From A Different Dimension (Fictional Story) - by George N Root III

This is a fictional story written solely for entertainment. Enjoy!

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.

Fulton was able to make out these details in the dark and pouring rain because the man had walked into the light of Fulton’s headlights and, as far as Fulton could tell, the man was glowing.

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.”

Fulton suddenly felt a little uneasy at his decision to take on his new passenger. But the idea that Beamus Park was an ascension point grabbed his interest.

“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!”

Fulton pulled over to the side of the road alongside of what was obviously still the forest. Now he could feel himself really regretting picking up his new passenger. Is this guy a loon from some local hospital? Is he dangerous? What the hell is he talking about?

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?”

Fulton liked it that Thomas was leaning away from him, because it gave Fulton the chance to open his door and run. The problem was that Fulton was locked into his seat with the seatbelt, and it was his car, dammit! If anyone was leaving, it would be the space man.

“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.”

Fulton turned off the engine but left the interior lights on. He leaned back against his car door and waited for what Thomas had to say.

“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.”

Fulton looked at Thomas for a moment and then re-started the car. Slowly and deliberately, he signaled to get back on the road and then made his way towards Beamus Park.

“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.

Fulton never told his wife, kids, mother, or anyone about Thomas. He never tried to learn more about alternate dimensions, but he would almost have to be sedated every time a thunder storm would take place. His wife was worried, but a bottle of gin always seemed to help Fulton get through his new found phobia.

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.