I accepted magic to fight evil and it turned me into a girl, but I don’t think I really mind?

Jennifer Shannon

Chapter 2

That confidence was misplaced. My night was filled with nightmares inspired by what we had seen. At one point my brain had turned the real sound of rain falling into to sound of blood dripping. I was considering whether to risk more nightmares for the chance of getting some restful sleep, when my phone rang. I was wondering what was going on, since it was very unlikely for anyone to call me in the morning, as I picked up the phone. I saw the caller ID showing “Daniel Leung”, and was briefly more confused, since I wouldn’t expect him to be the one to call in the morning, especially after we spent yesterday the same way. Then I noticed the clock, and realized that it wasn’t morning, and that I had been trying to sleep well into the afternoon. Finally, I became conscious enough for it to occur to me that I should answer the phone instead of just reading it.

“Hello?” I barely managed.

“Hey, Matt. What are you up to today?”

“Nothing really. Why?”

“My sister heard about what we saw, and she decided I need to get out today for some distraction. So, she’s insisting I join them on their trip to the carnival, but I don’t want to play third wheel when they’re going to end up doing date stuff. She won’t let up on me going, so can you please come too, so I’m not stuck with having to see her make out or being alone there?”

“Yeah, OK. A distraction sounds good. When are we going?”

The answer to that last question turned out to be “immediately”, so shortly I was in front of the entrance to the carnival looking for Daniel. I soon found him talking to an Asian woman whom I presumed to be his sister. I couldn’t identify who of the nearby crowd was her boyfriend, but then she kissed a tall black woman, and I chided myself for making assumptions. Then Daniel saw me, and waved me over.

“Hi, Matt! Thanks, tons, for coming. This is my sister, Amy, and her girlfriend, Lanelle.”

“Um... hi,” I greeted. I was not the best at dealing with people I did not know.

Daniel started to say something, but Amy interjected, “Great! You’re here! Come on, you two definitely need a distraction, and we want to have some fun!” and she began to pull us into the entrance.

As we tried a few games and rides, I soon learned that Amy was very energetic, talkative, and forceful, and that the only person she would really listen to was Lanelle. I guessed that that was how Daniel was pressured into this. I also learned that Daniel’s concerns about feeling awkward around them was justified. Amy was very passionate, and it didn’t seem like Lanelle had any motive to use her restraining influence to moderate that around us. Despite seeming genuinely worried about us, the couple was quite often focussed on each other. It was obvious they cared about each other intensely, but their affection was making me feel self-conscious, and Daniel seemed to feel the same. It seemed that he had reached some inner limit, because he then spoke up.

“Listen, why don’t you two go off and do something alone together? I know you were planning for this to be a date before hearing about yesterday. Me and Matt can go find something else to do. Don’t worry; since we’re already here, we’re not going to go sulk or anything. Also, we should be able to keep an eye on each other, right?”

“Uh... right,” I added.

Lanelle had obviously noticed our discomfort, and encouraged Amy that the idea was a good one.

“Look, babe, we got them to get out, and they both look better than they did before. Why don’t we go find something to do alone together?”

I suspected that she also had her own reasons for agreeing, but either way, the goal was achieved, and they went off.

“Whew. I love them, but they’re a bit much to be around for any length of time. Want to go find somewhere a bit quieter and chill a bit?”

“... Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

We went to find a less crowded area, and eventually found an isolated picnic table, surprisingly unoccupied. It was also thankfully dry, having been apparently sheltered from last night’s rain. I assumed it was intended for some of the carnival employees to use since it was a bit far from the attractions, and near some of the electrical equipment for the rides.

“So, how are you?” he asked me, after we had sat down.

“Me? You saw the same thing I did.” I couldn’t understand why he was asking about me, when he had to be seriously traumatized himself.
“Yeah, and I’m doing terrible. I figure you should be too. Talking about it will help us both.” Apparently, I had found a friend who put other people first, and he’s even willing to admit and talk about his feelings. That was unexpected. This was the first time I’d seen this from any man. Other than myself, I mean.

As we bonded over that shared trauma, suddenly a raven flew between us. We looked up to follow it, and spotted something insane. It looked like a literal monster. Like an ogre. I flashed back to that scene where that Arabic girl talked about a “ghul”. I guessed this is what she meant. Daniel and I flew backwards as it trashed the table. Daniel looked all right, but stunned on the ground, and that was a problem. Because the ogre focussed on me alone.

I ran. Unfortunately, the ogre followed. And it was faster than I was on this muddy ground, so my lead was dwindling. I’d like to say that I lead it away from the crowds on purpose, but no. It was sheer chance that I ran towards the electrical equipment. I was sure that I was dead the instant I slipped and fell. But that was the same time the ogre swiped at me, and I fell below the attack. Missing put it off balance, and it smashed some of the equipment. The electrical sparking and wet ground didn’t go well for it. It was electrocuted, and fell to the mud, dead. And I was completely unharmed, physically, anyway. Just muddy. And traumatized. Again.

That raven flew by again, and I silently thanked it, because if it hadn’t been for it, the two of us would have been smashed along with that table. I could see Daniel stirring, and then the bird dropped a bracelet onto me. And I passed out.

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