Flipside

Part 2, Chapter 2

"It doesn't smell like decay yet. Must be new." Dante murmured after a while. Pepper gagged, Nevin looked away, and Marsha stared in horror. But Gemma looked practically unfazed.

"Why aren't you disgusted at the sight of a corpse, and yours, for that matter?" Pepper asked.

"I cringe internally." Gemma answered simply. "Let's move on."

"Good idea." Nevin agreed weakly. They all skirted the growing pool of blood to the best of their abilities, and went onwards until they reached the other end of the tunnel. They practically flew out of the passageway.

"Next time, can we walk on the surface?" Pepper asked.

"I don't know my way to the house on the surface." Gemma shook her head.

"Well, you'll have to figure it out, then, won't you?" Dante stepped forward to defend his girlfriend and her weak stomach.

"Perhaps." She shrugged. "Come upstairs and I'll get you some orange juice." They followed her out of the basement and into her kitchen. She pulled out a knife and a lemon juicer, and walked over to the widow, which had one of those scrolling ladders that libraries sometimes have. She reached out and grabbed a few oranges off of a tree. She cut them all in half, juiced them, and poured them into five cups. "You guys can stay here while I look for some dry clothes. She went to her room. Instead of her closet, there was a large grandfather clock. Her dresser was replaced by a desk.

She had no idea where her clothes were.

She picked an important-looking stick off of her desk and went to her mother's home office.

She would have dry clothes.

Her mother, as a seamstress, kept fabric and a sewing machine in her office. Gemma had seen her sew enough to believe she would be able to make something. She grabbed a long piece of soft white fabric and placed it on a template in the drawer designated to her size. She cut the cloth, then sewed. She soon had a white dress that went down to her knees. She then took a piece of black cotton and tied it around her waist to avoid the baggy outcome of the dress. She tied the ends in a bow. She then rejoined her friends.

"What's the stick?" Nevin asked.

"I don't know. It looked cool and important though." She shrugged. "Let's go to the backyard." They followed her out, and they all stared at a magnificent tree with purple leaves. It had a swing hanging off of it. There wasn't as much space as in Marsha's backyard, but there was a beautiful koi pond with water lilies.

"Well," Gemma stated. "Though it's not home, it certainly feels like it."

***

"Answer the damn question!" Screeched the follower.

"I told you, I don't know. And how about you start answering some of my questions, huh? Like where the hell I am?" Irene said calmly.

"Who. Is. The Paradox?" He demanded impatiently.

"Maybe I'll be able to answer when you tell me what a paradox is." She told him.

"A paradox is something that isn't supposed to exi-" he started.

"I know what a paradox is, idiot. But how can I be one?" She interrupted.

"Someone with Paradox powers creates paradoxes, such as the bridge between our two parallel planes." He explained.

"Well, I certainly didn't do such a thing." She snorted.

"Your husband claims the same thing. Are there any other occupants of your house?" He interrogated.

"That is none of your business." She told him. He picked up her wallet and leafed through, until he found an old family photo.

"Who's that?" He pointed at her daughter.

"That's Genevieve, my daughter. She died." She answered.

"Really now?" He pointed to the infant. "What about her?"

"That's Marsha." She answered. "I don't know about her."

"So that's the paradox?" He smiled.

"Why do you even need this?" Irene demanded.

"Because this 'Marsha' is the only thing in the way of us." He replied.

"So you're going to kill her."

"Obviously."

"If you leave her alone, I'll give all my money to you. We're talking millions of dollars here." She offered.

"No."

"Billions."

"No."

Irene had been in such situations before. Mugged, kidnapped (for a short period of time), robbed... someone even tried to murder her once. She waited a while, twitching her leg to warm up, then kicked as high as she could, hitting the follower's chin. The chair she was tied to fell over backwards, leaving her back against the floor. She stood up and banged it against the wall, destroying the piece of furniture. The ropes slid off, and she picked the garden hose she had dragged with her to the Flipside. She flailed it around, hitting the follower who was just getting up across the forehead. She ran out the door, besting any enemy who crossed her path. After overcoming the follower stronghold with ease, she walked out confidently.

And a cage fell on her.

"What the hell is this crap?" She swore.

"Did you think we'd send the legendary Irene Smith to a normal prison?" Someone asked.

"Legendary? I'm flattered, but I could hardly say that about myself." She laughed.

"The Deathbringer. The Peacekeeper. How many names do you have? I swear, you are a living legend." The leader told her.

"Okay, seriously, what is this place?" She asked.

"It was designed to contain you specifically, targeting your weakness." He answered.

"What is my weakness?" She demanded.

"Confidence."

"Did you do this to Nathaniel, too?" She inquired.

"Yes. All the guardians if those who are in our way are contained in similar places." He didn't have the time for this. He teleported to the prison of Jada Silver, the goddess of maternity and love. The place was harsh on her, taking advantage of her kindness. She was also distracted by a baby they had left with her.

"Jada," he called. "I'll be taking the baby now."

"No, you won't. I will raise them, not you. Everyone I have ever brought up has turned out good."

Allow me to explain, you- you person who is oblivious to foreshadowing!