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Chapter 4 is the fourth chapter of The Lonely Ones novel.
Description[]
Ruse, Feast and Mim arrive to the Backstage, where numerous towering shelves carry a variety of props and items. With the room locked from the inside the three of them search for another way out of the room. Amid her search, Ruse begins recalling memories of a backyard pool with bodies floating in the water. Suddenly, the Performer enters from somewhere in the room. Feast and Mim are quick to hide from the Performer but something is wrong with Mim, she's at the center of the room, mimicking the Performer's actions.
Plot[]
Ruse, Feast and Mim arrive in a room lit with bare light bulbs. All around are shelves crammed full of assorted objects. On the wall is a cone shaped speaker playing low music that sounded like every instrument playing different parts of a song or entirely different songs. It is difficult to think while listening to the unsettling noise. A door marked “Backstage” has a rusted metal padlock securing it so it can't be opened from the outside. Ruse wonders if there is another way in and out of the room from the inside or even a key. Ruse begins searching away from the others and notices a row of colorful books on a shelf, they are light despite their size but every book has blank pages inside. Ruse spots a crate of black apples carved from wood, all hollow and light enough to carry. Ruse wonders why the apples are painted black rather than the correct color. Ruse looks over at Feast and is alarmed when she sees him plunging a short dagger into his stomach.
Ruse is quick to rush over to Feast but stops the moment she notices Feast pull what is actually a retractable dagger from his stomach, he winks at Ruse to indicate to her it was a joke. Mim pulls apart a fake bouquet of flowers composed of tulips, roses and daisies, smelling each flower before throwing it to the ground in disgust. Ruse realizes everything in the room is fake, props crafted from paper, fabric and wood. Ruse spots another shelf with spooky and whimsical masks, one white mask in particular is just her size, it has a bird's beak with one round eye and the other eye somewhat winking. Ruse almost wears the mask but instead puts it back on the shelf, not wanting to play anymore. Ruse turns around and spots a familiar yellow clapboard house with a blue door and a lantern hanging over it. Her heart races as she sees a backyard pool, so real she could step over it and sink into the water, she smells the scent of chlorine and nightshade in the air as something floats in the water. A figure hiding in the shadows gestures to Ruse to move forward, into the water. Ruse’s only thought is wanting to be somewhere safe. Bodies in the water move from the ripples of her toe dipped into the water.
Ruse prepares to jump into the water but feels Feast pull her away from the pool. Ruse tries to free herself from Feast’s grip to go back to the pool but when she turns around the pool is gone, all she sees is a painting of a decaying yellow house on a canvas backdrop, one used for a theatrical production. Ruse notices the empty paint cans, turpentine and paintbrush on the ground, her foot wet from spilled paint, not water from a pool. Ruse thanks Feast, her head jumbled from the tuneless music and whatever she thought she saw and felt. Feast nods to Ruse’s thank you and urgently looks around. Ruse now believes it was a bad idea to split up and follows Feast around the corner of a shelf, finding Mim shivering as she stares at a painting of a dilapidated farm house, a place that looks like it was once a nice place to live. Feast whispers something into Mim’s ear. After a moment, Mim turns around to them, away from the painting. Ruse asks Mim if she knew the farm in the painting, but Mim only shrugs and shakes her head, walking past Ruse as Feast follows her. Ruse is curious if Feast and Mim saw something in the paintings too, and is just as curious over what brought the three of them together and why. Russ understands that the others may not want to talk about their pasts or rather that they just can't, given she herself has felt her memories slip away anytime she is close to remembering anything about her life.
The only thing she can recall is how lonely those moments of her life made her feel. Ruse hears Feast calling them to him and points to a door that looks real, but as they get closer is nothing but another painting. Ruse touches the fresh paint and feels her palm itch and tingle, she backs away from the door and wipes the paint off her hand on her shirt. As Feast knocks on the painted door, Ruse notices Mim back away and covers her ears, focusing on the wall. Ruse listens to the wall beside the door but hears nothing. To Ruse’s relief, the tuneless music stops playing from the speaker, helping her clear her head. Ruse suggests they all begin checking behind the sceneries and scatter to look behind backdrops. As Ruse checks behind a backdrop of an ocean, avoiding touching the paint, she hears a door creak open in the room and quickly hides behind the canvas, peering out to see where the others are. Across from her is Feast climbing up a column of shelves. He looks over his shoulder and quickly hides behind the small porcelain statues on one of the shelves. A dark figure passes by and Ruse quickly looks away, despite getting only a glimpse she knows it's the Performer. Ruse listens to the Performer rummage through the props, she dares not look at him directly and focuses on searching for Mim in the room, but there is no sign of her. Ruse looks over to Feast and sees him searching for her and Mim in the room.
Ruse waves her hand to get his attention and he notices her, raising his hand in return but accidentally knocks over a statue off the shelf. Ruse winces, expecting the sound of the statue to draw the Performer’s attention, but hears no sound. Ruse is surprised to see the shattered figurine on the ground, a black mist above it distorts the air before dissipating. Ruse notices Feast waving his hand, gesturing to someone to go back, but it's not her. Ruse sneaks over to the corner of a wood shelf and looks around the room, realizing Feast is gesturing to Mim who is now at the center of the room. Ruse watches Mim pick invisible objects from thin air. Ruse can see the Performer in the corner of her eye and notices Mim’s actions match the Performers movements as he picks items from the shelves, the two are in perfect sync. Ruse stares at the Performer as he tucks black apples into his vest, making Ruse wonder how he is able to carry so many apples and other items, as if those items are just disappearing into invisible pockets. Ruse watches on as the Performer puts a black apple on his head and places his beret over it, as if the apple was never there.
Captivated by his performance, Ruse claps, but no sound is heard. The Performer tilts his head to Ruse and she quickly ducks behind the shelf before she can see his face, hoping he has not seen her. Ruse looks up and holds her breath, her heart racing as she notices the Performers fingers grabbing the corner of the shelving unit. Much to Ruse’s surprise and relief, the Performer leaves the room. Ruse can now hear the sound of a creaking door and the speaker announces in a hushed and distorted voice for the talent to head to the stage as the show is about to begin. Feast climbs down the shelves and runs down the aisle, gesturing to Ruse to follow him. Ruse composes herself and follows Feast to where Mim last stood in the room. Feast retraces the Performers steps, re-enacting his actions to figure out where he and Mim left and returns to the painted door from before, but the door has now changed, it's now slightly open. Ruse touches the door, the door is now real. Ruse looks through the opening in the door but it's too dark for her to see anything so she gestures to Feast to look instead as he is better at seeing things in the dark, but he is looking at something on the floor that's caught between the door. Feast picks up the item and the two realize it’s Mim’s rope
Characters[]
- Ruse
- Feast
- Mim
- The Performer
- Ruse's Nanny (mentioned)