Darkness enveloped his eyes as he carefully applied the last of the greasepaint to the area of his skin that would remain visible between the strips, eyeholes of sorts. He paused and examined his appearance so far.
I look like a raccoon, he thought.
He wrapped the final bandages around his head. As his features became unrecognizable and his hair disappeared beneath layers of gauze, he felt the flesh on the back of his neck prick up a bit. There was something eerie about the thought of losing himself—becoming something else. He forced a laugh. It must be the season getting to him. That's what he told himself, anyway.
He'd always been a little more sensitive to that sort of thing than most. When he was young, simply staring at himself in the bathroom mirror with wide unblinking eyes with the lights out had been enough to elicit a feeling of dread. Looking at himself now, though, in a different mirror next to the apartment door, he wasn't as easily affected. Still, he avoided direct eye contact with himself.
He tugged at a bandage around his wrist until it was hanging limply and made other finishing touches to add a bit of personality. He was ready. A glance at the clock told him he was already running late.
“See ya, Bud,” he called to his dog while reaching for the door handle.
With that, Josh left his apartment and headed to the party.
Fortunately for him, his destination was just one floor above. Josh steeled his nerves as he ascended the steps and walked down the hallway. He wasn't usually nervous about social gatherings, but this was a new home in a new building—a whole new city.
Here it was, number 308. He knocked a few times before someone answered.
“Yeah?” the guy asked. To Josh's surprise he looked strangely ordinary.
“I'm here for the party.” The way he said it, it sounded almost like a question. He berated himself for being so uneasy.
“Um, okay.” The man moved aside to let Josh enter, and as he did so, scoffed, “What are you supposed to be?”
Josh was perplexed. “...A mummy.” As if it wasn't obvious.
The man chuckled. “Whatever.”
Josh took in his surroundings only to freeze in place mid-step. No one else was wearing a costume. Everyone was casual. Had he come to the wrong party? He ran over the number again in his head, given to him by his next-door neighbor. In fact, when he scanned the room, he saw that very neighbor among the partygoers who surrounded him, joining in with the laughter now bubbling up.
“Look!” someone cried. “Some little kid wandered in here by mistake.”
The laughter grew louder.
There was no mistake. Just a cruel prank.
He thought he wouldn't have to deal with this kind of thing anymore after adolescence, yet here he was after all this time. But surely these people were just having a good time, maybe they even already got a little too exuberant with the refreshments. He could ingratiate himself with them and make some friends.
Josh stepped to the side and tore at the bandages concealing his face until his whole head was clear. Then he briefly rubbed at the black makeup on his face before deciding it wasn't a big deal. He looked for his neighbor—Tim, was it?—to ask why he had pulled this joke, but couldn't see him.
By now most had lost interest and returned to whatever conversations they had going on, though a few continued staring. Josh stared back with an insincere smile until they looked away. He approached the expensive sofa that a group of them had laid claim to, weaving in and out of various guests, some of whom made mocking jeers as he passed. He noticed that while most had dressed comfortably, some were wearing more formal clothing, as if they were attending a business meeting.
He also noticed his surroundings. Decorations were sparse, just enough that you could tell it was a Halloween party, but clearly not much thought or effort had been expended. Bats hung over the counter where the food sat, swaying in the breeze of the air conditioning. There were a couple of pumpkins carved with uneven faces resting in the corners. The word “Samhain” was scrawled in large letters on the back wall in faux blood. Other than that, the living area of the apartment was arranged with furniture Josh only wished he could afford, along with some paintings which he was certain were also costly but he wasn't impressed. Music played in the background, soft and relaxed, distinctly unsuited for a Halloween celebration.
“Hey,” he said.
Now that he was here, he saw there were more people on the couch than could actually fit. A few were sprawled on top of the others. They all had plastic cups filled with beer, a few losing some volume with the careless movements of those who held them.
“What kind of idiot dresses up for a party?” one man said, to the person next to him rather than to Josh.
I could say the same about some of your friends, he thought, but caught his tongue.
“Go away,” another said. “We don't like to spend time with losers.”
Josh felt his face unwillingly scrunch up as a woman, clearly no longer fully in touch with reality, tried to shove her finger up the nostril of the guy she was sitting on.
The one being sat on suddenly belched, “I'm gonna hurl.”
Josh barely jumped back in time, some of the splatter still getting on his shoes, but the young woman wasn't so lucky, if her squeal of displeasure was any indication.
He hurried to the bathroom, in about the same spot in the layout as his own. His throat involuntarily let out a grunt when he saw that it was occupied. Fortunately the occupant was exiting just as Josh was getting there. He closed the door behind him and looked for something to clean his shoes with. He tried some toilet paper, but it was much too thin and tore apart with the slightest pressure applied. With the kind of money they so clearly had? Glancing around again, his eyes fell on the hand towel. Will they even care? he thought as he ran it under the faucet and cleaned his shoes as best he could.
Had he made a mistake in coming here? But where else was he going to meet some of his new neighbors?
Back out in the living area, people were working on cleaning up the mess, several careful to keep their distance. Josh moved away and found himself near an attractive girl perhaps a year or two younger than he.
Attempting small talk, he said, “Some people, huh?”
She lightly glanced his way. She said nothing as she sipped her beverage, evidently some kind of punch.
“Are these parties always like this? I barely get in the door and things are already getting crazy!” He grinned.
“Look, I'm not interested. Go find another girl.”
“Oh! No, I was just trying to—”
She tossed her drink on him, and he tripped over a wooden chair trying to dive out of the way.
When he looked up, she was gone. “That was needlessly rude,” he muttered. He felt his shirt and the strips of gauze that covered them to make sure he wasn't soaked.
He was.
“Just great.” He was ready to leave just as soon as he was on his feet when he finally caught a glimpse of his neighbor again.
“I'm glad I found you,” he said when he reached him.
“Oh, it's you.”
“I just want to know why you did this? You obviously knew it wasn't a costume party when you told me I could come. Why humiliate me in front of strangers? I barely even know you.”
“You know why,” said Tim curtly. He walked away before Josh could respond.
Josh wandered aimlessly, lost in thought. He soon found himself drawn toward the refreshments.
“OK!” a voice rang out. He thought it was the guy who had answered the door, but he didn't bother to look. “We're going to play a game. I'm gonna need some volunteers. You're going to each take turns eating some candy soaked in liquor. However many rounds it takes, whoever throws up first loses, and whoever's the last one standing...gets a free six pack, I guess.”
Josh saw at a glance that a couple of the more enthusiastic volunteers were some of the ones wearing suit jackets and ties. He had a hard time understanding these people.
While everyone else was distracted, he surreptitiously entered the small kitchen area, just to get some more distance between himself and these unpleasant individuals. He grabbed a thick handful of paper towels off a roll near the sink and dabbed at the punch running down the front of his costume. Doing the best he could to soak it up, he realized that the smell of alcohol was going to linger for some time. He sighed.
That's when something new caught his attention.
In a corner, out of the way, was a set of doors: each side folded like an accordion when opened. Perhaps a storage closet or pantry. But it was not a simple white door that held his gaze. It was the unearthly blue light seeping through the slats.
“What the...”
It felt almost like it was looking at him. Yet he didn't feel uneasy, just puzzled. His arm raised a little as he took a stride toward it. It's just light. There must be an explanation. But he remained entranced.
He almost didn't slide it open, not wanting to be one of those people who stick their noses into other people's business, but curiosity spurred him on. He glanced to the others playing that silly game of theirs. No one was even paying attention to him anymore.
His fingers grasped the handle. It radiated warmth through his body. He pulled the door open, wondering what could be on these shelves.
He nearly staggered back in shock, but managed to keep his balance. Inside was not a small closet or pantry, but a much larger space which he couldn't see in its entirety from where he was standing. A space that would surely intrude upon the next apartment over, if not also the one beyond that.
Slowly he went inside, and carefully closed the door behind him, unsure if he was even supposed to see this.
Around him was a room of immense size, even bigger than he had realized. It was comparable to a cathedral, and had him feeling the same sense of awe that he felt when visiting Notre Dame a few years back. The difference was, there was no religious iconography here. Instead it resembled the interior of something out of a 1960s-era science fiction movie or TV show united with a lush forest full of unknown plants alien to Josh's human eyes, primarily green but intermingled with clusters of red and purple leaves. The sight before him was hard to wrap his mind around.
“Where am I?” he murmured.
He approached a bank of buttons and levers, the glowing surface mostly a bright blue, illuminating this otherwise dim place alongside a few other hues, some flashing and some remaining static. Accompanying all this was a low humming, as well as the occasional clicking sound. Josh contemplated pressing one of the buttons, just to see what would happen, but was interrupted.
“Please, don't be afraid.” The voice rumbled throughout the room yet apparently sought to be calming.
Josh was frozen. Had he been discovered?
“You are currently standing in what you would call a 'spaceship.'”
Josh turned around, searching for the source of the voice.
“You gotta be kidding, right?” he said, mostly to himself.
“I assure you this is real.” There was a warmer aspect to the voice now.
“Does the guy who lives here know about this?” Josh quipped.
Without a direct answer, sections of the high walls began to slide up, revealing blackness dotted with stars beyond transparent panes. Once the white panels finished disappearing, the majority of the walls were windows to the unknown. Most prominently in view was a large planet, suspended in the vastness of space. From here it looked greenish-yellow. It was certainly not earth. He wasn't sure where he was, but he was no longer on earth and he wasn't looking at earth.
“Where are we? What planet is that?”
“Not one you would have heard of.”
Josh breathlessly took in the vision before him. Could he actually be in outer space?
“I brought you here for a reason. I chose you, Joshua.”
Josh knew then that he was dreaming. He smacked himself in the face. Nothing happened. He backed up a few paces and ran straight at the control panel, ramming himself into a corner—hard. He cried out in pain; nevertheless, he stayed awake.
“Never doing that again.” He started to laugh frantically. “I've snapped. I knew it, I knew this was going to happen. It was only a matter of time after I got in the habit of talking to my dog like he's a person.”
“I assure you, you have not gone mad.”
“OK, OK. Then why did you bring me here, uh, Mister...”
“I am Baldor. I am a living ship. I have a problem and you are needed to fix it.”
Josh's demeanor changed. “What, you're so lonely you decided to kidnap someone at random to be your friend forever?”
Baldor paused. “No.”
“Then what do you need me for?”
There was a silence as though the ship were gathering its thoughts. He could only hear his own heavy breathing, the hums and clicks of the array of controls in front of him, and a strange noise, difficult to describe, coming from a thick of trees to his left. He turned and strained his eyes but was unable to make out anything among the leaves and stems and branches. Just as he was looking away, he thought he caught sudden motion in the corner of this eye.
“What is this place?” he whispered.
“Joshua, I have a proposal,” said Baldor. “I need you to go to another world. A planet, outside your solar system. Not,” he quickly added, as though to head off another question, “the one we are currently orbiting.”
“Wha-what kind of planet? What for?”
“It is known as Tyllg. It's a world I am quite familiar with. According to my databanks, it was once a beautiful world with a peaceful, content society, with amazing art and architecture, and even more breathtaking landscapes. A tourist hotspot as far as two galaxies over. But in more recent times, things have been not so felicitous. It is too complicated to get into the nuances of the situation right now, but suffice it to say that the beauty is still there, even if it is hard to find, and the people are troubled. But no one goes there now.
“I want you to bring back honor to their people. They have lived under shame for far too long. I do not expect you to heal the whole planet, that will take time. Just help them realize where they have gone wrong. Most of all, help their leader to regain his sense of self-respect. Make him realize he doesn't have to be defined by his prior actions. His hatred for himself is reaching out and harming the whole world.”
Josh was quiet. He still had no idea what was going on, or what exactly he was meant to do.
“One of the reasons I chose you was that you can easily fit in, thanks to your costume. You'll need it. You'll also need to wrap your head again, by the way.”
“Wait, you picked me just because I'm dressed as a mummy? That's ridiculous! You've got the wrong guy.” He headed back toward the way he came.
“I didn't choose you just because of your costume. Yes, that was a factor, but there is more to it than that. I know that there is more to you, Joshua Long. I know that you will do great things.”
That made Josh pause. He shook his head and continued, now in more of a hurry. That party isn't looking so bad right about now, he thought. He scrambled to yank open the folding door he had come through, but there was nothing there, just a slight door-shaped indention in the wall behind.
“What is this? Let me go,” he shouted.
“It is your choice. But let me detail the parameters of the mission. If you still refuse, I will allow you to leave,” Baldor said, as calmly as before.
“Fine. What are these 'parameters?'”
Josh found himself increasingly irritated by the incessant ticks and ambient drone which seemed to be growing louder.
“You must find their leader, the Watchman. He is usually in the highest tower. Tell him his time is over, he had his chance. It is not too late to change his ways, to make amends, to forgive himself, but it is time to give up his rule. Then, install someone in his stead. I'm sure you will find someone suitable.”
The situation was getting out of control. Josh wasn't sure what to do, how he could possibly pull this off. An alien world? Barely any information to work with? And on top of it all, he was sure he detected a sense of urgency in Baldor's tone. How could a machine even have a tone?
“While you're there,” the ship continued, “I won't be able to communicate. I'll work on that, but for now you're on your own. Now, put your bandages back on, or you won't stand a chance of fitting in. And this last point is very important: you must not allow anyone to come back through. You must secure the doorway immediately.”
“But—”
“And stop asking questions. No time. You must depart immediately.”
Josh looked back at the space where a door used to be and back toward the viewscreen.
“You're not letting me go unless I agree to it, are you?”
“I did not say that.”
“You didn't have to.”
“I said you could go if you didn't want to do it, but bear in mind I may decide to send you where you know you need to be.”
Josh was silent then. After a moment he pulled in a sharp breath and exhaled, drawing it out as long as he could. He stared at the floor. “I'll do it.”
“While you are there, I will be unable to talk to you, hear you, or track you.”
Suddenly he was against it all again. “Then how will I get back?”
“Come back to the spot where you arrive.”
“This is insane.” Before Josh could move more than a couple of feet, a bright flash caused spots to float in front of his face.
On the opposite side of the floor from where he came in was a new door, this one more basic in appearance. As he got nearer he wrapped his whole head again, making sure he still had gaps to see.
He stretched his arm to the knob and turned it. Slowly, hesitantly, he opened it, the lights from the control panel spilling into the place beyond.
“Remember, do not let anyone enter here.”
Curiously, cautiously, he stepped over the threshold.
To Be Continued...