Chapter 1
5:03 p.m. our world
A lonely autumn wind wound its way through the vacant park leaving a swirling trail of dead leaves in its wake and caused the swings on the swing set to slowly sway back and forth. Zoe Ishikawa just stared blankly ahead not registering the movement. She was just too sad. The surrounding scenery didn't seem to share her feelings though. The sky was a magnificent shade of dark blue with perfectly complimented the various colors of orange and yellow of the oak trees and still green grass. Blanketing it all was rich golden sunlight. It was a very beautiful day but it didn't change anything. It couldn't diminish the grief Zoe was experiencing. She shifted her sight to a photograph resting in her lap. In it a dark-skinned woman beamed up at her with bright brown eyes curly brown hair falling in her face with a big smile. A sob welled up in her chest. 'Mom.' she thought agonized.
She still couldn't believe or accept that her mother, the woman who had been so full of life and had always had a sparkle in her eye was gone forever taken in a senseless and cruel drive-by shooting. That had been two months ago and Zoe's life was still in the process of falling apart. Her grades were slipping, her father had slipped into a deep depression that he couldn't seem to free himself of and worst of all bullies seemed to be getting even more heartless than sensitive and emphatic. Zoe had always been teased for being the daughter of an African American woman and the fact that her dad was half-Japanese himself didn't help.
To the non-biased eye Zoe was actually a very attractive teenage girl. Her skin was a rich healthy brown and she had long sweeping midnight hair and delicate dark eyes that reflected her Asian ancestry. While not slim years of gymnastics had left Zoe with a well- muscled figure. However, many of her peers refused to look past her racial background and to make matters worse Zoe was very shy and had always had difficult time talking to other people and making friends. Before it had been bearable because at least she had had her parents but now life had become a total nightmare.
Zoe glanced down at her watch. 5:10. "Shoot." Zoe hissed to herself. She had to get home and start making dinner. Ever since her mother's passing and her father's near catatonia Zoe had been responsible for most household duties. Rising off her swing Zoe straightened her gray and purpled striped bean cap and pulled the light gray jacket tighter around her shoulders and then took off for her home. The dry leaves crackled under her sneakers as she rushed to the park's entrance. However as she passed the sign marking the park's entrance a voice stopped her in her tracks. "Well, well what have we here?" Shaking violently Zoe slowly turned her head to face the well-known voice.
A few paces away a tall blonde boy smirked at her. By his side was an equally tall girl with shoulder-length curly brown hair her lips also contorted into an evil smile. Subconsciously Zoe took several steps back. Of all her tormentors Casey Craig and his girlfriend Tracy St. Cloud were the absolute worse and never ever missed an opportunity to pick on her. Composing herself Zoe made to go around the pair but Tracy blocked her path. "Where are you going freak?" Tears burned in her eyes but Zoe defiantly stared at the ground. She wasn't going to take this anymore. "Home. Now get out of my way." she said firmly. She tried to side-step around Tracy but was roughly grabbed on the arm by Casey.
"That was rude of you." he remarked smugly tightening his grip. Zoe winced in discomfort. "Let go you're hurting me Casey." she said in a low voice. "Only after you apologize for talking to my girlfriend in such a disrespectful manner." Anger flared up in Zoe's consciousness. How dare he after all the name-calling, harassing, and overall torture he and his girlfriend put her through have the nerve to say she was the disrespectful one? Zoe gritted her teeth before retorting, "Why should I she's the one who got in the way." Zoe tugged her arm free of Casey's hand and for the third time attempted to walk away. But as she did so Casey snatched something out of hand. Zoe whipped around and to her horror saw he was now holding the picture of her mother that she had still been clutching in her hand
Casey's smirk widened and his blue eyes glinted with malice. "What's this?" "Give it back. It's mine!" Zoe yelled. Casey didn't respond to this but studied the photo for a few seconds. He was soon joined by Tracy who after a moment's glance turned back to Zoe her next words unexpectedly soft.
"Zoe… is this…your mother?" she questioned. Zoe was taken aback. Was that sympathy in Tracy's voice? Wordlessly she nodded. Tracy suddenly looked very uncomfortable almost guilty and turning back to her boyfriend she shocked Zoe once again. "Casey come on let's go." she implored. Disbelief flooded Casey's features. "Are you serious?" Tracy nodded almost desperately. "Yes Casey it's getting late and my aunt and uncle will kill me if I come home late again." She then took his arm and attempted to lead him away but Casey refused to budge. "You're really going to let her walk away?" Tracy's next words sounded impatient. "Yes I am." she snapped. "First of all I don't want to get grounded again and second of all haven't you heard about her mother?"
Zoe sudden felt a rush of mixed emotions. While she was grateful albeit astonished that Tracy was standing up for her on the other hand she didn't want anyone like Casey knowing about her mom. Her thoughts were interrupted by Casey. "What about her?" Tracy took a deep breath. "About two months ago…" she began slowly. "Zoe's mom was killed by a man who apparently had a problem with people of a different race and didn't seem to care about the pain it would cause the poor woman's family!" The acid in those final words stunned both Zoe and Casey. Why did Tracy care so much?
However Casey didn't appear as moved but all the same his next words lacked their usual cockiness. "So the freak lost her mommy? What's the big deal?" Tracy looked stupefied and outraged. "What's the big deal?!" she shrieked. "Casey what if that was your mother who was gunned down in cold blood?" "But it wasn't was it?" Casey retorted with traces of something like self-denial in his voice. "In fact… I'm glad the little brat's mom is gone. She deserves it." Zoe felt like she had been punched 10 times in the stomach. This was it Casey was finally going too far. Meanwhile Tracy sounded alarmed. "You can't mean that?" she asked in disbelief her eyes wide. Now Casey's face was as red as a ripe tomato. "I can't can I?" he snarled. "Let me show how serious I am." With that he tore the photograph clean in two and let it fall to the sidewalk. As Zoe watched the pieces drift to the pavement she all but blacked out from shock and rage. The next she knew she was kneeling on Casey Craig's chest pinning him to the ground. A small trickle of blood was leaking out of his nose and Zoe was aware of a dull throb in her knuckles. The pieces soon clicked into place as she hastily collected the remains of her treasured photo. 'I just punched Casey Craig.' she thought horror slowly dawning on her as she scrambled away from the fallen bully. 'I am so dead.' Her fears were confirmed as her tormentor got to his feet wiped off the blood and stared at it and then started toward her with a kind of menace in his steps.
"You little freak!" he roared. "Just wait till until I get my hands on you!" Zoe didn't wait for him to get his hands on her she just turned back to the park and ran for her life. As she fled she could hear the heavy footfalls and outraged bellowing of Craig and unless her panicked mind was playing tricks on her the begging voice of Tracy St. Cloud. The only advantage she could think of was that Casey in spite of his muscular build and overall jock appearance preferred drama and theatre which matched his melodramatic attitude but didn't do much for athletic skill while Zoe had always leaned to the more athletic side which allowed her a good head start over the nearly murderous boy. As she sprinted Zoe knew that although she had some distance she couldn't run forever and that Casey for all his faults was not the quitting type so she began to search for somewhere to hide.
No sooner than this thought entered her brain than she passed the Oak King. The Oak King was the name the townspeople had given an extremely large oak tree that grew towards the center of the park. Zoe remembered the town vote on the matter and that she had voted for the title the Acorn Emperor. She also remembered from several previous visits that there was hollow towards the base of the Oak King's trunk big enough for a human to curl up in. As quickly as she could she pivoted towards it and had managed to situate herself in the hollow before Casey had caught up. Zoe couldn't see him which in some ways was a relief because if she couldn't see Casey then Casey couldn't see her. But it was still nerve wracking not being able to see if her pursuer was getting warmer so to speak and hearing him screaming out all sorts of obscene and deranged things.
After what seemed an eternity Casey's screams grew fainter and fainter and at long last disappeared altogether. With a sigh of relief Zoe curled into a tighter ball and then realized she was still gripping her mother's ruined photo which had miraculously remained in her hands. Sobbing she pressed it against her chest. "Mom I'm so sorry." she whimpered. It was all her fault. She should've left the park earlier if she had none of this would've happened. Now a bully was out for her blood and the only thing she had left of her mom was…destroyed.
Later Zoe had no idea how long she had laid in the Oak Tree crying or where her desire had come from or what had caused it to step into the front of her mind. "I wish I could leave here. I wish I could go someplace else." she sniffled. But she knew it wouldn't come true so reluctantly she started to crawl out from the hollow which had been her sanctuary. However no sooner than she had gotten to her hands and knees than it happened. All around her interior of the tree trunk started to glow. A bright diamond white light filled the air. "What?" gasped Zoe in fear and tried to find her way out of hollow but in her panic could barely move. Then without warning the ground beneath her was gone. With no time to scream in alarm Zoe dropped through the opening and into the earth!