Seth was wandering the Void.  He lost track of time.  He was disoriented.  The void began to look more like static and he stopped and looked around.  

 

Nothing.  Nothing but static.

 

“Hey.”

 

He spun around to see a boy with a messy mohawk.  He wore eyeliner and dirty, torn-up jeans.  The rest of him looked a little scuffed up, so the holes were probably come by accidentally.  The boy smirked at Seth and shifted his weight.

 

“Yes?” Seth answered after a short moment.

 

“My name is Switch,” the boy said as he sauntered slowly closer.

 

“I’m Seth.”  Seth’s foot slid back but he stoped himself from taking a full step.

 

“Hi, Seth,” Switch purred as he pressed in close and ran his hands up Seth’s chest and over his shoulders.

 

“Um..” Seth leaned back and Switch eased off a little.

 

“Shh, it’s alright,” Switch murmured, tracing his fingertips down Seth’s arm and lingering on his hand.  “You’re shy, aren’t you?  There’s nobody around.” Switch brought Seth’s hand to his mouth and pressed his lips to Seth’s fingers.  “It’s alright.  I won’t hurt you.  I’ll be careful.  I promise.  You can be on top if you want.”

 

“I— uh.. I don’t think.. um.. Listen, Switch,” Seth pulled his hand away from Switch’s mouth, “how old are you?”

 

“Why does that matter?”  Switch caught Seth’s hand and tangled their fingers together.

 

“Oh.. I dunno.. laws, ethics, various moral standards…general curiosity mostly.”

 

“I’m fourteen, how old’r you?” Switch casually guided Seth’s hand downward.

 

“I’m eight… no.. sev- no.. sixteen?  Hey!”  Seth jerked his hand out of Switch’s grasp when the boy pressed it against his crotch.

 

“Aaw, c’mon.  You’re only like two years older than me.  Come on!  Rail me!  Let’s do it!  C’mon!”

 

“No!  I don’t want to!  Stop it!”  Seth shouted.

 

Switch paused.  Annoyance flickered across his face briefly.  Then he took a breath.  “Ok.  Fine.”

 

“Do.. do you know a guy named Jack?  Or.. maybe you’re related to him somehow.”

 

“I know a lot of guys.” Switch smirked.

 

“You remind me of him.. sort of.  Do you know where you are?”

 

“What?”

 

“..I don’t know what you mean by ‘what’?  Do you know where you are?  Where *we* are.  Do you know what this is?”  Seth spread his arms and looked around at the static.

 

“Oh.. Sorry.. I just..”  Switch looked around.  “I think I assumed this was a dream, but my dreams don’t usually ask me if I know I’m dreaming so.. now I’m kinda wondering if I did something stupid and now I’m in a coma?  Or something?”

 

“No, I don’t think that’s it,” Seth said.

 

“Then I’ve gotta be in a regular dream and it’s just more lucid than usual.  In which case, you should *definitely* be giving me what I want.”  Switch pressed in close to Seth again.

 

“What?  No!  Stop!  I’m not gonna-“

 

“C’mon, just lemme hump your leg!  You don’t even gotta do anything!”

 

“Oh my god!  No!  Come on!”  Seth shouted.

 

“I’m *tryin’a* come, but you’re not cooperating!”

 

“Just STOP!” Seth shoved Switch away and stumbled backwards.

 

“GOD you’re just like Daniel!  *He* never wants to fuck either!!” Switch hollered at Seth. 

 

“Dude.”  Seth cringed at the volume of Switch’s voice. “Like... chill out, man.”

 

“RrrrrrraaaAAAAAAA!!” The kid roared.  “You don’t get to tell me to calm down!!  You don’t know what this feels like!!!” Switch shouted. 

 

Seth covered his ears and turned away. 

 

“Don’t fuckin’ ignore me!!” Switch came closer, and Seth held his hands out to stop him. 

 

“Alright!  Alright!  Just stop yelling at me!”

 

Switch breathed heavily and stared at Seth’s feet until he was calm again. When he seemed stable Seth dared to make a suggestion. 

 

“...maybe we can find somebody for you to.. uh.. *play* with.”  He took a step into the static and motioned for Switch to follow. 

 

He did. 

 

Seth sifted through data with his ocular display and muttered absently to himself. “Dante is an appropriate age... I dunno tho you might be too short to be his type.  Jack is always down but his age isn’t consistent— also he’s kinda pissed at me right now. Uuuuummmmm...” Seth deliberately redirected his thoughts. 

 

“Are you looking for someone specific?”

 

Seth and Switch stopped to look at the new person who appeared in the static. 

 

“Ranen?” Seth asked. 

 

“No, but I can see why you would think that.”

 

“Who are you?” Seth asked again. 

 

“Mmm, that’s an excellent question.”

 

“Oh.” Seth paused and considered this. “Do you know where you are?”

 

“No.” He didn’t seem unsettled at all. 

 

“Do you know *what* you are?” Seth asked. 

 

“Hm.” He looked at himself. “Human, probably.”

 

Switch approached him and circled around him. “Mm, he’s pretty,” He said. 

 

“Switch, don’t—“

 

“It’s alright,” the man said. He reached out and put his hand on Switch’s head. “I can feel his pain.”

 

“Oh.”  Seth stepped closer and looked from Switch to the man. 

 

“What is your name?” The man asked. 

 

“Huh?  Seth.  You can feel his.. pain?”

 

“Yes.” The man smiled. “No reason to be shy about it. It is what it is.”

 

“I’m not-“ Seth stopped and exhaled. 

 

“It’s alright.” The man reached out with his other hand and touched Seth’s arm. “You’re in pain too.” His eyes slipped closed. “It’s all darkness. No lights. You can’t even feel your body right now, can you?”

 

“I..” Seth trailed off and considered this. “How is that pain?”

 

“It’s emotional, but I can feel it in your body. There is a lack. You both have it.” 

 

“What?” Seth’s eyes squinted in confusion.

 

“You respond to it differently,” the man explained.  “If you were aware of yourself you probably wouldn’t have rejected him.”  The man looked down at Switch and  scratched the shaved side of his head the way one might scratch a cat or a dog.

 

“You saw that?”

 

“Yes.  Well— I am aware of it now, and I can see it, but I didn’t see it while it was happening.”

 

“Oh.  Huh.” Seth thought for a moment.  “Why is he so calm now?”

 

“Mmmm because his fingers are all warm and tingly,” Switch hummed and turned to press himself flat against the man.

 

“He just needs attention,” the man said.

 

“Yeah that’s just.. not the kind of attention he actually wants.”  Seth raised one eyebrow as Switch began to slowly roll his hips against the man’s leg.

 

“I know,” the man said, “but I’m not bothered by it so I see no reason to interfere.”

 

“Uh, how about he’s only like fourteen?” Seth offered.

 

“That’s old enough to know what his body is telling him.”

 

“Yeah, but you’re like… a grown-up.” Seth objected.

 

“Yes I do seem to be, don’t I?”

 

“Mmh.  Mmmmmh.” Switch pressed his face into the man’s side as he began to moan.

 

“Yeah, so.. this is completely inappropriate… right?” Seth continued.

 

“‘Completely’ is an absolute term.  Nothing is completely one thing or another.  Life is made of gray areas.  Each shade requires its own unique approach.”

 

“Yeah, but…” Seth trailed off and furrowed his brow at the expression on Switch’s face.

 

“I am forcing nothing.  He is in control of this situation, as far as his own body is concerned.  My own desires are not in play.  I am not taking advantage of his desperation, I am simply allowing him to use me.  I benefit in no way from this, and I will be here when he is finished to provide emotional stability and support.”

 

Seth’s mouth was open as though he were going to object, but he couldn’t find anything to say.  “I.. well.. I mean.. “

 

Switch increased his speed and began to pant.  “Mmh!  More.  I need more.” 

 

“I do not intend to reject him, so if you are uncomfortable with this, I suggest you be elsewhere.” The man said.

 

“But.. you can’t..”

 

“I understand your concern, Seth,” the man said, “but you do not understand this child.  Your needs are not his needs.  Your experience is not his experience.  I am here because I am needed, and I intend to render aid.”

 

Seth just stood and blinked.

 

“If you wish to keep an eye on me, I won’t object.  Switch doesn’t seem to mind an audience.”

 

Seth stared, mouth ajar.

 

Switch began to beg.  “Touch me.  Please.  Touch me touch me touch me…” Switch climbed the man and wrapped his legs around him.  He pressed his face into his neck and sucked on his skin.

 

“You are running out of time to decide,” the man said to Seth, then he suddenly gasped and flinched and looked at Switch.  “Do *not* bite me.  I *don’t* like it.  If you want me to help you, you will *not* do that again.”

 

“No I’m sorry!  Please don’t go I need you please I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry…” Switch’s voice was muffled against the man’s neck and tears sprang to his eyes.  “Please please please I’m sorry I won’t do it again I’m sorry please stay please please please please…”

 

“Shh,” the man pressed his lips to Switch’s scalp and rocked to and fro as though he was soothing an infant.  “I’m not going away.  Just don’t bite me again.”  He directed his attention to Seth again.  “Decide.”

 

“Uuh.. I’m..”  Seth took a step backward.  He looked from Switch to the man and back again several times before he turned around and walked away.  “Ok whatever,” he muttered to himself.

 

He walked.  And walked.  Nothing appeared.  There was only static.  His mind was stuck on where he’d just been, and after a whole lot of nothing he heard Switch again.

 

His voice cried out, faded to a whimper, and then silenced.  Seth looked to his left and saw them.  They were both sitting. Switch was in the man’s lap, facing out.  The man was fastening the button on Switch’s jeans.  There was a milky, viscous liquid on the ground in front of them.

 

“How do you feel now?” The man asked.

 

Switch’s brow twitched and he took in a sharp breath.

 

“It’s alright,” the man said and hugged Switch tightly.  “Everything is alright.”

 

Switch twisted around in the man’s lap and wrapped all his limbs around him.  He pressed forward until the man fell over backwards and Switch was lying on top of him.  He sobbed.

 

The man held him tightly and stared up into the static.

 

Switch’s sobbing subsided.  “Again,” he said, and rocked his hips.

 

“Again?” The man repeated then shook his head.  “You need to be here in this moment with these feelings, I think.”

 

“But I don’t like them!!”

 

“That’s alright.  You don’t have to like them, but hiding from them won’t make them go away.”

 

Switch sobbed again, louder this time.  It morphed into an agonized howling.  The man held him tightly.  His hand pressed to the back of Switch’s head.  His lips peppered the top of Switch’s head with little kisses.  He murmured soothing words that only Switch could hear.

 

Seth was not certain wether they could see him if they bothered to look in his direction.  Sometimes the mindscape was like that. 

 

A light began to emanate from Switch’s form, and Seth wondered if these two were about to merge.  The light grew until Seth couldn’t see either of them any more.  Then it was gone suddenly, and where Switch had been were two new people, each clinging desperately to the man.  Each appearing even younger than Switch had been.  Maybe somewhere between nine and twelve years old.

 

“Oh,” the man uttered and sat up to assess the new situation.  “This, I was not expecting.”

 

The man raised a hand to gently touch each of their faces.  One was a boy with shaggy hair and ripped jeans.  His cloths were dirty and so was his face.  The other was unclothed and.. difficult to look at.  Its form seemed alien, it’s face and skull were.. odd, and the creature had no hair.  It did, however display a few attributes that humans would identify as ‘female’.  It made a sound like an animal, and nuzzled into the man eagerly. 

 

Seth breathed at a deliberate pace and tried not to think.

 

The man wrapped one arm around the creature and it seemed to settle down.    Then he looked at the boy and asked, “do you have a name?”

 

“Jake!” The boy said brightly.

 

“And who is this?” The man glanced at the creature who was beginning to rock against him the same way Switch had before.

 

The boy looked down as he answered, “That’s Thing.  I’m not supposed to let it out, but sometimes it’s… it’s too much.”

 

“I understand,” the man said. 

 

Thing writhed and made desperate animalistic sounds. Tears began to fall from its eyes. 

 

Jake shied away and crouched behind the man’s shoulder. “It doesn’t like to be separated.”

 

“Perhaps I can carry it for a while.” The man said. 

 

Jake shrugged. “You can try if you want.”

 

Thing moved it’s hands to the man’s belt. 

 

“No,” he said gently and swept them away. 

 

Thing screamed and flailed. 

 

The man wrapped both his arms around Thing and leaned back to lie down. Thing wrestled and cried while still making an effort to hump the man. 

 

“Shh, it’s alright.” The man murmured. He took a deep breath, squeezing Thing tightly between his arms and his inflating torso. He held it for a moment then let the air out gently. Thing seemed to calm.  He kissed Thing’s head like he’d done with Switch.  Thing pressed forward like it was trying to burrow into the man’s chest. 

 

The light formed again. It became too bright to look at, and then it was gone and so was Thing. The man sat up suddenly with a gasping breath. 

 

Jake took a wary step back. 

 

A smile twisted it’s way across his lips. A dark laugh bubbled out of him. He appeared physically unchanged but he stared at his hands like they were new. Without warning his laughter morphed into sobs and tears rushed down his face.  His breath became labored and he put his hands on the ground for support.  Sobs turned to a bellowing roar. His hands clenched into fists. 

 

Jake fidgeted then bent down to ask, “are you ok?”

 

The man barred his teeth and stared at the child with wild eyes. It wasn’t rage. The look was animal.  

 

It was the instinct to hunt. 

 

The man tore his eyes away from Jake. 

 

“Someone take this child away from me!!!” He roared. 

 

Seth appeared to be frozen. 

 

“Anyone!!” The man looked around and fixed his animal stare on me. “You!!”

 

Well that was interesting. 

 

I stepped forward.  Seth gasped at my sudden appearance.  I approached the man and knelt down. 

 

“I’m sorry,” I said, “this was an interesting idea, but it may not work.”

 

I touched his head and he stopped moving.  I stood and touched Jake, and he stopped moving too. 

 

I turned toward Seth and he took a step back. I raised my hands to steady him.  When I was sure he wouldn’t run I moved toward him again. 

 

“You.. you’re..” He couldn’t complete his thought, but I could sense it. It was an amorphous haze of sensations, shapes, and concepts.  The foremost being recognition. Familiarity. 

 

“Yes,” I answered. 

 

He knew who I was. He couldn’t remember ever seeing my face before or hearing my voice but he knew that he knew me.  My presence reminded him of— oh, that’s what it was. He stole something from me and he was trying not to think about it. 

 

“Show me what you have,” I said. His mind flickered involuntarily and I got my foot in the door (so to speak). “Aaah. That’s a big one.  You used Jack to get it, how resourceful of you. I’ll have to pluck that from his mind. But... I think I’ll let *you* keep it.  If you’re intent on putting your nose where it doesn’t belong, then *we* need to have an understanding: You keep what I want you to keep, and you can tell *no one*.  I am not unreasonable. I understand your curiosity, your *need* to know.  But keep this in mind, Seth: the next time you steal from me, I may not be so kind.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I must tend to this,” I gestured to Jake and the man frozen in place several paces from us, “before it becomes a problem.”

 

“Wait!” Seth stopped me as I began to turn away. “How long has it been?”

 

“Since when?”

 

“Since..” he searched for words. He didn’t know how to describe it. 

 

“Since the storm began?” I offered. 

 

“The storm..?”

 

“Our current state of upheaval, triggered to its climax by a simple conversation.”

 

“Right..” his eyes brightened. He had forgotten. He had become disoriented in the static, but he knew *something* had happened, because he stole from me during the chaos. “I visited Reggie, and then..” his gaze dropped and the light faded. That’s all he remembered. “I have to find Reggie..” he looked back up at me. “How long?!”

 

“Time is.. imprecise,” I said. 

 

“Guess!”

 

“I’d say.. three weeks?  Maybe three and a half?”

 

“Almost a month!” Seth covered his mouth and stepped back. He searched his memory and tried to account for the time, but he couldn’t. “Oh my god...”

 

“I have work to do,” I said and stepped away from him. He did not attempt to stop me this time.