Chapter
4 – Trapped with Tough Choices
“AAAAHHHH!!”
How did this mask full of wasps get
on my head?! I can barely see through the eye holes. Breathing is another
difficult thing because the wasps keep getting in my nose as I try to breathe
in, so I have to breathe as softly as possible. This mask is locked on my face
with a key lock on the back of it. Vic? Vic! Where are you?! I can sense him,
but it’s faint. It feels like he’s asleep or kept asleep because of all the
stabbing I feel. The wasps are probably keeping him asleep so he can’t help me.
Where are Eerie and Benedict?
Right now, I’m sitting at a table with
other people at it. Everyone but me has their hands, feet, and neck locked to
the chair. Some are trying to escape, others are panicking, and there are a few
who are just lying still. They can’t be dead, so they must be trying to bear
having the wasps in their mask. The room is filled with a weird sticky substance,
wasp nests, and dozens of wasps flying around. Since I’m the only one who’s
free, I try freeing the closest person to me, but the locks are too hard to break.
It doesn’t help that the wasps in my mask keep walking all over my face to obscure
my view. There’s nothing I can do in here, so I exit the room as a couple of people
trapped in it beg me to say. Sorry, but I can’t do anything for you.
I exit the room to find myself in a
hotel that is filled with the same sticky substance and wasps everywhere. While
walking around, I find people lying on the ground. They appear to be sleeping
while some twitch on and off. The way some of them are makes it look like they escaped
only to be put in this state.
“Hello,” I hear a girl’s voice say.
I recognize her. This is the girl I
saw before I passed out. How am I hearing her voice?
“I have to thank you again for
getting rid of Sybella and Shea, especially Sybella. I could never get past her
spiders and my wasps couldn’t break her webs. It’s a good thing you defeated
them when you did because I was getting lonely. You see, I’ve been trying to
get a real friend and these people that I’ve found aren’t good friends at all.
They won’t stop fighting me and won’t even try to be friendly with me even when
I have their assistants held at gunpoint so to speak. Oh, excuse me for talking
so much. It’s been a while since I’ve last talked to someone. Please, ask
whatever you want.”
I must be careful with the things I
ask her. Getting her upset will probably make me end up like these people.
“How are you talking to me? Who are
you? My name is Val…erie.”
“My name is Ziva. I can communicate
to you through my wasps. It’s one of their many quirks.”
“Why did you put everyone in masks
and have our assistants the way you do?”
“I want to be sure that you won’t do
anything dangerous or something you shouldn’t.”
“Where are my friends?”
“They’re in their own room having a
nice little sleep.”
“Can I leave here?”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“I have to do something important
with my friends. It’ll help you get more friends and you won’t need to what you’re
doing anymore to become friends with them.”
“Really? That’s great-but wait! I’ve
been fooled before and I won’t be fooled again. People have said similar things
and haven’t come back…willingly. You have to prove to me that you’re my friend
first by making your way up to me.”
“That should be simple. Where are
you?”
“I’m three floors above you. I’m in
my room right now commanding my wasps to look for more people to make friends
with. I know it sounds simple, but it isn’t. You have to beat three challenges
I have for you to prove that you’re my friend.”
“Why three?”
“It’s more satisfying. Ever hear
the rule of three? You don’t think it’s good enough? I could add more fun challenges
if you’d like.”
“No, it’s okay, I get it. It’s
pretty clever of you to think of three challenges.”
“You think so? I like you already.
Get up here quickly so I can hug you.”
“S-sure.”
Something is really wrong with this
girl. Did she have some kind of tragic past or did something similar to Kitsune
happen to her? Well, I’ll find out soon if I can pass these challenges. I walk
up a set of stairs, but the next set is blocked so I enter the hallway. This
enter place is filled with knocked out people, wasps, and the sticky substance
that I now think the wasps make their nests out of. It all looks the same
though there is a clear path to follow, however, the sameness doesn’t make it
any more comfortable to be in.
A swarm of wasps comes together in
front of me and forms a humanoid wasp with pincer hands.
“Is this the first challenge?” I
ask.
“Yes! He’s one of my soldiers that I
can make. You don’t have to fight him or anything. Just give him a big hug!”
“…Give him a hug?”
“You don’t have to worry him hurting
you since I control him. Go ahead!”
“O-okay…”
The wasp soldier holds out his
arms. I slowly walk towards him with my arms open. He pulls me forward and hugs
me tightly. My body is shaking because of how tingly and nervous I feel. Slowly
I get as comfortable as I can until the soldier lets go.
“Good job! My soldier says he feels
so much better now that you’ve hugged him.”
“I’m…I’m glad he says so. What do
you use these soldiers for?”
“Besides battle, they can help me
test out opponents before I fight them. I can make fakes of myself as well to
fight other people as I command them from a distance. You know that you can’t
start a fight unless the person you’re fighting knows a fight is coming. I was
hiding in the shadows and showed myself just enough for the battle start to
count.”
I didn’t even see her in the
shadows, but I guess I just wasn’t paying attention because of what I was being
told. Ziva’s craftier than she seems. Going up to the next floor, my-my feet
are trapped in place. My arms are restrained by soldiers and one approaches me
and kneels down.
“What’s going on?!”
My mask is then removed and the wasps
inside fly off. Finally! I can breathe normally. Even though the air doesn’t smell
that good, it’s better than the way it was before.
“My other soldiers are getting jealous
of you hugging one of them. Since you look like such a princess, you have to give
them a kiss! Maybe one of them will turn into a prince.”
“A kiss?”
“Don’t worry. They’re clean! Well,
as clean as insects can be.”
Is this a sick joke to her? She’s
not giving me a choice. After this, I’m going to puke my stomach out. I lean in
and kiss the one soldier on the head. Eck! He tastes like salt and grease. The
soldier acts shy then bows before backing away. What? What’s going on now? Why
are these wasps flying around me? Ah! What are they doing on my face?
“Wait! Don’t put the mask on!”
There are so many in here now. Why
did she do this? Did I do something wrong?
“Why? What’s wrong, Valerie?”
“It’s hard to breathe with all of
these wasps in this mask.”
“Don’t worry about it. They like
you so much that more want to be close to you. If you breathe them in, they’ll find
their way out. Trust me that nothing will happen. I’ve already tried to fill
people with wasps, and nothing happened to them. I mean they were screaming and
everything, but there wasn’t any major damage…that I could see.”
I’m not even going to think about
that. I just have to beat this last stupid challenge and I’ll be out of here in
no time. The challenges so far are just gross and nothing painful or
challenging. They’re just simple tasks. Once I get up to the next floor, I see
Ziva waiting outside an open door. Why are there so many unconscious bodies
around here?
“Come over here, friend!” she says
while waving at me with a weird smile on her face and look in her eyes.
She enters into a room and I follow
her to enter into a room with a large wasp that takes up the entire room. That must
be her assistant. It’s so massive. Ziva is sitting on a bed with that frozen
expression of happiness. It’s disturbing to me.
“I’m here now. What’s the last
challenge?”
“Touch the butt end of my
assistant. She wants to feel your touch.”
“Okay.”
Touching a butt-end is my last
challenge? Seems fitting. Once I touch the butt-end of the large wasp, a big
hole opens, and an uncountable number of wasps come out. This must be where
they all spawn from. Okay, I guess that was-
“Don’t move your hand yet!”
“Wh-why not?”
“You’ll see!”
The wasps start crawling over me. They’re
biting me! I can’t help but twitch in reaction. Am I supposed to stay like this?!
“What are they doing?!”
“They’re giving you kisses! Since
you’re my first real friend, they want to show you their appreciation by showing
you their affection. They won’t kiss or touch any private parts, so you won’t
have to worry about that. They aren’t pervs at all. Aren’t they good boys?”
AAAAHHHHHH!!!!! Make it stop
already! Make it stop!
“Okay, boys, you can stop giving
Valerie so much affection. Now, it’s my-turn. Valerie?”
“Hu…huh? What happened?”
“You must’ve been knocked out by
all of the kisses you were receiving.”
“Oh…”
Hey, the mask is off. I look at and
feel my skin to feel it perfectly smooth and normal.
“My boys didn’t harm you at all. I
would’ve had to squish the ones that did.”
“Oh, thank you…”
“Are you alright, Valerie? You don’t
seem so good.”
“I’m…I’m fine. Can I leave with my
friends now?”
“Hold on. I finally have a real
friend with me! Spend some time with me and then I’ll let you go. I won’t put
you through any more challenges. I promise!”
“Okay.”
“Yes!”
Ziva jumps out of her bed to hug me
and I hug her back. If I didn’t, then beating those challenges might’ve been
for nothing. I sit down with Ziva on her bed as if we were having a sleepover. She
looks happier than before, which bothers me and makes it hard to look her in
the eyes and hold a smile. Her eyes feel like they’re uncomfortably touching my
eyes.
“Sooo.”
“Soo?”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“Can I ask about your assistant?”
“Sure. She doesn’t mind people talking
about her in front of her.”
“Has she fought anyone before?”
“No, she won’t be good in a fight
since she’s so fragile despite her size and large stinger. That’s why she spawns
hundreds of thousands of wasps to do the work for her with quirks of their own
to wear down their opponent before a real fight. She’s one of a kind from what I
know though there could be more. She could probably be easily squashed like a
normal wasp. What? You totally could.”
If she’s right, then I could…no. It’s
too risky. I don’t know if she has any more tricks up her sleeve.
“Can I ask you something, Valerie?”
“Hmm? What is it?”
That creepiness in her face is
going away.
“When you’re done doing what you’re
doing, can you come back to me so we can hang out together? I’d love to enjoy
life with someone who likes being with me and likes talking to me.”
“I…sure.”
“Are you telling me the truth?” Is
she starting to cry? Ah! What’s with these all these hugs? “I’ve lost so many
people when everything ended, and I don’t want to lose anyone else.”
“Yes, I’m telling the truth. I
promise you that we’ll be friends and we’ll hang out together after I finish what
I need to.”
“Thank you…”
“So, do you have all of your
memories?”
“Yes, I defeated my separated half
and I remember my past. I was a normal schoolgirl who struggled to keep friends
after school. They would always cut off communications with me when the summer
started, so I would spend my summers alone while my parents were at work. I kept
my hopes up that things would change, but I didn’t think they would change this
way. Sure, I have a real friend now, however, I feel like I’ve been doing the wrong
thing this entire time.”
You think?
“Uh. Maybe it’s because of the way
you make friends?”
“I guess so. I’d be willing to change
that if life could somehow go back to normal.”
“Well, don’t you worry about that.
Things will work out for us in the end. I know it.”
“You really are a true friend. Okay.
You can go now. I just had my soldiers escort your friends outside. They should
be awake by the time you get downstairs.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. Now, do what you need
to and hurry back here before I feel the need to keep you here forever.”
“G-got it!”
When I get outside, I find my other
half along with Vic, Torio, and Benedict with his crow. They wake up as I walk
to them. Vic comes up to rub his face against mine while Torio is doing the
same to my other half. I explain what happened to them once they’re completely
awake.
“You let her live when you could’ve
easily taken her out?” my other half says.
“She seems like a good person.”
“So did that ‘angel’ and look what
happened because of that! We’re always making bad choices because we think we
can trust so-called ‘good people’.”
“I made the best decision I thought
I could at the time. I didn’t know what would happen if I chose to attack. You
weren’t awake to see all of the things she did to me. You didn’t feel it!”
“Girls, I think we should walk away
from here,” Benedict says while looking up.
I look up to see Ziva looking down
on us with that creepy look on her face.
“You’re right. Let’s get far away
from here,” my other half says as she walks away.
Ziva waves at me and I wave back
with a reassuring smile, so she doesn’t think anything is happening.
Once we get further, my other half
says, “I’m done being this way. We should combine to become stronger.”
“You want to fight me?”
“It’s not really a fight if we both
win. You get to remember all that we did along with our original body.”
“What do you think Benedict?”
“The idea itself is beyond strange,
but so is our current situation. She or rather you are right. It would be
better if you were back to normal so to speak. There is nothing in the future
that I know of that wouldn’t be better if you fought in a singular form.”
“Alright. How do you want to do
this then? Do you want us to fight with everything we have?”
“No, I want us to fight simply. We
give everything we got in one attack. It’s simpler and less of a time-waster
that way.”
“I agree. Let’s get this done quickly.”
I must admit that I’m a little afraid
even though I live either way. The thought of merging together with myself and
not knowing what will exactly happen is making me nervous. I’ll also remember
the things that worry my other half so much. Well, here we go. Vic and Torio charge
at each other then strike. I feel claws go through me as I merge with myself. I’m
not sure if I won against myself or if I’m feeling what my other half did. My
body feels like it’s being forced back together until it snaps in place.
When I open my eyes, I see that it’s
over. I’m in my original body although my outfit is strange. I like it, don’t
get me wrong, but I look like a villain. Now that I’m together, I can remember
everything from the past in its entirety. My boyfriend, Victorio, and I were
down by the river when a light shined down on us. An angel, who is part black
and white with a veil over his face, came down.
He said to us, “Do not be afraid,
Valerie and Victorio, I am here to bring you good news. You have been chosen,
by God, to rid humanity of temptation, hunger, and thirst.”
“Wait, what? Why us?” I asked.
“Your prayers have been heard,
Valerie. To become famous for something good as you wish, you will have to
perform a ritual that will make humanity better than it’s ever been.”
“I don’t know. I don’t feel as if I
deserve this.”
“None of the saints in Heaven felt
that they deserved the role they were given by God. Your humble feelings are a
result of your pure soul.”
“I still don’t know. It just sounds
too good to be true.”
“But who else could do such a
thing? The devil surely can’t. People will be separated from their sinful side
and they will not be hungry or thirsty. They will awaken a new power within
them as a result of this.”
“Hmmm.”
“Okay, there is a single side
effect that isn’t worth your concern, but you may as well know. The internet and
electrical systems in the world will shut down. The positives are that illegal
dealings and pornography will be eradicated while the negatives are nonexistent.
With the newfound abilities you’ll have, you won’t have to worry about anything.”
“…Okay. We’ll do it.”
“Splendid.”
The angel then explained what to do
and we did it. Victorio stayed quiet as always and trusted my judgment in the
matter. After we completed the ritual, a light overwhelmed us and separated me
in two, but Victorio became a lion and a panther? That’s all that I remember.
Our lives before that don’t concern me right now.
“How does it feel to be back to normal,
Valerie?”
“Good, actually. Can I ask you why
Victorio was made into a feline?”
“This happened only for him as his punishment
for staying so quiet and always following your orders without questioning them.”
“What about you? How come you didn’t
stop me before I completed the ritual?”
“I was told to in a vision but didn’t
think it was that urgent. Before I got to the river, I stopped by an orphanage
that I typically go to in the area. I wanted to stop by since I was going to go
there after anyway. The kids over there love me especially since I’ve been
their pseudo father ever since they were infants. What happened is also a
result of my own mistakes. Before I remembered everything, I had to defeat a
few of the kids I cared for along with a few other innocent people. This blue
rose that you see on my hat is fake. Each petal is a heartfelt letter that the
children wrote to me. I found it hidden when I went back to the orphanage.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry as well. My mistakes
cost us all greatly.”
“Do you know why I woke up
recently?”
“I have no clue. It could be God’s
will for all I know. You being at the center of the explosion could be it, but I
was near you and I woke up right after the explosion happened, so there’s that.”
“Hm. Whatever the case is, we have
to fix the situation. What’s your solution?”
“Because of what that demon was
allowed to do, the world is trapped in time. If we go by to where you were, we’ll
find him waiting for us. I’ll start the exorcism while you protect me.”
“Got it. Let’s get moving then.”
Here we go. Come on, Victorio. Let’s
redeem ourselves. That’s a nice roar. I’d like to hear you speak your mind when
you get a real voice, and yes, I’ll actually listen to you from now on.
