Soryx: The Second Dimension - Book One

Chapter 20

-Laelyn-

Beck and I walked to school together in silence that morning. I guess we both just had too much on our minds. By the time we got to school though, what used to be a comfortable silence had turned quite awkward.

"Beckham?" I said, to break the silence.

"Yeah?"

"When are we planning on telling everyone to meet up?" I asked.

"I never really thought about that..." he admitted.

"Wait a minute, what day is it?" I wondered aloud. We stared at eachother for awhile before Beckham slapped an open palm against his forehead.

"It's Saturday, Laelyn. We don't have school today."

"You're kidding." He shook his head and I laughed. "Well, I guess we can't do anything until Monday then."

"Can't we find another way to contact them?"

"Like what?"

"Okay, nevermind..." he trailed off. Then an idea struck me.

"Hey, I never told you that I know where my brother is!"

"You do?" Beckham asked, looking back up at me.

"Yeah, apparently he and a few others, including Alyrica, live somewhere in the alleys downtown."

"Creepy."

"Who knows, maybe they're nicer than everyone told me!"

"Yeah, we should probably meet them and see what they're capable of. Wait, what did everyone tell you?"

"Something about how he apparently hates me, and how his girlfriend- who is Alyrica in this dimension too, imagine that- forced him to drop out, oh and they smoke and drink," I listed, "But who knows if those are rumors?" I shrugged, while Beckham continued to stare.

"I have a feeling this meeting might not go too well..."

"Oh, lighten up! What if they're just misunderstood?"

"Who are you?" He asked incredulously.

"Beckham, I just want to see my brother." I explained, and he rolled his eyes.

"Fine, but if he tries to kill someone we're getting out of there, no questions asked." he laughed. I nodded.

"Agreed! So... Do you think downtown is the same place as Earth?"

"Yeah, it has to be," he decided. "Follow me." He began walking and I followed, even though I already knew where I was going. It was chilly this morning, and again I was glad to have Beckham's jacket- oh, I should probably give this back sometime soon. We made it downtown fairly quickly, and Beck started looking down all the alleyways for a... Group? Gang? No, they weren't a gang, that'd be weird. Either way, we'd been almost everywhere and hadn't seen anyone. On the contrary, all the alleys were deserted. Beckham turned to face me.

"Sorry, Laelyn... I guess your brother isn't here." he said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"He has to be. We haven't checked a few places, maybe he's-"

"And who might you be?" Beck and I whipped around to see a brunette boy and a girl with bright red hair approaching us. I looked at Beckham, worried. They didn't look nice. "I'm sorry, do you not have vocal chords?" The boy continued. He had snake bites and an eyebrow piercing, but beyond that everything he wore was red besides his black motorcycle jacket. The girl's hair was shaved on one side and long on the other, and she wore a very short black skater dress. Shortly after the boy had spoken, another boy and girl emerged on either side of them. The new boy had dark blue hair, and the girl had black curly hair cascading down her back. I looked closely at the new boy- he looked so familiar.

"Laelyn?" the boy said. "Ugh, and Beckham. Calm down, guys. They're not dangerous."

"Can't we just kill them, Link?" the brunette boy asked, annoyed.

"Link?!" I stated, shocked. "What are you doing?" Beckham looked from me to Link, eyes widening.

"Oh no..." he mumbled.

"Mason, go with Mai back to the alley." Link instructed, and the brunette boy and redheaded girl left us alone with Link and the unknown girl. "What are you doing here, Laelyn?"

"I came looking for you-"

"That was stupid," he laughed, "I didn't come back home for a reason, I told you I wouldn't be back." My mind wandered back to that dream I'd had. Did that actually happen?

"Link just hear me out, please." I pleaded.

"He doesn't need to do anything for you, Laelyn," the girl said, flipping her black hair over her shoulder and glaring at me. "He's with me, and he's part of our group now. Let him make his own choices." Alyrica?!

"That's not what I'm here for!"

"Whatever. Leave before we call the others back," Link warned.

"Link, since you're not going to give me much time, I'm just going to say it- I'm from a different dimension. I'm not your real sister, and I'm just here to ask for help to defeat a demon, because I'm desperate," I blurted.

"Sure. You've been reading too many books," he scoffed.

"She's not lying!" Beck shouted.

"Shut up, Beckham," Link snapped. Okay seriously, how did everyone know him here? "You've got to stop following Laelyn around, it's pathetic." Beckham looked to the ground and fell quiet. "Guys, you can get them out now!" Link yelled into the alley. I looked around, panicked. Mason and Mai reappeared, holding their hands out toward us. Mai flicked her wrist and Beckham grabbed my hand to pull me away from the alley.

"Beck, what are you doing?" I asked.

"I- I don't know! I didn't do that!" Back replied, yet he continued to retreat from the alley, pulling me with him.

"Well then stop!"

"I can't!"

Mai laughed, moving her fingers through the air with graceful wrist movements. Is she controlling him? I turned to Mason, who was walking toward me. He finally reached me and smiled, ran a hand through his hair and winked. Wow, he was really cute... No, stop! He's trying to make me leave!

"You should go home, Laelyn," he whispered in my ear. I should do what he says... "It would make me happier if you went home," he continued. I stared into his eyes, and he was the only person I was aware of. He wants me to leave, I can't make him unhappy- wait! What am I doing? I shook my head and blinked hard.

"No!" I said, with less strength than intended. He turned my head gently to face him again. He smirked at me and I stopped thinking logically. He needs me to go. I turned away from the alley and started to leave, Beckham still attached to my arm. All of a sudden, I heard a wicked laugh from behind me, accompanied shortly by a scream. I turned, finally able to think clearly again. Daeva was standing in the middle of the alley, but she looked different- her now wild hair had turned bright white, her skin was an almost transparent black, and she had grey markings all over her skin. She wore a long black cloak over a short dress, and all I registered was her grabbing Link by the arm before they both disappeared.

Author's Note!

Before you all yell at me, yes- I am aware that this is loooong overdue. I'm soo sorry! I had the worst time with writers block on this chapter until I figured out what to do to connect what just happened to the next event!!! Yay me! (I sacrificed sleep last night to finish this for y'all, be thankful. XD) Annyyywwaaayyyys! Anyone wanna guess as to what's happening next? I left you on a kinda cliff hanger. Lol, I seem to be good at that. Comment your thoughts! Love you guys!

Savy Pearson