So, I guess this is kind of a follow-up, but it also answers a few questions I know you've all had.
First off, yeah, we got arrested.
Well, not really arrested, but the police were not pleased to find us in the Family Dollar. I guess we triggered a silent alarm when we came out of the bathroom and the response time for this side of town was pretty stellar. We submitted, cause what else were we gonna do? We had just been through the wringer, and we were not about to fight the cops.
They cuffed us, patted us down, and took us to the police station.
Buddy got to ride in the empty K9 unit's cage, his dog having been left in the kennels for the night.
They put Gale and I in the back of the same car and as we rode Gale seemed to be telling me to keep quiet with the look he had. Fortunately for all of us, we had left everything in the Beyond when we had traveled that last time. We didn't have backpacks of incriminating items that we couldn't explain, we didn't have homemade weapons or flashlights, and we had come through with nothing but the things we had gone into the bathroom with initially.
This worked out for me because it meant I still had my wallet, my phone, and my punch card from work, the one from the night I had worked. I assumed Gale had some sort of wallet on him, men his age usually did, and hopefully Celene had some kind of ID on her as well. I had noticed that both had immerged in their uniforms, and I wondered what the police would make of a pair of Dollar General employees being in a Family Dollar after hours.
We were all loaded into little rooms and left to wait, and about fifteen minutes later a guy in a sheriff's department uniform came in with a cup of coffee.
"I didn't know how you took it, so I just put some cream and sugar in and added a piece of ice so it's not too hot."
I thanked him, the coffee going down a treat, but the real surprise was how much I enjoyed the sound of an unfamiliar voice. I had spent what felt like years listening to the same three people, and one had been little more than incoherent babbling. I had missed new people, even just the overheard side conversations you picked up while out and about, and it was like music to my ears.
"So, I don't know if you're aware, but your family declared you missing about six months ago when your boss said you had missed three days of work in a row. They found your car in the parking lot of a Dollar General, but it was closed for the night. They searched around the store, the surrounding neighborhood, and finally even inside the store, but no one found so much as a hint of what had happened to you. Now, you show up with two other missing people, people who have been missing a hell of a lot longer than you, in the bathroom of a Family Dollar that sits across the street from the store we found your car in front of."
He looked over the top of the file folder at me, clearly hoping I would connect some of the pieces for him.
"So, my main question is how?"
I waited for him to elaborate, but when he didn't I just shrugged.
"How what?"
"How did you manage to reappear after six months in a store that had been locked up for the night, in a bathroom that had been checked out and signed off on by the manager before he locked said door and armed the security system? I've got him in the sergeant's office and he's telling us how he was the last one out of that store and there was no way he had missed three grown people and a dog in a bathroom built for one person. So either you guys just dropped out of the sky, or,"
But at that point, someone new pushed their way into the room.
Someone in a suit with a smile off a crest box.
"I'll take it from here, Officer. There's been a mistake. Someone is waiting for you in your sergeant's office, someone who can explain everything."
The deputy looked at the man skeptically, "And just who are you?"
"Mr names Mr. Washington. I work for a special interest group, someone with information on what's going on. This man is to be turned over to my custody immediately. It's all in the paperwork you'll find with your sergeant, I assure you."
The deputy looked like he intended to argue, but his radio chirped about that time and his supervisor told him to come to the office to sign some paperwork.
"Sir, I've got a suspect in room,"
"Doesn't matter. Mr. Washington is going to take him from here. Now I need you to come and sign these forms ASAP, Deputy."
The deputy licked his lips, clearly not comfortable with the situation, but he got up and headed for the sergeant's office.
Not before one last word on the matter that clearly didn't impress Mr. Washington.
"Don't move till I get back. I want to make sure this paperwork is on the level before I just let you walk off with a potential suspect."
Mr. Washington smiled, but it never reached his eyes, "Of course, we'll be right here."
The deputy left then, but he never came back to make good on his threat.
Mr. Washington watched the door for a count of five before turning back and gracing me with one of those smiles.
"So, you've been to the Beyond then?"
I started to tell him I didn't know what he was talking about, but when he reached up and pulled out the wire to the closed circuit camera, I got a little scared.
Anything could happen without the cameras watching.
"I hear it's nice this time of year, always such a nice place to visit, though you likely wouldn't want to live there."
I watched him move about the room, his movements precise and contemplative, like a predator stalking prey.
“Have you uh…been there?”
He smiled wistfully, but whatever he was thinking of didn’t seem to strike him as completely happy.
“Not for many, many years.” He said, “Congratulations on escaping, by the way. You’re one of only about eight humans to escape the Beyond in the whole time it’s been in operation. The number was significantly smaller until tonight, though we aren’t counting your furry friend towards that number.”
I watched him as he paced around, realizing it reminded me of something I had seen recently.
A little too recently.
“Are you,” I gulped, “one of those numbers?”
He smiled then, his eyes sparkling like the reflection off a tar pit, “Oh no, kid. I’m a native.”
His smile was likely meant to be disarming, but I could see the barely contained want behind his form. Had he created this form himself? Was it something that had been given to him when he poured from that dark place I had only recently escaped?
How did something like him adjust to being in a body so small?
“So, how long did you spend there?” He asked, still pacing, ever patrolling.
“Six months,” I stammered, “According to the police, at least.”
“Not quite as long as your friends in the other room. Though, still impressive. You know, most of our guests are taken within a month? Generally, when they run out of food, my people come to take them before they starve. Then they reset the store so that no one questions why they’ve suddenly arrived in an empty store. Most of our guests never leave their own store. Fewer than ten percent travel to more than a few stores, but you and your friends found the secret. By continuing to move, you eluded our notice. Oh, and that trick with the home store,” he laughed like he had said something terribly funny, “That was brilliant. No one has ever had the foresight to do that. Gale has been on our radar for years, Celene too, but we couldn’t find them. Do you know how infuriating that is? We own the space, we control the Beyond, but that wasn’t good enough for them. They grabbed a hammer and a chisel and carved out their own spot! Do you comprehend how difficult that is? Do you understand how complicated it is to travel through thought alone, let alone to take things with you? Oh man, and YOU! You went OUTSIDE THE STORE!”
I jumped when he slammed his hands down on the table, and for a moment it felt like the whole room shook.
His face was rapturous, but I could see his rage at odds with his curiosity beneath the surface.
“No one, NO ONE, has ever gone to the outside and come back again. No one. Not a single guest has ever done it. You are unique, a true survivor, and I tip my hat to you.”
I was speechless as his intensity settled over me, unsure what to say.
This close, I could see his skin pulsating and writhing, like a mask full of angry bees. He wasn’t used to these kinds of emotions yet, that much was clear, and it was threatening to unmake his disguise. I suppose there weren’t a lot of emotions involved when your life consisted of stomping around an endless wilderness or through the monochrome store on patrol for intruders.
He seemed to be aware that he was lingering too close and turned to step back toward the door. He put a hand to his temple, his face doing that weird jittery thing again, and he seemed to be having trouble keeping himself together. He laughed a little, covering his attempt at keeping it together, and the dichotomy of this creature was truly terrifying.
It was like watching a mental patient shift between personalities, and hoped I hadn’t escaped the Beyond to die here to this wolf in sheep’s clothing.
“So, I suppose the question is,” he asked, turning back to me, his slightly dopey smile back in place, “what are you going to do with the information you have about that place?"
And there it was, the threat I had been waiting for.
"Before you say anything," he said, reaching into his pocket and coming out with an envelope, "I've been authorized to give you this."
He tossed it onto the table as if it were nothing, and I was a little afraid to take it.
"Think of it as compensation for your time inside. It's more than you would have made in the six months you were inside, probably more than you would have made in a year at that shitty little job, but it's our way of ensuring that you get back on your feet. We took into account that you probably got evicted from your place when the rent stopped getting paid, impound fees on your car, things like that. If you don't go wild, you could probably take a two-year vacation on just what's in that envelope and be fine. I suppose, however," and his smile dribbled off with the same kind of suddenness that his smile had appeared, "that you might also consider it hush money. We know about your little internet story, but that cat is already out of the bag. Hell, tell them about this while you're at it. It's the internet, kid, and no one believes that kind of thing. I would expect you not to try taking it to anyone who might believe you, or I'll have to come back and have a very different talk with you and your friends."
He looked at me as if he expected me to argue with him or try to be brave, but I was honestly terrified.
I'd thought it would all end once we were out of the Dollar General Beyond, but it sounds as if it may never be over.
"I can tell by your silence that we understand each other. I'm sure you'll never have to see me or my associates again. Have a good life, try to forget what you saw over there, and just get back to normal. It's healthier that way. Oh, and we hope this won't affect your patronage of Dollar General in the future."
He left then, but I could almost hear the smile that was spreading across his face.
They cut us loose not long after that. Gale and Celene were waiting for me in the lobby, and after some paperwork and some fees changing hands, a very happy Buddy was brought out as well. I used my phone to call an Uber, and the four of us found a motel for the night that would accept animals. Once we were behind the door, Gale asked me if I'd received a check too, and all three of us pulled out identical envelopes. My amount was a lot lower than Gale's and Celene's, but it was still enough to live comfortably for a while. Gale and Celene had enough to buy a house, a car, get new IDs, and still retire comfortably. We're not sure what we're going to do, but tonight we're planning to get some shut-eye and figure it out tomorrow.
Once again, thanks for sticking with me, and I'll have more updates soon.
Until then, stay out of the bathrooms and watch yourself around the Dollar General
