CHAPTER 6: DARK MATTER SEEKERS

I dropped to my knees. Thunderous explosions shook the unsteady ground. Glowing embers and thick dust lit up as flashes of light shot about. Crumbling stone walls surrounded a dark emp ness. A few feet away, a series of flickering and buzzing lights appeared on a rusty control panel. “It’s you. You’re not supposed to be here.” The boy with the goggles lowered himself out of a small hole in the wall. “Come with me, quickly.” “Where am I?” I stumbled across the floor and reached out to the boy with the goggles. He grabbed my hand and pulled me up to the hole. “You have to hurry. The energy will only hold us for a few more minutes.” Another boy, wearing a mask and a black leather suit, sprinted from behind another wall and covered my mouth. His hair, red as blood, dangled over his face. The whites of his eyes glowed—filled with fear. I didn’t move, worried he might hurt me—worried the two boys had actually kidnapped me. And that’s when I heard it. At first, it sounded like a cat purring, but then it grew louder and deeper. An evil growling noise penetrated the distant rumbles from the eerie clouds. The boy with the mask slowly pointed with his other hand out to the darkness—out to the moving shadows. There was something out there. “What is it?” I mu+ered through the red-haired boy’s hand. “It’s a Dark Ma+er Seeker,” he whispered. “They’ll take you in the darkness, maybe keep you alive for a few days, like a pet, and then—” “And then?” I whispered back. The boy put his finger over his lips. “You need to be quiet.” The boy from my locker knelt down beside me and held my hand. “Don’t move. And please, don’t talk.” The growling con nued. sniffing me. I held my breath, the boy’s hand gripped ghter over my mouth. Seconds passed. Then minutes. Wet fur brushed over my skin, followed by heaving moans and throatlike gurgles. Whatever the thing was, it sounded hungry. Another minute passed. The red‐haired boy’s hand li5ed from my face and I then opened my eyes. “This way,” the boy from my locker whispered. I shimmied up through the dark hole. A glow of blue and green lights panned over two masked figures. One of them looked like a girl. They hunched down behind another small panel—their faces were decked out in protec ve eye‐wear and bulky breathing devices. “We’re between the walls.” The redhaired boy took off his goggles and

Grrrr.

I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to look at it. I didn’t want to see it.

Grrrrrr.

The ground shook again, causing more rocks to fall beside me. The air felt cold and damp. Blasts of heat crept up my legs. It had to be the monster. It was on top of me— touched my face. “We’re between worlds.” “What?” I pulled back, slipping through some rubble and debris. “This isn’t real. This can’t be real.” “Trust me,” he said. The two masked figures studied me through their oversized pilot glasses. Their dark-gloved hands hovered over a row of switches and a lever. “In posi on, Truent?” One of the masked figures held his hand alo5 and twisted his leathery fingers into a ‘thumbs up’. “Ready to release the DM,” announced the other masked figure— her voice high-pitched and shaky. “Hold my hand,” the boy from my locker said to me. “Aubrey, kindly hold my hand, now.” He pulled me toward him, over the rocks, guiding me up to a small rectangular-shaped light. “How do you know my name?” I asked. “What? Pardon?” The boy from my locker adjusted his goggles and gestured a ‘thumbs up’ to the others at

We need to get to your planet.

the control panel. “I’ve studied you. I’ve been watching you.” “For like, how long? Do you know everything about me?” He tapped the light on the panel. “Hold on.” “What do you mean ‘hold on?’ What are we doing?” “You’re taking me with you,” he replied. “What? Taking me with you? What do you mean, ‘taking me with you’? Where am I taking you?” As our hands touched the bright light, a flood of energy raced through me again. My body shi5ed and twisted, pulling me through another void—another dark tunnel. *** I opened my eyes. My skin ngled. I crawled forward along the hallway—once again back at school— the walls and lockers spun around, distor ng my vision. My stomach turned. “It worked!” the boy from my locker shouted. “It actually worked. The transversal actually worked.” He lowered himself to me. His face beamed. “His calcula ons were right. This is fascina ng. Thank you.” “Who’s calcula ons? What just happened?” I swallowed, feeling the little hairs on my arms stand on end. “Are you, are you, a space wizard, or, or an intergalac c me traveling prophet?” “A what?” “Nevermind.” I checked my legs and arms for any cuts. “What was that animal? That beast? Was it going to eat me?” The boy collected himself for a second. “Possibly. The Dark Ma+er Seekers are growing stronger. But you’re safe now, Ms. Aubrey.” He stood back up. He pulled the goggles up and scanned the hallway. “This is marvelous, you know that? You saved me, Ms. Aubrey. You just saved my life. A smile stretched out over his face, folding cute dimples into his cheeks. “How?” I asked. “How did I save your life? I don’t get what just happened. Where were we just now?” “Othello‐3, quadrant nine, sub‐secon Q. Did you not hear me the last me we spoke? Perhaps the frequency was disrupted.” The boy’s shaggy hair flopped over his bright blue eyes. He spat on the lenses of his goggles and then wiped them with his sleeve. “My world is collapsing. Our tribe is being wiped out as we speak.” “I thought you were joking,” I said. “I’m not sure what you mean.” “I thought you were joking about your world. Were we really in another—no, it’s impossible.” The boy pulled off his gloves and touched the wall. “I think I’ve heard of ‘joking’ before. I’m afraid, Ms. Aubrey, what you saw was no joke.” “But how? How is it possible?” I pointed to my locker. “We just went through my mirror—my cheap, plasc, mirror.” The boy shuffled his feet across the floor, the treads on his boots squeaked with every step. “What is on the other side of your mirror is falling apart.” The boy touched the les and shook his head. “I can’t believe how clean this place is. Your floors shine. They actually shine. What are they made of?” “What? They’re les. I dunno. They’re made of les.” I pulled myself up, brushing grains of dirt from my shirt and pants. “Fascina ng.” The boy knocked on the bricks along the wall. “Solid stone. Never seen this substance —a unique mineral perhaps.” “Who are you? Seriously,” I said. “I’m a survivor.” “I meant, your name. What’s your name?” The boy wiped the soot off his face and cleared his throat. “My name is, Truent. Truent Q.” “Truent Q?” I asked. “Yes.” “Your last name is ‘Q’?” “Yes. That is the last name of my en re tribe. What is le5 of them.” “Oh.” Truent placed his hands on my shoulders. “Ms. Aubrey. You must help me save my tribe.”

To be continued April 29.