by Ryan Sova
Garry reasoned that one of his first priorities was going to be depositing his check, which was also going to be one of his easiest tasks of the day. Garry grabbed his phone and pulled up his banking App. He then took a picture of the front and back of the check. Then he checked his online account again to make sure that the deposit went through. His checking account now had five-thousand-four-hundred and three dollars. Satisfied that the check had been successfully deposited into his checking account, Garry tore the check up into several pieces and threw it away. The last thing that Garry did before logging out of his banking account was to transfer the seven-hundred and thirty-eight dollars from his savings account to his checking account. Garry wasn’t sure if he was going to need all of this money or not, but he wanted it to be available on his debit card anyways just in case he might end up needing it later.
Once he had logged off his online banking account, Garry started thinking about what he needed to do next. I am going to need to find an apartment to move to and the best place to do that is right here on my computer. Garry prepared to run an internet search but then hesitated. How long is it going to take for me to secure a new apartment? It is about 6:22 AM right now and I am going to need to start getting ready for work at 1:15 PM. That leaves me with about seven hours to find an apartment, drive to their leasing office (assuming of course that my first choice just happens to be a perfect fit for me, there will probably be several leasing offices that I will need to visit before I find my new apartment), have a meeting and sign a bunch of paperwork, have a walk-through of my new apartment, be lucky enough for them to let me move in today, find a U-Haul rental shop, drive to their location, sign a bunch of paperwork, inspect my new vehicle, drive to a gas station and fill the tank, drive to my current apartment, load all of my stuff, drive to the new apartment, unload all of my stuff, and then get ready for work.
Garry reflected on all of this for a few moments and then spoke out loud to himself in an irritated, disappointed tone, “There is no way in hell that I am going to be able to move out of this apartment today.”
Garry continued the rest of the dialog in his head, If I’m lucky, maybe I will be able to move to my new place by Monday of next week. And by then, I'll already be dead!!!
Garry continued staring at the black Google search bar on his computer screen. I can’t stay here and I can’t move either. What do I do?
Then an answer finally occurred to Garry. I don’t need to move to a new apartment today. I can stay temporarily at a motel until I can get moved. Garry immediately began a search for motels in the area and after some research, he found a few possible motels that he could stay at for just forty to sixty-five dollars a night depending on which one he selected. Garry then made some phone calls and determined what motel he was going to stay at. While he was on the phone, he reserved a room for six days with his final night being Monday of next week.
Once Garry had secured a motel room, he packed a bag with some of his clothes and loaded his clothing bag and computer into his car. He would move all of his furniture and belongings at some later time. Right now, the idea of being away from this place was overpowering to him and he did not want to remain in this apartment for a second longer than necessary.
Once Garry had finished loading his belongings into the car, he returned to his apartment to make sure that he hadn’t forgotten anything. The only thing that he realized that he was missing was all of his food and also his liquor. After some thought, he decided against taking the majority of his food and also the liquor with him. Most of the food that he had was perishable and Garry assumed that the motel most likely did not have a large enough refrigerator/freezer to store very much of this food. He took enough food with him to last him a couple of days and left the rest of it at his apartment. I am just going to have to eat out for the next few days, Garry reasoned to himself.
As for the liquor, this was only ever used to help Garry sleep. The last time Garry really needed liquor for sleep, his dreams were much different than they are now. Nowadays, real life was far more terrifying than the dream world had ever been. Yes, terrible things had also happened in Garry’s dreams recently, but at least there Nephal had other people to confide in such as Atonick, Eliak, the Counsel of the Magi, and even the whole soldier detachment. In real life, Garry had no one. The one thing that Garry did take with him as he was leaving the apartment, aside from some of his food and a few bottles of water, was his Tylenol, just in case.
Garry felt slightly relieved as he was driving away from his apartment. He was actively doing something now, something that would make him safer and make it harder for Detective Klaben to come for him again. However, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind kept tormenting Garry. Do you really think that you are safe? Do you actually believe that a police detective can’t find out where you moved to? And even if she wasn’t a police detective, how hard do you think that it would be for her to just follow you when you come home from work at night?
Garry reached the motel. He found a parking spot and then checked in at the front desk. After a few short minutes, Garry had his room keys and had opened the door to his new temporary home for the next few days. Once he had settled in at the motel, Garry booted up his computer and connected with the public internet that was offered by the motel. Garry then opened an internet search and looked up apartments in the area and briefly scrolled down his various choices. He didn’t make it very far down the list when he suddenly stopped out of irritation.
“Just what the hell are you trying to do,” Garry said in irritation?
Garry could not shake the feeling that no matter what he does, Detective Klaben was going to find him and kill him. Garry turned his computer off and threw himself into bed. He was not tired, he just needed to think. I should be safe here, at least for the moment. I should also be safe at work tonight. After that though, who knows?
Garry continued lying in bed for the rest of the morning. As he continued thinking, he still could not think of any way out of his predicament. There didn’t seem to be anywhere he could go where he would be safe. She can track me down no matter where I move to. Especially if I keep driving back and forth to work every day, which I will need to do if I don’t want to wind up homeless. And even if I somehow manage to escape from Detective Klaben’s clutches, the undead are still spreading. Soon, no one will be safe from them anymore. So what will I do then?
Garry pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. It was already 12:47 PM. He would have to start getting ready for work soon. Garry was starting to feel tired. His early morning wakeup call was already starting to take its toll on him. Garry kept on watching the time. It was getting closer and closer to when he would have to get up. Garry dreaded that moment. Not only was he feeling very sleepy already, he also felt relatively safe here for the moment. Garry felt that it was highly unlikely that anyone was going to be able to track him down in just one day. By leaving this motel though, and going to the place where everyone knows he should be, it would be all too easy to follow him back here. Then this sanctuary would not be a safe haven anymore. Then he would have to fear for his life again.
The time at last came. Garry knew that he should start getting ready for work. He thought about it for a while, still unwilling to move from his bed. Then Garry made his decision. I’m not going anywhere tonight. I’m safe right now and I want to keep it that way for as long as I can. I can go back to fearing for my life again some other time. Garry didn’t know what the consequences of this decision would be, but he refused to think about it for the moment. That was a problem for tomorrow and Garry would worry about it then. Right now he was safe, and he wanted to enjoy that safety because he didn’t know if he would ever be able to feel that way again.
Garry turned off his phone. He knew that he would get a call from his boss once he failed to show for work and he didn’t want to deal with anyone right now. Right now the only thing Garry cared about was sleep. Maybe in my sleep, I will learn what I can d
o to get myself out of this mess, Garry told himself just as he began to lose consciousness.
****
Nephal and Eliak had stayed in Atonick’s room since the council had dispersed. It had been nearly two hours since then. Neither of the men said much of anything to each other in the time that they had to reflect, aside from a few comments Eliak tried to make about the Counsel of the Magi to lighten to mood. Nephal responded to these comments with short, one-word answers and soon both men were in silent reflection. Nephal was still in shock from these events. Just yesterday, he had spent the day lounging around with his friends, waiting for the injured men in their detachment to recover. He had no reason to believe that this day he had awoken to would be anything different from that. But things had changed rapidly and without warning. Starting with a simple dream, which quickly turned into a nightmare, which then became a conscious living horror, which then erupted into a magical battle unlike anything Nephal had ever before witnessed, which then abruptly brought Nephal and Eliak in the presence of the living legends of this land, the rulers of all of the Kingdom of Noah.
If someone had told Nephal that all of these things were going to happen before the brink of dawn on the following day, Nephal would not have believed it. Yesterday seemed like ages ago now. Nephal continued to quietly contemplate everything that had just happened in so short a time. Outside of Atonick’s room, the crowds seemed to be settled down and back in their rooms. It was still very early in the morning and the sun was still several hours away from rising. Most everyone, it seemed, had managed to push the events of the night out of their minds and had gone back to sleep for the night. Nephal could not just push his memories aside so easily though. He had seen too much, and too much of what had happened now made perfect sense to Nephal. He finally had a real sense of how much danger everyone was in. If only I were a sorcerer too, Nephal thought. Then, I would not be afraid anymore. Then, I would not feel so helpless anymore.
It was a feeling Nephal had never felt before, a feeling of impending doom and the torment of being totally powerless to do anything about it. Nephal did not want to face this world anymore. He wanted to stay here with his friend Eliak and his sleeping sorcerer friend Atonick. Even though Atonick was sound asleep by now, Nephal still felt somewhat safe in his presence. He took notice again of the quiet in the hallway outside of Atonick’s room. He envied the ignorant soldiers that had all returned to their beds. Ignorance can be bliss, Nephal thought. No one here knows what really happened. All they know is that Atonick caused a loud boom, started and stopped an inferno downstairs and caused something to make some high pitched screams. They don’t know how close they all came to death tonight and had it not been for my dream and Atonick’s magic, they all would have been massacred in their beds while they slept.
Noise from the door interrupted Nephal in his thoughts. Atonick’s front door opened and King Noah, Heragald, and Talmadge entered the room.
Once the door closed, Heragald asked, “Why are you two still up?”
Eliak responded, “You expect me to sleep after everything that has just happened? And what about the undead, are they still out there?”
Talmadge answered with a stern look on his face, “You can rest easier Eliak. We got them all.”
Nephal asked, “Are the others coming back then too?”
King Noah answered, “The others are already back at Bradsdale, which is where we are soon going too.”
Nephal responded, “Do you want us to tell Atonick when he wakes up?”
Heragald answered, “No, you’re coming with us to Bragsdale tonight, before daybreak. I will stay here with Atonick until he regains his strength. Then he will release the soldier company to Captain Ollendar’s command and send them back to the Borderlands while I bring Atonick to the capital with me.”
Nephal paused a moment confused, then responded. His words were at first slow due to Nephal’s confusion about what he was going to say. “You’re going to teleport with us then…I thought that was not possible?”
Talmadge looked confused, “Who told you that?”
Eliak answered, “Atonick did. He said that taking visitors with you when you teleport takes too much energy. He said that in theory, it was possible, but even for you (Eliak was referring to King Noah) it would be too much.”
Heragald smiled turning to Atonick who was still sound asleep on his bed. She spoke softly, almost to herself, “Sometimes I forget how young you are to our ways.”
King Noah addressed Nephal and Eliak, “Atonick was mistaken gentlemen. Though I couldn’t hardly blame him, this kind of magic usage is not common knowledge.
As Atonick must have pointed out, it takes a large amount of energy just to open a rift large enough for one person to travel through. To take guests with you is exceptionally difficult and physically taxing on the body as well. For this reason, it is exceptionally rare for any of us to take visitors with us when we travel the roads of magic.”
Eliak answered, “For everyone except for us, right. Why?”
Heragald turned her head and looked at King Noah with a look on her face that wordlessly conveyed her desire to answer Eliak’s question.
King Noah responded to her unspoken question, “No Heragald, not here. This is no place to discuss such things."
King Noah addressed Nephal and Eliak, “Nephal come stand over here facing me, Eliak you go with Talmadge.”
Once Nephal and Eliak were both facing King Noah and Talmadge, the sorcerers conveyed their instructions, King Noah to Nephal and Talmadge to Eliak. The instructions were simple; stand facing the sorcerer, wait for him to finish his chant and trace the arcane symbols, then grasp both hands firmly and wait.
Within moments both Eliak and Nephal had received their instructions and had both indicated that they were ready to travel the roads of magic. To instantly travel a three-month journey in less than a second. Both men were anxious and at the same time nervous about making this journey. There was not any time to think about it though, the chanting had already begun.
Nephal nervously waited as King Noah continued with his chant. The chant only lasted for about four minutes. However, to Nephal, it felt like hours. At the end of the chant, King Noah traced six symbols in the air in front of him, then extended his hands to Nephal. Nephal’s heart jumped inside of him, the dreaded moment had now come. He nervously exhaled and then extended his hands, taking hold of King Noah’s hands, trying not to think about what was about to happen. A hope suddenly entered Nephal’s heart that nothing crazy would happen during this spell. He would just blink his eyes and then be standing in Bragsdale.
Once King Noah had a firm grasp on Nephal’s hands, he spoke a word in the language of magic. Suddenly, Nephal felt an intense and powerful suction force that seemed to at first pull him towards the King, but then in an instant also seemed to be pulling Nephal’s body into itself as well. The feeling Nephal had could be best described as being pulled through a straw located at the center of your chest with the force of a speeding freight train. In Nephal’s rational/logical mind, he knew that this experience should be painful, but it wasn’t. Nephal felt his body cave in on itself without so much as a flinch of pain.
In total, the beginning portion of Nephal’s journey took him less than a fraction of a second. Once Nephal’s body had been pulled into itself through a tear in the fabric of space and time, Nephal found himself alone falling into a tunnel. The tunnel itself was black with swirling lights of multi-colors rapidly ascending its dark shaft, making an outline of the tunnel Nephal was in.
Outside of the tunnel, Nephal could see various patterns of light and colors, in a world unlike anything Nephal had ever witnessed before. The images extended on for what seemed to be an eternity. From what Nephal could tell in the mere moments that he had to witness this strange scene, there was nothing that actually had physical form in this place aside from Nephal’s own body. The patterns of color were brilliant though, each one unique and part of what seemed to be a neve
r-ending sea of color. Words simply could not describe the beauty of this place.
The black tunnel extended before Nephal. As Nephal soon came to realize, he was not just falling into this tunnel. That strange suction force that had pulled him into himself and into this strange realm was still here, pulling him rapidly into the tunnel he was falling into. The tunnel winded and turned causing Nephal to whip through these turns at an increasingly rapid pace. Nephal screamed and flailed his hands out uselessly in front of him as he was pulled through this winding maze of tunnels at an ever increasingly ridiculous rate of speed. Nephal was vaguely aware of the patterns and colors he passed through as he was rapidly carried through the sea of colors.
Nephal’s terrified screams were momentarily interrupted by the sound of a strange voice that said something in the language of magic. Nephal then heard a response in the language of magic that came from the voice of King Noah. Nephal looked and searched the sea of color for where the sound was coming from and spotted a glowing wall that formed a large circle around a certain area of the sea. Unlike everything else in this strange place, the glowing wall appeared to have a physical form. It was real, not just a pattern of light.
Nephal gasped in horror as he realized that the tunnel was now winding towards the strange spherical wall. Nephal watched as the wall rapidly came closer. He had no doubt that he was not going to survive an impact at this speed. Nephal closed his eyes and shielded his face with his arms, bracing himself for an impact.
The impact never came. Nephal opened his eyes and realized that he was now inside the spiracle wall. The tunnel he was in was rapidly nearing the center of the sphere. A bright light could now be seen at the end of the tunnel. Nephal continued to fall until his body was pulled into the light.
Nephal fell into King Noah’s arms. King Noah grabbed hold of Nephal’s body and steadied him. With the speed at which Nephal had just been traveling, it seemed like anything in Nephal’s way should have either been thrown violently across the room, or if it had managed to withstand the impact somehow, it should have flattened Nephal’s body in the process. It took a few moments for Nephal to realize that the momentum he had in the sea didn’t carry forward into the real world upon his reentry.
