In Time

Chapter four: I Go to a Different Dimension

"What are you doing?" I asked as Marie began to kick up dirt all through the barn. I coughed,  choking on the floating dust.
"It's around here somewhere... "
I stared at Marie. She was more insane than I had thought.
"Ah here we go." Marie produced a small compass. It looked like it was made of some kind of metal, except  that it was unlike anything that I had ever seen.
"This is a compass made from two types of metal. One is a metal commonly found in this dimension. The other is a type of metal found in the dimension we're going to, the 3rd dimension."
I wasn't understanding. Marie just stood waiting for me to get it.
"And?" I asked, prompting her to continue. She sighed.
"And that's how we can travel dimensions. You just make an object using two different elements from different dimensions." Marie seemed mind blown by this.
"So if you have to get two elements from different dimensions to build one of these, then how was someone able to travel dimensions to get the elements that they need?" I asked.

"That's a story for another time. Right now we have to get to the 3rd dimension. I'm behind schedule."

Marie pressed a small button on the side of the compass and a holographic image shot from the compass face. It showed what looked like a military camp. Instead of everyone wearing uniforms though, people were dressed in different colored jumpsuits. Marie placed the compass on the ground and walked into the hologram. Suddenly her body disappeared.
"Wha- but she was- Marie! Marie?" I walked around the hologram, trying to find where she went. Suddenly her face popped up in the hologram. She waved for me to come.
"How did you- oh my- you're in the hologram!" I said, freaking out. "How did you-"
A hand shot from the hologram and grabbed my arm. Before I could do anything, I was pulled into the portal.

~**~**~

"Where are we?" I asked, looking around the colorful military camp. A group of people in red jumpsuits marched by.
"Are we at some kind of military camp?" I asked.
Marie nodded. "Yes, it's a military camp purely for Privus'."
"Uh, what's a... Privus?" I asked
Marie sighed. "Follow me." She began walking towards a building in the middle of the camp. I hurried to catch up. I had a lot of questions.
"Am I a Privus?" I asked, trying to talk over all of the marching.
"Yes." She answered. We had now reached the door to what seemed to be the main building. Marie turned to face me.
"Privus' are people from this dimension who have powers. It is not unusual to be a Privus, and it is considered an honor. You will be trained for battle at our camp and learn to master your abilities." Marie opened the door and we walked inside. The room we were in looked a lot like a lobby, except that everyone was dressed in those ugly jumpsuits. There was a front desk where a middle aged woman sat writing on a bunch of papers. Her brown hair had streaks of gray and was pulled into a sleek ponytail. Marie walked up to her.
"Hello Anne. How are you today?" Marie said casually.
Anne looked up from her papers. She looked from Marie to me, as if asking for an explanation.
"Uh, this is our new recruit, Melody Clark. She's just here to get signed in and receive an orientation."
Anne looked at me closer.
"A little old to be receiving an orientation, don't you think?" Anne asked, eyeing me suspiciously.
"She's a late bloomer." Marie said.
"I see. Well go on in. Mr. Blackwell has been waiting... A whole ten minutes..." Anne said, turning her attention to Marie. Marie nervously drummed her fingers on the desk.
"Yes, I'm sorry about the wait." She said, "we had a little car trouble." Marie eyed me.
"Well it was nice seeing you again, Anne." Marie said. Anne mumbled something like "Yeah, sure." And then turned her attention back to her papers. Marie began walking away. I followed.
"Signed in? Military camp? I'm not staying here." I said, walking beside Marie. "I'm not going to just let you kidnap me, take me to another dimension, and then sign me up to train for battle! My dad is probably worried sick. I mean for all he knows, I was kidnapped by a lunatic, which is pretty much exactly what happened! I need to get home! I have a life to live! I haven't even finished high school yet!"
Marie stopped at a door near the end of the hall. A sign on the door read "Mr. Blackwell".
"Mr. Blackwell will explain everything to you." Marie said. She knocked on the door.

~**~**~

Mr. Blackwell was not what I had been expecting. I had imagined some tall guy in a business suit and a tie. Instead, Mr. Blackwell was short, and wore a pair of jeans and a clean plaid shirt.
"Hello. Come on in." Mr. Blackwell said.
Mr. Blackwell's office was decorated much like the rest of the building. A mahogany desk sat at the front of the room. Papers, paper clips, and other office things were strewn all over it. A disorganized stack of papers sat on the floor near a dusty old printer. Mr. Blackwell motioned for us to sit in a chair in front of his desk.
"So," Mr. Blackwell said, seating himself behind the large desk. His head was barely visible over the desk. "You must be Melody Clark."
"Um, yes." I said, "And I think there has been some mistake here. I don't have any powers or whatever it is that you think."
"I see," Mr. Blackwell said, pumping up the chair height so that he could be seen "And what are your parents' names?"
"Uh, Robert Clark and Ella Clark." I answered. Why would he need to know my parents' names?
"And do you know your mothers maiden name?"
I thought for a moment. "I think it was like Larson or something."
"Ella Larson was a Privus who trained with us." Mr. Blackwell said simply,
"Trust me, you're a Privus. Now the only question is, what power do you have?" Mr. Blackwell turned his attention to Marie, who laughed nervously.
"Well, considering she is 17 going on 18, I figured why not schedule an appointment now if we're so sure she's a Privus and I told her to call if anything weird happened and she called but I didn't really necessarily ask what had happened..." Marie smiled apologetically.
Mr. Blackwell sighed.
"Marie," he said, "if you would like to keep your job, which I'm assuming you do, next time do not schedule an appointment, get here late, and then tell me that you're not even sure if her powers have surfaced yet."
Marie swallowed and nodded quietly.
"Now," Mr. Blackwell said, turning his focus on me, "what exactly happened to make you call Marie."
"Well," I said, "I was at a party and these idiots poured water on me and then I got mad and they all froze in place."
"Well that definitely sounds like your powers have surfaced. How were they frozen? Like ice?"
"No," I said, "they were frozen like- well this is going to sound crazy- almost like time had stopped." I said. Both Marie and Mr. Blackwell gave me confused looks.
"Look I know it's crazy but that's what it felt like. Things stopped falling in mid-air, people froze in place. And for some reason I didn't freeze."
Mr. Blackwell and Marie sat there for a moment just staring at me. Mr. Blackwell was the first to speak.
"I've heard of some Privus' in the past who could control time, but this is the first I've seen with my own eyes."

"What? No, I don't have powers. I need to get home! You people are all crazy!"

"I'm afraid," Mr. Blackwell said, "That you will not be going anywhere. The compasses are regulated, and you may only go home once you have mastered your powers and are not a danger to anyone."
Suddenly I realized that I was standing up, and I sat back down in my seat.
"Marie here has already signed you in, so I will have someone give you a tour and show you to the cabin that you will be staying in. The cabins are ordered by number. You will find that Camp Privus is set up like a mixture between a military camp and a summer camp. Your daily schedule and duties will be given to you first thing tomorrow morning. I will have someone meet you at the front of the building to give you your tour. That is all."
With that Mr. Blackwell stood from his desk and escorted me and Marie out of the room. When the door shut, I turned to face Marie.
"I hate you!" I yelled, "You trapped me in a different dimension until I master my fake powers! I don't even have stupid powers!"
Tears began to well up in my eyes. Would I ever go home? Was I trapped in this dimension forever?
"I'm sorry," Marie said sadly, "I have to go. Just- just wait on the steps of the building until your tour guide gets here." With that Marie was gone, and I realized that she was the only thing that had come with me to this dimension. How long was I going to be here? I remembered that I had not had a chance to say goodbye to my father. I walked out of the building, sat on the steps, and began to cry.