“What’s a seatbelt?” I asked as I looked around the strange vehicle.
He leaned across me and grabbed something above my shoulder. I held my breath as his face was inches from mine. “You have to put one of these on every time you get in a car to keep you safe, okay?” I nodded my head.
He sat back in his chair and put his belt on. I watched in amazement as he put a metal piece into the car and turned it, which made the car start grumbling. Had he angered it?! Was it going to attack us? He didn’t seem nervous. Maybe he had a truce with it and it just grumbled when he used it? I held perfectly still as the car began moving and assumed that despite its growling the car probably wasn’t going to attack me. I looked at all of the buildings around me that had weird markings all over them. What did they all mean? He drove for a little bit and then he turned towards a building, drove alongside it and started talking to a weird square that had things like the photo of me on it, but of food. “Are you hungry?” he asked. I nodded my head. “What would you like?” I shrugged. “I’ll just order for you, okay?” I nodded my head. “I’ll take four cheeseburgers, two large fries, and two chocolate milkshakes,” he said.
A weird voice spoke back to him from the square thing and then he moved forward. He gave the person in the building some pieces of paper and then he drove to the next opening where that person gave him bags with the food in them. Stevens handed the bags to me and I put them on my lap in silent shock.
“Alys, you alright?” he asked.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” I whispered, “You gave them paper for food.”
He laughed. “It’s called money. You use money to buy things, like food.”
“Strange,” I whispered and opened one of the bags to peek inside. For some reason, I recalled eating a burger before, but I couldn’t remember where. “I think I’ve eaten a burger before,” I told him softly.
“Burgers are pretty much a main staple here,” he said with a laugh. “We’ll eat them as soon as we get to my house.”
I closed the bag again and sat patiently, watching the passing scenery in all of its weird glory. What were all of the people walking around doing? Where were they going? Everyone seemed to move so fast, like they were in a hurry.
Stevens stopped in front of a house that was very pretty and was painted a soothing color like the sky. Blue! It was called blue. He removed the metal thing from the car and it stopped grumbling and then he got out, shutting the door behind him. I tried to get the seatbelt off, but it wouldn’t let go. “Seatbelt, let go,” I ordered it. Nothing happened. Stevens opened my door and I said, “The seatbelt won’t let me go.”
He smiled, took the bags of food from me, and told me how to make it release me. Once free, I followed him up to the front door while holding cold soft mugs filled with what he had called “chocolate shakes.” He used another metal piece to make the door open and stepped into the house, waiting for me to follow. I entered the room and stared at all of the strange devices in it. What did they all do?
He pointed to the closest thing and said, “That’s the couch. You can sit on it and watch the TV.” He pointed at a large rectangle hanging on the wall. “I’ll teach you about the TV later. Under the TV is my gaming console, which I play video games on. Through that door is the kitchen, where we store and make food.” He walked up the stairs and pointed to one door on the right. “That’s my room.” He pointed to the door in the center and said, “That’s the bathroom where you can go pee and stuff.” He pointed to the door on the left. “And that will be your room.” He pushed open the door to my room and waved me forward. I walked into the room and found a bed, a table with a mirror, and some type of tall rectangle with drawers. “That’s to put your clothes in,” he explained when he saw me staring at it.
“That’s a lot of space for clothes,” I whispered in shock.
“Oh, I guess you don’t really have any clothes. We’ll have to buy you some,” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
This was so much to take in and yet the names were sticking well in my head and I almost seemed to remember some bits about each item after he told me about them.
“Well, let’s go downstairs and eat and I will show you how the TV works,” he said happily. I followed him down the stairs and we sat down on the couch. He put the bags of food on the table and then divided the food on two plates and pushed one plate towards me.
I took a bite of the burger and said, “This is really good.”
He smiled, pleased and said, “I’m glad you like it.”
We ate in silence for a bit and then he grabbed what he called a “remote” and turned the TV on. He pushed some buttons and then images flashed across the screen and people were talking to each other and running around.
“What is this?” I asked as I walked towards the TV, reaching for it to touch the people.
“It’s called a movie. We record people talking and moving and can even add in special effects that aren’t really happening.”
A guy’s hand was cut off with a sword and blood sprayed all around. “I don’t think blood sprays like that when your hand gets cut off,” I whispered, shocked that I would know something like that.
“No, it’s just a special effect. And his hand isn’t really cut off. That’s a fake hand.”
So odd.
He pressed a button on the remote and then another “movie” came on that was even stranger looking. “This is a cartoon. People draw them and add color and record their voices for the characters’ voices.”
“Wow,” I whispered and sat down beside him again to watch the TV and eat more.
“Try your chocolate shake,” he insisted.
I obliged and sputtered at the amount of sugar in it. “That’s a lot of sweet.”
He laughed. “Yeah, it’s usually called a dessert, but most people just drink them nowadays.”
“So, tomorrow you’re going back to work? What is that?”
“Work is where you go do something and get paid money for it. I spend my time patrolling and acting as a police officer like I told you.”
“And you do that to get money to spend on food?” I asked him.
He nodded his head. “And to pay for this house.”
“You have to pay for your house?!” That seemed very odd to me. For some reason, I assumed you were just given a house.
“Yes.”
“So, I should get a job to pay for my food and stuff?” I asked him.
“You can’t get a job.”
“Why not?” I was perfectly capable of doing almost anything.
“Because you don’t have identification. You have to know your name and Social Security number to work.”
“Oh.”
“You don’t have to worry about money for now. We’ll figure all of this out later. Would you like to go buy some clothes after you’re done eating?” he asked me.
“Okay.”
“Let me go change clothes real quick,” he said and stood up. “Just stay here, okay?”
I nodded my head and watched him walk up the stairs. This was so unusual. I didn’t remember much, but I didn’t think that people paid for houses where I came from. Where did I come from? Would I ever remember? I ate the rest of my food and grabbed the controller to try to go to a different movie. I pushed a button, but it made the screen change to a loud angry black and white vibrating movie. I yelled in surprise and covered my ears while closing my eyes.
The ground vibrated and then the noise stopped. I opened my eyes to find Stevens standing with the remote in his hand. He had changed into another set of weird clothes, but at least they were more normal looking than his other set. He had on a pair of blue pants and a shirt that matched the color of his eyes, turquoise. I was excited that I could remember the names of the items and colors, but I didn’t say anything out loud to him. Now that I saw him closer, he was very handsome. “You okay?” he asked me.
I nodded my head. “I tried to use it, but it got mad, I guess.�
��
He smirked. “You just pushed the wrong button. Here, you see this one and this one that look like arrows? Those are the ones that you push to change the channel. If you want to play video games you click this button.” He clicked the button and the screen changed to one with odd symbols all over it.
“What do the symbols mean?” I asked softly.
His eyes widened in disbelief. “You can’t read?”
“Read? No. I don’t think I can read.”
He grimaced. “I’m not a very good teacher. I might be able to find you a class to go to, though.”
“Will they teach me to read at the class?” I asked hopefully.
“Yes.”
“I would like that.”
“Well, let’s go get you some clothes, okay?”
I nodded my head and stood up from the couch. “What’s that on your back?” I asked him softly. It looked like a weird lump.
He turned his head to look behind him and then met my eyes. “You noticed it?”
I shrugged and felt embarrassed. Was I not supposed to notice it? Was it some type of disfigure that he had and I hadn’t noticed before?
“It’s my gun,” he explained. “Even when I’m off-duty I keep it with me.”
“What’s a gun?” I asked him as he lifted his shirt to show me the strange metal device.
“It’s a weapon.”
“Why not carry a sword?” I asked. It made more sense to carry a sword that was capable of cutting off limbs than a hard piece of metal to hit people with.
“A gun shoots a piece of metal very fast and can kill someone from very far away from you,” he explained.
Oh, that was definitely better than a sword. “Are you afraid someone might try to kill you?” I asked. Part of me knew that those who protected the innocent were in danger of the bad ones who wanted to do evil things.
“No, but it’s better to be prepared.” He put his shirt down and opened the door for me. We got into a different car this time and he drove us to what I recalled being called a “mall.”
“Stevens, what is life like here?” I asked him as I watched the people hurrying around.
“It’s pretty fast-paced with people going to work, out to eat, to the movies, and going home. What your life is like depends on a lot of different factors. For example, my life is much different than the life of a stay-at-home mom.”
“What’s a stay-at-home mom?” I asked him.
“That’s a woman who doesn’t work and instead she stays home with her children to raise them.”
“How does she earn money for the house?” I asked. I thought everyone had to work.
“Usually the husband works to pay for the house in that situation.”
“Do you have a wife?” I asked him.
He blushed and said, “No, I don’t. I am what is called ‘single,’ which means that I don’t have a wife or girlfriend.”
“Is that a bad thing?” I asked softly.
“Not necessarily. Some people think you should be married with kids by my age though.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-four.”
“Why don’t you have a girlfriend?”
He sighed. “Well, I had a girlfriend for a while, but due to my work schedule at the time I didn’t spend much time with her and she decided that she needed someone that could be there more for her.”
“Oh, well her loss.”
He smiled. “I agree.”
“Do you have parents?” I asked softly. If I had them, I couldn’t remember them. Maybe they were dead.
“My mom died a few years ago,” he explained, “and I’ve never known my dad.”
“I’m sorry. I wish I could remember my parents.”
“Hopefully in time, you’ll start remembering,” he said with a warm smile.
He stopped the car and unbuckled his seat belt. I looked down at mine and pushed the red button like he had shown me and it released me. “You’re remembering everything I’m teaching you, which is a good sign.”
We got out of the car and I followed him into a building that roared with noise. I grimaced at the loudness and stayed close to Stevens’ side. He noticed my discomfort and smiled encouragingly.
“It’s loud,” I explained.
“Your ears should adjust soon,” he said.
There were so many people in this building! They moved around from one opening to another, talking with people near them as they walked, but it didn’t seem like they talked to anyone who went by, only the people they were with.
“Do you know these people?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “No, there are too many people in this city for me to know each of them.”
“So, you just walk by each other and never meet?” It seemed so odd to me.
“The majority of the time, yeah.” He veered towards stairs that moved on their own up towards a higher area. I stared at the odd device in fear. What if it tried to eat me? He took my hand and gently tugged. “It’s alright, just put one foot on and then the other. The stairs just move us up without having to walk ourselves.” I knew I was gripping his hand too hard, but I couldn’t make myself relax as I stepped on one stair as it came out of the floor and then the next. I yelped in surprise as we were propelled upwards, although not as fast as I thought it would go. “See, easy.”
“Strange,” I whispered.
“You’ll have to step off at the top.”
I followed his lead and took several steps away from it. Children hopped on and off of the device happily. I felt like a fool to see children doing it so easily when I had been so frightened.
He tugged on my hand, which I realized he was still holding, and said, “The store’s right over here.”
Without mentioning our joined hands, I followed him into a room with rows and rows of clothes. He walked up to a pretty woman and she smiled warmly at him. “Detective Stevens,” she said happily. “I haven’t seen you in a couple years. How are you?”
“Good, Gabriella,” he said with a smile for her.
I felt jealousy in my chest and pushed it down. I had no reason to be jealous.
“And who are you?” she asked me.
“Alys,” I whispered as I looked out over all of the clothes. Did she own all of these clothes?
“Oh, you’re the Jane Doe case!” she said excitedly.
“What? I’m Alys, not Jane,” I explained. Was she damaged in the head?
She smiled sweetly at me and nodded. “Right. So, what can I do for you?”
“Can you help her find some clothes? She doesn’t have any and she’s going to need some until we can find a family or relative of hers,” Stevens said and let go of my hand.
“Of course! Do you know what size you are?” she asked me.
“Size?”
“We’ll just guess and figure it out as we go,” she said instead of explaining. “Stevens, why don’t you go sit in the red chairs over there.” She pointed to some vibrant, red chairs on the far side of the room and then walked away from us to the first row of clothes.
“She’ll help you out. I’ll just sit over there, okay? I won’t leave the store,” he told me with a serious expression.
I rubbed my arm nervously, but nodded my head in understanding. I didn’t like the idea of being alone with this girl, but if he was still here I felt better.
“Do you have a color preference?” she asked me as she took several items from the rows and dangled them over her arm.
“Uh, not really.”
“What about style? Do you prefer dresses or pants?”
“Both?” I really wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but I figured that since she owned so many clothes she would know what I should wear.
The amount of clothes on her arm grew and grew until she finally said, “This is a good start,” and walked towards an area in front of where Stevens was sitting that had small rooms. She opened the door and motioned for me to enter. I followed her in and she shut the door
behind me. “Now, I know they said you don’t remember much, so do you remember how to put on clothes?”
“Um, a little bit, but some of your clothes are strange,” I admitted. I almost told her about not liking the underwear, but Stevens had seemed adamant about the fact that I needed to wear them. “The nurse didn’t have a bra for me, but she said she wasn’t sure I needed one. I’m not sure what a bra even is.”
“Girls of your size don’t really need one, but it’s still a good idea to wear one so they don’t start drooping,” she said and pulled out a long piece of cloth with markings on it.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a measuring tape. I’m going to measure you to figure out what size bra you need.”
“What is one?” I asked.
“It’s this,” she lifted her shirt to show me a small piece of clothing around her breasts that her huge ones practically bulged out of.
“Oh.” Another garment under one you were already wearing. “So you wear a bra and shirt?” I asked her.
She nodded her head. “You wear underwear and a bra all the time, except when showering and some girls don’t wear them when sleeping.”
Things were so odd here. “Okay.”
She made me lift my arms so she could measure me and then instructed me to start trying on the pants that she had hung up on the left side of the small room while she went to find a bra. I put on one and it was too big. I put on another and it fit, but it dug into my skin. I found a third that fit, but the part around my legs was too tight for my comfort. After a few more I finally found one I liked. She came back with a few different bras and smiled at the pants. “Those look good on you.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled as I looked at myself in the mirror. They did make my butt look good.
“Let’s try this bra on,” she said. “Take off your shirt.”
I felt a little uncomfortable undressing in front of her, but Stevens had told me she would help me. She showed me how to put on the bra, which was more like a weird torture device to squeeze my breasts against my chest. She put a different one on and that one wasn’t as tight. Then she had me try on one of the shirts and pushed me outside in front of Stevens.
Magic and Shadows: A Collection of YA Fantasy and Paranormal Romances Page 132