Ann Aguirre - Mortal Danger

“Let me know if I can do anything to help.” That seemed like the right thing to say, as both my parents lit up like Christmas decorations.

My phone buzzed. Covertly, I checked it under the table. Can you go out Saturday night, 7ish?

Since I had zero plans, it was safe to say I could, as long as my parents agreed. “I was hoping to see a movie tomorrow. Is that okay?”

Both my mom and dad stilled, eyeing me as if I had been kidnapped by aliens and replaced by a socially adequate pod person. “What movie?” my mom asked as my dad wanted to know, “With who?”

“I’m not sure yet,” I said. “And his name is Kian. You can meet him when he picks me up.”

“It’s fine with me,” my mom said. “But we’ll need to decide on a curfew.”

“Is this a date?” My dad was frowning, as if it had only just occurred to him that my altered circumstances presented him with a whole new set of problems.

In all honesty, I had no idea what was going on with Kian and me. But it seemed safest to say, “Yeah.”

“If you’re finished eating, I’d like to talk to your father. Once we come to a consensus, I’ll inform you.” It was hard not to laugh at how seriously my mother was taking this, but since that was how she approached everything, it wasn’t surprising.

“It’s fine, I’m done.” Shaking my head, I went to my room and signed on to chat with Vi on Skype.

Her conversation was mostly about school, but just before she signed off, she said something that freaked me out. “Have you ever had a recurring dream, Edie?”

“Not that I can remember.”

“That doesn’t mean you never have, only that you completed the dream before the REM cycle ended. If you can remember the dream, it means your sleep was interrupted for some reason.”

“Oh?”

“Anyway, I was asking because for the last three nights, I’ve dreamed the same thing.” Her expression became sheepish. “There’s this ice man watching me but I’m frozen solid and I can’t move, not even my eyelids. He creeps closer and closer, like some kind of snow spider, and then when he touches me, I crack into a thousand pieces.”

My throat went dry as a bone. “That’s—”

“Really weird, I know.”

Wedderburn. But I couldn’t tell her that. Whatever it took, I had to find a way to keep this craziness from bleeding onto Vi. “Can you hang on a sec? I want to look something up.”

I kept my cool until I left her field of vision and then the trembling set in. I crouched in my closet. Wrapping my arms around my knees, I dropped my head and let the panic sweep over me. This is too much. I can’t handle it. My breath came in ragged gasps until I went lightheaded, and my heart pounded so hard I was afraid it might actually explode. Gradually I calmed down, knowing I had to get back or Vi might disconnect before we finished talking. But when I went back to my laptop, I was shaky and covered in cold sweat.

“Took you long enough,” she said when I sat down at my desk.

I lied through my teeth. “I was digging through a book, but I couldn’t find anything. What do you think it means?”

“I’m not sure. I did some checking too, but dream dictionaries are pretty limited. If I had to guess, I’m feeling panicked about choosing a college.”

It was as good an explanation as any, especially when the truth wouldn’t work. Now I wished I hadn’t encouraged her friendship at the SSP, but at the time, I hadn’t realized how dangerous a deal I’d made; back then, I didn’t understand that players had no qualms about attacking people who knew nothing about it.

“Sounds reasonable.”

“You should visit me soon, I miss you. I mean, if you can. If you have time.” She seemed uncomfortable, as if it had belatedly occurred to her I might not want to leave my glamorous life in Boston to spend time in Ohio.

“I’d love to,” I said.

As soon as it’s safe. But I feared that day might be a long time coming.

By Saturday at six thirty, I’d completed all of my homework, dutifully proven this to my parents, who seemed to think a daughter who wanted to date might also lie about finishing assignments. And now I was listening to my father give the world’s most awkward lecture on how boys were animals and I should not, under any circumstances, trust a person with a penis. I tried to look appropriately impressed by the wisdom he was dropping on me, but it was tough.

“They may act as if they care for you. Respect you, even…” My dad trailed off, looking at my mother as if for deliverance.

“Be safe,” she said.

“I had the sex class at school.” There was possibly nothing worse I could’ve said.

It wound my father up, so he stammered about love and consideration until my mom finally cut him off in pity. “We trust you,” she concluded, though everything my dad had just said offered evidence to the contrary.

“Thanks. I’ll be home by midnight.”

Half an hour later, Kian knocked. It was probably unwise to consider this a date, despite what I’d told my parents, so I’d dressed in jeans, boots, and a jacket, in case of trouble. With Kian, I didn’t spend hours on my hair and makeup. It seemed superfluous since he’d known me before, and he’d created this version of me. It wasn’t like I could startle him with my beauty.

He was good with my parents, offering a firm handshake to my dad and a smile for my mom. I could tell she was surprised and dazzled—to the point that she almost forgot to ask about his work status and his collegiate enrollment. But he covered smoothly, telling her he worked part-time at a company downtown and he also attended university. The exchange went quicker than I’d have guessed, given it was the first time all around. Soon I dodged out the door with Kian close behind.

“That wasn’t so bad,” he said as we stepped out of the brownstone.

“You thought my dad would tell you he has a shovel and a handgun?”

“Something like that.” He shifted, seeming unaccountably nervous. “I’ve just … I never picked a girl up like that before.”

With a face like this, how was that possible? “You don’t date?”

Kian sighed. “Work makes it … difficult.”

“Oh, right. There’s no good way to tell your girlfriend that you’re up to your neck in a dangerous game. What does the winner get, anyway? Lifetime supply of car wax? Rule the world for all eternity?”

“More of the latter,” he said somberly. “But to be honest, I don’t think that’s entirely it.”

“Wow, so there’s more? High stakes. But how do they know if they win?” I followed him to the car and got in when he opened the door.

“I don’t have all the answers, Edie. At this point, you’re more important than I am.”

“Then I need to find a way to parlay that value into information. Where’re we going?”

“There’s something you need to see, and this is the best time.”

“So this isn’t a date.” Part of me was glad I’d dressed for trouble, but a tiny corner felt … disappointed.

“Did you want it to be?” Kian started the car and drove toward downtown.

I don’t know why I said it; possibly my mouth detached from my brain. “Yes.”

His hands actually jerked on the wheel, running us toward the curb, and he corrected course quickly, before daring to sneak a look at me. I wondered what he saw in the streaky darkness, illuminated only by passing streetlamps and the occasional flicker of fluorescent from an open store. For my part, I was watching him in turn, trying to figure out what he looked like before. Was he thin or heavy; what flaws had been smoothed away?