Dark Tidings Ch. 01

There was a world out there beyond perception, a world in darkness, and we had the misfortune to find it. But, looking back, I think maybe it found us.

***

The door flew open. It was Liz. "Shopping, bitches!" she yelled.

I winced as my ears took the abuse. Liz had no inside voice.

"Fuck that noise," Dan muttered, his eyes never leaving Halo 3. He looked terrible, all scraggly and bearded, but then, twenty-four straight hours of blazing and staring at a TV will do that.

Sara and I looked up from a furious game of War, in which she held most of the cards. We were playing two-deck to make things interesting. I considered Liz's eager face, with her large eyes, cute button nose, and fair complexion, and I wondered how such a diminutive girl could make such a big sound. Then, surveying the carnage on the table, I declared, "I'm in!"

Sara's lips twitched in the barest hint of a smile. "Are you waving the white flag, Katie?"

I studied the girl across from me. Dark hair, blue eyes, and a brilliant mind. Sara was coolly competent in all facets of life. People often mistook her reserved demeanor for arrogance, but those of us who knew her knew better. She was simply cut from different cloth than the rest of us. I smiled and said, "You have my unconditional surrender."

Her eyes twinkled. "Good."

Liz blurted, "Focus, people! Sidewalk sales!"

"Coming, Dan?" I asked.

"No way."

"Aww. If you come with us, I'll buy you a comic book."

"Nope."

"Two comic books?"

"Nope."

"Five comic books?"

"Let's roll."

"But you have to put on fresh clothes, first."

"Aww, okay."

***

As per usual, we flitted from store to store while Dan trailed behind us, carrying our bags. We loved this arrangement, and I think secretly he did, too. We got to shop unencumbered, and he got to look smug and act like he had three girls hanging all over him. We played along; it was the least we could do.

I smiled and thought back to the genesis of our friendship. It was freshman year, and we were all stuck in Intro Communications together. The first day of class, our professor assigned groups by counting heads, and it so happened Dan, Liz, Sara and I were all sixes. We hit it off immediately, grumbling about COM 101 at first, then grumbling about various other things. Our friendships grew, and so when sophomore year rolled around, it seemed a natural progression for us to throw in together on a four-bedroom house. Buh-bye, dorms!

Fast-forward three years, and lots of laughs, adventures, misadventures, boyfriends, girlfriends, ups, and downs, and we were still together, tighter than ever. When I came out to them about my transsexualism, they supported me, kept my chin up, and helped me begin all over again. And I loved them for that.

Now graduation was looming and our futures were uncertain. The economy was quite awful in our state, and jobs were scarce. It seemed more likely with each passing day that the crew might have to scatter to find employment. The prospect filled me with an unspeakable dread. So, I tried not to think about it.

C'mon Katie, I chided myself, it's a beautiful day and you're in good company. There is no future, only the present. Nothing else matters. So enjoy it! I took a deep breath and exhaled, feeling somewhat better after the internal pep talk.

After we exhausted the more commercial stores on the main strip, we ducked into the alleys and back streets to sample more eclectic shops. Bohemia, bacchaparaphernalia, and used books. I could see Dan perking up already. Suddenly, he stopped and pointed. "What is THAT?"

We looked, and beheld a dragon. Oh, not a live one, but a magnificent stone representation, serving as the façade of a four story building. It must've stood fifteen feet at the withers, with a long sinuous neck set upon those powerful shoulders, leading to a muzzle full of jagged teeth and glaring malevolent eyes like chips of obsidian. I looked into those eyes and shuddered.

"In-flipping-credible," whispered Liz, who had never whispered in her life.

Even Sara was reverent. "Can you imagine the wingspan of that thing?" She pointed to the half-extended wings flaring out to the sides of the beast.

"Maybe sixty feet. Maybe more," I said softly.

"More," said Dan. "C'mon, I want a better look."

As we neared the statue, our perspective changed, and we saw the dragon was straddling the entrance to a shop. The windows were deeply tinted. A sign above the door glowed ominously: Dark Tidings.

"Cool!" said Dan.

"The detail is magnificent," said Sara, tracing a finger along the statue's foreleg. "Each scale is articulated. This is a master's piece."

I looked up and up at that pitch black stare and quickly averted my gaze. Then I observed something very odd. "Um, guys, why are we the only ones standing here, gawking? Why hasn't anyone else noticed it?"

There was a fair amount of foot traffic on the street, but no one gave the storefront a second glance. Nor did a single car slow down to have a better look.

"How strange," remarked Sara.

Dan shrugged it off. "Meh. Kids these days. So burnt out from sensory overload they have no sense of wonder left."

"Says the video game addict!" snickered Liz.

I could see Dan's hackles rising, so I stepped in. "Peace, guys. Let's move on, 'kay?"

Liz went fish-faced, then yelled, "Are you flipping kidding me? We GOTTA check out this shop!"

Dan crossed his arms. "For once, I agree with the tiny terror."

"Aren't you the least bit curious, Katie?" asked Sara.

I shook my head. "No. There's too much wrong with this picture. I have a bad feeling."

Dan threw out his arms in exasperation. "Fine, you can stand out here then." He yanked the door open and disappeared inside. Sara and Liz quickly followed after.

I looked to the sky with a Why Me? expression, then muttered, "Well, someone has to make sure they don't get into trouble." Taking another deep breath, I stepped into Dark Tidings.

***

It turned out the place had a bell above door. I grimaced as it jangled, announcing my presence. I didn't want that; I wanted to be inconspicuous. However, my discomfort was forgotten as I surveyed the interior of the stop. There were shelves everywhere, floor to ceiling, filled with what must've been every bauble, trinket, toy, token, and oddity east of the Mississippi. And the shelves stretched far into the distance, beyond, it seemed, the dimensions of the building. An airplane hanger couldn't fit all the junk I was looking at. Must be some kind of optical illusion, I decided.

Dan, Sara, and Liz were standing there gawking just as I was. Dan stepped out in front of us, flapping his arms like some flightless bird. "Can you believe this place?" He was about as animated as I'd ever seen him. He began a closer inspection of some trinkets and soon Liz and Sara were there along side him, oohing and ahhing.

"Yah, it's pretty unbelievable," I muttered under my breath, stepping deeper into the shop, my eyes roving over the wares. There were beads and bone carvings and books and bottles of...stuff. And still other items which I couldn't even being to classify. Everything was placed haphazardly, with no discernible order to any of it. It must take a photographic memory to find a needle in this stack of needles, I mused. Suddenly, I wondered about the proprietor, and what kind of man he was—

Then I heard a noise, and saw a flash of movement in the corner of my eye. I spun on a heel and standing before me was a woman. She was tall, dark of hair, and exquisitely beautiful. And voluptuous. Symmetrical. Sensual. Sexual. Perfect. Drugs had all but killed my libido over the last few years, but this amazing creature managed to stir up old and scarcely remembered feelings. Annoyed, I gathered up those feelings and stepped on them hard. You are not entitled to such things, I chided myself.

Though it was difficult to look away from her, I spared a glance for my friends, and found them transfixed by this vision.

The woman smiled as if sensing our inner turmoil, and then she spoke. "Welcome to Dark Tidings. I'm Callyx, proprietor."

What a voice! Honey and sex, velvet and steel. And poor Dan lapped it up like a squirming little puppy dog. The rest of us were not much better off. I gathered myself as best I could and managed a reply. "H-hello, nice to meet you. My name is Katie. These are my friends: Sara, Liz, and Dan."

After I made the introductions, Callyx fixed her dark gaze on each of us in turn, repeating our names, rolling them around her exquisite mouth. It was almost physically painful to do so, but I tore my eyes away from her to study my friends' reactions. Sara was clearly entranced by Callyx, her blue eyes dreamy, the tip of her tongue darting out to glisten her lips. Liz's fingernails began to lightly stroke her inner thigh when the obsidian eyes trained on her. When Callyx turned her attention to Dan, he moaned audibly and began unabashedly rubbing at the growing bulge in his jeans. Callyx smiled like a cat who had licked the cream. Then it was my turn.

"Katie," Callyx purred. "That's a lovely name." She smiled a thousand-watt smile, and my eyes snagged on her teeth. There was something just a little odd about them, but I couldn't seem to put my finger on it. "What can I do for you and your friends, Katie?"

"Um." Annoyance surged in me once again for acting like such a bubble head. I forced my mind into operation. "We saw the façade of your building and we were curious. Well, my friends were curious."

The corner of Callyx's mouth tilted upward. "But you were not, Katie?"

"Well, it's not that I wasn't, but..." I looked to my friends for support, but their hands were roaming and their expressions were vacant. "Hey guys, mind joining the conversion?" There was no response. I felt the beginnings of fear and anger kindling inside me. "Hey! Snap out of it!"

"Don't bother. They can't hear you," Callyx purred.

I spun to face her. "What did you do to them?" I growled.

"Mmm, not much. I just gave them happy thoughts."

"We are leaving!" I hissed. Having my brain scrambled by some whack job hypnotist was not on the agenda. I went to gather my friends, but to my dismay, they would not be awoken, nor moved. Fear began to overwhelm anger. I ran to the door, pushed and pushed, even threw myself against it, but it would not budge. I panted and whimpered, massaging my shoulder. Finally, I gathered up the courage to face her again. "Why are you doing this?"

Callyx sauntered over to me, her full hips swaying hypnotically. She extended her hand, delicate, supple, and tipped with long black nails. I flinched away from it, but there was no where to go. She stroked my cheek, her touch electric, building a warmth inside me. No one had ever touched me in such a way. I forgot to struggle.

"Poor, sweet Katie..." she purred, tracing the surgical scars on my forehead and under my chin. "The only thing you want is the one thing you can never have. You live in fear and shame, watching, envying, living vicariously through your friends. They mean a great deal to you, don't they?"

I looked into her cold eyes as she dug a furrow through my soul. I felt the tears slide down my cheeks. When I spoke, my voice was very small. "Yes. They're all I have. Please, Callyx...please don't take them away from me. Please."

"You will drift away from each other. That is inevitable. That is fate." Her expression softened a bit. "However, I can offer you a choice. If I allow you and your friends to walk out this door, then you and they will soon part ways, and they will go on to lead unremarkable, unfulfilling lives. They will be mere shadows of their potential."

I cringed. It hurt me to think of my friends condemned to such an existence. "Wh-what is the other choice?"

"I can take them to a place where they will be sought after, cherished, having the opportunity to become so much more than they ever dreamed they could be. They will hold important positions, do important things, and lead rich, full lives."

"You would do that? For them?"

"Mmhmm. For a price."

"What price?"

"Your freedom."

I gasped and tried to step back, but the door was solidly behind me. Callyx laughed merrily. "Oh, Katie, not here, and not now. But there will come a time in that other place when you must enter into servitude. That is the price of your friends' happiness."

"But...why? And why me?"

"Not everyone can see this shop. Most humans are far too...mundane, to perceive it. But those who can see Dark Tidings, we find they are good candidates for our realm."

"So it's a test?"

"A test, yes. As for why you, well, it's simple. You are the one with nothing to lose."

I stood rigid, my mind turning and turning, asking myself if I could believe this woman, if such a price was reasonable. We could walk out that door, be on our way, and hope her words proved false. But what if she spoke the truth? Sara once said the greatest risk was not taking one. Three lives for one, a good trade by any measure. And let's be honest, Katie, your life isn't much of a life, anyway.

In the end, I reasoned the cost was indeed reasonable. "I will pay the price, Callyx."

Callyx took a deep, shuddering breath, almost as if in throes of pleasure. Then she smiled widely, and I had a very good look at her teeth. They were pointed. "Why Katie, I'm so very glad."

I drew a shuddering breath of my own. "Wh-what must I do? I mean, how does it work?"

She held out her hand, palm upward. Swirling darkness slowly coalesced above it, revealing a blood red stone attached to a silver choker. Etched in the stone was a symbol I had never seen before. Callyx clasped the choker around my neck. It was warm against my skin. "This will mark you as...taken. Do not try to remove it. Now, go and stand with your friends."

I did so, suppressing a whimper as I brushed by her voluptuous form. My friends were still standing in place, quietly masturbating themselves. I couldn't help but gaze upon Callyx one last time. "Will I see you, again?"

She tilted her head slightly, the light playing over her silken waves of hair. She smiled a cryptic little smile and purred, "What do you think?"

Then with a flourish of her delicate hand, tendrils of black mist crept through the aisles toward our group of friends, gaining size, moving faster and faster. I closed my eyes just as they converged on us.

***

When I opened them again, I saw blackness. I thought for moment that we were still in the mist, but then my eyes began to adjust and I realized it wasn't blackness, merely night. The kind of night rarely experienced in the Western world since the advent of electricity. And as my eyes swept the landscape, I knew we were not in civilization anymore.