The afternoon sun shone over the oak forest.

"So we're finally going back?" Ellen asked a still exhausted Liana.

She wasn't in the mood for her now. “Pretty sure…” she muttered.

She'd like to stay here for quite some time to rest and recuperate, but she knew she couldn't keep her classmates hostage for much longer. That was mainly about Ellen and Derek, because Izabel started to feel at home here. But Oranderra's reality carried on, and the world of school was still an important factor in their lives as long as there was compulsory education, and those kinds of complications of being a student in the twenty-first century. And this was already her second irregular absence from school for which she could not give any logical explanation.

Her gaze moved from Derek, who was sitting apathetically to Ellen's left, to a weary but very embarrassed Izabel to her right.

“I'd rather stay! Much more fun than school here, and also much more instructive. But I think they'll be worried at home if they don't get word soon."

She looked a little taken aback, but Derek sent her a poisonous look that silenced her. Liana almost started to think that he was also practising telepathic transfer of feelings, so heavily he projected his negative energy. But probably it was just pure coincidence. He was also without a doubt the least enthusiastic of the three, followed not too far away by Ellen, who in the meantime was a lot less under his influence but could also develop a fairly similar opinion independently of him. Liana and Izabel had come much closer together because of what they had been through at the STC factory, but that had also increased the distance with the other two.

The discussions with the stragglers had not been pleasant once they had returned from America. Apparently they still didn't have much appreciation for Nuanderra himself, and they hardly wanted to believe the stories about the Superior Tech Corp. They also seemed mad at Izabel, who got along well with the Nuanderrans and who they felt had abandoned them, a feeling Izabel had of them. And then there'd been the Akhina incident, where Liana hadn't quite understood what had happened, but at least Derek had stopped staring eagerly at anything feminine. Ellen had accused Akhina of trying to seduce her boyfriend, and got a really angry look at that, then got a really technical explanation of defence using your enemy's attack, which she hadn't been much into. And then they argued again.

Some friendships get stronger when you suddenly find yourself in another world, like with Liana and Izabel, but apparently it had the opposite effect on other people. Sometimes the circumstances you find yourself in are a test that shows what you really have in you, and what choices you make when it really matters. But Liana didn't want to be around people for whom nothing ever seemed good enough. She didn’t have the energy for nonsense like that, especially not after everything that had happened.

She had been hit by an alien weapon a few hours ago, and had seen people from different worlds fight and die after being stuck between life and death herself. Those things would haunt her for a lifetime. Compared to that, nagging classmates who didn't want to enjoy anything and to find fault with everything were a minor inconvenience that she couldn't expend too much energy on. Still, she knew that Ellen had been right about one thing: that they had to go back home eventually.

“I can't do dimension folds myself right now. We need Inaya, or at least Akhina's gate, to go back. And Inaya is still in America, and the gate is being used to clear everything there.”

She'd seen groups of Nummerfa and Drotnira pass by, and a group of Americans with their hands tied. Moreover, she knew that the council would consult her. She filled her crystal glass to the brim with spring water and then emptied it ad fundum.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“It's only a matter of time now. The Superior Tech Corp has been shut down, and a number of Nummerfa are trying to track down and destroy all Kavanderran objects outside the factory in our world, don't ask me how."

"I want to go home. Now!" said Ellen. And I want to see the news. Surely the attack on our school and our disappearance must be internationally known? And that attack on that factory?”

Liana shook her head. "I do not think so. There's probably some kind of cover-up. Before my smartphone broke, I had an answer from Izabel's mother and she had no idea what had happened. She must have contacted your parents.”

She poured another glass.

"But I can't reach anyone now because my phone is dead from that shock wave, and then there's the law of impossibility of communication between different worlds."

Derek laughed scornfully. “Ah, that cheap junk. Buy an iPhone anyway!”

Ellen didn't exactly look in his direction, but he clearly wasn't aware of it.

“I see what I can do to get us home today.” Liana finally said.

Isabel sighed in disappointment.

“An acorn cookie anyone?” She handed out a ceramic pot, but only Izabel was enthusiastic.

*

Although Ellen and Derek had wanted to get back as soon as possible, they had to wait for Inaya to get back first from America and then from the Nummerfa council meeting, which took a while. Meanwhile, Liana had gone for a walk with Izabel to enjoy nature one last time, but Ellen and Derek had stayed in the house sulking, and probably arguing too. She didn't care if instead of spending time with those two sourpuss she could see the plants and animals of this world with Izabel?

The wind played through the oaks, and they came through a clearing. A ray of light fell on the tall grass, in which sat a herd of small deer the size of a roe deer. They could easily get closer with no problem.

“Incredible, isn't it?” said Liana.

“Indeed, and that's not all, from what I've heard there are even animals that don't exist or are extinct in our world. Akhina warned us about wolves and auroks after you were gone. And the latter turn out to be huge wild bulls. Most of the animals here are friendly, but they treat people the way they treat other neutral species, and not all animals know 'neutral' as I understand it.”

Liana just said "Wow!" and then she ducked to the other side because she found orange raspberries.

They ate some raspberries and sat in the sun. High above them hovered a huge bird of prey.

"Would that be some kind of eagle?" asked Izabel.

“I have no idea what kind of species is here. Often they are not exactly the same species, but different species of the same families or genus.” Liana noted.

“Except for those rotten nettles!” said Izabel. “Oh Flying Spaghetti Monster, why are they all over all the worlds?” she added.

“They are quite tasty if they are properly prepared, have you never tried nettle soup?” Liana said, but Izabel moved the subject to another topic.

“What was that with the Flying Spaghetti Monster, by the way? He told you to say hi to me when you came back from unconsciousness?” Liana paused.

How was she supposed to explain such a thing?