Lister Crowe

by Matthew Kenny

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Vita asked. Lister could not see her face but could hear the smile she wore. If places had been switched and Lister was the large brute he would be having second thoughts but Lister was not the brute so a short burst of laughter popped from him instead.

  “Ha!”

  Vita did not turn but kept her vision fixed on the interlopers.

  “Hold on lady, we were just trying to help.” the smaller one replied as a thick stream of crimson poured from beneath his hand which covered his nose. He sounded like he was the one who had been wronged but Vita was having none of it.

  “You have two options. You can walk away or remain right here… forever.”

  The two of them exchanged quick glances, the fear evident in their eyes. It seemed like they were communicating without saying a word but it did not take long before their decision was made. They turned and fled down the path for a bit then ducked into the trees from whence they came. Vita listened until the rustling had faded.

  Vita leaned down and picked something up off of the path, she held it up in front of her face. It was a necklace with a large medallion dangling from the end. She looked it over for a moment then put it into the pouch at her belt. Lister did not move or speak until she turned.

  “That was awesome!” Lister was brimming with excitement. The whole thing had been like something from a kung-fu movie he had watched as a child only Vita was far more bad ass. As she approached the cart Lister saw the irises of her eyes were literally boiling. The dull orange flame had become a blazing inferno threatening to swallow the entirety of the eye, pupil and all. Lister stepped back for a moment and Vita caught the fear which crossed his features.

  “It’s alright, it happens when I get excited. They will go back to normal soon.” Lister was still staring even though she had allayed his fear. Now it was curiosity which held his gaze. He had never seen anything of their like and he was so fascinated by them he could not pull himself away. What kind of creature could do such a thing? He stretched his neck down toward her to get a closer look.

  “Please, stop staring.” Vita pleaded.

  “Yes… Sorry.” Lister said embarrassed and looked away.

  “It’s alright. Everyone does it when they see them for the first time.” she took the drivers seat and though Lister knew he could operate the vehicle he was not one to drive, not even on his world. He had always preferred public transportation to a car of his own. The seats were not meant for a being of his height so it was a bit of a trick to pack himself into the passengers seat.

  “I have to get back to the portal. It is going to open soon.” Lister sounded calm enough but inside he knew they were soon approaching the moment of truth.

  They were waiting in the clearing near the spot they had come through. The cart was actually quite speedy which was contrary to its size and the object which powered it. Lister was still befuddled by the crystal he had found at the heart of the engine.

  “What was the crystal powering the cart?” he asked as they sat waiting in the forest for the portal to open.

  “It is a Singing Stone. They power everything here.”

  “Really?” Lister was taken aback by the idea of crystals being a power source for they were not science but occultism. “How do they work?”

  “Let me guess, you don’t have them on your world.” the differences between worlds had become their inside joke. Vita looked at him smiling and Lister saw something in it but he could not put his finger on it. Lister beamed a genuine smile back to his traveling companion and guide. He could not remember a time in his life when he had smiled so often. Perhaps in his childhood but he had tried to put his past out of his mind for fear of the emotions the memories would cause.

  “No we don’t.”

  “You will have to ask my grandfather about them. He is the most knowledgeable person in these parts and he knows how to use them.”

  Just then Lister’s alarm sounded on his phone which was immediately accompanied by the static crackle Lister had been waiting for as the portal materialized in the air. Lister was overjoyed at the sight of it now knowing he could get back home. He got out of the cart and stood underneath it. He jumped up and grabbed the edge and tried to pull himself through. He was not strong and never had been able to do a pull up so he dangled there for a moment legs kicking uselessly in the air. Behind him Vita began to laugh.

  “Could you give me a hand?” Lister said dropping to the ground.

  Vita pulled the cart up under the portal. Lister took note of her intelligence and clambered up onto the engine compartment ungracefully and wobbled as he stood. Lister looked to Vita quickly, almost losing his balance in the process She was smiling at his lack of agility but she dropped it just as he looked, obviously not wanting to hurt his feelings. Lister grabbed the edge and struggled his way up and through the portal.

  Lister was back in the dining room of his apartment crawling off of the table being careful not to disturb his setup. The room was dim as was mostly the case with his workshop as he had come to know his dining room. Finally he slid off the table and stood brushing himself off.

  He had been working on this technology for a long time, since he was a child. His mother had passed away in the meantime but still he persisted. She had always spoken to her son of adventure, her one regret in life was she had not had more of it. He had come to this point by himself and achieved something no one had done before. He was going to bring this to school and fire it up. Perhaps he should bring Vita through he joked silently to himself. He was going to change the world.

  He got down off of the table and went immediately to his computer. He shut off the portal as he worked. It was not long before he had punched in the necessary code to open the portal after thirty-six hours and at hour intervals thereafter.

  It was a wonder to him how easily he could travel between the two worlds. It seemed as though once the barrier had been broken it could not be unbroken. How hard would it be to open a permanent gateway he wondered. It was then he felt something was out of place.

  He looked around the dining room and squinted his eyes into the shadowy corners. He could swear something was different. Was it just paranoia? Lister began to take a quick tour of his apartment to make sure.

  First he checked the living room. The door was locked as he always kept it. The television was off and seeing as how he rarely had time for such indulgences should have been the case. The kitchen was as it had been before he left, a mess but not disgusting by any means. He went through the bedroom and into the bathroom. Finally he gave a cursory look in the closet. His clothes were all hanging in order as they should be and his spare electronics were on the top shelf.

  “It must be paranoia.” he confirmed to himself satisfied nothing was missing.

  Lister snatched a tank top from a hanger and changed his shirt. He thought about donning some short pants but the threat from the plant life was enough to dissuade him.

  He stood as he tapped the keys which would start the opening of the portal. Again he felt the plunge in his stomach and wondered if it was something he would ever get used to. He got up on the table and looked into the static pool below him. He could feel the pull of the adventure waiting on the other side and it caused him to pause. Adventure was never something Lister had craved though he had, as a child wondered about it.

  Vita’s world was not without trouble and Lister knew it now. He was going back into the jaws of danger and the thought of more brutes like they had met on the road did not fill him with confidence. As much as he hated to admit it he knew he would not be able to survive there without Vita. Lister did not like having to depend on anyone, they always let you down. What if she tired of him and left him stranded?

  He could just stay in his apartment. After all he did not owe his demon guide any explanation. All he would have to do is close the portal and forget this whole thing had ever happened. He knew it would be safer and even with the information he had now he would win a N
obel prize but then he would never find out more about the crystals, the Singing Stones. The one he had seen was amazing and if one so small could power a cart then he wondered what else could they do. After a few moments of thought his scientific mind won the day and Lister dropped back through the portal determined to return with some Singing Stones.

  Chapter Six

  The locks had taken him a bit to get through but it was not a barrier he could not surmount. Once on the other side he reengaged the locks and began his search of the apartment. Donovan had a methodical way of going about it which had always served him well.

  He pulled a small camera from his pocket and began looking for a place to stash it. If he were interrupted he would at least want to have eyes inside. The living room looked the opposite of what the name implied. Dust was stacked on the furniture and the television leading Donovan to an easy conclusion. Living was not what this room was for.

  The dining room was far more interesting. The hip height table in the middle of the room had a bunch of electronics arranged in a certain way but as to the use, he had no idea. He went to a table nearby and placed the camera facing the electronics laden table and checked his cellphone. Satisfied he had a good view he moved on to the bedroom.

  Donovan knew from experience people kept their most prized possessions close in slumber. People were their most vulnerable when they slept. Donovan crept to the bedroom door and peeked inside. Seeing no sign of an occupant he entered and got to work.

  From the other room he heard a hiss of static like an old television or a radio. He had been in the middle of going through the chest of drawers by the door but he slid the drawer closed and edged his way back toward the bed. The sound made him pause. It was not like he had heard one or all five rugged locks on the door open. The boy must have left the television on and it lost signal while he was rooting through the kids belongings.

  He heard typing on a keyboard. Donovan tensed for he was suddenly in a bad spot. He was a large man with a large belly and he had three places to go: The bathroom but he had never had good luck with tubs, the closet or under the bed. The last one would have been comical but the time was not right for levity. If there were ever a time to curse this was it and he did so silently.

  The typing stopped and the air seemed to thicken. The kid could sense him. Whoever he was Donovan was sure he had somehow entered the apartment without making a sound and he now knew something was up. Donovan was a student of intuition as it had saved his life on more than one occasion and this kid was quick. Perhaps Donovan’s own intuition would save Mr. Crowe a beating for he knew from experience the feeling of unease could be banished easily if nothing were found.

  He opened the left most french style closet door with a slight wince but no squeak issued. Donovan squeezed between the clothing, pressing his back against the wall, trying to make himself as small as possible behind the hanging garments which was no easy task given his size. He fluffed the clothes again so as not to show his tracks. Once settled he used the tip of his pinky to slide the door closed.

  It could have been a minute or it could have been ten but instinctively he held his breath as the closet door opened. Donovan was coiled tight and ready to move if he got even an inkling his prey had discovered him. He was not afraid of being found, it would be an easy task to dispatch this kid but his mission was to not be detected. He could see the top of the boys head over the shoulders of a couple of shirts. He remained as still as he could waiting for the inevitable gasp and holler of surprise which did not come.

  “It must be paranoia.” Lister said out loud and did not move but rather flicked on the lights. If Donovan had ever been a praying man now would have been the time but he and God were not on speaking terms. A tank top was yanked from a hanger four down from Donovan’s nose. A bead of sweat raced down his back, then one down his cheek.

  A groan and some rustling told him the kid was changing clothes. The light went out and the room was dark once again but it was a moment before Donovan dared breathe.

  The typing began again and he heard the static crackle he had mistaken earlier for the television. Then some other rummaging Donovan could not quite identify, a hiss and all was quiet.

  Donovan exited the closet into an eerie white light coming from the dining room. He quietly went to the open bedroom door leading to the dining room. When he had first seen the ring his interest had been engaged but he did not know much about technology. Hell, he could barely use his cellphone.

  To his surprise he was alone in the apartment. Donovan came out of the bedroom and stepped up beside the homemade table which held the device. The static pool was all he could see as the white light which issued from it cast everything else into shadow. He could see there was a computer connected to it which had been the typing he had heard. Donovan had seen all kinds of strange things in his work for Magda but this was something else.

  As he stood looking at it he could not help but wonder where it led. What was on the other side which had been important enough for the kid to go back through? It would be easy enough follow the kid through Donovan thought. It was obviously safe or the kid would not have come back to change clothes.

  He decided against such a rash course of action as he had bigger fish to fry. He had been sent to find out if this were really anything or just another phantom in the ether. Magda had let slip, unintentionally, his real quarry was going to be here which was the confrontation Donovan desired. He had found something here and it was his job to tell his superiors about it. On the other hand if his nemesis, his tormentor, was going to be here as predicted then he would brook no interference, not even from Magda. He left his phone in his pocket.

  Chapter Seven

  Finally, they had come to a clearing which allowed Lister to look upon an alien sky for the first time. It was all he had hoped for… it was smokey dark and purple streaked with wisps of greens and blues. It reminded Lister of the northern lights back home though not so energetic. He assumed this planet and it’s solar system was in a nebula. He could not remember what chemicals would make the colors the nebula projected and it was not something which overly concerned him as they cruised at a good clip to the south, toward Vita’s village.

  Some pinpoints of light pricked the sky though not as many as he was used to. Instead of pinpoints arrayed across the heavens some were small globes which lit the sky. Suns closer and more varied in their color than he had seen at home. The sight made him gasp as the little cart zoomed along the perfection of the path. He looked around in all directions wondering at the sights around him. The forest had given way to plains which stretched from horizon to horizon and in the purple hued darkness, the vast plains seemed to stretch forever.

  He looked at Vita and she smiled at him oblivious to the beauty in which she had been raised. His mind boggled at the sight of stars so close, the round orbs of red, blue and yellow, each adding to the dance of celestial objects in this region of space.

  “You really seem to be lost.” Vita said intruding on the wonder of what he was witnessing.

  “Huh?”

  “In the sky. You seem to be lost.”

  Lister had thought she had meant in a literal sense which was actually more accurate. He had built his machine not knowing what to expect. He could very well have caused a nuclear explosion for all he knew but instead he found this incredible place and this young girl who had shown him unknown wonders. It had been a strange few hours for Lister Crowe.

  The two did not speak as they approached the small village, the little vehicle was whirring along like a charm. The light from the night sky was casting it’s purple glow upon every building and post. Though from a certain perspective it could have been seen as eerie Lister did not see it that way. To him it was a wonder such colors existed and he was too enamored with this place to feel anything but excitement and curiosity.

  The main street ran through the center of town. On either side were houses of metal which looked similar to those back home. The metal
did not seem to be any type of material Lister had seen before. It was obviously malleable to such a degree they could bend an entire house out of a single sheet because he saw no seams. Immediately his mind went to the many applications he could use such a metal for.

  No lamp posts lit the street because the night was not dark as he had known night to be. The scene seemed to be wrapped in eternal dusk. The fences were solid metal and the strange plants seemed to dance in the humid night air. Though this place was so strange he felt the people were not so different from him and his. Lister did not like the company of people so the thought was not as reassuring as it should have been but at least they had something in common.

  “Vita! Who is this outsider?” a man barked exiting the house they had parked in front of.

  “This is Lister.”she answered as she got out of the drivers seat. She was not looking at the speaker as she exited the vehicle, her tone and tenor showed her feelings about his bothersome presence.

  “He is dressed rather odd. What is he doing in our village?” the man was middle aged with black hair, white coming through in places and a wrinkled face. He wore the same light clothing the people in this place wore with the exception of Vita. Lister could see why, for even though it was night the temperature had not dropped nor had the humidity subsided. His change of shirt had been a wonderful idea as the tank top was much cooler. The man looked at Lister with a palpable distaste. Lister had known his like this before and it was apparent he held some position of power in the village.

  “He is my guest Goran and he fixed this cart for Tamra. He is a friend.”

  Goran began looking over the cart as Tamra came out of the house. She paused at the door for a moment to shoo one of her children back inside. Goran was looking at the cart as though it had some sort of infectious disease and did not want to touch it.