“This sucks, mom,” Mason said as he watched the two raindrops on the car race each other down the window.
His mother peered at him for the seventh time this hour through her rear view mirror. “Son, give it a rest already. You know exactly why we’re making this move, and you were the one to agree on it.”
“No, you know what I agreed on, Mom? I agreed to never talk to Dad again, not to leave Santa Barbara to go out in the middle of bumfuck nowhere.”
“North Dakota isn’t nowhere, Mason,” Martha exited the freeway. “We have family there.”
“Okay, and I have a melted Snickers bar in my back pocket. Neither of those facts make me want to go to North Dakota. We should’ve just moved out of the neighborhood, why out of fucking state, mom?”
“Language, Mason.”
“Fuck language. This is stupid.”
Neither of them said anything for a minute or two. The Audi kept driving down the highway, rain pelting down above. Martha considered stopping for gas, but she missed the turnoff when she argued with her son again. It wasn’t the first time this happened, but they were only on the road for a few hours today; she could definitely make it to the next one. It actually wasn’t far from their new town.
They passed a “Road work ahead” sign when Mason’s mother spoke again. “You know, son, someday you’ll look back on this moment and wonder why you were so against this in the first place. After my first move, I screamed to move back to Oregon with my friends. But then I met your father in high school, and… well, things just turned out better than I ever hoped for.”
“So now having me wasn’t actually planned?” Mason sneered as he put his legs up on the seat adjacent to him.
“Ugh, you know I didn’t mean that. Look, I’m not trying to pick a fight, Mason. I’m just saying we left for the better, and if you don’t see that now, well, you will soon. Trust me.”
The boy sighed. “It doesn’t matter how I see it, Mom. We had a perfect life there, and we threw it all away. A cool house, a nice school for once, hell, your job was way better than what you’re gonna get here. What part of this is better? What’re you gonna do if we get outta that car and realize you made a mistake? Turn back?”
“You know what, Mason? Maybe that might happen. Maybe for just a second I’ll regret this decision. But you know what else? We get to start a new life. One without our friends, yes, but also without the people who, erm, weren’t so friendly. Maybe a life we don’t have so much money in, sure, but one where people like those crooks at the bank won’t try to steal from us. Remember that day, Mason?”
He wished he hadn’t. He still remembered the knife. The dude probably would’ve taken the money too, if he hadn’t locked him to the asphalt ground. It was the first time he ever showed his power to anyone. Let alone his mother of all people.
“Whatever…” was all the kid could muster.
Satisfied with the response, Martha said no more, and entered the city limits.
They passed by another sign painted a dull brown: “Welcome to New Era!” Population: might as well be zero.
It was even smaller than Mason expected. The tallest building in sight was a movie theatre, and there were hardly any cars parked nearby. The only landscape was mountains, mountains, trees, and more mountains. Oh wait, and some more trees. Guess the place really did have some variety. The rain stopped for the most part, but the sky was still heavily overcast. Great mood-setter, really.
Martha finally found a decent gas station to park into, astonished at how low the prices were compared to California. She looked over her shoulder.
“I bet the people here are really nice.”
“Probably filled with a buncha crackheads.”
“Don’t say that, son. We haven’t even met anyone yet.”
“Yeah, that’s kinda the point. I’m tryna keep it that way.”
“Then at least you’re getting some fresh air while you mope in that hermit state of yours.”
“I can’t just stay in the car while you get gas?”
“I’m not letting you suffocate in that car, we’ve been cooped up in that thing for too long.”
“Hey, I’m an adult, I can make the choice to suffocate in a car if I want to.”
“And I’m the woman who’ll do it for you if you don’t hop out of that car.”
Looked like Mason had no other choice. He stepped out in a huff, slamming the poor Audi door shut behind him.
“Here. Get some snacks while I fill up the car,” Martha said, handing him a twenty.
“I have my own money, Mom,” the boy replied, taking the bill anyways.
The 7-Eleven was like any other he’d seen, maybe a bit smaller. But what wasn’t downsized in this backwater town? It was probably built like, last year. He wished he was still with Julie. He wondered what she’d say to the whole thing. Something like, “How’s it like meeting Sasquatch people up there?” Or, no, wait, maybe more like, “Damn, Mace, you live like this?” Wait, Julie doesn’t swear. Maybe like…
“You planning on getting those Frito’s, preppy?”
The words over his shoulder jolted Mason back into reality. He swiveled around to face who just spoke into his ear, only to find a girl about his age, her long orange hair stuffed under a green beanie.
Preppy? Mason thought. Who’s this chick calling me a preppy? Despite his disdain for the word, he sure looked the part: a pink button-up dress shirt, khaki shorts, and knee socks. His hand-me-down tennis jacket was currently tied around his shoulder, and his black hair was neatly combed back. He definitely wasn’t from North Dakota.
“Do I have to push you away from the shelves myself? I want chips,” she snarked again.
“There’s like, an entire aisle I’m not using, but go ahead, I guess,” Mason stepped aside.
The redhead—or orangehead, for those who want to be technical about it—went for the family-size Taki’s bag. She then turned back to the boy.
“Buy this for me. I don’t have any money.”
“What? Like I’m gonna spend my money on some punk ass stranger.”
“Don’t worry about that, I can give you something in return,” she said with a smug grin.
“Yeah, hard fuckin’ pass,” he answered flatly, not wanting to know what she meant by that. “I have a girlfriend. And I don’t even know your name.”
“My name’s Splats, bona fide Canadian! See, now we’re no longer strangers.”
What was someone from Canada doing here? “That’s not a real name.”
“Is so.”
“Prove it, I wanna see ID.”
“What are you, a cop?”
Mason pulled out his driver’s license from his wallet. “No, but at least I have an actual name. Y’know what, I dunno why I’m even trying to prove something to you. You’re wasting my time.”
Splats tried to read the entire license information before it was put away. “Mason Brown, huh? What a boring name. Next time we meet, I’m calling you Brownie.”
“Yeah, sure, next time. You’ll definitely be seeing me again. Creep.”
After the entire exchange, his plan of loading the car with snacks ended up being a bust; he only checked out a single bag of Fritos. The lightly salted kind, too.
Just as he touched the door handle to leave, Splats burst out through the other door, holding a bunch of stuff in her arms. “Thanks for the money, by the way!”
“Money? Wha-”
It was at that moment Mason realized his mom’s twenty-dollar bill was no longer in his pocket. That carrot-topped bitch. Why didn’t he just stuff it in his wallet when he got the chance?
Martha was already waiting inside the car when Mason jumped in, more upset than when he got out.
“Did you get anything?” His mother asked.
“Just fucking drive, Mom.”
After a painfully slow startup, they were back on the road again.
The house didn’t look as horrible when the car pulled into the driveway. It was a standard one-story, a grey brick building with white highlights and a red door, though the front yard was virtually nonexistent, unless you counted concrete and weeds as fine landscaping. The only barrier between their new home and the next one over was a simple wooden fence that didn’t even reach all the way on both sides. So much for privacy.
“Here we are, son! Isn’t it lovely?”
Mason sniffed. “No.”
“Yes it is.” She got out of the sedan. “Now help me unload the trunk and stop being a partypooper.”
Not much of a party, is it? Mason thought.
They didn’t take long to get their things out of the car, as Martha planned on traveling light. Most of the furniture in the home had already been left behind by the family who previously lived there.
As the two brought their belongings inside, Mason had to give credit where it was due: the house definitely looked bigger on the inside. The entire place was decorated with white fabric furniture over a mahogany wooden floor. Contemporary-themed rugs laid across the more comfortable rooms, like the living room and bathroom. Only the two-car garage was unfurnished, aside from a small workbench off to the side. But even though Martha was satisfied, it was hardly much for Mason to be impressed by.
He went down the hallway to check out his room. On the way, he spotted an unfurnished room he couldn’t say what it was for beforehand, and a master bedroom, which he guessed was his mom’s.
He finally found his own bedroom and opened the door. Nothing but a small bed and a nightstand. The only wardrobe was behind a sliding glass door in the wall. And a lone window opposite to the door, taunting sweet escape from this life of disappointment and boredom at the cost of a missing persons case.
Mason heard his mother call. “Son, come downstairs! The new neighbors are here to meet us!”
“Fine, coming!” The boy told himself if they bored him for a single minute, he’d go right back here.
He found his mom at the door. “Say hello, Mason.”
“Whatev-”
In front of him stood two of the strangest bastards Mason had ever laid eyes upon. The behemoth of what he assumed to be a woman caught the brunt of his attention. Her black suit— which shone a deep sparkly purple under the fading sunlight—hid her abnormally large and unwieldy hands under her sleeves. Her body was built like someone who had just won a pro MMA fight last season, her towering height making this intimidating form all the more accentuated. The boy had to crane his neck upwards just to get a good look at her face.
By God, the woman had horns, too. Her long, wild purple hair hid the top pair fairly well, yet the pair on her face made it look like she was constantly blowing steam, as a wild bull in a Spanish bullfight would from its nostrils. If this person (if he would even call her that) had any eyes, other than the black abysses where they would be, Mason would dare not look into them.
“What was that, bud?”
The new voice made him realize he’d been staring too long. He looked to the second figure, who seemed like a complete antithesis to the giant humanoid, only just as bizarre. He had no idea if this person was a man or a woman, but the way this encounter was heading, it wouldn’t be worth the effort to find out. Their blue hair—or fur, actually—seemed to gradient into a bright green from the legs up to the head. Speaking of legs, they weren’t human at all; he wasn’t sure what kind of animal they were derived from, but the paws suggested something at least mammal-like.
Unlike the absolute size of their partner, they were actually shorter than Mason by about half a head. The green alien head on their black shirt almost seemed to reflect their actual face. Their furry ears twitched as their hollow, white orbs for eyes stared into him blankly, with a chillingly warm smile plastered onto their face.
Now, Mason had heard of Anthros before. He’d seen one firsthand, in his middle school. Needless to say, she was bullied and soon afterwards moved districts, but he couldn’t say he wasn’t aware of their existence. However, these two were a whole different ballgame of animals. Just what were these humanoid amalgamations?
“You doing alright?”
Mason had to bring himself into reality once more. The shorter one was talking again.
“…Uh. I’m like, uh, fine, I guess,” he stammered.
“Perhaps this isn’t a good time for him. I told you he and his poor mother would be exhausted after the move,” the taller one said to her companion.
Martha stepped in to save the failing conversation. “No worries you two. He’s just not used to new faces. Isn’t that right, son?” She gave Mason a stern look, telling him to get his act together. In front of these freaks, it looked like he had to for now.
“Y-yeah, yeah, I clam up real easy. First days at school were always tough for me.” That was a total lie.
Martha clapped her hands together. “That reminds me! You two never introduced yourselves! Why don’t you start with names?” She looked at Mason to start.
“…Mason. How’s it going.” He merely waved, hoping to get this over with.
The taller one spoke first, straightening herself as if she needed to be any bigger. “I am Skyber. Welcome to New Era. I hope you found your way here well.”
The shorter one followed. “Howdy! I’m Nova! Pleasure to meet new friends!” Then, they reached their hands behind their back, and from out of nowhere pulled out a plate of pastries, with plastic wrap over the top. Where were they even hiding that? Mason thought. Wait, more importantly, what is with their names? Is everyone in this crackhead county named after some strain of weed or something? Next I’ll be hearing, “Hi, my name’s Cat Piss, wanna try some cookies? I promise there’s nothing strange in them!”
“Oh, my!” His mother exclaimed. “This is too kind, you shouldn’t have.”
Nova freed up one of their hand-paw-things to make a peace sign, a star twinkling between the digits they held up. Either that, or Mason was going insane. “It’s the least we can do for our new neighbors!”
“I’d take them if I were you,” Skyber said. “They’re rather delicious, actually.”
Martha accepted the plate, completely flattered. “I’ll put these in the fridge then. Well, if we got it to run first!” She snickered, leaving Mason and the humanoids to their own devices.
“So, where’d you move from?” Nova tried to initiate, but found Mason and Skyber staring each other down.
The human spoke first. “Let’s just get this out of the way. What do you two hippies want?”
The pair gave him a weird look. “Bold statement for one who clams up to new faces,” Skyber gruffed. “It just so happened a new family was moving into the neighborhood, that family being you two, and my friend Nova wished to welcome you. I’m merely along for the ride. You, on the other hand, well, I suppose that’s a different story. A very different story.” She peered into him—into his soul—as her dark violet irises began to shimmer inside her coal-colored eyes. “Tell me, are you aware of the other Electi currently residing in this town?”
Nova’s smile flattened. They began to twiddle their thumbs, hoping neither of them would get off to a bad start. “Come on, Skybie! We shouldn’t scare the new neighbor off that easy! Think about all the other kids who won’t even go near you anymore,” they waggled their finger like a scolding teacher.
“A moment, Nova,” the behemoth continued. “As of recently, there have been a strange influx of individuals with, how I say, unique abilities, moving into town. Now, I wouldn’t pay too much mind, if not for the fact that I fear some of these Electi may have some form of… ulterior motive. You wouldn’t happen to know about any of this, would you?”
He blinked, feeling somewhat nervous. But what for? “Cut the bullshit. Do I look like I know what an Electi is? What, is that one of your chainsmoking clubs or something? We left home and ditched our money for nothing, that’s it. Sorry I’m not another dime-a-dozen creep you were hoping for.”
“Hmm…” Skyber peered on, while Nova awkwardly watched. This was no way to leave a first impression, for either party.
“So. I take it you have no interest in the… affairs of this town,” Skyber mentioned. “Fair enough. Not all kids such as yourself have realized what they’re capable of. And what they can… accomplish, given the circumstances.”
“The fuck you on about?” Mason wasn’t sure how long he could keep this up. He wasn’t even sure this devilish woman even bought his bluff anymore. He was sure he was this Electi Skyber spoke of, but he kept it a secret to everyone for so long, even he started to reconsider even being one at all. How could she see right through him? Could Nova see it too? And just what was she talking about? What secret affairs could this dinky little town possibly hold?
Skyber leaned in close to the boy, a wicked glare in her iris. “I’m only trying to help you. You believe this town is weird by your standards, you haven’t seen anything yet. Just stay out of trouble. And take care of that ego of yours, boy. I believe we’ll be seeing each other again soon.
“Look, I don’t wanna be rude,” said Mason, rudely, “but I highly doubt that. I’ve already met one too many weirdos in this city today.”
“I’m sure we will, though,” Nova beamed innocently. “It is a small town, after all!”
They proceeded to hum the last sentence to the tune of that one ear-bleeding melody from the Disneyland ride. Mason started to close the door, until Skyber’s hand-shaped claws wrapped around the frame and held it open.
“Just one more thing. Stay away from the Tech Labs. No matter what.”
With that, the door slammed shut, by Skyber’s accord.
“What was that, Mace?” his mother called from in the kitchen.
“They just left,” he called back. And good riddance, too.
Despite Martha flagging her son over to see the new refrigerator, the boy’s only focus was straight for his awful room. She watched in confusion as he slammed it shut behind him.
Mason stayed in that awful room until the sun set behind the mountainous, overcast horizon. He hated it here. No friends, no money, no place to call home, nothing but stone hills and stoners. This was no new life, this was hell. And he wanted out.
Julie hadn’t responded to his texts. He swiped through his long list of contacts on his phone, picking out who else would actually talk to him at this time without having beef with him from high school. He never figured out why his old clique never held a goodbye party before the move. Finally, he found his longest and most trusted contact: Good Ol’ Claude Evans. With nothing left to lose, he pressed dial.
…
…
…
“Yo, who’s this? What’s up?”
“Hey, Claude, it’s Mason. Look, I-”
“HAH! You thought this was really me for a second! This is my answer machine, dummy! I’m probably real busy right now, so gimme a call later. Leave a message, will ya?”
The message tone couldn’t even chime before Mason hung up the phone. He forgot he set that as the voicemail for April Fools one year and never changed it back.
What could possibly be worse than this?
Three short knocks on the bedroom door. “Son, we have some more visitors! Come out here to meet them.”
Mason groaned. More village idiots. “Go away, tell them I don’t exist!” He put a pillow over his head.
“I’ve already told them you’re coming right now,” Martha said, jiggling the doorknob. “And unlock this door already.”
There wasn’t actually a door lock on it; the boy just used his ability to stick the frame of the door to the wall. “I reserve my right as an adult American citizen to stay inside my room and never come out.”
“I see,” his mom stretched her words a bit. “In that case, I’ll just have your new friends come through the window and drag you out.”
“Ugh, alright, fine! I get the hint. You always have to make things so difficult.” Mason rolled off the measly mattress and onto the cold carpet floor. Again, he had no choice but to open his door and find out whoever decided to ruin his day this time. Not like he had a choice to do anything the whole move.
Who he did manage to see was not something he entirely expected: normal looking people. College kids, in fact. Probably not much older than him. And like the last visitors, they came in pairs.
The biggest standout was probably the blue-haired girl with wide, thick-rimmed red glasses. She was an inch taller than him and, by his standards, hella cute. He guessed blue was a theme for her, with a navy blue vest and blue T-shirt and cobalt cargo shorts and sapphire eyes. Must be a fashion statement of some sort. Least her skin wasn’t blue.
A shorter guy accompanied her, his jet black hair coming straight out of an anime, with how it was buzz shaved on one side and then came down to cover one of his two narrow eyes in a wavy stream on the opposite side. He wore a dark green military jacket with way too many pockets on it, followed by ripped denim jeans and yellow high-top sneakers. He could tell he was trying way too hard to look cool.
“So you’re this Mason your mom’s been taking about,” the young man reached out a hand. “Name’s Saki. What’s going on, my dude?”
“I’m Pearl. Pearl Reedquist. Welcome to New Era!” The girl beamed brightly as Mason hesitantly shook Saki’s hand.
“Mason. Hi. Alright Mom, can I go now?” His comment was quickly silenced with a sharp nudge to the shin and a stern look. He winced, then sighed. “Uh, thanks for stopping by, I guess. I’m going to guess you two came with gifts of some sort?”
Saki raised his empty hands. “Nah, sorry about that. We were hoping Skyber and Nova dropped off their gift already.”
Oh great, they know each other, Brown grimaced. Of course they would. Why am I not surprised?
“Yeah, I think they came by earlier today,” Pearl added. She put a finger to her chin. “They’ve always been around to welcome the new neighbors for as long as we lived here. But had I known you were coming sooner, I bet I would’ve bought a gift so great you’d be thanking me for weeks!” The girl giggled at the sentiment.
“Heh heh, you don’t have to,” Mason said. You really don’t have to. Please. “Alright, thanks for stopping by, but me and my mom are really busy right now, so—”
“Actually, son, I can take care of unpacking by myself,” Martha grinned a scheming smile. She nudged Mason further out the door with her elbow. “Why don’t you kids have fun outside? You two seem like nice people, you can take him for a little tour.”
“Hey, not a bad idea,” Saki went along.
“Yeah! I’ll show you the place my parents work at!” Pearl shot a determined fist in the air.
Mason, on the other hand, merely gave his mother a defeated glance. One that said, “Please, please don’t do this to me.” But the plan was already in motion.
“Here, son. It’s gonna get cold out there,” Martha reached out somewhere behind the door and threw Mason his jacket, which he had left in the living room at some point. “And keep your phone on you in case I call!”
Saki couldn’t help but giggle. “Didn’t think you were a momma’s boy, bro.”
“Just have him back before midnight! He may be an adult, but he’s still my baby boy!” She waved goodbye as the two kids dragged her embarrassed son away from his only place of relative comfort.
The sky had mostly turned dark by now, save for a few glimmering rays reflected by the many clouds above. The air blew a crisp gust, making the trees sway a bit along the sidewalk. The only main sources of light were the street lamps, guiding the kids to Saki’s car parked slightly crooked next to the curb.
It was a new model, a black Honda Fit that could barely seat four. Nothing like his Audi. Mason wondered what he was getting himself into. Literally.
“So, Mason,” Pearl piped up as she called shotgun, “where’d you and your mom move from?”
“Yeah, and why do you have a curfew?” Saki asked off-topic. Mason groaned in embarrassment, taking the backseat.
“Look. We’re from Santa Barbara. Not like you’d know anything about the place, but we actually had a life there. I’m not gonna spill my life story, but it was a lot better than this dump. How do guys like you live here?”
“Hey, it may get a little weird sometimes, but New Era is no dump.” Saki turned around from his drivers seat, facing Mason. “I met the love of my life here in this town. Isn’t that right?”
Pearl blushed as the couple locked eyes. She faced Brown too, hearing the car start up. “And my family wouldn’t have founded their business without moving here, either. It’s really successful, you know? We can start off our tour there.”
Saki didn’t need to tell Pearl he was on board; he waited for Mason, who started with a huff.
“Whatever gets me back here faster.”
And they were off again.