Unparalleled Universe: Part 2

Nick drove along the highway thinking about how he was going to tell this unfortunate soul things that were going to alter his understanding of the world in such a way, it would drive weaker men mad. He had seen it happen. Nick didn't think the Kid would crack though. He was young, mailable but tough as nails, and had handled himself supremely well with the werewolves. Nick had seen a lot of things over the years, which is why he was honestly impressed with the young man. 

"What's your name by the way? Been having so much fun we haven't had a chance to get formally aquatinted." 

"It's Desmond."


“Nick," He held out his right hand. "Nick Zane." Desmond shook Nick's hand. "You got a last name?"

"Yeah, Riker."


“Like Star Trek? Number one there, Will Riker?"


"I have no idea what you are talking about."


"Kids these days.” Nick shook his head, “You don't look like a Desmond. More like a Chip."


“What is that suppose to mean?" 

"No need to get defensive, man, I'm just saying you don't look like a Desmond. Ok if I call you Dez?"

"It's better than Chip."


"Shit, anything is better than Chip."


"Are you going to tell me what hell is going on Nick, or are we gonna make small talk the whole ride?" 

"Well damn Dez, just wanted to set some-sort of comfort level between us, I'm about to dump some heavy shit on you." 

"Sorry. Just been through a lot, I'm not sure what to make of it." 

Nick paused for a moment. "It's all right. You did great back there by the way. I'm Impressed honestly. How old are you anyway?" 

"19, gonna be 20 in a couple of months." 

"No shit. Can't even drink and you just survived your first car chase, shootout, and brawl with a pack of werewolves."

"Werewolves, huh? Yeah, about that explanation?"

"Well, where should I start? Let me put it this way. You're not in Kansas anymore Toto."

"That's an explanation?" 

"No, but I'm getting started. Dez, when you walked into that bar, you entered a world not that many people have had the chance to. This isn't the world you grew up in, it's, how can I say it, it's a different version." 

"Like a dimension?" 

"Close, the locals refer to it as a realm, but same idea." 

"So we are in a realm of werewolves?" 

"Oh I wish it were that simple. Let me put it like this, all those crazy legends you have heard about, almost as surprising as it is unfortunate, a lot of them are true." 

Desmond wrinkled his brow over this. "You gonna tell me vampires and Bigfoot exist?" 

"Vampires, yes. No Bigfoot though. I think he was a werewolf someone mistook as Bigfoot, but who the hell knows." 

"What else is there?" 

"Well, there's werewolves, vampires, the witches and warlocks, trolls, the undead, and sirens." He numbered off. 

"No Santa Claus?" 

Nick let out a short laugh, "No, but its good you find this amusing." 

"I don't. I think I'm in a state of shock." 

"Let me get back to basics, we’re starting to get ahead of ourselves here. This realm is much older than ours. It has different laws of physics, and nothing ages or deteriorates." 

"Is that why your car is back to normal?" 

"No, my car has been enthroned. By a witch. It heals, and can travel from one realm to the other. Guess how old I am." 

"You don't look much older than I am. But I have a feeling it isn't true." 

"I'm 37. I've been in and out, mostly in, of this realm for over a decade. Time is strange here, it's night most of the time. It's daylight for about four hours every three days. Don't ask me how. Nothing ever makes any sense here, not if you take our realm into consideration." Nick looked at
Desmond, either the kid was not taking seriously what he was saying, or he was handling it remarkably well. "Dez, do you believe me? I mean, look at this road. You never see blacktop like this. Black as night and stretching as far as the eye can see. Not like that humped up fucking mess of a road both you and I drove on earlier." 

Desmond turned to Nick slowly, "Yeah, I believe you. It explains a lot actually." 

"There's something else I got to tell you, man. I'm taking you someplace real interesting. You're gonna see a lot of wild shit, but don't be afraid, I'm well known and well liked there. So just stick next to me, and stay cool. I think you will be alright. I just wanted to give you a heads up." 

"I could use a few more details." 

"Well, just like in our realm, there are good and bad people. Here, there are good and bad everything. Good Vampires, bad Vampires. Good Werewolves, bad Werewolves, so on so forth." 

"You’re telling me, that you have vampire and werewolf buddies?" 

"Oh, plenty. And witches and trolls too. Now that I get thinking of it, Sirens suck. You can never trust them, and it's so hard not to. So I'm not friends with any Sirens. You can't make friends with the undead, they're just mindless cannibals. They only show up when you’re looking for trouble 
anyway. You don't just wander across walking corpses here." 

"What is a Siren anyway, aren't those the women who use to lure sailors and sink their ships?" 

"Oh, yeah, they use to do that. It's just a fancy word for mermaid. Another thing, never call a werewolf a werewolf, they find it derogatory. They prefer Lycan. It's short for something but I can never remember. Our realm has become too populated and too globalized for the beings from here to really show themselves often. Also, it is the most serious offense here to go to our realm, and harm or kidnap a human. Both are punishable by death." 

"Who makes the laws, and who enforces them?" 

"The Supreme Council is lead by the oldest leaders from each race. All are represented but two. The undead and...." Nick trailed off. 

"There's another one? What are they?" 

"You will probably never encounter them anyway, so it doesn't matter." 

"What are they, Nick?" Desmond asked, curious as to why Nick was holding this back.

Nick hesitated, and Desmond could see it made him uncomfortable. Finally he answered. "Demons. And I really do hope you never encounter any." 

"That bad, huh?" 

"The worst. Nothing can kill them. I can't even put into words how awful they are. That screech alone they make haunts you for the rest of your life." 

"You've seen them though, what did you do?"


"I ran. That's all you can do. And hope they give up chasing." 

They rode along in silence for a while. The highway with its rhythmic yellow line hypnotizing Desmond. It seemed to never end. He hadn't seen a single gas station, or route sign or anything since they left the spot of the small battle with the Werewolves. 

"You didn't answer who enforces the laws." Desmond said, breaking the silence.

"People like me. There are other humans here, along with the natives who enforce the laws of this realm. We aren't so much police, but more like bounty hunters." 

"How did you get the job?"


"Long story. I might tell you sometime if you live long enough.”

“How long you been hunting the creatures of the night?" Desmond asked, somewhat sarcastically.

"About fifteen years now."


"And why are Humans so protected?" 

"Because a long time ago, something here figured out how to open gates into and out of our realm. We are the outsiders here, and the old and wise Lycans and Vampires and the rest figured they had opened a can of worms. We are far weaker than the natives, and we didn't ask for their intrusion, so they felt we needed to be protected. Much like how those nature show people film the lions and shit. They just watch, and don't typically interfere. Same as the natives. Except, they do go to our realm and they do interact with us. Everyday. I guarantee you have met, and even probably have befriended a native. The good ones don't out themselves. The bad ones usually do, but tend not to leave survivors. Sometimes they fuck up, and are seen, or they leave a mess and imaginations run wild. Hence the legends and monster movies." 

"Ok. So what happens if a Human kills a Vampire, what then?" 

"Nothing usually. When a Human kills a native nine times out of ten it is out of self-defense." 

"What if it’s that one out of ten?" 

"The council gathers information and evidence then make a decision. Sometimes we will be deployed to apprehend, or even kill a human, but I've never had to. Like I said, it’s not often. If a lycan, or vampire goes into
our realm, there isn't much we can do against them. They are faster, and much stronger." 

"Well, what about here?" 

"Whenever a human comes here, we become gifted, for lack of a better term, and we all have different gifts. I have increased reflexes and agility. I think you already know what yours is." 

"Strength. And I thought I was just imagining things back there." 

"And speed. When you were pounding that lycan I couldn't believe how fast your punches were. And in all the years I've been here, I have never seen a human break a lycan of that size's arm so easily. You're not just stronger, but scary strong. If you decide to hang around, you'll do just fine." 

A few moments passed. The Charger roared down the highway, engine wide open. The desert sand and brush appeared a strange dark blue color in the moonlight. Desmond found a sense of peace in the strangeness of this world. He didn’t understand why though. 

"I don't mean to sound like a whiner, but are we almost there?"


"Yeah, another 10 minutes or so."


"There is nothing out here, and I don't remember the road being this long." 

"It's not the same road. You're not even in the United States anymore. This world is nothing like ours, so just forget everything you know. Trust me, it makes it easier to adapt." 

"Well, if we aren't in the U.S., what is this country called?" 

"There are no countries. No governments. Except for the Supreme Council. It's like the wild west out here kid. The way life should be. That’s why I tend not to go back to our realm. There is so much freedom here. No taxes, no rules except for what I just told you, and best of all, no money." 

"No money? How the hell does that work?" 

"The natives never needed money for trade. They don't even trade. Kind of useless having to barter or have currency if the Witches and Warlocks can make almost anything out of thin air." 

"So.... If you need food, where and how do you get it?" 

"At a restaurant, or market. You take what you need. No questions asked. The witches and warlocks manifest everything you need. You will be surprised at how charitable most of these natives are. One of the things that perplexes the natives about us is our greed. They really don't understand it. Not the normal ones anyway. The bad ones take advantage of it. They go to our world and exploit our economies and limited resources to bring them power. Thing is, it means nothing here. That's why business for people like me is booming." 

"I thought you guys just chased down killers." 

"I never said that. I said harm or kidnap. Exploiting the system in our realm causes harm to humans. Which is still punishable by death." 

"I wish it was like that back home by our own laws as well."

"Me too Dez, me too." 

"So are you trying to tell me, all the wars, all the poverty is caused by these renegade creatures invading our world?" 

"Not entirely. Humans are greatly flawed by nature. We fight wars, and steal and hoard without the native's help. They do however play a part, and like to mess around with things. It's quite a mess and very complex. That’s why the Council appoints people like me, to try to keep a balance." 

"If there is no currency, then what do you get out of it?" 

"I get plenty. As long as I'm here, and don't manage to get killed, I will be eternal. Also, hunters get a lot of respect and privileges here. We are kind of like pro-athletes, or celebrities, or rock stars. The natives and humans who live here really appreciate what we do. The Lycans and Vampires hate the image their evil counterparts have painted them in our realm." 

“Why those two races specifically?” 

“They’re the most dominate. Not because they overpower the other races, the other races couldn’t care less. Trolls are proud of their rep, the witches and warlocks as well. Sirens exceed their legends, I’d have to say, so they’re still kind of unknown to me for the most part. The undead, no explanation needed. I have to assume demons are indifferent. Also, the lycans and vampires are the most intelligent, second to the sirens.” 

“Why don’t the sirens have a larger position?” 

“Oh, trust me Kid, if the sirens wanted to run the show, they would. They live to seduce, nothing else is of interest to them. Also, on the topic of sirens, if I catch you talking to one, I’m gonna punch you in the face. You can look all you want, even touch them if they let you, but don’t you fuckin’ talk to any.” 

Desmond was taken aback “Ok, why?” 

“Because that’s their thing. If you talk to them, they make you fall in love easily. Once you fall in love, they kill you – and eat you. They’re horrific monsters in disguise. By the time you figure that out on your own, it’s too late.” 

“I thought you said humans couldn’t be harmed?” 

“Firstly, for some reason we never catch sirens. They’re hardly ever reported, and when they are the facts and leads are loose and hard to follow. Secondly, there isn’t much sympathy for falling for one. Everyone knows about it and feel it is pretty much your fault if it happens. Over time you will be able to learn how to deal with them. Until then, it’s punches in the face.” 

“I’ll be fine.” 

“We all say that.” Nick said with a smirk. 

“So how will I know it’s a siren?” 

“Trust me, you’ll know one when you see one.” 

“Anything else I should know?” 

“Just stay quiet at first. You’ll learn as you go, just kind of take it in.” 

Desmond saw what appeared to be lights, and large structures in the distance. Not a city, something familiar, they were still too far away for him to properly evaluate. “Is that it up ahead?” He asked, “What is it?”


“It’s the Circus.” Nick replied, and turned his head to Desmond with a rather mischievous smile.