Beyond the Rupt Door: Stories of Wonder and Fright, Volume I

Beyond the Rupt Door

Stories of Wonder and Fright, Volume 1

By L. Rigdon

Cover Art

By L. Rigdon & Canva

Edited

By Jonathan Paul Bard Glasscock

This is a work of fiction. Names of real people have been used in accordance with the contractual agreement entered by said individuals. Other names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, other than those who have signed said contracts, is purely coincidental.

License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite e-book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Text copyright © 2018 L. Rigdon

Smashwords Edition

All Rights Reserved

Table of Contents

Current Works Written by L. Rigdon

Dedication

Where Do Stories Come from?

Special Thanks and Acknowledgments

The Branded Child

Accident-Prone Dragon Seeks Fearless Single Gentleman

Passing on the Debt

Behind-The-Scenes of Bonding Beyond the Veil

Sacrifices

Cat Tales and Furry Scales

The Enemy of My Enemy

Thank You for Reading!!!

About the Author

Current Works Written by L. Rigdon:

Rupt World Stories Volume 1: Monsters Are Real

Rupt World Stories Volume 2: Monsters Can Help

Rupt World Stories Volume 3: Real Monsters Hide

Words on a Feather

Grift and Shadow

Follow L. Rigdon’s journey on her website:

www.LRIGDON.com

Go HERE to sign up for L. Rigdon’s monthly newsletter, filled with insider exclusives, updates, and sneak peeks:

Upcoming Titles:

L. Rigdon is proud to announce that she is writing Volume 2 of Beyond the Rupt Door, which she hopes to release in the fall of 2019. She is also working on the final book in the 4-volume set of Rupt World Stories. Lastly, books #2 and #3 of the Grift and Shadow trilogy are also in the pipeline for 2020/2021.

Use the link above to join L. Rigdon’s email list to get updates about her soon-to-be-published works!

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L. Rigdon on Facebook

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my unbelievably patient fans. This project was pushed back significantly, but my fans have stuck by me the whole way. Many of them have emailed me with inspiring words of encouragement. I am so grateful and so blessed to have my fans support my work and motivate me to move ever forward. Thank you!

Where Do Stories Come from?

When a mommy story and a daddy story really love each other . . . Just kidding!

In early 2016, I decided to get some help with my marketing, so I hired Author Platform Rocket. As a marketing agency, they help authors build email lists, which are essential for fan interactions, lead generation, and so forth. The formula they use to develop these lists includes targeting specific audiences and offering those audiences something valuable in hopes of people giving up their email information.

At the time, I didn’t exactly have a lot of money to buy flashy prizes, so I had to think of something unique I could offer that they couldn’t get from anywhere else. That’s when it dawned on me – make my winners into characters in the Rupt World.

The idea seemed simple enough.

Offer people the chance to be immortalized in a short story. How hard could it be? Then I realized that most new people didn’t know details about the Rupt World. They had no idea what types of characters even existed, so I had to find a way to work around their knowledge gap.

The best way was to keep it simple.

Every winner would answer six questions, including the name they wanted me to use, a physical description, the short story genre they wanted me to write, and whether they wanted to be the protagonist or antagonist.

Things got interesting with questions #4 and #5. I asked my winners if they wanted their character to have superpowers or supernatural abilities. I also gave them the opportunity to choose if they wanted their character to be some sort of supernatural creature.

The answers I got to the 6 questions blew me away. Some people gave straightforward short answers, whereas others went way in depth with the type of story they wanted me to write. More impressive was how accepting everyone was of using general terms to skirt the knowledge gap issue. My winners gave me carte blanche to translate their general terms and ideas into Rupt World equivalents.

Translating their ideas took lots of brainstorming, outlining, long walks, long discussions, and countless cups of tea.

The biggest challenge included the fact that many of their ideas were for concepts I had yet to write into Rupt World canon. I didn’t know how I wanted to treat the ideas of mermaids, dragons, fairy folk, witches, and so forth. I mean, I had some established dragon characters and magic users, but to write the type of stories my winners were asking for, I had to first write backstory upon backstory just to establish the foundation of my fictional facts.

Solving those puzzles reinvigorated me at a time when I was having massive real-life struggles.

I had just moved 700 miles away from what I called home. My father had passed away about six most before I started the contest. My work as a freelance writer was nowhere close to a good financial place. Despite the rest of my life in chaos, writing in my Rupt World gave me a place of solace. Figuring out new creatures and new powers within my world made me feel like Indiana Jones with uncovering ancient secrets, fighting off random enemies, almost getting trapped, and somehow always winning the day!

It’s been a thrilling ride made even better by the fact that I get to turn these fictional facts into fantastic stories.

The original plan was to create one book with all 14 short stories. Life got in the way, so plans had to change. I pushed back the original 2017 publishing date to 2018. August of 2018 rolled around, and I was only halfway through the project. I decided in September that the best way to make a finished product was to split the book in half and make two volumes.

I threw caution in the wind and hoped that my winners and fans wouldn’t go ballistic on me. Luckily, I have the best fans that anyone could ever ask for! Everyone loved the idea of two books. I’ve received so many warm emails and words of encouragement that it gets me all choked up just thinking about the level of support I have received and continue to receive from all of my fans out there. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

This first volume has been almost 2 years in the making. I hope all of my readers will love every story. Feel free to drop an email or comment on my Facebook page about which stories you loved the most. Also, let me know if you want to see any of these stories continue on into other shorts or possibly full-fledged novels.

When fans and writers work together, anything can happen.

Special Thanks and Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the winners of the contest that brought this book into creation. In alphabetical order, they are:

Alice

Christine

Sherry Fundin

Jackie

Phil Jacobsen

Richelle Joyce

Lisa

Penny McIntosh

Missy Noecker

Daryl Rose

Fred Rosenbaum

Gloria Shirley

Deborah Tucker

Marilee Worrell

Through the imaginative ideas of these 14 fantastic people, I was pushed to write new and extraordinary stories. I had a marvelous experience finding ways to make their ideas fit into the Rupt World, and I hope that they and everyone else enjoys the results.

Other people have helped make this book a reality.

Author Platform Rocket (APR) was instrumental in the original choosing of half of my winners. I no longer work with APR, but they provided me with exceptional service and great guidance. Arial Burnz especially gave me some smart advice on marketing considerations for my books, and I will forever be grateful for the insight she provided.

I would also like to recognize the tireless work of my editor and partner in crime, Jonathan Paul Bard Glasscock. He has spent so much time listening to my ideas, helping me workshop out the kinks, putting up with my gripes, reading through every draft, editing for flow and continuity, and line editing all of my stories. He has been the driving force behind every piece of fiction I have published, and it is an honor to work with him.

I also wish to send a special thank you to my family members and close friends who have put up with the mad schedule and kooky habits of this author. You are all saints and I don’t deserve you, but hopefully you’ll never realize that fact and will stay with me till the end.

Finally, I want to acknowledge and give a shout out to my first-class fans who support me on Facebook, my website, and through my newsletter. I love your comments, your likes, and your emails. Keep it coming, and please be patient with my slow responses. I adore and appreciate every one of you!

The Branded Child

She’s got Andromeda’s brand on her wrist! Lisa thought. Panic froze her in place.

Lisa had escaped Andromeda years ago, and she’d been on the run ever since. She hadn’t seen any of Andromeda’s loyal servants, her Keepers, as Andromeda called them, in over a year. It had been longer still since she had seen anyone wearing the brand.

Andromeda’s brand marked the enslaved.

Lisa stood on the other side of a market display stand across from a 13-year-old girl. The young girl wore the brand on her wrist.

Andromeda did like them young.

No one had noticed Lisa. She had magic on her to keep people from noticing her. Everything inside Lisa screamed to run. Run away and never look back.

She did not run.

She stood and watched.

The young girl wearing Andromeda’s brand was casually looking at different items for sale in the market. She had short black hair, brown skin, and wore a baggy blue hoodie. Her pleated schoolgirl uniform skirt was simply a strategic piece of clothing.

Andromeda dressed her slaves to look weak and vulnerable. It helped smooth things over with some of Andromeda’s more detestable clients, or made the clients easier to manipulate, depending on how you looked at it.

The young girl also wore some strands of rose quartz beads on her unbranded wrist. Many Rupts wore these stones, as they blocked out Telepaths and other mind readers, most of the time. For this girl, the bracelets were there to stop any Telepath from hearing her mentally begging to be set free. Another of Andromeda’s strategic choices.

Lisa also wore rose quartz bracelets, among other magical enchantments she had woven into her clothing or imbued into her own jewelry. At the moment, Lisa’s hooded green pea coat had several charmed buttons, including one that kept her mostly unnoticed. She put a lot of magic into that particular button, since most people, both Rupt and Slum alike, tended to notice slender redheads with light blue eyes like Lisa. Still, she was short, barely 5’4", so even with her distinctive red hair, her small stature and a little bit of magic kept people from noticing her. Unless, of course, she chose to interact with anyone, like this girl, or whoever the girl was with.

Lisa knew that the girl was not alone.

Looking the young girl over, Lisa saw the magical leash and collar bound around the girl’s neck. Most people never saw the leash, but most people didn’t look for it. Lisa looked. She followed the glimmering line of the leash from the young girl’s neck to the hand of the Keeper, always one of Andromeda’s magic user flunkies.

This Keeper, a 40-year-old stout woman with matronly hair, wore a constant scowl on her face. Her long overcoat had dozens of embroidered symbols, which was the sign of a magic user with an arsenal of magical weaponry hidden in each embroidered stitch. Andromeda never messed around, and she made sure her Keepers were always armed to the teeth. If this woman noticed Lisa and recognized her, there would be no telling how many spells she could cast before Lisa got even two steps away.

Lisa needed to leave. She needed to run. Run away, she told herself. Don’t look back. Keep running.

The Keeper yanked the young girl’s leash, choking the girl and pulling on her as if the young girl were a disobedient dog.

Lisa reached up to her own neck, feeling the choking sensation a flashback of painful memories flooded her system. She forced herself to take a few deep breaths. Having a panic attack this close to a Keeper would put the leash back on her own neck. She had to be smart. She had to find her escape. She had to run.

But she didn’t run.

Instead, Lisa reached into her bag and pulled out an innocuous-looking item. A metal thimble. She slipped it on her finger and took a few steps forward, moving closer to the Keeper. Lisa whispered some strange words into the thimble on her finger, activating the magic inside of it. All the dimples on the thimble became tiny needles, magically loaded with a mixture of herbs and Shaylumstyne, the time element. It was a low grade of Shaylumstyne, just S-grade 1, but even the lowest grade was able to temporarily freeze a person into a statue. Lisa had added herbs to the mix as a memory blocker. Even when the Keeper could move again, the last five minutes of her memories would be wiped from her mind.

Thanks to the atmosphere of the market, Lisa could stand in close proximity without alerting the Keeper. The magic of Lisa’s button also masked her presence.

She waited.

It was only a matter of seconds. Five seconds at most. But, in Lisa’s mind, a lifetime of thoughts passed. What was she doing? Why was she risking everything for this girl? She didn’t owe her anything. She didn’t owe anyone. Andromeda took everything from her. Why give up what little freedom she had just so Andromeda could take that too?

Then the Keeper smacked the young girl on the side of the head, cussing her out, making the girl slump away in shame, but unable to leave her Keeper’s side, thanks to the short leash.

That was it. Lisa jabbed the magic thimble into the Keeper’s neck, immobilizing the Keeper instantly.

Frozen like a deer in headlights, the young girl looked back and forth between her Keeper and this strange, red-haired woman who seemingly just appeared out of nowhere and attacked her Keeper.

Lisa looked at the girl, reading the fear in her face. I’m not here to hurt you, she said. I can get you out of here, but we need to run.

The girl stood there in shock. Lisa knew they didn’t have long. Andromeda would have spies in the crowd, or, at the very least, some sort of magical failsafe plan on her Keeper. She would know that her Keeper has been attacked, and she would know soon.

Lisa had one option.

I’m sorry, Lisa said as she ripped the leash handle from the frozen Keeper’s hand.

With the leash in one hand, she used her free hand to grab the young girl’s hand and began pulling her out of the marketplace, making them run the moment they got clear of the crowds.

The marketplace, an indoor flea market space in Albuquerque, New Mexico, had both Rupt and Slum customers. People came in and out frequently on the weekend, so no one paid much attention to Lisa and the young girl leaving. Hardly anyone noticed when they ran the moment they exited the building. It being March, the cooler desert weather made running easier. On this part of Menaul Blvd, Lisa and the girl ran past mainly businesses. After two minutes of solid running, Lisa turned, directing her and the girl into a parking lot and toward some warehouse buildings that belonged to a mechanic whose shop was closed for the weekend. In the shade of the warehouses and behind the cover of a dumpster, the two waited and caught their breath. Lisa still held onto the leash, but let the girl’s hand go as they rested.

We’ll rest here for another minute, but we still have about a five-minute walk before we get to my safe house, Lisa explained.

Who are you? The young girl finally spoke. Where did you come from? You just appeared out of nowhere!

I promise I’ll answer all your questions, but not here, Lisa insisted. Her freehand instinctually went to the button on her jacket that had been charmed to conceal her from onlookers. It had been over a month since she had recharged the button. Such a willful act to save a stranger burned out whatever magic was left in the button. She would have to fix it later. We need to keep moving.

Why?

Lisa reached down and touched the girl’s brand on her wrist. I think you know why.

The young girl furrowed her brow, her eyes fearful as she looked down at the brand on her wrist. They’ll come for me, she whispered. The young girl then looked up at Lisa. They’ll kill you.

Which is why we can’t stay here. We don’t need to run, but we do need to hurry. Lisa didn’t wait for a response.

She took the girl’s hand again and began leading her out from behind the dumpster and back onto the sidewalk. They walked down another block and crossed Menaul Blvd, heading south. The businesses in the area were mainly warehouse buildings amidst the brown backdrop of dead grass and dirt. Most buildings had signs on the front near doorways or next to large garage doors that rolled opened for business. Lisa led the young girl to a warehouse that had no sign on the front, even though cars were parked nearby. They walked around to the back, but there was nothing save a wall of beige painted corrugated metal. A five-foot-wide empty stretch of land lay between the back wall of the warehouse and a chain-link fence. On the other side of the chain-link fence were oversized bushes hiding Lisa and the young girl from view.

What are we doing? The young girl asked.

Getting somewhere safe, Lisa assured her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a Swiss Army knife. She pricked her finger on the corkscrew. A ruby red droplet of blood appeared on her finger. Lisa touched the blood to the wall of the warehouse, and the wall shimmered.

A magical barrier appeared in front of them, perfectly transparent to any passersby, but those looking directly at it would see the rippling, sparkling surface of the barrier that stood just in front of the physical building of the warehouse. Almost like a smart glass tablet, images and figures appeared on the barrier. With her bleeding finger, Lisa moved the images into a pattern. After the correct pattern had been entered, the barrier flashed three times and the air tingled with a charge of static electricity. A doorway appeared behind the magical barrier. She reached through the barrier wall and opened the door, leading her and the young girl into the safe house. Lisa closed the doorway behind them, and the sound of electrical pops indicated that the barrier had been reactivated.

We’re safe in here. Let me show you around, Lisa said to the young girl.

They were standing in the entryway of a long hallway. Lisa flipped on the light switch, illuminating the hallway and the room beyond with overhead lighting. The two walked down the hallway into a kitchen of sorts, although the girl nervously stayed a few steps behind Lisa. It was a kitchen in that there was a refrigerator, cupboards, an oven, a sink, and prep space. Nevertheless, it was not an ordinary kitchen. Most of the shelves were filled with clearly labeled exotic ingredients. Crockpots labeled, Not For Food were bubbling away with glowing liquids inside.

You’re a magic user like Andromeda! The young girl accused, her eyes narrow with distrust.

I’m nothing like Andromeda, Lisa clarified. I use magic to stay away from her.

Who are you?

My name is Lisa. Won’t you sit down? Lisa instructed, gesturing to the nearby table and chairs.

The young girl sat down, but she watched Lisa closely.

Lisa placed the handle to the magical leash on the table in front of the girl. I’m sorry I had to drag you around by this, but we had to get out of there, Lisa explained. I don’t even know your name.

Zoe, she answered. What do you know about Andromeda?

I know she kidnaps Rushes, which is how I know that you are a Rush, Lisa said.

Zoe stared at Lisa, but she gave no response.

Andromeda finds Rushes when they’re too young to even know how to use their abilities. She enslaves them and sticks that magical brand on their wrists. It’s a magical tracking device and an easy way to torture those who don’t do what she commands. She forces you to use your Rush abilities to siphon life energy from either yourself or others. With all the high-level magic she and her crew perform, they need that extra energy, which is why she enslaves so many battery chargers, as she calls Rushes.

Were you one of her Keepers? Zoe asked.

No, Lisa replied. We better get that leash off of you.

Lisa went over to her cupboard of magical ingredients, keeping her back to Zoe as a show of trust. She gathered together the ingredients into a nearby empty bowl and brought the bowl and the ingredients over to the table. Now I can get that leash off, but it’s going to sting a little.

Just do it, Zoe replied.

Lisa nodded and began mixing the ingredients in the bowl. Here we go, she said and dropped the handle of the leash inside the powdery mixture.

Normally the handle looked almost invisible, like clear glass with a glowing blue tint. Now the handle changed from clear to translucent, and then from translucent to opaque. The tint of blue darkened from blue to ebony. Crackling pops sounded from the bowl, and the now black handle started to disintegrate with a soft, orange glow, as if it were burning up into nothingness.

Brace yourself, Lisa instructed.

Zoe held her breath, watching the orange glow moving up the length of the leash and up to the magical collar around her own neck. Ouch! She called out. The collar burned away to nothing, but there was a line of singed, slightly burnt flesh around her neck.

Let me get you some balm, Lisa said.

She went over to her cupboard and found a jar of healing balm. She brought it back to the table and dug her fingers into the mixture to pull out some balm to apply to Zoe’s wounds. As Lisa reached for Zoe’s neck, Zoe pulled back, flinching with panic. Lisa stopped. She wiped her fingers off in the jar, put the jar on the table, then pushed the jar toward Zoe.

I’m sorry, Lisa apologized. Your neck has a little burn from the spell and from the magic leash itself. The balm will help. Just a little dab.

Zoe looked at the jar, then looked back at Lisa. Why are you doing this?

Because no one deserves to be Andromeda’s slave, Lisa answered.

Zoe stared at Lisa. After a few moments, she reached forward for the jar and began dabbing the balm onto her neck. It helps, she murmured.

Lisa smiled. I’m glad. One of the buzzers on her crockpots sounded, and Lisa got up to check it. Are you hungry or thirsty, Zoe? Lisa said. I’m not used to house guests, so forgive my poor manners.

Some tea would be nice, Zoe answered.

Lisa nodded. She took off her green hooded peacoat and hung it on a hook nearby. Lisa’s red hair, which she had braided that day, dangled down her back as she busied herself in the kitchen. She set up the kettle and pulled out some mugs. Last I checked, Andromeda’s operation was in Miami. What brings you and your Keeper all the way out here to Albuquerque, Zoe?

Picking up ingredients, Zoe answered.

Lisa turned to face Zoe, leaning her lower back against her kitchen counter. I could see sending a Keeper to go pick up some herbs, but why did she send a Rush with her?

I never said the ingredients were herbs, Zoe replied, her expression somber.

Did they make you drain energy from strangers or from people who Andromeda knew? Lisa asked.

Strangers, Zoe said, her voice low and full of shame. They wanted to test me. To see how much life I could drain at one time.

I’m sorry, Lisa said as the kettle whistle blew. She turned around to take the kettle off of the fire, then poured water into the mugs before adding the tea bags. Do you take sugar, cream, or honey in your tea? Lisa called over her shoulder.

You’re a nice person, Zoe said, almost crying. I won’t tell them about you.

Lisa’s back was still to Zoe. Tell them about what?

That’s when Lisa felt the life energy draining out of her body.

Lisa's chest tightened. Breathing took effort. Her legs began to buckle. Lisa gripped tightly onto the counter. She looked over her shoulder at Zoe. Zoe’s hands were outstretched in front of her as she was drawing life energy out of Lisa’s body and into her own. Tears rolled down Zoe’s face as she drew off the energy. After 15 seconds, Zoe stopped. Lisa lay hunched on her kitchen counter. Zoe stood up and ran out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and toward the doorway that led to the barrier.

Lisa stood up and staggered after Zoe. She moved clumsily, bumping into the walls as she ran after the young girl. Somehow, Lisa caught up to Zoe, grabbing Zoe’s unbranded hand and trying to pull Zoe back into the hallway. Zoe had already opened the door and was in motion to run out of it. Her branded hand swung forward and slipped past the barrier. The moment her hand left the barrier, the brand activated.

Magic sparks like Roman candles flew out of her brand and up into the air.

Zoe pulled her hand back into the barrier. She turned to look at Lisa. That’s impossible! Zoe said. How are you even standing here?

Lisa, haggard and gasping for breath, leaned against the wall. She pushed the rose quartz bracelets on her wrist out of the way to reveal an identical brand to the one on Zoe’s wrist. Because I’m a Rush, too.

You’re a Rush like me? Zoe asked.

Yeah, Lisa then extended her own hands and pulled back in some of the life energy that Zoe had siphoned. Refreshed, Lisa knew there was no time to waste. And thanks to you, we can’t stay here, Lisa said before she pulled Zoe down the hallway and back into the kitchen.

What did those sparks flying out of my wrist mean?

Lisa didn’t answer at first. She was busy grabbing pre-packed backpacks from the nearby pantry. She put both bags on the kitchen table. Next, she raided the cupboards for additional supplies.

As she searched for supplies, she began to explain, We’ve got less than five minutes before Andromeda’s Keepers show up. I’ve got a way for us to get out of here, but we’ll need some supplies, especially with your wrist sending out homing beacons.

Get out of here? Zoe replied.

Unless you’d rather be here when Andromeda’s goons get here. Lisa dropped two armload’s worth of different bottles and pouches onto the table next to the bags. I mean, you are pretty strong for a Rush your age. Stronger than I thought you’d be. Drained me like a pro! You might last a few minutes toe-to-toe, but they’ll have the numbers to take you down. Lisa explained as she stuffed all the magical items she could into the purple bag. The other bag was black.

What can I do? Zoe said.

Lisa stopped packing. She looked over at Zoe.

Since both of them wore rose quartz bracelets, reading each other’s emotions took more focus, because the rose quartz created a psychic buffer field around the wearer. Trying to go through that buffer was like tuning in a radio amidst nothing but static, so not impossible, just a little difficult.

Reading emotions was one the many Rush abilities, and usually the first ability a Rush learned, sometimes years before their other abilities manifested. Most Rushes don’t even realize they’re doing it. With blocking magic, like rose quartz, a Rush had to think about the act or touch the target.

Lisa focused with the power of her mind. She felt the energy coming off of Zoe. She knew the girl was afraid but sincere about her offer of help. Lisa smiled. Grab some bottled waters from the pantry and put them in this bag, she instructed, referring to the black bag.

Zoe nodded and picked up the black bag to take to the pantry.

While Zoe loaded waters, Lisa looked around the room. She was running through spell ingredients in her head. They only had so much time, and whatever magic they planned to do would have to be done on the run. That eliminated at least half of the ingredients in her kitchen. As her eyes scanned the room, they stopped on a wall hanging of decorative keys. Each key had been carved out of different colors of quartz.

Bingo.

Bingo? Zoe repeated.

Lisa went up and grabbed one of the quartz keys from the wall hanging. Before she took a step away, she looked at the other keys with a worried face. Better take them all, she said to herself.

We need decorations? I thought we were on the run? Zoe said as she packed the waters into the black bag.

Not decorations, Lisa explained. These keys work like knockers, but untraceable.

Can they take us anywhere we want to go? Zoe asked.

Not exactly, Lisa answered.

BAM!

Zoe jumped and let out a shriek. Her energy pulsated with fear as her body tensed.

Something or someone large just slammed into the magical barrier around the warehouse.

Lisa’s energy pulsed with fear so briefly it was hardly noticeable. She had been on the run too long to let fear control her. Her highly tuned survival instincts kicked in, and her body went into action.

Zip up your bag and put it on, Lisa ordered. She stuffed three of the keys into her bag, keeping the fourth one in her hand. Lisa grabbed her green hooded peacoat from the hook and put it on. She then zipped up almost all the pockets on her purple bag, but instead of putting the bag on her back, she put it on her front. Lisa then went over to one of the magic cabinets, and she quickly grabbed a few more random items to stuff in the unzipped pockets of the bag. She honestly didn’t even know what she was grabbing, but she hoped her luck would win out.

BAM!

One more hit and they’re through, Lisa said, zipping up her bag and putting it on her back. Are you ready to run?

Zoe had the bag on her back, but she stood there awkward on her feet, like a deer in the headlights. Panic spread on her face. She kept looking back at the hallway where the loud sounds were coming from.

Lisa grabbed an empty bottle from the shelf and took a few steps toward Zoe. Take my hand, Lisa instructed.

Tentatively, Zoe placed her hand in Lisa’s. Lisa siphoned out some of the fear energy from Zoe and put it into the bottle. Not a lot of energy, but enough to get Zoe out of panic mode.

Is that better? Lisa asked

Zoe took a deep breath. Yes, she responded. Wait, how did you just focus on pulling out just my fear energy?

I can show you later, Zoe, Lisa insisted.

Where do we go with them outside?

Lisa smiled. She rolled the bottle full of concentrated fear energy down the hallway toward the door. Probably won’t do much to stop a bunch of sadistic Keepers, but slowing them down even a few seconds helps, Lisa explained.

Lisa led Zoe to one of the other doorways leading out of the kitchen to a different part of the warehouse. She closed the door and pulled out the green quartz key. Even though the key was nowhere near the same size as the keyhole, it magically fit into the door. The edges of the door began to glow. Lisa turned the key, and as she turned the key the doorway opened. Instead of the hallway that was there a moment ago, the doorway now opened into a street with stucco buildings, green grass, and trees nearby, which was nothing like their current location of the brown Albuquerque desert, filled with corrugated metal warehouses.

BAM!

Zoe didn’t need instructions. She bolted through the door followed closely by Lisa.

Lisa just had enough time to grab the quartz key out of the door and close the door behind them, sealing the way.

Zoe took a few steps out from the door onto the sidewalk. She turned around to look at the building that they had just seemingly walked out of. The glass doors behind them were not the doorway that was magically there a second ago. Zoe got a better look at the red-roofed, white building that now stood before them, and a light went on in her head. It’s a church, she said.

That it is, Lisa confirmed. Welcome to Indianapolis.

Why did we just come out of a church in Indianapolis? Zoe asked.

"To keep up appearances. No one will question two