A young man was putting the finishing touches on a costume. Said costume was a: pink, white and black quasi-suit of armor with green, bug-like eyes on the helmet. The wearer of the costume would say that it was, Kamen Rider Decade. A character from a Japanese television series aimed at pre-teens.
“What do you think, dad?” The young man in the costume said as he adjusted a strange belt that somewhat resembled a white camera while he looked in the mirror.
“I think it’s a fantastic piece of work,” the young man’s father said with a nod and a grin. “Easily among my top 10.”
“What about you mom?” The young man asked, turning to a middle-aged woman with a high-end camera slung around her neck.
“Hmm,” she started holding her hands up as though they were a frame. “Give me a pose, I want to see something heroic. The young man struck a pose and his mother’s face lit up as she pressed the shutter button rapidly, and moving around him to get multiple angles. After at least a dozen pictures the young man’s mother took a look at the screen on the camera. “Perfect!” She beamed with a large smile. “You look like a genuine hero here, Wyatt. You’re gonna knock’em dead at the convention.”
“Thanks, who knows? Maybe if there’s a costume contest I might be able to win,” Wyatt offered with a bit of a nervous chuckle.
“Well, if that does happen be sure to mention me. It’ll give me a ton of business.”
“Sure thing dad,” Wyatt said with a nod as he started to take the costume off and placed it carefully into a suitcase. Revealing his short, light brown hair and his chocolate brown eyes.
“So, are you excited about the convention?” his father asked.
“Yeah, I looked it up and this seems like it’s going to be a lot of fun. And I’ll get to see Mark in person again so that’ll be a huge plus.”
“I’m still not sure about all this,” Wyatt’s mother admitted as she put her camera down. “I don’t know if you’re ready to go to something like this on your own.”
“Mom, I’ll be fine,” Wyatt reassured her. “I’m eighteen, I think I can take care of myself at a convention devoted to anime and things like that.”
“He’s right dear, I think we can trust Wyatt enough for this. Plus, he won’t be alone there. Mark will be with him and he’s always been a good kid.”
“I suppose you make a good point,” she sighed. “Just make sure to call me when you get to the hotel, okay?”
“No problem,” Wyatt relented with a chuckle.
“Alright honey,” Wyatt’s mother started with a little clap. “You’d better hit the hay considering you have to get up early for your flight.”
“Hold up, I’ve got some photos in the dark room and I don’t want them to overdevelop.” Wyatt said as he rushed to his home’s dark room.
“Why did you do this today?” His mother huffed. “You knew that you had to get ready for your flight.
“I just finished the roll of film yesterday and I needed to get a new one put in the camera for the convention,” He called out as he started to pick his photos out of the solution.
“And you started developing the film without even thinking, didn’t you?” His mother sighed.
“Well, excuse me if a certain someone drilled the process into my head since I could walk,” Wyatt shot back with a chuckle.
“Why couldn’t you be like other young photographers and just prefer digital cameras?”
“Again, you’ve trained me on film for so long that I prefer it. Face it mom, I’m a beast of your own creation!” He boomed and started to laugh like a cliché villain as he hung up the last of his photos.
“Ugh, why did you have to get your father’s sense of drama?” She asked as she pinched her brow.
“I’ve never heard you complain about that side of me before,” his father retorted with a wink.
Wyatt took a quick look at all of his photos and a large smile crept up on his face. “Hey mom, you’ve got to check these out. Some of them turned out great.”
“Fine,” She called back as Wyatt heard footsteps approaching. She carefully opened the door to the dark room and came up next to him with a critical eye. She looked between each photo and scrunched her face in concentration. “Hmm, you’re certainly improving. A lot of these have good lines of focus and your framing is getting better. Though that’s when you’re taking pictures of scenery or animals. For people you seem intent to put them in the dead center of the frame. You’re not taking mugshots you know.”
“Yeah, I’ve got a bad habit there,” Wyatt admitted with a sigh. “I don’t know what causes it though.”
“Well maybe part of it is your subject choice,” His mother chuckled as she flicked a picture of a young girl with red hair, green eyes and seemed to be caught in mid-laugh.
Wyatt tensed up at that and tried to fight off a blush that threatened to encompass his entire face. “Uhhh, why would Kelly cause that habit?” He asked with a nervous chuckle.
“Oh please Wyatt, I’ve seen the way you two are around each other. Don’t forget that I was young once too. In fact, your father and I were just like you and Kelly back in our college days.”
“Mom, Kelly is just a good friend,” Wyatt said, parroting the young girl’s words that she had said not too long ago.
“Whatever you say,” she responded, thoroughly unconvinced. “Now you’d really better get to bed now. You wouldn’t want to be tired before your trip.” Wyatt nodded and quickly exited the dark room.
“Okay, see you in the morning guys,” Wyatt told them as he turned and headed for a staircase leading to the second floor of their house.
“Good night, love you!” The two parents called out to him.
The next day, Wyatt was keeping himself awake from cheap airport coffee as he was miles in the air and was watching a paranormal news podcast from his laptop.
“…In other news,” the squirrely looking host continued in a ratty sport jacket. “There have been more people reported missing from conventions lately. We’ve managed to get our hands on some police records.” The host then cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Through purely legal means of course, and there doesn’t seem to be any conclusive evidence of kidnapping. There were no visible signs of a struggle, and there have been no eye-witness testimonies that seem to stand up to scrutiny. Some experts are throwing in that the standard hustle and bustle of a crowded convention could obscure the evidence of the struggle.”
“I of course, and I hope you do too loyal viewers, posit that something paranormal is afoot in these incidents. Now, we are opening the chat-room for you all to discuss what you believe is the mechanism behind…” Wyatt then pulled out his earbuds as he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and was greeted by an older African American woman.
“I’m sorry to bother you there young man, but I was wondering what you’re watching there.” The woman asked as she pointed at Wyatt’s laptop screen.
“Oh, it’s just this online show about the paranormal,” Wyatt answered with a shrug. “Think one of those ghost hunter shows mixed with the nightly news.”
“Are you into all that?”
“Not really, a friend of mine recommended it to me because I’m going to a convention. Apparently there’s been some rumors of mysterious disappearances from them lately. I wouldn’t put it past her to just be trying to scare me.”
“A convention, what kind of convention?”
“Uh, it’s basically just a convention for all kinds of nerd stuff. I’d go into more detail, but I don’t want to bore you.”
“Are your parents with you? You look a little young to be on your own.”
“No, I’m meeting up with a friend and we’re sharing a room at a hotel close by to the convention. What are you doing going to Baltimore for anyway?”
“Oh, I’m going to my grandson’s wedding. And meeting his husband to be for the first time,” the older woman explained with a smile. Apparently, Wyatt reacted to that more than he intended to because the woman let out a chuckle. “What, surprised that an old lady like me supports gay marriage?” She then tapped the Caucasian man who seemed to be the same next to her. “Honey, show this nice young man one of the photos from your wallet.
“Sure thing,” the man said with a chuckle of his own as he pulled out his wallet and handed it to the woman. She opened it up and pointed to an old and worn black and white photo. The focus of said photo seemed to be two overjoyed people on the steps of a courthouse.
“That photo was taken the day it was announced that we were allowed to get married,” the woman explained fondly. “Back in those days, people gave a lot of reasons why they didn’t want us to get married. And I have to be honest, they sounded an awful lot like the ones that they trotted out to say why our grandson shouldn’t be allowed to get married.”
“They didn’t work on us the first time, and they certainly didn’t work the second time around,” The older man jumped in with a chuckle.
“Wow, that’s amazing,” Wyatt said with a bit of a smile.
“It certainly was,” The woman said chuckling like her husband. “We learned something that day. Love is something that’s worth fighting for. And if others around you don’t approve then you’ve gotta fight for it.”
“Thanks, I’ll keep that advice in mind,” Wyatt replied with a bright smile. “The two of you must have a lot of stories, would you mind sharing some?”
“Oh, you wouldn’t want to hear any of those,” the woman dismissed with a wave of her hand.
“Try me, I’ve been told I’m a pretty good listener.”
“Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said with a chuckle as her and her husband shared some of their stories.
Eventually, the flight ended and Wyatt was ready to go to the convention. He was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people. Everywhere he looked there were people in costumes. Including someone in a really good Vash the Stampede costume, despite the fact that he was missing his pistol. Wyatt then took a deep breath and decided to go with the flow of the convention. He walked around and took some pictures of cosplayers with his camera (the same one used by the main character of Kamen Rider Decade) and sat in on a panel.
Towards the end of the first day of the convention, Wyatt decided to see what kind of merchandise was available for sale. A lot of the stuff was standard fare, and he didn’t really intend to buy anything that day, just to look. Just when he was about to go back to his hotel room and wash off the con-funk when he saw an interesting stand. He walked over to the stand in a secluded part of the convention center. The man behind the stand was in a costume himself, dressed as the infamous Merchant from Resident Evil 4. The fairly small table was covered in all sorts of items, but one thing in particular stuck out to Wyatt. It was an open silver case that displayed a large array of cards that displayed a swath of Kamen Riders and their attacks. However, there was another thing that stuck out to Wyatt. Among the Kamen Rider cards were ones with greyed out silhouettes. Wyatt picked up the case to examine the cards.
“Hey mister, what’s up with all these greyed out cards?” Wyatt asked, showing the merchant one to illustrate his point.
“Heh, you’ll need to do somethin’ special if you’ll be wantin’ to see what’s on those cards, Stranger,” The Merchant explained with a dry chuckle.
“What, you mean like hold it under a heat lamp, or expose it to sunlight?” Wyatt asked, confused.
“Buy them and you’ll get your answer,” The Merchant said cryptically.
“Okay, how much do you want for them?”
“For the cards and the case, $20.”
Wyatt shrugged and reached into the wallet that he had hidden in his costume and handed the Merchant a bill. Figuring that at the very least he had at least completed his costume. “So, will you tell me how to get the images to show up now?” Wyatt asked calmly, though was a bit irked on the inside.
“Afraid you’ll have to figure that one out for yourself, Stranger,” The Merchant replied, chuckling again.
“Whatever, thanks for the cards, I guess.” Wyatt said, waving the case and walking away. Not bothering to look at any of the other merchandise on the table. Just as he was about to leave the convention, a strange, smiling young man walked up to him. Wyatt paused. Not sure what to make of this person. Something about him was slightly unsettling. Other than that, he couldn’t get a gauge on him. Not even his appearance really. Whoever this person was, they were the textbook definition of the word “nondescript”.
“Whoa there man, that’s an awesome Kamen Rider costume you got there.”
Wyatt paused for a moment but relaxed a bit. “Oh, uh thanks I guess. My dad and I worked on this. He makes costumes for a living if you’re interested.” Wyatt explained, handing the man his father’s business card.
“Really, that’s cool man, I’ll have to check that out. Oh, listen man, there’s a contest for best costume about to be held, and I think you’ve got a chance of winning it.”
“Really?” Wyatt questioned unsure of this stranger. “Don’t they usually hold these things closer to the end of the convention?”
“Nah man, they learned a while ago that the hustle and bustle of these things can cause some people to lose pieces of the more elaborate costumes. So the organization committee decided to schedule it on the first day. Hey, you can even check your program if you don’t believe me,” The smiling stranger said with a shrug.
Wyatt followed the man’s instructions and pulled out the schedule. Surely enough, the man was correct. Wyatt guessed that he had just overlooked it when he checked it in the morning.
“Come on, I’ll take you to the room it’s being held in.” The smiling man said walking away and indicated for Wyatt to follow him.
Wyatt decided there didn’t seem to be any harm and followed after the man. A minute or so later and the man was holding open a door. “Here we are, this is what you’re looking for.”
Wyatt nodded and crossed the threshold into the surprisingly dark room. Just as he was about to turn around and thank the stranger and possibly ask him for his name, the man closed the door. And Wyatt’s world went dark.
The smiling man chuckled to himself as he walked over to the stall being manned by the Merchant. “And that makes two for the day, not bad if I do say for myself,” The man said as he leaned against the table.
“What did you do?” The Merchant asked, dropping his accent. “The kid was supposed to be transported shortly after buying the case.”
“Oh, I just gave him a little something extra to take with him on his trip,” The smiling man paused and then snickered to himself. “And I might’ve rigged some things about where he’s going.”
The Merchant narrowed his eyes at the man. “You know you’re not supposed to do anything like that. Your job is to…”
“Oh come on,” The man interrupted. “What’s the point of rules if we don’t bend them every once in a while? Now, don’t worry. Nothing’s gonna happen from this.”
“Whatever, just keep me out of this in case things go belly up on this one.”