Journey to the Center of the Multiverse

By Ricky Bryant

Prologue 

Have you ever sat and wondered what might be out there? I have, since I was a boy. Galaxies and nebulae, dying stars collapsing into black holes, but what I love the most is the sheer vastness of it all. If the universe is truly infinite then somewhere right now there is a version of me writing these exact words and, there is an exact version of you reading these exact words, right now! The following story is about one of those worlds, about one of those possibilities. 

Which leads to the question: “What world?” And I would say: “Fair question, may I introduce myself first?” This is about to get REALLY messy and like you to at least know my name before I buy you dinner. My name is Asher, and this is the story of how a group of misfits found each other and banded together to save the multiverse. Strap in!

Chapter One

The Death of Kilma

Kilma sat with his back against the stone wall of the chamber that would soon be his tomb. It was a large octagonal room with carvings and writing covering the walls; a language he had never seen. Large pillars rose up along each vertex and met in the center of the ceiling. From there a pillar of light shone down illuminating the pedestal that sat below it and, on this pedestal, sat his prize. He wasn’t one hundred percent sure what it did, but he knew what it was, the first proof of an intelligent race that had died off millennia before. It was supposed to be his greatest accomplishment but now he would die here, alone and forgotten. In all his travels and research there were no warnings that traps would be involved and if it wasn’t for his feline reflexes, he would already be dead. His first step into the chamber triggered some ancient fail safe that fired three bolts his way. Two narrowly missed his head and chest but the third caught him in the side. He had not dared to try and remove it for fear of expediting his demise and though time had weakened it significantly the dart was tipped with a poison that prevented him from staying upright.

The cold stone on his back began to warm the longer he sat there mulling over his options. No one knew he was here. There was too much danger in bringing outsiders into the fold, too many threats from those with vested interests, and if the trap had got someone else instead of him…he shook the thought from his mind and glanced around the room again before letting out a sigh and a wince. He reached into his bag that laid next to him and fumbled around. The pool of blood around him had grown and seeped through the bottom of the bag, soaking the contents. Finally, he found what he was searching for; a small silver orb about 4 inches in diameter, now covered in his blood. He wiped the orb on his shirt and clicked a button that was situated into the side of the device, and it sprang to life. It hovered just above his palm for a moment before zipping to a position about a foot in front of face, a light extended from the side opposite the button, and he squinted as his eyes adjusted to the new light. 

“RECORDING STARTED” the device chirped. 

Kilma winced once more at the growing pain before finally speaking “My name is Kilma and if you're not on your way to meet your creator, as I am, there are some things you need to know…”. 

Chapter Two

 My Arrival

It starts as many of these stories do, Average summer day in your typical small town, average guy with a soul sucking job. Five-foot nine, short dark hair and brown eyes, his unkempt beard starting to become peppered with gray hairs. You’ve met me but you’ll never remember, I definitely don’t stand out in a crowd, but let’s get to the point.

I was on my way to work one June morning, the Sun had just barely crept over the horizon, but I could tell it was going to be a scorcher. Blasting the radio going sixty-five down the 605, windows down, slamming an energy drink with a joint between the fingers that grabbed the steering wheel. I was still in a morning fugue state since the aforementioned energy drink hadn’t kicked in yet. I’d made the trip so many times my autopilot kicked in, and my mind went elsewhere.

I don’t remember what had my mind wandering that day, bills more than likely. Regardless, the point is that my mind had decided to take a vacation when the “incident” happened, with zero warning. One second, I was cruising down the highway minding my own damn business, the next I’m doing sixty-five through a field of plants that looked…alien. Not that I had time to take in the scenery. I was barreling through a field and doing all I could to keep the car under control!

After what felt like an eternity the car finally stopped at the edge of a forest.

“What in the fuck?!” was all I managed to get out, praying that it was all the stress getting to me. “It’s just a mental break, this isn’t real, it’s a hallucination. Yeah, a hallucination. That’s it.” I kept trying to convince myself but could tell it wasn’t working. After a small panic attack, I gathered up the courage to leave the car.

To be continued...