Basil E. Bacorn
Copyright © 2016 by Basil E. Bacorn
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the author
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing, 2016
ISBN 978-1530069248
The Crack In Reality
The seven locks had fallen. As if in slow motion, one by one, the locks that kept Death shut smashed to the ground. On the seventh hit, a crack through the whole existence, and reality itself, took form.
In the Realm of Things Frozen, the Queen's castle burst into ice shards as a blue sliver split open. Pixels jarred as a new portal formed in the Virtual Realm. Every sleeping being woke up as the Dream Realm shook. A blue spot had burst open in the library, literally shattering dreams as pieces of blueprint flew about.
In Everlanon, the Portal Castle disintegrated as the path to the Realm of the Foretold reopened as bright as ever. Prince Will saw this and jumped up. He still had a crush on his friend that lived in the realm, Cassandra Smith, and he feared that she might be in danger. "Cassie!" Will yelled, "I need to make sure she's alright! Bring me the minivan."
Betty's minivan, the one Cassie left behind, had been fixed and refueled since the portal closed. Will leapt into the driver's seat and rocketed towards the new portal, despite all his father’s pleas.
In the Realm of the Foretold, the portal reopened and out flew a banged up minivan. "Cassie!" Will cried loudly, driving recklessly through the streets to his friend's place.
Cassie and Charlie were on their first official date, as they called it. It was simply the couple walking home from Queen's, but Cassie didn't care. She loved whatever she did with Charlie.
She looked at her boyfriend, and studied the blue eyes she was crazy for, his black swishy hair, and his smile. She'd never really noticed it that much before they were officially dating, but now, it stood out like a sore thumb. Or more like a good thumb surrounded by a messed up hand. No, it stood out like the North Star on the clearest night, surrounded by many other great things.
Charlie smiled brightly as he turned to look at Cassie and saw her staring at him. Cassie smiled back. Her smile was pure happiness; anyone could tell that! Her bright green eyes, and freckles made him lose his mind. He was absolutely crazy about her, and completely in love.
Cassie and Charlie soon arrived at her home from their date and instantly stopped in their tracks. Was that the minivan they left in Everlanon? Will! Cassie and Charlie hustled inside and burst through the door. There he was, sitting on the couch in the family room. The one and only Prince Will!
Will was just like how Cassie left him, princely, and royally hot. Not that she would tell him she still thought that. She doesn't like him as more than a friend, especially now that she was with Charlie. Her and Charlie were making plans for a future together, with children, and Bagel and Bella.
Cassie sat the pup down and ran over to Will. "What are you doing here?" Cassie asked excitedly. "Your mother," Will began, "has just begun the end of everything."
Will told Cassie and Charlie about the legend of the Scarrcedenhogg. "Long, long ago, when the existence started existing, there was a beast called the Scarrcedenhogg." explained the prince, "It was thousands of miles tall, and hundreds of miles wide. It had a hundred heads with jaws big enough to rip entire realms to shreds! The monster ran free and destroyed realms by the dozen! That was until ten heroes from throughout the realms went up against it. The battle lasted a year, until finally the Scarrcedenhogg was killed and trapped in the Death Realm, which is where all dead things go. Evangeline just opened the gates, and now it's back. Along with every other previously dead being that's ever been! The worst part is, until the gates are shut, nothing can die, which means that unless they can be locked up, the Scarrcedenhogg is free,"
Cassie couldn't believe it! She should have killed her mother while she had the chance! Now it's the end! "We have to do something!" she decreed, "We have to shut the gates of Death!" Cassie looked around and admitted, "I never thought I'd have to say that."
Someone knocked on the door, and Charlie went to go answer it. He opened the door and screamed, "Ghost!" At the door stood the one and only Mr. Braddock. "I'm back!" he announced, "Miss me much?"
Cassie was amazed. There stood her old history teacher, alive and well. He hadn't even aged since the fire. "Whoa." Cassie gasped. That was all she could say. Her history teacher who she thought was history, is back! "Wait, does that mean that every dead person is now alive?" Cassie questioned. Will shook his head yes. "Sid Saxton is back." Cassie whispered nervously, "So is everyone my mother killed, and everyone else we killed when I was evil."
Oh no! Cassie was right. Everyone who she killed was back and looking for revenge, especially Mr. Saxton. "Mad Alice?" Charlie asked, "Is she back too?"
"Everyone in Death left when the gate opened." Mr. Braddock explained, "So yes, the Scarrcedenhogg and everyone else who’s ever lived is-" Mr. Braddock remembered something, or more like someone. "The Dragon." he breathed, "Also known as your old superintendent, I killed him, and now he's back too. Him and every victim who has died is back, and more than likely, looking for revenge."
"Never mind them!" Will demanded, "We have The Destroyer Of The Realms heading our way, and unless we close Death back up, we are all doomed!" "Yes!" Mr. Braddock agreed, "Once we close the gates, everyone who should be dead will get pulled back in, including me. But that doesn't matter."
"To the portal!" Charlie yelled, running outside. "Bye mom!" Cassie called, "Gotta go save life as we know it!"
They all got in the van and drove to the portal. Someone in Everlanon might be able to help. They crashed this way and that down the street and to the Braddocks' old neighborhood. In the light they went, and they popped out the other side. The van stopped and everyone got out. "This doesn't look like the Everlanon I remember!" Charlie stated, looking around. "Because we're not in Everlanon, we're in a different realm!" Mr. Braddock screamed, "Wait, that means that we didn't go through a portal, we went through a crack." Mr. Braddock continued to think. "I got it!" he yipped, "The locks of the Death Gate must've cracked reality!"
"That's impossible!" said a familiar voice coming from the crack. It was Duchess Stella herself! Did she follow them? How did she know what they were up to? She walked towards the beat-up van. Same trendy style she's always had, only now she was Cassie's best friend. "I get the whole death doors open thing," Stella began, "but a crack in reality is crazy!" Cassie looked at her friend. "Really?" Cassie asked with sass, "You think the reality crack is crazy."
"Let me explain," Mr. Braddock cut in, "Every realm is like a bubble floating around in nothing, and that is reality. When the locks fell, a crack shot through and connected each bubble with what scientists on Earth would call 'a wormhole'. It allows for only one-way transportation, so every time you go in the portal, you shoot further down the crack, until eventually getting to the beginning. In this case, ironically, the beginning is Death."
"Oh!" everyone sighed. "I get it now!" Stella squealed, "Now let's go fix Death!”
An Icy Start
Stella hopped in the minivan with Will, Charlie, Cassie, and Mr. Braddock and they drove through the crack.
Pulling out, the van skidded across a layer of ice. The vehicle continued to slide until it bumped into a wall. Stella opened the door and got out, instantly slipping on the ice and falling on her butt. "Ouch!" she screeched. "What's this place?" Cassie asked, "It's cool!" Cassie had recently picked up a love for puns, good or bad.
"The answer i
s the Realm of Things Frozen!" a voice answered, "I am Queen Sisilla, but some simply call me the Ice Queen. I assume you've heard of me."
The queen was pale as, well, she was as pale as you'd expect her to be. She had an, icy, complexion and wore her white hair up in a bun that somehow made her fierce blue eyes look even more frightening. Her crystallized dress draped around her as a cool mist settled at the bottom.
"Not really." Stella blurted, "Not at all actually, we are just trying to save everyone from the big scary monster, so we'll just be on our way now." The queen looked at Stella with a disgusted expression. "I do not care to talk about a figment of your imagination." she snipped, "I dislike you very much, so guards, seize them."
"Nobody’s with you." Charlie pointed out. Queen Sisilla grinned, "Is that so? Then I'll have to fix that!" The Ice Queen twirled her hand creating several friendly snowmen. "Cool!" Cassie joked, "I don't snow if that is going to work, though!"
With the snap of her fingers the snowmen sprung to life and surrounded the van. "Get in Stella!" Mr. Braddock commanded. "You don't have to tell me twice!" Stella informed, frantically climbing back in. "That's just cold!" Cassie called out, "Wait, snow! I have an idea." She pointed at the closest creature and it exploded into water and splashed all over. "Go!" she ordered, taking out the other snow monsters. Mr. Braddock pushed the pedal down, but they only slid backwards.
"Ice is nice." the queen sighed, "You're not going anywhere!" Cassie used her powers to produce a carpet underneath the van, leading all the way to the escape. "Yes, we are!" she announced. Sisilla lifted her hand and the path iced over. "No, you aren't!" Sisilla grinned.
"We're trying to help here!" Will shouted at the lady. What was her problem?
"You are helping nobody!" the Ice Queen yelled, "I am the ruler of this realm, and you all are hereby prisoners of the Ice Queen!" She twirled her hand creating a huge snow monster. The beast scooped up the minivan and followed the Ice Queen to her new castle.
The van was tossed in a corner, cracking the ice. Falling through with a thump, Sisilla looked down as the hole sealed them in.
"What now?" Stella questioned the group. "It's just ice!" Cassie reminded. She got out of the tipped van and lifted her hand to fix the vehicle's orientation. "Now, ice melting time!" she yipped, blasting the ice with a steady stream of flame. When she stopped, the roof was still there!
"Cassie?" Charlie asked, "Couldn’t you just transport us out?" "No." she admitted, "It's too cold for me to concentrate. I had that problem when I was stuck on a polar bear a while ago." Cassie remembered being freezing cold, clinging to the very rude bear's back.
"You rode a polar bear!" Stella squealed. Cassie snickered at what she was about to say. "It was un-bear-able!" she joked making the group moan. "Cassie," Charlie began, "I love you so much, but your puns are so-" "Gross." Stella cut in. "And bad." Will added. "Not to mention that they are incredibly annoying!" Sir Arthur sneered. Cassie frowned, "Tough crowd."
"I agree." said the mean queen, dispersing the ice cavern roof, "With your friends. Your jokes are nothing more than an incredibly annoying pun-ishment." Cassie scowled at the queen who was undoubtedly making fun of her. She resisted the urge to congratulate her icy pun. "What is the reason for you keeping us here?" Cassie demanded to know.
"I have my reasons," she explained, "and they are very dear to my heart. So as long as I live, you will never leave this place!" The Ice Queen flicked her wrist and the roof began to reform.
"What is wrong with you!" Cassie screamed, "We are just trying to help!"
"How are you helping!" she yelled, stopping the roof to shoot ice at the van, "I know that the only way to get rid of the Scarrcedenhogg is to close Death's gates, which will also send back everyone else too! I refuse to let that happen! I refuse to let you take my son!" Cassie watched as a little boy came out from hiding behind his mother. "He died." she explained, "He's only five." Cassie didn't want to take her son. She closed her eyes tight and pointed at the boy, hoping for the best.
With this power there is responsibility,
I grant you the gift of living with your Mother for all eternity!
A golden light bathed the mother and son as they were marked 'unsuitable for Death'. "There you go!" Cassie smiled, "You two are now immortal. You are officially banned from the Death Realm. Can we go now?"
At first the queen was in shock, and then she raised the group up out of the hole. "Yes, go!" she ordered. It was nice for Cassie to know Sisilla had a warm spot somewhere in her frozen heart.
"And thank you." she said, as the van switched back on, "If I can help at all, just call for me." She then melted a path in the ice to get back to the reality break, and off they went.
Hashdukien
The group of wannabe heroes drove through the crack once more. The minivan flew out the other side and fell into a bush. "Who dares land their craft in Montusdea's bushes!" a voice in charge called. Cassie stuck her head out and saw dozens of elves running towards them. "You will be punished severely for your treason!" the small man in the lead yelled.
Cassie wanted to laugh in their faces. What could little men do? "Slow your roll, you little dwarves." Will ordered, "We are busy and have no time for your pointless attempts to capture us for wrecking your shrubs!" Cassie smiled. Will was so cute when he got all royal and started bossing people around.
The little man got red in the face and started shaking about. "Trees! Attack!" he yelled.
Charlie looked around. Did he just tell plants to attack? That was hilarious! The trees here looked just like trees on Earth, green and brown, stuck in the ground. He glanced at Cassie to make sure she wasn't worried. Nope, no worry! She was still as beautiful as ever! Charlie took some time staring at her pretty green eyes and long blonde hair.
"Trees?" Stella asked, "Are the little men in such trouble that they are asking wood for help?" Stella got out of the van, fixing its leaning problem. She walked over to a tree and looked up at it. "What are you gonna do?" she teased, angering the midgets. They were only a foot tall, not even, and they thought trees were going to help. Ha!
"Stella," Will warned, "Get in the van. Now." He had just put two and two together and didn't like the sum. "Little men plus tree attacks equals a realm called Hashdukien." Will told her when she was back inside, "These people are imperialists, as in they like taking over realms. Long ago was the Realm War. It was started by these tiny little imperialists and their army of tree warriors called the Hashduki." Will looked at Cassie.
"So that means we're in big trouble." Mr. Braddock whispered. He stepped on the gas, but the van refused to move. "What's wrong?" Stella inquired, looking out the window at the tires, "Never mind, I know. Trees!" As Stella had said, the trees were the problem. Roots wrapped around the tires in coils, already sprouting leaves.
"I got this!" Cassie bragged, sending the trees a hot message. If you've ever heard a tree scream, you'd know how freaked out everyone was when it did. The root loosened enough for the van to drive away.
"Where are you going?" Will interrogated, "The crack's behind us!" Mr. Braddock looked back at Will as he ran over dwarves and said, "Relax! I got this!"
Will was furious and Cassie knew it. She had to do something to stop a fight between the two. They had no time for arguments of such royal proportions! Cassie glanced at Charlie and mouthed the words, 'Trust me'. As soon as he nodded with his adorable confused expression, Cassie leaned over and kissed the enraged prince.
She had to admit, she probably could have calmed him down in a different way, but she saw an opportunity, and definitely wasn't disappointed. Cassie was pretty sure that she was never going to see Will again, and when she did, she really wanted to kiss him. But it's not like she was going to dump Charlie because Will was an amazing kisser. She loved Charlie, but a last kiss wasn't that bad, right?
Charlie was not expecting that! Yes, he trusted Cassie, but what was all of the smooching for! He was still her boyfriend, and he had the right to kno
w certain things. Especially when he was watching his girlfriend make-out with her ex to calm him down! Of all the things!
Will was in shock. Love shock. What was happening? Cassie was kissing him; just like she did when they were dating! Will couldn't resist and kissed back. He'd deal with Charlie later. There was no way he was giving up this opportunity!
Was Will kissing her back? Holy cow in Atlanta, he was! Cassie needed to pull back before Charlie got mad, but couldn't. She was enjoying it. She breathed in deep and sure enough, Will was wearing his signature ocean breeze cologne. Beach thoughts streamed through Cassie's brain, her and Will, together forever. And then it hit her, the rainy night. "I guess this is the end of ever." he had said as he ripped away from her. The end of ever.
Cassie ripped away as a small tear dropped onto Will's hand. "Are you better now?" she asked sniffling. Will looked at Charlie who was glaring at him with a look that could kill a dragon, and since it was impossible for anything to die, that was one heck of a scowl! Looking back at Cassie, Will answered, still stunned, "Yeah."
Meanwhile, Stella was, well, she didn't know what she was or what just happened. Cassie just started eating Will's face off, and then pulled back like it was nothing! 'I swear that girl gets more confusing every second!' Stella thought.
Sealing Death Page 1