OutWorldly Haven (an original story)

Chapter 7 - A One Night Stand?

Previously on OWH, our boys went to a restaurant to have some meal and the waitress was interested in Chris, even giving him her phone number! But he's still unsure if he should call her or not...will he do it? Will he not? We'll take it from there!

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April 20th, 2021

Homestead, FL - 7:15 PM - Christian's POV

Having said goodbye to his friends, Chris finally arrived at home; a bit tired, after getting stuck in an annoying traffic jam on the way back, but fortunately Cisco performed flawlessly during the entire route.

C: "Hello, I'm home!", Called to his family.

W: "Hey Chris!", His father greeted him, coming from upstairs. "So how did Cisco do?"

C: "'Sup, dad! Absolutely no problems. The air-conditioning works like a charm too, it felt quite chilly inside!", Chuckled. "Where's mom and sis?"

W: "Oh, your mom went shopping with Lucy."

C: "I see...well, then. I'm gonna take a shower and rest a little..."

W: "Okay, son. Enjoy!", Sat on the couch to watch TV.

C: "Thanks, dad."

Chris went upstairs, grabbed some clean clothes and went straight to the bath. He filled the tub and laid down there, in hopes he could relax a little and put his thoughts in order. He was still thinking about Emma, the waitress, and whether he should call her or not; sure, he felt she was a bit creepy, overly friendly and all, but...what if she was being friendly, but not creepy or anything like it, and simply because she was interested in him? What if his perception of creepiness was due to his own paranoia after being cheated on by Seraphine, his ex? If that was the case, then Robert's words made even more sense...this could lead to tragical psychological effects in his future life! As the saying goes, you gotta nip the evil in the bud, so there must be absolutely no chance of letting this paranoia take over.

C: "Goddamn it, Sera...", Sighed. "Why do I have so much trouble dealing with these feelings?", He thought.

He ended up falling asleep in the tub and began to dream.

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Inside Chris' dream

Chris was in a place he didn't know: it looked like an ancient city, very large and beautiful. The streets, public squares, buildings, everything seemed older than the constructions from Ancient Greece, for example. There were many people coming and going, minding their business, trading stuff at the market, talking to each other. There was one thing, though: it was as if Chris was a ghost, as people wouldn't notice him at all. He was walking around, looking at the products for sale, then he heard a familiar voice.

??: "Hello Chris, it's good to see you here!"

He turned around to see Calix, the strange individual he met while trapped inside the Bermuda Triangle with Nathan!

C: "C-Calix?! Where am I? Actually, why am I here? Why are YOU here?!"

Ca: "Relax, you're in the astral plane. And this...is Atlantis!", Stretched out his arms to show the city, then gestured for Chris to walk with him. "You see, everything exists in the astral plane, including objects and places that were destroyed; in fact, all things that exist in the material world are a somewhat imperfect copy of something that already exists here!"

C: "These people...are they dead? It's like I'm invisible to them."

Ca: "We're in a separate dimension within the astral plane itself, one where we can talk privately. For all intents and purposes, it's like we're ghosts indeed. And yes, they are dead, but not gone."