“Katie? Katie?” said Tiff with increasing desperation. There was nothing in the pile of Katie’s clothes. Nothing at all. They were even still warm, but Katie was gone.
Tears started streaming down Tiff’s face. It couldn’t be. Katie was dead - vanished - no longer existing, and it was her fault.
“I’m sorry Katie… I’m so sorry…” she sobbed over and over. She wished she had never dragged her friend into coming to this awful place.
Then, slowly, Tiff got a hold of herself and tried to think. If the house had done this, maybe the house could undo it. Maybe Katie wasn’t dead, just… somewhere else.
She left the kitchen, too scared to touch anything else, and started looking for something that could find Katie, wherever she was. She couldn’t find anything that could bring her back though. She walked past s number of strange devices.
“Juicer… Inflation Chamber… Gene Splicer… Mental Uplink? What’s that?”
Tiff booted up the old-fashioned computer-like device. The screen showed options.
ESTABLISH MENTAL LINK - SEARCH
- CLOSE RANGE
- MEDIUM RANGE
- LONG RANGE
Search? That sounded promising. Tiff clicked the short range search. A progress bar appeared momentarily before the results flashed up.
TWO PERSONS FOUND
- TIFFANY
- KATHERINE
Tiff’s heart leaped. Katie! She was nearby! … but where? She clicked on her friend’s name.
ESTABLISH PERMANENT MENTAL LINK
ESTABLISH TEMPORARY MENTAL LINK
She clicked on the first option without thinking.
WARNING: LINK WILL REMAIN ACTIVE UNTIL MANUALLY CANCELED. PROCEED? Y/N
I don’t care, I just want to find Katie, thought Tiff, selecting Yes.
SELECT PERSON TO LINK WITH
Her name was the only option. She pressed that. Almost immediately she heard a voice in her head.
*Tiff? Is that you?*
“KATIE!” squealed Tiff, crying with joy now. Then she controlled herself and tried to *think* her response. *Katie? Can you hear me?*
*I can… where am I?*
*What does it look like?*
*Like nothing. I can’t see a thing. Just blackness.*
*Oh.* Tiff started to get scared again. *Can you feel anything around you?*
*I can’t. I can’t move or feel or see or smell or hear anything. I just… exist I guess. You talking to me is the first thing that happened.*
Tiff’s heart clenched. *Then where ARE you?”*
*I don’t know? Just floating in limbo I guess?*
*You sound way too okay with this!* Tiff was almost hysterical.
*Tiff! Please! Please don’t cry… it may sound weird but… I like it.*
*Why?*
*It’s just… comfy I guess. Having no body, nothing to worry about… no anxiety or fear or awkwardness… but still having you to talk to… I feel better than I ever have. I don’t mind living like this.*
*So you’re now a ghost living in my head?* said Tiff.
*Looks like it. Your head is comfy.*
*What am I going to tell your parents?*
Katie was silent for a while. Then she spoke up again. *There’s no way they won’t be hurt, but try to make it nobody’s fault… Wait until they start asking, tell them I walked away in another direction and you never saw me again.*
*That’s awful!*
*Would you rather be a suspect in my disappearance?*
This time it was Tiff who was silent.
*Better get rid of my clothes too. And don’t tell them about the house either. It might destroy our connection, and I’ll be gone forever.*
*Right…*
*I’m with you, every step of the way. Besides, you always said you wished you had a voice to tell you the correct answers in exams, right?* Katie giggled, and Tiff couldn’t help smiling.
*Alright.*
Tiff left the house of mysteries scared and worried, but filled with determination. Katie seemed to want this, so the least she could do was make it work. Talking to Katie’s parents was going to be the hard part.
As far as either of them was concerned, Katie was now a ghost living in Tiff’s head and communicating with her telepathically.
Neither of them suspected that, deep within Tiff’s womb, a small clump of cells that had once been Katie was steadily dividing and growing.