Familiar Bonds Part 4

Bell’s boots echoed against the warped cobblestones as she and Ava pressed deeper into the distorted city. Her head swivelled with every sound, her heart hammering with the unbearable emptiness where Poe’s presence should be. 

Suddenly, she heard it—a faint fluttering, unmistakably the sound of wings cutting through the air. She froze, her eyes darting around.  

“Poe?” she whispered.  

A flash of black caught her eye. On the ground, not far from where she stood, was a single, dark feather. It gleamed unnaturally, its edges shimmering faintly like it didn’t quite belong in this world.  

She snatched it up, gripping it tightly. A wave of urgency swept through her, and before she could think, her feet were moving.  

“Poe!”  

“Bell, wait!” Ava’s voice rang out behind her. “Don’t go running off on your own! It’s a trap!”  

But Bell didn’t stop. Her mind drowned out Ava’s warning as she focused on the faint sound of wings ahead, each beat pulling her forward like a thread.  

She skidded into an alleyway, her breath hitching as she caught the briefest glimpse of a wing disappearing around the corner. The distorted city blurred around her, the narrow walls pressing in as her boots scraped against the uneven stones.  

“Poe, wait!” she cried, her voice cracking.  

Ava’s voice was gone now, swallowed by the heavy, oppressive air of the strange city. She glanced back, half-hoping to see her companion sprinting after her, but the alley was empty, eerily still.  

“Please, no,” Bell whispered, shaking her head and pushing forward.  

Finally, she turned a corner and stopped short, her heart leaping into her throat.  

There he was. Poe perched on the railing of a spiralling metal staircase that climbed the side of a dilapidated building. But something was wrong—terribly wrong.  

His feathers, usually sleek and black, now seemed jagged and unnatural, shifting like shadowy shards of glass. His eyes glowed an intense, menacing red, and his form seemed twisted, larger and more menacing than before.  

“Poe,” Bell said softly, taking a tentative step forward.  

He didn’t move, didn’t caw. He simply tilted his head, fixing her with that unsettling, glowing gaze.  

For a long, heart-pounding moment, they stared at each other.  

“Come back to me,” Bell whispered, tears threatening to spill.  

Poe gave a low, guttural croak that sent a shiver down her spine. Then, without warning, he turned and flew through a dark, open window high up in the building.  

“Poe!” Bell shouted, running to the base of the staircase. She stopped, glancing around the desolate alley, hoping against hope to see Ava rushing toward her.  

But there was nothing. Just the unnatural silence and the oppressive weight of the Hat Man’s realm pressing in on her.  

She hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, her hands trembling as she gripped the railing. The building loomed above her, its rusted metal surface reflecting faint, distorted glimpses of the warped sky.  

“You shouldn’t do this alone,” she whispered to herself, swallowing hard.  

But the pull was too strong. Poe was in there, and she couldn’t leave him.  

Steeling herself, Bell climbed the staircase. The metal groaned under her weight, the sound echoing unnaturally in the heavy air. When she reached the top, the strange dark window loomed before her, its frame etched with faint, unrecognisable symbols that pulsed faintly.  

The darkness inside seemed alive, waiting, watching.  

Taking a shaky breath, Bell crawled through the open window and into the unknown.  

Bell’s boots sank softly into the faded, stained carpet of the dimly lit club. The air hung thick with the scent of spilled drinks and burnt-out candles, though the tables and bar were not altogether deserted. Shadowy figures drifted like phantoms through the space, faint and insubstantial, echoes of patrons long gone. Their movements looped in fragmented gestures, hands raising invisible glasses or nodding along to unheard conversations.  

The chatter filled the room, but it wasn’t natural. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, a surreal, disjointed hum like a television playing static-laced dialogue. Bell’s head swivelled as she tried to pick out a single voice or word, but the sound was an indecipherable jumble.  

Her gaze landed on the stage at the back of the room, its presence dominating the club. A single pole rose from its centre, gleaming faintly in the dim light, reaching up into a void where the ceiling should have been. Thick black curtains hung behind it, curling slightly as though stirred by an invisible breeze.  

A flutter of movement caught her eye. Bell’s breath hitched as she spotted the unmistakable flick of a wing disappearing behind the curtains.  

“Poe,” she whispered.  

Her heart clenched, and she began to move, her steps cautious and deliberate. The shadows that moved through the room made her skin crawl; she kept her distance, afraid to touch them. They didn’t react to her presence, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were aware of her.  

Halfway across the room, the air changed. A strange, distorted melody started to play, the notes warped and unnatural, like a music box breaking down. Bell froze, her eyes darting back to the stage.  

The spotlight flickered to life, illuminating the pole at its centre. Bell’s breath caught as a figure slid down with graceful precision, their movements fluid and confident.  

“Vivienne?” Bell murmured, her eyes widening.  

It was Vivienne. She moved with the effortless elegance of a trained performer, her every motion commanding attention. She twisted and arched around the pole, her figure framed by the thick black curtains that rippled behind her like living shadows.  

Vivienne landed lightly on the stage with practised ease, striking a final pose before taking a theatrical bow. Her hair shimmered in the dim light, and a sly, knowing smile played across her lips.  

Bell stood rooted to the spot, her mind struggling to reconcile this surreal image with the Vivienne she remembered.  

Before Bell could say a word, Vivienne’s gaze snapped upward, fixing on the dark void where the ceiling should have been. Her smile vanished, replaced by a scowl of frustration.  

“That’s it!” she shouted, her voice cutting through the distorted music and chatter like a blade. “I’m done playing your stupid games!”  

Bell flinched at the raw anger in her voice.  

Vivienne threw her arms out dramatically, the shadows curling around her feet in response. “You hear me? I want my cat back!”  

Bell blinked, stunned into silence.  

The room seemed to hold its breath. Even the flickering shadows paused, as if waiting for a response. The music faltered, the distorted melody unravelling into a low, dissonant hum.  

Vivienne turned her attention to Bell, her eyes sharp and calculating. “Well?” she demanded, her tone impatient. “Are you just going to stand there, or are you here to help?”  

Bell opened her mouth, but no words came. Her gaze flicked toward the black curtains, her mind racing.  

Somewhere above them, from the endless void, a sound echoed—a deep, resonant chuckle that sent a shiver down Bell’s spine. It was layered and dissonant, unmistakably the Hat Man’s voice.  

Vivienne rolled her eyes. “Oh, shut up,” she muttered at the ceiling. “I’m not afraid of you. Give me my cat, or so help me, I’ll—”  

The shadows at the edges of the room began to stir again, their movements quicker, more deliberate, as if responding to her challenge. Bell’s stomach knotted, her voice finally breaking free.  

“Vivienne,” she said, her voice shaking, “what’s going on? Why are you here?”  

Vivienne gave her an exasperated look. “That’s the question, isn’t it?” she said, gesturing toward the black curtains. “But it seems like we’ll only get answers if we keep playing along.”  

She stepped back toward the pole, one hand gripping it as she glanced toward the dark void above. “So,” she said, her voice dripping with mock cheer, “what’s next? Or are you too much of a coward to face me properly?”  

The dissonant laugh echoed again, louder this time, as the shadows began to close in around them.