THE SLIDE Part 4

Chapter 51: Dimensions, Worlds, Realities

Fantasy — Collisions, Struggle, Blending

Recap

Just as the submarine-blow shot from the depths, the three golden yellow arcs hit the water. There was an explosion of light.

The submersible craft was torn apart by the light. Zed, who had been crammed into the nose or bow, was hurtled through the air and was “caught” by Ombolo and joined eight-year-old Zed. They merged as one. The eight ObzKotch warriors were jettisoned from the shredded submarine and thrown outside the radius of the electrical aura of the still growing yellow light beam with the man inside. Two of the ObzKotch tried to swim through the electrical field but were killed. The other six swam to the shore.

The original eight from the two Ouroboros-es and the crashed plane plummeting underwater about thirty feet. They were within the electrical aura of the still growing light beam, which had completely consumed the small island and a nineteen-foot diameter around the island.

The two she-drakes merged into one glorious dragon and flew up out of the water, breathing fire amidst clouds of steam. The eight popped up to the surface.

The light from the beam consumed the eight, Ombolo, and continued to grow. When it reached the shore, it popped.

The golden light went everywhere.

One Dimension

As the eight of the nine were treading water, Hrez laid on his back and floated, looking at the sky and the vortex. Kuzma was four people away and communicated telepathically to Hrez.

Is there something wrong? Kuzma sent his thoughts to Hrez.

No…Yes, I do not know, for sure. I’ve never been able to float on my back and be buoyed up by the water like this. Weird, and not of consequence. Something doesn’t feel right in the bigger picture. Hrez answered.

Kuzma kicked, dipped and floated on his back in the water. Moments later he floated slightly above it.

You’re right. I see three realities, alternate dimensions or worlds with us in them, and this one too. Kuzma thought to Hrez.

Yes, yes, Hrez thought back to Kuzma who shared thoughts, images, sights, sounds — a full sensory experience with the remaining six of the group.

Do you see it? Kuzma relayed it, excitedly.

The Light and Dark shedrake Ouroboros-es collided as they crashed into the water breathing jets of fire into one another in a cauldron of dragon’s breath. When they emerged from the depths as one mighty ouroboros, steam releasing. From the steam a light grew in concordance with the pulsing beam at the center of the rock island in the crater’s lake. A pungent scent of sulfur filled the air. The beam of golden-white light expanded in rings much like the rings of the ancient giant trees made of light and immediately filled the lake. It popped when the light wave hit the shoreline.

The eight were gone.

How wonderful! A familiar voice echoed at the bottom of the vortex.

Third Dimension

How wonderful! The lingering voice from Dimension One cascaded like drops of liquid gold from the event horizon above Earth’s atmosphere.

The eight sighed collectively — relieved.

Ra, Hrez, Sophia, Farha, Marie Bissett, Maria, Kuzma, and Nikos stood on the shore of the small rocky island. Inside the most intense part of the upward thrusting and pulsing golden-yellow beam of light was a humanoid figure of indeterminate gender. The beam was at the center of the eye of the vortex. The eight of them stood well within the second layer of the beam. The original eight had just emerged from under the water, but they flickered in and out of the third dimension. A sputtering bird-plane was limping through the air just outside the electrical aura of the three beams.

“Look up. Look-up into the sky,” Farha exclaimed in awe and wonder, her head cast upwards in the intense light.

“I can’t see anything in this blinding light,” Nikos lamented.

“Use your inner eyes, Nikos,” Marie Bissett said, “and you will see clearly.”

“Reality arcs,” Sophia whispered in a reverent hush, facing in the opposite direction from the others.

“It’s too much,” Kuzma was reeling.

“Breath. Inhabit your body, focus on the present.” Hrez added, quickly flashing into a wider future from the present.

The original eight were solid, floating peacefully in the water about thirty feet away from the newly formed third dimension.

“Thank you Hrez, I needed that,” Kuzma admitted.

Moments later, the one dimension fell upon them. There was an explosion, a detonation that destroyed the original eight.

The explosion took out the submarine. The organic-metal aircraft hybrid with Zed in the pilot’s seat from the second reality climbed higher and was freed from the total obliteration of the first dimension — the one dimension.

The eight from this new third-wave reality were protected in the second ring of the light beam.

“I’m feeling more like myself,” Ra said, laughing — attempting levity. The others looked at him with disdain. He censored himself.

“To maintain sanity in this second reality, focus on the etheric space between us. Feel our strength and unity. See — the connections. Be the connection,” Hrez stated with confidence.

A Second World

An image popped into Kuzma’s head. At first, he thought it may have been from Mustafah as they had all just seen him. His hands were on the throttle and the steering mechanisms of the plane were changing in his hands, as if the plane were flying itself. He couldn’t grasp the image. It confused him. He chose to focus on his immediate present: guiding the plane instead.

“Something’s wrong,” Hrez shouted out at Marie Bissett and Nikos as they rode Ouroboros Secundus down through the layers of the vortex’s swirling maelstrom.

Farha heard Hrez in her thoughts and blurted out: “That’s right. We are all on the surface in a future… And we are here too.” All heard this — Kuzma, Maria, Ra (on the plane); Hrez, Marie Bissett, Nikos (on Ouroboros Secundus): Sophia, Farha (whose words echoed back to herself as she felt the connection with her comrades) [on Ouroboros Primus]; and even Zed.

The descent of the two Ouroboros-es were blind. The winds and the vortex of energy were so intense, visibility was impossible. Primus-the light and Secundus-the shadow shut their eyes and flew by inner vision. They flew in a stormy jet-black world highlighted by glowing green energy streamers.

The plane was spirally on high. Kuzma restarted the engine. He struggled to navigate upward wind shear forces and downward forces occurring simultaneously, a chaotic turbulent flight.

Meanwhile, the submarine was hurtling upwards at an alarming rate. The pressures within were fluctuating wildly. The two Obz shaman warriors nodded, communicating telepathically:

Winged transformations. They both nodded to the other in the affirmative.

The Captain and his Second of the Kotch yelled through the din within the sub:

“Prepare to deploy the aircraft.”

Just as the submarine blow cracked the water’s surface with an explosive wave, Ombolo flung the craft up in the air above the water as the plane and the two she-drakes were about to crash into the water in the One Dimension.

The submarine’s hull split in half as it passed through the expanded golden-yellow beam shooting straight-up.

Now, the two Obz shamans invoked the intention while the Kotch Captain and his Second flipped the switches to begin the transformation into the aircraft.

What emerged; flew upwards — half organic — half mechanical, into the sky flown by Zed.

Fourth Reality

Three groups manifested from the electromagnetic swirling clouds and debris of the vortex. Each of the three groups with arcs of green glowing light descended towards the center and veered upwards. Parts of the third dimension — the eight within the second light ring of the island merged as one with the fourth reality.

Marie Bissett, Nikos and Hrez in the dark shadow Ouroboros Secundus; Farha and Sophia, daughter of Nikos, were with Primus Ouroboros.

Kuzma, Maria, and Ra were on the plane — ascending above the fray, pursued by a hybrid organic being and a mechanic plane, flown by Zed, laden with armaments firing on them.

Maria and Ra had climbed into two turrets on the left and right sides of their plane and were firing back, in self-defense.

An Index of Parts 1 and 2:

The previous chapter:

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