The Dragon's Cure - Shaun

Chapter 68

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I caste a spell over the entrance so that it looks like the rest of the mountain. It was Chezlin's idea," Jenna said. "I've finally found out what my speciality is. I'm able to make things look like their surroundings. I accidently made Chezlin blend in with the bathroom when he hugged me."

"That might come in handy when we head out. If they know we landed here and came to look for us, then we will need a disguise to get to the other side," Shaun said.

"It could be a normal patrol. Bridget had to come out this way after they removed her from Elder protection, with me. She told me about the animals out here. You know the saying, 'There's always a bigger fish'? Well in this case its a bigger beast," Luke said.

"I know why they had them patrolling this side. While we're gone, get Amie to play back the recordings of the conversations they had in this room. Please be ready to fly over. Chez, are you sure you will be fine here with the kids?" Shaun asked.

"All I can do is track people and feel their emotions. Amanda, Luke and Jenna can do that stuff, so you won't need me there. I'm sure if I gave them some food and toys to play with, they will be fine. As long as you have the link open for me to know what's happening, I won't go insane with worry," Chezlin said.

Jenna's nails dug into Shaun's shoulder as she concentrated on the spell. He felt pins and needles spread over his entire body and turned to look at Amanda. Had he not been holding her hand, his heart would have burst through his rib cage. When she moved, he could make out the slight distortion against the wall, but nothing else.

The flight took longer than they had planned, since they had to stop each time the dragons flew past them. The distortion in their surroundings would have drawn their attention to Shaun and Amanda.

As they flew, Shaun noticed the changes in their surroundings. White snow became dried out lands with hardly any vegetation to the greener, lush area he had missed all those years on Earth.

The wild life looked different as well. The mountainous area they used as their home, had various animals that looked like prehistoric dinosaurs and most of them only fed on leaves and grass, herbivores, where the dry area had savage looking beasts that blended with their grey and red surroundings. The rocky beasts crawled from one shade to the next and, as Luke had said, there was always a bigger beast preying on a smaller one.

Shaun's dragon overshadowed most of the animals on land. Until proven differently, Shaun would continue believing that.

Shaun got the impression that things had changed since he left. The lab he had helped construct now stood on a different mountain and some mountains cast shadows over others. More man made structures had been built and women flew from one mountain to the next carrying baskets, returning to their caves with different baskets than what they arrived with.

"Somethings wrong," Shaun whispered. "There is no way they could have bashed down mountains and build all these structures in a few hours. They seem to be trading with each other, but this is not the home we left behind. Either we are in a different time line or we arrived on a different planet."

"Same planet, different dimension. That wormhole brought us to a different version of your planet. We need to get back and find out what went wrong," Amanda said.

Shaun and Amanda ducked behind a rock when a pair of guards stopped next to them. Shaun tilted his head to get a look at their armour. The sun glinted off the metal and when they turned around, he saw the advanced weapons. Something they never had before he left. Luke always flew around with a bow and arrow attached to his back and a pair of hand crafted daggers tied around his waist with a thin leather strap.

The guards spoke to each other and then flew on. Shaun and Amanda shared a look and then sped back to the cave. As soon as his feet touched earth, he let go of Amanda's hand and shifted back.

"You there. Put your hands in the air and turn around slowly."

Shaun turned slowly and raised an eyebrow at Luke. His arms stuck out of a ripped shirt and he wore some type of fur strapped around his waist.

"Luke it's me. What's with the-"

"I'm in the cave behind you. That's not me. What do you want us to do? Amanda says that we have to let them take you, but I really dislike that idea," Luke said mentally.

"Who are you and what are you doing in the restricted area? Better yet, why are you naked?" the other Luke asked.

"I... come out here, from time to time, to let off steam. My dragon... you know, he uhm..."

"Ah. You're one of the new ones. You're dragon still giving you problems? You should have gone to the lab. You'll have to come with me, but get dressed first. Where's your garments? I didn't see any on my rounds," the alter Luke said.

"I don't know. I left them right here. That's why I came back to this spot. I don't suppose you have any spare? I can't go back looking like this," Shaun said.

"Nice try, buddy." Luke flew closer and dropped down in front of Shaun. When he reached out, Shaun ducked and rolled through the invisible wall, followed by a surprised looking alter Luke. "What the hell is this?" he asked before dropping to the ground.

The real Luke stumbled against a wall and glared at Amanda.

"You can't touch him, you nit wit. Two of the same objects can not occupy the-"

"We are not the same! If we arrived on the same planet, in the same dimension, at the right time, then and only then will we be the same. I would never be seen dead wearing a skirt!" Luke shouted. "And I would never be dumb enough to be caught off guard by my own ability, which you seemed to have copied."

"I did it again," Amanda said and covered her mouth as tears appeared in her eyes.

"Hey, I didn't mean to upset you. You're ability is kind of handy, but I was kind of proud that I was the only one able to do that. It's no big deal re-"

Luke's words cut off when he saw a shadow pass the entrance.

"Luke? Where the hell did you disappear to?" A female voice called.

Shaun grabbed Luke's shoulders and shook his head. "It's not her, Luke. She died a long time ago," Shaun said softly.