Steve shook his head. “Do you smell that? I can smell pine trees. Flowers. I think I even smell water as well. It sounds like there might be a waterfall or something in the area.”
“Okay, I haven’t figured out how it can smell like there’s a real forest, but I’m working on it! I mean, if that ride at Disneyland can use aromatics, so could this thing.”
“I doubt this is an illusion. Wait a minute. I have an idea.” Steve walked over to the desk and grabbed a piece of paper. He folded it into a pathetic-looking airplane and tossed it through the doorway. The airplane sailed through the air and landed nose first on the path.
“Hah! Did you see that? This is a portal! A portal that will lead us to, ummm, to…” Steve shrugged and hooked a thumb in the direction of the activated portal, “wherever that is.”
Steve took Sarah’s hand again and pulled her up to the threshold of the door.
“Now. You’re telling me that if we walk through that,” he looked pointedly at the portal, “then we won’t end up on that path, but instead we’d end up walking into the master bedroom? No, better yet, since the doors are closed, we’d run into them?”
Sarah was reluctant to abandon her common sense. “There has got to be an explanation for this. This type of thing just doesn’t exist. It has to be an illusion of some type.”
Steve held out his hand. “How certain are you of that?”
Her hand smacked into his. Together, they walked through the door. Through, he noted, but not into.
To Steve, it passed as smoothly as stepping into the outdoors. They stood blinking in the bright sunlight, staring at the scenery before them.
“We’re through! Omigod, we’re in the forest!” Sarah bent down to smell the pretty blue flowers she had noticed from the house. “It’s so beautiful here!”
Steve couldn’t stop grinning. He was going from rock to tree to flower as if verify this wasn’t a figment of his imagination.
“There’s nothing that’s illusory about this place, believe you me!” He took a deep breath. “Smell that air! I wonder where we are. Nowhere near a city, that’s for sure.”
It was at this time that Sarah regained most of her senses.
“Okay, why in the world…” She paused. “No, better yet, how did a magical door get into your grandparents house? Hmmm, let me backtrack a little more. Who made it? Certainly not by us. The Japanese are good, but not that good.” Sarah began to pace.
The light of comprehension finally shone a few rays in Steve’s direction.
“Are you saying that, uh, someone else created those doors? Alright, alright, let’s think about this.” His turn to pace. “You’re right. There’s nobody out there that has successfully teleported something, let alone someone, from point A to point B. This sort of thing is straight out of Star Trek.”
“There’s something else that’s bothering me.” Sarah thought for a moment. “Okay, the creators of those doors are obviously more technologically advanced than we are. By leaps and bounds, I’d say. Who knows where we are now? I mean, there are tons of trees, plants, and flowers around here and I don’t recognize any of them!”
Steve sighed. “Hon, there are thousands of trees and flowers. Can’t be expected to know all of them.”
“True. However, I can usually recognize something! My grandmother ran a floral shop for years. I’ve spent a lot of time with her. Steve, nothing here is familiar. I mean, look at this flower, for example.” Sarah pointed to what looked like a brightly colored rose.
“That’s a pretty rose.”
“It sure is, isn’t it?” Steve nodded, so she continued, kneeling close by the multi-hued flower. “However, this one has at least four different colors in it, maybe more. Look, on this one petal alone you have dark blue, which turns purple, then pink, and then yellow.”
“Looks kinda like a sunset,” Steve commented.
She nodded. “It does. However, roses don’t have that many colors on the same flower. Don’t even think about rolling your eyes at me.”
Steve’s gaze snapped back to neutral.
“Besides, look! It has blue thorns!”
“Flowers and thorns. Not an uncommon match, ya know.”
It was Sarah’s turn to roll her eyes. “Just trust me. This flower isn’t natural.”
They continued exploring the surrounding plant life when a large shadow passed over them, a loud screech shattering the air. Both of them froze instantly.
“What was that? A bird?” Sarah looked up at the trees.
“A bird that big? Did you see the size of the shadow? It was as big as the Santa Fe!” Steve nervously scanned the immediate vicinity. It was then that he finally looked behind them.
“Houston, we have a problem.”
Sarah detected the note of alarm in his voice. It got her attention. Instantly. “What’s the matter?”
“The, uhh, there’s…” Steve ran his hands through his hair and cleared his throat. “The portal’s gone.”
“WHAT?!” Sarah spun around and looked behind them. “This is not good. This is SO not good. What do we do?”
Steve noted the panic in his wife’s voice. It spooked him more than he would ever care to admit. Here they were, in an unknown land, with no signs (or sounds) of civilization anywhere in the vicinity. If he were by himself, it would be one thing. But to have Sarah suffer the same fate as he, it was almost unbearable. He had to think of something to do, quickly, before he started showing signs of panicking himself.
“Ummm, maybe the doorway is there, but we just can’t see it.” He grabbed her hand. “Come on.”
They hurried to the exact spot where they stepped onto the path.
“Alright, one more step and we should be back in the house.” Together, they stepped forward. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened. “Maybe it’s a little farther than I thought. Let’s keep going.”
They continued down the path another twenty paces before Steve stopped and reversed his course, figuring an approach from the south would have better results. No luck. They tried from the east and then the west, still with no luck. They were stranded.
Sarah was furious. “We’re stranded? We’re STRANDED?? This is all your fault!!”
Steve whirled on her. “My fault? I’m not the one who stuck that damn key in and turned it, causing that portal to appear.”
“No, you’re right. YOU are the one that pulled us through without thinking about the consequences. And now look at us. We’re screwed!”
“Hey, wait a minute. I’ve got my cell. I’ll just call someone, like 911, and they can trace the signal.” Steve unclipped his cell. “Problem solved.”
He started punching in numbers when he frowned, spun to the left, then to the right, then started moving aimlessly around. “No freakin’ signal. Must be all the trees. Dammit!”
“Well then, come on. Let’s find a clearing or something.” Sarah started to head north when Steve gently pulled her to a stop. “What’s the matter?”
“That waterfall sounds like it’s coming from the other direction. Let’s go that way.”
“Okay, the waterfall is that way. So?”
“Usually water increases the signal from cell phones. Right?”
Sarah shrugged. “Makes sense.”
For half an hour they traveled south. The trees were just as thick as ever, with no signs of thinning. There were also, Steve noted, no signs of civilization yet (or traces of it). For all he knew, they could be following a deer trail. However, one positive note was that the sound of the waterfall was getting progressively louder.
Sarah’s legs were getting tired. She wasn’t used to this much continuous walking. She was about to suggest they stop to rest when the path took a sharp turn to the left and they found the waterfall. It was, she noted, very pretty. As Steve attempted to get a signal on his cell, she craned her head to look at the top. She estimated it to be at least a hundred feet tall. The falling water had formed a small lake, with the excess water flowing off to the ea
st as a small river.
However, what held her attention at the moment was the pair of griffins that were satisfying their thirst from the pool. Panic spread through her like wildfire. Where was Steve? She scanned the immediate area, but couldn’t see him.
Cra-ack!! The snapping of the twig echoed like a gunshot all throughout the clearing. Sarah groaned. Steve had just announced his presence, existence, and location to every living creature within a two hundred foot radius.
Both griffins had jerked their heads up. Steve came out of the trees and stumbled toward the lake, eyes still down as he attempted to get a signal on his cell.
“Steve!!” Sarah hissed.
Steve finally looked up. “What?”
“Don’t move!” Sarah whispered, panic evident in her voice. “Remember that statue in the office? The one with the safe?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Look to your right! Just don’t move,” Sarah pleaded, “and don’t panic!”
Don’t move? Don’t panic? What, had a bee landed on him? What did that office safe have to do with anything? Steve glanced to his right. Not more than fifteen feet from him were two sets of avian eyes staring straight at him.
“Awww crap…”
It was hard to say who was more surprised, the griffins or Steve. Normally, prey didn’t come stumbling right up to them. What was wrong with this human? There was no fear! Humans without fear usually meant wizards or sorcerers. It was bad luck to eat a wizard.
Both griffins appeared undecided, and then with a loud squawk, they took to the air and flew away.
“Could it hurt to once, just once, look where the hell you’re going?” Sarah surprised herself into feeling both happy and furious at the same time.
“Those were griffins! Holy shit! Actual live griffins!!” Steve sailed right past fear to land squarely on amazement. “Those are mythological creatures! Half eagle, and half lion!” His smile then melted into a frown.
“Yeah, that’s right, Einstein.” Sarah was mad. “Griffins, along with multicolored roses. They don’t exist. At least, not in the States. And, if I’m not mistaken, anywhere else. Hon, we’re nowhere close to home. I hate to sound like a sci-fi geek, but I think we’re in another reality, or on an entirely different world!”
“Another reality? You mean like a parallel dimension??” His brow furrowed as he frowned harder.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I mean.” Sarah noted her husband’s skeptical tone and body language. “Come on! You’re more into sci-fi than I am. I would think you’d believe this sort of thing more than I would.”
“Hey, reading about it and experiencing it are two very different things. However…” Steve looked in the direction the griffins flew off. “I better start believing it before I go crazy.”
Steve walked over to the closest rock and sat down. Sarah joined him an instant later.
“Let’s recap, shall we? We discovered a portal in my grandparent’s mansion. A portal that brought us here, to a place where apparently fantasy creatures can and do exist. Where, according to you, (and I do trust you!) the flora is unique and unknown as well.” He looked at Sarah. “I think it’s obvious that my grandparents used the portal. Why else would it be there?”
“Well, if they came here before, then where did they go? They must have known people here, or frequented a known spot.” Sarah looked around. “Let’s keep moving. The last thing I want right now is for something else to come here for a drink.”
They both stood up. “Any ideas on which direction to go?” Steve’s eyes followed the flowing river as it trailed off to the east.
“Let’s follow the river. We’ll have a better chance of finding some people if we stick to the water.” Who knew watching the Discovery Channel would have eventually paid off?
Sarah nodded. Made sense. She looked further downstream. Still no signs of civilization whatsoever. Steve took her hand and together they headed east.
****
Several hours had passed. Both were still walking along the same river, both still eagerly scanning the horizon looking for the same thing: some sign of human presence. So far, no luck. At times, the tiny path was practically impossible to follow, cutting through dense, squat brush that even a rabbit would have been lucky to get through. Other times the path inexplicably swerved in a different direction, almost doubling back on itself. Since the path they were following appeared to be used regularly, if it swerved to avoid harmless-looking trees, then so be it.
The path rounded a bend on the left and they came across a field of shoulder-high pale, blue flowers. These, too, had thorns. Inch long thorns, to be exact. However, the trail proceeded straight through the flowers. Sarah pointed to the river.
“Water looks shallow. I think we can make it around these things. I personally don’t want to go wading through those flowers.”
“No arguments here.”
Together they walked along the riverbank until they were finally forced to enter the water. Steve, who considered himself very chivalrous, gave Sarah a piggyback ride so she wouldn’t have to get wet. It was slow going, and the two of them nearly pitched into the river when Sarah started tickling him, but they eventually made it past the thorny flowers.
The more they traveled on the path, the more Steve was convinced that they were following an animal trail. And he was willing to bet all the gold in Fort Knox that it wasn’t a deer trail.
“Uh, oh.” Steve abruptly stopped, causing Sarah to plow straight into him.
“What’s the matter?” Sarah leaned around her husband to see the source of the holdup.
One of the hundred-foot high trees had fallen and now the mammoth tree was blocking the path. Steve surveyed the tree to determine the feasibility of hiking over it.
“It’s not bad. We can climb over it.” The tree had a diameter of about ten feet and appeared to be a pine tree. Fortunately, there were many smaller limbs that were sticking out at all angles, making footholds plentiful. Steve had started breaking off the smallest of the limbs when he abruptly stopped. He bent to pick up one of the broken limbs, scrutinizing it closely. He looked at Sarah, grunted, and dropped the limb.
Her interest had been piqued. “What is it?”
“This pine tree” Steve gestured to the fallen tree, “has pine needles.”
Sarah looked at the tree and then back at her husband. She raised an eyebrow. “With you so far.”
He retrieved the limb and handed it to her. “The needles have multiple points. Some have two points, others have three.”
Sarah studied the needles. Yes, there were multiple ends, some resembling a snake’s forked tongue. With the exception of the needles, it looked like a typical pine tree.
Steve climbed to the top of the massive trunk and helped Sarah up. Once she was safely standing next to him, he slowly lowered her to the other side. From this vantage point he could see the path along the river stretch out for several more miles before it disappeared around a hill. Still no signs of civilization. He dropped to the other side next to Sarah and they resumed walking.
Steve watched his wife closely. How scared is she? This place will give anyone the creeps. The eerie silence was enough to give anyone the willies. What if they run into one of those griffins again? What if they don’t fly off? What if it’s something worse? What if… Is she actually smiling?
Sarah was grinning from ear to ear. One thing about Steve, it wasn’t possible for him to be sneaky without a neon sign above his head blinking ‘I’m up to something’! He was as easy to read as a book with large print.
“What?” she asked, with all innocence.
“Nothing. Just seeing how you’re holding up. You look so calm. Aren’t you worried about what might happen to us?” She shook her head no. “How are you doing?”
“All things considering, not bad. There’s nothing we can do about where we presently are. Why dwell on it? We’re here, and we will have to do what’s necessary to get out of this mess.” Her eyes flick
ered momentarily to his. “The mess that you got us into.”
Steve stopped dead in his tracks. He whirled on her. “My mess? I thought we went through this. I…” he broke off as his darling love-of-his-life wife start laughing at him. “You’re mocking me, aren’t you?”
Sarah couldn’t stop laughing. He looked so flustered! Every time she managed to compose herself, she took one look at her husband and broke out in giggles again. Even Steve started laughing, too, and when he started laughing, there was no telling when they would both be able to stop.
“What are you trying to do??” Sarah gasped. “I can’t breathe! Sides h-hurt! Stop - laughing!”
“Absolutely no sympathy. Whatsoever.” He turned to her and pulled her in to an embrace. “We’ll get out of this. I promise you.”
“I know we will. It’s just frightening, that’s all. If the trees and flowers are different, and creatures like those griffins live here, what else are we going to find? What if the people here are savages? Provided some people actually live here, that is.”
Steve thought a moment. “If there are people here, I can guarantee that they aren’t savages. Or cannibalistic, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“How? How can you be certain?”
“My grandparents. If this was such a horrific place, I doubt they would return here. The fact that they were always gone suggests that they were always here. I would go on to say that they might have a home here, or have at the very least some friends here that they visited often. Someone that knew them. Someone that would know they weren’t from around here. And if they did have friends like that, they obviously had a way to return home.”
For the first time since she arrived in this strange world, Sarah felt a little relieved. It made sense. Play the tourist, but have that round trip ticket to return home. The portal was installed in that house so they could visit here whenever they wanted, so there must be a way to return back. So how do you get the return ticket?
Bakkian Chronicles, Book I - The Prophecy Page 4