by P. S. Power
Twice.
“You got over twenty-two thousand dollars from them? Willet Stone and Silas Black? I... need to make a phone call... Be right back, just a minute here...” Luckily the floor had dried all the way already, or she may have slipped as she sprinted toward her office.
Figuring he hadn't been fired yet, Zack started to organize the main shelves in the front, the ones people would see first when they walk through the door. First impression and all that. If he could get the store clean enough, maybe she'd keep him on, even if he had messed up with those guys earlier. He could only hope so. After all, he was new and it would be a little unfair to blame him for not getting the full percentage, since he hadn't gotten any training at all. Not that Zack expected people to be fair all the time. Life had taught him not to expect that from people.
Lisa made it back within twenty minutes. So far a new speed record. To be fair, he'd only seen her twice so far, and something else seemed to be occupying her thoughts right now.
“I made some calls. Both of them are still alive and, amazingly, unharmed. Silas Black reported his first ever fair equity report with his guild, if you can believe that... Willet called up the head office to ask what the hell was going on here, but he didn't lodge a complaint about it. He just said the new guy was some kind of, and I'm quoting from the record here 'Monster bad-ass'. What did you do to them?” She didn't sound displeased about it, just wondering if he'd beaten them up or something from the way she spoke. At least Willet, since Silas had apparently put him in for a gold star. That was nice of him, really.
Zack let his bafflement show briefly on all levels. “I just talked to them. They told me what was up, I got them to fix it. That's pretty much it... I don't know why that would seem special or odd. Of course I don't know why Willet got so greedy, either. It seems like they'd make a lot more working as a team long term rather than bickering about a few dollars now.” He shrugged and let his deep bafflement show to her.
“Zack... what are you?” The look she gave had a frank and open air to it. “You just handled a guy that's been a major pain in the rear of every high level guild member in the tri-state area since he was fourteen, and got a stone-cold killer to leave him alive. A man renowned for having killed men over much less than trying to steal from him. More than that, he goes out of his way to send in a smiley face about you to my boss's boss?”
Zack suddenly felt his stomach drop. Here it came. He'd explain what he was and he'd be out on the street before the door could hit him. Again. This job had seemed so promising too. Zack wished he could lie about it, but lying didn't set very well with him. He could see too clearly how lies robbed others of reality. Since he had a hard enough time understanding anyone, lying to them never felt like a good option. Not for him.
He took a deep breath, trying to steel himself and get ready for whatever came. Maybe she'd give him his pay for the time he worked at least? It wouldn't cover much, but he could at least give Troy a few dollars then.
“I guess you'll find out eventually, if you check... I... was taken. Kidnapped when I was little, about seven, by some... not very nice people. I don't remember all of it, but it was, really odd, to say the least, um, some really bad things happened to me, you know... The kind of stuff that happens to kidnapped kids. When I came back two and a half years later – I was about ten then – I... didn't readjust very well. I eventually ended up in an institution. It wasn't a nice place. Kind of a nightmare for me, really... I still see stuff and hear things, even now. I know it's crazy – I don't talk about it most of the time. Sometimes I do weird things. I don't hurt people or anything, nothing like that! I mostly try to ignore things, it's why I seem so odd to everyone. But... I really need this job, please don't fire me...” Tears started to well up in his eyes. They didn't overflow, but it took work to keep them in.
“Oh, honey... I'm so sorry that happened to you.” She moved to hug him, hesitated for a second, then pulled him in. “It's okay. You're doing great. Actually better than great, which is the only reason I asked. Don't worry about anything. And if you see something here, just assume it's real and act accordingly...” She patted him on the back in a motherly fashion. Like a real mother, the kind from television or some of the books he had read, not like his mother.
“Why don't you go splash some water on your face and get something from the food court?” She looked at him encouragingly. “Eating something might make you feel better.”
“I've been out of work for three months before I got this job, I can't really afford to eat out right now. Maybe I could pop home and get some ramen, that won't take me very long.” The thought of getting some food actually sounded pretty good to him, which probably meant low blood sugar had a part in his overly emotional reaction just now, he figured. It was a good excuse at least, for acting like a wimp.
“Oh, just take some money out of the till if you need it. After your work today you need to eat... Besides, I'm... going to have to run out again and kind of need you to stay until close... So you'll need lunch and dinner too. Here...” She opened the till and pulled a couple of hundred dollars off of the stack of bills he'd gotten earlier. “Take this as an advance on your pay then, and don't count lunch or dinner today out of that advance, those are a bonus for all your good work so far.”
“Um, thanks.” For some reason he felt very small just then. Like a child. “I guess I should go and eat, so you can get on to whatever you need to do. I'll hurry right back.”
“No. You'll sit down and take a real break, eat something nice and come back when you're good and ready. I can wait a few hours. Now go, take a walk around the mall. Say hi to people, if you feel like it. It's not healthy to be cooped up in one place for too long.” Her smile softened the words a bit. Her posture told him she both worried about him, given what he'd just told her, and needed the help so badly she could overlook most things, including craziness, as long as he showed up for work regularly and mostly on time.
That made him feel better somehow. Less like his new job hung in the balance of every word or motion. Nodding to her, he headed out the door.
He decided to make a circle of the mall, since it was only one level. He figured a walk might help him focus a little before he ate. He'd grown used to blocking out hunger anyway, so waiting a bit for his food didn't seem like too of a big deal. Besides he'd had that really awe inspiring treat from Claire earlier.
He passed a blade shop that had a wide array of swords, knives and other weapons hanging on the walls and in display cases. Next to that was a Chinese Apothecary. At least the man in the window looked Chinese to him and from what he could see the inside looked like it held herbs and such. The food court came next. Surprisingly that had four businesses making different kinds of food. It looked like they had Chinese, Italian, a place that fried things and a hamburger joint. Impressive considering he hadn't seen even one real shopper yet in his own neck of the mall.
All of the names seemed a little off. Well most of them. The Chinese food place just had a sign saying “Chinese Food” and the “Italian Place” had the next store front over. On the other side, the place that served fried foods, just had a sign saying “Fried Things” and stood next to “The Burger Joint.”
Walking past that he found a weight lifting Gym, the “Power Center”. A lot of grunting and clanking actually seemed to be coming from there, so they seemed to be doing all right business wise.
At the end a business proclaiming itself “Princess Pretty Nail” seemed to be doing well also. Several ladies sat having their nails done by Asian women. Most of them were pretty, a few stunningly so.
On the other side of the mall there was an import shop, called only “Imports” and one of those arcade places that has Skee-ball and video games with a wall of cheap looking prizes for the winners. That one had the name “Fun Zone” which was at least pretty normal for such places.
Further down he noticed a men's clothing store, almost hidden around the corner. Its sign simply said “Men's Wear”. It was ki
nd of like the stores here weren't even really trying. Almost like they didn't care if anyone came in or not.
In a mall with slots for twenty or thirty stores only a small handful had businesses going and frankly, some of those businesses were just plain weird. Who ever heard of a mall having a Power Lifting Gym or an Apothecary?
Heading back the way he came, he decided on Chinese food for lunch, since he liked it and hadn't had any for nearly a year. Even when he'd held jobs for a while, before they found out about him, or he did something so weird that he got fired for it, money had always been a little tight.
Troy had really been a good friend to him, he realized, helping out when he needed it and never asking for anything in return.
“Hi! I'm new here, down at Candles and More? I don't want to be a pain, but I need to stay away from eating meat... can you help point me in the right direction?” As he said this he realized that the tiny man he talked to actually had a raised walkway behind the counter he stood on to give him an extra eighteen inches of height. Even at that he looked small to Zack. Height though, isn't the measure of a man, he thought, letting that go as a concern.
The man looked oddly normal, as if simply standing a long way off, rather than looking different than anyone else. Perfectly proportioned, good looking even in a rugged sort of way, Zack realized. Better looking than he was at least.
“I certainly can, young man! First, since we should be friends, all working here, I'd be introducing myself. I'm Mac.” He didn't put out a hand, though his glowing Shadow pressed against the edge of Zack's a little, by way of greeting.
Zack hadn't even realized he was standing sideways. Something had triggered him into it? That was odd, but not impossible. A lot of stuff here was strange after all.
“I'm, Zack. Uh, Zack Hartley.” He tried to return the greeting on the Shadow level the same way, mimicking what had just happened, the small man's eyes bulged for a second, then he laughed for a bit and bowed slightly.
“A pleasure, honored one.” The man said, grinning hugely.
A small woman, with long red hair pulled back into something that held it up, sort of twisted and piled on the top, popped her head out of the back room and stared at him. Finally, after far too long for it to have been comfortable for most people, Zack smiled at her and waved, not knowing what else to do. She looked surprised, as if not realizing he could see her, or would bother to see her maybe, and ducked back into the kitchen quickly and silently.
Mac spoke then, noting this interplay without mentioning who the woman might be.
“Of what is here, most of it has pork or chicken, being the custom, but the fried rice has only egg and the spring rolls, steamed rice and sweet and sour sauce is free of meat all together. If you have the time, we can also make up anything here, without meat, for you.” Then he simply waited, as if he had all the time in the world. Of course it wasn't like Zack was holding up the line, so maybe the man did.
“I'd like one serving each of everything without meat then. I can eat eggs, so that's not a problem for me.” He smiled at the much smaller man, and started to say thank you, when the other man's inner self peeked out and said Do not thank me for doing my own work or aiding you in yours of my own will. It's rude for my people.
The force behind this made Zack pause for a second.
Instead he managed to turn it into a simple nod when he took his food, moved down to pay for it and contemplated ordering a drink. The whole meal came to less than four dollars, a good deal considering the amount of food on his plate. He found an empty table and sat down. An easy enough task as he seemed to be the only person in the eating area of the Mall. It was a decent sized place, with about twenty tables, each with four white metal chairs.
When he'd finished about half his food, which actually surprised him by being very good, and not just because he hadn't had it for a long time, he sat back and watched the space for a moment. The huge blonde woman from the day before came in, and got a plate of food from the area that served fried things. He smiled and waved her over when she turned around to find a place to sit.
No need to make someone wash two tables later after all.
Besides, he wanted friends, right?
“Hi! I'm Zack, would you like to join me? It would seem odd if we sat at different tables, I think, don't you?” Managing to half-stand without tipping his wooden tray off of the table he waved to the white metal frame chair across from him.
The woman sank into the chair with a lot more grace than would be expected from someone her size. At least a half head taller than Zack's own six foot, maybe more. With biceps clearly straining under her otherwise baggy sweat shirt. She looked all wrong to Zack of course, big and muscled, but with just enough fat that she still clearly looked like a girl. Her breasts were big, which you didn't see on women weight lifters at high levels, unless they had surgery to add them in again later. Hers looked real, if he could judge by the pictures Troy had showed him over the last year.
Her Shadow self emerged, huge and slightly distorted, much larger than her surface presentation. Hello. I would be friends, if you will have me as such. Her inner self spoke clearly, without accent, of course. All of them did to Zack.
He answered back on the same level. I'd like to be your friend...
“Thank you, Zack. I am Hildgeurde Meorgeansdotter. People here call me Hilda.” This came out with a thick accent. Not one easily placed, though it sounded a little Germanic to him. “Not everyone here is as friendly as you are... I normally sit alone to eat when I come here.” This last seemed very honest, yet odd to Zack. He couldn't understand why people wouldn't be friendly with her, she smiled a lot and seemed like a nice person so far. Being pretty didn't hurt either.
Since she moved from that directly to eating, it seemed like a good idea to do the same. The sweet and sour sauce mixed with the fried rice well, and the spring rolls were probably the best he'd ever had. Crispy, but not greasy at all.
Hilda kept looking up at him as she ate, her giant Shadow self regarding him steadily.
“So, Hilda, you work at the Gym here?” There, he thought, that should be a safe enough topic. Her shirt said Power Center on it, so it wasn't like he was making some giant leap in making that conclusion about her work place. “I work down at Candles and More.”
“Yes, I am at the Gym here. I work the front counter because I speak English good.” She thickened her accent on the last sentence and smiled hugely when she finished it. “Plus, you know, my good looks....” She smiled again, as if to deflect from her last statement.
Zack found it a little odd, as she seemed to be nice enough looking to him. Her face a little square maybe and the clothing gray and baggy, but cute enough. More than cute. Maybe she wanted him to compliment her looks? Her Shadow self just sat there looking out at him. He used his own to look at hers and ask, Don't you know you're lovely?
Nah, I'm ugly. All little and Human looking. Everyone knows this. The giant version of herself replied.
“To many people you are good looking, you know... I guess there are different standards and all, but with Human guys you'd get dates easily enough. Well, as long as they aren't insecure about being smaller and weaker than you, but you don't need that kind of person anyway. I mean, you don't need someone insecure.” As he finished saying this, Zack held his breath. Sometimes you should hold your tongue, he knew, just as he knew how odd that sentence would sound. He didn't want to alienate everyone on his second day. He had to work to not simply speak what he thought most of the time. A side effect of not saying things automatically on the deeper level. He just hoped this hadn't offended her too much. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, and also didn't want her to hit him. That would probably hurt, after all. A lot.
She was huge.
“Hah! You are very sweet, friend Zack! Now if only the ones back home could see that. Instead I get sent here like an outcast. At least the food is good.” Waving at the mostly empty plate of fried things in front of her she del
icately put what seemed to be a fried burrito to her mouth. For all that she made the food virtually disappear from her plate, she ate with very good manners. Not a crumb dropped, or sauce dare to splatter as she did it.
“If it's not rude, I mean... I've never met a person like you before,” He gestured at her Shadow self, doing so on both levels “Big, powerful, but I don't know...” Shrugging he just waited.
“Ah, ya, well you would not have. Most likely. My people are from very far away. We are Trolleinkein. Some legends here call us trolls in this land, but that is sort of a bad word amongst my people, like calling the dark-skinned Humans that n-word they dislike, a bit. What are you? If that is all right to ask, of course...” It seemed clear to Zack that she waited on his reaction.
Did people sometimes react badly to that question here, or did she fear he might not like Trolleinkein? It could be something else. He tried not to eaves drop on what Shadows said, unless it directed things to him on purpose. Things could get confusing if he did.
“Me? I'm just Human. Regular as far as I know. Not special particularly. A little strange possibly. I get in trouble because of that sometimes...” He tried to be honest with her, without driving her away. Even someone as different as she seemed to be probably wouldn't want to be friends with him if she knew how crazy he was.
Hilda laughed in a loud, roaring fashion.
“I think not, friend. That is a good joke! Regular Humans can't tell that I am not just Human too. I have met many to know this well. Still if you want to claim Human, I will go with that. Human you are.”
This outburst caused the rather short people working in the Italian and Chinese restaurants to glance at them, showing only curiosity, not anger at being disturbed. The tall, dark skinned man working at the “Fried Things” swept the floor with a broom on the surface, but his under-self stood watching and listening to them very obviously.
“No really, just a regular person. I guess I do notice things a little more than most people, sometimes, but...” He made a point to shrug on the Shadow level and say, Really. Just Human.