Only a few feet in front of me stood a pair of doors I never thought I’d walk through. They were the doors leading into the local Convention Center. Today was the first day of the Steampunk Settlement convention. Now, I never was one for open and crowded places, and I probably never would have come if it weren’t for one thing.
“Let’s go in already!” My companion complained as she pushed her way past me. “I can’t wait to see all the vintage looking clothes I can buy!” She squealed as she practically ran up to the counter.
“Wait!” I yelled with my arm outstretched, jogging to catch up. “Don’t you think you should be a little more reserved about spending the money you have? It’s not like you’ve got bottomless pockets, or anything.”
“Of course not!” she stopped to scoff at me. “That’s why you’re here!” she grinned like the maniac she was and walked up to the front desk.
I just facepalmed and walked after her, hoping that she didn’t embarrass me too much.
“I’d like two all-day passes, please!” she practically yelled at the poor teen behind the booth.
“S-sure, m-m-m-miss.” He said with more than a little fear in his eye as he handed her the two tickets. “That’ll be forty dollars, please.” He just about ducked under the waist-high wall that separated the overzealous girl from the horror-stricken boy.
She expectantly looked at me.
“What?” I asked.
“I’m not paying for them!” She burst out, making my eardrums ring.
I considered pursuing this argument further, then realized who I was arguing with and that it’d be a bad idea, and not only for the sake of my hearing.
“Fine.” I mumbled as I pulled out my wallet from my smooth black slacks.
My attire for tonight was not completely my choice. Most of it was put together by my companion, Christina Rossetti. But when your girlfriend is that deeply interested in fashion, there’s not much you can do but suck it up.
I was wearing a nice white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to keep them out of the way of things I may be doing; over that I had a black vest with three pockets, one on the left breast, and two lower down, on the stomach, with a sleek black tie under it. Just past my simple black slacks was a pair of black dress shoes and on my head I wore a pair of welding goggles; they were painted to look old and rusted, while having magnifying lenses attached to the right side.
Next to me stood Christy, with her fancy white shirt tucked under a brown corset. Her small clip-on top hat was tilted on her head, threatening to fall off if she spun around too much. She had long, cloth gloves, ending just past her elbows. The skirt she had on was much too small for my taste, seeing as we would be spending the next few hours in a place with hundreds of people roaming around, but she said that there would be others like her there, too. I’ll let you guess how I reacted to that news. Anyway, her high-heels gave her a few more inches, but she was still half a head shorter than me, and her long black socks reached up to the hem of her skirt.
As we walked through the door leading to the main area, I realized exactly how popular this convention was. There were hundreds upon hundreds of people, and they were all wearing things from skirts and corsets to full suits and jackets. I don’t think there was a single person that wasn’t dressed up!
“This is going to be great!” Christy squeed next to me. “Oh, look at that!” she ran over to a stand that was selling men’s clothing. “You should totally buy this! It would look great on you!”
I took one look at the long rustic trench coat she held up for me, and promptly fell in love.
Of course, I couldn’t show this externally, so I kept a straight face while staring at her. I walked up to her with the same stoic expression and felt the jacket. I checked the pockets for holes, tried it on, felt how comfortable the lining was on both my bare skin and my clothed areas. It lead down just a little past my ankles. I then hooked my thumbs in my pockets and looked off into the distance, making what I hoped to be a thoughtful visage.
“Hmm… maybe…” I looked to her as the puppy dog eyes shattered my façade. “Oh, fine.” I started digging through my pocket for my wallet.
“Yay!!” she screamed out with her arms in the air.
I swear, I don’t know how I handle her sometimes.
“Ok, off to find some cute accessories!” She skipped off to probably find some overpriced earrings I couldn’t buy, but “looked pretty”.
I followed her, but not before glancing at a stand with a scraggly man behind it. When I did, I got this feeling. Something was pulling me towards it. Not in a physical sense, but nevertheless there.
The man noticed me staring and promptly gave me the creepiest smirk I’d ever seen.
I walked away, in the direction Christy went. There was something about the stand that made me want to turn around, but there was something else about it that caused me to keep walking.
When I did eventually find her she was looking at some earrings in the shape of gears. When I looked at the price tag I thought ‘Called it,’ as it was way too expensive.
“Wouldn’t these look so cute!” She turned to me. “It’d be a shame if they went to some rich snob that wears them once and never looks at them again.” She pouted
“But that’s exactly what you’ll do.” I deadpanned.
“I know, but when it’s me, it’s different!” Her pout turned angry.
I chuckled as I checked my wallet. I didn’t have much left, but I could buy her the jewelry and maybe another cheap prop, leaving enough for a meal for her.
“Fine, fine. Here you go.” I handed the cash to the vendor. She smiled and took the bills, placing them behind the small makeshift counter.
“Yay! You’re the best!” She hugged me around the neck.
“Anything for you,” I gave her a peck on the cheek and hugged her back.
“Whatever. C’mon, there’s more stuff this way!” She broke out of my grip, blushing, and galloped off in the direction she pointed only moments before.
I watched her dancing from stand to stand, looking at the different steam-related machines and pieces of brown colored clothing. I slowly turned my head the direction we came from earlier, seeing the vendor from before off in the distance. That same, strange feeling, deep inside me, wafted through my body, but this time it was stronger. It was all I could do just to turn away and walk after Christy.
When she finally stopped she was staring at something. This something had obviously caught her eye, seeing as her jaw was practically on the floor.
“Christy? You alright?” I asked as I got to her.
“I spy, with my little eye,” she said as she started walking slowly towards a stand. “Something I know you’ll want to buy.” She rhymed.
“What would I buy that your little eye’s spied?” I asked, also in rhyme.
She looked at me with a face that showed disappointment. “Don’t do that… ever… like, ever, ever.”
“Sorry.” I said staring at my shoes like a five-year-old.
We both chuckled and I walked to the stand as she picked up a gleaming bronze pistol. It looked like an old version of the Contender. It was stunning, with intricate swirls tracing along the barrel all the way down to the flintlock style mechanism. The wood surrounding the gun had an old, used look to it, making the gun seem more authentic. There was even a holster that went with it! It was a truly handsome gun, no pun intended, but I doubted I had enough to get it.
“This is a great gun, Christy, but I don’t think I have enough.” I voiced my fears.
“Oh, that’s fine.” she reached into her pocket and pulled out a few twenties.
“Where you been hidin’ that?!” I asked in a small rage.
“I ain’t been hidin’ anythin’,” she mocked my crappy southern accent. “I was saving it for a special occasion, or when you ran out of money; which you did.”
“Geez. Whatever.” I said as she handed the money to the man behind the table.
“Think of it as payment for the earrings.” She said as she felt the small gears dangling from her earlobes.
“Thanks, but I’m not sure they were the same price.” I said, thinking some cheap jewelry was less important than a—very realistic and well crafted—handgun.
“You’re right, that gun was only forty bucks. My gears were a good seventy… I’ll have to find something else to get you.” she thought aloud.
I was a bit stunned. ‘My gun was less than some gears on metal wiring? What? That made no sense!
Well, no use crying over spilled milk. Either way, it was definitely a steal, which is always good.
“You don’t have to do that. The gun was underpriced. And it’s the thought that counts, right?” I told her as we started walking around some more.
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t feel right if you wanted to get something that was too much because you bought my earrings.” That pout’s going to kill me someday. I just know it.
“Look, if there’s anything I really need, I’ll come to you if I don’t have the cash, ok?” I asked, looking into her eyes.
“Ok.” She said sadly.
I pulled her chin up and gave her a smile. She gave one back and we kept walking.
Most of the day went by just fine. We had fun at the different events. I entered a virtual airship battle and won. The prize was a necklace in the shape of a heart. The heart was made of bronze with pink paint that looked as if it were peeling off. When I gave it to her she put her hands over her chest and gasped, saying “oh, I love it.”
When the day was almost over we left the way we came. But there was still that stand with the scraggly old man sitting behind it. It looked as if nothing had changed, and when he saw me pass by he stared at me with that same smirk. It was bothering me beyond belief, this feeling in my gut. I didn’t understand it!
“Hey, Christy? Would you mind going to warm up the car? I’ve got something I need to do real fast.” I told her with a stern face that said not to argue.
“Uh, ok. Here, take some cash. Just in case.” She told me as she slipped a twenty into my pocket and walked off, glancing back at me before walking out the door.
Once she was gone I walked over to the stand, right up to the man’s face, and asked in a borderline-angry tone “Ok, what’s your problem? Every time I walk by, you’re staring at me with this look on your face like I'm some sort of joke.”
“Oh, it is nothing,” he said in a, clearly Russian, accent. “I just thought you would like pocket watch.” He gestured to the table in front of him. On it were many assorted watches of all shapes and sizes. There was one made of pure crystal, one of bronze, and even one made to resemble a candy cane.
“I don’t need one, thank you.” I told him, trying to ignore that feeling I kept having as I stood up again.
“Are you sure?” he asked, his smirk evolving into a grin. “Your face says different.” He reached under the table and pulled out a small box. “Maybe this one is better.” He slid the box over to me and motioned for me to take it.
When I picked it up a lurch deep down in my stomach nearly made me drop it. There was something about this box that I liked and disliked, all in one.
“You may have it, free of charge.” He said in a more-than-suspicious tone.
“Thanks.” I started walking away in a daze, not realizing that I had already pulled the boxes contents out.
It was made of smooth silver that was freshly waxed and polished, gleaming in the florescent light like the moon. It had a simple Lemniscate on the front made of a crystal that pulsed white and gold every second.
When I opened the watch I studied the interior. The face of the watch had holes in it, allowing me to look into the interior of the watch and the mechanics—what made the clock tick. On the inside of the lid was an image. It looked like it was an old photograph, with a brown tinge to it. That’s not what was weird about it, though. It was an image of me and Christy, I had my arms around her, and she had her arms around me, but we weren’t looking at each other, we were looking at the camera. We were smiling.
I suddenly realized three things.
One: The sudden and strong smell of springtime grass came to my nose, which shouldn’t be possible inside a building filled to the brim with people.
Two: There was a sudden silence around me, when the air had been filled with the buzzing of hundreds of voices from visitors in the convention building only moments before.
Three: The lighting around seemed to grow brighter each passing second to the point I began to squint to keep my eyes from hurting.
Just as my eyes adjusted to the increased light I found myself awestruck at the site before me. My heart began racing out of control as my eyes widen in fear and wonder.
"Where am I?"