Knights of the Grey City

Chapter 3 - AFTERMATH

I staggered up to the door of my apartment, turning the key with numb fingers. It couldn't be later than five or six PM, but the storm made it much darker than it would have been otherwise. I stepped inside, shook the snow off my clothes, and let out a sharp huff of air.

The apartment looked like it always did. Crammed and pretty cold, but normal. Some part of me had still believed I wasn't home yet, but everything... felt the same. The lights were off; Eli was out somewhere.

My back and hands were stinging as feeling came back to them, and I made my way to the bathroom to check out the damage. Pulling off my shirt and twisting to look at the mirror, I could already see bruises forming around my right shoulder. The palms of my hands were scraped bloody and I ran them under some water.

The injuries were real. The rest of it already seemed like a fever dream, but the injuries had really happened somehow. I tried to arrange the memories in some way that made sense and soon gave up.

The only conclusion I could reach was that... there was some force: magic, alien technology or God knows what, that had just plucked me out of my everyday life and thrown me into a different world. But why me? I would have been perfectly happy to live the rest of my life without knowing that the Grey City existed somewhere at the edge of our reality, waiting to pull people inside.

And Huang... was he really just another person who wandered into the City? Or was he a part of it, designed to look and act human? The shining dragon had saved me twice, but...

Either way, the only thing I knew for sure was this: I wanted nothing to do with any of it.

The darkness of my apartment was starting to seem oppressive, sinister. I started to feel a creeping sensation that maybe I wasn't really back, if no one else was here. The dark walls reminded me too much of those empty buildings with blank rooms.

I got up and made my way to the kitchen, where my phone was charging on the table. I needed to talk to someone and confirm that I was back in my world.

Surprisingly, I'd already received few texts from my younger sister. Apparently there's a big storm on its way, be careful today! was the first. Followed by, I've been on this bus for two hours and counting. It sucks out here. A series of other complaints about how terrible the roads were. And then, You forgot your phone, didn't you.

The last one had been sent at four PM. I winced and responded: Sorry, just got back. Walked home from work. That barely scratched the surface.

She responded pretty quickly, while I clicked on the light and sat down. You're an idiot. Why didn't you take the bus?

Because that worked out so well for you, I replied. The panic died down a little. Slow public transit, Esther complaining, a quiet evening when Eli was out with his friends. It was all very normal.

At least I was warm, Esther texted back. You're gonna die of hypothermia.

Thx for that image.

I should tell Mom and she'll drive all the way down to Toronto with your old coat.

Don't even think about it. The wind was still howling outside, threads of snow and hail clattering against the window. The common living space of our apartment was pretty small; I could easily sit in the kitchen, look across the area we'd elected our "living room", and see out the window on that wall.

Esther went silent after that, probably getting absorbed in doing her homework or something else equally nerdy. But I picked the phone back up and sent, Random Q for you, Esther. Do you believe in ghosts or aliens?