FF - Installment 4

When the whiteness had cleared, a somewhat demure and captivating scene greeted them. They had come into a small clearing set on the edge of a steep hill overlooking a large expanse of water. Twilight skies surrounded them as the blue glow of nighttime was casted onto the surrounding landscape. Small yellow bits of light were visible next to the seaside below them.

Janeil looked up at the stars. They were so plentiful as always; being planetside always gave him the best ambience when viewing the night sky. A few wisps of cerulean nebula interlaced themselves between numerous star clusters; but this was only just the backdrop to an even more stunning sight. A large gray planet hung in the sky, a thin ring system looping around it.

"Wow....I would have never thought I'd get this far without an FTL drive." He remarked. Looking back behind him, he saw that they were standing behind a monument-like structure. A now-familiar door was set in the middle of it, the monument offering some shelter to it. Sophia had just closed the door behind her and came to his side.

Glancing down at the city, Janeil looked at Sophia. "I'm guessing we're going down there?"

"Well, not that far into it. Just on the outskirts. But yes, this is where most of Oceanus' population resides." Sophia started to walk down a worn dirt path.

Their walk took them down the hill down to the flat below. A few houses were scattered about outside of the city and had garden or orchard plots. One in particular had a large wall around it and before he knew it Sophia was walking through the open gate, leaving him on the road. He started after her and caught up just as she found Sophia at the front of the door, talking to an woman. She was dressed in simple old-fashioned work dress just as long as Sophia's own and had a bonnet on her head.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth no longer lives here." The woman stated.

"How long has she been gone? Do you know where she has went?" Sophia seemed slightly panicked.

"Oh, I say about three months. I don't know where she lives now, but the registrar's census office in town should know. You can go tal to them if you wish."

"I see..." Sophia's face fell slightly. "Well, thank you . Sorry for intruding."

"It's all right, dear. Goodbye." The door closed.

"What's that about?" Janeil looked up at the house.

"My friend Elizabeth doesn't live here anymore." Sophia was clearly distressed. "I don't understand; she's not the type to pick up and leave like that."

Janeil sighed. His bags were getting a little hard to carry now. "So now what?"

"She said check the census office in town." She sighed. "I guess we don't have a choice. She's my only connection. If we don't have somewhere we can stay...this will become difficult."

"Tell me about it....so how do you know this Elizabeth person?"

"We met a long while back, perhaps a year ago. I was doing some research in this city and it was raided by an army. I was left injured and she happened to find me and nursed me back to health. After that, I helped her run her apothecary store and teach the remaining children school for a month before the city was eventually abandoned. She moved here after the incident; and that's the last time I saw her."

Sophia's conversation continued as they entered the city. The whole place seemed right out of the late colonial period, with a few Victorian fashions floating about. There were a lot of closed and empty market stands, cobblestone streets, and shut up buildings with a few people wandering around.

Not much people paid attention to them. A few of them gave stares towards Janeil, mostly out of not seeing someone like him before, but they quickly went on their business after their brief glances. There were still a lot of voices to be heard, but they were dulled, as if most everyone was inside for the evening.

Author's Note: I am currently experiencing technical issues posting. The remainder of the installment will be posted in the morning.

FF Entry - Installment 3

The New Hampshire countryside wasn't something Janeil had ever noticed before. He had just seen this green blob from orbit or a small rural house in a magazine or e-newsletter.

He and Sophia had come to a stop in front a large farm house after driving straight for several hours on end from his old apartment. Janeil had packed most of his belonging (which was not a lot of things to begin with), expecting this to be a one-way trip.

"I believe this is the place," Sophia pointed to the house.

Janeil pulled into the driveway and turned the engine off, opening the door and stepping out.
The yard was quiet. There was barely any trees in front, and a large field of corn was visible in the back. Sophia wandered towards the side of the house as Janeil went up the steps and reached the door. Sophia realized that Janeil was not behind her, and quickly came up to where he was.

Janeil had not knocked on the door yet. In fact, he just stood there, staring at it.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not much for going to knock on people's doors." Janeil looked at Sophia in a somewhat firm manner.

"Well fine, I can knock if you want." Sophia placed her hands on her waist before walking up and rapping on it with her knuckles.

Janeil shrugged. "Be my guest."

The door opened slightly then all the way open, a woman in the doorway. She was in her sixties probably, with silver white hair in a bun behind her head. She wore a simple teal dress and brown shoes.

"Can I help you with something?" She asked curtly. "I don't take kindly to-" The woman stopped upon seeing Sophia. "...strangers."

"Yes. May we come in?" Sophia asked politely.

"By all means." The woman quickly ushered them in.

The interior was spacious and not fancily furnished. Oil pantings of the country landscape lined the walls, and a fireplace was glowing with fading embers. There were books. Lots of books. Everywhere.

"It's been years since I've seen someone from the Doorway." The woman paced impatiently. "How did you manage to get through the seal I placed?"

"She came here by spacecraft," Janeil answered. "She's a friend of mine."

The woman looked up sharply at them. "What?! Unbelievable...do you know what this could do to their entire culture? This changes the very balance of how things have been."

"I don't want to go into the specifics, but we need to use the Doorway to go to Oceanus." Sophia responded.

"And why must I unseal the door and allow you trough? Why can you not get back on your ship and go back home then go back to Oceanus?"

"I left the military," Janeil explained. "And I don't have enough money to go hire somebody to take us back there or to get my own ship."

"That...and the Doorway on my world is sealed as well." Sophia admitted. "An individual cares for it like you do, but we have not used our doorway for over four hundred years."
The woman's face softened slightly. "What is the name of your world, child?"

Sophia gulped. "Etavartica."

The woman snorted. "The half-children....your world was sealed for a reaon, to keep your kind from spreading to the other worlds and causing chaos. The half-childred would always be apart and cut off from the Doorway no matter what; this is what has been decreed by the Ancients and will always be."

"Look, are you going to let us through or not?" Janeil asked. "If not, we'll get out of here and try something different."

"It's not like I can stop you...I'm sure you'll find a ship if I don't let you through and you'll get to Oceanus eventually...fine. Follow me." The woman turned around and started towards the basement.

"Grab your things from the car," Sophia started after the woman. "I'll be fine."

Janeil left her as Sophia descended the dark staircase into the basement. The poor lit surroundings revealed even more books, many of them covered with sheets or canvas to protect them from dust.

"Why are so many of these books around?" Sophia stepped around another pile of books.

"It is a long story...I don't think you'll have enough time to listen to it." The woman approached a large object covered by a sheet. Pulling it away, she revealed a large ornate forest green door with a round top. Seven jewels were embedded in the frame above the door, which appeared to be embossed with gold and other precious metals.

The woman touched the handle. The jewels flickered and started to glow brightly. Looking up at them in satisfaction, the woman walked towards one of the shelves as Janeil came down the stairs, a duffel bag and a backpack over one shoulder, an assault rifle on the other, and a messenger bag in one of his hands.

"Are you sure about this?" Janeil handed the messenger bag to Sophia.

Sophia slung the bag over her shoulder, responding with a simple shrug. The woman came back towards them, two book in her hands.

"Here, I would like you to have these. These would explain everything that you have asked about." She sighed. "I hope you get to Oceanus without incident."

"Why thank you." Sophia looked at the books curiously and placed them into her bag before turning back towards the door.

"You're welcome. Farewell to both of you." The woman stepped backwards.

Sophia grasped the door handle and turned it, pulling it open. They were greeted by bright white light shining from inside, a somewhat cold breeze blowing past them. Shielding their eyes momentarily, they stepped forward and inside.

=================================================================

Their surroundings where blazen white for several seconds till it seemed to dim slightly. When it had faded, the two companions found themselves in the middle of a colossal room made of white marble and whitestone. The room was circular with an elaborate floor design, the ceiling dome-like with bright light shining down on top of them. Twenty-four doors like the one they had come through surrounded them.

Like the one they had come through except on brazen difference. Instead of seven jewels in the door frame, one large jewel was mounted instead. And each door had a different jewel.

"I've never seen anything like this." Janeil looked around in amazement. It didn't look like this could quite fit in the woman's backyard, it was too massive. "I'm guessing we're not on Earth anymore?"

"That's a pretty good guess." Sophia stared at the doors for a moment before starting towards one with a sky blue jewel above it. It glowed upon her touching the handle as she opened it, the same light coming out as before.

Coming out on the other side, Janeil was surprised. Their surroundings were the exact same. Were they getting lost? He didn't think so. Sophia seemed to know what she was doing. He still voiced his concerns.

"Are we getting lost?" He asked.

Sophia chuckled. "I don't blame you for thinking that way. No, we're not lost. You have to go through multiple rooms like this to reach your final destination. Whenver you go through one door, you get a marker on the floor to tell you how far you've gone." She motioned to the center of the floor, which a large circular slab of black marble had been placed in the middle.

Sophia picked another door. And yet another . This continued six more times. Janeil noticed each time that another black dot would appear. He tried to keep track of which doors she went through, but had a hard time memorizing them by himself.

Upon going through the seventh door, they came into a different room. The room was still round, but the ceiling was flat and a light-like structure that emitted white light was embedded in the middle of the ceiling. Only one door was in this room, and in the middle was a large marble plaque on a pedestal.

"Well, we're here, or about to get there." Sophia glanced at the pedestal. On the top, seven jewels were set in the top in a line above the words.

Janeil couldn't read it, but he noticed that whatever jeweled doors that they had gone through, they matched what was on the pedestal. A small theory was starting to form in his head as Sophia walked towards the door.

"What does this say exactly?" Janeil asked.

Sophia looked at him. "It's some basic information about the place we're going to. It says that Oceanus is a small town on the edge of a strange sea. The door is sealed from the other side and travel is not recommended."

"Wait, sealed? Doesn't that mean we can't get back?"

"Don't be so worried, I can get around that. I've been here before." She gave him an assuirng smile before tugging his sleeve. "Let's go."

Following her, Janeil braced himself for what was on the other side.

FF Installment - 2

This is a continuation of my last FF installment here:

http://blueoriontiger.xanga.com/731846867/a-simple-friend-from-far-away/

I decided to skip his "talk" for the moment and move onto what I would like for them to do, and may finish that part at a later time. Until then, here you go!

=================================

Janeil’s apartment had been his respite for him for everything. From learning to fly with Mr. Grumman, to hiding off the streets when being a data copier, and now that he was discharged out of the UEA, respite from the outside world.

“You certainly are a good housekeeper,” Sophia noted. She couldn’t help but to notice how clean everything was. It had been virtually untouched since he was gone.

The studio apartment didn’t have much of anything except a kitchen, a bed and what appeared to be remnants of a large computer terminal in the corner. The lights were off, save some bright ambience that shone through the windows that made the rooms glow with a pale white light.

“That’s Haley’s doing,” Janeil shrugged off his jacket and let it drop on the bed, sitting on the edge of it. He patted besides him for Sophia to sit. “She cleaned up the place before I enlisted and everyone went their ways.”

“You never told me much about that, you know.” Sophia took his hint and came besides him, taking her fingers and brushing a few strands of hair out of his forehead. “I know you spent an entire evening talking to me about what you did with the UEA. But your past life….it’s so mysterious to me.”

“I guess we’ve never had much quality time together,” Janeil admitted. “Yet we’re close like how we are now.”

Sophia nodded, looking down at the slightly dusty floor. “Do you miss them? Whoever these people were?”

“Yes, I do.” Janeil looked at her. “Those people were there for me. Always were. Now I wonder if I’ll see them again.”

Silence followed for a few seconds. Sophia moved her mouth to speak, trying to come up with the words.

“Janeil…I’d like to ask a favor of you. I’m glad you’re here and think you’ll be all right, but…” Sophia shook her head slightly. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

“What happened? Something back where you came from?”

“Well, yes, sort of.” Sophia’s eyes shifted nervously.

“Sort of? What do you mean sort of? Where are you talking about?” Janeil asked point blank.

Sophia pinched a bit of her apron with fingers and fiddled with it, exhaling softly. “I’ve…been to other worlds.”

“What?” Janeil was surprised. “You told me-“

“I told you the truth.” Sophia butted in defensively. “I never traveled in a spaceship before. But I went to other worlds a different way.” Her eyes looked away from him. “A type…of doorway.”

“Doorway?”

“It’s a door that opens up to many other doors and lets you go to many other places. I can explain more, but I don’t want to burden you with too much information.” Sophia glanced sideways.

“Well, I’ll give you that much for the moment. But what’s the favor?”

“I have a friend that’s missing. She’s been gone for several months now and I have no idea where’s she’s gone. I hardly have any clue to where she might be and I would like some help to find her.” Sophia’s face fell as her voice lowered. “She’s indebted to me because I saved her life.”

“I see…is it dangerous?” Janeil asked.

Sophia gave him a disappointing look. “Are you going to back out if it is?”

“Maybe not. I just need to know what I’m dealing with.”

“There may be dangers. I don’t know what kind. It could be an army, it could be a monstrous creature. I don’t know. But it could be dangerous.”

Sophia reached out and took his hand. “Please…you’re the only person I trust here. And you have the knowhow and the technology of an advanced civilization.”

Janeil didn’t say a word. “I see…I want to help you. I care for you, and I know you do too. The only two things that I’m wondering about is if you’re telling the truth and not trying to trick me, and the fact that I need to recuperate before taking off on something like this.”

“I actually had a suggestion for that.” Sophia started to stand to her feet, walking to a window with her arms folded. “My friend who is missing; her aunt owns a nice place somewhere. I’m sure she’ll let you stay awhile to heal; she’s experienced in the healing arts.”

“Well, it would be like a vacation,” Janeil mused.

“I suppose you could say that.” Sophia looked at him, her assertive and curious expression returning to her face.

“So… I’m guessing the doorway thing is there? I’ll need to figure out how to get us back there.”

“There’s a doorway here on Earth. I’ve never used it to come here, but I know where it is.”

Janeil shook his head a little. “I’m just having a little hard time believing all of this, it needs to sink in a little.”

“It’s all right, I know.” Sophia walked back over to him. “Why don’t we get some rest? We can start out in the morning.”

“Rest is a good idea. We just have to, um…” Janeil looked back at the bed.

“Oh!” Sophia’s face blushed. “I see…I’ve never shared a bed with you like this before…but you don’t quite have anywhere else to sleep, do you?”

Janeil slid off his boots and emptied his pockets on the floor next to the bed. Sophia started to unlace her shoes as well, placing them besides his own.

“Do you want the closer side?” Janeil started to pull the covers away. “I usually don’t care which side I sleep.”

“I don’t mind.” Sophia clambered into the bed, sinking into the mattress with a soft sigh, tugging her skirts so that they were around her decently before pulling the covers up to her chest.

“Okay.” Janeil didn’t have to bother much with anything else; the electric was off, and he had locked the door. He took his glasses off and put them on the bedhead. “Good night.”

Sophia rolled over to face him. “Good night to you too. Have some pleasant dreams, okay? You’re not alone with a horde of giant insects wanting to tear you to pieces.” She touched his cheek before snuggling into the bed and closing her eyes.

Janeil could still feel her touch lingering. Trying to smile, he closed his eyes to sleep.