Order and Chaos

> built a shelter of legends, created

I thought quickly. "Hey!" I cried, to anyone around. "Help me tip this dumpster over so we can crawl inside its artificial womb!"

But the dumpster was gone too, and so was anybody that could help me. Including me. Malcolm Vindictus would have been quite glad, except the afterlife was gone too. Whoops! Really screwed the dog shit on this one!

---

Mary limped around the corner, shoulder-checking Herman Cain.

"Oh, hey Mary. I was just talking to you in the other castle. What brings you 'round here?" said Milton. "You don't look very round. Matter of fact, you look like dog shit. What happened to your eye?"

"Oh, this," Mary said, then she pulled out a gun and shot herself in the right eye and collapsed to the ground, screaming and blind.

"That adds up," said Milton. "That checks out. What's a gun, by the way?"

"This," said Mary, then shot Milton in the gut.

"Yeah, yeah, this makes sense," said Milton. "I can see, how this would hurt you badly."

"I can't see anything now!" said Mary.

"Hey, what happened to my good pal Grub who I never got the name of?" said Milton.

Herman Cain stopped smiling and sniffed the air with a concerned look on his face.

"What? What is it boy?" said Milton.

"They're gone," he said. "All the metaphorical, mystical, and symbolic constructs in the universe — they're all crushed under the weight of the Great Cosmic Dumpster."

"Wow, I guess it's true what they say about blind people and heightened senses!" said Milton. Mary screamed in agony, rolling around the floor and bleeding everywhere.

Mary tapped Herman Cain on the shoulder. "You know anything about an area Nothing?"

"They're gone," he said. "All the metaphorical, mystical, and symbolic constructs in the universe — they're all crushed under the weight of the Great Cosmic Dumpster."

"Well, ſhit. Now how am I going to bring Adeline back to life? We had it all ſorted out to a happy ending even!"

"Guess you'll just have to deal with your grief and carry on like a normal person?" shrugged Commun.

"No. I am a queen. The ruleſ do not and ſhould not apply to me and this is all, frankly, very unacceptable," said Mary. "I'm ſpecial! And powerful, and immortal, and cool! I get my way! It'ſ not fair! It'ſ not fair to have her taken away by ſome magic bullſhit that juſt goeſ away! It'ſ not fair! It'ſ not fair! I don't wanna marry whatever lame dude Mom picked out! It'ſ not fair! I won't ſtand for it!"

The queen was throwing a temper tantrum. How could Commun calm 'em down?