Convergent Realities - Chapter Three - Market Day

It's been awhile since I posted the first two chapters of this. It's a story I'd like to continue, when I have time. If you take the time to read, I'd appreaciate it if you'd let me know if the interaction between the characters seems real, or forced, for the first scene. I just finished, and was worried about that. Enjoy.

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“I have to head to the market tonight, so if you need anything, or have anything to sell, let me know,” I told the girls as I cleared off the table.

Tessa frowned. “Weren’t you just there a couple weeks ago,” she asked, “what could possibly be so important that you have to drop in again.”

“It’s been a busy month,” I replied, gently placing the plates in the sink and grabbing the scrub brush. “The contractors can’t stop fucking with the system, and I entered a couple more bleeds than planned.”

“Please don't tell me you’ve got exposure sickness again,” Maria sighed.

“No, I kept track properly of my exposure this time,” I snapped. “That’s why I’m heading over, to get purged.”

“Isn’t it dangerous to get purged so often?” Tessa asked skeptically.

“It’s better than having my organs slowly dissolve due to the excess magic in my system,” I replied as I finished washing the plates. After carefully placing the dishes in the drying rack I flicked my hands to dry them, and turned to see Maria’s disappointed face.

“You know you wouldn’t have this problem if you accepted a contract,” she said sullenly, “and use the towel, don’t get water all over our floors.”

“Don’t even joke about that!” I snapped. “We both know it’s better to spend an hour in the chair, then get locked into a contract.” Maria didn’t even meet my gaze when I stared at her, I knew she really didn’t mean it. It was more of her self depreciation. “Sorry about the floors,” I said after a minute, “I’ll clean it up” 

“You two are terrible,” Tessa snorted as she slowly rolled herself towards her workshop, “you can’t say anything nice, no matter how much you care for each other.” She paused at the door and looked back at me. “I’ll put this month’s product by the entrance to my workshop, pick it up when ready.”

I nodded stiffly as she disappeared around the corner. By the time I looked back, Maria was half way down the hallway. “I’ll leave the talismans in a satchel in front of my door,” she called back to me.

“Wait…” I started, but she didn’t slow for a second.

“I need to make my tribute before my contractor tries to penalize me again. I’ll talk to you later.” she said as she disappeared around the corner. A second later I heard her door creak open, then slam shut.

“Fuck me,” I muttered, “why can’t I keep my temper in check.” Even though I wanted to chase after Maria, I didn’t. She wouldn’t see me right now anyways, so I carefully cleaned up the floor before heading over to Tessa’s workshop.

The tiny blond was already hard at work with some huge industrial machine. There was a crate of ammunition and other things on the worktable to my left, so I grabbed it. “Isn’t this more than usual?” I yelled, so she could hear me above the noise.

“Jacob ordered extra this month,” she shouted back. “Some sort of new operation.”

“Of course he did,” I muttered as I hefted the box. “Did you need anything?”

“Silver! And Obsidian!” Tessa called, her eyes never leaving the machine. 

I knew it was pointless to ask more, Tessa was already in the zone, so I just took the box left. By the time I got to Maria’s room she’d already hung a bag on the hanger outside. I hesitated in front of her door, stood there for a long minute considering if I should knock or not, before grabbing the satchel and heading for the door.

Instead of piling everything in the back of the truck, like I did with my equipment, I carefully laid it all in the front seat. It might not have looked like much, but those two packages represented all our living expenses for the next month. Once they were secure I doubled back to where I dropped my duffle bag earlier and pulled out a pistol. Even though I shouldn’t need it, it was always better to be safe than sorry.

Even though it was a little difficult to handle the garage door alone, I managed it after a minute or two and finally got on the road. It wasn’t that far to the market, but I still flicked on the radio, it was better to have background noise than to be alone with my thoughts.

“... is investigating the situation around the Bleed that occurred earlier today. Sources say the Bleed was forecasted, but somehow did not make it into the reports given to the public. Thankfully there were some contractors in the area, and the Bleed was contained before it could cause some serious damage,” the radio reporter droned. 

“Lucky my ass,” I grumbled as I flicked over to a light rock station. 

It only took me about twenty minutes to get to my destination, an abandoned mall near the center of the city. All the exterior doors and windows had been barred, and boarded up for years, but that didn’t matter if you knew how to access it. All the underground parking lots had heavy metal shutters blocking access, but the north side had a hidden RFID reader, and the electronic door still worked.

As soon as I turned off the road the rusty gate retreated into the roof and let me inside. There weren’t many vehicles inside, which wasn’t a surprise with how select they were with the clientele, so it only took me a moment to find a decent parking spot. 

Once I scooped the goods, and locked my truck, I moved towards the elevator at the heart of the complex. I nodded at the plain clothes guards keeping watch, a pair of familiar faces even if I didn’t know their names, and made my way up to the concourse.

The truth was, beneath the crumbling facade this was the largest magical black market in the city. Access was invite only, and the management kept a close eye on everyone that came by.

I stepped off the elevator into a security checkpoint. I carefully placed my bags, and pistol, on the nearby table then stepped forward to get checked. 

One of the female guards stepped forward, a familiar face with a shaved head and hundreds of tattoos. “Evening Keira, purpose of visit?” she asked politely as she waved the security wand in my direction. 

“Some business,” I said nodding towards the boxes, “and some time in the chair. Is Jacob in tonight?” 

The woman shook her head. “He’s dealing with something up north, you need to talk to him about something?” 

“Fuck no,” I scoffed, “quite the opposite actually. Sounds like I chose the right day to come.”

She snorted in response, finished checking me with the wand past me, and waved me through. “Gun stays with me, like always. Don’t make trouble.”

“Do I ever?” I asked lightly, but when I saw her deadpan expression I knew she was serious. Something must have happened lately. I scooped up my goods and stepped past. “Got it, thanks Tess.”

The inside of the market was a hodgepodge of repurposed stores, and makeshift stalls. Although most of the vendors were reputable, I preferred to only work with a select few, so I slowly weaved my way through the rubbish to the far side of the concourse where there was an unmarked store with blacked out windows. When I pushed open the door I found the place almost completely empty; There was just a tall man of asian descent sitting behind a counter smoking.

“Keira, darling! What has brought you to my humble store this evening?” he asked with a huge smile. 

“Jacob placed an order, and I have a couple things for consignment,” I replied, placing the packages gently on the counter. “And I need to use the chair.”

He stepped back in surprise. “Kiera, darling, it hasn’t even been a month since the last time.”

“Don’t give me shit Angelo, I know how long it’s been,” I hissed. “If your boss did his job properly, and made sure all the warnings went out properly, I wouldn’t need to go out so often.”

Angelo took a long drag of his cigarette, looking me up and down. “Unfortunately true,” he said after a moment. “Follow me into the back. I’ll hook you to the chair, then evaluate your trinkets. I’ll have a payout ready for you by the time you’re done.” He turned and pushed through a beaded curtain behind the counter, disappearing into the back.

I hopped over the counter, and slipped in behind him. There wasn’t much in the back room, a few mostly empty shelves, a couple safes, and one massive fuck off chair. If I had to describe it, I’d say it looked like a dentist chair from hell. Instead of an adjustable light, there was a crystal array on an adjustable arm. There were chest, head, arm, and leg restraints, which all had wiring which ran to some sort of tank, or array on the back.

Angelo carefully undid everything and waited for me to get seated. “Do you want any painkillers?” he asked seriously.

“Just hook me up already. You know painkillers won’t help,” I replied, as sunk into the chair, and tried to ignore my growing dread.

“Fine, your choice,” he grunted, as he strapped me down. Once I everything was tightened, and the array was positioned over my chest. He leaned over. “I’m going to have to put a ward up to prevent the noise from bothering the customers outside,” Angelo said seriously. “I’ll be back in an hour when the cycle is done.” He took another couple seconds to check the bindings before looking me directly in the face. “You ready?”

I just nodded. Angelo stepped back, pressed a button, and the chair went live. It felt like every cell in my body was on fire, the pain was so intense that I felt like I’d pass out at any second, but I couldn’t. All I could do was scream. 

Angelo just fished another cigarette out of his pocket, and shoved it into his mouth. “See you in an hour, kid,” he said before stepping back out front.

Meanwhile all I could do was lay there, screaming.