by Sara Clancy
“Ruby,” Tristan whispered, harsh and quick.
She squeezed his hand as the giggling continued.
“Ruby?” Tristan asked again. It now sounded as if he was standing on her other side.
The child’s footsteps circled them. She clutched at Tristan’s hand until her knuckles ached, shifting closer to him in an attempt to close ranks.
“Ruby, where are you?”
“What are you talking about? I’m right here.”
She lifted her free hand, intent on grasping his wrist. There was nothing there. The hand was still in her own, its grip tightening with every passing second, but it wasn’t attached to anything.
“Ruby?” Tristan whispered behind her.
Trembling, she slowly swept her arm through the mist beside her. Exactly where Tristan should have been standing, if it were his hand that she was holding. There was nothing but icy air. Ruby launched herself back, but the hand wouldn’t let go. The grip tightened, squeezing her bones together and she released a high-pitched shriek. Thrashing against the hold like a trapped animal, she pulled and yanked until she was sure her wrist was about to snap. Suddenly, hands fell upon her shoulders and she lashed out at them.
“It’s me,” Tristan said in a rush. “Ruby, talk to me, what’s happening?”
“Something’s holding my hand!”
He fumbled his hands down her arm. She could tell the moment he found the phantom fingers. A thousand words shot from his lips as he stumbled back but he never seemed to finish a sentence. Grabbing her forearm, he began to tug, adding his strength to hers in an attempt to work her free. Nothing worked. For all the panic and pain, they couldn’t dislodge a single finger. Then, without warning, the hand was gone.
They crashed down onto the tiles. Water slicked her palms and soaked into her clothes as they instantly scrambled to get up. Neither of them knew where they were going but they didn’t stop to think about it. Ruby’s ankle screamed and her lungs burned as they sprinted. Still, she kept pace with Tristan. Their shoulders smacked together as they ran, each collision almost throwing her off her feet again, but she didn’t try to increase the distance between them. The knowledge that it was him, that he was there, was worth the risk.
Laughter rose up around them as if there were a thousand invisible creatures keeping pace beside them. Surrounded by undisturbed mist, they never hit a wall. The sensation made Ruby feel as if she was running on the spot. Suddenly, Tristan’s hand grabbed her arm and yanked her to the side. Her feet slipped over the tiles and she bounced off of him as she was awkwardly forced to change direction. Somehow, they both managed to keep upright and run a bit further until they crashed into something solid.
The rigid edges drove into her legs, her momentum sending her toppling over the object, each jolt choking her scream off before it began. She rolled over a flat surface before it dropped out from below her, dumping her on the ground, her bones rattling on impact. Pain exploded under her skin, sizzling anew every time she tried to draw in a breath. Her head spun, creating the sensation that she was still toppling, and she flattened her palms against the tiles to ground herself.
Slowly, her mind cleared, bringing into focus the unnatural silence. The laughter had stopped. So had Tristan’s breathing. And her own. All noise had been severed from the world, leaving her ears ringing with their absence. Pushing up onto all fours, she began to pat at the ground around her. He’s here somewhere, she promised herself. But she couldn’t stop her brain from conjuring images of Tristan clawing at the ground as ghostly figures dragged him away. Caught between her need to find him and her desire to keep from drawing attention to herself, she didn’t dare call out to him even as her fear grew. She searched, her fingers turning numb as they brushed over the frigid puddles around her.
Reaching back, she found what she had fallen over. A counter? Are we in the gift shop? She traced the wooden beams and the shelves that they created, her hands shaking so hard that they made everything she found rattle.
“Ruby,” Tristan whispered beside her.
She froze. “Tristan? Is that you?”
As she spoke the question, she wasn’t sure what answer he could possibly give that would make her believe him.
“It’s me. Do you know where it went?”
“No. But I think I found the counter,” she replied, her voice barely audible to herself.
“Ruby?” Tristan asked again.
It was his voice, just the same as it had ever been, but it made a chill sweep down her spine.
“That’s not me,” Tristan whispered, closer to her than he had been before.
“Ruby,” the disembodied voice came again. “This way. Over here.”
“Don’t listen to it.”
“Ruby, help me.”
The voices bled into each other, becoming a mangle of pleas and demands. In all the noise, it was impossible for Ruby to distinguish between the two. It was possible that the one closest to her was the real Tristan. It was just as likely that she was sitting next to a demon.
It’s a trick, she told herself. Don’t let it distract you. Find the radios. Biting her lip, she reached further along the shelf. Her hand bumped against a smooth solid rectangle and Tristan began to scream. The blood-curdling cry rolled off the mist itself and flooded her bones. Latching onto the radio, she blindly ripped it free from its charger and twisted around. The lines of the shelf pressed against her spine as she clutched the radio like a talisman. The screaming grew louder, wilder, driving into her ears like red-hot spikes. Her fingers fumbled over the buttons as she tried to turn it on.
She felt the switch click over but it was impossible to hear if the radio was actually powering on. Still, she hurriedly brought it to her mouth, pressing the necessary buttons and bellowed for help. She yelled loud enough that her throat was ripped raw, but she never heard a word of it. There was only Tristan’s agonized screams. Refusing to drop the radio, she pressed her hands to her ears, her thumb still engaging the button.
Silence crashed down on her so abruptly that it left her reeling. Before she could recover, a strong hand grabbed her shoulder and wrenched her to her feet. She only stopped struggling when she felt the grip tug her around the edge of the counter.
“Hurry up,” Tristan said in a rush. “We need to get out of here.”
Reaching out with one hand, she found the body attached. Radio clasped against her chest, she broke into a run. But it was impossible for them to move as fast as they had before. Not while their bodies still ached from their collision. They lurched and stumbled, both struggling to keep with the other. She didn’t know if they succeeded in fleeing the gift shop. There was no way to even tell if they were going in the right direction. But they ran, hoping to leave the ghostly figures behind them.
Chapter 12
The rigid backing of Ruby’s shoes scraped against her heels, rubbing them raw as she continued to trudge wearily forward. The color of the mist hadn’t changed, leaving her with only the swelling of her ankle to judge the passage of time. Each step added another spike of pain until she was struggling to find an angle that would offer some relief. Tristan helped her as best he could, allowing her to drape an arm across his shoulders and taking on most of her weight.
More than once, they had stumbled across an object in the haze. But never the wall. Never something they could follow or use to better guess where the stairs were. She was thirsty, hungry, and the last shreds of her adrenaline had long since ebbed away. But the worst of it was the screaming. The voices had run them down like a wolf chasing a deer, and had stayed ever since. Whatever existed within the fog wasn’t just impersonating Tristan anymore. There were thousands of voices. They filled her skull and frayed her nerves, wearing her down until she had sobbed inconsolably. But that too had run its course, leaving her hollow and weak. From then, her mind and every scrap of her energy had been committed to the single task of putting one foot in front of the other.
Tristan jolted. She felt the vibration tr
ail along the side of her body. It dragged her from her thoughts, and she lifted her head. Her mouth opened, the lips cracked with both thirst and ice, but she couldn’t force out any words. With small tugs, he pulled her to the side. Still, it wasn’t until the toes of her shoes hit the bottom stair that she realized they had finally found it. She sagged with relief, slipping from his arms until she was lying across the stairs. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was real, and if she had the energy, she would have laughed with joy.
Slowly, painfully, she began to crawl up them. After a few failed attempts to get her on her feet, Tristan seemed to come around to her way of thinking. The screams grew louder with every stair they ascended. Ruby could almost feel blood dripping from her ears. The vibrations rattled in her bones and teeth like a live wire. Then her head broke the surface of the mist and there was only silence.
She had been within the luminous white for so long, that the light and color in the room hit her eyes like fire. The brisk warmth of the air was such a stark contrast from the mist that it was agonizing to feel it. A loud whine played in her ears as they struggled to adjust to the stillness. Each sensation bombarded her as she clawed her way free. The moment her toes left the cloud, she slumped against the stairs, refusing to move another inch until the world settled around her.
Her eyes were the first to adjust. Although it did seem for a while longer that her brain had forgotten how to process color and dimension. It made everything around her resemble cardboard cutouts. Blinking rapidly, she rested her head on the stairs and breathed, feeling her skin calm down and the wail in her ears slowly drift away.
In its absence, she was able to pick up on a slight, repetitive murmur. Each syllable made her ears ring anew, keeping her from being able to make any sense of the actual words. Still, it was enough to make her smile. Because the voice was real. Somehow, she just knew that it was. Her brow furrowed when the muffled sounds joined together and she realized that it wasn’t Tristan’s voice. Nina! With a new burst of strength, she bolted upright and stared down at her radio. It was still gripped within her hand and crackled each time Nina’s voice broke through the line.
“Tristan? Ruby? Come on, where are you guys?”
It’s just another trick, a voice in her mind whispered. Don’t fall for it. But she wanted to believe it. She needed to. Tristan sat up, his arms shaking as they took on his weight. Meeting her gaze, he nodded, and for once, the nuance wasn’t lost on her. They drew closer together, crowding around the radio as she finally pressed down the button.
Her throat was as dry as sandpaper as she said, “We’re here, Nina.”
“Oh, thank God. Where have you two been?”
“I’ve been calling you,” Ruby said instead. “Did you hear any of it?”
“There’s only been static since last night. Are you okay?”
Hot tears burned trails down her cheeks as she answered, “You need to get us out of here.”
“We will,” Nina promised. “Look, let me get the police officer in charge–”
“Do not leave us!” Ruby screamed. Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to calm herself down. “Please, just stay and tell us what is going on down there?”
Nina sighed. “It’s the fog. It’s too thick to send anyone up.”
Tristan cupped Ruby’s hand and dragged the radio closer to him. “What about the gondola? Did you find out what was wrong with it?”
“I’ve been trying to fix it all night. Nothing is working. Whatever’s wrong is up your end,” Nina said. “Don’t worry. The doors will hold and I’ve explained everything to the police. As soon as the fog clears enough, they’re going to send a helicopter. It’s just too dangerous at the moment.”
“Too dangerous? Nina, you won’t believe what is happening up here,” Tristan snapped.
“Let me get one of the officers to talk to you,” she insisted. “They were explaining to me some of the safety measures you can take to protect yourselves, but it will be better coming from them. I don’t want anything getting lost in translation.”
“Don’t!” Tristan said sharply, his eyes wide. “Don’t go because I don’t know if we’ll get you back.”
“It’ll be okay. Seal the place up and the moment the fog lifts tomorrow, they’ll come and get you.”
“Tomorrow? No, no way! I can’t spend another night here.”
Ruby was too exhausted to properly keep track of the conversation. Or, more precisely, the emotions that were breaking apart the two people. Tristan raged with fear and Nina tried to soothe him, but that was the most that she could garnish. And having it play out before her only served to make her feel utterly isolated. Deciding to wait it out, she rubbed her face and pulled her knees closer to her chest.
“I can’t stay here another night!” Tristan screamed.
Ruby flinched away from the noise, turning towards the windows. Dread and revolution warred within Ruby’s stomach, but the sound that came out of her mouth was akin to a laugh.
“You don’t have a choice. I’m pretty sure it’s almost sunset,” she said as she watched the outside world slowly dim.
They kept us walking the whole day. It was all just a distraction, she realized. Would we have been able to fix the gondola if we hadn’t gotten lost? Could we have made it down the hill on foot? How far would we have gotten? As the thoughts rolled in her head it occurred to her that, at the very least, they could have gotten some sleep. As it was, they were utterly unprepared for another night. Her head felt like it was full of concrete as she looked over her shoulder to catch Tristan’s wide gaze.
“How long until sundown?” he asked while he stared at the window.
“Twenty minutes. Maybe fifteen,” Nina replied.
Tristan swore under his breath and surged to his feet. “They’re going to be here soon. We have to go.”
“Who’s going to be there soon? What do you mean?” Nina asked.
“We have to go,” Tristan repeated. “Just get up here as soon as you can.”
Nina told them to keep the line open and Ruby stopped listening after that. Tristan and Ruby drew themselves to their feet. Since neither of them was in the state of mind to be on their own, they shuffled into the same bathroom to relieve themselves, chug down some water, and tend to their injuries. The bandage protecting Tristan’s cut had become waterlogged with the gathering mist, leaving his wound raw and puffy. Ruby worked as delicately as she could to unravel the material but he still flinched at each touch and swore as she rinsed it clean.
“This doesn’t look too good,” she said. “But I don’t think it’s infected.”
“Right now, I don’t care. I just want to eat something and take some aspirins before those hell spawn show up.”
He didn’t speak another word until they were heading across the restaurant. Then he took to questioning how it was possible for the children to do this over and over. He never specified what ‘this’ was, and she didn’t ask. It actually didn’t seem like he was talking to her, and it didn’t feel right to interrupt.
Besides, there was nothing that she could tell him that would make any difference. In all the time she had lived with the knowledge of the black eyed children, she had learned very little and understood even less. We just need to survive the night, she told herself. That’s all that matters.
Despite her convictions, she didn’t feel like she was on solid ground again until she was back in the kitchen; a private area that the children didn’t have permission to enter. After raiding the first aid kit for painkillers, they spared a moment to wrap Tristan’s hand with a dry bandage before turning all their attention onto the fridge. Propping the door open, they sat on the floor and ate everything they could reach from their positions.
“So, what do we do now?” Tristan asked as he leaned against the refrigerator.
She spoke her mantra aloud, “We survive until morning.”
“And how do we do that?” he said.
“We look out for each other.” Before he coul
d press the matter, she continued, “They’re predators, Tristan. Someone once told me that the easiest way to deter a predator is to show it that you’re more trouble than you’re worth. That’s all we have to do.”
He shoved some bread into his mouth and talked as he chewed, “I don’t know if I can take it again. That screaming. I think I’m going insane–”
“I know,” she cut him off as his voice began to crack with tears. “Me too. But we don’t have a choice.”
“I’m so tired.”
The weight of more than twenty-four hours without sleep crashed down upon her now and she slumped against the open fridge. Her eyelids drooped and even the chill from the fridge wafting against her neck wasn’t enough to get her to move.
“Maybe we can sleep in shifts,” she muttered.
Or at least she thought she had. She felt her lips shift, but there was no sound. Just a gaping void that rose up to drag her down.
***
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Ruby jolted awake at the repetitive noise. Cool tiles pressed against her cheek like a slab of ice as she blinked her eyes open. It didn’t make any difference. The world was an impenetrable dark.
Thud.
She flinched with the thick, dull sound.
Thud.
Slowly, she pushed herself up. Sleep made her limbs sluggish and weak, forcing her to lean back against the fridge to keep upright. A soft creek caught her attention. She couldn’t quite place where it was coming from and quickly fumbled in her pocket for her phone. The battery barely had any charge left and made a series of low beeps when she turned it on. By the small halo of light, she squinted into the darkness, trying to draw some meaning from the series of shadows.
