The Book of Elsewhere Ch. 01

"Rachel I don't think this is a good idea.." he called out but she did not answer. He tried to reach out and grab her shoulder to get her attention but found for some reason he could not move. Jack panicked. What was going on? Then all of a sudden he felt himself lifting off the go round. He was floating. He could see Rachel was floating too. Only, she had the book still in her hands, looking at the pages.

"Rachel!!!" He tried to call out but his lips did not move.

He could only watch as his sister's body stretched and thinned. He could hear the chanting grow louder in his ears. It was almost booming. Rachel's body grew thinner and thinner as she stretched out longer and longer. Why was this happening? Then Rachel was sucked right into the glowing pages. And she was gone!

Jack screamed but then realized he could only hear it in his head. The book was suddenly closer and getting closer. The chanting was turning to a deep, maniacal laughter. He could see the pages approaching.

They shined with an otherworldly light. As if something had been set off and it was reacting to being opened. Jack could feel the book get closer and then he realized he too was being sucked in! he screamed as the letters drew closer until the world around him shrank into a dark filled tunnel that seemed to go on forever..

Jack was still screaming.

Jack felt something change. He could hear strange noises. Birds. Insects. The sounds of the outdoors filled his ears. He opened his eyes. He could see himself laying on the ground. Jack touched every inch of his body to make sure he was all there. He was still in a panic. Only when he had confirmed that he was there did he realize his mouth was still open form screaming. Jack looked around for Rachel. Had she perhaps ended up like him?

Frantically searching his surroundings, Jack saw that he was in a clearing surrounded by deep jungle. There was trees spanning at least a hundred feet going up in to the air. Where he could see the sky through the leaves, it seemed a dull green color as well. Was it the sky? jack wasn't so sure.

Getting up, he saw that in fact he had landed in a mound of dirt net to a stick standing out of the ground. It took him a moment to realize , he had landed on someone's grave. Jack screamed again and stepped back. His movement was too quick on the uneven ground and he lost his footing and fell backwards. He tumbled for a while then came to a stop. He heard someone say Ow!

Looking up, Jack was relieved to see he had in fact ran into Rachel and she was looking down at him with the usual annoyed look. He was so overjoyed that he had found her alive that he jumped up to his feet and hugged her tight." Oh thank goodness you're alive!"

He let go and stepped back. Where ever they were it felt hot. Jack couldn't see the sun but the heat and humidity was starting to make him sweat already.

"Where the heck are we?" He said, trying to find anything familiar about the place.

Rachel didn't know what was happening. One second she was looking at Jack and everything was fine and the next things were happening. There were bright lights and glowing. Nothing made any sense and she started to get scared. "Jack?" she started to say but her voice was suddenly shut. She looked down at her hand and saw it stretching out! Something was going on and she didn't know what. She tried to run away and tried to move but it was to no avail. She started to feel tears in her eyes as she felt herself being pulled into the book! This wasn't possible though. She closed her eyes and waited for what was to come.

She felt herself land hard somewhere and for the first time she became aware that she was screaming. She quickly shut up not wanting to attract any attention at the moment. Maybe she did but she didn't know where she was it was better to be quiet for the time being. She felt so alone and she started to tear up a little bit until she heard screaming and felt someone come to topple her over. She had never been to happy to see Jack in her entire life. She didn't even wait for him to speak and she hugged him.

"Thank god I'm alive? Thank god you're alive and here. Well it's not good that you're here but you know, at least we're not alone," she said looking around. They were in the jungle. Everything was dull, green and brown, and she felt sweaty. She wasn't dressed for this at all. "The last thing I remember was opening up that book....there was a picture of something and then I felt myself being pulled here," she said. She walked around carefully.

"I don't know where here is or what was up with that book but I think we need to be....careful. Like really careful. Aren't there like killer cats and everything in the jungle?" she asked, sounding small and afraid.

Jack returned the hug, still somewhat stunned from his ordeal. When Rachel released him, he looked around. The temperature suggested someplace tropical but the plants and trees seemed way wilder than anything he had seen on national geographic or in school books. He could hear the sounds of animals deeper in the forest but they didn't sound like anything he had ever heard. At least, he hoped they were animals. Jack steadied himself and forced himself calm. It would do no good for both of them to freak out. Granted, he had no clue where they were but still.

"Rachel. Let's calm down and be rational about all this. Just take things one step at a time. I'm sure we can find someone to tell us where we are and get back home."

Jack spied the beginnings of a trail to his left. Taking his sister's hand , he led them through the thick tree line. He was amazed at how large the flowers, trees and other fauna were. His eyes widened as they past a large white , daisy looking flower that was almost tall enough to touch his hip. He stopped as he heard a rustling sound in a nearby bush. Jack tensed, hoping it wasn't something carnivorous. Rachel's comment about tigers stuck firmly in the front of his mind. The bushes suddenly parted as a creature burst forth.

Jack watched in astonishment as what he saw. The creature had a wide ant like torso. Each side had three legs but where a foot would be, a glossy, green hand was instead. Its mouth was open as it stopped and stood for a moment, scanning with two insect like, yellow eyes around the area as if hunting for something.

Its tail was long ,serpentine like and ended in a rounded tip. it's back was a dull brown carapace like a beetle. Its mouth which seemed like the end of a suction cup hung open. A translucent line of drool seemed to drip from its lower lip.

Jack stood perfectly still, unsure if the thing saw them or not. To his relief, the thing bounded off to the opposite direction and disappeared. Jack breathed out a loud sigh of relief. "okay. It's gone now I think. Lets keep moving." He looked back to see how Rachel was doing. It had been a close call. Hopefully, there would be some sort of sign or glimpse of civilization nearby, he thought.

Rachel nodded and could feel herself starting to sweat up a storm. If they didn't find someone and soon she'd have to try and change her clothes or make due with what she had. She couldn't be sweating like this. She had dressed somewhat plainly today in a skirt with panty hose and a blouse but even that felt a bit heavy in this tropical climate.

"Okay....you're right I'm just....this feels like a bad drug trip," she said. Even if they found someone what would they say? A magical book brought them here? Best to leave that part out for right now.

They walked a bit and Rachel let go of Jack's hand fairly quickly. She didn't need someone leading her like she was a little girl. They walked for a little bit and she admired the flora. It looked odd though. She didn't know much about the jungle or tropical climates but this whole place had a queer feeling to it. She was about to say something when they heard rustling and a creature came forward.

Her jaw hit the ground and she was doing her best not to scream. It was some sort of....giant insect! She wanted to scream but luckily couldn't find her voice. She wanted to run but her legs were firmly planted. Before he mind could make her do anything the creature ran off and they were left there just standing. "Keep moving? You want just to keep moving?" she asked quietly.

"How do we know that we're not walking right into a nest of those things?!" she screeched and quickly covered her mouth. She looked around and nothing seemed to be coming to get them so she talked again. "We have no clue what we're doing," she said harshly and she was starting to shake a bit.

"We don't," Jack replied, leading the way through the underbrush and fauna.

To tell the truth, Jack was terrified of what could be next but he was doing his best not to let it show. He knew his sister was probably twice as bad as he was and it would do no good if neither of them were too petrified to act. They went through the dense forest quietly, hoping not to run into any more odd beasts. The heat seemed to die down a bit as the day went on. Jack could tell the passing of time as things slowly got darker. He was thankful at least this place was bound by normal rules of time at least.

IT wasn't long until the terrain changed and became rougher. The ground was still fertile soil but the trees seemed to thin out. Soon they came to a small trio of make shift huts. They were built in a semi circle. In the middle was a crudely built fire pit. The fire had apparently been doused a while ago. Jack held up a hand to signal to stop. Taking a look around it looked deserted. From what, he could tell the huts were made form nearby sticks and fallen tree limbs and tied together with vines. Hope rekindled in Jack's heart. Maybe they were not alone entirely after all.

"Looks like there might be people here," He whispered to Rachel. " Maybe they can help us. I don't see anyone yet but keep an eye out."

Jack knew it was risky but what choice did they have? Cautiously, one step at a time, Jack approached the nearest hut. He kept his eyes peeled for anyone. The air around them had become still. Jack saw a crude door as he moved around to the front of the hut. Carefully, he approached and reached out for the edge of the door to open it. His nerves were on edge. Hopefully, no one was on the other end that would attack him. When his hand reached the door, he gently pulled it open and looked inside. "Hello?"

Jack was answered by a quick smack on the head. Before he could react or even detect what had hit him, he was hit twice more on the head.

"AHH! OWW What the hell?" Jack retreated but it was no use. Once more he was struck on the shoulder before he realized he was being hit with a slender tree branch. He was hit once more in the leg that dropped him down to one knee. "AHH! Stop!! " Jack was further surprised as his cries were answered by a feminine voice.

" Get out! Get away!! You won't take me! Get back!!!" A voice cried out. They sounded terrified . A young dark skinned woman came out holding the other end of the long limb. She was wide eyed with fear and shaking but also looking defiantly at Jack. She was wearing cargo pants that had rips in the legs. Her hair was down in braids. Her feet were scratched ad n bare, caked with dirty , presumably from running. Her pink polo shirt had a tear over one shoulder. Jack could see the strap of a white bra underneath. Her soft brown eyes were full of fearful fury. The woman looked in her twenties.

"Get back! You won't take me!!"she shouted, holding Jack at bay by leveling the tree limb at him. Jack stayed still, putting his hands out in front of him trying to show he meant no harm. His leg and head stung from where she struck him.

Rachel was terrified, shed didn't know what do to. She wished that they were anywhere but here. The whole thing seemed awful and she wished that they weren't in this forest. She felt the need to move slower now. For all that she knew she could walk around the corner and fall into a pit, so to speak of course. "We need to move slow," she said. She was trying to keep herself from shaking. She wished that everything was okay and would be okay but she wasn't so sure now.

They kept on moving and the terrain became rough Rachel looked around and shrugged at her brother. "I suppose so but I'm not really sure...." she said. She was saying things just to say things. She knew nothing about nature or anything of the sort. "It looks like a hut...." she said. She thought that Jack saying something was a bad idea but she couldn't stop him. She glared at him, she wanted to keep on moving but she knew that she couldn't say anything.

"I don't think that this is a good idea.....I just think that this isn't a good idea," she said muttering. She wanted to stay quiet about everything. Rachel stayed back and she let Jack take care of everything. When she heard him scream Rachel was ready to run. More than ready to run. She had backed up a few steps and was even debating running but she heard another voice and started to calm down a little bit. She looked forward and looked at her. She looked like hell.

She waited for Jack to do something and when it was obvious that Jack was going to just sit there and be hit with a branch she sighed.

"Hey.. hey.. hey, honey....no one is going to hurt you," she said getting between her and Jack. She got hit a few times but her voice seemed to calm the woman down. "Nothing is going on and no one is going to hurt you. We....we just got here and are a little confused by where we are. Can you help us with that?"

The young woman tensed as if ready to swing the tree limb again. She stood there frantically eyeing both of them suspiciously. "Stay back. How do I know you aren't one of those things?" She lowered her makeshift weapon but gave no illusions about swinging if she had to. After a long pause, she asked Rachel. "Who are you?"

Jack came forward and tried to step in between Rachel and the woman but got another quick smack in the thigh for his trouble. "Ow!" Jack retreated quickly behind Rachel.

"I was asking her." the woman said, her attention back on the girl in front of her. "Who are you and what do you want?" The woman shook as she stood despite the fight she was putting up. Her eyes darted quickly from Rachel to the sky as if looked past her. She shook her head, her face filling with a knowing dread. "It's getting darker..."

Jack started to move again but then froze as the woman pointed the branch at him. He held up a hand and stooped in his tracks. "What does that mean? It's been daylight ever since we got here."

"It means you can't stay here. They're coming.." The woman said, panic was beginning to fill her voice and she started to back up towards the makeshift hut. "They'll see you." Her gaze went to somewhere in the sky again. "I just know it. they're coming back.."

Rachel nodded at her to humor her. "Well I don't know what those things are but I'm guessing they aren't dressed like us," she said. She looked over at Jack and rolled her eyes. "Ignore my brother, I'm Rachel and we....we don't actually know what happened. We were in our grandfathers house, then we opened a book and we ended up here," she said starting to feel a little nervous. This woman looked like she had been through hell. Best case she'd give them more information but it also meant that she was desperate and could lash out. She needed to tread carefully here.

"We don't want to hurt you. We just want to know more about this place. Maybe we can actually go and get out of here together. There has to be a way out of here," she said. After all there just had to be. Sure she didn't know exactly where they were but it looked...like a jungle. You walk one direction far enough and you'll eventually get out of here. As the woman talked more and panic started to rise in her voice Rachel started to get concerned.

"What do you mean? Who are they? What happened when they come?" Rachel asked looking up at the sky.

The young woman seemed to calm down slightly as Rachel introduced herself. "My name is Talia. My husband and my brother were sailing off the coast of Florida keys three weeks ago. We lost our bearings at sea. We ran over a reef somewhere. Our ship sank. We woke up on the island. Don't know how long I've been on this island. Time flies away. I think its been two weeks..maybe more. Then they came took my brother and my husband last night..

Talia's eyes went back toward the skies, filling with dread. "They came in the night. I heard noises outside so I went out to see what it was. I found my husband being dragged by this woman. I thought she was a woman but then I saw she had six legs like a bug and my husband was wrapped in some sort of web. It was dragging him along the ground. My brother was yelling trying to stop it but then another came and tackled him.." Talia's words cut off as tears welled in her eyes. She fell to her knees and started to cry. The long stick she was carrying dropped to the ground useless.

Talia looked up with tears streaking down her face. "We were supposed to be celebrating our honey moon next month.." Talia sniffled and got to her feet slowly. "I don't know any way off the island. it's so big. You can't go anywhere at night or that giant thing will get you. That's why we hid in these huts. We thought we were safe.."

Rachel heard the woman's story and dread came over her. She knew that there was no way that it was going to end well but she held out some hope that she and her husband had just gotten separated. Her heart was pounding as she talked and continued to talk about everything that had happened. Once she was done talking Rachel went up to her and hugged her gently. "I'm sorry that happened to you," she said while looking around. She didn't want to find out exactly what those things were.

"We saw....something earlier but it didn't see us. Is the danger mostly at night or do we still have to be careful during the day?" she asked. She kicked herself as soon as she asked it. That was a stupid question. If there was something out there then they had to be careful all the time. "Well okay it'll be okay....we can get out of here. I'm sure that you haven't seen the whole island and the three of us will get out of here," she said. She was panicking on the inside but she didn't want to lose it in front of this woman right now.

"Well since these huts aren't safe lets move. Does anyone know how long until sunset?" she asked.

Jack walked up and put a hand on Rachel's shoulder. "Sis, we should get moving. I don't think we should stay here. She might be right about those things." He glanced away towards the trees then back at them. He was a bit calmer now that Talia wasn't smacking him with a large stick.

Jack kept looking for a path but all he saw was green all around. Large dark trunks of trees surrounded by heavy leaves and tall grasses. "Maybe we should go this way?" He suggested, pointing left.

Talia nodded her head as she hugged Rachel. " Thank you. I really hope so. It seems late in the afternoon now. You can tell the shade is getting darker under the trees." she replied.

Talia picked up her branch, useless as it was but it gave her something to focus on. " We can head north. There are some caves there ." She pointed to her right, past the last hut. "I have only seen things come out at night. If there is things out in the day, they haven't bothered me." Talia broke the hug and stood up. " Come on, I'll lead the way."

Talia wiped her tears away and turned toward the north side of the clearing. Without another word, she broke through the tall underbrush and lead them toward the caves she had mentioned. Jack waited for Rachel to go ahead. He was a bit skeptical of the new girl but he didn't see any other option at that point. Slowly, he followed his sister into the trees.