Twelve Guardians - The Gathering

012 - The Gold Dimension

Inside the Dimensional Doors, Xiumin was rocking along with the shaking of the room. Every time he tried to stand straight, he would fall over and had to repeat the same process. By the time the shaking was done, Xiumin was pale as a sheet and lying on the floor. He quickly pulled himself up and stumbled his way to the double doors that appeared out of thin air. As he pushed the door open with all his might, he rolled onto the sandy ground while panting heavily. He closed his eyes and lay there for a while more when a shadow stood above him, blocking the bright sunlight from his face.

As he peeked with one eye, he saw Youngjae standing above him with his arm held out. Xiumin grabbed his hand and the other helped pull him up. Xiumin looked around him and all he saw were mounds and mounds of sand. He was still recovering from the whole Dimensional Door trip as his head was still spinning. The heat of the sun was not helping and Xiumin swayed on the spot. Suddenly, he felt something cold being pressed to his forehead and he opened his eyes to find Astrid smiling at him. "Here you go. Drink up and you'll feel much better, I promise."

Xiumin gratefully accepted the bottle and finished everything in one go. He immediately felt lighter and the spinning in his head finally stopped. He looked around and saw Zelo getting sick at the corner. Even though it made him feel bad for thinking so, he was glad he was not the worst one of the lot.

Yongguk gathered everybody back and looked around him. "So, this is the Gold Dimension. I never knew it was like this. We have to be very careful about preserving our water supply, if not we will all dehydrate before we find the Guardian."

Everyone solemnly nodded as they continued to look around.

Jongup spoke up "I think we are too far from the centre of the city. I cannot detect the presence of the Guardian."

"Then what should we do? Which direction should we head towards?" Zelo groaned as he held onto his stomach.

"Don't worry, I have the compass that Kyleigh handed me for situations like this." Jongup took out a golden compass hanging from a gold chain and pushed open the clasp. As he looked around, he started to walk in the direction in which the needle pointed. The rest quietly followed after him.

"I'm sorry your first experience of travelling through the Dimensional Doors was so awful but I'm afraid it'll only get worse. We are travelling further away from The Core and the rocking will only become more severe." Astrid worriedly said to Xiumin.

"It's okay, I'll get used to it soon. Is this how you guys have been travelling the entire time? How did you get over it?" He asked.

"I always feel bad after transportation but this time it was worst for me as well. The only thing we can do is drink cold water to help us feel better. I'm sure you'll get used to it as well." Astrid smiled with assurance as she went over to check up on Kai.

Well, I sure hope so. Xiumin thought to himself.

The group continued their journey but took even more breaks than usual as the weather was too humid to bear. Along the way, Zelo continued to feel sick multiple times and his complexion got lighter as the sun continued to set along the horizon. Before long, the sun set behind the mounts of sand, but the group was still walking along an endless desert.

Having no choice, Yongguk declared that they were done for the night and decided to set up camp on the spot. With difficulty, the tents were pitched, and everybody went into their tents to rest up, leaving Youngjae to keep watch of their surroundings.

Zelo, Xiumin and Kai immediately fell asleep despite the discomfort of the situation. Astrid took the time to keep track of their remaining supplies, which were dwindling a lot throughout their travels.

She left her tent to raise this issue to the rest who were gathered outside, trying their best to cool themselves down under the moonlight. Even though the sun was long gone, the weather was still sweltering hot and a little breeze could be felt.

"We do not have many supplies left. If we don't find civilization soon, we won't be able to survive out here." Astrid mentioned to the group.

"Jongup, any idea how far away we are from the city?" Yongguk worriedly asked.

Jongup shook his head as he continued to study the compass. "The only thing we can do is continue to follow the needle, but I cannot determine how far away are we."

"Let's rest up for the journey then, since that's all we can do," Daehyun said as he stood up and headed into his tent.

The rest agreed and headed in to rest.

The next morning at dawn, the group packed up and continued their journey before the temperature got too high. They were hoping to reach civilization before noon when the sun is at its peak.

Zelo seemed to be getting better even though he was still very pale. Astrid stayed beside him to take care of him and constantly made sure he was hydrated.

During one of the breaks, Astrid took note of their supplies again when Daehyun stepped up beside her. "How is it?" He asked.

"Not looking good. We might not be able to last through the night." Astrid dejectedly said.

"No matter what, you have to make sure you are hydrated as well. I know you are taking care of Zelo, but you have to take care of yourself as well okay?' Daehyun asked her with a tender look in his eyes.

She nodded before she walked over to Kai and Xiumin. "You guys okay?"

The guys nodded but did not say another word as they were too lethargic to respond.

With low spirits, the group continued their journey. Throughout, Astrid noticed that everyone was looking paler and Zelo seemed to be getting weaker. He swayed as he walked and even though he drank lots of water, it did not make him feel better. Astrid was getting more and more worried as time passed by. Even the others seemed to be losing their energy and spirits.

I really hope we get to the city soon. We can't just lose ourselves out here. Astrid thought to herself. 

After another few hours of walking, Zelo could not hold on any longer as his legs collapsed on him. Himchan who was walking beside him managed to catch him before he fell to the ground. "Zelo can't make it anymore. I'll support him for now, someone change with me after a bit."

With that, Himchan placed Zelo's arm around his shoulders and continued to drag him along. A while later, Yongguk took over while Himchan caught his breath.

"Guys, look! It's the city!" Astrid exclaimed as she pointed into the distance. Sure enough, they could make out many tall buildings with high walls of sand with red flags on top of each building. The flags slowly moved with the wind, as if it was waving them to come and visit. 

With renewed determination, the group continued to drag their bodies across the endless plane of sand toward their destination. Finally, they arrived in front of a solid sand wall that stretched in front of them. No matter how much Astrid strained her neck to the sides, she could not catch a glimpse of the end. Even Zelo brightened up enough to stand on his own.

Author's Note: Oh ho ho. They are the next dimension. I wonder who will be the next Guardian!!! Are you excited cause I sure am! Please comment and like! 👍