Upside down Round and round Don’t hear a sound Light as a pound

What gos up Right the cup Where’s the pup Not so tough

There we go To and fro Thoughts a glow Down the tow Tessa🦋

Pteropus vampyrus, commonly known as the flying fox. A species of a giant bat, more generally located in the warmer regions of the world.

Which was most likely why I hadn't managed to find any.

I thought there’d be an abundance of the winged mammals (not specifically Pteropus vampyrus, of course, they just happened to be my favourite), and I found it curious there was no evidence of the little beasties anywhere.

No droppings. Or, more scientifically, respectively, guano. Especially considering where I was...

... And that was hog-tied feet-first and head-down from the cavern ceiling.

Perhaps it was the gallons of blood rushing to my head or the disorienting lack of light, but up here, the ground below looked to be no more than a polished sea of pure onyx. Uncommon in a cave deep in the forest, but then, as was the absence of bats.

Another peculiar notion was the singular candle peeking out from the dark. A flame of blue fire—also uncommon—electric in its stillness against the water-slicked, jagged wall.

Much like myself, dampness hung in the air.

Stale.

Unpleasant.

A festering hive of hidden mould with a killer's touch. I understood now why there were no bats.

Despite the lack of apparent entrances, a breath of wind pushed against my dangling body. A chill bit the exposed skin of my ankles as I spun an inch to the left. Luckily, my captor had the decency to tuck the hem of my fur-lined coat in the band of my trousers so that, at least, I wouldn't die of hypothermia before the excess blood had time to sever my head from my neck.

And by the gods, I could feel that was coming—a pounding headache, numb arms, a tingling in my legs, and a growing pit in my stomach. To panic usually wasn't really in my forte, but...

“HELP!” I howled. My plea scratched against my throat, clawing just as helpless as I was to get out. “HELP! GET ME DOWN!”

Echoes resounded like ripples on the water—a wave of noise that drowned the pin-drop silence, if only for a moment. My very own echolocation. Funny. However, I wasn't a bat, so it was no help at all.

I screamed until my voice became no more (about five minutes or so), and lightheadedness removed the pounding from my skull.

Peaceful.

A weightlessness denied by gravity. A calmness denied by man. Perhaps it wasn't so awful up here, and if I just closed my...

Footsteps thumped like a procession drum.

My heart quickened. Blurred, my eyes widened, and I searched the blue light, looking for a break in the still darkness.

A shadow appeared, solid black, a figure somehow darker, bolder than the surrounding pitch of the cave.

The footsteps halted, its two boots—feet?—curved like gaping, hollow eyes.

It was strange. Even in my semi-catatonic state, I could tell there was something not quite... Natural... About the person below me (and there was something definitely amiss in their head for keeping me held captive.)

Blue light struck the ground. Reflective. A vibrant jewel immortalised in the glossy mirror of the onyx floor. But the figure, the light, it seemed unable to touch—a black hole, void of light, yet consuming it all the same.

As I said, strange.

“Down,” I croaked, and the ground spun in a pirouette—or perhaps that was me. “Please.” My eyes fluttered, heavy. I could no longer feel my toes.

“Not... Yet,” came the reply, smooth in its delivery, yet malicious in its tone; a shard of sharp flint aimed to strike.

“Why?” was all I could manage. Pathetic.

The figure shimmered, crackling like old tv static. “You’re not...,” it hissed, “ripe.”

Well damn...

“For the record,” Amara seethes through clenched teeth, ignoring the way her stomach rolls and her legs cramp, “I am blaming you for this.”

“Me?” Penelope squawks indignantly, fiery red hair swaying with her movements as she writhes and struggles against the thick rope wrapped tightly around her ankles. A thin sheen of sweat has bloomed over her brow, freckled cheeks distinctly red as she glares heartily at the rope-trap currently holding her hostage as if that will make them loosen their grip and send her tumbling back to the dirt. “Why is it me?”

“Because you said to go check out the camp of humans,” Amara replies thinly, wincing at the echoing answer of pain in her head and lets her arms swing absently by her earthy brown hair. “You said, and I quote, “let’s go see how long we can fit in with the humans at their beach party before we are caught” and now look. We are hanging upside down. By a human rope trap. Looking like this.”

Penelope briefly stops her struggling, amber eyes skittering over Amara’s tattered clothing and ivory skin gradually becoming blue as she glares at Penelope. The younger girl offers a wry grin. “At least we were at the party for fifteen minutes before they realized we weren’t human.”

“That’s what you are going to focus on right now?” Amara questions incredulously. “Not the fact we are hanging upside down like rabbits caught in a trap?”

“Well,” Penelope drawls, wiggling her body around like a gleeful slug, “more like wolves caught in a trap.”

“I swear to the Moon,” Amara grumbles under her breath, “when I get out of this, I am going to kill you.”

Penelope only laughs, barely managing to hoist her upper body up and grapple for the rope wrapped tightly around her bare ankles. She grunts, more sweat glistening across her brow and trailing down the nape of her neck as he tugs and pulls at the rope, but it does nothing to loosen it’s painful grip.

“Maybe we should call for help,” Penelope says, letting go and squealing as she returns to hanging uselessly upside. Her stomach rolls, a hint of green tinge adorning her cheeks. “Oh, my stomach. I don’t think I should have tried the bubbly apple cider.”

“Pretty sure that was alcohol, Pippin.”

With a little scrunch of her nose, Penelope cants her head to the side as she sways with her hands pressed against her stomach. “Alcohol? But I thought it was cider!”

“And that was your first mistake.” Amara side-eyes her companion wearily, noting the way her ivory skin is darkening to green. “You better not throw up on me. I swear to the Moon, Pippin, I will bite you.”

With a shaky thumbs up, Penelope remains silent as she attempts to keep her churning intact.

Sighing heavily, Amara grits her teeth against the headache beginning to bloom behind her eyes from the blood rushing to her head. She should be use to the absurd situations that seem to follow the younger she-wolf around like the plague whenever she is involved. Honestly, she should have just stayed at the pack den and wash her paws with it, but no. Amara decided to join her and now look?

They certainly aren’t just //hanging out//, now are they?

And all for fifteen minutes of clumsily mimicking humans.

“Okay,” Penelope says with another groan. “Definitely not cider.”

“You think?” Shaking her head, Amara grunts as she hoists her upper body up until her stomach burns to reach for the knots holding them hostage. “Okay, we need to focus. And whatever we do, we can’t draw attention to ourselves because of the-“

“ALPHA! BETA! HELP!”

“-pack…” If Amara wasn’t hanging upside with blood rushing to her skull and trapped in human form, she probably would have nipped at Penelope in a scolding. “Pippin! I said //don’t// draw attention to ourselves!”

“Oh.” Penelope at least has the decency to appear sheepish. “Uh, whoops?”

Closing her eyes, Amara reminds herself that Penelope is pack and she will be missed. Probably. Either way, Alpha would be furious if anything happened to her, so killing her is off the table. She is pack, after all.

The sound of twigs snapping and paws on dirt touch Amara’s sensitive hearing. Great. Looks like Penelope has actually managed to catch the pack’s attention. Wonderful. This night keeps getting better and better. Where was the Pack when they were stuck in a skunk den? Where was the pack when Penelope thought that traipsing through a creek bed in winter was a wolf way to “ice skate”? Where was the pack when Penelope decided that she wanted to join a herd of deer for “fun”?

(It wasn’t fun).

“I don’t even know why I’m shocked at this point. It’s Pippin and Mara. Double trouble. The Dynamic Duo of Chaos.” The foliage parts to reveal the lanky form of russet fur, thin from summer, and golden eyes dancing with mischief and amusement of Killian. He tilts his head to the side, examining their… predicament. “What… what are you doing?”

Amara gives the wolf a droll stare. “Oh, you know. Hanging out.”

“Where does your obsession with fire come from?” Nahara wondered. “I assume you you weren’t born with it, or else-“

“Or else it would have manifested as my quote unquote gift,” Selander interjected, “instead of this?” He gestured with an open palm to the scales marring his features. Then he shrugged. “Beats me.”

“I don’t believe you,” Nahara said, following in his footsteps as he strode towards the exit ladder.

“Tell me something I don’t already know,” he replied, already reaching for the first rung.

Nahara exhaled slowly, like her squadron leader had taught her. Selander was enough to make anyone go crazy and she was determined to keep a level head.

And that was working perfectly, until she followed Selander up the service hatch.

“There you are!” Nigella declared, the tips of her auburn hair brushing Nahara’s nose. “Did you bring lunch, I’m starving!”

Nahara shook her head, unwilling to believe her eyes when they told her Nigella was hanging upside down.

No. Nahara blinked. Nigella wasn’t hanging from anything. The other girl was stood on the ceiling as if it were the floor, looking pleased as punch.

“No food, I’m afraid,” Selander sighed, “but we retrieved the chemicals you asked for.”

Nigella’s eyes brightened. “One moment please, caller.” Then she dug in her pocket for a thin silver remote, hastily punching in commands.

The floor beneath Nahara’s feet began to tremble as a large metal cage in the centre of the room started to pulsate with light.

“Hang on to your hats!” Nigella declared. “And I mean that literally.”

“Why would-“ is all Nahara managed to say before she was dragged up to the ceiling by her feet and a sickening lurch in her stomach. Her face flushed as blood flooded to her skull. But just as quickly as it had appeared, the sensation depleted.

Nigella’s invention had reattuned her centre of gravity to the ceiling.

Fortunately, she managed to stifle her scream - which is more than could be said for Selander, who was pinwheeling his arms in a desperate attempt to remain upright on the ground.

“Now there’s something you didn’t know,” Nahara crowed, “you don’t like being upside down!”

Selander turned to glower at her, only to lose his grip on the workbench and get tugged up to the ceiling like he was falling down to Earth.

Nahara sniggered. At least she’d landed on her feet.

“Damn and blast,” Selander cursed, rubbing his now vacant head where his boater usually sat like a disapproving bird of prey.

“I did tell you to keep a hold of your hat,” Nigella said sadly, extending a ink-stained palm. “Now my chemicals, if you please.”

You keep saying to me that you didn’t intend for us to get here. You didn’t mean to land us in this kind of place, but rather, you just wanted to push the envelope of discovery. To go somewhere beyond limits, beyond comfort zones. You wanted to see how far you could push us.

You keep saying all this. But in reality, it seems that our world, our life, wasn’t enough for you.

No practical methods could get you where you wanted us to go. You had to use a bit of science, a bit of magic, a bit of listening to the wide-grinned man in the antique shop who sold double-edged swords and questionable mirrors. You used it all. You used what was dangerous. You used what was forbidden.

Me? I was happy where we were. We landed in a small, quaint realm. Not much electricity. It snowed a lot. But it quickly became our realm. We called it Homestead after our children decided to fall in love with it too.

But for you, Homestead wasn’t fancy enough. It wasn’t modern. It wasn’t flashy.

So we revved up the engines of the Bezriham and started traveling again. Because you wanted to keep traveling again.

Don’t get me wrong, when we first traveled, I loved it. But I thought we were under the assumption that there would be a destination. And once we truly found forever in each other, I felt home was the end of the road.

But I was wrong. And at first I was okay with that.

We found a tropical dimension, but you didn’t like the locals. We found a vibrant city dimension, but you said it was too cramped. We found one where bare, green mountain peaks pierced the sky and blue-winged beings welcomed us like family. We even found where it all started, even before Homestead, and I smiled, waiting, begging for the concept of going full-circle to be enough for you. But none of it was.

So now, should we name this place? Please, let’s name it. Upside-Down Land? No, that doesn’t seem right. Dead End? Appropriate, but perhaps too on-the-nose. Maybe we should just name it the UUR-Realm, because that’s what it is. Their scientists and maniacs behind the machines created this place. Somehow, with your constant seeking and searching, we got stuck in a damn experimental realm, where everything is forever floating, forever upside-down. There is no up. There is no down. There is no right. There is no wrong. We only have one mission now. To survive and to stay away from that incinerator that keeps chasing us, like the body fights a virus.

All we can do is pray we survive this.

The blood pools to our hearts every day now. I do my best to feel the artificial gravity suits on the children. But their bodies seem to be rejecting it. They know something is wrong.

All we can do is pray we survive this.

Will this be enough for you? Our world is upside down now. No direction points back to Homestead. Did you push the envelope enough? Did you discover enough?

Is this enough?

We have no compass here. The ground is deteriorating. The molten core of the terrain springs up like rage-fueled fissures.

UUR must be decommissioning the place.

All we can do is pray we survive this.

If we take the kids and put them in the escape pod, have it aimed for where we started, where our parents are, will that be enough? Will that be enough for us to survive this?

Would you even come with us?

Would you come home?

“This is your fault”.

“How do you figure that?”

“Well, considering she’s your ex-girlfriend and a psycho…”

“Hey, to be fair, I didn’t realize she was psycho!”

“Dude, really? Your actually trying to tell me that you didn’t realize Jenny was a nutter?”

“Nutter, really?”

“Don’t change the subject man; you totally knew she was a schizo; we all know that chick’sschizo”

“Really? Everyone?”

“Hell yeah, even Ma. I mean, didn’t you ever wonder why Ma always hovered around the telephone when Jenny was around?”

“No, I just assumed she was waiting for a call…?”

“No dude. Ma kept close to the phone cause she wanted to be prepared in case Jenny snapped and did something crazy”.”

“You’re shitting me? Really? Was it really that bad?”

“Dude? Are you serious? Of course, it was that bad!”

“Huh. I meant, you’re right, I did realize Jenny had her quirks but…Really? Ma really did that?”

“Quirks?Quirks?I love you man, I really do. You’re my brother, I kinda have to love you but seriously, sometimes I wonder if Ma and Dad DID actually drop you on your head when you were a baby”.

“Hey!”

“Seriously. She pushed your car off a bridge…”

“She was angry. I forgot to callll her when I hung out with you after work”.

“She drove to my house; - while you were still there - Hotwired your car and drove away without even ringing the doorbell”.

“She…”

“Then there was the time she burned all your clothes when you didn’t buy that shirt she said would look good on you”.

“It did and besides she just wanted me to go shopping, try a new

“She called you - literally - every fifteen minutes at you’re last job…last three jobs. SHe got you fired she was calling so much”

“SHe said she just wanted to hear my voice”.

“…she stalked and probably still stalks your other ex-girlfriends. She even went so far as to drive fourteen hours just to tell Kate that there was no chance in hell of you two getting back together in person”.

“So she’s a bit passionate”.

“What the actual…you know, nevermind. What do you call this bro, is this just another one of Jenny’s quirks?”

“…”

“Well, are you gonna answer me?”

“…”

“‘M waiting man”

“I don’t know…may-“

“Might I remind you, that is, if you somehow managed to not realize…were currently upside down”.

“I didn’t forget!”

“Chained! Chained upside down…”

“I-“

“…in her basement…”

“I know-“

“After she abducted, mind you, BOTh of us…”

“I. Can’t explain that part”t…”

“Really? I can”.

“How?”

“We’re twins”

“How does that-“

“Identical twins…”

“So…?”

“Man, really?Are you really that stupid?”

“Hey now!”

“Dude! She couldn’t tell us apart so she kidnapped us both!”

“How do you know that?”

“Ugh! If i didn’t have a bitch of a headache caused by blood rushing to my head I’d seriously consider smashing my head against the wall I’m chained too”.

“…”

“…she said. And I quote “I’m not entirely sure you’re Tony but just in case, I might as well take you too…”.

“Huh. At least she’s thorough…”

“Argh! You’re such…you’re so…ugh!”

“What? It’s true. Kind of cute too…”

“Holy shit…i get it now…you’re nuts too”

“Hey, no I’m not. I’m just saying, Jenny put a lot of thought into this”

“She kidnapped us…”

“Yes”.

“…because she couldn’t tell us apart…”

“Yep”.

“…chained us up - upside down - in her basement…”

“Mmhm”

“…before leaving us to go have dinner at her parents house…”

“Yeah…I bet she brings us back food. SHe really is considerate…”

“Tony?”

“Yeah, Nick?”

“You’re actually impressed by this. And impressed, impressed. YOu’re flattered by it”.

“Kinda? Like I said, Jen put a lot of time and effort in gaining my attention”

“Tony?”

“Yeah?”

“If you like this crazy shit so much; why’d you even break up with her in the first place?”

“She snores like a log. It’s a real turn off. Drives me nuts”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Tony?”

“Yeah, bro?’

“…if we get out of this…”

“Yeah?”

“You better watch yourself…”

“Why’s that man?

“Because I’m going to fucking kill you”.

“I mean,” Kiri starts, a shit-eating grin on his flushed face. “At least blood is rushing away from my dick, not tow—“

“Can it, idiot.” Katsu snaps, wriggling where he hangs, feet bound, from the ceiling of their cat-lady neighbor’s basement. “Why don’t you try using your head— y’know, the correct one for once in your fucking life— to get us out of here.”

Kiri only grins wider, placing his bloodied hands on the back of his head in a carefree, relaxed manner. “I think you’re just looking at this from the wrong perspective—“

“For fuck’s sake, Kiri.”

If they manage to get out of this alive, Katsu will kill Kiri himself, the bastard.

“Oh, c’mon man, you’re the last person I expected to be scared.”

Katsu rolled his eyes, regretting the motion instantly. His head was throbbing. “I’m not scared, I just don’t enjoy spending my Tuesday afternoons hanging like a dead cow waiting to be gutted. Now start moving.” At that, Katsu grunts harshly, using his core strength to move his bulky body from side to side, swinging like a pendulum.

As if this was a normal Tuesday afternoon, Katsu is able to reach Kiri, fisting his rumpled shirt and expertly pull his body up Kiri’s own, using Kiri’s clothes, his limbs, anything to leverage himself.

“Hurry up, man I’ma bout to pass out,” Kiri slurs after several minutes from beneath Katsu. “And no offense? But you’re kinda heavy.”

“Almost done,” Katsu snaps, pointing a concealed look of worry at his friend. He’s managed to climb up Kiri’s body, but is now faced with untying his friend’s legs while also keeping himself upright. It’s likely putting a lot of strain on Kiri’s body.

“Y’know,” Kiri starts. “If it’s our time to go —“

“It’s not, you idiot.”

“If it is though, man I just wanted to let you know —“ Katsu swears he hears a sniffle, “— That I seriously love you, bro. We’re like, like platonic soulmates. Bromates?”

Katsu wants nothing more than to bully Kiri for the sentient, but the words get stuck in his throat as the rope unravels beneath his fingers, accelerated by their combined weights.

“Brace yourself!” Katsu shouts, panic evident in his voice, as Kiri is released, plunging with a loud yelp head first towards solid concrete.

There’s a resounding thud as Kiri’s body hits the ground, but Katsu’s eyes are squeezed shut as his cramping, sweaty hands cling onto Kiri’s rope. What if Kiri didn’t hear him in time? What if Kiri’s skull was crushed on impact, contents of his pea-sized brain spilling out —

“Dude. Ouch.”

Katsu breathes a shaky sigh of relief. “Now get me down before the old hag comes back to murder us.”

“Well, this is really spec-freaking-tacular!” They were dangling in the air on a broken carnival ride. It was supposed to swing back a forth like a pendulum and spin. My self preservation and A+ in physics told me this was not safe but my cousin demanded it was this or the roller coaster that went on for nearly a mile. “Hey! Chill! It’s not every day someone can say this happened to them!” He replied, obviously trying the cheer me up. It was obviously not working. “Well thank goodness for that!” I eyed the ground below– above? Doesn’t matter the point is I glared at the ground. A couple of guys were fiddling with the control panels. “Hey! A little PROGRESS WOULD BE NICE!” All of a sudden one of them whacked the box on the side with his hand and on the top with a wrench. The seats went flying as the ride was sent back in motion,surprising its occupants. There was a lot of yelling from the ground as the men hurried to shut it down and much cursing from my seat all artfully accented by the cream of groaning metal as the machine tested gravity and the laws of motion.

We didn’t mean to end up here, but here we are. Hanging by our feet in a mobster’s basement.

I sighed and looked over at my fellow captive, who happened to be my best friend. It was time for our hourly sit up, where we could get the blood rushing to our heads to drain back into our body. It had to have been our 9th time, but knowing it would be bad if we didn’t, we forced our shaking arms to pull ourselves right side up, and just stay there for a little while, enjoying the breath of fresh air.

We didn’t do much talking upside down, but when we were right side up we talked constantly, if anything, it would distract us from how much our arms wanted to drop, and let us drop with them.

We talked about everything, our childhoods, our hopes, our fears, what we wished for the future. Anything we could think of.

After 15 minutes, we lowered ourselves back down, contenting ourselves to another hour of blood rushing to our heads and bring alone with our thoughts.

Just then, for the first time since being hung up like hunted deer, the brute came down to the basement. When he opened the door, I could tell we weren’t leaving any time soon.

He cut my best friend down, leaving us wondering what he was going to do. He left me strung up, and took her to the center of the room. All I could do was watch, which is why I saw the glint of the gun before she did. I barely had time to yell out before the bullet collided with her chest and she crumpled to the floor.

The murderer left, his job being done, not caring how much I screamed and scrambled at my restraints. I just couldn’t get down. My last memory I ever got to make with my best friend was one of her staring up at me looking at her upside down as a silent tear trickled down her blood spattered cheek and she took her last breath.

Life upside down Looks like my face is painted like a clown I love fruits and blood like things That makes me love love especially People call me as monster and say I’m scary But that’s the furthest thing I want to live so peachy Because life’s suck for a vampire bat baby