Kind of Like Life

by McMullen, Christina

  “Where are we now?” Blake asked. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise, given that Renee had already proved herself capable of manipulating her environment, but it was still startling. Maybe the doctors had larger plans for Renee, like they had for him. The thought was intriguing, but also worrisome.

  “Right now we’re in the midfield. Kind of a border between the human and fairy worlds. If we pass beneath that gate, we’ll be in the realm of the Fae,” she explained, pointing to a path between two large trees. Their trunks were carved with runic symbols and their upper branches intertwined to create something of an archway.

  “It’s a very pretty world,” Blake admitted with a dubious expression. “But you missed the point. We need to stay on our toes.”

  “Oh, I got that part,” Renee replied with a smug smile. “Clearly, you aren’t familiar with the Sidh.”

  “The what?”

  “Fairy folk, Fae,” she explained. “Specifically, the Unseelie Court. They aren’t exactly friendly. Especially to humans who happen to wander into their realm.”

  There was a sudden rustling and snapping of branches and Blake turned around to see what was making so much noise. Renee had certainly been correct; he didn’t know very much about fairies. He was expecting to see tiny people flitting about with wings, but the two men who approached them looked more like pro-wrestlers with their bulging muscles and war paint. The only thing that gave them away as nonhuman was the fact that they had pointed ears and weird facial features that were at once pretty and terrifying.

  “Um… what now?” he asked Renee, inching behind one of the trees as if it would somehow protect him from the musclebound men who had clearly spotted them and were clearly unhappy about their presence in the forest.

  “Run,” she said and took off in the direction he was least hoping she would take, through the gateway created by the trees.

  Chapter 9

  As Renee passed beneath the arch, her body shimmered briefly before she disappeared completely from view. Blake hesitated for a moment, unsure what would happen to him if he tried to follow. The arrow that whizzed dangerously close to his head made his decision for him. With a burst of speed brought on by adrenaline, he sprinted through the gate. For a moment, he felt like he was suspended in thick syrup, unable to move in any direction. But just as quickly, he was released and tumbled forward, landing face first on the mossy forest ground.

  “Here, put this on.”

  Renee dropped a sack in front of him that made a metallic, clanking noise when it hit the ground

  Blake pushed himself up onto his knees and opened the bag, pulling out an item that looked like a metal breastplate. “What is this?” he asked.

  “Iron armor,” Renee explained. “Fairies don’t like it. It weakens them. And it wouldn’t hurt to maybe make a few cosmetic changes.”

  “What do you mean, cosmetic…” Blake began to ask, but trailed off as he looked up at Renee. She had swapped out her thrift store chic ensemble for a light blue tunic, accessorized with armor that was similar to what she gave him, including a rather intimidating sword. Instead of hot pink, her hair was now streaked with various shades of green and was tucked behind her now pointy ears. “Ah. Gotcha. How do I look?” he asked, standing up.

  Like Renee, he had elongated his features, giving himself an appearance that looked more like a character in a fantasy video game. He chose loose fitting pants similar to those the guys who had been chasing them wore, but added a tunic top. Shirtless might have been okay for muscular fairies, but Blake was a skinny teenager and had other, more personal, reasons to remain covered.

  “Brilliant. Come on,” Renee said with an approving smile and began walking along the path.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To the village. I don’t know about you, but breakfast was a while ago and I’m hungry.”

  “Wait, wait, hold up!” Blake said, taking Renee’s hand to stop her from going any farther. “I thought you said these guys weren’t friendly to humans? I know I said we need to stay alert, but that doesn’t mean suicidal.”

  Renee rolled her eyes. “Will you just trust me? We’re disguised as fairies. While that isn’t exactly foolproof, it does help. Besides that, we’re going to the Seelie village. The Seelie Court is typically friendlier to humans, but that doesn’t mean we let our guard down. Some of the Seelie can be just as malicious as the Unseelie.”

  Blake had to admit, she certainly had grasped the concept for survival, which was a very welcome change from the last dozen or so that had been in her position before. What he didn’t like was that she chose a world he knew nothing about. If his suspicions turned out to be true, this would give her a huge advantage over him. He hoped he was wrong about that.

  Renee led them to a town that looked like a cross between a Renaissance faire and an Earth day celebration. The buildings were made from living trees instead of timber. Blake was happy, at least, to see that the fairies here looked more like them than the two who had chased them into the realm. When they reached the edge of the village, Renee stopped, closed her eyes, and concentrated. Her dull iron armor brightened to a mirror polish.

  “Change all of your armor to silver, but leave one small item iron,” she said, holding up her right arm, where one dull gray cuff looked completely out of place next to the rest of her now brilliant armor.

  Blake did as he was told, but gave her a questioning look.

  “We want to stay protected, but we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves,” Renee explained. “Walking in with that much iron would have been a declaration of war.”

  “Silver is a pretty weak metal for armor,” Blake noted.

  “It’s a precious metal, meaning it’ll withstand a magical attack,” she countered. “It’s not the strongest, but gold and platinum would have drawn just as much attention as iron. Only skilled warriors and royalty would wear them in public.”

  Renee led them into what Blake supposed was an inn. The room was large and filled with tables. Most were occupied by other folk who were eating. At one end was a bar, where an old fairy with a long gray beard greeted them.

  “Well met, young travelers. For what does the day find you?”

  “Well met, innkeeper,” Renee said with a polite bow and pulled a small cloth pouch from her belt. “A supper for my companion and myself, if you would be so kind. I have coin or barter.”

  “You’ll find no argument against coin, not in Bryrliegh, young miss. A table if you will,” the old man said, gesturing to an empty table in the corner of the room.

  Renee pulled two coins from her purse and set them on the counter. A third, she brought to her lips and kissed before setting it on top of the other two. “Good fortune to you, Bryrliegh, and all friends.”

  Blake kept silent during the exchange, mainly because he didn’t understand half of what was said. Whatever Renee was doing, she must have done the right thing because as soon as they were seated, a young boy carrying a large tray began placing pots of what looked like stew on their table. Renee gave the boy yet another coin after performing the same strange kissing ritual.

  “You spend a lot of time in the fairy realm?” Blake asked with some amusement.

  “Nearly all of my childhood,” Renee responded with a wistful sigh. “At least, in my head I did. I guess technically, that hasn’t changed.” She took a sip of her drink, a sweet and floral nectar that tasted better than the bland juice she drank at home. If she was going to be stuck inside her head, in constant danger of being killed by her own subconscious, the least she could do was enjoy the small things.

  “It may have to change,” Blake told her seriously. “This place is incredible, I have to admit, but if we’re going to survive, I think we need to find some common ground.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You have me at a disadvantage,” he explained. “I know nothing of this fairy realm. Heck, you might have been speaking English with the innkeeper, but I have no idea what you said. I
have to rely on you for the rules, which means I’m more likely to screw something up, which would put us both in danger.”

  Renee’s spoon hovered for a minute, halfway to her mouth, before she let it drop back into her bowl with a heavy sigh.

  Great, she thought. I’m still the weird kid, even in my own freaking head.

  What Blake said had made sense. If they were both on familiar ground, they would have a greater advantage. She knew it was dumb, but part of her had secretly wished that Blake was like her. Sure, it was selfish, but after all, he was the only other person in her world who was real and she already missed her imaginary friends.

  “I don’t get it,” she said. “How are you here anyway? Are we really in my head or were we like, uploaded into a computer or something?”

  “I think we’re really in your head, not a computer,” Blake replied. “But as to how I got here, I’m not exactly sure how it works. I suppose we’re hooked up to the same machines, which could be creating a link. The first time it happened was a few months after I figured out how to change my environment. I was being chased through the desert by a posse. I, uh, spend a lot of time in the wild west,” he added with a blush. “Anyway, I was being chased and all of the sudden, this door just appeared in the middle of the desert, like you’d see in the old cartoons. I had no idea what would happen if I went through it, but I knew that if I didn’t try, the posse was going to catch up to me, so I opened the door and ended up in this guy’s head.”

  “Who was he?” Renee asked.

  “His name was Gordon,” Blake replied, suddenly more somber than he had been. “He was a retired cop who worked as a mall security guard and had been shot by an armed robber. He didn’t know this, of course. In the world he created, he was the chief investigator with the police force, a position he never actually made it to in real life. I… I tried to tell him the truth, but he didn’t want to listen to me. He even tried to arrest me, but the door reappeared in my jail cell and I went back. He didn’t make it a week.”

  “You said there were others. What about them?” Renee asked. “Did they, that is, did any of them listen to you?”

  “A few,” Blake answered. “There was one guy, Steve. Actually, he was the only other one who had control over his environment.”

  “Wait, you mean the others didn’t?”

  “No,” he said and shook his head. “I tried to teach the few who would listen to me, but besides you, this guy was the only one who was able to pick up on it. Even still, it took him a while. We hung out together for about three months before he turned on me. After that, things got kind of weird. Well, weirder, that is.”

  “Wait, go back,” Renee said. “What do you mean, he turned on you?”

  “I think it was the next step in the experiment,” Blake said, suddenly very uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure how much he wanted to reveal to Renee, considering how similar their situation was to the one he had been in with Steve. But already, he had told her just as much as he had told Steve. Perhaps in this instance, the truth might save them both. It was worth a shot. After all, if he failed, he could always jump back into his own world. Granted, doing so would be signing Renee’s death warrant, which wasn’t something he wanted on his conscience for more reasons than one.

  “Very few people make it more than a week before they’re killed,” he said at last. “Like I said, before they put me completely under, I heard the doctors making bets about how long I would last. I don’t think they knew I had that advantage, but I think that the reason the portals started appearing was because I had survived a lot longer than they expected. I think they were hoping to turn me into a weapon. With Steve, I think they wanted to see which of us would kill the other off first. Steve decided he didn’t like me hanging around anymore and tried to kill me. I escaped, back through the door, but he followed.”

  “And you killed him?” Renee asked, looking rather ill.

  “No! Of course not,” Blake protested. “I mean, I can’t say that I wouldn’t have defended myself if he had attacked me, but he didn’t. He went back almost as soon as he came through. Granted, he didn’t live much longer after that. They brought someone else in a few weeks later.”

  “Why did he go back?”

  “He…” Blake paused, unsure how to answer the question without revealing certain things that he preferred to keep private. Honesty was the best policy, but he wasn’t sure how Renee was going to take the next bit of information he had to reveal to her. “Okay, there’s something you should know. Remember how I knew some things, like how you stayed with your aunt and uncle in Eureka?”

  “Yeah,” Renee said slowly, drawing back with a horrified expression. “Oh my god. You’re in my head. You can read my mind.”

  “Not exactly,” Blake explained in a rush. “I have no idea what you are thinking, I swear. But when I came through, I saw your memories.”

  “Which ones?” Renee asked, turning bright red in embarrassment.

  “All of them,” Blake answered with an apologetic smile.

  Renee looked like she was trying to melt into the floor. All of her awkward moments, all of the times she was picked on, all of the weird and embarrassing things she wished had never happened, Blake had seen them all. Renee didn’t think her day could have gotten any worse. Clearly, she was wrong.

  “I… I have to… I need some air,” she said, standing up so fast that she knocked over her chair.

  “Renee, wait,” Blake reached for her, but she was already out the door. “Dammit!” he swore, and ran after her.

  Chapter 10

  As soon as she left the inn, Renee knew she had made a mistake. The streets were swarming with Unseelie soldiers. She had two choices. She could try to make it past the soldiers or she could go back and face Blake. Her stomach twisted at the very idea. As screwed up as it seemed, avoiding the soldiers was the easier option. Sure, she knew it was stupid. The soldiers were certainly dangerous, but they weren’t real, living beings. Blake was real and he had just admitted to invading her privacy in the worst possible way. Renee didn’t know if she could ever even look him in the eye again.

  As casually as she could, Renee began walking back toward the forest, carefully keeping her eyes on her surroundings. Silently, she willed the sword at her side back into iron and rested her hand on the hilt, comforted by its presence. She considered changing all of her armor back. After all, it would make her impossible to catch. But doing so would also draw unwanted attention and so far, she hadn’t run into trouble.

  Blake followed several steps behind Renee, noting her movements and mimicking her casual attitude. He was about to call out for her to wait, but caught himself before making what could have been a fatal mistake. Though he knew very little about the fairy world, he was at least smart enough to realize that the hard looking men and women with gold armor and painted faces, who hadn’t been around when they entered the inn, were not the friendly fairies.

  He should have explained himself better. Better yet, he should have just taken her through the door and let her experience the overwhelming sensation of having a whole lifetime of someone else’s memories bombard her. But he knew he couldn’t do that. It was cowardly and he was the first to admit it, but at the same time, he felt as if he was sparing Renee from having to experience second hand the parts of his life that he’d like to forget forever. If only he could.

  Renee was nearly to the edge of town when she saw them. The same two Unseelie who chased them through the gateway were staring at her. Worse, they were blocking her only path to the forest. Perhaps they didn’t recognize her. After all, she was in disguise. No, she realized as they began running toward her, they definitely recognized her. She thought about shifting her environment. If the fairy forest disappeared, surely the fairies would as well. She searched desperately for a different world, but stopped, realizing that they were more likely to turn into a different enemy rather than simply disappear.

  Magic! She thought suddenly and reached into the utili
ty pouch on her belt, withdrawing a small vial of iridescent liquid that was labeled, ‘DRINK ME.’ She didn’t have time to waste wondering when her subconscious had developed a sense of humor as she uncorked the vial, downed the potion, and pressed herself flat against the wall as not to be trampled.

  The potion had worked. Renee was invisible. She expected to use the Unseelies’ momentary confusion as her chance to escape, but instead of baffling over where she went, they kept running right past her.

  “Stop him!” one of the men yelled as he ran past.

  Him? With a sense of dread, Renee looked back just in time to see Blake stumble as he was caught by one of the larger soldiers. She should have realized he would follow her. She might have been angry with him, but she didn’t mean to put him in danger.

  Still invisible, she ran after the men, drawing her iron sword as she did. With a fierce war cry, she reared back the sword and struck the nearest man with the broad side, knowing she didn’t need to shed blood to weaken him. Powerless, he flew several yards, landing in a crumpled heap on the other side of the road.

  “Blake, change your armor!” Renee yelled as she swatted, unseen, at the soldiers in her way. They fell easily as the iron touched their bare skin. It was almost like swatting away very large flies.

  “What? Oh!” Blake looked around in confusion for a moment before transforming his silver armor into iron. The fairy who held him suddenly backed away, as if he had touched molten metal.

  “Run!” Renee yelled as she grabbed Blake by the arm and pulled him back toward the forest.

  “This is really weird,” Blake muttered. He could feel Renee’s hand gripped firmly over his, but he couldn’t see her.

  “No time to explain,” she grunted, putting forth an extra burst of speed as the gateway to the midfield came into view. “Go,” she shouted, pushing Blake through the arch before diving through herself. As she tumbled through the barrier, the magic of the fairy realm faded and she was visible once again.