Fifteen minutes later Mars and RK reached the cabin. It was an ominous and spooky structure from what was visible in the brightly glowing moonlight.
“This is the place you wanted to sleep in for the night?” Mars asked incredulously.
“I never said I wanted to,” RK stated defensively. “I just thought a roof was better than no roof, yah?”
“You sure about that? I’d almost prefer some bushes to that place. If I…” Mars looked over to RK, but RK was gone, already moving forward toward the cabin. “Hey! Get back here!”
RK stopped and turned back to her friend. “Well, c’mon then! Hurry up!”
Mars caught up, muttering, “Not very nice, just leave me standin’ there.” RK ignored her and stepped up to the door of the cabin and rapped lightly.
“Dude,” Mars said, “like anybody’s gonna answer.”
“Shut-up. It’s force of habit.” RK glared at her while pushing open the wooden door. The two of them stepped inside and paused, letting their eyes get accustomed to the interior dimness of the cabin.
“Man, I wish we had thought to bring a light,” RK complained.
“Yeah, that was exactly wot was going through my mind as I was flying headlong out of the front door,” Mars responded facetiously.
“Ah, fuck you, man.” RK took a few more steps into the room. “A light… a light… hmm…” She contemplated things for a moment, then started singing in a rather loud voice. “Oh where, oh where has a little light gone? Oh where, oh where could one be? With its flame all bright, and its glow quite strong, just give me a light so I can see!”
“Dude, you are so psycho.”
“Yeah, but…” RK stopped as various lamps around the room flickered on. “There!” she declared triumphantly. “They like the singing!”
“Um…” Mars stared suspiciously at the flickering lights a moment, then continued. “But, they’re oil lamps. They can’t just come on by themselves!”
“Oh. Really?” RK moved forward to squint scrutinizingly at one of the nearest lamps. “Huh,” she said. “Eh, wotever.” She shrugged and moved into the next room. Mars continued to watch the lights distrustfully.
“Hey, Mars! Check this out!” RK called from the other room. Mars gave the lights one last skeptical look, then entered the room where RK was studying a rather unusual structure for the middle of a living area.
“Wot?” she demanded.
RK looked over her shoulder, then turned back to what she had been inspecting. “Look it. It’s a doorframe! In the middle of the freakin’ room! Why the hell would someone make a doorway in the middle of the room?”
“You’re asking me? How should I know? Probably some old eclectic hermit thought it would spice up the décor.” She then spotted a pedestal with an ancient looking book on it. “Oooo! A book!” Mars practically shouted with glee as she dashed over to it.
“Eh?” RK looked up from the frame to where her friend was enthusiastically blowing a thick layer of dust off the pages of the old volume. “Psh. Just some old book. You probably can’t even read it. My discovery is much kewler.”
“Is not,” Mars argued.
“Is too,” countered RK.
“Is not. And I can too read it.”
“Ch, ok then. Let’s hear ya.”
“Fine.” Mars looked down at the book, trying to decipher the words. “Um… hmmm…” She was stalling.
“You can’t do it, can you?” RK taunted.
“Yeah, I can. Just shut-up and give me a minute. (ahem)” Mars cleared her throat, then proceeded to read a passage from one of the pages. “Oo’pay’neh, du’reh~s ufe ray’ai’lee’tah’loo. Shu’weh thay’loo wai’ah’loo tu’loo mah’loo Flee’peh Shee’f’tu.”1 There was a deep bass-like FOOM, more felt than heard, that seemed to emanate from the doorframe and shake through the entire house.
“What the fuck was that?” RK asked wonderingly as the vibration dissipated.
Mars moved from the pedestal toward where RK was standing in front of the frame. “I have no fucking idea. Do you think the reading had anyth… Wai!” Mars exclaimed, as she tripped over a slightly raised floorboard. She crashed into RK, knocking her over and sending them both falling through the doorway, landing with a thud on the other side.
1 "Open Doors of Reality. Show the way to my Flip Shift."
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