Chapter 3
Of Puppies and Dungeons
The sound of Beethoven's Fifth echoes across the nearly empty halls of the local mall as Jayce's phone get's a call. Fumbling through his pockets he eventually locates the source of the vibration and noise. Tapping the screen to see the caller he sighs as it shows work's office line. 'Yo?'
'It's Mia.' Comes the disembodied voice, crackly due to the concrete walls and roof of the shopping center. 'Are you anywhere close to Civic?'
'Yeah, just below the cinema now.'
'Jonno just called me, he's coming here to take me home. I need you to walk me to Dave's; I'm staying there tonight.' Mia's voice cracks, this time from fear. 'But we need to go β like β right now. I just need to grab my stuff, see you in a sec.' She blurts as the telltale click of the handset being hung up ends the call.
At a pace, Jayce makes his way to the escalators, bounding up them towards the cinema. At the top he nearly bowls over Monique, setting up the bollards as the cinema is prepared to shut for the night. 'Gah!' she shouts as Jayce narrowly avoids her. 'Dammit Jayce!'
'Sorry, Mia called, she wants me to walk her home.'
'Don't bullshit me.' Her blunt nature was well known throughout the cinema complex, but the harshness of tone still took Jayce by surprise. 'I know Jonno's being an arse,' Monique's tone turns from somewhat frustrated to downright serious 'just make sure she gets home safe, okay?'
Worded as a question, Jayce knew it was a statement. 'Don't worry, I'm well versed in Anti-Jon warfare. Little does he know my secret plan to-'
'Jayce!' Monique nearly throws down the remaining bollard and signs, checking for customers before turning to stare him dead in the eye. 'I've heard him brag about some of the perverted stuff he thinks of doing...' her eyes wander, lost in thought as her cheeks and neck flush red. Monique grabs Jayce's hand, squeezing it tightly as her voice drops an octave, pushing the point. 'Keep her safe.'
The words are no sooner out of her mouth than Jayce's head begins to throb. His vision blurring as the pain sets in and everything goes dark.
***
An orange glow seeps in through Jayce's closed eyes, coaxing them open. He seems to be standing exactly where he was before; at the top of the escalator leading up to the cinema. Except everything was somehow different. Blinking a few times to get his bearings, Jayce nearly falls over in shock when he realises what he'd been sensing as "odd"; everything was built as though it were the twelfth century.
Every wall was made of large stone blocks, recessed light fittings replaced with flaming torches, even the escalator is made of large sliding stone blocks. Looking down the escalator almost gave Jayce a sense of vertigo, as the blocks seemingly disappear miles away into the darkness; no shops below as a reference point. Behind him a large Iron studded oak door creaks open.
'Jayce? Jayce, is that you?' comes the somewhat quakey voice of Monique. Jayce approaches her, noticing her clothes are now all black and somewhat tighter fitting. 'What's going on? Why are we here?'
'Well, "Here" is a bit of a malleable term...' Jayce ran his fingers through his red hair nervously. 'Long story short β and I know it's gonna sound a tad farfetched β The bullet caused brain damage that now lets me psychically communicate with people through touch alone.'
The silence from Monique was palpable. She tried a few times to respond, but her mouth just couldn't make the right sounds.
'Look,' Jayce continues, walking over to the confused manager. 'Time doesn't work the same way here; a fraction of a second will have passed by now, even a day here would barely clock up half a minute. And it's easy to get back to the real world. All we have to do is hold hands and think of going home- Ugh. This really IS starting to sound farfetched...' Jayce facepalms as he stops in front of Monique.
'So we're in My... Your... My imagination?' She mutters, trying to make sense of the whole situation.
Jayce takes a glance around. 'Yours, I'm guessing.' He places a hand on the wooden door, running his fingers along the timbers. 'I'd never "quite" thought of this place as a dungeon, I have to admit.'
'Is it safe?'
'Completely. I've done tests. You can get hurt, but not die; otherwise whatever happens in here doesn't transfer to the real world.' Jayce takes his hand away from the door as he realises he's fondling one of the iron studs. 'Yeah - *ahem* - whomever's mind your in has complete control.'
'Complete control?' Monique's voice had an undertone of mischievousness in that last question.