ANDREW

One ten since the Mark of the Other One blossomed.

"What do you mean by, let it out?" Sten crossed his arms.

Andrew looked at Eric, who had ambled closer. "Told you she was weird."

"I am not! I just know. I don't know how, but everything tells me." The girl shouted.

"Focus!" Sten rounded on the girl called Becca. "What did you mean by what you said?"

"I don't know. I mean. I know you shouldn't let it out?"

"Is there something locked away under this hill?" Eric asked.

"No. Not here. On the other side. There's like a net that covers it. Keeps it from coming in."

"Covers what?" Andrew asked cautiously. The girl looked shaken, distressed. The situation should have been utterly ridiculous when you thought about it. But an uneasy tension was building.

"It's. I don't know the name for it. It's cold. And you shouldn't let it in! Please!"

Everyone looked at each other. "What is happening?" Robert was furious.

"Calm down." Eric turned to Robert.

"Let's stop and think about it for a moment. We came here through that. What are the chances we will get back exactly where we want to using that... thing?" Anna said.

"That logic does not work that way! Where else is it supposed to take us?" Eric said, upset.

"What are you doing? It's only stone and metal. Seriously! A machine, damn it." Robert argued furiously.

"Where is this machine of yours? We have seen nothing mechanical or modern. The closest we found were broken bits of a wooden gear. This place is young and has stayed this way for a very long time. If we were somewhere with modern civilisation, it would be obvious. We have seen no airplanes. What if we are right?" Mai walked closer, but Andrew noticed she stopped right outside the area between the pillars.

"What if we are dealing with a world filled with magic? A world where there is a power that replaces many modern comforts and necessities. And renders some discoveries near-impossible, because there was never the need for them. I mean, how on earth did we get here? What was that force that pulled us through this border between worlds?"

"Sometimes, the difference between magic and technology out of our world is impossible to tell apart. I will believe in magic when I see it with my own eyes. And not some cheap card tricks." Robert growled.

"And you can tell what technology out of our world looks like?" Mai asked rather coldly.

Andrew turned towards the mountains and closed his eyes. Everything faded behind a veil of silence. What remained was the marking with the flower and moon. Then he forced it out of his mind. The sound came rushing back.

"...this hill and only one tiny knob. I don't know, looks dodgy. This gateway. I doubt it'll be that simple, that we can go back like that." Kauri looked at Eric and Sten.

"Sten?" Eric looked the man straight in the eyes.

Sten glanced at Andrew, but then turned towards Becca. "What is this place then, and what is outside this gateway?"

"It's not a gate." The girl immediately replied. "It's something. It holds everything in place. And the things outside out. I can't tell, because it's outside, but I know that the thing is trying to come in. But the web that's on top keeps this place safe. If we let this place fall asleep without disturbing it, then it can't get in through here anymore."

"Holds everything in place?" Eric shook his head and exchanged looks with Sten. Andrew could see Robert rolling his eyes again. Kauri seemed hesitant.

"Oh, come on! What is this? Why are you all worried about a hysterical, frightened brat?" Robert was fuming.

Andrew looked down at the ground. Then at Eric. There was no way they could walk away from this. Never mind the odd hallucinations and the annoying girl.

"If we don't try." Andrew mumbled, but his voice died away.

"What! The brat woke up, spouting hysterics and you all chicken out!" Robert could not hold himself back at all.

Andrew had reached a decision. He stepped around the marking and faced the other side of the hilltop. "I got this side."

"What! No! Andrew, come on! You can't be serious. It injured Robert. Haven't you listened to Becca?" Lenna became upset.

"It wasn't bad, I barely felt it! I pushed my end alone. Maybe both buttons need to be pressed at the same time." Robert rattled off.

"No! You can't let it out!" Becca began again.

"Let what out?" Eric barked. "We know nothing what pushing these does, the only way to know is to do it! What the hell, Sarah? Come on! Last night you were adamant we had to use any chance to get out of this place."

"No." Sarah stepped forward. "The kid has talked about what might sound like utter nonsense, but think about what happened to us! Where we ended up? How did we get here?"

"A twelve-year-old brat suddenly swayed your mind with fairy tales? Don't you think you listened to too much of her nonsense!"

"I don't want to give up, but she has been talking about strange things. Strange things that could make sense. She knows about this world. Eric, this is wrong! It brought us here. We should try something else. If this is an entrance, then maybe there are exits." Sarah looked at the girl by her side.

"Are you out of your mind?" Jess demanded of Sarah. "She is not even half our age! She could have hit her head or seen some dream, and the shock made her think it was real."

"I am not stupid!" The girl shouted in anger.

"She saw us when we were asleep! She talked about an endless void where we all slept for a long time. And she saw someone awake."

"Right. Right. Seriously, get over here, Sarah!" Eric pleaded the brown-skinned woman, but Sarah only crossed her arms. "We all trying this? Last chance to get off the train." Eric looked at Andrew across the hilltop and fell on one knee. "On three then?" Andrew crossed gazes with Lenna, who was looking between those gathered outside the pillars and those inside.

"Come on, Sarah! We are going home!" Jess tried to drag her friend by hand, but Sarah pulled her hand out of Jess' grip.

The two women stared at each other for a moment before Jess turned around and marched onto the flagstones. A border between worlds had emerged. One group gathered as close to the pillars as they dared and the other had wandered onto the tiled area between the pillars.

"Lenna? What are you doing?" Anna's voice reached Andrew. Looking around, he found Lenna still hovering around the edge of the gateway.

"But what if we can go home?" Lenna asked and shrugged, disheartened.

"Robert got hurt. And you said so yourself. This can't be a good idea." Anna argued in return.

"Yeah, but I want to go home."

"We all do! But can we risk this?" Anna insisted.

"There is no one here that would not want to go home. Yet this does not look right. Never mind what the girl said." Mai crossed her arms.

"All right, on three then. One..." Andrew had enough. He knelt and looked towards the others.

Becca shook her head. Although hesitant, Lenna backed onto the gateway, with her gaze still on her friend. Robert was clutching his arm. Sten looked troubled by something. And the man's gaze constantly found Andrew. It was becoming irritating, as the man clearly had something on his mind.

"Two..." Andrew's fingers hovered just above the surface of the tiles.

Eric was ready, behind his marking. The four outside of the gateway backed away from the pillars. Andrew was hoping this would not hurt. His heart was racing. Robert did not look too happy. With a jolt of anger Andrew realised Sten was now staring at him.

"Three!" He placed his fingers on the marking.

A surge coursed up Andrew's arm. Another endless river rushed through him, a feeling similar to that of the chained darkness, but more than that. It was ecstasy, pure enjoyment. He saw the pillars break apart and circle around him and the others.

Before he could fully take in what was happening, a scream sounded from Eric's end. Eric had pulled his hand from the marking and even from this side of the field, Andrew could see all the blood covering Eric's hand. He heard Sarah shout something.

The circling pillars made no sound, but a pressure built inside Andrew's head and filled his ears with noise. Andrew made to pull his hand from the marking, but stopped. He could not. His fingers were glued there, and it felt as if the more he pulled on his arm, the closer his palm came to the ground.

It touched the flagstones, and searing pain shot up his left arm. He screamed. It was useless trying to fight the torment. His hand stuck to the marking, he fell face first on the ground.

Andrew knew rather than felt the additional pain on his forehead. The agony in his arm had slowly crept upward and was reaching his neck. He could not breathe and panic swallowed his mind! A sudden gust of wind ruffled him, and Andrew lost all sense of bearing.

Where was he? His arm was burning. It was painful to see. He could not tell whether it was blindingly light or if everything was so dark he could see nothing at all. There was a figure in front of him. An unfamiliar reflection of himself looked down at Andrew and shook its head.

Everything snapped into place again. There was an audible pop in Andrew's head. He was on all fours, coughing, trying to catch his breath. He tried moving his left arm and fell on his side. His entire hand and arm felt numb and incredibly tender at the same time.

He rolled onto his back and saw Lenna and Kauri's concerned faces. The woman said something, but Andrew's ears were ringing. He shoved a thumb up in the air to show he was still there. Then he realised what was missing from the sky. Lifting his head a little, he saw black debris all over the place and no other sign of the giant pillars.