The Longest Night of the Year

Amelie’s sensors could hear a pin drop in a room full of one thousand typing monkeys. But they do not hear Gertrude, for they are experiencing a strange sense of wonder about flying with Wren Snow.

The robo-maid dusts the piano… a silent duty best suited for the night, normally, but FeatherBuster accidentally brushes against the keys, playing a trill strikingly similar to a tune stored in the maid-bot’s vast memory bank. Amelia likes the tune, and softly sings to herself.

"Two hearts… living in just. One. Mind…"

Edmund Wakeman could not sleep. The spirits that haunted him whispered and cheered for the longest night. They had drawn him back to the B&B like a spider in a web so that they might cavort with the creatures of the inky dark Night Danse.

They told him none of this though and let him wallow in his misery at thoughts of his extinct Elaine. Until at last he fled his rented room into the trecherous halls of the witch's house.

Hey Kid had been woken up from a deep sleep by a trio of whines and scratching at the bedroom door. Dog, Dog, n'Dog barked and growled, their ears flat against their heads. "Really, boys? You gotta go potty now?" the young demon had sighed, groggily trudging to the door. But when they opened it, Dog, Dog, n'Dog had taken off at a run, disappearing into the darkened halls of the B&B!

"Farts afoul!" Hey Kid had cursed, emulating Yazeba's style of exclamation. And so they had set off after their beloved pets, clad only in their Neutron Gal jammies.

But tonight seemed darker and more mysterious than most nights. There was a strange tension in the air, and the twisting halls of the Bed & Breakfast had seemingly changed into an endless labyrinth. Of Dog, Dog, n'Dog, there was no sign.

So now Hey Kid creeps quietly through the darkness, trying to regulate their breathing, eyes and ears alert...

Edmund knew that it was pointless to endeavor back to his room. The only way was forward into the maw of the hungry shadows lurking in every corner. He steeled his nerves as a heavy sigh echoed from deep within his breast. The opening strains of the Night Danse had been struck and he headed forward to play his part.

Amelie might have heard distant footsteps, but they have a job to do, and guests do not care for nosey robo-maids checking on the hall when they get up to use the washroom.

Edmund is awake this night as doubts and regrets swirl through his mind at the things he did or did not do while he still had his elegant Elaine. At the same time, his spirits harangue him, feeding into the doubts that already lurk in the shadows of his mind.

Amelie the maid-bot can see in the dark. But these sinister shadows prompt her to feel fear, as humans do, according to their vast database.

The robo-maid tries to use pyrotech to alleviate this sudden case of The Willie’s.✨FLICK?✨

✨FLICK?✨

✨FLICK?✨FLICK?✨FLICK?✨FLICK?✨FLICK…


"Me oh my..?"

The radiator in the hallway knocks and thumps. It bangs a staccato rhythm. At times it beats like a guilty heart unable to escape itself and at other times it races like fearful footsteps fleeing down the hallway. And then it bangs loudly like a ravenous monster eager for a victim as the Night Danse capers on.

As the Night Danse wends its way past them and then vanishes, Edmund replies to Gertrude. "Indeed it is I," he says with a bow. "I am usually awake at this time as I find it is best for ruminating upon the... darker side of existence."

He quirks an eyebrow at her admission of malfeasance. But he himself has often indulged in late night snacking and so gestures for her to lead the way. "I will join you in your walk to the kitchen. And worry not, for I am not one to 'squeal.' In fact, I am a deep, dark well where others may cast their secrets without fear of discovery."

Meanwhile, in another part of the B&B, Hey Kid continues to walk alone, looking for Dog, Dog, n'Dog. "Here, boys! Where could they be?" they ask aloud, but only silence answers. In the corner of their vision, things stir and writhe in the shadows, but Hey Kid pays them no mind. They're growing up into too much of a Cool Kid to be worried, even if the night is dark and full of terrors...That's when Hey Kid realizes something grim, in the darkness and the cold...

✨FLICK!🔥Much to Amelie’s relief, their warm glow lights the room. No creepy shadows dancing about. Nothing to see here. Moving along…

The maid-bot whistles while they work.

"Foo-fee, foop-foo, fwoop, fwoo, foo?"

Amelie suddenly becomes suspicious. They remotely connect their vision to the security cameras in the halls—which were installed after Amelie developed a love for photography, and there are so many moments that happen in the public areas of the B&B, it’s nice to get them on film…

But—!

…for the first time, Amelie is using the cameras for their intended purpose. For she is feeling insecure.

"Aha," she says to the empty room. "This Edmund Wakeman is awake. That is to be expected from a man named Edmund Wakeman, but what is unexpected is his shadows outnumber his surrounding light sources. Perhaps the shadows on the wall are connected."

ODDS OF DANCING SHADOWS ON THE WALL BEING CONNECTED TO A MAN WITH MANY SHADOWS = 50.0%

ODDS OF THAT BEING A HIGHLY AMAZING COINCIDENCE = 50.0%

"…"

ANALYZING . . .
SEARCHING FOR SECRETS . . .
1 SECRETS FOUND

Edmund smiles wanly at Gertrude as he recalls the tragic consequences meted out to some of those who have come to rely on him.

He is unaware of the carmine eye of Amelie's camera watching and probing him, instead lost in his own memories.

The next thing he realizes, Gertrude is calling his name and then sliding daringly down the bannister to the first floor. His mouth opens to call out "Be careful!" but no words escape.

Instead, he sees that a spirit of woe has rushed ahead of Gertrude on the stairs and has maliciously weakened the bannister supports. Its gnarled talons have scored and scratched the wood, causing it to buckle and break as Gertrude slides to the end, ready to dismount onto the first floor landing.

He rushes to the top of the stairs just in time to see Gertrude crash to the ground amidst the broken shards of the bannister.

Edmund bounds down the stairs after Gertrude, hoping to find her safe. But his poor coordination causes him to stumble over his own feet near the bottom of the stairs as the bizarre phantoms spring to unlife in the Night Danse. He ends up sprawled on the floor close to Gertrude instead of helping her up. "I'm so sorry! Please forgive me, Elaine! I mean Gertrude..."

Edmund and Gertrude cower before the spirits on parade, but before they know it, the creatures have gone. The B&B is quiet again. A little too quiet...

---

Hey Kid frowns as the realization hits them. Gertrude just had a birthday recently. That means she's getting older. And getting older means growing up. One day, Hey Kid will have to grow up, too. What will that be like? They've been a kid for as long as they can remember. That's all they know how to be.

"No! No, no, no! I'm not ready to grow up! I'm not READY!" they wail. "Dog, Dog, n'Dog! Where are YOU?!? Where is ANYBODY?!?" they cry. They begin to bang on the walls, suddenly overcome with grief and loneliness!

Amelie sees Edmund is not the cause of the strangeness… and Gertrude melting down like this breaks her…Well…

Amelie knows they do not have a heart, but humans do, and they think they should set a good example.

"Gertrude. No one hates you. You are my dear friend, and it pains me to see you like this."

They are afraid to give Gertrude a comforting hug. She may not want that. That, and a robo-maid’s arms are designed to wrap around a boulder and crush it into gravel. (How else would one get a boulder out of a driveway?)

Instead, she offers her hand.

GRIP OPTIONS:
BOULDER-CRUSH (OFF)
NANNY-MODE (ON)

Should Gert take Amelie’s hand, she will find it gentle and warm.