UNHEEDED: Undone Realms Book 2

Ch. 14 - Contami-Nation

Avie hasn't told Oliver everything about her world. It's his world's Dual Realm, meaning it is closest to the way his reality functions out of all the countless realms that supposedly exist and have yet to be explored. He knows that much. 

He also knows that Avie lives in a country known as Cascadia in a town located within what would be his world's Washington State. In Avie's realm, Northern California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia all comprise Cascadia. The United States has eleven fewer united states.  Texas has been independent for almost one hundred years. 

Avie schooled him in all of this, and more: the hottest celebrities, the hottest cars, the hottest fashion.  What she failed to mention is that there is a growing movement to incarcerate anyone remotely linked to realm work.  The Cascadian government sees other realm contamination as a state security issue.  The official word is that too much contamination caused by realm voyaging will somehow damage the structure of their realm, possibly destroying their world and all life within it.

Oliver knows all of this because Marcella, of all people, tells him.  Realm work and its legal persecution is a favorite topic of hers.  One morning, while mopping the lobby's tile floor, she brings up the subject and Oliver can't hide the fact that he is largely ignorant of the matter.

"You young kids."  Marcella shakes her head.  "You need to keep up with what's going on around you."

Marcella launches into a lengthy history of realm voyaging, excluding the role she's had in it, of course.  He learns about Josef Reyes, a Caller who supposedly journeyed to the Dual Realm quite recently—though what's become of him, no one knows.  Thanks to him, Cascadia is in the middle of a crackdown on anyone studying realm travel, even academically.  Arrests have skyrocketed since authorities began testing random locations for other realm contamination.

"They can test for that?"  The words are out of his mouth before he can stop them, fear of such a thing being true impeding his ability to control his tongue.  Luckily for him, Marcella is still talking and seems not to have noticed that he spoke.

"Just yesterday, there was a couple up near the border.  They ran a magic shop selling harmless woo-woo stuff—you know, healing crystals, tarot decks, incense—that sort of thing.  But according to the papers, what they were really dabbling in was science of the most dangerous kind.  It's a shame really." Marcella looks up from her computer and finds Oliver, still swinging his mop to and fro over the floor.  He nods to show that he's still listening.  "I doubt they were doing anything remotely dangerous, and yet now they'll spend the rest of their lives in prison." She sighs and goes back to her task.  The artificial glow from the computer screen casts a bluish pallor across her skin.

Oliver assumes the conversation is over, but a minute later, Marcella's voice interrupts his darkening thoughts.  "It's not true, you know."

Oliver rings out the mop and props it against the wall.  "What's not?"

"What they fear will happen.  That too much other realm energy entering ours will lead to the collapse of our reality.  It's not true.  That is simply not the danger realm voyaging presents.  But it doesn't matter, does it? The government believes it will.  Or at least, they'd like the people to believe it.  They call other realm matter 'contamination' as though that can somehow be substantiated with scientific reasoning." She shakes her head.  "How twisted they've made everything."

She shuts off the monitor and folds her hands under her chin.   She seems to be waiting for his response, so he gives her one.  "I don't see why they'd want to make people believe it's dangerous if it isn't."

"Oh, it is dangerous."  She slaps her hands down on the table.  "Just not the way they're spinning it.  We're not all going to go kablooey, you see?"  Oliver doesn't see, so he remains silent.  "They certainly aren't worried about people's welfare.  No, no.  What they really want is to maintain control.  What control do they have if people can simply come and go from our reality as they please?  So, here we are, Oliver.  Welcome to the new totalitarian state.  Enjoy your stay."

Though Oliver knows her words are meant to be taken sarcastically, they wrap him in a chill of fear.  Everything is so wonderful here.  He has Avie and a job and a room with running water.  Avie has even agreed to teach him how to swim in the hotel's pool.  He's been here nine days and everything has been perfect, the unease he experienced when first arriving already fading from memory.

But now this.  Even if other realm matter can do no real harm to Avie's world, that's not what people believe.  Just what is this other realm matter anyways?  Does he carry it with him or is it inside him? Is he poison to this world? 

He has the sinking feeling that he is exactly what Avie's government is looking for.  Why didn't she tell him this?

The floor is clean.  He asks Marcella if he can take his break early and she waves him off. 

In the quiet of his own room, he lies on his bed and closes his eyes.  He is not of this place.  He can feel that now.  The hum of the electric lamp on his bedside table, the pitch of the birds singing in their trees, the way those trees shift in the breeze—it all seems the same as his realm, but it is not.  Nothing is.  If Marcella is right and he isn't poisoning this world then maybe the world is poisoning him. 

Revulsion floods through him.  He barely makes it to the bathroom in time to empty the contents of his breakfast into the toilet.

He slides himself against the door of the bathroom, his head pounding in meager protest to the situation he's found himself in.  He doesn't belong here—nothing can be truer than that.   When he thinks of Avie, however, the thought of leaving makes him just as ill as the thought of staying.

A/N: Ouch!  Oliver had to learn through Marcella rather than Avie that the world he'd arrived in isn't exactly welcoming.  Why would Avie keep this from him?  How do you predict having this knowledge will affect him?  If you think things are starting to get tense...just wait!

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