Silence descends on them for many minutes. Mercifully, Trish appears, her preparations finally complete, humming “Uno, due, tre, cinque, sei, sette… Hey you two! I hope you’re ready to watch me knock ‘em dead!”



“I’m more than ready, Miss Una!” Shizuka cries, leaping to her feet. Kilo stands up too, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Piccola, please. I said you could call me Trish!”

“Oh! O-ok! T- Tri…”

Before she can finish, a stagehand appears to whisper in Trish’s ear. “Oh dear, that’s me! Sorry guys! Once I’m done, we can definitely spend more time together.”

“Ah, no, don’t worry about it! Good luck! Or wait, no, uh… b-break a leg!”

Trish smiles and opens her mouth to say something, then she looks up and her expression becomes one of horror. Kilo looks and his eyes nearly pop out of his head.

Shuddering into existence, something out of a child’s nightmare appears in the air directly behind Shizuka, looking like some sort of demonic Muppet. Thin mechanical arms ending in syringes for fingers reach out.

“What?” Shizuka says before the thing grabs her and lifts her into the air before she can even scream.

“SHIZUKA!!!!” Kilo roars after her.

Miles away, in the darkness, a disturbed man licks his lips in anticipation.

END OF CHAPTER FOURTEEN