Chapter 3: Chapter 02

 

Mirror Changed – Chapter 02

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

~Jayde~

 

              I didn’t really know where I was.  I felt that I should know, but for some reason it was just out of my reach.  I stood on a barren path of sorts.  Rather indistinct.  Looking down I saw that I had nothing on, but it felt natural to be that way here.

 

              Where ever here happened to be.

 

              Could I be dreaming?  Since I rarely remembered my dreams I had a hard time telling.  However there seemed to be very little of … well anything where I found myself.  Wasn’t that a hallmark of dream logic?

 

              “Hello?”

 

              No response.  Of course.  This had to be a dream of sorts, but it felt real.  I leaned over to feel the ground with my hands.  It was like a fine gravel, not really large pebbles or stones but not quite granulated sand.

 

              “Anybody?”

 

I stood back up and took a step forward.  When I did so I saw something move in the distance to my left.  Did the horizon to that side look slightly greener?  Not sure what to do I took another step but stayed on the path. 

 

              Definitely greener.  Sort of like grass or something was attempting to grow.  I turned towards it and waited.

 

              And waited.

 

              And waited some more.

 

              I wasn’t sure how much time I spent there.  I also wasn’t sure time had meaning here.  Since nothing happened.

 

              “Sure, why the hell not.”  Another step would be nice after all.

 

              Soon as I took it the green began to get deeper.  I wasn’t sure I should walk towards the green or stay on the path.  Undecided I continued on the path for now.  That seemed a good choice as the green continued to grow.

 

              Sometime and many steps later trees and shrubs of some types were shooting upwards in the distance.  Nothing great yet but something beyond a monotonous horizon.

 

              “What does this mean about my psych?”  I wondered aloud as I continued to walk.  “Nothing too bad I hope.”

 

              After what I thought was a mile or more the green-scape had turned into a veritable jungle of many intermixed species of flora and fauna. Insects and animals had begun to appear.  As well several great trees had grown well beyond the tallest skyscrapers I had ever conceived of.  In amongst all the foliage flying creatures began to appear.

 

              “Sure.  Why not.  A pterodactyl.”  The large feathered lizard birds flew in great circles overhead.

 

              The further I walked the more examples of life I saw.  It was all so tempting to go and explore.  I was still more interested in walking along to see what more may come about.  Taking a step into the green felt like a commitment for some reason, so I was hesitant to take that approach regardless.

 

              So intent was I on watching the green that I felt I had missed something on the other side.  That something caught my eye.  I turned and was almost floored as a primitive city like something out of history books was growing out of the ground like the trees before.

 

              There seemed to be some sort of klaxon sounding off in the distance.  An alarm of sorts.  Not a gong, not a buzzing siren.  Was it coming from the Urban environment?

 

              Whatever it was it was getting louder.  Closer.  It was almost too loud now.  I put my hands over my ears, or tried to anyway.  Something had my right hand entangled.  I looked down to see a vine holding onto it from the green.

 

              Ok, I felt a bit panicked now.  I reached with my left hand to try to free it up.  Only to find it encased in an iron manacle holding it to a thick bar in the ground from the city. 

 

              This was not a good situation.

 

              Still struggling I lost sight of everything and struggled to stand up.  With an effort I managed to press off.

 

              And fell out of bed to faceplant on the floor.  Covered in sweat and entangled in soaked blankets.

 

              “Ooooookay then…. That was a bit bizarre.”

 

              My room looked normal.  Broken computer collecting dust.  Bed on the floor as I couldn’t even afford a bedframe.  Bathroom door slightly ajar, I never really closed it.  Small hand me down television, one of the early high definition twenty two inch deals.  It had several dead pixels but it was free.  Pair of couple generations out of date game consoles, their game discs scattered around.

 

              Normal.

 

              I stood up disentangling myself from my bedding.

 

              “What time is it?”  The sun came in through my window, telling me it was likely late morning.  Perhaps early afternoon?  I grabbed my phone and shut off its alarm function.  Crap, it said it was three pm.

 

              Great… I had slept almost the entire day away and only had a kookie dream to show for it.

 

              “Shit…”

 

              I was late for work….

 

              Again.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

~Elsewhere~

 

              Inside of a trendy downtown coffee shop in Portland Oregon sat a well dressed young man.  Neatly dressed in an old fashioned beige tweed suit complete with porkpie hat.  Across from him in the cozy booth sat a taller and much more modernly dressed man.

 

              Both were holding steaming mugs of caffeinated beverages and talking about pointless trivialities like almost all such peoples that could be found in places like this.  Midway through their conversation about politics and which pop singer controversy would rise its ugly head the man in the tweed suits phone buzzed.

 

              “One moment Jeremiah.”  He said to his darker haired companion.

 

              Jeremiah looked to be in his mid to late twenties and was dressed as something akin to extreme sports punk meets corporate executive.  Slacks designed to double as running or skating pants, tight stretchy sleeveless shirt that buttoned up the front and an open vest on top.  Leather and metal forearm guards, the left one with a smart watch built into it.  All this plus a nose ring to complete his wealthy bad boy look.  The dark skin tone from his Hispanic heritage set the whole package to a very enjoyably exotic look.

 

              After a few moments on the phone the younger man hung up.  He had a much lighter complexion and close trimmed sandy blonde hair.  His blue green eyes made him look almost like a depression era extra on a movie set.

 

              “Angela thinks e may have an awakening about to happen to the North.  She’s still busy in Canada though.”

 

              “Joy.  I’m guessin she wants us up there Jameson?  See what chosen shows up or somewhat?”  Despite his relaxed and laid back appearance he sounded completely serious.

 

              “I think only one of us for now.  This area’s quiet for now but you never know.  I can make my own arrangements and then leave for Washington.”

 

              Jeremiah finished his cup and sat in silence.  They listened to the shops sounds and chatter.  “So why is she calling you?  We’re pretty short handed here on the west coast.  Why not get some support from the Rockies or possibly further east?”

 

              “She said only Pierce and RedStar were not immediately tied down with any incidents or projects.”

 

              Both men grimaced a bit.  Those two were not what anyone could possibly call… stable.  Pierce was a loose cannon that had a tendency to bring out the big guns first and ask questions after the dust settled.  RedStar was one of the few natives of North America who had found themselves part of their faction.  Unfortunately he was a Navajo who was justifiably phobic of any metro area.  How he had come to this path and not another was anyone’s guess.

 

              “No time like the present to shift things around, eh?”

 

              Jameson sat up straight and finished his drink primly before standing to go.  “Quite.  With that said I bid you adieu.  Time to be about it.”

 

              “So formal Jameson.”  Jeremiah said teasingly over the rim of his cup.  “Seriously, you need a girl in your life.  Something at least.”

 

              “My love life is perfectly satisfactory.”  He said with a sniff.

              “No it isn’t.  You need to get laid.  It’d really relax you, get all the kinks out and what not.”

 

              Though Jameson looked barely twenty, if even that, his mannerisms were an anachronism throwing back to the prior century.  However, Portland being Portland the clean cut man didn’t stick out terribly much.

 

              He did blush at his companions blunt remarks, a most violent tomato coloration to go with his fair skin.  “You take too well to this culture Jeremiah.  Truly proper social etiquette has fallen far.”

 

              “Oh, you’re just nostalgia-ing on only the highlights of an era.  Humans have been swimming in the gutters of pleasure and debauchery for all time.  Polite social protocol really only existed in the self important uptight arrogant prigs of history and you know it.”

 

              “Be that as it may, I am perfectly content with the way I am and in the state of my bedroom arrangements.”

 

              “Puritan.”

 

              “Social inebriate.”  Jameson fired back with apparent righteous indignation.

 

              “Stick up the ass prude.”

 

              “Inarticulate devolved ape.”

 

              “Now that was a low blow. Come here.”  Jeremiah stood up, all teasing gone now.  Left in its place was brotherly concern.  “Take care, watch out, and call me if there are any problems.  I’ll only be a days drive or less away.”

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              Jameson went over and embraced Jeremiah in a quick hug before pulling back.  “I will.  Don’t worry, I can take care of my self.”

 

              “I know.  You still need to get laid though.”

 

              He only sniffed in annoyed amusement as he let.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

~Jayde~

 

              “What you’re saying is that we are better off with a basic living stipend than with better wages?”

 

              “Exactly.  You see, with so much automation and computer technologies coming about there will be less and less jobs to go around.  So who cares if a burger flipper gets fifteen or even twenty dollars an hour if there are only two or three of those jobs per place instead of twelve to fifteen?  There not only has to be enough pay to take care of a person, there also needs to be enough jobs available to take care of those who need a job.  Those who want more than just a basic life can always get into a career that brings them up higher.”

 

              I could not completely fault his logic.  Sometimes I wonder if my friend Bryan should go into politics, or possibly law.  He was about as non-descript as I was.  Similar unkept light brown hair, about the same height and weight.  Same mixed Caucasian mutt skin, brown eyes instead of my grey blue.  The biggest difference I saw was that he filled out his frame so much better than I did.  Bryan never had the clumsy and awkward puppy still growing into his paws build that I did.  He never looked gangly or otherwise.  As well, he was a lot better read than I was.

 

              Today we were walking around the mall that was kind of in the path between both of our places.  Still a couple miles apart but an easy time skateboarding to and from it.

 

              We both had our boards today, even considered going to the park later.  Right now Bryan wanted to grab a bite to eat.  So off to the food court we went.

 

              “I mean, look at all these people.”  He continued.  “Wouldn’t it be so much simpler?”

 

              “Well I guess so.  But who would pay for it?”

 

              “The nations entitlement budget.  I mean, it is already paying out close to the amount needed to implement a basic stipend already.”

 

              “Would this ‘B.S.’ have enough left over to buy games?”  I enjoyed using air quotes for the BS part.  It really sounded that way after all.

 

              “I’d say a percentage of it should be for entertainment.  Otherwise people wouldn’t have anything to do.”

 

              We arrived at the food court.  All the fare looked tasty, I never really could choose.  Well, as long as it wasn’t a taco place.  I got enough of those at work already.

 

              It looked like Bryan was winding up for another explanation so instead I pointed at the latest Chinese shop to open up at the mall.  “So, Asian?  Or something else.”

 

              He looked over at the rest of the shops.

 

              “Hrmmm… yeah, teriyaki sounds good.  That or something else similar.”

 

              “Sounds good.  So hey, have you played that Mecha capture multi battle game yet?  What’s it called?”  I snapped my fingers at myself trying to remember.

 

              “You mean GigaBash?  Or are you referring to Titan’s Fall?  Because the latter came out years ago.  If the former Yes, I’m trying to get on the Pro Boards.  I think Suzi may be able to help me with that.”

 

              I blushed a bit.  I had meant Titan’s Fall.  But I really got my release timelines backwards sometimes.  Especially since I was often relegated to the discount bins for any game disks I wanted.

 

              Instead of continuing that path I looked up at the menu.  “So, luck with that.  Let’s order.”

 

              After the mall the week passed really slowly.  I actually kind of loved lazy slow weeks.  Work was work and the rest of the time was my own.  Like this very nice Wednesday noon.  Or was it Thursday?  Didn’t matter.  Sure there were clouds in the sky, it was Seattle after all.  The rain and drizzle had at least abated for a bit.

 

              Which allowed for some nice layabout time in one of the nearby parks.  Great for just looking at the sky while on my back on the ground.  Sort of dozing and not really paying much attention to anything. 

 

              My legs were a bit sore from the skate park nearby and I felt a touch thirsty.  However I couldn’t really be bothered to reach for my water bottle.  I was in a state of not boredom that was actually kind of blissful.           

 

              That is, outside of Suzi’s griping nearby as she made another valiant attempt to get some new gadget for her phone to interface properly.

 

              “Shitfaced ass dwelling gopher engineers.”  She muttered after I heard something make a cracking sound.  “It’s not like the dork denizens of design don’t have the turd fornicating iPhone specs…”

 

              “Can I record you for posterity?”

 

              “Cram it.”  Another sound of plastic cracking.  “Finally!  Now to see what’s got their panties in such a bind….”  She trailed off getting back into whatever sub reality that Suzi got into when she was testing stuff.  I’m not sure why she wanted my company at the park if all she was going to do was to test new hardware.

 

              Still though, I enjoyed being along for the ride.  She had pulled some killer tricks earlier.  I had just practiced kicking off and riding the small six foot skater tube.  I’m not really that good, boarding for me was more of a transportation that it was a sport.  Doesn’t mean I don’t wish I was better, that would be awesome after all.  It just meant I was aware of how shit my skill level was.

 

              “Are you kidding me?  Synch not Valid?  What type of error is that?”

 

              “Your invective quotient was low.  I give you a four.”

 

              “Yeah yeah.  How about I complain about harpies armpit lice or rusted bilge dildo’s inserted somewhere you’d rather them not?”

 

              I looked over at her.  Today she had a blonde wig that looked real giving her a Scandinavian Raver look today.  Like one of those women on those Russian Jump Step video’s.  I pondered for a moment on whether she could pull off those moves as well.

 

              She probably could.

 

              Suzi jump stepping entered into my minds eye.  Not a bad picture.  Possibly on an open plain.  Maybe one from that strange dream last week.  The path with the great world jungle off to one side and the metropolis on the other.  With acres and acres of similar plans leading into each.  The heartbeat sound of the world was in tune to what I imagined Suzi dancing to.

 

              In the fantasy I saw her outline beginning to form.  Or was that mine?  I wasn’t really sure I was awake any longer.

 

              No, that was Suzi’s shape where she should be sitting.  A ghost of her at least.  In fact, the gadgets and man made goods on her seamed to be much more real than she did.  It was strange to see it that way.  To look through her form and see the land behind but the phone, battery pack, something in one of her pockets?  Those were absolutely solid.  It was both completely strange and perfection normal in this dream state.  I would prefer to see her dancing like I had begun to imagine, but even gazing at this so closely was fine.

 

              I’d never get away with just staring at Suzi in real life.  And not just because I would be too embarrassed to do so.  It was also because she would most likely kick my ass for making assumptions.

 

              The way she was leaning forward to get a better view of the game interface was breathtaking for me.  Her intense expressing striking.    The way she would bite the lower left side of her lips or look almost cross-eyed in concentration would make my stomach flutter.  I watched her ghostly fingers play along the more solid device.  Such long and capable digits, so unlike my own clumsy oversized hands.  Her lithe agility was like a cool breeze on a hot summers day.  Even I knew how corny that would sound, but it is still how it felt to me.

 

              Even in my daydream she seemed so out of reach, luminous ethereal skin that begged observance.  Her image looked over to meet my gaze.  At first curious then concerned.  I was getting worried now, what had I done to make this spirit so concerned?

 

              She seemed to be saying something.  She stood up and put her device away.  I could just make out the words on her lips.

 

              “Jayde.”

 

              She was saying my name?  In this surreal landscape?  I knew it wasn’t really Suzi, but something more or perhaps different? 

 

              “Jayde, c’mon.”

 

              I was starting Suzi’s voice now.  It kind of echoed a little as if said from a long way away.  She was no longer beginning to look cross.  Great, even in my own dreamscape she was annoyed if I looked or thought of anything beyond pure platonic friendship.

 

              “You’re creeping me out.”

 

              That last came through clear as a bell.  I blinked and found myself looking directly at an irate Suzi back in the park.  The great Jungle and Cityscape gone to where dreams hide in the bright of day.

 

              “Huh?”

 

              “Geez you’re clueless.”  She put her hands on her hips holding her arms akimbo.  "Earth to Jayde.  Done here, I need to go write a report.  Where the hell have you been?”

 

              I looked at her curiously.  “Right here?  I was just dozing… I think.”

 

              “You’ve been staring at me without blinking for almost twenty minutes.  Seriously put me off my game.  What’re you doing, taking Hannibal Lecter lessons?”

 

              Damnit all.  I found myself blushing in shame.  I had gotten her angry when all I had been doing was daydreaming.

 

              “Uh… sorry?  I guess I was just lost.”

 

              “No Duh.  Listen, I’m heading home.  You going to be alright?”

 

              “Sure.  I mean I should be.”  Shit, she was giving me the concerned friend look.  Whoever she ended up dating was going to be so lucky.  I mean even her ‘friends’ look was good enough to knock me for a loop.

 

              “Then I’ll see you later.”

 

              Suzi grabbed her skateboard and walked over to the nearby sidewalk.  Once there she kicked off and was quickly on her way with one last concerned look over her shoulder.

 

              I think I may have screwed up somehow.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

End Chapter 02

 

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