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.

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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.