Chapter 23: Hello, my name is

Samara flashed one of those politically amicable smiles at us, “I can read and influence the  emotions of others.”

Creepy. Creepy and very messed up. Or just useless. Getting a degree in psychology would practically be the same. 

She turned to me and tilted her head. “Though, for some reason, I can’t seem to get a grasp on you? I suppose that’s the work of your Blessing. Something about your mind, I assume?”

I shook my head. “I can conjure strings of magic.”

She blinked once, twice, a bunch of times. “That’s it?” 

I nodded. 

The revelation shook her. Her brows furrowed and her lips trembled. She looked at the others, trying to make sense of it, then turned back to me with her resolve renewed. “I think it’s an altogether despicable thing to lie when I just told you about my blessing truthfully.” 

I shrugged. “But I didn’t lie.”

Mirror girl snorted, “Whatever. Forget him. If he doesn’t want to share then so be it.” She tapped at the mirror hanging at her waist. 

“What about you?” Yusuf asked. 

“If he’s not telling, then neither am I,” she scoffed.

Samara took a firm grip on the ladder and stomped down on it. Her boots clacked against the metal. “Seems stable enough.”

She took the lead and climbed down first. Mirror girl stayed above and held the ladder, stabilizing it. Her gaze nervously shifted and scanned across the rooftops. Every time it passed me, she let it rest, gifting me a few moments of her venomous glare. 

“It’s clear,” Samara shouted from below. 

Mirror girl didn’t hesitate to climb down. I clicked my tongue. She already made it clear she didn’t like me. But she didn’t need to make it a problem when we were going to be travelling together. 

Yusuf glanced at me, worry in his eyes. “Why didn’t you just tell them the truth?” 

I groaned and rubbed my eyes. “I did.”

“Really?” 

“Yes. Really.” 

“What about the arm?” 

I followed his gaze. The arm looked a bit too menacing to just conjure threads. I couldn’t argue with that. But that’s what it did. 

I grinned. “It’s my sewing arm.”

Whether the girls believed me didn’t matter. Yusuf was someone I could see myself becoming real friends with though. I didn’t have many friends. Plus, he had good connects back home. 

I snagged a thread from the veil and made it corporeal. The pale blue thread shimmered into reality from nothing. I handed it to him. 

He gasped. Cradling the thread with both of his hands. His eyes shot back and forth, one second looking at the thread, another at me. “This is magic?” he whispered, his mouth open.

I raised an eyebrow. “Yes? In the way I make it. I think your smoke is cooler.”

He gulped. “You don’t understand Cal. My smoke is a byproduct. This is the source itself.”

So the threads are precious. Noted, I thought. When he put it like that it kind of sounded like I could grasp the very fabrics of reality. I stifled a chuckle, it was nothing as grand as that. 

I watched Yusuf reverently coddle the thread. It really was quite the experience. Just touching it was… odd. The electric feeling to it, as if energy is always rushing throughout. Like holding a water hose, a very tiny, not water spouting water hose.

“Hurry up!” Mirror girl’s voice echoed from below. Hushed, but direct. 

I unsummoned the thread and watched Yusuf’s face fall. “You got this on your own?” 

He glanced at the ladder and smiled. “Ain’t nothing to it but to do it.”

He liked to make light of things, that much became clear in the short while we’d known each other, but I wasn’t sure he’d make it if he fell. I looked him up and down. He was still pale as a ghost. 

He sighed. “Don’t look at me like that.”

I smoothed my face. “Like what?”

“Like I’m some frail object. I might be skinny, but I’m still blessed. Besides, I’m sure the girls will catch me if I slip.” 

Worst case, he could probably conjure some smoke to make a landing pillow. Or whatever the fire departments called one of those fluffy things they used to catch falling people. 

He stepped onto the ladder, his arms trembling. To my relief, worrying about him was for naught. He took each step with the care only one plagued by disease or injury knew how to. I let go of my breath when he reached the bottom with an enormous smile and a thumbs up.

I hurried down to join the others. No one held the ladder for me, nor did they need to. The ladder was robust and securely fastened.  

We spent the rest of the day trudging through the streets. The alleys that had been flooded with small groups of stumblers had emptied. They must have joined the horde. 

I knew from the start that it was too good to be true. The Slitherstitch keeping people safe? The fucking thing lived for maiming and torture. Obviously it wasn’t afraid of a few mindless zom- stumblers. I cursed myself and all the others for not being reasonable. The thing created the stumblers. Why would they turn against it?

The fucking thing had orchestrated everything from the start. It just didn’t want the hassle of dealing with the group on its own, so it gathered its army of half-wits to do it instead.

“What do you think she meant by that?” I mumbled. 

“What?” Yusuf asked. 

I dug my hands into my pockets, rolling a bullet between my fingers. “Elana. She said something about someone showin-” 

Mirror girl snorted. “She’s a fucking lunatic. Don’t take her words for it.” 

I squeezed the shell in the palm of my hand. “We can’t just disregard her as crazy. Besides, someone down here told me everyone’s a bit crazy.”

That warranted an interested look from Samara, and a worried one from Yusuf. He told me before not to spill the beans. But there wasn’t a group anymore. No officers. No semblance of ’society’.

I cleared my throat. “A few days back someone told me that the entire world had gone mad.” 

“Who?” Samara asked. 

“Does it matter?” 

“Who?” she asked again.

I clicked my tongue. “A prisoner in the coiled building,” I said and nodded toward the Chambers of Crushing. 

She raised an eyebrow. “What were you doing in there?” 

“Hanging around, mostly. I just woke up there one day.” 

Samara’s expression turned to one of disbelief. “You mean to tell me you spent days in that place? We haven’t even been able to get close to it. The Slitherstitch stopped us every time.” 

“Weird. Me and Samara just waltzed past him, literally. Though we did try to do it sneakily.”

Mirror girl sneered. “There is no sneaking past a monster like that. It can hear the blood pumping through your body.”  

I tilted my head. 

“What are you, dumb? You snuck past it because Elana was there. It let you take her back. It wanted her to come back!” she whipped her head at Samara. “I’m telling you, this whole thing is this fucking retards fault! Nothing good will come from staying with him.” 

Ouch. 

Samara shook her head. “He couldn’t have known. If what he says is true then he didn’t even know about the Slitherstitch.” 

I cleared my throat and agreed. “I didn’t.” 

Mirror girl threw a vicious stare at me. If looks could kill… 

Before she could retort, Samara threw herself against Mirror girl and pressed her hand to her lips. “Hush,” she whispered. 

If she didn’t just tell me about her blessing, I would have suspected it to be super hearing. 

It took seconds before the sound of cracking glass reached us. 

We weren’t alone.  

Samara let go of Mirror girl and gestured, one finger up, balled up fist, the other hand went for a walk around it. Mirror girl nodded and turned to us while pressing a finger to her lips. There was a silent threat to her gesture. 

The two went separate ways. Neither of them could avoid the glass shattering underfoot. 

Yusuf sat slumped against a wall and rested his head on his arms. His stomach growled. 

“Here,” I said and rummaged for a can of food in my satchel. 

He received it with both hands and a puppy-like smile. “You don’t need to.” 

“It’s alright. Think of it like payback.” 

He pursed his lips, eyes darting between me and the food.

I furrowed my brow, then understood. “Oh, fuck. Sorry. Let me help you open that.” 

He chuckled. “Thanks.”

The sounds of cushioned steps against glass faded away as Yusuf threw himself over the food. He ate with the ravenous hunger of a starving man. Only taking breaks to stop himself from coughing.

CRASH

I whirled around while clawing at the wand hanging at my back, just barely getting it off in time to aim it at nothing.

Mirror girl’s shout echoed through the narrow streets, “Get the fuck off me!” 

I threw a look to Yusuf; he hugged the can like it was his most prized possession. Even if he wasn’t busy eating, he was in no condition to come with. Might as well leave a friend to eat what may be his last meal. “Wait here!” I barked and dashed toward the commotion.

I summoned Silent Scream as the shards of glass crunched beneath me like wet snow. I rounded the corner and saw her. Before being seen, I jerked and slipped into the darkness of the alley. He held her in an iron grip, sharp blade pointed to her throat. His blonde hair was unkempt, but those shining teeth would set him apart in even the most dazzling of crowds. 

“What the fuck…” I muttered and walked out with my hands up, showing that I held a knife. “John?!” I shouted.

He pressed the saber against her throat, eyes wild with madness. A very human kind of madness. “Stay back!” he snarled like a savage beast.

“Woah. Calm down. Let her go.” 

His previously dazzling breastplate bore dried stains of red. Yet he didn’t have any wounds. The blood wasn’t his. I bent down low and placed the dagger on the ground. “Don’t do anything stupid, I said and took a step.

He jerked back and screamed, “Stay the fuck back.” His sabre drawing a trickle of blood from Mirror girl’s neck. 

She whimpered, “John. Come on, it’s me. We’ve known each other for ages.” 

His eyes were moist, hands shaking. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve known Elana since kindergarten, and she fucking killed them all.” 

I stepped closer, with my hands held in front of my body. “Who?” 

His eyes shot open. “Everyone! You dumb cunt! She killed everyone!” 

Mirror girl squirmed, her eyes darting around, looking for a way out. His grip around her grew tighter. Her face paled. “Stop moving or I’ll slit your fucking throat!” 

I took another step. “Look at her, John. Does she really look like the others? Does she look like Elana did when she killed your friends?” 

He gnashed his teeth. “What do you know? She just might.” 

“I’m not telling you to take my word for it. Just wait till Samara gets here. Talk this over with her. Don’t kill Mirror girl needlessly.” 

Mirror girl’s eyes grew wide. As did John’s. 

His eyes narrowed to a slit. “What did you just call her?”