by Eddie Patin
"So," Jason said suddenly and uncertainly, "I guess all we can do is this ... minotaur job?"
"Looks that way," Riley replied, clapping Jason on one shoulder. "But this is a good first job for you. Minotaurs are tough frukers, but they’re not weird or mind-bending like some of the shet we’ve seen. And this world—" Riley pointed at one of the universes listed and its coordinates. "—is somewhere I’ve been before. We should go there. I bet there’s still a marker in the OCS from when Jason 113 took us there last time. Search for Maze World. That’s what we called it. "
Jason pulled up the OCS from his side and turned the screen on. Its white light reintroduced the colors of their clothes and faces as the two of them peered at the display.
As Jason scrolled around and clumsily made his way to the search feature, Riley looked back over to Skinner and saw the big man talking with two more planeswalkers who’d climbed the steps.
Shet. There weren't many jobs right now. They'd run into other teams for sure...
"Maze ... world..." Jason muttered, finally making his way through the interface.
Riley sighed. Jason 934 still had a long way to go with the OCS and rifting. If the guy couldn’t get a handle on rifting using focus keys soon, they’d be in trouble—especially with that block on the OCS. He had to figure out how to rift through third-dimensional space. How else were they going to move the bodies?
"Wanna kill some minotaurs, Gliath?" Riley asked as Jason narrowed down the data.
Gliath nodded stoically, his feline eyes connecting with Riley’s for a moment. "I am with you, Ranaja."
"Okay," Jason said, holding up the OCS and showing Riley the screen. "I’ve got a bookmark for this universe ... um ... 408 ... that has a note that says Maze World. Is this the place?"
The number clicked in Riley’s enhanced memory. "Yeah—universe 408. That’s the place. Can you open a rift to it? That planet had some weird stuff—it might be outside tolerance of the 113's block."
Jason looked around them nervously.
"Uh ... here?!"
"Sure. Try to open a portal over there," Riley said, pointing to an open area of building away from the bounty wall. "We’ve gotta figure out if you can get there with the OCS or not. Otherwise, we'll need a focus key. "
Jason swallowed. With his enhanced vision, Riley could see the whites of the man's eyes flash as he anxiously glanced around.
"I thought you wanted to be subtle," Jason said.
"Skinner knows that Jason Leapers can rift," Riley replied with a smirk. "Just open it real quick and close it again. It’s easy with the OCS, right?"
"Yeah ... okay."
Riley half-followed Jason to the area he’d pointed out, then he and Gliath stayed back while Jason stared at the OCS for a while. Riley watched the man close his eyes and reach inside of himself. When Jason opened his eyes again, he was staring hard at the space on the ancient stone floor in front of him...
Eventually, Jason took a deep breath, sighed, then shook his head.
"Nothing?" Riley asked, wanting to believe that Jason 113’s block was in the way but fearing that Jason 934 just couldn’t hack it...
"It’s not me," Jason said. "I can feel that it’s just ... not working—like it’s just off—just like when I tried to open the portal to the Wilderlands from the garage. It’s definitely the block."
"Okay," Riley said, waving his hand. "Come on."
The soldier led the trio back to Skinner. The huge, ebony man turned to watch them approach, arms crossed over his armored chest.
"A focus key..." Skinner said slowly with his dark, grinding voice, "will cost you ten of the infinity crystals you have with you."
"Ten?!" Riley said with a scoff. "Hey, man. I’m sorry Jason 113 made the wrong choice and all, but Gliath and I? It’s us, Skinner! We won’t let you down. Hell—we can even give it back to you after we get there; we have blanks."
Zayden Skinner glowered. "Ten infinity crystals, Riley Wyatt."
"No good faith anymore I guess...?" Riley asked with a smirk.
The ebony man stood like stone, staring down at the three of them without expression.
Riley groaned and sighed then pulled out ten infinity crystals from his supply, handing them over. As they sparked with their inner light, they appeared purple then blue in the pink air of Churn.
Skinner produced a small and pitted shard of metal from thin air. It looked like a tiny chunk of some old civilization’s artwork—or a piece of space-junk scrap. Tiny, intricate lines of erosion ran along its blemished surface; a network that tattooed the shard with thin lines like the lines of a maze. Skinner’s huge, ebony hand deftly placed the focus key into Riley’s gloved palm.
"This will take you to where you want to go," Skinner said. "The place you call Maze World."
"Who else is down there already?" Riley asked. "Who are we up against?"
The huge man’s eyes glowed and his face melted away all expression. Skinner didn’t reply.
Okay, Riley thought. Fine.
"Be careful with your new Jason," Skinner said finally. "The beasts of that world are quite savage. I will tell you that several other groups are already hunting among the three worlds."
"All for the same twenty-two hides?" Jason asked suddenly.
Skinner looked down at the new guy with the slightest smile. "Yes. You'd better waste no time."
Riley suddenly felt hot and anxious; full of energy. He knew that he could impress Skinner again—they just needed to perform. They needed to dominate the competition. Zayden Skinner appreciated and respected results. He liked boldness and grit. The Reality Rifters under Jason 113 were awesome with results ... up until Jason 113 got himself killed. As the soldier’s mind raced, he looked up and saw Skinner’s face. The statuesque visage was deadpan once again and staring intensely into Riley...
"Jason," the soldier said. "Make yourself a marker of inside the Bounty Boards here so that we can bring the hides directly here. We’re gonna get more hides than we did last time." Riley remembered Jason 113 rifting directly into here a few times before. He didn’t recall Skinner ever having a problem with it.
"Uh ... here?" Jason asked. "Right here?"
"No," the soldier replied, pointing to where Jason had tried and failed to open the rift before. "Over there."
Jason complied, walking over to that spot and playing with his OCS for a moment.
"Got it," he said.
After that, Riley led them back down and through the streets to Dave’s shop.
"Keep up, Jason!" he called as the Earth man started lagging, staring around at the various interdimensional creatures in wonder. "Just don’t look around, man. Stay focused. We need to get a power scalpel and some fuel packs for processing the dead minotaurs. We still need to pick up your armor, too!"
Near Dave’s, the three of them ran into the group of Nothrix that they’d passed by before on the steps of the Bounty Boards. Riley immediately felt his awareness and danger sense perk up when two of them moved to step into his path, deviating from the wandering masses in the streets. The bug-men scowled at Riley with flabby, grey faces as the Reality Rifters stopped, partially surrounded.
One Nothrix stepped forward that Riley actually recognized...
"Riley Wyatt ack ack ack..." the creature spat, his vocal chords barely able to form human words. As the furious bug-man spoke, his slithery throat clicked and belched. "It has been ... long time ack ack ack since I see your ugly face, merce-nary..."
Riley remembered the bastard. He accessed the memory where the noxious creature’s name was stored.
"Ghrag," Riley replied, feeling Gliath’s hulking form moving up behind him. "Ghrag Chaukchew. Still trying to make a name for yourself? What the fruk do you want?"
The armored Nothrix made a shuddering, clicking sound that Riley assumed was some sort of laugh, then cocked his potato-shaped head from side to side, his antennae and feelers waving strangely. Ghrag wrung his hands forcefully, running his blade-shaped fin
gers over each other in a weird gesture that Riley didn’t understand.
"Stupid human!" Ghrag replied. "I no longer make name. I am ack ack ack leader of the Nothrix Reapers. What are you? Human shit-scum..." Riley saw Ghrag’s insectoid eyes dart from him up to Gliath, then over to Jason, who stood nervously at Riley’s side. The creature clicked and blatted at his buddies.
"You know, Ghrag, as nice as it is to see you," Riley replied with a smirk, "we’re a little busy, so if you don't mind...?"
As Riley took a step forward, Ghrag moved with a sudden jerky quickness, lurching at them on thin, spindly legs toward Riley and Jason. It took all of Riley’s willpower to avoid reflexively drawing his blaster and gunning the damned bug down. But he knew better than to get into a fight in the Market...
"Nasty humans!" Ghrag spat, drawing in close to Jason 934, his feelers and strange pedipalps trembling. "This one different than ack ack ack before. Soft. Ugly. Maybe we kill you today, stupid human, yes...?!"
Riley saw Jason falter in the face of the flabby bug creature, his fearful eyes flashing over to him full of uncertainty. The new guy gasped as Ghrag stood straighter and pulled his gross face in close to hiss...
"Uh ... what?!" Jason stammered, but the man was rooted to the street in fear. He put his left hand up near his chest as if preparing to push the bug backwards. His other hand was reaching under his shirt on his right hip...
Riley saw a glimmer of pink light in the street near them. He heard the low sound of Gliath’s growl boiling up behind him...
"Don’t!" Riley shouted, putting one hand up to stay the leopardwere. Then, he put a hand on Jason’s shoulder. "It’s okay!" Riley said with a smirk. "Forget it. Let’s go..."
Ghrag clicked and flapped his throat. "What, shit-humans? Do you like me in your disgusting ack ack ack face?! You other human," he spat, drawing himself up in front of Jason, extending his fleshy wings. "Want me out of your way? Want to ack ack ack kill me?!"
"Come on," Riley said, accidentally putting more urgency than he meant to in his voice. He eyed the spot where he’d seen the phase wraith lingering, but he didn’t detect it anymore. "He doesn’t mean it, did ya, Ghrag?" Grasping Jason’s shoulder, Riley smirked and led the man around the chittering Nothrix, and the three Reality Rifters continued on their way.
The bunch of Nothrix they left behind cackled with clicks and rapid belching sounds.
"Puny, nasty humans!" Ghrag called after them.
Riley saw Jason watching the bugs behind them for a while with wide eyes. They continued toward Dave’s tent. It was a while before Jason finally eased up on the grip of the Earth pistol he had in his belt.
"What the hell was that thing?!" Jason asked as Baylor General Provisions came into view.
"A Nothrix named Ghrag," Riley replied, clapping Jason on the back. "A rude, stupid fruker. He was just trying to start a fight."
"He threatened to kill me!"
"Nah," Riley responded, scratching his beard. "He just doesn’t understand Concordian very well."
"You mean English?"
"Whatever."
Chapter 10
Jason sat on the steps in his garage staring at the blue metallic coin from the Market in his fingers. It felt like coated aluminum. A barely-visible golden sheen gleamed from beneath its deep-blue surface in the fluorescent lights hanging from the rafters.
"Weird..." Jason said to himself, turning the coin over and over.
He gripped the focus key tightly, closing his eyes, visualizing the Market in his mind. Jason thought back to the strange and frightening pink world. He imagined the streaks of yellow in the overcast sky and the pitch-black reflective surface of the monstrous pyramid that housed the Market. Jason imagined the cold air and the wind pulling sand and gravel across the desolate, alien landscape...
Through the ninth, he thought, clenching his eyes, trying to imagine what Riley had described; his universe 934 as one of an infinite amount of universes in a single multiverse. Then, Jason visualized an undulating sea of different multiverses—all wildly varied and unique—and felt like he could see Churn's universe inside the colorful madness; a tiny, pink star gleaming at him, floating through the vast omniverse...
Jason visualized a rift opening within the shining metal ring of Riley's portable gate. He imagined the fluttering and the snap. In his mind, he saw a bright and blazing yellow line streaking across space-time to connect the two points...
A real actual flutter sounded in the air and Jason’s eyes popped open! He grinned and focused, realizing that the particular rifting part inside his mind was already flexing...
A rift suddenly opened with a snap, filling the garage with intense orange light as a fireball the size of a cantaloupe materialized in the center of Riley’s portable gate, spinning and throwing off heatless flames all around it. In the next instant, the portal unfurled, spinning and expanding with a roar that sounded like lightning tearing the air around a Tesla Coil. The fireball flattened vertically into a fiery, swirling disc the size of a hula hoop, which suddenly began throwing off sparks as it stretched wider and wider...
"Yes!" Jason shouted, feeling his eyes widen and his face stretch with a huge grin. "Riley! Gliath! I got it!"
The rift began flattening into a larger vertical disc, spinning and swirling madly, throwing orange sparks all over the garage. Then, a surface like liquid mercury started forming in the center of the rift, spreading until it was a shimmering and rippling viewport like a window...
As the rift cleared and smoothed out—its whirlwind edges casting sparks violently around as it spun and roared in the enclosed space—Jason could see the deep pink sky and desolate landscape beneath it.
Then the huge black pyramid came into view.
The inner door between the garage and the living room burst open and Riley was there—Gliath behind him—his face and armor lit up by the swirling, orange light. The soldier smiled broadly and relaxed in the doorway.
"Good job, Jason!" he shouted above the roar of the spinning rift, taking a sip of beer from a bottle in one hand.
"It’s the Market!" Jason exclaimed. "I finally opened a portal of my own—without the OCS or the rift in my backyard!"
"That’s good," Riley responded over the noise. "Now we know you can use the focus key to Maze World."
The idea made Jason pause and he felt an odd, icy fear grow in his guts.
He relaxed his hold on the loud and sputtering rift. The interdimensional gateway eventually shuddered and shook then collapsed into nothingness with a pop.
"Good," Jason replied, making himself smile back at the soldier. "That’s good. Let’s ... um ... kill some minotaurs." He stood.
Riley cocked his head and gave Jason a look. "You okay, new guy? Aren’t you excited?"
"Yeah," Jason said, laughing and shaking his head. "I’m just a little nervous I guess..."
Riley processed his words for a moment then smirked. "I can sense that you’re stressed about the idea of it all. You were really starting to freak out back in the Market. Believe me—it’s natural to be scared of these crazy fruking places."
"How do you deal with it?" Jason asked, running his fingers through his short hair. "It’s like—I don’t even know how to describe some of those things I saw. My ... senses were all weird. Sometimes it was like I couldn’t see straight. There was a while where I thought I was gonna pass out! I’m kind of ... not sure whether or not I can ... eh ... maybe I’m not the Jason you’re looking for, Riley..."
Riley took a swig of beer then casually walked back inside, motioning for Jason to follow.
He did.
Gliath wandered away into the living room, tail swishing back and forth behind him. Riley led Jason to the kitchen and popped open a new beer, giving Jason the cold bottle.
The soldier lifted his own bottle, gesturing for them to clink them together. "To the beginning of a new planeswalking adventure, Jason 934. You just rifted like a real Jason Leaper..."
They tapped the
ir bottles together and each took a swig of beer. Jason lost himself for a moment in the cold, malty taste of it, then sighed.
"How do you deal with the weird stuff, Riley?" he repeated.
"There’s shet out there that your mind can’t even handle," Riley said. "For all you know, man, that time you were about to pass out might have been some unknown, unseen creature passing through you. Either that or you were just having a bit of sensory overload. You'll get used to it."
"There were some things I couldn’t even see right," Jason said. "Some things just like ... made me so full of terror—it was so weird and alien—that I couldn’t ... uh ... I dunno what was going on sometimes."
"You’ll encounter stuff out there that doesn’t make sense—especially in the Market where things from all sorts of universes get together. We won’t see as much of the mind-bending stuff when we go out on jobs. We choose the jobs we do, and stick to the shet that won’t cook our eggs, you know? But in the Market, when you see really bizarre stuff ... you know ... just don’t think about it."
Jason laughed, scoffed, then he took another drink of his beer. "Just don’t think about it?"
"Works for me," Riley said with a smirk.
The two men stood in the kitchen for a few moments and Jason stewed in his own thoughts. He couldn’t deny an attraction to the adventure, but he was also afraid. Very afraid. He realized that his heart was on the fence of jumping into this with Riley and Gliath to get rich and see all of the awesome stuff. But he was also considering making a perfectly comfortable life staying home and making money from his findings in the Wilderlands. He realized that Riley was happy with him now—in this moment—but the soldier had been getting very annoyed with Jason not too long ago. What would happen if Jason couldn’t open a portal they needed when they were out there on a job?
"Tell me about the minotaurs," he said.
"Do you know what minotaurs are?" Riley asked.
"If they’re big, strong bull-men that charge and gore you with their horns, then yeah—I do."
Riley smirked and took a drink. "Yeah, that’s right for the most part. They’re a little different from world to world—so I’m told—but the ones on Maze World are fruking brutes; real savages. They’re basically feral, and they hunt around in that world preying on each other to survive."