Day III: Actualization

The beginning of the end?  I looked over at Sean’s sleeping form.  He was curled close to me, the purring kind of sound in his throat filling the quiet room.  Sean said a lot of weird things, especially about the apocalypse.  There were times when he’d suddenly start rambling about the end of the world, about how close it was and how little anyone could do to prevent it from happening.  He would describe what would happen—the sky darkening, the blood flowing, the people screaming.  He described it with such intensity that even though I knew it was probably nonsense, something in my heart trembled.

Somewhere inside me, I believed him.  That was the thing about him.  He had a strange sort of passion about him, which, despite the fact that he was probably clinically insane, was kind of comforting.  I yawned a little and slid out of bed, standing still when I heard the sound of the doorbell from downstairs.

"J-jesus, what ti-time is it?" I muttered, glancing back at my digital clock and finding it was almost noon. "Oh, hell."

I glanced in the mirror before I darted down the front steps, flattening my disheveled mass of mouse brown hair.  The bell rang again, and I grumbled as I pulled open my front door.

"Why so dressed up?" Kai said dryly when she saw me standing before her in my crumpled T-shirt and silk pajama pants.  Her friend Anna stifled a snigger.

"Yeah yeah…" I said, brushing my wild hair out of my face. "I guess I sort of sl-slept in… I, um.. had a long night  last night."

"Oh?" Anna raised an eyebrow. "Realllllyy…" she said, exchanging a knowing glance with Kai.  My eyes widened as I realized what she was insinuating and the two of them giggled.

"N-no!  Th-th-that’s not what I meant!" I cried, blushing.

"Suure," Anna smirked.

"Ahem.  And who are these people?  I’ve been waiting for you two to wake up for about three hours now… I can’t stay here forever, you know, and I don’t exactly have a good temper…" Necavi stood near the stairs, his mis-matched eyes narrowed and his mouth turned down in an expression of sneering contempt.

"Whoa, who the hell is that?!" Anna said, stepping back.

"At least he’s wearing a shirt," Kai said, unfazed.

"Um.  Th-that’s N-Necavi," I said, wringing my hands nervously.

"Isn’t he that guy from that game you’re always playing?" Kai said.

"Yes…"

"So… wouldn’t that make his being here sort of, well, impossible?" Anna frowned.

"W-well, that’s what I’d always assumed," I said, rubbing my temples. "I told y-you—I had a long night."

"You sure it’s not some psycho in a really good costume?" Anna said, closing one eye.

"It’s so lovely, how you speak as if I am not standing before you.  Would you like some validation of my identity?" Necavi hissed, stepping forward.

"Hey, man, bring it on.  I bet all you do is make idle threats… just like the other sociopath in this house," Anna snapped.

"I heard that," Sean looked down at us from his place at the top of the front stairs. "Could you little minions try to quiet down?  I’m trying to get my beauty sleep here…"

Kai rolled her eyes. "Ohh, please forgive us, great one, we would never dream of disturbing your most sacred slumber."

"Damn right," Sean answered as he descended the steps. "So what’s the problem, kids?"

"They doubt me." Necavi unsheathed his sword and pointed it in the general direction of Kai and Anna.

"Hey, nice sword," Kai said.

"Probably a fake," Anna muttered. "Plastic or something..."

"Would you like to find out?" Necavi said.

"Sure, why not."

Anna stepped forward.

"Fine then," he said, cutting her arm.  She cried out a very bad word as she clutched her bleeding wound and skittered back, growling in Necavi’s direction.

"You little bastard!  You almost cut my arm off!"

"Like I said…" Kai looked at the blood dripping from Anna’s cut. "Nice sword."

"G-good g-god," I balked.  "Th-that was totally uncalled for."

"Hey, I thought it was pretty cool," Sean grinned toothily.

"Shut the fuck up," Anna said through gritted teeth, still cradling her arm. "Does anybody want to get me a bloody band-aid or are you all just going to stand there and watch me bleed to death?!"

"I was actually planning on the latter…" Sean said, earning him another glare. "Heh heh heh…"

"H-hold on," I sighed, going into the kitchen and coming back a few moments later, holding a bandage and a wet cloth.  I handed both to Anna, who proceeded to fix her wound while I turned back to Necavi, trying my best to look somewhat intimidating.

Unfortunately, it’s difficult for a short girl with mousy hair and dressed in her pajamas to look very intimidating to a tall man holding a dangerous weapon.

"I w-would appreciate it if you wouldn’t try to i-injure my guests,” I said, frowning at Necavi.  My speech impediment probably didn't impress him too much either.

"She should not have insulted me," Necavi sniffed, cleaning the blood off the tip of his sword with some cloth.

"Well, I’d say this ranks pretty high on my Weird Shit-o-Meter," Anna grumbled.

"Mmph… on to the business at hand—getting me back to where I belong." Necavi said. "Now, I’m still not entirely sure what could have caused my transportation to this place… One moment I was casting a spell on Alistair and the next I am in your neighbor’s backyard."

"Maybe you cast the sp-spell wrong?" I suggested.

"Impossible.  I don’t make mistakes."

"Eheh… well at least you’re co-confident…" I muttered.

"We really don’t have time for this," Anna interrupted. "The movie starts in, like, ten minutes, people."

"Movie?" I said, blinking.

"Duh…we were going to the movies today, remember?  Why else would I be here before noon?" Anna rolled her eyes and jerked her thumb towards the window of my front door. "Not to mention Kai’s mom is out there waiting for us."

"Damnit," I said, looking from Kai and Anna to Sean and Necavi.  "I’ll run up and get dressed,
Sean, put a shirt on, you and Necavi are coming with us."

Sean grinned, darting out of the room. "Be right back!" he called, as I heard the back door open.

"What?!  Why are they coming?" Anna cried.

"Be-because if I l-leave them at home, th-they’ll destroy each other," I said, frowning.

"Or your house," Kai smirked.

"Th-that too," I muttered, heading upstairs.

I returned to find the others already outside, standing around Kai’s car as they tried to figure out how to squeeze two extra people into a tiny Volvo.

"One of you will just have to sit on the other’s lap," Kai’s mother shrugged.  Sean grabbed me by the waist.

"I can do that," he grinned.  I looked up at him, feeling relieved that he had at least attempted to appear decent.  He had thrown on a pair of black boots and a grey shirt, and his long, purple hair had been pulled back into a ponytail.  He clambered into the car, placing me on his lap and grinning maniacally. Kai sat in the front seat with her mother, and Anna managed to squeeze in between Necavi and me.

"So, eh… who’s your new friend, Kai?" her mother asked, glancing back at Necavi, who was dusting off his trenchcoat and looking bored.

"U-um, he’s a friend of the family," I spoke up quickly. "H-he’s from.. um.. out of st-state."

"Way out of state," Anna muttered.  Kai’s mother looked as if she wanted to ask more, but she shook her head and returned her focus to driving.  Silence pervaded the car until we reached the theater.  Everyone climbed out, and we waited in the cool afternoon air while Kai figured out the length of our film. Pre-planning was never our forte.

"Er… you have any money on you, Necavi?" I asked as we stood in line to get tickets.  He blinked.

"I have a few gold pieces…" he said, taking some from one of the pockets in his coat.  My eyes widened as he held out his open palm.  The gold pieces shimmered, and Kai leaned over, grinning.

"That ought to be enough to pay for all of us."

"Next?" the thin, teenaged boy that was working the ticket office called through the microphone, looking at us pointedly.  Necavi shrugged, sliding one of the gold pieces across the counter.

"Five adults, please," Anna piped up, raising an eyebrow at the gold coin.  The teenager was a bit miffed as well.  He picked it up, looking as if he weren’t quite sure as to what to do with it.

"Ummm…" he said dumbly. "This…uh…this isn’t the proper currency…sir…uh…what is this, anyway?"

"Gold!" Anna said, as if struck by a realization. "That’s a solid gold coin!"

"You all are so sharp," Necavi rolled his eyes.

"L..listen, I, I can’t accept this," he said, pushing the coin back and looking shaken.

"Fool," Necavi muttered, taking the coin back.

"Well, it was worth a sh-shot," I said, fishing in my pocket for my money.  I found a twenty dollar bill within the depths of my purse and plucked it out, sliding it across the counter.  The cashier looked relieved, happily handing over our tickets.  I tore the small strip of tickets into separate squares, distributing one to Necavi and one to Sean while the others paid.  Necavi scrutinized the ticket closely, as though he were wondering what it was for.

"In the s-seventh game, S-septerra’s world is a modern one…didn’t you guys have movies th-there?  I remember seeing movie theaters in t-towns…"  I said, watching him analyze his ticket.

"Yes…we use a card system, though…" he replied, shrugging.

"I don’t know what kind of ‘modern world’ uses gold coins as currency," Anna said, making a face.  Necavi glared at her and was about to make a retort when Sean clapped Necavi on the back.

“Come on now, we’re missing the previews.”

"Do that again and you shall find this sword through your gut," Necavi hissed, reaching for his sword.  He stopped, bewildered, when he realized that it wasn’t there.

"Had to confiscate it, man," Sean shrugged. "Can’t have you wandering around town with a sword strapped to your belt, can we?"

"How did you…?"

"The true magician never reveals his secrets, my good man…" Sean said, flashing a toothy smile.  Necavi stood there, looking as though he were trying very hard not to reach out and strangle Sean right then and there. “Oh, relax, it’s back at Claris’s house…”

That knowledge did not appear to pacify him.

"D-down, boys, down!" I said, taking Sean by the crook of his arm.

"He started it," Sean stuck his tongue out.

"Did not," Necavi said gruffly.

I rubbed my head a little as we took our seats.  Necavi pursed his lips and sat down next to me, and I sighed as Sean draped himself over the chair on my other side.

"Surrounded," I thought, as Kai settled next to Necavi, her fingers placed lightly on his hand.  The movie began, but I found myself too nervous to pay attention to what was happening on the screen.  Kai and Anna chattered amongst themselves, laughing and insulting the movie as if the five of us were the only ones in the theater, like they usually did.  I glanced behind me, deciding that, this time, that actually wasn’t a bad assumption.  Only three other people occupied the theater, their bodies obscured by the dim lighting.  I bit my lip and turned back around in my seat, my nervousness increasing when I noticed that my friends had fallen silent.

"G-guys?" I whispered, but Sean stopped me, directing me towards the movie screen.  The image there was of a man, his face hidden by the shadow created by the cloak over his head.  He was sitting back in a wooden chair, his arms folded over his chest and his boot-clad feet up on a plain wooden table in front of him.  The picture quality was breathtakingly sharp, as if this man and his surroundings were actually in the room.

"Um, dude, I’m pretty sure this isn’t part of the movie," Anna whispered, her voice tremulous.

"Lovely observation," the cloaked figure said, causing Anna to clutch the arms of her chair.

"Hello, Claris, Necavi, Anna, Kai… " the man rattled off our names, boredly.  He stopped short for a moment, leaning forward over the table before him.

"Orifiel…" he hissed, his voice filled with such cold, sharp hatred that I felt the blood in my veins jump.  Of course, none of us knew what he was talking about.

Sean yelled into the darkness behind us, "Anyone named Orifiel back there?!"

No answer. I turned my head back, my breath catching in my throat when I realize whoever was there had disappeared—the theater, save for us, was empty.

"Sorry, there isn’t anyone by that name here!" Sean called to the man.  "Can we have our movie back now?"

The man growled in response.

"Go on and act as though you don’t know me, Orifiel…" he said, drawing a sword from a sheath on his back.  He held it out in front of him, examining it.

"Where’s everyone getting these cool swords?" Kai said, staring at the weapon’s broad blade.  The man raised the sword, as if he were about to strike the screen.

"Perhaps you really don’t remember, Orifiel.  But you will…”  Electronic interference seemed to tear apart the man’s image, and the picture broke and fizzled, but he went on. “Very soon."

He swung the sword, and I jumped in my seat as he slashed open the movie screen.  The picture fizzed a little more and then disappeared as the screen’s fabric continued to rip, the awful sound filling the whole theater.  I made a whimpering, sort of screechy sound and scrambled to my feet, trembling.  Kai walked up to the front of the room, touching the frayed bits of torn screen.

"Neeeat…" she grinned.

I started to make a face at her and shake my head, but suddenly I heard a scream from behind me.

"Well, that’s one," I muttered, as Sean trotted towards the direction of the outcry.  I followed him, watching as he dragged a shaking body from beneath one of the seats.

"Poor guy,” Sean said, dropping the body in front of me.  The boy looked a couple years older than me, maybe he was even a bit older than Sean.  His mussed black hair shadowed his eyes, and he was dressed plainly, in jeans and a T-shirt.  I did not recognize him; to me he was only another random face.

“Wh… what the hell was that,” he whispered, in shock.  He clung to Sean’s pants. “What the HELL was that?!”

“Hey now, this is silk here,” Sean said, wriggling free of the boy’s grasp.  He hugged himself and stared at the ground, trembling.

“Pathetic, isn’t it?” A rough voice spoke from behind the boy’s crouched, quivering body.  A hand with a claw attached grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and held him up, like a doll.  Tears welled in the boy’s eyes. “What do you think?  Should I end his misery?”

The claw’s owner did not look much older than his victim did.  His eyes, one a deeper gold than the other, were wide and crazed, as though he was possessed.  Chocolate colored hair fell all around his pale, sharply featured face.

“That’s two…” I said quietly, as Sean asked, “And who might you be?”

“You can call me Donovan,” he said. “Now, then, are you going to answer me?”

The boy spasmed in Donovan’s grip, in a frighteningly weak bid to escape.  Donovan transferred the boy to his other hand, leaving his claws free to rest against the boy’s throat.

“I could cut his throat open.  Or perhaps his entire ribcage,” Donovan said. “That’s what he’s seeing right now, you know… me… doing that.”

He smiled as streams of tears streaked down the boy’s cheeks, as he whimpered and sobbed, twitching in imaginary pain.

“Ripping him apart like thin paper,” Donovan licked his lips.

“I know I’m evil and all,” Necavi said, “but that’s just sick.”

“Like any of you care,” Donovan snapped. “Like it would matter to you if I cut him open and gutted him like the gasping little fish he is.  Would you cry for him?  Would you attend his funeral?”

“We don’t even know his name,” Kai said, but her face was disgusted nonetheless.

“Well then,” Donovan ran one claw down the boy’s throat, “I’ll take that as a no.”

Sean grabbed his wrist and kicked his side, and Donovan dropped his victim.  The boy, freed from his terrible illusion, wiped tears from his eyes and sat there, very still, while Sean dug his knee into Donovan’s chest.

“You know, I like violence as much as the next man,” he said, “but you didn’t even give this guy a chance to prove he was an asshole.”

Donovan stabbed upwards with his claw and cut a gash across Sean’s chest. “Fuck off.”

Sean clutched the wound instinctively, cursing in pain.  He crushed Donovan’s ribs beneath his boot and clenched his fingers for a punch, but Donovan’s body disappeared before Sean’s fist could connect to his face.

“Sonuvabitch,” Sean spat.

“I am, actually,” Donovan said.  He was standing a healthy distance from Sean, managing a smug smile over the painful wince on his face.  Another boy crawled out from under the seat next to him and hugged Donovan around the waist.

“You’re hurt!” he said fretfully. “Your face is painy.”

“Get off me, Lucius,” Donovan growled. “I’ll be fine.”

“And th-that’s three,” I said, squinting at Lucius.  He was registering as a familiar in my brain.  Then I remembered him from the cafeteria the other morning; he was the boy I’d assumed was a new freshman.  What the hell?

“Do you know anything about what just happened?” Necavi said, indicating the screen with a wave of his hand.

“Yup,” Lucius said, “We were making sure it worked.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“No, he doesn’t,” Donovan said.  He squeezed the back of Lucius’s neck as the smaller boy opened his mouth.  He squeaked instead of speaking, squirming as Donovan pinched his skin.

“I th-think you’re hurting him,” I said.  Donovan’s eyes flicked towards me.

“He can take it,” he said.  He glowered down at Lucius. “We need to go.”

And just like that, they were gone.

“Coward,” Sean muttered.  He slumped into a sitting position against the chair and examined his wound.  His hand dripped with liquid red as he pulled it from his chest. “That’s a lot of blood right there…”

“Oh, G-god, Sean!”  I cried, and was about to run to him, but Necavi raised his hand, muttering in arcane language.  A soft light glowed around the wound, and it healed quickly, closing and drying itself in seconds.

This moved the boy, who emerged from his shock to roll his eyes up at Necavi.  He whispered, “This isn’t real.”

Then he shuddered and fainted.

Kai coughed. “Maybe we should go now, too.  You know, before the ushers come in and blame everything on us.”

“R-right,” I said, “but what about that guy?”

She shrugged. “I’m sure they’ll help him.  It’s not really our problem, is it?”

“Yeah,” Anna said, though with a bit more hesitancy, “it’s not our fault.  My mother’s probably here by now anyway.  Let’s go, Kai.”

They left the theater before I could argue.  I supposed my own mother was waiting outside as well, but I recalled what Donovan had said, guiltily. “Sh-shouldn’t we do something?”

“There’s nothing physically wrong with him,” Necavi said. “So there’s nothing I can do.”

“W-won’t he get blamed if we leave him here?”

“What’re they going to do to him?” Sean was on his feet now. “There’s no evidence against him, and he’ll probably just babble anyway.  I’ll prop him up in a seat and then we can go.”

“This is s-so surreal…” I sighed.

“I think things started getting surreal a long time ago, Claris,” Sean said.  I thought back to when I had first met him.  Yes… a long time ago.