I bet you thought I was going to have a flashback sequence, didn’t you? Kai’s always told me how much she hated those things so I thought it’d be best not to have one, but I’ll summarize. I was only twelve when I met him—he was fourteen, or, at least, he told me he was fourteen. I found him in the shed next to my neighbor’s house, wild and covered with bruises. He followed me home and promptly demanded nourishment. After having supplied him thusly, he bid me goodnight and left, but imagine my surprise when I found him standing on a ladder outside my bedroom window the next morning. Life’s continued on in essentially that same surrealistic fashion since then. Of course, it wasn’t until now that video game characters suddenly started springing to life.
“You impertinent brat! I’ll drive this sword through your innards if you ever touch any articles of my clothing again!” Necavi’s voice penetrated my bedroom walls, and I jumped up, pulling on my pajama bottoms and hastening downstairs.
“Wh-what’s g-going on?” I cried, equipping my glasses quickly.
“Just look at what your neanderthal boyfriend did to my best unmentionable!” Necavi cried, holding up the remains of a pair of black, silk boxer shorts.
“Um…I-I’m n-not s-sure I want to know…” I muttered.
“I was merely going to wash them for him…I just accidentally put in acid instead of detergent. So terribly sorry,” Sean smiled innocently.
“Accidentally! You meant to, you depraved little—“ Necavi growled, waving his sword in Sean’s general direction.
“Now, now, there’s no need for such salty language,” Sean admonished.
“How the hell did you get hold of my shorts, anyway?” Necavi grumbled.
“O-kay, th-that I d-definitely d-do not want to know..” I said, stepping between them. “N-necavi, put the s-sword away, Se-sean, don’t g-go through Necavi’s th-things.”
“Yes, mother dearest,” Sean made a face. The doorbell rang before I could come up with a suitably witty response, and I went to get it, muttering to myself.
“Oh G-god,” I said, peering through my door’s window. A short girl with multicolored hair and far too many ear piercings was hopping around on my porch, grinning maniacally.
“Se-sean! Sean, it’s Delilah!” I yelled, keeping one eye on Delilah’s hyperactive bouncing. Sean grumbled a crass word and called back,
“Tell her I have been eaten by rabid lobsters!”
“I d-don’t th-think she’s going to b-buy that!”
Delilah pounded on the door, yelling in her energetic, squirrel-like voice.
“I know my Lord is inside of your home! Allow me entrance, you foul temptress! Allow me entrance immediately! I have sharp things, you know! I can break in if I must!”
I face-faulted, opening the door. Delilah threw her head back and laughed evilly before strutting in, brandishing a Swiss Army knife.
“See! Sharp things! Now where is my liege?”
“Umm…h-he g-got eaten by r-rabid lobsters,” I offered, shrugging.
“Damn crustaceans!” she muttered, waving the pocket knife in a threatening manner. She brushed past me, walking into the kitchen, whereupon she found Sean attempting to hide beneath the kitchen table.
“Ah! I see you were able to defeat the lobsters, my lord,” Delilah smiled, reaching beneath the table and gripping Sean’s arm. He made a pathetic squeaking noise as she dragged him out, pinning him against the wall and effectively attaching herself to him.
“Claaariiisssss…” Sean hissed, trying to pry Delilah off of his body.
“D-delilah, would you pl-please…” I started, nibbling my lip.
“I came to inform my Lord of a most interesting happening I observed whilst en route to his place of residence,” Delilah said, detaching herself from him reluctantly. Delilah had a tendency to forget that ‘mooching off of’ did not mean ‘living in,’ thus she has it set in her mind that my house was actually Sean’s.
“Who is she?” Necavi muttered in my ear.
“S-someone really sc-scary,” I whispered back.
“You see,” Delilah began, ignoring our conversation, “I was walking by the condemned mansion when I heard the most dreadful yell being emitted from within its walls. My first thought was to investigate, but then I decided that I should not want to enter so dangerous a place sans my perfect God.”
“St-strange n-noises come from th-that house all th-the time,” I said nervously. “It’s pr-probably just p-passing were-rats or s-something.”
“Were-rats or no, I feel we must investigate!” Delilah said valiantly, once more brandishing the knife. Sean shrugged.
“What the hell.”
“Se-Sean!” I hissed. “Y-you’re not se-serious, are you?!”
“Well, have you got any better ideas?” he asked. I didn’t answer. He turned to Necavi. “How about you, two-tone?”
“I suppose not,” he said, fiddling with the hilt of his sword. “I’ll only come along if I get to take my sword, though.”
“Of course, he had to pick now to start being agreeable,” I thought.
“It’s settled, then!” Delilah said brightly. “Let’s be off.”
“W-wait,” I said, retrieving
the phone from its cradle. “I’m c-calling Kai.”
*
“Tell me why I’m doing this, one more time,” Kai muttered, brushing a non-existent speck of dirt from off of her black coat.
“Because Claris needs a human shield if there’s a scary monster inside,” Sean said cheerfully, pushing open the old mansion’s dilapidated gate, oblivious to the large 'CONDEMNED' sign tacked onto the gate's rusting bars.
“I d-don’t know a-about this…” I muttered. The five of us worked our way through the overgrown front yard, with Sean reaching the rotting doors first. He pushed them open and strode in, calling out loudly,
“Anybody HOME?! If you ARE, please make some more DISTURBING NOISES so we can find you and interrogate you, okay?! Thanks!”
I rubbed my temples. The house remained silent.
“Or you could make us search for you…whichever…” Sean muttered, already poking into various rooms and closets.
“Se-sean…th-there’s n-no one here,” I said nervously, jumping a little when I felt the floor creak beneath my feet.
“Quiet,” Delilah said, waving the knife. “We haven’t even gone upstairs yet.”
“D-do we ha-have to g-go upstairs?”
“Don’t worry, dearest, Kai will protect you,” Sean said, poking his head out of a room.
“Whatever…” Kai muttered, inching closer to Necavi.
“What are you d-doing, Se-sean?” I said, walking over to him.
“It’s a parlor, my dearest fly,” he said, pulling me in.
“Th-that it is,” I said, gazing around the fully furnished room. Two couches, each upholstered with a delicate, floral fabric, were placed at either side of a long, low, cherry wood table. Black, iron chairs with rose patterns wrought into the metal were at each end, their seats topped with stuffed pillows. All of this was situated on an Oriental rug with fat, fraying tassels. All the furnishings were blanketed in dust and cobwebs, and the creeping ivy that grew along the mansion’s exterior overtook the windows.
“I-it’s pr-pretty…” I said, examining the tall grandfather clock that leaned against one wall. The pendulum moaned a little as it swung, and the glass case it resided in was slightly cracked, but it seemed to be operational. I turned my attention to the clock’s face.
“It’s already one according to this clock,” I said, reaching up and tapping the face’s glass. It cracked, shattering, and I jumped back as a few shards scattered on the hardwood floor.
“Bravo,” Kai said, clapping lightly.
“U-um, n-no one s-saw th-that,” I said, chagrined. Another moan resounded throughout the house, and Delilah cried out in jubilation, dashing up the winding stairwell.
“That was the noise I heard!” she said gleefully, waving the knife to emphasize her happiness.
“Ahem…” a door next to the foot of the stairs opened, and a man’s head poked out.
“Could you all please make an effort to keep it down? There’s a network of underground tunnels and rooms beneath this mansion and my cohorts and myself are trying to get some evil plotting done.”
“Shouldn’t we attempt to prevent you from doing that?” Sean said, dragging me out of the parlor.
“No, we aren’t really in your story, I don’t think,” the man replied, brushing a lock of indigo hair from his face.
“Ah. Fair enough. Request duly noted,” Sean said, waving a little.
“Excellent,” the man closed the door. Delilah stood at the top of the stairs, tapping her foot impatiently.
“Give me strength,” I muttered, and started up the stairs. I wrapped my arms around myself, wishing for more light. I hated to admit it, but the dark did unnerve me. Just a little.
“Scared, Claris?” Kai asked, with a smile that was as sharp as a razor’s edge.
“O-of c-course not,” I laughed nervously. “M-me? Sc-scared?”
The pitch of my voice raised with each word. Sean and Delilah were still busily poking around, while Necavi hung back, his hand poised on the hilt of his sword. Kai’s arm was hooked around his, and she leaned against him as we walked the corridors.
“We have discovered the monster!” Delilah called shrilly, her hand suddenly shooting out from one of the rooms. I slunk towards it, peering inside.
“Th-that’s n-not a monster,” I said, relieved. A man—well, a boy, really, he didn’t look much over seventeen—was lying on a floral print bed, shaking. He had blue hair that was done up into gravity-defying spikes and large, earnest green eyes. Armor covered his body, and a huge sword was attached to his back.
“Alistair!” Necavi snarled, drawing his weapon.
“Necavi!” the boy cried, leaping from the bed in an unnerving recovery of his senses. “At last, our great battle shall come to an end!”
“Yes!” Necavi struck his sword against Alistair’s, growling in his throat. Kai stood to the side, looking neglected. Sean and Delilah exchanged looks, and then he grabbed Necavi, while she pinioned Alistair’s arms behind his back.
“Silence the violence!” She said, pushing him back onto the bed.
“Necavi and I must fight, fair maiden!” he said insistently, thrusting the sword into the air before him. “It is my destiny to destroy him!”
“Well, you can fulfill it later,” Kai said, clinging to Necavi. He petted her hair, his expression sheepish.
“Why did you howl so?” Sean asked, leaning over Alistair. “You seem to be in optimal health…”
“Well, first it was because of the shock of being suddenly teleported from my beautiful planet to this woman’s room…and then it was because it was a woman’s room and I thought that I at least should have been taken to a man’s room, you know, since I’m a man and all…” he said, nibbling on the end of one of his spikes.
“I th-think h-he’s d-delirious,” I whispered to Sean.
“Most definitely,” He said gravely, and then brightened, “Anyone got any tranquilizers on hand?”
“I don’t need a tranquilizer!” Alistair said, jumping up again. “I need to kill my arch-nemesis!”
“And I need to kill you,” Necavi said, glaring at him.
“There will be no killing!” Sean said, and then paused. “Well, not right now, anyway.”
“S-Sean!” I hissed, elbowing
him.
“What?” he said innocently. “You never let me have any fun, Claris.”
“W-well, we k-know what the n-noise is…s-so let’s go home,” I mumbled, rubbing my temples. “Al-Alistair…I guess you’re st-staying with us…”
“Do I have to share a room with him?” Necavi hissed, as if Alistair were some sort of rabid monkey. I nodded, shrugging my shoulders as I edged closer to Sean.
“I-it’s the o-only room we have,” I said apologetically.
“I will endure whatever hardship I encounter!” Alistair said bravely. “Even that of sharing a bed with my most hated enemy!”
“If you think you’re getting the bed, you are sadly mistaken,” Necavi grumbled. The floorboards creaked beneath the weight of our feet as we left the room, starting back to the stairs. Once there, we descended, with Sean in front and Necavi and Alistair trailing behind. The two were staying side by side, each glowering at the other as they kept their hands poised over their weapons. The sound of a clock’s earthy tones suddenly flooded the house, seeming to echo off every wall in the vicinity. Kai covered her ears with her hands as the tone repeated twelve times.
“I-is th-that the clock I broke?” I said wonderingly, biting my lip. Sean peered into the parlor.
“Looks like it, darling.”
“Don’t leave just yet,” the body of a man cloaked in black formed in one of the parlor’s chairs. He crossed one leg over the other, pressing his hands together. The features of his face were indistinguishable, being hidden by the folds and shadows of his cloak.
“Ooh, a ghost,” Delilah said, excitedly, poking the man with the tip of her knife. The blade slid through him as it would a patch of air.
“Not exactly, dear,” he said, turning his head towards her. “But fair enough for now.”
I could feel my body shaking. Every sense of logic in my brain was reacting against this—people didn’t just materialize out of thin air. It was impossible..or at least my brain has been convinced as such. But I supposed, if people from separate dimensions could transport into my neighbor’s backyard without warning, why not this?
“Can we help you?” Sean raised an eyebrow.
“Not just yet,” he answered. His voice was low and soft, with an undercurrent of something strangely threatening that I couldn’t quite grasp. “I just wanted to see how things were going..”
“Well, I think we’re alright,” Sean said. “I’m a little hungry, but other than that…”
The man tapped his index fingers together.
“That’s good..”
Silence.
“S-so…” I began.
“Mmm,” he cut me off. “I’ll be going now, then. I'll talk to you again..."
His image began to crackle, fizzling out until only still air was left.
"That was abrupt," I thought.
“Do you k-know that guy?” I glanced at Necavi and Alistair, who took a moment from scowling at one another to shrug at me.
“Friendly fellow,” Sean said, walking out of the parlor. “Sounded like he had a bit of a sore throat, though.”
Kai pushed open the front doors, struck her head out, and then quickly shut them again.
“What in God’s name did you do that for? I’m bloody starving, woman!” Sean cried, moving to reopen the door. She slapped his hand.
“First, don’t call me woman, and second, there’s some kind of crazy monster-thing out there.”
“A m-monster?” I whimpered. I didn’t know how much more of this my constitution could withstand, but I had the feeling that my limit was approaching quickly.
“Fear not, for I shall detain the wretched beast!” Alistair cried, hefting his broadsword. “Open the door, fair maiden.”
“Screw you,” Kai answered, huddling against Necavi. “I’m not committing suicide.”
Taken aback, Alistair made a face at her.
“Well fine then,” he said, pulling on the doorknob. A winged, dragon sort of creature sat upon the lawn, preening its leathery red wings as it watched for prey. Its great gold eyes rolled in its head as it gazed about itself, its long forked tail swishing slowly.
“A dragon?” Necavi remarked. The creature’s snout swung in our direction as Necavi’s voice registered in its ears. My heart careened to a stop as I found it staring directly at me.
“Cl..close the d-door,” I squeaked, gripping Sean’s sides.
“Easy there, honey,” he grinned down at me. “I know you’re dying for me, but we’ll have to wait until later..”
“Se-sean,” I hissed. “T-that’s a.. a dragon!”
“Yep,” Alistair confirmed.
“I-it looks like it’s g-going to e-eat us,” I whimpered, pressing my face into Sean’s back.
“Don’t be silly. This sort doesn’t eat people,” Necavi said airily. “It only feeds on deceased people.”
The dragon was observing us with interest, extending and then retracting its black claws as it listened to our conversation. I decided that I was the only one noticing the fact that it was carefully inching forward, while the others chatted quite obliviously.
“U-um..maybe you should..you know…k-kill it?” I suggested, trembling.
“Novel plan,” Alistair said. “Better draw it away from the house, though. Everyone out!”
“Y-you’ve lost it,” I said, eyes widening. “That th-thing will r-rip us to pieces.”
“Oh, he’s not that strong. Otherwise he would have killed you already,” Alistair waved his hand. Sean turned, pulling me into his arms.
“I’ll carry you across the threshold, precious.”
Delilah’s face flared with jealousy, but I was too busy panicking to notice. Sean brought me out of the mansion, striding happily past the dragon until he reached the gate. There he set me down and called for the others. Delilah and Kai joined us, while Necavi and Alistair both drew their swords. But the dragon seemed indifferent to them—in fact, his gaze was still trained quite clearly on me. It took flight, hovering just above where myself and the others stood.
“Hey! Over here, stupid!” Alistair called. The dragon slashed downwards, cuffing my back and knocking me to my knees. My clothes tore as three thick lines of blood opened up on my skin, and I cried out as pain coursed through me.
“Claris!” Sean said, kneeling beside me.
“Wow… lots of blood..” Kai said, staring.
Necavi mumbled a few archaic words, and a moment later the dragon was enveloped in a block of ice. Shards of ice stabbed the air as the block fell heavily, shattering upon impact with the ground. Alistair took the opportunity, slashing at the dragon’s exposed midsection with his broadsword. The blade bit deeply into the soft flesh, causing a gush of blood to stain the dragon’s scales. Its scream raked my eardrums, though it was dulled by the cries of my own mind. Alistair struck again, and the dragon collapsed, its wings spreading out flat as its body began to dissolve.
“Weiiiird,” Delilah said, looking as if she were resisting the urge to poke the dying animal. “Do they always disappear like that?”
“Usually,” Alistair answered, wiping his sword on the grass. “Don’t know why one was out here, though…”
“H-hello!” I hissed, seething from the pain. “Bleeding profusely over here!”
Necavi held his hand over my wounds, and a green energy flowed from the tips of his fingers. A serene, soothing feeling settled over my mind. I could feel the slashes on my back drying and closing, leaving my skin clear, as if it had never been touched.
“Th-thanks..”
“I just didn’t want to listen to your whining,” he said harshly. I face faulted.
“Why w-would it come after me, anyway?”
“It was probably attracted to your fear,” Alistair said, matter-of-factly. He replaced his huge weapon back into the sheath on his back. “You were shaking like a leaf in a windstorm, after all..”
I blinked.
“Um. Yeah.”
“Can we go now?” Kai muttered.
“Yes… let us away to…Wendy’s!” Sean cried, kicking the gate open.
“B-but I haven’t g-got any money,” I said, standing up.
“Well, Alistair and Necavi have those lovely gold pieces, don’t they?” Sean replied. Delilah, who was hanging off his arm as though she were an ornament and he a Christmas tree, nodded furiously.
“But the nearest Wendy’s is li-like a mi-mile away,” I said meekly.
“Come on, Claris, walking is good for you,” Sean petted my hair. Noticing that no one else was dissenting, I sighed and said nothing. Thusly, we began to walk. The evening breeze was sharp on my back, as my torn shirt had left my skin exposed. The sun cast its shadows over the clouds as it slunk into the horizon, and even in the approaching dusk, the colors it left were brilliantly blinding. Cars whirred by us as we trekked across the sidewalk, hindered only by the embarrassing stares of a few pedestrians.
“Why is everyone staring at us?” Alistair wondered.
“Possibly because of the armor you’re wearing..or the shirt I’m not wearing…or the enormous sword on your back..or all of the above,” Sean smiled.
“I d-don’t th-think they’ll let you inside sh-shirtless, Se-sean,” I began.
“So we’ll go drive through,” he answered, already walking towards the speaker.
“But w-we’re not in a c-car..”
“Details, darling. Details.”
Sean tapped on the speaker, calling into it loudly.
“Hellooo?”
A voice crackled through the speaker.
“Yo. What’s y’order?”
“Hmm..” he glanced at us. “What form of sustenance do you desire?”
“Um..I’ll just have a cheeseburger..” I muttered.
“Blech. I’m not eating here. All they serve is meat..and some disgusting salads,” Kai said disdainfully.
“You could have fries,” Delilah suggested helpfully.
“No thanks,” she returned. Necavi and Alistair shrugged dumbly.
“Alright…” Sean leaned over, running his finger down the menu board in front of him and asking for one of almost everything.
“That all?” the speaker said boredly.
“Yes, suh,” Sean said, trotting up to the window. “Toss me some gold, boys.”
Alistair threw a few pieces in Sean’s general direction. He caught them, slapping them down on the counter attached to the window. Blinking, the attendant examined the gold, bit into it, and then twisted his face into a mixed expression of shock and bemusement.
“Keep the change,” Sean said, gathering up the bags of food.
“U-uh..okay..” the attendant stammered, closing the window. I shifted uncomfortably as I noticed that he was still staring at us. Sean flopped onto the grass and opened the bags, doling out food to everyone save Kai, who stood off to the side with a disgusted look on her face.
“So then,” he said conversationally, licking a bit off ketchup from off his lip, “What do you suggest we do? I for one think panicking sounds rather plausible.”
“U-uh..” I said, my stomach churning. I wondered if he were joking, or if that was just his odd little way of assuring me that this whole affair was worrying him, too. I noticed then that the leaves of a line of bushes were rustling strangely, as if their movements were being affected by something other than the wind. A small, felt bag popped out of the bush, crushing a fry box beneath its weight. Unnerved, I picked up the bag and shook it, surprised to hear coins clanking inside. Necavi set his sword against my arm.
“I’ll take that.”
“Eep,” I said, my grip on the bag tightening involuntarily.
“She found it, you prat,” Sean said. “Let her keep it.”
“Am I speaking to you? Last I checked, I wasn’t speaking to you,” Necavi snapped. I swallowed. Here was a dilemma. Either I gave the bag to Necavi and earned Sean’s disapproval, or I didn’t give him the bag, an action which would likely result in a series of bloody gashes on my arm. I debated these options as I held the bag, a sickness still writhing in my stomach. My desire to avoid yet more pain won out against the desire to retain what little shred of dignity I had left, and I handed the bag to Necavi. As suspected, Sean’s expression darkened.
“Really, Claris,” he spoke under his breath.
“S-sorry,” My words quivered with guilty chagrin.
“I hope you’re all aware of the fact that what just took place made absolutely no logical sense,” Kai said.
“It’s been duly noted,” Sean said.
“Obviously,” Necavi began, speaking as he counted the money in the bag, “something is causing things and people from our world to cross over into yours. What distresses me is that places may well begin to cross over as well.”
“Places?” I blinked.
“Precisely,” he responded.
“H-ow could a wh-whole place cross over?”
“Hmm..” Necavi rubbed his chin. “Let me put it this way. When that bad of money appeared, it replaced whatever was currently inhabiting its space—in this case, the branches of a bush—with itself. Theoretically, a building from our world could cross into yours, but if the two buildings happened to be in the same location, the new would replace the old.”
“So..you’re saying Claris’s school could, at any moment, turn into..say.. a porn shop?” Sean asked. Necavi blinked.
“Uh… I suppose.”
“Cool,” he grinned. I rolled my eyes.
“Seannykins,” Delilah said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I really don’t want to leave you, but it is getting late, and I think if I’m not home soon my hermit crabs will worry.”
“Um, perfectly okay, Del,” Sean said, smiling sheepishly. She grinned deliriously and pulled back.
“Byieee, everyone,” she called, skipping off. "See you tomorrow!"
“Where does she live, anyway?” Kai said, watching Delilah run down the sidewalk and then abruptly turn a corner.
“Not a clue,” Sean said, helping me to my feet.
“I th-think we sh-should go home now..” I gathered up our trash, tossing it into the wastebasket next to Wendy’s entrance. “M-my house isn’t really f-far from here..”
By this time night had fully draped the sky, and stars were just beginning to fade into view. The waxing moon shone its gray light onto the cement sidewalk as we walked towards my house, shivering slightly from the continuing swirls of wind that blew around us. Kai called her parents moments after we had stepped into my living room, and after they had come for her, I found myself alone with Sean, Alistair, and Necavi. The churning in my stomach worsened.
“So…” Sean said. “Anyone up for a game of Scrabble?”
“I think we have slightly more important things to concern ourselves with,” Necavi frowned.
“It’s too late to think about it right now,” Sean said, sprawling out on my living room couch. “We can deal with it tomorrow.”
Alistair yawned.
“I’m with him… I’m going to bed.”
“You mean you’re going to the floor,” Necavi said, walking ahead of Alistair, towards the guest bedroom. “The bed is mine.”
“You’re such a brat,” Alistair stuck his tongue out. “Why can’t we share?”
“It’ll be a cold day when I share a bed with you..”
“Hey, it is a cold day,” Alistair said brightly. I crept away from them as they argued, dragging myself to my bed.
“Goodnight, Claris!” Sean called up, obviously too amused by Alistair and Necavi to follow me to my room.
“Goodnight..” I answered tiredly, crawling beneath my sheets. I had the distinct feeling that tomorrow’s Monday was going to be worse than usual.
That was decidedly unfluffy,
I think.. but I'm both a bit rusty with this story and sick, so..um..there's
my explanation. ^^;
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