Feyland: The Bright Court

Chapter Two

After school, Tam again shrugged away Jennet’s offer of a ride home. He’d made Marny get on the bus instead of going blocks out of her way just to walk him to the outskirts of the Exe. No way he’d let her go with him into the decaying core of the city. Though Marny was quick and smart, it was a lot easier for one person to navigate the dangers of his neighborhood.

Jennet waved to him as her car pulled away. While he appreciated their concern, he didn’t need babysitters. When the grav-car turned the corner, he shoved his hands in his pockets and trudged off toward the Exe.

Weariness blurred his vision, but he forced himself to stay alert. One careless step and he could end up a pile of bones in a dark alley. He kept to the shadows of the graffiti-etched walls, breathing lightly of the rot-flavored air.

Strange noises echoed through the dank streets, and Tam held his breath, listening. His heartbeat thudded, then steadied again as he realized he wasn’t hearing the eerie sound of the Wild Hunt breaking between the worlds. Just mortal trouble. Just another day in the Exe.

Close to home, he skirted the abandoned building down the block, where the yellow-eyed smoke drifters squatted. They were harmless alone, but could be dangerous in a group.

Ahead was the old auto shop - once owned by some relative, now empty except for his broken sim equip. His house perched on top, with a faded blue tarp covering the roof and rust spots on the metal walls. Still, it was home. He didn’t take the rickety steps two-at-a-time - not this afternoon. The railing wobbled under his hand, but he made it to the landing, keys at the ready.

When he finally got the locks undone, he opened the door to find his mom and little brother sitting on the couch, reading a book. The sight made his heart clench. Way too many empty days stretched in his memory, too many times when Mom hadn’t been around at all. But she was here now, and doing fine. That was what counted. He shoved his worry for the future into a box and locked it down tight.

His mom looked up, a smile lighting her thin face. The Bug jumped to his feet.

“Hey, Tam! Mom was worried but I told her you were ok, so she read me a story instead. It’s about the alien guys on other planets.”

“Sounds great.” Tam mustered up a half-grin for his brother, though he was so tired all he wanted to do was sink onto the floor in a heap.

“Honey.” His mom closed the book. “You look exhausted. Get some rest.” She shook her head. “I knew it was too soon to send you to school.”

He didn’t have the energy to protest, just nodded and pulled off his shoes. Five minutes later he was in his sleeping bag. His bones felt like they’d been replaced by iron, heavy and dense. The Bug was still talking, but the words rolled off Tam, little bright marbles shining and spinning as he sank into sleep.

                                                           #                  #                  #

 Jennet’s dad was late getting home - as usual. Sometimes she thought he’d stay at his office all the time, if it wasn’t for her.

Of course, things were intense for him at work. VirtuMax was preparing to roll out the most cutting-edge, immersive gaming system ever, but first they had to replace the lead designer of their showpiece game, Feyland.

Her stomach clenched. She’d tried so many times to convince Dad to pull the plug on Feyland, but no luck. Even though he knew it was dangerous - after all Thomas, the original designer, had died in his sim chair - Dad didn’t understand how, or why. The company thought it was a hardware glitch.