Page 141 of Madness Behind the Mask
My hair is down to my knees when I see it.My heart jumps into my throat as a flash of familiarity hits me. But then the thing is gone, having phased away, and I am left wondering if I just imagined itin my sleepy state.
Olivia – the name I’ve given my monsterlifts her head as she feels me move, ever alert. She’s curled up around me, something I was originally hesitant about given her blade-like legs, but on closer inspection I found them to be more like fangs. Good for piercing, less so for slicing.
She nudges me and makes a series of clucking noises. I rub the top of her small beak, soothing her until she falls back asleep. After I healed her after she got into a fight with another of her kind, our relationship has been solid.
Once she’s out, I stand up, careful not to wake her, and walk over to the spot where I thought I saw...someone appear and vanish.
There’s nothing here. No trace of anyone at all.
Certain I’m finally going crazy, I shake my head, then head back to Olivia, where I lie down and close my eyes.
Picturing Caden’s smile, I yearn for him as I fall asleep.
I definitely don’t imagine it this time.I’m well awake, not on the edges of sleep, and he wasthere.
I’m not sure who. I’m not sure what.They were gone before I could discern any clear features. I just have that same strong feeling of familiarity.
He feels like...home. Like hope.
I can’t leave this spot. He could come back. He could be my way out. Hope strangling me, I sit down and wait for him to return.
I run my hands through my hair, brushing it as best as I can. It takes me hours every day, but I have the energy now that we’ve perfected our hunting technique. And the godsknow I have the time.
I try to picture Caden as I brush it. He kept it beautiful while I was in a coma. He loves it, but I can barely recall his face now. My hair is all I have left of him, and I am terrified of the day I’ll have to cut it, as stupid as it is.
“Caden loves me…” My fingers still as that statement hits home, and I start, my entire body tensing as my back goes ramrod straight. “Caden… It’s Caden!”
Olivia perks up at my shout. She’s become used to me talking and has learned a few simple commands as well as my differences in tone. Curious, she nudges me with her head.
I want to throw my arms around her in a hug, but I’m pretty sure if I do, she’ll see it as an attack. She might like me, but she’s still a wild animal. I have no idea how old she is, how much time she spent alone. Past experiences could easily have her turning on me, and wouldn’t that be ironic? Surviving all this time only to die when Caden has finally figured out a way to save me.
“It’s Caden,” I say as I stroke from between her saucer-size eyes to the start of her beak. “He’s looking for me. He’s figured out a way to search this place. I have to help him. I have to give him a way to figure out where I am!”
I scramble up, my head swinging left and right to see if there’s anything I can make a sign with. Though what will they say? I can’t give him a place name. I can’t give him directions. And what happens when it turns pitch-black again? The world has been in its “light” cycle for a while. It’ll switch back soon. Then any sign will be useless.
No. I can’t think like that, can’t let the despair win. Caden will find me. He loves me. He won’t give up and neither will I.
Turning to Olivia, I pull my knife out of my crudely made pouch of leather. I start to dig it into a rock I pick up, scratching an A into it, thinking an S would be too hard for her to do. Any human letter will be enough for Caden. She looks at me, her large eyes blinking. It takes me a long time, but I eventually get her to copy me.
We leave signs with an arrow pointing in the direction we’re traveling. I tried to stay in place as long as I could, but we have to follow the movements of our prey.
My hair sits heavy on my head now. When loose, it hangs down to my feet. I need to cut it soon.
I can’t.
Not until I get out of –
Olivia swings towards me with a cry, lifting a leg to skewer me straight through the head. “What are you –”
The world vanishes. My stomach drops. My balance is thrown off completely, and I squeeze my eyes shut as I fall to my hands and knees. My fingers dig into something soft and foreign as they curl in the ground. A warm hand circles around my back.
“You’re okay, Sau. You’re okay.”
“Caden!” My head snaps up. I try to open my eyes, but the blinding light has me crying out and flinching away. He stands quickly. I reach for him, not needing my eyes to feel him moving, having got so used to the dark. A weird hum starts from one side of the room, something I have never heard before, but it kind of sounds like the radio when it’s on but not tuned to anything.
“Leave your eyes shut,” he says as he comes back to me.
Then his lips are on mine. His hands are between my thighs. I’m naked, my clothes having turned into rags a long time ago. He spreads my legs apart. There is the pull of a zipper and then his cock is being pushed into me.
