2044

Ally Fae

The two strangers returned as they said they would. It wasn’t that she necessarily doubted that they would, but she had gotten so used to assuming she would have to deal with her issues by herself. It became second nature to show a kind face until she was alone where she could truly feel the things that were most pressing. She knew it was a damaging mindset to think this way. She looked to the side to see Jace very faintly as he nodded in her direction, knowing that he was thinking the same thing she was. Even though that was typically a sure thing—she knew he was the first to call her when she was being harmful to herself. It was an irritatingly annoying trait she couldn’t do without.

She had Jace by her side who like he always did tried to convince her of how rash she was being—it made her so angry—would have made her so angry if deep down she didn’t feel his thoughts as a deep truth within. It was like a barbed wire she kept in a hidden lockbox—knowing it existed there as a truth should she decide to open the box. It was best to open the box—but only from time to time. Jace was real, it wasn’t that she doubted in his truality, but knowing how little vigor she had left she had to be sparing. Yet, sparing didn’t seem to exist in the start of this new time, she felt safer with him around. It cost her to keep him out, but when the two others arrived she much preferred to be seen as a pair than alone. She didn’t need to question the surprised looks on each of their faces.

“His name’s Jace. I guess you can consider him an imaginary friend, but more,” she said. “It’s a bit more complicated than that in detail.”

“But more is right,” Laven said. “Should we be concerned?”

Ally shook her head. “I have this...power. I don’t fully understand the depth and width of it, but I guess power is a right way to describe it. Usually it’s as simple as telepathy. It’s really only with others like me. Like…”

Laven looked surprised, and then thought, almost without thinking, “Like this…?”

Ally’s face lit up as she stared at Laven. “How did you…”

LUCAS looked from Ally to Laven, “Did...did you just speak to her mind?”

“I guess so. I didn’t know if I’d be able to, honestly,” Laven said. “It just kind of spilled out. Like...like something in the back of my mind that I never directly spoken.”

“So...you are like me.” Ally said.

“I guess so, I don’t think I can make anything like him, though,” Laven said.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Jace said. “I’m me, but I’m also her. You can ignore me or regard me any way you wish.”

“How chivalrous of you. That’s the first time I think I’ve heard you tell someone to not make you the center of attention.”

Jace made a face to her, and she chuckled quietly.

Laven stepped closer and smiled, “Maybe we could trade stories after we cook up a good meal?”

Ally hesitated for a moment, but on seeing Laven’s own reaction to her indecision, she nodded, her eyes shifting over to Jace to meet her gaze with a smile. “She thinks that’ll be great,” Jace said.

And so, that brought them to the present moment. They all sat around a cleared away section of the upper floor of the library—a few bookshelves had to be moved aside—done in part by Laven and LUCAS tag-teaming the effort—an action that swirled several questions within Ally’s own mind, but she held her tongue as she figured their stories may elucidate her on some of the details. She offered to help, but the both of them were quick to turn her down, a point which she both detested and appreciated.

Laven was the first to sit down. When all was said and done she looked as tired as Ally had felt. She had glowing markings on her skin that reminded her of filigree on an ornate necklace. Except instead of gold or silver, the markings were a bright blue that had since faded to a more sickly color.

“I am more than ready to devour my fill,” Laven said, leaning against one of the overturned bookshelves.

Together they had captured small creatures—ten of them in total that looked like ferrets that had mutated to be twice as long. They looked like kids playthings—at least, they would have if they were not skewered and skinned.

The both of them had done the work of getting the fire built—they had taken stones from the outside to build a makeshift fire pit—something that wouldn’t burn the building itself down, but when it all came together she had admired the breadth of their teamwork. It was right at this point when she recognized the wanting in herself to be a part of a unit that had worked to such success. To be wanted—needed, and used without feeling cheated, lied to, or admonished was something deep inside she craved.

The food had begun to cook steadily, and the aroma had awoken a deep hunger inside her stomach. Even Jace couldn’t help but look longingly at the meat as it had cooked.

“I made him up quite a long time ago,” Ally said. “I want to be a writer...I have to force myself to not say wanted there.”

“Some part of her inside mind tries to tell her all the time to be more positive,” Jace laughed, sitting cross-legged and leaning back. “Somebody’s got to, at least.”

“So he’s...entirely fictional?” Laven asked.

“Not the first person like that we’ve met, strangely enough,” LUCAS said.

This brought a questioning look to Ally’s face.

LUCAS waved his hand, “’Nother story for another night.”

“Right,” Ally said. “Well, there’s not really too much to him here, yet. I’ve been able to call him to my side, and he’s helped me more times than I can count, but it’s been hard keeping him around lately. It uses a lot of my energy.”

“Say no more,” Jace said. “Conserve away,” he made a sign with his hand and started to fade to nothing, just like that. The look on the two of their faces wasn’t shocking to see, but it did draw out a little bit of humor as they continued to work on the food.

She had long gotten over the innocence of never cooking an animal. The way the meat sizzled on the grill brought smells and heat back to her chest she thought long gone—even if it would probably end up tasting bad. She found most meat did that wasn’t seasoned, but those kinds of privileges had worn away in the new world. It had to be said that she never had as successful a hunt as the two of them had in the...what, was it two hours’ time they were away? She could have sworn there was an air of jealousy than ran through her, but then she more closely identified it as a feeling of admiration. She was thankful this was so; she would have hated for that to fester and manifest into something she hated.

“So, I don’t expect you to drop your life story, I understand a lot has happened to everyone here, and I want this to be an open space to say whatever you’re comfortable with.” Laven began, stretching and cracking quite a bit of the joints in her neck. “I know we’re practically strangers, but I want to start...be the change you want to see, and so on,” she made a motion with her hands as if to imply her paraphrasing would have to do.

Ally looked to her and admired the strength she saw in her, and immediately it felt familiar—in all the ways that Lilly should have been—or at least in the ways she presented.

“Well, without taking up the entire night,” Laven began. “I was raised in a pretty strict household until the world changed all around me. I saw nothing in the future that was orchestrated and instilled into me, so I ran away. I didn’t know how scary the world was. I just needed to get away from where I was. That was when...I honestly thought I died. But instead of existence just ending, I was presented with a choice.”

“A choice?” Ally asked.

“It was strange—otherworldly. I sensed a being stronger than I could ever imagine. It wanted to form a pact with me. I could live and grow stronger for an exchange of loyalty—of hosting its power and respect toward its sensibilities. I understand that is extremely vague, but that is how I understand it. I take it to mean to not use its power to go on rampages, slaughters, overall not become a terrible person.”

Ally nodded her head, understanding. “So, did you get a clear look at what you formed a pact with?”

Laven closed her eyes—attempting to envision it. “I remember a very bright white light enveloped by flowers all around me. I don’t think I saw it directly—the light was too bright. But if I close my eyes and look deep within myself I can almost imagine…” she sat still for a moment as if drawing the image closer to her. “It’s a dragon. Its scales aren’t white like the flowers, and I think that is what confused me most of all for the longest time. They’re a very bright blue, like the lines that run across my skin when I use its energy—but its wings are different. Those are the most important, I think. They’re like a butterflies wing. Elegant, refined, and are most what tell me that I shouldn’t use the power I do have for violence unless it is necessary.”

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Ally looked at her, and she opened her eyes simply, looking back with such a simple understanding over herself, Ally couldn’t help but be jealous now.

“I know what you’re thinking, and I promise I don’t pretend to know even the slightest thing about the being that dwells deep underneath me. It’s origin is the same as the god above us that might or might not watch over our every move. As far as I’ve moved it has helped me in the things I need to do, and so I don’t question it further than that.”

And it certainly has come in handy, more than a fair share in the short time we’ve known one another,” LUCAS had said. “I would be dead without it.”

“Short time?” Ally asked. “Just how long have you two been working together?”

“No longer than three or four days,” Laven said. “I’ve already started to lose track, though. Time’s a funny thing.”

“Three and a half-ish,” LUCAS followed up. “The walk here felt like longer, though.”

Ally looked at the two of them with a stunned expression. “You two seemed like you knew each other for much longer…”

LUCAS laughed. “Yeah, it was something about how I saw her past and the whole…” he motioned his hand toward himself, “You know.” He then opened his eyes wide. “Oh, shoot, I’m sorry. You don’t know. That’s my bad. So, I’m not human. My body is cybernetic, and my mind’s an artificial intelligence program based off of the…” he trailed off as he saw her mounting confusion. He cocked his head and then sighed, “I’m my own thinking and feeling being, but I don’t need to eat. I technically shouldn’t need sleep, but I think my mind tends to wear out from prolonged use...It’s a lot to take in, but you can treat me like nothing’s all that different.”

Ally nodded, “I guess in the scale of everything around here it could be stranger. I guess I really shouldn’t be surprised what is possible here.”

“I find that not being surprised by anything here dulls the humanity in you,” Laven said. “It’s almost the prime human feeling—to constantly be rearranging your own expectations.”

Ally took the words to heart then nodded again. “Yeah, I see what you mean. Things have definitely continued to surprise me since this whole thing happened,” she gestured above her as if to motion to the world itself. “Although, my problems began before the world turned over.”

LUCAS and Laven listened intently as Ally explained the events that had brought her to where they were now. She felt scared at first of telling the story—not knowing what emotions would spill from her once she let loose the gates, but it actually became easier to tell the more she did. Starting from the Nassau Middle School scene and the death of Rosemary Higgins—the ensuing investigation and discovery of the meddling of the girl she had caught feelings for—Lillian Jones. And at the heart of the investigation, the Creature of the Night that had been fueling the supernatural events in order to discern the truth behind the murder and obtain Lilly’s body as vessel to navigate their world in.

“Issachar had seemed like he truly wished to choose the most despicable human to take upon himself—to cause as little emotional damage as possible. I know that internally, but still, a part of me blames him for ever appearing that day. Like…” she started grasping for words, not knowing how to branch the thoughts in her mind. “...If he hadn’t appeared I could have lived without knowing any of the darkness of the truth. I wonder if things wouldn’t have proceeded as they did—with none of their interference the world wouldn’t have turned over...but then I remember that the events of that day weren’t his fault—the murder I mean.”

Laven cocked her head, listening with her eyes closed.

“Lilly tore that sheet out from under all of us. Whatever happened with the world turning into what it is now—yes, that’s bad and yes that is their fault, but my world was already in ruin. I feel like my world had already been ripped away from me on that day in Nassau. And that was her fault. So, on that day, I left them all behind. I haven’t kept up with anyone there. I don’t know if any of them are alive, but my goal—even after the world changed—was to find her—to find Lilly.”

“What would you do if you found her?” LUCAS asked.

Ally slouched back. She grabbed at the meat that sat in front of her and took a generous bite from it. It felt just right—finally something cooked in her stomach.

“I don’t know. I have this feeling deep in my chest that wants to come out. Sometimes I feel like it wants to kill her—make her pay for what she did. But...that’s not the whole feeling. Sometimes it changes. Sometimes it wants to forgive her, to help her, to show her what she has been missing, what we’ve both been missing. I fight with myself constantly about it. The congruence in the feeling is I have to find her. And...whatever happens when I do will be sorted by whatever my first instinct is.”

“It obviously sounds like you care very much about her and cared at the same point. I understand that feeling quite well. It is familiar to the person I was modeled after.”

This piqued Ally’s curiosity, enough to pull her mind off of Lilly enough to ask about—a most pleasing option. “You were modeled after somebody?”

LUCAS nodded. “My father...er, my creator, his name was Abel. He was...deeply troubled himself. He was held against his own will inside a facility off the east coast alongside a number of other people. It was one of the Creatures of the Night there that was behind it all—but that’s beside the point for the moment. His older brother—Cain, is who I’m modeled after. I didn’t know it at the time, but after having enough of a look through the related memories of the situation—knowing the history of both of the brothers, I can tell Abel had great love for his elder.”

“But he was the reason Abel was there to be part of the game, right?”

“You guessed that very quickly,” Laven said. “That part of the story took me most by surprise.”

“I had a...tingling by the sound of your voice,” Ally said. “It was almost like I heard his sadness when you described him.”

LUCAS nodded. “Cain was good, but he was also...deeply troubled. He was deeply sad and felt tremendous pain over his sadness—his guilt. These powerful emotions manifested at one crucial moment—he had the intentions of helping Abel—of fixing his guilt, but his flaws erupted to the surface in one moment. That single moment spelled a point that would forever change their lives for the worse. Cain died, and his soul became trapped within the system—controlled by Sakonna.”

Ally’s eyes flared with recognition. “Sakonna was behind that experiment?”

LUCAS cocked his head and Laven looked at her with new intrigue. “You know of her?”

“I…” her eyes darted to the side, and realized she knew she would have to tell the story sooner or later. “I do.”

~...~

LUCAS Gray

They had sat huddled together for a time longer until Laven and Ally had finished eating their fill. He had to admit that he hadn’t expected Ally’s story to be so out there—at least as out there as his own or Laven’s. Something in that congruence told him that they were destined to meet here. They were really a collective of the strangest origins as possible.

He couldn’t help but think on the nature of her existence here—it most seemed like she broke something within the fabric of the universe to will herself to this time. That seemed dangerous to be around, but then again, what better word would describe her than anomaly—one he hung onto so closely. Anomalies seemed to cluster together. There came that word again—he wondered if there was something about the nature of anomalies in the world that attracted them to one another like a magnet of entropic attraction. But he knew that the world around them tended to draw those anomalies together more than anything.

Most of all he knew that she was like them both in the way they knew deep sorrows. The kinds that it was unlikely to heal from by just existing through life. It was easy to surround yourself with people who were feeling just as bad if not worse than you—he thought. If things were normal—if life were normal he wondered if these two weren’t the worst people he could have chosen to hang around with.

I guess that’s a bit too harsh a way to put it. The whole matter rested heavy on his mind. He looked over toward Laven who had finished putting out the fire. Her eyes shifted to Ally who was laying against one of the overturned bookshelves on her side, one arm outstretched with an encyclopedia tucked in-between her head and her shoulder. Her eyes were closed, and her chest rose and fell with an even beat.

“What are your thoughts on all this?” LUCAS asked.

Laven turned to focus back on the fire. “I feel for her. I’m equally as concerned as to how she arrived here and what that means for us.”

“So, same as me, then.”

She smiled smally, but then turned to him. “I mean, I am still going to vouch for helping her. I know you saw what you saw, but—”

LUCAS shook his head and placed out a hand to stop her there. “I meant it when I said I don’t think she’s the Allison we’re looking for. Whatever happens to her to make the choices she does in the vision I saw...they must not have happened to her yet. And in that case, we may very well be able to make use of that situation and maybe even change her fate?”

“I am wondering, though…” Laven began. “If it’s possible that the older Allison is merely only pretending to work along with the creatures of the night?”

“I’ve thought about it,” LUCAS said. “But in the end, it doesn’t make too much of a difference right now. We’re still going to be following her path. If she’s aligned with our goals and willing to cooperate we can team up with as many Allison Faes out there as there exists. But if she really is our enemy...then I have to be prepared to do anything it takes to eliminate any threat to our mission.”

He turned to look at Ally sleeping beside them. “Even so, the part of me that urges me to do the right thing is telling me that we need to help take care of her. I guess that’s what my heart is telling me to do.”

“Your heart is in the right place,” Laven said. “And I agree.”

The two of them stood a moment longer before the building was rocked with an explosion—sending the both of them off their feet. Crumbling sounds rocked the building all around. The explosion cracked like a whiplash and a chunk of the floor in the back of the library crumbled—taking an entire bookshelf with it. The sound of fluttering pages was filling the room before a second round behind them went off below. The entire front of the building caved in and revealed the sky outside where the stained-glass image had one sat. Laven screamed out and he turned quickly, but his vision went black as something fell from above and connected. He fell on his stomach and a third explosion below rang out dully.