Jett's head felt like it was spinning as he woke up, trying to figure out where he was. Blinking against the bright light, he realized he was lying on the ground in some alleyway.

"What... where am I?" Jett muttered, as he struggled to sit up.

His head hurt with every move, and he felt dizzy. The alleyway was lined with dumpsters and graffiti-covered walls.

Jett couldn’t remember how he got there. All he could remember was that he fell of a slope, and then... nothing. It was as if he was sucked into a different world or something.

He struggled to stand up, using the alley walls to help him walk. His ankle hurt like crazy, from when he fell. He had no clue where he was or how he ended up there, but he knew he had to keep moving if he wanted to get back home.

Suddenly, he noticed something shiny on his finger. It was a strange ring. A ring unlike anything he had seen before. A transparent-silvery band decorated with strange, beautiful stones that seemed to shimmer with different colors.

"What... what is this?" Jett murmured, his fingers tracing the smooth surface of the ring.

Jett tore a piece of his shirt and tied it around his ankle, trying to ignore the pain. After that, he kept moving forward, glad to recognize the place around him when he walked out of the alley.

"Okay, I know where I am now," Jett said to himself, feeling better now that he knew where he was. But he still couldn't figure out how he ended up there in the first place.

As he made his way to a nearby bench to rest, he noticed something strange shimmering in the air, like heat waves in the distance. It was mesmerizing and it was just at the corners of his vision.

Jett was curious now.

He stood up and tried to touch it. As he touched it, his hands passed through it. It was nothing more than thin air. Yet, he felt like it was much more.

The ring on his finger suddenly started glowing blue. Jett looked at it with surprise. As it did that, the shimmer in the air became stronger and formed a sort of barrier in the air. Jett felt a strange pull urging him to step closer to the barrier.

Feeling both fear and excitement, Jett hesitantly took a step forward. And then another. Before he knew it, he had passed through the barrier, and disappeared completely.

Suddenly, Jett found himself in a vast expanse of swirling colors. He was floating with no ground beneath him. It was like something straight out of the movies and books he had watched and read, but now he was living it for real.

Jett's head was spinning as he floated in the swirling colors, trying to figure out what was going on. He couldn't stop thinking that the ring on his finger was behind his new powers.

"Okay, so I've got some kind of magic powers," Jett said to himself, his voice echoing in the empty space around him. "And it's all because of this ring."

He tried to touch the swirling colors, but his hand just went through them like they were nothing. Frowning, he pulled his hand back and looked around, trying to make sense of it all.

"This has to be some kind of pocket dimension," Jett reasoned, drawing on his knowledge of sci-fi books and movies. "And if I'm here, maybe I teleported from the slope to the alleyway."

It seemed like a far-fetched idea, but it was the only explanation that made sense. And if it was true, then he owed his powers to whatever brought him here.

Jett looked at the ring on his finger, a cold grin spread across his face. It was the smile of someone who had stumbled upon something powerful, something dangerous. But instead of feeling fear, Jett felt excitement.

"Who knows what else this ring can do?" Jett wondered in excitement.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

***

6 hours had passed since Jett entered the pocket dimension. He was taking note of his surroundings.

"Wow, these swirling colors are actually constellations," he said to himself, in wonder. "I can't believe I can recognize them all."

He traced the familiar patterns in the stars, feeling impressed by their beauty. It was like being surrounded by the night sky, but cooler than anything he'd ever seen before.

"And it looks like they're acting as landmarks," Jett continued, his excitement growing. "I could always use it to find my way around this place even better."

He made a mental note of the constellations so that he could remember their positions for future reference.

"And turns out this pocket dimension actually has an end," Jett realized, checking out the horizon. "I've gone back and forth a few times already."

Thinking about exploring it all gave him a big rush of excitement.

"But first, I need to focus on learning to teleport," Jett decided, looking at the ring on his finger. "It's like it's telling me to figure it out, to unlock everything it can do."

With his logical mind racing, Jett remembered the stuff he'd read about folding space and linking faraway spots. He closed his eyes, picturing two spots in the pocket dimension: where he was (point A) and a spot about five meters away (point B). He concentrated on folding space, imagining the distance between the two points getting shorter.

Taking a deep breath, Jett reached out his hand, feeling nervous but excited. He focused on making a fold in the space between him and point B. He imagined a bridge forming between them.

At first, nothing happened, and Jett felt a bit disappointed. Suddenly, he felt a change in the air, like a ripple in space itself. Feeling encouraged, he kept concentrating, trying to make the fold real.

Suddenly, he felt a shift, as if everything was moving around him. When he opened his eyes, he was at point B, standing right where he wanted to be. His heart raced with excitement and he grinned wide – he'd actually teleported!

Jett gave teleporting a shot a few times until he got it down, but he hit a limit at about 50 meters. Any further and he'd get a pounding headache and a nosebleed. After he wrapped up his practice, he began pondering on how he would escape the pocket dimension.

Then it hit him. Jett focused hard until his eyes flashed blue, and he saw that same shimmering barrier from before. He went through it and bam; he was back at the bench where he started. Lucky for him, nobody was around to see. Or else, people would have freaked out once they saw Jett appear from seemingly nowhere.

Looking up at the sky, Jett realized that the 6 hours he spent in the pocket dimension probably only felt like a few minutes in the real world.

Jett sighed. “I expected some old mentor to pop out of nowhere and give me a pep talk on how to use my powers right. That would’ve been fun.”

But it was nothing like that. It was just him and the ring on his finger, which he still didn’t know its origins. Jett shrugged and started walking back home.

As he approached his home, Jett's heart skipped a beat as he spotted the four bullies loitering near the entrance to his apartment building.

Jake and Sarah were chatting away, while Max kept watch – he was probably waiting for him. Mark nursed the bruise that was on his cheek, which gave Jett a bit of satisfaction.

A devilish grin spread across Jett's face as he glanced down at the ring on his finger. He felt supercharged, as if he could take on anything. However, he knew he had to keep his powers on the down low around them. He could not just reveal his powers like that or consequences could happen. It happened all the time in movies too.

"Time to be smart about this," Jett muttered to himself, digging his pockets for his keys. Luckily, they were still there so the bullies couldn’t just barge into his apartment. He had a bit of time to think.

Teleportation.

Closing his eyes, Jett focused on the sensation of teleportation he had practiced in the pocket dimension. Jett focused on folding the space between where he was currently and inside of his apartment.

Jett’s hands glowed blue and in an instant, the world around him shifted, and Jett found himself standing inside of his apartment. He couldn't help but chuckle. He had powers – power to stand up to the bullies. Power to do what he wanted.

Euphoria. Euphoria was all he felt. For the first time in forever, Jett felt like he had control over his life. He had enough power to own his life.

He peeked out the window and saw the bullies still hanging around. He figured they'd leave sooner or later.

Turning his focus to the ring on his finger, Jett decided it was time to find out more about the ring.

In his bedroom, Jett fired up his laptop and began his intensive internet research. Hours flew by as he went through forums and shady websites.

But as night fell, and he found nothing, frustration started to kick in.

"Maybe I'm doing this all wrong," Jett muttered, shutting his laptop with a sigh. He needed to work on his powers instead.

He practiced teleporting around his apartment. He was getting better with each jump.

Then came a knock at the door that interrupted his training. Normally, Jett would've felt afraid because it could have been the bullies, but not anymore. In fact, a twisted part of him hoped it was the bullies. He was itching for a chance to test his powers on someone.

Casually, Jett opened the door. Standing in front of Jett was a handsome young man that looked around Jett’s age but taller, with silvery-white hair and cold gray eyes. Jett was shocked by the silvery-white hair.

"You must be Jett. How prepared are you to die?" the young man asked in a cold and neutral tone.