CHAPTER FOUR
“Kay, get up!” With one mighty shove, Nia successfully pushed me out of the bed and onto the floor. I grunted at her, grabbed blinding at the covers, and pulled them over my head. What happened to my red, plush carpet?
“Ka-aayyyy!” Nia whined and gave me a small kick. “Come on. Move your butt. We’re going to be late for school!”
“What?” I yelled, sitting straight up. Grandma walked in and sucked her false teeth.
“Mmm-hmmm,” she said through pursed lips, “that’s what you get for sleeping all through the day. Now you can’t sleep during the night.” I groaned and fell back to the floor with a thud. “Go ahead, get up. Breakfast is ready in case you want any. I expect you downstairs in thirty minutes, missy.”
“Nia,” I moaned, “what am I doing here?”
Nia stood silently for a moment and then whispered, “Talk to you on the bus. Now get up!”
I stumbled through a shower, breakfast, and a kiss on the cheek for my grandmother. I then somehow made it on the bus in my regular seat across from Nia. She offered a look of pity and scooted over next to me.
“Sorry about this morning,” she chirped. I yawned, and she wrinkled her nose. “Ew, did you brush your teeth?” I shrugged, and she continued. “Welcome back to planet Earth, sis.”
“How did I get back in my bed? And what are we—I—doing here?”
“Going to school,” I gave her the dirtiest look I could muster, and she laughed. “What did you think? We’re back here to live our second lives. Reality, if you want to call it that. And I had to use a bit of hocus pocus to get you from science class to your bedroom. Grandma’s under the impression that you had a migraine.” She sighed happily as the bus lurched forward to stop from missing an unfortunate kid who was waiting at the bus stop. “Paul told you—”
“So it wasn’t just a dream?”
“...That our physical bodies are back on whatever planet we came from—“
“Whatever planet?”
“—and eventually our minds return to them. Will you stop interrupting me?” She huffed, annoyed. “Anyway, when you fall asleep on Turgor, your mind is transported back to your body.” I stared at her, fighting an urge to hyperventilate.
“Are you on something, Nia? Is that what’s going on?”
Nia looked insulted. “I would never use drugs,” she huffed. “And why would I lie to you about this? How do I know what happened in your dream?”
“I don’t know,” I confessed. “Maybe I muttered in my sleep last night.”
Nia smirked. “The whole dream? The Awakening of Dia, the meeting with Lynch, the Harpies?” She folded her arms while watching me take deep breaths. Leaning over to me, she whispered, “Don’t fight it, sis. Trust me. You know deep down in your heart that this is real.”
“So, I guess I don’t have a choice in this matter, do I? And where the hell is Grandpa Lamont? What haven’t you tried to find him yet?”
“Don’t yell at me,” Nia said in a low voice. “I’m not trying to find Grandpa because I know he’s not in trouble. He’s on business like Paul said. And yes, you do have a choice in whether you stay on Turgor or not. But this is something that takes practice in doing, not one night. Get a grip.” She leaned back and watched the other kids for a moment.
“You don’t have a choice in whether you want to deal with this or not, do you?” I asked again.
“Yep,” Nia repeated. “You do. Sis, like I’ve said before, you don’t just happen to find Turgor. You seek it...want it secretly, deep down. In a way, you beckon it. And when you do, you make your choice.”
I took a very deep breath and let it out slowly, much to Nia’s horror. Nothing seemed real anymore. I had been on a different planet less than twenty-four hours ago, and now I was on a school bus that didn’t hover, heading back to my normal school. I closed my eyes for a moment. My sister was going crazy, and she was dragging me down with her.
I looked over at her and thought for a moment. “So, let’s pretend this is real. Am I going to just...sporadically learn stuff or is Paul going to be my mentor?”
Nia giggled. “Paul? A mentor? Highly unlikely. Senior Awakeners only help get you started.” She reached down into her backpack and pulled out a small purple notebook and a piece of gum. “Here”, she said, handing them over to me, “this is your DiGi.”
“My DiGi,” I echoed, stuffing the gum in my mouth.
“Yep. It’s kind of like a planner, diary and manual all wrapped up in one. DiGi stands for Dilon and Gixson, the name of the wizard company that makes them. There are so many new Awakeners these days that the Senior Counsel—that’s that Paul’s apart of—decided to split you up into groups. Actually, Wizards and Walkers are in groups as well, so don’t feel bad. You stay in it until you attend a specialized meeting with the Counsel. Go ahead and open it.”
I opened the DiGi and stared down at a blank page. “Nothing’s on it,” I muttered.
“Breathe on it,” Nia urged, elbowing me. I chomped a few times on my wad of gum, sighed, and the pages began to fill with dates, times, and small notes. I stared, mouth agape. This actually was happening. I could barely hear Nia over the sound of the blood rushing to my head.
“It’s your own personal device,” she said. “No one can read it without you being in their presence. The Counsel assigns you to a group of other members in your same skill level, and you guys meet whenever it appears in your DiGi.” I looked down at the DiGi and began to read:
Welcome to the Senior Counsel’s Inter-Planetarian notebook, made by Dilon & Gixson. This is built for Awakeners, Death Walkers, Wizards and Creators. In this DiGi all of your daily appointments from Turgor and your home planet are recorded. Please keep this DiGi with you at all times! Failure to do so with result in disciplinarian action and can lead to imprisonment and a fine.
Looking up, I raised an eyebrow at Nia. “Imprisonment?”
“It’s a really important book,” she shrugged. “Remember, there’s a war out there.”
“And so what? I’m just supposed to lug this around?”
“Not at all.” She took my DiGi from me and said, “It appears in two forms and only when you need it. The first is the actual book. The second is appearing right in front of you as though it was put up on a projector. It’s up to you to think of the way you want to see it. Be careful with the second way, though. We wouldn’t want anyone else to see it.” She handed me the DiGi, which I stuck in my backpack. I’ll read it later, I thought, grabbing my bag and joining the line to get off the bus.
School was a drag. I found it hard to concentrate on anything and was anxious to get back to sleep so that I could test out my new skills on Turgor. During math, I thought about my DiGi and pulled it out of my book bag. Flipping it open to the first page, I noticed there was only the day’s date listed.
September 12- 7:30 p.m. Earth Time, 8:30 a.m. Turgor Time
Meeting with Awakener Group Sector 3902B
Initiation, Assignments
Feeling a bit nauseous, I flipped through the rest of the DiGi and found blank pages. Later during lunch, I sought out Nia and asked her about it.
“Means you have a meeting today,” she said through a mouth full of beef taco. “Looks like it’s tonight, seven our time. It’s with that Awakener group I was telling you about earlier. What sector is it again...3902B?” The thought of actually interacting with other people on Turgor had never occurred to me.
“So,” I began, reaching for a taco, “what happens during these meetings?”
Nia swallowed and paused before taking another bite. “Well, just like it said. You have initiation into the sector, and then if there are any assignments, you sort them out amongst yourselves.”
“Who hands out assignments?”
“There’s a leader of your sector, and he or she gets them directly from the Senior Awakener of your group. That would be Paul.”
I took a bite and kept talking. “What are these assignments for
?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
Nia rolled her eyes. “I don’t know...the time of day, the weather, where we stand during the war. It depends on your skill level. Awakeners are more for Awakening people and things, so chances are you’ll probably have duties dealing with traveling to other areas of Turgor or to different planets.”
“Different planets?”
“Yeah,” Nia said, looking at me puzzled. “You didn’t think that Earth was the only planet that had intelligent life forms, did you? Forget what Mrs. Temely told you.”
“Stupid me,” I mumbled and took a bite of my taco.
Nia was the epitome of cool. “Don’t worry,” she said. “The only thing you’ll be doing these next couple of days is practicing and getting settled in. You shouldn’t have assignments until next week.” Nia turned her attention to a couple of girls walking towards us, and gave me a wave before picking up her tray to join them. I sighed and continued to eat, worrying about the night that lay ahead of me.
***
“Grandma, we’re home!” I yelled while Nia slung her backpack onto the kitchen table. “Grandma!”
Grandma Mary walked into the kitchen frowning. She looked tired. “What did I tell you about yelling in this house?”
“Sorry,” I said before planting a kiss on her forehead. “How’s Grandpa?”
“Same as usual,” she sighed, returning Nia’s kiss on her cheek. “How was school?”
“Good,” Nia and I said in unison. Grandma gave a knowing humph and walked into the living room.
“I’ll cook dinner,” Nia offered with her eyes on Grandma’s head, which was now facing the television. We heard Wheel of Fortune and chuckled together. “You can go ahead and get a move on. You look tired anyway. I’ll cover for you.”
“Thanks,” I said, surprised at her generosity.
“Yeah, yeah,” Nia said, grinning. “This is a one-time deal. Tomorrow you’re on your own.”
I grinned back and headed to our room, where my bed awaited me. When I fell asleep this time, I awoke immediately on my couch in Dia.
“Good morning,” she announced. “Welcome back.”
“Hey,” I greeted her, noticing I sounded groggy. “What’s up?”
“It’s morning, in case you haven’t caught on.” She seemed in good spirits. “A new day, a new day.”
I stood up and stretched, looking around. The wide windows in the front of the house gave entrance to rays of golden sunlight. There was a serene look within the house. I took a deep breath and smiled. For some reason this felt more like home than Earth. Standing still for a moment, I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of people outside, walking on the sidewalks and shouting at the mailboxes that blocked their way.
“So,” Dia said, interrupting my peace, “what’s on the schedule for today?”
“I’ve got a meeting,” I remembered, plopping back down on the couch, “with my group at eight thirty.”
“Well, you better get a move on. It’s seven forty-five, and you’ve got to catch the bus!”
I jumped up and looked at the clock on the wall, which winked and showed me that Dia wasn’t lying.
“Uh-oh!” I yelped and dashed up the stairs to take a shower. Nia had created me a pretty cool wardrobe, which I had Awakened the night before.
Fifteen minutes later I ran back down the stairs, looking fabulous, and was about to open my door when the doorbell rang.
“Who is it?” I asked both the person on the other side of the door and Dia.
“It’s your neighbor, Rena,” the person answered. I opened the door to find a girl about my height and age standing there, with bright orange skin and long blue hair. Her friendly eyes had a red tint to them, and she tugged self-consciously at her blue hair. She gave me a nervous grin and stuck out her hand. “Like I said, my name’s Rena. Rena Hall. Nice to meet you.”
I shook her hand, and then stepped back like she was going to explode at any minute. Rena blushed a sort of fuchsia color and repeated, “Nice to meet you.”
“Er...nice to meet you,” I replied, regarding the rainbow-colored girl with suspicion. I wasn’t all that keen about meeting new people on my own yet. “What can I do you for?”
Rena laughed a wonderful musical laugh, and I found myself smiling, too. “What a wonderful expression! ‘What can I do you for?’”
“Thanks,” I grinned. “I’m from the south.”
“Oh, the south of the Bubble or the south of Yuron Lake?”
I stood confused for a moment and realized she must be referring to the planet. “No, no, the south of the United States...Mississippi to be exact.”
She paused, mirroring my confusion and then shrugged. “Either way,” she chuckled, “you still sound funny.” Odd as she was, she didn’t offend me and, from what I could make out, didn’t have any weapons of any sort hanging off her. I invited her in, but she shook her head. “Actually, I’ve come here to get you so we can move on.”
“Move on?”
“Yeah, the meeting starts in a half hour. We’re in the same group.”
I closed my door—and heard Dia lock it—and started down the sidewalk with Rena. The sun was beaming brightly, but there was also a warm breeze, and I felt as though I should be walking down the beach, allowing sand in between my toes.
“So,” Rena began after we walked in silence for a while, “what’s your story?”
“My story?” I sidestepped a small creature that had thick gray skin, black eyes, and a snarl composed of yellow teeth. “What was that?”
Rena glanced back and said, “Elf.”
“Oh. Um, my story...don’t really know what you mean.”
“I mean, who are your mom and dad? Are you a full-blooded Awakener or are you a mixed breed, like me?”
The thought that there were different races of Awakeners never occurred to me. I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll have to ask my sister. What about you?”
“My mom’s an Undine, and my dad was a Death Walker.”
“Undine?”
“Yes...”, Rena paused for a description, “they’re creatures of the sky who protect Turgor. My mom’s on the force to protect Tormey, but Undines are everywhere. They ensure justice. They all thought that I was going to be a mere wizard like my cousin Tilly, but I met Paul two nights ago and here I am.”
“So Undines are sort of like cops?”
“Cops?” Rena blinked and gave a loud laugh. “Oh, such weird language.”
We continued to walk down the streets, dodging people, animals, and mailboxes, and Rena pulled out her DiGi to consult where the actual meeting was.
“The DiGi tells me that we are very close,” she said. “It’s just ahead of us, in Redwood Park.”
She pointed straight ahead, but I was already staring. Beautiful trees that seemed like skyscrapers stood close together behind a small ridiculous sign that declared Redwood Park- Enter at Your Own Risk. The tree trunks were thicker than I’ve ever seen, and their branches reached out far, mingling with each other. Rena took a deep breath and motioned for me to follow her. As we entered the park, I looked back and found that I couldn’t see the way out and the only sunlight around was now the few rays that the treetops permitted.
“This is always so incredible,” Rena breathed, looking around. “My dad told me once that Redwood Park is enchanted. They are just regular trees that happen to look like redwoods. Look,” she added, pointing to our left. “You can see that they seem to go on forever, like there are thousands of them. But from the outside, it only looks like a few huddled close together.”
“This is so cool,” I admitted, continuing to survey my surroundings. The redwoods stood strong and proud, causing me to feel like an intruder. Pausing next to one, I smiled as I made a mental realization that I only came up to the first few feet of the base. The actual trunks were majestic and smooth, while others seemed twisted, appearing to have reached around for something. We stepped quickly over t
hick roots that were about the size of my legs, and vibrant green ferns brushed against our thighs as we moved. Birds offered soft chirps, and I tried to place where they were because the actual branches of trees didn’t seem to begin until at least 150 feet up.
“We’re here,” Rena announced, pleased with herself.
“How do you know? They all look the same.”
“Because the DiGi told me. It’s been flashing arrows the whole time. Have you actually studied yours?” She put her DiGi back in her pocket, stepped up the nearest redwood, and gave a gentle knock. “Redwood, would it be possible to let us in?”
I noticed she spoke in a weird language, but I still understood it. The tree stood still for a moment and then shifted. I felt the ground rumble, and I grabbed onto the next tree for support. A small patch of the tree’s trunk detached itself from the rest and slid over, creating a door for us to enter. Rena looked at me, obviously excited, and walked in. I felt my excitement build, too, and followed her.
The actual inside of the Redwood took my breath away again. From the outside, I only received a notion of the width. But from the inside...I could fit Dia inside of it. I instinctively looked up and couldn’t see the roof. Dim lights peppered the inside, casting a faint glow on the small circular chairs that were placed in two rows. Seated in the chairs were a group of young kids that looked about my age, and sitting in front of them was a small pale woman with brown, mousy hair that was strewn all over her head. She looked up from a small box resting in her lap and gave us a warm smile.
“Hello,” she said, giving a curt nod. I noticed her voice didn’t echo. “I’m glad you found the place all right. We were starting to wonder.”
The Two Worlds Page 3