22. Unexpected Reunions

Lammy's unfit body had a tough time keeping up with the agile Ryan and Zayza as they all ran through the dark cave pathway. Their frantic footsteps filled the stone hallway with echoes.

They could see the exit's light much sooner than when Lammy and Zayza had passed through the path that led to Politician Town, but this was mostly due to their rushed pace. Soon enough, Ryan had reached the opening. He stopped just before it and turned to face Zayza and Lammy.

Zayza reached Ryan effortlessly and began running her hands through her hair to make sure it stayed orderly. Meanwhile, Lammy wheezed as he hauled himself over to the two. He eventually joined them, pausing to catch his breath.

"Okay, I don't think anyone followed us," Ryan decided, looking past Zayza and Lammy to check. He snickered. "They probably can't until they pass another law that allows them to. I'd say the coast is clear."

"That was riveting," Zayza told him. "The last time I had a nice little run like that was…was…oh goodness, I forgot I don't have my memories…"

"Well I hope you guys are ready to run a lot more," began Ryan, "'Cuz we're gonna need to if we wanna get through this next place."

I guess this is it for me, then…Lammy thought, still catching his breath.

"Oh no, why is that?" Zayza asked.

"You know how you guys were asking Block 7A Vice Assistant Secretary Cook if you were in the 'Town of Many Bloodsucking Parasites?" he reminded them.

Zayza and Lammy nodded uneasily.

"The thing is, this next town really is the Town of Many Bloodsucking Parasites," he explained soberly.

"Oh no! How horrifying!" Zayza exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Seriously?!" Lammy asked with terror.

Ryan suddenly burst out laughing. "Not really, I'm just kidding," he told them in between laughs. "I just wanted to see your reactions. They were priceless! Especially yours," he said to Zayza. "You were all…" He mimicked Zayza's troubled expression and covered his mouth as she had, but more dramatically.

"Oh…I actually believed you!" Zayza said smilingly as she joined in on Ryan's laughter.

Lammy glared at both of them, unimpressed.

"All right, sorry," said Ryan, cooling down. "But really, this place is where I lived before I got stuck in Politician Town. Man, I haven't been here for three years. Well, come on in!" With that, Ryan entered his apparent hometown.

Zayza turned to Lammy before following Ryan. "He's pretty funny, huh?" she said to him.

"Yeah…hysterical," Lammy agreed emptily.

Together they entered this new place, and what lay before them immediately filled them with awe. It was much more expansive than Food Town and Politician Town—in fact, it was just about four times the size of both of them combined. Rectangular lights that hung from various points of the distant ceiling kept this massive section of the cave extremely well it.

The vivid lighting revealed stone walkways throughout the area that were neat and organized, but not gridded like the roads in Politician Town. These walkways led to various gray and bluish buildings of many sizes, seemingly made out of the stones from the cave and mountain. Some were wide and rectangular, while others were tall, with many floors. They had sturdy wooden doors and glass windows.

People filled the whole place, either walking about, mingling, or sitting on one of the multiple stone benches set along the walkways. Most of them looked to be in their twenties, and like Ryan, many carried bags and devices similar to his "laptop" while others lugged around thick, hardcover books.

A central, particularly wide walkway ran down the middle of the sizeable establishment, and it was the most occupied pathway. Numerous light blue banners stood symmetrically along both sides of the road, with the letters "CTC" printed in white.

"Wow…" Zayza uttered as she took it all in.

"It's so good to be back!" Ryan exclaimed. "Welcome to my real home: College Town College! It's the only town in this cavern that doubles as a college campus."

Whoa…So this is a college… Lammy thought. This must be where Mariel is trying to go.

"A college?" Zayza repeated. "So people can actually study here?"

"That's right!" Ryan confirmed. "It's a registered college for Realistic Fiction Country. Anyone can apply to come here and get a degree. I came here as a computer engineering major…and I hope they'll take me back after all this time…"

"I'm sure they'll understand," said Zayza. "It wasn't your fault you were gone for—"

"Ryan!" someone shouted from within the campus. Soon they saw a young man running eagerly towards them from a nearby building he had just exited. He was dressed a lot like Ryan, but was taller and bulkier, and had curly blonde hair.

Ryan beamed. "Cheese!" he yelled back, now darting towards his friend.

'Cheese?' wondered Lammy. What kind of name is 'Cheese?'

Ryan and Cheese met somewhere in the middle on the wide walkway, embracing each other in a macho hug. Zayza and Lammy rushed to catch up to Ryan and stood to the side.

"Bro, where the heck have you been?!" Cheese asked Ryan, shaking his friend's shoulders violently. "It's been three freaking years!"

Ryan laughed. "It's alright, calm down, Cheese! When I went to Politician Town to get some research done, they like, blocked everyone off from leaving! I legit just got out of that place! Dude, never go there. Ever."

"Trust me, I wasn't planning on it," Cheese reassured him. "But man, I gotta say: I miss having you as a roommate. I've been rooming with Nate since sophomore year, and dude…the guy smells. He smells really bad. Anyways, aren't you gonna introduce me to your friends?"

"Oh! Right!" Ryan remembered. He gestured for Lammy and Zayza to come closer. They joined the two college boys quietly. "This is Zayza and…uh…"

"Lammy," Lammy finished, a bit annoyed.

"Right," said Ryan. "They got stuck in Politician Town like me, so I helped bail them out. The exit was blocked off with wood, so all it took was a good hammer and some stealth."

Hammer? But he used his laptop thing to blow up the planks, Lammy noted. Then he remembered: Ryan had asked him and Zayza not to mention what he did to anyone.

Did his own friend not even know about his consciousness abilities?

"Cool," Cheese said, but his interest had already shifted. He abruptly edged closer to Zayza with a gentle gleam in his gaze. "Hey, doll. I like that beanie of yours. Very tasteful," he said coolly. "If you ever apply to CTC, I'd love to show you the ropes around here."

Zayza stared back at him with a flustered blankness. "Um…thank you," she said both politely and uncomfortably.

Ryan sighed. "Cheese, not now," he said with embarrassment. Ryan grabbed Cheese by the back of his collar and pulled him away from Zayza. "Sorry," he told Zayza. "If you were wondering, that's why we call him Cheese: he's the cheesiest guy on campus."

"Not true!" Cheese denied. "Blake is way worse! You missed it: last year he told Andrea…"

Ryan continued to drag Cheese along the stone path as Cheese energetically recited his story.

"Come on, I'll show you guys around," Ryan told Zayza and Lammy while ignoring his friend.

They followed Ryan and Cheese around as they traveled throughout the campus. Lammy found the layout and concept of this school fascinating. The idea of dorms, where students would live together without any parental guidance, sounded wild. But he was most interested in the large buildings dedicated to different areas of study.

The only thing he was disappointed not to find was a building dedicated to studying consciousness powers. If they had that, he would be in there in a heartbeat. He knew there must be so much more to learn, but it seemed this town was like Food Town: consciousnesses were unknown.

As the tour neared the other side of the campus, they entered a more recreational section. To the back of the campus, there was a court for a sport Lammy had never seen before. Benches meant to seat lots of people were on either side of it. Other sporting areas were laid out beside the court with other activities Lammy didn't recognize. The only familiar one was at the other side of the campus: archery. Some students were over there shooting targets with bows and arrows.

Throughout the tour, Lammy noticed that Ryan was focusing most of his energy towards Zayza. It was as if this tour was explicitly for her while Lammy and Cheese just happened to be tagging along.

Apparently, Lammy wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Hey Lenny," Cheese said, leaning down to him discretely as they all walked.

"Lammy," Lammy corrected.

"Yeah, that. I think my bro's really got a thing for your friend," he said quietly. "I've never seen him get like this."

Lammy and Cheese watched Zayza and Ryan as they walked before them. They were immersed in their own conversation, looking at each other more than the campus Ryan was supposedly showing her. They would both laugh when one shared a joke—no matter how unfunny it was.

"No wonder he didn't let me hit on her…" Cheese commented. "But it's all good, I'm happy for the dude!"

"Hmm," said Lammy as he pretended not to care.

Cheese stared at Lammy for a moment, seeming to pick up on his pretense. "You okay? You seem kind of ticked…" observed Cheese, leaning even closer with an analytical gaze that made Lammy step away with unease.

"Wait…you're not…" Cheese sprung back upright, bringing a fist to his mouth in shock. "You're not…her boyfriend, are you? Are you like, one of those guys who looks like he's only a kid but he's actually twenty?!?! I knew it! Dude, this is mad awkward! I'll get this straightened out—don't worry!"

"Wait—what?" Lammy wondered. "No!"

Ryan and Zayza turned to look at them in synchronization.

"What are you guys talking about back there?" Ryan asked with a laugh. "Come on! I'm gonna show them the caf. I bet some old friends will be there!"

'Calf?' Why would everyone be hanging out around a baby cow? Lammy thought. College people sure seemed weird.

It only took a few moments before Lammy realized that "caf" was just an abbreviation of "cafeteria." They neared a square plaza towards the center of College Town College. There were tables in the center area, and on the outer rims rested several stations with light-up signs above them indicating different types of food and drink. Workers—many of whom appeared to be college students—operated each zone. The food stations reminded Lammy of the setup in Food Town, only these were smaller and simpler.

Students filled the food court both physically and sonically: this was the loudest section of CTC they had been to so far. Voices occupied the air with conversations and laughter as everyone socialized and ate together.

"Welcome to our cafeteria," Ryan announced, mostly to Zayza.

"If you can help it, don't eat here. The food sucks," Cheese chimed in.

"Let's see…" began Ryan, scoping out the plaza. "Oh! There's a bunch of people over there!" He led the other three to one of the circular tables to the edge of the eating area.

There sat about eight college students, some men and some women, who immediately recognized Ryan with happily shocked expressions. Many of them sprung to their feet and ran over to him, surrounding and cutting him off from Zayza, Cheese and Lammy. Together Ryan's friends made the cafeteria even louder with their exclamations of joy, questions about his three-year absence, and multiple other excited statements.

"Wow, Ryan seems to have quite a lot of friends," Zayza noticed. Then she suddenly became anxious. "Um—not that I'm surprised, because he seems like a very likeable person…Um—not that I…I mean…"

Cheese laughed calmly. "I know what you mean. Yeah, coming from his roommate, he's an awesome guy."

The circle of students encompassing Ryan abruptly opened up when Ryan mentioned something about his new friends. Ryan introduced each of his many acquaintances to Lammy and Zayza, whose names Lammy failed to keep track of.

"…And this is Zayza and…um…" Ryan started.

"Lammy," corrected Lammy once more.

"What's a kid like you doing all the way out here in the caves?" one friend asked with a smile.

Lammy blushed, noticing everyone's attention was on him. "Oh, um—I'm just…trying to get home," he struggled to say.

"We're grateful for Ryan's special talents," added Zayza, "Thanks to him, we can continue our journey. You have a good friend."

"Special talents? Ryan, you have special talents?" another friend asked teasingly, and the rest laughed.

Ryan joined in loudly with more abrupt, false laughter. "Yeah good one, Matt! You know me: not talented at all!" He darted over to Lammy and Zayza, facing away from everyone else. "Can you guys come talk for a second?" Ryan asked apprehensively. Before awaiting an answer, he rushed away from everyone, off to the side of the food court.

Lammy and Zayza exchanged puzzled glances. They shrugged and followed him. Soon they arrived at the quieter corner where Ryan nervously awaited them. His laidback demeanor had vanished, replaced with a stern and slightly fearful expression.

"What's wrong, Ryan? Are you alright?" Zayza asked him with concern.

"Yeah," answered Ryan. "It's just…these guys don't know about my…skills. You can't really talk about consciousnesses and stuff around here. This is one of those zones where consciousnesses aren't supposed to use their powers."

"Oh, I'm sorry…I meant to be subtle," said Zayza.

Ryan dismissed it with a smile. "It's all good."

"So…you are one then, right?" Lammy quietly pressed. "A consciousness?"

"Yeah," Ryan answered—but he seemed uneasy. "Well, sort of…it's…kind of complicated…" He glanced at Zayza with a strange fear in his eyes.

"How so?" wondered Zayza.

Ryan continued to look at her, appearing incredibly troubled. He opened his mouth to speak, but instead closed it. "I…" he managed to mutter, but again his attempt failed.

"Oh dear—if it hurts that much to explain, please don't feel compelled to," Zayza told him. "I'm sorry if our being here is causing you trouble…"

"No, please stop," Ryan uttered quickly. "It's not you. The thing is…it's that…oh, for the love of—I can't do this anymore!" he exclaimed, turning away sharply and looking up with his hands on his head. It was like he was being interrogated. Suddenly, he turned back and looked at Zayza and Lammy intensely. "You guys need to get out of here. You can't stay here," he instructed them. "You have to leave this place now."

"What?" Lammy questioned.

"Did we do something wrong?" Zayza asked him.

"NO!" Ryan barked. He looked around briefly, and then tried to contain himself once more. "No, Zayza. Please, you need to leave. The longer you stay here, the bigger chance you'll be in serious danger. Just trust me—there's still plenty of time for you to get away if you go now."

"I believe you should reevaluate the validity of that statement, Ryan," someone declared in a remarkably calm voice. It had come from one of the cafeteria tables.

Ryan looked past Lammy and Zayza towards the voice, with complete terror in his eyes. Alarmed, Lammy and Zayza turned to see who had spoken to them.

Their hearts skipped several beats, and immediately dread began to melt their insides. At a nearby table sat the two men who had tried to kidnap Zayza and kill Lammy back in No Man's Land near Tailpiece. They recognized the duo instantly: the tall, slender one with overly stylized pale blond hair in well-fitted formal clothing, and the hunched-over man in tattered black clothing, shrouded by his unruly dark hair and a mask that covered his nose and mouth.

The sinister pair stood slowly, with both of their cold and bloodthirsty stares targeting Zayza.

"F-Fewpar and Najinzu…" Ryan stuttered shakily. "You're already here?"

"What a foolish question," spat Najinzu in his raspy voice. "Can you not see us?"

Fewpar, the tall and tranquil one, smiled. "Hello, Ryan," he said.

Wait…but if they're here, thought Lammy, then what happened to my mom???

Off to the side, Ryan's college friends were observing the tense standoff with curiosity and confusion.

"But…how?" Ryan asked. "How did you get here so fast?"

"When we got your message, we just couldn't wait," Fewpar explained. "So, as I'm quite embarrassed to admit, we broke the 'no magic' rule of this Country and warped from the Pine Forest to here. A basic Fantasy Country trick."

"But enough babble," Najinzu interceded impatiently. "You've done your part, now hand the girl and her friend over."

Ryan nervously glanced at Zayza and Lammy, who now watched him with fear.

"What…does he mean…?" Zayza asked Ryan faintheartedly.

"Are you with them?" Lammy questioned, his heart racing.

Ryan was speechless, his eyes shifting between everyone nervously.

Fewpar laughed, as if he was having a relaxing cup of tea. "How amusing," he observed. "They appear so perplexed. Do humor them, Ryan. Go on and tell them who you really are."