Chaos (The Realmwalker Chronicles Book 1) (4 page)

Chapter 4

I stare wide-eyed,
mouth agape, at a perfectly normal-looking, five-foot-five-inch, tan girl with dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. Her grin falters slightly as I continue to stare blankly at her.

“Ahh, are you all right there? Did you knock your noggin a bit too hard?” She examines me critically while walking a slow circle around me. When she makes it back in front of me, she smiles encouragingly and says, “Nothing too serious that I can see. You did well out there.”

I’m still trying to formulate some kind of intelligent response when I hear an electronic chirp and then a man’s gruff voice that sounds like it’s coming through a radio.

“Mel, give me a status report.”

I notice Mel’s wearing something that looks like a Bluetooth device in her ear. She presses the outside of the small black unit and says, “Mel here. I got her. We’re in Minor Calm now. Just arrived.”

As she sits down on a stool nearby and starts to take off her rollerblades and safety gear, I gaze around the garage. It’s so large I could drive “Old Blue” in figure eights in here without hitting any walls. Power tools sit on a few workbenches. On the shelves lining the walls are all sorts of knickknacks and doo-dads that you would expect to find in a well-equipped garage.

A couple strange vehicles are parked nearby. They look like huge motorcycles, only wider and much longer. They have broad tires and large, shiny exhaust pipes on each side. There are buttons and strange gadgets all over the handlebars. Each is a different, vivid color and they sport unique designs on them. The one closest to me is black and adorned with bright blue waves. On the rim over the rear wheel, in decorative blue writing, is the word “Crank.”

The man’s voice coming through Mel’s earpiece says, “Good work. Are there any injuries?”

“Nothing too serious. There was only one brute out there, but we gave him the flick. She may have sustained a small concussion. I’m taking her upstairs now to get looked at.” Mel says as she stands and offers me her hand.

I look down at my palms and am almost sick at the sight of them. They’re torn up worse than I had thought. The blood has begun to dry, but every time I move my hands the wounds split and reopen. They hurt.

Mel slaps her forehead. Instead of grabbing my hand, she puts an arm around my back and a hand under my elbow closest to her. As she guides me to a nearby stairway leading up, the man’s voice comes through again. “Make sure you get her information right away so we can make contact top-side.”

“Sure thing, Boss. It’ll be up in the system here in no time.”

We get to the base of the stairs and I hesitate. If my knees are as bad as my hands, this is going to be hell.

“Easy does it now,” she says in a kind voice. “Take your time. If it’s too much, I can carry you.”

I’m determined not to be carried.

I take a deep a breath, grit my teeth, and take the first step. I inhale sharply and wince as the cuts on my knees reopen and fresh blood flows again. I’m shaking from the pain. I’m still weak, so I lean on Mel for stability. She’s solid as a rock and must be incredibly strong.

“I know you’re frightened and confused. Maybe if we chat it will take your mind off the pain. So what’s your name?” Mel asks gently.

“Adelaide.” It’s all I can manage right now.

“You sound American.”

I nod my head in confirmation.

“Thought so. Angel said you would be. She guessed Southwestern too. Is that right?”

I nod.

“That’s wonderful. We have two other Americans here. You look about my age. Are you eighteen?”

“Seventeen.” I pause for breath. We are almost halfway up the stairs. “How are we alive?”

She chuckles and shakes her head, “Oh, one little Lesser Shade is nothing to fret about.”

Little! I would hate to come across a large Lesser Shade, whatever that is.

“Why didn’t it …” I stop climbing and breathe. My ribs are really killing me. “… smash through the … garage door?”

“Shades can’t enter the Calms, not as long as the wards are up anyway.” She looks at me sideways and sees my puzzled expression. “Don’t worry love, you’ll understand soon.”

I start climbing again and take a break at the top. I look around and see a large, fully furnished, comfortable-looking living room. On one of the oversized sofas, lies a boy who looks about fifteen. He has light brown skin and neat dark hair. He has earphones in his ears and his eyes are closed. He’s tapping his foot and waving his hands in the air like he’s holding a baton and directing a symphony.

“CRANK!” Mel shouts at the top of her lungs.

“Ay-eee!” Crank squeals and almost falls off the couch. He spouts off a rapid stream of something that sounds like angry Spanish. He stops short, however, when he sees me. With a look of surprised excitement, he jumps off the couch and rushes over. Now that he’s up I can see he’s very thin and very short.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know! I didn’t even hear the alarm. Did she just get here? Oh, is she hurt?” He turns to me. “Are you all right? I’m Oscar Torres by the way. Everyone calls me Crank, though, but not because I’m cranky. I’m delighted to meet you. What’s your name?” His accent is so strong and he’s speaking so fast that I can hardly understand him. He’s bouncing up and down where he stands and looks like he’s about to burst with excitement.

Mel puts a hand up and he stops immediately. “Crank, help me get her to the couch. She’s hurting.”

“Of course, of course. Right over here.” He takes my other elbow and together they get me to the sofa. I sit down slowly as Crank grabs a throw pillow and places it on the big mahogany coffee table in front of me. He gently picks up my feet and props them up on top of it.

“How is this? Good, yes?” He grins warmly at me. His dark eyes smile with the rest of his face. Out of all of this confusion, one thing is clear: I’m safe with these people. In fact, now that I think about it, all my fear and apprehension have completely faded away. Something about this place, “Minor Calm” Mel had called it, feels familiar even though I’ve never dreamt about it before. The room is rich with color—a stark contrast to the outside world. I’m overwhelmingly comfortable.

A warmth spreads through my chest. I feel like I’m home—safer than I’ve ever felt before. I never want to leave. I look to Mel and Crank and am surprised to find I’m seeing them through a curtain of tears brimming on my lower lids.

I blink them away, laughing, and exclaim, “This is the strangest dream I have ever had! And I’ve had some real doozies.”

Crank and Mel exchange a significant glance. Mel looks at me and places a hand on my forearm.

“Let’s have a look at those hands and see what can be done about them.” She examines my palms gently and then looks over my knees through my tattered pajama bottoms. Pajama bottoms? Whoa. I check the rest of me—I’m wearing the pajamas I went to sleep in. They’re dirty and torn in places and stained with blood, but they are definitely the clothes I wore to bed.

“It’s a good thing I don’t sleep naked,” I mutter under my breath. Mel and Crank look at each other and burst with laughter. Mel laughs so hard her eyes tear up and Crank clutches his sides. It takes a while for them to stop laughing enough to talk.

Through her giggles, Mel manages to say, “That’s how Timothy showed up! Butt naked! Oh it was the funniest thing you ever saw!”

“No no, let me tell it!” Crank interrupts her. “So there he is, in the middle of a wooded forest, running for his life from a herd of Shades. He’s screaming in his Scottish voice, yes? He goes ‘HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!’” Crank butchers what I can only imagine is his version of a Scottish brogue and waves his arms over his head hysterically.

“So Boss, he comes riding in on his Big-Bike, and to find what? A pasty white, orange-haired, COMPLETELY NAKED man!” He laughs so hard now that Mel has to take over telling the story for him.

“And that isn’t even the best part!” she exclaims. “The best part is that Boss has to scoop him up and ride all the way back to Major Calm with Timothy’s skinny white arse right behind him, holding on for dear life!”

Their laughter is contagious and even though I have no idea who Boss or Timothy is, I can’t help but laugh along with them.

“And that’s why,” Mel pauses and looks at Crank, “YOU NEVER SLEEP IN THE NUDE!” they both shout together.

They sigh with joy as Mel continues examining my injuries.

“Well, Miss Adelaide, you’re really not that bad off. I’m not much of a healer but I can at least stop the bleeding for now. Our Doc’s over at Major Calm at the moment, so you won’t get a full heal until tomorrow night. I suggest you take it as easy as you can tomorrow. You’ll be in a right amount of pain but you’ll live.” She gently places a hand on each knee, closes her eyes, and furrows her brow.

“So your name is Adelaide? That’s very beautiful! Are you an Ameri—”

“SSSHHHH! Crank! How can I do this with your constant earbashing? I need to concentrate.”

Crank gets a sheepish look on his face and mouths “sorry” to no one in particular. I smile at him and he doesn’t seem so wounded anymore.

A strange thing begins to happen as we sit quietly. I begin to feel warmth grow on my knees under Mel’s hands. The flesh there begins to tingle and itch.

“What’s that feeling? What are you doing?” I ask worriedly.

“Shh. I’m almost finished,” Mel whispers. She’s holding her breath and her face is scrunched up in concentration. I watch her hands, almost expecting them to glow or do something spectacular, but they appear normal. She suddenly exhales and slouches forward.

“That’s all I can do for your knees. I’m not a natural healer, but I know a trick or two to encourage the body to speed up healing. Let me try your hands now.”

When she removes her hands from my knees, I gasp. Through the torn holes in my pajamas, I’m able to see that both knees are completely scabbed over. Around the edges of the scabs is the fresh pink of newly healed skin. I’m amazed at first, but then I remember this is a dream and so anything is possible.

She’s working on my hands now and that warm, tingly feeling begins again. When she’s finished, I see it’s had the same effect as it did on my knees. She turns my face from side to side until she finds a cut above my left eyebrow. When she’s finished healing it, she places her hands on my rib cage and concentrates, relieving much of the pain there.

“That was amazing. Thank you, Mel, I feel much better now.” She beams with pride but I can see she’s worn out from the effort.

I pat the sofa cushion next to me, motioning Mel to sit. She sits carefully and lays her head back, closing her eyes. She sighs deeply, “Haven’t had to do that in a while. I really should practice more. Anyway, Boss will kill me if I don’t get your information before you go top-side.”

“What do you mean ‘top-side’?” I ask. So much has happened and so much has been said that I don’t understand.

“Top-side, Earth-side, call it what you like. When you wake back up, leave Chaos, and go back to your Earth-side existence. It could happen anytime, and Boss wants to be sure we know who you are and where to find you.” She pinches the bridge of her nose.

“You’re one of us now, a Realmwalker. Welcome to the family. Anyway, Crank and I can spend all night explaining everything to you, but it’s all moot if we don’t know how to find you top-side. You’ll continue to believe you’re having wild dreams, and that can really hinder the training process.”

Training process? Earth-side existence? My head is spinning. Mel sees my perplexed expression and smirks knowingly.

Crank tries to reassure me. “It’s confusing, yes. It will be this way for the first few nights, but trust me, it will get easier.” He cocks his head to the side.

“Where are you from, Adelaide? I mean, we’re pretty sure we’ve got it narrowed down. Angel has sensed you getting closer to us this last week, but it’s always hard for her to nail it down exactly. She was guessing Southwest America. She’s good like that. Oh, and what’s your last name? We’ll need your address too, and phone number.” His leg starts bouncing up and down as he talks faster. “We’ll probably want to know who you live with too. And where you work. Do you own a car? What’s your favorite color? That’s not something we have to know—I’m only curious.”

“Slow down, Crank! Give the girl a chance to answer.” Mel gives me an apologetic smile. “You’ll have to forgive him, he’s … hyper. He’s like a Chihuahua on crack sometimes.”

I laugh out loud at the mental image, but I stop quickly when I see Crank’s injured expression.

“I’m sorry, Crank. I’m not laughing at you, just at the image of a Chihuahua on crack,” I explain. This seems to pacify him.

It’s bizarre to me that I feel protective of Crank’s feelings. I mean, I know this is only a dream but I feel so invested in these two people. I’ve only just met them but I feel inextricably tied to them. It’s similar to the way this place, Minor Calm, feels so much like home. These people feel dear to me in a way I’ve never felt before—not even for Tori or any of my other friends, for that matter. I know I’ll miss Mel and Crank when I wake up. Though this definitely started out as a nightmare, it’s turned into something beautiful and amazing and I’m sad to think of it ending.

“My name is Adelaide Shepherd—Addy for short. I’m from America. I live in a town called Queen Creek in the state of Arizona.” I tell them my address, home phone number, and the number to my cell.

“I’m seventeen years old. I’m a senior in high school, at least for the next two weeks. I live with my Mom. I have an older sister, Jana, who lives in Flagstaff, Arizona. She’s going to college there but she visits often. I drive an old, beat-up truck. It’s light blue and there’s rust on the hood. I don’t have a job, and my favorite color is light green.” I take a second to breathe. “Did I cover everything?”

Crank gets up and walks over to what looks like a large flat-screen television on one of the walls. It lights up when he taps the screen.

“Let’s see …” he says as he pulls up an image of planet Earth. He spins it around to the Western Hemisphere with his finger then touches the North American continent. The image zooms in drastically until a very realistic-looking satellite image of North America fills the screen. He mutters under his breath, “United States … Arizona …” Each time he touches the map it zooms in further. When he finds Queen Creek, Arizona, I’m able to see tiny lights all over the city. It’s an image of my town at night. Even though it’s dark, I recognize certain structures.