MANIC MONSTER DISPLACEMENT

Chapter 17 - THE PENDULUM

A roar of excitement bellowed throughout the community center as a dozen or so kids ran past Cain. The center had decided to hold an event the week before Halloween to get the spirits up and to get some extra funds before then as well. Cain decided to attend, mostly curious as to what they considered Halloween. It was similar enough, Cain had noticed that quite a few things in this world were. But, it was still vague enough to make him feel strange.

A majority of the events were for the kids, so Cain stuck to walking around and looking at the various prop up stands that had been put up. There were baked goods, tacky pieces of homemade trinkets, the usual. Eventually, Cain spotted a booth that Cecelia had been sitting at. And, he decided to walk over. “Hey,” He greeted, making her look up from her phone. “Oh, hey,” She said, setting down her phone on the counter. There was nothing set on the booth, like all the other neighboring it, not even a donation jar. “My parents helped pay for a majority of this event, we got the booth as a thank you,” Cecelia clarified, after noticing the look on Cain’s face. She stood up, shoving the chair to the side. “It’s really boring, though,”

She picked her phone back up, putting it in her fuzzy, white jacket. “It’s not like I have to be there, anyway,” She shrugged, walking over to Cain. “I just got bored with hearing screaming children,” Cain chuckled at that, putting his hands in his pockets. “It’s been awhile since we’ve hung out, hasn’t it? It’s been since the carnival, at least,” He said, glancing to the side. It was a gorgeous day out, that was for sure. He just wished he brought his headphones. “Ugh, gods, don’t remind me of that… Could that even be considered hanging out?” She groaned, crossing her arms. “Barely even did anything before, y’know, everything else happened,” Cain awkwardly nodded at that, the pair walking back down the row of booths as they spoke.

“Yeah, that’s true. A lot has happened after then, though, I’ve been meaning to tell you,” He said, smiling at the various pumpkin carvings scattered all around the ground. “You're fine, Rocky’s been keeping me updated… For the most part,” She said, rolling her eyes a little. “Did the one ‘guy’ finally help you out? Or, what? He never told me that,” Cain nodded happily, leaning in a little. “Thankfully, he did a lot more than I had been expecting,” He looked around, making sure not many people were around. “Might even find a way home,”

Cecelia paused when hearing that, doing a bit of a double take. “Really??” She said, Cain nodding in confirmation. “Huh, well, then. That’s exciting, isn’t it? Far better than any of the alternatives I was expecting,” She said, taking a breath of fresh air, when they stepped out of the small plaza. “I don’t know about you, but, I can’t stand pumpkin spice,” She said, huffing a little. “October isn’t one of my favorite months,” Her snakes seemed to disagree on that, seeming quite disappointed she hadn’t changed her mind.

“Eh, I’ve never loved it. I only really like pumpkin pie, and, like, cider.” He snickered. “I don’t actually think apple cider has pumpkin spice–” They continued walking through the community center, catching up and just speaking about general topics. Like, why can’t snakes have arms? Who decided that? Mean people, clearly. They wrapped around the building, finally stopping at the entrance. “Man, it’s a lot easier to walk when you’re having a conversation,” Cain said, taking a moment to breathe. “It’s the same for the phone call, for me, I always find myself in random spots,” Cecelia said, blinking when the entrance door swung open. Out came Shax, cursing up a storm as two employees ushered him out.

Cain awkwardly sighed, and Cecelia watched in mild mirth. “What do you think it is this time?” Cecelia asked, turning to Cain. “… Mmm, I’ll say he punted a small child,” Cain said. “… Wait, really?? I was going to say, like, he insulted somebody–” Shax shouted at the employees for a few more minutes before turning around, and stomping over to the two, when he saw him. “What did you do?” Cain asked, making Shax cross his arms. “I punted a small child, and they totally overreacted!”