AN ISLAND OF TAR.

1774, NOVEMBER 28th, MONDAY7:57 am. 

A dying creature struggled on hands and knees through the woods. It collapsed as yellow moss grew over the fresh corpse. With a speed comparable to a timelapse it covered the dead body and dissolved all the rotting flesh into yellow foam.

Acrid bubbles swelled and popped, releasing acrid gas into the air. Gradually what remained shrank into the shape of a skull made of suds. A moment later, Noche stepped into the puddle of death.

"This forest has a creepy vibe to it," she said.

"Creepy," Grasshopper smiled. "What an apt choice of words."

A crocodile emerged from a basin of water. It had a centipede-like form and instead of dozen of reptilian or insectoid legs it had dozens of human hands. Countless solid black eyes opened up from where no eyes were previously on the thing's face.

"Who said the coma was over?" It gnashed its teeth. "Maybe you never woke up."

The thing slithered its unusually long body back into the moss-covered waters of another pond; its gaze never leaving the blondes. It vanished beneath the waters, leaving only a trail of slime in its wake. Noche's eyes stayed wide the entire time.

"How doth the little crocodile improves his shinning tail," Grasshopper tilted her head; smile plastered on her face. "And pour the waters of the Nile on every golden scale."

"Ok, nope, fuck that," she muttered. "This is a bit much."

"It's only going to get worse," Grasshopper patted Noche's shoulder. "This place is affected by your subconscious. If you're feeling scared, then more scary things will show up."

"How does that even—"

A spider descended in front of Noche's face. Its head was like a porcelain doll, but its mouth was two pincers.

"Even if you regained some memories, you'll forget them again," it chittered.

Grasshopper swatted the thing away.

"Shoo with you, bad thoughts."

The thing landed on the ground, turned to the blonde, and skittered backwards into the dark of the woods. Blood drained from Noche's face as she turned away from the sight.

"The mystery of life, the eternal unknown. It's beautiful, isn't it? That grand adventure" Grasshopper sighed. "Sorry. Your stray thoughts are distracting... But I guess consciousness never flows straight to the point. Does it?"

"I don't even know what half of that even fucking means!" Noche shouted.

"Maybe you're making it hard for me to speak."

Noche took in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and exhaled.

"I need to get out of here," she grunted. "Where did baby Noche go?"

"Ahh, yes. The desire for companionship. No human sadness is more profound, more shared, or more recognized than loneliness," Grasshopper said. "The pain of being alone is the most soul-ripping experience a person can have... Can you stay focused?"

"Are you on drugs? Cause it sounds like you are on drugs," Noche spat. "Like so many drugs. A huge amount of drugs. All of the drugs! All of them."

"Sorry, your mind is too scattered... I'm can't stop blurting out your stray thoughts," Grasshopper continued. "It'll help if you concentrate on one thing... Why are you looking for baby Noche?"

The blonde paused. A hand raised to her lips and she focused on the ground.

"I... I can't explain it... But I have a strong urge to find her," she muttered. "I feel like she knows something. Or can lead me to something... Something important. It's like a gut instinct."

"Focus on her. I need you to focus on finding baby Noche."

With no other option, the blonde closed her eyes and concentrated. The world encompassing them whirled as if thousands of gears were spinning around them. The scenery changed; the forest became an island.

Noche opened her eyes to find herself standing in the center of a fishing village. It was still nighttime and the moon illuminated a large tree on a massive hill. There baby Noche stood, amongst the cattails and fireflies.

"I found her!"

The younger version ran in the opposite direction; down the hill and out of sight. Noche didn't wait a second longer – she dashed off in that direction. She was unaware of the fact her clothing had changed to a tracksuit she wore once while training for the physical portion of the Cross entrance exam. Grasshopper managed to keep up as her broken wings filled the air with buzzing.

"Baby Noche! Wait! Please! I know you know something! I can feel it!" The blonde screamed. "Tell me about my childhood! Tell me about life before DeathTech! I want to remember my past!"

"NOCHE! Not to alarm you, but—"

The blonde turned back to see buildings sinking into a growing lake of tar. It spread out in all directions, consuming everything that crossed its path. It had consumed most of the island behind them. Then a big grinning maw full of jagged teeth formed at the center of the black.

"Creeps. That thing... The monster... It's Creeps," Noche shuddered. "Did it follow me here?"

"Watch out for crows, hide in the light, or Creeps will get you in the night," Grasshopper sang between pants. "It'll eat you up, and when you're dead, it'll go and eat you once again."

Noche paused as she took deep breaths between sprints.

"But you will not wake from the dreamless sleep, if devoured twice by the monster Creeps," she said. "Well, I remembered the last stanza from that nursery rhyme... And I gotta admit, not a fan."

"Certainly explains why it's here," Grasshopper wheezed. "We should run faster now."

"Baby Noche... We have to catch her," the blonde said. "I don't know why, but I know if we get to her, we'll be safe."

Both scampered up the hill. Upon reaching the apex a cloud of black mist slammed into Noche.

"GiVe Up," a hoarse wind rattled. "DoN't EvEn TrY."

"What the—"

"WoRtHlEsS. YoUr WoRtHlEsS!"

"Grasshopper what's going on!"

"Bad thoughts!" She shouted. "You have to ignore them!"

"YoU rEmEmBeR tHaT mOtHeR aNd DaUgHtEr?"

"ThE oNe FrOm YoUr FiGhT wItH bOoTs?"

"YoU kIlLeD tHeM."

"NoT dIa."

"YoU."

The blonde blanched.

"ChErRiEs CoMa."

"VaReN's DeAtH."

"SpArK's EyE."

"AlL tHiS pAiN bEcAuSe Of YoU."

"YoU hUrT eVeRyOnE yOu LoVe."

"YoU're eViL."

Noche started to sink into the ground – it transformed into tar beneath her feet. She struggled to break free as the sirens filled the air. Everything shook and screamed like she was stuck on the tracks and a train was approaching. Her skin went numb as if she was thrown into a bath full of ice cubes.

There was so much blood – it wouldn't stop gushing out of her left arm. No, not arm, just a torn-off stump of meat with a bone jutting out in the middle. Everything was dizzying and doubled. She was surrounded by a casket of lead; gravity was suffocating her.

Time stopped.

"I'm dying," she whispered.

A being of pure light appeared. It burned away the tar and Noche fell to her knees. A blanket of warmth encompassed her as she rose to her feet. Hope washed over her in wave after wave.

"You... Saved me," she paused and hesitated. "Jack?"

The being of light dissipated. She stood there for a moment and stared at where her savior was mere heartbeats ago.

"Noche, we have to leave!" Grasshopper shouted.

She took Noche's small hand – the blonde was a child again. Not even aware of the physical change that had taken place; the new form matched her emotional state. She glanced back once at the creeping tar, then struggled to keep up with the fleeing grasshopper.

In the distance, baby Noche waved from the beach. Wave after wave of ocean blue washed onto the shore. Sea salt danced on the breeze as two small Noches grew closer. Just as they were about to meet, the real Noche tripped.

She slammed into the sand in her adult form. She spluttered chunks of it out of her mouth but stopped when she saw the sight before her. The blood drained from her face despite how much her heart sped up.

It loomed before her like a tower in the dark. It made her feel small, and in response, her body started to shrink, until Grasshopper placed her hand on Noche's shoulder. Despite that, the blonde couldn't tear her eyes away from the haunting object that replaced baby Noche.

It was a black closet.