The Book.

Marcus said don't worry and Lochlann tried not to worry.

But he was worrying.

Because the bottle was gone. Where the fuck had it gone? Lochlann rolled onto his stomach, picked himself up, and started to pace with the cigarette hanging from his lip. Okay, the bottle was gone. That had come in last. So next....Lochlann expected maybe the phone charger. That was going backwards in order, right? or maybe it was because it was on his person? Maybe the only way something could fade was if it was empty?

Why hadn't he faded already? He was pretty empty.

But maybe it was life.

Lochlann was starting to fret, worrying himself back and forth. It took him a long while to realize his phone had gone off. "No!" he texted. Then, "You did that, right? It didnt' just...vanish out of here?"

Lochlann was not good at many things.

His academics were tenuous at best. He couldn't drive a car. He had a difficult time following a schedule. Staying calm was something else Lochlann wasn't good at.

So, when he took a deep breath and then, in a blink of an eye, Marcus was right in front of him, their faces inches apart, just like they'd been moments before, Lochlann let out a strangled sound that was, oddly enough, reminiscent of a horse's whinny.

He jerked backwards and fell onto his ass.

At least, if anything, he kept the cigarette in his mouth.

He took it out, coughed, and looked up at Marcus. His eyes were wide and his heart was racing.

'Okay," Lochlann said. "That was.....okay. I'm going back to bed after this. Today has been weird and I haven't even been up that long."


He gave a nervous cough that might have been an attempt at laughing and said, 'Thanks for getting me out of there."

Lochlann took a deep breath and then exhaled.

After a moment, he gave another, shakier breath.

"Okay," he said. He touched the ground beneath him with his hands, reassuring himself that the ground was indeed real and that there was a horizon line. He took a deep breath and said, just to clarify, "So....the book...sucks people into it?"

He brought the cigarette up to his lips and realized his hands were shaking.

He gave a nervous laugh and said, "Does the book do that on its own or because you're the one wielding it?"

Lochlann didn't quite visibly reel at the idea of sucking Marcus into the book, but his eyebrows did do something strange where they weren't sure if they should shoot up in surprise or furrow together in thought.

Lochlann chewed on the end of his cigarette instead. It was a very bad idea.

He said, "I'm not so sure that's a good idea. I mean like, my uh....abilities...have nothing to do with books."

He tread very carefully with how he worded that, oblivious to the fact that Marcus had a little bit of insight. "I'd need you to tell me exactly how you got me in the book and exactly how you got me out....and also...who I should talk to if I can't get you out."

Lochlann nodded.

"Okay," he said. "Let's do this. If I can't get you out, I'm going right to the infirmary with the book."

Lochlann checked his phone again to make sure it was still working; the power level had gone up considerably, and since he was out he could always run home for his charger if he needed. Lochlann finished the last of his cigarette, crushed the butt beneath his feet and then flicked it into the trashcan.

"Alright," he said, and he reached out for the book. Should Marcus pass it to him, Lochlann would press it against Marcus's torso just as it had been on his own....though without the far too intimate pose. He would ask, "How long should we hold it here?"