Human Spines

Jumping into the Fog-I

Dumaine

Emmeline picked out all of our clothes. She's wearing a simple purple, blue, and white plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Hans is sporting a white button-up with a patchwork vest of several different kinds of plaid. Emmeline convinced me to wear the same tartan vest and shirt together so I could match both her and Hans. I look ridiculous, but I kind of like it.

"Is the rhino still in here?" I'm asking Emmeline. A rhinoceros Translucent possessed her last night as soon as we checked into this hotel. It was lying on the floor beside her, holding her hand until she finally woke up. I'd almost thought maybe we wouldn't need to talk to the Reaper-Mother anymore. She went nearly nine days without one possession, a record for her. She was becoming so much more natural, taking her time with things. She was beginning to just breathe. She was beautiful.

"No, he's back in the lobby. We should be there too, why are we still up here? We could probably be at the pit by know if-"

"Emmeline. Calm down. Stop shaking, let your hands go, breath for a second." I place my palms on her shoulders. Her bouncing slows and she lets her hands fall to her sides, but her breathing is still fast.

"Why haven't we left already?" Her whisper is quick.

"Because Hans can see police officers at the front desk. Slow yourself down."

"Why do the police matter? They don't. Hans is a happy old man, there's nothing suspicious about him, you can turn invisible if you really try, and I-"

"Have missing flyers posted all over with your face on them. They'll recognize you and take you back to your parents only to have another Translucent whisk you away from them again. Just wait here until they are gone."

"You are overestimating the power of a police man's memory. There are millions of missing children. Why would they remember my face?"

...I can't answer that. I really can't. Those posters have been up for at least seven years and nobody has done anything about it. I was the first one to help her. Would I have recognized her if I'd seen the flyer first?

"Good news! The lobby is empty! Weird news, I don't know where they all went! But we can leave now!" Hans stands tall. "Today I shall behave, as if this is the day I will be remembered."

"Is that even a Dr. Seuss quote? It doesn't rhyme," Emmeline scrutinizes.

"You can never be sure of a dead man's words, but you can always be sure of your own." He smiles. Was that a quote too?

We leave the room, taking soaps and lotions with us. Our pockets and bags filled with vending machine foods, our clothes fresh, and our bodies clean for the first time in over a week. Last night Hans said today we should arrive at the Reaper-Mother's front door. Tomorrow is going to be a completely different day.

Hans

Hut two three four. We aren't walking by the road anymore. Now we leave footprints in sand-dusted earth, flat and treeless. I see Dumaine's worry about getting lost and Emmeline's inkling of fear she still holds toward me creeping to the front of her mind. But I know exactly where we're going. It's not far now, just an hour away.

"Do you hear that?" My sweet swivels her head this way and that.

"Hans's whistling?"