An adventurer and a space cop walk into a bar.”
“This isn’t a bar,” Dannel corrected. He shoved his hands into his pockets; stress made always
seemed to make him more pedantic. “I hate this.”
“I know.” Osian wrapped an arm around his shoulders— awkwardly, given the armour of his costume.
“We can hang out here for a while.”
Cosplay had been one of Dannel’s greatest passions for a long time. They’d been to so many conventions. And every time, he had a meltdown on the walk there.
Not always on the walk. Sometimes on the Tube. Occasionally at home before.
He’d push through, like always. And he’d be exhausted afterwards. Most of the time, he thought
the entire exercise was worth stress and strain.
Then, other times, Dannel wondered how many years the strain would take off his life. He feared eventually he’d have to stop attending conventions. His health might begin to be seriously affected by the stress.
Okay. Morbid thoughts are morbid. Shake them off. I love cosplay. All our friends are here. We’re dressed up. Ossie is hot as Nathan Drake. I can do this, even if I just stare at his arse the entire way. It’s a useful distraction. I can do this.
Dannel repeated his internal mantra until his breathing settled. “Ready?”
Osian eyed him for a second before handing over the helmet part of his Liam Kosta costume. “We can go home, you know?”
They could. Dannel would regret it. He breathed in deeply and settled the helmet under his arm.
Courage occasionally came from donning a character.
“Let’s have fun.” Dannel grabbed Osian’s hand.
“We skipping the queue?”
“Gemma and Ethan wanted help setting up the first aid booth.” Osian guided him past the regular
entrance, flashing their badges to security. “I promised we could play assistance.”
“Free tickets?”
“Free tickets.”
Gemma Cox had been Osian’s on-and-off partner as a paramedic. She’d traded off with Abra and
Archie, another paramedic friend. Ethan was her current beau. They were part of a small but devoted
group of London first responders who enjoyed cosplay.
“Boys.” She waved them over with a grin, barely shifting her focusing from setting up their portable
defibrillator. They’d crowdfunded for it a few years back after someone had a heart attack in the middle of a Star Trek Q & A. “Oz, give me a hand with this?”
Dannel went over to Ethan to allow the two former paramedics to handle their business. “Need
anything?”
“Help me get these freebies on the table? We decided to hand out survival kits with water and other
essentials. Hopefully, we’ll have fewer cases of dehydration. You’d think people would be aware they can’t spend an entire day wandering around without having a drink of something.” Ethan used his foot to nudge one of two plastic bins toward him. “Are you two planning on staying here when the doors open or checking out a few panels first?”
“Panels.”
“Panels? Good choice.” Ethan shifted away, turning his attention to the second container. “Right.”
What do I say next?
Setting his helmet to the side, Dannel turned his attention to the little packets. Ethan seemed content to work in silence. He appreciated his friends knowing when small talk wasn’t necessary.
By the time the doors opened to let the flood of people in, the first aid station was ready to go. Dannel and Osian snuck away to get to the first of the question and answer panels. They’d waited all year to be up close and personal with the angel and demon from Good Omens.
“Will you be okay on your own?” Osian followed him out of the conference room when the panel
finished. “I promised Gemma I’d check in with her. Have you heard from Evie?”
“She slept in. Typical.” Dannel didn’t honestly expect any of their friends to go to the first day of the
convention. They usually came on the second. “Go on.
I’m starved. Want me to grab a snack for us?”
Osian leaned over to kiss him over the front of his helmet. “Have fun.”
The best thing about a convention was being able to put a helmet on—and have people ignore him. He got fist bumps and high fives. Conversation was irrelevant.
No one was there for Dannel. They loved his Liam Kosta cosplay. They were there for the character.
What was I thinking?
The lines for any of the food vendors practically went the length of the building. Dannel gave up. He
didn’t need to eat that badly—Gemma and Ethan probably had snack bars and water left.
He arrived at the first aid station to find Abra and Evie seated behind the table. He poked his best friend in the arm. “You couldn’t text me?”
“I brought sandwiches and coffee.” Evie tossed a wrapped packet at him. “Forgiven?”
“Sure.” Dannel hooked a chair with his foot to ease it out from under the table. He sat heavily and yanked his helmet off. “Remind me to vent this better next time.”
“Steaming up in there?” Abra grabbed a cup of coffee from a drink carrier. “Where’s your lesser half?”
“He said he was going to be here. Haven’t you seen him?” Dannel felt his chest tightening when Abra
shook her head. He stretched his arms out, careful not to spill his drink or dump the sandwich. “Shoot him a text?”
“Already sent him three.” Abra paused to slap a Band-Aid on a paper cut on Wonder Woman’s finger.
“Complete radio silence.”
His appetite vanished. The food he’d eaten churned in his stomach. Dannel knew Osian well enough to know he’d never ignore multiple texts. They’d worked as first responders long enough to know how no response could cause a great deal of concern. Dannel set the sandwich and drink on the table. He grabbed his phone and called Osian.
It rang. And rang.
Dannel disconnected the call when it went to voicemail. He glanced over to his right and spotted
missing equipment. “Where’s the defibrillator?”
“No idea. Ethan didn’t know when we showed up. He assumed Gemma had it.” Evie had her mobile out as well. “None of them have replied to my messages.”
Anxiety ate at him like a monster in his gut.
Dannel got to his feet. He’d never known Osian to ignore all of them.
“Where is he?”
“Inside voice, Dannel,” Evie reminded him.
“Bugger my inside voice.” Dannel strode away from the table. “I’m going to find him.”
Weaving through the crowds filling the halls, Dannel doggedly made his way toward the security office. He knew they had rows of CCTV cameras.
They’d hopefully be able to help him find Osian or call for him over the tannoy.
Surely Osian wouldn’t ignore that as well?
Halfway to security, Dannel spotted cluster gathered outside of one of the rooms. He froze when paramedics pushed by him toward the doorway. The churning in his stomach increased, and he followed after them.
The room was utter chaos.
The defibrillator had been tossed across the room and broken into several pieces. Osian was on the floor frantically doing CPR on someone. Dannel squeezed through the crowd of onlookers to find the lifeless form of Gemma.
What the bloody hell happened?
“Ortea. Get your man, will you?”
Dannel nodded at one of the paramedics he vaguely recognised. He knelt down to wrap his arms around Osian. “Come on, Ossie. Let them help her.”
“I can do this. I can.” Osian fought against him, struggling to get back to their friend. “Won’t lose another one.”
Dannel clutched him tightly to his chest. “It’s going to be alright.”
It wasn’t, but Dannel didn’t think either of them wanted to face the truth just yet. He’d seen enough dead bodies over the years as a firefighter. Nothing was going to bring Gemma back to them.
“Let me go. I can save her.” Osian tried to break away from him.
Dannel, being taller, broader, and certainly stronger, forced Osian over to a corner of the room.
“Easy, Ossie. Don’t.”
“Not again.”
He didn’t quite know how to help his boyfriend.
Nothing he said would make him feel better, but he tried anyway. “I’m so sorry.”
Thank you!
The story sounds quite interesting.
Got my copy!
It looks like an interesting read.
Good luck with the release!