(SCRAPPED VERSION) The Other Side of The Planet

Chapter V

After evading the sight of numerous policemen and hiding from many patrol cars, the two begin to reach the end of their directions. "I think we can speak now," Ogden says.

"Thank goodness," Ackely says, relieved. "What do you think we'll see when we get there, Oggy?"

"Hmm... A whole crowd of people, perhaps. Maybe limousines, too."

"Ooh, wouldn't that be exciting! Do you think Biff will still have her costume on?"

"Oh, absolutely. That's kind of their thing, y'know? Nobody knows what they look like."

"True... Oggy, you don't think that this is a sting, is it?"

"Do you mean a trap set up by the police?"

"Yeah. I mean, we've been breaking into a school and using the showers for almost a year now. Plus, we assaulted like 4 officers."

"Uh... it was self defense?"

They both joyously chuckle as they peddle along.

"Ooh! Oggy, look!"

Ogden looks farther ahead and sees a beach in the distance.

"C'mon! Peddle faster!"

As the two quicken their pace, the beach comes nearer until the sand seems to match the horizon itself in width.

"Wow!" Ackely exclaims. "I can't even see where the beach ends!" They both admire the size of the shore for a moment, before realizing that the sand is as desolate as it is wide. "Where's all the people...?"

"Not sure... Wait, I think I see someone! Over there!" Ogden points to a lanky figure, illuminated by the moonlight, shrouded in a black robe with a large tail trailing from the back of the hood.

"That's got to be Biff!" Ackely says. "I remember the shape of their heads!"

Just then, the figure turns to them and waves. Its arm stretches much higher than that of a cretus should. What appears to be a face is as white as the moon itself, with details too small to discern. The two dash towards the figure. As they come near, they start to slow, digging their talons into the sand. Ackely looks up at the figure. "You must be Biff, am I cor-"

His eye widens as the color drains from his face. The figure wasn't showing a face, but a mask; a mask that was very familiar to Ackely and Ogden. The mask bears two slanted, blue and yellow eyes, with horizontal pupils and points at the tops and bottoms. The same eyes that they'd seen scribbled in countless journals. The same eyes they'd seen illustrated by ancient scribes. And just below the eyes was a toothy, yellow, misaligned yet symmetrical grin. The same grin they'd seen in so many illustrations, chanting and bringing the end of time, whether it be by summoning ghouls and demons from the ground, or a malevolent god from the sky. The figure as a whole was much, much more humanoid than any cretus could be.

The two stand in silence, stricken with both immense fear and shock. Ogden musters the courage to speak ever so faintly.

"You're..."

The voice of Biff emerges from the mouth of the mask, which moves as she speaks. "I see. Listen, there's no need to be afraid. I'll explain once we get on the boat."

"Boat?" Ogden asks. "Where are you taking us?"

"You'll see, ok? This has nothing to do with anything you've read before, I promise."

"How do you know we-"

"Anyone else would think I'm just a prankster in a costume. Kids do this all the time after our shows. Now, let's hurry. We can't have any of your kind seeing this."