Rift in Reality - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The writer’s resolve

There it is… I can see the sea… and its glowing… like fire…

He could feel his exhaustion beginning to take effect and as a result he was doing less thinking and more watching. He had been driving for hours on end, how many he couldn’t be quite sure after the incident. However, when he looked down at the controls he noticed the fuel gauge was close to nil. He was going to have to stop soon.

Before long he could finally make out the jagged shape of buildings in the distance and decided that this would be where he would be taking his break. The sound of traffic kept him awake and he noticed how many of the cars around him now contained tourists who were probably rushing off to the seaside for some late sun at the beach. In Wright’s case he wasn’t here for that, he was here to finish his ‘project’, nothing more.

Chris had found the flight tiring since he had a passenger to keep hold of who was squirming all the time, but he also noticed that Drake and Laura were finding it hard to keep up with him. It had been about 2 hours since Wright shook off the Octagon SUVs and since he hadn’t stopped they couldn’t stop to have a break either. He thanked the almighty that Wright managed to stay in one piece; he could have easily got caught up in the crash as well.

A small seaside town was below him and he knew they would have to land soon or they could get spotted by the inhabitants when the sun rose later at daybreak. Laura and Drake had lagged a bit behind but were both about a stone throw away in the opposite direction from where they were going. Wright, who was a great distance below them, was nothing more than a small object moving along the ground and finally he pulled up to what he could tell was a hotel.

His attention returned to closer matters and he noticed the passenger in his claws was asleep while he was hovering on the spot over the car park where Wright had stopped. The other two finally caught up and Laura flew to his side.

“Why have you stopped?” She asked. Chris motioned his tail to the hotel building below.

“Wright’s checked into that hotel, I think we should too.” He replied. Laura nodded and the discussion wasn’t taken any further, they were all very tired.

Thursday 31st July 2003 - 01:45

Wright had locked his bike against a small post and wandered around with his helmet in hand as he stumbled his way into the small hotel. The doors were still open and after he walked through he noticed a couple of people were still working even at this unsociable time.

He staggered in a daze brought upon by his lack of sleep. His left hand was rising along the side of his hair trying to get it into place after wearing the helmet for so long it had been messed up a bit.

“Sir, are you okay?” Said a female receptionist who had a cup of coffee simmering in front of her. Wright nodded and seemed to get himself composed without much difficulty.

“Yeah, sorry, it’s been a long night. That’s all. I just need a single room till the 2nd of August.” He said, while reaching into his pocket for the money which he would have to pay. The woman looked down at a clipboard and various other sheets and looked back up at Wright.

“Room 13, first floor. That’ll cost you…” Wright was becoming increasingly weary and quickly paid the amount for the room before walking in the direction of the stairs. Everything looked blurry through his eyes and due to his exhaustion he hadn’t notice a group of people enter the hotel behind him.

Chris and co had returned to their humans forms and decided to take a risk. They were going to get a room directly next to Wright’s. To ensure this Chris decided to use some of his ‘powers’ to persuade the receptionist at the front desk.

“You will give us a room next to the one you just gave that man who just walked in, are we clear?” He said, his voice being a mix of his true form and his human one. The woman’s eyes were glazed over and her body moved rigidly like that of a machine under the control of a program. Chris’ plan had worked.

“Room 12, first floor. That’ll cost you…” She said unconsciously, handing Chris the key after which Chris gave the money she requested. He wasn’t a crook after all. The others were impressed by Chris’ powers and on the way to their room Drake bombarded him with many questions concerning his abilities.

“How did you do that? Could you teach me? Please. Please…” He asked with enthusiasm like a child wanting to learn a new trick… which was exactly what he was trying to do. A small smile crept across Chris’ face and he looked back at his young friend.

“I can only do it to humans, shifters are able to resist it unless they leave themselves wide open, or if they have a bit too much to drink…” Before he could continue Drake asked him a very… difficult question.

“Did you ever do that to Wright?” He asked and this question resulted in a heart filled expression on Chris’ face.

“No… I would never force him to do anything against his own will…” He stopped prematurely, what he said wasn’t entirely true. The order could easily make him break that promise if they so wished and in his opinion that was very likely going to happen. Everyone remained silent until they came to the corridor with their room in it.

There was no sight of Wright, who had probably gone into his room by now and so the group walked up to their room and entered, closing the door quietly behind them so not to alert Wright to their presence. To their relief they found the room had a double bed, a single bed and a couch, enough to house them comfortably. Chris knew where he would be ending up. The couch.


Sleep… that was all Wright wanted. The bed was as stiff as an examination desk and the very thought made him appreciate that he wasn’t a cadaver ready for the knife. He had his eyes closed but images from his memories of the previous few days were keeping his mind moving like he was high on caffeine. It would be difficult for him to sleep.

Minutes passed and still there was darkness all around him and a chilling stillness. The small window in the room was closed and Wright had not touched it and he wondered if the feeling had come from him. He shifted about in the bed to try to get more comfortable but it was futile and he was eventually lying on his back, looking at the ceiling and wondering what to do next.

Finally, after great effort and self discipline he had pushed all his thoughts aside for the greater cause of getting some sleep. The spontaneous action of thinking had somehow been inhibited, at least for the time being. He then began to feel warm and the doubt dissipated along with it. He fell asleep the next moment.


10:25
He woke up to the sight of bright light seeping through unseen cracks in the outer wall where the window was. He silently got up and got dressed for the day and decided to get some food since he hadn’t eaten ever since the previous day. He left the hotel and began to wander in the quiet seaside town but with that goal in mind.

Wright found a small quiet diner and ordered himself some food. The diner was more or less empty with only a few other people simply having something to drink than a full breakfast. When the food arrived he dug in like a starving animal and felt the energy return to his body.

After he had finished, paid and left the diner he began to wander outside and towards the sea. Wright, thinking through his life had not seen the sea with his own eyes and had only seen it on TV. There was a cool frozen breeze bombarding his coat and the smell of salt was rich in the air.

He walked for about a half hour before settling down on a bench along a boardwalk next to the beach looking out and over it and towards the sea. So this is where he ended up, alone, cold and lost. He looked in the distance and saw the sea moving dynamically back and forth and the light was reflecting off of it and into eyes. All was not well…

What he saw defied all comprehension, all the laws of science and logic, he felt like he was in a dream…

Wright was ready; it was time to return to the hotel and end this now.


Chris and his companions had eaten in a different diner and were still keeping an eye on him. He had received a call from someone in the Order who told him that preparations for their raid on Octagon HQ were almost finished and that he should consider returning to aid them. Chris had told him about his ‘important mission’ and how until this one was done he wouldn’t be going anywhere. That was enough to buy him some time.


Within the small hotel in a small dingy room sat Wright who had just started up the laptop. He stared impassively as it loaded and pressed with a sudden urgency to open the document. Then, with a quick flick of the wrist he began to type from where he left off in his mind (which manifested itself in the document)…

Before him was a gaping hole, which hung without reason in the open air. Within this peculiar hole all Rob could see was light and not of the ordinary kind. He had never seen such a thing in his life.

Slowly, he cautiously approached it; his grip on the bags had tightened. In the back of his mind he thought he could hear a rising sound, but it was insignificant and quickly ignored. Before he knew it he was standing on the threshold and outstretched his right hand which was still holding a pair of grocery bags.

It passed through and seemed to disappear. Frightened for a moment he pulled his arm back to see it unharmed and the groceries still in the same battered condition they were just a moment before. Just as he was about to examine this phenomenon further the sounds he heard earlier were louder now and this time they were not ignored.

He glanced back and his eyes widened in concern. He could make out a convoy of vehicles driving his way. This could have only meant one thing; they were here for the rift and his presence here would endanger his life. Then he noticed something else, a guy in a dark vest with an octagon shaped logo imprinted along the front was already ahead and would reach him first.

Fearing that he had been seen he turned to the rift and before he could change his mind he had passed through and all became nothing as nothing became all. He was gone.

Wright fell back on his bed, his heart racing. Whenever he wrote like this he felt like he was possessed by some ulterior force which was guiding him along a path he couldn’t see. He stared back at the writing and knew now that he was the one they called the ‘Rift Walker’ and he chuckled to himself. That guy was Ed, I know it was.

Glancing at his watch he was surprised by how much time had passed. It was 15:34. The story he knew now was almost over and with that the way to the future would be open to him. This represented the last artificial gap to his memories. Like any human, the mind deteriorates over time and with that memories are lost never to be retrieved again from the abyss. But this one should have remained; soon he would have it again and would learn why he had changed so drastically, and why he began to call himself ‘Wright’ instead of ‘Rob’.

After lying down for a couple of minutes he felt he was ready to dive into this fascination once more and this time, when he returned to ‘consciousness’, he would have finished and there would be no more for him to write. This would be the last time, and there would be no proof read.

Suddenly everything seemed to appear once more. The world around him slowly began to reappear, little pigments of colour and light began to appear around him until it formed him a picture. He wasn’t sure if what he saw or felt now was real or even that he was still alive after what had happened. All he could do now was cling onto hope that all was still well and that he had only dreamt about what had happened earlier.

He was surrounded by pillars of wood and knew he was in a forest, one that he did not recognise. Everything was still and there was no wind. He looked up and through the dense canopy of branches and saw no stars in the sky, only darkness.

Slowly, and hesitantly, he began to walk to find his way out of this place. He noticed that even his steps made no noise. Branches on the ground didn’t make a noise when they snapped, he couldn’t even speak, and everything felt drained of reason and hope.

Suddenly, something bright appeared in the distance and he had to raise his arms to shield his eyes from the brightness. This was a good sign, and he decided to follow it no matter where it took him. Slowly he began to feel things. He could feel the beating of his heart against his chest and before he could move a muscle his hearing slowly began to work like it should have as well. However, before this could progress any further Rob had walked out of the forest.

Even here and looking out at the huge expanse of sky above him all he could see was darkness, just like it had been before. This brought up his question about what the light was and he knew his answers were found at the top of the hill ahead. Before he moved and began this action, a feeling of nostalgia came upon him.

He looked around and suddenly realised that he was standing in almost exactly the same position he had been when he walked through the rift, and yet, there was no evidence of cars having come this way and the park itself seemed strangely different. Like continuity and details of such continuity didn’t exist here and nothing else mattered. He noticed the shopping bags were no longer in his hands.

The shock however dissipated surprisingly quickly and with nothing else to stop him he walked to the top of the hill, and what he saw would change his life forever. He was looking across a section of the town he lived in, Fenton, and there within Silver Way he could see a building, burning, and it wasn’t just any building, it was the largest one in town, Octagon HQ.

Burning… an enormous flame had consumed the metal structure and he could hear what sounded like screaming, of people dying and the creaking of metal. He stood there… motionless… wondering why he had been sent here and what was going on and there it was, burning away. He tried to reach into his jacket pocket for his phone to call the fire brigade but noticed that his clothes had changed; he was no longer wearing that muddy brown jacket.

In desperation he tried to search all the pockets and in the end he found nothing and as a result he could do nothing. His thoughts were about to ask why this had happened and what had caused this fire, but it appeared the answer had shown itself in a monstrous and cruel form.

In all his dreams, in all his pleasure, such a sight destroyed it and in a bitter sense of irony they were burnt away with that building. His eyes did not deceive him and the feeling was so convincing he knew what he saw was happening and would never be forgotten no matter what happened to him. Walking out of the building was what appeared to be a group of humanoid dragons.

Even from this distance he could tell that they were not human. Quickly he could see other creatures walking out. His line of sight was broken for a moment as a set of windows shattered on several floors and glass rained down like diamond dust. Then he could hear the screaming again, louder than ever and still he could do nothing.

He begged to hear the sound of sirens, but they were never there and would never come. He was heartbroken to see the dragons he thought would protect him had turned on him and had attacked with no sign of remorse or regret or reason for that matter. A part of Rob broke after what he saw. Nothing felt right anymore and he suddenly felt the darkness drain all the colours around him again. He tried to shut the sounds out, but he couldn’t. Death could not be silenced.

Things had gone so wrong… So very wrong. He was pained and broken and knew there was no going back and this he knew hadn’t been a dream or a nightmare. He didn’t know what this was. The only thing he knew now was to make things Wright, in his own way. Starting with him he would do anything to prevent such a fate from happening, even if it would mean losing his own life to protect the lives of so many more. If this was what he thought it was…

… Robert Wright… whispered a motherly voice of a woman he could hear but couldn’t see… Please… I know what you saw seems so horrifying, so distressing… But please… don’t lose hope in us… That can happen… but you can change it…

Even with these comforting nothings he was quickly changing. Yet he was curious.

“What can I do?”

There was a moment of stillness, then her voice returned in the same tone as it was before… You must not be in this city… in a year’s time…

These words rapidly brought upon a distrustful gesture from Rob, something he had never done in his life to this point.

“And what if I refuse?”

Silence, once more, then the voice rang around him unchanged… If you don’t then you will die…

A new feeling of anger began to well up and he began to chuckle sadistically as if he had been lost in insanity.

“I won’t die… you can’t tell me that I will.”

Rob…
A comforting feminine voice rang through his mind.
Don’t forget…

Don’t forget…
…or you…
Robert Wright…
…will die…

“Never!” He shouted into the darkness. “Leave me alone… whatever you are! Your kind is evil and deceitful, and you kill with no reason. I won’t let you push me around; you’re all one big lie. A LIE and I was wrong when I thought you were good… to think that I wanted to be around such things… to even be one! Never, and now I know I’ve grown up. There is neither light nor dark. Good or evil. There is only me and nothing more now.”

Then I will make you forget… that way… you will find your own way and be freed from your affliction. Goodbye… Rob…

Then the darkness was gone until there was neither light nor darkness and all the chaos was gone. Now, a mist surrounded him and before he could respond, he was standing under a streetlamp feeling the numbness of his hands which were clasping four grocery bags and the first thing which came to his nose was the stench of mud.

He was back, and no matter what, he was Wright.

End of chapter </b>

He had finally done it, the end had been reached and it was there in words. Now he understood why he changed and a bit about how. A strange feminine voice which sounded motherly in tone was all he had to work with, for now. He saved the file and noticed the time at the bottom corner of the screen read 19:01, that section of writing had taken so long but this time he knew there was no going back to it, because it was done. It was over, it was finally over.


“Thompson, this is not good enough, we already know all this stuff about the Wright kid. You interviewed him; you should know him better than we do!” Shouted an annoyed Sutton. The small man with thick black spectacles sunk on the spot and tried to defend himself.

“I’ll look at the log again sir, he just seemed like an ordinary kid, nothing more.” He said, stumbling over a couple of words. Sutton sighed and withheld the sudden urge to punch this guy across the face.

“Get out of my sight Thompson, and don’t come back until you find something good.”

The little man stumbled out of Sutton’s office and just as he entered the lift a certain O.S.F. agent was laughing at what he had seen. Ed enjoyed it when the Sarge had a go at other people, he liked to see the guy’s face get redder and redder until his head looked like a giant beetroot or a vegetable of some description. The laughter stopped as a sudden realisation had occurred to him. Soon he was likely to be sent out on this search and he was looking forward to it. With him on the job there was no chance of failure, he was going to reach Wright and they were going to have a little chat.

There was nowhere to hide now, no possible way for him to slip from their grasp. He was as good as captured, and it wasn’t a question of if, it was a matter of when.

End of chapter