The Traveler-Chapter 2

Basil took a few deep breaths. In, out- in, out. She forced herself to forget that day.Just move on and keep walikng, she mentally said.Just move on and keep walking . So to distract herself, she looked at the scenery as she walks. The leaves were changing colors, beautiful on the country road. As she walked, little clouds of dust billowed up, settling on the tops of her shoes. It almost seemed poetic, or so she thought. Nothing but changing trees, dust puffs, and the lone traveler on the road.
Little does Basil know, she is about to become a traveler in more ways than one.
There was a gas station up ahead. It looked run-down, as things off the beaten path sometimes do, but Basil knew that she could probably rest there.
As she approached it, she noticed that there were gang members leaning against the brick wall, smoking cigarettes. She hoped that her posture says that although she can hold her own, she doesn’t want to pick a fight.
Apparently not.
The nearest buff guy picked her up by the collar of her shirt and hissed the last thing she’d expected to hear.
“Traveler.”
“Are you talking about me?” Basil asked, struggling, but to no avail- she got punched in the forehead, and the utter pain made her feel lightheaded. She’d only ever gone up against one or two gangs, and they were definitely strong, but never this strong.
“Of course I’m talking about you! You are Basil Robbins, aren’t you?” Basil tucked her hair behind her ear nervously, a habit she had, unsure of what to do, when the boy says loudly, “That’s her tell. Search her, men!” His eyes glowed, and he threw her to the ground.
Basil’s head lolled to the side. Pain thundered incessantly in her skull. Her vision swims. She was seeing spots. Wishing she could defend herself. How were they so strong…?
How?
The world grew dark.
___
Ethereal were attacking her.
Auberon could tell by their dark aura. He couldn't just let this happen.
But he’s trapped, stuck in the Space Between. Until Basil’s initiation starts. He had to find a way out…
With all his might, he thrust himself upward-in the Space Between, no sensation can be felt. Auberon doesn’t walk. He has to float. He’s not himself-merely a representation of himself. An Avatar. Soaring in the cosmos that surround him, an image of unconscious Basil in the corner of his eye.
He stopped when he got to the Hatch.
The Hatch transported those in the Space Between to the time and dimension they specify. To the real world.
Auberon hadn’t been past the Hatch in a long time. He wasn’t allowed to go past it, not yet.
But Basil needed him.
So he wrenched it open anyway, directing his Avatar through the flurry of faces, voices, colors, as disorienting alarms sounded. His energy was rapidly draining- a protection system- but he needed to fight it.
So he pictured her now, lying there. Her smile he’d grown fond of all these years, though she had no idea who he was. He thought of the many times he just wished to have a conversation with her. Of the world outside-sensations he hadn't experienced in a long time. Actually holding something in his hands, for instance.
Before he knew it, there was a whoosh and he was Ascending- coming back. Everything rushed past him except the images of the timeline he subconsciously chose.
He’s standing outside the gas station now. Standing on the ground.
He’d done it.
But pushing aside his feelings of euphoria, Auberon rushed toward Basil, who was still lying helpless on the ground. The Ethereal weren’t bothering him-they were much too surprised that he was even there. He used that to his advantage, unleashing a flurry of fireballs and magically enhanced dropkicks and uppercuts on the astonished Ethereal despite his exhaustion from his first Ascension in a long time.
On the ground, Basil stirred. One left.
“Spirit Guardian.”

___

Waking from her haze, Basil saw a boy about her age standing in front of her. It seemed as if he was so tired he could barely stand. Basil could tell he was using his last reserves of strength right now. But why? She got up to stand at his side, assuming a defensive position.
The boy stared at her almost in awe, his brown eyes analyzing her, but not coldly. “Basil…You’re awake.”
“How do you know my name?”
“Yes, Auberon.” the gang leader said. “I believe you have some explaining to do.”
Although, Basil wasn’t sure now that he was a gang leader. His eyes…they had glowed. His voice seemed much deeper than that of a teenage-or-early-twenties boy’s should be.
“You’re right. He’s not a gang leader.” the boy whispered to her.
“Can you-” she choked. “Can you read my mind?!”
“No.” He smiled. “But I can read your expressions like a book. You’re chewing on your lip, which is what you do when you’re thoughtful. Your eyes keep flicking toward that...um, guy, so it’s safe to say that you’re thinking about him. The only thing that a sane person would think about him in this situation is the pretense he put on and how he’s definitely not fitting that right now. It’s elementary, my dear Basil. Don’t you know yourself?”
Her mouth had dropped open.
“But for now, we need to take care of him.” the boy…Auberon, he’d been called-finished.
Basil nodded firmly. That was the only thing that made sense right now.
“The explaining can wait.” Auberon said loudly. His head jerked quickly and almost imperceptibly toward the man, and Basil guessed that she should attack him from behind. While Auberon was distracting him with words she couldn’t understand, she snuck into the background and punched his upper back repeatedly.
He roared and whirled to match her assaults, but then Auberon threw what looked like a fireball at him, setting his pants on fire. Basil watched in wonderment as he yelled something ungentlemanly and then disappears.
“Wow.” was all she could say.