Chapter 1

LEONIE

I sat at one of the chairs provided at the eight seater table, I knew what the meeting was about but I wanted to hear it, I knew I’d be the chosen one to go on this mission as I’d heard some of my colleagues talk about it.

Everything was always a mystery to the Sand and Dunes archeology institute and today wasn’t an exception. I watched as one of the colleagues pitched his idea and the leader himself picked me to go on the mission.

“Leonie?” he called as he tapped on the table, jolting me out of my thought that I was already lost in.

“Yes, Sir.” I answered with the biggest smile on my face, I couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say next.

“You’ve been chosen to actually be the one to carry out the research, the truth behind the northern Lineage.” He finished and my eyes widened in shock.

I knew I was going to be sent somewhere but I had no idea it was going to be where there was a curse lurking around, no one had really occupied a home there because of that.

“But, Sir. I’ve heard that no one had occupied a home there before, it’s not a great condition for living and according to what I’ve heard, it’s because of a curse that seemed to be upon them.” I answered with my eyes still wide and looking like they would soon pop out of my skull.

“Which is why we’re sending you, our most reliable researcher and I actually don’t believe that you believed that.” He said, ignoring my objection.

“But this could be really dangerous, we’re talking about a curse, there would be no living human in sight because they were wiped out by something we have no idea what it is.” I objected again, I didn’t want to go for the mission because I knew investigating a curse would be boring.

Not like I really believed some bullshit about some curse. 

I wanted something even more thrilling, daring and a mere superstition about a curse just won’t cut it for me, it’s not the kind of drill I’m really into. I wanted something more adventurous.

“You like dangers. What is your point exactly, Leonie?” He asked as he walked out of the meeting room with me following closely behind him.

“No, Sir. It’s not that I don’t wanna go, its just that—“

“Good. Then get ready because you leave tomorrow.”

I sighed as I walked back to my desk, the day isn’t going as thrilling as I expected it to.

I’d tried all ways that I knew to stop them from letting me go but I had no other choice than to do as their institute had said, it was an assignment I needed to carry out.

I was lucky because I was given the grace to choose someone to go with me, I sighed as I thought about who amongst my colleagues would want to, I needn’t think any further when I remembered Athena and Bayern.

They would be going with me and when I’d broken the news to them, they were overly excited. I tried to see what their excitement was all about but I couldn’t get anything.

Going to research about an abandoned habitat wasn’t as thrilling as seeing skulls hanging from the trees or dried skeletons scattered on the floor, although I needed the extra excursion and I was grateful for it.

“Cheer up a little, who knows this might turn out to be a really interesting research.” Bayern said in a cheery voice that made me roll my eyes.

“Yeah, we could encounter a lot of things and a curse? It’s definitely worth writing about.” Athena added and I groaned.

“I’m only going because I didn’t want to stay back, I just want to see things for myself.” I lied, I was going because I had no other choice, it was mandatory plus, I was so lonely here.

I just knew this particular research wouldn’t be as interesting as the last one, so I scrolled through the bunch of pictures I took of different species as I admired them.

I drove back to my home tired as I laid back on my bed and tried to think of the journey I had ahead of me.

The blaring sound from my alarm woke me up, I checked the time and it was almost 7:30pm, I’d only decided to take a nap, I had no idea I’d been asleep for so long.

I rushed to do the things I needed to do as I joined my colleagues in Northern Switzerland to find them already waiting for me, I checked my time and I was surprisingly early.

“I have no idea why we’re doing this anyways.” I rolled my eyes as we made our way into the place that reeks of solitude.

I still wasn’t comfortable with the decision of being here trying to find out about what might simply not exist.

“This could be us making a fool of ourself.” I sighed as my friends stopped walking to look at me, raising an eyebrow. They only did that when they wanted me to stop talking.

We walked around as everywhere was silent and the only sound that could be heard was our hushed breathing and the rustling of leaves as we stepped on it. 

I soon started getting the hang of it as I didn’t expect to see a lot of interesting creatures but I’d seen them.

The leaves and the trees looked a little different too, I took every detail as I possibly could as I walked around.

I noticed a deer but at the sight of my light, it ran off, I followed it impulsively out of curiosity and I let out a slight moan of happiness when I saw it with its families.

There were different species of snakes too that I hadn’t expected to come across, I’d noticed something huge running right past me and I’d wanted to ask if my colleagues did too but they were too busy doing their own research to notice anything.

I followed it with my small torch that helped me see through the night, I knew I saw a snake and I knew following it when the only thing I had with me was my torch, backpack, my jotter and a pen, I knew there was no way for me to protect myself if I got into any form of danger.

I followed the snake that I could’ve sworn I saw till I noticed I couldn’t find it anymore, it was nowhere to be seen, I stopped to catch my breath as I panted.

“Son of a bitch.” I said through paced breaths, I’d really thought I was on to something when I saw how huge it was.

After resting for a while and catching my breath, I turned back to join my friends but I couldn’t recognize where I was any longer, the place looked strange and my friends were nowhere to be found.

“Hello?” I called but the only thing that got back to me was my voice. I looked around in horror as I couldn’t see anything in sight, my torch flickered a little and I silently prayed that it would last long enough to help me get out of here.

I looked around as I tried to make out where I was, it was not until my legs hit something and I’d almost fell that I noticed that I was in a cave, my hand touched the wall for support and where I was before, there was no wall in sight.

How did I get into this cave? I had lots of questions running through my mind as I wandered aimlessly in the cave in a bid to find my way out. I saw some strange things and despite being lost, I wasn’t going to let my horror take over me.

I reached for my pen and paper as I jotted down a few things, from the huge snake that I saw that now seems to have disappeared to being in a strange abode. My torch flickered again but was soon back to working perfectly when I tapped it a few times.

“I should’ve packed some extra batteries.” I sighed to myself as I continued my long walk but wherever I turned to usually seem to always take me back to where I started.

I soon started getting even more scared, not scared now, I was petrified. I had no idea where I was and my friends were also nowhere to be found. If I’d known, I would’ve stuck with them instead of allowing my curiosity take over.

I shouldn’t have followed that strange creature without giving my friends the heads up, at least they would’ve followed me and we would’ve all been in this together now. It sounds selfish but I know that it isn’t, it’s just teamwork.

“Where the hell am I?” I whispered to myself as I lifted my torch to see some words inscribed on the wall. I didn’t care about it as all I wanted to do at the moment was to get the hell out of there.

“Athena?!” I shouted loud enough that I knew if there was any other creature in this hideous place, they would hear me and just like the other time, no one answered, just my own voice coming back to me.

“Bayern?” I shouted again, not giving up.

I felt the bead of sweat flow down my face as my eyes welled up. If I spent another minute in the cave, I just knew I wouldn’t be the same again.

I kept walking in the same direction that seemed to be bringing me back to my previous position, only that this time I was in a different place.

I wasn’t going back to where I started, I was going to different places but they all looked alike. The light that seemed to be coming from the end of the cave made me have a flicker of hope as I made my way happily through it.

I ran my hands through the wall and just like the other time, I felt something inscribed on it. I switched my torch on to check it and this time the writing inscribed on the wall looked even scarier.

I didn’t know what it was but it sent chills down my spine. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me as I stepped into the light and it didn’t just look like a familiar place.

Infact, it looked like an entire place entirely. I quickly glanced behind me and a gasp flew past my lips on realizing I couldn’t see the end of the cave which I had just emerged from.

My fast beating heart has climbed into my throat at this point.

I slowly glanced around my surroundings, eyes widening even more in shock and surprise, it was as though the moment I stepped out of the cave to where the light was coming from, I had left earth into another planet entirely.

Which would be an absurd thing to even consider, if it wasn’t currently happening to me right now. 

A quick glance at the sky made one sentence reecho in my head.

I was definitely in another world.