T h e • O u t s i d e

Maryanne
"Pem" I mutter, shrugging. Sitting next to him, I glance at Jane "Normalcy?! What?" The teacher glares at me; I had been too loud. Oops "But what do you mean?" I whisper

Jane: "That a meaning is meaningless in times such as these. Dictionary words tend to fall away, leaving only the bare skeleton. Whatdetermines a disease from a blessing from normalcy? Humanity." Raziel gently pulls me off the desk. "You're confusing her," he says. I look at him for a moment, and then stand up. "Confusion will be abandoned soon enough. After all, it's such a hollow feeling. Temporary."

Maryanne
"Feels pretty stable to me" I sigh, studying Jane and Raziel "is there anything we can do? At all?"

Elli
I stood in the corner, fiddling with the hem of my white apron. Maybe I should get Eliza..."Jane?" I asked "Should I fetch my sister?"

Raziel: I nod for her. "No, we will all be goging momentarily. After all, the boy must have his eyes opened, and Cassandra of the Cannibals still needs to keep up her front as this 'Ms. Memphis.'" I look at the boy, thinking. "You'll need to get him alone though, lead him around. We will take care of the girl."

Wait, Elli needs to take Carter to the outside?

Yep.

Elli
I nod, walking over to the boy. Maryanne watched me, fear and excitement mixing in her strange eyes...huh, I hadn't noticed those before. Were many human's eyes pink? I had seen many orpines, none with that eye color...touching Carter lightly on the shoulder, we were soon at Eliza and my cabin. It was a little toy shop, a fire roaring in one corner, and the rest filled with strange, wonderfull, enchanted toys

Carter: My eyes widen as I look around at the strange world, at the blackened sky and the moon that seemed to be on fire (it's night now.). When the shadow girl comes near, I hop up and take a few steps back. Where am I? Did I fall asleep? Has this place finally made me crack?

Elli
Eliza stepped out of the back room "Is it true, is Cass...wait, who's the boy?" "This is Carter" I smiled "he's new. The other one- Maryanne, will be here shortly. Jane is bringing her."

Eliza
"Alright, but that doesn't answer my question. Who is the boy?"

Elli
"Carter, an orphan. His eyes were just opened and..."

Eliza
"Sister, I swear, sometimes you have no sence. He's probably freaking out right now!"

Elli
Oops, hadn't thought of that

Carter: And then it hits me like a rock- I'm dead! I'm freakin dead! And now I'm stuck in... whereever this is for the rest of forever! My just starts heaving and I grab the inhaler from my pocket. I tried not to let people know I have asthma, but what does it matter now when you're dead. After a few puffs, I start pacing. Well, one one hand, I'm out of the orphanage. But on the other, I'm dead. But I don't have to do chores anymore. But I'll never get to see my mom again, or the others. And I'm dead.

Whoa, he has asthma?!

Elli
"Sister...what is he doing?" "I think that's some sort of medicine, forgot what for, though" She shrugs "Oh, could we help him?" "Elli, first we need to calm the boy down" "But how?" "Grab him a toy or something, and I'll try to explain things to him" "Alright" I nod, heading off to look for a good one

Eliza
"Little boy" I said in a firm, but sweet tone, kneeling by him "your friend...what was her name, Maryanne? She will be here soon, alright? Try to relax, you're going to be fine"

Yep, and his mom's schizo.

Carter: "You mean she's dead too? What was it, a mass explosion? Did the Devou posion the sandwiches?!"

Jane: I fluff my hair over my shoulder and gently touch the girl's hand. "Are you ready to go?" I ask. The boy seems to just be staring into space now.

Maryanne
"Yes" I whisper, with a slight nod "More than anything"

Eliza
"You mean that hag Devou is still alive? But no...this isn't...death. I assume Cassandra of the Cannibals has told you stories?" Hopefully she had given them a little preparation, at least

Jane: I smile as this world fades away, fading into a world where there are no stars and the moon glimmers like the human sun.

Carter: "I heard one..." I say, utterly confused. Suddeny, it huts me. She did say they were real. "You mean it all happened here?"

Eliza
"Well, not here here, probably. I don't know what stories she told you, or if they included Elli and I or not, but they did happen in the Outside. Here"

Maryanne
I gasp, opening my eyes (where are they?)

(Hmm...good question.)

Jane: "I'm sorry, but we're a bit off from your friend. I've never been to the toy shop before." Raziel had stayed back to watch the children's bodies, leaving me alone with this girl in Mirror City, where everything had two faces or two uses. It's a place made of mirrors and iullsions, and it's hard to find the way out without getting turned around. I make the smoke of my hair form a mask on the side of my face and turn to the girl. "Cover your face. If they see you only have one face, it'll start a riot."

Maryanne
Quickly covering my face as I was told, I looked around with awe "Whoa...and wait, what toy shop?" Everything was so strange here...so wonderful, actually.

Jane: I sigh. I don't like talking- Raziel lent me his voice so I could talk to the girl normally. It didn't mean I liked it. "The woman you met, Elli, owns a toy shop with her sister Eliza. While I've never been, they are reknowned." People walk past us as we approch the neon city, and they become magnified a thousand fold. Here we go, into the place of mirrors.

Eliza
Elli finally came back, a toy held carefully in her shadow arms "Here you go, dear" She whispered, handing it to the boy. It was a small, black box. "Whisper the name of anything, any kind of person, and it will camoflause you as it." I explain to the boy "The only catch is that the person you are will hold, or be wearing, some kind of black object. Like if you were a knight, you would hold a black sword at all times"

Maryanne
"It's beautiful" I whisper, the light reflecting onto my pink eyes

Jane: "We'll have to observe another time. Come along!" I click my tongue as I grab her arm and try my best to start navegating through the town.

Maryanne
Running with her, I did the best to cover my face while still looking at the city

Hello? Carter never responded...

Carter: I frown as I look at the box, everything moving too fast for me to question anything. I look at the girls and then down again. Ok, here goes nothing. I hold it up a bit and say "Knight." Instantly, the ground starts swirling around me, the blackness seemingly trying to swallow me. My eyes widen and I try to reach for the girls when the shadows devour my arm too. I cover my mouth to keep from hypervenilating as I get more and more freaked out. But when I feel metal, I start to calm down a bit out of curiosity. When the blackness clears, I'm covered in metal, have somehow grown two feet, and have a black sword, just like shebsaid. "Whoa," I breath.

Elli
I smile, my faint eyes almost sparkling "Welcome to the Outside"

Eliza
My dark form was lightly shaking with silent laughter, remembering Cass's first reaction to the box.