Chapter 9

Part 1

Putrid and ungodly odors eradiated from the near total darkness of the underpass. “Hm? Fate, are you perhaps, frightened?” She asked, smirking. I was, obviously. The club and I had traversed part of the structure before, but back then, there were lights to guide us on the walls. Those were gone by that time, likely because of Mary.

“Hang on…I’ll uh… use my phone!” My hands trembled trying to get my phone light on, while Anesha simply snapped her fingers. A small flame sprung forth, floating over to me and another split off for her.

“That should alleviate some of your fears.” She chuckled, though it was true.

“I’m not afraid of the dark…” I said under my breath. All the darkness being pushed back enough to show the graffiti, trash, pieces of furniture and discarded food wrappings littering the area wasn’t exactly a pleasant sight. Even with the light, it was still impossible to see all the way to the end of the section.

I walked, following Anesha who floated aloft her broom. She kept a stern look as we came to a sealed door. Scratch marks and dried blood rose upward from the foot of the door, though caution tape which plastered the frame. Anesha snapped her fingers again and the threshold sprung open, billowing a new wave of warm, repulsive smells like rotting meat and feces outward. “Absolutely horrendous! I’ll rend that little monster for subjecting me to such smells.”

“…There’s some here…” Eyes…tons of them on me. Multiple hate filled gazes, wanting to eat me alive. Even with the void before me, I could still feel it. Suddenly, moaning and wet footsteps began echoing from around us. I stepped forward, shaking, ready for whatever I’d have to fight…and all I saw were pitiful beings…hoping for death. Barely formed monstrosities slinking about, malnourished, and gaunt, melded with human and animal features alike moved in my direction. “Not again…”

Tens of the creature pathetically wondered about. “I must applaud that little monster; she does work faster than anyone I’ve never met.”

“…Anesha…can you…?”

“Again, with this sympathy?!”

“…” Just seeing them made me feel bad. Despite Anesha saying they were just dolls with the ability to speak or whatever, it didn’t make me feel any better to see living creatures suffer. “Please…?”

“Fine. Ignite!” Anesha raised her hand with a glyph, quickly searing all the homunculi to nothing but ashes. “That sympathetic nature of yours is going to be the death of you and I.” Off she floated. I quickly followed behind as the smell of the scorched bodies was unbearable.

We reached the other side of the section and before even seeing the other steel door sitting slightly ajar, I could sense something beyond us. A malicious and overpowering feeling of dread wafted out. “My oh my, that is something. Such a powerful aura…whatever is beyond there is not to be trifled with. Would you like to hide and wait for me to finish this?”

“I…” A rare instance of compassion, obviously not for me, but the seed. Whatever was in the next room was so dangerous I could sense it. “…No. I’ll go too. If whatever is in there is really that strong, wouldn’t it be better for me to help? I’m a little banged up, but whatever I hit, if I hit it hard enough would probably be obliterated, right?”

“Maybe…don’t misjudge, Fate…the seed needs time to grow. The longer it’s within you, the stronger it’ll get, but that also means there are still plenty of things in this world far more powerful than you.”

That was a sobering statement. I hadn’t thought about that before. I’d gotten stronger, and so had my healing. It hit again, if my body was too badly damaged or the seed were to be ripped out, I’d die. “I’m still going…not like if you die, I’ll stand any chance anyway.”

“So be it.” Anesha leapt from atop her broom and pulled the door open.

Part 2

Covering nearly the entire section was an enormous nest of branches and twigs spiraling outward. Light was barely able to break in through the wood covered grates overhead. Different pieces of discarded clothing, trash and even car parts built up the odd black hole like creation. As if staring into a whirlpool, the deeper in the nest went, the blacker it became.

“What is this?” It seemed impossible for something to have made that, but it shouldn’t have surprised me with everything I’d seen to that point. Scurrying and scraping noises came from within the wicker cavern.

“Hiiiiiii!!!!” That voice of a shrieking cat being run through a fan, I immediately recognized it, Mary! “Oh, Fate Isley…welcome!” I expected to see the soulless looking doll-like monster, but down on the grimy floor, crawling like a spider, came just her head, propelled by silver, spindly crab-like legs. I was shocked, to say the least. “Don’t look so surprised! My body was a little too damaged…thanks to you. You hit my garden homunculus so hard the shockwave blew off my legs and then the lovely beast toppled down onto me, crushing the body that I spent years working on!” She howled reaching forward with tiny pincers. “Do you know how long it took me to make that body?! Five long decades!!” She breathed deep and calmed herself. “Hehehehe…it’s fine though…it’s fine! It’s fine!! Your body…I want it.”

“Geh…” Looking into that twisted smirk on her face, I wanted to punt her like a football. “Mary…if you would’ve just left me alone it wouldn’t have had to come to this. I don’t want to have to…to…” I couldn’t get it out. Up until then, I’d killed homunculi, but thinking of killing something sapient…was beyond me. “Why don’t you just stop? You see you can’t win, right? Those lawn homunculi, the one you sent to the school and even the tallman…all of them were destroyed! Give it up and just…leave…”

“Fate!” Anesha yelled. “Are you honestly considering that this malformed abomination should be allowed to escape?”

“Well…I’d almost forgotten how simple and kind you were after I spent the last few days seething…and searching…and then I found what I was looking for! Oh no…I said ‘what’ that’s rude. Fate and you, witch whore, allow me to introduce you to my favorite creation! Richie!” From behind her within the darkest corner of the nest, unfolded a colossal, gangly, inhuman figure. It stood up to full height, towering over us at seven feet tall. Shining, rounded eyes stared at us from the sphere-shaped head of the creature as it slowly came into the light.

“…The owlman?” A combination of emotions overwhelmed me, terror, intrigue, joy and dread. Before me was the legendary owl man hybrid in all its grotesque glory we searched for. A gnarled owl face smashed open at the beak revealing oversized rows of human teeth, and an aging, badly burned torso of an elderly man, elongated lanky feathered limbs equipped with talon like feet and hands; the owlman was everything I wanted it to be! “Holy shit! Th-this is it! My phone, I need a picture!”

“Now?! What good would a photograph-” Anesha chastised as I dug through my pocket, grabbing at my phone with glee.

“Richie…kill them.” Mary said with a smile.

The owlman screeched and lunged at Anesha. She stepped back, gripped her hands tightly and with the flick of the wrist cast an impressive spell! “Strands of flame, come forth!” From a glyph in each hand blazing strings of fire shot out, stitching into a fiery net. The heat was so intense that it became difficult to breathe. The inferno swelled until, through the flames, the owlman burst forth unscathed. It reached back and swung its long-feathered arm, colliding with Anesha, sending her flying into the wall.

“…huh…?” Anesha crashed into the concrete as if she were thrown out of a car, her body folding in on itself. (Wait…what just happened…? Anesha…) On the ground, Anesha staggered back to her feet, placing a hand on the wall to keep her balance. The owlman charged again, with it’s talons drawn, aiming for her head. The witch rolled out of the way, stumbling on the branches below. (Anesha…seems like she’s in trouble. But that’s…not possible, right?) Each stomp the owlman made with it’s clawed feet, trying to crush Anesha’s legs got closer and closer; the normally confident and arrogant Anesha made an expression of concern. (…No…this isn’t right. She’s leading it somewhere!) Anesha began to chant something as glyphs encircled her hand, but the owlman swiped at her ceasing the incantation. (…) A part of reality shifted. Anesha, who’d near project an aura of invincibility, crawled backwards on the ground as the owlman continued to stalk her.

The object of my torment, the magically powered witch Anesha was being attacked by the mythical creature, that me and my friends had spent years searching for; while the severed head of a homunculus making monster-girl laughed maniacally in the corner of the giant nested section beneath the underpass. Insanity, my life was deeply drenched in what I should’ve seen as insanity, and even with my love of the occult stronger at that point than ever…I realized how terrifying it all was.

The owlman lifted its arm over Anesha who’d been backed into a corner as Mary screamed curses at her. With its talons drawn, the creature would’ve likely killed her, if I didn’t intervene. (Go for the legs!) I thought. Again, mirroring when I tried to attack Anesha before. (I hope this doesn’t go the same way!) I grabbed the owlman’s legs and pushed as hard as I could. We crashed into the wall as Anesha dodged to the side, just narrowly avoiding getting crushed. My body was coursing with the seed’s power, so I knew I could at least fight the owlman. “Anesha, I’ll hold him you-YAGGGHHHHH!” The thick, steel like talons tore into my back muscles. Blood rushed down my back, my legs nearly gave out and my mind went blank, but I persevered, slamming the owlman into the wall, cracking it under our weight.

“You fool! Well, if you’re going to fight, then hold him!” That damned barking voice of Anesha’s drove me mad, but if that kept my mind from slipping then I wanted her to yell all she needed to. “Raze, earth beneath my feet!” Anesha spun on her heel, leaving scorch marks under her boots and blasted the owlman with a spinning heelkick to the face. The pitch-black platform boot exploded with fire, igniting the monster’s head.

“You don’t learn, do you?!” That smug quip came from Mary. Suddenly I felt the long talon dig into my side and lift me off the ground. Next thing I knew, the owlman hurled me to the other side of the underpass and into Anesha, sending us both into the deeper section of its nest. “He’s not a fan of fire. None of us were…yet here we are!”

“That…incessant…cackling!” Anesha grabbed a hand full of branches and stood up. “Fate, on your feet, now! That lowly filth, believing it has a right to insult me? I won’t have it!” I groaned, as Anesha hadn’t even noticed her boot was on my tender back. “Up, I said!” She finally stepped aside. My back was on fire from the cuts and the heat of my boiling blood.

“I’ll hold him better this time…” Power was still coursing through my body, but I was bleeding badly. Not being a doctor and feeling the way I did, I could tell that no matter what, I wasn’t going to last long if we kept fighting. “Tell me…what you need.”

“I need an opening…his chest, smash it open and I’ll put him down.”

“…Okay…” I sucked it up and charged the owlman again. Everything I had, I pushed off on the balls of my feet and with all my strength tackled the monster and slammed him into the wall, cracking the concrete. I could feel the beast readying to rip at my back again, so I jumped back just dodging a swipe from those razor-sharp blades. (Oh man, now what? All my fighting experience so far would say…nothing! Kick! I’ll kick, fuck it!) With all of my fighting experience from movies and videogames, that somehow ended up being my go-to. I stepped in and thrust kicked as hard as I could, caving the humanlike chest of the owlman in.

It shrieked in a distressed manner as the sound of snapping ribs came from beneath my sneaker. “Richie!” Mary hopped onto my back and used those claw-like razors to dig into my scalp and pull me away from her creation. “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!” She kept screaming and slashing at my head as I shielded my face. “Not again! Not again! I won’t let you take the last thing I have!” Tears streamed down her face, dripping onto the top of my head as Mary began to weep.

“No…you can’t pull that now!” I grabbed her by the hair and whipped her across the room into a wall. The owlman howled through garbled breaths while opening its long arms. I punched it in the chest as hard as I could, with my hand ending up stuck in the sternum. “Shit!” The owlman cranked open the smashed beak on its face coming toward me with those huge teeth. I jammed my other fist in its mouth, feeling the pain of my already damaged hand, then gripped and tore the chin of the owlman clean off! The amount of force I’d used jostled me free from the creature’s chest.

“Move aside!” Anesha yelled. I rolled over my shoulder as Anesha leapt forth, jamming branches deep into the gaping wound in the owlman’s chest. “Grow, break through the soil which you call home, sprout forth!” The twigs rapidly grew, bursting forth from the cavity and spine of the homunculus. Anesha raised her hand, a glyph encircling it and spoke… “Strands of flame, come forth!” The fiery strings shot out, ensnaring the wood and engulfing the owl in fire. The owlman screamed and writhed in pain as it fell to its knees.

“No!!! Stop it!” Mary cried from the other side of the section, her legs broken, and half of her head caved in. “Daddy! Daddy no! Don’t leave me again!”

“Daddy…?” It took me way longer than it should’ve to put together what I’d suspected. “…Mary Rockwell…and Richard Rockwell…” The owlman…Richard Rockwell crawled on the floor, a heaping mess of charred flesh, organs, feathers and wax. Each tortured movement ripped more muscles and tendons, yet the creature continued toward me. “Make him stop, Mary! If…this is your father, then make him stop! If you care about him…why would you keep him alive in such agony? Why would you keep all of those homunculi alive?”

“…Because…death is so scary…” Speechless, I just watched as slowly, the life drained from the owlman, Richard Rockwell’s glassy eyes. “No! Please!! I don’t want to be alone again! I…I was so close…!” The owlman died, reaching its talon for the seed, its one and only want. “…Why…I was so close…I could’ve been immortal. Avoided death…I could’ve brought you back, Daddy…”

I stood and walked over to the pitiful and beaten head of the monster-girl. “This…if you just left me alone…if you just quit and ran away – why did you have to keep coming after me?!”

“…After so long, I finally tracked down Richie again. He ran away when I first revived him so many years ago…with no memories of when he was human, I called him Richie because he was like a little brother instead of the Daddy I knew. If I had the seed, I’d have had infinite power and infinite time to fix him. We would’ve been able to stay alive forever…to never have to experience death again. I was so close. You…you were an unprecedented opportunity – a once in a lifetime chance.”

“…” My heart weighed at the thought. (Whatever Mary had to do to stay alive all these years, and end up in the condition she’s in, most’ve been gruesome. She said she experienced death before, that…she didn’t want to die again…)

“Enough of this back and forth.” Anesha came over to Mary and raised her boot high above her head. “Raze, earth beneath my feet.” The sole of her boot burned bright.

“Wait!” Unintentionally, I yelled to Anesha’s evident revulsion. “…I just…she’s…”

“Kill me…” Mary said in a somber tone.

“…But…you said you were afraid of death, right? Just…just give up on the seed! Leave and never come back then…”

“…I have nothing else to live for…years ago…I was burned alive and at death’s door, I was denied entry, despite my mother and sisters all walking beyond the threshold. I scrounged and dug until I found my daddy…and saved what I could from him. Every day…was endless pain, but if I could at least save my daddy then…we could be happy together. He was the last thing…the only thing tying me to this world anymore. Kill me…I…I don’t want to be here anymore…”

“Do you see now, Fate? This isn’t the world you’ve grown accustomed to. This is now your new reality.” A sobering message from Anesha.

“…Mary…”

She turned her non-broken eye to me. “…You’re such a good person. I wish I could’ve met you before I became this…I wish I could’ve grown up like a normal girl…and been friends with such a good person. Fate…everything I told you was true…about the seed…about…removing it…” That set Anesha off. Without missing a beat, she stomped Mary’s head into nothing more than a scorch mark on the floor. And thus…it was over. Mary Rockwell had finally died after hundreds of years of suffering.

“…” I just stood there. My mind was blank, and my heart was drowning in emotions I’d not felt in years. Anesha just turned on her heels and walked for the door. She didn’t even bother to look at me as she did. I wasn’t religious at all, but as I watched the bodies of the two last members of the Rockwell family quickly fade from the world of the living, I clasped my hands…and prayed they would at least end up somewhere together.

Part 3

“Soon all the evidence of this happening will be gone. You’ve nothing to worry about.” She spoke so matter of fact. Anesha simply looked out over the freeway without so much as a hint of emotion on her face. “The ward I’d placed over this area will disappear soon, which will at least let me regain some of my strength, but the large-scale ward I placed over this entire city…and barrier I placed on the land of the witches, makes me far weaker than I imagined. You’ll have to step up, become a more reliable tool should we wish to be able to survive.”

The two of us stood outside of the underpass and watched as the sun began to set over the city. It would’ve been a nice scene if not for what’d happened just minutes before. “Barrier? Land of the witches?”

“Yes, I placed a reverse barrier on Graewood. It’s meant to keep all of the witches and warlocks in, based on its parameters.” An odd humming noise began and quickly faded. “Alright, the ward is gone. Now then, listen well, Fate. I don’t know what you and that repulsive malformed creature spoke about, but keep in mind, I’m watching you…always. Should you think of betraying me again or stepping out of line, there will be no more chances or forgiveness.” I nodded, feeling her cold gaze rest on me. “…Unfortunately, I’ve grown weak from maintaining the ward and the barrier, as I said before, I’ll need you to be stronger. The seed is growing stronger within you, day by day, but that’s not enough. For now, I shall go and rest again, when I reawaken, I will come and find you, then I will train you to fight.”

“Huh? Like…martial arts? Are…witches skilled in martial arts?”

“Fool, of course not, but I am! Until that time, you may rest as well…it may be best for you to do something about your appearance as well. You’re quite the sight, and I’m sure your friends and family would notice.” She plopped down onto her broom handle and began floating up. As Anesha flew off into the distance I felt something I hadn’t felt in a while, hope.

(She was afraid of what Mary said, about me being able to remove the seed. Maybe if I research and investigate homunculi, I’ll be able to remove the seed or have someone else do it for me!) It wasn’t much, but the smallest bit of hope kept me going. Thinking about dying, as inevitable as it was, still was frightening; the thought that my soul would be destroyed deepened my fears. “…I wonder if just killing myself now would be a better option?” I peered down the hill next to the bridge. It was at least a twenty-foot drop, which I was pretty sure wouldn’t kill me. Suddenly my phone buzzed. The screen read out: 15 messages and 10 missed calls, from the members of the club and Mom. I groaned and called Mom. “I know you’re worried, but I’m fine.” I spoke as quickly as I could when the phone connected, knowing she was likely freaking out that I hadn’t answered before.

“…Fate…it’s me.” That deep voice sent a chill up my spine. It was the last person in the entire world I’d ever wanted to talk to.

“…Where’s Mom?”

“June’s in the restroom. Is everything alright, I heard about what happened at your college…”

“It’s fine.”

“Oh…when are you coming home?”

“Are you there?”

“…Yes.”

“Then, tell Mom I’ll be there once you’re gone. Goodbye.” I hung up. “Why…do you keep trying to get involved…you stupid old bastard?” My father…even hearing his voice maybe angry and sick. I gripped my phone tight and then quickly realized with the seed’s power, I’d crush it if I wasn’t careful; and that I’d changed. In the reflection of my dimmed screen, I saw my skin had gotten a warm tan and my hair began to gray again. The seed’s power clearly had an adverse effect on my body every time I’d use it. “…Fuck…now I look like him too…” The face staring back at me was basically just my father’s.

Part 4

Throughout the subway ride home, all eyes were on me. There weren’t many people, but everyone kept stealing glances in obvious fashion. Couldn’t really blame them, I was barely even conscious. After my adrenaline stopped pumping, my head started pounding, my back was on fire, my hands ached and…I was just beat. Probably thanks to the seed, I stopped bleeding, but my clothes were tattered. The train stopped and I dragged myself off.

“Hey, Sir! Are you alright?!” A police officer stopped me as I climbed the stairs.

“Yes, yes, haha…just a little scrape!” How messed up must I have looked? Disheveled graying hair, covered in my own blood, clothes ripped up, probably bruised all over and looking exhausted.

“A little scrape? Sir please, come with me. I’ll get you to a hospital.” The guy wouldn’t let up.

“No, really, I’m fine.” I inched away, trying to make an escape. The overly enthused cop grabbed me by the wrist.

“You don’t need to worry; I’ve got a car waiting just up here.”

(Why is this dude so pushy?!) People started funneling down the steps, knocking into us as they made for the subway. I took that chance and pushed the officer a bit, hoping he wouldn’t fall downstairs. He did, unfortunately. It looked like he landed fine, barely avoiding someone stomping on him. “Sorry, like I said I’m fine, bye!” Off I ran, my back searing as I sprinted away.

“Hey! Wait!” The officer yelled as his voice faded into the distance.

I made it to the park before running out of breath. I’d ran so fast, in a full sprint and wasn’t totally exhausted; to my amazement, my body really had gotten stronger. After a minute I was already able to jog again. Finally, I reached the apartment and a call came through. It was Gabby…I really didn’t want to answer, but knew she’d have a cow if I didn’t.

“H-Hey…what’s up…?”

“I spoke with Chester and he said to not worry and that you’re fine. I don’t believe him.” Gabby spoke fast and obviously was upset, by her tone. “For like, 2 months you’ve been weird, and I’ve been worried. I know what happened between you and Ken was messed up, but you just keep ignoring me, keep blowing me off and doing crazy stuff like running into a dangerous building with dangerous people in it.”

“Gabby look, it’s not that simple…”

“I’m not done!” She cut me off. “If you want to keep your secrets, fine. If you want to ignore my messages and disregard my concern, fine. But then, don’t talk to me like you are my friend. Goodbye.” The phone disconnected.

I stood in the corridor just steps away from my own front door, actually somewhat heartbroken. The girl I’d liked for so long had essentially broken up with me without us even dating. There wasn’t a feeling of anger or tension or even sadness; I was just tired and wanted to end the day. I pulled out my key and unlocked the door, entering my apartment expecting to have my mother screaming from the get-go.

“Oh Fate, you’re back. Are you alright?!” My Mom was tying her bright red hair into a bun until she saw me and dropped everything. She ran over to check on me, examining basically every wound I’d gotten.

“Would…you believe me if I said, yes?”

“…” She didn’t respond. Mom just walked over to the bathroom and pulled out the first aid kit. “Sit down, please!” I was surprised; my Mom wasn’t exactly a master with medical supplies. I took a seat and she stripped off my jacket and began wrapping my body with bandages.

“Hey, be careful, please!”

“What? Are you going to save this jacket?”

“…No…” After a few minutes she finished covering my back and wrapped my fingers as well. She then pulled got bottle of pain killers and a cup of water.

“Take those and get some sleep.”

“…Oh…okay, I guess.”

“I’ll make some dinner and get some better bandages. I can see you leaking through those already. There is some dye in the shower, so once you’re done sleeping, I’ll help you fix your hair. For now, get some sleep.” Not even a minute of yelling. Mom didn’t even bother to raise her voice like I was expecting.

Before I could get up and walk to my room, Mom hugged my head softly. “…Thanks, Mom.” She released me and went back to working on her hair.

When I entered my room, it felt like everything on me crashed at once. I had no strength left and almost instantly passed out. It felt like a blink, but the knocking at my door woke me up. “Fate! You’re okay, right?” It was Mom.

“Yeah, fell asleep for a second.”

“It’s been 20 minutes since you came in…I’ve got your food.”

“Wow, guess I really needed sleep.” Opening the door, my mother handed a huge plate of food. Vegetables roasted perfectly, steak well-done, fresh pineapple slices and some black beans. “Y-you really went all out.”

“Just making sure you get all your nutrition. Also, here!” Mom also pushed a bottle of water and bag of pills into my hands.

“Mom…this isn’t the best look.”

“Oh shut up. Just take them and get some more sleep.” Night had crept in, so I expected Mom to be preparing for work, but she wasn’t dressed for her job. “If you’re wondering, I’m staying in tonight. I can remote in and do everything from home today. Let me know if you need anything, anything at all. I’ll check up on you later.” She grabbed her laptop and sat down in the living room.

I closed the door and sat down on my bed, eating, and pumped in some music from my phone. The savory food and ambient music coated my room in a serene feeling. Off to the side was my curio stand and I spied my laptop. I groggily pulled it over and went about looking something up.

I typed in information about the Rockwell Estate, funnily enough our website was in the top searches. When I went down the list, I came across numerous articles about the family, how they were burned alive, and the legacy left behind. It was the first time many had seen such an act, but at the time, mass hysteria had taken the entire town. They believed that the witches were the cause of any and all bad fortunes brought to the town and its people. On one of the sites was an illustration of the burning; it was horrible imagining that Mary had suffered through that. Along with the article, I came across stories and legends of the hermit in the woods that appeared at the same time; said to have carried a dismembered body around with it.

“I guess…that must’ve been her.” No matter how much I hated her at the time…I did pray for Mary in the end. “Will I end up like that? Grasping for life no matter what? No. I’m already like that, aren’t I?” Somehow, I ended up coming across another article while browsing. It read ‘Homunculi: The truth about creating man’; I chuckled, knowing about that exact truth. Lots of information on the website was off from what I’d seen, so I posted comments playfully pointing out how wrong they were. “Heh…this is making me feel better; god, I’m weird!”

Suddenly I got a notification. Someone had sent me a direct message. [Hey, I was looking over your comments; you a researcher too?]

I didn’t want to get too deep into the conversation, but I was also trying to stay awake. Talking with someone would help stave off sleep. [I guess you could say that.] The username was Wacky_Magik. I was anonymous, not like anything I posted would matter, but I didn’t feel like being forward about who I was. [Just from stuff I’ve read, most of the things on this website seem off, is all.]

[What would you say is wrong?]

[Mostly stuff about how they end up looking like real people. I mean, this is talking about real homunculi, not anime.]

[LMAO! Right! Their skin is usually super pale and waxy!]

I wasn’t expecting that at all. (How on earth does someone know that?) [What makes you say they’re waxy?]

[Would you believe me if I said I found one?]

My heart began beating like crazy. [No way! Proof or it didn’t happen!] I had to know. It couldn’t have been…an image came through and to my horror, it was what I’d feared. The half-decomposed skull of Mary’s lawn sculpture homunculus.

[Cray-cray right? Found this thing the other day! It keeps falling apart, but I’m keeping it up by adding more wax to it.]

I didn’t know what to think or do. Would Anesha be upset if someone came across the homunculus skull? Would I be in trouble? Who was Wacky_Magik? My life wasn’t getting easier…what little of a life I had left anyway.

End of chapter 9