Chapter 90: The Mind of a Freak

Without opening my eyes, I feel the environment beneath me with my hands. The fact that I can feel again means that we have fully materialized inside Endori’s body. “We” because one hand feels a hard surface beneath it–presumably a floor and not something off-putting like a tongue (thankfully). The other hand feels…something soft and warm on top of my waist.

Maybe I should pretend to be unconscious for a bit longer before–

“Hey, hands off, you freak! Watch where you put your hands!”

“...Never mind.”

With my vision fully restored, I can see where we were transported. Well, I can see, but I don’t understand at all. We are surrounded by pink walls, with one of the walls having some kind of knob on it…so that must be a door. Given the shape of the walls and the enclosed space, this could be a cubicle of sorts. Strangest of all, towards the back of the cubicle, right above my head, there’s a capsule-shaped device…empty. I’ll fall victim to Endori’s curse before I can narrow down what part of her body we are inside, but I do know one thing for certain–an annoyance is blocking my view, and my circulation.

“Oh how fantastic, Endori just HAD to procrastinate her formal ordination at the temple just so that she could come here because it just ‘felt right’. And now, I am here inside this weird place that I never asked to be!”

“Boo hoo, get your big tush off me already.”

“Excuse me?!”

Serine pushes her body upward, bringing herself to stand over Vex, who remains lying on the checkered floor.

“Finally. Any longer and you would have made my lower body numb. Now I can stretch before we figure things out–”

“While I can admit that Lady Endori is partially responsible for this mess, you…you idiot! You are completely at fault! How dare you force me to come here, grabbing my arm with your filthy appendages against my will!”

“Quite frankly, you can shut-up.”

“HUH?!”

“You heard me loud and clear. I know that you are smart enough to understand the hypocrisy spewing out of your mouth. Speaking of mouths, you should be grateful that we didn’t get transported there. It’s not a very pleasant experience, if you can believe that.”

“Wait a moment, you’ve seriously been inside Lady Endori’s mouth?! Who knows what you and your filthy body was up to? Just how shameless are you?!”

“I dunno, you’re the expert here–spit freak. Now that I think about it, perhaps you wanted to be there so you could collect all the saliva to your heart’s content. ”

“You know what? I have no doubts that Endori wouldn’t mind if your resting place were inside her since she fancies you so much. Dumping your corpse in her colon seems best fitting for a guy like you.”

With her arms crossed and chin up, Serine turns her back towards Vex.

“Serine, it’s beyond obvious that you hate my guts, but if you can’t get over it for a short moment in your life, then I’ll gladly leave you inside Endori’s. The more time we bicker, the less time we have to get out of here before we succumb to the curse and turn into mindless cell-people. Oh, and rest assured–I know some cell folks who can help me escape, so I won’t be the one left behind.”

Each sentence that enters Serine’s ears causes her to wince, not wanting to succumb to the reality that her enemy is making apparent to her. Slowly, but not fully, she turns towards Vex again, clenching her teeth.

“...my…apologies…Vex. I will…follow your…lead.”

“Now that’s maturity expected of a proper adult. I knew you could do it, despite still being an underdeveloped teen and all.”

“Stop wasting time taunting me–I get it already! Anyway, where are we now, Mr. Anatomy?”

“...”

Left and right, up and down, Vex swivels his head carefully as he silently examines their surroundings. Every corner he sees makes him rub his chin more and more.

“I don’t recall ever appearing in this kind of place before, but I surmise that we are in some kind of cubicle. Perhaps we are…in a stall?”

“A stall? Like in a restroom? You think that funky-looking thing is a toilet?”

“Hell if I know–I’m not an expert on devices sentient human cells would use, as you could imagine.”

“Are you always this sarcastic to an insufferable degree?”

“Only when dealing with insufferable personalities. Now if you’d kindly step aside…”

Serine moves over in haste, not giving Vex the chance to bring his fingers within reach of her. Paying this no mind, Vex pushes open the stall door; only to see a larger area with more of the same stalls. Near the far side of the room rests a decorative rectangular mirror on the wall next to a larger door that has a stylized X symbol imprinted on it.

“What’s out there? Is it safe?”

“Looks like we are inside a building–a building’s restroom. I don’t recognize this place, but I should be able to better navigate our surroundings beyond the exit over there. If we’re lucky, a map shouldn’t be too far away, or someone we could ask.”

“What? There’s a map of Endori’s internal body? Even though I find that hard to wrap my mind around, it’s really like there is an entire country inside of her…”

“Don’t marvel yet–we haven’t even scratched the surface. It only gets more and more bizarre.”

“Like…that?”

“Like what?”

Following Serine’s pointer finger, Vex looks behind him. Only a couple of stalls down, a cell person quietly shuts its door behind her. Her lack of voice juxtaposes her wide-open mouth. A familiar blush and heart-shaped pupils washes over the cell person–her whole body trembles.

“V…V…Vvvvvvvv…”

“Sigh, case in point.”

“VEX?!”

“Long time no see…Amilia.”

_____________________________________________

Gazing out into the open on a balcony, Vex and Amilia stand shoulder-to-shoulder. If looks could kill, Lady Endori would ultimately lose IQ points.

“Welp, I know exactly where we ended up…”

A skyscraper-like organ that is suspended by a long stem and an annoyingly obsessive cell who is clingy? No doubt, it is the place of bad memories.

“Yep yep yep, you are in Endori’s brain! I betcha don’t recognize this part, though. Come on, take a guess!”

“Is it…a private room? That’s the best I’ve got…or care to give.”

“Ah, you were sorta close, but too vague. This is my dorm! I can’t believe that you would show up in the ladies’ room of all places–especially with…her.”

“?”

With a scowl even deadlier than Vex’s, Amilia points to Serine, who stands a comfortable distance behind them, just in front of the translucent sliding door.

“Excuse me? Vex, did you tell this…thing?...creature?...person?”

“I’m a brain cell. And no, he didn’t tell me a single thing about you. There’s no need–we know all about the likes of you here.”

“I don’t like the vibe that you are giving me. Why are you so cold to me, but bumping up against that man like that? Since you already know about me, you should know that I am Endori’s closest friend!”

“Hmph, I knew that. We all do.”

“Are you rolling your eyes at me? What’s that supposed to mean–”

“Anyway, moving along!”

As Amilia faces Vex again, her voice gradually raises octaves back to its normal level. With her words being rudely overturned, Serine is left with her mouth open, appearing rather foolish–at least, that’s how she felt.

“Urgh…”

Serine, while mumbling unintelligible groans under her breath, returns inside Amilia’s living room. Although faded, the sound conversation accompanied by soft music can be heard from where Vex stands.

“Can you believe it? At long last, I finally got a night shift after some special ‘convincing’. Even Officer Cilia backed me up, which helped a lot. Sure, it’s only on weekends, but it’s a start, right?”

“Right, good for you. Am I allowed to have a bit more of my personal space, or any semblance of it?”

“Hmm? What do you mean? My dorm is unfortunately small, so there’s not a lot of space to work with.”

“But we stepped out onto the balcony. That’s literally the first thing we did when you brought us here.”

“A narrow balcony, yes.”

“Forget it. I didn’t choose to come here and to be forced into fixing Endori’s problems, but I don’t want to waste time. According to Endori…”

Trailing off, Vex looks outward, observing the busy city scenery from up high. The streets are illuminated by flashing neurons, a soft glow radiating from the pulsating brain reaches everyone and everything within its overreaching radius.

“Please continue on, I am listening whole heartedly. What did she tell you?”

“...there’s been something weighing on her mind–presumably here–recently. Apparently it’s been making her feel uneasy, but beyond that, she is not sure what it is. It’s bothering her so much that she wanted me to revisit her body just to investigate. Since you are on of her brain cells, I assume that you and your coworkers have identified the issue.”

“...oh, is that the reason she gave you?”

“Yes…now explain to me the truth. I know you want to, given that suspicious inflection in your voice.”

“To be honest, just between us, Endori just wants you in her body–it’s very romantic after all, don’t you think?”

“...”

“Of course, we brain cells are ecstatic to have you here too. But who is the one to get you all to herself? That’s right, Amilia, the unappreciated worker! There really is good karma in the universe. Thank the goddesses!"

“On an unrelated note, how high up is this balcony?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure. It’s a long way down the brain steam, so we are really high up. Afraid of heights? How cute!”

“You might want to really let me go, Amilia. I feel like taking a skydive right now.”

“What?! Wait, don’t do that! I was only just kidding…kinda. Endori didn’t lie to you–there really is something strange weighing inside her. It has yet to really do anything so far, according to recent reports…but being an invasive object, you can imagine how concerned we feel.”

“So where is it? No matter how much I look around, I can’t see anything from up here.”

“That’s because this foreign object isn’t actually inside her mind or brain. It’s inside her heart.”

“Her heart? As in, the fleshly organ?”

“That’s correct. I’d like to escort you there myself considering that I’m off the clock, but I am mandated to get a specific amount of hours of rest before my shift tonight. And yes, our sleep time is tracked.”

“Then how am I supposed to get to her heart from her brain? I didn’t exactly move around voluntarily last time I was here, so I can’t navigate myself to that extent–and I don’t have the time to try.”

“Oh oh oh, watch this–this is the best part coming up!”

“???”

The sound of a voice slightly deeper than Serine’s attracts the attention of Vex and Amilia. In response, they follow its trail to the inside of the dorm. On the small sofa, a red cell-person sits alongside Serine, both are engrossed with the eye-shaped television before them. In contrast to his ecstasy and wide grin, Serine’s reaction was the polar opposite.

“The best part? What do you mean? What the heck is–?!!!”

“Hahaha, and there it is! It’s a surprising twist, isn’t it? Man, I love binge-watching Dream TV! It’s even better with friends. Ahh, it never gets stale…”

“Was…that person supposed to be me? I would never do such a thing…I think I’m going to puke…”

“Oh snot, please don’t do such carelessly–contaminating Endori’s brain with your human bile could cause a heap of health issues!”

“You make it seem like Lady Endori isn’t human too…anyway, it’s just a figure of speech…mostly…”

SLAM

“Ahem!”

Surely exerting more force than necessary, Amilia forces the door to the balcony close as she and Vex return inside; then proceeding to cross her arms while tapping her foot. With her intention likely being to demand the attention of everyone in the room–her room–she was more than successful.

“Hey, why are you chilling on my couch with this person? Does our friendship mean nothing to you?”

“Calm down, Amilia, I just came back not too long ago. I forgot that I had it on me, so I turned back around to return your–”

“Don’t say it out loud! Not in front of anyone else, remember?"

“Right, my mind got a little careless there. I came back to return…that…and be on my way. I thought that you’d be asleep by now, but to my surprise, you’ve invited guests over? Foreigners at that. Have you properly introduced me to them? I’ve only met Serine so far.”

“Wait, how do you know my name, red guy? I still don’t know you–how creepy.”

“I assure you, I am not a creep but a proud outstanding citizen of the country of Endori! I just recognized you from the recent episode of Dream TV, you know, the one we just watched together.”

“Please…please don’t remind me of that abomination.”

“Serine, you look a bit nauseous. If you are turning into a cell, then I’ll have to leave you here and send someone to fetch you later.”

“You shouldn’t joke about that!!!”

Ejecting from the cushion, Serine launched a yell that pierced the ears of everyone on its path to Vex.

“Jeez, whatever managed to rile you up must have been intense. Never seen you lose your composure this badly.”

“Cough…my apologies.”

“Ha, are you that scared from that episode you watched? Without permission to touch my TV, by the way….! Oh, I know! It was that part, wasn’t it? Vex, the reason why she is making those sour faces is–”

“Tell him, and I’ll expose in great detail the thing that your friend returned with!”

“Drizzy, you told her about that?! How could you?!”

“My bad, I was caught up in the moment. I’ll make it up to you later, okay?”

As he rubs the back of his head sheepishly, Drizzy communicates softly; he even goes as far as to add a wink, complimenting his attempt to diffuse the situation.

“Hmph, I’ll hold you to that!”

“Anyway, I’m sorry about the whole commotion, Vex…Vex? Now that I think about it, that name…I know that I heard it a while ago…”

“Does the name ‘Lily’ ring the bell?”

“Yes it does! You’re that guy the little girl was looking for! Did Lily tell you about me?”

“In passing, I presume–the only detail I vaguely recalled just now was the name ‘Drizzy’. I suppose that we are on equal footing.”

“Okay, then this should be quick and easy! Hello everyone, my name is Drizzy and I am a red blood cell. I work as a doctor for injured and unhealthy cells, so I unfortunately cannot help foreigners like you as much for obvious reasons. However, if you ever become cells like our previous visitors did, then rest easy knowing that you are in good hands!”

“...thanks.”

Vex and Serine, the aforementioned foreigners, exhaust their “gratitude” awkwardly in unison. Regardless, Dizzy’s big, genuine smile continues to gleam.

“I’m Vex. Serine and I are here to find the source of Endori’s uneasiness. We happened to appear here inside her brain, but according to Amilia, it’s not here, but inside her–”

“Heart. Yes, I’ve heard all about it from my brother and sister. To be exact, this invasive object is nested inside the left ventricle. It’s rather hard for me to comprehend, let alone describe. I think you should take a look for yourself–perhaps you know more than any of us microbes living inside Endori.”

“How do I get there as fast as possible? I can’t afford to waste time.”

Well, I was about to head downtown, which is well out of the way from there…”

Drizzy closes his eyes as he rubs his chin, evaluating his options. Not wanting to prolong anymore awkward silence, Amilia places her hand on his arm, grazing his ear with a gentle voice that’s just shy of being a whisper.

“Drizzy, would you please consider taking Vex to the heart? This situation is of importance to Endori, and it’s urgent that it gets resolved. You can consider this as paying me back, okay?”

“Hmm…I guess I can squeeze this into my schedule. But you didn’t mention Serine. Was that intentional or…?”

“Tch…do I have to say it? Take her too…please.”

Looking over her shoulder, Amilia flashes a stern glare at Serine.

“I’m so going to have a very long talk with Endori when we get out of her body; this hostility is ridiculously uncalled for!”

“Okay, then it’s settled! I’ll take you two in my hover car–we’ll float over foot traffic and get there in no time. Come on, this way!”

Drizzy heads out the door, leading the way with Vex following close behind. Trailing last at a slightly slower pace behind them, Serine remains the final one in the room besides Amilia herself.

“Hmph, don’t forget to shut the door on your way out. I hope you didn’t forget anything here for your sake–it’s going to get dumped straight into the colon!”

“Finally, I can get away from this annoying freak.”

“Huh? Did you just mumble something under your breath?! Say it loud and clear!”

Serine sticks her tongue out, flipping her finger for a split second. Short enough to disappear by Amilia’s next blink, but long enough to remain imprinted in her mind. The very audacity of the gesture stunned Amilia, causing a devious smile to spread across Serine’s face. A smile of complete satisfaction.

SLAM!