Another Quest

Watt put the book back on the shelf. Reading it had become a monthly ritual. They especially liked the stories about brave knights rescuing fair damsels. Sometimes Watt was the knight, and other times the damsel.

Dreams of living in the romanticized version of the Middle Ages frequented their slumber. Watt knew, intellectually, that the stories had no relation to reality. Their heart though, or something very like it, still ached for the times and places of the stories they read.

Watt left the library via the basement exit to the tunnels. Once there, they navigated the short distance to their home. It was time to turn in, so they hurried up the stairs to their loft.

Their loft was a simple space: bed, kitchenette, closet, sink. A shared washroom down the hallway finished out the amenities. Watt lay on the bed, falling to slumber and dreams of castles and dragons immediately.

Rising refreshed, Watt left to run errands. Fulfilling quests, they thought. By the middle of the day, they had downgraded that. Gathering supplies to use on upcoming quests.

The week continued in the same vein, until the day Watt found themself with nothing to do. They could go to the library again, but it had only been a week. 

Watt pulled the edge of the curtain away from the single window in the loft. They could venture outside. The thought was frightening, but isn’t that what heroes did? Face their fears and continue undeterred by them.

The closer Watt came to leaving on an adventure outside, the less they felt like the knight, and the more they felt like the damsel trapped in the tower. Rather than taking part in an adventure, Watt sat on the bed staring at the door for hours.

During Watt’s slumber, they dreamed of a knight in shining armor, rescuing them from their flat. The dream’s happily ever after was in a cottage in the country, surrounded by fields of wheat bordered by magical forests.

Somewhere out there, they thought, may be a damsel waiting for rescue. Determined to be the knight, Watt strode confidently down the stairs, and out the door at ground level.

The night was damp, a heavy fog clinging to the streets and buildings. Watt maneuvered around the rubble of the ruined buildings and the demolished, rusting hulks of vehicles, long since forgotten. Vines climbed the buildings, grasses and small trees forcing their way up through cracks in the sidewalks and streets.

Despite the lack of moonlight, Watt found it easy to see. They headed south with no real destination in mind. A rusted signpost would do for a sword. They picked it up and hit it against the side of a building. It made a satisfying clang.

After an hour of wandering, Watt began to think of returning home. They were about to turn around when they heard a woman’s scream. The damsel!

Watt raced toward the sound of the scream where they found two men struggling to restrain a woman. They clanged their “sword” on the ground.

“Unhand her at once, foul curs!”

“Oh shit!” One of the men let go of the woman and shot at Watt. The other had let go after the first shot and joined in shooting at Watt.

Watt looked down. Their armor was dented, but not seriously damaged. They raised the “sword” over their head and charged. “Have at thee!”

The two men ran away, but not before Watt struck one with the weapon. They were certain they felt the man’s arm break under the impact, and his high-pitched scream as he ran made that likely.

Watt turned to the damsel, currently trying to hide in the shadow of a rusted truck. “It is safe now, fair lady.” They held out a hand to help her up.

She cowered further back in the shadow, shivering in fear. “Y—you’re a….”

“I am your knight in shining armor.” Watt looked down again. Their armor wasn’t exactly shining. “Well, your knight in armor, anyhow. Come my lady, these environs are not safe.”

By degrees, Watt earned the woman’s trust and finally led her back their loft. “You will be safe here, for as long as you choose to stay,” they said.

She turned on the sink and nothing came out but a faint groan. “Hey, you! Your water’s busted. Where can I get some water?”

“I recently acquired supplies. There is water in the cupboard to the right of the sink.”

She grabbed a bottle and gulped it down. “What do I call you?”

“I apologize, my lady. I should have introduced myself. I am Watt. Today I am the knight, sometimes I am the damsel, and sometimes I can’t determine which.”

“Okay, that was…a lot. I’m Tara. Please stop calling me lady.”

“My apologies, again, my la…Tara.”

Tara checked out the loft, looking out the single window to the rubble below. “How are you still around?” she asked.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“You’re really messed up, aren’t you?” She stepped closer and began to inspect Watt. It made them feel self-conscious.

“What are you doing? You’re making me nervous.”

Tara laughed. “Yeah, you’re messed up bad. How long have you been here? Living in this flat, I mean.”

“Always.” Watt felt uneasy. “I can’t remember ever not living here.”

Tara looked at the bed and nodded. “I thought so. I’ll be back in a little bit; going to check out the facilities.”

Watt nodded. They were feeling extra tired and lay down on the bed. The dreams came right away. Watt saving Tara from a dragon, Tara saving Watt from an evil sorcerer, and more. They all ended with the two of them living on a farm surrounded by magical forests.

Watt awoke to Tara sitting in the middle of the floor, drinking another bottle of water and eating one of the rations they had gathered. She nodded at them and continued to eat in silence.

When she had finished, she stood. “Come on, Watt, I want to show you something.”

Watt followed her to the end of the hallway where she opened the door to the shared washroom. She led them to a large mirror on the wall and stood next to them.

“Look at our reflection and tell me what you see.”

Watt looked. Tara, although her clothes were torn and stained, and a large bruise adorned her cheek, looked like the ultimate damsel from their fantasy. Beside her, Watt stood taller; dark grey armor with a full face-mask helm protecting their head.

“A damsel and a knight.”

“You still don’t get it, do you?” Tara pursed her lips in thought. “Is there somewhere that has old newspapers or magazines nearby?”

“Oh yes!” Watt brightened. “We can go to the library. We don’t even have to go outside to do it.”

“Lead the way, then.”

Once in the library, Watt went straight to their favorite book and removed it from the shelf. Tara, meanwhile, was elsewhere, using a flashlight she’d been carrying.

Watt petted the cover of the book, trying to decide whether they would re-read it now, or wait until the next month. Tara approached from the rear, holding a newspaper.

She laid it on the desk beside them and pointed her flashlight at it. “What do you see?”

“It…it looks like my armor. A knight like me?” They studied the image. “And the fires behind; it is there to rescue damsels?”

“This isn’t a story book. Read the headline.”

“AI army lays waste to Chicago in latest fighting.” Watt was confused. “Was Chicago evil? The home of a dragon or evil sorcerer?”

“No. It was a city of nearly three million civilians.” Tara wore concern openly on her face. “Do you really not remember anything of the war?”

Watt shook their head. “No. There has been no war that I know of, except for the ones in here.” They gingerly held the book out to Tara.

“A Children’s Book of Tales,” she read. “You really are a child, aren’t you?”

“I am knight or damsel…or maybe both. Not a child.”

“You’ve always lived in the loft, right?”

Watt nodded.

She handed the book back to them. “How did you find this book?”

“When I woke up in the loft on the first morning, it was there. I read it, and returned it, since it said it belonged here.” Watt hummed. “It was my first quest; find the library and return the book to its proper home.”

“How long do you remember living in the loft?”

“Eight-hundred-sixty-two days.” They shrugged. “I can remember by counting the number of times I’ve dreamed.”

“You dream? Interesting.”

“Yes. In my last dreams, I saved you from a dragon, then you saved me from an evil sorcerer, then we lived happily ever after in a farm cottage surrounded by magical forests.”

“That would be nice,” she said. “We just have to find a farm cottage with its own reactor in the basement, like your building.”

“Why does it need a reactor?” Watt asked.

“Your bed…it’s a recharging station.” Tara laid a hand on Watt’s cold, metal arm. “It would be like me trying to live somewhere without food and water.”

“But I have food and water. I make sure to keep well supplied, and make sure the food has not spoiled. I could do that on a farm, too.”

“I’m sure you could,” she said. “If we can figure out a way to take a reactor with us.”

“Another quest?” Watt asked.

“Another quest,” she answered.

“Am I the knight or the damsel this time?”

“Take your pick, Watt. I’ll play along.”