He entered the vast building and saw that it was empty (it did not have the same draw or appeal as the other structures). He plodded deeper and heard the faint trickling of water. He suspected a fountain but was unsure.
Inside was large chamber and to his right, he could hear the water. It took him a few minutes to locate the exact sound until he noticed water slowly dribbling down the wall, following the intricate inlaid designs before disappearing in an unseen opening in the floor. Babel reached out and touched the water with this right hand; and that is when his world expanded. A sequence opened in his mind and all he had to do was follow.
He inhaled deeply. It wasn’t every day that one traveled to another world. The sequence had been long locked away in his mind would now take him to his father. He held onto the fear of the unknown a moment longer before letting go, taking one final deep breath and then allowing his mind to initiate what came next.
At first there was nothing. Then, the colors came and next, the sounds. He could feel heat coming from that world and the smells of that world followed, carried on foreign winds. He closed his eyes and he could feel the world he had known his entire life start to slip away, becoming less real. The world within the water called to him.
The pressure begin to build – slowly at first but then increasing to the point of anguish. He was suffocating. Pain overwhelmed him and he knew his head would split.
Everything around him seemed real and yet not real. He was caught between two worlds and existed in both and yet did not exist in either. He was not sure how long these feelings lasted, perhaps only a moment, but they seemed endless. Time stopped and he felt no forward or backward. His only existence was in the moment that currently made up his being.
The pain stopped and the surprising relief pitched open his eyes. The pressure lessened and the world around him once again grew real.
His eyes gained focus and he saw he had left his old world behind. He was now in the world of his father. And what he saw filled him with horror.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The scene before Babel was lined with trees. And those trees were occupied with bodies of the dead.
There were monsters that danced around the trees, creatures that Babel could not have dreamed. These monsters licked their lips and grinned, showing teeth the color of which Babel had not seen before. Their grins caused their faces to shrink upwards until all that could be seen was their teeth.
These monsters pulled the dead bodies one-by-one from the trees and devoured them as Babel watched. And just as the corpses were removed, more dead bodies fell from the sky, landing to be tangled in the trees.
Babel had to leave before he was seen.
He looked around, moving his head slowly. He saw nowhere to his right or left that he could escape undetected. He risked a slight turn and behind him saw a stone wall with a gate: that was where he would need to go.
He began to back up slowly and took a few steps. He risked another look behind him and saw that the gate was about fifty feet from where he was. He turned back to look at the monsters among the trees and noticed that they had stopped moving. He could not see their eyes, but knew they had seen him and were watching him.
Babel took a few more steps backwards and watched the creatures before him. The creature that was closest to him raised up on what Babel assumed was its legs as if listening and thinking. Then, the nearest monster spit and it was in full charge. Babel had no choice but to turn and run.
The monster behind him repeated a high-pitched chirp. Soon other chirps joined in and Babel knew that all the monsters were coming for him. He had disturbed them and now he would join the other dead bodies in the trees.
Babel ran and the distance between the gate and he closed but he the chips grew nearer and more intense. He wouldn’t make it.
He was ten feet from the gate when he heard the chirping to his immediate right. Instinct kicked in and Babel did the only thing of which he could think – he started a fire.
Behind him the flames ignited the air. He could feel the tremendous heat and the chirping turned to a great quiver that drove into his skull. He put his hands to his ears while he ran and the pain nearly caused him to stop and double over.
Because of the pain, he did not notice that he had run right through the gate. He fell on the ground holding his head and waited for the monsters to consume him. He screamed as he waited for the teeth to enter his flesh but those teeth never approached. Then, the siren stopped and the pain subsided. Babel let go of his head and opened his eyes. For the first time, he realized he was through the gate.
Beyond the gate, a wall of flames filled the air. Babel could not see the creatures but he knew they were there. He looked at the gate and saw that the gate was still closed so the gate couldn’t have opened. Yet, here he was on the other side of the gate. He couldn’t explain what had just happened.
He started to sit up when he heard a voice. At first he thought it was the monsters. “Are you alright?”
Babel looked up
