Scene 2 - Morning Chemistry
There was something in the air, a shimmering, invisible, sense of...something. Jack Donelly couldn’t shake it off. There was something there. Intangible and utterly impossible for him to ignore. It was an undeniable presence of something unknown breathing down his neck. Jack looked around at the people all around him. They appeared unaffected by the call of this presence. And it was a call, Jack realized. A siren’s call to follow, to come. Jack just didn’t know where he was supposed to go. There was power behind the call. Somehow Jack knew that. Unimaginable power. Suddenly Jack realized he wanted to answer this unknown call, to follow it to anywhere it wanted him to go. He would follow it to the ends of the Earth and beyond if necessary. But the call was coming from all around him, summoning him in all directions. Jack looked around again, but everyone else was simply watching the professor in their usual mix of vacant stares and studious concentration as the professor droned on. The call was growing more powerful, more irresistible. Jack searched around him, looking, growing almost frantic, searching for where he was supposed to go. Searching for the siren behind the call.
A small part of Jack knew that he should be paying more attention. Chemistry had never been his strong point and the fact that the only lecture that he could make it to was at 8 in the morning wasn’t helpful. Not to mention that the Chem Building was way on the far side of campus from his dorm. A minimum 10 minutes from dorm to class. At 8 in the morning. And that was if Jack was doing that fast paced walk he only did when he was going to be a little late to a class. It was a fifteen minute easy walk. All of this meant that when the alarm went off with its blare of sound on Tuesday and Thursday mornings telling him it was time for class...the snooze button got hit a few times. Then it was too late to get to class. Oh, and that was the other thing. The second class for Jack on Tuesday and Thursdays wasn’t until after lunch which made sleeping in possible if he skipped Chemistry. Long story short, Jack had missed more Chemistry lectures than he should have.
It was because of this that Jack was doing his best to ignore this siren call and pay attention to the professor. The professor was saying something about… Jack had no idea what he was talking about. The call was distracting him and even if it wasn’t, Jack was doubtful he would understand. He hadn't done the reading. For the last couple of weeks. Jack looked around again and realized that a woman had sat down beside him. Instantly, all of Jack’s concentration was on this woman. All thoughts of chemistry were completely absent from his mind. She was tall, but so was Jack. She would have stood a few inches shorter than Jack without the heels she was wearing. Jack normally would have noted this as an odd shoe choice for a fellow student to wear to class, but he was too distracted. She was dressed in a flowing shimmering blue green dress which fell just short of her knees as she sat in the chair next to Jack. The top of the dress swooped down, revealing just a hint of her well formed breasts. Her auburn hair fell in wavy waterfalls to her shoulders. Her smile flashed in perfect white beneath brilliant blue eyes as she whispered, “Excuse me, but I don’t know your name.”
“Jack,” Jack responded without thought, “Jack Donnelly.”
“Welcome Jack Donnelly,” the woman whispered with another of her brilliant smiles.
“Uh, thanks,” Jack whispered, “Who are you? I mean, what’s your name?”
“We’ll get to that later,” the woman whispered, “Why don’t you follow me?”
“Why don’t you leave the boy alone?” a man said sitting down behind the two of them. He did not bother to whisper but no one around them seemed to respond. The professor droned on. The students continued their mix of bored stares and careful note taking.
“It’s okay,” Jack whispered, “We were just talking.”
“You never just talk with someone like her,” the man told Jack. His black hair was combed back above his intelligent colorless eyes the color of charcoal. “I’m Edward,” the man introduced himself, leaning forward to hold out his hand to Jack. The man wore a simple black wardrobe of pants, a collared shirt, and a black silk tie. Jack shook his hand on simple reflex.
“Edward, this one is ours,” the woman said dropping her whisper as well, “You agreed to this.”
“This is Sophia,” Edward continued without looking at the woman.
“Hi…,” Jack said, “I’m going to go now.”
“I think that’s a fantastic idea” Edward said with a smile.
“Edward,” Sophia said in a warning voice.
“Sophia,” Edward said with a sly smile, finally acknowledging the woman. It was the smile of someone who knows very well that they are annoying the person on the receiving end of that smile.
“There are four of my brothers surrounding this building,” Sophia said, “You cannot hope to over power all of us.”
“There were four of your brothers surrounding this building,” Edward corrected.
“What?”
“I killed them so we could have a nice quiet chat,” Edward explained pleasantly.
“That was a mistake,” Sophia said, “You will pay for this.”
“What are you people talking about?” Jack said, standing up, backing away from the two strangers who so calmly talked of murder.
“Sit down,” Sophia said to Jack as a great wave of the siren’s call crashed over him.
Without thought, Jack sat down obediently.
“What do you think you are doing here?” Sophia said, turning her attention back to Edward. “You have broken a deal with both of the Courts, you cannot hope to outrun them now.”
“Me?” Edward said, turning to Sophia, “I’m telling our young friend the truth before he makes his choice.” Edward turned to Jack. “How old are you? Wait. Don’t answer that. You’re 24 years old. You turned 24 about six or seven months ago.”
“How can you hope to survive this betrayal?”
“Actually, I haven’t actually broken my agreement with the Courts,” Edward said, “You see, I intervened just after you asked Jack to come with you.”
Sophia smiled, flashing perfect white teeth. But the smile did not reach her eyes. Her eyes promised nothing but danger and death. “To the letter if not the intent of your agreement.”
“To the letter,” Edward agreed with a nod and another broad smile.
“You will pay for this all the same,” Sophia said still smiling her perfect smile like a mask.
“Oh, as if I was the first to follow the letter of an agreement if not the intent. No, I think your people perfected that long ago.”
“Perhaps.”
“What are you people talking about?” Jack said.
“I’ll tell you everything if you just come with me,” Edward said, “And then you will be free to do as you please.”
“No,” Jack said, “Tell me now.”
“Yes, Edward,” Sophia said, “Tell him.”
Edward shot a look at Sophia before asking, “Do you know who both of your parents were?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“So raised by a single mom,” Edward said, “Maybe with a stepdad or two along the way.”
“So what?”
“So your father was one of the Fae, of the Seelie Court,” Edward said.
“What?” Jack said suddenly laughing, “That’s crazy.”
“Is it?” Edward said, “How long have we been talking here? We’ve been fairly loud in fact. Is your professor usually quite this oblivious?”
Jack looked around the lecture hall. No one was looking at them. The professor was still teaching in his monotonous drone. The students were all either sleeping or staring blankly at the professor except for the handful which were scribbling down their precious notes.
“Strange isn’t it? It’s almost like they can’t see or hear us,” Edward said before suddenly shouting, “HEY PROFESSOR DRONES A LOT!”
Nobody in the lecture hall responded. Nobody flinched or turned toward them. The professor droned on.
“I must be dreaming,” Jack said, “I must have dozed off.”
“I’m afraid that’s not the case,” Edward said as he jumped easily over the row of chairs so that he stood in front of Jack. Then he unceremoniously slapped Jack against across the cheek with a loud smack.
“What the hell was that for?” Jack said cradling his cheek.
“Do you still think this is just a dream?” Edward said.
Jack didn’t respond; he just stared back at Edward trying to process what was happening to him.
“She,” Edward said pointing to Sophia who was still sitting and watching with a look of amusement on her face, “Is a Fairy of the Seelie Court. You are a Changeling. Half human. Half Fae. Your father was also of the Seelie Court, as I said before.”
“No,” Jack denied.
“Yes,” Edward disagreed, “Now, please. Come with me so I can explain.”
“Why am I supposed to trust you?” Jack asked.
“Ah, that’s the rub isn’t it?” Sophia said, jumping back into the conversation. “Why should he trust you Edward?”
“Because I’m a Changeling too. I can relate,” Edward said, “Now please, you have to trust me Jack.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Sophia said with a knowing smile.
Suddenly, both Sophia’s and Edward’s heads turned and looked towards the back of the lecture hall.
“We have to go,” Edward said, “Now.”
“Why? What’s happening?” Jack said, worried by the looks on the two strangers’ faces. Sophia’s a look of sudden anger and disgust. Edward’s a look of worry.
“That would be the Unseelie Court,” Sophia said standing, “Several by the feel of it. It was a pleasure meeting you Jack Donnelly. We will meet again, unless you would care to join me now?”
“No,” Jack said.
“Well then, good tidings to you and yours," Sophia said to Jack with a curtsy. Somehow she made it an elegant flourish in the small space between the rows of chairs. She gave a curt nod to Edward and said, "Edward."
“Sophia,” Edward said with a slight bow of his head. Edward’s smirk greatly took away from this show of respect.
Sophia pulled out a small mirror from her purse, opened it and was gone. Simply gone. No flash, or puff of smoke. Just, gone.
“Where did she go?” Jack asked, staring at where Sophia had been standing just a moment before.
“The Summer Palace I suspect to report back to Titania,” Edward said, “We really should be going.”
“But she….”
“Look, we don’t have much time,” Edward said, “I need your permission to take you somewhere safe.”
“Safe?”
“Yes,” Edward said, “The Unseelie Court tends to recruit in a more… violent fashion than the Seelie Court.”
The lights began to flicker. The professor stopped. The students began to stir.
“Relax people,” the professor said, “I’m sure it’s nothing. The alarm will sound if-”
That was when the alarm began to screech its ear splitting wail. Students began the slow process of exiting the lecture hall. Stopping to gather their things on the way.
“Oh, yes,” Jack yelled over the screech of the alarm, “I consent.”
“Good,” Edward said reaching into his pocket and pulled out a small mirror, “Look into this.”
Jack looked into the mirror in Edward’s hand as he heard an explosion behind him. He turned to look, but suddenly found he was no longer in the lecture hall. They were standing in a small bathroom. A small dirty bathroom. Jack decided that taking a shower in this bathroom would probably result in making you dirtier than when you started. The mirror was cracked and chipped and largely opaque except for a small central blob which was still reflective if only marginally so.
“Where are we?” Jack asked.
“A hotel room,” Edward said exiting the bathroom, “We’re still in the city. I can't get us very far that way.”
Jack followed Edward into the main room. There was one bed with rumpled covers and an old TV on a beat up dresser. The TV was blaring out a commercial that looked like it was for one car company or another.
“We’ll be safe here for awhile,” Edward said over the TV, “They shouldn’t be able to find you for a few hours.”
“Find me how?”
“The same way they found you before,” Edward said, opening the middle drawer in the dresser and pulling out a large black duffel bag.
“And how was that?”
“When a changeling comes of age, it sends off a kind of beacon that the Courts can home in on for the first seven days. I am able to sort of mask that beacon for a few hours.” Edward started pulling out clothes from the duffel.
“Come of age?” Jack said, “I’m twenty-four.”
“To be exact, you are 24 years and 220 days old,” Edward said, “Or - more easily remembered - 40 Venusian years.”
“What?”
“40 orbits of Venus around the Sun,” Edward said, “You know, the planet. Put these on.” Edward tossed Jack a wad of clothes.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Honestly, I have no idea,” Edward said, “That’s just the way it is.”
“Okay,” Jack said, “So for the next seven days- that’s Earth days right?”
“Correct.”
“For the next seven days, I’m going to be hunted by…Fairies.”
“Well, they’ll continue to hunt you after that. It’ll just be a lot easier for them for the first seven.”
“Great,” Jack said, “And what am I supposed to do?”
“Change into those clothes.”
“I mean after this week is over.”
“Whatever you want to do.”
“I want to be left alone.”
“I’m afraid that’s not a possibility,” Edward said, “The Fae are nothing if not persistent.”
Jack stood there for a moment but thought of nothing more to say before turning and going back into the bathroom. He changed into the clothes that Edward had given him, black sweatpants, dark gray hoody, unadorned navy blue baseball hat. They fit surprisingly well. When Jack left the bathroom Edward was sitting up on the bed watching the morning news. Traffic was bad because of a collision somewhere. Weather was supposed to be clear but cold. Jack paced back and forth silently. Walking the small length of the room in four long strides before pivoting and walking back.
“What are my options then?” Jack asked without stopping his pacing.
“You can join either Court,” Edward explained, “Seelie or Unseelie. Or you can join neither.”
“And if I join neither they’ll just continue to come after me.”
“Right.”
“What happens if I choose a Court?”
“You become a full Fae. Obedient to your rulers.”
“What do you mean obedient?” Jack asked, stopping and turning towards Edward.
“Humans are special,” Edward said, “They are the only ones to possess free will. If you become a Fae, you lose that. You will obey whichever king and queen you choose in every way. If they command you to kill, you will kill. If they command you to be happy while you’re doing it, you’ll do it with a smile on your face.”
“That’s….”
“A lot to lose,” Edward said, “I know. That’s why I didn’t choose a Court.”
“How? How do you do it?”
“Well I’m not sure who your father was. Seelie Court, that’s all I know - that’s why they were able to find you first,” Edward said, “My father was King Oberon, King of the Unseelie Court, and Ruler of the Autumn Palace. Let’s just say I have more juice than your average Changeling.”
“Oh,” Jack said, “Oberon. You said Titania before. Like Shakespeare.”
“Yes and no,” Edward said, “They’ve been called many names over the years, those are the ones they go by now. Shakespeare may have had a gift for words, but he didn’t really know the first thing about the Fae. They’re a lot less beneficent than Shakespeare made them out to be and a lot more deadly.”
“Right,” Jack said and a thought suddenly occurred to him, “Wait, my friends, family, what if they go after them? That’s what the bad guys always do to try to make you do something. Go after the people you care about.”
“Relax. They can’t,” Edward said, “The Fae can’t affect those who aren’t already involved with the Courts.”
“Okay, good,” Jack said, relaxing a little before resuming his pacing, “Tell me about Fairies.”
Edward smiled, “Of course. Let’s start with how the reproduce. The only way Fae can reproduce is by Changelings. This means that all Fae except for the four monarchs are half-breeds. This makes them weaker. The less Fae blood you have, the weaker you are.”
“That’s why you’re so strong.”
“Correct. When a Changeling comes of age, it sends out a summoning to the Fae for the next seven days. It is stronger for whichever Court sired you. That’s why the Seelie Court found you first. After those seven days, if the Changeling has not chosen a Court, it begins to have access to some of its powers.”
“Powers, what kind of powers?”
“It varies,” Edward explained, “Like I said, it depends on how pure your sire was. Everyone can mirror travel.”
“Like how we got here,” Jack said starting to see connections, “And how Sophia got away.”
“Right,” Edward said, “How far you can travel depends on how pure your sire was.”
“Okay, what else?”
“There are too many possibilities to count,” Edward said, “Let’s just say most of what you can think of is probably a possibility. I probably don’t even know of all of the possibilities. We’ll just have to figure that out when the time comes.”
“Okay…,” Jack said, “What else?”
“All Fae have a weakness for iron,” Edward said, “They like to say ‘cold iron’ to make it sound…more poetic. But any iron or steel will do. It burns them.”
“Is that how you….”
“Killed those four Fae?” Edward suggested when Jack trailed off, “Yes. With this.” Edward pulled out a folding knife from his pocket and flipped the blade open. Its five inch blade shone in the dim light of the hotel room. After a short moment of silence Edward continued, putting away the knife, “The Seelie Court is ruled by Queen Titania and King Paris. The Unseelie Court is ruled by King Oberon and Queen Mab. And just in case you were thinking one Court is good and the other evil, don’t. They’re just…different. The Seelie Court is generally more subtle in getting what it wants whereas the Unseelie Court uses blunt force. They’ve been in a sort of war forever. There will never be peace between them. Neither side will ever win. They will be at each others throats until the world ends.”
That’s when a knock came to the door. Two rapid knocks followed by two long ones as if signaling morse code.
“That will be my associate,” Edward said, standing up from his chair and walking to the door.
Jack stopped on the far side of the room from the door, a little hesitant.
Edward opened the door to reveal a woman who quickly hurried in. Her black hair hung around her shoulders and her brilliant green eyes quickly flicked around the room as if assessing dangers. She wore dark clothing which fit snugly over her well formed curves. It was the kind of clothing which would not inhibit her movements in anyway. She carried another large black duffel bag over one shoulder. Once she was inside, Edward quickly shut the door behind her. She produced a black scrunchie from somewhere and quickly pulled her hair back in a ponytail, out of the way.
“I take it all went well?” she asked, eyeing Jack as he stood across the room from her.
“Well enough,” Edward said, “Jack, meet Sarah. Sarah meet Jack.”
The two nodded to each other. “Seelie?” Sarah asked Edward as she tossed the duffel bag onto the bed.
Edward nodded.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” Sarah asked Edward without further introduction.
“What?”
“Just answer the question,” Sarah asked.
“No.”
“Good. That makes it easier,” Sarah said.
“You’ll have to excuse Sarah,” Edward said, “She can be a little harsh sometimes.”
“I’m just telling him the truth. It’s not my fault if it’s harsh,” Sarah said, “You won’t see your friends again. Ever. You’ll only endanger them.”
“What?” Jack said, “No.”
“Yes,” Sarah pressed on, “Fae can’t affect those who aren’t involved in their games. If you talk to your friends, you involve them, making them fair game. You don’t want that.”
“I’m afraid she’s right,” Edward said, “You can’t see your friends. If you do, the Courts will use them against you.”
“Great,” Jack said, turning away from both of them, “So I’m alone in this.”
“No, You have the two of us,” Edward said and after a pause added, “If you want us.”
“Yeah, and what’s the price of your help?”
“Cynical already, that’s good,” Sarah said, “For the first seven days, we’ll help you for free. Keep you out of the Courts’ reach as best we can. After that, we can either part ways or you can help us.”
“Help you do what?” Jack said, turning back towards them.
“Protect more like you,” Edward said, “Give other Changelings a choice like we did for you.”
“So you’re a Changeling too,” Jack said to Sarah. It wasn’t a question. “What about my mom? She must already be involved with the Courts.”
“Changeling parents get an exception,” Edward explained, “Neither Court can affect the human parent of a Changeling without the Changeling’s permission. Of course once you choose a Court the decision isn’t really yours anymore, but then there’s no reason to go after her.”
Jack nodded silently, thinking.
“We need to move,” Sarah said, “You can ponder the meaning of life and the universe later.”
“So what? We run around from hotel room to hotel room for the next week?”
“No, we have a place where we can hole up, but we have to get there first,” Edward said, “You brought the car?”
Sarah nodded.
“Good,” Edward said, opening the duffle bag pulling out a handgun, “Do you know how to use one of these?”
“Uh…I shot a rifle at camp a couple of times,” Jack said.
“So no,” Edward said expertly demonstrating everything as he quickly ran through the components of the weapon, “This is the safety. On. Off. Off means you’re ready to fire. Point it at something you want dead. Pull the trigger. For now aim for the center of the chest. Pull this to put the first bullet into the chamber. Grip it with two hands. Not to tightly but firmly. It’s going to kick. Aim before each and every shot. Hit this button to release the magazine. Push a magazine in until you hear the click to reload. Each magazine has 15 rounds. We’ll go over cleaning at a later date.” Edward clicked the safety back on and pushed the gun into a holster and handed it over to Jack. “That should attach to your belt. Do you have a coat or something you can pull over that?”
“Uh, no,” Jack said accepting the weapon and clipping it onto his belt.
“Right, this was all kind of short notice,” Edward said. He pulled a long black coat out of the bag and handed it to Jack, “Wear this then.”
Jack put the coat on as Edward pulled out more weapons from the bag. Two more Glocks - one for him, one for Sarah - and more knives which seemed to disappear after a flash and glint of cold steal as he tucked them into various places on his person. The last knife he held out to Jack. Jack held out his hand and Edward slapped the knife handle down into Jack’s hand. The blade was about five inches long and folded into the handle. Jack folded the blade and put the knife into one of the pockets of his new coat.
“The car’s straight out the door. The old Cadillac,” Sarah said, “I drive, Edward’s shot gun, Jack’s in back. Let’s move.”
With that, the three of them quickly filed out of the hotel room and into the cold October morning towards the waiting car.
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