Chapter One

Chapter One

Emily crept through the scrapyard, watching for any of Vortex's undead minions. If she got caught, she'd be killed. But she never gets caught, or, at least, Vortex never finds out she got caught.

She was looking for parts, for a weapon she was building. Something that might be able to help free them from Vortex. Vortex was a huge, black… thing that seemed to be made of shadows. He could use tendrils of shadow to grab or destroy things, making it disappear into ashes. Her parents had been killed this way. But Emily has taught herself to never be caught by Vortex. She could fight, and fight well. So if any of the undead did find her, their heads were lopped off in mere seconds.

But they were undead, so no head couldn't stop them. They just picked up theirs heads and reported to their master. And so Emily was a kind of fugitive, always being looked for, but never caught.

Finding a sheltered spot in the scrapyard, she began to dig through the parts as quietly as she could, searching for a photon compressor. It was the last thing she needed, but she'd been searching for months and found nothing. Her head reflected in a shiny piece of metal near her, and she was distracted for a moment. Her shoulder length hair was a bright white, a genetic disorder, her parents had said. Her eyes were blue with long lashes, and her lips were full and red. She wore black leggings and a red shirt with the long sleeves torn to make them shorter, and she had brown boots that went up to just below her knees. Emily blinked and scolded herself for getting distracted. At her own figure, for crying out loud! She needed to be more careful.

A twig cracked behind her, and a low moan sounded. Emily whirled around, pulling out her wicked double bladed staff. She had scrapped all her guns for her weapon, so this was the best she had.

Two undead were heading towards her, quick for dead people but also slow, according to her standards. With barely a wasted breath she rushed forward and lobbed off the head of the first. The other was more of a challenge, however, as it was ready for her attacks.

But it still only took a few moments for her to incapacitate it, and after no hesitation, Emily was running through the scrapyard. She could hear the scraping and moaning of the undead behind her, far, but still after her.

She swerved around a corner of a pile of scrap and stopped, trapped. It was a dead end. Emily ran her hands along the wall, searching for anything that could help her escape, and then she found it. A hidden lever. She pushed it quickly, and a small gateway opened up on the ground next to her. With no hesitation, she dashed inside, and the door closed behind her, leaving her in pitch blackness.

Emily was prepared, however, and pulled her flashlight off of her belt and flipped it on, waving it around to see where she was. The first thing she saw were… light switches. She walked over and flipped them on, and to her surprise, light flickered to life above her, revealing a long stone hallway covered in moss and mold.

There were bits and pieces of trash and metal scattered here and there, too. Gripping her weapon, Emily started down the hallway, her boots making soft footsteps on the moldy stone.

The hallway was very long, and every now and then, a light flickered, or a piece of metal fell off a pile, making Emily jump. It smelled awful, the odor of mold, moss, and trash combined was enough to almost make her sick. She didn't though, she was stronger than just a mere odor.

The floor was squishy under her feet, making her grateful she was wearing shoes. Of the few people she had met in her adventures, few owned shoes. She considered herself lucky for how well off she was in this cruel world. As she moved further down the hallway, she became sure the lights wouldn't suddenly turn off, and so clipped her flashlight back onto her belt. But she kept her duel-bladed staff in hand. Better safe than sorry.

Her mind began to drift, and she found herself remembering her past. Her parents were Anna and George Chambers, two brave, fantastic people. They had given birth to her nineteen and a half years ago, just before Vortex and his army of undead took over. They were able to hide for years, until Emily turned fourteen.

That was when Anna had been careless and forgot to check for undead while she was returning to their hiding place. A large horde of undead found them there.

Anna and George forced her to hide, and Emily was forced to watch as the undead captured and killed her parents. She was forced to live with the image of her parents, dying, screaming, as they were destroyed. But there was nothing she could do. Emily had hidden until she was sure the undead were gone, then ventured out. Nothing remained of her parents but a few pools of blood.

She had taught herself to fight, and even had a boyfriend when she was seventeen. But he had been killed too. She had begun to believe that everything she loved would be taken away from her, so she avoided people, knowing that if she bonded with even one, they would be taken away from her too.

And so she vowed revenge on Vortex, and using her hereditary technological and mathematical intellect, she built a weapon that she believed could kill Vortex, and it was missing one piece. A photon compressor. She had been searching for this piece for months, and had found nothing. So her weapon sat, unfinished, in her hidden hideout.

During these flashbacks, the hallway ended, with a simple door in front of her. Emily tried the handle. Of course it would be locked. She smashed the door with her weapon, stepping through the jagged hole she had made and stopped in astonishment.

In front of her was a humongous cavern like room, the walls to her left and right lined with shelves and shelves of food, water, medical equipment, and other survival gear. There were bookshelves on the walls next to the door as well, filled with large tomes of knowledge. I think I know where my new hideout is, Emily thought happily as she rummaged through the books. She pulled out a specific book, not as large as the others, entitled Journal. She flipped to the first page.

March 15, 2805

It's the first day in our hidden sanctuary. Vortex is destroying the world above. I am Valhalla, the leader of the Builders. We have enough food and water for years, and our most skilled are working on a portal to another dimension, one we may call home. We wish to escape this destroyed world so that we may live happily and in peace in another, able to build as we wish. But we cannot leave until the portal is complete. We are reassured that we will be able to return to this world if we wish, and that makes the others more comfortable with this project. We hope to finish it soon.

Emily continued reading, curious. The journal went on to outline the daily life of these Builders, and recorded the process of the portal, which she found to be at the back of the room, hidden under a sheet. The book even included blueprints of the portal, in case it needed to be fixed. But the journal entry she found most interesting was the last one.

December 10, 2805

The portal has been completed. We are already starting to travel through the portal. The creators say it will be open to come back, but I have made a decision. We cannot come back. I will close the portal behind me and blame it on technical difficulties. We will never be able to come back, and Vortex will never find us. Goodbye, Terrerian.

Jeremiah had shut the portal behind him, making it impossible for his race to return. He had made a decision, and had kept to it. Emily was about to put the journal back on the bookshelf, but then had an idea. What if she fixed the portal, and found these Builders? She was sure they would be able to help her build her weapon.

Heck, they might even be able to help her kill Vortex and his army! Decision made, she quickly grabbed a backpack from one of the shelves and filled it with food, water bottles, and first aid equipment. She stuffed the journal in too, and some rope. You can never be too careful.

Finally, she went over to the portal and examined it. It seemed in good condition, nothing was broken. She just needed to turn it on. She quickly located the lever, took a deep breath, and yanked it to the "on" position. With a flash of light, the portal flickered to life! A beautiful swirling mess of yellow, red, purple, and orange forming what seemed to be a membrane. Gripping her weapon, Emily strode through the membrane, breaking through into the other dimension.