Samantha giggled again amidst these tower crossroads, exciting further her heat as had votive’s dear winding compelled through unto her dress by sewn axis, so danced wandering, and when she had neared the other women, took great care swishing her coat backwards and forwards to welcome them in her merriment. “Come hither, come hither, you two! The moon is here to splinter…! Can you not see how fun the days are strewn before us? Now, who are they? Who are they? Why, they’re young, we could be good friends. One is Asian and one is white, perhaps from the continent. Is that a cloth around her arm—? They’re wearing intriguing clothes, ones I’ve never seen in person. And the other one’s dress is torn… Pity, we’re to have a banquet within the week, a banquet! Why have we not all prepared for something more grand? Ah, but this top suits me well — everything I have on now does, is that not right? It’s how I look on good occasions. How pleasingly striking — but they! Oughtn’t they dress better? That trim of yours is too plain for silk; your metal necklace is too bulky with those bracelets; there’s not a single design I can call interesting, the way I see it—! How long must we have left, how long have we stayed awake? Oh, fuck it all, we’ll have time yet!”
	The other two started with a flinch when she had first run around the corner, staring afterwards at this breathless newcomer as she approached. Her eyes were fervent. Neither of the women made further sound as Samantha slowed and came up to the closest chair; she had scarce rested or paused, smiling down all the way. Her hair was fairly dishevelled, as was her clothing, though here had been formed a countenance affected, one of familiarity presuming enough to allow that she appear this way before the others, who watched and seemingly wondered what they might say to her. 
	“Well, then?” Samantha finally asked by instinct, uncaring of their responses. 
	The women glanced at one another. Then slowly, with each word distinct in confusion and such examination coerced, the Asian began to speak. “So much… So much noise over there—! You were making it, were you?”
	“What?” 
	“We’ve for the past hour been hearing a lot of commotion in those halls, but nothing did we see.” 
	“No, no, I’ve only just been out for a bit. But, well? Why are you two hanging out here? Are you heading to the room?”
	“Just what are you saying?” the Asian woman engaged her more, while the European woman remained frowning at Samantha. The first one’s voice was two-steeped in echoes, with a particular accent, and Samantha immediately felt disdain for them both. 
	Supposing her to be the leader of the pair, she directed herself with a succeeding question: “Huh? A room and another room…! There’s a dinner in couple of days, isn’t there? You weren’t told?”
	They exchanged quick looks a second time and seemed to wonder which one of them were to reply before the Asian answered, “I— We were, to join a feast, also invited, but I think we’ll just reject them,” and perking up, she nodded her head down slightly towards Samantha. “Did they as well give an invitation to you?” 
	“Yeah— I mean, if you lot already— Never mind, I thought it’d be fun a bit to drop by that comms room before talking to those idiots,” Samantha said, distracted for how terribly the woman’s voices strained her ears. “But you girls! You’re not gonna come? You’re mad! Are you two hurt that much? Surely not, surely not — all these hallways and you’re sitting here alone? Surely you’ve both hurt your heads enough for that to happen, right? Or you’re both starving out of your little wits? No, what the fuck’s with that?” and stomping her two feet to a halt beside the women, she sniggered loudly at her own remarks. This was not a deplorable’s behaviour — at minimum bestowal, not a deplorable’s entirely, for it was courteous as well to apportion some handful of ironic flair to these and likewise sentiments, and so in this manner did Samantha observe their responses as they both straightened themselves to firm stature. Deflecting their resulting affront, equally so to the resolve by which she took stance, she held steadfast for any chance society she might have then been engaged with, priming divers words, or maybe a laugh, and watched the subtle movement of their lips. There was anchored by her thoughts another bracket implicating speech to continue for consideration, and what she had pledged now in naked exposure administered its own emptiness towards this new company for all impressions made and all impressions developing, so curated of them each to fluctuate upon the peerage of her very implement; take these separate as would they conform, Samantha’s own vigour notwithstanding, that for one and another a redoubt be perhaps beatified in ossified’s stead — but by righteousness could no woman there inside the hallway acknowledge its chassis, and due this framework may corruption deprive security along its inevitable upheaval, she thought — chance of chances could neither one of the trio act now the saint: so, too, would they be subject to contend with fierce rivalry. She in soliloquies removed shall attenuate her grant and relinquish her freedoms of extremism by this sympathy, her beloved extremes, each treasured, testified thence, even unto disfigurement, debasing all hypotheses of another’s profile where would the mass entire interlink heads and speech and gestures by transience here enclosed, for souls are comported provisional across the vast extent by which ambiguity is construed, where no regard marks its appellation, even less towards its denouement; as well to extrapolate ascribes her census by accumulation, skipping forth, without end, beckoning the rest in sequence neither to figure nor to mind that these successors would hound upon morale, and others, too, would chase her heart forever the same; whither conjecture coils around tongues to vomit of onerous undertaking, sicknesses by vouchsafes for ailments upon cures ruined and ruined again for perfect sacrifice amidst these unique three , shall now away past their rotten veils by the grace of Samantha’s quarantine — may this experiment behove they really all ought be rid of raiment and strung only from their throats — and as it was towards Evdokija, she dissected the other two in all they inhabited. Yet the women gave no care for this manner, were still unmoving in silence even as she glowered back for a retort. They had instead turned to other subjects of interest: to the corner from whence Samantha came or the very display by which she had held herself posed, thereby granting naught, thieving beauty and beauty alone and kept of scarce enumeration for how anxious they each seemed — the European woman had begun to take in breaths that were shallow and quick — no further responses were given regarding Samantha’s last query. Her own zeal was affected as well by this lack of reprisal — to her apprehension, her annoyance and delight withal — and perplexed, she allowed to concern herself with this development, smiling thus almost upon a new series of mocking laughs, thinking it novel: In one’s temerity would those clandestine arrays beguile of a terror for another rejection, and by their essence, trade on a whim this rejection outright. “It is another distinguished fear! Fear… Weakness, too — but conceive now for yourself, Samantha, that we might find some union here!” 
	The European turned about, and hesitating for a moment, peered behind herself towards the opposite end of the corridor along Samantha’s destination. With each subtle quiver and quiet of a sough did she apportion newer strains to her poise. The Asian woman exhaled, and with a start, spoke as she tilted her head by means of a tense jerk. “No, it’s just— There’s for us nothing else we can do. We’re only resting; our wounds… Well, they’ve been given treatment .” Crossing her arms, she looked at her as if she desired the conversation to end there and then , but to Samantha’s surprise, she continued, “You?”
	“Giving ourselves up to the rest of it all, then, are we? You two aren’t even bleeding much or anything, what the hell could you be possibly waiting for? You can’t expect anyone to arrive in this horrid place — you know those helpers she was talking about — Evdokija, I mean, right — the ones in those black dresses? I don’t think I would trust them at all. If you two are just as wretched, I should just as well fucking go and move along, yeah?”
	Their expressions filled with contempt; the Asian woman had cast hers so upon the entirety of Samantha’s disposition, meeting her eyes as she tightened the grip of her hands on her arms. “We won’t be involved , do what you want,” came the reply, of an especially exasperated note. The European meanwhile muttered something with her two voices, sharply under her breath, and the women both glared in their own distinct manner at Samantha, evidently waiting for any of her new inserts.
	She faltered in stance, with immediacy moved a step down the passage, then quickly towards the furniture, interesting herself for a moment with the lamp before she finally settled her focus upon each of their hands, provoking herself obsequious with gestures of her own: first defensive, then conciliatory, and stepping closer to the edge of the table, she took to rapping its surface with both her fists, as if in deep thought. This tactlessness Samantha had now assumed to its greatest depths, and she relished in it, but again checked back her impropriety at the behest of another reckoning, and all at once pulled taut at these passions with a separate fervour. Her movements and little gestures were partitioned by individual degree, for her very presence there in the middle of the hallway shone at the forefront of her mind; these actions she thought to transpose dutifully, of no effort, and chose to glare at them likewise as had presumed their taciturn dealings without offering the pair another word; but upon seeing them waver little, understood they were resolving still to keep wary, and any action for her to perform would incite some silent condemnation from either woman more severe than their responses could muster. Samantha felt the frenzy of her heartbeat. Her breaths came with sudden effort, as theirs had, and suddenly in a final quiet exchange, believed she could not persist further. She searched their hands a second time, and brushed her hair away over her shoulder. Samantha spoke with a more quiet voice, “Were— Were you two really that badly hurt?” 
	Her question came to no impulse of theirs, and for a time, it seemed to them all that any dialogue had already been stopped at the formation of this volatility — but the first woman answered her once more, “Not really. Just earlier, we almost were. About everything that’s happened— Everything that’s been happening, what next to do, we were just discussing.” 
	The European woman blinked over to her companion, but the Asian sat transfixed before Samantha. For a brief while, the three simply resorted to glances, and no one spoke anew, not a woman knowing where the conversation ought be directed. Samantha ceased in tapping the table, and the other two fretted elsewhere: towards the window, pushing away its curtains; towards the lamp, touching its base.
	“Both of you— You both don’t trust this place?” she asked them. There was no reply, but the European came away from the views outside. Fancy that she and she alone would be more receptive to the better question: “And you want to leave, just like I do?” — and now both women were looking at her, bracing the slants of their arms and torsos; Samantha ranged them with no regard to the figure of their diffidence, only to beget the trio of a tally and their qualms soon disburdened. “I’d be just as well to apologize , my dear charmers, it’s like the whole lot of it’s gotten to shit.”
	“Yes, we’ve… both got ideas,” the Asian woman was evidently referring to her companion. “If you’d give yours…” her words were softly diminished and she gave them both a heft of submission. 
	“I’m still not sure of my own,” the European woman told her, with dual voices. Her English was also carried with an indistinguishable accent. After a protracted thought, she looked up at the newcomer, who had been stood to the whims of a feeble composure, and noticing this, quickly added, “Please, why don’t you sit?”
	“Ah, well, thank you! As for me, I’m a bit dizzy, but nah, I’m good, still, I’m— Think you’d need to be hurt a bit more for it to be that bad .” Samantha had started to look for another seat. Taking a small one propped against a wall, she sat with them, crossed a leg on top of the other, and pulled out her map. She believed the Asian more verbal, the European more impressionable, and inducing a mass coil of thoughts, so adhered these theories in course and at once chose to direct the group’s dialogue with the former . “The dining room should be three floors below, but the comms room’s on this one. Have you seen any stairs?”
	“Haven’t seen.”
	“Damn! How will we get anywhere, I wonder?”
	“Come away, you’ll be exploring this place?” the woman exclaimed, with a touch more bitterness than prior.
	Samantha scoffed. “Not exploring, silly, silly, I’m mapping this nonsense out. Of course, there shouldn’t be anything more obvious to do. But I’d really like to know: why are you lot sitting here?”
	She faltered in her answer. In a trice, and with what felt to Samantha like slight admonition — to what, she could not tell — the woman recovered and huffed brusquely , “Earlier we came across one another — we chose to wait here at this table.”
	“For what?”
	And she fell quiet for a slightly longer moment this time. After shrugging, she continued, “In the morning, we’ll return home.”
	“You’re gonna break out?”
	“We’ll ask to leave.”
	“But that’s hours away. Have you both eaten? Or drank anything?”
	The European woman quickly shook her head as the Asian sighed. 
	“Both of you come with me, then.” 
	The Asian faced Samantha, but shifted to the farther side of her chair. “We won’t, I’m telling you.” She was fussing with her torn red dress and settled down, grimacing. “We firstly don’t even know you…” 
	“No—! Good would it be if—” the European started talking. “… From someone like her we’d be able to ask, I think…” Her outburst died out as swiftly as it had emerged. 
	Her companion was slightly vexed by this remark and for the first time took no curiosity upon Samantha, facing opposite across the table instead with a soft sort of freneticism, one of entreaty, burgeoning now, yet in its crest was suddenly hushed away by the diffusion of each moment she had chosen to allot its passage, and held an aimless hand indiscriminate upon her chest. The other woman drifted to the lamp before her, tapping its base, as if to do so was to insist the repetition of that very act, with an especial rapidity — when she had taken her resting palm, and with it, also brushed her hair back, her motions soon turned sluggish. Samantha decided she was now far too questionable in behaviour to approach. The Asian began with a mutter, “I’m not so sure, doing that…” was flitting back and forth towards the European, and with a finger, pressed against her own temple, apparently deciding upon something of dear importance as she whispered all the while thence. 
	Even throughout this entire interaction, Samantha would not yet abate all the joy she felt previously, and flattened down the map in the direct centre of the table. She pointed to where it appeared the communications area was situated. “Looks to be just right over here. Don’t you girls worry about how confusing this shitty thing looks, it’s nothing. Right down the way without any detours — that silly hallway back there gave a bit of a clearer head, I think. I’ll head to this place in a bit, I’m just trying to ask about what happened with this gas leak incident, all this nonsense they’ve been telling us. This should all be curi—” and realizing the two women she had been talking to were naught more than strangers — and to her greater caution, still remained quiet, even after everything that had already been exchanged — she cut herself off from speaking further. “Ah, here…” Leaning close to the Asian woman, who had now shut her eyes, she touched her arm and presented her with the details of the map. She gave it some notice, with soft blinks, but when Samantha soon recognized that disposition, of how frivolous an item the map seemed to her, so took it back , repeating this same gesture to the European woman, who nodded and smiled with short-lived enthusiasm, this passing over diminished into shadows of concern as she began to speak.
	“What’s now needed from us is to walk around. Nothing being done, there’s no point staying here,” she said, eyeing the Asian.
	“I’d have glass again cut me, then? I rather wouldn’t . Who knows what the other places in here are like, or what’s even inside those rooms? It wouldn’t make sense.”
	“That’s…” continued the European, leaning back, “one— One single hall that was. If truly dangerous this place is, while she was running, she would’ve come across something else,” and pointed to Samantha.
	“We don’t even know whether exists that fucking Doctor Corsair,” the Asian woman said with loathing. “And a— Now about what are they telling us, a dinner event?” her words wavered slightly. “To them, we’re idiots.”
	“But us they treated fine when we woke up, what’s wrong with that? A chance remains they’ll be hospitable.”
	“Just stupid if you think they’re hospitable!” She glared. “We’re prisoners, don’t you realize? They brought us— We were from our homes fucking stolen, across the world sent off, locked in this awful base, I know it, I do. This is what we also wake up to, painful ringing in our ears! Like this I keep hearing you both— Why is any of this happening? With whatever this is, they’ll help—? You’re sure, are you? They’re allies to us, do— You really think so? Those rotten scum did this! Rotten everything!” She was breathing heavily, and in a furore, appeared to transmit with these hefts the teetering brevities of her declaration towards the other woman, in enough cold rage to pursue what words her companion would have for support. The European reciprocated only with a sudden fluster to her movements, but when it had looked as if she was about to reply in suit, she broke away and fell quiet once more. “You! Your concerns about this place, you truly don’t have any?” the Asian then asked Samantha with severity aface. The other woman also looked her way in pensive regard, yet taken with a disposition belying an insistence for Samantha to respond. 
	This came to her as a surprise, and she slowly retracted her map. “No… What— Do you mean the fact we’re all in here? That’s the point, I’m going to find out what they’re doing.” And in giving her reply, Samantha beheld the others as much the conversation beleaguered thus their worry: Though they were incited to break their previous display with shifting, inconsistent motion, though their breaths had started to constrict more rapidly and they now looked even more troubled, neither one now kept herself aside, and all composure was dispensed upon her. She had cherished, at some point during this meeting, that they had touched upon some intricate labour portending for her a heartfelt sentiment and supposition due the evening’s circumstances, knowing all heed for care or concern, however secondhand she might have received each matter, or however in perplexity their true breadth had been outlined thus far by her own vigilance, would ignite her roguery twicefold, and these women would undoubtedly look on , from now until days beyond, beheld unto her very carriage dancing there within the dark of the tower’s passageways. She could not provide for them any reprieve — and trembled upon the notion they would not find reprieve for a time, yet answered their demeanour with similar comport.
	“Your name is?” asked the Asian woman.
	“Samantha Halley,” she spoke quieter now. “Just call me Samantha, or Sa— Just Samantha, I mean.” 
	“I’m Tsui.” She gave a heavy exhale, fell listless, and with a flick of her head, referred to the European with a slight frown, as though she herself had been pained. But nonetheless did the woman Tsui lean forward to place a gentle hand atop her companion’s palm. “There’s no reason we should remain strangers, her I’ve already told,” and she nodded once more to Samantha. 
	The second one addressed her again. “Aluhruna I’m called.” Nothing else was said.
	“We woke up a few hours ago, we’ve since then been looking for a way to leave,” Tsui continued as she remained observing the woman Aluhruna, compelling herself astir upon this statement by small gestures and tilts whenever the other wriggled in her seat. “Ah, I hate this place, there’s for it no reason, there’s none at all! I spoke, when I woke up, with another woman, some girl wearing black — Aluhruna says she did, too — for our admission, gas poisoning is the reason she gave! Nothing about this incident can I remember; even before waking up, there’s nothing, only— Only…” and she paused here in a momentary lapse as she gazed off, settling something to mind before again addressing Samantha. “… And so I wanted most to leave the building, went outside the room , but look, the less sense I had that everything was as it appeared, exploring more. Well, it’s all— It’s nonsense! Samantha, what you said just now, you’re right! For this nonsense, it’s the only thing I can say…” She gestured with a choke of fatigue, turning at once such that her back was to the wall and she was then sitting sideways on her chair . “When it was a bit after that, I found her.” With another flick of her head, Tsui pointed at Aluhruna. “She was in one of these same hallways, only this one was dark, a lot darker than the ones going around endlessly on this floor— What’s even worse was every single window there broken, everywhere with shards, everywhere! Torn cloth all flung about, the wind was like a loud whistle blowing through the broken panes; whatever’d happened I tried asking about from Aluhruna, but she couldn’t either give a word of explanation ! We ran off — of course we did, wouldn’t you? So after seeing that, we’ve just decided to look for an exit, or even, for rest, a proper spot like here. All these halls— Ah, about stairs was it you asked us? No, I’ve told you there are no stairs, not here, at least; only rooms I don’t dare enter are all I’ve come across; those I wouldn’t explore further, even with other people, no, not in a group! It’s for me sensible to stay here waiting for the morning, this building otherwise is too dreadful! I hate it, I hate it— We haven’t the slightest knowledge why we’re here— Who do you think we could ask?” Tsui spoke with shallow breath, and was slightly shaking once she had finished. Aluhruna remained silent throughout, but had by this time ceased what restlessness she had been exhibiting thus far. 
	Contrariwise, the final words of Tsui’s recollection caused Samantha to smile anew. “Rooms—? What, are they troubling you? Where can I find these rooms, then?”
	“What are you, an idiot, then? Of its danger is what I just told you!” Tsui beckoned, standing up.
	“You don’t really know that,” Samantha waved away, still smiling. “Aluhruna’s right, I didn’t see anything awful on my way here. To be honest, Evdokija, the woman who woke me up, she’s too cautious for her own good, surely! She’s a bit too polite, even — I dunno, she only warned me of things that I never actually saw for real.” 
	Tsui scowled at her with incredulity. “We don’t— We can’t certainly know there’s nothing to caution ourselves against! Before you came, I was just saying to her,” — she waved a palm to Aluhruna — “we might, until the morning, stay inside one of the rooms we woke up in, with the door locked. We weren’t hurt in our sleep, so might our rooms—” 
	“But we’re past that now, we can’t go back!” replied Samantha, confident in the direct loftiness with which she disposed her words.
	“No! You listen! You both are too carelessly considering our situation. We weren’t hurt in our sleep, that’s a fact . Staying together in hiding is better than wandering for any purpose outside; and indeed it’s better than us alone hiding, even if they want to ransom us, or for hurting us have little care, or whatever else. There are people who’ve survived that way, trust me. I swear: staying in one of those rooms is a good option we can take, I’ve seen it succeed before.” 
	“How’s your logic come by?” Aluhruna asked suddenly. 
	Tsui continued as she sat, “Why else would initially they separate us? Suppose we’re by ourselves walking these halls, then seen by a guard. If we’re seen as risks — I’d say we would be — into anger he’d be thrown, would have us beaten back inside our rooms, then he’d do what? We’d never have time nor the benefit enabling we alone explain ourselves. We would, for worse assault, be targeted. This place, the politeness of its hosts, don’t you trust in any; a fucking monster would always try to rape us as he pleases. Being already discovered in such a simple scenario means any solo objective would result the same as if we’d, from the start, stayed in our rooms. I suppose we can, one after another, sneak through this place, but the layout of this building prevents us; certainly we’d not be capable as a group, no. Besides, in these halls, if as a group we’re noticed, suddenly there are more questions for the guard, asking himself: ‘Why are they together? Has clearance been given for them to see each other? If they attempt escape, what method would be better for me to threaten them back into their cell? If by me one is beaten, would I stop my beatings if fought against by the other two prisoners before they throw more chaos into everything; can I assuredly do so?’ He’ll completely be confused; I wouldn’t place at all within the hands of a guard who’s lost his bearing any of our security, even less within the hands of anything else a rotten place like this would offer us.”
	“If that’s the case, they’d keep us locked in the rooms; those girls in black wouldn’t have met with us at all, let alone open the door if they didn’t want us walking through the building. Evdokija even told me to leave,” Samantha pointed out.
	“And would with that sort of security, more strict they’d be,” Aluhruna addressed. “The women who woke us besides, we’ve met nobody else. Hardly prisoners we are.”
	“Yeah, and the banquet invites don’t go with your theory that meeting up would be shit for whoever’s running this.” 
	Tsui was speechless, and almost looked puzzled. She slumped more into her chair. “Why, rather than finding shelter in any of our rooms, would you both humour what they’re saying…? How do you know they’re not lying—? I can’t believe you two—”
	“It— It’s not them I’m humouring — I’m the same, I want to leave!” exclaimed Aluhruna in a sudden loud voice, which surprised Samantha. “But… information without, how else would we even do that?” 
	“We’ll then, on our own in the morning, get that information; with these captors I’ll not leave our safety!” Tsui retorted. 
	“Regardless, we’re then gonna have to leave here, and these things find! Won’t we?”
	Tsui had taken to no further answers, and she glared off, grunting. One of her legs began to bounce restless. 
	Aluhruna again murmured something neither of the other two were able to hear, and towards them did she steal some glances in haste, with an imploring look.
	After moments of thought, shared mutually among the three, Samantha spoke up, “Well then, why haven’t you just dragged her away to find an exit?” She was pointing at Tsui as she turned to Aluhruna, who at once was frazzled and shied against her seeming balance.
	“I’m… I’m not—” she reached for any scramble of explanation. “I’m not saying she’s disagreeable… or any of her ideas, I mean— Just as scared I am for—” 
	“I’m not scared, don’t mistake me,” Tsui responded with a sigh. “Common sense, it’s just that. Towards random people, for these things to happen — innocent people — it’s much too often for a crime like this to be a coincidence, trafficked like this… Something worse… Deluding yourselves like this as women, I simply can’t stand you two.”
	“So it’s fear you’re both feeling?” crooned Samantha. “But of what exactly? I’m not saying I don’t feel the same, either, but I’d just want to hear from you lot.”
	“Of what? Are you—” Tsui rose a hand. “You can’t see? What will happen to us, we haven’t any idea!” 
	“Nah, I understand that much, but come on, I’m sure there’s nothing we should be too wary about, not here. I thought you two already looked around, right? Hardly anything but that awful corridor you two told me about, so come on, let’s head somewhere else — actually, I meant to look for a charger for my phone first,” she added, brandishing it from her pocket along with the map of the building. “I’ve got that map I showed you, so we can all go there together if you two really are feeling scared about all this.”
	Aluhruna looked at Tsui, who shook her head. Both women seemed beset by a sudden physical discomfort. “No, we won’t.” Tsui said. “Well, I’d rather I didn’t, but if you all want to go, I’ll then… Gah, it’s too fucking terrible— I can’t walk in this place, this shitty place!” 
	“If it’s about that hall you’re speaking—” Aluhruna inserted, and after leaning forward, gazed motionless at Tsui.
	“You, don’t worry, I’m well alright speaking nothing about that damned hall… Ever since I’ve woken up, there’s been this overwhelming feeling… You two, don’t dare tell me you haven’t as well felt it, nor tell me it’s a feeling to ignore. Why,” — and she touched gently again upon Aluhruna’s wrist — “don’t you remember those noises we kept on hearing, just nearby, before Samantha found us? What— Explain that, won’t you? There was nothing down the halls when even twice we checked! I’m cautionary, that’s what it all is— There are too many uncertainties.”
	Samantha switched between the two with a tilt of her head. “Was it just footsteps you heard?”
	“Yes, really, that’s all. You, Samantha, mentioned this Evdokija of yours. With a black dress was she also clothed?”
	“She was, yeah. Did you both meet her?” 
	Aluhruna was the one to reply, “No, that woman Maria only we met, who the exact same thing wore. It was apparently us who she found after we were poisoned, and whomever this building is led by was told, but I don’t at all believe her story. Stupid it is. Tsui, that awful hunch you’ve got, yes, is something I’ve felt, but I’d— I’d… Well, I wanna ask you first before I continue, Samantha: if our situation there you’d be, inside the hallway with broken windows and torn curtains, what would you have done, do you think?” Aluhruna turned to her abruptly, staring with a strange, fixed liveliness. As soon as she had finished asking this, Tsui moved to say something, but chose to remain quiet, casting her head down partway yet peering up at Samantha. She was unable to answer, beset by the sudden curiosity elicited from them each, but responded after a moment’s thought: “Why, I guess I’d have run down it. It was windy inside, you said? I think that would’ve been fun with everything blowing around, and wood’s lovely to slide around on with socks. I mean, I’ve been telling you, there’s been no one about, so I reckon it would’ve been safe to be a little nonchalant about the whole thing. What’s the problem? But I’d probably go look for Evdokija or that Maria girl you’re all going on about, just to tell them about what happened. Well, if I happened upon any of the other workers in here, I’d have told them, too.” Satisfied with this at length, she approached Aluhruna with another question in kind, “Weird to ask, what in the world could you be possibly be thinking about this place? There’s a fair number of things to muck about with in here, that much I’m certain — even if it’s all a massive lot of prattle — actually, even more so, especially because it’s prattle. I’d raid this retarded banquet of theirs.”
	Aluhruna remained focusing upon her, laced in part with a faint frown. “And… And really, you’re not scared?”
	“What? I just told you I was.”
	“Then that guess of mine is right,” yet as she ended her query here, she had broken off her posture before Samantha and lurched somewhat in her seat; she clutched both her elbows in her hands as she leaned on the table. “My— My good graces are you two the ones I found, I’m so relieved—!” Her sigh was marked with minor shaking, and she sounded greatly fatigued. “Oh, how good… About that hall before Tsui came, more can I share .”
	“… The hall you again are mentioning, I thought you didn’t want to discuss it,” Tsui remarked, with her head still tilted down. 
	“I don’t. Of course not. But with you two… Such a desperate situation we’ve got… I think— I think I— Isn’t it something about which I’ve got to speak? I— I must.”
	Troubled flickers shone upon her countenance, and for a short time, Aluhruna stared off in thought. Her breaths grew shallow once more, with a staggered cadence sounded off a short, soft gasp, and she continued on without looking at either woman. “Nothing I’ve… Nothing about this place I understand. Both you, at least, aren’t lost like I am — really, it’s calming. Oh, spirits for these, I— All this I can’t bear—” Aluhruna was unable to finish speaking, for she stifled her words with a wretched choke as she began to weep, forcing herself with whispers to retain what little composure remained. Tsui reached forward, equally distressed, in gentleness thither with every soft brush of her hand upon Aluhruna’s arm. Her lips quivered for each lapse whenever Aluhruna sobbed aloud, yet she could not exclaim anything more but by tender little ails, and so called out to her, with new prosody to her secondary voice, “Ah, little girl…” Aluhruna placed a shaking hand atop Tsui’s and squeezed as much the heft of her fingers would proffer — Tsui’s expression had started to tremble — and there remained no pause for either touch as they were wrought aside nearer the table. Samantha’s thoughts were dashed away in the same manner, and they, too, centred around Aluhruna, whether as a companion in heart or some other tumult she was unable to detail to the extent of any concord as the woman now sniffed and whimpered, even less for the question Samantha had previously thrust towards her. She moved closer to them. “Come now, there’s nothing to lose hope in. Listen, we can… Oh, we can stay here for now, just for now, as long as you need.” 
	“How’s it not that you two are scared? How’s it for any of us can that sense is kept? I can’t understand, no— You’re both familiar with everything in this tower? ” Aluhruna lamented with a weak voice. She wiped her eyes. “Ah, it’s all gone. You’re graces, I’m sure, I’m sure, oh, I’ll trust.”
	“Are you really unhurt?” Samantha asked. She wished to say something more.
	“Ai, hush,” reproached Tsui, but with such a lilt softened it immediately betrayed for them a sentiment of courtesy and sympathy for her question.
	“I’m alright, I’ll be, Tsui. Ah, inside that pathway so sudden it was, like something shattered, like a tree in a— a storm struck… I was in a storm I thought, so caught, really, I did, I—” and here Aluhruna paused with another pointed glance towards the window. “It— Terrible, it all was — I was so scared, there I just stayed — I hate that, I hate it!” she said harshly as she clutched an arm nearer and held a hand to her mouth. She leaned herself back in her chair. “In the middle of that path something was leading me, I felt; I just stood, for how long, not can I say — on the ceiling was a shimmer of moonlight of sorts; I was looking at it, like a bat to me it seemed; then in some urge I wanted to leave through the other exit, and—! Oh, quick it was; everything burst apart and broke! The glass windows, a portion of the wall, even. All loud— My arm took a bit of a gash, but I’m grateful, not horrible those wounds were made. My head— My chest— Can these awful sensations I feel… It’s a struggle with each one, for me to think, what truth to know, what— What plans would we make!” she shivered. “Something in this tower’s making us crazy, sure I am we all know… All through… And those shards of glass and those cloths and that damn wind are of all I can think.”
	Aluhruna still would not bear to look at either of them and restrained her focus upon the table, yet had comported herself unmoving there seated as she dredged out all her thoughts to complete detail; though she spoke once with haste, twiceover with stumbling speech, was interrupted again by one of her sudden separate murmurs, she espoused for the women this rapid liveliness and aligned herself sturdy the more she had narrated. Her hands were set amidst gestures here and there, and whenever she braced her own body, so burrowed her fingers into the soft of her palm, turning whiter if they had not a sudden impulse in her agitation; where, instead, she would rap restlessly onto something else, or one of her legs would tap and shake. As she recounted her incident, the very mania of her words had almost coaxed from Samantha another wild smile, for Aluhruna herself relinquished no contention of her disgust, though shallow she would force breath, persisting still as the others watched and endeavoured this divulgence with naught affected by how disparate she suffered the group entire her own fears, whither the issue had writhed an outlier, her story thus exhibited, that both her rippling voices had shorn upon one another unto weary bloodshot glances as she met them hence and presented herself in fatigue: For their consideration did the angles of her poise now labour to the forefront. Samantha believed with all resolve that Tsui had been observing Aluhruna in similar prospect since the beginning of her discourse: by her every word and her every grasp there had been arranged lulls in strife prior the due relief of expression, one after the other in shared glances, then grave fogs where the three would burden thereafter of supposed finality and compel their thoughts for suppliance, equally rendered, so harried, that any singular object ought now be structured for them to follow; and coaxed forth at Samantha’s behest was an ecstatic passion: “And I take it you’ve stopped bleeding?” 
	Aluhruna nodded her head slowly. “Badly never I bled.” She laid a fist gently upon her chest before squeezing her wrapped arm. “And this cloth was part of Tsui’s dress, to me she gave.”
	“And that’s what I mean, that’s why I’m suggesting that we leave, right now, even — if not the comms room, then the banquet, and if not that still, then the front door — just a way off this floor, at least. I’ve had those feelings, too, as if I could walk right into each room I’d pass and get myself into some sort of trouble I didn’t even know existed — and this kept happening, over and over, no matter how many rooms and windows I went by… and the windows, too! I felt almost like I could break out of here by jumping from them, just cause I wanted to, that’s it. In fact — yeah, it’s curious that you two keep talking about this hall of yours, broken like that — when I ran down one of them on my way here, I almost imagined all that glass to shatter off and all the curtains to be shredded with them, and even if they had, then I’d keep on running down, with greater intent, greater excitement, of which, again, I truly, truly, knew nothing of! Imagine if your own feet would signal the detonation of a hallway, it’d be fucking marvellous, it’d be lovely! You’re both talking this confusion about where we are, but that’s just it: Why not venture off and find out that answer instead? You even mentioned it, Tsui — doing it by our own terms, our own hand, was it? Well, then, yeah, I agree— I mean, if we’re to be met at all with every single count of this rottenness, then we should see if we can dwell inside — once we understand this whole thing, then that’s the perfect moment for us to tear it down completely, with everything we know.” 
	“There’s gained nothing with that approach,” interjected Tsui. “Without one of us being—… Without us getting hurt, there’s nothing we can do in this situation. They’re mocking us, like they’re assuming we’ll, without thinking, go on being reckless, in the end shot down. Developments in that manner always seem to result…” After trailing off for a moment, she brought her chair closer, continuing, “I experienced something like your stories, before I met you, Aluhruna — after I woke up, spoke with Maria, I stayed behind for a while inside my room. It was the best choice, I thought, with the fireplace. Nothing else was in there except a long line of shelves, with unopened cargo and cases, bulky ones. It was perhaps half an hour after, but I heard a sound from one of the corners of my room, where the shelves were placed — I couldn’t see anything because it was dark, what it might’ve been, I don’t know… A long whimper, like a baby’s, but it was cutting off, kept doing so, sputtering a bit, choking — since I’ve tended to children before, I thought things wouldn’t be any different or any more horrible, not in a location like that, so helping it ought come first before bringing it either to Maria, or our doctor. I went ahead, but the fireplace blew out, it completely extinguished, I—!” she gasped, “I was in full dark— That baby was as well, so still I stayed, calling out to look for it so we’d finally leave. There were then loud stomps sprinting my way from the other side of the room — I saw bright flashes in the dark, somewhere by those shelves maybe a hundred meters away: Someone was shooting at me — made me think a soldier was there — I shouted out at him before turning for the door — I’m fortunate, so fortunate; when I ran, those cases blocked his shots, I think— When I tried to escape… I slipped on the way out; the floor had somehow turned wet, with some disgusting black liquid staining my dress and legs. All the fucking things to come across— Gratefully more I thank not to have been shot in there.”
	“But when you with me met, nothing was on you,” said Aluhruna.
	“The strangeness there: When I stood up again in the hall, I wanted, oh, I wanted to enter the room again to look for the child, but—! The door was completely missing! There was just a wall in its place, and hanging up there was a dreadful picture. Awful, awful— Disgusting fucking lot! When I again checked myself, the black stains were also gone — so because of all that rottenness, I went to look for Maria, ask what the hell this place was— But no, no, that wouldn’t help, not in a place like this… That’s why—!” she spoke aloud with finality, “—little Samantha, that’s why I think we shouldn’t so eagerly go anywhere we’d like. I’ll only consider us safe when all possibilities are by us constrained, as much as we can, nothing else. We might be forced to do otherwise by all these external variables, our plans would subject us risking chase, or we’d end up hurt, or, or… No, optimally meeting these troubles, the only way is to make certain one variable, just a single variable! Please, I’m telling you both: we should find a safe room, stay for the rest of our admission there inside. We shouldn’t at all run around, being prudent — Samantha, you’ve only once in these halls been lucky, I’m sure,” and Tsui leaned back on her chair, waiting for Samantha’s response. Her movements slowed and stilled as the latter fixed herself more steadily seated, yet regardless of the disposition the former had chosen to showcase at the close of her proposal, Samantha did not reciprocate in turn, crossing her legs, folding her arms, one atop the other with protracted care, and she gave a slight frown in this brief lapse. There was nothing in Tsui’s speech distinguishing the very concerns she upheld and impressed upon her listeners, and she seemed to be entirely averse in its detail, did not speak out further, exclaiming nothing more as she waited; the discussion remained altogether insensible, Samantha thought, therewith her conclusive schematic felt no schematic was set in its own right, but composed due some wild ambiguity where lay kept in this confinement had all her nuance been divested of proclamation and its very crux — but there was wrought disclosure on Tsui’s own behalf: where she had dismissed reason to leave the room when the hearth had been extinguished without explanation, to instead remain there, for some odd bodiless weeping, with no dedicated planning of time, before she was ultimately fired upon. 
	“You’re overthinking this way too much, you’re screwing— You’re affording yourself no prudent thought with these contingencies,” Samantha giggled. “ Fine then, what about this for now, assuming we take this matter: what about the possibility we shore up here overnight, only to realize in the end that no one in this establishment will ever let us out? Let alone just trust another person would approach the building from outside and release us for no reason? Does anyone know we’re in here, even? You have to understand, Tsui, it’s more likely nobody’s got an idea, or that anyone really gives a shit. Everything depends on whoever’s brought us to this building, to this tower. Well, here, my plan is the most logical option we could possibly make, and it’s an option we definitely ought to take over that of waiting: just go to the comms room. That’s it! But yeah, the three of us woke up without any sort of binding, for goodness’ sake, what are you on about with us being imprisoned? You know that’s the simplest method they could’ve taken to keep us trapped? Let’s just go.” 
	Tsui would not look her way throughout this entire explanation, and it was evident her spirits had been completely defeated, but by what, Samantha could not presume. She was in deep thought. Samantha had all the while envisioned her response to focus on something lesser than that of procession onward and away from the table, perhaps with regard primarily for the questionable corridors they would be required to travel through before arriving anywhere else, and so had also begun to form an answer towards anything the woman could proffer as a counterpoint. She peered across: Aluhruna had kept eyes on Tsui ever since the latter’s latest story, yet seemed eager at once to join Samantha after her final statement, glaring at her no longer by the cast of apprehension. With a silent deep breath, Samantha impressed upon Tsui her fullest bearing. 
	After another respite, Tsui flicked her eyes between them both, with a slight erratic lurch backwards in her chair. “We would take which route?” she let out with a heavy groan. 
	Samantha then grimaced, handed the map to her and pointed imploringly to the communications room. Tsui cursed aloud — yet this would not be brooked, and standing up with a thrift in fervour, Samantha called to them both, “We’ll need to go now that we’ve come to a decision .” The two other women remained seated, contending with their respective uncertainties, but as Aluhruna took to her feet, adjusted her belt, and fixed down her dress, she urged her companion as well, “Come. We have to.”
	Tsui stared up at her and did not stray focus likewise towards Samantha, keeping instead upon Aluhruna and Aluhruna alone, with a slow sigh, and when it seemed as if she were to append her fretting even further with belligerence, so, too, did she follow in this manner and brush down irascibly at the silk lengths of her own skirt, switching off the lamp before they pressed on their way. As Tsui paced along, her initial steps did not pace in a timing that matched the others, for more concentration was held to the fold of her arms braced close to her chest — she still did not care to focus on Samantha, nor her map, even when Samantha herself had watched her come near, thinking with all heart and charm Tsui would have most assuredly kept alongside Aluhruna regardless of the destination for how her poise stumbled and swayed with each her rebukes upon the vast length of the hallway, even had she been led to no aim. Samantha giggled again as she observed the two, almost in belief their previous conversation had never taken place, that she was now capable of forcing them outright to bound and run from the rot of the table and the rot of the lamp, in this implement could so navigate the tower, commit even more heinous acts towards anyone they might come to speak with in the hallways, here and later; for Tsui, by this apparatus, still necessitated substance withal of concern due which she could nonetheless allot the totality its disposal in actualization, and Aluhruna, quite the complement, walked with reluctance, though more sanguineous to a supplement’s mete was neither invigorated nor bewitched by Samantha’s very stance, but was insistent to draw it high upon personal faculty — and both were given similar care not for cowardice hither, but where only it seemed compelling to provide recompense: Aluhruna might have discarded assembly for another’s inclusion, thus had Samantha affirmed her own placement and set upon these greater heights a separate grant for Tsui’s sake, who she knew would repudiate the matter through and through, even if ever circumspect; in watching them both did she keep stifled for her own blessing these blossoming delights, accorded to no frightful reconnaissance, for both women had been decisive, in a flicker so decisive, and she had been harmonious per kind, come to settle again by the sincerity of a brute’s treasured conflict: forward is the path laid in the tenebrosity of its routes. 
	The group of three now travelled towards the end of the corridor. Samantha pondered over the map, describing it for them all in the quiet of the passageway. “Well, the route is telling us to go right here. Right, I mean, it’s the only corner we’ve got ahead of us… then to take the second left turn we’ll come across, before making another right at the very end of that one to another length of rooms. The last room we’re going inside is the third one on the left. I think it’s gonna be a set of double doors.”
	“You make it seem like a damn city’s what we’re running through,” mentioned Tsui, who had turned her gaze back to the table momentarily, and soon traced beyond the draperies and windows that comprised the left-most walls. She was stroking the high collar of her apparel with a finger. “The country we’re in, do you know anything, Samantha?” 
	“Evdokija said we’re in France, along the Rhône. I still don’t believe her, but that’s all I know.” 
	Tsui gave a slight heft of alarm, subsiding as swiftly as its onset. She curtailed a sound before angling her head towards Samantha, then finally spoke, “… Right, I just thought — for where we are — you didn’t have a single concern.” 
	“I only know we’re close enough to civilization, so I guess if things really did turn bad, we wouldn’t need to run very far.”
	Aluhruna had arranged herself between the two and pointed to the windows. Her dress flowed behind with vigour far exceeding the hallway curtains. “Is that a city?” 
	“Seems like it, but I’m not familiar with the skyline, not even the construction…” 
	“Really surprising that is. I did think people lived there, but should so its truth be…” 
	“Wait, what? How do you mean?” Samantha put down the map and frowned. Her curiosity surrounding Aluhruna since first opinion had immediately surged with bewilderment, and after noticing faint silver inlaid in the leather construction of her belt, so studied her jewellery again, this time with careful scrutiny. They were all made of gold: her necklace was more a choker than she had initially assumed and wreathed around her neck in firm fashion, braiding about its form by the structure of numerous paired beads in lining. The loop, however, was not closed, instead capped on either end by round pedestal buffers with embossed decoration, that when Samantha leaned slightly closer, the moonlight caught upon swirling patterns in relief, and she thought suddenly of petals. Aluhruna’s bracelets and brooches were styled with similar designs — the latter attachments smithed more akin to pronged leaves — though these were slighter in craft; none lain so heavily on the woman’s frame as had the necklace.
	“You really didn’t know that was a city?”
	“No, not at all. Traders and such, also some of our tribe, from them stories I’ve heard… But nothing large like that, would never I imagine.”
	The group had slowed its walk.
	“What— Where are you from, even?” It seemed more and more evident she was not wearing anything underneath her linen dress.
	“þéodrīce, my people—” she answered, but in the midst of these words, Samantha was seized by a prominent scraping inside her flesh and skin, and a loud screeching shiver in the convergence of Aluhruna’s voices convulsed deep her chest by an echo more hollow than what speech and whispers and tremors to which she had already begun to acclimate — in the threads of her sight perceived Tsui hold a hand quickly to her ear — and she was now emptied to nausea by sudden throbs of pain delving to a great sickening ache, amidst contortions, compelling that she shout, even grasp the speaking woman, bind her tongue — but when she had looked again upon her companions, held all malice to a sudden quiet, in a trice felt she could not but curtail so, for Aluhruna was smiling sadly. 
	“Our lands, which do you know? East of the Rīn is where we live. Right now where we’re— No, nowhere close could we be, I’d guess. There outside across the trees, that river, it doesn’t look like anything from what I know, nothing ever I’ve seen.”
	“No… No, I haven’t heard of them,” Samantha wondered as she kept her gaze, still recovering from the fierce cold aches in her body, and her mind began to wander before she was motioned thence by Tsui.
	“She’s from somewhere in Europe, I’ve learned enough,” she told her, while Aluhruna observed back and forth between them, carried to another affectation in worry.
	“Something wrong?”
	“Not at all, little dear, it’s just I think you were correct, making sense of this place.” 
	Yet to this assurance, Aluhruna was evidently unable to mediate her own.
	“Do you mean how it’s been messing up our minds?” asked Samantha.
	“Not really, more on the— You should actually tell her what earlier you told me, Aluhruna.”
	She paused for a time, but could not, however, establish these thoughts in league. “Ah, everything I’ve come across— No, you see, it’s what earlier I said, how I haven’t of any these things ever before seen. Before you arrived, together we spoke how this can’t possibly be reality… That we’ve died, I can’t be sure— We haven’t either to the afterlife been taken away by spirits, cause now there’s already been us three who with each other can interact; we can touch one another, and step on this floor, and hear those trees rustling by the wall as along the wind flows: With all our senses and mind have we taken to this tower. And the women in black — another woman talked to you, Samantha, you said — us they also acknowledge. Oh, everything here seems of living man, of that I know, I understand,” she trailed off suddenly with a doting sigh , staring off towards nothing, then continued with fervour. “If all this was created by man, might we reason, how could any story I’ve heard relate to anything we’d here find? But when Tsui I met, she told me she was familiar with these things around us in great number, all these instruments and tools — than I, a lot more — and how happy I truly was from her to hear! Like earlier on that table, that glass ornament, the one we could on and off stifle: only borne of metal, it was just a little fire and fuel, she said — of course, these workings of fire and metal I know. And wood! Furnished wood, obviously, all around. Could ever you think of any fashioned construction a spirit can make? It at least seems human knowledge and work still persist within this environment, some sort of wisdom, and somewhat with logic here may I myself ground. We’re similar in this way; not since we’ve woken has that wisdom betrayed us; never would, from one of us to another it passes. It was then I remembered those stories where, by a deity, some figures and forms — humans they could’ve been — were aloft taken, but in our worldly realm held, and never would for them days go on, and never did their souls in age weaken. Maybe the reverse it also is, where our actions quickly may transpire but always, around impressions and graces and mysteries a lot greater than could we ever know, remain affecting — our rituals support these, as well our songs and celebrations, across the passage of the moons and stars, the weather, the harvest of fields, forwards in time continuing, later towards some new land to thrive . We’re probably now just the same, in body and spirit, just not amidst divinity, but within some place where still we live… Could it now be us who are deities…? Humans becoming…” she ended with a hand to her lips. “Silly confusion.” 
	The others pondered to themselves. “Your theory answers some questions,” Tsui said. “I’ve also never seen a city layout like that, I just guessed. Also Samantha, that glass piece of kit you have,” she referred now to her pockets, “wherever in your shorts it’s kept — I’ve never come across something like it.”
	“This one?” Samantha asked, taking out her phone, slightly perplexed. “You girls really haven’t?” The two gathered closer to look, but when Samantha pressed on it in mock demonstration, it remained blank. “Huh, you know—” she stopped herself and stepped back to examine Tsui with greater study. Her Chinese dress was red, deeply hued, almost maroon, embellished with even darker shades only wherever simple stemmed flowers had been woven in a spaced pattern throughout. It bore full sleeves and clung well-cuffed around the woman’s wrists, but the rest of its structure did not fit entirely to form, for the fabric had draped down and down past any distinguishable waistline far until the hem had flared split by her knees. Her thin calves were displayed with every stride the woman took en route — and yet, though the resulting visage was quite removed in intricacy compared with all else in build or curation that evening, proved thence by this quality the least confusing, and Samantha resumed, “You’d… think it best like a telephone, Tsui— Well, actually, where would you come from if you haven’t seen this before, or a city like that outside?”
	“Me? I’m from a village in the Central Country.” Seeing her companion’s brisk pointed squint, she continued, “It’s called what by you— China, I think—”
	But in the midst of the conversation had Aluhruna stifled a series of whimpers, was now frowning, and with her fingers pressed upon her forehead.
	Tsui immediately stepped beside her. “Dear, are you alright?” Her second voice had again changed.
	“R— Right, just… suddenly dizzy my head’s gotten,” exhaled Aluhruna. She blinked slowly. “Really, I should be,” and trailing off, she continued walking.
	“If you want, we can rest whenever,” Samantha said, as she and Tsui took after her in a gentle, short-lived run.
	“… Would that I appreciate,” came the imperceptible reply.
	The other two women exchanged a glance along at her sides. Believing it the better option to continue aloud, Samantha perked up, and with a thrift of movement she did not intend to be exhibited with the energy she administered regardless, beckoned to Tsui. “Well, which town are you from? In China?”
	“What?” Tsui scoffed. Her other voice had shifted back. “To know that’s no use,” and she quietened once more, but after peering up at Aluhruna, who on her very terms was still poised forward and looked at neither of them in her exertion, she continued, in a broken cadence, “… Well, I mean to say— I don’t think a foreigner would even know… Liaoning’s its real name; I’m up north of the country, the northeast, Liao.”
	“Oh, cool! I’m from the northeast, too, kind of.” Samantha cleared her throat.
	Tsui eyed her figure in its entirety. “… From Asia?” 
	“No, the U.K.”
	“I know, yes,” she huffed.
	“But, hold on— China?” Samantha asked with a fluster, but soon suspended the heft of her question as she slowly inclined her head towards Aluhruna, nonetheless anticipating Tsui’s response. “And you’ve really never seen buildings like that?”
	Tsui gave a dispirited gesture. “Well… what do you think? Aluhruna and I’ve spoken long enough about it, I believe her theory.”
	Samantha faced Aluhruna. “Could you describe your home to us a bit more? What year were you born?”
	She had expected her to remain unspeaking, but was surprised, for Aluhruna could not restrain herself from an especially joyous smile. “Oh, my home? A nearby little stream we’ve got… We’d most of the time be able, after a sunny working day, to easily bathe and drink— Ah, not saying I want rest cause our work I dislike, no. Just that so yieldy are our farmsteads, without much care for them, away could we tend… That’s why my favourite season summer’s always been.” 
	Samantha shared a look with Tsui.
	“And you’ve never seen any metal lamps before, right?”
	“Was that the earlier tool on our table?”
	“Yeah.”
	“Not of that small size or use I have. The things in here— I can’t—” She shook her head with a touch of a glare as she peered around, and did not finish her sentence.
	“Then you were born… Must have been a really long time ago, even.”
	“After winter’s full moon, three months. Already I’ve tried telling Tsui its name—” Her voice was interrupted by another distorted noise in Samantha’s ears. She felt sickly once more and suffered Tsui a violent pained glance, met only by a grimace on the woman’s behalf. 
	“I’ve been hearing it since waking, I also can’t explain it,” Tsui said tenderly. 
	“What the hell— Can you hear that, too?” she turned to Aluhruna, who also looked confused.
	“I— When first these things I spoke, the same thing happened to her, and just then,” she exhaled heavily, “when with Tsui you were talking, my head suddenly— It crashed in on itself,” and she shuddered. “We shouldn’t continue at all speaking about this, I think.”
	“No, but if it helps us understand— Damn it— But if you are farmers, then…”
	“Not only, we hunt, we create buildings and metals of our own—” Her steps quickened and thumped more loudly as she grunted. “We sing and dance… Oh, we dance…” With a sudden frown, Aluhruna’s eyes narrowed and she angled her path slightly departed from Samantha’s. “Sometimes, if we’re able to spare, the animals are alone allowed to do our work.” She inclined her head towards the two women. “Do— Do you think that’s enough to know how far removed I am?”
	They could not answer her, and Aluhruna looked away with discomfort, bereft of any further reaction as they continued forward.
	Samantha spoke with Tsui, “What about you? I think we’re closer to each other.”
	There resulted a longer period of silence than she had presumed.
	“If she’s right, then you’re from the 1950s?”
	“What a thought,” Tsui said with an abrupt grumble. “No, 1941 is what I remember last. You’re from where to so easily guess?” 
	“Oh, I thought you looked to be from the 50s or 60s about.” In the course of her sentence, Tsui took upon the softest disposition Samantha had observed from her thus far. “I’m eight decades out from you,” she continued, “so it’s the 2020s for me. I’m just a bit down south of Berwick. Oh, that means—” but interrupted herself as Aluhruna gave a slight jolt. The woman was holding a hand to her ear again in fright and was even more gravely startled, though hushed as she was. She reached out to Tsui.
	“Your head, what happened? Are you okay?”
	“What did you— Again your voices, but not like before, they sounded—” She paused upon a strange exertion. “Both— It sounded as if underwater were you both, like you were choking, or being trampled. Just now when you were speaking. Right, it’s nothing like we’ve heard?” The other two shook their heads.
	“Was this just now when we were sharing our hometowns?” asked Samantha with haste. 
	She nodded. “Troubled your voices turned.”
	“Nothing’s ever been muffled, all I’ve heard was a screeching sound. There might be degrees to its effects, would there be…?” Tsui pondered. “I suppose it only happens when we talk about our home countries,” and she turned abruptly to Samantha, with quickened speech continued: “Then— About my nation I’ll say nothing, but… if you’re from decades beyond— Then you know if Asia—” 
	Aluhruna gave a shriek and they all crowded her with apprehension. “Agh—! My head!” she cried out, leaning on Samantha. “Just now— Please, Tsui— Whatever you just said, don’t again mention it—! Please, both of you!” she stood breathless as she reached up and pressed a fist to her chest, kept it there in a trice before she suddenly pushed her knuckles further upon bone with terrible force, and cried out, for hither she had seemed to bruise herself — raising her arm thence to hold her fingers against her shut eyes with a contorted brunt of strain as the other two resided in panic, unknowing what else to do but spare Aluhruna with their immediate silence. They supported her against a nearby wall. She was hindered in part by a sudden dizziness, yet her legs staggered aloft, and her arms were braced to form with the help of both women as she attempted to steady and compose herself, caring not for the careening lurch of her entire balance. “I’m fine, should I— Now can I walk,” she grunted, still grasping onto Samantha. “We’ve got to move,” Aluhruna told them both. “Now more reason we’ve got, so come.”
	“You’re sure, then? That— That seemed much worse— You’re pale…” Tsui rushed about.
	Aluhruna exhaled heavily, with a shaking voice. “I’ll… manage.”
	“We can take it slowly,” urged Samantha as she let go her hand.
	“I just— I don’t want to stop and, for too long, rest,” Aluhruna told them, in the heft of a sudden step. The others reached forward in a slight surge, but restrained from holding her upright as she paced herself with greater caution. When she spoke, she gave them an aimless wave of her hand. “No, here can’t we stay. I can’t bear…”
	They continued forward. By their carriage had Samantha kept herself in such curiosity to supplant all thought for their route whenever she caught upon each flourish of their movements, or perhaps downwards to the contours of their dress, or even for where they, in turn, would settle and switch their gaze as they walked down the hallway. Tsui had been raising and lowering her hand whither for Aluhruna’s support, in the latter’s hesitation was taken silently; nonetheless did they pursue the matter without once having taken a stumble off course. Though it was Samantha who had been maintaining care of the map, she wondered all the while how helpful the item was applied for discretion, for both other women had only taken cursory glances since leaving the table and endured their current passage soever one would invoke the rest to proceed: whether by a finger or foot or a subtle wordless exchange, wherefore Aluhruna would be held momentarily to keep her bearing, Tsui would give Samantha a swift frown before withdrawing, and Samantha would affirm them each with a nod and a hand and a splendour to her own special peremptoriness. She felt new elation upon this thought, straightened again the map, and curtailed a sudden smile to herself — surmising for the credibility of Aluhruna’s conjecture naught more with a vicious inward laugh rescinded as speculation alone of fantasy — would that the tower had been borne of man shall not a timespace account its deluge, oh, none for humankind… And Tsui herself had given a sincere answer for these mysteries, would have referred to them a plethora of these answers as required their crisis, Samantha understood, in due finality came to believe the woman’s minimum of word and execution where Aluhruna could but only fabricate her respective anguish, even when they were seated before and the measures to her mind had remained dormant of recurrence, nothing conveyed; and as Samantha looked upon them again in both their beauty, shone thus in fear, the graces by their silhouettes and the lift of their forms were at once sequestered to a great vacancy displayed there before her, one that could not be touched, would not a god dare to do so, only administered of an observation carried with reticence and a cold flutter in her chest while the mark of the hour had been suspended up and high away from them all. She was thereby unable to prevent another smile, laughing wildly, this time with happiness. “Could I ask you both something?” 
	The others looked at her. She remained grinning.
	“How is any of this even fucking possible?” Her poise took upon a slight crooked angle and their pace slowed down even further.
	They did not respond, and did not seem to know how.
	Samantha called out to Tsui. “How about I—” she stopped herself as she caught sight of Aluhruna, suppressing herself in haste with a strain to her motions and expression, while Tsui took a sharp breath. “Never mind—” Samantha trailed off. “If we’re gonna make sense of this place, we shouldn’t be focused on that. At least, not now.”
	Aluhruna took her words to new stance and steadied herself aloft with an exhale. “That’s— For this place, its secrets, that’s only a thought I had. After all, a lot of complicated things in the world there are. But if in its mercy we’ll be… Oh, wouldn’t anything else I rather— Not with its nature should we ourselves confuse. We’ll just have, in mind, to keep the route, just the route, all it is…” And in this resolve, she moved along and picked up her speed. The others quickened as well.
	“Sounds incredible…” crooned Tsui, though when Samantha looked, she still held a falter of a scowl to her eyes as she glanced around. “I wonder what explanation the people here could possibly give us… Is this a dream?” But she shook her head and quickly touched a knuckle to her lips as soon as she had finished the question. “No, no, too much so far has happened, too much,” and while she spoke, she took the same hand and brandished it over Aluhruna’s right side, pressing lightly over her arm as she stared at the shallow cuts that marked her skin. “We really have to get this checked.” 
	“It’s nothing, it’ll heal.” With gentleness, Aluhruna broke herself away from Tsui’s grasp. “In the room, we’ll just rest.”
	“Well, here we are, then,” Samantha said. “That’s one passage done.” 
	Once they had rounded the first corner , they encountered a surprising scene: what lay before them was a hallway wider and more than twice as long than any Samantha had seen, paved with smooth concrete, and though various windows were set in its walls, it was dim all throughout of mere sporadic light. Positioned a fair distance away at the very end of the hall stood the largest window visible, from which a cascade of moon was passing through. The air smelled lightly of ethanol, and felt colder still, more so than any area prior. Upon further observation, every window was, in fact, fixed within doors: some grouped by identical make, in other areas having been constructed and conjoined by varying shapes; broken glass trailed the coax of her notice fallen in a heap below a window no longer panelled, with empty grilles; while from another in the far distance there flashed a light, cycling through colours — this spread across the entire length of the passage, contributing as it would to the ill lambency. Faint shadows were flickering behind one of these doors. Inside another room could be heard deep strikes falling upon something hollow, with consistent intervals rumbling past to no further asseveration than that of its own echo repurposed in course. All the rest stood dead, for even the outside wind could not be heard. Only their dry shallow breaths resounded throughout the entirety of the space, coursing hither, come somewhat by Samantha’s discomfort unto a slight fever, her exertion willing, perchance their voices and sounds should reach past the hallway’s desolate breadth along the passage towards where the final window stood alone, and they would disturb all ere sustained in the dark — upon scrapes and clatters and echoes were they now exposed so distinctly bared even to their own awareness, could they but watch frail figures cower by three before the strung void of their jaunt. The junction at which they needed to turn left was located at such a span beyond in the hall that required they cross more than halfway, but even still, they did not begin to move. Their exhales drifted into fog as they dared lesser and lesser to court a single step, filed close together, seeming as though they no longer had any inclination with which they might decisively navigate the map — but when Samantha precipitated for the group this first renewed sequence by step, they were tethered in kind, urging and admitting what beckoned motions however they were able, upon one, then another, of their throes to yield. Samantha was placed at the forefront and was followed by Aluhruna, with Tsui trailing behind to catch her pace with the others. They soon realized the air was turning increasingly cold the more they walked towards the hallway’s innermost layout. The hollow sound struck suddenly in a single great clamour and rang out to the farthest spaces of the passage, settled thence, in a lapse, before carrying on in its previous cadence — yet their route would not be quelled: The three women tapped their overlapping strides aground in complement, and they, too, were cast creeping by these very peals over the hall’s vast emptiness, where each risked naught but to remain in this gathered rhythm, only to peer sideways, quickly and quickly, hazarding a surveillance, onto another detail, none to reason for the lights yonder behind doors and shadows and emblazoned glass. Samantha believed a figure to have stood in the tremor of wavelengths so passing, there beyond a window to her left, cycling red and purple and green and blue and colours she could not tally, but by this image desired for nothing more than abide its dispersed hues in stance and breath to adorn for themselves a continuate procession, but when she whirled her gaze back, perceived nothing in the glare, did not wish to dwell any longer, and switched her focus elsewhere as the deep chimes tolled. The room where shadows remained in a constant shifting quiver was nearer removed by some slight distance; thither she looked, and saw the people inside had been obscuring the hallway of its scarcities in light, for these silhouettes behind the door were wrought of vortices to a dark breadth tenfold over to the opposite wall howsoever they passed, and what extent of light from within was diminished by a single count, appearing again, in an instant repeating the entirety of this fervour unto its own threshold, was cut away by a separate shadow, the window now swallowed, had become another strobe she yearned here to touch by the strength of her hands and fingers, in what accordance by her most urgent of exigencies. Aluhruna held her coat, and Samantha gasped aloud, for but a trice of a moment before restraining herself immediately, but as she turned, saw Aluhruna was instead a handful of paces ahead of both other women, hastening somewhat the track of her steps. 
	“What’s— Did you need something?” Samantha chose to ask, but received no answer, saw no pause in her movement, neither still of a reciprocation nor a gesture.
	“Something’s wrong, is there?” came Tsui’s voice.
	“Nah, I just thought Aluhruna wanted something.” And when she turned again to face Tsui, she saw Aluhruna alongside her, placed in the same formation since they had rounded the first corner.
	“Wait, I—” Samantha began with a choke to her words, for the rapid surge of her breath had made it more difficult to speak. “I thought— I— Weren’t you ahead of me?”
	“What?” Aluhruna’s expression turned fearful. 
	“You tugged at me.” 
	The three women stopped in the midst of the hallway.
	“No— No… I’ve been only walking,” Aluhruna said, but had suddenly raised her fingers to her chest and pressed with her hand. “But… wait… Did I— Samantha was behind me, wasn’t she ?” she called out, but would not look her way.
	“What do you mean? I was always in front,” Samantha beseeched as her voice grew louder. “Aluhruna—”
	“Aluhruna, you were never ahead—” Tsui said briskly, and she exchanged a glance to both women.
	“But couldn’t there—” Aluhruna pursued more severely in her confusion. “Was there… Wasn’t I towards the end of this walkway just heading straight?” she suddenly asked.
	“To where? That big window?” Samantha said, turning in step. “You couldn’t have been—” She faced the group once more. Aluhruna was now watching her unceasingly.
	“You were in between us the whole time, Aluhruna,” Tsui spoke with a soft voice and touched her elbow. “You can’t possibly be alright. That damn bell a few rooms down doesn’t either help our matters. I think we should rest for a moment.”
	“I— So, too, I think… Fine—” Aluhruna made her way to the closest wall, leaning on it with a hand as the others followed. Tsui kept close to her, while Samantha remained a slight distance farther ahead, and though she had naught to mind but the hushed voices of both women, she was not facing either of them, choosing instead to keep herself by the fore upon their route. Her hand fretted and tapped on her thigh. She took a fair few glances to the doors lining the hallway, brought out the map, and peered over the path so distinguished, where the double set they were required to cross was thus outlined as Evdokija had endorsed of such description, that her simple guidance truly was as linear as any objective could be, and thereafter, by showing its location to the others, the matter had already since been resolved; she pocketed the map to search for any conceivable reference beyond where the two were resting. Samantha passed the doorway with broken glass, another with curious shapes on its window, over to a much greater range where she believed stood their next destined entrance, some hundred meters in separation from the room with flashing colours and the room with fluttering shadows inside. Her survey had been etched of these areas each: whenever she attempted to peer beyond and step astray their light, or lack thereof, she would be held in place; whether for caution or study, she did not deign to decipher. These rippling displays she began to watch once more, believing an undulation would there trace patterns had the floor reflected back the lights, as well the walls, and for a lapse so blurred, blinked again for a swirl’s suspended formation begetting mists, seeking fogs — this precious instance of her own accord — by boundary and quell seeped unto vaporous dark to cast thence each sudden glare across the minutiae of forms and angles and particulate flickers burst again in a scatter for her — perked amidst, and calling out the others to watch — but as Samantha turned to Tsui and Aluhruna, she saw they were no longer speaking with one another and instead kept themselves separate as they stood to invigorate body. Faltering hence, she unfolded the papers a second time and studied the route through unto each corner, junction, and entranceway of the halls in tallies by twicefold tallies, to compensate thus for every antecedent due her rummaging thoughts. This was the first true protraction of quiet among the group — Samantha clutched her elbow in a tight shiver as she held the map aloft, feeling her fingers twitch. 
	The beating sound of the hall continued, shared only by the subtle rampant shifting they each made as they recuperated. Aluhruna was the one to break their silence in the gloom. “Do you think—” she whispered and startled Tsui, with clamour enough, for which she quickly apologized. “There aren’t any open corners connected to this one, none can we see. Are these correct directions?” 
	Samantha did not take her focus away from her documents. “Yeah, look over here.” She hurried back and huddled them together over the route, pointing as they strained their eyes nearer. “It’s not like those corridors earlier, this one’s got an actual entrance. See how there’s a thicker rectangle? I was right, those are a set of doors for the next hall. We’ll just have to keep walking to reach it.” 
	“Right, then, a bit wrong I must’ve remembered.”
	Tsui questioned Samantha, “It’s a special kind of hallway we need to enter, is it?” 
	“Well, they sort of lead into other blocks of the tower, it looks like. They only connect them, they don’t branch out anywhere else. There are a few routes here like that, I guess.” 
	“How stupid, then it’s just like a barracks. Fine. Let’s go.” Tsui stepped on.
	As they ventured on, Aluhruna uttered a gasp and suddenly bent her head downwards. 
	“What’s happened?” Tsui took hold of her forearm.
	Samantha looked to the direction she had been facing and at that instant caught upon the farthest window: A formless black oscillation moved away from its cast of moonlight in such haste she believed it first a shadow from an outside tree. “Tsui—” she began, but latched and caught on her breath, perceiving there would be no merit in diverting their concerns.
	Tsui and Aluhruna were flagging a few steps behind. Aluhruna was being supported by her wrist. “Sorry— Only just—” and each breath she took had been beset unto trembles that would not abate per the hoist of either woman, yet, with frustration, Aluhruna grunted out to the empty of hall as she suddenly increased the speed of her course and endured the route nonetheless without waiting for the others — she was wearing upon her eyes with a finger, then the back of her hand, chancing her disposition upwards with caution.
	“There’s no one!” Samantha exclaimed. “I thought there was a person at the end of the hall, but it’s just a couple of leaves.”
	“Right, of course—” Aluhruna did not look at her when she answered. “How many doors are we going to pass, how many…?”
	“The map, hand me it again,” Tsui waved Samantha over to receive it. She studied closely.
	“Where’d you put it?” Tsui asked.
	Samantha frowned. “What do you mean?”
	“The page showing our course, is it here or not?”
	Samantha’s voice raised with a startle. “What are you on, it should be—” — but she approached and saw nothing of their route marked upon the map. Its previously adjacent features and areas still remained, but these were now placed in direct proximity to one another. There remained no illustration of the passage in which they stood.
	“Have you—” Tsui faced her with anger. “What could you possibly be thinking? Do you mean to tell me we’ve been, all this while, following this rotten thing?”
	“This doesn’t make any sense—” Samantha glared back. “I showed it to you just now!”
	“So you had no mind letting us know this is just as accursed as everything else in this tower?” Though Tsui had cried out confronting Samantha, her arms were once again crossed by her torso. She was quivering. “Who the fuck put you up to this?”
	“No one! No one, trust me, I got it from one of those veiled girls!” Samantha yelled louder. “Holy shit— And did you just up and forget that the map until now actually was accurate? This is just another lie from the tower, like you said! Come on, we already know to turn left on the—”
	Something had knocked upon the window on the opposite end. Samantha and Tsui turned to look. They were breathing heavily. The hollow strikes continued.
	“I didn’t— I didn’t at all forget anything, Tsui — stop tapping my arm,” Aluhruna sounded feeble. 
	“What— I— What was that?” Tsui hurriedly glanced her way, but Aluhruna had locked her gaze elsewhere within the hall.
	“I’m not going back to the table, there’s nothing I left.” 
	“You’re talking about what—? Aluhruna?”
	“Stop— Don’t talk nonsense, and those whispers— Please stop— I already said sorry.”
	“I’m not saying anything— I haven’t been touching you—” 
	Aluhruna’s eyes widened. “Then what—” she began to turn around and stopped immediately upon seeing Tsui to her right. “But out from behind you were calling—” 
	She looked back towards where they came and stared— Clutched the other two in a surge— “Are you both— You’re here— With me you’re here!” 
	“We’re— What are you—”
	“Who are those women, then—” 
	They swung around in panic, but Samantha could not identify what Aluhruna had seen — a wire mass of dark descended upon the hall and the visible windows, muting all sound in a sudden instance with the fierce scrape of cold unto her throat’s every rend — Tsui and Aluhruna were heard screaming — Samantha gasped with raw shallow breath. They opened their eyes and found themselves slumped within the first corner, by the entrance to the hall. Aluhruna was sobbing and clawed with frenzy at Tsui’s arms as she was being embraced. 
	“What was— That— Tsui! Don’t— You’re Tsui? Are you? Please, I—!” Her voice collapsed.
	“Yes, Aluhruna, we’re here, we’re unhurt, we’re okay!” Tsui endeavoured in her own welling tears to calm her. 
	“No, it’s not— You’re not, no, no— Don’t from me stray. Not you— Not anyone! Like her you look — you’re Tsui, you’re Samantha—! Ah, it’s rotten, it’s rotten—” Aluhruna ended in a sudden silence. She could not wipe her tears, for her fingers and hands and all heft of her arms had been taken by terrible shudders; thus did she bend down and lean upon Tsui’s shoulder. The eyes of both women were bloodshot.
	“What was— What the fuck did they do to us? It’s another one of their shitty tricks again— This tower—!”
	“Your fucking wretched tricks!” Tsui condemned, and threw Samantha a glare of malice. “Lend a hand instead of prancing down the way—! We’d never have passed this route if you weren’t so fucking—”
	“No, Tsui! Tsui, this we’ve got to do, please, please!” Aluhruna separated herself at once, struggled to carry firm her own body with such a movement, yet however distraught her bearing and lilt had developed, still admonished, “I want to leave, I want to leave— Ah, this horrible place, I would—!” She clambered up, and the other two hurried to her side. “With me, just stay— I need—” She entered the hall once again.
	Tsui clutched at her forearm and tugged her back. “Don’t you yet dare! We have no idea what any of that was, you’re not absurd, are you?” She pulled Aluhruna’s arm again with a slighter heave, but the latter did not appear to have counselled herself at all, instead staring at Tsui in a new sniffling daze and nodding faintly. They both moved back to the corner.
	Samantha stood some distance inside the hallway, forward down its length to study the flickering lights and black turbulent wisps. “I reckon there’s a way to— Do you think it’d be better for us to ask in there, that room full of people—?” — and faced the others behind her: They no longer remained, for in view was instead a woman with hair wrapped around the entirety of her head, in extreme lengths hung down therewith to fall across her unclothed body. Her flesh and limbs were embedded with large metal hooks wrought tight past a window farther back, leaking blood and pus that had crusted through yet drenched more her pale skin. She was composing a contortion and a dance, unto manic laughter, and for a time continued to scour the immediate space with sluggish arcs as she twisted and coiled her body aloft in temperance where though Samantha could perceive the soundless pained heft by which she manipulated the hooks, her movements strayed to no violence, neither as aggressor, nary a convocation for her solitary audience, these careful variations of time instead kept gentle upon her physique as she took herself amorous to skip over the pile of black hair splayed wet in a heap— Her body recoiled with a hoist wrenching backwards at her thigh and wrist. The woman lurched again: her figure had been hauled by ensnared ribcage towards the window, this curtailing, then another throe convulsed what cranial bones to thrash in rampage, baring her thin figure however suddenly she abided her previous dance in the advent of each retraction, as well she could, and Samantha thought she had cried out anew for a dragging heave depriving stability, but as she tore at another hook with her left leg, was found yet sustained, however her balance careened by its own vortices. The woman lifted up her shivering wrapped head, did not utter a sibilance or whisper, craning, craning more and tilting to face Samantha — who stood idle in her trembling with none to reason than pull her attention away — though inwards and adverse desired to stand alongside, took thus a step before seeing another figure by the peripherals of her notice: a warped countenance was staring back from behind the corner wall, also with long hair, howsoever thrown to bind a patchwork over and under in full breadth between the other woman, that no strand could be observed apart across the floor, or trailing up abreast torsos, splayed along latching the woman’s head in her reverie, to choke; had already coiled during those commencing heaving movements of harrowed range where desire alike could court to cross — the other face continued watching — and she did not know where to look, now paced away and chose to turn — would run down torn forward onto her route, but the dark fell again, and all was submerged as she broke off.
	Samantha was begat to the same area. Tsui and Aluhruna surrounded her with ever-increasing clamour, of four voices, first encroaching, now plateaued in kind, and she spoke to them softly, “I’m okay, girls, I’m alright,” — enclosing their hands in hers with considerable weakness. Tsui yelled in tears, “Everything disapp— You fucking cunt, why didn’t you stay with us?” Aluhruna embraced her tight. “Oh, safe you are!” she cried. “Not have you gone, oh, mercy,” — and wrenching herself in front of Samantha, she prompted her with severity, her bright eyes still red. “You didn’t— Did you see any dreadful thing?” Samantha simply laughed, stricken and palpitating to no calm. “I— Just some people— But, no! No, I wasn’t hurt, I promise. I can stand.” To ease them both, she forced herself raised on her flagging legs. She referred again to Aluhruna, “Are you okay?” “You did see, you did see, ah, it’s all—” the woman began to answer, though settled not for a word, instead hugging Samantha once more and sighing with great relief. Tsui spoke to them in a shaking voice, “You weren’t long gone— You simply vanished— The entire area you were in completely vanished from our sight — when we noticed, we then saw you beside us lying down,” — and approaching the hallway, she faltered in step, disposed not to separate further from the group. “This isn’t a prospect anymore, there isn’t another path we can take, is there? That damn map, I can’t trust whatever it says.”
	Samantha nonetheless took it out, strained anew wherefore her limbs and fingers resisted with each movement. She outlined the papers for yet another instance, finding it somewhat difficult, but when she crossed it over, discovered every figure descried had finally returned to its previous layout.
	“Oi, Tsui—” She had not yet subsided her heavy breathing, and only gestured with a point.
	Tsui returned and took it in her hands, and upon scrutiny, suspended all her fretting motions. There remained a quivering exhale to her words, “This is fucking rotten. This tower’s a hellscape.” She pushed the map back into Samantha’s hands. “No, no, I won’t for a single moment accept that— Would there be no other way? Did that bitch of a woman of yours— The one who gave it to you, did she say anything else about a separate path or not?”
	Samantha shook her head and continued to search as well as she was able, but still could not find another route to the room. Having told the others, they fell to greater dismay. 
	“We don’t know if the two of you have sound body to again walk this hall!” Tsui exclaimed. “If you both are swept away, what then? Neither of you is recovered.” 
	“Come on, Tsui,” Samantha interjected suddenly , “we did manage to walk inside the hall for a fair while when we first came across this area. This has got to be the only way!”
	“This is too reckless.”
	“I even walked inside it a bit before I was taken out—”
	“You weren’t distracted by anything else? Did you hear any words spoken to you before you were taken?” asked Aluhruna. “I thought— I didn’t think you were speaking to us, but like me, to voices you were instead talking.”
	“No, what? I haven’t heard any voices,” Samantha replied with some annoyance. “I didn’t hear anything before I turned around, I wanted to tell you guys there might be someone in that room, the one over there with the shadows walking inside. We could ask for some help—”
	“You’re demented, no!” Tsui yelled.
	“Well, what the fuck, then? We need to try something else, at least!”
	“Perhaps we ought simply run down the damn thing into the doors we need to enter,” suggested Tsui in a trice. “We shouldn’t further risk ourselves. We’ve so far managed to bypass everything by quickly getting to safety, as fast as we were able. I say we just sprint down—” but here had she stopped herself before the others with a balking scowl — “you two do not have the capacity right now, though?” — to which the others answered by the negative and she cursed for their replies. “To hell with it, I say we leave looking for a safer path ourselves, then.”
	“There’s none — likely then you’re right about running,” Aluhruna limped to the hallway’s edge — the two left behind sounded an uproar.
	“What the fuck are you doing?”
	“You’re still not in a state, not even with your senses!”
	“I— I was able to continue on even while I was, by those voices, being called! Tsui, don’t you remember? Yours was that voice, I thought— So no matter what’s behind us, we shouldn’t any attention give. That’s what I— It’s really what I should’ve done in that other hall, the one where the glass broke…” she trailed off and relinquished her readied stance, coming away slowly from the entrance.
	“But what about my case? All I did was walk a little before it got me, still. Nothing happened other than—” but Samantha stifled her own point with a thought. “Though— Hold on, it’s what you two were saying— Yeah, screw it, I think we should just move as quickly as possible, you’re both correct. Just ignore everything else but the route when we’re walking through. When I was coming across you two earlier, all I did was run through the passages. And what I saw just now when I was taken by that—”
	“There’s nothing about that to say!” Aluhruna suddenly shouted, and having the two others turn aface, she beheld them both in a sudden fright. Her lips were kept parted, but she said naught else for the aimless inclinations of her head, coming forth then back, with a tremble upon every one of her frantic idle gestures. She retreated her bearing and broke separate from their regard — nonetheless did Tsui close her eyes and sigh out for all to hear.
	“Both of you listen for once, I’ve already mentioned it’d be a stupid plan with these contingencies so detrimental; it just won’t work if you’re both exhausted. What if we’re shot at like I was, do we simply think it’s an obstacle we can just care nothing for, just run past, then? Where, in these open halls? With you two, really?”
	“Us two? You haven’t been doing shit this whole time—”
	“I’m the only one who’s unhurt out of us all! I won’t, like you would, have us killed!”
	Samantha flourished a hand with ferocity. “Fuck off, we’re not even wounded or anything, that’s got nothing to do with this! Where the hell else should we go, then? We can’t do anything else!”
	“Fucking nonsense, our circumstances have nothing anymore to do with this route, think about it! Earlier it was Aluhruna, now you! Here we keep finding ourselves…”
	“Maybe it only happens when all of us mind it? Just now I mentioned, but… if I try, I know you’d both again stop me— When earlier I pointed at what I saw — please, forgive me — I didn’t think anything like this was gonna come of it,” Aluhruna inserted.
	“Be only grateful we humoured your panic when you started to rave damn mad, little Aluhruna,” Tsui deplored. “Just now, just then, if you think this hasn’t either been a burden on us—”
	“I— That, I didn’t say—! I didn’t know—”
	“Yeah, you didn’t fucking know, how could anyone? You haven’t been sharing anything with us like a normal person!”
	“Idiot Samantha, don’t shout off at her like that; for your nonsense, you’ve also been a pain! You also earlier imagined some imitation of Aluhruna leading you off, didn’t you?”
	“Oh, for fuck’s— And did anything happen then?”
	“No— That actually sounds right! Hah! You’re entirely right—” Tsui laughed with bitterness and distanced herself even farther away from the hall, “which means all our theories about quickly getting through here as well we possibly could on our route, with as much ostensible focus, don’t have any slightest grounding! So now what? Oh, keeping this route—! ”
	“Here, how about this: what if we go one by one up until the first few doors and see whether there really is anything trying to fuck with us, and if there is, it’d be easier for just a single person to keep going—”
	“Oh, that’s a brilliant plan! From one another, separating!”
	“Shut up, retard, I’m trying to—”
	“Fine, regardless! As much as we try planning, we can’t stay here,” Aluhruna declared, with a sullen cast to her renouncement of their words. “This place—! Up ahead, I’ll first scout. You two watch over the state of things, and, as much as you can, just observe,” — and she started to walk again inside the hall. She was heedless to any remarks as Samantha and Tsui pursued with a violent rush.
	“Hey, I thought you were the one who wanted to stay together!” Samantha shouted. 
	Tsui interlocked her arm with Aluhruna’s and yelled, “Fucking ill-raised—! Stay with us!” — pulling her aside with such force, the latter gave a whimper of pain and they both nearly tripped.
	Samantha cursed as she helped to steady them, yet all three were vexed — she hoisted their arms up with rough tugs, thought by this sudden force they would both cry out in torment; more to their little whims and their impulses withal, held herself wrapped around their fragile wrists, by tangent of her sharp groans was desirous to bestow a sequence of harangues and bloodier abuse, further still to strike, in experimentation, whereby throwing them down by the waysides should all the while have supplicated of the wasteland passage black to swallow their disgusting cares. Ought those vile women their very tears thieved as to oppose their own impudence; they appeared before her contemptible in each fright shared among three whores choking upon spit and bile and tears, tears, those vile fucking tears—! And malice unto her sense, and what afflictions unto her well-being, whereby accrued, with bitter irony, that two strangers bore expediencies on these bounds to clutch at concessions thereafter — any such slut at the forefront would renounce all to pity except wordless swelling hatred, hither in unending count appointed of a desperate girl to incise abuse upon the group by each grievance, struggling in breath, with strenuous measure; shall now the matter simplify for exponents towards exponents for great exponent… They wrested themselves away. Tsui stared at her with a loathsome cast and held her own wrist especially near her chest, braced in this stance against the two, all the while gazing back and forth from Samantha’s body to her expression; Aluhruna would not follow in equal heed, for as she faced them with exhausted eyes, shifted immediately away, scanning the hall’s entrance, and with an angry grunt, limped forward and pulled Tsui along. Samantha coursed no substance of speech nor resolve to continue their conflict, and with abhorrence, she, too, proceeded. 
	All three voiced little as they moved. The hollow beating had not been disrupted. Samantha found she could not walk as she pleased, and observing Aluhruna, it appeared to her the woman was in a more miserable state than she. They were both pale, and in ill manner, stumbled with short, swift degrees of imbalance by their every exertion, while Tsui had paced forth with unaffected body.
	“I— I wonder, Tsui,” Samantha said quietly and suddenly, moaning for the raw pain that followed her lungs and throat compelled, “if you’re enduring this better than us because you haven’t seen anything yet,” and unprompted, she smiled to herself, cutting it thence with dismal thoughts.
	She did not receive a reply as they trudged in the dimness of the corridor. It was only after a period of time Tsui said curtly, “For what I might see, I’ll care nothing.”
	On and on they went. It was necessary to help Aluhruna upright for brief intervals, these but shortening progressively as the woman persisted in her fatigue. She and Samantha were wrought upon the route with loud, heavy steps. Naught else could be heard, yet they each exhibited caution to distinguish all sound they could, what breaths or whispers from abrupt momentary noises rung out in the hall: they had not yet discerned anything strange in this second attempt to cross over. The group neared the distance they had reached in their initial venture — Aluhruna started to whimper again in her throes, and at once did Tsui speak: “You can still walk, right?” Her voice was carried with warmth. “You perhaps need rest here?”
	Aluhruna looked at them both, “What? What do you mean?” And with a gasp she added, “Is that— Tsui, are you talking?”
	“Yes, yes, it’s me. Samantha and I are still beside you. Your wounds haven’t turned more severe, have they?” She brought Aluhruna’s right arm aface.
	“No— No, they haven’t been bleeding. Why do you ask—”
	“You sound like you’re in worse pain.”
	“Is that— Oh, I’m not sure… I can’t— I can’t focus…”
	“It’s that drum, or bell… I’d break down its door, shut it off…”
	“I guess we could stop,” suggested Samantha. “I also feel more exhausted.”
	“I’m also breathing with some trouble, I don’t understand why,” Tsui said, slowing her pace to a halt with Aluhruna. “It’s cold, that’s all, it’s nothing to affect my body. Another trick, it must be.” When they stopped, Samantha seated herself on the floor.
	She glanced at them both in a bungling manner, and chanced a gesture would welcome best for a brief digression, so pointed to her sides with a gentle hand. She did not, however, meet their eyes for long.
	“Just for a little moment, please, that’s really all I need — don’t look behind us,” Aluhruna reminded.
	Tsui gave a start, “Why, did you hear—”
	“No, no, I simply— If cautious we should be, then…” and she ended with a vocal brunt.
	The three women sat and rested by a wall, turned away from the starting corner. There had been effected a greater cold, approaching briskly; Samantha took off her coat and draped the rest of them, for neither Tsui nor Aluhruna had been fitted with suitable garments.
	“Fancy you both wearing short sleeves in this place,” she said, unrolling her blouse’s own to her wrists. “Quite a misfortune.”
	“Kindly, I thank. But… even with my sickness for the rest of the way after, I’m sure to be alright in the cold.”
	“That even being so, we ought court a few minutes of recovery here, there might not anywhere be a medical outpost in this tower,” said Tsui.
	“We’ll give it five, I’d say.”
	“What an awful exhaustion this is. Would I suppose, when we were asleep, they did something to us—” Aluhruna choked back her sentence. “Why, why— Oh, there’s no sense for how bad we feel…” She brought her legs close and rested her forehead upon her knees with a single troubled exhale.
	Samantha hesitated in her curiosity, yet was incited thus and had risen her voice to an odd lilt as she beckoned, “What did you see, Aluhruna?” 
	Aluhruna’s reciprocation ambled aloft. She craned her head only to peer over her knees, leaning as she would to account for Samantha’s attentiveness. There came no answer in this lapse, though as she continued blinking and shifting her gaze, the staggers to her response conferred slow. “Things… that looked like you and Tsui, I saw. They were— Oh, I can’t, Samantha, I can’t bear to recall—” and yielding to her final few words, she fell quiet. 
	By a sudden charm did Samantha brandish the presiding silence and clamber to her knees. “There was a woman for me. Sort of mangled, hooked up to ropes, but she was dancing — at least, that’s what it looked like. I couldn’t see her face, though, it was wrapped in someone else’s hair.” 
	“Don’t you keep talking, Samantha, nothing good would come of what you saw.” 
	“But no— When she stopped dancing, I—”
	“Stop! Can’t you at all listen?” Aluhruna reproached in distress. “A monster you might be.” 
	Samantha could see the woman was close again to weeping — her very own faculties were incurred along this turbulence, for as she flashed her wordless scrutiny was another delirium conveyed across. She felt her eyes agitate and well up, but pressed onward to the swells of her blood, closely observing for any tears on Aluhruna’s behalf. “Well… Well, why won’t you answer these questions at all? We could learn how to leave this hole if we’re to discuss these things with each other.”
	“What damn result from that would you get? We’ve already known to travel this route until we safely arrive.”
	“And don’t you think— Don’t you suppose preparing our minds for anything else we could encounter would help us along with that? And besides, what about our future plans when we actually do end up in the comms room? Are you simply going to contact someone and then do nothing afterwards? We’ve encountered many of these scenarios, if we could simply figure this out—”
	“There’s nothing to discover, Samantha—!” she shrieked. “We’re being hunted! For us, that’s enough—”
	“I saw a dancing woman and she beckoned me to leave, to accompany her ! There, that’s what I saw! Now what’s so shitty with that, what disadvantage do we have now? You’re going to tell me you saw the same thing — are you the sort to fail and die along in fear?” Samantha laughed bitterly. She dared Aluhruna continue, but the other woman had collapsed into subdued tears, deterring these as well as she could in her physical weakness, but could no longer restrain them, having been overwhelmed — and Samantha thought herself cruel, yet endeavoured for not a word of kindness or recourse, instead elaborating, “If whatever you did see was so terrible, then we’d have to set ourselves to meet it.”
	“You’ve no mind for reason,” Tsui interrupted in a harsh voice. “Now’s not an appropriate time for this conversation—” 
	“Am I vile for wanting it, then?”
	“No. Don’t you be a fool. Neither you nor her I imagine to be vile ,” Tsui declared with finality, holding the other woman close. Aluhruna had fixed herself in a clutch around her legs and buried her face thus, faltering by the repressed sobs that took upon her entire figure. Tsui was gracing upon the shudders of her back with a gentle hand, frequented in this motion for a time with a subtle frowning glare upon her, upon Samantha, and finally, towards the hall in its expanse as she fixed the coat further around. 
	Samantha did not say anything more and sought only their voices pursue her along, flitting her eyes with blinks more weary than she had expected — and forcing a hollow retch, felt she could not remain in prospect, so looked down, away, to fall seated again on the floor a fair few paces from the women.
	With a frail heft, once again slow, Aluhruna raised her eyes. They were still wet. “I’m not— No advance, that’s what it is, but still you’re reckless… Samantha, you— Not everything could you take hold, never will so simple a question be,” came the response, with a half-stifled lament.
	Samantha hoisted high all her previous troubles, but only held the woman Aluhruna in reticence . This exchange lasted for no longer than a trice, and they both broke away.
	“We must soon move,” Tsui acknowledged, and they all settled as they could.
	These would be the last words spoken in reprieve, as she found not the wherewithal for courtesy. There twinged a sharp stabbing in her feet whenever her lower body was outstretched that she did not care to inspect further. Her body ached worse, had come almost to a sore enduring tenderness, but Samantha refused to lie against the wall and sat resolutely away from the others. Tsui and Aluhruna were using it nonetheless for rest and remained huddling under her coat, but she herself was situated in the middle of the passage, leaning back on her arms to prop her torso aloft. By strange course, it came to her notice the cold had started to beckon forth its comfort in all worthwhile distinction, and in this suspended quiet, Samantha wished dearly to relinquish the severity of her bracing, yet the more she composed her desire, found disassembly also unravelled the very coils supporting her limbs and muscles to cause tenuous her bearing, thus in the belief she should abandon reluctance through and draw her legs nearer in one unbroken motion, requested more for inward attendance — would only fortune allow movement — had extinguished altogether a rising gasp as she pulled them back, inhaled sharply, and was unable bring herself to any calm, for her legs and feet had now surged with pain so intense her solitary instinct was to reach and take off her boots. Her socks had followed after, but caught upon skin. Samantha cried to herself due another sharp pulse of agony arresting her hand as it spiked with ill invading plucks; threading through her hesitation, was conscious of trifles rebounding and rebounding ceaselessly for action without, where no harm would ever subside, thus with another fading breath, discarded all thought however prominent the very folly to reason herself bared, and forced her fingers past their ensuing trembles. She discovered a mass scattering of lacerations had traced her ankles down to her feet. Each minute haul subjecting she observe soon distinguished each raw red cut further along the lashings of adrenaline, beckoning her shock thither, for terrible it was that flesh could falter so sickeningly without her knowledge — deprive knowledge, then, stave understanding away, and attenuate the matter of naught but impious duplicity. Her eyes watered as she remembered the hooked woman. Though some of her wounds had clotted and none had necessitated stitches, fresh droplets soon began to coalesce under the pressure issued by her prodding as she indulged these with nerve— Yet here she remonstrated her fears, twice now — oh, did cowardice require exposure subsist in triviality — and wished in punishment to lacerate anew before allowing them to fester and infect the remaining heap of her rotten fucking legs. Samantha did not wish for Tsui and Aluhruna’s remarks if loudly she might have winced; beheld them of every presence and was eased by having lost their companionship. Melancholy had sustained this silence for contention where she yet believed an ignoramus could depose herself in virtue, with scarce draughts of courtesy, all sentiment to null, from now until forevermore cradling her sweetnesses for which she would be gracious to have deferred her carriage, perhaps even succumbing. They who would lay aface the hall’s ill ambient throes, soever she looked, had countenance piled vomitous of her assessment — here forced thriving in fatigue lest it be depleted without her sanction: these oscillations could but surrender catching frequencies; or crashed upon frequencies; singling one for a trice; tallied; bloodied should they truly engage her measure — hurtled away in finality was Samantha’s focus, as well she ought endure throbbing whereafter, so suffered her deepest retina its clutch and swelling fluids to force anxious the women’s regard was held elsewhere— Yes, there had it accounted lastly of separation. Fair relief came Samantha’s way as she saw them seated in that continuous ignorance, but this soon passed. Her lips remained parted. Within the passage entire was a disquiet that would not fade no matter how sterterous a straggler woman’s mete, and so she kept constant sight of the hall, bereft of any more glances towards the others, yet knowing they, too, still kept her concomitant in mind: may Samantha entail further indictment, she and she alone, who though by Aluhruna’s deferral was whither resolved at no range, had ere been deigned martyr, shall proclamation itself total the prerogative to answer her oath its reminiscence and wish again these frights would warm amidst, as is wont her endless survival; she had lost response for want of precept, even minute indemnity or sympathy or sorrow, sorrow, sorrow beseeched, there beset against the terrible pities Aluhruna had burdened across over to her with a dead stare. All to reckon back hence would falter, but their matters stood: To extricate herself would wound Samantha’s chest due those little contours of time, then have her dwell past yet another strangle of words thrown upon the hallway void. The lights to its every door flashed. They had been flashing all this while. The room of dancing shadows still shone unstable, bloomed and dimmed, in the aftermath illuminated through fractals, was smothered again, this repeating over and over as she watched them carried upon the hallway’s hollow melody with neither care nor heed, orchestrated in song — yet this had come reverberating by so manic an arrangement and so elusive a stridence she sought to determine exactly behind which door the beating sound had commanded thus its cry, for was it now a wistful noise, or a joyful one? Shall she be afeared, or ought she beautify herself withal? Listen just this once, what instrument could it be? There was no answer clarified, and when she anointed her peers for aid to proffer , was come to charm they would have instead dedicated to the centre path a quaint juvenile ball, if she were so courageous as to ask them forthright, take each their arms in the shared company of a trio, conjoin limbs, merge breath, rush here their blood away from imposition’s accompaniment and only by their very own civilities attest in dances as well, for no other women could replicate their brilliance, their performances even less so; and these many dances, she knew not in count; nor what manner of dance be imparted upon all the rest — believing her attire soon flourishing in winds throughout the tower. Someone made a sound, and Samantha reasoned for this no further attention. She turned her head higher, away from the rest, though gave a quick exhale to conclude the tall shadowed ceiling was empty of distraction. By her render came the cold now of a winter swell, and the blackness over her head was suddenly adorned with gusts of snow, and the moon through either end of the passage had flourished alight from some welcoming lampposts fashioned from her own time, or perhaps from some even greater apparatus for her bliss: a bright blinding screen, herefore. Samantha brought her knees close, as Aluhruna had done, in this action felt no more pain, only withstood its aftermath due greater spasms of agony subsiding into tender sensate stimulation, and wondered why she would not promptly stand on her bleeding feet, walk on over to the other two, and clamber inside the coat as well — but quelled a quiet giggle to herself for the strangeness of such an act. “What a shame it is I didn’t arrive here in a warmer fit of mine,” she thought, and peered downwards at the rest of her ensemble, recalling thence her last memory before waking that evening, yet no longer cared to concentrate therein but by ill nightly tandem; her eyes were cast weak; she seized her arms nearer around her shins. Her head bowed slightly in this faint heat. She concealed her face with her legs and cradled her figure close without care for anything else, holding naught of her body to mind. Her breath was of no steadiness as she wept.
	As time elapsed even further and she wiped dry her face, her despondence turned to approaching lethargy, which in itself was soon suffused and somewhat aggravated with perturbation. Tsui called out to resume. Aluhruna handed back the coat, and they all took upon the frets of a hasting stance as Samantha found her mind alert. Tsui now held the map — though Samantha and Aluhruna had each recovered a fair amount of energy, they still could not expend enough as freely as she. They took to their aims with encumbered procession, but Samantha did not at all prioritize the route, and instead incited the entire matter towards the room with shadows. Her pace pulled taut, a heft of nerves hurried her forth, and the steps she took cast her down with trickling cold sublimation, were befallen of pressure, not a torn toe performing tranquil, but clumsily, clumsily, with tense limbs; each physical ail importuned she allot the tendrils of her discomfort, where to attenuate for its release had simply coaxed her excitement forward; or peradventure, in prospect of this very discomfort, could excitement have possibly instead been impassioned. A sudden flare of light burst through the hall and she recoiled away. The women said not one word as it faded, nor did they apportion any regard for Samantha’s own violent movements — it was then she understood the throbbing pains of her body would not alleviate, would not be soon cared for by the cruelties of the hall, nor would any remark on her behalf be of interest for an enduring time hence; the present concerns of both others seemed entirely suspended from the route: where since first encounter had they been poised in grouping of carriage beset, with Samantha did they now capitulate before the doors they had passed, or one might have flinched and paused as the hollow beating struck louder, or another stumbled in apprehension of a light’s vicious flashing, or been lured away from examining the hall for too long an interval with a forceful tug; all confiding of murmurs, each sound hushed as company kept; these three trembling to compel the endeavour move and aggravate and perform soever a disquiet was professed. There seemed to be a dark mass stood at the end of the hall against the sheer edge of Samantha’s fullest provision. The hollow peals fractured out — the women faltered in stride and covered their ears — Tsui pulled Aluhruna’s forearm with equal manifest as Samantha clutched at the path with a stagger. It came to no account they had already succeeded the distance of their first effort. Amidst the hallway torments could someone be heard weeping: a choked voice had effused from somewhere behind with wretchedness, that of another woman’s, in her screeches and shrieks pursuing effulgence and an effulgence more as violently her terror had collapsed the sirens alone by chime — it was unlike any tongue Samantha had heard before, grieved in guttural pained sobs, and every wail provoked her to rush and run with shivers, discorded of alarm, whimpering more, afeared for the two, pleasurably, painfully fearful, and she felt not a listener but her ought remain and look— She was grasped by Aluhruna, who pulled her straight ahead. “Mustn’t you— dare—” she whispered in fright and lurched her balance towards Samantha, yet against these tremors, Samantha herself saw little in her companion’s bearing of a vacillation, and Aluhruna walked on, with great resolve anointed swifter, swifter to all she had witnessed prior and still endured to descry — but the woman caught glimpse of the farthest remaining measures lain in passage, and she withered again, with a severe heft, and they beheld one another by what wavering calm had thus to compose for echoes left to elude. Samantha thought to hold her arm, that their arrangement be retained, as Tsui had ensured before. She leaned over and shouted with great effort, raising her voice even higher above the cries of the woman and the repeating strikes, “I’m— I’ll be the one to touch your arm—! I’m going to link us like the first time, so—” She grasped her hand. Aluhruna slackened at once. Naught had come away of the storm’s infliction, and colliding above now was drumfire to resound the boundless quakes of calamity, of no calling, less to string, yet intervallic to horns with nary so ceased and a loud warbled choir she knew could not have been screaming in the hall, and no reduction had ere to prevail but by syncopation against blared embellishment, in one moment having crashed, warping with the next, distorting again, for all to listen as had these reversals been transposed and the cacophony convolved of rawer screams; or could that a bombardment had never once resolved its assault and this intensity was yet the first of centurial explosions and bursts upon her senses to demolish on, with neither rest nor care nor concept dying out; the women could no longer hear their own voices and perceived only by touch they were still amidst one another, clasping tightly to ensure not one would release her embrace betraying even a single stride on the path by function headway down. Hysteric all delved. The hollow splitting bled ill through deluge. Samantha saw a blackness writhe seeping from every hidden corner devoid of world’s advent but by its own surge, for it did not affect, would be neither influenced by any light it crossed nor the objects it touched and spilt forth of mechanism in swelling fervency, wherefore she was unable to outline anything in its appearance, but understood deep in its shadow were contoured countless forms braiding and twining with shards of dead-moon bone, one upon the other in serration to suddenly crack under vicious grafts of a great silencing entity — her throat had begun to feel punctured again — the wires cast out their rotten veil, across and over and formed of limbs in diseased functions she would not allow herself to distinguish, where volatility had suffered no figure alongside to be seen standing or crawling for want of chase, even aloft in weaving, scarce any a victim could possibly identify come anatomy grasping six legs to the power of six by the blades of her shoulders fixed further between ribs — and, oh, how gently she had been sculpted together in harmony, down to the rest of their spines — but Samantha was dull, dull, dull towards any dire caress for which her lovely fingers could ever proffer a tune to those other women, soever vulnerability entombs a composition, and her abuse fell cold — their wounds, too, pale wounds — supplicants must not reject gentleness — and over, as encore, by curator, the invective had null thither a retinue but flesh and flesh withal interspersed more for blood; had a vein not taken meridian of its burdens to harm due heart’s infinitude would dichotomies have throbbed by adjunct, never upon wavefronts beating one and one and one by which our derelicts knew to account construpation via bodies three: therewith a persuasion, therewith a deterrent, therewith bliss does moxie duly dress a diminutive in fellow constituent, forward high upon the loftiest of notes before suicide elicits its muse — ever have they sung a false elegy! May she stimulate detritus to proliferate thus the furthest remnants by concupiscence and applause; once more; cycle again; and should the chimes here sanctify a bulkhead, so shall navigate her sirens soothed — peace could most certainly dance along, tongues and words and ruins and corpses rung of purity before the haunted gates! There was someone sent to this storm, someone who had whispered these stories close and signalled aloud, “I made it, I made it myself!” Samantha believed at first no woman had screamed. “But, no—! That’s not true— Not all! I only used it when—!” She recognized it was Tsui who shouted painfully in the bedlam. “What I must say— I very much love to wear this— Even— The heat! Typhoons, when we have them—! Too much of it there’s been, it’s too disgraceful saying more—” She was cut off by a shriek from Aluhruna, who had nearly fallen over, but was kept on her feet by the two others. “You both— What about you two?!” she solicited to them; when Samantha caught sight of Tsui, the woman’s eyes were again tearful, and in her grief, she was imploring them with malice. Aluhruna now spoke out, with shaking strength even amidst the dissonance, “My mother gave me this, my mother did! I was— Agh, I was—” yet she could not finish and suffocated her words with a short yell. “But off she’s went, like I’ve done with a darling of mine! And as well a love! This is all theirs — it was beautiful, they’ve told — do you also think so?” She leapt up with a half-frolicking jolt, crying in her laughter, and the others agreed with shouts. It was now Samantha’s turn: “I took these as my own— Oh, I don’t care for when and where I first met them, I can’t remember a thing about any of that nonsense! On and on— They’ve all passed me by — I love each one of them, with all my heart. Take hold of me —” “I have, I have! Like this, we must walk.” “An expedition of theirs, that’s what they’d send us on!” Winds roared past to quake the tower by blessing; all convoked with the woman behind, and her cries were no longer sorrowful, never so elated, that Samantha could not parse of a delirium ever extolled by her own flesh-deep skin; the wires sought them down; depravities were tripled through the mutual, to be so regarded in triumph, so imposed, what sinews in descent latched together for adoration by which were upheld their condemned; and thus did they begin to mock and rebuke the abyssals enclosing them around. “Can we— Shall we enter the door, that one with shadows inside?” Samantha proposed to the others, twirling abreast. “Oh, to take them along, all those new shadows: what brilliance!” “You’re far too absurd, Samantha! They would kill us, they would not hesitate! Must the door we truly enter?” Aluhruna yelled. 
	“We ought to; we would place them between dual carriers and send them to their causeways! It won’t be easy, I’ll grant, but— Why, it’s all difficult! All of it, it’s all difficult—”
	“No, I would much prefer we be the tyrants — oh, but we’ll be hurt. I can’t bear that!” remarked Tsui.
	“That won’t ever happen, not unto our hearts; if whoever’s in there is as subjugated as we, may it align both our groups as opposites; but if they tyrannize us in answer, we will lead them into this hall!”
	“And would we be disburdened of all these aches by whatever vileness they bring?”
	“May we find out!”
	“Never, too frightened I am!”
	“Hope somewhat remains, Aluhruna,” Tsui called to her, “would that all our cares fall contemptuous once we discern these strangers. But—! At us they’d cut away, Samantha!”
	“That’s nonsense, dears, we’d be interred alike! Whatever they might do upon us, we may exponentially relate upon them. Take my hand, take my hand!” And when they had approached the room, she led the two away from the path. They scampered upon the wires and shouted to one another, opened the door, and entered.
	The noise was smothered when they had closed themselves in. They strolled still holding each other’s hands, and directed themselves to the centre of the room where chairs had been placed around a circular table, all made of wood. A chandelier burned above with candles. It appeared to Samantha similar to the room in which she had awoken— Suddenly there fluttered and struck to notice that the room’s door was now locked as her first one had been, but when she spun around and turned its handle in place, the mechanism was still free for access — she held to mind a separate contingency of the door being opened instead from the hall, but to this, simply gave a harsh laugh. “Come inside a bit more, darling girls, sit down with me.” Samantha pulled away a chair and motioned for the other two women, but raising her head, saw they had not moved from the entrance. Both were dishevelled, their eyes worn and tender — Samantha felt the very same exhaustion she so dearly pitied before her; that her cheeks were wet, like theirs, though she had no recollection of having again wept. “Well, what’s the trouble?” she asked, smiling wild.
	“Never— Never here a person was,” Aluhruna said quietly, then exploded into a series of remonstrance. “You lied, you’re of—! You rotten whore—!” She stamped towards Samantha in fury. “Where have we been led? Again fallen to your— Gah, all these fucking lies!” the woman spat out, far too much fatigued to remain tearful in anger. “I told you— I told you both we’d be into danger thrown— Vile you two are, you’re both vile—!”
	Tsui went over to her side, raised an arm for embrace, but Aluhruna shoved her away and glared at them with hatred. “You fucking lowly demons! Demented minds and your blackened hearts— I hope you each rot in this filthy tower!” She turned suddenly for the door— Samantha rose up and ran to clutch her wrist. “Let me go—!” Aluhruna screamed desperately, wrenching and pulling away with formidable effort, but Samantha kept hold with protest of her own, using both her arms now, for the woman had exceeded of a sudden vigour coursing through with each outcry upon her every heft. She took her other hand and slapped Samantha, beat her mercilessly upon her head, clawing at her face and limbs and gashing skin to bleed — Aluhruna was sobbing, choked of frustration by whimpers in pathetic overwhelming vitriol — “You curse, you fucking curse—!” she screamed louder with a piercing shriek and assaulted Samantha even more terribly, who had done nothing but yield to this aggression, enduring it hence; her face withered in pain; she thought not to curtail the beating with her own means nor even to block as Aluhruna struck, and only kept imposition to prevent the woman from leaving — Tsui swiftly entered the fight to subdue Aluhruna. 
	“Aluhruna, stop now, stop this! You’ve lost your senses, please— You can’t—!” she yelled, attempting to pull her away. There was a brief struggle as Tsui took her off Samantha. Aluhruna hit her as well, flurried to degrees as Tsui shrieked in pain and pushed her toppling into a wall; she staggered off and spun around with frenzy, manic towards both other women. 
	Tsui bore down the brunt of her disdain through languished caution, while Samantha merely watched. Aluhruna began to sob without care by the doorway in violent shudders. She was witless, panicking between the heft of her lurch and sway, wholly aggrieved, saying to them upon fragments, “Samantha, your mercy—! Tsui—! Please— No, I want to leave this, would I leave— Sorry I am— A demon like me, please forgive—!” She despaired as she covered her face with her hands and collapsed to her knees.
	Samantha continued staring without expression. Her lips were kept parted, mindlessly, and she still said nothing, thought but to catch herself steady by soever weak the passing coaxed intervals of swelling blood yielded to quiver — the throes of her harm ached a stricture hence from her chest unto her limbs, hands, bracing shoulders and bone, conceiving pain, to nerves now macerating due the weakness of her thought and tender coils in all movement; where Aluhruna had struck twinged with raw spasms, issued greater and fiercer as she pressed with her fingers. 
	Tsui was panting with exhaustion and winced as she walked over. “You’re badly hurt?” she voiced low, lifting her to stance, but these words were cast unwound beneath Samantha’s crude daze, and she detached her concerns away from Tsui, gave no response, imbibing herself withal in sensation due of sluggish, wild, and aimless gestures as she drifted off to take her seat once more.
	Tsui did not follow, instead tending back and forth between her and Aluhruna. Samantha met her reluctance thither. “Please sit, Tsui. I’d very much like to see what—” and she hesitated for a hollow breath, then forced on with a smile, “I’d like to know how terrible this place really is.” 
	She held this statement far detracted with a bewildered frown to naught a word in reply and expressed herself beset against Samantha, disregarding her entirely, and chose to observe the room: neither she nor her companion could see anything amiss with danger; all that remained inside were the three poor invalids. Tsui approached the table with slow steps. She glowered at Aluhruna before pulling aside another chair. Samantha beamed with delight, for though Tsui’s poise flagged and staggered, she was seated in enough import to stray from Aluhruna’s ill state, face the table, and join amidst, her grave luminance at last enamoured neither by division nor privation, naught by contrarieties in visage even as she looked back once more upon the other woman — for Tsui alone did Samantha tempt loud bursting laughter and a bloomed happiness, for she was no longer of that awful benumbed courtesy, but could finally stand up and walk — nonetheless rejected this joy in lieu of a simple chortle, “You’re a rather kind person, Tsui, to indulge me in this manner!” She trailed off, caring little for Tsui’s diverted attention, and turned away as well from the table. They soon dealt focus on Aluhruna. She had cradled herself shivering deeply, with both knees brought close, and would not look at either of them, so cast down her head. A feeling of compassion seized Samantha immediately, who felt, by that wounded image, she could cherish further of empathy, moreover for pity — her gashes and bruises clouded her sense still with ebbing sharp pangs, yet she pondered if it was not Aluhruna who should nonetheless surmount that hatred — fresh exhilarants, as deftly proven that very meeting, shall but catalyse the conscience in better warmth; even ferocity, if necessitated. “Aluhruna,” Samantha called with a soft voice. “Would you like to sit here with us?” She leaned at an angle, observing the woman below, who did not stir however slightly.
	Tsui spoke as well, “Now— Now, little dear— Come, with one another we’ll need to stay…” and she fell quiet, trembling in her words. Aluhruna did not move at her request.
	At once, Samantha stood to approach her on the floor — halfway through, she turned back to Tsui and beckoned to accompany as well, who on her own behalf was tempered, proceeded up, and converged nearer. Samantha crouched to place a hand on Aluhruna’s forearm, taking it gently in her grasp. Tsui paused a few paces behind. 
	Aluhruna lifted her eyes and descried them both without word — Samantha thought this departure in disposition too great, that Aluhruna ought not withstand it by any artifice, not in her frailty; as she claimed this notion, the woman took upon some slew of bereavement and threw herself clasping onto Samantha, by this display surrendered further her own extinguishing form to cower below with remorse. “I’m—! I’m a brute, just a plague—” she mourned, “a savage’s spirit—! I’m awful, I’m evil— I must aside be thrown, I must be thrown—” But Aluhruna was cut off as Samantha gathered herself to her feet, and now standing, tugged with tenderness at the woman’s wrist. There lay a shade of frolic on Samantha’s expression, and so it truly was to a charm in heart; yet inwards she remained at the behest of what she had erst induced consequential to the events of the night, as much a fortune’s percentile this development reserved only for asseveration, was neither mournful nor ecstatic as she watched Aluhruna take hold her fingers, and turned to reach her other hand for Tsui’s, leading the two women intertwined in precious affection, besought of tighter grasp, pulled them hastier, with more ecstasy, and led them seated in the centre of the room. Samantha propped her chin onto her hand and threw herself into relief with a smile. 
	Tsui sat firm with her eyes straying away across the table.
	Aluhruna was recessed in form and held her hands over her lap. 
	The first to speak was Samantha. “This is an annoyingly conflictive lot, and we haven’t any real way to coax a proper result from the rest of these idiots — they’ll instigate something or another, but I’m thinking we’ll be pushed aside by them for the rest of the time we’ve got to remain here. I wonder to you both,” and she leaned in, “if there’s any possibility for us to invent an explanation why — in this room, right — we haven’t encountered any of them yet. Nothing’s— Nothing has attacked us in here. Remember also, that for the entire time when I first met you both, nothing approached us either. It was the same outcome when we rested earlier just out in that hall: why didn’t we encounter any of the same danger we’ve seen so far in this tower, especially when we were so vulnerable? Our experiences proved we’re just as susceptible to their effects no matter where we might be, or whatever we might be doing. And even more, if we are to think about these things all the way back from the moment of our very waking, why didn’t we succumb to them hours ago while unconscious? What we’ve got, firstly, is that theory of Tsui’s: if we simply remove ourselves from any of these scenarios and escape, we really do end up safe. They don’t seem beset upon us indefinitely. We ought to exploit their behaviour. Moreover, Aluhruna,” and she turned to her with a look of merriment on her face, while Aluhruna eyed her in shame — she suddenly continued aloud, “you proposed we’re of different times, of different eras; we both agree with you, but to this establishment’s behalf, its little party causing us all sorts of danger… No, there isn’t anything rational that binds them, nothing so deserving in reasonable attribute that these problems keep being inflicted on us. We were taken away, and for what the fuck kind of reason? Those stupid women who woke us up haven’t told us a single thing. The most pertinent lead I know lies with that woman I saw when I was out in hall on my own, who danced and exhorted me along; I rejected her at the time and attempted to leave, like we’ve been doing, and after that, I was dropped back at the start of the hall by the corner.” She drilled down an impassioned, somewhat cold glance upon Aluhruna, who shifted in her seat with discomfiture to look away — notwithstanding her reluctance, Samantha knew she held no obligation to remain silent; she herself took counsel by the girl’s abuse and admission of fault, which, though indulged, turned saccharine, that a compulsion tore across Aluhruna’s countenance and formless movements and swift glances forth unto Samantha’s fluttering gestures. She persisted in invoking from her an account of what she truly saw, however much the girl desired not to. 
	“Tsui,” Samantha pried her gaze from Aluhruna as she called for the woman, who in her solemnity turned aface, unshaken yet switching between the two with sadness. “You’ve told us of all your experiences so far, and they’ve aided us terribly well, so thank you kindly,” — and Samantha sought the table anew. “Now I think it’d be beneficial for you to tell us what you saw, so please, share anything you’re informed with.”
	Aluhruna’s expression contorted with a subtle grimace, and she stared away in dread towards an emptiness high beside the chandelier. It remained stationary. Samantha almost giggled. 
	“I need to, I need to,” the European whispered. “Not did it happen—” 
	“Little Aluhruna,” interjected Tsui, “we’d suffice a simple description.”
	“Oh, a truncation won’t do,” Samantha gave a lilt of mock disbelief. “There’s no point if we lack that full and proper intricacy of a rundown.”
	Tsui cast her a glare. “Yours, then, what of it? How much faith ought we place on any of this? Why can I not ask you the same, or say you’re hiding something?”
	Samantha took this lapse of time to recall further, and indeed, found she had neglected to impart a number of details. “Well, yeah— Yes, I mean: that woman was entirely nude, and she was hooked with chains leading out the window.” With her answer, she settled her disposition for their solace.
	“That’s all, is it?” the Asian asked sharply.
	“I thought she looked very beautiful.” Samantha smiled. “I’d have— Oh, I’d have smothered her whole.”
	Tsui gave a loud scoff. “What for any sort of benefit could we even glean from you? Nothing!” she shrieked. “It’s pointless— Now, tell me, what from this building could you possibly desire? In these halls, your pleasure driven— It’s all rotten shit, nothing but that! You’ve told us to deeper delve inside, this is where we’ve found ourselves!” she continued, exerting herself with every scathing word. “If you’ve gone ahead to have us killed—” 
	“But we haven’t died!” Samantha responded, slightly shrill. “Tell me, have the wires seeped in yet? Are there more of them skulking about in this room, under the table—?” She suddenly bent down underneath where they sat. There was nothing there. “—Is there someone behind us again?” and she looked around over her chair, where, to her disappointment, she still saw nothing. She was apprehensive to turn back towards the women, crept thus in this transition, slower and slower, wielding all courtesies to this movement as gradually as she liked, but when she fixed herself as normal upon the chair, found they had remained and beheld her: Tsui with hostility, Aluhruna with terror, this she knew, this she knew — yet Samantha felt she did not even perceive them, soever disparaged of justification why, for she understood little of their reasons to enter the room at all together with her. These matters had been beset to deplete what wanderers upon bloodprint animosity, come outcasts, solicitation, mercy, aid — ought never to have capitulated in bearing — more shall fortune suspend the roaming casquette girl to suffice any prerogative separates her for capricious descent; she is hither operant of geometries peradventure weaponized by each starstolen glint to the forge as fragments repurpose the mass rotated, these sutured, where mechanisms unto the morose hour never falter by the convexities of those little useless tears she in her offering would impose coagulate lightscape be propitiative, and due this sequence are shards constructed, shimmering for onlookers against the sky, and someday, together diminished in wastelands by fracture’s passage: down cascades her crushed torrential bones amidst the chromatics of great ruin. Could not but a human turn intrepid as aggressor? Exhibit loathing in all its ontology and better demons shall march alongside to be condemned by the range a hypothetical wills its theories: everything a concurrence, lacking in either void or form, even perhaps both, and to deprecate it so would proffer infinity to the ambiguous, while to embolden contours yet the loveliness of a faux-face and her lips presented for broadcast. Within her arms are gathered the soft embers of an ambush, knowing she would grieve thence. Half-lidded, Samantha opened her mouth to speak with a wide grin, so lashed out her tongue, “There’s nothing here, nothing but us, oh, how beautiful we are! We are… Why are you both so frightened, my dears, why…?” She craned down again, for there was now an adventitious sorrow in the brace she had assumed since entering the room. Samantha remained like this momentarily — the others did not move — and she sprang back up. “It’s the extremes of it all, good mademoiselles, the extremes! How else would we function? I wish to explore the very depths of this tower, this building, this labyrinth! Would you both not accompany me? How I wish to know you both even more — why, we’ve hardly even met, and still we’ve shared enough to cry and scream upon delirium-heights, reach even higher, then cascade ourselves down as angels playing theatre. Only— No, it is only upon each other we have delivered a beating, even when others beat down upon us. Well! Would you both not want to discover more? I will indulge in you, I will bloody you, and bloody the tower itself. Thus shall you indulge in me: indulgence only upon our self-granted platform; markings and mysteries, fantasies and eclipses! And there, would you fancy, a moment for the surreptitious to come forth and resolve itself as a perfected secret, never again abducted and locked and forgotten to the bestowals of something else. Quiet shall be quiet shall be blisters of blood and music—! Oh, would we weep alongside a companion once more! Be rid of those phantoms and burn down their fat, for there must be drink aplenty! Cold, cold, without breath— Ah! Could that be what those wires are?” Her eyes had turned red with tears. “Oh, how I haven’t a quarter of a quarter of an idea. There’s an engraving yet to be made ere we hoist the flag; carvings to a stance; recordings to flash upon whirs in the heat of declaration. The women, those perfect darlings I saw—! It is a given: they must be spoken with. I would take her hand and bite her breast come the charnels, come your burdens — how excitable the contradictions — swing her from the hooks as my face cracks and my throat fills with wires, the woman Samantha to dance in this storm like a—”
	“You won’t—!” screamed Tsui. “You won’t find anything with which to reconcile yourself!” She leaned forward set wild upon Samantha across and struck down a hand. “A mind like yours could never even trust itself to resolve anything! You only could ever vacillate: there’s faith in nothing, with love for nothing. All this foreign shit, in your place accedes, Samantha, that’s how far away they all keep carrying you; you have no regard for any conceit excepting your own. In such a pathetic way would you surrender yourself, then? Your— That joy of yours! Is anything there more deserving of our disdain? You cunt, you’d allow defilement if they believed you a barbarian, howsoever reduced in any disgusting manner they’d wish to execute you, displaying your corpse! There’s pride in that, I know; you’d feel ecstasy, would you not? It’s dreadful— When you begin raping the enemy back, equal happiness is even felt, but for you it wouldn’t matter: convulsion always takes, astride scum, people like you — I care nothing if it’s love governing those actions; your hypocrisies would urge in any deviance to justify the lot of your ideals, but I never will see a thing, just far corrupted evils and monsters beyond the truths they profess! You’re vile when you lift your hips, display yourself, tearing your legs apart, crying, screaming, laughing all the while; everything for your fucking indulgence only harms another,” she spat out, “—your cursed lot more, you fucking witch, alongside your degradation regardless of your ill-presumed respect for either our choices would you involve us together — that awful need for blood I hate — you’d shoot, hang, bury me, bury her,” — she stood up now and was pointing at Aluhruna — tears streamed down Tsui’s face as she scorned Samantha with pure enmity, “only functioning for something else! Do you for anything else have care, or for them alone? If we truly were raped, you’d piss with happiness, wouldn’t you? If we ever were to wrest back our own command vilifying those who ought be vilified, you’d condemn us; just now, to escape our predicament, how good it was you led us, but now I understand what you desire: Your promiscuity ever lies with disgrace! Nothing to hold sacred, then? All ignominy with killers like you! How can we trust— No, we in our compassion shall no longer accompany each other, never! These horrid things are we endlessly pressed to commit; we must, we must; we cannot attempt to separate ourselves! I believed we had one aim—! To leave— To leave this tower all to its own rottenness, I wanted that, yet such simplicity was not even to be received here…!” She held a palm to her lips as she wept with greater provocation. Tsui had then quavered in step, and with a hand placed once more upon the table, collapsed back into her seat, unable to prevent herself from obscuring her face with the continuous distortion of her fingers and black strands of hair turning wet as her grief unravelled on and on. “What have we— Now this room can I never leave, not to whatever is outside waiting for us!”
	Samantha could not respond in turn and was impelled contrariwise to believe Tsui’s words, yet contortion had flourished diametric by brethren mercy for their broken twisting joints, and gracing her arms wide, she reciprocated with another curtsey. Her comport would not stray from any other, rejected still her own bitterness, spread alms between, for towards one another ought all conceit be condoled by berth of circumstance, thus with a simple word or simple act may farce be diminished, and hatred, in its sincerity, kept for later truths — but thereupon their brace descended the crucible for which she sought to twirl so deftly her allure: such a denomination could never exist, and denominations were enmired hither of complexities, deceits, all inveighed henceforth by dithyrambs of greater and greater lust and one or the other threatened in this patchwork to grant supposition, with full intricacy composed. This promise did she falter, her bound promise, from whence joy had been placed ere its grand climax betrayed, betrayed, betrayed: so happily assumed the traitorous propriety against respect, watching Tsui clutch her very arms in grief, that she found no lamentation by the woman’s side though more enfeebled they were continuously affected. 
	There was a sudden shift in the darker corners of her vision — she whirled about — it was Aluhruna who had stood. Samantha wracked the matter for each prospective word her shallow settling breath could have ever instated in lieu of the girl’s actions, but remained silent: Aluhruna herself did not immediately move. Her lips quivered as she looked on helplessly towards Tsui — without notice, she took her chair in a shifting heft, and dragged it around the table, upon such slow, gentle cadence by which Samantha could not bequeath any measure of exhaustion, not in whole, as the girl had been set due entirely towards Tsui, and in a forceful movement, knelt down to embrace her, tightly around the shoulders. Tsui moved deeper in her arms. Her cries were stifled as they held one another close, yet even as Aluhruna, too, was soothed further by every caress tempered, both women could not find reprieve, taken nearer and nearer of no propensity, but gasps surmounting united carriage to weaken their steadiness in posture. Her face wrought away hidden in Tsui’s dress, that Tsui, by accord, took a hand and softly stroked her hair. Their whimpers died out. Aluhruna turned and spoke, “I’m— Samantha, not sure I am if my… If what I s— saw would of any use to us be— Then— Then maybe we should— But the extent we’ve reached, Samantha— Oh, so much it’s filled with dread,” she suddenly sounded fatigued, and appeared even worse. “It’s more— More terrifying it is than we believed— If truly there is something to uncover, then might I— might I relinquish.”
	Tsui wiped Aluhruna’s eyes with the sleeve of her dress, but to even Samantha’s astonishment, did not meet the European’s gaze, instead having cast herself away from the table in a seeming anger. Aluhruna looked on unspeaking, and in this silence, rose up withdrawn, brushing past Tsui’s arm, and having stepped aside without giving any further adherence towards either of the two, took her seat. She did not raise her head. Her form wilted and slogged, yet with the markings of a whisper she languished thence: “Yes, I dreaded, I— When first the corner we passed, before the hall, I could hear still farther away something murmuring to me, yet not entirely certain I was that a voice was calling. I suppose… it could only have been this tower stealing at me. But even that much—!” She constrained her poise and thrust focus onto Samantha. “When in the dark we continued, it seemed I could perceive something at the opposite end, in front of the far window, and there was something crawling — I thought it first a woman, but as I blinked and blinked it fell away to shadow, just shadow, only shadow, to myself I told — it was simply a bout of fearfulness that’d come. When behind me I looked, none of you appeared to be frightened, so on I crept. I thought I’d done, I truly did. Don’t believe me cruel or deceptive: for a time in front I was, for a time, oh, I must have been—” Aluhruna suddenly ceased. She lurched in her chair. “I— I heard Tsui— Tsui’s voice by my ear, yet far away out she sounded — echoing — we both in a forest must have been, at night, and she was calling me to look her way— She so pestered.” Tsui gave her an abrupt glance, but Aluhruna had no longer kept attention upon them. Her dual voices distorted more and more as she continued with a sob. “I would have done, I would have, but delicately she whispered, so dearly, and it never ceased, that I immediately thought it all dreadful— Someone— My elbow something grasped, something cold— To myself I kept repeating it was nothing more than either of you, but how terrible! To you both then I spoke — I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have, but I was too— I was frightened— Forgive— It took hold of my reason, and so around I turned—” She buried her face in her hands. Her voices crackled and fell smothered. “I saw you both, some naked cadaver vileness of form you both took, some effigy or doll or flesh in— In that— And the two of you were bleeding! From gaping mouths and gouged cunts terribly bleeding— Dried putridity, fresh putridity, blood out over your bodies splayed! You both seemed as if you were screaming in some happiness, but could I no sound hear, when stood aloft the two of you was I watching. You were pointing at yourselves, to your very chests all drenched, and— And inside your hands plunged— I can’t make sense of it — all around, offal were you throwing and scattering, and wherever the drops landed bloomed in shards that would not keep from growing— From growing more! Out it raged— I dare not—! I dare not imagine there was another figure— Hands around necks— No— Please—! Then Samantha, you—” Her head twisted up violently with red wet eyes. “You were tethered, by black ropes bound, ropes adorned over and twisted with lances and stakes and spikes of glass, nothing for lift, by a phantom I couldn’t see were you taken; you were suspended upwards higher than should the ceiling have been, and they— Spread you— Spread your legs open— They kept piercing into you, over and over, gore, spoilage, your flesh and carrion everywhere were thrown, and you could do nothing, nothing, nothing — nothing but smile as they continued and you were laughing in silence— Tsui was kneeling underneath, and her whole body she was spreading, then the ropes caressing, simply clapping as the ground all flooded over and with dregs was congested; she was drowning, the shards grew into her and she slowly was impaled, slowly— No— She was drinking herself mad — they were tearing you, my dear, you were ripping, you were—!” Aluhruna cried out to Tsui. “I can’t— It felt I had for hours been in that horror. I told myself that entire hallway just couldn’t be; nothing anymore in the world ever could be real — but I remembered our route and our object, so when out behind me I reached, I felt for your arms and called for you two, and you answered— You both answered me, all blessings I thank…!” Aluhruna covered herself again with her hands, shuddering with sodden chokes. “Don’t force me more to continue—! Not anything more, please, please…” she whispered in between each collapsing heft. 
	Aluhruna was marred further of all provision and thought, and her mourning was not to be alleviated, for the others scarce attended the girl. Samantha curtailed any throb in her chest as had panic strung these pities, felt judgment thus towards the women, yet following this recent account was now caught along the swelled protruding coils of their forms and shoulders and wet cheeks by distress of her own courting. Suffused in haul had the course of despisal supplanted the endeavour wayward — with vigour, perhaps for consecration — hither admonished the two due their incapability to amputate on thriving as beauty composes: may a segment here be infested to debride further a physique, or if reckoning the deficit, hang it upon savage cold away from tendering violence its cornerstone for frailty, should they be so pleased to proclaim of skeletons in porcelain fracture. Amidst so harried a narrative had Aluhruna bloomed prettier, though she herself knew not how lively in the bleeding of those wicked phantasms, shall monstrous counterparts indulge the dreamland whence, and Tsui’s neck there afflicted beyond bruising and asphyxiation cut a little rope across countries elsewhere towards fatal dwelling, or rain down on continents from the sky aloft; for handholds excavate all the fiercer abreast principles, enchantments, formulations, wildfire charms, whereby Samantha promised again her conceit: She would have curtsied in place to laugh before the maimed women soever inhumed, and mutilated them through with great furore, lacerated the poor cripples rank and torn with naught declaimed of her own blood but defiance against the auguries opposing these fevers. Her skin shall remain unblighted! Wield the abundance of your haven, for where extrication abounds in dead reaching grasp is purity illuminated by consequence, come encountering suicides, a haven again, as necessary, ascribed whither Tsui would place her agreement, and with greater urge, would Aluhruna have taken herself alongside; a step shall reap forth an explosion: so had Samantha uncovered and so had she been capable. Another intense flare of joviality was embellished therein, and it came to her at once she must accuse the girl more damned and divulge a hundredfold, tug at her tongue and tell the whore she was owed that right, raiding and raiding — and Samantha invoked her disgust towards the vastities of a vague roiling descent, images of her and her and people she knew not as she garrotted these thoughts and stared down a third time at her own flesh, believing herself too cruel. 
	“Come, Samantha, what from that could we have possibly learned?” Tsui spat out with disdain. “You fucking brought us here, why?” 
	“It— It’s her— Do you not see?” Samantha body took upon a strange compulsion, and she had fallen anxious. “We could— We can keep ourselves safe from these devils—” 
	“How!?” Tsui screamed and seemed to lunge her way. “Tell us!”
	“The room! This room— We have not been assailed ever since coming this way, have we?” Samantha answered. Her body felt increasingly languid and she grew weak with every sentence. “I’m sure, I’m sure,” — her eyes throbbed again — “that we must duly face them! It’s neither nonsense nor frivolity nor the absurd, and neither still— Neither still is it incomprehensible! We have each taken ourselves to grit and survived against these devils, have we not? Answer me, answer me, haven’t we done exactly that? We were never caught by the black void, the door here has remained locked all this while, the three of us deceived those awful monsters, and every time we’ve encountered them, we have been able to escape.” She stood up with aggression, breathing heavily as she began to cry. “I came here because I knew — knew with all my heart — that we ought not to continue in terror— Never to be frightened— I hate them, I do, and we now know how fucking vile they truly are— No! I mean to say: I’ve always seen them to be vile, every single one of them! We will not be taken from here, we won’t, we won’t!” She trembled and glared back at Tsui, wiping her tears. “Enchain them along towards the very schisms within that dark if we are so inclined, my dear— My dear girls! Oh, I speak with all faith— Encumber us in each damning rift as vagrants upon every caress — these, too, must not be forgotten, must not be attenuated for how impetuous we may be, that we are stood dangling over a grand mass of crags and must entrench ourselves thence. In its stead results vainglory, yet of whose implanted, I know not — only mockery to our mirrored cause drawn to shatter as courts the ideal. Bereaved are we who are assigned the diametric. They resent us. Even our very panic collides to conceive a crater in tumult. Do you two not understand how far downwards you would perceive the failings of a variability? A deviation of sentiment? Questions and answers—!” Samantha now stood firm and in her sorrow attended the other women with each shout, turning fervent across the heated space her arms deigned a gesture to impart its silhouette. “Nothing more than perfidy—! Disperse the thatching to the rains for decrepitude you shall be thieved along, where a thought devours a thought and refuses still the body of its caprice. Here is your nuance ranged: Hack away at your very hand to throw out upon spikeways, watch it dissolve and rot apart in all torrents of trampling to lie forever in locked scum; nothing more can be done for your beloved flesh, your soft flesh! Hack away at your legs and toss it hence, carving wisps in billows of blood and spirit and fat and—! And— To what end—? Would you not rather clutch the slender wrists of your brethren, oh, sisters and brothers, deep and true, upon this heed baring together vile amidst the voiceworks of a thousand? Promise me, promise this notion… And I know of this caprice, my dears, how I may hate; I have even known it to deceive itself laid away cold in muck creeping higher and higher, as much suffers heart for the observance, reconnoitre, inculcation of a terror, but I would never have it murdered; forth towards crowded woods we continue wading aloft our void, hands in arms and arms to chest, close by, always! In the dither of your abandon, my dear girls, you have lost all reason to love! My touch would sink the mass beneath its own vast depths to interweave of frailty in conduct, for we truly are as frail as our components would allow the minutiae, enough for me to wrench and split and tear with but a single thought for striation’s desolate unravelling stranded alone in fear: I would turn my sister’s face before my own, I would be weeping alongside her, yes, and with a cry of despair, present us both to the cruelties at the forefront. Her friability matters not; my reluctance even less so: our hatred shall invoke all our executed for bastion against the plunder. Forgive us, I beg: these souls are inconstant, just as we, and to ameliorate, must we understand with all mind each of us is frightened, thus ought never to concede ourselves nor enforce of bones for self-slaughter, but embrace one another whole in sundering and suffering however much we might spill the flood — that cloth you possess consoles the vomit-blind, may it prove well for our contempt. But no longer shall we speak of these horrors! We must become one ourselves! We have just now watched the cascade of a great, flowing dark and exhausted thence every beacon of those coordinates by which we would reprieve our sorrows, yet you would both ask of me what must be done by these succeeding reparations? Here I appoint my aforementioned claim of inculcating our detritus by what phasal extent in stages we may traipse upon — oh, to my judgment, perhaps there are three: The first arrives by the remembrance of all our discernment in mystery, from where unification is revealed to measure the consumptive only due a bloodletter and deprives us of knowledge, palliating soever mutual; favour covets against unknowns withal to fabricate for a girl her dear company, and resplendent inhuman faeries subsume each our singulars; these ought be crushed lest perplexities taper away as this resolve affects, for how, pray tell, shall there remain perplexity in any truce of a dynamic? There must be administered an integration per each ransacking in tally for manic, depraved, estranged clusters; for our sake, I ask naught to divest — these are pulled forth to be hanged at grief’s very mention, and though scornful you might be when gallivanting through these corridors rotting and brimming as contributes your splayed disease to that of humankind, hoist yourself, too, if only a moment in branch and sanctuary, upon your cradling arms, preventing any breach against commiseration — you must be kind, girls, be gentle with your sorry lot — lift them down now — to our good beating draught of brightness alike, with precious garlands for even the most terrible, those of my time may hereby grant our validation. Hate it if you must, but spawn this warmth among companions and opponents and our would-be contradictions you might temper in fear as vicious. Remember, if they are not tended with that precocious indulgence I might now re-affirm by complement of heart and sincerity, you will wander as naught more than a ghost, from your skin would your clothes be torn, inundations will find your mark, and you will be forgotten. Take them inside your homes, dress them beautifully with sewing of your own yield, feed them the honours of your warm cooking and baking; bless them hence with what ache of a good life any woman would entrust another, familiar as you are to the graces of love! I know of this, so please, believe in my words! I am but a simple woman, a darling you would find shivering to endure the evening we inhabit, as not for a time has it been sonorous for delight — oh, never, never — an orchestra of eight billion and eight billion more could never manufacture a symphony, neither in fabrication, no; not to my conferral. Ensure you will never drift among the cosmos above, my girls: we will never abdicate our darlings to the vile shit outside this room! Though I say these words, however, I must continue with the second necessary to my writ: Haunts find you bedevilled of external source, yet upon this axiom, I declare we must exhibit all values of clemency towards assailants: be good with them; while towards those of amicability in their graft: be without mercy or relief, choke away their moderation; oppose these monstrosities by unfurling your own. But you might ask in turn, why on earth would we make paradoxes of logic, for would it not range we ought embrace others as well they administer in marching to enliven these interdepencies with resource of soul? I would then remind you both we must not fall victim to nuance and its gradation; there remains no value in identifying how miniscule the degree of which may benefit or cripple our swollen, tender hearts. Value shall be perceived henceforth as a microcosm for which claimants molest their souls by right, if to corrupt falls willing; whither adorned the sojourn to engrave its manifestations as livery upon the naked half of your ribbed chest consecrating another stranger, shielding skin away as each of those awful blights require. All of man’s failures, to my best assumption, are accompanied by hateful beauty, and I’m sure you both would agree with me to well work our approbant in dredging a sculpturess of her superficiality, not a sculptress: the alignment of a crooked finger shadows each engagement for grant as much the pose concerns a bedimmed palm, contouring it so, where dorsal auxiliary functions her shoulder raised, from carpals unto twisted ulna and flexors concomitant by treasure in relief more luminous than light alone would ever gather, yet we are entirely unwilling to retrieve the conduit from high on; they are content with this beauty as naught but a description or an outline or stagnant visual, and the ideal is never humanized. Contrariwise, whensoever one of their lot is presented with true unyielding beauty: Here is a nymph stood beside the tantalization of a thief’s breathless murmurs; perceive her raised in defilement and her manifold latched back down hurtling to our wills — and those horrid wishes disgust me, my dears, they are detestable, and yet, suppose in your distrust that this never be sated: a pronouncement occurs to trickle fantasy through, but her beauty continues on untormented— No, do not look at me that way, I know just as well to distrust a cullion where I need— Dare I say to you both, if in either of these two instances we are untenable to interrupt a nuance as it is wont to rely on its rotting stumps for mechanism, allowing passage, then the whole matter will assuredly withdraw and die by limblessness; other abominations shall thence heed their industries for our own ruin. Everything, everything shall revert to the initial step— No, the outcome will be even worse: we would be obliterated until the wreathe of our crudities scarce amounts to a fucking vestige for the Samantha that was; how would there be anything left if we are to consider the depression of her anatomy, if we are to consider the licentiousness of her vaunt? If there is naught to behold and to embolden, even less to truly fight for, then she will be swallowed whole! We are comprised of weaknesses and weaknesses as churns a tongue. Oppose for yourself by rampage withal: send out your twirling brilliance to those you hold in loathing, and as it was in your past experience, receive them as well as of your very spirit, dine with them and keep them away from the hail — in a trice, spin about to the thirsts of your malice and demonstrate they straddle each other’s corpses ere throats are slit — your abode will retain its insurmountable pursuit; stronger and stronger still may you chant, “Murder it all! Love it all!” Come now, come now, our terminus is ahead of us, and the third propoundment is affixed here by the endless sursolids of my dissertation: Why, the third of these steps would urge others to do the very same as I have done! I have spoken so far for my own rancid self, but it would not suffice our bewilderment at all to lend such a hemming to each and every madness of our scopes. Gather here again, my dears, and if we were to atomize the prerequisites of our compendium, would not a synopsis be compelled to its own force indicting one and not another, itself lesser still, nary of discretion to solicit momentum for instrument? A dowry for a flower, and yet, neglect to her solitude — but tarry not as you sequester away your reluctance: I have bestowed upon you these multitudes, thus would I only expect you both to do the same for my regard — no, even more than this, I would encourage you so! The option otherwise diminishes you two entirely to a smother — ameliorates the immolation of my own lovelies — yes, here resides danger, but our spirits lack ambition, our heartbeats vanish along boundaries chosen with ailment to dissipate these for atmospheres only a nerve would ever persist in unembellished sentiment, and come now, no thoughtlessness takes the ephemeral sympathetic for its own death, rather crowns vulnerability never so prior adventitious that others of extinguished form steal away propriety to sublimate their advantage. They descend and ravage with every touch: further for your conception is bound a protuberance in flesh laid so horribly opaque, where emotions ought recoil — but impulse ill stands as true poisoned hatred to replenish a sloven’s carcase, thus are you dragged evermore by ceaseless clutch, demons, their blades — you would not even be capable of closing your eyes — never again may we precipitate our return from this realm or send letters to those whom we cherish— I can feel myself losing hold! Subjugators to become subjugated having no testimony in handiwork and wounding themselves misplaced by discourse, discourse, discourse—! Hammer away to the emptiness: there would be not an answer received. I would rather have us conjoined here, by the hip and joint, where I shall be the port, I shall be the peripheral, I shall be the carver, for a structure is fraudulent in its own solitude by impunity, asseverating naught, knowing it must only subsume regalia as it be woven. The same indulgence I tender to my many selves constructs a permutation where all external lies in clandestinity — do this with me until a figure is formed due our rapture towards one another, and after our withdrawal, may a consciousness be perceived apart from deference. We ought to coagulate in all our loves, all of them, all of them! You are part of this, dear girls, I am not the only one involved, and neither still is this fucking tower the edifice to our humanity, no! I will not permit it to be, never!” Samantha ended with a shout. “What would you say in return, both of you!? I beseech you, please, tell me!” She was stood facing Aluhruna and Tsui, pointing vaguely towards them with a hand.
	Aluhruna could not focus directly on Samantha, for she looked fatigued and feverish with sweat. She heaved with piteous sorrowing sounds, and had pressed her fingers upon her head to prod her temple of forceful touch, bearing down in strain, more for the weakness, too, in her hands, but evidently could not find relief, instead took ill glances at Samantha with apprehension. She whimpered in anguish. Samantha at once felt remorse, but pain pursued her solemnity more to roughshod imposal and she beckoned their means withal must follow her query, insisting either of them allay the tenderness of every bruise and cut the group had suffered. She peered over at Tsui, who had bent down her head — it was a pose of no condemnation, Samantha noticed, but replete with another sentiment entirely: Tsui was staring at the table with naught in sight to assert by, at times frowning, fretting thence, and all the while, one of her legs lay shaking atop the other. Aluhruna exerted herself to keep steadfast. Both women now suddenly struck Samantha’s way, who by stance and surging blood could do nothing. Tsui was seized with a furtive pain. Samantha passed onto her what empathy she could spare by an exchange therein, and a brief silence transpired before the woman straightened her poise, her expression shifting so; with notice and a swift caress to Aluhruna at her side, turned to Samantha and met her eyes again. She took her time to stand and spoke. 
	“I— You’re to me contemptible, Samantha: it’s a severe danger being with you, even more within this tower,” she paced her words with looks of malice. “What I told you just before, that proclivity within you to court improbabilities— No, to say that only would not be adequate: For you to court what I may deem alone to be futile, on your behalf is it brutal. I must ask,” Tsui continued in the lilts of a soft tremble, “why towards such an aggressive front would you risk exposing yourself? What’s more—! You fail understanding the basic parameters you’ve assigned us: With no another plan in surplus do you keep assuming we must follow, to some nominal value only you are permitted to expedite, come to the total gross. If your cursed mind would perhaps for a single trice of a moment consider this arrangement tends any future paths we may take to complete failure, ask yourself what then we must do— I chose to lock myself inside a room; you rejected me; where do we stand now? You attempt to accomplish all this, but the inevitability these developments could only result in tumult is never once accorded to your selfishness! You bitch, however with your rotten fantasies it pleases contriving an explanation, try it, go on, at our behest do so— I cannot process your imagination but instead by a sequence you in your own passions could not even define for either me or Aluhruna, its method implicating weak men and weak women! I would pry you down from your conceit! How might one substitute solace for hatred? How would one carelessly, inconsiderately displace a tranquil act with violence as you would have us do so? You with all that ambiguity; no, no, we need something concrete — you understand, can’t you, or beyond mind has it surmounted your temperance? Never upon this vast manner of thought would I impose anyone analyse, for how many contradictions— The number of lies and ill-promises you’ve encountered so far, just this night, bring to mind, if to only spare me the figure you could record in a lifetime. What tally of these remains for the most simple of happenstances? Tell me! Suppose the wires outside approach. In your stupid recommendation, what must we do? Do we, before the shadow mass outside, operate an aggravating little conflict, challenging it in judgment to take us away, whatever result that may be, all the while, by our hatred, disquieted? What are we to do no matter the aftermath, if that fucking darkness chases us down? Not a single one of us ought believe anything in those halls with our designs should reciprocate act, not even after knowing both of you in kind have been directly targeted: informative in itself derived, no matter for our plans how much we catalyse any implement, we’ve been ignored, even discarded! They should know— They should have been able to observe how, for just a simple route towards our safety, we’ve needed to bypass many of those obstacles! They’re playing us— All these abuses I hate—! Yours included— Encompass it with whatever reason, know recourse is only in acquiescence made, never in operation may it be found: entirely substantiated by want of conflict is a fundament set against another, nothing more. Go on, cull another’s entireties, as you’d please taking, the same issue could but you effect in the aftermath by which your object was initially obliged. You would destroy us! All your destitute processes— You owe us a secession: for an instant conceive how a partisan, once noble in cause, might extremize against the matters of a proper loving ideologue, to where hostility all hope converts, the whole stock, upon seconds and days and weeks and months starved enough to even alter the manner of his comprehension — for just a sordid moment, turn around, will you not? Your love is there! Contend with the opposite: you would task love envision for its own wellness doing vile things— Gah, it is terrible aloud, simply fucking saying it! If to hate must love be tasked, we would be forced in requital nobody would be capable of actualizing for their own sake, facilitating all your nonsense embellishments — what delirium to suffer would you convict us over and over? I ought please to do anything, as you say, so why would I sacrifice out there my blessings? Why must Aluhruna remain the only one of us three thrown upon such a vile spectacle? Why— Why—!” In tears did she inflict herself upon Samantha’s gaze. “This fucking tower, why do you continue indulging it? There is nothing you will find! To your own words do you remain ignorant; they are insufficient, exhorting us not to waver before the demons outside, speaking how we must never away be stolen, but—! You are mistaking us: we are simple folk!” she cried. “We are commoners to our rotten times subject! Yet you think us some fucking experiment to these monsters, to your yearning, are we but wonders— If you truly believe in each other’s company we ought remain allies, then fucking discern this for yourself: even though you have, by reason, already paved these interventions, your rancid folly refuses to observe here only thrives madness! To survive by what we apportion of obstinacy may we upon our clamour take, enumerating these misgivings or practicalities, but know this would bring a human mind to its most terrible boundaries, where for us, hearts no longer have any value; this we must endure, though it should never have been allotted burdening a single soul! It is pitiable never to an individual can all the world’s good belong; it is pitiable as well that never by one’s hand all its devastation can cease! See it yourself: can we chance for one to approbate each and every wound by mending that same flesh? It is not to our kind even permissible that forgiveness is worthy of eminence! It would be disgusting to even speak of greater hypotheticals, where another is introduced as we calculate, or whereunto greater magnitudes one of these hypotheticals is wrought conferring us out away from each other to force alone the outcome, against anyone who would exploit us in all we digress. I don’t want to be off and heaved, oh, I dread how I might! I’ve seen it happen before to people I care about, Samantha! So I ask again, do you fail to fucking understand this, or not? How is one to live? How? An exact fortune I’d rather inherit, rid myself of every single one of your platitudes. They are precocious. When confronted, already your faculties lose their bearing; I know you understand how fragile it all is! You said it with your own words: we are subordinate to senseless ever-increasing contingents with their designs and plans turning loftier by doctrines we cannot stabilize, may even less hope to influence by revolt, not people like us — you follow this same convolution only responding with consequence and logic of a rational mind towards that human frenzy, that absurdity and depravity and ransacking, raping, killing, and—! But everything, Samantha… everything is so vast…! How powerful are the degrees by which we are affected? It is remarkable how, against adherents no stronger in imposition than their victims, one can be so pathetically set! Not one of us, after all, has resolve, still in our own obligations to peers and strangers never accounted for bravery are we impelled even in the movements of our hands; so fucking beautiful shall the results to be utilized here come of illogic. There is to be had no more reasoning, to its utmost this very night have we all affirmed that conclusion… I am scared, but I must keep adrift — I am horrified by what I might see!” She gasped and wiped her eyes. “I do not want to be taken by them, like you both almost did! I can’t bear it, I cannot— It’s terrible— To ask either of you for help, I can’t even bring myself! Would I be killed by you? I don’t know—!” she shuddered in sobs. It seemed as though she was desirous to say something more, but was thither restricted, glancing yet at Samantha, inclining body towards Aluhruna, refusing them afterwards of sight as she shut her eyes immediately and collapsed down by the table. Tsui’s face was buried in her hands — she had exhausted too much to weep further.
	But a distinguished fear had thrashed Samantha’s thoughts with the woman’s trailing voice, and she held an aimless finger hooked across the cold of her own collarbone; a sudden impulse of her other hand swung it pushing the nearby chair with nary a thought for this action, and here she quelled it immediately, fluttering in distemperature to notice all her nerve took the swaying wraith alone, naught for tonguing or gnashing but mere shame towards her mind’s ill constitution, and with a final deliberate shove, Samantha gasped, somehow to susurrate by this fervency any vicious inveiglement, what corpus of speech, conceiving a beauteous transfer of camaraderie to be granted and hoisted and forced back down that Asian girl’s fucking thin pale throat — yet could not endeavour more to say. Howsoever she cleaved the bitch for reply expended hastily the same conceits by which she had importuned to make a verdancy of their gathering, where disesteem wills a prior dream buried below, even fade, through unto bitter thought — but Tsui’s words, she knew, could only amount to frivolity, and they came to her so repulsive as to have her doubts duly expurgated and display company withal, though hideously her conception had shown the others any benevolence. Desperate Samantha, oh, left behind to construct, her tongue set alight from its core by cusp and wound, and bled of vantage; desperate she: all Tsui had spoken to her in tears did she push and push away with quivering intensities. She desired to stumble limbless from her void exile, though had in this lapse throughout been transfixed to stance and would not dare to move. 
	She looked at Aluhruna, who seemed not to heed Tsui, was instead motionless and stared off in a disposition that Samantha could not discern to be contemplative or anxious — Tsui was quiet as she cradled herself cowering alone — the women now kept locked by decree, were unable to amend any carriage along, worse to impassion, and Samantha knew they would not act further in so poorly a state, that they would not persist — but a weak voice now spoke. She shifted in step. It was Aluhruna who had begun: “Oh, my dear sisters…” she said with a smile that did not fare the others and met neither of their gazes, but was suspended over the empty cast of the table. Her face was still wet, had been latched over and across with strands and a splayed mess of hair as her eyes listed in fatigue. There was a hoarse lilt to her voice, but softly, she continued, “I could never have dreamt— Could never have thought to be, with these terrors, bestowed. I’ve always believed us to have been borne upon events I can’t at all myself bring to describe, if even I could — they would our souls function to bear them through by any method I might choose; and I would wear more bracteates if of me would it be required, oh, how I would, for some truly do protect me, but all those others by whom we’re damned… Without even knowing, would we be forced to their intentions— No, I’m carelessly speaking, I’m sure. I still believe in the benefit of a process like that, for not anything otherwise could, by us, be done, not beings so impressionable as we are; if a monster harms, he harms his enemy, departs then of his scum — his malice, too — only to return home and denounce those corpses of the same evils he was gladly restless with his own two hands to bequeath! And each of your words tempt me in the same way; by your commands, nothing there is to conceive, I suspect, yet would you well thresh me in whatever way your overtone befits, for I think I’m of an equal hypocrisy. Or would you call this madness—? I can’t truly describe it, I can’t, not for anyone to benefit— If we are—!” Aluhruna ceased, settling hastily upon the ill brandish of her focus. “If— If we are to be besieged, and to a lesser extent — painful for me that lesser must it be conceded — if in this manner, each other we solicit, we ever could only reign by our own tyranny! You both must oppose me of all the disease I have allowed us to suffer, and the injuries to my hands: Samantha, Tsui, see upon us, strictures I have placed!” she cried. “I well understand it, how, for later happiness, votive songs importune someone be wounded, and how shameful it is, that in truth, a figurehead I readily hope to sacrifice to attest these blessings. It’s hope that guides my actions for every man and woman unfortunate enough that their lives, with mine, are imprisoned, and with even greater disgust, to myself I would lie if I were to forget how strong be the course of love that causes my impositions; I ask you both to find for yourselves an individual, and understand our reaping we shall exhort to invoke he, just as terribly, invade, then deify in passage one another; our responsibilities are fulfilled this way before our potentate, by us, is carried out. There’s wind to our sails and fire to our heels — here for the sake of protection, your answer must be allotted: would you ever harvest a refusal? No! This, not a single man is to reject— You would continue in joy, like the rest of us would — would do by right — for those endless landscapes, writ and role and honour in excess! This, at once, you ought sculpt, and may eloquence show itself along any beauty we would be so joyfully glad to accept, as of themselves, friends usually make. I might grasp the whole lot for my abode, by its assortment to thrive, as you might, and in accordance would we delineate our offerings. For us, to be demarcated is to be engraved by practicalities: The sun crosses the sky and the moon waxes, wanes in pursuit; so our conclusions we chart. The airs grow cold; the airs lift; to our conduct we are still implored. Our trades must never relay intention across these workings, Samantha, Tsui. So far are they beyond our environs, to no treasured companionship come in the same sentiment you two already know how capably we can accrue, even still towards dress of mind; never, never to our hearts — these are timeless fruits we would gather with our own brilliance, close from hail and rain and fires and storms then guard, oh, loveless storms of strife, hunger; all wickedness and blood! And already so viciously I’m aware you both find us of that awful mortality; the only method to acquire a conscience for our piteous gathering is one where, for another, must we emerge: we are ships to our turbulence, one day a conduit, the next a poor auspice, no matter the good of our beliefs, now in this alignment shall others we call forth and procure; and it’s no minor guess that one would harrow by endless barbarism; for even greater monsters, so dance! No man or woman may exist without their lusts, none without perversions, and — how I dread — even fewer without hate — a phenomenal travesty have we, for temperance, been deferred! Could we not by the grandiosity of our surroundings have been sated? Even here, during this foul evening, we have our route taken not towards its destination, but this very room — for what intent? We have each presided the expense with which this tower we have to face. I loathe it, I loathe it: an even greater insanity it betrays that we must again justify these incomprehensibilities with our own! Should upon a bounteous day the dawn arise, full of light and warmth, how does it amount to our reason that fortuitous it rises of a battle? Jaunts I’d never before once known are also alike followed: where there had once been festivals long ago is exchanged for wastelands; and now even the lands are so ugly to me — I never expected the demise of our gods and spirits would be by us administered, chaining them down over and over in fields of human vileness; and nothing else more for our own souls, to me, there drought only is held — there’s not a single blessing anymore to place the worth of everything we’ve cared about! Our world would upon ashes be thrown however hoisted by those who would call it wondrous and forever the whole heap burn, and these celebrations are extinguished by want of more blood, always more, and— Even children! They who are young, so precious and young, now alongside the rest of us, slaughterers they worship; the spirits confide in their hunt, their forage they appease, to their brutalities they help — we are no longer thinking about the fortification of our territories or the improvement of fields, and there isn’t a thought given towards truly beautiful things — nothing more to love, and alone love! I want—! Samantha— For this tower—” Aluhruna called out with a half-stifled shriek, and stood up with a pained countenance she had wrought onto her face as another smile. “This I wish to collapse! There it is, there it is! Has this accursed place its glory fulfilled? Down to its evil I’ve been brought! Again have I another person harmed—! No— I don’t want to kill! What of me would you else ask!?” she screamed. “I can’t be consoled, not by this arrangement— Please, far too much of it there is! Why does it seek me out in such an awful, cruel way; that vision, why has it been shown? Never can I my own mind spare from these thoughts— I’m not a murderer — neither to this tower will you nor Tsui fall— we will leave, we will leave, that is what I will commit to my flesh!” She sat down forcefully and wrenched Tsui’s wrist in a sudden turmoil, staring at it with fury. Tsui herself said nothing, cried but little, though shallow had her breaths begun to quicken as she gasped thus and placed her other palm on top. Aluhruna wiped her wet cheeks. “You both have convinced me: This tower — and only this tower — as the crux of our suffering does it live. I wish not to speak of its strength nor of its standard in divinity as a god or spirit — sooner would I my tongue cut off than, with you both, would any of its evils I confer! Not would I have myself as the intermediary; no more will I court. That’s why, Samantha, I wish to set ablaze its violence, would it result so simply from a brazier I’d throw thereupon its trivialities and afflictions and the contempt by the fetters of its dominion, there for us assuredly set! These, from our avowals to away be cast, should be a trifle, for this realm isn’t where the hearts of man reside, it’s not the mete of any prosperity, and no restraint by a beast’s remittance to our boundaries must I fear. The course of nature isn’t so absolute, this I know, I have come to understand — I must believe this to be the case.” She poised herself anew. Aluhruna’s disposition was no longer borne of any reluctance, was tempered aloft, and did not hesitate in presenting this resolve as she stroked and tapped her fingers on the table, staring straight towards Samantha with heavy shaking breaths. Samantha exchanged this with hatred, and as she stood, imagined in all her frenzy Aluhruna would take a step outside in the hall by those untested whims, snag her skin through hooks, metal, blades and blades of glasswork — the poor thing did not wish to know and did not care, for thoughtlessness had been dreadfully severe that night as to revert vacillant of any vicious being; perchance that her absurdity, too, would implode thence, in recognizing the ignorance by which she had prior kept Samantha’s wounds punctured, had done so especially with that haughty pride — so wished the girl’s pretty blonde head would be off and torn with nothing left to invoke but pure disgust, secondly for punishment; and in her own honours would Samantha be punctured by even crueller tools through the neck, would still feel pain, over and over that sensation, never so replete in tears for how contemptible the agony of Aluhruna’s ripped limbs, torn stomach, breasts, her fucking cunt violated across the graft of virgin mindscape from whence a stranger shall bespoil of blood. There was hanged a sudden thought she would not bear her gaze lest she strike out upon the girl’s sickly figure in the same torments she had been treated, and with a fleeting anger to deflect Aluhruna’s ferocity, Samantha glanced away, intending so for but a trice, and switched focus to Tsui; but no woman spoke thereafter as the European quelled the strength of her clutch upon the Asian, gradually, gradually so, continuing in this soft imperceptible manner to pry touch separate for an elapsing moment, and each of the three retreated to her chair. Not a thread of acknowledgement was given to Samantha, rescinded anew neither from one another, and unto these passing moments, the women were maintained in all capacities afflicted by fatigue.
	Aluhruna had grown more pallid. Her head was bowed, and her eyes were strained shut. She was pressing deeply along the length of her palm with her thumb, repeated this motion, and did not abate. 
	Tsui held her hands clasped together, propped them upon the table and leaned her head on her knuckles. Her face had remained wet, but she did not stir otherwise, murmuring occasionally with low, weak sounds. 
	The three fell frightened. Samantha would not rely on any of their words for recourse, and extricated yet a strand of condemnation from whence was observed a tremble in solitude, a tremble more, disfigured far beyond all trembles averred for predicate sin, where pendulous the shame she sought so strikes the certainty fair humbled and humbled, one after another in each pious shift — now sought to bind prostitute of each woman due their anguished sudden lurches, plucking more to confess again her hatred with all she could bare in proximity, thinking they ought both be crippled; desirous but for shredding screams if their tongues were so inclined to utter anything more; a single word further would pulse vomit, choke more engorged of fat on their fucking blood and bile, drowned in saliva, flesh anon and rot and hair to hold aloft her every wish, that this great culmination shall spew ever the toil of muck and collapse a casualty for deepest slumber, into her chair, into her hands, corpulent in dream as a monster would fain, proclaiming their matters and her matter and every matter hereby of painful weakness. A tremble alone had swayed for duty, and Samantha obliged its theft, as the others had, and fell silent. She did not want to hear her own voice. She detested the cold of her skin. Naught of value had spasmed her reason but a prevalent longing to open the door, and she fixed upon it with great effort, was kept attentive in revulsion for the tables and the chandelier and the lights and floors, did not accord more than the toil whither those very sentiments — saw yet this charm constrained to gutters without remark, neither still a thought to chastise, only impressions fluttering high and whirling downwards concurrent even in pursuit against piteous reprieve, rung cavilling by a counterpoint’s disloyalty, by which infinite fission reprises sorrow ere another even tends her way. How is stood the pyre for three? She was altogether fatigued, terribly fatigued, and stayed put. Her palm had curled held against her forehead, but unlike Tsui, Samantha kept her eyes open, unable to settle focus. The touch of fingers would not ease her worries, though mercilessly they pushed and pressed on anything nearby, peradventure even the injuries to her head — she cried no sound for the deeper pain as these areas were thus abraded in haste — the throbs in her feet and chest had turned more severe. She glanced again at the door.
	Then Aluhruna stood, and in bracing step, announced to them, “I’ll leave—”
	“Wait—” said Tsui, “we can’t anymore be hasty, not any longer—” but ceased when she turned to face Aluhruna. She gave a low gasp and fell silent as she was stared down upon. Aluhruna’s eyes were quivering, but the bestowal of her form resulted to Samantha all the more solemn for the reluctance she bared.
	“I’ll— I’ll go as well,” Samantha responded. Her voice came much feebler than she had wished or expected; it then occurred to mind she was already pushing her chair back with her own legs, farther than even the chandelier light, doing so with a peculiar discretion. She switched her focus between the two women but failed to grasp in whole what precisely they were relenting to accomplish. Tsui wiped her face and glanced away. Aluhruna stared at her, saying nothing. “I’m sorry,” Samantha suddenly choked. Her eyes began to well with tears — some clamour began to resist the haul of her tongue. “This was a dangerous plan,” she had intended to cry aloud with naught in waver, but was lost of bearing. Her words did not even form upon the frailest moan, and though Samantha wished immediately to append separate this sentence, she held back, with nary a formulation unto the remainder of what left she had to say, could not divulge a commensurate idea atop the heap and collapsed it through by clamber, for how could a woman like her ever hope to transpose? She was desirous only to leave, she coveted it with all heart—! Samantha left the table to trail on, while Aluhruna remained quiet and turned to the door.
	As Samantha passed Tsui, she seemed to flinch in her chair. 
	For subtle render did the others incline themselves as would ingress her comport, but she, too, had already stood, and began to follow, with every firm movement a brunt in wariness. She did not reciprocate with either of them a single blink, but gave a start when they had neared the door: “Let me lead. Both of you are in pain.” They obliged: Samantha clasped her right hand, while Aluhruna set herself beside Tsui’s left — when Samantha took hold, she was alarmed, sensing through even a light graze how rapidly Tsui’s heartbeat had surged its frantic vigour all the range down to her palm. She looked at her in shock, but the woman’s attention had shifted elsewhere after linking with Aluhruna’s hand, for Tsui gave a loud wince when they had touched fingers, seized herself thus with an intense look of worry towards Aluhruna and her arm. She clutched with mounting force, but Aluhruna portended no response. Her eyes were listless as she stared back, moved forward unheedingly, and clutched the doorknob. 
	When Aluhruna entered the passage, she held herself by a whimper unto the sight before them; Tsui wrought a sob of despair; Samantha curtailed even the very fragments of her reason, felt she had already strayed towards the hall and begun roaming within those farther endless crossways, and would not dare turn back, for something inside was incurred revelling to descend upon the group and ravish them each: The concrete of the passage was no longer there, in its place countless conjoined cables and varications of black steel segmented along its collective length with circlets of larger interlocking metal, coiling throughout in gnarled assembly that scarce provided balance for the group’s waning stance, and entwined upwards, on and on, variously misshapen into arches across multiple areas. Hanging strands and a glistening red webwork had been strung swaying between the steel cords of the passage, formed as layers, draping protrusions aloft, cast over from elsewhere to cascade downwards, some splayed heaping aground, some others truncated of binding around items each enclosed from identification, but even with initial glance did the three women look away in fear, unwilling to observe these appendages any further. Dotted within the structures and the breadth entire could Samantha perceive flickering green lights, fallen weakly nonetheless to any forceful observation in scatter apart. There had been wrested out massive sections of metal along the passage, ripped apart without care and emitting sparks from ruin — through these excavated openings stormed strong cold gales, even colder rain, and from further beyond, led away to a nightscape engulfed of a chasm where no light entered, with exclusion to some oddities out in the far distance: a clutch and complex of lights similar to those inside, though at such a range removed appearing only as thin lines within the black. A clatter was heard above all tumult due the red strands, for what ornaments enveloped had come to strike one another as the winds blasted whither. The strands pulsed slowly; some moved of their own accord — Samantha thought of them as gristle. She retched, attributed in part to a malodour that had strengthened more and more in potency whence funnelled forth a chemical scent long astir by those chasm draughts; now stung the airs her nose, and her throat panged with sharp raw soreness; her face and all bare skin were assailed more in the rain — the women heeded not a sensate bellow to endure for survival. Samantha glanced back amidst the clamour towards the direction they had initially entered the previous hallway — immediately shut her eyes and wrenched herself removed to cede a sob she at once drove silent. Something was pulling at her side. She followed, tripped slightly, and soon recognized with sudden relief — then further strife to reprobate herself — that Tsui had been the one to beckon her forward: they had begun to walk down the path. The winds surged against them and they were only able to proceed with measured steps, holding one another dearly, stumbling, slipping, weaving over the surface as they could. Multiple times had one of them caught a sharp obstacle with limb, and been lashed of blood by drenched metal, causing the others to falter — for but a trice, having stabilized the first woman and straightening anon to posture once more. Green lights had festered in count as had wrought the trudge; thrived anew to flash and oscillate with such sudden rapidity that the three shut their eyes per spasm of pain — someone yelled with great resounding force hurled outwards across the passage vastitudes, yet Samantha could not ascertain in this alarm whether any of the two were speaking, truly speaking, exhorted thus her toils severely to discern word from mania, but as she focused, naught was deciphered of coherence nor of beseechment within the group. Entire swaths of the pathway seemed to crash down — she could distinguish another lilt audible in juncture: a voice perhaps, humming upon the storm amidst those hanging objects pealing together, but every clutch on her behalf to closely listen yielded it fading beneath the rest — tears fell warm on her face as her chest broke, and she felt the wounds of her feet rip again — disdaining the failures of body as null would result — and was lost; mournful was she for choking lung where bile had threshed its sting: Samantha coughed and wiped her eyes with clumsy shivers, forcing herself to recall the very room from which they had proceeded, cast her sorrows alongside the other women however dispirited in inclination and saw they suffered greater turmoil than she; now wept alone for the weakness of touch to writhe its wretched unwillingness as frightfully the noise had swelled; so whirled her head about, conceiving contorted masses there, in the dim light, set soon to chase her figure soon fallen atop tremors, and she sought only the shadow of her dear girls, for though faces seldom affright, may well that these turn monstrous, and breed monsters still of any weeping nymph desperate to sing and clutch a palm as it demonizes; yet by this essence withal, drowned Samantha thence the prospect away in cognizance she might even relinquish her hand from Tsui’s to take nothing of their current endeavour, but impedance clinging by delusions many of lamentable make, all debris of pathetic make — she cursed herself more to bleed in the sweet worth a casualty could ever contribute, have her flesh cut open; were she to deteriorate with the total hoist attributed to her rotten steps along the path and collapse behind the others, would thus a victory be proclaimed; in accordance would she perform likewise, if either proves the martyr; they shall cede tombs to confine a revenant sister of her grief, past raw aggravation unto composure’s very decay, lest pity submit the women by right to even the weakest minutiae of dying echoed assault deforming everything, everything, every worthless demon—! But Samantha reached out suddenly with a disgusting wail and wished to grasp Tsui by both hands and pull Aluhruna nearer together, so they would no longer stagger through the route, or trip and collapse and harm their crude ribs, or be thieved by the storms; but found she could not even commit this impetus to any instinct. She would take her arm aloft, yet dither in reluctance, inhibit herself thence, and falter to the wind. They had neared the first gouged hole and began their crossing — the blast of air voluminous in direct exposure had force enough to obstruct them thrust towards the opposite wall. They were separated well struggling over, for the winds and rain had rushed aloft to even greater cascades, and Aluhruna fell, shouting with hatred. The two others cried out after her. She was heaving loudly, clutching her leg as blood seeped across her covering palm — Tsui knelt down to pull her arm away, but recoiled slightly as she saw Aluhruna had gashed herself along the length of her shin. The wound bled out streaming. Samantha had remained by the wall and merely watched with naught in discernment, was ill to judge yet of her thoughts complied fore with the women now upon their wild conflictive haste, if sounds of misery would all waste past screaming — better instead with tears to help indulge the floods soever any given one of them is sacrificed in her glorious profusion — thither deciding how the others be adjured, come whence drowned and bloated, whether her or her or Samantha — that diseased fucking woman — and she called out to them with a sudden screech and stepped away. She examined her surroundings frantically, and after descrying in the low green ambience a jut of metal nearby, took off her coat and ripped open therewith a small hole in the garment, took hold, thus tore away a piece by wide measure before returning to the others. She presented them with the cloth. Tsui grabbed and wrapped it around the wound — Aluhruna continuously sobbed, clasping her shin as she was held restrained by Tsui with contention to relieve pain by what manner of force and burden of aggrievance she could strike down on the metal floor her hands. She shrieked above the din as Tsui prodded the wound in haste to wrench taut the fabric. “Samantha!” Tsui shouted. “Which left turn do we go through, the second—?” In this same haste did Samantha rummage her pocket, but perished to another ache of contempt and grew panicked when she felt how drenched the map had become, looking at them both for aid. “I— I can’t! It’s been ruined, or been tampered with again, I can’t—” She brought a hand to her mouth and stared off, unable to meet their gazes any further — recalled the sight of Aluhruna’s blood — with the same hand now reached for the base of her neck and enclosed her fingers as she was roused away. “It was— It was the second large hall!” her voice rang out, unbeknownst to her very courtesy. “The second left turn, it must be, it must be—” “Come, then—! Don’t stray behind!” came the reply, and when Samantha turned to them once more, saw Aluhruna had already begun to stand on her unharmed leg, while Tsui hurried upwards as well with exclamation to secure steady her balance. Samantha linked herself carefully with Tsui as they all continued in even slower pace — it alighted instead that linking with Aluhruna would be more efficacious — yet besought their movement had necessitated this aid forlorn, nary of fullest recourse, deferring now the route beyond guttered brittle malleabilities due lesser and lesser aface torment, for each their auspice — may these still be willed — and motioning Tsui, Samantha shifted herself down their chain to take Aluhruna’s arm— Jolted, for Aluhruna’s temperature had endured of such bleak severity that it felt cold even as she grasped well her deeper physique, wrapped Aluhruna’s arm around her shoulders, and with Tsui’s assistance, propped her to slacken by their combined strength. Tsui was now left-most in this formation, bracing herself with the closest wall, Aluhruna limped in the center, while Samantha was subjected to the fullest winds. She was almost toppled as a surge rushed them down, but felt she might have thereby laughed in tears. There lay naught but insistence to strive aloft the flutter of her breast, and she glanced at her darlings with the violence of another exhilaration: The women both looked more beautiful than before, and it seemed at once they had been pretty all this while since their very first encounter, and so she gave a joyous sound and pressed the path on, stepping over a broken limb of metal, brushing past the red hanging strands, shielding the others from the elements however she could unto their passageway mark of infinities. Each little continuation flared for Samantha to profess of her group’s forthright conceit towards the rain, though scarred, consequent still of dead gusts and gales and harrows, formed in courage a new paramountcy due the pounding stab of strobes upon a quaking mindscape. She risked a glance again to her companions, her lovely companions, and was estranged in step — could not wholly uncover what they were thinking, for she perceived them to be as terrified as she was; that they would soon be surpassed by the tower in its inexplicable depth, all it would culminate, only to announce the execution of their beauty whereafter. To what end had they traversed? They now passed the first junction to their left and Samantha saw naught but coils and coils and coils, a hallway half-flooded, lights upon the water — it seemed to her these structures had begun to advance along unto the women’s very heels, and she was wrought even more frightened for the rape of such tortured sojourners — yet as she fell to this illusion, almost lunging forward to a sprint, she immediately stopped as she felt her hand entwined thus with Aluhruna’s: She was seized by the others in latch apart, where disassembly would not permit she touch her own body, nor her own nails to the bones of her hand, in this trepidation was held under darkest waters for the delight by which scurrility had ranged its odium from edificial source to antipodal submissive, made vessels of the three, maidens and maidens more assailing her wounds — but therein lay fixtures where metal shards had been sewn throughout, and it was to her fantasy she ought untangle hairs, untangle fingers, and plunge herself in this rupture for blooms and infections whither of sewage refuse. Samantha clambered, travailed through, weathered amidst, threatened herself to suffer greater by what debasement mass lain there of grandeur decomposing, heaving, shifting horribly by the shadows — these clutching upon her bloody suppurative wounds with lust to peer inside, though she knew — she knew well — their sincerities would ever be laid for device with naught to a limb, nor temperance for any dignity of theirs, and thus again she descended aground that awful smothering of hate, now grasped tight onto Aluhruna and Tsui and their palms upon palms to urge them deeper; indemn these exponent harmonies due their sweet fingers: Oh, how she could perceive their heartbeat by touch! How they might bleed as she would bleed by demand; how soothing it would be to trace it upon her skin, here within a wasteland; how she would laugh and laugh; drink along with tears for such laughter! Thus did she encase this sorrow with the others, in subsequence confide all she was able within her weeping, to be graced with a kiss; blessed them in return for this repentance, to mollify her dear women; for it was then she understood they truly were to remain in despair upon a campaign by these instabilities, by perjuries, by horrors and furtiveness and lunacies — nonetheless abandoned for a disaster — Samantha censured herself, for the others remained in companionship; hither desired she might one day repress herself of these evils. She smiled, joyous more and more as she peered about: the red tendrils above them twirled and wreathed by their own manner upon the air; she could only squint as they passed by certain areas, for the lights glared ever-brighter; all cascades of rain obscured the route away, fell bitterly; Aluhruna had turned even more cold and had become heavier — Samantha held her up with fierce exertion, and after giving notice to Tsui, together lifted her form high with gathered straining effort; the floor beneath them undulated here and there, turning even more distorted as they walked on closer, closer, closer to the second left junction, and as they approached the very corner, they were halted. Tsui had knelt down a second instance with Aluhruna and tightened the cloth around her wound — Aluhruna was bent over her leg, but Samantha could perceive she was moving minutely, altogether still for brief periods, then compounded debility to turn more sullen, languishing across her own flesh and shaking her head with weakness; her arms were held aloft, seeming to grasp upon empty air; sounds she could not parse to be of the woman’s voice were being emitted in her pain, and Samantha rejected them outright . “We’re almost there, almost!” Tsui could be heard crying. She wiped her own eyes and draped Aluhruna’s arm around her shoulders — shrieked as she held the latter’s wrist before her — Samantha noticed at once a thin film of frost had developed across the bulk of Aluhruna’s left arm. Aluhruna herself had turned to look: her eyes grew wild and she gave a sudden manic convulsion to pursue the hall anon, faltering thus on her affected leg. She stumbled over, remained unmoving as she stared at the floor, then uttered a terrible shout as she struck again the metal beneath. Samantha and Tsui took hither her sides in this urgency and lifted the woman to stance, but were hindered anew by the rains and winds, for churning torrents now rushed under their feet as the hallway started to flood; and all regard detached towards the direction these waters had come from, saw they the flood rising high. Samantha’s ankles had already come to wade in its creeping depth with each step. She could no longer advance upon any immediate movement or impulse and had become sluggish in the cold of the channels; was suddenly provoked to shout, “Here! It’s just this final hall!” before moving along — something pulled at them with extreme force — she and Aluhruna fell — Tsui screamed and screamed and cried for the others, any one of them — “Help me, help—!” she wept: a thick red magnitude of coils had wrapped her torso to thieve away dragging. Samantha stood with a cry of her own and tripped over laden with freezing waters as she cast herself where Tsui thrashed amidst the tendrils — she could see her submerged in one moment, fighting upwards in another, whereby each lapse struck the three of them maligned for dilating wreckage, burdened one woman, bound someone else, greater and greater still even against innocence, innocence, innocence that Samantha wrought this fray to blood for each ache of her limbs and each strain so distended: she knew to hold Tsui, foisted in clutch to rip away at the coils, and this she did, over and over with a scream and with each severance mangled of all she could render with touch. “Let go, let go of her—! Fucking bastards!” she shouted; and suffused more by every action was anguish to reduce friable her hands, arms, throat, chest, legs, feet; with these had she now embraced Tsui around her midriff and found herself pulling and pulling, with terrible hefts in sensation; she could hear many people crying together by her side, wailing out, peradventure humming once more; she noticed Aluhruna had also stood and clutched Tsui’s arm; Samantha gave a final lurch with her entire body, twisting herself about with Tsui in her grasp and ravaged through, releasing her therewith. Tsui fell crying in Aluhruna’s arms — this thrift of ferocity turned them with haste towards the tendrils writhing erratic as the mass spiralled and contorted out across whither they took ill passing respite. One of them yelled to run; they sprinted and forced themselves through the choking storm to the extents they were each able, with support for Aluhruna as bearing required. Samantha peered back to observe where the mass trailed— Whipping herself about with frenzy as two wiry tendrils latched around her forearm before these split apart from her movement and her greater rush downwards into the passageway — Aluhruna shrieked: a clutch had entwined itself with her hair — Tsui and Samantha pulled her hence; when they, too, were bound by their wrists with other coils, they wrested themselves forward in terror and broke off — the three stumbled through the currents, running far beyond any range ere esteemed of their route, destroying red wires whenever they could and wherever these took lesser hold of them trailing away — Aluhruna was limping; so, too, did Tsui lurch forward in pain by interval — Samantha could not do anything for them, naught more than to run together as they had all promised . The winds and rains persisted; the stench would not bring them to focus; the floods repulsed them back; the lights beat upon their vision. She could not tell where either woman now lumbered and understood little of their direction compelled; if someone had thither pulled away from a vile snagging coil, perchance they might have scattered downwards farther into the hall without signal; naught for however she herself was carried alongside but shaping a figure nonetheless in its ambiguity, repeating so, come a monster, its parasites, her behalves, these unknowns more of that precious figure, wherefore unable to attribute her own hand apart from Aluhruna’s, her hair from Tsui’s, or Tsui’s silhouette from Aluhruna’s or Aluhruna’s with her thighs or their stomachs with Tsui’s or hers or hers again or Samantha’s piled high to be devoured hereupon promontory march: An ornament for splendour shall mark them diseased as penury convolves their hands be laced, hooked through together with ribbons sewn at the behest of our amalgamation, that vile amalgamation! Certitude amounts due of consignment in will unto the exhorted, bestowed thereafter of doctrines, vagaries, fixtures, hearts; the brilliant rampage of flares dwells where typhoons and inundations never soothe, but mourn alone. Samantha saw billows dance across the waters in some far-off area, come swiftly from somewhere behind; perceived nothing when she turned to search their origin, and misery was surmounted thence with further misery — towards what, she could not be held steadfast to reason. She peered down: There lay a deeper hollow, a submerged cavern of no boundary in dimension above which she careened by the fingertips and skin of her companions — she observed it close and saw large slumbering faces in its dark, thrown to grotesques with each clamber of their escape. She wished to rescind this onslaught, was breathless, kept tearful, ripped separate her focus to look onwards, but as she faced the route ahead, the passage in all its colossal structure was being torn at the sides: great clefts were gouged away to the blackened cyclones from some tearing force outside in the void, and together with this crumbling wreckage had the distant lights begun to plummet down; the floods formed waterfalls, but seemed never to drain — Samantha ran faster, pulling the others lest they were consumed to suffer the emptiness beyond of asphyxiation; that they would be neither bled nor bruised around their warm tender necks; soever by warmth, soever alight; her capabilities macerating by final march — when she looked at Aluhruna and at Tsui, towards their loveliest faces, they were each staring directly at her, were not blinking, yet smiling wide and laughing to a melody she could not hear, frolicking atop the same waters she could scarcely now wade, and it was she who was pulled thither: Samantha could not bear herself to laugh as they did and only counselled herself of troubled fatigued cheer; there was a tremble to her palm, though verily was she enchanted by them as they by her to conduct a pirouette along her expedition, made another horror of a lark with repudiant’s experience in bliss that dress ought never be engrossed to grovel, but blood mechanized for encumbrance, and so on and on: they ran on heedlessly! They tore through, tore through: the coils could not restrain them! Weakness had benumbed each desire flayed across the far steps of a passageway to effect no sensation coaxing her wounded limbs along, nor any measure her illness and bile could ever project the emaciative space by its figures, if any truly remained in her daze — thus had descended the fever, mandating her emptied as they failed their destination; but she knew they still ran, could but only believe: they had deigned these wounds never to relent, not her nor Tsui nor Aluhruna, so uncovered the conclusive traversal for the obscenities of their vomit. Samantha directed them yonder, with a shivering arm, for the raw plagued decrepitude in her flesh, skin, nerves — when she gave a motion, suddenly noticed they were now paces behind, ailing themselves through the water — Samantha turned back, staggering, and grabbed Aluhruna’s waist to ensure she proceed — her skin felt terribly cold as she held on — Tsui shouted for them, but Samantha could not understand these words within the passage — something prodded her foot, and with frightful pain, she yanked herself away — vast segments of the walls had been wholly removed as they neared the entrance of the room, the winds howled in a great whirling vortex, and the flood impeded them further, hurtling towards the group — naught in descent but strife, again amidst rage, with thrice-borne sorrow for vulgarities acceding to conflict, that scum withal would be forever renounced by gentle caress— They heard another monstrous scream, but could not see anything — it was difficult now to breath, harder still to walk and fight back against the red wires — they pulled on one another as they trudged towards the doorway, crying out in turn as they trampled forth with hastier and hastier strain — Samantha conveyed her agony to whomever she could touch — the two doors were within reach — they yielded all rationality vicious in terror, took the handle, turned it, and wrought themselves collapsed inside.
	There was immediate reprieve; Samantha could only hear their heavy breaths. She glanced quickly towards the entrance, but could only see shades of roiling dark outside the windows — she was enveloped again with weakness, a more burdensome weakness, and did not remain observing for long. 
	“Aluhruna—! Aluhruna, what’s happened—?” Tsui was heard exclaiming, and when Samantha lifted her head, she could see her tearing away at garments. She was taken ahold instantly and crawled over to where they had fallen in a heap. Aluhruna was on the floor, writhing and recoiling where she lay: the frost had now covered half of her body, and she was no longer conscious.