The War of Pages

4; The Most Dangerous Job of All

Moments later, the three of them hovered in an alternate dimension that felt like it was somewhere in between breathing and being suffocated. Techno tried to speak, but the atmosphere around him drained him of the ability to form even the slightest word. Veina reached out to him telepathically, and his entire body vibrated, starting from his skin and working its way down to his bone structure.

Don't try to speak. You'll only make it worse. Just listen to me carefully, and we'll get back to Earth when I'm finished. Veina's eyes glowed as though they were radioactive as she communicated with Techno.

Where are we? Where the hell are we? Techno thought, but his thoughts penetrated Veina's mind and hit her immediately.

We're in the eighth dimension, otherwise known as the echo of Athenexar. Here, the limitations of our human biology knows no boundaries, physically or psychically. If it wasn't for the lack of oxygen, we'd be able to stay here much longer. But I'm afraid we don't have time, so please, let me finish, and I'll answer all your questions when we leave here. She touched Techno's shoulder to calm him, and it felt like he was being hit by an entire storm of lightning all at once. He jumped back to get some distance from Veina.

You are in trouble, Techno, and I can help you, but it's not going to be easy. But I'm afraid I'm in as much as trouble as you are, so we can help each other—because my life is in as much danger as yours is. All of our lives are at stake here. Yours, mine, and even Ska's. Both of us are indebted to a man by the name of Ronid Juno. He's an extremely powerful humanoid that means to kill us if we refuse to help him. And unfortunately, he's had his eye on you for quite some time. He was just waiting for the right moment to send you the call. That's why I'm here. That's why I'm begging you to help. If you don't bring him a copy of The Holy Bible, he will kill us all without thinking twice.

Veina closed her eyes and grabbed Techno's and Ska's hands again, sending them through a pitch-black teleportation tunnel. Travel on Earth was much more automatic, but jumping from an alien dimension back to Earth was trickier and a lot more dangerous. She held onto their hands with what felt like a death grip, because if they let go of her, it's likely they'd be lost in this dimension forever.

When they finally dropped back into Earth, they all landed on a large king-sized bed in a cheap motel room. But something was different. Techno didn't feel quite right. He tried to move, but he felt like he was still restrained. Veina quickly jumped off the bed and walked over to the other side of the room.

"I'm sorry. I had to restrain you—at least for a little bit." She stopped and lowered the tone of her voice even more. "R.J. is waiting in that hotel room over there for your answer, though I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice in the matter. I'm sorry about that."

"A bible. Really? Even if I could get my hands on one, the moment I touch it, I'd be dead, and he would never get to see it anyway. Is he dumb or just an asshole?" Techno whispered back to her, but he was interrupted by the adjoining door being knocked off its hinges.

"Well, if you ask my associates, they'd probably tell you I'm an asshole ... right before I put a bullet through their brains."