What if you knew that horrific events were coming and you figured out a way to protect your home and the ones you love, would you do it?
Yes? Then come along and read When Worlds Collide.
As the storm lashed the woods around her, Aimee stood shaking in the golden clearing. But she wasn't alone. One wolf remained, her wolf, and it circled her, slowly, holding her locked in its fierce stare. With terror growing in her heart, the warm glow of the magical meadow quickly faded.
Never breaking its gaze, the giant wolf suddenly came to an abrupt stop. Dropping its head lower, it snarled at her, baring its long, pointed teeth. She could see the muscles tensing under its glistening black fur as its growl grew louder. Its yellow eyes then turned red, glowing like hot embers in its eye sockets.
At that same moment, Aimee winced in pain. What felt like a thousand electrified needles started pricking her entire back and a wave of intense nausea followed, bending her double.
Just then, the wolf lunged, leaping up and over Aimee. To her surprise, it didn't attack her, but something behind her. She screamed as she turned to see the wolf take down another large creature, what looked like a tall, humanoid lizard.
Struggling on the ground, the reptoid tried to hold the wolf in a death roll, but was no match to its opponent. Using its superior speed and agility, the wolf freed an arm and swiped at the overgrown lizard. Its sharp claws sliced the scaly being deeply from throat to belly, spilling its entrails over the leaves.
Aimee looked on in horror as the wolf tumbled aside and hopped to its feet. "Is it dead!?" she exclaimed as it lie motionless with deep long gashes across its coarse body. It certainly looks dead, she confirmed mentally, but then did a double take. "Wait, is it wearing clothes?"
The wolf returned and nudged her hand, bringing her back to focus. So she turned to face it. Reaching out to stroke its muzzle in gratitude, Aimee's eyes softened. "You protected me." Then as the familiar swelling warmth filled her chest, she watched its eyes flicker back to yellow, and the clearing began to glow once again. The wolf, in turn, gave a slight solemn nod.
"They're protecting us," she murmured in realization, looking towards all the open doors.
Glancing back to the eviscerated reptoid to affirm her belief, Aimee was then startled to notice that the body had disappeared. "It's gone!" Not even a drop of blood remained. It was like the attack had never happened.
"Where did it go?" she asked the wolf, who although was sitting before her, was still head and shoulders above her. It just cocked its head in reply, but then quickly got back to all fours and began growling at the woods.
There was no time to ponder as movement came from every direction. She couldn't see anything, but she could hear them coming. Her whole body trembling again, she reached out to touch the wolf for security.
Do not be afraid, Aimee. We are with you.
"The voice!" Aimee quickly scanned the area, searching all around trying to find its owner. And then, she saw him.
A tall man with long, blond hair moved calmly through the trees towards the edge of the woods. Instead of walking, however, he seemed to glide smoothly forward as the vegetation would bend and swing out of the way, so he could pass unhindered. "Shield!" he called, as he stepped into the clearing and approached Aimee.
"Are... Are you the one who sings?" she stammered, feeling awkward for asking such a weird question.
Stopping a few feet in front of her, he gave her a cordial nod with a knowing smile on his lips. "I am," he answered, and then paused to add, "hello Aimee." He next turned his attention to the open doorway into her closet and with a small movement of his hand, he brought the whole thing to him.
"Hello," she replied, her cheeks hot and flush with mild embarrassment.
As she watched in an odd combination amazement and delight, the man took up a stance inside the doorway. Unable to take her eyes off of him, she watched his loose, golden hair sway in the wind, framing the lines of his strong, clean features. His blue eyes danced with life and light so bright they seemed to be glowing. He seemed to be glowing, his entire being in fact.
The more she observed him, the more Aimee felt a connection, like she knew him somehow. Stunned by his ethereal appearance, she worked up courage to ask, "who are you?"
"The goalie," he smiled again, this time with a reassuring wink. Then closing his eyes and putting a hand over his heart, he replicated himself to all of the doors.
"Wha-?" Aimee looked on, astonished. "Whoa.. How did he do that?" she mumbled quietly. But just then, the sinister roar of the encroaching horde grew louder and the woods around them began to shake. Dark streaks and distorted figures burst through the trees. "They're coming!" Aimee screamed.
The man stood there composed and focused, using his energy to create a force field that held back the nasties trying to get through. Planted firmly, he blocked the doorway. He blocked all of them, while giving commands.
"Stand your ground!" he spoke, his voice filling the forest.
No, Aimee thought, it seemed to be the forest itself.
The wolf, who had remained quiet, but vigilant as the man arrived, stood up on two legs beside her. And at that moment, Aimee truly realized that the animal was not just a big wolf, but something much more.
"Remember," the tall man called out. "Remember who you are."
The wolf then stepped behind Aimee and put his hand on her shoulder. Feeling it give her a light squeeze, she glanced at it in shock. "A hand," she gasped and continued in mind, with fingers and a thumb ...and long, sharp, black claws. A hand, not a paw! Her chest filled with that deep inner warmth again and she knew the wolf was connecting, heart and mind, with her like it had before.
Coloured lights suddenly appeared all around the forest and up in the sky. Scintillating in place, they reminded Aimee of free-floating Christmas lights, only much bigger.
Clamouring against the energetic shield, the dark figures pushed forward in a crushing mass against one another, as the blond man winced holding his ground.
"Shield Warriors!" he called. "Hold! Hold the Light!" The lights blinked, and then surged in response.
Letting his controlled guard down, the entities all came rushing at him, but he didn't flinch. Pulled apart by his powerful energy field, they dissolved into particulates and went swirling like streaks of black sand sucked into his solar plexus. Having absorbed the specters, the man himself transformed into a black entity, while his blue eyes now glowed red. Pinpoints of light then began to pulse through the darkness of his being, expanding until his form had completely disappeared.
To Aimee, it appeared as though he had vanished, replaced by a view of the cosmos now occupying the doorways. As she looked on, bewildered, a sudden, bright flash exploded, engulfing the entire forest.
______________
The three friends jolted upright in bed at the same time. A loud thunder clap had awakened them all at precisely 3:33 AM.
Heather, on York Street in Cornwall, gripped her sheets and looked to her bedroom window as lightning lit up the trees and buildings of the sleeping city outside.
Meanwhile, Stacey, out on Glen Road in South Glengarry, glanced at her oblivious husband, and then looked up at her ceiling. She tried to listen for signs of the werewolf, but heard nothing.
And on the western edge of town in Riverdale, Aimee found herself tucked back into her bed. She looked to her closet, all dark and lifeless. It was just a regular closet now.
As they each tried to make sense of what had happened, another crack of thunder pounded the sky. Crashing so powerfully, it shook the houses and woke up many people across the region that night. But there was something else layered within its boom.
Aimee heard it.
She knew it was the sound of hundreds, if not thousands, of doors all slamming at once on The Other Side, as the wind died down and the storm dissipated into a gentle rain.
© 2021 by Linda Casselman
Last: Invasion
Next: Paranormal City
__________________________________
Did You Hear The Call?
Become a Shield Warrior-in-Training
