The Parallel | BOOK 1

2: Welcome to the War

On the other side of the wall it was the same street we had came from, rather than an extension of the street as it was supposed to be. The fog was gone but there was something else different about the street other than the fog. It was daylight and the streets looked as if it had been decaying, as if the street had grown older by a decade.

When I looked at Jace he didn't seem confused by the change at all. He no longer seemed uneasy, as if his whole demeanor changed once we crossed the foggy wall. I looked behind us to see the wall was gone.

"Jace where are we?" I asked.

"It's hard to explain," he said, as he turned a corner. "It's the same city, same place... just not the same plane."

"I don't get it," I said, my eyebrows furrowing.

"It'll be easier to explain when we get there," he said.

"Get where? Why can't you explain now?" I questioned, growing slightly frustrated.

"Because I've only been here once, and I don't even know why the fuck I'm back here," he said, harshly. "Just sit back until we get there."

I looked out the window as we drove down the street. It was as if we were heading back to my house. I saw people walking down the streets with solid blue outfits. Everything was the same except for the cracks in the road, the newspapers that covered the street, the flickering and broken lights on every building.

We stopped in front of a building I once knew as the police station. Jace turned the car off before looking at me.

"I know this is really confusing but it's going to make sense soon," he said before getting out of the car. "Come on," he said before I got out of the car.

We walked into the station before seeing two armed men standing by the door. They stepped in front of us blocking us from the rest of the building.

"Name and tracking number," the man asked.

"We're missionaries and we're new. We were called here," Jace replied.

"New? New how? What do you know of the missionaries?" the other man asked, narrowing his eyes at Jace.

"Okay, I'm not that new but she doesn't-"

"Name and tracking number," the guard that stood in front of Jace said, his hand on his gun.

"Jace Brown, tier one missionary," Jace said before the men stepped aside.

Jace walked me to the elevator. The entire ride to the sixth floor was quiet. Once the doors opened he guided me to a room before knocking on the door. The door swung open before we faced a woman. She had pale skin and bags under her eyes. Her hair was short and blond, stopping right around her ears yet it was untamed. She looked to be in her mid forties. When she looked at me she smiled before opening the door wider for us to come in.

"Please, come have a seat," She said before sitting at her desk as Jace and I sat on the couch in front of her.

"I've waited so long to meet you, Kyla," she said as I furrowed my eyebrows.

"I don't understand... who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Willow, consider me your friend," she said. "I know you're probably confused and I understand. It's hard for outsiders to truly grasp where they are. Now, you're still at home, in fact this is more your home than the last place you were. We're only in another plane," Willow said before standing up from her seat.

"Now, you remember the smoke?" Willow asked me before I nodded. "That was only me calling to you. Everyone else you were around should've grown weak, like your sister-"

"How do you know my sister?" I asked.

"Dear... that's another story for another time. Back to what I was saying, you remember the smoke don't you?" She asked.

"Yes,  I remember the fucking smoke," I replied, annoyed.

"Notice how only you and Jace were the only ones who didn't grow ill to the fumes in the smoke. I'm sure it didn't smell all that well but it didn't physically harm you and there's a reason for that. You've always belonged here, Kyla. Lately I've been trying to find people like you, people that are immune to the smoke-"

"So is everyone else here immune?" I asked.

"No, they're not. In fact many people here die when they come in contact with the smoke. The smoke is foreign to anyone in your world. Here, it's used as a weapon against our people. Our world used to be a beautiful place, a place where no harm could be done, a safe place for everyone. Some people that have encountered our world may have called it peace... Now that we know that you're immune, you can help us. You can help us fight against-"

"No," I said, blankly.

"Excuse me?" Willow said, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I said no. You lured me into this weird double world, and now you want my help?" I spat.

"We only want to see what you two can do. The only other person like you is your friend, Jace but there was only so much he could do by himself when he was here last. That's why we need you," Willow explained, calmly.

I looked at Jace but he was looking off into space. I looked back to Willow before standing up.

"I don't know what kind of weird sick game this is but I'm not doing shit but taking my ass home," I said before walking to the door.

I felt a prickle on my neck before looking back to see Willow with a needle in her hand. She held onto me as I started to feel my feet and body melting into the ground.

"Oh honey... this is your home," she smiled as my vision started to blur and blacken.