Chapter 33: What on Earth!?

Being inconspicuous, not an option. One hulking brute of a man, all in black, followed by what looked like the seven dwarfs, hot happening. We did as best we could to ignore the stares of the on lookers but there is only so much a lack of acting classes can do for a boy.

We ran for cover into some shrubbery, and crouched panicking mostly. I would probably be able to escape but with this lot in toe, nope.

“Libby, Huba any ideas. Were bleeding time here before someone takes a pot shot at us. Then the game will be up for these little uns. I know they’re not your prime directive but can you do something.” I think, pleading for my AI buddies to come through with the goods.

“Well have to take them into the Shadow realm. We can’t keep jumping with them, to expensive for SP, but I can shroud them with a mana field. They will be safer, much safer there and we can just walk. And hope to goddess unnamed, that nobody is there.” Libby says back, thinking this will just have to do.

Libby popped open a portal and they squirrelled the children away, into the darkness.

Adam had not really had much of a chance to look around before. In fact just looking around gave him a feeling of mental whiplash, from all the times he had rocked through the shadow realm, at unbelievable velocities.

The children looked around wide eyed. Adam realised he hardly knew them. The oldest Ash seemed to keep them in order. They kept mostly silent poor things, no doubt traumatised by all that had happened recently in their lives.

Adam spoke in his broken Relite to Ash, “We should be safe here but we need to move on a bit to keep our location safe. In case someone is able to track us.”

They moved off in the direction Libby had marked out for Adam. A yellow pulsing circle marked his destination. Its twin in the physical realm was a café that Libby had already analysed as having no energy readings. No energy readings meant no life forms hence designated safe.

According to Libby they could stay in the shadow realm for quite some time. The walk gave Adam time to think, he wasn’t an AI after all and needed a moment or two to collect his thoughts.

He came to the conclusion that unless they could find a safe haven for the kids and soon. They would have to gate out of here. That was not ideal, Adam had hoped now back on earth that he could get find information on Sam’s whereabouts or even ‘ya know’ save some people.

But being landed with babysitting duty was rather restrictive. Even if he had landed it on himself. This whole hero thing was a bit overrated. Wasn’t he just supposed to save people then they went off back to their humdrum lives, after thanking him of course. It was no doubt a hero sub clause that he’d forgotten to read.

Libby was as usual trying things out. The space magic for the gate had worked. Yay! So that psycho Clarissa hadn’t been all bad. She just couldn’t figure her out. But really despite the time dilation inherent in the spirit realm she had no time to. More pressing matters where at hand, such as could anything she had be of use.

Libby rifled through the library of data on space magic, Clarissa had deposited with her. She had a few things to look into, moving objects at a distance like telekinesis, warping space, creating pocket dimensions. No, that was no use here. Wait, pocket dimensions, just the thing, for hiding things. Now for some testing.

With a lot of help as usual from Echo, energy was his thing. And fantastic as she was all this, well everything still felt new to her. So she enlisted his help to avoid things going bang or disappearing from existence altogether. She created her first pocket dimension, it was in physical terms about six foot by six foot, a cube. Not enough for 11 kids and 2 adults to hide in but a successful first attempt.

She had needed something in this realm to use as an anchor. Although it was possible to do it without she couldn’t figure that out right now. She got Meca to fashion a simple bag from the leather in Adam’s shoulder bag. And hey presto! a portable ,pocket dimension, storage device, was birthed. She didn’t have time to tell Adam about it and just continued with her work.

Huba and Echo were keeping a suspicious look out for any unusual energies that might indicate someone entering the shadow realm. They were also looking around in general in case there were any denizens of this place, hostile or not.

Quest completed, Libby said to herself as her next attempt made a pocket dimension that was 128 feet long and 12 foot high. A room that she hoped they could be comfortable in. In took a whole bunch of spirit energy. She made an anchored from the material they had on hand.

Adam felt it appear around his neck. Ok, Libby had got good with space magic, he thought. It was a braided leather strap with chunk of bone, fashioned into a key. He hoped he’d guess right about what it was.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Is this what I think it is?” said Adam.

“Visualise something or someone close to you. Then think pocket2 or maybe you can think of a better name. And whatever it is will be transferred to this pocket dimension. It should fit these kids, that guy and even you easily enough.” said Libby proudly.

“Though at the moment I haven’t figured out how to send you all there. Unless the key is left in the physical realm which seems kind of risky. If the key is destroyed, currently I don’t know how to get you back.” Libby Added hastily.

“Um, it’s just bone though. What if I break it anyway, in a fight or by accident? Won’t that trap everyone in the pocket dimension?” Said Adam questioningly.

“Well, its our first creation but that bone and even the strap should be pretty hard to break. They are both much harder than steel. We have interwoven a whole load of energy into their construction. In fact we need to think about finding more energy before this mission is over.” Libby said thoughtfully.

Adam wasted no time telling their small band of adventurers, the good news! He sent Thawain in first, following Libby’s instructions. He had thought of a few commands he had thought of ‘Open sesame’ being one on the list. But he knew he needed something quick to think. So in the end he just decided on Libby speeding the whole thing up. He was quite proud of the idea as it was one of the few that he had come up without any AI help. He would just visualise a magician top hat, when he wanted them to disappear. And a rabbit when he wanted them to reappear.

He visualise Thawain coming out of a hat. He appeared seemingly known the worse for wear physically but was a bit shaken up all the same.

“It dark prison” were the words Adam could make out from him.

“Anything you can do about that?” said Adam hopefully. No point putting them in their if they came out psychotic wrecks. Kind of defeated the purpose.

“I could project a wall paper of sorts into the pocket dimension. This will mean it will appear that they are somewhere else. Of course if they venture to the edges they will meet a solid barrier.” Libby said pondering.

“And what about objects? Ah I guess I can send some things in.” Adam thought he ideas popping today.

Time for some house warming presents, Adam thought.

They phased into the darkened interior of the café. Holding their collective breaths, they surveyed the confined space. Chairs and tables, ideal. Adam ported them into his top hat dimension. Next, he realised he’d done things in the wrong order, brought the things out again, and tried again.

He tried to send in the floor but it only broke of in separate sections. Something to ask Libby about. But before he could, Libby intervened. The floor beneath their feet rapidly disappeared, floorboards vanishing in rapid succession. Next tables and chairs.

Adam was curious. He knew it should be the last thing on his mind but it wasn’t. What did it look like in there?

“Is it possible for me to take a peek?” He asked.

An image of a quite spacious scene of a park on a sunny day, tables, chairs and floorboards! Appeared in his mind’s eye. Ok, I’m sure she can fix that later, right now we need to get these kids safe.

After the previous experience Adam thought to get Thawain to prep the kids before journeying into this phantom realm. They vanished and Libby allowed Adam a view of them inspecting their new surroundings, they seemed fine. They even started putting their packs down on the floor and sitting down on the chairs. He had forgotten the little blighters had been carrying their provisions all this time.

Adam poked around to find: cutlery, table clothes, napkins, water bottles and that would have to do for now. Now to venture out, or wait till dark? Maybe it was better to go now, news of strangers in the park might have already spread. Time to move again. He entered the shadow realm again and walked until he reached some court buildings on the outside of the park.

He then kept moving from empty property to empty property. Finding a department store, he had hit the jackpot. There was no one on this level and it turned into a shopping expedition. Although some of the shop had clearly been raided there were quite a few things left in stock. And as the children had no idea about earth fashion he just needed to get the right sizes for them.

Once they were all stocked up on things and as it had got dark by now. Adam thought it time to head out and at least have a peek at today’s earth.

Outside was just a bit more grimy than he’d remembered and maybe a few more burnt out cars and broken windows than before, hard to tell. He walked along the street, senses on full alert. Keeping in the shadows, was not a problem as there was clearly no electricity. A cloudy night would have been perfect but unfortunately, the moon shone down brightly on the scene.

Along the way there were plenty of energy signals that could have been friend or foe but he wasn’t in a position to help anyone yet, not at least without a plan. This would mean he needed to do a little investigating to see what the current state of play was. Now it was dark he made it to higher and higher ground. Shadow jumping across the rooftops.

When he found them it wasn’t through any energy signals, they were quite a distance away. It was the noise that gave humanity away. He could he thousands upon thousands of people shouting. Not like at a football match but one voice overlaying another until it was almost like a hum, the hum of a million bumble bees that is.

They were at and around Hyde Park, there was no traffic and the people were packed into every street. He watched from his vantage point on the nearest building he could find, a hotel. Were they fighting? Dying?

He was as usual saved by his AI crew, who were able to isolate the thousands of separate sounds and conversations.

“The humans are being processed by the different factions here.” Libby said matter-of-factly.

It was true they were queuing, slowly moving towards hundreds of erected plastic marquees, in the park.

“Processed for what?” I said highly ignorant, of matters of the multi-verse.

“To decide whether to enlist them to the system or take them for work, under the faction’s jurisdiction.” Libby reported.

“Ok, this was much more civilised than he’d thought it would be. Although seeing them like cattle was not pleasant to watch.” Adam pondered deliberating what he should or could do.

Then the night was lit up, to the south west of the park. And the night was filled with screams. Adam raced over to buildings on that side, making a circular root around the park. People were on fire. Lit up like a hundred yule logs. That explained why the people were happy to queue, so willingly, despite it not being black Friday.