Epics of Noche 3, Limbo

EON CH 05 - ACT 30, IT STILL LIVES

AN ISLAND OF TAR.

1774, NOVEMBER 28th, MONDAY7:57 am. 

A dying creature struggled on hands and knees through the woods. It collapsed as yellow moss grew over the fresh corpse. With a speed comparable to a timelapse it covered the dead body and dissolved all the rotting flesh into yellow foam.

Acrid bubbles swelled and popped, releasing acrid gas into the air. Gradually what remained shrank into the shape of a skull made of suds. A moment later, Noche stepped into the puddle of death.

"This forest has a creepy vibe to it," she said.

"Creepy," Grasshopper smiled. "What an apt choice of words."

A crocodile emerged from a basin of water. It had a centipede-like form and instead of dozen of reptilian or insectoid legs it had dozens of human hands. Countless solid black eyes opened up from where no eyes were previously on the thing's face.

"Who said the coma was over?" It gnashed its teeth. "Maybe you never woke up."

The thing slithered its unusually long body back into the moss-covered waters of another pond; its gaze never leaving the blondes. It vanished beneath the waters, leaving only a trail of slime in its wake. Noche's eyes stayed wide the entire time.

"How doth the little crocodile improves his shinning tail," Grasshopper tilted her head; smile plastered on her face. "And pour the waters of the Nile on every golden scale."

"Ok, nope, fuck that," she muttered. "This is a bit much."

"It's only going to get worse," Grasshopper patted Noche's shoulder. "This place is affected by your subconscious. If you're feeling scared, then more scary things will show up."

"How does that even—"

A spider descended in front of Noche's face. Its head was like a porcelain doll, but its mouth was two pincers.

"Even if you regained some memories, you'll forget them again," it chittered.

Grasshopper swatted the thing away.

"Shoo with you, bad thoughts."

The thing landed on the ground, turned to the blonde, and skittered backwards into the dark of the woods. Blood drained from Noche's face as she turned away from the sight.

"The mystery of life, the eternal unknown. It's beautiful, isn't it? That grand adventure" Grasshopper sighed. "Sorry. Your stray thoughts are distracting... But I guess consciousness never flows straight to the point. Does it?"

"I don't even know what half of that even fucking means!" Noche shouted.

"Maybe you're making it hard for me to speak."

Noche took in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and exhaled.

"I need to get out of here," she grunted. "Where did baby Noche go?"

"Ahh, yes. The desire for companionship. No human sadness is more profound, more shared, or more recognized than loneliness," Grasshopper said. "The pain of being alone is the most soul-ripping experience a person can have... Can you stay focused?"

"Are you on drugs? Cause it sounds like you are on drugs," Noche spat. "Like so many drugs. A huge amount of drugs. All of the drugs! All of them."