The WormHole Camp

Dear, I wrote you this song

In hopes that you would sing along.

And dear I've been working my ass off for you

Cause something ain't right

Never Shout Never

— That seems very unfair… Like, he dragged his problems to this dimension, right? — Complained Lynch. — And you say that you traveled to… dimensions…?

She threw herself on the double bed and stood there staring at the ceiling.

— That's... Kinda my life… Yeah. — I said. Was it normal to miss home already?

— And i thought my life was fun.

One thing that we found out about the room we were in, was that there was some kind of magic that projected the sky outside. Then the walls, the bedroom floor and even my face, shone with stars.

And since we were goddesses, we had unlimited access to snacks.

I picked up a package from the floor and looked inside. A star spun and shone in yellow. For the first time in my life, i had no idea what to do next. The plan was simply to go out there sailing and playing tourist. Not having the boat blown up and stopping on one of the most dangerous islands on both continents.

Snowflakes began to fall and soon filled the room.

— Oh, crap. Not me! — Exclaimed Lynch, putting her finger on her nose.

I walked over to the giant closet on the side of the room and took out a shovel inside.

— Well, i'm surprised. We never leave Nerwingal and…

I stopped in the middle of a dunk. A blond young man and another with very plump features and thin eyes, sat disciplined in two luxurious chairs by the window.

— Who the fuck are you?

— MY NAME IS JIAH…

— Argh, not him…

— AND WE WERE SELECTED TO GUARANTEE SECU… — A snowflake fell in his mouth and he choked.

— Oh! Are you the ones who find us in the forest? — Asked Lynch, patting Jiah on the back.

— Yes… Sorry for that, the guys here put Nerwingal first, in any case. — Spoke the blond hair kid.

— Well… Thanks to you, we are now two goddesses. I don't know if i appreciate it or i find it stranger than what is being. — I said as i opened the window and threw snow outside with the shovel. The snow stood there in the air and with force, it played in my face. It seems like snows doesn't like to be thrown away.

— Anyways… My name is Jack and this is Jiah…

— J.J!!! That's a shipp!

Jack blushed and continued.

— We will be responsible for your stay here in Nerwingal and also take care of your safety.

— We can take care of ourselves, thanks. — I spoke, while committing an act of murder with the shovel in the snow.

— That's right! — Exclaimed Lynch. — I will not have two bizarre guys invading our privacy!

— I'M NOT BIZARRE! — Screamed Jiah.

— Well… Orders are orders, aren't they? — Said Jack, scratching his neck.

I gave up trying to throw snow away after countless failures and just lay down, throwing my body back. More snow started to appear as i looked across the ceiling, now covered by a pink cloud.

— Starting to regret this trip.

— Hey, don't forget you're just here to prove something. — Said Lynch, wiping snow off my clothes and forcing me to stand up. — If the Erlee Sea, took you to Nerwingal, it is for some reason!

I sighed and went to the desk beside the bed, taking out the logbook. The symbols of the kingdoms yet, without any stamp.

— Ok. Let's get this thing started. YOU! — I pointed to Jack, who was in the process of setting up a tent. — What do you know about Heaven?

— Not very much…

— YEAH! NOT VERY MUCH!

— ...Like, we know that our kings have unfinished business with him. — Said Jack. The eyebrows formed a thin line, in distrust. — Why you ask?

— Let's say he is a very famous person out there. And maybe there are a lot of people tracking him. What are the chances of the royal guard intercepting these people before?

— From one million to ten? One million, of course.

My mind went back to the day of battle against those elves and that… Dude? Woman? Extremely skilled.

The cut on Gary's head was very clean by the way.

— Yeah, i think you guys are in trouble. I fought one of the things that is chasing him, before he came to be here. So… — I closed the book in his face. — Be warned. And i also want to make an appointment with your kings.

— IF NERWINGAL WAS IN DANGER, OUR KINGS WOULD BE THE FIRST TO KNOW!

— And, everyone wants to talk with the kings. For you to do that you must prove your worth. Just like Jane.

— But we're not, proclaimed gods? — Asked Lynch.

— And who is Jane? — I asked.

Jack finished setting up the tent and unzipped the opening. From the inside, a comfortable yellow light was emanating.

— Come on in. — Said Jack, inviting us in. Jiah got up and walked with heavy steps, entering inside.

— Oooh, i love a good story! — Exclaimed Lynch, entering along with Jack.

I looked at the room, still filling with snow and went inside. It seemed to be the interior of a small house or a hut. There was a stove coupled with a sink and a bunk bender in the corner. Wooden supports, supported the… Ceiling?

— Where the heck are we? — The head of some horned animal, in pure bone, decorated the entrance to a door to the outside, the manicure wood, as if someone had just cleaned that place. — And why does this remind me of a horror camp?

Jack and Jiah walked to the door and placed their weapons on a kind of umbrella stand. They opened the door and looked at us both.

— Relax, this is a safe zone!

— AND WE CAN DESTROY THINGS! — Screamed Jiah, this time, a little lower.

Lynch and i exchanged looks and walked towards them. In this situation? Just accept the facts that the universe was playing in your face and just go with the wave, i think Lynch understands that. Me? I deal with strangeness for a long time.

-----------=---------------=----------------=----------------=------------=--

From a cold environment we move to a summer climate. The clear sky above shone full of stars, due to the lack of lightning. Pine trees surrounded us, as we walked on a dirt road that lead to… Somewhere.

— So… Where are we going? — I risked. Of course i was not going to get an answer.

— To The WormHole Camp.

— WORMHOLE CAAAAAAMP!!!

Or a meaningless answer.

We stayed in silence for a while. The music of cheerful music and lively conversations reached us, as we walked and walked…

— You're not gonna ask what it is…?

— High chances of you saying a riddle and i will have to set out on a journey to solve this, which used to be my life, so, no.

— Hey! I want to know about the WormHole Camp! — Said Lynch.

— Of course you want… — I complained.

— Please, tell me more. — Demanded Lynch, giving me an ugly look.

— The WormHole it's not an incredible thing. Apart from the fact that it travels between dimensions…

— Yeah, I guessed it by the name.

— ...Infinite food supplies…

— Woah, hold on! Infinite food supplies? — Exclaimed Lynch. — What is that, a paradise?

— And some really cool folks. — Said Jack, running his hand through his hair. — The camp serves as a shelter for the last line of defense for our kings.

Something in his tone of voice indicated anger as well as respect. I recognize failures when i see one.

— Why ''shelter''? It looks like you're hiding from someone. — I spoked innocently.

He was quiet for a while as we walked. Jiah looked sad, without the usual screams. He lifted his sleeve and revealed 5 scars, probably claws, made by some really angry animal. They were marked very deep in the skin.

— Don't be fooled by the cheerful face of The Necromantic King. — Said Jack. — Nerwingal for foreign eyes may be a paradise, but the evil that inhabits the two brothers is older than the Sun and the Beaver.

Jack looked older as he seemed to speak the lore of some horror book. In his eyes, there was no longer that boyish smile, but that of a man, who had been through a lot.

— Great, now we have to fight zombies! I call it, progress! — Lynch raised his hand and offered me a high five. Which, of course, i accepted.

Wait. Zombies!? I looked at Jack with a strange face and he just shook his head.

— That would be pretty cool, but no. The necromancy that he uses is mixed with a very old arcanism, which allows him to absorb matter from something alive. And turn into weapons or animals.

— ''Weapons and animals''? What kind of person would prefer to do that than have a zombie army at their disposal? — I said.

Still going down the sandy road… Wait. No road? We ended up reaching the end, and there were only pine trees and more trees ahead.

— The secret to passing the barrier is…

— WORMHOLE CAMP!!! — Screamed Jiah, pushing Jack who disappeared shortly thereafter. Jiah made a few moves as if he were going to make the biggest cannonball ever and jumped straight in.

I looked at a Lynch, who shrugged and took a slight leap. Accustomed to situations involving jumping into the unknown (weird childhood), i walked…

I should not have done it. The moment i passed the barrier, my hair flew with the wind in all directions, the cold in my belly was present and i started to fall round and round and round and round and round…

Until everything around me stopped completely. I opened my eyes, carefully, trying to get used to that ringing in my ear.

People around me wore suits and looked, trying to ignore the girl with the hair on her face, as is she were some demon who wants to pull their feet at night. And it's really needing a shower.

Soft music filled the air and couples danced, very slowly, enjoying the moment. Some streamers floated and cast a yellow light on the spot, giving even more a romantic air to that. I was at the top of a hill and there was only grass on the horizon.

A big tree made the leaves fly in all directions, and also almost choosing who to touch.

Yep. Another normal monday.

— Bea!

I turned and saw Lynch running towards me, going up the hill. Instead of pirate clothes, she wore a dress vest, a tie with a red print, along with a white shirt, black pants and boots. Her red hair was tied in a long ponytail.

— This is The WormHole Camp? — I asked with my hands on my waist, when she reached me painting for the run. — I was imagining, i don't know, a camp?

She took a deep breath and stood up, drinking something from a plastic cup with the print of… A smile cup? With the words ''Gordon's ice cream shop''.

— Oh, man, you missed a lot, c'mon! — She took my hand and we started down the hill. — I'm waiting for you to arrive for like… 4 Months?

— 4 MONTHS!? — I exclaimed. Then i looked at her face. — You fucking with me, aren't you?

— Yeah, i got here in 2 minutes ago. Enough time to say that this place is incredible! — She said, shaking what looked like a milkshake in your right hand.

We kept going down for a while and i realized that, EVERYTHING, around me, except for the ball going up there, was hill and bush. No sign of people or civilization, other than an ice cream cart at the base of the hill.

— Oh, there you are! — Exclaimed Simon. He was also in formal clothes, wearing a blazer, dress pants and dress shoes. This time your blond hair combed. — Want ice cream?

— No… I'm… Good? — I said, looking at Jiah's smeared chocolate ice cream face. Also with social clothes but a huge mess.

— Well, anyway, what you see around you is, indeed, The WormHole Camp! — He said, gesturing with his arms around, holding two ice cream cones. — And that one over there is Gordon!

— Hi.

A bronze skinned-dragonborn, wearing a cap with a white red print, and a shirt with a smiling milkshake, leaned on the cart. He gave a slight wave of his hands and went back to touching something in the cart.

— He is the responsible for taking care of this place. If you want to leave Nerwingal and rescue your friend, he is the guy you want to talk to!

— Oh yeah, i was about to ask… Why are we all in social clothes? — Asked Lynch, after a sip of milkshake.

— This is an adverse effect of my existence plan… — Said Gordon, taking what looked from the back of the cart… A flamethrower? He put on his back and went back to digging in the cart. — I'll be very direct. Do as i say, don't disobey my orders and we'll be just fine. Are you two skilled with the weapons you have?

Asked, looking carefully at us. I wanted to strike a beam with my staff in the sky and create a huge storm. But guess what? I cannot do that, since i am the only one in the family who does not carry these powers!

— Yeah! Sure, of course… — I said.

— Nicholas never let me hanging! — Said Lynch, patting the musket in your back. Literally, the name Nicholas was carved in silver on the gun.

— Good. — Spoke the dragonborn, frowning at us. Which was strange, he seemed like a nice guy (like any ice cream vendor), but, you know there's something covered under there. He put his hands on the metal bar of the cart and started pushing uphill. — Follow me, you shall.

rrrrr… rrrrr… rrrrr… rrrrr… rrrr…

I got close to Simon, keeping a good distance from the bizarre guy and i whispered to him, while we followed.

— If i ask what he is and who is that guys back there, do you answer?

— Who do you think they are?

I looked at where people were dancing, behind us. Still with that slow dance pattern and floating lanterns around it. They seemed to be of all races. Dwarves, Elves, Halflings… All, for what they seemed… In peace. And the ice cream guy mentioned that we were on a plane…

The melancholic landscape, endless hills…

— Are we in the Elysium?

The Elysium, as far as i know, it was a plan of existence that housed heroes killed in combat honorably, defending their homes or serving some kingdom. Most books represented this place as infinite islands, where you earn your deserved eternal peace, or, as forests with huts, where sages resided.

And i also started to get a little worried because one of the effects here was that you wanted to stay here forever. At least i didn't want to, at least until now…? I didn't feel anything change. I was still mad at my dad.

— Wow, you are a cleaver one! — Exclaimed Simon. We got to the top of the hill and started to hurry down, trying to keep up with Gordon. — This indeed is the Elysium. That crowd back there is from one of the infinite events that happen here. Dance with the ones they love, forever!

— But why WormHole Camp? — I asked. — So far i haven't seen any worm and no camp.

— Oh, no! There are camps! It's after that fire barrier and that's where we're going now!

When he said that, i noticed on the horizon, indeed, a fire barrier. It was huge, and stretched a good kilometer to the right and to the left. It was still a long way away, and i had to squint my eyes to be able to see. Instead of a red, it was a vivid white, making it look like a wall of clouds.

We started up another hill. This up and down was already giving me a little puke.

— But why soldiers are sent here? — I asked. — My whole life i imagined Nerwingal as… I don't know…

— An extremely protected and xenophobic island? You are not wrong. — He stopped and thought for a moment. — And neither do they…

— Ok, last question, i want to find out what's going on using my incredible investigative skills anyway. This talk of me and Lynch being goddesses… Bulshit?

— Incredible as it may seem, no! Ancient legends of Nerwingal said of two people who would save the island from complete destruction. But, nobody exactly knows how. — Said Simon. I looked at Lynch. She was in a kind of dance and some birds were flying around her. Jiah tried to chase away the swallows that pulled at his hair and tried to force him to participate in Lynch's strange dance. And i swore i heard a choir and some instruments very far away. She didn't look like she was going to fight a dragon.

Or me, to defeat that guy who cut Gary's head, and i have no idea who is he. Or she…

I kind of wanted to ask more questions like, why the two brother kings arrested Heaven, how they had a drawing of me and Lynch and how i got there. But that, was history for another day.

After a long time going up and down, which made me give a 2 star rating for that place, we finally reached the wall of fire. It seemed to be at least, illusory. There was no heat emanating from there and not that crackling that happened normally.

Gordon took the flamethrower from his back and a jet of fire, this time red, with heat emanating, began to open a kind of hole in the wall, which opened very slowly. I didn't understand why he decided to carry this thing on his back all the time, than to arrive and take it out here, but since the point of this whole journey of this entire adventure is to put my practice of…

— Yo, check it out, infinite milkshake! — Said Lynch, pouring the brown liquid into the grass, which looked like a chocolate milk. It went on for some time and it didn't seem to end.

— Damn! That's kinda… Awesome? — I took the stick out of my waist and nudged the liquid ligthly, finding it… Weird? I should have been used to this kind of thing for a long time.

After a few good minutes, me and Lynch testing the wonders of the Elysium (involving blood and gravity, i leave it to your imagination), a small hole appeared where Gordon was.

— Ok, pay attention. — Said, turning to us. — Once inside, the camp will know exactly everything about you. Fears, dreams, relationships, among others.

He drew a symbol in the air, which looked like a hay-like fork, glowing red, and a sheet of paper appeared in his hands, along with a pen.

— By signing this contract, you agree to be aware of any harmful, deadly effects, among others, that the camp may have on you. Among the infinite possibilities and situations that the camp can generate, i, Gordon Cheadle, am not responsible for any.

— Can i take a quick look, Gordon… Cheadle? — Said Lynch, trying not to laugh. — I want to take a good look at what i'm getting into before i sell my soul. And, i'm a great lawyer!

She pulled me along with Simon and Jiah away from the dragonborn.

— I'm not a great lawyer… — Confessed.

— You who have been there, what did you face? — I asked.

— WEREWOLVES!!!

— My crush…

Lynch's mouth was open.

— OH. MY. GOD… YOU HAVE TO TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT HER!!!!!

— It's actually him… — Said Simon.

Have you ever seen when a person is very surprised, happy or excited about something? Lynch looked with disbelief and a huge smile on his face at that Nerwingal guard.

— So… — I turned to Jiah, letting those two talk to each other. — Werewolves!?

— YEAH!!! BIG.

— And… Werewolves are your worst fear?

— NO!!! THEY ARE COOL!!! — He said with a frantic nod.

I was afraid to face an illusory image of my father. Getting a lightning in the chest and being thrown across the island is not as cool as it looks. I can still feel the electricity vibrating in parts of my body. It seemed to be a punishment for being different, at that time.

I bit my lips and rubbed my fingers, worried.

— Ok, this place is awesome. — Said Lynch, handing me the contract. — Sign. It.

She took Simon's hand and entered the spectral fire opening. I looked at the contract and started reading.

May be eternal as is lasts,

The Ice Cream Shop (Cheadle Enterprises), Astral Verification N 31976, has no responsibility with the Anomalia known as The WormHole Camp and the effects that this can cause, among:

— Death

— Memory loss

— Anxiety attacks

This is an exclusive training for Nerwingal recruits. Anyone who wants to go through this training, for whatever reason, please, contact The Dragonborn Of Red Skin.

Signed and written by

Merlin

Full Name of the individual(s) who is fully aware of what he (she) is getting into:

LYNCH :)

Simon Kristján Unnamed, Nerwingal soldier, last line of defense (Witness).

Beatrice ThunderHawk.

Jiah, Nerwingal soldier, last line of defense, Cursed (Witness)