The Gate

by Jennifer N Hibbert

  ‘So, why did you choose to appear in my room at Station X? Surely you didn’t appear to everyone there, otherwise they would have talked about it,’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Zatol said without expression. ‘When I was passing through the walls, I saw you crying and I felt like you needed some help. And no, I didn’t appear to anyone else.’

  ‘Weren’t there others on the ship who were crying, too?’

  ‘I wouldn’t know because I wasn’t paying attention to their emotions,’ he said quickly. ‘Listen, we have to start checking the walls for another portal. We can’t stay in the time wall forever.’

  As he spoke, two strange-looking creatures stepped out of a wall in the distance and quickly returned into the same opening, as though they had come out by mistake. They were greenish and looked alike: they had round bellies and wore identical tight-fitting shorts and shirts. Their legs were unusually skinny and out of proportion to the rest of their bodies. Their posture was almost human but their heads looked like animals’, with two horns and goat-like features.

  Carrol and Zatol weren’t sure whether the creatures had seen them or not. They hurried over to where they had appeared. Zatol felt for an opening and quickly found it. He poked his head through; Carrol stood behind him, looking around fearfully. Zatol retracted his head and told Carrol to look.

  ‘What did you see?’ she asked.

  ‘This is different. It looks like Earth. It has trees. I can’t see much but it doesn’t look dangerous,’ he said, peering through again.

  Carrol pushed her face through the wall. They waited for a few seconds to see if anything strange or dangerous came along but everything looked calm; there was no one in sight.

  They glanced at each other. Zatol nodded and they stepped through into the wooded land. It was eerily quiet as they started to walk. Zatol listened and smelled, trying to detect where they were. Finally, he said in a squeaky voice, ‘This place still smells like Mars but it doesn’t make sense that it has all this greenery. I’m trying to understand how this is possible.’

  ‘Maybe this place has been adapted to look like Earth, like they’ve done with our city on the northern side,’ Carrol said.

  ‘This is different,’ Zatol said. ‘Your city is brand new, not older than a decade. This place is well-established; it smells and feels mature, like it’s been here for thousands of years. It must be part of this landscape – or it has been removed from somewhere else and placed here.’

  They continued walking into the forest. Rays of sunlight slipped through the branches that formed a canopy and sheltered the undergrowth. Carrol, still feeling a little scared, stayed on Zatol’s heels.

  Zatol was on guard the whole time, listening to every sound and looking for any movement or abnormality. Carrol followed his lead, glancing behind every tree as they passed. After a long walk, a loud noise took her breath away and her legs nearly gave way under her. It took her a moment to realise what they were hearing: it was the indignant hooting of wild birds. She had completely forgotten they were in a forest.

  Zatol also looked startled. ‘Birds, eh!’ he said casually, in a thick, macho voice, as though he wasn’t scared at all.

  At that point, Carrol secretly thought of going back to the wall but she wasn’t sure what Zatol would think. Neither of them said anything. After a moment, he continued: ‘This still seems very strange to me. Something isn’t adding up.’

  Carrol’s mind went into overdrive and she was suddenly aware of what might live in the forest. She began to panic about wild animals or snakes; the thought sent shivers down her spine. She wondered if Zatol was scared of wild animals – after all, he was a kind of animal, too. She stopped herself thinking anything else, in case he was reading her thoughts.

  She noticed a thick, dried chunk of wood lying across her path. She crouched down and picked it up, thinking it would be useful as a weapon against any creatures that got in their way. ‘What are you going to do with that stick?’ Zatol asked.

  ‘Um . . .’ she began, pretending to give the question some thought. ‘Nothing,’ she eventually replied, clutching it tightly and looking away.

  ‘Oh, okay,’ he said slowly, as though he knew she wasn’t telling him her real intentions.

  They carried on walking. Apart from occasional crunching noises when they stepped on twigs and leaves, all was quiet. Still they proceeded with caution and slowed down every few steps to listen.

  All of a sudden, they heard a loud stamping noise and quickly halted. Its volume increased as Zatol listened carefully to determine where it was coming from. Whatever it was, it was approaching fast so they hid behind a tree.

  *

  Sweat formed under Carrol’s arms and her clammy palms clutched the piece of wood so hard that it left a mark. Her breathing quickened and her heart pounded like a drum. She strained to control both her mind and breathing so Zatol wouldn’t detect her fear, especially after all the things she had said about not minding if she lived or died.

  Just after they’d tucked themselves behind the tree everything went quiet again. They waited in case it was a trap but nothing happened. The noise had faded into the distance. They were about to come out when they heard something else: rumbling and rustling sounds sweeping towards them like a mighty wind. Then there were crunching noises in a massive rush over the dried leaves, like the sound of horses running. Horses or otherwise, it sounded like there were hundreds of them.

  Carrol closed her eyes; she couldn’t bear to look. Her mouth was completely dry. She thought the noise must have come from hunters and she immediately imagined huntsmen in an Amazonian forest. She concluded that this was the end.

  Zatol moved swiftly to Carrol’s side so that they were standing back-to-side and he allowed the massive tree trunk to shield for her. He stood at a slant facing the approaching sound, unflinching like a powerful warrior. Carrol opened her eyes slightly; he looked like he was preparing for battle.

  A large herd of antelope galloped past them. The rumbling noise of hundreds of running hooves was very intimidating. Branches of trees, twigs and dried brown leaves flew into the air. Carrol crouched and used both hands to protect her head while still holding up her stick.

  The antelopes continued to rush by without looking back. After the last few had passed and the noise started to fade away, Carrol tentatively opened her eyes. She turned and caught a glimpse of the back of the herd. Even though Zatol had realised that the antelopes weren’t trying to attack them, he stood guard until the last one had disappeared into the distance before breathing a sigh of relief.

  Carrol scanned their surroundings. Quite descended, together with the dust that had risen from the herd’s stampede. The birds had stopped singing. She finally straightened up and turned to Zatol, who wore a sober, reflective expression. ‘Were those . . . antelopes? Like Earth antelopes?’ she asked. ‘Did you see how many there were?’ She pushed away a lanky branch that was blocking her view.

  ‘They were antelopes, yes. A hundred or so,’ he explained calmly.

  ‘Oh,’ she replied.

  ‘Let’s start moving. There’s something very strange happening here. These Earth animals shouldn’t be on Mars.’

  As they slowly headed off again, Carrol felt like all the trees were swaying. She stepped on a dry twig, which snapped in two with a crack, startling her. She jumped, lost her balance and landed, bottom first, on the ground. It hadn’t been a loud noise but fear had got the better of her; even the sound of her own heart was at risk of startling her.

  Zatol heard the crash and rushed over when he saw Carrol on the ground. ‘Are you okay? What happened?’ he asked, trying to pull her upright.

  She tried to stand up but the shame of her own weakness made her slump back down. She tried to regain her composure by closing her eyes and taking a breath. ‘I fell,’ she said. She finally got to her feet with Zatol’s help, staggering a little. ‘Thanks,’ she said, putting on a brave face as if it had been nothing. I must ha
ve been crazy to think I could survive here, she thought. I’ve totally overestimated myself. She clenched her teeth. The forest had to be better than the loneliness waiting for her on Mars.

  ‘Do you want to rest before we continue?’ Zatol asked, feeling sorry for her.

  ‘No, I’m fine, let’s just carry on,’ she responded.

  When he mentioned resting, she realised that her body wasn’t experiencing fatigue or hunger of any kind because of its transformation; in fact, she felt very alive and energetic. Her only limitation was not being courageous enough to withstand her fear of the unknown. ‘Do you know where we are at the moment?’ she asked.

  ‘No. I’m still trying to figure it out.’ Zatol continued listening intently as they started walking again.

  They had only walked a few paces before Carrol lost her footing again, this time tripping over a tree trunk. She tumbled down a shallow grassy slope, still gripping the piece of wood, and screamed as she somersaulted downward. Zatol ran after her.

  Carrol came to an abrupt stop at the bottom of the slope. ‘Brilliant!’ she blurted out sarcastically. ‘What’s with all these falls?’ The question wasn’t directed at anyone. She felt pain all over and her heart was pumping fast.

  Now the light was brighter because there were no trees shielding her from the sun. Her eyes wide open, she did a double-take as she took in her surroundings. She had fallen onto a stretch of woodland that faced a long, sandy beach.

  Carrol heard Zatol say, ‘Are you okay?’ as he ran up behind her and started pulling her up again.

  ‘Yes, I’m okay.’ She rose and rubbed her back, which now ached, finally dropping the piece of wood she had been clinging onto for over an hour.

  She dusted off all the leaves and soil that had collected in her hair and on her clothes; pain surged through her back as she moved and she reached for it. Her hand met with something wet and slimy. She looked at it expecting blood – but there was no blood, as she was still in cartoon form. Instead, the sight that met her eyes was slimy black mud. ‘Ugh, yuck!’ she shouted, flapping her hand vigorously to try to get it off.

  Once they were sure she was okay, they took a few minutes to absorb their beautiful surroundings. Time slipped by but neither of them said a word. ‘This place feels like an out-of-body experience for me. It’s like being in two planets simultaneously,’ Zatol said.

  CHAPTER 23

  CARROL AND ZATOL ENTER MARS VENCIN

  Carrol could feel the colour returning to her cheeks as she felt the softness of a summery breeze sweep across her face and through her hair. ‘Wow! This is beautiful,’ she remarked.

  There was no one else in sight. She was completely seduced by the golden glint of the sun’s rays on the water. Tranquillity descended upon her; she felt at home as the salty smell graced her nostrils. She watched seaweed being rolled back and forth by the swell of foamy water as it swept to shore and back again.

  The shore of this vast ocean stretched beyond her view and palm trees were scattered along the sandy beach. As well as broken seashells and sea pebbles, a few remnants of broken-down boats lay half-buried in the crisp white sand.

  Carrol was happy to have found such a magnificent place. She was drawn to its natural beauty and felt privileged to see it. She almost forgot about her injuries. At that moment, she thought that the magic of their discovery was worth all the risks they had taken.

  Zatol considered the peacefulness too, but he was also scanning for possible dangers. ‘This isn’t normal. There’s bound to be some evil lurking around here,’ he said.

  This wasn’t what Carrol wanted to hear.

  He continued. ‘We are still on Mars but this is Earth’s sand, and the water on Mars is frozen because it can’t exist naturally here. If this is an adaptation, it’s masterful artistry. We have to get out of here fast. I don’t feel good about this.’

  ‘What are we going to do now?’ Carrol asked, breaking into a smile and struggling to accept his anticipation of danger in such a beautiful place. ‘Shall we walk along the beach or go back into the forest?’ she asked, looking at the crisp white sand on her toes.

  If she’d had a choice, she would have thrown herself into the inviting water. She couldn’t understand why such a luscious and astonishing natural landscape was deserted. The programme organisers should have brought us here instead of the northern part of Mars. This is ideal as a quiet place to think and to start over, she thought. But, just as that thought crossed through her mind, she caught a glimpse of her rubbery-looking hands. She sighed. This place couldn’t have been chosen for the colonisation of Mars; she’d had to become a cartoon image of herself to survive here.

  ‘We will have to go back into the forest but we’ll stay on the edge of the undergrowth alongside the beach to make sure we’re out of sight,’ Zatol said. He started to walk back again.

  Carrol followed. She would have rather stayed on the sandy beach but she knew it was more exposed and could be dangerous. Neither said much as they carried on walking. From Zatol’s silence, she could tell that he was battling a rising curiosity, which made him want to find out more about this place. In the distance they could make out the wreckage of what looked like a fishing boat; it was draped with a weathered net. Eventually they drew level with it.

  ‘I’m starting to hear faint noises echoing in the distance and then quickly fading away,’ Zatol said. The further along they went, the more Zatol said he heard. ‘I can hear something,’ he whispered finally, his eyes darting around. ‘It sounds like voices.’

  They continued to move forward but more cautiously. They looked back from time to time to make sure no one was following them. Carrol was too scared to ask any questions but they wouldn’t have done any good because Zatol was just as confused as she was. The more they saw and Zatol heard, the more confusing everything became.

  As they approached the wreck, there was still nobody in sight. Zatol tried to determine whether the voices were from humans or other creatures. It wasn’t long before Carrol heard them too.

  They reached the level of the abandoned fishing boat, but did not leave the undergrowth. Carrol could see that part of its hull was buried under the sand. The side of the boat that they could see had crumbled, like it had survived years of harsh weather conditions.

  Zatol moved closer to get a good smell of it and said, ‘This is definitely from Earth. I’m getting a strong smell of Earth from it, even though it seems like it’s been here for some years now.’

  ‘Are we still on Mars? Are you sure this isn’t one of Earth’s islands?’ Carrol asked.

  ‘That’s what I still can’t understand. The animals and this boat are surely from Earth but the air smells like Mars.’ They heard more human voices and animal noises, but this time they seemed closer to where they stood. ‘Let’s go. It’s dangerous to stand out in the open.’

  They returned to the undergrowth and continued walking towards the noises. They came across a narrow path, which seemed to lead towards the source of the sounds. They followed it, then looked at each other, contemplating going back. They made out human voices, animal noises and the sounds of birds flying overhead and their calls in the trees. Colourful, exotic butterflies emerged, circling the flowers that were scattered among the tall wild grasses along the path. Carrol’s heart fluttered with curiosity, but she was still cautious.

  When they saw what looked like a habitat of some sort, they ducked behind a bush. They saw a large collection of animals: some were ferocious-looking monsters, some familiar mythical beings, and other creatures that were only describable if you had time on your hands. For Carrol, this was like reliving the scene at the Channel of Exchange. That first experience had prepared her to deal with extraordinary happenings whilst on Mars.

  Carrol and Zatol took it all in. Ahead of them was a group of mermaids sitting around a watery meadow that appeared to be carved from the ocean. It looked like a man-made canal that gets its source of water from the ocean that encircled the island. The mermai
ds talked and laughed, enjoying the mild sunshine that seeped through the large willow trees above them. Occasionally they plunged into the glistening water; it seemed that they had a secret city buried deep among the coral reefs, because some of them went under the water and never surfaced again.

  A fleet of colourful, finger-sized fairies fluttered around the branches of the overhanging trees with lazy ease.

  ‘This type of vernacular architecture must have been designed by the inhabitants, thousands of years ago, based on their unique requirements,’ Zatol said.

  Carrol’s eyes darted over to the buildings. ‘What do you mean?’ Carrol asked.

  ‘You know, the style of the houses tells a story. They’ve probably been built using locally sourced materials, and they reflect the local traditions of all the creatures that live here. The island looks like it did not evolve as time went on to reflect any change in environmental, cultural, technological, economic and historical context – if there was any. Only more habitations have been added to accommodate newcomers to the island, hence the newer-looking buildings,’ Zatol explained.

  ‘How do you know all this?’ Carrol asked.

  ‘From the way it looks. Can’t you see? Originally this island must have been surrounded by water. It has remained untouched – neither altered nor influenced by the radical technological advancements that swept across Earth and beyond. It seems to have experienced no cultural change and its inhabitants had no need for economic development,’ Zatol said.

  ‘Maybe the island has been enchanted to retain its natural, authentic charm if its inhabitants have no use for modern trappings,’ Carrol suggested.

  ‘You might just be right, because it’s unheard of for an island to be inhabited by mythical and cosmic creatures, people and wildlife. It must be one of the few Earth islands to house so many different creatures and it has thrived,’ Zatol explained.

  Carrol studied her surroundings and saw the vast clear blue sea that stretched as far as her eyes could see. Rows of coral reef had formed around the jagged rocks along the coastline. In the distance, she saw an untamed meadow surrounded by thick forest, a natural habitat for the wild, exotic animals.