We both loved reading, but my books were regulated to crates stacked in my bedroom. Her books lined the entire living room wall in rustic wooden shelves Brayson had built. We may have been poor by the realm’s standards, but in the real world we had more than enough stuff to do whatever we wanted with.
Centuries of artists and manufacturers lived before us, producing tangible items that humanity abandoned when they went away. The irony was that people spent their time in the realm conjuring up replicas of what they left behind.
I thumbed through a gold lined edition of To Kill A Mockingbird. Vorie fixed a pot of tea in the kitchen. I loved being in her home. It was one of the most relaxing places in the world to me. She carried over the pot with teacups on a tray which she placed on the coffee table. We snuggled deep into her comfortable couch.
“We’re out of the herbal kind you like.” Vorie blew steadily on the steam rising from her tea. “They haven’t stocked it in a while.”
I smiled at her as I sipped from my cup. “No worries. This is just as good.”
“Supposedly there is a better market down in San Diego. Brayson and I are going to drive over next weekend. He filled some extra tanks up with gas from his work. I’ll see if they have your tea.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I said as I set down my teacup. “But thanks, I’d appreciate it if you do. How long is Brayson supposed to be at work today?”
“I’m not sure.” She tucked her feet underneath her and pulled a large knit blanket over her lap. “He had to run over there early this morning, but he said he wanted to talk to you before you leave tonight.”
“I have some questions I want to ask him too. I’ve got nothing else to do today, so I’m just going to hang out here with you.” I pulled some of her blanket over to cover my legs and we sipped our tea. “How are you feeling?”
It was probably a stupid thing to ask. Her eyes were puffy from crying. Vorie has the ability to shock people though. She’s the nicest person in the world and she looks so delicate, but she is also the toughest person I know.
When we were little, I remember her holding Genie and I when the directors at the orphanage got too rough. She’d always take beatings for us by redirecting the anger at herself. Genie and I complained about, well, everything. Vorie never complained, she’d always find the silver lining. Not that we ever listened to her when we were young, but she was always like our big sister even though technically I’m the oldest. I was glad when she and Brayson got together. He takes good care of her. She deserves someone like that.
“I’m alright,” Vorie smiled. “Well now I am. Poor Brayson, he had to deal with me crying all night.”
“How does it feel?” I asked.
Vorie sighed. “Like a dream. I’m not sure which kind though. It was either a nightmare for the past eighteen years, or I’m dreaming now and afraid to wake up. I keep thinking they are going to show up at my door and say it’s all a mistake, that I have to go back.”
“That’s the good thing about the mafia,” I chuckled. “They don’t go back on their word. Unless you do something stupid, when you’re eighteen you are done.” Vorie laid her hand on top of mine. It was warm from holding her teacup.
“I wish it was your time too,” she said gently.
“Yeah, me too,” I sighed. “It was my fault though. If I hadn’t had run, they wouldn’t have tacked on the extra years.”
I remembered being alone in the streets at night, hiding in a dark alley behind a dumpster. The director and a team of mafia thugs swept the roads with headlights looking for me. I shook my head to erase the memory.
“One more year and I’ll be able to join your club.” I winked at her even though I’m probably the most awkward winker on the planet. Vorie burst out laughing and spilled some of her tea on the blanket. She set down the cup and dabbed at the liquid with a napkin from the tray.
“You really should stop doing that,” she giggled. “But listen to me, it wasn’t your fault. Your boss was a real prick. I mean he was worse than they normally are. When the director told you to shut up about it, you just cracked. I was scared I’d never see you again with how fast you ran out the door.”
“That’s why I had to come back.” I drank down the rest of my tea so that she couldn’t see my face. She probably knew. I’m horrible at lying. Genie and Vorie have heard that same story for years now. I never talked about the real reason that I came back.
How I’d hidden in that dark alley for hours once I’d cut the tracker from my arm with broken glass. The people looking for me had passed by. I was going to sleep there next to the dumpster and then leave the city in the morning. I was never coming back. Then the shadow of a monster crept up behind me…
“They are sending the kids into the realm earlier you know.” Vorie shifted and pulled her knees to her chest. “It was ten when we were kids. Sammy is only eight.”
“She looked really young.” I poured myself more tea. “Why are they doing that?”
“Rumor has it that there is less of us,” Vorie said.
“That’s not a rumor,” I laughed. “Look around. Yesterday when I went to get the new assignment details, I was the only one there waiting. Kramer’s market hasn’t had a decent shipment in months. Everything is empty. The world is abandoned.”
“I’ve heard it’s not like that everywhere. Brayson said there are still areas where people gather. Places without any portals. And there has to be wild places where there is nobody at all.”
“Fairy tales again?” I eyed her skeptically.
“Maybe, maybe not.” Vorie shrugged. “But I want to take the chance. Would you want to come too?”
“Of course.” I was starting to feel giddy. “But I’m not going anywhere for a while.” I touched the scar that hid the tracker on my arm. They weren’t so careful with the second stitch job.
“I wouldn’t go without you anyway.” Vorie relaxed back on the couch. “Brayson just got his new job. He gets more credits than we will ever use so we will trade them for extra supplies. A year is enough time to get ready to leave.”
Hope filled my heart, but I tried to stay objective. “You don’t have to wait for me,” I said nonchalantly. “You and Brayson should go whenever you are ready.”
“Don’t be silly. You’re my family. We go together.” Vorie smiled her warm smile at me and my eyes began to water. I didn’t deserve her. “Plus, a year should be enough time to convince Genie to go with us.”
Chapter 5
∞
We talked all morning about escaping the city and heading somewhere new. I’d never been out of this area, but I had a picture in my mind of what it would be like. It probably came from the books I’d read.
I saw a sleepy town in a green grass field with rushing rivers full of jumping fish. The trees surrounding the town would touch the sky and the stars would light up the night. People would walk out of their beautifully painted houses when we came through. Kids would be with their mothers and fathers, playing marbles in the street or helping with the family chores on the farm. A whole village of humans just living their lives. Best of all, there’d be no portals anywhere.
What can I say? I am a daydreamer.
Vorie fixed a lunch of tuna packs mixed with canned peas. Our diets mostly consisted of canned or prepackaged food. Kramer’s Market, our only real food store within twenty miles, never had fresh produce. Well, years ago he had oranges around Christmas, but that was a one-time occurrence. I still remember how they tasted. Kramer said they came from a farm far away.
We’ve always heard stories of this, just like an oilfield in Texas and the processing plant in Virginia. Some jobs still existed but they seemed like mythical ideas. Supposedly there was even a government that still ruled the country. We’d never seen them. Apparently, there weren’t enough of us left in the area to be considered important enough to govern. Sometimes an agent would come through looking for someone who was important. They might rough us up or take something they w
anted, but for the most part they left us alone. They sure as hell never gave us anything.
It was the mafia who ran the orphanage and arranged deliveries to Kramer’s Market. They had Brayson’s architect firm in the northern part of the city. There was a clinic we could visit if we needed to, but I’d never been there.
“I think I’m going to see if I can work at the orphanage,” Vorie said after she put the lunch dishes away.
“Of all the places that you never want to go to again, why in the world would you want to work there?” I hung up the towel on the stove handle and leaned against the counter.
“I need something to do, and if I can earn more credits, I can trade them for supplies.” Vorie walked back to the couch. “I’d also like to help the kids if I can.”
“Is Sammy there?” I was hoping she’d give me a rational explanation for why she wanted to go back to that awful place.
“No,” Vorie shook her head. “Sammy is somewhere out East, a place called New York. I guess there are more people over there than here.”
“That doesn’t shock me.” I joined her on the couch. “We have no one here. What does shock me is you going back to the orphanage and working for the mafia again.”
“It’s different when you’re an adult. They can’t force you to go to the realm. It’s just a job. I’m serious about getting out of here and I want to work to make that happen.”
“But it’s the mafia.” I stared hard at my friend. “You just got away from them.”
“Brayson works for them and they treat him pretty well.” Vorie shrugged. “When you aren’t a slave anymore, I think it’s a different lifestyle.”
“Yeah, but Brayson is a genius with the talent to design realm structures. He is important to them. We are not.”
“Where else am I going to work?” Vorie returned my stare.
“I don’t know. I just wish you would take a break. You’ve earned it.”
“I will.” She smiled at me. “As soon as we leave this dump.”
*
The clock struck 5pm and Brayson still hadn’t returned from work. I zipped up my sweater and put my ear buds in.
“He normally isn’t this late,” Vorie said as she walked me to the door. “I’m sorry you waited all day.”
“It’s cool. I got to spend the day with you so I’m not complaining.” I gave another of my famous winks and Vorie laughed as she waved good-bye.
“Have a great first shift,” she called out after me.
Pulling my hood up, I stepped onto the cracked sidewalk. I jogged to the portal so that I wouldn’t be late. It was time for me to find out what all the fuss was about.
I wasn’t sure what to expect as I entered the void. The tracker would send me to where I needed to go, so I wasn’t worried about getting lost. The trip was nothing like the smooth, gentle tugging that guided me to the realm. This pull was a jerking, loud suction that spit me out just as soon as it started.
I had to catch my breath before I opened my eyes because my heart stopped beating in that brief moment of panic. Once my nerves had calmed, I looked around to get a feel for my surroundings. Everything was wrong.
It was as if I could feel where I was. The concrete slab I stood on almost felt like gravity held me to it. The space around me looked nothing like the realm. It was a mixture of pure black, so black that color shone through. It was heavy and oppressive. There was nothing there, and yet it seemed there was something within the nothing.
“It’s a little shocking the first time you get here,” a man’s voice said from somewhere to my left.
I spun around to face him. He wore suspenders attached to worn gray pants over a faded white button-down shirt. On top of his blond head of curls was a cap that matched the color of his pants. He looked like a picture I’d once seen of a porcelain doll in a book, but the muscles that rippled under his rolled-up sleeves looked anything but fragile.
“Welcome to the in between. How do you feel?”
“Like I got hit by a truck and I can actually feel it.”
Humor made his eyes sparkle. “That’s just the jump. The sensations ease, but they don’t completely go away. We are neither here, nor there. Just a little bit of both.”
I forced myself to stop watching the shape of his beautiful lips as he spoke. “Okay, riddle man. Whatever you say. Who are you anyway?”
“My name is Fergus.” He smiled.
“Fitting.” I smiled back.
“How so?”
“Your outfit. It just fits a name like Fergus.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “You think I’m bad? You should see yourself. Fawn, right?”
I tried touching my glamour even though I knew I wouldn’t feel it. “Is it that bad?” I asked and he nodded. “Do you have a mirror so I can see?”
Fergus sighed. “There’s one inside. Might as well get this over with.” He held out his hand and I felt the smallest sense of the touch. This whole in between thing would take a minute to get used to.
He lifted my arm and twirled me around, stopping after the single spin. I looked up into his warm brown eyes before taking a step backward and dropping his hand.
“Welcome to The Nocere,” he whispered.
In the middle of nothing sat a big gray building that reminded me of the abandoned warehouses in my city. The difference was in the shape of the roof. Instead of the industrial flat top, there were sharp arches that sloped down into smaller curves. The architect must have drawn inspiration from a Victorian novel.
The walls looked to be solid cement. A single metal door was the only entrance. Fergus produced a key and held the door open for me.
Thick, red, plush carpet lined the hall, pushing up against the black painted walls. The hallway looked like it ran the length of the building, but it was only a trick of the eye. We took a few steps and turned down another hall which opened into a coat room.
Between the mahogany closets was a small booth. An old man with wispy white hair eyed me skeptically as I approached.
“Hey Raleigh,” Fergus said. “This is the new girl.”
“Fawn.” I extended my hand to shake his. He returned the gesture limply and muttered something under his breath. I turned my head, catching my reflection staring back at me in the floor to ceiling brass framed mirror.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” My mouth dropped open as I stared at the ridiculous glamour. I was wearing a white knee length sundress. Glitter lightly dusted my skin. Even though I never would have chosen something this girly to wear, that wasn’t even the worst of it.
On top of my head, buried in a wreath of flowers and sticking straight up, were two deer antlers. Plus, my damn nose was painted brown.
“This is a joke, right?” I spun around to glare at Fergus. “Why would you put me in this?” Fergus started to laugh, and Raleigh smiled. My face felt hot. I clenched my teeth.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh,” Fergus said, catching his breath. “I’ve just never seen an angry deer before. I didn’t do this to you. It was management’s call. I’m just the maintenance guy.” He shrugged and smiled warmly, causing me to loosen my jaw.
“Someone has a messed-up sense of humor.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I look ridiculous. What am I supposed to be doing here anyway?” Raleigh busied himself with something on the desk. The light fell from Fergus’ eyes.
“You’re just serving drinks. We open soon. Come meet the other girls before the customers start to show up.” He began to walk down the final hallway, and I rushed to catch up.
Chapter 6
∞
“I don’t understand,” I said as I walked beside him. “They usually want kids serving drinks. That’s all part of the fun.”
“Not at this establishment.” Fergus looked straight ahead. “The mafia set strict rules. No children allowed.”
A sarcastic huff escaped my lips. “That’s a first. Since when do they not use kids to do their dirty work?”
Fergus st
opped walking. “The clientele at this establishment need some extra rules. No children allowed is one of them.”
I barely heard what Fergus was saying as I took in the sight of the room before us. It was grandiose, more like a ballroom than a bar. Yards and yards of burgundy velvet fabric draped from the arched ceilings and twisted down the walls. The cherry wood floors shined like glass. Booths of plush cushioned seating sat hidden in the darkness. The drapes effectively cast shade on these far sections making them appear as separate rooms.
Down the short flight of stairs was a circular arrangement of smaller black tables surrounded by high back gothic style chairs. The bar lined the far wall with a dark wood counter and scooped seat stools. It was modern and ancient all at once. In the center of the room was a solid wood platform.
I turned to Fergus. “Who is the clientele?”
He lowered his eyes to the ground. “Bad people.”
“I wish someone would come up with a more descriptive word.” I narrowed my eyes. “Everyone in the realm is bad. Too much freedom and no fear of consequences brings out the worst in people. If there is anyone good in the realm, they must keep to themselves because I’ve never seen them. So, what makes this place different?”
Fergus glanced nervously at me before averting his eyes again. “In the realm, everyone can get their kicks. Whatever makes them happy, they can do, right?” I nodded.
“That’s why the mafia puts limits on some things,” he continued. “To keep people from going overboard.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s just so they can make a profit,” I said impatiently. “But go on.”
Fergus took a deep breath. “There are some people who can’t do what makes them happy in the realm. In there you can’t hurt someone if you wanted to…” His voice trailed off and my eyes opened wide in surprise.
“No,” I whispered. That was the realm’s one redeeming quality, no one could truly get hurt and they couldn’t hurt anyone else. Sure, I’d been spit at and called names my whole life, but no one could actually hurt me. I could whisk myself away from the emotional pain and there is no physical pain at all in the realm.
The Nocere: A Haunting Dystopian Tale Book 1 Page 3