Sell you a Bridge chapter 239

June 2nd 2016 London, England 3:00 PM EDT

The  train platform was...unsettling. Not just the big obvious stuff either.  I think the most unusual things were the subtle little discordant  elements. The walls were plastered with posters of familiar famous  people, but mostly in strange and disturbing movies that would never  make it to theaters in reality. The board for arrivals and departures  was old and worn but still readable, and it listed places I had never  heard of. Shadows Fall, Haceldama, the Street of the Gods, and several  other places whose names sounded vaguely familiar but I didn't quite  recognize. The one obvious one was there though. The Nightside.

I  turned to John. "So, this is where things get nuts right? Like we  should expect to be attacked at any second?" I was scanning the whole  place, but I had my aura sight off. I'd been as good as told that there  were things here that could melt my brain, and I absolutely wasn't  stupid enough to open myself up to psychically viewing the true nature  of any of the things on this platform, not when even the normal mortal  versions of them were fairly disturbing when you paid enough attention.

To  my surprise though, he just shook his head. "Not here mate. We're still  protected by the aegis of the authorities of mortal London. This  platform IS in the city. The Department of Uncanny, the London Knights,  the Carnacki Institute, all the big boys in town cover you through here.  Hell, you're safe through the train ride there. The trains go through  some awful places, but there are various compacts and deals in place  ensuring their safety. Not that you can't get killed here or anything,  it's just only marginally more likely to happen than up topside. The  real party starts when we step OFF the train on the other side."

That  was actually somewhat comforting. I looked over at the train. "Well, it  doesn't look that special. Does it really hold back whatever is out  past the end of that tunnel?" I pointed off down into the darkness.  Again I fought the urge to look at its aura, but I figured just asking  was safer. It also seemed like a subject I should probably brush up on  since I was going to be ON that train, and I wanted to know if I needed  to armor up and stand on the roof fighting off hell gargoyles or some  shit.

John even seemed to understand the worry because he  didn't make a big deal about the question despite having mostly answered  it already. "Yeah, it's safe. Nobody takes shots at those trains,  heaven and hell themselves guarantee their protection. Not to mention a  number of other parties just as dangerous. The Nightside is awful but  it's also necessary. It provides a place for deals and meetings that  can't be held anywhere else. True neutrality isn't pretty, but it is  important." Despite his words he seemed almost disgusted with himself  for sticking up for the place his expression on of grudging acceptance.  He clearly wasn't a fan of the Nightside, even if he understood why it  existed.

While we were waiting John headed over to talk to  some incredibly old man with a blindfold, preaching old school fire and  damnation from a soapbox as he gestured threateningly at passersby with  a ratty looking bible. I headed over to stand next to a punk looking  girl with a mohawk and lots of piercings, who appeared to be reading a  bible of her own, except this one was blank. Her pure white eyes were as  empty as the pages as she scanned over it, and as I stopped to look  down at it she addressed me directly. "Heading for the Nightside? I have  to say, you'd fit right in with that lot."

Despite her  rough punk exterior her voice was a soft and clear alto. She had an  Irish accent as opposed to John's British drawl but she seemed  almost...unattached to the world. It was like watching a really  convincing screen with a prerecorded message on it. Even if it answers  you when you talk, something about it made you positive it wasn't  actually showing you anything that was really there. Zee had wandered  off to bother random people, and Drea had gone with her while Artemis  and Wally were chatting with a brown haired main in a suit and converse  wearing a tan trenchcoat.

I raised an eyebrow at her.  "What makes you think either of those things?" I got a sneaking  suspicion that turning on my aura sight would seriously mess me up in  ways I couldn't begin to predict. This girl was giving me vibes like  Del, and to a lesser extent Gojo. I just got a 'do not fuck with vibe'.  Still she didn't seem aggressive and maybe she could tell me more about  where I was heading.

She smiled gently. "Because the  Nightside is where all the best liars end up." I blinked, not sure how  to take that. "Not that there's anything wrong with that. Lies make the  world more interesting. But if you're the kind of person to tell  convincing lies in the dark the Nightside is the perfect destination.  Though I suppose that isn't why you're going. Misplaced your little lost  kitten have you?"

That was about as much vague and creepy  as I could take before genuinely putting my guard up. Before I could  speak further to the strange girl though, John stepped up, and without  even looking at her, grabbed my arm and pulled me away. He dragged me  across the platform to stand with the others by the entrance to the  train with a glare. I just shrugged. "What? You said we could explore. I  wasn't bothering her. I was just curious about the book and then she  started making creepy obtuse comments."

He glared for a  bit longer before sighing and letting his shoulders slump. "Ignore her.  Literally, if you can force yourself to forget to even spoke to her.  She's a graduate of the Deep School, a university where the teach the  secrets of reality. The people who come out of there see and interact  with the world in odd and dangerous ways. If you infer something you  shouldn't from one of their comments you can literally go insane." That  didn't sound like a real thing, but he apparently didn't appreciate my  skepticism.

He leaned in close, voice dropping to an  urgent whisper. "They've learned forbidden secrets about the world, and  without their training and preparation the human mind isn't designed to  handle the kind of knowledge they can let slip by accident with a casual  statement. Most people who attend the Deep School go insane, and it's  VERY contagious, but if anything the ones who come out coherent are an  even bigger risk. Don't dwell on anything she said to you, ignore all of  it as hard as you can."

The lecture was luckily cut short  because the door in front of us opened, admitting passengers to the  train. John looked relieved to be getting away from the girl, and  dragged the rest of us onto the train behind him, pulling us over to an  empty corner where we could all sit. Once we were down he looked around  the inside of the metallic car uneasily. For someone who had claimed  this train was so safe he certainly didn't look like he felt very secure  here. Still, he calmed down after a minute, especially once the train  got moving.

He didn't bring up the girl again, probably  trying to follow his own advice, and once we'd all gathered around he  cleared his throat. "Right, well I went and talked to an old friend of  my teacher. That wacky priest, Pew, usually knows whats what around the  Nightside, given his constant position by the train tracks. Sadly he  didn't see your cousin or her boy, at least not around these parts."

That  made me frown. "This is the entrance though, right? Like they would  have had to come through here to get in, so is he lying? Or are they not  really there? I have no idea why someone would want to lure me to this  place, but traps DO happen. Maybe this is a wild goose chase." It didn't  feel like one, but my instincts were far from bulletproof. If the old  man was sure and he was on the up and up maybe we could skip this whole  trip. The closer we got the more unhappy I was with the concept of  stepping off this train.

John just shook his head. "Pew  play is straight, but it doesn't work like that. This is one of the  entrances, the most official and safest. There are dozens of others, and  that's just the ones you can count on. The Nightside and London occupy  the same space on different planes. It's been rubbing against the city  proper for centuries. Sometimes parts wear thin. Aside from showing up  on purpose, you can just accidentally wander into the Nightside if your  luck is bad." He looked nauseated by the idea.

I could see  the fear of what he was talking about in his eyes as he continued.  "Wander down a particularly dark alley or step through a weird out of  place door and end up who knows where. It happens to people sometimes,  not often, and not usually anyone you'd miss, the Nightside is more in  tune with the downtrodden and crumbling parts of town. The dark and  shady spaces, so when people do vanish no one is usually worried enough  about them to go looking. Regardless, the train isn't the only entrance.  They could have gotten in plenty of ways."

I shared a  look with the girls and Artemis. Wally didn't know my cousin, but Drea  was worried about her for my sake and Zee and Artemis had been friends  of hers. Forgetting the terrible things that she could be enduring,  there was a pretty solid chance that she might die before we could save  her. That wasnt an acceptable outcome to me obviously. "Do we have  another option to track her down? We dont really have time to wander  around the Nightside and look for clues."

He grimaced.  "There...is an option. My teacher, John Taylor, and please, don't make  any jokes I've heard them all, is an expert at finding things that are  lost. Of course he also has fuck all for subtlety and enough enemies to  assume someone will try to murder us for being nearby when we go out  with him. I have a reputation for collateral damage, but he makes me  look like an amateur. It's one of the reasons I moved on once I got my  PI license."

That didn't sound  great, but honestly it seemed like a better idea than spending too much  time in this radioactive dumpster fire. John seemed to think for a  minute. "I know where we might be able to find him, wouldn't hurt to at  least ask I suppose. Though the sentiment feels a bit like tempting  fate. We can check in at his favorite bar and see if he's there, but if  we can't find him I'm not traipsing all over the Nightside looking.  That's far too dangerous for anyone with an ounce of common sense to  try."

With a  plan in mind we all settled in to wait for the train ride to end. We  tried our best not to focus on the faint sounds of howling and screaming  outside the train, and I for one was thrilled this thing had no  windows. I heard scurrying across the roof, but nothing actually tried  to get in, clearly trying to psych us out with the screaming and the  sounds of scratching on the metal shell of the train. Unfortunately for  them I'd been through worse. I decided to take a nap during the trip.  This might be my last moment of real safety for a while, best to take  advantage. I leaned back, but my arms around my girls, and went to  sleep.