by CC Solomon
The world had gotten a better grip on living with the supernatural, but we were still hardly where we were before. Between the Sickness and the supernatural, there were certain towns that were abandoned and left to become whatever the new supernatural nature had made of it. I assumed we were in one of those towns since one would assume a filled hospital would draw unwanted attention for our captors.
Charles stopped suddenly. “Did you hear that?” he whispered.
I stopped walking and listened. I heard nothing at first, but then a low growl. It sounded like an injured dog but I was pretty sure it wasn’t, which only made it creepier.
There was something staring at us through the trees.
It was about a hundred feet away to the right. It was large. Bright red orbs the size of basketballs glowed at us from about twenty feet off the ground. I didn’t need light to know what it was.
A troll.
“I am betting the road is west. The left,” Charles whispered. “That’s where the hospital entrance faced.”
I nodded, but of course, he couldn’t see me in the dark.
“Run!” he said in a loud whisper.
We both took off. I stumbled a few times on rocks, but Charles clung on to me, grabbing my hand as he led us through the woods. He was the more athletic one and I hated slowing him down, but my brother was not letting go.
The troll we were running from was silent behind us because I couldn’t hear it, and I didn’t feel the ground shaking like I would expect from a troll probably the size of a house. Maybe it just wasn’t up to chasing us today. Perhaps the troll had enough to eat. Of course, I had no intention of turning around to see if my guesses were correct.
Road. Civilization. Life. Those were my only thoughts.
We ran for about fifteen minutes before we hit road, and then we slowed to a trot. I took a chance to see if the troll was behind us, but I saw nothing, as I expected. I began to wonder if it really had been a troll or rather some creepy-eyed, great big owl perched on a tree limb.
On the road we could find a car, hopefully with gas or electricity-powered Charles was strong enough now to get a car going.
We did see cars. Lots of them. They were moved to the side of the road, I assumed so the kidnappers could come and go easily, making this a dangerous road to be on.
Past the cars, the road was lined with trees from the woods on the right, and the backs of a few dilapidated fenced-in houses on the left.
Charles, who had a knack for finding cars he could get going easily, ran up to a black SUV that still looked in good shape. He opened the door to the driver’s side and sat down in the seat. The car started, headlights on. I ran to the passenger side and got in.
“How far should we drive? We really don’t want to be moving around here too long in the dark. I’m telling you, we will be targets, especially in an area like this,” Charles stated nervously, driving the car off of the side of the road and heading north; away from the hospital.
“We need to get on the highway, find out where we are,” I replied.
I looked at the car clock and was surprised to see that it was accurate. Most likely, due to Charles’ magic. It was almost 9 p.m. We spotted a sign for interstate I-79 South, leading to Baltimore. It appeared that we were in a rural part of Pennsylvania. Erie to be exact, which was about a six-hour drive to Baltimore. Longer, considering we had to drive at snail speed since the roads were still littered with cars, bodies—both the human and inhuman kind, of various sizes and shapes—and debris.
“First stop on the highway, we pull off and find shelter. You’re right, it’s getting too dark to be on the road,” I stated.
We turned off in Pittsburg, a little under two hours from Erie, to look for shelter. Minutes later, we were cruising down a quiet abandoned residential area with large houses and a lot of land. Not the most ideal, since this was a great location for monsters, but it was the best option for now, and it was dark.
Charles parked in front of a three-story, dingy white house with a large attached garage. We got out of the car on high alert and walked up the front porch steps. The house was still in good shape, all things considered. The grass was waist-tall and weeds had taken over. The windows were a bit dusty, and a layer of dead leaves and dirt covered the porch, but the bones of the house were strong.
Charles knocked on the equally-dingy, white front door. I squinted my eyes at him and twisted my lips. No one was going to be home. The porch was small, only going the length of the front entrance so I couldn’t see inside, but the windows were covered with dark curtains anyway.
“I don’t think anyone’s home,” he said.
“What, the grass as tall as trees wasn’t a giveaway?” I muttered.
“And the fact that there wasn’t a ward, but you never know.” He shrugged. “Look, I’m always going to knock. It’s rude not to.”
I used an opening spell to get in the home. Nine years into this new world and my skills in being all things witch weren’t half bad. “Open,” I whispered, pushing my magic through the word.
We stepped in and did our usual swipe through the house to make sure there weren’t any surprises lurking in corners or under beds. In this case, the only surprises we got were a few bugs. We stayed in the living room because it was easier to escape than going down steps running from a ghost. Yeah, that really happened. Although thus far, ghosts were pretty harmless to us; just unnerving.
Charles, a neat freak, did a cleaning spell to make the place comfortable as I warded us in. He had automatic magic for all things electronic or tech. However, if he wanted to do magic outside of technology, he had to use a spell. Mages were still lumped in the witch category along with wizards, magicians, and warlocks. The basic foundation being that we could do magic with the assistance of spells, prayers, chants, power words, and potions.
Charles recited the two-worded spell in its Latin origin, and the room came alive. The dust on the furniture receded. The sofa, pillows, and linen puffed up, now revived and fresh. Stains diminished, and spider webs disappeared. Even the air smelled like fresh linen instead of stale decay. I felt like spinning around and singing a Disney song as the house went back to showroom new. Every time we did one of these spells, I half expected brooms and mops to pop out dancing and for birds to chirp as they folded laundry. They never did, but I was sure I could do a spell to add that touch.
Charles flopped down on the dark, brown fabric couch, and I sat down beside him. We sat with only the light of one lone candle we found perched on the old-fashioned, wooden coffee table. Of course, Charles could get the electricity going, but that would draw too much attention from any night-time predators or our captors, and we really didn’t want to fight, ward or no ward.
“I’m hungry, and that kitchen is bare city,” he sighed.
“Not even a rotten apple?” I asked frowning. My stomach was making some hard churns of hunger as well. Using so much power made a gal hungry.
I couldn’t make food pop out of thin air, at least I hadn’t learned how to do that yet, but I could turn something bad or picked over into something fresh and edible. As long as the ingredients were all-natural. So, sadly, I couldn’t turn a pile of Dorito crumbs into a full new bag. Another sadness of the supernatural apocalypse, making junk food, was not a high priority. Of course, I did lose over fifteen pounds in the past nine years, so there was a win.
“Not even a peanut. It might actually have been nine years since someone lived here.”
“Well, the place is warded and kind of cleaned up. We can stay here ‘til sunrise and go scrounge for food or find a town.”
“We don’t have anything to barter with, Mina. No one’s just going to give us anything.”
“Yes, but we have services. Tech mages are rare, and witches are always useful.” I shrugged. “I can work in a hospital or something and heal people. You can be an IT person. They need you everywhere. Find a town that can’t access outside communication. We’ll bounce back, as usual.”
I stared at the black, flat-screen TV in front of us on the entertainment stand. I used to fall asleep with the TV on back in the Pre-world. I found it comforting. I still sometimes found it difficult to sleep without a TV on, even though I knew nothing would be showing. “I don’t know for sure. It started with a dream.” Then I proceeded to tell him of Phillip.
“Seriously? Okay, so some dude in a dream told you to escape, whispers some words you can’t remember, talks to you in your head, and all of a sudden, you fight through the drugs they give us and your powers are back?” He glanced at me sideways in disbelief.
“It sounds crazy, right?” I asked, turning to him.
“Who the hell knows nowadays? I just wanna know who old boy was? Is he real?”
“How else did I get my powers back?”
“Well, go back to sleep and tell dream-walker dude, thanks,” Charles smirked. “He must be really powerful if he could use magic in a dream. Never heard of that. But what the hell do I know?”
I nodded.
“Or maybe, Sis, maybe it’s all you.” He sat up some, excited. “Yeah, so you dreamed about a cute guy, and that gave you some mojo to break through the drugs and get out. You’re really powerful. Don’t sell yourself short. It was just a dream, and your powers just got stronger because you’re strong. We’re all getting better, the longer we survive in this new world. The regular humans won’t be able to hold us down too long. The hearing voices thing is kinda weird, but maybe it was from stress.”
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t feel any stronger than before I was kidnapped. Yet, I needed Phillip to be real. I couldn’t explain why.
“We can’t take too long finding help, Sis. They might pack up the hospital and move.”
“It’d be hard to quickly move a camp like that. They might do a cloaking spell so no one can see them. I bet my money on them staying and just sending out folks to find us. David was hell bent on getting us. Of course, that’s all assuming they are able to break my ward.” I crossed my arms, squinting at the idea of David forcing some more magic-wielding people to around-the-clock ward breaking.
“He’s obsessed with you, Mina. You were the strongest witch in that place, and there must have been a difference with your blood in the serum than others. Probably why they drained you more. Especially because you recover so quickly.” He shook his head quickly. “Nah, we can’t get caught again. Let’s hope it takes them some time to break that ward. Weeks. We’ll have support by then, so we can go back and take them down.”
I hoped he was right.
It was daylight, and I was outside on a rooftop bar. It was familiar to me; one I remembered hanging out at in the Pre-world. The space was bright with white brick walls near the entrance and white painted railing surrounding the area, which wasn’t much bigger than a large living room or den, allowing for a close to 360-view of the city below. Greenery and flowers were strategically placed around the bar, some wrapped around the links of the white railing. At night, bright, elegant lamps and string lighting were lit, spread about the space, adding to a fun and festive atmosphere. Soulful house music played in the background.
I was sitting at the bar near the entrance staring at a glass of what looked like water. I picked it up and sniffed. Vodka. I took a sip.
“I’m more of a whiskey guy, myself,” Phillip said from behind me.
My stomach did an excited flip, and I twirled around in my barstool. He was coming from the far end of the rooftop. How had I missed him? I squinted. He looked quite dapper this time. Tailored slacks, tucked in purple button-down shirt with matching tie and black fitted vest.
“You remember me?” he asked, sitting next to me.
I nodded and smiled. “Phillip.”
He grinned. “The lady remembers me! I remember you too. Figure I have to ask each time. This is the first time you’ve said yes,” he said, excitement lacing his voice. “Hopefully, I’m less creepy this time around.”
“Oh, you weren’t creep—you were kind of creepy.” I laughed.
“Well, that’s not a good look for me. I’ll take it as a good sign that you haven’t pepper sprayed me.” He tilted his head, appraising me. “You look pretty.”
I looked down at myself. I was wearing a colorful, halter maxi-dress with a split going up mid-thigh. Sexy but still covered. “Thank you, again,” I replied. “So, do you. Handsome, I mean. Nice.” I fumbled. Why was I so nervous? Oh, because I was sitting next to a mysterious and super sexy stranger with some crazy powers.
“Thanks,” he replied, giving me an adorable lopsided smile.
The teenage girl in me squealed.
“Are you free, Amina?” His smile faded, and his eyes filled with worry.
“Yes, thanks to you. I got my brother, and we got out. We’re free.” I let out an uncharacteristic giggle and then covered my mouth. “I don’t know how it happened. I can only think you had something to do with it. How’d you help me?”
Phillip shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t even know how I found you in the first place. You just appeared in my mind one night and kept appearing. It was a dream, so I didn’t think too much about it. Honestly, if you asked me to repeat what I said to give you your powers back, I wouldn’t be able to. I wouldn’t be able to purposefully recreate any of that. Maybe it wasn’t my doing.”
“No, Phillip. You saved me. What are you? How do you have magic in dreams?”
He leaned in towards me as if preparing to tell me a secret. “You are the only one I can do that with. I have never been able to talk to anyone else in a dream.”
“Same. Are you even real? Maybe you’re just a reoccurring dream and that’s it.”
He chuckled. “You keep thinking that. I’m real.” He scooted closer to me, his knee touching mine. “But then again, if I were a dream, would I know if I wasn’t? And if you were just going crazy and hearing voices, would you know they weren’t real? Is a crazy person crazy if they know they’re crazy?” He tapped the side of his head, his light brown eyes giving off a playful glint.
I crossed my eyes, showcasing my confusion at his words. “I’m scared to even try to understand what you just said. What are you?”
“Human.” He grasped my hand resting on the bar.
He was being cute. I cocked an eyebrow.
He entwined his fingers between mine; considering them. “I’m a witch or a wizard, whatever you want to call it, like you.”
I looked down at our fingers as well. My stomach tensed at our closeness, but I didn’t want to move away. “What kind?”
“Same as you, I suspect. I believe our powers are compatible.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Supernatural beings can share their energy to a degree. If you are weak, I can lend you some strength. You healed your brother by getting the drugs out of his system, I assume. He helped with the escape?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded. “I did the same.”
“But in a dream. That’s very different.” I raised my eyebrows in confusion.
He grinned. “I stopped trying to make sense of things in this world a long time ago. None of us know how deep this all goes. We don’t know the limits. We can only guess the whys. You’ll do the best in this world if you assume no limits until you find them. There’s no such thing as no such thing.” He gave my hand a playful squeeze, and I smiled in response. The touch felt too right.
“Ha. I should hashtag your sayings.”
Hashtags had become the number one way to spread information on the internet nowadays. It was a popular method in the Pre-world for social commentary, but now it was the main way to get others to see important information from learning about spells, the Sickness, the government reformation, and more.
Phillip chuck
led and looked up at the approaching evening sky. I looked up as well. The sky was now becoming vivid dark blue, and the sun was covered by clouds. A flock of birds crossed above, and the sound of their calls was the only things heard beyond the soft music. We were in the city, but no other signs of life could be heard. Not even a car honk or dog bark or fire engine.
“Amina, do you know you are only using a portion of your powers? You could do so much.” He was still looking up at the sky.
“Could I have gotten out of that hell hole sooner? Could I have prevented certain things from happening?”
“Don’t ask yourself those questions. It’ll drive you crazy.”
“Why did you help me? Why do you care?”
He looked back at me. “I wish I could give you some poetic reason, but I just couldn’t get you out of my head. Literally and figuratively. I couldn’t think of anything else. If I hadn’t helped you, I’d have been haunted by it.”
I nodded slowly. “I left a friend behind. I feel like shit.”
“You did what you had to. We’ll go back and get your friend. We’ll get them all.”
Something large and scary flew into sight. I couldn’t see it clearly as it flew in front of the clouds backlighted by the sun. It was a large bird-like silhouette. Vulture sized. Except, there wouldn’t be any vultures around here, and its wings looked more like a bat’s. I jumped, leaning into Phillip. “What the hell is that?”
“I couldn’t tell you.” Phillip looked up. “There are a lot of things in this world I couldn’t guess at, but this is just a dream. It won’t hurt you. It’s just a reminder.” He wrapped an arm around my lower back. I leaned farther into him, feeling comforted by his protective arm.
“Reminder of what?”
“That there are those who don’t want us to talk to each other. They are trying to scare us, but they don’t have power here.”
“Who doesn’t want us to talk?”