The Cinders of Dezu

3rd: The Savior King (4)

Raina saw under her bare feet that they all stood on a large red and yellow stone insignia of a flame that was carved into the floor. She looked around the room. She noticed two open-air windows that revealed a bit of the night sky. The sounds of the chirping creatures of the dark reached her ears. She then noticed two doors, one on either side of the room. One looked wooden and old fashioned like the doors of the processing center. The other on the opposite side, looked heavy and made of metal. Cairo's eyes were on Orion as he walked towards it.

"This isn't home, " he said.

"No, it's not, " Orion said, as he opened the door with a heavy scraping noise, "Home is this way."

He waved them over without looking at them.

"Come."

Cairo and Raina began approaching him and the open door. Beyond it was pitch black. It clearly went to another room and not outside as it lacked anything resembling a night sky.

"Nuh-uh," said Julian, staying in place, "I need answers, bruh. I'm not goin' anywhere til' I know what's happening right now."

Cairo stopped and looked back at his friend. Orion smiled and shook his head.

"I understand your concern."

The king pulled the metal door closed again. He gently dragged his fingers across the orange stone wall at the side of the door until he touched an indentation. He pulled a rectangular stone piece of the wall out of place and then stepped aside so they could see.

"This building is called a Crossover Sanctuary and the room beyond this door is called a transportation chamber, " the king said, "People usually cross from your world to this one and land where you are standing now or at one of the many other Crossover Sanctuaries in my kingdom. For reasons I'll soon be looking into, it didn't quite work out that way for you."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his glowing purple crystal.

"This violet gem allows me to send you home. You simply walk through this door and I place it in this compartment that leads to the same room. When it lights up again, you will be back where you belong and you'll have quite the peculiar story to tell your friends and family."

Julian's eyebrow raised.

"No. No, no. I want to know what this place is! Where are we? I don't see what's so hard about that question."

Orion sighed.

"You've had it answered. You just weren't listening. This place is called Dezu as I mentioned in the letter the guard must have read to you. I'm Orion, the king of this place. I'm sending you home now."

"No but-" Julian started.

Cairo cleared his throat.

"I think what he's trying to say is: Where is Dezu? What is Dezu? How did we get here?"

Orion rubbed the side of his face. Raina kept quiet as she looked up at him. She was closest to him in the line for the door.

"Look, I don't know exactly how all the science works," said the king, "But how it's been explained to me is that this is another dimension. Or another world. It's not Earth. You are impossibly far from home."

Cairo shot a quick glance at Julian with raised eyebrows. Julian rolled his eyes.