The Rift in the Domain- The Auranos Stories Book 2

Chapter 36 - Matthew Carter

A very familiar voice was calling me from the living room.

"...Orai?" I muttered, tumbling sideways out of bed as the adrenaline drained from my limbs. I staggered like a drunk through the doorway, where I could see Orai's image projected onto my windows. I squinted against the light, rubbing my eyes and stepping in front of the screen so Orai could see me.

From what I could tell, the Lagokian king was pacing, looking as bedraggled as I was, and shouting at me about something. I was still half-asleep, so his shouts fell on deaf ears.

"Wait, wait, wait," I grumbled. "Maikin, dim the screen, would you?"

The screen grew a little darker, and I could finally open my eyes all the way.

"Abigail, Abigail!" Orai was insisting. "Listen to me!"

"Okay, okay, I hear you," I snapped, brushing hair out of my face. "I'm burning the candle at three ends up here, Orai. What's the problem? What time is it in Lagoki anyway?"

I glanced at the clock, which read three in the morning.

"It is five here," Orai replied, glancing to the side. "But that is not important, Abigail. We- we have a... a..."

"What?"

"We have a P-Protocol 042!"

I froze.

Protocol 042. The protocol that took effect in Lagokia if an Earthling came through the Rip.

"There's... another Earthling in Lagoki?" I gasped. "Like... like the way it happened with me?"

"Well, to a degree. But- but- not precisely like you, because with you we had all these technical precautions in place that we didn't think to reset after you left for the Domain," Orai rambled. "So, ah, to sum up, the- well, Knox will know within the hour that someone came through the- the Rip."

"Okay, well, we're going to war anyway, right?" I said with sarcastic abandon, heaving my arms over my head.

"Abigail!"

I dropped my arms and looked Orai's image in the eyes with a huff. "In all seriousness, is anything going to be different now that you've got another Earthling over in Lagoki?"

"It- well- no, but he is acting much stranger than you did and the guards are not very well equipped to deal with this sort of thing," Orai explained, looking down.

"Have a spirit possess him and hit him over the head with a vase or something," I shrugged. "Heave him back through the Rip and tell Shadow it was a mistake."

"We cannot afford to use the Rip anymore," Orai replied flatly, looking back up at me. "It is going to look very bad if we send someone from Lagoki back to Earth. And two coincidences in the span of six months? I do not like our odds of getting away with this, Abigail. I think he needs to stay in Lagoki."

I disagreed, but I knew my bounds. Teasing Orai was one thing, but I wouldn't contradict him. "That's your choice, Orai, not mine. It might have made things simpler- I don't know your politics. The decision to kidnap children is between you and whatever Lagokian laws you have about old guys keeping kids locked in bedrooms."

"Now wait just a-"

I grinned, some obscure part of my brain ackowledging that I was still half-asleep. "I'm only trying to give advice- it's an option. What did you call me for, then?"

"I was hoping that you would be willing to talk to the Earthling," Orai said exasperatedly. "Although I am having second thoughts, what with your mental state at the moment."

"This is how Earthlings usually are. I tone down the crazy for most political events. The new Earthling kid might find it endearing."

"You need more sleep."

"I need to get more work done."

There was a long pause.

Orai finally broke the silence with a sigh. "Alright, this conversation is over. I am connecting you with the Earthling. His name is Matt, from what he has told me. Although I do not understand why any parent would name their child after a rug."

"Matt? Matt who?"

"Try to calm him down, would you? I truthfully need your help, Abigail."

"No, no, wait- Matt who?" I demanded, but the screen blinkered and after a second I was staring at a rather familiar room- a standard guest room in the Lagokian capital building, Akala Tower.

There were white sheets, a white carpet, white walls, and a white boy sitting on the end of the bed.

"Well, hi," I said. The kid looked up fast, locking eyes with wherever I was being projected.

"Wh-who are you?" he demanded, leaning forward on the bed.

"It's Carter! You're Matt Carter," I realized, jaw dropping. I knew the kid from high school- he was one of the jerks who chased me down the creek bed back in September. I laughed a little. "This is awesome."

"Wait- you're Abigail Vera, aren't you?" Matt realized, standing up. "I came looking for you! What is this place?"

"You came looking for me?" I repeated, mind racing. "Well, that's a first. Hmph. You seem pretty calm to me- why did Orai ask me to talk to you? He wanted me to calm you down."

Matt's eyes darted to the side. "I... I might have smashed a chair."

"Good first impression, kid."

"You're only a grade older than me- you don't get to call me kid. And you didn't answer my question!"

I took a deep breath. "Welcome to Auranos. It's a different dimension," I explained, not bothering to take it slow. Earthlings are resilient- I could explain everything to him in more detail later. "There are an infinite number of alternate universes. And that lovely glowing stripe on the floor back in the cave? Remember that? That's basically a portal. The locals call them Rips."

Matt paused, eyes darting back and forth. "I'm... I'm crazy. This can't be real."

"If I could prove this, I would," I said honestly. "But for now, you're gonna have to take my word for it."

"A... alright..."

Matt and I spent hours talking about Auranos- the countries, the people, the history, the spirits, and current events. (I might have lied to him once or twice just for the heck of it. Don't worry- I cleared everything up in the end.) And he didn't smash any more chairs.

Oh, and if you're hoping that Matt had a stupid reason for falling through the Rip, his story won't disappoint. He and the other kids who chased me down the creek thought that I'd died somewhere in the cave. I mean, I had been missing for months, so that was a pretty fair assumption. So, naturally, they played rock-paper-scissors to send someone into the cave to find my rotting corpse. The deal was that if whoever it was that went through didn't come back, they'd push a rock in front of the opening and never speak of it again. Matt Carter was the lucky one. I'm pretty sure he even tripped on the same fissure in the cave that I did. Someone really needs to fix that.

So at six in the morning when I finally hung up with the new Earthling, after hours of wandering through the city, about four minutes of sleep, and five hours of explaining my adventures to a rich kid in a bold new world, I had to get to work.

Comet walked into my room at six-fifteen, and I explained my night to her. She kicked me in the stomach, said I was taking a day off or she'd throw me off the plateau, and had Yraak possess me and send me back to bed.