Florence fell with the wind howling in her ear. Her hair whipped across her face. She held onto Stella in the void.

The world spun around Florence. Her stomach twisted. A buildup of bile rushed up her throat. Thud. She and Stella crashed onto a concrete floor. The rough surface poking on their backs.

Florence blinked, clearing her vision.

Thousands of red eyes plastered across the brick wall with a spiral staircase going upwards held together with bolts.

She jumped up into a sitting position.

A scream echoed above her.

Out of nowhere, Yuze and Aisling wrapped their arms around Sam, manifested out of thin air, dropping straight onto Florence’s lap.

“Hi,” Aisling said. “Long time no see.”

“It is really not that long.” Florence coughed with the bile leaking from the corner of her mouth. “Pardon me, but where are we exactly?”

Sam hissed as he drooled. “Beacon Island, pleb.”

An ear-piercing scratch reverberated on Florence’s left. She wheeled around, her muscles tensed, and her brain vibrated. But those sketched red eyes greeted her as she urged herself to curl into a ball—not that it mattered, with her ear canal still ringing.

Sam wiped his drool away. “Catnip. I can hear those sounds,” he said. “I need catnip.”

“Do you seriously think we have it?” Aisling pulled out her dagger. “Does it look like we can buy it?”

“Yeah,” Yuze said.

“Why can’t I have catnip?” Sam extended his claws, swinging them through the air.

Stella pushed herself to her feet. She blinked, rubbing her eyes. Her blouse and skirt rustled like nothing had happened.

The ear-piercing scratches died down.

Florence breathed in and out, calming her nerves down. “What was that?”

“Don’t ask me,” Aisling said. “Even though it kinda does sound familiar.”

“Odd,” Yuze said.

“I think… I mean, didn’t both of you go here before.” Stella fidgeted with her skirt. She glanced at Aisling and Yuze before quickly averting her eyes away from them.

“How did we end up here? And… those eyes on the wall,” Florence said. “I have seen them before.”

Aisling coughed, cupping her mouth. “I know. But I gotta admit that I kinda don’t wanna be what I think it is supposed to be.”

An eerie silence floated through this lighthouse as everyone remained still with the waves.

Florence swallowed the bile to her stomach. “Pardon me, could you perhaps tell me what your thoughts on this red might be?”

Aisling let go of Sam. She turned to the staircase, breezing towards it.

“Aisling, could you at least answer my question?” Florence asked.

Aisling halted, her hand inches away from the railing. “We should not talk about this here,” she said. “They’re kinda still listening.”

“Who are they?”

Without answering her, the stairs creaked with Aisling going up the spiral.

Florence spread her arms out. “Why are you not telling me? How is it that bad?”

Yuze smirked, poking Florence on the cheek.

Florence turned head, facing Yuze, who rested on Florence’s lap.

“Hey, all of you.” Aisling clenched the handrail, leaning against it. “Could you guys come up here with me?”

“Come,” Yuze said.

Florence rubbed Yuze’s injured left thigh, tracing her fingertips around the scab. “I will get there soon enough. It is just going to take some time.”

“No… I mean… Yes, I’ll come with you, Aisling,” Stella said. With a hurried step, she rushed towards Aisling and climbed up the stairs.

Florence scooped her arms under Yuze, lifting her up.

Yuze tilted her head. “Kiss?”

“Pardon?” Florence asked.

“Kiss as in should I kiss you,” Aisling said, now at the top. “Florence, that’s what Yuze kinda meant to say.”

Yuze laughed.

“Please, do not do it,” Florence said with a stern face. “I guess you can cash me if it makes you feel better.”

Yuze gaped at Florence.

“Cash? We don’t have that,” Aisling said. “I thought you would have figured it out yourself. It had been a long time since someone used it. Shouldn’t that be obvious?”

“That is not… Never mind, forget about it, please,” Florence said.

Yuze shrugged, covering her lips. “Why?”

Florence trudged, her feet tapping across the floor while carrying Yuze. A moment later, the steps creaked, and Florence climbed up the staircase. Each fiber in her body ached. Still, she followed Stella, who reached the top.

An eerie scratch echoed. This time, it reached a point where Florence’s eardrums could burst. She buckled down, leaning against the handrail.

From the corner of her vision, a red blur jolted past her and Yuze.

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Florence wheeled around.

Only those red eyes on the wall looked back at her.

She sighed, coughing. She continued upwards without a thought.

The red eyes blinked as a scratch on the wall echoed.

She froze, her foot inches away from the next step. Did… those eyes just move? Or was it her imagination? She turned her head, facing the wall, where thousands of eyes stared at her.

“Do you’ve catnip, pleb?” Sam said.

“How could you ask such a question now?” Florence swallowed her saliva down her throat. “How about you ask for those catnip later?”

“Shut it. I’m not asking any of you, pleb.”

“Wait… who?”

“You know, those red eyes on the wall.”

The pupils of those red eyes dilated, widening the lenses.

“Should we run?” Florence asked.

“Nah,” Yuze said.

An eerie silence rang. Florence swallowed her courage, forcing herself to go up the creaky stairs. Those red eyes glared at her, following her every move as she climbed. She tilted her head lower, hiding her eyes from those red eyes.

However, somehow, she reached the top without a single scratch inflicted on her.

This salty tingle filled her nostrils and lungs. A powerful gust blew on her, rustling her hair. From here, standing at the top of this lighthouse, a chill rested on her face. The sun peaked up the horizon, reflecting a warm orange on the ocean’s surface. The waves sloshed and slurped.

Aisling and Stella leaned on a ledge, facing the city with skyscrapers scraping the clouds above. Columns of smoke rose across District Nine, with the occasional explosion here and there. A fleet of ships with cargo docked and not leaving the harbor of District Nine.

Aisling scratched her chin. “I just can’t get my finger on something.”

“Pardon me, but what was that?” Florence asked. “Those… eyes.”

“Fingers? You have,” Yuze said. She pointed to Aisling’s fingers.

“Nope, I’m not talking about that,” Aisling said. “I can tell I still have it.”

“How can this… thing be in the lighthouse at all?” Florence panted. “Just how?”

Aisling reached for the handle of her dagger and pulled it out. The ray reflected on the sharp edge of the blade.

“Pardon me, could someone answer my question?” Florence asked. “You know, the one about the red eyes?”

Aisling sheathed her dagger. “Well, if I’m gonna be honest here, those things aren’t such a big problem.”

Yuze nodded with a smirk.

Aisling extended her index finger, pointing at District Nine. She grabbed Florence on the shoulder, pulling her closer.

“How are you certain about this?” Florence asked.

“You see what I see,” Aisling said. “Right over there.”

“Absolutely… but also not really.”

“So which one is it?”

“Both.”

Florence followed the direction where Aisling’s finger pointed at. However, just like before, columns of smoke rose up all across District Nine, submerging the red glow from the skyscrapers. Even the reflections on the steel and glass vanished under the thick fumes. The visible air waves danced above the water, reaching the top of the buildings. Then something caught her eyes… a trail of bubbles fizzing across the ocean surface from Beacon Island to District Nine.

“Look at it more closely,” Aisling said. “Did you notice what I see?”

“Pardon me if I remember this correctly. Wasn’t there supposed to be something about the Prince Underground Railway that connects here to District Nine?” Florence bit her lower lip. “I mean… there are certainly bubbles bubbling up to the surface. If that is the case… you know.”

“Yup, fair enough. But not exactly… never mind. It’s just like we’re living in someone’s nightmare.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know.”

“I get what you are saying. Sometimes being alive is itself a nightmare.”

Aisling dropped her jaw wide open, squinting at Florence.

“I am just saying,” Florence said.

“Don’t worry.” Aisling curled her first two fingers on both hands at eye level. “I’m not gonna quote you on that.”

“Rabbit ears,” Yuze said. “Dinner.”

Sam gawked. “I could feel it. Give me catnip.”

“You do realize we don’t have any,” Aisling said. “Isn’t that right, Stella?”

Stella nodded, burying her face into the packaging boxes.

“Exactly,” Aisling said.

“Why?” Sam swished his tail, drooling. He quickly turned his head towards Aisling’s face. “I need catnip. Did you forget who pays for your needs, pleb?”

“It is obviously us, the Players, that pay the bills, rent, debt, and all the necessities.”

“Sure. That’s if you can even pay for it at all.”

“I wonder why we could barely avoid it?”

“How dare you blame me, pleb? You should know your place.”

Florence coughed, clearing her throat. Her foot slammed against the floor with a thud. An eerie silence followed. Aisling and Sam closed their mouths shut, not moving an inch.

“Pardon me, could all of us cooperate with each other nicely?” Florence pointed at District Nine. “Would it be nice if we could get across there? And get the investigation done.”

“You kinda forgot about the delivery,” Aisling said.

“Pleb, the catnip,” Sam said. “My treasure of catnip might be over there as well.”

“Is it me, or does it seem like Sam has an addiction,” Florence said.

Aisling shook her head, clenching her fist close to her face. “Nope, he is not even close to addiction.”

“Yeah,” Yuze said. She patted Sam on the head. “Totally addicted.”

“Repeat it to my face, pleb.” Sam quickly turned his head, glaring at Yuze.

“Everyone, we need to stay focused,” Florence said. “So, could everyone here take a deep breath? In and out.”

“No,” Aisling and Sam said.

Aisling frowned, crossing her arms. She sighed, dipping her chin lower.

Stella rolled her eyes up, collapsing onto Aisling. The packaging boxes slipped out of Stella’s hold. One of which splashed into the sea below.

“Look at what you’ve done,” Aisling said.

“I think it might be you, Aisling,” Florence said. “I did not do anything. I swear.”

“We lost one of our deliveries. Do you even know how much it cost?”

“How is this even my fault?”

Aisling pushed her lips forward. She spun around, facing away from Florence.

“What are you doing?” Florence asked.

An eerie silence rang at the top of this lighthouse for a few seconds.

“Never mind. I get it now,” Florence said. She stepped on the ledge and leaned over it, the waves swooshing against the walls of the lighthouse below her.

“Florence, stop it right there,” Aisling said. “I know what you wanted to do.”

Yuze smirked. “Do it. Want to?” She rested her head on Florence’s shoulder.

“Don’t do it, pleb,” Sam said, pawing and pushing at Yuze’s forearm. “At least, let me go first.”

Without another word coming out the mouth of Florence, she took a leap of faith.

Sam screamed. His whiskers lashed from right to left as the wind blew.

Florence, Yuze, and Sam plunged into the depths in a splash. Florence opened her mouth with air bubbles escaping out of her lungs. The dissolved salt rested on her tongue, tingling through her nerves. With a quick glance, in the depths, a hollow red glow shines on the ocean floor. A muffled whistle rang in her ears. But, slowly, she floated back up, bursting out of the ocean.

She blinked with Yuze still hanging onto Florence’s back.

Sam hissed, shaking his fur. Water droplets flew everywhere, splashing onto every inch that they could. He slapped both Florence and Yuze on the back of their heads.

From the top of the lighthouse, Aisling waved one of her hands. She shouted inaudible nonsense.

“Pardon me, what did you say?” Florence asked.

Aisling pressed her palm on her head, pushing her hair up.

Skeleton-like fingers wrapped around Florence’s ankles. In one pull, she sank under the waves. She kicked and thrashed. With a quick glance, this man with peeling skin, who wore an olive helmet and tattered coat, clawed at Florence’s ankles.

The water muffled Florence’s scream.

She sank deeper.

The bubbles of air escaping from her mouth and nose.

This darkness grew.

Darker.

And… darker.