Midnight: Chapter Two

Chapter 2: The Other Dimension

Anna sat up in bed when a startling sound awoke her. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. She didn't recognize where she was. She wasn't in her room anymore. The walls were now bare except for a small mirror on the wall opposite the bed. The walls appeared to be made of stone instead of the familiar pink wallpaper. This room was also much larger than her room. The bed felt scratchy and Anna realized it was made out of straw. The TV was gone and so were the lamp and the ceiling fan. The only light was coming from the small window beside the bed. Anna jumped out of bed, only to realize that the fuzzy green carpet had been replaced by cold, hard stone.
"Tori!"
"What," said Tori lazily.
"Get up!"
"Why?"
"Because!"
"It's too early."
"Now!"
"Fine."
Tori rolled over and looked up.
"Oh my. . ."
She fell off the bed and stood up quickly.
"Where are we?" Tori shouted.
"I don't know. But it's like. . . it's like. . ."
"Like what?"
"Like we're in the past."
"That's impossible."
"How do you know that? Come on. Let's go look around. I mean, we can't just sit here and do nothing."
"Alright. But you're staying in front of me."
They walked out of the small wooden door and into a dimly lit corridor. There were torches lining the walls and the floor was the same as in the unfamiliar room.
"Now I'm starting to get a little freaked out," said Tori, hesitating a little at the door.
They walked down the corridor and to two large oak doors.
"Do you think we should go in?" asked Anna.
"I don't know. Maybe we should at least try."
"Okay. Help me push."
They pushed hard on both doors, but neither of them would budge. They kicked it and pushed it and pulled it. But, still, nothing happened.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Anna, slumping against the massive door.
"I don't know. I just want to go home."
"Me too. But like you said, 'we can't just sit here and do nothing,' We have to. . ."
But just what they had to do, Tori never found out because just then, the large oak doors swung open. They walked through the open doors with a second glance back at the warm corridor. As soon as they were through the doorway, the large oak doors closed behind them.
They were standing in the largest room that either of them had ever seen. The ceiling was high above a large table in the center of the room. There were place settings all around the table. The smell of bacon, eggs, and toast was heavy on the air. A man and a woman were sitting at the head of the table.
"Welcome! Welcome to Troglom," said the man standing up. He had a very strong British accent.
"Where?" asked Tori.
"Well, Troglom, of course," said the woman, also standing up. "Your friends should be arriving at any minute, so make yourselves comfort-able." The woman also had a very strong British accent.
"How did we get here," asked Anna, taking a seat next to the woman.
"You read Regenald's gravestone, didn't you?" asked the woman.
"Yes," said Tori. "But what does that have to do with anything?"
"You are the Chosen Ones," said the man.
"The Chosen Ones?"
"Yes. I will explain more when your friends arrive. Ah! I believe breakfast is ready!"
About ten servants carrying trays entered the dining hall. They put four trays in front of Anna, Tori, the man, and the woman. They lifted the covers off the trays and placed knifes and forks beside each one. Each of them bowed and left the room. In front of them were eggs, bacon, toast, and sausages.
"Go on! Dig in," said the man.
Anna and Tori timidly took the forks and began to eat.
About five minutes later, the doors opened again. Lucas, Todd, and Ash walked through the doorway. They looked around with wide eyes and saw Anna and Tori munching on toast.
"Come," said the man. "Sit down and join us!"
"Where are we?" asked Lucas.
"In due time, my good fellow," said the woman. "But for now, enjoy your meal!"
"The others looked at Tori and Anna questioningly. When they saw that they had nothing to say, they took their seats and were instantly served their breakfast. They began to eat as well. Twenty minutes later, they were all done.
"So now I guess you want your questions answered," said the woman, standing up.
"Yes, please," said Ash, talking for the first time.
"When you read Regenald's gravestone," began the man, also standing up. "You became the Chosen Ones. You are the only ones who can save the kingdom and our son."
"Wait," said Lucas. "How can we be the Chosen Ones? We're only fifteen!"
"What a coincidence! Our son is the same age!"
"Who exactly are you people?" asked Tori.
"We are the King and Queen of Troglom," said the woman.
"Troglom?" said Todd.
"This planet, this universe, this dimension. It is all Troglom," said the King.
"If you're the King and Queen, them where are your crowns?" asked Lucas.
"Oh. We don't believe in presenting stature here. People just know who we are."
"So what are the Chosen Ones supposed to do," asked Anna.
Destroy all the evil in the kingdom. Specifically, the man who is responsible for the deaths of many people in line for the throne. He has al-ready killed. . .our daughter, my sister, and my wife's brother. We have reason to believe that his next target is our son, Ryan Remington."
"Hey! He has the same last name as that guy in the cemetery," said Todd.
"That's right," said the King. "Reginald Remington was his grandfather. My father. He was also killed by the murderer."
"Why did the gravestone say that he lived for two hundred years?" asked Ash.
"Because that's how long he lived. He was supposed to live for three hundred years. You see, there are many differences between our two di-mensions. One of them is that we live a lot longer than you. You will find more differences between our worlds throughout your time here on Tro-glom."
"Wait. Who said anything about staying?" said Lucas.
"Well, we need you," said the Queen. "We're prepared to do something we've never done before."
"What might that be?" asked Anna.
"If you help us save our son, we'll grant you each one wish."
"You can really do that?" asked Tori brightly.
"Yes. Each of you will get your heart's desire."
"Well? What do you say?" asked the King.
"Can we have some time to think about it?" asked Todd.
"I don't see why not! I'll see you all tonight at dinner!"
The servants walked into the dining hall and picked up the empty plates and carried them out of the hall.
The group stood up and left the dining hall as well.
"Wait," shouted Anna. "I almost forgot!"
She ran back into the dining hall.
"Where's the bathroom?"
The Queen chuckled.
"Just follow the corridor until it ends. Turn left, go up the stairs, and it's the third door on the right."
"Thank you!"
Anna left the hall and walked into the corridor where her friends were waiting.
"What the hell are we going to do?" asked Lucas, rubbing his head.