Belief In The Occult

Twenty Two

"Is he okay now? Can I go introduce myself?" Maci asked, trying to peek pointlessly at the closed door behind Cobalt, who was blocking her way.

He laughed, and quickly put his hands on Maci's shoulders to steer her towards her own bedroom, "He'll be just fine Maci, he only needs some peace and quiet for a bit, so wait before you introduce yourself alright?"

"If you say so doc."

"I do say so."

Later that morning at breakfast, she didn't ask the others about the new entity. She wanted to find out herself! That was the exciting part about making new friends, usually you started out knowing positively nothing about them, then you got to go through the fun process of learning everything.

She'd be lying if she said the mystery of him didn't make her doubly intrigued and even more excited to meet him. When she passed his room in the hallway on her way to the dining room, there'd been no light coming from under the door or sound she could hear. There was just a cold feeling when you stood close to that area of the wall.

Later that day, Maci was sitting in her room with the door open, and noticed Cobalt come up the stairs, a couple plastic bottles and bandages in his hands. Maci frowned as she remembered that he'd been burned, but quickly perked up. Maybe he'd want revenge! She was going to pulp whoever had done this to Kodiak anyway, but it'd be more fun if he went and did it with her.

Cobalt quietly knocked on the door, then vanished inside the other entity's room. Maci saw the light come on from underneath the door and she heard Cobalt talking, but nobody answering. Maybe Kodiak was shy! That'd be so cute, to have a shy quiet friend to do things with. Maci liked to think of herself as an extroverted people-person.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the door open again, and as Cobalt left, she glimpsed the shape of a person underneath a mound of blankets. He had brown hair!

Cobalt caught sight of her and offered a smile, "He's alright, just drowsy on some medication. You'll be able to introduce yourself tomorrow." Maci grinned and nodded, but didn't say anything.

It was around three in the morning when Maci jolted awake. She squinted into the dim room muzzily, trying to figure out why she wasn't still asleep. Lifting her head from the mound of frilled pillows and pastel blankets, she squinted at the digital clock next to the color-changing lamp shaped like a cat on her nightstand.

Shoving aside a pillow that was all lace, she sat up and rubbed her eyes, trying to figure out what had woken her up. She wasn't left to wonder long.

Swinging her legs out of bed and readjusting her nightgown, she went to the door of her room and opened it, peering out into the hallway.

"Oh, hello." Maci murmured, watching the smoky black tendrils of an aura curl underneath the door then retreat. "What's up?" She walked over and crouched, reaching out to touch it companionably. Her hand phased through the shadows, but moved towards the door as if magnetized, making her wrist thump against the wood painfully. The message was subtle, but clear, 'Come here.'

Worried now, she quickly stood up and opened the door. The room was dark, the bed empty, blankets and pillows straggling onto the floor. The bathroom door was open, and the moment Maci realized she could hear crying she rushed over.

Kodiak was sitting on the bathroom floor, elbows propped up on his knees and his head hidden in his arms. Periodically, his shoulders jerked with gut-wrenching sobs that sounded physically painful.