Otherland

by Almondie Shampine

  “We only want peace,” the Dark elder said. “That’s all we’ve ever wanted. There was peace between the worlds of the Lightness and Darkness, but for us, there was no peace to be felt here. It only made our hate grow stronger, and our vengeance necessary. Aliyah, we are short a Dark elder. It would be an honor and certainly a New World if you were to become the first Human elder Otherland has ever known.”

  Aliyah bowed respectfully, “I appreciate your offer, Dark elder, but it is not my time, yet. For now, I belong in the human world.”

  “I understand. Then it is a good thing that I ordered your son be left alive and unharmed.” His eyes seemed to smile, and there was a lightness in them that hadn’t been there previously when he was fueled by such anger and vengeance.

  The Light elders could see into the Darkness, and vice versa. The pink-eyed Light elder caught the Dark elders’ stare before he noticed his other two elders inching toward the Darkness.

  “What are you doing, Light elders? We agreed to temporarily let them pass into the Lightness, which means we need to harbor the humans and Light souls in a safe place away from them. We made no such agreement that we Lights would freely roam the darkness.”

  “I’m pretty sure our unanimous agreement was for Light and Dark souls alike to roam freely, Light elder. Are you now going back on your word?”

  “Why would you want to go over there?” The Light elder yelled in frustration.

  “Um, because we’re Light and it’s dark over there, but by the sounds of it, it sounds like they’re celebrating and – and having fun. We thought we could maybe light up the place a little bit and – and celebrate the new peace.”

  “If you make one step into the Darkness, I will have you suspended from your duties, as I’m sure the High master would agree, based on your negligence to provide safety to the innocents that will become victims to those detestable Dark souls if we don’t do something about it.”

  “Well, actually, Light elder. The other Light elder and I voted that you are no longer right for the position. You have served too long, and are too stuck in Old World beliefs.”

  He huffed, “You can’t do that.”

  “Bylaws say that if the elders make a unanimous vote against another elder, then he will be stripped of his title and reassigned.”

  “But it was only two of you that voted. There are three others that would have to vote.”

  “So then you’re willing to come into the Darkness and convene with the Dark elders? I’m not the all-knowing High master, but I’m pretty sure -.”

  “After an eternity serving, I will not have the degradation of being stripped of my title before the High master. I’m retiring my title. This whole world has gone completely insane and I care not to be responsible for it any longer. I will live out the rest of eternity in peace and solitude. I wish to no longer be bothered,” the pink-eyed Light elder said huffily, and then he floated off.

  “I don’t think his being bothered is going to be a problem,” the two remaining Light elders snickered before entering the Darkness, which effectively eliminated the dark like a light bulb, wherever they walked.

  Curious Light souls, witnessing the lit Darkness, began navigating there, as well. Eternal serenity had just become a big party. Separated Light and Dark souls reunited, families found one another again, and the dark was lit up, like strobe lights, of Lights and Darks finally coming together, redemption and forgiveness foreshadowed in their circular synchronized dance.

  Peace had returned to Otherland, so peace was returned to Otherworld with the evacuation of the Dark souls. Aliyah felt content and at peace with all things, but most especially, with herself.

  “So, were you just my Spiritual Guardian for the night, or do I get to look forward to you hanging around me, messing with my aura field?” she teased Cherise.

  “Girl, I lied about that. I jus’ wanted to see what was up with my home girl when I heard the rumors floatin’ in.”

  “Cherise!” Aliyah chastised with a smile.

  EPILOGUE

  Aliyah returned home – God, how good it felt to say that, having accepted the title of Dark Light human knight, the first to ever be, under the condition that she would mainly do her work in the human world, and only return to Otherland if it was absolutely necessary.

  She’d given up thoughts of ever having a completely normal existence, and had compromised with almost normal. The job didn’t come with a paycheck, though, which was a bummer, so she decided that above all, she wanted to work with struggling children and adults. Had anyone ever told her she was special before, and that amidst her tragedies, she would develop gifts that would help her change the worlds, perhaps she could have appreciated her circumstances a tad bit better and not risked going completely dark.

  She knew that if not for the light in her life, the small cherished gifts she’d been given, her Light biological family, her Light knight, and that sweet green-eyed child she’d fallen in love with while imprisoned in the Darkness that just so happened to be her son, she could have gone dark. With his memory, all her other memories had returned to her, and this time, she’d kept them, and learned to live alongside them – not as painful reminders as to her tragedies, losses, and all that she’d been deprived of and missed out on during those times, but as prideful reminders of everything she’d overcome and everything she now was.

  And who could forget Cherise? Aliyah felt deeply her loss, though Cherise had taught her that it was more a loss to those left behind, as she’d moved on and was happy in Otherland. She’d gotten a whole new purpose, a whole new mission, which didn’t involve working lousy jobs, trying to pay the bills, cleaning and cooking, and having little time in the end for that which meant the most to her – her family.

  As a Spiritual guardian, she could watch over them and be more a part of their life than they would ever quite know, until their time came as well, especially keeping Jerome in check. He’d called Aliyah, only once, to ask her if Cherise ever visited her or if she ever heard Cherise talking to her.

  She’d told him, “I hear her all the time. But they’re remnants of memories from the past when I come across a situation, and I just know what she’d say about it.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe I’m goin’ crazy. I hear her all the time. Try to go out with the boys and I hear her, ‘Boy, you ain’t leavin’ my kids with yo’ motha.’ When I’m tired and I just want the kids to go to bed, I hear her say, ‘Get yo’ lazy ass up offa that couch and tuck them kids in.’ How am I s’pposed to move on when she be watchin’ me all the time and everythin’ I do?” he’d complained.

  “Her memory is still alive in you, Jerome. You were her husband and had 13 years with her. It’s only natural that her memory will keep you doing what she would have wanted, and keep you away from going a bad way,” Aliyah had explained.

  As the memory of her Light knight also remained inside of her, keeping her feeling a peace she’d never known before, providing her a faith and belief she’d refused previously, allowing her to feel the greatest love a person could know, while focusing her attention less on her emotions-of-the-day and more on the many things she had to fulfill and the meaningful purposes she was responsible for.

  She may have been part of a Prophecy, whether true or not, as she’d been pretty good at creating her own Prophecy to go down in Otherland history to keep the Dark souls lighter, but she had many, many more years to fulfill her destiny.

  The human world was already writing down in the history books, and making movies, out of their perspective of what happened those few apocalyptic days.

  Whereas the Otherland Prophecy maintained Aliyah as being the warrior savior with abilities possessed by no other human in all of eternity, the human world maintained her as being the one to blame, as Dwayne’s media attention doing just that had spread far and wide. Could she ever truly be free from all the damages he had caused? No, but she could let go of it and no longer allow it to have power over her or to hurt her anymore.
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br />   Scientists became famous with their sound theories explaining how people could be manipulated into seeing things that weren’t really there. Eventually, someone talking about being possessed was reacted to as similarly as someone talking about being abducted by aliens.

  It even became a new disorder listed in the DSM – Psychological Possession Syndrome.

  Aliyah was okay with that. Humans needed to feel secure and grounded. They needed to feel safe, other than the statistics of car accidents, late-night muggings, assaults, burglaries, heart disease, obesity, cancer – basically, they had enough to fear as it was.

  It was only natural for some to believe in an eternally blissful heaven if they remained a version of good, and some to fear eternal hell if they were tempted by a version of bad, but anything more than that, like being aware of Otherland, where both Lights and Darks walked freely, and how even souls were fallible, made mistakes, and had their own free will - Well, that’d be too difficult for a human mind to comprehend, especially those out of touch with their true spirituality.

  That’s why Aliyah had accepted almost normal. She wasn’t willing to let go of her gifts completely. Jasper loved it when she levitated him and swirled him slowly around in circles in the air. She loved the simple luxury of closing doors, opening windows, and getting something she wanted without having to get out of bed. The kids loved the magic shows she put on once a week.

  And let’s face it – there’s a reason she’d been titled Dark Light knight. She loved the freedom of leaving her body, flying around, and playing little tricks on people. Just to keep them holding on to a little bit of awareness that there was more to this human world than the eye could see, even if she had to be the one maintaining the image of the ghost in the haunted house. It was her way of bringing Otherland into the human world, and connecting people with their spiritual origins.

  It was as simple as turning a human into the belief of ghosts or spirits. Like a seed, they would feed it, and it would grow into them wondering if their truly was something more, something bigger going on than merely human existence.

  This could eventually develop into a type of spiritual enlightenment, an internal ‘knowing’, that for those lost, could provide understanding that one’s purpose, one’s mission, is so much bigger than any one person can imagine, and for those grieving loss and/or suffering, could provide a type of peaceful restfulness and contentment that, even if it doesn’t feel it at that moment, everything is going to be all right.

  OTHER BOOKS WRITTEN BY THIS AUTHOR

  YOUNG ADULT/NEW ADULT 10 & UP

  The Modules Series

  Book 1: The Reform

  Book 2: The Modules

  Book 3: Intelligent Design

  Book 4: Conspiracy Design

  The Schoolhouse Kids

  ADULT

  Glimp$es

  Blind Fate

  Otherland

  (Appropriate for 13 and up)

  UPCOMING RELEASES

  The Modules Series

  Book 5: The Revolution

  Book 6: Natural Design

  On the Other Side of the Wall

  His Possession

  Almondie Shampine lives in New York with her two children and their animals. At 19 years old, she decided she wanted to write professionally and published her first story, “Monster Down the Street’ by the time she was 20

  14 years later (2016), Almondie has published 11 books and over 40 articles, short stories, and poems, 4 of which were contest winners.

  She writes for a variety of ages and a wide variety of genres, from action-adventure, dystopian, fantasy, to survival stories, thrillers, spiritual, and even horror.

  Almondie received a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology, which assists in the great material for her books.

  When Almondie is not writing, she is enjoying her teenage children with popcorn wars, random dancing, family fun, and is well known for running around in parking lots in the pouring rain while screaming for ‘TwoFlix’, their car.

  Check out www.AlmondieShampine.com for free giveaways and promotions and exclusive updates.

  If you would like to kindly provide a review, you can do so at Amazonhttp://amzn.to/1XQXtVa or Goodreads http://bit.ly/1YPspp8

  Sample Chapter

  John is in and out of conscious awareness, reality and dreams a line he can’t separate. For all Angie’s life-saving techniques to get him on the right path, he’s back to a life of being unloved and unwanted. He’d spent 30 years longing to have what he had now with his deceased father, and his wife just didn’t understand. Claire understood. After all, it was Claire who was there when his father was sick and dying. Claire that was there when he was getting in one scrape after another, trying to get his father’s attention. Claire that saw how deeply it had wounded him to lose his father without any last words, because of his stubborn refusal to acknowledge his father in death and dying, as his father refused to acknowledge him in life.

  He kept his office door locked, refused even Claire’s presence, unhooked the phone, and dabbled in the drugs and alcohol that were once his escape from this reality. At one point he heard Claire knocking and yelling through the door. The next he’s seeing her ethereal face floating above him, just her face.

  “It’s time,” he hears her say, her neck twisted to the right, before he returns to his oblivion.

  The next time he comes through he is no longer in his office. This wouldn’t have concerned him enough to waking but for the straps on his ankles and wrists imprisoning him to a chair.

  “What the - ?” His first thought is that he won’t be able to abstain from withdrawals while strapped to a chair, causing exactly that to double him over where he retches on the floor. The room is pitch black, which he notices as soon as the withdrawal passed for the moment.

  “Hello! Hello! Can anyone hear me?” he yells, or more or less croaks. His mouth is parched.

  “I’m here, John.”

  “Claire? Claire, what the hell is going on?”

  “I’m helping you,” she says, but her voice, though Claire’s, is oddly cold and strange. He cries out when she yanks back his head and he feels a sharp prick in his neck. His withdrawals instantly disappeared.

  “Oh, thank you, thank you, Claire. You’ve always been my favorite. I should – I should have married you, not her. You’ve always understood. You’ve always been so nice. You’ve always known what I needed.”

  “Oh, shut up, John,” she snaps. “The only thing you’ve ever cared about are your own needs. Just like your father, you think of no one else’s but your own. Given a second chance at life when you found that girl. Everything your father and I went through so you could have that girl, and you’re throwing it all away. And now, even though you don’t deserve a third chance, you’re being given the gift of your third and final chance, but it’s going to cost you.”

  “Cost me?”

  “You’ve been chosen, John. You’ve been chosen by Him.”

  “Him? None of this is real, is it? How long have I been high? I’m dreaming or hallucinating. The Claire I know doesn’t sound like you. So sweet. So kind. So gentle. So much like my mother.”

  “ENOUGH!” a low male voice resonates loudly through the room. “I am He, and you have been chosen. I offer you my gift, a very rare and precious gift indeed. I offer you a glimpse into your future for a million dollars that you can certainly spare.”

  “Who are you? Wha-where are you?”

  “Behind you, in front of you, surrounding you, and inside you. Are you willing to pay the price for this gift, your third, and your final chance? I have chosen you, because I have seen your future, and it is grim, John, but in giving you the power to hold the future in your hands, you can change it if you’re so willing.”

  John tries to will his eyes to see in the dark, but all he can see are glimpses of a black silhouette, seeming nowhere and everywhere at once.

  “There’s no such thing as a man that can tell the future. Impossibl
e.”

  “I AM HE!” the voice roars. The room shakes and trembles, and suddenly the floor is no longer beneath John’s feet. The floor opens up to a white rectangular light. John’s eyes tear over as he tries to keep them open against the blinding light. His eyes adjust and he finds himself looking at Angie’s downcast head, her beautiful red hair drawn over her face and her shoulders. Her shoulders are shaking.

  “Angie! What did you do to my wife?!”

  Harsh laughter echoes throughout the room. “This is not what I did. It’s what you did.” Zooming out, he sees that Angie is sitting at his desk in his office. On the desk before her are his empty liquor bottles and used needles. Suddenly, as though somehow aware that her private moment is being shared, she looks directly at John, her beautiful blue eyes shining with tears, her face profound with devastation. Abruptly all goes black and his feet return to the floor.

  “NO, no, no! She wasn’t supposed to see. She wasn’t supposed to see. I just needed a few days to get my head straight, that’s all.”

  “You haven’t been home in two weeks, John.” Claire’s voice.

  “Oh no! What’s – what’s going to happen now? I’ll go back to the hospital. I’ll get clean again. I can’t lose her. I just can’t! Tell me. Am I going to lose her?”

  “Are you willing to pay the price?”

  “Yes, yes, anything. Please, just please tell me I won’t lose her.”

  “That is in your power and your power alone, John. I can only show you what your future looks like right now, from this moment. You will pick a time in the future, and you will see as long and as far as you can bear to watch.”

  “All I need are four more years. That’s when contracts can be renegotiated. Then I’ll have all the time to spend with my family, and be the father and the man they need. Show me. I want to see five years from now.”

  “As you wish.”