by Peter Wilson
“How old are you Anthrow?” Jack asked, suddenly realising it was a rude question hastily added, “I mean, my ancestors. They were travelling the world for hundreds of years!”
“I guess I am old, by your standards.” Anthrow said. “But to my kind…well I’ve still got plenty of time left.”
“You’re not human?” Jack asked alarmed.
Anthrow smiled, “believe it or not, most people aren’t. At least they’re not on this side of Earth’s portal. I’m Bathen.”
“You look human.”
“To you I do,” he replied without elaborating. “There are certain similarities between a lot of people across the Universe. I could come up with over fifty different planets that you could visit and pass as a native…with a few cosmetic changes here and there. On the other hand I could come up with a thousand places where your pink skin and tiny body would make you a perfect lunchtime snack to the local inhabitants.”
Jack shivered at the thought of being cooked for a meal.
Steering the conversation back to the family he asked, “So, did you ever meet Theorden?”
“I met Richard, a long time before people started calling him Theorden.”
“What was he like?”
“Controlling, driven, rude. I could continue with nasty attributes all night, but I’d find it hard to think a nice one. He did pay me extra once for guiding him somewhere, but that was because I didn’t have any change.”
“You helped him?”
“These were early days, before he started murdering people and ruling planets. Sure he was arrogant, demanding, but so were many of my other clients. I certainly didn’t know he’d turn into the maniac he is now! It was years later I learned that Theorden and Richard were one and the same.”
“What about Maddox? Did you ever hear of Maddox Gregson?” Jack asked nervously.
“Your father?” Anthrow asked softly.
“How do you know that?” Jack asked surprised. He doubted even David and Rosie knew his fathers name. He’d only heard him called it once before and that was only when he’d spied on his grandmother in conversation.
“I didn’t, not for sure. You just confirmed it. And now I believe we’re coming back to your original question, although I’m not sure it’s somewhere you want to go.”
“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I want to know about my own father? What has your debt to my Grandmother got to do with him?”
Anthrow didn’t speak for a time. Just as Jack got impatient and began to ask the question again he said “you see that animal over there? It’s called a Gratin.”
“We named it a Punkey.” Jack said, not knowing what this had to do with their conversation.
“That is…odd. Anyway when a Gratin is born, its parents abandon it and leave it in the Grotto to fend for itself. It has to learn to eat and survive without any help. If it manages to survive, and doesn’t fall prey to the larger animals, it grows into an adult. It then has a child of its own, which it also abandons.”
“Are you saying my parents were like a Gratin and they abandoned me on purpose?” said Jack.
“No, quite the opposite. When I met your father he was…desperate. Somehow he had tracked me down and demanded I lead him to Theorden. I refused naturally and he went in a rage, telling me that his wife and child would die unless they had help from someone powerful in magic like Theorden. I tried to convince him that it was a fool’s errand, family or not Theorden would kill him rather than help him. He wouldn’t listen.”
“So what happened then?”
“He left me, still angry. The next I heard of him was that he’d found Theorden and joined him in his conquests.”
“My father and Theorden!” Jack said shocked. “It couldn’t be!”
“I’m sorry, it’s what I heard. When I told your Grandmother the news, she got angry with me too, something your family has an annoying habit of doing. She blamed me for not stopping Maddox in his search for Theodon, something I maintain wasn’t my concern. He’s the one that sought me out! Anyway I felt bad for her. We’ve been friends for a long time Marion and I. I offered her a truce, and gave her the cube to contact me when she needed my help. Well she’s done that once now, and with you it makes two. This is the last time, my ‘debt’ will be repaid once we find the origins of that stone.” Anthrow stood and stretched as if getting ready to leave.
“Why did you tell me about the Gratin?”
Anthrow looked down at Jack and said, “Because sometimes I wonder, wouldn’t it be better not to care? Your father ran towards the darkness to try and save you, someone he’d never met. You now seek to know more about him, even though he’s never been in your life. If we were born into this world not caring for our family, wouldn’t life be easier?”
Jack wiped a tear from his eye as he looked on at the Gratin. “David and Rosie. Don’t tell them about my father. I don’t want them to know he’s with Theorden.”
“Curious. David told me you were angry with your family for the secrets they kept from you., and now here you are keeping things from your closest friends.”
“This is different, please don’t, tell them.” Jack said, as he wondered why he didn’t want them to know.
Anthrow bowed before leaving Jack to his dark thoughts.
Chapter Nine
Travelling the Grotto
“Wake up!” Anthrow yelled.
Jack came awake with a start, and saw that the Grotto’s large orange sun was well into the sky.
“Just a little longer,” David said as he waved his hand in the air, his head buried in the grass.
“Now!”
“We’re getting up,” said Rosie, yawning as she sat up.
“I thought he was a guide, not a drill sergeant,” David said as he looked over at Jack.
Jack smiled and stood up. Last night he had decided to concentrate his energy on their mission to find our more about the red stone. There would be time later to find out more about his father, but right now his home was in jeopardy and his family needed his help.
“Are you taking us back to the house now?” Rosie asked as she stood and stretched.
“Um, do you remember the dark mist that was chasing us? Big cloud, very scary looking, about this tall…” David said lifting his hand to hip height.
“Yes but what about another portal to Earth? Anthrow you said some planets have thousands.”
“And very rarely planets just have one. Unfortunately for you, Earth is one of those. Oh there might be another one deep in the ocean or high up on a mountain but I haven’t come across it. How do you think your family has kept all of this – he said while waving his arms around – a secret.”
“I’ve already decided. I’m going with Anthrow, to track down the maker of that stone.” Jack said determined.
“But it’s been hours, our family will be looking for us everywhere,” Rosie said.
“Well what can we do about it? If Anthrow’s right and there is only one portal to Earth, do you think the Horde is going to leave that area? It’ll lay in wait, knowing we have to go back there if we want to go home.”
Rosie didn’t have a reply for that, but looked nervously at her brother.
“Looks like we’re stuck here Rosie…for now.” David stumbled, trying to make her feel better. “Surely Grandma will come after us. You saw her attack the Horde at the house, we’ll be ok.”
Rosie nodded, not convinced but willing to live with that hope.
“Right then, excellent!” said Anthrow. “It’s always better to travel in groups where we’re going.”
“What? Why? Is it dangerous?” asked Rosie.
“Where are we going?” Jack asked.
“Bowlandose,” said Anthrow.
“That’s the planet we saw in the Attic!” said David.
“It’s the most well known of all planets, with more portals into it than any other in the Universe. In fact, there’s an entrance to it just two clearing over from here, although it doesn’t co
me out where we need to go.”
“Where do we need to go?” asked Jack.
“You three, always with your questions. Always wanting to rush ahead, even when you’re going to see everything you’re asking about with your owns eyes soon enough!”
Anthrow walked into the row of trees at the edge of the clearing. After a time he returned, with what looked like purple fruit in his hands.
“The Grotto has lots of food, if you know where to look for it,” he said, handing one to each of them. “Forget about eating Gratens, they taste awful!”
“Punkeys,” Jack said to David and Rosie who were looking confused.
“Right then. You can eat on the way, we need to walk a while before we get to the portal.”
The four of them left the clearing and made their way through the Grotto. Jack was surprised to see a light layer of snow on the ground of the caverns. He wondered why it had been none in the clearing and also why he didn’t feel at all cold. It was a different planet, he told himself. Weather must work differently here.
As they continued through the endless cavern, Jack was amazed at the amount of pathways they walked past. So many places to visit and explore!
He paused at one of them, feeling something was different about it. It looked the same, but felt…wrong.
“Close your eyes,” Anthrow said. He’d notice Jack had stopped and approached him. “Close them and listen with your senses.”
Jack wasn’t quite sure what he meant, but did as he was asked and opened his mind to the pathway in front of him.
At first there was nothing unusual, leaves rustling against a light wind, a bird somewhere in the distance calling. Nothing…
There was something else, a low hum that was barely audible, emanating from the pathway in front of him.
He concentrated on it and it grew in volume, it’s tone becoming ominous as it all of a sudden washed over him.
A smell of sulfer hit is nose causing him to gag, as a deep sense of wrongness came over him.
“Pull back!” said Anthrow. “Open your eyes, look at the sky.”
“What is that?” Jack asked as he rubbed his eyes with his hands.
He sat down as a wave of nausea told hold of him.
He took deep breaths, trying to slow his heartbeat. Eventually he began to relax. The smell and the sense of wrongness went away.
“It was a portal to Theorden’s home planet. Not Earth of course, but where he lives now. Most people can’t sense what you just did. I’m sorry, I didn’t think it would affect you so much,” Anthrow said thoughtfully.
“That was horrible.”
“Well, your Great-Great Uncle is a horrible man! No offence intended Gregson’s. Just hope you never have to go there.”
“I can’t feel or hear anything,” said David.
“Me neither,” said Rosie.
“That’s a good thing,” Jack assured them, before he stood and walked on, away from the pathway. “I wonder why he chose to live on that planet.”
“He searches for The Forgotten Portal. The stories say that is where it’s located,” said Anthrow.
“Never heard of it. What’s so special about this Forgotten Portal?” asked David.
“Well if what I’ve heard is true and it does in fact exist, there’s a lot special about it! Supposedly it’s the first portal…ever. The one that was used to create everything you see here at the Grotto. Some say it’s a myth, made up to explain all of this. Theorden certainly believes in it.”
“A portal that creates portals. Why would Theorden be interested in that?”
“Think about it,” said Jack. “If Theorden could make his own portals, he could make new ones to anywhere he wanted. He could gain access to remote areas Earth and start taking over before anyone even noticed!”
“Exactly. Luckily he’s never found it, if it even exists.”
They continued on for a while longer. Anthrow was talking to Rosie, telling her of the different worlds behind the portals they were walking past. Jack wasn’t sure if he believed half of the stories he was hearing, however he did hope they could someday go to Rolbson, a world where the gravity was so low, every step would push you five feet into the air.
“And that’s the world of the Chaos Pixies,” said Anthrow. “You definitely don’t want to go there.”
Jack thought about the Forgotten Portal. Could it be real? After walking through the Grotto, he could almost believe anything existed.
He hoped Theorden would never find it. How could someone he was related to be so rotten?
As they continued through the Grotto, Jack promised himself he would never be like his evil Uncle.
Chapter Ten
Bowlandose
“Here we are!” Anthrow said as he pointed to a pathway. It looked exactly like all the other ones they’d walked past and Jack once again wondered how Anthrow knew where each of them led. He thought they might have different hums, like Theordens world did, however he wasn’t ready to test that theory just yet.
They walked down the path, and through the trees. Once again it opened up to a clearing, a wooden door built into the rock.
Anthrow grabbed the handle and pulled it open.
“I love this bit,” said Rosie.
“Me too,” said Jack smiling.
“Me three,” said Anthrow. “I’ll go first. We’ll be arriving in the main city. Most people there look more or less like you lot but you may see some that have a few more arms or heads than you’re used to. Just remember that if there’s one thing everyone in the Universe agrees on, is that it’s rude to stare!”
“Extra heads?” David said quietly to Jack and Rosie. “Is he freaking serious?”
Without another word, Anthrow went through the doorway and disappeared. Rosie walked in after him, followed by David and then Jack.
Jack sped through the darkness, his third time through a portal. Now they weren’t being chased he felt more comfortable as he looked out on to either side of him. He started noticing faint white dots in the distance. Were they stars? Before he could come to a conclusion the white glow surrounded him as he sped towards the light ahead, arriving at Bowlandose.
“Olkden bon ooken!” something said to Jack’s left. He turned and looked up in surprise at a large creature standing before him. At least eight feet tall, it looked like a cross between a polar bear and a monster from a Saturday morning cartoon. It had massive blue eyes that took up over half of its head. Its arms had large claws at the fingers and the black hair that covered its entire body looked as sharp as razor blades. It stared down at him as if waiting for a reply.
“Come on Jack, you’re in everyone’s way!” Anthrow said from his right.
Jack turned and saw his companions standing on what appeared to be a footpath alongside the extremely wide and busy road they had arrived on. Hundreds of ‘people’ walked back and forth before him, going about their busy day.
“Sorry,” he said to the large beast that had spoken to him and then rushed over to his cousins.
“You’re lucky that thing didn’t eat you,” David said to Jack.
“Jarkons are a peaceful people,” said Anthrow. “You’d have to do something pretty nasty to get one angry. Best you don’t though, it could probably rip your arms off like twigs from a branch.”
Jack continued to look on in amazement at the world before him. Bowlandose was hot. He could already feel beads of sweat running down his back. A red glow tinged the clouds above, an orange sun hanging larger than Earths in the sky. The ground beneath their feet was hard, but powdery and the dirt, like the sky was red. The portal he’d stepped through was built into a wall on the footpath, with more doors all the way down the street.
“We need to cross the road, come on!” said Anthrow over the sounds of the street. He pushed into the throng of people walking past. The three of them rushed after, a step behind him as he made his way through the crowds, disrupting everyone in his path.
“And he told me off for ge
tting in people’s way,” Jack said to David.
The three of them were shorter than most of the people around them, so as they followed, they couldn’t see anything but the people surrounding them at chest height. Rosie, concerned they’d get split up, grabbed Jacks hand.
Just as he started feeling claustrophobic, they broke through to the other side of the road, on to a pathway much like the one they’d just been standing on, with more doors lining the street as far down the road as he could see.
“Come along,” said Anthrow. “Vonsant’s store is this way.”
“They have shops here?” David said.
Anthrow didn’t say anything, but smiled. He led them along the footpath until they came to some stairs built into the wall. “Up we go,” he said, taking the stairs two steps at a time. They walked up and up, at least five flights. As they reached the top they came to a large platform overlooking the streets below.
Anthrow turned to them and swept an arm out before him. “Behold my friends from Earth, the largest shopping destination in the Universe! Do they have shops here you ask? They have thousands and thousands! If you can’t find what you’re looking for here, you haven’t finished looking!”
It’s massive! Thought Jack as he looked down. There were rows and rows of streets before him, in a grid like fashion that kept going all the way to the horizon far in the distance and all of them bustling with people.
“It’s awesome!” said Rosie. “Can we go shopping later?”
“We’re trying to save our house and possibly our planet and she want some alien slacks,” said David.
“I meant after all that!”
Anthrow led them along a corridor. To the right of them was a railing, preventing anyone from falling into the mass of people walking on the street below. To their left were different store windows, selling a whole variety of wares.