Author's note: had to edit this chapter and looks for proper mini titled before I decided it was done. Anywho things might move a little faster now so it can match with the books and animated series timeline. Enjoy!
Elisheva made good use of both her job as a waitress in the cafè then moonlighting as a courier in the realm of Aerwiar.
The bustling marketplace, the strange creatures, and the architecture that seemed to come from another time period all fascinated her. As she continued to explore the city of Crilk, she made mental notes of the things she saw and the people she encountered. She knew that she had a lot to learn about this world and its inhabitants, but she was eager to discover everything she could.
With her observations, she knew by clothing that gave some folks away. The Torrboro citizens, for example, all dressed alike: The men wore little black hats, coats with long tails (in spite of the summer heat), and pants pulled up to a shocking height. The buckles of their belts sat just a little below their chins. The fashionable women wore frilly dresses with patterns that depicted the noses of various animals; their black shoes were pointy and oversized, as if their toes were as long as feet themselves, which made the women lurch forward when they walked. They looked like the fancier people from the Victorian era.
While the long-haired folk from Dugtown both men and women alike were loud and their laughter sounded more like howling. Overally the diversity was astounding.
For the entire Fall season and two months of Winter, Elisheva was able to keep the portal to Aerwiar well-hidden and taking great care not to let anyone find it. She continued both her job as a waitress in the café in her homeworld and a courier back in the other city to provide for her family.
She had hoped to keep it a secret long enough to so that her family could move away by next year and keep them out of the otherworldly conflict, however it was not to be.
One day in late January, something dreadful happened.
Elisheva was on her courier route up on the rooftops in Aerwiar, she overheard a group of travelers talking about a looming threat in the land. They spoke of dark shadows that were spreading across the countryside, of the infamous Black carriage and people disappearing without a trace.
Down the street came a procession of Fangs. In the middle of the column of soldiers rode an official on horseback. He wore no armor and carried no weapon. His appearance seemed to excite the anger of people along the street.
It's little wonder the people are so angry. The people both feared and hated these horrid things. But Elisheva's thoughts were not really on those horrid bipedal lizards. She was watching the soldiers. In her curiosity, she leaned farther over the wall.
Crack! A piece of tile broke loose under her weight. It began to fall, and the governor was directly below!
"Oh no!" She reached for the tile, shouting. Below on the street, faces turned up to her, in time to see what looked like a young woman throwing a heavy piece of tile down. And as if the hand of fate were stretched against the Bennet family, the tile struck the governor on the head and he fell from his transport as though dead.
Elisheva stumbled back from the wall, her face losing color. "Dear Lord, I have killed the governor!"
Now all along the street rose a cheer. The humans saw the tile fall, saw the governor struck, and, like the soldiers, they thought the girl had thrown it. Now, goaded by the fall of the hated Fang, the people swarmed into the street, attacking the lizard creatures with clubs, kitchen knives — anything they could grab.
Elisheva had seconds to choose: run to the portal or possible capture by the Fangs, she opted for the first.
Breathless and shaking, Elisheva emerged from the portal back into her own world. She stumbled through the park, her mind racing with fear and guilt. She had never intended to harm anyone, let alone kill the governor even if he was another Fang.
As she made her way back home, she could hear the sounds of sirens in the distance. She knew that the Fangs would be searching for the person responsible for the attack on the governor in Aerwiar, and she couldn't risk being caught.
So she readjusted hiding the portal behind branches and other objects. Her father and brother did not know about this portal and the less they did, the better. The last thing she wanted was for Zev to lose himself in the strange land.
When Elisheva arrived at the apartment, she went straight to the bathroom to wash her face. She then heard a soft snuffling in the room she shared with Zev. She found her little brother face down on his bed weeping.
"Zev?"
The eight year boy got up and faced his sister, revealing a bleeding cut lip and notable bruises.
"What happened?" Elisheva gasped, gently touching his face.
"I ran into kids from my old school. When I told them you had a new job, they said…" Zev began.
From what the young boy described, his old schoolmates said some of the gossip they heard from Elisheva's peers about why she kept missing Social/school events and that her other job was less than savory.
"I called them liars, and they beat me up!" Zev finished.
Elisheva's heart sank as she saw the bruises on her little brother's face. She knew that Zev had always been sensitive, and the thought of him being bullied by his former schoolmates made her blood boil.
"Come here, Slugger," she said, pulling him into a tight embrace. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. You don't deserve to be treated like this."
Zev clung to his sister, tears streaming down his face. Elisheva could feel his small body shaking with sobs.
"I'm sorry, Lish," Zev said between sobs. "I didn't mean to make things worse for you. I just wanted to defend you."
Elisheva's heart ached at the sound of her brother's apology. She knew that Zev had always been protective of her, even at his young age. It was one of the things she loved most about him.
"You didn't make anything worse, Zev," Elisheva said gently. "You did the right thing by standing up for me. I'm proud of you."
Zev looked up at his sister, his eyes still wet with tears. "Really?"
"You don't have to listen to them. You can get new friends."
"I don't want new friends. They suck!" Zev slumped.
"You don't mean that!"
"I don't want anyone who won't understand Dad's sick and needs us both as friends. In fact, hope I never see any of those jerks again." Zev said clutching his pendant.
Each of the Bennet family members had a necklace with the three symbols representing their family faith as Messianic Jews: A menorah with the Star of David under it, and finally the ichthys fish.
Samuel had a simple silver tag, Zev an azurite stone pendant, while Elisheva's had a ruby (her birthstone) which serves as the fish's eye. The latter two were a gift from their late mother.
"Don't close yourself off just because of a few bad apples. Everyone could use a true friend," Elisheva told her brother. "And don't worry, Zev. I'll take care of this. I won't let anyone hurt you again."
She went to the kitchen to make some cinnamon mandelbrot cookies to cheer him up.
When she left, Zev laid in his bed with folded arms. "I wish we could all just be a million miles far away…" he mumbled.
He never thought his wish would come true.
It was February, Elisheva kept her promise to Zev. One evening, as they sat down for dinner, their father looked up from his plate and spoke in a hoarse voice. "I have some news," he said, his eyes flickering with a mixture of excitement and fear. "I've been offered a job in another city. It's a good opportunity, and I think we should take it."
Elisheva and Zev exchanged a glance, both feeling a mixture of excitement and trepidation at the thought of leaving their home and starting anew in a new place. But they knew that their father needed this job, and they were willing to make the sacrifice for him.
"Where are we going?" Zev asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.
"Pennsylvania," their father said with a smile. "We're going to start fresh, all of us."
Elisheva felt a flicker of hope in her chest as she thought about the possibilities that lay ahead. Maybe in Pennsylvania, they could start over and leave their troubles behind. Maybe they could finally find the happiness and peace that had eluded them for so long.
But as she looked at her little brother, still bearing the scars of the bullying he had endured, she knew that their past would always be a part of them. And she vowed to never forget that they were stronger together than they ever could be alone.
"We'll make it work, Dad," she said, smiling at him across the table. "We'll make it work."
Things would have turned in favor of the Bennet family except for a couple details Elisheva had overlooked: Natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods could expose the portal or damage it in a way that would make it more visible or accessible to others.
And two: the Fangs were good at tracking.
The following evening, Elisheva had returned home from work, got into her casual clothes and it would a nice night in with her father and brother, but a commotion disturbed the household of three.
"What's that? I heard something!" Zev sat up straight, clutching his pendant.
"It's probably only raccoons or the local sewer rats scrambling through the garbage, son." Samuel reassured, sipping his tea.
Zev's ears perked up at a more peculiar sound outside. "Dad, I don't think those are raccoons," he said, his voice low and urgent.
Samuel sighed and leaned on his walking stick. "Zev, you worry too much. It's probably just some animals passing by."
But Elisheva, who had been eating a cookie stick, sat up and listened. She could hear the sound too, and it was too loud to be just animals.
The sound of cracking wood and crunching stone came from the living room. Next the sound of shattering glass and splintering wood shattered the peaceful silence of the Bennet family apartment.
"Dad! Zev!" screamed Elisheva.
Her heart raced as she figured out that the Fangs must've tracked her scent to their home. She had hoped to keep the portal hidden from them for as long as possible, but it seemed that her efforts had been in vain.
Fangs poured into the apartment through the broken-in door, Elisheva could see the glint of their scales and the sharp points of their weapons. She knew that they would show no mercy to her or her family.
"That is she!" One of those things was pointing at Elisheva.
"Her?" said a tall burly one with dark green scales. "Jussst one little girl!"
"She is the one!" The accuser snapped. "And there, her father and brother. You have them all."
"What's going on?" Samuel asked, his voice tense.
Elisheva's heart sank. Her secret had been exposed.
Samuel slowly walked forward, attempting to reason with the attackers despite Elisheva and Zev's audible protests.
"Please that's not necessary." Samuel said. "Who are you? What do you want? We are a peaceful community, couldn't we just sit down and...?"
"Silence!" The larger Fang snapped, some of the spittle landing on the floor. "We serve the great Gnag, if you surrender nothing bad will happen to you. Resist and you pay with your lives!"
Samuel was unnerved when some of the spittle that landed on the wooden floor
Zev's heart was pounding in his chest as he watched the Fangs surround his family. He had never seen such creatures before, with their sharp teeth and scaly skin. He had no idea what was happening, but he could tell from the fear in his sister's eyes that it was something very bad.
"Dad, what's going on?" Zev whispered, his voice trembling.
Samuel didn't answer, but instead continued to try and reason with the Fangs. Zev could see the desperation in his father's eyes, and it made him feel even more scared.
Elisheva, on the other hand, had gone completely still. She knew that her secret was out, and that there was no way to hide the truth any longer. She could see the disbelief in her family's eyes, and she knew that she had a lot of explaining to do.
"Please," Samuel pleaded. "We haven't done anything wrong. We're just a family trying to make a living."
The Fangs only laughed in response, their sharp teeth glinting in the dim light of the apartment.
"You should have thought about that before you crossed the wrong person," one of them sneered.
Zev felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes as he sensed that they were completely at the mercy of these creatures. He didn't know what they wanted, but he knew that it couldn't be good.
In the next five minutes, it was as if they had run into a blur of hissing, claws, teeth, and pain. Elisheva could hear screaming. But all she saw was a sea of scaly faces and reptilian eyes. She felt the flick of forked tongues and smelled the rot of Fang flesh. The air was full of howling and snarling.
The family is dragged out of their apartment, frightened out of their wits. None of the neighbors that lived in the same area as the Bennets did not come out to investigate, fearing it was home invasion by burglars – human ones that is.
The heavy rain from earlier in the day had caused a nearby tree to fall, exposing the hidden portal in the park that Elisheva had discovered weeks before.
Samuel and Zev are needless to say shell-shocked – not only were these lizard things actual creatures instead of men in very elaborate costumes but the existence of a portal to another world as well.
And it is through that very same portal that the family was dragged through right into Aerwiar.
On the other side, the governor was being led off, his head wrapped. 'So he's not dead!' thought Elisheva. 'They gotta listen to me. They have to see it was an accident.' But her hands were tied behind her back. The Fangs pushing and dragging Elisheva along with them. She could not look back, could not see what was happening to her father and brother. She pleaded with the tall soldier to let her explain to the governor. "The governor has already determined your fate," he said. "Now move on and be silent!"
"Close the wall," had been the order regarding the portal. "No one must ever get through the portal again till Gnag gives new commands."
The family of three listened with a chill. They were now trapped in Aerwiar, with no way back to their own world.
To add further injury, the Fangs were eying their necklaces a little too keenly, calling them "shinies".
Elisheva's hands flew to her neck, remembering how the higher up Fangs liked to confiscate jewelry.
"Please, don't take them." She pleaded, "These were the last gifts to me and my brother from my dead mother."
The Fangs sneer at her pleas then violently yank the necklace off her before doing the same to Zev and Samuel with theirs.
"Muffin, Slugger," Samuel gently reassured his children. "It's no different than mugging, the best thing to do is give those thugs what they want."
"But Dad!" Zev protested. "You know Mom gave those to us before she died!"
Samuel's eyes soften as he looks down at his son. "I know, son," he says, placing a hand on Zev's shoulder. "But right now, our safety is more important than material possessions."
Elisheva nods in agreement, though she can't help feeling a sense of sadness and loss without the necklace her mother gave her.
For the next few hours, Elisheva and her family were being transported away, with no hope of escape. Despite her efforts to keep the portal a secret and protect her family, they have been discovered and are now at the mercy of the Fangs, even their best efforts to protect themselves may not be enough.
With the portal closed, the Bennet family now had no way back home. The three shared the precious time they had in the cells together talking.
"Dad, Zev, I have to tell you something," she said, her voice shaking. "There's something I haven't told you, something I've been keeping a secret."
Samuel and Zev both turned to her, their eyes wide with disbelief and fear.
"What is it, Muffin?" Samuel asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Elisheva took a deep breath, steeling herself for what was about to come.
"The portal the Fangs pulled us through, I've been working here in this world as a courier to try and make ends meet."
Samuel and Zev both stared at her in shock, unable to process what they were hearing.
"I'm sorry, Dad, Zev…" said Elisheva, sitting on the grimy cage floor. "I should have just told you about the portal and my job as a courier."
Zev then sniffled, "It's my fault. I wished we all could be a million miles away. Just never thought it'd be in some whole other world."
"No, I should have kept my eye on you." Samuel shook his head. "Look. This is something out of our hands right now. Whatever happens, we're gonna face this like a family."
Elisheva felt a lump form in her throat as she looked at her father and brother. They were all locked up in a small, dirty cage, surrounded by guards with menacing expressions. She knew that they were in a dangerous situation, but she also knew that they had to stay strong for each other.
"You're right, Dad. We're in this together," Elisheva said, her voice steady despite the fear churning in her stomach.
Zev nodded, wiping away his tears. "Yeah! We're not alone. We have each other."
Samuel smiled, his eyes shining with pride. "That's my brave kids. No matter where we end up, we'll always have each other."
Elisheva felt a surge of love and gratitude for her family. She knew that they were facing an uncertain future, but she also knew that they would face it together. And with that thought in mind, she leaned her head against the cold metal bars and closed her eyes, determined to find a way out of their predicament and to keep her family safe no matter what.
However they wouldn't be together. For a while anyway, before the next sunrise, the new orders arrived where the family would be separated. Elisheva would be taken to a labor camp, while Samuel and Zev to some undisclosed location.
Both Samuel and Zev were yelling and Elisheva struggled but couldn't loose from the Fang's grip. It was the first time she had ever touched a Fang, and she was vaguely surprised how cold the scaly skin was.
"Don't take my daughter please!" Samuel pleaded.
"No, Lish! They can't!" Zev hugged Elisheva tightly around her waist, not wanting to let her go.
Elisheva struggled against the Fangs, tears streaming down her face as she was forcibly separated from her family. She could hear the desperation in her father's voice and the fear in Zev's embrace, and it broke her heart to see them being taken away.
"Please, don't take them!" she wailed, but it was no use. The Fangs were too strong, and she was powerless to stop them.
As she was dragged away, Elisheva caught a glimpse of her father and brother being led out in a different direction. She had no idea where they were being taken, but her intuition told her it wouldn't be good.
Samuel and Zev were shoved into the Black carriage but couldn't hear where they were being taken.
Zev could hear rain pattering dismally on the roof. Then he heard the creak of wheels, and realized they were already leaving! He wanted to start anew someplace else, but now... He hugged his knees, buried his face in them and began to cry. Samuel could only hug him, and silently pray for the well-being of his daughter.
Elisheva had been taken to labor camp. And she wept. She wept for her family's plight. She wept for herself.
One night, she lay on the thin mattress in the cold darkness, and she was filled with such an overpowering anger that it literally shook her body. Her thoughts burned and blazed with a goal: vengeance. It was not a vengeance directed against her peers, nor the school authority figures that snubbed her for such superficial reasons not even the bullies who believed foul rumors and beat up her little brother. No. That was another lifetime in another place. No, she was after those who had done this to her, who had stripped away her freedom and that of her family because of one unfortunate accident.
The Fangs of Dang… Gnag, the nameless…
Those were her enemies. She was going to make them pay. Every one of them. And rescue her family from their claws. She had no idea how. But she knew she was going to get revenge.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. Elisheva toiled away in the labor camp, her hands calloused and her back aching from the hard work. She was given meager rations of food and water, barely enough to keep her alive.
How long had she been there in that place? Three entire months.
But she refused to give up hope. She knew that she had to stay strong, for the sake of her family.
One day, Elisheva overheard a conversation between two inmates, discussing a potential revolt among the prisoners. She knew that this could be her chance to escape, to find her father and brother and to fight back against the Fangs who had taken everything from her.
First, two inmates would secretly kill some Fangs, taking their weapons. Then, when the prisoners assembled, the inmates masquerading as camp personnel would kill (or knock out) the guards at the gate and on the towers and urge the prisoners to flee. The revolt was set for a day when the camp's commandant and several of its leading officials would be away.
On the day of the revolt, the inmates attacked the guards with all their might. They fought with a ferocity born of desperation, and soon they had overwhelmed their captors. Elisheva had snuck into the office and taken back both her necklace and that belonging to Zev, having seen weeks ago.
As they made their way out of the labor camp, Elisheva could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She knew that the road ahead would be long and perilous, but she also knew that she had to keep fighting. To find her brother and father, she would need information and the nearest place was: Glipwood Township.
With a sense of hope and determination, Elisheva hurried into the unknown and uncertain future that lay ahead, ready to face whatever challenges came her way.
To be continued…
Author's note: The sharing necklaces show the close bond between the family members in addition to being a symbol of hope, integrity and valor for the family because of what they represent. It's also a touching tribute to Zev and Elisheva's late mother.