Deathwish, Part 8: Homesick

Part 1: Cinderfell
Part 2: Deal With a Vorpal
Part 3: Calmsquare Cantina
Part 4: The Wailing Chamber
Part 5: Grector Smash
Part 6: Rebmauk
Part 7: Chantim

Alicia woke up in her bed. No one was around, and her throat felt extremely dry. She looked around, and saw a bell on her nightstand next to a glass of water. She grabbed the water, and chugged the entire glass. As she was doing so, a doctor walked in and nearly screamed when she saw Alicia awake. She immediately pinned Alicia back down in bed, and began checking her pulse, temperature, and everything else a doctor could possibly check.

“Hmm… you seem to be in good health. It’s nothing short of a miracle, though. You’ve been comatose for almost twelve hours, completely unresponsive. We even had neurospecialists in here to track your thought patterns, and they still didn’t think you would be waking up.”

Alicia went pale. Twelve hours?!? Had they found Dapper? Or did he successfully stay hidden this whole time? Twelve hours was a long time for a Vorpal. “Did… anything f-f-follow me through?”

The doctor smiled warmly at Alicia, putting her hand on the side of Alicia’s cheek. “You are safe now, Alicia. No monsters are going to get you. But… if you don’t mind me saying, you should really think about your actions more beforehand. Your parents were worried sick.”

“...I’m not even sure how long I was in there. It felt like a long time. Do you know how long?”

“Let’s see… I think it was about two days.”

Two days?!? She didn’t even sleep, and she spent almost that whole time on her feet! Alicia couldn’t believe that two days could possibly be right! “Really? That… it didn’t feel like that long.”

The doctor packed up her stuff to leave. “Well, it was. Expect to be a local celebrity for a time, the entire town now knows when you entered and when you exited. I’m recommending a full day of bed rest, maybe more, both to recover as well as to let this incident blow over a bit.”

Alicia was more than happy to accept a day home from school, snuggling deeper under her covers. “I won’t argue with that…”

The doctor began to leave. “Oh, and your father is at home right now, too. I’ll send him in. Make sure to get plenty of rest, Alicia.”

Alicia panicked again as her father walked in, a worried expression on his face. He pulled a chair up next to Alicia’s bed, and just sat there for a moment before speaking. “Alicia…”

“Dad, I-”

Her father held up a hand, cutting her off. He had short, rough cut blond hair that was thinning near the top of his head. He was clean shaven, and his green eyes were world weary, surrounded by wrinkles. “Let me speak, Alicia. You know what I told you. Never go back into the Inverse, no matter what you might think of Vorpals… they are dangerous. They are evil. They have killed people, and will continue to.”

Alicia glanced over at her bag. It was sitting on her dresser, presumably with a disguised Dapper in it. She had to check if he was still there, but first she had to get her father to leave. “I understand… I’m sorry.”

“That’s all you have to say?”

“What else would you want me to say?”

“How about ‘I promise to never enter the Inverse again’?”

Alicia was silent, feeling increasingly uncomfortable under her father’s judgemental stare. “Alicia… we thought we had lost you. We were up all night, hoping the search parties they sent in to look for you might bring you back, but they all came back empty handed. Frankly, even them making it back alive seemed like a stroke of good luck. After the first day passed, we thought you were gone.”

“You barely acknowledge my existence anyways… I almost never see you, or mom. Your concern would mean more if you actually showed that you really cared. Maybe actually be around from time to time.”

“Alicia, please… ”

“No. You know I’m right. And right now, I want to be alone right now. I don’t want you sitting here judging me.”

Her father stood up. “This conversation isn’t over. You need rest after your traumatic experience, but you aren’t innocent in all this. Your mother and I will discuss your punishment, but for now you are grounded. No school for a couple days, doctors orders, but after that you are expected to spend all of your free time here in your room.”

Alicia almost laughed, but controlled herself, trying to act irritated at the punishment. It was strikingly similar to her usual daily routine, since she spent most of her time either reading or just relaxing in her room. It wasn’t like she had any real friends at school to speak of. “...Fine.”

Her father left, closing the door quietly behind him. After Alicia was sure he wasn’t standing next to it, listening, she jumped out of bed and ran over to her bag. She pulled it out, and Dapper disguised as a book wasn’t there. She looked around frantically, until she heard his voice.

“Heh… heh heh… Did you think I left?”

“Dapper! Where are you? And keep it down… my dad might hear you!”

Dapper slinked out from underneath Alicia’s dresser, running his hand along the brim of his hat. “Your father was right, you know… you shouldn’t trust a Vorpal. I’m going to kill you, then I’m going to kill the rest of your family. Then, I’m going to kill as many casters as I can in your pathetic little town.”

Alicia stared him down, arms crossed. “No, you won’t.”

Dapper was silent, then cracked a smile before breaking out into laughter. “Aw, you didn’t fall for it even for a second! That’s no fun. What gave it away?”

“It was so far out of character. You’ve never talked to me that way, and the tone in your voice was way too serious.”

“Really? Huh… oh, well. So, this is your home, then? I’ve gotten very well acquainted with the spaces behind your furniture, but I would certainly enjoy the full tour.”

“Sure, but hang on a moment…”

Alicia peeked outside her door, but saw no one. After a quick run through the house, she confirmed it. Her father had already left, probably to go back to work. She sighed. Just as she had expected.

She went back to tell Dapper the coast was clear, but found the door already open with Dapper being angrily barked at by the family shadowpup. He just looked at the little creature, and Alicia froze. She knew Dapper would kill any caster given the chance, but she had no idea about energy beasts. “DAPPER! DON’T-”

Dapper morphed into an identical shadowpup, and barked back. This greatly confused the shadowpup, as it tilted its head at the near facsimile. Dapper couldn’t manipulate light the same way a real shadowpup could to achieve a smokelike ephemeral presence, but the shape itself was identical. Both chased each other around for a little while, barking and generally making a ruckus, until Dapper finally returned to his top hat adorned form, laughing. “What an adorable puppy! What is his name?”

Alicia was shocked. The family pet had actually warmed up to a Vorpal, now following him around with a transparent tongue hanging out as it panted from the exercise. “His name is Faze.”

“Faze? With an f or ph?”

“F.”

“What an odd name! I love it! Come on, Faze, let’s go find some people to murder!”

Faze barked as he followed along, until Alicia jumped in front of Dapper. “No! You can’t go outside… and you certainly can’t go around killing people!”

Dapper raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

Alicia couldn’t believe she was having this conversation again. She thought she had a mutual understanding with Dapper. “Not all humans are bad! I’m still trying to convince people that not all Vorpals are bad. You killing people doesn’t make that any easier. And it’s wrong to kill people who don’t deserve it!”

Dapper gave a chuckle. “Why the rift would I care in the slightest what humans think of me? Move aside, Alicia. I have work to do.”

Alicia refused to budge. “Please… if not for their sake, do it for mine. Let’s just… the tour! You want a tour, right?”

Dapper scratched his head. “Yeah, I did say that, didn’t I?”

Alicia grabbed Dapper by the hand and pulled him along. She showed him her parent’s bedroom, but wouldn’t allow him to rummage through anything. She showed off the bathroom, the kitchen, the dining room, and ended back in her room.

“Here… back in my room, I have all my things. I have my collection of books, my mini figures… and, I’ve never shown anyone else this…”

Alicia pulled out her secret research journal, the one she had kept safe in her room when entering the Inverse. She had used a completely fresh one on her latest trip, but this one held everything she managed to remember on her first accidental excursion. “This is everything from our first meeting, and also some speculation and attempts to puzzle things out about the Inverse and Vorpals. Maybe you can tell me if I got something wrong?”

Dapper took the small book and flipped through it. Either he wasn’t paying close attention, or he could read incredibly fast. He stopped at a page and laughed. “You think the Inverse landscape is constantly changing?”

“Isn’t it? That’s why no one can navigate it properly.”

“No, no, no, that’s why non-Vorpals can’t navigate it properly. The landscape remains the same, it’s just… moving? Compared to your realm? I guess that’s the best word I can use to describe it. When it comes to Inverse locations, I can find what I’m looking for easily. It’s your Gateways that I can’t always find, which is why I need a map for that.”

“Do you still have that map? I would love to have it.”

Dapper laughed. “Of course not! I don’t recall ever holding a map, even if your notes state otherwise! And, if I might be frank… you are being a poor host. I would like to explore this world while I can, not stay locked up in a building, no matter how interesting it might be!”

Alicia was about to again attempt explaining why it was a bad idea to do such a thing, but her voice failed her. She tried again and again to speak, but only wheezing came out. She grew light headed and the floor rushed up to meet her.

She woke back up in her bed, Dapper sitting in a chair as he rocked back and forth nervously before noticing she was now awake. “You… gave me quite a scare, Alicia. I didn’t know what to do, so I just put you back in your bed.”

Alicia looked around. It must have been a fair amount of time, as the sun was lower than it had been. She felt awful, her stomach turning and her head aching. “I’m sorry I worried you, Dapper. I think I’m just still in recovery from the Inverse. Thank you for your concern.”

Dapper cracked a smile. “What else are friends for?”

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Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying the story, you might also enjoy my novel! It’s set in the same fictional universe, but follows different characters.

Same post on Minds

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