2044

Allison Fae

After splitting up from Zane, Allison made her way toward the palace. The advertisements throughout the streets and on signs around made it easy to navigate the streets that snaked throughout. She could see herself getting used to a city this large if she decided to stay. It was perhaps the first time in the last fifteen years that she had considered an environment one she would enjoy living in were her circumstances different than current day.

She was telling the truth when she had told Trey that she had no plans to settle down. If she was being honest with herself—she had no other plans how to help this world before she experienced those visions in the tunnels under the bonelands. She had said she had wished to make this a safe universe for Arianna to come back to, but in reality now that she had made her peace with Lilly and Issachar she was most likely going to find someplace quiet where she could stop moving permanently. But now a fire burned brightly inside her and she knew there was more that she needed to accomplish and overcome. There was more to save and people to bring back to the world.

She walked into the entertainment district and noticed a movie theater on the back corner of the street. Glowing lights flashing highlighting the names of some movies with familiar names. It was crazy to think something as mundane as film had managed to make it over to this world—much less that it had survived in some form. She wondered if Forrest Gump survived somewhere out here in the world. That used to be her favorite movie when she was younger. It’s been decades since she’s seen it—she barely remembered most of the events of the film but thinking on it now she could imagine Tom Hanks serving in Vietnam and the thought of sitting down to watch a movie warmed her heart.

She felt stupid for not seeing how beautiful life could be outside of her goals and for wanting to remove herself from experiencing anything else. Even once this job was done—if it ever could be—she did want to experience those simple joys again. It had felt for such a long time that she was forced to sacrifice joy at the expense of survival. Seeing it possible here meant it could be possible in other places and settlements.

The palace’s front gates were majestic, and every part ripped from a fairy tale of old. It put to mind the setting of the story she had been planning. She felt pangs of regret over not putting any actual thought or work into it because of all of the recent chaos that she had been involved in. It was simply stress over not putting in work into something she loved in exchange to simply exist within the world so harsh.

Once this is done I am going to finish my writing. That is a solemn promise.

She walked past the gate and stood solid on the wooden bridge which connected the palace proper to the landmass divided by the medieval moat surrounding it. For as modern as the rest of the city had seemed it was certainly a sight the antiquated design of the palace. It was also a wonder of how long it must have taken to be constructed. The secondary thought became of how much of the labor here was forced or coerced. It was a simple assumption to believe that most if not all was.

It put to mind the nature of the emperor that she had heard so much about. What kind of person rose to power like that in this day and age—and what kind of people allowed that?

The only answer that came to mind was that the people must have been absolutely sure they would not have been able to win through mutiny—breeding contempt through a generation of fear and power. The first thing that came to her mind with such a power was the emperor either had access to the power of a Monolith, or to a Child of the Night. Or both. Both was a possibility that she couldn’t help but fear. She took in a sharp breath and pressed on.

Signing up for the tournament itself was not hard at all. There were plenty of staff available past the inner lobby of the palace’s walls that seemed to guess she was there for that very purpose. Perhaps only people who were foolish enough to sign up made the specific trip. The whole energy she felt was definitely off—it was like she were signing up to host a fundraiser for a school project or signing up for an extracurricular activity instead of pledging to put her life on the line for a supposedly cursed title of honor. It was grossly cheerful for a ceremony that involved much pain and the supposed death of every single one of its victors.

And yet, Allison was willingly signing up. She knew this was the best choice she could make to get closer toward another possible Monolith and her confrontation with Zane. That still gave her pause, but she knew she was going to have to face it one way or the other. And she would much rather get it over with now instead of working alongside him for years before a final battle.

Now that she was signed up she had to find some lodgings and that was easier said than done because she as evidenced by her freebies at Stuffed Tons had no money. An imp by her side said she could make a ton of cash by selling her metal and crystal. It was an imp she hadn’t thought about in decades.

The imp of the perverse was the little demon that nudged you to leap off the edge whenever you looked into the abyss. It was from an Edgar Allen Poe story she was introduced to in her middle school English class. That was…Mrs. Fowler’s class. God…how long was it since she thought of that woman? She was most certainly dead now.

Her other classmates were also most certainly dead now. If there was anyone that could be out there…maybe Aoi? She hoped he had lived a long and fruitful life if he wasn’t—he was such a kind soul and one of the people she could call a friend back in those days. But the reality of the situation was that she was most likely the sole surviving member of Nassau Middle School.

She looked back down toward the imp and it vanished—a symbol of the growing doubt within herself and the rising severity of her situation had caused it to emerge.

She continued to walk down the streets away from the palace as she began to think of anything she could do to pass the night in safety, and then a plan so simple hit her. It was going to be a hit to her pride, but she figured safety was worth more than something so silly as pride.

You lot are so attached to such a filthy emotion such as pride. It blinds you to the truth that holds a knife to your throat.

She imagined Zane next to her offering his collective condemnation toward the whole of humanity. She shook her head and stopped herself. Was she really becoming fond of that monstrosity? Gods…strike her down if she let something like that keep her from doing what she needed to when the time came for it. She rubbed her face with both her hands and took a sharp breath and collected herself. She laughed, thinking she was losing it.

The only thing that could make this more stressful now was if Felix came in during this exact moment to throw a wrench into everything. She looked behind her—a paranoid energy coming over her and she shook it off as a chill ran through her.

The last thing she needed was to jinx her own downfall into existence. She continued on her way down the street back toward the community board that she had seen when entering the city. She had seen the old woman—Sherry heading west from the fork in the road she and Zane had taken when they had headed out toward Stuffed Tons.

She didn’t know where she would go from there, but she did recall the last thing Sherry had told her about going to change her last words. God, she’d probably need to pull up and act like she’d seen a new light of God in her last moments to give her an extra good story.

Thankfully, it was a pretty easy building to spot as she came across the intersection of Sprinton & Quixo. It was a white building with large glass windows that extended up the length of the building’s two stories. The windows themselves were opaque so she couldn’t see through them, but the sign out front showed a large logo of a magnifying glass with “Sherry Bogard” inscribed within.

Looks like I found the place. Allison did think it was strange enough that the idea of an intersection had existed without a single car passing through the street. It was possible it was an element of nostalgia taking precedence over practicality. It had certainly worked—she hadn’t thought of it until now, but the idea of a functioning modern city was a very comforting sight. She was now sure that was an intentional design to sow an ease of mind among the populace and make it a more palatable idea to allow an emperor to do whatever he liked.

She looked back up at the sign and then turned to walk closer. She opened the door and stepped inside—instantly she was hit with a burst of chilled air from above. She shivered and held herself tight as she walked into the front lobby. There was a woman about her age working behind the front desk who briefly looked up at her as Allison entered.

“Hello, Sherry’s is welcome to see you. What business are you entering with?”

Allison looked to her and offered a shy smile. “Hello, I was coming to see if Sherry was available to speak?”

“She’s pretty busy today, did you have a prior appointment?” The woman asked, still writing down things in her notebook.

“We didn’t have a meeting per se,” Allison began. “But I actually spoke with her earlier—”

“Oh, were you here about the contractor position?”

Allison sat there for but a moment before nodding her head slowly. “Yeah, I was interested in it, but when we talked about it she seemed to think she didn’t need the help. I could see she looked to be extremely busy, so I figured I’d stop by just to try.”

The woman offered an understanding smile. “She can be stubborn—has been her whole life. Then again I guess I know where I get it from. My name’s Carrie, what was your name?”

“Allison, although I am not sure I fully introduced myself to her.”

“Okay, I’ll let her know you’re coming—her office is just past the corner here on the left. You’ll pass the printing studio and it’s the door right after that. Knock before you enter if the door’s closed—she’s a stickler about that.”

Allison nodded, “Thank you.”

“Hope it goes well. She can use all the help she can get,” Carrie said.

She felt bad about the white lie, but she figured this would be worth it if she could get this to work. She continued past Carrie and walked down the hallway to the left of the desk. She found the printing studio and saw the large space within. She figured most of the expanse of the building comprised the studio itself.

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She found Sherry’s office and the door was closed. She closed her fist into a ball and knocked twice. There was silence for a moment then Sherry called out, “I’m not taking contractors. Go back to the front and tell them you’re not interested.”

Allison took a deep breath and then replied, “Not even for a champion to be who wants to give you a better quote for her obituary?”

The sound of typing stopped on the other side of the door, and she heard a sigh from behind the door. “Come on in.”

Allison smiled and she turned he handle and pushed the door open. She saw Sherry sitting behind a desk typing away on a typewriter. Her gray hair was tied in a ponytail over her shoulder, and she looked up at Allison—still typing a flurry.

“Something tells me you’re not the type to legitimately change your mind—and if you did you would have chosen to not participate in the tournament altogether. Which means you’re here for something else.”

“I could use a job for the night. Something I can do to pay for a room before the tournament begins. And I’ll give you a legitimate final quote free of charge.”

She could feel Sherry’s gaze pierce her soul—she could tell this woman had an intense eye for detail and could match her stubbornness tenfold. It was no wonder she and her daughter had warred so frequently about the contractor position.

“Even if I were to have a temporary position I don’t have one for your friend.”

“He’s not my friend. And he’s not with me.”

She seemed to chew on this thought. “If I’m being frank, if he was I would have kicked you out of here before you could have even set a hand on this door.”

“If I was still with him I would have thrown myself out. Part of why I’m signed up in the tournament is to take care of that problem.”

Sherry took in a deep breath and stopped typing. “I am willing to let you come in for work tonight and I’ll even pay you up front. I have one stipulation—you go out there and you tell my daughter that you’re working for me and are going to be working remote after today.”

“Get her off your back, you mean,” Allison said.

Sherry answered with her eyes and looked back down to her drawer, opening up the bottom and pulling a small coin purse out. “You work your whole life for a mission to unearth mysteries about shadows hiding in plain sight and all people see of you is that you’re working yourself into a frenzy. It’s a thankless job.” She counted out a handful of coins and placed them on the desk in front of her. “This should cover a room and a meal at Hilltop. Nothing fancy, nothing broken. It’s at the end of the street here. Why don’t you go set yourself up there then return here when you’re ready?”

Allison wasn’t in any position to offer advice on accepting help from loved ones, but she related to the pressure she seemed to put on herself. Then, something clicked. She reached to grab the coins and stopped with her hand grasped on them. “I’d want my obituary to say this—I deeply regret the path I carved for my daughter and hope wherever she is, she can forgive my final stand. And for those I should have listened to that now lie in shallow graves—I hope I can enter in good graces when I join you.”

She walked out of the office and headed back to the lobby. Carrie signaled to her with her eyes when she passed. Allison turned and smiled. “I’ll be back. I got the job.”

She exhaled and Allison could feel the sense of relief. “That takes a burden off of my chest. She is one of the hardest working women I know, and she’s been like this…” she made a motion with her hands. “She’s never slowed down. Never taken a break.”

“She said that she’s been working to uncover shadows that hid in plain sight—what specifically is she working?”

Carrie sighed. “It’s a dangerous piece. I don’t feel comfortable just saying it out in the open—it’s about the emperor. She’ll tell you when you get back. Just, don’t tell that to anyone else. It can very easily spread and next thing we know we’re out of a job—building—even our lives.”

Allison nodded. “I understand. My lips are sealed. I’ll be back shortly; I’m going to get a room at the Hilltop.”

“Tell them Carrie will give them a talking to if they put you in 3A,” she said. “That’s their low budget room they try to get away with giving to outsiders.”

Allison nodded and smiled. “Duly noted, thank you.”

“See you soon,” Carrie said, and then Allison headed out.

She made her way over to the Hilltop which was a nice enough looking motel. The man behind the counter smelled like a rank rodent that had scurried through the bog—almost what she had smelled like when she had hidden in that dumpster as the world turned over now that she thought of it.

She smiled through it as he introduced himself. Something behind her eyes died as he tried to put on the charm—he was putting on a voice for her and he looked no older than twenty.

“So, you going to be in town for long?” He leaned over the counter after sliding her the key to room 5B.

Allison bent over, “I’m here for the tournament to become the Champion. You sure you’re wanting to tie yourself down to that?”

The look in his eyes was priceless. He bent backward had a look of a mistake on his face. It was apologetic and looking for no extra trouble. She grabbed the key and left the coin with a smile on her face. She walked over toward the back hall and found the door that had the same marking etched on the key. She felt a pang of awkward self-loathing over how nasty she let herself get back in Galder’s Reach during this same scenario. She could barely even stand still.

She shook her head and was going to restrict herself from hard liquor for the foreseeable future.

She unlocked the door and shut it behind her. She sat down on the bed—it was comfier than the bed back then, but she wasn’t as tired as back then. Though, having a few minutes off her feet was something she could be thankful about.

Allison slugged the backpack off her shoulder and set it behind her on the bed and lied on her back. She spent the next fifteen minutes just sitting and staring at the ceiling. It was a time of solace to just unplug from the rest of the world for a chunk of time.

When she had finished she gathered herself together she walked toward the back and found the bathroom. It had been quite a while since she had taken the opportunity to clean herself. Thinking on it, she felt more annoyed that the clerk up front had smelled so obnoxiously since he had pretty consistent access to a shower. She unbuttoned her outer cloak and set it aside on the counter-top. She continued and set her clothes neatly beside the others. She undid the braid in her hair and turned the shower’s knob on. Stepping into the hot water was a feeling of euphoria she hadn’t experienced in quite some time.

When Allison finished she dried her hair as best as she could and tied it back up behind her. She set her bag next to the bed out of sight and took a deep breath before heading out of the door and locked it with the room key. She set the key in one the pockets in her jacket and she started moving back toward Sherry’s.

“Hey stranger,” Carrie said as she was pulling her items on her desk into a bag by her side. “Sherry’s still in her office. I’m going home to ready some dinner for her so please don’t let her stay here too long because she will sit here all night if given the opportunity.”

Allison nodded, “I’ll try, but I have an inkling she’ll stay for as long as she wants to stay.”

Carrie smiled. “Yeah, that’s my mom. Thank you anyway.”

Allison nodded her off and continued passed Carrie’s desk and continued to Sherry’s office. Her door was open this time, so she didn’t need to knock.

Sherry looked up as she came in and she had a slew of folders stacked on her desk. “I have something I’d like to talk to you about. Come in and close the door please.”

“Sure,” Allison did, and she closed the door with a satisfying click behind her. She sat down and Sherry opened the first folder on top, several full sized pictured were stacked full in the folder.

“I’ve spent a lot of my life dedicated to investigating creatures of great and terrible power. They’re beings with abilities that you or I wouldn’t even be able to begin to comprehend…” she started, then paused a moment. “Look at these and tell me what you think.” She slid the top folder in front of Allison.

She took it and spun it around. Something inside her knew what she was going to see in the pictures, but sure enough they were grainy photos that most people would call that of a conspiracy theorist…but she recognized at least a few of the figures in the pictures even though they were blurry.

“Your eyes…” Sherry said, looking from the pictures to Allison. “You know what I’m talking about…don’t you?”

Allison nodded. “The Children of the Night. I’m familiar with them.”

Sherry clasped her hands and exhaled a long breath. “Is that why you’ve entered the championship?”

Allison nodded. “I’ve heard from your daughter that you have suspicions of the emperor. I have much the same suspicions. My ex-companion is only but one reason I’ve entered that tournament. Gathering intel on the power of the emperor is the other.”

“I feel like I have gained much fortune not shooing you away,” Sherry said. “I have been waiting for something like this for years. Here, look at these,” she grabbed at the folder in front of Allison and replaced it with the folder at the very bottom of the stack.

Allison opened the folder and saw an image of a young man—he looked to be in his early thirties. He had jet black hair and rough stubble for facial hair. His arms were raised in a triumphant pose, and he was overlooking a railing. Behind him stood a young woman who looked malnourished and wore a frown that said a million words. What looked crazy was…there was a sort of shadow behind them that almost looked like a trick of the light—but it almost looked like it had a nasty grin.

“This is Emperor William. Legend says before they hosted the current tournaments, the challenges were against him personally and they were hosted with the title of emperor on the line. He never lost and the people of Enforal became too demotivated to try that he established this new tournament to give the people a hope.”

“But then came the rumor of the Champion’s Curse.”

She nodded. “If you are as serious about competing as I can read on you—get as much information as you can on him. I don’t think his power is natural, and if we’re going to do something about that we need to know what we’re going up against.”

Allison nodded. “I can return with everything I learn. I have no intention of dying.”

“I will genuinely hope for you. You don’t know how long I have been working at this.”

“I could say the same thing,” Allison said.

“You should go get some rest. I intended you to come help clean up the print studio to earn that coin…but things have now changed. You need every ounce of sleep you can get for tomorrow.”

“You should get some rest too. I shouldn’t have to say your daughter has asked me to tell you to think of your own work schedule.”

“That woman aims to be the death of me,” she laughed. “I know I should. I have been lax in the past and it caused a lot of problems for people I used to like. After failing to help I resolved to never let anything like that happen again, but knew I also needed to live for myself. Changed my name, tried to settle down—but it wasn’t enough for the man I settled with. Couldn’t tear myself away from work. Carrie’s the only one who’s stayed by my side. I know I worry her, but it’s for her. I keep this place up and running so things can be better and easier for her.”

“I get it,” Allison nodded. “And I understand. But her, she doesn’t see that so easily unless you tell her. It’s easy for people who have been through similar to relate, but not as easy for those who haven’t to. She said she was going to make some dinner up. Maybe you should go visit and accompany her.”

Sherry pulled the folder back and closed it on top of the stack but did not say another word. It was clear that she was lost in her thoughts. Allison stood up from the chair and pushed it in before heading out back to the Hilltop.

The sun had set to the violet skies when she had stepped out of Sherry’s and the crowds of people in the street had dispersed leaving a few stragglers in the dark to their own devices.

She avoided the front clerk’s gaze as she walked to the door of her room and unlocked it. She headed in and locked the door behind her. She undressed out of her extra clothes, and she collapsed on the bed and fell peacefully into sleep.