Beyond the Fields We Know

[AmandaAce]

Ali Martin made her way down the hall. She took a drink from the huge water bottle she was holding and began to dig in her pocket for change.
She was covered with paint. It was in her dark hair, on her t-shirt, on her ripped jeans. Her four-hour stage design class had recessed for break, and she intended to get a Snickers bar before she went outside for a cigarette.
As she drew closer to the vending machines, she became aware of a rattling noise. A classroom door near the machines was rattling back and forth violently, as though someone were trapped inside.
Ali stopped and looked closer. Now the whole door was shaking back and forth in its frame. She tried to peer in the window, but it was dark.
She reached for the doorknob.
The shaking ceased.
Slightly freaked, Ali turned back towards the end of the hall. She could see someone standing at the pop machine down there, a guy she knew but couldn't place. Comforted by his presence in the otherwise empty hallway, she continued on.
Neither Ali nor the guy at the end of the hall noticed the man creeping up behind them.
He was tall, bearded, and sinister looking. Strangest of all, he was dressed like a pirate. He reached the rattling door and stopped, watching Ali as she stopped and bought a candy bar.
As her candy bar dropped into the slot, she glanced at the guy next to her.
"Hi," she said.

 

[Third Magus]

Stefan Osbourne's head hurt, and his mouth tasted of metal. He'd had a class, and been trying to take notes, but the letters just flowed and swam across the page, and he'd almost passed out trying to keep track of them. Now he was standing in the hallway, gulping fresh air and wishing his head would stop aching.

He was lean, and pale, with a jagged halo of spiky blond hair. Few people knew Stefan very well. He kept them at a distance; fearing ties that would bind him, or people who could judge him. Now he recognised, approaching him, one of the many people he knew slightly.

It was Ali Martin. Dark-haired, artistic, pretty. He'd seen her around.

"Hey"

 

[AmandaAce]

As she turned her head toward him, she recognized him. His name was Stefan something-or-other. He was one of those guys who was always in the cafe, looking intense. He didn't seem to have many friends.
Ali smiled at him, wanting to put him at ease. Now that she was paying attention, he didn't look too good. He was really pale and drawn.
"Hey, are you okay?" she said. "I think I've got some Aleve in my purse." She started digging around in her bag.
She came up with the Aleve bottle after a few seconds. She held it out to Stefan ---
and at that moment the pirate character opened the door.
Stefan and Ali were thrown together in a wash of white light. The corridor was obliterated as gravity began to suck them towards the door.
Ali, nearly unconscious, grabbed the sleeve of Stefan's jacket as she felt the pull. As they blew down the hall she got a glimpse of the doorway and was stunned. She was looking down. All she could see was an expanse of cloud, and through it, a blue and sparkling body of water shot through with small green islands.
That was all, as her head hit the doorjamb and she passed out.
Then they were through the door, and falling.

 

[Third Magus]

Stefan was reaching for the Aleve bottle, although he wasn't sure it would help at all, when the flash blinded him and he was torn off his feet, punching into Ali. He clawed at the walls, but even they seemed to be disintegrating into the light. They were pulled irresistibly towards the open door at the end of the corridor.

Stefan gasped as he saw through the door for the first time; saw the endless expanse of sky and sea that lay on the other side. There was a dull crack as Ali's head collided with the door jamb and then they were both falling downwards.

He had less than a moment to reflect on the sheer strangeness of what had occured when he collided with a hard surface. He lay on the edge of a sheer, curved metal slope, shaped somewhat like the prow of a ship. Instinctively, his flailing hand had caught hold of Ali's wrist, and he now held her over the great drop.

It was cold up there, and Stefan was acutely aware of the sweat on the hand holding the unconscious Ali's wrist, which was slowly beginning to slide from his grasp.

 

[AmandaAce]

The first thing Ali felt was cold. Her right cheek was pressed against something that was both extremely hard and extremely cold. Her head felt like it was filled with cotton balls. A sticky trickle of blood dripped down the side of her face.
"Fuck," she tried to say.
The sensations in her face were slowly giving way to a searing pain in her left shoulder. It was twisted up behind her head, the wrist caught somehow.
She opened her eyes all the way.
She was lying on her back on the prow of a vast metal ship that was somehow floating in the air. Arching her back, she looked up into the terrified face of Stefan something-or-other, who was holding her right wrist for dear life. From the chest down, her body dangled over an unimaginable drop.
With a small scream, Ali brought her right hand up and grasped Stefan's wrist. Now she was painfully contorted, her straining shoulders holding all of her weight. Slowly, she began to inch her way backwards onto the prow, trying to get her feet back onto something solid. Their hands were dripping with sweat. She tried not to imagine what would happen if she fell.
She hoped Stefan had enough purchase to pull her up.
"Pull!" she screamed, her shoulders on fire.

 

[Third Magus]

Stefan's body was beginning to slide forwards. The smooth metal of the prow held no friction, and Ali's weight was dragging him down too. For a moment, he considered letting go -after all, what did he owe her? Disgusted with himself, he pushed the thought away and heaved, clawing at the metal surface he was on with his other hand.

He somehow managed to drag her on to the prow and, for a moment, they lay there gasping. Stefan looked up into the sky; the door they'd fallen through had disappeared. Then he heard footsteps.

Making his way carefully across the prow towards them, crouched low to avoid the strong winds, was a figure. He must have come from the main body of the ship. He was a tall, scarred, bearded man, dressed in a long leather coat, and holding out before him a gleaming knife.

 

[AmandaAce]

Ali lay there, catching her breath and wiping the blood off the side of her face. As she did so, she felt Stefan tense next to her. She followed his glance and groaned.
The man making his way towards them was brandishing a huge, saber-like weapon. The clothes he wore were leather, much creased, and his scarred face was contorted in a sneer. All in all he looked like some sort or mercenary or pirate. Ali pushed herself up and faced him. She felt her feet threatening to slide out from under her and bent her knees slightly. She didn't dare take her eyes off their assailant. He was saying something in a strange language as he advanced. As he got closer, his words became clearer.
"Bring it here, then," he said. He was speaking English, but his accent was so thick he was almost impossible to understand.
"Come on, girl, let's go." He was close enough now for Ali to see how deeply scarred his face was. He held up the huge knife and pressed the point to her throat. He grabbed her right arm and pinned it behind her back. In this way, he marched her across the slick prow and ordered her up. She heard something behind her, and assumed they must have Stefan as well.