The Enchantments: Book 3 - The Key of Sorcen

Chapter 38: Fighting Mad

The shot to the senses was the first things Shawn had to deal with as he stepped through the portal and into the Realm of Eternal Futures. The explosion of sight and sound seemed to overwhelm him more than he had expected and it was after a few minutes he realized he was standing in plain view of anyone that was looking in his direction.

He ignored the storm flashing in the sky and ran around a large rock face that was blocking them from view. He sat Crazy down by the base of the rock wall and stood up just long enough to make sure they weren't being followed. If they were to get caught he could kiss any chance of getting Marlanda out safely.

Satisfied that his entrance into this world went unnoticed he stepped back to the unconscious figure upon the ground. Couldn't he just leave him here? What would happen if he woke up and Shawn was gone? He dreaded any thought on the subject.

It was then he spotted the small opening to his right. He wondered over to the gap in the rock face and a smile spread silently across his face. Feeling better than he had in hours he ran over, put Crazy on his shoulders and tread heavily over to the opening.

He had died and gone to heaven. He placed Crazy down and dragged him inside the cave. It was perfect. The cave curved around inside the walls of the hillside well out of the way of any peering eyes. Crazy would be safe inside as long as he didn't step outside its confines.

-Or something decided to wander in.

Shawn shuddered at the thought of a creature from this realm running into an unconscious Crazy, but what else could he do? Shawn took in a large breath and let it go as fast as he could. The air was on fire in here and he knew any chance of staying here long would sap him of strength he really didn't have at the moment.

He sat down beside Crazy and pulled out a small piece of paper that was inside his jeans pocket but he soon realized he had no pen.

"Damn!' Shawn realized he had said it too loud. He had let his guard down in the first little while he, Crazy had stepped through into this realm, and he knew that was a dangerous undertaking. He couldn't afford to be nonchalant in this other world. One slip up and he would find himself on the outside looking in. Being more cautious was first on his list of things he had to change. Rescuing Marlanda was more important than taking risks, and he would need all the luck he had saved up over the years to pull this off.

He was trying to concentrate on leaving Crazy a message, which was the first in a long list of things he had been thinking about doing. He sat there for what seemed ages trying to figure out how he was going to let Crazy know where he was, and it wasn't until the light outside began to move that his answer came like a beacon in the night.

On the far wall, something began to glow in the dimness of the darkening cave. His curiosity now entrenched, Shawn walked over to where a group of small rocks was illuminated brightly.

"Well, I'll be!" He said enthusiastically. The small unimportant stones that littered the ground amongst the cave glowed green in the darkened hideaway.

Shawn was hesitant at first to go and pick up the stones, but the closer his hand moved closer, the less nervousness he felt. Finally, after hesitating for a few seconds he gathered enough courage and snatched up one in the middle of the cluster.

The stone he held was warm to the touch and lost none of its luminosity. As he stared at it longer he realized it wasn't as hard as he had originally thought, in fact, it was more like chalk. He felt a smile crossing his face and it was then he realized what the answer to his problem was.