Warning: Kinda graphic and borderline horror at one point?
~•~
"This is ridiculous," I muttered under my breath. "Fucking ridiculous." I flung my bag onto the ground, and it hit the wooden floor with a dull thud. I decided to try once more. "Thomas!"
Like the last seven dozen times, silence answered my call.
And in that moment of absolute silence, I made up my mind. I was going to find Thomas, and I was going to figure out where he disappeared to every day. And then he was going to be sorry for leaving me alone in this stupid fucking dorm room.
I was a hundred percent satisfied with the plan I had just concocted in about fifteen seconds. There was only one problem with it.
I had no clue where it was Thomas went.
Well, I guess we'll just have to burn that bridge when we get to it. And at least I knew he always headed to the forest and went off the trail.
So I had a rough idea and an outline of a plan. Perfect.
I turned and left the apartment without another word and trooped down to the streets below. I made my way down the sidewalk and to the park where the forest laid just beyond, turning the plan over and over in my mind and rehearsing what I was going to say when I found him.
The park was quiet, and the forest beyond that was devoid of any signs of life. No birds whistled in the trees, no squirrels kicked up leaves on the ground. It was silent almost to a point where it had become creepy. The only sound echoing through the woods was that of the gravel crunching underneath my feet.
Now came the hard part.
I stopped near a fork in the path and tried to remember the last time I had followed Thomas before being so rudely interrupted.
"Thomas!" I called, cupping my hands over my mouth to project louder. My voice rung out into the silence of the afternoon. "Thooooomaaaaaas! C'mon! It's gonna rain soon!"
I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but the absolute lack of an answer still bothered me.
"Where are you, Jefferson?" I asked underneath my breath. Then, I raised my voice and called out once more. "THOOOOMAAAS!"
And, as an answer to my call, the leaves of a tree far above me rustled, and the only sign of life in the forest peeked its head out before taking to the sky and landing on a fallen branch to my side.
To my surprise, I recognized the damn thing.
"Oh, fuck. You're... you're one of Thomas' friends, aren't you? Belletra or something?"
The bird dipped its head in response, as if it was nodding. It spread its wings and flew up into my face too quickly for me to react and landed on the top of my head.
"This is not where you belong," I said. "Off."
Belletra didn't respond.
I'm losing my fucking mind.
"Well, winged demon, do you know where I can find Thomas?"
The bird suddenly shot up into the air and took off into the forest ahead. I watched it disappear into the foliage, then, I watched as it reappeared and returned to me, looking put out.
"You want me to follow you?"
The bird seemed, simply enough, annoyed by my lack of understanding. Annoyed to the point where it let out a horrible screech.
"Alright! Alright! I'm following you!"
I chased after the bird as it swooped underneath the canopy of the forest, getting thoroughly whipped in the face by the branches and vines that did not want to leave me alone. The creature slowed its pace when it realized I was having trouble keeping up with it, and it seemed extremely annoyed by this.
Finally, it stopped and settled itself down on a log.
"Hey, uhh, bird? This isn't Thomas," I said as I stared up the large, ragged, stony side of the cliff. "This is a big lump of rock."
Can birds roll their eyes? Because if they can, then this tiny Satan did.
It hopped off the log it was sitting on and hobbled over to the cliff side. It turned to look at me in an almost taunting way, turned back, and suddenly disappeared into the cliff.
"Nope. Nope. Not today," I said, turning around and getting ready to head back to the path, but some inner voice pulled at me and begged me to stop.
I sighed and returned to face the cliff where the bird had gone.
"This is such a terrible idea," I muttered under my breath as I walked into the stone.
~•~
The forest was alive with chittering from unseen birds in the trees above. I felt extremely lightheaded and dazed as I opened my eyes to take in the sight of the world around me.
Memories came flooding back and I jumped to my feet, earning myself a moment of dizziness as the blood rushed to my brain.
Where was I?! What was this place, and how did I get here?!
I glanced around me, looking for clues that would answer my questions, only to no avail.
It seemed like an ordinary forest, almost parallel to the one I had just been in. Strange flowers grew along the ground, not too different from those that Thomas grew in our apartment. The leaves almost blocked out the blue of the sky, but beams of sun managed to stream through the canopy in certain spots and illuminate the ground like spotlights.
I risked a look over my shoulder to see nothing but the rocky slope of a cliff stretching up into the sky.
"Oh, Alex. How do you get yourself into these situations?" Pause. "I guess the only way to go is forward," I whispered to myself. Gathering up all my courage, I began to walk into the forest, which, in hindsight, was perhaps not my best decision. "Hello?" My calls echoed through the trees as I hiked along the forest. "Is anybody there? I'm kinda looking for my friend, Thomas. I think he came by this way?" I realized I was talking to air and fell quiet. I was quiet for a while, stepping on the crunchy fallen leaves. "Belletra?" I tried, hopelessly.
The strange forest yielded no response except for a gentle breeze that tussled my hair and reduced me to cursing out this stupid place, the stupid bird, and the stupid person I had for a roommate.
There was nothing overly weird about this place at first glance. It seemed like any ordinary forest, and even walking through it proved no different. It had ordinary flowers, ordinary trees, ordinary birds, ordinary plants, ordinary horrible creatures that try to rip your face off, ordinary weather.
But there was something more about this place that just totally creeped me out.
It may have to do with the horrible creature that tried to rip my face off.
I had been walking along for a while, trying not to panic at the prospect that I might be totally lost and I might never see my home again. My throat burned with the tears I was trying to hold back and hoarse with the calls I had yelled out. I stumbled into a clearing when I saw the thing.
It was wolfing down some poor animal carcass when I saw it first. It was tall and thin and had pale white skin with dark spots circling around its beady eyes. It walked on all fours, had a row of massive fangs and a long, lolling tongue, and was perhaps the most terrifying thing I had ever seen.
I stared at it, hands covering my mouth in fear that I might scream out and alert the thing. It ate noisily, tearing away at the raw meat with a vigor that made me sick to my stomach. I tried to back away soundlessly, but before I could even take a step back, its head jerked up in one ragged motion.
Its horrible eyes locked on me and its long tongue swept over its lower jaw.
I turned and ran.
"HELP!" I screamed as I ran through the forest. "SOMEONE, PLEASE, HELP ME!"
This was the first time I had ever been stalked like a scared prey animal, and it was a horrible experience.
I could hear it loping through the bushes, I could smell its terrible stench of death, but I couldn't see it, which was the most terrifying thing about the whole ordeal. That or the fact that I was one hundred percent sure that when it caught up to me, it would kill me and tear through my remains and nobody would even know what happened to me.
I ran until I thought my legs would give way and I was cornered against the same cliffside from earlier. The creature appeared through the trees seconds later, not have giving up the hunt for even a second.
My heart pounded as I picked up a stick that was laying at my feet and wielded it as a weapon. I thrusted it towards the creature.
"Stay back!" I hissed, as threateningly as I could. "Stay back or I'll hit you with this!" I was fully aware of how stupid I sounded.
The creature was upon me in seconds, tearing at my skin with its horrible fangs.
"HELP!" I screamed one last time, although knowing that nothing and nobody would save me now.
I closed my eyes as tightly as I could and waited for everything to dull, but to my surprise, the beast suddenly stopped raking its claws down my side.
I risked opening my eyes and was greeted by the creature's tongue lolling out of its mouth, blood falling with it. I'm not sure if it was mine or its. Its eyes stared at me with betrayal and it let out a horrible screech of pain before exploding into dust.
Thomas was standing over me, the sword he was holding piercing what had been the creature's stomach.
I stared at him, and relief spread through his face.
Then it disappeared as I said the first thing that I could think of, "I'm going to die." And then everything around me started to fade.
"No, no! Alex! You're gonna be just fine, trust me. Here, I got you."
I closed my eyes as everything around me seemed to dull. Thomas' voice was soothing, but I couldn't understand what he was saying.
I felt two arms wrap around me and scoop me off the ground. I was held against a giant, warm, blob. I liked this blob. It made me happy. I should name it... Thomas. Why? I'm not sure. But Thomas is a nice name. I'd like to meet a Thomas before I die.
A felt a rush of wind, and I seemed to be being lifted into the air. Then, the warm blob disappeared and was replaced by a rough, uncomfortable substance.
"Alex, stay with me," said a voice.
"God? Is that you?"
"Wha—no!" It softened and continued, "you're going to be okay, I promise. Just stay with me. Want to see something cool? Want to see my little friend? You've gotta open your eyes."
"I wanna see a friend," I said as I cracked an eye open.
A cool little winged creature came soaring over to my face. "Are you an angel?" I asked it as it landed on my lap and pressed itself into my ragged shirt. I stroked its head when suddenly, warmth poured into my body, and light consumed my vision.
The screaming pain suddenly disappeared from my body, and I had a sudden urge to throw up.
"Nice, Alexander," commented a voice wryly as I turned and did as my body had urged.
"Fuck up," I murmured before realizing that made no sense. "I mean, fuck off."
"A 'thank you' would suffice."
I glanced down to see Belletra staring up at me, eyes wide. Then, the small thing seemed to recover itself and flew over to Thomas.
"Good job, girl," he praised. "Amica, send a message to the General. Tell him I won't be able to make it and that something's come up."
The other bird perched on Thomas' shoulder flew off after dipping its head dutifully.
"How do you feel Alexander?"
Normally, I would answer.
I almost fell out of the tree.
"What! The! Fu—"
"Watch your language," Thomas reproached with a meaningful look at Belletra. "There are very impressional minds here."
I couldn't speak. For once, I could not speak.
Thomas was dressed in an ornate magenta colored tailcoat, a white undershirt, and trousers. And that was the most normal thing about him at the moment. Other things to point out would be the silver crown, sword hanging to his side, and the legions of birds that would be circling him. Oh, and the wings. Can't forget about the two giant feathered wings that spread out of his back.
"Careful!" he exclaimed as he grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the tree. "You're gonna fall!"
"What am I on?"
"What?"
"You have wings. I was attacked by a crazy horrible thing that wanted to rip my face off. You can talk to birds. Somehow, all the pain is gone even though I was about to die. You. Have. Wings. Did I accidentally take some... LSD or something?"
"I don't know what that is," Thomas returned bluntly. "Come on. Let's get you home."
"No!" I exclaimed, pushing his arms away from me. "Tell me what the fu—heck is happening!"
Thomas sighed. "I have an explanation for this. For all of this. But now is not the best time for it, and this is not the best place. I promise I will tell you everything the moment we get home."
He slid his hand into mine and raised them. My eyes met his.
"Trust me."
I sighed in defeat. "Alright. Fine. I... I trust you."
"I'm going to teleport us home, okay? You're going to feel like you can't breathe. You're going to feel lightheaded and it might even hurt. But no matter what, you have to hold on to me, understand?"
I closed my eyes. "Fine. Yeah. Just do it."
He picked me up gently and suddenly, everything started to throb. I gripped onto him tighter as it all got worse, but the dizziness soon disappeared almost as quickly as it had arrived.
When I opened my eyes, Thomas was holding me against his body, and we were seated on the couch.
I pushed myself away from him and stood up. "Explanation. Now."
Thomas, who looked suddenly extremely tired and overwhelmed, held up his hand.
"You promised!"
"I know, but do you know how much energy interdimensional travel takes?" He began to make tea with the same flowers from before. This time though, he didn't bother actually getting up. The flowers floated over to the kettle by themselves, and the kettle started to whistle and steam without even being put on the stove.
I stared at the process, eyes as wide as saucers. When I turned back to him, he was sitting upright with his legs crossed and eyes closed, sipping from a cup of tea.
"Much better," he said when he lowered the cup. "Want some?"
"I—"
"You probably should have some," he decided for me. "It's good for you, especially after being attacked by a Tenebrie."
"A what?"
"A Tenebrie. That creature that attacked you was a type of Tenebrie. It's what happens to my kind when we use too much magic."
"Magic?" I repeated, incredulous. "No. Impossible. This cannot be real. I'm hallucinating. On drugs. Drunk. Something."
"Do you want an explanation or not?" Thomas asked dryly.
"Yes!"
"Then you're going to have to listen to me and not interrupt every five seconds when it doesn't line up with your very narrow human views! Have. Some. Tea."
I sighed and sat down next to him, accepting a cup of the tea that had flown over to me. It was hot and sweet, but not too sweet. Energy poured through my body even with just one sip.
"Better?" Thomas asked.
"Yeah. Sure. Explanation now please?"
Thomas sighed. "Very well. Long or short?"
"Short, than long."
Thomas paused for a moment. "I am a creature that comes from a different dimension where magic is part of our everyday lives."
I blanched.
"Now, for the longer, more in depth explanation. I am a creature called a Peritum. The world we were just in is known as Perriterra. There's a portal that links our two worlds together in the park, that's why I tried to tell you not go there. How'd you find it anyway?"
"Belletra showed me."
Thomas turned to glare at the bird, who started to whistle and look elsewhere. He rolled his eyes and turned back to me. "I was going to tell you, I promise. But I didn't know how and I wanted to wait."
"Do all of the—Peritum?— have wings?" I asked, gesturing.
Thomas laughed. "No. Remember the story I told you a couple weeks ago about the—?"
"Oh," I said, understanding rolling off of me. "Yeah. So you're apart of the flying people? And there's a rebellion or something, right?"
Thomas nodded. "Anyway, depending on your strength and knowledge, there's only a limited amount of magic you can do. Magic is dependent on your level of energy. If you use too much and run out of energy but continue to use magic anyway, you become one of those things. A Tenebrie. You become nothing but a monster bent on destruction."
I took another sip of the tea. "Could you have almost become one just now when you traveled between dimensions?"
"Not unless I was already pretty drained. Interdimensional travel is hard, but it's nothing compared to creating dimensions. There are only two beings alive who have that power, one of which you've met."
"I'm going to go ahead and make the assumption that it isn't John."
Thomas smiled and shook his head. "The king is the second most powerful being in any dimension."
"Are you the first?!"
Thomas's eyes widened. "What? N-no!" he exclaimed, looking elsewhere. His tone softened with the addition of, "No, but that's very sweet of you."
"Yeah, well, I try."
The both of us were silent for a while.
"Is everything okay, Alex?"
"Uhh, no. I mean, magic? Dimensions and portals? Rebellions? It's all just... so strange. Impossible, even."
"I thought Earth was strange when I first came here, but I didn't accuse anything of being impossible. Look, you'll get used to magic eventually. But until then, I'll help you with anything you want to know." His bit his lip for a second. "I never thought I'd be explaining this to you."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll tell you later. You should get some sleep."
"You can't just send me off to bed when you don't want to answer my questions!"
"Wanna bet?" He smiled. "Here, I'll watch over you again if you want. Make sure you don't have any nightmares."
"I think I'd like that."