Beyond Imagination

Chapter 3

The trio was frozen in place, their hearts racing as they stared through the broken window into the distorted room beyond. The sight of Matt's unmoving form lying on the ground filled Fiona with an icy fear. She fought to push away the terror threatening to consume her.
"We need to get in there," Zyan said, his voice wavering but determination in his gaze.
Fiona and Lyla nodded in agreement. They knew the next steps wouldn't be easy, but they had no choice.
They worked together to remove the remaining glass shards from the window frame. Fiona went in first, climbing over the sill and dropping to the floor. The distorted room made her feel dizzy and off-balance, as if the laws of physics themselves were being twisted.Lyla and Zyan followed her through the window, landing with soft thuds next to Fiona. They all took a moment to steady themselves, adjusting to the bizarre, warped surroundings.
"This is insane," Zyan muttered, his voice echoing strangely in the altered space. 
Fiona nodded silently, her eyes glued to the motionless form on the ground. There was no mistaking the shape for anything but Matt.
She approached Matt cautiously, her heart in her throat. Her boots crunched on shattered glass and warped floorboards. As she knelt beside him, Fiona reached out a trembling hand to check for his pulse.
Her fingers brushed his neck, feeling for the steady beat of his heart. For the longest moment, there was nothing. Then, suddenly, a faint throb against her fingertips. Relief flooded through her, though it was tempered by her concern.
Fiona was about to speak, about to tell the others that Matt was alive, when a low, guttural moan interrupted her. The sound sent a chill down her spine, reverberating through the eerie room.
Lyla and Zyan froze, their eyes wide. The sound was too deep, too wrong to be human. It seemed to come from the very fabric of the warped room itself.
The sound came again, louder and more defined this time. It was like a mix between a cough and a hiss, emanating from the still figure on the ground. Matt appeared to be stirring, his body shuddering with the effort to get up.
Fiona watched in horror as Matt struggled to raise himself off the ground, his movements jerky and uncoordinated. The distorted surroundings seemed to twist and bend around him like a living being, making the scene even more unnerving.
He staggered forward blindly, his movements becoming more agitated, more unnatural. Fiona, Zyan, and Lyla watched in stunned silence, their minds struggling to comprehend what they were witnessing.
Matt struggled to speak "Y-Yes?"
It wasn't his voice. The word came out in a guttural whisper that didn't belong to Matt. It was too deep, too distorted. It sent a wave of fear through Fiona and her friends.
"Who's there?" Lyla whispered, her voice quivering.
Zyan stayed silent, his face pale.
Matt's head suddenly whipped towards them, the eerie glow in his eyes intensifying.
His movements became even less human, more animalistic. It was as if something else was now inside his body, puppeting him like a grotesque marionette. "Yes," the voice hissed again, with a hint of amusement.
They backed away instinctively, their hearts racing. Fiona's hand automatically gripped the side of the nearest piece of furniture to keep her balance.
Matt staggered forward, his distorted figure moving in an erratic, jerky motion. The voice echoed around the room like a haunting chant. "Yes, yes, YES."
"His eyes," Fiona managed to gasp out, her own eyes locked on the disturbing sight. "Look at his eyes." 
Lyla and Zyan followed her gaze, their jaws clenching as they saw the glow spreading.
"What the hell is happening?" Zyan muttered, his voice barely audible in the eerie silence.
Before any of them could respond, a low, ominous rumble echoed through the room. The walls shuddered and the floor beneath them seemed to vibrate.
Fiona and her friends exchanged horrified glances as they felt the floor vibrating beneath their feet. The distortion of the room intensified around them, the furniture and walls pulsing in a bizarre, menacing rhythm.
Then, with a sharp crack, a fissure opened in the middle of the floor, the jagged edges glowing an unearthly blue.
The trio stared in disbelief as the fissure widened, the opening becoming a gaping maw in the floor. Within the chasm, Fiona could see nothing but a swirling vortex of darkness. 
A cold, sinister energy was emanating from the rift, the very air around it feeling charged with an otherworldly energy.
The change in Matt was immediate. His eyes darkened, the eerie glow fading from them and his features returning to their normal appearance. He looked disoriented and scared, his body trembling.
"What-what's happening?" he stammered, looking around the room in confusion.
"Matt!" Fiona cried out, relief flooding through her. She rushed to his side, placing a steadying hand on his shoulder. 
Lyla and Zyan were speechless, their expressions a mix of confusion and relief. 
Matt tried to speak again, but his words were cut off by a deep, menacing rumble from the fissure in the floor.
They all looked towards the gaping maw in the floor, the blue glow from its depths growing brighter. It was as if the rift was reacting to Matt's sudden return to normality. 
"We need to get out of here," Zyan said urgently. "Now."
As they tried to move away from the fissure, Fiona felt a sudden, disorienting pull. The portal was actively drawing them in, its power impossible to resist. 
They struggled against the pull, stumbling as the floor tilted under them.
The four of them fought to keep their footing, but the portal's pull was too strong. They slid closer and closer to the edge of the opening, the darkness yawning before them. There was such a ethereal glow of blue.
Fiona reached out, blindly grasping for something, anything to anchor herself. Her fingers scraped against the edge of the fissure, the smooth surface strangely slick beneath her touch.
Just as she thought they were about to be sucked into the vortex, a low, guttural voice echoed around them. 
"NO." 
The commanding word seemed to come from the very air itself, and it froze them in their tracks.The pull exerted by the portal lessened, though it didn't disappear completely. The blue glow from within the fissure flickered, as if uncertain. 
A tense silence filled the room, the only sound being their ragged breathing.
The portal's pull increased again. The four were slowly falling into it.
They were mere feet away from the portal, only a thin ledge of floor separating them from the yawning chasm. They all struggled to stay back, their efforts almost futile against the overwhelming pull of the portal. 
A deep, malevolent chuckle echoed around them, sending goosebumps up Fiona's spine.
"Looks like dinner is almost served," the voice from the portal mocked, its tone dripping with sadistic pleasure. 
Fiona looked around desperately, her mind racing. There had to be a way to stop this, to escape this nightmare. But what could they do against something this powerful?
Zyan grunted with the exertion of keeping himself from sliding forward. "Got any ideas?" he gritted out, his fingers beginning to slip.
"If I did, I wouldn't be here, would I?" Lyla snapped back, her voice shrill with fear. 
Their banter was cut short by a loud, grating sound. The floor beneath them was giving way, cracking under the stress of the portal's pull.They were slowly falling into the portal which had a ethereal glow of blue.
"We're gonna die," Matt whispered, his voice choked with despair.
They all fell into the blue portal going deeper and deeper.
Fiona closed her eyes, bracing herself for the fall into the abyss. 
As they all were slowly falling into the portal, they saw the things they've never even imagined of, through the cracks of the portal.
Colors they had never seen danced in dizzying patterns around them. Unspeakable things moved in the shadows, just beyond their sight. The air was thick with an energy that made their skin crawl. In the distance, a chorus of whispers seemed to echo, though they couldn't make out any distinguishable words. 
They were falling faster now, the air becoming colder and thinner as they dropped.
They saw the most unearthly parallel worlds through the cracks of the portal.
It was like looking into a living nightmare, where impossible physics and sickening colors mixed in an unending, chaotic dance. The very concept of reality was twisted and perverted in these other dimensions, each more grotesque and bizarre than the last. 
They were falling for what felt like an eternity, their minds trying to comprehend the madness around them.
With a sudden, violent jerk, their fall came to an end. They landed heavily on what felt like a soft, yet strangely viscous surface.
Fiona slowly opened her eyes, her heart pounding in her chest. The landscape around them was so different,it was a whole new different place.Buildings leaned at odd angles, as if defying gravity itself. The sky was a bruised shade of cber shade of blue.