Over time more and more memories became clear, some making no sense at the time as they were memories that didn't belong to James. Because he didn't seem to need sleep he had plenty of time to think of a way out. Remembering how he got there wasn't much help as that might not work a second time and he probably wouldn't be able to take anyone with him. He wasn't just trying to get himself home but everyone else took.

  James paced a bit before looking at the pilot. “You said you got here forty years ago via plane right?” The pilot nodded. “We were flying over the Bermuda Triangle when a freak storm hit.” James put his hand to his chin. “There hasn't been a triangle event in at least twenty years so if anything was going on they fixed it. How have you people survived all this time?” The pilot shifted back and forth. “We salvaged a lot from the plane on the first day before it reset, as well as the others. The vending machines reset every day too. When that's not enough and we've gotten truly desperate we lur in one of those things from outside. Meat is meat.”

  James nodded as a memory flashed through his mind. A first person view of a shadow monster ripping someone apart and eating them. James looked down at his shaking hand. “I'm going to… sit over there and think.” James went to a corner and faced away from everyone. Hiding his arm as he dissolved his hand revealing his true body. “My God, I'm a monster.” He whispered to himself as he remembered the name he chose for himself after becoming like this. “(I have to keep this a secret from the others, I don't think they'd understand.)”

  Pitch stood back up and paced after an hour of sitting. “All the buildings reset at midnight, to match the real world. Basically updating itself. This means nothing we build would last. So even if I knew a way to create something that could get us home I'd have no way of keeping it. Any parts I gather and the device itself would reset. The only way we're getting out of here is from help on the other side. They would have to gather the parts.” Eventually midnight came and as waves moved through the city the power came on in the building allowing them to use the radio.

  As soon as it chirped Pitch picked it up, but before he could start sending a message someone on the other side started sending one to them. Morse Code was being transferred through the radio and Pitch was writing down the message. “Stay put if possible. Working on a solution. Supplies will be provided. Some assembly required. Remember Finkton. Secondary message from Kathryn: One, four, three.” Pitch quickly responded to let them know he got the message. “Looks like I've got friends on the other side helping out. We just got to survive until we can get out of here. Shouldn't be a problem. You've made it fourty years, what's another few days?”

  Kathryn may not have known how to build a Finkton gate, but she had an idea of the kind of things they needed. She remembered hearing about the device. So she, Ishwada, and Anderson would track down and use their own money to acquire everything they needed. The trick would be putting the parts somewhere Pitch could easily get them without them getting stolen or going missing. Since Pitch said the Otherside was like a reflection, Kathryn figured all they had to do was put the parts within Pitch's reach and let him do the test on his end.

  The three spent the entire day buying different electronics and an electric portable generator. The only thing they needed was an antique mirror made with silver and mercury. It would be the most difficult to locate and the most expensive. After a full day searching and businesses closing the group stashed all the supplies in the luggage storage building in boxes that they labeled. Once that was done Ishwada arranged to be in the air traffic control tower so he could let Pitch know they were working on providing him an exit.

  The next day the three split up and started looking as soon as stores opened again. Eventually Kathryn located a mirror from the early eighteen hundreds with a metal frame. She asked how much the store wanted for it only to be told it was worth thousands of dollars. Kathryn rubbed her face in frustration. Then she remembered she had borrowed Pitch's debit card for food. He didn't need to eat and hardly spent any money outside basic bills so he had a nice savings built up. The account was still active so she reached into her wallet. “Do you take debit?”

  Kathryn had to call for help moving the mirror but with everything in place all it took was letting Pitch know. They still had one more day in Florida because Ishwada was expected back in Wisconsin so hopefully Pitch could build and get a gate working in a day once provided the parts. Now all the trio could do was wait till midnight again.

  Pitch paced back and forth. There was nothing he could do till he heard back from the other side that they got everything they needed. Pitch had cleared most of not all of his memory fog. The pilot looked at him concerned. “You've been here five days and haven't eaten anything since you got here. You also haven't slept in two days.” Pitch stopped pacing to look at the pilot. “I don't need to sleep that often. I also don't need to eat as often. However, I might not even need food while I'm here. Just breathing is enough.”

  The pilot tilted his head. “The air doesn't make you sick?” Pitch shook his head. “No, but I wish I had some holy water. I suppose I have several hours till midnight, I could walk to the closest church and grab some. Though I don't imagine the reflection of the holy water on this end would still be holy water unless I happened to grab it right after midnight.” The pilot looked even more confused. “Why would you want holy water?” Pitch responded simply. “Drinking it helps calm my nerves.”

  Pitch continued waiting for midnight when a message came in through the radio in Morse Code once more. “Parts in marked boxes in luggage storage. Time is limited. Ishwada due to return to post after tomorrow.” Pitch nodded at the message before sending his response. “See you soon Kathryn. One four three.” As soon as the connection went dead Pitch headed for the luggage area. As he looked around he heard something rooting around in the area.

  Pitch looked to the sound only for what looked like a large rat-like creature to scurry out from the luggage. “A rat?” The thing stopped a bit in front of Pitch. There was then a loud banging of things being knocked around as a blur of motion grabbed up and started eating the rat Cryptid. It looked like a feral child, pale grey skin, clawed hands, and long unkempt hair. The small humanoid figure looked to Pitch before trying to hide the rat in its mouth. Pitch decided to ignore the child-like creature and continue looking for his boxes

  Pitch found them only to spot the child-like creature in his peripheral vision. Poorly hiding itself around corners as it watched Pitch. Pitch opened the boxes and started grabbing things. Taking several trips the creature would stop following once Pitch left the luggage area only to start following him once he returned. When Pitch got the last item, the mirror, he realized he'd need to set up someplace where they wouldn't be seen entering from. This meant lugging everything back and clearing a space in the luggage hold. Pitch started building with the child-like creature watching him the entire time even after it finished eating its rat.

  Once the device was built, Pitch stood and wiped his dry brow seeing as he doesn't sweat. Pitch turned the device on, and the sounds it made scared off the creature. Pitch began fiddling with the settings for a bit when he remembered something. He turned off the device and went to the tower to tell everyone. “Okay, so my friends in the normal world got me everything I needed to build a way out of here, I have it built in the luggage storage room and we should all head there in case I get things working.”

  The pilot looked at him. “The luggage room? There's a monster in there.” Pitch chuckled. “That little thing? It got scared off when I fired up the device.” The pilot shook his head. “Not the child, it's the mother you should be worried about.” Pitch smiled at the pilot. “You're safe with me around. I'm scarier than most things in this place.” the pilot blinked with a blank expression at that response. Then he looked at everyone else. “I guess we're getting out of here finally. It only took forty years.”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Pitch led them to the Finkton gate he built. Frenchie looked at it in awe. “That's one old ass mirror. You sure this thing will get us home?” Pitch nodded. “Yes, you're finally going home.” Pitch set the knobs to the right settings before making some adjustments to the generator. Hitting himself with the electricity then feeding the enhanced energy into the mirror. The device powered up and the mirror started to glow. Suddenly the reflections vanished and a brightly light luggage room could be seen. Anderson spotted the gate from the other side and got the attention of the other two.

  They wave the passengers to them, with the passengers rushing through. Ishwada recognizes Frenchie right away. “Good to see you survived, old friend.” Frenchie’s eyes widened. “Ishwada? My God you got old.” Ishwada laughed. “So did you, you short bastard. Now clear the way so we can get all the survivors.” The last person from the plane that was still alive went through the gate and Kathryn started shifting back and forth. “That's everyone Pitch, you can come through now.”

  Pitch moved so he could see Kathryn. “Unfortunately, the only way I could get the right amount of power and electrical frequency was to run the current through myself. I can't step through and power the gate at the same time. I'm sorry Kathryn, but you'll have to go home without me. I'll… find another way. I got here on my own once before, even if it wasn't fully. I'll figure something out. I love you.” Kathryn shouted through the gate. “No, you can step through holding the cords, who cares if they get cut you won't need the gate anymore anyway.”

  Pitch did his best to keep the gate open but he was starting to have issues with regulating the charge going through him. He heard a sound in the background and looked at it when suddenly a thing of luggage was tossed at the equipment destroying it and shutting the gate down. Kathryn reached for the empty air where the gate was. “The hell happened? What was that thing?”

  The pilot from the plane answered. “There was a sort of Cryptid in the luggage area, a mother and child. I couldn't tell you exactly what kind but the mom killed one of the passengers who went to get supplies from the luggage area.” Kathryn shouted. “It wrecked the gate, now there's no chance of Pitch getting back in time!” The pilot was confused by the use of a different name and the lack of concern that James could potentially get killed. “You seem more worked up about the gate than the possibility that thing could kill James.”

  Kathryn crossed her arms. “Because whatever that thing was, it doesn't stand a snowball’s chance in hell against him in a fight. There's only one Cryptid in that entire place that I know of that could pose a threat to him and that's Phobos himself.” Frenchie had a shocked expression on his face. “Is the Cryptid James became really that powerful? He seemed so down to earth.” Kathryn smiled and nodded. “He's far too humble to needlessly show off. He only really goes all out when he has to.”

  A humanoid figure came in from the shadows with the child-like creature on its back. The figure was pale, feminine, had similarly long and unkempt hair covering her face and wore a dirty, dingy, stained white dress. She put out her clawed hand and gestured at Pitch. By the looks of her she was likely an Onrio or something similar, making it kinda strange she had a kid. She then tilted her head and observed Pitch before speaking in a rough voice. “Will-e-um? Where Will-e-am?” Pitch was naturally confused. “No, my name's not William. I don't know a William. I didn't exactly ask anyone else for their names, sorry.”

  She tilts her head back and forth before looking at the destroyed device. She then looked back at Pitch. “Will-e-am gone? Will-e-um gone. Will-e-am… dead.” She then looked down sadly. “I remember now.” Pitch took a step back. “I'm sorry for your loss.” She slumped down to the floor. “Love Will-e-am. Miss Will-e-um.” Pitch tilted his head. This wasn't ordinary behavior for an Onrio. However, he wasn't here to investigate a case or help out. He needed to find a way home.

  “I have my own partner I love, I have to get back to her. I need to figure out how to get back to the normal world.” She perked up slightly. “You have love? Miss love? Return to love.” She pointed to a door at the other end of the room that wasn't an exit. “King door. I tried to use but no work for me. Maybe you have better luck?” Pitch looked at the door. “King door?” He walked over to the door and opened it only to find it was some sort of closet with random costs and a box labeled “lost and found” on it.

  Pitch blinked a few times in confusion before it hit him. “Ah, right. He hides in the closet.” He chuckled to himself before his eyes widened and he looked back at the woman. “You've seen the King use this door?” He gestured to the closet.” The woman shook her head. “Not that one, one just like it. Door that leads to small room, leads to place of light for King somehow. Emily has seen it.” She gestured to herself. “Was before Sunny. Before Emily came here. Before Will-e-am.”

  Pitch looked at the kid who was probably around four to eight years old. Meaning what she saw was in another location years ago but she still associated closets with the King of this place entering the normal world. Pitch took out the box and checked it for anything useful before going into it and closing the door. The room was pitch black but Pitch closed his eyes anyway and focused on his desire to go home. Then he opened the closet only to be disappointed he was still in Otherside.

  “Well that didn't work. Maybe it's only some closets? That or I can't do it. I'll try a closet at a residence and see if that works. That means I'll be leaving now. I wish you luck with the kid.” Pitch started to leave when his wrist was grabbed by the Cryptid woman. He looked back at her only to bring her face right up to his. “Emily help. Emily help bring you to lover.” Pitch sighed. “I'm not sure what you can do to help or if I even need it. You should focus more on keeping your kid left. It's all you have left of William.”

  She looked at the child, then back to Pitch. “Emily… understands.” She then gives Pitch a wet, almost slimy feeling, kiss on the cheek. She let him go and took her child someplace out of sight. Pitch started walking and left the airport before looking around. “Okay so where's the nearest residential area? I don't exactly know the area. Maybe I should have asked for directions.”

  Anderson and Ishwada looked at one another while Kathryn grasped at empty air. Anderson broke the silence. “So what exactly do we do with all of these people that vanished forty years ago? We were supposed to drop the case.” Ishwada shrugged. “Turn them over to the local HQ to handle like we would if it was open. Either way we head back tomorrow. If Pitch hasn't figured something out by then we'll have no choice but to return to New Arkham without him. We should grab all the parts for the gate since we did pay for them. Pitch can decide what to do with them when he gets back.”

  Kathryn looked at Ishwada. “You seem so confident he can find another way back. I mean I hope it's true but hope might not be enough.” Ishwada took a stern tone. “It'll have to be, because it's all we have.” Kathryn nodded as they started packing everything and everyone up to leave the airport. After turning the passengers over for processing it was just the trio who returned to the camper.

  Pitch walked for what felt like hours at human speed. Although his feet would never hurt like a human’s would after a walk like this it was still frustrating. Every so often a monster would come out of the shadows to attack only to change its mind and run off after getting close. Not that it mattered since everything that tried to attack he could easily kill. He even considered doing so but he had no reason to. These Cryptids weren't hurting anyone because they were stuck here.

  Pitch eventually reached a residential area after what was likely a half of a day’s worth of walking. Since the doors were locked he had to break in. Busting a window with his bare hand and pulling out enough to crawl in, cutting himself in several spots in the process. Once inside he found a child's bedroom and opened the closet before walking in. He changed into his true form and focused his mind on not just getting home but the reason he wanted to get home. He then heard a sound that reminded him of fluorescent bulbs flickering before feeling a strange sensation he couldn't describe. Then, there was a loud thud.

  Shortly after a second loud thud followed by the telltale sound of a child crying. “Oh baby, what happened?” A woman's voice called from someplace outside. “I stubbed my toe and fell.” The child said through sobs. “The lights flickered and I couldn't see.” Pitch heard the sound of a light switch being flipped multiple times. “Maybe it was a power surge or something. I saw it too.” Pitch waited for the two to leave the room, and when they did Pitch used his real form to slip out through the crack under the door before opening the window just enough to slip out.

  Thankfully it was already nearly night time and getting dark out, allowing Pitch to move freely in his true form around the city. He slowly made his way back to the airport in the hopes of finding Kathryn and Ishwada there. Pitch had to switch back to human form once he got within range of the airport but once that was done he simply walked over to the door and walked into the lobby. When questioned he simply said he was waiting for an arrival. He spotted someone in Black Eagle gear and practically ran over to them. “This has probably been the first time I've been happy to see one of your helmeted faces.”

  The Black Eagle soldier looked at him. “Excuse me?” Pitch pulled out an i.d and showed it to the man. “I'm James Holden, consultant. Take me to Commander Ishwada.” The soldier turned to face him properly. “Commander Ishwada returned to post, you just missed his plane. My unit was here to debrief on a case. One Ishwada was told to drop.” Pitch groaned. “Great, I just missed them. Now I have to figure out a way home. Do you have a cellphone on you? Mine broke.”

  The soldier stared at him for a moment before responding. “Sorry, I can't help you.” Pitch sighed before noticing a payphone in the airport and going up to it. After waiting for the person in front to finish he stood in front of it and checked his pockets for change. No coins. He had paper money though. He looked at the crowd. “I'll give paper money rounded up to the dollar to the first person who can give me enough change to use this thing for ten minutes.” Someone quickly came over for the exchange and Pitch was able to make his call.