Metawin

5. On Call

Queenie stared at the guy, his words not computing at all.  Really, she shouldn’t be surprised that he was crazy.  He had just jumped down from a three story building and killed a monster without batting an eyelash.  Of course he thought that she was the savior of the world.  “Okay, as much fun as all of this has been, I think I want to go home now.”  Skipping class on the second day wasn’t the best impression, but school was the last thing she was worried about after being almost killed by a monster.

“Wait, hear me out,” the guy said.  He stretched his hand out, and she took a step back.  “This isn’t the first time we’ve met.”

“I’ve never been to this town before.”  Once again she glanced up at hte orange sky.  “I think I would remember a place like this.  Forget about giant corn palaces, this place takes the cake on my scale of memorability.”

The man shook his head.  “You were here before, when you were younger.  You might not remember me, but I remember you.  You are the one who can save this whole world.”

Queenie shook her head and took another step backwards, bumping into Merit.  “Thanks for saving us and all, but we really have to go.”

“No, listen to me,” the man said, taking a step to counter her backwards movement.  “I’m telling the truth here.  The shields around Metawin are wearing out.  If they disappear, the rip between dimensions will spread to the rest of the world.  This cannot happen or it will mean the end of everything.”

“But what does that have to do with me?” Queenie asked.  Even though he seemed crazy, he also believed fervently in what he was saying.  In other words, someone that she wanted to avoid, even though he just saved their lives.  Unfortunately, given how he had just cut the monster in half, she wasn’t about to fully provoke the man.

“Because you are the one who has the power to save this world.  You’re the only one who can do it.”  The man stared at her with fire in his eyes, though she was glad that it wasn’t literal fire.  “You must destroy the machines that are connecting the two dimensions.”

“There’s no way that I could do anything like that,” Queenie said.  At the most she was good at leadership, not being a heroine.  “I know it wouldn’t be a good thing if this barrier or whatever blows up, but I can’t do anything about it.”

“It would mean the end of the world.  You and everyone that you love will be dead,” the man said.  “You don’t care enough for them to even try?”

Queenie narrowed her eyes and put a hand on her hip.  Savior or not, there were some lines that one just didn’t cross.  “Where do you get off telling me that I don’t care about my loved ones?  Even if I could help you out, at this point I’m not feeling the urge to do so.”  She whirled away, pressing past Merit and Sloan.  “Since you obviously know everything, I’m sure you can handle all of this on your own.”

Just like that, she marched away from him, heading back the way that they had come.  Probably not the best idea ever, given how they were running away from those monsters, but she wasn’t about to push her way past the guy who had just slayed one of them.  Not to mention the warm anger that wrapped around her and didn’t let any fear bleed through.  She had no idea where she was until she found her way out of the alley and onto the main street.

The streets were practically empty as she walked home as fast as she could, burning the anger out through movement.  There were no monsters, but the lack of people made her nervous and she was glad when she finally reached the small white house that was currently dyed orange from the sun.  She went in and made sure that all of the doors and windows were locked.

It wasn’t until she settled on the large couch that she realized she had left James and the others behind with the madman.  She bit her lip and sent out a quick text to James.  At least they hadn’t been the ones that the guy was insisting had to save the world, unless he had moved onto one of them after she had left.  He was crazy, after all.

He had to be crazy.  This was the first time she had been to Metawin, so how could she be the one to save the world?  He was the one with the ability to kill the monsters, he could handle everything himself, so why bring her into it?  Crazy was the only answer.

Her cell phone chimed, breaking her out of her thoughts.  James, Merit, and Sloan had managed to get away from the man and were on their way over to her house.  She glanced out of the living room window.  From this angle, it looked just like an ordinary day at sunset, but it wasn't even afternoon.  Hard to believe that the streets of this small town were really that dangerous.

She sent a text back to tell them not to bother until the world was safe again.  According to the crazy man, it wouldn't be until she saved it.  That part was completely crazy, but she couldn't deny that there was definitely more to this place than her father had first told her.  No wonder he had been so anxious about moving to this place from the last one.  She had thought that it was just the job, as it was a higher ranking than he normally took on, but now it was clear that something else was going on.

His office door stood open, his normal absentmindedness at work, and it beckoned to her.  She should really wait until he got home and get the truth out of him then, but she'd like the world to make sense sooner rather than later.  Indecision warred within her until she finally bounded to her feet.  She'd just poke around a little, that's all.