Nick was near the bathroom, far enough from his room that Walt wouldn’t hear him. He intended to talk with the three individuals no one else saw, though light bulbs distracted them. Grizzizzik kept knocking on the walls, curious about the craftsmanship.
The shower had been off for a while now, so Nick hadn’t thought about his sister until the bathroom door opened. Evelyn was in a bathrobe with her hair in a towel. She finished putting on whatever lotion was on her face, giving herself a final glance in the mirror when she noticed Nick and jumped.
“God, Nick, you can be so annoying.”
“Oh, yeah. Be careful of pesky siblings that understand nothing about personal boundaries.” Nick lathered the sarcasm on real thick.
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You got back from playing the campaign. I’m always—” Clarissa caught Evelyn’s eye. The druid cocked her head to the side, taking in Evelyn. “—curious about…” Evelyn trailed off, giving her character a hard look, focusing on the green hair and the pointed elf ears. “CCNC,” Evelyn finished like it was an afterthought.
The muscles in his shoulders relaxed. His sister seeing Clarissa meant he didn’t have a mental breakdown. Now there were problems in front of them he had no answers for.
“Why can the girl see us, but not the other one?” At Grizzizzik’s words, Evelyn’s eyes rested on him. She shrieked in disgust before slamming the door hard. Grizzizzik touched his nose. “Is she afraid of snakes?”
Nick studied the closed door. “Spiders, actually.”
The druid princess walked nearer to the door, hands behind her back. “If spiders aren’t the size of a horse, they’re not bad.”
Nick wasn’t sure how to respond, and thankfully, didn’t have to. Walt poked his head out the door of Nick’s room. “Evelyn? Is everything alright?”
A solid three seconds of silence settled over everyone before the bathroom door squeaked open and Evelyn cleared her throat. “Um, yes. Yes. Everything’s fine.” She gave Grizzizzik a fleeting glance, holding in a grimace before focusing on Walt. “Nick startled me. That’s all. He told me he was sleeping, and I… was startled… that he wasn’t. Sleeping.”
Walt grunted before disappearing back into Nick’s room. His little sister’s eyes were wide as she met his gaze. “What the hell is going on?”
“I’m trying to figure out the same thing. They just appeared in my room.”
Evelyn finally noticed Ezekiel and frowned before her eyes darted around. “So, um… Milo and Hraktar?”
“I don’t know. If my suspicions are correct, they’re with Derek.”
“Oh my God, Nick. These…” Evelyn took another step toward Clarissa. “These are our characters. They’re actually here! What is going on?”
“Asking me the same question over and over won’t help the answer fall into my lap.” Nick glanced at the door to make sure Walt couldn’t hear. “I need your phone to call Derek.”
Evelyn looked excited as she pulled out her phone from her bathrobe pocket and scrolled through her contacts. Clarissa and Ezekiel watched the phone with curious gazes as Grizzizzik’s eyes narrowed with distrust.
“Not here.” Nick stole the phone and moved into her room. Evelyn followed. The other three hesitated before stepping through.
Nick found Derek in her contact list and called him. It was past midnight, but he didn’t care, and he wasn’t patient enough for texting. Clarissa watched the phone, noticing the glitter case Evelyn had on it. Grizzizzik was distracted, if a little disgusted, by Evelyn’s room.
Where Nick’s room resembled a pitiful prison, hers bursted with stuff. Awards from gymnastics and cheerleading hung on the walls. Her laptop and other electronics lay cluttered on an enormous desk with an even bigger mirror. Stuffed in the crevices of the mirror were multiple pictures of all her friends. She had a flower bedspread and fake leaves and fairy lights hanging over her bed. It was a little much, and Evelyn adored it. She could have stayed upstairs, but when Walt forced Nick to move across the hall from Walt and Lydia, Evelyn came down with him. She said this room was bigger, anyway.
Ezekiel studied the fairy lights above her bed, awed. Nick was scared Derek had fallen asleep, but the ringing stopped and his friend’s voice appeared.“Evelyn?”
“No, it’s me. Nick.”
“Nick. Hey.”
“Hey.”
Silence stretched between them. “So… if you’re desperate enough to call me after midnight on your sister’s phone…”
Nick let out an uneasy breath. “You already sound like you know why I called…”
“This is insane. We… need to meet up.”
“How? I can’t leave unless—”
“Unless you’re playing CCNC,” Derek finished. “I’ll vouch for you. Wait, wait, stop, please.” At first, Nick was confused, until he realized Derek was talking to someone else. “Would you put that away? I’ll explain phones to you later. Thank you.” Nick raised an eyebrow. “Like I was saying, the campaign didn’t go well, and there’s two days left of summer. Tomorrow, we spend a few hours figuring out if we can send them back. Though… we should probably tell Tyler. And Alejandra, too.”
Truthfully, Nick needed nothing more but Derek’s promise to convince Walt to let him leave the house.
“What time should we meet?” Nick asked.
“As early as possible. We’ve got to figure this out.”
“Alright. Hopefully, by tomorrow night we can—”
On pure instinct alone, Nick shoved the phone into Evelyn’s unsuspecting hands as Walt’s footsteps thudded down the hall. Evelyn grabbed her phone before it tumbled to the ground.
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“Nick?” Walt called out.
He cleared his throat. “In here, dad.”
Evelyn placed the phone against her ear. “Yeah. Hi. It’s me.”
Walt appeared in the doorway. “Finished the room. You’re clear to go to bed.”
“Yeah, great. Hey dad?” Nick asked.
“What?”
It took a bit to strain the anger out of his heart. If this was going to work, he needed to keep a glare off his face. “So… the CCNC campaign didn’t go as planned. What with me not working tomorrow, and everyone else free, we’re thinking of having another one in the morning.” Nick gestured toward his little sister with his thumb. “Evelyn was devastated she couldn’t do the session. We want to check with Alejandra, too.” Nick tried hard to resist the feeling that he was a six-year-old asking for permission. “Can I go?”
Despite Nick’s explanation, Walt would need more, and not from him. His father glanced in Evelyn’s direction as she gave vague, single syllable answers to Derek. Clarissa leaned in to examine the phone. Ezekiel stared at it from a distance. Grizzizzik watched Walt, his eyes narrow.
Walt inclined his head toward Evelyn’s phone. “Is that Derek right now?”
“Um, yes,” Nick said.
He grumbled about youth and their inability to go to bed early, but extended his hand toward Evelyn.
“Here’s my dad.” Evelyn’s eyes were slightly wide as she handed the phone over.
“Derek?” Walt asked.
His friend leapt into a long, one-sided conversation with Walt about what would happen tomorrow, and Nick stood next to his sister to wait. What made it more awkward were the three other people in the room Walt couldn’t see. He tried not to bring attention to them, but it was hard not to react when Grizzizzik reached out to touch the phone. Clarissa slapped his hand away. The rogue glared, reaching for his rapier that wasn’t there. He hissed at her, and Clarissa stuck her nose in the air.
Much of their relationship reminded Nick of rival siblings, which made sense considering they were his and Evelyn’s characters. Watching it unfold in front of him was different, knowing they had no actual familial relationship. Clarissa might skewer him if he hinted they acted like siblings.
“Alright, well… yes. That sounds fine,” Walt said.
Derek didn’t lie often to Walt, but also didn’t mind doing it. Though since it was about CCNC, it wasn’t a lie. Walt said goodbye before handing Evelyn her phone. The less Nick talked, the more likely Walt would agree to another session.
“Evelyn will be with you the whole time. I’ll ask for updates randomly during the day. Both of you will return no later than three.”
“Fine.”
“If you don’t enjoy getting babysat by your little sister, make better choices in your life.”
It was insulting to be reduced to a choice he made at fourteen, but he got permission to attend another CCNC session, so he remained silent.
Eight more months until April.
Once Walt left Evelyn’s room, Nick stopped clenching his jaw. He tried to rub the ache away. “So…” Nick glanced at Grizzizzik and Ezekiel. “I guess these two will sleep in my room and Princess Clarissa will sleep in yours?”
Evelyn and Clarissa caught each other’s eye.
“What’s the stuff you put on your face?” Clarissa made the rubbing motion on her cheeks that Evelyn made when she came out of the shower.
“It’s one of my lotions. I’ve still got to put on a mask on.” Evelyn’s eyes brightened with excitement. “You want one?”
The elf princess blinked a few times. “What does it do?”
“Keeps my skin healthy.” Evelyn patted her cheeks for emphasis.
Clarissa’s eyebrows rose. “You have my interest.”
Nick rubbed his forehead. “And you’ve lost mine.” He dropped his hand and turned toward Grizzizzik and Ezekiel, hesitating before focusing on the rogue. “I know we’ve just met, but…” He let out a breath. “Try not to slit my throat in my sleep, please.”
Ezekiel patted Grizzizzik’s shoulder. “I assure you, he won’t.”
“I understand what you’re saying, Ezekiel, but if you’re the cleric I think you are, you’re also… gullible.”
Grizzizzik snorted. “He’s not wrong there.”
The cleric looked unphased by the insult. Which was also true to his character.
Adrenaline drained out of Nick and exhaustion trickled in. “Alright, let’s go to bed.”
He left Clarissa and Evelyn chatting, with Evelyn squirting a clear liquid on her fingers. Grizzizzik walked behind him, studying the pictures on the wall. The rogue, a figment of his imagination, was walking down the hall of his house.
The hunt to find blankets didn’t take long, but it made him nervous Walt would discover him and ask more questions. Nick soon returned to his room and spread them onto the floor before collapsing into his own bed.
If their campaign was full of humans, Nick would’ve guessed these people were trespassers. But Grizzizzik was next to him on the ground, curling up like a snake in his blanket before closing his slit eyes. Ezekiel’s soft but devoted voice rose as he said his evening prayer to the Great Lady of Light. Nick remembered the feel of scales on his wrist. It was like being touched by a snake, except the snake had fingers. There wasn’t a believable enough snake body suit in Elmwood to recreate that. His mind drifted to when Walt’s hand moved through Ezekiel’s chest.
The cleric finished his prayer and climbed into the blankets, wishing them both a good night. Grizzizzik said nothing. Nick mumbled something unintelligent. Exhaustion kept pulling at Nick’s eyes, but he kept staring at the ceiling, hoping to find answers there.
***
Nick always towered over Evelyn’s five feet four frame. She didn’t mind, because Nick had always been taller than her. With Clarissa, Evelyn became aware of her height as she pulled out some pajamas.
“Sorry, I have nothing that’ll fit,” Evelyn said.
“Don’t worry.” Clarissa studied the sleeping bag. “I will be fine with this for tonight.”
“Some of my maxi dresses should fit you.” A mischievous smile crossed her face. “We’ll have to go shopping tomorrow. That’d be fun!”
The same mischievousness did not reach Clarissa’s eyes. Instead, she sat on her sleeping bag with a frown on her face, pressing her legs to her chest as she glanced out the window. “Perhaps that’s what I need.”
The light disappeared from Evelyn’s face. The past hour was a whirlwind of emotion as she realized Clarissa was real. She always felt a sisterly bond with her imaginary character while playing. Evelyn sat down on her bed, looking at her druid. “I don’t know how you got here, but we’ll get you back. You must miss your brother a lot.”
A tiny laugh escaped Clarissa. “I do. I miss him. If you would’ve told me two years ago that I would miss Sylvar, I…” The mirth disappeared, and tears filled her eyes instead.
Having roleplayed Clarissa so much, it was odd to discern her thought process so well. Clarissa missed her brother, and the reality of her situation hit hard. No doubt the druid would wait until Evelyn was asleep before having a good cry.
“We’ll get you back, Princess.”
“Thank you.” She ran her fingers through her green hair, reaching up to her scalp where her tiara was missing. The frown deepened. “I thought I died in the explosion. This is so much stranger.”
Evelyn was rubbing her arm when she froze. “Explosion? What?”
“Yeah. We were trying to destroy Torraq’s lair, and—”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Evelyn held up a hand. “You were trying to do what?”
Clarissa explained everything leading up to their deaths. Evelyn stared, a sinking realization that Nick lied to her. The feeling was unpleasant and brought up an uncertainty she hated to remember. She shook her head as Clarissa finished. Nick was uncomfortably good at lying sometimes. She would have to talk to him tomorrow about it to quell the uncertainty.
“Oh, I nearly forgot.” Clarissa reached behind her, near the small of her back. There was nothing there, but the druid’s hand returned with a red velvet drawstring bag. “I don’t know why, but I feel compelled to give you this.”
Evelyn took the bag, curious. She opened the drawstrings and dumped the context into her open palm. Dice. Seven CCNC dice, to be more specific. They were the blackish blue color of space, and something glittered in the middle. The weight of them in her palm made her uneasy.
She dropped the dice back in the bag, closing the string. “Um, thanks. I’ll look at them more tomorrow.”
“I don’t know what they are. I hope they make sense to you.” Clarissa crawled into her sleeping bag.
Evelyn didn’t know how to answer. Instead, she flipped off the lights and climbed into bed, placing the red velvet bag on her nightstand. “Yeah, um… hopefully it will.” She settled in her bed and tried to get comfortable, her eyes on Clarissa as she tried to sort out this entire thing.
She blinked, and something appeared in a dim green color hanging over Clarissa’s head. Evelyn squinted, but it didn’t help. After a few more blinks, green numbers and letters became clear.
HP 10/10