Sang the Stray (Completed)

31. When Skies Are Grey

I woke up in my room. Not my room on Tare, my bedroom back on Earth. I was disoriented and then started taking a closer look around. I realized I must be in the near-space of Earth. The books on my bookshelves were little more than the hint of books. The attic space door was colored in, but everything else on that wall was in greyscale.  It also looked as if my room had been torn apart. Half-sketched clothes were haphazardly tossed on the floor. What happened while I was missing?

I started searching the house, following my old habit of creeping quietly down the stairs. In the family room as I was passing the spot where the computer desk should have been I caught something out of the corner of my eye. It disappeared facing it head on, so I looked again with my peripheral vision and there was my father, working away. On the screen, I could just make out the date. My birthday was in three days. I had only been gone about two months, but it felt longer. I tried to get his attention, yelling even, to no avail. He couldn't hear me. I tried checking in my mother's room. There was no sign of her. The bed was even neatly made, which was odd considering her daytime sleeping habits. I wasn't sure if it was being in near-space or not, but her collection of pill bottles was missing, too. Finally, I went back upstairs to Marie's room. I walked straight through where the door was partially 'undrawn'. Here, even with a direct gaze, I could see Marie seated on the bed reading a magazine. I again tried yelling but it wasn't until she randomly glanced up that she saw me, or some version me, and appeared to scream. 

Though, she had been antagonistic to me in the past few years, as children we would use some basic sign language and finger spelling to keep out of trouble with Mother. When she calmed down some and realized that I could not hear her, I tried signing to see if she remembered. Thankfully, she did.

"Are you dead?" She signed.

"No. I go far, accident," I signed back then finger spelt, "Space portal."

She looked incredulous. "Whatever," she mouthed, then signed, "Mom panic. Talk about cops, but she hope you never come back. Big fight her, Dad. Mom yell you w-h-o-r-e like mother. You not her daughter. Dad cheat!" She looked livid now.

I blanked. What? My mother...my step-mother. I started feeling faint and sunk to my knees.

Marie waited until she had my attention to start angrily signing again," Mom heart attack. Died two days." Now tears poured out down her cheeks. "Dad act not care. All your fault!"

My heart dropped and we both sat there for some moments. Suddenly, Marie jumped up, her attention behind me. I looked back and there was Tsee Blackbourne in Earth near-space with me.

Very calmly, he said to me, "Miss Sorenson, if you tear through from near-space, Ionoth are sure to flood into Earth." He didnt tell me not too, just stated the consequences and left the decision to me. 

"What you mean tear through?" I asked.

"You've travelled through 13 spaces, somehow tearing new gates. Don't you remember?"

I just shook my head and said, "Woke up here."

He looked perplexed for a beat, then turned sharply and jabbed out. His nanosuit had adjusted to a sort of pointed spear and had skewered a large spider-like creature. "We should leave now," stated simply.

My heart pounded. I couldn't even process the information my sister, half-sister had just dropped on me. There was nothing here for me. I didn't want to hurt Earth and let Ionoth in. So, I just stood and started following Tsee Blackbourne. I didn't even look back at Marie, it was obvious she hated me in her grief.

We skirted around the back of the neighbor's house to the rear of another house down the block. In the backyard was a swimming pool, at the bottom lie the Gate surrounded by about 20 dead spider-things. Tsee Blackbourne had killed all of those? There was no water in the near-space version of the pool, therefore we just walked down the steps to the Gate.