Chapter 6 - Crossing the Threshold

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     No less than a few seconds passed by when the entire group had their attention turned to what looked like a vortex. It appeared out of nowhere in brilliant flash. It was swirling with green on the outside, blinding with a white light in the center. There were sounds coming from it. Sounds like scattering pixie dust or stars being born, real pretty.

     Ironhide was the first to walk toward it. He took deliberate steps, didn't stop once, and walked straight into the swirling mass. And then he disappeared. He was gone, enveloped in a shower of sparks.

     That thing had just eaten Ironhide.

     My eyes widened, I looked around for any other confused faces, even though I knew I wouldn't find any. Sam noticed my expression, and an arrogant smirk formed on his face.

     "So....I take it you don't know what a ground bridge is?"

     I shook my head, still hooked on the mass of energy.

     "Well," he began somewhat complacently. "It's only the most crucial and convenient part of my life, as teleportation would be to anyone. It was made a few months ago, ...."

     Sam's voice faded into the background. My tongue darted out and over my lips, and a shaky breath struggled out of my lungs. I barely noticed Bumblebee and Ratchet walk into the swirl, as the light from the vortex was beginning to stain my vision, purple dots mixing in with the white and green.

     "Hey!" Fingers snapped in front of my eyes, and a body blocked the ground bridge from my sight. "You alright?"

     Sam's hands were gripped on my shoulders. I stumbled a few steps backward and looked around, realizing everyone had gone except for Optimus, Sam, and I.

     The huge bot gazed down at me, picking up on my distress. "What seems to be the problem?"

     Get a grip, an inner voice snapped.

     "Nothing," I finally said, although the trembling in my fingers told otherwise. 

     "Okay, then. Let's go," Sam said after eyeing me, still frozen in place. He took the time to ponder for a minute. "Hey, it's totally safe. Like walking through....Sprite."

     I gave him a strange look.

     "It's the best I can do, okay?"

     I sighed and looked forward again, but this time I actually started moving in that direction. With each step my heart leapt higher up my throat. I got so close that light was all I could see, and I stopped just before the grass became swirling pixie dust. I tentatively reached a hand out, my fingers disappearing in a haze of frenzied particles. It....tickled.

     Doesn't seem so bad, I opined, retracting my arm. But still....

     It had to be dangerous. Intense. Scary.

     I could've stood here indecisively forever, but I refused to embarrass myself even further. So before I could have any second thoughts, I stepped into the ground bridge. There was a whooshing sound as I walked through.

     To my surprise, I was still on solid ground, but my eyes couldn't adjust; the whole place was a bright, green, swirling tunnel, like one of those things at an indoor amusement parks I used to go to, like WonderWorks. I hated those.

     I stopped, experiencing a disorienting attack of vertigo. And now that I had paused, I understood what Sam meant about walking through Sprite.

     A more accurate description would've been something like jumping in a pool, millions of tiny air bubbles sliding upward against your skin to the surface, just a little more intense.

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