Night Vale Unsolved

47

Cecil stared at Carlos. "Do something?"
Carlos sighed. "Talk to them! That's what you do, isn't it?"
Cecil considered. He did talk to people, quite a lot actually, but the people were never there in the room. Staring at him. Watching him. There's a difference between a crowded room and a radio studio.
Nevertheless, Cecil found himself climbing onto the low coffee table in the lounge and clearing his throat loudly. Sure enough, the crowd gradually tore their gaze away from Shane and Ryan and on to him.
"Ah," He began, suddenly at a loss for words. He glanced at Carlos, who nodded reassuringly. "Ok. Listeners," He began shakily, but felt himself getting into his usual rythm as he went on.
"Listeners, I know that we don't get many outsiders. When people do come, it's strange and new and maybe a little scary. But it shouldn't be. One of the best things to ever happen to me was a new person coming to town."
Cecil looked back to Carlos, and the two shared a loving smile.
"And Carlos has done so many things for our little community since he came. He is now a part of Night Vale, and proof that...that new things can be good. They can be bad, of course, let's not forget Strexcorp and the Smiling God, but, well, past performance is not a predictor of future results."
Cecil turned to look at Ryan and Shane, now considerably more at ease (and displaying vague confusion at some of what Cecil was saying).
"These two men," Cecil continued, "Much like Carlos, have come to Night Vale to learn about us."
"To steal our secrets!" Someone from the crowd yelled.
Caught off guard by the interruption, which didn't exactly happen to him normally, Cecil faltered.
"Um...no, no not to steal our secrets. No secrets necessary! They just want to explore our town and...and share it with others. Carlos and I even helped them to choose places that wouldn't get them in trouble, so it's not like they were doing anything illegal."
"I saw them talking to Old Woman Josie and her angels!" Larry Leroy called out, "Angels are illegal!"
"Angels don't exist," Cecil corrected, and Larry was quiet. "And anyway, it's not a big deal, right? They're just people, like us, going around our town, like we do. What really makes them so different?"

By this point, the people in the crowd were shifting with shame and discomfort. No one had an answer for Cecil, and they slowly began to shuffle towards the door. Some of the more stubborn ones lingered, but finally decided that there was no point in dragging it out.

And all of a sudden, the hotel lobby was empty except for Carlos, Shane, Ryan, and Cecil, who was still standing on the coffee table.