Fallen World

by Ben van Eijk

  Below Seth, Heidi had crossed through the door and become the evil sister. She saw his enormous foot in front of her and fired a burning red beam from her hand up towards Seth’s colossal head. Seth felt the stinging of the beam and looked down to find the source. He saw the slight movement of Heidi and realised that the evil sister was now below him, while the good one was trapped inside his hand. His hand unfolded and Jacquelyn stood in his palm saying something, but Seth could barely hear it. He lifted her towards his ear.

  “Gross, your ear is disgusting Seth — but either way, this is an impressive power! I didn’t think you would be powerful enough make it to the bridge, but now I am doubting myself. Now! You need to go to the right door,” said Jacquelyn as she stared into the maw of Seth’s ear canal. “You will need to shrink down again so you can fit through it when I show you which one.”

  Seth did not like this idea. It would leave him vulnerable to Heidi’s attacks which had come to a suspiciously sudden halt. He scanned the ground beneath him and saw no sign of the second sister. The air was silent and static. Seth could see from his current height just how many doors there were; reaching the bridge would definitely be impossible without Heidi and Jacquelyn.

  “What would happen if I killed your sister?” Seth asked in a booming voice. Jacquelyn was still on Seth’s palm nearby his ear.

  “The next time I cross through a door, I would disappear and I wouldn’t help you anymore because you would have killed my sister.” The tone in Jacquelyn’s voice was one of complete seriousness.

  This was going to be a difficult journey. At this size, Seth could not fit through any door, but to become small enough to fit through any of them meant he would be vulnerable to one of Heidi’s many powers. Seth felt a stinging on his forehead and looked up to see Heidi floating in front of him at eye level. She was extending a red beam to just above Seth’s eye. He felt it moving down towards his eyeball and dodged out of the way, accidentally dropping Jacquelyn. He looked around frantically to see where the good sister had gone, and saw the red beam again in his peripheral vision. Seth turned to find where it was coming from. A metal root grew from Seth’s outstretched right palm. Heidi could not get out of the way in time and was pushed back by the huge mass of metal.

  The giant column of metal fell to the ground with a crash, demolishing at least five hundred doors in the process, while others were pushed backwards by the enormous force. At his current size, the beam of metal Seth had created was about one kilometre long and seventy metres in diameter. He hoped that he hadn’t destroyed the door he would need to reach the bridge, and once again scolded himself about how he should really think these things through.

  “This is not somewhere I want to be —,” Seth heard Jacquelyn’s high-pitched voice in his ear; she must have been right at the entrance to his ear canal, “— but she won’t realise I’m here. You have to stop her going through any doors or I will become evil and I could easily liquefy your brains from here!”

  Seth quickly scanned the landscape and saw a black speck flying through the air. When it was close enough, Seth grabbed Heidi and held her in his hand as he had Jacquelyn.

  Seth tried whispering so only Jacquelyn would be able to hear but he was sure his enormous voice box would not allow for such subtlety:

  “OK, I have her.”

  Jacquelyn was actually floating nearby Seth’s ear canal. There was no way she would stand in the waxy hairs guarding the entrance to his ear drum.

  “Good! You know, this would be much easier if you could sit on my shoulder instead,” she said. Seth’s lips stretched into a smile as he realised that he could easily execute Jacquelyn’s idea. He could shrink himself so small that she could just walk through the correct door with Seth, and Heidi would have no idea — although Heidi would be the one he needed after Jacquelyn’s crossing reversed the sisters’ polarity again.

  His one hand that wasn’t currently being used as a jail for a sadistic element binder gave a thumbs up. He moved it around slightly to make sure Jacquelyn would see. He heard Jacquelyn give an affirmative response in his ear and he started to shrink, realising simultaneously that would mean the release of evil Heidi. As Seth’s hand grew smaller, gaps appeared between his fingers and Heidi darted to freedom. Seth was not sure where Heidi had gone but now she was free she would surely notice he was shrinking and becoming more vulnerable.

  Jacquelyn was currently about the same size as one of Seth’s finger. A massive shaft of lightning smashed through the air, frying small dust particles in its wake as it barreled towards Seth. Jacquelyn intercepted the bolt, blocking it with a huge shield of invisible energy. A booming sound filled the air as the crack of the thunder reached Seth and Jacquelyn. Still shrinking, Seth watched the lightning bouncing off the transparent barrier and split into smaller streams before trailing off. Keeping track of who was Jacquelyn and who was Heidi, was now extremely important; if Seth hitchhiked on the wrong sister, it would most likely spell death. Right now it was quite easy to see who was who, but when Seth was small enough to perch himself on the shelf of Jacquelyn’s earlobe, it might be more difficult. He kept his eye on the sister fending off the barrage of electricity and flew towards her, now roughly the same size as her.

  Moving towards Jacquelyn and shrinking simultaneously gave Seth the impression that she was moving at an incredibly rapid speed. He jerked back mid-flight, thinking he was preventing himself from colliding with Jacquelyn, but then he quickly realised what had happened. Seth was about level with Jacquelyn’s waist now, and he was slightly smaller than a fly. The sizzling of the electricity being fanned out by Jacquelyn’s invisible shield sounded like thunder when it reached Seth’s microscopic ears. He quickly ascended towards Jacquelyn’s head. The folds in her clothing looked like small mountains and the stains that seemed subtle in reality looked like huge lakes of filth at this magnification. The pale pink landscape below Seth became a blur as he accelerated his approach to Jacquelyn’s ear, his eyes were watering slightly from the wind resistance.

  A few seconds later, Seth was staring into Jacquelyn’s hairy ear canal, each strand of hair covered in a lumpy film of yellow wax. The scene was extremely poorly lit, but there was clearly a humongous mass of wax that Seth would take extra care to avoid behind the hairs. He shouted into her ear, making sure he would be heard. Jacquelyn’s massive head jerked away violently.

  “Not so loud Seth, you’re right next to my eardrum!” Jacquelyn said in a deep rumbling voice as she moved her head slowly back to its original position. From Seth’s angle, all he could see was the waxy and hairy entrance to Jacquelyn’s eardrum coming straight towards him at high velocity, Seth desperately flew away, letting out a short yelp but catching himself short before he caused Jacquelyn more hearing damage. Seth did not see the smile appear on Jacquelyn’s face.

  “I told you it was gross!”

  “I’m in position. If you head to the next door, I’ll be riding with you” said Seth calmly into Jacquelyn’s ear.

  Jacquelyn fired a bright pink bolt of electricity against the flow of white lightning coming from Heidi’s attack. It seemed to knock Heidi’s attack away effortlessly, and Seth gripped Jacquelyn’s earlobe tightly as he felt the acceleration of her flight push him backwards. The doors on the ground became a blur as they zipped past. Seth was grateful that the hunk of metal he fabricated earlier hadn’t destroyed the target door; he was curious how many strange and dangerous destinations he had blocked off. Jacquelyn stopped suddenly, almost sending Seth flying. He angrily told Jacquelyn to give him a bit of warning next time, and she replied that they had arrived at their destination door.

  “You will have to get off my ear as soon as we are through. I am not the same person when I pass through the aperture, but I retain the same memories. In fact, you will be better off flying through the door before me.” Jacquelyn’s resonating voice rattled in Seth’s head, but he understood and agreed with her plan.

  Seth spoke his last words into Jacquely
n’s ear before flying through the now-open door:

  “I will see you on the other side, or Heidi.”

  On the other side of the door Seth could see a flat, deep-blue landscape dotted with thousands of doors. He flew through the door but remained in miniature form, hoping to elude the evil sister if she was the one who came through next. A gargantuan bolt of lightning shot past Seth, bringing a deafening crack with it. Quickly, Seth ascended to be out of the direct pathway of the door. He scrambled to figure out a method of determining which of the sisters would come through the door next. He thought that if both of the sisters were aware of their bipolar nature, then the evil sister who was now Heidi would not come through the doorway, as she knew that she would become good-Heidi and point Seth in the correct direction. Jacquelyn, however, should not want to come through either, since she would also be aware that the moment she did, she would become sadistic-Jacquelyn and try to kill him. Jacquelyn was the one who knew about Seth’s current size situation, so the best person to come through now would be Heidi, and Jacquelyn knew this. If good-Heidi came through, then Seth wouldn’t need to stay microscopic, and if evil-Jacquelyn emerged Seth would be safer if he was back at normal size, or even bigger. Seth returned to his normal size and waited, listening to the fierce exchange of energy blasts on the other side of the aperture.

  Chapter 14

  The landscape behind this door had surprised Seth. At first glance, it looked like a perpetual ocean, stretching as far as the eye could see but the water was completely static. The surface of the gigantic ocean had been frozen in place; waves were in the middle of breaking when some incredible force had drained all heat from the water and suspended it mid flow. The blue of the water beneath could still be seen through the transparent icy surface. Seth watched the mist flowing from his mouth condense as it floated away. He could feel the chill of the surrounding air and was glad he was still wearing his trusty robe. He had positioned himself slightly above and behind the door he had used to enter, and watched the area he expected (well, hoped) good-Heidi would first appear, should she enter this realm. Movement beneath the ice caught Seth’s eye. He saw a multitude of small, coloured objects darting back and forth. He looked around to see if there were more but they all seemed to be focused around the area where he was now floating. Apparently Seth’s presence had attracted whatever these things were.

  Suddenly the small shapes dispersed and only a solid blue colour could be seen again. The dark blue of the water trapped beneath the ice looked like it had a darker patch just beneath Seth now. He squinted to see if he was correct — and the patch became darker and bigger. Seth looked up hastily, expecting to see something falling towards him, but only a cloudy grey sky was visible. The patch was now about ten metres in diameter and growing faster, Seth realised it must be something beneath the ice, and he quickly flew upwards to avoid whatever was now swimming towards him. He rose high above the jagged, frozen surface of the ocean, and could now see the shape of the creature more clearly. Again, Seth squinted downwards. More light reached the creature now, revealing a dark brown colour with two black patches that looked like they might be eyes.

  The creature came into focus for a split second just before it smashed through the surface of the ice. In that same instant, Seth had observed that the creature also possessed a mouth about the same width as its head, now revealed to be 25 metres wide. Its mouth was slightly open before it pulverized the ice, revealing countless teeth that looked sharp enough to slice Seth in half effortlessly. Even if they were at all dull, their size and crushing power would have had no trouble killing him. The cold water splashed up in front of the creature as it emerged from its ocean habitat. Massive shards of ice turned white as their smooth surface was ruined by the reckless beast smashing upwards. Some shards were flying towards Seth but most flew off harmlessly to the side. Seth felt the cold spray and flew even higher, fearing the creature would be able to launch itself to his altitude.

  He looked down he as flew upwards. Out of the white explosion of water emerged the creature. Its mouth was now completely open; obviously, it had come to the surface to feed. Bouncing around inside the huge monster’s mouth were many doors breaking in half with splinters flying everywhere. In the creature’s mouth Seth could see the door through which he had arrived along with many others and began to panic. If that door was destroyed, would he be trapped in this frozen place? Would Heidi or Jacquelyn be able to enter this world to help him find the bridge of The Wandering Cross (a journey he was now really starting to consider whether or not it was worth the trouble)?

  The skin of the beast now flying towards Seth was shiny with water. The creature was a teardrop in shape, with the bulk of its mass angled towards Seth and the pointed end flailing about behind it. The huge mouth of the beast divided its two pigmentations; the top half was a dark, speckled brown, where its shiny black eyes stared menacingly towards Seth. Underneath its mouth, what must have been the belly of the substantial beast was a pallid fleshy tone. It had two long tendrils of that same colour, each one extending from either corner of its mouth and trailing metres beyond its body, waving in the wind as it charged towards Seth.

  The ascent of the beast slowed as it began to reach the apex of its trajectory. Seth was glad he had flown higher, or he would now be taking the first step in the epic journey of being digested. The creature’s mouth snapped shut, still ten metres below where Seth was now floating. Seth heard the crunching of wood as the doors inside its gaping maw were crushed, and with them, his only certain chance for egress. Seth could hear the loud swallowing noise coming from the aquatic animal just as it was about to succumb to gravity. Suddenly the head of the beast exploded, and Seth felt the mist of the liquefied viscera splash against his exposed skin. The warmth of the disgusting fluid dripping from him was sickening. The space where the beast’s head had just been was now occupied by the two sisters, shooting beams of fire, lightning, and plasma in all directions as they struggled to incapacitate each other.

  Instead of just Heidi or Jacquelyn coming by herself through the aperture as Seth had hoped, it was Heidi and Jacquelyn simultaneously, which made the problem of keeping track of them even more difficult. Seth stared at the two sisters as they tumbled through the air, an entire spectrum of colour spraying in all directions. Seth needed to quickly dodge a few beams that flew towards him. His movement caught one of the girl’s eyes and she started to shout to Seth.

  “You need to go that way Seth!” shouted one of the sisters — hopefully the good one — and she fired a straight blue-white beam. Seth understood and immediately began flying in the direction she had indicated. Then the other sister shouted to him.

  “No! Seth! That’s Heidi! You need to go this way!” and a perfectly straight bright pink beam fired into the depths of the ocean.

  Seth tumbled through the air as he attempted to change directions too quickly. His robe slapped him in the face and blocked his vision. Without any sense now of which way was up, Seth had no idea how he should be manipulating the airflow around him. He pulled away the corner of the robe clinging to his face and saw the frozen ground getting closer and closer. He fired a blast of air at the approaching surface and bounced back upwards. Cracks appeared in the ice and spread outwards in a chain reaction, snaking out to fill a large radius with white fissures. The cracking of the ice slowed. Chunks of ice fell loose and sank slightly.

  Now the two sisters were both acting as if they wanted to help; clearly this was another trick to deceive Seth, and unfortunately, an extremely effective one. The arrival of both sisters at the same time had made it impossible to determine which was which. The path the second sister had indicated lead into the depths of the ocean, so that was definitely the least appealing. Seth was inclined to follow the first path, which seemed to lead over the top of all the other doors. It seemed less likely there was anything lurking there as he followed its path into the clouds with his eyes. The two sisters were still fighting and both beams lighting his two
possibilities had disappeared.

  Jacquelyn and Heidi were floating fifty metres above the icy surface of this world, staring at each other from a distance. Small discharges of energy arced from their bodies randomly and ignited the air around them. The sister closest to Seth turned around and looked straight at where he was floating, about fifty metres away.

  “Seth listen: that is Heidi,” she shouted, pointing to the other sister. “You need to go down there!” and another bright pink beam of plasma fired straight down into the ocean, steam appearing where it penetrated the water’s surface.

  The other sister yelled at her counterpart:

  “Stop leading him to death, Heidi! Why would there be a door under the water?!” She fired a blue beam of lightning at the other sister.

  The sister that had just fired a beam into the water dodged out of the path of the blue lightning and continued flying towards the frozen tundra. She stopped, put her hand on one of the doors, and looked back. Seth heard the other sister shout “NO!” and realised what was happening. The good sister – Jacquelyn or Heidi – knew going through the door would turn the evil sister good, and the good sister remaining on this side of the door would then indicate the same direction: into the ocean. Through the door went the sister, and sure enough, the remaining sister fired a beam into the ocean, only this one was a pale blue.

  “Yes Seth, I am Heidi. Into the ocean with you!” she shouted, flying in the direction she had just indicated.

  Seth followed her into the ocean. Not knowing how deep he would have to go, Seth created a bubble of air around himself just before he entered the water. It was about three metres in diameter; Seth hoped the oxygen inside would last him long enough to reach the right door. It was easy to see Heidi as she had created a bubble of air around herself much larger than his, creating an obvious, highlighted circle of a lighter blue. However, the deeper they went, the darker it all became. Seth sped up a little and entered Heidi’s bubble of oxygen. She had just created a small glowing orb that floated above her hand, illuminating the surrounding seascape.