TRIAL AND ERROR | short stories + snippets

Diwa watches uncertainly as Cece scrunches up a flyer about the car someone is selling, along with one about someone's yoga classes. "You shouldn't do that."

"D'you wanna be famous or not?" is what they respond with.

They replace the vacated spots on the noticeboard with the pink flyers for The Dyke Transition concert at Molotov. Diwa's still frowning when he nudges her out of the Tesco so that they can continue to the next destination.

The band is hoping to ride the wave of lockdown finally ending to get a good turnout. People are eager to get out again. So prime time to offer them some live music. Diwa and Cece have stapled and taped their flyers to every noticeboard, electrical box, and traffic light pole in Manchester.

They cross the car park toward Diwa's KIA in silence until she freezes.

She takes a few steps back to make sure she isn't hallucinating but the sliver remains in her vision.

Ocean. A sliver of ocean. In a Tesco car park. In Manchester, which is not on the coast. What the actual fuck?

"What's wrong with you?" Cece asks, watching her with arched eyebrows.

"Can you see that?"

"You'll have to be a bit more specific."

In response, Diwa approaches the sliver. She'd better describe it as a cut. A cut in the canvas of the car park to show the sea behind it.

And it's not just some optical illusion bit of cardboard because the waves are moving. The sky in the cut is a rosy pink, unlike the grey of Manchester.

Getting concerned for her well-being, Cece rushes after her, only to halt mid-step. "Yeah, I see that."

He pushes a hand through the cut. Diwa moves to the side. It looks like their forearm has been sliced right off.

"We can't both be hallucinating the same thing, right?"

"What is this?" she asks.

"Let's find out."

"No–"

He's already gone.

Diwa barely has the chance to scowl before Cece rematerialises. "It's fine, see. It's a whole other place through here. A ship and a harbour." With a nod for her to follow, they step through again.

She hesitates a moment, then shrugs and walks into the cut.

Salt. That's the first thing she notices. The smell of salt, then algae.

Then a flash of steel. Something cutting through the air. A sword at her neck.

"What are you doing on my ship?"

Diwa's gaze follows the length of the sword to the hand holding it, up the white sleeve, and finally to the handsome face currently glowering at her. Green eyes flick to Cece and back.

The face is angled, a fuzz of dark hairs sculpting the edge of the jaw. The shoulder-length hair might be wavy or might just be crusted with salt and the sea wind. Mismatched jewels and charms hang from the ears.

The woman smiles. Not cause she's laughing but in a pretty threatening way. "I asked you a question."

Diwa scoffs. She doesn't need to answer anybody's questions.

"Let's go b–"

She turns around and cuts herself off. The sliver that should be showing them the Tesco car park isn't there.

"Yeah, it's gone," Cece says, as though she can't see that with her own eyes.

The woman shifts her sword between them. "Before you think about stealing whatever it is that you're here to steal and cutting open a new aperture, I should inform you that you're surrounded."

They are. Seemingly the entire crew of the ship is pointing swords or pistols at them.

Diwa glances at the harbour but it's almost entirely vacant, and the few sailors guarding their ships aren't looking at the one they're on.

"We didn't cut it," she bites. "We just saw it."

"We're not here to steal shit, mate," Cece adds, clearly entirely unbothered by being the target of at least fifteen weapons. "Who even are you?"

With a final look between them, the woman sheathes her sword. With a wave of her hand, the crew does the same.

"Captain Grimm. You can call me Dorcas, if you like, love."

Diwa sneers. "I wouldn't like. What I'd like is to get back home so could you please open up another 'aperture', as you called it? Captain," she adds.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to do that. You'd need a dagger that's been enchanted to cut through realities. Something I'm not in possession of at the present moment."

Why is she talking like they're in the fucking middle ages or something?

She barely thinks the thought before Diwa's brain finally registers that they're standing on the deck of a ship. Made of wood. With sails.

Her stare rakes the rest of the harbour and doesn't find a single motorised vehicle. A glance at the dispersed crew is all she needs to realise that they're not wearing normal clothes. And what had Dorcas said about enchanted daggers?

Fuck.

She shoves Cece. "Why did you go through, you tosser?"

"I didn't know it could vanish, did I? You're the one that saw it in the first place. Blame yourself."

"Apertures open on their own at times," Dorcas chips in, leaning against the ship railing. "People have cut through so many times that the barriers between worlds have worn. There are places where the fabric is so thin that it splits. If you stay standing there for long enough, it might open up again.

"Or... Well, I happen to know someone who possesses the required dagger. I would not be opposed to taking you to him. What would you say to a simple little bargain, eh? You get something for me and I'll get you home, hmm?"

Dorcas watches them, a disgustingly smug look on her stupid smug face.