The starless sky shimmered with the energies of countless universes, shining out from the great Pool of Time like rays of light from the sun in Lewis's own universe. It was a beautiful sight, even within the limited spectrum of vision that a human could perceive. Similar to the infinite depths of the night sky, the multiverse that permeated the immortal realm known as the Beyond was too vast to comprehend. To Lewis, the velvet heavens appeared mostly dark, but to the eyes of the Parcae that stood before him the swirling energies were almost blinding in their glory. The Parcae could see polarization, like the shrimp of Earth, and so kept their eyes cast downward towards the solid mass beneath their feet to avoid becoming disoriented.

The ground they stood upon was not a planet, but rather a rocky plane. Black, obsidian-like stone filled the barren landscape in chunky sheets that crumbled into a webbing of surrounding canyons. Dig deep enough, and one could fall straight out the other side and into the timeless oblivion. Jagged natural formations towered in the distance—steep sided buttes that rose high into the charged atmosphere. It reminded Lewis of Arizona, only blackened... and more alien.

Lewis took the strangeness in without fully processing it. His heart was still pounding in his chest from the jarring transition of traveling between realms. Mere moments before—from his perspective—he was standing in the locked basement of the abandoned creepy house just down the street from his home, being told by Mr. Gray that he was to be left for dead. Then, with all the courage he could muster, he tackled the Parca through his portal and tumbled out of time entirely.

Mr. Gray beamed at him proudly. Lewis's mind was reeling. He wanted me to go through the portal with him!

Lewis was one of the Chosen—his destiny uncertain. Chosen by whom or for what purpose was unclear. The majority of people from the mortal realm had preordained paths. They were locked in with the flow of time; puppets reading from a cosmic script. Lewis's destiny, on the other hand, was to be determined by his own actions—of which, choosing to come to the Beyond would prove most consequential. The Parcae could not force him down any path. They could advise and guide him as they saw fit, but it was up to Lewis to choose his fate.

Lewis checked his cell phone. There was no service. He held it up over his head, but it didn't make any difference.

"Did he really just check his phone?" asked the other male Parca. "You're outside of time, boy. You aren't going to find any cell towers out here."

"Don't be mean, Orcus," said the female Parca in a sing-songy voice, "he's still just a child. His brain isn't fully developed yet."

Lewis narrowed his eyes. He tapped into the camera app and took a picture of the Parcae trio. They all screeched and covered their faces from the flash. "My brain is just fine, thank you," he said. He glanced down at the photo. For some reason it hadn't turned out—the whole image was black. He frowned. He wanted photographic evidence that the Beyond actually existed. After deleting the junk picture out of the photo library, he went back into the camera to try to take a better shot, but before he could, the phone turned itself off. The battery was drained.

"Spunky one," said Orcus. "How many tries did it take you to lead him here?" he asked Mr. Gray.

"Many," Mr. Gray responded. "But this isn't the first time we've been here. You two are interrupting my process." He sounded annoyed. He looked back over at Lewis—the boy's incredulous expression demanded answers. "Other versions of you have made this journey before," Mr. Gray explained, "but we've been failing to reach an adequate conclusion. I have a good feeling about this try, though." He gestured at the other two Parcae, "This is Orcus and Adeona—acquaintances."

As interesting as meeting two more Parcae should have been, Lewis was more concerned with the concept of other versions of himself existing. "What do you mean 'we've been failing'? Did I die?"

Mr. Gray frowned. "Not always."

Lewis glanced back up at the swirling sky. It made his head spin with a wave of vertigo. He squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to ground his mind once again. Thoughts of Josie pricked at his heart. He'd heard a scream before entering the creepy house—that's what set everything in motion. "Tell me what happened to Josie," he demanded. "You said the Agares took her?"

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Mr. Gray wrung his hands together. "That wasn't exactly the truth," he said. "Josie wasn't taken—she's perfectly fine at your exit point. She plays her part to lead you here quite convincingly."

Lewis was only beginning to realize the true extent to which he'd been deceived and manipulated. "How much did you both lie to me?" he asked.

Mr. Gray sighed. "We told you only what you needed to hear. You don't usually ask this many questions." He glared over at the other Parcae. "You two being here is already causing ripples."

Orcus gestured dismissively.

"Fate has brought us together," said Adeona. "Perhaps this will provide you with a useful set of fresh possibilities."

Mr. Gray considered her words. "Perhaps," he said, "but I have worked much too hard for it all to unravel now. Be gone from here so I may get things back on track."

"May your fates align," said Adeona.

"And yours," said Mr. Gray.

"Shove off," said Orcus. "We were here first. I intend to catch some supper. The path ahead is clear if you must have privacy."

Mr. Gray frowned. "So be it," he said. "Come." He gestured for Lewis to follow him as he wandered farther down the rocky path.

Lewis glanced over at Orcus and Adeona as he walked away. They were already focused on moving rocks out of a divot off to the side of the trail.

"Oow, that's a juicy one," said Adeona as she flung another rock aside. She quickly snatched something up—some sort of juicy grub that squirmed between her fingers. She shoved it fully into her mouth. It made a sick crunch as she munched on it.

Lewis grimaced as he turned back towards Mr. Gray. The doll-sized creature was already well ahead of him down the path. Lewis had to hustle to catch up. Mr. Gray hummed a tune to himself as he stepped gingerly across the loose rocks. Once they finally came to a stop, Lewis began to question him again. "So, Josie was helping you all along?" It was strange to think that Josie's warnings against the Parcae were all lies. He wasn't sure he believed it.

Mr. Gray nodded. "She is quite remarkable."

Lewis began to open his mouth, but Mr. Gray lifted his hand to silence him.

"No more questions," he said. "Everything becomes clear in time." Mr. Gray looked up into the sky, squinting his eyes as he scanned them back and forth. "Just over this way a little farther." He continued walking.

"Where—?" Lewis began to ask.

"—No more questions! I must be precise finding your reentry point." He wasn't the most patient of creatures.

Lewis hated it when Mr. Gray got surly. "I just want to know what's going on," he said.

Mr. Gray continued to gaze searchingly at the swirling energy overhead. "Time in the mortal realm is like a river," he explained. "When you are on Earth, you float down the river at a more or less constant pace. The current of time is too strong to swim against. It all seems very linear to you. The Beyond is like the river bank. Here, it is a simple matter to reenter the mortal realm at any point in time." Mr. Gray's eyes became fixed at a seemingly empty point in space. He abruptly reached a tiny hand into the air and produced a portal as simply as if he'd folded back the flap of a tent. Unlike the dark portals Lewis had seen on Earth whenever Mr. Gray would travel to the Beyond, light poured in through this hazy window. Mr. Gray gestured for Lewis to step through. "Breathe out as you cross—it eases the transition."

Lewis hesitated. Mr. Gray didn't wait for him; he walked straight into the opening, disappearing as he slid between realms. Lewis took a deep breath. When he tackled Mr. Gray through the other portal, he felt like he'd done a belly flop off a high dive. It knocked the wind right out of him. He knew from experience that the portal wouldn't stay open for long. He exhaled hard, emptying his lungs of as much air as possible before stepping forward. He closed his eyes as he crossed through the glowing threshold.