Page 12 of Shifted Existence

As he crested the last rise with dawn stealing over the horizon, he saw the great domed city before him. Those of the Conquered Realm were proud of their accomplishments that allowed them to live in a dimension facing extinction. Why would anyone choose to live in a controlled environment, with computer generated images of the clouds and sky, and air that was recirculated but never really fresh? He couldn’t imagine a worse existence. At least those who lived outside the cities in the smaller villages could still connect with real dirt, grass, and air. How sad it was that a civilization that had once been great had chosen to destroy themselves and in the end be ruled by invaders.

Talon stopped, shifted, and dressed. Humans were so concerned that no one see them in their natural state. He shook his head. They had long ago sown the seeds of their own destruction. The invasion by those from the Eclipse Province and the New Moon Expanse had been a kind of euthanasia that had stopped their fall from grace. There was some debate as to whether they should try and save this world or merely let it choke itself to death.

“Who are you? What do you want?” asked the guard at the south entrance of the city.

“I am Talon of the Eclipse Province. You will show me to quarters where I may shower and have your leaders meet with me over the morning meal.”

“You can’t give me orders,” said the man with a superior tone he clearly didn’t warrant.

Talon grabbed him by the throat, wrapping his hand around the man’s windpipe and squeezing gently, while he batted the man’s weapons away with his other hand.

“I am alpha. I give orders to anyone I choose and expect they will be followed. Now do as you’re told, or I will rip your throat out and have someone else do it for you. Do I make myself clear?” Talon growled and the pathetic human began to pee himself.

Eyes bulging, the guard nodded, unable to speak. As soon as Talon released him, he backed away, nodding. “Yes, Alpha. Right this way, Alpha.”

Talon was shown to guest chambers reserved, he suspected, for VIPs. He was able to take a quick shower and dress in clean clothes. When the knock came on the door, he was just pulling on his boots.

“Enter,” he called, buckling his belt as he stood and placing his knife in his scabbard.

“Lord Talon,” said one man with gray hair surrounding a large bald spot. His belly hung over his belt, and it was easy to see he hadn’t left the comfort of the city in a very, very long time.

“We do not use titles in the Eclipse Province. In my home dimension, a man or a wolf earns his own way. I am alpha because I lead my pack as their chosen leader. There has been an incident…”

“Yes. Yes. So, we’ve been told. A huge explosion of some kind and one of your men was hurt. I thought you might bring him with you. Did you have to leave him because he was too injured?”

Talon shook his head. “Wolves do not leave their companions or brothers behind. The injury Hemming received was more to his pride than anything else. As for the explosion, I am afraid my mate was in a very foul mood and chose to act out. I can assure you—no one was hurt nor was anyone’s, other than hers, property harmed. But she will be punished when we are reunited.

The more important issue is that Hemming found his mate being hidden by her village. It would seem that not all of your people are living up to the terms of the treaty…”

“I can assure you we had no knowledge and will endeavor to find her and any others…”

Talon waved him off with his hand. “There is no need. Hemming and one of my other men have gone to fetch her and will search the village. We will take any suitable females we find as recompense for your inattention to your obligations. But for now, I need you to open the portal to my realm. I must return.”

“The portal where you entered…”

“Is destroyed. As I said, my fated mate was most aggrieved when she realized she’d been caught and has chosen to act out. I will see that she is properly chastised for her behavior.”

Not knowing what else to do, the small delegation of humans led him to the established portal and opened it so he could return to the Eclipse Province. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do to make things right and when he caught up with her, as he was sure he would, it would be her turn to pay the piper, and he would call the tune.

CHAPTER8

Bailey sat in the hollow of the tree for the longest time after the sun rose. It wasn’t just that it was a cozy little nest. It was that the day and her life stretched before her like an intriguing path, leading her to a destiny she hadn’t even known she had the courage to dream.

From her perch, this new realm seemed like an improved version of the one she’d left behind. Everything here seemed newer, better. The scent of the forest was a better version of the ones in the Conquered Realm. There was no chemical overlay of the pollution that had begun to choke the very life from their planet. More people moved to the domed cities each year—eating artificial food, breathing artificial air and, she suspected, leading artificial lives. She wondered how much longer life outside the domes would even be viable. And what would that mean for the ferals?

However, this was not her old dimension or her old life. This was something far different. She needed to reconnoiter and figure out what was what. Were there humans here? If so, what was their relationship with the wolf-shifters? Would the humans accept a most likely hunted outcast from another reality? Were the wolf-shifters the dominant species here? Bailey figured the wolves had to be close to the top of the food chain. After all, they had waged war with another reality.

She had felt safe high up in the tree the previous night. In fact, she couldn’t remember when she’d had a better night’s sleep since those from the Eclipse Province and the New Moon Expanse had invaded her world. She grinned as she realized how counter-intuitive that thought was—that she felt safer and slept better in the home world of those who had torn her life apart than she had in the reality into which she’d been born.

Bailey knew she couldn’t make the tree her permanent home, but for now, it seemed the safest place to leave her backpack so she could move more freely and quietly in this new land. She considered that if she had to leave the area altogether, she at least had everything with her. As it was, she had both her knives and her leather flask and could acquire anything else she might have to have in order to live. Stealth and speed outweighed convenience and familiarity.

First things first: she needed water and food. She made her way down to where she could hear water running swiftly over rocks—the tumbling and speed should make it safe to drink without boiling or using some of her precious pills to clarify it and make it potable.

She crept through the bushes, wanting to ensure she was neither seen nor heard. Places with water, especially drinkable water, tended to attract people and creatures of all kinds—friend and foe, predator and prey—it would be safest to stay hidden and watch the area for a while. She could smell wildflowers all around her, flowers she had known as a child but that had been choked out of existence from the damage done to the air and soil.

Bailey moved through the dense foliage, barely making a sound or a ripple in the leaves. Hiding from the wolf-shifters during each hunt had taught her how to do that. She figured that was one good thing she could thank them for. Bailey crawled to a large rock that sat behind a fallen log that had been carved into an impressive bench. Between the bench and the boulder was a thick growth of ferns. She had an expansive view of the riverbank on both sides, she settled in to watch.

She was comforted by the fact that everything that came to drink, looked like their counterparts in the Conquered Realm. She vowed to never think of the reality she had left behind as home again. This was now her home, and if this dimension didn’t work out for her, she’d find a way to another one, and another one, and another after that until she found one that suited her.

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