The elevator door finally opened up. I strutted my way down the hall, angry, and trying to make sure my attitude was obvious. People needed to stay OUT of my way. I'd had enough heaven and hell in the past 24 hours to last an eternity.

I was engaged to the love of my life, slept with the most sensual man, if you can call him one, in our half of the universe and with the byproduct of his insane, lustful imagination. I also betrayed the love of my life, lost any integrity I'd had, and by now, I've lost my love too. I've also witnessed a total of four murders. And I can't forget any of it. I can't erase tonight.

I kept pushing my sore, fish-netted legs to keep walking. I finally made it into Dr. Scott's room. Brad was following close behind.

Dr. Scott was sitting in a new wheelchair, as a perky, ginger-haired nurse cleaned the ash off his face with a soft washcloth. "You have no serious wounds, Dr. Scott," she chirruped.

Dr. Scott smiled. "That's vunderful!" he exclaimed.

The nurse giggled. "Definitely! And we got rid of those fishnets for you. I'm sure you're much more comfortable in those slacks," she added.

"Oh yes. Thank you," he said.

"Say, why did you have those anyway?" she asked, suddenly noticing Brad and I's presence in the room. "Uh... never mind."

I looked at her. I used to be just like that. So sweet and cheerful. But that was yesterday, of course. I sneered. "You don't know what we've been through, don't ask," I threatened.

"But I have to, for legal records and-"

"I don't care," I interrupted. "There are some things you just have to let go. And this, I promise, is one of those things."

"Uhhh... I- Well, okay," she finally agreed. "What do I say happened to you all then?"

"Say that our car broke down, and we got lost in the woods trying to find a way back home. Then his wheelchair collapsed. When we finally found ourselves back near the main road, a kind stranger pulled over, and offered to give us a ride here. We're FINE," I told her. "And that's a partially true story."

"Alright..." the nurse mumbled, writing it down in her notebook. "I'll put that on the record after you all leave. If you'd like to clean yourselves up before you go, that's fine. You can check out whenever you're ready," she said.

"Thank you," I said.

"Yes, uh, thanks," Brad added in quietly.

The nurse smiled, and in her squeaky voice she said, "My name's Nell, by the way!" Then she walked out the door.

What a strange woman... and she seemed so familiar. For a moment, I couldn't remember anything. She was like someone from the castle, I could've sworn. Then I scoffed at the thought. Everyone who was there is either in space, dead, or right here.

Then it hit me.

I chased after Nell. "Nell! Hey!" I shouted.

She turned around. "Yeah?" she asked.

"Do you have a sister?" I blurted out.

"That's an awfully strange question... but yes, I do. Or at least I did. I haven't seen her in years, she ran away to go join the circus or somethin'," she answered.

"Really?"

"Yeah, all truth; except for the circus thing. I think she went to go live with some real flamboyant guy, actually. He promised to make her a star. That's what she always wanted. But let me tell you, from what I've heard about him, his life was as insane as a circus. So what's the difference?" she chuckled.

I smiled. "What's her name?"

"Colleen Campbell. But she never liked that name 'Colleen.' She liked to go by Columbia. It was her stage name. She was a dancer and all. Although that sounds more like a stripper's name to me... who knows what she's doing now?" Nell replied. She paused for a moment."Why are ya so curious now, anyway?"

"I've actually met her. You reminded me of her, so I just wanted to see if maybe you two were related or friends or something," I said with a shrug.

"Oh, that's just great! How is she? When did ya see her?" Nell asked excitedly.

"I saw her earlier tonight. She's fine. Or, well, she was..." I replied.

"What... happened?" Nell asked cautiously.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news... but she's not with us anymore," I muttered.

"You mean she's... dead?"

"She was at that weird castle. I was there too, because of the car... we needed to use the phone somehow, but we couldn't leave. And she was shot by one of the servants of the uh... 'flamboyant' guy," I explained. "I think it was an accident."

Nell frowned. "I can't believe it. I never thought that she'd end up with that bad of a crowd," she said at almost a whisper.

"I'm sure you didn't. But they're as bad as they come..." I admitted.

"Tell me more about these crazies," Nell said, starting to tear up. "I gotta know!"

"I don't think you'd want to know. It was too much for me to handle. Honestly, the only reason I didn't leave was because I was trapped. The things I would tell you aren't things you can un-know. You don't want to have to be exposed to that. Trust me. Look at me and see what I look like. The outside pretty much reflects my insides perfectly right now," I said.

"I guess you're right," Nell answered. "But are you sure she's dead? Really sure?"

"I don't know... If she's alive, she could be hurt severely. Or she's at least left the castle," I answered honestly.

"We should go look for her! I get off in an hour," Nell insisted.

"No, no, no! The castle is gone!" I blurted out without thinking.

"Gone? What do you mean it's gone? Did it just take off into thin air or something?" she protested.

"Something like that..."

"What?"

"No, I mean, it's really gone. During the storm, it was struck by lightning, along with some surrounding trees. The castle started to fall in on itself, and we three barely escaped," I imagined aloud. "She either got out, or got stuck inside. If she got out, she's long gone, and I doubt either of us would ever be able to find her."

"Then what about the others?" Nell asked.

"They escaped, except for the flamboyant one. He died from the castle collapsing, I think," I added.

"Well, ain't this all a tragedy?" Nell said, teary-eyed.

"I'll tell you what... If I hear anything about her, I'll let you know. She could be alive you know!" I mused. Not that I believed Columbia could really be alive. That anti-matter gun seemed to be all-powerful. She couldn't have possibly lived. I saw the blast hit her. She must have died.

"Thanks," Nell said, smiling sadly. "That's real nice."

"No problem," I replied. "I think I'll go get changed now or something... people are staring at me."

Nell softly chuckled. "Yeah, you go do that... hey uh, what was your name?"

"Janet Weiss," I answered.

"Well, it's nice to meet ya, Janet..." Nell said, taking a handkerchief out of her chest pocket, and wiping her tears away.

"It's nice to meet you too, Nell," I said with a nod. Then I walked back into Dr. Scott's room.

Brad was clean and showered, and he was wearing a white bathrobe, sitting on the hospital bed, talking to Dr. Scott. The sun started to rise above the horizon now through a window. It had been lingering on the horizon line for what had seemed hours. But maybe that was just my imagination. Finally this night was coming to a close.

Brad watched me as I walked into the bathroom. I shut and locked the door, closing off his view.

I stripped off my fishnet stockings and garters and threw them in the trash bin. I then loosened up my corset, tossed it to the ground, and slipped off any remaining costume parts or clothing. Then I turned on the shower, and I found my way to its waterfall of warmth. I needed to recollect myself.