AncilChapter 12: Family Reunion.
I quickly leaped out of the bed and Megan did the same. She forced her clothes back on and grabbed her gun pointing it at the elevator. I followed after with my gun and waited in fearful anticipation for the elevator door to open. I was ready to murder whoever or whatever was coming up the elevator because it totally interrupted my bedroom episode with Megan. I clutched the gun firmly and cocked it. The elevator door opened. A man entered. But I could have recognized the oversized hat with a fringed brim anywhere. It was the Midnight Robber but he didn’t have his mask on. The rest of his costume was showing but his dark skinned face and short curly hair were also showing. As soon as he saw us he pulled out his two pistols that were at his sides and I swear he was about to shoot us but then Megan said, “Daddy?” She said it as if she didn’t believe that it was him. She already met her mother and she probably wasn’t expecting to meet her father as well. The Midnight Robber lowered his gun and said in question, “Megan?”
She nodded. The Midnight Robber’s face lit up and he ran up to her and gave her a big hug, “Thank God you alive. I thought you was dead. Where’s Melanie?”
“You died nine years ago,” Megan started without answering his question. “I saw it for myself. You died in the hospital after your heart attack.”
“No, I didn’t die. That entire thing was staged,” the Midnight Robber said.
“Staged? You mean you faked it?” Megan cried.
“I had to. It had no other way. I did it to protect allyuh.”
“Protect us from what?” Megan cried.
The Midnight Robber took a deep breath and then said, “from me.”
“I have a question,” I interjected awkwardly. “Are you the Midnight Robber?”
“No I’m not the Midnight Robber,” the Midnight Robber answered.
“So who’s the Midnight Robber?” I asked.
“I am,” the Midnight Robber said.
“But you just said….”
“Okay okay,” the Midnight Robber stopped me. “Let me explain myself better. I am the Midnight Robber but I’m also not the Midnight Robber.”
“That really didn’t explain it any better,” I said.
“Okay, let me try again,” the Midnight Robber said. “During the day I am completely normal and I’m all me. But whenever the clock strikes twelve midnight, something happens. I become someone else. I does become, how to put it? Possessed.”
“By a demon?” Megan asked.
“No, no no. Not a demon. Something worse. By the Midnight Robber. By the costume.”
“How does a costume possess you?” Megan asked.
“I see that the public much more uninformed than I thought,” the Midnight Robber said.
I had no idea what he was talking about.
“What did the government tell the public about the reason why Carnival was cancelled?” The Midnight Robber asked us.
“Money. They didn’t have enough money to continue it,” I answered.
“Bullshit!!” The Midnight Robber shouted. The way he shouted it caused Megan and I to jump. His voice was deep and powerful. “Carnival was one of the biggest money makers in the country. It’s lies!! Money wasn’t the reason. It’s all a big conspiracy to cover up the shit that the government did.”
“What did they do?” I asked.
The Midnight Robber looked at us keenly as if he was pondering if he should have told us or not. He then said, “You know what? Follow me.”
He led us through some walls and up some stairs. On our way we saw some Blue Devils and Dame Lorraines playing cards. They stood up as they saw us, looking at us with twisted grimaces on their faces as though they would have taken any chance to maul us to death. We tried to keep as close to the Midnight Robber as possible. At least we were safe with him, until midnight of course but we had some time before that. Probably about 3 hours. I wasn’t sure to be honest. I didn’t know what the time was.
“What is the time?” I asked.
“It’s ten thirty,” The Midnight Robber answered.
That didn’t give us much time at all really. Where was he leading us? We were going down a long spiraling downward staircase that seemed to have led us into some sort of library. But it was obviously more than a library. It was huge. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of bookshelves towering into the air. There were also giant TV screens positioned randomly throughout the area playing music videos of old Soca and Calypso songs. There was no audio coming out of the televisions but some people were dancing anyway like if the audio was reaching them in some other way. The room didn’t seem to have an end. There were a few people scattered around the area that all seemed to be busy doing something. There were Moko Jumbies returning books to the high areas of the bookshelves and other Carnival characters such as Minstrels and Fancy Indians busily going about their tasks. They were dancing and reveling while they were working. The Minstrels dressed in their black and white striped suits danced around with canes. Their faces were painted in white. The Fancy Indians danced around in their fancy feathered headpieces that were very similar to the indigenous peoples of North America. They danced and worked simultaneously. There were also some people who weren’t in costumes. Normal people just sitting on chairs either talking to each other or caught up in reading. The people didn’t look very rich or very well nourished. Their clothes were very ragged and looked like they were made at home.
“What is this place?” I asked the Midnight Robber.
