Prologue
"Come on guys! You're so slow!" Wesley yelled as she ran across the sand. Her brothers, Mark and Matthew followed behind her, both red in the face and out of breath. It didn't matter how much they all exercised; the three had run farther and faster than they ever thought possible.
"How much farther?!" yelled Matthew. It seemed as though they had run the entire length of the river they were running beside. It was the mighty Ohio River; very wide and extremely long. It almost seemed to be endless.
"Just focus on how amazing it will be to get there!" yelled Mark in an attempt to encourage his siblings. Being the oldest, Mark felt a certain obligation to his younger siblings, a responsibility. He had to be the optimist, the glass-half-full kind of guy; especially when his siblings weren't. He was the model, the example, and, in some occasions-the mediator.
It was nothing short of a miracle that Wesley slowed down right when they were about to collapse. She turned around and grinned at her brothers who were exhausted. Matthew dropped and sat on the ground while Mark bent over with his hands on his knees, both gasping for air. Matthew glared at Wesley as she shifted from foot to foot, waiting for them to regain their strength and composure. She stood by what looked like a cave that opened under a mountain of trees. At the bottom of the opening, a small stream broke from the river and ran into the cove. Matthew pondered why she would be so excited about it, and then turned to wonder how she even came upon this place at all.
"How did you even get this far down the river to find this place?" Matthew questioned. Wesley shifted and looked down, hesitant to answer.
"I never have really. I saw it on a website and I wanted to come see if it was real." She mumbled. Wide eyed, Mark stood straight up and Matthew jumped to his feet.
"You-what? Sis, you dragged us out here and you didn't even-"
"Well it's here. Isn't that all that matters?" Wesley said quickly to try to stop Matthew. "Can't we just please look at it? We came all this way."
"We came all this way because you dragged us to see something 'unbelievable!'" Matthew yelled.
"Shew." Mark whispered. He used Matthew's nickname they had since they were little, trying to calm the situation. He looked at his baby sister, who was begging them to indulge her. He didn't know why she wanted this so badly, but he felt that he needed to support her until he figured it out later. "Why don't we just go look at it. We did come all this way." Matthew stared at his brother, stunned. Slowly, he unhinged his locked jaw and sighed.
"Fine, but we walk back." He begrudgingly agreed. Wesley giggled and nodded excitedly.
"I promise! I just really want to see what's inside." She rambled.
"I thought you hated water and everything in it." Matthew joked as they walked into the mouth of the cove. His siblings laughed and looked around the beginning of the bay. Wesley pulled on her leather jacket, feeling the chill of the water and the cove. She looked around with her siblings in awe.
"Ohh, it's beautiful." She admired, watching purple and blue waves dance on the walls. The water in the stream beside them was perfectly clear. A bright blue almost seem to glow. The more the three walked through the cove, the stranger they seemed to feel.
"Sis, how did you find out about this place?" Mark pressed, fighting the urge to demand they turn around. It was the like the feeling a dog gets when there's bad weather. Or the feeling a mother gets for her children. It was instinctual, and it was growing.
Wesley bit her lip, trying to figure out a way to answer. It was a nervous reflex. One that she hoped neither of her brothers could see. She had found it just rummaging through the internet. But as they walked through the cave, she silently wished they hadn't. It wasn't that the cove wasn't worth finding, no. It was beautiful. It was peaceful with the water quietly lapping. But in the back of her mind-in the back of all their minds-it was quiet. Eerily quiet. The three were too busy looking at each other from the corner of their eyes that they missed what looked like the end of the cave.
There was a dark spot in front of them. Matthew squinted trying to figure out what he was looking at. Mark stayed back behind his brother and sister, attempting to protect them in some way. Wesley played with her hair and glanced around to see what else was on the wall. She was looking around to see, anything. She saw Mark behind her, standing like a bouncer and smiled a little. Big brother, she mused, like to see anything scary take on a big brother. Matthew continued squinting until he finally saw a shape. He walked closer until he couldn't see his brother or sister anymore. Unfortunately, he also couldn't see the object anymore.
"Shew? Where'd you go? Shew!" Mark called.
"Calm down, I'm coming back." Matthew responded, appearing back before them. "Do you guys have your phones?" Mark and Wesley looked at him and back to each other confused, but obliged. "Good, good-come with me." Mark and Wesley followed him. "I think if we used our flashlights we'll be able to tell what's ahead." Wesley caught up quickly and grabbed a fistful of her oldest brother's green jacket sleeve. Mark smiled in spite of himself; knowing that she was frightened; even as an adult. She needed him to reassure her. He knew this and he smiled, happy to be her strength.
The three journeyed further into the void, rolling their lights across the walls. The air was icy behind them, and only chilled more as their path went on. The water lapped beside them quietly, being pushed by the same mysterious force that wrapped around the three siblings. Wesley glanced around cautiously, her hair standing up on the back of her neck. She was permanently jittery; partly from having many fears and not liking to be scared, the other part from friendly family pranks. She kept her light low, fighting the image of all the possible monster attacks that could happen unexpectedly. She wasn't prepared to fight; nor was she ready to see her brothers in immediate danger. Her entire body shuddered as they progressed, her knees weak and her tugging heart pounding. She hunched, heavy with guilt. If anything were to happen, or if for some reason they couldn't return to the mouth of the cove, it was all on her. Barely an adult, Wesley wasn't yet equipped with what was needed to handle the potential consequence of her actions. She mentally cursed herself, already expecting the worst. It was a completely moronic idea to drag her brothers to a place they knew nothing about-just for the sake of doing it. There was no adventure involved, no buried treasure: no tourists pictures of how magically beautiful the cave was. The place carried no attraction at all; yet for some reason, it drew Wesley right in. And where she went, she was sure to drag her brothers. She understood if her brothers were swearing against her for bringing them out to the middle of nowhere-especially when it seemed they made need someone to come save them. She turned and watched her brothers in an attempt to take her mind off her haunting monsters.
Matthew looked irked, but not alarmed. The way he carried himself made it seem that the survey of the place was tedious, but not dangerous. His brown hair looked considerably darker now as it hung in front of his eyes. Wesley smiled; it was Matthew's tendency to let it get scraggly before a haircut was due. In his mind, the longer it was the harder it was to make a mistake. Little snip by little snip made sure his hair would always come out looking right. Her brothers always had their plans, even over the smallest matters such as hairs. Wesley tried to find comfort in that; if they always had opinions and strategies, they had to have one now, when it was most needed.
Mark looked more alert than Matthew, but no more stressed or worried over the cove. He held his light straight ahead most of the time, making sure to keep an eye on what was before them. Occasionally, when Matthew turned his light to look forward, Mark would turn his behind the group to see if anyone or anything had advanced behind them. It was the only sign to Wesley that he was on his toes for whatever may happen. Satisfied, she stifled the pictures in her head of the monsters attacking to look around the inlet more and be of more help. She decided to turn it against the walls. Everything was so dark, it was possible that the cove turned at one point, or hiding an opening they didn't think of.
Instead, Wesley found scrapes against the walls in odd shapes and lines. Not straight lines, but jagged and uneven. It had appeared to be as if something large and rough scraped against the wall for a long way until the lines finally began to form something. The scrapes and lines turned smooth to curves and shapes. It looked so familiar, Wesley knew she had seen it somewhere before. She walked towards the marks on the walls and studied them further. From them, she recognized easily a star outline attached to a person with another person empty handed on the other side. They were sharing, the two people on the wall. It made Wesley smile to see. The picture couldn't have been made by anyone older than a child. It was sloppy and simple-and only came up to her chest. She stared at it, letting it burn into her mind as she tried to remember just where she had seen it. Two people, she thought, one star. Two kids, one star…!
"Of course," Wesley rasped, "Of course!" she grinned as she remembered, turning to get her brothers' attention when Matthew spoke quickly.
"Guys! Guys, look at this." He tried not to yell as to not scare his family, but he could not hide his shock. Mark and Wesley turned to see Matthew standing in front of a tall, odd, misplaced-
"Door?" Mark gaped: in front of the siblings, stood a towering door of dark wood with a gold trim tracing its frame. Beside the trim were stars spaced around the door's edge. It was plain, simple; yet still eerie. It was the placement of the door that was haunting: daring. To have to be searched for and sought after made the door seem dangerous-maybe having an air of adventure after all. Matthew smirked, feeling accomplished that it was his idea for the three to use their lights to find it. Mark stared at the door, wondering if they trespassing on someone's property.
"Let's open in it!" Matthew eagerly proposed.
"Are you crazy?" Mark protested, "This could be someone's house!"
"In the middle of a cove?" Matthew countered, "Who would do that?"
"Does it matter who? Obviously this door goes somewhere and I don't want us all to get arrested because of your curiosity!"
Wesley watched her brothers argue back and forth about whether or not the trip was worth the trouble. She couldn't decide who was right. One the one hand, Mark was right; they could walk right into someone's house. On the other, she was with Matthew; she was curious to know what stood behind that door. For reasons even her brothers didn't know at the moment. And how could she tell them what she thought? It all seemed too coincidental; as if someone obsessed made everything look just right, or children came here and played, pretending that it was all real. Either way, all she could do was watch until it seemed she needed to intervene.
"Um, guys?" she quietly murmured, "I think you should look at this." She turned her light onto the wall for her brothers to see. Mark recognized the drawings immediately and walked over to the wall to feel them, to see if the wall was actually there. Matthew, who didn't seem to grasp what the sketches seem to be, watched his siblings carefully; hoping one of them would elaborate on the significance soon.
"These look just like the one's from the game." Mark observed, running his hand over the star shape. "And it's right by the door…" Wesley nodded carefully, not wanting to say anything to annoy her brothers. The air was thick with tension between Mark fighting what his mind was telling him, and Matthew growing irritated that his brother and sister wouldn't share what they were thinking. It wasn't long before he had enough.
"Will one of you just tell me what you're talking about?" he snapped. Wesley and Mark turned immediately to Matthew, surprised looks on their faces.
"Don't you get it?" Wesley responded, still sounding puzzled.
"Obviously not, or I wouldn't have asked." Matthew growled. Mark walked towards Matthew, trying to close the distance so that he could speak low and calm.
"Shew, doesn't this remind you of something? A certain game maybe?" He questioned, trying to lead him in the right direction. Matthew stared back at his brother, trying to follow his lead-but struggling. He walked past Mark over to his sister and the cave drawing to attempt to see what they saw.
"A door," He rambled to himself, "a door with stars, in the middle of a cave. With a drawing of two people holding a star….a star…" Suddenly, his voice caught as he sucked in a breath. In his mind, something clicked. The shape wasn't just a star, it was a star fruit. He finally realized where they all three had seen this all before. He turned to face his siblings, wearing an expression of total disbelief. "Kingdom Hearts? That's what you're thinking of? The game Kingdom Hearts?" he asked, his voice echoing across the narrow path.
"Think about it, Shew," said Mark, attempted to calm his brother down, "It's all just a little too convenient to be together like this."
"It could have been made for fun," Wesley offered. "But all the same, I think we should open the door to make sure." She took hold of her hands tightly, nervous of her brothers' reaction. None of them seemed as irritated or tried as they did before, but they all looked and felt tense about their current situation. After a while, Matthew finally broke the silence.
"Wesley's right. We should just open it." Mark stared at his brother, trying to find a place to stand. He couldn't let his siblings open the door and intrude on whoever was behind it. But if there was a wall behind the door, then they could all finally leave the cove and their fears behind them. And even if they barge into someone's home, they could leave with the assurance that it would be an honest mistake.
"Alright." He said shortly after a few minutes of thought. Satisfied, Matthew walked quickly over to the door, feeling it to find the doorknob, and pulled. And strained. As hard as he could, Matthew tugged onto the doorknob to try to make it open. Then he used both hands, using so much of his strength he should have pulled the handle off the door in any normal circumstance. He grunted until finally, his hands slipped and he staggered backwards.
"Damn," he muttered, "it must be stuck." Mark snorted a laugh and stepped in front of his brother.
"Let me try," he taunted. Mark rubbed his hands together, pretending to get ready for a strength challenge. He took the handle as any person would normally, turned it, and pulled lightly. There was some truth to Matthew's story-it did seem stuck. Mark tugged harder; still no movement. Assuredly irked, Mark pulled with all the anger he had within him. Just as his younger brother, Mark slid off the knob and stumbled back into Matthew. "Alright, I admit it-that thing's not budging." Mark chewed his words, sounding as if his pride was bruised by the defeat.
"We should see if Wesley could get it," Matthew said jokingly, trying to help his brother lick his wounds. Mark laughed along with his brother forcefully, but agreed.
"Yeah, Sis, go ahead and try it." Mark suggested. But their sister wasn't listening. Wesley was past listening to them. They didn't notice that she hadn't moved or said anything since they began trying to open the door. They didn't see that she was just staring ahead, staring past them. Wesley stood, staring straight at the door, not saying a word. Her face was calm and blank- frighteningly so. The moment Matthew touched the door, Mark and Matthew lost their sister. While she gazed on the door, Wesley saw something more than just wood. From the door, a blue halo danced around its edges, pulsing. She saw it respond to her own heartbeat, moving as fast or slow as her heart did. The light around the door was so bright; it almost illuminated the entire cove. She could see her brothers as easily as she did when saw them out by the river. The light was warm, inviting. Nothing about their location seemed haunting as long as the halo stayed. It grew stronger and stronger; a reassuring comfort to her. Soon, with the light came a whisper. Come...it called. Come…
Wesley obeyed. There was no reason to argue with the light. It was there for the three siblings. The least she could do was listen and follow.
"Sis?" Mark asked quietly, a little nervous about his sister's behavior. When she didn't reply, he looked over at Matthew for suggestions, ideas, or anything that could possibly help. They watched their sister as she slowly crept forward, still not looking at either of them. "Whoa!" Mark exclaimed, taking his sister's arm, trying to keep from moving any farther. "What are you doing? Wesley! Answer me!"
Still, Wesley didn't answer. It wasn't that she couldn't hear her brothers; she could hear them saying something, but everything in her mind was slowed. She couldn't focus on her brothers with the light shining so bright in her face. She couldn't pay attention to anyone but the voice coming from the door, raspy and calling to her. Matthew, fully spooked as this point, grabbed his baby sister and shook her hard.
"WESLEY!" he screamed.
"OW!" Wesley shrieked in reply, throwing her arm out to hit anything near her. It was an instinct she developed when she was young; whenever she was hit, she immediately hit back with no thought or worries for consequences. She blinked and looked around, the cavern suddenly pitch black. She felt the panic creep up her spine, goose bumps rising and tingling in preparation. "M-Mark? M-M-Matthew?" she stammered, feeling tears prick at her eyes.
"Ssh, we're here, baby sister." Mark said soothingly, reaching out and taking her hand. Biting back the tears, Wesley sniffed and gripped at her brother's hand.
"I'm so sorry, I just-everything was so bright and now I can't see you and I don't know what happened." She struggled to apologize through the words, rambling fast before the knot in her throat took over.
"Wes…" Matthew started cautiously, "It's always been dark in here. There was never any light." Wesley whipped her head around, blinking quickly trying to find her brother. She had no luck finding her own hand in the dark, let alone either of her brothers.
"But you're wrong. I saw the light coming from the door. And I heard-"
"Light?"
"Heard what?" The two brother's spoke at once and Wesley nibbled on her lip once more. She knew she needed to explain. The reality was sinking in that her brothers never saw what she saw. And she began to question if it was real. Instead of answering, she blurted out a proposal.
"Let me open the door." Her brothers stared back at her, stunned. Her voice wasn't shaking or slurred with fear. Her voice was calm, determined-confident. Mark and Matthew exchanged glances, still frightened at what happened to their sister. They both fought the urge to press her for more details, accepting that they could do that later. They both nodded to each other and took one of their sister's hand in theirs, leading her to the door.
"If there is a house on the other side, we apologize and we leave immediately. Are we clear on that?" Mark demanded. Matthew and Wesley murmured their promises, anxious to see if the door would open or not. Mark's statement gave Wesley a confidence she didn't know she needed. Mark didn't question if the door would open, but rather would be on the other side of that door. It was a gut belief in her, and she was happy to have it.
She squeezed her brothers' hands tightly as she stared at the door, hoping that what she saw would make sense later. Unafraid, she released their hands and took a deep breath. Slowly, she lifted her hands and pressed them against the door.
Immediate warmth rushed through her. The familiar warmth she had felt just moments before, confirming that what she had seen was real. The black cave grew brighter and brighter, until there was nothing but blue surrounding her. Wesley turned in circles, panicking. What's happening?! She thought, looking down at her feet, still seeing blue instead of the black ground she was just standing on.
"I knew you could do it." A voice rang. Wesley gasped, circling again to find the source. In the corner of her eye, she saw red. When she was spinning, and when she wasn't; she saw flashes of red.
"What do you want from me? Where's my family?!" she yelled back. The voice laughed, as raspy as when it called to her.
"That feeling, that burn? Get used to it. You'll need it." It taunted.
"Shut up! Shut up and tell me who you are-where you are-and what do you want?!" Wesley was in full panic mode, feeling pushed to her limits. The laughter abruptly stopped. The blue fell silent for what seemed to be an hour's worth of time. Finally, the voice answered; this time more calm and dominant.
"Axel." Was all it said.
"Axel? What does that mean?" Wesley felt more confused, thinking it may have been a waste to ask it any questions at all.
"The name's Axel…got it memorized?"
"Wesley! WESLEY WAKE UP!" Mark's cry pierced through Wesley's dreams, violently shaking her awake. She gasped, clawing at the air and trying to find a way to breathe. His shout didn't echo like it did before; it didn't vibrate. Matthew and Mark sat quietly, both having one of her hands in each as before, waiting her to calm down from the shock. Slowly, her breaths started to slow and cycle evenly. Wesley blinked and opened her eyes, shocked by the brightness of the room around them. It looked exactly like the blue place she just came or awoke from-except it was all white. There was a floor they seemed to be sitting on it. But the cave they knew was gone forever as far as they could see. A knot tightened once again in Wesley's throat.
"What…what have I done?!" she wailed, throwing her hands up to cover her face. I destroyed everything. We're dead…
"You opened the door between the worlds." A new voice rang. It was deep and smooth; monotone and missing all feeling. The three turned to see a hooded figure wearing a black robe. There were silver chains connected to it, dangling off the hood. Mark immediately jumped to his feet, his responsibility to his family kicking in.
"Who are you?!" he demanded.
"This world is connected," the man continued, not paying attention to Mark's demands. Matthew helped Wesley to her feet and held on to her tightly. Even as an adult, she was their baby sister and they would protect her.
"What are you talking about? Do you see any worlds? Any connections?" Matthew called back.
"Tied to the darkness…soon to be completely eclipsed." The man replied. The three were growing irritated by the hooded figure, confused through the fear and the adrenaline. Even the weeping sister in her brother's arms became tired of the stranger.
"Look whoever you are, stop! Can't you see you're freaking her out?!" Mark took a step forward, fighting the urge to hit the stranger. They had all three been working out together, but this hooded man looked stronger than all three of them; and it didn't seem likely that he would fight fair anyway.
"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door." The hooded man never moved, never looked in a different direction.
"What..?" Wesley whispered, afraid that talking may give her fear away. At this, the man turned his head to appear to look directly at her.
"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little." At this remark, the three had finally had enough.
"Listen, you!" Wesley snapped, "how about telling us instead of insulting us! We would understand if you would talk like a normal person!" Matthew gripped his sister tighter, fighting whatever unpredictable move she was about to make. The hooded man scoffed.
"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing."
"Hey!" It was Matthew's turn to lose his temper. But as soon as the three blinked, the hooded man was gone.
"Who was that guy?" Wesley asked, shivering from the overwhelming fright. Mark walked back towards his siblings.
"I don't know you guys, but didn't that seem familiar to you?" Mark asked. Matthew and Wesley looked back and him and tried to think. It felt like they had heart it all before, but not the way they just did. Something was off.
"He seemed like he wasn't listening to a word we said," Matthew replied, "like he was on autopilot." Mark's eyes widened, making a connection.
"Or he was following a script?" He said carefully, slowly; making sure his family swallowed every word. Wesley nodded quickly, understanding at once.
"Just like the game!" she exclaimed. Wesley stopped quickly, wanting to ask the question they were all thinking but too afraid to do so. Matthew swallowed hard, knowing it was his turn to speak.
"But why did it happen to us this way? Why didn't it happen like the way it was in the game?" Mark shook his head. Knowing what would happen after what he said next.
"I don't know guys, but I have a feeling something big is coming."
It was like a cue. After the words left Mark's mouth, the three felt the ground shake. Wesley cried out in fear and they all grabbed for each other.
"What's happening?!" she cried, the tears rolling freely down her cheeks.
"I think you know what's happening," Mark replied gravely.
"Sis, you know it's going to be okay-you have to calm down," said Matthew in an attempt to sooth his sobbing sister. It was no use, Wesley was going into hysterics. She gasped for air, trying to fight her brothers' grasp to grab at her own throat and chest.
"Wesley! Look at me!" Mark demanded. Wesley looked at Mark, hiccupping between sobs and violently shaking her head. "Calm down. Breathe, you know what's coming." Mark warned. And he was right. She did know what was coming. She knew when the ground began to shake; she just didn't want to believe it.
Just as predicted, a pool of darkness appeared around the three siblings. Wesley screamed once more, trying to move her feet to run. The darkness broke off into whip-like lines and wrapped itself around their legs. "MARK! MATTHEW!" Wesley shrieked.
"Hold onto us!" Matthew yelled over her cries.
"DO NOT LET GO OF US. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?! WE WILL BE OKAY!" Mark screamed to his brother and sister. Wesley gripped her brother's wrists tighter as she wailed. The darkness made its way up their torsos and slowly up to their necks. "Just close your eyes Wesley! Breath and close your eyes-and DO NOT LET G-"
But they were already under the darkness.