by S.J. Drew
she replied.
“Be very careful,” Pipkin said, and stashed the evergreen branch into a thicket of vines. “This place is very poisonous.”
“Oh,” Maryann said in a small voice, as she pulled away from a pink flower.
“You weren't going to touch that, were you?” Templeton asked. “Because I told you at the beginning most things here are poisonous.”
“Um, no,” she said.
The rat rolled its eyes. “You humans are not worth this trouble,” it sighed. “Come on already. We're nearly there.”
“This doesn't help us get out of a hole on the ceiling,” Nora said.
“Don't be so narrow-minded, touchy human. But do be quiet.”
They tripped their way through the vines when a bright blue frog appeared on a vine almost right in front of Isabella's face.
“Hey!” it said.
The blonde turned pale but did not jump.
“They can't be here. The Hag is coming.”
“We know that,” Templeton said irritably.
“No, I mean right now!”
The tunnel was filled with the terrible wailing.
“Okay, humans, run like your lives depend on it!” Templeton ordered. “Because it does!”
They followed the rat and rabbit who were much faster than they were because they weren't being tripped up by the vines. They could see the fog catching up to them.
“The hole is above us! Where are we running to?” Nora panted.
“Right now we should be focusing on running from!” Leah retorted.
The Hag screamed at them and they put on a burst of speed.
Suddenly, Nora slipped and fell down a hole. After what seemed a long distance she landed with a thump. She was quickly followed by the rest of the group who landed more or less on top of her. “Ouch!” she shrieked.
The band scrambled to their feet as best they could. They quickly realized they were back in the park.
“Oh, my back,” Nora winced. “You all fell right on top of me.”
“How did we fall back into the park anyway?” Maryann asked.
“I guess we really can fall up,” Leah said, brushing herself off.
“But that doesn't make any sense!” Nora snapped.
“Does anything that happens to us make any sense?” she retorted dryly.
“I like to think there's a reason for it,” she replied with a frosty sigh.
“'Why is a raven like a writing desk?'” Isabella asked.
“What?”
“That's the riddle the Mad Hatter asked Alice. The whole point was that it's a nonsense question. People assumed Dodgson had an answer, but he didn't. I'm guessing since you said this was all about math, he was pointing out how absurd the new math was by having ridiculous questions taken seriously in his story. But there is no answer. A raven is not like a writing desk. And sometimes weird things with no apparent meaning happen to us.”
“Shouldn't we be used to this?” Leah asked.
Nora sighed. “I still believe there is order to the universe. Doesn't this upset you, Leah?”
“Sometimes,” Leah said. “But that's just part of having faith. Right?”
“I suppose you're right,” she replied grudgingly. “This is why I had to take last summer off. There are just some days...” She took a deep breath to calm herself.
“I know what you mean,” the brunette agreed with a sympathetic smile.
“Isabella, can you do something about that hole?” Maryann interrupted.
Isabella looked behind them. “I can't see the hole. I've got spirit sight and I can't see anything at all. I guess it already closed.”
“Does that happen?” Leah asked.
She shrugged. “I really don't know. It apparently did here. Anyway, the hole is closed for now and if I can't see it, I can't even try to seal it. So we should get ready for our gig. We just lost two hours running around in Wonderland or the oubliette or wherever the hell we were.”
“Hey, I wonder where Templeton and Pipkin went,” Maryann said.
“They're probably hiding in the bushes because here they're just ordinary animals,” Nora said. “Come on. It's been a weird day. Let's try to focus on having a good show.”
“You're right,” Maryann agreed.
They hurried to the stage area while a rat and a rabbit watched them from underneath the bushes. They looked at each other, seemed to nod, and then walked off in different directions.
The Lyrics:
When up is down and down is up
Right is left and left is right
The laws of physics are broken
And darkness shines like light
Going nowhere by running
Going backwards by being still
Walking on a flat surface
Gets you to the top of a hill
Refrain: When the world has gone topsy-turvy
When desperately seeking a sane haven
Remember some riddles don't make sense
And a writing desk is not like a raven
At the end of the sidewalk
I fell up instead of down
And after I flew over the clouds
I landed softly on the ground
What is happening here?
I just don't understand
I need some useful answers
Can someone give me a hand?
Refrain
Sometimes order breaks down
And chaos rules the day
But a little madness isn't so bad
Sometimes it's the only way
Refrain x2
Track 13 - Howl at the Moon
The Interview:
Kelly: So this next track, “Howl at the Moon,” has kind of a '70s rock feel too it.
Anna: It should. We were thinking of calling this one something like, “Werewolves of Cleveland” but figured people would think we were ripping off Warren Zevon.
Lee: However, he was a pretty good musician, so maybe we should have gone with that.
Bryan: So this isn't a rip-off?
Lenore: No.
Kelly: Why would you have named it “Werewolves of Cleveland?”
Lee: Because Cleveland rocks. Also, it would have been funny.
Bryan: Okay, I agree that would be funny. Is “Werewolves of London” an inspiration then?
Belle: You could say that.
Lee: Or maybe we just wanted a song that would make everyone's custom Halloween playlist.
Kelly: I think many of your songs are already there.
Lee: You record one song about the number thirteen and people just stereotype you.
Kelly: You can't be surprised by that.
Belle: No. We've clearly made an impression.
Bryan: Are you trying to play into this stereotype that you're a creepy Goth band?
Lenore: I don't see how that stereotype is valid. I'm not even sure what Goth music is but I'm pretty sure it doesn't include '70s bluesy-rock, regardless of the subject matter.
Anna: And we're not creepy!
Bryan: Okay, okay, I'm sorry. You're not creepy and you're not Goth. You're...
Belle: Successful. How about we stick with that?
Kelly: [laughs] That's fair.
The Inside Story:
"So why are we in Cleveland again?" Nora asked.
"Because we have a show downtown," Isabella said.
"And I want to visit Skipper, I mean Jason," Maryann answered.
"He changed his name like, five years ago, and you still call him Skipper?" Leah asked.
"Hey, he was Skipper for a lot longer than he's been Jason," she retorted. "He's going to graduate soon and I may not be able to see him get the diploma, so I'm going to see him now and wish him luck before he defends his thesis. I mean, I'm sure he'll pass."
"Your parents won't be upset about you missing his graduation?" Nora asked.
"Well, they won't like it, but they understand. Life on the road is
hard and they know I'll just miss out on some things. I've made my choices, and they'll let me live with the consequences," she replied.
"You don't know how jealous I am."
"Me too," Leah sighed.
"So, where are we meeting Jason?" Isabella asked. "I have a hell of a time finding any parking around campus."
"I think he's at the lab, so we'll just park wherever we can and walk. Hey, maybe we can visit the spirits at the chapel," Maryann answered.
"As long as the area is pretty deserted."
Isabella did not manage to find a close parking space, so they had a bit of a walk down to the main quadrangle of Case Western Reserve University. Before stopping at Jason's lab in one of the many engineering buildings, they stopped next to an old chapel that had a bell tower with three angel statues and one gargoyle statue.
"They've done some work since we were last here," Maryann said, looking around the changed quad. She adjusted her bright red coat.
"They still need to work on their aesthetics," Nora commented, looking fashionable in her elegant dark blue wool coat.
Leah unzipped her brown jacket. "At least it's warmer than the last time we visited. See anything?" she asked the blonde.
Isabella put her hands in the pocket of her trenchcoat and felt for some papers, but changed her mind against casting a spell. "Well, they aren't up there," she said. "I can tell you that even without active spirit sight."
"Huh. I wonder where they are?" she asked.
"Maybe playing a game or something in a computer lab," Maryann replied.
"I'm not sure I want to just stand around here, especially since we aren't students," Nora said. "Maybe we should just go find your brother and we'll try to talk to the spirits later."
"Okay. Maybe they'll see us," she agreed. "Come on. He told me which building but I'm going to have to ask him to let us in." She led them across the quad and had to call her brother three times before he answered. By the time they got to the doors, he was waiting for them.
"Hey, Maryann," he said, brushing his auburn hair out of his tired eyes. His clothes were rumpled but at least they were
