The World Between Worlds

Well, this is my book, not all of it of course, because that would be too much to post in a post. I will post a chapter a week (or at least try to) so that can keep me writing as well as you reading. Today I’m going to post the Prologue and first chapter.

PROLOGUE

“Well? Is everyone here?” the Sheriff called out, his rough voice spreading through the room filled of the worst evil villains yet.

Shouts of “ARGH” or “Come on, let’s get started!” filled the room in response. “Very good, let’s see if we can get this meeting underway, shall we?” he cleared his throat and continued, “We are gathered together at this time to form a group of ultimate power. A group that cannot be defeated. A group to bring down the World Between Worlds!”

Cheers of appraisal echoed off the walls, making the shouting seem louder. The Sheriff held up his hands and yelled loudly, “Quiet! Quiet! All of you know that if the World Between Worlds fall, every other world will collapse with it.”

A lady, adorned in white, stood making herself taller than everyone else in the room. Necks craned upwards to be able to watch her ghostly face as she spoke in a chilling voice, “We can finally destroy Narnia and Aslan with it!”

Then, a man, dressed like a pirate stood and shouted, “We can bring down Peter and those mangy excuses of lost boys!”

The cheering grew louder and louder, loud enough to burst eardrums. Again, the Sheriff raised his hands and the assembly quieted gradually. “Listen!” he shouted, “we cannot tell anyone about this! Stay quiet. We will meet morning at dusk to discuss battle plans and the exact details of work in this evil plan.”

The group slowly broke off, filing out into the World Between Worlds, with evil smirks covering their faces.

CHAPTER 1- Responsibility

Sunlight shone into the room, awaking Alex from his slumber. As he groggily opened his eyes, he stretched his arms out and lifted his covers from his body. Sliding his feet out of bed, he slowly stood up stretching his arms upward. Coughing lightly, he brought his arms down to his side and took a few steps across the hard wood floor until he reached two solid doors, hiding the inside of his closet from view. He reached for the knobs and pulled, revealing a wardrobe of many colors and styles. Running his fingers along the clothes, he pulled out a pair of jeans that were slightly faded. Tugging them on, he reached for his belt, which hung on the back of the door. He weaved it through his belt loops and buckled it tightly. After he finished buckling his pants, he made his way to his dresser where he kept his t-shirts. The only clothing that was not kept in his dresser was his pants and jackets which hung in his closet. He opened a drawer near the top and pulled out a plain red short-sleeve shirt. Pulling this down over his head, he traipsed back to his closet and slid a black sweatshirt off of a hangar. He slid his head and arms into the holes, covering up his t-shirt as he yanked it down. Kneeling, he reached under his jeans and pulled out a pair of black converse. He threw them across the room, so they landed in the middle of his surprisingly organized bedroom. Standing back up, he walked back to his dresser and pulled out a pair of clean socks. He then walked across his room and sat down, tugging his Converse onto his now socked feet. After Alexander was fully dressed, he made his way out of his bedroom and down the stairs into his kitchen.

As he reached the doorframe that led into the kitchen, he stuck his head in and glanced around to see if any of his family was already downstairs. The fridge door was ajar, but no one was present. Alex sighed and crossed the hard tile floor, shutting the fridge door quietly. Tiptoeing across the expanse of the kitchen, he entered through a second doorframe into his family room. His younger brother sat on the couch, shoving cereal into his mouth while watching re-runs on television.

Groaning, he stated, “Jared, you left the refrigerator door open…again. You need to try to be more responsible,” Jared tried to interrupt and give an excuse, but Alex kept talking, “We have to try to be the best kids we can with dad not here, you should know that by now! We can’t just go around scattering our junk everywhere and leaving fridge doors open. That ruins our food you know and it adds a lot of money to the electricity bill!”

Jared’s face seemed as if it was melting. He was frowning. He looked down at his half empty bowl and mumbled, “I’m sorry…”

Alex didn’t stop after this. He didn’t care that his brother had apologized, he just kept on going. “Haven’t you realized that things are going to be a lot harder here? You’re not even caring anymore! You’re eleven, you need to just grow up and be the older kid you’re supposed to be!”

Jared, who had kept his eyes on his bowl the whole time, looked up at Alex his eyes filled with tears. “I am trying…” he sniffled quietly.

Alex frowned and replied curtly, “No, you’re not.”

Jared broke into sobs and stammered, “I can’t help it that dad had to leave! I can’t help it that I’m younger than you and I forget about responsibility sometimes!”

Before Alex could respond, Jared threw his bowl onto the floor and ran off. Alex stayed where he was and stared silently at the plastic bowl upside down on the floor. A puddle of milk and cheerios was sinking into the carpet. Slowly, Alex walked back into the kitchen and pulled some paper towel off of the roll and cleaned up the mess. When he had dabbed up all the milk and scooped the soggy cheerios into the empty bowl, he carried it to the kitchen and dumped it into the trash, throwing the bowl into the sink. He then walked back to the family room and flicked off the television, which was still playing cartoons, and slumped onto the couch. He put his head into his hands and let out a long, deep sigh.

Why doesn’t he just listen? he thought, why can’t he try to be more responsible? He’s eleven, he has to learn to be supportive and help the family out. Now he’s in his room bawling like a baby and mom’s going to wake up soon and wonder what I did. I better go get him to stop crying so we don’t have to try to explain anything to mom.

Alex stood up slowly and stepped back into the kitchen. What he saw in the kitchen surprised him. His mother was standing at the stove, cooking eggs and bacon. Alex was so shocked that he just stood in the doorway staring. Lately his mother would come downstairs and rest her head on the table, just sitting there thinking about dad and wondering if he was safe. Alex’s heart skipped a beat as a sick feeling filled his stomach. Oh no…what if she’s already seen how upset Jared is?

“Um…good morning mom…” Alex said, unsure if he should speak at all.

“Good morning, honey. You’re up early,” his mother answered. She didn’t turn from the stove. “Would you go and wake up Jared please? Tell him breakfast is almost ready.”

Alex was filled with shock. What’s going on here? I normally get up this early…maybe she just hasn’t realized since dad left.

“Sure, mom.”

Alex jogged out of the room and up the stairs. As he trotted down to Jared’s room, he noticed something odd, the lights were off and the door was open. Alex stopped running and stood in the hallway, just staring blankly at the open room. Prying his feet from the floor, he sprinted the distance of the hallway and skidded into Jared’s room. His heart pounded as he spun in circles. The bed was empty, the closet was open, the dresser drawers were all pulled open and clothes and junk were scattered everywhere. Panicking, Alex dashed to the bed and flung all the covers off, but Jared wasn’t hiding there. He flopped down onto his stomach and peered under the bed, but Jared wasn’t there either. He jumped up and ran to the closet, which was startlingly empty. As Alex twisted and turned and threw things around looking for Jared, he saw a bright yellow paper taped to the dark blue wall. Alex made a beeline for it, ripping it down and reading it silently in his mind.

Alex, I’m sorry…I just can’t handle all of this responsibility. I need some fresh air and freedom. I’ve gone away. You can find me with Mr. Tumnus if you really desperately need me. Don’t tell mom where I’ve gone. Don’t tell her I’ve gone.

Jared

Alex crumpled the paper and threw it onto the floor. What am I gonna tell mom? Slowly, he walked from the room, carefully shutting the door behind him. His heart was pounding and his throat felt extremely dry as he climbed down the stairs. His shoes felt like they were filled with lead, and his tongue seemed like it was swelling. Beads of sweat were dripping down his forehead as he made his way to the kitchen. Quickly wiping the sweat off of his face, he stepped into the kitchen. His mom had laid three plates out on the table, with three glasses of orange juice and three apples. Steaming eggs covered the plates with bacon resting on a napkin near. His mother looked up as he walked into the room and stared past Alex as if Jared would come running in cheerfully. “Where’s Jared, honey?” she asked seriously.

Alex didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t just outright tell his mom that Jared had run away because of him, so he lied. “Jared wasn’t in his room, but he left a note saying that he decided to go to the park early to get some fresh air.”

His mother looked a little confused and then smiled, “Well, that’s good for him. You should have gone with him.”

Alex let out a sigh of relief. He then slumped into his chair, vowing that he would go fetch Jared after breakfast.