Heaven Gilded Zarcroft Hybrid

Thirty Three

The sun began to set a few hours after Dorothy left the hospital unit. They gave her glasses to block out bright light. They looked crystal clear to us, but tinted to her eyes.

To make up for lost time, we went to the game room. Sadly, Mobi wasn't available. He was "fixing Cynaline's car".

The game room was gigantic, with two floors, and colors and people in every corner. I couldn't begin to understand where and what everything was. Since it was past sunset, most of the lights were off, except for some soft spotlights scattered around.

A bunch of teenagers and kids played cards, cup stacking, dominos, game consoles, and way more. Jamie played with some girls in a life size board game, and Dorothy beat a bunch of people in ping pong.

Cynaline flew up to the second floor and found an air hockey table, and invited me to play with him.

    "You have air hockey on Dualgaea?" he asked, serving the puck.

    "Yeah, most of the stuff here, we have on Earth," I said. "They actually have a game room at the Youth Club."

    "Cool! Isn't that where Dorothy was supposed to be this summer? I didn't get to apologize yet. She was probably really excited."

    "You really don't have to. You think she wants to be there and not here?"

He chuckled, but his smile didn't last. "I didn't scare you or anything when you saw me and not Rosetta, did you?"

    "A little, until you explained what happened."

    "But I really didn't, did I? I gave her one of the charms to make her leave. It was the same thing I gave to Dorothy's mom."

    "Wait, what about my mom and Jamie's uncle?"

    "It spreads. Once Miss Grail told them, they believed what she believed. When you get back, they won't question it."

    "Cool..."

As we flung the hockey puck at each other, not really keeping score, I felt someone touch my arm.

I looked over, and saw Jamie standing outside of the rail. Standing—when there was no floor. He was floating!

    "How are you..."

    "Anti-gravity?" he said. "Coming?"

    "Yeah!"

I ran over to the top of the stairs. Jamie swam through the air, and held onto the stair rail as I got ready. Maybe I was pressing my luck with heights. I fell from the beanstalk, and could've fallen from the mall ceiling if I didn't get my head straight. Who's to say the anti-gravity wouldn't suddenly crash and send us to our graves? But I really didn't care.

    "Wait, let me put this stuff away..." I said.

I took off my glasses, and reached for the pendant around my neck.

But it was gone.

It wasn't tucked in my shirt, in any of my pockets, or on the floor around my feet. Where was it?

    "Cynaline, have you seen my egg necklace?" I asked.

He shook his head. In fact, he probably didn't even know I had a necklace. I didn't remember bringing it up with him.

    "Maybe you left it in the room?" Jamie suggested.

    "No... I never took it off," I rushed.

    "Even when you were sleeping?"

    "I don't know... I'll go check."

I didn't want to teleport to the room in front of everyone, so I decided to find it myself.

Luckily, the path back to the lobby was simple. Everyone had already returned to their rooms, besides a few people and those kids I met earlier. They were playing their board game while enjoying some snacks.

I decided to get something to eat, too. The fruit snacks by the drink dispenser looked delicious. But as I opened the bag, the stench became obvious. It smelled like fruit, but now, I thought it was utterly disgusting. I wasn't just satiated—I was repelled.

The thought of food made me nauseous...

I looked over at the kids. Seeing them eat made my stomach churn all the sudden. But since I had already opened the bag of fruit, I didn't want it to go to waste. Besides, it would be my apology for how I treated them earlier. Maybe it was just the guilt that was weighing on me—and if that's what true guilt felt like, I'd be a saint for the rest of my life.

    "Hi there!" I waved, as I approached them. "You want these?"

I set the bag next to one of them.

    "Thank you!" The little girl smiled.

I noticed the blue bandaid on her forehead.

    "Are you alright?" I asked.

A boy chimed in. "She fell in the kitchen closet."

    "Shut up!" she snapped.

She grabbed some of the fruit snacks and popped them in her mouth.

    "Halarde, can I have some?" one girl asked.

Halarde? Kitchen closet? It had to be the same closet we were in once we left the mall. The mall...

The mall! Maybe I left it in the mall when I teleported to the trap door. What if it fell and broke on the floor?

    "Did any of you see a necklace with an egg charm on the end?" I asked. "It was black, with gold splotches all over it? It means a lot to me."

They all shook their heads.

I had to keep looking.

    "Thanks anyway," I said. "Have a nice night."

⚝⚝⚝

It vanished. I checked everywhere it could possibly be. I even checked all over the bathroom. Sure, it's just a necklace. Dorothy lost a necklace a few years back and didn't complain—not to me, at least.

    "Jack?"

Cynaline walked out of the elevator, along with the others.

    "There you are!" Dorothy said. "Were you taking a nap?"

    "No, I was looking for my pendant," I muttered, crawling under my bed.

    "It's been, like, two hours."

    "I can't find it! I wanted to keep it!"

    "Well... it's a cheap necklace," Cynaline sighed. "There's probably more. I can order you another one."

I sat up, completely exhausted. And thirsty.

    "The mall," I said. "I think it's still in the mall. We should go get it."

Cynaline sat beside me on the floor. "We can't just go back. What if the siren goes off again? It's getting late."

    "It has to be there. I have the coordinates to the trap door, so we can always leave when we need to."

He looked at the ground, and nodded. "Fine. But don't lose the teleporter, too."