Welcome to Strangely

“You need to get in the Tower. It is the only way you’ll be able to get here,” the man says, not giving her time to fully comprehend the shocking news his companion just delivered.

“The Tower doesn’t have a door,” Zara says, confused.

The man and the woman look at each other for a moment.

“They must have hidden the door, but you can dream walk into the Tower. Take Emily and Jenny with you. Jenny can predict the precise moment for Emily to stop time, so you can step through the vortex together to reach for the light. Once all three of you are touching the light, you will be transported here, but we don’t have a lot of time and the Changeless will try to stop you,” the woman says, panic making her voice quake.

“Wait, I don’t understand,” Zara says. “How can we all be dead?”

The woman starts to explain, while the man looks around nervously. “Everyone on Strangely died in the same way. Strangely is especially special because only good people go there, although the Changeless have slowly corrupted the purity of the place.”

“How can the Changeless be corrupt if they live in Strangely too?”

“Because they have been elsewhere before. Changeless are assigned to a Haven in a large web of Havens, five Changeless per Haven. The Changeless have always just been Changeless, they’ve never lived, never died. You, on the other hand, have lived and you have died.”

“No!”

Zara looks across the room at Emily with panic in her eyes. It takes everything in her not to jump up and make a scene. It is either flight or fight, good or evil, and she does not know what to do. She can feel her heart racing in her chest, faster and faster until it feels as if it is going to burst right out of its cage of ribs. If she can feel her heartbeat, then surely, she cannot be dead. Do dead people still have a heartbeat?

Ignoring Agatha’s irate stare in her direction, Emily stands up from her seat and walks across the space separating her and Zara. As soon as her hand rests on Zara’s shoulder, everyone in the room is suddenly frozen in a mannequin pose.

If not for the frightful situation and the shocking news, Zara would have laughed out loud at the way Agatha’s mouth is pulled to the side, stopped in mid-sentence.

“You zoned out as soon as we sat down, and I was watching you,” Emily says as a blush colours her cheeks. “Just to make sure you were okay, and then when your eyes actually connected with mine, I saw your fear, so I panicked.”

“You need to unfreeze Jenny, she also needs to hear this,” Zara says.

Still holding on to Zara, Emily pulls her across the room. “I’m not entirely sure, but I think I need to touch a person, so they’re not affected by my powers.”

Jenny is shocked when she looks around the room, surprised to see the Changeless frozen in place. “Wow! This is kind of weird.”

“I dream walked to the OtherWorld, and there were a man and a woman who told me we are all dead,” Zara says, her voice trembling.

Emily frowns. “Are you sure they meant dead, dead?”

“Yeah. They were saying that all of us on Strangely, except for the Changeless, all died in the same manner.”

“How?” Jenny asks with a gasp.

“I didn’t stay to find out. They told me they were murdered. They said, soon the gates of Hell will open and if they don’t get a proper burial, the Gatekeeper will take their souls to Hell… Forever.”

Emily asks, “Do you think they were talking about us as well?”

Zara shakes her head a little. “No, the man said unlike us, they were murdered and only the four of us can help them now.”

“Weren’t you scared?” Jenny asks, with a quiver of fear in her voice.

“Terrified,” Zara confirms. “We have to hurry, though. I know how to get to Abby, how to get to The OtherWorld.”

“What about the Changeless?” Jenny hesitates.

“Trust me, leaving them behind is a good thing. They have done nothing but lie to us,” Zara says.

“Okay, let’s go,” Jenny agrees.

“We have to hurry. I’m not sure how long I can stop time for.”

Faintly, Jenny can hear a voice saying: I’m not ready to say goodbye, and maybe you can give me a hint when you get to the other side, but for now, close your eyes.