My Old Friend

I was watching Picasso, or PaKaSo as she prefers to see it written now, play with Navi when it happened. She was running around shoving Navi from different angles. Navi was flailing to fend off an assault from all angles and failing miserably. Hard to anticipate attacks from someone you can't see or hear.

PaKaSo stopped when I got the text. Navi did not. She kept flailing. When she eventually stopped, she took an anxious and nervous stand anticipating the assault to start again soon.

I was just standing there staring at my phone. Navi finally composed herself enough to ask questions.

"Wh-Whats going on?" she asked.

I held up the phone to show I had a text from Fracture.

"What the fuck doe he want?" they both asked at ominously the same time. They still do that sometimes. It creeps me out to no end.

I pressed the button to open the message.

'Meet me through the portal,' it said. Portal. What portal?

I held it up for them to see. Navi accidentally bump into Picasso trying to read it. Having finally found Picasso, this resulted in long over due retribution as Navi tackled Picasso to the ground and the two started to wrestle.

Not more than 10 seconds passed before a portal ripped open on the wall next to me. We all jumped back startled. Navi screamed and dove into a closet.

Picasso sighed and forcibly pulled me into a hug by the hair as I tried to step into the portal. I stood there stiff as a board for a moment, waiting for her to let go of the death grip she had on my hair.

"Don't fuck it up. If you die for nothing I won't forgive you," she huffed throwing me forward into the portal.

I barely caught my footing as I crossed the threshold. The portal sealed behind me. I was in the path... kind of. I was in a forest and the floor was coated in leaves and ash... for the first in all of my trips through there wasn't actually a path here. There also weren't any screaming monsters charging head first at me. I took a moment to calm and steel myself. I need to be ready in case on such screaming monster suddenly decided to show up.

Immediately before me was a house. Single story. It had a bent swing set in front of it, the seats for which were swinging themselves despite the bent shape causing them to slam into the ground and spin wildly with each trip back and forth.

I made my way for the burned and ruined looking house, going out of my way to steer clear of the swing set.

When I reached out to open the door it fell back off it's hinges and snapped in two against the floor. I sprang out, ready to go toe to toe with whatever was about to come charging out the door at me... but nothing came. Instead I heard giggles. They started at the front door and made their way to the back of the house. I followed the noise, being sure not to step on either piece or door for a reason I can't explain in hindsight. Just seemed like a bad idea. As if following disembodied giggles weren't.

 The giggles stopped as I rounded a hallway corner. There was an open door to the right of the wall. I assumed that was my destination. And I was right. Once at the door way I could see Fracture inside. He had a lab here. Beakers, and machines. Working appliances, apparently, and a bunch of items being kept is glass boxes.

It looked like a piece of azoth, chunk of broken wood, feathers, an oversize bug feeler or some kind, water, blood, rotting meat, fur, ink, cloth. All kinda of random shit. I watch him for a bit as he took a little bit of from each and every item from each and every box and added it to a boiling post.

"There we go. Now where is- Oh! There you are Moth. I was waiting. Were you standing there long?" he asked putting the boxes away from sight. I guess I wasn't supposed to see them.

"Ready to start the ritual?" he asked. I odded confidently and came over to his side.

"Good," he said pulling out a blow torch. "I just finished mixing everything together."

I raised an eyebrow a bit concerned for what that might be for. My attention was turned toward the door as Fracture's head snapped to face in that direction. Jack was there, looking pale as hell with black eyes. He was talking but there was no sound coming out of his mouth. Fracture nodded at him and threw out a hand, opening up a portal behind Jack that Jack quickly used to leave.

"Moron," huffed Fracture. "Where were we? Oh right. Starting the ritual. First we have some warnings. Things you need to know about," he said standing up and dragging a chair over to sit across from me, the boiling pot of random things between us.

"You're gonna need to be wary Moth. I don't know what happens once the ritual starts but from what I can its bad. Every sacrifice before you has turned into a gibbering psychotic mess and I anticipate you will too. Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this?"

I nodded.

He sighed a bit and then got the blow torch back out, pulling me over with his other hand until we both stood right in front of the pot.

"I'm gonna be perfectly honest with you, I have no idea what you do after this next part. Its gonna be all you. I'm gonna set up the rest of the ritual and gather up everyone when the day of your sacrifice comes but getting their and preparing yourself is gonna be all you."

I gave him a bit of a worried look. That wasn't quite what I was expecting.

"All I have for you in some words of wisdom from your predecessors. Trust nothing. Assume you know nothing. And if you ever find yourself in trouble, in the darkest moments men all else seems lost, look for me. Apparently, somehow, I will guide you. Ready."

I took a deep breath and nodded once more. Fracture grabbed me by the back of my head and shoved me face first just over the boiling water. It looks black and the vapors were nauseating. I hadn't realized how putrid a scent it was giving off until my nose was an inch away from it. I tried to jerk out from under him reflexively to escape the smell but he held my head there as he brought the now lit blow torch down with his other hand brought the torrent of blinding bright fire shooting out from it to the black boiling water.

To my surprise, when the fire hit the water it immediately produced a thick smoke. I coughed and thrashed as I choked out on the smoke... eventually I passed out.

I woke up in my bed alone with a note tapped to my forehead.

    'Good Luck shithead.'
                 -Fracture

Huh. So I guess it just up to me now. Goody.... no idea what I'm supposed to do... think I'm gonna try to finish my book before I go crazy.

Moth out.