Colors: Life After Death Halloween Short - The Unholy Land Part 3: The Five Keys

Continuing into Heaven’s Eye, we walk on through a sea of staring eyes that surround us. Knowing that a sudden attack could be anywhere has put us all on edge, as we all look around in anticipation and dread. Around us, we can see the Remnants all walking around, as if they were just normal people that are going about their own daily lives. Knowing that Rest can see and hear everything they can, we all stay silent and as stoic as possible, to avoid any needless confrontations. That is until Poppy suddenly stops in her tracks, letting me bump into her back.

“Poppy? Something wrong?” I ask her, walking to her side.

“Look over there. Am I going crazy or can you see it too?” Poppy asks, pointing her finger in front of her.

Claryssa and I both towards the distance and see that a big fight is taking place with more of those stupid Risen. In the centre, we can see two familiar faces. It’s Andy and Blanche, and although they are dealing with the attack nicely, they look completely worn out and beaten already. They are in their normal clothes, which look torn and bloodied over time.

“Andy! Blanche!” I shout, losing myself in the panic, as I run towards the fight.

“Liz, no!” Claryssa says, trying to grab for me, but I quickly dodge out of the way and continue running.

Once I reach the battlefield by the shopping district, I use the Tarot as my hands turn to fire, allowing me to punch flaming holes through their pumpkin heads, clearing them out as I work my way to the middle. Andy and Blanche look more confused and shocked than pleased to see me.

“Lizzie? I can’t believe it. We thought you were dead.” Andy says, looking like he’s about to burst in tears.

“You look like you could use some help. Let’s finish these off first, then we can talk.” I say to them, readying my guns for the action.

“Alright, but you have a lot of explaining to do, missy.” Blanche says, talking through short breaths.

Suddenly, Claryssa and Poppy fly into the middle with us, as they respectively prepare their dagger and bow.

“You are some stubborn piece of work, you know that, right?” Claryssa asks, looking at me with her stern expression.

“So I’ve been told before. Now that the gang’s all here, let’s do this.” I say, taking the first shot, as the bullet explodes down a row of them.

Before I really know it, there are pumpkin pieces all over the place, and everyone is doing their best, but just as things start to go really well, with one blink... there is nothing. Everyone is suddenly gone, both friends and enemies, leaving me on my own. What is going on? Suddenly, the place erupts with a sea of disconnected and disconcerting children’s laughter.

“You are a fun little plaything. You have done well to evade your fate so far, and even attempt to hide your identity from us, but the one question still remains. Will you die at the hands of the devil you know? Or by the little devils you don’t? Only time will tell before the Crown is ours either way.” I hear a voice whisper to me from somewhere, but no matter how much I look around, there isn’t anyone there.

“Who’s there? What is this? Answer me!” I shout, hoping that if it is Rest, he can just come out and talk already.

“Lizzie? What’s wrong?” I hear Poppy ask me from behind, feeling her light tap on my shoulder.

I quickly turn around as I see her standing just behind me. She reels back when she sees my gun, as she slowly pushes it down.

“Oh. I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.” I say to her, noticing that everyone else is still there and giving me strange looks, all covered in pumpkin and blood, so at least the battle was won... barely.

“You just conked out seconds after the battle started. I mean, you did rush in to rescue us, so you have our thanks, but still... still...” Andy says, getting his words wrapped around his tongue, likely not wanting to admit to something that I’m sure the others are thinking too.

“You left us there to take on that monster alone before, disappeared for a couple of years and then came back like nothing ever happened. I’m sure Poppy already brought you up to speed, but in short, in this world, The Colors have no place. No one needs protecting, because everyone is gone. We couldn’t even get to Arc in time for him to be completely sealed away. Even worse, we lost Roxy in the process.” Blanche says, sounding more and more angry with each passing sentence.

“About that. On the way up here... we lost Nuko.” Poppy says, sounding like she’s about to cry.

“What? No. No! You. You did something, didn’t you? Everything was fine until you decided to stick your oar in.” Blanche says, charging towards me, before Claryssa jumped in front of me and Andy held her back.

“Now now. You’re getting ahead of yourself. She had nothing to do with this. The world would be messed up even if we hadn’t been returned.” Claryssa says to her, and honestly, I struggle to believe that she would be the one to defend me.

“Blanche. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation. Let’s not jump to any conclusions here.” Andy says, doing his best to hold Blanche down, as she struggles to get away.

“It was the Risen that did it. They took advantage of our vulnerable moment, but he protected us all. If you want to blame me for this, go ahead. I might not know where exactly I had been all this time, but I could never forgive myself for letting you guys suffer like this.” I say, as the sinking feeling sets in that I really had been gone for 2 years, which makes my heart break like a glass ornament versus a baseball bat.

Blanche doesn’t reply. She just starts to slow down, bursting into tears, not just of sadness, but pure pain. I can feel myself starting to let my emotions get the better of me, letting tears escape my eyes. Feeling overcome with emotion, Blanche comes running over to me, wrapping her arms tightly around me, as we just let our tears out together, feeling my heart start to hurt for the first time in years. It isn’t long until Poppy comes in and joins us.

“These people are the Crownbearer of Life’s champions?” I hear Claryssa ask Andy just across from us.

“They may be human, sometimes to a fault, but when they get going, they are the best champions you’ll ever see.” Andy says, letting us have our moment.

After we each start to feel a little better, we continue on through the city, as we think of ideas on what to do going forward. We stop at an outside table at an abandoned cafe to plan our next step. Even though we are outside in Autumn, the weather actually feels... well, I can’t even feel the weather. It’s not exactly a hot day, but it’s not as cold as it should be either.

“Alright. So, as far as we know, there are 5 keys to find, 5 of those buildings, and of course, 5 of us. So, what I’m suggesting is that we should all split up and take on each building at the same time. I trust that all of us can make it through okay, but still don’t underestimate this place, there could be tricks and traps waiting for us around any corner. Trust nothing.” Andy says, looking over the city, sighing under his breath to see it in this chaotic and disturbing state.

“If that’s the plan, who gets which building?” Poppy asks, resting her head on her hands, looking up at the rest of us.

“I’ll take the one at the old government headquarters.” Andy says, pointing to the north of the city.

“Then I’ll take the entertainment section by the southern west.” Blanche says, sounding determined once again.

“I’ll have the old shopping mall.” Poppy says, pointing to the northern part of the city, being able to see the mall from here.

“Okay, that leaves the park and the housing district. Lizzie, other girl, that’s up to you two.” Andy says, looking at the both of us.

“I’ll take the park. Lizzie, you’re at the housing district.” Claryssa says, talking as if she has any clue about what this place is like.

“Fine by me, like I have a choice in the matter.” I say, kicking myself a little for not speaking up, but then again, it doesn’t really matter where I go.

“Excellent. Well, with that sorted, let’s not waste time. We’ll meet here after we’re done. If there are no more questions, let us be off.” Andy says, wiping his sword for a battle.

“See you soon guys.” Poppy says, trying to be cheery with the biggest smile on her face, but I can tell she is not completely over what has happened... I can definitely understand that.

After that, everyone goes their own separate ways. I get up from my seat, and feel something touch my shoulder. I turn around and see Claryssa sighing to herself, looking at me.

“Listen. Just don’t die on me, no matter what. Okay?” Claryssa asks, sounding actually serious in her expression... is she genuinely concerned for me?

I’m not going to lie. That sentiment does put a small smile on my face, which in this dismal world we found ourselves in, means a lot to me.

“Don’t get this twisted though, I- Oh never mind, enjoy your little moment. Just be careful out there.” Claryssa says, before she walks away, leaving me alone at that seat.

As I get up from the seat, I just can’t stop myself from smiling. I can’t say I feel anything for her in that special way, but to think that I might be warming up a heart once frozen, that’s an accomplishment I can be proud of. I walk down the streets and head straight to the housing district as fast as I can.

As I walk down the familiar row, an air of nostalgia starts to hit me like a freight train to the gut. It doesn’t feel like years have gone by since I last walked down this way to what was once my new home. Remembering those days makes me feel a little warm... fitting, since it was the warmest I’ve ever felt in my life, and the one memory that didn’t leave me with some kind of scar to hide from the world. With those thoughts, more questions start to enter my mind. Did years really go by since I was last in the city? Did they really think I was dead all this time? What exactly happened to make the world this messed up? All questions I feel that I would never see an answer to, so the sooner I bury it in my mind, the smaller chance there is of my brain exploding in my skull. Despite the changes to the sky and ambience, the roads seem practically the same as I remember. Some of the streetlights are flickering or just plain don’t work, and there seems to be a trail of bloody footprints that travel up the middle of the road, but other than that, it looks fine.

As I continue walking, I finally see the new building in the horizon, getting closer with each step. The place looks a lot newer than the houses, and is shaped like a dilapidated cottage, like something you’d see in some kind of antique tv show or an art piece. Most of the tiles on the roof has come down, the door is almost off the hinges, and some of the windows have visible cracks in them. I walk over to it, and once again, I feel some eyes staring down at me from behind. I turn around and see that there are a group of 5 Remnants standing around, all of them looking in my direction. I fire a warning shot between where they are standing, as they all scramble, screaming in a way I can only describe as unholy.

With no more distractions, I turn to the door and slowly, I turn the handle. As the door slowly opens with a creak, things look pitch black inside, which means-

Bang!

Suddenly, the door comes off the hinges and falls on the floor, making the loudest bang and makes the dust dance in the air, making me sneeze. Taking a second to restart my heart and catch my breath, I just stare into the darkness, hoping that my eyes can adjust, but it’s just too dark in there. I open my phone for the torch function, but of course, the whole thing is dead. It wouldn’t even show the low battery symbol either, it’s just dead. With no other option, I take a moment to gather all of my bravery and walk inside. I really can’t see anything in this room, and it’s so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. I tense myself up and keep one hand firmly on my gun.

Suddenly, I feel something touch my left shoulder, which I respond calm and collectively to... and by that, I mean that I scream, take my gun out of my holster and start firing at will. Setting a small fire on the floor, I can see a tiny spider fall from my shoulder and onto the floor. Using this mistake as an opportunity, I power up my Tarot once again and create a bigger fire on the ground, allowing me to see a little more of the room. The place definitely looks the part of the creepy old house. Everything looks so cute, yet slightly off enough to make it all look unpleasant. The nice antique sofa looks like it has more mold and fungus than actual materials now. The pictures on the wall seem to show a happy family, but all of their mouths have been scratched off in white ink. In the corner of the room, I can see a group of old dolls sitting around a small black play table, each with their own plastic teacups and having their little conversation. Looking at the nice fireplace in the middle of the room... yes! I found the key! Looking at it, it is an impressive-looking key, with a little heart engraved on it.

I walk over to the fireplace, and reach for the key, just barely tall enough to remove it from the hook.

“Lizzie.”

Hearing my name being echoed from somewhere in the room, it startles me enough to drop the key on the floor. I look around the place and see that no one is there. Maybe I’m just hearing things now. Either way, I bend over to grab the key, but when I pick my head back up, I come face to face with one of those Remnants. I let out a small yell and prepare my gun one more time.

“Wait, Lizzie. Please don’t. It’s me. It’s Roxy.” The Remnant says, telling me their lies in a voice that obviously isn’t Roxy’s.

“Nice try, kid. You can’t fool me that easily. I got what I needed, and now, I’ll be on my way.” I say, choosing to pocket my gun and just walk away from it.

“Please. I know that suit from anywhere. We are The Colors. We saw each other almost every day.” The Remnant says, trying to convince me that it’s telling the truth, but I’m still not convinced yet.

“You’re going to have to do better than that.” I say to it, turning back around and giving it one more chance.

“You confessed your infatuation with Poppy during our first mission together. Nuko and I are childhood friends. I was the team’s strategist and basically your den mother. You were talking about getting a second charm for your beret to celebrate each milestone.” The Remnant- no... Roxy says, saying things that either only Roxy or a super stalker would know off by heart.

I can’t believe it. Is this really Roxy in front of me? I thought I would never see her again. Even if she no longer looks like the Roxanna Hendrikkson I remember, I’m sure her heart and mind are still the same.

“Alright, you have convinced me. I am truly glad to see you again, Roxy. Really, I can’t begin to tell you how happy that makes me.” I say to her, walking closer to her.

“Listen to me. I don’t have much time left here. It’s only a matter of time before I’m silenced like the others were. Nothing here is as it seems. You’re being led on a path which would leave to your death. I’m warning you. Whatever you do, don’t trust-“ Roxy says, talking in a fast and panicked voice.

Suddenly, a flash of light envelopes the room and suddenly, Roxy is gone. Not only that, but the main door is back on the hinges and has been bolted shut.

“Roxy? Roxy, where are you? Please. Don’t- don’t leave us again.” I say, looking around the room for her in a blind panic.

Suddenly, I start to hear childish laughter coming from the corner of the room. I slowly turn around, knowing that I won’t like what I see. Just as my worst nightmares would have me believe, the dolls are now all stood up, with their heads looking over at me. They are even more messed up when I look at theme from the front, as some of them are missing an eye and one of them is missing both and an arm. As if from out of nowhere, they all lunge for me from their seats. I shoot at them, trying my best not to cry with a rainbow of different emotions I’m feeling right now.

If anything, I use these dolls as a form of stress relief. I throw one across the room, breaking one of the windows as it falls through. I use the other ones to break the front window and then rip their heads off. Although, that proved to be a mistake as something that looks a lot like human remains start to pour out with it. I throw them on the floor, then watching in horror as they start to push the stringy guts back inside of their plastic bodies. I use this opportunity to knock out the remaining glass from the window, jump out and fire off one last fire shot, setting the wooden frame of the window on fire. Not wanting to waste another second here, I start running away from the house, the first key in my pocket. I run back towards the old cafe, hoping that the others have had as much luck getting the keys as I did.

I’m so dead. I tried my best to stop it from going this far, and keep Lizzie from discovering the truth of this world, but no, she is a lot more stubborn than I could have ever thought. I suppose she is like her sister for that. Now, not only did I have to leave her on her own, but I’m expected to bring back the very thing that will definitely end our lives. Walking towards the park in the direction I was pointed to, I eventually come to a wide open space with a small abandoned bike shop in the distance and a lot of dead trees around the outskirts. I must say, I never expected to see trees grow atop a floating ship in the first place, but weirder things have happened. There are a lot of tall buildings scattered around the area, though in the far corner, I can see something truly strange.

Just by the trees, there is a huge hole in the ground, which judging by the dirt pile around it, it has been recently burrowed, or it has been left neglected for some time. It’s definitely an oddity, but is that really where I can find the key? Despite feeling a sense of unease starting to sink in, I walk over and look inside. I can only see darkness, as the hole doesn’t appear to have a bottom in sight. I know I can use my wings to save myself from the fall, but I have the suspicion that whatever is waiting down there will make me yearn for the fall. Oh well. I’ll just go back to the cafe, wait for her to return, and tell her that it wasn’t here. I turn to walk away, but I suddenly feel something cold wrap around my waist. I look down and see a giant shadow-like hand, grabbing me light enough that I don’t feel squeezed, and yet tight enough that I can’t break free despite my struggles.

I feel myself lifting off the ground, before I notice I am being slowly taken in the direction of the hole. Naturally, I start to panic a little, attempting with all my might to break its grip on me.

“Urrrgh! Let me go, you stupid thing. This is not what I signed up for, so put me down.” I say to the hand, hoping that it has feelings that I can hurt... it doesn’t.

As it pulls me quickly down into the dark depths, I start to scream as I feel my stomach start to turn. After a couple of seconds, I notice that it feels like I’m now going the opposite way, and yet, I’m still going down. Looking around, I start to see strange marks and scribbles that were written on the walls, but they are all upside down. As I start to think I could be here for a while, and resign myself to the fact, the hand comes to a screeching halt, just making me feel even more sick. Somehow we came out from the bottom of another hole, as if we actually went upwards at some point. Looking forward, I can see a place with glowing mushrooms on the ceiling, with a giant closed door in the horizon, which also hangs upside down. The hand finally lets go of me, as I notice a group of people in bunny masks, all sitting with their legs crossed in a circle on the floor. As I walk closer to them, I notice that they are all throwing and ripping books apart, as the pages start to scatter across the hard floor. With my hand firmly on the dagger in my pocket, I prepare for the worst.

As I walk towards the group, it doesn’t take long until they notice me, looking at me with their creepy rabbit smiles.

“Look, my happy people. A visitor fell upon the hutch. Another recruit to join our merry team.” The rabbit with an A on its forehead says, looking at the others in the circle.

“Another girl too. Hooray, I’ve been the only one here for way too long.” The rabbit with a B on its forehead says, clapping its hands quickly in glee.

“More friends equal more happiness.” The rabbit with a C on its forehead says, starting to stand up, and is a lot taller than I imagined.

“Sorry, I didn’t come here to play with you people. I just-“ I try to explain, before being cut off by one of the rabbits.

“Ohhh. If you are not, then that can only mean you seek our most entrusted key.” Rabbit C says, pulling a strange key from the inside of his mask.

“Oh no. That key leads to the spooky things, never to be seen by people eyes.” Rabbit B says, shivering to itself.

“Well, yeah. I mean, no. That’s not it, I-“ I try to explain myself again, before I am once again interrupted.

“Well, today is your lucky day, our newest playmate. As you see, we are feeling charitable. A quiz is in order. A riddle if you will. To your victory, a shiny key. To your defeat, a lifetime with us, protecting the door forevermore.” Rabbit A says, standing up with Rabbit C.

“Then I guess I have no choice. Also, what is with that door anyway?” I ask, as I’ve been wondering about it since I came in.

“A special kind of ghost, a false king who was punished by the lord and lady. The traitor carried with him a broken promise, with heart and will destroyed past the point of repair. The one link between he and his will to exist faded to nothing and to this day, the reminder still stands as a door to what once was.” Rabbit A says, speaking in a tongue that sounds foreign to me, and yet, I kind of get the gist of what it is saying.

“So... the room beyond is empty?” I ask, trying to simplify his meanings as much as I can.

“No. But enough of that. It’s time for the riddle. Pay close attention to my words now. What has 13 hearts, but possesses no other organs?” Rabbit C asks me, as the three of them look at me in anticipation for my answer.

I give the question some honest thought, mostly out of not wanting to be their forever playmate. Let’s see... riddles like this normally follow some kind of outside thinking, about seeing through the words and phrasing in something beyond the literal sense. As I run my mind across things that metaphorically possess many hearts, my burning brain and my gut instinct both agree on a sufficient answer. Let’s give it a try.

“Is it a deck of cards?” I respond with my final answer, cashing all in on this as it’s the only answer I have that actually makes sense.

The three huddle together, whispering to each other for a little while before they finally turn back to me.

“Ding ding. You guessed right.” Rabbit B says with a little less energy, as she is likely disappointed that I won’t be staying for longer than needed.

“Fine. We did not expect this outcome, but rules are rules. Here. Take it and meet the lord, but you’d be best to mind your manners around him.” Rabbit C says, forcing the key into my hand.

“It’s time to say goodbye. But always remember, he sees all, and his vision will be done by tomorrow’s sun, so watch the clocks.” Rabbit A says, waving me goodbye, followed by the others as the hand suddenly sneaks up from behind me.

Before I know it, I get pulled back down the hole, going through the sickly rollercoaster ride, and somehow ending up back at the hole I started at. The hand waves me off as it disappears back into the hole. Still very confused about that whole ordeal, I walk back to the cafe, unable to even return empty-handed. Is it too late to change the path we’re travelling down?

It’s been about 10 minutes since I returned to the meeting table at the cafe, and I’m still the first and only one who has made it back. I hope everyone else makes it back alright. As my throat starts to feel a little dry, I really wish that the world wasn’t such a chaos-riddled mess so I can actually order a drink. Before I can really let that thought fully sink in, I can finally see Claryssa walking back towards me.

“Ahh finally. So, how did it go?” I ask her, as she breathes a heavy sigh and collapses in the seat next to me.

“Here. If you insist on going after the guy, then don’t let me stop you.” Claryssa says, taking out the new key from... the same place the other key was once in, throwing it in my direction as I only barely catch it.

“Alright. That’s 2 keys done, and 3 more on the way.” I say, leaning back in my chair, feeling confident about our chances.

“And what makes you think they’ll come back unscathed?” Claryssa asks me, looking over to me.

“Because I’ve seen them in a scrap, together and apart. Doesn’t matter if the threat is a big as a common rat or an actual skyscraper, they’ll get through. I just know it.” I say, believing in my heart that I am speaking the truth.

“You seem to trust these guys a lot. I can’t say I understand it, but I must admit, it sounds nice.” Claryssa says, leaning back in her chair like I am.

“Before I came here, I felt that trust would only lead to pain and heartbreak in the future, and that people only wanted you when you were useful and threw you away when you weren’t. Life for me wasn’t exactly a basket of roses, and it might have left my body and mind beyond repair, and I must admit, I didn’t trust or even like these guys at the beginning. But even though we were stuck together by things out of our control, I was still treated like a friend, and one even offered me a home. It was a steady climb, but now, for the first time in my life, I finally feel like I’m with people who understand me, or at the very least respect me.” I say to her, talking as much to myself as I am to her.

“Hmph, you’re lucky. I guess you can say I’m in the same boat. Just a woman with dead ambitions, fated only to be the maid for some uptight family of aristocrats. The family were always told to not give me any time of day, but the father, he was the worst of all. He would go behind his wife’s back and use his power to have his way with me, in any way he wanted. Called me his little forbidden fruit, which still makes me gag just to think about. You just feel powerless when you have a voice but can’t scream. He used to threaten me that if I told anyone about it, he could easily ruin me and my family back home. After a full year went by, my dreams would crumble in front of me, little by little as I realised that escape was not really an option at that point. That was until I ran into a nice man on a shopping run, part of some underground society, and after some digging, I discovered that he was a vampire. He took me under his wing and once I was ready, he turned me. I used to hate my human body, and everything it stood for, but once I shed the frail skin, I felt brand new. Feeling I could finally leave everything behind, I spilled the beans about the father. Not only to the family, but everyone. He tried to bring my family into it, even threatened their lives, and in my panic... I may have stabbed him with a knife from the kitchen. I could have left it there, but something within me felt something new that day. After the initial shock, I actually enjoyed the feeling, I felt so free. I don’t endorse this as the way to fix any of your problems, and the 53 times I stabbed him afterwards, in retrospect, might have been a little excessive, but at the time, I knew this was a new beginning. I left just in time for the mother to confront him, and I heard her screams of grief as I spread my wings and left.” Claryssa says, finally opening up to me, and wow, that was truly a shocking tale.

“Claryssa. I had no idea.” I say, not sure on how I should go about responding to something like that.

“I think the word spread fast, because that’s when your sister entered the picture. She heard of what I did, and I told her it made me happy. She said she could give me a place to lay low and all the money I could ever need for some simple jobs. It would have been foolish to decline such an offer, so I took it. The job was to simply take out anyone who threatens her, and more often than not, it was easy work... cut to a few years later, and the targets started getting more and more powerful, even for my vampiric powers, I feared that there would come a time when these people would be unbeatable. That’s when you and your friends came in and that girl, she not only took me down, but effortlessly. It was at that moment when I realised that while the competition was getting stronger over time, and Mandy was still at the top of her game, I felt more and more redundant. I started to feel useless again. That’s when Mandy came to me and we spoke, not as master and assistant, but as people. We decided that it would be best to go different ways. She wouldn’t need a bodyguard anymore, now that she has become accustomed to her powers, and I have enough money to fuel my dream to one day see the world. It was a happy ending for the both of us.” Claryssa says as a big grin starts to shine on her face.

“Well, here’s hoping that you can accomplish your dream, even if the world is a little more messed up than usual.” I say, looking up to the sky and remembering that everything is still not as it once was.

“Thank you. I hope that you can accomplish what you want in life too.” Claryssa says, suddenly going a little coy about the conversation.

“Thank you too. You know, I don’t think you’re a bad person. If I had the courage and the change, things would have probably been the same for me. Anyway, after the others return, we can do what we came here to do and then, we can start to plan our next step in life.” I say, feeling a little sad about everything that we have lost, but hopeful that this isn’t the end.

After an hour of waiting and talking, there is still no sign of the others. Where the hell did they go? I hope that nothing bad happened to them. The longer we wait, the more uncertain I feel that everything is fine.

“You know what? They’re not coming. We should go after them and find out what’s taking them.” I say, finally getting worried and tired enough to act on the thought I’ve been having since half an hour ago.

“Wait, you want to go in after them?” Claryssa asks, sounding shocked and scared as I start to stand up.

I start to run back into the city, as Claryssa runs after to catch me up. First, we head towards the entertainment section of town, hoping to find Blanche somewhere here. While everything looks so strange without the flashing lights and the people coming and going from this place, it still looks relatively untouched, which should make it easy to find the key’s hiding place. After looking around for a little while across yet another familiar road, and passing by more of those strange Remnants, we come to an unfamiliar area down the back alley behind some of the bars. There is a tunnel in the wall with a sign just above it, and it seems to be the only one in town that still lights up. The sign reads The Resting Place in big block letters, with an arrow pointing down. Claryssa and I look at each other one last time for confirmation, before silently and curiously walking inside. As we walk closer, we can hear faint music getting louder and louder. The tunnel around us looks just look like dirt, though on a second closer look, it appears to be just painted walls, which sets my mind at ease just a little.

We open the black door just at the end of the tunnel, and come to a little lounge bar, looking like something straight from a rockabilly bikers’ club from the 50’s. Though my knowledge of that time is vague at best, I recognise the general aesthetic and some of the movie posters that hang on the walls, amongst other pieces of merchandise that Roxy would definitely loved to have seen. Looking at the people, everyone seems to be talking amongst themselves and having an innocent time at face value, even if they all have their hoods up, hiding their faces. In the corner of the room next to the door, we can see a little old-fashioned jukebox, playing some rock and roll tunes. In the middle of the room, there is a bar area, where the stools are empty. The bartender is there working, but he has his back turned to us.

“Hey Liz. I have some weird thoughts in my brain about this place, and each of them are telling me to get the hell out of here.” Claryssa says, still standing by the door, looking frantically around the room.

“It might be a bit strange here, but the key is here, and Blanche has got to be too.” I say, knowing that that reason is all I need to brave this place, as I walk over to the bar.

I sit on the stool, and turn to the front, leaning slightly to see his face, but I can’t see it from here.

“Can I help you, young madam?” The bartender asks me, without even turning around, which is a little rude.

“Hi. Yes please. We need to know if anyone turned in a special key, and if a woman with long blonde hair and a white dancer dress came in at any point.” I say, hoping that a straight request will lead to a straight answer.

Suddenly, everyone in the room turns towards me, as everything falls silent. I can’t help but feel a little uncomfortable.

“There hasn’t been a woman of that description in recently, but that key, it’s best not to go around shouting that out around here. It’s the key to a room taken from one of the worst nightmares you’ll ever have. We keep it in a glass cabinet as merchandise, but I’m afraid it’s not for sale.” The bartender says, pointing towards the back of the room.

I walk over, passing the hooded people, who are all still staring and watching me walk over to it. As he said, there’s the key, stored safely in a glass cabinet.

“Hey. So, you’re sure that woman hasn’t come in here?” I ask the bartender from the other side of the room, shouting over to him, as I take my right arm out of my jacket sleeve and wrap the sleeve around my hand.

“I’m afraid not. If you’re planning on asking these questions and causing a scene, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” The bartender says, not even turning around, even now.

“Funny that, I was planning on leaving anyway. I just came to pick up an order.” I say, as I take a deep breath and punch the cabinet with all my might, smashing the glass and grabbing the key inside it.

I start running for the door, but the bartender is somehow already next to me, grabbing my neck and lifting my body slowly off the floor, even though his body is still facing away from me. His arms click as I lift higher, as he stretches them to an unnatural angle. Claryssa can see behind him, and looks mortified, as if she is trying to hold in her panic. It isn’t long until the others walk towards me, all taking off their hoods together. Underneath, they have no faces. They’re just mounds of skin with no human features. No eyes, mouth, nose, ears, or even hair, they are just blank slates.

“We brought the great Rest to this world so that his vision can be realised. He will bring us salvation and everlasting peace. If you intend to disturb that peace...” The bartender says, turning his body slowly around without even moving his arms, showing me that his face is just as bad. “Then we shall do what we must to protect it.”

Suddenly, his featureless face starts to crumple, as I can see a bloody line tearing across the middle, starting from where his nose should be. After the tear reaches his would-be ears, the wound opens up as he reveals row upon row of jagged teeth just underneath. Looking around, the others each are doing the same. I quickly pocket the key, and kick the bartender off me, falling to the floor. As I start to feel myself get surrounded, I am suddenly pulled from the mosh pit by Claryssa, who flies by. Out of pure panic, I start spamming fire from my Tarot across the room, before we fly out. Noticing that a couple of them are still following us out, I shoot an explosive shot from my gun to the ceiling as it collapses into a mountain of dirt from above. We barely make it out before the whole entryway is completely caved in. Even though I’m rightfully scared out of my mind right now, we now have 3 keys, with just 2 more to go. I do really wish I knew where Blanche disappeared to though.

“Alright, onto the next one.” I say, ignoring the constant shaking of my knees, as I walk onwards.

“Wait. We’re really doing this again? I know mine was just a bunch of rabbit people, so they might not be all that bad, but we could have easily died very painful deaths in there, and we could be walking straight into an even worse trap.” Claryssa says, still not able to process what we just saw.

“I can’t say that I’m completely enthusiastic about this either, but what I said earlier, about wanting to know if my friends are okay, I still mean that. If you want to sit this one out, I won’t force you to come with me.” I say to her, faking my confidence in the idea, hoping to push her buttons enough that she’ll agree to come with me.

“What, and let you get ripped apart by another pack of hungry beasts? I know I’m not exactly human anymore, but I have a heart.” Claryssa says, likely wanting to appear unfazed by any of this as well, crossing her arms and smiling at me.

“Excellent. Let’s get going. We’re almost there now.” I say to her, already walking away, as she catches up.

The next stop is towards the government headquarters, the building where Salvador should still be running things throughout the city. I wonder how he is doing right now, and if he’s got Andy with him. If they are going to be anywhere, they have to be in the office. Once we get to the building, it does look a lot more run-down than before, and it looks ready to crumble at any moment. Regardless, we walk across to the back entrance, which takes us straight up to the hallway before the office. Furthering worrying me, even though it just dawned on me that only Roxy had a key for this door, but the door is completely gone, leaving just the hinges that are hanging by just one screw.

Walking inside, we come to the usual dark hallway, but somehow, the air in here feels a lot more sinister, and a putrid stench starts to emanate from the other side of the door.

“It’s that weird smell again. Whatever that is, it’s just awful this time.” I say, pulling my jacket over my nose and mouth.

“It’s the smell of decay and rot. If whoever is behind this door is your friend... you might want to cover your eyes as well.” Claryssa says, putting her hand on the door handle and swinging the door open.

I want to close my eyes, out of sheer fear of what I might see on the other side of the door, but I can’t bring myself to look away for long. I slowly walk inside and see that the whole place has been trashed. The computer is smashed, the chairs have all been broken into little pieces, nothing has been left untouched here. That’s when I look over into the far corner of the room, and find the worst thing I could ever see. Sitting just by the window, I find Salvador slumped in his favourite chair, his neck bruised and sliced with the rope still around it. The rope seems to have snapped, as part of it is still atop the metal curtain pole by the window. My heart goes into my mouth, as I quickly rush to him, before I get held back by Claryssa.

“Don’t be a fool. As we speak, he’s falling apart at the seams with each passing second. He wouldn’t be very pleasant to touch.” Claryssa says, obviously with a lot of experience with this sort of thing.

With no breath or words to speak, I just step back, as Claryssa walks towards him. Not wanting to see what she’s about to do, I resist the urge to throw up. I walk away, heading back towards the door. Behind the door, I notice something on the back wall. I close the door and see a message here written in blood. It reads “nightshade tormented” and looks like it was recently scribbled using fresh blood. It doesn’t take long until Claryssa comes over to me and notices the message.

“Nightshade tormented? What does that mean?” Claryssa asks, as if she assumes I instinctively know the answer.

“I have no idea. Maybe it’s a warning. A warning that we’re getting too close and we’re suddenly a threat. That’s what I’m thinking anyway.” I say to her, really not knowing what else to say in response.

“Very well. Turns out that guy had the key in his pocket the whole time. I must say, this one, it was a lot calmer than the others... at least nothing is trying to claw our eyes out here.” Claryssa says, breathing a sigh of relief, as she heads back to the door we came in from.

“...Could you maybe give me a moment? I just want to get something off my chest.” I say, wanting to say my peace before we head out, since I don’t think we will be here again after this.

“To a corpse? Oh well, whatever floats your boat, kiddo. I’ll be outside.” Claryssa says, opening the door and closing it behind her.

Still covering my nose and mouth, I walk over to Salvador, hoping that whether he is right now, he can hear me.

“Salvador. It’s Lizzie. I know you can’t respond and literal Heaven only knows if you can hear me, but I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. I still don’t know what happened, but the fact is that our mistake let this world be consumed. I let the team down, I let you down long ago, and even though I don’t care as much, I let Arc down. But I promise you that no matter how long it takes, how much of myself it costs, I will wrong this right, and I will see the world returned to its former glory. I know it hadn’t been a long ride, but I just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity to be something greater and providing us with the means to make a difference. I’ll tell you all about it once we meet again, huh? Thank you for everything.” I say to him, still in disbelief that that part of my life is already over, even though it seems as though it had only just begun.

After that one-sided conversation, I return to Claryssa, who is waiting for me just outside. We walk towards the shopping district in silence. I knew what I was getting myself into, and I did it with the best of intentions, but I still hate this with every fibre of my being. I just wish that I was back home, back before this whole thing happened. I miss everybody. Where did they disappear to?

Once we get to the shopping district, we can see that the giant shopping mall in the distance has been completely taken over by more of those armed Risen. In silent concentration and frustration, I march in and start firing at the Risen without provocation. Feeling so sick of everything and wanting everything done with, we walk into the derelict mall and explore every store and bathroom in the whole 2-story shopping centre, picking off any Risen who dare to approach us.

“Hey Liz. Are you okay? You seem a little preoccupied, I think you should-“ Claryssa says, sounding concerned as she walks closely behind.

“I’m fine, okay? I came here to get the last key and the sun is about to rise. Let’s keep our heads in the game and save the questions for later.” I say, just letting the autopilot system in my brain do the talking, completely over this whole thing.”

“Okay. Fine by me.” Claryssa says, trying to play it cool, though I can tell in her voice that she is a little surprised with me.

After checking every public and private place in the entire mall, we still can’t find the key. I hope it is still here, or better yet, that Poppy has already found it.

“Hey Liz. Over there.” Claryssa says, pointing towards a Risen who is just staring at us.

On a closer look, I see that it is holding the key in its vine, before running away. Together, Claryssa and I give chase after it. Running as fast as we can, we still can’t catch up to it. That is until Claryssa goes a different way from me and we end up surrounding it in the middle. However, to our surprise, it glances towards the fancy chandelier hanging over the two broken escalators leading to the bottom floor, before jumping onto it and swinging on it, letting out little giggles to mock us further. Preparing my Tarot, I shoot an explosive shot at the chain that keeps it hanging, and watch as the whole thing comes falling to the ground, landing on the legion of Risen swarming below. The loudest crash, smash and squash rings out in the air, as we look over the side to see the wreckage of pumpkin pieces and a large puddle of broken glass.

Seeing the other Risen going for the key, Claryssa jumps down and grabs the key from the splattered Risen before the others could grab it. They all go after Claryssa at once, who is fending them off as she walks back into the door. Since she is gone, I am left with no choice but the stairway we used to climb up here in the first place. Fighting my way forward, I watch as I set yet another place ablaze... I should really master some new spells once this is all done. Once we are both out of the mall, we retreat out of the Risen’s grasp, finally collecting each of the 5 keys.

We catch our breath just across from the mall, and even though we can see the final downward staircase in the centre of the city, and the sun starting to rise from the horizon. We’re almost there, and time is almost up for us. Walking over to the staircase, we look around to see that the Remnants have all crowded around us, and it looks like they are crying through their smiling masks.

“This is it. Are you ready?” I ask Claryssa, looking over to her as we stand just above the first step.

“Almost. I can’t say I’m excited for what we are about to find down there, but before we even consider it, I must ask. Would this really make you happy? If we lose, we die. If we somehow win, we’ve already lost everything else. We have only been here for hours, and you’re already looking as if all Hope has left you long ago.” Claryssa says, talking under the pretence that I would actually think about giving up here.

“Claryssa, listen. I was given one task, and we couldn’t do it. 2 died, the others disappeared without a trace, and we’ve searched everywhere. The only ones who can make a difference now, is you and me.” I say, knowing that our chance of success are slim at best, but I no longer have anything else to lose.

“I didn’t want things to go this far. If you do intend on facing him, please do not listen to a word he says, he will try to get inside your head with his toxic mind games.” Claryssa says, as I am left wondering how many times she had fought Rest in her dream.

However, this is no dream, this is the real thing, and that reality only sinks deeper into my heart as we descend the staircase. As the already dim lights of the outside world start to fade to black, we start to see the final door start to glow in the darkness with the same symbols as the ones in the smoke earlier. As we reach the bottom and put the keys in the door in the star formation, the door starts to creak open by itself. We prepare our weapons, ready for what could be our last battle. Come on Rest... we’re here.