So, chapter 2 is here. "The Rumbling Door" has more action, more plot, and more romance between Matteusz and Charlie. (Okay, it's clear they are my favorite, but I promise, i will do Ram and April justice as well. :) ) I'm sorry for the big chapters, but I want to give you enough content until Chapter 3 is out. I really hope you enjoy it and thank you for following the story. It means a lot to me.
Without further ado, let's continue this journey together. :) If you spot any mistakes (gramattical, off-character decisions, etc.) please let me know with a review or by message. It would really help me get better at fleshing them out. :)
The echo of their steps sounds loud on the school's empty hallways. Tanya and Quill are on the lead, Ram and April following close behind, and Charlie and Matteusz coming right in the end. There's an eerie feeling in the way the lights are shut down and the classrooms are vacant.
Still, for them six, eerie has become part of their regular life more than they would like to admit. Quill, for instance, seems to revel in action, like she was born to be a warrior, while Tanya, with her analytical mind and high intellectual skills, seems to have little to no concern of danger.
Not that she ignores it-she's too clever not to be afraid-but it's like when she sets her mind to something, fear becomes a parameter she can control. And that makes her an asset to this kind of excursions.
Ram and April are holding hands, the former staring around in wonder. "Lately it feels like we spend more time in here after dark than during the day."
April nods. "Yeah, you're right. I've got that feeling, too. I don't know, though. I like school better like that. It's quiet and peaceful."
"No! I would rather not come here at all, especially after the lights are off. I spend enough time in here as it is, I'd prefer if I spent my nights back in my bed," he continues.
"Quiet, you two!" Quill suddenly says. "I thought I heard something."
All six stop at once. They form a tight circle with Quill at the front. When she realizes what's going on behind her, she sighs. "Oh! Now you remember the great Quill. Cowards."
A minute passes but nothing comes from the side Quill just noticed the noise. Still, no one dares to move an inch, not until Tanya finally decides to break the silence. "Maybe it was the wind?"
"No, the janitor would have taken care of it before leaving school," April replies promptly. "Maybe a cat has sneaked in here or a mouse?"
Quill snaps in excitement. "A cat? Really? Do you think there's a cat in here?" She fished out her phone from the pocket of her tight pair of pants and gets ready to take a photo. "If there's one thing this planet is worth saving, it's these creatures."
And without waiting for confirmation that everything is okay, Quill hurls to the source of the sound. Charlie surprised breaks away from the circle as well. "Quill. Quill, where are you going?" he hisses.
A moment of eyeing each other later and the rest of the company follow the unusual pair. Oddly, according to Tanya's calculations, they are heading close to the center of the tear circle, the place they are here to check. On their way there, Ram has a question for her.
"How will we know that there's a tear there? I mean, most of the time, we only find the tears only after they've opened. What will be different?" he says.
"I don't know. I'm hoping for a big rip in time and space, but since that's highly impossible since we would have found it by now, maybe there will be some side-effects. Like time will move faster or slower on that certain point. If the tear is bigger than the other ones, then it'll probably have retained some of its properties even while closed."
"But, if we can't control it, how will we make sure nothing comes out of there?" Matteusz is the one asking this time.
"I don't know. Let's just start with what we can do. We have to prove that there's indeed a tear in the middle of the circle. After that, we'll discuss what comes next."
The four teenagers, looking at each other, they follow Quill and Charlie. However, in their heads, different kind of thoughts are passing. Will they spend their whole life making sure the world is safe from the Coal Hill tears? Will they always be that odd group of kids that talks about aliens and dangers to the planet? What has happened to their dreams and aspirations? What has happened to their choices?
Ram has lost so much already and seeing how their adventures are getting increasingly dangerous, he wonders how far he will be able to go without losing another important person?
April has lost her heart and almost lost her life on many occasions. She went against an alien king, defeated him, and became king in his stead, only to return back to Earth and to the frail girl they all think can't protect herself.
Tanya has met an alien that has taken up his father's form and tried to trick her, and the same monster almost sucked the rest of her family. And that wasn't even the first time in the last month since the prom that the world was in danger and only them could save it. At least, amidst the disaster, she has found new friends, people she can trust even if sometimes they treat her like a small sister.
And Matteusz has found the love of his life in the eyes of the alien Charlie but has lost his family and his old life in the process. Okay, he had seen it coming, but being only seventeen and already too dependent on two people that aren't even humans starts to take its toll on him. And that isn't even the worst thing in his mind right now. What will happen if Charlie decides he has had enough of fighting his urges to drive the Shadow Kin to extinction? What if one day, the only salvation will be for him to use the Cabinet of Souls?
Everyone has lost something to the tears and unfortunately, chances are they will lose even more before this ordeal will be over. But they have to keep battling, they have to keep trying to protect their loved ones, and to do that they have to make sure they know what they are up against.
Which, at the current moment, seems too far away from the truth.
Quill is still rushing towards the center of the circle, searching for the elusive cat and Charlie is doing his best to follow. "How is she so fast even when wearing those high shoes?" he mutters.
Charlie stops and leans over his knees, panting. He can't run behind Quill any longer. She is his prisoner after all, not the other way around.
Instead, he says: "Quill. What's wrong with you? It's just a cat."
"Silence, prince. You don't understand. If there's a cat in this building, I have to find it and photograph it."
"This is not the time for games, Quill. We're here on a serious task."
"Photographing cats is a real job on this planet, prince. Search it," she says.
Charlie almost falls in her trap for a moment. With his hand outside his pocket, he shakes his head in denial and continues close behind her. "Quill. You're endangering this whole mission with your nonsense," he repeats, but before she has the time to reply, Charlie hears something coming from behind him.
A short, barely distinguishable noise comes from a door on his left. It's like marbles flowing on the floor, like a chair with wheels going up and down nonstop. Charlie stops before the door and lays his ear closer, carefully trying to make sure he has heard something behind the door.
On the side, Charlie notices that they are near class B3, the class they use for detention. Remembering Tanya's plan, he must be close to the center of the circle, which makes the sound behind the door even more spooky that it should be. But, Quill is nowhere to be found, the others are taking their time to arrive, and he's the only one close enough to check out if there is indeed a tear behind the door.
He's ready to turn the handle when his mind trails back to the moment they made that a promise. And he remembers exactly what Matteusz told him about promises.
"I don't want to piss anyone off," he mumbles and takes a step behind.
And, just like he has walked through a curtain, the time starts flowing again; Matteusz hurries to Charlie's side.
"Charlie. Thank god," he says and hugs him. "Where have you been? We've been searching you for an hour."
Dumbstruck, Charlie arches his brows when hearing him. "What do you mean for an hour? I've been here the whole time, Matteusz. I haven't moved a step," he says.
Matteusz seems to get a bit irritated. "I would know if you were here, Charlie. I've checked every hallway of the school twice. Cut it out."
"No, really. I've been here the whole time. I thought I heard something behind that door, but when I leaned closer to hear it more clearly, I remembered our promise and stepped behind. Really, I haven't moved a step, Matteusz. Why would I try to hide from you? From everyone else?"
Slowly, the angry young man starts to calm down. He remembers what Tanya told them about the tears. "She was right, then. There's a big tear behind this door," he mumbles.
Charlie, still unable to fathom that fifteen seconds outside the door was an hour here, looks Matteusz anxious eyes. What would have happened if he had decided to further investigate? If he had opened the door? What would have happened if he had spent five minutes in there? Ten? He shudders thinking about it.
Matteusz quickly texts the rest of the gang. While they wait for them to arrive, he hugs Charlie tightly and kisses him on the top of his head. "I thought I've lost you, that something bad happened to you. But Quill didn't die on the spot, so we knew you were alive. But it wasn't enough for me. I almost lost it out there. Please, don't do this to me again."
Matteusz has lowered his head, trying his best to hold back his tears when Charlie touches his forehead to his and whispers: "I won't. I didn't know what was going on, I swear. If I knew, I wouldn't have gotten close to it alone. I'm sorry I got you worried. I'm so stupid sometimes."
"Stupid but loyal. You did remember our promise and didn't open the door alone. It could have been worse," he continues and smiles at him.
"Yeah, I could have gone for days. Still, I can't believe it. Fifteen seconds being one hour. It didn't feel all that much different though"
"Hey, hey. Don't worry. Even if you had left for a year, I wouldn't have stopped looking for you," Matteusz says and leans in to kiss him.
Right then, Quill appears right behind them. "Oh. He found you. Hooray," she says with mock enthusiasm. "I thought for a moment that you had done me a favor and disappeared from the face of the universe, but here you are again. Being annoying with your boyfriend."
Behind her, Tanya, Ram, and April appear. All three of them run straight to him and hug him.
April is the one to speak first. "Thank God, Charlie. We've been searching for you everywhere. Where have you been?"
Tanya, not waiting for a reply, looks straight at the door. "It was the tear, wasn't it? You were trapped in a different time and space continuum, right?"
Charlie looks at her full of awe. "Yeah! Exactly that. How did you realize?"
"That's not important right now. Tell us. What did you see? How did you manage to return?"
He explains his story again, only this time with more details. He tells them about the sound, them not coming, and then walking back only to stumble on Matteusz. And that's that. Fifteen seconds.
"So, there's a tear after all," Tanya concludes.
"Yes, one that slows down time and makes us disappear," April comments.
"Which means that it's relatively safe, right? Even if aliens came out of there, we wouldn't know in time to stop them. So we're back in the start," Ram says.
"I guess. I can't see how we can study this tear without losing the whole semester in the process. If Charlie was there for fifteen seconds and we were searching him for an hour, then one hour in there will be two hundred and forty hours on Earth. It's impossible. We'll be away for ten days just for making sure we do a thorough search of the room," Tanya says.
"Ten days for an hour? No, that's not possible," Quill is the one to speak now. They all turn to face her in wonder. Why does she care about time now all of the sudden? "What? Do you think that only you have plans? I can't leave for ten days. Who will teach my class?"
"And since when do you care about teaching physics at a human school, Quill?" Charlie counters her. "I thought you despised teaching."
"It...it has grown in me, okay? Now, enough with the investigations. Let's go back. It's already late enough as it is," she says.
And just as he turns to leave, Tanya stops her. "Wait. If this tear has been here the whole time...why didn't someone find it already? Why didn't the headmistress know anything about it? How do we know that there isn't someone trapped in there, waiting for our help?"
Quill sighs before replying. "One hour ago, you will all trembling in fear behind my back and now you want to spend one hour in a room that makes time flow faster? What's wrong with you? You're making me crazy."
April, the logical one of the group, turns and stares at Tanya. "I think Quill is right, Tanya. I mean, I share your empathy, but what if we get closer to the tear and time starts flowing slower? I can't leave my mom alone, not until she has gained full control of her feet again."
Ram nods in agreement to April. "Yeah, April is right. I can't skip training and my dad would die from worry if I disappeared like that. Maybe we can postpone this mission until next weekend? I guess a couple minutes in that room will be enough to make sure no one is in danger in there."
Tanya thinks their proposal a bit longer before nodding as well. "Yeah, you're right. I haven't thought that through. I was swept away by the mystery of the door. That's settled then. We let the headmistress know tomorrow morning and ask her to stop any kids from passing outside this door. That's until we know what's behind it."
They all start towards the exit when out of nowhere, a loud noise comes from inside the door. All six freeze and turn slowly, in unison, to check the rumbling door. "Did you hear that?" Charlie whispers, making sure he hasn't gone crazy.
"Yeah. It was like a bowling ball fell on the floor. Something is going on behind that door, and I'm not sure I like it," Ram continues.
Tanya suddenly gasps; the whole group turns to face her.
"What? What's wrong?" Ram yells.
"Guys...I think we should run," she mutters.
"No objection here," Ram says and gets ready to start for the exit when the rumble from before turns into a howl. "Oh no. It's getting worse. What are we waiting for? Let's go."
But, before he can move a step, the door hurls open and a tear over five meters high and two meters in width pops from behind. They try to run, but it's too late. Now that the tear has opened, the gravitational pull is too strong that is sucking them in.
They struggle as best as possible, but everything happened so fast. Charlie falls on the floor and vanishes behind the door; Matteusz, yelling, he jumps behind him. April stares at Tanya and they both succumb to the pull of the tear. Helping their friends it's the most important thing now. Ram rolls his eyes before running behind them, screaming: "I'm going to regret this!"
One after the other they get pulled into the tear, all except Quill.
She is the last one outside. She has stretched her hands and grabbed the wall right next to the open tear. "No! Not now. By Rhodia, I won't be sucked into another crazy adventure with the pathetic prince!"
However, her hands start to hurt and she can't hold on for too long. With a prolonged "Nooo!", she gets sucked in the tear at last, and the rumbling door closes behind her. Charlie, Ram, Matteusz, Tanya, and April had been sucked in the tear for over one minute before Quill.
One minute equals four hours. Four hours that the five kids have been left alone in the middle of nowhere.
Things are starting to get complicated.