Between Universes

Chapter One

Cover by: Not_Very_Funny <-- Thank you so much! Also thanks to my friends Emmi and Ellie who have been through all of this with me!

Katherine Moore was as normal as normal could get. Though there is no direct definition of the word "normal", anyone asked would describe her in that way. She just seemed very ordinary, and no one could be convinced that her normalcy would change. She was at the ripe young age of 17, and was expecting to receive her first mission at any time. In fact, this is the most common age for missions. Some of her friends had already received their first missions, and they wouldn't stop talking about how exciting travelling to a different universe was and how many people they saw that they recognized from home.

It happened during fifth period on a Wednesday. It was a day just like any other. The day had started with a quick breakfast as she walked out the door, saying goodbye to her parents and her sister. One of her friends had come to pick her up because they had a meeting before school for one of the clubs Katherine was a part of. She was quiet in class, which was typical. Her talking was kept to a minimum, as she didn't have a best friend to laugh or gossip with. She sat with a few people from her classes at lunch, and she looked around at the other tables. Everyone seemed to be where they belonged, but Katherine didn't feel like she belonged. She hoped a mission would change that.

Katherine was busy copying down the correct pages for her math homework when a counselor stepped in, asking for her. A few other students in her class gave her a "good luck" as she passed by, smiling brightly. For some reason, the counselor didn't seem as happy as she should have.

There was a driver outside of the school waiting for them. Her parents were standing in front of the car, and they hugged her goodbye. She was wished good luck on her first mission by her younger sister, and a tearful farewell out of the window was the last she saw of them.

The flight to DC was a boring one. There were a few other passengers on this particular flight but none had a travel official with them except her, meaning she was the only one on this plane who was heading toward a mission.

The facility was larger than she had imagined it being. Her converse squeaked against the clean tile and people in suits nodded as the two women passed them by. Katherine was led to an elevator and brought up to a random floor. She was debriefed again on how to communicate in the room, even though she had gone over these procedures hundreds of times on sleepless nights when she was bored.

Looking into the window, she saw the other Katherine sitting at a table. She had heard from the others about how weird it is to see another one of yourself standing in front of you, but hearing about it was nothing compared to the real thing. Excitement and nervousness shot through her veins to her heart, and she couldn't wait to enter the room.

"Wait, Katherine," one of the officials said. "There's a slight problem."

"What is it?"

"Well, you're other self in there? She's a main character of her plot line."

Katherine's blood froze. Her first mission was a main character? That's too much pressure. She sucked in a breath before saying in a cracking, anxiety-ridden voice, "I can't do that. She's a main character. What if I mess up?"

"You have no choice." Katherine sighed and turned toward her other self who was blinking and looking at the wooden desk she was sitting in front of. The officials led her through the door and her doppelganger's eyes widened.

"It's okay, Katherine," Katherine said normally. It was odd to be calling someone else her name, but she knew that this was all part of the mission.