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The Worlds of the Dead

Writers Science Fiction posted on Sep 27, 2021
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Chapter 23

“DON’T TOUCH THE BUBBLES, THEY’LL MELT YOUR FACE OFF!” What?... Jack crab-walked backwards through the snow to get away from a cluster of the soap bubbles, or whatever they were, they looked like soap bubbles. “What’s going on? Where am I?” “Behind you!” Jack stopped and looked over his shoulder, he’d almost crawled into another cluster of the shiny bubbles blowing around on the wind. He looked for the source of the voice shouting at him - another Jack his age… and he appeared to be dancing ballet – a very slow ballet. “Am I dead?” asked Jack. “Not yet, but you will be if you don’t start paying attention. Move slowly, or you’ll create air currents and the bubbles will follow you.” Jack saw Dash and called out too late as the cub batted at one of the bubbles. The tiger cub vanished as if he’d just been swallowed by the bubble. “DASH!” Dash reappeared a moment later from the bubble, dripping wet, eyes wide, and a bit of blood on his flank from a cut. Jack got the impression that whatever had just swallowed Dash hadn't liked the way the little tiger tasted and threw him up, or maybe it hadn't liked its meal having sharp claws and teeth. Dash tried to shake the water from his fur, but most of it was already frozen in clumps. “I not go there again, that one bad, all water, monster tried to eat me!” The other Jack paused and motioned the tiger to him. “That’s one down, Dash, you only have eight left, be more careful.” “What do you mean he has eight left?” asked Jack. “Something here really likes cats and gives them nine chances. We, on the other hand, don’t get any extra lives – well, except you. You’re technically alive, so if you die, you’ll be sent out to walk back in with the other dead.” Jack slowly stood and mimicked the strange dance the other boy was doing to avoid the thousands of soap bubbles floating in the air above the ice and snow covered field. The wind howled and sent wisps of snow that pushed the soap bubbles in chaotic circles that made it even more difficult to avoid them. Dash had his own ballet dance of tiger twists and jumps as he ran across the field. Some of Dash’s acrobatic jumps were very impressive. “Where are we going?” shouted Jack. “There’s a path ahead, keep moving.” Dash reached the path first, followed by the other Jack, and then Jack-Dreamer arrived, running the last few feet from a line of soap bubbles that were following him. The soap bubbles stopped at the edge of the path and bobbed up and down as if angry their prey had escaped. Jack tapped his foot on the loose cobblestones, and noticed the path was as clear of snow as the desert road had been of sand. He looked up at the other Jack. “Who are you? What happened? Where are we?” “I am Jack 32, they call me Climber. Your surgery went wrong, and you went into cardiac arrest. Warrior ordered you to be reset before your last heartbeat, and here you are. Good luck.” “So, I’m not dead… hey, where are you going?” Climber had turned away and started walking. Jack chased after him. “Stop following me.” “Where are you going?” repeated Jack. “As far away from the Jack Cult as I can get.” “What..?” “Yeah, you know, those fanatic nut-jobs that can’t find their butt to wipe it.” “Hold on… did Warrior really send you here with me?” “Yep, and I got you to safety, you're safe, here you are, safe. Now leave me alone.” “So, you’re just going to leave me here?” “That’s the plan.” “You’re a jerk.” Climber stopped and stretched. “Oh, it feels good to be young again. I forgot what it felt like. I went too long between resets this time.” Climber turned around and stared at Jack. “Do you know why I climb things?” “How would I know?” “I climb things to get away from anyone that looks like Jack Aestar.” “You are Jack Aestar, and so am I.” “No, kid, I’m not. I was Jack Aestar a thousand years ago, but I died, I’m dead. I’m not Jack Aestar anymore, and I never will be again.” “But… we’re going to be made whole.” “Oh Sky Gods I hope not. Can you imagine being all smushed up in one body with all those lunatics, like Warrior, and Scholar, and Charisma, and all the others? I was so young and stupid and arrogant, I really believed we were saving the universe. I’m heading to the Gates of the Living. Hope everything works out for you, kid.” Jack shook his head. “You used me almost dying to trick Warrior, so you could sneak away like a coward.” Climber turned and started walking again. “See around, kid.” “I lost my library card, at least help me get back.” “I don’t care.” “If I die, it’ll be your fault for not telling me how to get back. I wonder what the universe will reincarnate you as after killing your helpless little brother. A snake maybe, a bug, or maybe a slime sucking fish at the bottom of the ocean.” Climber stopped, and his shoulders heaved in a sigh, then turned around. “Okay, listen. We are no longer on the Zilinth Crystal World, that’s what those are, the Crystal Worlds of the Dead.” Climber pointed at the bubbles gathered at the edge of the path. Jack narrowed his eyes. “I thought those were poisonous soap bubbles.” “I only said that to get your attention. Anyway, this path is one of the Paths of the Dead, and that field out there is the Plains of the Dead. If you touch a Crystal World, or get touched by one, you’re sucked into that world, like Dash was. It is possible to travel from world to world on secret trails without coming back out here, but it’s not easy. Warrior is good at it. All you have to do is choose a good world to hunker down on and wait. Warrior will find you in a few years. Okay? Satisfied? Can I go now?” Jack walked to the side of the path. “What about this one?” “Don’t touch that one, its red. That world is either on fire or all lava.” “This one?” “All white, it’s an ice world, you’ll freeze.” “This one?” “All blue, probably an ocean world, you’ll drown or get eaten.” “This is impossible!” Climber shoved his hands into his pockets. The blowing wind was freezing. “You don’t want any of the Crystal Worlds next to the path anyway. If you go into one and see danger, you can leave, but if it’s in a cluster of other Crystal Worlds, you’ll just go into a cycle of falling in and out of worlds until you’re so exhausted, you can’t do anything but let something kill you.” “Can’t we just go back into the Zilinth world?” “Normally, yes. The Zilinth world repels other worlds, so you can safely leave, and then immediately touch the Zilinth world and re-enter, but I was holding you and the Zilinth world blew away in the wind before I could get to it. I have no idea where it’s at now.” Jack doubted Climber even tried to take them back into the Zilinth world. “This is a really dumb system, who invented it?” “You’re not even seeing it the way it really is. Our minds are too finite to see what’s really here, so the universe gives us this illusion so we don’t go insane. You’re actually standing in the chaos of creation and death occurring at the same time. Oh, and one other thing, there’s a time dilation effect. Time out here is slower than time inside a Crystal world, you’ve already been gone several months. So there, I’ve told you everything I know, can I leave now without you cursing me to a terrible reincarnation?” Jack narrowed his eyes and grinned. Climber just made a mistake, he wasn’t telling Jack everything he knew. “No, help me find a safe world or I’ll curse you to become a Gruggle worm.” Climber laughed. “Oh, you are a clever Jack, huh? You just dreamed another brilliant escape. Be careful your curse is just, or it could backfire on you.” “Help me find a safe world to wait for rescue, and I’ll wish you the best next life ever.” “Blessing, not wish. Wishes do nothing here, blessings do everything.” “Find me a safe world, and you have my blessing for the best next life ever.” “Deal.” A ring of light like an explosion shot out from both Climber and Jack, and where they intersected was a sound like a bell ringing.” “Is magic real here?” asked Jack. “Everything is real here, and everything is fantasy. Like I said, this is creation and death, the beginning and the end. The Laws of Physics haven’t formed yet here, or have already died - almost anything goes. Do you really think the Desert Walkers could have formed from the science of evolution? No, those things were formed from the fear of someone’s mind, and of course they fell into a Crystal World and became real.” “How do you know this stuff?” “Someone taught me, a long time ago.” “Tell me, I bet your story is really fascinating.” Climber studied Jack’s face for a long moment. “Nobody has ever wanted to hear my story, and once I walk through the Gates of the Living, it will be gone forever. I think I want someone to know I existed, and to know that my Mara existed. I miss her so much. I’ll tell you what, I’m hungry. I’ll find you a world and tell you my story over a campfire, but then I’m leaving, with your blessing.” Jack looked down at Dash, he was shivering. Jack bent down and picked the little tiger up and tucked him inside his coat. “Okay, I’m ready, let’s go.”

Comments (12)


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uncollared

6:55AM | Mon, 27 September 2021

Excellent lighting

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STEVIEUKWONDER

9:51AM | Mon, 27 September 2021

Brilliant cover work and your words have such a deep meaning!

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eekdog

12:44PM | Mon, 27 September 2021

Awesome 👍👍

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Radar_rad-dude

2:38PM | Mon, 27 September 2021

Dash it all anyway! What an incredibly complex location! I'm totally lost!

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RodS Online Now!

2:49PM | Mon, 27 September 2021

Un-freaking-believable! What kind of coffee are you drinking? I want some..

There is so much depth, and so many amazing twists and turns in these chapters... It blows my mind..

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VDH

3:22PM | Mon, 27 September 2021

Superb cover, beautiful lighting effect !!

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miwi

4:16PM | Mon, 27 September 2021

Agree with RodS: Un-freaking-believable! What kind of coffee are you drinking? I want some.. There is so much depth, and so many amazing twists and turns in these chapters... It blows my mind.. 5*

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jendellas

5:58PM | Mon, 27 September 2021

Agree with others, love image as always.

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TwiztidKidd

9:27PM | Mon, 27 September 2021

I am in awe of your writing ability and talent. Many many thanks for this wonderful post!

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donnena

9:30PM | Wed, 29 September 2021

very cool!!

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bakapo

7:07PM | Fri, 01 October 2021

Cool ideas in this chapter!

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dragongirl

3:14PM | Sat, 20 November 2021

““Help me find a safe world to wait for rescue. . . “. Please!


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