Kayden sat on the edge of the world, his legs hanging onto infinity.

He balanced them back and forth, staring down at the clouds below and wondering what lay beyond. If it were for him he’d stay that way forever. Occasionally, a cloud would smile up at him, which never failed to make him laugh. The bench he was on was firmly grounded on the edge, so he didn’t worry.

“Hey, Kayden, check this out!” a girl’s voice called out to him.

Lauren. She was twelve already –Kayden still had a little while to go. Walking back and forth on the rim of a thick planter box, she had Kayden a little nervous. If she were to slip, she’d probably fall over the edge and into the sea of clouds.

Lauren went on to stand on the tip of her right foot with a smile and attempt a spin, like some sort of elaborate dancer from old tales. Kayden gasped, fearing the worst, but fortunately she did manage to pull off the move. She looked back at him with a grin.

“I’ve been practicing spinning,” she said. “It’s a good skill.”

“You probably shouldn’t be doing that,” Kayden protested. “It’s dangerous! What if you failed?”

“Well, then you’d rescue me,” Lauren replied with a shrug.

“Unbelievable!” Kayden said. “I, uh, you know… You have to be more careful!”

Lauren remained silent for a moment. “...But did you find the spin cool?”

Kayden sighed. “Yeah, it was cool. I was, uh, amazed to see you pull it off. Just… try not to do it so close to the edge next time.”

Lauren laughed. “Yes, sir!”

A bell rang out with several wide tinkles from somewhere, and Kayden and Lauren looked at each other with surprise.

“It’s that late already?!” Kayden asked.

“We should probably get going,” Lauren nodded. “If we hurry we may still catch the dragon and arrive on time.”

Kayden nodded, and jumping to his feet, started running, with Lauren following close behind, towards the center of the massive island-city that was their world. ‘Skyland.’

They left behind Edge Garden One in pretty good time, rushing into the city itself as the sun finished rising and the Skyland began its day.

“Kayden, Lauren!” a fat and lovable man called out to them from a second-floor window as they ran by. “Late to school again, are you? Take this, you’ll need the energy!”

With that, the fat and lovable man dropped two big chunks of bread from above, and Kayden and Lauren caught one each as they ran. The two of them thanked him in a hurry as they continued forward.

Crossing the streets, they could see windows and doors opening up as everyone began functioning. Some citizens would chuckle at their rush, some would scold them for their tardiness. But, whatever the case, they didn’t get by unnoticed.

Turning a corner they split up, Kayden heading to his house to get his school supplies and Lauren going to hers for the same thing. Kayden entered the silent two-floor building in a sprint, grabbing the Mimicker that he used as pen and a bottle of water.

“You ready, Tham?” he called out to the second floor.

Tham, Kayden’s little brother, yawned. “I’m coming!”

“Well, hurry!” Kayden said. From somewhere down the street he could hear roaring. “The dragon’s almost here!”

Eight-year-old Tham hurried down the stairs with his small backpack just as the dragon stopped on their door. Kayden grabbed his own backpack with the Mimicker and other supplies, holding Tham’s hand as they rushed towards the dragon. They got to it just in time, hopping on the long red creature’s back right as it started on his way again.

“Hello, children!” the dragon greeted them.

“Hello, Haroken!” Kayden and Tham said.

Everyone else was atop Haroken the dragon’s back already. Lauren, Bakor, Merdilen, and Hassah. Kayden and Tham greeted them happily as Haroken the dragon ran towards the school. Neighbors and others waved their hands at them as they crossed the city, and they arrived on time.

They split up on the big tower that was the school. Kayden, Lauren, and Bakor were on the same class. Merdilen was a few years older, so his class was on a higher floor, and Tham and Hassah, the smaller ones, were together on a lower one. Mr. Chafter, their teacher, greeted them as the three entered the classroom and sat along the other kids.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The class felt incredibly long to Kayden, and, honestly, he didn’t really pay attention to most that was said. He was usually one of the top students, but something was off today. He didn’t quite know what.

Lauren was shifting in her seat throughout the whole period, too. She approached Kayden quickly as the lunchtime bell rang.

“Hey, Kayden,” she started in a conspirational tone.

Kayden pursed his lips. “What are you up to now, Lauren?”

“I’ve got an idea. Let’s check out the basement.”

“Again with that?” Kayden said. “This is, like, the fifth time you propose that this week. You know Mr. Chafter said no. We can’t.”

“But…” Lauren sighed. “Well, then. …I’ll go alone. I won’t force you to come, but don’t tell on me, Kayden. I’ll know.”

“Hey!” Kayden called out as she walked away looking disappointed. She didn’t look back.

Kayden stayed in the classroom as his classmates left for the cafeteria. He bit his lip. He knew there was no stopping Lauren on times like these. The question was whether he should follow her or not.

Was he willing to risk his own clean slate to keep Lauren out of trouble?

Kayden sighed. The stuff he did for her.

He quickly set out straight for the door that read ‘Basement,’ at the far end of a side hall in the first floor. He practically ran down the stairs, which was another thing Mr. Chafter always said not to do. And just in time. Kayden found Lauren reaching out to open the tall door right at that moment, and she turned to look at him in surprise.

“You came,” she said.

Kayden looked away. “Someone’s got to keep you out of trouble.”

Lauren smiled, and then opened the door. Beyond it, it was dark. Pitch-black. They could see the beginning of stairs heading down, but no more.

A torch lit up on each end of the first step.

Kayden and Lauren looked at each other.

“Did you do that?” Kayden asked her.

“No. Did you?” Lauren asked back.

Kayden shook his head.

“...Well, let’s get moving,” she shrugged. “We probably haven’t long.”

They started walking down the stairs. Kayden was extremely nervous, but he went along anyway. Somehow, there seemed to be no walls here. None that they could see, at least. They could stretch out their small arms over the side and touch nothing. Emptiness seemed to stretch on forever to the sides, forward, and even upwards.

They continued down the stairway in silence, torches lighting up on each step alongside them.

What… is this? Kayden asked to himself. What on Earth?

It was several minutes later that they reached, at the bottom of the stairs, a door, identical to the one upstairs. Just as the stairway, it seemed to be floating in the void.

Lauren looked at Kayden.

“Can you, uh, open the door this time?” she asked with a slight quiver.

Kayden hesitated, but then breathed in deeply, and opened the door.

Bright light shone upon them from the other side. Kayden blinked several times, trying to get used to it after the darkness.

Both of them gasped.

It was the deep, blue sky. Below the clouds. The sun was setting upon the world. They could see… something new. Hills. Mountains. Rivers. All the fairy tale elements they’d so much heard about. Reaching out slightly and looking up, they could see the clouds, and beyond them the shapes of what had to be the Skylands. Had they really came down so much?

Lauren was looking at the world below as if hypnotized.

“It’s beautiful…” she whispered. “Could you imagine… having a life down there?”

Kayden looked at her.

“I want to get to know the world,” she said.

Kayden pursed his lips. “I’m afraid there’s no way of getting down there. It’s unreachable for us.”

Lauren stared at him. “Then I’ll push the Skylands down so we can meet that wonderful world.”

Kayden’s heart sank. “No. You can’t. The Skylands are up here, and that world is down there. You can’t change that. That’s how it’s always been.”

“Then I’ll destroy the Skylands if need be. I will give us a life down there, Kayden.”

Kayden was hurting. “No. That’s… That’s not right.”

Then, a shout from above. It was Mr. Chafter. He’d found them.

“Kids!” he called at them from afar with a shaky voice. “You’ve opened the Last Door! You’ve ruined the balance. You’ve destroyed the world!”

“...What?” Kayden asked. “That doesn’t make sense. None of this makes sense!”

The Skylands started shaking with a loud rumble.

“The Skylands are falling, Kayden,” Mr. Chafter said coldly. “And it’s your fault.”

The shaking got so intense Kayden and Lauren weren’t able to hold their footing any longer.

Lauren slipped over the edge of the world, falling down into infinity.

And, without missing a beat, Kayden jumped down after her too.

I’ll protect you, Lauren, he thought to himself as he reached out through the sky towards the falling girl. But she was falling faster than him. Could he really reach her like this?

Everything hurt. Kayden started falling faster. Faster, faster. Way too fast. Completely out of control. Down into infinity.

– – –

Kayden woke up between gasps. He was crying. Lauren was nowhere to be seen.