This is the first draft, of my first attempt, at writing a novel. Any comments or suggestions are very welcomed thanks.
THE DIMENSION KID
By
William R. Palacio
CHAPTER ONE
The meteor glided through the vacuum of space. It’s destination predetermined since the creation of the universe. Upon seeing the glistening blue surface of earth, it let out a sigh of relief. At least that’s what the celestial beings inhabiting this solar system would have you believe. It hit the atmosphere, decelerated, and heated up; a normal space rock would have disintegrated or exploded. This was no ordinary stone, it’s glowing crystalline exterior resisted the heat and pressure as it sliced through our planets gaseous envelope, a hot knife through butter. This rock was sent with a purpose. There was magic afoot in the universe that night.
Caleb Archer stood, arms folded wishing on the falling star. His long blond hair blew behind him in the cool night air. The smell of the pinon pines danced in the wind; he loved the forest after dark. No worries, no disappointing looks from his dad, just quiet.
A sound seeped into the peaceful world of the forest. Slow at first, steadily getting louder. The falling star grew bigger and whirred down towards Caleb.
“What the….!” The panicked words slipped from his lips, but not before fight or flight had kicked in, sending foot step after foot step in the opposite direction of where he was looking. The running was made all the more impossible by the saggy jeans he wore, the frayed bottoms overlapped his neatly kept sneakers and tripped him in mid step. Falling, head over feet, down the grass covered hill, three rotations and a sudden stop, Caleb’s bobble head tilted back and forth, and he let out a deep breath.
“That sucked!”
An instant later the the meteor touched down, blinding glow, debris, and the sound of canon fire. Caleb was left gasping trying to breath through the thick dust that filled the air. He opened his mouth and popped his jaw a few times attempting to dissipate the ringing in his ears. Through the haze, a green illumination surrounded the stone at the bottom of the newborn crater. Then the light was gone; dark and silence filled the void left behind.
Caleb reached into his pocket and retrieved one of those Christmas gifts he never thought would be useful. He twisted the head of the key-chain flashlight; a weak beam caused the dust that still lingered in the air to glisten. He checked himself for breaks and scratches, just a few minor cuts and some aches. He wiped his eyes and rose to his feet.
The sides of the crater were smooth and melted like volcanic glass. Yet, it was perfectly cool to the touch. Caleb slid down into the waist deep hole,and shined his flashlight on the stones embedded in it’s center. Two six inch crystals glinted in the artificial light.
He was drawn to them; he reached out. At the last moment before contact a vision appeared in his mind.
#
Caleb was atop a moss covered outcrop. His armor, gold and silver shined with an eerie magical glow. Legions of strange creatures were gathered around him, as far as he could see there were shields and spears in the air. The strange beings all chanted.
“Glory to Lord Archer, our commander, our general, our savior!”
Over and over their voices echoed and filled Caleb’s heart with joy. He felt love, happiness, but above all else he felt powerful!
#
Caleb jumped back against the side of the crater and sweat rolled down his brow.
“What the hell was that?”
The crystals let out one last flash of brilliant green light. Caleb slammed his eyes shut to protect them from the blinding rays. When he opened them again it was dark. There were no chanting creatures and to his surprise, no green crystals at the bottom of the crater. Instead, two ordinary, black, pock-marked, stones, had taken their place.
He sat for what seemed like hours trying to make sense of the nights events. Caleb took a deep breath, bit his lip, and reached for one of the meteorites. Nothing happened. It was just a cold rough rock. He held it for a few moments just to make sure, then picked up the other, wrapped them both in a handkerchief, and stuffed them his pocket.
Caleb headed home. He wrestled with telling his father. Getting him to believe a meteor crashed at his feet would surely get him a one way trip to the head shrink, while the chanting army of what ever they were, well he’d keep that part to himself. He’d rather not spend the best parts of his teenage years in the nuthouse.
#
The front door wrenched open, assisted by the wind, it slammed into the drywall, causing the handle to become embedded. Caleb entered covered in sweat and panting from the long run home.
Daniel Archer was seething over a pile of loose papers. The coffee that once inhabited the cup in his left hand, now dripped down the sides of the uneven stack of term papers.
“Dad, you’re not going to believe what just happened!”
“Damn it Caleb!”
“What?”
His dad’s fist struck the puddle of brown liquid pooled on the desk, it splashed up, drops clung to his glasses and graying facial hair. A bit even managed to to reach the island of skin between his parting hairline. The result being an even greater scowl on the senior Archer’s face.
“What the hell were you thinking? Do you know how long it took me to grade these?”
“But, dad-”
“No, excuses Caleb! What am I suppose to tell my students when I hand these back to them? Sorry, my inconsiderate child decided to scare the hell out of me. Just think of the coffee stains as a bit of character, added to the term papers you spent many long nights working on. Don’t worry Caleb’s sorry too! All better now?”
“But dad-”
“Go upstairs Caleb.”
“Dad-”
“Go the hell upstairs!”
“Mom, never yelled me! She listened!”
“Well, she’s dead now isn’t she!”
Caleb just stood there. His father’s words had teeth. In that second he was back in the hospital room holding his mothers hand. The cancer had eaten her. She smiled and died. The exiting of her spirit had left a scare on Caleb’s heart. A wound that was easily opened. He dropped the rocks on the floor and walked silently upstairs.
“Caleb I’m sorry-”
Daniel Archer looked over his shoulder, but his son was already gone. Two black stones sat at the bottom of the stairway. He put his head down and sighed, but his moment of regret was cut short.
A whirring sound filled the room; the floor vibrated. Daniel’s shadow shown against the wall of his office outlined by an emerald glare. Shielding his eyes he turned to see a green crystal, where once was only a black rock.
“Holy-”
His eyes glazed over and the light intensified, Daniel Archer marched forward. Sucking air and a quick loud pop were the last sounds heard before visibility returned. A tiny puff of smoke twisted upward from the spot where the crystal once sat. Daniel was also missing. The only witness to what happened, a single pock-marked stone at the bottom of the stairwell.
#
The sun peaked though the curtains; Caleb yawned and stretched. It was a new day and he was ready to put the argument with his father behind him. He sniffed his shirt, and made a gesture with his head (as if to say, “Well, it smells, but I can get one more day out of it.”) then got dressed. On his way downstairs he failed to remember the stones he’d dropped the night before. It took is butt bounding off last step and his head smacking the wall to remind him. He picked up the stone and looked at it for a few moments, he’d almost convinced himself that the whole thing had been a really strange dream. With the evidence staring him in the face, it was a possibility that he might actually be going insane.
The other rock was nowhere in sight. After a few minutes he gave up looking for it and thew the remaining one on table.
The term papers on his father’s desk had hardened into a solid brick covered in smeared red and black ink. It wasn’t like his father to leave a mess like that.
“Dad!” No answer?
Caleb searched the house yelling for his dad. After failing to find him inside he checked the yard. The car was in the driveway, so he hadn’t left for work yet. Something didn’t feel right. Caleb sat on a bar stool in the kitchen and rubbed the bump on the back of his head.
There was a strange noise coming from the other room. As he left to investigate there was a flare of intense light followed by a popping sound. Caleb Archer was gone. A sear mark took the place where the meteorite had been on the table. A small column of smoke twirled in the air and disappeared.
