Other Worlds Than These: The Gunslinger's Apprentice

The Man Who Set The Devil On Fire

After I had finished mourning the life I would never regain, I walked out of the room of that accursed number and into the hallway, hoping to find an elevator that would allow me to reach the first floor. I found one at the end of the hall left from my room, and pressed the down button while leaning on my crutches. Down the elevator went as I contemplated the inner workings of fate and the cruel web known as destiny.

I contemplated the Tower I had seen in the red rose field of my dreams. It reminded me of a book I had once read. My father had given his collection of fantasy books to me as a gift for my thirteenth birthday. I had loved all of the books he gave me, but none stuck with me quite as much as the Dark Tower series. There was something that elated me about the idea of gunslingers, billy-bumblers, and death being a doorway to other worlds, something that made the seven book series unique to me.

Did the Tower play a part in my coming here? This I did not know for certain. What I was certain of was that I had envisioned its ultimate destruction, with the words let there be light being uttered in the same mannerism of Roland's vision after his palaver--or maybe it was during--with Walter O'Dim, the man who was also Randall Flagg, Richard Fannin, Russel Faraday, and many other names.

Furthermore, I saw the field burn. I heard screams as it did. Human screams. I don't know what that could possibly mean, and I did not want to find out. But as I stared at the lowering numbers on the panel above the elevator door, I knew that Ka would do as it willed, and that I may discover it anyway. The panel above showed one, and the door opened.

To my surprise, the lobby was empty, save a man wearing a tan jacket and a woman with dark skin and muscular arms. They both must have been in their early forties, for they both had the look that only middle aged human beings could have, and they both stood taller than I did, as I only stood as tall as the woman's chin. 'There is something about them.' I noticed. 'It's like I've seen them before, but the memory is blurred.' I hobbled out of the elevator as best I could and made my way towards the curious couple, humming Hey Jude as I went.

I felt more than saw the man's intelligent blue eyes locking on to me and tracking my every movement. The man himself looked and stood like a comedian, but there was something in his eyes that made me wary of him almost instantly. The woman had the same look in her eyes.

In the eyes of these two people I saw a steel that I had only ever seen in my grandfather, and his father before him. They had both served in the navy, and both men had eyes that held a certain steel. These two had the eyes of soldiers, or warriors...

Or Gunslingers.

I shook the last thought away. This was Remnant, not Mid-World. And while there may be gunslingers among the many Huntsmen who resided on Remnant, it was unlikely that I would find any Gunslingers on this level of The Tower.

It was at this point that had become so stuck in my thoughts that I had not noticed how close I had gotten to the couple. "Hey pal," The man began to speak. "Interesting song you're humming there. You wouldn't happen to know the name of the band that sings it, would you?"

"I'm not sure you would know it." I said after maybe a second of silence. The man's blue eyes sparkled with humorous light, and the woman let out a huff of annoyed air. It was if the man had been pleased by a joke that only those two knew about. This interaction--while not quite angering me--did annoy me to a degree. "You will find that I know a surprising lot, Graham--your name is Graham, right?" I nodded in response to the question, like a wary child unwilling to speak to strangers.

"Eddie, darling." The woman spoke, a look of concern on her face as she looked me over. "Maybe we should be getting back to the apartment. The boy--weather his name be Graham or not--will need rest." 'Eddie' looked at his...girlfriend? Wife?...and back at me, and nodded in agreement. "Alright. Car's this way Graham. You'll have a soft bed to sleep on soon."

We walked out the hospital door, into the cool, Solitas night. And as the wintry winds brushed my face, my first thought was about how cold the air wasn't. "Expecting cold temps with those mountains and the snow?" 'Eddie' asked. "I was." I replied, staring in wonder at the people passing through the streets, many of them not wearing heavy or warm clothing.

'Eddie' let out a small huff of laughter. "The heat generators have taken care of that. Snow doesn't even land here." We walk towards a small, blue vehicle. "I suppose I should introduce myself, since we are now living together." He smiles, a sight that is all too familiar to me now. "I'm Edward. Edward Dean."

With that name, something else clicks inside of my head, like when I had realized where I was. The man before me was supposed to be dead, and the woman--his wife--was supposed to be in New York, old and grey, along with alternate versions of two of her companions. These were two of the last Gunslingers in existence, taught by the last son of the line of Eld.

So what were they doing here?