"Mom, this is my friend, Alexander. Alexander, Mom." Amy said once we had made it into her small flat. Her mother seemed nice enough, and not the least bit dangerous. She looked a lot like Amy as well, only older.
She looked between Amy and me before she forced a smile.
"Nice to meet you, Alexander." She said, subconsciously touching her hair.
"Likewise." I said, not bowing this time. According to Amy, that was not something people did in this strange world.
"I'm going to get us something to eat, okay, Mom?" Amy said.
"There's leftover shepherds pie in the fridge. It's at the back. Here, I'll show you."
Amy turned back to me as her mother walked into what must have been the kitchen, saying, "Have a seat."
Sitting down on the couch, my attention was caught by a very colorful small thing. It's was only maybe 1/5 the size of the wall, and had little people in it. They were walking around and talking to each other, and I could hear laughter in the background. I glanced at Amy with an astonished expression, but she shook her head. Indeed it would probably not go well if I asked what this... thing... was when it was quite obvious to the rest of them what it's purpose may be. I barely even noticed as she left the room after her mother.
The people seemed quite moronic, in my opinion, but someone must have found it very funny because they kept laughing. But who was laughing? It wasn't anyone on the screen, and there was no one else in the living room. The colors were so bright and the people looked incredibly fake. What was this magic box? Was it like Amy's telephone?
The person laughed again and my curiosity got the better of me. I checked to see if Amy or her mother was coming back, and when I saw they weren't I stood up. I walked over to the color wall and looked behind it.
There was no one there, but the laughter was still coming from somewhere. There was nothing but wires. Perhaps they had trapped a person inside the color wall?
No, a person surely wouldn't fit in there. I went and sat back down on the couch, taking in the rest of the room. There was another little box thing with colors on it, but it seemed to be... sleeping almost. It sat on a desk and had a flat piece with lots of buttons in front of it.
On one wall there was a book shelf. Now that I could understand.
Amy walked back in with a bowl of potatoes, corn, and beef and a glass of water. I downed them fast, very hungry after chasing Vigo for so long.
Amy's mother poked her head into the room and told Amy to not forget to get clean sheets and towels for 'the guest.'
I turned to look at Amy. "Shall I take that for an offer of hospitality?" I asked.
"My mom said you could stay for a couple of days. I didn't tell her who you really are."
I frowned. Why did she not? "I'd have thought guy maybe reputation would recommend me. If she reads the Daily Sentinel, she might well have heard of me."
"There is no Daily Sentinel here." She said. This statement confused me even more. How could there not be?
"Are we not in Chicago?"
"We're in Chicago, just not your Chicago. I don't know how, but you're not in Otherworld anymore."
"What is Otherworld?" Amy used words I had never heard of before, and every moment I was becoming more confused.
She hesitated before answering. "Well, it's the place in the books. What I'm saying is, you're not in your world anymore." I mulled this over.
"Then where am I?"
"I don't know. Here. A place without vampires."
I could not believe how stubborn one girl could be. "You must be mistaken. You were clearly attacked by-"
"I know. But I don't know how he got here, or how you got here. Hold on a second. Let me get the books for you." She ran off, and I thought, Finally. These blasted books she has been blabbering about!
She came back with two hard books, and I took them from her. Studying the pictures on the front, I was taken aback.
"Good Heavens! That's me! And James! And her." I scowled at the drawing of Hannah. How my insolent cousin had managed to fall for a vampire was beyond me. He should stake her while he's got the chance.
I opened one of the books and flipped through the pages. Amy sat down next to me and flipped to a certain point. I read the words on the page and became more confused. I was reading my thoughts, from a while ago.
"Astounding." I muttered.
I stupefied the books, making shocked exclamations when I came upon parts I was in. Eventually it was all becoming too much so I set the books aside and sank back on the couch. I ran my hand through my hair, trying to think straight.
"I don't know what to make of it." I stated.
"I don't, either. Maybe you chased Vigo through a portal of some kind." She said. And she tells me my world is ficticios.
"A portal? In my world, portals are the stuff of fiction." I said.
"Here, too." Well, at least we can agree on one thing. "But there must be some reason that you started off chasing Vigo in Otherworld Chicago, and you ended up chairing him here in real Chicago." My face twitched.
"You Belice that my world is the fantasy one, do you? I assure you it's not. This world, which you claim has no vampires and oddities such as" I glanced at the color projector. "miniature film projectors, seems fantastical to me."
Amy remained silent for a long while, thinking of what I had said. Finally, she said,
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. Your world is as real as mine."
"Thank you." I paused to ponder. "There must be some passageway between my Chicago and yours. Otherwise, this author could not have known what is happening there." A pause. "If a portal exists, i believe it is located in the vicinity of the Michigan Avenue Bridge. Earlier this evening, I tracked down Vigo and chased him across the bridge. Soon after, I became aware that I did not recognize where we were. I didn't understand it because the bridge ends off in the Elgin District, and we clearly weren't there. Come to think of it, that's when I noticed that many people were out past curfew."
"And then you ended up at me building complex." Amy said.
"Yes. I'd lost Vigo briefly. I imagine that he was as disoriented as is was. That must be why he stopped to feed- he didn't appear to realize that I was still after him." I looked over at Amy, who looked slightly queasy. She shook her head and suggested that I go back to the bridge.
"Maybe there's a chance you'll find your way home."
I shook my head. "Getting home is not my primary concern." I said, giving her a hard glance.
She seemed to know exactly what I was thinking, and said, "You want to find Vigo."
"Until I know for certain that Vigo has returned to my world, I'm not going anywhere." I stated. She nodded and looked towards the color projector.
"By the way, it's called a TV."
Soon after, Amy pulled out a stack of blankets and a pillow, setting them in the end of the couch. She said her good nights and departed to her room, but I wasn't going to sleep yet. I had reset my internal clock to e like that of a vampire's. Instead, I planned to investigate further into these books written by Elizabeth Howard.
I picked up what Amy had said was the first one, and opened it to page one.
