A Super World (After All)

Chapter 1

Lochlann Bertram stood at the altar next to the priest, awaiting his bride, Jozie Elpidio. Lochlann was a rather wide man, with short brown hair that he liked to keep up in a point near the front of his head. His black suit looked very clean, an almost mandatory thing to wear when he was working, but this wasn't work. He was finally to be married on Friday the 17th. Their honeymoon was planned for the week after the wedding, they had two tickets to visit Fiji, which would be much colder than their American home.

Cem was standing behind Lochlann. They had grown up together in Tyrphilia, and Lochlann and Cem had grown very close. Today Cem was Lochlann's best man, just as they had promised back in grade school together.

And Emma Minkov was standing in the bridesmaid position, awaiting her friend, Jozie, to show up for the wedding. Emma had grown up in Washington D.C., but moved to Tyrphilia to pursue a job in surveying land and writing up blueprints for future construction projects.

After the wedding march began to play, Jozie walked up, her father's arm interlinked with hers, her long dress trailing along the floor behind her. She truly was a beautiful woman, her long blond hair always somehow kept straight down her back and her green eyes always seemed to be looking for the next big news story. That's what made her so good at her job, her crazy talent at being able to see where the next big story would be without receiving any tips about it. When she finally reached the altar and her dad had left her, she smiled at her soon-to-be husband and he returned the friendly smile. It truly was a beautiful day.

The ceremony was rather quick, they said "I do" to each other, they ran down the aisle together and to the doorway so they could say their thanks to everyone as the onlookers exited. The people filed out peacefully until only the priest, Jozie, Lochlann, Cem, and Emma remained still at the church. The priest ushered them out, wanting to get home, and they decided that they would go to Lochlann's house to talk about their future plans together.

Lochlann's dog, Kai, greeted them at the door, wagging her tail happily at the sight of her owner and three other humans. Lochlann patted her head and Cem scratched her ears happily. They continued into the kitchen to celebrate with a few bottles of beer and a few hearty slices of rum cake.

As they were enjoying their quasi-meal and making new memories for years to come, Emma began to feel strange. It wasn't the alcohol affecting her, she knew that a single bottle of beer, a few sips actually, wouldn't have this kind of an effect on her. It had to have been something else. She hoped Cem wouldn't have drugged her, they had been friends for too long. As she stumbled into the bathroom, Cem followed closely, keeping a watchful gaze on her. His wide grin revealed that he definitely had to have had a hand somehow in distorting her senses.

Emma opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out, her world tipped and swayed until she found herself on the ground, hugging the toilet to keep her from moving any farther. Cem locked the door behind him and set his bottle of beer on the counter before crouching down to Emma's level.

He ran a hand along her face and she swung her hand at it in an attempt to slap his hand away. It was futile however, her sense so distorted that she ended up putting her hand on his shoulder. She wasn't sure how this had happened, she had been under the influence of drugs before, but this was a completely different feeling.

Cem moved his hand a bit farther down her body, running over her shoulder, his grin only growing wider as Emma grew more scared. She tried to exclaim for help, but instead, a pair of humans appeared in the small bathroom, light shone from their backs, making them look like dark silhouettes, but their genders were still clear; one male and one female, holding hands and staring down at Cem. As the light faded, so did Emma's vision, blacking out completely. Cem was temporarily disoriented and completely unaware of his surroundings.