Into the Realm

Chapter Eleven: Into the Realm

At first she felt confusion. Then fear. Then anger.

    When Tessa jumped over the brook she expected to run into the fence that showed where the property ended but instead her feet splashed through the icy cold water and suddenly... there was nothing. Literally.

    For a brief moment she felt like she was suspended in nothingness, like she was drifting along through space, and then she felt the hard ground underneath her boots. No water. No ice cold reminder of where she was. No light. There was no occasional car door slam or the gentle drone of crickets or any other sound of her backyard. Everything was dark and different and she wasn't sure what was going on. A twinge of fear blossomed in her gut. She suddenly and childishly wanted her mom to be there, to comfort her. She was alone and scared.

    Then she was there. She didn't know where she was; all she knew was that she was there. The air felt deliciously different, tingling with excitement and a strange sort of triumphal elegance, and she knew deep down that she was in a new place.. She wondered, for a moment, if she was dreaming— but then suddenly decided that this was no dream. It all felt so real—the air was warm and humid, a thick, wet blanket of summer heat, that instantly made her warm sweater stick to her back with sweat. She no longer heard the hum of the streetlights or traffic; the sounds of a forest enveloped her ears instead. Animals in the distance called out to each other, insects chirped and caressed the night air. The air vibrated with excitement. Tessa could feel the plant life around her breathe as one and everything felt so... alive.

    She opened her eyes (she didn't realize she had them closed) and looked to her right. There stood Brown, with his shoulder scrunched to his ears and his eyebrows drawn together. Oh, right. He was there. In her moment of excited panic, she forgot that she had pulled him across the brook with her. His chest was stationary and Tessa was afraid he stopped breathing, but within seconds she heard him draw in a deep, steadying breath. His glasses were askew on his nose, his hair stood up in all directions from the travel through the nothingness, and his shirt was rumpled from her holding on so tightly to him. His eyes were still closed. His hands were balled into tight fists. His rugged arms were tense with what was probably fear, and she didn't blame him. She wanted to tell him that they were safe, for now, but she couldn't find her voice.

    Tessa tore her eyes away from Brown and surveyed the surrounding area. What she saw made her audibly gasp— they stood at the top of a hill with the moon peering down at them from the clear night sky. She almost screamed when she saw the second moon, a small rock that was more purple than white and smaller than the first. There were millions of stars in the sky; Tessa had never seen so many in the sky at once. Everywhere she looked she saw clumps of star formations and clouds of dazzling star dust. She couldn't take her gaze away from the beauty in the sky even if she wanted to. Everything was so... curious. Very curious, she thought to herself, thinking of Alice. Alice would've had a heart attack if she saw the sky, Tessa was sure of it.

    An enticing smell of unfamiliar perfume-y flowers ticked her nose. She forgot about the starry night above her and her eyes snapped to the nearby tree line. Bright flowers, bright even in the inky blackness of whatever forest they were in, all clamored for her attention. Some were big like a hibiscus, but brightly striped and polka-dotted. Some were like tiny rosebuds that were a deep purple and smelled faintly of something that reminded Tessa of cinnamon. Everything was so enticingly different Tessa couldn't focus on one thing for long— there were too many interesting things to look at. The air surrounding her smelled sweet and crisp, despite the damp heat surrounding her, and she could hear the noises of creatures calling to each other.

    She looked out over the thickest forest she had ever seen. They were standing on a hill that made it easy for Tessa to see for miles surrounding them. The trees were so close together she couldn't tell where it ended and began. Far off in the distance, though, she could see that the trees thinned out and she could see a sort of lake. The area near the lake was sprinkled with small lights (which had to mean people) and it made a small beacon of hope wash over Tessa. Maybe they could get help there—maybe the people were nice and could tell them how to get home... if getting home was even an option. Or they could help them find Heather-Jane and Aria.