Chapter 4
May 2, 2018
A scrawny teenage Jace climbed up the narrow stairs to the attic, balancing two plastic bags on one arm. There was an old mattress on the floor, surrounded by textbooks, wrappers, and wires. At the center of the chaos sat Avery, bathed in soft blue-red LED light, hunched over a battered laptop, typing furiously.
The space smelled faintly of dust and instant noodles.
Jace stepped in and lit up. Old shirt, wrinkled shorts, hair tied back in a lazy ponytail—he looked like he'd just walked out of a high school sitcom.
Avery looked up. His tired eyes brightened.
"You're back. How was work?" he asked.
Jace plopped down beside him. "You know how it is. Waiting tables, pouring drinks, breaking up drag queen fights."
Avery grinned. "Was it over a wig again?"
"The blonde one." Jace sank back into the pillow, curls bouncing.
"She threw a heel this time. It missed. Hit a mirror. Ricocheted. Nailed the DJ."
Avery snorted and turned back to his laptop. "Give me a few minutes to finish this."
Jace didn't mind. He watched him work, a lazy smirk creeping up. His boyfriend. God, he loved saying that. Avery was gorgeous and smart and way out of his league. Already a second-year college student at fifteen. Meanwhile, Jace was still wrestling with high school. Well home school.
But Avery looked at him like he was worth something.
"I'm done," Avery said, eyeing him suspiciously. "What are you smirking about?"
Jace shrugged. "My boyfriend is so pretty."
Avery groaned. "Will you ever get tired of saying that?"
"Pretty? You like being called pretty. I like saying it. Boyfriend? Maybe when I call you husband, I'll retire it."
"Gahhh. So cheesy."
Jace pounced, pulling Avery down and peppering kisses all over his face.
"Stop!" Avery shrieked through giggles, trying to squirm away.
---
May 12, 2029
Avery POV
The continuous static of the radio phone snapped me out of my thoughts.
I leaned against Sparkle's fur, the warmth of her massive body grounding me as I stared out at the desolate stretch of collapsed city. Skeletal remains of buildings loomed, jagged against the chaotic sky. Nearby, the corpses of the mana beasts I killed earlier rotted in silence.
The sky was no longer blue. Not really. Thanks to mana storms, it was a watercolor mess of pink, blue, purple, and sometimes blood red. It was technically sunny, but it didn't feel like it.
I pressed the button on the blocky mana-powered radio phone.
"It's about time," Elias's voice crackled through. Smooth. Deep. Mildly annoyed.
He and I had worked on the original mana guns together. Four—no, five years ago now.
Elias was disgustingly handsome. Like movie star, model cover, celebrity type of handsome.
Oh, and the smile. His smile had those mini fangs that made your brain short-circuit. I mean, sure, he was a genius inventor… but he also had a really nice and big d—
"Avery, you there?"
I jumped. "Sorry. Network connection." I twirled a lock of my hair around my finger, unbothered.
"Uh huh. You said something about a stable mana magnetic field?"
"Yeah, I'm heading there now."
"Surely you wouldn't mind some company," he teased.
All I could think was: finally, I'm going to get laid.
"Sure," I said.
He was saying something else, but the signal cut out.
He'd find me. Every mana crystal was connected, in a weird magnetic way. I had half. Elias had the other. It would pull him straight to me.
I glanced at my bag.
Does lube expire?
How do you make lube?
I missed the internet.
Maybe I should start researching how to bring it back.
Priorities.