Stories From The Shadow Zone

Scene II, Escape From Reality - Bren

Tess finds a portal: Curver practiced opening portals with ease, almost becoming second nature to him. He could open a portal to the Shadow zone with mastery, but sometimes he forgets to close them. One day Curver was exploring the multiverse, talking with his good friend Tad, it has become a daily thing, but he forgot to close the portal. His friends got curious of Curver, “Where does he go?” They would ask. Tess wanted to answer the mystery. She wanted to crack the case, so one day, after school Tess went to Curver’s house. His parents let her in their house with smiles. She started to walk to the end of the hall, she felt a strong breeze in the house. Tess was puzzled, she was in a house and the windows were shut, but the winds were comparable to a tornado. She got to the end of the hall and to Curvers room. She put her hand on the door and turns the handle. The door swung open and a shine of purple filled the space, blinding Tess. Her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw a break in the room, a crack in the fabric of space and time. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. “There was no possible way this could be real!” She thought to herself. She walked closer, a strange purple haze filled the room, as if what was on the other side of the portal was oozing out and into our world. Tess touched the protruding fog. Its shadowy purple mist completely engulfs the bottom of the room, but Tess did not notice a feeling, like what she was touching had no mass. Curiosity got the best of her. Tess tried to touch the portal expecting a similar feel, but she could not be more wrong. Tess’s hand touched the portal as it went though, Tess could no longer see it, Tess completely walked though. It was a world of magic. Bright vibrant colors, Tess could hardly believe it. It was a world of pure magic. Flying beasts and cute creatures filled the space. The dirt was a dark blue and gigantic mushrooms towered over the skyline. Tess could not believe it, she turned around, were the portal would be but it was gone. All that was there was a note card that read, “127 A.” She walked around, in awe of everything around her, this magical world. It had a beautiful day time sky and something always seemed to be singing. The tone quickly changed when it turned to night, a sudden shift in feel. Everything was dark and eerie. The singing was replaced with screams and the cute animals were no ware to be seen, it was a hellish landscape that maskerated as a fairytale. She wanted to scream, she was terrified, but she knew if she screamed, if she made her presence known, the beasts of this world would find her and she certainly would have been caught, or worse. Tess found a spot in the bushes a quiet place, safe from the horrors of this dream of dreams, a world of nightmares. For a moment, all was still, no sounds, the eerince of the lands seem to have faded. Then Tess felt a touch on her shoulder, the turned around with such speed, unknowing of the threat. It was Curver, “What are you doing here?” He questioned in a low whisper. Tess was full of questions, but her adrenaline kept her silent.  Curver leads a path for the duo to follow, hiding and avoiding the darkness itself. The creators of the day, the soft, fluffy animals, now ravenous with rage and destruction, blind killers. Curver eventually gets Tess to the portal, They walk though. Tess was confused about how the two somehow made their way to a hotel floor. Curver explained that this place is called many things, but the majority of people who explore it call it The Shadow Zone, The space between worlds. They are standing outside of the room, Curver writes down on his notepad, “Room 564 C: Nightmare realm.” Tess began to understand, with the little information she was given. The two began to walk around the floor of this never ending hallway. Curver writing in a broken, old journal, writing in an unknown text while Tess is right behind him. “Uptop!” A purple hairy beast spook as They high fived Curver. Tess’s eyes never leave the monster. “It is impolite to stare.” Curver says to Tess, not even looking at her. Curver continued, “If you can imagine it, it probably exists here.” He proclaimed. Curver stops in his tracks turning to Tess, “You hungry?” Curver asked Tess, and moments later the two were transported to a diner. Just when Tess thinks she understands the rules, something changes. The 90’s diner was peaceful, full of friendly creatures of all sizes and ages. A waitress came over to Tess’s and Curver’s table to serve them with the best food the shadow zone offered. Curver explains that a few years ago he learned how to transport to this place using portals, which appear to be a slit in the world, but can travel someone to anywhere in the shadow zone, but Curver had no idea how Tess was transported straight to an universe when she never visited the hotel. Tess explained that a purple fog was filling the room of his bedroom back home. Curver panicked. “ Check please!”