crawled in front of her and huddled close in order to block the worst of the storm.
Gwaynn saw Kostek and the others go to Samantha’s aid so he turned back around, curious about the bridge Tar Nev created. Gwaynn felt the power building and building until it was almost tangible, until he could nearly taste it on his tongue. Where the bridge might be going he had no idea, but he knew, wherever it ended, it was far, far away.
Gwaynn looked at Nev and was surprised to see that the man was still standing, as was Audra and even young Aiden. In fact, they stood in the middle of the field as if they were completely unaffected by the wind. It took a moment for Gwaynn to realize that indeed the wind was not buffeting the trio, Audra’s hair though long, remained unruffled. He was completely mystified but then the bridge solidified, bringing the world beyond into sharp focus.
The first thing Gwaynn noticed was the buildings, tall and massive and nearly every inch of them filled with windows. Dozens of them, tall as mountains, but square, surprisingly narrow and teaming with power and beyond them he saw a large silvery arch gleaming in the bright sunlight. Then Gwaynn noticed people on the other side, a couple, a man and a woman. They were caught in the very windstorm that gripped him. The storm appeared to be much stronger on the far side and the two were trying desperately to keep from being sucked through the bridge. The man was holding a small silver pole of sorts. It was straight and apparently not affected in the slightest by the wind. It did not bend under the storm or the man’s weight, but stood stiff and sure. Whatever it was, it must be very strong. The man was struggling mightily but appeared to be strong enough to fight off the wind. The woman, however, was gripping a much larger silver pole. It was tall, like a tree, but Gwaynn was sure it was not a tree. It was large, with a wide trunk but it had no branches. On the very top Gwaynn saw what appeared to be a glass bulb. The woman was having a much harder time fighting the wind. Her legs, which were mostly bare, were being pulled upward so she hung parallel to the ground, her body held aloft by the stiff gale.
But Gwaynn’s attention left the woman and was drawn back to the architecture of the city beyond, he could tell the arch in the distance was tall, but he did not truly grasp the scale of the structure until he caught sight of a number of men and women moving about near its base. They were tiny, miniature people…the arch was enormous and something about it was familiar, but in his shock, recognition would not come. Instead his eyes caught more movement as a host of colored wagons raced along a black brick-lined road at incredible speeds, moving at least as fast as a good horse though nothing at all seemed to be pulling them…but these strange things Gwaynn knew. They were called cars…they were automobiles. He learned of them from Elise during his time on Lato…this was Earth…Old Earth. This was not possible. No one since Galen Dawkins had been able to open a bridge between worlds…no one until now.
Gwaynn remained hunched on his knees and watched open mouthed as Audra looked back, her face full of fear and excitement. He saw her turn back at Nev’s urging and without another glance back they moved forward and into the very heart of the bridge.
As they entered, the wind suddenly increased in ferocity, slamming into Gwaynn and forcing him back a few feet even though he was on his knees and braced against it. His eyes watered when he tried to look into the teeth of the storm. He blinked furiously and managed to catch sight of a figure hurtling through the air toward him. The woman had lost her battle and was flying into this land. She hit the ground hard perhaps ten feet in front of him and just to his left; she rolled and tumbled, relentlessly pushed by the fierce windstorm. She was young, he could tell, and as she flew close Gwaynn reached out and caught a hold of her naked thigh. She came to an abrupt halt and reached out, clutching at Gwaynn’s arm, pulling close to him, her eyes darting about in terror.
“I’ve got you,” Gwaynn said loudly against the din, and for the first time he noticed a pair of strange red birds on the front of her tunic. The young woman appeared not to understand what he was saying, but she held to him as if he were the only thing keeping her from blowing out to space.
Then, without warning Nev and Audra stepped completely through and were gone. The bridge snapped closed with a thunderous boom and the wind quickly stilled to nothing. The silence seemed strange and alien at first as everything rapidly returned to normal. Silence…calm, and then the strange woman clutching at Gwaynn began to scream.
The End
