FALL (DIMENSION Series #1)

CHAPTER 47

"How did you end up in all of this?" I asked and noticed that my arms were thrown up in the air. I really wanted to know what kind of strangeness he'd stepped into that caused him to traverse a different dimension.

     "It's a long story," he said, sounding tired. "And I'll tell you all about it." He sighed. "I'll tell you as soon as I can." I knew it was no use asking for more details. It was more important to keep him in this moment with me than to know the full extent of his story.

     "What forces are after Isabelle?" I asked. I couldn't believe we were having a conversation about a different dimension. One that was apparently teeming with evil forces. I blinked and stood up straighter. I was doing my best to focus, to tame my spinning mind.

     "It's one specific creature," Derek replied. "She's known as The Poet."

     "The Poet," I repeated back dumbly. Poets always seemed to be delicate types. I had a hard time conjuring up a poet as a kind of hybrid crocodile.

     "The Poet has a black..." Derek said, before a loud sound superimposed itself over what he was saying. I thought I heard him say cat. As in: The poet has a black cat. But I couldn't be sure. I was too distracted by the loud noise that sounded like trees falling while the ground moved underneath my feet. An earthquake, I registered and I said the word out loud.

     But Derek shook his head.

     "She's trying to break through," he said. "She doesn't like to be talked about. In fact," he continued and smiled a tight smile. "She's paranoid about it. She thinks people are talking about her even when they're not."

     He's talking about The Poet, I thought, and the earth shook again.

     "It's definitely her pet peeve. And she's clearly angry now."

     Trees swayed and branches creaked. There was a flurry of yellow and orange leaves that swooped down as if they were spinning out in a mini tornado. And a small boulder rolled in and settled in-between the two of us as a kind of barrier. The shaking finally stopped but I was still shaken. I was trembling with shock.

     "What the hell?" I mumbled under my breath.

     But then I bit down on my lip and I steeled myself. There was no time to question the absurdity of the situation, or to get too scared. The ground beneath me was no longer shaking and I had to find out the specifics of Derek's world. And this was the moment of truth.

     "The Poet has a black cat? I asked. That seemed a rather mundane question. I probably should have asked him how she made the earth shake like that, instead.

     Derek shook his head.

     "She has a black hat."

     These images merged in my mind. The black cat and the black hat, which I saw as a shiny and pointy and witch-like.

     "Is she some kind of witch?"

     Derek smiled and his eyes got lighter.

     "Only figuratively speaking. Although she does have long black hair." He bit down on his lip and a worried expression briefly crossed his face.

     I nodded and wondered about this ominous creature.

    He must have registered my shocked expression, because his eyes got dark again, and his manner more serious.

     "This is why you should stay away from me," he continued grimly. I don't get to pick the company I keep. And I attract unsavory types. "You have no idea what you'd be opening the door to if you were to continue hanging out with me."

     "Enlighten me," I said, and I was glad to hear defiance in my voice. That's how I suddenly felt. Ready to fight for this boy next to me. For the life I envisioned with him.

     "I will," he said. And an image flashed up behind him, like a presentation on a screen. Except there was no screen and this wasn't a presentation. This was something I could describe only as supernatural.

     I frowned at him but he stayed silent, and instead I looked over at the depiction that was hanging in the sky, like an invisible TV screen. I felt faint as I squinted at it. I saw Derek and me, like we were on reality TV. Except that this was a scene that had never happened.

     The scene was mesmerizing. There was a portal of sorts. A very large and old looking entry way that looked like it was made from marble. It reminded me of some of the ancient and grandiose gates I'd seen in Italy. Solid and heavy and formal. I was on one side—in a flowy, lemon yellow dress—looking over at Derek, who was on the other side, facing me. There was some kind of barrier between us. I watched myself moving closer to him, my arms reaching for him—but not touching him. Something with a sheen, like a sheet of glass, closed off the entrance way and kept him from me. This movie clip clearly depicted two people who longed to be together but were being kept apart by some mysterious force. I felt sorry for the girl in the movie. And at the same time, I realized that she was me.

     I gasped. It was too difficult to witness. It seemed I'd gotten a glimpse into my future. And it wasn't going to work out as I'd hoped.

     "What's this?" I asked and my voice sounded dry.

     "It's how it'll be," he said. "If we try to be together, and we find out that we can't."

     I felt a terrible ache inside me. I thought it was my heart being torn. So, this is what devastation feels like, I thought. This was too sad. I couldn't take it. I turned away from the big sky above us and hid my face. The sky was too perfect. It seemed too incongruent with my pain. It's large and continuous blueness only served to emphasize my brokenness, the way I was cut up inside.

     "I want to be with you," I finally said in a low whisper. There it was. I had stated my truth. My heart was pounding in my chest. I'd risked it all. Would he reject me? Or reach for my hand? Or would we stay in our strange and undefined territory where nothing was clear and our roles remained murky.

     "I want to be with you too," he said softly. And I felt a flood of warmth—like a soothing bathwater—wash over my body. I was melting it seemed, melting with joy.

     "But it can't happen," he said, shaking his head solemnly.

     Immediately my body turned cold. This conversation was going in the wrong direction. He needed to come to me, to be with me. Not in another dimension I couldn't get to. And certainly not with Isabelle Bree.

     "Let me decide," I said. "Let me decide how far out on a limb I'd like to go."

     "You're a brave girl, Ellie," he said.

     "Thank you," I said, because I suddenly knew it was true. But what I really wanted to know was if he'd allow me to choose him. If he'd actually be my chosen one.

     "But what happens when I'm not here?" he asked, and my heart sank.

     "We'll work it out," I replied. Please, please, please, I beseeched the universe. Let me be the one he chooses to be with.

     "It's not possible," he said, and sighed. "When I can't be next to you—seek out the natural world." He stared into my eyes and continued. "Take solace in the sky. Seek out the moon. Lie back gently, and let the ground hold you, while you stare up at the stars."

     This was his disclaimer then. He wanted to be with me, but he couldn't. And it still wasn't clear if he'd venture into something with me at all. Still, his words were beautiful—I was touched by them as I might be by a poem. I couldn't speak. There was too much emotion. My whole body was brimming with it. 

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