Void Guardian 2.6

Approach 2.6

He looks like I caught him by surprise. “Oh--It’s pretty easy, but I think you have to be touching me for it to work.”

I follow him around the room with my eyes while he gathers up his stuff. “This is how I got you in here, I mean… it’s sort of a magic thing, but really… what here isn’t?” He goes on.

He’s much more animated and less unsure as he babbles about the mechanics of the teleport. Maybe the rush of power from transforming has given him confidence? Certainly buoys me.

I just let him talk, and as he continues on he walks up, reaches for my shoulder and pauses. He hesitates before moving down to my elbow, and then again before awkwardly grabbing my hand. Oh good lord. Afraid or uncomfortable with touching people outside of allowed locations or without permission?

“I pretty much close my eyes and picture where I want to go--in this case, we’re heading back to where we came from. And in about ten seconds or so… we go.”

He holds my hand, and his fingers are warm. I’ve noticed the warmth of his body pretty much every time he’s touched me. That’s odd. I wonder if he’s got unusually high body temp, or if my new body has an unusually low temp. I don’t have much frame of reference. I’m still wondering how long it’s going to take when he lets go of my hand and the sounds of cars and early morning birds flood my ears.

“For reference,” I say as we arrive. “You can put your hand on my shoulder.” I used to be the kind of guy who’d ask permission for that sort of thing. Maybe that’s all he needs.

“Ah, noted,” he remarks embarrassedly before pushing on.

“Any idea where to start looking for your friends?” He asks as he steps away, surveying the area before stopping abruptly. I have my mouth half open to answer his question when I’m brought up just as short by the condition of his car.

I make a half circuit of the vehicle. Christ, it’s bad. I’ve seen some pictures of cars post-accident - they usually pick the worst ones they can find when belabouring the point about drunk driving, and this is on par with those. The passenger side is horrifically torn open, blood coating most of my entry area, and on closer inspection it’s pretty clear I had either blown some shocks or bent the axle when I hit, because the car was noticeably leaning to the right. I don’t think it’s driveable, but my new friend is already in the driver's seat and trying to get it running.

The sounds of a tired starter and an engine failing to turn over fill the air and I tear my eyes off the shattered wreck of the car and glance around at our surroundings. Huh. It’s a mile or two down the road from the bridge - not as far as I hoped he’d go, but certainly further than this heap looked like it could have made it in this condition.

“She’s dead, Jim,” he sighs. “So much for that.”

“Sorry, man. I’m not a mechanic but you’re probably right,” I offer apologetically. “I think we’re gonna have to walk. Thankfully, it shouldn’t be too far - we were parked at the top of the hill. If the Jeep’s still there, well… bad news for my friends. If it’s gone, then they probably made it out.”

I blow out a sigh. “I’m not sure if them surviving and not searching for me or them dying would hurt more, but I suppose I can’t say much for people you’ve only known a day.” I stop for a second before considering the company I was in. “Ah, no offense.”

"Alright," He says, a small smile creeping across his face.

At least I didn’t offend him. I try not to dwell, but my mind continues to conjure images of a wrecked Jeep and more mangled girls. When we get to the hill and check behind the fence, the Jeep’s gone.

"Good sign?" He whispers to me.

I’m hopeful, but unsure. “I hope so.” I look around some more. I had hoped it would be obvious from tire tracks, but it’s not. “I mean it could have just been towed. But I think they made it back and drove off. It’s Monday... isn’t it?” I shoot him a look. Just trying to confirm I wasn’t out for a full day.

“Monday, right,” he responds, nodding.

“If they made it out they’re probably in school. We’ll have to wait until they’re done to make contact.” I grimace at the thought of going back to high school, even if only to link up with the girls. “Fuck, that’ll be weird.”

We figure that waiting in our transformed garb will probably be too eye catching, and revert to our normal clothes before heading back to his wreck to pass the time watching cars pass on the highway.

He tries to make small talk every so often, but I spend most of the time gazing at the bloody wreck of the car from the shade of one of the roadside trees and dwelling on how close I came to dying. I don’t manage much but terse answers and grunts. No, this isn’t my original body, no it isn’t his either, amber and blue-green eyes run in neither of our families, our bodies largely bear zero resemblance to our old forms, his nose excepted. Eventually even that tapers off - neither of us want to get into how we were transformed, and it doesn’t sound like he’s too eager to talk about his old life, except in roundabout ways. Which is fine, I don’t either. Killing a little girl and being tasked with taking over her job is a pretty shitty origin story.

Eventually he stops trying to maintain the conversation and turns to inspecting the car himself. From him briefly trying to look under the hood, it’s pretty clear he’s not mechanically inclined as he performs the required action of males everywhere when confronted with a busted car. ‘I’m male, I better have a look at the engine, even if I have no chance of diagnosing the problem.’ No sign of anything resembling recognition flits past his furrowed brow and he returns to sit in the shade, clearly at a loss as to how to fix his shattered ride.

When we’re back to sitting in silence, I can’t help but feel a little relieved. Riley’s a good guy, but talking more is just going to risk giving out more sensitive info. Like a little girl’s corpse that I dumped hoping it would become pig chow, and probably ended up as monster chow. What the fuck was I thinking? There’s probably some parents out there wondering why their kid never came home right now.

Fuck. This is so depressing.

Thankfully my reverie is interrupted when Riley’s stomach growls loudly.

“I’m kind of famished again,” he shrugs.

We head back to the apartment and I pick at my ramen. I’m not really hungry at all, and I pretty much just drink some water and broth while Riley shovels down his meal. When he’s done I offer him the rest of my noodles, since I’m not hungry and I don’t want it to go to waste.

He looks concerned as he takes the cup from me. “You feeling alright?”

I shrug. “I feel okay. I know I ought to be hungry, it’s been hours and ramen isn’t really filling long term. But I’m just not hungry, and you clearly are. Eat up.” I give him a little smile, trying to emphasize that I’m alright. He doesn’t look convinced, but he eats what’s left of my food anyway before graciously doing the meager amount of dishes - two sets of chopsticks, really, and I turn to the window.

We spend a boring and immeasurable amount of time staring out at the bizarre cityscape before it finally hits me how stupid this is. I facepalm for not thinking of it earlier. “Riley, let’s head back. We can go to the library. It’s right across the street from the school, there’s books to read and computers to use, and they’ll have a clock there. There’s nothing to do here and if we’re there we’ll be able to tell time so we know when to head over.”

He sighs in relief, clearly glad there’s some sort of plan and something to do. “That--yes, that, I concur.” Pointing briefly, he heads over, and puts a hand on my shoulder without hesitation this time. Though because of my permission or just his eagerness to do anything but this, I don’t know.

We appear a few streets closer this time. What? I had assumed we could only show up from the same space we left from but this was almost… intermediate teleporting? Like if we hit the apartment first we could pretty much show up anywhere. Jesus. That’s a hell of a side benefit.

I glance down at Riley as we walk to the library. He’s still… well, we’re both still trying to cover up loss. He was so down on his car being crushed, I try mentioning it to him to cheer him up a little.

“Riley, maybe it’s too soon, and it hasn’t got the attachment to your old life, but have you considered that you have something better than a car now?”

He gives me a confused look for a minute before his face lights up and his face splits in a smile. “I do, huh? I mean, I have no idea the range, I’ve probably only used that to travel what… within the same group of a few square miles, but… yeah. Pretty nifty. Small perks to this whole thing.”

Probably a mile or two. He’s able to roll with it. I should be too. I take in his delighted grin, and return it with a wide one of my own. It’s a bit perverse, but it’s nice to have someone dealing with the same shit I am here. I might be in a bad place, but I’ve got someone to go through it with me.

A minute later my grin goes a touch brittle as I realize how much we look like a pair of lovestruck teenagers skipping school. All we’d need is to hold hands. I manage to restrain myself from making any overt gestures, and just continue on.

We exchange a look just inside the library door and separate to our own areas. I briefly consider the computers as Riley heads off toward them before thinking it’s probably a bad idea. It’s not like checking my Facebook will do anything except remind me of all the friends I can’t really talk to anymore. I’m not really in the mood to attempt to engage random internet posters in debate, nor shut my brain off and read derivative fanfic.

In the end, I just wander the aisles, occasionally taking a book down from the shelf to read a jacket cover. I’m too antsy to focus and read anything, even the sci-fi fantasy schlock I’d normally dive into without a second thought. While I start in the fiction section I continue to wander until I come across some books on photography. Well, of photography really. Flipping through pictures of landscapes and architecture and portraiture was calming. And it was art, really, so it was all well composed, unlike looking at the latest vacation pictures on Facebook. The book had a lot to say on shutter speeds and cameras used, which was all Greek to me. I scanned the pages to see if there was any good stories behind the photos and most were fairly uninteresting. Just looking at the images was more engaging.

Eventually I glance at the clock and see it’s almost two o’clock. Then I realize I while I know approximately when school gets out, I don’t know for sure. I wander over to the computers for a quick search. A 'quick search' becomes a much longer one before I finally find the info I need. Stupid impenetrable state websites. School ends at three. What time is it now? Two-twenty? Time to head over, I think. We will need to find her car before she leaves with everyone else, and I don’t know where all the parking lots for the school are - though obviously a big one faces the library.

I search through the aisles for a bit before spotting Riley sitting on the floor, a book about new age crystal waving in his hands. He doesn’t notice me, so I nudge him with a foot and jerk my head toward the door.

He looks up quickly and speaks in a library tone. “Time to go?”

I give him a nod and lead him out. It’s bright outside - the library makes some use of natural light but there’s no bank of windows or glass walls. Riley hobbles a bit as we head to the school - probably spent the entire time at the library cross-legged and cut off his circulation.

There’s no traffic outside yet - it’s still a while till school gets out, so the rush of bodies and cars hasn’t hit. It’ll happen soon though, and I’d like to get a fix on Hannah’s Jeep first. I try my best to recall it as we walk over. It was a navy blue, mostly covered in dirt and grime - a sad ‘wash me plz’ scrawled on the rear. I’m not recalling anything about the exterior other than the dirt, but I remember the stereo in the center console had a blue faceplate, so if we narrow it down we should be able to glance into the car and find it.

Riley chimes in with, “So, they drive a Jeep?”

I’m focused on sweeping the lot for the car, so I just reply with a terse, “Yeah.”

“One like that?” he asks. No, it can’t possibly be that simple. I whip my head around with hope but my face falls when I see he’s indicating a black Jeep Cherokee.

“Oh… no. I forgot to describe it to you beyond a ‘Jeep’ didn’t I? We’re looking for a dark blue Jeep, bunch of dirt caked on it. Ragtop, so we should be able to sit inside and wait if we find it early.”

We search up and down the rows for only a couple more minutes when Riley spots it in another lot. By the time we get over to it, I’m starting to see more cars in the area. It’s getting close to the bell.

“So, we’re just gonna… walk over and stand next to it, and… wait for them?”

I frown. The trepidation in his tone is obvious, but this is the best I can come up with. “Well, the idea is to check and see if they left anything of mine in the car first. But that is pretty much the plan unless you have a better idea. It's a little… threatening, maybe. But I don't have a better plan other than turning up at her house, which is arguably worse. At least this is a public place.”

I step up on to the footrest on the Jeep and peek inside. “Don't see my stuff, so I guess we're waiting.” Then the bell rings and I realize I best not duplicate my mistake with the Jeep.

“So the two girls we’re looking for are blonde white girls walking together, one tallish, one short. Not real tan, should stand out here. I'll call out if I spot them first, hopefully keep them from freaking out too much.”

We spend some time looking at the kids leaving school. I hadn’t really dwelt on it much when I was with Hannah and Amy the first time, but it’s weird being around this many kids. So many faces that are just obviously young. It’s not an observation I would have made at that age, but the majority of teenage faces and bodies are pretty clearly not adult.

I’m watching a gaggle of teenage girls twitter while regarding some posturing boys when Riley cuts in again.

“Maeve,” he says conspiratorially. “Two blondes, two o’clock. That them?”

I glance over. He’s got them. “Yeah. The taller one with the pixie cut is Hannah, shorter one with long hair is Amy.” They haven’t seen us yet - they look distracted. Maybe wondering if I’m alive or not.

I stand on the side step of the Jeep, leveraging my already freakish height and bellow at them in my stage voice, speaking from the gut while waving. ”YO! Hannah, Amy!” I’m hoping announcing our presence is a better idea than just waiting for them to get to the car, and it seems like it works.

They stop dead for a moment, surprised to see me, before spotting Riley and their expressions close off. They start walking over with purpose. Clearly we both have questions that we need answered.

“We thought you were dead!” / “What happened?” They all but shout over each other.

I don’t get much of a word in as they fountain questions at me, at least before Amy focuses on my companion with a sudden, “Who are you?”

“Uhm, Riley. I’m sort of… new… to this situation, too,” he manages to stumble out.

“Hey,” I turn, words on my lips to defend Riley as the guy who saved my ass when they ran the fuck away, when Hannah blindsides me with a an insistent yank on my arm, half dragging me away. “C’mere Maeve, let Amy talk with your new friend. I need answers.”

I let her drag me a little bit, but stop her before we get out of sight of Amy and Riley. “No further, Hannah.” I state simply. “Fine if you want to split us up and check our stories separately or something, but I’m not leaving him entirely alone - he’s as new as I am.”

Hannah stares at me like she expects an alien to burst out of my skin at any moment. “What happened last night, Maeve? We all got down there, but then we heard the noise and we ran right the hell out of there. I don’t even remember how I got home last night, just that I did, and did it fast.”

“Did you see it?”

She looks shaken. “No. I remember trying to signal Amy to ask what she could see, and then I heard that… noise and all I remember is running and panic.” She’s trying to be resolute, but I can still see the fear under it.

I nod, slowly. “Yeah. It was big and ugly, and when it screamed, that’s pretty much all I could think either. Flee from the terror. I wouldn’t know what the name of this thing is, but it looks like a cross between the Aliens creature and a gorilla.”

I make a fist, and let it go. “But that’s its power, to put fear in you. I felt it, and I was behind you, but then my powers blew the feeling away. I tried to slow it down, keep it from chasing you, and it worked for a bit. Then I tried to finish it. I had to stop holding it down for that, and it dodged something that I put my everything into. It didn’t come out unscathed, but I was pretty much spent. It wasn’t.”

I take a breath, taking in Hannah’s expression. She’s managed to hide or banish that fear, and holds an intense expression, so I continue. “I managed to run for a bit, but all I managed to accomplish was to trick it into hitting me like a home run - straight into the bridge, where I hit Riley’s car. We probably would have both died if he hadn’t driven us away and given me some care, and my power package hadn’t included being fucking Wolverine.”

Hannah blinks for a minute, misinterpreting what I just said. “You have metal bones?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “No, I regenerate from injury. Still pretty sure it would have found and killed me if Riley hadn’t gotten me out of there. Hell, I’m not sure I would have survived if I hadn’t hit his car.”

She gives me a disbelieving look at that.

I shrug. “Cars crumple and bend. Asphalt and concrete don’t.”

She winces and nods. “Okay, I think I have a pretty good picture of what happened.”

“Yeah.” I’m not harsh, but I’m firm on this. “Riley’s saved my life, and he’s in much the same situation as I am what with being handed new powers. He’s also solved my housing difficulties, since I’m sure your mom would have asked some awkward questions if I had stayed over for more than a night. Give him at least a little credit.”

I glance back at my new roomie and it looks like he and Amy are alright - she’s just blushing and not giving him the third degree, like I expected. Huh. Maybe we can set the two of them up so Riley can stop staring at my legs. Oh, wait, don’t be a dumbass. He’s a dude, he’ll stare at my legs anyway. Still, it might stop another argument like the one Amy and Hannah had in the Jeep when I first met them.

Hannah’s got her balance back, and she hums for a moment before shrugging. “Okay. Let’s go somewhere and plan what we’re gonna do then.”

She starts to turn to go but I stop her. “I’d like my things first. My weapons and my bag?”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve been carrying them since this morning. I’ll give ‘em to you either when we go or when we see the place this Riley guy has set up for you.” She shrugs off my hand and jerks her head toward our friends. “Besides, it’s been enough time. I’m sure Amy’s been able to scope out whether or not your new friend is actually your friend.”

I frown as I follow Hannah. “What do you mean?”

Hannah glances over her shoulder, smirk on her face. “What, you thought I just pulled you aside so we could have a heart to heart? Amy can tell when people are lying. S’why we trusted you, even if Maeve’s not your real name. And if he’s on the up and up she’ll know. If he brainwashed you or put the mind-whammy on you, we’ll know.”

The bottom falls out of my stomach. Telling only part of the truth is pretty much how I learned to tell a believable lie and that habit - and my decision to stick to it - is all that let me escape some awkward questions and maybe a hate-filled attack the night I stayed with them.

As we walk back I try to catch Riley’s eye. What’s he said? I hope he hasn’t given Amy any reason to distrust him.

Amy and Hannah exchange a long, wordless look, their expressions shifting, before Amy tilts her head forward and Hannah responds with a nod and faces Riley.

“Alright,” she says, folding her arms. “Maeve here tells me you have a place you patched her up in. That right?”

Riley looks startled but responds. “Yeah, it’s a magical apartment. Came with my transformation.”

She nods sharply. “Okay, so that was one of the perks Puchuu gave you. I see. Where is this place?” Is she really...? Trying to be the tough guy leader?

“It’s… I have no idea, actually. I access it by thinking about going there, and then poof. We get transported.” He hesitates before offering, “You can come see it, if you want…”

“Not just yet, but thanks. You might’ve done Maeve a solid but we won’t be skipping off to your place so soon.” Oh good lord, she is.

This is stupid. I have to butt in. “Going to your house again then? Because last time around your mother looked relieved I wasn’t a boy. Now we have one.” I jerk a thumb toward Riley. “Think she’ll be just as cool with heading out and leaving you with pizza money?”

Hannah frowns, but doesn’t override me. I push on gesturing over my shoulder to the parking lot visible from the hill the school sits on. “C’mon, we’ll park your car at the mall, we’ll head to his place, and we can talk in peace.”

She looks unsure, but looks to Amy and gets a small nod. “Okay Maeve, we’ll do this. But only because I’m getting the push from you AND Amy.”

I smile apologetically, and look at the Jeep while gesturing down to my long legs. “I know it’s a short drive… but I call shotgun.”