Terror. A dimension mirroring the living one--but morphed to reflect the imagination of its Overseer. And the current Overseer... has refused to relinquish her power for centuries, tormenting her souls--"terrors"--into becoming... zombies.
Arielle f...
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As they headed towards danger of unknown levels, Oscar brought up the rear, on alert for any threats. Benny kept to the middle, peering to and fro in a mix of apprehension and trying to put on a brave front, but unable to stand upright.
Arielle and Jade were up front, walking side by side, their arms brushing against one another with their every step.
"How did she do it? Penelope, I mean; how did she get you to..." Arielle winced, wondering how comfortable Jade was in detailing her death.
"To kill myself?" To Arielle's shock, Jade smiled. If triggered by the memory of her own wrongful death, she wouldn't show it. Jade was strong, stubborn, and wouldn't reveal weakness. She'd always been the blunt one in their group, the one who didn't mince words but spoke with eloquence. A sign of being raised in wealth. But because of her upbringing she'd learned to put on a facade, to protect herself from the public. And Arielle knew she used that same facade with her friends, too. "She... got into my head. Appeared before me and stuck her fingers into my temples." She mimicked the motion with a frown, as if summoning the pain it had caused. "And she broke in. She whispered into my brain, basically, telling me I had to. That the sooner I ended things, the better."
Arielle blew a raspberry. "That's so fucked up. She overpowered you because she didn't trust you?"
Jade shrugged. "She was right not to, in reality. I didn't know how, but I was planning on calling her out. On getting some kind of evidence to prove her existence, the existence of after-life dimensions, all that. Why do you think I was so obsessed with Ghost Adventures?" She let out a muffled chuckle. "I wanted to talk to them, tell them what I'd found out. I'd written emails, you know." She craned her neck to Arielle, who raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, asking them to meet with me. I died before seeing if I had a reply."
Since Jade's laptop wasn't among the items her parents permitted Arielle to take, and she'd never figured out her password, Arielle had never accessed any of this. "That does explain your obsession, a little." She wiggled her fingers, desperate to keep them alive, not numb. She'd need them to be warm, to weave between Jade's fingers, at some point. When she was ready to confess her feelings. "Your parents—they blocked the truth out, so I bet they found the emails and deleted them. If Zak answered, I guarantee your mother told him to fuck off."
Jade snorted. "Oh, Mother. I can hear her saying that, actually."
She squinted at Arielle, slowing her paces to not lose her balance on the suddenly uneven terrain. They'd arrived at the mouth of a forest clogged with trees, and with snow piled in chunks all over the path, rendering their route more treacherous. This was the first time any of them had found actual snow—until that point it had been ice and fog and frosty temperatures.
The snow must mean we're even closer.
"So... I assume they covered it up? The suicide?" Arielle nodded, and Jade resumed looking ahead, being careful to dodge the snowiest parts of the passage. "Of course they did. They wouldn't want it known that their precious, God-loving daughter would commit such a sin. Pricks," she spat, then wiped her mouth, "sorry. I've grown to hate them even more since I landed down here."
