The next morning we all woke up early. Mallory had slept in my sister’s room and I could see it on Melengell’s face that she didn’t enjoy her as much as I would have. We took turns showering to be fresh for our journey. Mallory had thought ahead and had half-filled the duffle with clothing. That morning she decided to wear a maroon shirt and gray pants that had zippers closing its pockets. I thought the pants were a good idea and looked for my pair. My sister wore white jeans and a blue sweater. I wore a navy blue shirt, with oddly colored flowers and a strange brown dog printed on it. Both Mallory and Melengell wore their hair in ponytails. Phillip was naked.

Mallory emptied her backpack then put the Scarred Man’s notebook, her notebook, the field guide, and the book of rituals into it. I grabbed my empty backpack while Mallory held Phillip in her arms. The four of us headed out the door after that.

On the way toward the Northern side of Cyprianus we stopped by the convenience store to rob it again.

"Do you think The Scarred Man won’t be in town this morning?" Mallory asked.

"Doubt it," I stuffed some fruits into my bag.

"Why not?"

"He’s nocturnal," I continued. "Yesterday was the only time I have ever seen him move in daylight."

Mallory pondered for a moment before saying, "Maybe you haven’t seen him in the daytime cause he’s afraid of the adults?"

"Maybe, but if that’s the case he could have easily done this sooner," I motioned towards the lack of people in the store.

Mallory pondered yet again, not sure how to respond.

Standing up I zipped my bag close and Mallory followed shortly after.

Mallory sighed a sigh of exasperation, "we have to walk so much today."

Before I could respond, Melengelle walked through a door into the back of the store while still holding Phillip. Melengelle was one of the only people he would allow to carry him. A few seconds later Phillip hopped through the door. He quickly turned back around and wagged his tail. His antlers hit the closing door.

Mallory and I looked at each other. She said, "What did he say?"

"He wants us to come to the back," I responded.

Through the door was a large room, about half the size of the storefront. It was full of rows of shelves of which cardboard boxes sat on, all labeled with what was contained within them. I looked over all the products and looked for my sister. When I found her she stood next to four bikes..

"Mel, how did you know these were in here?"

Melengell took hold of a bright green bike, "Jasmine was in my homeroom last year."

"Who?" Mallory asked.

I knew where this was going to end with Melengell crying, so I decided to stop it before it continued. I quickly snatched the blue bike and headed towards the door. I told them to hurry and Mallory nodded, then as quickly as I had she took the red bike. Once we were outside Melengell placed Phillip into a backpack that she took on the way out. His head stuck out making him look like a stuffed animal toy. Melengell put her arms through the straps and tightened them. Phillip looked over Melengells shoulder, appearing as though they were a two headed monster. The three of us hopped onto the stolen bikes and headed North.

We reached the foot of the hill that had the metal pipe sticking out of it. Atop the hill, we stood at the edge of the forest. I took a deep breath. I struggled getting the bike through the few feet of unkempt grass as I led the way. As I waited for the other two I crouched down for a better look at the tracks. They didn’t look any different from yesterday.

The other two reached the tracks after a moment. I stood back up and led the way once again. We talked about our plan as we walked our bikes along the pseudo path. Mallory and I had come to the conclusion that, because we only explored half of the building’s outside, the other half could contain another exit. This potential exit could also have tracks that lead to wherever the Scarred Man keeps his seal. After we find it then we destroy it and free the town. I didn’t know what we were going to do with the Scarred Man himself. He would most certainly still be around afterwards. Honestly I didn’t think that at the time, but hindsight is 20/20. I don’t think Mallory did either. Even then she seemed to love the adventure more than anything.

"So what’s with the ring?" Mallory asked me.

I glanced down at my hand. I had completely forgotten about the ring, "I don’t know. It was on his desk and it seemed interesting so I picked it up. When he showed up I still wanted to look at it so I put it on."

"What was interesting about it?"

"It has [weaver language] engraved onto the inside of the band."

"Why didn’t you tell me about this last night?" She scowled.

Why didn’t you ask about it last night?’

She raised an eyebrow before smiling, "fair point. Can I see it?"

Not allowing me to respond Mallory stopped then took my hand in hers. Her soft skin pecked mine as she tried to remove the ring. It wouldn’t budge so I tried it myself. Still, it refused to move.

"It’s warm out here. Your finger must be swollen cause of the heat."

"I guess so," I said, trying to hide my confusion.

Mallory hopped onto her bike, "let’s bike the rest of the way."

I nodded, switched gears on the bike and the three of us kept going.

Soon after we reached the edge of the forest. We stood a few feet from the fence as we stared at the building. It towered over us in the morning sun.

I looked down at the tracks that curved left. Mallory led the way as she walked in the opposite direction of the tracks. We hugged the fence for about 10 minutes before we reached its corner. The fence took a sharp turn to the left and the forest wrapped around it with us. Soon I saw a patch of ground that had no grass and I rushed to it.

I crouched down and saw more tracks.

I turned my head to the building. This side of it had many roll up doors. I looked over at Mallory and could see that she was thinking exactly what I was thinking.

She nodded.

Phillip squirmed.

Melengell set him free, letting the now four of us follow these new tracks.

The forest never changed. Crushed twigs littered the tracks and oddly colored flowers still dotted the treeline. Animals were still to be found no matter how far we got from Cyprianus. We walked for hours, only stopping a couple of times to eat, and soon we came to a paved road.

"How are we supposed to know what way to go?" Mallory huffed.

Phillip hopped to where the dirt tracks merge with the paved road. He sniffed the tracks briefly, turning his head to the left as he did so. His eyes scanned the ground for a moment, then he turned his head to the right. Another quick intake of the ground caused him to head down the paved road in the direction he was facing.

"Phillip has such a good sense of smell!" Mallory proclaimed.

As we followed Phillip down the road I noticed the tracks we were following bent in our direction. Phillip enjoyed seeming useful.

We walked for a while after that, until not too far ahead of us was a small white shack just off the road. The trees stopped a few feet from it. Mallory excitedly ran up to the shack. The smile that had formed on her face quickly became a look of minor disgust.

"Oh Gosh!" Mallory dropped her bike at the foot of the shack.

Melengelle, Philip and I ran up next to Mallory to see what had caused her to gag. Looking through the large glass pane we saw a man slumped over a desk that was attached to the wall of the shack. The man’s uniform bore an odd logo on his shoulder, it resembled a drop of water falling from a cloud. One look at his face caused me to think he was somehow at peace, unlike the people of Cyprianus.

"What do you think he’s doing here?" I cupped my hands around my face and pressed up against the class in hopes of getting a clearer view of the inside. While I did so I heard Mallory’s and Melengelle’s footsteps as they took a look at what was behind the shack.

I felt a slight tug at my pants leg. When I looked down I saw Phillip biting at me for my attention. After he realized he had it, Phillip hopped to Mallory and Melengelle, both of which had confusion all over their faces.

Behind the shack was a metal fence, much like the one guarding the Scarred Man’s nest. A large section of the fence was gone and it was protected by a red and white piece of wood attached to a white box. Behind that was a paved ground that held many inground pools of water. Each one had a metal bridge that would allow for access to the center . An unassuming building stood just beyond them. We walked through the small field of ponds, briefly looking into some pools. There wasn’t anything interesting inside any of them.

As we approached the building Phillip, Mallory, and I began to grow weary. Melengelle however, wasn’t ready to run at a moment’s notice, which meant she slowly trailed behind us as we walked through the doors of the building.

The glass doors we walked through lead into a white moderately sized room. Wood chairs and a fake plant lined a wall made of windows. Metal doors sat on both sides of a large white desk with the word "SECURITY" painted onto its front. The desk’s front side was about the shoulder level of an adult because of it.

Melengelle took Phillip in her arms then went up to a cork board that was overflowing with flyers. Mallory and I walked up to the security desk.

A quick, "oh God!" left my mouth when I saw a woman sitting behind the desk, leaning back on her chair. She wore a uniform similar to the man in the shack. Her eyes glued to a travel size paperback became unstuck for a second to look at us before snapping back to her book.

Without looking at us a second time she said, "good morning. How can I help you?"

I was at a loss for words and any attempt I made at forming a thought resulted in me stammering nothings at this surprisingly conscience woman. Luckily Mallory was able to say something, despite her own confusion.

"Hi, why are you awake?" Mallory asked.

The woman raised an eyebrow but remained focused on the book, "I could ask you two the same thing. Though, for me it’s the paycheck."

Mallory and looked at each other with confusion. She returned her attention to the woman and asked, "why are you here?"

"The paycheck," the woman responded, this time with emphasis on the paycheck.

Mallory stayed quiet for a second before asking, "what is this place?"

"Water treatment plant for Cyprianus," the woman said Cyprianus wrong.

"You’re not from Cyprianus?" Mallory asked.

"Cyprianus? So that’s how you say it," the woman said. "No, I live in Galgani."

"Where’s that?" I blurted out.

"It’s a forty minute drive or so just up the row," the woman raised an eyebrow and finally looked up from her book.

"What the hell is a drive?" " I whispered to Mallory

Mallory simply shrugged before asking the women another question, " Is anyone from Cyprianus here?"

The woman, now fully intrigued with us, closed her book, "today? Not that I know of, But if you mean if anyone from Cyprianus works here then that’d be a no." She leaned forward now able to see Melengelle and Phillip. "Are those two with you?" She pointed at my sister and the horned one.

"Uh, yes?" Mallory said cautiously.

The woman shrugged, "alright." She opened a drawer, rummaging through it for a moment before pulling out four white metal cards with the word "visitor" engraved into it. She placed them onto the desk.

I picked one up and inspected it, "what are these for?"

"Hm? Oh, I assume you four want to take a look around?" The woman pushed the other cards towards us. "We don’t get too many visitors but when we do they always want to take a look. These cards will be your keys."

Mallory called over Melengelle to retrieve a card. We put our cards into our pockets and Melengelle put Phillip’s into hers.

"The door to your right leads into the facility," she motioned to her left, "but before you go through, do you have any food in there?"

"Maybe? Why?" Mallory asked.

"Any and all food on the premises must be provided by the facility’s owner."

I opened my mouth to tell her the truth but Mallory interjected, "No we just have lots of rope and some flashlights."

"Go on through then."

Through the door was a long hallway. Doors lead to offices or often a room full of steaming pipes. Sometimes we would unlock a door that was full of pistons and other machinery.

Toward the end of the hallway was a door that had the word "RESTRICTED" painted on it. I placed my card into the slot in an attempt to unlock it. The card didn’t fit unlike it did in the other doors. Mallory took my card from the slot and placed hers on top of it, then placed both into the slot. They fit perfectly and as Mallory pushed the cards in deeper until we heard a metallic click and the cards remained in the slot. The lock clicked open and the door opened ever so slightly.

We opened the door the rest of the way and walked into a room that was the size of a house. It’s walls were made of metal, causing any and all light to be diffused in an odd way, which gave the room an odd glow. A large vat of water was in the ground with a bridge standing over it. It crosses the vats diameter and was high up enough where we wouldn’t be able to see someone’s legs if they were standing on it. The stairs up to the bridge weren’t there. What was there however, was a box, much like the one by the shack outside, with another slot. We didn’t think much of the room at first but we did decide to walk around.

There were signs plastered all over the walls, informing workers of proper etiquette in this room. It was mostly things along lines of don’t fall in or don’t put anything in the vat as this was the Cyprianus drinking water supply. There was another sign informing us of what to do if something were to end up in the water. It told us that anything that fell in would end up at one of two water towers in Cyprianus.

"Do you think he does it here?" Mallory turned to me after she read the sign.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Mallory bit her lip before continuing, "think about it. My water pipe gets busted for a week. And for that week we didn’t have drinking water, so we had to drink normal faucet water."

"Do you think the water has something to do with it?" I asked her.

"Dunno, but I bet it does."

"Where would his rock be in here then?"

Mallory turned her head to Melengelle, who was bending over to take a look inside the water. "Is anything in there, Mel?"

Melengelle nodded her head.

"Wait, really?" Mallory rushed over to see for herself. "Where is it?"

Melengelle pointed at the center. A chunk of gray meat the size of Phillip gently floating just under the surface of the water. A rope wrapped around the center support beam of the bridge held the meat in place.

"What the hell is that?" I asked.

"Let’s go see!" Mallory walked over to the box. After inspecting it, she asked for Melengelles and Phillips cards. She stacked them together and placed them into the slot. A click was heard followed by a series of turning gears. Stairs began to come out from the floor and connected themselves to the bridge. Mallory quickly ran up the stairs then flopped onto her stomach. She stretched her arm out, trying her best to reach the rope that was just below her. By the time she managed to pull up the rope we had already sat down next to her.

A rancid smell filled my nostrils the moment the decaying gray meat was in sight. I nearly vomited when the meat plopped onto the bridge and greenish red slime oozed from it. Then suddenly I forgot about the stench. The awful smell was still there, it was in the back of my nostrils but it stopped trying to reach my brain. By the looks of it the others also had similar experiences.

Mallory held the meat by the rope so that it slowly spun as it hung.

"It kinda looks like a piece of someone’s back muscle, don’t you think?" She stared at it with curious eyes.

I found myself being just as curious, if not more, as Mallory. Phillip and Melengelle were very disgusted by the rotting meat.

"Look at this!" Mallory slapped the meat back onto the bridge. Now the skin like side of the meat faced up. An odd symbol was impressed into the skin.

Put a string around your thigh and pull it tight. The mark the string leaves after removing it is how the symbol appeared to be created. It took only a moment for me to realize that the symbol was a word in that language Mallory wanted to relearn.

"What do you think it says?" I asked.

"Dunno. But this is definitely the reason Cyprianus is the way that it is," Mallory bit her lip. "Let’s throw it away!" She pulled it up to her face, "maybe they have a dumpster around here."

"I don’t think we should get rid of it," I said not so confidently.

"Why?"

"If this is his doing, I don’t want him to know that we did anything. His weird curse thing being missing means the only person in Cyprianus that would be awake got rid of it." I replied

"Why does this going missing mean we did it? Why can’t it mean someone here did it?" Mallory tilted her head at me.

"We saw two people, one was asleep and the other didn’t seem to care that four strangers wanted to take a look around."

"What do we do then? We need to fix the town," Mallory huffed.

Melengelle lifted Phillip by his underarms.

"Well, we were going to use Phillip anyways," Mallory shrugged.

I took Phillip from my sister. "Try not to squirm, I won’t drop you as long as you’re still," I held Phillip over the guard railings of the bridge.

"Wait!" Mallory shouted.

"What? What’s wrong?"

"Let’s put this back," she motioned the gray meat toward me. "That way the Scarred Man won’t know we were here."

I nodded, then Mallory wrapped the rope around the support beam. She let the gray meat drop and a muffled splash preceded the sound of small bubbles quickly popping. We nodded at each other and held out Phillip once more.

"Alright Phillip, cleanse this water," I said.

Ignoring the fact that people were going to drink this, I found Phillip urinating into the town’s water supply to be funny. I began quietly laughing which then became actual laughing. This caused both the girls to laugh too, and Phillip made a noise that was his version of a laugh.

When his stream became droplets, I shook Phillip for a moment ensuring the last few drops came out.

As I brought phillip back onto the bridge I noticed the water had turned that greenish red that the meat oozed. Oddly where the urine hit was crystal clear, and it was spreading quickly. By the time we reached the floor the water was fully clear.

"Do you think it worked?" Mallory had a look of worry on her face.

"I hope so," my eyes remained on the water.

Without warning Melengelle dunked her face into the water.

"What the?" Mallory yelled.

Before I could react Melengelle sat back up. She was soaked but had a faint smile.

"How was it?" I asked.

Melengelle nodded.

"Guess it worked," Mallory said.

Before exiting the room we took our cards back, causing the stairs to return to their hiding place. We took the visitor passes from the door and it slammed shut. While we walked down the hallway Mallory turned her head to me, "what if Phillip’s pee gets diluted and the slime gets back into the water?"

"Then we come back!" I smiled.

"We could, it’ll be like our weekly adventure!" Mallory smiled in return.

We returned to the security desk, where the woman was distracted by her book once again. Without looking at us she told us to just place our visitor passes on the desk. The metal cards made a clunking noise when we dropped them onto the desk. After that we made our way home.

Next Chapter: It Was Not