Heaven Gilded Zarcroft Hybrid

Twenty Four

I looked back at the teleporter. Cynaline sent coordinates to us, so how could I send mine to Dorothy and Jamie?

Luckily, the light bulb at the top turned out to be a button. I clicked it, and a white screen appeared with the names of the other teleporters. I checked the symbols beside them, and clicked the button again. A confirmation screen showed up, displaying the coordinates with a green envelope underneath.

Then I waited.

Jamie appeared in a net of blue light. He scrambled to grab the same rail of the window I held onto. He stared at the floor, chest heaving and eyes flared. I felt his breathing on my face.

"What's going on—"

"It's not real, Jamie," I said. "You're not gonna fall."

Tears pooled in his eyes. He cupped his forehead and gritted his teeth.

"My head hurts..." he groaned.

I rubbed his arm. "Hey. Look up."

It took a bit, but he opened his eyes and looked into the glass ceiling.

A small ring of blue light hung above us, with a black void swallowing our hands. Just like the intergalactic rift with the beanstalk.

Jamie's face went blank.

Cynaline flew up to us, hugging Dorothy close to him. He trembled a bit from the weight of her and two bookbags. Dorothy hid her face in his shoulder, clutching his jacket.

"Are you okay?" Cynaline panted. "Why did you send us here?"

I looked down at Dorothy.

"Is she sleeping?" I asked.

Dori raised her head and looked over at me. Fear painted her face, but her eyes stuck to the ceiling.

"Do you see it?" I asked.

She narrowed her gaze and slowly nodded.

I reached out my hand. "Hold on..."

She held out hers, but pulled away.

"Don't drop me, Jackie!" she lashed.

"We don't have time!"

She inhaled, and grabbed my hand, slowly letting go of Cynaline. Jamie released one of his to support her.

I nodded to Cynaline. "Do you see it? The rift?"

He shook his head. "No... what rift?"

"Just keep flying, okay?"

I looked at Jamie. "Do you feel lightheaded?"

His head hung low, closing his eyes. Dorothy struggled to keep hers open, but they fell. And I closed mine, too.

The white space appeared again, and all of the noise vanished.

"We're floating!" Dorothy drawled. "Can we stop?"

She still looked exhausted. I set my feet on the ground again, guiding the others downward, too. Dorothy crouched on the floor, massaging her temples. Jamie sniffled, his eyes shooting open like he woke up from a nap. He kicked his feet around before bringing himself upright. He stumbled forward, but I caught him before he fell. I let him rest against me as we sat down around the trap door.

I grabbed the cold handle, and nodded to Dorothy to do the same. Her hand shivered. Jamie's hand slowed as he reached for the door. He hadn't recovered yet.

Cynaline flew above us, upside down, still squinting to see the rift.

"Think back to the beanstalk," I assured him. "Trying thinking about the rift. We can all see it for some reason."

"I-I can't..." he sighed. "I don't know. Maybe the rift doesn't mean as much to me. I'm already from Zarcroft."

"What about when you first went through? When you left your feathers around..."

He closed his eyes.

"I remember seeing it for the first time," he said. "I just heard about them a few years ago. I was the only one in my class who could visit them. They were really jealous."

He laughed.

But he perked up. He settled his wings, and looked around.

"Where is this?" he asked.

He lowered himself at the door, and sat beside Dorothy.

"Grab on," I said. "We'll all pull it open together."

He held on, still looking around.

I smiled. "Okay. One... two... three!"