Riddle Middle Two

Chapter 21: The Fiend

Smiley (3rd person)

Smiley woke up back in a cell. This was a common occurrence by now. She was in a small one, alone. A few minutes after she woke up, a tall, unfamiliar humanoid came into her cell. "Alright..." he said. He grabbed her arm and pulled her up. He took Smiley out of her cell and down the hallway, to a much larger cell containing Phil, Phred, Zack, and Pico. They were all unconscious. The humanoid shoved her inside. The door closed shortly after. Smiley's friends all woke up a couple of minutes later, around the same time. "Where are we? Oh..." Zack said, looking around. "We don't even get a toilet this time?" Phred asked. "I guess not. It's probably 'more efficient'," Phil said. The door opened again, and a humanoid in a suit was thrown into their cell by another, slightly shorter one. They looked different than the others they'd seen. They had two masses on the sides of their body, protruding out of their suit.

Phil (1st person)

"Ugh..." the humanoid thrown into our room groaned, standing up. "Oh," she said, looking to me and my friends. I'm assuming it was a girl, at least. She reached one hand up to her head, where she rhythmically tapped the back of her neck. The head of her suit then detached from the body. "How did you do that?" I asked. "Oh, yeah, I forgot you could talk," she said. She yanked the head of her suit off and pulled the body off after. She had wings. Folded wings attached behind her arms on the side of her body. She had long, sharp, smooth horns on her forehead. She also had a tail. It started pretty thick, but it got thinner towards the end. It had a triangle-like shape on the end of it. She had long, smooth hair. Her eyes were bright white, like the ones in the suit. Her skin, wings, horns, everything was black and shiny.

3rd person

Phil awoke soon after observing the demon girl. He found that he wasn't in his room, or even his house. He was in Phred's room, though Phred was nowhere to be found. Smiley, Zack, and Pico, however, we're scattered around the room. Phil blinked. "Phil?" Smiley asked, looking at Phil hopefully. "I... Where... Did you guys have another dream?" Phil asked. "When? Just now?" Zack asked. "Yeah," Phil said, his memories becoming clearer. "Well, you were just asleep a second ago," Pico said. "I was? Oh... Well, why are we here, in Phred's room? Where's Phred?" Phil asked. "We decided to meet in his apartment last night. Don't you remember?" Zack said.

"I guess I was just tired last night," Phil said. "Maybe," Pico said. "I... Where's Phred?" Phil asked again. "He's in the bathroom," Smiley responded. "Oh," Phil said. After a moment of awkward silence, Phil turned his attention back to Smiley, who was staring blankly at the wall. "Are you alright, Smiley?" Phil asked. Smiley continued staring at the wall. "Smiley?" Phil asked. Smiley turned her head towards Phil, her blank expression yet to change. "Um... Are you alright?" Phil asked again. "Hm? What? Me? Oh, yes, I'm fine," she said. Phil, having known Smiley for a while, immediately realized that something was off. You never talk like that... He thought. "I'm... going to check on Phred," she said. "Why?" Zack asked, as Phred had only been gone for a few minutes. Smiley ignored Zack's question and left the room.

Phred (1st person)

On my way back to my room, I was confronted by Smiley. She stood in front of me, blocking my bedroom door. "Uh... hi," I said. She stared at me. "Can I get by?" I asked. "I, um... Can you come over here for a second?" She asked. I didn't have much of a choice, since she'd grabbed my arm and was beginning to lead me across my apartment. "Here," she said, stopping at a window near the dining room table. She opened the window. "There. Do you see it?" She asked, pointing out of the window. "What?" I asked. Rather than answering my question, she went behind me and grabbed my shoulders.

Pico (1st person)

Smiley came back a few minutes later. "Where's Phred?" Zack asked. "Oh, uh... His cat got out so he's trying to get her," Smiley said. "Why would he open the door?" I asked. "Uh... We should just wait for him to come back," she said. "Okay, I guess..." Phil said. "Pico, can you help me with something?" Smiley asked. "Sure," I said. She gestured for me to follow her, so I did. We went to the kitchen. "There," she said, pointing to the top of a relatively high cabinet. "What?" I asked. "I... I thought I saw a mouse," she said. "Oh, alright," I said, craning my neck to get a better view. "I don't see anything," I said, looking down to Smiley. She reached for a large knife. "Um... What are you gonna do with that?" I asked.

Zack (1st person)

Smiley came back without Pico. "Where's Pico?" I asked. "Oh, he had to go," she said. "...Maybe we should go home as well," Phil said. "Yeah..." I said. We all dispersed from Phred's apartment. Later that day, I decided to go on a walk with Lauren in the park. Me and her met up, and everything was normal. After walking around for a bit, I got the feeling of being watched. "Do you feel like someone's watching us?" Lauren asked. "Yeah, I was just thinking that..." I said. I heard what sounded like breathing from a nearby bush. "Do you hear that?" I asked. "Yeah... Go see what it is," Lauren said, pushing me towards it. "Fine," I said. The closer I got to the sound, the further it seemed to move away from me.

Lauren (1st person)

Zack never came back. I went to look for him, but I never found him. There weren't footprints or anything else for me to follow. It was like he just disappeared.