Tear in the Megaverse WATTPAD VERSION [Inter-Universal Protectors Series: 5]

28 - THE VOID

Okay, so maybe Amneris was in over her head this time. And it took a lot for her to admit that. Nephthys had been right. Wasn't that a depressing thought? The moment Amneris stepped outside, the Void Beasts had attacked. Knowing fighting would get her nowhere, Amneris had run as fast as her legs would take her. Now she leaned against a wall in another cave miles away, hands braced on her knees, panting for breath. This was ridiculous. How could these things be tiring her out so quickly? Hell, that wasn't the worst problem. There was something far worse.

Amneris didn't know much about how it all worked. In all honesty, she hadn't paid that much attention in school, though it was a very long time ago. All she knew was Zoe's brief explanation she'd half listened to one evening out with the girls, all of them half drunk.

"It's called 'matter scarring'," Zoe had said. "We all know matter an' antimatter destroy each other, right? Well, in our world there's more matter than antimatter, so we live."

"Where are you going with this?" Nikki whined.

Zoe took a moment to gather her thoughts. "In a world where antimatter is . . . is . . . uh . . ."

"Dominant," Carmin interrupted.

Zoe pointed at her. "Yeah, dominant. In a world where antimatter is dominant, matter would be destroyed. I bet that's how it works in the Void."

"But people come back from the Void just fine," Amneris countered.

"Yeah, and they always have something different about them."

Kayla nodded. "They have these weird patchy scars. The only thing we know about them is that you can't get them anywhere in Creation. No one knows the cause."

"Antimatter," Zoe said. "It slowly eats away at the matter creating people and, for those who get out, it never repairs. Matter scarring."

Zoe had been right about all of it. There were clear signs of matter scarring everything she'd seen. It was even on the stones of the cave she hid in. Strange dark discolouration the same colour as the dust or sand or whatever that stuff was covering the ground outside. Her breath caught, Amneris walked over to it and ran her finger along the discolouration. Black dust came off on her finger. This would be what happened to her if she stuck around much longer.

Amneris dropped her travel pack to the ground, rummaging around until she found a small jar. Honestly, the shit she kept in this thing was ridiculous. Thankfully, this jar was empty. Amneris scraped some of the stone and dust into the jar then dropped it back into her bag. When she got home, the others would want a look at it. Assuming the jar could hold it.

She tossed the bag back over her shoulder and tightened the straps. She checked her staff was where she'd put it before sticking her head out the cave's entrance. The Void Beasts were high in this world's atmosphere, circling in the sky. Amneris frowned at them. Were they waiting for her to leave? Probably. Was there conveniently another way out? Probably not.

Amneris grimaced. Today was just one of those days. No way to win in this one. All she could do was survive. Probably. Hopefully? Oh, who was she kidding? She was screwed. Still, screwed or not screwed, there was no fucking way Amneris was letting those things catch her. Amneris took a deep breath, pumped herself up mentally, then ran.

The moment she left the cave, the Void Beasts dove down from the sky. Amneris pulled her blaster from its holster, channelled her power into it, and fired. She hit the first Beast's eyes. It shook its head and flew away. The second she shot out its tooth. That only pissed it off more. Amneris cursed and fired rapidly, wildly. She didn't have a target. There were too many to focus on. Why did she keep doing things that wouldn't work?