Coil of Worlds

With the majority of her weight on her back, Lara screamed, swinging her legs and arms, trying to find something—anything—to grab and hold on to. She fought for a few seconds until she registered the sheet floating down from above her and touching her face. Doubt and confusion entered her fear-clouded mind. She blinked and froze, not daring to take a much-needed breath of air. In a daze, reason penetrated the murky recesses of her brain and her terror subsided.

Lara collapsed in a heap of tangled limbs and blankets. A shaky sigh filled the room.

She was in her room.

She was in her bed.

Tremors attacked her limbs, the remnants of the adrenaline running through her veins. She closed her eyes and released a choked laugh. She never wanted to feel the indescribable terror she’d felt when she thought she’d fallen over the edge. Lara waited as her heart returned to its normal rhythm and the shakes no longer assaulted her body. Once she was calm, Lara untangled herself from the sheet.

Sitting up, Lara’s face scrunched in distaste. Her clothes were wrinkled and filthy from wearing them so many days, and she knew she stank. She also wasn’t going to think about the fact that something furry had died in her mouth.

Wait. How long had she slept? She pushed herself off the bed and in a single leap she was beside the window, separating the blinds and looking out. Through the bare tree branches, Lara looked up at the sun. It was still early afternoon. She shook her head and double checked the clock. She’d slept a bare three hours, and she was gone for five days?

The trips were getting longer. Just this once she wished she’d been wrong.

Lara tunneled her fingers through her oily hair, wincing when she hit a mass of tangles. Lara toed her tennis shoes off before wandering over to her closet. Not caring whether the clothes she pulled off the hangers matched, she snatched a pair of undies from the top drawer of her dresser. Stacking the pile of clothes onto the closed toilet lid, she stripped out of her clothes and turned on the water. She waited impatiently, shifting from foot to foot, until the water streaming out of the showerhead was warm before she pulled aside the shower curtain and stepped into the tub.

She really, really needed to figure out what was going on. Why her and not someone else? She was one of hundreds of thousands of college students, and she was picked? She frowned and pinched herself. Ouch. Rubbing the spot, Lara thought maybe she’d been randomly picked by some higher being. It couldn’t possibly be God because he wouldn’t have made a mistake of picking her for some obscure task, right? She tilted her head and pointed one of her feet, extending the leg to view the pudge covering her leg. No one would say she was athletic by any means. Granted, she was more toned than she had been, but seriously? Wouldn’t He pick someone already in shape? Surely He’d pick someone who already had a certain skill set.

She pursed her lips. God, this sucked. She was depressing herself with the thought of being someone or something’s mistake. She rolled her shoulders back, letting the water rain down on the top of her head and slide down her body.

A twinge of remorse washed away the self-pity, and she abandoned the idea of mistakes and chance. Chion regarded her appearance on the other planet as significant, as something miraculous. Lara rolled her head, letting the spray hit her face. Chion’s words and her thoughts warred within her, even though she knew there was no true answer.

Maybe she was just tired. Maybe if she took another nap she’d feel better, less depressed.

Swiping the shampoo bottle from the shower shelf, Lara used the routine of showering to turn off her brain, letting herself simply be. Scrubbed to a pinkish glow and decked out in clean clothes, she brushed her teeth twice before she felt civilized again. Lara unwrapped the towel from her hair and brushed out the tangles. Becky knocked on her door just as she finished.

“Hey,” Becky said.

Lara tidied the vanity area before she turned around with a smile. “Hi, did you have fun shopping?”

“Don’t I always? I had to listen to Jonathan complain the whole time though.” Her friend made no move to enter the room but crossed her legs and leaned against the door frame. Becky brought one hand to land on her hip as she scanned Lara from top to bottom, taking in her wet hair and new outfit. Becky cocked an eyebrow and said wryly, “Two showers in one day. Pray tell.”

Lara leaned back against the vanity counter and crossed her arms defensively. “What do you think happened?”

“You didn’t sleep at all. Instead, you’ve been traipsing around another planet. Which means you completely ignored my advice.” Becky’s head didn’t stop tilting sideways until it rested against the door frame. “Even through the clothes, I can tell you’re thinner, more toned. That’s saying something considering I saw you a little over three hours ago. So…how long were you gone this time?”

“If I counted them right, five days,” Lara said before a yawn escaped. She scrubbed her face, determined to stay awake. As much as she wanted sleep, she wasn’t ready to go back to the other place. An image of the large abyss floated in front of her. Lara shuddered, recalling the screaming wind.

So, no. Lara didn’t want to go back any time soon. She wanted the others to cross the Bithon bridge by themselves with no assistance from her. She shuddered again. Logically she knew the bridge was several meters wide as well as sturdy and dependable. It would have to be if it was well traveled by the Kurite people. She’d seen the rails on both sides of the bridge and the protective layer of rope from the rail down to the bridge.

Except the mental picture she had stuck in her head shrunk the bridge to only two or three feet across with no rails. She couldn’t seem to help herself. She’d never been afraid of heights, but that was before seeing, well, that. The Bithon would make any adventurer cringe in fear.

Lara jerked and looked over at Becky when she heard her name. “Sorry, what?”

Becky stared at her in disbelief. “That was only the fourth time I called your name. Honestly, Lara, I’m beginning to think you really do need help. Watching the expressions flicker across your face has me terrified, and I don’t even know what it is you saw or why.”

Not knowing whether she believed her own words, Lara said, “I’ll be fine.” Her friend looked at her dubiously, her mouth dipping into a frown. Becky lifted her head off the frame to better look at her.

Lara threw her hands up and said in exasperation, “Really. I’ll be— I am fine, Becky.” She stepped away from the counter and moved toward her desk chair. “You know, between Chion and you, I think I’m surrounded by mother hens.” She realized her error when Becky’s head cocked in interest. Lara could almost see her metaphorical ears pointing forward.

“You’ve mentioned a Chion before. Is he or she dangerous? It sounds like a man’s name. It’s a man, isn’t it? Is Chion a friend?” Before Lara could answer, Becky nodded her head and said, “Must be a friend if Chion has saved you once already. Plus, you clumped the man with me in the same category. So, who is this Chion? And why are you traveling with him?” When she finally ran out of steam, Becky stood looking as if the world could fall in disarray before she’d move. Lara glanced down at her friend’s feet, half expecting one foot to be tapping the floor.

Lara smiled; it was nice to think of something besides the Bithon crossing. She leaned back in her chair and laid her head on the head rest. “Are you done? Any more questions? I wouldn’t dare interrupt you while you were going full throttle.”

Becky gave an unladylike snort. “Just answer the questions, smarty pants.”

“Chion is a friend, but he isn’t what you think.” Lara averted her gaze to look down at her shirt, fiddling with the hem. “He isn’t human. He looks something like a mix between a tiger and a panther.”

Almost losing her balance, Becky reached out and grabbed hold of the doorjamb. Her friend was incredulous, sputtering, “And you never thought the animal would eat you?”

She couldn’t help the smirk that crossed her face. “I did the first time I met him, sure. I’m not an idiot. But he isn’t just an animal. He says he is one of the Pakas.”

“He says…” Her friend scowled, crossing her arms in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right?”

Eyeing Becky for a couple seconds, Lara slowly nodded her head. “You heard me right. He can talk to me. He actually speaks better than I do. He’s formal in his speech, making me feel like some low-born peasant.” She fell silent when Becky’s jaw practically unhinged itself.

Maybe she should have stuck to the basics. Lara self-consciously shrugged her shoulders, rolling her bottom lip in with her teeth. Every time she thought of Chion she could never think of one negative characteristic. Chion was a good friend to have, especially on that world. He was a friend who did his best to protect her from harm. Lara would be dead if it wasn’t for him.

Starting over, she tried to explain, staring up at the ceiling as she pieced together the words before saying them aloud. “Chion is from a country called Kureto. Two groups of people consider themselves Kurites. These two groups are the humans and the pakas. Pakas are quite intelligent, able to speak with anyone, but they use a form of mindspeech to do so. From what I can tell, Chion is the only white paka alive. Pakas’ coats are typically black. They don’t have any hint of spots like leopards. They also don’t have stripes like tigers. They look like a combination of leopard and tiger, but they seem to come in different sizes. One paka I know, Eiren, is tiny compared to Chion.”

Not knowing what else to say to make it clear pakas existed, she tried to read Becky’s expression. It was blank. So blank, Lara wasn’t even certain anyone was home. Her roommate didn’t say anything for a long time. Perhaps she’d disclosed too much. Finally she blurted out, “Well? You going to talk to me? Tell me what’s running through your mind.”

Becky turned her head to the side and closed her eyes, avoiding her gaze. Lara got up and walked over to where her friend still leaned against the door frame. Coming to a stop in front of her roommate, she tilted her head down until her hesitant eyes met Becky’s. She lifted her hand to touch her, but pulled back at the last second when Becky’s eyes flashed an indefinable emotion.

Lara said in a tight voice, “I shouldn’t have shared all of that with you. My mistake. It is too much for you to handle. I knew better.”

Becky looked at her for a minute longer before she sighed. She stepped away from the door to put more distance between Lara and her. “You told me the outrageous story about the giant lizards. And now this. You would think I could let this one go after everything else you told me, but I can’t. I can’t wrap my head around it. I really can’t.”

Not wanting to spook her friend any more than she already had, Lara stayed where she was. Her fingers tunneled through her hair in frustration. She didn’t know how to handle this situation, what to do, what to say. Up until now, Becky had been very supportive of the entire affair. It was as if her friend at last realized how crazy it was to be transported from one world to another. Her friend had thought it a game or an adventure she could share in. But not now.

Lara said in a low voice, “Chion keeps me safe. He watches out for me in a world that makes no sense. Just remember that, okay? If you believe that, then I promise not to tell you anything else.”

She searched her friend’s face for anything that would tell her what Becky was thinking. Becky jerkily nodded her head. They stood across from each other for an awkward moment, then Becky blinked a few times and shot her a strained smile.

“Jonathan wondered why you didn’t go shopping with us. I think he hoped you would go so he didn’t have to. Summer called me while we were driving back. We made plans to do something tomorrow but haven’t decided what.”

Her shoulders rounded, and she let Becky fill the air with useless conversation. Rejection was never something she liked being on the receiving end. Lara wasn’t confident their friendship would survive this hurdle.

Hurdle? Try a mountain.

Deeply regretting her impulsive decision to divulge information about Chion, she had trouble participating in the conversation. After a few minutes of stilted talk where she became more uncomfortable by the second, Lara lied about needing to study before she got too tired. Seeing Becky’s relief at the proffered excuse depressed her even more.

Becky retreated to her own room, and Lara pulled off the class lecture slides and saved the documents to her computer. After skimming those, she read ten pages of a chapter before giving up.

It was useless.

Lara was only frustrating herself with her inability to focus. Her mind in turmoil, she sat at her desk and stared dry eyed at the computer’s screensaver as it squiggled across the screen. Perhaps she needed to give her roommate some space to become comfortable with the new information. She wasn’t going to break her promise. Possible scenarios played out in her head that would bring their friendship back to normal.

Six o’clock came and went. It wasn’t until her stomach growled did she look at the clock. She hadn’t eaten since the night before, and fast food was calling her name. On a normal day she had a standing dinner date with her friends every night, but in the hours since her conversation with Becky, she hadn’t recovered. She was still upset. In a rush she took some cash out of her purse and left without saying a word to Becky.

<< >>

Full from the delicious but high calorie meal, Lara slurped the last of the milkshake and threw the container away in a garbage can outside the residence hall elevator. On the way up, she located her room key and waited for the doors to open. Lara wasn’t surprised to find their rooms empty when she walked in. She was glad. She didn’t have the energy to deal with her roommate tonight.

What she needed was a good night’s sleep for once, though she doubted she’d get one. Her heart fluttered at the thought of returning to Chion. By now the others had crossed the bridge. At least, Lara prayed that was the case.

It was still early when she started prepping for bed. This time she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She then pulled on a clean pair of socks, brushed the dirt off her shoes, and went in search of comfortable clothes. Lara flipped through her hangars to find a t-shirt without any words or designs written on them. She smiled, picturing Skye’s reaction to some of the phrases. If only she didn’t have to blend in. She pulled a dark blue shirt off the hangar. At this rate, she would run out of old clothes and bed sheets in less than a day.

Getting in bed, she draped the comforter over her and closed her eyes. After tossing around in the bed for several hours, Lara groaned at the unfairness of it all. She punched her pillow in irritation before dropping her head back down. With her face smashed into the pillow, she squeezed her eyes shut in frustration.

Figured. The one time she wanted to escape her planet, she couldn’t.

Lara woke with a crick in her neck. Dragging her hand up to massage her neck, she tried to straighten her body into a full-body stretch. When both her feet hit the armrest, she remembered migrating to the sofa. As she scrubbed the sleep out of her eyes, she sat up and rolled her shoulders to work the kinks out.

Lara jerked, awareness bringing her fully awake. She hadn’t gone back to Chion.

She sprang up and stood in the middle of the living room at a loss what to do. She pushed her bangs out of her face and looked around the empty room. It was so quiet Lara heard the wall clock ticking the seconds away.

She went to her bedroom and rummaged through her closet, pulling on a pair of jeans and a large, comfortable sweatshirt. Lara yawned as she splashed some cold water on her face to wake up. After finishing getting ready for the day, she reluctantly turned on her computer and waited for it to boot up. Not knowing how long she’d be here, she felt compelled to study. Lara shook her head in awe when her eyes landed on the calendar above her desk.

So much had happened in a week. Only last weekend she drove from Colorado back to college with her parents. Since then, she had fought for her life, met Chion, and began sensing people’s emotions. She needed to call her parents; she hadn’t talked to them since the weekend before.

Lara spent the day reading and taking notes on the material she missed in class. When her stomach howled, she jumped in surprise. Her giggle sounded odd in the too quiet room. The stash of snacks she kept on hand weren’t enough to satisfy her, but she didn’t want to go anywhere.

Her cell phone rang its chirpy song, the sound strident in the small room.

“Are you coming or not,” Summer demanded from the other end. Lara could hear the clamor of voices and laughter in the background.

“Join you where? Becky said you were going to do something, but no one called to tell me the plan.”

“Becky didn’t tell you? We’re all waiting for you to join us here.”

Her roommate never called her. Did Becky not want her to join them? Uncertainty crept in, making her indecisive. In search of an answer she could give Summer, Lara glanced around her room. She took a breath and suddenly she knew what she wanted to do.

“Hey, Summer, I don’t think I’ll be joining everyone tonight. Will you tell everyone hi for me?”

Her friend’s soft gasp of surprise filled the line. “Really? We’re going to be here for a couple of hours. You have plenty of time to get here.”

Still not sure where ‘here’ was, Lara shook her head. She was hurt no one thought to call her with the plans for the evening while at the same time relieved. With the constant deluge of excitement over the last week on the other planet, taking a breather and enjoying the peace and quiet was a Godsend.

She said with more confidence, “Have fun without me. I’m staying in for the night. Just be sure to tell everyone hi, okay?”

Summer’s voice still held an edge of doubt. “Sure. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. The waitress just showed up again.”

“Bye.” Lara held the phone in her hand for a moment before releasing her breath. She double checked her phone to make sure. There weren’t any missed calls, so Becky hadn’t called her. She waited for the hurt to settle in, but it never did. Yeah, the pain of being left out had hit her, but it had been all too brief. Lara realized she’d changed. Her circle of friends was larger now, making her less dependent on her college friends for her happiness.

When she told Summer she wasn’t going to join them, Lara had felt a surge of anticipation for tonight. She was going back to Chion. She knew it.

Lara looked at the clock on the screen. She had just enough time to make it to the cafeteria for dinner before they closed the doors. On the way out the door, she grabbed her room key and her campus ID.