Tesser: A Dragon Among Us (A Reemergence Novel) (5 page)

"Sorry, Mr. Doyle. I just thought that with all that is happening, I'd play a larger role in the magical side of things. I am apprenticing under you to learn, and this seems like a learning opportunity to me. There isn't much else I can learn about the internet."

Mr. Doyle nodded like a grandfather might and adjusted the waistband on his slate gray slacks. "Abraham, this is a new day, filled with new questions and answers even I can't guess. What I can tell you is that your help with the computer and modern media will be far more effective than you helping me to operate a crystal ball that even at the height of magic and in the hands of an experienced wizard was imprecise at best.
 
You wouldn't want me teaching you how to operate a trebuchet when an assault rifle was available, would you?"

Abe had his own frown now. "No, I guess not."

"Then please go get your snacks and load your assault rifle, young man. We're storming the trenches of knowledge tonight, and hopefully, we'll rout the Krauts soon and find out what has sparked this resurgence in magical activity."

And with that, the old British sorcerer walked away.

"Fuck me," Abe murmured under his breath as he stood up and headed to the stairs.
 

I'm totally getting a six-pack of Red Bull.

Chapter Six

Matty Rindahl

Gosh, it's cold in here today. That's weird.

Matty set down a microtiter plate that was about to be filled with a solution from a pipette. She was in the early steps of a culturing project and the chill in the lab air was causing her hands to tremble slightly. She looked over her shoulder at the white plastic thermostat on the wall. It read: 62° F. The room should've been at 65° F.

So much for my cold-resistant Norwegian heritage. I gotta go call maintenance and see what the deal is here. If the temperature is off even by the slightest, the lab won't function properly.

Matty stood up from her lab stool and sat her microtiter plate down, each tiny well in it still empty. She lifted her plastic facemask off, sat it down on the counter beside the plate, and walked away to the lab's airlock exit door. They worked with nothing dangerous at this facility, but the lab's sanctity and cleanliness was important. Everything done at Fitzgerald Industries was done thoroughly and methodically, and it was a huge part of why they had seen so much growth in a down economy. It also helped that the company's sole owner, Alec Fitzgerald, was strikingly handsome and eloquent enough to be a liked politician. She'd only met him once and had been impressed by his sincerity, good looks, and wit.

Matty left the airlock after discarding her slip-on shoe protectors and leaving her white lab coat behind in a locker. Her black hair was tied back in a ponytail that was just tight enough to give her the onset of a faint headache. She tugged at the hair tie at the back of her head and freed the locks up a bit. Immediately, she felt some of her tension dissipate.
Much better.
She walked down the sterile hall towards a large open space filled with cubicles. The open office doors of scientist managers surrounded the room. She headed straight to her direct supervisor's office.

Matty winced at the bright sun glowing out the window. She was never a fan of the fiery orb that hung in the sky. Her skin burned in minutes and her life as a shut-in nerd didn't do her eyes any favors when the sun was out. Matty leaned on the doorframe and waited until she got off the phone.
 

"Hey Alexis, the lab is running about three degrees too cold today. Can you get maintenance on the horn and get them to fix it? My fingers are about to fall off."

Alexis sat behind her desk, the city of Boston a few miles distant out the window. Alexis was a short lady with graying red hair. Matty thought she was pretty, despite her mid-fifties age. She certainly was full of life. Alexis made a sour face and then nodded. "Yeah, sure, Matty. I'll call 'em. You taking lunch soon?"

Whoa, I am hungry.

Matty looked at her watch and saw it was a few minutes shy of noon. "Yeah, I'll probably take off now."

"Did you bring a lunch? I was thinking of ordering delivery from that new Greek place on the corner." Alexis pulled out a large take-out menu from a drawer in her desk.

"I brought a lunch. Sorry. But if you want to eat with me in the break room, I'll be over in a bit. I think I'll check my email and maybe see if there's anything interesting in the news."
 

"That sounds great," Alexis said as she picked up her phone to call either maintenance or the Greek restaurant. Matty left before finding out which.

The young scientist wandered over to her cubicle. She was still a very new employee at Fitzgerald Industries, and as such, her cube was only sparsely decorated. A few picture frames filled with snapshots of her mother and father were on the desk, and she had the obligatory kitten calendar hanging on the side of her cube. She was waiting for a few weeks to pass before she brought in the stuff that she really wanted to use to decorate: anime action figures, a few posters of her favorite B-grade movie classics, and an action figure of Bub the Zombie from the Romero flick “Day of the Dead”.

It's no wonder I'm single. Max was right to move on after the miscarriage.

Matty sat down and rolled her chair up to her computer. She logged on to the company network and opened a browser window. Her lunchtime ritual was ever the same, even here at her new job. First, she checked her Gmail account. From Norway, her mother had sent her a recipe for a Mexican-style baked dish that her father had loved. Matty deleted the email after replying, 'yum!' Second, she skimmed Facebook. People were breeding and then attempting to get that choice validated by sharing photos of baby bumps and kids acting like kids in public. Then, she went to a local news station to see what was happening in Boston. She'd had a strange need to check the news several times a day since the random Green Line tunnel collapse a few weeks ago.
 
Terrorism scared the crap out of her.

A video on the station's homepage caught her eye. The article was titled, 'Naked vigilante hobo rescues woman from attempted rape.' The freeze frame on the header showed a naked man (genitals blurred, of course), standing in an alley, and he didn't look anything like a hobo. If anything, he looked like a model that had stood in an alley waiting for a picture to be taken for the cover of Men's Health, or a snooty mail order catalogue. He was handsome.

Interesting…

Matty hit play on the video and a pretty female newscaster explained the situation.

"A night out of dancing and fun with friends had a nearly deadly turn of events for a 21-year-old Boston College co-ed. Parents, the following footage is not appropriate for all children. The young lady, whose identity has yet to be released, is seen here on black and white ATM security camera footage. She was accosted by two men when an unknown Samaritan appeared from deeper in the alley and came to her aid. He was wearing
no clothing
." The news anchor placed heavy, heady emphasis on the last sentence before continuing. With a smile, the news anchor cued the video to play.

"The naked homeless man stepped into the attempted kidnapping, and very quickly made work of one of the men before the other assailant escaped unharmed. As the video plays on, you can see the naked man go so far as to stop the victim from taking revenge on her assailant in a show of tremendous self-control and good will. The victim was unharmed. The attacker who did not leave the scene was transported to Mass General with numerous broken bones in his arm and wrist. Boston police have arraigned the suspect on attempted kidnapping charges, and are currently searching for the other suspect. If you have any details, please call the number on the screen to talk to Detective Henry Spooner who is in charge of the case."

The video ended.

Wow.

Matty rewound the video and played the short moments where the light haired man was visible. He moved faster than she'd ever seen anyone move. Maxwell, her ex-boyfriend, had earned his black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and she thought he was graceful and powerful. Max had nothing on this mysterious naked man. He was masculine, lean, strong, and embodied what Matty imagined to be nearly perfect violence. He used only the force needed to rescue the woman and no more.

Holy shit, I'm horny.

Matty took mental stock of her body and realized she was flush. There was a tiny amount of dampness in her lady parts. She leaned back in her chair and shook her head.
What the hell?

"What's that you're watching? A movie trailer? Wow, that man is fiiiiiine," she heard Alexis say over her shoulder.

Matty sat back up, embarrassed for no visible reason. "It's uh a video of some naked homeless guy rescuing some girl the other night near that new nightclub, Pandemonium. He doesn't look homeless to me."

Alexis snorted. "If I met him, he wouldn't be homeless anymore. I've got a spot in my bed next to me he can have all night. My food's at the front desk. I'm gonna grab it and head to the break room."

Matty nodded, her eyes fixed on the grainy black and white paused video.

"Take all the time you need with that video," Alexis said, and the two women shared a laugh.

Matty sat at the desk, fantasizing about the vigilante for a good long stretch before chastising herself and getting up.

"I gotta get laid."

Matty grabbed her brown-bagged lunch and headed to the break room.

Chapter Seven

Tesser

To further my learning of the most commonly spoken language, I have opted to spend more time in a different area of the city. I've learned that word: city. It means a large settlement filled with constructions that reach towards the sky like this. I've also learned that this settlement, this city, is called Boston. I've managed to do all this by spending more time in my human form.

I was able to find some makeshift clothing out of a refuse container a few days after I helped that young woman. Near an area of the city where there were many crafters selling clothing, I saw a man throw away a large bag filled with what appeared to be clothing.
 

I shifted into my human form, and as soon as the sun went down, I helped myself to several garments that fit. I kept the bag and the clothing that did not fit as well. I don't know why the man threw the clothing away.

My first attempt at human interaction ended poorly. I went into a small building that served hot drinks and small baked goods under a green emblem of a woman. She reminded me of the legendary mermaids. A small woman with a green cloth smock became very irate at my entrance and ushered me out. I didn't want to engage in hostility, so I left. I sat on the metal bench outside, in full view of the world, when a young man, also wearing a green smock, brought out a small paper cup filled with a dark beverage. He spoke at me for a minute or two, to no avail, and then offered me the cup. I sipped it, and it was dark, bitter, and flavorful. I pointed at the cup and tilted my head indicating I didn't know what it was. Even after all this time, body language has remained similar.

He said it was,
"Coffee."
 

That was one of the first words taught to me of the language I now know to be called English.

He then pointed to his chest and said,
"Alan. I'm Alan."

I nodded, pointed to my chest, and told him my name
, "Tesser."

He spoke at me until the small woman came out and yelled at him. He told me her name was "Bitch" before he smiled and went back in to help other people who wanted some of the hot coffee.

Alan was my first human friend.

Bitch was not.

I stayed near the coffee shop for a week. Alan brought me a coffee on the days that he worked, and I was thankful for that. I have since developed a strong affection for the drink, but now I've decided I like mine with cream and sugar. Humans have certainly been ingenious with their foods.