Private Finished Stride and Prejudice

Aubrey. It was easy to say the name, but hard to explain the rest. It could slip in and out of conversations without a second thought. Dating Aubrey was simple, as long as that’s all anyone knew.

Until the phone call from his mother, Rhett hadn’t cried once since arriving on the island. He never grieved what had been lost; both his legs and Aubrey. Even then, many in the group had lost so much more. Staying strong was the least he could do, trying his best not to drag down the mood. Living in denial wasn’t all that difficult for Rhett.

After six months, Rhett couldn’t keep it together for much longer as the reality of his situation unraveled. The day leading up to the funeral was a complete blur. Most of the preparations for Saturday were fairly simple, leaving him with the rest of the night to sprawl out on his bed and stare at the ceiling. The occasional squeak of his rat’s exercise wheel, the fact his feet had to dangle off the edge of his clearly outgrown his childhood racecar bed, and fretting over how to fix the now clogged and stained sink were all welcome distractions from being alone with just his thoughts.

Grief was an ugly thing. Already familiar with some of the crueler things of life, dealing with outright loss was a first. Rhett was burning up, on the verge of exploding with emotion and unsure whether it would be sadness or anger. No matter how high he set the volume to, music couldn’t drown out his frenzied thoughts. His head was so goddamn loud.

Rhett curled up in the backseat of his mother’s SUV, knees pulled up against his chest wearing glasses that had been foggy since Thursday. He’d occasionally peek out the window as they arrived closer to their destination, snapping photos of the billboards made by someone who just learned photoshop. It was a simple ritual that kept his mind occupied as the cell service got worse and worse. A certain sign made his brain snap out of autopilot. Nothing he hadn’t seen before, but given what happened and where he was going, it filled him with enough discomfort to stop looking at the billboards altogether. Besides, they were getting closer to the town and signs were getting pretty sparse.

The first mistake was assuming it would be a simple operation. Rhett had overestimated how easy it would be to get his hands on a disguise charm on such a short notice. Rhett’s safety would have been less of a concern if he had shown up as someone else completely. Showing his face around town meant there was a very real possibility of things getting ugly. It was a pretty solid plan… for a fantasy world, but even Manta Carlos has its own limitations and so did his wallet.

The trip was arranged after a conversation between his dorm parent and his actual parent. Money was pooled together for a private portal to reach the narrow reality. The price made him thankful college was close to free on the island. For that reason, he’d use the PTS to get back, even if it meant staying a few days longer than anticipated. Despite the red tape, Rhett was going to attend Aubrey’s funeral.

So he sat in the backseat of the car as Rhett, mullet and all. It was a given that he would stick out like a sore thumb, already 5’11 at fifteen. The recent developments really help either. Most of the disguise effort was just to look like a normal boy again. While his lack of anything below the knee wouldn’t shatter the veil, even on the island it was a sensitive subject and the last thing he wanted was pity from old teammates. At least his prosthetics could be hidden with dress pants. Since wearing sunglasses all the time would be immediately suspicious, his bright heterochromic eyes were more difficult to hide. There really was no natural explanation for them. He wore light brown colored contacts not too far off from what his eyes looked like before. As long as he stuck to those requirements, the school was fine with him visiting home.

That said, Rhett was dedicated to his alibi, more than necessary. His teammates were informed his reason for vanishing was an athletic scholarship to attend a boarding school up north. With his half decent grades and reputation in athletics, it was more believable than living in a magical pocket dimension. And while literally no one suggested that he should change his hair, Rhett decided to anyway. Aubrey once told him private schools had much stricter dress codes, strangely cut sherbert colored hair didn’t fly. Using temporary drug store dye and a pair of dull craft scissors, for the first time since middle school his hair was close to its natural color. The mullet remained… sort of. If it wasn’t obvious, this part was done by himself at 1 am. It was a sloppy disguise that really anyone could see through. Part of him was convinced the second mistake would be showing up as himself. At the end of the day, he was still Rhett, just a version that was slightly harder to spot in a crowd.

Trying his best to stay composed, Rhett took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. The hot and humid air that quickly filled his lungs reminded him just how brutal summers got in the south. There weren’t too many cars parked nearby and no one in sight aside from his mother who remained in the car, he wondered how many people were actually attending. As the sun beat down his thoughts were too consumed by general discomfort of being sweaty instead of dread, keeping his nerves at a slightly more manageable level as he hurried inside.

A small hush came over the chapel as Rhett entered. He stood still at the doorway, like a deer in the headlights. There was ten minutes until the service began, but the space that should be cramped was half empty. In all fairness, Aubrey was a pretty reserved person with only a handful of friends, that could be all it was. With so few faces, Rhett recognized most of the people. From several of the pointed looks directed at him it was clear they knew who Rhett was too. Aubrey’s teammates stood out the most, wearing bright track jerseys over their suits. A few gave meek waves, others ignored him, some simply weren’t there. A burly teammate sat by the aisle, despite having barely spoken a word to each other, his intimidating presence used to scare the everliving shit out of freshman Rhett. The teammate looked up at Rhett with a small smile and ushered for Rhett to take a seat, gesturing to the space next to him.

Christian rock played over the speakers while everyone waited for the service to begin. In spite of everything, Aubrey had a soft spot for the genre, Rhett never understood why. His eyes focused on Aubrey’s casket. It was closed. For a split second he considered the autopsy then flinched. Lavender and white carnations rested on top and next to the casket was a framed photograph. The last time he remembered Aubrey’s hair worn like that was back in middle school. Ha…

Aubrey’s immediate family sat by the front. Stone faced parents and fidgety siblings, it was hard to imagine what was going through their heads right now. Isaac, Aubrey’s older brother glanced at Rhett, teary eyed. The two of them had a strange bond, being the ones most invested in the search effort. Their gaze broke as the pastor walked up to the altar.

“ Today we gather to celebrate the life of Aubrey James O’Connor.” And with that the service began.

The service started off as a slog, a bunch of Jesus mumbo-jumbo. The closest thing Rhett knew to a religion was his visits to Shinto shrines as a child, besides that he was pretty much an atheist. On the other hand, Aubrey’s parents were the religious type, the stereotypical evangelical christian. It was one of the main reasons the two kept their relationship under wraps. Aubrey himself was a practicing christian, not to the same extent, but his beliefs sometimes baffled Rhett. All this talk about God’s forgiveness made Rhett zone out for a good part of the service, his mind drifted back to the past.

Rhett and Aubrey go way back, they met in seventh grade. It was Rhett’s first track meet against another school and Aubrey was the only team member who gave Rhett’s speed a run for its money. Despite a little bit of distance, the two always ran into each other. They became friendly rivals, making bets, wreaking havoc against one another on Minecraft, and eventually in the same boy scout troop after a cut in funding. At the same time, both of them wanted to be liked by their teammates, and getting friendly with a supposed rival wasn’t the way to go about that. If anyone asked, they were not friends, but between texting all night and sneaking off into the woods, the two were undeniably close as long as no one else was looking.

There were many reasons Rhett grew up heavily bullied, one of them was having two mothers. Classmates often teased that Rhett was gay himself. So when he realized that he was attracted to another guy part of him wanted to deny it just out of spite. Then there was Aubrey’s incredibly conservative family, aside from Isaac. If Rhett opened up, he worried that their friendship would end altogether. All of that said, Aubrey was the one who came forward about his mutual feelings, nearly breaking down in the process. Aubrey shared many of the same fears as Rhett, plus whether his family would accept it. The two boys decided to go out, but keep it between themselves, which wasn’t all that hard when they went to different schools in different towns. Isaac was the only one they trusted with this information, but Rhett’s mothers caught on pretty quickly, even if they said nothing.

About eight months into the relationship, they decided to go to a school formal as an item. It was nerve-wracking. Feeding into the rumours of old bullies was the last thing Rhett wanted and Aubrey had even more at stake, considering what his parents might think. On top of that, they were both part of teams made up of all boys, while probably not outright shunned, there is the possibility their teammates would start to treat them differently. Despite everything that could happen, one way or another, it would inevitably leak out, and at least they could be in charge of when that would happen.

Rhett waited for hours by the gymnasium, but his date never showed up. Aubrey wasn’t the type to get cold feet. He sulked around for the rest of the night, sending a slew of text messages Aubrey’s way. Around one in the morning, Rhett sent a message to Isaac, who thought he was still at the dance. Aubrey was reported missing the following day. Rhett and Isaac tried to take matters into their own hands, searching the wooded area nearby his high school. For a split second he saw a dark and ambiguous form hovering over Aubrey’s lifeless and mauled body. He yelled for Isaac, but when he looked back there was nothing there. The police made a barebones search, but with the information presented, it was concluded to be a runaway case.

In the span of a week he found himself amongst a group of acquaintances who dealt with similar unexplainable incidents. Even with the members he was closest with before an eldritch god wreaked havoc on their town, Rhett never elaborated what happened to him beyond having lost his date to a school dance. The six of them had their taste of revenge, they risked everything and expelled whatever it was that killed their loved ones. He woke up one month later in another world, barely able to move with nothing below the knee. Six months later he was walking on his own again, regained enough control over his hands to beat his old high scores in video games.

Now he stood in front of the chapel, several of Aubrey’s teammates had already delivered eulogies and now it was his turn. He stumbled over his words. The part of their relationship that had a big rainbow flag all over it was omitted. It couldn’t have lasted longer than thirty seconds. Clammy, the ends of his hair clung onto the back of his neck, Rhett walked back to his seat.

The chapel emptied out into the cemetery, Aubrey’s teammates carried the casket on their shoulders, the rest followed with Rhett lingering towards the back. It was miserably sunny outside, everyone baked in the sun in their black attire. One last prayer was spoken by the pastor, Isaac followed with the final words. Slowly, everyone started to disperse. Rhett discreetly typed out a text to his mother to pick him up, but before he could press send Isaac nudged his elbow.

“ Hey, you’re welcome to stay around. Tell your mom I can drive you back.” Isaac said quietly. Rhett gulped. The two quietly stood as they watched Aubrey’s casket lower.

“ So why do you look like you’re in a cover band for My Chemical Romance?” Isaac broke the silence. Rhett huffed, pushing his hair back, but it was difficult to keep a straight face. “ You know Aubrey would say the same thing.”

“ Dunno.” Rhett hung his head, mumbling something about a sink. Isaac raised an eyebrow, then quietly laughed.

“ Now, I still don’t believe this whole… ‘it came from beyond’ tale, but I can’t blame you, sometimes brains are weird like that. A few weeks ago I saw something sort of like what you described too. Grieving sure is… strange.” Isaac looked up at the sky. Rhett's eyes widened, hoping whatever Isaac saw was in fact a trick of the mind.

“ Oh of course, the guy with the fancy english degree thinks everything is a metaphor.” Rhett rolled his eyes.

“ You know, my parents gave up on the search pretty fast. We all kind of knew about Aubrey. Most of us thought he just ran away. Anyways, they brought me in to identify the body. Brutal stuff. Aubrey came back, but not in one piece.” Isaac’s lip quivered.

Dread washed over Rhett, struggling not to visualize the injuries himself. They stood in silence for several minutes longer before getting into Isaac’s truck.

“ It’s weird seeing you all quiet like this. Listen, it’s not your fault.” Isaac remarked as they approached a stoplight. “ Though I should tell you, there’s some nasty rumors going around… don’t take it to heart, kid.”

“ Figured as much.” Rhett apprehensively nodded. The rest of the drive was mostly small talk and silence.

“ Hey, don’t be a stranger. You're a good egg. No matter what, you can always call me.” Isaac said as Rhett unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the truck. “ Tell me all about life at that fancy school of yours.”

“ Alright.” Rhett replied, waving with one hand, fingers crossed with another. Of course, there’s not much Rhett could say without completely breaking the veil.

If Rhett’s trip had ended with the funeral, he’d have come back in one piece. Of course, with his luck, that was not the case. The following morning he had a brief interview with the local police, besides a few odd looks, it went surprisingly well. The PTS wasn’t available for another two days, he had a bit of time to kill. There were other things to distract him for the rest of the day, schoolwork and unfinished video games, but it was difficult to ignore his old social media accounts entirely. On the phone call with his mother, she told him that some text messages with Aubrey were leaked. Isaac mentioned something similar during the car ride back too. With Rhett’s stuff being pretty secure, the information was dug up on Aubrey’s end, the same guy who set 1234 as his phone’s passcode. All the photos on Aubrey’s profile were deleted, his account under suspension for violating the terms of service. It was too late to check now, but from what Rhett could gather, the messages between them were posted on the account. Despite the fact the kind of messages they sent wouldn’t even make a nun blush, Rhett was getting a slurry of direct messages, both slurs and words of support. These people were no longer part of his life, it was easy to have thick skin. Even so, the comments more directed at Aubrey, a dead teenager, made his jaw clench up.

Fully aware of the kind of talk going around, the next day Rhett visited his old high school anyways. He spoke to the front office ahead of time and was told he could swing by after school hours. There weren’t many students left by the time he got there, most clubs didn’t hold meetings on Mondays. Being not immediately recognizable worked to his advantage, but even so there was a few whispers in the hallway.

The main reason why he even bothered coming to this hellhole was to see his favorite teacher. Thanks to budget cuts, any class involving a computer was probably taught by Ms. Harper, one of the few adults Rhett genuinely respected. Rhett knew he wouldn’t be back in the narrow reality for at least a couple years, the least he could do was say goodbye.

While Rhett could have just left after that, he knew that no track practice was being held that day and wanted to visit the locker room one last time. His coach called earlier that day, informing him that his gym bag would be by the benches, ready for him to pick up. The stuff inside was pretty pointless, maybe an old jersey, but the bag itself was weirdly sentimental, all decked out in pins. When he reached the locker room, there was another student athlete holding the bag to his chest with a clenched fist. Trevor wasn’t on the track team, but he did have a reputation for being trouble.

“ Were you trying to get a peak?” Trevor taunted, smirking. “ What? I’m just looking out for the rest of the guys. People like you don’t belong on any goddamn team.”

Rhett stood still with a tightlipped smile, his fist shaking. Manta Carlos gave him a taste of freedom and if the academy found out about any sort of physical altercation, he was screwed. God, Trevor had a punchable face.

“ It’s no wonder you’re such a damn sissy. Your mom failed you. That bitch couldn’t find a man so she got desperate. Right?” Trevor continued. Too pissed off to come up with any quippy remark to all that bullshit, Rhett quickly snatched his bag. As he did, Trevor murmured a slur under his breath.

“ Aubrey deserved it. All of you do. Go off and do the same, won’t ya?” Trevor commented with a sardonic smile, and then spat on Rhett.

Fuck it. Rhett couldn’t hold back any longer. He striked Trevor in the jaw. Trevor tried to take a few swings in retaliation, but Rhett dodged the punches with his quick reflexes. While phasing through dimensions was out of the picture unless he wanted to break the veil, his newfound powers gave Rhett the upper-hand. Trevor hissed a three letter word over and over again.

Eventually Trevor does land a punch, and it’s a doozy. Rhett’s glasses go flying off. With everything so blurry, it was harder to guess Trevor’s moves. Trevor grabs Rhett by the hair and slams him in a chokehold against the locker. Rhett struggled to breathe, he bit down hard on Trent’s arm causing him to yank back out of reflex and freeing Rhett of the position.

His powers became necessary at this point, he tried to make a run for it. As Rhett began to dash off to the other side of the room, he heard the loud clang against the locker. His leg made contact with the locker as he was trying to phase dimensions... Well shit.

It was loud. Rhett stumbles across the room before collapsing down on the tiled floor, his head smacks against the wall. Using his hands to brace himself, a bit of the fall was broken, his wrist cracked. He struggles to sit up again. There was now a massive dent in the lockers where they stood. It was difficult to believe that could even be made by a human... or several. He looked down at his right leg, it was badly bent out of shape by the impact. Trevor was knocked out cold, still alive with maybe a few broken limbs, but hey, at least he had still had them.

In the corner of his eye, Rhett spotted a blurry figure, maybe a school officer, rushing to the scene. His ears were ringing, but he heard a walkie talkie beep, they something about an explosion. Rhett’s world began to fade to black, he screwed.