Warped- Chapter 2: An Odd Dimension

For a second none of the girls dared to think about what was happening, but that second was over. The portal was neither stable nor calm, and as the girls realized this, the also happened to realize what was really happening.

Julie was the first to speak. “Oh- my- goodness- what have we gotten ourselves into?” she said, in a state of panic.

“A lot of stuff,” Sam said grimly, shaking her head. “The portal- it’s unstable; I can feel it.”

“It’s thinning,” Brit interrupted, causing both Sam and Julie to turn around and look at her.

“What?” Sam asked.

“The portal,” Brit explained. “It’s telling me that it’s almost at an end, and we should be prepared to... well... be dumped out...”

“Oh,” Julie said. “Remember- if one of us doesn’t make it-”

“We know,” Sam cut in. “I just don’t want to think about that right now okay?” Brit nodded in agreement.

It was then that Sam noticed the portal’s actual form. It was cylindrical, and seemed to be made of neither matter nor emptiness, even though that was impossible.

Then again, a lot had happened that was impossible. “Remember,” she said out loud, “The laws that we think are set may be different, so be prepared.”

“Got it,” Julie said, and before Brit could say anything, they were dumped out of the portal.

“Okay, I’ll admit it. I definetely wasn’t prepared for that,” Sam said. The end had been rather abrupt; with no warning at all. Luckily, the girls had landed in two inches of snow; the soft fluffy kind which didn’t hurt on when you fell.

Just then Julie came to an obvious realization that none of the others had even begun to think about. “Guys- it’s warm.”

“Huh?” Brit said.

“Its warm- around 80 Fahrenheit, and there’s snow on the ground. I guess The Note wasn’t kidding when it said the basic fundamental principals were different here- very different. Where is The Note, anyway?”

Sam pulled the piece of paper out of her pocket. "I got it right here. Wait a second,” she said, as a look of horror crossed her face. “It rewrote itself.”

“WHAT?” both Brit and Julie said at the same time.

“It- it rewrote itself.” Then, upon seeing the disbelief on Julie and Brit’s faces, she added, “Oh come here, will you?” Sam began to read out loud.

Dear Reader,
I see that you have decided to jump in the portal. Well congratulations. First off, I’d like to warn you- you are in a completely different world, and I see that you have noticed the temperature law... differentiations. You will find creatures here though not many.
Now that you’ve gotten a chance to get acquainted with your powers, I suppose I will tell you- you will need them- a lot. Oh, and by the way- I suggest you run.

The three girls looked up simultaneously. Brit’s voice was but a whisper: “Uh guys? I think The Note was right- we should run.

&*&*&*&

“It was an orange FREAK! It could’ve eaten us!” Julie whined.

“As much as I hate whining, I’ll admit you’re right, it could’ve eaten us- and in one bite too.”

“I just don’t know how The Note knew. I mean, I know it’s alive, but how on Earth could it know a giant orange thing was going to come along and scare us all to death?”

Sam shook her head. “I really don’t know, Julie.” Just then, the full extent of what had happened in the last few days hit Sam. “Guys,” she said, her voice weakening. “Think about it. Our ‘house’ was alive, there was a portrait that only Julie could see, me and Brit ‘knew’ what The Rock was thinking, and somehow I brought the portrait out in the open just by thinking about it. A magical note happened to appear which rewrites itself naturally, we opened a portal, unlocked an invisible lock and jumped through, just to be dumped out in a whole other dimension with completely different laws of nature and get confronted by a freaky orange thing. THINK ABOUT IT!”

Julie and Brit just stared, dumbfounded. Brit was the first to say something. “Oh, god... that’s, uh, interesting...” she trailed off.

“Sam... I’m getting the feeling that we should go back to our world now,” Julie said.

“But how? There are an infinite amount of alternate universes, we can’t just go hoping from world to world.”

“How do you know this stuff?”

“I’m 15. I read a lot of this string theory and alternate universe stuff. Oh, and by the way, according to the string theory, this universe could collapse at any moment, leaving us floating in hyperspace and the fabric of space and time.”

Brit gulped. “Okay... the one part of that I did get wasn’t quite that pleasant. WADDAYA MEAN THIS UNIVERSE COULD COLLAPSE AT ANY MOMENT???”

“It means it isn’t stable,” Sam said grimly. “Also, there should be a rock here that is the same as The Rock- our rock- but I’m not guaranteeing anything. I dunno. Maybe The Note rewrote itself and this time it gave us some tips.” Sam pulled out the note.

Dear Samantha, Britney and Julia

Tips you say? Well, let me put it this way: Sam is right. There’s no turning back for you now. The orange thing you nearly got eaten by is called a Mnitte; it wouldn’t eat you unless it felt extremely threatened. Now, I suppose I will explain your individual powers to you.

Samantha is the oldest, which is why she has the power to feel what other things are thinking. She can also bring out existing things hidden in the fabric of space and time which only Julia can see, which requires a lot of mental stamina and patience.

Britney is the youngest, and she has the power to hear thoughts. She can understand the nature of all the beings in the universe- or in this case- all the universes.

Julia has the power of sight. She can see how individual things are made up; atom by atom. She can also see beyond hidden messages to their meanings.

Samantha has the power that will be most needed, and the same goes for Julia. Britney’s power, however, will not be needed often, but when it is, it will be extremely crucial.

Each of you have your specific power for a reason, and as you learn how to use them wisely, it will become much less energy-draining.

Samantha is right about the fabric of the cosmos; the worlds are neither stable nor suitable for human life. I believe I had warned you that the journey would be both perilous and extremely risky if you decided to take it.

Now, read carefully. According to the string theory, or ‘M-theory’ as the modern-day scientists call it, the fabric of space and time are different for every universe there is. Constantly, universes are blossoming off of each other, forming ‘baby’ universes which expand. At the same time, many universes collapse.

The fabric of the cosmos- or rather- space and time, can be manipulated, though not very easily. As you guys learn how to manipulate your own powers this will become clearer. The fabric of space and time can be opened, to form a ‘pouch’ which, when something is put into it, it cannot escape unless opened from the outside. This is because space and time are forever continuous, stretching on and on to the point of infinity.

Someone inside space and time; in other words anyone who doesn’t have the powers you do and are in a universe; cannot get out of their universe- their designated piece of space and time- the fabric of the cosmos- unless they can open a time warp and walk through, like you did.

Therefore, an object sealed inside a piece of space and time cannot escape unless someone- or something- opens the portal for it to get out. I am not going to explain this yet; as you would not understand.

I am going to assume that you are wondering why you three can open portals; hear, see and feel living things. This is not a simple answer.

To begin, let me say that you three have been meant to take this journey for a long time. Doesn’t it make you curious that your parents just happened to decide- at the last minute- that you were going to take a vacation where there was no electricity or communication?

Also, it just so happens that all three of you noticed something about your rock at the same time.

And another thing, Sam just happened to be taken over by the urge to make the portrait appear.

Even the fact that you were alive when Julia found the portrait is a miracle. Allow me the liberty of saying that a ten year old and an eight year old- even with a high-school student- would not normally survive the Canadian woods alone, even if they did have electronics, which you guys didn’t have.

Doesn’t it make you wonder if The Almighty One had anything to do with this?

Yes, one has to admit that it does seem like your destiny lies within this journey, and whether you survive it or not. Don’t be fooled. The chances that you survive are much greater than the chances that you don’t, providing that you stick together.

But most of all, the outcome of this journey most heavily depends on if you can adapt to alternate universes.

“Erm... was I supposed to understand a word he- or she- or it- wrote, because if I was, I’m really sorry, ‘cuz I understood NOTHING except the stick together part,” said Brit.

“Sorry Sam,” Julie added, “I have to agree with Brit on this one. I mean really- HOW THE HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT STRING THEORY??? And how did The Note know our names?”

Sam sighed, and began explaining. “Well, as for the names, I’m not surprised. I mean, if it knows everything about us, it might as well know our names.
You guys understand the part about our powers right?” Both other girls nodded, and Sam continued. “Okay then. The thing about M-theory is that many scientists think that it is the ultimate theory, explaining anything and everything about the fabric of the cosmos as we know it.”

“Stop right there,” Julie said. “I mean, I got most of that, but I just don’t understand the part about the fabric of the cosmos. What’s that?”

“I don’t really get it either, what do you mean by ‘explaining everything about the fabric of the cosmos’?”

Sam sighed again. “Okay, Einstein proved that space and time are not individual independent qualities, but rather variables in the equations of the universe. Space is curved; and time is never ending. He also proved that when you go as fast as a light beam, time itself slows. I know it’s hard to believe, but just hold on to that for a second, okay? In other words, time and space go hand in hand when it comes to the universes. When time and space are woven together into an intricate fabric, it becomes our universe- the cosmos.

The M-theory is thought to explain the universe because it explains everything- yes, everything- that scientist have ever wondered- yet. Does that answer your questions?”

Julie and Brit just nodded.

“Alright,” Sam continued. “And, The Note also says that it’s not exactly ‘normal’ for us to be able to survive the woods and travel from universes to universes, so it suggests that The Almighty One has something to do with it.”

“Huh?” Brit said, confused.

“God. It means God.” Julie answered Brit’s question with one word.

Brit then said, “But then wouldn’t that be true? You have to admit, not many kids survive the wilderness alone.”

“Okay, okay, Brit you’re right,” Sam said. “But anyway, The Note ends by saying that the chance that we survive depends on whether we stick together or not.”

“That’s pleasant,” Brit muttered. “So now they’re suggesting that we might DIE!!”

Sam shook her head dismally. “You know, when we started this whole journey thing-and yes I know that was like 10 minutes ago- but when we started it, none of us really considered what could happen. I mean, all of us thought it would be cool and all that, but not that we might die or anything. If I had known that, I would’ve given it a lot more thought.”

“I know. And now we can’t turn back,” Julie said.

A single tear dropped down Brit’s face. “Sam, I want mom and dad! And we’re stuck in another dimension, from what I picked up! What are we gonna do? We can’t just walk blindly from world to world!”

Sam shook her head again. Brit was way too young to be going through this; she was only eight. It wasn’t fair to Julie either. On the outside, Julie was trying to look tough and unbothered. On the inside, however, Sam knew she was out of her mind and fretting. If only she had known... 'If I had known we were gonna get stuck in another dimension, I wouldn’t of ever even thought of going through the portal! But look where we are now! It’s not fair to Brit, it’s not fair to Julie, and it’s not fair to me! It’s just not fair!’

All of a sudden, Sam became feisty, trying to deny the facts. She sighed. It was no use. She finally spoke. “Brit, I know you’re upset, but just remember, I’ll make sure that we’re safe and when we get to the end, it’ll all be over, okay?”

Brit’s face was covered in tears, streaming down her face. “But how do we know when it’s over?! We’re basically just jumping from world to world randomly. We can’t just... do that!”

“Brit’s right,” Julie said. “We can’t. We have to start seriously thinking about what all this means." She turned to face Sam. "Sam, take it away!”

Sam looked desperately from right to left for a few moments before crossing her arms and sighing. “Okay. We have to think this through LOGICALLY. What do we know?”

Brit looked at her incredulously and shook her head. “We know that we have a note that rewrites itself. We know that each of us has powers. We know that Sam can create portals into different dimensions. Julie can somehow see a ‘magical’ portrait which had a hidden note behind it that Sam took out. I can hear thoughts. Great. That much we know. NOW WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?”

Sam gulped. “Okay. Right now, we don’t know that much about how all this dimensional stuff works. Our best hope is to travel through a couple more time warps and see what happens.”

“Time warps?” Julie asked.

“They’re portals,” Sam replied.

“Okay,” Brit said, nodding her head in sarcastic agreement, “Let’s just go to a random world where we could suddenly burn to death because of ‘temperature law differentiations’ or whatever they’re called. Oooh- I know, or we could suddenly be left floating in the middle of hyperspace because of a collapsing world. Or we might get torn apart by ‘physical law differentiations’ or something. Or we could suddenly find ourselves unable to lift a foot because of ‘gravitational law differentiations.’ Sounds fun!”

“Okay, so let’s stay here without FOOD OR WATER!” Julie yelled back.
“Well what do YOU suggest then? Get crushed to death? No- let’s burn to death instead! Drown to death? TAKE YOUR PICK!”

“Yeah? Well then, let’s starve to death. Does that make you happy? And then we can all-”

“Guys STOP ARGUING! You know what The Note says! We can’t survive if we aren’t going to stick together! Do you guys even understand?!! It’s about more than your stupid little games okay? Could you think about me? Or mom and dad- we’re all at stake here! Not just your stupid little pride and joy and foolishness. Jeez!”

Brit and Julie just stared for a moment, stunned.

Then, Julie completely lost it. “I have HAD IT with you two! Brit- you really need to set your priorities straight. I MEAN REALLY- do YOU think I want to get killed? Would YOU rather stay here and get KILLED? Oh my god, Brit, could this get any more STUPID? And Sam- you STUPID control FREAK! Do you think I CARE? BECAUSE I DON’T!!! And I don’t care what the stupid note says because it’s a note-GET OVER IT!! JEEZ!!! What is it with you PEOPLE and thinking I care??!! We’re stranded in the middle of a DIFFERENT DIMENSION!! WE HAVE A LOT WORSE TO WORRY ABOUT THAN STICKING TOGETHER! JEEZ!!! WE’LL BE LUCKY IF WE GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE!! AND YOU WANT US TO STICK TOGETHER??!! JEEZ!! IF I STICK TOGETHER WITH YOU GUYS I’M NOT MAKING IT OUT ALIVE!!! JEEZ!!!”

Julie stormed off, her nostrils flaring. Her boots stormed angrily on the fluffy white snow.

Sam and Brit looked at each other. “What is wrong with her?” Brit asked.

“I really don’t know. But really, she has to listen to The Note. And really, it’s the only thing we have to listen to.”

“Did it rewrite itself?”

“Let’s see,” Sam said, pulling out The Note.

Dear Sam, Julie and Brit,

Okay, let me try that again.

Dear Sam and Brit,

I’m going to assume the Julie has a temper. Because she does. I wasn’t kidding when I said you guys have to stick together. There are tons of creatures in this dimension that could kill Julie without a thought. You have to make sure she’s safe. Without her, you have no idea how much danger you could be in.

She has the power to see hidden things that could be there to harm you. Without one person, your chances of survival decrease greatly.

Without Sam, you would never know if something- or someone- was feeling hostile to you guys. Without Brit, you would never know if someone was thinking about a plan to kill.

It takes all of you, and sadly, Julie doesn’t understand that. You have to try and get her back. And it’s not just for her.

Sam looked up, her face grim. “The Note is right. We have to find Julie. As much as I hate her guts, we can’t live without her.”

Brit sighed, resigning. “Fine. But I’m only listening to you because The Note says so.”

Sam shook her head and laughed briefly before turning around. It was going to be a long, tiresome journey.

&*&*&*&

“JULIE?!! JULES ARE YOU THERE?”

“Sam, give it up. Someone in the next world over could probably hear you. Julie’s either not responding... or... can’t respond.”

“Nuh-uh. Julie may be stubborn, and she may have the most provoking guts on Earth, but she wouldn’t let herself get caught that easily- by us OR by something else.”

“I agree, except for the part about Earth. Sorry Sam, but we’re not exactly on Earth anymore. And I wish we were- a lot.”

Sam and Brit had been searching for Julie for an hour now to no prevail.

Constantly they had stopped to admire the natural beauty of the place. The white snow gleamed against what seemed to be a sun; except redder and slightly dimmer. There were tree-like things that seemed to possess the elegance of a graceful figure skater. There was a long rod similar to a trunk that stemmed upward and divided into sections, which entwined with other sections only to end in a beautiful point.

Every few feet or so up there were opaque flowers stemming out, which seemed to reflect each other in perfect symmetry. They were a perfect circle, with a slight bulge at the outside. Crystal clear, they seemed to magnify the things behind them by about tenfold.

The landscape was flat, with occasional bumps that seemed to sprout grass-like plants. These were the shade of a fiery red, and they were the shape of a cylinder, although very thin. The tree like things covered most of the land, providing camouflages for the many creatures that remained hidden to Brit and Sam.
Unaware to them, all the creatures had sensed their presence and were watching them with suspicious caution. None of them had ever seen anything close to a human, and, as Brit and Sam walked by minding their own business, many had stopped to look curiously at the passing creatures.

Among them was a Kliome, a horned beast that boasted a proud sense of confidence. The Kliome was a fierce creature, and at the first sign of danger would rear its horns and crush the attacker to bits and pieces. The Kliome had extremely sharp teeth, which could crush even a human skull without much effort.

Another creature among them was a Likon. Likons were quite rare, and definitely the most spectacular sight Sam and Brit would ever see. It was built like a horse, with hoofed feet and four long legs, but instead of a mane, Likons had a beautiful, long streaming length of hair that was colored a magnificent gold shining brilliantly in the sun. The mane would have caught the eye of Julie, who had the power of sight, but Sam and Brit remained oblivious to the creature.

Exhaustion had finally overtaken the pair, and as they sat down to rest, a shrill scream echoed out of the thick woods that lay just before them. “Oh my god,” Sam whispered, mortified. “Julie!”

Without a word, the two stood up, and prepared themselves for a tough fight.

Whatever had Julie had made her scream, and Julie was the toughest among them.

“Do you hear that?” Brit said. As her senses became sharper, her power was finally getting to her and she could hear the thoughts of all the creatures- including the one that had Julie. Unfortunately, Brit could not yet distinguish all the creature’s thoughts from the Kliome’s.

“What?” Sam asked.

“Thoughts. I do not think we are alone Sam.”
Sam’s eyes widened as the realization hit her. The two looked around, and as they tried to focus their eyes, the scene became clear.

“Oh- my- god,” Sam stammered. “We have to get out of here.” The girls looked from side to side, and found a gap. “Brit?” Sam asked.

“Yeah?”

“RUN!!!!!!!!”

And they did. The girls ran for their lives, through the forest, not even noticing that a resounding silence was getting stronger. Finally, Sam felt that something was happening. “No,” she whispered. “Something is not right. “We’re getting closer to whatever has Julie. I know we are.”

Brit gulped, as the creature’s thoughts in her head dissipated until there was only one left. “Sam- oh, god, I can hear its thoughts!”

“What is it thinking?” Sam asked urgently.

“I don’t know. I can’t understand it- it’s in some other language or something.” Brit’s eyes widened. “But you can, Sam. No matter what language the thing speaks, the feelings will still be clear to you. Sam, try it- try to feel what its thinking.”

Sam looked at Brit incredulously. “ARE YOU SERIOUS?”

“Sam! It’s the only way! How else are we supposed to know what to do? You have any ideas?”

Sam sighed, resigning. “Fine. Alright, lemme try and do this.” Sam closed her eyes, and let her insides- which were deathly nervous at the moment- rest. She focused every cell of her body on her surroundings, and thought about Julie.
Slowly, she felt feelings swirling into her brain. There was a bit of anger, a bit of curiosity, and a bit of caution. But most of all, she sensed fear. ‘Wait a second,’ she thought. ‘Are these Julie’s thoughts or the thing that has her?’
As if answering her question, a picture of a Kliome swirled into her head. As Sam marveled about the Kliome, she knew that it was a fierce predator, but when faced with something new, did not know what to do.

Sam looked up to face Brit. “It’s not gonna do anything to Julie yet, and it’s a bit scared, but we have to find it before Julie does something stupid- which, believe me, she will- and it goes berserk.”

Brit was pale, but managed to get out a nod and a, “Okay,” before following Sam, who had already turned on her heel and started walking.

Then she turned back around. “Okay... So... How exactly do we figure out where the thing is with Julie?”

“Ummm... Do you think your thoughts would get louder if we got closer to the thing that’s thinking it?”

“I’m not sure. It wouldn’t hurt to try it, would it?”

“Well... There is only one way to find out- a risky way, but the only way. You up for it, Sam?”

Sam sighed. “Of course.”

Again, she let her mind drift off into nothingness, this time with her eyes open. This proved to be a problem. With her eyes open, Sam’s mind kept wandering off to outside things, like Brit, or the beauty of the scenery. Finally, after five minutes of no results, Sam heaved a sight and looked at Brit, frustrated. “I don’t get it. I can’t concentrate with my eyes open. It just doesn’t work!”

Brit shook her head. “Then what will? Can you close your eyes and then open them?”

“I’ll try,” Sam replied.

Again, she closed her eyes and focused her mind on nothing but Brit and her captor. As her thoughts steadied, she slowly opened her eyes, not daring to let her mind wander back. “Okay... I think I got it.”

“Great,” Brit said. “Now walk somewhere.”

Sam began to walk only to crash into a tree. As she stood up, dazed, she said, “Okay... That didn’t quite work out like it was supposed to.”

Meanwhile, Brit, seeing that Sam was fine, burst out laughing. “Smooth! I mean, really. Way to crash and burn!”

Sam laughed and shook her head. “Okay, let’s try doing that again...”

Sam repeated the procedure- again, and this time, she walked far enough without crashing into anything. “Hold on- wait a second- I think it’s getting weaker! Yeah, it is! Hold on, lemme try to walk the other way.” With that, Sam carefully maneuvered herself to face the other direction, and began walking... again.

“OH MY GOD!! It’s getting louder! And I’m not imagining it, c’mon, follow me!”
With that, the two set off to find Julie, not knowing what lay ahead, only what lay in the past.

&*&*&*&