about? Who does that? Maybe I was just in shock over my current precarious situation. Gregg had always seemed so together, so stable. I really thought I’d found the security I’d been looking for with him. Talk about wishful thinking.
“Maggie? Are you still with me?” Darrios asked.
“I’m sorry. Yes, of course. What did you say?”
“I said, yeah, you’re right, he sounds like a real thoughtful guy.”
Darrios turned his back to me and continued walking. This guy was really beginning to piss me off. We walked in silence again. I watched him as we walked. His calculated steps gave his stride purpose. His giant fur draped over his one side, so I was able to see his tanned, muscular arms, which made him seem very “outdoorsy.”
I began to wonder about him. What brought him here? Why did it seem like he wasn’t trying very hard to get home? Was he always so surly? Suddenly, I had so many questions I wanted to ask him and talking gave me a welcome distraction from my surroundings.
“You said you’ve been here a long time. When did you get here? Where did you come from?”
“I had just turned twenty. I fell through a door in New York City. Landed right in the Outer Rim, just like you did.” He chuckled. “If it wasn’t for Bernie...”
“Bernie?”
“He saved me from the moltergs. Funny, I haven’t thought about him for years.”
“Did...something happen to him?”
Darrios shook his head. “No, he’s still around. He was born here. Not too many of us, the residents here, are. Apparently, when you’re a native you can come and go as you please, between your world and this one. He took me all the way to Inland and then he left. He shows up every now and then, like some sort of messenger or fairy godmother or something.”
“There’s a disturbing image.”
“Every so often I’ll hear his name. It seems like he shows up when somebody needs something they don’t have a prayer of ever finding...until he arrives. I’m relieved every time I hear he’s been seen. It means he’s okay and somebody’s happier. It’s been so long...”
“How long? How old are you”
“Time is different here. It goes by more slowly. I think I’m about thirty, maybe thirty-one, I’m not exactly sure.”
“Did you ever try to go back to New York?”
He nodded. “Oh yeah, I looked for the door, any door...but I never found one. Finally, I just gave up. I figured destiny led me here. I became sort of a...guardian of the lost, if you will. I started hunting and killing moltergs in the Outer Rim...channeled my anger.” He grinned mischievously. “And I’m very good at it. I guess, maybe...it’s my calling.”
“Well, I’m not going to stop looking for a door. I will find a way back,” I insisted. “There has to be a way.”
Darrios sort of half-smiled, edging on a smirk. “So tell me, Maggie, what do you have back home that you’re in such a big hurry to get back to, besides the selfish boyfriend?”
“My brother, for one thing, and my aunt. My parents died when my brother and I were kids. We lived with our grandmother, but Aunt Gin was really the one who raised us. My grandmother died four years ago and now it’s just Brendan, Aunt Gin, and me. The three of us? We’ve always been really close.”
“I’ve often wondered what it would be like to have a family.”
I smiled at the thought of my brother and my aunt.
“When Gregg announced we were moving, Brendan wasn’t happy about it, but he kept it to himself. Not Aunt Gin. She threw a fit. Before I knew it, she had rented a house right down the street from us.” I chuckled to myself, remembering Gregg’s reaction when he realized Aunt Gin was our neighbor. “Gregg flipped out. He got so mad, he actually accused her of doing it on purpose just to torture him.”
“Why would he say that? I’m sure she moved to be nearer to you.”
I chuckled again. “True, but tormenting Gregg was sort of a hobby of hers. She thought he was a
“Maggie? Are you still with me?” Darrios asked.
“I’m sorry. Yes, of course. What did you say?”
“I said, yeah, you’re right, he sounds like a real thoughtful guy.”
Darrios turned his back to me and continued walking. This guy was really beginning to piss me off. We walked in silence again. I watched him as we walked. His calculated steps gave his stride purpose. His giant fur draped over his one side, so I was able to see his tanned, muscular arms, which made him seem very “outdoorsy.”
I began to wonder about him. What brought him here? Why did it seem like he wasn’t trying very hard to get home? Was he always so surly? Suddenly, I had so many questions I wanted to ask him and talking gave me a welcome distraction from my surroundings.
“You said you’ve been here a long time. When did you get here? Where did you come from?”
“I had just turned twenty. I fell through a door in New York City. Landed right in the Outer Rim, just like you did.” He chuckled. “If it wasn’t for Bernie...”
“Bernie?”
“He saved me from the moltergs. Funny, I haven’t thought about him for years.”
“Did...something happen to him?”
Darrios shook his head. “No, he’s still around. He was born here. Not too many of us, the residents here, are. Apparently, when you’re a native you can come and go as you please, between your world and this one. He took me all the way to Inland and then he left. He shows up every now and then, like some sort of messenger or fairy godmother or something.”
“There’s a disturbing image.”
“Every so often I’ll hear his name. It seems like he shows up when somebody needs something they don’t have a prayer of ever finding...until he arrives. I’m relieved every time I hear he’s been seen. It means he’s okay and somebody’s happier. It’s been so long...”
“How long? How old are you”
“Time is different here. It goes by more slowly. I think I’m about thirty, maybe thirty-one, I’m not exactly sure.”
“Did you ever try to go back to New York?”
He nodded. “Oh yeah, I looked for the door, any door...but I never found one. Finally, I just gave up. I figured destiny led me here. I became sort of a...guardian of the lost, if you will. I started hunting and killing moltergs in the Outer Rim...channeled my anger.” He grinned mischievously. “And I’m very good at it. I guess, maybe...it’s my calling.”
“Well, I’m not going to stop looking for a door. I will find a way back,” I insisted. “There has to be a way.”
Darrios sort of half-smiled, edging on a smirk. “So tell me, Maggie, what do you have back home that you’re in such a big hurry to get back to, besides the selfish boyfriend?”
“My brother, for one thing, and my aunt. My parents died when my brother and I were kids. We lived with our grandmother, but Aunt Gin was really the one who raised us. My grandmother died four years ago and now it’s just Brendan, Aunt Gin, and me. The three of us? We’ve always been really close.”
“I’ve often wondered what it would be like to have a family.”
I smiled at the thought of my brother and my aunt.
“When Gregg announced we were moving, Brendan wasn’t happy about it, but he kept it to himself. Not Aunt Gin. She threw a fit. Before I knew it, she had rented a house right down the street from us.” I chuckled to myself, remembering Gregg’s reaction when he realized Aunt Gin was our neighbor. “Gregg flipped out. He got so mad, he actually accused her of doing it on purpose just to torture him.”
“Why would he say that? I’m sure she moved to be nearer to you.”
I chuckled again. “True, but tormenting Gregg was sort of a hobby of hers. She thought he was a
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