Chapter 2 - Mercury

Ting ting.

“Fuck. I can’t move!” he thought.

Ting ting.

Ting ting.

His phone rang.

Xxxxx’s vision began to vignette. Voices crept into his consciousness.

Unintelligible whispering.

“Move! Fuck. Move!”

Bang bang bang.

Xxxxx lurched backward, kicked the box, and fell over the couch.

Bang bang bang!

He got up, breathing heavily, backing away from the general location of the box.

The knocks grew more furious.

“Okay. I’m coming!” He shouted, looking around to see if the voices belonged to bodies.

He made his way past the kitchen and opened the door.

“Hendrix?!” he exclaimed.

“We don’t have much time,” Hendrix said, barging in.

“Time for what? That box! You know something?”

Hendrix was met with a charming home, the kitchen immediately on his left after entering.

Beyond that, an open plan living room. Dining room to his left and guest/tv area to his right.

Hendrix looked around. Not even giving pause to the coins.

“You knew!”

His attention was on the mirror in the hallway leading to the bedrooms.

“Please, Young Master, you need to take a moment and prioritize listening to me!” he said, forcing the last words.

“Okay. Go ahead.”

“Did you open the box?”

“Yes.”

“Did you pick up its contents?”

“No.”

“Did you agree to anything, ask for anything, or perform any kind of action toward the coin?”

“I mean, I was curious..”

“Did you interact with the contents in any way beyond innocent curiosity?” Hendrix asked sternly.

“I did not.”

Hendrix looked at the coins on the floor and back at him.

“The box fell and the coins spilled out. I picked them up and came home.”

Hendrix held eye contact.

“One coin sorted off… appeared in my hand.”

Hendrix’s eyes widened.

“And I can’t observe my name at all.”

“Be more specific.”

“I can’t say my name, remember it, or see it!”

Hendrix was already moving before he finished his sentence.

“It’s already begun. Here, take this if you will,” he said, handing him a card.

Xxxx examined it. It had calligraphy and foreign symbols on it.

“Put it in your pocket and keep it on you at all times,” he said and moved on to the kitchen.

“You can collect the coins. Place each with the smooth side up, from left to right.”

Xxxxx did as instructed.

Hendrix pulled out vials and began mixing a concoction, whispering something unintelligible in the process.

“Uhhh, Hendrix. Why does my mirror look like it’s made out of mercury?” Xxxxx asked, pointing.

Hendrix looked around the apartment, his hands mixing the contents of the viles with finesse.

“Drink this! You must hurry!”

The TV, mirror, tiles; even the glass Xxxxx was holding took on the sheen of mercury.

Xxxxx finished the glass of water in seconds.

Hendrix went over to the box.

“Master Xxxxx, how many coins were in the box when you first saw them?” he asked, already reaching into his satchel.

“I think five,” Xxxxx said.

He pulled out more of those cards Xxxxx now confirmed to be some kind of talisman.

“Why do I only see three in the box?”

Xxxxx looked at the coin in his hand. “Shit! The paralegal’s office!”

“We need all five, or else…”

The apartment began to tremble.

“Hendrix, what’s going on?”

“Listen to me carefully. You are being coerced into something you do not want any part of. To stop it, we need all five coins.”

“What happens if we only have four?”

The reflective surfaces began oozing a mercury-like substance.

Silver veins spread through the apartment, pooling in the center of the open plan area.

Hendrix leaped towards the pool and pulled out more talismans.

He placed three around it and began-

“How are you carving symbols into mid-air?” Xxxxx yelled over the low static hum now coming from the pool.

“Young Master, something very bad wants to access this plane. We can’t let that happen. You need to retrieve the coin!” He said, with his arms outstretched towards the pool.

“Or flip the coin,” Xxxxx said.

“How do you know that? Did you hear - never mind. You can’t do that. You’ll put us all in jeopardy.”

The trembling and humming stopped.

“Go! Now! Take the box with you. Arrange the coins the way I instructed. Close the box and place the talisman on top…

The pool lifted into the air, a blob of silver danger, shifted contorted and shrieked.

…turn your back to it and say this once - with conviction: The terms are not met. There is no accord!” Hendrix yelled over the wind coming from the morphing blob.

Xxxxx picked up the box.

The distorting sphere responded with a kinetic pulse that upended the room

The force lifted Xxxx and rag-dolled him against the wall.