Chapter 3

My body is melting, pooling away into a useless puddle, while my mind stays trapped inside, a captured bird unable to open its wings and soar. It’s strange. I never quite thought of my body as a cage, but I never really appreciated being anchored to it, and so I panic at the thought of the two separating. A dizziness threatens to overtake me. The colors I saw swirling in the door now surround me, but there’s no sound, no wind, no temperature. The beauty seems like a lie, now, some false promise thrown at me in an attempt to make me believe in something again. I’m lost, swirling down the drain. I’m stupid, for trying to have faith. I’m being punished for what I didn’t want. I’m a mess.

Guilt tugs at me. If I’m feeling so awful, what have I lead my friends into? I can’t suck in deep breaths or cry, so I close my eyes as I contemplate letting a silent scream loose into the void.

Maybe anticipating my reaction, Hombre gives my hand a small squeeze. Somehow, the small, simple movement helps, grounding me back into my body and my reality. Though there’s no air, I imagine taking breaths to calm myself, and I stuff my concerns down into some well of secret aches and try to calm myself down. I give Hombre a squeeze back. I suddenly feel that, without his grip, I’d be lost in a nightmare that parades itself as a pleasant dream.

The colors that surround me are pulling into shapes and forms, moving slickly in front of me as they attempt to organize the picture, the greens and blues seeming particularly active as they try to find their place. As I begin to make sense of the environment, a breeze meets my face, and I eagerly suck in big gasps of it. Next to me, I hear Hombre doing the same. Other sounds begin to invade my ears, sounds I would’ve barely registered if I hadn’t just travelled through absolute silence: leaves rustling, insects chirping, the creaking of a tree.

The blotches in front of me finally decide on their places, revealing themselves to be part of a grass-filled clearing, bordered by trees which stretch towards a wide, low wall. The wall, in turn, surrounds a huge, twisted, and very odd structure. It’s as tall as a skyscraper and, though it twists upwards elegantly and organically, its strange, glistening materials make me suspect it’s man-made. Its metallic silver is only interrupted by the emerald and gold spheres which cluster along it, the dull browns and greens in my periphery coming nowhere near their intensity. The spheres are quite sparse until the top of the building, where they blossom out as if the towering structure is a tree in need of a canopy. I stare at it, not sure whether to categorize it as beautiful or bizarre. Maybe both. It’s rather far from us, the wall surrounding an area that’s at least as wide as Manhattan, though why a single skyscraper would be in the center of it all I can’t tell you.

I tear my eyes away from it and glance around, only barely noticing Hombre as I take in the trees which frame the clearing. The colors are deeper here, the greens of the trees more of a teal, and the browns more blue, oddly off what would be normal back . . . well, in my world. This place seems so alien, especially considering the forest, where the trees all lean against each other instead of standing independently, their branches twined together like a gigantic puzzle. Though it all seems designed to block out the most sunlight possible, the trees have separated themselves where we stand, in this little grass patch. I frown, not sure what to make of it, but I can see other isolated clearings beyond the tower, the trees adopting a bowl-shape in order to give these spaces sunlight. Their trunks all twist tightly together underneath, making me wonder if we’re suspended the same way. We must be, since we’re the same height. I’m not sure if it’s in my head or not, but the ground we stand on doesn’t feel as solid as the ground back on Earth.

I notice that I’m chewing on my lip again and stop myself.

I turn to look behind me, and, despite it being close enough to touch, the presence of the huge stone somehow surprises me. I blink, unsure how I’d missed it. The surface is very flat and thin, to the point that it’s unnatural. I can only find one scratch on it, on the side, which seems strange because this clearing certainly can’t give it any protection from the elements . . . well, assuming there are normal weather patterns here, that is.  

I squeeze Hombre’s hand, only realizing after the squeeze that I’m still gripping it. I drop it quickly. He doesn’t seem to notice. I frown, staring at him openly, but he’s still oblivious, his eyes darting around, wide and curious, and his lips moving as he whispers some silent words of admiration. He seems to be more awed by this place than I am, but in a different way. He takes in the scenery like a scholar, not a newborn. I narrow my eyes, considering him. Somehow, I don’t think he’s ever been here before, but he also seems too comfortable with the change.

I look back at the stone, as some movement catches my eye. Colors dance across its face, swirling into little clumps before bounding away from each other towards the opposite wall. They remain contained within the stone’s surface, but they seem to be forming human figures . . . Alyssa and Beth?

Hombre finally seems to remember I’m there, asking, “Why the hell did you jump in?”

I look back at him and grimace, not sure I want to admit the influence of a childish fantasy. I deflect, “Why didn’t you want me to?”

He gives me an incredulous look, “I can’t believe this. I would’ve expected Beth to jump in, but not you.” He shakes his head, and I see his eyebrows furrow. He turns his head away, as if he doesn’t want me to see his face, as he says, “I thought you were going to die. I’m still not sure why you didn’t.” Something seems to occur to him, and he looks down at my bracelet, a frown forming on his face.

I stare at him, pulling the bracelet up to my chest protectively, remembering how much he’d wanted it before. My confusion leaks into my voice, and I squeak a little as I say, “I could’ve died?” I clear my throat, my cheeks flushing, “Why wouldn’t you say that?”

He smiles a bit, “Well, if I’d known that would’ve stopped you . . . Then again, as I said, I didn’t expect you to jump in. You usually think before you do things.” He looks back at the stone, sighing, “Suns curse it. Obviously I can’t just make you go back, now.”

I shake my head as a thought occurs to me, “Wait, why did you think we would die? Why would you go through if you did?” My eyes widen, “Will Beth and Alyssa be alright?”

He avoids my eyes and my questions, considering the stone behind us, “Oh, right, they followed us. Great.”

I narrow my eyes, a little annoyed by his tone, “What do you mean by ‘great?’”

He shakes his head, looking distant as he sighs, “I wish I’d just stolen that bracelet off you like I originally planned.”

“You were going to steal it?” I look at him, confused, and pull it even closer to my chest. Who is he? Where has he taken us? Why does he even want my bracelet?

He blinks, as if he hadn’t realized he’d voiced his thoughts. His eyes dart back to me and his eyebrows knit together as he sees how worried I am, “I’m not going to steal it from you, now. Calm down. I haven’t turned into some evil monster. It just seemed easy to steal it before I knew you, and then . . . well, I saw you and, I dunno . . .” he trails off, clearly unsure how to finish the sentence.

“You were going to take it a minute ago,” I shoot back.

“Well, I was trying to convince you to give it to me, remember? I wouldn’t have just taken it. I thought . . . I thought maybe if you saw that I needed it you’d just give it to me.”

“You thought I’d get dazzled by the pretty lights, didn’t you?”

He sighs, “Okay, well, yes. I did. I admit it. But I’m not going to take it now. It’s probably good that I didn’t in the first place, since you were the only one who could see that door.” He shakes his head, “It doesn’t matter. Listen, Carmen, I need you to stay with me, alright? It’s the only way I can protect you.”

“Protect me? What do you mean, protect me? God damn it, Darien, maybe if you’d just, you know, said something about this place being dangerous or about me possibly dying or, just, something, maybe I wouldn’t have gone in.” I let out a grunt of frustration, both at him and at the fact that I’m not sure that’s even true.

He raises an eyebrow, “You honestly didn’t think that portal might lead somewhere dangerous?”

I look away, ashamed. In hindsight I didn’t really think at all, only acted on a hallucination and a stupid conviction that, somehow, I’d be seeing my mother again. I close my eyes. Everything stupid I’ve ever done has been because of my parents. I should know better, by now.

“Hey,” Hombre’s voice is quiet, gentle, “Are you alright, Carmen?”

I open my eyes and look at him, noticing the concern on his face. Maybe he’s not as much of a stranger as I think he is, but I’m not going to look weak in front of him if I can help it. I sigh, “Fine. I’ll listen to you, alright? But �" but I don’t need your protection. And if I get hurt, I’m not going to stay around.”

He nods, “Fair enough.” He looks at the stone, where Alyssa and Beth are now almost completely recognizable, and sighs, “Now I just have to get them to listen. Somehow.”

“Good luck with that,” I mutter, as the last touches are splashed on. Hombre gestures for us to step back, and I do so, staring as they materialize out of the stone, both of them gasping in air.

Beth grabs Alyssa, bends forward, and mutters, “Oh, thank God.”

Alyssa’s wide-eyed, staring at the scene in front of her, “What? What is this? I just . . . I just felt like I died or something. That was awful.” I feel a pang of guilt.

Beth looks up and gasps, “Where are we? Oh my God, did we die? Carmen, I love you, but I didn’t want to die for you. I mean, I’ve never really wanted to die for anyone, so don’t take it personally, but �" ”

Hombre cuts in, “Hey. Hey. Stop freaking out, Beth. You’re not dead.”

I resist the urge to mutter: But she could be.

Beth lets out a sigh of relief, then glances back at him. She frowns, “Wait, how do you know?”

He smiles, faintly, “Don’t worry about it. Just trust me, I’m an expert on telling the difference.”

Beth tilts her head, trying to make some sense of his answer. I can’t help but stare at him, too. It’s not just this place that’s strange.

Questions are tumbling out of Alyssa’s mouth, now, “What is this place? Where are we? And what was up with that swirling door thing? It started closing as soon as you went through.” She looks around us at the trees and the tower, her eyes wide as she examines our surroundings. Her curiosity seeming to be trumping her fear, though she still says, “Maybe we should’ve just let it.”

Hombre shrugs, “Maybe you should have.”

I glare at him.

He sighs, waving his hand at me as if dismissing the notion, “Fine. We’ll focus on the fact that you didn’t. Stay here, alright? Try not to freak out or scream or anything. We don’t know what’s in the forest or that tower.”

 “What do you mean?” Alyssa presses, but he’s not listening.

His eyes lose focus, staring at the forest, and this time, there’s no mistaking it. His whole iris is swirling with color, transitioning from a dark ultramarine to a vivid green, the color radiating out from the pupil. Flecks of gold dance around in the emerald mix, and both colors, together, banish the blue. I shiver. What’s wrong with his eyes? How didn’t I notice before today? I mean, I guess he’s always wearing sunglasses . . . and it’s usually dark when we hang out at shows . . .

“Is he alright? I’m not the only one seeing his eyes freak out, right?” Beth whispers. She’s paler than normal, and I see her wrap her arms around herself protectively. At least her question reassures me that I’m not imagining things.

“Are you alright, Hombre?” I ask.

He nods slightly, waving his hand impatiently for us to leave him alone.

“Carmen,” Alyssa asks, in a nervous undertone, her eyes fixed on him, too, “Do you know what’s going on? Did he tell you anything?”

“No, not really. Though . . . he said something about how we should’ve died. I don’t know what he meant by that, but . . .”

Her fingers are drumming on her arm, an anxious frown stretching across her face as she shifts, impatient, “Can’t he just give us some answers? What is he doing? Why does he look like that?”

I’m not sure what’s going on, but he radiates confidence and ease, like having his eyes swirl is somehow second nature. Though I’m nervous myself, I try to reassure her, “It’s alright. He seems like he knows what he’s doing.” My eyes flick to him, still just standing there, “Whatever that may be.”

Alyssa doesn’t look convinced. Honestly, I’m not surprised. As long as I’ve known her, she’s always wanted to have the answer before there’s a question. I mean, before I’d even heard of the show we were supposed to go to tonight she’d gotten ticket prices, hotel locations, and a way to get a car. I shift, uncomfortable, thinking now about how Beth and I convinced her to use Hombre’s car to save some money. Maybe we should’ve just listened to her and taken a rental.

I tap my lip with my teeth and then ask, “Why did you guys follow us?”

Beth shrugs, but Alyssa glares at me. She looks almost offended as she says, “Are you kidding me? We couldn’t just let you go through that thing alone. And definitely not with Darien.” She shakes her head, her eyes fixed on him as she mutters, “I always knew he was lying about something.”

Beth snorts, “Oh, come on, you’re just mad because you think he’s cheap.”

Alyssa stares at her, her face scrunching up a bit in frustration, “What, and he isn’t? You’ve bought tickets for him so many times, Beth. Now we’re not even going to make it to the show tonight. That means the ticket you bought him isn’t going to be used, so you’re out a hundred, right? Has he ever paid you back?”

“I didn’t buy him a ticket this time, idiot.”

Her eyes roll and she snaps at Beth, “Well, we’re all still down fifty. I’m not rich like you, so that’s kind of a big deal to me.”

“Stop it,” I interrupt before things get really bad. “Money kind of seems like the last thing we need to worry about right now.” Alyssa still looks irritated, so I sigh and offer something to appease her, “Maybe time stopped back on Earth or something. We don’t know, so stop worrying about it. As weird as this whole thing is, Hombre did help us out a lot, too, remember? He’s cleaned for us a number of times, gotten us free tickets, given us rides . . .” I trail off a bit, realizing letting him give us a ride is what got us here.

I don’t think it matters what I say, though, considering the look on Alyssa’s face. She doesn’t respond, turning to glare at him moodily. I give Beth a look, trying to tell her not to push Alyssa’s buttons right now, and she rolls her eyes and shrugs.

“Wait,” Alyssa murmurs, her eyes widening, “Do you see that? What’s up with the shadows?”

They seem to be gathering up, forming shapes which tinge the background behind them with a slight darkness. As they draw closer, they begin to winnow themselves down �" changing into the outlines of people.

Beth grabs onto me, and all of us stare at something that shouldn’t be real.

Darien stands still, apparently unaffected. His mouth is moving, his eyes darting around the shadows, as if having a silent conversation with them. The shadows gather around him, layering on top of each other until it’s difficult to see him. We all watch in silence, but I can almost hear the questions burning behind our lips.

We wait. The shadows stay for what seems to be forever, but they finally begin drifting back towards where they came from, losing their form as they go. When the clearing returns to its original state, Hombre’s eyes snap back to their normal color, even though I notice the blue’s much lighter than before.

 “What was that?” Beth asks, her grip tight and her eyes wide.

“Yeah, really, though.” Alyssa mutters, her hand going up to fiddle with her eyebrow piercing. I see her shiver.

I don’t think Hombre’s even heard the question, “I’ve found us a way out. The people in there can help us.” He nods toward the gigantic tower and our eyes move to it.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Beth says, almost squeaking, “How did I not even notice that? I’m freaking out here.” She lets go of me, staring at the tower.

I narrow my eyes, looking at Hombre, and I can’t help the frown which graces my lips as I ask, “How do you even know there’re people in there? Why would they help us? And what were those things around you just now?”

He considers me, and then, surprisingly, offers up an answer: “Those were spirits. I can talk to them, and they’ve helped me before, so I trust them. They told me that the next portal we need to find is in there.”

I don’t even know how to approach the whole ‘spirits’ thing. Before I can ask anything, Beth pipes up, “Another portal? Was that what we just went through? Are you taking us back?”

His answer is short, “No.”

We all stare at him.

“Why not?” Beth asks, her doe-eyes in full effect.

He sighs, “I don’t know how. Look, I asked, but they said that getting you back is impossible right now. Our best bet is just to keep going forward.”

Alyssa’s eyes are darting around as if she’s trying to find answers in the labyrinthine trees and she asks, “Is this some type of parallel universe? Was that a wormhole?” She seems to be grasping for words which can rationalize the experience for her.

Hombre shakes his head, looking a little frustrated. He glares at me, as if I should be helping him. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, does it? We need to get to the next artifact. I can tell you what I know later, but we should get moving.”

Alyssa stares at him, and I see her brimming up with new questions, but I interject first, “Artifact?”

“Your bracelet’s one. I need to find them. I made a promise.” He shifts, looking away, almost as if I’ve crossed some personal boundary by asking, “Just . . . don’t worry about it for now.” He gestures towards the tower again, his voice flat as he says, “Look, there’s a bridge. Come on, let’s go.” He starts forwards.

“Can’t you give us some answers?” Alyssa asks, “Please?”

He stops, staring at her, clearly thrown by the sudden politeness.

“Listen, I just want to go back,” she says, her voice desperate. Beth reaches for her hand, but Alyssa pulls it away and crosses her arms. Beth looks a bit affronted, but I know it’s just how Alyssa works. Whenever she needs to solve a problem, she needs space. Of course, Beth works the opposite way. If anything goes wrong, she clings to you like saran wrap.

I see Darien suddenly go rigid, his gaze locked on the edge of the forest. He hisses, “Be quiet. Get behind the stone.”

He’s a pale I’ve never seen before. A strange creaking comes from the woods so that not even Alyssa protests; we all rush to hide, afraid of what may emerge on the other side of the clearing.

Author's Note

I think this is pretty close, too. Let me know what you think, though. =)

Reviews

[Nonnye]

Hi, I have only read this chapter though only once so if I remark on something that seems like it was addressed please bare with me.
"I’d think I was lost in a nightmare that parades itself as a pleasant dream." Lovely line.
"Despite some evidence of being worn, it seems very well tended." Perhaps show vs tell here.
"Considering the fact. . ." (This is my own personal prejudice so take my comment here with that in mind.) I think this could be stated so that it makes the sentence stronger.
"...with an almost creepy glint in his eyes." again show vs tell. Maybe what about it was creepy. (What is creepy?)
Regarding the woman in silver I didn't get that she seemed to be giving off heat. I wasn't sure what the wording around her description meant.
I think that chapter 3 has several opportunities where you can create a stronger picture by showing more vs telling.
Again I want to say that you have interesting characters, mystery and setting.
My next statement is only an observation possibly more about me than your story: My patience with Hombre and the girls regarding his determination to keep his secrets and their unwillingness to "box his ears until he is ready to spill it" is thin. It is by no means something that will keep me from reading and enjoying the story and perhaps it is intentional.
I remain delightfully hooked!
Thanks
Nonnye

[Emma Olsen]

Thank you! Hmm . . . I'll try to edit out some of the conversation, maybe, and just get to the action so it's not so forced. There's supposed to be some tension, but I don't want it to be irritating in a way that's distracting. It doesn't sound like that's the case, but please let me know if it is. This didn't seem the appropriate place for explanations, but I'm very mired in all of it, so having outside opinions is always helpful.