#1 - From the Depths: Part One

[Stardrifter]

by
Stardrifter

#1 - From the Depths: Part One

The night is warm and breezy on this late June evening. The feeling is electric as another year draws to a close. The normally carefree teenage attitude is amped up with the prospect of summer break. Even more so amongst the graduating Class of '07. The end of the torrential high school years and their entire future ahead of them, the exiting seniors have been partying pretty hard.

The Friday night before graduation, the biggest party right now is at the home of Taylor Nabors. If you asked any of the kids at the party who their host was, most couldn't even tell you. But his parents' house is a beach front property with an in ground pool as well, so it was easy for Taylor to get the guests to come.

"Paralyzer" by Finger Eleven blares over the expensive stereo system. Enough snacks to feed an army are spread inside and out, along with some illegally obtained beer. Most of the party goers are enjoying the free booze, including the fiery redhead Sally. Shaking her way across the dance floor, her barely there bikini top leaving little to the imagination, she slides her way into the view of a tall, blond young man.

"Heeeey Arthur!" Sally shouts over the music, her speech slurred. In her state, she doesn't notice the pitying look Arthur gives her. "What're you dooooing?"

"Enjoying the party, Sally. Just like everyone else," Arthur Curry says, avoiding her gaze as he scans the crowd. Despite how warm it is, Arthur is wearing his Amnesty Bay Buccaneers jacket, just like the rest of the football team. "Maybe some a little too much."

"Or just enough!" Sally throws her arms around Arthur's neck. A clumsy attempt to kiss him leads to her hitting his nose with her forehead. The smell of beer on her breath causes Arthur to turn his head. The only reason he doesn't let go of her is he's afraid she'll fall.

"I think you need to go sit down." Arthur tries to walk her over toward the living room, but it ends up as him dragging her. Getting a little frustrated, he places his hands on her tiny waist and lifts her up effortlessly. When he tries to set her down on the leather couch, she wraps her arms around his head and drags him down with her.

"Why...why...ha ha ha...what was I gonna say? Oh yeah! Why didn't you ever ask me out? Don't you think I'm sexy?" Sally punctuates her question with a small burp.

Reaching up to untangle her arms from around his neck, Arthur tells her in a serious tone, "No. I don't." Finally free, he stands up and walks away. It's been six years since the day his telepathic abilities first manifested. In all that time, Arthur never forgot the first thoughts he heard in Sally's mind, even if she has.

It took some time for Arthur to adjust to suddenly being able to read other people's thoughts. At first it frightened him and made him shy away from others. It made him an even bigger outcast at school. Over time, once he'd adjusted to it and learned to only do it when he wanted, he discovered how much fun he could have. It wasn't long before he started abusing it, using his ability to his advantage. His final year in middle school was when he finally started to come out of his shell and make friends, often at the expense and embarrassment of others. The abuse of his telepathy didn't last long. Being able to read the thoughts of those you hurt, through embarrassment or ridicule, quickly showed Arthur just how horrible he'd been. However it was the summer between middle and high school is when everything really changed.

One thing comes to mind when Arthur thinks about the beginning of his freshman year: "Yes, it's really me." That's what he had to say repeatedly to everyone he saw, after a major growth spurt during the summer led to him growing over a foot and gaining fifty pounds of muscle. It was as if he were a totally different person, as the sudden change caused everyone to treat him differently. After his first gym class, it didn't take long for the Buccaneers to take notice.

"Arthur!" a plain brunette girl calls from a chair over by the pool. Dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, glasses on her face, she is the definition of average. As Arthur walks over, it seems to him like the party is happening all around her, and she sits in a small bubble in the center, cut off from it all. Well not all, Arthur is surprised to find a beer in her hand.

"Jenna, what are you doing?" Arthur says in a playful, yet concerned tone. He sits down in the chair next to her and points to the bottle in her hand when she gives him a quizzical look.

"Oh this? I don't know. I just wanted to try it." Jenna offers her usual nervous laughter, reaching up to adjust her glasses as she often does when she's uncomfortable.

Arthur reaches out and takes it from her. "This was Brian's idea, wasn't it?" She nods and he scoffs, lifting the bottle to his lips and taking a swig before handing it back to her. "Speak of the devil."

Indiscriminately splashing around, Brian Collins walks up out of the pool, fully clothed. His khaki shorts and button down t-shirt are plastered to his skin. He reaches into his mop of black hair and shakes it, sending water everywhere. A large, easy going grin shines on his face, ear to ear. "You won't believe what just happened!"

"You got drunk and fell in the pool?" Arthur asks, pushing Brian away to stop him from dripping on him.

"No I was thrown in," Brian says dismissively. "But as I was trying to swim to the surface, I accidentally grabbed a handful of Heather Frendrick's boob!"

"Accidentally?" Jenna asks with a raised eyebrow. She takes a sip of her beer and makes a disgusted face.

"Yes, accidentally!" Brian says, offended at the accusation. "You think I'd intentionally cop a feel?"

"Yes," Arthur and Jenna say in unison, followed by an eruption of laughter from the trio.

Despite Arthur's quick rise to popularity in high school, he never let it go to his head. Jenna, his only real friend since elementary school, was certain Arthur wouldn't want to be seen with her any more. Yet to her surprise, even as Arthur began hanging out with the in crowd, he not only still found time for her, but continued spending most of his free time with her. She herself never managed to cross the bridge into popularity, but by being Arthur's best friend, she found herself in a strange limbo between worlds. The popular kids didn't care for her, yet they stopped making fun of and bullying her.

Brian just somehow latched onto them during sophomore year. A transfer student, having moved up from New Jersey, his spastic attitude and class clown antics got him easy attention but little friendship. After Arthur stopped the wrestling team from beating him up for dying their uniforms pink, he just never seemed to go away. Jenna and Arthur found themselves warming up to him, until finally the three were good friends.

Brian flops down next to Jenna, splashing water from his soaked clothes onto her. She slaps his arm, causing more water to spray. Reaching to a table next to him, Arthur grabs a towel and tosses it to Brian.

"So have you decided what you're gonna do?" Brian asks Arthur, vigorously rubbing his wet hair with the towel.

Arthur smiles and waves to some of his teammates before answering. "Yeah I'm think I'm gonna go with Metropolis University."

"Really?" Brian asks, surprised. "I thought they had a sucky offer?"

"It wasn't one of the best, no. But the Metros are a good team." Brian gives him a look, forcing Arthur to offer a guilty smile and correct himself. "All right they have an okay team. But their marine biology course is the best in the country."

Brian lets out a sudden, sharp laugh. "You're really stuck on the underwater shit, huh?"

"Well I think it's great!" Jenna jumps in. "It's good that you want to focus on more than just football. Not...not because you're not good at football. I just mean, y'know, in case something happens. Not that it will. Oh..." Jenna takes another sip of her beer to stop herself. Her face scrunches up and she coughs a bit.

"Give me that!" Arthur scolds her, grabbing the bottle out of her hand and standing up in one motion. "I'll be right back with some soda."

Jenna's eyes linger on Arthur as he leaves. Brian, still trying to dry himself off, looks over and says, "So have you told him about Princeton yet?"

"Hmm?" Jenna hums. It takes a moment for his question to sink in. "Oh, Princeton? No. I-I got into M.U. too."

As the truth dawns on Brian, he quite literally face palms. "Jenna, Jenna, Jenna. Don't you do this."

"Do what?" Jenna asks, defensive.

"Give up your dream school for a guy whose not interested!" Brian sees the hurt in her eyes for an instant before she turns away. Despite it, he continues. "I could maybe understand if you two were a thing. But to give up the school you always wanted to follow a guy you're not even with. Jenna c'mon. In the three years I've known the guy, he's been on what? Four dates? I mean...I think he might be..."

Jenna's head snaps back quickly, her mouth wide open. "He is not!"

"Hey I'm not sayin' there's anything wrong with it if he's gay." Brian throws his hands up, trying to avoid an argument. "Just sayin' it's funny, is all."

When Arthur finally comes back over, holding a can of Sprite and two bottles of Budweiser, he finds his friends sitting in silence. He passes the drinks out and looks back and forth between them. "I miss something?"

"Just some...lively debate," Jenna says, offering a weak smile.

The awkward silence between them is punctuated by the sounds of the party. Determined not to let his friends sulk, Arthur downs his beer and stands up, grabbing both their arms to pull them up with him. "Let's go see what's happening on the beach!"

The sand is dry and cool and their feet sink in with every step. Jenna stops for a moment to slip her shoes off. Arthur and Brian trudge on in their sneakers, Brian's soaking wet ones making squishing sounds with every step. Away from the lights of the house, the stars shine brightly in the sky. The half moon offers more illumination. The trio make their way to a bonfire near the water. As they get closer, the sound of music can be heard drifting along the breeze.

A dozen other teens are sitting around the bonfire while Terry Johnson, Amnesty Bay's local music prodigy, entertains them with his acoustic guitar. The group is all singing along to "Good Riddance" by Green Day. Brian, excited about the prospect of stealing some spotlight, runs over and starts singing louder than everyone else. Jenna and Arthur share a look, both rolling their eyes, and walk down toward the water.

"So," Jenna says, breaking the silence without offering much.

"So?" Arthur echos.

"So I'm gonna go to M.U. too. They have some awesome engineering courses. And being that close to Lexcorp means they accept a ton of interns there."

"That's awesome!" Arthur shouts, smiling at his friend. A thought occurs to him that wipes the smile away. "What about Brian?"

Jenna scoffs. "Who knows? I don't think he cares about college."

Arthur's frown deepens at the anger in her voice. He steps in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders, and leaning down slightly to look her in the eye. "What happened? Why are you so mad at him?"

Jenna turns her head and looks down at the sand, hoping Arthur will give it up. After a few seconds of him staring at her, she can't help but laugh. She turns back to see him laughing as well, the moonlight reflecting off his big, beautiful eyes. More than ever before, she wishes he'd kiss her. She looks deep into his eyes, trying to find even a glimmer of hope.

With a sigh, she reaches up and takes his hands off her shoulders. "He just rudely yet honestly pointed some things out to me, that's all."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

Looking back at the bonfire, she sees Brian with his arms around two other teens, swaying back and forth while singing at the top of his lungs. Looking about, there's no one else around. Just Arthur and her. She stares back down at her feet for a moment, lost in thought. When she finally looks back up at Arthur, he's patiently waiting for her response. Something inside her finally breaks.

"You know what? Yeah I do wanna talk. We've been friends all our lives and-"

"Shh!" Arthur interrupts, putting his finger up to her lips. He looks over her head, stretching his neck while straining to listen. Jenna turns to look as well, hearing nothing but the sounds of the party. Suddenly, Arthur grabs her hand and starts running toward the bonfire, dragging her behind him.

"What is it?" Jenna shouts.

"Sirens!"

****

Francine yawns as she pulls into the driveway of a small, ocean side house. A short, skinny middle aged woman, she runs her hand through her short black hair as she exits her car. It's almost midnight and she'd rather be home, lying in bed with a bowl of ice cream and watching Letterman. Yet she learned quickly after getting the job as Doctor Jones' assistant that when he calls, you come running.

Frankly she's getting tired of it. Her pay is barely adequate to the doctor's demands. She can see why he's burned through so many assistants over the years as he continues to try and perfect his machine. "In vain", Francine thinks to herself. As brilliant, if odd, as Doctor Jones is, she's convinced his machine will never work. But a paycheck is a paycheck.

Pulling out her key to open the weathered front door, she finds it's unlocked. Again. Sometimes she wonders how the doctor remembers to even shut it. "Doctor Jones!" she calls out as she enters. "I'm here!" No response. He's in the basement, as usual.

Making her way down the dark, rickety steps, Francine can hear the sounds of motors running and the loud hum of electricity. The half dozen gas powered generators are enough to give anyone a splitting headache. When she first asked the doctor about them, he explained it was necessary. Something about blowing the power for ten blocks while running an experiment.

When she finally finds Doctor Jones, he's standing with his back to her, frantically typing on a keyboard. His gray hair is disheveled and his lab coat wrinkled, having not been washed in over a week. Placing her purse on a lab table, she walks over to see what the doctor is up to.

"Doctor Jones?" She asks quietly, not wanting to frighten him, as all his concentration is on his work. He offers no response. Rather than waiting, Francine peers over at the computer screen. He's beginning the start up sequence for the machine. The machine, huddled in the corner of the basement, has cords and hoses running to and from it. Sitting atop a small, round table is a large, almost DVD player shaped machine. On the top is a basketball sized metal ring, wires running all around it. Lights begin to blink on as the start up sequence continues.

Doctor Jones looks up from his computer and notices Francine. He blinks for a moment, not quite understanding why his assistant is here, and then remembers that he called her. "Ah Francine! Good, good. Can you please get the recordings set up, we're about to make history!"

"I've heard that a thousand times", Francine thinks to herself. She does as she's told, taking the camcorder out of it's case and getting the tripod ready. It's always the same. Doctor Jones has some incredible epiphany about his formula, gets all worked up, and then nothing. Most often it seems to happen in the middle of the night. "It's a paycheck. It's a paycheck. It's a paycheck," Francine mouths to herself, over and over.

As if sensing his assistants thoughts, Doctor Jones announces, "It hit me while I was on the toilet. The problem is I was so set in my idea of other dimensions being in a different place, like you would view your home to mine as different places. Then I realized, instead of reaching out to another place, I should just reach out right here. Focus on this exact location, just on another wavelength!"

Francine sighs, only half listening to her employer. The recording equipment ready, she turns to grab her lead lined vest and safety goggles. Doctor Jones has insisted time and again she's being silly, but considering the half-hazard setup he has here, she'd rather ere on the side of caution. "Everything's ready when you are, doctor."

Doctor Jones finishes entering the last few calculations and stands up. Looking up and down at himself, he notices how disgusting his clothes look and runs his hands over his body, pointlessly trying to straighten himself out. He takes his glasses off and wipes them with a dirty handkerchief, puts them back on, and runs his hands through his greasy hair, trying to straighten it out. Finally satisfied, he grabs a control pad and walks in front of the camera.

"Go ahead," he tells Francine, who turns on the recording. Clearing his throat, Doctor Jones begins his presentation. "It is now June 22nd, 2007. The time is twenty-three forty-two, Eastern Standard Time. This is attempt three hundred and eigthy-two. Or is it three hundred and eigthy-three?"

"Three hundred and eighty-two!" Francine calls out.

Doctor Jones smiles at his assistant's helpful correction. "Yes! Three hundred and eigthy-two! This time, we make history!"

With a press of a button on his control pad, the machine springs to life. Doctor Jones steps aside, letting the camera get an unobstructed view of the event. A loud buzzing sound fills the room as blue energy starts building up in the center of the metal ring. First a tiny little ball in the center of the ring, it quickly expands until it fills the ring completely. The energy swirls in a clockwise motion, picking up speed as it goes. It's at this point that every test before has failed. Francine puts her fingers in her ears, preparing herself for the loud crack that accompanies every failure, as the energy dissipates and the machine shuts down.

Only this time it doesn't come. The energy swirls faster and faster, until it finally goes so fast it doesn't look like it's moving at all. It's difficult to hear, but Francine is certain Doctor Jones is laughing with giddy excitement. The tension finally breaks as the blue energy disappears, followed with a great gust of air from behind them. Francine has to reach out and grab the tripod so it doesn't fall over. Her first thought is that it's wind blowing from behind them, but she quickly realizes it was air rushing through the portal.

"The portal!" Francine shouts in realization. "Doctor Jones! It worked!"

Doctor Jones claps his hands in excitement. He walks over to the portal and looks inside. The blue energy is gone, except for a slight glow around the edges of the ring. Inside is no longer the view of the wall behind the ring, but a strange watery landscape. At least it moves like water, though the color is more green than blue. The sky is a sickly shade of green as well, with dark gray clouds. The waves rock in a familiar motion, despite it's alien appearance.

"I've done it!" he shouts in vindication. "They all said I was crazy! They all said I was a fool! But I did it! I have opened a portal to another dimension! Does this not look like an alien world to you?"

He turns to Francine to get her reaction. Speechless, she can only nod in agreement. A wild look has come over Doctor Jones' face, as the goal he has sought his entire life has finally come to pass. His crooked teeth come into view as he smiles ear to ear. The most important landmark in scientific achievement since the moon landing, right here in his basement.

"Get a close up of this, Francine! I want the world to see this!"

Francine does as she's told, zooming in on the portal. Doctor Jones moves in to look again, putting his face right up to the portal but remaining out of the camera's way. His nose curls as the smell finally hits him, a strange mix of sulfur and ozone. He raises his handkerchief to his mouth, coughing.

"Perhaps you should shut it down for now, doctor," Francine suggests. "The air may be toxic."

Recovering from his coughing fit, Doctor Jones lowers his handkerchief. "I think you're righ-"

The doctor is interrupted as something leaps through the portal and lands on his face. He jumps back, reaching up to grab the clear, gelatinous like object. Francine screams, paralyzed by fear as the worm like shape oozes through his fingers and slithers into his open mouth. Doctor Jones tries to let out a scream, but instead it's a gargled mess, as if his mouth is full of water. He reaches up to grab his throat, thrashing his head about as he panics. He stumbles forward into the machinery, knocking over the portal. It lets out a small explosion as the ring hits the floor. The portal closes and the force knocks Doctor Jones back into the wall.

"Doctor!" Francine yells, running over to help. Lying on the floor, Doctor Jones scratches at his face, drawing blood. Francine can see the worm like creature crawling under his skin, running up through his face and toward his forehead. She tries to pulls his hands away, to keep him from hurting himself, but in his panicked state she's unable to overpower him. The two scream in unison as the skin on his forehead bulges out. Finally, mercifully, his screaming ends as the bulge disappears and he falls back against the wall, unconscious.

Tears stream down Francine's cheeks. Her lip trembles as she reaches out, gently shaking the doctor's shoulder. "Doctor? Doctor Jones?" There's no answer. Fearing the worst, she runs her hand up to his neck, checking for a pulse. "Doctor Jones? Please answer me. Simon?" She jumps back as his eyes snap open. They have a glassy, watery look as they move about, searching their surroundings. When they finally focus on Francine, she sighs in relief.

"Doctor, are you oka...o...aaaaaaah..."

Francine grabs at her ears, a loud ringing overpowering them. She feels something warm and brings her hand in front of her face, only to discover her fingers are covered in blood. Blood begins to drip from her nose and her eyes as well. She looks back up at Doctor Jones and finds a crooked smile on his lips. His eyes are wide open, his pupils the the size of a pin needle. She tries to scream, but coughs out blood instead. Doctor Jones lowers his brow in concentration and Francine is thrown by an unseen force across the room.

Lying on the floor, blood pooling beneath her, the last sight she sees before death is Doctor Simon Jones rising to his feet, reaching up to run his hands over his head, and bringing them back down covered with fistfuls of stringy, greasy hair.

****

Arthur and Jenna run past the bonfire, coming to a sudden stop next to Brian, who turns to look at them like they're crazy. "What are you two doing?"

"The police are coming!" Arthur shouts. The party goers quiet down as they all stare at Arthur, worried looks on their faces.

"The police?" Brian asks, confused. "Why? How? Huh?"

"Underage drinking," Jenna tells him with an obvious tone.

"You can't hear the sirens?" Arthur asks.

The group all stop to listen. No one else shows any signs of hearing them, some even laughing as if it's all a joke. After a couple seconds though, the faint sound of sirens can be heard by all in the distance. Brian turns to look at Arthur, both shocked at him being right and frozen in fear.

"Everybody go!" Arthur shouts at the group. "Hurry!" He takes Jenna's hand again and grabs Brian by the shirt. The trio make a mad dash up the beach as the rest of the party goers begin to panic. By the time they reach the house, the other teens are shouting and running about all over the place, trying to hide or get away as the cop cars come screaming into the driveway and along the street outside.

"Where'd you park?" Brian shouts at Arthur, ducking down under the rock wall between the house and the beach.

"What?"

"Where'd you park? My car's blocked off but you were pretty late!"

"Down the road! C'mon!"

Keeping down under the wall, the trio sneak as far as they can. Once they're past the house, they start running full speed, kicking up sand as they go. The shouting of teens and cops echo out into the night behind them. When they've gone far enough, Arthur turns and runs up the beach toward the road. They find the rundown yellow, VW Beetle, the one his father handed down to him, and jump inside. It takes a second for Arthur to start the car, the whole time Brian pestering him from the backseat, but the cops aren't this far down the road and they get away without any incident. Once certain they're out of danger, the trio laugh at their good fortune.

"Aw you're making a mess," Arthur groans, looking down to see Jenna wiping the sand off her feet in the passengers seat.

"We just ran for our lives from the cops and you're worried about some sand in your piece of shit car?" Jenna laughs, finally reaching back to put her seat belt on. Arthur tries to keep his scowl going, but looking over at Jenna's smiling face makes him break into laughter.

"You guys want to me to take you home?"

"Just take us to the lighthouse," Brian yells from the backseat. It's a pretty common thing for Brian and Jenna to stay over at Arthur's.

The car chugs along the twisting and turning roads, the headlights and the moon the only light out here. The radio long since busted, they have to settle for the ever present sound of waves crashing. The engine howls as they come to a large hill, climbing up a small rocky cliff. They tease Arthur once again about his crappy car, but as always he just laughs it off. As they reach the top of the hill, the car starts down the other side, only to find someone standing in the road.

"Look out!" Jenna screams.

Arthur doesn't even have time to slam on the breaks. In a moment that seems to stand still, he looks out to see a bald man in a labcoat standing in front of the car. Something seems off about him, but he doesn't have time to really think on it, as just as suddenly as the man appeared, the car flips over. They roll end over end, all three screaming as they go over the side of the cliff. Brian, not wearing his seat belt, tumbles around in the backseat.

Their screams end when the car impacts the water, the sudden crash knocking them about. Water rushes in through the open windows, flooding the small car almost instantly. Arthur looks back and sees Brian floating still, praying he's only unconscious. Jenna panics in the passengers seat, so frightened she's unable to even unbuckle her seat belt.

Arthur runs through his options in an instant. With Brian knocked out and the inside of the car so hard to get around in, he decides not to try and gather his friends up. Gripping his seat belt in his hands, he snaps the belt with little effort. He swims out through the drivers side window in a flash, Jenna watching with a look of betrayal on her face. Grabbing hold of the front axle with one hand, Arthur swims toward the surface, pulling the car behind him. It only takes a matter of seconds before he hits the surface.

It's a short swim to the rocks below the cliff. Once he reaches them, he turns and wraps his arms around the front of the car, lifting it out of the water with ease and placing it down on the rocks. Water leaks out of every hole, splashing along the rocks. Inside the car, Jenna coughs up water, to Arthur's relief. He rushes to the back of the car and rips the door off, jumping inside to check on Brian. He's not breathing.

Arthur pulls his friend out of the car and lies him down along the rocks. The waves crash up against the rocks, causing spray to rain down over them. After checking Brian's airway, Arthur begins chest compressions. Jenna, finally able to get her seat belt unbuckled, walks over and sits down next by Brian. It feels like an eternity, but in a relatively short time, Brian coughs up water and begins to breath. Laughing in relief, Arthur helps Brian sit up. Jenna pats and rubs his back.

"You okay?" Arthur asks, checking his friends head for any signs of injury.

"Yeah...yeah..." is all he can say at first. He looks back to check on Jenna, whose tears are indistinguishable from the water dripping down her face. "What the hell happened?"

"Yeah Arthur," Jenna asks, looking at Arthur with a knowing stare. "What just happened?"

-To Be Continued-