In an office out of sync, a place just beyond where fates connect. A man walks down a corridor. There were a thousand thousand halls all just the same. That is unless he wanted a different one, and right now he wanted to wander.

It didn't matter how long Tawfiq had been here the halls were completely unsettling, in a screwed-up sort of way they had become familiar. You could never get lost, despite the entire thing being impossible to navigate. One moment you would wonder how to get back then suddenly you would turn a corner and arrive where you meant to.

Tawfiq had tested this a thousand times over the years, essentially wishing to find something or someone. It was uncanny how often he or another Djinn would cross paths with whoever, or better yet whatever. They were looking for. He had used it to have fun showing up wherever he was called. He just willed himself to show up where he was needed. It earned him a bit of a reputation for being really helpful. So whenever he showed up people would smile.

Today. Today was different. Tawfiq had shown up where he was needed or at least he thought he did. He had arrived at one of the makeshift cafes ready to help with brewing, cooking, or anything they. Except he found himself alone, and the area completely empty. Everything was gone the sign for Nora’s cafe was even gone. He wouldn’t have even realized it was the cafe if it wasn’t for the giant table in the middle of the room the one he sat at every other day talking to Nora and the other guests. The table was massive round and made completely solid. It was one of the distinctly unique things in the building. He had never seen another like it.

Tawfiq felt unsettled by the entire thing, but it wasn’t the first time someone broke down their store like this in a hurry. Instead, he shrugged and walked through the halls. Again he appeared in a place next to someone’s cubicle house, only to find it empty. He practically ran through the halls looking for someone to help. One after the other he found empty places Djinn once dwell all traces gone.

He ran from place to place, sometimes seeing other Djinn, others their places were empty. Some shouted a greeting, and a few asked what was wrong as he grew more frantic. Then at some point down the hall, he ran endlessly afraid to find another friend just gone. It took a while but Tawfiq was able to calm himself. He wandered for what felt like hours to him before he decided to leave. One more try, he focused one more time and turned a corner expecting to find another room, a set of cubicles, maybe even the cafeteria. What he did not expect was another hallway.

He had wandered these halls a thousand thousand times. They never changed. They always brought him where he wanted. Except, today. Today was different. Today his heart was beating out of his chest. Now he was lost.

In seven years that had never happened, and now he was panicking.

Oh sure at first he thought he might be overreacting, with the others missing, or at least he tried to convince himself. Maybe he wasn’t focusing enough or letting his fear hold him back. Now he just wants to go back to his little room.

It was a nice room. Tawfiq had grabbed a four-cubicle pod that had individual doors. He had a bed made from nice cushions he and the others found in the gym they were fairly thin, but stack a couple together and they were surprisingly soft. He had tried to talk to Jane about some of her super soft mattresses they made from some material he had been trying to find for the last few years but she was keeping that to herself. He was half convinced she had all the material or somehow conjured it.

His little room had become a little home he even liked to spruce it up with posters he found. Last week he had found a lovely one with a cute kitten hanging on a wire by its paws that said “Hanging by a thread? Me too.”

He got a little smile out of it.

Now though he was walking with the intent to go back, which always worked before. Now. It had been hours and all the halls were the same. Exactly the same. A long narrow white walls a thin carpet and a single door. It had taken him a few hall runs before he realized it was the same hall. He refused to read what was on the door. Tawfiq thought he recognized it but was terrified he was right. That was why it was an hour of going through hall after hall before he finally read the door that read “Office”.

Just a single simple word. But in the entire building, there was only one door with that word. It was the door they all knew. Every single Djinn on this moon had passed through that door at least once. It was the origin point the one place most refused to return to. No one had ever found a clue and the files. Everyone was too afraid to touch them. They knew too much.

Why was it appearing here. Now? That was the only thought running through his mind as he ran. Taking turn after turn. Only to find himself back in front of the door.

Finally, Tawfiq broke down and screamed at the door. “What do you want?” The light above him flickered. He didn’t even stop to think before running.

He had to escape. Get away. He just knew the moment he made it back to his home he would be alright.

Hall after hall. Door after door. All the same. The flickering light chasing him all the while. Darkness chasing him endlessly through the infinite.

Is this it? Is this the end?

He was out of breath about to fall over when he saw it. A door. A different one entirely. Tawfiq ran for all he was worth as the darkness reached for him. The darkness was on his tail. Just before the darkness consumed him he open the door to a strange orange light and jumped through.

A wave of relief passed over him as he found himself in a nice wet warm place, a comforting steady drum beat lulling him to sleep. Why was I running? He wondered as he closed his eyes exhausted.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

#

A man and a doll stand at the end of a hall watching a terrified Djinn jump desperately through a door, and into his new life.

The man shrugged, “That was weird.”

The doll stayed silent tilting her head.

“What? No, it was completely reasonable.”

The Doll just gave the man a dead doll-eyed stare.

He looked away embarrassed, “I was not... trying to be a like a horror movie.” He defended his own argument falling flat.

“All he had to do was open the door, and we would have talked. Not my fault he freaked out.”

The doll pointed up at the hall, then around towards the now bright hall.

“Yeah. Yeah, I can see the issue.” He looked down at the doll annoyed. “Drystia you got to talk out loud. I feel insane when you do the mind thing.”

Drystia leaned back, looking affronted. Nicki snorted, “Oh it's much worse than the flickering lights. It's horror movie 101. The creepy doll is a thousand times scarier than a tangible slasher. Hell if you had appeared while he was running I bet he would have fainted.”

The two stared at each other for a while. “Fine. But you know this is not natural either. I don't even have a voice box.” The doll said in a full feminine voice. A voice that seemed to fit the doll despite her small stature.

“Ha, I knew you were playing it up.”

A little doll rolled her eyes as a man and doll stepped back into their office.

#

In a place on the moon, a strange thing is happening. No not the sword floating around seemingly on its own. No. That's a regular occurrence for the people.

No, it's the fact that the sword itself is confused by the people he liked to call wielders. The blue variation, it learned, were called Djinn. Sasha was still fascinated by how these things moved on their feet. Sasha knew it would be much easier for them to simply float like it did.

Though, Illia said they couldn't do that, which Sasha thought was a lie. They were just to lazy to try in fact they were proven right when Sasha saw an entire group of wielders float around the cafeteria. Illia tried to explain that that wasn’t normal or sustainable like how Sasha did it, they used something called mana to do it. Sasha simply cut away the air above themselves constantly. It was a lot of fun, especially the wide eyes of Illia when they explained.

“But, how? You’re just floating there, not swinging around?”

Illia laughed a chorus of laughs at that, it was one that seemed to unnerve some people. It wasn’t as fun as cutting but they really enjoyed the faces they made. They were so interesting and mailable. “Why would I have to swing to cut?” Sasha asked.

Then Illia tried to explain for a while why they shouldn’t be able to do that, Sasha on the other hand kept trying to explain. Though it eventually would shrug before saying “Must be a difference in armament.” Which only led to more arguing. Sasha loved it. After many different talks Sasha eventually concluded it was something they were only just learning.

Lately, the blue wielders had been frantic and panicked constantly trying new things and learning. Ever since the pink wielder made that announcement, Sasha was trying to figure out how to replicate it. They would love to send out a chorus through the entire Moon. What kind of face would they make?

When some of them started to ask Sasha to teach them to sword fight, they were delighted, because it was absolutely silly. Sasha was a sword, not a wielder. How would they know how to fight with one, though that could be fun Sasha with a sword of their own? Sasha felt itself vibrate at the thought. Then embarrassed hopefully no one had heard its accidental outburst. Which they thought had been under control since the ballroom incident. Who stands crystal glasses together like that? It wasn’t their fault they were so close when Sasha got excited to dance.

None of that was strange to Sasha. What was strange was many of the Djinn had been disappearing, and not through its portals. They had worked hard to learn to cut between worlds, and would every couple of months send a few people through never to be seen again. She wondered if they also got to work with a King as she did.

They wondered if the wielders had finally figured out travel without it slicing the fabric of reality. That was what they thought kept them from coming back. Sasha knew better. They tried to explain that once through they would have to open on their side. Though her explanation of cutting her cut there didn’t seem to mollify them. Saying they just didn’t understand. Sasha almost stopped opening rifts for them. They would complain when they asked but it liked to be needed, and it was a lot of fun listening, and resonating with different worlds, it made Sasha tingle.

She was just floating towards Illia and Rixar who were arguing to ask about the others.

“I'm telling you all of them are gone.” Rixar’s voice sounded panicked. At least that was what they thought. Sasha was still having trouble figuring out emotional tones.

“That's at least a hundred Djinn vanished without a trace. How?” Illia asked.

Rixar through his hands up exasperated, “We don't know. We can only assume it was the human.”

Him? He seemed nice though. Sasha wasn't fully aware last time it was here. Or really remember being here at all. Except when they made it back. Then it remembered, or at least it thought it. They only knew that they had been here at some point before.

“What is he doing to them?” Illia’s voice sounded pleading, or begging, or was that sensual? No Afraid! Sasha parsed the tone excited to have figured it out and then realized what they said.

Sasha knew this. Excitedly they sang, literally sang with five different voices at once “Send them to a new home.”

The two jumped. Turning toward the sword.

Illia’s eyebrow raised, “What do you mean Sasha?”

“What I said. He's sending them to a new place. Like my cuts.” Sasha explained.

“How do you know?” Rixar asked.

“He sent me to my last wielder.”

“Sasha,” Illia started tentatively, “It's been ten years. You've never mentioned it.”

Sasha looked at her tilting itself. “But I did?"

“When I asked about knowing what this place was you said no.”

“And I told you about the human...didn't I?” Sasha didn’t seem so sure. Sasha thought back. It was sure they had told them about the human. Was that before it learned to talk?

The silence stretched. Before Rixar piped up. “So are they safe?”

“I don't know. I was tossed to a man by a big water. Then I got swung around a lot. Sent lots of emotions to him. That was a lot of fun, before they just left me in that thing that smelled of leather.” Sashsa recounted.

“Sheathe?” Illia guessed.

“Is that what it was called? The thing that hid my edge?”

“Yes.”

“Neat. But yeah.”

The two looked both less worried and more. It was odd. So odd Sasha was only fifty percent sure that’s what their expressions meant. Sasha liked the strange disharmony, it was new.

Deciding the conversation was over Sasha brought up why they had sought them out. “So did you guys figure out how to cut without me? Cause there seem to be less of you.”

Illia let out a long sigh, “We have not. Portal travel seems to be tricky and if you’re referring to the ones wandering the moon vanishing. We know.”

Sasha shook herself in the negative, “I meant in cubicle town. Josie wasn't there for our afternoon tea. And she never misses it. The Mrs Gertrude. I went to trim her hedges like I do every few days, and again she wasn't there. Oddly she had removed all her stuff from the house including her prized foliage. Looked just like it did when we got her. She was rather thorough.”

The two Djinn only stared in horror at the sword and the news it brought.

* * *