Convergent Realities - Chapter 6 - The Talk

Fuck me... three chapters in a day? There's a rarity. So here's the rough draft of my exposition chapter. Just finished it, and I'm probably goign to have to go back and change some things, but it seemed to flow pretty well while writing. Finally, an explaination to... most things. A world where magical girls exist to cover up the darker reality underneath.

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“Hey Grace, how’s it going?” I asked casually as I sat across from the young woman. I’d done a reverse lookup on her number once I was home, trying to find out everything possible before setting up a meeting. She seemed like a pretty normal girl, which was good for me, probably bad for her. I was definitely going to ruin her day, shatter the illusions the media had spent years building. Once I was convinced she wasn’t actually trying to kill me, I’d led her to a quiet part on the other side of the city to meet.

“How do you think it’s going?” the girl replied angrily. “You’ve had me running around this neighborhood for hours!”

“I had to make sure you weren’t followed, or trying to set me up,” I said reaching into my bag. I pulled out a couple bottled waters and handed her one. “Sorry.”

“You’re really that paranoid huh?” she grumbled as she cracked the bottle open. I just shrugged in reply.

While she chugged the bottle down, I checked her over. I’d guess between eighteen and twenty, a little over five feet tall, her shoulder length auburn hair and freckles hinted at irish descent. She definitely filled the ‘cutie’ archetype.

I waited until the girl was done with her water before I began. “First of all, I want to confirm, you made a verbal contract correct? The cute little cat fuck showed up and just asked if you wanted the power to protect people, right?”

Grace looked at me like I was crazy, “Of course, isn’t that how it happens for everyone?”

“Not even close!” I replied. “People with that kind of contract are highly photogenic, get sponsors, and soak up media attention. We call people like that Idols, cause that’s what they are. They attract attention so the second group can go about their business.”

“Other group…?” Grace asked suspiciously.

“Mhmmm…. We call those people operators,” I explained, taking a sip of my water. “People that have been coerced, or tempted into a written contract. A contract that had numerous benefits, and steep penalties, to force someone to do what the sponsor wants. Things like shoving people through the other side of a Bleed, and into the other realms.”

Grace shot to her feet. “Bullshit! People would know! Contractors risk their lives to protect the people caught in Bleeds, they don’t sell them out,” she shouted.

“Right… and what exactly did your mentor ask you to do in that Bleed?” I asked calmly. “It was probably something about finding someone weak, or that wouldn’t be missed, wasn’t it?”

“Maybe…” the girl admitted, sinking down to the bench again. “But she could have been trying to protect people,” she said, trying to rationalize.

“If she wanted to do that she wouldn’t have prevented the alert from going out, or destroyed the figments, not looked after the people,” I said sternly.

“Maybe there was no alert?” Grace replied hopefully.

“There was, my friend is the one who predicted it, and I delivered the details myself. That’s why we were there.” Grace slumped into her seat. “But why? How could this happen without anyone knowing? What’s the government doing?” she blurted out.

“Those are good questions, let’s go through them, shall we?” I said before taking another swig. “Why do contractors traffic people? Because they have no choice. Most written contracts target extremely greedy, or desperate people. The contractor is saddled with a massive debt they have to pay off through regular tithes of magic, or souls. Fail to pay, and it’s THEIR soul that’ll be reclaimed. Do the deed or suffer the consequences,” I explained. “Now, how come no one knows? Well that’s the thing, a lot of people do know, they just do their best to hide the fact. How would the public react if they knew only ones capable of protecting them were doing so at a massive cost? Some would accept it, others would riot, and during this unrest the Bleeds would go unmanaged. More lives would be lost. So, the media shuffles out idols to show that the Bleeds are being handled while sweeping the rest under the rug.” I’d pretty much crushed the bottle in my hand as I talked, so I slowly loosened my grip, and took a deep breath in to calm myself. “As for the government, have you ever heard of the ‘Bleed exemption’?” 

Grace nodded quickly. “It’s a law that prevents the government from punishing people for damage caused within a Bleed, since they’re technically not on native soil, and the contractor is working for the people’s benefit.”

“Close. It prevents the government from punishing people for ANY action taken within a Bleed, as long as it’s closed,” I corrected.

“Wait… that can’t be,” Grace said. I watched her eyes dart back and forth as she worked through this new information. “That means…”

“You’ve got it! The biggest joke of all is everything contractors do within a Bleed is legal, or at least not punishable,” I said angrily. “Hell of a system, isn’t it!”

“Why would they do that? How could they do that?” Grace asked.

“The government didn’t have a fucking choice. When the Bleeds first happened the government sent thousands of military and police personnel in, trying to protect people, but since guns were completely useless they just made things worse. After the contractors finally showed up they gave the government an ultimatum. Either approve the law, or face the Bleeds without their backup,” I finally drained the last bit of my water and chucked the bottle at a nearby trash can. “By the time they realized the consequences, it was too late. The contractors were closing Bleeds, and preventing total loss of life in those areas, so rolling back the law would only result in higher casualties.”

I sat there for a minute, just watching Grace work through everything I’d told her. She was taking it better than I expected, I’d seen some people completely break down when they realized the truth, deny the truth, while Grace just considered my words.

“What about you?” she finally asked. “You’re not a contractor. YOU use a gun.”

“Me? I’m crazy,” I said. Grace just stared at me, eyes half narrowed, until I continued. “So, the truth is, Bleeds CAN be dealt with by mundane weapons, but there are a couple caveats. Have you ever read any old fables about the fae? Ghost stories? Any cautionary tales about demons? I’m not talking the new age bull shit. The old stories. Well, it turns out many of them contain nuggets of truth, for those willing to look for them. Fae figments, and contractors, are weak against cold iron. Their magic doesn’t work as well. Limbo? Salt. Infernal? Silver. I don’t know all the weaknesses, but I know enough to wander in and deal with the dangers without magic. Doesn’t even the odds, not by a long shot, but it’s enough for someone like me to step inside,” I said with a laugh.

“Why…” The girl asked, intrigued.

“None of your business,” I snapped, causing her to jump back slightly.

She was quiet for a minute. “Why tell me any of this? You could have let me wallow in ignorance. Or shot me,” she said with a shudder.

“I could have…” I muttered, “but hey, you went out of your way to seek me out, so I thought you deserved the truth. I’m sure there are a ton of people that will want to use your signature power, just like that so-called master of yours. Now that you know the truth, you can at least try and stay away, to protect yourself. As long as you stay out of their schemes and stay in the spotlight, no one will touch you or your family.” I quickly checked my watch then stood up. “I’ve said my piece, and I’m sure I’ve given you plenty to think about, do you have any questions before I leave?”

“Any advice?” the girl asked meekly.

“Don’t trust anyone, and don’t do anything stupid,” I said, shouldering my bag.

“Not even you? After everything you told me?” she asked.

“Not even me!” I grunted. “I gave you a shit ton of information, how do you know I didn’t lie to you? You can’t. Treat everyone you meet with suspicion, and keep your nose clean, and you’ll be fine. If you try and go digging around, I can almost guarantee it won’t end well for you. This world is a lot dirtier than you could possibly imagine, the best you can do is stay out of it.”

“How am I supposed to do that after everything you just told me?” she muttered.

“TRY! I told you as a warning. It was better than having you bumble around blindly. Whether you listen to me or not is up to you,” I said as I turned to leave.

“Can I ever contact you, if I need advice?” the girl asked quietly. “Please?”

I paused. It was absolutely the right choice for me to just walk away and never see the kid again, but… well, I wasn’t exactly know for making smart choices. I dug a small slip of paper out of my bag, scribbled down an email address, and put it on the table. “I won’t promise that I’ll answer, and if I do it might take me a couple days, so only use it if you absolutely need to,” I cautioned her.

“Thank you,” Grace said, snatching up the small piece of paper.

“Don’t thank me,” I replied as I walked away. “I don’t deserve it.”