* For Alexandra Noseworthy who is beautiful and awesome and filled with light. 

They had once called her The Iron Maiden.

The name had been a misnomer. She carried an Épée. It was her sword of choice when fencing. It had a long blade and a thick almost bell shaped hand guard. The sword itself  was made from maraging steel to give it flexibility, not from iron.

When they started announcing the end of the world, Alexandra had taken matters into her own hands. If the world was going to end, she was going to be prepared. She was going to be armed. She forged a new Épée completely out of iron. It no longer had its flexibility, but could wound quite easily. It served her well in what the world had become.

As the world that was left began to heal, a dystopia rose up around her full of darkness and shadow. Alexandra had never killed anyone before but she learned quickly. It was kill or be killed in this new shadow world. That was the way of things now.

Soon, even the dystopian land around her crumbled until all that was ruins. Alexandra had survived only by skill and desperation. Everyone she had known or loved was gone from this world. All she had now were her wits and her Épée. She had no feeling left inside of her, only iron.

She was truly the Iron Maiden now.

The evening her world changed again, she was walking down what had once been a busy roadway. Cars and trucks were left where they had been standing like burnt out husks. Glass from shattered roadside lamps still littered the concrete like jewels that could draw blood.

As she walked by the cars sitting like fallen sentries on the road, she noticed that they all had numbers spray painted on the doors in bright red paint. The numbers were 666. She wondered what that meant.

She continued on down the road and saw the same numbers were spray painted everywhere. A chill ran down her spine. Alexandra didn’t know why three numbers should cause a tremor of fear to run down her spine, but she was afraid now.

As she continued to walk a little further, she began to sense that there was someone near by. She could always do this and it had saved her ass more than a few times. She stood there for a moment with her eyes closed, trying to pinpoint where the person was hiding.

Alexandra wasn’t surprised. There were lots of people still alive in what the world had become. She just didn’t know whether she would have to kill again until the person revealed themselves. As she was trying to sense where the person was, she heard footsteps and knew the person was close.

Opening her eyes, she took up the en garde position and waited. She didn’t have to wait long. As she watched, a shadow began to form into the shape of a man. Alexandra didn’t know how long he had watched her, how long he had observed her. It didn’t matter. All that did matter was defending herself so that she could survived another day.

She wasn’t prepared for him to pull his own Épée from the shadows and take up the en garde position. She knew from her fencing days that they would observe each other for a moment, trying to get the measure of each other. Looking at the shadow man, she couldn’t see his face but that didn’t matter. She relaxed her body, letting a sigh run through it and prepared to fight.

They were silent for a moment, for just a second, and then they were off. The man lunged at her with his Épée and she parry’d and lunged right back. They were a whirlwind of flashing blades and the clang of steel. This had always reminded Alexandra of music, each clang of sword a note on a musical score, the shuffling of feet like drums or cymbals.

She advanced on the man and lunged again and was able to dig the point of her Épée into his shoulder. He wasn’t expecting it and didn’t have time to parry. He let out a cry and stepped away from her, putting a hand to where Alexandra knew the blood was starting to flow.

“That fucking hurt.” He said. ” Épée’s aren’t supposed to draw blood like that.”

“I know.” Alexandra said. “This is one of my own making.”

The man regarded her and stepped out of shadow and into the light. He was short and lean which would be an advantage in the arena. He had dark hair that fell past his shoulders and large hazel eyes that were opened in surprise.

“Where did you learn to fence?”

“Here and there. What does it matter? None of that exists anymore.”

He smiled and Alexandra felt a flutter of something unknown to her move through her body. The ice within her melted a little bit for this man and she didn’t know why.

“True.” He said. He laid down the sword and held out his hand. “The name’s Bruce.”

She held out her own. “Alexandra.”

They shook hand and Alexandra experienced another tremor run through her, one of warmth and light that was unknown to her in this world of darkness and shadow. They stood there with hands clasped for a moment until a loud, horrifying roar filled the air.

Alexandra picked up her Épée. “What the fuck was that?” The roar had sent shivers down her spine.

“It’s the beast! Come on! We must hide!”

Bruce grabbed his own Épée and grabbed her free hand. They found a van that was still mostly in tact and slid inside it. Alexandra should have been worried about sharing such a cramped space with a stranger but didn’t. She had no idea what that meant but realised that she wanted to find out.

“What’s the beast?”

“Didn’t you see the number of the beast written all over the place? If I had been thinking clearly, I would have just left you be and run away.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I saw your Épée and figured you were a kindred spirit. It’s been so long since I’ve sparred with anyone.” He gave her a smile that she saw in the darkness of the van, a flash of white teeth that sent shivers though her body.

The air was ripped by another earth shattering howl. Alexandra shivered now for a completely different reason. “What is the beast?” She whispered.

“Some have said that he was once a man. I do not know, I’ve never seen it but have only heard it’s howls in the night.”

They heard another mournful howl and knew the beast was close. “It must smell us.” Alexandra said. “Do you think we’re safe here?”

“No, I don’t think we are.” Bruce replied.

“So what do we do?”

“Are you a fencer or not? We fight of course. It’s our only option.”

Bruce began to move away from her and out of the van and Alexandra had no choice but to follow. She slipped from the vehicle to see Bruce standing there, rigid and unmoving. She stood and saw why: the beast was standing before them.

It had the shape of a man but that was where the similarities ended. It was larger than a man and was covered in what could only be fur. Intelligent eyes regarded them widened with surprise and the only reason they were still alive was because they had taken the beast unawares. It had talon like claws at the end of each finger and sharp teeth that reached pas it’s jaw. There was blood dripping from the teeth and Alexandra wondered who the beast had killed.

She stood beside Bruce and wondered how she had survived in this world alone. She would not lose him. He took her hand and looked at her. She nodded and knew what he was going to say.

“En garde!” She screamed and they both lunged towards the beast.

 She took the next caller.

Sarah tried to remind herself to be kind to the person on the other end of the telephone. It wasn’t their fault that she was working this shit job. She tried to remember that; some days it was difficult however.

“Thank you for calling Maximus Internet, how may I help you today?”

Sarah heard the sound of bells on the other end of the line and then a voice said: “Hello? With whom am I speaking to?”

Thrown off for a moment, Sarah took a deep breath. It was going to be one of those days, she just knew it. “You called me sir. How may I help you?”

The man on the other end of the line laughed. It wasn’t a creepy old man laugh, so she was pretty sure he wasn’t going to talk dirty to her. What he said next threw her for a loop regardless.

“Is this Sarah? Sarah Duff? Did I dial the right number?”

She was instantly on her guard. “How did you get the direct number? Sir, this is a call centre, we help customers with their internet.” This came out in a rush of breath. Sarah was freaked now. There was no way the man should know her name.

“Oh, now, don’t worry dear, I just wanted to make sure I’ve gotten the right person. You are Sarah Duff, aren’t you? Oh elephant poop! I told them that an email might be easier, but they said it was too impersonal.”

“I’m sorry sir, but who are you?” And who said elephant poop instead of swearing? She was starting to doubt the sanity of the man on the other end of the telephone line.

“Oh, now you’re all uncomfortable! Of course, where are my manners? My name is Greyhound Clivedale Rivington Johnson the Third, but you can just call me Greyhound. I’m calling to offer you something wonderful.”

Sarah was put off. Why did she always get the crazy people? She’d had three over the phone marriage proposals, one woman who called to talk about her cats different bowl movements, one man who talked like a parrot and a girl who told Sarah that her mother wanted to take the family on a vacation to Mars.

It took all kinds, but why did they always have to get through on her phone? “Sir, do you have a problem with your internet?”

“Oh, you can call me Greyhound, I thought I already said that. Darn this infernal contraption! Can you hear me clearly? HELLO?”

“You’re coming through loud and clear Mr. Johnson.”

“Call me Greyhound dear, Mr. Johnson makes me sound like a packaged ham or some meat product. You are Sarah Duff, aren’t you? At least answer me that. You have nothing to be afraid of, dear.”

Despite this being the weirdest call she had ever gotten, even above the family vacationing on Mars, she relented. “Yes Greyhound. I’m Sarah.”

“Excellent!” There was the sound of bells again. Sarah wondered where he was calling from. “Most excellent. Now I won’t take but a moment of your time. I wanted to tell you that you’ve been chosen for something wonderful.”

“What would that be? Why are you calling me?”

“Oh now, I’m getting to that. You’ve been chosen you see. We do this all the time and it’s never the same person twice. It’s your turn now, isn’t that wonderful?”

“Chosen for what? This isn’t some sort of cult is it?”

“Oh goodness no! We’re giving you  the chance of lifetime! Something that most people don’t ever get to see!”

“And what’s that, exactly?”

“Oh, now I hear you closing your mind, you mustn’t do that. What I have to show you will be amazing. Look at your computer screen.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Just look, Sarah. It’s nothing horrible. It’s magic made visible.”

Sarah heard another sound of bells in her ear as she turned towards the screen. Gone were her documents and files. Instead, it was as if her computer monitor had become a window to another world.

She saw a bright blue sky filled with white clouds. There was a field of grass dotted with white flowers. If she squinted at the screen, she could pretend she was there. “It’s beautiful.”

“Don’t you recognize it, Sarah? It’s from your memory.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s the place where you were happiest as a child. Don’t you remember it?”

Sarah thought for a moment and the memory burst into her mind. She remembered her mother, the smell of the flowers and the scent of the wind. “It was where we went when I was twelve. It was such a beautiful summer.”

“You carry that meadow inside of you. Haven’t you ever wondered where you go when you dream?”

“If I’ve dreamt of it, didn’t I recognize it at first?”

“People don’t always remember their dreams when they re-enter the waking world Sarah.”

“Then why show it to me now? What’s this chance you were talking about?”

“The chance to gain wisdom. The chance to remember that you carry your happiness inside of you, that the child you were is still alive and well. That regaining that happiness you had as a child is still possible.”

As she watched the screen she saw herself as a child, running into the field, her arms raised to the sky. She heard the sound of her laughter and it filled her with a brightness that defied description.

“I think I’ve forgotten what it was like to be that happy.”

“Your inner child hasn’t forgotten. You have to embrace her again, learn what it’s like to live with happiness. To truly live life again instead of just exist.”

Tears were welling in Sarah’s eyes but they weren’t from sadness. They were tears of joy. Sarah didn’t know she had so much joy in her. “Thank you Greyhound. Thank you.”

“Oh, don’t thank me, Sarah. You’re the one who has held on to your inner child, even if you didn’t know it. I just showed you what was inside of you.”

There was another tinkle of chimes and the sound made the brightness inside of her grow. “What’s with the bells, Greyhound?”

“Oh, you know, every time a bell rings and all that. Now I have one final gift for you. Reach into the screen.”

“What? You can’t do that.”

“Says the woman who thought her inner child was dead and gone. Do this for  me, please.”

Sarah nodded, even though the angel couldn’t see her. She reached out with trembling fingers and was shocked when they didn’t meet resistance. The screen changed then and all she saw was one of the white flowers. She wrapped her hand around the stem without being told and pulled her hand back out holding on to the flower.

Except, when her hand came out of the monitor it went dark and sitting in the palm of her hand was a broach. It was in the shape of the white flower. She remembered its name then. “A trillium.” She said.

“They stand for a lot of things. Purity, ambition, the trinity. For you, Sarah, they represent your childhood. They are a reminder that who you were as a child is not gone. That anything you dream is possible.”

“Thank you, so much. I don’t really know how to repay you.”

“You can repay me by living your life instead of lamenting what you thought it would be. Will you do that?”

“Yes, yes I will.”

“Then we’re all good. Now go live your life, Sarah. It’s been waiting for you.”

She heard one more final sound of bells before the line went silent. The ringing of bells were in her heart, however, and she was filled with their music. The first thing she was going to do was try and find a field of flowers and run through it.

She pinned the trillium broach to the front of her blouse and answered the next call.

“Thank you for calling Maximus Internet. How can I make your day more awesome?”

Dedicated to Sarah Duff who is awesome.