Michael Blackwood

Silence.

That was the first thing I noticed. It was strangely quiet. Then it all came rushing back to me. The glowing circle of strange symbols. How I was the only one outside of the circle until Skylar reached out for me.

And I grabbed her hand. What’s going on?

All of a sudden I hit the ground. I don’t remember falling, but the impact hit like a truck. I heard strange voices all around me. Voices not speaking English at first, but then I could understand what they were saying as if my brain was automatically translating their words.

“Something’s wrong.”

“Why is there 6 of them? The ritual should have only counted for 5.”

“I have no clue what happened. We performed the ritual the way we were supposed to.”

As I lost focus on the voices, I struggled to move. Every part of my body ached, like my bones had been shattered and put back together multiple times. Feeling disoriented, I slowly looked up from where I was sprawled out on the ground. Figures surrounded the platform, robed and whispering in a language that scraped at my ears.

The voices still there, but distant, I struggled to stand. As I did, I felt a wave of energy and looked up. Then I saw it. It looked like a crack in reality itself. It wasn’t a hole, it wasn’t even a doorway. It looked wrong,  as though someone had taken a blade and slashed through existence.

It’s edges flowed slightly, constantly shifting, rippling like oil on water. The center was deeper than black, a void so dark that it felt as if it were staring into my soul.

It pulsed slightly. A soundless wave of energy pulsed through the air, rattling my bones. Threads of energy, pale and silver, delicate but thrumming with power, began to fold in on themselves. Its edges buckled, collapsing towards its center with growing speed.

And then, with a faint wet sound, it disappeared. Not like a door closing, but like a scar vanishing from skin that had never been cut. I didn’t know what to think at first. All I thought was that I must be dreaming.

Just what is going on?

A slight grunt from behind me snapped me back to reality. I turned to look, and saw her.

“Skylar?”

They were there, all of them. Skylar, Levi, Dylan, Calvin, and Rebecca, all scattered across the same platform that I was on. Skylar was trying to sit up, her expression pale and dazed. Rebecca was curled in on herself. Dylan looked as though he’d just been punched in the gut. Calvin was hunched over, trying to catch his breath. And of course Levi was already shouting. 

“What’s going on?! What the hell just happened?!”

I stumbled to my feet, my knees weak and unsteady, as though I was learning to walk again. 

“Guys?!”

Skylar flinched at the sound of my voice. 

“Michael? You’re actually here?”

“Of course I’m here!” I said, my own voice cracking from fear. “What… what is this?”

I looked over at Rebecca, who was trembling, her hands shaking uncontrollably. “No. No no no. This is wrong. W-we were just studying. The power went out and came back on, but it felt wrong.”

“There was some sort of circle,” I heard Calvin mutter. “I saw it. It was like the floor itself was glowing beneath us. It was glowing. How exactly is something like that possible?”

Dylan started to pace around in circles, his hands combing through his hair. “Okay. Okay maybe this is some sort of a dream. Or a shared hallucination. Something in the snacks maybe? Gas leak? Is that a thing?”

I could still hear Levi shouting, and when I turned my attention to him, he was pointing fingers at the strange people surrounding us. “Who the hell are all of you people? Is this some kind of prank?! Tell me what’s going on now!”

The panic in the air was thick, none of us knowing what to make of the situation.

We were just six ordinary college students.

I glanced down at my hands. They were shaking. My heart felt as though it would burst out of my chest at any second.

“This isn’t real,” I whispered. “There’s no way this is real.”

But the hardness of the ground beneath me and the air I breathed gave me an answer.

It was real enough.

Suddenly, a voice that I hadn’t heard before, spoke. One filled with power and authority.

“So, the ritual was performed incorrectly.”

I looked in the direction I heard the voice. Standing there, was someone I hadn’t seen among the people I saw earlier. Wearing what seemed to be ceremonial robes, was a beautiful woman, tall with shoulder cropped jet black hair, and icy blue eyes, which seemed to gleam even in the dim light.

“No, your majesty. We performed the ritual the exact way we were instructed. But instead of five, six them appeared!” one of the men beside her proclaimed.

“What you’re telling me, is that out of these 6, one of them is an anomaly?”

“It would appear so, your majesty.” one of the other men replied.

“How odd.”

I felt a wave of uncertainty as she regarded me and my friends, her eyes scanning each of us meticulously.

“Whether or not something went wrong with the ritual, I would like to welcome the six of you to our world. My name is Nymeria Veyranno, crown princess and future queen of Kaldessia, the country you are currently in. Unfortunately, one of you wasn't supposed to be summoned here, but we will find all that out in due time and what may have gone wrong. Until then, please follow me.” she said with a smile as she gestured for us to follow.

I looked at my friends with uncertainty, who stared back, unsure of what they should do.

“Please, do not ignore the princess.” one of the men hissed. “She is trying to show you the utmost kindness even though one of you is a mistake.”

“Mistake?!” Levi shouted. “Who are you calling a mistake?!”

“The mistake was placing the ritual in this old man’s hands,” the princess said, looking back over her shoulder. “Please do not mind his words.”

Not knowing what else to do, I slowly got to my feet, my body still racked with pain. My friends on the other hand, didn’t look like they were in pain at all.

Skylar rushed over. “Are you ok? You look like you’ve been hit by a train.”

“I’ll be fine Skylar. Thank you though.” I replied, though it hurt to speak.

As the princess started to walk away, my friends and I decided to follow her. This was my first time actually getting a good look at where we were at. The room we were in was huge, at least fifty feet high, with a domed ceiling. Strange runes and etchings littered the walls and floor, glowing slightly. They seemed to give off some form of power and I started to wonder if these runes and etchings were a form of electricity.

“I can see that you’re quite caught up in our architecture,” the princess said, who happened to be looking in my direction, while leading us down a hallway. “This is one of the very few buildings in the world that allow for summoning people from other worlds. The only one in our kingdom.”

I looked at her. “You said that it’s used to summon people from other worlds? How is something like that even possible?”

“Through the power that The Covenant of Providence grants of course.” she replied.

The Covenant of Providence? What the hell does she mean by that?

The princess continued speaking. “All will be explained soon. First, we’re going to figure out which of you wasn’t supposed to be summoned.”

“So one of us is a mistake, is what you’re saying.” Dylan responded.

“No person alive is a mistake. The mistake was allowing that man to be in charge of the summoning ritual instead of myself.”

As the seven of us continued down the hallway, we passed a series of rooms that looked very similar to living accommodations, lounges, dining halls and recreational rooms. We kept walking until coming to a stop in front of a set of doors that led into a room that I couldn’t quite figure out what its purpose was.

We’re here,” the princess said. “Please walk in and stand at the glowing white line on the floor. Your names will be called and that is when we will know who shouldn’t have been summoned.”

As I walked into the room and stood at the line, I took a quick glance around. The room was similar to the chamber that we had been summoned in, but smaller and had a giant golden orb in the middle of the floor.

As the doors closed behind us, a thrum of energy washed over all of us and the golden orb began to levitate, which surprised me.

“When your name is called, please step forward.” the orb said, its voice slightly distorted and deep.

“Dylan Bennett.”

Dylan stepped forward.

“Rebecca Bellerose.”

Rebecca followed, hesitantly.

“Skylar Caldwell.”

“Calvin Halden.”

“Levi Devereux.”

The orb continued saying names until I was the only one still standing at the line, my name never being called.

“You five have been chosen and summoned to help save our world from a looming threat. A great responsibility now lies upon your shoulders. Rest assured that you will grow strong enough to combat this rising threat. Then and only then, will you be capable of returning to your world.”

As the orb began to descend to the floor, I noticed Skylar looking in my direction, a look of worry etched across her face.

“So what about Michael huh?” Levi shouted. “He’s one of us so why wasn’t his name called as well?”

The princess responded. “It seems as though Michael wasn’t chosen to be summoned. This isn’t exactly good, but it’s not bad either. We’re going to have to figure out what to do with you.”

Hearing this, I felt my blood run cold.

“Can you send me back? Is that possible?” I asked the princess.

“No! Michael can’t be left out of this. If he’s sent back, then I won’t do anything to help. It was your people who made a mistake, not Michael!” Skylar shouted.

The princess’s expression turned to one of sympathy. “Even if we wanted to, we don’t have the power to send you back. The rift has been closed.”

“Are you going to… kill me?” My voice cracked in fear.

“No definitely not,” she replied with a small chuckle. “We aren’t executioners. But we will need to do something about you. We will have you tested alongside your friends. Even though you were summoned by accident, you will still have been granted a thread. It’s only a matter of whether or not you can harmonize to it

Harmonize to my thread?

“Your tests will begin in the morning. Until then, you will be given access to temporary living quarters,” the princess said, with a small smile, turning to leave. “You will also be given permission to use any of the lounges or recreational areas as well. Dinner will be served at 7 o’clock sharp. Please be there.”

I looked at my friends. Five names called, five futures decided. But not me. Not even a whisper. Just silence as I asked myself one question.

What exactly am I doing here?