Crossover

Chapter 1: Across to Nova

I knew the feeling well; the detachment as you peel yourself away from this reality. You have to pull yourself through layers of the universe, and quite forcefully too.

But entering a reality is worse; it hurts more than leaving one. You get waves of burning hot and piercing cold.

The crossover isn't for the faint-hearted.

Nova was coming into focus now, as I left the peaceful world of Oria behind. With one final surge of energy, I pushed through the last layer between me and the dingy under-city streets. The smell of smoke and the acidic air assaulted my nose and eyes.

 I staggered down the crevice between the two monstrous buildings like a drunk, hand splayed against the side of one of them. I didn't want to think of what was coating the walls, but falling into the diluted sewage that pooled near my feet was more important to avoid.

My balance was slowly returning as I recovered from the crossover. The far off city lights were no longer streaks of light blurred by my stinging eyes, but actual balls of yellowing light.

I squeezed through a narrow point between the buildings to reach the old railway tracks.

I was getting strange stares from the hollowed eyes of people resting themselves against the buildings. The only type of support these people got was literal. The walls that they leaned against were the bases of the buildings that held the rich, way up on high. I snorted; How fitting.

I brushed the grime off of my full-body suit; just something I pinched earlier today from Lravien. That reality has the best tech, even better than Nova. But I wasn't here for tech, I was here for information.

I hopped onto the railway tracks, walking along the splintering wood ties. It was much easier to walk where there was light, and it was safer too. Things that happen to women after dark here are best left unsaid.

The cold was combined with a dampness, that while making it humid during the day, made your bones ache after the sun set. A train must have just come by, because I felt the heat radiating from the rails.

Each step became easier as my body adjusted to Nova. I hadn't been here in a while, so I wasn't used to it. The ties made my stride longer than usual and I reached the lift after only a few minutes. I was hesitant to leave the well-lit railway, but I had felt the rumble of another train coming. They were so frequent in the early morning.

Hidden behind the edges of the shadows, I changed my suit to that of the Shacay here in Nova. The crisp green military style uniform was quickly duplicated by the Lravien tech.

I quickly strode towards the lift entrance, not wanting to stay in the under-city longer then I had to.

I doubt the guard even heard me until I had crept up behind him, and knocked him out. I wasn't going to bother with faking an ID card if I only ever came here on occasion.

I picked through his key chain to find the small silver one, the size of my thumb. Nova had installed steel bars that blocked the lifts from the criminals and addicts that lived here. Exclusion and class segregation was Nova; no reality did it better.

I stepped into the basket of the lift, and closed the bars in front of me. These things always made me feel claustrophobic, and I knew they were maddeningly slow. The sketchy basket I rode in was pulled up by four ropes at each corner, up a narrow shaft.

Oh how I hated Nova.

The basket lip stopped almost half a foot below the floor, so I had to pull myself out of the wicker pit. The three young children who were working the lift looked at me with expectant eyes. They wanted payment.

I took out the small package of food I had brought with me, and handed them everything but the dried fruit. I needed that, especially if was going to crossover four times in one day.

The young girl threw her arms around my legs, hugging me tightly. I felt a pang of guilt as I stood there in the flickering lights of the first level.  I really had to go.

I pried her sweat and dirt peppered arms from the circle of heat they formed around my legs. I couldn’t handle this right now. I maintained a cold distain as best I could, even though I could feel the grateful stares of the children as I left.

The hallway was dimly lit, and no windows lined the side. The first level of Nova was always like this; most people here never saw sunlight. I encountered few people I walked by, and they ran off almost immediately. They don’t like the Shacay down here.

I arrived at the lift the second level, a proper electrically run lift.

“ID?” the Shacay at the door asked. I realized I should have taken the other Shacay’s card as well.

“Of course.” I said calmly, reaching for the imaginary ID I had attached to the thick belt I wore, just over my left hip. I mimed handing it over. In the dimness of the hallway, he mistook the small device I held for a card, and reached for it.

A small button on the side of it brought him to the floor, twitching. Mui Cara, I love Lravien tech.

I put the stun-block back on my belt, and took the opportunity to take his ID card. I rode the lift straight to level four.

The door revealed a much brighter world, bathed in soft light. The hallway was wider, and windows were scattered along its length. No grime, no grit; it smelled of nothing but warmth.

I knew I was on the right track. Tobin would be hiding in plain sight.

Just a few minutes down the hallway, in front of a plain non-descript door, was the man I was looking for. Even seeing the back of his head fueled my rage. They had taken everything from me, and he was my only way of finding her. 

As he fiddled with his access card, I crept up behind him. Slipping my arm around his neck, I kicked at the back of his knees, bringing him down to my level.

The choking smell of cologne was surrounding him.

I tightened my arm around his throat, feeling his breath on my forearm.

“Where’s Alia?” I asked him, threatening to cut off his air supply. “Where’s my daughter?”