Ian's Realm Saga Page 2

  “Move me on?”

  “Skip you. Send you to the next English teacher. Your presence in this class isn’t good for your peers. They see you disinterested, doodling in your books, staring out the window, and then you go home with A’s. I can’t have them following your example. Most of them aren’t intelligent enough to get away with what you get away with. It’s my observation that you need a more challenging environment and I’m going to bring that up to the staff.”

  Ian was silent as Mr. Evans packed her briefcase. His eyes followed her movements.

  “You can tell your father I’ll be calling him for an appointment.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “You’re dismissed.”

  Ian went back to his desk and grabbed his books. Skipping a grade in English?

  That’s the best thing that could happen. No more Mrs. Evans!

  He hurried out of the room with freedom cheering him on. He’d be graduating half a year early, which would mean being able to help his dad with his foundry business. He could start that programming home-study course they’d been experimenting with. Ian jogged toward the exit; anxious to get home and work on the 3-D game engine he was building with his father.

  Abigail stood by her locker and eyed him as he brushed by.

  “Did you have a good talk with Mrs. Evans?” she asked.

  Ian stopped short and faced her.

  “I mean, is everything all right?”

  “Yeah, Abbi, everything’s fine.”

  Their eyes met. All of a sudden his books felt heavy, like they were pulling his arms off. Ian shifted his weight.

  “She didn’t, you know…you aren’t in trouble or anything, are you?”

  “No.” His reply might have sounded curt. He didn’t mean it to, still, despite Abbi’s charm, his father was the only person Ian ever told his personal business to.

  “That’s good,” she said.

  There was something flirtatious about the way Abbi smiled at him. It might just have been those beautiful hazel eyes he tried to avoid. Most of the girls at school were looking for boyfriends. Ian wasn't interested in girls, so he discouraged their advances. His dad had survived his mom’s death and never once in five years had Alex Wilson had a romantic relationship. He’d been true to mom. Ian was glad that his father stayed focused. Ian modeled his own ambitions after him. Hunting, fishing and working in the foundry with Dad left no time for girls, anyway.

  “I’m busy this weekend,” she said, “I was thinking we could get together after school next week to work on our science project. I don’t mind coming over to your house.”

  “I think that would work,” Ian answered, blushing because, though he tried not to, he realized that he’d been staring at her. Right now, he wasn’t thinking about the science project.

  “Hey Zorro, how are your swords coming along?” Johnny Cramer pushed Ian, knocked him against the locker and made a “Z” sign in the air. Ian caught his balance just as Johnny raced down the hall with two other boys.

  “Go home, Cramer,” Abbi yelled as Johnny pushed open the door and left the school. She turned to Ian. “Are you okay?”

  Ian’s pulled his hair behind his ears. “Of course I’m okay,” he said.

  “Maybe someday they’ll grow up.”

  “I doubt it.”

  “I have an idea for our science project,” Abbi tossed her backpack over her shoulder. “I was thinking we could do a crime investigation project. I mean, it’d be really cool because you know so much about tracking in the woods and I’ve got an eye for detail, you know, fingerprints and all?”

  “Yeah, whatever. That sounds fun. Look, Abbi, let’s talk about it later. I’ve got to go.” Johnny had stirred up fumes and Ian didn’t want to take his irritability out on her. He slipped away and dodged for the exit as Abbi called after him.

  “Monday, then.”

  “Yeah, sure. Monday.”

  Once he reached the street corner that led to the old neighborhood, the he breathed in the fragrance of evergreens. The houses were red brick, covered with ivy and other climbing vines. Wooden porches had sleepy cats nestled on their ledges, and wrought iron gates kept neighborhood dogs from running in the streets. The yards were neatly trimmed, the hedges pruned, the sidewalks cleared of leaves and stones. Huge red cedar trees stood guard over the streets, shading the vintage cars parked along the curbs. Ian turned down the cul-de-sac and stepped up the stairs to his house. Leaves had fallen on the large wooden sign nailed to a post in the ground. Ian carefully swept them off with his hand.

  Alex Wilson Foundry and Medieval Armory

  When he smelled fresh cut grass and saw the hand mower leaning up against the house by the faucet, Ian knew his dad had been working in the yard. He unlocked the front door and stepped inside, relocking it behind him. Ian liked feeling safe, and a locked door meant security to him.

  Ian’s father Alex Wilson was at the desk, game controls in his hands, as blue lights from the computer monitor cast a glow on the elk trophy above.

  “I’ve got fantastic news,” Ian said as he threw his books on the couch next to his dad.

  Alex set the controls down and greeted Ian. “Good to hear that,” he said as he rolled up his flannel shirtsleeves and stood. “What’s the news?”

  “Mrs. Evans is going to call you for an appointment. She's recommending that I skip a grade in English next semester.”

  A broad grin stretched across Alex’s face, his smile contrasting against his sun-tanned complexion. “I’m proud of you, son. See what hard work can do for you?” He rested his hand on Ian’s shoulder.

  “I’m not sure if it was hard work, or if she just got tired of having me in her class.”

  “Nonsense,” Alex pulled the chair around and straddled it backwards, resting his arms on the back of the chair. “I don’t really care about her personal prejudices. You did your work and you’re getting your reward. I’m proud of you.”

  Ian quickly changed the subject, embarrassed. “How’s the 3-D engine coming?”

  The smile from his father’s face faded as he turned the chair to face the computer and motioned for Ian to sit next to him. “Some strange things have been happening with the program.” With the controls in his hand, Alex clicked the buttons rapidly. The screen flash as he raced through the menus and landed on an entry option. Ian picked up the programming manual off the floor, and thumbed through it.

  “You’re following the manual’s instructions, right?”

  “Word for word. This is what I’m talking about, though. Listen.” Alex held his finger up, urging his son to listen to a faint musical tone which sounded like wind blowing into long-necked cola bottles.

  “No matter what portal I use, I keep hearing that sound, and these lights have been popping up all day.”

  “Maybe there’s something wrong with the computer?”

  Alex shook his head. “The computer’s fine.”

  “Is this the same program we were working on last weekend?” Ian asked.

  Alex nodded. “It is. This portal engine isn’t like any we’ve ever made before. All the other environments on the screen have been indoors, so they presented a different paradigm. This environment is outside. Look.” Alex clicked the control and a huge evergreen forest came into view.

  “Nice trees,” Ian said, admiring his father’s photo editing.

  “Thanks. I wish I could say I painted them. If you look close you can see there’s another layer beyond this forest. See it? The prairie, and beyond that, mountains.” He magnified the view. “It doesn’t show up when I separate the layers.” When Alex pulled up the editing menu and clicked on the links, no other layers showed in the program. “Do you see that stretch of grassland? And far in the distance there’s a body of water. Do you see it?”

  After Ian leaned over to study the terrain that his father pointed out to him, he pulled back and their eyes met.

  “Did you work with this program when I wasn’t around?” Alex asked.


  “No.” Ian answered.

  “Well, it’s a puzzle to me.”

  “What are you saying? You didn’t make that environment? How could a complete vista appear on the computer screen without anyone designing it?” This had to be some kind of a trick or a puzzle that his father wanted him to solve. Ian stared at the computer screen, not knowing where to begin.

  “And what’s even stranger is the algorithm we made that keeps our characters from walking through walls. It changed and I didn’t touch it.”

  “What do you mean it changed?”

  “With what we've designed so far, the only thing that should happen with our characters is that they should go around the trees instead of through them. They aren’t designed to do anything else at this point.”

  When Alex opened a character file and dragged a soldier dressed in silver armor into the forest, then dropped the figure into the environment, the soldier moved in and out of the trees.

  “Well, it looks like it’s doing what it’s supposed to do,” Ian said.

  “Watch this. This is going to blow you away.” Alex picked up the controls. When his father clicked the enter button, Ian’s jaw dropped. The soldier changed directions, tossed his sword to the ground and wandered past the trees. Then, as though he were alive, he tossed his hands in the air and ran through the grassland until he was a tiny dot in the distance.

  “What? No way! You’re playing tricks on me, Dad.”

  “Now watch this.” Alex clicked the controller again, the screen flashed white, and the forest disappeared. A violent rumble vibrated under Ian’s feet, and traveled through the house, rattling the cupboard doors in the kitchen. Dishes fell and broke, and the monitor skipped across the desk.

  “Whoa…Look out,” Alex yelled.

  A loud blast shook the room.

  A fierce gust of wind blew out from the monitor, blowing Ian's chair away from the desk. Alex grabbed him and together they sailed to the other side of the house and crashed against the wall. Alex shielded Ian from the debris that spun wildly in the air. They both cowered in the corner.

  Ian thought the computer had exploded. He gripped his father’s arm while the two of them waited until the dust from the explosion settled. A blue glow covered the monitor, the desk, and half of the house.

  The glare was so bright Ian could barely keep his eyes open. When the brilliance faded, a blue ring of light glimmered on the hardwood floor. The wind blew, lifting the bottoms of the drapes. Papers floated in the air.

  “Dad, stop,” Ian cautioned his father when Alex stood and moved toward the ring of light.

  His father turned.

  “Look.” Ian pointed to the image on the monitor. On the forest floor, which now appeared on the computer screen, a similar blue ring shone. “What’s that?”

  Alex laughed as he reached over the circle. His hand changed color to the same eerie blue and appeared on the monitor. He picked up one of Ian’s textbooks from the couch and set it in the middle of the ring, grabbed the controls from the desk, and clicked a button. Another strong gust of wind. When the dust settled this time, the book was in the circle in the forest on the screen.

  “What the...” Ian froze. He looked at his father and brushed away the hair that was blowing in his eyes. “It’s a trick, right, Dad? An optical illusion?”

  Alex clicked the button again and another flash brought the book back. He reached for it carefully, touching it with his fingertips. After a moment, he picked it up and examined it. “Not a dent, not a burn.”

  The music chimed again and Ian whirled around looking for its source. “Where’s that music coming from?”

  The whole house turned a gold hue like how the earth glows when the sun sets. But the sun wasn’t setting. The melody that whistled took on a language, and then a voice, a woman’s voice, singing in a sweet lyrical tone, sounding much like a chorus of bells.

  There’s much needs done in a land beyond

  Sweet soldiers hear, our time is come

  Where life and love will light your way

  Where beauty fills each precious day

  What care have you besides your home

  Your work, your time, your priceless son

  There’s more that calls, there’s more to know

  Sweet soldiers come, come home, come now.

  “That’s adventure calling us, son.” Alex whispered.

  “Adventure? What?” The smile on his father’s face spooked Ian almost as much as the song had. The last time his father said something about adventure calling them, he had taken up skydiving.

  “Listen,” Alex replied.

  “You’re needed here, your strength and care

  Sweet soldiers hear our cry and fears

  For where the life is rich and vast

  The danger reaches us at last

  And of your call our hearts will wait

  Until your presence moves our gate

  And opens windows of the past

  Then saves our people now, at last.”

  When the music stopped there was no other sound but the whistling of the wind.

  “I’m going in.” Alex grabbed dusted his jeans.

  “What?” Ian jumped up.

  “I’m going in. I’m going to see what this is all about.”

  “Going in where?”

  “That portal. Just like your textbook went in, I’m going in.”

  “Are you going crazy? Go into a computer? I mean, actually go in there?” Ian was shocked, not only by his father’s sudden proclamation, but also by everything he had just experienced. “Tell me you’re joking,” Ian pleaded.

  “I’m not joking.”

  “What if you can’t get back?”

  “I’ll bring the controller. I’m sure I’ll be fine. Ian, look, that blue circle of light is every indication of being a portal to another world. Who knows what we’ll find? And who knows how long this opportunity will last? Besides, that voice sounds a lot like your mom’s.”

  “That’s crazy.” Fear raced through Ian’s body like electricity running through a hot wire. He held on to his father’s arm. “Please, don’t go,” he begged. “You’re being irrational. Something happened to you with that explosion. You’re not yourself. You’re under some kind of… delusion. You aren’t thinking of the danger.”

  “Nonsense, Ian. Don’t be afraid. I’ll come right back. It’s just over there.” Alex nodded at the computer. “I won’t go far.” He patted his son’s arm and gave him a reassuring smile.

  The wind snatched Ian’s school papers, a washcloth from the kitchen counter, and the curtains. Dust spiraled into the air.

  “Dad, don’t do this, please.”

  Releasing himself from Ian’s hold, Alex moved around the house, checking the lock on the door, closing the blinds and taking an apple off the kitchen table. He grabbed his coat from the rack by the hallway and tossed Ian his black leather jacket, stepping confidently into the circle.

  The blue lights pulsated anxiously on the floor. A cold chill ran up Ian’s spine. Is this the end for us? Ian shook his head frantically. Though sweat seeped through every pore in his body, Ian stepped into the circle next to his father.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Alex asked him, a strong arm resting on his shoulder. Ian took a deep breath, closed his eyes tightly, and nodded. Alex positioned the controller and gave it a firm click. In a flash, they disappeared.

  Dad’s Domain

  Within seconds, the light show disappeared and Ian opened one eye. What he had experienced was not at all what he had expected. No unusual sensations fizzled through his body. He hadn’t felt like he was plummeting in an elevator, or blasting through space like in a rocket ship. He didn’t even feel like he was racing down an escape chute on an airplane. No jet sounds, or hums, or buzzes, rattled in his ears.

  The lights just stopped.

  And there he was, in a different world. For any other teenage boy, it might have seemed a little disappointing, but Ian sighe
d with relief. What he stood on wasn’t the hardwood floor of his living room. Instead the ground was made up of sticks, pine needles and soft dirt, just like in any normal forest.

  In fact, the world he found himself in was pleasant, the air fresh, the smells aromatic. The sun shone brighter here than it ever had in Seattle, and never had Ian seen such vivid color in the forest back home. The maple leaves were huge. Their points laced the landscape like calligraphy; painting a backdrop of oranges, reds and greens, the hues so bright they stung Ian’s eyes. Bark on the paper birch that dotted the forest was white as snow, and blue shadows hugged their trunks.

  And animation! It was like Ian stepped into a game world that had been programmed to slow motion. Pinecones bounced as their branches danced in the breeze. Dragonflies crawled through the air. Sword ferns waved their fingers. The enormous evergreens made him feel like he was a dwarf out of a fantasy book.

  “Close your mouth, son,” Alex laughed. “You might catch a fly. That is, if there are any flies here.” Alex added. “Just look at these woods. Have you ever seen such color before? Look at those trees.” Alex’s excitement exploded. He strolled through the woods, pointing at the sky, touching the soft lime-green lichen that covered the trees, tasting the bright red thimbleberries that dotted the brush. “They’re sweeter than ours,” he said, as Ian gazed in wonder.

  Savory smells of greenery mixed with the musky aroma of mushrooms scented the air. It was a good smell. Enticing, sweet, but not flowery or like a girl’s perfume. It was the woodsy smell of mountain life. Ian breathed deep.

  Alex laughed and slapped Ian’s jacket. “Let’s check this place out. I want to find those fields we saw on the computer. From there we should be able to get a good view of the mountains, and that body of water.”

  Ian’s brief moment of marvel dropped out of his belly. “You mean you want to go away from the portal? Shouldn’t we just stay here? I mean, we don’t know what all is out there.”