Wednesday, August 25, Late Afternoon

Xavier Uzual

The sorry state of Uncle Tasben’s apartment means that Xylia and I would have to do some shopping to make it remotely livable.

As for the cost, they were covered by our parents. To keep us happy, they gave us an atrociously large “monthly allowance,” that, were it not for the fact that we essentially had to fend for ourselves, would be far too much in the hands of a spastic sixteen-year-old and his fourteen-year-old sister.

I grabbed two loaves of bread off the supermarket shelf. One of them was more expensive, but it was healthier. “If I had to guess,” I said, “Uncle Tasben is someone with some money who uses that apartment as a retreat, for whatever reason.”

Xylia stopped looking at some whipped cream and turned back. “Feeling the need to prove that you can figure things out?”

“I’m not--” I stopped. Xylia flashed a cheeky grin. “Maybe a little bit.”

She laughed. “The conclusion you came to was kinda basic, but the way you went about it was kinda cool.”

Not as cool as how the barista had done it. What was her name again? Kokonut? No, I’d remember a name like that. What was it she’d said? ‘Let’s do a little imagining.’ I should try incorporating that.

“Sorry, I interrupted you. Continue?”

“He’s obviously at least a little rich. The furniture is pretty decent, and It’s not exactly cheap to rent an apartment in Privid City. Even if it is run down like that.”

Xylia nodded. “I wonder how he makes his money.”

“I wonder that about our parents. But then I decide that I don’t want to know. Anyways, there’s the mail,” I said, “It didn’t have anything that was addressed to that apartment. The rest of it was like, promotional stuff that probably gets distributed to everyone. There weren’t bills or anything, either, despite the fact that he’s been apparently absent for five months.”

“Makes sense.” Xylia ran through the aisle and grabbed a bottle of soft drink. Giggling, without saying a word, she thrust it into my hands.

I sighed, and gave a slight grin. “Sure, sure.”

“Sorry, carry on?”

I decided on the healthier bread. Something had to counterbalance the bottle of soft drink in the cart. “The mail, and the fact that all the food in the apartment was nonperishable, leads me to believe that the apartment isn’t his main house.” Or, he ate everything else, set all his mail to redirect elsewhere, and skipped town for whatever reason.

“Oohhh…” she clapped. “Impressive as always. Hey, would we go over budget if we got whipped cream?”

“You know what,” I said, “Why don’t you go make a list of what you want, and I’ll decide if it goes over budget?” I couldn’t help but crack a slight smile. This was going to be a bad idea. It was always pretty difficult for me to say no to Xylia. But honestly, sometimes I couldn’t help it.

“Sounds good!” Xylia trotted off, stopped, and spun around and glared. “Stay away from flashing lights.”

“I know, I know.” Two attacks in one day would be pretty unusual.

And then, of course, just as she turned the corner and disappeared, I felt my vision fading.

Two attacks in one day was unusual indeed.

There was that familiar falling sensation.

I opened my eyes to the shopping center. My legs felt unsteady. My knees buckled; I slumped down and leaned against a shelf.

Another attack? I placed a hand on my chest and remembered to breathe. It was quiet. I closed my eyes and took in the silence.

Was it really just another attack? What if it’s my condition getting worse? Two attacks in one day, one of which involved hallucinating. It might really be getting bad. Would I still be able to take care of Xylia? Would I be capable? What I ended up in the hospital and social services got involved?

What if Xylia and I were split apart? Oh, god, please--

My breathing was picking up. Calm down, Xavier.

Just another attack. As inconvenient as it was, it was just another one. I sat down and rested my head against the shelf. It’d be over soon, anyways. At least for now, it was quiet--

“You’re… with them, aren’t you?”

I froze. Someone was here. Again, like at the train station. But… how? What’s happening?

I poked my head around the corner and saw two figures staring each other down: a boy in red, and an older man. Unlike the person in robes at the station, they didn’t seem to notice me.

“Them?” The boy cracked a smile. He shrugged. From what I could tell, the boy was obviously built, but not bulky, kind of like a gymnast. “That’s not very specific.”

By contrast, the man was as lanky as they come. He had a slight hunch, as if the world had bent, but not broken, him. In the midst of wondering what the heck was going on, I felt the slightest pang of sympathy for him. The man put up thin fists. “The Officers.”

The boy stretched his arms and put them behind his head. “Yup. One and only. Agent Reiss, at your service.”

“Heh.” The man backed away slowly, slowly. “When I first heard about the Officers, I assumed you were like, the Men in Black or something. But it’s really just a bunch of kids, isn’t it?” The man’s eyes darted around the room. When it seemed like he was going to catch sight of me, I ducked my head behind the shelf again, and waited a bit before continuing to watch the scene.

“Well, going around dressed like James Bond isn’t exactly inconspicuous, don’t you think?” Reiss laughed. I didn’t hear the man say anything in response. Slowly, I poked my head out from behind the shelf again.

“Open Inventory.” Reiss waved his hand and pulled a wallet out of thin air. “Hey, we’re pretty legit, you know. I’ve even got a badge and everything. With my name and face. See? Agent Reiss.” Reiss held it out for a moment, but seeing that the man’s obvious disinterest, Reiss snapped it shut and returned the wallet to whence it came. “Besides, if it matters-- not that it does-- but my superiors are, in fact, adults.” Reiss looked directly at the man. “Just like you, Mister Cade Watson.

“How do you--”

Reiss pulled out his phone and tapped at the screen. “Cade Kyle Watson. Born November 12th, aged 34. Major Arcana: The Chariot. Prefers the Air element. Lives in… Noe Valley. Do you want me to read out your address?”

Cade sighed. “You got it all figured out, huh. Look, I don’t know what you want, but--”

“I’ll tell you what I want,” Reiss said. “Mr. Watson, you’re under arrest for unauthorized use of Arcana powers, abuse of NPCs, and several dozen counts of supernatural fraud. Sorry you had to go down to ‘just a kid,’ but it is what it is.”

The area was very quiet for a moment. The hair on my skin was beginning to crawl. I felt like I was seeing something I wasn’t supposed to. But…

Cade shook his head, and continued inching back. “Tell me, Rice? Was that your name? Can I call you Rice, son?”

“Reiss, if you would. Please don’t call me Riceson.”

“Well, Reiss, I get it. You’re not that old yet. You’re not, you know… exposed, I guess, to the world. I get it.” Cade held his hands up in a palms-up gesture. “You’re too young to be a college kid. High schooler?”

Reiss kept grinning. “I go to Mendax, yeah.”

“Ahh… Mendax. Tough school. You doing well?”

“Heh. Good enough.”

Cade nodded. “I got a daughter, about your age, going through Mendax, too. You might know her. Heh. But you know about that, don’t you? You’ve done your homework on me.”

Reiss let out a curt laugh, but let the man keep talking.

“And my boy, he’s in Privid Middle School right now.” He smiled. “Look, son. I got a family I gotta look after. I’d do anything for them. When you’re older, you’ll understand.”

Cade exhaled and lowered his hands.

“Five of Swords!” The air around Reiss flared to life, forming a sort of shield of wind. The wind knocked over a display, ripped items from shelves, and deflected something-- Behind Reiss, I noticed for the first time, a pair of gleaming, thin silver strings, creeping behind him. Those too, were blown away.

“Those people you conned had families, too. The one you grabbed with those strings and used like a marionette had a kid, was married, too. So don’t try that on me.”

The con man laughed. “I guess it’s no use, huh.”

Cade whipped his hand around. Those silver strings grabbed signs and flung them at Reiss. The wind in front of Reiss twisted, and knocked them away. I ducked back behind the shelf to avoid getting hit. Something slammed into my shelf. It clanged. Loudly. I almost jumped out of my skin.

Slowly, I raised my hands to my lips and covered my mouth. Don’t make a sound. Don’t let them know I’m here. It was only then that I noticed my hands were shaking, and breaking into a cold sweat.

The air around Reiss was spinning faster now, deflecting the objects and sending them in all directions. I wondered what the people in the ‘real world’ must be seeing.

Would they be seeing anything? No, of course not. This was just my delusion. My seizure-induced delusion. It’s all in my head.

I’m just seeing things, r-right?

“Seven of Swords!” Cade thrust his hand outwards, seeming to throw a glowing ball of air. It cut through Reiss’s shield.

Reiss jumped back. But it seemed, Cade wasn’t aiming at Reiss. On contact with the ground, the ball of compressed air exploded; the force of the blast sent Reiss flying into a display of soda boxes.

“Later, son!” He turned heel and sprinted away.

It took me a moment to register what exactly hit him next. From the collapsed soda display, a red blur cut through the air, propelled by the wind. It slammed into Cade’s retreating back.

Reiss kicked off of Cade’s back and flipped. The wind around Reiss flowed; Reiss seemed to hover for a bit as it gently let him down on his feet.

“Kgh… Reins of the Chariot!”

Those silver streaks burst from Cade’s fingertips, enclosing Reiss like two massive hands around a throat.

Reiss jumped. The wind shot him straight up, and against the ceiling with a crash. Reiss pushed again, propelling himself directly at Cade. His foot slammed into a box of kitchen supplies. Cade stirred his own wind powers, flinging anything and everything from the shelves at the incoming teen. All the while, the silver reins circled around towards Reiss.

Reiss’s arm swiped; a blade of air deflected the debris as he continued to push himself towards Cade. His foot slammed into Cade’s shoulder.

Reiss landed and reeled his fist back. “You’re not going anywhere!”

Then, Reiss froze.

Those thin, silver, barely noticeable reins, had circled around and wrapped around his wrist several times over.

“You did your homework. You know what happens when the Reins take hold for more than thirty seconds, don’t you?” Cade stuck his hands in his pockets and strolled over to Reiss. “Game over, son.”

“Open inventory!” Reiss extended his free hand into that hammerspace and drew a longsword. He swung it behind him, slicing through the silver strands, and in the same motion, thrust the back of the sword into Cade’s chest.

“Kuh!” He fell back, but pushed himself back to his feet with the wind. “Y-you… what the hell?”

“You hate to see that happen, huh?” Reiss struck again.

Cade projected the streaks, to no effect. Reiss’s sword cut through them; they disconnected and dissipated.

“Can’t throw stuff if I’m right here, huh?” Reiss yelled. Cade turned and ran backwards, but the wind from behind flung Reiss into the air and closed the gap.

Reiss swung. The sword pierced Cade’s arm. He yelped.

But, instead of blood, a shimmering-blue substance burst from his side. Now that I was looking closely, Reiss’s wrist was dripping with that same liquid, too, from where those (presumably sharp) streaks had grabbed him.

Blue… blood?

After a moment of screaming, Cade cursed and sprinted. At the last moment, he copied Reiss’s move, pushing himself with the wind.

“No, you don’t! Nine of Wands!” A ring of fireballs appeared around him. He thrust his hand out; the fire bolted forth and hit the ground in front of his foe, spreading into a wall of flames as it came to a halt.

Cade planted his foot and stopped. He turned around, to see Reiss pounce and slam him into the ground.

“Decree of the Emperor,” Reiss canted, “Your king commands you: Do not move!”

It was silent.

What… what was it that I had just witnessed? A fight? Police action?

Whatever it was… it must’ve been something I shouldn’t have seen. I was in over my head.

But, what the hell was it? I was having a seizure! That’s always what happens whenever I’m in ‘this world.’ This world… where I’m always alone.

But why?

Reiss brushed his hair back a bit and tapped on an earpiece. “Em, it’s me. I’ve captured the target.” He paused. “Alright, got it.”

“What’s going to happen to me?” Cade asked.

“We wait,” he replied, “until my superiors get here. I’ve done my job.”

“That’s you. But what about me? Magical slammer? Supernatural gitmo?”

Reiss paused.

“Dunno. Police officers aren’t judges,” he said. “You lost before it started. We knew everything about you. Including your fighting habits.”

He chuckled. “So that’s how you knew.”

“About the reins sneaking behind me, yeah. It was in the briefing. I was waiting for you to lower your hands.”

“Lost before it began, huh…”

“It’s like playing poker. But we knew what your hand looked like before the betting started. Reiss stiffened. He placed a hand on his earpiece and jumped to his feet. “Another one? Where?” His eyes shot around the room, then turned to my direction. I slunk back down and kept hiding. “You sure about this, Zack?” He paused. “I know you’re there. There’s no point in hiding. You saw my power just now, didn’t you?”

Was… he talking to me?

“In a couple minutes, the rest of my squad will be here. You’ll have nowhere to run. In fact…” I looked up. Several fireballs soared overhead and landed, about twenty feet in front of me. “You’d better not try anything.”

I froze.

“The longer you wait, the closer the rest of them get. If you’re going to surrender, it’d better be to me. I’m much nicer than my captain. Trust me.”

Trust him? I didn’t even know him. Nor did I know what was going on. I just wanted to get out of here.

Get out of this… vision? Seizure? What was it?

“I want to get out of here,” I muttered, involuntarily. “I…”

There was that familiar falling sensation.