Spliced

“I could have sworn you were with Wolf before?” Cat said to Indi as she gave Coal a confused look after kicking in the door.

“Was that really necessary?” Zephyr asked as he eyed the door.

“Kicking the door lets me keep my hands free for possible attackers,” Cat explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Or, you know, we could open it stealthily and not alert them to our presence,” Zephyr grumbled.

Cat ignored him.

“Cat!” Indi exclaimed running full force into the woman and wrapping her in a tight hug that nearly knocked Cat off her feet.

Cat’s immediate reaction was to put her hands out to the side as one might do when being hit by a giant wave and not wanting to get wet. A moment later however she relaxed and placed her hands gently on Indi’s back. She stood like that for 2 seconds and then deciding that was long enough she pried Indi off her. Cat wasn’t typically the hugging type.

“I am so glad you’re okay. Both of you.” Indi turned to Zeph and gave him a hug as well.

“Hi,” he replied with a smile and a warmer return than Cat had.

“Indi, where is Wolf?” Cat asked, getting straight down to business.

Coal answered for her. “Missing, vanished through a rune in the floor. I suspect he’s in the basement but I could be wrong.”

“Where did you guys go?” Indi asked.

Cat ignored her, instead she continued looking suspiciously at Coal. “What are you doing here?”

“Cat, he’s helping,” Indi told her. “I’d be dead if it wasn’t for him, or at least still trapped with those freaky statues.” Her face contorted into a worried frown as she thought about the courtyard.

“More likely than not you’d probably have ended up wherever Wolf went eventually,” Coal commented.

“How are you here?” Cat asked him again. Then she noticed he was holding the towel against his side. “You’re hurt?”

“Some creature attacked us,” Indi explained. “Coal pushed me out of the way.”

Coal didn’t say anything, he was watching Cat’s face.

“Let’s have a look,” Cat said her tone doing a complete one-eighty from accusing to concerned. “Move your shirt out of the way.”

Coal raised his eyebrows at the command but didn’t object. He removed the towel from his side and pulled the fabric of his shirt aside so Cat could see the wound.

“It’s not bleeding anymore,” Coal observed. He shivered as if cold.

Indi immediately pulled his coat off and handed it back to him. “Here, you look like you could use this more than me.”

Coal shook his head. “I’m fine, you keep it.” He gave another involuntary shiver.

Cat raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t call him out on the lie.

“Please,” Indi said still holding it out. “You’re hurt and I’m not as cold as I was when we were in the walls.

“Thank you.” Coal took the jacket and put it on then added, “You know I can summon another.”

“Oh,” Indi replied.

Coal chuckled and then immediately winced.

“Sorry,” Indi replied. “I don’t need a jacket though, really.”

Cat watched them both with a bored impatience. “When were you in the walls?” she asked.

“Aren’t you cold Cat?” Indi asked realising Cat was the only one in a short sleeved t-shirt. It was v-necked and tightly fitted, and for once didn’t bare any of her midriff.

Cat shook her head. “No. What happened since we last saw you?”

“Well, Wolf and I went up that ladder and when we came back down you were both gone?”

“We never left,” Zephyr told her.

Indi glanced over at him with a puzzled look on her face.

Zephyr continued. “When we went up the ladder it was you and Wolf that were missing.”

“But that... how can that be?” Indi stuttered.

“The house is playing tricks on us,” Coal answered coolly.

Cat turned. “Excuse me, the house is what now?”

“The old lady who lived here booby trapped it. She didn’t want her stuff stolen so there’s all manner of enchantments and curses floating around this place.” He spoke with a casualness.

“What kind of curse just vanishes two people and then makes them reappear later?”

“I don’t know,” Coal replied. “Cat, you’re not wearing a watch. Zephyr are you?”

Zephyr held up his wrist and gave a nod.

“What time does it say?”

“5 o’clock on the dot.”

“And Indi yours?”

She flipped her wrist over. “Almost 7pm? That can’t be right, we haven’t been here that long and they should be the same.” She pulled out her phone. “My phone’s stuck on 4:11pm which also doesn’t make any sense.”

“About when we came in,” Zephyr replied. “I feel like we’ve been her more than an hour but...” he trailed off and looked towards the windows at the lowering light.

Coal pulled a tiny silver pocket watch from his left jacket pocket. The pretty thing caught Indi’s eye and she was immediately jealous of it. Coal flipped it open. “It says 6:05 on mine.”

“What time does the sun set?” Zephyr asked still looking at the window

“6 ish,” Indi replied. “I think.” She turned her head and looked out the windows watching as the sun set for the second time that day.

“What time is it?” Zephyr asked incredulously.

“Time to stop worrying about watches and get our arses out of here,” Cat replied impatiently. “Wolf’s what? In the basement? Of course he flaming is.” Cat said the last bit more to herself. She turned toward the door readying herself to lead the leaving charge. But just as she was about to, a figure appeared in the doorway. “What is that?” she exclaimed.

“Ah shit,” Coal mumbled.

Indi and Zephyr spun around upon hearing their exclamations.

“Oh no, not another one,” Indi cried breathlessly, as Zephyr shone his torchlight on the figure in the doorway.

“I think you mean oh deer.” As terrified as he was Zephyr never could resist the opportunity for a good pun. If anything, his sense of humour got more terrible the more afraid he was. Cracking jokes was a defense mechanism of a sort.

Cat was less than appreciative and couldn’t resist shooting him a dirty look, just as the figure with antlers rushed forward.