#1 INTO THE DARK SERIES: Part 1

Chapter 1

“The time will come when diligent research over long periods will bring to light things which now lie hidden.  A single lifetime, even though entirely devoted, would not be enough for the investigation… and so this knowledge will be unfolded only through long successive ages.

 Our descendants will be amazed that we did not know things that are so plain to them… Many discoveries are reserved for ages still to come, when memory of us will have been effaced.  Our universe is a sorry little affair unless it has in it something for every age to investigate… Nature does not reveal her mysteries once and for all.”

Seneca, Roman Philosopher, First Century 1AD

                                                                                 1

                                                                      3 ½ years ago

I found myself in a pitch-black space.   Disorientated.   I couldn’t tell if I’d been to this world before.  The smell of baked soil filled the air and hit the back of my throat.  I could taste the dust.  Below ground.

But it was hot.  Excruciatingly hot.  Beads of sweat were already running down my face.  When I reached up to wipe my brow, my elbow touched someone.

I recoiled back against the dirt wall.   Friend or foe?  The only sound filling the small space was my erratic breathing. 

“It’s okay.  I won’t hurt you.”  A girl’s voice whispered a few inches away from my ear.

“I can’t see anything.  Who are you?”  I asked the darkness.

“I’m Nell.  This was the only place I could find to hide.  What’s your name?”

“Emily.  Where are we?”  My heart thudded with excitement at someone else being here. 

“Some underground bunker.  I don’t know which world.  Not that it matters.  It’s always the same, whichever world I’m in.  The Misery-Makers never give up.”  Her voice sounded weary.  “But we’ll be safe here. For a while.”

The excitement drained from me.  “How did you get here?”

“I’ve a rare type of narcolepsy, in my home world.  I fall asleep anywhere, anytime, and then here I am.  You?”

“Seizures,” I said, shrugging.  At least I wasn’t alone this time.  I’d spent the past year blacking out and travelling to these different worlds.  The only other life-form I’d met were the terrifying monsters Nell called Misery-Makers.

“Silver linings, eh?”  She said deadpan.

Silence.

“How long have you been doing this?”  I asked.

“Couple of years.  You?”

“Had my first black-out last year.  On my thirteenth birthday.  The first one for a few seconds.  Nothing like this.  But it’s getting longer each time.”

“Yeah, mine started at thirteen too.   Happy birthday.”

“Why is this happening to me?  What did I do wrong?”  I’d wanted to know this for such a long time.  When I was in hospital, nobody could give me any answers: my parents, doctors, friends.  All clueless.  But maybe Nell knew.  Perhaps she’d figured it all out.