Ashes of Eden

Nadia knocked out the remaining guy. He'd been getting on her nerves by cussing her. Eric couldn't say he disapproved. She was the type of girl men didn't mess with. Unless they wanted their balls bloody and kicked into outer space. Nadia caught him eyeing her and narrowed her eyes. With a small spreading grin, Eric turned toward his brother. Carter was shaking the men's bags looking for the key.

"I'm not sure freeing some weird-looking bugs is a good idea." He pointed out, arms firmly crossed over his chest. Sure, before he'd gotten a feeling like they should trust those flying mini-people. But now Eric was being logical. As logical as he could be in such a bizarre situation. So far, his "feelings" had gotten him and Carter dragged into Twilight Zone. Where people dressed like the middle-ages and boars had spikes for tails.

"Who are you calling bugs?" Came a high pitched yell from a cage. Along with several other screams of protest.

Carter rummaged through a pouch. Metal clinked—his brother withdrew a key. Nadia sauntered over to the cages, crouching, to take a closer peek at the winged creatures. She glanced over a slim shoulder, biting a lip corner.

"This... can't be real. Right?" Hadn't she asked that before? Carter let out a sigh, closing the distance between them. Nadia stood, putting herself in Carter's path, looking determined to act as a roadblock. "Eric's right. Why should we let them go? You saw that animal he killed, right? What if these things bring more of those monsters? Or... worse?"

"Oh, come on! I said it before: We're Fairies! By helping us, we'll be indebted to you. Can you count how many of us there are?" It was the one with red wings that spoke. The little guy still wouldn't get near the iron bars. "It's your lucky day."

Eric grimaced. Sure didn't feel like it.

"Alright," Carter started, cool and collected. Always quick to adapt, Eric thought with a lick of jealousy. He shook his head, nipping the emotion in the bud. "Let's say you are Fairies. From what I read, you guys can't lie. Only twist truths."

The... huh... Fairy with glittering red wings tilted its head, "Yes, that's true, human. The only Fae that can lie are Elves. They can be very sneaky." Carter cleared his throat, drowning a laugh. Maybe his brother wasn't buying this? Maybe he was hopping on Nadia's "we're all in dream-land together" theory. Seemed more and more legit.

"Then I'll make you a deal—your kind likes those, right?"

Nadia slipped from between Carter and the cages, edging closer to Eric. She whispered, "How the hell does he know that?"

"He's a nerd for Lord of the Rings and all things related. He read a lot of fantasy books when we were growing up, too. Never thought it would come in handy." Eric snorted. He absently swung his sword at his side.

Tuning Eric out, Carter continued to bargain, "Here's the deal: I open these cages and you guys are free to go. All but you." He pointed at the butterfly-winged Fairy. "You have to stay with us and pay, not just your debt, but theirs. We don't understand what's happened. We were brought here out of the blue and everything is... different. To say the least. So, we need someone who can help us undo what's happened and get us home." The little winged man hung back, like he was pondering his older brother's words.

Carter was being smart. He knew they needed someone to extract information from, but he also knew keeping so many Fairies around could mean trouble. Oh God, was he buying this whole thing? Fairies? Eric half wanted to bash his head against a tree, see if that woke him up.

After what felt like hours of debate, the red-winged Fairy neared the bars again, "Yes, alright. These men captured me and my friends while we were..." A mischeivious smile cracked the male Fairy's face. Wow, reassuring. "Playing. And they were going to sell us like pets. You saved us and so, you have our gratitude. I will remain with you and help you find the way back home, this I swear on my word and so I am bound by it."

"Great," Carter stated happily. He didn't waste another breath opening the cages. He was going at it fast, too.

Fairies with wings of all colors and shapes rushed past Eric and Nadia. Eric hung back when some Fairies did a quick dance around him, making him hold his breath. They were laughing—more like giggling. Was this their way of saying thank you? Looked like it, because seconds later they were flying away, deep into the forest, becoming little dots of light. How fast could these things fly? Nadia's shoulder bumped his. She jerked away quickly. Like Eric was a living fire. Pft, go figure. Soon, only the red-winged Fairy remained. It was hovering in front of Carter. The male Fairy wasn't much bigger than Eric's hand, with curly black hair and wearing a shirt and pants that could've been made for dolls. He stretched out his arms, looking content.

"It sure feels good to be out! So much iron was beginning to make me sick..." He made a sickened face before throwing out a blinding smirk. The Fairy put both hands on his hips. "Well, let's see. My name is Field, but you can call me Fi. Everyone does."

"Nice to meet you..." Nadia mumbled, dazed. The Fairy flew straight at her. She blinked at his insistent staring. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No. But you knocked those men out with ease. That's not very common for mere women to do. There aren't a lot of ladies who can actually fight." Nadia glared. Like instead of complimenting her, he'd given her the worst insult ever. "I was checking if you were Fae. But of course you're not, I would've noticed it already. A Fae's aura is different from a human's. And..." He zoomed closer to Nadia's face causing her to yelp and jump when he tugged on her left ear. She tried swatting him away. He evaded her hand easily, smirking. "Your ears aren't pointy at all."

"She's not a Fae, but see, we're not exactly from around here. Wherever this is."

Fi's eyes lingered on Nadia, though. Squinting. If Eric didn't know any better, he'd say the Faery had X-ray vision and was acting like a little pervert, sneaking a look at the goods hidden by Nadia's shirt.

Finally, Fi turned to Carter, intrigued, "I can tell. You're dressed funny." Oh, good. The Fairy thought they were strange. Eric's reflexes kicked into gear when the first guy Nadia punched lights out groaned, stirring. Without hesitation, he slammed his foot into the guy's temple, rendering him motionless again. "Heh, maybe we should leave this place. These men were right, it's not safe out here. It's territory for Babi Ngepet's."

"Barbi-what?"

"Not Barbi—Babi. Babi Ngepets are wild creatures, very vicious. They have poisonous stingers at their tails' end and the antidote is very hard to come by. Not even a Fairy can heal it, only slow the poison's effects."

"They're not that tough. Eric slayed one of them—"

And now Fi's eyes were bulging at Eric. His fingers drew tighter on his sword's hilt. He didn't like being the center of attention. It was like being put under a microscope, it made him itch all over. Why couldn't Nadia have kept her mouth shut? Fi buzzed around him for a few seconds before leaning closer, patting Eric's nose.

"You... killed a Ngepet?" The male Fairy asked slowly. "Oh. We should really leave. It's after mating season, the Ngepets are born around this time... You must have killed a baby that strayed too far from its mother and—and when it notices its cub's gone missing... Ah!" Fi grabbed at his hair. "Follow me!"

He started flying outside the forest. Eric rubbed the back of his neck. He'd slayed a cub? Well, shit. Carter grabbed a bag off the ground, flinging it across a shoulder.

"Isn't that stealing?"

"Stealing from smugglers doesn't seem such a bad deed. Plus, there's money in here—I think—it might come in handy." That's his brother, always thinking ahead. "Let's follow the little guy before mamma Babi finds us and chews our heads off."

"Thanks for that picture." Nadia grumbled, ducking under the low hanging branches. Eric made sure he put a hand out, not wanting to get smacked in the face. Again.

Fi was waiting for them at the dirt road they'd been walking along earlier, before Eric spotted smoke from those douchebags fire. Fi was flying in nervous circles.

"Let's go, let's go." He hurried ahead, expecting them to follow.

Eric cursed under his breath. It wasn't like they had much of a choice.

***

Keeping up with Fi's erratic flying didn't make Eric break a sweat. At least, not when they'd started. Eric couldn't be sure, since he didn't have a watch or cell phone on him, but it felt like almost two hours had gone by. The sky was completely dark now and it was much colder. Eric's stomach—that had been twisting for food before—sounded like a growling wolf. The lack of sugar was getting to him, he could feel his muscles turning to mush with every step. Carter was a few steps behind him, never complaining, while Nadia kept up with Eric. A stubborn look plastered across her face. Like she was determined not to lose a single inch to him. His sword weighed like a bag of bricks—his stomach growled. Eric touched it. Right about now, he wished the scrambled eggs had gotten sucked in along with them, too.

"Hey, Fairy dude," Eric pipped up, voice rough-sounding after so long without using it. "I don't know what kind of fuel you run on, but we need food. We've been going down this road for..."

Fi came to a stop in front of him, whirling around, almost smacking into Eric's nose.

"If you hadn't killed a Babi cub we wouldn't be in such a rush, boy."

"My name's Eric," he gritted lightly. His brain felt too heady for him to argue properly. "What was I supposed to do? Let it hit me with its stinger?"

Fi's grudging glare faltered, "Well, you do have a point... There wasn't much you could have done... Eric." It sounded like he was testing the name. Like something very foreign. "We seem to have put reasonable distance between us and their stomping grounds. Maybe we should find you a place to rest," Fi ended up on Eric's shoulder. Eric stiffened."You two look like you're about to collapse as well. I can't have that. If you died now, my debt would never be paid and I could never return home." The Fairy whispered dismayed. It sounded like he was way more concerned with being freed then he was about their well-being, but hey, if this meant they could rest...

"I still can't believe we're following a Fairy." Nadia stated, closing her eyes, like she wished she could puff out of this place and return home. Wherever that was for her.

"What's wrong with following a Fairy? I'll have you know, we have great sense of direction." Sounded like she insulted the little guy. He even stomped a foot on Eric's shoulder.

Nadia's pale moon eyes snapped open, "What's wrong? You're not supposed to exist! That's what's wrong. I should be home finishing my boring paper on the French Revolution. Not in some dream-like fantasy shit." Feisty, Eric chuckled. She had a point, though. Not that Eric would rather do homework, but still.

Fi tilted his head, "What's a French?"

"Seriously?" Nadia deadpanned, horror written across her eyes.

Fi nodded vigorously, "Yes. Is it an animal? I've never heard about something with such a name."

"The French are a people. They're from a—a county called France in Europe."

Fi's face drew a blank.

"Sorry. But there's no county named France here." Nadia's horrified look spread across her face. Eric's keen eyes saw her hands tighten on the strap of her sport's bag. "You're walking on the only country of this world. Eden is very big, divided into several capitals and small cities and villages. But none are called... France." Eden? Eric thought he knew that name. "Did you come from one of the islands?" From... an island? "Hmm. But even if they're cut off from the mainland you shouldn't be so ignorant about Eden."

Nadia didn't say a thing. She looked off to the side, looking sick. Carter was either taking this all in stride because it was his nature or he was too hungry to understand what Fi was spouting. Eric just wanted to eat. It felt like his stomach was eating itself.

"Okay, Fi," Carter spoke up. "How about you help us find a place to make camp? Then maybe you can explain what Eden is and we'll tell you where we come from."

Nodding once, Fi flew from Eric's shoulder hovering for countless minutes looking very focused. Like a compass pointing north, Fi waved for them to follow and that's exactly what they did. After walking what Eric thought were five-hundred feet, they'd reached an old windmill. The mill's blades were broken off, one was hanging off and the others were on the ground. It was the only thing in this meadow besides some big ass rocks. Fi flew over to the old stone house, flying circles around it, before hovering proudly in front of it.

"I don't feel a single aura inside it. It's a safe place to spend the night." Aura. Huh-uh.

"What about food?"

"Heh?" Fi intoned, making Eric feel stupid. "It's abandoned. There's no food." Fi stated with a tsk. "You should thank me for a safe haven."

"We do," Carter butted in, pushing past Eric. "I'm sorry for my brother, Fi. He can be very rude. It gets worse when he's hungry. We appreciate everything you've been doing for us so far." Eric's big brother was going all out with his smooth talking.

"You're welcome, Carter." Fi all but stuck out his tongue at Eric. He really shouldn't do that. Eric was holding a sword that could cleave the little shit in two. Simmering, Eric went past Carter and Fi, pushing open the mill's half hanging door. They followed him inside silently. There wasn't light. The only light came in through the single window above the door. There was nothing but old straw scattered at their feet.

Nadia slipped down the stone wall, bag resting on her lap as she tore the kickboxing gloves off. Eric sat opposite to her and Carter took a seat beside him.

"Where do you come from?"

"We come from a country called America—I mean, both us..." Carter broke off, looking at Nadia.

"Yeah, yeah. Loop me in. I'm from Renton." Nadia threw out, searching for something in her Nike bag, not bothering with looking up.

"Really? That's pretty close to Seattle—well, we're not from there. Originally. I've been living there for the last three years and Eric's been living there for about a year..."

"I don't think she's interested in our life-story, bro."

"Interrupting people is rude, Eric."

"Oh, fuc—"

"He's right. I don't care." Nadia stated in a monotone. Eric caught her fishing out two energy bars. She brushed her hair back, glaring at the food. Eric felt his stomach tighten. Nadia's moonlit eyes perked, locking with his. Accident or not, he didn't know. "Here," Nadia tossed out a bar. Eric fingers were shaking from hunger but he still managed to catch it. "I only have two. You'll have to share."

Eric glared at her, incredulously, "You had food this whole time?" Nadia tore open her pack then sunk her teeth into the energy bar.

"You're lucky I'm sharing," she commented dryly between chews.

"You're lucky I killed that Babi thing or you'd be dead. That's luck. This?" he held up the bar. "Are you a masochist? I've been starving for hours."

"Do you always wine like a baby?" She shot back, temper flaring.

Eric stared at her. This chick... didn't like him. He got the sense she wasn't a fan of Carter, either, but she definitely didn't like Eric's guts. Why the fuck that was? Hell if he knew. He'd only just met her. Usually he needed a whole day to piss someone off.

Carter stole the bar from Eric and tore it open, breaking it in half. He pushed a piece into Eric's hand, "Stop complaining and eat. We have more important things to worry about. Like where we are."

Fi, who'd been floating around, laughing at their banter, turned back to Carter.

"So, you come from a place called Seattle and Rento?"

"Yeah, those are cities. Our country is called America. I'm guessing... you've never heard of it?" Carter winced as Fi shook his head. "It figures. No Europe, no America. Okay. So... We come from a place where..." Carter broke into a detailed, long and boring expo about Earth. How there was no such thing as Fae or any supernatural related stuff and about science (Fi was pretty confused about that).

"It sounds like a very strange place. I can't imagine a world without Fae..." Fi stated. He had a pensive look that slowly morphed into a frown. "I've never heard of a place like that. You say a blue light pulled you inside it?"

"Yes. We were home and the next thing we knew, we were here."

"Aw. I see. It's possible... No, it's the only explanation. You must've been caught by a fissure between realities." Eric stopped tracing a finger along his sword, paying attention. A fissure? "It's not very common. But sometimes a fissure opens up in another world—another dimension. There are a lot of those scattered across time and space. Most dimensions exist in their own time, that's why your planet sounds so... huh... evolved? Was that the word you used, Carter?" Eric's brother nodded. "Well, a fissure is like a tear—a wound in space."

Nadia scooted forward, "You mean... we traveled across space?"

"Yes. Across dimensions. A fissure cut all the way through this dimension's fabric and into yours. I don't know what causes fissures to open, but..." Fi looked around the mill's crowded space. After a second, he shook his head. "I'm sure it must have been an unfortunate event."

"You make it sound like there could've been another reason." Nadia ventured, eyebrows drawn together.

"It doesn't explain the dancing people I saw..." Eric muttered softly. Nadia confessed to seeing that, too. And so had his brother. Carter even added chanting to the mix, some sort of invocation. "Something about saviors, remember?" Eric whispered low enough. Did Carter forget?

Carter cut him a urgent look. Eric shut up this time. Carter didn't want to share that bit with their new Fairy pal? In fact, Carter had that look on. The look he gave Eric when he wanted him to let something go. Eric trusted Carter blindly. Just... well, it couldn't be a coincidence that all three of them saw those images—that they got dragged through those fissures. This was all too strange and it was starting to make Eric's head hurt. Eyes dropping slightly, he allowed Carter to pull his longsword from his lap. Eric's exhaustion was catching up quick, like a hound on a frenzy for a kill. It wasn't long before he laid himself on the scattered, broken straw.