Black Mirror

Chapter 3 - Stressed Out

***ALEX***

Mrs. Jackson's nothing if not persistent. Even when I refuse her offer of a refund for the tattoo mistake (because it's not her fault, not at all), she insists that she make it up to me some way, somehow. Her next idea? Invite me to dinner at her place on the Hell side of Coldfire Creek. Dinner with her and her family - her husband, her son, and Kelly.

I almost turn her down, but Kelly gives me such a slaying case of puppy-dog eyes that I ultimately can't, and don't. God, how is she so good at that? This girl must not fall into the hands of our enemies.

"I still feel guilty, accepting this," I say after Mrs. Jackson hangs up on her call to Three Guys Pizza Pies. "I'm really sorry I-"

"No, it's not your fault," she reassures me. "You've got every right to say no at any time, and it's on me for not reacting fast enough."

I reach to my upper arm, which has a layer of bandages under my shirt and hoodie. "Seriously, you don't have to do this."

"Please, Alex, it's okay," Mrs. Jackson says. "Really. God knows we can't eat enough of this stuff ourselves."

"Although as long as Ty's at home," Kelly laughs as her mom leaves the room for a moment, "he'll damn well try to take more than his share."

"Ty?" I ask. The name's unfamiliar to me.

"My brother," Kelly says. "I'm the youngest of three in this family. Ty's my brother - short for Tiberius, just like in Lady Midnight - and the oldest is Monique, but she lives in Portland and-"

"You read Lady Midnight?" I ask. Then I feel bad for interrupting her.

Kelly, however, follows this segue easily. "I read a lot. You can't be friends with people like Gabe and Fionna and not read. And Ty? When he's not reading, he's finding a new TV show to get addicted to."

"Sounds like we'd get along just fine," I laugh. "As long as you don't tell him about..."

"No need to worry," Kelly says, doing a "lock my mouth and throw away the key" gesture. "Ty's not gonna know anything you don't tell him. Although he'd be cool with it if you did. He's a sensitive guy." She flashes a smile at me. "Like you."

"I wouldn't say-"

"Alex, you still cry for your brother. If that's not the dictionary definition of 'sensitive guy,' I dunno what is."

I'm about to deliver a snappy retort, as soon as I can come up with one, when Kelly and I both jump at the sound of a siren somewhere in the distance. "Was that..." she begins. "No, it can't be."

"The storm must be getting really bad," I say, "if they're evacuating."

"What storm?"

"On the other side," I say. "You saw it too, remember? It's raining cats and dogs. I bet it's starting to flood on the other side...which means they'll probably close it off here too, wouldn't they?" I've never actually seen the Bridge close early before, but it's one of the first things they told us at freshman orientation at Balthazar (and Castledown, or so Gabe told me) three years ago. In case of flooding (which is rare, but not unheard of), the dimensional breaches in the center of the Bridge can be temporarily sealed to prevent both sides from being affected.

I run out the door and look to the left, towards Heaven, but it's too late. Here, on the lowest of the Bridge's three levels, there's already about a half-inch of water under my hiking boots (which I wore in place of my usual sneakers). It's spilled over from the Heaven side, but now all that water is flowing through the narrow gaps under the barriers on both edges, with no more coming from the other side. I walk over to the breach, putting out my hand until it hits Plexiglas. "Oh shit," I whisper, watching the swollen waters of Coldfire Creek rush downhill to the west on the other side. "I'd hate to be in Lana Smythe's shoes," I say to myself out loud, for some reason, "having to deal with the damage to the café."