by Bryan Young
“Nah, I don’t man but I’ll figure it out,” Tye said with a wink as he walked away, stopping for a moment to wonder what the hell had just happened.
As he looked up and down the sidewalk, he spotted an old, beat-up truck that looked like it gone through numerous modifications. He wrinkled his nose at the vehicle and wondered whether he’d be safer on a bicycle than what he considered to be metal deathtrap.
Against his better judgment, he opened the door and got into the driver’s seat while resting his phone between his legs with the GPS set to the Angeles National Forest. He looked back at the car dealership to see Chad waving goodbye and returned a genuinely warm look as he waved back. He turned his attention back to the road and groaned, pushing his head against the wheel. “Damn it. I really have to do this... Okay,” he said to himself. “We get to the dome. We go in. We figure out what’s going on. We come back. We fly home. Easy.”
As he drove off the sidewalk towards Pasadena, he felt a strange sense of calm rise inside him. There was an undeniable feeling that he was somehow doing the right thing, not because his actions had an impact on humanity but because he felt that this was where he belonged. As he approached the city, his mind grew blank and only images of the bright-blue orb growing in the distance filled his mind.
Chapter 7: Entrance
Tye drove for roughly half an hour. His phone shut off in conjunction with the now-constant feeling of dread filling him as the dome expanded as he got closer. Although it had looked imposing at first, it had still been a relatively small, blue orb in the distance. Now, it increasingly had begun looking like an all-encompassing force.
As he pulled up to the first barricade blocking Pasadena from visitors, he looked on in absolute awe at the striking structure. He estimated that it had to be well over a mile high. Just as impressive was the area it covered. The dome towered over the city, appearing to completely engulf the forest behind it. In its light-blue backdrop, all other buildings or objects that dared to challenge its silhouette were dwarfed.
The tension inside him was more powerful than ever. It took every fiber of his being to not jump out of the car and run straight towards the dome. Though his logical mind feared it, a strange instinct inside of him sharply contradicted that and continuously pushed him towards it. His eyes dilated, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and the buzzing rose again in his ears drowned out every other sound, until he heard the loud bang of the butt of a gun against the car door, shocking him out of his daze.
A man in military uniform was standing uncomfortably close to the driver’s side window. Tye rolled it down to face a look that would have made a charging grizzly bear back down.
“State your business,” the burly man barked.
“I, uh...” Tye stumbled to find words that would best convince the man.
“State your business or leave immediately,” the man commanded in a tone implying that he would not repeat himself.
Another man was standing with a large gun pressed against his chest, staring him down at him with ice-cold eyes and a deep scowl. He turned to the man at his window and muttered, “It’s nothing, really. I’m just here to visit some friends.”
“No entry to unauthorized personnel. Leave now,” the man replied stiffly, glaring at Tye the entire time.
“C’mon man. What’s the issue with me going to see a couple friends? It’s not that big a deal, right? I’ll be in and out in a few hours tops,” Tye said, attempting to be persuasive.
Undeterred, the man retorted, “You either turn the vehicle around or we will be forced to shoot. There are no buts.”
“Shoot? You’re going to shoot me for trying to see some friends? Are you insane?” Tye asked bewildered.
“Now!” the man yelled, taking a step back from the window.
Tye thought for a second. Then he rolled up his window and put the car into reverse, slowly backing up about twenty feet. He looked at the two men staring at him again and then at the giant dome looming over them all, beads of sweat starting to form on his brow. He knew this was the turning point—either he took the plunge or spent the rest of eternity wondering ‘What if?’ He took in a deep breath and cussed loudly. Placing his hand on the shift, he violently jerked it forward, nearly breaking it, his foot anchored to the gas pedal. He accelerated forward, breaking through the barrier and sending the two military men diving out of the way.
He could hear the sound of bullets whizzing by and hitting his car. He drove maniacally, ducking past every barrier. He zoomed down the road, hellbent on reaching the dome.
Before long, he couldn't see anyone behind him but he eventually noticed two men and an armored vehicle blocking the road ahead. Fully planning to barrel through, he was about to continue driving when he noticed that the two men were standing at each side with their guns pointed directly at him. He slowed down and brought the vehicle to a stop mere meters from them, quickly grabbing his phone and bag and stepping out to meet them.
“Hands up in the air!” one of the men yelled, with his gun pointed at Tye, prompting him to shoot his hands into the sky. “You know you’re on government-controlled property, correct? You’re trespassing, which is a federal offense and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Walk towards my vehicle. Now.”
Tye slowly walked towards the Humvee with his head down. “Listen, man! I can totally explain. It’s a really funny story, actually!” he begged.
“Shut up!” the other man yelled at him.
Tye went silent and watched as the first man began to speak into a radio, seemingly calling for backup. After his conversation, he turned to Tye and scowled at him. “I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing here, but you’re never going to do anything like this again. It may not seem like it, but—” he turned and pointed to the massive dome behind them “—we’re trying to protect you from that.” He walked towards his partner but kept his eyes locked on Tye.
“What should we do with him?” the second man asked.
“Right now, all we can do is wait for Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, or Private to come pick him up.”
“Shouldn’t we check the truck? He could have something nasty in there.”
“You thinking a bomb?”
“I dunno. But it can’t hurt to check and see if anything looks out of sorts. That car looks like it’s straight from one from those crazed ‘EMP survivor’ websites. Might have a loon on our hands.”
“Think he knows about what that thing can do?”
“Nah, I’m sure he’s just another lunatic that got lucky. I’ll go check out the vehicle.”
As the first man walked towards the car, Tye looked up to see the second man aiming his gun at his chest. Tye knew he had to think fast before backup arrived or his vehicle was put out of working order. The gears in his head turned and within a matter of seconds, an idea came to him.
His eyes widened, locking onto the gun. He gave the military man a wry smile and said, “Anyone tell you that you’ve got a big nose? Kinda makes the whole macho gun guy routine a little ridiculous, don’tcha think? Afterall, there’s no need to be so bold and brash, Squidw—”
“SHUT. UP.”
“Okay. Okay. Just, uh... Know that you’re not gonna be the one shooting,” Tye said matter-of-factly with a shrug.
“What the hell are you talking ab—” The man was cut off when a loud pop rang out, forcing him to drop his gun and clutch his hand in pain. Tye made a mad dash for the car as the other man spun around, reaching for his gun. Tye dipped his shoulder and rammed into him, sending him flying. Tye then quickly scrambled to get into his car and started it, accelerating just as he heard his right-side rearview mirror shatter as a bullet went through it. He forced the gas pedal down, shooting past the second man, who had now scrambled into the Humvee.
Tye noticed something odd in his left rear view mirror. The second man had not tried to follow him. He thought back to what the waitress had said and wondered whether they weren’t follo
wing him simply because they couldn’t.
He drove in silence for the next six miles. With no phone GPS and no music to accompany him, he once again let his mind go blank with the familiar and now strangely soothing buzz filling his ears. The dome grew closer. Tye felt as though he was but a speck before the colossal thing.
After fifteen more minutes of driving, he finally reached it. He stepped out of the car, making sure to grab everything he had brought with him. He looked up to see a gargantuan blue wall that looked almost as if it was made of water, dancing and flowing sporadically. Tye stood transfixed. The buzzing in his head once again became deafening while still managing to form coherent words in his mind. “Step towards it. Reach your hand out. Make contact.” It pushed every fiber of his being to go forth into the dome and meet his destiny.
Tye took a step forward. He could see his reflection in the near-liquid surface. He slowly lifted his hand and brought a finger to the surface, penetrating the membrane before quickly retracting it. He turned around to the outside world and saw nothing had changed. No one was following him and there was nothing stopping him from entering. He knew at that moment that this is where he belonged and that everything up to this point had been pushing him here. He turned back, closed his eyes, and took one final breath before walking through the membrane.
Chapter 8: First Contact
The buzzing stopped. He slowly opened his eyes to a warm splendid lush blue jungle with no humidity whatsoever. The interior of the dome was massive. He saw broad lush trees far taller than he thought possible. Each one easily dwarfing the tallest of redwoods and sequoias. The insects looked unreal, their exoskeletons lit up with a cavalcade of colors and each one looked different from the next, none of them even resembling what he was used to outside of the dome. Even the very dirt beneath his feet seemed to have a stupendous luminescent quality to it.
As Tye looked at this new world, he felt every cell in his body being revitalized. The air was the cleanest his lungs had ever breathed, energizing him in a way he had never experienced before. A half-smile appeared on his face as he looked around the alien environment.
Before stepping forward, he turned back to the membrane. With all his strength, he tried pushing his hand back out through the barrier but only managed to create a ripple of energy emanating from the point of contact. Bewildered, he ran his fingers down the barrier and could only see waves trailing each of his finger tips. In his mind he knew there was no turning back.
He faced the forest again and said softly to himself, “Well, it looks like I’m here for better or for worse.” He reached for the phone in his pocket only to find that it was dead. He shrugged and started walking, taking in the serenity of the world around him. He observed the strange plant and animal life, awestruck by every new experience his senses encountered. He ran his fingers through a patch of flowers that looked like neon tulips but had a green appendage that stuck out of the middle, recoiling when he saw one of them snatch an insect out of the air with lightning speed. He looked up to see the sun’s light still managed to penetrate the surface of the dome but the light refracting through the membrane had caused an aurora borealis looking effect towards the top.
“This is all amazing but I still have to figure out why this thing is here and how we can get rid of it. How I do that? I have no idea.” As he looked up, he noticed a small black pod that seemed to be near the top of the dome, emitting a thin stream of light that connected it to the rest of the dome. “Huh. What do we have there?” he asked himself out loud. “I’d bet two whole dollars that this thing has something to do with our dome problem. Issue is, I can’t really see it. Maybe if I could get a better vantage point? But first. I should probably explore this area a bit. I don’t exactly know where I am, and there could be something else of note here. Also, I’m definitely going insane if I’m talking to myself this early. I really gotta figure out what this is and get out.”
Heading in no particular direction, he entered the forest. Something crept up from his right, and before he could move or assume a defensive stance, a blue dog-like creature popped out of the underbrush and jumped onto him, knocking him to ground. It began licking his face and burying its head into his chest as Tye laughed and stroked its smooth head. “Hey! You’re a little friendly, aren’t you!” He slowly moved it off him and stood up to examine the creature. He could see that it had the form of a large dog but was significantly longer. It was completely bald with reflective skin, large pearly white teeth, and a large green tongue hanging out of its mouth. It had no visible eyes but appeared to have sensory pits across its snout, a protruding spine, and a long thin tail with a small glowing bulge at the end.
He smiled as he watched the creature that was walking around him, nuzzling against his legs and licking his hand when he bent down to pet it. When he tried to feel its spine, the creature jumped back. Tye started at the sudden motion, slightly on edge. “Whoa, buddy. You cool? Cause I’m trying to be cool. So let’s just be cool, cool?” he said to the creature, holding his palms out flat. It turned around and started walking away, stopping every few feet and looking back at him and barking a metallic sound that seemed to indicate that it wanted Tye to follow.
Tye shrugged and began to follow the creature. At first, it walked along through the underbrush at a slow pace, but it soon began to pick up speed. After a few minutes, it began to strut, then it broke into a full-on sprint, prompting Tye to take off running after it, not quite sure where it was leading him. As they sprinted with blinding speed through the woods, dodging various branches, boulders, and vines, a sense of euphoria came over him, and he howled with pure elation.
Tye’s ears picked up the faint sound of rushing water. The sound grew increasingly prominent, until the creature eventually took a sharp right that led Tye along the banks of a large rushing river full of alien fish just as spectacular as the creatures he had encountered to this point. He admired them as he ran, awestruck by what looked like a mini plesiosaurs with bioluminescent fins breach the water.
His focus on the creatures broke when he felt a nudge at his legs almost knocking him off balance. Confused, he looked down at the creature that had since increased it’s speed and taken the lead. As he saw it run in front of him, he noticed a giant dip in the land where the water fell. As the creature leaped over the edge, he yelled curses and skidded to a stop just in time to prevent himself from falling into the waterfall.
His heart pounded at the sight of what was likely well over a 100-meter drop. He sat breathing heavily, thankful that he had stopped in time. “Well, shit,” he said to himself, panting. “Could’ve died there. You should probably be more careful about not dying, Tye. Death is bad. It’d be a really smart idea to not die.” He got up and patted himself as he looked around. “Maybe it’d help if I could get a vantage point.” He noticed one of the massive trees in the forest. “Okay, so my speed has increased significantly, I know that for a fact. I wonder if...”
He looked down at the ground, smiled, and ran back into the jungle. As he sped up, he took two long strides, landing on his left foot, and then pushed upwards, taking off into the sky.
He rocketed up nearly 50 meters, feeling weightless, and landed with a hard thud on his feet. He screamed with elation at the fact that not only had he jumped roughly half the height of a skyscraper but also that he had not injured himself while landing. He took off again, this time jumping 80 meters. Then again, a 100. And once more, a 150. Each time, he landed as though he had only jumped but a few inches.
Tye could barely contain his excitement, giddy at his two newfound abilities, he jumped up once more with the largest smile that had ever graced his face. Landing safely again, he said to himself, “Okay, so first off... THAT WAS DOPE! Second, I think I can make my way up to one of those super-tall trees and get a pretty good layout of the land. But first... I still have two more abilities I want to test.”
He raced out of the dense jungle to a nearby cliff face and stood facing it. He felt the
hard rock and nodded with a smile. He stepped back about 20 feet, a look of pure determination on his face. He looked at the wall of rock, took a deep breath and focused his vision. Almost instantly, two large beams erupted from his eyes, pushing him back onto the ground.
Tye slowly raised his head and was shocked to see the full extent of the damage. The beams had created an impact crater, roughly six feet wide and deeper than he cared to find out. He stood up. “Well, that’s... powerful. Don’t know how useful it is if I fly back every time I use it though.” He then looked at his hands and could feel a tingling sensation rushing from his spine to his fingertips. “I wonder,” he whispered.
He extended his hands before him, closed his eyes, and focused on the sensation running through his spine, down his arms, in his palms, and ending at his fingertips. He drew in a deep breath and exhaled. Opening his eyes, he released a burst of energy from each hand. At first, the sight caught him off-guard, but he was able to maintain his balance, digging his feet into the dirt. He held the stream of energy for a solid ten seconds before letting it peter out. He walked over to assess the damage. He nodded in approval upon seeing two three-foot wide craters that appeared to go just as deep into the rock as his eye beams. This caused another wave of excitement as he danced around and cheered, letting go all inhibition.
“Yes! It worked” he screamed. “I have super powers! This is the coolest thing that has ever happened to anyone!” He paused. “Well. Actually. I could’ve won that billion-dollar lottery prize. I think with some savvy and conservative financial decisions, I probably could’ve made that last a lifetime and been in a pretty decent place money-wise for the rest of my life.” Tye looked down at his hands again. “But this is a damn good second place.”
Turning to face the gargantuan trees behind him with a look of determination, he cracked his knuckles and said, “One more thing to test.” Rushing back into the jungle, he found a thicket of the massive trees. He whistled in awe as he looked up, utterly dwarfed by the massive things. He casually walked up to a tree that stood nearly 200 meters tall and 70 meters wide. He then strolled around the base, noticing that it was positioned weirdly between three other trees, such that if it fell, the others would be able to support its weight.