Jay and I chased after Church. The maze walls were wide in this area, and the fake moon in the sky was bright. It almost seemed to be shining directly on the house. Church ran inside, leaving the front door open, and Jay stopped me near the lime green car as we approached.
"Max, I don't like this," she said. She looked nervous, which was unusual compared to her standard impassivity in these moments.
"I don't either, Jay. What should I do?" I asked.
Jay shook her head and said, "I don't know. I can't sense any threats, but we know something must be happening because I'm not physical. Just approach with caution, okay?"
I was going to reply when the gaudy car's windows became like TV static. I couldn't see inside, and it even made a static noise as I looked at it. Jay just kept looking at me as if nothing had happened. "Jay… do you not see this?" I said as I pointed at the car.
Jay looked at the car, and her facial expression shifted. It's hard to explain. She said, "Yes, that is an especially ugly form of transport. Now, when you go inside, be sure to protect Church, okay?"
"Jay, the car is doing weird shit. What is happening?"
Inside the house, Church yelled loudly. Jay and I turned to look at the house before she returned to me. She waved her hand dismissively at the car. "We don't have time to deal with this right now. We can check this later. Church is in danger, and we need to get you inside!"
"Okay," I said. I followed Jay towards the front door when the static noise became louder. I looked back at it, and it was practically all I could hear now. Jay was inside the house and waving me in. Something just didn't feel right to me. From inside the house, I heard Church yell, "Help! Holy shit, please help!" followed by the sound of things crashing. I ran to the door, but before I could enter, the car's horn was now beeping repeatedly at me. Jay was inside and panicking, Church was crying out for help, and Patti zipped past me inside. Yet this didn't feel right.
The car's headlights were flashing at me as Jay waved at me to come inside. I made my way to the front door, and I could hear a commotion inside, as if someone was fighting. The inside of the house was dark as the sounds of a scuffle continued. Then in the darkness, I heard Church yell, "MAX! HELP ME! IT'S GOING TO KILL ME!" Jay called to me, and I could barely make out a word as the car horn kept blaring. It hit me why this felt so wrong. Church shouldn't be yelling. If Church was in danger, he would have passed out.
I turned back to face the car, whose wipers were now going off as well. Something wanted me in there instead. I could feel it. I walked towards the car and approached the driver's side door. Jay was back at the door and calling to me, "Max! I think Church is hurt!" I looked at her as I reached for the handle and opened the door. As it opened, Jay was yelling again, but the sound from the car drowned her out. I looked inside to see it was just a normal car interior. I looked back at Jay one more time before entering to sit. I shut the door behind me, and the world went silent and still. Jay was frozen in place, mid-word, as I looked around.
The car's backup camera turned on, and standing behind the car was Jessica. At least it looked like her. Jessica's hair was hanging loose, and not in a too-tight ponytail, and she had a soft smile with nothing crazy about it. She did a shy, little wave, and as she spoke, it came through the car's stereo. "Hello, Max. I'm so relieved you came to the car."
"Oh, Jesus, again with this Jessica? It's seriously weirding me out," I said to myself.
Jessica let out a laugh and covered her mouth as she did. "She's weirding me out, too, Max. I'm sorry for her doing that." My mouth fell open. Could she hear me? "Yes, I can hear you, Max."
"Uh… sorry," I said. "What are you doing here, Jess?"
She smiled when I called her Jess. "It's okay, Max." She took a breath and composed herself. "We can only talk for a little bit. There are things happening right now that have forced me to make a move." I raised my hand to ask a question, but I felt stupid and lowered it. Jessica let out a soft laugh again. "What is it, Max?"
I adjusted in my seat and asked, "Why do you seem so different?"
"The Jessica you know is a recording of my consciousness, just like Jay is a recording. My recording, however, was created with a flaw," she said.
"A flaw? What do you mean?" I asked.
"That will take too long to explain, Max. I'm here for a different reason, and time is short. Your life is in danger. If you had entered that house, you and Church would have been killed, and your game manual erased. There are those who wish to see you eliminated from the game. Your game manual-"
"Jay," I corrected. "Her name is Jay."
"Yes, Jay. She has been given an order from another game master, someone like me, and she is attempting to lead you into a trap. She is unaware of this plan. I am trying to find out who is trying to kill you, but I didn't think they'd make a move so soon."
"Jay is... brainwashed? Church as well?" I asked.
"She has been leading you to this moment, and she doesn't know it. Church is not brainwashed, but he is being chased by a rotted angel that won't harm him. It's why he's conscious. Church is bait, and Jay is making sure you take it. The moment you enter that house, a game master like me will turn the angel into a high-level version, and it will kill all three of you."
"Another game master wants me dead?" I asked.
She took a deep breath before continuing. "Max, I won't let that happen. I don't yet know how many are conspiring to kill you, so I must be careful. That means I won't be revealing myself to you again any time soon, so we have to make this count."
My mind was racing at what I was hearing. I managed to ask, "Why can't you, uh, reveal yourself again?"
"My people, my race, run Maze Twenty, so keeping me safe is the Selerian Life League's top priority. If they find out I revealed my physical form to a participant, they will remove me from the planet for endangering myself. It's why I'm out here and you're in there. If I get too close to a participant, I'm immediately flagged and removed." She looked at something intently before returning her attention to the backup camera. "Our time here is almost over, Max. I need you to open the glove box, please."
I kept my eyes on her for a moment. It was hard to believe that this person spawned crazy Jessica. She seemed… normal. I did as she asked and opened the glove box. It was empty, except for a long strand of blonde hair.
"My recording guided you to choosing Skinrunner for a purpose, Max. If you ingest my hair, you will gain full access to my game master powers. It will take time for you to absorb it fully, but even the fraction you have right away will be enough to defend yourself."
"Wait, I thought I had to eat skin to absorb anything?" I asked.
Jessica made a sour face and shook her head. "No, hair works just fine."
I muttered "Fuck" under my breath before continuing, "Okay, who's trying to kill me and why?"
Jessica shook her head. "I wish I could say more, but I must go now. I will try to visit you again, but don't expect it any time soon." She turned and began to walk away. A portal ripped open in front of her, and she headed to it.
"Wait! Why are you helping me?" I asked. Jessica stopped halfway inside the portal, hand on the edge of it as if it were a doorframe. "I don't understand why I'm getting singled out." I could see flat lands on the other side of the portal. She was in the plains somewhere, from the looks of it.
She turned and said, "They are cheating, Max. I'm just evening the odds." She turned around again, but I called again.
"No, that doesn't make sense! I won't eat this if I don't understand!" I said. She stopped and looked back; this time, there were tears in her eyes.
"You're my Maximillian. I'm just repaying you for everything you've done for me." She then left with the portal shrinking out of existence behind her. The car then turned off, and the world came alive again. Jay was at the door, yelling at me to come inside. I looked down at the hair clenched in my hand. Okay, so there are two Jessica's and the real one is helping me because another game master is trying to kill me. However many hours ago, when this all started, I might have freaked out at all of this. Instead, I felt calm. Giant head Jessica was scary as hell, but this Jessica? I don't know. Somehow, I knew I could trust her.
I raised the hair to my mouth and ate it in one go. Then some really weird shit started happening.