0:00

What would your life look like if fear

0:02

was not an option? Find

0:05

out in the new series, Them, The Scare. It's

0:09

an all-new installment of the horror

0:11

anthology now streaming only on Prime

0:14

Video. The series takes

0:16

place in Los Angeles in the early

0:18

90s, with the city on the edge

0:20

of complete chaos. Deborah

0:23

Iorinde returns this season

0:25

as LAPD homicide detective

0:27

Don Reeve, who's been

0:29

assigned to solve a new case that has

0:31

left even the most hardened detectives shaken, to

0:34

find the South Side Slayer. As

0:37

she gives everything to uncover the

0:40

truth, something horrific and supernatural begins

0:42

to haunt her and her family.

0:45

Them, The Scare, features the

0:47

legendary Pam Grier, Luke

0:49

James, Wayne Knight, plus many more

0:51

and is sure to keep you

0:53

guessing at every turn. Horror

0:56

fans, get ready for your new

0:59

obsession. This is something you

1:01

do not want to miss. And

1:03

remember, fear is

1:05

not an option. Watch

1:09

Them, The Scare on Prime

1:11

Video, now streaming.

1:16

Some people just know the best rate for you

1:18

is a rate based on you, with all state.

1:21

Not a rate based on Terry, who keeps... Who

1:24

makes the car behind them? Oh

1:27

no, they're about to... Save

1:31

with DriveWise and the Allstate app and only pay

1:33

a rate based on you. Not

1:36

available in every state, subject to terms and conditions, rating

1:38

factors and savings vary and in some states your rate

1:40

could increase with high risk driving. Allstate Fire and Casualty

1:42

Insurance Company in Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. September

1:48

1, 2020, 11.07 AM. Not

1:53

Miss Lucinda G. would be reported missing by her

1:55

family when she did not show up to work

1:57

that morning. In

2:00

Linda's predilection for mental breakdowns and

2:02

bouts of mania, followed by psychosis,

2:05

it was quickly determined she may have wandered off

2:07

and could be a danger to herself. A

2:09

search would be undertaken that evening, but yielded

2:12

nothing. It would be several

2:14

days before Lou, as she preferred to

2:16

be called, would reappear, disoriented and malnourished

2:18

in a field not far from where

2:20

she was last seen. When

2:23

questioned on where she had been, she

2:25

said, The stars took me away and

2:27

nobody could hear them dancing. She

2:30

then fell into a deep sleep and when she

2:32

awoke had no memory of where she'd been. Preliminary

2:36

health checks showed deep scars on her lower back,

2:39

cuts on her inner thighs and hesitation marks

2:41

on her wrists. But

2:43

Lucinda denied making them herself. She

2:46

frequently asked for her parents and spouse,

2:48

neither of which could be located. Lou

2:51

was transferred to a medical facility until

2:53

discharge was approved and was ordered to

2:55

be put under monitoring until her new

2:57

therapy session could be completed. A

3:00

new specialist at the Inner Sanctum Therapeutic

3:02

Services had been assigned to Lou. The

3:04

following transcripts are a documentation of

3:06

Lou's last known communications and moments

3:08

until the incident on September 29th.

3:12

September 9th, 2020, 2.42 PM Hello,

3:25

you have reached the office of

3:27

the Inner Sanctum Therapeutic Services. Unfortunately,

3:29

we are unable to receive your call

3:32

at this moment. But please

3:34

leave a message at the tone and one

3:36

of our dedicated team members will return your

3:38

call within 24 hours. Thank

3:40

you for choosing the Inner Sanctum. And

3:43

remember, change starts from within.

4:00

The website is pretty

4:03

unclear. I've

4:05

got a lot of issues and

4:07

one of them is rearing its head right

4:09

now. It's a problem my old therapist struggled

4:12

with and I'm... I'll

4:18

be available for your call. Thanks. September

4:21

9, 2020, 2.50 PM Hey,

4:25

this is Bennett. You know what to do. Hey,

4:29

B. It's Lou. I

4:31

called the office like you asked me to, but they didn't pick

4:33

up. I heard I feel wanted in the heat of

4:35

the moment, you know. I'm having

4:37

one of my flare-ups and it's hard to

4:39

ignore. They... oh, they

4:42

told me that these people would be available 24-7 and

4:45

the first time I call. I

4:50

know you're busy. I'm one of your business trips, no

4:52

doubt. But

4:55

I really need you. I need

4:57

my brother. Call me back when

4:59

you can, okay? September

5:01

10, 2020, 12.30 AM You

5:06

have reached the out-of-hours line for

5:08

the Inter-Sanctum Therapeutic Services. Please

5:11

enter your patient ID and then

5:13

press hash. Thank you. We

5:20

are checking your patient records. You are

5:22

assigned to Dr. Rawlings. Transferring

5:25

you through now. Please hold. Hi.

5:39

You've reached the office of Dr. K. Rawlings.

5:42

Unfortunately, I'm unable to take your call at the moment.

5:45

Please leave your name, number, and the reason

5:47

for your call, and I'll get back

5:49

to you as soon as possible. If it's

5:51

urgent, please hang up and call emergency services. Thank

5:54

you and remember, within you, there

5:57

is change. I fucking believe

5:59

a butt- Hi, Dr.

6:01

Rawlings. It's Lou. I

6:04

appreciate the call back earlier. The steps

6:06

you outlined for mindfulness and anchoring were

6:08

really helpful, but... Well,

6:11

Doc, it's happening again. I told

6:15

you that something had happened before to cause my fear

6:17

of the dark, but I didn't

6:19

really outline why. I

6:22

was hoping to tell you, using the out-of-hour

6:24

service I pay for and perhaps put myself

6:26

at ease, but you're not there, so... I'll

6:32

just tell you now and hope it

6:35

reaches you before the morning. Maybe

6:37

this will help it itself. I

6:39

used to bunk with my twin. Oh. We

6:42

shared everything from food to

6:44

clothes, hobbies to hatred, streams

6:46

to nightmares, fears to... Fuck,

6:49

what would it be? Bliss,

6:52

that... My older brother, Bennett,

6:54

used to bully us and scoff about how we

6:56

were weirdo sissy twins. Our

6:59

middle brother, Finley, just read quietly in Father's

7:01

Study and rarely ever came out or socialized

7:03

with us. He was

7:05

always... detached. Mom,

7:08

Dad, they were always busy with some

7:10

stupid function. Charity Ball they didn't give

7:12

a fuck about or affair with the

7:14

other snobby elitists, so... we

7:16

relied on each other. Sorry.

7:25

I'm a little jumpy. I

7:27

know the more I tell you about what happened, the sillier

7:29

it'll seem that I'm out of the night sky during the

7:31

dead of night. But... it

7:34

was one night when we were teens. Our

7:36

beds facing one another in the spacious

7:38

bedroom whose window overlooked the dondella below

7:41

perfectly. Oh. They

7:43

had fallen asleep pretty quickly. You know,

7:45

they were always borderline narcoleptic, but me?

7:49

I was struggling, tossing and turning

7:51

in the heat of the mid-July night. Then

7:53

I heard something creaking. You

7:56

know how you get used to the way family move in

7:58

your home based on the sound alone? Well,

8:01

these footsteps were unlike anyone's I was

8:03

used to. Unsure,

8:05

heavy, menacing. I

8:08

didn't let on that I was awake, but I

8:10

managed to creep my eye open just enough to take

8:12

a peek at the source of the steps. It

8:20

was a creature. I

8:22

know that everyone has dismissed me and

8:24

insists that I saw nothing, but I'm

8:26

telling you it was there.

8:29

A weird skull that stretched up and had

8:31

a ring around it, like a

8:34

halo, coupled with hidden facial features

8:36

saved for bright, gleaming eyes. I

8:39

thought I was seeing an angel doctor. It

8:42

cocked its head to the side and reached out for

8:44

me before I began to feel sleepy again. I

8:47

remember floating the cold

8:49

air on my back just like this

8:52

and the sight of a bright, starry sky, with

8:55

one in particular twinkling at me before

8:57

getting so bright it blinded me. When

9:00

I woke up, I was in my bed

9:02

and everybody acted like nothing had happened. Well,

9:06

almost everyone. The

9:09

stars sure are bright tonight. I

9:11

think it's time for another trip. Thank

9:14

you for listening, doctor. Full

9:17

search logs, 1245am. Holiday

9:21

destinations. Holidays without passports.

9:24

Holidays without providing information on self. How

9:27

to leave country without passport. How

9:29

to disappear. Alien abduction

9:32

theories. Side effects of

9:34

antipsychotic medication. Mustage

9:36

sent to Bennett Cochrane-Gerald. Subject,

9:39

I need to talk to you. Sent,

9:41

102am. Bennett,

9:43

you haven't been answering your calls. I'm

9:46

getting anxious. Look, I

9:48

know you've got a lot on with your

9:50

business and that weird experiment you're overseeing, but

9:52

can't you see that I meet you? You

9:55

and the rest of the family were the ones who urged me

9:57

to see these people, but I can't even get them to answer.

10:00

I just feel like I'm being

10:02

forgotten. I had that dream

10:04

again last night. I told Dr.

10:07

Rawlings about it, but it's bleeding

10:09

over into reality again. Before

10:11

you say it, yeah, I know. Stupid

10:14

bullshit. But I can't help what I

10:16

fucking see, okay? I left

10:18

out that one part like you told me to, but he's never

10:21

going to believe me if I don't give him a full story.

10:24

Can you check in on Finl- uh, sorry.

10:27

Finneas sometime? I'm

10:29

not allowed to leave after dark and he doesn't even

10:31

have a damn phone. Maybe he's

10:33

got some advice given the way he sees the world.

10:37

I won't keep blowing up your phone or your inbox. Not

10:39

that you'd even see it with your do not disturb

10:41

function on, but please remember,

10:45

your sister needs you. Love,

10:48

Lou. Songs searched

10:50

on phone. Gorillas, every planet

10:52

we reach is dead. Jose

10:55

Gonzalez crosses. Maisie

10:57

Starr into dust. Radiohead

11:00

lift. Dark Ambient

11:02

Soundscapes, Volume 3. Cooked

11:05

your twins. See you swallow me. Giles

11:08

Corey. No one is ever going to want

11:10

me. Sadness in the

11:12

distant travels. Vessels.

11:15

Yuki. September 28th, 2020. 1048

11:19

PM. Hello.

11:34

You have reached the office of the Inter

11:37

Sanctum Therapeutic Services. Unfortunately, we

11:39

are unable to receive your call at

11:41

this moment, but please leave a message

11:43

at the tone, and one of our

11:45

dedicated team members will return your call

11:47

within 24 hours. Thank

11:49

you for choosing the Inter Sanctum, and

11:52

remember, you are a

11:54

chrysalis waiting to blossom anew. Discard

11:57

your old skin. I...

12:01

Okay, this is a message for Dr. Rawlings.

12:04

I don't understand why I couldn't reach him,

12:06

his voicemail, or anyone at this fucking

12:08

therapy service. I'm in

12:10

crisis and I'm paying you to... Sorry.

12:18

I'm sorry. I'm

12:20

not in a good place right now and I just... need

12:23

to talk to someone. Please,

12:26

could you call me back as soon as you can?

12:29

I'm having auditory hallucinations and I can't

12:31

currently leave my bathroom, which I

12:34

know sounds silly because it's my bathroom and

12:36

my home. I've lived there for most of

12:38

my adult life. Why would it suddenly be

12:40

different now? But... You know how

12:42

sometimes when you maybe go see a scary movie

12:44

or someone tells you something unsettling while out, you

12:47

get back to your house in the dead of

12:49

night with all the lights off and your mind

12:51

just runs through all the inevitable possibilities of what

12:53

is behind your front door that now you're not

12:56

100% certain you locked? Okay,

13:01

that's how I feel now. I

13:04

feel that there's something in my bedroom and

13:06

that if I leave here, it will get me.

13:09

The stars seemed different. Tonight

13:13

on my walk they followed me home and I felt unsettled the

13:15

moment I got through the door. Like

13:19

something else was here, waiting

13:21

in the walls or in the rafters. I

13:24

know if I feel unsafe I should call the

13:26

police over you, but not only

13:28

do I think this is exactly what Bennett

13:30

and you have both said, Dr. Rawlings, of

13:32

the product of my imagination, the weirdest thing

13:34

keeps happening when I try to call

13:36

the police. It just makes me

13:39

busy, don't it? What? What? What?

13:42

What? What? What? What? What?

13:45

What? What? What? What? What?

13:48

What? What? What? What? What?

13:50

What? What? What? If you'll

13:52

hear this when you listen back or if my vengeful ex-wife

13:54

has decided to come and put me out of my

13:56

misery, I

13:59

will confess. I truly think this

14:01

is the stars." Call

14:05

list. Sturgeon City Sheriff's

14:07

Department. Voicemail left. The

14:10

family butler. Disconnected

14:13

line. Inner Sanctum six times. No

14:15

voicemail left. Minerva

14:17

ex-wife. No voicemail left.

14:21

Bennett Cochrane. Disconnected

14:23

after three rings. Certain

14:25

astrological society four times. Several

14:28

voicemails left. Google

14:30

search logs. 11.16pm. Is

14:34

my internet service down? Is my phone

14:36

service down? Cannot reach anybody.

14:39

Connection issues? Where is everyone?

14:42

What is the back rooms? Am I

14:44

the only person alive? Unusual

14:46

star patterns. Hallucinations in people

14:49

with mental illness. Unusual

14:51

star patterns overhead. How

14:53

fast do stars move in the sky? Abduction

14:56

stores. Email

14:59

drafted but not sent to Minerva Gerald.

15:01

Subject. Why? Minerva.

15:05

Did you forget the stars tonight? They're

15:08

truly something else. I

15:10

spent so many months figuring out

15:13

why you'd leave me. Why

15:15

you'd up and gone in the middle of the night with nothing

15:17

but the clothes on your back. I

15:19

can still picture it clear as the sky above.

15:23

I'd gone to visit my parents and to collect an

15:25

anniversary gift. We had a fight

15:27

about kids and you didn't want to surrogate. I

15:30

told you I wanted to name it after my twin and

15:32

you... Well, you

15:35

got that look in your eye that told me I should have kept

15:37

my mouth shut. But typical

15:39

me, I didn't. I've

15:42

always been protective over my twin and I refused to

15:44

back down when you called them names. Said

15:47

they were a forgotten shell and their shadow still

15:49

haunted every corner of our home because I couldn't

15:51

let go and be myself. You

15:53

said other things that I don't think you truly meant. We

15:56

got into things. I don't remember much

15:59

of what happened. but I left in a fury

16:01

and drove to the hills. The

16:03

hills overlooking Sturgeon are beautiful all year round

16:05

and give me ample time to think. Gosh,

16:09

the stars are beautiful tonight. Have you seen them?

16:12

I wondered, truthfully, if this was the

16:15

life I'd chose or the life that was set out

16:17

for me. I still wonder

16:19

if my life was put on this path all those

16:21

years ago when Elle was taken from us. Sometimes

16:24

it feels like I'm truly adopting them, their

16:26

traits and their loves. Like

16:29

I'm wearing their very skin. But

16:32

the skin doesn't fit just right

16:34

in some places. It's

16:37

suffocating me and stopping me from growing

16:39

Minerva. I want to take the

16:41

skin off, but I can't. I

16:44

bought you a gift at the antique store in town. You

16:47

always loved their curios and said it helped you

16:49

feel the past wasn't just dust and faded memories.

16:52

I thought that was so poetic at the time,

16:55

but I think in truth, you just didn't

16:57

want to think of what was lurking back there. I

17:00

remember walking to my car across that

17:02

empty parking lot and feeling something overhead.

17:05

You know that sensation when someone stares

17:07

boring into your very soul and you

17:09

can just feel it?

17:13

It was like that, but coupled with cold

17:15

water dropped down my back. An

17:17

instant freeze in my body that snapped

17:19

me to attention and turned me around to

17:21

find the culprit. And I

17:23

saw the stars. Minerva, I

17:26

told you about that night. I

17:28

told you what I saw and what happened.

17:31

You were always passive about it, never fully in

17:34

or out. I don't know if that's because

17:36

you didn't feel like it was your right to judge or

17:38

you simply didn't care, but I

17:40

always felt precarious about the subject around you. But

17:43

I can't be now. As I

17:45

looked up, I saw a pattern

17:47

that I had never seen in the

17:49

sky before. A complex, bizarre

17:52

symbol that made my ears ring just

17:54

looking for too long, twinkling in a

17:56

rhythmic pattern before two of them broke

17:58

off from the group. They

18:00

grew in brightness until they felt like car

18:02

headlights on full beam. In,

18:06

the stars were looking at me, literally

18:10

blinking in synchronicity and bearing down

18:12

closer and closer. I took

18:15

a step back and then began to run,

18:17

the feeling of their burning light overhead as

18:19

they followed me. I heard

18:21

a sound. It was like the

18:23

breaking of all the mirrors in the

18:25

world, an all-encompassing smash that rattled my

18:27

bones and made my blood boil. Then

18:30

I woke up hours later with a taste of

18:32

iron in my mouth and the feeling of itching

18:34

in every facet of my skin like I

18:37

needed to peel it all off. I

18:40

remember coming home and seeing clothes strewn

18:42

everywhere, furniture dusty and rotting food like

18:44

you let off a bomb in the

18:46

house. I tried galling

18:49

you, but you refused to pick up. You

18:51

never did like phone calls. I

18:54

never saw you again. To this

18:56

day, I have no idea where you went.

18:59

Maybe they took you. Maybe you

19:01

simply wanted a clean cut for me. I

19:04

wouldn't blame you. I tried

19:06

talking to Phineas about you, but he

19:09

dismissed us. Problems of the

19:11

living interfering with those of the departed.

19:14

Bennett told me that I probably drove you

19:16

away as I became more engrossed in my

19:18

betterment. And I was like

19:20

a cicada crawling out of my shell and

19:23

Minerva did not match me anymore. He

19:26

always referred to you with such disgust, but

19:28

I always thought that was just because you weren't

19:30

tidy. I wish

19:33

I could speak to you once more,

19:35

but it seems you can't hear

19:37

my words. When I try

19:39

to reach out, it's like all I get is

19:41

static. My therapist said

19:43

own kind things about you that I

19:45

need to let go of you for

19:48

my true self to reemerge after a

19:50

long dormancy. I

19:52

don't know. I feel like in

19:55

a world of strangers, you're

19:57

the only familiar faith I have left.

20:00

Minerva, have you looked

20:02

up at the stars? Love.

20:05

Lou. September 28, 2020, 11.47 PM. Good

20:15

afternoon. Thank you for calling the

20:17

inner sanctum. Unfortunately, all our advisors

20:19

are busy right now. We

20:23

realize you are in distress, but please

20:25

stay on the line and we'll get

20:27

back to you as soon as possible.

20:30

Remember, your skin is only

20:33

temporary and like a cicada, you can

20:35

shed it to grow anew. Shed

20:37

your skin. Young one.

20:39

Shed your skin. This

20:42

is Rawlings. I'm

20:46

not available right now, but

20:48

leave your name, number, reason

20:51

for your call, and the

20:53

inner sanctum pledge. Then I'll get right

20:55

back to you. You are being watched. Your actions

20:57

are being judged. You cannot

20:59

escape who you are. Trust the

21:02

inner sanctum. We can fix you.

21:06

I don't understand what is

21:08

happening. Why

21:13

is nobody answering? My

21:18

brother, my friends, any business? What

21:25

the fuck is going on? Doctor,

21:32

I know you think

21:34

there's something wrong with me. I

21:37

know you think that my very identity has

21:39

a construction of a broken mind, but I

21:41

wish you could see what I see. I

21:46

came out of my room when things quieted and

21:48

found a shape

21:51

sitting in my bedroom. It's

21:53

just sad in the corner chair

21:56

watching me. Not a

21:58

single aspect of it viewable. I'd

22:02

stand again my doorway for fifteen

22:04

minutes, observing me as I

22:06

observe it. It

22:09

hasn't moved. It doesn't make a

22:11

sound. Am I hallucinating? Am I just

22:13

crazy? Am I... No, I didn't tell

22:15

them everything. I did as I was told. I kept my

22:17

promise. I swear I kept my promise. Please don't be mad.

22:19

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm

22:22

sorry. I'm sorry. I'm

22:24

sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

22:26

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

22:28

I'm sorry. I'm

22:31

sorry. I'm sorry. I will be

22:33

sorry. I... I'm

22:40

sorry. What

22:55

would your life look like if fear was not

22:57

an option? Find out in

23:00

the new series, Dem, The Scare. It's

23:04

an all-new installment of the horror

23:06

anthology now streaming only on Prime

23:08

Video. The series takes

23:10

place in Los Angeles in the early

23:13

90s, with the city on the edge

23:15

of complete chaos. Deborah

23:18

Iorinde returns this season

23:20

as LAPD homicide detective

23:22

Don Reeve, who's been assigned

23:24

to solve a new case that has left

23:26

even the most hardened detectives shaken, to find

23:29

the South Side Slayer. As

23:32

she gives everything to uncover the

23:34

truth, something horrific and supernatural begins

23:37

to haunt her and her family.

23:40

Them, The Scare, features the

23:42

legendary Pam Grier, Luke

23:44

James, Wayne Knight, plus many more

23:46

and is sure to keep you

23:48

guessing at every turn. Horror

23:51

fans, get ready for your new

23:53

obsession. This is something you

23:56

do not want to miss. And

23:58

remember, fear... is

24:00

not an option. Watch

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Video, now streaming.

24:14

Hi there, you've reached Blue Gare Heart. I'm probably

24:16

sleeping right now, but if you leave me a

24:19

message I'll get back to you. Lucinda,

24:21

this is Dr. Rawlings. I've gotten your

24:23

messages, all of them. I'm

24:26

sorry it's taken me a bit of time to

24:28

get back to you, but things have been busy

24:30

on my end. Truth be told, I wouldn't be

24:32

calling you back so late if it weren't for

24:34

the concern your message has raised. Lucinda,

24:40

we cannot change what happened to us.

24:43

We can only move past it. In

24:45

your case, your desperation to make up

24:47

for losing your twin has only intensified

24:50

these unwanted changes, and

24:52

a desire to be something you're not. Judging

24:55

by your other siblings, that seems to

24:57

be a running theme. Now I don't

24:59

subscribe to the line of thinking that you can

25:01

be whatever you want to be. Your

25:04

identity is fixed from birth and not something

25:06

you can change like a pair of underwear.

25:09

Facts do not care about feelings,

25:11

Lucinda. That dangerous rhetoric

25:14

gets us to absolve ourselves of

25:16

problematic pasts and gives

25:18

us genderless bathrooms. We've

25:23

been here before, Lucinda. Every

25:25

time you experience a psychotic break and regress

25:28

into yourself, we have to pull you back

25:30

out. There were no

25:32

aliens, no suspectors of the

25:34

dark taking you and changing you. The

25:39

night they first—whatever it

25:42

was—appeared, they were observing

25:44

which one of you to take. You

25:47

and your twins shared a bunk bed and they

25:49

had no way of knowing who was where given

25:51

how similar you looked. So

25:54

they observed. They watched.

25:57

Night after night they would come back. and

26:01

watch. Your twin,

26:03

Elle, knew something was wrong. They

26:06

told your parents and insisted you'd understand

26:08

too. One of us clear

26:10

they had delusions when it came to their powers.

26:14

They were not wrong about the abductor, but

26:16

you and your brothers all insisted they were making it

26:18

up. That is the

26:20

guilt you bear. Twinless

26:26

twin is something we're still understanding, Lucinda,

26:29

but it's not unheard of for the twin left

26:31

behind to undergo changes

26:34

in the absence of their sibling. An

26:36

alteration to their appearance, behavior, mental

26:38

state, and even sexual or gender

26:40

orientation to make up for the

26:42

loss they experienced. Now

26:45

I have tried my best to explain

26:47

to you that you are what you

26:49

are. To accept those things we cannot

26:51

change, but to grow from it like

26:53

a cicada. But you

26:55

still live in a fantasy world

26:57

where some otherworldly entities are taking

26:59

you, where nobody is able to

27:01

speak to you, and most concerning

27:03

of all, where you have

27:06

an ex-wife. Lucinda,

27:10

you have never been married. Your

27:13

desire to become this loo alter

27:15

ego has completely disconnected you from

27:17

reality. I'm concerned.

27:20

We all are. Your family

27:22

is worried sick and we must try

27:25

to tackle these psychotic breaks head on.

27:28

Please, please call

27:30

me back. I promise

27:32

I will be here to answer your call and prove to

27:34

you that you are not alone, that

27:37

you can be saved and you will

27:39

be fixed. The inner

27:41

sanctum will help you blossom and split

27:43

from your skin. Final

27:46

call September 29, 2020, 3.38 AM Oh

28:01

God. Hello? Who is

28:04

this? Doctor, have

28:07

you seen the stars out tonight?

28:09

They're beautiful. Lucinda?

28:11

Lucinda! Oh,

28:18

thank God you called. Where are you? Are

28:21

you safe? Lucinda,

28:26

I cannot help you if you don't tell me what's

28:29

going on. Remember, we

28:31

can help you grow into the

28:33

cicada you are truly meant to...

28:35

Doctor, did you see the stars tonight?

28:38

They're beautiful. What? No,

28:41

I didn't, Lucinda. That doesn't

28:43

matter right now. You need to tell

28:46

us where you are. Your ankle

28:48

collar isn't providing info. It says you're...

28:50

nowhere. Doctor

28:53

Rawlings, please. It's

28:55

Lou. Now look outside.

28:58

Please. For goodness sake, Lucinda.

29:00

You break curfew, disappear on your loved

29:03

ones for hours on end and leave

29:05

frantic voicemails to everybody fearing the worst.

29:08

Now you decide that it's time for some stargazing.

29:11

How will this help anything? How

29:13

will this show you've honed our teachings

29:15

and truly changed? Kenneth,

29:18

look outside. Now. Oh.

29:25

Alright. Alright,

29:30

Lou. I'm standing at the

29:32

window and looking outside. Now

29:34

what? Do

29:37

you see the stars, Rawlings? Yes.

29:41

Oh my god. What is that?

29:44

Fuck me? What the fuck

29:46

is that? Those are the stars,

29:48

Kenneth. What are they? I

29:51

don't understand. How is this... they're

29:54

looking right at me. What

29:58

are they, Rawlings? They

30:02

are beautiful." End

30:08

of transcription It

30:15

was a cold day in autumn, uncharacteristically so

30:18

in fact. You pull up your hood to

30:20

bear the brunt of the chill and step

30:22

up to the large marble steps towards the

30:24

pair of oak doors with a single knocker.

30:27

A hollowed out deer skull wrapped within a

30:29

silver horseshoe. You hesitate

30:31

before grasping it in your hand, the

30:33

cold silver steel making your skin

30:35

burn as you wrap the malformed

30:37

skull emphatically against the door, still

30:40

clutching your personal invitation in your hand.

30:43

You don't recall where you got it, nor who wrote

30:45

it. You just remember it being there,

30:48

a fixture of your furnishings, enticing

30:50

you into looking at it. As

30:53

you did, the personalized message and accompanied

30:55

sketch drew you in, and even in

30:57

trepidation, you knew you had to be

30:59

here. The measured footsteps

31:02

click across the floor before opening and

31:04

a dust of warm air followed by

31:06

a lilsing piano rush towards you. Standing

31:09

before you is a tall, well-built, and

31:11

handsome man in his early thirties. His

31:14

raven black hair swept back into a neat

31:17

bun. Something about

31:19

his aura feels different, like the

31:21

way the air dances on a hot day, the

31:24

very visage of him swirling. An

31:26

intoxicating sensation, to be sure, but one

31:28

that carries a sense of unease. You

31:32

brush this aside as you greet him meekly, any

31:34

sense of bravado you may have in the

31:36

outside world eclipsed by his demeanor. He

31:39

smirks and shows you those kinds of teeth that

31:41

are far too white to be natural, practically

31:44

seeing your own inelegance within them.

31:47

Another clear inferiority in that moment.

31:50

Someone who has it all figured out while you

31:52

sift through the moor of your own ineptitude. You

31:55

are our honored guest for this

31:57

evening, I see. Disturgeon's

32:00

most esteemed art gallery,

32:03

highlighting the great artist,

32:07

La Cerve. He gestures

32:09

for you to enter. Transfixed

32:11

by his dulcet tones, you silently obey

32:13

as hypnotic feet take one step in

32:16

front of the other, and you cross

32:18

the threshold into the Grand Manor House,

32:20

sporting the illusory artist's entire compendium. Inside,

32:23

you are startled by the sheer magnificence of

32:26

it all. A grand circular

32:28

foyer, with two spiral staircases at

32:30

either side, walking up to

32:32

them leads to a mezzanine that displays

32:35

a balcony overlooking a strange marble carving

32:37

in the center. Its

32:39

depiction alludes you. Perhaps

32:41

this is one of those abstract art pieces you're

32:43

not supposed to get. Or

32:46

more likely, you're never going to get it

32:48

regardless. A mouse staring

32:50

wide-eyed at the magnificence of a spire

32:53

made by deft hands. Before

32:55

you can finish the thought, hands

32:57

grasping at frayed sleeves, the sharply

32:59

dressed man saunters ahead and

33:01

stands in the archway, hands clasped

33:03

together in front of him as he takes a

33:06

short bow. My name

33:08

is Bee Seeker Heart, and

33:11

I am the Curator. You

33:13

may simply call me Bee. We

33:16

are about to embark on a tour

33:18

of their grandest works, their

33:20

dreams to nightmares, their

33:23

fears to...blisses. He

33:27

smirks as if recalling a fond memory

33:29

before continuing. I ask that

33:31

you keep an open mind, you

33:33

follow my lead, and above

33:35

all else, you do

33:38

not look away. The

33:40

affable body language shifts momentarily, and you

33:43

sense an air of authority and power

33:45

exude from him as he leans towards

33:47

you, holding out a finger to his

33:49

temple. You will remember

33:51

everything that happened here, my

33:54

friend. With that declaration, he

33:56

turns on his heels and bounds through the

33:58

archway and to a missile blind door in

34:00

the corner of the balcony. The

34:03

door is ramshackled, decrepit and chipping

34:05

away. As you inspected,

34:07

you determined that this door would more

34:09

appropriately be affixed to a condemned home

34:12

in a run-down area, not inside a

34:14

fine establishment such as this. B

34:16

stands by its side, hands gesturing to

34:19

the features as he begins speaking once

34:21

more. This is where our

34:23

story begins. Some say

34:25

it was a cold Thursday in the

34:27

winter where the very edges of the

34:30

door were fastened shut by the chill

34:32

outside, as if wishing

34:34

to encase our esteemed artist in

34:36

nature's very cocoon once

34:38

they emerged from the one made of flesh.

34:42

Others postulated was during the

34:44

rainy season. The insects gathered

34:46

at the front porch, waiting

34:48

for the artist's already desired

34:51

blood. Regardless, the

34:53

nameless artist came into this

34:55

world with fists bald, eyes

34:58

shut, and nary a

35:00

scream, leaving their body. B

35:03

produces a rusty key from his lapel and

35:05

puts it in the barely visible lock. With

35:08

a hollow clunk, the door swings open and

35:10

you follow him into the darkness. You

35:13

fumble around as you feel dirt and slurry cake

35:15

your feet as you step through the door, trusting

35:18

your feet to take you forward, but

35:20

the feeling of uncertainty is mounting within

35:22

you with every single step. You

35:25

hear Bee's footsteps further down the hall and

35:27

surmise this must be a bigger room than

35:29

you thought outside. After a

35:31

few moments, the sound of a light

35:34

being clicked echoes through the room and you

35:36

see Bee standing underneath a single light bulb,

35:38

groaning. Born into

35:41

the filth and muck of

35:43

commonality and poverty, our

35:45

nameless artist had to struggle to

35:47

survive. There were no

35:50

mirrors in the home and their mother refused

35:52

to tell them what they looked like other

35:54

than that they were beautiful.

36:00

but very little was left to their

36:02

understanding. This is

36:04

where the earliest signs of artistic

36:06

genius began to bleed through.

36:10

Once they were able to start drawing, they

36:12

never stopped. By the

36:15

age of twelve, they began their

36:17

journey to becoming la serva and

36:19

started where most artists rode, begins.

36:24

Impressionism. With that,

36:26

Bea began lighting oil lamps around the

36:28

box-like room and stood to the

36:30

right wall by a large painting with a cloth hanging

36:32

over it. But like all

36:34

great artists, they had their own

36:37

spin on it. You see,

36:39

from birth, la serva had been

36:41

beset upon by calamitous night terrors.

36:45

Spectres of unspeakable grotesqueness

36:48

and horror would come from their

36:50

mind and wreak havoc on their

36:52

sanity. But

36:54

bless their imagination in the

36:56

process. A weaker

36:58

mind may have gone mad from the

37:00

offset, but la serva

37:03

knew they were destined for greatness,

37:06

even if that greatness would

37:09

never come in their lifetime.

37:11

Your hands tremble with anticipation, as if seeing

37:14

a new animal for the first time, fingers

37:16

dig into the sides of your palm and

37:18

you feel a bead of sweat trickle down

37:20

your forehead. A nervous bounce

37:23

in your right foot and a feeling of

37:25

itching across your scalp that you're desperately resisting

37:27

the urge to scratch. Perhaps

37:30

the humid air is affecting you. Or

37:32

it could be the glint in Bea's eyes

37:34

that suggests he has something more in mind

37:36

to showcase. That knowing

37:39

grin when a bully is setting you up for a

37:41

fall, excited to showcase your failings

37:43

for all to see. You

37:46

know it because you've seen it before. Perhaps

37:49

you were the victim, the bully, or the

37:51

bystander, but you know it. It

37:53

is a look of malice. madness

38:00

of the Nameless One. I

38:03

present to you, destitution." B

38:07

pulls the velvet away, and you almost fall

38:09

over in the presence of its splendor. It

38:12

is the house belonging to the broken door you

38:14

walked into, propped up on

38:16

stalks made from bones. The

38:19

very structure of the B-Steel-like buildings

38:21

seemed imposing, blearing towards the reader

38:23

from the very painting. Every

38:26

window a yellowed eye staring down at you.

38:28

The porch was scattered sea of splintered

38:31

wood, sharpened into teeth. Above,

38:33

a black sun radiating an ugly shade

38:36

of puce that the house was basking

38:38

in. Its very presence

38:40

set every hair on your body to attention.

38:43

If Bean noticed your fear, he actively

38:45

ignored it and looked upon it like

38:47

a proud parent. This magnificence

38:49

to us is

38:52

known now as anti-impressionism.

38:55

The service sought to personify the maleficence

38:57

within their own mind and

39:00

project that distortion onto any

39:02

and all spectators. I

39:04

must admit, those would

39:07

have been far and few given the family's

39:09

secretive nature, an eventual

39:11

isolation of La Cervere once

39:14

their mother died. You

39:16

see, be gestures to

39:18

the room itself, and as the

39:20

light brings clarity, you see wallpaper

39:22

and old furniture adorning the unchecked

39:24

corners. This was taken straight

39:27

from the service home, upon their

39:29

demise. Your mind swells

39:31

at the thought of someone's entire

39:33

childhood home being stripped away and

39:35

nailed down in an unfamiliar location,

39:38

preserved for all to see. Is

39:40

it a prideful moment or one of shame? You

39:43

don't know, but you feel

39:46

that overwhelming sense of inadequacy grow. It

39:49

starts in your toes and rises up

39:51

your body as your internal monologue confirms

39:53

your suspicions. into

40:00

time. All that will remain of you

40:02

is a memory, and in time, that

40:05

too will be forgotten." You

40:07

push these thoughts from your mind as Bee stands

40:09

beside you, peering at something

40:11

imperceptible to you. No

40:13

surprise that the Curator would find more insights

40:16

than you, but intriguing nonetheless,

40:18

do you see it, patron?

40:21

The Mark of La Cerve? He

40:24

asks you in an inquisitive manner, sincerity

40:26

in his voice. He

40:28

points towards the window, a powerful

40:30

digit with well manicured and painted nails

40:33

shaking at its target. You

40:35

follow its trajectory until you gaze through

40:37

the farthest back window in the painting,

40:39

a dismal, pitiful thing that almost seemed

40:42

to be an afterthought for La Cerve

40:44

upon painting it. The windows

40:46

were slathered with a grease-like stain, running

40:49

down the pane and almost completely masking

40:51

whatever lay behind it, but

40:53

not enough to hide the thin figure descending

40:55

from the ceiling with its feet never touching

40:57

the ground, a body

40:59

hanging from the rafters. I

41:02

heard its voice call out to me.

41:04

At the tender age

41:06

of three, it whooped

41:08

and hollered so frightfully, child,

41:12

you'll bring a soul

41:14

to me. Bee

41:16

recanted the poem with enthusiasm as he turned

41:18

on his heel and walked to the other

41:21

wall where another velvet cover hung over a

41:23

painting. La Cerve's father was

41:25

an unremarkable individual who drank and

41:27

beat his wife. Not

41:29

uncommon in those days, I'm sorry to say.

41:31

He was terrified

41:33

of his child and spent all

41:36

waking hours avoiding them like they

41:38

were diseased, claiming they

41:40

had something off about them

41:42

and eschewing responsibility to La

41:44

Cerve's already worn-out mother. After

41:47

one frightful nightmare during La Cerve's

41:50

childhood, the mother would find

41:52

herself suddenly widowed, the selfish

41:54

spouse saving the final act of

41:56

violence for himself, noose

41:59

around his head. neck, belly

42:01

full of booze, and a note all

42:04

that remains, cryptic in

42:06

its intent. The

42:08

hills within this house will consume

42:10

us all eventually, it said.

42:14

It was Le Cerver themselves who discovered the body,

42:17

the mothers stumbling upon them, staring

42:19

up at the still-warm corpse

42:22

and drawing fervently. Macabre?

42:25

Yes. But it

42:27

is always said that genius

42:29

strikes at the most inopportune

42:31

times. With that,

42:34

Bea pulled back the second curtain and

42:36

a most macabre image bore its way

42:38

into the deepest recesses of the mind.

42:41

A bloated body, shaped like a

42:43

rotted tree swinging from the very

42:45

rafters located in Le Cerver's home.

42:48

The top of the painting is obscured mostly

42:50

in darkness, save for the

42:53

wiry hair split into branches and

42:55

the wide, bulbous eyes sticking out

42:57

as if threatening to leap from

42:59

their sockets or apples falling when

43:01

ripened. The noose wrapped so

43:03

tightly around the neck it threatened to decapitate

43:05

him. Painted in the

43:07

guise of a serpent constricting its victim as

43:10

it continued to grip ever tighter. The

43:12

tongue yellowed and dripping sap from its very

43:14

tip. The arms were caught

43:16

mid-swing, held open like great tree trunks

43:19

with the veins jetting out of the

43:21

bark-like skin, insects crawling

43:23

out of holes in the flesh as the

43:25

body floated lifelessly at the sides. The

43:28

toes drawn like roots ripped from the

43:30

soil and pointed down towards the small

43:32

figure beneath. A young Le

43:34

Cerver had bowed and busy drawing

43:36

a crude depiction of their father with

43:38

a crayon. There are a

43:40

multitude of feelings rushing through your body

43:42

as you stare at this depiction of

43:44

life sitting underneath what looks to be

43:46

an agonizing death, sadness, disgust,

43:49

morbid curiosity, and something

43:51

else, something you cannot

43:53

quite put your finger on. Beeze

43:56

studies you with intrigue, watching how you react

43:58

and the way your head sway side

44:00

to side as if mimicking the very

44:02

rhythm the father's body would have moved

44:05

until discovery. He leers as

44:07

he takes a beat around the house,

44:09

hand gently caressing various furnishings as

44:11

he speaks. Le server would

44:14

spend the next few years of their life here,

44:16

perfecting the craft of anti-impressionism and

44:18

focusing on painting the world as

44:21

they sighed. Of course,

44:23

they saw the world very differently to you

44:26

or I. They sighed

44:28

as a living, breathing entity, much

44:31

like the house they lived in. In fact,

44:34

their nightmares were chronicled in

44:36

their journals, detailing how

44:38

the town below felt as if it

44:40

had consumed them should they ever step

44:43

foot within it. This

44:45

fear would eventually be conquered when they became

44:47

of age and found a patron who would

44:49

supply them with quarters in the city. But

44:52

before they left to embark on the next crucial

44:55

stage of their growth, they

44:57

painted this. Bea

44:59

walked to the last covered painting in the

45:01

derelict room, hands trembling as he

45:03

held on to the delicate cloth and

45:06

bore another smile that bordered on the

45:08

insincere. Sturgen is, by

45:10

all accounts, a place filled

45:12

with the most unusual clientele.

45:15

Rumblings of those with gifts

45:18

that would disturb and terrify the

45:20

public are commonplace within its citizens.

45:24

It has long been said that the town

45:26

was carved out of the flesh of a

45:28

dead beast. Perhaps

45:31

the beast isn't dead, but

45:33

is instead waiting for the right time

45:36

to strike. Your eyes sting and

45:39

you realize you haven't blinked in quite some

45:41

time. The air feels thick

45:43

and your scalp bubbles and itches. You

45:46

fight the urge to scratch or to blink

45:48

as Bea pulls the cloth away and

45:50

you feel time around you begin to dilate.

45:53

Was this how a deer felt within the

45:55

headlights of a juggernaut? Distance

45:58

incorrectly judged. beacons

46:00

speeding towards them before the sensation

46:02

of broken bones and silence. Unlike

46:05

the other paintings, this one has no border,

46:08

and is instead plastered onto the very walls.

46:11

A stench hits your nostrils that makes you

46:14

gag, but you fight the urge to vomit

46:16

as your eyes take in every inch of

46:18

this beautiful monstrosity. A

46:20

top-down map of the town would be too apt

46:22

a description. It is the

46:24

carcass of a great lumbering beast whose taxonomy

46:27

you could not place had you a hundred

46:29

years of research behind you. The

46:31

torso has been hollowed out, gutted,

46:33

and organs either repurposed or stripped

46:36

entirely to make way for the

46:38

metropolitan district. Complex

46:40

arrays of grey towers with small eyes

46:42

for windows all staring up at you

46:45

as ant-like figures scurry about on the

46:47

streets below. Perhaps

46:49

it is the lack of blinking, but not only

46:51

could you swear you see the image moving, you

46:54

feel drawn to it, both

46:56

emotionally and physically, as

46:58

if falling forward into the painting itself. A

47:01

sensation that removes you from your sense of

47:03

self, perhaps astral projection, overcomes

47:06

you and you find yourself seeing

47:08

your body from the outside. Small,

47:11

but subtle changes immediately lost within the

47:13

fear of the moment. You

47:15

brace your feet for the impact that never comes, finally

47:18

shutting your eyes out of instinct. But

47:21

no impact comes. When

47:23

you look upon the carcass once more, you

47:25

notice Bea's pointing at a particular spot in

47:27

the corner, a look of

47:29

pride casting his face in an ugly light.

47:32

The scholars say this town, shrouded

47:34

in secrecy and scorn, has not

47:36

been locatable to the outside world

47:39

for centuries, glimpsed

47:41

only through folklore tales and that

47:43

of those with sight beyond sight.

47:46

Unless you were born here or stumbled

47:48

here through unusual means, you

47:50

could never come across such a place. A

47:53

town carved out of the flesh of

47:56

an ancient beast, feasting on its very

47:58

life force. A

48:00

town like Sturgeon. Let's

48:02

serve a title this, A Body

48:05

Within a Body, on

48:07

desiccating flesh. Apli

48:10

named, is it not?" College

48:12

classes on art history or even in

48:15

furtive conversations with friends, you'd find the

48:17

mere notion of an art piece declared

48:19

to be on flesh, a farce, or

48:21

something to mock. You

48:23

know immediately that this is not the case here.

48:26

You break your gaze as he places a hand on

48:28

your shoulder. You feel the force

48:31

of his palm dig into your shoulder and

48:33

send goosebumps across your skin. Maybe

48:35

someone once placed their hands on you

48:38

when you weren't ready, hadn't wanted them

48:40

to or simply done so with malicious

48:42

intent, but that sensation of invasion is

48:45

one universally recognized by humanity. You

48:47

instinctually turn to meet his overbearing gaze,

48:50

dilated pupils studying you as his

48:52

nostrils flare. This would mark

48:54

a turning point in La Cerve's life. They

48:57

began dreaming of Sturgeon every night

48:59

from the moment they began painting

49:02

this canvas until long into their

49:04

adulthood. Each time

49:06

it would show them the contours of

49:08

its flesh, the complexities of

49:10

its insides, and the lives

49:12

of its individual inhabitants going about their

49:14

business. La Cerve

49:17

became those people, staring

49:20

into them and absorbing part of them

49:22

for their art, changing their

49:24

identity in the process and irrevocably

49:26

altering their artistic perspective. Be paused

49:28

inside, still keeping his hand on

49:31

the shoulder as the other was

49:33

firmly placed on its opposite, guiding

49:35

you slowly towards the painting as he

49:37

continued speaking. It was at

49:40

this time, La Cerve

49:42

saw something in Sturgeon. Perhaps

49:45

you see it too. Maybe that

49:47

is why you were called here, to

49:49

witness the beauty of their work and

49:51

fully understand it. Many

49:54

patrons have tried, but

49:57

the nails dig into your flesh and you were

50:00

they'll break the skin, but be

50:02

relentless and guide you towards the door,

50:04

controlling your every step. To

50:06

truly understand the boom period

50:09

of La Serva's artistic timeline,

50:12

you must experience it as they did. You

50:15

must answer the question their art

50:18

poses during this period.

50:21

The closer you get to the peach-colored door, the

50:23

more where you are of the intense heat coming

50:25

from it, but there is something

50:27

else. Something far more

50:29

sinister as your eyes focus and

50:31

Bea's guidance becomes more pronounced. The

50:34

peach door is breathing. Hinges

50:37

straining as the center mass of its

50:39

archway struggles to contain the pulsating hairy

50:41

mass. Perhaps those

50:43

weren't hinges, you thought, but the

50:46

tired lungs of one of La Serva's artworks.

50:49

You shudder at the thought and banish it from your

50:51

mind, hoping it doesn't resurface the

50:53

same way other ugly thoughts do. Violent

50:57

ends for you and those who hurt you. Idolations

50:59

of disappearing into thin air without a

51:02

trace and becoming something you're not sure

51:04

you are. But all these

51:06

thoughts have air within them, a life

51:08

of their own, so they must resurface to

51:10

the top of the ocean of your mind. You

51:13

barely have time to register Bea stroking the

51:15

side of the peach door with gentle precision,

51:18

tracing leather-bound fingers down a particular

51:21

patch of flesh and

51:23

almost shuddering with the light as it vibrated

51:25

to its touch. You

51:27

are transfixed as the door slowly gives

51:29

way to a circular room with a

51:31

searchlight in the center that is routinely

51:34

moving and fixated on different displays of

51:36

artwork. Grandpa told you once

51:38

about the idea of a pinopticon, a

51:41

prison with minimal guards that could

51:43

theoretically keep watch of countless prisoners

51:45

through fear of surveillance. But

51:48

the wave of nostalgic memories is immediately

51:50

replaced by the sickening reminder entering your

51:52

brain as you step through the door.

51:55

I know what it feels like to be

51:57

watched constantly, to feel eyes boring into your

51:59

soul. skull at all hours, scrutinizing

52:01

you, waiting for you to slip up

52:03

so that they can bounce on you. Bee

52:06

whispers a question to you as the light

52:08

begins to fade around the room and you

52:10

are pushed to your knees in front of

52:12

this grand monument to servitude, situated

52:14

in the center of the oval-shaped room.

52:17

Your skin bristles as its words seep

52:19

their way into your skull, but you

52:21

ignore it for the moment, as your

52:24

eyes follow the sickly-pused light as it

52:26

directs your gaze to the northeastern wall

52:28

where a painting fits. Bee's

52:30

voice carries on the wind, but his form

52:33

eludes you as he begins explaining the work.

52:35

Le Serva would come to realize that the

52:38

mark of genius comes for the price. Their

52:41

mother used to tell them that they

52:43

carried the mark of Golgotha, a

52:46

realm in biblical literature that saw the

52:48

death of a religious figure. Le

52:50

Serva didn't fully understand this until

52:52

they caught sight of their mother

52:55

destroying an earlier creation, citing

52:57

it as housing evil. The

53:00

young artist looked at the fear in their

53:02

mother's eyes, the shape

53:05

moving within the painting,

53:07

and understood. Bee

53:09

pauses a shudder in their tone as your

53:12

eyes focus on the wall opposite. This

53:15

was the night their gift was

53:17

truly born, the

53:19

gift of

53:22

manifestation. Your

53:24

teeth began grinding in that way your parents

53:26

used to chastise you for. Cramps

53:28

fill your feet and the sides of your temples

53:30

throb. You know you are

53:33

not just witnessing art, but something

53:35

worse, something darker. A

53:38

thirty-by-forty portrait encased in a bone-white

53:40

trim and nailed to the wall

53:42

was what initially looked to be

53:44

something of a Rorschach painting. You'd

53:47

heard of these, of course, those odd

53:49

blotches of ink that somehow formed

53:51

shapes only discernible to the individual,

53:54

then extrapolated upon by experts in comfy

53:56

armchairs to tell you that you have

53:58

some kind of predilection. detection, or

54:00

sordid activity A, or

54:03

propensity for unbecoming desires, B.

54:06

You hated those people in their boxes. It

54:09

reminded you too much of the time spent at

54:11

the inner sanctum. The cold

54:13

eyes staring at you and telling you how to

54:15

feel, how to think, assuring you

54:17

they'd call your parents to pick you up

54:19

once you weren't sick anymore, but never did.

54:22

How could your parents send you

54:24

to that place instead of talking to you? Why

54:27

did that man convince them more than their own

54:29

child? You lose yourself in

54:31

the thoughts, and it's only when your eyes

54:33

focus again that you clock while your teeth

54:35

were grinding, your legs cramping, and

54:37

your temples throbbing. It

54:39

was your body's instincts urging you to

54:42

flee, that you were seeing something beyond

54:44

the purview of normalcy, and your best

54:46

bet at surviving was to get far

54:48

away, just as it's been urging you

54:50

to do since the moment you set off from your

54:52

home to come to this place. But that

54:55

overriding sensation of guilt, shame, and fear

54:57

kept you rooted to the spot. Whatever

55:00

was in that letter was far, far

55:02

more convincing than your own natural instincts.

55:05

So you stared. You stared and

55:07

watched the black shapes on this white

55:09

canvas spread out to every corner, twisting

55:12

and writhing like a billion insects marching

55:14

as one. They pulled at

55:16

the edges, bubbled to the surface, and

55:18

began to form a shape, slowly

55:21

but surely. You see

55:23

the head first, a small bulbous

55:25

thing that shuts out from the neck,

55:27

like it's desperate to escape its own

55:29

fleshy trappings. The ears are pointed,

55:32

the lobes hang like rotten fruit and seem to

55:34

cling to the sides of the neck, which

55:37

is wide and veiny. The

55:39

jaw is immediately noticeable, and it catches

55:41

you off guard. It's prominence,

55:44

something that resonates within you, shaking

55:46

hands touching your own. I

55:48

don't know why you hate it so much. It's

55:50

sexy. It makes you look so cute, not like

55:52

the others. The lips came

55:54

next, thin and pursed, chapped

55:56

and almost sunbleached as they parted to

55:59

show tea. teeth locked in a grimace.

56:02

Grinding, your eyes meet

56:04

its gaze, a shade of brown

56:06

your last partner described as the shade of

56:08

pure soil on a spring day. And you'd

56:11

always sigh because it was such a dumb

56:13

compliment, but it made you laugh. It

56:16

made you feel seen for who you were, who

56:18

you wanted everyone else to see. But

56:20

these eyes were narrowed. Crow's feet

56:23

littered the sides, and where they stopped,

56:25

bright red blood vessels mapped the whites

56:27

of the eyes like a stained battlefield

56:29

where every tear had left a scar.

56:32

The fallowed skin had pock-marked areas

56:34

littered with craters of spots of

56:36

former ingrown hairs you'd spent hours

56:38

picking at, forcing to bleed

56:41

until your deft fingernails could claw out

56:43

the rocky core. Determined

56:45

to never let anyone see you with

56:47

less than smooth skin because you always

56:49

hated the feeling of hair on your

56:51

face. Nobody had ever told you

56:53

that you looked beautiful with it, and you damn

56:55

sure didn't want it now. This

56:57

was you. Every bit of

57:00

you that you'd shut away in

57:02

a lockbox at the back of

57:04

your closet, or covered up with

57:06

years of desensitization, sex, fashion changes,

57:08

beauty products, or corrective procedures. All

57:11

of it had bubbled back to the surface, and it

57:13

was furious you'd tried to keep it from the light.

57:16

It shrieks. The enamel on the

57:19

teeth rotted away from stomach bile and caked

57:21

in a shade of ginger. The

57:23

tongue covered in a white paste that

57:25

undulates, as every emotion this poor, unfortunate

57:28

creature felt on its own is hurled

57:30

back at its older self. Understandably

57:33

distraught to witness a world

57:35

where it, inexplicably, had moved

57:37

on. As soon as

57:39

it had started screaming, it stopped. The

57:42

face relaxed, and the lips turned

57:44

down. Black streams ran from

57:46

the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth as

57:48

it simply gawked at you. Within

57:51

a few moments, the painting had changed

57:53

back to an odd amalgamation of shapes

57:55

slowly swirling on a white canvas. You

57:58

didn't even notice you were crying. until Bea appeared

58:01

and handed you a handkerchief before stepping

58:03

back into the shadows. That,

58:06

my friend, was the

58:08

tragedy of the self, O

58:10

le mafeyo de la sturgeon.

58:14

Bea pauses and takes in a deep

58:16

breath, admiring the sight, the

58:18

ugliest person in sturgeon, the

58:22

true beginning of La Serva's

58:24

gifts, for whoever

58:26

gazes upon the painting for long

58:28

enough, they

58:30

will see the parts of them they

58:32

wish to keep locked away. And

58:35

when La Serva's mother looked upon it, she

58:39

saw a version of her that

58:41

she tried to ignore, a

58:44

person quick to anger, quicker

58:46

to beating her beloved child as a way

58:48

of regaining control for what her husband had

58:50

done, a person who

58:52

could not live with the failures of their

58:54

parenting. I'm sure you're

58:56

curious if La Serva themselves looked upon the

58:59

painting. But perhaps that

59:01

will become clear in time. You

59:03

feel sick, your stomach is in knots and

59:05

you have the urge to vomit, but

59:08

you remember your therapy, or at

59:10

least the bit that stuck and you hold your nerve.

59:13

You came here for a reason, because

59:15

you know you can't stay there. See

59:17

this through to the end, no matter what. You

59:20

are not a coward, you are not broker. You

59:23

can fix this. You take a

59:25

deep breath and your eyes follow the panopkicon

59:27

light. Now a shade of indigo

59:30

as it travels across the room to the east,

59:32

resting on a wide canvas depicting a

59:34

white wall with a single stain smeared

59:37

across it, arching down and

59:39

ending in a circle. A

59:41

noose. You feel the

59:43

bile rise up again and the hesitation marks

59:45

on your skin burn. You

59:47

know what this represents, and it takes

59:49

you right back to where you were on your first

59:52

danger night. Driped in

59:54

sweat, a shaking hand gripping the bottle

59:56

of water as its paired partner dishes

59:58

out the pills someone else. online assured

1:00:00

you would be painless, but

1:00:02

sometime later your insides were burning and

1:00:04

your body shook. You knew

1:00:06

it was anything but. A swell

1:00:08

of emotion rises within you. Shame,

1:00:11

apprehension, concern, and above

1:00:13

all, fear still holds

1:00:16

the crown. You continue to

1:00:18

stare as Bee begins discussing the art.

1:00:21

Like any genius crushed by the weight

1:00:23

of their gifts in a world that

1:00:26

seldom understands, LaServa's life

1:00:28

was punctuated by many bouts

1:00:30

of mental instability. Ever

1:00:33

more pronounced when their mother passed

1:00:35

away after witnessing LaServa's gifts for

1:00:37

herself, she locked herself

1:00:39

away in the abattoir and refused

1:00:42

to come out, declaring she no

1:00:44

longer lived with her child, but

1:00:46

instead the monster that will devour

1:00:48

her essence. Ironic,

1:00:51

unfortunate as it is, that

1:00:53

she starved to death in the end. The

1:00:58

next two paintings were done in a state of

1:01:00

mania, the first using only

1:01:02

LaServa's bare hands, blood, and

1:01:05

of course, their innate

1:01:07

gift. Step

1:01:09

forward and keep

1:01:11

watching, young Cicada.

1:01:15

Something about that painting's title sent shockwaves

1:01:17

in your mind that jerked your body,

1:01:19

but you held fast to the command and walked

1:01:22

a few paces toward the display, eyes

1:01:24

focused. Sure enough, something

1:01:26

began to form around the noose. Shades

1:01:29

of brown, green, and grey piled

1:01:31

up like great spires. Dirty

1:01:34

plates, moldy food, and a living

1:01:36

situation in utter filth surrounded the

1:01:38

center noose and spread like a

1:01:40

tidal wave of fetid and grotesque

1:01:42

waste. It escaped from

1:01:44

its imaginary boundary within the panopticon's

1:01:46

indigo light and ran amuck across

1:01:48

the whole eastern wall, as

1:01:51

it depicted large insects tearing each

1:01:53

other apart for supremacy of filthy

1:01:55

kitchen countertops, maggots proliferating

1:01:57

in the rotting corpse of LaServa's

1:01:59

mother. clothes caked in

1:02:01

dust strewn across the wooden floors

1:02:03

and discarded next to unfinished bottles

1:02:05

of booze. Once it

1:02:08

had finished spreading and the rotting canvas was

1:02:10

complete, you step back and take in the

1:02:12

scope of it all as B continues. Yes,

1:02:16

a sorry sight to behold, but

1:02:19

Le Service self-neglect began to take its

1:02:21

toll in the aftermath of their loss.

1:02:24

They barely ate, drank heavily

1:02:26

like their father before them, and

1:02:29

rejected the outside world all the more,

1:02:32

trying desperately to hide their gift

1:02:34

from prying eyes and to understand

1:02:37

what this monster within them was

1:02:39

that their parents seemed to see,

1:02:42

but was beyond their purview. Taking

1:02:45

a look around, you see the source of

1:02:47

pain and frustration littering this wall of neglect,

1:02:50

rippled paintings, and every

1:02:52

room, every corner of this decaying home

1:02:54

were destroyed books, ideas that would never

1:02:56

be released and had been thrown away

1:02:59

in bouts of frustration, artist

1:03:01

block, and self-hatred. You

1:03:03

look back to the center of the noose and

1:03:05

notice it has diminished in size, moving

1:03:07

to the one clean spot in the house,

1:03:09

the drawing room. In

1:03:11

fact, the longer you look, the more

1:03:13

you think the wall itself is shrinking

1:03:15

as every facet of filth is shrinking

1:03:17

into the center canvas once more, making

1:03:20

you feel as if the walls will close in

1:03:22

at any moment. That claustrophobic,

1:03:24

crushing fear is enough to make

1:03:26

your breaths labored and panicked, but

1:03:29

you still keep your eyes fixated on the

1:03:31

center, even as your heartbeat is thumping near

1:03:33

your neck. Within a few moments,

1:03:35

the filth and regret has folded into

1:03:37

a drawing canvas being worked on by

1:03:40

a tall individual with a wide gate,

1:03:42

sitting there with their back to you. It

1:03:45

almost looks real, but

1:03:48

the oil markings belay its realism and

1:03:50

you take a step forward. They

1:03:52

turn and stare at you, a menacing,

1:03:55

piercing stare from icy blue eyes that

1:03:57

stops you dead in its tracks. You

1:04:00

can't place it, but you know this person. Their

1:04:03

lips don't turn up, but you know they're

1:04:05

smiling. Their teeth aren't bared,

1:04:07

but you can sense their hunger. They

1:04:10

say nothing, but you know they're

1:04:12

intent. Their hands continue

1:04:14

to paint with the rest of their body

1:04:16

obscuring the final product. Eyes

1:04:18

fixated on you. Their

1:04:20

motions are blurred and manic, the

1:04:22

joints moving far too quickly to gauge what's

1:04:24

going on. And if you

1:04:27

saw someone on the street painting that fast,

1:04:29

you'd assume the end result to be one

1:04:31

of floppiness and abstract in nature. Once

1:04:34

they're complete, they turn their body around,

1:04:36

and the body fades to nothing, leaving

1:04:39

only the finished canvas. It

1:04:41

is Lacerva, smiling joyfully with

1:04:43

a noose around their neck, the

1:04:46

body in the midst of falling off the stool that

1:04:48

held them up. Ego's untimely

1:04:50

death is the name of this

1:04:53

piece. However, Lacerva

1:04:55

made the conscious decision to put aside

1:04:57

their fears, their concerns, and

1:04:59

any notions of safety to become someone

1:05:02

different, someone better.

1:05:05

But they had to kill the

1:05:07

self in order to do

1:05:10

so. It would be

1:05:12

after this final art piece we would enter

1:05:14

the penultimate stage of their artistic journey, for

1:05:17

they would have a dream so vivid that

1:05:20

it would consume their waking hours. The

1:05:23

panoptagon pulsates, and the boom rattles in your

1:05:25

bones as it swirls to the far corner

1:05:27

and the black light bursts from it, burning

1:05:29

a hole into the final art piece of

1:05:31

the room. You feel

1:05:33

tired as you walk over. Your thoughts overwhelm

1:05:35

you of your own brush with death. You

1:05:38

could never bear the weight of two selves, let

1:05:40

alone one. Why bother trying?

1:05:43

They didn't even try to understand, to ask,

1:05:46

and to support. It was straight to

1:05:48

seek help from the imaginary friend in the sky. Every

1:05:51

day you get told you're an abomination, better

1:05:54

off just proving them right. When

1:05:56

you are about ten feet away from the installation,

1:05:58

you don't stand an abomination. He

1:06:00

falls to your knees and gawk at the display,

1:06:03

a wood carving draped in crimson

1:06:05

and bioluminescent colors beyond your understanding

1:06:07

of the color spectrum. But

1:06:10

it's the contents that capture your attention

1:06:12

as your lips tremble in awe of

1:06:14

the mastery." Many artists

1:06:16

throughout history have drawn from

1:06:18

their dreams, nightmares, and

1:06:21

religious interventions to depict the

1:06:23

ethereal realms beyond our human

1:06:25

understanding. Hieronymus Bosch

1:06:28

being one of the most accomplished, but

1:06:30

I venture even he would be swayed by

1:06:32

Le Service's raw vision, knowing

1:06:35

they accomplished this peace in a

1:06:37

fever dream of just three days.

1:06:40

You are looking at the

1:06:42

culmination of Le Service's deepest

1:06:45

and darkest fears manifested for

1:06:47

all to see before their

1:06:49

self-imposed exile. Gaze

1:06:52

upon the height of Le Service's

1:06:54

boon, deliorio

1:06:56

eternal. Each

1:06:59

carving told a story that fed into the

1:07:01

next. Intricate depictions of

1:07:03

malformed beasts with appendages that

1:07:05

defied physiology. Anthropomorphic

1:07:07

birds in ornate armor dissecting

1:07:09

hapless citizens and feasting on

1:07:11

the writhing insects in their

1:07:13

entrails. A grand battle

1:07:16

taking place on a strange platform made

1:07:18

from bones, marrow, and dust. Far

1:07:21

above, great obsidian spheres with

1:07:23

wide slits for broken teeth

1:07:25

loomed overhead, silently watching

1:07:27

the carnage. On

1:07:29

the far left stood a black pit that

1:07:31

the townsfolk had gathered around, some

1:07:34

flinging hapless others into. Their

1:07:36

faces permanently etched in despair and

1:07:39

fright as something unseen undulates in

1:07:41

the inky maw. Casting

1:07:43

your eyes to the center carving, you

1:07:45

see warriors, mages, and all manner of

1:07:48

nobility pointing and shrieking at something in

1:07:50

the distance. The hollowed-out

1:07:52

eyes and gaping jaws made of all

1:07:54

the more uncanny with the wood carvings. You

1:07:57

follow their gaze and see a specter floating in the

1:07:59

air. the sky. Black clouds

1:08:02

gather around them as bizarre insect-like

1:08:04

creatures blast trumpets and bang drums

1:08:06

to its presence. A

1:08:08

sash filled with bulbous eyes flows

1:08:10

seemingly around their cloaked frame. Painted

1:08:13

toes and bronze skin dazzle even

1:08:15

from the carving, but you cannot

1:08:17

make out their face save for the eyes. Wide,

1:08:20

proud, and manic as they stare

1:08:22

down at the show of opulence

1:08:25

and violence taking place below. This

1:08:27

is Le Serva's vision. A

1:08:30

violent world full of unworthy souls

1:08:32

willing to cast aside their own

1:08:34

kin if it curries them favor

1:08:36

with their peers, who

1:08:38

will fight over the smallest of

1:08:41

sentiments and die for their petty

1:08:43

causes, who will shun

1:08:45

anyone and anything that dares to

1:08:47

be different in their world of

1:08:49

innate ugliness. Le

1:08:52

Serva saw themselves, enlightened

1:08:54

and powerful, returning

1:08:57

to Dondella and exacting

1:08:59

the kind of justice

1:09:01

it so desperately needs.

1:09:04

B trails off as the light moves to the

1:09:06

last carving next to his position, one

1:09:08

foot up against a steel door as he points

1:09:11

towards the carving. This was

1:09:13

their dream, one

1:09:15

that would take years for

1:09:17

them to finally return to.

1:09:20

You walk over and feel disgust. It

1:09:23

is a grand table stretching from one end of a

1:09:25

carving to the next, piled high

1:09:27

with bodies of screaming, terrified

1:09:29

citizens, some human, many

1:09:32

deformed and bizarre. You

1:09:34

can't even tell what species they're meant to be,

1:09:37

only that they're in absolute terror as they all

1:09:39

stare to the center of this banquet. There

1:09:42

sits a gargantuan figure, jaw

1:09:45

dislocated and full of broken bodies,

1:09:47

their flesh clinging to spire-like teeth

1:09:49

and some hands seemingly reaching out

1:09:51

for assistance that will never come.

1:09:55

Looking at the hands, you see the fingers turned

1:09:57

into pincers that grasp and flay the closest to

1:09:59

the door. as victims trying to escape, pulling

1:10:02

at their limbs in order to better devour

1:10:04

them. Your mind can separate this

1:10:06

as art, but something within it rings sincere,

1:10:08

and it scares you to your core. We

1:10:11

will speak no more of this, for

1:10:14

interpretation is vital in understanding

1:10:16

La Serva's journey. It

1:10:19

was at this time they committed

1:10:21

themselves to the institution known as

1:10:23

the Inner Sanctum, where they cocooned

1:10:26

themselves into a chrysalis and

1:10:28

waited, growing, eating

1:10:31

and learning until the day would

1:10:33

come that they could emerge anew.

1:10:37

They returned to this hallowed

1:10:39

ground just once in that

1:10:41

near-decade span of time known

1:10:43

as the Fractals, sequestering

1:10:46

themselves away in my favorite

1:10:48

art piece of them all,

1:10:51

Int Beorung. He

1:10:53

opens the door, and for the first time

1:10:55

you can't see anything behind it, let alone

1:10:58

see anything. It is

1:11:00

darkness for an imperceptible distance, and not

1:11:02

even sound seems to emanate from within.

1:11:04

Bea offers a

1:11:06

hand to guide you in, and you

1:11:08

acquiesce against your better judgment knowing you've

1:11:10

already come this far. But

1:11:13

once the door shuts, you realize what kind

1:11:15

of hellscape you've entered. No

1:11:17

light, no sound, no senses

1:11:19

whatsoever. In fact, after

1:11:22

a few tentative steps, you stop feeling

1:11:24

the floor beneath you, and the sensation

1:11:26

of falling overcomes your body so powerfully

1:11:28

you drop to the ground and curl

1:11:30

into a ball. This

1:11:32

Vanta Black space is designed

1:11:35

to be representative of La

1:11:37

Serva's own mental state during

1:11:39

this transitional period. On

1:11:42

one hand, there was little inspiration,

1:11:44

and their thoughts were clouded by

1:11:46

darkness that snuffed out all

1:11:49

sense of the former self, burying

1:11:51

it away as best they

1:11:53

could. On the other,

1:11:56

you keep your eyes shut tight, and remember when

1:11:58

you were a child, trying to make your

1:12:01

uncanny reflection go away. You'd press

1:12:03

your hands into your eyes to see colors,

1:12:05

pretend you were descending a magical rabbit hole

1:12:07

where you could be yourself and nobody would

1:12:09

judge you. It soothed you

1:12:11

then, and seemed to do the same now.

1:12:15

You tried to calm yourself, and after a

1:12:17

few minutes you relaxed and looked around, noticing

1:12:19

the colors had followed you into the vantablack

1:12:22

room. Short bursts of

1:12:24

bright pinks, wild marigolds, and deep ochres

1:12:26

flowed around you and past you, smashing

1:12:29

against the wall and creating short after

1:12:31

images that at first don't seem to

1:12:33

represent anything of merit. They

1:12:36

create something remarkable, for

1:12:39

this was the time when

1:12:41

Lacerva began to understand the

1:12:43

power of manifestation, harnessing

1:12:46

one's emotions and desires and

1:12:48

bringing them into the world

1:12:50

fully formed. It

1:12:52

is here the wheels began to

1:12:55

turn and Lacerva started to undergo

1:12:57

the final changes, with guidances

1:13:01

from those close to them.

1:13:04

You keep your eyes locked on one spot where

1:13:06

the colors smash against the barrier of darkness, watching

1:13:09

as they form a pair of people. One

1:13:11

with a reassuring hand on the other, sat

1:13:14

on a bed, arms bound. They

1:13:16

lead them to a doorway with another person

1:13:18

restrained and whisper into their ear, before

1:13:21

unfastening the straps and closing the door,

1:13:23

leaving them with the unfortunate victims still

1:13:26

tied down. You look

1:13:28

beneath your feet, a brilliant shade of yellow

1:13:30

swirls around you and forms a pit not

1:13:32

dissimilar to the one in the carvings. It

1:13:35

towers around you and you feel the sensation

1:13:37

of sinking as you get closer to its

1:13:39

center mass. Something begins

1:13:41

to poke its head out. Instinct

1:13:43

takes over and you leap for the direction of

1:13:45

Bee's voice. For anything that will

1:13:48

save you, you remember how weak this body

1:13:50

is, how useless it's been to you all

1:13:52

this time and that your parents were right

1:13:54

to call the specialists. That fixing

1:13:56

you was always what would happen. You

1:13:59

feel yourself succumbing. to the inevitable when a

1:14:01

flash of light blinds you and B opens

1:14:03

a door some ten feet away that you leap

1:14:05

towards. Clutching your chest and with

1:14:07

blurred vision, B helps you to your

1:14:09

feet and leads you on unsteady legs

1:14:11

towards another room on another side of

1:14:14

the house. You don't

1:14:16

know the root and you see flashes

1:14:18

of red velvet, grand marble, and something

1:14:20

crawling along the walls. But

1:14:22

you're so relieved to be out of that room

1:14:25

and still struggling to keep your breathing in check

1:14:27

that you barely register it. After

1:14:29

a few minutes you're led to an armchair

1:14:31

in a dark room and placed gently onto

1:14:34

it as B saunters around and moves a

1:14:36

plinth in front of you, hosting a box

1:14:38

and highlighted by a single spotlight. It

1:14:41

is here the work of

1:14:43

divinity began. It is here

1:14:47

the antlion was

1:14:50

born and it

1:14:52

is here the tour reaches its

1:14:54

end. For this

1:14:56

is the final stage. Once

1:14:59

the server had emerged from their

1:15:01

chrysalis and begun their work in

1:15:03

earnest. This would

1:15:05

be where they married their artistic vision,

1:15:08

their innate gift, and sense

1:15:10

of righteousness together to create

1:15:13

an entirely new kind of

1:15:15

art. In doing

1:15:17

so, they would cast aside their

1:15:19

old title in favor of a

1:15:22

new one. But before

1:15:25

we get to that, we

1:15:27

need to understand the process

1:15:29

they underwent. So

1:15:33

we have this return

1:15:35

to utero. B

1:15:38

stands beside it and keeps his hands folded as

1:15:40

he waits for you to get to your feet.

1:15:42

You take a moment, but you do so and

1:15:45

inspect the box. It's made from

1:15:47

bone and numerous sigils are carved into it

1:15:49

that you won't even pretend to understand. You

1:15:52

open it to a blinding flash and the

1:15:54

smell of a noxious gas that burns in

1:15:56

your lungs and sends a ripple through your

1:15:58

body. You don't know know why Bee would

1:16:00

wait for you to recoup before doing this. Perhaps

1:16:03

it's like you see with predators in the

1:16:05

wild playing with their food. Nevertheless,

1:16:07

your last coherent thoughts are that of

1:16:09

confusion and terror as Bee holds you

1:16:12

steady and speaks softly into your ear,

1:16:15

steering you towards another light that swings overhead

1:16:17

down the way. Do you know

1:16:20

what Adlions do to their

1:16:22

prey? They lure

1:16:24

them in with a false sense

1:16:27

of security, ensuring

1:16:29

they are deep in their

1:16:31

pit before springing the

1:16:33

trap. The prey

1:16:36

struggles naturally, but

1:16:38

they can never climb out as

1:16:40

the very walls themselves begin

1:16:42

to melt around them. Your

1:16:45

eyes dart to the sides and what walls

1:16:47

you can see are twisting and breathing like

1:16:49

the peach door. You feel

1:16:52

sick and your heart beats faster as

1:16:54

Bee continues. Then in

1:16:57

an instant the Adlion

1:16:59

strikes with its jaws

1:17:01

and drags the hapless

1:17:03

meat underneath the earth

1:17:06

where it feasts on its

1:17:08

essence before casting aside the

1:17:10

skin and starting

1:17:13

over. Nourished

1:17:15

by its target, of

1:17:17

course, an Adlion in

1:17:20

name is not an Adlion

1:17:22

in reality. There are always

1:17:24

going to be liberties

1:17:27

taken. Soon you

1:17:30

will see for yourself. You

1:17:33

will return to

1:17:36

Jutaro. You stand

1:17:39

in the archway and feel Bee's hands interlock

1:17:41

your wrists to the side of two obsidian

1:17:43

pillars. You try to pull, but

1:17:45

whatever you were dosed with is slowly working its

1:17:47

way through your system, crawling

1:17:50

into your lungs and spreading through your

1:17:52

bloodstream. Regret takes center

1:17:54

stage for a duet with fear and you

1:17:56

think of your parents. You think

1:17:58

of your partner waiting for you up. at home and wondering

1:18:00

why you took off in a hurry after reading

1:18:03

a letter in a black envelope. You

1:18:05

never had the heart to tell them the threat

1:18:07

of exposure held within it if you didn't come

1:18:09

here. You couldn't handle the

1:18:11

shame of being thrown out into the sunlight and

1:18:14

burnt for all to see. Misunderstood.

1:18:16

Misdiagnosed. Misrepresented. Another

1:18:20

one of them for the masses to

1:18:22

gawk at. No, you

1:18:25

had to be here, right? You

1:18:28

don't get time to answer that question as

1:18:30

a black, viscous liquid cakes your skin. At

1:18:33

first it feels heavy, but the burning

1:18:35

sets in and you push past the

1:18:37

weak moans to deliver an ear-splitting scream

1:18:39

that surprises you. Once

1:18:42

again, you feel you're looking in

1:18:44

at yourself, suffering. The

1:18:46

black tar bubbling as it eats away at the flesh

1:18:48

on your back. You don't

1:18:50

even notice Bee walking around you with a

1:18:52

bag full of something he's affixing to your

1:18:55

shoulders. They feel awkward,

1:18:57

sharp, and weigh down your already

1:18:59

weak skin, but you aren't

1:19:01

able to resist. Bee

1:19:03

mutters something and you feel two sharp

1:19:05

clasps in your shoulder blades, followed by

1:19:07

another severe set of burning. When

1:19:10

you are released, you fall to your knees and

1:19:12

see Bee kneel down in front of you with

1:19:14

a bowie knife, twiddling it in his

1:19:16

hands. Gone is

1:19:19

the expression of joy, adulation, or

1:19:21

intrigue. He's detached, cold, and

1:19:23

calculated as he talks to you. You

1:19:26

are to be the next in the

1:19:28

line of many who failed to be

1:19:30

reborn. The will

1:19:32

of manifestation is alive within you, and

1:19:35

your choice to come here showcases that.

1:19:38

But before you can gaze upon the masterpiece,

1:19:41

you must yourself be transformed.

1:19:44

You must be the fallen angel the server

1:19:46

would eventually become. Gale.

1:19:50

So? He grips the knife

1:19:52

with a firm hand, his lip turning down

1:19:54

in a grimace as he looks behind you,

1:19:56

and pulls at something your body struggles to

1:19:58

recognize as your own. turning

1:20:00

you towards a wall where a large mirror

1:20:03

hangs. Your wings must

1:20:05

be clipped. You must

1:20:07

be humbled before you can return anew. A

1:20:10

cicada sheds its entire skin to

1:20:13

become something more. But

1:20:15

an angel must walk among its

1:20:17

fellow man to recognize its own

1:20:20

divinity. You see what he has done to

1:20:22

you, tarred and feathered, yes,

1:20:25

but something more has taken a hold of you. You

1:20:28

see yourself in the way you want to be seen,

1:20:31

your skin smooth and luminous, lips

1:20:34

bright and plump, eyes alight

1:20:36

with the joy of life and your very

1:20:38

smile lighting up your soul. This

1:20:41

is how you feel when nobody else but

1:20:43

your lover is looking, the you that you

1:20:45

want to see. But

1:20:47

then your eyes travel up and you see

1:20:49

the black tar crawling down your shoulders, burning

1:20:51

your chest and your back. You

1:20:54

see the black feathered wings twitching and convulsing

1:20:56

from your back, unfamiliar with

1:20:58

their new master, and almost

1:21:00

flapping to get away like a fledgling learning

1:21:02

to fly. And then

1:21:04

you see the knife cut into one near the root. You

1:21:07

feel a pain so intense your vision blurs

1:21:10

and it's as if a limb is being

1:21:12

separated. Why would he do this only

1:21:14

to take it away? You

1:21:16

try to separate yourself from the experience, but all

1:21:18

you can think of is the other you in

1:21:20

the mirror. That version of

1:21:22

you slowly being flayed away until nothing

1:21:24

but ugliness remains. You hate it.

1:21:28

You would give your very life to spend just

1:21:30

a few more minutes in the presence of that

1:21:32

version to be that version of you. The

1:21:35

pain stops and you look in the mirror again. You

1:21:38

hear a howling and realize it's your own

1:21:40

voice as that same portrait of you from

1:21:42

before howls back. The realization

1:21:44

that you have always been, will

1:21:47

now always be this person because of

1:21:49

this sick individual crushes you like nothing

1:21:51

else. This has

1:21:53

taken something from you, something irreplaceable.

1:21:57

You had a feeling this ordeal would be painful,

1:21:59

but there's no way. way of knowing the depths it

1:22:01

would go to in order to do what the man

1:22:03

had promised. You had no

1:22:05

desire to escape, to tell someone, because you

1:22:07

know what has been taken cannot be given

1:22:09

back. Instead, you wait to

1:22:12

be led away by B, and,

1:22:14

sure enough, he obliges, gently taking you

1:22:16

to a red door some distance away.

1:22:19

When he opens it, you recognize the room

1:22:21

from the beginning, but it's far more vibrant

1:22:24

now than it was before. Your

1:22:26

standing at the top of the stairs, as

1:22:28

thunder's applause greet your presence. Unseen

1:22:31

hands clap and voices cheer from the

1:22:33

shadows. Be leading you

1:22:35

by the hand as you gingerly take

1:22:37

step by tentative step down the red

1:22:39

velvet stairs and into the spacious mezzanine.

1:22:42

The pain is overwhelming, and you fear

1:22:44

you'll pass out at any moment, but

1:22:46

fear and regret now battle with another

1:22:49

player on center stage. Grim

1:22:51

acceptance. You no

1:22:53

longer care what happens, and continue

1:22:56

moving as directed until finally, mercifully,

1:22:58

you are let go, and fall to a heap on

1:23:01

the floor. That looking up

1:23:03

at B as he walks to the large

1:23:05

monument, hidden under a veil by the stars,

1:23:08

he looks almost forlorn as he speaks to

1:23:10

the unseen crowd. Thank you

1:23:12

all for coming. The tour

1:23:14

of La Serva's life is now complete. We

1:23:18

have seen the birth, struggles,

1:23:20

life, and death of

1:23:22

Dondella's greatest artist, becoming

1:23:25

Gail, the Adlion of

1:23:27

Sturgeon. Now we

1:23:29

gaze upon their final art piece,

1:23:33

their magnum of

1:23:36

us. He looks to you

1:23:38

as deft hands grip the sides of the

1:23:40

delicate velvet. This

1:23:42

is your destiny. Should

1:23:45

Gail look upon you and

1:23:47

determine you cannot be saved.

1:23:50

For they named it after the

1:23:53

very sight where a martyr was

1:23:55

crucified for doing what needed to

1:23:57

be done. is

1:24:01

where all unsavable in this world go

1:24:03

to meet salvation

1:24:05

in the next. He

1:24:08

pulls off the veil and your body goes numb.

1:24:11

Fear, regret, acceptance, and everything else

1:24:13

dissipates from you and they leave

1:24:15

the stage of your mind. Even

1:24:18

your pain ceases to elicit a reaction as

1:24:20

your mind struggles to comprehend the thing in

1:24:22

front of you. The

1:24:24

product of manifestation, the

1:24:28

monument to salvation,

1:24:32

the wound of

1:24:34

Golgotha. A gargantuan

1:24:37

statue towering over you and

1:24:39

covered in a grey and bronze sheen

1:24:41

looms overhead. In the

1:24:43

very same moment it shares an air

1:24:45

of absolute genius with abject horror. The

1:24:48

body is posed with its left arm covering

1:24:50

its chest as if wounded, the

1:24:53

right reaching out to you. Around

1:24:55

it is a pair of sashes splittered with

1:24:57

burning eyes fixated on you, its

1:24:59

head seemingly hidden behind one of the

1:25:01

sashes and cowering its bulbous head. It

1:25:05

takes you a moment but you see the

1:25:07

various areas of the arms, torso, and legs

1:25:09

where bite marks seem to form. Large

1:25:12

swatches of marble are missing and muscle can

1:25:14

be seen underneath. The

1:25:16

intricacy of the art is astounding, you think,

1:25:18

as you process what you see. When

1:25:22

you spy the various blisters, some look

1:25:24

red beneath the veneer of bronze and

1:25:26

grey. Did that eye just

1:25:28

move? What about that one? You

1:25:31

feel the urge to move forward despite the pain

1:25:33

you know is still there, as

1:25:36

if you're being called by this macabre piece. You

1:25:39

do it without thinking and shakily climb to your

1:25:41

feet, stumbling forward and trying to get a better

1:25:43

look at the head. You

1:25:45

don't know why but you feel like you have to know.

1:25:48

Your mind briefly thinks of the life you once

1:25:50

led before you met that man in the therapy

1:25:52

office, the one who was fixated

1:25:54

on your name and why you'd insist on changing

1:25:57

it, why you wore your hair in

1:25:59

that way, and if he could learn more about you.

1:26:02

You try to focus on the could-have-bins and

1:26:04

the maybes, but it melts away the closer

1:26:06

you get. It's only when you're

1:26:08

just over and arms reach away that you notice B

1:26:10

is no longer in the room. The

1:26:13

applause and cheers have faded and the beautiful

1:26:15

colors of this mezzanine have drained. In

1:26:18

fact, it looks almost elabidated now.

1:26:21

Rot seeping through the banisters above and

1:26:23

an ill wind rattling around outside. You

1:26:26

hear a small squelch and spy a blister

1:26:29

has just burst on this statue, a

1:26:31

soft moaning noise accompanying it. But

1:26:34

statues cannot moan, you think. As

1:26:36

your eyes travel up the sash and stare at

1:26:39

the eye in front of you, it's weeping. They

1:26:41

all are, shaking and sobbing

1:26:44

as they seem to silently plead with

1:26:46

you. You recall all

1:26:48

the reports of a cannibal killer operating

1:26:50

in Dondellus Sturgeon. Two

1:26:52

wider than white presenters with

1:26:54

perfect teeth and uncanny accents

1:26:57

talking nonchalantly about a home-grown

1:26:59

monstrosity, off-handedly mentioning his

1:27:01

targets seem to be missing, vulnerable.

1:27:04

Someone calls in to make off-handed comments about

1:27:07

the community, but you've long since purged that

1:27:09

from your mind when the next tidbit of

1:27:11

information was brought up with a suppressed dry

1:27:13

heave from the co-anchor. You

1:27:16

can still remember her relatable voice

1:27:18

breaking through the malaise of media-friendly

1:27:20

cadences. There are even unconfirmed

1:27:22

reports that this killer takes pieces of

1:27:24

his victims and eats them. How

1:27:27

would they know that he eats them, Sandra? The...

1:27:31

teeth marks. You

1:27:33

don't remember how only some of the bodies were

1:27:35

found, but now you come

1:27:37

face to face with this mess. You

1:27:39

think you know what happened to them. Your

1:27:42

last conscious thoughts are that of what

1:27:44

lurks behind the sashes, what passes for

1:27:46

a head on this monument to destruction.

1:27:49

He realized that it is no

1:27:51

statue, but whatever manifestation La Serva

1:27:53

has, it holds within it a

1:27:55

hellscape you cannot even fathom, as

1:27:58

the last vestiges of your sanity. the Ebb

1:28:00

away, you hear three words echo around

1:28:02

your skull. Before that same

1:28:05

pronounced silence you felt in the

1:28:07

vantablack room eclipses your world forever,

1:28:09

be not afraid.