“That’s nice.” Terrance finished his jelly-filled doughnut, still feeling like he was in trouble. “Do you always abduct them with those dark, creepy things that watch everybody?”
“Those are merely my most direct way of keeping tabs on your world; don’t worry about them. Anyway, I’ve been watching you and I’ve become a little concerned. Keeping a universe in working order is no small task, but there are those who work against us, and their actions could lead to the destruction of your universe and perhaps others. I know you talked to a group that calls themselves the Infinite.”
Terrance was pretty certain now that he was in trouble. “Yeah…I just talked to them to see if they could help me figure out all this weird stuff I started noticing.”
“Understandable. As the realms become unstable, more ‘weird stuff’ occurs. Much of that can be scary to those who don’t understand it, and I can understand why some may feel the need to lash out. But those people are pushing this world to destruction.”
Terrance sipped his coffee, which was still very hot. “They say we’re infinite beings and that something has trapped us in this world and is feeding off of us. They call that something the Adversary.”
“And I think you’re aware that that is nonsense. Do you feel like an infinite being? Do you feel like you’re being sucked dry?”
“I just feel confused lately.”
“And I can tell you which path will lead to further confusion. You can join with the Infinite and play around with faeries and other creatures trying to undermine your world, making things ever more strange as reality is chipped away because of your interference. Or you can give up that foolishness and focus on the real world. You have quite a nice girlfriend; why would you threaten that?”
Dread crept into Terrance. “You’re not going to tell her about this, are you?”
“I operate at a very high level; I don’t normally chitchat with the foot soldiers trying to protect your world. But do you think you can flirt with those trying to destroy her and she won’t eventually find out? At some point, you have to choose: do you like your life and job and romance, or do you want the pointless conflict and destruction of the Infinite?”
Terrance looked again around the giant room and at the strange masked figure, trying to wrap his brain around what was happening, but it was too far out of his norm to classify. “So this is all because you saw me going down a bad path and you wanted to help?”
“I am the caretaker of your world.” The Caretaker floated over to Terrance and patted him on the shoulder with a gloved hand; Terrance could barely feel it. “I am concerned with all of the beings under my benevolence. I don’t want my worlds torn apart. I am trying to explain things to you so that you can make the right choice and we can all be happy.”
“And if someone doesn’t choose the right path?”
The Caretaker was silent for a few moments, then finally said, “I am a being that exists out of your space and time, and yet, as you saw, I control things that watch you at all times and I have armies and soldiers and other things that serve me—I think you’ve seen Malcus. Is there any point to my making an outright threat?”
Terrance tilted his head back to try once again to see the ceiling of the room. It seemed to go on forever until the walls converged at a single point. “I see what you mean. So there’s not much of a choice, then. You’re saying if I join with the Infinite, one way or another it’s destruction?”
“Yes. Of you…or perhaps the whole world. Reality is a much more precarious thing than many realize. I assume you’ve taken a physics class; thus, you must understand how complex the universe is. That’s why it requires those like me to keep order.”
“And what of the evil things I see?”
“What makes you call things evil?”
“Well…they’re just obviously wrong. Like a screaming woman being fed to a horrific monster.”
“Then tell me, if it’s so obviously wrong, why were you the only one reacting?”
He had a point. But it was a point that disturbed Terrance rather than reassured him. “So I should just ignore those things?”
“Yes. And I assure you, after you do it enough times, you’ll stop seeing them completely, and all this craziness will go away.”
It was a lovely thought—things back to normal. He could hardly remember normal. “You know, I didn’t ask for any of this. The faeries gave me that sword and…I don’t know what happened.”
“Yes, you just stumbled into this. And I’m telling you how to stumble out. You could have a good life—a great life—but you need to make better choices. Are we clear?”
He was clear, but Terrance simply didn’t trust the noncorporeal being with the frozen smile. “So you’re telling me this for my benefit?”
“There is no need for conflict here. We have a nice universe, and we all need to work together to preserve it. If some try to fracture things or give aid to the creatures trying to chip away at the edges of your reality, it will be quite agonizing for all involved.”
The Caretaker spoke in a very plain manner, and Terrance couldn’t quite figure whether he meant what he said as a threat. “This troubles you?”
“Well, no harm would ever come to me whether your universe collapses or not, but I’d be heartbroken to see its destruction.”
“You give this talk to lots of people?”
“Only when I see it’s needed, and when I think it may help. Any other questions, Terrance Denby?”
Terrance took a few bites of the cream doughnut while he thought about it. “How’d you get this position as caretaker?”
“It’s difficult to explain. Suffice it to say, it is my job to ensure the safety of your universe along with numerous others. Anything else?”
“You seem pretty powerful. Why not just take out all the people causing trouble?”
“It’s more complicated than that. Plus, violence never solves anything.”
“You have armored knights and a demon dragon serving you; you seem quite prepared for violence.” He tried to phrase it nicely to avoid being too accusatory; he was somewhat afraid of this being.
The Caretaker was silent at first, then said, “Violence by itself never solves anything. Any more questions?”
Terrance thought for a bit. “Do you have an email address if I think of questions later?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Really? How can you not have email in this day and age?”
“I exist outside of time and space. This makes internet connections…complicated.”
Terrance nodded. That did make sense.
“Well, it seems we’re done. I hope this has been informative, and I hope you choose a path that allows you to lead a long and happy life. I will now return you to your girlfriend.”
Suddenly, the room began to dim until Terrance was in darkness. Around him, he began to see the shining eyes of the dark watchers. “Oh, come on!”
When Terrance woke up, he panicked at first but quickly realized everything was back to normal: he was lying in a bed with a sleeping Shannon, inside her apartment in an evil fortress next to a volcano.
Terrance rolled over and put his arm around Shannon, reflecting on how “normal” seemed to have left him permanently.
Chapter 18
Terrance stared at the sword inside his coat closet. He had a choice to make.
After the evening when Terrance had told Shannon that he loved her and was later abducted by an entity from beyond space and time, he had spent the day hanging out with Shannon and forgetting everything. They went to the park, and when that got boring, they went to a movie. Then they went back to his place and made out, and then they played video games. She was the perfect woman, and Terrance was done with the sword of Damocles figuratively hanging over his head and literally sitting in his coat closet.
So he had a choice to make, but it was actually quite simple. He loved Shannon. Those people calling themselves the Infinite seemed a bit crazy, and a powerfu
l being had basically threatened him. He was just a programmer of web applications, not someone waiting to take on the universe and all the terrors within it.
So he was chucking the sword.
Shannon’s work schedule had once again left him alone on a Sunday evening, so he determined it was time to finally follow through with his decision and be done with the nonsense once and for all. The only question was how to get rid of the sword. He remembered that there was a giant canyon behind his apartment complex, which seemed like a good place to dump it. At first he thought it was weird that he knew there was a giant canyon behind his apartment complex that he never paid much attention to, but then he told himself that it was this kind of weirdness that he was trying to move past, so he just needed to chuck the sword and stop overthinking things.
Terrance grabbed the sword and headed outside. It was dusk, and the streetlights had turned on. He liked that it was dark, because this didn’t seem like something to do in the full light of the sun. He could see a few people out, but no one paid him attention; he didn’t really know anyone in the apartment complex other than Lance. The complex was made up of a large number of quadruplexes, and most of the residents seemed to keep to themselves. He walked past the clubhouse, which he never used, and the pool, which he also never used, as he headed to the rear of the complex, where there was a hole in the fence he had used numerous times as a shortcut to pick up dinner from a nearby Pizza Hut.
“Stop!”
It was a small voice that had cried out, the voice of a child. Terrance headed toward the source. In an alleyway between two buildings were a pair of children, a boy and a girl who both looked about ten years old and who were backing away from a figure, perhaps eight feet tall, that was slowly approaching with a large, claw-like hand outstretched toward them.
“Go away!” the girl cried.
Terrance looked around. He could see other people milling about, but no one seemed to hear the crying children. A car drove between Terrance and the tall creature, the driver paying no attention to it. This was what the Caretaker had told him about: he just had to ignore things like this and soon he’d be like everyone else again and not even notice them anymore.
Terrance watched as the dark creature crept toward the children, its claw-hand extended toward them. He saw the fear in their eyes. He noticed his hand had wrapped around the grip of his sword. What are you about to do? he asked himself. The thing looked terrifying to Terrance and would probably rip him apart if challenged. If he did fight it, he would apparently be angering forces larger than he could comprehend, forces that could crush him and destroy everything he loved. To do anything other than turn and walk away was to throw away his own life. As he looked at the evil thing and the frightened faces of the helpless children, he realized with sadness that he had no choice.
He drew the sword. Its silver blade sparkled in the dim rays of the streetlights. It was well-balanced and felt right in his hand. And beyond that, it felt…familiar.
It wasn’t like the movies, as drawing the sword made very little sound. The creature still hadn’t noticed him and was hovering over the terrified children. “Hey!” Terrance called out, his voice small. The children cried out in fear once more, and soon Terrance’s anger began replacing his fear. “HEY!” he shouted as he crossed the street toward the monster.
It stopped and slowly turned its head to look at him. He couldn’t see the face under the hood, but he could see the faint glint of two eyes. “Who are you?” it hissed.
“I’m a software engineer.” Terrance kept the tip of his sword pointed at the eyes, which hovered further above him the closer he got. “And you’re going to leave those kids alone or there will be trouble.”
It backed away from the kids. Its gait was inhuman; Terrance thought he could see the movement of multiple legs under its cloak. “I wasn’t going to hurt them.”
“Damn straight you’re not!” Terrance circled around the creature, putting himself between it and the children. “Get out of here!” he yelled over his shoulder at the children.
They scrambled to their feet and ran. The creature growled. “You are interfering in things you don’t understand.” As it talked, Terrance could see light reflecting off needle-like teeth.
Terrance took a couple of steps back, his sword still pointed up at the creature’s eyes. “I understand enough to know I need to interfere.”
The creature made a strange clicking sound. Laughter, perhaps. “I will teach you otherwise.”
Terrance reassessed the situation. He was standing alone against a monster that was a couple of heads taller than him and had giant claws. He felt the weight of the sword in his hand, which gave him some reassurance, and he remembered what the Infinite had said about how he was far more powerful than anything he saw in this world. He stood up straight and relaxed his grip on the sword a bit. “If you want a fight—”
A claw shot out at Terrance, knocking him to the ground and sending the sword flying out of his hand. He rolled over on the grass, trying to see where it had gone, but as soon as he spotted it, the monster scuttled between him and the sword on its tarantula-like legs. “How much have you bled before?” the thing asked. “I’m hoping this will be a new experience for you.”
Terrance realized that, all in all, things were going about as well as would be expected for someone who had never wielded an actual sword before. He scampered to his feet, but the thing pounced on him, pinning him to the ground on his back. One cold claw held down Terrance’s head as the monster leaned in, putting its face near his. All Terrance could see were empty, black eyes and teeth like tiny, thin blades. “I’m glad you intervened,” it said, a tongue whipping around behind its teeth. “This is going to be fun.”
The creature stood up and backed away from Terrance. “I’ll give you a choice.” It pointed to Terrance’s sword, which lay in the grass. They were now a perfect triangle, the points being Terrance, the creature, and the sword. Terrance slowly got to his feet, and the monster said, “You can choose to continue trying to fight me or to run away.”
“I’m not giving you the same choice,” called another voice. Talia, in her white cloak, stepped forward out of the growing darkness, toward the creature.
It did its clicking laugh again. “Fine, I shall—”
There was a quick flash of steel as Talia sliced off one of its claws. Her second blade stabbed straight through the thing’s head. With a yank, the blade came up and outward, and the giant body of the beast collapsed in a heap. Blue flames started emanating from the body, consuming it.
Terrance walked over and picked up his sword as he watched the body of the creature disintegrate in flame and ash. “What was that?”
The flames died down, and now where the creature had lain, all that was visible was grass. “Nothing,” Talia answered.
“Were you spying on me again?”
She returned her blades to the sheaths under her cloak. “I happened to be in the area and thought I’d take a look to see if you’ve decided to stop being useless.”
Terrance wiped his brow and tried to catch his breath. “Well…thanks.”
“Just doing my duty. Have you decided to do yours?”
“I don’t think I’m very good at it.” He headed back across the street and picked up the scabbard he’d left there, returning his sword into it.
Talia followed him, hovering nearby. “You learn by doing.”
“Seems more like I’ll get my head ripped off by doing.”
“So what? We’re so much more than our forms here. To have our bodies ripped apart is less than a pinprick to our whole.”
Terrance rubbed his neck. “It seems like a big deal.”
Talia stood in front of him and stared at him intensely. “So, what, then? Next time you’re just going to stand by while children scream for help because you’re too scared?”
Terrance looked around. He didn’t see the children; they must have fled as instructed. “Speaking of, do you think those kid
s will be fine?”
“For now,” Talia answered. “Hopefully there will continue to be people like us in the future; there are many threats in this world.”
Terrance stared at his sword. At times, it was a reassuring weight in his hand. But mostly it felt like a burden. “Let’s go to my apartment; we can talk there.”
Terrance walked back to his apartment, Talia following but never coming too close to him. When he got inside, Terrance dropped his sword to the floor, which earned some thumps from the thing below. He ignored it and plopped down onto the couch, then noticed that Talia was still standing outside the doorway. “What are you? A vampire?”
Talia looked around Terrance’s apartment carefully. “Excuse me?”
“You can’t go into a place unless invited?”
“I didn’t know that rule applied to vampires.”
“It does; just not to the sparkly ones. You want to come in and close the door?”
Talia still hesitated. “I don’t know about going into a strange man’s apartment.”
“You’re the strange one; I assure you, I’m much more scared of you.”
Talia stepped inside and closed the door, but she didn’t move any further. “Was there something you wanted to ask me about?”
“I’m pretty sure I do; we just fought some big monster thing…” Terrance shook his head. “I’m just trying to get my thoughts together. So, other people don’t notice that? They don’t notice kids screaming for help?”
“Is it that unusual?”
He thought of the kids crying for help, and there was something vaguely familiar about it. It made him shudder. “So we live in a completely messed-up world, huh?”
“There are awful things out there, and great things. We destroy the evil for the sake of the good. Simple enough. Are you finally ready to do what must be done and shed your pathetic self so you may take part in the fight?”
Terrance thought of the thing on top of him, holding him down with its claws. It could have easily killed him if it hadn’t decided to play with him first. “I don’t feel like an infinite being. I feel like a small thing being crushed by larger forces.”
Sidequest: In Realms Ungoogled Page 14