(12) Cities in Dust
Riley finished reading Ash’s poem with a somber look on her face. But Ash wasn’t having any of it. He shut it down with a charming smile.
“So, was that good enough to earn meeting Lady?”
Riley scoffed. “That was a lot, is what that was.”
“Yeah, it is a lot. But I didn’t tell you so that you would take on my problems.”
Riley sat next to Ash on the bed. She laid her head on his shoulder. They stayed liked that for a few minutes before Riley couldn’t take it anymore.
“You want me to leave this room but to do that we have to go through that door.”
“I know. Believe me, I know. But this is what we do. We are going to keep going. Ok?”
“I hate that so much.”
“I know, beautiful.”
Eventually Riley relented. “I don’t think there is any point in going further up. Let’s go find my stupid brother.”
Riley lifted her weight off Ash but he took her hand before they had fully parted. He got up to leave adding, “Well if the four flights up didn’t do it the four flights back down should tame you.”
Riley groaned as he pulled her along. Thankfully he was focused on their path and didn’t see her cringe as he walked through the doorway. They were quiet for the first flight or so. Riley followed behind Ash absently, lost deep in thought.
She finally vocalized some of her thoughts when she asked him, “I still don’t really get it. How can you always have a smile? How are you not crazy?”
Ash looked back and wiggled his eyebrows. “Those are not mutually exclusive you know.”
Riley smiled, and Ash continued, “Yes. I have been through some harsh stuff. I was sixteen with that first doorway.” He worked his bottom lip for a minute. “You just figure it out.” They stopped for a minute, and he looked at her deeply. “You will figure it out.”
Because he was going down first when he turned around their faces were at the same height, and so close. If they had done it on purpose to kiss, they couldn’t have positioned it better. There was a flash of electricity freezing them in place.
Ash let out a laugh and turned around. He resumed pulling Riley down the stairs while she turned a bright shade of red.
They were still holding hands when they went through the door back living room. However oblivious they were within the moment they were sharing, everybody else noticed the breach of etiquette immediately. Whatever cooling off Saint had done in their time apart was immediately reignited.
He rolled his eyes, and started in on a tirade. “Oh wow. I can’t believe…”
But it was Riley who shut it down this time. She cut him off, and firmly stated, “It’s not the time, Saint. Leave it alone.”
Saint continued to openly fume in their direction. Ash went for the redirection with Lou who was sitting and watching the show from the loveseat.
“Did you guys find anything interesting?”
Lou shook his head. “Nothing really. The basement was pretty normal, and no sign of Bliss anywhere. How about you?”
Ash opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted by Bliss coming in from the kitchen. “Did I hear my name?”
Everyone else stared at her, mouths open, gob smacked. Riley was thrilled. She ran across the room to wrap Bliss in a giant hug.
“Damn! I really thought you had bailed on us!”
Bliss happily accepted Riley’s hug. “Aw! Good to see you too sweetie! You really thought I was going to let you idiots have all the fun?”
Bliss gave Riley one last squeeze and then stepped back so that she could tell everyone.
“Yeah, I thought we were going in the front door but then I was in a room somewhere in the back with no door. Like a bedroom, I guess. It sucked, absolutely nothing to do. So, I took a nap. When I woke up, I looked over and what do you know! There was a door.”
Bliss was gesturing around as she spoke, commanding the room with her presence. She was like a bard weaving a story in a tavern. With her convincing tone, and unflappable confidence.
Lou was the only one unphased by her brand of magic. “No! No. We checked all the rooms and you weren’t there.”
Bliss didn’t waver a second. “So. I left that place, and ended up in the kitchen. That was amazing, because I was hungry after that nap.”
She pointed at Saint, “You get it. Anyway, I was trying to make a sandwich but I could not find the bread.” Bliss flopped down on the full-sized couch, in the dead center. Her posture and arms wide, giant head of curly hair bouncing. “But luckily this lady came in, and told me it was in the refrigerator. The refrigerator of all places. The bread was so stale, and I already had such a dry mouth.”
There was a moment where everyone processed what Bliss said. Riley was the first to move, headed for the kitchen. Everyone else followed, Bliss lagging behind with an added, “I just sat down.”
She grunted as she got up, and trailed the group into the kitchen. There was no one there. Not even the remnants of a sandwich.
Riley tried to rally the group. “We can’t keep pretending this adds up.”
She was met with silence. She shook her head with furrowed brows. Lou eventually answered, “We know that it is just a house. Why are we even still here?”
Saint murmured an agreement and even Bliss nodded along. “What am I missing? We found an endless number of upstairs. Bliss saw a lady that doesn’t exist. This house isn’t right.”
Bliss added a correction. “A ghost lady.”
Riley pursed her lips. “Ghost lady?”
Bliss threw up her hands, “What? Didn’t I say that?”
Riley took a deep breath. She looked first to Saint, and then thought better and asked Lou, “You really didn’t find anything in the basement?”
Lou looked up and away, trying to think. He finally came back with, “There was some ivy on the walls?”
Riley tilted her head. “Ok. So, what does any of this add up to?”
Silence was her answer. And then there wasn’t silence and it was so much worse.
Outside the temple bell began to ring.
Five strong chimes, just like every other day, automated as it was with its weights and elaborate system of gears. It would be considered a great town tragedy that no one thought to throw a hammer into it, or stop it in some way. But those that were there swear that it just wasn’t something they thought about. Worried as they were with fleeing and hiding.
By the third chime, the house woke up. For reasons unknown to the five inside, none of the stuff inside the house moved. Armoires, bookshelves, the refrigerator, and cabinets. All things that should have been shaken loose were staying neatly in their place, gleefully defying all the laws of physics.
Bliss, Saint, Ash, Lou, and Riley were not so lucky. They went flying across the room, bashing indiscriminately against all the lovely wood and tile that was being spared the flinging.
