5. Blobby

ALDRICH

I awake to the familiar coldness.

“This place haunts me even in slumber.” I sigh. “I may never escape this place.”

I touch the sharp blades of grass and dig my nails into the dirt. My heart plummets when I lift my hand and see grains of black dirt come up with it. Did I let go of her in my sleep and fade back into this hell? I stand quickly, looking around for any sign of my ray of hope, my sunshine. No, no, no…

To my left, what once was a stunning forest is now a forest of dead white trees.

Could it have found her? I dash into the old trees, now drained of life, searching for what seems like hours for any sign of Clover. Eventually I reach a clearing that once was grassy and filled with wildflowers but is now nothing but black dirt for miles. Old ruins stand in the distance, already ravaged by it, by Morfran.

She’s gone.

It’s my fault.

She is gone…

And I am here.

Alone…

Again.

I stumble in the dirt, right myself, and move towards the ruins. He’ll be able to sense me here and likely isn’t far off. I’ll have to make a new camp. Clearly, I am not in the same place I was before. Time and space always work differently between realms. If what Clover said is true, then I won’t be meeting another witch.

I pause after a few steps. Should I keep trying? I could follow it around. But with my current power, I will just be fodder for the bastard. This endless charade of running and fighting for over three hundred years… It’s wearing me down. But if she’s gone… I don’t know if I have the willpower to try any longer.

~ CLOVER

This is not a good dream, not good at all. Instead of my cozy bed in Suisy with the cute crystal lights adorning the walls, I am staring up at a familiar crimson night sky and some old stone wall. I tap it and a small piece falls down and clumps me on the head.

“Ouch.” I sit up and rub my forehead.

“I don’t think I’m asleep… I think I may have pulled us back into the other realm. But don’t worry, Aldi. We’ll figure out a way to get you out of here. You said I’m a witch, right? Maybe I can find a way to magic you home,” I say, glancing to my right to find a very missing Aldi. “Well, that’s not good.”

I poke Mip in the belly, fully expecting to be sent back to my cozy van when I do, but nope.

“Wake up Mip.” I stand.

Mip lets out a grumbly, “Nooo, more sleep,” before waving me off.

The rest stop is surrounded by trees and grass and is full of life. But here, it’s… dead. The ruins of what was once a small building sit alone on grass that’s brown and crunches under our feet. There are several trees, but they’ve lost their leaves. All that remains is a skeleton of what once was.

I’m always surprised by how parallel to our world that this one is. But sometimes, like now, it’s completely different.

“What is wrong here?” I turn in place, taking in the desolation. When I look back at Mip, he’s rubbing his eyes and frowning. “What is it? Do you know why it looks like this?”

“This is not good, Clo. It did this…” He jumps up and walks out of the ruined building. “I was here not too long ago, and everything was still green. This building was a sanctuary for the rabblers. They could safely lay their eggs and raise their young here.”

I follow him out as he points to an old wooden post outside. “It was also a landmark for travelers and a place where they could stop and rest their weary bones. Much like the place we stopped at in your world.”

His eyes stray from my face to something behind me, and his face pales. A shiver runs through me as I turn to face whatever it is that has Mip so worked up and see… nothing. Well, nothing that would warrant such a reaction. Just a foggy black cloud that seems to be leisurely rolling down the hill. Maybe not just a fog, a sentient fog? A foggy blob?

Tall, dark, and blobby? The blob that wouldn’t quit? The food that got left in the microwave for too long, and instead of perfectly cooked, it’s now a dark blob of grossness? I mean, there’s really no other way to describe it.

“Mip, is the thing that has you so upset behind that dark blob?” Surely there’s something scarier out there.

I think if I were to be scared of a blob, it should be full of something scary. Like lightning or spiky metal balls. This one is just a swirly black mass. It’s smoky and dark, and it looks like there are some sparkles in there. Everyone loves sparkles! I even have some sparkly yarn!

Maybe I should crochet a sparkly blob…

“Clover, the blob is the thing that frightens me! And don’t refer to it as a blob. It’s a remnant of an evil sorcerer that consumes everything in its path and is actively searching for life.” He blinks onto my shoulder and pulls at my shirt.

“Hmm, well, life is good. I suppose we all are searching in life and for life, are we not? Where does it find it? Do you think it’s a nice blob?”

“We are the life, Clo! And we need to go! Now!”

As the blob gets closer, I can see that it isn’t just a blobby mass. At the front, moving slowly, like he is leading the mass, is a man. Or a man figure… shape. He’s made of the same stuff as the blob, and his mouth is a gaping, glowing hole of dark red. His eyes burn red, the same red as that blood moon the other night.

All in all, it’s definitely a cursed creature, and if I didn’t already know the Calla curse was real, then this would definitely make me a believer.

“Oh, so not nice, then.”

“Definitely not nice! If there’s something you need to do to focus to get us back into the human realm, I suggest doing it,” Mip cries as his tugs on my clothes get more frantic.

“You know I can’t really control that… It just kind of happens. Every time before, I needed you guys to help. Also, we need to be careful about moving around too much. What if we shift back to the human realm suddenly in a bad spot? I’d rather not actually get hit by a car.”

“Now is not the time to worry about that, Clo!” Mip screams in my ear and it is echoed with another scream in the distance.

“CLOVER?!” Was that Aldrich?

I turn and see Aldrich in the distance, looking very not all right. He is kneeling on the ground, and his eyes are wide and bloodshot, like he’s been crying.

“Are you okay, Aldi!?” I yell back.

“RUN!”

What? I look behind me and see that Blobby has started to block out the sky and is moving much faster. The very, very not-nice- looking shadowy figure has become more solid, and it seems to be looking right at me. Shit biscuits, I’ll have to risk it. I sprint towards Aldrich, and he looks between me and the scary blob. How could my tall, handsome, muscled Aldrich be so frightened of a blob?

His face pales further as he scrambles to his feet, and I feel bad. If he gets any paler, he’ll be a ghost in this realm as well, and that would be a travesty. Because while wispy ghost Aldrich is hot, completely solid Aldrich would be even sexier. I should get started on his body as soon as we make it back into our world.

My ribs start to ache as I sprint to him. I am so out of shape. Cold air sends a chill down my spine, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as a wave of goosebumps run down my arms.

“Don’t look back! Keep running!” Mip shouts as a deafening roar, like claps of thunder, fills the air.

Aldrich blurs towards me as I turn my head to look back at the cursed thing.

The dark blob reaches out, his shadowy hand less than a foot from my face. Frigid air seeps from the phantom limb, and it feels like I’ve walked into a freezer.

The world snaps back into place as a wispy Aldrich pulls me into a hug, breathing hard. We’re only about fifty feet from Suisy, so I relax into his embrace.

“That was too close.” He shudders and holds me tighter. “I’m going to help you break this curse. No one else should suffer such a horrible fate. Never again.” He lifts my chin and fervently presses his lips to mine.

Fear, desire, and relief all battle for dominance in what I can only describe as the most romantic first kiss I’ve ever had.

And when we finally come up for air, I wrap my arms around Aldrich’s semi-corporeal neck. I believe in my soul that he’s telling me the truth.