Monday, May 25, 2015

Part 12: The Other Dimension

*Note: My inactivity is due to lots of studies and activities, haven't had much time on here.

Ellen frowned as she read the next section.

           The boy exited the portal, finding himself in a dark, dusty shop. Confused, he looked around, and exited in anticipation for what was going to happen. He found that it was night outside, with electrical lights on streets, and some people walking about. It seemed that he had to find somebody "with a position of power" just as the judge had described, so he went on cautiously to find a person....

           "This story is becoming more and more detached... it doesn't seem very exciting." Ellen complained a bit. "Come on now, surely YOU can describe the scenery better than this writer, am I correct?"
          I thought for a moment, humbled, then spoke: "Well, I suppose I did describe the previous scenes more vividly to the author of this book. I suppose I was stunned from the portal-travel. I could barely think straight... but now that I go back to it, yes, I can recall it much better...."
        She sat and eagerly listened as I re-described the story from my point of view.

      The world exploded in a fury of flames. At least, that's what it seemed like to me. Scraps of ash and paper flew out, blowing a snow of chaos into the air. Darkness enveloped me as the billowing wind blew out with the smell of cocoa, and I shuddered in a combination of fear and nervousness. The wooden floor creaked beneath me and the door slowly opened soundlessly, almost as if beckoning me forward. I squinted against the light coming through the window and I walked through the clothing hanging on the racks, hardly registering the fact that I had teleported into an abandoned store. It was nearly just as dark outside, except the street lights that shone as my guide. Everybody looked suspicious; I couldn't trust a single person, and I double checked myself to see that I had everything the judge gave to me. I wandered about for a bit before I realized it was pointless to do anything other than look for that "person of power". Thus I walked up to a person and asked him about who had a position of power.
       He wore a cloak of darkness, and I could swear I saw the glint of a dagger on his hips. He trudged forward leisurely but also with an air of mystery. He glanced at me and seemed to sneer beneath the darkness of his hood. "You want to know power?" He asked in a gruff voice, and I nodded. "Follow me then." He said coldly, then walked onward with a quicker pace. Soon we reached this massive building that looked quite fancy, and two strong guards grabbing huge clubs by their sides looked on with disapproving eyes.
      "What he be doin' ere?" One guard asked.
      The other guard took a single step, and haughtily towered over me while pointing to the right into a dark alley with two fallen trash cans. "Ye belong over 'ere ye hear me?"
      I looked on helplessly and glanced at my guide with pleading eyes. The man who led me stared at them and merely said: "Well, this shrimp here wants in here; won't be causing any trouble."
       "Fine 'en," the first guard reluctantly said, "but I'll be throwin' him out if anybody complains."
       So I nervously stepped into the building with the man, and it turned out to be a fancy bar. Violin music played through the room, and the waiters and waitresses all wore fancy dresses and shirts. Most of the people were so formal, I was out of place even though I was wearing a half-decent shirt and pants. The man who led me seemed to realize this and grunted in disapproval, although he was most likely too lazy to go somewhere to change me into good attire.
         He looked both ways then leaned in and whispered into my ear: "Listen up, you heard the guard. You have to behave as if you belong in here." I nodded meekly, then his voice softened a little to soothe my fear. "Well, since you're with me in here...you want anything to eat?" He asked after a while. I nodded yet again, this time more confidently. I had faced monsters down before, so why was this man so intimidating? Was it my lack of interaction with people? Or was it the terror in my heart that this man could be anybody--including, hopefully not--my demonic father!
       But nothing such drastic was revealed, of course. We received our food, which I ate since I was famished. It seemed that the portal travel emptied the stomach along with the mind. As we were eating, suddenly a group of men came, all of them wearing a bandanna and having at least one scar somewhere on their body, some on their legs, some on their arms, other on their faces. The toughest man seemed to have scars all over his body, and I supposed he was the leader. With a breath of garlic and nasty scent that I could smell even though he not directly facing me,  and muscles so bulging that they almost touched me, he attempted to intimidate my man. "Well well well, if it isn't 'Mr. Z'. We see you're on the wanted list yet again for a high reward... and you still dare enter a fancy restaurant for rich noblemen and rich bandits? " He laughed, spit flying out of his mouth. "Mr. Z" did not respond, so he continued his bullying, facing me instead this time. "What's the matter? New guy can't help his friend? Well that's just too bad!" The rest of the gang laughed with him this time, and I was getting angry. Why wasn't "Mr. Z" doing anything? Indeed, he just sat there, eating his food, as if this gang didn't exist at all! I formed my hand into fists, but Mr. Z merely scowled at me and shook his head. The other men looked on, intrigued. It seemed like they were doing this on purpose to torment Mr. Z and start a fight of some sort.
         Their plan didn't seem to work out, and Mr. Z had paid the bills to the cashier, and he walked out. His silent message was right; there had been no need for a fight that I potentially started. I was even a little proud of myself for keeping my anger in check. The gang seemed surprised and disappointed, but the leader wouldn't give up. Just as we were about to exit, he grabbed me by the shirt--since I was closer to him, and further away from the door, and most likely an in-formidable threat compared to Z. over there--and flung me to the ground. Z. seemed to have forgotten about me as he exited the door, but seeing the gang loom over me, and seeing that I was about to start a fight, he did not like the scenario and he was forced to run back and grab me, but not before I managed to get a punch into the fight. The gang members enjoyed seeing Z back into action, and one quickly shut the door, blocking the way. We were outnumbered by 5 to 1, but Z was not intimidated. He quickly used a quick strike of his dagger and two members had already lost their weapons. I was not as fast but my punches halted a few of them, and the others were hesitant, seeing my martial art skills. "Hey, you aren't actually too bad," Z commented as he took out another with a sweep of his feet. I nodded at the compliment, but soon noticed that the members of the gang didn't really seem to be fighting--they grabbed an awful lot at Z's cloak. I thought about it for a while before I realized they were trying to figure out Z's true identity! They must have been trying to steal his cloak, which would most likely sell for a big amount on the market, since it hid Z, and Z was most likely quite dependent on his cloak. He seemed to realize the same thing as I, and dodged more carefully, but we tired out soon enough, especially with the leader's quick swings with his axes. The waiters tried to stop our fight, but obviously they were incapable, since the gang's members were too good at fighting.
           Z's cloak was getting grabbed more and more, and Z soon had a few wounds, as did I. We were getting tired, and we couldn't easily get past the door guard. Suddenly I had an idea, and shouted with a strange accent: "He ist cauzing de trouble!! Dis newest man! Guards, youst muzt stop 'im!" The guards outside most likely registered my voice and inferred it was me, because they came rushing inside, barging through the door. They instantly found me with their eyes, although they realized by looking at the gang that I was not the real trouble. They understood what they had to do, and they stood there, stopping the gang members in their tracks just by examining them meticulously. They were punished with the clubs and they were forced outside, all but the three strongest, including the gang leader. The leader stared down the guards before finally beginning to walk through the door. Just as I was beginning to breathe, and Z was at his lowest defense, the leader suddenly lunged with an impossible speed for his size, grabbed the cloak, ripping part of the hood and the back near the legs off Z, and ran off incredibly quickly with the rest of the gang, while the guards with their armor gave up following after running a few steps.
          "We're sorry, Z." A guard said, shrugging, staring at Z's long straight blonde hair which was revealed in a hole in the hood, which I presume few people had ever seen before. "Looks like they got your cloak."
          "It's alright," Z said in a voice that didn't sound like it was alright, but then he patted me on the back, "You've done well. You can explain exactly who we're looking for when we get home." But as we walked under the street lights, I noticed his usual gait was different--perhaps less confident--without the cloak. I did not comment about it. After we went to his house, I explained my situation. Z nodded and pondered over it, then he spoke. "We'll visit the chancellor tomorrow, I think he's the man we need. His background life is so void, he must be the one. You can sleep in the room next to mine." He pointed. Suddenly I noticed something strange about Z.
           "Wait, um, not to be intruding or anything, why is your cloak so prized?" I asked. "It can't just be that it's your signature wear, right?"
           Z did not answer. He merely sighed. He went off into the room, as if he had not heard my question, and that was the end of the conversation. However, that was not the end of the brewing of my ideas, for I had saw his ears, and they had all the characteristics of a sharp and acute hearer--except that they bore a glint of metal.

NOTE: The story is indeed getting more exciting but sadly that also brings lots of plot holes and inconsistencies with my dreams. Here's the full list:
-There is no "Z" or "Mr. Z" in my dreams
-There was no gang (although there WAS a fancy restaurant); and sadly there is no fight
-The dream of walking out into the streets with electric lights is separate from the one with burned money [except in my dream, the money is ripped, and nothing infers that the money is burned]
-The dream of bursting light is separate from the one with money
-There are no guards in any dream for anything [however, I did have a dream in which I was hit by a club by a giant/tall man, passing out while "trying to win while doing absolutely nothing"]

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