The Journey

by Arnav Koppala

  The doors have so many intricate designs and symbols written all over it with each one of them symbolizing an event or something like that. The symbols looked like a cross between hieroglyphics and Hindi and Japanese. I was not able to decipher any of this. I might need an interpreter after all this was over. What did the signs and symbols mean? The whole door was bigger than a mansion back on earth. Ping!

  I take a trip down memory lane. Reflecting, I wonder if I will ever see my parents again. Are they looking for me? Did they even notice I was gone? Did they file a missing person’s report within 24 hours of me not having returned home? The only life I have ever known is gone and now this. My heart ached because I just wanted to know that I would make it back to where it was safe. Who was going to see after my dog since it was my responsibility? So many questions coming from all over and still no answers.

  I remember the times where I used to play with my mom back at home in the backyard. If only I could have one more chance to play tag. All the times we would play frisbee together as my dog tried to catch it sailing in the air. I miss my mom’s homemade pie. She used to make the best strawberry pie from scratch. The entire smell permeated the entire house. I miss the smell of the lake breeze shooting in and out of my house like a bullet in the air. The lake, not too far from my house, held many memories as I used to walk the trail. How I am going to miss throwing rocks and watching them skip on the lake.

  Most of all, I miss my dad’s rough calloused hands everyday he used to come back from work. As soon as he would walk through the door, He would hug me so tight and ruffle my hair. He worked in the IT department and he would fix the software problems all the time. The hours he worked were very strenuous, and so my time with him was limited. He traveled abroad a lot, and it made it difficult to be able to spend time with my dad. Often, he would be gone for weeks if not months at a time depending on the demand of the work he had to do himself. He coded programs, and he was sought after to fix challenging computer problems that no one else knew how to fix.

  One day my laptop froze completely and it started acting real weird and crazy. I took it to my dad. Suddenly, his hands were moving on the laptop’s keyboard as if his fingers were tapdancing the day away. That same day, both my mom and dad argued and screamed, was when they disappeared the whole day. They did not leave any prior notice that they were departing. They just left. I was not to concerned about it. They came back the next day.

  They kept arguing about the laptop. They were the same parents of course, but the laptop was a different story. Everything changed after that. The one thing that was peculiar was it was the same day Jack, Alex, Justin, Mathew, and I met in the same room at the time the convergence happened. This was during the school year where we were all in 7th period and all our powers ignited in Orchestra and then the convergence. I will never forget that. I don’t think any of us would forget what happened.

  After that day, my parents were more cautious than they ever were before. Things were just not right after they came back. Mom’s baked pies ended up burnt every time she went to cook. Dad stopped traveling abroad. Something happened in the IT department with the coding. He was making a top paying salary and then decided he wanted to pursue other endeavors.

  I heard him mention something about the company having to downsize. I really do not know all the details, just what I had overheard him saying to mom. Dad had quit his job. He gave me this kind of weird watch which had this tracking app. I guess this was his way of showing he was trying to keep me safe. Life still stayed the same but something was a bit off with my parents. Weird. I just wanted to be back home where it was safe.

  Back at the gate, I stare at the markings for a really long time, not even paying a single attention to the intestinal feeling of the thousand butterflies I had flying in my stomach. There was something odd about the giant doors. I could not put my finger on what it was. I kept on looking for weird spots in the wall. I was looking for indents in the wall. I thought the indents would be buttons on these doors to gain entryway. Then I thought, maybe, there is something on the floor that will lift me up to spot. I have not yet searched on the wall. I look down and I scream to my heart’s content.

  I am standing over a huge abyss that seems to be running all around whatever this place seems to be. The abyss seems to descend into infinity with what seems to be some life-threatening white glow that just might be another way to slip away instantaneously. Then I think, wait, those walls are impossible to go through, but what about going over the wall. I use my magic, boost myself up and over the wall. I fly over the wall and land on some kind of barrier.

  In a flash, pain shot up my leg like a cramp. Grabbing my leg and wincing in pain I started to lose my balance. I blacked out, only getting a glimpse of falling into the glowing abyss. Again, here came the voice. Who are you?

  — • —

  “Wake up. Wake up. Come on. Get up, man.” Came a voice I thought I recognized. I am not alone. The voice sounds familiar. Oh, there is life here. I slowly open my eyes. I come back to myself out of a daze. I sit up in shock. I vacuum the air around me. I quickly stop to realize who I was just about to harm. Oh, no. It would have been Uncle Peter, Mathew, and Austin. I was about to take precautionary measures.

  Was this really them or a figment of my imagination? I turned on the gravity to make the air pressure around them heavy, so I could assess what was going on. I was relieved to be back with them but I was so frustrated. They had teleported inside the city, while I was teleported outside and alone. I wanted answers. Austin backed away, scared. He saw my frustration. There was a glint of fright lingering in his eyes. There was something different about him. He betrayed us and we forced him to follow us.

  Austin came up to me and said sorry. He apologized? That is real freaky. That is the last thing you expect from a Kalamanian of the dark side. I am sorry is not something you would hear from Austin considering he was a troublemaker. Here he was showing compassion. I guess, people do have it in them to have a change of heart from time to time. It just did not make any sense but I accepted it.

  In fact, the last I remember Sakuta is the dark guy, who draws power from the dark side and loses power to the light side. Kalamine X keeps him under control. That guy kidnapped my parents for crying out loud. My poor parents. There is no telling what they suffered at his hands. I clench my fists in anger.

  The thought of Sakuta makes me want to upset him and watch him suffer for the rest of his life. There is no good in Sakuta. They both have the same power but Austin does not like Sakuta. How can two people that have the same power despise each other? Austin wants to be rid of him. They are archenemies. They are so much alike they do not like each other.

  My vision is starting to come into focus and I spot a light brown head of hair. I look up and I see my friend Mathew. “Mathew,” I yell. Man, do I miss them a lot. “Hey, everyone. It is nice to see everyone. However, first things first. How did I end up here?” My mind was so confused. I thought that I would…… well, I don’t want to even go there. I wanted to give him a high-five but my hands were clasped to the seat.

  Apparently, the white abyss was actually the entrance into the outpost, but the security there investigated me. The way I was questioned, you would have thought I had committed perjury under oath or some other crime. It was a city-wide interrogation. I was under severe scrutiny. Luckily, Uncle Peter found me and helped me get out of there asap and I landed in the infirmary. If it were not for Uncle Peter, I would have wound up incarcerated. Uncle Peter had inside access and was privy to Kalamine Y security intelligence and was able to negotiate on my behalf.

  I tried to get down from the bed but something was keeping me down. I look at my wrists and ankles and discover that there were shiny silver bands of iron on my wrist with strong magnets pulling them and keeping them stationary. On the band, my name was engraved with numbers beside it of how many days I had been in the infirmary from the negotiation dispute. If my memory serves me right, it reminde
d me of the symbols and signs I had seen earlier. I could only make out my name and numbers though.

  I am grateful to Uncle Peter right now because there is no telling where I should be. If they had their way, they would have put me in a straightjacket in an asylum. The metal clamps came off surprisingly fast and a pint of quintessence was injected in my blood, so I think I would be okay. It felt invigorating like as if someone put sugar directly in my body.

  Uncle Peter disappeared shortly and came back with an exhausted look on his face. You could tell he was weary. He might not have gotten any sleep for days. He had a look of bewilderment. I am sure from all the commotion, he was worried about Aunt Glalie and the others. I started to feel a little sick. It looks like I better brace for bad news. As if what I was enduring wasn’t already terrible enough; what more could possibly go wrong at this point? This was all too unfamiliar and I just wanted to be home.

  Uncle Peter came back and told us that he was able to get a message through to Aunt Glalie, who is currently in Kalamine Z. He told her to meet us in Kalamine X. Uncle Peter was able to send the message through the bracelet to Aunt Glalie letting her know that we were all accounted for and to journey towards the center. The bracelet had multiple functionalities. It was compatible to be able to communicate across the dimensions. At least there was communication and we were not completely out of reach with the others. The only thing is, there was often a delayed reaction that would come through at a much later time. Uncle Peter was tired from the delayed responses but was finally able to make contact.

  The problem was Sakuta destroyed the KUN, so we cannot teleport back to Kalamine X, so the only other way we could get to Kalamine X in the fastest way possible is by flying a ship. “Great. How in the world are we going to get a ship? We need permission of course, but we don’t even have money to buy the ship in the first place.” I muttered. “I have an idea. Mathew shouted. “We could go to the mall and use some of our magic to do some really cool tricks. Then, with the money we can buy stuff, enhance them with our magic, and then sell them off for an even bigger price. We can use the profit to buy the ship.” That didn’t seem like such a bad idea.

  Uncle Peter interrupts. “Hey, I have some—or we can do jobs and help people with their everyday lives and we can get some major moola fast. We can just get some—or we can just borrow a ship and fly into the great beyond. Then again, that would make us fugitives. That would not work, so we can just stick to…”

  “STOP talking. There is a bank not too far away from here. I can just get some money, buy a ship, and fly off to Kalmine X.” I said.

  “We can do that because that is such a better idea than what I originally had in mind.” Uncle Peter said.

  I got down from the bed and my legs are straight up in loads of pain. They were extremely sore. Whatever that barrier was, it caused a whole lot of damage to my legs. Mathew was kind of enough to make some metal crutches for me. He even melted the rubber and some memory foam onto the handle to help me. He brought in a wheelchair so I would not have to put so much pressure on my legs until we made it out of there.

  Finally, the paperwork came for me to be discharged. I was able to read the summary to see how I wound up in the infirmary. The medical report showed that I hit the barrier and I fell into the abyss. I was knocked unconscious into the city where Uncle Peter and the others discovered it was me. The only way that I was able to obtain medical observation was because Uncle Peter was able to speak on my behalf as guardian allowing me medical attention. We headed out of the hospital place and people just like us are bustling here and there and everywhere.

  Before making it outside, I step up out of the wheelchair and leaned on the crutches. Right outside of the doors was nothing but uniformed officers. I could see behind them to the car that had Y KALAMINE on the side of the car. Immediately, when I was unable to provide residential status, I was taken into custody by security. They were trying to haul me off to some unknown place. It was normal propaganda for them to do a thorough inspection but this was unheard of for it to be to this degree.

  I am about to be taken into this police looking car because they had sighted me for trespassing into the city. Uncle Peter runs after me saying release him. They ask him, who are you. Uncle Peter says I am with the KX Department Sector C and flashes his badge. They at once release me. I had better stick close to Uncle Peter. Safe.

  There was not one place where there was no person there at all. The creepiest thing of all, everyone is moving at the same pace and everything was neat and in order. I had never seen anything like this. Everything had a specific time schedule. Just then, a sign lit up and an alarm chimed saying, “Restroom time.” Everybody neatly formed lines around the restroom.

  In ten minutes, everyone in the whole city finished going to the bathroom! Yes. Everyone, including the security, who kept a close eye on me and kept and staring at Uncle Peter. That is some level of amazing and creepy. I just cannot imagine how something like going to the bathroom has to be organized.

  Uncle Peter guides us through the streets and we come across what looks like a prism tower. This structure appeared to be changing shape right before our very eyes. It was oscillating. The sign on the front door said thieves would be persecuted there. It even talked about the vault being locked and secured. I had never seen that before now. Hmmmm. Their currency are loxers which means…I have no idea where the name comes from.

  The bank reminds me of the mansions we have back at home. The houses, they remind me of the White House. Those houses in Kalamine Y standards are cheap as a pack of yellow highlighters. Back on earth, I mean.

  We arrive at the bank, and we step inside. There are exquisite chandeliers hanging from the ceiling with frescos painted all over the ceiling. The walls are covered with a shiny coat and delicate embroidery. The people there are wearing diamond suits with a diamond hat and a diamond bow.

  To top it all off, their shoes were diamond studded. The countertops and almost everything else was made with pure gold. Uncle Peter walks up to the countertop, and the rest of us stand next to each other right behind him. If Uncle Peter was not here, I don’t know how we could have survived being in this unique dimensional city.

  The guy behind the counter spoke. I could not understand a single word that he said. It was like he was speaking a whole other language. Something was glowing right beneath my eyes. I slowly look down to see that my crystal was glowing dully and then it hit me. The crystal was the eternity code. It could translate any message into words and I could understand.

  I grab the crystal and clench it as hard as I can. It starts to glow brighter in return. The light started shining on my skin as a tingling sensation winded its way through my body. My body lit up with ancient runes and alphabets and it disappeared just as quickly as it came. The guy behind the counter was suddenly talking English. I was bedazzled by the fact that I could understand him.

  I started feeling thirsty, so I asked Uncle Peter if there was any water around. He spun around quickly and he told me say what I wanted again. “I really want some water. Is there a place I can go to get some water?” I asked. Uncle Peter stares at me with shock. His mouth is gaping with awe.

  I turn around to Austin and Mathew. They are facing me with confused looks. I ask them what is wrong? And there they are again not understanding a single word I am saying. I ask the countertop guy the same question I asked Uncle Peter and he goes away only to come back with a package that says water on it.

  Uncle Peter then tells me I am speaking Kalamanian. Wait, back up. I am speaking Kalamanian? “No, I am not. I am speaking English. You are too and so is the countertop guy.” I retort back to Uncle Peter’s statement. The banker is a native to Kalamine X and does not know a single word of English and has never heard of it ever in his life. How is he randomly speaking English now?” That was it. I plop onto the floor with realization. What does this mean now? I glance back at the others and tell them to grab their crystals. They both flash and both Mathe
w and Austin are speaking English. The banker is scratching his head trying to understand the situation. What more is there to discover the crystal?

  — • —

  Meanwhile, I decided to go check out the rest of the bank. I noticed right away that inside the bank, there were very few people to help the patrons. It just had self-service technology everywhere. It was the efficiency of two worlds. I guess, they thought this was the best way to facilitate transactions with ease. However, there would still be human interaction when it came to more complex transactions. Yes. We would be in need of financial assistance to meet our needs to acquire this ship.

  There were drones that assisted with certain things inside the bank like bringing people deposits and withdrawal slips. They came in all sizes. There was a huge order of cardboard boxes of supplies being delivered by a huge drone dropped right in the middle of the lobby. Thud… There was a huge steel vault door with the combination lock. If you got stuck in there, you were not going to get out anytime soon. If that wasn’t enough to get stuck in there, the barrier was intrusion protected so the only way for the door to open after it was shut was the time clock had to expire.

  I was trying to find a place to sign in so that we could be seen. There were these neat looking portable kiosks everywhere. They were very popular because there was a line at each one. Is this where I need to be to sign in to get some assistance? Before I could finish my thoughts a man in a black suit came from the vault with a lady carrying a safe deposit box that was illuminated and took her to a separate room.

  Clunk…The door slammed behind the lady and the man in the dark suit motioned for a robot that was positioned towards the wall to go get the huge boxes in the middle of the lobby and take it back to a huge storage room. In an instant, the robot did what it was commanded and the man came over to me and asked if I needed assistance just as I was about to sign into the kiosk. Without hesitation, he ushered me back to his office and told me to have a seat.