Rain fell from the gray skies, coating everything in a damp sheen as the doctor and Roana stood in front of her house.  She was dressed in her mask and navy blue dress that had been dampened by the rain.  The doctor’s robes repelled water as it ran from his form.  The weather didn’t look as if it was going to lighten up any time soon.  Houses and the few people were blurred like watercolors in the background, washing away the fog that usually rolled around through town. 

The sound of the rain was soothing against the clear sight that she had of the gallows. She tried to avert her sights from their silhouette in the distance and keep them on the doctor. She listened intently to the words that he spoke as he told her of happenings that he had noted and things he thought about before he had fallen asleep.  He wanted to let her know of the connections that he had made to help her find Josephine.

“Killed? Does this mean that folklore may possibly be true? Was that girl right…about everything? Could Josephine have come into contact with this plague doctor? Could he have killed her? It can’t be…because she was gone and not dead,” Roana didn’t want to believe it.  She didn’t want to think that there could be a possibility of one of the medical professionals turning into a violent murderer who came after people in the night.  

She wouldn’t believe it until she saw Josephine’s corpse.  She wanted to hold out hope that her friend could still be somewhere, cold and alone as a victim who escaped and went into hiding. Josephine was too stubborn to simply let herself be offed in that manner. Because they hadn’t found her body, it gave her hope that she would be alright.  No body meant no proof that she was dead.

“That’s one mystery solved,” the doctor replied.

“No, I’ve only made an observation. I’ve managed to find the source of every murder of that type. A beaked doctor is the source of the murders that have been occurring in Conversion Town, my only question is why? Why would a doctor wish to kill people? What reason does he have?” Roana’s hardened visage was transfixed on these questions.  There were certain things about these situations that didn’t make any sense. Why would one of the doctors do this? Perhaps it was someone who was masquerading as a doctor? Surely, there had to be more to it than that.

She wanted to know what.

“Is that what you would like to find out?” The doctor asked.

She turned to him. “Are you saying that you know about this plague doctor?”

Roana had a feeling that the doctor held some of the answers to this mystery.  She wanted him to share his wealth of knowledge with her. The beaked man’s intellect had never steered her wrong before, so she trusted whatever information that he had found out. 

“I have told you before, I know many things. I lurk around in the corner, hiding in the darkness. I watch the activities of others and I wait and take note. They can feel my presence looming and they recognize that I am there, permanently,” the doctor began to tell her how he gathered such information.

“I have all of the knowledge of the living and the dead, but until you I had no one to share it with. I know the answers to life and the gates of death. What will happen and what has. Tell me, what do you think it would feel like? To know those things and be stuck with them? To be considered a questionable member of society? What if I told you that I was one and I have found out how to communicate with common people?”

The doctor’s words struck her deep, causing her to question the topics he brought up as they had many times before.  Just as soon as Roana thought that she was getting used to this man’s eccentricities, he spoke in more cryptic terms that she longed to decipher.

What did he mean by all of this?  Did he spy on people to gain knowledge? Did he loom about them and listen to conversations? Was he a part of it? Did he know people who were a part of it? What did he mean by he was once a questionable member of society who learned how to socialize again? Did he know who was involved in this? If so, then why was he withholding information? How could he know about the gates of death when he was so clearly alive? Why did he wear such familiar clothing? Who in the hell was he?

“Is that why you made me your offer?” If it was, then certain things would make sense.  If he truly knew what the face of darkness and horror looked like, he would be able to face the plagued. If his knowledge was gained by him seeing things that she could not, being a part of shady situations, then he would be able to guide her. Maybe he even knew where Josephine was.

“I can present you with the knowledge I possess. You will come to know about me and my relevance to this place.” The doctor could assure her that everything added up- the murders, Josephine’s disappearance, the mad doctor, her apprenticeship under him, the plagued and the witch hunts.  Everything was woven together in an intricate way that she would soon learn to understand.

“If that’s the case, then after I find Josephine I want to know about that. I want to know about that beaked doctor and why he’s murdering people.” He appeared to be a real figure, as frightening as that may have been, and if the doctor knew about him then he wanted to know what he knew.  He was an enigma to her, as mysterious now as he was the day that she had met him.  She wished to know who he was and why he was the way he was.

She wanted to see the man who hid behind that white, leather mask, the man who seemed so familiar.

“Your mind thirsts for knowledge that most are afraid to obtain. Just remember to heed my warning.” The doctor was impressed at the lengths she would go through to obtain that wisdom. However, he didn’t want her to get too whimsical and tried to ground her notions.

“That knowing too much can be dangerous?” 

“That is what they claim.”

“I want to make my own claims. Are there any other leads on Josephine?” Roana knew that the doctor had probably been out investigating before he stopped by her house.  Surely, he found something that would cause them to gain some sort of traction.

“There is a cave through the woods. She could be there. After all, we haven’t seen her in Conversion Town. There is another mystery, after all.” The doctor turned and began to walk through the rain as Roana followed him.

“There is?” What did he mean by that?

“What transpired in the midst of you talking to Josephine?” Didn’t she wonder about that? He would have thought that she would have found that whole incident worth looking into and a cause for concern.

“Do you truly think she’s in that cave?” Roana wondered why the doctor would bring it up if he hadn’t had a hunch of her location. There was something that he knew.  There had to be.

“We shouldn’t abandon possibility,” it was an educated guess of his.  That cave was the only place that they had not checked besides the woods that were on the back end of the town.  If Josephine was anywhere, then she had to be in there. It was a process of elimination.

“I feel you must know something if you want to go there,” Roana pressed.

“My suggestions have reasons,” the doctor assured.

“I’ve noticed that. I’ll get some things to check out the cave, just in case I find anything,” Roana returned home to get a few items that she thought they would need.  If they were going into the forest and possibly a cave, then she wanted to be well-equipped for the job.

---

Josephine sat and steeped in her thoughts. She noted how eerily quiet it had gotten and looked over her shoulder to see nothing but rock walls all around her.  There were sounds of faint conversations but she couldn’t make them out.  The girl started to realize that she was in a deep state of contemplation, deep enough to where she lost all sense of hearing.

“Hey! Who’s there? Hello?” Josephine called out louder and louder but no one heard.  She screamed, and thought to herself. ‘Am I trapped in silence? Is it possible to be here forever? Am I just stuck screaming here? It’s true. I’m just stuck in a void of thought.’

Everything grew dark around her, as the feeling of rock beneath her chilled her body. Hours had gone by and nothing happened. She took notice of a small but bright light that shone through the mouth of the cave she had been in.  Josephine arose and dusted off her white dress with black vertical stripes and slowly made her way to the light.  Her body felt heavy and her movements were languid.  She had no idea why she was there, or even where exactly she was; all she knew was that she had to make her way out at all costs.  Whatever placed her in the cave, she didn’t want to come back to find her again.

The next time, it might not have been so kind as to not bind her.

Josephine called out, but nothing came. The light expanded as she walked out of the mouth of the cave. The light was comforting, but it disappeared and revealed a forest before her.  It blinded her momentarily and she shut her eyes. The girl opened and closed them several times to find a point of focus and adjust to the lighting. “Where am I?”

The trees were close together, tall and foreboding as their branches stretched skyward. This was confirmation that she was completely alone.  There was nothing but a leaf-covered ground and miles of trunks around.  She couldn’t even hear birds or other animals. 

Again, she was left in that sickening silence. As she started to lose hope, a figure that resembled a plague doctor appeared. She looked towards the figure with a cautious expression as they approached her.  Their mask held blood red lenses and they stopped a few feet before her.  Josephine didn’t know what to do and uncertainty overcame her as the figure held out their hand to beckon her.

Cautiously, she took a step towards them. Josephine didn’t know who this was or what their intent was, but she was desperate to get away from that cave and the sea of silence she would be faced with while inside.  She didn’t want to be left to the despair of her mind.  No matter who this was, it was far better joining them than it was staying in this abysmal place.

When the figure got close to her, they pulled back their staff and bashed it against her head. The blow was so forceful that it knocked her unconscious.  Josephine fell to her knees and her head felt numb. She realized that she was finally able to rid herself of the maddening silence.

A small smile adorned her face before the light faded and she was gone.