The Metropolis Series #2: Quinn Beyond Bounds
48. Post-Party Depression

JULIO APPROACHED MACKENZIE and brushed her eyes closed, putting an end to the ocean that once raged in them. Without an author present to kill them (often tragically, for audience impact,) I thought that there was no way characters could die. Mackenzie looked like she was just sleeping, and the thought brought out the optimist in me for a while. Sleeping was how the Author’s characters, specifically those who fought Cassandra’s wrath in the front lines, healed themselves after serious injuries. It worked for Julio and his sister, Viv.

I developed the nerve to ask. “She’s going to be okay, right? She just needs to... sleep it off?”

Julio didn’t say anything. He just stared down solemnly at where Mackenzie laid to rest.

Maybe he didn’t hear me.

I wanted to keep my hopes up. There was no way Cassandra just killed someone in front of my very eyes. However, I found that there was little time to dwell on the matter. Rachael and I heard low grumbles coming from one of the corridors. Julio looked to where the sound came from, and immediately, he drew out his dagger again.

“He’s back,” he whispered.

I didn’t need context for that, but as expected, Rachael looked as confused as ever. I had to give to her, though, for holding on for as long as she did. She had just seen Julio and Mackenzie’s fight, Curtis in his monster form, and even Cassandra herself. Nevertheless, she maintained her sanity, at least from the looks of it. I didn’t know how much longer she could pull herself together, and I wasn’t going to stay to answer that question.

From one of the hallways, a shadow loomed on the nearby walls. The grumbling noises grew louder. Monster Curtis had finally regenerated from his fight with Julio, and he was coming back for another round.

“Go,” he urged once more, stopping to catch his breath. “I’ll see you at The MacGuffin.”

When he said that, I was afraid he had jinxed it. I didn’t want to leave him alone with a monster, but I didn’t have any other choice. I performed terribly when I dueled Mackenzie, and if I stayed, I had a feeling that I might just make the situation worse.

Negative emotions fuel me, Cassandra said in my head. I told her to shut up.

So I led Rachael out of the pool area, finally escaping the living room for good. I didn’t dare look back, even when I started hearing the sound of chaos from behind me. I marched on, thinking that I would see both Julio and Curtis again. A miracle was bound to happen.

“Rewind time,” I muttered to myself. “Rewind time…”

We entered the back of the house where I met with Julio earlier that night. I could see the other end where Ms. Louise would be waiting. That was the only time I looked back; I wanted to check if Rachael was still following me, but instead, I replace her a few feet away, crouched on the ground with her hands on her face. Was she crying?

Gingerly, I approached her. Her shoulders shook, her hands slowly creeping up to her scalp to grasp the locks of hair that covered her face.

“Curtis…” she sobbed.

Perhaps I should have questioned her lack of remorse upon seeing her boyfriend turn into a monster, but I guess the breakdowns only come when that rush of adrenaline ends. All that confusion clears, and you are left with a situation you don’t know how to fix.

“What is happening?” she questioned. “He can’t be some monster now, can he? No, no…”

I was too exhausted to speak. I saw no point in reassuring her, either. The only escape I’d seen from corruption was to going back in time, but my stupid powers wouldn’t act up. So I just let Rachael cry on the cold, hard concrete. I wanted to lie on the floor and shed some tears myself; my head throbbed, and my wounds stung, but for some reason, my eyes remained dry.

A bright light then shone toward my direction, and my vision could only register a figure looming ahead. For a second, I was afraid that Mackenzie had reinforcements who were ready to capture Cassandra at all costs. However, I squinted my eyes, and a familiar face slowly formed in the faint light. Under a tennis cap, a pair of brown eyes glinted in the darkness.

“Ms. Louise…” I whispered.

I could have been wrong. I could have fallen into the hands of a complete stranger and I wouldn’t have known. The cuts on my arms and torso prickled, and the pain became too much to bear. I fell on my knees as the darkness shrouded my eyes.