The Gender Fall

  Alex recovered quickly from the "nudge" and, upon straightening, immediately scanned the crowd for Natalie. She’d been longer than he’d expected her to be.

  He spotted her as she stepped out of the house, looking a little flushed. Just as she began making her way toward the pool, he noticed something behind her that made him do a double take.

  In a sea of flashy colors and swirling lights, the figure behind Natalie was almost comically different. Dressed all in gray, tattered clothes, the man stood three full hands taller than the girl he followed, who was seemingly oblivious to his presence, though she turned in his direction. His long fingers clasped and unclasped in front of him, stretching out toward her, and his chin tilted out as his papery lips moved as if to whisper. He moved slowly, hunching over and then straightening, swiveling his head back and forth.

  "What the…?” Alex breathed, and jolted forward—just in time to collide with two dancing couples who swerved in front of him, blocking Natalie from view. When he searched for her again, to his surprise, she was moving toward the opposite side of the pool.

  The man was still following her.

  Alex surged ahead, grabbing Phil as he passed by him. “Hey, who's that weird guy following Natalie?” he asked, pulling him along.

  "Uh, what?" Phil said, blinking. He looked where Alex did. "You mean Ben? He's not following her, he's just—"

  Alex shook his head. Ben was following her, using the pretense of walking over to the drink stand, but that was beside the point. “Not Ben. That tall man in rags!”

  “Rags?” repeated Phil, now sounding utterly confused. “I don’t see any…”

  The figure was following Natalie along the side of the pool now. Nobody else seemed to be reacting to his presence.

  Alex left Phil behind and continued pushing past people.

  He had his answer: either nobody else could see the figure, or they were pretending they couldn't. Possible explanations flashed rapidly through his mind—it was a prank, it was a trick of the light, he'd been drugged—as he cut through the crowd, trying to keep Natalie in view. The worst-case scenario was that the girl had been in this country less than a day before managing to pick up a creepy stalker. And he'd promised to look out for her.

  She was just around the pool's corner from him, just through another throng of people. He had almost reached her, but before he could push through, there came an enormous splash, followed by whoops of laughter. The crowd tightened around the pool, hollering and cheering, and he lost sight of Natalie once again. He craned his neck, but the teeming mass of people was now impossible to penetrate. Panic rose in his throat, humming there like a swarm of bees.

  Suddenly, Natalie slipped through the crowd, appearing quickly at his side with a look of concern on her face.

  "Natalie!" Alex sighed, trying not to appear too relieved. There was no sign of a figure in rags anywhere around her. It must have been some bizarre hallucination after all.

  "That poor boy!" she exclaimed anxiously. "Did you see? The big one, right there, he just threw him in."

  She gestured beside them, where a fully clothed Terry floundered pathetically, presumably dumped there by Josh. His embarrassment would be all over social media within seconds, judging by the dozens of phones aiming their bright flashes at him.

  Alex bent to the pool, offering Terry his hand. "Come on, I'll help you up. Just ignore these guys."

  Terry clutched at him, trembling a little, and ended up half-soaking Alex, too. He hauled the bedraggled boy out of the pool, sitting him down away from the thinning crowd.

  He stood up, and while Natalie made sure Terry was okay, he found himself looking around again for the apparition to make sure it hadn’t reappeared. It hadn’t, but the experience had left a queasy feeling in Alex’s stomach he couldn’t shake. What had caused the hallucination?

  They’d been at the party for over two hours, and now that Terry had managed to soak his clothes, Alex figured he had a legitimate excuse to suggest they head back now.

  He’d expected Natalie to be disappointed by the prospect, but as she turned away from Terry to face him, her face was traced with exhaustion—a stark contrast to the bright, well-rested girl he’d arrived with.

  “Shall we leave now?” she suggested. “I’m tired.”

  “Yes,” Alex replied, already leading her back to the house. “Let’s leave.”

  Bonus Chapter 4

  Natalie stayed in her room for almost the entire next day, chilling and trying to fight off jet lag, presumably. Alex’s mom thought it was a wise use of the rest of the weekend and hoped she’d feel fresh for school on Monday.

  Alex slept in later than usual too, and then took the opportunity to catch up on his homework and spend some time on his business. The apparition at the party still bothered him, but he figured that, whatever it was, it was unlikely to happen again so he should just forget about it.

  On Monday morning, Natalie was looking sprightly again. He drove her to school and guided her to the reception, where he left her to have a meeting with the school’s exchange program liaison.

  Then he made his way to the classroom where his first lesson of the day—history—was due to be held, and found it empty. He sat down and pulled out a book on marketing, which he read while students trickled in, until Colin sat down next to him and started telling him about a surprise weekend camping trip his parents had taken him on.

  When their teacher Mrs. Lambert arrived, she was followed by Natalie, who waved at him.

  And then the gray thing in rags stepped in behind her.

  Alex almost choked on his tongue.

  It was the same as before. Its skin was still sickly gray beneath the bright, fluorescent glare, the rags hanging off it yellowing and frayed, fluttering in an unseen wind. Alex’s eyes bulged as the claw-like hand raked slowly through the air, reaching for Natalie, clasping for the back of her head.

  This can’t be happening.

  He glanced quickly around, but once again, nobody else seemed to notice anything was wrong, and the thing in rags slid into the room after Natalie. Mrs. Lambert tied her graying shoulder-length hair back in a ponytail, introduced Natalie to the class, and then grabbed a marker. Alex gaped as she calmly wrote out the day’s lesson plan on the whiteboard, then quickly looked back to see the thing shuffling along in Natalie’s wake, following her to an open desk before hunching to whisper in her ear.

  Somehow, seeing this creature here, in a perfectly ordinary classroom he visited every day, right in front of Mrs. Lambert, unnerved him even more than seeing it at the party. He must be out of his mind. Hallucinating—definitely, yes, but why was his hallucination so…specific? So focused on Natalie?

  Mrs. Lambert began the lesson, oblivious to the corpse-like figure whispering into her pupil’s ear. Alex, mind whirling, did his best to follow her lecture, but couldn’t refrain from shooting his eyes over to Natalie every few seconds.

  The thing didn’t move much, save for its lips. It crouched now, rags spilling out around its feet like a pool of gray liquid, jagged hands grasping the sides of Natalie’s desk. It was whispering incessantly, almost feverishly, into Natalie’s ear, and caressing the desk as it spoke.

  “Alex?”

  Alex blinked, looking up. Mrs. Lambert was smiling at him expectantly, her marker held between two fingers.

  “Yes?”

  She looked a little surprised. “I was just asking,” she said, “if you could explain to the class what the Hobbesian state of nature is?”

  In the corner of Alex’s eye, the thing’s lips were fluttering as it whispered, as distracting as the buzzing of a fly. He answered Mrs. Lambert absentmindedly, his attention on the apparition.

  “Hobbesian…yes.” He ran a hand through his hair, trying not to look at Natalie. “Ah, philosopher Thomas Hobbes deduced in the seventeenth century that man’s natural state is one of equality, but believed this equality to take the form of…of continuous warfare. Since man is naturally pitted ag
ainst his fellows, Hobbes argued in favor of embracing a strong sovereign, with absolute…power”—he cut his eyes at the ragged thing—“seeing this as the only possible way to avoid constant bloodshed and, um, civil war. Though it seems extreme, one must remember that he wrote Leviathan, in which this theory is expressed, during…during the English Civil War, a particularly bloody time in England’s history.”

  Mrs. Lambert beamed. “Excellent, Alex. Very well put. Would anyone like to expand on Alex’s answer?”

  Chris, a ginger-haired boy with a slash of freckles across the bridge of his nose, eagerly raised his hand. Alex glanced back to Natalie, unable to push the hallucination from his mind. He heard a bunch of girls whispering and giggling behind him, clearly thinking their conversation private. They seemed highly interested in the attention he was paying Natalie, but he ignored them, gritting his teeth, refusing to look at the hallucination again, trying to focus solely on the lesson.

  Chris was just finishing his answer. “Therefore,” he said, voice whistling out through his teeth, “when lived alone, life is nasty, brutish, and short.”

  Mrs. Lambert nodded, turning back to the board and writing the three words: Nasty. Brutish. Short.

  “And, can anyone tell me the Latin phrase Hobbes used to describe this? Alex, I’m sure you know it; go ahead.”

  Alex paused a moment. Natalie was starting to lean listlessly to the side, head drooping toward the figure beside her. It tensed, flexing its long, pale fingers.

  “Bellum omnium contra omnes,” he answered, not taking his eyes from Natalie.

  Mrs. Lambert made some exclamation of praise, but Alex wasn’t listening. He knew the figure wasn’t real, wasn’t anything, but he felt chilled to the bone nonetheless. It was cradling her head now, pulling her close to its chest, running its hands over her as if excited.

  Natalie raised a limp hand. “Excuse me, I…I don’t think I’m feeling well,” she said, her voice oddly toneless. “Is there a nurse?”

  “Why, yes, Natalie,” Mrs. Lambert replied, looking concerned. “You do look a bit unwell. Her office is just at the end of this hallway—turn left and it’s only six doors along.”

  Alex shot to his feet, shoving his books into his bag and saying, “Mrs. Lambert, I should probably go with her.”

  “Oh, I think Natalie can find her way,” the teacher replied with a knowing smile, and Alex stopped.

  He stared as Natalie left without glancing back at him, and the dread hallucination trailed after her, still whispering, its hands now at her forehead, stroking down her spine.

  The giggles that broke out behind him sounded manic in comparison, making the scene even more surreal.

  Of course, he told himself firmly, Natalie didn’t need help finding the nurse’s office. She was probably just still tired, her body adjusting to the new environment. Maybe she’d even caught a mild bug. There was nothing to worry about.

  And, for some reason, I’m just still hallucinating.

  He set his bag down and dropped back into his seat, watching as the door closed through the end of the thing’s rags. Class continued as normal, though without further involvement from him.

  Bonus Chapter 5

  Alex made his way quickly between the rows of lockers that made up the halls of Middledale High. The other students bustled around him, chattering loudly as they grabbed books from their lockers and made their way to their next classes.

  But Alex had no intention of going to his next class. He was heading straight to the nurse’s office to see if Natalie was still there. It was an irrational thing to do, checking on Natalie. He was obviously having profound mental issues, and it could prove drastic to involve someone else.

  But as much as he’d tried to reassure himself that this was all in his head, he just couldn’t rid himself of the feeling that something horrible was happening to her, right now. Mrs. Lambert had seen Natalie was unwell too, when earlier this morning she’d looked fine. That wasn’t just his imagination.

  He found himself speeding to a trot, and soon approached the door to the nurse’s office, which was shut. He remembered just in time that he should knock, and rapped quickly before bursting into the small room.

  The creature in rags was standing less than two feet from him, with one hand at the small of Natalie’s back. Alex sucked in a sharp breath, and with it came the vague taste of dirt, and something wet. He almost gagged, staring. He’d never been this close to the thing before. Seeing it now, he could tell just how dilapidated its clothes were. They weren’t just tattered, but filthy. Streaks of dirt, and something dark and red, slashed along the back, and the loose sleeves were heavy with rot. Blue veins wrapped around the tendons in its wrists, standing out starkly through its papery skin, and it kept up an incessant, hissing whisper.

  It was extraordinarily visceral for a hallucination.

  Natalie didn’t even seem to have noticed him enter the room, sitting in the nurse’s chair with her head buried in her hands. Her glossy black hair spilled out between her fingers, cascading down about her knees. The thing stood as still as death, its torn gray clothes fluttering lightly around it.

  “Natalie?”

  Her head jerked up, eyes wide and staring, and she forced a weak smile.

  “Hi. Alex.” Her voice sounded remote.

  “I just wanted to check on you,” he said uncertainly. “How are you feeling?”

  “Oh. Not well. I…can’t be…here anymore.” Her speech was oddly staggered, coming out in short bursts. Very unlike the exuberant, talkative girl he knew her to be.

  If he had hoped seeing her would reassure him, he was sorely disappointed. She seemed worse than ever, worn down, drained of all personality. At her side, the thing turned in Alex’s direction and shifted slightly beneath its rags.

  “Do you think you’re sick?” Alex pressed, keeping an eye on the hallucination.

  “I think I’m…sick,” she said lifelessly.

  The thing stopped its indecipherable whispering and abruptly took a step toward Alex, removing its hand from Natalie’s back to shuffle over to him. It moved its head back and forth, as if searching him out. Alex took an involuntary step back, horrified despite himself, his heart beating faster.

  “Alex?” said Natalie, in a voice that was suddenly more her own. “Are you okay?”

  “Y-Yes, I’m fine,” he managed. Act natural. She doesn’t know you’re hallucinating.

  It drew closer, but didn’t seem to see him, apparently staring right through him to the door at his back. For the first time, Alex could fully make out its face. The glassy eyes were like the night sky, black and full of stars. Its hollow cheeks were dusted with a short, bristling beard, and its patchy gray hair hung down in lank locks. There was a soft noise as its fetid clothes dragged upon the ground behind it.

  “Okay.” Natalie gave a weak laugh. “The nurse just had to take a phone call, but she’ll be back in a minute. So…what are you doing in here? Are you feeling sick too?” She tilted her head a little. “And what are you staring at?”

  “N-Nothing,” he said. He forced his eyes back to her and saw a little more color in her cheeks. “And yes—I mean, no, I’m feeling fine. I just wanted to check on you.”

  “You shouldn’t be here,” rasped the hallucination with a soft sound of irritation.

  That was the final straw for Alex. “What?” he snapped, turning on the thing.

  “Huh?” Natalie frowned.

  He whirled on her, running both hands quickly through his hair.

  “Alex,” she said cautiously, “are you sure you’re feeling okay? You’re acting…quite insane.”

  Yes, he was acting insane. He felt insane.

  “Natalie, don’t you see this man?” he finally burst out. He jumped forward and pointed at the figure, now moving slowly back to her side. She recoiled a little and looked blankly where he indicated.

  “Man?”

  “He’s standing right next to you. He’s reaching toward you. Right ther
e.”

  Natalie looked alarmed, even a little afraid. She grew very still as the thing replaced its hand at her back, the energy seeming to fade from her limbs again.

  “Alex…” Her lifeless tone returned. “I…I think I have to go. Home.” She rose gracefully and walked to the door. “I…hope you feel better.” Alex gaped as the thing followed her out, one hand at her back again.

  “Don’t interfere,” hissed the hallucination before continuing its low whisper.

  “Home?” Alex exclaimed, rushing after them into the crowded hallway. “We can’t go home without permission, I’ll need to—”

  Two things happened at once: the gray man disappeared, and Natalie—as if struck by a bolt of electricity—lurched forward into a swarm of students, vanishing from Alex’s view.

  “Natalie!” Alex called, his voice drowned out by the loud chattering. He pushed past students to chase after her, but when he got through the crowd and reached the other, sparser end of the hallway, she was nowhere in sight. Alex felt a breeze and looked to his left.

  The side door was open.

  He sprinted to it and slipped out, emerging in the parking lot at the front of the school. He looked around for Natalie, but still couldn’t see her. She must have left the compound already.

  What in the world was going through her head? Alex couldn’t even begin to fathom it.

  He hurried through the parking lot exit and scanned the adjoining road. He figured, if she really did remember the way back to his house, she would have taken the first left down Jamesdon Street, so he dashed directly to it.

  His instinct had been correct. He spotted her about halfway down, though she had slowed to a walk and appeared to be moving with purpose toward Ellis Street, which ran perpendicular to Jamesdon Street.

  The gray thing was with her.

  Everything about it clashed with the placid, beautiful street. Amid the suburban houses, its eerie aura seemed almost to glow, warping the features around him into strange mockeries of their original forms. Trees seemed to loom, branches looked more like claws, and houses that had felt normal moments before now seemed to contain eerie lights.