Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The gravel road was marked with potholes and Madeline could feel each pebble vibrate through the steering wheel up through her shoulders and into her chest. The trees were starting to spill over themselves into the road. She had turned her brights on an hour ago, when the sun had hardly set, in an attempt to fight her growing claustrophobia. And now it was dark. Almost pitch black. Every so often there would be a streetlamp along the lonely electrical line, but that was the only reprieve from the darkness. Even then, most of the lights had burned out long ago. What lights there were gave off only enough light to illuminate the softly falling snow. She had to be one of the last people to attempt the climb this year. Of course she had to get such a late start; she couldn’t even embark on… whatever kind of journey this was without procrastinating. She had packed her tent and camping gear, keeping the jacket from her mom hung by the door. Everything was ready that night but when the morning came she lay in bed for hours, watching videos on her laptop instead of getting out the door. Now she might not even make it to a campsite until almost midnight.

The road came to a clearing and then an immediate end. Even in the intense dark she could see Celeste Mountain, it’s twin peaks rising above her like something out of Lord of the Rings. Someone had posted on a hiking forum that it was the most rewarding mountain they had ever climbed but she hadn’t imagined it would look like this. She sat with her hands on the wheel as the engine ran, staring at it. It might as well be Everest. “This is it, Madeline.” Her chest tightened and she felt her stomach drop. Oh no. Not now. “Just breathe,” she told herself, “Why are you so nervous?” She tried to force the feeling away, as far away from her mind as she could. It didn’t really work. Okay, maybe try something else. She turned off the car, opened the door, grabbed her backpack and headlamp and stepped out. Something that looked like it was once a sign sat by an overgrown trail-head, but the sign was in pieces and anything intelligible there had long since worn away. More deep breaths. She glanced back at the car. “You could still leave. You just have to turn around, open the door and drive back,” she thought, “What if you get stuck on the mountain? Or what if it snows more and the engine in the old car freezes? Nobody comes up here. What if...” she shook her head. She had to start walking or she’d be paralyzed again.

The path cut into the forest, slicing backwards and forwards until the trail became a catwalk that hung on the side of a cliff. It wasn’t narrow, but Madeline found herself staying as close as possible to the walls. When she was more than halfway across the face, she heard a low rumble and then a tremendous crack. She jumped forward and whipped around to see a boulder fall and carve a chunk out of the trail. Her heart pounded and she heard herself panting. “Just breathe. Keep moving.”

The rest of the cliff she almost jogged across. She only needed to get through this part of the climb and it had to get easier, right? Instead, it bent sharply upwards and became a tangled, overgrown mess of rocks and roots. The snow wasn’t sticking yet, but she found herself scrambling on her hands and knees. What was she doing? This was barely a trail! The only signs of life were the wire that traced a path above the trail, and the burnt out lamps that lead her up. Then the trail evened out, the roots pulled away and more of the lights began to work. Over the next half kilometer, the trail lost its steepness until it was almost flat and if she didn’t think too hard, it was almost pleasant. The one mystery was the wire, but it was a mystery that was soon solved.

The wire ended at a cabin that grew out of the forest just as organically as the trees. It was old. Very old, but hardly in disrepair. The best description, Madeline decided, was simple. The roof and siding were made of thick wood shingles and under the windows were small planters boxes, but Madeline couldn’t believe anything could grow in these conditions. Smoke coming out of the chimney signaled that the cabin was very much inhabited and soon, she saw an old woman, with bright, white hair, a green wool sweater and a scarf that seemed as much a part of her as the hair on her head, carrying a load of chopped firewood back into the house. Madeline watched her bring it inside and noticed an enormous hatchet sticking out of a tree stump not far away. There was no way that old woman could lift that thing, was there? Much to Madeline’s surprise, the old woman came back out using a cane to support herself. This couldn’t be the mountain trail, could it? When she had looked it up, none of the reports mentioned anything about a cabin. She had to ask somebody, right?

“Excuse me Ma’am,” she forced out. The old woman turned, smiling; she didn’t seem surprised. That was odd. But it was the way she looked at Madeline; with eyes that seemed to peer directly into her very being, and an odd, almost taunting smile. Madeline was immediately self-conscious. It was like the woman was reading her entire life at a glance. Was it that obvious this was her first time climbing? She wanted to hide behind the bangs that had come loose on the trail. She started to feel something bubbling up, but she was determined to be cheerful. “The sign out front is busted…” she slowed; the woman didn’t seem surprised or concerned by this, “is this the mountain trail?”

“You’re almost there,” the woman continued to smile, “it’s just across the bridge.” There was something about the way she smiled. There was no question she was being helpful, but clearly she was leaving many of her thoughts unsaid. Should she say something about the ridge? It was probably best not to, it would come across as complaining about this woman’s home. She walked towards the trail, but something in her wouldn’t leave it be.

“By the way, you should call somebody about the trail. The ridge collapsed and I nearly died.” Okay, well that could have been worse. This woman should know the trail was extra dangerous, and it wasn’t like she was rude or anything in saying so. The woman’s smile quickly broke out into an uproarious laughter; almost doubling over with the way it wracked her body. Madeline wasn’t sure what was happening, was the woman insane?

“If my driveway almost did you in, the Mountain might be a little much for you,” the woman managed to get out through the laughs. Madeline felt her fear turn to anger. What was wrong with this woman? She was out here to push herself, not be laughed at! Who did this woman think she was?

“Well if an old bat like you can survive out here, I think I’ll be just fine!” Madeline snapped, having no affect on the woman’s laughter.

“Suit yourself,” she said, as the laughter turned to a chuckle, “but you should know...” her eyes began to look past Madeline, “Celeste Mountain is a strange place.” Her voice began to turn and her eyes grew wider, like she was scaring children at a campfire. “You might see things.” Her eyes grew wider still and she tilted her head to the side. “Things you ain’t ready to see.” She started laughing again. Clearly she had lived alone way too long; the old bat had lost her mind! Madeline’s scowl deepened, “You should seek help, lady,” she threw out and in a huff, turned around and continued down the trail into the forest. The woman’s laugh echoed behind her, following her through the trees.

The old woman watched the young redhead storm down the trail. “Oh dear,” she chuckled, “the mountain really is going to tear her apart.”

The bridge stretched out in front of her, across a vast canyon. It was an ancient stone bridge, held up by poles that disappeared into the gorge below. Madeline could swear she still heard the old woman’s laughter deep in the forest. She had to block it out. She made it about five meters onto the bridge when she felt it shake. She looked behind her to see the stones that she had stepped on, not moments before crumble and fall.

Run.

“Don’t look back Madeline!” She could hear the bridge collapsing only a few meters behind her. The bridge in front of her seemed to stretch. “Just keep running! Don’t stop!” The rumble of the bridge was getting closer. “Faster!” She wasn’t going to make it. The other side of the canyon was right there. “Jump!” She jumped.

She almost made it. The edge of the canyon was right in front of her, so close she saw handholds she could use to climb, but it was just out of reach. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. Was this how it was going to end? She reached out and with all of her will, tried to push her jump, just a little bit further. It was as if the air and the canyon itself felt her effort. Something pushed her upwards and forwards, and she reached out instinctively, grabbed hold of the edge of the canyon and pulled herself up before she could think about it.

The old woman was right. There was something weird about this mountain. She sat staring at where the bridge had been, trying desperately to catch her breath. She closed her eyes, trying to slow her racing heart and repeated the words she’d been thinking ever since she’d first read about Celeste Mountain.

“You can do this.”

Chapter Text

Madeline couldn’t decide whether to move faster, or slower. The collapsing bridge would not soon leave her mind and each step felt ever the more risky. Her heart still pounded with adrenaline, but there was also something new. The moment where… something had pulled her forwards held her attention even more than the sickening drop. She couldn’t understand it. Had a sudden gust saved her life? Was the cliff wall closer than she thought? Could she have built enough momentum with the extra weight of her pack? As she thought more and more, the only sensible option made absolutely no sense at all.

She had pushed herself forwards.

How was that possible? The old woman had said the mountain was a strange place, but strange is entirely separate from magical. She sent a probe deep inside her consciousness and no magic reared its head, but there was no mistaking it, something felt… off. No, that wasn’t the right way to put it. It was like every feeling, every emotion, every sense was a little bit heightened, and hit her a little bit more. Soon she came face to face with a city, growing from the mountain like lichen, sprawling out in countless directions. So this was the city the guidebook had mentioned.

She had only heard bits and pieces, it seemed that nobody had the whole story. Some said that an eccentric billionaire wanted to build a company there, but when they died the money dried up. Some said the Canadian government was trying to manufacture another ski resort town. Still others had horror stories that were laughed at and dismissed, but after everything Madeline had experienced, she wasn’t sure anymore. Even from a distance it was clear the city was nowhere close to completion, and as she followed the trail closer it became clear that whoever built it had gotten deep into the project, and then given up in a hurry. Paint cans and ladders covered the half-built roads that had been half-destroyed by sinkholes and avalanches. Visible scaffolding had been built along the mountain for an unknown purpose that they had never begun to reach. Under construction signs were everywhere. Almost all of the rafters were exposed and some had been there long enough to have a jacket of moss.

This was not the kind of place to be figuring out whatever weird magic she was dealing with. She had no idea what happened, or if she could do it again, but there was no turning back even if she wanted to. The collapse of the bridge had seen to that. Whatever was happening inside of her, now was the time to learn about it. After all, she’d need all the help she could get.

“Okay,” she thought, “what happened there on the bridge… I was scared, I was falling, I thought I was going to die,” a shiver worked its way through her spine. Whatever it was, her close call with death wasn’t an experience she wanted to relive. “The important thing is how do I do it again?” Maybe it was some kind of Star Wars thing? She looked around and picked a suitably empty spot in the field, closed her eyes and raised her hands, calling upon the force to bring her to it. She reached out, trying to feel it in the night… but her boots only gained an extra layer of snow. Maybe there was some unconscious spell she had uttered? One of her roommates in college had been really into Wicca and Madeline had always just laughed it off, but maybe there was something to it. She tried to think up words to make a spell, but still, no magic came sprouting forth.

She tried one thing after another, putting together parts of any magical system she had ever read about or thought about and one by one, they all failed. She jumped and tried to coax the air to push her, she screamed random words that she thought might have been Latin, she offered secrets to whatever God or demon might be listening and still nothing happened. After fifteen minutes of attempts, she was beyond frustration, “I just...need to be...THERE!” she screamed and looked towards the spot across the field.

It worked.

She zipped forward, flying directly towards the city, sliding across the ice until inertia finally brought her to a stop almost ten meters away. Her heart pounded. That was it? It was just her determination that pushed her forward? Was that all? She had to try again. She looked back at the spot she came from and thought, with all her will, about how she needed to be there, and she was tugged forwards to it. She started to giggle, and then laugh; it was really fun! It was like she was on a roller coaster!

For the next few minutes, she jolted herself backwards and forwards across the field, giggling with glee as each push from her mind sent her into the wild dash. The only limit was the need to let her feet touch the ground before she could dash again. It was like she had learned how to fly. Or maybe she had always known, but nowhere else in the world would let her. It was like she was a ballerina and a sprinter, rolled into one, with the fury and the grace of both. She dashed again, casting herself out into the night, and immediately tripped on a root, catapulting herself head over heels into a snow drift. So much for the ballroom.

She picked her head up out of the snow and caught a glimpse of something on the other side of the drift. A glint of red, poking out of the blanket of snow. It was a strawberry. Just a single, miraculous strawberry, reaching out into the blizzard like a torch. She couldn’t believe it. All of the berries should have shriveled up ages ago, but somehow, outside of the rusty city, at the start of winter, there was a bright, red, ripe strawberry. She had to grab it. Maybe she could replenish her energy on the climb, or even just prove that she found it. Or maybe it would work as an apology to the old woman for snapping at her. That felt right, a miracle berry like this would be a perfect gift after she made it to the summit. If she made it to the summit. Madeline carefully plucked the strawberry, putting it in her pack for safekeeping. Now, there was no point in wasting anymore time. It was time to take the path through the city, and hopefully find a warm place to sleep for the night.

Madeline walked between the apartment buildings, an eerie air following her along the path, like ghosts watched her every move, even though she knew nobody had ever lived there. Some of the buildings had been built out of the mountain itself, taking advantage of existing caves, or areas that had been dynamited and pickaxed out. Madeline had laughed when she read a theory that the mountain began to take it’s revenge on the construction workers when they’d started blasting, but in the dark, she was starting to believe it. She wished she hadn’t been so harsh on that old woman. How could she have let herself get so mean? There was no point in even answering the question. She knew she had a mean streak and she didn’t know how to control it. It was part of why she started looking at climbing mountains, after all. She had snapped at her mom and her boyfriend within an hour of each other, while studying for a particularly stressful final exam. Her mom had been taken it well, all things considered. Her boyfriend hadn’t. He didn’t say a word, just slammed the door. Not that he’d been a great boyfriend; he had a nasty habit of dismissing her cares and concerns in life a bit too casually. But she had said some really hurtful things, and knowing that she had that in her was hard to shake.

A stair stuck out of the snow, tripping her up and again she was dusting the snow out of her hair. It was the entrance to an apartment building that seemed less finished than all the others, if that was possible; she could see all the way through to the other side. It looked like the trail went around the building and then returned to straight once it reached the back. It seemed faster to take a shortcut through. She felt the pit in her stomach start to grow and that settled it. She came to the mountain to defeat her fear and anger, and now was the time to start.

Inside the building though, she faced a problem. Little was there beyond floorboards and concrete, and there was no visible way to get to the other side. A few of the walls had collapsed into piles of rubble strewn across the foundation and there seemed to be some kind of steel platform along the eastern side, with rails running underneath it. It was a good thing she had figured out how to dash. She jolted herself from brick pile to brick pile, being careful to not fall into the trash below. In places, rebar poked upwards from the foundation like spears and she tried not to think of what would happen if a dash was misplaced. After a few dashes, the platform was directly over her. Could she dash straight up? It made a certain kind of sense, even if it broke every law of physics she’d ever been taught. There was only one way to find out. She dug deep into her mind, put forth her will, and she was pulling herself up to the top of the platform almost before she could think about it.

Now the question was, where would she go from there? It was obviously some sort of construction conveyor, but did it even still work? She looked for some kind of lever or switch and pushed against the wall to try and get the conveyor moving again, but nothing could make it budge. There! Right at the front of the conveyor there were the words “The Growing Homes, Inc,” which meant nothing to her, and a red light that had almost completely burnt out. More importantly, there was an arrow pointing to the front of the conveyor, and a small green button on the side. Madeline didn’t know what would happen, but her choice were simple: press it, or be stuck. She pressed the button and the red light turned to green and the conveyor hummed to life, slamming forward to the terminus of the rail, right at the back door of the building, allowing her to simply walk out.

The trail continued its winding path through the city, cutting through what might have been unfinished parks or soccer fields and Madeline couldn’t stop guessing why all the effort that had been put into the city. She had read testimonial after testimonial about how Celeste Mountain was the kind of place that would change lives, maybe some CEO had their life changed and wanted to inspire others. If that were the case it would make sense why the city was never finished. Most people didn’t want their lives to be changed.

Once more, the trail took a sharp turn, but this time it seemed to curve its way around some sort of mega-store. If the city’s genesis was the epiphany of a CEO, clearly it hadn’t stuck. Billboards had already gone up advertising, “Sale!” and “Are You Beach Ready?” Madeline looked down at the puffs of her jacket, the insulating polyester of her pants and thick hiking boots. Not much of an opportunity to be feeling beach ready in minus ten. Though she had never felt beach ready even when the temperature cooperated. She remembered one day in college when the temperature hit an unreasonable 35 degrees and her roommates had all gone to Wreck Beach to cool off, while Madeline went to the movies by herself. The AC in the theater was broken, so she had been sweating, watching some terrible blockbuster, while her roommates spent the day in the perpetually cool Salish Sea. She had always had a hard time when other people looked at her in a swimsuit, or, rather, when she thought about other people looking at her in a swimsuit. The thought of going further than that at Wreck was paralyzing, no matter how freeing it sounded, or how wonderful the water must have felt.

Madeline looked again at the trail going east, to the side of the store. It was just like the apartment building; she just had to go through the store and it would save time. When she looked through the window, the floor had already been completed, so it would be even easier. She strolled into the store, quelling the unease that had refused to leave her gut. The store was much bigger than it had seemed from the outside, and at several points the ceiling had buckled, leaving piles of snow next to empty shelves. As much as she tried to fight her nerves, they wouldn’t let her get anywhere near them. If the ceiling was weak, it could easily collapse and that would be the end of her climb. Finally she reached the back door and walked out, but when she looked around, none of the buildings were recognizable. The trail was gone. She was lost.

“Okay,” she thought, “stay calm. The city isn’t that big, you can find your way back.” She wandered around the back, but the buildings blocked her path at every turn. What was the point of this courtyard? Who was going to go through a mega-store just to get to some open space? She went back to the door and plopped down on the steps in frustration. She could ask those questions about the entire city. Whoever made the architectural choices was just as crazy as the old woman.

In front of her were a wall of apartments, the cheap press-board falling off the sides. There was something though, even as the look of it made her jaw tighten. Another conveyor, but this time the rails went straight up to the top of a tower, and the button was visible next to a series of handholds. She tried to think of any other way to find the path, but nothing would be fast enough for her to find a place to camp. It was getting later and later, and the longer she stayed still, the more tired she felt. She grabbed onto the conveyor and squeezed her eyes closed, “Please don’t move too fast.” It didn’t cooperate. The conveyor shot to the top of the building so fast her ears popped and for the umpteenth time, she had to catch her breath and calm her heart. She was looking out over acres of city, in all directions.

Atop the building, there was only a satellite dish. Somebody had left a series of painted wooden birds strewn about the roof near a small screen that beeped and flashed some form of Morse Code every few seconds. Who was it trying to communicate with? What was it trying to say? Madeline looked out into the abandoned buildings and felt the loneliness crush down on her like an anvil. She missed her mom, her roommates, hell, she even missed her job. She had always been more comfortable staying in her apartment, but now, confronting the emptiness of the city, it was almost enough to make her cry. She felt the tears welling up, “No! I said I was tough enough to do this,” she thought to herself and forced herself to keep looking for the path.

The buildings all around her were far too tall to be able to see anything, but wait...there was something, down an alleyway a few buildings down. It was...a light! She had to triple check to be sure, but it was clearly a light. There were streetlamps all along the path on the way up before the old woman’s house, that must be it! She took a fire escape down, being sure to always keep its glow in her vision. She even found herself dashing towards it once she was on the ground, she was so excited to find her way, but when she was almost in the alley, something stopped her. It sounded...like a guitar? Nobody was... living there, were they? As she got closer, she knew, it was a guitar. Somebody had to be out there and maybe, if she got lucky for once, they were a guide. She could hear the crackle of a fire and shadows danced along the side of the building. Whoever it was, they were close.

She turned to see a roaring campfire near the burnt out husk of a crashed single person plane. The plane was rusted past the point where any color was recognizable. It must have predated even the city. In front of the plane, warming his feet by the fire was a young man, leaning back into his chair, playing a backpacking guitar in front of an orange tent. He had to be another fellow climber who got off to a late start. Maybe he would still know where the trail is? Madeline felt nervous. She had never been very good at talking to strangers, and wasn’t sure now was the time to practice. The guitar playing was beautiful though. She hung just out of the light, listening it, when the climber spoke, “Ho there, fellow traveler!” Oh no. He’d noticed her. She had to say something now.

She slowly came out of the light towards the campfire. Maybe she could just get out of the conversation quickly and get back to finding the trail. “Oh...hi,” she replied.

“What a killer night for a hike!” the climber was a skinny guy wearing some kind of flannel jacket, stylish blue jeans, and a big, yellow scarf, but by far the most noticeable thing about him was his hair and his beard. Both were impressive to say the least. His hair was puffed up and styled on top and then cut short along the sides as they ran down into a gigantic beard along his chin. He had a dark complexion and a half-smile that almost slid into being a smirk.

“I guess so...” Madeline didn’t know how to respond.

“This place is so crazy. I kind of can’t believe it exists!” He almost shouted it. His excitement was a lot to handle. Madeline felt her fear stood out in stark contrast but she could try to be kind after her experience with the old woman.

“Not the easiest climb is it.” She felt unhappy saying it, reminding herself so much of her inexperience. “But I guess that’s what I was looking for...” She looked into the fire to avoid the other climber’s gaze.

“Whoa,” he chuckled, “that sounds pretty serious.” His eyes and his smile opened up more. “I’m just happy to see another human in such a lonely place.” He put his guitar down and jumped up, startling Madeline. “I’m Theo, by the way!” pushing the drama in every word “an adventurer from a far off land.” Madeline was far too nervous to respond. Had she run into another crazy person? She looked back into the fire. He chuckled more, “Not much of a talker, are you? Mysterious lone wolf type, I get it.” He squinted and grinned, stroking his beard, “I’ll just imagine some dark backstory for you.”

Madeline felt bad again. She’d been determined to be friendly and she was immediately falling back into old habits. Maybe this guy was just...really cheerful? In a bit of an overbearing way, maybe, but, hey, at least he was a positive person. And she could use some positivity after the way the rest of her day was going. She took a deep breath, “Hey. Sorry about that. I’m Madeline,” she said, “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

Theo didn’t seem the least bit offended. “Well, Madeline,” he smiled, “I’d say you’ve come to the right place.” He sat back into his camp chair, putting his boots back towards the campfire, “I’m freezing my toes off, but I can’t imagine a better place for some quiet reflection.”

She returned his smile, albeit not as wide, for the first time since they’d met, “Yeah. Maybe you’re right.” Maybe she should try being friendly back as well. “What ‘far off land’ do you hail from?” she asked.

Theo puffed up his chest and reached out his hand like he was about to give a soliloquy. “Well, my inquisitive compatriot,” he intoned in a terrible British accent, “I doth hail from the mystical, exotic kingdom of...” his arms fell back to his chair, and he chuckled, “Seattle.”

Madeline giggled. Theo was a bit dramatic, but she was surprisingly happy to be around him. “It sounds like a special place,” she replied.

They sat by the fire together, enjoying the warmth it gave as the snow continued to come down. In the distance, Madeline heard the groan of a steel beam as it finally began to buckle under the weight of time. Theo sat up, he had heard it too. “This place is wild! Why would an entire city be abandoned?” he exclaimed.

Madeline perked up, she actually knew something about this! She could show off some of her knowledge, like a real mountain climber. “I read that some mega-corporation started building it, but then nobody wanted to live here!” as she said it, she started to feel sad, thinking about the all houses that had been built, that no human being would ever make a home out of, “I wonder why...” she tried to sound as excited as she had before.

Theo, for his part, was just as energetic as he had been since she’d first seen him, “My money’s on a government cover-up.”

Madeline couldn’t shake the sadness, “What a waste, to build all of this for no reason...” she said.

Theo just smiled and looked up towards the crumbling buildings, “At least we get to enjoy the leftovers,” he said softly.

Madeline couldn’t help but feel a little better. It was true, the city would never be fully empty as long as the mountain still drew climbers like moths to a flame. “Are you here to explore the city?” Madeline asked.

“Yeah, I have a bit of a thing for abandoned places,” Theo grinned sheepishly and leaned further back in his chair, “And I like to think of myself as a budding photographer.”

“Oh really! Cool! Do you have a blog or something?” Madeline exclaimed. She’d love to see some of his photography if he had been on similar adventures.

Theo looked disappointed for the first time that night, “A blog?” He rolled his eyes, “Madeline. Please. Everyone uses InstaPix now. My username is TheoUnderStars, you should look me up!”

Now it was Madeline’s turn to be sheepish. “I don’t have a smartphone...” she said. Hopefully Theo wouldn’t ask why.

Instead he just looked confused, “Madeline, I don’t even know how to respond to that...” he said. Madeline was reprieved by another rumbling in the distance. The snow must have been falling harder higher up. Maybe it had triggered an avalanche. “This terrain is pretty rough, are you turning back soon?” Theo said, but seemed to catch himself, “I only mean that I saw a group turning back right after they got to the bridge when I got here this morning.”

“Did you meet that crazy old woman?” Madeline asked. Try as she might, it still came out kind of angry.

“Yeah, she said some pretty weird stuff, right?” Theo laughed, “She seemed pretty cool though. Even though she shooed me out of her yard pretty quick.” Somehow he could be positive about even that. “I guess she didn’t want to take a selfie with me,” his laughter swinging back and forth from full-blown to a chuckle. “What happened when you met her?”

Madeline shrunk back a bit, she still felt bad about that. “It was just weird. I’m not really sure I want to talk about it.”

Theo smiled again. “Gotcha. Well, are you heading down? She might be asleep and you could slip by. I gotta say, I was nervous when I saw the group leaving. They looked like they were experienced hikers.”

Madeline was proud that she’d made it further than them. “Nope! I’m heading for the summit.”

Theo sat up, “I can really see the determination in your eyes!” How was his smile staying so wide? “It’s inspiring.”

Madeline’s pride disappeared as quickly as it had come. Now she just felt bad for feeling it in the first place. “If you say so.” Time to change the subject. “I bet you could make it to the summit too!” she told Theo.

He laughed once, “Heh, maybe. I don’t really care about reaching the top, TBH.” What was he doing this for then? He perked up again, “Oh! But I hear there are some legit old ruins up beyond the city.” He pointed up the mountain, where the cliffs were barely visible through the snow. “Like, 1800’s legit! I know it’s risky but I have to see them for myself.” Madeline guessed that answered the question.

“Do you know the fastest way to get to them?” she asked. It was a good opportunity to get some insight back into the trail.

“Sort of,” Theo smirked, “I know the road on the other side of the building you came from leads you in the right direction. Just keep going up and keep the mountain to your left.”

She started to feel herself getting sleepy by the fire. As nice as this Theo guy was, she didn’t feel comfortable sharing a campsite with him just yet. “Thanks. I should try and get through the city before I sleep. Otherwise I’ll be way behind my pace.” It seemed like as good of an excuse as any. She stood up, grabbed her pack and walked back towards the road. “Good luck making it to the ruins!” she called back.

As she started to walk down the alley, she hurt him yell, “Hey! What’s the thing you say right before you do something crazy and irresponsible?”

She turned back in shock, “Uh...I don’t know… ‘throw caution to the wind?’” she replied.

Theo laughed, “That’s not it!” He closed his eyes and thrust his hand in the air like he was on Broadway and screamed, “YOLOOOOOOOO!”

He was still yelling it when Madeline turned on to the main road and heard it fade into the night.

Theo seemed to have the right idea with his directions. Despite some minor setbacks and particularly deep snow, Madeline noticed the buildings becoming shorter and shorter as she kept moving forward. She had to be almost through, and she needed to be. It was almost midnight and Madeline knew she would soon have to stop before her legs gave out. But, she had said that she would be done with the city on the first day, and she intended to stick to it.

Soon, however, the road ended at the old office of the same corporation that had built the conveyors. Madeline wandered, trying to see if she took a wrong turn, but from the look of it, the office building was the only path. It was embedded deeper into the mountain than the other buildings, with only the facade visible, and there was a ladder, an abandoned tool belt, and a bright red, spray painted arrow pointing at the door. The company must have thought climbers going through their building was good advertising, but Madeline just felt sad.

She was about to follow the pointing paint into the building when the tool belt caught her eye. In it was a Walkman, like an old tape players from the seventies. It was clearly much newer, however, even if it still only played tapes. She popped it open and was shocked when a tape in perfect condition flew out, causing her to drop the rest of the Walkman to catch it. Someone had written on it in big capital letters, “SUCCESS!” It had to be an abandoned celebration playlist for the way back down. Madeline thought about Theo; he seemed like the kind of person who would be super into this kind of retro stuff. And hey, if she was bringing the strawberry to say sorry to the old woman, she could certainly take a tape to say thank you to Theo.

With that she stepped through the threshold into the building. Like the apartment complex, the building was nothing but structural supports inside. Madeline was shocked to see that many of the walls were not concrete, but actual sections of the mountain that the architect incorporated into the structure. They poked into the center of the building like the roots of some titanic tree, and it gave her the feeling that the mountain was slowly reclaiming what had been taken from it. There was no meaningful path, but the arrows pointed up a steep rock face towards a hole in the roof, where snow was drifting in. So this is where the climbing began. She took a rope out of the side of her pack, thankful that there were visible carabiners the whole way up. Much to her surprise, there were handholds, and a few points where she could sit and gain her strength back. In no time at all, she was on a ledge directly under the hole in the roof. “If my first climb went like that, maybe I can actually do this”, she told herself, but her doubts never fully faded. A quick dash upwards and she was on the roof, where her doubts quickly strengthened.

Another conveyor crossed an enormous gap, but this time, the railings didn’t go all the way across. All of the other conveyors had carried her exactly where she needed, but this one ended halfway. It couldn’t be the path, could it? On the other side was a wooden structure that looked like a simplified version of a Japanese gate, with orange flags waving in the wind. So it was the path. But how was she supposed to get across? She investigated the roof, looking for any alternative path, but there was none. More experienced climbers could use the side of the mountain in order to cross the gap, but there were no carabiners, and if Madeline slipped up even a little, she would be looking at a sickening drop with a very sudden stop. She thought about trying to dash across but she knew she would never get close. Her inexperience had finally caught up to her and this was going to be the end of her journey. She screamed and kicked the snow in frustration, watching clumps of it slide off the roof, and skip off the conveyor into the darkness. Then she had a thought, and the second it crossed her mind, she wished she hadn’t. The conveyor wasn’t supposed to carry her at all.

It was supposed to fling her.

“No,” there was no way. That was a psychotic idea. She would have absolutely no backup plan, absolutely no safety equipment and absolutely no way to save herself if anything went wrong. She tried to think, through every possibility of getting across, but nothing came. It was either take the leap of faith, or turn around. In her mind, the hard rock of the valley below rushed up to meet her and she felt her chest tighten. “No.” She wasn’t going to have a panic attack now. She couldn’t let herself shut down, when there was nobody there to help. She said she would climb Celeste Mountain and there was nothing that would stop her. Trembling, she climbed on to the conveyor belt. “No.” It was like her entire body was at war with her mind, screaming to turn around, that she shouldn’t do it, that it was a bad plan. But she had made a promise, and she had to keep it.

She closed her eyes and prayed to any god or goddess that could be listening and pressed the green button.

The conveyor sprang to life, shooting towards the end of the railing. Madeline tried to tune it out, focus on timing her jump just right. Two seconds. One second. The conveyor slammed to a stop at the end of the railing and Madeline jumped. She felt the inertia carry her forward, but it wasn’t going to be enough. But this time she knew what to do. She cast out all her energy and will to the other side, throwing her all into reaching the other side.

Her dash thrust her forwards almost perfectly, and she covered all the remaining distance, landing feet first under the gate, where she dropped to her knees in relief.

It was the second time she could have died, and the second time that her new ability had saved her. She felt like kissing the ground, but given how near the panic attack still was, she preferred to put as much distance between her and the gap as possible.

Madeline rounded the corner and found herself on massive plateau, where in its center was a gigantic headstone. Madeline didn’t have to read the inscription to know what it said. She had read enough about it online.

-- Celeste Mountain--
This memorial dedicated to those Who perished on the climb.

It could have easily been for her, and it still could be. She didn’t want to think about it, preferring instead to look out from the top of the plateau over the land below. From that vantage point, she could look out and see her journey to that point. The city spread out beneath her and if she looked carefully she thought she could see the smoke from the cabin. She had made it through the city. She had said she would make it that far on her first day and she had, if only technically. The fatigue of the day caught up with her in an instant. It had to be almost one in the morning, which meant that she had been awake for almost twenty hours. The most important thing was going to be building a fire. Thankfully the plateau was a favorite spot for climbers, as multiple pits had been dug, and there were several stacks of firewood, making it easy for her to sleepily build a simple fire. When it came to life, she felt its warmth radiate over her, and making her exhaustion all the more intense. All she had to do was sit down for a moment, and then she could build her tent.

She removed her backpack and sat down, leaning against it for support. Her chest was still feeling all of the tightness from the panic attack. Maybe she just needed a moment to relax. The caw of a raven drew her attention up into the rocks above her. It looked down at her quizzically, cawed again and then settled into a perch to sleep. Even the birds on the mountain were judging her. “This might have been a mistake...” she thought to herself. Madeline’s eyes felt heavier and heavier. “Maybe I could just close my eyes for a second.”

She was asleep before she could finish the thought.

Chapter Text

A purple hue washed over the plateau and the sky let loose a snow of blue lights. The mountain cast a black light glow over the night, swirling around the neon green of the campfire. Was it the moon? Across the field, Madeline could see words dancing across the headstone, but what it said, she couldn’t tell. Towards the city there was only the shimmer of a fog cast over the hills. The snow was illuminated from below, revealing a fluorescent path, beckoning her around the side of the mountain. Madeline could do naught but follow.

She was led through gate after gate after gate, which grew more ornate with each meter of elevation. Her leap of faith had been guided by a simple, worn down wooden structure; these were tall, new Japanese gates. It was like pictures Madeline once saw of a shrine in Kyoto where the gates formed a tunnel leading pilgrims inwards, only these were thicker, taller and painted with brilliant silvers and golds. Their colors shifted and blurred between the violet of the sky and the sea-foam glow of the incandescent snow. Still, they ushered her forth, up the mountain and deeper into the night. Where were they taking her?

In answer to her question, the lighted path brought Madeline to an enormous, medieval castle. The ruins Theo talked about; but calling them ruins was a serious misnomer. By its style, it was older than the 1800s, but it looked nearly new. All things considered, the city was in worse shape. Massive stones laid around the walls and titanic metal gates barred the entry, warning all against trespass. Madeline was drawn forward; maybe she would be able to see inside. The gates responded and with the click of a lock they slowly swung open, permitting her to view the castles depths. She had to see more.

She was in a tunnel of ancient gray brick, where lamps hung from the ceiling on chains and purple bubbles floated frozen in air. There were windows along the western side, looking out over sheer cliffs, betraying her whereabouts in the mountain’s guts. Like the office building, the tunnel dug into the mountain’s flank, but kept going through the intestines and impaled the mountain entirely. Green moss swayed from the ceiling and barrels lined the floor. There were doors leading to antechambers or side rooms, but all of them were either locked and refused to budge, or were blocked by enormous walls, darker than even the blackest nights. Madeline loved astronomy once upon a time, and they matched the black holes of her imagination. A dark, empty space in the universe, that distorted and warped everything around them with not even the faintest hint of light reaching through. The first she tried to touch, but she was pushed away as if by the wrong end of a magnet. With a tremendous effort she put a finger on it for only the briefest of moments and found it was cold and smoother than even the most polished of gemstones. When she saw them further on, she kept her distance.

The tunnel directed her to what was once its end, but there was only a wall of rock and ice. An avalanche had sealed off the exit, and there was no way to get through. Madeline felt something within her push the frustration aside, directing her back into the depths of the tunnel. A stone in the floor was uniquely colored, drawing her eye to an unearthly green light rising from a trap door. She worried it would be locked, but it opened with ease and the green light dropped down into the depths. A ladder sank down with it, fading off into the darkness below and Madeline knew she had to climb.

She was climbing for hours. The ladder kept going, down and down and down, with no sign of an end. Madeline kept putting one foot down, one after the other, expecting that the next step would put her on solid ground, but it never came. Around her, there were barred off windows looking into jail cells filled with boxes and crates of unknown origin. Some contained gurneys, and film canisters, others had paintings with faces that shifted and blurred in ways that made Madeline’s skin crawl. But most unsettling were the rooms filled with hundreds and hundreds of cracked mirrors. She couldn’t understand it, but neither could she look in those cells for long.

Another monolithic black wall followed her on the entire climb down, always at her back. She climbed and climbed, the ladder plunging infinitely into the depths. Soon, the jail cells ceased, and only the bricks protruding from the wall broke up the monotony of the climb.

One of the bricks even bore a surprise. Another strawberry, just as perfectly red and ripe as the first. There was no plant nearby, but the strawberry was there nonetheless. It shined for her, and there was no question she had to take it. Grabbed tight to the ladder, she reached out across the wall for it, leaning forward just enough to tip it off the brick and catch it as it fell. With one hand still grasping tight to the ladder, she unzipped her bag and nestled her second strawberry next to the first.

The climbing drove Madeline to zone out. It was automatic: step down with your left leg, move your right arm down, step down with your right leg, move your left arm down. Left leg, right arm, right leg, left arm. Left, right, left, right, left right. Until she took a step and found that her leg was already on the floor. In her focus, she hadn’t realized she’d reached the bottom. But where was she?

She gathered her bearings, finding herself in a chamber tall enough to encompass half her climb. Lanterns hung from outcroppings on hundreds of different levels and cages with iron bars curving inwards at the top, pointed their spikes at whatever unfortunate soul trapped within. However, the cages hadn’t seen much use. Or whoever had been in the cages had chosen them, rather than being imprisoned by force.

Further exploring the castle’s basement, every door, every passageway was blocked by another starry wall. She sat back; had she missed something on the ladder? The wall shifted before she could think on it more. A secret passage! She pushed, but it barely budged. She put her hands against the wall and threw herself forward with a dash, and the wall slid away like it had been greased. The pull grew stronger. She couldn’t have stopped even if she wanted to. It would have drawn her to the ends of the universe. Instead, the passage took her into a room with only an unbroken mirror. Madeline ran by, and her purple-haired reflection ran by on the other side.

She stopped dead. That couldn’t be right. She cautiously crept back and looked at what should have been her familiar visage, but what she saw instead made her recoil in shock.

It looked like her, but wrong. The mirror version of her had dark, purple hair that floated as if underwater and clothes that matched her hair. Her skin was pale and gray, but Madeline was most afraid of her eyes. They glowed red like embers embedded in her skull, glaring back with a look that felt almost taunting. As Madeline stared, the mirror version of her slowly walked closer, even as Madeline backed away. Soon, the other her was pressing against the mirror. Her lips slowly parted into an evil smile, revealing hideously pointed fangs. Madeline heard a crack and a small line slowly traced its way towards the other’s face. Her smile grew wider and wider and the crack moved faster, reaching the center of the other’s face and shattering the mirror into thousands upon thousands of tiny shards, causing Madeline to dive to the ground, closing her eyes and covering her face.

When she finally worked up the courage to look again, the purple haired woman was looking at her from the front of the shattered mirror. Outside of the mirror. She smiled again and slowly faded away, until all that was there was the broken glass of the mirror.

Instantly there was a sudden, piercing, overwhelming dread, deep in her heart. Something had gotten out and now it was after her. She needed to leave, and quickly. Slowly, she backed away, then turned and ran. The feeling got closer. It was after her. Soon she was dashing madly through the secret passage, pushed forward by raw instinct. And still, it was getting closer. The ladder was her only hope, but when she got back to the chamber, it was gone.

Where it had been, the block that followed her down had expanded and filled the passage up entirely. But something was different. Whereas before it had been only black, now there were lights sparkling inside it like Christmas, and the magnetic feeling was gone.

Whatever was chasing her was getting closer. Madeline had to find a way out. The fear was overwhelming, and soon she would be driven mad. In desperation, she jumped and dashed up into the block, praying it would move for her. Instead, it pulled her in and sucked her up. She could see the ladder, pressed up against the wall shooting by as the block carried her up and up and up, passing the tunnel completely and carrying her into a tower, where the block spit her out like an arrow.

Her fear only dissipated for a moment. She was still being followed.

Panicking, she searched for a way out, but there was nothing. No secret passages, no doors, none of the starry blocks. She was trapped. And whatever was chasing her was coming.

She stood, staring at the block, with nothing to do but wait. It was almost there. Her fear was uncontrollable; she was shaking so much her teeth chattered. Madeline braced herself, when…

“Madeline.”

It was behind her. Madeline whipped around to see the woman from the mirror sitting on the ground, preparing a pot and a small camping stove. The figure looked at her and smiled again. “Darling, slow down,” it said to her, pointing to the ground, inviting Madeline to sit.

Madeline was too shocked and afraid to think. “Who...are you?” she managed to get out.

The figure chuckled, “Oh, I’m simply a concerned observer.”

Now Madeline could get a closer look. The figure’s hair was exactly like Madeline’s, her body was identical in shape, even her face was completely identical. The other her laughed again, slowly rising from her seat, and continuing to rise until she floated five meters above the ground. There was no question. Whoever this woman was, she could have been Madeline herself. Madeline felt an identity crisis coming on. “Are you...me?” she asked.

The other her smiled that taunting smile again, “I’m Part of You.” She said it like it was her name. Maybe it was.

“Why would Part of Me look so...creepy?” Madeline blurted out.

That hurt Part of Her, and Madeline felt bad for saying it. “This is just what I look like, okay?!” Part of Her angrily yelled back, “Deal with it.”

Madeline sheepishly looked away, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean...”

“Forget about it,” Part of Her interrupted, “I can’t even begin to tell you what a relief it is to finally get out of your head.” She took a deep breath and looked back at Madeline, concerned. “But look,” she said, “I’m worried about us. We need a hobby, but this...” she nervously chuckled.

Suddenly Madeline was justifying the climb back at her apartment. “I know, it sounds crazy, but I just need to climb this mountain,” she explained, knowing she had done it a thousand times before, knowing it would never be enough to convince Part of Her.

Part of Her rolled her eyes and laughed, “You are many things, darling, but you are not a ‘mountain climber.’”

Now that they were together, Madeline could feel the disdain. They could sense each others emotions, or at least some of them. She truly was a part of her, and it was overwhelming. Madeline softly spoke, repeating what she had told herself back in Vancouver, “Who says I can’t be?”

Part of Her sighed, “I know it’s not your strong suit, but be reasonable for once. You have no idea what you’re getting into here. You can’t do this and you know it.”

That made Madeline upset. So this was the Part of Her that always told her that she couldn’t do something, that kept her inside, that made her miserable day in and day out. “That’s exactly why I need to do it,” she said, her voice dripping with barely concealed anger, “are you the weak Part of Me or the lazy part?” Part of Her didn’t seem affected by by the barb.

“I’m the pragmatic part,” she responded, “and I’m trying to be ‘diplomatic’ here,” chuckling sarcastically. Her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward, reaching out towards Madeline with a pale hand, “Let’s go home. Together.” As the hand got closer, Madeline’s fear returned, and she had to find a way out. If Part of Her touched her, she would never finish the climb.

She backed away, desperately looking for something she had missed. Up above! A window where she could maybe squeeze through the bars. Before Part of Her could react, she dashed up the wall to the window and forced herself out. Part of Her laughed and floated up to follow her.

Madeline ran, hearing the echoes of laughter behind her. She needed to find a way off the roof. There! Another tunnel. There was an avalanche on the other side of the mountain, maybe it had enough of a ramp for her to run off it. Suddenly Part of Her materialized in front of her. Madeline skidded to a halt.

“Come on, I’m only trying to help you,” Part of Her laughed.

Madeline dashed to the side, and then back towards the tunnel. She at least had one way to stay ahead. But then, she glanced back to see Part of Her dash just like she had, laughing all the while. At least she made it to the tunnel.

Part of Her kept teleporting next to her. Why was she taunting her like this? “Where are you even trying to go?” she said. Madeline could only run.

The tunnel led to a winding stair, with missing steps the whole way up. Madeline dashed and dashed and dashed, trying desperately to stay ahead. Despite her attempts to look back, she couldn’t help herself and was horrified to see that there were two Parts of Her chasing her now.

“I know you too well,” they both said. Their voices were mirrored, speaking in a twisted, horrible echo. “You’re only going to get hurt.”

The staircase came to an end at the roof on the other side. Madeline dashed to the edge, but much to her dismay, the avalanche was dozens of meters below. She turned back to her pursuers. More and more of them were materializing into view. Madeline was trapped at the edge, backing into the corner. There had to be hundreds of Parts of Her now.

“You’re always running,” they laughed at her, “Let’s just go home.”

Madeline’s fear was all encompassing. The Parts of Her were getting closer and closer. She couldn’t let them touch her. There was only one thing to do.

She ran for the edge and leaped off, plunging towards the snow below, hearing the Parts of Her laugh in a hellish chorus as she fell.

The landing was soft and she took off running, sprinting away from the castle as the laughter faded. She couldn’t look back. The terror drove her forward, even as her breath ran ragged. Dashing wildly through the ruins of a town, she couldn’t even stop to think until she dashed right into an abandoned information booth. It was collapsing, but more importantly, there was a telephone. An old pay phone just on the other side, ringing. She ran over it and answered, desperate for anybody to help.

“He..Hello?” she gasped out. A light flickered above the phone, giving off a deep, bass hum.

“Madeline?” the voice on the other end was tinny, filled with static, and echoed like it was coming from an old record player. Even barely audible, there was no question, it was Derek. It was her ex. “Are you...calling from a payphone?” he said, clearly annoyed.

He could help, why is he being so ridiculous, “Yeah…” she started, “No, wait, you called me.”

Derek sighed with exasperation, “What are you talking about?”

Madeline ignored it, she needed his help, “It doesn’t matter. I’m in trouble,” she said. She needed to talk fast before Part of Her showed up. “I’m being chased by...” she couldn’t explain, he wouldn’t understand, “…someone. I don’t understand what’s happening but I know I’m in danger. I can feel it.” She could barely catch her breath.

“Ugh,” said Derek, “Madeline, you only call me in the middle of the night when you’re panicking. Just calm down, okay? You don’t have to make up some ridiculous story just to get my attention.”

He was doing it again! Madeline was furious. “I’m not making it up!” she screamed, “You always do this!”

Derek sighed again, “Shh, shh, it’s alright, just calm down. I’m sorry sweetheart.” He always did this too; saying sorry when he barely meant it. “Talk to me,” he said. At least that was something.

Madeline started to think through the castle, piecing the nightmare together. “I’m climbing Celeste Mountain and I’m in this ancient castle and I found this old mirror in a deep pit and then it shattered, but Part of Me escaped and...” Wait… saying it all out loud...Hold on a second. She thought about what happened, the falling blue lights, the floating bubbles, the purple glow. It was wrong. Of course it was wrong. “...I’m dreaming aren’t I?” she said.

“Madeline. Of course you’re dreaming,” Derek said, in that patronizing way he used to do, “I haven’t spoken to you in months. Why would I start now?”

Madeline was furious. After everything she had gone through that night, all the fear she had been feeling, the stress, it was all just some dumb dream. “Ugh! Why am I even climbing this stupid mountain?!” she yelled, slamming the phone down.

Part of Her appeared in front of her, shattering the light above the phone. Madeline was too surprised to even be scared “I’m wondering the same thing,” Part of Her chuckled. “It’s time to give up and go home.” She disappeared again.

Then the telephone slowly turned into a giant, purple-haired six eyed floating beast with an enormous mouth, ringed with bright, red lips. Madeline watched as it reared back and ate her in a single bite while she screamed.

The scream jolted her awake. She was back at the campfire, which had long ago burned down to embers. Her mind was still in the throes of the nightmare. She checked the sky: just a normal night sky, with stars twinkling in the horizon. What about the snow? It looked completely normal, slightly blue from the moon, but nothing unusual. The headstone! She ran over, not caring at all about the morbid text that had frightened her so much earlier. It was a dead giveaway that it had been a dream, and she was upset she’d missed it. She had never been able to read in her dreams. When the words were dancing across it, she should have been able to put it together. Looking up, she felt a pit in her stomach as to what might be on it’s face…

-- Celeste Mountain--
This memorial dedicated to those Who perished on the climb.

She took a slow, deep breath. At least she was awake. But there was no way she could go back to sleep now. Even if adrenaline wasn’t pounding through her bloodstream, she would be way too scared. Might as well keep climbing.

No glowing path showed her the way forward, and no gates revealed the path, but much to Madeline’s surprise, the castle was still there, looming out of the mountain like it had in her dream. Unlike the dream, it was only ruins. Bricks were falling off all across its face. The tower that she had been flung from the star block into had long ago collapsed into rubble on the mountain below, and the walls were covered with thick moss. The gates that had slowly creaked open for her were nowhere to be seen, having rusted and rotted away hundreds of years ago. Madeline took another deep breath. She was still terrified to go in. Seeing it look so similar was deeply unsettling. It was different enough though, maybe she had seen a picture of it years ago and forgotten about it. That had to be what happened. The dream wasn’t real. She only had to walk through the tunnel to prove it.

The tunnel was nearly identical to its appearance in the dream. Sure, there was more moss on the walls and the air had a dampness to it that betrayed its decrepitude, but in all else, it was the same. Windows looked out over the cliffs and chains hung from the ceiling, but there were no lanterns to be found. Madeline’s heart pounded. If the dream was correct, the trap door was coming up. And then maybe there was an avalanche on the other side, and she wouldn’t be able to get out. Or what if the trap door was open? Or worse, what if it was closed and the light was there again to lure her in? “It was just a dream,” she reminded herself, but was having a harder time believing it.

This was it. The trap door was only just ahead. She inched down the hall, eyes fixed on the floor, but when she found it, it had been sealed up with concrete and a bright red danger symbol had been painted on. That was bad. Something had been there, and somebody had sealed it off. What if the mountain knew nobody would fall into its trap and ensnared people in dreams instead? She couldn’t think like that. It was just a dream and she was just imagining things. It must have just been worn down brick that had been hastily repaired. Her thoughts sounded hollow.

She pressed herself against the wall and slid past, unable to take her eyes off the concrete, even as she backed down the hall. What if something had already gotten out? What if she freed it? Her heart pounded in her ears and suddenly she bumped right into a person standing behind her. She screamed…

“Madeline!”

It was Theo’s voice. She gasped, turning around to see his bearded face, “Theo! You startled me."

He looked concerned, “You okay? You almost shattered my phone with that scream,” he laughed.

Madeline was still taking big, gasping breaths, “Yeah. This place is just really creepy.”

Theo smiled wide, “But the climb up was totally worth it right?” He pulled out his phone, “I took so many great pictures, wanna see?”

“Oh...” she smiled weakly. Yeah, why not. She could definitely use the distraction. “Sure,” she responded.

Theo was happy to hear it. He pulled his phone out and slid next to her, pulling up an album titled #letsdothis and started scrolling through the pictures he’d taken on his climb. There was one of a vintage postcard from decades earlier, the mountain rising up over the forests below, a sunset over the forests and a red flag waving over the ruins of the castle. They were stunning, Madeline had to admit. “Theo! These are great!” she exclaimed.

“Maybe I’ll finally hit a thousand followers with these,” Theo said, visibly excited by the praise. “OH! We need to formally commemorate the occasion… Take a selfie with me!”

Madeline thought about all the stress she had been through over the past thirty six hours, the residual fear from the nightmare and the extreme lack of sleep. It was not a moment she wanted to be captured for eternity. “Uh… I don’t know if that’s such a good idea right now...” she tentatively explained. She desperately hoped he wouldn’t be offended.

He laughed, “Come on, it’s super easy. It’s just like this!” and he pulled up the camera and threw up his fingers in the peace sign, snapping a photo before Madeline could react.

The photo that came up on the screen looked hideous to her. She looked unhappy, shocked, scared and above all, absolutely exhausted, her hand raising up in an attempt to cover her face that came too late. It was dreadful. Theo looked over at her annoyed face and nervously chuckled, “Sorry, I can be a bit much. Don’t worry. I won’t post that one.”

She took a deep breath. What did it matter? Nobody she knew was ever going to see it, and if nothing else, she could look at it and think about meeting Theo on the climb. “...It’s alright,” she said, “you can post it. I’m just not very...” how was she going to put this in a way that didn’t scare him off, or worse, try to comfort her, “photogenic.”

“Madeline!” Theo laughed, “Don’t be so hard on yourself! No one looks good without a filter. Here...” he pulled up an app and swiped a red glowing filter over the selfie they had taken together, with a vignette effect around the edges. Theo did a little chef’s kiss with his fingers, “Casual, yet refined. It’s perfect.”

Madeline still didn’t think it looked very good, but hey, he probably knew his stuff. “What made you want to try photography?” she asked.

A strange smile appeared on his face, like the one he’d donned back at the crashed plane, “My grandpa was really into it,” he said, “Apparently he was semi-famous in the photography world. I mean, I don’t know if I’ll ever be that good at it, but it’s still nice to feel close to him.” He switched gears, going back into high energy mode, how was he able to do it on so little sleep? “So, you’re determined to climb the entire mountain, huh?”

Okay, time to force a brave smile on, Madeline thought. “Yep! I told myself I would,” she said, trying to put as much enthusiasm behind it as she could, “I’m done breaking promises to myself.”

Theo nodded, smiling wider, “Life goals,” he said, “I dig it!” He looked back down at his phone, chuckling, “I doubt I’ll make it to the top like you, but I don’t feel like I need to. I’m not ready to turn back just yet, though.” Suddenly he looked up from his phone in a panic, “It’s almost sunrise! I came up here to get some sweet pics of the ruins from above. I can’t miss it! I gotta go!” He slid his phone into his pocket and took off running down the tunnel without even saying goodbye.

Madeline was shocked, “Wait! Theo, it might be block-” but he was long gone. Oh well, if it was blocked, she would meet up with him at the end of the tunnel.

The end of the tunnel was not blocked. The avalanche had only been a figment of her imagination. She laughed, that was helpful. Whatever happened in her subconscious, it couldn’t get everything right. But, as she entered the town on the other side of the mountain, the dread crept back in. The ruins were identical to her dream. Each stone, each brick, each patch of ice was exactly the same. She could almost see footprints in the snow where she had stepped. All the thoughts that had left during her conversation with Theo came rushing back. Maybe there was truth to the dream. She had never seen pictures of the town, so that explanation didn’t work. The mountain was doing something to her brain, and she didn’t know what would come out on the other side. Her heart began to pound again and a shiver danced a jig along the back of her neck.

She came to the information booth, where a sign posted on its front said it was closed for the winter. Everything about it was the same. Even the payphone was identical. She thought of Part of Her taunting her and chasing her and the beast that ate her alive. Her lungs started working independently, hyperactively dragging air into her stomach and her heart raced. There was a tingling sensation on the top of her head and her muscles were seizing up. An attack was approaching, and she felt it. There was only one person she could call on.

Running to the phone, she unzipped her bag and got out her wallet, grabbing a loon with a shaking hand and putting it in the coin slot. She trembled as she dialed, praying it wasn’t too early and they would be up for their nursing shift. The tone jingled in her ear three times and her breath came in more and more ragged. Please pick up…

There was a click, “Hello?” came the voice on the other end of the line.

Madeline closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing as much as she could, “Hey Mom,” she said.

“Madeline,” her Mom exclaimed, “What a nice surprise! How’s your trip going?”

“It’s okay,” Madeline responded, her voice cracking, “I’m just kind of...overwhelmed.” Maybe she could keep it together.

Her Mom gasped, “Oh no, are you having another panic attack? Focus on your breathing, honey, I’m here. Tell me what’s going on?”

Madeline looked down into her bag, ready to vent the story of the trip, and in an instant, she couldn’t keep it in any longer. She started to cry, softly at first and soon she was sobbing uncontrollably into the phone, tears streaming down her face.

In her bag, waiting next to its companion, right where she’d left it, was a second strawberry.

Chapter Text

“Okay, now I’m really confused...”

Somehow, somebody came all this way up the mountain with heavy stones in order to line the path from the phone booth, and make curved bridges leaping across the canyons. And the winding bridges looked like they lead to a… hotel? She could just see it in the distance, wrapping in a semi-circle around the small, side peak that she guessed was “Little Star.” It’s purplish pink was half a Japanese ryokan and half a Swiss chalet. None of the reports had mentioned a hotel. Add one more tally to: “The old woman was right.”

Madeline had talked with her Mom until the sun was just starting to peek out of the surrounding hills. For the most part, she just listened, needing to feel the comfort of home, even if it was hundreds of miles away, and through a terrible phone connection. It helped keep her moving, even if the two strawberries sitting in her bag kept their horrible place in her thoughts. She kept looking over her shoulder, trying to see if her purple-haired demon was close behind. So, consumed with her fear, she only barely noticed the remains of small, purple roofed shops lining the path. When she did, she could barely put any thought towards what it might be, only wondering if there had been some sort of craft market around the hotel and thinking what happened to it.

Thanks to her absentmindedness, she found herself stepping in something that felt like jello and her foot was stung with a fierce electric pulse, that brought her to her knees with a cry of pain. When she looked down, her foot throbbed all the way up her calf, and tingled like she had licked a battery. Near her foot was a ghostly black blob, with edges that glowed bright, radioactive red. Much to her dismay, red circles materialized in the blob and blinked at her unmistakably, before narrowing into a frown. Its edges grew brighter. Madeline could hear the buzz of electricity and her hair stood on end. What was this? Some kind of electric eel creature? It seemed to shake itself out indignantly and turned back around. Thankfully, it looked like it just wanted to be left alone, whatever it was. When she looked up the rest of the path, there were more of the blobs, maybe ten or fifteen, slowly pacing back and forth, glowing with energy.

“Great...” she thought. She really should be surprised, but after everything she’d seen, somehow it made sense. She needed to be extremely careful to stay out of their way. One more thing to worry about. In addition, the bridges themselves were not as well constructed as she’d thought earlier. The protective walls on the side were crumbling and in some places it looked like the floor itself slanted awkwardly, threatening to slide errant walkers off. It didn’t look like the fall would be fatal, but she’d probably break something. Hopefully, it was built better than it appeared.

She sidled past the electric blobs, being careful to stay well outside their path, dashing away if they got too close. They didn't so much as glance at her, but Madeline had no doubt that if she touched one of them, they would electrocute her and continue their anxious pacing without a second thought. Soon, she was at the hotel’s front door, which was exasperatingly locked.

Madeline couldn't help but sigh. Of course it was locked. Now that she was close enough, she could see hundreds upon hundreds of windows and balconies poking out of its face, suggesting an unthinkable multitude of rooms. It was worn down and was in varying states of disrepair. The locked door was made of heavy wood, maybe oak, and looked like it was never intended to be closed. However, there was steam coming out of a vent along the side, so perhaps somebody was still there, and maybe they could even get her a warm meal. Madeline was already sick of energy bars and the bags that advertised, “Simply add hot water!” If nothing else, maybe she could get through to the ridges on the other side, and eventually to the cable car she knew led to the main slopes of Celeste mountain itself.

Several knocks on the door of increasing aggression garnered no response and Madeline plopped down on the front steps in disgust. It seemed that nothing about this climb could ever be even a little bit easy, could it. Nothing to do but groan and grunt about it.

The view from the hotel's front steps was spectacular, at least. There was simply no way around it. There were vast, evergreen forests that slowly faded as they climbed up incredible jagged peaks, streams that carved their way down the slopes into rivers and always, looming overhead was the peak itself. Sighing again, she went to scratch her head and noticed the metallic glint of a large, brass key discarded near some rocks and the withered husks of what once had been decorative plants. Clearly whoever had left the key behind had figured there wasn’t much reason to be concerned about it. She took the key and tried the lock, feeling it turn easily. Well, she wasn’t going to let that luck go to waste. She opened the door, listening to it creak as it swung inwards, and stepped inside.

Once her eyes adjust to the light, she found herself in what looked to be a normal hotel lobby. However, it clearly hadn’t seen much in the way of guests for decades. Tattered purple bunting was everywhere, ropes hung loosely from the ceiling and cardboard moving boxes were strewn across the floor. There was a luggage cart with old bags on it, but it looked like it had only ever been there for show. An empty reception desk sat to the side with a wall of room keys behind it and an enormous painting of the hotel itself above. The artist had clearly taken some liberties, but there was no mistaking what it was. However, Madeline’s eyes were drawn to a small, flickering green-shaded lamp illuminating an old and dusty guestbook. Many of the pages were damaged, missing, or otherwise totally unreadable, but many of the comments had survived. “We’ll never forget our time here,” read one. “I’ve never felt more at peace.” “Thank you for creating such a wonderful and spiritually soothing place.”

One after another, the comments Madeline read painted the picture of what was, once upon a time, a world class resort. She even found a comment from a person whose name she recognized from one of the climbing reports. The newest comment was still from at least twenty years ago. It made her sad. Once, this had clearly been a truly special place but now it was decaying into ruin, just like everything else on the mountain. Disappointed and depressed, reminiscing on her own ruins, she dinged the reception bell.

It echoed in the empty hall far longer than it should have. Madeline stopped. The echo was getting louder and hundreds of bells seemed to chime their response. She was petrified; was it happening again? All of the lights that still worked instantly went dark and she could feel the ground beneath her shake. A gust of wind came from behind her, freezing her feet to the ground and keeping her from running as bones materialized in the air and slowly assembled themselves into a skeleton. Madeline watched in horror as nerves, muscles and veins appeared out of nowhere and crawled their way up the spine when all of a sudden...it disappeared. Madeline could hardly think. The only thing worse than the terror of the apparition was not knowing where it was. She carefully peaked her head over the top fo the desk...and a man popped into the air three meters above her with an unmistakable squeak.

Madeline screamed and fell back behind her. The man slowly floated down behind the desk and looked at her with unbearable excitement.

“Welcome! How may I assist you?” he said to her.

Madeline could barely get the words out, “A...are you a g-g-ghost?”

The man looked confused, “A ghost? Don’t be silly,” he put his hands together in front of his chest. “I am the owner and concierge of this fine establishment.” He threw his hands out to display the supposed wonder of the hotel around him, shouting, “Welcome! To the world-renowned and award winning CELESTIAL RESORT HOTEL! Mr. Oshiro. At your service.” He bowed deeply.

“Uh….hello...I’m...uh...well...” Madeline responded. What on earth had she walked into?

Oshiro didn’t seem to hear her. He half turned away and audibly whispered to himself, “Two guests in one day, Oshiro! Business is finally starting to pick back up!” He turned back to her like he hadn’t said anything, “How long will you be staying with us, madam?”

There was no way Madeline wanted to stay in a haunted hotel, even in the unlikely scenario she could afford it, “Oh...well, I’m just passing through actually...I’m climbing the mountain,” she said, “Is there...a back exit or something?”

Oshiro’s eye twitched and he seemed to force his smile to remain on his face, “...A...back...exit?” He turned away again and continued to whisper, “Just passing through? That won’t do at all...”

“I can...actually still hear you...you know that right?” Madeline said. Now that her fear was fading, she was starting to just feel uncomfortable. Oshiro didn’t seem like anything to be afraid of. He was a portly Japanese man with a green turtleneck sweater and black slacks. If he weren’t slightly transparent, she could almost think he was a normal, middle aged hotel manager. Well, that and the floating.

Oshiro turned back to her, oblivious, had he even heard what she said? “Our rear service door is actually reserved for hotel staff only. However, our top floor presidential suite features a STUNNING view of the peak,” he twiddled his fingers together, “Yes...yes...you’ll be quite comfortable up there.”

Madeline looked away, feeling sheepish. “Is...there a ladder there where I could climb down the back?”

Oshiro once again hadn’t heard a word. “The presidential suite, Oshiro what a marvelous idea,” he whispered, “What is your name, madam, so we may have it for our records?”

Madeline forced a smile, maybe being polite would work. She could be polite. “I’m Madeline. And I’m really sorry, but again I’m not interested in staying. I really need to keep climbing today.”

It seemed Oshiro was incapable of hearing her, “Right this way Ms. Madeline and I shall show you to your room.” The door at the end of the reception area opened and Oshiro floated through. There was no part of Madeline that really trusted Oshiro, but he seemed harmless enough, even if he was a ghost.

She followed him into a long hallway that had a subtle curve to it, only to find that he had completely vanished. Madeline guessed she should have expected that given the whole ghost thing. There were more of the red blobs on the floor, more agitated this time, running around and just generally being a huge nuisance. They seemed to be anxious, but aimless. Some paced in circles around the floor, some slid back and forth along the walls, and others just sat on the ground staring at nothing. The ones that moved left little soot trails across the floor, leaving the carpets in need of a strong vacuuming. Occasionally there were small balconies poking out into the face of the resort, and Madeline checked every one, hoping they lead to a way out, but each time, they only overlooked sheer cliffs. All through the hall there were dusty chairs or couches forming small reading nooks near enormous bay windows. Frigid gusts blew in from outside, but vents on the wall perpetually pushed out steam and kept the hallway a comfortable temperature.

Soon, she found herself at another locked door with the same heavy oak. She tried a few of the nearby doors, but they were as well. “Um...Oshiro? Are you there? The door is locked...” No response. She hadn’t really wanted to talk to him and lead him on, but she didn’t seem to have any options. Oh well, the key had been close the last time, maybe it would be close again. The drawers and tables of the nearby nooks gave her no clues, but there was a small ring and a trap door in the ceiling. An attic access! There was probably some sort of crawlspace up there and she could find a way past the door. She jumped and dashed upward, grabbing the rope to reveal a small maintenance tunnel between the floors.

A light, faint and flickering poked through an open access hatch; could it be a way out? Madeline crawled forward and was embarrassed to find herself in some sort of...honeymoon suite. The walls were all painted a deep shade of red, there was a fireplace and luxurious chairs spread around the room. There was an old canopy bed, and even a piano! But the lace canopy had disintegrated to near nothingness and the strings of the piano were snapped and coiled. Next to the bed was a copper soaking tub and a table with a dusty wine bottle and two glasses. The hotel must have been expecting a bride and groom to show up, but either they never came, or something went very, very wrong before they did. Madeline was discouraged; yet another dead end.

She turned back into the tunnel and continued on, but it quickly became clear that it might be better to turn back. Past the honeymoon suite, the floor was covered in pinkish tendrils that looked like anemones poking above the sea floor. Madeline brushed her hand across one and felt it tingle as it stuck to her hand momentarily and then expanded rapidly, becoming another one of the electric blobs. She quickly withdrew. If there wasn’t a way out on the other side, she’d be trapped in the crawlspace for what would end up being a very short rest of her life. Madeline was claustrophobic just thinking about it. She had to turn around. Maybe the key would be under the carpet by the ladder, or maybe it would be in the honeymoon suite somewhere. Reaching the doorway prompted a squeak of shock, as Oshiro stood in the open doorway, smiling and rubbing his hands together. There was no sign of a door where he stood, so something must have happened while she was in the honeymoon suite. How haunted was this hotel?

“Please follow me closely, Ms. Madeline,” he said, with just a trace of annoyance creeping into his voice, “The elevator is just down the hall.”

“Wha- where did y- the door was lock...Nevermind. Look, the hotel is in really rough shape. Are you really open for business?”

Oshiro's eyes twitched and his smile faded ever so slightly, “Of..of course we're open. The Celestial Resort Hotel would never close during prime tourism season!”

The season was long over. As far as Madeline knew, only her and Theo were on the mountain, and who knows where he'd run off to. Oshiro seemed to know it too, even as he claimed otherwise. He turned to the side and began talking under his breath, “Rough shape? What on earth could she mean by that, Oshiro.” He flipped back quickly, “Oh, Ms. Madeline, you must allow me to carry your luggage.”

“...My bag?” Madeline thought about it. This Oshiro guy, whatever kind of spectre he was, seemed relatively harmless. Kind of a weirdo, but she didn't think he'd hurt her. Even if he was a bit of a creep, he was still thinking of her as a possible customer. But at the same time, she didn't want to lead him on about her staying there. “No thank you, I'll just carry it myself,” she replied, finally.

“Hmm, very well.” Oshiro gave the response curtly and with a hint of confusion. He floated into the now open room, and Madeline could hear him whisper, “What a peculiar guest you've got this time.” Ok, maybe he was a bit annoying too.

Madeline could swear she had never taken her eye off Oshiro, but almost as soon as she went through the door, he had disappeared again. She was in some kind of a library, but any organization was long gone. There were books strewn across the entire floor, and several shelves had collapsed. The books themselves seemed to be in fine shape, at least the ones that survived their fall, but it looked like nobody had cleaned it up in years. Even walking two steps in front of her was impossible because of a gigantic pile of fallen books. She had to wander through the stacks like she was in a maze, dipping down through tunnels created by bookshelves that leaned against each other like dominoes. Hopefully they would hold together for just a little bit longer.

The clutter was making her anxious. Even in her worst moments, messes had to be dealt with immediately. Sometimes it was therapeutic, sometimes not, but no matter what, she always cleaned early and often. Her roommates had made fun of her once after she had spent an entire Saturday cleaning, and then complained Sunday that there was nothing else she could clean. Seeing the resort in this state, while she wasn't making any progress on climbing? It was driving her up the wall.

Soon, she found Oshiro again, near another doorway, fiddling anxiously with a light switch. It didn't seem to be turning on any lights, but he continued to flip it up and down and stare. Madeline coughed awkwardly and Oshiro hastily stopped and turned around, clearing his throat.

“Ms. Madeline, I really must implore you to keep up. I am running a world class establishment here and have a great deal of guests I must be getting back to. I simply do not have time to be waiting around for meandering guests,” he patronized.

“What? You took off without me! I was...” Madeline stopped and took a deep breath. She could feel her temper rising. That...demon in the old ruins, it was the part of her that boiled over sometimes and snapped at people, right? She could keep it down. She could beat it. “You really don't have to wait for me,” she said, forcing calmness into her voice, “All I'm doing is looking for a way through the resort.”

Oshiro immediately looked panicked, he turned to the side and bit nails that had been worn down to the nub, “Oshiro, you idiot, you're going to lose her! The customer is always right!” he whispered, “Business is finally picking up and you lose your temper?” He turned back to Madeline and laughed nervously, “Oh...oh yes, of course, Ms. Madeline. My most sincere apologies. I was out of line. Please feel free to explore the resort at your leisure.” He waved his hand and a door nearby opened up. He floated through it, “Whenever you're ready Madam, I shall meet you in the lobby.”

The doorway was the entrance to a vast central chamber with staircases all around leading to dozens upon dozens of rooms. Madeline could see signs pointing up each staircase directing guests to their room. It looked like all the wings were named after the major Canadian peaks. There was a Logan wing, a Robson wing, a Waddington wing and many others, but if she was honest, none of it mattered even in the slightest.

The lobby was a nightmarish mess.

Cardboard boxes were stacked up, sometimes five meters high, hundreds of towels were stuffed into massive pyramidal piles and there were books strewn all across the floor. Madeline took two steps up a nearby staircase, only to see the lobby and all of the stairs were almost entirely covered. She couldn't even hope to find an exit in here. Oshiro was near the center of the lobby on his hands and knees, desperately searching for something.

“I thought the key was here. It's just this clutter has gotten totally out of control!” He looked around in a panic, eyes racing back and forth, “When did this happen?!” Slowly he sat back and his head dipped into his hands, “I don't even know where to begin...”

It was time to ask the question that had been bothering her ever since she arrived, “Mr. Oshiro, do you run this whole place by yourself? I haven't seen any staff or... anybody at all really.”

Oshiro's eyes twitched again, “You're absolutely right, Ms. Madeline. I'll never sort this mess out by myself.” Falling back dramatically in a heap, Oshiro threw his hands over his face. “It's hopeless!”

“That's not what I meant...” Madeline groaned, but who was she to feel that way. Certainly she'd been in these kind of mental states before. “Just breathe, Mr. Oshiro. Breathe. It's just a little spring cleaning.” She looked up at a particularly precarious pile of boxes looming overhead, “Well...ok, maybe more than a little. But I'll help you! If I just get you started, it's gonna feel so much easier to do the rest!”

But Oshiro's face never left his hands, “You are far too kind Ms. Madeline. But I wouldn't even bother. It's a lost cause.”

Well, that was fine. She'd start with the books and then he'd see and help her do the rest. After all she already knew where the library was. And maybe he'd be grateful enough to show her where to find the back door too. There was even an old luggage cart nearby. Madeline started picking up the books and stacking them onto the luggage cart. This was going to be nice, actually. Taking care of the lobby would help de-stress from the journey. Oshiro was peeking through his fingers at what she was doing though, so maybe there was some way to reach him and he could help.“How long have you been running this place?”

A muffled sigh came from between Oshiro's fingers, “Oh, quite some time now.”

Madeline lifted a stack onto the cart, grunting, “You must...oof...really love your work.”

“Of course, Ms. Madeline. It is my deepest passion.” He slid his hands down his face and looked intensely at her, “A truly great hotel lives on eternally in the cherished memories of its satisfied guests.”

“Hey, that's the spirit!” Madeline said. The first load of books was on the cart, “Help me load the books into the library so you can make more of those memories?” Oshiro's face sunk back into his hands with a moan. Well, it was worth a try.

After another three or four trips, Madeline's arms were beyond sore. No way could she lift another book if she hoped to keep climbing. At least she had made a serious dent on that part of the mess, and now she could move on to the towels and linens. She asked Oshiro where to find the laundry room, but he was still unresponsive on the ground. So that was a dead end. Luckily, some wandering uncovered a barely legible brass sign on a nearby door, “Laundry: Please do not use the machines without permission from the hotel staff.” She wasn't likely to get any permission from Oshiro any time soon, so she grabbed a load of towels and pushed it open with her foot, almost instantly dropping the load in shock.

“Theo!”

He was on the floor, twisting a coin on the screws attaching a large air vent to the wall and jumped nearly a meter when he heard her.

“Madeline! I could not be happier to see you right now,” he said, shaking his head, “I'm all about spooky mysteries but this place is way too much.”

Madeline chuckled, “Did Mr. Oshiro make you a guest here too?”

Theo turned back to the vent and went to unscrew the last two screws, “Yeah, and the creepy old weirdo is probably cleaning out a nook to hide our bodies in as we speak.”

It was weird to hear Theo so freaked out. Then again, he had seen a for real ghost. “I just think he could use some help...”

“Ya think??” Theo said. “Look, this vent is blowing in cold air from outside; I'm going to crawl through it to get out and you should really do the same.” The last screw fell out and Theo grabbed the side to pull on it, but it was still stuck tightly to the wall. He started to jiggle it and put more of his weight into it, grabbing it anywhere he could get a handle on it. Madeline was almost disappointed.

“Mr. Oshiro is troubled, sure, but I don't think he wants to hurt us. Once I've helped him clean up the mess he's going to feel a lot better!” Theo kept jerking on the vent.

“Madeline, that's really sweet, but this is really dangerous.” He put his legs against the wall and pushed and the vent popped out, causing him to land flat on his back. Getting up and dusting himself off, Theo turned back to her, “We aren't in any way prepared for this. We need to get out of here and call an expert on creepy old dudes, or we'll end up trapped here forever.”

Madeline wasn't ready to give up, “I think I can get through to him.” She smiled and picked up the towels she'd dropped when she got in, “Go on ahead and I'll catch up with you.”

Theo sighed, “Man, you're more stubborn than my sister. I didn't think that was possible. Okay, well just in case, I found this back in some weird honeymoon suite when I first got here. I didn't want to eat it because I thought it might be cursed. Maybe if there's a problem you can bribe the old weirdo with it.”

He held out his hand and Madeline held back a gasp as Theo offered her a strawberry, identical to the first two. She pulled herself together. “Thanks, Theo. I'll see you outside!”

He put his hand on her shoulder and looked her with a deep expression of caring and worry, “Take care of yourself, okay?” and then Madeline had to hold back her laughter as he squeezed himself and his backpack into the tiny vent and crawled into the darkness.

Her first few loads in the washing machines went smoothly, distracted only by occasional banging that must have been Theo, somewhere in the vents. There were three machines that still mercifully worked, and remained unblocked, and she took full advantage. Unfortunately, there were many, many other washing machines that did not. Clothes poured out of them like lava, overflowing from the broken drums. Others might have worked if they hadn't been rendered unusable by boxes stacked high in front of them. It looked like more of the dryers functioned, so while the few working washing machines ran, she would need to find another way to wash the clothes.

A cursory search of the laundry room got her a series of thin, wire clotheslines, clothespins still attached, with the tattered remains of what looked like the shirts Oshiro was wearing. Could it have been his old clothes from back when he wasn't...whatever he was now? In any case, if there was a clothesline, there must be somewhere to wash clothes that wasn't the laundry room. Maybe Oshiro would know. She wouldn't even ask him to help just yet. If she just needed to know where else she could wash clothes, he had to answer, right? Even if it was just for “providing exceptional service to his guests.”

Back in the lobby, Oshiro was standing up, which at least had to be something. She started, “Oshi-” but he interrupted, brightly smiling, “You know, Ms. Madeline, I haven't even begun cleaning yet and already I feel a renewed lightness all around me! That is the power of positive thinking.”

Madeline shuffled, uncomfortable and embarrassed, “Well, Actually... I cleared out some of the clutter for you.”

Oshiro seemed to hardly hear her, “Oh, yes, thank you, yes of course”

“So is there somewhere else for me to wash the tow-”

Oshiro interrupted her again, “But please, you must relax and let the hotel staff take care of it! Guests mustn't be spending their vacation cleaning.”

“What staff...?” thought Madeline, taking special care not to say it out loud. The look on her face must have shown her skepticism, because Oshiro turned away and began slapping himself. “Pull it together Oshiro,” he repeated, “You're going to lose her!” Clearly this wasn't going anywhere. Just like everything else in this damn hotel she was going to have to figure it out herself.

She searched for another laundry room down the various halls and corridors, but had no luck. Her only notable discoveries were a locker room and office with tool boxes, showers that coughed out only dust and an ancient computer with the words “PICO-8” on it and a joystick attached to the back. As she was carrying a load to the laundry room, she heard what sounded like running water, coming from an unmarked door nearby. She thought it was a sink, or a tub that she could use to for hand washing the towels, but opening the door revealed something else entirely.

It was a steam filled, indoor hot spring. The room had been decorated in a naturalistic style, with river rock floors and bamboo railings leading into a pool for ten to twelve people. Sulfur tinged the scent of the room as the water of the pool was constantly refreshed by a small waterfall falling out of a bamboo pipe in the wall, and a small stream that took the overflow away into another pipe not far away. Was the mountain volcanic? Madeline thought they were too far inland for a volcano, but then again, should she really be surprised when something strange about Celeste Mountain reared its head? At least she knew the the water was clean, if a little bit smelly. She could at least rinse some of the bed sheets and hang them up. Maybe Oshiro would get his act together and throw some fabric softener on them.

Soon, the laundry room was filled with clotheslines and the sounds of running washers and dryers. Madeline was feeling satisfied, but could feel her lack of sleep draining her. Was Oshiro making her do all this work deliberately? Was he thinking that if she was tired out from cleaning, she would be more likely to stay at the resort? Could Theo really be right? She didn't really believe him, but her doubt cast a shadow over her thoughts. One thing was for sure, she couldn't do all the cleaning. Time to call it a day on the laundry. Enough of it was already in the machine, or in hampers that the rest would be manageable for anybody, including Oshiro.

“It's looking much nicer in here!” she loudly announced when she returned to the lobby. Oshiro was pacing around, looking in various drawers and closets, seemingly without reason. “Can you please show me to the exit?” she asked, hopefully.

Oshiro turned to her, “Why, Ms. Madeline, you've barely enjoyed the myriad luxuries our hotel has to offer. We can talk more about it once I finish cleaning and find you the key to the presidential suite. I am very busy you see,” and he turned back to the drawers, “Now where exactly did I put that?”

Madeline was furious, “Do you even want my help or not??” she yelled.

In a panic, Oshiro turned to her, looking pale, “Oshiro, it's over. She hates you. It's all your fault.”

“I...don't...” Madeline loudly started, then took another deep, full breath. She'd had days like the ones Oshiro was having, and what kind of person would she be if she couldn't show any sympathy. Another deep breath, “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap.” What about her honest feelings about the hotel itself? Or at least the place it once was, “Your hotel is...incredible. It's a beautiful place. Truly, it's world class. I can see all the care and time you've put into it for your guests and I wish I could stay, but I really have to keep climbing.”

“You don't have to humor me, Ms. Madeline,” Oshiro looked at her, forlorn, “I understand what's happened,” he said. It was like he'd given her a brief, clear look into his pain, if only for a moment. He hid it again behind a smile and went back to a desk that had recently been uncovered. “I'll just find the key, and then we'll talk.”

Madeline sighed and walked away. Clearly something had happened here that had really hurt him and he wasn't able to shake it. Forget leaving for a little bit. The least she could do is make his life a little easier. She could clear out the way to the presidential suite and help him find the key. Now that there was less clutter, she could see what looked like an empty gift shop. Probably that's what the boxes were full of. Anything that didn't look like it belong in there could just get put in any random storage closet she could find.

The gift shop had been stripped almost completely down, but it wasn't empty. The red blobs were back. One of them paced back and forth across the floor, and the rest clung to the walls around a stone fireplace. They stared at her as she pushed the boxes from the lobby in, but thankfully didn't seem to interested in stopping her. Madeline even found a way to deal with the pacing one when she used a box to block its path, causing it to pace between the box and the wall. By moving the box slightly closer to the wall, she could walk through almost the entire gift shop unimpeded, but progress was still slow. How could cardboard boxes be so heavy? She could hardly even pick them up, forcing her to push them along the ground. When one box, near the stairs to the suite hardly budged, she couldn't hold her curiosity in any longer. She had to know what was making the box so heavy. As she pulled open the flaps, a small piece of paper flitted out. Madeline looked.

It was a yellowed piece of stationary, with the golden logo of the hotel at the top.

“Attention Hotel Staff:” it said, “It is my sad duty to inform you that the Celestial Resort Hotel will close indefinitely following the end of the climbing season, due to circumstances beyond our control. It was my greatest honor to have served our guests alongside you all of these years, and to work with you on creating such memorable experiences for all who passed through our doors. I write this with a heavy heart. This hotel has become my home, and each and everyone of you has become my family. I shall miss you all, and this place, very dearly. Please come see me if you have any questions. Sincerely, Oshiro.”

So, the hotel definitely was closed. That must have been what she'd seen on Oshiro's face earlier. He had clearly loved this place and the people there very much. What had happened to make the resort close? Why was Oshiro still here? She had the sense of a terrible tragedy that had taken place, but there was no way she could figure it out without Oshiro, and he would never talk about it, if he even was able to listen. But maybe if she finished cleaning out the lobby, he would be able to move forward. Maybe if he was leaving it in a better place, he would be able to accept whatever it was. “Only one way to find out,” she thought, and returned to pushing the boxes into the gift shop.

Finally, after another few hours of work, the lobby was almost entirely clear. She was exhausted, and somehow, when she hadn't been paying attention, Oshiro had ended up at the top of the stairs near the sign for the presidential suite.

“Ah, there you are,” he said, “you certainly have a talent for wandering off.”

Madeline could feel herself short of breath from the cleaning and could barely think about whatever he said, “It was tough, but I think I got most of it sorted out. I don't think I can do any more,” she explained.

“The Celestial Resort Hotel extends its gratitude for your assistance,” Oshiro stated, matter-of-factly, “Of course, the staff had it under control.”

Madeline sighed, “Sure. Yeah. I know they did.”

“You must be eager to see your room,” Oshiro was excited, “It is just through this door, up the elevator and down the hall.”

“Sure. What the heck.” Madeline didn't even have the energy to argue any more, “Show me the presidential suite. I'm sure it's lovely.” She tried to not sound annoyed, but was pretty sure she failed.

“Now's your chance,” Oshiro whispered, “You can't lose her now,” and he pulled the key out of his pocket. Had it been in there the entire time and she'd cleaned for nothing? Madeline wanted to be furious but being angry took energy. Oshiro opened the door with the key and floated through, Madeline a few steps behind.

Yet again, Oshiro had disappeared, leaving Madeline in a room that was almost completely dark. There was an elevator, one of the old ones with the bars that required an operator, but it was a shattered wreck on the floor. It looked like the hook attaching it to the cable had broke, and the remains of the cable hung from the rafters high above. Madeline thought about it. She could use the cable as a belay, and use it to climb up the wall; after all she had a climbing belt, and it looked like it would fit. The counterweight of the elevator would provide plenty of resistance if something went wrong. If she could avoid using her arms as much as possible, the walls of the elevator shaft were close enough that she could probably brace herself on the wall with her legs and walk up. Plus, she had to prove her nightmare wrong. Putting on the climbing belt she used a small bit of rope to tie herself to the cable, put her feet on the wall and began the climb. Soon, she was collapsed on a service walkway at the top, lungs gasping for air and body stiff from exertion.

A metallic bang sounded above her head and she opened her eyes to see Theo on the other side of a grate, looking at her. He whacked the grate with his elbow again and it popped off, allowing him to stick his bearded head through.

“Hey Madeline,” he said, sounding for all the world like it was just another normal day at the office, “It's an absolute maze in there. How are things going with El Creepo?”

Madeline tried to laugh, “I helped him a bunch with cleaning up, but he was just kind of a jerk about it. And after all that he still thinks he can convince me to stay.”

Madeline thought Theo looked serious, but it was very hard to tell while he was upside down. “Madeline, seriously,” he said, “My bad idea radar is off the charts on this one.” He reached down his hand for her, “You need to get out of here.”

“If I disappear now, Mr. Oshiro could have a meltdown,” she'd made some progress with him right? She'd seen that earlier. “And maybe I can actually do some good...for once,” she said as quietly as he could.

Theo heard anyway, “Dude, forget your karma. That guy is going to melt down no matter what you do. Think about your safety here.”

Madeline felt talked down to and frowned, “Theo. I'll be fine.”

Theo chuckled and shook his head, “Yeah, yeah. I didn't think you'd listen.” He gave a quick salute, “See you on the outside, jailbird,” and disappeared back into the vents, leaving Madeline alone once again.

“So, where to now?” she thought. Oshiro had said the presidential suite was down the hall and there was at least a door where the elevator should have been. She worked her way down and pulled the door open, arms roasting from the earlier exertion. When the door was fully open, though, she was shocked by a massive jolt of electricity and fell through with a shout, landing on her face in a red lit hallway. To Madeline's horror, the hallway wasn't lit by lights, but by thousands upon thousands of the red blobs. They covered the ceiling, the walls, everything, but the area of the floor that Madeline had fallen into. This was insane. She turned to go back to the elevator shaft, but the blobs that shocked her were expanding until they completely covered the elevator doors, leaving no way out.

Madeline could feel her adrenaline spike. “Okay, just stay calm. Think. What do you have to work with?” She took inventory. There wasn't anything in the clear area except a tall table with a phone on it and a luggage cart. The phone was completely dead, so that wasn't helpful, but the luggage cart gave her an idea. With her climbing gear she broke a leg off the table and got on the cart. If she got through this, she could pay Oshiro back for the table later.

“You can do this.” She'd been saying that a lot over the past few days. Like she was pushing a gondola along the canals of Venice, she began pushing the cart through the sea of electric blobs.

Progress was definitely slow. She was constantly having to avoid enormous masses that hung from the ceiling or stretched between the walls, ducking and weaving every thirty meters. Thankfully the luggage cart wasn't affected by them. There were places where more than half the hallway was covered. Madeline felt like she had to hold her breath at times when she was passing particularly close. And then it looked like there was a small gap in the blobs three meters above the floor. She prayed that there weren't more of them on the other side and dashed through.

To her relief, she landed flat on her feet at the top of a small staircase. Oshiro was at the bottom, pacing. “This is it, Oshiro,” she heard him say, “Your last chance,” he covered his forehead and shook in panic, “No! You already ruined it. Having a guest clean up your mess? She'll never stay after that!” He pulled his hands down his face, covering his mouth like he was praying, “But, she's still here. So maybe there's still a chance. The presidential suite is the key. It has to impress her.” But then he collapsed to the ground. “No...Get it together, Oshiro,” he said as he beat his head with his hands. The whole hotel seemed to shake. As Oshiro's face slowly sank further and further into his hands, red blobs burst out of him like rocks from a volcano, sticking to the first thing they came into contact with and buzzing with electricity. So, they were coming from him... Madeline almost gasped. It made perfect sense. He hadn't noticed any of them, but they seemed to follow him everywhere. Maybe Theo was right. But it was too late now.

Oshiro glanced up, “Oh, there you are Ms. Madeline,” he said, trembling, “Follow me quickly. We're almost there.” He turned away, shivering and the entire space between her and him was suddenly filled with the red blobs.

Madeline had made up her mind before the decision even registered. Oshiro just needed her help. These red blobs were like...clutter monsters that manifested out of his messed up head. If she could just get through to him, he'd get better and most of the problems facing the hotel would go away. After all, she'd cleaned up so much of the lobby. The problems weren't anywhere near as bad as they were when she got there. He could absolutely right the ship and turn things around. She just had to talk to him and he could get it together. The question was how would she even get through? Well, there was a maintenance tunnel in the ceiling several floors below, maybe there would be something similar in the floor.

The floorboards proved impossible to pull up, but thankfully, there were loose panels on the wall that came off easily when she grabbed one and dashed away. In a stroke of good luck, the maintenance tunnel on this floor was immediately behind it. It made sense. There probably weren't a lot of rooms on this floor, so having the tunnels be above or below didn't make a lot of sense. It was time to let it lead her on.

Her way wasn't blocked by any of the dust bunnies, and the tunnel actually led her straight to a lit up room. A cursory examination revealed that it was Oshiro's office. It was surprisingly spartan for a managers office, with only a small desk topped with a green desk lamp, red carpet and a picture of Oshiro in front of the hotel holding some kind of award. It seemed obvious he had never spent much time in his office. Madeline was drawn to a newer looking book on the desk and was stunned to see it was Oshiro's diary. It felt terrible invading his privacy, but maybe it would tell her how to get through to him and help him out. She wanted to start from the final entry to get more of a clue, which looked like it was decades old.

As of today, the hotel is officially closed. Charlotte organized the staff for a farewell hike up the mountain. Most of us have never been to the summit. It seemed like a fitting goodbye, but when the time came, I couldn't bear to leave without looking around one last time. I told them to go on without me. I gave Charlotte the extra key and she knows to lock the doors on her way back down. I will catch up with them soon, after I double check that everything is in order. I can't believe my time here is over. What on earth am I going to do now? Perhaps I'll stay one last night, so that the hotel and I can have a proper goodbye.

Madeline couldn't continue. She already felt like she had taken way too much of Oshiro's privacy reading that much. This was meant to be for Oshiro's purposes alone, and she had no business pushing her way into it. No matter how good her intentions were. But were her intentions really that good? She had really wanted to help, but ultimately she was just trying to keep going on her climb. And Theo was right. A lot of her motivation was feeling like she had messed up so many relationships with her temper, and now she had a chance to make up for it. Maybe she had no business getting involved. It was time to go back to her original goal and find her way out of the hotel.

The door out of the office led back to the main hallway, but now there were windows all along the walls showing that she was near the top of the hotel, high above the ground. But there had to be some kind of fire escape or something that she could get out. Or something.

Soon, the hallway ended with a massive set of double doors, with a golden placard on the side.

The Presidential Suite
Authorized Guests Only

Madeline sighed. Well, then there was really no escaping it. Maybe she'd done enough and she could make him feel a little better. But she had to leave. And this was the only way. She opened the door to a waiting Oshiro inside.

“Here we are,” he said, “our award winning presidential suite! The very definition of rustic luxury. I shall stand back and allow you to soak in its majesty.” He floated back about a meter, “I understand it can be a lot to handle.”

Madeline looked around. The room was beautifully maintained, unlike the rest of the hotel. There was an enormous, four poster canopy bed with beautiful woodwork all over it. A golden chandelier hung from the ceiling along with purple curtains separating different parts of the room. Paintings of various artists interpretations of the hotel and the mountain as a whole covered the walls along with an enormous crystalline mirror. There was even a cavernous wardrobe and a full dining table with a wine bottle and several glasses in the middle.

“So? What do you think?” Oshiro said, excitedly.

“It's...” Madeline didn't know what to say, “It's beautiful. The furniture looks expensive and... it's very spacious...” She had always been terrible at giving compliments, especially when they were all she had to give. “Everything is very elegant. I can tell you put a lot of really hard work into it.” She sighed, “It really is beautiful. The height of luxury.”

Oshiro broke out into a trembling smile, “I knew it would impress you!” He seemed to be on the verge of tears. Madeline knew she was about to break his heart.

“Can... can I get on the roof from here?” she asked, as quietly as she could.

His smile faltered, “Oh....errr, I almost forgot... did I mention that valued guests such as yourself stay in these fine accommodations at half price!” Oshiro's eyelids twitched as he forced a smile.

Madeline's voice cracked, “I...” Time to rip the band-aid off. “I can't stay.” Out of the corner of her eye, it looked like a shadow appeared in the mirror, but she couldn't be rude.

Oshiro hadn't noticed. He looked like he was about to cry. “Please Madeline,” he begged, “Please.”

“Mr. Oshiro, I've already been sidetracked too long... and...” she tried to make him understand.

The shadow flitted across the mirror again and Madeline couldn't help herself but look. It was Part of Her. Madeline felt like her heart stopped. Part of Her smiled and the mirror shattered. She was in the room with them, floating between Oshiro and her.

“Madeline, sweetie, let's ditch this loser,” she laughed. Part of Her was almost transparent, but still very much visible. She had the same ghostly opacity of Oshiro in many ways. Could Oshiro see her?

“Loser...?” Oshiro repeated and dropped to the floor in despair.

Part of Her looked down at him in disgust, “You're in denial, you old creep. This resort is an absolute dump!” She floated over him and yelled down, “Nobody would ever want to stay here!” Part of Her laughed, “I mean, somebody had to say it.”

Madeline ran over to Oshiro, “She doesn't mean that! She's just angry! She doesn't know what she's saying!” Part of Her was going to ruin everything!

“I...I...” Oshiro was shaking, with his head in his hands. His eyes closed into a furious expression and his voice dropped into a horrible broken bass, “I am very busy,” he snapped, “Please leave, Ms. Madeline.”

Part of Her laughed and floated by. “Come on Ms. Madeline,” she mocked, “you heard the man.” She pointed put her hands to the ceiling and in a flash of purple light, the wood shattered into millions of pieces, creating a shaft leading all the way up to the roof above. Part of Her floated up and dropped a rope, peaking back down at her and laughing, “Where would you be without me?”

Madeline turned back to the prone Oshiro, hearing him unintelligibly whisper into his hands. She needed to say something. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. She tried to say that she was sorry, that Part of Her wasn't really her, but she knew it wasn't true. Dejected, she turned and climbed up to the roof, where Part of Her was waiting with a patronizing smile plastered onto her face.

“I thought we'd never get rid of that creep,” she laughed, “You owe me one. Add it to the list.”

There were no words for the feelings Madeline had, and the ones she had she'd never speak to even the most unfriendly company, “Leave. Me. Alone.” She walked away, refusing to look Part of Her in her firey eyes, but Part of Her wouldn't be sent away so easily.

“Aren't you sooooooo determined to keep climbing?” she taunted, “And now you're wasting your time being some weirdo's therapist? I just did what I had to do for you.” What could pass for a snort escaped her nostrils, “Like I always do.”

Madeline couldn't take it anymore, she grabbed a rock and threw it at Part of Her, screaming as it sailed by Part of Here's laughing head, “Go! Just Go! Why won't you go away?!”

“Ms. Madeline.”

She froze. Oshiro slowly floated up through the floorboards, looking dejected, “Before you go, Ms. Madeline, I need to ask...” his eyes twitched and scanned side to side. “Why would you be so nice to me, and then be so cruel and run away?” He looked like he was about to cry, “What did I do?”

She tried to opened her mouth to respond, but Part of Her was faster, “Oh give it a rest,” she spat, “You still don't get it, do you? She only helped you to feed her dumb, twisted ego.” The gray face twisted into fury, “She! NEVER! Cared! About! You!”

“Shut up!” Madeline cried, “I only wanted to help! Please, it's the truth.”

Part of Her looked back in disgust, “Both of you are pathetic.” And with that she vanished in flash of purple sparks. Madeline looked to Oshiro, trying to think of a way to tell him she was sorry. Some way to get him to believe her, but her words froze. Oshiro was shaking, his face was nearly white and it looked like he was smoking.

“PATHETIC?” he bellowed, his voice suddenly deep and echoing, “YOU ONLY CAME HERE...TO HUMILIATE ME?” Madeline could feel her ear drums shaking like the ground around her, “I WILL NOT GROVEL AT YOUR FEET ANY LONGER.” His shaking became more pronounced and he started to grow, his fingers turning into claws and his teeth becoming fierce fangs as his eyes turned blood red.

“Mr. Oshiro! Wait!” she screamed, but it was too late. Oshiro, or the thing Oshiro had become, hissed and lunged at her, fangs ready to tear her limb from limb. Madeline dived out of the way as he tore a chunk the size of her car out of the roof. She dashed away in terror. Oshiro came after her in a rage and Madeline was forced again to dash to the side to keep him away. And it only got worse.

The electric red blobs began to pour out of every vent, every hole and every window, streaming into the sky, covering every escape route, one by one. Madeline dashed away in terror as they blotted out the beginnings of a golden sunrise. Near the edge of the roof an access door beckoned but no sooner had she gotten to the door when Oshiro flew in from the side and smashed it to bits. What could she do? He was right in front of her, mouth open wide for a final bite. She screamed and dashed up, almost out of reflex as he snapped down where she had stood only a moment before. Her dash only carried her up so far, however, and she bounced off his head and slid to the tiles in a heap, nearly at the edge. Now there truly was no escape. She crawled away as much as she could, but there was nowhere to run from the blobs, or from Oshiro without plummeting from the roof.

“Mr. Oshiro!” she screamed, pleading to get through to him somehow, “Please! Stop!” Oshiro roared and slammed on the roof, rage and electricity coursing from every pore, “I just wanted to help!” Oshiro flew up into the air and crashed into the roof once again.

Madeline felt a crack.

The roof slid away, and Madeline felt herself falling among bits of shattered wood, stone and tile. She couldn't even think. Her climb was coming to a horrible end and...was that Oshiro? She could just see out of the corner of her eye Oshiro, in his original form falling with her, reaching out as the ground rushed up...

Suddenly her fall slowed to a crawl and she seemed to be caught by a pillow of air, just large enough for her to crash into the ground as if she had fallen a few meters, instead of the nearly thirty that it had initially been. Oshiro bounced off the ice and snow next to her, landing with a soft squeak. Madeline's lungs yanked in air like she had been drowning, but she was alive. Had Oshiro saved her? Was it Part of Her? They were lying outside of the back door of the hotel. Madeline reached over to try and comfort Oshiro, try to say she was sorry, or something, but he stood up without a word and floated towards the door. He paused.

“...I've decided...to close the hotel for repairs,” he said, his tone flat, “The second floor plumbing is leaking, the library is in disarray, not to mention the...hole in the ceiling of the presidential suite.” Madeline still could not find any words to say, and Oshiro did not look for them. “Please leave me alone,” he said and floated into the hotel, closing the door behind him.

Madeline ran to the door, wanting to knock, hoping to apologize or maybe demand that he apologize for trying to kill her, she didn't even know anymore. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. So she turned and ran to the beckoning ridge and the golden sun. She was running away again. How could she ever think that it would be different? And now yet another person would hate her forever. She bit back tears and dashed away, wanting to be as far from another failure as she could.

Back in the hotel, Oshiro creaked open the door and watched her go with a strange look on his face. A small blob came over to him, questions apparent in its eyes. Oshiro slowly closed the door and finally his face softened. He straightened his back, took a deep breath, and drifted slowly back into the hotel's waiting halls.