Elijah didn't mind the walk with Kyoufu, but he was starting to get bored. Who was this Santiago guy, and why did he need to meet him anyway? All in all, the city wasn't that bad, but he had no idea where he was, or what name this city was called either. So, he had simply asked. He remembered asking Kyoufu while they were walking across the pedestrian crossing.
"What city are we in?" Elijah asked, walking nearly in sync with her. Before Kyoufu decided to answer his question, she stopped right in front of a food truck. Elijah watched. As a spirit, he had never felt hungry or thirsty after he had died, so what was the point of this?
Is she going to talk to him? These people...they can see us? Communicate with the dead? Is that for every human in this city?
The more he thought about the concept, the more it bewildered him. It might've just been for the best to let Kyoufu do the explaining on her own time when she could. It's not like Elijah could force her to do anything anyway. He remembered how easily she had physically overpowered him.
Kyoufu ordered some hotdogs—plain hotdogs. She didn't even bother to ask for any ketchup or barbecue sauce on it. Damn, what a bummer. Who the heck gives someone plain hotdogs. Eh, whatever. It's been so long since he tasted a common delicacy like this anyway.
"We're in AB, in Maryland. Y'know, the blue crab state in North America." Kyoufu said, chewing on her hotdog. Elijah thought about it. He couldn't remember where he and his brother had died. He could only remember how, and even then, the details were a bit fuzzy. Names...dates...people involved, and events? Everything seemed to blur together when you were a spirit, and the way how a spirit's mind kept track of time was vastly different from a living organism.
"Thanks. You didn't have to do that. I mean...we're spirits, right?" Elijah said.
Kyoufu looked at him.
"All the more reason to." She replied.
"Anyway, what do you mean by AB? Like, what does that stand for?" Elijah asked, reluctantly taking a bite of the hot dog. They continued to walk. Now, they were going uphill, but at least the streets weren't as packed.
"Abdomania. It's one of the few cities where we can interact and coexist with the living. Anything outside this city's boundaries—it's like we're spirits again. In fact, as spirits, we won't even be able to see what's outside the boundary." Kyoufu said as she chewed. Elijah came to a hard stop.
"So, we can be hurt in this city?" Elijah asked.
"No. Nothing here can meaningfully hurt you to my knowledge. At least, if you're not in a taka."
"A ta-what?"
"You'll see when we get to Santiago's place."
"I see. And what about the boundary?"
Kyoufu shrugged.
"Hell if I know, but the important thing is that right now, you're not that different from one of the living if you're in this city. I believe Santiago's place is just a couple of blocks down." Kyoufu said.
Then, she casually gobbled the last bit of her hotdog. Elijah still had more to eat, and he felt the need to eat a bit faster so he could free his hands.
"Oh! Shoot! I nearly forgot. Ok, I'm going to need a payphone. I always forget about the tech in this city." Kyoufu said, smirking a bit. To Elijah, it didn't make much sense. Payphones? They still had those around? But wasn't it the 21st century? How many people even used them? Elijah looked around. He hadn't been paying attention to the vehicles and billboard advertisements. Everything in this city had an early 90s aesthetic to it. He couldn't spot a single vehicle from his era.
After a bit of walking, Kyoufu and Elijah had managed to spot a payphone across the street from the building that Santiago was in.
"There were a couple of those down the street already." Elijah said, a bit annoyed as they approached the payphone.
"Just watch Bubble-gum dumb dumb." Kyoufu said. Before she even worked the payphone, she took out a pack of watermelon flavored gum, then took out one wrap and opened it. She popped one in her mouth and started shuffling her pockets for coins.
Once she had found some quarters, she picked up the phone and held it to her ear. Once she heard the dial tone, she then inserted the quarters into the mechanism. Elijah couldn't tell what number she was dialing. She did it too fast, but he didn't care that much for it anyway.
How long is she going to help me for? It's not like she owes me anything. Is there a punishment that I would get for Ascending without a philosophy?
Elijah waited for Kyoufu to start talking.
2
Santiago's office was a mess. Paper , notebooks, and some unfinished contracts were scattered all over the place. He was leaning against his chair, staring at the ceiling. He had just gotten off the phone with one of his clients. They were having some serious mental and financial problems. Also, still having to pay off some debt probably didn't help their issues either. Santiago heard the phone ring again. Another client. He rubbed his temples.
Please...just let this one go easy, or, at least easier than the last. And no death threats, obviously. If I pick up this call and...
He picked up the call, waiting patiently for the other person on the other line to respond. He had been used to angry and miserable clients. There were times when fixing their problems and blindspots had been fulfilling, but now, he just felt like most of it would've just induced a headache.
"Hello?" The person on the other line said softly.
"Hi, this is Santiago, what can I do for you?" Santiago asked. There was a pause, then, a small giggle coming from the other end. He swore, if another potential client started messing with him now, of all times...Yea, he didn't have time for this shit.
"Sorry, but if you don't have a problem then you can call back lat—"
"I'd like to order a bacon hamburger, double patty, American cheese, gluten free preference, and some slice of pickles please?" The feminine voice on the other side of the phone said.
No, Santiago knew exactly what this had been about. He quickly slammed the phone down to its holder, got up, and strolled towards the window on the right side of his office. If there was anyone silly enough to pull a prank call at that level on his business—it could've only been one woman. One dead woman, for that matter.
3
Kyoufu slammed the payphone back to its holder and gave a glance at Elijah, who was still confused about the whole point of the talk. There would be no reason for Kyoufu to even call this Santiago person if they were right in front of her. She could just walk inside the building with Elijah and see Santiago, so why? Why did she choose this alternative?
Elijah looked up, sensing someone or something staring down at him. From what looked like the second floor of the building across the street, a man wearing a business suit had been staring down at him. Elijah could even make out his facial expression—it had been akin to that of a worker seeing another task added to their list of a mountain of tasks already.
"What's wrong?" Kyoufu asked, caressing her hair. She adjusted her glasses. Elijah took a step back and pointed at the second floor of the building.
"That's...uh, Santiago, right?" Elijah asked, his voice a little weary.
Kyoufu followed the direction of his finger until she had seen what he had meant: a business man staring down at them from the second floor. She smirked and glanced back at Elijah, who now didn't feel all that comfortable with this whole "interview process".
"Remind me why I need to go see this guy again?"
"Well, you don't know what your philosophy is. If you did, then we wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have to go through these hurdles."
"But why? I mean, you just met me. You could've sent me back down those steps like you said, but you didn't. What motive is guiding you?" Elijah asked, leaning forward.
Kyoufu looked back at Elijah, then focused her sights on Santiago. She could see him adjust his tie and slowly walk away from the window.
"Cause I'll get smote if I let a spirit try to ascend without a philosophy, and as for the reason I didn't send you down..." Kyoufu started plainly, then looked out into the horizon of the city. "I'm just doing this for the love of the game. You're asking too many questions. Just be grateful I like good company for now. It gets boring talking to a lot of spirits, and then you never see them again, and when you do see them..." Kyoufu paused.
There was something dark beneath the tone of her voice. It would've carried onto the next thing that she was about to say, but she suppressed it.
"Just know that I'm rooting for you, got it?" Kyoufu said, putting a thumbs up.
Smote? By Alder? Damn, what a cruel ass god. Is there no leeway? No exceptions. Who would want to work under something like this? I guess I don't really have a choice. It just makes me more curious...though...what was Donovan's philosophy? No, he couldn't have had one before I did. I don't remember him being into this stuff when we were alive.
"Ok, sure, whatever." Elijah replied. Before he could approach the pedestrian crosswalk, he turned back to Kyoufu, wanting to ask one more question.
"Sorry, but, just one more question—what was my spiritual brother's philosophy?" Elijah asked.
"I can't tell you that either. The same consequence applies." Kyoufu said.
"Ah, damn."
"If you're wondering why I can't enter Santiago's taka, it's complicated. I would alter his taka with just my mere presence, then, by the will of Alder, I would be forced to..." Kyoufu started, but instead of saying the last word, she simply made a slice gesture with her finger in front of her throat. Elijah gulped, his eyes widening a bit. He was about to say something else—oof!
"Hey! Watch it there kid! I'm in a rush, get out of the way!" A civilian said, brushing through Elijah.
Elijah nearly groaned, then straightened up. Kyoufu looked at the civilian, then back at Elijah.
"So you're just going to wait out here for me?" Elijah asked. Kyoufu nodded, still chewing her bubblegum.
"Yup, bubblegum dumb-dumb." Kyoufu said, gesturing to the pedestrian crosswalk.
Alright, this better be good.
Elijah clenched his fists and started walking down the crosswalk. He was already imagining this Santiago guy, what he was like, and how he would talk to him during the supposed interview. As he got closer to the doors of the building, he felt his body steaming up again. It was the same phenomenon that had taken place when he had been near the Ascension Gates and sprinting after Donovan. He stopped abruptly and examined the palms of his hands.
All you have to do is go in. How hard can it be? So why? What the fuck is going on with this heat, and this deep...rooted...fear?
"What's the hold up?" Kyoufu asked, her hands in her pockets. Elijah placed his hand on the door and tried to pull.
Eeerrrrrchytttt.
Elijah stepped back on reflex. The front doors had gradually twisted into something more grotesque. Cracks had started to form on the side of the building, and the sounds of what Elijah had believed to be multiple spirits started calling out to him seductively.
"Pllleeese, come in, come..."
"Yes, you'll love it here."
"Don't be shy...walk in..."
"What the fuck?" Elijah said. He had still kept his distance from the transformed front doors. It wasn't even a surprise to him when the doors eventually became the mouth of a monster with many sharp teeth. Elijah covered his face, feeling the hot breath of the creature that formed from the doors.
"No! No way. Nuh-uh. I'm not going in there. It's gonna eat me..." Elijah said, walking back to Kyoufu. Kyoufu took a step to meet him.
"You're being such a baby. It's a taka. You'll need to go inside its body if you want to talk to Santiago. Plus, you don't really have a say. You either go in or I send you back down the Steps in a heartbeat." Kyoufu said, blowing more bubblegum.
Elijah slumped. He was being forced to offer himself up as a meal for a creature he didn't even know existed until today. Great. Just great. Welp, if he died here, at least he got to say that he tried his best...
"Screw it." Elijah said. He turned around and sprinted to the taka's mouth. Once he got close, he leaped right through—his spiritual body heating up and the voices getting louder.
3
Space. Everything was so spacious. Usually, when someone entered a business building of any sort, they would at least expect to be greeted by a secretary at the front desk. There would also be a lounge area for them to sit and wait for whatever meeting or interview they had scheduled. The building Elijah entered was nothing close to what he had thought. And why was it so dark?
"Hello? Um...Mr. Santiago? Anyone? Uh...I'm here for an interview I believe. I was referred to you by someone named Kyoufu. Does...does that name ring a bell? Please, if there's anyone here, say something. I saw you looking at us from the second floor." Elijah said.
No response. He waited. To be honest, the area that Elijah was in felt more like the first floor of a building that was still under construction—and the pillars that held the floor up had still been there. Elijah winced, trying to figure out what was written on the pillars.
DUMMIES INACTIVATED. TO START TO THE INTERVIEW, PLEASE SIGN YOUR NAME HERE AND THE DUMMIES WILL ACTIVATE.
"Dummies?" Elijah asked out there. Then, on cue, a front desk manifested in front of him, along with a row of several dummies behind it that were slumped over. The dummies themselves had the appearance of wooden mannequins. It felt eerie—a bit too eerie. But, it wasn't like Elijah could question it anyway. Kyoufu had him on a tight leash.
Elijah stepped forward, grabbed a pen, and signed his name on the notebook: ELIJAH FINN.
Once Elijah had put the pen down and took a step back, the front desk had slowly disappeared and the mannequins in front of him slowly leaned up.
Is this some sort of training? I have no idea how to fight besides basic punches. How is this going to be of any help to me? If this is what the interview is about, I might as well start making my way down the Steps myself.
Cracking his knuckles, he got in a sloppy stance. His hand to eye coordination wasn't that good either, but he wasn't going to let a stupid interview stop him.
The wooden mannequins, dummies, had two black dots for eyes, a shoe lace for a mouth, and fur for eyebrows. They smirked in unison as they took a step forward. Then, one of the dummies leaped and landed right behind Elijah. Elijah quickly turned around, his fists still clenched.
"Hahahah! Look at this stupid wandering spirit. He doesn't even have a philosophy? So useless. You were a waste of oxygen in the real world, and now you're even more of a waste here."
"Shut up." Elijah said, getting a bit heated. He stepped forward and threw a punch. The dummy casually pivoted to the left and kicked the back of Elijah's foot, causing him to trip and fall on his back.
"Agh!" Elijah said.
The dummy laughed. Then, it started dancing around Elijah, trying to get attention from the other dummies. It worked. Many of the other dummies that were standing around had started laughing and jumping. Elijah couldn't take it. It was downright humiliating.
"I SAID SHUT UP YOU PIECE OF WOOD!" Elijah pushed up and launched himself at the mannequin. He successfully tackled it and hit the ground with a boom! He tried straddling the dummy, but it casually slapped him with the back of his hand, causing Elijah to fling back and crash against the pillar. Elijah coughed and spat.
[SANTIAGO'S DUMMIES ARE DIFFERENT, IN THAT THEY ARE CALIBRATED TO MATCH AND EXCEED THE STRENGTH OF THE WANDERING SPIRIT THEY'RE INTERVIEWING]
Elijah grunted in pain as he forced himself to stand up. His legs were burning—he had no idea how long he would be able to hold up. He was already breathing heavily too. Kyoufu was right. Inside a taka, or simply being inside Abdomania, felt like he was in his human body again. He forced himself to dodge the next punch from a dummy that managed to crack the pillar.
Elijah twisted his hips and gave the dummy a right hook, but its head absorbed the force and spun around. Elijah pushed back off his feet. More of the dummies were surrendering him. They were still living.
What should I do? I never expected it to be this hard taking down mannequins...
Boom!
Elijah was distracted. A dummy from behind had tackled him and pinned him on the ground. Elijah pushed with all his strength, but it had only managed to irritate the dummy.
"HAHAH! JUMP HIM!" The dummy said, pinning down Elijah. The other dummies laughed and came forward. Elijah covered his head. They kicked him in the ribs, arms, and back.
"STOP! STOP!" Elijah screamed.
The dummies continued to laugh as they tormented Elijah physically and mentally. It was degrading at the very least. Elijah tried to roll away, but the same dummy that had initially pinned him grabbed both of his legs and used him as a baseball bat.
"AH!" Elijah screamed, as his body slammed into the pillar. He felt a headache coming up, and his ribs were definitely bruised. He fell to the ground with a thump, barely able to move. The dummies continued to kick and punch. They wouldn't stop until...
"That's enough..." Santiago said, straightening his tie. The dummies stopped in unison, then straightened up. Elijah was still breathing heavily from the initial onslaught. He coughed, his hands battered and bruised. When he struggled to stand up, Santiago didn't help him, he just watched. Elijah wiped his mouth.
"Leave. You failed the interview. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some business I need to attend to." Santiago said, turning around.
"NO!" Elijah said.
Santiago stopped. No? What did this kid mean by no? He had no say—he was just a wandering spirit. The nerve...
"Excuse me?" Santiago asked, now facing Elijah fully.
Elijah stepped forward.
"I would like a retry. I need this."
"What you need is to get going. I don't even know why wandering spirits want to ascend anyway. It's completely illogical. You're free from the will of Alder and can do what you want within reason, and yet, you choose to sacrifice that freedom. Some spirits aren't so lucky. It's foolish."
"I'm...not a fool. There's a reason, a very good reason." Elijah said.
Santiago crossed his arms.
"Oh yeah, and what is that reason?"
"My brother. I need to get him back."
"Why? Does your brother want to be taken back? Don't you think he should be able to make his own choices? You're spirits, y'know. You can't look after him forever."
"Kyoufu said that getting closer to the will of Alder is...a growth process I think. But you don't see it that way, is that correct?"
"If I were to be frank with you, you'd do better to take advice from me: don't ascend. Sure, getting closer to the will of Alder is good if you want to become a slave with immense power. But no matter how much power you obtain, you're still a slave."
"A slave? So, Kyoufu is a slave?"
"Sure, yea, you can say that, although she probably doesn't see it that way. We never saw eye to eye. Now, I'm not going to ask you again—leave." Santiago commanded.
Elijah frowned. He thought about it for a moment. If Santiago wanted him to leave so bad, why couldn't he just kick him out of his taka? It was his taka after all. Surely, he would have the power to kick him out, correct? And were wandering spirits ever truly free anyway? Elijah's definition of freedom meant keeping his brother in arms reach. Donovan needed El, whether he liked it or not.
"You can't make me leave, at least, not at this stage. You see, I'm still confused, but I'm starting to understand how things work arond here. Kyoufu couldn't enter your taka without having to kill you, but I could since I'm not the kind of spirit she is. I don't know what kind of spirit you are, though, but like you said, I'm a wandering spirit. Unlike you two, I'm free to make my own choices and decisions at this point in my spiritual journey. So, no, I won't leave. I demand a retry." Elijah replied, standing his ground.
In a way, Elijah wasn't completely wrong, and Santiago knew this. He sighed. It seemed like Kyoufu didn't fully tell Elijah about what Santiago did in his business. He decided that it would be best not to tell him, but at least let him know about a crucial detail.
"I'm not a spirit. I'm still alive. That's the reason you're able to enter my taka, and I don't feel obligated to kill you by the will of Alder. So you're only half correct, but still, not bad for a spirit that failed the interview." Santiago said, clapping his hands.
Elijah felt a smirk coming up. Would Santiago finally listen to him now? Santiago casually gestured to the inactivated dummies standing around the pillar in the back.
"And just for the record, all you had to do was pull a small string that was attached to the dummy's back. It would've dismantled them immediately." Santiago explained, his facial expression still plain and serious.
Elijah nearly filled will rage.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!!!"
"Come. Follow me upstairs. Let's get this over with. You do something for me, and I'll tell you what you need to know. And just to be clear, I don't care how old you are."