021 – Mannequin No. 3

Time to Seal: 02:49

While they had done a great job at sealing the door against wind and cold, I had no idea how the insulation would hold up if someone tried to break in. Her previous body couldn’t have budged it at all, but this did not sound like a fluffy little teddy at all.

[“We got an intruder incoming. Claire, Cee, the one who controlled that teddy. No idea what shape she’s in this time.”]

There was a rush of comments and messages in response. If we’d need to let her in; if she would attack us, kill us all, as revenge for what I had done; why I even had attacked her. I had few answers.

[“If she needs to be let in we have to. This is a fire station, for god’s sake, we can’t deny her warmth.”] Anthony wrote.

[“He’s right. But if she needs it, she probably wouldn’t have made it here in the first place.”]

[“How about we talk to her first? I’ll reach out, my Charisma gives me some extra range for the local chat.”] Jamie said.

That was the first time I’d heard about that. There was too much to learn about this system.

[“Hello, Claire. Do you need help? Access to shared warmth?”] he wrote.

If they opened that door to let her in, I’d sneak out. I’d rather outlast this storm outside than locked up with her.

[“Hello, Jamie. Hello, Eve’s friends. I do not need help, others do. Without help they’ll freeze soon.”] Her name read as ‘Mannequin No. 3’. Somehow she kept being a nightmare.

I felt slightly annoyed at being left out of her greeting, but at the same time I couldn’t really blame her. She was the one who lied to me about her identity. I was the one who murdered her in return. Even I had to concede that pouting was justified.

[“Please explain. We have very limited options to operate outside.”]

[“A family of three. Two parents and a teenager. The teen and the mother are Blessed. They were preparing their basement against the storm when the earthquake struck, impaling the woman on a broken-off gas pipe. They fear she’ll die if they remove her, but their preparations have been disrupted by the structural damage. The two don’t want to leave her and might not make it even if they did.”]

The fox’s fear was yet a new flavor. Very much something in between canine and feline, and yet something entirely unique. The only one of us who could do something about this was me. The moment I stepped outside it would be laughably easy for Claire to murder me. She could pull a bucket of water out of her inventory and that would be the end of it.

But at the same time, refusing this request would mean losing the sanctified space. A family that needed rescuing? A place that got sanctified because people in it were willing to risk their lives to save others couldn’t withstand the cowardice.

[“Ash, can the seal on the door be repaired if we open it? Before the cold inside becomes lethal.”] I asked.

[“It depends. I can’t tell how cold it is outside. It’s possible.”] Ash replied.

[“-50F”] wrote Claire. [“-85F wind chill”] she added.

[“Yes, I think it’s doable. It’ll hurt, but it won’t kill any of us. I think. We’d need to be fast.”]

[“I’m not sure if I can survive that. I’m supposed to curl up against the cold. If I’m walking through the storm I’m not sure how long I can last.”] I wrote.

[“What shape are you in?”] Claire asked.

Of course she couldn’t know.

[“Arctic Fox.”]

There was a moment of silence as she processed it. She also couldn’t know how little control I had over those shapes. She had to wonder if I was being practical, emotional, or something in between.

[“I can carry you. Wrapped in a sleeping bag, folded in on itself to double up on insulation, leaving an opening for air without exposing you to wind.”]

That would probably work. Fuck.

[“Okay, folks. What insulation do we have left? A tent? We need to fill my inventory with whatever we can spare. But I think that woman will still die. I might not be able to perform first aid there.”]

[“I got a potion.”] Constance wrote.

Everyone just waited for her to elaborate.

[“Heals a person to full and provides +2 Constitution for two hours afterwards. It also gave me the recipe to make more, but only once every three days.”]

And just like that we had a plan. One that relied entirely on my ex not screwing me over. She wasn’t a monster. She’d taken Hell’s offer for the same reason I had. She was horrible at being a good person, but that never stopped her from trying.

Before I could urge everyone into motion there was that ‘plop’ I’d come to associate with Lucy. Only that it wasn’t Lucy at all. It was me—my face, my body—wearing a tailored black suit, tie and all. She leaned down to me, gave me a wink and vanished again, just as Stephen pushed the first stack of supplies out from under the ‘pillow fort’.

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I felt sick. The noise grew louder. I could hear my own heart rushing.

The other reason she’d taken Hell’s deal had been me. I’d been the one who told her to take it. A devil wearing my face.

“Damn, that’s cold,” Lucy said.

While I filled my inventory with our spare material, I swapped to Guide chat.

[“Can I kill a devil guide in a sanctified space? And will it desecrate it?”]

“Eve!” I’d never heard Gabriel so outraged.

“Technically, yes,” Lucy explained. “We are really real when we are corporeal. Say that three times fast. But we can also vanish at will. That question is also both threatening me and a co-worker. And yes, sanctification goes kaput. Because of the premeditated murder of a non-combatant, you know?”

“Which Hell would love you to do. You’d be doing them a huge favor in even attempting this. The consequences would be catastrophic regardless of your success or failure. Not to mention that she’s wearing your own face. Don’t do this Eve. Banish that thought, this isn’t you.” Gabriel’s voice was quivering.

I’d said a lot of dumb things tonight. But this was a new best.

[“Sorry.”] I wrote. Which didn’t feel appropriate, but better than nothing.

“Just… be careful, okay? Ultimately it’s your actions that matter, but every thought can pave the way.”

Jamie emerged, carrying a bunch of our leftovers. His face was a mix of concern and confusion, which somewhat melted away when he saw me sitting there, waiting for him to drop the stuff. I didn’t know how I should feel about the fact that this shape didn’t scare people anymore, by being too cute to be scary. Of course he hadn’t seen Claire’s devil and only gotten my question and Gabriel’s response. To him I’d just asked about killing Lucy.

[“I got a glimpse at Claire’s devil guide. She’s a bitch.”] I wrote in our shared Guide chat. Didn’t need to announce this to the entire party.