said Ava, just relieved to see Ezzie.
“There were three girls by a fountain of blood. They could have been my sisters,” said Ezzie. “T-they understood my depression. They welcomed me.”
“Your sisters would do the same thing, if you explained yourself,” said Ava, even if there was no point in trying to make Ezzie believe this, which she found frustrating.
“I told them about the mortal world. I told them about the sun and all of the violence. They hadn’t wanted to go there. Would my sisters really be the same way if I explained it all to them? Would Rosalie, Amelia and Luna understand?” “Yes.”
“I drank blood.”
“That’s good!”
“I had too much of it.”
“I had cheese and crackers.”
“Ew,” said Ezzie.
“It was delicious!”
“That’s what the bad men eat.”
“Oh,” said Ava. “I was in a house, surrounded by this family and their friends. A little girl poked her finger on my notebook spiral. They all blamed me for it.”
“That’s not good,” said Ezzie.
“No.”
“What was in that room?” asked Ezzie, gazing into it.
“I don’t know. But let’s get as far away from it as possible,” said Ava, feeling far too close to it. She did not want to go in there again. And the two continued down the narrow, starlit corridor, away from that strange barren room and whatever had been in it.
#
They walked the seemingly never-ending corridors in silence, Ava thinking about what she had seen and felt in that strange room—the loneliness and blame, and the shame was overwhelming. She thought she should talk to Ezzie about it, maybe open up a bit since Ezzie had told her about her sisters and suicidal thoughts and anorexia, but she didn’t quite know how to go about it, and then they turned left down the narrow corridor and it opened up to a huge round courtyard where a round black tower rose, and Ava realized, with relief, that this was the tower spot on the map in her book. The windows of the tower were covered with grime, and above multitudes of stars brightened the sky and the courtyard in ghostly light. She wondered what the purpose of this tower had been. It rose above the walls of the building, touching the sky high above, and other narrow, arched doorways led to it around the courtyard. Wide stone benches surrounded it and dried out stone fountains, and for some reason the sight of that filled Ava with a dread she didn’t understand because it was just a black, grimy looking tower.
The two stopped in front of it.
“This is on the map,” said Ava.
“Yes,” said Ezzie. “I wonder what the purpose of this tower was.”
“Me too.” But nothing in this building seemed to make sense, like that strange room where Ezzie had said she’d drank blood and Ava had eaten cheese and crackers and felt loneliness and shame. “Maybe there’s a way inside it.”
They circled the tower and sure enough, there was a narrow archway that led inside.
“Should we go inside?” asked Ezzie.
“I don’t know,” said Ava, the dread overwhelming her. The inside just revealed dim darkness and the beginning of a steep staircase. After that strange room she didn’t trust this place, but she had to admit that she was a little curious.
“I don’t know either,” said Ezzie, frowning. Ava couldn’t help noticing how Ezzie’s skin looked less gray and there was a little bit of color to her cheeks. The blood had been good for her apparently. Though the logistics of that room made Ava’s tired head throb.
“Let’s go in,” she finally said. “Then we’ll keep on heading north. I hope this place has a backdoor somewhere.”
“Me too,” said Ezzie.
Inside the tower it was hot and stuffy and smelled moldy and dusty. They ascended the staircase, that twisted upwards and upwards, and on the walls Ava felt something soft and kind of mushy and ticklish, like hair, but she couldn’t make out exactly what it was, so she just avoided touching the walls. They passed grimy window after grimy window. The ascent seemed to last forever and Ava found herself getting out of breath and her legs ached. They ascended the steep, winding staircase for what seemed like an hour, until they finally reached the top and stepped out onto a landing, with a narrow, low wall. Beyond they could see for miles in all directions, above the building and dense fog. The mushy things were on the walls, and Ava grimaced when she saw that they were what looked like closed eyeballs.
She stayed away from the wall as far as she could and noticed Ezzie doing the same.
She breathed in the cool, fresh air. It had been so stuffy in that tower.
The strange building they walked through with that strange room seemed to extend for miles in all directions, top made of pale stone and sky lights. Fog was in all directions beyond it.
“Well, this was pointless,” said Ava, realizing she had been hoping there’d be something in this tower, anything, that would be an indication they were going in the right direction, that there was indeed an end to the fog lands and there was a shimmering archway.
The eyeballs on the walls all opened at once, pale and milky pupils, and blinked in unison, and Ava couldn’t help a small shriek. Gross! She backed up into Ezzie, who stumbled backwards down the steep staircase, and the two fell downwards, steps hard and smooth, steps that had been walked many times before, and Ava hit her elbows hard.
“Ouch!” she cried out and shrieked again when she saw the milky white eyes in the inky dimness, on the walls, around the grime covered windows, blinking in unison. “Oh gross!”
She wondered again what the point of this tower had been. A simple observatory? They descended rapidly, and Ava was relieved when they finally exited it and were safely in the courtyard of stone benches and dry fountains. She breathed deeply, heart pounding. She really needed to quit smoking, though Ezzie seemed to be breathing deeply too. Her elbows stung where she’d hit them. She was so happy to be away from those milky white, blinking eyeballs. That had been so weird.
She hoped that very soon they would come to an end to this oasis. Only one place left to go and they’d be at the very edge of the fog lands and hopefully that shimmering archway Elu had told them about.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said.
“Okay,” said Ezzie. She consulted the compass. “This way.”
And they left the courtyard and that strange eyeball observatory behind, going down a different, narrow corridor, again lit by the starlight from skylights high above.
Had she led Mark on?
Was it really her fault?
Was she to blame, like her mom had said, before calling her a worthless whore?
Ava just didn’t know, but it really made her need a cigarette, so as she followed Ezzie, past darkened rooms and other branching corridors, she took out her pack of cigarettes and her lighter, and was alarmed when she saw she only had six cigarettes—now five—left. She needed to get home and back to Elizabeth. Just thinking about Elizabeth made her face burn hot, and she was sure she was bright red, so she was happy for the dim, ghostly light and that she followed Ezzie. She lit a cigarette as they walked and inhaled deeply. Ah yes. That was better. She smoked as they walked.
She felt like they walked through a maze, entering more courtyards with dry fountains and stone benches, but no towers thankfully, following seemingly endless, narrow corridors, past vacant, seemingly forgotten rooms. She imagined the way it had once been, when immortals had walked it. It must have been very busy, and then the corridor ahead of them ended, branching out to the left and the right. The corridor to the left led downwards, and the corridor to the right led upwards and turned another sharp left. Which way to go.
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They stopped.
“Which way?” asked Ava, really hoping that Ezzie wouldn’t say they needed to go left because she didn’t like the thought of going downwards, and she wondered, vaguely, if this place had a basement. She threw her smoked cigarette to the cement ground and stomped on it.
Ezzie studied the compass. She frowned.
“Neither direction leads north,” she said.
“Great,” muttered Ava, wanting another cigarette. “Let’s go right then. I don’t want to go downwards.”
“Neither do I,” said Ezzie.
Ava hoped they hadn’t come to an end to the oasis and that there just wouldn’t be a back way out. The thought made frustration rise inside her, as she followed Ezzie’s bony frame down the corridor to the right. They needed to get out of here! At the sharp right the corridor opened up to a massive, dimly lit and red, auditorium, lit by ghostly light from the open ceiling above, revealing a multitude of stars. The seats in the auditorium were red velvet, and the stage was black and lost in shadow. The aisles were narrow and trimmed with gold, and disappointment filled Ava. This appeared to be a dead end. They’d have no choice but to go down the corridor to the left that led downwards.
“A dead end,” she said.
“Yeah,” said Ezzie, sounding as disappointed as she felt.
And then they heard laughter, the sound so unexpected that Ava started, and a girl and a boy stood in front of them, both grinning. They wore long, flowy white apparel and had pale blonde hair. They could have been fraternal twins, and Ava couldn’t even guess their ages, but she assumed they were immortal, like everyone else in this world, so they could have been ancient. Their dark eyes glinted in the starlight from high above.
“Hello,” said the boy.
“Who are you?” asked the girl. “We haven’t seen anyone else in, well, ages.”
The two then seemed to sniff the air. Both licked their lips.
“Why does she smell so—” the boy paused, “Good!”
The two stared directly at Ava, and Ava felt like a piece of meat. These two must be immortal blood drinkers, like Ezzie, and she remembered what had happened with Ezzie’s sisters when they had smelled her and shuddered and prepared to defend herself if these two decided to lunge at her. Luckily Ezzie stepped in front of her.
“She’s a mortal. Her name is Ava.”
“Aw, Ava! What a nice name. Don’t you think so, Aiden?” asked the girl.
“Yes I do, Harper,” Aiden replied, and the two grinned. There was something mischievous and sinister about these two, and Ava wondered why they had seemingly stayed behind.
“What’s your name?” the two asked Ezzie in unison.
“Ezzie.”
“Oh! Is that short for Esmeralda? Because that’s also a pretty name!” said Harper. “Don’t you think so, Aiden?”
“Yes I do!” said Aiden. “So where are you from, Esmeralda?”
“Call me Ezzie.”
“Esmeralda. We like that name though,” Harper pouted. “Right, Aiden?”
“Right,” responded Aiden.
“You’re awfully scrawny. Do you want some blood? We have our own private fountain on the stage! The last fountain here spewing blood!” said Harper.
“That’s okay,” said Ezzie.
“Aw, are you sure, Esmeralda? It’s awfully tasty,” said Harper. “Right, Aiden?”
“Right,” Aiden responded.
“Now back to you, Ava. We find you very interesting. They all left to go to the mortal world, where the rivers supposedly ran with sweet blood. Are you from there?” asked Aiden, his dark eyes glinting, and Harper smiled.
“Not exactly,” said Ava. “I mean, not literally.”
“Oh. She means not literally!” said Harper, laughing, and Aiden laughed too, the sound loud in the theater. “What do you mean by that?”
“And why do you smell so—” Harper paused. “Good!”
The two took a few steps towards them, and Ava and Ezzie backed up.
“I mean, there are no rivers of blood,” said Ava because there really wasn’t. At least, not in the way they thought.
Harper pouted. “Aw. That’s no fun. So they all left for no reason.”
“Why didn’t you leave?” asked Ezzie.
“Because we wanted to stay! Someone had to stay and hold down the fort!” said Aiden. “Right, Harper?”
“Right. And with no one else here we can do whatever we want,” announced Harper. “So, really, this is our place. You’re trespassing. How do we feel about that, Aiden?”
“I’m not sure,” said Aiden. “It’s not bad seeing new faces. Where are you from?”
“Across the lake, near the abandoned city.”
“Oh! They built a whole new city! Did they build the rollercoaster too, or was it already there? No one was really sure. We’re not sure. Right, Aiden?” said Harper.
“Right,” said Aiden.
“I-I don’t know. The rollercoaster was in the center of the abandoned city,” said Ezzie.
“And it led to the mortal world?” asked Aiden.
“Where the rivers flow with sweet blood?” asked Harper.
“Why didn’t you go there?” asked Aiden.
Ezzie didn’t say anything.
“Have you two heard of a shimmering archway at the end of the fog lands that leads to the mortal world? Do the fog lands come to an end?” Ava couldn’t help asking.
Aiden and Harper looked at each other and burst into laughter, and Ava couldn’t help feeling a little stupid, and she felt her face grow hot and she was sure she was red. She didn’t know why her question was so funny.
“Of course the fog lands come to an end,” said Harper, smiling, showing a lot of white teeth.
Aiden grinned. “Why wouldn’t they?” he asked. “But who cares about that. Have you two gone through a room of reflection yet?”
“What’s that?” asked Ezzie, but Ava thought the twins must be referring to that strange room they’d gone through, where Ava had eaten cheese and crackers and Ezzie had drank blood. She had reflected upon her blame after all, and whether or not she was to blame for what had happened with Mark, and whether her mom was right and she was just a whore, the shame overwhelmed her and made her feel dirty.
“Oh, they must not have gone through one then. They’d know if they had. What a sorry shame,” said Harper.
“No. I think we have,” said Ava.
“Oh good!” said Harper, clapping her hands. “You’re a mortal. What do mortals reflect upon? I so do wonder! Don’t you, Aiden?”
“Yes I do, Harper!”
“Nothing,” muttered Ava, again feeling a blush creeping up on her. Why did these two make her feel so stupid and embarrassed?
“Nothing!” declared Harper. “Now that I refuse to believe.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Ava, staring at her muddy boots.
“Well fine. If you’re going to be that way,” said Harper.
“Yeah. Fine,” said Aiden. “What about you, Esmeralda? What did you reflect upon?”
“Nothing,” said Ezzie, quietly.
“Nothing!” declared Harper. “Well you two are no fun at all. Now tell us, mortal girl, Ava, why do you smell so sweet. I just want to eat you up! Don’t you want to too, Aiden?”
“Yes I do, Harper,” said Aiden, and the two gazed at Ava, their dark eyes glinting, and Ava hated feeling like a piece of meat.
“Listen,” she said. “We just need a way out of here. Can you tell us a way out?”
“But you just got here!” said Harper.
“Yes. We really think you should stay,” said Aiden.
“We really can’t,” said Ezzie.
“No. We think you can! You have to entertain us! Sing a song! Go on stage!” said Harper gleefully.
Ava did not want to sing for these two. She just wanted to get away from them, before they lunged at her like Ezzie’s sisters had done.
“No,” said Ezzie. “We really have to go.”
“But she smells so good. She smells better than our fountain of blood,” said Aiden, pointing at Ava. “Right, Harper?”
“Right,” said Harper. “Can we just lick you?”
Ava did not want to be licked.
“No,” said Ezzie. “Really, we have to go.”
“Oh, but we just want one small lick,” said Aiden, and then the two did lunge at Ava. They pushed Ezzie aside like she was made of nothing but paper and pushed Ava to the hard ground. They were strong. They pushed up the sleeves of her sweater and their tongues were cold on her bare skin, and it was like Ezzie’s sisters all over again. They found the scratch on her arm from when she’d given Ezzie some of her blood and bit at it, trying to draw some blood out apparently, and Ava kicked upwards, connected with something soft, yet hard at the same time.
“Ouch!” screeched Harper, and the two backed up, sudden fear on their faces. “That… hurt!”
“What did you do to my sister?” demanded Aiden.
Ava stood up, shaky and heart pounding. She yanked down the sleeves of her sweater and prepared to defend herself again if she had to. She wasn’t a piece of meat. Her scratch stung.
“Come at me again and I’ll do it again,” she said.
“What was that?” asked Harper.
“Violence. It’s in the mortal world. It’s from my world,” said Ava, not being able to help sounding angry.
“Well, I don’t like it,” said Harper. “Do you like it, Aiden?”
“No,” said Aiden.
The two sounded scared, which Ava noticed with relief because it meant they most likely wouldn’t lunge at her again.
“Now how do we get out of here?” demanded Ava, willing her heartbeat to slow down. She sorta felt like she was about to have a panic attack.
“The sewers are the only back way out,” said Harper. “Right, Aiden?”
“Right,” said Aiden.
“Now go,” said Harper. “Go now!”
“Go now or we’ll chase you!” said Aiden.
The two laughed maniacally, and Ava couldn’t help running out of the auditorium, Ezzie close behind her, away from the twins maniacal laughter because she definitely did not want to get chased by Harper and Aiden.
“Run faster!” Harper called after them.
And then they were back in the ghostly lit corridor, away from that red theater.
“Oh, this is a fun game!” Aiden called behind them. “Let’s see if we can catch you!”
And Ava and Ezzie ran down the corridor and straight down the left-hand corridor they had avoided before, the one that led downwards. Hopefully downwards to the sewers the twins had said was the only way out.
“This has to lead to the sewers,” said Ava as they ran, her heart pounding.
“We see you!” called Aiden behind them, and the maniacal laughter of the twins echoed.
“Yes,” said Ezzie beside her, and they ran downwards and downwards, the light growing dimmer and dimmer, until the gray cement corridor they ran down was lit by dimly glowing, naked light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Ava really hoped this led to the sewers. She hoped they’d be able to outrun the twins because she didn’t want to have another encounter with them. Their laughter followed them and faint footsteps, and then Ava and Ezzie fell into an orange lit tunnel, and putrid water splashed up to Ava’s ankles, over her boots, and the smell made her feel like she was going to puke. She struggled to breathe. She really needed to quit smoking.
This must be the sewers the twins had spoken of.
“We see you!” said one of the twins behind them.
Ezzie stumbled beside her and almost fell into the putrid water, but Ava caught her before she fell. God Ezzie was light. They ran down the sewer, splashing up the putrid water.
“This is north,” said Ezzie, looking down at the compass as they ran.
“Oh. They’re heading north!” said one of the twins behind them, and their maniacal laughter filled the tunnel, seemed to come from all sides of them, and the tunnel grew narrower and narrower, and smaller and smaller, until Ezzie and Ava pretty much crawled through the nasty water, in near darkness, and then they were out of the tunnel and falling into wet, disgusting earth and fog surrounded them and the high walls of the oasis were behind them, and they were in the fog lands again and away from Harper and Aiden.
“Oh boohoo,” Ava thought she heard behind them, but they quickly got to their feet and ran, until the walls of the tower oasis were lost in the fog behind them.