Richard Parker - Elsewhere

“You’ll have to decide who’s to rule Deutzani…chose well and you will have peace for a very long time. I’d steer clear of Antioc,” Nev advised and then surprisingly moved forward and lifted Gwaynn in a huge hug. “Take care of him Jon,” he added, “and yourself.” The two brothers embraced before Nev hurried back to Audra.

He clasped her hand and they turned their backs on the group and faced the empty field. For a long time nothing appeared to be happening. Nev gave no indication he was doing anything. He made no hand gestures, uttered no spoken words; he did nothing at all, just stood motionless, his back to the crowd. Murmurs of impatience rippled through the crowd of commoners from Northpoint, and for a brief moment there were even those in the main group who began to question whether anything was actually going to happen, but not Gwaynn and not N’dori.

Their convictions were finally confirmed when the sharp smell of ozone filled the air. Like a nearby lightning strike, the odor suddenly permeated the area as the atmosphere around them became charged with some unknown power.

“Look at your hair,” Samantha said to Vio, unaware that stray strands of her own hair were also beginning to rise up into the sky. She glanced down at Arnot and his soft, black baby hair was standing completely on end. She tried to smooth it with the scarred, rounded tip of her bad arm, but it refused to cooperate and instantly popped back up.

“What’s happening?” she asked Gwaynn, whose hair was also lifting toward the heavens. Gwaynn shook his head, his own eyes never leaving Nev.

“I’m not sure,” he answered and began to move forward.

“Gwaynn…” Samantha said suddenly worried.

He turned back to her with a reassuring smile before continuing to move farther out into the field. She was about to call again when abruptly a massive bridge opened before them all, filling the sky, higher than the tallest trees and nearly two hundred feet wide. Almost immediately on opening, a great rush of wind hit the watching group, driving most back a few feet and even knocking some to the ground.

Samantha screamed and went down, clutching Arnot as tightly as she could with her good hand. Vio soon dropped next to her and struggled to move closer to Samantha. Avigail was crying loudly but the sound was lost against the raging dry tempest.

“Sam…” came a faint cry and she looked up to see Gwaynn gazing back with concern, but despite the noise and the strong wind she found she was alright…the babies were alright. And then Kostek, Gaston and N’dori crawled in front of her and huddled close in order to block the worst of the storm.

Gwaynn saw Kostek and the others go to Samantha’s aid so he turned back around, curious about the bridge Tar Nev created. Gwaynn felt the power building and building until it was almost tangible, until he could nearly taste it on his tongue. Where the bridge might be going he had no idea, but he knew, wherever it ended, it was far, far away.

Gwaynn looked at Nev and was surprised to see that the man was still standing, as was Audra and even young Aiden. In fact, they stood in the middle of the field as if they were completely unaffected by the wind. It took a moment for Gwaynn to realize that indeed the wind was not buffeting the trio, Audra’s hair though long, remained unruffled. He was completely mystified but then the bridge solidified, bringing the world beyond into sharp focus.

The first thing Gwaynn noticed was the buildings, tall and massive and nearly every inch of them filled with windows. Dozens of them, tall as mountains, but square, surprisingly narrow and teaming with power and beyond them he saw a large silvery arch gleaming in the bright sunlight. Then Gwaynn noticed people on the other side, a couple, a man and a woman. They were caught in the very windstorm that gripped him. The storm appeared to be much stronger on the far side and the two were trying desperately to keep from being sucked through the bridge. The man was holding a small silver pole of sorts. It was straight and apparently not affected in the slightest by the wind. It did not bend under the storm or the man’s weight, but stood stiff and sure. Whatever it was, it must be very strong. The man was struggling mightily but appeared to be strong enough to fight off the wind. The woman, however, was gripping a much larger silver pole. It was tall, like a tree, but Gwaynn was sure it was not a tree. It was large, with a wide trunk but it had no branches. On the very top Gwaynn saw what appeared to be a glass bulb. The woman was having a much harder time fighting the wind. Her legs, which were mostly bare, were being pulled upward so she hung parallel to the ground, her body held aloft by the stiff gale.

But Gwaynn’s attention left the woman and was drawn back to the architecture of the city beyond, he could tell the arch in the distance was tall, but he did not truly grasp the scale of the structure until he caught sight of a number of men and women moving about near its base. They were tiny, miniature people…the arch was enormous and something about it was familiar, but in his shock, recognition would not come. Instead his eyes caught more movement as a host of colored wagons raced along a black brick-lined road at incredible speeds, moving at least as fast as a good horse though nothing at all seemed to be pulling them…but these strange things Gwaynn knew. They were called cars…they were automobiles. He learned of them from Elise during his time on Lato…this was Earth…Old Earth. This was not possible. No one since Galen Dawkins had been able to open a bridge between worlds…no one until now.

Gwaynn remained hunched on his knees and watched open mouthed as Audra looked back, her face full of fear and excitement. He saw her turn back at Nev’s urging and without another glance back they moved forward and into the very heart of the bridge.

As they entered, the wind suddenly increased in ferocity, slamming into Gwaynn and forcing him back a few feet even though he was on his knees and braced against it. His eyes watered when he tried to look into the teeth of the storm. He blinked furiously and managed to catch sight of a figure hurtling through the air toward him. The woman had lost her battle and was flying into this land. She hit the ground hard perhaps ten feet in front of him and just to his left; she rolled and tumbled, relentlessly pushed by the fierce windstorm. She was young, he could tell, and as she flew close Gwaynn reached out and caught a hold of her naked thigh. She came to an abrupt halt and reached out, clutching at Gwaynn’s arm, pulling close to him, her eyes darting about in terror.

“I’ve got you,” Gwaynn said loudly against the din, and for the first time he noticed a pair of strange red birds on the front of her tunic. The young woman appeared not to understand what he was saying, but she held to him as if he were the only thing keeping her from blowing out to space.

Then, without warning Nev and Audra stepped completely through and were gone. The bridge snapped closed with a thunderous boom and the wind quickly stilled to nothing. The silence seemed strange and alien at first as everything rapidly returned to normal. Silence…calm, and then the strange woman clutching at Gwaynn began to scream.

The End