Requiem

by Jim Moens

  Laura Johnson started at Hester's about a week after Dennis did. She worked as a cashier, but would sometimes help out in appliances during the busier times. Laura had long strawberry blonde hair, bright blue eyes and almost always had a smile on her face, or at least she did whenever Dennis was around. She had been asked out by virtually every young single male employee of Hester's. She turned them all down flat. The one man in the store that Laura actually did want to ask her out would barely give her the time of day. She eventually decided it was time to go for broke and take some decisive action. There was nothing to lose, after all.

  Three days before Christmas, Dennis had just finished speaking with an elderly couple in the market for a washer and dryer. Laura approached with her hands behind her back.

  “Hi handsome,” she said, her smile even brighter than usual. “Merry early Christmas.”

  “Hi Laura,” Dennis replied. “Merry Christmas to you too.”

  Laura pulled her hands around to the front and presented Dennis with a small green bag tied at the top with a festive ribbon.

  “This is for you,” she said.

  “Thanks,” Dennis said as he took the bag. “Can I open it?”

  “Sure.”

  Dennis untied the bow and peered inside... an assortment of cookies, all decorated with red and green frosting.

  “I figure everybody loves Christmas cookies,” Laura said.

  Dennis almost smiled. “I know I do.”

  “And I was thinking also,” Laura began, “my family, we have this big Christmas party every year. The whole neighborhood comes. It's a really big thing. I thought maybe you might want to go. Maybe. And there will be more cookies. I promise.”

  “Well... I might,” Dennis said. “When is it?”

  “Tomorrow night. I know, short notice. Sorry.”

  Dennis was pleased at the opportunity to be around people, presumably none of whom he already knew, and get his mind away from those dark corners to which it would still frequently venture.

  “What's your address?” he said.

  Dennis and Laura were married in late June of 1952. Their son, Daniel Frederick Schmidt, was born just four months later.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Her scowl became a grin.

  “Surprise!” Megan said as she shook the green blood from her sword and sheathed it behind her back. She reached out to Doug and he took her hand. Her grip was as strong as he remembered.

  Doug struggled for a moment to stand, even with Megan pulling him up. He towered over Megan’s five feet, yet she still managed to intimidate.

  She smiled again.

  “But… how?” Doug stammered, though he knew. Somehow he knew… this was Damon and monsters and dreams, most of them dark, that could attack the real world. At the same time he knew, deep in his bones, that this was really and truly his sister.

  “I was sent here,” she said. “I was in a… a cell? A dungeon?” She shook her head, confused.

  “Sent here? By who, and--”

  Doug stopped short. He drew his sister into a tight embrace.

  “I’ve missed the hell out of you, mouse,” he said.

  Doug pulled back. Megan looked just as he remembered her. Just as he remembered her, as if only a day had passed since they last talked and she had shown him how to execute a spinning hook kick without falling on his ass.

  “Is this real?” he said, his voice just above a whisper. Doug wondered if she was completely aware of what happened ten years before. “Are you real?”

  “I’m here,” Megan replied, “I know that for sure.”

  Doug brushed back a lock of her hair.

  “I want you to meet your niece,” he said.

  “You have a daughter? How long... have I...have I been... away?”

  “A little over ten years,” Doug said.

  “Shit.”

  Doug nodded. “Yeah.”

  “I think the key question is why,” Megan said. “Why am I here?”

  “It’s a long story,” Doug said. “And it’s kind of hard to believe.”

  “Try me.”

  “Well… there’s this guy who’s trying to kill me. His name is Damon, and…” It was Doug’s turn to trail off. He shrugged.

  “Why?” Megan asked. “What did you do?”

  “Nothing. I swear. He just… I thought it was all just a dream. But then he basically... he blew up my house.”

  Megan was silent.

  Doug frowned. “We have to find Damon.”

  “But how?” Megan continued.

  “I thought maybe you knew.”

  “I don’t know anything,” Megan said as she looked at Doug gravely. “Suddenly I was here and you were wrestling with a lizard man.”

  “How did you get here?”

  “It’s fuzzy, but… there was this woman. She got me out of this... cell I was in and told me I needed to help you. She took me by the hand… and then I was here.”

  “Damon took my daughter,” Doug said. “And my girlfriend. And my friends.”

  Megan’s eyebrow raised. “You have a girlfriend?”

  “Don’t act so surprised.”

  “I’m teasing, Dougie.” Megan smiled slightly. She knew she was the only one who could call him that.

  Doug gave Megan’s hand a squeeze. “We need to…” he shook his head, still trying to process everything. “We need to find Frankie and Rebecca.”

  And Nick, Doug thought. And Kevin. And Carl and Tommy. He stepped back and ran his hands through his hair.

  “Anything else?” he said.

  Megan looked at him quizzically.

  “Did this mystery woman tell you anything else?” Doug said, an impatient edge creeping into his voice.

  “Like I said, it’s still all a bit fuzzy,” she replied.

  “Anything. Anything at all.”

  “I don’t know if she said this, really. I just… there’s this phrase in my head…” She trailed off.

  They were silent for a moment.

  “Anything, Megan. Please.”

  “What’s not real can be,” she finally said, not understanding it herself.

  “Reptilicus,” Doug said.

  Megan shook her head. “Reptili… what? You mean the lizard thing I just killed?”

  “Yes… Reptilicus!” Doug took Megan by the hand and pulled her over to the table. He picked one of the cards, showing a fierce feline warrior named Tigron, and handed it to her.

  “I was standing here looking at a card, just like this one, wondering what the hell I was going to do, and suddenly--” He gestured towards Reptilicus’ prone form.

  Megan looked across the cards, at the warriors, the demons. The powers.

  The powers. She turned her gaze to Doug. “So maybe we can use some of these?”

  “If a seven foot tall reptile guy can appear out of nowhere, I’d say that all bets are off. Maybe we can use this one.” He picked up a Portal card to show Megan.

  “You think…”

  Doug considered the card carefully. “It’s worth a shot.”

  He held the card out, as if aiming it towards the wall. Nothing.

  “You sure about this?” Megan said.

  Doug shook his head. “No.” He tossed the card back onto the table. “No, I’m not.”

  “We’ll figure something out,” Megan said as she squeezed Doug’s shoulder.

  “Dammit!” Doug shouted. “I need to find my daughter!”

  Megan took a half-step back. Doug’s infamous temper was starting to rear its ugly head.

  “Doug, just--”

  Megan was cut off by a discordant roar, almost a low-pitched screech. She turned to see a swirling vortex of colorful light dance across the nearest wall. The portal was several feet across and stretched nearly from floor to ceiling.

  Doug gathered most of the cards from the table and stuffed them in his jacket pocket. “Okay, then. Let’s go.”

  “A portal?” Megan said. “To where?”

  “I t
hink I know.” He turned to Megan, cards in hand. “Seriously... let’s go.”

  “When did you become such a badass?” Megan said. She smiled wryly.

  “I guess I’m pretty much a badass when it comes to my daughter.”

  Megan turned towards the Portal. “So let’s do this, little brother.”

  “You scared?” Doug said, staring at the Portal.

  Megan shrugged. “Yeah. But--”

  “I won’t let fear stop me.”

  Megan turned to him. “You remembered.”

  “I remember all the Meganisms.” Doug reached down and gave his sister’s hand a squeeze.

  “Let’s go,” she said quietly.

  They stepped forward as one. Doug reached forward, his hand in the vortex.

  “I thought it would be hot,” he said. “It just feels like… energy. Like vibration, I guess.”

  Megan reached forward too. “It’s like a jacuzzi with no water,” she said.

  Doug tentatively stepped into the Portal. Megan followed suit. It was just as expected… a portal of light, energy, and sound.

  “What now?” Megan said, fairly shouting over the screeching roar.

  “Forward, I guess,” Doug replied.

  Again, they stepped forward as one. Doug glanced back at one point. He could only see the swirl of light. There was no going back. The light before them began to dissipate even as they walked toward it.

  “Are we almost through?” Megan said.

  “I think--” Doug started to say just as he stepped out onto a rough-hewn, cobblestone street. “--we are,” he said.

  Doug turned back to see Megan emerge from the Portal. She cast a sweeping glance around.

  “This is it?” she asked.

  “This is QuestWorld,” Doug said with a nod. “I had a feeling we’d end up here.”

  Megan’s gaze tracked a two-headed, blue-skinned troll as it walked by. She wasn’t sure if it saw them as they hid in the shadows of an alley.

  “This is… what?” she asked.

  “QuestWorld is an internet-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game. It takes place in a world of warriors, kings, magic, and monsters.”

  Megan barely suppressed a smile.

  “Yes, I have a girlfriend,” Doug said. “Being a geek is actually cool these days.” He lifted his head and saw the spire of the Empress’ castle just across the village.

  “There,” he said with a nod.

  Megan saw one of the four-winged dragons as it circled the castle.

  “What the hell?” Megan whispered. She looked around at the villagers milling about in their rag-tag robes, the near-transparent wraith that floated by, and the royals dressed in silk and linen with their perfectly coiffed hair.

  “This is quite a place,” Megan continued. “So, I want to understand… we’re actually in this massively… multi… game type... thingy?”

  Doug nodded absently as he peered around the corner. “Yeah. I don’t understand it either. Yet here we are.”

  “So what now?” Megan asked.

  “We need information,” Doug said. “Stay here, okay?”

  “I’ll keep an eye out,” Megan said.

  Doug stepped out of the alley and looked about. He knew that trolls were of low intelligence and royals were unlikely to even speak to him. Most peasants spent their days harvesting or at the market, selling their wares. Then he saw a Mage in a worn, almost ragged, green robe. The Mage held a small group of peasant children in his thrall, levitating each one in turn a few inches off the ground. A little girl, barefoot and dressed in what seemed to be nothing more than a canvas rucksack, squealed with delight as her toes lost contact with the ground.

  Doug stared at the Mage until he caught the man’s attention. He nodded and the man nodded back. Doug approached.

  “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?” Doug said.

  “It is indeed,” the Mage replied as he gently lowered the little girl back to the ground. “What, pray tell, might I do for you today, sir?”

  The children all turned to face Doug.

  “I’m looking for some people,” Doug said.

  Megan, as promised, kept a sharp eye on Doug. A family of elves passed by, with their pointed ears and alabaster skin, and demanded her attention for a moment, but she returned her gaze to the old man in the green robe talking to Doug.

  “Some people you say,” the Mage said, managing a sage tone. “Might I hazard a guess… humans?”

  “Humans,” Doug said.

  “Dressed much like you?”

  “Yes. More or less.”

  “A boy? A lady? Their entourage?”

  “Yes!” Doug practically shouted.

  Megan heard a scrape from behind. The sound of… something against stone? She reached back and grasped the tsuka, the handle of her katana, and turned quickly. She faced a small creature… a little person, the size of a child; but with a weathered face that told Megan that he had a good number of years on her.

  “Uh… hi there,” she said, as the creature looked up at her expectantly.

  “You are lost, it seems,” he said. “I believe you are lost. Are you lost?”

  “I’m actually looking for someone. Um… someones, I guess.”

  Megan briefly glanced back to her brother, still engaged in conversation with the old man.

  “So you saw them?” Doug said.

  The Mage shook his head. “I had heard of them. I was told of their arrival.”

  “Were you told where they went? What happened to them?”

  “I was told…” The Mage shook his head again. “I don’t think this to be good news.”

  Fear gripped and twisted Doug’s stomach. “What,” he demanded. “What happened to them?”

  “I was told that they were taken by the Slavers.”

  “So you are not lost,” the little creature continued. “Some others are lost. We can help you find them. We can help you find your others. We can. I swear.”

  “Really?” Megan said with a smile. “And how do you propose to do that?”

  The little one put his tiny hand to his face and barely stifled a giggle.

  “We have…” Another giggle. “We have a giant.”

  “Where are the Slavers?” Doug said as he advanced on the Mage.

  “I know not where they take leave of the day,” the Mage said as he raised his hands defensively and backed away from Doug. “Some say the edge of the city. Some say another realm. I do know that they trade each morn near the city gates.”

  Doug remembered seeing, at one point during his gameplay, a large platform surrounded by a sturdy fence. Animals were often bought and sold there.

  “Just after dawn,” the Mage offered. “This is all that I know. I do hope that I was of some assistance.”

  “Thank you,” Doug said. “You were.”

  Megan stooped down a bit, as if she were talking to a child.

  “You have a giant?” she said.

  “A giant, yes. I have a giant. I truly do. And I have a princess.”

  “A princess? Really?”

  The little creature bobbed excitedly.

  “She is my princess, she surely is. And she has a gown made of iron.”

  “A gown of iron?” Megan asked, trying to process what that meant. Some kind of armor?

  “The gown has magic on it,” the little one said.

  “You’re being bullshitted,” came a voice from behind Megan.

  She turned abruptly. It was Doug.

  “This little fella is a dwarf,” he said, “and dwarves are notorious con artists.” Doug smiled. “Aren’t you, little buddy?”

  The dwarf stared daggers at Doug. Doug ignored the stare and turned to Megan.

  “I found out something,” he said. “It’s not good. Slavers have them.”

  “How do we get to them?”

  “They’re going to be put up for auction at dawn.”

  “The Slavers are bad,” the dwarf said. “So very bad. Sure th
ing they are.”

  Doug sighed and turned to the dwarf.

  “We can help you. My princess and I have a giant,” continued the dwarf.

  Doug glanced at Megan. She shrugged.

  “His princess has an iron gown with magic,” she said.

  “Dwarves may be many things, but they are basically harmless here,” he replied. “So I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to check it out. Even if it is bullshit.”

  Doug crouched down to where he was level with the dwarf.

  “Tell me about this iron gown,” he said.

  Doug was relieved that their route to the dwarf’s home was underground, as walking about in a Batman t-shirt and blue jeans would certainly draw unwanted attention. Fortunately, they were able to travel via a network of aqueducts, rather than the sewers that were filled with unmentionable scents (as well as rodents nearly the size of large dogs).

  The three of them finally surfaced not far from the auction grounds. Doug took a good, long look at the platform… a stage, if you will… and began to plot a rescue. He knew that there would be a good number of prospective buyers, along with onlookers, and he wondered if he (along with Megan) would have to fight through them all.

  They slipped across the street, fortunately only seen by a few pedestrians, and entered a low slung stone structure, what Doug guessed was once a barn used for raising dragons and griffins.

  “Princess,” the dwarf shouted, his voice echoing through the mostly empty space. “Oh, Princess? I have brought you visitors.”

  Some motion caught Megan’s eye. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked about. She reached back for her sword.

  “Princess?” the dwarf said.

  Doug turned to Megan. “What is it?” he said.

  “Someone’s here,” she replied. “I feel like we’re surrounded.”

  “Hey little one,” Doug said to the dwarf. “This better not be a trap.”