From A Different Dimension
by
George N Root III
Fulton Sanderson had driven Crystal
Road home from work every day for 10 years. It is
a relatively deserted road that leads out of town to three of the nicer planned
communities in the area. Fulton
once timed the drive back to his home in the Heatherwood community at exactly
13 minutes, as long as the weather cooperated.
Tonight, the weather was not cooperating. Fulton
had never been a religious man, but the cracking of the lightning and the
sheets of rain prompted even him to put in a good word with his Maker for the
trip home. He had just left the city limits and had around 10 minutes left on
his drive when it happened.
The flash he saw was not lightning, even though it had its
origins in the clouds. It was brighter, and it had a louder cracking sound than
the lightning. It was also in the shape of a ball that seemed to crash into the
woods just ahead of Fulton as he
slammed on his brakes and veered towards the shoulder of the road.
To his shock, Fulton
watched as a man emerged from the forest and started waving at him. Fulton
didn’t know what to do. The man was dressed in what looked like a white leather
jumpsuit that, surprisingly enough, had not been damaged in the crash. He was
not wearing a helmet, yet he did not look like he had sustained any damage. He
had long dark hair, a full beard that looked neatly cut, and he stood about six
feet tall.
For some reason, Fulton
felt like giving this guy a ride was the right thing to do. This initially
scared the crap out of him because he had no reason at all to trust a guy who
had just emerged unscathed from that kind of crash. But he suddenly felt at
ease and pulled up to the man to let him get into his car.
As soon as the man entered Fulton ’s
car, he flashed Fulton a smile and started
talking.
“Thank you so much for picking me up. I could use a ride.”
“Sure, where are you going?”
“Are you familiar with Beamus
Park ?”
“Yeah, it is just a few miles up the road on the way home.
Is that were you need to go?”
“Yes. It is an ascension point and I need to get there as
soon as possible.”
“What is an ascension point?”
“Ah. That is a specific place where I can ascend back into
my own dimension and rejoin the fight.”
Now Fulton was
completely confused. The only thing this guy looked like he was just fighting
was a hair dryer and a comb. He had no scars, no abrasions, and no signs of a
struggle at all. Then it occurred to Fulton
that his passenger had just said that he had to ascend back into the fight in
his own dimension. What the hell did that mean?
“Ascend into your own dimension?”
“Yes. How rude of me. My name is Thomas. I am a warrior for
the Earth Defense League. We exist in a dimension that runs just parallel to
yours, but outside of your physical spectrum. We are the people who prevent
Earth from being invaded by aliens.”
“Uh huh. Here’s Beamus
Park !”
Thomas could see the fear in Fulton ’s
eyes and relaxed back in the car seat to try and get Fulton
relaxed. When he saw it wasn’t working, Thomas tried to get Fulton
engaged in conversation.
“No, this is not the park. What is your name, friend?”
“Friend? My name is Fulton .
Who are you really?”
“Fulton , did you
see the flash of light crash into the trees?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I did.”
“Did you see me come out of the forest immediately after
that flash of light?”
“I’m inclined to think I did. Although I am not sure right
now.”
“Could a regular human have survived that kind of impact
intact?”
“Look, I don’t know who you are or what you want, but I
think it would be best if you leave.”
“Fulton , I fell
into a dimensional tide created by the Narlops and fell to your Earth. I have
never been here before, but I know that Beamus
Park is a temporary ascension
point. If I do not reach that ascension point in the next few minutes, it will
close and I am stuck here.”
“So what?”
“So what?!?! So I am an armaments expert for the Defense
League and my division will find defeating the Narlops extremely difficult without
me. Any weakness in our overall defense line could mean disaster for everyone,
including you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ok Fulton, I am going to tell you something we are not
allowed to tell humans. But since I don’t plan on ever being back here and no
one would believe you anyways, I am going to tell you.”
“There are several dimensions to our universe that all live
in harmony alongside of each other. Every once in a while, you get a glimpse
into our dimension when one of our rather raucous battles irritates your skies
and creates these nasty thunderstorms.”
“Wait. Every thunderstorm is some kind of other worldly battle?”
“Most of them are. Some are just thunderstorms. I don’t know
the actual ratio, so you will just have to trust me. A dimensional tide is a
rip created by a special weapon that only certain alien races possess. The
Narlops have them, but we had no idea until just now. They created a tide
behind my division, and I fell in. My fall to your Earth is what you saw.”
“Uh huh.”
“There is no life in the solar system as you know it, except
for the life on your Earth. But that is only true in your dimension. In our
dimension, our Earth is one of several planets inhabited by intelligent beings,
and most of those races are friendly. But every once in a while, we get tested
by one that is not friendly and we have to respond.”
“Why are alien races trying to take over your Earth?”
“They don’t want our Earth. They want your Earth.”
“Huh?”
“The Narlops and races like them, such as the Schting and
Mirons, have developed dimensional tide weapons and want to use them to enslave
the entire population of your Earth.”
“Why not enslave your Earth?”
“We have the technology to resist them, and you do not. As
your Earth Americans would say, you are easy pickings for these races. In order
for them to use their dimensional tide weapons to reach your Earth, then need
to establish a stronghold somewhere in our atmosphere. For centuries, we have
prevented that from happening.”
“And now my Earth may be in trouble?”
“Not at all. My fall through a dimensional tide was me being
careless. As I was falling, I saw the rest of my division closing the tide and
destroying the weapon that created it. But they cannot hold out much longer
without me. I need to get to Beamus Park .”
“Wait, there is another Earth in another dimension that
exists in the same space that this Earth does?”
“I would love to explain to you all of the laws of physics,
time, and space that your best thinkers have gotten wrong, but I simply do not
have the time. Fulton , I need to
get to Beamus Park
before the ascension point closes. My division can only keep the ascension
point open for so long before they must close it.”
“You know that I don’t believe a word of what you are
saying, right?”
“You will excuse me if what you do or do not believe makes
little to no difference to me.”
For reasons he still does not understand, Fulton
was not offended by what Thomas just said. Fulton
was, however, in a big hurry to get this wing nut out of his car. As the car
approached Beamus Park ,
both Thomas and Fulton could see the reflective paint on the park’s sign.
Immediately Thomas indicated that Fulton
should pull over by the baseball diamond.
“Aw. You’re not going to destroy the baseball diamond with
your ascension tide thingy are you?”
“I assure you Fulton ,
there will be no indication whatsoever of my ascension.”
Thomas was getting ready to open the door and get out of the
car when he took one final look back at Fulton .
“Are there any final questions I can answer for you before I
go?”
“Yeah. One. Why do you guys care if the population of this
Earth gets enslaved or not?”
“My Earth cannot survive without yours. The relationship
between our dimensions is completely co-dependent. If your Earth is destroyed,
then so is mine. It is purely an act of self-defense.”
“Oh. Well, thanks for doing it anyways.”
“You’re quite welcome. Have a good evening and thank you for
the ride.”
“Sure.”
Thomas bolted from the car and ran to the pitcher’s mound.
He raised both of his hands in the air, and then he slowly started to elevate
from the ground. A couple of seconds later, Thomas ascended into the clouds so
fast that Fulton almost didn’t see
him.
After Thomas had ascended, Fulton
sat in his car for almost an hour just trying to process everything. Every time
he would see a bolt of lightning or hear thunder, he flinched. As the storm
started to dissipate, Fulton felt a
strange sense of relief and made his way back home.
When Fulton
arrived at home, his wife was frantic. All he told her was that he had car
troubles and that they ended when the storm did. Then he slowly and without any
deliberation headed to bed.
His wife also stopped asking why Fulton
takes route 15 home from work now. She reasons that it takes him an extra 10
minutes to get home and he should just go back to taking Crystal
Road . Fulton ’s
only response is that the less he knows, the better.