The Girl with the Fox Mask

Collin dropped his sword and turned his back on the beast. The monster wasn’t a monster and he wasn’t a knight. His imagination had run away with him again. He was an errand boy for a woman too lazy to retrieve her own eggs, and the beast was just a disgruntled hen.

He avoided the woman as he left. He avoided everyone. He just wanted to be alone, and he knew the perfect place. His secret fort. It may have been an old abandoned shack on the verge of collapse, but that didn’t matter to him. It kept him out of the cold and away from people.

“You know, your imagination isn’t a bad thing.”

Collin jumped at the voice. He was supposed to be alone. Who had invaded his… oh… it was TA. She was a girl about the same age as him. She had long wavy brown hair, but he never saw her face because she always wore a red fox mask. Even though he only met her a few weeks ago, she seemed familiar. Like someone he could trust.

“Have you been following me again?” He asked.

“I had to do something to pass the time. That doesn’t matter though. What matters is your imagination. It won’t kill you to use it every once and a while.”

“I don’t want to be labeled as the crazy kid.”

“I already have that title, so you don’t need to worry about it. Besides it’s normal for kids to pretend. You need to stop isolating yourself from the world. Find a friend. You can’t just stay here all the time, you know.”

“Aren’t you my friend?”

“Of course! But don’t you want to have another friend like me. Someone you can rely on. Besides, who will look out for you when I’m not around?” She grabbed him by the hand and dragged him out of the structure. “I bet there are plenty of kids our age in the town. Let’s go meet them.”

With a sigh, Collin agreed. The two began to walk away from the shack but were stopped by the sound of an explosion. He turned to see the remains of what used to be his secret fort.

“Sorry. I had to make sure you wouldn’t go back.”

Collin walked down the narrow path. It was eerie. The area wasn’t particularly dangerous, but it felt like it could be. It was poorly lit, and the trees and bushes came so close to the path that someone could jump out at any time.

“Put your hands in the air and turn around slowly.” A stern voice said from behind him.

He turned to see a boy, not much older than himself with a slingshot drawn and aimed at him.

“Why are you on my road?” The boy asked.

“Last I checked, this was a public road. I’m just heading into town.”

“Well that stands to reason. Sorry to give you the business, but you can never be too careful. There are dangerous people about. You shouldn’t be wandering around alone.”

Wait… Where had TA gone? She was with him a minute ago.

“You’re the only dangerous person I see. Besides nothing interesting happens around here.” Collin responded.

“You can never be too sure. There could be extraterrestrials or…”

“Are you nuts?”

“Come on now. You don’t know what’s out there. At any time, we could be facing an alien invasion.”

Collin began to walk away. This guy was clearly insane. Maybe TA was right, and he didn’t have to be worried about being labeled a loon. There were clearly people more insane than him around.

“You’d be crazy not to listen to me!” The boy shouted after him.

Collin turned to face the boy. “Did you just call me crazy?”

“Only if you ignore my advice.”

“Let me get one thing clear. I am not crazy. I have never been crazy, and if you have the gall to tell me I’m crazy, then I suggest you run before I start acting crazy.” Collin’s voice grew louder and more threatening with each word. He couldn’t control himself. Something about the word crazy set him off, but however unkind he had been, it did work. The boy had run away.

“Now that was fun.”

Collin jumped. Somehow TA had reappeared beside him without him noticing.

“He was a cute kid. He may have had some outlandish ideas, but I could see you two getting along.”

“Leave me alone TA. Or do you only leave when it’s inconvenient?”

“Hey now, what’s with the attitude? I haven’t done anything to you.”

He glared at her. She had destroyed his hideout, and she knew it.

“Are you still mad about your fort? You know I only did that for your own good, right?”

He remained silent and trudged onward.

“Okay, maybe the explosion was a bit much, but there is no sense being upset about it now. We can’t change the past. Besides… I need your help.”

He stopped. This was a change of pace from her usual cocky attitude. Whatever it was must have been important.

“Someone stole something from me. They probably don’t know what it is, but… I have to get it back.”

“What is it they took exactly?”

“Something very dear to me. You have to help me find it.”

She hadn’t exactly answered his question, but even though he couldn’t see it through the fox mask, he had a feeling she was crying.

“Okay, I’ll help.”

This was the place. TA told him this is where she lost it. Whatever it was. The place was just a field with some large rocks scattered around, but something about it had him on edge. He could feel his stomach twisting into knots.

“You came.”

Collin jumped. A man had snuck up on him much like TA always did. He looked to be in his early twenties and was wearing a black petticoat.

“Who are you?” He asked.

“I’m glad you’ve returned. Maybe you’re finally ready.”

“Did you see someone take something from here.”

“Or maybe not.”

Was this guy even listening to him?

“Hey! I asked you a question.” Collin rose his voice to get the man’s attention.

“I haven’t seen anyone except you.”

“What about you? Did you take something from here?”

“No.”

“Then maybe it’s still here. It could be buried somewhere. I could get a shovel and…”

“Let me stop you right there. If you start digging, you won’t like what you find. We are in a graveyard after all.”

Collin froze. It finally made sense why this field felt so dreary. How had he not realized? His gut clenched and he started to gasp for air, but none came.

“I uh…” He fumbled with his words trying to make an excuse to leave. They never came, instead he just ran. He ran from a fear he never knew he had.

After creating some distance between him and the graveyard, he slowed his pace. What had come over him? He couldn’t breathe and felt like he was going to throw up. All this because he had been in some graveyard he had never seen before?

“Why are you running?” TA appeared out of nowhere, like she always did.

He didn’t care that he was angry with her. He threw himself into her arms, hugging her tightly. For the first time since the graveyard, he managed to breath normally.

“I don’t want to die, TA. I don’t want to die.” He cried.

           She patted him on the head. “It’s okay, Collin. Everything will be okay.”

           “Where are you taking me?” Collin asked.

           “I destroyed your hideout. It’s only fair I let you visit mine.” TA responded.

           A large flashing sign blinked above them. Game Over. Was this an arcade? They walked up to the front door only to be stopped by a doorman.

           “Boss, we can’t let him in here.”

           “It’s fine, we can make an exception just this once.” TA grabbed Collin by the hand like she always did and dragged him behind her.

           It was amazing. A fully functioning arcade with a variety of people playing games or hanging out at the snack bar chatting. There was even an area for laser tag. He had no idea something like this existed in their small town.

           “I know what you are thinking. This is my clubhouse, but it isn’t my hideout. My hideout is upstairs.” She pointed to a loft overlooking the entire facility. “That’s my hideout.”

           The two walked up a flight of spiraling stairs. Once on the inside, Collin realized it was a familiar place. It was identical to his former hideout. Down to every last detail, even the stains on the rug.

           “TA, what is this place?”

           “It’s a refuge. You see, everyone here is a wayward soul. Look.” She gestured out the window overlooking the facility. “That boy died when his father had a heart attack while driving. The car fell into the river and he drowned in the backseat. That one over there developed cancer at a young age. He never lived a normal life. Instead he spent his entire childhood in different hospitals until the disease beat him. And she… she was kidnapped and… I can’t.” TA paused. Whatever had happened seemed to be too tragic for her to put words to. “She is stronger than anyone else here after what she has been through. Everyone here died unexpectedly and needed a place to go to process what happened. Once they have come to accept it, they can move on, but until then, this is a safe place for them.”

           “TA… Why am I here?”

           “Why indeed. You didn’t die. I made sure of it. So why are you here now?”

           “I don’t understand.”