Mystic Resonance

Following a Cold Lead

It was a day later, and I hadn't made any progress on finding an escape route. I stayed clear from Leo and I'm certain he's doing the same thing. After our argument yesterday, I couldn't blame him. I deserved it. I'm such an ass. It wouldn't surprise me if he ignored me for the rest of his life. Hold on... does he WANT to stay here?!? Oh, my God! I pushed my best friend too far! Why am I such an ass?!

Anyway, the entire day I was investigating. I hid in the shadows to hear any juicy gossip. I didn't know how but they managed to leave whenever they had something to say. It's like they knew I was getting close. My last resort was sneaking into the bar. The moment I set foot I was immediately kicked out! Like holy shit! What did I ever do to make everyone hate me?!

Without any more leads, I went "home" emptyhanded. I walked to the living room and planted my face on the couch. I let out an agitated groan. This investigation wasn't supposed to be this difficult! Every time I tried to do something, this world gives me a big middle finger and says, "FUCK OFF!"

"Any leads?" I looked at the mutant worm, Warren, who was busy relaxing on the coffee table like a fucking slacker! He stays here at the clinic and "watches" over my guardian. "Judging by the way you throw yourself, I'm guessing no."

"You could give a hand", I told the lazy worm, "Hell, even Cuddles is doing a better job and she's fangirling me at the same time."

"Have you seen me? It took me a whole day to get from Point A to Point B. I'm doing you a favor." I flinched at the last statement. I said that exact sentence to Leo during our fight. My expression slacked. "You know instead of sulking; you could talk to your boyfriend and apologize. Seeing you mope and whimper like a kicked puppy is depressing."

"I'm not moping or whimpering", I weakly protested, "As if you know what it's like to be heartbroken." Yeah, I admitted it. So what? I'm depressed. I'm empty-handed. I'm alone. I have every right to say how I feel. I don't have the energy to finish the investigation. Besides, even if I did go to Leo and apologize, I don't know if he would forgive me. I was a total jackass. I wouldn't blame him if he never wants to see me again. I wouldn't either.

"Yeah... I don't know what's it like..." I heard the pause in between. I glanced at the worm, seeing him solemnly looking down. Great, I've struck a nerve. More people hate me! "Listen!" I felt a plop on my head. Warren suddenly regained energy. "We can't stay here any longer. The longer we stay here the more we get accustomed to believing we belong here. I'm not living in a fairy tale! To hell with your modern teenage drama and think of a plan!" He started yanking a few pieces of my hair.

I plucked Warren by his blue coat. "Why don't you come up with a plan? You've seen this over three hundred times. Surely you have something."

Warren huffed. "You're right. I've seen everything go through the plot over and over again, however! This time is different! The author is doing everything in their power to make sure you won't progress! They're stepping up their game. They want to make sure your boyfriend marries the hunter and you are out of the picture! We need to make a move! Now!" I couldn't agree with him more. I shifted to sit up staring up at the ceiling.

How to take down your opponent who knows what move you're going to make? We're up against the author; the god of this world. They write anything and it becomes reality. How to beat a god? I recalled reading a webcomic about a girl going through the same process. Her archnemesis is the female protagonist she created. The author who was trapped tries everything in her power to escape the school she was trapped in. The protagonist wanted her to accept her fate, but the author died repeatedly bringing her back to the day when all the chaos started (it's still going). It reminded me of our predicament. We're trying to escape from the role we were placed in. If only we could rewrite our fate.