He didn’t seem to hear me. I rolled my eyes. Who was this guy anyways? So far all I knew was that he liked playing video games and ping-pong, and he knew something about me. It wasn’t very reassuring.
At that moment, Samuel caught my eye and seemed to know what I was thinking.
“I know this is probably very confusing and bewildering to you-” He began.
“You have no idea.” I interrupted him. He merely smiled before continuing on.
“However, a lot is about to be revealed to you. I trust you will keep it to yourself, and hope you will be able to believe it.” I smirked. Yeah, here I was, in the middle of a village somewhere across the world, when an hour ago I had been at the library. I’d been dreaming of a door, and seeing it in strange places. And he was thinking I might have a hard time believing what he was saying.
By now we had walked into the room, secured the door, and sat down. I leaned back and folded my arms. Samuel placed his hands on the table; face up like he was waiting for something to land in them. Avoiding my stare, he studiously inspected a crack in the table. Finally he started talking.
“I’m sorry if I seem strange to you, or it seems like I’m having a hard time holding a conversation. It just seems like today, I have gone back in time twenty years.” I scowled.
“Can you quit with the ‘you look familiar thing? It’s really creeping me out!” I demanded. “I just want to know who you are, and how I got here. I don’t care if I share a family resemblance to your great aunt or something.” He laughed, although reluctantly.
“It’s not my aunt I’m talking about,” Samuel began awkwardly. I waited nervously, chewing my lip so hard I thought it would tear.
“It’s your mother.”
My arms dropped to my sides, and I leaned forward. My mom was alive! And all these years I had thought…
I was stunned, excited, and surprised. But whom else would I look like but my mom?
“You knew her?” I exclaimed. Samuel grimaced.
“Yes, for quite a long time. We were friends-she was like a sister to me. She too, had your gift.” I almost asked him what gift he was talking about, but he went on and I didn’t want to interrupt again.
“She didn’t live in this village, but she did visit often-maybe once every few weeks. Everyone looked forward to when she came. But once, after leaving, she didn’t return for a year. When she finally did show up, she looked different-tired. Like she had already been through her life and had started a new one. She was nervous, and told us that she couldn’t visit us as often anymore. She couldn’t explain, but I could tell that she thought she was in danger. She left in a hurry, but just a week after she was gone, our village was attacked. I won’t say by whom, you don’t need to know yet. I knew they were looking for her.” Samuel paused, and looked at me sorrowfully.
By now, I was sitting on the very edge of my seat, my hands propped up on the table. I twisted my fingers around anxiously as he told the story.
“After that time, we never saw your mother again. We looked for her, but never found anything.” Glancing up at me again, he said, “We knew that your mother had hidden you well. She wouldn’t let the Keeper fall into the wrong hands- especially if it was her daughter.”
“I’m the ‘Keeper?” I asked, incredulous. His grin faded, and I knew he hadn’t meant to let that slip out.
“Yes, that is one of the names you are called.” He admitted. I frowned.
“I know what my name is. It’s Sienna. I don’t go by anything else. I have no other names.” I insisted. He shrugged.
“Call yourself what you like-I can’t control what other people say.” I gritted my teeth.
“So why are you so interested in me?” I said, changing the subject.
“Well, for one thing, we finally know that you are safe and alive.” I nodded, waiting for more.
“We also need to know how much your powers have developed.” I gaped at him. Powers; was he insane? “Once you start showing obvious signs of strength, it would be too hard to hide it,” He continued. “They would be able to find you.”
“Who are they?” I asked him. “And what’s this so-called power of mine all about?” Avoiding my question about who ‘they’ were, he answered,
“You have the power to make doors become portals.” He explained. Well, that covers it completely. I thought.
“But that’s not all you can do.” He put in. I was instantly alert.
“There’s more?” I asked. So according to him, not only could I walk through a door and end up anywhere in the world, but there was also a little extra sparkle to it.
“Yes, you can definitely do more than this. We just don’t know exactly what, yet.” He confessed. I was suddenly worried.
“So I could just suddenly do some random magical thing, and accidentally destroy the whole building?” He was grave.
“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m talking about.” I gulped.
“But that is why you’ll be in training for so long-so you can learn to master your power… to control it.” Samuel was quick to add.
I was so relieved that I wouldn’t be destroying things and killing people, that I almost failed to notice what he had said in the beginning of that sentence-that I would be ‘in training for so long’. What exactly did that mean? It’s not like he thought I was never going back or that I was going to train for five years like some sort of army general… right? I expressed my suspicions out loud.
“Well, you don’t expect us to just let you leave, do you?” He answered with a sad smile. “Now that we know you can use portals, everyone else is going to know soon also. You need to be taught to use your powers, and to protect yourself. No, you can’t go home-not for a while at least.” I stood up, feeling the anger coursing through my body.
“So what’s everyone going to think back home, when I disappear for six months? What am I going to tell them when I finally show up? That I was training for war in the middle of the rainforest with a crazy guy who likes playing Call of Duty?” I demanded. Samuel chuckled.
“You’ll make up some lie, of course. No one can know who you are or what you can do from now on.” I shook my head.
“Last time I checked, it was a free country.” I informed him, seething. “You can’t stop me from leaving.” I conveniently forgot that I was stranded in the middle of a rainforest with no transportation. He stared at me for a few seconds, like he was trying to spot sarcasm.
“I had hoped you would agree with me; I should have known it wouldn’t be so easy. Maybe some time to sleep on it will clear your mind.” The door opened, and two buff-looking guys came in. “Take her to one of the secure rooms in the basement, and keep guard outside. Make sure no one comes in or out.” He told them. They nodded, and each one took hold of my arms and started walking me from the room. I was so mad I was shaking. I couldn’t speak-only glare daggers at Samuel. He looked right back at me, smiled, and waved his fingers at me.
I wanted to pound him so hard he’d cry for his mother, but the two guards held me back. I tried to elbow one of them, but he twisted my arm so hard I cried out.
“You’ll soon come to realize that this is the best course of action.” Samuel promised me, walking over and leaning his face right next to mine so close I could smell his breath. As an answer, I gave him the darkest, most dignified glare that I could, given the position I was in. The guards pulled me out of the door before I could attempt giving him any critical damage.
I didn’t resist while they walked me down the stairs, I knew it would be a waste. I was no match for their rippling muscles.
* * * * * * *
When I was alone in the small room they had put me in, I paced around restlessly. I just couldn’t believe it.
“And this are supposed to be the good guys?” I snapped at the wall. I couldn’t wait to meet the enemy.
The only thing in the room was a small bed with blankets and pillows piled on to it. I went over to it, sighed, and plopped myself down. I put my head in my hands. I had done so much thinking tonight, I had given myself a killer headache. At least the guy had given me a few things to think about. Like the fact that he had known my mom longer than I had- that she chose to just leave me.
Who would do that? I thought angrily. There was no excuse for abandoning your child. Did she just not want me? Or not have time for me? Maybe I was a danger for her.
My train of thought suddenly shifted.
Wait a second… I wondered. Walking over to the door, I envisioned the library, twisted the knob, and pulled. With a sigh I realized it was locked, and I was obviously opening no magical portal that would take me back home. Recognizing defeat, I walked back over to the bed, and pulled myself under the covers. After a few minutes I added the pillow on top of my head.
“Maybe I’ll wake up and this will all have been a dream…” I mumbled sleepily. Yeah right-a very vivid, strange, unbelievable dream.
I woke when I heard voices outside my door.
“We need to speak with Sienna,” I heard a woman’s voice say. Napa, I thought, confused.
“You’re not authorized for that,” One of my annoying guards replied. The hall was silent, and I could feel the tension between them. Then I heard him cry out, and something hit the floor with an ominous thump. The door was being opened by a loud set of keys. I sat up, and climbed off the bed. The door opened, and Napa’s face peeked around the corner.
“What are you doing?” I asked her. She shushed me, and then walked all the way into the room, followed by two other guys. One was Marc, and one I didn’t recognize.
“This is Jonah.” She explained. “Come one, we’re getting you out of here.” I was shocked. I couldn’t believe my luck, but then I got a little suspicious.
“But I thought you didn’t like me?” I asked her, blushing nervously. She rolled her eyes.
“Maybe I don’t. But that doesn’t mean I think you should be imprisoned here for the rest of your life.” I nodded.
“Okay, good enough. But how are we going to get out?” I asked. As an answer, she pulled a dagger out of the pack she was carrying and tossed it to me. I caught it on its handle, and then held it away from me- I was almost afraid of it.
“We might not get out. Just follow me, and protect yourself. Praying could possibly help too.” She told me. I half-grinned; was she serious? Marc and Jonah looked serious enough, and I knew I needed to get out of here somehow, so I shrugged and followed her out the door. Marc and Napa led, while Jonah brought up the rear.
We padded along silently down the corridor, (well, them silently, me clumsy and making as much noise as humanly possible) and then went up a couple flights of stairs, encountering no guards. I was starting to think it was a piece of cake to get out of the building, when we ran around the corner straight into three bored looking guys playing cards. They just had time to look up before Napa and Jonah knocked them out.
“Are you serious? Dart guns?” I asked Napa. She shrugged.
“Would you rather die?” She pointed out. My grin faded.
“Ok, you win.” At that, she almost smiled- almost.
A couple minutes later, a loud alarm went off, hurting my ears and casting a flashing red light everywhere.
“We’ve got to go faster!” Jonah exclaimed nervously, glaring at me like it was my fault. Of course, it was. Our group picked up the pace.
Four unconscious guards and a broken window later, we were outside. It was dark out, but there was a full moon in the sky and the path wasn’t too hard to see. A few sleepy-looking people had come out of their houses, probably wondering what all the noise was about.
“Emergency drill,” Marc called out. “Everybody go back to bed!” We kept running, and soon were back into the dense undergrowth of the rainforest. It was harder to see in there, and I tripped and grazed my knee before getting back up. There were branches whipping around and scratching our faces everywhere.
Behind me, I could hear shouting. One of the voices sounded very similar to Samuel’s. I glanced back at Jonah, Napa, and Dane, and I could tell they were worried. Samuel was gaining on us. I glared at the ground, feeling hopeless. I knew it was I holding us back. No matter how much I like jogging at home, these three were much more experienced than me. I locked eyes with Napa.
“It’s no use,” I said, my chest heaving. “I’m too slow to keep up.” For a second, it looked like she was about to agree with me. Then she shook her head.
“There’s no point in going forward if you’re not with us,” She pointed out. “You’re the reason we’re doing this,” She informed me gravely. Then she looked over at Jonah. “Do you think you could carry her?” She inquired. He looked at me distastefully, and slowly nodded.
“Yeah, not with too much difficulty,” He said reluctantly. What did this guy have against me? Before I could say anything for my cause, he had scooped me up into his arms and we were running again. I was mortified.
“Hey, put me down, I can run!” I complained. His answer was short.
“No you can’t.” Well, I had to agree with him there. At least we were going considerably faster.
His pace was so consistent; I almost could have fallen asleep right there. Except for the plants snagging my clothes, the constant jostling, and the fact that people were following right behind us- yep, that kept me plenty awake.
After about ten minutes, we reached a clearing that looked familiar. Jonah set me down. This was the clearing where I first appeared-where the door had brought me.
Napa seemed to be waiting for something, while the three of them anxiously pace around the clearing, clutching their weapons tightly and looking in the direction where we could hear people crashing through the trees. I walked over to her.
“So what’s going to happen now?” She looked at me, her forehead creased with worry.
“I don’t exactly know. All I do know is that your presence should call the door, but I don’t know for sure where it will take you. Hopefully back home.” I nodded.
“But what about you guys?” I wondered. “I want to help, just not the way Samuel wanted me to. I can’t just sit around and do nothing, not after all this.” I pressed her. She thought for a minute.
“You can’t do anything to help now, you’d just get in the way.” My face grew red, but she held up a finger before I could respond. “I will call you when I need you. You can come back and bring me to your town. You know, you can take two people with you through the door.” I nodded. That was the best I was going to get. She got a thoughtful look on her face.
“That reminds me, you need to take someone with you,” She said. I frowned.
“Why?”
“You’re no longer safe alone. With the power that you hold, comes an unmistakable aura. No one would have trouble finding you now,” Napa said. I gulped. Glancing at Marc and Jonah, she called for them to come over.
“Seeing as Marc has family he has to take care of here, Jonah, you will go with Sienna through the door.” She said. Trying to hide a grimace, he nodded. I sighed. Just my luck to be stuck with the guy who doesn’t like me, I thought.
“How long until you think the door comes?” I asked Napa. She looked as if about to reply, but another person's voice drowned hers out.
“Definitely a while longer; and by that time, you won’t be here to take it.” The voice that answered me hadn’t been Napa. It had come from right behind me, and it was a man’s voice. I stiffened, and turned around. They had finally caught up with us.
“Samuel, let her be; she’s out of your hands. You can’t control the Messenger.” Napa warned him behind me.
Great, another stupid nickname. I would have rolled my eyes if the situation weren’t so tense. Samuel laughed.
“Out of my hands- never. I’m not just going to let her slip through my fingers. Do you know how much she could help us? Help the whole world? She could lead us to the door. That alone would be like ending poverty.” Napa frowned.
“Samuel, you know that door was never meant to be opened. For it to happen a second time would be insane.” I followed their conversation with confusion, wondering what door they were talking about.
Samuel had been slowly advancing as they spoke, and now stood a mere three feet from me. Napa, Marc and Jonah all stepped closer and formed a semi-circle in front of me.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a strange glow. As slow as the rising sun, my pathway to home was materializing. No one else seemed to notice.
Meanwhile, Samuel and Napa were still talking.
“I thought you were a good man, Samuel,” Napa whispered, pain in her voice. Samuel’s angry expression softened somewhat.
“I am good, Napa.” He tried to convince her. “It’s for the best of everyone that I do this. She isn’t safe alone anymore.” He pointed out. Napa smiled slightly.
“Ah, but she won’t be alone. I’m sending Jonah with her.” Samuel didn’t seem very happy with this decision.
“That’s not enough! She must remain here. There is no other choice.” Just as he said that, the door fully appeared. I squinted; the light was blinding. Napa saw the look on my face and seemed to understand. With a slight nod, she encouraged me. Time to go, her eyes seemed to say. I nodded back.
Taking a step toward it, Samuel realized what was happening and moved to block my path. Napa raised her dagger threateningly, since mine was hanging uselessly at the ends of my fingertips.
With Samuel slowly advancing toward me, I did the only thing I could- dropped the dagger, drew back my fist, and punched him full on the face. He reeled back in surprise, holding one hand to his nose. Shaking my hand in pain, I grabbed Jonah and pushed him with me towards the door.
“I will contact you when the time comes,” Napa called out from behind me. I glanced back and smiled, but had no time for words. More people were approaching the clearing.
I grasped the knob, and pulled the door open. Before Samuel even had a chance to look in my direction, we were gone.
This time was a lot like the first, so it wasn’t too bewildering. I had someone with me, although he didn’t look so strong and brave just then. He was looking all around himself with his face deathly pale, and he hugged his arms to his chest like he was trying to fold into a box. Reaching over, I squeezed his hand reassuringly. Instantly the color came back to his cheeks, and he straightened up, looking at me in amazement. He tightened his hold on my hand. Not so reluctant now, I thought.
Soon, it was over; we were through. We were standing between some trees, right behind the library. I sighed. It seemed like ages ago that I had walked through the door and ended up half way across the world, but really it was only yesterday. Noticing a numb feeling traveling up my arm, I glanced down and saw the Jonah still had his hand squeezing mine. I looked at him and cleared my throat.
“Ahem,” He looked up, and I nodded at his hand. Realizing, he released me immediately. I rubbed my hand gratefully.
“Sorry,” He muttered.
“That’s okay; are you ready to go yet?” I asked him. He took a deep breath, and nodded. Turning around, I began walking back home. Jonah blanched when we came out of the trees.
“Everything’s so… white,” He said distastefully. I grinned. Big and tall, but take them out of their comfort zone and suddenly they’re all over the place, I thought.
“You’re going to love my Aunt,” I told him.
