Strangers and Shadows

by John Kowalsky

  Ava stood up quickly and grabbed Asher by the hair on the back of his neck. She pulled down and began to kiss up and down his neck and jawline. “You’ve been a bad boy, haven’t you?”

  Asher was about to reply when one of the princess’s chambermaids came running up the stairs with a torch. Ava and Asher quickly separated like two kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

  “Your Highness, forgive the intrusion, but something has happened outside the walls of the city!” The girl was out of breath from running, or maybe it was the excitement.

  “Well... what is it?” Ava asked, annoyed at the interruption and even more upset at having almost been caught, although, there was something in the girl’s tone that sent shivers down her spine.

  “We’re not sure, Your Highness. It’s a light of some sort, a glowing light. It pulses outside the city walls. We thought it might be the queen returning, but it hasn’t moved. One minute there was nothing but darkness out there, and then suddenly there it was.”

  “Come, Asher, we’d better have a look,” Ava said. The three left the palace and headed for the city wall.

  Hope began to swell in Ava’s heart as they were walking. Perhaps it was her mother, returning with the cure to this darkness. They reached the top of the wall and walked through the crowd of onlookers that had gathered.

  “There, Your Highness...” the commander of the Queen’s Guard said, pointing toward the glow.

  “Yes, I see...” Ava said. In fact, it was a little hard to miss the only source of light outside of the city walls. “How far out do you think this glow is?”

  “We’ve estimated about two, maybe three miles, Princess,” the commander replied.

  Ava looked at Asher, seemingly for a second opinion.

  Asher nodded. “That seems about right.”

  “Very well then,” the Princess said. “How long has it been there?”

  “We first noticed it almost an hour ago. I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks at first, but when others began to see it too, we sent for Your Highness.”

  “My chambermaid reported that it hadn’t moved, is this still the case?” the Princess asked.

  “We haven’t noticed any change in it’s position, no. One moment it wasn’t there, and the next it was.”

  Ava thought the matter over. She’d be the first to admit that her mind was scattered at the moment. “I want you to keep a close watch on it. I have some pressing matters that require my immediate attention. If there is any sign of movement, or any change whatsoever, you are to send for me immediately. Is that clear?” The Princess didn’t wait for a reply before she turned and started back for the palace. Asher and a few guards followed close behind, while the commander of the Queen’s Guard settled in for the watch.

  Although distressed and excited by this new phenomenon, Ava was even more eager to return to the privacy of her chambers and finish what she had begun with Asher. It had been two weeks since she and Asher had been together, with no end to the urgent matters that constantly required their time and energy. Ava was looking forward to a few blissful moments of forgetfulness and release from the stresses of ruling the realm. If her mother knew that she was abandoning her duty just to climb into bed with a man, she would—Ava didn’t want to think about what her mother might come up with for a punishment. Instead she turned her thoughts to what she would do when they were alone.

  The two of them had been lovers in secret for almost a year now. He was the first man she had ever been with, and she was his first as well. They had grown up knowing each other, as Asher would consistently accompany his father to the palace, so when Ava could take the mystery of sex no longer, it was only natural that she pick the closest, most convenient man to her to experiment with. But truth be told, she found him quite appealing when the mood struck her. They both knew that if the queen, or anyone else for that matter, ever found out about them, Asher would almost certainly be executed for violating the Program laws.

  Under the law, coupling could only take place by order of the queen and her geneticists. The human population had to be carefully kept in check in order to prevent any debilitating drain of resources.

  Humans closely resembled bees now. The queen was head of state and society. Every male was genetically screened at birth (what few males were allowed to be born at all) for what were considered desirable traits. Those who possessed the traits were given positions of limited authority and were allowed to reproduce at such a time and with such a partner as the crown decided. All other males were sterilized and made into “worker bees.” They served little other purpose than to perform manual labor and serve as was required of them. It was not a cruel existence, they were well cared for and looked after, just not equal. They were viewed more like eternal children, and as children, they were given chores to do.

  As Ava and Asher walked back to the palace, they discussed what should be done about the mysterious glow, but the conversation was more for the benefit of the guards walking with them.

  They reached the bottom of the stairs leading up to the queen’s chambers. “Wait here, and do not disturb me unless it is a matter of life and death,” Ava told the guards. “Come Asher, I want to discuss today’s events further with you.” Ava didn’t think that any of the guards or palace staff knew about her and Asher, and she wanted to keep it that way.

  The pair walked up the stairs, barely able to restrain themselves from running. They reached the doors, flung them open and then slammed them shut just as quickly. The lamp was hastily set down on the night stand, almost falling off of it before Ava blew it out. The two young lovers had their way with each other and then collapsed in a tangle of limbs, exhausted.

  After a few restful moments, they began to discuss the problem at hand again, this time in earnest, without interference from the chemicals in their brains or the stirring in their loins.

  “Well, Royal Consort, what do I do about this new mystery?” Ava asked.

  “If there was a change, the guards would have told you by now...” Asher said, not wanting to overstep his bounds in suggesting what should be done. Ava was the princess, after all, and lovers or not, Asher knew better than to challenge the social dynamics between them. She was a ruling female, and he, just a male with desirable genes and a job to do.

  “I suppose we shall have to ride out and inspect it for ourselves then.”

  Minutes later, for the second time that day, they found themselves at the city wall looking out at the mysterious light.

  The princess decided to assemble a scouting party from the guards nearby. She would lead it herself, much to the annoyance of the Queen’s Guard. They would have traveled on horseback, but with the lack of light, it was just as fast to travel on foot. Safer as well.

  Despite the fact that they only had a few miles to cover, it took the better part of the day to close the distance. And while the Glow never seemed to get any nearer, Ava began to wonder if it was decreasing in size to maintain the appearance of distance. The guards were anxious about the whole affair, as if they were on a quest to walk up to a sleeping dragon. It was hard to blame them with the darkness and the mist swallowing up any light outside of the range of the torches. Shadows were cast every which way and it was impossible to see any lights in the city from their distance.

  Ava was beginning to worry herself, wondering what sort of trickery this glow was working on them. They were never going to get there it seemed, and then suddenly, they were.

  The glow was a ball of white light about as tall as a young maple tree and just as wide as it was tall. Looking at the center of it was like staring into the sun. Ava found it difficult to stare directly at it for very long.

  As a child, Ava had heard the scientists tell stories about such light sources from the past, but they themselves had never been able to create one. Gretchen Richards had decided, that along with male aggressiveness, the human dependency on a technology that did all their calculating for them had weakened the species. It had d
ulled the edge of people. She believed that the human brain was more capable than any computer humanity had ever invented, yet people had become lazy, letting their machines do all their thinking for them. As a result, humanity had paid a steep price, and the new development of such technology was banned.

  The light suddenly brightened, sucking the flames of the torches right off of the wood and tar and into itself. A wind picked up out of nowhere and Ava felt the hairs on her arms and neck rise. Goosebumps raised up and down her back and made her shudder. The guards drew their pistols and Asher took an instinctive step closer to Ava. They waited to see what would happen next.

  After a few minutes of inactivity, the glow dimmed and the wind died back down. Asher began to examine the glowing sphere more closely. He noticed that it gave off a mild heat, much like sunlight on a summer’s day. He walked around it, a circle of fifty or sixty feet, always keeping a healthy distance from what appeared to be the edge. After he’d completed his revolution, he walked straight toward the blinding center.

  “Stop!” Ava yelled. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Forgive me, my Lady, I was going to see what lies at the middle of this glow, if anything. Have I displeased you?”

  “It is not the place of a man to put himself before a woman in any thing—you know that better than most.” The princess turned and addressed the commander of the guard. “Go and see what’s in there.”

  “As my Lady commands,” she said, bowing slightly before she slowly approached the center. The commander shielded her eyes as she went with one hand, while the other groped blindly in front of her, sweeping back and forth. She suddenly felt her hand strike a wall, and the light dimmed where she touched to reveal a white globe, apparently lit from the inside. The sphere was still bright, but more like the bulb from an old lamp post, and less like the miniature sun it had resembled before. The commander was startled to find that she was touching the glow.

  No doubt she expected to be burnt up by the light, Ava thought, I half expected it myself.

  Wherever the commander’s hand touched, little tendrils of light snaked out, running up and down her forearm.

  “Does it hurt?” Ava asked. Something didn’t feel right about this—it wasn’t natural.

  Asher didn’t seem to share her apprehension however, and moved forward for a closer look of his own.

  What does he think he’s doing? If he gets hurt, I’ll kill him. Sometimes Ava wondered if she was too lenient on him. I’ll have to rein him in a little. It’s not a good example for the other men, or women for that matter. As the leader in a time of crisis, it was crucial that Ava maintain order and set a good example for the people.

  She decided now was not the time, and instead moved closer for a look of her own.

  By this time, Asher already had the tendrils of light crawling all over his arms, and some of the other guards were following suit.

  “Commander, what would cause such a thing?” Ava asked, trying her best to keep her displeasure with her secret lover hidden.

  “I have heard about such a thing from the Teachers. Before The End War, men had machines of terrible power—but you must know all of this yourself, Your Highness. Forgive me, for presuming to—”

  “You don’t have to apologize, I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t want to hear what you had to say.”

  “Of course, my Lady. All that I seem to be able to remember is that men invented a glass globe with a rod standing up from the bottom of it. And that when an electrical current was run through it, it would cause a tendril of electricity to jump from the rod to wherever it was that a person touched the globe. Static, I think it was called. But I don’t remember it being anything more than a child’s toy. It didn’t seem to serve any real purpose, but then again, there wasn’t any mention of one this big either.”

  Ava was thinking. She vaguely remembered the same story from her time at the academy, but why would this be here?

  Something off to the side of her field of vision caught her attention. She looked to her right and saw the object, reflecting the sphere’s light. It was shiny, like a mirror.

  She walked over and picked it up. It was a little larger than a crab apple and perfectly round. The ball was metallic, cool, and smooth to the touch. It fit nicely into the palm of her hand with her fingers wrapped snugly around it.

  That’s odd, Ava thought, there are no finger prints or smudges where I touch it. Even the most polished metal could be smudged. And I would know, Mother used to make me polish the silver every week until I was twelve. “It builds character,” she was fond of saying.

  She brought her discovery over and showed it to Asher. “What do you make of it?” she asked, reaching out and touching the glowing sphere for herself while she let Asher look it over. The feeling reminded her of the anticipation of a greater energy. Such as when she made Asher blindfold her and she was tingling with potential energy, waiting and wondering when and where the next touch or kiss would be. She was still thinking of the energy of the sphere when Asher grabbed the ball from her hand.

  “Here, let me see it.” Asher felt the weight of it in his hands, rolling it around, noting the smoothness of it. As he held it and marveled at the balance of the thing, the ball began to glow, matching the exact color and brightness of the larger sphere.

  Ava was still transfixed on the feeling of the sphere, her hand still touching the white energy, when Asher grabbed her arm to get her attention. There was a brief flash of light, and then they disappeared.

  A Short Trip

  Ava felt Asher grab her wrist and then they were suddenly inside of the sphere. Apparently, Ava quickly deduced, it was hollow.

  The only noise was a dim humming, but it seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.

  The light was even brighter from inside the sphere. It surrounded them on all sides, eliminating any shadows. Ava was briefly reminded of what life resembled before this darkness was cast over them.

  In the middle of the sphere there was a free-standing wooden door with a golden handle. Curious as to what held the it upright, Ava tried the door. It was locked. She walked around to the other side, but there was no handle, nothing but smooth wood. She made it back around to the handle side just in time to see Asher try the door. “It’s no good, it’s lock—“ She never finished, but her mouth remained open for a good three seconds as she watched Asher open the door and push it inward. “I just tried that!” She was frustrated but even more puzzled. What was going on?

  She thought about the object that Asher was still holding, and suddenly, she had an idea. “Give me the ball, and shut the door.”

  Having heard that tone in her voice before, Asher did as she asked immediately. Sometimes he was her lover, and other times, her servant. This time it was definitely the latter.

  “Now, if I’m right,” Ava said. “This ball is some sort of key, and I think you have to be holding it, for it to work.”

  “That’s an awfully strange looking key, Ava. Where did you ever get such an idea? Did you hit your head or something?” Asher attempted to keep her mood from escalating into full blown ire.

  “Very funny. Do I need to remind you who is in charge here?” Ava said it with a playful smile, but she was only half-kidding. She had let Asher get away with things that would never have been allowed of a man because of her relationship with him, but she was was beginning to think that maybe she had been mistaken. He did have a point though. The idea had come to her from out of nowhere. She couldn’t say what had given her the notion.

  Ball in hand, Ava tried the door just as she had seen Asher do.

  Nothing. Not even an inkling of give.

  Asher stepped up to the door with a grin on his face. “Perhaps I should try it again, my lady?” he asked, not waiting for her reply. He grabbed the handle and started to walk forward, nearly hitting his face on the door, which remained unmoved and unopened.

  Ava burst into laughter. She couldn’t help hers
elf.

  Asher’s face reddened at the embarrassment, and he tried the handle again, this time more forcefully, pulling and pushing with great effort.

  The door remained unmoved, unopened, and unimpressed with his struggle.

  “But I don’t understand,” Asher said, growing more annoyed with Ava by the second. “I just opened it a moment ago.”

  “Perhaps you should try it again?” Ava mocked in between laughs.

  “Ha-ha.” Asher tried to ignore the urge to retaliate to her sarcasm. “Let me see that key, again.”

  Ava tossed it to him as she gasped for breath, tears streaming down her face. She watched as Asher took the ball in his palm, walked up, grabbed the handle, twisted it and pushed it inward.

  She instantly sobered up. “What in the bloody hell?”

  “Hah! Looks like it likes me better,” Asher said, his wounded pride now satiated.

  “Well, I told you it was a key,” Ava said flatly, playing the game no longer and resuming the air of princess.

  “Forgive me for doubting, my Lady.” Asher bowed his head, wondering what it was like to play a game where he actually had a snowball-in-hell’s chance of winning.

  “You should have known better... Tsk, tsk.” Ava was still smiling when it hit her. “Wait, how come only you can use the key?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  She sighed. As if he doesn’t know what I’m talking about. She waited, staring at him.

  “I don’t know, maybe somebody else likes me too...” he offered with a smile, but Ava was perplexed.

  “You know what this means, don’t you?” Ava asked, looking for the recognition in his eyes but not finding it.

  “What?”

  “If that key was made only for your use, then it couldn’t be from our world, could it?”

  Asher thought it over for a second, seeing the logic to her point. If it was from their world, the key would never be for the use of a man over the use of a woman. “Only one way to find out… let’s see what’s on the other side of that door.”