A World Beyond the Waterfalls

Explanations and Answers

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Liam says, clutching his stomach and staggering backwards. I put out my arms and catch him, steadying his body so he doesn't fall.

The boy lies down on the ground next to me and closes his eyes. "Ah, the smell of the wind and of spring."

I stare at him. "Where the hell are we?" I demand.

He laughs, not bothering to open his eyes. "No need to be feisty. Everything will make sense soon."

I glare down at him even though he so obviously can't see me. "I want everything to make sense now." I say through clenched teeth. "Right now."

"Man, you've got this feisty act goin' on right now, but I can so totally tell you're petrified." He says, squinting into the sun. He looks up and my angry expression and his face softens. He sits up and pulls his knees to his chest, patting the spot next to him. "Sit." He says simply.

I cross my legs under me and sit down, keeping a little distance between me and the kid. I pull Liam down next to me and he frantically looks around, still in shock.

"Explain." I order the boy.

He chuckles and gestures to the snakes surrounding us. "Say hi to the Drakobras."

I raise my eyebrows. "The what?!"

He laughs again. "Let's start out slow. I'm Ryder." He sticks out his hand. I just look at it for a second, but then I cautiously shake it. I mean, he did save us and get us out of there, right?

"I'm Dakota. And this is my brother, Liam."

"So, you came through Icarus Falls, right?" He asks, getting right to the point.

I look at him blankly.

"You came through the waterfall?"

I nod simply and move a little closer to him, curiosity taking over me.

"Okay, so that was an accident. You weren't supposed to discover our world. But you did. So we took advantage. We've been needing a Human to experiment on. We need a Human's nervous system and mental reactions to connect our world to yours. Once we do that, well be able to live in symbiosis, together as one. If we don't kill each other in the process that is."

"So, we're going to use Dylan to complete that task. Try to use his body. Scientifically stuff like that."

My ears perk up at 'use his body.'

Ryder notices. "Don't worry. He'll be okay. It'll hurt, but he'll be fine in the end. And if you ever wanna go back to your world, he has to do this. Or else you'll never go back. Because you won't be able to."

"But why not?" Liam questions.

Ryder shakes his head. "We don't know. That's what we're trying to figure out. Any Human who's ever showed up here and tried to gone back has...has died trying. It never works, no matter how many different ways we try."

I look at Liam, who sits motionless, biting his finger nails. "So, you're saying we're stuck ere until they've found a solution to the two worlds' problems of getting along?"

"It's more than getting alone, Liam. It's the fact that eventually the world is gonna be exposed to the wrong person. Or should I say, the right person, perhaps. And that person will be able to find their way back to the Human World. And then ba da boom, the two worlds collide and everyone wrecks havoc. Chaos breaks out and both worlds get destroyed or beaten to a pulp. Either way, it doesn't ever end well when neither world is prepared."

Liam and I nod, and I actually understand for once. But I have one more question. "Wait, what are these snake things though and how do we get away from them? They're really starting to creep me out." Besides for the four walls of glass, nothing is stopping the snakes from slithering out onto us.

"Oh those little guys?" Ryder says casually. "They're Drakobras. Three headed snakes. But don't worry, they're quite friendly. Harmless, actually."

Liam raises his eyebrows. I cough a laugh into my sleeve. "What are they doing here?" Liam asks irritably.

Ryder grins. "Oh, they're on sale. Drakobras are our standard house pets."