Hidden Mysteries

I Don't Know How They Think, But What Do They Want?

"You sure you don't want to tell Balloon and Suitcase about last night?" Fan asks me as the two of us walked to the park, where Suitcase had asked us to meet. "I mean, this seems kind of important, if Merripen is apparently doing this to you like you said..."

"It's not that I don't want to tell them," I say slowly, wringing my hands together. "It's just...complicated, okay? I just need to...think things through for a while."

"But are you going to tell them?" Fan isn't trying to push me here, I know that, but I can tell that he's worried about me. He can be socially awkward at times, but he's known me for so long that he can read me like a book. He probably knows that my mind is swarming with conflicting thoughts and emotions.

"I'm going to eventually. I promise." I adjust my glasses as we approach the two middle schoolers sitting at a picnic table, Suitcase holding one of the journals close to her while rambling about something to Balloon, who listens quietly with a tired look on his face. "Hey there, you two!"

Suitcase turns around to look at the two of us. "Oh, hey Test Tube! Hi, Fan!"

"Hey guys," Fan waves, making a peace sign. "Balloon, you doing okay?"

"Well, in all honesty, I'm still feeling kinda wiped out," Balloon admits sheepishly. "But on the other hand, I got to kick a demigod in the face, so I guess that's a win, isn't it?"

"I guess that's one way to be an optimist," I chuckle, sitting down next to him as Fan slides next to Suitcase. "So, what did you want to talk to us about, Suitcase?"

"Well, I already told Balloon last night, but we know who wrote these now!" she exclaims, holding the journal up in the air. "It was my mom! She wrote them!"

"Wait, what?" I blink in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

"Her dad Baseball told her last night, apparently," Balloon explains. "You should have seen her last night when she rushed over to tell me, she was shaking so fast I thought she'd phase through a wall or something."

"I don't believe that Baseball was telling me everything, but holy crap, we know the answer to one of the biggest questions I've been asking myself!" She got up and began pacing back and forth, swinging her hands around as she began rambling. "But there's also more questions! Like, why did Mom start recording everything in these journals? How long has she been doing it for? And why are these journals important to the prophecy?"

"Woah, calm down, Suitcase," Fan chuckles. "You're going to blow a fuse in there if you keep rambling."

"I know, I know," she sighs, staring down at the journal. "It's just that...I want the answers so badly, Fan. They're all so close, I can just taste it." Suitcase heads over to her bag, reaching inside and pulling out the map she had gotten from Battery, spreading it out on the table. "And the next question we have now...where next? As far as I can tell, there's not exactly a key to distinguish what all these marks on the map mean..."

I lean over the table, my eyes scanning the map quietly, my mind flashing back to the dream I had last night, to my encounter with Merripen. I could help Suitcase, I really could. I just had to...

I bite the inside of my cheek. No, I can't. I won't go to Merripen for help. I'm doing this on my own, just my friends and I.

"Why not this spot here?" I point to a large cyan dot marked near the edges of town. "I've got a good feeling about that area, maybe we'll get lucky."

"Oh, that looks like the area near Castle Judas!" Balloon gasps, glancing at the spot on the map.

"Castle Judas?" Suitcase echoes, staring over at her friend.