Imaginary Friends

“-ICOS-... Apothicos? What the hell?” Lucia suddenly finds himself in a room bearing a white and black aesthetic, and posters ranging from pop boy bands to hardcore metal groups are scattered across the walls. In the center of the space, which is rather cramped and messy with two beds and strewn clothes, is a small, crappy wooden table and chairs set up around it.

“I GOT IT- I- I… I have no idea what just happened.” Apothicos finds himself standing beside Lucia, as opposed to in front of him, shielding his team from a massive beam of pure flame. In front of them, at the table and chairs, sit a little girl and an older boy. The girl appears to be quite young, having just escaped the toddler ages. The boy seems to be on the cusp of puberty.

“Where are they, Sarah?” Asks the boy, his eyes shifting around the room as he pretends to sip tea.

“Oh! Right here, Ricky! All of them! All seven!” She exclaims, pointing in the direction of Apothicos and Lucia. The pair of abruptly transported young men look beside them and see their five other comrades, all in various states of injury, but still recognizable. They are all as confused as Lucia and Apothicos, though.

“Seven imaginary friends? You’re pretty creative to make seven. What do they look like?” He asks, and as the girl begins to roughly describe them to the best of her ability, they are drowned out by rage in the ears of the young men.

“Imagin- Man I wish a bitch would say I’m make-believe. I’m the realest out here.” Lucia raises his revolver tries to put a lightning bolt straight through the little girl’s head. The massive spark goes right through her, and does not even leave a mark in the ground.

“LUCIA! Jesus! Calm down! It’s just a kid!” Apothicos clasps his hands around Lucia’s revolver before he can fire off another round. He notices that she had not been injured, much less disintegrated on the spot, though, and eases off Lucia. “How did she…”

“This is weirder than the time Huxley from down the road thought bull horns were just another pair of udders and tried to milk’em. Ended up eatin’ through a tube after that.” Sorian’s southern drawl compares.

“Aye, Vin. This looks like a-“

“-a tea party. We’re at a tea party. How we got from almost being nuked by a God of Fire to here is anyone’s guess.” Observes Vindel, finishing Alabaster’s sentence.

“Cambia, I can’t feel any energy. Infernal or Elysian. These children don’t look like any gods I recognize either.” Analyzes Djinn.

Cambia stands in the middle of all seven, standing directly in front of the table and chairs. He has been paying attention to the little girl and the boy after he took account of the room. His smiles at their setup, finding it adorable. He is just as confused as his friends, but feels less threatened by the sudden change in scenery.

“Guys…” Cambia tries to capture the attention of the rest, but they are occupied in sharing theories, playing guessing games, and general bewilderment. “GUYS.” He repeats over all of them, immediately garnering their silence and attention. “We’ll figure out what’s going on later. For now, let’s see what Sarah has in store for us.” He suggests. They receive the suggestion well and are compliant, though Djinn is noticeably impatient.

“So, Lucy, you called him?” Asks Ricky.

“Yeah! His full name is Lucia, but Lucy is cuter.” Sarah confirms.

“Imagine callin’ Lucia cute. That’s the real confusin’ part.” Alabaster laughs, while Apothicos nudges Lucia.

“You got a li’l fan, my guy.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Bashful, Lucia looks away from either of them and turns to observe the posters.

“Oh, alright. So, Lucy tried...shooting you, just now?” The boy asks.

“Yep! Like in your Call of Duty game! Except his gun is not big. And it shoots lightening! But, he likes swords more. He can do math with it, and change stuff.” She explains with grand gestures to emphasize the power of the gun and the sword.

“Lightning, Sarah. Not Lightening. And...I guess mom was right when she said I have to stop playing the game around you.” Ricky reflects, a bit ashamed of himself now.

“Yo. How does she know about my shit?” Asks Lucia, suspicious, turning back around.

“Well...we’re her imaginary friends, aren’t we?” Asks Cambia. “So, she knows us inside and out. That’s how she made us! Sarah, that’s right, isn’t it?” He inquires of the girl, bending to get closer to her level.

“Yep! Come, sit down! I only have two chairs...Mommy said she was going to buy more once she got more money from work, but she also needs to buy food and stuff. Sorry.” The girl admits, though it does not sound like she quite understands what she was saying. It is more like a recitation. His glance goes to the boy, whose expression darkened from the girl’s explanation.

“Who is he, Sarah?” Cambia asks while he and Djinn take seats, and the rest sit on the floor. They take their tea and, while struggling to figure out why sticking out pinkies was a custom they should follow, listen to the discourse.

“Oh! This is my brother, Ricky! Ricky is 12 years old. I am six years old.” While she makes the introduction, she gets up and begins to...move air?

“What are you doing, sis?” Ricky asks, sounding tired of her new imaginary action.

“Just moving their stuff! Vinnie has a pole with a knife. And Cambia has a sword too, and a big bat, and stuff. Allie doesn’t have anything, but his snakes are on the beds…” She goes on explaining while the boys were astonished at how she knows their equipment, knows how to handle it, and how courteous she is being to a bunch of dirty guys who just teleported in from a war.

A beep goes off, and Ricky pulls a phone out of his pocket. He curses under his breath. “Sarah, I can’t play anymore. Mom’s coming soon and i have to start homework before she gets here and yells at me again.” He gets up from his small seat and goes towards the door. “I’ll keep playing with you later, ok?”

“Okay, Rick-...y...” He closes the door before she can finish his name. Her vibrancy fades, and now she goes about her tea party work with an attitude of solemn duty as opposed to one of excitement. The boys look at one another, concerned, before one speaks up.

“Hey, Sarah, what’s wrong?” Apothicos asks, taking Ricky’s seat.

“Ricky has homework, so he can’t play. He promised he would play, but he has homework. And mom yells really loud and gets mean when he doesn’t do it.” She explains while staring at her teacup.

“Sumn tells me dad ain’t in the picture. With how much stress mom’s got that she’s yellin’. I’ve seen this too many times in the hood.” Alabaster suggests among the guys beside him. In the meanwhile, Apothicos takes off the black mask he usually wears, and shows his care.

“Ooh, I see. I used to be like that with my mom and my little sister. But, trust me, Ricky’s not trying to be mean. It’s just that things are hard and he gotta do what he gotta do.” He pats her head, and gives her a smile. “But, aye, you got us. We can be your big bros when Ricky ain’t around.”

Sarah’s smile begins to grow back. Sorian takes the cue and decides to add onto the happiness. “Sarah, didja make this tea? Slaps harder than the hoof of Aunt Miley’s stallion!”

“Yeah! Actually, I got the recipe from Peaches!!! She told me you like it! The Cowboy Special!” She exclaims.

“Peaches? I’d be damned, she even knows m’future wife! Shoot, I really am her imaginary friend!” He goes from sips to gulps now, but the tea never ends.

“Oh! Djinn! Djinn! No sugar or cream for you. ‘As black as my fire’.” She points to his cup and mocks his deep voice. Djinn takes a sip, winces from the bitterness, and smiles contentedly. “Damn. Bitter with a bite, just how I like- Wait. Only Bella knows how to make it this way for me.” Though usually the most dispassionate of the seven, this certainly puts surprise on his face.

“Sarah. As you probably know, we’re very busy too…” Cambia begin.s Upon hearing this, the little girl’s face also begins to lose its hype. “But, while we do our work, we’ll always be here for you, okay? Any time, anywhere you want to play, we’ve got you.” He puts his hand on hers briefly. It leaves a mark on the back. It looks like a heart made of a fox and a snake. “Call on us any time, and we’ll play with you. That’s a promise we won’t ever break.”

Sarah is tearing up at this point. She is unsure of why she is crying, and tries to hide it, but Apothicos brings her in for a side hug and kisses her on the top of her head. He wipes his eyes while doing so.

“It sucks that the hood never changes wherever you go to.” Vindel mutters sadly.

“O’course it don’t. But our job is to make it better for the ones livin’ in it.” Sorian replies, patting Vindel on the back. “Now, c’mon. Get some o’ that tea. Bet she made it the way y’mom makes it too.”