Another Me

 The music started low as if the piano was being played behind a curtain. Soft as a lullaby the haunting tune still filled the mansion. I ignored it, I was more worried about if Janet was ok and where she might be, than somebody goofing around on a piano. I was halfway to the music room when my ‘Black Chains’ spell broke apart and the sound from the piano stopped. Without it the sound of the storm outside was more obvious.

Without any lights, the house was dark and gloomy, and every sound made me jump and tense up. It was stupid because the most dangerous things in this house made no noise at all. They weren't all harmless though. Tiny dolls would rush out with makeshift weapons and try to stab or trip me up. If it wasn't for the 'Stone Skin' spell, I had up their attacks would have slowly incapacitated me. And while I disliked my small frame, it gave me a low center of gravity. Whenever they showed up, I would destroy them. Only one managed to escape from my retaliation as I made my way to the music room.

With only the lightning from the storm as my light, I had to walk slowly. I thought of casting ‘Dynamic Neogenesis’ simply to have a light source but quickly dismissed the idea. The spell was too distinctive, and I wasn’t positive that the broadcast went down with the power. I didn’t want to be seen casting a one-of-a-kind spell just for light. When I finally made it, the piano was shifted from the spot it had been in.

An orange flickering light came from the newly revealed stairway that had been hidden by the piano's big frame. The room was empty, but I could hear movement coming from below. I started chanting softly as I descended into the unknown. The stairs were shallow and uneven as if somebody had hand carved them out of the packed earth beneath my feet. Combined with the dim lighting, I had to take my time. The light got brighter as I got closer to the bottom, and I began to hear a girl’s voice. Her “no, no, please stop,” was filled with pain and despair. But I couldn’t tell who it was. Her voice was too low and with me chanting, I could barely make out what she was saying.

My spell finished before I got to the bottom. Like before, I manifested two chains and had them crawl along the ceiling as I hugged the wall. There was a short hall at the end of the stairs, and I looked down only to see it opened into another room. But the hall was as narrow as the stairwell and all I could see was Janet. She was floating above a well. A dim light came from the well and lit up her back but didn't illuminate anything else. I couldn’t tell what was holding her or if there were more than one entity inside the room. There was at least one humanoid because there was a shadow that fell across her but because of how the lights kept flickering, I couldn’t tell its size or shape. Because of that, I didn't rush in but kept casting. I kept my eye on Janet to make sure nothing happened to her while I prepared.

I cast 'Herculean Strength' and was about to cast 'Water Shield' when Janet’s begging stopped, and she gave a scream of fright as a gnarled, decayed hand reached out to her head. It came from the other direction from the shadow, meaning that there was more than one person inside the room. But what could I do? With a curse, I charged down the hall and into the room.

As I ran in, I saw that the room was much bigger than I imagined. Janet’s eyes shone with hope, but then she realized it was me and she closed her eyes in despair. I didn’t focus on her for too long though because the four monsters in the room all turned and looked at me. It was Pam, the Ice King, Aife, and Mary Eternal. Except it wasn’t, not really. Ghostly figures came out of their backs. The lower half of the ghosts were “inside” them, while their spectral torsos grew out of their hosts’ spines. It was creepy. Their deadpan faces made it even more so. It was like the life of Pam, Aife, the Ice King, and Mary Eternal had been sucked away and they were empty shells for the ghosts to use.

The young girl ghost that took Pam was now controlling her. She was the closest to me and I watched her tiny ghostly arm pointed at me as Pam began to chant in a monotone voice. Two other voices joined hers. But it was the man that grew out of Mary’s back that just stood there. He looked the most solid than the others. His gnarled hand was still hovering above Janet’s head as he looked into my eyes. I thought he looked surprised, but I wasn’t an expert on zombie ghost’s facial expressions. Out of the four, he was the only one not casting.

It didn’t take long for me to take it all in. I knew fighting three to four people at once wasn’t in my favor, but I was committed. I couldn’t leave the house or abandoned my friend, so with a yell I leapt… and landed on Janet. She dipped as little as I landed on her and gave a “Umph”, but even though she moved under me, my balance never wavered. With practiced ease, I balanced myself and used her as a springboard to launch a flying punch to Aife who had been the furthest away. Out of all of them, I knew that once she cast, I had no chance of survival. I pulled my arm back and slammed my fist into her face as hard as I could. Her head rocked back from the blow. Her nose deformed on impact, but her massive body didn’t shift even an inch. Her gaze turned vicious as she spat out the last words to the spell she had been casting.

Then I felt her hand grab my throat. I didn’t even see her move. She held in place as her other hand slammed into my stomach. My marble skin was cracking with each strike of her giant fist. So far, the pain wasn't too bad, but that was only because I had protection. By the sound of it breaking apart, it wasn’t going to last long. I struggled. Reaching up I grabbed at her fingers that were around my neck and with my enhanced strength, began to snap them like dried twigs. I heard her growl like a wounded animal and as I broke her thumb, she landed a blow that made me feel like my internal organs had ruptured.

The force she used ripped me from her grasp causing me to fall to the floor. Even though it was painful, it was a blessing in disguise because as her hit landed the ghost that was growing out of her back had reached around. Her extra hands felt cold and slimy as they tried grabbing my head. Even the brief contact made me feel dirty.

Gasping for breath I rolled into the closest shadow and got to my knees. I wanted to cast but her hit left me breathless and it took me a moment. But a moment was all the others needed to finish their spells. The Ice King unleashed a spell called Icy Embrace. The moisture in the air condensed in front of me and took on the appearance of a beautiful maiden. She quickly opened her arms and before I could get out of the way, pulled me into her arms. Once I was caught, her form changed again and soon a solid ice sculpture kept me from moving. Sadly, it wasn't as weak as regular ice and even with enhanced strength, my struggles were pointless.

Pam finished her spell and I felt as if somebody cranked up the gravity. But I was too strong for it to affect me much. Desperate to escape, I didn't notice if Mary was doing anything. If she was, it hadn't done anything to me yet. I was grateful for the reprieve. I wasn’t sure I could take another powerful spell. With chattering teeth, I started to cast once more. As I did, I mentally commanded the chains to grab and hold the two ethereal arms that had just attacked me.

With a clink of metal on metal, I bound Mary’s extra arms behind her and let the shadows swallow me. It didn’t take much brain power to know I was out outclassed. I needed to get Janet and get out. I used the shadow to teleport behind Pam and sent a roundhouse kick to her head. Unlike Aife, Pam flew to the right like a rocket, but the professor’s body moved quickly and caught her before she hit the wall. Still, Pam sagged to the floor and the ghost that was controlling her vanished. Mary’s arms waved and pam’s body shimmered and then disappeared as well. But I was happy because it meant I could hurt them.

Our voices intermingled as we all began to cast. I went with something simple and quick, ‘Thought Send’ and began moving as it completed. Unlike before, I didn’t move to attack but to free Janet. I moved to the edge of the well as their voices droned on. I grabbed her foot and pulled as hard as I could. I had to use the well wall as leverage and heard her grunt in pain as I yanked her toward me. It was like pulling something out of quicksand; slow, with a lot of resistance.

I heard the Ice King stop chanting seconds before I felt the pain. Thin icicles had come from behind pierced into my arms and legs. My stone skin shattered as they hit but kept them from going to deep. I ignored the pain. I had gotten use to being hurt during football season and sometimes the games were too important to leave the field and I forced myself to keep going. Now there was something more crucial to accomplish, I wasn’t going to stop and kept trying to get Janet free. I finally managed to free her as Aife finished her spell. The sound of shattering metal filled the room as she broke free of my chains. I gave one last desperate pull as I saw Aife sprang toward me. With a pop, Janet broke free and I through her towards the door. I hoped she listened to my message and ran for it. I wasn’t sure where she could go but I had hoped that we could find a place to hind until morning. Now? I knew that the professors spell had slowed me down to much and I wasn’t getting out. Still, I would take as many with me as I could.

I waited as Aife flew toward me. She seemed bigger and more ferocious as she sailed over the well in a single bound. I felt a tearing pain as I swung my tiny fist at her. I was hoping to at least stall her, but before I connected, I saw Mary smile, wave her hand, and my world became hazy.