“You did baby girl! They got that shit blocked off because it won’t close. What they’re not telling you is, white folks…Asian peeps, my folks across the border! Everybody and anybody! Those who aren’t born with any magical ancestry can walk in the Underground and see all of that shit. Two stories, two paths,” he said with two fingers held up. “One story, they open all three doors and force everyone from below to above. The other, you can save it just before the third is opened…”
“Does that mean this second door will open any–––”
“How long were we gone?” Maggie asked, cutting me off. “Why are you talking about the games happening now?”
“Y'all been out for some months. You’re probably the most wanted person in the Underground right now and if you show your face, they will most likely arrest you and maybe kill you, I don’t know.”
Maggie almost dropped to the floor before frantically looking around.
“What about me!?” I asked.
“Your mother knows you’re here and has already been asking about you. All I know.”
“I need a phone. I have to call Namir and the girls. Oh my God–––”
“So y'all not hearing me when I say y'all world is about to be fucked!?” Akil let out just as the trembling of the home started once more. I looked up at the blinking lights as Akil sighed. “Fuck it. It’s y'all funeral, literally. You let them witches open the doors, all hell will break loose and what was once sacred and protected will be for everybody, including your Kingdom. Go head and let them white mothafuckas run rampant around the Underground. You already know what’s about to happen when they do. Y'all finna be hunted down for science experiments and locked away like lab rats. I’m gone.”
The house shook violently as the ceiling began to crumble. Akil disappeared in a matter of seconds. Maggie shouted for me to come on as I regretfully took her blood-soaked hand to grab.
“Why is it crashing down on us?!” I shouted.
“Because this place isn’t real! Come on!”
We tried the front door, but it was locked, even with us knocking three times. We rushed towards the back door before going to her childhood room. A chunk of the ceiling and wall crashed down onto the carpet as I screamed. Maggie quickly moved towards her closet, swiping away at all the hanging clothes and baby shoes before looking back at me in a frantic state.
“Try the bathroom!” She demanded. We fumbled in our steps as we both stumbled towards the hallway bathroom door and gasped when we saw the light glow beneath it. Without hesitation, we both began to bang on it at the exact same time.
BANG
BANG
BANG
We pushed the door open and stumbled into a bright lit room with the walls being all white and the door snapping shut behind us. The walls were close together with a small bench and a mirror propped against the corner. There were clothes hanging on hooks and strange music playing as Maggie looked around.
“This is a fitting room,” she whispered. Her senses were playing out in real time as she looked up like a predator hearing every sound and focusing on it before moving to the next. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what a fitting room was until I heard a voice come walking in, and a small series of knocks.
“Are you doing okay in–––”
“Fine!” Maggie and I croaked before she could get to the third knock. Maggie glared at me while I glared back. The woman stood on the other side of the door for a second before walking off with a suck of her teeth.
“Girl, I can’t stand Atlanta…if they not stealing, it’s always on some gay shit,” she muttered.
“Fa’real,” another responded. Maggie reached for the hanging clothes and motioned for me to put them on. It was enough for her to wipe herself down while I watched, horrified at the sight. There were no obvious bite marks on her, so she definitely drank blood from someone else. When she caught me staring at her, I could see her darkened red eyes bleed back to its natural brown color in a matter of seconds.
“The thought of me eating you disgust me,” she muttered. “Trust me.”
“I didn’t say anything,” I replied in a meekish voice.
“You were thinking it.”
“I did not think you were going to eat me, Maggie. I–––”
“Oh yeah girl, it’s some gay shit,” someone said before a hard knock hit our door. “Nah uh! We not doing that in here! It should only be one female in here at a time!”
“Coming!” Maggie called out before wincing. “I mean, yeah! Coming out! I mean…God I hate Atlanta.” She muttered before adding, “almost done changing into clothes!”
I just finished putting on the denim shorts that were ripped with a t-shirt that had some sort of cartoon on it. It barely covered my stomach but as I whipped my hair back into a braided ponytail, I briefly tested to make sure I still had the ability to produce a flame.
