The car pulled into the pothole filled parking lot. Bahliah frowned at the odd collection on display outdoors. Looking at the navigation display and her phone, she let out a deep breath.
“Do you remember this place?" She asked.
Jessi hesitated.
He shook his head no, but pointed to the grand opening sign above the door.
“It's new, see?" He shrugged. “But, I can't remember the last place here. It's gotta be one of those buildings no one can hang on to for more than two months."
He had already lost interest, his eyes drifting to the locked liquor cabinet. He matched her sigh.
"So what are you after this time for your hashtag Throwback Thursday?” He asked and put on his game face.
Bahliah held her phone out to Jessi and he took it. It was already on a local post and he looked at the picture first.
“Fuck, that thing is ugly. What is it?”
Bahliah rolled her eyes and pointed to her phone in his hands.
"Try using your eyes and read the post." She retorted.
[
Antique Horizon - 2035 edition
250C
Listed over a week ago
Send the seller a message?
Description:
GRAND OPENING!!!
COME VISIT OUR BRAND NEW STORE! We specialize in the old and unique.
NEWEST STOCK:
2035 ANTIQUE HORIZON
2027 MicroX-3
2030 PS8
2029 Nintendo Switch LiteJ
]
Jessi scrolled back up to the pictures and shook his head, but he wasn't about to argue with her.
The two of them shared a unique living situation that was best defined as complicated. While both had been in similar overlapping social circles, Jessi and Bahliah hadn't officially met until a mutual friend set them up on a blind date.
To the world, they were a power couple. However, that wasn't entirely the case.
While Jessi had no preferences when it came to the human body,
Bahliah was solidly in the opposite camp and the only thing Jessi could offer her was his friendship.
Which had been instant when they had met.
The most complicated part was Bahliah's parents.
They maintained traditional Indian values and expected her to also follow them. While her parents weren't as overbearing as the other survivors, they put the weight of an entire race on Bahliah's shoulders.
Jessi brought his thoughts back to what was happening.
“So, what's the plan?" He asked, wishing he could still be in bed.
Bahliah shrugged.
"I already planted the influencer seed. Let's go full entitled brat “
"Got it. Your usual attitude then.”
They got out of the car and Jessi prepped his phone while Bahliah picked out a suitable spot to start recording her vlog outside the store.
It took nearly half an hour and several retakes before she was pleased with her introduction. Once finished, he handed her a small earbud like device that she put on. After some fiddling with the settings, Jessi had a live feed of what Bahliah saw.
"Damn, I'm sexy.” Jessi flashed her a grin in which she replied with an eyeroll.
With everything ready, Bahliah made her way inside. An electronic chime announced her entrance. She immediately went up to the front counter and the bored looking man behind it. He didn't even look up from his tablet.
“Hello! Rodger! I am DesiPixelQueen. My manager called this morning about featuring your store on my Throwback Thursday."
Rodger didn't even look up as he motioned towards the small flea market.
“Help yourselves."
Jessi frowned at the man's rudeness, but Bahliah shrugged it off, maintaining her streaming personality.
“Thanks! We’ll take a look around."
Bahliah started making her way through the various displays of old game consoles and other odd technologies. On occasion, she would let out a delighted squeal as she found something interesting and Jessi would record her spiel about what it was, when it came out, etc. it took them over an hour to gather the footage, all the while ignored by Rodger.
Finally done with that part, Jessi turned his attention to the real reason they were there. He gave an exaggerated sigh. Of course his faux-wife would migrate to the most expensive model of immersive streaming platforms in the flea market.
"Baliah, dear, your streams are very niche. This one looks like it might be too modern for your fan base."
Keeping up the act, Jessi crossed his arms and wandered off with a look that said he was looking for something that better met their requirements.
Normally, their little ruse would have whoever manned the shop pining for their commission. It wasn't everyday a woman appeared in full sari getup. Very few could afford such garb, let alone be allowed to wear it.
Making sure Rodger couldn't hear him, he turned the phone around to face him.
“Don't come here if you want customer service." He managed to sneak a shot of Rodger still on his tablet.
Going back to his job, Jessi took his time looking over the stock.
It took Jessi several minutes, but he finally spotted the console Bahliah had scouted out.
"Babe, what about this one?" He paused, stroking his short beard. "I could see Mike working your overlay in with it."
Her long lashes fluttered at the thing. It was… monstrous. It looked like a drag racer from medieval times, with some kind of steampunk style screen where the dashboard would be, and no wheels.. She ran her finger along what looked like rough stone. It was sleek, almost oily.
Her long nails trailed across the screen and it came to life. It was apparently plugged in. She glanced behind it. Did they even have that kind of plug?
She looked at the brand, inscribed in scrolling script on the bottom right of the unit. Antique Horizon. That was a name.
“Oh yeah, I think IttyBittyGurl got started in that one.”
Jessi tried to hide his smile at her act and busied himself by taking a closer inspection at the screen. He tapped the screen to activate it, but was greeted with an error message.
[
Error: No internet network found.
One offline demo available.
]
"Yeah, we don't set up the internet for these." Jessi nearly jumped at the keep’s voice from next to him. "But this bad boy here is still under a life-time warranty. New users get a starter pack with 50 in-game credits."
"Nah, there's something wrong with it.” Jessi snorted and laughed. *No one offers credits like that on an old console."
Rodger shrugged, as if he didn't care. “Try the demo. Might change your mind.”
Jessi wasn't too sure about trying the thing here and now, but Bahliah was already grabbing his hand and pulling him into the carriage
“I'd love to try it! How do we get it to work though?”
"First off, no recording equipment for the demo." He stated and they dutifully turned off their gear.
“Alrighty then. You'll have to go in as guests. If you buy it we'll key you to your profiles.”
The man went behind the machine and flipped something. Lights started flashing on the screen. A sundial showed up. They couldn't interact with it, and it was set to 190 AD, the Colosseum in Rome.
Their characters were also locked. Bahliah was a finely muscled specimen of womankind. She had custom scale armor that accentuated her features. She was named Alte the Scythian, and she wielded a hand ax in one hand and a whip in the other.
Jessi was a massive Greek. He wore bronze armor with a large spear and gladius sheathed opposite his round bronze shield. He was named Alexander the Beast.
[
Demo Initialized.
Please place your hands on the screen.
]
Two glowing handprints appeared. With their hands on the screen, there was a strange sensation on it. Then Bahliah realized she couldn't move her hand. Looking to Jessi she saw he had reached the same conclusion. Suddenly, there was an immense pulling sensation. The screen rippled like water, and they felt like they were sucked through it.
It looked like they were shooting off into the sky. They entered the atmosphere and turned back around. The view of the Earth was… strange. It was rotating the wrong way, very quickly. Day and night raced across it, and with every rotation it was a little dimmer at night and a little greener in the day. They slowly watched the lights shrink down into nothing. Then they were racing back down to the planet, zooming in on Italy
They appeared in a coliseum. Or perhaps The Colosseum. Jessi and Bahlia were standing shoulder to shoulder, armed and armored.
A man was shouting from one of the balconies. The acoustics were such that he could be heard quite clearly. To their ears, it was modern English.
“Right, dudes, we got a great show coming up. The power couple of Alte and Alexander!” He paused as the audience erupted in cheers. “They're going three rounds today, each harder than the last.”
At his gesture, a door opened on the other side of the arena. Several scruffy men filed out, wearing rags and wielding crude weapons. Jessi counted six.
“Here are some criminals convicted for highway robbery. If they can defeat the two gladiators, they get their freedom!”
Jessi felt his limbs free suddenly. Bahliah was likewise patting herself.
With a ragged yell, the bandits ran toward them, brandishing their swords.
Hefting his spear, Jessi threw it with all his might. Belatedly he realized it was too heavy for a throwing spear, but the weapon flew true. It pegged a man right in the middle. He flew backwards and landed hard, the weapon halfway through him. Jessi drew his short sword to meet the charge.
Before the men reached the pair, Bahliah lashed out with her whip. It caught around his leg, and Bahliah powerfully dragged him back, smashing his head with her ax.
The whole thing happened so quickly. Jessi's body seemed to know what to do, unknown muscle memory smashing one full in the face with his shield, then stepping to the side and opening a jugular as one of the men lunged for him.
They were outnumbered, but they made mincemeat of the six prisoners. They didn't even take any hits on their armor.
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
The last man was one Bahliah had blinded with her whip. His eye was leaking, and he couldn't do anything but kneel and howl in pain.
The chanting of the crowd grew louder. A cry of “Finish him!” over and over.
Jessi found his body locked again. He was forced to look up at the announcer. That man was looking elsewhere, to a fancy viewing box where a fat man was sitting. The man gave two thumbs down.
[
Jessi: well, he was trying to kill us
Jessi: off with his head?
]
The chat appeared in a text log in the periphery of his view. He noticed it had a lot more stuff.
[
Bahliah: OMG this is amazing
Bahliah: The haptic feedback is unreal.
Bahliah: It's like we're really here!
Bahliah: This chat is reading my thoughts…
Bahliah: don't think about Jessica
Bahliah: don't think about Jessica
]
It went on for some time but Jessi couldn't be bothered to read it. Though there was one bit that was pretty hot, he had to admit.
[
Jessi: bahliah
Bahliah: Wow, I think I got blood in my mouth.
Jessi: BAHLIAH!
]
Bahliah’s head jerked toward him. The crowd was still chanting, “Finish him!”
[
Bahliah: Well I guess that fatso wants us to kill him. Why not?
Jessi: works for me
]
Jessi ambled up toward the man. He dropped his shield and took his small sword in two hands. One powerful blow severed the man's head, and the crowd exploded in cheers.
On impulse, Jessi picked up the head, frozen in a scream of pain and terror. He slowly turned, showing all the crowd. The cheering increased in volume, and he saw the fat man jump to his feet clapping.
The announcer waited for the cheering to die down a bit. His voice boomed as he said, “Good show as always! Alte and Alexander really know how to get it done, don't they? But will they fare as well against nature unleashed?”
At his cue, another door opened. Four men walked with long metal poles attached to a large, skinny lion's neck. It was a male, with a lank black mane and tawny fur. They could count the rib bones from where they were.
The men did something to detach the poles, then hastily retreated, menacing the animal with the rods. One tripped while walking backwards, and the lion lunged at him. It ripped out his neck and began feasting on him as he thrashed on the ground.
The remaining men dropped their poles and turned to run through the door, which shut quickly behind them.
[
Jessi: damn
Jessi: they want us to fight that
Bahliah: Back, Simba!
]
Bahliah whipped at the lion, which turned from its meal and batted at the weapon like it was a giant cat toy.
Jessi’s spear was between him and the creature, so he ran to it and pulled it out of the body, dumping it in the bloody sand.
Bahliah was still keeping the lion at bay, until his jaws closed around the whip. He yanked it, and Bahliah stumbled a few steps before letting it go. The whip flew behind the animal. It crouched, then leaped for Bahliah.
Jessi's spear intercepted it mid-leap. He bore it to the ground. The lion twisted with feline speed and kicked him away, gouging out slices of his exposed leg. He landed heavily, and without his spear, which was still in the lion. He felt pain in his back and leg wound, but faintly.
[
Jessi: damn
Jessi: that kinda stings
Bahliah: A little help?
]
The lion had gotten back up, and Bahliah stood between him and Jessi. The beast was pacing back and forth, just out of ax range.
[
Bahliah: I could use that damn whip right now.
]
Quickly, Jessi picked himself back up. He readied his gladius and shield and charged back into the fray.
The two of them herded the big cat back into a corner. The spear impeded its movements, and it was slowing down. Finally, Bahliah's ax met the lion's swiping paw at the wrist, and it cut right through. It came down on its bad paw, and roared in pain. The sound right so close to them was incredible.
Jessi smashed it in the face with his shield, driving it down. He held it there as Bahliah hacked at its throat. Its movements were feeble now.
Bahliah gathered herself and leaped over the beast, grabbing Jessi’s spear and pulling it out as she landed. As it thrashed on the ground, she drove the weapon into its heart.
The crowd erupted again. This time, coins and bottles rained down. Jessi picked one up. It read, “Alchemical Draught. Good for what ails you!”
[
Jessi: can I drink this
Jessi: im kinda hurtin
Bahliah: Like I can stop you.
]
Jessi took the cork out of the bottle and chugged it. It was definitely some kind of distilled spirit, probably wine-based, flavored with anise like sambuca or ouzo. There were some medicinal tasting herbs in there as well. Jessi felt an itching in his wound and watched as his skin rapidly stitched itself together.
[
Jessi: hot damn
Jessi: im healed
Bahliah: Health potion!
]
The two collected their gear and made a small pile of the draughts. They didn't have anything to hold them in.
[
Jessi: damn this lack of pockets
Bahliah: I've been telling you for years! It sucks not having them.
]
Finally the crowd died down enough for the announcer to speak.
“The Beast and the Scythian triumph again! Let's hope PETA doesn't hear about that one!”
[
Jessi: this translation is a little odd
Jessi: tbh I'm surprised there's not beer and viagra ads everywhere
Bahliah: Don't give them ideas.
]
The announcer continued after the crowd's laughter subsided. “Alright folks, this is what you've been waiting for. The beautiful, powerful duo of Alte and Alexander, worn down by the fights beforehand, vs the Barbarians!”
Yet another door opened and two huge figures came out. Their garb was a combination of tribal firs and legionary armor.
“Recruited into the Legion in a cold and faraway land, these two have proved their prowess on the battlefield and in the arena. Last season’s undefeated champions, Thorvald and Bjorn Ironblood!”
The two stepped forward. One had a heavy blade at his side that appeared to be a longer version of his gladius, a light shield in his off-hand and short throwing spears in his main one. The other had a large two-handed battle ax that was probably not legion standard.
The throwing spears whipped forward like lightning. Bahliah twisted out of the way as it slipped past her armor. Jessi blocked two, the strength of the throws shivering his arm. He found them to be difficult to remove, so he dropped his unwieldy defense and took his spear in two hands.
Bahliah whipped at the legs of the axeman, who was closing in. He batted at the whip as he ran, but it still wrapped around his arm in the process, and she yanked him off-balance. She rained down whip strikes on him while he stumbled, but the spear thrower was also closing in on her.
Jessi charged that one, a bit sore about the loss of his shield. The man whirled at the last second and deflected with his own shield.
If he'd been left to his own devices at that point, he'd have been hacked apart. Somehow his feet knew where to go, his arms blocked hit after hit.
Jessi's first blow happened when he'd just deflected a sword strike with his spear and ducked under the follow-up shield bash. His weapon’s butt whipped around, hitting the man in the ribs with the heavy bronze weight on the end.
He gained a brief second from that, and took it to grappling, stepping behind the other man's foot and shoving him with the middle of the spear. He stomped the man's weapon arm, placing his spear tip firmly on the man's throat.
He glanced up to see how Bahliah was doing. The man had her own strength and reach, but she'd dropped her whip and drawn a wicked dagger. Numerous cuts along his legs and arms showed its sharpness.
Jessi felt the man heave beneath him to smash the spearpoint away with his shield arm. Jessi drove the point home. He nicked something, because there was blood geysering from the man's neck as he lurched away.
The blade of Jessi’s spear left a ragged gash along the fighter’s arm as he pulled it from under the heavy boot. The Norse-Roman man kept his shield forward, and seemed to be having some trouble with his sword arm.
Jessi pressed the advantage. He attacked from all sides, then smashed the shield directly with the butt of his spear, shattering the man's good arm. In a blink of lightning fast thrusts, the man was filled with holes.
He turned to see Bahlia slice through the big man's hamstring with her ax. She kicked his leg out from under him as he fell, slicing his throat with the dagger.
[
Bahliah: This is fucking epic! How are we doing so well?
Bahliah: Some kind of skill assist? I'm leet!
Bahliah: Take that!
]
They were both covered in blood, caked in sand, and they raised their arms in pure glory. As the cheers rolled in a wave louder than the lion’s, the world slowly faded.
They found themselves walking down a stone path. They were clean, bandaged, and surrounded by armed men.
As they approached, a well-dressed man came to meet them.
“Hello gladiators! A feast is prepared to satisfy your appetites. Before we begin we'll just need some tiny details.” He looked at each of them as he spoke. “Would you prefer male, or female today?”
[
Choose an option:
Male
Female
Other
Help tip: To select an answer, think “Command: (Action)”.
Jessi: Command: Orgy
Invalid command
Jessi: Command: Other
Bahliah: Command: Female
]
Bahliah felt her lips coming into a smile. “You know I follow the way of Lesbos, Marcus.”
“I'd like as many as possible to join me. Preferably both types.”
The man smiled genuinely at them. “Very good, all of this can be arranged. Now come in, have an amphora or three of wine while we make preparations.”
The man beckoned them in, but as they entered the room, everything faded to black.
[
Thank you for playing the Antique Horizon demo! For the full experience, see your nearest sales associate.
]
With that, the pair found themselves disoriented and back in the game console’s bench chair. The marketkeep had already wandered off.
“Wow." Bahliah recovered first and spoke in a hushed whisper. "That was amazing!”
Jessi opened his mouth, but Bahliah grabbed his hand and squeezed it twice.
This was his sign to be silent.
“So, how was the demo for you lovely folks?" Roger asked from Bahliah right.
Since she was facing Jessi, he saw her excited face switch instantly to business - what he called her resting bitch face. Her ability to hide her emotion like that had been schooled into her and Jessi was glad it wasn't directed at him.
"Well, it proves it is functional.” Bahliah replied and the man offered his hand to help her out.
Not wanting to be rude, she accepted, but instantly regretted how close she ended up. He stank of old body odor and bad tobacco. Bahliah held her breath and joined Jessi back at the front of the machine.
“It could work “ Bahliah inspected the filigree intensely as she spoke, noting the price sticker of 250C.
"Yeah, I'm not sure." Jessi stated with his arms crossed over his chest. “Your fans love buying you old gear, but this?"
BAHLIAH SHOOK HER HEAD, HER EARRINGS JINGLING. “I JUST HAVE TO HAVE THIS DEAR. IS THERE ANYTHING WE COULD DO ABOUT THE PRICE?” SHE ASKED, WALKING A STEP CLOSER TO ROGER AND LEANING FORWARD SLIGHTLY. “I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW I CAN WRITE A REALLY GOOD REVIEW ON INSTAFANS, I'VE GOT OVER A MILLION WATCHERS.”
Jessi hid his wince at the offer and he had to turn away at the keeps reaction. His acting skills were subpar to Bahliah.
The large, balding man's face was blank, but turned excited and bubbly. His deep voice went up an octave. At first, Jessi thought he was mocking Bahliah, but he wasn't so sure now.
"Wait wait wait! I knew I recognized you!" He dug in his cargo pocket, pulling out a very old Nokia flip phone. He showed them a saved picture of Bahliah on their "engagement" photoshoot. "You are her! Bahliah Kavya Devi Ganesh! In my shop! Can I get a pic with you? Please?"
Bahliah managed to hide her surprise at the sudden shift in his attitude, but replied, “Of course! Always a pleasure to meet a fan!”
Bahliah and Rodger posed for the shot. Jessi took the picture with some difficulty due to the age of the device. The man's wide grin revealed a few gold teeth and a few missing. Something about that smile was unsettling. Bahliah was completely oblivious, basking in the glow of being recognized.
While the two chatted, Jessi stood off to the side, wondering when Bahliah would switch back to business. After a few minutes, he made a show of checking his watch.
"Bahliah, dear, we need to go. Our flight to New York is in 45 minutes." Bahliah looked up in surprise. "You know India Flights are sticklers for being on time…"
"Oh my goodness! I didn't know you were in a time crunch. Tell ya what, I can't lower the price, but I can arrange free delivery. I gotta buddy I can call and he's good with tech. Can set this bad boy up too."
"Really? You are too sweet!" Bahliah swooned on Bob's arm then turned to saunter out of the shop. "Babe, pay Bob please. I've got a post to work!"
Jessi swiped a few times on his watch, sending the money through PayCash. He fished out one of their business cards. Rodger took it with a wide grin that didn't match the earlier one.
"Thanks, man. This made my day." Rodger held out his hand and Jessi shook it. "Just remember, all sales are final."
With that, Rodger went back to his counter. Jessi hurried out, eager to get away from the stale smoke smell in the shop. Bahliah was already in the sedan.
He slid in the backseat next to her.
"He smelled god-awful." Jessi said to her, throwing his blazer jacket on the floorboard and grabbing for the sanitizer in the middle seat. "Can't believe you touched Bob."
“It was Rodger and give me that!"
Bahliah took some sanitizer for herself, rubbing it up her exposed arms and then fanning her hands to dry faster. “Totally worth it. Can you imagine the shipping on that monster? I think it might still have tubes inside.”
"Ha! And it looks ratchet." Jessi paused, talking to the front of the car. "Hey, Overlord, take me home."
The sedan started up with only a whisper of the engine starting automatically. The navigation panel appeared with their route highlighted and the car pulled out of the parking spot and into traffic on its own.
Jessi sat back into his seat as the back warmer started up too.
"Hey, when's your parents' next payment coming in? I'm starving. Could go for some cheap tacos if it's not tomorrow."
“Tacos, yum. My parents, ugh. I'm not sure whether to be hungry or nauseous. My parents' payment doesn't come in till next week. My Spawnsor account pays tomorrow though. Speaking of…”
She folded her phone out. “Damn. I have had a bunch of new watchers since I checked into that place. There's like a churchy vibe going on with them. ShadowOfEden, GraceInGreif, Sanctuary96.”
Jessi sighed, “You know how I feel about you broadcasting your position like that. Do you want more stalkers? This is how you get more stalkers.”
She bobbed her head at him in response, but Jessi knew she wasn't listening.
*Ok, cheap tacos it is… Hey, Overlord, add Johnny's Taco Truck as a stop.”