Theodore & The 7 Layers of Space, Book 1: Brick & Bird

Chapter 25: Then

Then is a special place.

Strictly speaking, Then is populated by birds and dinosaurs. But between you and I, more than a few retired Magicians and Travelers end up hanging their hats and capes there.

Then is like one sprawling magical vacation paradise. You'll have a great time, as long as you can hold your own if you happen to run afoul of a T-rex or two.

And, potential weird bonus, you become part-bird while you're there.

***

Theodore knew none of that as he rolled down the hill that the door from a chasm in Gup deposited him on. He had cause to suspect some of it when he picked himself up, dusted himself off, and was faced with the enormous blinking eyeball of what is known on Earth as a Brachiosaurus.

Theodore had no reason to know that a Brachiosaurus, being an herbivore, had no interest in eating him. So he did what any sensible person would do – he screamed and he ran. And he flapped his little wings. The Brachiosaurus blinked and ignored him.

He had nearly run off of the edge of a particularly scenic cliff when he spotted a broken-down airplane, and the silhouette of his friend Isobel slumped down next to it. Despite their flapping, he hadn't noticed his own wings and beak until he saw hers.

Much like becoming a sock puppet in Sock, as they arrived in Then they were both transformed into a strange mixture of humanoid and bird. They still had human hands, but their arms merged with feathered wings. He wondered if the wings worked and flapped them experimentally.

"Don't go jumping off any more cliffs with those, we don't have the years of training it takes to fly, you'll die," she sighed. "I told you not to follow me," she whispered.

"You're not the boss of me," Theodore answered, plunking himself down on an ancient log by her side. Their old rhythms of bickering and chasing after one another fell right back in place.

"At least I taught you something. You don't have to worry about that big dino, she likes plants," Isobel gestured casually back towards the enormous beast that Theodore had assumed he was being pursued by. It stood munching on the leaves of a large bending tree. "The Terror Dragons, on the other hand..."

"What's the deal here, Iz?"

"Well, Theodore, welcome to the sprawling and majestic Layer of Then, the primordial exotic home to birds and beasts!"

"Isobel, what's the deal with you... just taking off? Again."

"The deal is that you're an idiot and a jerk, and part-Bird, now, too. You should have stayed where you were, in the useless House, cuz that's where you belong cuz you're useless!" she yelled at him.

"You know, since I ran back into you, you're being even meaner to me than usual, which is impressive. You've pushed me down a lot of stairs."

She stared at the dirt as she quietly spoke, "I tracked her down, Theodore. I used the lens and tracked my Mom's signal to right here. She taught me everything, including everything about this plane. I knew it was powered by a specialty Grid-fuel, or whatever, so that's why I used the lens to find it. Here. Here's her plane. No Mom. Same as usual."

Theodore scooched closer and put his arm around her. "Well, don't worry, she's Amelia Earhart. I'm sure she got out ok and she's off fighting some evil foe or saving some world. Your Mom's like a superhero."

"That's exactly right! That is what's probably happening and why do I even care? Why am I here, chasing her? Why isn't she chasing me, Theodore?!" she immediately burst into tears and hugged him.