Trucks Are the Most Troublesome Things, You Know.

Chapter 3

After he'd jumped out of the window, he'd panicked and realized that he could've just walked out the front door.

"Why am I such an idiot?!" he screamed.

Lucky for him, he landed in a tree, with everything intact.

[All I need to do is walk over to her and take the diary. There's literally nothing stopping me, besides Ms. Final Boss over there. To get down, I'll want to create a barrier using the instructions that were in that book.]

First, he felt around for his glasses, which had fallen off when he jumped out (it was a miracle they'd survived up till then, and he wanted to keep them that way) and put them on, so he could open the flask, as well as pick up his hat, which he immediately shoved into his coat. Taking a sniff of it, he was temporarily incapacitated for a few seconds, and then thought, [What a strong smell. Is she sure this will help me? It stinks of alcohol.] Not questioning it, he dipped his pen barrel in and filled it up. [God, this is going to ruin my pen.] With the notebook, he drew a simple square, the symbol for a barrier.

Ripping the paper out, he held it in his hands. "Barrier," he stated as he touched the paper and let go of it, letting it drift down to the floor.

[Is this really safe? Whatever.]

He jumped down from the tree, and landed safely, the shock from the impact being absorbed by the barrier. It quickly disappeared, leaving only the paper.

[...I really don't understand how magic can do that...]

He picked it up nonetheless, and started walking past people like him, who should've been dead.

[Ignore them. They won't attack you, because you are equally as miserable as them.]

"My baby... Why did you kill her?!" a woman screamed, as another moaned in misery, "Why must I suffer? Why must I, and not my wife, suffer so? She is the one who did that to you... She is the one who murdered them-!"

[What horrifying shrieks. Keep calm, and move on. Think of kittens hanging from tree branches... ah, to think of it now, where is she? Have I just been wandering around without a clue?]

"Hello Toby, it's wonderful to see you."

"And you as well, I suppose, Vanessa. Which overly dramatic scriptwriter did you enlist the help of to make your rather [engaging] evil monologue?" Toby responded, turning around, seeing as she had snuck up on him. "I'd prefer that you don't touch me. I am somewhat sensitive to skin contact."

"Of course not. Now, I didn't expect such an action to be undertaken by your friends, sending you out of all people. That's rather insensitive, isn't it? And to think, you've come all the way out here to find me. As a gesture towards your late friend, Caroline, I think I'll allow you to tell me before I kill all of you. I can't have witnesses, you know."

"I've come to reclaim what is rightfully mine."

"Ah, your journal, which could rightfully be considered a parting gift from Caro-"

Toby sighed. "Just get to the point, please, my headache is killing me, and your fancy villain talk is not helping. Also, you do realize the whole point of the barrier is so people can watch, right? They'll think it's some on-scene filming or something, but they will watch, you know. And stop using high-level vocabulary!"

"Why can't I use high-level vocabulary? Why, villains are supposed to do so, in order to sound cultured and stuck-up!"

"But you're not cultured- you're just stuck-up! I mean, Lila could pull it off, and I wouldn't complain, but you- YOU, YOU ARE THE EPITOME OF GIRL WHO TALKS IN TEXT SLANG BECAUSE SHE CAN'T GET OFF HER PHONE! YOU- ah, it's not worth my time to describe how horrible you are at following basic grammar and spelling on the phone."