Worlds Apart
A Bridge to Terabithia Fan Fiction
Author's Note: In the interest of getting this chapter out as fast as possible, I uploaded it without doing as much in-depth revising as I usually do. If you spot anything continuity errors, or anything that needs correcting, don't hesitate to let me know in a review. Speaking of reviews, I would be much obliged if everyone who reads this chapter would at least leave their comments in a review, even if it's only "Great job!". Anonymous reviews are turned on, for those of you without a username.
Props: Thanks muchly to my reviewers: MadTom, NarnianMelody, Sharkie, and haha169. Also, thanks to my readers who haven't reviewed; you know who you are!
Disclaimer: I don't own the world of Terabithia. It originally belonged to Katherine Patterson, but now may be split among Disney and other corporations. No profit was, or will be received from this story.
Chapter 2 – The Right Time
(Please read and review, it makes us better writers.)
Foster blinked, rose to his feet, and stretched. Taking a glance skyward, he noted the sun's position. It was well into the afternoon, not that it really mattered. Time didn't determine his actions anymore. It was a strange feeling; all his life he had been taught the importance of punctuality, but now that he had left the trappings of society behind, he could set his own schedule.
Foster's stomach growled loudly, disrupting the relative calm of the forest and reminding him of how hungry he was. He decided to make finding food his first priority, seeing as how shelter wasn't absolutely necessary in the mild weather.
Looking around, he spotted a lone apple tree not too far away from him. The tree's bright red fruit created a sharp contrast with the brown and green tones of the rest of the forest. Running over to the tree, he wondered for a moment whether the fruit might be poisonous. Then he realized that he was too hungry to care, and it wasn't very likely anyways.
Ravenous, Foster snatched an apple from one of the lower-hanging branches and bit into its juicy flesh. It was crisp, crunchy, and not too sweet; one of the best apples he had ever had. "Hunger: nature's flavor enhancer," he thought with a wry smile.
As he was gathering a few more apples, he heard someone shout. "Leslie!" the voice called. From what he could tell, the voice came from across the river. His curiosity got the best of him, and he decided to go see where the voice was coming from. After all, humans weren't supposed to have special powers on their own world… at least, that's what Edge said.
Brushing that thought aside, he moved silently but quickly in the direction of the shout. Jogging through the forest noiselessly was much easier said than done, and it took all of concentration to do so. In fact, he was focusing so hard on staying quiet that he almost forgot why he was running in the first place.
As he rounded a particularly large oak, Foster stopped short. He had come within a few feet of running into a blonde-haired human girl. She was turned away from him, and was beckoning to an unseen person. Foster stifled a yelp and leaped back under cover. The girl now had her back to a tree, waiting in ambush with a mischievous grin on her face.
Foster watched as a brown-haired human boy came running towards the girl's hiding place. He was clutching a gnarled stick and seemed nervous, maybe even scared. Foster reasoned that he was the one who was doing all the shouting, based on his behavior. This meant that the girl's name was Leslie.
Just as he was about to pass her by, Leslie leaned out towards him and yelled.
"Raah!"
Startled, the boy jumped back in surprise. Leslie burst into a fit of giggles at the sight.
The boy, however, was not so amused. "We shouldn't be in here," he said. "This isn't our land!"
"Not so loud," Leslie replied. "They'll hear you!"
Foster followed the pair at a distance as they walked through the forest.
"What are you talking about?" the boy asked.
Leslie ignored his question and continued walking. Spotting something up ahead, she broke into a run. "Hey, what's that?" she wondered aloud.
Foster spotted it at the same time as she did. It was an ancient, rusted-out pickup truck that had sat in the same place for so long that the forest was beginning to absorb it. "Hold on a minute," Foster thought. "How did I know that hunk of metal was a… pickup truck? There's nothing that looks like this in Terabithia. Edge must have said something…" Foster put those thoughts out of his mind, dismissing them as unimportant at the moment, and resumed his surveillance of the two.
"Whoa. Jess, look at this! Wow!" Leslie exclaimed, radiating excitement.
"Jess—must be the boy's name," Foster noted.
The two were standing next to the pickup truck by now.
"Too bad for them. They got so close!" Leslie said.
"What are you talking about?" Jess asked again, echoing Foster's thoughts.
This time, Leslie answered him.
"To the kingdom!"
Jess started glancing from side to side, looking even more on edge than he already was.
"What's that?"
"What?" Leslie was making her way slowly around the decrepit old truck.
"Th—that sound, I've heard it before. Someone's out there!"
Foster was a bit confused at this remark. He had hardly moved a muscle since the pair discovered the truck, so he knew that Jess couldn't have heard him. The only other unusual sound in the forest was the steady jangling of chimes hanging from a mirror inside the truck.
Leslie had answer for him, as usual. "That's the sound of the prisoners, rattling their chains."
Jess echoed Foster's thoughts for a second time. "What prisoners?"
The girl was on the other side of the truck by now, peering at Jess through the broken windows.
She lowered her voice to a near-whisper. "The prisoners… of the Dark Master."
Foster was stunned. "How did she… but that would mean…" He stopped, realizing that the girl and boy in front of him might be the Queen and King that Terabithia had waited so long for.
He had to check and make sure that it wasn't just a coincidence, though. Foster knew the danger involved in going back, and the fact that his previous escape was mostly due to a stroke of luck, but that did not dissuade him.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Shifting over to Terabithia (Edge was right, it was getting easier), Foster found himself standing in the middle of a vacant, dusty road. He didn't bother to search for cover, figuring that he wouldn't be in Terabithia for very long. Quickly scanning the area, he saw three prisoners in chains being led away by the Dark Master's soldiers, not too far down the road. The chains that bound their hands and feet made a soft clanking sound as they shuffled off.
"Well, at least they're not injured… yet," Foster thought. He shuddered, remembering stories of the horrors that prisoners of the Dark Master endured.
One thing was still unresolved in Foster's mind. He didn't see Jess and Leslie anywhere.
"If they're still in the same place, then they should be right about… there." He pointed towards the spot to orient himself. Looking closer, he saw the faint outline of Jess and Leslie, exactly where they should be. Leslie's image was slightly stronger than Jess's, probably because she was more in-tune with Terabithia than Jess was. Foster reasoned that they were invisible to other Terabithians, seeing as how no one had noticed them yet.
"Hey! You there! Stop!"
Oops. Foster realized that he hadn't been paying attention to the soldiers, one of which was pointing towards him. Despite his predicament, he chuckled at the soldier's command. He wasn't even moving in the first place.
"Wait, I know you… you're… MASTER, COME QUICK!" The soldier began running towards him.
The grin slid from Foster's face. He took a deep breath to calm himself and shifted back to Earth.
- - - - - - - - - - -
"That was a close one." The ability to shift was becoming a lot more useful than he had imagined.
Foster arrived back on Earth just as Leslie was calling out to Jess.
"Jess, look!"
She took off running towards an unseen object. Jess trailed behind, stopping for a few seconds to stare in another direction. Foster followed his gaze, but couldn't spot anything notable.
As the two burst into a small clearing, Foster saw what Leslie had noticed.
It was a treehouse, probably as old as the truck they had seen earlier. Age had not diminished its complexity, though. The treehouse had windows, multiple levels, and even a rope ladder. Foster was concerned that the wood might have rotted after so many years. Leslie, however, had no such qualms, and scampered up the rope ladder. Jess, of course, was not far behind.
After he was sure that they had both made it up to the treehouse unharmed, Foster decided to check and see if the treehouse paralleled anything in Terabithia. Between the truck and what he had learned from Edge, he got the feeling that there was a pattern linking the two worlds. As a result of this pattern, things or events in one world would be mirrored in the other.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Shifting to Terabithia, Foster found that the treehouse had been replaced by the considerably larger (and much more grounded) ruins of The Old Palace, which was where the Kings and Queens lived before the Dark Master's time. The once magnificent castle had fallen into disrepair after being abandoned, and was being absorbed by the surrounding forest in a similar fashion as the truck he had encountered earlier.
Recently, The Flame had turned the ancient palace into their base of operations, a task for which it was well suited. Unfortunately, they couldn't rebuild it for fear of attracting the Dark Master's attention.
As Foster imagined what the castle would have looked like in its glory days, he realized how much impact time had on life in general. "It controls when you get up, and when you go to bed," he mused. "It dictates when you eat, what you do. It breaks down castles, trucks, even people. But yet, everyone wants more or less of it."
Foster shook his head to clear it and tried to refocus.
"Whoa… that was deep," he thought, surprised by his own mind.
He was about to return to Earth when he noticed a pair of Terabithians from the Treetops lazily circling The Old Palace. Foster recognized them as members of The Flame, probably scouting the area before a briefing or gathering of some type. The Flame's raid on the Dark Master's armory three weeks prior had not gone unnoticed, and necessary precautions had to be put in place.
Finding no reason to stay in Terabithia any longer, Foster closed his eyes, relaxed, and shifted back to Earth.
He opened his eyes to see Jess and Leslie standing on the porch of the treehouse, staring at him. No, they weren't staring at him, they were staring a pair of dragonflies, flitting back and forth in front of their eyes.
Leslie let out a gasp of amazement. "Warriors!"
Jess was skeptical. "Um, try dragonflies."
"No, they're warriors!" Leslie insisted. "From the Treetop provinces."
That was enough for Foster. He was sure that this was no coincidence; Jess and Leslie were definitely the next King and Queen of Terabithia.
"I—I don't know this game," Jess said.
"He'll come around eventually," Foster thought with a small smile.
Bursting with excitement, Foster shifted to Terabithia. He ran into the castle ruins, intending to share the good news with The Flame.
Foster recalled how his father had mentioned that morale was down among members. "If there's anything that will get their spirits up, this is it!" he thought.
He sprinted up the giant marble staircase which led to the second floor, taking the stairs two at a time. As he neared the top, Foster heard people talking excitedly amongst themselves. Bits and pieces of their conversations floated out through the open doors of the Auditorium.
"Who are they?"
"But… it's been so long…"
"I wouldn't believe it unless I was seeing it with my own eyes."
Foster had a feeling that he knew what they were talking about. He slowed to a walk at the top of the staircase, a bit winded from the climb. The gigantic wooden double doors leading into the Auditorium lay directly in front of him. They were flung wide open, giving Foster a clear view of the stage, and…
Leslie and Jess.
Leslie looked out over the hundreds of people seated in the massive Auditorium. Awe and wonder shone plainly on her face, and was mirrored on the face of each and every person in the room. She had a uniquely commanding presence that came not necessarily from her physical appearance, but from her actions as well as the way she carried herself.
Jess stood behind her and off to the left. He appeared uncomfortable and unsure of himself. His hands rested at his side as he watched Leslie.
For a moment, Foster was disappointed that the pair had revealed their presence before he was able to inform The Flame. However, he quickly realized that he was acting rather selfish, and sat down in one of the few remaining chairs in the back of the Auditorium to see what Leslie planned to do.
The loud drone of many people all talking at once turned to silence in the blink of an eye as Leslie began to speak.
"Prisoners of the Dark Master, hear me!"
Her clear, strong voice echoed throughout the room, riveting her audience.
"We have come to free you. Do you hear us? Show me that you hear us!"
There was brief moment of silence. Then, the room exploded into wild cheering and applause. Everyone was on their feet, showing their support for the duo.
Foster noticed Jess saying something to Leslie, but the room was far too loud for him to make it out.
Leslie raised her voice about everything else. "Can't hear you!"
If the noise before was loud, now it was deafening. The roar built to such a volume that the entire castle began to tremble.
Then, without warning, the two were gone.
As the cheering slowly died away, Foster saw Edge take the stage.
"I don't think anything more needs to be said. You know what to do. Dismissed!"
Foster fought his way through the crush of people to where Edge was standing.
Edge's eyes lit up at the sight of his friend and apprentice.
"Foster! Glad to see you made it out in one piece," Edge said. "We were worried that he'd taken you, too."
"No, I just ran away and shifted to Earth," Foster explained. "Have you found… you know…"
He struggled to fight down the rising emotions inside of himself.
Edge shook his head sympathetically. "Not yet. Our best guess is that he's being held in the Dark Master's fortress, since he's such a high-level prisoner. I, along with a few others, am going to be doing some intel runs in the next day or so to see if we can get some definite answers. You, on the other hand, should—"
"—lay low," Foster finished. "I figured you'd say that." He sighed. "You're right, of course. I'll hide out on Earth for a while. I shouldn't have any problems fitting in, since I look just like everyone else."
Edge nodded, pleased at how level-headed Foster was acting. "Good idea."
There was an awkward pause in the conversation. Neither of them had anything more to say, but neither felt comfortable saying farewell so soon.
Finally, Foster broke the silence.
"Well, I'd better get going."
"Me too." Edge shook Foster's hand. "Goodbye, and good luck, kid."
"Same to you."
Edge nodded wordlessly, then walked out of the room, leaving Foster alone in the Auditorium.
"No sense in wasting time," Foster thought to himself before he shifted to Earth.
- - - - - - - - - - -
He reappeared in his hiding place near the old truck just as Jess and Leslie were running by.
"Might as well see where they're going," Foster thought. "It's not like I have anything better to do."
Foster followed the pair at a distance, trying to find the perfect balance between speed and stealth. They weren't hard to track as they crashed through the underbrush, laughing and joking with each other.
After only a short while, they reached the burbling creek that Foster had heard earlier. Leslie grabbed a long, hooked stick lying nearby and used it to snag the rope swing that hung over the creek. The rope was frayed and discolored with age, but apparently that wasn't enough to stop Leslie. She swung across the creek without hesitation, landing safely on the other side. Turning around, she threw the rope back to Jess with a grunt. Before it had even reached him, she was off and running again.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Jess called as he took hold of the rope.
"Hurry up, silly!"
Jess rolled his eyes and pushed off from the riverbank. He hit the ground on the other side running.
As soon as Jess was out of sight, Foster pulled the rope to him with the same stick that Leslie had used. Foster quickly swung across the placid creek and sped off in pursuit of the two.
"Wow… they're fast," Foster thought.
Cresting the top of a hill, Foster saw that Jess and Leslie were already near the base, jogging side by side at a slower pace. He sprinted down the slope, intending to make up for lost time.
The hill was steeper than he had guessed, and the terrain was uneven. Realizing his mistake too late, Foster struggled to control his speed as he careened towards the bottom.
Just as the ground leveled out and Foster began to relax, a tree root caught his ankle, sending him flying through the air. He landed flat on his stomach, wincing more at the snapping of twigs and the crackling of dry leaves underneath him than the relatively minor injuries he had sustained.
Foster remained in the same position, unmoving. His vision was obscured by the thick foliage surrounding him. He could glimpse only the shoes of Jess and Leslie.
They weren't moving.
"Who's there?" Leslie's voice held no trace of fear. "Show yourself!"
Foster silently cursed his own stupidity. Then, to his horror, he saw two pairs of shoes turn in his direction. A hand, probably belonging to Jess, reached down and picked up a large stick. Plants rustled as the stick swept back and forth through their leaves. The two began to slowly advance towards Foster, each footstep breaking the quiet of the forest with an ominous crunch.
Foster panicked as they drew closer and closer to where he lay. Hastily running through his options, he sensed that his best choice would be to apologize and trust himself to their mercy. He figured that while he couldn't outdistance them, he could probably beat them in a fight, although he hoped it wouldn't come to that.
By now, they were only a few yards away. Foster slowly rose to his feet to avoid startling them, then sank into a respectful bow.
"Your Majesties… I can explain."
- - - - - - - - - - -
Author's Note: How's that for a cliffhanger? Just to give you a heads-up: school has started for me, which unfortunately means that I'll have less time available to write. If I haven't updated in a while, or if you think I'm slacking off, crack the whip and send me a PM! Now, click that review button! Your comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated.