Something Street

by johnnedwill

Hailey woke up to the sound of the alarm on her phone. She fumbled it from the litter of clothes on the floor, and held the screen close so she could read it without her glasses. There was a red dot on the group message icon - a sign that there had been some activity on the groups she had subscribed to. There was another red bubble on the direct message icon. Hailey thumbed this one and grabbed her glasses.

The message was from Jason, one of her fixers.

H - Got a job 4u. Up 4 it?

Hailey tapped in a reply.

Depends. What is it?

A row of flashing dots appeared at the bottom of the screen, showing that Jason was online and replying. Then:

Talk over b/fast? C u @ Macs.

Hailey checked the time.

Half hour - k?

A bright yellow 'thumbs up' icon appeared in the chat window.

Having dealt with this, Hailey turned her attention to the other messages that had accumulated overnight. Most of them were on the Something Street group - a message board for people who were interested in what went on in Something Street.

Something Street was an anomaly that cut across the city, appearing and disappearing seemingly at random. Some people believed that Something Street followed the strange geometry of some unknown spatiotemporal curve. Others thought there was some intelligence that controlled its manifestations. Whatever the truth was, Something Street would appear somewhere in the city - sometimes pushing the surrounding streets aside like an impatient patron elbowing their way to the bar; sometimes replacing entire neighbourhoods and their inhabitants, sending them elsewhere until Something Street moved on.

Hailey scrolled through the new messages, noting the few that had useful information: the locations of new interfaces between the city and Something Street; talk about traders and where to find them. All through this, Hailey kept one eye on the time. It wouldn't do to turn up for a breakfast appointment with Jason unwashed and still in her pyjamas. Satisfied there was nothing of importance in the rest of the messages, Hailey deleted them and put her phone down. "Time to get up," she muttered.

Twenty minutes later, Hailey was hurrying to Mac's - a diner that was within easy walking distance of her apartment. She was a regular, known to the staff, and liked to do business there. It made it easy for potential clients to find her, and the extra custom she brought in was always welcome. As she entered the diner, she nodded to the servers then looked around for Jason. He was in a booth at the back of the diner, a plate of food in front of him.

Hailey walked over to the booth and sat down opposite Jason. "Hey."

Jason raised a mug of fragrant breakfast chocolate in greeting. "Hey to you too."

Hailey gave her breakfast order to the server, then turned her attention back to Jason. "So - you said you had a job for me?"

"Krumm's back on Something Street."

"Krumm?" Hailey tried to sound nonchalant. "So what?"

"Well, somebody wants something."

The server returned with a plate of toast and scrambled eggs. Hailey picked up a fork and began to pick at the food in front of her. "Somebody always wants something."

Jason waved his mug at her. "Well this is something that only Krumm can supply."

Hailey put her fork down. Her appetite was deserting her. "You know I don't deal with Krumm any more."

Jason took another sip of chocolate. "Don't go. Hear me out. If you listen to what I have to say, I'll pay for your breakfast. Then, if you don't like the deal, you can walk away and I won't hold it against you. How does that sound?"

"Alright." Hailey picked up her fork again and jabbed it towards Jason. "But only because I don't like wasting good food. As soon as I finish this, I'm walking out."

"Deal."

Mechanically, Hailey put a forkful of creamy egg into her mouth.

"I have a client who wants something from Krumm. They called it a glyph." Jason caught Hailey's expression. "No. I don't know what one of those is, and I didn't ask. All my client told me is that I could get it from Krumm. And you," Jason pointed a finger at Hailey, "are the only person I know who can deal with Krumm."

"And you think that's a good thing?" Hailey's voice was loud enough that the other diners - those closest to the booth - stopped their chatter and turned to look in her direction. Acutely aware that she was drawing attention to them, Hailey lowered her voice, but there was still anger in her voice. "If you think it's a good thing to have that creep rummage through your mind, why don't you do the job yourself?"

"You know I can't, but you can. Besides, my client is offering big money."

"How big?"

"Big enough that I can afford to offer you twice your usual cut." Jason took a napkin and scribbled a number on it. "How about that?"

Hailey snorted in scorn. "At that price, you can afford five times my usual."

"Five?"

Hailey shrugged and used the napkin to clean the residue of scrambled egg from around her mouth. "If it's that important to you. Otherwise ... ." She pushed her chair back from the table and made to stand up.

"Five. Done." Jason's response was quick - almost immediate.

"Now you're being reasonable. Now, this glyph thing? Is it dangerous?" Jason shrugged. "I don't know. My client didn't say."

"In other words, you didn't ask?"

"Money answers a lot of questions."

"Fine." Hailey tried to relax, to be the professional she was meant to be. She adjusted her glasses on her nose. "Krumm isn't just going to hand over this whatever-it-is for nothing. How do you expect me to get hold of it?

"That's why I came to you." Jason bent over to retrieve something from beneath the booth's table, and sat back up, a buff envelope in his hands. He slid the thick package across to Hailey. Inside the envelope was a bundle of notes - more money than Hailey had seen in a long time. "That enough?"

"You trust me?"

"You're the only one I know who can deal with Krumm."

Hailey tusked the envelope full of cash into the inside pocket of her leather jacket. "I'll need some time to make arrangements."

"So long as you get it done before Something Street shifts and we lose Krumm." Hailey arranged her knife and fork by the side of her plate. "I can't guarantee that." "But you're in." Jason raised his hand to call for the bill.

"Against my better judgement."

Hailey returned to her apartment. She needed time to think, time to plan. It was true that she was one of the few humans that had ever successfully dealt with the entity known as Krumm, but that didn't make her an expert. Hailey retrieved her laptop from its hiding place and set to work.

There was a whole network of people devoted to watching Something Street and the things that went on there. Because of her long association with the place, Hailey had become something of a minor celebrity amongst these people: a status that she was not above taking advantage of when the need arose. By sundown, she thought that she had a possible line on where Krumm could be found and what she would need to bargain with him. Of course there was no guarantee that Krumm would agree to any deal, but Hailey knew that she could not be held accountable for the vagaries of an inhuman entity.

Hailey fixed herself a light supper before heading out into the city to make her preparations. She visited a number of establishments - a jeweller, an art supply shop, a bookshop and a bar - using the money Jason had given her to make the necessary purchases. Then, slinging her black canvas backpack over the shoulder of her leather bomber jacket, Hailey headed for the nearest interface with Something Street.

The interface was a shimmering curtain of quantum energy, cutting across an alley that ran between two tenement blocks. Its shifting colours obscured all but the grossest details of what was on the other side. Despite the lateness of the hour, there were still people passing through in both directions. At first Something Street had been feared, but now it was just a part of the city. People came to it, looking for the strange and unusual. Whatever you wanted - whatever you could imagine - it could be found on Something Street.

Hailey mingled with the crowd and crossed into Something Street. The dark alley of the city was replaced by riot of coloured and a tumult of noise. Alien scents assaulted Hailey's sinuses with each breath. She paused, taking a moment to establish her bearings. The transition into Something Street always took Hailey by surprise. Overhead, a tuberous creature drifted past, buoyed aloft in a palanquin draped with rippling flags. Stallholders uttered mournful hooting noises as they beckoned passers-by to look at their wares.

"ApOlOgIEs." A trio of thin beings, their features hidden under heavy robes and deep hoods, glided through a cloud of sweet-smelling steam. Realising that she was in the middle of the thoroughfare, Hailey stepped back and out of the throng. She took a minute to consult her phone. Cell coverage here was unpredictable, but Hailey had stored the necessary files in the memory of her device. She looked around for a landmark. A banner covered in an alien script hung from a tall building that resembled a meringue buddha. She was in the right place! Hailey took another look at her phone, turned left and followed the crowd.

Something Street opened up before her, stretching off into infinity. Hailey dodged the knots of beings that thronged the road and crowded around the stalls. For the first hundred metres or so of her journey, the majority of the beings around her were human but, the further she went, the stranger the beings around her became. A tentacled monstrosity burbled liquid syllables at her; a dozen shelled dwarves swarmed around her and vanished. At a fountain that spouted an intoxicating purple mist, Hailey paused again to check her phone. According to the information she had gathered, there should be an alley close by. This was where Krumm had been sighted.

The alley was right where it was meant to be. Haileyt recognised it as an offshoot - a part of Something Street that led somewhere else. She had come across offshoots before. They were not dangerous, provided a traveller did not become lost in them. Hailey cursed. Of course Krumm would be in one of these!

In the alley, the sounds of Something Street were muted. They became quieter as Hailey made her way down, swallowed by the darkness that grew around her. She peered into the blackness, hoping to find something to focus on. From all around came the rustling of chitin and the beating of wings.

"Krumm?" There was no reply. Hailey tried again. "Krumm!"

Her eyes fixed on something. It was a dim, red light, hovering in the air in front of her. Hailey could not tell how far away it was - there was nothing she could use as a reference point. The light grew brighter, and the sounds of chitin grew louder. Then an alien thought entered Hailey's mind.

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Hailey felt a buzzing sensation at the base of her skull. "You remember me?" She took a

step forwards. In the dim, red light she could see another form. 

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The light grew brighter. Now Hailey could see that it was coming from a crystalline sphere that hung in the air between her and Krumm. Winged forms crawled over the sphere, occasionally taking flight, only to settle once more. Less than a metre away, a large silver dish had been placed on the cobbles of the alley. A conical mass of flesh, its apex topped with a cluster of glistening orbs, slopped over the edges of the dish.

"I've come to do business." Hailey took off her backpack and held it in front of her. She undid the flap and drew out a handful of iron nails, putting them down on the ground. One of the winged forms left its perch and settled on the nails as if tasting them.

⎡697 28#( 59 54@£3⎦ "I do."

The creature that had settled on the nails - it looked to Hailey like a locust with tentacles instead of legs - picked up the offering and carried it to Krumm's dish. It dropped the nails with a clatter.

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Hailey took a reluctant step closer to Krumm. Proximity helped strengthen the connection between them. Although it made the sensations at the base of her skull worse, Hailey did not want any misunderstanding. "A business partner is after something they called a glyph. They said you could provide one. I am willing to trade for it." She squatted down beside Krumm and started to pull her gifts out of her bag: a length of platinum chain, a bottle of 12-year old Irish whiskey, a box of charcoal pencils, a book of Celtic manuscripts, more nails.

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The erotic charge in Krumm's thoughts momentarily staggered Hailey, and she tasted bile at the back of her mouth. Quickly, she swallowed and tried to maintain her composure. "No. Strictly a business partner."

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Hailey took a deep breath. "Krumm - business, yes?"

⎡/7#8;3##⎦ The light coming from the crystal sphere pulsed then steadied. ⎡2(@5 '8;£ 9& *"60(⎦

"He - they didn't say."

From all around came the whirring sound of wings. Hailey took a hasty step back, away from Krumm, as a swarm of flying creatures descended on the items she had brought with her. the flying creatures covered the gifts in a writhing layer of chitin, crawling over and under each item. The light in the crystal grew brighter, throwing everything into sharper relief. Hailey looked away and closed her eyes.

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Hailey heard a myriad small creatures in motion. Then there was silence.

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Hailey opened her eyes. All the gifts she had brought with her had gone, either carried into the darkness or consumed by Krumm's servitors. In their place was a glistening ovoid, about thirty centimetres tall and twenty centimetres in diameter. Its mottled red and yellow surface glistened like wet glue. "That's a glyph?"

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"Yes." Hailey hesitated. "Yes it is." Hailey bent down to pick up the glyph and put it into her backpack. To her surprise it was hard and slightly warm to the touch. "Thank you." 

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Hailey hurried from Krumm's presence, feeling the pressure of his thoughts lessen with every step she took until she merged back into the noise and colour of Something Street.

"ApOlOgIEs!" A cloud of sweet-smelling steam curled around Hailey. In her haste to leave Krumm's alley, she had almost collided with one of a trio of thin, hooded beings.

"That's alright. I'm not hurt." Hailey tried to step past the trio, to head down Something Street and back home with her prize.

"mIsUndErstAndIng!" another of the trio hissed. Their hoods tilted as one down towards Hailey. Even in the brightness of Something Street, she could barely make out the features that had been concealed beneath the cowls: an eye that glowed Cherenkov blue, hints of tubes. "yOU ApOlOgIsE!"

Hailey glanced around her, hoping that somebody - something - would intervene. However, none of the nearby creatures were paying any attention to the scene unfolding there. In this case, it would be easier to just do whatever it was these things wanted. "Alright. I am sorry for -."

"yOU hAvE cOmE frOm krUmm!" It was if a steam calliope had burst into life. "krUmm thErE!" The first of the trio pointed down the alley that Hailey had just come from. "whAt krUmm gIvE yOU?"

Three-fingered hands reached out for Hailey, the misshapen digits grasping at her arms, her clothes, her backpack! Hailey jumped backwards, then launched herself at the trio. Although she was just more than half the height of her assailants, she definitely was heavier than them. The three aliens fell back in disarray, hissing steam at her as she fled down Something Street.

"cOmE bAck!"

"dO As wE sAy!" "gIvE krUmm thIng!" "ObEy!"

Hailey forced her way through the crowds, ignoring the obvious protests and threats. The hooded trio glided elegantly after her. It was if the crowd was not there. Hailey knew it would only be a matter of time before they caught up with her. Heart pounding, she pushed herself hard to keep herself ahead of them.

Through the crowds, the interface back to the city came into sight. Hailey redoubled her efforts, willing her legs to keep moving. She prayed she would reach the interface before they gave out. Behind her came an angry hissing, the crack of lightning, and cries of pain and protest. A three-fingered hand grabbed her shoulder just as Hailey fell through the shimmering curtain and -!

She was home. Hailey fell to her knees, taking great, sobbing gulps of air to quench the burning pain of anaerobic respiration. "Fuck!"

Behind her, on the other side of the interface, three shadows pounded on the barrier in futile anger.

Hailey struggled to her feet, ignoring the questions and offers of help that came thick and fast. She just wanted to be away from this place, back in her apartment with the money that Jason had promised her. "No. I'm fine. Really. Just a little bother." Hailey made her excuses and hurried from the alley, holding her backpack close to her chest, the warmth and bulk of the glyph strangely reassuring.

It was only when Hailey had gone far enough to be sure she was not being followed that she pulled out her phone to make a call.

"Jason?" Hailey tried to hush his questions. "Jason. Stop! I've got the glyph, but my fee just went up. It's ten now, or you can forget it."