By Fire And By Water
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I had just finished eating breakfast and was about to head into the bathroom when a sudden wave of dizziness swept over me.
“Hmf,” I said, rubbing my temple and feeling a warm spot on my face. “I don’t remember getting hit in the head or anything…” My vision blurred for an instant and I saw the room spinning around me as if a huge windmill were whipping past at full speed…
My stomach lurched and I doubled over, clutching my middle, then looked down to see blood on my hands and the floor next to my feet. My vision cleared enough so that I could make out the bloody handprint on my cheek, but everything was still blurry.
Then, without warning, I blacked out completely.
“…!” I suddenly woke up and found myself on my back, looking up into the sky. The bright sunlight shining through the window seemed strangely dim in comparison, almost like the light of dawn. I sat bolt upright to find my body covered with sweat, and felt weak and shaky all over.
What’s going on?
The first thing that struck me was the fact that there were no wounds on my neck nor any blood anywhere else on my body; not even on my clothes. There was also no pain anywhere whatsoever—in short, I had woken up from this whole ordeal totally uninjured.
That made it seem pretty obvious what must have happened: I’d been drugged by some sort of drug, either intentionally or unintentionally. The question was why? If someone wanted to kill me, wouldn’t they’ve simply done it right away and left? Why would anyone drug me beforehand and then let me wake up?
It had to be some kind of experiment. I thought back to the last person who’d visited my apartment: a certain young lady named Elmera. Maybe she’d come here with a bunch of other people and drugged me, then put me somewhere to sleep while they waited to see what would happen. But where did she go after that? She certainly didn’t come back…
“…”
I decided to get up anyway and wash the taste out of my mouth with a glass of water, then headed out into the kitchen to check up on the food I’d left cooking overnight. The smell of fried eggs greeted me, and it wasn’t long before my stomach began growling loudly.
I ate two more eggs as quickly as possible, then went straight to take care of the dishes and sweep up the mess. After that, I washed my face again and went back to the bedroom to rest. I felt exhausted from having woken up so abruptly, and my mind was a bit hazy as well, but after lying in bed for a while I finally fell asleep.
The next day I got up early once more and went to visit the bookstore. As I expected, the place was empty since the employees weren’t allowed to open on Saturdays. That was fine with me—I had some shopping to do!
As I wandered along the main road, something caught my eye and I stopped walking. In front of me was a man who looked very familiar. He was dressed in a dark blue coat and a gray hat and carried what appeared to be an antique wooden staff.
His pale skin was slightly tanned from exposure to the sun, and his hair was so fair that I couldn’t tell if he was really blond or just very light-colored. The most noticeable thing about him, though, was the pair of round goggles that hung from a strap around his neck.
The man was standing perfectly still, facing outward toward the street ahead. When I passed him by, though, he suddenly turned in my direction. Then he started walking toward me, swinging his staff back and forth as he went.
“Huh?”
The moment our eyes met, the man dropped his gaze and hurried past me.
“Oh, um…”
The stranger was already far enough away that I couldn’t catch him up. All I could do was give chase. But after taking three steps in his direction, I realized how pointless that was—he clearly wasn’t interested in talking to me, much less fighting. I gave up on chasing him down and walked back home instead.
Once inside the bookstore, I found everyone working diligently on their tasks. It seemed they hadn’t even noticed I was gone.
“Sorry to keep you waiting!” I said cheerfully, waving my arms over my head. “Didn’t mean to take off without saying goodbye.”
Everyone smiled at me, except for the old woman behind the counter, who just gave me a look that said, You’re late!
“So, uh… Did anything happen while I was out?” I asked.
The old woman shook her head in response, so I figured there probably hadn’t been anything too exciting to report.
“But anyway,” I said with a shrug, “I’m back now. Let’s get started on work, shall we?”
There was nothing special for us to do on Saturday morning, so we didn’t have any particular orders for us to handle. Instead, we spent the time cleaning up around the store and getting everything ready for business starting at eleven o’clock.
“Oh, right,” I added, “did the new books arrive yet?”
The woman behind the counter looked down at the stack of boxes stacked up behind her and nodded. “Yeah, they did. We got them just before lunch yesterday.”
I thanked her and took the boxes out of the corner and set them down in the center of the floor. Then I opened one up and began sorting through the various items. They consisted primarily of textbooks and novels, but there were also some other types of things like cookbooks and encyclopedias.
“Hey,” I asked after a moment, “you guys ever think about what you want to read?”
The woman behind the counter shook her head. “You tell ’em, boyo.”
“Okay!” I replied cheerfully, picking up a few books. “Well, here are the books I’ll be reading this month! First, let’s start with… These three books—”
I placed all three of them on top of the counter and began flipping through the pages.
“Oh, look at that!” I exclaimed, looking at the first page of one of them.
“What is it?” asked the old woman.
“I’ve never seen this before.”
I turned another page and found a section titled “Dieting: A Complete Guide” and another that dealt with “Exercise Routines.”
I flipped through the remainder of the book’s contents, but couldn’t find any information on anything else that seemed unusual to me. I put the book aside and picked up another book instead.
“This book talks about the history of magic,” I said as I scanned the cover. “It sounds interesting, doesn’t it?”
“Hmph, sounds like your usual nonsense, I s’pose,” said the woman.
I shrugged and continued searching the shelves for something to read.
The other members of the shop were busy working around the room when I finished going through the rest of the books. I looked over at the counter and saw that everyone had gotten quiet and was staring at me. I raised both hands apologetically and said, “Um, sorry for taking up all the space.”
The woman behind the counter smiled and waved me off. “Don’t mind them,” she said. “We’ve known you for quite some time now, haven’t we?”
“Of course,” agreed the old woman. “He’s just being silly again, that’s all.”
They laughed and then got back to their work. I smiled back and left them alone, heading back into the storage room with my pile of new books.
***
After a quick lunch break, we returned to the store to resume our normal schedule of customers and sales.
One of those customers happened to be Mr. Rook. He came in early in the afternoon and started browsing around the store. After he browsed the shelves for a while, he finally settled on a book and asked the woman behind the counter to buy it for him.
“That’s a nice-looking copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, sir,” she said, placing his book gently on the counter.
“Oh? Really? Thanks!”
Mr. Rook nodded, paid for the book, and departed. As soon as the door closed behind him, the woman behind the counter sighed in relief. She glanced at me, who was still standing next to her, and asked, “Is there something wrong?”
I shook my head, and she seemed relieved by the gesture. “No, it’s just that sometimes people ask for books that are way beyond our budget.”
“Yes, I know,” I replied. “And I don’t see how that has anything to do with anything…”
Her face grew dark as she stared at me. I quickly added, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you mad!”
She let out a huff and shook her head. “Oh, no… It’s not you,” she said with a smile, “it’s just that we don’t exactly have money to throw around, y’know?”
I gave her a confused look. “Money…?”
“You know,” she said with a shrug, “money. Cash.”
I cocked my head at her question and tried to recall some of the lessons I’d been taught about the world. “Cash is money?”
“Sure,” she said with a chuckle, “cash is money.”
I frowned and then turned back toward the counter, looking at the book in front of me. Then I reached out my hand and touched it softly.
“Ooh, nice touch,” remarked a voice from behind me.
“Ah!” exclaimed the woman as she noticed me touching her book. She looked up at the speaker, who was standing right behind me, and then she let out a short sigh. “…It’s you.”
The man chuckled and said, “So it is.”
The woman glared at the man, her anger palpable. “What do you want? Don’t come in here trying to flirt or something!”
The man grinned and said, “Whoa, whoa, easy there, sweetie. No need to get upset. I just wanted to say thanks for getting us out of that mess earlier today.”
“Thanks for what?” she asked coldly.
“For saving me back there,” replied the man with a grin.
I heard an ominous click from behind me, and I felt myself slowly spin around to see where it had come from. There was a tall, skinny, bald man standing behind me, wearing an ill-fitting suit jacket.
“Uh, hey there,” he said, reaching out to shake my hand. His handshake was firm and powerful, and I could feel how his bony fingers gripped my hand tightly. The moment our hands made contact, I felt a strange sensation in my palm, followed by an unpleasant chill that ran down my arm.
He smiled and said, “My name’s Mr. White,” as he held his hand out to me once more.
I pulled away from him and shook my head firmly. “I don’t think so.”
He let out a disappointed huff, but he didn’t say another word. He simply turned around and left the shop without saying a word.
As soon as I heard the door close behind him, the woman behind the counter spoke up. “Well, well, if it isn’t Mr. White. How’re you doing?” she asked with a laugh. “It’s been ages since last time.”
I turned back to her and shook my head. “Sorry, can’t go out with you guys. Got to work.”
The woman nodded. “Fair enough,” she answered.
With that, I headed over to my usual spot in the corner. It wasn’t long before Mr. Rook returned from his walk, carrying two shopping bags of food and supplies in each hand.
“Ah, Mister Rook! Good to see you!” exclaimed the woman behind the counter, waving happily at him. “Welcome back!”
Mr. Rook laughed and said, “Good to be back! You’ve got your shop running smoothly? I’ll be sure to pay you another visit real soon.”
“Of course!” chimed the woman. “And now, I suppose you’d like some help carrying those?”
Mr. Rook nodded. “Yeah, that would be great.”
The woman went ahead and took one bag from him, then gestured for Mr. Rook to take the other. With that done, she led us both toward the rear of the shop. When we made it to the rear entrance, she paused for a moment, then she glanced at Mr. Rook and said, “Now then, Mister Rook, would you be willing to stay and chat awhile? We haven’t seen you around here in months, after all.”
Mr. Rook chuckled and shook his head. “Ah, no need to worry about that. It’s not often I come here anymore. But tell me, how have things been lately?”
The woman sighed and let out a small chuckle. “Well, I’m afraid that it’s been pretty bad.”
“Why’s that?” Mr. Rook asked.
The woman grimaced. “The town is still a ghost town. And worse, it looks like the place has become overrun with demons.”
“Demons?” inquired Mr. Rook with a raised brow. “You’re telling me they are coming through here too?”
She nodded. “Oh yes, sir. They were spotted on the outskirts of town a few days ago.”
Mr. Rook let out a short sigh of his own and shook his head. “That’s terrible. I thought for sure that the demon army would leave when they were defeated, but it seems that their invasion is far from over.”
“They won’t stop, sir,” she said gravely. “Not unless we can find a way to defeat them once and for all.”
Mr. Rook grunted in response and nodded. “Yes. I’m afraid you might be right about that.”
The woman nodded, then she looked over at the doorway that led into the back room of the store. “Well, anyway, I suppose there’s no harm in asking… If I may ask, what brings you back here?”
Mr. Rook gave a wry smile as he reached into the pocket of his coat. He pulled out a thick stack of bills, which he handed over to the woman without a word. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t enough.”
The woman gasped and quickly snatched the money away from Mr. Rook. She counted it quickly, then she frowned. “This is more than twice what I usually charge. I know the food and supplies must have cost quite a bit.”
“I’m really sorry to ask such a thing,” Mr. Rook explained. “But these funds are for helping you with your efforts to fight off the demons.”
The woman smiled as she accepted Mr. Rook’s money. “You’re welcome. But I’m afraid I can’t accept any more donations.”
“What do you mean?” Mr. Rook demanded, frowning. “If you need help fighting off the demons, then you’ve got nothing to lose by accepting my help.”
“There is a limit to what I can accept from people who live outside of town,” she explained to him. “If too many people try to send their money or supplies here, the town might get caught up in trouble.”
Mr. Rook was quick to shake his head at that notion. “That’s absurd! The only reason you’re in danger is that you are trying to protect the citizens of the town. Why should it matter where they come from?”
The woman shrugged. “That’s just the way it is. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go.”
She turned and headed back toward the front of the store. As she did, she glanced at Mr. Rook and said, “I don’t think you’d better go inside. Things are still pretty rough down here, and they could get even worse.”
“I wouldn’t be caught dead anywhere else!” Mr. Rook declared firmly.
The End