Fae on the Run

A clawed hand, drenched in flame, swiped at Winter Maple. She felt the intense heat as it missed her by inches.

“Keep moving!” Shaded Moss shouted. “We are nearly there!”

Ahead of the pair, through the thick forest, two great structures rose up. Clouds poured out from the top of the towers. Maple didn’t know what they were, nor their purpose. But she knew the horrific Djinn pursuing the Fae would fear the place even more than Maple did.

After all, those great structures, lit up with red lights and working some strange power, were not natural. A place built by humans.

The young Fae had to suppress the chill of terror and excitement. There was a more pressing matter to fear.

The Djinn was thrown off balance by its grab at Maple, giving the pair precious seconds to gain distance. They ran between the trees and over tangled roots until the forest suddenly ended in a clearing made of flat black stone.

There were faded lines across the cracked stone surface that marked out rectangular shapes. In a number of those rectangles sat rusting metal monsters with round legs. Maple recognized those legs as ‘wheels’ but the rest of the scene was a mystery to her.

What is all this? Maple wondered. A human thing?

“Run across it, Maple!” her companion cried. “The metal things will not hurt you!” He ran at full speed onto the black stone, and Maple followed.

The strange surface stretched from the forest to a shorter structure between the great smoking towers. A human dwelling?

There was a terrifying screech as the Djinn exploded out of the trees, flames burning the vegetation as it resumed the chase. The gap between it and it’s prey closed. Once more, Maple felt the dreaded heat. It was nearly upon her when an ear-splitting noise filled the air.

The Djinn stopped, wildly spinning around and thrashing its jaws at the invisible assault.

“What is that?” Maple was just as terrified and confused as her pursuer.

“Humans called it an alarm. We must have triggered it, but it’s just a sound. Get to the building!”

The two Fae rushed to the large doors and managed to pry them open enough to climb through.

Inside the building was dark and unnervingly still, but compared to the danger outside, this place was a sanctuary. It was also strange. Room after empty room, with nothing but old furniture, discarded papers, and abandoned human tools and gadgets.

Among the discarded trash, something caught Maple’s eye. A bright pink string that was stiff at the ends. It was such a pretty piece of string, she picked it up carefully.

“What is it?”

Moss examined it. He’d been one of the first among the fairy folk to be awakened as humanity’s hold on the world had ended. There were all sorts of rumors about his time in the early days of the new era. Winter Maple had even heard that Moss had interacted with some of the last living humans directly.

“A shoelace, I believe,” he answered. “Humans wore them to help on long journeys.”

“They did? Well, that’s just the sort of good luck we need now,” Maple said, and tied the shoelace around her arm.

The pair ventured deeper into the maze of dark hallways and abandoned rooms. Despite all the initial excitement and anxiety she’d felt on entering the building complex, it soon dawned on Maple that there was no sign of life besides themselves.

“There aren’t any humans here, are there?” she eventually worked up the nerve to ask.

“I don’t think there are any humans anywhere anymore,” Moss answered. “Their demise was terrible, and it nearly destroyed the rest of the world with them. But it did allow us Fae and similar kinds of beings to reemerge from our hidden corners of the world.”

“That’s an awful thing to say.”

Moss shrugged. “I observed much during the humans’ fall, and I learned much. Most of what I learned were… bad things.”

“They couldn’t have all been bad,” Maple said. She looked at the bright pink shoelace wrapped around her arm. Her friend didn’t bother arguing.

Deep in the perpetual midnight of the empty complex, they discovered a large round room full of twinkling lights. After walking through so much gloom, the walls and tables resembled a beautiful starry night. Winter Maple walked among the blinking colors, amazed. She felt she was walking through the heavens.

It was beautiful, and a bit overwhelming. Like walking through a galaxy. Maple wiped away a tear as she repeated in a whisper. “Humans couldn’t have all been bad.”

On the far side of the starry room, she looked out a window to a vast pool of water in a giant enclosed space.

“Moss, do you know what this place is?”

Maple’s companion joined her by the window. “Hmm,” he said, rubbing his chin in thought. “Let’s go check it out.”

Once inside the giant enclosed space, Maple felt very uneasy. Still, curiosity drove her forward. The two Fae looked into the deep water and saw a strange glow down in the dark depths.

“Peculiar,” Shaded Moss said. He looked from the water, and back to the room of lights. “Their machines are still running this place.” A moment of realization washed over his face. He violently pulled Maple back from the edge of the pool. “Get away from the water! Their greatest and most toxic power was used in places like this. I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never seen one. Best to move on from this cursed place as quickly as possible.”

“Cursed?” Maple asked. “A place with such beautiful lights? Cursed?”

“Light is not always beauty and life. After all, would you call the light of the Djinn hunting us beautiful?” When Maple shook her head, Moss continued. “The light down there…” he pointed to the water. “That light is something far worse than even the Djinn could ever imagine.”

Winter Maple was shocked. She knew humans had been a foolish people. A reckless people. But a people with power worse than any Djinn or Fae curse? Surely that wasn’t true. It couldn’t be…

“Who’s there?” a shockingly deep voice asked from the shadows.

Maple nearly jumped out of her skin. In a flash, Moss moved her behind him. He held his finger to his lips and signaled that they should head back into the dark hallways. As they started tiptoeing out of the vast room, the voice spoke again.

“I can see you, little folks. Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya. I don’t mean you any harm. Just surprised to see you.”

From the shadows of another hallway leading into the hall of cursed water, a large figure emerged. It towered over the pair of Fae, wrapped in dirty and torn clothes. After the shock of its massive frame, Maple realized what she was looking at. A living human.

The man carried a rusty piece of Cold Iron. A wrench Maple believed it was called. She was frozen in place, until the human spoke. “Follow me,” he said. “Like I said, I don’t want to hurt you. I’m too lonely to turn down even your company.”

“Human…” Winter Maple said in shock. She began to follow the giant, but Moss grabbed her arm.

“Don’t follow it,” he whispered. “We need to leave. Now.”

But all Maple could do was shake her head. “No. I have to speak with him.” She pulled her arm free and followed their host. After a long moment of hesitation, Moss did the same.

The trio made their way to a small room. A makeshift bed was surrounded by images from across the world. Forests, canyons, and steel formations that Maple surmised were the great human cities of old. In most of the images, a young pair of humans appeared. One of them seemed to be their current human host. Back when he was much younger.

The human put down the wrench and took a seat on his bed. Both Fae relaxed a little as he did. Maple hadn’t realized just how tense her body had been.

When the man looked at them, she saw no anger or aggression. No, his eyes were filled with sad curiosity.

“So, what are you? Elves? Gnomes?” the human finally asked.

“We are Fae Folk,” Moss answered sharply.

“My name is Winter Maple Sap. But most simply call me Maple. And this,” she waved to her companion, “is Shaded Tree Moss.”

“It shall just be Moss to you.”

“And I’m Jim,” the human gave, ignoring Moss’ rudeness. Jim chuckled and shook his head. “Fairy tales are real. Missed that on apocalypse bingo.”

“We didn’t destroy your civilization,” Moss declared, greatly offended. “We just reemerged from our hidden corners of the world after you destroyed yourselves.”

“I meant no offense,” the man said.

“Are you the only human left?” Maple asked.

“The only one that still remains here.”

“Why do you remain?” Her curiosity was getting the better of her, but Maple didn’t care.

Jim the human didn’t answer right away. He seemed to be considering his reasons carefully, as if he’d never put them into actual words before.

“Honestly… I just wanted there to be a little light during the night. Our light. We used to light up the whole world. Keep the darkness at bay. Now… there’s nothing. But here, there’s some light left.” He reached for a small device near his bed and after a loud click, bright and artificial light flooded the room.

Maple stared at the human, noticing every detail of the strange creature. Unlike the solid black eyes Fae had, his were white around the edge, with a beautiful bright brown in the middle.

The hair on his head continued onto his face, covering the mouth and chin. Maple had heard this happened with some humans. Unlike the images of the man pinned to the wall, his hair now was all white and overgrown.

Heavy wrinkles crisscrossed his face, and his exposed hands looked worn and tough.

Then, she noticed a bright pink sting wrapped around Jim’s wrist. It contrasted with the dull, dirty clothes the man wore… and matched the string wrapped around Maple’s own arm.

“Is that a… a shoelace?”

Jim looked down at the decoration. “It is. It used to be on my wife’s shoe.” He went quiet and stared at it. Maple started to speak, but the human continued. “My wife loved going for walks in the evenings, back before the world went to hell. She had a really good pair of walking shoes, all bright pink.

“When things started going bad, we sold or traded everything of value we owned, just to survive. But she kept those shoes. ‘Can’t survive the end of the world with bad shoes’ she said.” His lips quivered. “When… when she died, it was impossible to keep moving without her.” He ran a finger along the pink shoelace. “Having this helps.”

The Fae don’t cry, but Maple felt the human’s pain. She stood up. Even seated, the human towered over her. But she understood, and gently placed her hand on his.

“I found this near the outer door…” she revealed the shoelace on her own arm.

Jim’s eyes went wide. “The other shoe…” he briefly glanced to his other wrist, empty of any accessories. “I knew I’d lost it somewhere.”

“Do you wish for it back?” Maple asked.

The human paused. When he smiled, those brown eyes shined. “No,” he shook his head. “No, you should keep it. The pink suits you. But thanks,” he whispered.

The three sat in silence, surrounded by harsh lights and steel walls.

“So…” Jim stood and stretched. “I saw you get chased in here on the cameras. Looks like you need help dealing with that demon-thing outside, right? I’m guessing water kills it? I mean, it is made of fire.”

“A little water will hurt it greatly,” Moss explained. “A lot of water…” his eyes wandered in the direction of the great and terrible pool. So did Jim’s and Maple’s.

“I have an idea,” Jim said.

“I have a plan,” Shaded Moss said at the same time.

“There is a way,” Winter Maple agreed.

One by one, the lights of the power plant shut down, and the complex was cast into the darkness of night. Every machine went quiet, and everyone took their positions.

Just as expected, with all signs of human activity gone, the Djinn returned from the forest’s shadows. It cautiously entered the building, flames cracking along its long, slender body. With a snarl, the creature searched through the long corridors deeper into the plant.

“Djinn!” Shaded Moss yelled as it passed a giant open room. “This way!” He waved his arms before running away. Without hesitation, the Djinn gave chase.

As the creature passed in front of the giant pool, Jim and Winter Maple charged out from their hiding place and crashed into the monster as hard as they could, Jim swinging his wrench.

The Djinn tumbled into the toxic water and let out a blood-curdling scream. Its flames fizzled, leaving burnt, smoking flesh. The inhuman cry continued as it desperately tried to climb out of the pool, managing to reach a clawed hand out onto the solid ground.

“Oh no you don’t!” Jim cried. He swung his wrench with as much strength as his old arm had. It caught the terrible creature right in the face, knocking in backwards.

In desperation, the creature lashed out with its claws. A swipe caught Jim, cutting him deep across the belly. The man screamed and fell over.

The Djinn seemed to laugh in delight at the pain it had inflicted, and resumed pulling itself out of the water.

“No!” Winter Maple screamed. As the Djinn put its full weight on the forearm, the young Fae realized what she needed to do. In a flash, she took the shoelace from her arm, threw it around the monster’s hand and pulled with all her strength. The trick took the Djinn completely by surprise, causing it to slip and hit its face right on the pool’s hard edge. There was another scream of agony as it fell back into the water.

This time, the red-hot skin of the Djinn smoldered and went black. The flames died out for the last time as it sank beneath the surface.

“Damn, that was clever,” Jim said, clutching at his bleeding gut. “Thanks for the assist.”

“Are you alright?”

Jim shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.” His voice was already sounding weaker. “Damn…”

“I’m sorry,” Maple said.

“Don’t be,” he grimaced. “It’s been years since I had someone to fight for.” Jim looked at Maple, and then to the burnt and ruined shoelace. He smiled and slipped the pink shoelace off his own wrist and placed it in Maple’s hand. “My walking days are done. Hope this gives you some luck.”

Maple was touched. She gently took the string. “I shall treasure it always.”

She remained by the human’s side until he faded away.

The Fae don’t cry. But Winter Maple let out a sad sound when the man died. She wrapped the new shoelace around her arm and pulled it tight. Shaded Moss placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. She hadn’t even heard him come into the room.

“You saved our lives,” he said, still breathing heavily from the chase.

“Don’t just thank me,” Maple said. “Thank him.” She bowed toward the dead man and spoke a word of friendship. Words of the Fae that no human had ever heard. “There was more to them than you think, Moss,” she added.

“I suppose so,” Moss said, hiding a grin. “Come. It’s time we return to our own.”

“Yes, but I’m keeping the shoelace!” Maple declared. “I believe it will bring us good luck!”

Her friend couldn’t argue.