Unreal City (29 page)
Through the crack in the door, Penny could see Professor Arlington standing at the back of the room, surrounded by thousands of tiny points of white-gold light that looked like bubbles floating in a glass of champagne. In shock she watched him move his hand along the empty space in front of him, drawing strange, silvery writing. The letters hung in midair, bleeding like ink from a fountain pen. They hovered for a moment, then pulsed with a bright flare and faded.
He waved his hand again and produced more silvery writing from thin air. The lettering looked to Penny like arcane runes, shimmering as bright as tinsel. Professor Arlington wore a tormented expression, as if enduring an inordinate amount of pain. The lights in the room flickered from a surge of energy that seemed to radiate from the center of the room. Trembling, Penny backed away and let the door slam, trying to remember how to breathe.
That―that wasn’t real, I’m hallucinating, it’s not possible…
Penny’s mind raced even faster than her heartbeat, and she felt an alarming rush of lightheadedness. She swiveled around and charged away from the classroom at full speed to where Madeline stood waiting for her. Penny splashed through the mud to her, adrenaline pumping through her veins.
“M-Maddie!” Penny choked out, her voice sounding foreign to her own ears. Madeline looked over, her expression telling Penny that she was in a sour mood. “I―I―”
“What happened?” Madeline asked, looking impatient.
“In there―he was―it was―I can’t even explain,” Penny said in a fluster, cursing herself for being unable to articulate what she had seen.
Madeline let out a long sigh. “Honestly, Penelope…” she hissed as she trudged past.
Realizing Madeline was heading to the classroom, Penny yelped out loud, unable to stop herself. “Maddie, no! Don’t go in there, please!” she shouted and chased after her, her voice sounding high and unnatural. She ignored the sidelong glances she was getting from bystanders. “It’s dangerous―please!” Her anxiety doubled.
Madeline flashed Penny an irate glare and marched into the classroom. Penny froze and felt the blood drain from her face as the door shut behind Madeline. Just as she forced her legs to unstick themselves and move forward to rescue her friend, Madeline exited the classroom.
With a nonchalant stride that Penny hadn’t expected, Madeline joined her, Penny’s bag in hand. Dumbfounded, Penny’s lips parted in disbelief as Madeline shoved Penny’s bag at her and kept walking. With a little groan, she jolted after Madeline.
“Did―did you see it?” Penny asked in an unsure tone. “Did you see the…?” she trailed off, unable to find a word for what she had witnessed.
Madeline’s brows arched in irritation. “Listen Penny, you don’t have to pretend any more. I should’ve just gone with you. I know how anxious you can get…with your fainting spells and all.”
Penny’s frustration overwhelmed her. “I’m not making anything up! I saw something―something impossible in there! You’ve got to believe me, Maddie,” she sputtered, her nerves jangling.
“What? What was so mind-blowing, hmm?” Madeline inquired, no longer concealing the annoyance in her voice.
Penny’s expression darkened; if she tried to explain herself, she would sound insane. “It was―I don’t know―why are you so mad all of a sudden?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“I have a pounding headache, I’m soaked through, we drove out here for no reason because apparently Arlington is blossoming into a drama-queen, and you’re trying to play some weird game that I’m really not in the mood for,” Madeline shot back.
“You saw
nothing
out of the ordinary?” Penny demanded, growing defensive.
“Nope! Everything was perfectly fine. He even wished me a pleasant afternoon. Must be my lucky day.” Madeline came to an abrupt halt as they stepped into the wet parking lot. “Now, do you want me to take you home or are you walking over to the shop?” she asked in a business-like tone.
Penny stared down at her worn gray low-tops and exhaled. “The shop…”
“Well, have fun at work. Bye.” She waved a half-hearted goodbye to Penny and stalked away. Penny ran her fingers through her damp hair and shut her eyes, disturbed by the possibility that what she had seen could have been the product of an unsound mind.
A.R. MEYERING IS
a graduate in English from the University of California Santa Barbara with a specialization in Victorian/Neo-Victorian Literature. She is the author of the steampunk-fantasy series ‘The Dawn Mirror Chronicles.’ She is also the author of a dark fantasy
Unreal City
which won quarterfinalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest and garnered a positive review from
Publisher’s Weekly
. Her heart pounds for the horrifying, the sublime, the delicate, the elegant, and the fascinating. She is a life-long fan of fairy-tales, gothic horror-shows, clever mysteries, children’s stories that aren’t quite for children, steam-powered wonders, and sweeping fantasies. She is a dedicated geek and gamer, an educator, and pug enthusiast.
Visit the author at:
Website
Facebook
www.facebook.com/AlexandraMeyering
Twitter
Goodreads
www.goodreads.com/author/show/7753852.A_R_Meyering
Cover, interior book design,
and eBook design
by Blue Harvest Creative
Editing provided by
BHC editor Bailey Karfelt
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