Other Places 1: Shortcuts

by P. S. Power

  "I have to go to work, but those three might come back. I doubt it, but the young can be foolish at times. Would you be available to stand guard? My auto service will take care of this." He walked to the window smoothly, waving a bit.

  "I told them that you're on my Triple A plan. They'll send a truck out and make sure to get you home, and fix the car for you ma'am. This man here..." He didn't ask for a name, since it was clearly what was expected.

  "Zack. I'll stay here just to make certain those three hooligans don't come back." As if he could really do anything if they did. Mirror Him had been right about that, Zack didn't know how to fight at all. He could tell where not to be, but there were limits to that. He couldn't have gotten away from them if they kept after him for much longer, he didn't think. He'd get tired and they probably wouldn't. The woman seemed to feel better though, and the Vampire nodded to him then walked into the mall.

  If he was the evening manager, then Zack needed to try and get his job. His car was one of those things that people normally mocked as being a substitute for a penis, even as women climbed in to ride back to the driver's bedroom. The suit was nearly as nice, clearly tailored, if not handmade. Looking down he realized that he looked a bit like a very poor street person. Well, maybe one that was only down on his luck, but it wasn't a nice comparison. It was cold, but the truck came along faster than seemed normal and the two men were friendly, as well as clearly human. One of them actually had the thing running in about five minutes and got the woman's address, so they could replace a few worn parts the next day for her.

  After she drove off, Zack went home, noticing that the woman hadn't remarked on the superior speed of the attackers at all. For the most part that was normal. People thought they could see what was happening around them. They didn't. Most people barely looked at the world and were so blind to it that they didn't even realize it was happening. That was just the way they were, so it wasn't a failing, just a fact. Part of the human condition, for the most part.

  He saw. Most of the time things that people didn't want him to. Zack hit the shortcut smoothly and then had to wait for the traffic to clear a little before going across to his own door. The yard needed work and the house needed to be painted, but for all that, it was home.

  "Be it ever so humble." He hummed the words as he let himself in, using his house key, which didn't have a ring, just a piece of string to make it a little easier to get from his pocket.

  Troy wasn't there, working nights at the dance club. The "Terran 2 LA". It was a stupid name, but the club did good business, and as a bartender his friend actually made decent tips on the weekends. Not as good as if he'd been a hot blonde woman, but , as he liked to point out, he had to work with what he had. That kind of summed him up after a fashion.

  The man did his best with what he had, and didn't seem bothered by anything overly. Zack knew he probably seemed like that to a lot of people too, but with him it was a trick to keep from freaking out every ten seconds.

  From across the room there was a movement in the wall of mirror tiles.

  "Right... That's why you went and confronted those three goons hassling that old lady. You're a coward that runs around squealing like a little girl. Please. Now, I'll grant that you're a moron from time to time, but a chicken? No. Perish the thought." His reflection waved a hand lazily. "Now, good job, over all. You need to make sure you keep showing up like that and, do the people stuff too, not just the day to day work. Maybe bang that boss of yours a few times or something. Oh, wait, that's not very PC... Let me fix that... Hmmm... Oh, I know, do her doggy style. Animals are politically correct, right? PETA and all that?" Zack ignored the voice and headed to the kitchen. It wasn't fair, but he was hungry again anyway.

  The single packet of Ramen wasn't exactly filling but his spine was in less danger of being digested after he ate it and washed everything. It wasn't hard to keep the kitchen clean when you ate noodles twice a day and nothing else. As a treat he had it with a single pack of hot sauce that Troy had stolen from Taco Bell for him. Well for both of them. It was delicious. Not as good as the caramel thing that Lenore had given him earlier, but that kind of thing probably wouldn't be happening all the time. He needed to remember to appreciate what he had. Right now that was a distinct lack of starvation. It wouldn't last long, but it was a good thing.

  Soon, if everything went well, he'd get to have real food again. Meat. Maybe something with a vegetable. A little part of him didn't really believe it, since keeping a job was hard, but at least he had a bit of hope now.

  Almost as if actually doing what he'd said earlier, Mirror Him wasn't a huge bother, meaning he got to listen to the radio for a little bit and get to bed early. The guy could be a pain when he didn't get what he wanted. Right now though, it was all about sleep, for nearly ten glorious hours. It was probably the lack of calories, but he'd taken to sleeping a lot in the last few months. Starvation... or depression. The idea that he might not be perfectly happy wasn't exactly a stretch. After all, he had nothing.

  Except for two jobs. That was a start, if he could manage to keep them.

  The morning was better than the one before. He was able to get up and shower, shave and brush his teeth by seven-fifteen, which meant he had a bit of time to get into the shop. He had to open by nine, which meant sweeping and tidying before he did that. At least that was going to be his rule from now on. Get there early, stay late and make sure nothing was left undone. If he couldn't be sane, he could make an effort to get everything else done right.

  His reflection waved, but didn't chat with him, yawning instead, being a bit of a bastard. It got him to do it too, which defeated the purpose of a reflection totally. Someday soon he was going to have a talk with that guy about what was actually normal.

  "Morning, Sunshine! Ready for another day at the mine?"

  Zack ignored him and finished up as quickly as possible, not wanting to engage with the guy. Ignoring him never worked, but it was the only thing he had really, so he did it anyway.

  In the living room he found Troy playing a video game. It was an old one that they'd gotten at least a half year before. Zack was wearing the same clothing as the day before, which couldn't be helped for a bit really, but his roommate looked at him, already in a pair of pajamas, since he actually wore those to sleep in, and wearing a pair of purple slippers. It was a tidy look that didn't really fit their place. They were clean enough, but nothing they had was new.

  They kept things looking as nice as possible, just in case either of them ever brought a woman home with them. That had been a while for Zack, but Troy managed once or twice a week to have company. Not always a different girl each time, but mainly.

  "You're up early. Going job hunting?" He tried not to sound too hopeful about it, but it had been a rough bit of time for both of them.

  "Going job doing. I actually got two yesterday, one full time. Both at Westfield mall? Candles and More, as well as a part time thing over at Yoghurt World. Not exactly rocket science, but it pays." How much he hadn't asked, assuming it would be minimum wage. It seemed his roommate was going with the same thought, but congratulated him anyway.

  "Alright! I hadn't wanted to say anything, but your butt was starting to leave an imprint on my favorite cushion here." He grinned and hopped up without saying anything. A few minutes later he came back in, a nice purple silk shirt, with a lavender tie draped over his arm, as well as a pair of dress slacks, a slim black leather belt and a pair of shoes that would end up being much too large for him. They were about the same height, five-ten, but Troy had giant feet, nearly three sized larger than Zack's were. He'd have felt inadequate, but his were normal enough. Size ten. Troy was just a freak that way.

  "I have a lot of clothes that you can wear, until you get paid a few times and we can go and get you some of your own. It will class this place up a bit. Or... Do you have to wear a t-shirt with a logo there? That's mainly chain store thinking isn't it?" Even as he kept talking a slightly dark hand passed the
clothing over. "If so, they're missing out, you'll kill in this."

  It didn't take that long to change and he had to admit that he felt better about himself in the nicer clothes. It would have been awkward having to explain that he was too poor to afford to get anything else, even at a thrift store. When he came out Troy nodded, pausing the game again.

  "There you go. Need a ride in to work? Westfield's a good way away. I'm kind of surprised you went all the way out there actually. Worked for you, so I guess that shows you know best, right?"

  "I have a shortcut. It's actually faster than if you drive." A lot faster.

  It was one of those funny things about Troy. He was open minded about almost everything, including the occult and supernatural. When Zack had mentioned once that his grandparents were Mages the guy hadn't even blinked, or acted like he was crazy for saying it. When it came to actually noticing the things around him though, it was a different matter. He'd seen Zack go through rifts a half dozen times over the last year, and come out at least as many times, but he wrote it off each time, as if his mind had been playing tricks on him.

  The great part was, that even seeing things he didn't understand, his friend hadn't blamed him for it, not even subconsciously. Most people did. That made it hard to stay friends with a lot of them. What people couldn't understand, they tended to fear, which led to thinking you were bad, if it seemed that you had anything to do with it.

  "No problem, either way. When are you getting back?"

  "I don't know. I think my boss is having some kind of emergency. She's on drugs, so I could be in for some extra hours. Seems nice otherwise. A little hyper. My plan is to work as long as possible each day." It had to be, since he needed the money too badly to play games, especially as the new guy.

  Troy snorted, letting his head nod as he went back to the game.

  "I hear that. Well, see you when I do." It was a thing he said, even when that was going to be ten minutes later. He almost never actually said the word goodbye. It was almost like he thought it would be forever if he did. Zack didn't push him on it, because he might be right. Troy was clearly better with people than he was, so if he didn't say goodbye, it might actually mean something.

  He slipped his warm jacket on, knowing that it looked kind of ratty compared to everything else he had on. After a few seconds he headed out, locking the door after him. There was very little point to having a lock if you didn't use it. Then he hit the shortcut, hurrying along, the cold trying to seep deep into his thin body. It was a lot less than fun. At least this time when he got to the parking lot through the rift in front of the elm, there were no Vampires hassling old women. In fact there were only a few cars at all. There were four parking lots however, the place being surrounded by them and this was the second smallest, if his memory served. The one across from it was actually the smallest one.

  There were two stories to the place, built more to make certain all the major nodes were contained it seemed, rather than for efficient use of the land it was on, the shape of the whole thing being just a little off. He got through the large glass door easily enough, since it wouldn't be locked, people needing to get in all the time. It was only about eight-twenty when he walked in, but Lenore was already there, working away industriously. She was cleaning the whole place it looked like.

  That was a good idea, so after he got the door unlocked he headed to the back, threw his coat on a chair in the big back room, which was empty, except for a binding circle around the node. That was silver and looked complex, glowing with power. He didn't know what it was meant to keep out, but when he stepped over it on a whim it became clear that it didn't have any effect on him at all. That was good, because it meant he could use the thing, if that was allowed at all. For a few minutes he just stared at it, changing his position a little every few seconds to see the different locations it was linked to. There had to be thousands of them. Maybe more than that. Millions. It was lovely and entrancing.

  Shaking his head a bit Zack decided to not get fired on his second day and hung up his jacket in the supply closet, then grabbed a roll of paper towel and window cleaner. He started on the outside of the glass and worked on every surface that might shine until nine, when he opened the door. Then he dusted and swept the whole place several times, until he wasn't collecting up anything.

  No one came in, or called at all, not even Lisa to see if Zack had actually bothered to show up on time. Just as he decided to risk mopping again the door opened, showing a cute Vampire girl holding a plastic tray with six small yoghurts on it.

  "Hi Zack! I brought some things for you to test for me. This is my Christmas collection. I think these are the tastiest, but if you'd give me your opinion? We need the best three. If they're no good, tell me. I can take it." She held the back of her left hand against her forehead dramatically as if she really couldn't. It was funny.

  Looking at the clock he nodded, figuring that he was supposed to get a break every now and then. It might be a little early, but if he turned down free food he was insane.

  Which he was, but not that level of crazy. Mirror Him spoke from the reflection in the top glass of the front counter, next to the register.

  "Damn. You know what it means when a chick feeds you right? She's looking for a little hot Zack action." After a few seconds he kept going. "Of course, in her case that action might just involve you and a straw, so be careful. She could just be fattening you up."

  It wasn't lost on him that an alternatively living person of her sort might just be doing that. He still needed the food.

  "Gladly. Thank you. I'm starving."

  She didn't comment on that part of things, handing the first container over.

  "Rum fruit cake. Spiced rum. I turned it into a syrup for the topping." It was a stunning design, the alcohol drizzled over the top. It wasn't strong, but it was clearly real and not rum flavoring. The spices contrasted nicely with the very tiny bits of minced candied fruit. There was no cake to it that he could find, just a blend of gram cracker crumbs and brown sugar.

  He pointed at it with the long handled spoon.

  "This, is amazing." He took several bites and then shook his head. "Also illegal. Unless you have a liquor license. If Lisa came in right now she'll have to fire me for drinking at work."

  The Vampire made a face.

  "Stupid laws. When I was a girl we could drink whatever we wanted. It might seem strange, but not everyone became an alcoholic or anything." She stopped moving for a few seconds, then pretended that he hadn't noticed her saying it. Like it was something he'd have missed, that her childhood had been at a different time than his own? "This one then. Nothing but candy and sugar, with cookies in it."

  It was eggnog flavored, but not the real kind and the sugar cookies were whole and tasted fresh. After a few bites he nodded at it.

  "This one, definitely. Unless one of the others cures cancer or something, I doubt you can beat it. I didn't even know I liked eggnog before this." That got her to smile as he finished that container too. There was a cookie at the bottom. Like a toy surprise. It got him to chuckle a bit as he ate it, trying to chop it apart with the side of the spoon.

  The rest were good too, but some of them were a little strange. One was basically strawberry shortcake, which was a Japanese tradition. His grandmother always made one for Christmas Eve, so he got what Lenore was going for. The strawberries made him want to melt, because he hadn't had real fruit in nearly forever, but it wasn't exactly right, he didn't think.

  "Save this one for summer. Maybe try one with blueberries too, you know, red white and blue? To go with Independence Day."

  The woman looked at him seriously, even making notes in a little notebook when he said things a few times.

  In the end they ended up with a very fresh peppermint and chocolate dish, with dust made from candy cane, the eggnog and cookie one and one that turned out to be a plum pudding with custard frozen yoghurt over the top. It didn't sound like it should be very good, but it was delicio
us. It was like he could feel the spices trying to merge with his system.

  "Thank you. It's so hard for me to tell what things taste like, not eating them. May I run other things past you as well?" She looked eager enough and while it might have been about fattening him up as Mirror Him kept saying, he actually needed it. That could have been the reason too, since he'd been nearly starving for so long it was kind of apparent.

  "I'd be happy to. These were all really good. Better than what people are actually paying for I think."

  She waved her right hand a little and took the tray back, a smile on her lips. They were red, which was lipstick he noticed, her face looking slightly flush thanks to blush, her natural color contrasting with it a little more than normal, being so pale compared to a living person.

  "Edom mentioned that there was some small problem in the parking lot when he came in last night?" It was leading, her face looking concerned, as if worried he was hurt.

  He nodded, letting his shoulders come up a bit.

  "Is that the Vampire that helped me out? Well dressed, dark skin, fangs kind of like yours? Not as cute as you, of course." He winced a little after he said it, since he really hadn't meant to add the last bit, the truth just pouring out like it did.

  She looked a little shocked, "I wasn't aware that you knew what we were. Did Lisa mention it? I would have sworn that she was too preoccupied yesterday. The store looks much improved however. Very much. It smells less like a tomb as well. More like a perfume shop now, thanks to all the scented candles. Not too strong, thankfully. That could be a problem, with our shop being just across the way."

  The woman stared at him hard for a few moments, but didn't seem upset of anything, just curious. "So, you weren't harmed... and don't need to file a complaint? It was a very unfortunate incident, but I assure you that it wasn't a sanctioned action. Those responsible will be fined and spoken to most harshly for their trespass."