Across Worlds - Chapter 4

Falyn

Up until that very moment, Falyn thought that being denied for extra schooling was the worst thing that could’ve happened to her. But once the hooded man from the market showed up at her house, extra schooling seemed like such a small problem.

Sam had left almost the second they reached the market again.

“I’ve have to – well – I’ve gotta go,” he had said. Gripping her shoulders, he directed her eyes to his. She knew that she was blushing uncontrollably, but Sam didn’t seem to notice. “Go straight home. Keep your head down and don’t stop for anyone. Got it?”

Once she agreed, Sam ran off in the opposite direction. She debated calling out after him or following him, but she knew that he wouldn’t appreciate it. Something was definitely going on. And until she found out the truth, she was gonna stay out of it.

So she followed Sam’s instructions and hurried home. She could feel everyone rushing past her as she cut through the market. Every time there was the tiniest of noises, she jumped. She couldn’t help it. Her heart was already racing at a hundred miles an hour. Sweat was dripping down her face. It was more than she could handle.

By the time she cleared the market she was sprinting. The city loomed over her as she slowed to a walk. There were plenty of places to hide in the city; alleyways and sheds.

The city was more like a populated countryside than an actual city. From what Falyn had read, cities were large areas with crowded streets and walkways. But the city she lived in was nothing like that.

There were houses bunched together in tiny cul-de-sacs. Each one looked the same. They all had white siding and brown roofs. A few were different sizes, but they were mostly all the same. And Falyn hated it. Where was the variety? She wanted to see yellow houses and blue houses; large houses and small. It was boring to be the same.

Her house was in the middle of the city. She turned down her street and headed to the very end. She waved to Mrs. Anderson who always came out to sit on her front porch from exactly five to six o’clock. Mr. Keller waved to her as he got the mail from his mailbox. And little Hallie Keller hid behind her daddy as Falyn passed. She couldn’t help smiling to herself. This was her life; and it was wonderful.

When she made it to her house, she inserted the key into the lock and turned. It clicked and the door swung open and she stepped into an empty house.

“Dad,” she called out hopefully. “I’m home!” But there was no response. Sighing, she headed into the kitchen.

He must have to work overtime today. She thought. Sure enough, there was a note on the kitchen table.

Falyn – I’ll be at work tonight. Something happened at the market today and the person got away. I don’t know when I’ll be home. Make sure to get your homework done. There’s dinner in the fridge. Love you honey!

Falyn ripped the paper into tiny little shreds and threw them into the trash. She hated when her dad had to work overtime. It ended up being almost every night. But he was the head chief of the Protection Force so she could understand why. The city needed him.

But she needed him too. Ever since her mom moved out, it was just the two of them. They had learned how to live without her and had become really close. She looked forward to coming home and getting a bear hug from her dad. She looked forward to the movie marathons with boxes of pizza to stuff in their mouths on Saturday nights.

The phone suddenly rang out through the house, making Falyn jump. She rushed over and picked it up off the wall.

“Hello?”

“Oh my God, Falyn, are you okay?”

“Hey, Mina.”

“Are you okay?” She repeated, a slight panic in her voice.

“Yeah,” Falyn responded, confused. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I heard about what happened at the market.”

Oh, so word had gotten around then. Falyn’s mind went in twenty different directions. How was the Protection Force handling it? How big of an issue was it exactly? And was her name linked with the story?

“Mina, I’m—”

“I should’ve gone with you,” Mina said, her voice exploding through the receiver. Falyn had to pull the phone away from her ear for a second. “I should have—then maybe—nothing should’ve happened.”

“Mina,” Falyn said, trying to calm her friend down. But she could barely get a word in.

“You could’ve gotten hurt! They say it was a Seer. But that’s impossible, right? They can’t make it over the river. You stayed out of the way though, right? I hope you got out of there before anything happened.”

So her name wasn’t a part of the story. It was a huge relief; a great weight off of her shoulders.

“Yeah, I got out a while before that. I didn’t even see what happened.”

“Listen, I’m coming over.”

“No, Mina, you really don’t—”

“I’m coming,” she said firmly. “We still need to talk about this extra schooling crap.” Extra schooling. Falyn had nearly forgotten about that. She was too busy focusing on what had happened at the market that extra schooling didn’t seem like such a big deal anymore.

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll see you soon?”

“Ten minutes.” There was a click and Falyn knew that Mina was gone. She’d be here soon whether Falyn was happy about it or not. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see Mina. They were really close after all. But she just wanted to be alone.

The second she put down the phone, someone knocked on the door. Thinking nothing of it, Falyn started towards the door. But she stopped herself before she got to the door. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Mina wouldn’t be there for a while.

The knocking turned into pounding fast. And all Falyn could do was stand and stare as the door collapsed in on itself.

He was standing where the door used to be; the man from the market. His hood was lowered and Falyn could see his face. It was a pale white color, almost like a sheet. His red eyes stood out even more against his skin, sending a chill down her spine.

Once the shock had worn off, she turned and ran towards the back of the house. She screamed as the wall exploded behind her. Chunks of drywall flew over and around her. Covering her head with her hands, she ran through the kitchen and hid behind the couch in the living room.

Quietly, she slowed her breathing and composed herself. The man was still back in the hallway. He wasn’t anywhere close.

Suddenly, she heard the squeak of a shoe in front of the couch. Lifting her feet, she kicked the couch away from her. She heard a grunt as it hit the man, sending him backwards.

Leaping up, she grabbed a painting off the wall and sent it hurdling end over end toward the man. But before it reached him, it disintegrated in an explosion of green light. When the light cleared, Falyn found the man staring at her once again, his hand raised. She ducked just as a stream of green light hit the wall behind her.

A hurtful scream escaped her lips as more drywall rained down on her head. She used her arms as a barrier, trying to protect herself.

Just as the onslaught of drywall stopped, the couch she was using as a shield met the same fate as the painting. Now there was nothing between her and the man. His palm was out, pointing directly at her. Her heart raced as a small ball of red light grew in his hand.

There was nothing left that she could do. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists to keep them from shaking. If she was going to die, she wanted it to be quick and unexpected.

She sat there for what felt like several minutes, but everything was silent. No magic passed by her. Why was the man hesitating? He should just get it over with.

When she opened her eyes, she saw him standing there, frozen. The magic was still shimmering in his hand. There was no wind, no birds chirping from outside; no noise at all.

Hesitantly, Falyn stood up. She took small, careful moves in case the man decided to attack. But as she stepped to the right, he didn’t move. His hand was still pointed at the spot she had been sitting. It confused her. Shouldn’t he be following her?

Suddenly there was a loud bang from down the hall. Voices filled the house.

“Twenty ways, Zeke. Twenty different ways that I can kill you.” A girl shouted.

“I did nothing wrong.”

“I didn’t say you could transport us! How did you know where to go?”

“Reading waves isn’t just your specialty.”

“Guys,” another voice interrupted, one Falyn recognized as Sam’s. “We’re here for Falyn right? Stop arguing and let’s find her.”

“I’m here!” Falyn shouted, not able to keep quiet any longer. “Here in the living room.”

She heard feet pounding against the wood floors. Sam was the first one to turn the corner into the room. Falyn relaxed at the sight of him. At last she was safe.

A large gust of wind rushed through the house, disturbing a pile of drywall next to her feet. Green light flashed through the house, disintegrating yet another wall.

The man turned and faced them. He looked around for a second before starting towards Falyn. She took a step back, running into Sam. He gripped her shoulders, holding her steady.

Before the man could take another step, the girl from the market rushed in front of Falyn and tackled the man. She placed her hand on his chest as he struggled against her. Soon enough, he stopped struggling and lay still. The girl lifted her hand and waved it in a zig-zag motion, making ropes appear, wrapping their way around the man’s body.

Getting up, she turned to face Falyn and held out her hand. “I’m Akia. Nice to meet you.” Falyn stretched out her hand and shook Akia’s tentatively. “We need to get you out of here.”

“Why?”

“Ask questions later,” Akia said. “All you need to know is that you’re in danger.”

“I don’t want to go anywhere,” Falyn snapped. “I wanna stay here.”

“More will come,” Akia shouted, pointing to the man lying on the ground. “Do you want that? We can keep you safe.”

“Falyn, what happened?!”

Everyone turned to see Mina standing in what used to be the doorway of the living room. She was scanning the scene, her eyes wide open in fright.

Falyn ran to her and gave her a hug. “I’m fine. Everyone is fine.” She pulled away and looked her best friend in the eyes. “You need to get out of here. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Come on,” Akia said, grabbing Falyn’s arm and pulling her away. “We need to go.” Falyn smiled sadly at Mina as she followed Akia into the hallway. She figured she wouldn’t argue with Akia anymore. As long as Sam came along, she’d feel safe.

“Wait!” Mina raced after them, catching them before they headed out the front of the house. “Let me come with you.”

Falyn turned to Akia, pleading with her silently. She didn’t want to leave Mina here worrying about her. Besides, the entire neighborhood would be wondering what was going on. Mina would be at the center of attention if they left her.

Akia looked at Sam and sighed. “Damn it. I don’t like traveling in big numbers. But if you want Mina to come she can. Now let’s get out of here.”

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For the LMS contest. Word count: 2,005. Sorry, couldn't get under 2,000 words