The Dreadful Nightmare of Snow White

by Scarlet Danae

  Seeing the virtuousness of her heart – although it was made of metal – they decided to let her in and to heal her in their house.

  « Pardon me. This house, where these Seven creatures lived, is the same where I woke up? »

  «That one was a copy, the real house has been destroyed long ago»

  « By the Seven witches? »

  Snow White lived with the seven creatures for a very long time. She found out their powers and, for this, she tried hard to persuade them to follow her in the battle against the Seven witches, they were unyielding though. Meanwhile, the Prince kept on looking for her, desperately, but the more time passed the more he convinced himself Snow White had died.

  Thanks to the powers of the Magic Mirror, Vain learnt her rival wasn’t dead at all. The item could only show Snow White, not trace her. Hence, whenever she went seeking for her she found nothing since the magic wall kept them safe and sound. The Queen, however, could perceive Snow White so she decided to draw up a plan: she mortally wounded the Prince in a riot, to make sure of him to end up right there where she believed her stepdaughter was hiding. Snow White, who watched her lover suffering, begged in tears for the seven creatures. They, moved by her, accepted her request.

  « An’ then? », I asked after he suddenly broke off.

  « It’ll be Darknight to tell you the rest of this story. I’m really fed up.», snorted he, impatiently.

  « What if I don’t want to go? »

  « Then, you’ll never know »

  « Who gives a damn! », I lied. I really wanted to know the whole story at all costs. « But, I guess if I don’t accept, I’m gonna stay here, in this hole, for the rest of my life », I sneered, « I’d be bored to death, yet I don’t like troubles! ».

  « Find Darknight. Once you have set him free you can choose whether to help us or not », clarified the deer. « Take your pick. You can go find Darknight, listen to the end of this story and then choose whether to help us or not, to stay here and get bored. Ah! Just to be clear… There’s no food in this dimension! »,

  I swallowed, then I curled myself up to the ground cross-legged.

  « At the end of the day, you’ve got nothing to lose », said the deer.

  « Why can’t I have an ordinary life? », sighed I disheartened.

  « Perhaps, you’re not meant for that kind of life », affirmed the deer.

  I looked up and smiled, « maybe you’re right! », I giggled.

  CHAPTER 4

  THE SCRAP IRON HOUSE

  AND THE BACKPACK

  «I knew there was a ca’ch!», I muttered while clambering up out of that hole. «I heard “to save”. I did! Yet, I’ve looked the other way! I told myself: “he must have made a mistake!” An’… Guess what? There was no mistake at all! An’ how da hell I fell in dis pit?», I shouted, dragging myself out. «That’s because you do nothing but moaning instead of watching your steps!», Cogito replied, grumbling irritated.

  «Or… That’s because I had my stomach upset by that kind of trip your deer-friend made us do! How did he call it? Temporal path or somethin’, right?», I sounded off while pulling the robe that had snagged on in a shrub.

  Cogito looked amused. «Yes, I’ve noticed! As soon as we arrived you thrown up all ten realms in a shot and, trust me, that was not a good show. Especially for me, I had to filter it!», disagreed Cogito.

  «Oh, well… It’s remarkable that you can filter fluids an’ eject ‘em out. You’re my mouth for all intents and purposes».

  «Woe betide you if you spit!», he warned me threateningly, as if he had read my mind.

  «Shouldn’t it be the prince to save the princess, usually? That’s just a myth! THIS is the truth! What am I even sayin’? Can all this be considered as “true”?», I stated ironically, resuming my grievances.

  «You’re such a hysterical person!», Cogito commented.

  «Me, hysterical? No, way!», I sneered, « It’s just … I’m done takin’ shit! », then I turned to look at the pit from where I had come up, the landscape around me was changing.

  «If you follow this road, you should get to the funicular railway which will lead us to the City of Mercenaries. Do you smell that?».

  «Of course, I do. It’s disgustin’!».

  «Well, we’re very close».

  That unfamiliar stench blended with the smell of leaves which rustled whipping in the wind, and so I wondered if even those leaves were mechanical; I grabbed one of them and realised it was real, not made of plastic or iron.

  «These leaves have lost their abode.», explicated Cogito, «they’re flying searching for a place to rest».

  «Even in Snow White’s world trees were artificial and their leaves died on that barren soil…», I stated, leaving that leaf to the wind.

  «So many years have passed, by now, that we have forgotten about the real trees, the bushes, the flowers, the fields, the grass ... », he said, «Snow White has rebuilt a place according to her memories».

  I watched the gloomy forest surrounding me, threateningly. Gradually kicking the barren ground, a passage unfolded among the trees and led me out of the wood where a dystopian and ferrous-coloured landscape appeared before my eyes. A crumbling city took shape on the horizon. It raised up from a stage made of soupy smoke, a precipice from which a threatening fog flowed out. I heard a piercing whistle and turning around, on my right, I saw a man standing by a wobbly railway; he waved to the passengers telling them to climb aboard.

  «Hurry up!», said Cogito, «we don’t know when the next one will leave!».

  I didn’t wait any longer and rushed toward the man who looked engulfed by the fog. As soon as I approached him, I noticed he was wearing a Dectorade too. The mask was made of a chunky and white cloth and it stuck so tight to his face that his nose appeared crushed, somehow; his eyes’ orbits seemed two black halos, instead. The anti-gas filter was tightened with a weaved-thread of twines that ran around his neck, as a real collar, and kept the filter stable where supposedly was his mouth.

  «Ticket!».

  I took out the two golden coins the deer had given me – before he threw me into that temporal-path which made bitterly regret the day I was born – and handed them to the odd man. Immediately, he beckoned me to climb on that staggering, shabby-looking and not so reassuring vehicle.

  «You see, we’re gonna die for sure». I commented disheartened.

  «Cut it out!», replied Cogito, nervously.

  «I bet my ass yer more scared than I am», I answered, mockingly.

  «Scared? You kidding!? It’s just I can’t stand transports…», he could not end the sentence, that the shuttle left uttering a deafening squeak; though, not as deafening as Cogito which shouted like a crazy.

  «Shh! Idiot! », I hushed him. He was so nervous he neither apologized for that.

  Little at a time, the funicular advanced and an irregular sound, like a snap, was echoing in the silence. I watched restlessly the other passengers wearing their peculiar masks along with their odd clothing; it was a half medieval and half modern attire. Even the robe I had on was quite strange: a long-leathered black dress that squeezed up my breasts with his girdled bustier. Plus, large sleeves hid my hands and I eventually realised how uncomfortable they were. Even that long skirt wasn’t easy to handle, fortunately it had a rip large enough to allow my legs to freely move.

  «Your friend definitely had strange tastes in clothes. I mean, look at this outfit! It’s…It’s sexy and ill-fitting at the same time!», I mumbled, glimpsing at the mid-thigh-high shiny boots.

  «Shh! Shut your mouth up! Don’t draw everybody’s attention on you by showing your thighs.», Cogito reprimanded me.

  And so, to answer him, I lusciously crossed my legs drawing all the men’s attention on me.

  «You tramp!», the Dectorade mumbled back.

  Among the men who were ravenously watching me, only one caught my eye. He was sitting at the bottom. What I found weird about him wasn’t much his garment but the huge backp
ack he wore alongside; it was so big that it could have contained four curled corpses in it. Nevertheless, the one thing that really got me curious was a well-known brand which existed even in my world.

  « Here’s a strange one », I whispered surprised.

  The man held his arms folded and looked at an undefined point. Suddenly, the lenses before his eyes began to lengthen, like two round-shaped telescopes, and after that they pointed out at me. I cleared my throat and looked the other way, whistling, until his telescopes shortened back. Then, I took a deep breath of relief.

  The city was getting closer and it dug the sky with its asymmetric and sharped outlines, while its stench breathed on us becoming more and more suffocating. As soon as we advanced into the oppressive blanket of smoke, I felt my eyes burning. The vehicle teetered violently once we reached our destination.

  I felt lost as I got off, for what I saw was a misshapen monstrosity made of iron; some rusty towers, spinning up through a colourless sky, dominated the small worn-out dwellings built with damaged spare parts of who knows what kind of mechanisms, smeared with rubbish and deteriorated chunks.

  «What am I supposed to do, now?», I asked shaking from my head to my feet. I remembered that fear since I felt the same the first time I walked down the suburb's alley. Yes, that was a feeling I had already experienced: it could not scare me as before; therefore, I plucked up my courage and moved on through the entrance of the city, surrounded by high fences of barbed wire.

  A crumbling sign was welcoming me to the “City of Mercenaries”, yet it looked like a warning rather than a real welcome.

  I could now compare that place to a woodpile of old buildings, geometrically shaped; they were all glued to each other as if they would deny a way out. From time to time, you could stumble across a blind narrowed alley, but most of them were closed or fenced. Streets were swarming with shady characters, which had filthy and merciless gaze; a gaze only someone who kills for nothing could have, jackals that had sold lots of soul for a petty cash. I did not dare to look at them straight in their faces, neither I wanted to bang into them; nor I wanted a lock of mine to brush against them. I had no intention to end up in a sleazy basement again. Slowly, however, I began to walk at ease. I repeated to myself that place wasn’t so different from the slums where I would hang out, thus I began to snoop around.

  There, I found both the cruellest and wackiest things I’d ever seen: from the spare parts market for cyborgs to the selling-slaves parade; public executions, thieves stealing from the pocket of unsuspecting poor, counters exposing unusual and sickening food. Afar, the sound of a party music would play and soon I caught a sight of festive flags twirling form above the head of the crowd.

  «A fair?», I wondered, taking up my space among the bodies but trying not catch somebody’s eye.

  Suddenly, though, the crowd split up and I found myself before a groaning handcart, which was moving fast towards me. I jumped back preventing to be ran over by that wheeled monster, and I noticed it was being towed by a group of sinewy men; these had their muscles so tensioned that I could see their swollen veins upon their vibrant-red skins. Some musicians went after them playing their dented instruments and trying to carry out a pleasant tune, as well to set tempo for jugglers and equilibrists. What all of them came to celebrate was the punishment of some men dragged from their feet by the reins of a cyborg horse. There were guards, as well, who pierced the men with their spears. That parade only left a bloody stripe painted with battered corpses. After that the handcart had gone away, the crowd came back to its business, stepping carelessly on the blood that coated the blacktop of bumpy rocks.

  Again, overwhelmed by the huddle, I had my senses clouded by nausea and confusion. Through the labyrinths of that dump, I confusedly followed Cogito’s directions, even forgetting the reason why I was there. My head had emptied, and I couldn't think of anything else.

  «Here we are! », announced Cogito, and then, reacquainted. I glanced at what I had in front of me and with my eyes I traced the shape of a high tower: a gigantic bolt implanted to the ground.

  « So, Is he in there? »

  « Lower your voice, Bianca! », said Cogito, « this place is highly monitored! Can you see those two guards over there? »

  I looked at the two threatening androids standing at the entrance: they were rusty, thickset, and their gears stuck out, they had some fissures on their armours from which I could see twirling their vital mechanisms.

  I swallowed, « Of course, I can ».

  « Don’t use your voice, but your mind! I could hear your thoughts if you only gave me your approval », explained he.

  « Well, how do we get in there? », asked I, and shortly after I saw the odd man who was aboard the funicular railway; he stopped before the twos. He brought effortlessly that heavy rucksack on his minute and puny shoulders. The guards let him pass by as the enormous gate opened arduously before his eyes.

  «That guy seemed to be remarkably interested in you before, didn't he?», Cogito asked.

  «It is better if we keep an eye on him».

  I walked away and mingled one more time with the crowd, without knowing yet how to save the Prince.

  «First of all, we’ll have to earn some money. We’d better check out the city’s notice board, there might be a mission for us». said he, thoughtfully.

  «A mission? What kind of mission?»

  He led me to an uneven square not too far from the Tower, with a huge notice board placed in the middle. There were some jars hanging on each side of that board, whose meaning was a real mystery to me and so I asked myself if that was a sort of custom.

  «It is said that if you put a bronze coin in one of those jars, Fortune will follow you through the quest », explained Cogito.

  «A-ha…», grunted I doubtfully, stopping by that massive and unsteady board.

  « I’ll scan and screen a list including risk degree and the amount of reward! », said Cogito, « would you give me your approval? »

  « Suit yourself! ».

  Few seconds later, a screen appeared before my eyes, a projection listing some ads.

  « Delete those too dangerous, I don’t think I’m skilled enough to face big threats, at present. Don’t you agree? », I said frowning.

  «I do, but we should not rule all of them out. Remember, we need money. Look! There’s an interesting one, here!», suggested he, and then another projection came into sight. «It's kind of a bet! A nobleman who's challenging whoever wants to spend a night in his castle. The reward is seven golden coins. Not bad, I'd say!».

  «Uhm, fine. What kind of risk could I ever run, in the end? Being eaten alive by some cockroaches? », said I ironically.

  « You know, I wouldn’t rule that out! »

  « That’s not encouraging of you! »

  « Oh! », he said suddenly, « Bad news incoming! We’re in line. »

  « What does it mean? »

  « It means we’re not the only ones attending, and you now have a rival, named Brother Lustig!».

  «Who’s this guy? », and then I gave a closer look, «Brother Lustig? What kind of name is that? Wait! If I can read my rivals name, then…»

  « You’re signed as Bianca, don’t worry…».

  « I’m wondering how much time is left to us before we get recognised ».

  « Little, I guess ».

  « I see you’re such an empathic and encouraging person! And to think you’re linked to my brain! »

  « Well, I can tell I’m lucky enough since you don’t think that much!», Cogito was in the mood.

  « Hey! »

  « However, there is something I wanted to ask you since a while. As a matter of fact, I noticed a curious alteration of your cognitive functions and health as well. Is there something that’s bothering you?»

  I bit my lips as Cogito was making an accurate list of all the symptoms he had recognized: cold sweat, jitters, swinging fever surges, pounding heartbeat.

  « Cogito! », I interrupted
him sharply, « if there’s something I did not tell you afore, it’s because I didn’t mean to do that. So, you must not do what I don’t ask you to! »

  He remained silent briefly.

  « Should I start over the program? », said he almost threateningly.

  « Don’t you dare! »

  «You have to transcend your anxiety! Do what I say: take a deep breath and…»

  «Cut it out! Did you accept that quest or not? », I bursted furiously, but I ended up doing the exercises against my will anyway, whilst the amused crowd of jackals and misfits was staring at me and bitterly teasing me.

  When Cogito convinced itself that my mood was stable again, he deactivated that tedious app. I stood up and patted the skirt to clean the grime of street away, but a guy against me pretty soon.

  «Hey, arm candy! If you wish we could lay in a very special place», he approached, but I kept on dusting my clothes without even looking at him. When I had done, I passed over him. «C’mon, honey! I bet you can show me…», and I punched him in his face as I carried on walking.

  «…The stars? Oh, you welcome», I sneered while the balanceless body of that wino collapsed on a heap of garbage.

  «So, where do we go now?», I asked Cogito.