Sidearm & Sorcery Volume Three: Sidearm & Sorcery, #3

What’s it Like in There?

By JD Cowan

"One more time with the wild ones, huh? "

The dark red clouds of noon growled their downpour, waking the boy from his slumber. Josh had slept in the corner, a blanket draped over his sore legs, his spine contorted at an odd angle. The world quaked as he groaned, stretching his aching back straight again. His yawn was so loud he thought it would notify his parents downstairs and let them know he had slept in so late. It isn’t like they would check otherwise—it was summer, after all.

The small room’s bare white walls were stained yellow with random water damage patches all over, and the thin, cheap carpet under his feet carried a musty stench. Not only that, but the cracked window beside his bed presented a blood-crimson sky stained with black rain clouds pouring down. As he looked on, his dry mouth agape, he realized that something was wrong.

This wasn’t his room, and it wasn’t his house.

Josh sprang upwards and tumbled towards the door, his legs loping awkwardly thanks to sleeping on them. How had he come to this place? The boy shouldered the door and ran out into the hallway.

It didn’t wash—he was only an eleven year old kid. What was he doing in this strange place? Where were his parents? His skull ached as he dashed down the creaking hall, his vision blurred by the pounding headache corkscrewing through his brain. Hunger lapped at him.

The last thing the boy remembered was going to bed after he got back from a trip to his grandparents’ place across town. There he was with his friends Lyle, Kayla, and Tony, running through the park, hanging out at Lyle’s place, and spending the summer in the sun. Their vacation was the same as it was every year.

So why did he wake up here?

The shattering of breaking glass outside caught his attention. He crossed the ugly and vacant living room and kitchen area towards the window, his tired and blurred vision making it difficult. Why was everything in this place so dirty and upturned? Josh dodged some cardboard boxes and reached the window, which rattled in the wind. His stomach churned as he gazed through it.

Wild people ran through the streets below, smashing cars and chasing each other down as they howled. Screams and shouts echoed throughout the city, carrying up to this apartment. The battered buildings and roads were rather difficult to see through the pouring rain, however.

His legs gave out and Josh fell back into the dirty couch behind him. It squeaked and groaned under his weight, which is when he noticed something even more odd—his limbs were too long. In fact, his entire body was too tall. Was he seeing things? Josh ran into the nearby bathroom and flicked the switch, but there was no resulting light. He squinted into the mirror regardless.

The harsh crimson light slipping through the storm clouds gave him just enough visibility to see something impossible. His big face, bulging eyes, and stubble, told all. The boy was in the body of a full grown adult. It was as if he had aged two decades overnight.

Josh dashed out of the bathroom, his breaths heavy. He tripped over debris and landed back on the couch, where he tried to steady his nerves. Sweat covered him as he struggled to think. Where was he and how exactly did he end up in this place? Did he wake up at the end of the world? Was he already dead?

A heavy weight hit the front door to the apartment. The noise repeated a few times before a figure broke inside. The front door bent, wobbling off the hinges.

Sorry about that, the man said. I’ve got no key.

Josh stared open-mouthed at the intruder.

The large figure before Josh stood like a giant, wearing a thick leather jacket and biker helmet, and carried a bag on his shoulder. However, what really drew attention was the gun in his hand. Josh thought he recognized it from one of those old movies his father had in his DVD collection. Was that an Uzi?

Are you Joshua Stinson? the man asked.

Josh licked his dry lips before he spoke. Did you put me here?

I wouldn’t be kicking down the door if I did.

Then this isn’t your place? Are you a police officer? Did you come here to rescue me? Can you call my parents? I don’t even know where I am. They did something to my body!

The intruder remained silent for a beat. He entered into the apartment and sidled up to the wall, facing the entranceway. You have no memory from before the time you woke up, right?

Yeah, I don’t. How did you know?

The big man marched into the bathroom and rummaged through the shelves. Within a minute he emerged holding a pill bottle. It rattled with whatever amount still remained. He unscrewed the cap and crossed over to the window, flinging the remnants of the tiny container outside. Grumbles escaped this large figure as he finished up.

Sorry, sir, Josh said. But what exactly are you doing?

It’s Soma 3. He threw the pill bottle to Josh before moving into the kitchen. Low on food. Looks like there was a bit of a stockpile. I’d guess from the remains, it was about a month’s supply.

Did you come to rescue me?

In a sense. He tipped the television over and it crashed into the floor, sending scrap everywhere. There was a camera in that piece of junk, not that it matters now. Check the corners of the room—more cameras. They’re all dead now, though. Power’s out all over the city. They’re ahead of schedule.

Josh stood up and pocketed the pill bottle in his shabby loose jeans. Does this have to do with my body? They did something to me, didn’t they? Who was it?

"Put on your shoes and move. There’s no telling when they’ll get here. You’re very lucky they haven’t yet. Well, perhaps they’re too preoccupied with other problems. The city is currently being eaten, after all."

"It’s what?"

Hurry up.

The boy trapped in the grownup body nodded and ran to the closet. It was empty inside aside from one pair of worn out sneakers, as if he were the only person who lived in this place. Not even a single jacket awaited him. How long was he meant to be here?

As Josh slipped on the shoes, a vision washed over him. It was a faded scene of a dark street. Screeching tires across rain slicked roads echoed through the night. The speeding car barreled into a man, sending him rolling sideways over the roof. He landed in the rain puddle, his spine bent in the wrong position. Josh felt himself run over to the victim, his breaths jerking as he moved. The vehicle tore off into the dark.

"Lyle!" he heard himself yell.

Lyle? His friend? But that was a fully grown adult. Had whatever happened to Josh also affected his friends? The scene faded before he could learn more, and his skull burned once more. He needed some food. When was the last time he had eaten?

For a moment he thought he saw a second vision of his friends standing in the middle of a river waiting for him. Of the three of them it was Kayla whose face he couldn’t make out, her tears bleeding into the rain currently slapping against the window of this apartment. What had happened to Josh? He jerked awake when the intruder called out to him.

Joshua, the man in the heavy leather jacket said. I’ll explain what I can once we get out of this death trap. Pick up the pace and follow me. We only have hours left.

Despite the hunger pangs now sawing at him, Josh wobbled out of the apartment after his savior. The large man kept his Uzi leveled as the pair ran down the hall toward the stairs at the end.

Trash had been thrown across the creaking floorboards, and splotches of green, yellow, and red liquid stained the walls, which paired well with the sewage stench. Shouts continued outside even as the pair shimmied down the staircase. A few bodies covered in rags lay unmoving on the landings. The pair passed over them.

The big bruiser before Josh kicked open the front door to the building. The rainstorm pounded the pavement. The red skies and dark clouds pressed down from above. The people outside had already scampered into buildings and alleys when Josh’s savior led him into the storm. It truly was vacant on the streets, aside from the ugly weather. The large man led him towards a rusted Oldsmobile sitting by a long-expired parking meter.

Tires squealed from down the street ahead of them. A car barreled through the storm and slammed on the brakes twenty yards from the Oldsmobile. Two men threw open the doors, carrying what looked to be automatic weapons. Before they could aim, shots filled the air.

The man beside Josh fired the Uzi, his shots riddling the other car. The two armed men were carried backwards with the hits, their blood staining the pavement. Bullets spilled over into the hood and the windshield, cracking the glass and cutting off the screams of the frantic driver. The horn cried out endlessly into the dead city as Josh looked on at the carnage before him. He stared at the guns lying next to the dead men while his brain tried to process what had just happened. These dead men had intended to kill them both.

"Get in, you idiot!"

His rescuer shoved Josh into the car and leaped over the hood towards the driver side. He climbed in and started the engine, tearing off down the street. Tires screeched blocks away—more cars must have been on the way.

Josh’s headache tightened and caused his vision to blur again. He plugged his ears and curled up in his seat. This had to all be a bad dream. His driver removed his helmet to reveal short hair and red scars across his white face.

Jen, his rescuer said. He looked to be speaking into a radio receiver. I found him. He’s already taken Soma 3. It’s definitely in effect.

"Hurry up and bring him here, a voice crackled through the other end. It was barely audible. Keep an eye out for scouts."

Will do. He put the receiver away and concentrated on the road again. This storm ain’t getting any clearer, though. Hope visibility doesn’t get even worse before we get there.

Josh scrunched his nose and grimaced. "Who are you? Tell me what this Soma 3 is."

Name’s Nick, the big man said. Soma 3 is an experimental drug that was secretly funded by a group called Wonderland. It’s supposed to be put on the market by Christmas.

One group did all this?

Nick paused and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. Hard to explain. Let’s begin with your memory. It’s shot, right? You don’t remember anything that happened recently.

Last thing I remember was going to bed at my grandparents’ place. Spent some time with my friends, too. We do that most summers. You know, see the fair and junk.

You’ve definitely been out of it for awhile. We’ve been dealing with what you’re seeing outside for months at this point. You ever been to Thunestone? Nice small stop along the highway.

Yeah, my parents took me there to see a cousin once when I was eight, I think.

I drove through there recently on my bike. Can’t wait to ditch this scrap heap and get it back. Nick shook his head. Anyway, what I mean to say is that Thunestone is no different than here.

Meaning what?

Place was leveled. People evacuated or got caught up in the riots. You see these flooded streets and those crazies with guns? The surrounding towns were hit just as bad with madness. They’ll get eaten, too.

"Eaten? Fear slid down Josh’s spine like sweat. Forget that. What about my family? Are they okay?"

I can’t say anything to that, but as far as you know you were with them last night. But you weren’t. Check that bottle you’ve got. You’ve been taking that poison for nearly a month. You’ve been in a program, Joshua. What’s more, you volunteered for it.

Josh looked at the bottle he had stuffed into his pants and blanched. Nick was right—the date made sense, at least the day and month did. The year on this is twenty years into the future.

That, Nick said, biting his lip, is even harder to get into. We need your memory back. You might have the key we’re searching for, and we’re quickly running out of time.

There’s nothing to remember. I told you, I was in my old body last night, now I’m not.

Just get some rest for now. We’ve got a bit of a drive ahead of us.

The car drove on into the dark red abyss. The quiet of the streets, aside from the weather, did little to halt the uncertainty scratching at Josh’s nerves. He tried to puzzle this all out, but it still didn’t wash.

The first thing he remembered was waking up in a city he didn’t recognize, apparently taking a drug he’d never heard of. On top of it, there was that strange vision of his friend Lyle being hit by a car. Not to mention, Lyle was also not in the right body. Was Josh’s mind being tampered with? Was this some sort of experiment or cruel joke? This Nick guy didn’t seem like the joking sort, and he also gunned down those thugs in the street, so clearly he wasn’t in on it. Whatever it was.

As they drove on, Josh noticed a curious thing. He did recognize this city after all. Some of the storefronts and streets brought back memories of when he visited with his family. For all he knew that might have been where his captors found him.

The plentiful homeless littered these battered streets, hiding in the alleys and nooks. Even in the rain he could spot the grime everywhere. It was almost as if no one had cleaned this city in centuries. He already knew this storm wasn’t natural, but he began to question if it had something to do with his current plight. All of this had to connect somehow.

Eventually, Nick reached a suburb and turned into it. The storm did not cease even as the greenery grew and the buildings shrank. The sky only darkened. The car pulled up to a townhouse and Nick parked in the driveway and into the open garage door. It was askew as if pried open.

The back door of the car jiggled open and a woman slipped inside, sliding off her rain poncho. Both Nick and Josh leaned over the seat towards her as she straightened her own leather jacket.

This is him? she asked Nick. He nodded and she turned to Josh. The woman was smaller and thinner, but her eyes were just as diamond hard as the Brute’s. He felt like she could look right through him if she wanted. Nick pulled into the garage as she spoke. You must be so confused, Joshua. We came here from a town called Ballad to put a stop to something terrible. We’re going to need your help to do that, okay? You can call me Jen.

The young woman caused his heart to skip a beat. She couldn’t have been older than her early twenties. Her long, gorgeous blonde hair, thin cheeks, and plentiful bosom all grabbed at his attention, but it was her voice that caught him. She had a clearness to her tone that bored into his soul. He fought off a blush.

Everyone calls me Josh.

She smiled. Sure thing, Josh. Let’s help each other, okay?

While they spoke, Nick struggled against the garage door and forced it closed. Before Josh could say anything, the woman brought out a flashlight and shined it into the back. She continued the conversation, ignoring her campadre.

Come on inside, she said. It’s wild out there.

Josh flinched at the word wild. He shook it off and focused on the woman before him. Why was I taking Soma 3?

Probably for the same reason people take its predecessors these days—you wanted to forget.

Well, I forgot a lot, I guess. But I do remember this one thing. He explained his strange vision of the grown-up Lyle being hit by the car. It feels off. It’s almost like that memory was put there by someone. It doesn’t feel like it belongs in my head. What is in Soma 3?

She glanced at Nick before replying. Lyle O’Connor was killed by a hit and run a year ago, Josh. You were there with him when it happened. We’ve seen the police report. Do you remember Kayla and Tony? It happened the night of the fire.

You have to be messing with me. Josh suddenly felt like he wanted to vomit. Where are they?

That’s why we’re here. She gestured to the two males. Come on, let’s go inside.

The pair led Josh into the home where the air felt just as heavy as the storm. The odor of wet dog filled his nose, and he turned towards the window to notice a pack of stray mutts dashing down the street. Not a soul was around otherwise. Thunder exploded in the distance.

The downpour strengthened, leaving a blur of nearly black water outside the window, masking the world from him. The roof rumbled above as the trio milled around the living room. Josh’s stomach growled, the hunger hitting him harder, and he almost doubled over.

"One more time with the wild ones, huh?" a voice echoed in his mind. It sounded familiar.

Here, Jen said. She handed him an apple. Sorry we didn’t have the time to get better food.

Josh bit into it. Flavor filled him and sent his tongue tingling. How long had it been since he had eaten anything? It should have only been a day. Thanks. Why are we here, anyway?

Nick sat on the stairs, his gun and flashlight at his side, and watched the front door. This place burned down a year ago. No one knows what started it, but there were four victims. At least, there should have been four. Only two bodies were found.

I guess I should just say it, Jen added. The young woman leaned into the dark of the living room, the white lightning flashes illuminating her slim figure. The missing victims were your friends Kayla and Tony. This place was owned by Tony’s parents. Their remains were found in the fire.

The apple sunk into a pit in his stomach. Josh tried to think back, but all he could remember was that vacation he was still on yesterday. He knew it was only yesterday. It had to be. There he saw his friends walking with him to the fair the day before coming home. Summer skies were always blue. Josh sat by the bleachers with his friends, the mid-July heat bearing down on them through the treetops.

It was only a few days ago when the neighbor girl, Tanya, had met him alone by the swings. They talked for a few hours until she had to go back home. She was so beautiful—she actually reminded him of a younger Jen. It was Kayla who sidled in as she left, grinning the whole time.

"I think she likes you."

Josh tried to hide his smile. "You think?"

"Trust me, I’m good at these things. She’s always glancing at you when you think she isn’t looking. Blondes are silly that way. At least, that’s what Mom says. Brunettes are smarter about it."

"Is that why you hang around Tony? He is kind of dumb to not see it himself."

She blushed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, be real. We’re all just friends."

"Whatever you say, Kayla. You better tell Lyle, though. He’s trying to convince Tony to hang out with the Sova twins. Don’t ask which girl he’s interested in. I don’t even think he knows."

Kayla sighed. "Lyle really doesn’t think, but I can’t just rush it. My dad doesn’t really like you guys, remember? Says hanging out with bad boys is a waste of time."

"Well, we are a bit noisy, I guess. Not like we’re out there tagging everything and looking for brawls like Anthony’s crew. He’s going to get sent to reform school at this rate. At least we’re a step above that."

"Hey, Josh! Tony called out. Josh’s tall friend lightly jogged over with Lyle, the pair of them laughing. What are you doing with my girl?"

Kayla rubbed her forehead with her palm as Josh laughed.

Lyle elbowed him with a wink and a nod. "Tanya, huh? Did she give ya a peck on the cheek, bro?"

"Yeah, yeah, Josh replied. He sat up from the swing. What do you think about hitting town now? I hear the roller-coaster's already setting up."

"Run, Josh."

The boy turned around and found Lyle lying in the rain puddle again, aged once more. He looked upon Josh, the blood pooling under his head and into the water. Josh tried to move, to say anything, but he was frozen in place.

"You have to get to Tony and Kayla. Move!"

Josh wanted to stay, but for some reason he watched himself agree with his dying friend and run off into the night. The rain came down hard again in the present, and his mind blurred.

He awoke in the house once more with Nick and Jen. The two of them had caught him by the arms.

You fainted for a spell there, Nick said. Are you sure you’re fine? The apple wasn’t enough, I guess.

I didn’t make it. He didn’t want to say those words, but he knew they were true. They’re dead.

That’s just it, we don’t know what happened. Nick glanced back towards the door. What we do know is that after this place burnt down, your friend Kayla’s father paid to rebuild the house as it was, and bought the place. Says he couldn’t sell it—because their spirits wouldn’t let him.

Josh blinked at her as he steadied himself on his feet. Her dad was always a weirdo.

Follow me downstairs, Jen said. We don’t have a lot of time if we want to salvage what’s left of this city. Nick, bring the flashlight.

The two males followed her instructions down the steps. The accursed rain beat heavy above them, swallowing all the silence in this abandoned place. She pointed the flashlight at each step as they descended.

The basement was little more than a concrete cavern with no furniture or even boxes of any sort inside. It was as if it had only finished construction a few days ago. There was no evidence anyone had ever been down here before.

The young woman crossed the empty space to the middle of the barren floor. Josh was too busy inspecting the strange pristine nature of this place to pay her much attention. Nick made sure the door to the basement was closed before he signaled for her to speak.

It’s not going to take them long to find us, Josh. They know if you run there are only few places to go. This will be one of their first targets. We’ve also only got a few hours left before this city is swallowed. That said, we still have to walk through the doorway here. It’s the only way we can find the truth.

You haven’t told me what you want, Josh said. He grimaced as the apple churned inside of him. Why did you even get me at all?

Nick clapped him on the shoulder. His expression remained flat as he let out a sigh. "You think you are the only one roped into all of this? You were here the night those two were supposedly killed, and you might still be the key to finding them—and him."

I don’t remember that at all, Nick.

You don’t need to, Jen said. I can’t explain it all in the short time we’ve got, but I can say that there are people like me, people who spilled blood to gain the abilities we were never meant to have. That whole mess went further up than I ever thought possible. She shook her head. Anyway, forget that. What I need you to do is close your eyes and remember that night, even if you can’t recall any of it.

Some of it popped into my head before, so I know you’re not lying. But I still don’t get why.

That’s part of why we need your help, Joshua, Nick said. These people want this city and the people in it devoured, and we don’t know where they’re hiding. You and your friends being targeted that night by the same people might be the bit of information we need.

"What do you mean devoured? Josh asked. What exactly are we dealing with?"

Jen clasped his shoulders and closed her eyes. A being that eats cities.

A brilliant flash of white filled Josh’s vision and sent the sickness flooding through his guts. He readied himself to vomit, but the bile never came. Instead, a strange desire, a passion, for a familiar dryness on his tongue tingled his insides. He needed a pill—those pills—and he needed them now. Sweat slipped across his skin as he salivated. Where was the Soma?

His breaths fell harder as he concentrated on the memory of that night. Where were his friends?

After a minute of muttering, he opened his eyes to meet the familiar night sky.

The ceiling burned, tiles, floorboards, and drywall, falling all around the basement. Josh was alone, staring up into the sky and the smoke billowing out of the crumbling ceiling. The heat warmed the air, but he didn’t need to breathe and the flames didn’t scorch his skin. In fact, his skin wasn’t really there.

Josh drifted as if he were a mere feather floating in the wind or like some faerie from the old myths. Any fear he might have had was overwritten by the same craving he had for those pills—the hunger even still remained in this state. His vision blurred and his stomach cried out while he focused on his predicament. He floated upwards like a loose paper in an updraft, scanning the house as it burned. Screams slashed through the scorching flame.

In the middle of the first floor lay a middle-aged male with a stream of blood pouring out of the back of his head. His eyes open, and his mouth twisted in fear, the man was definitely dead. There was a hole in his forehead.

A second body was thrown on top of the first, this time a middle-aged woman. It took a few moments for Josh to recognize them as Tony’s parents. He wanted to vomit, but his lack of a mouth or any sort of organs made that impossible. Two men crossed the burning floor, their clothes sizzling, but neither reacted to the flames. They both wore casual slacks and shirts just like any other person on the street. Their disinterest in the dead allowed revulsion to overtake Josh’s growing sense of despair.

The pair kicked the corpses into the crumbling hole in the floor. Their bodies smacked against the charred concrete of the basement. Rubble caved in on the dead as the killers turned back towards the door.

Mr. D said that’s the last of them. Dumb couple. They should have taken the deal. He put out his cigarette on his boot heel. I think the ambulance is almost here. The sirens are getting louder.

The other one nodded. Time to play our part of the good Samaritans who were just a bit too late. Got your game face on?

Of course. It’s the easiest part of the job. I should have gone to Hollywood.

You still can, if you play your cards right. The world is a big place with a lot of swell folks clawing for Greatness. But we need to get outside. This protection is not going to last forever.

Both men ran out into the night shouting and flailing their arms towards the gathering crowd outside and the approaching ambulance and fire trucks. It was only Josh who remained behind. He remembered this fire, and he knew that he was on the way to this house as it burned, but he didn’t remember it happening. What did all of this mean? Why were Tony’s parents murdered, and where was he?

He floated down to the basement where the dead lay and scanned the burning bodies.

He wanted to say something, anything, to wake them up, to assure himself this was a dream. And yet all the lost soul floating in this memory could do was feel the sobs building in his intangible chest. Times apparently long gone passed him by as these two adults clapped at school plays and attended parent teacher nights to brag about their son’s improved grades. Josh could still see them waiting at the playground to take Tony to another city to visit his grandparents—to this very house that they seemingly