Last stop—New Hudson Convention Center.
The bus crawled over to the bus station and, hissing, the bus’s tired deflated. It sounded to Devon like a dragon’s mighty fart after returning to its cave after a long day of pillaging and burning villages. Hoisting up his bag and, after giving it a brief once-over to make sure everything was zipped and secured tight, Devon debarked from the bus. As he left, the driver looked up from his magazine.
“Nice hat,” the driver said with a thumbs up.
“Thanks,” Devon smiled. But the driver had already returned to his magazine before he could respond.
Devon left the bus. What greeted him was a scene of colorful chaos.
The Convention Center looked like an enormous blue doughnut, rising
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Duke of Two Cities Chapter 13
It was Lanie. Picture a butterfly. Imagine drawing a thread in time from the day it was a caterpillar, and follow that thread backwards and forwards. Somewhere in the middle of that journey, the caterpillar would have entered its cocoon and become something entirely different. But her voice…the way her eyes were just a little too far apart…and the Cookie Cat phone-case. It was Lanie. There was no mistaking it. Devon stood mouth agape, barely having the energy to stammer. This person had laid dormant of his mind for years, only popping up on rare occasions he delved into his own childhood. Now, twice in one day, she had come back into his life; first in his thoughts and now before his eyes. And she had not just returned—she had transformed. Her blonde hair was now dyed jet black. Her oversized front teeth now fit neatly behind a mouth that was lightly tinted in professional, fashionable color. She was the very image of consummate professionalism, no longer the dirt-caked playmat
Duke of Two Cities Chapter 14
They squared up. Devon was taller than Marc, but not by much. Marc glowered at Devon until, inexplicably, he started laughing.“I’m sorry. I just can’t take you seriously with that hat. Holy crap, what am I thinking?” Marc wiped away something from the corner of his eye. Devon felt heat rush to his cheeks.“Whatever, man.”“Look, Hunter Green, the both of us have stuff to do if we want to run your stupid freak show. Quite frankly, I’m not about to ruin my day over this so…yeah.” Marc smirked. Devon raised an eyebrow. “Run what? What are you talking about?”Snickering and shaking his head, Marc reached into his suit’s breast pocket and pulled ou a name card. He handed it to Devon with a little flip, barely able to contain his glee. Reluctantly, Devon took the card. Reading it over, Devon’s face deflated. Marc AbramovNew Hudson Convention Center Hospitality Executive Guest Services Manager “You, uh, work for the hotel,” Devon said weakly. “Uh, yeah, we do,” Marc said, mocking him
Duke of Two Cities Chapter 15
“That’s right,” Marc said. “Just need to make a call and it’ll be done—whole weekend, free hotel, so long as you can keep from breaking anything getting freak-fluids on my floors.”Lanie tugged at Marc’s sleeve. “Marc, stop it. Why are you doing this?”“Well, he’s your friend, isn’t he? Feels like the least I could do. Besides, from the looks of him, I think he could use a hand up right now. Isn’t that right, Hunter Green?”Devon found it hard to look at Marc. His gaze seemed to be drawn to the floor. He did need that money. Practically speaking, he was about to be homeless at the end of the week with nothing but the clothes on his bag and whatever he had thrown into his bag. Those few hundred bucks could go a long way getting him started on his ‘new life’. But the way that Marc sneered. The way he lorded and gloated—his every expression made Devon want to crawl into a hole. Yet here he was, with money on the table—and practically speaking, he wasn’t in a position to refuse. “… I-uh
Duke of Two Cities Chapter 16
Devon took the offer—in return for getting his hotel room refunded, he made an agreement with Marc not to incur any damages while at the hotel. On the one hand, it shouldn’t be too hard. He was not a rambunctious type, and he liked to believe that he knew how to behave himself. On the other hand, by a accepting this agreement, he was no longer protected by Omniverse’s insurance.If something did happen…No. Nothing was going to happen. First of all, all the problems he’d incurred were because of stupid people harassing him over his costume. But now here he was, where costumes are accepted and considered normal. Nobody was going to give him trouble about that this weekend. Or so he hoped.Marc, still sneering, made the call right there in front of him. In short order, someone on the other end picked up. “Hi, Chris, I’d like you to comp a guest with Omniverse? Uh huh… with Omniverse.” Marc’s expression was one entirely of malignant delight, but his voice was the perfect reflection of
Duke of Two Cities Chapter 17
In what seemed to be a continuing trend ever since he left the house, Devon had only continued to benefit from strangers at the cost of his own dignity. All he wanted to do now was get to his suddenly free hotel and go to sleep. The line for the convention reduced some from earlier, but there was no avoiding the wait. Back he would need to go into the sun. The heat of the day had reduced from blazing to merely stewing hot. The worst of the day’s sun was over, leaving its scorched slag behind. Heat radiated from the sidewalk and everyone who stood upon it was an upright sausage roasting in casings of felt, plaster, and sculpting foam. No dogs allowed at the NHCC, but if any dogs could walk along that sidewalk, they would have been overwhelmed by the collective chemical screams of over a hundred people at once.But despite the opinions of certain staff members of the NHCC, Devon and the convention goers were, in fact, not animals. The only messages they heard during the half an hour w
Duke of Two Cities Chapter 18
Panic shot through Devon’s brain like an icicle dropped on his head and melting to his knees. He patted down his pockets. Already he could hear the hurricane whirr of Tamara roaring. With trembling hands, Devon opened his bag and— —there it was, sticking out of his pants pocket.“Oh, thank god.” Devon pulled out the registration receipt and handed it to the ticket girl. “Here. Sorry about that.”The ticket girl took the paper, smiling. “No worries,” she said. “Breathe. You look like you’ve been through hell today.”Devon laughed nervously, nodding. Man, if this girl is saying I look like shit… man, I must really look like shit. “Well, relax, you made it. It’s this heat!” laughed the ticket girl. “It’s making everyone a bit crazy.”“Oh, I know that for sure,” Devon said. Behind him, Tamyra’s suppressed, screaming tantrum sounded like a very small jet-engine about to take off, her rage barely restrained by her hungry-looking companion. To Devon’s horror, the ticket counter girl supp
Duke of Two Cities Chapter 19
With the opening of those doors, it was as though all of Devon’s dreams had come true.The main convention hall was far bigger than he had ever imagined, jam-packed with booths and stations to fit every niche and need. Off in the corner were colonies of booths devoid to science fiction. Spaceships from a hundred stories of and shapes and sizes soared through electric nebulae and star-packed skies. Aliens of every description, lovingly crafted and designed, menaced the stalls with terrifying wonder. In the fantasy corner, castles from around the world lay above lofty crags, promising battles with ferocious dragons and deadly breaths of a thousand colors. Wizard towers, tall and mysterious, promised tales of magical delights beyond description. There were sections entirely devoted to tales of horror, with zombies and vampires revealing their terrifying glory. And there were more! Devon’s eyes watered with the breadth and depth of the convention’s offerings. There were separate viewing
Duke of Two Cities Chapter 20
Slowly, floor by floor, the elevator rose. The elevator cart had taken on the polite, frustrated quiet that seems to grow out of closed elevators. Even the witch-girls, bubbly and carefree a few moments ago, had quiet grown on them as though someone had cast a spell. One of them took out a phone from between her cleavage.From behind Devon, the young man started to choke. The girl looked from her phone towards the sound and saw the young man, his face nearly glowing read and sweating. She rolled her eyes and shook her head and went back to tapping at her phone after giving her companion a small nudge. Her friend curled a glittery lip in disgust. Their floor arrived. They marched out with a stomp of their heels and a swishing of bejazzled skirt. The large pumpkin man went out soon after, squeezing through Devon with a muttered apology. Soon, Devon and the young man were alone.For the first time, Devon could get a better look at the young man—and a man he was, though just barely. Hi