Everything looked normal on the streets just outside of the Inn. Despite all the weirdness they?d just run from inside, out here, it felt like home. David?s feet knew the way without being told. Neither of them said much as they walked quickly through the darkened streets, but that wasn't unusual, either. As they neared the West End district, David started to relax just a little. That is, until he saw the big-ass orange structure looming in front of them. He stopped dead and stared. ?What the hell is that??
Riley stopped dead in her tracks and just stared at the giant thing. ?Jesus,? she whispered, a memory tugging at her. ?It?s a? uh? crap, what did my mother call them?? She paused for a moment, her brow furrowed in a frown. ?A? a Torii gate! You know, from Japan? They?re like, Shinto shrines or something.?
?Shinto shrines. At the entrance to West End.? His voice was flat, too surprised even for disbelief to color it. ?Where the f*ck are we??
She looked around, taking in their surroundings. To their left, she could just make out the river and the docks; she could also make out Our Lady of Perp Miz?s tall bell tower. Everything around them was normal. What stood in front of them, however, was anything but. ?How long have we been gone?? she asked, turning to look at David. She was starting to feel the tiniest stirrings of fear. All those people at the Inn telling her that they?d been to her funeral and now this...
Just what the hell was going on?
He dug into his jacket, pulled out his tunneler, and flipped it open. ?Two weeks. Just two weeks.? Things couldn't change this much in two weeks, could they? Not here. West End never changed. It was always a dirty, rundown sh*thole just waiting to swallow up anyone who dropped their guard for an instant.
She shook her head, as if trying to shake some sense into it. ?This is? This is just f*cked up. We?re in West End, right? I mean,? she pointed to the bell tower. ?Perp Miz, right?? Then she pivoted and pointed to the docks. ?Docks and river.? Then she pointed to the city wall that separated the Temple district from West End. ?The wall. Our building should be just right there.? She pointed off into the middle distance, towards the road that went to the docks along the northern edge of the Glen. Instead of the familiar burnt-out hulks and half-destroyed buildings, there was a wide-open, clean park surrounded by tall, glass skyscrapers. ?What the actual f*ck, David??
He glared at his tunneler, even shook it a couple of times, hoping it was some kind of malfunction. The readings stared back at him impassively. ?This piece of sh*t swears we?re home,? he said slowly. ?But there?s no way. I mean?? He waved his hand at the skyscrapers. ?This is months--years--of work. Not two f*cking weeks.?
Riley was only half-listening to David. The majority of her attention was on the faces of the people on the streets around them. They were all eerily similar to hers and David?s. ?David,? she said quietly, reaching out to lay her hand on his forearm for a split-second before drawing it away. ?Look at all these people.?
Their old neighborhood had been inhabited by an alarming range of species--humans, trolls, elves, dwarfs, snake-people, and even more bizarre alien creatures. But the people around them now were all human. Every single one.
?There?s a lot more than usual at this time, but?,? He stopped, realizing what she meant. ?They?re all human.? He turned a slow circle, looking all around. There wasn't a non-human face in sight. ?Where?d all the rest go??
?This is just?? She grabbed his arm again, this time using it to pull him along in her wake. She angled her body through the sparse crowds, headed for where their building used to stand. In its place, however, they found a twenty-story glass and chrome monstrosity with a corporate logo at the top. ?F*ck me running,? she said quietly, still clutching David?s arm.
Riley stopped dead in her tracks and just stared at the giant thing. ?Jesus,? she whispered, a memory tugging at her. ?It?s a? uh? crap, what did my mother call them?? She paused for a moment, her brow furrowed in a frown. ?A? a Torii gate! You know, from Japan? They?re like, Shinto shrines or something.?
?Shinto shrines. At the entrance to West End.? His voice was flat, too surprised even for disbelief to color it. ?Where the f*ck are we??
She looked around, taking in their surroundings. To their left, she could just make out the river and the docks; she could also make out Our Lady of Perp Miz?s tall bell tower. Everything around them was normal. What stood in front of them, however, was anything but. ?How long have we been gone?? she asked, turning to look at David. She was starting to feel the tiniest stirrings of fear. All those people at the Inn telling her that they?d been to her funeral and now this...
Just what the hell was going on?
He dug into his jacket, pulled out his tunneler, and flipped it open. ?Two weeks. Just two weeks.? Things couldn't change this much in two weeks, could they? Not here. West End never changed. It was always a dirty, rundown sh*thole just waiting to swallow up anyone who dropped their guard for an instant.
She shook her head, as if trying to shake some sense into it. ?This is? This is just f*cked up. We?re in West End, right? I mean,? she pointed to the bell tower. ?Perp Miz, right?? Then she pivoted and pointed to the docks. ?Docks and river.? Then she pointed to the city wall that separated the Temple district from West End. ?The wall. Our building should be just right there.? She pointed off into the middle distance, towards the road that went to the docks along the northern edge of the Glen. Instead of the familiar burnt-out hulks and half-destroyed buildings, there was a wide-open, clean park surrounded by tall, glass skyscrapers. ?What the actual f*ck, David??
He glared at his tunneler, even shook it a couple of times, hoping it was some kind of malfunction. The readings stared back at him impassively. ?This piece of sh*t swears we?re home,? he said slowly. ?But there?s no way. I mean?? He waved his hand at the skyscrapers. ?This is months--years--of work. Not two f*cking weeks.?
Riley was only half-listening to David. The majority of her attention was on the faces of the people on the streets around them. They were all eerily similar to hers and David?s. ?David,? she said quietly, reaching out to lay her hand on his forearm for a split-second before drawing it away. ?Look at all these people.?
Their old neighborhood had been inhabited by an alarming range of species--humans, trolls, elves, dwarfs, snake-people, and even more bizarre alien creatures. But the people around them now were all human. Every single one.
?There?s a lot more than usual at this time, but?,? He stopped, realizing what she meant. ?They?re all human.? He turned a slow circle, looking all around. There wasn't a non-human face in sight. ?Where?d all the rest go??
?This is just?? She grabbed his arm again, this time using it to pull him along in her wake. She angled her body through the sparse crowds, headed for where their building used to stand. In its place, however, they found a twenty-story glass and chrome monstrosity with a corporate logo at the top. ?F*ck me running,? she said quietly, still clutching David?s arm.