In Between

Chapter Twenty-nine: Journey through the Dimension Hall

With his cold grey eyes and the authoritative uniform he wore, General Blake scared the living daylights out of her. Apryl had the wild idea that he had guessed their plan and knew exactly where they were right now. He's ordering the Warriors to come kill us, she thought, but Kieran was translating Ivan's words for her, and that wasn't what he was doing at all.

He was ordering them away. Ivan told the guards that there had been a sighting of the Outsiders near the Farmer's Forest and they were the closest unit to where the sighting had been. Apryl couldn't believe their luck, but the Warriors were dispersing with many of them getting into their cars and leaving. By the time the gate had opened, Ivan was the only person left outside. He nodded to Mr. Giles to let him know that he could proceed, and then he looked directly towards the tress where they were concealed. Apryl froze, wondering if Ivan knew that they were there after all, but he soon turned around and walked back into the control room.

"Now!" Draven whispered. He didn't seem nearly as shocked as Apryl was by what had just happened and started running towards the car with the rest of them following automatically. Soren could be heard shouting for his father to stop the car as they approached stealthily from behind. "I...I dropped something. It fell out the window," he lied.

The car came to a halt halfway through the open gate, and Draven quietly threw the back doors open. Soren had climbed outside and was casually blocking the rearview mirror so his father wouldn't be able to see them in the reflection. He smiled at Bri as she hopped into the back followed by Mel, Kieran, Draven, and Apryl.

"I got it, dad. Let's go," Soren said, and the car began moving again just as Draven shut the doors. It was a tight squeeze, but the five of them were fairly comfortable in the back. It was quite dark, with only one small window on either side to let the air in, so they could hardly see each other.

We did it, Draven broadcasted. His thought sounded quite grim, and it brought Apryl's spirits down. We're driving over the bridge right now, and in another minute we'll be in the hall.

We're almost there, she thought to herself. It's almost time to go back.

She found Draven's hand in the dark and grabbed hold of it with a nervous squeeze. It'll be alright, he told her privately, returning the pressure.

I'm sorry, she replied, but there was no time for her to explain what she was sorry for.

"We're crossing into the hall," Kieran whispered.

Apryl glanced out the window in time to see over the edge of the bridge and into the Abyss. Her stomach flipped at the sight, and then the ground suddenly opened into a large expansion of space. Apryl could see the portals shimmering like scores of dazzling mirrors all along the perimeter, but she was only able to catch a quick glimpse of the various ripples in the air before Draven yanked her backwards. Someone had been standing just outside the car's window.

"Okay," Draven whispered as he snuck a peek outside. "I can see two Guardians. How many are there on that side, Kieran?"

"Just one I think, but there could be more that we can't see," he answered.

Apryl's heart was beating erratically in her chest. She was so nervous—what if she didn't make it? What if one of the others couldn't make it home? They hadn't planned a return journey for the Inbetweeners. Draven, Kieran, or Mel could be arrested today, and it would be Apryl's fault. Calm down, she told herself fiercely. Focus on getting out of here.

Apryl couldn't focus because it made her too sad, so she found her sister's eyes and reached out, wanting to feel Bri's arms around her. She was truly terrified—her bravado from earlier had totally evaporated and been replaced with the inexplicable feeling that she was making a horrible mistake. Everyone in the back of the car fell dead silent while Mr. Giles and the twins got out of the car to listen to the woman who was giving them a tour. She had a beautiful voice that reminded Apryl of the spirits'. Mel translated it for her.