As she reached the upper floor, Arielle recoiled at the sight of a thick, tar-like sludge coating the entire area. It bubbled over the floor-boards, gushed up the balcony railings, crowded at the bottom of the wall, and surrounded the door-frames of all three bedrooms. A wispy smoke emanated from the muck, and a gloomy fog permeated the hallway, giving it the appearance of a sinister swamp instead of a terrace overlooking a house entryway.

How was she expected to trudge through this crap? It blocked the entrance to the doors, and in particular to the middle one, where she knew Penny was waiting. Her wails continued to seep deep into Arielle's core and rearrange all her organs and pinch her heart.

Arielle chewed on her lip as she lifted one foot, inhaled, exhaled, then let it slosh into the black mud. She'd expected her leg to sizzle, and pain to flare up to her knees as the substance took hold of her, dragging her down, devouring her—but nothing happened. Like regular mud, it caked over her shoe and stained the bottom of her jeans, but it didn't yank her downwards or eat through her flesh. Whatever it was, it... wasn't harmful.

Gulping, Arielle continued to wade through the stuff—gagging at every squish and slurp her steps made—until she attained the middle door. She glared at it, unsure whether to push it open, or to bang on it and beckon Penny out, or to wait for it to let her through.

The third option proved to be the correct one. Seconds after she paused before it, the door swished open, unbothered by the black tar about to leak under its threshold. It creaked as its hinges shook and it widened away from the frame, allowing Arielle to pass.

She crept over the limit of tar—that somehow stopped at the door-frame and didn't spill into the room—but didn't wander any farther before taking in her surroundings. She refused to walk into Penny's trap, whatever it was, without preparing herself mentally first.

Inside, the area was dark, darker than she'd remembered. She soon noticed the curtains were drawn, blocking moonlight from pouring in and brightening the otherwise dreadful space. Dust still swept over the floor, and the closet door was closed. A chill coursed up her arms and neck as she spotted the main attraction.

Dead-smack in the middle, Penny floated, arms at her sides, claws scraping against the floor. Her gown billowed about around her, and her hair blew forward in a gentle gust coming from behind her. An odd halo of light surrounded her, as if she stood in front of a luminescent doorway, but her figure concealed most of it from view.

As she caught on to Arielle's intrigue, her eyebrows raised and she tipped sideways to show what she'd been hiding. The light came from a rip in the atmosphere, bright and blinding, blaring into Arielle's eyes with such harshness she crouched and covered her face.

"Ouch, shit," she said, trying to straighten up, to avoid looking at the strange light, resembling a tear in the air, an entry to another place. "Can you... like... make that thing less intense?"

Penny chuckled as she slid before the rip, once more blocking its intensity from Arielle's vision. "I can't, but I'll continue to levitate in front of it while we... talk. Can't have you distracted right now... I need you focused."

"Focused?" Arielle scoffed, redressing herself, shaking out her numbing limbs. The light felt like it had seared through her brain and fried a few of her neurons, and readjusting her eyesight took more time than she'd hoped. "How can I focus? You killed Benny, you probably killed Kylie, and you admitted to killing me. You lied, you used Penelope, you used me... what the fuck do you want?" She lifted her hand and shook her head. "Wait, no, you already said that part—you want me in that Terror dimension, is that correct? But why? What's in it for you?"

Penny's gaze flashed red and her arms elevated a few inches from her sides. "My goodness, are you ever tired of all the questions?" She growled, and her talons grew in length, stretching out so far they almost grazed the room's walls. "You want so many answers, so fast... and you're annoying me. You annoyed Penelope, that was why she decided to let me have you... and now you must learn to be quiet. I have things to say, and I need you to listen."

A stubborn urge to flip Penny off filtered through Arielle, and yet she sensed doing so would only prompt Penny to pierce through her chest and rip out her heart and eat it. Did evolved beings munch on human parts? Were they cannibals, hungry zombies, thirsty for blood? Was that why she kept killing the living, to feast on them?

Despite the need to let her questions flutter out, Arielle clamped her mouth shut and nodded, acknowledging Penny's request.

"Wonderful." Penny lowered her arms and her claws reshaped to their usual horrifying length. She cocked her head side to side and sneered. "So, you made it past your perimeter. You climbed the steps, you crept through the sludge, and you've arrived before me. I feel your rage, Arielle; your concern and your doubt, too. And I require them. Such emotions will feed my realm, strengthen it, get me closer to my goals. But I am offering you the choice to come quietly, to enter Terror the calmer way—through this portal."

Arielle slanted to her left, gaping at the soul-sucking opening behind Penny. It didn't seem menacing, didn't look like it was ready to gauge her eyes out or rupture her flesh or poke her as she passed through it. Accepting Penny's offer would be a peaceful decision, wouldn't it? Because saying no... would likely lead to a more painful result.

And sure enough, Penny confirmed that with her lowered voice and her narrowed gaze. "Should you oppose me, should you choose to deny this request, I will haul you through, and it'll be agonizing for you. You'll be pulled through dimensions with force, and that... does a number on one's soul, on one's spiritual skin. It'll wound you, leave you scarred, and your chances of surviving, of being lucid in Terror... will be close to zero. You'll join with my minions and obey my every command... but if you really want to challenge me, you'll take the first option. You'll come in of your own accord, learn the ways of the realm, meet the rebels... and lead me to them."

The rebels?

Arielle shrugged and hugged herself, peeking down at the tips of her sneakers. In either case, she'd lose her soul, her semi-freedom, her sanity. The Void, depressing and sepia-toned and empty as it was, didn't terrify her. She wouldn't mind sticking around and testing her abilities out, trying to sit on things and touch things and maybe even speak to humans. And, in time, she'd find some means around her impossible unfinished business and get into the Soul Realm, to reunite with her friends. Though she'd never be able to talk to them again.

"Lead you to them?" She fidgeted, worried the black sludge was about to creep up on her and push her into Penny's deadly arms. "So... a double-agent? Is that what you want?"

"Oh, not willingly, no." Penny's nails clacked on the floor as she tapped her fingers to an unheard rhythm. "You won't mean to do so, but the instant you arrive in Terror, I'm certain you'll seek them out. Or... they'll find you, enlist you to their cause, turn you against me. But I'll be watching you, closer than I've ever watched anyone before. Which will allow me to locate them and put an end to their rebellion once and for all."

Arielle wanted to ask what this rebellion was all about. Were they battling her rule over Terror? Were they refusing to be a part of her little army that she'd mentioned? The ones that did her bidding and scared humans at her command? Arielle was curious; how could a small group of souls be against her, daring to provoke her? Her, the one with crazy claws and scarlet eyes and spooky moans that chilled one's blood? Were they insane?

Why would I want to join a band of idiots who think they can defy her?

Yet she knew better than to push. If she irritated Penny any further, she'd likely take away her choice and heave her through dimensional walls and leave her battered and bruised in this new world she was apparently destined to visit. And stay in.

"So... no matter what... I'm going to Terror? There's no... there's no bargaining for another outcome?" She hugged herself a little tighter, as if protecting her innards from Penny's soon-to-come rage.

But Penny didn't explode, didn't screech. She barely moved from her spot, batting her lashes as a smile slid over her chapped lips. Her teeth were white, pointed, vampire-like. "You weren't supposed to go there, sweetling. But Penelope can't handle you, and as it turns out... your unfinished business is what will draw you to Terror. As I understand it... you're to confess your love to someone? To Jade?"

She wouldn't bother asking how Penny knew; everyone in this afterlife knew more about Arielle's deepest desires than she did. "Right. But I can't, because she's... in the Soul Realm."

Penny's smirk widened. "She's not. As a matter of fact... she's in Terror."

Arielle's knees buckled and all her careful composure faded. She sank to the grubby floor, and her eyebrows shot skywards as her hands clasped near her heart. "What? No... no, Jade's in the Soul Realm, Penelope told me..." Tears began to fill up her eyes, dampening her lash-line. "She's... at peace. She's not... not defective. No way."

Snarling, Penny leaned forward. "Yes, way. Jade... was a tortured soul, my friend. Demented, out of her mind with confusion and sorrow and reluctance. She was enraged at having committed suicide, and charged with negative energy. And she wanted nothing more than to return to the living world, to see her friends, to see you. She was beside herself, unwilling to accept her fate. Penelope didn't oversee her, but the soul who did summoned Penelope, requiring her help... and Penelope gave Jade to me."

"No. N-no..." Arielle covered her mouth as she racked with sobs. There was no way Jade had been transported into that devilish realm. No way she'd disappeared into those fiery depths. "But Penelope said... she told me... and what about Stella?"

"Penelope lies when I ask her to. And... I asked her to lie about this." Penny almost appeared temporarily sympathetic. Her snide smile faded and her gaze was no longer so vibrant, so horror-filled. "As for Stella... that I'm unsure about. She's not in Terror, not that I'm aware. I had no instructions about her."

Arielle smacked her palms to the floor. "Liar." She stood, her legs weak and wobbly, her feet unstable. "You're lying. You said you lie! Stella and Jade are both in the Soul Realm, and you're seeking to draw me in by telling me Jade might be waiting in your dimension of insanity instead!"

Slicing through the air with her claws, Penny perked up, any trace of her sympathy vanished. "No. Not this time, doll. Jade is in Terror, and when she first saw me, she recognized me. She's far smarter than you are, for certain."

Senses blurring and shoulders tense, Arielle gritted her teeth. "But... how? Why? She... she deserves to be at peace."

"Well, she's not." Penny snorted and angled forward once more. "Do you want to find her? Solve your unfinished business, possibly solve hers? Then you have to come with me, dear. Locate her, tell her, and escape." She let out a bone-chilling cackle that filled the room, bounced off the walls, off the ceiling, and hit Arielle square in the face. "All of which are impossible feats, mind you, but it'll be interesting to watch your attempts. So," she extended a hand, her claws magically retracting so as not to breach through Arielle's skin, "what do you say?"

As she glowered at Arielle, blood crowded in her eyes and scarlet tears slithered down her pallid cheeks. Her mane whooshed out behind her, and her grin was so wide, so unreal, that Arielle feared she'd fallen asleep and was having the worst nightmare of her life.

But she was dead. And no matter how many times she blinked and pinched herself, it was real. Penny wanted her in Terror, and Jade was in Terror...

Penny's hand inched closer. "Arielle. Will you come to Terror and fix your fate?"