Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

At first it came like a muffled cry. An echo of a whisper. A story. Long dormant, now suddenly beginning to stir..

A glimmer of darkness. A void. A sound.

Unintelligible, garbage noise. TV static in the ether. Radio signals going nowhere, from nowhere, with no start and no end.

Until it began to take shape. Twisting and distorting. Adjusting. Adapting. Getting closer and closer. Warmer and warmer.

Soon enough, feelings began to emerge. Slowly at first. A tightening of the chest, a shiver down the spine. A pin in the stomach. A knife in the gut.

That’s when the hollowness came rushing in. The desperation. The clutching and clawing and gasping for air. Getting sucked into the jaws of a mighty beast. A perversion. A mistake. What was once a glimmer was now a blazing inferno. What was once a cry was now an ear-piercing scream. All-consuming.

All consumed.

From the inside, it all felt so… familiar. Warm. Comforting.

A momentary reprieve. The eye of the storm. The belly of the beast.

No escape.

Except, the sound could still be heard reverberating all around. The more it did, the clearer it became. Almost human. Lifelike. A voice.

Yes. A girl’s voice.

No.

Her voice.

Two words repeated on a loop, affirming themselves. Establishing themselves in reality. Speaking something into existence. Something that had no business being there.

There was something almost religious about them. Like a prayer. Like a chant. Hopeful. Inviting. A simple answer to an impossible question.

“....…..….”

“fi……..me……..”

“Find……… me……….”

“Find me…”

Aubrey awoke from her sleep with a shock, wiping away sweat from her forehead. She was no stranger to nightmares, something that all of her childhood friends had in common, but something about this one was so visceral to her. It was the kind of dream that feels so fundamentally important, like it could alter the entire course of your life, and then when you wake, it all becomes meaningless again as you’re thrust back into reality.

“AUBIE!!!!” a shrill voice cried out from downstairs.

Aubrey didn’t even have time to process what had happened. She leapt straight out of bed and made her way down the precarious ladder that separated her room from the unfortunate wreck of a house she inhabited.

“AUBIEEEEE!!!!!” the voice called again, an almost childlike whine.

At times, climbing this ladder felt like descending into the pits of hell.

“I’m coming, Mom” Aubrey replied diligently, heading straight for the living room, where her mother spent most nights.

The overwhelming stench of garbage and cheap booze hit her the second she entered the room. It was something she could never quite acclimate to, no matter how much time she spent around it.

Aubrey’s mother lay just as expected, sprawled out on the couch surrounded by bottles, illuminated only by the pale blue glow of the TV left on from the night before. The room was otherwise dim, every curtain shut, every attempt made to block out the outside world. This did little to disguise the state it was in.

“Aubie… there you are honey. Ohh my precious girl,” the woman slurred, her face shrouded by a rat’s nest of rapidly greying hair.

“Morning Mom,” Aubrey sighed, still not quite numb to this all too familiar sight.

“You’re the one good thing I ever did right, you know… my angel,” her mother cloyed, as if making a truly monumental confession. This meant she wanted something, Aubrey knew. From an early age, she had learned that her mother’s affection always came at a cost.

“What do you need?” Aubrey pressed, determined not to give in to this game.

“Don’t be fucking rude,” the woman snapped back, “and you can wipe that look off your face too. So entitled! Like I didn’t raise you. Feed you. Put a roof over your head. What do you have to complain about?”

Aubrey grit her teeth and dug her heels in. She knew she was provoking her. They’d had this fight a thousand times, and it never ended well. She could lash out, tell her mother all the ways in which she was neglectful and absent, and give her all the ammunition she needs to make her life hell for days, weeks, or even months.

But 9am is no time to start a war.

“I’m sorry Mom” she relented bitterly, not quite able to force her face to cooperate.

“You are a miserable girl, aren’t you Aubie?” the woman spat, doing her best to look her daughter in the eye as the room spun around her. “You were such a happy child. Whatever happened to you?”

Flashes of Aubrey’s dream played over in her head. She had already forgotten most of it, and yet still it hung in her mouth like a bad taste.

A sound rang in her ears. A familiar sound. Meant for her. Getting louder and louder…

“AUBIEEEEEEE!!!! Are you ignoring me again? How can you stand there and ignore your own mother?” the grown woman squealed, kicking her legs as she lay in her own filth.

Broken from her trance, Aubrey knew she needed to get out of this house immediately.

“Mom, I’m going out in a sec, ok? Do you want me to bring back anything?” she offered.

She loved her mother, but if she had to put up with this for much longer she didn’t know what she might be driven to. She thought about all those years Sunny spent cooped up at home and wondered how he ever coped.

“Oh sure, that’s great. Just leave me here all alone all day, as usual. I don’t know what I ever did to you to make you hate me so much,” the woman lamented to an audience of none, as before she had even begun, Aubrey was up and moving. Making herself busy. Gathering empty bottles and cans, clearing off surfaces. She refused to clean the house properly - it would only be dirtied again in a day, and her efforts would go unappreciated as with everything she did. But she couldn’t stand to let it become completely unlivable. And doing this gave her something to hold onto when her mother called her names like “lazy” and “worthless”. She knew the things she said weren’t true, obviously, but it didn’t hurt to prove it to herself every now and again.

“Don’t you dare think about opening those curtains,” the woman thundered.

“I won’t, Mom,” Aubrey assured.

“Cancerous sun rays,” her mother snarled, seething with some misplaced rage. At who, Aubrey wasn’t certain. Perhaps at the sun itself.

“I know, Mom,” she placated.

Once Aubrey was satisfied, and her mom had gotten everything out of her system, she slunk away to do her best to clean the stench of this house off of her, and change into some clean clothes.

She crept back downstairs, half hoping her mother would be asleep again by now. She had just made it to the door when that shrill screech rang out again. She sincerely wondered how her lungs handled it.

“AUBIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!” her mother shrieked.

It took everything in Aubrey to keep her cool. She’d been working hard on controlling her anger as of late, but her mother was the one person who still knew how to push all her buttons, no matter what.

“Yes, Mom?” the girl doted, still facing the door, ready to walk out any second.

“Were you even gonna bother asking if I needed anything? The least you could do is make yourself useful for once and help out around here,”

“Mom, I asked you five minutes ago and you-” Aubrey protested.

“How DARE you talk back to me?! You will treat me with respect, I am your mother,” the woman raged.

“Then ACT LIKE IT!” Aubrey yelled.

Uh oh. That was a bad idea.

Aubrey’s mother fell silent.

Then came the sniffles.

“Mom, I…” Aubrey hesitated, turning back around to face her.

The dishevelled woman lay crying on the couch.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean-” Aubrey began.

“No, it’s ok. I’m a horrible mother. I know it, sweetheart,” Aubrey’s mother lamented with a little more sincerity than Aubrey was comfortable with, “Just look around. Look at what I’ve become.”

And she wasn’t wrong. Once upon a time, Aubrey’s mother was a fearsome woman. She was never perfect, but the woman that lay before her was a sorry shell of the matriarch she had once been.

“You go on now. Get out there and make something of yourself. Don’t throw your life away and end up like me,” Aubrey’s mother insisted, shaky voiced and teary eyed. As with everything she did, this was a performance, but performance only magnifies that which lies beneath. Aubrey knew this better than anyone.

“I love you, Mom,” Aubrey professed, turning back to the door.

“I love you too, Aubie,” her mother blubbered.

The light of the outside world momentarily illuminated the desolate woman’s face, before the door was quickly slammed shut again.

Aubrey spent a lot of her time wandering around town aimlessly. It’s how she first fell in with the gang of miscreants who now called her leader. She never set out to meet new people. In fact, there was a time she was so full of bitterness and resentment that she couldn’t stand to let anyone in at all.

The only one who could even come close to cracking that exterior was Kim.

Kim had saved her, Aubrey believed. She showed her a new way of living her life. A way to go on. After everything she went through, there was so much pressure on her to grow up so quickly. But with Kim, she could escape the baggage of every shitty thing in her life and just be a kid again.

Kim often tried to get her to open up about her family and her trauma, but Aubrey felt strongly that she had one thing in her life that wasn’t tainted by all that. One person who saw her as more than the broken girl everyone expected her to be. Unfortunately, drawing this boundary meant that if she ever actually needed to process the things she was going through, she was on her own.

And so it was in times like these that Aubrey came to the little church at the end of her street.

She wouldn’t have described herself as particularly religious, but she found great comfort in the messages of the bible. The hope that those we love who leave this world find themselves in a better place. The idea of repentance - that anyone can be forgiven. They need only ask.

Even just the gentle quiet that whispered through the hall set her more at ease than she had ever felt at home. Beams of light flooded through the many stained glass windows, illuminating the worn wooden flooring. The smell was musty but not unpleasant. The scent of warm furnishing and old books, laced with a wafting of incense and sage. This was a place she could truly think, without fear of being disturbed.

Aubrey spoke to many people at church, none of whom were present in the building. She spoke to Sunny (and received about as much input from him as a real conversation). She spoke to Kim and the gang and told them everything she couldn’t. She spoke to her father, who had abandoned her like everyone else.

And of course, she spoke to her.

The big sister she never had.

Mari.

For a time, Aubrey resented her too. It took four long years to learn to accept that the girl was facing a battle no one knew about, fighting something awful while appearing to the world as though nothing was wrong. Aubrey was now the age Mari was when she left, and she had grown to respect the burden she carried all that time, but shielded them from ever knowing about. Especially now that she was looked up to by her own gang of delinquents. Mari continued to be a role model for her, even in her absence.

That was until that dreaded week came. The week Sunny finally left his house, just as she’d prayed for all those years, only to shatter their lives once more and take off, never to be seen again. The week everything she thought she knew about her former friends was called into question. The week Mari un-killed herself.

In many ways, the truth made so much more sense. And yet this lie had already reframed her entire perspective of her dear friend. She didn’t know how to talk to her knowing that the things she’d been saying, the anger she had felt for so long, was all for nothing. The quiet strength she had attributed to her was nothing but the product of another’s weak cowardice. The Mari she had been talking to all this time was a lie. A figment of her imagination.

She hadn’t been abandoned by Mari after all. It was her who had abandoned Mari.

And so, ever since that day at the hospital, she had avoided speaking with her entirely.

What do you say to someone who you haven’t spoken to in 4 years?

And then there was the matter of her dream, which continued to afflict her with violent aftershocks. Flashes that came to her without warning. An endless abyss. An open maw. And… that sound again.

Something about the church seemed to intensify it, as if amplifying the frequency. It was louder here than ever before. A rhythmic chanting. Rushed, frantic, like a gasp for air.

“Find me. Find me. Find me. Find me.”

The same two words, over and over again. In a voice that was unmistakably Mari’s.

Aubrey didn’t know what to make of it. Could it be a manifestation of her guilt for not coming to talk to her? It had been just over two months since that fateful day. Why now? Why here?

She wouldn’t have to wonder for long as soon afterwards, divine intervention struck. The door to the church was meekly pushed open by a boy who Aubrey was shocked didn’t burst into flames immediately upon entry.

Basil.

The voice immediately seemed to intensify further, as if in response to this development. It was suddenly as though it was screaming in her ears.

“FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME.”

She couldn’t take it any longer. Her quiet place to think had been invaded. Why was he even here? She hadn’t seen him attend a service once in the four years she’d been coming here.

Was he here to see her?

She wanted to storm out, to make it known that she refused to be in his presence. That they were only to interact on her terms, never on his, and that’s if she ever even deigned to see him again.

And yet, something compelled her to stay.

For one thing, there was the pact that she, Hero, and Kel had made on that day at the hospital. To stand by the two of them, no matter what. Regardless of their own feelings. She knew that it was the right thing to do. And she had tried. But it had not gotten any easier, even with all the work she was doing to better control her emotions.

Something else kept her there though. Something darker. Whatever this dream was, whatever it meant. She felt as though he had something to do with it.

Is that what Mari was trying to tell her?

“Find me,” the voice had said. Was he still holding on to something of hers? Some final piece of her? Did she want her to get it back?

She observed the boy as discreetly as she could. He looked as scattered as ever, lurking away in the back row. A feeble attempt to keep himself out of view.

She had only seen him a handful of times since the hospital, and she noted he looked to be improving in condition on each occasion. His skin would have a little more colour, his eyes would look less heavy. He was recovering, not just from the fight, but from the weight of the past four years.

Aubrey wished she could just be happy for him, yet all she felt was bitterness. She knew it wasn’t fair to ask him to suffer more for what he did. After what it turned him into. After she herself was responsible for making things so much worse for him. After it almost killed him. But if he was going to get to move on and live a happy life now, at the very least she shouldn’t have to see it.

Nothing out of the ordinary occurred for the rest of the sermon. The preacher read aloud a verse about community and caring for each other in times of need. Aubrey always liked this sentiment, even if it was a kindness that hadn’t always been extended to her.

And yet she couldn’t fully reflect on this. She couldn’t reflect on anything. All she could think of was that sound.

“FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME.”

She recalled Mari’s smile. Her warm expression. Her cheerful demeanor.

The weight of the loss still overwhelmed her at times.

She knew in her heart there’s nothing she wouldn’t do for her.

And so as soon as the sermon had concluded, without even thinking about it, Aubrey found herself marching over to Basil.

He had already stood up and scurried to the door like a cockroach trying to make a quick getaway, but he wasn’t quite quick enough to evade Aubrey’s grasp.

“Basil!” Aubrey called out, still not entirely certain of what she was doing or how to approach this. All she knew was her friend was calling out to her for help. And she wanted answers.

“O-oh… Hi Aubrey,” he mumbled nervously, avoiding eye contact.

“Hey,” Aubrey spoke, suppressing her immense discomfort, “Mind if I walk you home?”

The boy was puzzled, yet intrigued. He was certain she wanted little, if anything, to do with him. In fact, he had suspected his being there at all would agitate the girl if she saw him. So this invitation came as much of a surprise. If she just wanted to yell at him, she could’ve done that right away, couldn’t she?

He considered a range of options for what the girl might want with him. Had she left something at his house that time she came to visit? No, he didn’t think so. Perhaps she was plotting his murder? Unlikely, but impossible to rule out.

Ultimately, he was thrilled just to speak with her again. And he had very little to lose.

“S-sure! That would be nice,” the boy resolved cheerfully.

Chapter Text

It was a bright, warm day in Faraway Town. Summer was almost at an end, and soon it would be time for school to start again. Aubrey almost couldn’t imagine going back to school after everything that had happened that summer. Much less sharing classes with the boy she had come to learn such awful things about. The boy she now walked alongside.

Aubrey didn’t know how to act around him. In her past visits to him, she had stuck to begrudged niceties, keeping her mouth shut for the most part. For the sake of the others. But that wasn’t an option anymore. He had crossed a line.

At first, they walked in awkward silence. Basil diligently awaited Aubrey’s permission to speak, and Aubrey had no intention of making this easy for him. Once she deemed things to be sufficiently uncomfortable, she began.

“Do you know why I go to church, Basil?” Aubrey muttered.

“N-no, why?” Basil stumbled.

“It’s because it’s the one place I have left in this world where I can hear myself think,” Aubrey vented as amiably as her temper would allow, “Where the noise of everything isn’t so loud, and so crushing, that I have no choice but to block it all out. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I.. I think so,” the boy sighed.

“Good,” she huffed.

The silence returned. Each time Aubrey expressed her annoyance with Basil it left her feeling somewhat hollow, as if there would never be enough words to adequately convey the depth of her feeling, clouded by their complicated shared past, and that just annoyed her even more.

“I-I really wasn’t trying to get in the way of your safe space or anything,” Basil explained regretfully.

“Didn’t say you were,” Aubrey grumbled.

“I just… I-I guess I came because I wanted to try asking for forgiveness,” he continued.

Aubrey distinctly did not recall asking, but she raised an eyebrow at this.

“Forgiveness from who?” she pushed.

“From… From Mari?” the boy scrambled.

Aubrey said nothing.

“A-and from you” he added hastily.

Aubrey thought for a second, and then stopped in her tracks. The boy, so attuned to the girl, immediately stopped alongside her.

“Ok then. Go ahead,” she put bluntly, with deadpan seriousness.

“H-huh?” Basil recoiled.

“I’m right here. So ask.” she insisted, watching him squirm.

The boy thought for a moment, beginning to realise that he’d gotten himself into an impossible situation.

“I… I’m sorry,” he finally blurted.

Aubrey glared at the boy as menacingly as she could.

“I’m sorry for… what I did to her. I’m sorry for lying to you for so long, to everyone. I’m sorry for the pain and confusion and the suffering. A-and I’m sorry for not acknowledging that sooner. To be honest I… I thought you already knew. I thought you could see it in my eyes,” Basil rambled, “I think a part of me thought you knew the whole time, a-and that’s what you were punishing me for...”

The boy was now welling up with tears. But Aubrey wasn’t moved. She pitied him, sure. And of course she had grappled with shame and regret for her poor treatment of the boy in years prior. And yet, she was certain she sensed something cynical in his words. Like he was just saying exactly what she wanted to hear. Even as kids, Aubrey was never quite sure of Basil’s true intentions at any given time. This had only intensified the older they got, and the more deceitful he revealed himself to be. She wouldn’t allow herself to be swayed by his crocodile tears.

She wanted to tell him straight to his face exactly what she was thinking. “I don’t forgive you”.

And yet – she couldn’t lose sight of the whole reason she was talking to him in the first place. There was something missing. Some part of the story still hidden away. Something he was keeping from her, that she had to find. Whatever it took. For Mari.

So, Aubrey decided she wouldn’t lie to him. She wouldn’t tell him she forgave him, or that everything was gonna be ok. And she wouldn’t say what she really wanted to either.

Instead, she placed her hand on her shoulder and looked him in the eyes.

“Don’t… don’t cry,” she sighed.

“Your face looks… dumb all twisted up like that” she relented, forcing the closest thing she could to a smile and continuing to walk onwards.

Basil looked up at the girl teasing him in shock, and then laughed. Harder than he should’ve. His red and leaking face only becoming redder, but much more relaxed.

“You’re right, Aubrey. I’m sorry for my face too,” the boy sniffled, sensing the tension Aubrey had carefully built up deflating like a balloon.

Aubrey felt a pang of regret for deceiving the boy like this. She was never one to put on an act, or disguise her true feelings, yet she knew that truthfully she was not even close to being ready for this kind of jovial teasing with him. As soon as this was over, she was sure to return to her standoffish temperament around him. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and brutal honesty might’ve squashed her chances at finding out more information. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t lied to her a thousand times over.

“Yeah, well… you should be sorry,” she quipped back.

The pair continued the short walk back to Basil’s house making light conversation. And just for the duration of this walk, Aubrey determined that she would have to make her best attempt to be congenial, even friendly to the boy.

“So… how have you been since… the hospital?” Aubrey posed carefully.

“So much better! It was only a few scrapes and bruises really,” Basil chirped.

“That’s good. But I meant more… like… emotionally, I guess,” Aubrey mumbled, deeply uncomfortable with the subject.

“Oh! Well I’m really in such a better place now! It’s like a weight has been lifted,” the boy beamed.

Just as Aubrey had suspected. This annoyed her, but she wouldn’t show it.

“Anyway how have you been? How’s the gang?” Basil deflected, “Get up to any cool adventures?”

“Well… Kel and I have hung out a few times, but-” Aubrey began.

“Oh, I meant your new friends! Kim, and Vance and the others,” the boy cut in.

“You… really want to hear about them?” Aubrey hesitated, recalling the terrible way they had treated him. On her behalf.

“I want to hear about you. They’re a big part of your life now right?” Basil smiled warmly.

“Yeah… they are. Well Charlie and Angel found this kid who’s really good at art, so we’re trying to get them to spray paint something for us. And Vance has been teaching me how to pick locks for this new scheme that Kim’s cooking up,” Aubrey shared freely.

“A scheme?” Basil questioned eagerly.

“Yeah, it’s- ok you aren’t allowed to tell anyone about this, got it? Top secret,” Aubrey commanded.

“My lips are sealed,” Basil chuckled. As if he had anyone to tell.

“We are planning… a candy heist,” Aubrey declared with grave seriousness.

“A candy heist?!” Basil choked.

“Shhhh- keep your voice down!” Aubrey hushed.

“Sorry, sorry,” Basil whispered dramatically.

“The Maverick has a connection on the inside. We’re gonna break in after dark and take as much candy as we can carry,” Aubrey boasted proudly.

“Oh wow. But… don’t those places usually have security alarms?” Basil fretted.

“Psh, what am I, an amateur? We’ve got the alarm shutoff code,” Aubrey assured.

“And Mikhael-” Basil began.

“The Maverick,” Aubrey corrected.

“And… The Maverick… is gonna get you in, through the back I’m guessing?” Basil followed.

“Pretty much,” Aubrey nodded.

“Well… it sounds like you’ve really thought this through, Aubrey. I’m proud of you…” Basil affirmed timidly, trying his best to be supportive. “Just… Be careful, ok?,” he couldn’t help himself from adding.

“I always am,” Aubrey smirked.

Although she’d never admit it, Aubrey wasn’t made entirely miserable by the boy’s company. She told herself it was all for a cause. This is what she had to do. Get him to lower his guard, and then confront him about Mari.

Even now, she could hear her voice. The sound. Just faintly, in the back of her mind. The words weren’t always audible but the sound never faded. Never before had a dream lingered so long after she woke, but she was glad for it. Grief is such a stagnant feeling. It holds you in place, and there’s nothing to be done about it. It felt good to finally be doing something with all the love she still had for her. Putting it to good use.

Except there sat Basil’s house just ahead of them, floral as ever. Their walk had come to an end, and Aubrey was still not even close to getting him to talk about her.

“Well, this is my stop. It was really nice talking to you Aubrey. Thank you,” Basil beamed so wide that even Aubrey couldn’t doubt its sincerity. She was beginning to regret this whole scheme. Toying with the fragile boy’s emotions was low, even for her.

“Yeah, it was cool catching up dude…” Aubrey trailed, unsure of how to proceed. Was she giving up? Was her mission a failure? Was it time to drop the act?

That is what Aubrey was thinking when Basil pulled out a small set of keys to open the door to his house.

“FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME”

The voice blared once again, out of nowhere. As if it was guiding her. Leading her somewhere. It was undeniable now. It was louder than it had ever been before. It had to mean something.

Aubrey wasn’t sure what the bible’s stance was on following guidance from spirits. But she was certain this was more than a regular dream. This was some kind of link. A connection to Mari. It had to be. And her message was loud and clear.

The girl observed the keys carefully. There was one for the front door, one that was probably for the garden shed, and- what was that?

A mysterious third key. It looked to be pretty old, and partially rusted.

She was sure she had never seen it before, and this filled her with determination. Where there’s a key, there’s something locked away. There's a secret to hide. There’s hope.

But how would she get her hands on it? Or even figure out where to use it? Before she even had time to consider, she felt herself springing into action once again.

“Wait!” Aubrey cried out in panic.

“Huh?” Basil stopped in his tracks.

“Can I… come inside for a bit? I- I mean I’ve got nothing better to do so-” she spluttered.

“Yes! I mean, uhm- Sure! I- uh, of course you can!” the boy stumbled over himself, completely blindsided by this request. But he certainly was not complaining. In fact, his eyes lit up with excitement.

“I mean if you’re busy, I can always-” Aubrey began.

“No! No, I'm not busy at all! Please, come in!,” Basil hurriedly assured her.

“Cool…” Aubrey replied simply, and she entered the house alone with Basil.

Basil’s house was always Aubrey’s favourite of all her friends’ homes. Hero and Kel’s place was too cluttered and crowded, whereas Sunny and Mari’s was almost too perfect, like she was scared to mess it up (Kel spilled juice on the carpet once and he never heard the end of it). Basil’s was flawed, but homely. Inviting. Filled with an abundance of all kinds of flowers and plants. Which did tend to attract bugs in the summer, but it was so worth it for the smell alone. So full of life.

Aubrey was pleased to see that this had never really changed. For a while there, Basil had been neglecting his duties as caretaker and lifebringer to his plant army, but he had appeared to have turned things around. The ecosystem was positively flourishing.

“Make yourself at home, I-I just have to do some watering but it won’t take long,” Basil called, hurrying off to complete his chores as fast as he possibly could, so as not to keep his guest waiting.

Slumping down onto the couch, Aubrey surveyed the room for anything suspicious. Logically she knew that he was unlikely to hide anything in the living room, but it didn’t hurt to be diligent.

Bookshelves seemed okay. Cactus was missing a few needles. Counter was clear as always. Sink was full of dishes, but who was she to judge? TV seemed off…

She got up and pressed the “ON” button.

Ah, much better.

Yes, everything appeared to be in order here.

Aubrey lazed on the couch watching TV as Basil watered flowers elsewhere. She would of course need to inspect the other rooms later too, but while he was in them it was best to remain here, she decided. For the sake of the mission.

Her TV at home was largely monopolised by her mother, and so she was rarely able to watch television like the rest of her peers. A while back, she had salvaged a TV of her own from the local junkyard to keep in her bedroom, but it was temperamental and fuzzy at the best of times. So she was used to making herself at home on her various friends’ sofas in order to get her fix.

But after only a short while, Aubrey heard a girlish scream followed by a loud “thud” coming from close by. She quickly ran to investigate and found Basil curled up on the floor of his grandmother’s room, clutching his knee.

“Basil?? Are you ok??” Aubrey exclaimed, kneeling down to help the boy up.

“Ahhh… yeah I’m… a-alright,” he moaned, his arm and back soaked in water from the nearby watering can which was now spilling out onto the floor.

Once up, he attempted to take a step forward and yelped in pain.

“AH- ouch. S-sorry, I-” he winced.

“What is it?” Aubrey pressed.

“It’s nothing, it’s just… my knee. I was trying to water those pots higher up so I stood on the chair and my knee just… gave out,” he explained.

Without a second thought, Aubrey placed her arm around the boy and helped him through to the living room, setting him down on the couch.

“T-thanks Aubrey. Gosh I’m so embarrassed. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t here” Basil stammered, red and flustered.

“Keep it elevated,” Aubrey commanded, handing the boy a cushion.

She wandered off for a second and quickly returned with a pack of ice.

“And hold this where it hurts. Should keep the swelling down,” she continued.

Basil did as she instructed, wincing a little in response to the cold but soon feeling relief.

“W-wow, you’re good at this,” Basil remarked.

“Yeah, well I had to learn. My mom is… clumsy,” Aubrey murmured. “You can get Polly to change this when she gets home.”

“Oh.. uhm… Yep!” Basil beamed his trademark smile, with eyes shining so bright that no one would dare look directly at them. If they did, who knows what they might find.

“I can’t believe you’re doing all this for me. A-And I’m meant to be the host… I haven’t even offered you tea!” Basil fretted.

“Chill, dude. I’ll make the tea,” Aubrey reassured.

“Oh Aubrey you really don’t have to-” Basil began to protest.

“Stop. I want tea, so I’m gonna make us some. You just rest, ok?” she cut in.

“O-Ok… If you’re sure…” he relented.

Aubrey headed over to the kitchen and dug out Basil’s old tea set – a ridiculously fancy china teapot, emblazoned with sparkling gold cracks, complete with matching cups. They used to play at having tea parties with it all the time as kids. Ever since, Aubrey found herself drinking the stuff whenever she needed a little comfort, despite never having been a huge fan of the taste. She even remembered Basil’s favourite kind, Jasmine, and so she proceeded to brew a pot of it. Even just the smell of the steam brought back fond memories.

Looking around the kitchen, she thought back to the two of them laughing and playing together. Carefree and wild. So much had changed since then. Including the kitchen itself, which was now uncharacteristically messy. Aubrey couldn’t remember ever seeing dirty dishes pile up like this here before. It reminded her of her own house, which she was sure was a bad sign.

“One cup of Jasmine tea. Careful, it’s hot,” Aubrey announced, placing the ornate china cup down in front of the boy before returning for her own.

“You remembered!” Basil exclaimed.

“Duh. Remember the time you tried to make your own with jasmine petals?” the girl reminisced.

“It wasn’t that bad!” Basil blushed.

“You almost poisoned us,” Aubrey snickered, preparing to settle in with her cup.

“...A-Aubrey? I’m really sorry to ask, you’ve already done so much for me I-” the boy stumbled.

“Just say it,” Aubrey shot impatiently.

“Would you mind finishing the watering for me? This was the last room I had left to do,” he requested.

“Oh. Yeah, I guess so,” Aubrey humbly agreed.

Things were not going to plan for her. On the bright side, at least Basil’s immobility meant he wouldn’t catch her snooping around. Not that this was a priority for Aubrey at the moment. Somewhere along the way to pretending to be a kind and caring friend, she had found herself doing it without even realising.

Diligently, she wandered back to where the boy had collapsed and retrieved the fully drained watering can from the floor, taking only a brief glance around the room. The empty bed in the corner brought back memories of Basil’s grandmother and her poor health. She couldn’t help but wonder the toll that must be taking on the poor boy. She hadn’t even considered that amongst all that had happened.

Her eyes were quickly drawn to the white flower by the window. It was by far the most beautiful in the house, probably why Basil kept it by his grandmother’s bed. It was a shame it had to be hidden away like this though. Although she wasn’t sure why, but something about it did make her feel a little uneased. Like it was staring back at her.

“Hey Basil, what’s that pretty white flower by the bed?” Aubrey questioned, shuffling back through the living room and over to the kitchen sink, watering can in tow. She turned on the and began to fill it up.

“Oh! That’s a white egret orchid! A species known as ‘Habenaria radiata’,” Basil gleefully recited, “It has a ton of meaning behind it but it’s most commonly associated with the phrase ‘My thoughts will follow you into your dreams’”

Water began to spill out from the watering can’s spout whilst Aubrey was occupied, adrift in thought. These vague signs kept on piling up, and yet were becoming no clearer. The dream, the voice, Basil, the key, and now this? If anything, she had more questions than when she started.

She decided she would have to figure them out later. If Mari needed her help so badly, maybe she should’ve been less cryptic. She had flowers to water. Aubrey turned off the tap and headed back over to Basil.

“You’re like a walking encyclopedia huh,” Aubrey quipped.

“I just really, really like plants,” Basil blushed proudly.

“Oh yeah?” Aubrey smirked, looking around for a challenge. She approached the most unremarkable looking houseplant in the corner of the room.

“What’s this one then, wise guy?” she interrogated, gesturing to it smugly.

“Ficus elastica, aka the rubber plant! Said to bring happiness and great abundance,” he shot back with eager intensity.

“Hmm… Does it need water?” she asked.

“Yes it does,” the boy nodded solemnly.

Aubrey obliged, then sought out her next victim.

“How about… THIS one?” she demanded.

“Aster tataricus, or Tatarian Aster, supposedly named after a lost kingdom forgotten to time. Ironically, the phrase associated with the flower is ‘I won’t forget you’,” Basil went on. “That’s actually one of Sunny’s favourites…”

Aubrey winced at the mention of Sunny. Her feelings about him were complicated and messy, but most importantly irrelevant. He wasn’t here, and she intended to avoid having to think about him for as long as that was the case.

“Less yapping, more naming. I bet you can’t name THIS one,” she proclaimed, grabbing the first plant in sight.

“Aubrey that's a sunflower,” Basil snorted.

“Oh. Still. Science name, plant boy” Aubrey insisted.

“Helianthus annuus,” he offered up immediately.

“You’re just making these up now” Aubrey accused.

“Am not!” the plant boy whined.

“Ok well what about… that one!” she teased, pointing to the pretty pink flower decorating Basil’s hair.

“I-It’s a hibiscus!” the boy blushed as Aubrey approached, “…w-why are you looking at me like that?”

“Hmm, are you sure this one doesn’t need watering?” Aubrey grinned, dangling the watering can above Basil’s head.

“I’m positive! I’m positive!” the boy yelped, recoiling into the couch as Aubrey let a few drops fall down and wet his hair.

“Aubreyyyy!” he cried.

“Whaaaat, I’m only helping!” the girl jested.

This game went on for a good while with Basil naming each flower in the room and sharing a fact about it, and Aubrey watering it for him. Regardless of her intentions at first, the pair were truly bonding for the first time since they were kids. Basil was thrilled to show off his extensive knowledge, and even more thrilled to have Aubrey around to share it with. The walls that he had built around himself over the past four years were well and truly crumbling, and he was finally able to just be himself again.

When she was almost done, Aubrey decided she needed a break, collapsing into the couch alongside the boy with a big ‘thud’.

“Watering’s tiring work. How’d you manage this every day?” she panted.

“I don’t mind it at all. It’s nice, having something to take care of… To look after,” he smiled. “And it’s not like I don’t have the spare time.”

“I hear that. Home is… not the best for me at the moment… so I tend to spend as much time as possible out doing stuff, y’know, killing time,” Aubrey shared. “Some days I end up just… wandering around aimlessly. Because it’s better than the alternative.”

“Oh I’m sorry Aubrey. That must be really hard for you. Do you wanna talk about it?” the boy queried.

“Eh… it’s not so bad, it’s just… Mom’s been a wreck ever since dad left. Not that she was a paragon of stability before, but she’s really hard to be around right now,” Aubrey confessed.

“Do you… miss your dad?” Basil probed.

“Nah. Fuck him. He chose to leave me behind. As far as I’m concerned he can rot,” Aubrey professed unflinchingly.

“That’s harsh, Aubrey. He’s still your dad” Basil reasoned.

“If he’s ‘still my dad’ then maybe he should actually show up sometime,” the girl retorted, “and besides, I don’t think you of all people get to be an authority on parenthood, Basil.”

“...I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that,” she regretfully followed up.

“No, you’re not wrong... I guess my parents kinda… abandoned me too,” Basil chuckled halfheartedly, never one to give in to the gloom.

“Don’t you ever resent them for going away and leaving you here?” Aubrey posed.

“...I find it hard to feel much for them at all, if I’m honest. I see them a couple times a year. We have a meal, we take a picture. And then they’re gone again. They’re almost like strangers to me. Which makes me feel guilty to say, with all that they provide for me, but-” Basil spiralled.

“Fuck that. And fuck them,” Aubrey interjected, “Throwing money at you doesn’t make them good parents. Trust me, I learned that from my dad. You shouldn’t have to feel guilty for their shitty parenting.”

“You’re probably right… I guess… m-my grandmother was the closest thing to a real parent I ever had…” Basil contemplated, wavering at her mention.

“Is she…” Aubrey hesitated.

“S-she’s still going, but it… doesn’t look like she’s going to get any better,” the boy explained solemnly.

“Basil… I’m really sorry… She was always so kind to me as a kid. We all loved her,” Aubrey reminisced fondly.

“It’s okay… in a messed up way I’m kind of glad she’ll never have to know what I did. What I became. She’ll never have to see me like this,” Basil justified, mainly to himself.

“Oh man… I… I’m sure she’d love you no matter what. That’s what good parents do. Unconditional love, and all that,” Aubrey consoled, with only a little hesitance.

“Thank you for saying that, Aubrey. It means a lot,” the boy smiled sincerely, turning to meet the eyes of his oldest friend.

“Yeah… you know it’s kinda nice to get this stuff off my chest. I don’t usually talk about... y’know, feelings and stuff… with my other friends,” the girl mumbled.

“Well… you can always talk about them with me,” Basil offered earnestly.

“Heh, you always were the sensitive one,” Aubrey smirked.

“You know, I think that was Sunny. Even if he didn’t always show it…” Basil reflected.

“...Okay, well that’s enough slacking off now. I should really finish this watering,” Aubrey leapt to her feet, masterfully dodging the subject.

“Oh, I think you got them all!” the boy assured.

“No wait, there’s still the hanging basket up there,” Aubrey pointed out.

“I-it’s ok, I don’t want you to hurt yourself like I did,” Basil stumbled, with more than a little concern in his voice.

“Basil I think I can handle standing on a chair,” Aubrey scoffed.

“N-no really it’s fine. Don’t bother. I-” the boy continued to blabber.

Aubrey was hearing none of it. She carried a chair from the kitchen table all the way over to the corner of the room where the basket hung, and reached up to it.

“Oh, this is a pretty one!” Aubrey admired, inspecting its bulbous white florets, “What’s it called?”

“...Convallaria majalis” Basil hesitated.

“And in English, dr dweeb?” Aubrey mocked.

Aubrey carefully watered the plant, noting the craftsmanship of the basket, hanging perfectly from the ceiling. Her eyes drifted amongst the leaves to the ropes that hung the basket in place. The perfectly tied knots.

“...Lily of the valley,” Basil gulped.

“FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME.”
“FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME.”
“FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME.”
“FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME.”

Chapter Text

“........”

“....a.........ry…”

“.........”

“Aubrey!” Basil cried in panic.

Aubrey awoke to Basil’s twisted up, teary face just inches from her own. She instinctively recoiled, backing far away from the frightened boy to the other side of the couch she suddenly found herself on.

“Are you okay?? I was so worried,” Basil blubbered.

“What…. happened?” Aubrey mumbled groggily.

“I don’t know, y-you just fell! Gosh it was lucky the couch was here, you could’ve seriously gotten hurt!” Basil fretted.

“Yeah I… I’m fine, I just… Gimme a second,” Aubrey muttered, still lightheaded. She didn’t know what was going on but all of a sudden, she felt sick to her stomach. Hazily, she pulled herself up from the couch and stumbled through the house, into the bathroom.

Staring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, Aubrey hardly recognised herself. What was she doing here, standing in this house? Had she really, just moments ago, been laughing and playing games with the person who was responsible for her transformation into the broken girl she was today? The monster who took away her best friend, and defiled her body?

How had she forgotten so easily? How could something like that have slipped her mind? Did she not care? Or had she just chosen to look past it?

Enough was enough. She’d had her time to mess around and play at being the carefree girl she used to be. Now was the time to live in reality. Now was the time for action.

Aubrey meticulously swept the bathroom for anything out of the ordinary. Every shelf, every nook, every drawer. Rummaging through the cabinets under the sink, she came across a few bottles of medication made out to Basil. She didn’t recognise any of the names but she was glad he was getting some kind of medical support. He was sick, after all. Only a truly sick person could do the things he did.

Poking her head back up again, Aubrey took one final glance in the mirror. It was funny, she could swear for a second it looked as though there was something else there. Something behind her.

She blinked, and it was gone again.

With the bathroom now cleared, there was only one room in the house left to look through. Basil’s bedroom.

Aubrey wasted no time bursting in. It was the room that had changed the most since she was last there a few short months ago, Aubrey noted. She guessed he wanted to feel closer to nature, as the once modest sampling of plants had turned into a full-blown collection, as if he had brought his entire garden inside for a slumber party. No wonder the watering took him so long. Pots containing flowers and plants of various sizes littered the floor, leaving very little space to move around.

Aubrey recognised a few of the plants from the game they had played earlier, and yet there were many she knew nothing about. She wondered what he thought about them. What significance they held to him, to keep them in here.

“Every one tells a story,” she recalled him saying, “the lines of a leaf can be read just like the palm of a hand. It’s poetry.”

Next to Basil’s bed sat a pot containing a purple plant she hadn’t seen in a long time. Many years ago, he had told her she reminded him of this plant. Gladiolus. The sword flower. So unique. Back then, she thought it was kind of ugly, but she never told him that. Now though, it had a certain beauty to it that she had grown to appreciate.

The one here looked as though he had been tending to it recently. As if it needed some extra care.

A pack of cards sat adjacent to the pot. Aubrey recognised it immediately as the deck they used to play as kids. She wondered how it came to be here of all places. On the same table lay Basil’s beloved camera, alongside a framed photo taken recently of him and Sunny together, evidenced by the black patch covering Sunny’s eye. Aubrey knew that they were close again, but seeing the two of them alone together after everything filled her with an unexplainable sense of dread. A flash of outrage. For a very brief moment, she considered taking the photo and scribbling over it in marker, just as he had done to all their childhood photos once. But she stopped herself. She was better than that, or so she wanted to believe.

Nothing of note lay inside his drawers, nor amongst his private bookshelf, save for a handful of truly embarrassing romance novels and comics stashed away on the bottom shelf. It was almost endearing to think that this was the extent of what Basil had to hide. But that couldn’t truly be all there was. Could it?

The girl was starting to give up all hope when once again, Mari’s voice piped up, as if sensing her beginning to falter.

“FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME.”

Aubrey had had just about enough of this now. She wanted to believe in it so desperately. She wanted Mari to be out there somewhere, thinking of her, guiding her, setting out a task that only she could complete.

But Mari was never like this. Mari wasn’t cryptic or vague. Mari wasn’t vengeful, and she certainly wasn’t desperate. She was kind and nurturing. She was levelheaded and rational. She would’ve laughed at the idea of her following instructions from a voice she heard in a dream.

And yet, who or whatever this voice was, it was guiding her to something. Some kind of truth. It had to be. It had brought her this far, hadn’t it?

Aubrey determined there was only one way to find out whether this was all in her head, or if there was truly some greater force at play here. She was going to have to assert some kind of control. Make a stand. The girl stood in the centre of the room, closed her eyes, and concentrated. Using everything she had in her, she cleared her mind and focused solely on the voice.

It resisted at first. Like a wild animal bucking and kicking. But their relationship had become symbiotic. She had let it in, and it in turn had lent itself to her.

“FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME.”

The words convulsed like a heartbeat. Rhythmic. Visceral. Pulsating.

It was here in the room with her. She could sense it. She felt out the direction of the sound. Where was it coming from? Where was Mari???

Aubrey blindly stepped around the room, using nothing but the voice in her head to guide her. Like a metal detector seeking out a hidden treasure. As she got closer, the voice responded in turn. The pulsing intensified. The heartbeat sped up. The words became more potent, more urgent. It was actually working! She was getting warmer. It was here somewhere. She was so close. All she had to do was…

BAM!

Aubrey tripped over a tiny potted plant on the floor, just catching herself before smacking face-first into the ground. Concentration broken, she opened her eyes again, glancing up at the bed she had landed in front of. She began to pick herself up when she caught a glimpse of something hiding underneath. Lurking in the shadows.

Curious, the girl crept towards it cautiously, reaching under with both hands and slowly dragging it out.

It was a large, wooden toy box, held shut with a firm lock.

Attempts to force the chest open were fruitless, and although lock-picking was a skill she was learning, she could tell this particular lock was far beyond her capabilities.

Despite this, the voice now softened. Purring. Tamed. As if inviting her in.

This was it. It had been right all along. The truth she so desperately craved was sitting before her. Basil’s final secret. Now all she needed was his keys, and then she could finally put this mystery to rest, once and for all.

Best of all - she knew exactly how she was going to get them.

“Basil!” Aubrey announced, swaggering back into the room with newfound confidence.

“Aubrey are you… alright?” Basil questioned timidly, more than a little freaked out. The girl had passed out, fallen onto the couch, and then disappeared to the bathroom for what felt like forever. Not to mention the strange noises he had heard coming from the other room…

“You didn’t tell me you still had our old playing cards,” the girl grinned, showing off the pack she had taken from Basil’s nightstand.

“Oh! Sunny and I cleared out the old treehouse together. He took most of the stuff with him but I held on to those,” Basil explained.

“Figures. I’m sure you need the practice,” she teased.

“Ahem, I seem to recall kicking your butt on several occasions when we were kids,” Basil corrected smugly.

“Pfft, only when you cheated,” Aubrey scoffed.

“Kel cheated. I always won fair and square,” Basil asserted.

“Alright, tough guy. If you think you’re so good then how about we put it to the test?” she jeered.

“Y-you... want to play cards with me?” the boy puzzled, still taken aback by this sequence of events. And weren’t those playing cards in his room?

“I challenge you to a game of cards. And hey, let’s up the stakes,” Aubrey proposed deviously, “Loser has to do whatever the winner says.”

Basil pondered for a second. He really thought he screwed things up before. But she seemed fine now? Maybe things were going to be ok after all? Much of Aubrey’s behaviour today was unusual, at this point he thought it best simply not to question it.

“You’re on! J-just don’t make me do anything gross okay,” Basil agreed, “Oh, a-and can you gimme a hand to the table?”

Aubrey practically carried the boy over to his seat and placed him down, returning the chair she had fallen from moments ago to use as her own.

The pair didn’t need to discuss it, they knew exactly what game they would be playing. It was their favourite game as kids – their own modified version of Bullshit. They each began with 10 cards and took turns playing runs (that is, consecutive or matching cards of any suit) with the goal being to get rid of as many cards as possible, announcing them and then placing them face down each time.

If one player suspected the other was lying about the cards they were placing, they would call “Bullshit” and challenge them. If they were right, they’d have to pick up double the amount they’d placed, and if they were wrong, the accuser had to. The game was won when a player got rid of all their cards.

Strategy and deception began as soon as the cards were dealt, as they glanced over their decks and evaluated the strength of their hand, arranging their cards, preparing for battle.

Aubrey quickly realised she had a strong hand and so she held her best poker face, keeping as stoic as possible. Basil, on the other hand, immediately looked intimidated, frantically shuffling his cards around, as if searching for a better hand than the one he held.

Heh. He hadn’t played this game since they were kids. He didn’t know how bad of an actor he was. This was gonna be a piece of cake

It was Aubrey’s start, and so she began simple. “A pair of twos” she declared, placing the cards face down on the table in front of her.

Basil followed, picking out three cards from his deck and placing them on the pile.

“A-a 4, a 5, a-and a 6…” he stumbled nervously.

This sounded reasonable enough. His exaggerated nervousness implied he could be attempting a double bluff, which meant he was probably telling the truth. So she didn’t doubt it.

Time for a riskier move.

The girl placed down three cards, her face absolutely unmoving. “A queen, a king, and an ace”.

Basil looked her in the eye. “...Bullshit?” he declared timidly.

Aubrey closed her eyes and sighed.

“Incorrect,” she smirked, revealing her cards. She was telling the truth, and so Basil was forced to pick up six from the deck.

“Oh man… you’ve gotten good at this,” he groaned.

“Maybe you’ve just gotten rusty,” Aubrey jeered.

This was going to be a piece of cake, she thought to herself. Already down to four cards remaining.

Basil just smiled. He took a second to shuffle through his cards and quickly placed down five of them, one after the other.

“A one, a two, a three, a four, and a five.”

Aubrey was stunned at this. Such an audacious claim. So audacious that he couldn’t possibly be bluffing, right? She couldn’t risk having to draw 10 with only 4 cards left and so calling him out was not an option for her. She simply went on to her turn.

“A 10 and a Jack” she declared, placing down two cards.

“Bullshit,” Basil quickly shot back.

“Heh, you got me” Aubrey replied, keeping cool as she drew 4.

Ok. Not a huge deal. Basil now had 8 cards and Aubrey had 6. This was fine.

He picked out four and placed them face down, stifling a smirk.

“A Jack, a queen, a king, and an ace,” he announced.

There was no way. That had to be a bluff.

She looked into his eyes. He wasn’t worried now, or even trying to appear worried anymore. She realised she had absolutely no idea how to read him. What to make of any of his moves. What to make of anything he said at all.

“Bullshit,” she blurted out hopefully.

A pause. His eyes looked up to meet hers. Slowly, he extended his whole body across the table so that they were face to face, only inches apart.

“Nope,” he proclaimed with smug glee, looking her in the eye as he flipped over the cards on the table in front of her.

They were exactly as he had said.

He was already back down to only four cards, and she now had to draw eight, bringing her all the way up to 14. More than when she started.

“Lucky hand,” she grimaced.

“Heh, yeah,” the boy chirped.

She placed down three cards.

“A two, a three, and a four.”

“Bullshit,” he shot immediately.

“How did you-” she gasped.

“Just a guess,” he beamed obnoxiously, as the girl picked up a further six from the deck.

He stared extra closely at his remaining four cards, carefully taking his time to pick out two of them, and placing them face down.

“A pair of sixes” he stated.

“Bullshit,” she called confidently.

“Nope!” he grinned, forcing her to draw another four cards, and leaving him with only two remaining. Inches away from victory.

“How are you doing that?” she demanded in frustration.

“It’s all about strategy. Planning your moves in advance, learning to read your opponent,” the boy explained earnestly.

“I know how to play the game Basil,” Aubrey snapped.

“Okie dokie!” he beamed.

She took a deep breath, picked out five cards from her inflated hand, and played them, hoping to be called out. She even imitated his strategy, taking on an aura of smug confidence and exaggerated positivity.

“One two three four five” she announced coolly.

She waited and… nothing. No challenge. Fantastic.

The boy looked at his remaining two cards. They both knew the last move of the game couldn’t be a lie because the other player would always call their bluff. Aubrey held her breath as the boy waited to make his move. He stared at his cards for what felt like an eternity. Then up at Aubrey. Then back down at his cards.

The girl felt her heart racing. She couldn’t let him win. She had to get inside that chest. She had to know the truth.

Finally, the boy reached out his hand… and picked up another card from the deck.

Phew.

Aubrey placed another three cards. This time, a bluff. She decided to continue this trend of smugness. Maybe she could bluff her way into appearing as though she had a master plan all along.

“Eight nine ten!” the girl grinned.

She waited. Basil squinted at her, scrutinising every inch of her face. Looking for a tell. He raised his eyebrow. Aubrey gave away nothing.

The boy drew another card wordlessly.

Aubrey was still holding onto 13 cards, while Basil sat at 4.

It had been a while since her bluff was last called and she knew another would be expected soon. But things were not looking good for her. She had to act. It was time for a hail mary. She had been playing cautiously up until now. But Basil watched as the girl drew not four, not five, but six of her cards and placed them down on the table.

“Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Jack” she declared proudly.

This move could decide the entire fate of the game. If he called her bluff, she would have to pick up 12 cards. Impossible to come back from.

The boy looked impressed at this power move. As if he could immediately tell what she was doing. As if he was inside her head.

“That’s a big one,” he noted.

“Yes it is,” she agreed.

“Wouldn’t happen to be a lie, would it?” he interrogated.

“Why don’t you call my bluff and find out?” she posed.

He paused for a moment, deep in thought. Then, he reached his decision.

“Nah…” he concluded.

Aubrey kept a straight face but internally let out a tremendous sigh of relief. She now only had seven cards left. With just a few more good moves, she could still win this. She could still beat him.

“I don’t need to,” he continued, to her shock and dismay, placing down all four of his remaining cards at once, “Because I just won the game.”

“Bullshit”, Aubrey spat desperately. But the cards were already face up. Basil had won.

Aubrey was utterly deflated. She really thought she had a chance. She thought that this was going to be easy. But he was three steps ahead of her the whole time. He had probably been planning that move from the start.

“Yayyy I win!! That was so much fun, I haven’t played cards in years!” Basil squealed in delight. All the intensity of the game was at once dissipated as he returned to his jovial self.

Aubrey began to panic. This was her only plan. What was she going to do now? She felt her breathing start to speed up as the boy laughed and cheered in the background.

“FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME. FIND ME”

The voice sensed her weakness. It knew she had failed it. She had failed Mari. It was mocking her.

“FIND ME” it called. Knowing that she never would. Knowing that she wasn’t good enough. Knowing that she couldn’t even win a stupid game of cards for Mari, let alone bring her any kind of justice.

The game was well and truly over. She had lost. And so, it was at last time for her to stop pretending.

Aubrey began to chuckle. A cold, empty laugh.

“Heh. I don’t know why I’m surprised,” Aubrey uttered coolly. “Of course you’d have a good poker face…”

“You’re a murderer.”

With just a few words, the gleeful expression fell from Basil’s face, along with all the colour in his cheeks. Aubrey just glared at him, and then got up from the table, turning away and leaving him behind.

“Aubrey… I… you know I’m not…” Basil stammered, his heart sinking, trying desperately to tell if this was some kind of cruel joke. They’d been getting along so well. He was so full of hope, and suddenly it was all falling apart in front of him. Was it his fault? Did he do something wrong?

“Do I, Basil? Do I know that for sure? Seems like you’re pretty good at lying, you only did it for four years,” Aubrey lashed out, unable to contain her pure seething rage any longer. In that moment, she just wanted to wipe that grin off of his face. To make him suffer the way she had. The way Mari had.

“How do I know you aren’t lying about that too? How do I know you didn’t kill Mari?” she accused, turning back to look him in the eye as she cut him down to size. It didn’t take much for him to fold into a pathetic display, tears streaming from his eyes yet again.

“A-a-aubrey… I…I’m s-s-sorry… I-I… I t-t-thought we were-” the pitiful boy spluttered and cried, on the verge of complete breakdown. Rejection from her was one thing. But being drawn out of his shell. Given hope that his oldest friend could maybe see past the horrible things he’d done and accept him for who he was, and having it ripped away again was another entirely. Basil was utterly distraught.

Part of Aubrey relished in this. The sad, wounded animal in her, barking and snarling at a perceived threat. And yet another part of her was disgusted to see herself tearing the boy apart like this. Just as she had felt so guilty for doing to him in years prior. Yet she was powerless to stop it.

“You thought what? That it was all ok now? That just because I watered your stupid flowers, and played cards with you, we were back to being buddies?” the girl rampaged, cutting deeper and deeper with every swing she took, lacerating him with her razor tongue.

“I will never be your friend again,” she spat viciously, delivering the final blow.

Afterwards she just stood there. Watching the boy as he broke down sobbing and gasping for air, completely inconsolable. Staring at the needless wreckage of a friendship she’d cherished for half of her life. Observing her cruel handiwork with smug satisfaction. Maybe she had won after all. Maybe this was real justice for Mari.

“...He didn’t cry like that when he killed me,” a chilling voice hissed in Aubrey’s ear.

The voice. Mari’s voice.

Aubrey gasped. Her stomach dropped. Before this, it had just been flashes of her dream. A memory. Past tense. This was something deeper. Something much, much worse.

And what did it just say?

When he killed her?

Basil looked up and very quickly his despondent state turned to one of sheer terror as he caught a glimpse of something. Something he really ought not to have seen. Something he thought he was finally rid of, clutching onto yet another of his friends. Something awful.

“A-a-aubrey…” he stammered in a panic, desperately trying to pull himself together for her sake.

It was as though all the colour and light had drained from the room. It was midday and yet no sunlight shone through the house’s many windows. No breeze blew in, no birds sang outside. It was perfectly still, and dead silent.

“What?!” Aubrey snarled at the boy, utterly enraged.

“T-there’s something behind you…” Basil gulped.

The girl only had to tilt her head slightly to know that Basil was telling the truth. Her heart sank immediately. A large, dark, shapeless void loomed over her, just barely visible out of the corner of her eye. She couldn’t look at it directly but she didn’t have to in order to know what it was.

The voice.

The entity.

“Mari”