Dangerous Designs

by Dale Mayer [paranormal/YA]

It was some kind of script.

  Storey tried to read it. She twisted it around and around. The writing faded when not in the sunlight. In the light, the writing etched itself in as if by some unseen hand.

  "So cool," she murmured. "What does it mean?"

  And how could she find out? Grabbing a different pencil, she tried to copy the script down on a piece of scrap paper. It took several tries at holding it in the light to get it just right. The inscribed lines didn't appear to be words, per say, or at least not in any language she'd seen before. Numbers? Dates? She didn't know. Taking the scrap of paper downstairs to her mom's computer, she scanned it in, then dragged the image to her flash drive. Back upstairs, she searched the Internet for ancient fonts and languages.

  By late afternoon, she'd found nothing. Damn it. For the millionth time, she glanced at her floor and wondered if she should try again. She decided against it. The time had disappeared on her and she didn't want to spend the night in that mine. Still...maybe she should. It wasn't that late. She hopped off her computer chair and walked closer.

  "Storey? Dinner time."

  So much for a quick trip into a tunnel, at least for the moment. "Coming." She put away her stuff and tucked the scrap of paper with the copied script under her keyboard. She couldn't explain why she felt the need to hide it. For the same reason, she'd renamed the scan as Chemistry Paper. That should keep people in the dark. Not that anyone would see it. Still...

  She headed downstairs to dinner and dishes. That was another thing that sucked about being an only child – no one to share the chores with.

  It took another hour before she could return to her room, telling her mom and her mom's arriving Wiccan friends that she had a lot of homework to do. She rolled her eyes at that lame excuse. When did she ever do homework?

  Closing her bedroom door behind her, her gaze caught and held on her sketchbook. Should she try again? The phone rang. Storey ignored it. It was never for her. She had a cell phone like everyone else.

  "Storey, answer the phone, please. It's for you."

  Storey stilled. Who'd be calling her? On the house phone?

  "Storey, did you hear me?"

  "Yes. Thanks." She walked to the little stand in the middle of the hallway and picked up the cordless phone, then headed back to her room. "Hello?"

  "Storey?"

  "Yes." Her frown deepened. She didn't recognize the voice. "Who is this?"

  "Eric."

  "Eric." She winced. Was that breathy squeaky voice hers? Yikes. "Why are you calling? And why this number?"

  He laughed. A deep sound that sent the butterflies in her stomach into flight. Damn. That was so not a good thing. What could he possibly want?

  "I wanted to make sure you were all right after being locked in that tunnel. And you didn't give me your cell number."

  She flopped on the bed. "What? Oh. Here it is." She rattled off the number of her cell. Although she rarely used it, she'd rather her phone calls were private and off her mother's radar. "And yeah. I'm fine. I wasn't really locked in."

  "So what do you call it then? I'd planned on asking you about it today, except you left so quickly, I didn't get a chance."

  "Sorry about that. Not to worry, I'm fine," she said lightly. Silence stretched between them. She took a deep breath. She shouldn't say anything. She should keep her mouth shut. "I might go back there."

  "What!"

  She winced. "You don't have to shriek. God, you sound like a girl."

  "Great. Thanks for that." She could almost feel his glare through the phone.

  She rolled her eyes and sat up. "There's something weird going on. I want to check it out."

  "And get locked in permanently next time?"

  "Yeah, now that's one of those weird parts I don't understand. How could you have been passing by at exactly the right moment? Not to mention how could you have opened that door? When I tried, it was locked up tight."

  The ensuing silence was ominous. The tone of his voice dropped, giving it a dangerous edge. "You tried to open the door? When?"

  "Right after you got me out, remember Then again after school. I wanted to explore the entrance, only I couldn't open the door. It had a weird lock on it."

  "I'd imagine that's to keep people out. Did you ever consider how dangerous it might be to go back to that place?"

  "Uhm." She grinned. "Not really."

  "Are you always this impulsive?"

  She shrugged. "Yeah, maybe."

  "I can't believe it. You need a keeper." Outrage shimmered through the phone.

  "Like that's going to happen," she scoffed. "And if you don't have any other reason for calling, I'll say good-bye now." She didn't feel like getting chewed out by him any more than she did by one of her teachers.

  "Wait. Look, please don't go back into the mine. It's dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt or lost."

  Storey lifted an eyebrow and stared down at the phone. He didn't? How'd that happen? "I won't. I'm used to doing things alone."

  "I don't care." Exasperation slipped into his voice. "Please don't go alone."

  "I have to. There's no one to go with me."

  "I will. I'll go with you."

  ***

  He hadn't said that, had he? That way? Damn. Yes, he was supposed to get close to her, only he hadn't wanted to get close to her. The night sky had deepened, darkened to obsidian. What he really wanted was to protect her from doing something foolish that could impact both their dimensions. But what that could be, he didn't know. Humans had an insatiable curiosity and a self-destructiveness that horrified his people. If they killed themselves off, it wouldn't impact his people. If they killed the planet though, both sides would die.

  For that reason, his government had worked hard at not letting Storey's people know they existed. His home had to be protected from the uncontrolled humans. A veil separated their worlds and all access to crossover points had to go through a major vetting process. Only the best of the scientists were allowed over and only with a strict security detail. In this way they could keep watch over the Earth in the human's dimension.

  Their shared planet had to be protected. They just didn't know how at this point. The population of his world was less than one percent of Storey's yet still spread across the same area, so hidden surveillance was the only way.

  Everything had been in happy harmony for ages, until this. No treachery was involved. Just a simple accident and a scientist had lost something that could put both worlds at risk. A team had been dispatched immediately. They'd followed the inherent energy of the ancient tool to its location only to watch as one of the otherworlders picked it up in front of them.

  Storey.

  "Eric?"

  Eric gave himself a mental shake. He was being an idiot. Storey was his assignment. Any way that made it work, made it right.

  "Sorry, I was distracted by something else."

  "Yeah, duh."

  "I meant it. I'll go with you. We can try to open the door from this side. If that doesn't work, then I don't know what else to try. It worked last time though," he added helpfully.

  "Right. I might have another way in. I'm just not sure."

  Eric frowned, all his senses on high alert. "How?" His voice sharpened as he realized what she implied. The only other method to enter that tunnel was through a portal.

  "There are other entrances. Most old mines have abandoned shafts."

  "Hence all those warning signs saying danger. Remember those?"

  Her voice deepened, slowed. And she should have. Talk about focus. "You know, I'm not so sure I do."

  Great. Now she had selective vision too. "Well, they were there."

  "No need to snap at me." She sniffed.

  He grinned into the phone. She was starting to grow on him. That defiant streak of hers baffled him. He couldn't help but be intrigued.

  "I'm going to try again."

  "Try what? The door? Not tonight?" He tried to sound horrified. From what he'd observed, most peop
le on this side of the veil avoided going out in the darkness. His side was the opposite. The sun shone hotly so much of the time that many people preferred to go about in the dark. The geography of both sides was the same, with one sun and one moon, an atmosphere necessary for life and various animals and plant life dotting the countryside. The two peoples resembled each other physically. There the similarities appeared to end.

  Storey's people appeared to be less developed. They relied heavily on what they called technology. They appeared to choose their futures by the type of work they liked or the type of work that found them. Giving away their power instead of corralling it and fine-tuning it. He didn't know if they had the same abilities of his kind. Maybe they had died off over the years. In his world, everyone had some special skill, which developed throughout childhood. Once an adult, they were already in their field. They knew what they were meant to do because they'd already been doing it.

  He didn't get it.

  These people had so much to give. So much more they could do.

  Yet, they did nothing. They watched an object called TV all day or played games on another box called a computer or a video game. His world had similar machines, but not for games. Never for games.

  "Hello? Are you there?"

  Sheesh. "Sorry."

  "Look, you called me. Not the other way around. I'm going. You can come or not come. I don't care. I'm going to bed now. See you tomorrow."

  "Wait."

  She was gone. Damn it. He stared down at the phone in his hand, something else these people appeared to be permanently attached to. Now what had she said? He'd missed part of it. Something about going back and he could come or not. So, she wasn't planning on going anywhere tonight?

  He understood only so much of the weird innuendos and body language of these people.

  Was she going back tonight?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Storey woke energized the next morning. It was Saturday. She planned on going to the mine. By way of her floor – as soon as she figured it out. As much as she'd told Eric he could come, she wasn't planning on telling him about her private entrance.

  She grabbed up her favorite pencil and sketchbook. Opening to the right page, she laid it down on the floor. As it hit, something caught her eye. Her heart sped up and she crouched down for a better look. The door in her picture had unlocked itself. She might just be able to get through.

  First she had to get dressed. She didn't want to end up in some strange place dressed in nightclothes. After donning jeans, t-shirt and sneakers and brushing her hair, she stood on her bed and considered if she'd forgotten anything. Her backpack was still packed with water and a flashlight along with chalk to mark her locations. She'd get it right this time.

  After a few moments pondering the contents, she added her pencil and a smaller sketchbook. And felt like an idiot. If anyone saw her preparing for a trip through her bedroom floor, they'd have her committed.

  She stood up, took one deep breath for courage, and jumped.

  And went right though the floor.

  She came to an abrupt halt in the darkness. Her knees buckled, sending her to one side. Instead of being afraid, she laughed, joy and relief mixing with a sense of exultation. She wasn't crazy. This wasn't her imagination. She'd really jumped through her floor. No damage. No broken beams or flooring or ceiling.

  Just a doorway in her sketch. How amazing was that?

  Standing up, Storey searched the darkness, listening for identifiable sounds. She'd thought long and hard about what she'd do once she made it back here. Cocking her head to one side, she realized she could hear...nothing. No sounds of water running down the walls, or mice scrabbling against the ground. Not even a bit of breeze whistling down the tunnels. Nothing.

  She clicked on her flashlight sending light slicing through unforgiving darkness. "How could anything be so absent of light and sound?" She frowned. Her voice didn't even echo. Had it last time? Sure it had. Still it was different now? She didn't remember much of her science lessons on light and noise, but thought emptiness helped create the echo effect.

  So weird. Standing still, she sent light out as far as it could reach in all directions. Then she checked out the space behind her.

  Nothing. No walls shone back on her. Turning the light onto the floor, she studied the flooring and wondered at the smooth look of the planks. So perfect, they didn't appear real. It wasn't what she'd expected.

  Then she checked out the ceiling. The light went into endless darkness. If there was a ceiling, it was so high as to be untouchable. She knew she hadn't jumped more than eight feet. Her knees hadn't hurt on landing.

  So, if she'd jumped through the same hole and landed in the same black nothingness, where was the damn door?

  Taking out her chalk, she drew a large circle with an X in the middle of it. She wanted to mark her position so she didn't get lost. At least this way if she were to jump again, she'd be able to check that she landed at the same place. She didn't want to consider that she might have ended up somewhere new.

  First things first, she needed to find the door. Last time it had been behind her. With her flashlight showing the way, she turned, searching behind her for the door. Last time that first slice of light had appeared to be a long way away. In truth, it hadn't been more than thirty or fifty feet.

  She paced off thirty paces and stopped. She couldn't see anything anywhere. Looking behind her, relief swept through her at the X on the floor in the bright beam of light. Good. She just needed to do this systematically. Taking a deep breath, she moved forward another thirty paces. Still nothing showed in her light. Uneasiness squirmed in her stomach. Keep going forward or try a new direction? Deciding to move another thirty steps, she paced again, and then stopped and drew another big X, labeling it number two. Then she backtracked to her original spot and paced ninety paces in the opposite direction. By the time she finished, she'd created a square with four Xs at the corners and a big X in the middle. Not much help, considering she had yet to find a perimeter wall.

  She stood in the middle of her markings and puzzled over it. What kind of tunnel could have no walls? Not possible. She tried to visualize the space. It had to be a natural cave to require no support beams or walls. Damn. Why hadn't she brought a bigger flashlight? Annoyance flooded through her. Oh wait, maybe because she didn't have one!

  Her cell phone rang. Such an ordinary thing, and so normal in the midst of so much abnormal, its very mundaneness surprised her. How could she get reception in here? "Hello?"

  Static filled her ear. Figured. "Hello?"

  She tried answering several more times, then clicked it off, returning it to her pocket. A moment later, the musical notes on her phone sounded again. A text. Hmmm. She clicked on it to read the incoming message.

  Where the hell are you?

  Eric. And pissed.

  She answered. I'm in the mine. I told you to come if you wanted. After she hit send, she waited, a half grin on her face. He wouldn't take it quietly. Her instinct proved right as a text came right back. I'm on my way. WAIT.

  "Like I have a choice." She sniffed at his autocratic response. Speaking to the empty space around her she snapped at the missing Eric, "Then hurry up. Where the hell is that door?"

  She passed the time by walking out to each of her circles and spent several minutes studying the darkness around her. There appeared to be nothing there. Walking back to the middle, she sat down to wait. Within minutes another text came through. She hopped to her feet. Eric said he was approaching the door. She waited for the welcoming sliver of light. It never came. Nerves bunched as she waited and worried. What if he couldn't open the door? He'd done it once. The wait seemed interminable. She chewed her fingernails as she waited and waited.

  Damn it. She sent him another text, reading aloud as her fingers whipped across the keyboard. "What's wrong?"

  "I've opened the door. Where are you?"

  Shit. She hopped to her feet and spun around looking for the doorway. H
e wasn't there. Shakes and shivers wracked her slight frame as she realized the enormity of her situation.

  She'd landed in a different place.

  Eric had come to the rescue. He was at the door to the mine. He'd actually managed to open the locked door again, clearing one of the hurdles she'd worried about, but she wasn't there.

  So, where the hell was she?

  ***

  Eric stood in the doorway. "Storey? Storey, are you here? Where are you?"

  Leaving the door wide open, Eric stepped inside and took a long look around. He could see the back wall. There was no sign of her. "Shit." Where had she gone?

  A horrible thought surfaced. She couldn't have jumped elsewhere. She didn't know how. At least he didn't think she did. No, she'd said she was here. So, this is where she thought she was.

  "Storey?"

  No answer. Could she have gotten out? He pulled out his phone. Her incoming text asked where he was. Double shit.

  Where was she? And how could he find her?

  Paxton. Using his codex, he coded in the notes that would allow him to cross the veil where he stood. In seconds he breathed the air of his own world. After a quick glance around, he headed for Paxton's office.

  "Finally." Buried in books, eyeglasses perched on the bridge of his nose, Paxton snorted at him. "Your father has been asking about you. I do hope you have the stylus with you."

  "We've got a problem." Eric raced to the holograph screens. "Storey jumped again. Only she's gone somewhere else this time and I can't find her."

  Paxton came running, his long midnight blue robes flapping in the wind. "Oh dear! This is exactly what we were trying to avoid. We can't just have a human running loose on our side. There's no knowing what kind of chaos she could create."

  "She's not trying to cause any trouble." Storey was curious, not a terrorist. Eric was compelled to defend her. "She thinks she's in the same place as last time, but I just checked and she's not there."

  "That's because she's here. She's jumped to Stanshor mine!" Paxton tapped one of the screens on the left.

  Eric peered closer. Sure enough Storey stood in the middle of a different portal. "What? How could she have made it there?"