The buzz podz warned Pepper that he needed to leave the vehicle, or he would be charged some extra Flex for delaying its departure. Amprage growled but hopped out of the capsule first. Pepper began to shimmy himself forward and finally stepped out. He was greeted by an extended hand from the nurse.
“I’m Efrem Foster, you are definitely not from around here. Haha.”
He met the gesture and shook the nurse’s hand. “Nope, just pulled into town yesterday.” Pepper saw that Efrem leaned his head slightly forward with a curious expression of wanting to know more. “Michigan, Portage, Kalamazoo area.” He paused again for a half second when he realized he had not introduced himself yet. “I’m Pepper by the way. Pepper Walker, nice to meet you.”
“Okay… okay, bible belt in the house. I like it.” Efrem replied with a furrowed lip but that quickly faded away as a warm smile appeared.
Pepper couldn’t help but see the similarities to Reggie. Only, Efrem seemed like he was the complete opposite end of a spectrum from his hometown friend. Reggie had a low voice that was more commonly soft and subtle. Efrem was loud, vibrant and full of sarcastic exuberance.
“Well, hopefully that culture shock will fade away and you’ll get used to life in the big city.”
“That obvious, huh?”
“Child, you look so bleach white that you might wanna consider changing your name to salt.”
Pepper was so taken by the statement that the two couldn’t help but laugh. He then took a deep breath. Now feeling a bit more comfortable with his new companion, he began to truly look over the area. “I’m kinda surprised to see so many homeless. I know where I am from there is a decent amount of available housing for people. Heck even the place I rented out just north of here was really affordable. Is there no housing for these people to stay in?”
“Oh, there is, they just don’t choose to live there.” Efrem crossed his arms and shifted his weight. “So, not all of the city is like this, but, this is one of the main area’s where a lot of our veterans have congregated.”
“Veterans? Of the rift war?”
Efrem’s face contorted, as if he hated the fact that he was admitting the fact. “Yeah. I would say…” He paused and glanced around. “About 80% of the people you see right now are all veterans. They refuse to stay in the shelters and the housing that was set aside for them. Being enclosed within a building terrifies them.”
“Why is that?”
“So, the nearby rift portal.” Efrem titled his head and then scratched his black manicured beard. “It’s something like ten miles east of us, from where we are. Well, the demons got into the underground tunnel system, and shelter area. Places that had not been accessed for years before the war. Anyways, a lot of these veterans were the group that were forced to go down there and root them all out. I think they refer to it as casket syndrome. The second you put them in a confined space they start to freak out thinking they’re going to die at any second.”
The entire time that Efrem explained the veteran’s situation, he couldn’t help but think of his dad. His mind then imagined Andrea’s father, Kyle, even his brother. All the veterans he knew, and he was now grateful for the fact that, to the best of his knowledge, they had not had to endure such an experience. “That’s terrible.”
“It’s heart breaking, but… I have to admit, I am jaded to it.” Efrem said with a sorrowful expression. A voice nearby then called out for the nurse, and he turned his head in the direction. “I got to start heading that way, wanna walk with me?”
“Sure.”
The two turned and headed in the direction of the requested party. Efrem then started to move his hands about as he continued. “The veteran affairs here in the area was overwhelmed. They didn’t know how to deal with this condition and the fact that many of these veterans refused to be housed. They are constantly living in fear with a new wave of demons coming and attacking. That was when quake began to run rampant.”
“Quake?”
“It’s a drug that many of them got addicted to. They say it helps them cope with the demons and they’re still fighting mentally. But the aftereffects leave them how you saw Charlie. They walk around like they’re in the middle of an earthquake. Or a zombie. Their speech is impaired, they struggle to communicate with others.”
“I’m not going to lie. It scared the crap out of me.”
Efrem looked at him and nodded. “Oh, I hear that. It took me a year or so to get used to it. There are still days when I am just, shocked at some of the things they do when they’re going through an episode.”
The two arrived to see three nurses cautiously standing around a haggard looking woman. The three nurses all had their hands up defensively and looked concerned but also trying to keep some kind of control or containment of the situation. The woman they were guarding themselves from looked similar to Charlie. Her hair was grey and frizzled to the point where it looked more like a bird’s nest, or vined bush. She had a half-ripped sweater that was worn as only a shirt, and she had a patterned pair of dirty sweatpants.
“Charity! Where are your shoes girl?” Efrem exclaimed when they finally arrived to her.
Pepper glanced down and noticed the woman had one bare foot on the pavement. The other had a partially worn sock that was being dragged around. The woman turned towards him and Efrem and that’s when he saw what the alarm was for.
His eyes immediately saw the knife in her hand that she pointed directly at Efrem. It caused his internal alarm bells to start ringing at first. But then his eyes narrowed in on the fact that the knife, though real, looked like it couldn’t even be used to spread butter over a piece of toast.
“Give me a sandwich!” The woman demanded and gave a short thrust towards Efrem.
Efrem’s hand swung downward in the flash of an instant. His hand slapped her hand which held the knife and landed with such force that it sounded like he slammed a dictionary down on a wooden desk. The knife shattered into three pieces when it hit the cement.
“Charity! Who you think you are to be out here demanding things?” Efrem paused as the woman now stood there with an embarrassed look on her face. “Huh?”
“They wouldn’t give me a sandwich!” She yelled and huffed with a snarl.
Pepper repositioned himself enough to see Efrem’s expression. The nurse lowered his head sarcastically, and looked at one of the fellow nurses. The other male nurse defensively lifted his hands. “She walked up and demanded we give her a sandwich. We had three others ahead of her and she started to cuss us out. She then produced the knife when he didn’t get her a sandwich fast enough.”
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
An overly sarcastic expression came over Efrem’s face as he slowly shifted it back to Charity. Pepper couldn’t help but see the embarrassed look grow even larger on the woman’s face. Efrem then brought his hands together and stood in a manner that made him look like a principal. “Charity… that isn’t nice is it?” The woman didn’t answer right away and Efrem shook his head sarcastically. “Is it?”
The woman scowled. “No…”
“Now Charity… have we ever not given you food?”
The woman practically snarled. “No… but…”
Efrem lifted his finger up to stop her protest. “Uhh nope! We’re not going there Charity. Now…” Efrem looked over and nodded to one of the other nurses standing there. “Sara is going to get you a new pair of shoes. Jacki is going to get you a sandwich and a candy bar. Would you like a candy bar as well?”
The woman huff and then started to wipe her face. “Yes… yes I would.”
“Okay…” Efrem then extended an arm out and pointed towards the booths the nurses had clearly setup. “Let’s go back over and we’ll get you those things. But no more threatening staff with knives.” Efrem glanced down at the broken pieces on the ground. “Especially with knifes that couldn’t even cut a plastic bag. Okay?”
“Okay….” Charity muttered out and began to stagger away from Efrem. To Pepper’s surprise, the woman stopped and slightly turned around and looked back at Efrem. “I’m sorry.” She then continued to waddle back towards the nurses’ booths.
“I know you are boo. I know.” Efrem started to chuckle and shake his head. He turned back to Pepper and shrugged his shoulders. “And that is just a normal day in the life down here. Wild… hahaha!” Efrem smiled and let out a hearty laugh.
Efrem leaned over and started to pick up the knife pieces. “So, what are you guys up to today?”
“Well, I figured I would come into the big city to try and find some food. My walk around a bit.”
Efrem practically hooted out, “Man, you just wanted to full enchilada experience. Haha, okay, okay. You know what… go checkout Pete’s. Greek food right around the corner. It’s just past the Rogue Canyon bookstore. But, yeah, I gotta get back to helping these guys out.”
Efrem extended his handout for another handshake and Pepper accepted. “Thanks. And thanks for all the help with… Charlie there and all.”
“Don’t sweat it bud. Hopefully I’ll see you around.” Efrem smiled and then something drew his attention away. His head snapped to the other side and immediately a giant bellowing warning rang out. “Thomas! Do not lick him! No! You stop it!” He turned back and let go of Pepper’s grasp. “Okay bud, see you later.”
The large nurse started to jog after the next group of individuals. Pepper looked down at Amprage, his familiar looked up at him and the golem seemed to have grown his eyes wide. “This place is strange Pepper.”
He laughed, “You aren’t wrong there.”
His stomach started to knot, and he knew he needed to get food in him soon. The two began to walk in the direction Efrem had mentioned. The whole time Pepper took in the sights of the big city. A concrete jungle of walls, buildings, and tree planters. Many of which were tagged with graffiti in words, shapes, and images that Pepper didn’t even attempt to decipher.
He shook his head as the formations of runes made no sense to anyone. Yet, there was supposed to be words, symbols, and images made with no discernible message. His eyes glanced over one statement of, “The pen is blue…” written in blue spray paint.
“We only traveled like 12 hours, yet this place is like a different world.”
Though they had only walked a short distance, Pepper decided to pull up his holodex and looked to narrow in on exactly where this place was located. His map interface found the location referred to as Pete’s and a small beacon illuminated. To his surprise, they just needed to walk one more block and then turn left.
They closed in on the location and were informed they had arrived. Pepper looked around confused for, he saw no signs indicating the restaurant. The only thing he saw was a darkened alleyway. He glanced down it and just when he was about to look away, he saw the darkened silhouette of a man.
“Hey kid I got what you’re looking for.” A raspy voice said from the dark void in front of him.
A tingly sensation ran up the back of his neck. He then felt the cold shiver which warned him that nothing good could come from this place. “No thanks, I have already heard about Quake and what it can do to you. I won’t be touching that stuff, ever.”
“Quake? Ha! I got something better than quake… far better. And it’s not bad for you.” The raspy voice started and ended his statement with a chuckle. The kind that made Pepper question why he hadn’t just run out of the area.
Amprage stepped forward and started to growl. His familiar keying in to the eerie darkness now set before them. His instincts told him to run, but for some reason he asked the darkened figure. “Yeah, okay… what exactly is that than?”
“Books.”
The answer hit him like a slap across the face. The statement shocked him to the point that he didn’t believe exactly what he heard. “Excuse me?”
A small spark flicked in the dark alley. It looked like it may have been a cigarette or cigar, but Pepper couldn’t tell. Pepper could see just enough of the shadowy figure to know they were slowly approaching he and Amprage.
The raspy voice then continued. “Books, they’re way better than quake. Take you on elaborate adventures, thrills, even some chills. Steamy hot romance, or perhaps just a small splash of spice. Magical creatures and items of rare wonder. I got well over 70 books printed myself and much, much more awaiting inside these walls.”
Pepper was stunned and didn’t really know how to respond. “Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting books to be compared to drugs. But I don’t…”
The voice then interrupted him. “Nobody does, but that’s just what it is. You start with one, a little sampling perhaps. You get a taste and the next thing you know; you’re hooked. Then you’re getting two, maybe three, perhaps even a series.
“Next thing you realize is that you now have a TBR, more commonly known as a to be read pile. It’s probably stacked on your nightstand or dresser. But that isn’t enough, for now you have found a new series that piques your interest. You then wake up and naturally order a bookshelf. Then… then you wake up one day and discover you own a library.”
The man now came enough into the light that Pepper could see his features. His hair was salt and peppered and the crewcut style seemed to match his demeanor. He had a stubbled beard in the same coloration. A colored shirt that was dark enough to not truly tell what color it was, but the trench coat. The black leather trench coat was clearly distinguishable.
The man had his hands in the coat’s pockets and extended them open which opened it out and to both sides. “So kid, what do you say? Wanna take a peek in our tiny little bookstore?”
Pepper found himself so confused on how much this place kept getting weirder by the minute. But that was just when a new voice arrived just beyond his right shoulder. It startled him all over again and caused him to internally jump out of his skin.
Amprage spun around and barked. “Easy Amp. It’s okay.” Pepper reassured his familiar.
The smaller man was just about Pepper’s size. He had glasses and an adventurer hat that made him look like a modern-day Indian Jones. A soft blue polo shirt and jeans while he carried a leather satchel. He looked down at the alley and then at Pepper with an apologetic expression. “I’m sorry.” He said to Pepper and then turned to face the man.
“Aaron what have I told you about turning off the lights to the alleyway? It’s creepy and weird and does not help draw customers to the bookshop.”
The raspy voice immediately disappeared from the alleyway stranger. To Pepper’s shock, the man’s voice was higher in pitch and more jovial in nature. “Kid, this is my book accountant and assistant. Nathan Ameye.”
The newly arrived man shook his head and adjusted his glasses. “And will you cut it out with that raspy creeping voice. Just talk normal and try to encourage people to read.” The man turned to Pepper and rolled his eyes while sighing. “I’m sorry kid. I swear Aaron always wanted to be an actor. Can’t you tell by this overly dramatic ploy?”
Pepper nodded and ended with a chuckle.
“Hey, Miss Koslosky said I was the best theater student she ever had. She said I was the best person to ever play Hamlet.” Aaron countered.
“That’s because you yourself are a ham. Now turn the light back on.” Nathan replied and wagged his finger at Aaron while starting to walk down the alley.
Pepper watched as Aaron rolled his head in protest but then leaned over and flicked a switch on the wall with his finger. The alleyway immediately illuminated, and Pepper could now see there was a sign installed above the alleyway that simply said, “Books”
“Well, kid… want to check out some books?” Aaron asked in his normal voice.
Pepper scratched the back of his neck. “Uhh, I think I’m good for today. But hey, you wouldn’t by any chance know where Pete’s is would you?”
Aaron smiled and then motioned with his finger. “The next alleyway over. Look for the red sign. I totally recommend the gyro. It’s to die for.”
“Thanks, and uhh, good luck with your books, I guess?”
“See you around kid.”