Beyond The Barrier

Our journey officially begins

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I nod and walk over as Kai and Miles hop on their horses, and Miles leans down to help me up. Once I'm situated, we're off.

— — — — —

"Woah," I breathe as I look above me. Now I know why the Red Forest is named the way it is. Everything except for the bark on the trees is red. The leaves, the ground growth, and even the squirrels I see are an astonishing shade of carmine red. "This is amazing."

"It's breathtaking," Miles replies, seeming just as awed by the sight as me.

"So how are we supposed to find the portal?" Kai cuts in abruptly.

"According to other travelers, we'll feel vibrations in the air when we are getting close, and then we just follow them," Miles informs Kai. "So pay attention."

"I always pay attention! It's you that doesn't-"

"Wait," I say. "Be quiet. I feel something." Kai quiets down. I close my eyes and feel the vibrations in the air guiding me. "That way," I say, opening my eyes again and pointing to the left. "Go that way."

Miles turns Ryan and urges him in that direction, but Ryan doesn't move. "I think he can feel the magic in the air," Miles says. He gets off and offers me his hand. "We'll have to go on foot."

I hop down and ask, "Where will we put Molly and Ryan?"

"We'll leave them to roam in the forest. They won't come too near the portal, and they know to run away or hide when they see species or people they don't know. We also have a... special way to contact them when we are out of the Faeworld," Miles replies.

"Yeah," Kai adds as he hops down from his horse. "A very special way."

I open my mouth to ask them what their way is, but get interrupted by Miles blurting out, "Ok, Emerson, lead us onward!"

I chuckle and start walking to the left. The closer we get, the stronger the vibration gets until we walk under a bundle of red vines and see a shimmering, translucent bubble in the air. "I think we found it," I whisper.

Miles looks at the bubble and gulps. "Are you guys ready?"

"I am," Kai assures him.

Miles then looks at me. "Are you ready Emerson?"

I look into his eyes and say, "I'm ready."

We walk towards the bubble, Miles on my left and Kai on the right. I reach out my hands for theirs, and they both take one. We finally reach the bubble and walk in. All of a sudden, we are falling and floating at the same time. It sounds like we're underwater. Faint whispered words reach my ears, but are undecipherable. The world goes blindingly bright, and I tighten my grip on Miles's and Kai's hands. All of a sudden, we bonk against something bouncy, and fly the other way. We bounce against something else, and start flying all over the place. The world goes black and white, and we are falling through a void of nothingness. Then, the world becomes so colorful that it looks like the rainbow was splattered across the void. Suddenly, the journey ends.

— — — — —

"Ugh," I groan as I sit up, my head pounding. I lurch onto my shaky legs looking frantically side-to-side for Kai and Miles. I see them lying a few yards away and breathe a sigh of relief. At least I'm not alone in this. I wobble over to Miles and then crouch down and gently touch his arm. "Miles, wake up."

He suddenly blinks and flies up, and then grabs my shoulders urgently and says, "You're okay? You're not hurt or injured are you?"

"No, I'm fine," I assure him as I take his hands gently off my shoulders.