The Double Cult Cha-Cha: An Al Squires of the Protectorate Story (Book 1)

Ch. 8.2: Discussing Some Major Revelations Over Pretzels

Okay, beak's over. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah...

I opened the door to reveal the portal; with a busy, colorful city street on the other side. I stepped aside out of Norah's path with my arm extended towards the portal. "After you, mademoiselle," I said as I bowed my head a little for more dramatic effect, "I'll be right behind you; I'd need to close the bathroom door after I go in. If I don't, the door will come with us when I close the portal."

Norah just walked through the portal, not acknowledging what I said. Her eyes were wide and her jaw slack in either awe, wonder, or brain overload. I shortly followed after her, then closed the bathroom door and pushed the 'close' button on the portal terminal. I turned around to see Norah a few paces away from me; staring at everything.

First, she looked up at all the great and strange looking buildings around her; with the modern looking buildings- with more of the architectural styles she was no doubt familiar with- standing side by side with those of not just those of older styles, but those of futuristic and even alien styles. Her gaze went higher to see the multicolored sky shining above the vast cityscape.

She then moved her gaze to ground level, as she looked at the even stranger people; with human and humanoid-looking beings in clothing styles that were just as eclectic as the buildings walking along side many non-human/humanoid people- too many to mention, I might add- up and down the sidewalks.

"S-strange sights, s-sounds, and smells s-surround m-my senses," I heard her mutter and stammer as I caught up, taking deep breaths as she did so, "b-bizarre buildings and peculiar p-people circumvent this... surreal cityscape beneath a s-shining and s-shimmering s-sky."

"This 'talking in alliterations' thing that you're doing," I asked her as I patted her shoulder, "do you unconsciously do that every time you you freak out, or is that that calming exercise that you mentioned earlier?"

"My aunt t-taught it to me when I was a c-child when I had p-panic attacks," she said to me without making any eye contact with me, her head on a constant swivel. "It's to k-keep my b-brain occupied so the p-panic will be less s-severe."

"Still think that you're just dreaming all of this?" I asked, almost flippantly.

"S-seeing as I d-don't have an i-imagination this b-big and d-detailed," she said as her head moved all around, "I think t-that that t-theory has just been d-disproved. It's now a toss-up between 'this is all real,' and 'I've lost my mind.'"

"Or, for a third option," I said, muttering it so she wouldn't hear it, "this is all the work of fiction." Luckily, she appeared not to have heard me. Her mind isn't prepared to handle my 'beliefs.'

"Oh, well, I should probably tell you," I then said to the back of her ever-moving head, "that 'surreal' doesn't end with a 'C.'"

She then sharply turned to look at me and shouted, "I KNOW THAT!!!" Her eyes were starting to get smoky again. This time, I could tell the smoke was red within black; being out of the Still and all. Obviously, her outburst caught the attention of many passersby. "This, this can't p-possibly be-."

"Okay, okay," I said as I caught her off, placing both hands on her shoulders as I did. "Breathe. I know that you have questions. Unfortunately, you can't ask them while you're in this state, nor can I answer them until you've calmed down. I believe, with this kind of revelation, you're going to need more than alliteration to get you through this. Are you familiar with any form of meditation?"

She shook her head, nearly at the brink of hyperventilating.

"Well, seeing as we don't have the time to go into all that, are you familiar with 'grounding?'"