Thirteen Forgotten Worlds (Seam Wardens Book 1) Page 4

  I had my answer. I was going to join.

  My aunt and uncle didn't take the news very well. The night before Spencer and Tamara were going to pick me up, I told them I had withdrawn from Harvard and turned down my scholarship. I had hoped for a little yelling, but instead, my uncle grew very quiet and Aunt Ella started crying.

  “Why would you do that?” she asked. “You have this great opportunity and you’re just throwing it away? What on earth could possibly be more important than your future?”

  Spencer had suggested I tell them the truth, so I had wanted to give that a try. Unfortunately, now that I was in the moment, I was discovering there was no way to actually tell the truth without sounding like a complete lunatic.

  “It’s complicated,” I said.

  “Did you get a girl pregnant?” Uncle Mike asked.

  “What? No!” I exclaimed. “Of course not. I’m not even dating anyone!”

  “I think we both know that really isn’t a requirement these days,” Uncle Mike said. “So, what exactly is happening here? An anxiety attack? Drugs? Gangs? Do you need to ‘find yourself’? Because if you do, I think I know where you shoved your head.”

  “Uncle Mike, just stop, okay?” I said. “And, by the way – gross.” I took a deep breath. This was not going well and I could only imagine that telling them the truth would just make it worse. But I was going to try.

  “Look, I found out what really happened to my parents,” I said. “They didn’t die in a car wreck. They were killed by some sort of creature or monster. I’m not really sure.”

  “Oh, Pierce,” said Aunt Ella. “You don’t actually believe that do you?”

  “That's absurd!” said Uncle Mike. “How on earth can a kid as smart as you believe something so stupid?”

  “I know it sounds crazy,” I said. “I didn’t believe it either when they first told me–”

  "They?" said Uncle Mike. "Who is feeding you this load of crap? You didn't join some cult, did you? Please, tell me it isn't the Scientologists."

  “No, it’s nothing like that. It isn’t a cult. This isn’t a religion. This is a group of people who...” I trailed off. How was I going to say it without sounding completely ridiculous? It’s a group of people who protect us from otherworldly monsters we can’t remember?

  Yeah, that sounded perfectly sane.

  “It’s like the army,” I said. “They protect the world from, uh, bad things.” I didn’t want to use the word monsters, but I didn’t know how else to describe it. Aliens? Demons? Hell-spawn? It all sounded crazy.

  What kind of crappy advice had Spencer given me? Telling the truth to my uncle was about the dumbest idea ever. Now, Uncle Mike thought I was either crazy or brainwashed.

  “What kind of bad things?” Aunt Ella asked.

  Well, they already thought I was crazy. Why not go all in?

  “Monsters,” I said. I saw my uncle open his mouth to reply, so I kept talking to get it all out before Uncle Mike could say anything else to make me feel even more stupid. “There are places where our world connects to other worlds and beings that live there can cross over here. For whatever reason, most people can’t remember these creatures for more than a few minutes. That’s why you don’t hear about them. Our minds aren’t equipped to assimilate them.”

  “How convenient,” Uncle Mike said. The sarcasm in his voice was impossible to miss.

  I ignored him and kept talking. “I can remember them longer than most people. There are some of us who have this ability. They work to protect our world against these creatures. They’re called Seam Wardens. I know this sounds crazy to you. I understand, believe me. But I am going to join them, and I didn’t want to lie to you. I love you both too much to do that.”

  And the conversation went downhill from there.

  Uncle Mike continued to rage against my gullibility and Aunt Ella cried and asked me “why?” over and over as if I had been convicted of slaughtering a bus full of nuns, rather than simply turning down a scholarship.

  I went to bed that night exhausted and frustrated. I couldn’t remember ever getting into such a fight with my uncle and aunt the entire time I had lived with them. Sure, we had disagreements, but never to this extent. I hated feeling this way. I hated the tension and anger I felt.

  I closed my eyes and recalled the memory of watching Spencer practice and that feeling of desperately wanting to be a Seam Warden. I held onto that feeling of wanting to help people, of knowing that being a Seam Warden was the path I wanted to take.

  I clung tightly to that feeling – the only sure thing in a very confusing situation – as I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to overtake me.

  I woke up early the next morning and packed a suitcase. I had no idea what to take, so I stuffed as much as I could into my suitcase and hoped that I didn’t forget anything I would miss.

  When I went downstairs, both my uncle and aunt were already awake and waiting for me in the living room.

  Great. They were probably planning some sort of intervention to keep their crazy nephew from joining a cult. I was surprised there weren’t large men waiting with a straitjacket just my size.

  “I’m not changing my mind,” I said. “Spencer and Tamara are going to be here soon to pick me up.”

  Uncle Mike slowly nodded. “Ok,” he said. “If this is what you really think you want, we aren’t going to stop you. We just want to make sure you have thought this all the way through.”

  “Of course I’ve thought it through,” I said. “This isn’t something I just ‘think’ I want. It’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was ten and my parents were killed.”

  “Fine,” Uncle Mike said. “Then answer me a few questions.”

  “Sure. Go ahead and ask.”

  Uncle Mike nodded. “How are you going to pay for food and rent?”

  "I'm going to be a Seam Warden," I said. "They'll provide me with everything I need." At least I hoped that was the case. The reality was that I had no idea what conditions would be like there. Now that my uncle made me stop and think about it, the thought was actually a bit disturbing.

  “Do you know what your salary will be?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Not exactly. Hmmm. Ok, how about benefits? Or insurance –Medical, Vision, Dental? Do they cover those things for you? 401K or anything for retirement?”

  I shrugged. Those things weren’t even on my radar. Who needed to worry about retirement at eighteen-years-old? This was about protecting the world from monsters, not personal gain.

  “Have you been to their offices or even seen your working conditions?”

  I shook my head. “No, Uncle Mike, I haven’t seen or asked about any of that.”

  Uncle Mike let out a deep breath. “How can you be so reckless as to risk your entire future on a venture you know almost nothing about? Do you see why this concerns us?”

  “The reason I can ‘risk my future’ on this is because some things are worth fighting for,” I said. I looked Uncle Mike in the eyes. “You taught me that. I don’t have all the information right now. You’re right about that. But deep down inside me, I know this is the right thing to do. And that feeling is too strong for me to ignore. So, no I don’t have all the facts and information that you want me to have to make a rational decision. So, I guess you’re right. This isn’t a rational decision. But here’s the thing – I know it’s the right decision.”

  “How can you possibly know that?”

  “I feel it, Uncle Mike,” I said. “I don’t know how else to explain it. I feel it in the same way I know when someone is going to cut to the basket before they make a move. I feel it in the same way I know where the QB is going to throw the ball. I just know, and I’ve learned to trust that feeling. It never steers me wrong.”

  The doorbell rang.

  I looked at my watch. It was exactly 9:00 a.m.

  Talk about being saved by the bell.

  I opened the door and saw the welcome faces of Spencer and Tamara. I did
a double take because they looked very different from the last time I saw them. Instead of wearing dark shirts with vests over them, they were both dressed up nicely. Spencer wore a black suit with a blue, striped tie and Tamara wore a knee-length skirt, dark high heels, and a white blouse covered by an expensively cut jacket.

  At a loss for words, I moved out of the way and let the two of them come into the house. Uncle Mike and Aunt Ella had both followed me to the front entryway. Uncle Mike wore a scowl and frowned at the new arrivals. Aunt Ella looked somewhat scared and stood behind Uncle Mike.

  “Uncle Mike, Aunt Ella,” I said. “This is Tamara and Spencer. They’re Seam Wardens.”

  Spencer reached out a hand and Uncle Mike reluctantly shook it. “Nice to meet you,” Spencer said. “You have a fine nephew here. We’re pleased to have him work with us.”

  Uncle Mike nodded slowly. “He is a good boy. Very trusting. A little too trusting, to be honest.”

  “I, uh, followed your advice, Spencer,” I said. “I told them the truth about the Seam Wardens and about protecting the world from monsters.”

  Tamara closed her eyes and shook her head. Clearly, she hadn't been on board with that approach. Too bad I hadn't known that before I opened my mouth and made Uncle Mike think I was a complete nut job.

  “I don’t know what kind of nonsense you’re filling my nephew’s head with,” said Uncle Mike, “but you’re not doing him any favors. He had a full scholarship to Harvard. Do you have any idea how difficult that is? How hard he had to work to accomplish that? Now you come along with this foolishness about monsters and wardens and he throws it all away.”

  I opened my mouth to defend myself, but Spencer held up a hand.

  “No, Pierce, your uncle has a very valid point. I can see from his perspective this looks like a colossal mistake. He cares about you and just wants what’s best for you.”

  Spencer paused and thought for a moment before addressing my uncle again. “The real issue is that you don’t believe what Pierce told you about monsters and other worlds. Does that sound about right?”

  “You bet I don’t believe it,” said Uncle Mike. He put an arm around Aunt Ella. “I don’t know what you did to brainwash him, but there is no way we’re going to let you ruin his life.”

  Spencer nodded his head thoughtfully. “I think I see,” he said. “But what if it were true?”

  Uncle Mike rolled his eyes. “But it isn’t, so what’s the point of the question?”

  “I’m just trying to see what really is your objection,” Spencer said. “Just imagine for a moment that what Pierce told you was true. He’s a good-hearted and intelligent boy. You said so yourself. What if everything he told you was the absolute truth? Monsters. Seam Wardens. Other worlds. Would you think that protecting our world from these creatures was a worthwhile pursuit?”

  “This is ridiculous!” Uncle Mike said. “You’re wasting our time with storybook fairytales.”

  “But what if it were true?” Spencer asked. He held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Just suspend your disbelief for a moment and consider it. If what Pierce told you was true – that there are other worlds and they do connect to ours – would you object to him wanting to help defend the world against the monsters?”

  “No,” Aunt Ella said. She turned to look at Uncle Mike. “If it were true, we wouldn’t object.”

  “Which it isn’t,” Uncle Mike said. “So, the question really doesn’t matter.”

  Spencer smiled and stood up a little straighter. “So, your objection has to do with belief. If there are monsters and Pierce is going to in fact become a Seam Warden, you wouldn’t object?"

  Uncle Mike sighed. "Fine. If it were true, I wouldn't have any objection. But I would need proof. Ironclad proof. Undeniable, unambiguous, and indisputable proof."

  “Got it.” Spencer turned to Tamara and shrugged. “It looks like we may need to provide a bit of proof to satisfy their concerns.”

  Tamara shook her head. “You’re such a dork,” she said. “You set this whole thing up.”

  Spencer flashed a huge grin. “Me? Never. I’m far too responsible to do something like that.”

  Tamara let out a huff that quite clearly said she disagreed with Spencer’s self-assessment.

  Spencer pulled out the gate box from one of his pockets and began fiddling with it. He pressed a few buttons and nothing happened.

  Uncle Mike scowled and folded his arms. He was clearly not impressed.

  One minute passed, but it felt like at least an eternity. Possibly two. And the longer it took, the more nervous I became. What if it didn’t work? What kind of proof was he talking about?

  “Just one minute,” said Spencer. He pressed a few more buttons and the gate box turned on. Once again strange symbols floated in the air.

  Uncle Mike and Aunt Ella’s eyes grew very wide. I could tell they were shocked, but would it be enough to convince them?

  Spencer flipped through the symbols with his hand and pressed one. The rectangular portal opened in the middle of the entryway.

  Aunt Ella gasped and put a hand to her mouth. Clearly, she was impressed. Uncle Mike stared very hard at the portal. He slowly took a few steps around it. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head. He was desperately trying to figure out what the trick was and how he could explain it.

  Spencer grinned. He was clearly enjoying this. “Hold on a second,” he said and walked through the portal.

  After hearing Uncle Mike tell me how gullible I was, it was nice to watch his jaw literally – and yes, I mean literally – drop as Spencer disappeared through the portal.

  Seeing the reaction on my uncle’s face, Tamara couldn’t help but smirk a bit. I couldn’t really blame her. I could tell she wanted to laugh, but she did a good job holding the laughter in. Uncle Mike was a great guy, but he wasn’t the kind of guy who liked to be laughed at.

  “What happened to him?” Aunt Ella asked.

  “The portal leads to the Seam Walker headquarters,” Tamara said. “I’m sure he’ll be back in just a minute.”

  “Is that like teleporting?” asked Aunt Ella.

  Tamara shrugged. “Sort of. Think of it as opening a door and walking through to a different location.”

  “What’s he doing there?” I asked.

  Tamara rolled her eyes. “Getting the proof your uncle wanted,” she said. “But Spencer has to do everything his own way.”

  On cue, Spencer walked out of the gate and back into the entryway. He was grinning from ear to ear.

  That should have prepared me to expect the unexpected.

  Right behind Spencer, a huge, furry beast came through the portal. It was so tall that it had to stoop to get through the gate. It was bipedal and roughly humanoid, but it looked more like a gorilla than a man. It wore a helmet and a metal chest plate over its thick, black and brown fur.

  When the creature straightened up, it was easily over seven feet tall, probably closer to eight. It reached out its huge arms and stretched, opening its mouth in a massive yawn. Its mouth opened wide enough that I was pretty sure it could have fit my entire head inside. Not exactly a comforting thought.

  Aunt Ella screamed and Uncle Mike moved in front of her, placing himself between her and the beast. You could say a lot of things about Uncle Mike, but calling him a coward was not one of them.

  The beast looked at Aunt Ella as she screamed and then turned its attention back to Spencer.

  Spencer nodded to the beast and made shooing motions with his hands.

  With an exasperated sigh, the beast turned back to Uncle Mike and Aunt Ella. "Roar," it said in the most unenthusiastic voice I had ever heard. It half-heartedly raised its hands in the air. Then, in perfectly understandable English, it said: "I'm a scary beast that will rip you apart and eat your limbs. Roar."

  The beast shot Spencer a dirty look. “We’re even,” it said. “I’m never playing Poker with you again.” It turned on its heel and stormed back through the portal.
<
br />   Uncle Mike and Aunt Ella stood there gaping.

  Spencer rubbed his hands together, hopefully. “So, now you’ve seen that there are other creatures. As you may have guessed, that one is, uh, actually on our side. One of the friendly ones, you know. As Tamara pointed out to me earlier, it would have been reckless and dangerous to bring in one of the not-so-friendly ones.”

  “What was that thing?” Uncle Mike asked.

  “It was a Sasquatch,” said Spencer. “We have quite a number of them that work for us. We can’t really use them for recon around humans, but you’ll be hard pressed to find better soldiers.”

  “Sasquatch?” I asked. “As in Big Foot?”

  Spencer made a shushing gesture and looked around frantically. “Yes, but don’t go saying that to their faces. They hate that name.”

  “And believe me,” Tamara said. “You don’t want to see an angry Sasquatch. They can be temperamental.”

  Uncle Mike shook his head. “How am I supposed to believe that was a real Sasquatch? It was probably just a guy in an ape suit. He sure didn’t sound like a monster when he spoke to us in perfect English.” He really enunciated those last three words. He folded his arms and looked at Spencer, raising an eyebrow, daring him to explain that.

  Spencer turned red and let out a frustrated sigh.

  Tamara tried to stifle a laugh behind her hand but was woefully unsuccessful.

  "But what about the portal?" Spencer said. His voice took on a pleading tone, and he pointed at the glowing rectangle in the middle of the entryway. "How do you explain that or the fact that the Sasquatch disappeared into it?"

  “The same way I explain someone making an entire building or the Statue of Liberty disappear – tricks and illusion. It is obviously done with some sort of...”

  He trailed off as Spencer disappeared into the portal. A second later he came back out again, this time with a large rifle slung over his shoulder.

  Tamara groaned. “Spencer, I think you’re taking this a bit too far.”