second act - river of sticks
P:InTheirMinds × Lylith in blunderland >>
>> second act - river of sticks
quietness.
and then a sound of leaves, rustling beneath tiny feet.
down the winding path — the child follows
his friend's spirit.
oblivious of meaning.
singing a familiar rhyme,
'dear children! dear children!'
'don't be guile!' 'don't come close if your friend fell!'
'stay away from the call of a well!' stumble through the
crooked way lathed with white pebbles and then...
lathed with another victim.
"HOLY SHITTING MOTHER OF—" Lylith flinches awake in sand.
her face covered in sweat, and pupils dilated wide.
instinctively punches the closest person... Apple Man!
"OUCH, LILLY! what was that for?!" he stands up brushing
sand off his suit. "at least we both now know you're the
same." Apple Man affirms to Lylith whose face now goes from
panic and confusion to just confused. "what...?" she asks.
"the tea was drugged." "that's what" Apple answers lending
her a hand. Lylith however gets up on her own.
"what is this place?"
they look around to behold a... very peculiar landscape.
a river surrounds what seems like the island they are
stranded on. and above? "whoa... that's — excessive..."
Lylith comments genuinely amazed despite herself.
witnessing the absolutely HUGE circular structure of-
huge bricks in the sky. ...wet bricks — made of bricks.
"well... that's, fascinating." Apple Man murmurs;
as he looks upward.
a river at the top, a sea at the bottom.
there's no bottom though, only an abyss below the island.
an abyss swallowing all the heavier sticks. the ones that
don't fit. while the lighter ones float to the top...
effortlessly. and through the parting waves that crush the
sticks like rotting bone, comes a sound.
ring.
ring!
ring.
ring!
ring.
the bell rings, faintly at the boat's head.
while Lylith immediately whips her head back.
"...Apple?" she elbows an Apple Man currently occupied-
with sightseeing. they both look back to the robed figure
watching from his boat. "ah, souls at last." he says
as Apple and Lylith approach. "you wouldn't happen to have
a coin, would you dear maiden?" the robed person talks to
Lylith; (rookie mistake.) who immediately takes offense.
Apple Man stops her in her first steps.
"wait, that's Ferryperson." he says to Lylith.
"he's probably offering to get us out of this place."
Lylith just looks at Apple Man for the first time...
as if he offended her entire bloodline. "we're flat broke."
she replies. "speak for yourselves." Apple talks back,
taking a coin out of his left pocket's right compartment's
bottom chain. tossing it and catching-
it on the back of his hand.
"..."
"seriously?"
Lylith comments.
"those who don't have a coin shan't pass—"
Ferryperson, watching until now, speaks at last.
only to be interrupted and stopped by Lylith shifting
a full roundhouse kick right into his cranium.
knocking Ferryperson right out of the boat and into the-
river. right to the bottom... bubbles well up to the top.
"okay... that just happened." Apple Man talks, voice
barely above a whisper. "...Lilly — damn..."
twenty minutes later:
"YARRR HARRR MATEY! WE'RE MOTHERFUCKIN' PIRATES!!!"
Lylith screams with enthusiasm as she strikes a dramatic
pose at the edge of the hijacked-boat while Apple
continues rowing the boat afloat. he knows better
than to disturb miss-murderqueen-pirate-Lilly-
herself. "..."
Apple Man finally breaks the silence. (or noise.)
"are we gonna keep ignoring the fact that you just..."
he says to Lylith who abruptly turns back pointing a
conveniently sword-shaped stick at him.
"ARGH!... that, I just drowned a guy?? definitely!"
she replies in the most pirate voice she can manage
"honestly, great way to introduce a skull to the concept
of a concussion" said Apple Man sarcastically.
"...try me." Lylith replied calmly. (shocker ikr?)
but that's irrelevant.****
as we go back.
while their conversation, or — well...
'argument' turns to background noise.
far away in the river.
two voices watch, and two pairs of eyes talk.
"heheheheheh~" "..." "weren't expecting violence already."
"were you luv~?" the raspy voice asks. "oh, Oh dear~
master hat wants them out cold, lover!" the other, more-
feminine voice talks holding back chuckles.
thud!
a loud sound comes as the boat hits the edge.
"what the—" Apple Man looks around... polished floors.
electrical boards showing time of departure.
a lobby.
the endless halls of the port that harbours the planes...
planes that, aren't present. how — lively. their steps
echo like they're the only sounds that exist, and-
honestly? they do.
"..." "Okay..." Lylith says, in genuine disbelief.
Apple Man blinks. "...am i high...?"
“…thought i—”
"...figured out how to quit meth for good..."
Lylith doesn’t even glance at him.
"well you better fucking start using it to do bad instead."
high, or low?
"Hey, uh, Apple?" Lylith asks Apple Man, who then turns
around to her looking at a vending machine with
a concerning amount of intensity.
"You got that coin from earlier...?"
"May I ask why?" Apple responds,
holding the said coin to her face, its golden rim-
reflecting light off the ceiling LEDs.
SNATCH!
Lylith shoves it into the vending machine's mouth
with the precision of thread and needle. The machine,
however, has tasted better payment... and promptly spits
the wrapper back.
A moment passes—
between the girl and the windowed shell of iron.
—And Apple was just third-wheeling at this point.
(With Chaos & Lylith™.) Apple opens his mouth to talk...
then closes it, then: "You're gonna assault a vending ma—"
PUNCH.
THUD.
SHATTER!
"sigh. Well, I'll be damned..." Apple deadpans.
(splash—)Smash cut to—
...Splash...
...Splash...
...Splash...
...Slip
"..." "need a hand, dumbass?" Lylith questions Apple Man,
who's now on the floor. suit soaking wet and all!
"with pleasure." he replies. brushing off his-
blood-stained coat. pointing to a close escalator.
"..." "escalation.... am i right?"
They tip-toe their ways up the escalators...
That, apparently, and exclusively, only move downwards.
Water spilling down the moving steps as ripples
are produced with each step; the soft... almost —
Fleshy... carpet shifting, squishing,
—and tearing beneath rushing water — stomping boots...
...making Apple Man wince for each indignant sound.
'...Almost there...' he mutters, mostly to just himself.
"Where the HUFF. FUCK is PUFF. there?!?!" Lylith
yells; her words between whining and... hyperventilating
from exhaustion, as if she aged fifty more years via-
simply climbing stairs.
At last... at the edge of the stair's looping crevice.
There is a door of condensed marrow, or maybe it's metal?
Who knows. "ew, (I'm not touching that...) Lilly, you mind-
kicking the door down—"
"YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME TWICE!"
she responds, cracking her knuckles instead; winding back
to connect. Fist to bone.
Swish!
A gust of wind comes,
politely opening the door for them...
making Lylith THUD. fall flat to the floor.
"Karma is a fucking bitch..." Her voice comes out,
muffled through the... watery carpet beneath. "Need help,
dumb-arse?" Apple asked with a grin that reached his eyes.
...
"Oh... luv, I think they've reached us!"
a voice from the deck above said in sing-song.
"or have we, reached them. dear~?"
the other figure replied, turning back-
with menace in his eyes.
end of act two.
to be continued in—
The third act - titanic panic
(click above to continue)
credits:
starring-
Vessel Pierce'her as Lylith.
Quazar Jester Gravastar as Apple Man.
Meo Romette as Meo.
Ette Jumeo as Ette.
with guest appearance from:
Silva Thebeckonal as Ferryperson.