In an instant, Rebecca felt a sensation akin to hypnogogic jerk as the ground rushed away from her feet. Unable to tell up from down, she gritted her teeth, feeling pulled at by all sides. The realm around her was as still as the grave, yet it felt like wind ripped at her. A great presence heaved in the darkness, bringing a strange hum that stung her ears like an infection. At first, Rebecca thought nothing of it. She chalked it up to her anxiety. There couldn't be anything in here with her, aside from her friends, somewhere ahead. But the hum rang out again, like an infernal bell, and it hurt so much to hear it.

Something was wrong.

Indescribable sensations ran through her body as, confused and horrified, Rebecca called out for the others in vain. She'd been in here too long. Or had she just entered? Perhaps it would have been wise for them to hold hands, or tether together, before jumping into strange time-traveling portals. Rebecca couldn't fret about what should have been. She didn't have time. She didn't know why she felt like this, but every cell in her was screaming to run. But there was nothing in this in-between place: no friction, no gravity, nothing.

"Mike!" She summoned all of her breath to scream, yet still felt muted. "Dev-"

The wind rushed out of her, and she choked. It was so abrupt, Rebecca didn't understand what happened. She felt as if she'd been punched in the gut by the world's strongest man, but she was absolutely certain that nothing hit her. "Help..." Rebecca croaked, seeking to curl up. She couldn't run. Her instincts, in full panic, told her to protect herself instead. Body tense, Rebecca held her knees to her chest and screwed her eyes shut. Maybe she could will herself forward...wherever forward was.

Rebecca heard a voice. At least, she thought it was a voice. Every time she tried to focus on it, it faded. Like gently turning a knob on an old radio, Rebecca tried to tune in to whoever was speaking. The effort made her obscenely tired. Whether it was frustration or fear, she began to cry. Why wasn't she reaching the other end? Why was she still here? Where did the others wind up? Would she even find them? Would she get out of here at all? Losing herself to helpless despair, Rebecca's mind wandered to every single movie she'd seen about why what she was doing was a bad idea. You're trapped in time and space.

The voice became clearer.

And it was impossible.

Simply hearing it nearly broke her. Rebecca knew she would never be able to adequately describe this if she ever saw the others again. It spoke, but also, it didn't. It was painfully loud but also nigh impossible to hear. It shouldn't exist. That was the only thought going through Rebecca's head. It shouldn't exist. She felt like a child again, in those dark moments hiding stiffly under her covers as she swore she heard something moving around her room. Refusing to open her eyes, Rebecca covered her ears, but the voice did not stop. It spoke in emotions, in concepts, in strange images that filled her mind and threatened to drive her mad.

"Meddling-apes-" Garbled English seemed to translate itself. Rebecca's flesh erupted with goosebumps, hair standing on end. "Out-of-place-" The impossible voice hurt. It hurt so much. Rebecca screamed, but there was no sound. She felt her throat straining, the breath leaving her, but the void around her consumed it so that only that terrible voice could be heard.

"What-" It growled, groaned, or gurgled. Or all three.

"Out-of-PPPPLLLLAAAACCCEEEE-" She had never felt so much rage. It threatened to swallow her forever.

"What do you want?!" She mouthed the words. Her tongue wagged. Her throat pulsed. Still, no sound.

"Pa-thet-ic-," The presence swirled around her, circling her like a pack of sharks. Languages she didn't know crashed into her mind like waves of acid, burning her ears. Waves of pain shot through her body. A nauseating combination of burning metal and sulfur filled her mouth. As Rebecca listened to the chatter, she felt like she was doing something wrong. She knew, somehow, that she shouldn't hear these sounds. Not because they were forbidden, but because she was human.

"Not-where-should-be-" It boomed. The broken words she could understand surfaced from the sea of strange, impossible, alien tongues. Rebecca couldn't breathe. The sheer aura of the presence was crushing her.

"Please-" Rebecca mouthed, wishing to scream the plea. "Just let me leave!"

Burning. Gale force winds rushed past her, hotter than she'd ever felt. Still refusing to open her eyes, Rebecca panicked, pawing at herself. The heat around her was unbearable. She was sure that she was on fire. Carefully, Rebecca pried open an eye to peek at herself, hoping to every God that might be watching she didn't catch a glimpse of whatever was assaulting her. No fire. Immeasurable pain, but no fire. On the verge of passing out, Rebecca wondered if that would be best. Maybe she would die if she let herself slip away. Maybe that was better than this. Fearfully, she wondered further if she was already dead. Was this hell?

"LET ME LEAVE," She screamed, and that time, she could hear herself.

The response made her vomit. The voice was...laughing? Rebecca couldn't name the sound it made, but she got the strong sense that she'd amused the being. The humming that stung her ears intensified as something drew closer. The wave of forbidden languages crashed over her, gurgling, bubbling, and squelching. Rebecca felt overwhelmingly uncomfortable, squirming where she floated in the void, trying to find a way to distance herself from whatever this thing was.

"O-p-en-" It commanded.

Rebecca didn't know why, but she opened her eyes.

What she saw had no name. Her mind began to unravel.

Something wrapped around her wrist and yanked her hard.

Light exploded all around her as she fell into Mike's arms. "WhoAUH-SHIT-" He lost his balance, and they toppled to the ground.

Rebecca was screaming with every breath. Devian exchanged a terrified glance with Aunt, and the woman rushed to her side. Rebecca scrambled away from Mike, shoving herself into the nearest corner, shrieking. "Stop! Stopstopstop-" Aunt put her hands up, locking eyes with her. "Safe! You're safe! We got you!"

"Jesus Christ, she's-"

"SHH." Aunt interrupted Devian, throwing him a hard stare.

Rebecca slowly realized where she was, screams dying down to choked whimpers, drawing into herself. Her eyes darted around the room, wondering if it was a trick.

"How could that happen?" Mike demanded, dusting himself off. "It's only been five minutes!"

"I said SHHHHHHHH!" Aunt replied harshly, spittle launching from her tightened lips. She gave the boys a familiar look - the same look their mothers gave them when they were little shits in the grocery store - and they withdrew, growing quiet.

"S-s-something-" Rebecca shivered violently. "Th-they made s-s-s-s-omething..."

"What happened, Rebecca?" Aunt soothed, daring to touch her. The warmth of her hands brought her back a little more.

"They made...th-they made something so-s-so angry...." Rebecca whispered, sobbing. The fear in her voice filled the room, chilling everyone to their cores.

Aunt stood, blinking away threatening tears. "Get her a blanket. Get her a lot of them," She commanded Mike, striding to another room. She set her machine down on a table as she went. Devian followed her quickly, staring.

"What the fuck was that?" He demanded.

Aunt didn't answer. She rustled around the bookshelves, clearly looking for something.

"Aunt. Please. How the fuck did that happen?" He whispered harshly, voice cracking. Aunt whipped around, holding an old tome in one hand.

"Do not tell her. Do not let Mike tell her. Not until I can...I can figure out how to fix this." She usually didn't look unsure of herself. "She can't be right. If she is, we have bigger problems than soul harvesting."

"Right about what?" Devian questioned angrily. Aunt wasn't telling them everything.

She leaned in close, speaking lowly. "These idiots are siphoning souls out of the balance of everything to serve their stupid, selfish goals. You don't fuck with that balance without getting the attention of...certain things."

Aunt briskly left the room, gathering a few more books on her way out, leaving him to fume alone. That wasn't an answer at all. If anything, he had a million more questions.

Mike draped a quilt around Rebecca's shoulders, brushing her hair from her face, trying not to cry. She was exhausted, not all there, leaning against the wall. He had half a mind to carry her to the couch but didn't know if it was safe to move her. As she drifted off, he studied her with concern.

In the five minutes it had taken them to find her in the portal, Rebecca had aged thirty years. 

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This chapter was written by Michelle Heller, a sentient collection of meat and bone that likes to write spooky stories. https://aztruyen.top/tac-gia/MHellerOfficial