Vol Chapter 5 (1/2)

Chapter 5: Poison Apple

1

After my body was dragged into the fourth door, I slowly lifted it and looked around the room. In the back was a jet-black piano with a majestic presence, and just in front of it stood a girl with an unusual air, not to be bested by the piano’s.

“Oh dear, Alice. What is it?”

Long, clean black hair. A white headdress with wine-red ribbons. A black one-piece with a curious design. And last but not least, a piercingly sharp red glint in her eyes. Stella looked down on me, stoic as ever.

“Ah, yes. You’d like to play. Very well. What shall we do?”, she asked with a wispy voice I didn’t often get to hear. Yet it seemed a little muddier than usual. Was this really what Stella’s voice was like?

“…Shall we open the closet?”

Not waiting for an answer, her gaze shot through me. I began to move like her eyes had taken control of my body and mind. Keeping eye contact with Stella, I stepped toward the closet, then b.u.mped my back on one of the handles. Ouch.

Stella quietly looked into my eyes. What feelings was she having? Did she even have feelings? I still had no idea.

My back still to the closet, I fumbled for the handles and grabbed them with both hands. Leaning my body back, I opened the closet.

A cold breeze blew against my skin. Even though I was under a blanket, the chill hit my entire body. Unable to stand it, I hurried out of the bed.

I hadn’t expected to see what I saw. It wasn’t any kind of bedroom; it was an outdoor area filled with stone-like objects in many shapes. It was closed in by black trees which had lost all their leaves, their thin branches swaying coldly.

I got out of the bed and looked around to determine where this was. The stones dotting the area, upon closer observation, had words carved into them, seemingly names.

“Northrop…?”

Was this a grave? In which case this must have been a graveyard.

Just as I had that thought, the usual voice began to talk in my head, along with a painful dizzy spell.

“There was a little town deep in the woods.”

“Many people lived in this little town. They all lived healthy lives without sickness. But it struck suddenly one stormy night.”

“A curse was laid on the forest.”

Putting force into my legs, I managed to steady my faltering body. I had even gotten used to this pain.

There was suddenly the sound of many birds flapping their wings, and I jumped. As far as I could see, there wasn’t a soul but myself in this graveyard. As numb as my emotions were becoming, fear was something I seemed unable to ever forget.

…I wondered what I was afraid of.

I started down the path of stones quietly packed together. Every step I took echoed through the peaceful air. I want to find someone soon. Stella should be in this World somewhere. I found my pace quickening.

The graves were like a maze: on one hand blocking the path, but on the other showing me the way. Though I had to retrace my steps many times, I slowly made forward progress. After a while, I saw an iron-bar door. It was rusty, and felt rough when I touched it.

…I didn’t want to open any more doors.

Faced with this iron door, I was at an impa.s.se. But the ends of the bars were so rusted that they’d fallen away, making a large hole. It looked like I could get past if I crawled under. Strangely relieved that I could proceed without actually opening the door, I got down and slipped under the bars.

After brus.h.i.+ng off the rocks that pushed into my knee, I got my legs moving again. There were no graves on this side of the door, but instead, dark, thin trees formed a path forward. I followed said path.

“…?”

I saw two shadows up ahead. Walking quickly toward them, I saw Stella… and Teacher. They were both sitting in chairs, and Teacher was combing Stella’s hair with a reddish-brown comb.

“Oh. Allen.”

Stella noticed me first, her head tilting slightly. Teacher followed, and his hands briefly came to a stop as he looked at me.

“Well, thank you, Teacher. That will be fine. You know, you need to fix up your hair as well.”

“No, I’m fine. I just let it grow out since I don’t know how to cut it.”

“? …Hm.” Giving him a dubious look, Stella turned back to me. “It’s boring standing around. Come, let’s go somewhere. Allen, I’ll follow behind you. Teacher told me he won’t be moving from this spot.”

“Stella…”

“Isn’t this fine? Nothing can come of staying in the same place. What will you do, Teacher?”

Teacher looked bitter, then fell into thought. Then, his face tensing up…

“…You kids don’t really listen to me, do you… I’ll come with you,” he said with exasperation, his shoulders sagging.

“So it’s settled. Well, Allen. Let’s be off.”

The two of them stood up from their chairs and got behind me. Was it okay for not only Stella, but Teacher to leave things to me? Teacher seemed to be silently waiting for me to act just like Stella was, but I still couldn’t wipe away my distrust of him.

“What’s wrong? If we don’t move quickly, we’ll freeze in this wind.”

Stella prodded my back. Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d had seen her have a proper conversation. As I started walking, I talked to her.

“…You’re talking quite a bit, Stella.”

“Oh? It’s not as if I hate talking. I’ll speak if I’m spoken to. It’s only me starting a conversation that’s uncommon.”

“But Joshua talks to you all the time.”

“…He always brings me things I hate. I can’t stand him, is all,” she explained frankly.

Her voice was closer to me than I was used to. I wanted to hear it more, but the cold winds that came through froze my lips. So ultimately, that was the end of it; we just walked in silence, with Stella occasionally pointing a pale finger to guide me.

“There are holes all around this area… Be careful not to trip and fall, you two.”

“You too, Teacher. You seem the most likely to.”

The area we came to had holes in the ground in front of the graves. They seemed rather deep, and we couldn’t see the bottoms.

“This looks just about big enough for me to fit inside,” Stella mumbled, staring at a hole. Her voice felt colder than usual.

“But I can’t even see the bottom… Huh?”

While swinging a hand around in the empty hole, it hit upon something. When I grabbed it, it started to move, and I pulled my hand out in surprise.

“…Bug legs?”

Stella kept her distance from me, feeling uncomfortable. She seemed to not like bugs.

“Stop it. Keep that away from me. …You may have a pretty face, Allen, but I suppose you’re a boy on the inside after all. Just like him.”

Several bug legs squirmed around in my hand. Stella leaned in to look at them, then backed away further still.

“Uh… What makes a pretty face to you, Stella?”

“I believe she once said your face was pretty like a dead person’s is pretty,” Teacher politely answered, approaching me. “…I’ll take those. It would be bad if you tripped carrying these, Allen.”

He held out a hand to me. Teacher was behaving the same as always; our kind teacher who always worried about us. Maybe I just found it difficult to doubt people.

I gave the bug legs to Teacher. His face bunched up as he took the wiggling legs, then he stuck them in a pouch on his waist. Bugs probably weren’t his strong suit, either.

Stella was back at my side now, standing there nonchalantly. “…I think we’re done here. Let’s go somewhere else.”

She started to walk. Teacher and I hurried after her. When I was alone, I’d hit many dead ends in the maze-like path of graves, but since meeting up with Stella, she’d been guiding us. All the Worlds I’d been to before seemed to come from the memories of the children at the facility, but this World was just graves everywhere we went.

“Do you know where this is?”

“Graves. When people die, they’re buried in the ground, their names carved in those stones.”

…After receiving an answer a little off from my expectations, my mouth went shut. Indeed, keeping a long conversation going with her proved a difficult task. I silently moved forward in the directions her pale finger pointed.

Heading forward around the winding rows of graves, we saw a shadow. It was like a spider, but many times bigger than a normal one, and it had no legs.

“Oh? Heyyy! C'mere! I’m needin’ some help!”, it called to us in a deeper voice than expected. I looked to Teacher with hesitation.

“…It’s best not to interfere too much with the inhabitants of the Worlds, but this should be fine. I’ll protect you if anything happens.”

He smiled and pushed me from behind. Vaguely trusting in him, I slowly approached the spider-like creature.

“Ah! Great. Listen, I was dozin’ off when somebody took my legs. I’d look for 'em, but I ain’t got no legs to stand on! You guys know where they’d be?”

The eight eyes floating on its body stared at us. Spiders’ eyes are actually pretty spine-chilling, it occurred to me.

“…Didn’t we pick up some legs of some sort earlier? Are those the ones?”, Stella muttered.

Teacher pulled the legs out of the pouch on his waist. Instantly, the legs started to squirm gleefully.

“Yeah! Yeahhh! That’s them! Put 'em on quick, will ya?”

Glancing at Teacher’s face, I noticed he was turning pale, so I said “I’ll do it” and took the legs from him. I neatly attached the eight legs to the spider one at a time.

“Ahh, you’re lifesavers. As thanks, I’ll tell you about a secret place! Close yer eyes!”, the spider commanded authoritatively. Stella had watched this unfold without reaction, but now showed some irritation at the spider’s remarks.

“…No. I hate the dark. And I hate spiders, too.”

“He does seem like a rough sort… It’s possible he’d attack us while our eyes are closed.” Teacher, too, started to look at the spider warily.

“The h.e.l.l, man! You didn’t even say a word before! Just close 'em! Quick! Close! Close! Clothes!!”

The spider resented our suspicious looks and repeatedly insisted that we close our eyes. The eight legs which we’d just returned to him flailed around like he’d been dropped in water.

“…Let’s just do what he says,” Teacher told us, closing his eyes. Stella still seemed dissatisfied, but closed her eyes as well. And I slowly closed mine.

My body started to tilt, and I felt s.p.a.ce warping. With intense dizziness, my senses were dragged away.

When I came to, there wasn’t a single grave around. A cold stone path went straight ahead; dark iron bars ran along the sides.

“…Ah. …I see.”

Stella alone seemed to figure something out. I wanted to ask her where this was, but recalling her earlier vague answer to that question, it stayed at the back of my throat.

A little further ahead, we found a fountain full of water. On both sides of it were statues of G.o.ddesses with their heads torn off, giving off a very unapproachable vibe.

“…I’m a bit tired. Can we rest here?”

“Yes… Right. Let’s take a break.”

Teacher and I both agreed with Stella. We went over to the fountain and sat on the rim. The fountain wasn’t spouting any water, so the already-present water just rolled slightly. I looked into it and saw my face. Was this my face? The eyes of that other me seemed much more hollow than I remembered.

“Just what is this place? …I know these places. And yet, I don’t. And they’re pointlessly large. I’m so tired of walking.”

“Yes, the paths are quite complex. Easy to get lost.”

“…You’re the one always getting lost, Teacher. Are you really so smart as that doctor who visits says?”, Stella goaded.

Teacher smiled painfully and scratched behind his head. “I’m not that smart, no. There are things I’m complimented for, but I really don’t think that way myself.”

“Hm. And the books in your room all seem very complex, too. Though I still can’t understand them, personally.”

Stella straightened her skirt while brus.h.i.+ng her clean black hair with her hand. Since her pale skin didn’t feel at all lively, she reminded me of a doll.

Stella and Teacher’s conversation came to a close, so I resolutely aired the question I’d been wondering. “Teacher, what are you researching?”

He looked at me worriedly, then re-faced forward. “…It’s a secret,” he said, more darkly than usual.

“Why can’t you tell?”

“…The things I want to do are always being denied. People who don’t know me very well are very harsh, tell me it’s too strange.”

“And you give up when people say that, Teacher?”

“Yes. Somehow, I found it so persuasive that I gave it all up. And before I knew it, I’d become a very boring person.”

Hanging his head and staring at something, Teacher faintly smiled. “So I’m keeping what I’m doing now a secret from you all. …Because I’m easily swayed. I decided not to tell anyone what I really want.”

I couldn’t ask Teacher anything more. His face seemed a mix of suffering, sadness, all sorts of gloomy emotions. Seeing it up close got something caught in my throat.

“…Well, I need to go. If you don’t want to go further, you two can stay here.”

Teacher was about to stand up when Stella grabbed his jacket sleeve.

“…Why are you always like this, Teacher?”

“Why am I what?”

“Why are you so anxious to go off on your own?”

Teacher’s body froze at Stella’s question. …I wondered in what way she meant it.

After a brief silence, Teacher spoke quietly, not turning around. “I don’t like people to know me. Or to get them involved. I’ve… always been that way.”

Stella muttered “I see” and stood up, turning her head to face me. “What about you, Allen? If you’re tired, you can stay here, as Teacher said.”

“…I’m going,” I replied after a little hesitation. I stood up and wiped some dirt off my clothes, and Teacher and Stella got behind me. Brushed by cold wind again, we headed straight down the path.

We kept walking through the gloomy scenery with Teacher at the head. Then a rotten smell entered my nose, and it made my body ache. I pinched my nose to keep any more from getting in.

“…I know this smell. I’ve met it many times.”

“I see… Then it must be close.”

I wasn’t sure what Teacher and Stella were talking about. Continuing forward silently, we saw a shadow. The closer we got, the stronger the smell became. When I finally got close enough to tell what it was, I stopped in my tracks.

It had the shape of a human. But parts of its body were rotten and caved in, and white bone showed through. I couldn’t imagine them being a living person.

“…What an awful smell. Like a poison apple.”

Stella promptly turned and pa.s.sed beside it. Teacher hurried to follow, but then stopped and turned to me.

“Are you okay, Allen? …Do you feel sick?” Looking worried, he approached me and stroked my back.

“I’m fine,” I quietly said, and he smiled slightly.

“…Don’t push yourself too hard,” he informed me in his usual kind voice.

We pa.s.sed by the foul-smelling, formerly-human body to catch up to Stella. She had stopped a little bit ahead, waiting for us.

“…You’re so slow,” Stella said with dissatisfaction. This place, unlike everywhere else, looked like a room from the facility. It was strangely out of place put next to the stone paths from just a moment ago. Behind Stella, I saw double doors.

Suddenly, I felt an unpleasant chill that froze my spine. I looked to my right and left, but saw no sign of anyone but Stella and Teacher. While Stella’s face contorted, Teacher approached the doors, and put his hand on them.

“Allen, Stella. You are not to proceed any further than this,” he declared coldly. He cracked the doors open just enough to fit through himself.

“…You’ve been watching, haven’t you? …Remember our promise.”

Without a reply from us, Teacher went through the doors and closed them again. I went after him, but a large shadow appeared before me and laughed loudly.

“Ahh! Good evening, Alice and Alice.” The Ches.h.i.+re Cat bowed to us and grinned as far as he could grin. “Boy, gloomy faces all around again! If it hurts, you wanna have me free you?”

“…Would you help us if we asked you to help, I wonder?”

“Naaah! Too much of a pain,” he clownishly replied to Stella, the single eye floating in his hood narrowed. Her feelings of discomfort became more visible.

“…I don’t like him. I can’t tell if he’s dead or alive. And he’s disgusting.”

“Oh, mean! I died a fine death a looong time ago!” A strange answer given with an uncanny pose. Stella turned her eyes away from the cat, and her mouth widened slightly as she noticed something.

“…The doors are gone.”

The Ches.h.i.+re Cat turned around with a “huh?” to look. Indeed, the doors there were now gone.

“Yep, I’m nothing if not a keeper of promises! And that’s what he asked me to do.”

“…You mean Teacher, don’t you?”

“And if I do? You know, you’re a real interesting one, Alice. Didn’t steal anything from you, yet you’re just like all the other Alices! Guess there was no need to steal, 'cause you didn’t have much of it in the first place.”

Stella began to ponder the Ches.h.i.+re Cat’s illogical remarks.

“Just talkin’ to myself. Well, my job’s done here! Sweet dreams!”

As he turned away, the Ches.h.i.+re Cat vanished from sight. Stella was still tilting her head, having not come to an answer.

“…I don’t know anything about Teacher, or about him. …I wonder… why I have this misty feeling.”

“…Stella?”

“The door is gone. What do we do?”, she asked, looking at me. Her fiery red eyes looked to be getting a little sullen.

“…I’ll leave this to you.” Not caring for my answer, she got behind me.

The doors were gone, but there were still paths to take. Where had Teacher gone? …We had to proceed. Something unseen hurried me forward. I was still unsure of myself. My incomplete emotions ate into me.

Stella was back there, waiting for me to start walking. I felt her sharp glare on my back. Somehow, I could just sense her aura of displeasure. Not wanting to upset her any more, I took a look at the paths to the left and right, and decided to go left first.

The left path took us out to another graveyard-like place. The big difference from the earlier areas was, in the back past the many rows of graves, the presence of a s.h.i.+ning black piano. I stopped and stared at the unusual sight, and Stella pa.s.sed by me to approach it.

She pressed a key. A clean sound rang out alongside the frigid wind. She cheerfully went playing one note after another. Sitting on the small bench, she pressed keys with both hands, starting to play a song. I approached as if drawn in by the sound.

Stella’s hands stopped at once, and she turned to face me. “…You can hear it much better here than from over there.” Her hand patted the open spot beside her. Uneasy, I sat down there, leaving some s.p.a.ce between us. She wordlessly faced the piano again and started playing a different song.

Her playing sounded completely different from hearing it through a door as I had before. It was a sound clear as water, delicate and soft. But a sort of trailing coldness seeped into my heart, so badly scratched by these Worlds. With a sharp pain, a familiar voice echoed in my head alongside the piano.

“Many victims of the curse died every day. But a single girl did not fall victim to the curse.”

“Many people felt pity for the girl, who had lost her family to the curse, and invited her to their homes.”

“Yet the curse came once more, and the girl lost another family.”

“…Pianos really are nice. They don’t make any unnecessary sounds.”

Coming to my senses, I turned to her. Stella talked to me as her fingers danced on the keyboard.

“People… are always just shouting nonsense. It’s just noise.”

I listened to Stella’s voice and the piano in silence. Maybe even my voice was just noise. Controlled by that strange thought, I got scared to open my mouth.

“Why do you, and everyone else, go along with my selfish wishes? When I can’t do anything for you…”

The sound lost its intensity. Stella lowered her head, staring at her fingers as they kept moving.

“I don’t think everyone does things expecting to get something in return.”

“…I see.” Stella quietly accepted my answer. The sound began to harmonize again, regaining its vigor. I let myself be swept up in its wave again.

“You’re all oddb.a.l.l.s. Even though you seem dead. You’ve all experienced loss. So like the dead…”

Bwooong!

The sudden cacophony made me jump. Stella had thrown both hands down on the keyboard.

“…I think I get it. …That’s enough. Let’s go somewhere else.”

Stella got up from the bench and began to walk. I stood up to go after her. …“I get it”? What did she get? This time, I followed and walked along with her. We returned to the place that looked like a room from the facility.

“…These are my drawings.”

Stella observed the picture frames hanging on the wall. I was too wary to notice them earlier, but there were eerie pictures placed in thick frames. A sad-looking girl, a green cat, a blue-skinned person and a big circle, a person holding something and looking this way. I couldn’t quite tell what any of them were trying to depict.

“There are all kinds of diseases. Some can make you throw up blood when you die, or turn your skin a strange color, or cause a unique odor. And… some can’t be cured by modern medicine.”

Stella spoke to me while running her finger along one of the frames. Was she recalling something?

“…There was that terrible smell earlier, right?”