Toy Soldiers

by Keith LaHue

  "I assume so. I only have my son to go on. Parts that were destroyed are reasserting themselves. Davey doesn't know he's a wizard, and my wife doesn't know she's married to one."

  "You'll tell them both. Tonight. How old is your son?"

  "Eight."

  "Then he's old enough to understand. He only has three years until his powers assert themselves."

  "Two and a half," Dave corrected him.

  "And your wife? Why doesn't she know? Most unusual not to tell her. You didn't use a spell to get her, did you?"

  "No! We met at the grocery store. Just ran into each other. And the rest..."

  "I don't need to know. Just fix your life man!"

  And with that Earl teleported back home.

  45

  Marigold and Davey were at the local cop shop and had just finished up giving their report on what had happened with Karl, him attacking the model he and his father had worked on so hard. The woman, Carol Harding, was there as well, to give what she perceived as Karl's side, and his motivations. The entire police force was aware of what had gone on with Karl and his father. Carol thought that it was possible that Karl was beyond repair, that he might very well be institutionalized for life. He'd already been moved to the most secure area of the facility.

  Marigold felt bad for Karl, and after they had left the policeman's desk, questioned Carol about Karl, and what was going to become of him. Carol told her that in order to protect Karl's privacy, she couldn't tell them any more than she had revealed during the interview with the police. She did say that it may help if Davey and she would visit him, and maybe let him know that they forgave him for what he'd done. Marigold told her that of course, they would.

  Davey remained quiet during the ride home. He had a feeling about Pangaea. Some part of him knew that the model wasn't going to need either him or his father to undo the damage Karl had inflicted. The inhabitants would see to it faster than he could.

  For the first time in his life, he began to suspect that his father had been behind the entirely self-progressing nature of the diorama. As he recalled, much of the work was done while Davey slept, and his father was allegedly in the basement by himself. Still, that didn't account for the Great Wall building itself, or the expansion of the Brooklyn area that had never been planned. His dad had wanted to build Manhattan, but not the rest of the city. But it was there, nonetheless. He wondered what his mother thought. She must know too.

  They arrived home just as it was getting dark. Davey told his mom and was going to the basement to maybe fix some of the damage that Karl had done. Ha! He knew that whatever Karl had done would be fixed. She told him to check with his dad. His dad was due to get his cast off on Monday, and then everything would be back to normal.

  Only Davey knew that nothing would ever be normal again. He popped into his dad's room and told him that he was going to the basement and would give his dad a damage report, then maybe do a few things to fix it.

  There was darkness in Dave senior's eyes as he told him to go ahead, a sullen nature to his voice that caused Davey to hesitate. Then he turned and went to the basement alone.

  Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. Much of the Los Angeles area that had been decimated was back to normal. And he was sure he could see parts of Byzantium repairing itself. Or, as he had thought, the inhabitants were doing it. The complicated domes of the buildings had been in shambles on the night that Karl had wrought his wrath upon the diorama he and his father had created. Or had they created it?

  He sat and watched for a long time, doing nothing. He just watched as one of the high rises in downtown LA shot up. Some unseen force was at work. He stood, and leaned over the model, trying to get a better look. The inhabitants, if indeed that was what was going on, were too tiny to see. The entire model had been built in a less than H.O. scale. The toy soldiers he played with in the Grand Canyon were enormous by comparison. Still, he just wanted to see one. One of the beings he was sure was responsible for the miraculous recreation and expansion of what he and his dad had begun so long ago. He'd had enough after two hours, and left, bounding up the stairs. One thing was for sure; even his mom would notice that everything was going back to normal. He wasn't going to lie and say he did it. It was time for his dad to come clean and tell them what was up with the model that expanded and recreated itself.

  Dinner was ready, and he ate in silence. His mother asked what was wrong, and he told her nothing, he just didn't feel good after everything that had happened. He wanted to know, and this part wasn't a lie, what was going to happen to Karl. He knew Karl's father had done some really bad things to Karl and that girl that had he had been found with, but he was a little unclear of the exact nature of what Karl had been through. His mother spoke in generalities when he asked, saying that Karl's mother had been killed by his father and that he had tortured Karl and the girl, probably meaning to kill them as well.

  He asked her when Karl would be coming back to school, and where he was going to live. His mother looked upset and said she didn't think Karl would ever be coming back to school, at least not the one that Davey went to. Davey's face fell as he saw that his questioning had made his mother sad. He stopped eating and went over to comfort her. The held each other for some time.

  Gradually, they comforted each other, both lost in the respective reveries. It had been a long day for both of them. They finished eating, and Davey helped clean up the kitchen. His mother retired to the living room to watch TV and crochet.

  Davey didn't even knock; he just barged into his dad's room. His dad, startled, looked up from the nap he'd fallen into.

  "The model is fixing itself, dad. And don't tell me I'm imagining it. I know better now." His anger showed. His father still had that worried and depressed look on his face.

  "Go get your mother. It's time you both knew the truth."

  46

  Jane One and Artimus knew their way back to Rome, as Jane had the knowledge of the layout of New York. They were in the middle of the George Washington Bridge when Artimus pointed out the changes that had come. It looked like New Jersey and Rome were fighting it out for turf. New Jersey was invading Rome, and vice versa. The new buildings of Jersey were flush with some alien buildings apparently from Rome. Neither one of them was familiar with the new buildings.

  Once ensconced within the new area of Jersey/Rome, they could tell that there had been no fighting between the inhabitants of either city. Most of them were half-formed, which made sense as they were in the new part of the cities.

  Apparently, the spell they had cast had protected this part of the world too, there was no damage. Artimus led the way through the narrow streets, too narrow to allow cars. Jane had wanted to take over one of the cabs until Artimus had told her of the probability that's they'd be unable to traverse Rome in one.

  Neither one of them had any sense of cardinal directions, Artimus had only explored the part of the Rome adjacent to New York.

  "What happened when you pointed the telescope to other places?" asked Jane.

  "Well, straight up, the sky is brown, with some kind of piping and strange wires. The opposite direction of New York is nothing as far as I could tell. As if that part of the world were too far away for the telescope to see."

  "Then that's the direction we should go."

  "It'll mean crossing Rome/Jersey."

  "I'm fine with that."

  Jane had her suspicions, but for now, she kept them to herself.

  Jimmy and Tom found themselves flying through the desert in something Jimmy had called a Mustang. It was orange with black stripes. It had been parked on Central Park West, and neither one of them had bothered trying to find the owner to ask permission. Hell, the keys were in it. Part of Tom had known of cars, but sitting in one traveling at high speed was another thing. He loved it.

  They arrived at the edge of the Grand Canyon after what they thought was about two hours. It had taken days of walking to leave it. They both had acquired timepieces,
and interestingly, they were useless. Jimmy's moved forward in time at a much more rapid pace than Tom's. They kept on to them despite their obvious unreliability. At one point Tom's ran backward. They got out of the car to survey the canyon.

  "There has to be some way around it."

  "Look at the other side. Part of it was damaged. The side of it was smashed by the unseen force. I guess this is where the protection ended."

  "Still doesn't help us cross it. Maybe if we drove along it we'd come to the...well, the end of it. It can't go on forever."

  "Pick a direction. We'll drive."

  James and Donna spent hours lying in bed, just holding each other. The party had mostly been called off, a few stragglers had come by and fixed themselves drinks, one of them was clearly a half-formed whose physical being was beginning to assert itself, it had eyes, and a more fully formed nose than most half-formed.

  "That was fantastic!" said Donna as she nestled into the crook of James' arm. "I mean, I have memories..."

  "But they're not quite like what we just did," finished James.

  "Uh...no. That took sex to a whole new level, at least for me."

  "I want to see what's up in the hills. Something is drawing me there. I don't know why, but something tells me there is an answer there. We know it wasn't an earthquake that caused the damage. And some of the buildings and terrain is different than they were before whatever that was. It's like they're an improved version of what was there."

  "I'm up for a drive," replied Donna. She left the bed and opened her closet door. It was overflowing with gowns she supposed she had never worn. She picked one at random and dressed, then headed to the bathroom.

  When she returned James was dressed and ready to go. She kissed him playfully on the cheek. "Let's go lover boy. But you have to promise me one thing."

  "What?"

  "More of that fantastic sex when we get back."

  James smiled, "of course. Anything you say."

  They took James' VW instead of one of Donna's. James said he was more comfortable in it. He took every back road he knew, coming into the Hollywood Hills from the Valley side. The Valley had grown quite a bit. Much of the damage that had been done during the event had been either repaired or made over into something even more modern. He set a general course for the observatory. He wondered if its telescope really worked and if they'd be able to determine their whereabouts more precisely. They came out the back way and were just at the crest of a hill when it came into view.

  James stopped and shut off the car. The two of them just stared, not believing their eyes. They were looking at a full-on medieval castle, complete with a moat, crenellations, the works. They'd both been in this vicinity before; in fact, the observatory wasn't far from here. This had most assuredly not been there prior to the incident.

  "Well," said Donna.

  "Was that a statement or a question?"

  "I'm not sure. I am sure I want to go inside and see what the hell is happening here."

  "Ditto. I want an explanation as well."

  "Then let's go cowboy."

  They got out of the car and walked the short distance to the drawbridge, which was fortunately in the down position to allow crossing. They were halfway across, and James looked into the moat below. He stopped Donna.

  "Look in the moat. There are iridescent swans. And I swear I saw a purple fish catch a fly. Jesus, what is this place?"

  Donna peered over the edge with trepidation."There's a fish that just turned into a bird!" she exclaimed as she pointed at it flying high. Then the bird dove into the water and became a fish again, albeit an orange fish that they were both sure was not found in nature.

  "The answer has to be in the castle. Let's continue." As they approached the door to the castle, it swung open as if it expected them. They moved through the entryway, and just as they passed through the portcullis, the drawbridge began lifting.

  "I'm pretty sure I can swim the moat. It's not that wide," said James.

  "Besides if we die we just come back."

  "Point taken."

  The inside of the castle had little to no resemblance to what one would expect of a castle. It looked like a high-end home of the garden variety found throughout the hills, and the more affluent sections of the area. There was a grand old-fashioned bar that ran along the entire side of the oversized living room.

  "C'mon, let's explore. Someone was expecting us, otherwise, the drawbridge wouldn't have been down, then drawn up after we entered," said James.

  "Lead on."

  They were just about to leave the room into one of the many corridors to choose from when a voice called out from the bar area.

  "Not leaving so soon are you? I was hoping to get to know you."

  They turned to find a rather ordinary man making drinks. "Margarita anyone?" he said as he poured the chilly concoction into three salted rimmed Margarita glasses.

  "Um....sure," said Donna.

  "Who are you?" asked James.

  "I used to be a producer. I made the films you and Donna starred in, at least as far as I can remember. All of our memories are fake, save the ones we've made since becoming self-aware. I assume you are self-aware or you wouldn't be here. You must also know they we are...limited as far as reality is concerned. I have yet to determine if we are indeed real."

  "Yeah, that about sums it up. But I think that we're becoming more real all the time, with each passing day," said Donna. "I mean...I didn't have to eat before. And while I'm not sure I would die without food, I get hungry. Both of us do." James nodded his agreement.

  "Let me introduce myself. I'm Merlin, a wizard unless you want to call me something else. I don't think it matters. I used to be known as Alan Bernstein. I decided to rename myself when I discovered I possessed magical abilities. You don't think Hollywood, and the entire Los Angeles basin, fixed itself do you?"

  "Well we sort of knew about magic," said James. And we've been coming to grips with the dubious nature of our reality, our being."

  "But the sex is good now," said Donna. James' face turned a crimson shade at this admission. "We're all adults dear," said Donna, patting him on the back.

  "Ah yes, the details. You know, while I've been busy fixing things up, I've added and subtracted. Like my humble abode. I decided a castle was most befitting a wizard, so I made it."

  "What else can you make?"

  "I left Byzantium alone. They had several mages's working on it. And there are more mages than just me working here. Long Beach has one named Cynthia. Very powerful, but don't cross her. Beyond Long Beach there's an area....well it's most disturbing. It's unfinished is all I can say. There is no grass growing, no buildings, really nothing. I suppose if we continue we could put Orange County there. But that's even more boring than the Valley, which grows daily."

  "I...I want to go there. To this unfinished place. I want you to create something where there is nothing." James sipped his Margarita "Good booze," he said.

  "Thank you. I do try. I see you drove here. I suppose we can take a ride. After I finish my drink. Drink up! To the new!"

  Donna and James accepted the toast.

  Jerome and Camilla stood at the bridge spanning the Harlem River, a recent addition if Jerome's memory was any good.

  "I just want to go home. I don't give a fuck about magic, doubting my own reality, none of it. I just want to go home and sleep in my own bed, and see my mom," said Jerome.

  "Where is home?" asked Camilla.

  "The Bronx. I used to think it was Brooklyn. I could be wrong."

  "You know I can go there with you."

  "I want my mom," Camilla could see that Jerome was distraught. "And what's with the water coming out of my eyes. This is new. Too much of this is all new. I want things back the old way."

  "You mean when none of us questioned all of this?"

  "Before I knew, I didn't care. I was peacefully oblivious. I think that's better. Now we know that we may or may not be real and that none of this aro
und us is real, and can you really say that's better? I can't."

  "I can. Before I became aware, I was a servant. Now I'm a mage. Now I matter. Before I knew anything, I didn't matter."

  "I was just a Central Park junkie." Jerome wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I'm going to cross. I need to find her. My mom and my family. I have two sisters and a brother. A little brother that needs me."

  "See? You're contradicting yourself. You do matter in this reality. It was before all of this that you didn't matter. I'm coming with you."

  Jerome had already started across the bridge. He was emboldened as they moved into what had been the ghetto if he remembered correctly. Now the grime was missing from the buildings. The inhabitants were almost exclusively the half-formed. Occasionally they spotted one with a mouth or a nose, but generally, they were featureless.

  Jerome knew his mom and his siblings would be like him, fully formed and aware. They had to be, he was counting on it.

  There were very few cars patrolling the streets of the Bronx. No cabs, but as Jerome remembered, no cabs crossed into this blighted area of the city. Only now it wasn't like that. While the general look of the Bronx hadn't changed, the details were as if the entire part of the city was brand new. And it was brand new. This part of the city had not existed just a short while ago.

  Jerome led them through the streets; he knew where he was going. Camilla followed quietly, unsure if Jerome wanted to talk now. His sense of despair was rubbing off on her, and while they were searching for Jerome's home, she began to long for Rome. She did know how to get there, but she didn't want to leave Jerome alone right now. She felt his mental health slipping into the existential void that really, encompassed all of them.

  Jerome turned left, and Camilla followed. Not even the half-formed lived here. All around them there was not a living being to be found. He bounded up the stairs and found the door to the building unlocked, which was normal as far as he knew.

  His family lived in B8 on the second floor. He looked back at Camilla. Camilla sensed his anxiety.