Cassie awoke to find herself in a faded My Little Pony T-shirt and a pair of beat-up lacrosse shorts. She was reclining in an Adirondack chair, the ground around her strewn with fall leaves and squashed crab apples. She recognized the hilly vista before her as the view behind her grandparents’ country home upstate, where she used to visit all the time when she was little. The air smelled aggressively of fall, like fresh Macintosh apples and campfires dialed up to eleven.
Cassie yawned and stretched. Wasn't she doing something, important? Something about work, and coffee?
She picked up the book on the side table next to her and did a double-take when she saw the title: Demon Bound and Other Stories, by Dr. Serenus Zeitbloom.
"Nice place," said Sam, and Cassie realized that he was in the Adirondack chair next to her, the one usually reserved for her Grandpa Earl. Seeing him, details of the situation at the Daily Grind began to come back to her, slowly.
"What are we doing here?" she asked, pulling her bare knees up to her chest.
Sam didn't look at her. "Your brain can't process what's happening to you right now, so it's drawn this place for you. Not the typical defense mechanism, but it's a good one, I think."
"Oh," she said, feeling dumb. It would help if she could remember more. "So are you really here, or are you like...the voice of my inner child or something?"
Sam sputtered. "No, I am not your inner child, where do you get this stuff," he muttered. "I'm here because my mind isn't a happy camper right now either, and this is as good a place to relax for a few minutes as any," he said quietly. "I hope it doesn't bother you."
Cassie shook her head; even though this place came from her memories, she didn't feel territorial. It felt right to share it. She supposed, now that he'd told her she wasn't really there— the body she could see in the faded T-shirt and shorts wasn't really her— everything should feel less realistic, but if anything it was the opposite. In a sudden chilly, late-October breeze, Cassie shivered, watching the flesh of her arms and thighs break out into goose bumps. It couldn't be any more real.
"Also, I have a question for you," he said, turning towards her. She noticed his eyes were back to their typical mahogany color. She supposed that was probably how he chose to look, when he had a choice. "Are you human? Have any odd relatives that disappear into ether sometimes? Because if you're not, now would be a real good time to tell me."
"Of course I'm human," she said, self-awareness breaking through the current cloudiness of her mind long enough for her to notice that she sounded defensive. "Why wouldn't I be?"
He sighed. "Because I didn't get what I was expecting when I tapped into you. I was afraid I wouldn't have enough magic even with the three of you— humans have magic, but usually not much. Now I have more than enough just from you, but I'm afraid to use it, because I'm not sure if it's going to work properly. If your energy is from some kind of fae or mystical abomination, I could just kill all of us, or worse."
"I am not an abomination!" she shouted. She would have gotten up out of her chair and walked over to yell in his face, but with the cloudiness in her head, it was hard to move. "I'm human, and if I have a lot of magic, well, I guess I'm just awesome that way or something. Stop always assuming the worst about me."
He laughed, mirthlessly. "You're right. It's not like I really have a choice at this point." He got up from the chair, brushing bits of leaves off of his pants. "Listen, assuming you come through this in one piece, I want you to know that I'm sorry. I don't know if I'll be able to tell you that in the real world."
"Sorry for what?" Cassie asked, but then he was gone. Shrugging, she picked up the book. Reading on her grandparents’ front porch was one of her favorite things in the world, and despite the fact that it was a little chilly, she was happy to be here. She wasn't going to let her sour co-worker ruin the opportunity for her. Whatever Sam had been babbling about could wait.