Lisa's Way

Chapter 4

Passing through the hyperspace portal left Lisa disappointed. For such a momentous event, traveling from one world to another, the experience was nothing more than walking through an open door. No odd sensations, no feelings of nausea or ecstasy, nothing to signify the event. Even her horse was startled for only a moment, when the area between the metal opening briefly turned a rainbow of colors. The moment was gone, and the colors replaced with a view of the outdoors, the only sight of note because the Fairfield portal was enclosed.

Lisa led her horse through, and that was that. One step was on Fairfield, the next on White Rocks. After her horse’s tail was past, she stepped off the platform. She checked this portal’s controls to be certain they would work. Satisfied that they would, she watched the view of Fairfield disappear. She had arrived.

She took some time to look at this new world. Now she really did have a view of mountains. On three side of her vantage point were tall, snow-capped peaks. The fourth had high, tree-covered hills. The air felt slightly warmer than it had on Fairfield; perhaps it was later in the spring?

There appeared to be a sharpness to the mountains that she didn’t expect. There also appeared a compelling contrast in the colors: stark white snow; dark green trees; and the clear blue sky. In the distance she could hear water running. It was a sound she’d only heard before when one of Fairfield’s creeks or rivers was high. The air smelled odd, too; she recognized the odors of human activity, but not the natural scents.

She saw that she had arrived among ruins, like the ones she had left, but these ruins were flatter, the destruction more complete. She wondered if the buildings had been leveled instead of left standing. She also wondered, since it did appear so thorough, if the destruction wasn’t more intentional.

To her left and front, however, there were few fallen structures. Sounds of activity could be heard from beyond. Unlike Centropolis, this city hadn’t been completely abandoned. It had been moved from the old center. Maybe that was for safety reasons, or possibly to forget about the terrible past. Knowing that she wasn’t going to learn anything by standing around, she grabbed the reigns of her horse, and walked towards the noise.

She was almost at the edge of the new town when several armed men appeared in front of her, pointing weapons at her. One, the best dressed of the lot, took a step towards her. “Stay where you are,” he ordered.

“Okay,” Lisa replied. She wasn’t certain what more she should say.

“You came through the portal?”

“Uh, yes. How did you know that?”

“What do you want?”

“Well, my name is Lisa Herbert. I’m from Fairfield. Y’know, the next planet across the portal?”

“Why are you here?”

She hesitated, wondering what to say. She didn’t want to be evasive, because that might get misconstrued. She certainly didn’t want to make demands. After all, she was a stranger. She had to be nice so they would believe she meant them no harm.

She wondered if this man was in some sort of authority. If he was, she knew that it would be better to be honest. Telling the truth might keep him from assuming the worst about her.

She cleared her throat. “Well, sir, I thought…well, maybe I could do some good. I mean, things are going pretty well on Fairfield, and...”

“Come with us.”

“Why?”

“Come with us, or leave.”

“Okay. I’m not here to cause any trouble. Could you at least tell me the name of this town? Please?”