A Journey to a Hundred Worlds
Chapter I
Her chest heaved up and down with each slow, sleeping breath she took. Her calm exterior hid the turmoil she was experiencing inside.
At first her dream had started out normal enough. But then it had taken a turn for the worse. Darkness had surrounded her, swirling around her in circles, not quite touching her, but constantly stretching out as though it was about to before drawing back again. And then her brother appeared. He seemed oblivious to the malignant darkness that was everywhere. Altogether the darkness abandoned her and instead engulfed her brother. When it cleared away, he was gone and she was awake.
Unsettled, Michelle sat up in her bed, eyes wide open, breathing heavily. She practically threw herself out of bed, racing to her brother’s room, heart pounding. With a trembling hand, she reached out and opened the door. What she found was an empty bed. Drake was not there. Michelle kept the panic from taking over. ‘It was just a dream,’ she told herself in her head. But that thought was a weak one and was soon overwhelmed by hundreds of doubts and bad thoughts.
Staring at the blank space, she suddenly shivered. Then a pain started to make itself known in the back of her mind. She held up a hand to her forehead before it finally passed. She knew something out of the ordinary had taken her brother away.
Even so, she dashed out of the room, through the house to the door which she flung open. She looked out and saw no one. A faint, cold breeze stirred the grass and trees, but nothing else moved. She felt numb. There was no way her dream had come true. Her brother couldn’t of just disappeared. She wouldn’t believe it.
A quiet sob escaped her lips. She turned away from the empty scene outside and instead went to her mother and father’s room. They were still peacefully, ignorantly asleep. She wished she were still like them. Tears still running down her face, she abhorred the knowledge she knew she had. Even though there was no solid proof of it yet, she knew her brother was somewhere beyond her current reach and could very possibly stay that way for forever if she didn’t do something.
So she fled. She left her house and ran to the large pond that was near her house that bordered Lacusen, her village. There it would be quiet, she reasoned, and she would be alone to collect herself and figure out what to do.
When she reached the pond, she slowed to a stop and collapsed. She pathetically lamented the loss of her older brother. She had always looked up to Drake, and now he was just gone. She would do anything to get him back. She would go find a witch or wizard and see if they had enough power to bring him back from wherever he had gone. Even though she doubted that would work, she couldn’t help but hope that it would. None of the few witches and wizards could do all that much. If only there was one that could…
Making an attempt at pulling herself together, she wiped her arm across her face, wiping up equal amounts of snot and tears. She picked herself up unsteadily and ended up losing her balance, falling backwards towards the pond. Just as she caught herself, she felt something weird happening to her. For a moment, nothing was beneath her feet. She felt like she was suspended in absolutely nothing. And then her feet were back on solid ground again.
It took her a moment to register the fact that she wasn’t where she had been. Instead of their being a pond behind her, she heard the sound of rushing water meaning there was a river behind her now. Her head spun with all that was happening. Everything seemed to be happening like some crazy, convoluted, disjointed dream. She felt lost and exhausted, more so than she ever had felt in her entire life. Right now she had no idea where she was. She had no idea why she had left so quickly without even waking her parents and seeking comfort from them. She suddenly wanted to be back at home with her parents patting her on the back, telling her not to worry, she had just had a nightmare and freaked out, applying it to real life. Her brother would come back soon, nothing special having happened to him.
What had possessed her to flee so readily in the first place? Because of her haste, something weird had happened to her. Something unexplainable. She was the one who had disappeared. But then again, maybe this was a start. If her brother really had disappeared too, then maybe now she had found a way to find him again.
Hesitantly, Michelle turned around to face the river she had just appeared next to. Right across from it she could see what appeared to be a city. She didn’t recognize it at all. She felt her confidence shatter, but regained her composure after reminding herself of the reason why she had even fled in the first place: She needed to find her brother. She raised her foot to take her first step forward towards achieving her goal when she was knocked over by something. She let out a cry, falling forward.
A grunt just behind her made her freeze, eyes wide. Slowly, she turned around to find a silver-haired guy that looked to be a few years older than her on the ground, rubbing his shoulder, nose crinkled up on one side. His eyes were unnaturally crimson, causing her own blue eyes to be drawn to his.
The stranger stopped rubbing his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at her. “Why are you staring at me like that?” he asked sharply.
“Um, I um, it’s just that…” Michelle stumbled over her words, still trying to get her brain to function to process what exactly was going on. It seemed like her brain hadn’t been doing any of that so far tonight. “It’s just that, um, are you from around here?” She lifted her arms up to gesture the area around them.
“No.”
Inwardly wincing at his cool and abrupt demeanor compared to her own scattered, bumbling state of mind, Michelle processed his short answer. So he wasn’t from here either? And where had he come from?
Just as she was opening her mouth to ask him, he said, “Look, I don’t really feel like being interrogated right now.” He stood up, an impossible to read look on his face.
“I don’t know how I got here and I don’t know where I am or what to do!” Michelle blurted out, afraid to let someone who might be in a situation similar to hers slip away. “I mean, I don’t even think I’ve let my thinking catch up to everything that’s already happened tonight!”
“Did I say I was here to hear about your troubles?” he answered coldly.
Michelle felt despair taking over. Everything was going wrong tonight. “At least tell me your name, please?” she asked him quickly.
For a long, dreadful moment he said nothing. Then, “It’s Vale. Now leave me alone.” With that he trudged off down the riverbank.
It took Michelle a long while before she could force herself to get up and to try to find a way across the river so that she could get into the city and maybe, if her luck would change, some answers. She doubted anything worse could possibly happen to her after all she had been through already.
At first her dream had started out normal enough. But then it had taken a turn for the worse. Darkness had surrounded her, swirling around her in circles, not quite touching her, but constantly stretching out as though it was about to before drawing back again. And then her brother appeared. He seemed oblivious to the malignant darkness that was everywhere. Altogether the darkness abandoned her and instead engulfed her brother. When it cleared away, he was gone and she was awake.
Unsettled, Michelle sat up in her bed, eyes wide open, breathing heavily. She practically threw herself out of bed, racing to her brother’s room, heart pounding. With a trembling hand, she reached out and opened the door. What she found was an empty bed. Drake was not there. Michelle kept the panic from taking over. ‘It was just a dream,’ she told herself in her head. But that thought was a weak one and was soon overwhelmed by hundreds of doubts and bad thoughts.
Staring at the blank space, she suddenly shivered. Then a pain started to make itself known in the back of her mind. She held up a hand to her forehead before it finally passed. She knew something out of the ordinary had taken her brother away.
Even so, she dashed out of the room, through the house to the door which she flung open. She looked out and saw no one. A faint, cold breeze stirred the grass and trees, but nothing else moved. She felt numb. There was no way her dream had come true. Her brother couldn’t of just disappeared. She wouldn’t believe it.
A quiet sob escaped her lips. She turned away from the empty scene outside and instead went to her mother and father’s room. They were still peacefully, ignorantly asleep. She wished she were still like them. Tears still running down her face, she abhorred the knowledge she knew she had. Even though there was no solid proof of it yet, she knew her brother was somewhere beyond her current reach and could very possibly stay that way for forever if she didn’t do something.
So she fled. She left her house and ran to the large pond that was near her house that bordered Lacusen, her village. There it would be quiet, she reasoned, and she would be alone to collect herself and figure out what to do.
When she reached the pond, she slowed to a stop and collapsed. She pathetically lamented the loss of her older brother. She had always looked up to Drake, and now he was just gone. She would do anything to get him back. She would go find a witch or wizard and see if they had enough power to bring him back from wherever he had gone. Even though she doubted that would work, she couldn’t help but hope that it would. None of the few witches and wizards could do all that much. If only there was one that could…
Making an attempt at pulling herself together, she wiped her arm across her face, wiping up equal amounts of snot and tears. She picked herself up unsteadily and ended up losing her balance, falling backwards towards the pond. Just as she caught herself, she felt something weird happening to her. For a moment, nothing was beneath her feet. She felt like she was suspended in absolutely nothing. And then her feet were back on solid ground again.
It took her a moment to register the fact that she wasn’t where she had been. Instead of their being a pond behind her, she heard the sound of rushing water meaning there was a river behind her now. Her head spun with all that was happening. Everything seemed to be happening like some crazy, convoluted, disjointed dream. She felt lost and exhausted, more so than she ever had felt in her entire life. Right now she had no idea where she was. She had no idea why she had left so quickly without even waking her parents and seeking comfort from them. She suddenly wanted to be back at home with her parents patting her on the back, telling her not to worry, she had just had a nightmare and freaked out, applying it to real life. Her brother would come back soon, nothing special having happened to him.
What had possessed her to flee so readily in the first place? Because of her haste, something weird had happened to her. Something unexplainable. She was the one who had disappeared. But then again, maybe this was a start. If her brother really had disappeared too, then maybe now she had found a way to find him again.
Hesitantly, Michelle turned around to face the river she had just appeared next to. Right across from it she could see what appeared to be a city. She didn’t recognize it at all. She felt her confidence shatter, but regained her composure after reminding herself of the reason why she had even fled in the first place: She needed to find her brother. She raised her foot to take her first step forward towards achieving her goal when she was knocked over by something. She let out a cry, falling forward.
A grunt just behind her made her freeze, eyes wide. Slowly, she turned around to find a silver-haired guy that looked to be a few years older than her on the ground, rubbing his shoulder, nose crinkled up on one side. His eyes were unnaturally crimson, causing her own blue eyes to be drawn to his.
The stranger stopped rubbing his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at her. “Why are you staring at me like that?” he asked sharply.
“Um, I um, it’s just that…” Michelle stumbled over her words, still trying to get her brain to function to process what exactly was going on. It seemed like her brain hadn’t been doing any of that so far tonight. “It’s just that, um, are you from around here?” She lifted her arms up to gesture the area around them.
“No.”
Inwardly wincing at his cool and abrupt demeanor compared to her own scattered, bumbling state of mind, Michelle processed his short answer. So he wasn’t from here either? And where had he come from?
Just as she was opening her mouth to ask him, he said, “Look, I don’t really feel like being interrogated right now.” He stood up, an impossible to read look on his face.
“I don’t know how I got here and I don’t know where I am or what to do!” Michelle blurted out, afraid to let someone who might be in a situation similar to hers slip away. “I mean, I don’t even think I’ve let my thinking catch up to everything that’s already happened tonight!”
“Did I say I was here to hear about your troubles?” he answered coldly.
Michelle felt despair taking over. Everything was going wrong tonight. “At least tell me your name, please?” she asked him quickly.
For a long, dreadful moment he said nothing. Then, “It’s Vale. Now leave me alone.” With that he trudged off down the riverbank.
It took Michelle a long while before she could force herself to get up and to try to find a way across the river so that she could get into the city and maybe, if her luck would change, some answers. She doubted anything worse could possibly happen to her after all she had been through already.